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Post by Blindside Tex on Jul 11, 2016 22:59:14 GMT -5
The trio moved through the castle swiftly, slipping in and out of shadows, Ayla knocked guards to the wall, freezing them there like statues. As they got closer the sounds of Ren’s screams could be heard. Ayla’s eyes widened slightly, “No…” She sprinted forward.
“Ayla wait!” Jak called and sped up with her. A knight rushed toward them, he pulled his sword from his hip and sliced the knight at his legs, sending him toppling to the ground. Xavier was right behind him.
Ayla ran through the halls following the sounds of the screams that bounced off of the stone walls. The princess rounded a corner and shoved a knight out of the way, her eyes were full of the blue glow now. It was then that she made it to the old wooden door that Ren was on the other side of. She slammed her fists into the door, it froze and shattered into a million tiny pieces. She sprinted forward and knocked the man away from Ren. “You disgusting bastard!” She screamed as she slammed her fist into the side of his head, ice covered her skin to her elbows.
Xavier and Jak ran into the room moments later, they had been stuck with stopping all of the knights that Ayla had sprinted passed. Ayla was slammed to her back by the man, he chuckled as he gripped her neck. “Oh this will be fun!” He snickered, his sharp teeth showing. Ayla squirmed as she gripped his wrists, ice began to form over his skin. Xavier ran forward and knocked the man from atop the princess. He stood and held the man down with the heel of his boot in the man’s neck.
Jak ran up to Ren and carefully unbuckled the shackles, he whispered an incantation that released her from the magical bonds. Ayla stared over to her brother for a second, making sure that Ren was safe…well…as safe as she could be. Ayla then turned to see Xavier thrown to his back, a hook slipped through his side from one of the torture devices. Ayla slammed against the man her hand gripped his neck as she forced him against the wall. Her glowing eyes looked into his. “You sick fuck.” She growled out as she slammed his body against the wall. “How could you even live with yourself?! How do you even do something like that?! To someone like her?!!!!” She slammed her fist into his face with each word that she spoke through grit teeth.
Jak set Ren carefully on the ground. “It’s okay.” He whispered to her, he pulled his over shirt off and ripped it, wrapping her wounds the best he could. “You’re okay.” He had a soothing voice. A blue glow could be seen within his own eyes. “Just stay right here, don’t move.” He ran to Xavier who was stuck on the meat hook. “Hold still buddy.” He lifted up Xavier’s body carefully to pull the metal from his side. Jak looked to his sister then as knights rushed into the room. “Fuck.” He whispered under his breath. “Come on.” He pat Xavier on his back and ran to a knight that approached Ren, he kicked the man in his chest, sending him flying backward.
Ayla let out a cry as the man pinned her against the wall. He had clocked her hard on the side of her head, causing blood to leak down over her skin. The man leaned forward and licked the blood from her cheek before he snickered, his skin gained the same red glow again. “Oh yes.” He hummed.
Ayla growled, “Get off!” She shoved her hands against his chest, the blue fire came from her hands then, sending him flying across the entire room and into the wall on the other side. She pulled her dagger from its sheathe and rushed him. He stood and she swung at his arm, lobbing it off. Blood spurted from the wound. The man looked to it just as Ayla stabbed him in the abdomen, slamming him against the wall. She ripped the blade upward and pulled it from his body only to bring her knee into his chest. She stabbed him again, and twisted the blade within his body, the metal was glowing a bright blue, ice formed on the blade. Ayla then forced the blade through his sternum and leaned in close to him. “I hope you suffer.” She whispered, blood on her teeth from the hits that he had gotten in on her. She then stepped back and swung at him, the blue fire came from her fist and rushed throughout the entire room…every knight that stood in the room froze solid. The floor became icy. Ayla cried out as she slammed her other fist into the man that was torturing Ren, his body shattered, as did the bodies of the other knights. She stood there, breathing heavily for a moment before she rushed to Ren’s side. “Ren.” She breathed. “God…” She pulled her into her arms. “It’s okay…” She whispered softly. “I’m so sorry..” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m so sorry I…I should have been faster…I…”
“Ayla, come on!” Xavier’s voice broke the silence. He grabbed Ren’s ear from the floor. “We gotta go!” He pulled at the princess as he ran from the room, the sound of clanking armor filled the halls. The whole castle had been alerted. Ayla stood and held Ren against her chest, her eyes continued to glow blue. She took off in a sprint behind her brother and Xavier. Jak looked over his shoulder to his sister and gave her a nod. He rushed forward and a whirlwind of ice formed, sucking in several knights whom burst into icy flames and shattered into thousands of pieces. He kept every knight from getting close to Ren and Ayla. They rushed from the castle and to the city streets where more trouble lie. Knights continued to rush them. Ayla pulled her pistol from her hip and began to fire it, somehow she shot each knight in the head, sending their limp body to the ground.
When they finally made it to the ship Ayla ran onto the deck with Ren in her arms. “Let’s go! Get us out of here!” She called to the crew whom began to rush about. Ayla rushed into the captain’s room with Ren and set her down on the bed gently. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She rushed from the room to grab the ear from Xavier. He looked to her with sad eyes. Ayla ran to the room again and pulled Ren into her arms, she began to sob as she tried to focus on healing her. A teal color began to pulsate from her body, it then faded onto Ren’s body and slowly engulfed her. An icy cool feeling would have enveloped Ren’s body in that moment. Jak stood in the doorway as he watched his sister in awe, he couldn’t do that…he could only control ice, like she could…but he couldn’t heal…their mother had been a healer…
Ayla held Ren to her body tightly as she rocked slightly. The wounds began to disappear, one by one. Each cut sealed, leaving not trace, not even a scar. This magic was incredibly powerful. The cuts continued to piece back together until finally Ren’s ear was back in place upon the side of her head. Ayla collapsed as the light faded, her arms pulled Ren onto her chest as she lay on her back on the bed. Her breathing was quick and heavy. Her eyes fluttered. Her pulse within her chest raced about like a rabbit being chased by a fox. Jak had left the doorway to the deck by Xavier. “She’s strong.” He whispered to Xavier as he looked to the city in the far distance. “I never thought I would see her again and I could have never dreamed that she would be so strong, without a doubt. She looks just like our mother.” He chuckled lightly.
Xavier looked to the boy before he looked back to the sea, he knew trouble lurked on the horizon. They had been docked too long. It was only a matter of time before Adriel caught up to them again.
Ayla pulled Ren into her in her unconscious state, her cool arms were loosely wrapped around the captain, protecting her.
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Post by Raven on Jul 12, 2016 12:52:37 GMT -5
Ren screamed and pulled at the bindings that cut into her wrists. Just then the door shattered, a gush of freezing cold air pushed into the room. Ren was relieved when he was tackled away from her - entire body shuddering in pain. When Jak released her she slumped forward onto him, his arms grabbing her easily. Her vision was blurry, fuzzy and the world spun fast. Ren turned her head slightly - looking to Ayla as she beat the mans face. Over and over. Her power was fluctuating, the entire building shook with each hit she forced into his skull. From her fist a radiation of freezing cold aura shocked into each of their bodies…
Ren groaned when she was placed on the ground as Jak tried to stop her bleeding. She was covered in her own blood by now, stained and sticky to her skin.. Ren could feel the compression of the shirt against her arms, it felt like she was being squeezed by a giant, the pain shot through her body over and over and wouldn’t stop. Ren grit her teeth and looked to Ayla again as she fought. “Ay-“ she could hardly speak. She winced when the entire room turned blue - the knights that were clattering against Xavier suddenly shattered like glass.
Ren looked to Ayla and she smiled weakly, her lips puffed and bruised. She even managed to chuckled slightly as her eyes looked over the woman hovering over her. As the moment of heaven passed she was lifted, her head dangling on Ayla’ shoulder. Her eyes then began to glow bright blue - as she stare to the castle as they leave it. The sky turned dark, clouds rolling in. It instantly began to rain heavily, thunder booming in the sky. Ren’s eyes flashed and there was a huge flash. Lightning struck down and hit the wall of the castle, exactly where she once sat. The cells.
A moment passed as the rain continued, Ren’s eyes growing heavy from the loss of blood and energy. A man emerged from the gated doors, he was limping slightly, but he held himself up. His beard was long and scraggly, his hair unkept and crazy. He held his hand out - waving to Ren as her head bounce against Ayla’s shoulder. Octar bowed deeply to her as he watched her leave, and then he turned away.
Ren smiled weakly despite the pain and then passed out… As they came to the ship the men scrambled about and quickly they were off. The co-pilot gripped the wheel and yanked the ship out of the dock and just as they left a tornado fell upon the castle. It was a decent sized one, it simply sat on top of the castle. It broke it apart and sucked it upwards in the sky, to circle around and around, until the entire castle was in bits - spinning around in its doom.
Ren laid on the bed unmoving even to the gentle and frantic touch of Ayla. Her body pressed into Ayla’s after the healing had occurred…
A few hours passed and Ren stirred, the night had come upon them now. She looked over and blinked slowly, looking to Ayla who slept peacefully. Ren lifted her arms and looked to her forearms - where those chunks of skin was now healed. Was it a dream? No… it wasn’t. That power that Ayla expressed… it was incredible. Ren lifted her head and brought her hand to her ear. She gasped slightly, she could still feel it being ripped off. She climbed away and looked at herself in the mirror - still covered thick with blood.
Ren walked out of the room and down the stairs to the right. Giant looked to Ren and nodded his head, his face etched with surprise that she was up. The ship was quiet, and quiet is exactly what Ren wanted. She made her way to the bathing room and stepped into the large walk in shower. She stripped down and tossed her bloodied clothes to the ground and turned the shower on. Her eyes looked to the head of the shower, the slightly rusty metal that shot water out. The water would drain and enter the tank again, where a collection of magic stones would clean the water, to be shot out of the shower head once more.
The water pooling at her feet was red and pink, the blood oozing off as it became wet. She grabbed the small scrubby and pushed it against her skin, scrubbing it all off. She observed her arms and didn’t see any scarring, it was amazing. She wished she could have had that in the past. Her body was littered with scars from other harvests. It had been almost a hundred years since she had lived that life of being harvested. She stared to her arms again and shook her head, having a hard time swallowing what had happened. She never wanted that to happen to her again, but it was a fate that would always step in her way.
Ren washed her hair and then shut the water off. After drying off she wrapped herself with a towel and kicked her bloodied clothes to the corner. Her steps led her back to her room where she picked out another outfit. Her eyes glanced to Ayla, still asleep, and she changed quickly.
She came out of her room and Xavier approached her. Before he could speak she interrupted him “Im fine…” she spoke and walked away up to her wheel. She sat down at the edge of the boat, swinging her feet over the side. Her thoughts ran about Adriel. This adventure was still going, it wasn’t over yet. He held them hostage while yet they roam free. She gripped her fists and then released them, looking out to the endless ocean.
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Post by Blindside Tex on Jul 12, 2016 23:17:35 GMT -5
Ayla furrowed her brows slightly when Ren moved away from her. She curled to her side into the warm pillows where the captain had once lay. She hummed lightly in her sleep before falling silent once more. She looked at ease, completely peaceful.
Up on the decks Jak stood at the stern of the ship. He had his arms crossed as he stared over the sea with the silver light of the moonlight. “So this demon that follows you, tell me about it.” He spoke to Xavier.
Xavier leaned against the wooden railing of Flotsam, “The queen in Portland has sent the demon after Ayla. I helped her escape that hell hole, if I would have known that the queen would have sent this thing after us I would have killed that woman myself.” He nearly growled and shook his head. He held his side, blood soaked through his tunic.
“You should really get help from Ayla.” Jak pointed to the dark portion of Xavier’s side. “But, if you have a death wish, be my guest.” He chuckled lightly.
Xavier looked over the man that stood before him before he shook his head. “I can hold my own.” His voice was gruff. “So tell me, Jak, where are you and Ayla from?” He asked curiously.
“Cisne.” Jak replied softly he glanced to Xavier to see his awe. “That’s usually the reaction I am accustomed to getting.” He chuckled.
“How did she end up in the queen’s hands?” Xavier continued to question.
Jak took in a breath and sighed heavily before he told the story of their parents and how they had died fighting the war against the humans for the Queen. “She forced all adults of age. Not many died, but, our parents were among the few. She took Ayla from me….I was 8, she was just barely 3. She was so young…and the orphanage let us get separated just like that, I guess if you have enough money rules don’t matter. The queen didn’t want me, she didn’t want me slipping up and telling someone that I wasn’t her own blood.” He scoffed. “You can tell Ayla isn’t hers.” He shook his head. “I’ve read the papers, I’ve seen pictures of my sister my entire life…”
“I’m sorry.” Xavier spoke softly. “I’m sorry that no one knew, no one could contact you…” He shook his head, the queen was a monster.
Jak shook his head, “It’s okay, I got out of the orphanage and I went back to our home in Cisne. The people protected it and kept it the way it was when I was a child. I had pictures of Ayla. I trained with the master mages. I prepared myself. I planned to go to Portland once she became queen, once I could talk to her without fear of my head getting lobbed off by her so called mother.” He paused for a long moment, looking to the stars and the moon, “We need to return to Cisne.” He looked to Xavier.
