Free Me. Fear Me. Hear Me.

A candle sits in the window, softly flickering as shadows pass by on the outside. She stares out curiously. She is unsure of what to do in the moment. She looks around the dimly lit room to find a door on the opposite wall of the candle. She cautiously moves towards the door. Before she can open the door, she finds herself in an empty space.

"Adrielle."

A voice calls softly.

"Adrielle."

The Elven woman, Adrielle swivels her head, looking for the owner of the voice calling her. No one is around. She feels a pulling sensation, dragging her away from the space. Adrielle finds herself in a field. Men and women surround her. Each one dressed in armor, prepped for battle. Yet, no one was fighting. They slowly passed each other by, giving no mind to their neighbor or to her.

"Where-where am I?" Adrielle asked aloud.

"Nowhere and everywhere," the same voice that called her whispered.

Adrielle looked around once more. Her eyes fell upon a familiar face. At a distance, it was plain and nondescript, but upon a closer look, it brought her joy.

"Riley," she sighed softly, relief washing over her. Adrielle walked towards him, reaching out. When she got to him, her hand passed straight through his body. She looked at her hand and then back at him. He was not looking at her. Instead, his gaze was just beyond her, towards the sky.

She followed his gaze.

In the spot where the sun should be was a symbol. She recognized it as the human symbol for their Sun God. Light poured down onto the two of them standing in the middle of the wandering warriors.

Adrielle looked back at Riley. His face was no longer plain and recognizable. It now held a more crazed look. His mouth was widened into a smile that was sewn shut. Dark circles were under his eyes. His eyes? Adrielle focused her attention on them. They were glowing red, a bright red that reminded her of a flare in a fireball.

This new version of Riley reached out to grab her. She tried to pull away to no avail. His hands tightened around her shoulders. His manic smile seemed to grow, breaking the stitch work around his mouth.

"Free me."

The voice was raspy, almost windlike.

"Fear me."

A menacing voice pierced through, overlapping the raspiness of the first one.

"Hear me."

The soft voice from before could barely be heard under the other two voices.

Adrielle held her breath, realizing that all three voices were coming from this one figure. Her vision started to go black. She felt like she was falling. She reached out to grab ahold of something to catch herself, but there was nothing that she could feel.

...

Adrielle awoke with a start. She scanned her surroundings to find that she was in her room. She could feel the sheets in her hands. She let go of them to push herself up. She pulled the pillow to her chest to comfort herself. Adrielle was alone.

She loosened her grip on the pillow. She crossed her legs and placed the pillow in her lap. She exhaled, relaxed her shoulders. She felt the anxiety and fear leave her to her thoughts.

Free me. Fear me. Hear me.