Stars Over Dalaran

[Caira Ayryn]

They entered through the door, after Moony had whispered a password into the brick wall. The large wooden door next to it, creaked open, revealing a small room shrouded in shadow at the base of a long set of curving stone stairs. There wasn’t much to look at, save one soot covered window that peered blankly to the outside alleyway.  

The witch warned, “Caira dear, take off your shoes, my friend doesn’t like it when people track in,”

“Yes ma’am,” the prime complied and as she did, a mountain of sand poured out from inside her black sock.

“And that’s precisely why,” the seer spoke again, in that knowing voice before muttering to herself, “Adventurers, all you primes, so filthy...”

Suddenly it occurred to her, “But wait! Karn took a bath, he’s going to come down the stairs and wonder where we are, shouldn’t we have stayed?”

“Alas there is not enough time, I left him a note, however you two will not be seeing one another for a very long time,” Moony looked into Caira’s eyes to see her reaction, which appeared to be one of a soft shock.

“Destiny and fate are two very different things. If yours leads you back to meeting your friend again, he will surely show you the services required that will pay for the debt he owes you- that is, the one worth his life,” Moony looked at her with startling sense of graveness in her eyes, “You have done a good thing, to save an innocent man’s life, however, saving a single life is not going to save you. I think deep down, you know that.”

Caira’s eyes widened.

“Oh and before we go any closer, I think it would be helpful to tell you that I did expect to find you in the street this morning, I cannot help what I foresee, dear. But it was not out of selfishness that I came to steal your lizard, even if I do have a desire for this very special stone.” Moony gestured to her pocket, “In my crystal ball, I also saw that you would meet your mother here -not here, not in Camelot- but here, in the Omniverse, you are going to meet your mother.”

“What? Where, when will I-” Caira’s thoughts suddenly grew jumbled, but her voice crumbled at the interruption of the witch who warned her.

“I can not tell you anymore, young girl, you must beware though, for it will not be a happy meeting.” Moony’s tone was stern, and the witch gave Caira a brief moment to collect her thoughts before climbing the blocky, stone stairs.

Caira’s mind clouded with skepticism and she couldn’t help but to think of what Omni had said about her parents. He had implied that they were far from human, and in their actions to destroy humanity, they had become monsters -or slaves, in fact- to their own greed and desire for power. Caira’s eyes fell low to the ground, and she felt her shoulders hang heavier than she had felt in a long while. Her hope had vanished, because the thought -no, the fear- that Caira was anything like her mother, was enough to take the light from her eyes, and enough to spread darkness over her soul.

I won’t be like them, Caira told herself, promising everyone she had encountered on her adventures so far, everyone who had made a difference to her, that she would not throw all she held dear away, and fall into fate’s evil clutches.

...

“That cat on your shoulder really is quite cute,” was the first comment the man had made. This was startling to Caira, who was certain only she (and perhaps omni) were the only two who were able to see Kenzu.

“You can see him?!” Caira nearly shouted as her exasperated voice cleaned the stagnant silence away from the air.

The astronomer’s shriveled eyes looked keenly at the girl and he leaned in, as though inspecting her like she was some kind of elaborate gemstone. “Aye, I see much more than I let on.”

“Well that’s no surprise, Marty,” Moony said as she began to introduce them to each other, her hands gestured, “This is C- Ayryn, and this, Ayryn, is Marty. I’ve known him for many years. He has been an astronomer since before I can remember, and was transported to the Omniverse at what seemed the very beginning. From there, I’ll let you tell the story, Mart.”

It was a good start, ample enough for the man who resembled a wizard, to jump right in, “Sure, sure, so I grew up stargazing, and I studied it in college. I lived a very normal life, got married and had the kiddos. Had a very nice family. Then uh.. Some events happened, and I was left to age alone. Yes,” he said, as though reading the assuming expression on her face, “They died.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Caira started to speak.

“I know you are lass, you too, have never known your own family. How very unfortunate. That cat on your shoulder is all you ‘ave for the time being, now isn’t it?” the man fixed his eyes on the cat once more, “They say, the spirits of our loved ones never leave us. Maybe yours lives on through that cat.”

“Then Kenzu... May be turned into a cat? Should I- Erm, turn him back?” Caira seemed startled and looked to Moony, who had an amused shimmer in her eyes once more.

