A.N. Here it is, the very fist chapter of Love and obsession's sequel. I know, I know, took me long enough, but I started writhing a Star Wars fic so it took me more than what I had expected to start uploading it, sorry. I wasn't going to upload it in this site, but after a request from cuteknight101 I change my mind, cuteknight101 here it is, hope you'll enjoy it. =)

Love and obsession: ascension

1 Clean state

The forest canopy swayed under the soft wind's caress, the newly raising sun splashing its light across the lightning sky painting it in fiery autumn colours. As the happy chirps of the birds raised from the tree branches towards the star above, whispers sounded from inside the forest's mists, language as soft as the breeze circling around to the privileged who understood its meaning, its nature. As if, emanated from the trees themselves, two prone figures emerged from the shadows towards a near clearing.

One could almost hear the childish laughter as the mischievous wind folded and intertwined their long tresses so alike waves in the ocean, standing at the heigh of six feet five, they made for a impressive view. One with her hair as silver as the moon shinning over them at night, the other of an blue so dark it seemed almost black, its silken beauty enticed the most unaware. Their, equally, pearly white skin was as much a match with the silver haired, making her look like a somewhat ethereal apparition, as it completely clashed with the midnight-blue hair of the other turning her dark mop into a enticingly lascivious black mass. The silver's big eyes brightened, its various tones of violet lightning up with the rising of the new day, wisdom that betrayed the young appearance her physical beauty granted her with shinning in their mist.

"Mistress Athena shouldn't we be going on."

Athena look behind her, to look into golden eyes, her wisdom the only think she didn't saw mimicked in them, "don't worry Ashfrer we still have time," the older Helphidien reassured her apprentice as she set her hand on the trunk of an huge ancient oak beside her. There's a change in the air, something dark is coming.

"Mistress," Ashfrer called unsure, the High Priestess and been behaving rather oddly the last days and she hadn't been able to deal with the uneasiness of the whole situation. There was definitively something bothering High Priestess Athena, but whatever it was the regal Helphidien had kept it to herself. Ashfrer felt frightened as a thought occurred her, the sight, had her Mistress saw something endangering their people future, but if so, why hadn't she gone to the King? Why had see kept quiet?

"Ashfrer," Athena called, taking her off her musings, "let us continue."

A frowning Ashfrer follow after Athena towards the clearing ahead of them. Ankle-long grass undulating at the wind's touch made the illusion of a green ocean waving around them. A small path linked the forest line with the centenary whipping willow in the clearing centre. The majestic tree clearly raised above all other in the dense forest around it. Mid way through the path the High Priestess stifled before falling to her knees gasping for air. The scared Helphidien rushed to her Mistress side kneeling beside her. Before Ashfrer could inquire Athena about the cause of her sudden illness an huge surge of power threw the two being into their backs. The ground trembled under them as a column of blinding blue light descended from the sky. The two Helphidien raised their hands in front of their widening eyes as the light started to fade. Astonishment washed over them at the sight before their eyes, an unconscious girl laid sprawled by the sacred willow's trunk.

Athena, the first to pull herself together, jump to her feet before sprinting towards her, Ashfrer just behind her. The older Helphidien crouched beside the stranger, her eyes widening when falling over the dagger-like fang deeply embedded into the girl's chest. She knew exactly to what kind of best the fang belonged to. There wasn't any time to lose if she wanted to save the dormant girl.

"Mistress, she's a human," Ashfrer said the moment her eyes laid on the girl's round ears.

Athena shook her head, she already knew that, that had been the first thing she had checked when she hadn't recognised the girl, "Ashfrer go to my quarters and bring me my travelling bag, now Ashfrer," she ordered when the blue-headed didn't move. She returned her attention to the young human female. It seemed the stranger had lost a considerably amount of blood easing the poison's work considerably. Athena searched for a heartbeat, sighing relieved when founding one, It was a faint one, but it was still there. Pulling a small silver dagger from inside her sleeve, the Helphidien cut her index finger, as the blood started to flow Athena settled her finger on the human's temple. With a swift stroke of her bloodied appendix she drawn a vertical line, lowering her attention to the girl's chest, Athena ripped open the clothes surrounding the fang. Making use of fast strokes, she positioned her finger to the left inferior of it before marking the skin with another vertical line, her finger stopping when it was positioned a third above the wound, a descending line stopping only when it was on the right side of the wound and directly parallel to it was formed next. The final stroke was another vertical line, starting where the descending line had ended and stopping parallel to the first vertical one. The,now, finished rune started pulsating. A sickly greenish fog started to raise itself from the girl's body and when it seemed all her body was covered in it, the fog started to slid towards the fag. Slow at first, but starting to become increasingly fast, the fog clashed with the fag and was absorbed by it. By the end of it, when the last wisp of the green mist was absorbed, the fang raised itself above the girl's chest before suddenly felling beside her body, a foul smell attacked Athena senses as the fang started to melt away as if bathed in acid. By then, the rune on the human's temple started its work, a hint of blueish hues on the girl's skin.

Athena raised her head to welcome the return of her apprentice, her bag securely on the other's hands.

"Mistress," Ashfrer called, the question noticeable of her voice.

"Come Ashfrer, I need your help," the silver haired indicated.

Only then did the young Ashfrer approached the dormant girl, "will she be okay," the Helphidien asked as she helped Athena disrobe the stranger.

