Chapter 1: Awake

In.

Out.

In.

And out.

There was pain, everywhere pain. The frail redhead’s eyes fluttered open for a second and then closed quickly. She continued to breathe.

In.

Out.

In.

And out again.

Her fingers felt numb, and there must have been a banshee viciously attacking her back with a spear from all the pain pulsing along her spine. A dragon seemed to be doing a fine roast job to her left arm as well. However, not a sound was to be heard. That, or else she’d also lost her hearing.

The girl again attempted to open her eyes, but she was greeted with a sea of blackness. Was she blind too? Despite the pain in her back she bent her right arm towards her face, and in the darkness she captured the faintest hint of movement. Not blind. Just dark. She closed her eyes with considerable relief.

In.

Out.

And in.

And out.

She managed to move her right forearm (the only part of her body she could both feel and flex without excruciating pain) across the ground. No, floor. She was laying face-down on a hard surface, possibly metal. It felt cool to the touch and sent small shivers up her exposed skin. The floor was smooth too. She stilled her curiosity. Unfortunately for her weary body, the effort of thinking and moving over the past five minutes quickly sapped any energy she had left.

Left from what? She sighed.

In.

And...out.

In.

And...

During her last few seconds of consciousness, the young redhead surveyed the inky darkness around her. Questions, too tired to force themselves to the forefront of her mind, settled dormant in her subconscious. But as the blackness slowly became absolute, one thought managed to slip through: Who am I?

* * *

When she again opened her eyes, the banshee had almost completely ceased her tirade against the girl’s spine. The dragon too had let up on the previously constant flaming of her arm. Without the overload to her pain receptors, her body managed to breathe steadily on its own. She opened her eyes.

The room was still drowned in blackness, but now her eyes could adjust to the variance in shadows. As far as she could see, the place (or chamber...or room, she didn’t know which) appeared empty. Or actually, almost empty. About a meter from her head was a large lump of dark shadow. Tilting her head slightly, so as not to reignite the banshee’s rampage, she stared at the human-sized mound of black. She was in the process of reaching out to touch it when a bright light cut through the darkness. The girl retracted her hand and shut her eyes from the intrusion of white.

"Gweth hymmm ans E fees dayed yeth..." The sounds coming from the light rattled incoherently inside her head. "Wee kans ownlee hahp so." Voices. The sounds were voices. She rolled the foreign words over and over inside her head until she realized how very un-foreign they were. Get him and see if he’s dead yet...We can only hope so.

Another voice, whiny and high-pitched, responded to the first. "Yes Master, as you insist." She opened her eyes to stare at the two silhouettes framed by the bright light. A short, fat man was examining the lump (no, body) while the other stood in the doorway. "Master," the high-voice belonged to the short man, "he is gone."

"Excellent. And the girl?" She felt her heart skip a beat and quickly shut her eyes again. The short man must have kicked her because a moment later a sharp pain radiated up her abdomen. Her lips betrayed her existence with a gasp.

"Master," the short man’s voice shook slightly when he spoke, "she is..." Rough hands suddenly grabbed her shoulders and flipped her onto her back. Immediately her arm reignited with pain and her back screamed in agony. Her eyesight faltered momentarily as her senses were again overloaded.

"I thought I told you to take care of her." The tall man hovered over her with a stick pointed at her face. No, a wand. The other man cowered in the shadows behind him.

"Please, I didn’t..." But the tall man wasn’t listening, he was watching her. She looked back into his cold grey eyes and shuddered. His long, silvery blond hair glowed in the bright light giving him a surreal effect. Whoever he was, this man was not to be reckoned with. He pressed his wand against her temple.

"Who are you girl?" His question was no louder than a slithery whisper. Who am I? She had no answer. The man pressed his wand harder against her skull and raised his voice. "Who am I?" Again she responded to his inquisition with a blank stare. A sinister sneer formed on his lips. Almost immediately a sharp white pain split through her mind. She gasped desperately for breath. He continued to stare intently into her eyes when suddenly the pain ceased completely. The girl blinked in confusion.

The man straightened his posture. "Curious. Very curious." His fingers snapped at the other man, and the latter hurried to his side.

"Yes Master?"

"Bind her and bring her back to the Manor. I should like to have further inspection into this...development." The short man pulled out his own wand and grinned, showing off years of bad dental hygiene.

"Incarcerous!" Thick ropes appeared from the end of his wand and proceeded to bind her tightly. She cried out as the ropes contorted her wounded body. "Wingardium Leviosa!" More pain shot through her limbs and her eyesight blurred. She started to feel dizzy.

Pain, everywhere pain.

In... She tried to gasp.

Out...out. The redhead blinked at her fading vision.

And in... Her world slowly swirled into darkness as she completely lost consciousness.