"The fearless are merely fearless. People who act in spite of their fear are truly brave." -James A. LaFond-Lewis
Secret opened her eyes to a splitting headache. Bright light confronted her eyes as soon as they embarked themselves upon reality. She sat up, regretting it the instant she did.
�I�m alive,� was the first thought that came to mind, followed very soon by, �ouch!�
She tried to capture her surroundings, but the light was too bright and her head spun too much. She could feel something cold on her head and the pain in her stomach was swelling.
�Ah, you�re awake,� a sunshine-y voice said, intensifying her headache. Secret squinted her eyes to see the outline of Prominence sitting on the edge of her bed.
�What happened?� Secret asked, her voice hoarse. At first Prominence did not answer her, and tried to spoon-feed her a teaspoon of some kind of liquid.
�What happened?� Secret asked, more urgently. Secret�s eyes focused slightly more and she noticed the bandage across Prominence�s wrist and the black eye that adorned her face.
�Where did you get those from?� Secret asked, brushing her fingers across the shiny mark.
�You.� Prominence responded slowly and precisely.
A flash of memory from their last encounter popped in to Secret�s mind. She saw herself screaming at Prominence and clawing at her. What was the reason for that? She couldn�t remember. She could recall something to do with P, the Conqueror. As quickly as the memory arrived, it disappeared like the wind.
�You�ve been taking care of me?� Secret asked. Prominence nodded, pouring Secret something to drink.
�But who took care of you?� Secret asked. Again her question fell on deaf ears. Prominence turned to her, �Get some rest, okay?� and walked out of the room. Secret looked around at her surroundings. What she thought was her final resting place�the beach next to the sea of Loneliness and Despair, was a sharp contrast to her present surroundings, a sparse but comfortable bedroom.
�Where am I?� Secret asked, feeling the pain in her stomach sharpen. She was tired and weak. The door opened.
�Hello?� Secret called out. �Anyone there?�
There was no answer and Secret was too weak to reopen her eyes. She could feel a warm presence near her.
�Hello?� she called out again.
Again there was no answer.
The fear in the bottom of Secret�s stomach started to grow. Suddenly she could feel a sharp pain intensifying in her stomach, as if there was a hole to let out the fear. She opened her eyes weakly, seeing red on her T-shirt and the back of someone�s head walking out the door. Her hands went instinctively to her stomach. She could feel something protruding from it and warm wetness surrounding it.
�A knife,� she realized, stunned, �And was that D, the Sweetheart leaving?�
J
