The same dream reoccurs almost every night. It's the same dark and mysterious place, faraway from the sun, always the same evil eyes staring straight through me. It's always the same guy, around thirteen years of age, dying to protect me. I would look into his piercing violet eyes, and plead for him to leave, to run away. But his response never changes, "No," he would always say." I cannot leave your side, Lilly, I couldn't forgive myself if I ran away and you died in my place"
I awoke, sweating, to dad screaming that it's time to get ready to go to school. At first I thought I was still in the dark place, but I realized that I let that place far behind once I awoke from my sleep. The place that I'm not an outsider to be shunned, no it's a place where I'm accepted, no matter what. Not this hole they call New York City.
I pulled myself from the bed and walk to the kitchen, hoping for something to eat, but realizing when I open the fridge that there's only enough milk for my younger siblings to have breakfast.
Just another day without breakfast, I thought, nothing new there. Ever since my mother went missing, six months ago, there's barely enough food to get us through until payday. If only I was old enough to get a job, I could help out some. It would give us a little more for food.
I walk back to my room to get dressed for another boring day at school. I dress slowly in a camouflage mini skirt with black leggings under it, and an army t-shirt, finished with my shiny black combat boots.
As I'm trying to put on some eye-liner, my brother and sister run past me, almost making me stab myself in the eye.
"Could you stop doing that every morning, Liz, Jed," I called after them.
As a reply they just turned and stuck their tongues out at me and run off. So I turn my mind to what I've got to do today. Aright so I've got a math test in 1st period, and then go to lunch after 5th, by myself again in the hall. Then, I have to hurry home as fast as I can go so I don't get ganged up on.
God, I thought, my life sucks. I've got like one friend and everyone else hates my guts because I'm different. Well, I'm sorry I don't like to wear pink with pearls, or get mani-pedis or go to the malls to pick up guys.
"Hey, Lilly," I hear dad holler over the sound of kids play fighting.
"Yeah, dad," I hope he heard me, so to make sure I walk back into the living room.
"Could you please run these downstairs, to the washing room?" I could see some dark purple rings under his eyes, looks like he's had a long night.
"Of course, dad," I reply, taking the basket of dirty clothes from him and run out the door.
Elevator's out again, yay. It's always out these days. So I run down the stairs, through a lobby full of people complaining about how the elevators out again.
Once down in the laundry room, I throw the clothes in the last washing machine in the line-up, closest to the grate (the rest of them are full).
I'm walking out the door I notice something shiny by the grate so out of curiosity, I went over to the grate to see what it was. When I bent over, I fell in (I'm kind of a klutz).
At first all I could do was scream but then a strange calm came over me. As if I was just walking through the mall or something. Wait, shouldn't I have already hit the ground. I've been falling for five minutes; this is really weird who takes this long to hit the ground?! Am I just falling to the cent-
SMACK! There's the ground!
"Who is that? Is it alive?" a figure loomed over my crumpled body.
"Be an Overlander, it be," a second much smaller figure joined the first one.
"Then we must bring it to Regalia for treatment," at that the first figure, a boy I'm guessing its too dark for me to see any features, picked me up and placed me gently on a furry thing.
In a few moments I began to see lights, oh great I dying. I struggled into a sitting position, only to be met with the exact same violet eyes from my dreams, only filled with concern. "You mustn't try to move too much you'll only make your injuries worse," he said. And grabbed me by the shoulders and laid me back into a better position for my injuries. "Overlander you must understand the condition, you must," that smooth, perfect voice it sounds so familiar, probably from the dreams.
"I'm fine," I managed to say, even though I could feel a sharp pain between my shoulders
"You are not fine, as you say; as soon as we land you will be taken to the hospital." With that the conversation was over and we said no more for the rest of the journey. For the first time I realized that I was flying on something.
The city was gorgeous! It was made of stone, freaking polished stone! How is this even possible, an entire population of people we didn't even know existed! Just how long have they been living like this?
As soon as we landed, I was rushed off to a part of the palace, as I had heard the other people call it, so the doctors could check me out and make sure I'm going to live. Then they pressed a cup of something against my lips and urged me to drink, so I did as they instructed and then oblivion placed its arms around me.
