Disclaimer: I do not own the imaginations of Sebastian, Rin, or Melodie (the other authors of Nixx)
This is a complete original! Please review!
A story by Nixx
Chapter 1
Haruta
The Kingdom of Garamond
There was an eerie stillness that settled over the mountain guarded kingdom of Garamond. An ominous red sun had just begun to peek over the mountains tree tops and the orange light poured onto the white marble floor of the room. A tapping sound echoed through the gigantic marble hall as if a light rain had begun to fall. The door of the hall flew wide open without warning and if the majority of the contents in the room had not been dead, they might have jumped with fright. A man of moderate size and appearance stepped into the room his dark brown eyes just slightly curious. His black and jade robes moved gracefully with each step he took towards the middle of the hall. It was there that a still warm body lay limp in the young woman's arms. Blood poured from the young man's chest the liquid forming a thick scarlet outline around the two young people.
"Kade Ovarr…" The man in the jade robes whispered dreamily as he approached the puddle of blood. The woman did not look up at the man who spoke. She could not bring herself to look away. His eyes were so glazed over, no longer that dark hazel, no longer the eyes of Kade. A bitter taste made its way into her mouth and she found it difficult to swallow. Tears burned and threatened her misty amethyst colored eyes. With a sharp pain she realized how absorbent her long silver hair really was. "If only the boy had made the right choice." The knot that had formed deep within her stomach suddenly lurched.
"You never give choices Nerus…" Her voice was surprisingly steady and smooth for someone that held a dead body in their arms. The man, now revealed to be Nerus, smirked slightly at the comment.
"I stand before you perfectly willing to give you a choice Alithia." For the first time since she had fallen to her knees, Alithia looked up from Kade. Her jewel colored eyes turned almost black as she stared at Nerus. Her usual soft features had hardened and resembled the white marble floor beneath their feet. Nerus backed away despite himself and glanced back at his entourage of body guards. With one swift movement Alithia rose to her feet and swiped her hand in an L formation. Nerus looked around the room nervously only to see that his guards were frozen, their eyes glazed over as if no longer living. "What is this?" Nerus asked coolly.
"They see what I want them to see." Alithia remarked flatly allowing Nerus only a moment to let it all sink in. She did not intend to kill him slowly.
"That petty spell will buy you little time. Alithia my dear-" A sharp screech flew from Nerus' lips as Alithia's hand was suddenly gripping is throat. Nerus found that he could not struggle. It was as if his entire body was being strangled, paralyzed. A chill slithered its way up his spine as he realized she was completely depriving his body of any air. Alithia squeezed with only half her strength, letting Nerus endure what he deserved. Just before Nerus reached unconsciousness, Alithia let go and watched as the Lord gripped his neck choking.
"You're pathetic Nerus." With a sharp metallic slash Alithia unsheathed Re. The long silver sword seemed far too thin to be real, let alone lethal. Nerus cowered farther to the floor his bottom lip trembling slightly, as Alithia pulled her blood stained hair across one shoulder and sliced. Long strands of silver and scarlet floated to the floor gracefully while Alithia made Re disappear into thin air. Nerus sighed in relief and placed his hands behind him to push himself up.
BANG!
It took a moment for the Lord to bleed. Alithia half wished his blood had come out black to match his soul, but alas in the end Nerus died as any other human would; sitting in cold blood. Alithia placed her gun in its holster and looked down at her belt. She had four minutes. It was an impossible escape for anyone other than the daughter of the sorcerer Torran.
The now pixie haired girl dashed out of the marble room, her leather boats clanking with each step. As she swung the gigantic doors shut with a flick of her finger, she did not bother to look back at Kade. His soul and spirit would already have left him. She ran. She had never run for her life before. And after her breathing heaved and she legs began to grow stiff, she promised herself she would only do it on special occasions.
2 minutes
The castle was easy enough to escape, seeing as she could care less who she shot in the gut. She lost count of how many she killed after she reached twenty. It was when she threw open the front gates and found herself face to face with seemingly innocent towns folk that she lowered her gun.
1 minute
"Mommy?" A little girl screamed as she caught sight of Alithia and her bloody garments. Alithia froze in her tracks and looked down at her mess of an outfit. She pursed her lips in a silent whistle and a ripping breeze tore the bloody part of her dress clean off leaving her bullet incrusted corset, a weapons belt, white sleeves, and laced brown pants. These appeared to terrify the little girl even more as she flung herself to her mother's petticoat squealing.
