Fiona wasn't entirely sure how to react to that situation.
One moment, she was lying in the infirmary bed, comforted by Nero's presence. However, all it took was closing her eyelids for a few minutes to find herself awake in a completely different environment.
"Hello?" She called out for the tenth time, her voice echoing and fading into the void. "Is anyone here?"
Yet, no matter how much she persisted, silence was her only answer.
The setting resembled a monumental library at night, but it broke the logic of any architecture she had ever seen. It was simply colossal. Not a conventional grandiosity like that of Katolis's royal library, but something absurdly infinite.
The dark wooden shelves towered to heights so dizzying that their tops were lost from sight. Whenever Fiona turned a corner, she faced endless corridors. No matter how much she walked, she never found a door, a window, or any exit, only more rows of shelves and thousands of ancient volumes.
That, however, wasn't the most bizarre part. The ceiling, if it could even be called that, displayed a seamless starry sky, a celestial vault of mesmerizing beauty that contrasted with the floor covered in soft grass and colorful flowers that exhaled a sweet scent.
As beautiful as the labyrinth was, Fiona would have appreciated it much more if she weren't completely lost inside it. To make matters worse, a subtle, irritating noise rumbled in the background. By now, she didn't even know if the sound came from the environment itself or if it was just a buzzing in her head.
"Ugh! Enough, I'm done!" Fiona collapsed onto the grass, exhausted after wandering aimlessly for who knows how long. "This has to be another one of those bizarre dreams induced by Claudia." She exclaimed to herself, her memory flashing back to an episode from three years ago, when she and Soren served as guinea pigs for one of the mage's potions.
At the time, Claudia was creating the substance with the intention of inducing sleep quickly and flawlessly. The side effect, however, manifested in absurdly bizarre dreams and terrifying episodes of sleep paralysis. Soren had mentioned that the last time he took it, he dreamed he was trapped in a yellow room with infinite corridors… He was scared of sleeping for at least two weeks.
Fiona strongly suspected that those hallucinations were the direct result of dark magic residue used in the tonic's production.
It was for that exact reason she had sworn never to consume that garbage again! ...The problem was that Claudia's determination to perfect the recipe had never ceased.
Fiona narrowed her eyes, suddenly remembering the glass of milk her friend had left on the nightstand before her departure.
"No... she wouldn't do that on purpose..." she reflected aloud, trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. She paused for a second, staring at the labyrinth's starry sky.
"Who am I kidding?! of course she would!" She snorted in pure frustration, knowing Claudia's stubborn pragmatism all too well.
With nothing much left to do, Fiona just remained sitting on the grass. She picked a few flowers, inhaling their sweet scent before looking back up at the vast expanse of the ceiling.
Indeed, it was a breathtaking sight. How long had it been since the last time she paused her suffocating routine just to look at the stars? Eight years? Ten? She couldn't even remember anymore. And this lack of memory could only mean one thing. She hadn't done something like this since childhood…
Her childhood... such a simple time. Now, it was nothing more than a sweet, melancholy, and distant memory.
Fiona knew it was useless to cry over the past, but it was impossible to deny the ache in her chest. She felt a homesick longing. An overwhelming yearning for how things used to be before... literally everything fell apart because of the cursed war.
She still kept vivid in her mind the memory of the nights her grandmother would take her to the rooftop so they could both gaze at the cosmos. She remembered perfectly the old woman's warm laughter when she, a child of only six, would try to trace invisible lines between the bright dots to create drawings in the sky. The two of them would spend hours like that. But then, from one day to the next, her grandmother simply decided she didn't want to do it anymore. Fiona never understood the reason behind that sudden change, but respecting her silence, she never pressed for answers.
She let out a soft sigh, allowing herself to close her eyes to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. At least, she comforted herself, she wouldn't see any bizarreness in this dream.
Fiona opened her eyes with a start. What was that?
Fiona looked around frantically, but found nothing.
"What is this?" A low, deeply gravelly voice suddenly murmured. The sound seemed to emanate from the very walls, coming from everywhere at the same time.
Fiona sprang to her feet, her heart racing. Just when she thought she was safe!
"For a moment, I felt as if an insect were crawling right beneath me..."
"Who's there?" Fiona demanded, searching the dim light of the endless corridors. "I don't want any trouble. I'm warning you!"
The ground and practically the entire structure of the colossal library began to shake abruptly. The tremor was so violent that Fiona had to spread her arms, struggling not to lose her balance and give an opening to whoever was lurking in the darkness.
