).:Four:.
Guards dressed in black armor pushed Annaria forward, placing their hands on her shoulders. She easily stumbled forward as they pushed her down flights of stairs, not being able to regain her balance because her hands are bound. Torches against the wall lighted the path they were taking her. She could feel spears poke at her soft skin, easily making small puncture wounds. Annaria was in a rather calm state, even though her mind was spinning with questions. She starred forward, wincing at the sting of the punctures dotting her body.
She accepted this, of whatever is happening. There was no way she could escape the grasp of these men, since they have weapons, she doesn't. They went down a spiral staircase made of stone, which lasted for a while. The deeper they went underneath, the darker it became and more cobwebs showed up. Annaria concluded that she was in some castle, since she recognized the scenery of that in her own castle in Allalina Core. It was clear to her, that the guards were taking her to either a dungeon or a secret room underneath the castle.
Once when they reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a large room lighted only by the torches flickering against the perimeter of the room. To the sides, two large circular wooden doors with chains going across it caught her attention. She wondered what lies behind those doors, and if one is for the dungeon, then what's behind the other? She stopped, even though she knew that the guards would shove her once more. She looked at the door on her right, listening carefully. She heard dark whispers with various tones come from behind that door.
"Move it!" One of the guards slightly yelled at her, his voice piercing her ear. He shoved her toward the opposite door, another spear lurching deeper into her skin. Now, she can feel a trail of warm crimson flow down her arm, then dripping onto the floor. She could hear the audible squeaks of the rats as they inched closer to the chained door. She could still hear the whispers from the other door, so loud that she thought somebody was muttering right into her ear. The words were not clear though, she couldn't make out any of what the voices were saying.
One of the guards opened the door, the chains clanking against the wooden door. It came to a screeching halt, revealing thick metal bars with a small space behind them. She looked around in the cold dark dungeon. It was clear there were other people locked inside, the cries of pain echoed through every square inch of air in this place. One of the empty cells bar door opened silently, by itself. As she walked in front of the empty cell, a rat scampered across the floor, splashing water in every direction as it went across a puddle. The guard pushed her in harshly, making Annaria loose her balance and fall onto the hard surface.
She turned around onto her back and situated herself where she was on her knees. Quickly, the guards with spears surrounded her, poking their spears into her skin once more. They gripped their weapon tightly, as if they had fear that she would knock it out of their grip. Annaria could sense their fear starting to grow, gripping their weapons tightly. From what do they fear? She asked that in her mind, lifting her eyes up to catch a glimpse of the guards. Beads of sweat ran down their forehead, as their long black hair rest on their shoulder pads. Annaria is still just curious of her situation, and which castle's dungeon she sees.
The sound of footsteps echoed, and all the other sounds faded from her ears. A man stepped in front of the cell, looking directly at Annaria. His hood was dangling over his head, the low amount of light making it seem that he had no face. The guards stepped to the sides of the cell, still holding their spears out toward Annaria.
"Well what do we have here?" The man said, taking one-step closer to Annaria. His voice was like a whisper, tunneling through everybody's ears. His voice sounded very familiar to her, though she couldn't make out where she heard it from.
"Who are you?" Annaria simply stated in a calm, normal tone. Something gave her the urge to look away from his gaze. She heard him laugh once, thought it so quiet it sounded like a distant echo.
"Don't worry about anybody's identity here," The man stepped closer to Annaria, making her inch backward. "In fact, don't worry about anything." The man smiled under the darkness of his hood, as it covered his face from any eyes.
Annaria inched background, while keeping her vision locked onto the man. She lifted up her hand, as she felt it touch a cold bone. "How do I know if I should trust you?" Annaria said, wondering why the man is still keeping his hood on.
"You can trust me with all of your life." The man said generously, keeping his ground. He looked around at the guards holding the spears, and gave them a single nod. They lowered their spears, and walked out of the dungeon one by one.