As I came to, I realized I was in a different room; it was clean and really white. There was a person sitting by my bed in a chair asleep. At first I couldn't figure out where I'm at, and then it hit me I wasn't in New York anymore. At that realization I sat straight up.
It must have awoken the stranger for I heard his smooth voice. "It is alright, Overlander, it is only I," he said, man he sounds so proper. "I am Luxerd. I was the one who found you, along of course with click, the crawler. You never mentioned your name."
"I'm Lilly. Can some one tell me where in the name of all that is good and holy where the heck I am?" Of course I said this in one garbled up sentence.
"You are in the human city of Regalia."
"That tells me nothing except that I'm in a city"
"You have no need for worry, you are safe here," he calmly stated.
Just as I was about to reply a nurse, I'm guessing, came in with a fresh tray of food. She said nothing as she sat it down, but as she left she said something. "Luxerd you are needed in the arena, the games are about to start."
"Alight, Angeline, but is it okay if Lilly," motioning towards me, "comes too?"
"Of course, but not for too long. She still needs to be careful with those stitches in her arms."
"Wait, what games? And where the hack is this 'arena' you guys keep talking about?" I said through a mouthful of food.
"Just come on and you'll see. Since you have no flier of your own you will be riding my flier."
The next thing I know I'm rushed through the halls of the palace, to a large room, filled with giant bats, of so many colors that I feel a bit overwhelmed. "Holy crap! Don' tell me this is what you meant when you said flier!" He only shook his head.
"Pandora," he called. At that a beautiful silver striped bat separated itself from the giant mass of swirling bats.
"Greetings," she purred, her voice like water flowing down the river. It surprised me, an animal talking. It's like something from a fiction movie or book or something! I think Luxerd saw the look of surprise that passed over my face, but he said nothing.
He swung up onto her back, and then helped me get up on the bat. I heard Pandora say something. He turned around and told me not to grip her sides with my feet, that I'll bruise them. And not to worry about falling off, that she won't let us fall, and whole other heap of crap. After the lecture he finally told Pandora that it was time top go to the arena.
We passed many stone buildings, carts, and a lot of people. Strange, I thought, they all have the same pale skin as Luxerd and violet eyes. But all the people where screaming something about 'the gnawers'. At this point I'm guessing they don't call the animals the same name as we do. "Hey Luxerd what are the gnawers?" I asked.
A look of anger passed over his face. "The gnawers," he began. "Are the also known as the rats. Why do you ask this?"
"Because there are people down there screaming about gnawers." As soon as the words left my mouth sirens screamed their warnings to us. The previously gawking crowds where running, adults and children all alike, to what ever building were near.
We quickly did a u-turn and flew, a lot faster than I was comfortable with, back to the palace. Looks like someone's already taken control of the situation. Bats where every where, accompanied by their rider, people shouting orders, other people running around to fill those orders, and still more people suiting up in armor.
As we landed a sword was thrust into my arms. Taking hold of the hilt I realize that I have never touched a sword before, only seen them in pictures. I turned to find that Luxerd had rushed off somewhere and left me and his bat, Pandora, standing like idiots in the middle of the room.
"So…ummm Pandora?" I said over the noise of all the activity.
"What is it overlander?" she purred
"So do they really honest to god for me to use this?" I motioned to the sword. "I've never held a sword before! Much less swing one around and hurt things."
"Yes they will expect you to use that 'thing', as you called it, they won't expect excellence though."
As I went to reply I saw Luxerd running up. He was suited in solid black armor, a sword slung over his shoulder, his arms carrying a set of polished, solid white armor. With my luck that's probably for me.
He sat the armor on the ground beside of my feet. He looked up at me. "This is for you to suit up," he said. "You would be dressed in black if it had not been for my grandmother believing that you are the overlander of the Prophecy of Late. Therefore she demanded that you be dressed in solid white so they could tell you apart from the rest of us."
"Alright," was all I could manage at this point. So my day only gets better and better. First I fall down a grate and knock the crap out of my shoulders, there's a rat invasion, I'm going to have to use a sword on a bats back, AND now they believe that I'm part of a prophecy, probably written by some crazy person sitting in their basement!
"After you're done putting that armor on, you'll need to talk with Miravet, the head of the Regalian army. She'll give you your orders and assign your temporary Flier." And then he ran off to do something, although this time Pandora went with him.
