I heard people screaming in every direction. I was in one of the little villages outside of the palace. I looked around for the cause of the panic frantically. Everything was a blaze and villagers ran in every direction with few belongings. Then I saw him. It was Prince William. He was grinning at me with evil, blood red eyes. He was wearing black clothes with a purple lining down his shirt. He also has a cloak that looked as if it had been burned on its ends; dark purple gems that were the size of my fist were on the sleeves of the cloak and on a dark brown belt. His beautiful brown hair had darkened to charcoal black. He was grinning at me with an evil glint in his eyes. Come, Cecilia, He beckoned, hand outstretched. I took a step forward and the glint in his eyes became more pronounced. I glanced around at the terrified villagers, their eyes wide with fear and confusion. I stopped and William s dreadful grin turned to a death glare. From the look in his eyes, I knew he would kill me if I didn t start moving again, so I continued. As I continued forward his horrific grin grew bigger and bigger. Then, suddenly, I wanted to run to him, embrace him and never let go. I started to run and his evil grin became a loving smile. When we were just a few feet away, he vanished. Who took his place was some man in black plate armor with a long, sleek black sword that glowed red. When I unexpectedly reached him he grabbed my wrists in a deadly grip.
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I woke up screaming at the top of my lungs, beads of sweat running down my neck. It was only a dream I thought, relieved. I sat up and looked around the room, hoping to see William. No one was there. I sighed and laid back down. As I lay there, I saw a dark purple light in a corner of the room. The light looked like it was around six feet and a human shape began to form. I stared in amazement and horror. I wanted to cry for help, but withheld. Suddenly, the room started to spin and my vision blurred. Before I fell into blackness once more, I saw the strange man in black armor appear. His face was as pale as the moon with murky, grey eyes, a wicked smile plastered on his face.
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Cecilia, I said in a shaky voice. No, I thought. It cannot be I jumped about ten feet to the ground from a pine I had fallen asleep in. I had been hiding from the castle guards in a nearby forest. Sin Dor Shala and my dreadsteed, Shadowmere, was summoned. We raced to the palace. When I reached the window to Cecilia s room two stories above me I used a teleporting spell to reach it.
Diel Quel Lithian and I was in the room. I looked frantically around the room for her. No one was there. I saw a manila note on her dresser. It had the blood knights stamp on it.
We have her, and you know what we plan to do was all it said. I gulped and shuddered. If they so much as lay a finger on her I thought angrily. I saw a dark scroll appear next to me. Another spell, I thought. I took it and felt renewed energy and power. I teleported back to the castle wall.
Sin Dore Malanore Bandu Thoribas! I said confidently. A drake, from the depths of the nether, descended out of the sky. The drake was half the size of a village and was a perfect cobalt blue. She roared vigorously to the sky. Her white teeth gleamed in the moonlight. Maelyss, I thought. I walked calmly to her and mounted her broad shoulders. We flew over vast rivers and mountains, coming across smaller kingdoms and few villages. We skillfully and gracefully dodged flaming arrows and spears. We flew until we came upon a desert that seemed lifeless. I soon saw our destination, a small, desolate ghost town. As we drew nearer, I could hear a faint humming coming from a cave. I dismounted Maelyss and walked toward the cave entrance. I heard Maelyss whimper and patted her great blue neck.
"It's ok, Maelyss," I said comfortingly, "I'll be right back." and I entered the cave.
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The tunnel soon opened up to a large cavern. When I saw Theodis, the blood knight, I immediately stopped. There, lying on a stone table was Cecilia, red crystals surrounding her. Her body was limp and breath shaky and hallow. No, I thought. The crystals they re draining her life A red aurora connected Cecilia s body and the crystals together. Theodis had moved closer, hand at sword. I snapped out of my thoughts just in time to dodge his attack.
Hello, warlock, He said in disgust, Trying to ruin my little party? He laughed. My blood began to boil. I glared are him.
Give me Cecilia, I warn, looking around for a weapon. I see another sword but it is on the other side of the cavern. Oh my god, I think to myself. Idiot you have powers. Then I remember how few spells I actually know. Great, I think. A warlock that is pretty much powerless. Nice. Disgusted, I look for something else, missing more words from Theodis.
Give me Cecilia, I repeat. Theodis sighed.
You idiot, He said, I already told you, you can have her back once we re through with her. An evil grin spread on his face. He had removed his helmet and his light blonde hair loomed just above his shoulders. He turned towards the crystals and said strange words in the blood knight language, Deavian. The crystals began to glow brighter and Cecilia s body grew paler and limper. I attempted to knock Theodis out of the way, but failed miserably. Theodis laughed at my pitiful attempt.
You think you are stronger than me, Warlock? He sneered, Well, let s see just how strong you are. He lunged at me, sword in hand. I felt the blade run through my side. Theodis laughed as I fell to the floor, sword still in me. I gasped for breath. Theodis leaned down, a smirk on his face.
This is what happens to those who challenge a blood knight, He smirked. Cecilia started gasping for breath as the crystals began to finish draining her poor, fragile body of life. I felt nothing. I felt no pain. No regret. Nothing. Is this what it feels like to die? I thought. I looked at Cecilia, whose body was as pale as the moon and motionless. I unconsciously reached for the sword, still in me, and pulled it out. There was no blood on the blade and when I looked down where the wound was I saw nothing. I stealthily stood up and crept toward Theodis unsuspecting figure. I pulled the sleek sword up and rammed it through his back. He screamed in surprise and pain. I shoved the sword in all the way to the hilt and whispered in his ear.
