Patiently, her eyes searched the columns and halls of the old castle. A soft smile played across the winsome red head's face as a shadow slipped along the hall and further along the balcony ahead of her. Wistful round blue eyes travelled along the hall as she giggled lightly. Lifting the thick hem of soft lavender satin of her gown, she hurried further down the balcony. "I knew you were here." She called out, moving after the shadow.
The source of her joyful smile and hurried step, turned with a faint smirk to her. Sparkling emerald eyes beheld the young woman with the fondness he had felt the moment he had first laid eyes on her. Turning his head towards her, the raven hair falling over his brows and into his eyes took their place in a soft tousled mess, hiding the emerald occasionally. Sweeping the black cloak aside, revealing the deep crimson tunic and black pants, with the breast plate armor covering all. The sword at his side emblazoned with the insignia of the Ma'ana army. "Shhhh..Nimue-chan, don't let on I'm here."
Nimue hunkered back, then ducked further into the shadows, pulling him into them with her. Laughter again floated along her youthful eyes, wonder and carefreeness alight within them.. A princess' life was not an easy one all the time, dealing with the pressures from the courtly influence, but here was her respite from the stuffiness, as she pulled her friend into the shadows, giving him a joyful hug.
"Nova Hime-ko," he whispered softly, teasingly at the formality of her title so unsuiting her, then sunk into a sober tone, reluctant to leave her side. "You know I can't be here, the war is growing worse, and they need their General."
Their worlds had been warring for so long, M'ana's insistance at destroying Atlantis grew steadilly more persistant each passing millenia.--Atlantis had to fall for it's vanity, it was inevitable.. Atlantis had been responsible for a great deal of the problems and deaths throughout Ma'ana's world, from virii to magical beasts of devastating levels, all for the good, Atlantis claimed, of the Ma'ana empire. They were training them, and weeding out their weak--it seemed like a justifieable act to Atlantis, however Ma'ana did not see the pointless slaughter in that light. Protecting it's weaker, Ma'ana rose up and fought back, their goal, bringing the reign of abusive power to end.
In the distance battles of vast magical devastation rumbled, echoing through the country side, rocking the very earth around them with the backlash. Slowly the power level began to increase, rumbling the Atlantean castle once more, forming tiny cracks in the columns along side of them. "They're getting closer, A'zi Im." The young man whispered, flinching a bit at the thought of returning to the battle again.
Nimue's head tilted for a moment, there was that word again. He used it often as a nickname to her. A curious expression crossed her face as she gazed at him, meaning to ask him what it meant but seeing his sadness, left it alone for the time being. She would ask him again later. Studying his face gently, she found herself understanding deeply the frustration in his eyes at returning to his army.
He had never wanted to be leader, it wasn't in him, he had been a bard before being recruited into the army, his odd luck being advantageous to the cause. They had seen the quirky nature of his powers topple generals from horseback by seemingly apparent accident, and had sought the bard out to utilize this power. Lachesis sighed heavilly again, wrapping the tiny red headed princess into his arms, resting his head on her shoulder. "I Don't want to go..I really don't. For that matter, I don't even see why they even follow me...I get the impression that they barely tolerate me there."
Revelling in the friendship of the enemy world's princess, a thought arrested him for a moment, a gift he needed to give her. It could wait for a moment. Embracing her tighter, he smiled thoughtfully a bit of sadness touching his eyes.
Biting her lip, she shook her head, burying it into his shoulder, into the cloak hiding the small sobs that slowly began to shake her body. "This...this is rediculous..Wars are stupid...all of ...this..." her sobs choked a bit, her tiny body hitching a little bit, as she clung tightly to the one person who had seemed to understand her unlike anyone else, was willing to slip into the enemy world to see, and had been for quite some time, he had been the deepest best friend she had ever had.
Breathing another reluctant sigh, he turned his eyes towards the rolling hills, noteing the armies on the horizon gathering in preparation. "I ..have to go. I'm..sorry. I'll meet you here tonight...on the veranda. I promise." Giving her one final kiss on the cheek, he pulled back, eyes lingering on her for a suspended moment, then released her, disapearing into the shadowy corridor and down the stairs and away.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The attack came at midnight, Lachesis fronting the
army invading the main castle. The power of magical forces flowing in violent
eddies throughout the Atlatean capital awakenened everyone not previously
awake, including the young princess. Panic lined her eyes as she ran to
the balcony, drawing the silk robe around her as she did so. The night
breeze fluttered the soft silk gown about her body, bringing the scent
of fire and smoke, and the heady aroma of mana in full force from
the battling armies.
