TEN: BLACK AMETHYST

She stops fighting them suddenly questions about who the boss is as obviously she is the bait. They are going down a hall.

Here, the walls have colour. His arranged it to show the different shades of  Purple until it reaches the darkest shade of purple – The colour of the church flowers. She lets out a loud gasp.

The men leading her towards wherever they are going to don't even make a sound. They weren't told. They actually look as if they are in their mid-twenties but she just wondered why she needs about five men for this. This is actually what scares her.

                              ***

"You had to get fresh with him, didn't you?" Jared snaps at Jael as they find their way to the headquarters.

Jael doesn't say a thing for a while. "It's not like I kissed him and I don't recall telling you I was immune to feelings," Jael ground out.

"Guys, this is the epic finale of whatever this stupid people are fighting for. Can we please focus?" Luke says and it is obvious he isn't actually asking or pleading.

"Stupid men folk," Jael mutters under her breath and kicks a stone. She gasps when she hears the loud sound of the stone hitting a surface.

She walks slowly towards the sound as she kicks stones continuously.

"Um... Guys, I think I found it." Jared and Luke walk towards her and they feel the surface that she found.

Luke chews on hisbottom lip "I think Daleth said we should walk through the walls."

"I never knew this place could become even an extra bit weird but I guess I was wrong," Jared says.

                          ***

They stop her in front of a wall with the flower neatly painted in a larger size.

Beneath the flower, Amalya sees the quote:

There is no idea without knowledge; no imagination without idea and no reality without imagination.

                                               - Amalya

Amalya stares at her name 'Amalya' below the quote. Those words has been words she used to encourage Rosie. How did it end up on a wall??

She thinks of Rosie.

Amalya obviously cannot break a promise that holds some much.

The men let go of her and start walking away. She finds that she doesn't even ask them any questions and neither is she afraid.

As she reaches to touch the wall, it opens to probably the darkest room she has ever seen. She doesn't hesitate to walk in. in fact, the place feels slightly familiar.

"Can someone flick the light switch in here?" Amalya looks in a bore tone.

A deep voice comes from a place in the room.

"Typical Amalya."

After the dreams she had had, she could never have mistaken the voice.

"Castello," she says just as she had suspected.

A dim light floods the room but she cannot tell the source. The light slightly illuminates his profile. She takes in his sunken cheeks and thinning hair with her eyes.

"Sit" This is not a question from him.

"No", Amalya says. She made a vow to herself after the dream that she'd never let this man push her around again.

She hears him clear his throat. "Look at the floor" Amalya doesn't. Instead, "Why?" "Find out," He tells her in a quiet gentle voice. One she knows not to trust but she looks down anyway.

The flowers … The flowers are scattered everywhere but there is one space they all seem to be avoiding. She watches painted vines lead up to the space. And, she sees herself being comforted by the man that once hated like trash.

This one wasn't painted. It was drawn, by someone.

His hands are wrapped around her shoulder in a fatherly manner as they look in one direction. She follows their eyes until she stops on a church flower.

Amalya looks his way "Is today bring your child to work day?"

"Amalya, that flower is the Black Amethyst."

"The What?"

Castello stands but doesn't face her. He clasps his hand behind him. "That is the original flower your mother gave you before I took you from her. None of the flowers given to you were yours. Everyone here has a flower which you read and arranged but that one there is yours."

Amalya ties to place his words appropriately in her head and Castello turns to face her.

There is a deep scowl playing on his scarred face. A scar covered the left side of his face. It is clearly visible even though it is fading.

"Open it." Amalya knows this one is a silent order. She wants to do it but .... "Why can't you do it?" She blurts out.

"Your mother cursed me not to. Now open it."

He watches her intently as she bends to pick up the flower. She hesitated and he grunts "What?" he asks her.

"How am I sure it isn't just another illusion?" Amalya asked. He Snorts.

"Trust your father."

"You disowned me," she tells him.

"I wasn't good for you."

"And now you are?" She asks feeling the ting of pain in her voice.