For some strange reason, the voice boomed loudly, even though the speaker's tone remained calm and measured, as if he were whispering millimeters away from her ear. Yet, the immense library remained deserted.
Suddenly, a focused beam of light exploded right above her. Exposed to this light, the flowers beneath her withered to the point where their petals took on a shape resembling skulls.
Confused, Fiona shielded her eyes with the palm of her hand and forced her gaze upward.
What she found froze the blood in her veins.
There, embedded in the starry sky, were three stars perfectly arranged in a horizontal line, shining much closer to her than the rest of the cosmos. And just above them stretched a long, dark, sinuous line.
Fiona frowned, her mind paralyzed trying to process that impossible event.
It was then that the line split. The rift opened in a slow movement, revealing a dark abyss that, at first, resembled a black hole. The young woman's body began to tremble, cold sweat dripping down her neck before that cosmic anomaly. But the horror reached its peak right after.
That was no space phenomenon. Fiona understood the terrifying reality when a huge, clear, and glowing circle emerged from the rift in a slow, heavy movement until it rested in the center, locking onto her.
She was staring at an immense eyeball! The eye of some giant creature!
"Where did you come from?" The voice echoed once more, reverberating inside her own mind.
Fiona didn't even dare to breathe loudly, let alone answer! Terror paralyzed her completely, fearing that any sound might give away her exact position to that... that... that thing!
However, remaining static and silent did no good. The entity had already detected her and merely let out a low chuckle at her reaction.
"Don’t be afraid, child. I will not harm you."
Fiona didn't buy that promise. Refusing to utter a single word, she took a step back. That tone of voice might feign benevolence, but it was far from welcoming. It sounded much more as if the being were mocking her vulnerability, amusing itself with the weight of its oppressive presence.
It was then, clinging to rationality by remembering that all of this was the fruit of sleep induced by the tonic, that Fiona closed her eyes tightly and pressed her hands against her ears. She tried to disconnect from the hallucination with all her might, but the tactic proved useless. The creature's mocking laughter continued to reverberate directly inside her mind.
"That will not work on me, little girl. I am no mere figment of your imagination that can be simply ignored."
Abruptly, the monumental bookshelves of the library began to collapse like a house of cards. The flowery floor split in two right beneath Fiona's bare feet, and before she could react or scream, she plummeted into an abyss of absolute darkness.
Fiona’s eyes snapped open with a start, her chest heaving as the sensation of free fall vanished from her body. The initial panic, however, gave way to a different shock when she realized she was staring at her own reflection in a full-length mirror.
She looked around urgently. She was disoriented. The mystical library setting had disappeared, replaced by the dark stone walls and heavy atmosphere of a tower. But it wasn't just any tower. She recognized the alchemical vials, the ancient parchment books, and the uncomfortable static that hung in the air. This place was the High Mage Viren's private study.
"Alright. Enough of this!" She exclaimed before pinching her arm. However, as she winced at the slight pain, she quickly realized she was no longer dreaming.
She really was in Viren's tower. A private chamber. She was there, vulnerable, barefoot, and wearing only that light infirmary nightgown...
Fiona smacked her own forehead. "I swear I'm going to smack Claudia as soon as I get my hands on her!" She cursed. She knew very well that if the guards or Viren himself caught her trespassing in those private quarters in the middle of the night, and especially in those clothes, the consequences would be severe, no matter her track record or her friendship with the mage's children.
Fiona turned around, about to cross the wooden doors she had entered through. However, she froze halfway. Her bare feet took a few steps back when a discordant detail in the dim light of the laboratory caught her attention.
Upon a table rested a dark, sturdy wooden box. Even though it was locked, a pulse of vivid sky-blue light escaped through the gaps of the casing.
It looked like something that had been packed in a hurry...
Fiona swallowed hard. She knew very well the severe consequences of snooping through the belongings of a dangerous man like Viren. Yet, as she stared at that glow, a magnetic and almost suffocating sensation took hold of her chest. It was as if something inside were desperately begging for her help.
Defeated by her instinct, Fiona ignored prudence and approached. She fumbled with the lock and lifted the lid of the box, having to raise her forearm to shield her eyes as an intense beam of bluish light escaped all at once, cutting through the darkness of the room.
As soon as her vision adjusted, the shock stole her breath away.
Nestled in the dark padding was the egg. The very same egg she had been protecting so zealously.