"She will," Athena reassured Ashfrer as her eyes scanned the woman-child naked body in search of any other injuries, but luckily, apart from some bruises and scratches everything seemed to be in order. A cut on the girl's left temple made her a little anxious, but there wasn't nothing she could do about it before the girl's awakening. Being sure there wouldn't be any other thing compromising the girl's health, Athena stripped her outer tunic and, with Ashfrer help, dressed the girl in it. It was far too long for the girl's meager four foot seven, but it would have to do for now. Grabbing a small pouch from inside her bag, Athena instructed Ashfrer to stay by the human's side as she raised to her feet and opening the pouch she started circling them, the silver powder falling from it forming a perfect circle on the ground. The moment the circle was complete, the High Priestess took a pinch from the powder and, entering the circle, started forming a set of runes inside the circle. The first was closely similar to an R, the second seemed like a M and the third and final one resembled a P. Magic hummed around them moments after they disappeared along with any indication of their presence.

…...

The rather large and spacious chamber was silently empty, on a far corner a fire burned, a medium-seized cauldron hanged above it secured in place by a chain coming from the ceiling. Around the fire a circle of stones seemed to contain it inside, a minuscule rune resembling a V tilted to the right engraved into each one of them. Immediately to its left side, various kinds of herbs hanged in different stages of dryness, under them row after row of several jags, vials and flasks lied neatly arranged by some unknown order. After it stood a large wood table, completely bare apart from a big tome on its centre opened at a seemingly random page, its ancient sheets yellowed with the passage of time had started to shred on the pages' corners. Whatever was the book's contents, impossible to discern unless its reader was knowledgeable with the fulpark. Beside the table, numerous rocks and pebbles had been set on different shelves, right after it was the fire-pit, the room was of a perfect circular shape and on its centre only a engraved silver line could be seen.

Magic tickled in the engraved circle before the three travellers appeared inside it.

All around the circle inner border twenty four different runes were noticeable. With precise movements, the older Helphidien steeped in the rune directly to her left, as if under a command, silver light emanated from the circumference on the ground, the scenery around it changing drastically in mere moments. As soon as the silver light faded, the two Helphidien woman grabbed the human and carried her to what resembled to be some sort of bed. The strange piece of furniture seemed to have been formed from the room's walls and ground as if it was a part of it and not something that had been put in there.

With extreme care, the two woman began their work. Athena undressed the unconscious girl as Ashfrer steeped into the circle disappearing to appear some time after with all they would need.

The silver-haired started cleaning the human's body with the lukewarm water as soon as she was sure the chamomile, ginger and lemon verbena's properties had been adequately absorbed by it. "Ashfrer, why have I used the uruz rune on her wound," Athena questioned her apprentice as she continued her ministrations.

"The aurochs rune, when used to heal, is incredibly useful especially when used against poisoned or infected injuries. Its unparalleled proprieties forces any kind of poison or otherwise dangerous foreign substances to return to their original place, after achieving it, one must immediately remove the compromised area, may it be an object or the small piece of skin from where it had started to spread," Ashfrer answered sure of herself.

"Good, now, why the rune on her temple and why haven't I removed it?"

"Isa, the ice rune. It stops the flow of time, it's used for healing only in extreme situations. Its ability to stop time is of great importance when an injury could have deadly consequences allowing healers enough time to tend for the wounds or injuries properly, but.." Ashfrer stopped unsure.

"You were doing well Ashfrer, continue," Athena ordered.

"But it shouldn't be used carelessly, because of its incredible power, if the patient isn't strong enough to fight off its power, he/she could never wake up again!" Ashfrer nibbled on her lower lip nervously, "Mistress, do you think she, will wake up," the Helphidien asked.

Athena sighed, she had known it was a risk to use the ice rune on a human, but by the look of things the girl wouldn't have resisted otherwise, she frowned, there was still too soon for her to remove the rune and only then would she know if the girl was strong enough to wake up. "Perhaps," she said as she finished cleaning the dormant girl and dressed her in a clean tunic leaving the chest unbutton to be able to easily assess the wound. "Now," Athena said calling Ashfrer attention to herself, "you will continue from here.

Golden eyes blinked a couple of times before understanding her Mistress test, fetching the jar she had brought, Ashfrer started spreading the herbal anti-septic balsam over the large wound making sure to completely cover it up.

"Are you done?"

Ashfrer smiled at the tricky question before rinsing her hands of any remaining balsam on the water that had been used to wash away the dirt and blood from the girl's form. Wiping them off on a clean cloth, she them proceeded to retrieve a dagger similar to her Mistress' and cutting her index she then draw a vertical line going from the human's bellybutton to her chest, she then drew a pair of descending lines, one to the right the other to the left until they were a third way down. The new rune seemed a arrow without any feathers. "Teiwaz, to quicken the healing process," Ashfrer concluded.

"Well done Ashfrer," Athena said satisfied.

…...

A pair of deep forest green eyes fluttered open, raising into a seat position the teenager look around surprised when not finding any windows or doors and intrigued with the fact that, despite that, she was quite able to see her surroundings. Apart from her strange bed there wasn't anything more on that room. After a couple of minutes studying it she noticed a silver circle engraved on the room's floor. Bolting off the bed, she stood up, she felt surprised when her bare feet touched the floor. She had expected it to feel cold, but surprisingly enough it was warm. She advanced towards the circle, wanting to take a better look at it, but before she cold get near it, a silver light raised from it and two woman appeared inside it.

"Hnh," she let out as she stared at them. They were both tall, very tall, more than six feet she assumed and both wore their hair lose behind their back. She widened her eyes when she noticed their uncommon colours, one's was a curtain of a shinning silver that gone all the way to her ankles the other's naturally ruffled one had seemed black at first, but a second glance showed her that it was in fact dark blue.

The silver- haired looked at her with kind purple eyes, "how are you feeling?"

"O, okay, I guess," where was she.

"I brought you new cloths," the blue-headed told her, her golden eyes locked into her green ones.

"Child, what is your name," the first asked.

"I," the girl started before closing her mouth, a lost look on her face, "don't know!"