“No, no dear, it’s um, its kind of a saying -a myth- if you will,” he clarified to the naive girl, “As I was saying, I finally got to the age of retirement, but I never stopped looking at the stars, you see, they carried me through my trials, time after time. I never got tired of looking up, I guess...”

The old man’s eyes wistfully filled with starry nostalgia. It was as though he had been cast away, by the fondness of his memories and thoughts that had been kind to him.

The old witch called the old man back to the present, “Marty.”

It was as though he had been snatched from his fantasy, and as he blinked out of it, he realized he was in his observatory, which, like so many of the other buildings and towers had been expanded on the inside to make the space more accommodating. This however, was no surprise to Caira at this point, for there were many wizards like Moony in Dalaran that were willing to help a friend, or cast a spell for a price.

“Now, where was I?” he asked, his eyes as round and curious as moons. His wrinkly brow was curious, and the befuddled expression was written all across his face.

“You were finally getting to the good part, Marty.” Moony reminded him.

“Ah yes, so when I was about... Hm... Eighty Five, I was summoned to the Omnverse. As you can imagine, I was hardly the kind of astounding secondary that would be useful to a prime like you, miss Ayryn, so my use was limited, see, I was retired at that time, and was unable to walk.” Marty rolled around, finally revealing that he had not been sitting in a chair with legs, but one with wheels.

She seemed a bit surprised, but the wheels seemed to give the elder some mobility, and now it made sense to Caira, why the floors were so flat and less bumpy and stoney than the rest of the cobblestone streets and buildings. The prime nodded, and prompted him to go on.

“Every once and a while, I’ll have Moony share with me a concoction that allows me to stand for a day or so, however the results are the same, and after no longer than seventy two hours, I’m back in this ruddy chair. But now at my age, I find myself not worrying, because I do not need legs to simply look up.” he smiled, triumphantly, “Anyway, I took on a small research job here, in Dalaran, because you’re higher off the ground and in Camelot, you can see the stars very well. My favorite,” he added, “And though I was retired, sometimes I’ll teach seminars and lectures down at the ol’ university. It’s quite nice, and I have enjoyed my stay here.”

“You better, I gave m’ arm and a leg just to help you when you were summoned!” Moony exclaimed, it was the mundane complaint of an old woman, who nagged her husband to mow the lawn.

He continued, but now had been reminded to smile to Moony, “However, it was at the very beginning, I happened to be in Camelot, and there was a curious thing that occurred. You see, my colleagues, they had seen it too. We were in the observatory, when we saw the light as bright as day streak across the sky. You see, the stars were falling. Now, we were able to tell the trajectory of these fallen stars, and it took much time, but we were at last, able to find it.”

Silence hung in the air, suspenseful and tangy. Caira felt her ears incline as a hushed whisper escaped her lips, “What happened next?”

Marty was once again, pulled from his memory, but this time, he did not welcome the disruption with a smile, “Well what do ya think happened girly? We captured the miraculous stone and it is currently being held in a confidential place where no greedy Primes are going to get there hands on it!!!!!”

What once seemed like a well-tempered old man, with ginger movements, was suddenly thrashing his arms in the air, ignited by fury, “Ruddy well too! You know what you’d do with such a priceless artifact? It belongs in a museum! We’ve studied it all we could, but you know, we can’t put it in a museum, because you bloody primes would go an’ have at it!”

“Now Marty,” Moony began, “I was the one to tell Ayryn about this, in fact, I brought her hear, so she could help you find the others.”

“What kind of name is Ayryn anyway? Sounds made-up to me,” the old man grumbled and folded his arms while Moony placed a hand on his back and stroked his cheek so he’d smile once more.

“I did make it up. My parents were bad people and practically disowned me, so I thought that I’d create a new identity, one that let me escape the past and create my own future.” Caira’s expression had withered at his lashing words, but she stood firm in her explanation.

“You see Marty? She only wants to help..” Moony coaxed.

“HELP? Well, that’s sure what the last guy said who tried to nab it from m’ very desk! I tell you these primes can’t be trusted, all they want is power, they don’t care...”

“Actually Marty, while I’m not going to try to persuade you to trust someone you just met, I would like to help make your dream come true. You found the first one, right? Now you want to find the rest, and test them, see if they have the same qualities, don’t you?” Caira smarted up and hoped that she could bait him in, “I’m a knight of Camelot, I’ve captured a Prime who was harassing Dalaran and sent him away to prison-” Caira, of course, omitted the part about she being the one to break him out after that, “So you see, Marty, I have my own moral standing, and while your story intrigues me, I don’t think a Prime would offer his or her services if there was not something more than Omnillium in it for them. So tell me, what kind properties did this meteor have that makes you so protective of it.”

