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[i][color=a0410d]"Hehehehe...hahahah!"[/color] The woman was laughing as she saw the child run around her. But she was just a child herself. Not more than fourteen years. The kid was making her dizzy. He was running round and round and round as she spun her body to keep her focus on him, pretending to throw her claws out at him, growling and hissing. [color=a0410d]"Aïtana! Aïtana!"[/color], the boy yelled her way as his body jerked away from her dangerous claws. [color=a0410d]"Aïtana!!"[/color] Suddenly his voice changed. She sounded angry now. The meadow was gone, they stood in a small wooden room. A kitchen. The stove was on. The water was boiling over. [color=a0410d]"Aïtana!"[/color], the same scream came at her again. The boy's amber eyes glared at her with malicious intent, with hatred and anger deeper than his 9-year-old soul should have been able to carry. [color=a0410d]"ARGHHH!"[/color], he screamed. A high-pitched ringing hit her ear, at the same time something burning hot sliced over her face. She screamed. She could hear herself scream. [color=a0410d]"Aïtana! Aïtana!"[/color] The boy was crying now. He sat beside her on the floor and shook her arm with his two small hands. Big tears were running down his face. [color=a0410d]"I didn't mean it. Aïtana!"[/color] The boy blurred before her eyes.[/i]


[color=fab900]"Nikolai..."[/color], soft lips whispered from a clouded mind. [color=fab900]"It's okay. I know. Nikolai...."[/color] Aïtana's eyes opened to a blurred intake of colors she couldn't place. Everything seemed gray... Her head felt heavy. She tried to pull her hand to her forehead but it was stuck. Aïtana let her head drop for a moment, her eyes closed. She felt sick to her stomach.

When she reopened her eyes and forced her brain to process her surroundings, the blur slowly lifted. She didn't recognize where she was. It was some kind of dark cold room. The walls were made up of gray stone. She saw bookshelves. A single entrance, the door closed.

She pulled on her arm again and this time it dawned on her that she wasn't simply stuck. She was tied up. Her mind began to understand that something had happened. [color=fab900][i]Asess the situation[/i][/color], her logic commanded. She was tied up on her hands, her ankles and for good measure around her midsection. She could see. Her mouth was free, she could use her verbal magic. The stool she was positioned in seemed to be of simple wood. It stood close enough to the entrance. The door seemed to be made up of normal wood, it looked thick but at least it wasn't metal. She quickly took notice that she had no further belongings but her clothes on her body. Her eyes darted around the room. Books... so many books. A strange big stone circle stood on the opposite side of the room, opposite from the only exit she could make out. A desk. A cabinet. She would need to get out of the chair. The cabinet might hold something sharp enough to cut through the robes that tied her up. The desk might offer a letter opener. Not exactly a weapon but worth a try.

Aïtana took a breath. Her head still felt heavy. She didn't exactly have a headache. It felt more like the aftermath of a painful night. She was exhausted. Her body desperately needed fluid. Her mouth felt dry. [color=fab900][i]How long have I been out for?[/i][/color] It was impossible to say what time of day it was as the room proved to offer no windows. [color=fab900][i]Underground[/i][/color], was her first explanation.

Aïtana almost yelped as the door flung open. Her eyes grew wide for just a second. Then her face was stone. She hoped the woman hadn't noticed. She thought she didn't. Before stood Catarina Loveti de Monte Scifo. The memory of sharp, unbearable pain all over her body resurfaced. The traitor began to talk to her. Aïtana would have loved nothing more than to knock her unconscious and throw her into the darkest cell they could find to leave her there to rot. Her suspicions had been proven right. If not before, then now beyond any doubt. Her captor began to light up the rooms with candles.

A loud [i]crack[/i] almost made Aïtana jump. But she had felt the show of power, the attempt to scare her coming. Her heart might have jumped but her body had not flinched. She wanted her to talk? Aïtana gathered some strength and spit right in front of Catarina. Her eyes darted back into those furious orbs.


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