“We can’t, that demon will corner us there. He gets into Ayla’s head, you know. He gets into her head and gives her terrible nightmares and once he is in he figures out our exact location.” Xavier shook his head. “We can’t go onto land, not that far in, we will be sitting ducks.”
Jak smirked, “We won’t be sitting ducks in Cisne. We will take the tunnels through the mountains into town, and the master mage has already created a barrier around the entire city, it is invisible to everyone, unless he has allowed you to see it. The demon can’t get in there, he most likely doesn’t know the location of Cisne, only those from the city do.”
Xavier gave a slight nod, “I suppose that is true, even in all my travels I don’t know the location. I have heard whispers of Cisne, read of it in old magi books. It is more of a fairytale than the real thing.” He chuckled. This was the moment when Ren emerged from the captain’s room. His lips had parted to ask her if she was okay, but she cut him off and went to the stern. He saw the look in Jak’s eyes and shook his head to him and made to grab him, only to get a smirk and a wave.
Jak sat down next to Ren on the deck, his own legs dangled toward the ocean below. He was silent for a long moment, his arms rest on the railing and his chin upon his forearms. He let the silence settle before he looked to Ren, his ocean blue eyes matched Ayla’s almost exactly. He looked over Ren silently for another long moment, his cheek pressed against his arm. “You aren’t fine.” He whispered. “You’re strong, but I know you’re upset.” His voice was calm. “Back there, what happened, I wish we could have gotten to you sooner, if I would have known that they were going to take you I would have stopped them myself. No one deserves that. No one soul upon this world.” He took in her features, he looked to her reattached ear and gave a soft smile. “Ayla is pretty amazing, huh?” He looked back to the sea then. “I’ve been waiting my entire life to meet her, you know?” He paused and kicked his legs slightly. “I’ve watched her grow up, alone. Just like me.” He shook his head then rest his chin on his arms. “It’s an odd feeling when someone you love is ripped away from you, when you’ve lost everything and that one good thing that is left is taken.”
Jak stopped talking then and just looked over the waves, “It’s great to see the light in her eyes, she never had that in the palace, every picture in the papers she looked troubled and sad…” He then looked to Ren again. “I spent so much time preparing to meet my sister that when I met her, I didn’t know what to say. And then come to find out, she has these amazing powers.” He chuckled. “You look perfect, Ren. I don’t know how she did that, not even our mother could heal so well. She was so worried about you, the fear in her eyes.” He continued to look at Ren, taking in her expression. “I’ve never seen someone so anxious, so caring and frightened. She didn’t even care to ask me questions, she only cared about saving you. That’s a remarkable thing you have.” He smirked before he looked away. “We need to go to Cisne.” He spoke after a long silence. “It’s safe from that demon, you can rest there.” He gave a slight nod. “You and Ayla can relax, it’s safe there. Until we figure out a plan to fight back. I’ve heard of Adriel before, I know his games, he is a nasty demon.” He looked to the white crest of the waves behind the boat as it moved through the water quickly. “By the way, that tornado.” He smirked to her, looking into her eyes then, “You are just as amazing, if not far more, than the stories of you.”
**
“Ren?” Ayla felt next to her. “Ren…” She sat up, and looked around the room. “Ren…?” She stood and stumbled slightly with the flow of the boat. The door opened and Xavier walked in. He looked to Ayla for a moment before he sat on the edge of the bed. “Where’s Ren?” She held herself up with the wall.
“She’s okay.” Xavier said through grit teeth. “Can…can you help me?” He asked and lifted up his shirt. Green had formed in the wound, blood leaked from his side.
Ayla rushed forward and placed her hand over the wound. “Xavier…” She whispered. “Oh god…did this happened back there?” She looked for the nod. She shut her eyes and imagined the healing taking place. A green glow came from her hand and closed the wound, erasing it from time. Ayla’s forehead pressed against Xavier’s shoulder. She was so weak from the amount of energy she had expelled. She took in deep breaths. “Better?” She asked in a very soft voice.
“Yes…yes, I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have…” Xavier held her from falling. “I’m sorry princess…” He blamed himself for how weak she now was.
Ayla lay back on the bed and curled, “Xavier…I want to make Ren pancakes.” She whispered.
“What?” Xavier looked to Ayla.
“I want to make her pancakes….she loves them…” Ayla muttered before she passed out.
Xavier gave a soft smile, “You will.” He stood and went to the kitchen below decks, he spoke with the chef, telling the man that Ayla planned to make pancakes for breakfast for Ren, not to let her miss out on that. He then came back up to the decks and looked to Ren and Jak, he smiled before he stepped to Ren’s side. “Ayla was asking for you.” He whispered into her ear.
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Post by Raven on Jul 13, 2016 9:40:23 GMT -5
Ren glanced to Jak and sighed softly before he sat down. She turned her gaze to the sea. It was calm. Like nothing had happened. The sea always did that. There would be a storm that would whip the waves into a frenzy… when the clouds rolled along the water would settle, relaxing under the warm sun. Ren stared to the whale in the distance who’s tail came high up out of the water and then slapped down. Ren smiled slightly and then turned her head when Jak began talking.
At first she was uncomfortable. This man she’s never met stepping into her carefully walled bubble. But then she had to remind herself this man saved her life, and could provide very useful in the acts of training Ayla. For a moment she wondered how Ayla was doing, the power she used would have made her feel like a wrecked truck…
“Oh – uh, yeah” she reached up and touched her ear, where it was completely sealed and healed, she could hear better than before even.
Ren listened to him this time – as he talked of Ayla. She turned her head and then stared to him for a long moment. “Huh…” she muttered and then looked back to the sea. “What a turn if events” she spoke softly and then smiled. “You do sorta look like her.. the eyes, the nose.. cheek bones..” she then blushed slightly and looked back to the sea where the whale breached once more. “Life will give you things, and take them away, it’s your job to seize them if you want them to stay” she spoke softly. “That is one thing I know on this ship… That some day each person on this ship will find their own way.” She smiled when the whale slapped his body down into the water. “He’s playing” she pointed out to the large whale.
“Cisne… I’ve heard of it, the ancient city that doesn’t exist… Though, inland isn’t it?” she spoke and traced her finger along the wooden railing. “I hate leaving my ship unattended for more than a day.. but I will do it. Where about is it near?” she spoke and then stood over to her wheel. When Jak told her she nodded and then turned the wheel slightly. “I’ll put some juice on it and we can get there by sunset” she spoke and pointed her finger towards the sail. From all the practice she was getting the hang of her magic again, she hadn’t used it in a while. Now it was even easier than normal. The boat caught more wind and began to move faster. The entire boat shifted – those in the hull would likely feel the gain in speed. Behind the boat was a good sized wake, the foamy sea outlining a V in the back from the rudder.
Ren then turned and looked to Xavier who approached her. She stepped forward and hugged him – something she had never done to Xavier, it was rare for Ren to actually hug someone. “Thank you for saving me” she spoke and touched where he had been stabbed by the hook. She then slapped it with her hand and laughed “That girl got ya!” she stepped back and punched him in the chest playfully.
The Co pilot stepped up to her. She pointed in a direction and spoke to him, he nodded and then took over the wheel. She turned from Xavier and then walked to the Captains room. She opened the door and closed it behind her. She walked over to Ren and placed her hand on her side. Her eyes traces her nose, cheek bones, her jawline, down her neck. Ren leaned down and gently placed her lips on Ren’s forehead. “Thank you for saving me” she whispered and then stepped away. She went to her vanity and pulled out a drawer and plucked through a few things. She pulled out a necklace that had a red gently glowing gem in the middle with a blue pedal of what looked like a rose pedal sitting in the middle. Ren gripped the gem and then brought it to her lips and kissed it. A small flash of light came from the gem as it synced with her. Ren then pulled out another just like it, but it was Red with a Blue pedal In the middle. She then kissed this Gem and it flashed as well.
Ren came to the bed and sat on the edge, holding each Necklace in her hands. “I want to give you one of these” she spoke softly and held the necklaces up. “You get to pick which color you want. They’re enchanted, Vision Transfer spells. If you ever get separated from me… you just wrap your hand around this necklace and whisper my name… you will be able to see through my eyes in that moment. All you have to do then is say my name again and I will hear you. I will hear you calling” she smiled and blushed deeply. “And when I hear you calling – I’ll come running”
“To sync the Gems, place them on your lips.” She spoke and handed the Blue gem over first. She smiled as there was a flash and then handed the Red over. “I think the blue one suits you..” she smiled and then reached forward – slipped the Blue necklace over her neck and then it glowed brightly around Ayla’s neck. Ren then put her necklace on and it glowed brightly too. A beam of light shot from each necklace – reaching forward and entering into the other’s necklace. The beam ended and each Necklace pulsed, glowing happily.
“We are headed to Cisne, we should be there by sunset. Apparently… this is where you are from… your brother says you were essentially adopted by the Barren Queen…” she chuckled and brushed a bit of hair from Ayla’s eyes. “We will be safe there, he says. And you will get to dig around into the truth of your past” she smiled and then stood up. “You guys will be draggin’ me inland” she shuddered. “Better be a lot of chocolate involved” she winked and then held her hands out. “Lets get out of bed, get a bit of air. We can sit if you can’t stand..” she smiled and helped Ayla up.
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Post by Blindside Tex on Jul 13, 2016 12:11:53 GMT -5
Jak grinned as he watched Ren work her magic. He stared up to the sails and then to the wake that the ship created behind them. “She will love Cisne.” He looked to Xavier and chuckled. “Not many of her kind are left in this world, those that have a strong grasp on magic were killed years ago. But the magi in Cisne are ancient beings.” He nodded and smirked, “I can get Ayla where she needs to be, so that we can defeat Adriel and the Queen. If I know anything about the queen in Portland from my research she is a tireless witch, to put it lightly.”
Xavier let out a laugh, “Yes, you are exactly right.” He chuckled, “She is arrogant though, years ago she slipped up and was almost killed by Victor’s father’s men. I have a feeling the same will happen again, especially with Ayla. Once she is comfortable with her magic.” He nodded. “That woman deserves to die, I know Ayla won’t kill her…even though she now knows that the queen isn’t her biological mother, that woman is still her mother, just as the king is still her father. She couldn’t bring herself to do such a thing, though she may return some of the pain that the queen has ensued on her.” Xavier looked out over the calm ocean. “If I had it my way, she would be tortured, endlessly. For what she did to Ayla.” His voice became angry when he spoke this last bit.
Jak looked to the knight and gave a slight nod. “I agree, if you feel that way, I am entirely trusting that she must deserve it. What did she do to my sister?”
Xavier looked to him, his muscles tensed, he began to speak of the almost daily beatings that had taken place Ayla’s entire life, years of hell that she had lived through.
**
Ayla lay on the bed, curled on her side when Ren entered the room. She didn’t move until she felt the gentle touch of Ren on her side. Ayla let out a soft sound in her sleep, her lips curved upward slightly into a smile. It was when Ren placed the gentle kiss on her forehead that her eyes fluttered open, “Ren…?” She whispered softly her vision a blur. She reached a hand up and rubbed her eyes just as Ren thanked her. She smiled weakly, “Ren, I will always save you.” She followed the captain’s movement to the vanity and watched as she pulled the beautiful necklaces from the drawer. Ayla smiled as she sat up slowly when Ren sat on the edge of the bed, performing the bonding ritual of the necklaces. Her lips were warm to the touch of the necklace, the gem cold from sitting in the drawer. When the beam shot from the two jewels Ayla watched in awe. She leaned her body against Ren’s, still weak from exerting so much energy.
“Cisne…” She muttered and shook her head, “I’ve never heard of it.” She then blushed when Ren brushed hair from her eyes. The touch was so gentle, it caused butterflies to flutter within her stomach, instantly she grinned. She stood with Ren’s help and leaned against her. “My muscles hurt.” She let out a soft laugh as her head leaned into Ren’s shoulder. “I feel like I’ve been run over.” She hugged her arms gently, enjoying being this close to Ren. It was then that she tensed and let out a cry. “R…Ren…” She said through grit teeth, the jewel upon her neck began to pulse. The blue glow began in a ring around her pupils as she gripped onto Ren’s shoulders. Her breathing was heavy. “Help….” She nearly collapsed, “Out…outside…” She winced before she fell onto the bed, she let out a pain filled cry, cuts appeared out of nowhere on her arms, her face, her neck. It looked as though she was getting attacked by a rabid beast. She curled on her side, her hands held up to her head as more marks appeared, blood soaked through her shirt. A commotion could be heard from the deck above, something was happening. “Go please…Ren…go…” She whimpered as her body trembled, she was doing her best not to let the demon into her mind, but she couldn’t last long. Her eyes flashed red with the fiery glow and she fell unconscious, her body trembling and tense as she lay on the bed, helpless to Adriel’s attack.
**
“What’s happening?” Xavier rushed to the stern of the ship where Jak stood. “Jak?”