Her eyes scanned the chaos below as the armies moved
and milled about sieging the castle, but no sign of him. A pounding knock
came to her door amidst the screams and terror throughout the castle. The
common thread of panicked words were that the council had went to the main
node to work their magick against the army.
She could sense the magical energy flowing from
the node in the center of the castle, holding a ward around it. Ever slowly,
the ward around the castle was crumbling, and Nimue could feel it resonating
in her accutely perceptive magical senses. The ripple of magical energy
surrounding them, ebbed a bit, then increased only to recede once
more. She could feel the thoughts and emotions of the council mages within
the chamber struggling to hold the ward up. Pain flowed like rich warm
water through her psyche throbbing her brain in a euphoric panic.
Again the knock resounded, bringing her out of her
trancelike state with a start, her eyes darting to the heavy doors lined
with gold scroll work. Moving towards it, more screams of confusion further
down the hall caught her attention. "He's inside the castle! Seize him,
it's the enemy."
Panic once again assailed her at the thought that
the enemy had managed to breach the castle's integrity and somehow slip
pass the guard posted. Remaining quite still, eyes fixed on the door, not
moving towards it, listening to hte panic and mayhem echoing up and down
the castle halls
Finally the doors slammed open with a heavy thud,
Lachesis, staggering into it bleeding profusely from God only knew what
attacks. "Hime..ko...." his breathing labored and filled with pain as he
uttered the words. "We have to get out of here. Now...I ..dont want you
in the middle....of..this."
Nimue took a step back, confusion in her eyes again,
fear and utter numbness at the sight of her closest friend in such a desparate
state. The guards in the hall had ceased their pursuit of him for some
reason, perhaps his quirky luck again, it didn't matter. "You're..hurt.."
She moved to him and gathered him, wincingly into her arms.
"Yeah...I'll be...all right." He gasped, flinching
a small bit, then easing in her arms again. "Let's go." Scooping her into
his arms, his moves sure and direct for the balacony.
"Wha..what are you doing!?!" She made a feeble cry,
as he slid over the side, grabbing hold of the edge of the balcony with
one arm, flinching again in pain, clinging to her with his free arm. Clearly
the pain from dangling had to be wrenching through him, but he remained
stolid, gauging the drop to the ground below them, not more than a floor
beneath them, he clenched his teeth, then let go, holding her tightly to
his side.
Dropping to the ground in a painful crunch, stumbling
to the cobblestone, he let Nimue roll out of his arm to the ground. "You
idiot..." She admonished, tears in her eyes as they assessed the break
of his ankle. "You could've been...killed doing that."
"Yeah...but I wasn't." A slight flinch, gasping
pain, then a little smirk played across his face once more. "Guess I was
just lucky... again. Let's go." Staggering to his feet again he caught
his breath back, then moved forward once more, taking her hand to help
her to her feet.
Nimue cracked a faint smile at his attempt at light
humor but watching him in the pain he was clearly in, brought tears to
her eyes once more. Reluctantly, she moved on through the night behind
him, pulled along as if some spectre might fail down and swoop them up
at any moment. After a trek that seemed endless, they finally discovered
a silent glade of trees. Hiding in the shadow's security, Nimue finally
gripped the courage to say something. "You..know they're going to consider
you AWOL don't you?"
"Yeah..isn't it great?" He flinched again, trying
to hide the pain in his eyes with more of the light hearted humor.
Nimue's frown increased as she examined his ankle
again, then searched for something to splint it. Ripping the hem of the
silk robe she wore, she begin carefully tending the wound, tightening the
cloth about the sturdy tree limbs. "You..idiot...you idiot." She whispered
over and over again..."Why?...Why did you try to save me like that? What
were you thinking?" Her voice choked a bit more, then caught.
