The days blurred for Isabella, time seemed different here, endless.
Even when the sun was shining, there was a coldness here, there were no flowers, no laughter, no hope. Just sadness and despair. Isabella noticed that there were no children here either, only herself.
Was this hell? Had she been bad? And now this was her punishment? Isabella felt a fear inside her chest that she had never felt before. She was too afraid to ask.
Maybe, if she was a good girl, she would be forgiven. And she could leave this dark place. She tried to remember what she could have done to be punished, but she didn't know. Should she ask Malric?
Isabella would be a good girl; she would do what she was told. And one day, she would be able to leave hell and go back to her parents. This is what she decided.
For the first few weeks everyday was the same: in the morning's Malric would come and fetch Isabella and they would have breakfast together. After breakfast the rest of the day would be spent teaching Isabella to use and control her powers. Isabella's days were long, but she didn't mind, the sooner she learned, the sooner she could leave this place.
After a few weeks Malric introduced Isabella to Alaric, he would teach her how to fight. As scary as Alaric looked, he was surprisingly patient and kind with Isabella. He never raised his voice or rushed her, he allowed her to progress at her own pace. Even on her bad days when she was missing her parents and was stubborn and moody, he never scolded her.
Isabella woke up to the sound of pouring rain, she could hear the rain hitting her windowpane. Lightning lit up the sky while the roar of thunder was so loud it made her jump in fright.
This morning Isabella was feeling sad and angry just like the storm.
It had been six months since Isabella had been taken from her parent's car.
She remembered the fighting. She remembered the screams. She remembered her parents' faces as she was dragged away.
And now, she heard it again.
Faint, distant—echoes of battle. Clashes of steel. Shouts in the mist.
She ran to the window, pressed her face to the glass. The forest beyond shimmered with enchantment, but she could hear them. Her parents. The Guardians. They had come for her.
Tears welled in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. "Daddy," she whispered. "Mommy."
She wept with joy and terror, her heart pounding. They were close. So close.
This morning Malric never came to fetch her, and her meals came to her on silver trays, delivered by sentinels, who never answered her when she asked what was happening. Today she wasn't allowed out of her bedroom and the door remained locked.
She curled up on the bed, clutching the stuffed rabbit, staring at the door.
Waiting.
Waiting for it to open. For her father to burst through, sword in hand, arms wide. For her mother to scoop her up and whisper that everything was okay.
But the door remained locked. And after a few hours, it was quiet again. Night came and still nobody came to see Isabella, she shouted and banged on the door, demanding to know what was happening. But nobody answered.
That night Isabella cried herself to sleep for the first time in months. Nobody was coming to save her, she was stuck here, a prisoner and her life would never go back to how it used to be, nothing would ever be the same again.
The next morning, with the rain still coming down, Isabella got ready for her day. But the hope that had kept her going was gone. She would wait for Malric and demand to know what had happened.
But that morning Alaric came to fetch her instead of Malric, and all he would say was that her parents had come but they had not been able to get through the darkness to her. He told her that they had retreated, and would not be coming back for her again.
After breakfast, Alaric and Isabella went straight to warrior training, Isabella didn't mind, she needed to take out her anger and despair on someone.
At five years of age and after six months of training, she was already stronger and more confident in herself. She had come to enjoy her training sessions, they took her mind off where she was for a few hours. This morning she trained until her arms ached, until she felt that she would drop down from exhaustion, but Alaric left her, he knew that she needed it today of all days.
Isabella's anger fueled her focus this morning, Alaric could sense the power emanating from her while he watched her fight one of their newest fallen angels, Samael, he was the youngest guardian to ever be sent to "The Hollow". Her movements were quick and fluid, she did not hesitate, she did not allow Samael to recover from her blows, but Samael had been trained from a child and started to push back. The fight was becoming too real for training and Alaric was starting worry, he was just about to intervene, when Samael in a mad rage, eyes burning bright red, lunged at Isabella and his sword went straight for her heart.
Time slowed down while Alaric watched, Isabella threw her arms up in front of her face to protect herself, dropping her sword at the same time, and a surge of energy, like an explosion, sent Samael flying backwards, Alaric was also sent flying back and landed up on his back.
Isabella was crouched down on the ground, her arms covering her body, she hadn't yet realized what she had done. Samael lay unconscious on the ground, healers rushed to his side, but they could not save him. He was gone from this world.