Jak looked to the knight then to the black swirling clouds above. “Adriel, he found Ayla.” He muttered. He saw the attacks from this demon before in Heartspoole. The demon came in with his army and murdered the entire city of humans. This was a good ten years ago, not long after he had lost his sister. He was still young, he was still in the process of finding Cisne. He remembered hiding from the demon, crying in a broom closet as the entire city burned to the ground. To this day, Heartspoole remained the same, charred homes and ashes, bodies lined the streets, now turned to skeletons. Jak turned then as flame burst in the middle of the ship. Adriel appeared with several of his demons. The knight stood tall over his minions and a deep chuckle came from his throat. “You thought you could outrun me?” He looked around at the crew members, the circle of knights around him. “I’m here for the princess, and I won’t be leaving without her.” He pulled his sword and slashed at one of the sails, cutting a hole into it, causing the ship to lose speed. His men then rushed out into the crew, attacking them. Adriel made his way easily toward the captain’s room.
A growl of a yell was heard and purple lightning bolts shot through the air just before Jak landed in front of Adriel. He had a blue tone to his skin, his eyes were jet black, his hair stood on end and his ears had elongated to prominently pronounce his elven heritage. Dark horns grew from his head, and claws came from his fingertips, his canines were sharp, his brows furrowed. “You’re not getting her.” He snarled.
Adriel stopped for a moment and chuckled, “This, just keeps getting better.” He swung his blade at Jak then.
Jak rushed forward, he gripped the blade and ripped it from the demon’s hands before he slashed forward with his claws, lightning shot from his hands with each movement. It was a whirlwind of power as Jak attacked the demon, Adriel couldn’t keep up with this magic, ancient magic that was even older than he was. Jak slashed through his armor easily, causing the thick tar like blood of the demon to spill on the deck. He continued to attack him until the demon disappeared, leaving his knights behind.
Xavier had his sword locked with a knight, his back on the ground, he had been knocked over by the demon and was struggling to defend himself against the power. Jak rushed over and bowled the demon off of him just before the demon stabbed Xavier in the chest. He continued to save the rest of the entire crew bolts of lightning shooting every which way, but the lightning didn’t strike a crew member, not once. He was in perfect control of his own power. He had years of training and preparation. This was an example of where Ayla could be. Once all of the demons where taken care of Jak fell to his knees breathing heavily as his body morphed back to his regular form. His ears shortened back and his eyes faded back to the beautiful ocean blue of his sister.
Xavier stared to the man in shock for a moment, his jaw loose. He had never witnessed such power from an elf. Though, Jak wasn’t just an elf, he was an elf mage, a rare breed from Cisne, a nearly extinct species of elf that few knew of. Xavier was brought from his awe struck stare when Giant let out a hearty cheer for the newcomer that single handedly saved the Flotsam. Xavier let out a cheer as well, a chuckle came from his chest as he lifted his sword and slid it back into its sheath. He stepped to Jak’s side and helped him up. “That was incredible, how, where…did you learn that?”
Jak smiled breathlessly, “One of the elder mages in Cisne helped me learn that power. Ayla has it too, I’m not sure what capabilities she has, but, I do know it is far beyond what I have.” He chuckled, “I can’t wait for her to meet Master Sammons. He will be able to help her hone her energy and control it. Right now she is a loose cannon. Luckily she did not kill us all back at the castle. It is incredible that with so much power she managed to keep us safe.” He looked up to the ripped sail, the others were still well intact. “We’ll have to fix that in Cisne. I know a fabric that Ren just might love.” He smiled.
**
Ayla woke from her nightmare, cuts still lined her body, she trembled as she sat up, blood had soaked into her clothing, she was in so much pain. “R-Ren…” She whimpered. Tears rolled down her cheeks hot as fire. She pulled her knees in to her chest and hugged herself, crying. A blue glow began to form lightly over the wounds and the bleeding began to slow. Eventually after several long minutes all of the wounds that the demon had created were gone. She stood up slowly and stumbled to the doorway and opened the door. She nearly fell only to be caught by her brother.
“Hey there.” He held her against his warm body, “Not so fast sis.” He gave a loving smile. “Maybe you need to rest?” He asked softly as he looked into her eyes.
Ayla looked around for Ren, “No…not now…” She whispered as she found Ren up in the sails repairing the torn sail that Adriel had ruined. “I can’t.” She shook her head. Her eyes watched the captain.
Jak helped his sister up to the wheel of the ship. He shut his eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath, “Why don’t you point the ship a bit more to the east and just a hair further to the south.” He moved the wheel slowly and gently. Ayla stood, using the wheel to help her stand. Her body was weak, but she wasn’t going to sit down. Not after what just happened. They had to get to Cisne, and she couldn’t let Adriel back in her head, it would ruin everything.
Xavier brought the co-pilot up to the wheel and smiled, “He can take over, Ayla. Come on.” He smiled and pulled her below the deck. He took her to the kitchen. “Pancakes, okay? Let’s start with something simple, you can’t just jump to save the world, you have to make pancakes first.” He winked to her.
Ayla nodded as she pulled the cookbook and began to run through the list of ingredients, Xavier grabbed everything for her and helped her along. “Chocolate, we need to put chocolate in it.” Ayla grinned as she searched for chocolate that was stashed away in the kitchen. The chef watched with a smile on his lips as Ayla measured everything out. She splashed flour around and got it in her hair and on her nose. She grinned as she mixed the ingredients together and poured them into the skillet.
**
“Ren.” Jak came to the captain’s side, he smiled to her as he leaned against the railing. “When we get there, which should be in a few hours now, we will have to traverse through a narrow channel. I know you are more than capable of doing that.” He looked to her with his ocean blue eyes, “We will have to break the tallest sail down, because we are going into a series of caverns. I’ll light the way so that you can see and I will keep you posted on which way we need to go, it is a labyrinth. There is a reason that no one knows how to find Cisne. This is one.” He then walked off to the co-pilot and gave the man more detailed direction on where they were going.
**
“Ren!” Xavier came to her side and grinned to her, “Ayla needs you.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and toted her beneath the decks and down into the mess hall. No one was around the place was completely empty. “Just sit here, okay?” He pulled out a chair for her and pushed her in. He then disappeared into the kitchen for a moment.
Ayla came out, the flour still on her cheeks and nose, as well as her arms. She giggled as she set the chocolate chip pancakes in front of Ren. Her smile as bright as it could be. She sat down, clearly weak. But it didn’t seem to bother her, she wanted this so badly. “I know you asked me a long time ago for these.” She smiled happily, “But, each time I try something happens.” She placed a fork on the plate and then pulled a bottle of pure maple syrup from behind her back. “The chef said he has been saving this for something special.” She popped the cap and set it next to her plate. “I hope you like it.” She looked to the perfectly browned cakes that sat before the captain, her cheeks were rosy pink, her stomach full of butterflies.
**
Hours passed and they made it to the channel that Ren would have to traverse carefully. It twisted and dropped, it climbed and tightened. It was a tough channel to go through. It went on for miles before Jak pointed out the caverns. The rocks split in the wall, it was an extremely narrow entrance, the Flotsam would have just inches on either side to make it inside. With careful maneuvering by the expert captain though, it was possible. Once they were inside the cavern the ceiling jolted high, the walls stayed close for a good ten minutes. It was ten minutes that the entire crew seemed on edge, it was a tough one to get into. Though once they made it far enough the cavern opened up. Jak stood at the bow of the ship, he held his hand out and lit the way with a blue ball of energy. The light from the ball bounced off the icy walls of the cavern.
Ayla stood at Ren’s side as she looked to the walls in awe. “It’s so beautiful.” She whispered as she saw the sparkling of the ice. Jak called from the front of the ship when Ren needed to go left, right, or keep forward. This continued for two to three hours as they traversed through the labyrinth until they came upon a part of the cavern that opened up into a huge room. He let the ball of energy fade away and ahead of them lay a building carved out of the ice, the light of flames came from inside of it. The air around the ship was cold, a good 20 degrees. Ayla shivered as her teeth chattered. Xavier came from beneath the decks and stepped up to Ren and Ayla. He placed a warm blanket around the two of them and gave a gentle smile before he continued to take in the scenery.
“This is where we dock.” Jak spoke as he stepped forward and jumped from the ship, he grabbed a hold of the rope that was used to tie the ship off, “Bring her this way, Ren.” He called as he jumped around on floating ice that easily supported his weight. He was guiding her in to the hidden docks. The boat tapped against the frosted wood of the dock and Jak tied the boat down just as the other crew members began to do their jobs to prepare to go on land.
Ayla looked to Ren and then, “I don’t know what to expect.” She said softly, “I’m excited…but I feel almost afraid…There is so much in my life that has changed, so quickly.” She sighed and then smiled. “I’m glad you’re here.” She bumped her playfully before she stepped ashore with her brother.
Xavier chuckled and shook his head. “She’s cuter around you, ya know?” He winked to Ren before he too went ashore.
Jak turned and snapped his fingers once everyone had exited off of the boat. Frost shrouded the boat and helped it to blend in with the caverns. He then led them into the icy building. A huge fire roared inside, though the ice did not melt because of some form of magical spell had was cast ages ago on the ice. He led them up a spiraling staircase that led them into another labyrinth of the cavern. They walked for a good thirty minutes before they came to what seemed like a dead end at a water huge waterfall. Jak snapped his fingers and rocks came into the air, floating and creating a pathway across the nearly three-hundred-foot drop to the icy river below. He stepped forward and across this bridge that he had created and once everyone was across the rocks simply fell from the sky. Xavier jumped. “Hey! What if I was still on there!!!” He looked to the gaping hole behind him.
“I wouldn’t let that happen.” Jak chuckled as they continued on. They came to a large opening eventually after making several turns. Another huge waterfall towered above them. A large statue of a mage stood cut into the stone next to the waterfall. Jak smiled, “Almost there.” He spoke as he brought the crew to a hidden passageway behind the waterfall. He led them through a tight passage and into another large opening. A gorgeous city stood before them beneath the ground, lit by the same purple magic that Jak had exhibited when he fought with Adriel. He paused and looked to his sister. “Welcome home.” He smiled, “Come on, I’ll take you to our home, we can rest and tomorrow we will go to Master Sammons above ground.”
“There’s more….” Xavier gasped, “More than this?” He looked around with wide eyes and grinned.
Jak chuckled, “This is just another part of the caverns, it’s where the majority of the city lives, there is much more above the ground, but we will get to that tomorrow. I am exhausted, as I am sure you all are as well.” He led them through the quiet streets of the town. All beings seemed to mill around in this town, humans, mages, elves, dwarfs….and so on. The people looked to the crew as they walked along, but no one stopped and stared. Jak led them to a large home. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. “Xavier.” He took him off to his room. He took the other crew members one by one and then smiled to Ren and Ayla. “Come on.” He said to the two before he led them downstairs, “This used to be our mother and father’s room.” He said as they came into a beautifully decorated room. “I don’t have any more rooms left, so if you’re okay with it you’ll have to share. But, you share on the ship.” He chuckled. “I’m sure you girls will be perfectly fine.”
Ayla stepped forward and lifted up a picture, tears welled in her eyes as she looked to the four. “That’s…me…?” She asked softly.
Jak smiled and gave a nod. “Yes, that’s us, as a family. I’ll see you in the morning.” He nodded to Ren and then left the room.
Ayla looked to Ren as a tear fell down her cheek. “I…I missed this…” She looked to the beautiful home then back to the loving faces of her parents in the picture. “Why couldn’t I have this?” She asked softly as she stared at the photograph.
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Post by Raven on Jul 13, 2016 18:24:31 GMT -5
Ren looked to the doors when she saw Ayla cringing in pain – red absorbing into her clothing as he cried out in pain. Ren grit her teeth and dashed out the doors, looking directly to Adriel who had just cut her sails. She went to plunge forward but Jak landed in front of her – both arms out. She watched him transform and leap forward, slashing at the demon. Ren’s mouth fell loose when she watched his power and strength. He was fast, strong and his magic control was incredible. She had never seen something quite like this. She had seen transformations, but often of those transforming into a warewolf or something, which in turn they would lose control of themselves. What was Jak exactly? She had heard of ancient magic, but never had seen it. It was a thing of the past… Something she had read in books.
Ren ducked when a demon approached her – his giant axe swinging for her head. She pulled her dagger and rolled to the side. Just as she did Jak sent a shock of power towards the demon, sending him flying over the edge of the ship.. a splash occurred just moments later. In the mess that it started – it was over. A flash of red appeared, the demon had disappeared… Running like the coward he was.
Ren stood center deck, arms crossed as she looked to Jak. After the cheering stopped the crew turned to Ren, waiting. Ren was silent for a long moment, her eyes on Jak. She nodded in approval. In that moment the crew shouted again – fists in the air, cheering loud…
Ren jumped into the air, her hands grabbing a line – she pulled herself to the torn sail. Her hands held onto a small box, which she retrieved before going to her sail. She pulled the box open, her legs wrapped around the boom. She threaded a line through her needle and stood up. She carefully stitched the sail back to health. “So sorry” she whispered as she finished the last stitch. “You were such a good sail too” she spoke softly and rubbed the silky cloth. “We will honor you kindly.” She spoke and then jumped from the mast, landing at her wheel.
