3#-I am in Trouble

She only caught a glimpse of a smoky fabric before her aggressor disappeared. But the witch knew. He stole the artifact; she could feel the irresistible amount of power the lantern held. She quickly got up and raced after the cloaked figure. Bursting the door wide open, she raced blindly toward the power source. Smashing down with her heels the mushroom circle, she felt a stinging pan in her stomach, in the middle of her chest.

A curse had bound her core with the protectors of the Grave Hill tower. She closed her mouth, biting her tongue. She didn't have the time to dwell on her future when, right before her eyes, the string on which her life held was being ripped away.

Her lungs were on fire, and her throat was parched. Luckily, the thief was heading down the hill. She would have already fainted if she had to climb up. Around her, the spirits of the Nightmare realms were flying toward her, wailing aggressively. She wouldn't have worried if it was a normal day, but their eyes were empty, like two endless voids.

She opened her pouch, grabbed her book, and ripped carelessly the page. The paper was slightly damaged, but the desperation and fury she channeled into the sheet overpowered its state. She bit her finger. The wind still fresh opened quickly. She grew the spell in the air, it floated motionlessly in the air before three droplets of blood splattered against the yellowish teint of the page. Immediately, a purple ripple appeared and spread around her. Sending every little nightmare around her flying away in the nearest clouds.

Soon, the little wild road became a neat pavement underneath her soles. It was still quite early and a Sunday, but the town folks were already out, helping decorate the streets of Autumnal. They kindly smiled at her, ignoring the reason behind her rush. Sienna tried to lift the corners of her mouth before abandoning the idea. She barely had the strength to keep up with the thief; she couldn't waste anyone's energy to maintain her crumbling facade.

Turning around the main avenu, she finally saw it. Her eyes widened in front of the sight. This wasn't a little nightmare, nor a reform one like her. It was something else. An embodiment of darkness and danger. Like a cold wind against a damped naked body, or like a bed of ice in the middle of winter. The thief was covered in a smoky, pitch black fabric sizzling at his every movement, underneath his hood, there was nothing. Nothing except white, dirty rounds starring directly at her soul. Not the usual white muted of the ghosts. This hue was sharply bright and dark all at the same time.

Sienna felt her core being shaken, and her vision clouded. Between the arms of the mysterious figure was the Jack O' Lantern. The sight was pitiful, as the fire that inhabited it was almost extinguished. There was no sight of the luscious orange of the artifact that made every member of the Sleep folk tear up. It looked like a regular pumpkin that someone carved carelessly. But the power it emitted left no doubt on its real nature. The two powerful auras mixed together were almost unbearable. The young witch didn't know how, but her body still managed to continue running. Even when her precious hat fell on the floor. She didn't bother to stop and pick it up. The cloaked figure had turned its back to her and was facing a long brick wall.

'I got you,' she thought, feeling a breeze of hope blowing in her core.

She grabbed from her pocket a long wooden wand. She didn't like to use it, and the cost was beyond measure for one simple use. Still, now it was a matter of life or death. She swung her hand toward the creature, feeling her veins overflowing with wild energy, filling her with an uncomparable feeling. She was able to feel everything. The sound of the clouds blocking the sun, the hair on her neck brushing her skin, the heavy air, the sky, the magic, and it.

It felt like a blindfold covering her eyes had finally been lifted. Her true form was slowly taking over her current one. But the pain was never too far from the amazement of magic. Her heartbeat was beating too quickly, too loud. She only had a few seconds before it stopped and was destroyed by the powerful flux. If it stopped well...she would turn back into a nightmare.

Behind the figure, a strange hole was being formed; one made a strange liquid metal shining under the timid sun of Autumnal. Strange flowers were blooming on the side, forming a strange frame.

She unleashed her magic. It burst out of her wand like a wild vine of white lily sprouting at a maddening speed toward my aggressor. But as soon as a petal brushes its cloak, the thief disappeared through the door.

'NO!'

Her focus broke as her heart skipped a beat. The wooden branch slid through my fingers. Her magic rebounded against the wall brick and went straight on me. Her nightmare instincts take control of her body. She wrapped my focus around her core and opened her palms, ready to receive back the uncontrolled flux. The white lilies explode in a cloud of dust, making them fall brutally on the ground.

Some of my power survives and falls gracefully, mixing themselves with the red spider lilies and the red roses, the only proof of the passage of the thief and the portal he created.

"It is over with me," whispered Sienna, laying on the ground.

She closed painfully her eyes.

'No, it's over for the entire Sleep realm.'