"Trust me," he said simply and calmly. The voice that had been in her head all along.

She wills herself to shut up and pick the flowers. She opens the flower. She feels like a child again knowing this is the only original connection to her mother.

Amalya noticed there isn't one word, instead, there are words written on every petal. She doesn't read the words out loud.

LOVE

SHIELDS

THE

MIND.

FORGIVE

HIM

What did it mean? Love shields the mind. Forgive him.

His voice, sounding dangerous now, penetrates her thoughts "What does it say."

A new calm voice floods her head. "Don't tell him," the voice tell her and with hope she doesn't say thing to him.

He starts coming down the stairs before him slowly .

"Answer me!" Out of fear, "What happened to my mother?"

She sees a half smile forming on his lips.

"You don't Know?" He asks.

"No, I don't."

He stops at the bottom of the stairs.

"I have her with me."

"Why?"

He laughs; "Because you almost killed her."

Amalya doesn't say a thing and he continues "You set the house on fire with your imagination. The power I gave you. Don't you recall the trance with you in a burning house and the little boy holding bloody burnt cloths. It wasn't fake, darling. It was all because of you. I'm guessing you know who that little boy is."

"Omarr," she mutters

He laughs even more "You took after your father, didn't you? Except the fact that I never tried to kill anyone of you. You think you're a Christian. Even the devil wouldn't do such."

Her gazes naps to his face. "I don't believe you."

He takes a step forward "you don't need to. The deed has been done and Omarr is not exactly a happy boy cause he regrets ever meeting you!"

"Lies!" Amalya screams taking her own step forward "That was definitely not my intention."

"Stop screaming please. You know we can kill Rosie and if you liked her brother. He was working for us once and then suddenly backed out."

"Her brother?" Amalya asks as all the confusion settles over her.

"I mean Luke. He is a really smart boy, don't you think?"

Amalya shakes her head to pull her thoughts together. "What do you want from me?" She asks her father.

"The words in the flower. I need that remaining piece of information to understand how the mind works, Amalya. You wouldn't be doing the wrong thing, honey. I am a doctor".

It is Amalya's turn to laugh. Not everyone is that stupid. As if reading her heart maybe, it is the voice floods her mind with an excited voice. "Give it to him! Throw the words at him and watch him breakdown!" Amalya starts laughing.

Her voice bounds of the walls that she can't actually see. She looks at her father "You know, Castello, I- I think I agree with you. I did take after you. We both like to manipulate people."

She sees the old man's frown come to place.

"What are you doing? Don't play games, Amalya."

She barks out half laugh "Of course not. I won't kill you. I just want to tell you the words on each petal since you are a doctor."

Castello smiles dangerously. His eyes show that it isn't genuine.

Amalya takes her time to walk towards him. She stops just a few feet in front of his. She closes her eyes and focuses. "Love shields the mind."

He stares at her closed eyes "Love?  How does that come in? What does that mean?"

"It means love is greatest and with that from someone you wouldn't be able to do anything bad." She smiles when she hears the fear in his voice.

"Don't even think about it, Amalya."

"Sure. I won't think about it. I will just say it." She opens her eyes "I love you and because of that father, I also forgive you."

After carefully spacing out her words, she watches him shrink before her eyes. He stares at her and she sees the life in him fading slowly.

She opens the palm of his right hand and places the flower in it. As soon as she does it, she sees the other flowers on the floor dry up and shrivel.

Amalya goes on the tip of her toes and pecks the side of his face that isn't scarred. The once handsome man falls on his knees.

Words couldn't be formed anymore but he forces it.

"Amalya, the quote on the wall is the first thing you ever told me when I took you from your mother. I love you too so I put it there but greed flooded my heart. I'm sor-sorry," Castello tells her in his tiniest voice.

She sees the tears that flood his eyes and wet his face and she knows she is crying too.

Watching his father die from words he had been cursed not to hear was never her daily prayer but like he said, the deed had been done. She kneels down in front of him.