She turned her head when Jak spoke to her about the channel. “No problem at all..” she smile and nodded. “This baby is the best. I’ll have Giant throw on the second rudder. I’ve squeezed through some tight fits before” she smiled and looked to Giant, who nodded to her orders.
Just after she heard Xavier speaking to her, she turned her head and nodded. She gave a signal to the co-pilot who took the wheel. She jogged over to Xavier, following him down the steps and to the mess hall. Xavier pulled the seat forward, allowing her to sit in front of a place mat, where a fork and knife sat awaiting food. Ren looked up to Xavier and then to the kitchen door that swung open. “Hmm?” she spoke and tilted her head. It was an odd time to be doing something like this, but somehow Ren didn’t mind. She giggled excitedly when the pancakes touched down. “Oh they look so amazing” she spoke and smiled bright. “Here here” she pat the seat to her right. “I can’t eat these by myself, no way” she grinned and poured a good dose of the syrup on them. “The last time I had pancakes… was a long time ago” she laughed and cut and edge of it off. She took a bite and then smiled, her mouth pull of the sweet pancake. She let a low throttle moan and then swallowed. “So good” she nearly whispered.
She pushed a fork towards Ayla. “Have some” she moved the plate so it was closer to Ayla. She took another bite and then wiggled slightly. “When I first discovered pancakes it was at a small town. I used to never leave my ship for much. I was headed – “ she took another bite and swallowed quickly. “Headed for ammunition shop and passed this little tiny café. I could smell them cooking. I walked in and said – I want whatever is cooking right now” she laughed and took another bite. “So buttery… fluffy, sweet and you can put anything in them!” she almost shouted, laughing now. “But – yeah. Ever since then I made it my goal to try something new. Im traveling every where, cultures are all around me. I should be eating and eating. Try a new cheese, a new chocolate, a new meal, a new breakfast” she took another bite, one a little too big – her cheeks became round and full. She giggled as she chewed it down.
“You want to know why I asked you?” she spoke as she finished her half. “I asked you not because I absolutely adore pancakes… but because in that moment I met you, I knew you hadn’t done much. By asking you to do something completely out of your comfort zone… you earned your freedom. By the time you’d learn and then make the pancakes you would be ready. And I would agree, I’d say you are completely ready. In that time period you’ve… been thrown into the hardest situations, pushed to your limits, and way past your boundaries. And now that you have done this.. I foresee the hardest part of your journey in the past. From here you have met the terms and conditions of freedom, and now you are ready to beast it.” She grinned and then stood.
“Thank you for the delicious and amazing pancakes my dear chef. I will force you to make me more later.. until then, we have some tough sailing to do” she bowed her head and then walked to the door and up the stairs.
Ren came to her wheel as the time came and gripped the wheel. The second rudder had been put on. The smallest turn would adjust the boat in the smallest amounts. “Slack 2 and 3!” she shouted. The men untied four lines and allowed 2 of the smaller sails to flap In the wind, slowing the ship down. Those two sails were angled, by slacking them she was able to control the ship’s direction better.
Ren closed her eyes and opened them, her eyes glowing a sea color blue. The sea was directing her through the channel. She knew exactly how deep the channel was, and where the edges were. Seamlessly she powered through the channels, while at some points It came extra close – there was not a single scrape of the boat against rocks. At one point the crew tried to shout she was close “Shut up!” she shouted to them. They silence and stared to her for a moment. “I got this” she spoke, her glowing eyes got a little brighter. “I’m the damn captain of this ship” she growled softly and then nodded her head, shoving their views away.
“Dismantle the main mast” she spoke. The men took the sail off first, and then crawled up the side with wrenches. They wrenched at the metal unit in the center of the mast, and easily it was removed and laid down on the ship’s dock. It went from Bow to the captain chamber’s door, easily 2/3 the size of the ship.
They squeezed into the small cavern and became swallowed by the darkness. Then Jak filled the area with his purple light. The water’s twinkled to the magic that flowed from Jak. She navigated as he spoke directions, the boat responding as if it was half the size it was. She looked up as they came into the huge cavern. It was lit by magic torches and emit more light than she had ever seen from torches. The entire place twinkled and glistened, it was stunning. Her eyes looked to the huge beams of ice that came down into the water. And then to the floating ice that the boat broke through and pushed to the side. She mustered a small gust of wind to push against her sails as her boat slowed. This way she wouldn’t have to weave around the ice on top the water.
She led the boat to the icy dock. Just as they came to it the sails began to flutter slightly, going slack as they should. She leapt from her boat and grabbed the main line and pulled the boat in, tying it off at the anchor point. “Alright boys!” she called out. The men gathered on the deck. “It’s pay time” she spoke and walked to her room. She came out with a large bag of coins and jingled it happily.
She went to each man and handed him a handful of coins. “Tonight you play, you enjoy, you relax. I know there has been a lot of pressure lately. I appreciate your support.” The men had circled around her, each putting away their money. They were paid handsomely this round. “You haven’t complained one bit, and you’ve preformed beyond standard.” She smiled and then held up her hand. “Conditions!” she spoke loudly. “This is a pretty bad ass city. Okay, ancient and cool. Have fun but no foolishness!” she turned to another side of the men“We are here to relax, but also gain information and knowledge from some real special elderly smart people, so don’t go ruining it for us, got it?” she spoke and then smiled. “Go on ya land lovers”
The men threw their arms in the air. “Flotsam!” they all shouted at once. Ren grinned and then the men scattered, getting their things for their night on land. She then stepped off to the dock and then looked to her ship, sitting in the frozen waters. She pulled her blanket off and set it on the railing of the ship.
Ren looked to Ayla and then smiled as she spoke ‘I don’t know what to expect’ Ayla had spoke. Ren nodded “Just don’t dwell in the past you never had, okay?” she put a hand on the small of Ayla’s back for a moment, walking forward with her. Ren turned when she was nudged by Xavier, she chuckled and then blushed. “Is that so?” she whispered to him and then followed behind Jak through the cavern. She turned her head side to side, then up – looking at the waterfall. “This is so crazy” she spoke aloud. She could hear the men’s footsteps behind them, almost like a small army followed them.
Ren stopped at the giant statue and touched it. “Hmm..” she spoke, her fingertips running over the frozen stone. It had a layer of waxy like ice, it was ice but it wasn’t stunningly cold against her touch. She continued forward, stepping to each rock that was floating in air. As her foot landed on it – it lowered just barely. She chuckled and leaped to a rock that was slightly further away. Then she jumped back to the main rock path and laughed. She hadn’t been somewhere so full of magic before, it was different for her.
Ren then stepped through the last door and paused, her eyes looking to the glowing city before her. The buildings were tall and etched with flowing magic. It was amazing. Her eyes looked to the several people that passed. Dwarves, elves, humans, everyone. They were quiet though, there was no loud rebels, or shops shouting at you. She could hear the sound of a blacksmith in the distance, the smell of bakeries and chefs. Ren smiled, she could easily call this place home. If she were to ever settle…
Ren stepped into the room and nodded to Jak who spoke to her. She turned and looked to the large bed in the middle of the room. She stepped over and dropped her bag that she had on her back. It was full of clothes, and some chocolate, other small things. Ren turned and looked to Ayla, moving towards her. “Hey – what I say? Don’t dwell on that” she slowly reached over and took the picture. “Its nice… but…” she set the picture back down. She reached for Ayla’s shoulder, turning her so that they faced her each other. “but..” Ren shook her head. Her eyes looked to Ayla, looking deep into them. She reached forward and placed her thumb over a falling tear. She felt something, she didn’t know quite what it was. Slowly she stepped forward – filling the gap between them. Just as she went to lean upward the door opened, Xavier had opened it.
“Ayla? Is this your ro-“ he paused as the door opened, looking to the two. “Uh. Okay, yeah it is huh. Okay well, have a great night you too” he spoke that line incredibly fast and shut the door. He stood at the door and covered his mouth. “Damnit” he muttered and then quickly stepped away.
When Xavier peeked in Ren jumped back, scared for a moment. “uhh..” Ren moved away and paced slightly. She didn’t know what she was just doing then. It was probably best. Ren blushed hard and then rushed out to the room, suddenly having the urge to use the bathroom. She entered the room and sat down, her pants around her knees. She propped her chin on her hands and closed her eyes.
“Make your choice” A dark voice spoke. At first vision was blurry, but then it focused in. They sat on the a dock, Flotsam floated in the water, rising and falling with the waves that came in. Ren looked to the tall figure. He was a very big guy. At least 7 feet tall, shoulders broad and large. His entire body was lined with black and red armor – a knight of darkness. Every single one of her crew members lay on the ground, either dead or close to it. Surrounding her was a crowd of men, all in black and red armor just like their master…
Ren grit her teeth, a cloud storming in above her, moving the air and seas.
“Don’t even think about it…” he spoke. He held a girl in his single hand, lifting her by the throat. She girl was choking, grabbing at his hand. “You have 5 seconds to choose. Save the woman you love, or Save your boat”
The girl cried out “Ren!” she shouted “Please! Ren!”
Ren stood up and ran forward - her hands grasped the girl’s hands. “Ren, I love you!” the woman cried. “Ren.. don’t do it” the girl spoke. “I love you… I love you” she spoke through choking gasps.
“Take the boat” She cried through her last breath.
Ren stepped back, her eyes filling with tears. “Krene” she gripped her fists. “No..” she whispered. The man squeezed the woman’s throat, breaking it easily. Krene’s head fell limply to the side, her eyes still opened… still staring to Ren.
Ren fell to the ground on her knees and grabbed at the wood… fury took hold of her…
Ren stepped forward and tripped – landing on the ground with her pants still about her ankles. She rolled over and stared to the ceiling for a moment. Her eyes filled it the brim with tears. She stood and pulled her pants up and flushed the toilet. She blinked away her tears and wiped her face.
Ren left the bathroom and came back to the bedroom. She closed the door behind her and smiled weakly. “Just had to pee” she then walked to the bed and crawled under the sheets. “So tired..” she spoke. Pretending the moment before never happened. “Good night” she muttered and rolled over, her back facing Ayla, and quickly fell asleep…
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Post by Blindside Tex on Jul 13, 2016 22:04:53 GMT -5
Ayla looked up from the picture when Ren spoke to her, she froze when Ren’s warm hand wiped away her tears. She relaxed and blushed slightly as Ren leaned in for what she thought was a kiss. Then, suddenly Ren stepped back, Ayla also stepped back quickly to the sound of Xavier’s voice. Ayla stood frozen for a moment as she tried to piece everything together. When Ren left in a hurry she turned, “W-wait Ren…” She muttered, a sniffle came from her then. The princess sat down on the bed and took in a deep breath, butterflies in her stomach. She shook her head and stood, pacing slightly. She eventually moved and ran her fingertips over a picture of her mother and father on their wedding day, the couple was incredibly happy. She smiled slightly, the features of the woman in the picture were very close to her own, she had of course gotten some of her father’s traits. It was then that Ren came back into the room and made her way to the bed without any word really. “Um…” Ayla looked to her with worried eyes. “Ren…” She muttered, she lowered her eyes and fumbled with her hands before she left the room.
She wandered through the home looking at the pictures on the walls. She stopped in what looked like a study, the messy papers scattered across the desk. She stepped forward and moved a few around, all the research in front of her was on Portland, the queen, and her. Her brother had been looking for her and looking for a way to get her for quite some time. He had a date marked on his calendar, the day that she was set to take over the kingdom, he had tickets on the desk, ready to travel to Portland. She smiled slightly as she ran the thought through her head. It would have been a huge surprise. But…it was hard to tell if Victor would have even allowed her to live for long enough for her brother to get to see her. She felt as though he was going to kill her almost instantly after taking over the kingdom.
“You okay? I-I’m sorry about that…” Xavier stood in the doorway, he scratched his head.
Ayla jumped and nearly fell backward as she spun around, her pulse sped within her chest. “I..I..um….” She placed a hand to her chest as she took in a deep breath. “Xavier…” She shook her head. “I’m not sure…I’m not sure what I am feeling right now.” She bowed her head.
Xavier brought his brows together, “What do you mean, princess?” He asked softly. “What happened?”
Ayla sighed softly, “Ren ran off, after you came in…and…” She shook her head. “I don’t know, she just went to sleep, I’m not sure what I did…I didn’t mean to upset her…I…”
“No, Ayla.” Xavier placed his hand on her cheek, though his touch didn’t send lightning bolts through her body like Ren’s touch. It didn’t even cause her to blush. “It’s okay.” He pulled her into a gentle hug.
“I just.” Ayla pulled from his grip. “I just want to be alone, okay?” She walked from the room then and found her way into the foyer where she pulled on a lovely black jacket with what looked like rabbit fur around the hood. She took in a deep breath, the perfume smell was still on the jacket.