"Why?" He blinked a bit in confusion. They had been
playing the courtly flirting for months now, the chivalrous hiding and
meeting together in the shadows. Had it just simply been the excitement
of being caught between the two warring worlds....or had it been more.
"I..can't believe you would ask...that.." He uttered softly. "I thought
you knew..." His voice trailed off as his emerald eyes filled with a touch
of pain at her question. Turning his eyes towards the fires and explosions
of the castle under seige, he breathed a heavy sigh.
"Huh? What?" eyes sought his curiously, naive'te
playing on her face. He had such a quirky way of smirking that made her
smile. Watching his face in the distant glow of the firelight, she absently
reached a delicate hand forward, the white gold charm bracelet on her wrist
jingling softly in the silence as she gently brushed a strand of raven
from his brow.
"Nothing, it doesn't matter." Lachesis spoke
quietly, smirking to her with a certainty to his eyes, a fondness. "Let's
just rest here for a moment." He whispered, leaning his head back against
the tree, closing his eyes with a weary sigh.
Nimue's eyes gazed at the young bard quietly. Something
about him held a bearing more noble than a simple bard, however that was
what he had always been to her, what he had told her he was. Something
about him had always seemed so regal to her, like royalty. How could a
simple bard hold such an intrigueing radiance about him? Studying
him silently, the tousled mess of blue black hair falling over his brows,
bound back in a soft tail falling to his mid shoulder, the long dark lashes
closed over angular cheeks, she found that no matter what she did, she
always found herself like this near him, watching him when she could only
guess he didn't realize it. Absently, she moved her fingers to his hair
once more, as before, letting them linger through the strands of blood
caked hair, revelling in wistful dreams that began to center around him
again, as they had for a while now. Dreams that she kept locked away deep
in her heart.
In an instant, her dreams shattered as several of
the Clan armies surrounded them out of virtual nothingness. Their only
pre traces being the rippling of their forms stepping from otherwhere.
"He's a traitor! He helped her..." One soldier turned eyes towards
Nimue, a thin smile crossing his face, eyes studying her hungrilly. With
a swift motion, his arms were around her, groping at her. The more she
wriggled to free herself, the more the soldier fought back. Finally in
frustration, she was afforded a sharp blow to her cheek bone from
him in admonishment. "Be still!" The soldier barked, shaking her a bit
to keep her in line, as his hands vilely played over her tiny form.
Lachesis' eyes slipped to the trio surrounding them, then to
the princess in the other soldier's violating grasp, and with a swift movement,
he darted at the man holding her, knocking him to the ground, pinning the
man to the ground, a sword at the soldier's throat drawn with skilled prescision.
Nimue staggered, then fell to the ground once freed.."Get away! Now..."
Lachesis ordered, not turning his eyes to her, still holding the soldier
fast. Pain leveling in his eyes a bit, from the broken ankle reminding
him of it's prescense and the previous wound, still bleeding freely, he
desparately pushed it back, strengthening his lock on her attacker.
The third Soldier, who had been standing back for a moment, watching
his General and the princess and the other two, acted. Seeing Lachesis
holding fast to hte other, he moved forward, sword in hand to strike at
him. With a swift movement, senses open, Lachesis spun, sinking the sword
into the advancer's chest, releasing the one on the ground with the same
swift movement.
NImue's eyes widened with panic again, as the second
moved towards her with a leering gaze. "I wonder if princess' are as good
as everyone says they are." Nimue took a step back, then another,
as the man advanced on her, then spun on her heel, only to be caught by
the long waves of copper hair. The man snapped one hand to her, pulling
her towards him, holding tightly to her hair, twisting it violently within
his fingers to get a better hold as he pressed his mouth to hers.. Uttering
a pained scream as he clenched her scalp tightly, pulling her to him, she
bit down on his mouth hard, drawing blood and a painful yelp.
"You'll..never...find..out!" Lachesis' voice snapped behind
them with a sudden clarity as a ball of fire hit the soldier square in
the back setting him ablaze. Screaming painfully, the soldier dropped
in agony to extinguish the flame throwing Nimue free reflexively.
Reeling back, she lost her footing and slammed hard,
with the inertia of the throw aiding to hte impact, into the tree behind
her. Dropping painfully to the foot of the tree, she groaned a bit trying
to regain a bit of her equilibrium once again.
