Iceclaw14: Hello people! How goes life for you? Life goes good for me. Anyway, sorry for the long wait. I actually started writing this chapter about a month ago, but my computer freaked out on me and erased ALL of my documents. So I have to start all over again… really sucks, let me tell you. This takes place the morning after the last chapter. Disclaimer: I own nothing blah blah blah.
Anna shifted, her back pressed uncomfortably against the back of a tree. She slowly opened her eyes, still laden with drowsiness. The light from the sun burned against her eyes, and she raised her hand to shield the harsh light from them. As she lifted her hand, she noticed a strange, white substance wrapped around it. She lowered her hand, and raised her other, pulling at the fibrous bands.
"Please avoid playing with that." A voice said from behind her. Anna felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight, and she turned to see the spiky-haired man from before; standing with his rucksack in hand. His cold eyes resting on her.
Anna squinted her eyes. "I know you…" She mumbled. "What's your name?"
"Kratos," he said flatly.
"Oh yeah, that's it." She shook her head, a smile spreading on her face. "How could I forget you? You saved me, right?"
He sighed(A/N: You know that creepy sigh Kratos does, when the talking bubble only says "…" and Kratos makes this "Khuh" kinda sound. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up the scene just before you fight Killia/Door dies.).
"What are these?" She asked, fiddling with the white substance on her hand.
"Bandages," he responded. "You were bleeding and I took the opportunity to cover up all your wounds while you were sleeping. (A/N: Yes that sounded so… oh I don't know whether it was perverted or just plain awkward...) Did they beat you?"
"Um yeah I guess they did." Anna responded, thinking back. "They would hit me, and run this long thing across my back."
Kratos looked at her for closely for a few seconds, and she blushed beneath his gaze. After those few prized seconds were spent, he changed the subject. "Are you hungry?"
She cocked her head to the side. "Hungry?"
He, dug into his rucksack with his other hand, and pulled out a small bag. "Do you need something to eat?"
Anna stared at him quizzically, and he stepped towards her. He bent downward and placed the bag in her hands. "Eat." He ordered her.
She gazed at the bag in her hands, then looked up at him. Due to his position, his face was mostly covered in shadow, and his eyes glowed in the shade of the trees. You can't say no to those eyes. She shifted the bag into one of her hands, and pulled at the top of it with her other. When it didn't open, she yanked harder, pulling it in each direction. "Kratos, it won't open." She said, frustrated.
Kratos reached down and took the bag from her hand. He pulled on the strings and the bag slid easily open. He reached his gloved hand into it and pulled out a piece of dried Amango. He dropped the fruit into Anna's open hand. "Eat." He repeated, his voice hard and demanding.
Anna looked at the fruit, a disgusted look on her face. But she decided it was better to listen to the man before her than to disobey him. He was quite frightening, even when he wasn't ordering her around. She gripped the fruit hard, raised her hand to her mouth and dropped the fruit the fruit on her swollen tongue. It truly was disgusting, somewhere in between sweet and bitter, with a odd sour aftertaste. It took all her strength to keep it in her mouth and swallow.
"Bleh." Anna said after the deed was done, sticking out her tongue. Kratos tried to hand her another piece of fruit, but she shoved it away. "Don't you have anything better?" She complained.
"I won't let you starve." He said simply, avoiding her question.
Her face went slack, and she slowly ate the other piece of her self-proclaimed 'poison.' Kratos dumped several more pieces onto her hands, and she ate those with the same reluctance.
When she had finished her disgusting meal, she looked beside her to see his water skin. She picked it up, and for some moments she managed to open it—Anna wanted anything but his help—She took numerous large gulps until her stomach began to cause her pain. She screwed the cap back on and looked up at Kratos, who had moved over to another tree across from her, where he tied his cape around his neck and tightened his belts.
"So…" Anna pressed. "What are we going to do now?"
"That I am not sure of. We need to go into town so we can get you a pair of shoes. But Luin is undoubtedly crawling with Desians, searching for the both of us. I could go alone and cause less attention, but that would leave you here, unprotected. The Desians are combing all areas on this continent by now, and you would stand no chance if they came for you."
"Wha—What do you mean?" She yelled angrily, clenching her fists. "I can fight!"