”Mommy! Mommy! Please don’t go!” Her voice was young. She pulled on the sleeve of her mother. “Please.”
“Don’t go.” Another voice, a young boy, her brother Jak. “Daddy said you could stay…” The boy begged with tears rolling over his cheeks. “Please.”
The woman knelt down and hugged her children to her body, her own shook. “I have no choice now my loves.” She sniffled, “Orders are orders, I’ll be back. Until then Uncle Jasper will take good care of you, okay?”
Ayla held herself to her mother as she stood, her face burrowed in the woman’s neck. She sobbed against her mother. “Mommy no…” She cried. “No no no no no.”
“Ayla.” Her mother held her tightly. “Oliver.” She called, “Can you come here.” She rubbed her child’s back. “Baby, it’s okay, I’ll be back in a few days, you love your uncle, huh? You spend lots of time over at his house. Come on baby Ayla, you will be just fine, your big brother will be there with you.”
“No mommy…” Ayla whimpered into her neck.
“What’s….oh…” Oliver came into the room, he sighed heavily. “I’ll take her honey…I’m sorry…” He pulled Ayla from his wife and bounced her gently. “It’s okay Ayla.” He kissed the side of her head. “Don’t worry baby girl, daddy’s got you.”
Ayla was laying in the middle of the foyer, she stared up to the tall ceiling, tears rolled down her cheeks. Her parents knew they weren’t going to make it back alive…she could see it in their eyes when they looked to her. She sniffled as she sat up and looked around the dark room. She stood slowly and pushed her way into the outside world, she wandered into the city, walking down alleys looking for something, searching for more of her memories along the way.
“Cass?” A voice asked from the stone steps of an old home. “Cassie is that you?” The man stood and stepped forward. “My god!” A huge grin crept over the man’s face. “Have you seen Jak, yet? You don’t look a day older! It’s been twenty years! Where have you been?”
“Um…” Ayla stepped back from the excited man. “I…I’m not sure who you are.”
“Come on Cassie.” He chuckled. “How can you not remember me, huh? I used to watch those little tyrants of yours when you and Oli would leave town. Jasper, remember?” He grinned and pulled her into a tight hug. “You look good my girl!” He chuckled once again. “You really should go check on Jak, that boy has been looking for you and Oli since he was twelve when we got him back from the orphanage.” He bowed his head then. “I um…I’m sorry about Ayla…the orphanage told us she got sick, she died, Cass…they couldn’t save her.”
Ayla looked to him with a shocked face. “I’m…not…” She shook her head. “I’m not dead….Jasper? I’m Ayla…I’m not Cassie…” Tears had once again welled up in her eyes.
Jasper looked to her in amazement then. “Oh wow!” He smiled brightly then. “Wow Ayla, you’re all grown up.” He chuckled and hugged her once again. “How did you find us? What happened to you?” He pulled at the hood of the jacket. “Where did you get your mother’s coat? This was her favorite. It’s always cold down here.” He grinned.
Ayla laughed lightly, this man was part of her past. She had gone looking for memories and found one that was still alive. “My brother brought me here, I found it in the foyer in our home.”
Hours passed as she sat down next to Jasper on his steps. He brewed up a hard cider and shared a few mugs with her. The two were rosy cheeked and chuckling their way through the night. Ayla let out a yawn and stretched. “I should go.” She giggled slightly, “I need to rest, you know.”
Jasper chuckled and stood with her, he waivered slightly. “Alright my girl. Come back and chat, anytime.” He hugged her tightly. “Good to see you girl, you look just like your mother, did I tell ya that? But you have daddy’s nose.” He turned and carried the mugs back up the stairs.
Ayla giggled, “Good night Jasper.” She headed back toward the home, her belly warm from the cider that she shared with him. She wandered through the streets, her feet heavy, a grin plastered on her face. She came into the home after a bit of a walk in the cold and found her way to the room, her cheeks rosy red. Ayla pulled off her mother’s jacket and hung it in the closet carefully before she turned and looked to Ren on the bed. She smiled as she traced the lines of the captain’s body. She was infatuated with Ren, she heard so many stories about Ren as she grew up from Xavier that she already idolized her. And now…now that Ren was real? She was stunning. Ayla looked at Ren in the middle of the huge bed, sleeping peacefully. She climbed in under the blankets and ran her fingertips over Ren’s cheek. She searched over her features and sighed softly before she reached and pulled Ren’s hand into hers. She kissed the back of Ren’s hand before she pressed her forehead against Ren. “Good…night…” She whispered, the smell of liquor on her breath just before she passed out.
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Post by Raven on Jul 13, 2016 22:50:54 GMT -5
Ren stirred slightly to the cold lips upon her hand. She opened her eyes slowly and held her breath as she realized how close she was to Ayla. She could feel her soft forehead pressed against her own. The tips of their noses touched just slightly. She could smell Ayla, she had her own scent. It was sweet, and soft, she could sit and take it in all day. With each smell she wanted to feel Ayla, she wanted to kiss her, to move her hands around her, to pull her closer, to feel her warmth. She became full of so much want that it almost hurt. Ren’s body glowed slightly, her magic reacting to her overwhelming emotions. Her body released a warm heat, like sitting in front of a cozy fire. Ren rubbed her nose against Ayla’s slightly and then shut her eyes, daring not to move away from the precious moment they shared.
It was easier to fall asleep in the presence of Ayla. As she grew closer, with each night they shared a bed, she found herself falling asleep faster and faster. Ren brought her body in closer as they slept, her leg finding its way between Ayla’s legs, her arm had moved to Ayla’s side, resting in the curve of her waist. Their bodies drew to each other, in the innocence of sleep…
The morning came, but she couldn’t tell too well. She woke to the sounds of boots scraping against the floor. The sound of chairs being pushed or dragged. Pots and pans, silverware, the sound of morning routines. Ren stirred slightly, her forehead still pressed against Ayla’s. She blushed deeply but held her position. “Good morning” she whispered. She could feel Ayla’s hot breath, she took it in, despite the morning breath… she leaned forward but pressed her lips against Ren’s cheek.
She pulled away and climbed off the bed. She stretched her arms out above her, giving a good groan out. Ren’s hand came to her lips and she held it there for a moment, feeling the moisture of Ayla’s hot breath that had collected all night over her. She shut her eyes and let go of a deep breath. The feeling of excitement came her way, but also fear. She was certain that once their battle was over.. Ayla would find herself some where new. Ren would never stop, she would never settle, should would always continue on the sea. She would continue to save the world, one person at a time…
Ren stepped out of the room, her fingers played with the Gem around her neck. Her thoughts wouldn’t end. As she sat at the table, poking at her food, she stared idly at the wall. Xavier sat down next to her and put a hand on her arm. “Hey, you” he shook her slightly. “You alright? Ayla said you ran off..after..” he paused and looked down slightly. “Look um..” he smiled slightly “Don’t be so scared to be selfish” he spoke and then took a bite of his toast. “You give too much. Take a little. Be free. Don’t let anything control you. Isn’t that your motto? Be free? Right?”
Ren looked to Xavier and then stood. She stared to him for a long moment and then stepped away, not saying a word. She walked into the bedroom and shut the door. The candles in the room were still blown out, the room had been lit by the cracked door. Now it was darker, purple light touched the ground of the room from outside the window. Ren stepped forward and touched Ayla’s shirt. She closed the distance and pressed her lips against Ayla’s. It was a long kiss, her head titled to the side and her lips moved against Ayla’s with intent and motion. Her hands moved to Ayla’s waist where she pulled her in closely, allowing her emotions to thrive.
In that moment a flash occurred, the world frozen.. the reality faded into a dream.
The dream continued. The woman lay limp in the mans hands, and was tossed to the ground. Ren rushed forward and fell to her knees, her hands moving over Krene’s chest. “No! Krene!” She cried out and scrambled her hands over her chest. “Breath damnit!” She shouted. Her eyes looked up and looked to her broken neck. It was discolored, and the bone poked against her skin from the inside. Ren shook her head, tears swelling thick.
The knight lifted his hand and a pulse of black energy came from his palm. All those he had killed had rose. “You have paid the price. Your debts are even… You will see the Knights of Darkness no longer. Run to your Queen and tell her you have serviced the Fairies well” he spoke and stepped away.
“She is not my Queen!!!” She shouted loud, holding Krene in her arms as she still sat on her knees. “She is no mother of mine!” she cried even louder. Her body began to shake, her chest sobbing, she pressed her forehead against Krene’s chest and fell apart completely.
Giant stood from the ground and walked over to her. He knelt down and placed a hand on Ren’s shoulder. Ren shoved his hand off and grasped Krene harder. “I love you. I never said it. But I love you so much. I never said It… I never…” she banged her head on Krene’s chest. She pulled back to do it again but Giant put a hand on her shoulder again, holding her back. Giant peeled Ren away from Krene and pushed her back, away from the body. The rest of the crew stood up and walked over, surrounding Ren. They lifted Ren up from the ground, her body still trembling.
Giant lifted Krene and stood up. Ren pulled her head up, as she was hanging it mid sob. Her eyes glowed bright red. From her body energy exploded, sending her men on their backs. She floated into the air and from her back came Giant Red Wings of fire red energy. It shot out like rays of light and power. Her hands lifted into the air and clouds covered the sky. The entire town before them began to shake. The trees moved to side to side, wavering in the powerful winds.
The men of her crew ran to the boat and instantly began to untie it. Leaving Ren on the port still, floating in the air. The boat began to leave as Ren raged. Roofs of the city began to lift, several tiles flying through the air. A huge tornado piled from the sky. It was giant… Water began to rise from the sea in droplets. The water that fell from the sky suspended in their round form and began to rise higher and higher. The tornado moved through the city before her, ripping it apart. People where flying every where. Innocent people. Body limbs in the air. Blood floating in round droplets upward towards the tornado. The tornado became red, red in the blood of the people. It held parts of buildings, animals, people, and even part of a concrete bridge.
The Knight turned and looked to Ren. Straight from the tornado came a wooden spike, broken off of a structure of a house. It pierced directly through his chest, and he was lifted into the air. The tornado didn’t end until the entire city was down to nothing. Parts of houses, cathedral bits, castle bricks were thrown all over the lands….
Ren pulled away from the kiss. The entire memory was played to Ayla. Ren stepped back and became dizzy. “I’m terrified” she whispered. “That person… that demon” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “Fairies are bodies of emotion. If I… I become too close.. and I lose you… I turn into that” she whispered. “That night.. I couldn’t control myself at all. I was so taken by my emotions, so angry. So.. angry” she shook her head. “For every life I killed, I have to save now. I have to. You’re just one of those lives Ayla. I can’t. I – “ she shook her head, so confused now. She fell down onto the edge of the bed, sitting with her head in her palms. Crying.
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Post by Blindside Tex on Jul 13, 2016 23:27:44 GMT -5
The gentle words of Ren woke Ayla in the early hours of the morning. She opened her eyes slightly just as Ren kissed her cheek. She blushed and let out a soft laugh. “Good….no…not….good…” She mumbled and placed her hand to her head, “Morning…maybe…” She groaned as she curled when Ren left the room. She shut her eyes lightly, her head throbbed and a light green glowed from her hand, helping to heal her of her ailments from her poor choice of drinking with Jasper. Though, it helped her to push aside her feelings of rejection.
Ayla stood and stepped to the window, she looked out at the city that was lit in the purple magic. She ran her fingertips over the rabbit’s fur of her mother’s favorite jacket. She sighed heavily as she thought of her actions, as she realized how upset she became. She didn’t even notice the sound of the door opening and closing as Ren came back into the room. She looked up when Ren placed her hand on her side. Ayla was about to speak when Ren pressed her lips against hers. She let her eyes slip shut as she kissed her back, her body tensed slightly. Ayla wrapped her arms around Ren’s neck as she allowed herself to be pulled into this kiss. It was then that the memory flashed before her eyes. As their bodies froze and the memory played Ayla felt like a fly on the wall. She watched everything, helpless. Ayla watched the destruction and looked to Ren, the sadness…the anger….
Ayla pulled back at the end of the memory at the same time that Ren pulled away and fell onto the edge of the bed and began sobbing. “Ren…I….” She bowed her head slightly. “I…” She knelt in front of her and tilted her chin up before she wiped away the tears. “Ren.” She searched the captain’s eyes. “Ren I’m not.” She shook her head and brushed more tears away. “I-I don’t have to be.” She paused for a long time. “I really don’t want to be just another life.” She continued to brush the tears back. “I want to be there for you, to save you, to help you…” She trailed off and gripped Ren’s hands. “I understand….” She nodded slightly. She stood then and sat down on the bed next to Ren. “I can’t imagine losing someone like that…that must have been awful…”
Ayla thought of the memory again, she read of that tornado. The catastrophe. It didn’t mention that it was created by Ren. No, the reports were that it was the most devastating tornado in the history of the world. Thousands were lost that day. Innocent people, children…there was a memorial that was created on the site of the ruins. The city was never rebuilt. Ayla saw pictures of it, drawings of the tornado from the ships that were out at sea, those who survived. But no one that was on land that day survived. The search teams only found body after body. The princess looked to Ren with sadness in her eyes. “I understand if this isn’t what you want.” She stood and stepped away. “I…I’m sorry about last night…I…” She fumbled with her hands. “I’m sorry.” She looked to Ren for a long moment, she didn’t know what else to say. Her mind was running a thousand miles an hour. She turned and fumbled with her mother’s old jacket again before she pulled it on. “I um…I should let you…I’m sorry…” She then rushed from the room, she was incredibly confused.
