Forbidden To Leave
1276 Words
POV: Evalin
Evalin woke to silence.
Not the soft kind.
Not the peaceful kind.
The kind that made her chest tighten before her eyes were even fully open.
For a moment, she didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
Didn’t even open her eyes all the way.
Because for a split second, she thought—hoped—she was still home.
That she’d wake up and see the cracked ceiling above her bed, hear her mother moving in the other room, smell the faint scent of artificial tea warming over a broken heater.
But when she finally opened her eyes—
Everything was wrong.
The smooth, dark ceiling curved above her.
The air was too clean.
Too still.
Her breath caught.
Right.
I’m here.
Her fingers tightened slightly into the unfamiliar material beneath her.
The council.
The room.
Him.
Her body tensed instantly as her gaze darted across the space.
Empty.
Her stomach dropped.
He’s gone.
Evalin sat up too quickly, her breath coming faster now. Her eyes scanned the room again, more desperately this time.
No movement.
No sound.
Nothing.
The quiet pressed in harder now, wrapping around her like something suffocating.
“He… he didn’t say I could leave,” she whispered to herself, her voice shaky.
But he wasn’t here.
Did that mean she could move?
Could she stand?
Could she walk?
Or was she supposed to stay exactly where she was?
Her chest tightened painfully.
“I don’t know,” she said softly, her hands trembling slightly. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do…”
She swung her legs slowly off the platform, her bare feet touching the smooth floor.
Cold.
Too cold.
She flinched.
Her heart was already racing.
Just standing felt wrong.
Like she was doing something she wasn’t allowed to do.
But staying still felt worse.
Her breathing grew uneven.
“I’ll just… look,” she whispered, like she was asking permission from someone who wasn’t there.
One step.
Then another.
The room felt bigger now that she was moving through it.
More unfamiliar.
More real.
Her fingers brushed lightly against the curved wall as she walked, grounding herself.
It felt strange—warm, almost.
Like it was alive.
She pulled her hand back quickly.
“Nope,” she murmured under her breath.
Her eyes moved toward the far side of the room.
There was an opening there.
She hadn’t noticed it before.
A doorway.
Her stomach twisted.
He didn’t say I could go through that.
She stopped a few feet away from it, her hands clasping together tightly.
“I shouldn’t,” she whispered.
But…
What if she was supposed to?
What if staying here was wrong?
What if leaving was wrong?
Her breathing picked up again.
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice breaking slightly. “I don’t know what to do…”
The silence didn’t answer her.
It just sat there.
Heavy.
Watching.
Evalin swallowed hard.
Then, slowly—
She took a step toward the doorway.
—
The hallway beyond was even quieter than the room.
If that was possible.
The walls stretched endlessly in both directions, the same smooth, dark surface reflecting dim light in unnatural ways.
No doors.
No windows.
No people.
Nothing.
Her chest tightened again.
“I shouldn’t be here,” she whispered.
Her voice sounded too loud.
Like it didn’t belong.
She turned slightly, looking back at the room she came from.
Still there.
Still open.
She could go back.
She should go back.
But her feet didn’t move.
Instead—
She took another step forward.
Then another.
The further she walked, the heavier the silence became.
It wasn’t just quiet.
It felt…
Empty.
Like this place wasn’t meant for someone like her.
Her breathing grew faster.
Too fast.
“I’m going back,” she said quickly. “I’m going back, I’m not supposed to be here—”
She turned sharply—
And froze.
The hallway behind her didn’t look the same.
It stretched longer now.
Further than it should have.
Her chest seized.
“No.”
Her voice came out thin.
“No, no, no—”
Her steps quickened, panic rising rapidly in her chest as she moved faster toward where she thought the room was.
But it didn’t feel right.
Nothing felt right.
Her breathing turned into short, sharp gasps.
“I can’t— I can’t find it—”
Her vision blurred slightly as panic fully set in.
The walls felt like they were closing in.
The silence felt louder.
Too loud.
“I don’t want to be here,” she choked out, tears spilling over now. “I don’t want to be here—”
“Evalin.”
The voice cut through everything.
Sharp.
Clear.
Close.
She stopped instantly.
Her breath caught mid-panic as she turned slowly.
He was there.
Standing at the end of the corridor.
Still.
Watching.
Relief hit her so suddenly it almost hurt.
“I— I couldn’t find the room,” she said quickly, her voice breaking as she stumbled toward him. “I didn’t mean to leave, I just— I didn’t know if I was allowed to stay and then I couldn’t find it and I—”
She stopped abruptly a few steps away from him, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
Silence.
Kurama’s gaze moved over her slowly.
Taking in everything.
Her uneven breathing.
Her tear-streaked face.
Her trembling hands.
“You disobeyed.”
The words were calm.
But firm.
Evalin flinched like she’d been struck.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered immediately. “I didn’t know— I didn’t understand— I won’t do it again, I promise—”
She lowered her head quickly, her hands tightening together.
“I’m sorry.”
Silence stretched between them again.
But it didn’t feel the same as before.
This one felt… heavier.
Then—
“You panicked.”
Her breath hitched.
It wasn’t a question.
Slowly, she nodded.
“Yes.”
A pause.
Then he stepped closer.
Evalin tensed—but didn’t step back this time.
Didn’t run.
“I told you to remain,” he said.
“I know,” she whispered. “I just… I didn’t know if I was allowed to sit or move or—”
Her voice cracked again.
“I didn’t want to do something wrong.”
Something in his expression shifted.
Barely.
Almost unnoticeable.
But it was there.
“You will not leave that room without my permission,” he said.
She nodded quickly. “Okay.”
Another pause.
Then—
“You may move within it.”
Evalin blinked.
Her head lifted slightly, surprise flickering through her expression.
“I… can?”
“Yes.”
The word was simple.
But it settled something inside her almost instantly.
A rule.
Clear.
Understandable.
Her shoulders dropped just slightly, tension easing.
“Okay,” she said again, softer this time.
Kurama watched her for a moment longer.
Then—
He reached out.
Evalin froze.
His hand closed gently—but firmly—around her wrist.
Her breath caught.
Not painful.
Not harsh.
Just… there.
Warm.
Steady.
“Do not wander,” he said.
And for the first time—
It didn’t sound like control.
It sounded like something else.
Something she didn’t have a name for yet.
He turned, still holding her wrist, and began leading her back down the corridor.
Evalin hesitated only for a second before following.
Her steps unsteady at first.
Then more certain.
Her breathing slowly began to calm.
And though her heart still raced—
The panic was gone.
Because she wasn’t alone anymore.
—
Behind them, the hallway seemed to settle.
Still.
Silent.
Watching.
—
- Writer
