Everything around me was dark, as if my surroundings had been swallowed by a starless night, without even a faint, dim light in its depths. A deafening silence flew through my being, making me swallow hard.

   “Poor Duke, having his lovely wife killed by a freak.” A man said, with his rough, sadistic voice.

   “And her hair is black... isn’t that the color of witches?” A woman questioned, with her refined, noble grace.

   “That child is cursed... thank God she didn’t come from me.” Another woman added, snorting slightly as she laughed.

   I heard their voices but couldn’t see their faces. It was as if they were demons, lurking in the shadows, waiting for my response. My arms trembled as their speeches became louder, their presence stronger.

   “It wasn’t me... I’m not cursed... I...” I lifted my head and saw their pearly white irises glaring at me with pure hatred and disdain. They judged me. They thought my soul had committed a grand sin.

   My eyes widened once a row of crescent moons was created in what appeared to be their lips, grinning wickedly, filled with pride. They were satisfied, pleased, after penetrating the deepest part of my aching heart.

   Suddenly, something touched my shoulder, and, somehow, I knew exactly what it was. A hand, the one that belongs to a demon or a God; the one that belonged to the creature responsible for my misery.

   “Ophelia, I’ll be generous... how would you like to die this time?” I gulped as the voice spoke, body completely frozen in place, cold sweat dripping down my skin. “Would you like to be beheaded?”

   Its voice wasn’t human. In fact, it was as if several beings, men, women, animals, anything at all, had created the creature, twisting its voice until it was a junction of all the horrors Men had seen. The shoulder where its hand rested boiled but, even then, my attention gazed forward, unable to glace back, far too terrified to see the face of my tormentor.

   My eyes glanced upwards. The floating expressions were becoming larger, closer, and more terrifying. Maybe insanity was settling in my body, but I could swear my face felt the hotness coming from their laugher, those wicked smiles that kept on stretching, unable to stop. Yells yearned to escape me, hoping to question who this unknown being was and why did he made me suffer so… but I couldn’t.

   Weak as I was, all my being was able to do was to chew my bottom lip as if it was the most gruesome meat, the most disgusting flavor my pupils had ever tasted. The muscles spreading through my body were so tense that my heartbeats flew through them like a pounding ache, blood rushing through my veins at an abnormal speed. How could my soul still be such a coward?

   The brightness emanated from the faces and the pressure from the creature behind me unexpectedly disappeared. I was finally able to breathe calmly, but my whole being shuddered once a familiar clacking sound echoed far in the distance. A warm orange light appeared, right at the depths of the horizon, slowly approaching from the limit of my sight.

   It was only then that it showed itself. A pure reflection of me, however, its skin was melting and a wicked smile rested on its lips. “Maybe you’d prefer burning since that’s all you know, right?”

   The once deafening darkness was engulfed in flames. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe. That woman was going to be my future, the day of yesterday my soul yearned to forget. My eyes glanced to the fingers where the skin had melted, drop by drop, into the blazes. Tears flew down my face, but the overwhelming heat of the flames quickly dried them, causing any sort of relief to be completely useless.

   It was happening again. I was going to die.

✽✼✽✼✽✼✽

   “No!” I yelled loudly as my eyes abruptly opened, being greeted by the pearly-like ceiling from the Wharton’s mansion. A handful of days had already passed, but somehow, my mind still struggled to fit in.

   The sweat dripped from my pores, wetting the sheets, matching the overwhelming flow of the tears that rolled off my flushed cheeks. A burning sensation roared through my body, forcing me to reactively sit straight. Somehow my mind still thought my being was in the middle of the fire, being burned alive.

   “Is everything alright milady?” One maid interrogated behind the door.

   As confident as I could but still hesitantly, my voice escaped. “Yes… I’m fine.”

   The woman remained quiet for a couple of seconds, probably because of the doubt she felt after hearing the tremble in my voice. “Very well. If you need anything, let me know.”

   Her loud footsteps grew silent, and I launched my body out of the bed, pulling it with every bit of strength. Even though my mind knew such thing wasn’t happening, my figure still felt everything too vividly; from the spreading of my limbs, having their articulations being burned as my own skin turned into nothing but a melted, slimy mess. It was as if everything was consumed by the blazing heat and my figure was the main appetizer.

   It was only when flames began to spread across the room that reality dawned on me. Hallucinations were settling in, and it wouldn’t be long before all the reason in me faded away, causing me to become, undoubtedly, insane.

   After crawling through the floor, my hands grabbed the chair strongly, forcing my body to sit. I was imagining things, flames, all over the chambers, consuming everything in it, mercilessly. A silver letter opener sparked against the warm outbursts, and, with no hesitation, my fingers picked it up.

   Blood began pouring out as the burning sensation in my body was quickly replaced with pure, vivid pain from a cut on my inner thigh. The flames slowly dissipated and my soul became calmer, allowing the uncontrolled breaths to turn rhythmical as well as the drastic heart beats, who gradually became steadier. These nightmares and visions weren’t going to control me anymore – never again.

   Due to the harsh shaking of my hands, the letter opener fell straight onto the floor, clacking against the wood. It was only after several long minutes that my body fully relaxed, having gotten used to the intense throbbing on my left leg. Tears rolled down my cheeks as my hands covered my mouth, hoping it would muffle the sounds of my sobbing.

   “How insane am I...” I stated before hearing a psychotic yet painful laugh escape my grasp.

   Eventually, my tears dried, and the room was involved in a strong, almost unbreakable silence. My right hand pushed the messy fringe backwards, removing most of the strands glued to my sweat and then my body leaned on the chair, attention gazing at the pale blue sky past the transparent window. A beautiful day, warm and sunny, was waiting to be celebrated. Yet, joy had been stolen from my soul.

   After hearing a familiar sound, I glanced towards the bed. The black kitten looked at me with its marvelous ruby eyes. His small body was sitting straight, surveying me, witnessing everything that had unfolded, and deep down, my gut knew. It was clear he was amused to see my misery.

   Last night, after my typical stroll, he was standing still in front of the entrance door, waiting for me right by my chambers. I did not know how he had found me, but such truth was irrelevant.

   “Right... I should name you...” I mumbled to myself while slowly getting up, leaning all my body onto my right leg. After some minutes spent in silence, my focus wondered on what name fitted him the most; an idea darted through. “Nero. You are Nero.”

   The kitten meowed. It seemed my choice wasn’t to his liking, but, in all honesty, he was simply a feline, so was his opinion that important?

   My attention then shifted to the dreadful scenario created moments prior. The light pink bed, besides being a complete mess, was extremely wet from my sweat, as thick and ugly stains sunk in the sheets; the light beige nightgown had been tainted in a vivid red, alongside the light pink chair and the magenta carpet. I gulped, feeling the blood drip from my inner tight onto the light wooden floor, like a small river guided by the rules of gravity.

   Someone knocked on the door, and at that moment it was clear time wasn’t on my side. This was going to be bothersome to explain.