Ayla walked quickly through the cold town, she followed a path that she felt like she had followed a thousand times before. She took each turn as if it was a path she took each morning until she stood with her toes at the edge of a beautiful lake. She looked to the rocky wall in the distance where a waterfall came from a dark opening in the top of the cavern. Ayla sat down and sighed heavily. “Good job…” She muttered to herself. She had gotten scared, she was afraid Ren would push her away, she was afraid that Ren didn’t exactly feel the way she did.
**
Xavier poked his head in the partly opened door. “Ren…?” He asked and looked around the room. “Um…where’s Ayla?” He came and sat next to her and brushed a tear from her cheek. He placed his hand on her back. “What happened, Ren? Are you okay?”
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Post by Raven on Jul 14, 2016 9:38:02 GMT -5
Ren glanced up and watched Ayla leave. She sighed deeply and fell back on the bed, looking to the purple colors that danced over the ceiling. She moved her arms over her eyes, brushing away her tears. The door creeped open as she did - Xavier entering. Ren glanced up and then dropped her head back down heavily.
“Its fine…” she muttered and then stood up. “I’ll fix it..” she moved past Xavier and then out the door. As she entered the city she shuddered slightly. The odd breeze was freezing cold. You would think with all the magic capabilities that they could heat the place up a little. Ren looked around, she didn’t see her any where. She had gotten lost traveling through the roads, block after block of houses and shops. No one was quite awake yet, or they were but weren’t really moving too fast.
Ren gripped the gem around her neck and it glowed brightly. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Ren could see through Ayla’s eyes just then. The lake lay before her, the purple haze in the mirror of the water. Ren moved her hand away from the gem and then rushed forward, turning to the main road that led to the lake.
She came up to the lake, looking to Ayla as she sat upon a large rock. Ren moved silently, as to not disturb her. She stopped a few feet out, her hands in her pockets as she just stared to Ayla… after a moment she leaned down and picked up a flat rock. She turned it in her fingers, positioning it just right and then she threw it. The rock hit the water and skipped high into the air, and then came back down.. skipped 4 more times before falling.
When Ayla turned her head, Ren smiled and stepped forward. “Hey” she spoke and then sat down next to her. “You ever skipped a rock?” she asked and leaned down, picking out two flat rocks. “Hold it… like this” she turned the rock so her first finger touched its edge. “Then you kinda… turn your arm like this..” she held her arm out, parallel with the water. “You throw it, kinda to the side. So that the flat part hits the water and sorta bounces” she threw the rock and it skipped a few times, the last few were short and fast, and then sunk into the lake. “Try it” she pointed outward. As Ayla tried she picked out a few more rocks.
“I used to go to the ocean, before I built my ship, collect a bunch of rocks and just throw throw throw. Until the sun set, until I got hungry or something” she handed another rock to her. “There were coconut trees too. I used to drill holes into them and drink the milk.” She chuckled as she remembered. “And then crack them open and eat the inside, chunk them off in bits and just chew on them.” She threw another rock. This one only made a few skips and then sunk down.
“Look… Ayla..” she paused and then turned her head. “I’m not trying to say… that I don’t want to be with you.” She spoke and then looked back out, her eyes gazing over the gorgeous waterfall that sprayed mist even to the beach. “I like you.” She spoke, turning her head back to her. “There is this crazy weird pull between us. And I want to jump into its tide and let it pull me. But… I want to make sure this is it. I’m the kind of person that once I jump… there’s no going back…” she grabbed another rock and turned it in her fingers. “If something happened… I don’t want to become that again, you know? I live everyday knowing that I did that. Even to this day people talk about the Zanmark Ruins…I just” she shuffled slightly in her spot. “Don’t run from me, okay?” she smiled. “I know I am this… famous oh so mighty person.” She stood and then threw her rock. “But I am just as weak as anyone else. I need someone to be that strength for me” she turned her head. “Maybe I’m just trying to say that I need you. Despite my fear…I preach about being Free, getting out there and taking control of your life” she tossed another rock.
“But in reality I am captive of my own guilt. That Dark Knight did his job. He damaged me in ways that no one else could ever. And since I have been trailing my idea of my fate, trying to redeem myself. I have become a slave to my guilt, bound and oppressed from all that makes us living” she threw another rock - harder this time. It skipped several times and then clunked into the water. “I guess we all have some where to grow you know?” she smiled and then stepped over to Ayla, holding her hand out to her. “One day people are going to tell tales and songs of Ren and Ayla, taking the world by storm each day that passes” she grinned. That was what people said. Ren would take the world by storm. Every day that passed…
Ren turned when she took Ayla’s hand. Xavier stood there with his hands on his hips. “You know” he spoke and stepped forward. “You two better stop playing these silly little girl games.” He chuckled and stepped down to the rocky beach. “Scaring me and all… I don’t like to have to chase you down. This armor is heavy enough” he nudged Ren and then looked out to the lake. “I think Jak has plans for us today. So once you two are done playing.. come back to the house” he kicked a rock into the water and then turned, walking back to the house.
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Post by Blindside Tex on Jul 14, 2016 21:45:04 GMT -5
Ayla fumbled with her hands as she thought about the memory that flashed before her eyes of the young woman being killed, her neck snapping, the sound wouldn’t leave her. The loud crack of the bones pulling away from the cartilage, it reminded her all too much of the gallows.
”This, good people of Portland is what happens to thieves.” The queen spoke from atop a raised platform. “This girl stole something from the castle while she was working in our library.” She snapped her fingers and two knights pulled the small girl up the stairs, she whimpered as she tried to get away from their hold on the underside of her arms. The queen looked back to the commoners from the slums, “This young girl was our book keeper.” The queen grabbed her by her chin.
“Please! I didn’t do anything! Please…” She cried.
Ayla stood nearby her eyes looked over the girl, tears welled in her eyes. Xavier looked to her only for a moment before he looked away, he couldn’t stand to look at the princess when she was in such a distraught state. The queen was pinning stolen goods on the girl, when everyone knew it wasn’t her. The queen had caught Lillian on her way out to the gardens on a second night with a sack that held a book a candle and a few other things for a small candle lit picnic. Ayla’s body trembled.
“You are a traitor to this kingdom, and so, you must be put to death. No one steals from me.” The queen cackled, her eyes flashed to Ayla and bore into the ocean blue. Ayla looked down, a few tears rolled over her cheeks. She knew not to make eye contact with her mother. The queen stood before her after a few strides, she had stepped down from the podium leaving Lillian standing there with the knights holding her still. “You will pull the lever, dearest daughter.” The queen was punishing her. She knew. She knew what was going on between the two and she didn’t approve.
Ayla looked to her mother, her lower lip quivering. “Mother no…the executioner…he…”
“He wasn’t feeling very well today.” She looked to her daughter with a devilish grin. “Come.” She grabbed Ayla by the elbow and drug her up onto the stage. “I’ll present the next traitor now.” The queen stepped forward and began speaking of the next to lose their life. This was an event that happened every weekend, at least seven would lose their lives. It was a good week if it was a low number. The queen liked to use the deaths of peasants to teach the others a lesson, it kept her people in check, it kept the town from acting up against her tyranny.
Ayla looked into Lillian’s eyes as tears ran over her cheeks. “I’m..s-s-s-sorry.” She choked out. “I…I…” She looked as the knight looked down to her.
“The rope.” One of the knights spoke softly.
Ayla shakily placed the rope around Lillian’s neck, her whole body shook now. The knights shackled Lillian’s hands and feet and took a step back. Ayla tightened the rope gently. She was pushed harshly from behind hand fell against Lillian, her head pressed against the nape of her neck as she felt Lillian fall into the hard steel of a knight. The man pushed them back up before he stepped back again. “Lillian…” She had her finger’s on the rope, “I…”
“Time for this girl to pay the price, isn’t it?” The queen’s voice broke into her ears.
“This isn’t your fault.” Lillian whispered softly, her emerald eyes searched Ayla’s. “Please, don’t blame yourself, Ayla. You didn’t do this, don’t blame yourself.” A knight roughly placed the black bag over Lillian’s head and then stepped away again.
Ayla grasped Lillian’s hands and slipped a key to her that she had pulled from the knight that they fell into. “Just, run…Lilly.” Ayla whispered as she stepped back. “I won’t forget you.”
The queen ripped Ayla away from the girl and shoved her over to the lever, other men and women were lined up, ropes tied around their necks, bags over their head. Once she pulled the lever they would all fall to their death and hang. With luck their neck would break. If the rope wasn’t put on properly though, they would choke to death, the long, slow, painful death.
“Pull it.” The queen snapped as Ayla stared to Lillian, deep in thought. “Now!” The queen stepped forward and took Ayla by her chin. “You will regret disobeying me.” She said through grit teeth before she shoved the lever down. The hatches opened and the group fell through the floor of the podium. A puff of smoke appeared where Lillian should have landed, her rope went loose while the sickening sound of bone separating from cartilage filled the air from the others. One struggled, his legs kicked, his arms tied behind his back as he fought to breathe. Women and men in the crowd gasped and sobbed at the sight. It was horrible. The queen stood with a grin on her lips. “There, there, now you have no more distraction, princess.”
“My queen! The girl.” A knight from below said as the smoke cleared, Lillian was no where to be found.
The queen stepped to the hatch and stared down to the empty rope. She grabbed Ayla by her elbow and drug her to the carriage, leaving the king standing on the podium for the crowd to stare at. That night was one of the worst beatings that Ayla had ever endured…
Ayla looked up to the sound of the rock splashing in the water. She looked over to Ren and quickly wiped a tear away. “Ren.” She nearly whispered. She gave a soft smile when Ren asked her about skipping rocks, “Never.” She watched and listened as Ren showed expert precision. Ayla tried and her rock merely sank to the bottom. She let out a laugh and shook her head again. “You’ve spent a lot of time on this, you’re so good.” She smiled and tried again, plunk. She smiled as she imagined the beach, the coconut trees. “Coconut is my favorite.” She spoke softly, it was then that Ren turned to a more serious tone.
Ayla listened and gave a soft nod, “I’m sorry…I’m afraid too.” She whispered. Then she listened once more as Ren continued. When the captain reached her hand down to her and spoke of tales that would be told of them she smiled brightly. “Dangerous tales, of adventure and glory.” She grinned and let out a giggle. A blue ring around her eyes lit when she said this, the excitement brought out a bit of her magic. Ayla then looked to Xavier as he approached, she looked back to the magical town, the purple glow and then gave a nod. “Of course.”
Once Xavier left Ayla turned to Ren and took both of her hands into her own. “Ren.” She spoke softly. “I promise you, that unless against my will, I will be here for you.” She leaned forward as she placed her hand on Ren’s cheek and pressed her lips to Ren’s for a long moment, passion behind the kiss, the world stopped then. Nothing else mattered. The sound of the waterfall in the background was gone, the icy feeling of the mist from the falls sprinkling on her cheeks, gone. Ayla pulled back after the moment, her eyes flashed with the blue glow and held it for a moment before the glow disappeared. She blushed deeply and let out a soft giggle. “Okay.” She gave a nod. “Let’s…um..” She turned and headed back toward town.
**
Jak pulled on his jacket and stepped outside just as the girls came up from the lake. “Perfect timing.” He smiled, “Good morning, Ren, sis.” He turned, “This way.” He walked them through the town, to the middle of town where a tall tree stood, a hole at the base the size of Giant was shaped into the tree, a bright purple glow came from it. “Going up?” Jak smiled and gently helped the girls inside.
Once inside Ayla’s body filled with warmth and she got the sensation of flying. She looked all around, “Ren?” She called, but she couldn’t find her until she toppled to her side in a round room that was filled with light.
Jak came through flawlessly and helped the girls to their feet. “You’ll get the hang of it.” He smiled and led them from the building. They stood in the middle of a huge city, the streets were busy with people, merchants. Huge mountains stretched into the sky around the city that was in the shape of a large circle. “Welcome to Cisne.” He smiled as he turned to looked to Ayla and Ren. “Today you will meet Master Sammons.” He nodded. “He will be able to help you tap into your true power, it could be much like mine, I’m not sure. You have a lot of our mother in you.” He turned and led them through the streets, it was quiet, relaxed. No one yelled, no violence. Nothing out of place. The city was absolutely clean.
Ayla looked to Ren with a smile on her face, “This is incredible, huh?” She asked as she looked to the stone buildings that they passed. “Oh!” She saw a shop that dealt in fine chocolates. “We have to stop there on the way back.” She pointed and grinned. A child at heart. Ayla did her best to make the best out of everything. It was amazing sometimes how she pulled the good from the ugly.
