"Please, let us go..." Fiona says. Always the brave one, she is.

"Please, let us go," I mock, my face twisting into a sneer. "Now, that won't be any fun, will it?"

My trusty dagger hangs from my hands as I gesture lazily towards the ropes binding my prey. "Go on. Escape! The next and last thing you will ever know will be this blade in your throat," I remark.

The faces of my prey stare back at me, worn and weary, shining with pain. Various deep scratches litter their bodies, coupled with multiple bruises. My work, of course.

Fiona glances briefly at the heap of lifeless bodies at the back of the room, put there both to terrify and feed my prey. Nervously, she glances at the others, before throwing off her bindings. Mild astonishment jolts through me. How long was she planning this? I direct my eyes towards Fiona, rushing towards the door.

Just before she reaches it, my hand strikes out, flinging my needle-sharp dagger across the room. It hits her gut, sending her to the floor as she cries out in pain. Slowly, like a predator hunting its prey, I get up from my chair and stalk towards Fiona. I twist the dagger around before pulling it out, relishing the pained tears and horror-struck gasps.

Stabbing the dagger one final time into Fiona's heart, I look her squarely in the eye.

"What a shame, you were my favourite," I drawl. "Guess I'll have to find another to play with."

Everyone else seems to shrink into themselves.

“Rain! Get in! I’m waiting!” Melody shouted from the pool. Rain, a thin girl with ocean-blue eyes and astonishingly straight hair that looked like it was constantly wet was standing on the edge of the pool, trembling. 

“N-No, Mel, you know I’m a-afraid of w-w-water…” Rain stammered, shivering. Exasperated, Melody rolled her eyes. She got out of the water and stood beside Rain.

“It’s kind of ironic, really. You have this appearance of being wet all the time, you have water-blue eyes, and your name is even a form of water! Jeez, Rain… Hold your breath!” Melody declared. Rain, having shivered violently with each mention of water, had no time to take a breath, or even remotely prepare herself, before Melody pushed her into the cold pool.

Obviously, Rain screamed the moment she touched the water, attracting the attention of everyone in that place. Melody waved her hands, urging everyone to go back to their daily activities. She, too, jumped in beside Rain, comforting her and encouraging her to stop shouting and enjoy the water a little bit more. Slowly, Rain stopped howling, but was still a little uncomfortable. A horrifying shriek kept replaying in Rain’s head, and Rain was sure that she was going to drown, or become permanently deaf because of the blood-chilling scream in her head.

Once Rain got used to the water, she became addicted to the water, always begging to stay in the pool for a little while longer. Melody, surprised by the turn of events, had to drag Rain to the changing rooms, being twice as strong as Rain. Grumbling in displeasure, Rain complied with Melody, not wanting to get clobbered over the head.

Even when out of the pool, Rain longed for the water, and would rush to the toilet to wash her hands in the sink at any moment possible in school. Melody, completely unnerved by this time, tried to pull Rain out of her obsession, but Rain always resisted a glossy sheen over her eyes, making her eyes look like pools of water.

As for Rain herself, she didn’t know what was happening either. She only remembered slowly getting used to the water, and getting obsessed, somehow. She no longer wanted anything else but to stay in water all day long.

One day, Melody’s family brought Rain along to the beach, despite Melody’s warning. Rain, of course, dived straight into the ocean and swam as far out as she could without people getting worried for her safety. Melody was left to her own devices, and started making a sandcastle, trying unsuccessfully to persuade her brother to join in.

After a few minutes, Rain got bored, and decided to swim further out. Gasping, she struggled for air as she pushed off and was met with no ground. Rain struggled to swim but it was as if lead was filling her body, making her heavy. Rising out of the water, Rain’s long, pale arms waved for help, before it too was dragged down. Blood pounded against her ears until it drowned out everything except for her rapid heartbeat. She could feel her lungs sputtering, choking, collapsing, from the water rapidly filling it. She could taste the salt water on her tongue as she struggled to hold on to that last piece of life. Her mind was only focused on getting oxygen and her body’s struggle to survive. She could see the clear surface of the water, the sunlight shimmering tantalizingly out of reach. Rain’s eyelids fluttered closed.

Melody soon noticed something was wrong as soon as a familiar ear-piercing scream shattered the calmness of the beach. With horror, she noticed a familiar arm being raised at the spot where she knew there was a steep drop in the ocean floor. Signaling for a lifeguard, Melody jumped into the water, her chocolate-brown arms thrashing in an attempt to swim faster.

