Breathe, Move, Scream

Misa realized too late that it was hard for her to breathe.

Sitting in that stone chair in the garden while the cake seemed to enlarge in her throat so much that her airway seemed to be closing was like a death sentence. The courtyard was large enough for the garden to seem infinite miles away. Miles away from help that could decide between her life and her sudden death.

She feared that not one creature--not even an insect--would find her out here in time to save her from suffocating.

Misa stumbled off the stone chair, now that Pera and the Queen were gone. With awkward steps, she hurried toward the castle. However, she didn't follow the path that would lead her straight to the castle's great hall, where it was likely to have at least a couple of guards posted to ward off intruders.

Lot of good that did, considering Pera walked herself right over, ironically, as the exiled Ryusei.

Instead, Misa diverted to the right and hobbled up the path leading farther away where she might have most quickly found some aid. She didn't trust them. Misa couldn't tell if this was her thinking straight, or whether her mind had already succumbed to the effects of suffocation.

Miss Ida! She cried internally, the voice in her mind sounding foreign to herself. Grungier, slower, echoing, almost fake. I've gotta find Miss Ida!

Everything in Misa's body told her she could trust only her personal aide. She figured that if the elderly child vampire was looking for her, she'd be searching somewhere nearby rather than too far away. She hoped that maybe they'd run into one another.

Actually, she was desperate that they did.

If I don't find her soon... Misa was thinking, struggling along the path like she'd been stabbed through the stomach, chest, and neck. She was hunched over and weaving as she walked, hardly able to see through her obstructive tears.

Miss Ida! Please! Someone! Growing desperation forcing her to seek even those she no longer trusted. Help me!

Ironically, not a soul was around. Misa's mind was so far away that she couldn't hear any sounds to tell if there was anyone nearby who could help her. What they could do to help, she had no idea, but she knew she would--at this point--count on anyone she encountered to lend her a hand.

If only she could encounter anyone.

Today was the day she would wed the strange, unsmiling vampire who had somehow claimed her heart for his. And despite what she'd have to become in order to marry him, she wanted to go through with it. She wanted to be with him.

And now, staggering to the left side of the castle grounds, near the large, heavily windowed chapel that Misa had always imagined would let in a beautiful, spirited stream of light, she called for Prince Ran. Her heart yearned for him.

Ran! She called weakly with her mind. Misa's ankles rolled, sending her body crashing against the hatched double doors of the chapel that she had avoided like the plague since arriving at the castle, as if 'MARRIED' would have stamped itself onto her forehead the moment she stepped inside. The doors swung open.

Ran! Please, Ran! Save me.

Misa was feeling faint. She didn't catch herself after the doors swung open without resistance and she flopped to the floor onto her stomach like a beached whale. The wooden floor beneath her creaked at the impact, and the sound traveled around the hauntingly empty space.

To Misa's dismay, no one was inside. She had hoped someone--anyone!--would be inside.

No. No! No! She cried, tears flowing freely down her face as she could horrifically feel herself losing strength. I'm going to die out here. Alone. 

Not quite outside the chapel and not quite inside. The visual representation of someone who wasn't quite smart enough to detect an enemy or strong enough to realize their own ambitions.

A pathetic sight.

It hurts... Misa whispered inside. She lamented that this was the end for her, after having done something so immature and cowardly as run away from her duties. She knew she must become the princess of this land and the savior of this divided world, but her fears of bodily change--the change of her nature--kept her rooted to the 'her' of the past. 

Her spirit hurt more than the pain in her chest.

I've made a mess of things at the very end, and this is my karma. I hate that I'm making things difficult for him. I'm so sorry, Ran.

Just then, footsteps clacked against the stone floor outside the chapel. The sound excited Misa's ears and her eyes grew wide with hope. Yes! Yes!! Please! Misa cried out, her head beginning to hurt from the pain in her throat and chest.

She had no idea how she was holding on for so long, but finally, someone was here to help her. She wanted to scream out to hurry, please hurry, and save her as she didn't have much longer.

And that's when Misa realized just how unbearably slowly the footsteps were progressing toward her, tapping against the hardwood floor now in an unhurried and relaxed manner. Misa grew panicked, Please! She begged and waited until the mysterious visitor stopped beside Misa's bulging eyes so that Misa could only see a pair of shoes.

They were a female's pair that looked a bit familiar. Not Ida's. Maybe the teenage attendant that was often with her? 

Then, if Misa's breath hadn't already been stuck in her throat, it would have happened now. She recognized those shoes, and she knew she was not mistaken. 

