Princess of Darkness

Celiarah Raphline blinked as her eyes tried to focus. Her head hurt. It felt like a ton of bricks had been smashed on her head, like a hammer poked a nail through her skull. The nagging pain made her groan, and she blinked again, trying to see through the screen of falling rain. She could see nothing. She could only make out a dark outline of an ebony carriage. She heard the patting of the rain as it beat upon the solid ground. Pit pat, pit pat. She heard the horses’ hooves beat upon the gravel ground. They sounded like drums, beating hard, and they made her headache even worse. The sound was nagging and she felt as if her head was about to burst at any moment.

She lifted her head again to see what was before her, and she watched as the carriage began to get smaller and smaller. She watched as it carried away with it the man she had thought she loved and another woman he was running away with. It pained Celiarah to the core. She had dared to love a man, and this was how she ended up. Beaten, cold, wet, and on the streets. This was how love felt.

Never again will I love, Celiarah thought. All men are the same…pig headed, selfish, and uncaring. All they care about is getting into another woman’s bed.

Not that she wasn’t the same way. She knew this. But she had seen for herself other women who were kind and gentle who didn’t lead the kind of life that she led…a life of darkness. Men were always the same, though. She had seen this for herself.

She had to close her eyes once more because the rain began to collect on her eyelashes. She gave out a loud moan as she slowly moved her limp hand in front of her body. Her hands scrapped against the gravel floor, and scratched her swollen hands.

With her hands secure before her she lifted her head and tried to gather strength to bring herself up. With all the strength she had left, she pushed herself up. The edges of the rocks pierced her palm like a thousand needles. She screamed out in pain, and fell flat on the ground again. Her head, without control hit the gravel ground. It rattled her brain and the next thing she saw was dark…all darkness.