Raven stood at the edge of her balcony, bored out of her wits. Humoring her sister- just this once, for her birthday- suddenly seemed like a less-than-good idea. She sighed dismally; it was too late to reconsider now, especially since they were already here. Even though Rose was sixteen tomorrow, she still had an unhealthy obsession with princesses. And so here they were.
A rented castle, with rented servants, and rented, itchy, fancy clothes. Rose was in Heaven without death, and Raven, conversely, was in Hell. She shifted uncomfortably in the tight black corset that synched over the long sleeved violet gown she'd beeen given. She had declined a hoop skirt, and mercifulyy, her siter hadn't pressed the issue. Absently, Raven wondered for the millionth time if she could lossen the cord that held the corset so tight to her. Having already tried and failed more times than she consciously knew, the young woman's hand merely twitched at her side. At twenty three, Raven had blossomed into a very pretty young woman. Her long hair was darker than the midnight sky, and she allowed the bangs to drop slightly into her large, almond shaped violet eyes. Her skin was pale and her face pointed, gicing her the unhealthy look of a porcelain doll. A gothic, very unhappy porcelain doll. Every time she tried to fake a smile, Raven felt like her face would shatter into a million pieces. The sinse of worry in the pit of her stomach had only grown stronger as the years had gone by.
Her parents, when Rose was scarcely four years old, had lost all of their money in a scandal involving the local government, for which both parents had been top researchers, The family had packed up and fled the home planet, touching down in a bipolar land referred to only as "The Rift." They'd set up in an abandoned mansion on the darker side of the planet, making a meager living off of whatever odd jobs they could find. Raven, headstrong and proud, had also done her best to contribute, which ususally meant acting as Rose's nursemaid. Within the next year, when the family seemed to be on the brink of bankruptcy, things looked up. Both parents were invited to partake in a grounbreaking experiment. Unfortuately, the experiment would take place on a distant world. potentially forcing the family to uproot themselves again. Noting that their girls, aged twelve and five, had made close friends, the proud parents were unwilling to drag their daughters away from a stable life. Instead, they banked on the hope that the experiment would pay well, and be over with quickly. They departed withing the month, leaving the girls to the inexplicably large mansion with a nanny named Annablelle- one of the family's trusted friends. Checks came in every week, and with Annabelle's help, the girls lived a relatively prosperous life. Week after week went by, and Raven, ever observant, ever keen to her surroundings, began to grow worried. The weeks begame months and the years, and Raven's parents still hadn't come home. More shocking than their prolonged abscence was the sudden, inconsistent rate at which the checks arrived. Finally, they stopped altogether. Rose, in her innocent play with the other children, was oblivious to the dark cloud that loomed on the horizon, but Raven, nearing adulthood, was not so naive. Deep in her sensitive heard, she knew something had gone terribly wrong. Her worst fears were confirmed, though not credibly, with the death of Annabelle, their trusted friend and caretaker. The nanny had been old, but healthy and reilient, and Raven took he runtimely death as an omen of ill luck.
Quick witted and ever calm, Raven had set out the very next day, seeking a job to sustain herself and her younger sister. She had no skills to speak of, but had always been very careful with Rose when she was a toddler. With this in mind, she ventured to the home of a weaponsmaster who had just had twin boys. His wife, tragically, had died in viving birth to the twins, but the master couldn't just quit his job if he wanted to sustain his family. At length, he agreed to grant Raven a third of his pay if she would nurse the boys and keep them from danger. Though the wages were meager, Raven had no choice but to comply if she were to keep herself and her sister alive. She only hoped that she could develop a more useful skill before the twins grew old enough to stay home by themselves.
It had happened slowly at first, and only in times of immediate crisis, but Raven knew that she had her skill. It appeared that she had some telekinetic and perhaps even magical abilites withing her. Diligently, she coaxed them out, learning to control her powers and use them to her advantage. More than once did her abilities save the mischievous boys from impending doom, and the weaponsmaster took notice. In secret he created a deck of cards for the young warior, which would answer the call of her magic, heeding her, and her alone. As a testament to his gratiude for her watchful care for his children, he presented her with the cards and began training her in martial arts and swordplay for free. Raven appeared to be a skilled warrior by nature, and her mysterious powers only helped her exceed every expectation the weponsmaster had for her. In addition to keeping an eye on the twins, she began hunting the rogue fiends for extra money, and was finally able to get ahead. Income was steady, and Rose was also proving to be good with swordplay, though magic was more difficult for her to harness. With both girls working in tandem, they would be able to earn enough money to purchase a ship and sisvern the fate of their parents. That day, however, seemed a long way off. For now, Raven felt it necessary to show her gratitude to Rose for her never-ending cooperation, and so had rented this place on the other side of theplanet for almost a month. It had taken up a vast amount of the funds, with Raven striving to make the experience as real as posible, but the elder sister didn't mind. She knew the importance of symbiotic relationship with her sister. And Rose had been thrilled to learn of her birthday gift, grinning from ear to ear and throwing her arms around her ever gentle sister.
