The Four Guardians

It's unknown how much time had passed in the place where Sagitta was. It's even possible to say that time wasn't passing at all. Sagitta rested on a damp cold stone floor of a world she hadn't seen before. By the time she woke up and looked around, she could tell where she was. Anyone would be able to. It was quiet and creepy with old bloody stone and chains hanging up on the walls.

"Where am I? I can't be back here…" She said to herself slowly taking a few steps out of the cell she woke up in. "It certainly looks like the prison..."

She continued to walk around the empty area looking for anyone or anything. It was a replica of what she remembered. All her memories were identical to the place she was trapped in, with only her footsteps to keep her company.

"Hello!" She called out hoping someone would answer. "Why must I be back here?"

She reached for the bow on her back only to find it wasn't there. She looked through all her pockets but couldn't find anything. It was as if someone stole it all whilst she was unconscious.

"H-hello…" A voice echoed down around the prison.

"Hello!" Sagitta responded running down to where she thought the voice was calling from. Dashing past all the cells and ending up in the kitchen of the prison.

Sitting alone, on a table in the middle of the room. A small boy crying into the sleeves of his baggy clothes that covered his body looks at her but quickly retreats under the table.

"S-stop… don't kill me." He screamed protecting his head.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Sagitta said approaching as if she was meeting a wild animal.

"T-the monsters…" The boy said. "T-they'll kill me…"

"What monsters?" Sagitta asked. "If you tell me I can help you."

She kept calling out to the boy who couldn't escape, trapped by the table legs. She looked at the boy and forced a smile. To an a.d.u.l.t, you'd be able to tell it was forced, but for a child, they wouldn't know the difference.

"See…" She said. "I'm not going to hurt you…"

The boy slowly climbed out from under the table and hugged Sagitta being protected by her arms.

"Now, tell me about the monsters…" Sagitta asked.

"T-them…" The boy pointed to the doorway that Sagitta had entered from. Pointing to a monster made from dark smoke with white eyes that never moved. The monster watched the two of them closely, never taking its eyes off them.

Sagitta quickly spun herself around, protecting the boy behind and trying to take out her bow but forgetting it wasn't there.

"Damn it…" She said biting her nails. "What is that thing?"

"I-I don't know… I'm sorry…" the boy replied as the monster started to walk closer speaking words that couldn't be understood to anyone.

"What is it saying?"

"I-i'm sorry… I don't know…" The boy said grabbing Sagitta's clothes tighter. "Make it stop…"

"Alright," Sagitta said picking up the boy and controlling her breathing. "We run!"

Sagitta sprinted as fast as she could whilst holding the boy tightly. She ran around the prison knowing where each and every door went. She ran looking for a way out, only to encounter new paths she wasn't familiar with.

"Where is this?" She said looking back and hearing the slow drawn-out footsteps of the creature chasing her.

"T-the snow…" The boy pointed to the window. "It's never snowed before…"

"Snow…" Sagitta said stopping to look out the window. "This really is like that day…"

Whilst Sagitta was remembering her past the footsteps grew louder and the monster approached speaking more of what Sagitta couldn't understand. Useless attempts to communicate with her. It had no emotion in its voice and no way of knowing what it was feeling.

"Shit… We keep running." Sagitta said as she opened the closest door that was in front of her. Leading to a place that was new to her.

"Where are we now?" She said looking around at the sudden change of scenery. The walls that were once stone were a shiny wood with light from the above chandelier that lit the carpet that was below their feet.

"A mansion?" She said to herself as the boy was too scared to look.

"I'm going to die…" The boy said. "I have to die…"

The boy was shaking and gripping tighter at every word.

"You aren't dying on my watch. Let's keep going."

Sagitta ran around the mansion following a path that seemed familiar to her, passing through the kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms, making her way to the garden.

She opened the door that once lead to a garden, she carefully opened it and was blinded by the light on the other side. It was bigger than she expected, it almost looked endless. There were no flowers, no trees and no sounds. There was only a faint drift of wind.

"W-where are we…"

She looked around but could only see more of the monsters. All watching her from afar. Waiting for her to arrive.

"Shit…" She said as they began to move closer. "Guess we are going back in!"