"But how?!" Fiona whispered, astonished.
In that second, the gears in her mind turned with painful precision, and everything began to make sense. Claudia was the one responsible for taking care of her in the infirmary. Claudia had left that cursed glass of milk on the nightstand...
They had searched her backpack while she was asleep!
A wave of pure hatred made Fiona’s blood boil. Her fists clenched so hard that her knuckles turned white and her nails dug into her skin.
"I'm going to kick that girl!" She growled between her teeth, the feeling of vulnerability being completely crushed by anger. "So many ingredients for dark magic and she goes ahead and drugs me just to take this too?! What are you, you little rascal?" Fiona asked in a whisper, as she cradled the egg in her arms with extreme care, not really expecting an answer.
"Something that definitely shouldn't be in the hands of a human." A gélid, cutting voice suddenly echoed.
Before Fiona could think, the metallic hiss of a blade sliced through the air. A knife flew past, missing her face by millimeters. She let out a startled cry, dodging by pure reflex, but the abrupt jolt caused the egg to slip from her hands.
Her heart stopped for a second. However, before the egg could hit the stone floor and shatter, an agile silhouette emerged from the shadows and caught it in midair with surgical precision.
Fiona quickly recognized the same Moonshadow elf, tall and imposing, standing right before her. He didn't break eye contact for a single second as he simply walked to the study doors and closed them, blocking any escape route. Panic threatened to return with full force after she remembered the events of the storm.
But seeing the egg in his possession, her protective instinct spoke louder than the trauma.
"Give that back! That egg isn't yours!" She demanded without thinking.
"I don't think you're in any position to give me orders." He threatened in a gélid voice as he drew his glaive.
Seeing the reflection of the metal, Fiona quieted down, swallowing hard and taking a step back.
"Alright. I'm sorry." She said, raising her hands in a sign of truce. "Look... is there any way we can talk? I mean... I'm really not in the mood to get stabbed again..."
"Rest assured." The elf sneered, crouching fluidly to carefully place the egg on the ground right behind him. "This time, I'll ensure your death is quick... by cutting your head off!"
Fiona screamed as he lunged forward. She dodged out of pure luck, feeling the rush of air from the glaive. In a desperate move, she ran to Viren's table, grabbed the handle of the throwing knife he had embedded there earlier, and pulled it out. By reflex, Fiona raised the small blade, blocking another attack from the glaive with a violent metallic clang and using the leverage to shove him back with force.
As the elf stumbled backward, regaining his balance, Fiona flipped the knife in her hand, her eyes flashing as she prepared to go on the offensive. However, the metal handle suddenly began to tingle against her fingers. Before her wide eyes, the throwing knife began to evaporate into a dark, intangible mist.
Confused and frightened, Fiona threw the knife to the ground, watching it evaporate completely. On the other side of the laboratory, the Moonshadow elf merely let out a low, mocking laugh at her expression of pure helplessness.
In response, Fiona frowned. "What are you laughing at, poop-face?!"
By instinct, she grabbed a vial off the table and threw it at him. However, he caught it before it hit his face, wearing a bored look. He didn't like that at all...
With an explosive dash, he delivered a horizontal slash, aiming directly at her neck. With no choice, Fiona threw her body backward, her stomach dropping as the glaive's blade passed millimeters from her throat, slicing the air with a deadly hiss and ripping a strip from the collar of her nightgown. She crashed back-first against the table, knocking over everything on top of it.
Even so, Fiona didn't allow herself to freeze. The elf was already recovering the weight of the glaive for a second, descending and crushing blow, ready to drive it into the wood, and her!
So, instead of trying to roll away, Fiona’s military instinct spoke louder.
Against long weapons, the only safe place is too close to the enemy!
The exact second the blade came down, Fiona lunged forward, invading the elf's personal space. The glaive grazed her back and struck Viren's table with a violent thud, splitting the wood in half with terrifying force. Taking advantage of his completely open guard due to the proximity, Fiona twisted her hips and drove the base of her palm with full force against his chin, following it up with a firm elbow right to the center of the assassin's chest.
The elf let out a muffled grunt, staggering two steps back. His eyes flashed with outraged fury. He clearly hadn't expected a cornered human in pajamas to possess such refined hand-to-hand combat skills!
However, regaining his balance with terrifying speed, he gave her no room to breathe. He swung the glaive low in a sweeping motion, using the length of the wooden staff as a trip. The blow struck Fiona's bare ankles squarely, wiping out her balance.
