Ethereal

~Charlotte~

Feelings are funny. They're fleeting and yet so powerful. As humans they rule our lives and dictate our actions. They are uncontrollable and can be so painful, or so wonderful. So being without them, was like not living, but simply existing in the framework at time.

And that was the state I was in now. My hands ran mechanically over Fear as he nudged and bit me gently, returned to his normal size.

"Hey" I looked up to see Tennin standing over me. I turned back to the cat. "How are you feeling?"

I stared vacantly at Fear's black fur, and shrugged. What was I feeling? Tennin sighed and walked away. This wasn't the first time he had tried to talk to me. But I literally had nothing to say. Marcie tried next, bringing me food. I took it without comment.

"How are you?" I made no response, chewing slowly on the roots she had given me.

"Charlotte talk to me." Marcie

"What would you like me to say?" I asked, indifferently noting the pain that came to her eyes. I heard her walk away, injured.


"Grebon knows!" I heard the madman say in a singsong voive

"Know what?" Marcie said. Her voice was shaky.

"Grebon knows why the Koreask sleeps"

"Sleeps?" Ashan said. "Hate to break it to you mate, but she's wide awake."

"Grebon knows why her mind is gone"

"Why?" Tennins voice sounded restrained as though he were speaking though his teeth.

The Madman merely cackled

"Oh for Spirits sakes would you just tell him!" Ashan shouted

"Silly prince. Silly, silly prince. You should no what it takes to control a mind." For several moments I heard nothing.

"Oh no." Ashan whispered.

"What? What is it? What did they do to her?" Marcie hissed

"Princie, Princie shall explain. Princie, Princie knows the pain."

"Great. Now he's speaking in rhymes" Marcie muttered

I pictured them all turning to face Ashan. twirled Fear's tale in my fingers, and searched for the feelings that just weren't there, waiting for Ashan to once again break the silence.

"When you take control of someone's mind, you don't actually take control of their mind. You take control of their motor functions. You have to suppress their subconscious . Lock it away in a prison that weakens it to the point where it can't fight back. A prison of nightmares."

"You mean that all that time they had her under her control, her conscious was living her worst nightmares?" Marcie sounded horrified as the words left her lips.

"Those Bastards" Tennin spit the words from his mouth his voice laced with anger.

Why did they sound so affected by this. Emotions. They're useless. I could see now that I was lucky. Who'd want to have to go through that much pain?

"Unfortunately yes. When their control left her, her body went into survival mode. Because she was so terrified it took away the one thing that can truly damage anyone. Feeling. You know I doubt if she can even feel pain."

Funny. How could that be true? I remembered nothing.

"How do we get her back?"

"Say a word and you will see, the right word will set her free" Grebon said.

"Wait what?"

"The right word will remind her of her nightmares and she'll come back."

"You mean she'll have to experience all her worst fears again?"

"yes."

"But we don't even know what they are! Plus we don't have much time" and I knew Marcie was gesturing to all the unconscious people around her.

"we'll just have to start guessing" Ashan said

They all came over and crowded around me.

"heights."

"falling"

"um, spiders" I squirmed cringing at something tugging at my mind.

"buried alive." there it was again that tug.

"blood" I felt the color drain from my face.

"massacre"

I screamed.