by ~Hunters-Moon-12

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      Selene
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       Selene was running in a large garden. Everything was so colorful, and it smelled so pretty. She turned to smile at the man before her, a giant of a man with fair hair and a large beard. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, opening his arms wide. She felt safe, she thought, as she ran towards him with a giggle. Suddenly, just as he was about to wrap her in his arms, everything faded to black.
       The black lifted, and she found herself in a large cavern. She was scared, and she leaned back into the old woman's arms, tears streaming down her face. She didn't understand why she was scared, but she missed the big man. She didn't like this game anymore. It was dark here, and cold, and everyone was scared. It wasn't fun, she thought. He'd promised her it would be fun. She jumped as a loud bang echoed through the cavern and started to cry louder. She heard screams from around her before everything blackened and she felt herself being pulled away.
       When she woke up, she was in a place she'd never seen before. She glanced around, wondering where she was, and how she'd gotten there. She was in astudy, filled with a great many objects, some common, some she had no name for. When she looked at most of them, they seemed to be surrounded by a web of ink, swirling and grasping towards her. She shuddered. Whatever it was, it didn't feel right to her, it wasn't natural. A pit formed in her stomach and she tore her gaze from it. Her eyes landed on a man.
       He was sitting behind a desk, reading a scroll of some sort. He had long black hair that hung in a braid down his back, and she saw specks of gold, blue and green shimmering throughout it out of the corner of her eyes. He too was surrounded by the blackness, although around him it was thicker and seemed almost alive. She cringed and took a step back, and instantly, the darkness swirled towards her, as if it saw her. The man looked up immediately, and she froze, feeling his eyes boring through her. However, after a split second, she realized he couldn't see her. Clearly, however, he felt her presence.
       He said, his voice biting and filled with power, "Who is there, Show yourse--"Before he finished speaking, she felt herself being tugged away, and the world again swirled into blackness. This time, however, she realized that it was not true blackness, like the webs in the room, but rather a blackness that resembled the night sky, not truly black, but filled with color if one knew how to look.
       Selene coughed weakly, hearing voices mumbling around her. She began to gag as she felt water pour out of her mouth and, disgustingly, her nose, and coughed again. The voices grew louder, and she began to recognize what they said.
       The first voice said, "She needs a Healer, ma'am, or she'll die."
       The next, which she recognized immediately as Dyanne's, said, "Why should that concern me? She has little use to begin with, why should I waste the money?"
       Another voice, softer, said, "Remember, we need her…If she dies, the stipend ends." She recognized the voice as belonging to her Aunt's chief advisor, a weasely man by the name of Stipes.
       She heard a sigh, then Dyanne said, "Call for a Healer, and be quick about it." Selene heard people bustling around her, but lost track of her surroundings as she vomited again, then began to shiver. She couldn't feel all that much at the moment; her body was still mostly numb, but feeling was beginning to come back, and she really wished it wouldn't. Her leg throbbed where she'd struck it, and her fingers and toes felt as if they had needles stabbing into them. She moaned, struggling to sit up.
       Immediately, she felt fingers brushing her head, pushing her back down. Whoever it was said, "Shh, honey, don't move. Everything will be okay." She was confused at first. The voice reminded her of someone she couldn't remember. After a second, however, her confusion cleared and she recognized it as Martha, the middle aged cook who had sort of adopted Selene under her wing.
       She relaxed a bit at the soothing tone in her voice and began to drift off. After several minutes or a year, she couldn't guarantee which, although the first seemed more likely, she heard a new voice enter the air. It said, "I need space, please step away from her." Selene felt the Martha let go of her and begin to back away, and a wordless cry left her sore throat. She didn't want her to leave; she didn't want to be alone.
       She heard the stranger, a woman, she noticed, say, "It's alright, child, don't you worry, everything will be okay. I need you to relax, and be calm. Can you do that?" She didn't wait for a reply, immediately beginning her work, but it didn't matter. Her voice had soothed Selene again, and she felt herself slumping in relief. Her brain felt fuzzy to her, like it was covered in wool, and she felt as if she was forgetting something…she had been dreaming…The thought was driven from her mind as waves of pain swept over her body, then began to recede.
       Within seconds, she began to feel better. Her mind was less fuzzy, and the pain had numbed to a dull ache. The Healer said, "You're all healed, but you'll probably be somewhat stiff for the next few days, and may experience some dull aches. I want you to stay in bed for at least two days, and do only light work for at least a sennight, do you understand? And take a pinch of these herbs with your morning meal every day until they're gone." She passed a satchel over to Selene, who tucked it into a pocket with weak fingers. Then, she turned to Dyanne. "Why don't we head inside to discuss my fee."  While they walked away, Martha hurriedly helped Selene sit up.
       Selene winced as she felt her sore muscles stretch, but was relieved to feel no stabbing pains or sharp aches. Martha asked, her voice quite so she wouldn't be overheard, "How did you end up in the cistern? Was it…?" She trailed off, not daring to finish the sentence.
       Selene bit her lip but remained silent. The only time she'd ever told anyone about something Randall had done, the woman had been fired for speaking of it, and Selene had been whipped. While she didn't want to face a whipping, she was more concern with Martha.
       "I-I tripped." She mumbled.
       Martha pursed her lips in anger but didn't contradict her. She simply said, quietly enough not to be overheard, "One of these days, child, they're going to get what's coming to them, and you'll be they're boss, you hear me? One of these days…"
       Selene didn't say anything, but inwardly, she didn't believe it. She knew she would live the rest of her days as little more than a slave.

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