Awakening (Born From Shadows #1)

Tatianna felt an incredibly hot light press against her shut eyelids making her body lift out of its slumber. The air she breathed had begun to thicken and she started to cough out the fumes from her lungs. Her eyes squinted open at the orange light before her. The smoke was gracefully peeling off the flames that had inhabited her room.

Frantically, Tatianna leaped from her bed and pushed her back into the wall furthest from the fire that had now interrupted her sleeping space. Her eyes swept the room for any exit, any hope.

Her sight caught upon the silhouette of a man in the doorway. His bulky build and confident posture gave away his identity to the girl. Freya’s father, she realised in astonishment. Standing there in the shadows of the night, grinning like a maniac. A psychopath in its truest form, yet Freya had called him harmless.

Tatianna shook her head, she would worry about that later, right now her main objective was to escape the heat of the flame and the room that was transforming into a pile of ash. The only window was on the opposite side of the room, across the heart of the fire. Definitely not an option that she could undertake.

Tatianna glanced back towards the doorway and tried to plea to the man for help, hoping he would have a change of heart.

Help, she mouthed to him in desperation. If possible, his smile grew, and he walked away with a skip in his step.

A trap. This whole thing must have been a trap to lure her here then kill her. How could she fall for such a thing so easily? Her mind went back to the door that was now on fire along with the rest of the room.

There was no escaping the flame that crept towards her in a taunting manner. She would die here. Only seventeen and could still feel the irony of having to spend her whole life surviving the torture of the cold streets only to die to a flame in a house. She would not allow this to be her end. It can’t be, not after all that she had been through. All she had suffered.

“No,” she mumbled to herself, shaking her head.

But there was no escaping it.

Tatianna collapsed to the floor against the wall, her life was reaching towards an end, and she could do nothing except cry and wonder if anyone would save her. She was utterly helpless.

No one came.

No one cared.

She was all alone as the fire was mere inches from her bare toes and the heat was searing against her skin. Tears escaped her eyes as if being let free from their cage. She would not cry; she would not die.

“No!” she screamed at herself, denying the scene in front of her.

“No, no, no!” she yelled over and over, she would survive this. She had to.

Collecting her strength, she screamed out her lunges in defiance to the flame, “NO!”

An invisible force seemed to come alive within her and she stood back up to face her fear, she would cower no more. She seemed to release herself to the world as if being born once more. Closing her eyes, a scream tore through her throat and light seemed to glow off her body, pushing the flame back into its place. Away from her soul that it had threatened to destroy.

A feeling of power chorused through her veins, and she lifted her eyelids to see no more flame taunting her. Just the leftover scorch marks covering up what once was of the bedroom. They specifically offered her in disguise as a gift to a poor girl weakened by the weight of the world. But she was not weak, frightened at times, maybe, but weakness is never a word that she would associate herself with. Especially now, when she felt stronger than ever before, like the fire rejuvenated a strength within her. Foreign but shining brighter than any flame.

Tatianna stormed out of the burnt-down remains of the room filled with sheer anger and the thirst for revenge. He tried to kill her, they all did...and now...now she would do so much worse.

It seemed as if she could smell him from this distance, tracking his heart that could be heard beating ever so rapidly.

She did not dwell on how she could hear such a thing, on how her sense of smell could track him as if she was a dog. That was not on her mind. Only revenge for what has been done. The hate that fuelled every step she took.

She stalked towards her prey that had his eyes widen at her presence. She saw Freya and her mother standing near him, but she would deal with them later. Tatianna marched over to the man and pushed him against the closest wall, using more force than she thought was possible for a girl her size.

“Thought you could clean up some of the filth in this city, did you?” she snarled. The man was speechless at her remark. Surprised she was still alive.

“Well, as you can see, I am not leaving anytime soon,” she continued.

“Y-your face,” he stuttered as if it was the most important thing in the world. Not the fact that he attempted to burn her alive. Him and his family. They were all just murderers hiding behind a shield of money

“You know what? I’m not going to kill you,” she paused her words in thought, “I am just going to make you suffer till you beg for death.”

“Please, I-I didn’t mean it. It was an accident,” he blurted, trying to lie his way out of it.

“Was it an accident went you placed the flame down? Was it an accident when you walked away after I pleaded for you to help?” She questioned furiously.

The man shook his head hesitantly.

“What is she talking about?” Freya questioned as if she didn’t hear her constant screaming and wasn’t with him in the plan.

Neither Tatianna nor Freya’s father replied. She stared into the man’s brown eyes with hatred beaming through her eyes.

“You deserve this,” she said calmly, keeping her voice monotone. She grabbed his arm and twisted as hard as she could. A crack echoed through the quiet room. She then did the same to the other arm and the man yelled out in pain, just like how she screamed her throat dry in fear moments before. She then pulled her knife out and completed the manoeuvre that she had done multiple times before to mean who wished to harm her. She brought the tip of the blade down straight between his legs, causing him to howl out in pain.

