Queen of Darkness

Chapter 2

Aiyana cried. And cried. And cried. She couldn’t take this anymore; she had been in this darkness for days, screaming for someone, but no one came. No one. She became hopeless. Her back hurt more and more every day. One day, she stopped feeling her back because of the pain. She was sitting in a pool of blood -- her blood. Her back had not stopped bleeding yet. She knew she was going to die. Every time she woke up after a dreamless sleep, she always prepared herself for the worst.

“Oh, Aelin. I miss you so much. You were the only person I ever had -- my sister and best friend. How I wish I could see you one more time,” Aiyana whispered and sobbed at the same time. The only person to comfort her, help her, and protect her was taken from her life. When Aiyana was little, her parents were killed by the King of Adarlan -- like Aelin’s. Aiyana spent days hiding behind the stands of the market, in an alleyway, a dumpster, and any other place she could find. One day, the King of Adarlan was walking through the market, and had found her. He took her to the salt mines of Endovier, and she has been there ever since.

Sleep tugged at Aiyana. She slumped against the dirt wall, and closed her eyes. An image of Aelin appeared behind her eyelids. As Aiyana fell asleep, the image of her last dread of hope disappeared into the darkness.

…

Something rocked Aiyana back and forth, waking her up. She gasped, and her eyes shot open. A brown roof made of wood appeared a couple of feet above her head. She was lying on a soft, surface -- a bed. She heard the crashing of waves coming from beside her. She was wearing a white nightgown that fluttered in the wind. Aiyana turned to her side, and immediately regretted it -- pain zapped through her back, and she screamed. Rushing footsteps sounded in the distance. The door to her room opened with so much force it almost fell off its hinges. A man ran to her side.

“What’s wrong? What is hurting?” he asked. He had black, curly hair that covered his ears. His eyes were a sapphire-blue, and had a sword slung by his side. He wore a grey tunic that brought out the color of his eyes.

“My back,” she croaked.

“Oh, yes. Your back. Let me call Rowan for that.” he walked to the door and yelled:

“ROWAN!”

At that moment, a beautiful, white hawk flew through the window. There was a flash, and then the hawk was gone; a man had taken its place. I shrieked.

“Don’t worry. I am here to help you,” the man said. He seemed extremely young -- about 25 years old -- had pine-green eyes that sparkled in the light; short, white-silver hair that barely covered his ears; and a tattoo than ran from his neck, down to his fingertips. He wore a black leather suit that was tight enough for her to see how extremely muscular and fit he was, and a black cape as well. “I am going to heal you. Now close your eyes, and just relax. Don’t move. This won’t hurt. It will only take two minutes.”

Aiyana followed his instructions; she closed her eyes, and relaxed. I have no clue who these people are. Once they are done healing me, I am going to jump out of the bed, dash out the door, jump into the water, and swim. Wait-- I can’t do that. What do I do? What else are they going to do to me? Fear slowly crept into her. She felt little tugs in her back. Are they mending my back together? How? Aiyana started to panic. Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me.

“Finished,” the man finally said. Aiyana opened her eyes. She turned to the side, and did not feel any pain. She turned to the other side, and didn't feel any pain, either. Aiyana slowly sat up. She touched her back, and couldn’t help shrieking in surprise. There was no blood -- none. Her back was smooth; all she felt was skin. There were multiple scars, but that was fine. A smile tugged at her lips. She looked at the dark-haired man and the one who helped her; they both smiled. As Aiyana opened her mouth to speak, a woman walked through the door. The woman was beautiful. She had white hair that reached her shoulders, was skinny, and wore a twin suit to the one the white-haired man was wearing, but only she wore a red cloak. The woman walked forwards, her tall, black boots clanking on the wooden floor.

Aiyana’s heart stopped beating as the woman walked farther into the light; those eyes -- the turquoise eyes that were rimmed with gold. She knew them. They were Ashryver eyes.

“Aelin,” Aiyana cried. At that moment, Aelin lept onto the bed, and embraced Aiyana. They both started to cry.

“It’s really you,” Aelin sobbed.

“It’s me, it’s me,” Aiyana said over and over again, caressing Aelin’s hair. Aiyana pulled away from Aelin, wanting to see her face. Tears rolled down Aelin’s cheeks; she smiled. Her skin was slightly tanned, but perfect and beautiful. “Oh my gosh, Aelin. You look so grown-up! How old are you?” Aiyana asked.

“Nineteen,” Aelin answered; she couldn’t stop a smile from tugging at her lips. “How old are you?”

“I am eighteen,” Aiyana said. She smiled, too.

“Why won’t you clean up; there are some clothes in the bathroom -- the door to your left -- and some towels, too.” Aelin slowly sat up, standing in front of the door. “Then, I will take you on the deck and introduce you to everybody.”

“Okay,” Aiyana stated.

Aelin smiled, turned around, and left. The dark-haired man and the white-haired man walked right behind her. After the door closed, Aiyana got out of bed, and walked into the bathroom. She stopped in front of the mirror; her face was pale, and dried blood crusted beneath her lips and nose. Man, she desperately needed to clean herself up. Her nightgown was splotched with blood, and her hair was messy and tangled, full of dirt and dried blood.

Aiyana turned the sink water on, took the white, medium-sized towel hanging on the rack by the sink, and wet it. She scrubbed at her face with the wet towel, and put the towel back in the sink, rinsing it. The water slowly became red as the blood washed off the towel. She then took the wet towel and cleaned her hair with it.

After Aiyana finished cleaning herself up, she walked back into her room, past the bed, and opened up her closet door. She took out a black leather suit -- similar to the one Aelin wore -- and a gray cloak. She quickly dressed, put on tall, black boots -- also similar to the ones Aelin wore -- and put her hair back in a small ponytail.

She was ready.

…

By Alexa Gantt