"Take care, my Princess… Daddy loves you." A lingering voice trailed off, making the unconscious Shelby frown.
The cold stone beneath Shelby was unforgiving, the damp air heavy with the scent of earth and decay. But even though she felt all of this, she was not cold, but unsurprisingly so warm instead. No light seeped through the cracks of her new prison … there was no window… at least none that she saw, no torch… was there?
Shelby was not sure. Everything was mangled up so that she was not sure of what was real and wasn't. Yet she was certain that no moonlight existed to lighten the darkness. And yet, for the briefest moment, she could have sworn there had been a warm and golden glow like a firefly? Maybe? Around a window that didn't exist?
She awoke slowly with that ache still in her chest, as if she had been holding onto something precious… only to have it slip through her fingers the moment her eyes opened.