Jak stopped as they stood before a huge building, “Inside are the elders of Cisne.” He spoke before he entered the building. The walls were lined with books upon books and scrolls. Paintings and artifacts were neatly organized within the building. It was like a museum and a library, elders moved about in robes that marked their hierarchy in the city structure. Jak stopped at a door and turned, “Ayla.” He nodded to her and opened the door.
Ayla looked to Ren for a long moment, a bit of uncertainty in her eyes, “Okay.” She took in a deep breath, seeming to muster courage. “Here goes nothing.” She stepped into the room and Jak shut the door behind her.
Jak smiled to Ren. “I have something for you.” He said and motioned for her to follow him. He weaved through the city easily, he knew every turn within the city. He stepped into an old building and turned to her, “Wait here a second.” He stepped into the back. Shuffling could be heard from the back of the shop for a few minutes until he emerged once again. “Here, I put in a word with the shopkeeper.” He smiled happily. “These are enchanted.” He pulled a beautiful silky silver cloth from a rather large box that he carried out and set on an old wooden table. The cloth shimmered with a purple aura. “These are sails for Flotsam.” He bowed his head slightly. “I hope you like it, Ren.” He searched her eyes, “Ayla will be in training all day, you’re more than welcome to help yourself around the city, to return to our home just go to the building in the center of the city and step into the light, it will transport you back into the cavern below.” He gave a nod. “I have things I must attend to now that we have Ayla back.” He smiled, “If you need anything I’ll be in the Mastery Building, where we left Ayla.” Jak searched her eyes for a moment before he left the building and was gone into the streets of the city.
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Post by Raven on Jul 14, 2016 22:41:25 GMT -5
Ren looked to Ayla just before she moved in and smiled. As their lips collide Ren brought her hand to touch the upper arm of Ayla’s. She couldn’t quite believe that they were kissing like that. She could feel her energy flowing from Ayla’s body and into hers. This stir of emotions caused herself to glow brightly. Like if someone caught a glowfly and shook it in a container. She couldn’t control this silly glowing. It was her emotions - thriving happily. When the kiss was over she stood in her place, watching Ayla step away. Her sucked in a deep breath and then nodded to herself. Things were going to be okay… She jogged up to Ayla and wrapped her arm through Ayla’s, guiding her like a royal gentleman might.
As they came to Jak she listened and nodded, following him through the city. Ren touched the inside of the tree, the moving wood gliding past her finger tips. They reached the top and she stepped forward, the last of the group to leave the moving platform. She had not stumbled, but found the magical teleportation device amazing. She looked down to the giant city before her. Her entire body got goose bumps as she looked over it. A draft of wind pushed up and threw her long hair back, her goggles slipping slightly from the top of her head. She adjusted her goggles and then stepped forward, down to the city. Her eyes looked to the bright sun that shined down, the blue skys and white puffy clouds… she smiled as she saw two birds chasing each other in a flight of happiness.
As they came to the city she trotted along, following them as her eyes drifted in every direction. Ren smiled when Ayla pointed out the chocolate shop. “You guys have everything huh?” she grinned and continued onward. When they arrived to the training facilities Ren looked to Ayla and then nodded her head. “You’ll be great” she gave a thumbs up and then glanced to Jak as they stepped away. “Okay” she spoke as he told her to follow him.
They came to the tailoring shop and she waited outside until waved to come inside. Xavier followed behind her, his hand on his hilt - relaxing. Ren smiled bright when she looked to the cloth. Her fingers dug into the sweet sail and rubbed it. “I like it” she spoke and then smiled bright. “Thank you” she bowed her head slightly. She stepped to the tailor and then jotted down the sizes of her current sails, so he could cut it. He nodded and then quickly took the sails away. “I’ll have it sent to the ship” the tailor spoke and took the sails to the back of the shop. “Thank you” she nodded and then followed Jak outside, where he explained the city.
“Okay.. I’ll probably explore a little. I’ll drag Xavier with me” she turned her head and looked to Xavier and grinned. “Come on now tin man” she waved him over and walked away from the shop. “I have some where I’d like to go” she crossed her arms as she came to a map that was posted at a crossroads. “Here” she pointed to the map. At the middle of the Fairy district was a large building, a monument to their history. “Lets go” she spoke and looked to Xavier. Xavier nodded and followed her. They walked through the main district and then came to a bridge. It led over to the fairy district, which was rather small compared to the other districts. As she walked over she spied several small people. They were each 3-4 feet tall. Fairys. Most were dressed in what the elders wore. As she stepped through the main street each Fairy looked to Ren and bowed their heads. She was royalty after all…
Ren crossed her arms awkwardly and then stood before the very tall crystal building. She took a deep breath and stepped through the huge open gates, entering the glistening building. It was the only crystal building in the district. The main room had several podiums set with artifacts sitting in the glass with a small description. The lines of podiums led to the furthest wall, where there was a huge display.
Floating in the air was a red crystal. It was amazingly large. Light refracted off of each edge of the jagged crystal. Smaller bits of red crystal floated above and below it. In the center of the crystal was a body. Taller than a fairy. His legs were together, toes pointed down slightly, his hands spread to its length - held out. Like he was flying. His head was titled upward, his long black hair spread out as if held by water.
“Barathorn” A voice spoke, an elder spoke walking up. “The great elf king who sacrificed himself to save the last remaining city 300 years ago” he spoke and then bowed deeply. “In his death his wife, the Fairy Queen became so lost in herself, drowning in sorrow as she continued alone. She became desperate. Just fifty years after Barathorn’s death the Fairies came across an even greater evil… to assure his death was not in vain she desperately offered her daughter as a peace treaty.” He crossed his arms and stared to the man in the crystal. “Surely Barathorn would not condone her actions, but the Queen saw it no different than Barathorn offering himself…” the man paused and then glanced to Ren. “The Half Elf half Fairy, Danirva faced a worse fate than any could imagine. Since her loss we have not heard from the poor girl… I cannot imagine if 250 years later she is still being cultivated…” The man finally stepped in front of Ren. He studied her features for just a moment and then turned back to the crystal.
“She died” Ren spoke softly. She stepped forward and placed her hand on the crystal. Her hand glowed when it came in contact. The red crystal glowed bright red then too, and then the Crystal emitted a bright flash of Red.
Ren stepped back and looked to the center of the room. A beam of red light came from the crystal and an image formed in the center of the room. Barathorn appeared in a red hue, one could tell it was him, but he was shrouded by the magic of the Crystal. Slowly he stepped forward - each leg carefully placed infront of each other. “Danirva” his voice came from the image. Ren stepped forward and held her hand out. The magical being touched her hand, she could feel him, he was incredibly warm. He pulled her in and hugged her close. “I knew you would come… one day” he spoke softly and then pulled back. “I have been watching you” he smiled, his cheeks bubbling up just like Ren’s would when she would smile. “I am so proud of you” he spoke while he held her shoulders. “Your mother… “ he spoke and tilted his head - looking to the crystal. “You must forgive her… she still mourns” he spoke and then stepped from her, looking to his own body still in the center of the floating crystal.
“You must release her from her terrors. You must fill her place and bring order back to the Fairy’s. Make change, make a difference. Create an order, set up a democratic board and then return to your life… do that. Do that for me… do that for your mother. Let us rest finally. We guard and protect what little we have left… I am tired” he spoke and turned to her again, smiling. “Never stop being Ren.” He bowed his head. “Take the world on by storm” he spoke and then the beam faded, his figure disappearing. There was a glow around Barathorn’s body in the crystal, he entered himself once more.
“Wait..” she spoke and stepped forward to the crystal. The elder Fairy stepped back, bowing his head deeply. “You are alive Danirva” he spoke and bowed again. To all this light and commotion the room had been filled in Fairy’s in just that moment. “Hail” the Elderly spoke. Every single Fairy in that moment bowed before Ren.
Ren touched the crystal. “Come back” she whispered and then turned to Xavier who watched closely, standing next to Ren the entire while. Ren shook her head. Let us rest She closed her eyes and then nodded. “My mother is dying” Ren spoke to the Fairy’s. “She needs someone to replace her on the throne, she requested me. But now as you know… I have assumed my position was Ren, the captain of Flotsam… I cannot be this person she wants.” She spoke and then looked to the Elder Fairy. “Elder… please, gather the order and return home. Prepare a festival for my mother… I will return to you once I am finished with my mission. We will bring the Fairy’s back into the light” she spoke. The fairy’s bowed once more and cheered softly, clapping and hooting.
Ren looked to Xavier, and then back to the Crystal. She sighed softly “Everything has to be so complicated, huh?” she spoke to Xavier and laughed weakly. She stepped from the crystal building and then to the bridge. She stopped at the crest of the bridge and held her hand out - the one that touched the crystal. It glowed red slightly, his essence lingering, whatever that magic was…
Ren made their way back to the main building, where Ayla was training just a few rooms over. Ren sat down against the wall, allowing Xavier to explore the history of the entire world - laid out in the room piece by piece. Ren gripped her gem and shut her eyes, willing herself to see through Ayla’s eyes, to see how she was doing… what she was doing…
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Post by Blindside Tex on Jul 15, 2016 21:20:07 GMT -5
When Ren finally gripped her necklace to see through Ayla’s eyes what she saw would have been blurry at first. Ayla was kneeling on her hands and knees, her hands on the cold marble floor. Her body trembled, her pulse raced. “I-I can’t.” She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Ayla, don’t give up on yourself.” The voice of Master Sammons filled her ears. He knelt in front of her. “I know it hurts, you have to push through it just as your brother did, and your mother and father before him.” He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. His pupils were stone grey. His skin was wrinkled and pale. He was one of the oldest elders in the city and he was in charge of training all of the young mages. He had trained a long line of mages for hundreds of years. He placed his hand on her shoulder then and gripped energy poured into her body, causing her eyes to glow blue. “Just focus.” He whispered softly before he stepped back.
Ayla let out a cry as the intense energy sprinted through her body, her veins on her arms began to glow blue as the energy coursed through her. It burned like a raging fire was set within her body. She tried to keep her focus, she tried not to scream, but all of that was something of a want and her body had other ideas. She grit her teeth and shut her eyes tightly as she let out a painful cry. Her body lit with the blue glow and she floated up above the ground about three feet as her transformation took place. The glowing blue took over her body, her eyes were white as the sun. Beautiful wings of light came from her back just before her feet landed on the marble flooring. She stared to the man as she took in quick breaths.
Master Sammons grinned, “Beautiful.” He gave a nod. Ayla looked to the wings that were airy lines that came from her shoulder blades, they were huge and reached to the ground behind her. She focused her energy which caused a burst of blue to fly through the room, time seemed to stop. She looked to Sammons with frightened eyes, ice covered the room. Moments later she held her head and fell to her knees once more, she let out a soft cry as her body reverted back to its normal form. The blue glow disappeared from the room and the ice vanished. Ayla opened her eyes which flashed white before returning to normal once again. Master Sammons smiled and nodded as he helped her to her feet. “Very well done, Ayla.” He held her up as she stumbled. The amount of power that she exerted was incredible, though, it made her feel as though a vampire had sucked away all of her blood. She fell against him, her eyes heavy. She tried to raise her head, but could barely move. “Shh, it’s alright dear.” Master Sammons helped her to a plush couch and lay her there. “Don’t move so quickly.” He smiled as he went to his desk. “You’re the spitting image of your mother, Ayla. You’ve taken her powers, almost exactly. Such power usually skips several generations. I wasn’t sure we would see a healer of your magnitude again in my lifetime.”
Ayla tried to sit up with the little amount of energy that she had, the ring around her pupil lit blue for a moment before she collapsed back onto the couch. “Where…” She looked around the room, so exhausted that she had forgotten where she was. Her mind was a blur, the world spun as she looked up to the ceiling, she could hardly make out what was happening. “Ren….” She weakly gripped the crystal, her voice small. “Ren…” She was terrified.
Sammons watched her before he stood and walked to her with his old cane, his long grey beard was nicely kept. “Ayla, you’re alright, you’re home.” He took her hand. “Just breathe.” He pulsed some of his energy into her once again. Ayla grit her teeth as she felt the power within her stir again. She shut her eyes tightly as her pulse sped up. She looked to Sammons with glowing eyes, breathless. “You’re okay, Ayla.” He helped her to her feet. “Deep breaths.” He didn’t look away from her. “Focus.”
**
Moments later the building shook with a wave of blue energy. Jak stood from his desk and rushed across the building. He shoved a few of the masters out of the way as he came to Master Sammons office. The man stood with both hands on his cane a smile on his lips as he looked up to Ayla whom had taken on the blue glow once again, she floated in the air, her head thrown back, her white eyes staring up to a white light from the ceiling. “Sammons.” Jak spoke as he looked up to his sister.
Ayla landed, the wings came from her shoulders once more, a blue ball of energy surrounded her. Master Sammons looked to Jak, “She will progress rather quickly.” He leaned on the cane, “Just a small jolt of my energy pushes her to transform.”
Jak stared to his sister whom stood, breathless, her glowing white eyes looked to him, the wings relaxed behind her back. “Wow….I thought you said that our mother was the last…..”