She fell flat on her back onto the cold stone floor, the severe impact knocking all the air out of her lungs. And before she could sketch any reaction or try to crawl away, the elf's heavy boot pressed down hard on her chest, pinning her against the laboratory floor. Fiona looked up, her chest heaving beneath his footwear, coming face-to-face with the ruthless silhouette of the elf raising the glaive with both hands, positioning the main blade right above her throat.
"The game is over, doll-face." Callisto hissed, his teeth clenched.
Fiona began to squirm desperately beneath him, panic gripping her stomach the moment she saw the glaive's blade pulling back. She knew, with terrifying clarity, that he was merely gathering strength to deliver a single blow, strong enough to sever her head against the floor!
However, before the blade could come down, the sound of a gear echoed through the wall, followed by a heroic shout that cut through the laboratory's tension.
"Get away from her, you savage!"
Suddenly, the painting of a little girl holding a sheep moved aside, revealing a secret passage. To Fiona's absolute surprise, two people she definitely didn't expect to meet emerged from there, shouting bravely.
It was Prince Callum, who wielded a fireplace poker with both hands, which he had probably swiped from some corridor, and Prince Ezran, who held Bait right in front of his body. The glow of the glow-toad was in a more vivid, angry shade of red than ever, as if the toad were the most powerful short-range weapon the little boy could offer at that moment.
Yet, the bold bravado of the two princes and the amphibian vanished the exact millisecond their eyes focused on the center of the room. Facing a legitimate Moonshadow elf, much taller, stronger, and armed with a glaive infinitely more lethal than anything they were holding, the shock was immediate.
Bait changed color instantly, flashing from red to a moss-green of pure terror. An awkward silence fell over the group.
"...Was that supposed to intimidate me…?" The elf asked, his voice dripping with icy boredom as he arched an eyebrow at the boys and the toad trembling with fright.
"No!! They just got the wrong room! They're a bit crazy in the head! Don't worry about them!" Fiona's face contorted into a desperate, yellow smile. She was immensely grateful that the interruption had stopped the elf's blade, but at the same time, she wanted to strangle the two princes for barging in there!
"No way!" Callum denied promptly, taking a step forward and brandishing the fireplace poker with even more bravery, to Fiona's absolute despair. "We came to save you, Fiona!"
"No! No, you didn't!" Fiona yelled back, her voice straining from the effort to keep the elf in check. "There's no one here to be saved! This guy is... he's my boyfriend!"
"Huh?!" The assassin froze and looked down, staring at the girl beneath his boot with a shock so genuine and stupefied that for a second he completely forgot his combat stance. He simply couldn't believe what he had just heard!
"What kind of boyfriend puts a blade to his own girl's throat?" Ezran asked, tilting his head to the side, genuinely confused by the dynamics of that relationship.
"It doesn't matter! Listen to what I'm saying and get the heck out of here right now!" Fiona screamed, her eyes wide.
"Come back here, you little rascals! I'm going to wipe the floor with you!" A new voice, young and loaded with fury, suddenly echoed from inside the secret passage.
Callum and Ezran widened their eyes and looked back in a quick reflex. In the blink of an eye, Callum yelled, dropped all his hero-posing with the fireplace poker, and shoved Ezran hard against the floor, throwing himself down alongside his brother. His reflex saved them both by a hair from being struck by the figure that came flying like an arrow right over them.
However, the girl, a visibly younger Moonshadow elf, had already leapt with the momentum of a violent dropkick. Since the princes dodged at the very last millisecond, she had no way to brake her own momentum.
The elf crossed the gap of the secret wall like a blur and struck squarely, with both feet, the chest of the elf who was crouching on top of Fiona!
The impact was brutal. The assassin let out a grunt of pure surprise and pain as the unexpected blow ripped him off Fiona, sending both Moonshadow elves crashing to the floor in a chaotic tangle of legs, arms, and weapons, knocking over a few more stools in the process.
Fiona blinked, sprawled on the stone floor, while the air finally rushed back into her lungs. She looked to the side, seeing the assassin who had attacked her and the new elf trying to disentangle themselves on the floor, and then at the princes fallen in the passage. Her mind simply went blank for three seconds.
However, within a few seconds, she scrambled up, grabbed Callum and Ezran by their clothes, and took off running.
"Shut up and run, you dimwits!!"