The old man gasped at her wit, because she had seemed, just a moment before, to portray the opposite. A woman of intelligence, he wondered if she could be trusted, or if she would ever choose to abuse this power. Moony herself seemed stunned, even for a fortune teller.

It was her turn to speak though, and she began, “Now, while they were in their telescopes, calculating where they thought it would land, I, was trying to find Primes worthy enough to find the pieces. There are many, and they have landed throughout the entire Omniverse. You see, Ayryn, if these fall into the wrong hands, things could get out of control very quickly.”

“I understand,” the prime nodded.

“When I met Marty, we teamed up and exchanged results,” Moony continued and tapped the stubborn old man’s shoulder, “That’s when they started to call me ‘Moony’ see, because I could see the future, and my crystal ball when it glows white, resembles a full moon. Anyway, I told him if I found anyone the least bit worthy, I’d take them here. And here you are. See Marty? Oh and I forgot to mention, she’s even met Omni.”

He gaped, “What?! How!? What was he-”

Caira looked up suddenly, “Th-that’s right! And I won’t tell you a single thing about him until you tell me what you found out about the star!”

They had found it. Each of them now wanted something from the other. It was mutual that there would be an exchange, however there was now a greater amount of suspicion in the man’s eyes, which were now narrowed slits. The sun spots on his face crinkled with the lines of his age, and he whispered something in Moony’s ear, which had apparently been about getting closer to her, for he was wheeled right up to the prime’s booted toes.

“You... Are the first that has come this far to meet me, and while I can’t speak for my colleagues, I find you to be quite interesting... for a Prime that is. However I don’t just go handing out information to the first person who asks. But you see, it would be cruel to tell you this much of the star piece and then forbid you from seeing it. Without me, however, you will never even find one of the many set astray. See, I’m a reasonable man so I will request that you prove yourself to me.”

“But how?” she asked, flummoxed and the tone of her voice was high and tasted of curiosity on her tongue.

“You will preform a task for me. And if you come back alive, I’ll tell you what I know.”

“Alive?” Caira’s voice sounded a bit frightened, and the fear touched the edges of her face.

“Now, you’re a prime, you’ll be fine, dear.” Moony assured, and prompted the man to agree with a kick.

“Oh uh, sure,” he said in a not-so-assuring voice, and rubbed his stinging shin with a wince.

“So...” Caira found her eyes looking toward the fortune teller, and then back to the astronomer, “What kind of challenge will I be facing?”

“Not a task my dear...” Marty spoke, “No, you will be given a test.”

...

“You must retrieve an object of particular importance for me. It will not be easy, mind you, I’d have done it myself, or requested Moony to do it for me, but I deemed it too difficult for even her and did not wish to send my dearest friend to her death.” Marty explained.

“You know I would have seen if I died, right?” Moony interjected.

“Yes, but the object I’m having this here Prime get, is bewitched with charms, some spells that were cast without names. This is dangerous, because a fortune teller like yourself may be particularly vulnerable, an unnamed charm may not be predicted, and other spells cast on it, will prevent you from seeing how your fate will intercept with the object’s. You could very well have died, Moony. That’s why I leave it up to this girl to retrieve it. It won’t bother you to die if it’s a worthy cause, right Ayryn?”

Caira felt her eyes narrow with determination, perhaps it was this question that was a test. “If I die, I will die by my choice, it was my choice to come here, and stay and listen. And it is mine to choose whether or not to take this task in order to gain your trust. I choose death, and in that, I choose to accept your challenge. It is not that I think death is meaningless to any prime, because to die is a fate to be weary of, a fate that is immortalized by all living creatures, however,” her violet eyes flashed to him, with light of determination resembling that of a bright star, “I will take this challenge because I am certain to live.”

Marty seemed to like her pizzaz, because a smile grew on his thin, aged lips the second he saw the flash of fury in her eyes. “You got spunk, kid. Here it is.”

A dusty scroll fell into Caira’s hands, it was written on very dry paper, for the crispness of the paper threatened to crack in her hands if she was not careful. The scroll was, however, delivered with a warning, “Open this, only at night, and you will be able to find your way to what I seek.”