Lachesis too had lost a bit of his common
thread of conciousness, swaying from the magical energy spent to
formulate the ball of energy. "Go...now...get out. Please." He whispered
hoarsely as the burned soldier fell. Staggering a bit to his feet, he moved
with a single fluid motion to Nimue, shoving something into her hand. "I'll
find you, I promise...now go!"
As he spoke the words, taking the brief moment to
place the object in her hand, the third soldier moved in on him from behind.
Spinning on the soldier, his eyes glowing violently, sword in hand, placing
himself between Nimue and the attacker.
The soldier's eyes narrowed slightly. "Move aside,
General. You know the orders were to destroy her.." A thin smile crossed
his lips as he advanced.
Lachesis standing fast, held a gaze of warning on
the soldier. "You are under my command, she is not to be harmed."
"Traitor.." The soldier hissed. "Do you reallize
how dangerous she is?"
"Don't make me have to go through you, Sir."
The soldier glowered. "The safety of Ma'ana is at stake here."
"No." Lachesis spoke matter of factly, weakness
playing on the crack of his voice, yet still he held fast.
The soldier's eyes turned towards Nimue, hiding
behind Lacheses, and with a sudden violent blast of mental energy. The
sheer will that it had to take to send her reeling back could only have
come from a Zhriayabin, a mind mage, and the pure clarity of pain flowed
through her, like a maelstrom. "STOOOOP!" Sinking to the ground, clenching
her fingers through her hair, curling into a ball.
Lacheses' eyes snapped to her for a moment, and
in the same critical second, the strike came from his own mental powers
in retalliation to the soldie's attack on Nimue. A painful blast, sinking
into the depths of the soldier's mind, pummeling it with a sickening tearing
violence, driven by anger, hatred and a deeper set emotion for her, love.
The pain and strength used to send the backlash through the soldier's
mind recoiled back sending a reeling sickness and agony through him.
Groaning, his eyes focused narrowly on his enemy. Things seemed to be moving
in slow motion for him, a swirling miasma of mental energies still
flowing around him. Had he really done what he had done? His answer lay
confirmed as the soldier fell to the ground in front of him, dead
. Pain continued to throb through his mind, his brain, as he
collapsed to the ground in front of Nimue. "I..need..to find..new..men."
He grimaced, with a faint weak hearted laugh, clutching the devastating
pain of the mental recoil back.. "I don't know why they wanted to
destroy you..." He spoke softly. "But you're okay...now..." His smile,
weak at best, indicating imense pain flowing through his body and mind,
he touched the hand she held the object in, slumping against her body..
Her eyes filled with tears as she gently pulled
him into her arms a look of desparation flowing through her eyes, searching
for any sign of being able to cease the effects of the severe backlash.
Blood flowing freely from the wound he had been holding back all night
slowly began staining her gown and palms as the desparation of trying to
cease the welling wound seized her. His breathing slowed softly as he lay
in her arms. "I..never got..to tell you...why... I.. came after you..."
Gently his chest rose and fell once more, his eyes closed in rest.
"Shh...please dont speak..." She uttered miserably,
wiping the tears away frantically as she tried desparately trying to think
of anything to help, still holding pressure to the deep wound in his abdomen.
"You'll be okay... I'll make sure of it."
As her mind worked through the problem of reversing
the damage caused by the backlash, desparation taking hold, a tremble racked
through his body once again, then like a windfallen leaf in the last of
a breeze, fell utterly still.
"Lachesis?...." She whispered, touching his cheek. "La..?" Her voice
hitched for a moment, and ceased. "Noooooo!!!" reallization flowed through
her as she held his still body. "No! This isn't fair, I was going to tell
you how I felt...Damnit." A pitiful cry slipped out of her lips and keened
slowly as she held him, eyes on the violent army on the valley floor below.
Reallization struck her at what he had been trying to tell her all night,
as well. "And...and you were going..to tell me...too, weren't you?." Pain
choked the words from her with despaired effort.
