The final attack was going well. The Alledian army had given Trellis, Emily, and Vigo a good distraction so they could get into the Elf King's castle without being seen. The three slunk from the shadows and into the king's chambers.
"You've gotten farther than I expected." Said the king. The stonekeepers stepped out of the darkness and into the evil king's view. "You have caused too much terror and bloodshed for these people," Said Emily. She pulled out her sword. "Now you will pay for your crimes." She said with her eyes slitted. Suddenly, elf warriors hiding on the roof jumped down. They had fallen into an ambush! "SCATTER!" Yelled the Elf King. Trellis and Vigo went straight for the elf warriors. Emily stood tall to face the king. "You foolish girl! I will take your life just as easily as all the other warriors!" The Elf King yelled. "Yes, but if I die today. I die slaying you, and protecting this land." She stated. They ran and attacked each other.
Trellis' POV
Vigo stood by my side and killed the assassins. When I had delivered the final blow at the last one, Vigo ran to my father's back to strike him with his golden sword. The King looked back, blasted his stone's magic at Emily, where she was launched into the far wall. I watched in horror as my father took his sword and stabbed Vigo's chest. He fell back as blood poured from his wound. "Go… Help… Emily…" Vigo's eyes clouded and his head fell to the floor. "I'm sorry, Vigo." I said as a thin stream of blood ran from his mouth and stained his white beard. "Hold on Emily!" I said as I grabbed my sword and ran toward my father.
Emily's POV
The king was tough. Tougher than I thought he was. He dodged all my attacks and was without cuts still. I had a slash right across my right cheek. It's like he knew where I would attack. Then the king stuck me in the leg and kicked me to the ground. "Now you see what happens when you underestimate the Elf Empire." The king said as he was fixing to stab me. I reached for the little switch hanging on what was left of my weapons holder. Navin and the rest of the pilots had given me the switch that activated the bombs they had secretly implanted in the castle. I flipped it and watched my world spin as I blacked out.
I was pretty sure I was dreaming. I was in a starry field where transparent spirits of the last guardian council was waiting for me. "Emily." One of them started. "You have done your best to protect the people of Alledia. But, your time is soon going to be up." My eyes widened at the spirits. "What! No, the king isn't dead yet! My friends are in trouble!" I said. The world started to fade as I was done talking. "A sacrifice will be made, and your spirit will bleed into the sky."
Trellis' POV
The sights and sounds of the forest beneath the castle hit me after a few minutes of consciousness. Then I realized it, Vigo was dead. And Emily probably was too. My head ached and one of my legs was broken. When I dragged myself across the ground, I left a bloody stain behind me. "Well, Well, Well. Seems like the bomb took a lot of damage on you." My father was standing right across from me. His mask was cracked and his white cape was tattered and stained with dirt and blood. "If you think I was going to die that easily, you thought wrong." I spat. His sword was gone, It was probably was destroyed in the explosion. Now, his weapon was a crossbow. It was still deadly, and I thought he would kill me now. My father sneered as he aimed his weapon at me.
Emily's POV
When I opened my eyes, I realized where I was. Lying on the ground. The bomb had taken its toll on me. My cheek where my wound was now open and slowly spilling scarlet blood on my shoulder. My arm was covered in my blood and the rough soil. Leaves from the bushes near me was covering my red hair. I could hear minor voices apart from the ringing in my ears. They were faint, but I knew they were there. "It seems the bomb took a lot of damage on you." I crawled to a small hole in the bush to see the king standing right over Trellis, and he was holding a fairly large crossbow.
"Oh god." I said, "This is the sacrifice." I stood up, and waited for the right timing, and jumped just when the king fired the arrow.
Trellis' POV
I tried to fight back, but it was almost no use. No weapons, broken leg, and no one nearby. The odds of me getting out alive were pretty slim. I saw my father point the crossbow at me and I started thinking, "This is the end." Until I saw Emily jump out of the bushes and fly across my father and me. I watched her in horror as my father fired while she was still in front of me. While he was distracted, I jumped on him, grabbed his crossbow and quickly shot his skull. As he was dying, I turned to see Emily. She was curled up and motionless, and the arrow was in her chest.
Emily's POV
The only thing I could feel was pain. The arrow in my chest caused a lot of blood to spill out of the wound. "EMILY!" Trellis yelled. He raced to me and dropped the crossbow that was going to take my life. "No…" I could see the sorrow in his eyes. I could feel the hot tears running down what was left of my right cheek. He looked down at me, and dipped his head. "I failed you, and I failed Vigo." I looked at him and whispered, "You didn't fail me. It was… fate… that…decided…" I could barley spit out the last word. "Destiny…" I closed my eyes and let my head fall to the ground. Then I saw several flashbacks of my life. The war, Navin and Alyson's unborn child, the kiss that me and Trellis shared, my mother, my father's death. And it was all over.
Trellis' POV
She was dead. Emily died saving me, again. When the dust and fire died down from the explosion, the Alledian soldiers started coming in. Navin and Karen were among them. Both hovered around Emily's lifeless body and just stared in silence. What broke the grieving silence between us, was the sunrise. The mix of red in it made the sky look like Emily's spirit had bled and flown to the horizon. "Why her?" Navin asked. "I don't know. But she will always be remembered as a war hero." Karen said.
For a few seconds, it looked like that a faint image of a firebird was perched in what was left of the castle. "I'm sorry Emily." I whispered. Her response was only a faint whisper. "Evelyn, Evelyn." She said. What? Who's Evelyn? "Evelyn, Evelyn." I heard again. Who is Evelyn, and what does she have to do with Emily?
1 Week Later…
Alyson's birth had gone well. And Navin couldn't be happier. I could still feel Emily's spirit with me. For the past few days she kept whispering "Evelyn, Evelyn." Over and over again. God, this is kind of getting annoying! Navin stepped out of Aly's room. "It's a girl." He said. I smiled. "And In honor of my sister, I am naming her Evelyn."
Oh god. "Is this what you mean?" I asked her. For some reason she didn't respond. Through the glass, I could see Aly holding her newborn child. I was amazed on how much she looked like Emily. The shock and pain of her death swept upon me again. Then I realized why the child looked like her aunt, and why Emily wasn't responding to me. "Reincarnation." I whispered.