Shadowland

Darkness.

That was what surrounded her. Endless darkness and nothingness. She waited for a while so her eyes could adjust to the lack of light, but that moment never came. All she could see was the pitch black covering her. How was it possible? She tried to feel the ground that she was sitting on, but all she could feel was cold. She couldn’t tell what kind of ground it was. Where was she? She tried to remember what happened before she found herself in this strange place. Her mind felt fuzzy, and she couldn’t remember much. There was a sound, she thought. The sound that rang in her ears. Almost deafening. Clanking. Swords. Wait swords? Was she on a battlefield? Did she die? Her hand went directly to her chest. The steady pumping she felt suggested she was pretty much alive. If she was not dead and this was not the afterlife, then what was this strange place?

She took a deep breath. She needed to remember what happened before. The sound of clanking swords was a start. She closed her eyes to focus. Then she giggled a bit. She was already sitting in the darkness. Her closing eyes to focus was ironic. It was more out of habit rather than logic, she guessed. Focus. A voice in her mind interrupted her train of thought. Yes, she needed to focus. She closed her eyes again and focused on the sound of swords. An image of a group of men flashed in her mind. All of them were wearing armour. They must be knights, she thought. She tried to remember more. One of the knights was calling her name with worry and fear in his voice. He had blue eyes and blonde hair. Something about him felt familiar. Like she knew him. As she was trying to pinpoint, she felt a searing pain on her side and a wetness at that spot. She gasped and opened her eyes. Her hand went to the spot where she felt the pain. Nothing. No pain. No blood.

She was breathing raggedly. Her memories felt like having a nightmare. It wasn’t like remembering, but more like reliving those moments. The pain felt so real. She shivered. Was it the cold of this place or fear? It didn’t matter. She needed answers to more important questions. What she remembered so far wasn’t helpful at all. They confused her even more instead. She was on some sort of battlefield, and she got stabbed. However, she didn’t have a wound. There was no proof that those things she remembered actually happened. If she really got stabbed, then she should be bleeding right now, but she didn’t even feel an ounce of pain. And who was that knight? She was sure she knew him. But from where? Was he a friend? Lover? Family? She had no idea. She let out a frustrated breath. She ran her fingers through her hair. She didn’t know where she was, who she was or how she came here. What was she going to do?

The answer was obvious. She had to let her memories out. After the pain, she felt she wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea. But what other choice did she have? Sitting in this dark and cold place didn’t sound appealing at all. If she can figure out how she came here, she could find her way back to wherever she came from. Sure, she was in the middle of a battle, but there was sunlight at least. It couldn’t be worse than this place, right? She was going to do this. She shuddered and closed her eyes. She felt that searing pain again. Her hand went to her side, and her own blood covered it. She turned around and saw a woman who was holding a bloody dagger in her hand. She saw a ghost of a triumphant smile on her face. She felt a wave of hate and anger take over her body. This woman took something from her, but what? Before she could figure it out, she felt the woman pushing her back. She turned back to see what was behind her. There was a strange gateway. Shadows were pouring out of it. It was so dark that you couldn’t see what was on the other side. She felt herself fall through the gate as she tried to grasp something. As she fell, she heard a familiar voice scream her name. It wasn’t that knight; it was someone else. It was M…

Before she could remember the name of that man, her memory ended. She was in the void again. So, she came here through a gate. If she managed to find it, she could go back. Urgency filled her senses. She had to go back. They needed her. They? Who were they? Those knights? It didn’t make sense. They seemed to be able to hold their ground. Better than her. After all, she was the one who got stabbed and fell through the door that opened to this strange place. They certainly didn’t need her. Right? Even though it made sense, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something. Something really important. Then her mind went to that woman. She came for her. Was it because she was an easy target or because she actually was a threat? It was probably the first one. But then why was she there in the first place? Her head hurt. Now she had even more questions. But at least she got an answer to one of the questions. She knew how she came here, and she would make it out of there. She had to.

She got up and looked around. She still couldn’t see anything other than the pitch blackness that surrounded her. Which way was she supposed to go? Did it matter, she thought? Anything was better than sitting and doing nothing. She started to walk towards a random direction. After a bit, she started to feel tired. Her steps grew heavy. She could barely keep her eyes open. Then she crumpled. As she was losing consciousness, she remembered the scream. She had to go back to him. She promised him. She tried to fight the sleep but couldn’t. She heard an echoing sound in the silence. Footsteps. They were approaching her. Was she dreaming?

It enveloped her.

Darkness.