The clock within Alithia's leather belt began to sing a rather melancholy tune. The purple eyed girl twisted her face in frustration. That was it for the blinding spell.
With a short nod to the young mother and her shaking child Alithia continued to run through the town. The western wall was her only way out and with a short curse she realized that she was unfortunately, on the eastern side of the city.
She kept her gaze forward despite the uneven earth beneath her. The town's people soon caught on that Alithia was a criminal. They were of no apposing threat to her. She easily pushed her way through the shop keepers and traders with enormous speed. As she turned a corner close to the western side, a group of armed guards appeared in front of her, their long guns at the ready.
"Fabulous," Alithia said as she stopped in her tracks. The four guards looked, to her pleasure, mortified. Being the ex-apprentice to head guard will do that to a person. Two of the guard's guns shook furiously as attempted to aim at the small woman. She shot them without effort. The other two guards however…were not human.
"Halt criminal. By order of Admiral Siren," the guards said in an ear splitting metallic voice. Alithia smirked slightly and lifted her hands. The metallic guards pointed their guns steadily at her. Her eyes flickered down to her silver clock and then back up at the machines. Her body froze as someone crept behind her.
"How very brilliant Siren," Alithia said half heartedly as a tall and lean man began to circle her. His white suit and bleach hair seemed to almost gleam in the light of the burning sun.
"You think so?" Siren chuckled deeply, his ice blue eyes wide with anticipation. Alithia gazed past him at the guards and Siren cocked his head toward them. "My own invention." He threw his arms in the air and twisted his fingerless gloved hands for effect.
"With the funding of the Capital of course," Alithia hissed bitterly. Siren eyed the young woman with intrigue.
"These warriors are unaffected by your," He swung his hands about trying to find the right word, "Sorcery." He leaned toward her allowing his breath to mix with her own. The silver haired woman stood her ground despite the discomfort. She was sadly very accustomed to Siren's fascination with her.
"You didn't follow the rules of the game Alithia," the disgusting Admiral whispered melodically.
"Its because of you Kade is dead," Alithia said through her teeth. The blonde man shrugged.
"He was never part of the game to begin with; but no matter. Look at you now Alithia." He gestured to her tattered self. "You are all high and mighty, making your way out of Garamond. When did I ever permit that, my little apprentice?" He took his half gloved hand and brushed it against her bloody cheek. Alithia's expression remained unchanged.
"Things change Siren." Siren creased his brow as a soft breeze began to beat against his face. The breeze turned into a whisper, a hush, a tiny scream. If Siren were more superstitious he would have immediately identified the scream as Kade's.
"You would kill me Alithia," Siren chuckled. "No matter how suicidal it may be." Alithia took a moment to sigh and shake her head.
"Oh how you misinterpret my intentions Siren." Siren stared at her in confusion. "When it's all over you'll wish I killed you today." As she took a slight step backwards and tapped her clock once, the breeze that had whispered in Siren's ear lifted her twenty stores in the air. Acquiring her balance Alithia began to continue her pursuit to the western wall. Without earth beneath her feet she ran much faster, gliding and jumping whenever a bullet flew her way.
"She's only vulnerable when she's on the ground!" Siren yelled to his arriving guards who rode on steam powered vehicles. "Give me that!" He thrust a machine guard off of it's vehicle and jumped on. He kicked it until the vehicle flew up and above the housetops. Alithia glanced over her shoulder at the league of armed guards that were gaining on her. Siren left the shooting to his warriors. All he wanted was Alithia.
"Come on," the young woman cheered herself on as she almost reached the edge of the kingdom. Ahead of her she could see the green trees that reached for the sunlight. The forest meant certain death, but to Alithia that had become second nature.
"What are you doing you idiots? Shoot her!" Just as Siren screamed at his mechanical warriors, Alithia felt the terrible sting of a bullet hit her in the back of her shin. Biting her lip in pain she continued to drag herself until she finally reached the wall and swung her body over the edge. Her clock sung another melancholy tune as Alithia dropped to the stone bridge below her. Her breeze kept her bones from breaking, but she still had a thirty yard stretch to reach the forest.
