THE GIRL IN THE DARKNESS
1005 Words
The little girl looked up at her.
Tears shimmered in her eyes.
Her clothes were worn.
Her shoes were torn.
Her small hands trembled.
And she asked the question again.
“Why did nobody choose me?”
Elaria couldn’t breathe.
Because she remembered.
She remembered being that girl.
The lonely child standing outside celebrations.
The child never invited.
Never wanted.
Never enough.
The child who spent years wondering what was wrong with her.
The memory hurt.
Far more than she expected.
The darkness around them shifted.
The Trial was watching.
Waiting.
Judging.
Elaria slowly knelt before the child.
Before herself.
For several moments, neither spoke.
Then the little girl whispered:
“Was it because I wasn’t pretty enough?”
The question shattered something inside Elaria.
Because she remembered asking it.
Not aloud.
Never aloud.
But alone.
At night.
When nobody could hear.
When the loneliness became too heavy.
She remembered wondering why everyone admired girls like Seraphina.
Why nobody ever looked at her that way.
The child lowered her eyes.
“Was it because I wasn’t noble?”
Another wound.
Another memory.
The darkness stirred again.
Hungry.
Waiting for an answer.
Elaria finally spoke.
“No.”
The little girl looked up.
Confused.
“No?”
Elaria shook her head.
Slowly.
Firmly.
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
Not from weakness.
From emotion.
“Nobody chose you because they didn’t know your worth.”
Silence.
The child stared.
The darkness became still.
Listening.
Elaria swallowed.
Pain tightened her throat.
“They looked at where you lived.”
The child listened.
“They looked at your clothes.”
The child listened.
“They looked at your name.”
Tears filled Elaria’s eyes.
“But they never looked at you.”
The little girl froze.
The darkness trembled.
For the first time—
The shadows retreated.
Only slightly.
But enough.
The Trial had heard her answer.
And accepted it.
Partially.
⸻
The child smiled.
A small smile.
A sad smile.
Then she asked another question.
The one Elaria feared most.
“Then why didn’t Mother choose me?”
Everything stopped.
The darkness froze.
Elaria froze.
The question struck harder than every other wound combined.
Because unlike the others—
She didn’t have an answer.
Not really.
For nineteen years she had been alone.
Nineteen years without Selene.
Nineteen years without a mother.
The hurt remained.
No matter what explanations existed.
No matter what dangers Selene faced.
The pain remained.
The child looked at her hopefully.
Waiting.
Wanting an answer.
Elaria’s chest tightened.
Because she honestly didn’t know.
⸻
Far above…
Inside the Hall of Judgment…
The silver pillar of light remained active.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The entire kingdom seemed to be holding its breath.
Selene stood closest to the Ancient Path.
Her hands clenched at her sides.
Fear filled her eyes.
Varis noticed.
“Your Majesty.”
The Queen didn’t look away from the light.
“The Trial is forcing her to face emotional truths.”
Varis nodded.
“That is its purpose.”
Selene’s expression darkened.
“She has suffered enough.”
The old councilor remained silent.
Because everyone in the room knew something.
The Trial of Blood was merciless.
It attacked wounds.
Regrets.
Fears.
Nothing remained hidden.
Not even from oneself.
⸻
Back within the Trial…
The child waited.
Still expecting an answer.
Elaria looked away.
“I don’t know.”
The words felt weak.
Pathetic.
But they were honest.
The little girl looked hurt.
And somehow that hurt more.
“I wanted her.”
The child whispered.
“I used to imagine her.”
Elaria closed her eyes.
Because she remembered that too.
The fantasies.
The dreams.
The hope.
A beautiful mother.
A loving mother.
A mother who would come back.
One day.
Eventually.
Surely.
But she never came.
The little girl wiped away tears.
“I waited.”
The words echoed through the darkness.
“I waited every year.”
Another tear.
“Every birthday.”
Another.
“Every festival.”
The darkness responded.
Pain rolled through the Trial.
The wound was real.
Deep.
Ancient.
And still bleeding.
Elaria felt tears running down her own face.
Because she had no defense against those memories.
No shield.
No excuse.
Only truth.
The truth that part of her still felt abandoned.
⸻
Then something unexpected happened.
A new voice echoed through the darkness.
A woman’s voice.
Soft.
Broken.
Familiar.
“Elaria.”
The child froze.
Elaria froze.
The darkness rippled.
Silver light appeared.
And Selene stepped forward.
Not the real Selene.
A memory.
A projection.
A reflection created by the Trial.
Yet the emotion felt real.
Painfully real.
The Queen’s eyes were filled with tears.
“I searched for you.”
The child stared.
Confused.
Hurt.
Angry.
“Then why didn’t you find me?”
The question hit like a blade.
Selene visibly flinched.
The Trial wasn’t sparing anyone.
Not even a queen.
The woman’s voice trembled.
“Because they lied.”
The darkness reacted.
Violently.
Shadows surged.
The Trial recognized truth.
A significant truth.
Elaria noticed immediately.
So did the child.
“Who lied?”
Selene looked away.
Pain crossed her face.
Fear followed.
Then guilt.
A terrible amount of guilt.
Before she could answer—
The darkness exploded.
A scream echoed through the void.
Not Selene’s.
Not Elaria’s.
Someone else’s.
Male.
Ancient.
Furious.
The shadows recoiled.
The Trial trembled.
Something had awakened.
Something deeper.
Something hidden.
A pair of silver eyes opened within the darkness.
Huge.
Ancient.
Watching.
The sight sent terror through Elaria.
The child disappeared instantly.
The projection of Selene vanished.
Everything vanished.
Leaving only darkness.
And those eyes.
The Ancient Path shook.
A voice echoed through the void.
Older than kingdoms.
Older than dynasties.
Older than memory.
“THE HEIR RETURNS.”
Elaria’s heart stopped.
The eyes narrowed.
Studying her.
Measuring her.
Then the ancient voice spoke again.
And this time—
It used her name.
“ELARIA OF THE FIRST BLOODLINE.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then came the words that changed everything.
“YOU HAVE BEEN BETRAYED.”
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