Moments passed, pain soon ebbed into an absolute
anger, welling to insane levels of desparation as she watched the army
of her enemy. The fear she held for them and had felt for a long time soon
became replaced by another feeling, more deep and primal, charged by the
death of the one she loved--hatred.. Something in her eyes seemed to hold
the last vestiges of her broken heart as she continued holding the hated
army in her fixed gaze.
Slowly, the keening wail of her cry joined with
an even more primal song, the song of the Ceritra, the song of the Atlantean
blood flowing through her as she knelt poised on the hill with her friend
and love in her arms. The song climbed to a soft chorus surrounding her,
flowing through her as the breeze itself moved about her, lifting her copper
hair, billowing the lose silk night gown about her. Gently the song changed
pitch to a pining tone of mourning as she rose to her feet.
As she stood on the hill, her love's blood on her
gown, a slow glow began to radiate about her, through her, flowing over
her body in a soft violet light until gathering and coalescing to a symbol
upon her forehead. The symbol of a a star with a circle ellipsing around
it like a supernova. Brighter the symbol glowed upon her brow, as the power
of her love for Lachesis mounted and shifted to something substantial and
palatable. As she watched the army below, the symbol's violet hue continued
to intensify, it's light now fully encompassing her like an aura. Something
in her awakened as she watched, and with a violent cry, the sound of something
deep radiated from her, like the echo of a dyeing star deep in space it's
last mournful cry before the exploding light.
And that very cry heralded the same said exploding
light from around her, through her body, spreading out of her like a novae.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The ocean played at the unconcious girl's body. Laying in
a sprawled heap in the sand, a quiet groan crossing her cracked and bloodied
lips. Again, the shocking cold of sea flowed about her body, snapping her into
conciousness. Darting her eyes around her with alarmed confusion "W..where am
I?" She spoke hoarsely. Again, the girl groaned, rubbing her forehead.
She had a fragment of some strange dream as she shook her head, copper matted
tresses floating about her. The dream had been so vivid, of fallen worlds, death
to armies and complete devastation, but there had been something else in that
dream, someone hard to make out in a fog of shadows--someone she loved.
Opening her palm, clenched around something cold and smooth,
she gazed at the object imprinting it's mark into her flesh. A delicate engraved
locket lay there, scrolling roses with a violet one in it's center adorned the
locket. "Wh..what is this?" She shook her head, then opened it, memories lost
to her. Opening the locket, she gazed at the person's face inside it, resonating
to her like the shadow in her dreams, a young man about her age with mischievious
emerald eyes and a playful smirk on his lips. The echo of a random thought playing
over and over in her mind, returned to her once again. I will find you...I
promise.
As she opened the locket, something flickered and shimmered,
then formed before her. The silvery light swirled gently then expanded coallescing
into a tiny silvery dragon. "Wow!..." She whispered in awe. "I...What are you?"
(((I am your guardian, Aeryn.))) The dragon's thoughts
penetrated into her mind as she gazed at it, shimmering jade eyes holding hers
gently. (((Do you remember anything at all before awakening here?)))
It's thoughts asked.
"The girl shook her head. "Remember? I..What should I remember?
Why am I sleeping on the beach?"
The dragon's eyes held a sad glimmer to them, and it nodded.
(((I am Rakii. And I have been sent to guide you in your loneliness, help
you with your awakening powers, and be the friend you will need right now, Sailor
Nova.))) Its thoughts spoke gently as it lighted with a proud expression
playing across it's face.
The girl's eyes held a pitiful expression of fear and confusion.
"S..Sailor Nova?" She squeeked a bit. "I don't even know who I am...let alone...what
a Sailor Nova is." Curling into a ball, seeing blood soaked through her gown
and on her hands, she began to tremble violently. "Did I hurt...someone?"
(( "It's okay, Aeryn-chan...Nova-hime-ko")) the dragon's
thoughts soothed... (((I won't let anyone hurt you...ever. I will be there
to guide you and teach you. That locket is the beginnings of your powers.)))
The girl nodded numbly, tears of confusion flowing down her
cheeks. "((But first....I must get you somewhere safe.))) The dragon's
thoughts projected gently. (((Come with me...))) The dragon gently lowered
itself, leathery shimmering wings beating once as he clenched teeth to the torn
sleeve of her gown, tugging it softly for her to follow.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
To be continued...