Attempting to forget her wound Alithia continued to run as fast as she possibly could to the green safe haven. She was growing weaker by the second and upon seeing the gates open and Siren's army come toward her, she realized she had only one other option. "Damn," Alithia whispered before she turned toward the gates and ripped off one of her many necklaces. The necklace was made of what looked like the inner workings of a pocket watch. "Here goes nothing." With that she clasped one of the screws within the necklace and pulled.
A short ping sound was all that was left of the young sorceress. As Siren and his warriors approached where she had been there was merely an indention in the stone, a stream of scarlet blood, and the interior of an old pocket watch.
Part one. Part two coming soon…
The forest was just as unforgiving as Alithia had imagined it to be. Why had she transported herself to the very thick and density of the trees? Desperation led her into the green clutches of the tree spirits. This was ancient earth; a place once sacred, now abandoned and forgotten. The tree spirits had been forced into the very depths of their tree's core. Making it appear as though tree spirits really were just old legends. But Alithia's winds told her a very strong forest spirit remained.
Looking down at her bleeding wound, it was clear that her only option would be to find this apparently strong spirit. She could massacre an entire court of officials with no problem, but when it came to medicine she was at a complete loss. A strange memory popped into her head as she wondered painfully and blindly through the lush wood. In the memory her father simply told her to heal others, but attempting to heal herself would lead to her death.
At the time, Alithia was a child and shrugged the advice off. However his words remained embedded in her subconscious. So much so that Alithia dared not even tough her throbbing leg. She stumbled over roots and overgrown shrubbery. So many obstacles lay before her on the earth that she would never meet in the sky.
"Ah!" Alithia screamed in surprise as she suddenly found herself on the grassy floor. "What the-" A tree root cut her off as it took hold of her waist and tossed her about. The tree swung her in circles and in every direction. Unable to see any alternative, Alithia unsheathed Re and started chopping at the fat root. As if out of pain, the root dropped Alithia with a thud. The wind knocked out of her, Alithia chocked for breath. "Stupid tree!" Just as the words escaped her lips an arrow zipped through the leaves and missed her temple by a hair.
Forgetting the pain in her left leg she rose to her feet, Re still at the ready. Rustling came from all around her but the dark emerald of the trees kept her blind to whatever stalked her. The trees around her began to move, however they moved in a way so unnatural and mystical it almost brought Alithia to tears. They were alive in a way she had never witnessed. Everything around her came to life as if it had a mind, an identity all to itself. The problem was they all seemed to be against her being there.
As if summoned by some otherworldly being, Alithia was under attack. Again. Wood and weapon thrashed at her with an unexpected force. She slashed at the newcomer completely dumbfounded. The trees used their branches to keep Alithia from seeing her worthy opponent. Alithia yelled between hits from the fighter and scratches from the trees. The slashing of sword and wood stopped suddenly as a hand brushed away the tree branches and Alithia caught sight of her enemy for the first time.
When the sky meets the earth something extraordinary happens. Some say they maintain the balance of the universe. Others say they are polar opposite and therefore could never join forces. Neither is correct or false.
When Alithia and Harlen locked eyes there was stillness. There was a connection never before experienced by the human race. It was not love, nor hatred. It was an understanding. The chaos that had enslaved both of them for so long withered away. Such a beautiful and terrifying moment should have made them smile, embrace even. Alithia had no intention of doing either.
She lifted Re high in the air and brought it down upon the cloaked man with a scream. Harlen was so shocked by the change in atmosphere he fell to the ground. Their roles were reversed now. Alithia cared nothing of supernatural connection. This an threatened her life and therefore would meet his end at her hand.
"Wait!" Harlen grabbed his shield and covered his face every time she came for him. "Just," block. "Wait," block. "Stop," block. "Ugh!" Harlen took his legs and kicked Alithia straight in the gut. She staggered backward but was back at him with her gleaming sword before he could get situated.
"I'll-" Harlen used his shield with great force, blocking every surprising hit she made. Finally Harlen thrust his wooden shield so hard that Re flew from Alithia's hands and landed a few feet away. Alithia felt her strength going out. She could hear her pulse in her ears and the warm liquid that came from her gun wound seemed to be a comfort now. Black infiltrated her vision while she took a shaky hand to try and reach for her gun. Before she could even put her finger on the trigger, darkness took her and she collapsed on the bed of the emerald forest that was now her refuge.