Cherreads

Chapter 4 - CHAPTER 4: I Remember Pain

[Scene: Elara's Room – Early Morning Light]

FX: Birds chirping faintly outside the frost-covered windows 🐦❄️

FX: Soft breathing. Then— a sudden sharp inhale.

[Visual: Elara's eyes fly open.]

She gasps.

Her body jerks upright in bed.

FX: THUMP — Her hand grabs the sheets. Trembling.

Sweat drips down her face, even though the room is cold.

Elara (thinking):

"Where… am I? This isn't the void. This is…"

[Flash of Memory — Scene flickers like static]

Chains. Screams. A circle of robed men.

A red rune carved into her chest.

A single voice commanding:

"Forget. Obey. Belong."

[Back to Present – Elara gasps louder. Her hand clutches her chest.]

FX: BOOM BOOM — Heartbeat intensifies

Kaelith rushes in, sword in hand.

[Kaelith]:

"You're awake!"

He drops the sword and kneels beside her.

[Elara] (weakly):

"Master… I saw… someone… a spell… on me."

[Kaelith] (shocked):

"You… you remember something?"

She nods slowly. Eyes haunted.

Elara (thinking):

"They broke me. Sealed me. Made me forget I was alive."

[Scene: Later – Study Room – candles flickering]

Kaelith has opened several ancient books. Magic seals glow faintly across the table.

[Kaelith] (to himself):

"Runes of obedience… they carved control into her soul."

[Elara] (quiet):

"I wasn't born to be yours. I was forced to be."

[Kaelith] (frowns):

"Do you… hate me now?"

She looks at him. Slowly, deliberately.

[Elara]:

"No. You were the first to treat me like more than a tool."

[Visual: Flashback overlay of her tending his wounds. Serving tea. Laughing once.]

[Kaelith]:

"Then… we end this spell. Break it. Free you."

[Elara] (firm):

"And if I forget you once it's broken?"

[Kaelith] (quietly):

"Then I'll earn you all over again."

[Scene: Forest Shrine – Night – Under the Blood Moon]

Kaelith and Elara stand before a hidden shrine deep in the woods. Stone runes glow as Elara steps onto the ritual circle.

[Visual: Red mist forms around her. Her limbs tremble as if pulled by invisible strings.]

Elara (thinking):

"This seal… it's alive."

A voice echoes again—

"She is ours. She belongs to the pact."

FX: RUMBLE! — The ground shakes.

From the shrine's shadows, a corrupted priest appears. His body twisted by forbidden magic. His eyes glowing white.

[Corrupted Priest]:

"She was never yours, swordsman. She is the weapon of the Black Seal."

Kaelith draws his sword. His energy flares.

[Kaelith]:

"She is not a weapon."

He dashes forward—light streaking behind him.

FX: WHOOSH — CLASH! ⚔️💥

The priest blocks with a jagged staff, laughing.

Elara falls to her knees, her head clutched in pain.

[Inside Elara's Mind – Flashback overload]

Chains. Needles. Screams.

Then—one hand in the darkness.

Kaelith.

He whispers:

"You're more than what they made you."

Her eyes open—glowing blue now.

[Scene: Present — her body lifts into the air slightly]

She screams.

Magic explodes outward.

[Kaelith]:

"Elara!!"

FX: CRACK — The runes on her chest shatter visibly like breaking glass.

The air stills.

Her body collapses into Kaelith's arms.

She blinks. Her expression… different.

[Elara] (softly):

"…I remember my real name."

[Kaelith] (quietly):

"What is it?"

She stares into his eyes, a single tear falling.

[Elara]:

"Elara… was my name. Even before the spell."

Elara (thinking):

"They couldn't take that from me… even if they took everything else."

[Kaelith smiles — his first real smile.]

[Kaelith]:

"Then let's build your future. Not as my shadow. But as yourself."

She nods.

[Scene Cut: Corrupted priest, now crawling away, wounded]

He spits blood.

[Priest]:

"You'll regret this… When she awakens fully… she won't just protect you… she'll destroy you."

[Final Scene: Kaelith and Elara standing side by side, in moonlight]

Their hands almost touch. But not quite.

A soft wind brushes through the trees.

[Elara] (whispers):

"Even if I was created as a weapon… I choose to be yours."

[To be continued…]

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