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When Yorda wakes, her first reaction is panic. She is sprawled on a flat surface, something cold pressed against her cheek. Opening her eyes, she sees nothing but vague outlines, only dimly lit. The square edges of a corner in some unfamiliar wall take up most of her view. There is not another living being to be seen or heard around her, not even the rustle of a bird's wings or the eerie rustle of a shadow.
All around her is nothing but cold, and gray walls, and she is alone.
For a terrible moment, she believes her mother has returned and taken her back to some new dark chamber and locked her there, and left her there to fade into blackness. Struggling to her feet, she stumbles toward what seems to be a door.
Overhead, as if in answer to the sudden motion, a light bursts into being, brighter than any torch she has ever seen, and more silent. She freezes midstep, then turns, slowly, and lifts her face to it in awe.
Instinctually, even without examination of the silvery metal that makes up the walls of this room--unlike anything in the battered brick and stone of her birthplace--she realizes that this is no part of the castle. Her mother would never permit a light so bright or warm in her dwelling-place.
Hesitantly, she lets herself relax, and looks around the small, empty room. The metal under her bare feet is incredibly smooth and cool to the touch, like water made solid enough to bear her weight. Beneath her feet, her own reflection looks back at her, backlit by a soft glow of reflected light from the lamp overhead. Enchanted, Yorda kneels to touch hands with her reflection, running her fingers eagerly over the fascinating surface. She leans closer, staring intently, until her nose nearly brushes its blurry twin...
Behind her, there is a sudden whooshing sound, and she bolts up like a startled deer, twisting around from her crouch on the floor. The door she saw before is open, and someone is coming into the room.
Frightened, Yorda scoots backwards toward the wall, her dark eyes wide. "Erad at ana?" she whispers, in a thin, liquid voice, staring up at the new person who has entered her chamber...