Help Me

Help Me
Lifting my hand, I gingerly touched the spot that Vladimier had hit. The skin there was already swollen and tender to the touch. There was no mistaking the amount of force he put behind it. He intended to do damage and damage he had done.

"Why?" I managed, trying to remain calm. From the anger boiling off of the man before me, I knew that losing my temper wasn't a wise move. "Why did you?"

"Who gave you permission to wander the castle alone?" He demanded instead, ignoring my question. "Do you know what could have happened?"

After my run-in with that lizard creature, I was well aware of what could have happened. However, I didn't understand how that warranted my needing to be smacked.

"It seems I've been giving you too much freedom." He continued, crossing his arms. "From today on, you'll be in confinement until the wedding."

"Wedding?" I squeaked, my eyes growing wide. "But I never..."

"You've taken long enough to decide." Vladimier said, cutting me off. "Now, I'm making the decision for you. From the start, you were mine, and that won't change."

I was beginning to feel like I was getting whiplash with how quickly this man's personality was changing. Gone was the kind and caring Vladimier. In his place was a cold and domineering man who was ten times worse than Elias.

"Are you saying you're forcing me?" I asked slowly, trying to remain composed.

"Forcing is such a harsh word." He responded, smirking. "More like I am deciding for you."

Deciding for me... How was that any different than force?

"What if I don't agree?" I continued to push, though I knew I should keep quiet. "I am an adult and can make my own decisions."

"This isn't up for debate." He said simply. "Now, you should get some rest. The engagement banquet will be in three days' time. I need you to be able to walk by then."

Not giving me an opportunity to respond, Vladimier turned on his heel and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him, so I was left alone. Letting out a long breath, I let my new predicament hit me. He was going to make me marry him, guaranteeing that I would forever be bound to him.

Though I had decided to stay with him due to our promise all those years ago, I still hadn't truly accepted my fate. But now he wasn't even giving me a chance to make my own decisions. What the hell was I going to do now?

The next day, a guard escorted me to Geofrey's office, where he was already at his desk waiting. When we arrived, he looked up and regarded the guard with an odd expression. Frowning, he pulled off his glasses and waited.

After bowing, the guard deemed his mission complete and left, leaving just me and Geofrey in the room.

"What was that?" Geofrey asked, still looking toward where the guard had disappeared.

"Doesn't matter." I sighed, feeling myself finally beginning to become less tense. "Just a babysitter assigned to me."

Grimacing I tried to hide the disgust that rushed through me at the thought of having to be walked to and from anywhere I went.

"What did you do to piss him off?" He asked, seeming slightly amused.

"Instead of talking about me, could we begin our lesson?" I countered, not wanting to even think about the situation I was in.

"Touchy, touchy."

Controlling the urge to flip the man off, I waited as he picked up a crystal from his desk and then began to make his way towards me. Curiosity getting the best of me, I examined the long, pale blue square stone that he was carrying.

"What is that?" I asked, lifting my brow.

"Angelite." Geofrey explained, handing the cold, smooth crystal to me. "It can be used for many different things. However, today I will be teaching you how to perform divination with it. "

"Divination?"

Divination was used for faraway communication and for predicting and telling the future. Why in the world would he want to teach me this?

"It is one of the most basic practices of mages." He huffed, seeming to read my thoughts. "It is also probably the easiest thing for you to do too."

"If you insist." I said, flushing slightly. "Shall we begin?"

"Sit," he ordered, motioning towards the floor.

Nodding, I didn't bother arguing. Instead, I sat down, crossing my legs beneath me, and placed the angelite slab on the ground in front of me. Once comfortable, I looked up at Geofrey, waiting for him to begin the lesson. Giving a mighty grunt, he plopped down on the ground across from me and fixed his gaze on mine.

"Now, divination truly isn't that hard. It is all about perfecting your meditative state and expressing your intentions." He began giving the lesson as I listened intently. "I want you to clear your mind and keep your gaze fixed on the slab. As you do so, I want you to picture what you want to know the most."

Letting out a long breath, I did as instructed. But the only issue I was hitting was what exactly it was that I was most curious about. Did I want to know how much time I had left? Did I want to know what my short future with Vladimier would be like? No, what I truly wanted to know, from the bottom of my heart, was how Elias was and what he was doing at that exact moment. Letting my mind cling to that curiosity, I watched as the stone before me seemed to slowly begin to glow.

Feeling my breath hitch in my throat, I remained focused as the angelite's glowing surface began to swirl and shift. Focusing harder, I waited as small glimpses of a room and then of a desk began to flash across the stone's surface before finally shifting to Elias himself, standing by a window and staring out into the pitch-black sky while smoking a cigarette.

Gasping, my eyes grew wide as he seemed to sense something. Throwing the cigarette out the window, he whirled around, his body tense and his eyes full of hostility. It was only when I was sure he had met my gaze that he seemed to relax and then frown.

"Elias..." I murmured as the room around me disappeared, and it was almost as if I was in that room with Elias too. "How..."

"Why are you here?" He demanded, looking around quickly. "How?"

Confused, I looked down to find that I was, in fact, standing in the middle of the same room as him, but my body was transparent and glowing.

"Divination." I murmured. "I'm learning to work with stones."

"Why come here?" Elias repeated, his voice holding a hint of pain. "Didn't you refuse me?"

Swallowing I tried to push down the rush of emotion I felt. He had a point. Why the hell would I be there bothering him now? I refused him and needed to stick with my choice.

"I missed you." I found myself saying quietly while looking away. "No matter how hard I try to forget, I can't."

As the words left my mouth, I felt a pang of pain shoot through my heart.

"I miss you too," he said so quietly that I had to question whether or not I actually heard him right.

Lifting my gaze I met Elias' while my heart began to beat sporadically in my chest.

"Please save me." I murmured just as I felt something tug at my back.

With eyes growing wide, I watched as the room around me began to shift and sway, disappearing entirely as I spiraled into darkness.