“Don’t try burning people in their sleep next time,” she warned in a whisper. The man nodded his head and Tatianna let go of him, causing his body to tumble to the floor. She then raised her blade once more and lowered it down on his back, the blood came pouring out once she pulled the knife back out.

Tatianna turned around to view Freya and her mother in complete shock.

“Why?” Freya managed to ask, her mouth gaping at Tatianna. She knew exactly why Tatianna thought.

“He tried to burn me in my sleep,” she replied angrily.

“What?” Freya said in a daze.

“How could you!” his wife screamed at him, outraged at his act of violence. Strange, Tatianna thought, considering she was involved as well.

Not wanting to waste one more second of her time, she turned and walked away leaving the married couple alone. “Tatianna wait!” a voice called out for her, she felt a wave of Deja Vue wash over her. Yet still, she stopped her desperate walk to leave this place. She looked at Freya’s pleading eyes, the innocent act they were playing.

“Why would you help him? Why would you do such a thing?” Tatianna yelled at her. Freya’s eyes fluttered with confusion, her eyebrows shifting inwards.

“I don’t understand...” Freya’s voice drifted off a bit.

“You lead me here. You told me how nice your family was and that they would welcome me with open arms. Yet here we are, my life was almost taken away from me moments ago. It was all an act, wasn’t it? A trap laid out like concrete?” She accused the girl.

“No! I swear I had no idea. I would have helped you if I knew what was happening,” Freya defended herself. But Tatianna knew not to trust her words.

“How did you not hear me yelling?” Tatianna asked to see what lies she would come up with. The two were standing in a room that had a large open area.

A couch was positioned on the left side directed towards a fireplace filled with charcoal. Three windows kept the room lit up, the sunlight reflecting off the white marble floor surrounding the soft rug in the centre of the room. Freya strolled over to the grey cushioned seat and laid down in a comfortable position before speaking.

“I was out to buy food from the local markets with my mother, we only just arrived back home when you barged into the room,” she explained. Tatianna sighed and sat down next to Freya’s legs on the other end of the couch. She was exhausted. Tired of people lying to her. Tired of the betrayals and the empty promises.

“Why were you shopping so early in the morning? The sun only just rose.”

“Mother hates the crowds so it’s the best time to shop,” Freya explained. Tatianna pondered for a moment. Freya was most likely lying, and she was interested in how deep and planned out this lie was.

“What of the men in the uniformed clothes?” Tatianna asked, trying to work out why no one was there to help her if they were truly innocent or had a really well thought out lie.

“They are at their own homes and have not yet arrived for the day’s work,” replied Freya, looking at Tatianna with intense curiosity as if she were from outer space.

“Do you feel...different?” Freya wondered; her eyebrows scrunched together trying to find the right words to say.

“A bit traumatised, I must admit. Though besides that I feel fine,” Tatianna replied, grateful that someone cared about how she was feeling even if it may be fake. She didn’t know why she answered that question. Probably because she gets asked it so few times in her life.

“Nothing else?” Freya inquired.

“No, I’m fine,” she assured Freya.

“It’s just...are you absolutely sure you don’t feel anything different?” Freya pressed on, trying to figure out something.

“No, why?” Tatianna asked, slightly confused. Maybe she felt a little bit more alert and hypervigilant, but who wouldn’t in this situation.

“It’s just...I’ll show you,” Freya decided, and stood up. Tatianna felt unsure if this was another plan to kill her but stood up anyway and followed the girl out of the room and through some more hallways. She clasped her dagger firmly in her hand, keeping a steady gaze at where she would target the blade if anything were to happen.

Freya pushed open a door and the two entered the new room, one of the many in this house.

A white sink and counter were against a wall that had a crystal blue trim running through the middle of it. A large shower was present at the edge of the room, towards the back.

Freya gestured towards the mirror, and she hesitantly walked over to it not understanding what was going on. Confusion and curiosity were slightly taking over her need for vengeance.

She stared at her reflection and expected a short skinny girl who had caramel long hair that was ripped and tattered, and peculiar eyes. She did not expect the pointed ears and a narrower, more defined jawline than she could have ever imagined. Her face was flawless in every way. Her body seemed more muscular and toned compared to a few nights ago when she saw her reflection in a puddle of water. Her hair was shinier and clean, all the split ends had vanished.

She could not describe how much she changed, only that she was grateful her eyes were still the same. They were the key feature that made her...her.

Like a wall had been broken inside her, she realised the feeling of power. Hearing and seeing impossible things that no human should be able to do. Then there was the new look.

Tatianna Fiducia was an Elf, and for once in her life, she felt complete.