Death’s Embrace

Lost

{Amara’s POV}

A crash of thunder in the distance had my heart pounding heavily in my chest, as I opened my eyes and found myself in a strange place that I didn’t recognize. I looked around, noticing that I was in a massive living room, decorated with orange lights, and orange furniture. A large floor to ceiling window caught my attention and as I made my way to it, I could see a massive cityscape outside, one that I didn’t know. This wasn’t my home.. this wasn’t my city. A flash of lightning brought something to mind, the glint of a knife, fear, panic rising in my throat. I looked down at myself, and didn’t recognize the clothes I was in. I was barefoot, in a long sleeve white dress, it wasn’t even something I owned. I heard a door open and close in the distance and did the only thing I could think of. I hid away, ducking under a table with an orange tablecloth covering me, hiding me from view. Footsteps grew closer and closer, my heart began to leap in my chest.

“Lucien.. I’m telling you, something feels off, there’s a strange scent in the castle, and I can’t quite place it.” A high pitched voice said, from somewhere close by.

A deep sigh settled into the room, before a gravely voice spoke. “You’re just paranoid Lute, any little thing bugs you, there’s nothing out of the ordinary going on, so just drop it for once!” The voice replied, sounding tired.

I saw his feet walk past me from under the table and sucked in a breath, holding it. “Did you hear that?” The high pitched voice asked.

I covered my mouth, holding as still as possible, my eyes staring at the man’s feet that had now stopped beside the table.

I watched in horror as the feet turned towards me, and a hand gripped the bottom of the table, lifting it up, and turning it over onto its side. I sat in the floor, my legs to my sides, my hand still covering my mouth as I looked up to the man in front of me. He was massive, dark orange hair that flowed partially down his back, a thin well trimmed beard that matched the color of his hair. His eyes were bright orange, and his skin a pale orange color. He was massive, at least 7ft tall, probably closer to 7’4. He was bulky, wide, and muscular, wearing a dark orange button up shirt, and dark orange slacks. To his side a small person, maybe 6 inches tall, he had long pale orange hair, light orange skin, and bright orange eyes, he wore similar clothing to the large man beside him.

“Is that.. a human?” The small one asked, flying toward me with bat like wings. He fluttered right in front of my face, scanning over my features.

I reached my hands out, my palms reaching his feet. “J-Just what are you?” I asked curiously, as he landed in one of my hands, and I used the other to reach up and gently pet his long hair. A sound that was similar to a purr erupted from him, as the massive man in front of me let out a deep guttural growl. I winced, backing up, and closing my eyes. The small man flew back away from me, and I gulped pushing myself to my feet. “P-Please.. don’t hurt me.. I don’t know where I am.. just point me to the way out and I’ll..” I began, but as I stood to my feet, the world began sway. I gripped my head, falling to my side, and catching myself on the table that was turned onto its side. “W-What’s happening to me?” I looked down at my hands, seeing them begin to fade in and out, pain tore through me like fire, melting my flesh from my bones. I screamed, gripping the table until my knuckled turned white.

“Sh**” The massive man sighed as he rushed to my side and lifted me up bridal style in his arms. Everywhere our skin met had small jolts of electricity flowing through them. I gasped at the feeling of it, looking over to the man that was now cradling me in his arms. “You, have a lot of explaining to do little one.” He said, his voice reverberating in his chest.

The pain began to fade, as I leaned against the massive man holding me. “I.. I don’t know.. how did I get here? Who are you? Where am I?” I asked, looking around.

“I said you have explaining to do, not me.” He sighed, looking over me. “You’re weak.. weaker than you should be.. how did you even get here, the castle isn’t supposed to just be open for visitors, especially not small human ones.”

“She’s the strange smell! I knew something was going on!” The small orange man said, flying in front of me again.

“I smell strange?” I asked, looking down over myself. I reached out, holding out my palm for the small man. He sat down in my hand, his legs dangling off of it.

“Well, you don’t smell like us.. nothing here smells sweet like this.. it’s unusual.” He said, his little eyes watching me.

“So I smell sweet?” I asked, a soft giggle escaping my lips. The large man that was still holding me in his arms stiffened as I laughed. “Sorry.. I didn’t mean to upset you..” I said, looking over to him.

His eyes watched me, in an almost cold detached way, but I could see curiosity flashing in them. “You think a weak human soul like you can upset me?” He asked, a dark chuckle rising from his throat.

He let me go, and as I fell to the floor, I felt something akin to shocking pain jolt through my spine. My back arched off the ground, a shriek leaving my lips that didn’t sound quite human. I felt something swirling just beneath my skin, and my body began to feel light, weightless. I floated above the ground, hearing sounds of wind whipping around me as I closed my eyes. Soon, but not quite soon enough the pain stopped, my body still hovering over the ground. I looked around me, seeing the large orange man and the smaller one unconscious on the ground beside me. As I turned I could see blood on the ground where I had landed. “D-Did I do this?” I whimpered.

I rushed to the little orange man and lifted him in my hands. “Hey, please, wake up!” I whimpered, rubbing his chest softly trying to stimulate his breathing. I looked over to the massive orange man beside me on the ground, and groaned. I hovered over him, and listened for his breathing, but didn’t hear anything. Panic seized me, as I pressed heavily on his chest following a steady beat, before leaning down and pressing my lips against his, I breathed into him, and tried to bring him back. “Please.. I’m sorry.. I didn’t mean to..” I whimpered, tears beginning to slide down my cheeks as I pressed hard against his chest. “Please..” I leaned down, breathing into his mouth again.

When I pulled back I could see the corners of his mouth twitched up into a smile, his hand gripped my wrist, and his eyes opened looking up at me. “You’re stronger than you look little one!” He smirked, the smile not quite reaching his eyes.