Hello axolotls:) Part three! Nothing. Delphine carefully removed her arms from her head and looked up at the man. Beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead, his breath becoming angry and shallow. Of course. He couldn’t hurt her. She was the last seer in the world! She wasn’t an object- if she was broken, she couldn't be replaced. “You can’t….” Delphine said with a shaking breath. “You can’t do anything to me.” Delphine took a deep breath and held onto her torch. “Get back,” she growled, waving her torch threateningly. The man reached out to grab her by the arm, but Delphine raised her torch, and… he screamed in pain. Red hot cinders were still burning as he held his bloody hand. While he was distracted, Delphine slid past him and ran as fast as she could, down the narrow hallways. The flames seemed to be chasing after her. She grew immensely tired, but she still ran as fast as she could. Twelve years with virtually no exercise or nourishment had taken their toll- but she persisted. She ran and ran until she was met with a large, wooden door. She threw her body against it, hoping it would fling open and somehow lead her to freedom. Nothing. She threw her entire weight against it- which honestly wasn’t much after living on the flavorless mush she was served twice a day. She feverishly whipped her head around, worried that the flames would have caught up to her by now. But the moment she looked behind her, the fire was the least of her worries. She turned around to see multiple guards, all tall and buff and covered with black cloaks. “Stay back!” She waved the torch in front of them, pointing in like a spear. Her breath was heavy as she pressed her back against the wooden door. Freedom was so close, yet so far. “She’s gone rogue,” she heard a guard grumble under his breath. The guards rushed towards her and tried to grab her, but she managed to burn them with her torch. Their cloaks caught fire, and Delphine covered her ears to protect herself from their screams of pain. She quickly stole a long, sharp silver dagger from a guard’s hand. The flames wrapped around the guards, and were inching closer to her. She had to open the door. She tried to wedge the dagger between the two doors to open them. There was a heavy metal lock on the door- and Delphine had an idea. She held her torch to the lock… it slowly began to melt off. Puddles of white hot liquid metal fell only inches away from Delphine’s bare toes. Within minutes, she had finally melted a hole in the chain. She threw it off of the door, and burst through it with all her might. The sheer force of her exploding through the wooden doors caused her to leap through the air like an arrow, then come crashing down to the earth. Delphine gasped as she felt what was beneath her. A cold, gritty substance, rough on her soft skin. Dirt. Delphine slowly got up to see- she was in a place she had never been before. Not even in her dreams. It was so big. So cold. So alive. The outside world.