This is what I do to those who cause Cecilia pain, I said through bared teeth. I pulled the sword out and ran it though all of the crystals, thinking it would save Cecilia. Thedois fell to the ground and attempted to let out a small laugh but only coughed up a decent amount of blood.
You just destroyed her chance of survival, fool, He said through gasps, and then fell silent. I stood motionless staring at Cecilia s body. A single tear slid down my face. What have I done, I thought miserably. Tears soon flooded my eyes, blinding me. I grazed the tips of my fingers over her flushed cheek. She shuddered slightly under my touch as tears streamed down my face. I glanced at Theodis unmoving body. Anger filled my body and I screamed, Bash a no falor dalah! His body slowly started to disintegrate to dust as a small breeze came through the cave. I heard a dark chuckle from behind me and spun around. It was the warlord, Althalos.
You did very well, warlock, He said proudly. He saw me glance toward Cecilia s limp, motionless body and chuckled lightly.
You cannot save her, He said, as if it wasn t anything important, She s just a human anyway.
Then why would Theodis and the other Blood Knights want her? I whispered, my voice shaking with anger, Why? Althalos seemed to have no answer to my question.
Come, warlock, He said, attempting to change the subject, More Blood Knights will be coming soon if we don t leave now. I glared at him. The gems on my sleeves began to glow brighter, the swirls seeming to never end.
Why?! I yelled at him, Why did they choose Cecilia for for whatever this is?! Explain! I continued to repeat this statement, my voice growing louder and, I angrier each time.
I heard a faint whimper come from Cecilia. I immediately turned around, my anger dying away instantly, and knelt beside her. She was trying straining to open her eyes, but didn t have the strength for it. I frowned worryingly at her. I quietly stood back up and turned to face Althalos. He looked shocked for some reason.
Althalos? I said cautiously. His shocked face turned into a cold glare. I subconsciously took a step backward. Fire seemed to be dancing in Althalos eyes.
I will not allow it, he said suddenly. I stared at him like he had gone insane. Not allow what? I thought curiously. Althalos took out his spell book and began casting The Curse. The Curse was the most terrible and anguishing curse ever made. Only the wisest and most powerful warlocks have the ability to cast it. It will slowly and painfully disintegrate and melt you inside out, causing nothing but pain. Warlocks can never die so you spend eternity suffering. For humans it turns them immortal, causing them to suffer just as long. It doesn t destroy your heart though. You heart turns to stone and you can never love, only hate. The only thing that could break the curse was for someone to love them truly, no matter how hateful they are.
He was looking directly at Cecilia, all of his concentration on her. My eyes went wide with fear. No, I thought. I rammed myself into Althalos, knocking him to the ground.
I will not let you hurt Cecilia! I screamed at him. I snatched his book with one hand while I used a fire spell with my other. The only way to kill a warlock was to burn his book of spells. A small ball of fire began to form in my free hand. Althalos eyes went wide with fear. Normally it is nearly impossible to get another warlock away from his book long enough to destroy it.
Don t do that, warlock! He begged, Please! I smirked. Slowly I brought my hand closer to the book. Althalos didn t move. He couldn t move for fear of causing me to burn his book immediately. I know I would never burn another warlock s book, but he didn t. I highly considered burning the book for Cecilia, but I actually have a heart.
That was a warning, I said as I tossed the book back to him, Next time I will not hesitate. I was barely inches from burning it but decided that he wasn t worth my time. I turned toward Cecilia and gently picked her up. I will give her my life, I thought to myself. She has much more to live for than I do. I heard a whoosh from behind, and then felt a searing pain inside. The Curse, I thought desperately. Althalos laughed darkly.
Fool, He said, Do you actually think I would cast The Curse on her? He laughed again. I was only waiting for the right moment to use it on you. His smile was grim and cruel. I felt hate flood my mind, nothing else.
Sin Dore Malanore Al ah Althalos I yelled at the top of my lungs. Fire suddenly encircled my feet, but did not burn. I raised my hands and the fire, faster than a blink of an eye, spread all around me. It consumed Althalos and his precious book. There was a loud wailing but it soon stopped. I looked toward Cecilia and with what little love I had left for her, consumed all life energy around me and collected it into a small vial. I took the vial and poured it contents in her mouth. She stirred a bit and slowly opened her eyes. I moved to a far corner, hoping she would not notice me and my new found hate for her and everything else. She sat up with great effort and looked around the room. She soon spotted me and smiled. I felt tears forming at the edge of my eyes and looked away. I could feel her frowning sadly at me. She walked slowly toward me.
Please don t, Cecilia, I said, my voice sounding so hateful. I heard a very small and sad whimper come from her. Tears, one by one, slide down my face. My heart was nearly hardened and this could be the last time I could explain without causing as much pain. I took a deep breath and turned toward her. She was also crying a bit. I looked down.
Althalos the most powerful warlock known put a curse on me, I said slowly, It is the worst curse you can have. It causes nothing but pain and suffering, but worst of all, it causes you to hate everything. I slowly looked up. Fresh tears were falling to the ground. I could tell she understood what I meant. I want you to be safe Cecilia, I continued, I don t want to hurt you. I felt searing pain everywhere, I didn t know if it was from heartache or being burned alive, and fell to my knees. Cecilia rushed over to be but I waved her off.
Go! I yelled. She didn t move. I looked up and saw hurt in her eyes. I m sorry. I said, barely above a whisper. Then I felt nothing but pain, suffering, and, worst of all, hate. I stood up and turned towards Cecilia. She looked shocked. She sees the hate in my eyes, I thought. I felt like crying, but I couldn t any longer.
I can give you passage to the castle, but then I must go, I said quietly. Cecilia nodded solemnly. We walked out of the cavern, but when we reached the outside we found our lives in danger once more.