Raven allowed a small, honest smile to light her sharp features. She felt good, knowing that she, as hard as she pushed Rose, still had her younger sister's love and respect. But even now, Raven had a feeling, a sickening knot in her stomach, that their luck was about to depart yet again. Shaking her head slightly, she released her grip on the balcony railing and returned to her lavishly decorated glanced around it mildly, not relishing the lofty air of the place. She believed herself to be a woman of humble background, and valued humility greatly. But a part of her insisted on her proud posture,her confident, graceful stride, and her quick, sarcastic, sometimes dry sense of humor. THe same part of her beleived that they, for all she and her sister had been through, deserved something of decent stature. She shrugged to the blood red sunset and sat in an oversized chair, a book cradled in her slender hands. Her deck of cords were easily within reach at her hip. resting in a pouch attached to a fine chain belt. The servants had insisted that her weponry was not necessary, but Raven, ever cautious, and been adamant.
At length, her violet eyes lifted curiously from the pages, looking instinctively out the window. She had suddenly run out of light, and a bitterly cold wind had replaced the normally blamy breeze that prevailed on this side of the world. Suspicious, Raven set her book down and went to the blacony. There were no stars, no moon, no heavenly indication of what time it was. Raven's hair whipped about as the wind picked up again, her sharp eyes searching the darkness. She found what she was looking for, but her eyes widened with dismay all the same. A globe of darkness was making it's steady way towards the castle, uprooting anything and everything in it's path. Concerned mainly for her younger sibling, Raven wrenched herself from the blacony and tore from the room. She caught her sister just as she rounded the corner of the hall.
"Rose!"
"Raven! Have you seen it?"
Raven nodded, "Yeah. We don't have a lot of time, we should get to safety, quickly."
Thinking fast, Raven grabbed Rose by the arm and half led, half dragged her sister to a lower section of the castle. She opened a door to reveal a small ship. It was no more than a one-person shuttle, really, and not intended for use beyond the city. But it was the best option they had. Raven pushed Rose into the seat and gave her hasty instructions, "Fly as fast as you can away from thisplanet. You will have to push the ship hard, but I have faith in it's design. Howver, take no chances, and land on the first hospitable land you encounter. Understood?"
"What about you?" Rose asked sharply, clearly unwilling to leave her sister to the mercy of the darkness.
Raven shrugged half smiling,"I should be okay. I know the location of a similar ship, I just want to make sure you get out of harm's way, then I'll follow."
"Okay..." Rose agreed at length. She highly doubted that there was another ship that would bring Raven to safety, but if her sister was sacrificing her life to save Rose's.. Then Rose wouldn't let that sacrifice be in vain. Raven, ever sensitive to her sister, noted the unease in the younger girl's eyes. She clasped her sister's hand in hers, gently, "Don't worry. We'll meet again, I promise. Now go- it's closing in."
Rose nodded, pulling the cockpit shut and kicking the thrusters into action. THe ship roared to life as Raven disappeared into the darkness. The coming turbulence didn't give the younger sister much opportunity to glance over her shoulder for her sister's lithe form, but Rose figured that it was too dark for her eyes to see anyway. She urged the sip forward, glancing nervously at the indicators as the ship shuddered. She knew that the ship, along with herself, would be sucked into the globe of darkness if she didn't pick up speed. Aiming carefully for astretch of clear land, Rose shoved the joysetick forward as hard as she could. The ship lurched ahead, accelerating to a dangerous speed. With a final burst from the thrusters, Rose cleared the pwerful suction of the mysterious darnkess. Her relsolve set firmly on her jaw, Rose pulled the ship upward, rocketing out of the planet's doomed atmosphere. The abyss she entered looked no more promising than the impending doom she'd left behind. The immediate area was blessedly clear, but Rose's sharp eyes could make out a myriad or asteroids and other galactic debris ahead. THe ship gave a moaning shudder as it struggled to deal with the sudden pressure shange, and Rose's ears popped uncomfortably. She swallowed hard and shook her head clear of the momentary confusion, then muscled the thrusters into gear again, keeping alert for any sign of hospitable land.
Back down on The Rift, Raven struggled to run in the confines of the dress and corset, but she knew she couldn't afford any further delays. Trees flew into the air around her, and was only through the use of her formidable telekinesis that she was able to stay grounded. Hoping fervently that her luck would hold, she pressed on. Quite suddenly, the suction of the darkness lessened, just as two massive feet touched down before her. Raven glanced up, wide eyes wary and searching in the darkness. A creature of considerable size, both in height and in girth, stood menacingly before her. Knowing that her moevements were too constricted for close range combat, Raven backed away, drawing a card from the pouch at her hip. The feet stomped down towards her, no doubt with the intention of crushing her. Raven aimed and threw, the enchanted card finding it's mark with the characteristic ring of adamantite. The beast reeled backwards in agony, clutching it's eye and howling it's rage. The card appeared back in Raven's hand, and she threw a second time. the beast, now blind and in considerable pain, hopped around violently, trying in vain to crush it's now unseen foe. Raven backed further away and drew out several more cards, fitting them deftly btween her fingers. The sucking winds had picked up again, and she had no time to mess around. Raven pulled back her arm and threw, the cards spinning iin paths parallel to each other. They buried deep into the monster's blackened skin, waiting their master's command. Raven snapped her fingers, and four explosions resounded, rending the creature into an insdiscernable mound of black, fleshy goo. The cards, suspiciously clean, materialized back in the pouch at a mere thought of their master. Ravne, waiting only for the beast to fall, sufficiently dead, had taken off again, hoping to find something that would protect her from the powerful suction of the wind. THe effect of her telekinesis began to wane as the strength of the wind continued to grow. All at once, the young warrior was lifted off her feet. She only just had enough time to get her arms up in a defensive position before she was hurled up into the mass of swirling darkness.