Sammons smiled, “I was wrong.” He turned and sat down at his desk. “Catch her.” He spoke just before another wave rushed through the building, causing the building to shake once more before the light disappeared from Ayla’s body and she collapsed. Jak rushed forward and caught his sister in his arms. “Bring her to me tomorrow. I know the circumstances that she has found herself to be in are dire, I will push her the best that I can, but I need more time. I don’t want to fry her by forcing her to transform too much. Right now it drains her each time. Give me another day, I can get her to harness the power. Bring her to the arena tomorrow morning and I will see what she can do.”
Jak gave a nod as he scooped his sister up. He stepped out of the Master’s study into the halls to see others that had gathered outside of the room with the blasts of energy. Whispers came through the crowd of people that stood before him. There was no doubt that with Ayla and Ren combined they would be able to take the world by storm, as Ren had said to Ayla. Jak pushed through the crowd with his sister held close to his body.
“Ren.” She muttered, her eyes fluttering. “Where…is…she..?” She didn’t know what happened, she only knew the sound of the explosion of energy, the same explosion of energy that happened below the ocean with the demon. She had transformed there as well. She was an angel in the dark of the ocean with her beautiful glowing wings, the explosion of energy had frozen Adriel just as she had frozen Master Sammons.
Jak looked down to his sister with a soft smile. “She’s okay. Don’t worry, sis. Look.” He nodded to Ren. “Can you take her home?” He asked Ren.
Ayla’s eyes fluttered as her brother stood her, she waivered and stumbled, she fell into Ren and lay her head into Ren’s neck. Ayla’s body was ice cold, she shivered as she gripped onto Ren.
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Post by Raven on Jul 16, 2016 22:08:48 GMT -5
Ren shut her eyes and saw through Ayla. At first the vision was staring to the ground, and then it looked to Sammons. It was weird to see completely in someone else’s view, to watch their head shake and eyes move - but to be in your own body. Unable to control the vision. Ren suddenly scrambled forward when she heard her name. Ren she could hear it in her head - loud and clear. Ren stood and came to the door. Ren her voice echo’d again. “Ayla..” she touched the door. She could almost see her now. Just a few feet away, on the ground, holding her hand around the necklace. “Ayla I’m right here” she whispered and slide her hand down the wooden door.
She knew better than to enter the room and interrupt the training. Ren stepped away and paced the hall way, waiting patiently. She gripped the gem and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes again. She watched Ayla transform - her wings spreading out - her hands moving outward. She felt a pulse of magic and then she almost choked - like all of Ren’s air escaped out her lungs… as if she had been punched in the chest, or fell out of a tree.
Hands spread out, dark waters all around - white ethereal wings came forward, covered in the body and holding close…
Suddenly the image changed. A fist came toward eyes - punching in the face. Blood splattering outward and over the hand. Another slam, another slam, vision black….
Looking out over a huge city.. Portland. From a high place - the wind pushing back flurries of snow into eyelashes…
Pushed against a wall, eyes looking to a man while wicked eyes as she grabbed at her clothes, pulling at her, hitting her…
Xavier standing in the hallway, his hand on his sword, smiling happily. He bowed his head and then turned around…
Flowers.. every where, a bench to the side. Raining was coming down hard, drenching the dress upon skin, hands reaching outward - catching the rain in palms. Pale bruised hands and arms…
Ren. Sitting across a table.. smiling with a fork to her mouth. Her eyes glistened, her grin to one side. Her hair falling about her shoulders and chest in curls and colors of red and brown. Her goggles reflecting the sunlight slightly, bits of hair tossed over it. Lips upon a coffee cup.. sipping… Talking..
Ren suddenly gasped air and fell back, landing directly on her back. She held her self up with two hands and fought for a breath as she was stolen. Ren looked to the door and then slowly backed up, standing up, Jak came out of the room.
Ren quickly stepped forward and took Ayla from Jak. She wrapped her arms around Ayla’s waist and held her up as she couldn’t hold her own. Ren nodded to Jak and helped her walk. “Hey” she whispered. “You did good” she smiled and slipped her grip on Ayla - she began to fall. Ren held her hands out and suddenly a rush of wind wrapped around Ayla, lifting her up into the air, holding her upright. “Hey, you okay?” she spoke through the light rushing of wind that surrounded Ayla. “Come on” she spoke and waved at the bubble of air that carried Ayla.
Ren rushed out the giant building, the bubble of air following her with speed. “Ayla!” She shouted, smiling as she looked back to her, running fast now. She ran faster and faster through the street until she finally leaped into the air - her hands forward, gliding through the air. Wind then wrapped around Ren and picked her up easily. They both shot through the air. Ren led them upwards in the sky, flying high. It was a weightless feeling, like floating in a pool.. but soaring through the sky at the same time..
Ren laughed and turned around in her bubble, laying on her back, flying through the sky. She then turned and then did several flips in a row. Ren moved her bubble closer to Ayla until they joined together. She reached her hands towards and brought Ayla in close to her, their chests touching. She looked to her - directly into her eyes, wrapping her arms around her. Their bodies turned and pointed directly down, falling through the sky as they were so high. Suddenly they leveled out and twisted in air, Ren pulling her even closer now. Their cheeks brushed as she moved her eyes to look forward as they flew.
Several birds flew around them in a happiness of circles, like dolphins in play - diving up and then around each other all around in a playful manner. They slowed down as they came down to the city surface. They hovered in front of the house and then slowly landed feet first. Ren stepped from Ayla and smiled “Cool huh?” she smiled and then opened the door for her. “Come on…”
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Post by Blindside Tex on Jul 16, 2016 23:09:00 GMT -5
Ayla looked to Ren weakly when she spoke to her and told her that she had done a good job. At what? What have I done good at? Her mind was a jumbled mess. “R-Ren…” She whispered, her eyes still fluttering as she floated along in the ball of wind behind the captain. She heard Ren ask if she was okay then, her eyes focused on Ren for a long moment, “Y-yeah…okay…I’m okay.” She managed to speak, her voice small. Her eyes slipped shut and her body loosened as Ren carried her out into the city. It was when they were high in the sky that Ren’s eyes opened once more, she looked to Ren whom smiled brightly and a small smile curved Ayla’s lips.
Ayla looked to their hands as Ren grasped her and pulled her in, when her chest pressed against the captain’s her heart soared as they did in the sky. She blushed as their cheeks pressed together. “Ren…this is so beautiful.” She whispered her voice still small. The blue glow around her pupil came to as they soared through the sky with the birds. Ayla hadn’t ever experienced anything like this before. Flying? To be with the birds, the feel so free, so weightless. It was amazing. She let out a soft giggle just before their feet touched the cobblestone street. “That was incredible.” She gave a nod and a smile.
Ayla leaned against Ren, her knees weak, it was work just to breathe. She allowed herself to be taken to the bedroom where she collapsed down onto the bed. “Everything is so heavy.” She whispered as she stare up at the ceiling. “Even my heart feels heavy, I can feel it.” She placed her palm on her chest as her pulse beat rapidly. The blue glow still in her eyes. She shivered, her skin was slightly pale from the amount of energy that Master Sammons had pushed for her to use. It was more than she had ever used before, and he caused her to transform so many times, it was painful. “Ren.” She whispered softly and reached for the captain. As her fingertips touched Ren’s side her eyes flashed with the white light of her newly acquired power.
”Ayla.” The voice was familiar, a voice that the princess had grown to fear. “Come here dear girl.”
Ayla stood in front of the queen and king, she was so young. “Where’s mommy?” She asked, tears cascaded down her cheeks.
“I’m right here.” The queen spoke.
“No.” Ayla drew her brows together, “No, you’re not mommy! Where’s mommy?!” She screamed, beginning to become frightened. “Jak…Jak…where’s Jak Jak?” She whimpered.
“I told you this was a bad idea…” The king muttered.
“Shut up.” The queen stepped forward and lifted Ayla into her arms. She pushed against the queen, screaming for her mother. The queen looked to her with an evil grin. “I hand picked her.” She looked to the king. “She just has to forget about her parents, alive or dead, she won’t be returning to her people.” The queen set Ayla on the bench seat of the carriage. “You’re coming home with us.”
The memory faded out then and into another…
A fist caught Ayla in the side of her head, she fell to her hands and knees. Blood dripped from her nose. Her breathing was heavy, a heeled shoe kicked into her side harshly, knocking her to her back. Ayla blinked several times as she looked up to the queen. She gasped for air. “Ask for her again.” The queen snapped. Ayla was five or so now, she asked nearly every day for her mother and father, as well as Jak. The queen had, had enough of it. She reached down and slammed Ayla’s head into the floor several times. Ayla screamed as she gripped onto the woman’s arms until the harsh sound of the bone of her skull cracking filled the air and darkness followed.
With quick succession another memory filtered in….
Ayla stood staring over the city of Portland, snow falling. She slipped from her room and snuck to the garden, Xavier smiled to her as she passed him. Moments later the memory jumped forward to the moment that she had first kissed Lilly. Their bodies pressed together, their lips pushed against one another. Darkness once again followed and led into the scene where Ayla saved Lilly…
“Mélawen!” The queen screamed. Ayla stood in the center of her room, her pulse pounded in her ears, her eyes brimmed with tears. She knew what was coming. The door to her room flung open and the queen marched up to her, her hand gripped around Ayla’s neck rightly, her long nails dug into her skin as she queen slammed her against the wall. “Where is she? Hm?” The queen growled, “Where is she, where is that rat?!” She slammed the princess against the wall, a small whimper came over her lips, but she was otherwise silent. “Where….is….she….” The queen brought her fist into the princess’ side with each word. Ayla doubled forward, but didn’t speak. “Do you know what she did to you?” The queen slammed her against the wall, Ayla’s head bounced off of the stone, her vision blurred. The queen pursed her lips when she didn’t answer. “You are to wed with Victor, from the other kingdom, that peasant has no place even looking at you! Let alone….” She shook with anger. It was then that the queen unleashed pure anger on Ayla. She held her by her neck and punched her rapidly, her orbit around her eye shattered, blood began to pour from her face. She fell to the ground as the queen kicked her and stomped on her….
Hours later Xavier came into the room and cradled the princess into his arms. “I’m so sorry, Ayla.” He whispered. “I promise…I promise I’ll get you out of here…This should never happen…” His voice was filled with sadness as he carried her. Ayla looked up to him with blurred vision, one eye was stuck closed, the other could barely open. “I promise.” He repeated.
Another memory appeared then, Ayla felt warm, her pulse fluttered, butterflies raged within her stomach as she looked to Ren. Ren was driving the ship, somewhere. Her hair blew in the wind. Ren then turned and placed Ayla’s hands on the wheel, she blushed deeply from the gentle touch of the captain. Her pulse raced within her ears as she grinned, her eyes followed the captain and then fell on the sea. Her vision played back and forth between the two, her heart fluttering each time she looked to Ren.
Ayla gasped, her eyes were bright white, the blue glow covered her body, she stare at the ceiling as her body trembled. She stood and looked to Ren. All of the memories had pushed into Ren’s mind. Each and every tiny detail had been shared with the captain. Ayla looked down to the glowing blue, she held her head and shut her eyes tightly. Her power pulsed and the blue flashed from her body. She opened her eyes, bright white for a moment before the ocean blue came back to normal. She stared to Ren breathlessly. “I…” She muttered, she searched Ren’s eyes. “Did…you…?” She fell onto the bed, her breaths heavy, she felt as though an elephant was sitting upon her chest. “Ren….” She whispered before she passed out.
Jak pushed the door open, he paused a moment as he looked to his sister and then to Ren. He held a plate with one grilled sandwich on it and a bowl of soup. “You are lucky and cursed all at the same time.” He said softly as he came in. “You will learn so much about Ayla over the next few days, with her powers fluctuating like this she has no control over her power, if you have not already, it is highly likely that you will experience her memories, both good and bad….” He offered the food to Ren. “She will gain control of her power soon, and that is how you will know, random memories will stop forcing into your mind.” He bowed his head slightly. “It runs many off, it is rather overwhelming…especially with her past, I know it has been hard for her, Xavier and I have been speaking of it. I am glad that she escaped with you when she did. You are the best thing that could have happened for her, Ren. I am confident in that.” He looked to his sister for a long moment. “Tomorrow she will continue training with Master Sammons. He will push her hard, as he did to me, and she will pick up rather quickly. As soon as she is ready we can head back out….I think we will stand a chance against Adriel…” He nodded. “We just have to kill him, and with her…” He looked to his sister for a long silent moment. “She is the key to returning him to hell, the light within her soul is strong, stronger than our mother, Sammons told me. He is unsure how strong she is, he said he can’t fully tell because she has yet to fully harness her power…but even with what she did today.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe it. Our mother was a healer like her…” He stood, “I should go…I just…wanted to see how you two were doing…and feed you at least.” Jak then slipped from the room leaving the two alone.
Ayla’s eyes fluttered minutes later. “Ren?” She gasped, as if she hadn’t been breathing.
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