The darkness that wrapped around her was almost suffocating as Aoife drifted within a nameless void.
"Am I dead?" She murmured to herself as her body seemed to move in slow motion and even the blinking of her eyes seemed to take an eternity.
She was dimly aware of muffled sounds, filtering through to wherever she was and it gave a strange sort of ambience of being underwater…but she knew that couldn't be true.
Whichever way she turned there didn't seem to be a way out of this place yet she felt strangely calm and serene in her surroundings.
"This is so strange…I don't…I don't remember anything…" she frowned as a faint, teal coloured dot seemed to grow bigger and bigger until she realized that whatever it was, was rapidly expanding like the smoke from an unseen fire and rushing towards her at a breakneck speed.
Then suddenly, it was as if the void itself was shattered and she was falling, the scentless smoke wrapping itself around her as an excruciating pain wracked her body, her mouth opening in a silent scream.
And then, out of the silence a voice appeared in her mind.
"Child…this is no place for you here. It is not yet your time." it whispered, its voice the sweetest melody that she had ever heard, "I wandered far to find you here, you know...your ancestors would be turning in their graves if they knew."
A tinkling laugh echoed in the air around her and she looked around in confusion.
"Rest now Aoife, it's time to return. When you wake up, I want you to trust those that are there to care for you because now it is time to play your part that fate intended…"
Aoife opened her mouth to reply but without warning, the air was sucked from her lungs and she was propelled downwards with terrifying speed before her awareness vanished.
Aoife's scream echoed in the room she found herself in as her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright, clutching her chest.
This wasn't where she remembered being last…it was nothing at all like her parent's house.
Her heart hammered wildly in her aching chest as she sucked lungfuls of air in through her mouth, her eyes rapidly scanning the room for something, anything that might trigger her memory with its familiarity, but she found nothing.
She reached across for the glass of water that was on the side, sipping the cool water gratefully that eased the dry patch at the back of her throat.
"Goddess…how long and how deeply was I asleep? I feel so out of it…" she mumbled to herself as she rubbed at her eyes, her hand freezing as it glanced over the unexpected material on her cheek, and her eyes taking in the carefully applied dressings around her wrist.
"What the fuck.." she breathed as she held her wrists before her in dismay, poking at the edges gently and frowning,
A wave of unease washed over her as she tried to rack her brain for something, anything within her memories that would point to her current condition but she found nothing, rewarded with only an excruciating flash across her temples that made her cry out in surprise.
A short chirrup that sounded a little surprised came from the next room as she slowly pulled the covers back and inched out of the bed. She didn't remember getting a cat…but then she didn't remember a lot right now.
Perhaps her mother had decided to give in to the pressure of her cousins, maybe she would get a familiar after all, she thought to herself wistfully.
The mere possibility brought a smile to her face as she padded across to the doorway. All she needed to do was find her mother so that she could explain what the hell had happened, It was no big deal.
But when she opened the door to reveal the ramshackle room beyond, she froze. Her eyes were fixated entirely on a sleepy looking creature that looked as startled and surprised as she felt.
Neither of them moved as they carefully watched each other, the creature's eyes flickering over her quickly and leaving her feeling more vulnerable than she had ever felt before.
"Where's my mother…" Aoife whispered hoarsely as the creature cocked its head and chirruped sadly.
It took a step towards her and she held a hand in front of her defensively.
"No! Don't come any closer!" She uttered quickly, her voice rising as panic began to creep its way into her heart, "Where am I? Where are my parents? My family?"
The creature seemed to croon sadly as it lifted its arms and pointed to its wrist and then its face, slowly turning to indicate a pot of something that was sitting on the table next to a roll of what looked like bandages.
Aoife didn't know how to respond and she was terrified that her voice would betray just how scared she really was.
She wanted to run, to hide back in her room, but judging by this creature's cautious movements, he didn't mean her any harm and if his mimed actions were to be believed, he had been the one responsible for patching her up from whatever had happened.
Oddly enough, her first instinct was to trust this…this thing, although she couldn't put a finger on why. He seemed familiar, although she was certain that they had never met before.
Sucking in a breath she forced her heart to calm and tried her best to smile, gently.
"I'm sorry. I don't remember anything before I woke up other than a few memories from my childhood…nothing that would indicate why I am here. Do you know?"
The creature's shoulders seemed to sag a little and if she didn't know better she could have sworn that he sighed heavily as he turned to take a seat at the table, gesturing her to sit opposite.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and made her way over, the creature pushing a bowl of fruit and a plate of cold meats, cheeses and bread towards her.
It chirruped at her encouragingly as she eyed the plate dubiously, cautiously reaching for a piece of cheese and tearing a small chunk of bread off before nibbling at both.
His eyes lidded slightly as he watched her and then a low rumble, almost like a purr emanated from the back of his throat.
"Thank you for …feeding me, and I guess for patching me up too, but I really should be going home. I'm sure my family is worried sick about me, especially given all of the raids recently."
She was sure this creature would understand, judging by its living area it was most likely in hiding as well. Hopefully, one day, all of the creatures that the shifters considered undesirables would be able to live in the open once more, but it wouldn't be for a long time yet.
As she stood to leave, an almost panicked expression crossed its face as it tried to stop her from moving towards the door, shaking its head and chirruping worriedly.
"No, I can't stay," Aoife snapped, "I appreciate what you've done for me and I'll arrange for compensation for you as soon as I return home, but I need to leave."
The creature let out an exasperated sigh as she turned to open the door, but as soon as her fingers curled around the door handle, it was ripped from her grasp revealing a very large, very sinister looking male that towered above her.
She froze, knowing full well that whatever this was in front of her, was a Daemon. Her mother had warned her not to get involved with these beings and if she ever found herself indebted to one, her life would never be her own again.
She blinked up at him in terror as she subconsciously stepped backwards, wanting to put as much distance between her and this Daemon as possible.
"Ah, Aoife. I'm pleased to see you're finally awake and functioning normally." His deep husky voice rumbled in approval, "I think it's time you and I had a little chat…there's something I want you to do for me."
She opened and closed her mouth soundlessly in reply, her mind rendered speechless at the fact that this Daemon, this monster knew her name.
Just how much of her memory had she lost?!