Kira's pov
I opened my eyes weakly, expecting to see the afterlife. Instead I was met with a white ceiling, and on a queen size bed. Maybe this is the afterlife.
I sat up, only for a sharp pain to shoot through my head. I winced, rubbing my temple. Why the hell would I have a headache in the afterlife?
"Finally awake?" Someone said beside me.
I turned sharply, screeching and falling off the bed when I saw who it was.
"Yeesh, I didn't realize I was that ugly," she joked. She's anything but ugly, and she knows. I stood up and distanced myself from her.
"W-why are you here? Are you dead too? Did Isha finally kill you?" I asked, slowly happy I didn't leave her to her death.
She chuckled and stood up, "I hate to burst your bubble hon, but no. It's quite the opposite actually."
My heart skipped. "Isha's dead?!"
She winced, "No. You're alive. Well—sort of. Not sure how to categorize it, but you're in the land of the living."
I narrowed my eyes in confusion, "That's impossible, I. . .died."
"Yeah I thought so too," she muttered.
"What?"
She sat down gracefully in the chair by the window, crossing her legs like a bored queen. "I raised you back from the dead."
"YOU DID WHAT?!" I yelled.
She winced, muttering, "At this point, I think I'm going deaf."
"Oh my gods, I'm a freaking zombie!" I panicked.
She chuckled, "Calm down."
I glared at her, "Calm down?! You turned me into one of your monsters, a walking nightmare!"
"They aren't that hideous," she quietly defended her well known 'creations'. Her pets.
I looked at her, horrified, "That hideous?! What exactly do I look like if they aren't 'that hideous'?!"
I looked around the huge room until I spotted a mirror on the wall. Then I ran towards it, inspecting my face. I looked. . .normal. I mean still had those violet eyes and the birth mark. It doesn't even seem like I was scorched recently by a fireball.
"Why?" I whispered. "Why did you bring me back?"
She shrugged, legs propped up on the armrest, "I needed your skills and talents. It's hard to find someone who actually knows how to use a weapon properly."
I gawked at her, "You couldn't just say that before going all firestorm on us?"
"Your girlfriend started it," she replied nonchalantly, "and plus I like to make an entrance."
"Yeah one that killed me," I laughed dryly.
"I didn't ask you to jump in front of a raging fireball," she mused.
"One that would've killed my friend," I retorted angrily.
"She possesses great light magic so that kind of fire can't kill her, just singed her a bit. I wanted to teach her a lesson," she told indifferently.
"So I. . .died for nothing?" I whispered.
She stared at me, then sighed, "Look at it this way, you jumped in to save a damsel in distress like like a true hero. Even if the fire couldn't actually kill her, and dying in the process so, you still made quite the sacrifice. it wasn't all for nothing."
I stared blankly at her, "That's literally the definition of dying for nothing."
She shrugged. I tilted my head, taking the opportunity to study her in silence. She is very different from what I pictured her to be.
"What?" She asked.
"It's just. . .you're nothing like the villagers discribed," I said.
"Really?" She drawled. "Do tell."
"They said you were an old, ugly crone with a crooked walking stick and the heart of a beast," I told, "but you seem to be around my age and. . .relatively human."
She scoffed, "As you can see I'm not an ugly old woman. Or a beast, and neither do I have a walking stick. Though, for the record, I'm much older than you think."
"Doesn't matter," I murmured, glancing out the window. The view was breathtaking — I could see the entire valley below, even the faint outline of Al'mera.
"You're in my castle," she replied to the unsaid question. What?!
I turned to her sharply, "You mean the Castle of Horrors? The one that's on the hill? Where every child is forbidden to even look at?"
"Wow," she stated blankly, "you villagers are. . .creative."
"Oh my god I'm gonna die again," I panicked, then paused, "wait why aren't you killing me? Again? "
She sighed, "I told you, I need your skills."
I laughed. Not amused but disbelief, "I'm not going to be one of your. . .servants."
She raised a brow, "Darling, you don't really have a choice. You see, reviving you included creating a special bond that can only be broken if one of us dies. If you defy me, you'll feel an excruciating pain in your heart. Not enough to kill you—again—but enough to remind you who's in charge."
A cold chill ran through me. I backed away and slowly glanced around, seeing no sharp objects. I quietly cursed then punched the mirror, shattering it and surprising the sorceress. I picked up a shard and held it to my neck. After all, I'm already dead.
Her eyes darkened and she stood up, "What are you doing?"
"I'm not going to live like that," I told her. The hell I will. "I won't live the rest of my life as your slave."
"Kira. . ." she warned, "put the glass down."
"No, ah!" I felt something grip my heart. But I still refused stubbonly.
She sighed, "You know you're only hurting yourself."
"I don't care!" I yelled. "Don't you understand? I don't want this life! I can't have this life. . .not again."
She furrowed her brows at the last part, then said more calmly, "Kira, think about this. You have another chance to be with. . .your girlfriend."
That actually made me pause and look out the window, staring at the village that looked so small from here. It wasn't perfect, but it was were I lived. My thoughts went to the one person I died for. How would Isha feel, now that I'm back from the dead? Would she accept me? I averted my gaze, doubting.
"She's not my girlfriend," I whispered painfully.
The sorceress sighed, rubbing her temple like I was the source of her headache. With a flick of her fingers, the shard dissolved into sand. She could do that all this time?
Then she turned to leave. "This will be your room. There are clothes in the wardrobe, toiletries in the bath. Meet me downstairs when you're done."
I stared at her retreating figure before my senses kicked in, "Wait!"
She stopped, but didn't turned. I continued, "How are you sure I won't just kill myself after you leave?"
She turned, a faint twitch of amusement at the corner of her lips, "Do you want me to stay?"
What?
I scrunched my nose in disgust, "No I meant. . .you want me alive right?"
"That's your choice, I don't really care anymore," she said nonchalantly.
"Then why did you stop me?" I voiced out my frustration.
"I thought you were worth it but. . ." she shook her head, staring down at me. This annoyed me even more.
"You're infuriating!" I fumed.
"I've been called worse." She shrugged, turning to leave.
"Hey—evil lady! What am I supposed to call you anyway? Evil sorceress is a bit… long."
She paused at the door, glancing back over her shoulder.
"Elaine," she said at last. Her voice softened, almost imperceptibly.
"Call me Elaine."
------
Silence.
That was all that lingered after she left. Just the soft click of the door and the faint echo of her heels fading down the corridor.
Elaine.
Her name rolled around in my mind, refusing to settle. The woman who killed me. The same woman who brought me back. The same woman who now claimed to own me.
I let out a bitter laugh, running my hands through my hair. "What the hell is happening to me?"
The bed creaked as I sank down on it, staring blankly at the floor. Everything looked too perfect. Too… normal. The soft silk sheets. The fireplace burning quietly in the corner. The faint scent of lavender. It didn't fit the stories. The castle of horrors wasn't supposed to have lavender.
After what felt like hours, I finally stood up. My reflection in the cracked mirror caught my attention. Still me. Still Kira Akali. Except maybe a little paler. A little colder. A little less alive.
I sighed, walking toward the wardrobe. The moment I opened it, I froze.
"Okay, that's… unsettling."
The wardrobe was filled with clothes—fine fabrics, embroidered coats, black leather tunics, boots that actually fit my size. It was as if she knew exactly what I would wear. I hesitated before picking out a simple dark shirt and pants. No use pretending I wasn't trapped here.