"Where is my grandma!" Alaric said as he fought to catch his breath.
He ran right into the kitchen, hoping it was full. Someone had to know where his grandmother and his father were.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Is everything ok?" Mabel asked him as she tried to hand him a cup of water."
Moments later, the guard entered with Vianna in his arms.
"Quickly, find the doctor and Sargon!" He instructed as he hurried to the closest location he could find, which was a meeting room on the first floor of the castle.
He kicked the door open and carefully placed her on the couch, then covered her with a blanket and checked her pulse.
She appeared to be in a deep sleep. Her breathing seemed ok, but she wouldn't open her eyes.
"What is going on? Where is my Vianna? Aurian asked, rushing into the room.
"Oh, my goodness." She gasped, running over to Vianna and taking her small hand in hers as she knelt beside her.
"What happened to her?" Sargon questioned the guard.
"I am not sure. Alaric called for me and told me to get lady Aurian. He doesn't know what happened."
"Dad!" Alaric shouted as he ran into the room, over to his father.
Sargon stopped him from running, catching him in an embrace. He could feel the child's heart racing as he panted.
"Calm down Alaric. What happened to Vianna?" He asked as Alaric looked at him in fear, then walked over to a smaller chair in the room to catch his breath.
"Well, we were drawing up plans to build a tree house and then we were laying on the ground looking at the clouds. Ana was asking me what I saw. Then all of a sudden she had this weird look on her face and she wouldn't move." Alaric explained as calmly as he could.
Sargon walked over to him, placing his hand on his shoulder.
"It will be ok son. You did exactly what I would have done in your situation." He said as Alaric's eyes filled with tears.
"Is she going to be ok?" He asked.
"Sargon. Come here a moment." Aurian called Sargon before he could answer Alaric.
"What is it mother?"
"I believe she is between two different worlds right now. She is physically here but her mind and spirit are in another place. It is very strange. She seems to be fine physically, but I am not sure what is happening in her thoughts."
"What would cause this? How did it happen?"
"I am guessing she has a connection with someone who can manipulate the spiritual realm. We won't know until she wakes up."
"Ok, how do we wake her up?"
"Well, we shouldn't try to wake her up unless we absolutely have no other choice. If we do anything, she may end up trapped between both worlds. It would be like limbo."
Suddenly, a mark appeared on Vianna's forehead. It looked like a bruise.
"What is that?" Sargon asked.
"Oh no, something or someone is hurting her. If you are hurt in the spirit realm, it can manifest itself in our world.
"Mother, we cannot let this happen. Something like this happened to Marie once before. Sybil almost killed her. She ended up with a scar on her face that somehow disappeared later on. There must be a way to stop it!" He said as his eyes began to glow.
Sargon was usually very good at controlling his wolf and his temper, but after all that was happening, he was tired and his patience was running thin.
"Sargon, you must remain calm. I need you to stay focused."
"You don't understand. Catelyn cannot hear of this. She is already stressed. I am not sure how much more she can take."
"It would be impossible to keep something like this a secret, Sargon."
"What is happening? Everyone is talking about Vianna. Where is she?" Catelyn spoke softly as she walked into the room.
As soon as she set eyes on Vianna, her knees buckled. If not for the guard catching her, she would have fallen to the floor.
"It is alright Catelyn. She is fine. She is simply in a deep sleep." Aurian attempted to reassure her.
Sargon took Catelyn from the guard and walked her over to the couch near Vianna's head. He immediately realized he needed to stay calm for her.
"Here, see for yourself. She is breathing and her heart rate is fine. She fell asleep outside, and Alaric became afraid.
Catelyn looked over at Alaric who had red eyes. She knew he was holding back his tears.
"Sargon, don't patronize me. What child falls asleep in the middle of the day while playing." She said, gazing at him suspiciously as he remained silent.
"Vianna, its mommy. Can you hear me, honey?" Catelyn said, trying to hold back her tears. Vianna did not respond.
"Aurian. Please, tell me the truth. Do not hide what is happening to my daughter. I understand that everyone is concerned about me, but she is my child!" She said strongly.
Aurian walked over to Catelyn and reached for her hand, holding it firmly, sitting next to her.
"You are absolutely right, Catelyn. I am so sorry you have to go through all of this. As a mother I should understand exactly where you are coming from." She said as Catelyn inhaled and exhaled deeply, letting the tears escape her eyes.
"What is happening?" She asked as her voice cracked.
"Vianna is in fact in a deep sleep. However, she may be in multiple worlds right now. We have to wait until she wakes up in order to know for sure." Catelyn remained silent and glanced from Aurian to Vianna then back to Aurian.
"What if she doesn't wake up, Aurian?"
"She will, but she has to do it on her own."
"How can you be for sure?"
"If someone is using her to get to Sargon, she will need to wake up to tell the tale.
Something like this does not happen in the spiritual world for no reason. We must be patient." She explained as Catelyn remained quiet.
Suddenly, Vianna inhaled deeply as her eyes shot open. She sat up, looking around the room.
Recognizing the faces in the room, her rapid heartbeat began to decline.
Catelyn reached for her to hold her, but Aurian signaled her not to.
"She is a monster." Vianna whispered, shifting her body so her legs swung down towards the floor.
"Vianna dear, who is a monster?"
"The wicked woman with sharp nails. She was chasing me. It was such a strange place." She said as her chest heaved and a tear fell from her eyes.
Sargon and Aurian looked at each other while Catelyn reached for her daughter slowly. Vianna threw her arms around her mother, sinking her face into her shoulder.
Aurian signaled Sargon to follow her outside and leave Catelyn and Vianna alone.
"I believe it is Sybil. What I don't understand is even after the bond is broken and she has Marie in her possession, why would she need to use Vianna."
Sargon leaned on the wall just outside the meeting room. He crossed his arms in front of him, trying to make sense of Aurian's words.
"Mother, what if its not Sybil. What if someone was trying to reach out to Vianna for help? Why would Sybil take her to her world and then chase her out of it?"
Aurian looked at Sargon realizing what may have just happened. They returned to the room to find Vianna and her mother sitting quietly.
Alaric sat on the other side of Vianna. Aurian looked at Catelyn who gave her a nod to approach Vianna.
"Vianna, are you feeling alright?"
"My head hurts but I feel ok."
"Sargon, have the guards retrieve Mabel. Let her know I need my herbs for pain. Vianna, your pain will be gone in a moment. Do you think you are ready to talk about what happened?" She asked as Sargon took the guard outside.
"Yes. I can talk."
"Ok dear, if it becomes too much for you, I need you to let me know."
"Ok."
"Now, give me your hands and close your eyes." Vianna did as she was told.
"Go back to when you first went to the strange place. Tell me what you saw every step of the way that you remember." She instructed as Vianna took her time to speak.
"Well, it was hard to see at first. Then, I saw a path and rose bushes, then a fountain. There was a large house with a tiny window."
"Did you see what was in the window?"
"It was difficult, but it looked like a kids room. There was a smell in the air too…a familiar smell. I can't remember where it is from though."
"That is alright dear. What else do you see? When did you see the monster?"
Vianna's hands shook after hearing the question.
"Are you alright?" Aurian asked.
"Yes. She is very scary."
"She cannot harm you here." Aurian said as Vianna nodded and continued.
"I saw her when I turned around by the tiny window. She yelled at me. She wanted to know how I got there. Then… a voice whispered for me to run! I know that voice!"
"Whose voice was it, Vianna?"
" I remember now! It was Marie! Mare is there! She is in the strange place with the scary lady!"