"Using you bare hands?" He said harshly. "Even if you were in possession of a weapon and you were skilled with it, you would stand no chance against them because of your Exsphere." He pointed towards the black jewel embedded on her chest.
She looked down, and focused her eyes on her Exsphere. She raised her bandaged hand up to it, and ran her fingers lightly across its smooth surface, and the black veins it produced. "How does it slow me down?" She asked Kratos, her tone serious.
Kratos sighed. "That is a story for another time." He swung his rucksack onto his back. "I suppose I'll have to find somewhere safe to leave you while I head into Luin."
Anna blinked. "What? You're leaving me to those…those…" She searched her mind for the word she was looking for, but to no avail.
"Desians." He offered.
"Yes! Those guys. You're just going to let them come at me?"
"I'll find somewhere to keep you safe while I go. Somewhere they will refrain from searching. I won't be gone for long, only an hour or so at most."
"But—" She complained, only to be cut off by him.
"Get up, we're leaving." He said, walking off westward.
Anna could do nothing but follow.
"Aren't we there yet?" Anna called to Kratos from where she slowly limped on several yards behind him.
"If we were there, wouldn't you think I would have said something?" Kratos fumed, after only two hours, they had barely made a mile. He had hoped to leave for Luin before midday so he could return to Anna during the afternoon, but at this slow pace he worried that he would not embark for the city until dusk. Now, the sun was already beginning its course towards the horizon. They had stopped for rests numerous times and each time they did for over an hour.
Anna was injured, while Kratos was wrapping up her wounds during the late hours, he observed that she had sprained her ankle and she had bruises covering the underside of her feet. It was obviously slowing her down, but this pace was unacceptable.
After several minutes of silently walking, silently meaning that Anna complained under her breath and Kratos did all he could to ignore her, he discovered a path branching off southward. Judging by the plants beginning to grow on it, he confirmed it had not been used it a while.
But paths always lead somewhere. And the fact that it had not been walked upon for quite some time made it even more appealing.
Kratos had been leading Anna away from major roads, walking paths, or even areas with any slight show of another human having been there. Where there were people, there were Desians.
"This way." He commanded Anna, turning onto the path.
"So now you speak?" She hissed.
The path was shaded, by enormous, ancient trees that grew alongside it. Birds chirped gaily above his head and he saw rabbits leap through the piles of dead leaves that had piled on the ground. At one point, he spotted a snake slithering through the leaves, hissing, although not as venomously as Anna had before. The constant glances at animal life comforted him, another sign that there were next to no humans here with them.
Through the trees, Kratos saw an old gray cottage sitting at the end of the path. He stuck his hand out behind him, keeping Anna from progressing forward.
"What is it?" She asked angrily.
"Stay here." He commanded her, walking towards the house, his hand tight on the Flamberge's grip.
"Fine!" Anna fumed behind him. "Leave me here alone!"
As he neared the cabin, he heard no other noises than the scurrying of creatures and Anna's ranting. He pulled the door open, preparing for someone to lash out at him. When nothing arrived, he entered the house.
The floorboards creaked beneath his weight, the only sound in the house. He tightened his grip on the sword, and looked around warily.
"Woah, what is this place?" A voice said from behind him.
Acting upon instinct, Kratos drew his sword while he slammed his free arm back towards the noise. His arm came in contact with the source of the voice, and he pushed it into the wall. A shocked gasp came from it, and Kratos turned with the Flamberge. The sword was set to the base of the intruder's neck, but he swiftly returned it to its scabbard when he saw the face of the intruder. He removed his arm from Anna's chest, and she fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
"What—what was that for?" She panted, looking up at Kratos, her eyes burning.
"It would be in both of our interests if you avoided sneaking up on me." He responded, turning on his heel to examine the room.
It was empty, save for a small circular table and two overturned chairs. A small fireplace was at the opposite side of the room, where it separated into two rooms. From what he could see, they were a kitchen and a bedroom. His attention shifted back towards the table and chairs. Approaching them, eh reached out and pulled an arrow that had been lodged in the center of the table. He examined it closely.
"What about it?" Anna asked. She had arisen from her former place on the floor and was standing at his side a safe distance away.
Kratos ran his fingers over the wood, which was an odd yellowish-brown. "It's a Desian arrow. They inject a special substance into the wood to keep it from breaking, you can tell by the abnormal coloration."
"So should we leave."
