Chapter Text
Smoke was everywhere! It billowed into Alina's room even after she threw her door closed and opened the window in a desperate attempt to escape. Flames flickered in the hall and around her doorframe. Screams seemed to be stuck in her throat as she desperately tried to escape the heat, the smell...everything. Her room was too high up to jump from and the only thing she could do was huddle under the bed in hopes of getting away from the scorching inferno. Just as the flames licked the top of the bed and burned her back Alina woke up with a start sitting straight up in her bed. She frantically looked around her dark room searching for the fire before realizing it was just a nightmare...the same one she had been having for the past three years since that deadly night.
Phantom pain skittered across her middle back and she made her way to the mirror on the other side of the room to inspect her scar closer. On the way there, she took note of how her grey eyes were red from crying and her fair skin was blotchy. Her honey coloured hair was about mid-back in length just long enough to cover most of the scar. She swept it to the side and slowly lifted her shirt to study the injury. Rough, discoloured skin formed a trail across the left side of her back and went up to her neck in a sweeping arc. It was all that was left of that night, a constant reminder that she escaped even when no one else did. Everyone had called it a miracle, a blessing of sorts, that she had survived with only a scar. To Alina, it had felt like anything but.
Her parents had not been as fortunate as she and had died that awful night of smoke inhalation. Since then her world had been a mixture of tears, anger, and just chaos. For the first two years after, she was deeply depressed and blocked everyone and everything out. She was sent off to her rich aunt on the east coast and was sent to a private school from where she had just graduated.
The last year had been better. The burn had slowly healed leaving only scars and aching. It seemed as the burn healed so did her heart. It no longer split in two at the mention of her parents. She was now able to hold in the tears until she was alone. Amazingly, Alina had grown to love her new school with new faces. No one really knew about the fire and for that she was grateful. She had even managed to find a few friends in the last year and was thankful for the lasting memories and smiles they had given her.
Her aunt was never around much as she was a business owner who traveled nonstop and so Alina was home alone a lot. Though she was rather absent, Alina had grown to look on her Aunt Heather as a caring guardian. Whenever she was home, Heather always made time for Alina taking her to places she had never been. They had both bonded over their love of coffee and books and were always finding new coffee shops and sharing book lists with each other. Heather had insisted on Alina attending college and so she was currently enrolled in a small private college in town. The college, though small, had many wealthy benefactors and as a result was one of the top colleges in the nation. Though Heather's money had helped some, Alina had managed to impress the Admission committee with her academic record that had not slipped even through her depression. They had offered her a very generous scholarship and had encouraged her to look at attending their affiliated college in Ireland that was set aside for some of the more gifted students. After much hemming and hawing and encouragement on Heather's part, Alina agreed that the college in Ireland sounded like an amazing opportunity and she had taken up the school's offer.
So now here Alina lay in the grand suite they gave all of the most "gifted" students in a castle that looked straight out of Harry Potter. The room was slightly chilled as she refused to light the fireplace that was the main source of heat. Although the castle did have heating, it was so large that many rooms needed the extra heat the fireplaces would provide. That caused Alina a fair amount of stress as the sight of an open flame sent her into a state of much distress and she often would flee from a room at the mere scent of the smoke.
As Alina stared out the window at the full silvery moon, she realized that there was no getting back to sleep. She had arrived at the castle at the beginning of summer so she could take a few summer credits. To her surprise, the nightmares had lessened substantially. The traveling and school work had brought many distractions and she hadn't time to dwell on the past. However, today had been different. It was the week between summer and fall semester and so she had no class work to distract her which meant a lot of time to think. It was like all the memories she had suppressed had come rushing back to her as she slept and she couldn't stay still. Alina quickly changed into a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a light blue jacket before jogging out of the castle.
The castle was surrounded by a dense forest and had lush gardens all around. Small lights hemmed the edge of the path guiding Alina to the back gardens that slowly merged into forest. Wanting to find a quiet spot to sit, she walked as far as the lights went. When they no longer guided her, she used the light from the moon to walk through the forest. She had always found comfort in the solitude and natural beauty the woods offered. A lone owl hooted in the distance and she realized she had wandered much farther than she had intended. Up ahead of her, she could hear the soft rushing of a creek and slowly wound her way around the massive trees mindful of roots that could trip her. Finally she came upon a large pool of water with a waterfall the cascaded over the smooth rocks creating the peaceful rushing sound she had heard. The moonlight reflecting in the pool making it seem almost glowing. There were what looked like steps made of rock that went to the edge of the water and formed a makeshift bench.
Alina felt compelled to follow the path and gently sat on the bench. She swiftly removed her shoes and dangled her feet in the water. As she stared at the calm pool and listened to the water, she felt a sense of peace come over her, such as she had never known before. Her heart was light and her mind was still. All that mattered at the moment was the stillness, the sense of inner calm. Time seemed to not matter. She could have been there for hours or mere minutes and it would have mattered not. Her reverie was disturbed only when a splash was heard at the far end of the pool by the waterfall. A frog had jumped from a rock that was situated behind the falling water. Curious as to where it had come from, Alina got up from her resting spot and skirted around the pool closer to the waterfall. As she got closer, she realized there was a small cavern on the other side of the water. The rock formed a sort of ledge for her to climb up on and kept the water away from her. She only felt the soft mist on her cheek. It was rather dark behind the curtain of water so she fished her phone out of her jacket pocket and turned on the flashlight. The cave was illuminated and Alina gasped at the sight before her. Blue runes were etched above her on the cave ceiling and on the walls. They led to a tunnel at the back of the cave. Alina couldn't resist. it was like the ancient writing called out to her and beckoned her to follow it. and she silently obeyed. Mindful of the lowereing cieling, Alina ducked her 5' 9" frame and followed the words. The space soon narrowed before opening into another larger cavern. The walls were covered in blue writing that seemed to be glowing. As Alina walked toward the walls for a closer inspection, she saw that they were indeed shining and only growing brighter. Soon Alina was shielding her eyes from the light and backing towards the entrance with quivering steps. However before she made it, there was a tremendous flash and she stumbled backwards hitting her head on an overhanging rock. The world grew dim and then dark as Alina passed out on the damp cave floor.