Meanwhile, a deafening screech was resounding and reverberating in Rain’s head, while she felt herself being pulled down into the murky depths of the ocean. Terrified, memories started swarming in Rain’s head.  

A little girl with sea-green eyes was playing in the deep area of the pool, despite the cries of her mother. She lost her grip on the walls of the pool and fell to the bottom, an eerily familiar sensation of lead filling her whole body. The girl realized she was drowning, and attempted to scream, but it just made her lose even more oxygen. The world faded to black, even as the girl was hauled up out of the pool.

Drifting along a breeze, the ghost of the little girl searched for a hospital, and managed to find one in which a baby had just been born. Delighted at this chance for a new life, the little girl’s spirit possessed the baby. The mother didn’t notice a thing, and brought the baby closer to get a good look at the baby’s face. Finally starting to stop crying, the baby opened her eyes, revealing a set of gorgeous ocean-blue eyes. “What wonderful eyes! Let’s call my baby Rain,” the mother said.

Rain twitched, even as she felt a slow burning in her body. She was a ghost. She was not herself. Rain felt her spirit leave her body, even as strong arms carried her out of the water. Despite the frantic screams echoing in her head, rain felt a sense of peace. A feeling of exhaustion overtook her, and she only desired to sleep. Taking in one last breath, Rain’s heart stilled.

A day later, a baby was born. The mother brought the baby close to her face, and discovered a set of bluish-green orbs. “What beautiful eyes! Let’s name her Oceania,” the mother exclaimed in joy.

You always dance in the fields without a care

I watch upon you

You always seem to glow with happiness

I adore you

You walk across the train tracks

I am worried

The whistle of a train, a mangled scream

Your broken body lies alone

I am furious

How dare they take away my source of happiness

They have pushed me to this point

It isn't my fault

Your story has ended, so I will rewrite it

I use my power to bring you back to life

The catch is, I can control you

I make you worship my golden figure in my temple

I recieve your prayers

I grow stronger

Soon, you will love me back

And then I shall bring you up here with me

Maybe I'll get you to walk across another train track when it is time

I set this rule

I set this boundary

They smashed the rule

Forced me over this boundary

I tried to fix it

I tried to stop

They didn't let me

I kept on going

My mind retreated into its depths

I kept on going

They forced my mind deeper

They made me go faster

I looked at the shards

Of the broken rule

I tried to fix it

I really did

I looked (or tried to) at the boundary I set

Far far away, long crossed

I tried to go back

I really did

I'm really sorry

I broke the rule of not breaking the law

I crossed the boundary of a normal person

I'm really sorry

I really am

The rules have all been broken

The boundaries all crossed

I'm really sorry

I'll turn myself in

I am Arabella, a princess. Mother says that we are insignificant rabbits, and should watch out. I don’t need to do that. I am special.

“Bell! Go outside!” Mother calls.

“It’s Arabella. Bell is too common,” I respond, sticking my nose in the air.

While having fun, I ignore my mother’s warning cry.

“Bell! Watch out!” I hear a loud shout and glance up. A fox is there.

“I am the future queen, and I demand you to go away!”

I continue to proclaim my greatness, ignoring the horrified looks from my mother.

 The jaws of the fox opened wide…

They told me to kill him

They told me to slash at him

They told me to save him

They told me to heal his wounds

They told me to break out

They told me to hurt everyone

They told me to stay put

They told me to forgive everyone

They told me to end this suffering

They told me to kill myself

They told me to end this war

They told me to save myself

Eternally torn between the two

I never know what to do.

They told me to end this story

They told me to say this is all a lie

They told me to continue my pain

They told me to tell the truth

In the end, both are the same

One outright, one fraught with lies.

The bright glare of the Sun illuminated the Cloud Kingdom, the rays filtering down to the world below the clouds. Bell relished the feel of the warm sun rays on her face as she strolled on the clouds. The Cloud Kingdom was a magical and peaceful city up in the clouds. The citizens of the Cloud Kingdom were protected greatly by a barrier, filtering most of the rays, sending harmful rays of heat and blinding light down into the ground.

