Chapter 119: Grace
I came to very slowly. The last thing I remembered was a lot of yelling between, Sawyer, Leon and Rhys... I frowned. Wait, that couldn’t be right. Sawyer hadn’t been there when we started the ritual. He had been at home, right? Resting. He was still healing. But why could I so vividly hear him yelling at Rhys and Leon. And Leon had been so mad... What happened?
I sat up slowly, my whole body aching, but no longer in searing pain. I blinked. This wasn’t the cabin. I wasn’t laying on the cushions still or even in the bed in the loft. This room was a bright white that reminded me of the hospital. Did the ritual fail and they had to bring me here? But there was no medical equipment, and most importantly to me, no Rhys. Rhys would have never left my side if something was wrong, so why was I here and here alone?
“Hello?” I called out as I untangled myself from the sheets. I hated when the sheets were tucked under the mattress, it always made me feel trapped, and I felt like I had to fight my way out of bed.
“Hello?” I called out again as my bare feet hit the wooden floor. Okay... Definitely not the hospital. They would never have wood floors, even if it was fake. “Is anyone here?”
I noticed a door to my right and I opened it, slowly, unsure of what to expect, only to find a beautiful bathroom room with white and black tiled floors, two fancy sinks, and not only a humongous shower, but also a clawfoot tub on the other side of a half wall, and the fanciest toilet I had ever seen.
“Whoa.” I breathed as I spun around to enjoy it all.
I frowned in surprise as I caught sight of myself in the mirror. My messy hair made me cringe. My face still had the purple goo that Sandra had drawn on me. But the thing that really got me was that the dress I was wearing was not what I had been wearing prior to the ritual... It was a long sleeve white dress with a lacy skirt and just off the shoulder sleeves. It was beautiful... But it wasn’t mine.
I stepped out of the bathroom in confusion, only to hear my name being called from somewhere in the distance. I noticed another door across the room, and opened it up into the hallway, carefully stepping out into it.
“Grace!” The voice called out again. It was louder than a whisper, but it definitely had a raspier sound to it that I didn’t recognize.
The hallway was prestigious too. Black candles lined it, lighting my way as I walked forward.
“Hello?” I called out again, but I felt nervous this time, like I didn’t really want anyone to answer.
The hall led to an empty kitchen, but whoever was calling my name was getting louder. It looked like someone had been in the middle of preparing dinner but for some reason stopped, leaving a bit of a mess in their wake. I couldn’t help but notice there was a steak knife just laying out. I hesitated for just a moment but then swiped it off the counter, knowing it would make me feel safer. I knew I probably wouldn’t win a fight with it, but at least it would be better than no protection, since I had no idea where the hell I was.
“Yoohoo!” The voice called out again, “Keep walking through, Grace, honey. You are wasting time, dear.”
I walked slowly in the direction of the voice and entered into a large dining room. Once again everything thing was black and white as the theme seemed to be in this place. The table was black and could fit at least 45 people at it, and at the very far side head of the table, there was a woman wearing sunglasses and a headscarf, and her light blue dress was the only pop of color in the place.
“Welcome, darling,” The woman said ecstatically as she popped a piece of what looked like steak into her mouth. “Please, have a seat. We only have a little bit of time to chat, and there’s so much to tell you.”
I took the seat at the end of the table nearest to me where I noticed a white plate with my own piece of steak on it.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, “But who are you? And where am I?”
The woman just smiled and waved me off. “It doesn’t matter where we are dear, only that we are here.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand...”
“No, no, of course not, dear. But you will. Just not today. Now, I have so much to show you, and not a lot of time, are you ready?”
“Ready for what?” I asked.
The woman just smiled, and I was no longer in the dining room table, I was in the corner of the same dining room, but now it was full. Laughter echoed off the walls, people were dressed to the nines and dancing, and a large tree was decorated in the corner. I seemed to be in a party of sorts, but I didn’t understand the sudden change.
“Did you hear?”
I turned toward the voice, but the woman wasn’t talking to me... She was turned toward her friend who was grabbing dessert off the side table on the wall.
“Did I hear what?” The younger woman questioned.
They both looked to be in their early 20s and were by far the youngest at this party.
“About the prophecy,” The girl with dark brown hair cried out in exasperation. “They say it’s been foretold that a girl has been chosen to bear the weight of the sins of all supernatural beings, and she will bring them all to peace!”
“They’ve been saying that for years.” The redhead rolled her eyes. “There is nobody coming to save anyone.”
“I know they’ve been saying it for years,” The dark brown hair girl replied. “But they never said one has been chosen before.”
Her friend thought about it for a moment before asking, “But what does that mean? Do you think it will affect us?”
The dark hair girl shrugged. “I have no idea, but I hope not. To bring peace like that means to live through utter chaos, and I don’t want to do that.”
The redhead laughed. “Agreed.”
Suddenly, I was back at the table in the black and white hall with the only color being the woman across the table’s dress.
“Do you understand now, child?” She asked. I couldn’t see her eyes, but I knew she was looking at me with an intensity that I didn’t understand.
I shook my head.
“No.” I told her honestly. “I don’t understand any of this, at all.”
“You are the chosen one, my dear,” The woman said sharply. “Start acting like it!”
The room started spinning, and I grabbed for the arms of my chair to hold onto, but there was nothing to hold on to as it all disapparated into nothingness, and I was next.