"Then how come you keep that hood on you?" Annaria said, her eyes following the guards. She focused back onto the man, trying to find any hint that she saw him somewhere before.
"I can have my reasons. Now, would you like to ask me any questions?" The man said, and then quietly stood there. Annaria felt something cold on her chest for a second. She placed her hand on her chest, and then felt an object. Her bound came loose and fell off her wrist, and everybody stood still. She didn't think much about the bound, she only focused on the object around her neck. She grasped the object and held it out so she could view it. It was a red jewel necklace being secured by gold wrapping to a silver chain. One thing was for sure, Annaria never saw this necklace before.
"What is this necklace?" Annaria said, stumbling on her words. She turned it around and around, seeing a small red glow inside the jewel.
"That is a necklace that will give you true power, and something that somebody would want to grasp." He said, taking one-step closer to Annaria. She didn't move, or pay attention that he came closer to her, she only focused on the necklace. Annaria wanted him to take off his black hood though, and reveal himself to her.
"Who is this man that would want a necklace like this?" Annaria asked, keeping her gaze on the glowing spot inside the jewel.
"He doesn't just want that necklace; he wants you and your power." He said, this time his tone growing sharper.
Annaria didn't care about his sharp tone, though her suspicion of what dungeon she is in started to come. Her lips parted though no words came out for a second. "I'm worth nothing, and I hold no powers." She said, now looking up at the man, he still had his hood on.
"You're worth a lot Annaria, and you hold so much power that you can kill anybody." He took a single quiet laugh, for Annaria not even having a clue of such powers she had.
"Is it," She paused within her sentence, trying to think of a name. "Wolvard that wants my power?" Annaria said, the necklace sliding out of her hand and thumping against her chest.
"Wolvard doesn't just want you; he wants you dead, all because of the power you hold. Oh, one more thing, he's here right now." He said, taking hold of hiss hood and pulling it back. His long white hair fell over his shoulders, something that jolted at Annaria's mind, and something that looked so familiar.
"Where is he?" Annaria said, her voice shaking as she felt her heart thumped faster. She knew he wanted something from her, according to the myth about her, though she wasn't so sure what he wanted. At this point, her hand was shaking with fear, and her eyes reflected it.
"Closer than you think." He quickly said, then started to come toward her at a fast pace. Annaria held her body against the wall, though in this situation, she had nowhere to go. Her mind was flooding with the thought of a certain death, in a cold dark dungeon, with her only family unaware of it.
He reached his hand out toward her, his hand almost touching her soft skin around her face. Then everything started to fade away, everything but her into a black shade. The fear didn't die, it only grew of what just happened. This was unexplainable to her, though she wondered what to do next in this black world.
Annaria's eyes flew open, her pupils adjusting the bright light. "It was just a dream." Annaria whispered under her breathe. She was relieved that it never happened, though she started to wonder where she is. She saw Distreigh running around the tall grasses that came up to his withers, and all of his armor was off. This almost looked like the field in Allalina Core, near the castle, but it was different. There were scattered trees around this area, something that she never recognized before. If it was the field near the castle, she could see it, and the mountains far away, though she saw nothing.
Just a couple trees scattered around.
And an object off in the distance, laying down in the field.
Annaria wasn't alone, and whatever this object may be, frightened her. Even though she doesn't have a clue of what that might be, the possibilities worried her. Colorful raptor-like birds circled in the grey sky, their vibrant neon hued feathers standing out from the others. She knew those birds were scavengers, so could that object be something dead?
Distreigh trotted over toward Annaria, taking a glance at the object as he passed it. He snorted loudly, spraying snot in every direction. Annaria stepped onto a large rock that elevated her just about a foot off the ground. Her hands grasped a ball of black mane, and then swung her legs over his back. It felt weird for her, to ride bareback. Having to feel the skin move along the spine gave her an odd felling. She constantly found herself readjusting on his back.
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