Anastasia bathed in the darkness stretching out around her. It tangled in her hair and caressed her face, leaving icy cold numbness in its wake. A dark tendril snaked around her waist, wrapping so tight she could hardly breathe.
“You’re going to die here” a cruel voice slithered in her mind. “You’re going to die here alone, and no one will ever know.”
The notion of dying didn’t frighten her, but the idea of dying all alone had her scrambling for an escape from the ropes of inky black.
“I don’t want to die here alone, where no one will ever know.” Despite her silent plea, she is tugged deeper into the endless chasm, the numbness spreading to her arms and torso. At that moment, the fight in her goes out. There is no escape from the loneliness of death. Anastasia closes her eyes, and succumbs to her fate. “If only my mother were here with me.”
An unexpected warmth envelops Anastasia, chasing away the frozen numbness plaguing her body. Straining against her heavy eyelids, she could faintly see a figure gazing down upon her through the gloom. It was hard to make out who they were, but the gold flecks in their eyes shone in a sharp contrast with the dimness. The warmth had seeped into her bones, enabling her to move once more. A cool hand caressed her cheek, and she leaned into it to savor its soothing touch.
“Who…are you?” she whispered to the figure.
They responded in a voice like dreams and starlight, a beautiful melody anchoring her in the sea of shadows.
“All you need to know”, the stranger said, “is that you will never have to fear death, for I am with you always.” He leaned in closer to her and whispered in her ear.
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“One day, you will come away with me. This will not be the last time you arrive upon the threshold to Death’s kingdom.” Before Anastasia can reply the world crumbles beneath her, ripping her from the man’s arms.
* ● ●
Anastasia wakes with a start, gasping for air. The heavy weight on her chest begins to dissipate, allowing her breathing to ease. It had been that same dream she always had when she was close to death’s doorstep. The figure back then had appeared as a child instead of an adult like it had now. Ever since her stepmother’s arrival thirteen years ago, Anastasia had fallen victim to numerous incidents that had all been deemed to be accidents. Her father, the Duke of Valenris, had grown distant to her as well. There was no one she could call a safe haven in her now unfamiliar home.
The gauzy material surrounding her ornate four-poster bed flowed with a gentle breeze from the open bay window to her right. The night was still young, which brought some comfort to Anastasia. The night was her refuge from the hellish day, where her stepmother constantly tormented her to no end. Today had been no different, as Lady Lilith had slipped some poison in her evening tea before bed. A rather lazy attempt for her, compared to prior ones that had been composed with far more fanfare.
Thanks to Lady Lilith’s never ending schemes, Anastasia wasn’t afraid of dying. She had gotten used to it scarily fast after the first few. She had begun to grow numb to pain, the poison she had drank was only a dull ache rather than the burning pain it should’ve been.
Chuckling to herself, she pulls back the silk sheets and steps onto the cool tiled floor of her room. Taking a seat on the velvet lavender chaise in front of the window, Anastasia gazes out into the night and the distant lights of the town.
“Who is that stranger, and why do they always appear when I’m near death?” she wondered aloud. Perhaps they were her guardian angel of sorts, but she quickly brushed that idea aside. The God of these lands had abandoned them long ago, making that quite impossible.
“I should worry about how Lady Lilith will react to my wellness tomorrow. I don’t know what she’ll do this time.”
With that final thought, Anastasia turned from the window and made her way back to bed. She would need her strength to face whatever would come at her tomorrow.