"No, they probably showed up here to bring who ever lived here to the ranch and shot this as a warning. Chances are they think no one is here and they will not bother us." He lowered the arrow to his side, casting a quick glance around the room, and then meeting his eyes with Anna's. She quickly turned away, avoiding him. "Which means you can stay here in safety until I return."
Anna's head shot up. "What? You're gonna leave me here where Desens invaded?"
"Desians." He corrected, turning to face the door. "You'll be fine, I'll be gone for a bit over two hours. You can take care of yourself until I return, can't you?" He was at the door, lifting one hand to twist the knob and push the door. With his other hand, he crushed the arrow, and dropped it onto the floor; closing the door behind him.
Anna waited, staring coldly at the door. As each second passed she felt her blood boil. After a near microscopic time, her top came loose.
"What?" She screamed. "You leave me here, where those Desans or whatever they are attacked? You're leaving me out here for them to take me back to… to that…place! You're just gonna let them take me?"
When no response came, she bent down and grabbed one of the chairs, imagining herself lifting at and throwing it directly at the door. She saw the wood splinter and fall to the floor with a sickening series of thumps.
Alas, as Anna reached for the chairs, lifting it back up on its legs, she discovered it was much heavier than she had originally predicted. Still, the image of her pelting the chair at the door caused her to throw it anyway.
It went not even a foot, and landed ungracefully onto the floor, one leg with a large crack running down it. (A/N: Don't you just hate it when that happens? You feel so hopeful, like you're gonna throw it far and it's gonna be perfect…but it just blows up in front of your face. No? Well then Anna, you and I are more alike than I had thought.)
"Ugh!" She roared, turning towards the wall and pounding on it forcefully with her fists. "Why? Why?" Anna asked the cabin. "Why is he just so….ugh! I just can't take it!"
Sliding to the floor, she ran her hands slowly against the wooden floor; grumbling to herself. The layer of dust that had settled onto the floor made her skin itch. She looks down at her bandaged hand, clenching her fist.
"How could this happen?" She whispered. "He swoops in and saves me, feeds me, bandages me and now he leaves me here like…" she struggled for words. "Like…like he wants them to get me!"
She used her hands to help her onto her feet, deciding that it would be best to accept the fact he had left her here and try to make the best of it. She walked through one of the passageways next to the fireplace. It led to a dirt-covered room. Something scurried past her feet; squeaking. She felt coarse fur run across one side of her foot.
Anna pulled her foot up; she pressed her bandaged hand on a counter next to her, and heard a crack beneath it. She settled her other hand onto the counter, and lifted her bandaged hand to her face. A beetle, its hard covering crushed, twitched in her hand.
"Ew, ew…." She said aloud, closing her eyes and scratching the palm of her hand on the edge of the counter. "Ew." She continued scratching it until the beetle fell to the floor.
Anna regained her balance, and cast a wary gaze over the room. Dust covered everything, staining the white tiles beneath her a foul yellow. Beetles swarmed over the counter next to her, swerving around dishes and small bottles that were lying awkwardly over the counter.
At the far end of the room was an old rocking chair, facing a large white window. Anna braced herself, and cautiously, keeping her eyes flickering from the floor beneath her to the room ahead of her, stepped on her toes to the old rocking chair. When she reached it, she ran her hand slowly on the arms of the chair, feeling its smooth surface. She closed her eyes, absorbing herself in her thoughts.
People had lived here, not that long ago. One had probably sat in this very chair, out the window; thinking. The thought of other people made Anna burst with happiness. She had considered herself to be alone in the world, like everyone around her didn't exist; that they were just figments of her imagination, causing her pain and suffering. That she was making the world punish her for some act of rebellion she could not remember. Like life itself was out to get her. (A/N: Maybe I'm putting too much of myself in Anna…...)
Her eyes snapped open, and she turned briskly on her heels, walking out of the room, taking no care to the placement of her steps, and in return she murdered several beetles with her carelessness.
Anna felt the urge to leave. She felt like she has an onlooker in someone else's life. Like she was eavesdropping on a private conversation between two people she didn't know.
She needed to exit this cabin, and forget all about it.
Coming to the door, she grabbed its handle and pushed outward. Though to no avail. She tried again, feeling panic slowly rise in her. Something was in her way.