Caira looked at the scroll in her hand, and Marty requested Moony to roll him away from the girl, from across the room, the murmurs from their conversation could be heard reverberating throughout the room.

“Just what proof will doing this daring task even make her ‘worthy’ as you say, to be trusted?” Moony remarked to the astronomer, who looked up intently at the aged woman.

“You see, Moony, it already tells me that she has chosen to trust me with her life. That she believes this information is worth just that. And... Some secrets, as you know, are worth more than even that.”

“So by her trusting you with her life, that makes her more trustworthy... to you?” Moony was practically giggling at his logic, not because it was flawed, but simply because it was so easy of a test. “In that case, hasn’t she already passed?”

“Hush Moony, the book she is to retrieve is both rare and valuable, I must have it in my possession, not even the great library of Dalaran has such knowledge within it’s walls.” the old man protested, and again, they began bickering like a married couple.

“Can’t she just summon it, since she’s a prime?” Moony reasoned both playfully and wittily.

“Not if she doesn’t know the extent of the information! She’ll probably just muddle it up!” Marty scowled, “Now then, be on your way, I don’t need you getting in the way of my business.”

“You mean your very busy night here in this old observatory?” Moony sniggered.

“Precisely!” the stubborn astronomer said, as she wound him around to his perch, just under the nose of the giant telescope that lead out to the ceiling.

Moony made her way back to Caira, and a giant smile was on her face, “Now dear, do you want to see some real magic?” This was of course, a play on words and the magic that true beauty brought, as when Marty pressed a button, the ceiling was bathed in darkness, and beautiful pigments of color littered the sky, so bright, that Caira knew they had to be stars.

“Is this... Real?” Caira could not pull her eyes from the star map that was charted in their imitation sky.

“No, but it’s pretty darn close. It’s nearly nightfall but he’s got his own studying to do. What you’re looking at isn’t even the stars of our own sky here in Camelot, but those are the same patterns of his home world, Earth.”

“SHUSH! And get out! I’m trying to think here, woman!” the man gestured as though the two ladies were invading his private space.

After that, the fortune teller departed from her old friend, and Caira followed her, in search of the age-old wisdom of the future that the prime hoped the witch would bestow upon her. Dusk’s pale light filled the sky, and Caira knew it would be time to start her mission. Before she left the fortune teller’s side, mutual smiles were exchanged.

“Thanks for giving me a chance,” Caira’s joy was spread in the space between them.

The old woman responded with a pleasant nod, “The pleasure was all mine, dear, it isn’t every day me or Marty meets a lovely Prime such as yourself. You’re truly remarkable, and if you end up passing his little test, I think that he’ll be intrigued to learn more about you and your encounter with Omni himself.” her eyes cast upward, “Hmm, judging by the sky’s pale hue, I’d say it’s almost time.”

...

A cold wind brushed against Caira’s skin, sending a shiver through her bones and down her spine. The girl’s teeth chattered as she walked to a far off edge of the city of Dalaran, and neared too close to the island’s edge. With a lot of precision and careful focus, Caira steadied her hands enough to unravel the scroll without it disintegrating into dust. And dust there was, as she revealed the singular page of knowledge, the ink was covered in the filth. It stung her eyes and caused her to recoil with an itchy sneeze off to the side.

On the scroll was a list of instructions, written in cursive ink. The lines had a distinct swirly curve to them, and leading halfway down the page, was an illustration of the object she would be searching for. It was a book. It didn’t appear to be very thick, and the title was even written in a different language than the Prime could recognize, however, even in the picture, Caira could tell that the book carried a sort of dark magic around with it, that it was cursed.

The girl sighed and looked up at the stars, she hoped her curiosity wouldn’t get her into another blunder. Her arms had wrapped around her knees as she leaned against a cold wall. She was alone with her thoughts for a moment, but was she ever truly alone? On her right shoulder she looked at Kenzu’s form, which sometimes didn’t appear at all. He never said anything, however sometimes he reassuringly purred or meowed to warn her of some hidden danger. Still, Caira, had this moment of quiet and interpreted it as a moment of peace.

When she was ready, she rose to her feet and began her trek. She retrieved her pegasus from the stalls made for them, lifted her leg over its flank, and mounted the great creature with ease. She commanded the flying horse down, and down to the mainland they went. As they grew closer, Caira steadied the creature with her hand, and though the vehement winds nearly tore her off of her perch, she remained oddly serene, and kept her eyes closed only until it was required of her to open them to navigate. She had a good idea of where she was going, since the directions on the map had been helpful, however, she would have preferred, she thought, a map to the meteors she suspected had been scattered across the realms.