As if to answer the dread that had smothered all the hope in Misa's heart, the words, "You have lain in the place that suits you most, haven't you, human?" crashed against her ears.

Burning hot tears of anger and frustration poured from Misa's eyes as Queen Yori cackled into the empty space, her laughter bouncing around the wooden walls, as crazed as she. The Queen flipped Misa over forcefully with the toe of her shoe so that Misa lay on her back. From above, Queen Yori's silver eyes pierced Misa's watery ones, pinning her in place.

"Aw, are you crying?" Queen Yori asked, mocking Misa with a pouty lip. She again cackled and then bent toward Misa who felt like her face was in an inferno, the heat in her head unbearable as her body began to quiver from lack of oxygen. Her vision was going red, blurry beyond the tears in her eyes. 

"Ugh," the Queen groaned, "it pains me to have to remove you from this delicious state of misery, however..."

Queen Yori bent down and touched two fingers to Misa's neck. Instantly, Misa was able to draw in a head-dizzying breath and infinitely more, filling her lungs with much-needed oxygen.

I can breathe!! Misa screamed, except, she had intended to say that out loud. Still, she was unable to speak and, as if things needed to get any worse, she found that she couldn't move.

Not even a muscle.

"How do you feel, human? Stiff? Like a rock?" Queen Yori asked Misa, pacing around her now. "You know, when I had heard about the possibility of this curse from the exiled Fae princess, I almost cried happy tears. Really! It seemed perfect for me. Perfect for the likes of you!

"I mean, think about it. You accept the food of the Fae and gobble it down like the pigs you humans are, and then, poof! Cursed! Then you suffocate, eventually needing to be saved--or not--by the one who set the curse on you. How pathetic! How perfectly befitting a weak human being!

"And then you stiffen up like a rock and--hear this, human--" Queen Yori bent over at the waist, standing over Misa to ensure they again met each other's eyes. "If you approach a body of water, no matter how small, what do you think will happen?!"

The Queen's voice was overwhelmingly giddy, high-pitched and almost singing like a child presented with a bag of candy. Misa was sure right then that Queen Yori was the most crazed creature she'd encountered in this land, and it frightened her to know that this vampire was the only one right now who knew where she was.

Ran!! Misa cried, as Queen Yori continued, "That's right, you sink. Like a stone. Your body will be dragged downward to the depths of a watery Hell. You will never marry my son, you filthy human. You are not worthy. The prophecy lies. You are an eyesore, a disgusting example of weakness, just like that she-bitch who came after my Ryusei and got him banished from his home! We are far better than you humans ever grow to be, and nothing can change that."

With those words, Queen Yori dipped and fisted a good amount of Misa's long hair. She yanked her body across the hardwood floor of the chapel, dragging her to one of the storage rooms far in the back. 

"You so wish to be a doll, dressing up and parading around our castle as if you were one of us. Ha! Become one, then, and sink. Watch yourself sink for eternity. You'll never move again." With a great burst of magic, the Queen flung the door open and let Misa's hair go just to swoosh a hand across the air and send Misa flying into the back wall. 

Misa grunted with the painful impact but couldn't move or make a sound to show it. Her body was strewn across the floor, her eyes only able to follow the Queen's feet as Queen Yori entered the storage room and walked to the large, tub-like sink near Misa.

Misa was unable to see Queen Yori put a stopper in the sink's drain, but she heard the squeak of the handle and the rush of water as she turned the sink on. Misa's heart raced for the hundredth time that day.

The Queen laughed evilly as she walked back over and forcibly yanked Misa's upper body off the ground. She thrusted her back against the wall, ensuring Misa was in a sitting position. "I want to leave you with some entertainment, at least!" The Queen's high-pitched cackle was raking on Misa's nerves. "I am not so callous as to kill you with boredom. You can watch the water overflow from the basin and then crawl across the floor while your brain flips over in your head, worried that if it touches you, you will be gone! Sucked inside the puddle and sinking forever.

"My son will simply think you've run away from this sham wedding." As Queen Yori exited the room, she turned back and leaned on the doorframe like a cute little girl, her silver eyes gleaming with mirth. "Exhilarating, is it not? Enjoy!"

And then she was gone, slamming the door behind her with finality.

Misa's mind was reeling. What do I do?! She cried, her eyes spilling with tears. She was entirely panicked, but there was nothing for her to show.

Misa couldn't move, couldn't speak or scream, and now, couldn't even be seen. She was utterly alone and vulnerable, listening to the tub fill with water. The Queen's cruel joke.

This can't be happening. Misa thought. It's just one thing after another! 

What happens now?!