Hello axolotls:P Sorry it's a bit short Delphine shivered as she sat on the ground- dirt!- and took in the view. A black forest stretched out for miles in front of her, glistening pine needles as far as her eyes could see. All above her, the pitch black sky was alive with twinkling lights and streaks of sparkling brightness. All her life, Delphine had only seen the outside world through a small window. This was a rush of excitement, wonder, and a little bit of fear. As Delphine slowly stood up, she took long, deep inhales of the air. This air was, somehow, different from the air in her prison. She could actually breathe here. She felt a chill run through her body as her throat was stung by the cold air. But then, she inhaled a sickening stench that stung her throat in a bad way. The thick cloud of smoke drifted over Delphine, blocking out her beautiful lights. She turned around, and her eyes went wide as she watched it all burn down. She had never seen her prison from the outside- and it looked like she never would. It was hardly more than a blazing mountain of burnt walls. Walls that once trapped her, enclosed her, and drove her insane, now lay on the ground, nothing but fuel for a roaring fire. The white hot, glowing embers flew through the air, burning onto Delphine’s skin. The furious glow of the vivid inferno reflected in Delphine’s wide eyes as she watched her entire life burn to the ground. The searing heat of the fire stung Delphine’s face, but she didn’t look away. At least not for a few more seconds. Then she ran. The woods were so empty and dark. She shot into the forest like an arrow, the tears in her eyes flying off of her face. She didn’t know why she was sad. That place was a prison. Delphine had never thought of it any other way. It had suffocated her for her whole life. She didn’t miss it one bit. Why was she crying? Delphine’s thoughts were consumed in this when she suddenly tripped; her seconds falling through the air felt like hours. A shock ran through her body when she hit the ground- cold, hard, unforgiving. She wearily got up and hugged her knees, tears soaking her white dress, her toes curling on top of the mossy forest floor. She stayed there for almost an hour. Soon enough she was overcome with sleepiness. She rested her head on a mossy log. She tried to get comfortable, but still held her silver dagger tightly in her hand. As her eyes began to close ever so slowly, the bare cuts on her hands she had earned from the fall were exposed to the freezing midnight air. Once she drifted off into sleep, she might have realized why she was crying when she escaped from her prison. Because she was free now. But she was alone as ever.
