A mist of cold rain blanketed her shoulders as she regained consciousness.
From dusk, it was now in the late stages of night and her temples throbbed with each pulse.
A blast of thunder quickened her heartbeat and out of her exhaustion she jolted to her knees. The realization came quickly to her, and recognizing her present danger, she began to search frantically for him.
The dullness of night clouded her view and sounds of the damp air being choked down her throat were equivalent to the torrent thunder rumbling overhead. The chill of the wind froze her lungs as she flung her head from side to side searching for her attacker. The blackness of the forest was too much for one to see the shadows that crept along in the wretchedness of that night and her pupils were dilated to their fullest with sweeping fear. The leaves began to crunch and crack ever louder with his eerie footsteps approaching--the weight of her assaulter behind its frightening noise. Overhead, the sky emitted a flash of lightning and his silhouetted outline became her most heightened fear. Molevere had returned.
Molevere's rigid, solid frame hung over her battered body, and a sinister voice escaped from his crooked smile.
"I see you are well…and alive, Princess Sabreinna. I thought for sure the poison I slipped in your glass would have ravaged your body broken. A pity too, for now a heavier dose is needed to finish this job. Only then shall I gain my power."
The causality of his voice only reinforced the sickness Sabreinna felt deep inside. With no soul for miles to hear her cries for help, the time for him to kill her had come. She realized that he had poisoned her and had dragged her out here to die. With her gone, he would have ultimate power. The fear for her people being ruled by a Dark Lord such as Molevere caused such heartache, this time she would be prepared to defend herself. She had been unprotected once, but this time she knew better. Her race of people, the wealthy higher ends of her people, dwelled in ancient magic. She being royalty, Sabreinna was no different. Sabreinna was taught by the best, which meant she knew the best ancient craft of magic. As she stared up at her counterpart, her head raced with numerous incantations which she would use against Molevere. This time, she would win.
As Molevere stood over her, Sabreinna found her courageous voice embedded within her. She quickly rose to meet his wry features, squaring and equaling his hardened look The strength to stand proved difficult in her condition-- non-the-less she did not back down.
"Tell me Molevere," she steadied her aching body, "how is it that you plan on ruling such an obsession you cannot possibly understand? You have no knowledge of politics and sovereignty, yet still you approach it thinking people will be wielded and twisted to your ways. You live in nothing more than a fantasy, soon others, like myself, will know what your greedy heart covets; lust and power!"
If there was ever any anger, Molevere did not show it, and with her last shouts Sabreinna gathered her very last bit of strength firing out a brilliant light hex.
"Holeereorg!"
The dazzling light was deflected as quickly as it came rolling off her tongue and was met with its match.
"Ooperehn!"
Molevere countered it quite simply.
As Sabreinna realized her efforts failed, a seething chuckle emitted from Molevere. He had stopped her hex with alarming ease, and her strength was now next to nothing.
Sabreinna's hands dropped to her knees which helped support her frame. She had been unsuccessful at destroying Molevere-- they both knew it.
"You, my dear Sabreinna, were nothing more than a novice-- a pathetic waste of time and effort."
Effortlessly, he seized her around the waist and put his dagger to her throat. She, being as limp as a rag-doll, was helpless against his strength.
"I have the rest of the dose here in my pocket…try not resist."
Fatigue led to panic as Sabreinna felt Molevere grope into his pocket for the vile he had used only hours earlier. As she began to struggle, the knife dug deeper into the tender flesh of her neck, drawing blood. With one last effort, Sabreinna began uttering another hex, but the deepening pressure of his blade cut her words short.
"Wench! Stay still! I won't say it again…"
His long, boney fingers began forcing her mouth wider as he uncorked the deadly bottle.
With that, he pressed the vile to Sabreinna's lips and tipped its contents inside her mouth. Frantic not to swallow, she writhed and squirmed, anything, if only to stay alive!
At her direct defiance, Molevere lost his patience and seized her by her left forearm. As his fingers curled around her skin, a burning hot pain seared through her body. If he was muttering a spell, it was being drowned out by Sabreinna's thick, full shrieks of utter torture. Her screams were heard by none but the wind and rain; she was powerless against Molevere now, the pain consuming her every sense. The pain left Sabreinna entirely tranquil and he emptied the remainder of the liquid into her mouth. She could feel the slow, numbing effects of the poison flowing in her veins which consumed her and gradually began to waste her away. As everything began to fade, she felt herself being released from Molevere's iron grip and helplessly she staggered away, rapidly losing all feeling. Her hands fumbled for anything to support her limp frame and she began muttering in a strange gibberish. Molevere's fading laughter were the only things Sabreinna could make out, and the sound comforted her in the least.
Then, it happened.
In attempts to grab a hold of something, she fingered her locket hanging on her neck and subconsciously, she opened it. As her nails parted the bright ornate silver pendant, a wave of bright orange illuminated the black forest and swallowed the rain from out of the sky. The sound, a low deep rumble, destroyed thunder and an earthquake shook both the Heavens and the Earth. A shriek of terror could scarcely be heard over the spectacle, though it was not her own.
When the locket consumed all it had engulfed, it sealed itself shut around Sabreinna's neck.
The forest was as quiet as before.
Sabreinna, unaware of her surroundings and the mysterious event, stumbled to the earth as the poison completed its ravenous course. Her limp, lifeless body tumbled down a gorge and landed into the passing stream—her locket glowing like a dying ember.
A.P. and yes, there is a plot. A good plot too.