Bell, a 15-year-old girl, lived for rainy days. On those days, it was actually washing-up and cleaning day, which happened really often as pollution from water vapour and… other things would come up and stain the normally snow-white buildings a stormy grey colour. Sometimes, at a certain part of the year, the temperature would drop dramatically and the dirty water would get tossed around, freezing into what Bell heard was called “snowflakes” before dropping them down. Occasionally, the kids would play a game called “ice balls” where they would grab multiple snowflakes, mush them into a ball of ice, and pelt it at the ground, trying to hit someone. That practice was quickly put to a stop though, as the citizens heard that people were getting injured. The “ice ball” games were then only allowed to proceed very rarely, but the older children played some more by sending bolts of magic down and laughing at the loud noise it made. The adults somehow found out, knew some people were getting killed, and told the children to be more careful, but didn’t stop it altogether.

With the good must come bad and so occasionally there were reports of black magic in the kingdom. The king dealt with it by throwing the practitioners off the clouds, where they would plummet down to the ground, and die. Most of those practitioners started off as bored teens who resented adults for restricting their play, thus most of the adults usually let the teens do whatever they want, provided they didn’t stray to the dark side.

That fateful day, Bell tossed back her golden-brown hair and strolled to an abandoned place blocked by clouds and mist. That special place was her very own space where she could relax. As she was shaping the fluffy clouds beneath her, a noise caught her attention. Immediately, she stood up in a defensive position, afraid for her life. To her surprise, an old, haggard woman hobbled out of the shadows (were there any in the first place?) and stood in front of her. Petrified, Bell stood her ground.

“Darling, you are Bell, are you not? Bell, the youngest Princess of Cloud Kingdom?” the wizened old lady asked.

Shocked, Bell could do nothing but stand and stare. How did an old lady know everything about her at a glance? Was she a witch?

“Yes, I am a witch, but black magic’s not what you think it is. It’s a struggle for power, not anything bad. It’s all for the greater good. There are only 2 types of people in this world. There are those that seek power and those who are too weak to. I know your oldest sister, Melody, is going to be the next queen, but if you join me, I can ensure that you will be the one who has total control over all,” The lady replied.

“Even those at the ground?” Bell asked, intrigued.

“Yes,” came the hissing reply.

Bell accepted, and a feeling of power enveloped her. Her enchanting jade-green eyes darkened, and she felt more confident.

“This is awesome,” she whispered, eyes glinting with greed and awe. “And this is only the beginning?”

After receiving a positive response, she started her training. Day by day she got more immersed, and soon she was staying in that secret space almost 24/7, torturing little birds that happened to fly up to her spot. Her appearance was also changing dramatically, her once jade-green eyes now a dark green, almost black colour. Her skin became increasingly pale, soon reaching the same shade of the clouds she was standing on. On the 2nd month of her training, the witch presented her with a chalk-white snake with crimson-red eyes.

“This is a highly venomous snake;” she began, “Regardless of magical blood, this snake’s venom will kill anyone instantly, except for you. This snake will also enhance your powers.”

Respectfully, Bell dipped her head as she received the snake. It immediately slithered under her clothing, wrapping around her neck and chest, so it was almost invisible. Bell’s dark brown hair shielded the snake too, providing some protection. She cast some of her usual spells, and they were more powerful than usual. Just as Bell was about to thank the witch, a group of soldiers burst into the clearing.

“We know that you have been practicing black magic for at least a month now,” the head announced, then brought Bell and the witch to the palace. The king arose from his throne to see the witches. Upon seeing Bell and the witch, he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Bell, Cassandra, is that you?” the king muttered in a choked up voice.

“Cassandra? Wasn’t that the name of my mother?” Bell thought in horror.

“I would never have expected for you two to end up this way. I’m… so sorry” the king said, a look of deep sadness briefly crossing his countenance, before his face hardened, and he said, “Throw them off the tallest tower.”

As Bell was thrown off, she felt a strange sense of calm envelop her. Of course! She could use what little powers she had left and use them to cushion her fall slightly! The white snake in the shirt had not been spotted, and she could draw on the little magic inside it to perform her last magic spell, before she became an ordinary human!

The king paced around the room, heart aching. It hurt him greatly to kill his wife and youngest daughter, but he had to do what had to be done. He peered in a magical glass, and found Bell and Cassandra’s bodies, badly torn and scratched, on a rock. He sighed, and returned to his normal duties.

Meanwhile on the Ground Below:

Dark green, almost black eyes flashed open, the ghost of a smirk touching her lips.

“It worked,” she said.