Instead she was chasing a long, lost, and forgotten book, however if it had been important to Marty, then it was, in turn, important to her. They landed when they got near the outline of the forest, and Caira pondered as she dismounted, what she should do with her pegasus, after all, if she tied it up, some predator of the night could come out and try to eat it. Not because it couldn’t defend itself, but because it would be immobilized and bound to the tree. If she let it go, it would never return to her, and it could get lost in the forest, or in the skies. Caira finally decided it would be fine to lead the creature by its reins and they could travel through the forest together, on foot. At least until they found what they were looking for.

Caira’s only concern now, was what the book contained, and well, what curse it held between its two closed covers. It didn’t occur to her that she should be worried about how to get it. About how hard it would be for her to try.

Together the pair, or perhaps trio, counting the invisible Kenzu, weaved in and out of the trees of the forest. Caira followed the instructions, it said after a while, she would near a small stream, and she should follow it upstream until she reached a waterfall and a small cave. After what seemed like forever, Caira found the stream, which glittered brightly in the full moon’s light. She and the pegasus continued upstream and hoped to near the cave soon...

So far, so good. she thought to herself, Now I just have to get there...

At once, a luminous pool of water filled her view. It seemed nearly larger than the rest of her tree-filled horizon, and it was as large as a lake or ocean. Ripples of waves were tossed off of the immense waterfall that seemed to flow with many gallons per second. The rush of water filled her ears, only to be described by the same loudness as a cymbal, consistently roaring in its highest flux. The waterfall was at least thirty feet above the ground, and it stood there in a single pillar, had it not been for the magic in this realm, Caira would have wondered what had pushed the water up and over the narrow mountain, for it seemed this waterfall was its only purpose. It was so tall that on it’s crest, it blocked a large chunk of the moon rising in the sky.

Sheets of water bore down, tumbling with their own weight and creating white froth all around its base. The mist filled her eyes now, since it had drifted with a light gust of wind, and it had now moved off to where the moon’s light could hit it as the suns, and refracted a dazzling rainbow of need and orderly colors. Of all the beautiful things Caira had seen in her life, she was sure, this was her favorite. Something nudged her to take a picture of it, and she was somewhat sure this could be done on her phone, worst came to worst, maybe the old man would want evidence, or perhaps he too would like to have seen this piece of magic beauty.

A pale hand snagged on the phone in her bag and she quickly aligned the shot, snapped it with a methodic and computer-esque ‘click-click’ as though her phone was shuttering, then she tossed the device back in her bag and wondered how long she’d have till sunrise. Sure, she could attempt to find the book while the sun was out, and maybe that would’ve been better, too, since while the moon was full, it was still night, and the female could feel the eyes of predators on the back of her neck.

Once again she referenced her map, though kept it away from the main amounts of thick moisture in the air, and read in its oh-so-exquisite font that she would have to delve deep within the waterfall to find what she was seeking. “Tch, typical,” Caira muttered to herself, but she would not be swayed by the impossibleness of the task. A soft baying, that of a horse, reminded the girl that she still had her pegasus. Hm, this could be easier than I thought. Maybe I can ride it through the waterfall...

As Caira attempted to mount the magical creature, she soon found that she was now on her own. As she tried to will the beast along, even just the edges of the pool, the winged horse would not budge. The reins tugged even harder now, out of desperation. “Come on, will you at least fly over it?”

The horse-like creature tossed his head, and as he did, his shaggy mane was tousled about. Caira leaned in a little desperately, “Okay, I know where I’m going is a bit dangerous, but I can’t just leave you out here. You could get eaten!”

With a snobby ‘neigh’ the winged-horse scoffed, and then took a haughty moment to gesture to its rippling muscles, accentuated by the moonlight on its white fur, and the power of the pegasus’s neck, all leading up to its spear of destiny, its singular horn. Caira blinked, finally understanding, though her head was thick and she was stubborn, “Well alright but you musn’t get mad at me when a stray vampire comes after you,” the girl made a shivering impression of fear, “Those things are creepy. One almost ate me in the Pale Moors! Anyway though, you take care.”

