Elara should have known something was wrong when she woke up from an intense feeling into her side, near her ribs.
The pain didn't feel sharp, rather it was hot. Like something was burning into her skin. This wasn't the first time she felt this sensation, and any time it happened, there was always some sort of misfortune.
She remembered the first time clearly. She was just drawing at home with her crayons as her mom was preparing their supper, when a call came in, letting them know that her dad has gotten into an accident.
The weird part about that wasn't even the accident; it was how quick her dad healed and as soon as he was okay, they packed up and moved away. She wasn't even able to say goodbye to her friends.
From then on, whenever her side felt hot, she was ready to be met with bad news.
But right now, it didn't just burn like it did before. It felt like her body was on fire. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she sat up clutching the area.
She needed to find her parents.
When this happened before, she told her parents about it. While they brushed it off as "intuition", they also shared a passing look, and she knew something was being kept from her. However, she had a feeling that she shouldn't bring it up again, so she chose to keep quiet.
But now, it was eerily silent and a bad premonition took over, so she knew she had to force herself to get up and find her parents.
As she rolled out her bed, she fell to the floor with a thud. The pain grew and for a moment, she just lay there wondering if she was actually about to pass out.
But her pulse was getting stronger and the adrenaline was filling up her veins so she pushed herself off the carpet and rushed out to the hallway.
She should have screamed then but she stood frozen.
A dream. No, a nightmare. This must be a fucking nightmare.
The living room floor pooled with scarlet and the bodies of her parents right in the middle, unmoving and pale. How long had they been there?
Mom. Dad.
She wanted to call out for them, but the lump in her throat stopped her. Instead, she did the only thing she could do at that moment: she puked.
Her dinner was now just straight out onto the floor and she kept going until there was nothing left for her to vomit out. A writhing pain ripped through her stomach and the burning feeling intensified. She still hasn't looked up because she knew she couldn't bear to see it.
"Ah, and here she is," a deep voice echoes, breaking through her thoughts.
Elara's head immediately snapped up only to be met by dark, hypnotizing eyes. The man's face was beautiful, almost unhuman.
Then her side burned her again. And it was then that she finally realized the magnitude of the situation she was in. Finally, Elara gathered enough strength and started screaming at the top of her lungs. She was hoping her parents would wake up. Instead, a bellowing laughter comes from the strange man who was staring at her.
"Keep screaming for all I care. No one will hear you."
He moved towards her and Elara did everything she could to back away. But she felt weak not only from the puking but also the pain near her ribs was now worse.
"Ah, this is your true power. I feel it, pulsing through me. You have no idea what abilities you possess, do you?"
Another laughter erupts from the man. "Your power is doing wonders for me. I can't wait until you are fully awakened. The throne will be ready for you and the world of humanity will no longer exist."
She didn't understand what he was saying, but she didn't give a fuck at all. She was just yelling for help and desperately pleading for someone to save her.
In one swift movement, he was in front of her. "Now, be a good girl," he said as he forced a strange liquid from a vial down her throat.
It tasted metallic and she wanted to spit it out but he was too strong for her to resist. "See? Easy, right?"
The pain in her side and stomach almost immediately disappeared. But another sensation replaced them and soon, she was screaming again in agony. She pushes the man away and to her surprise, he actually falls back.
How did I do that?
"Oh sweet dearest Elara, soon the pain will end. You need to stop resisting and accept this as your destiny. You are fated to be a ruler and the sooner you take your seat, the sooner everything will fall into place."
He knew her name. She understood each word he said, yet somehow none of it fit together, as if he were speaking in a language she should know but didn't.
At this point, Elara no longer knew what she had to do but all she wanted was to live. So she begged for his mercy, mumbling over and over again that she wanted to live and she wouldn't report him. He just needed to let her live and he'd forget everything that happened, even how he killed her parents.
"Your new life will begin and we will see you soon where you belong." he said it so sweetly this time, almost as if he wasn't just hurting her moments ago.
The pain started to subside and a renewed sense of hope filled her. But the man was reaching his arms out towards her and before she knew it, there was a loud cracking sound and a sharp pain shot right up her neck, along her ear.
His grin was the last thing she saw before blacking out.
//
Elara's eyes fluttered open from what she was hoping was a nightmare. She was back in her bed and her forehead was damp with sweat.
As she sat up and her body felt normal. Whatever pain she felt from earlier didn't seem real. She heaved a sigh of relief, forcing herself out of bed. But the moment she exited her bedroom, a burning pain on her side flared again.
The living room was clean.
Too clean.
The couch was upright. No overturned furniture. No dark stain soaking into the fibers.
But something was missing.
Something vital.
Elara rushed to her parents room to find them missing. She took a look around but the room was clean, as if they just went to the grocery store and nothing was wrong.
But as random flashes of memory played, she knew something was wrong. Her dream from earlier… It wasn't a dream.
The realization finally sank in and Elara did the most logical thing she could think of to do in this situation. She puked.