I suited up slowly. I can't tell the difference between a shin guard and an elbow thing. "I feel stupid," I thought aloud. "Very stupid."
"You look better than most do the first time that they try on armor." A voice from behind said. I whipped around ready to defend my stupidity with all I got. "It's alright. I'm not making fun of you. Anyway, I'm Miravet." Her voice was rough, probably from all these years of shouting orders. Her gray hair was pulled back in a tight bun; she was also suited up in black armor. This isn't fair, I thought, I'm still the only one in white armor.
"So I get my orders from you, I'm guessing." She looked like she had seen many battles in her years. She had so many scars down her arms I couldn't count them all. But on scar stood out on her face, it ran from her chin all the way up to the corner of her eye.
"That is correct. And I've already decided on what flier you'll be taking into battle. Her name is Artimis; she should be here any moment now." A bat with golden flecks on her pure white coat appeared. She looked happy, considering that we were under siege by rats.
"I'm Artimis, I take it your Lilly, so I will be assisting you on the field." She purred. Her voice was similar to Pandora's in a way, but not at the same time.
After we got acquainted with each other we were told to be in the 2nd line on the right 8th point. I didn't know what that meant but it obliviously meant something to Artimis because she flew us to a spot in line and she seemed pretty proud of herself.
A signal from Miravet. A slight twitch of wings, another signale and there was a flurry of wings and the caverns instantly filled with yelps, screams, and stuff clanging on harder stuff. Then the 1st wave came back to the base.
Another signal, I felt us lifting up into the air. Then we, too, were flung into battle. I didn't know what was happening when my vision split up and focused on weak parts of the rats. I felt a sensation come over me, and then we were met with rats. I slashed at the weak spots; rats yelped and scrambled to get away. Before the sword me the next one this one screamed "RAGER!" But as I went to hack at this one Artimis flew us out of battle.
"What's going on?" I screamed over the commotion. I still felt ready to keep slashing until I noticed that my suit wasn't white anymore, but red. I stared at it, sick. I was covered in the sticky red stuff and I tasted some of its metallic taste in my mouth. It just all made me feel sick.
As we landed we were met by Miravet. "I haven't seen someone so covered up in this much blood that's not his own since Ripred was still alive. So," she said and circled around me. "Did your vision split up into different parts and focus only on weak points?"
"Yes," I said slowly. My eyes trained on Miravet, the sensation still bubbled through my veins.
"Good, very good," she applauded. "Then what I originally thought was true, you are a rager!" she seemed so happy about this rager thing. "You are naturally a killer! So you won't need too much training." Her eyes rested on my entire outfit, which was white, but now red and sticky. "Let's go get you changed out of that."
"Alright," the sensation was fading. It was all adrenalin. There is nothing special about me. I am certainly not a natural born killer. And I am certainly not going to be able to save Regalia. It was just a burst of adrenalin.
I changed clothes; I ate the meal, and then slept in the room they told me to. My dreams were troubled, filled with fighting and blood, so much blood, I was practically drowning in the stuff. I awoke with a slight scream. And some one ran in the room to check on me. "Lilly are you okay," it was Luxered, thankfully. I told him that it was only a bad dream, but he refused to take just that as an answer, so I confided in him and told him about all the blood and gore and the screaming.
The next day Luxered met me at the curtain that served as a door for my room. He took me back to the great hall for breakfast and sat by me when I ate, as if he could guard me from the nightmares. I didn't mind though, to tell the truth I actually kind of liked it.
But then training started and he had to train with his class and I worked with the blood balls as they called them. They were filled with wine. And I hit all of them and the instructor told me to go and practice with fighting on Artimis' back. So I did, was told my form was good but my left side wasn't protected. So we tried for duel wield with swords it was okay but I felt odd. So we tried a dagger which worked a lot better. So we stuck to that.
Back to battle we went. Is there never time for rest is here? But we battled until my armor was layered very thickly with blood but by then they were calling us back for the surrender. Surrender, already! I wonder how big of a dent in their population we made.
All sorts of creatures were packed in the arena for the official surrender by the time we get there. Rats, mice, spiders, bats, moles, and a huge variety of others. They surrendered. And I left that place far behind.
I walked in the door and said "Dad, I'm home."
THE END!