Caira took the time to stroke the beast’s soft fur and offered the winged creature one last, earnest look before setting out. Her feet took her along the edge of the pool of water, which now seemed to be even more radiant, as the moon rose higher still. She neared the large, cool shadow, cast down from the pale light above. Her eyes set, determined, on her next challenge, but as she grew just a bit closer, she saw how slippery the rocks really would be. A worried breath escaped her lips, How ever am I going to climb this? Yet Caira, ever the adventurer, knew that the best way to face the impossible, was to try.

...

Thin, slippery fingers could only clutch rock for so long, before becoming loose again so that she would have to regrasp the same less-than-prominent edge that she had climbed on. Her boots of black shined in the misty moonlight as they dug into the footholds that might grant her ascension to victory.

At the bottom, the mist was the worst. A cloud of dense fog stuck close to her, and would not let her see a thing. What was worse, still, was that the moonlight beamed down on this, and made it impossible for her to see what her feeble fingers were grasping. Luckily, she had a very distinct skill, and did not need to see, to feel the edges of rock vibrating and pounding with a flood of water over it. The lines and edges of rock -though small- could not be more distinct. At least I had this advantage, she thought to herself, the rest, was execution.

About ten measly feet of the ground, the girl began to struggle. She found it harder to lift her fatigued muscles from her latest step, harder to pull her body against the dense gravity now pounding in her ears to the same beat as her throttling heart, and harder still, to keep hold of the very rock that was allowing her to climb, as even when the girl escaped the heavy mist at the base of the waterfall, the rocks shone with sleek dew all the way up the side of the waterfall, “At this point, it might’ve just been easier to climb up the side with the water.”

Her plan, since it was a little late to modify it, had been to make it to the top, and hang off the edge before summoning the gear to belay down, this would be the easiest, and questionably the safest way to find the entrance to the cave, since she didn’t know at what time it would be right to attempt to crawl over to the hidden chamber’s opening.

Another grasp at the cold rock, and Caira dug her fingernails in, scratching lightly away at the sedentary peel of the shimmering stone. Rubble and sand found its way uncomfortably in the grooves of her knuckles, and the girl’s jet-black hair now stuck to the back of her neck, the sides of her face, and her prickling bangs nearly covered her eyes. Everything was sleek with dew, water dribbled into her eyes so that it appeared she was crying, and the condensation of her effort grew on her lip until it was washed away by the thickness of the air.

Denser still, was the climb to come. Each hold her fingers grabbed seemed looser than the last, rocks began to wobble and tumble down past her if she dared tried to heave her body up on a less-than-firm ledge. Her breathes became quickened pants, and her lungs could not siphon and sort all the water she had breathed in from the air. Some of this moisture caught on the back of her throat, and suspended in the air, about twenty feet above the ground, Caira found herself in a harsh bout of coughing, and had her eyes not been already full of water, one would have been able to see freshly made tears rolling down her cheeks.

It was a dizzying cough, and Caira was already woozy from all the water she had inhaled, so much so, that one of her hands lost their grip, she was flung astray as the other fist clung to the wall of rock for dear life, and her knees buckled weakly in an attempt to set and keep her position on the wall.

The girl’s eyes however, had not been so lucky, as as she was trying to re-grasp a better crevice, her eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of the spiraling world around her, and how small it looked to Caira, who was up this high from the ground. A gulp throbbed in her fear-stricken throat, her eyes widened, suddenly in fear. A waterfall it occurred to her, water falls from this high up, it doesn’t trickle, it gushes and when someone who is afraid of heights finds that they are high above the ground and in a position of danger, of course they will seize and contemplate what it was that brought them up this high in the first place.

Suddenly all Caira could hear in her mind was the thrashing of the pegasus’s wings, rivaling if not drowning out the roar of the falls just feet away from her. Buzzing in her mind was the horror of something the girl thought worse than even death, and that, was falling. Violent turbulence of fear quaked at her very mind’s edge, and shook the girl’s will to the very core, she was dazed, confused and uncertain of how high up she actually was, as she irrationally attempted to calculate how fast it would take her to get to the ground. Thrilling in her mind once more were the infinite pangs of regret, and the stabbing feeling of immobility that began in her stomach and spread to the tips of her toes, which, where holding onto the cliff’s face by a single, unworthy inch. That inch, felt like nothing more than chicken wire, and now it had been strummed by the ground-shaking idea that she and she alone, could fall, and no one would know.

No one, would hear her scream. The roar of the water falling was just too loud.