She pressed all her weight against the door and pushed again, but whatever was blocking her from the outside was not about to surrender to her feeble attempts of escape.
'I'm stuck.' She thought, feeling the bile rise in her throat. 'He locked me in here. I'm stuck.'
Anna pushed at the door, slowly feeling herself slip away, feeling the energy drain from her. "Why?" She whispered, on the brink of consciousness. Blackness spread over her vision, and as she collapsed to the floor she said it again.
"Why…"
When Kratos exited the cabin, he located a long branch that had caught his attention during the walk. Along with other logs and branches, he created a barrier beginning at the bottom of the door, and ending near the knob. It was heavy enough to keep Anna from escaping. He withdrew his wings, and pushed himself two feet from the ground.
As he began to flap his wings and glide off into the distance, he heard Anna scream at him, and an unpleasant crash come from the cabin.
He rose high into the air, just enough so he could for the more prominent part remain undetected by whoever maybe on the ground, but still close enough that, with his spectacular angle vision, he could see nearly all on the ground.
He arrived at Luin after twenty or so minutes to find it strangely empty. He had predicted it would be swarming with Desians, people crowded in the streets and some whippings. Kratos had been right about there being Desians, but they were not in the massive numbers he had thought. Instead, only thirty were in the small village, and they were not terrorizing people but instead searching through abandoned sheds and small houses where an escapee could be residing. Kratos deduced that Kvar was trying to keep his failure a secret. A smirk grew on his face as he imagined how Mithos would react to this information.
Not only was the town smaller in numbers in regard to Desians, but in regard to citizens as well. As he walked through the streets, he came across few citizens, and most were men with graying hair, carrying fish or other good to the market. The youngest pedestrian he saw was a woman in her mid thirties. She was wearing an old leather cloak and had the hood over her head. She was carrying a large basket containing thick quilts with dazzling embroidery. She kept her eyes to the ground, and she walked slowly, heartbrokenly; as though she was walking through water.
The woman turned to a house at her left, and as she did Kratos caught sight of the gown she was wearing beneath the rugged cloak. It was an elegant, satin dress the color of the sky. Compared to the basic dresses and shirts of the other villagers, she was dressed as nicely as the Queen of Tethe'alla.
He soon reached the marketplace to find it as deserted as he had anticipated. Majority of the shops were closed, though fortunately the cobbler's shop was open. It was an old, run down building with peeling paint. The inside was crowded with large shelves containing shoes and a small desk in the corner.
The cobbler himself was a man in his late sixties with strong hands and gray eyes. When Kratos entered his shop, a look of surprise rose in his face.
"Well well," he said in a worn voice. "I thought I wouldn't have any business today." His eyes ran up and down Kratos. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Kratos shook his head. "No. I am a traveler, and a need shoes for my companion."
The man nodded. "That explains it; no one does much today other than mourn." He looked at Kratos, searching his eyes for emotion. Then the man laughed, and shook his head. "You wouldn't know, would you? Now can I ask what kind of shoe you're looking for?"
"A small, lightweight boot, comfortable; she will need to do a good share of running in them."
The man's eyes lit up. "Oh. Shopping for your lady friend, are you?" He turned on his heel towards the back of the shop, waving his hand for Kratos to follow.
The back of the shop was similar to the front, except it harbored a large, oak desk where tools were sprawled in numerous directions. The man rummaged through some shelves.
"So," he began, working to make conversation with the angel. "Would you like me to tell you about why all the shops are closed today and why I had not expected any customers?"
Kratos shrugged.
The man laughed. "Seems I may not have all your attention." His face straightened, and the mood in the shop grew serious. "Anyway, today, about fifteen years ago, a Desian raid was carried out in this village."
Kratos instantly knew where this was going.
"Even today we don't know why they invaded. Usually they have more of a reason to it rather than random violence, right?" He shook his head as he pulled out a shoe, examined it and placed it back in the shelf. "But that's what it seemed like. We were not holding escapee's from the ranch at that time, unless they wanted to nail at those who had lived here in piece for over ten years. They took no one; it was a massacre."
"We lost many people. A small family, heading to Asgard, was found murdered not even a mile from here. The little girl had her head cut from the remainder of her body. The man was killed by some kind of magic, and the woman a sword straight through the temple." He pulled out another shoe, quickly examined it, and handed it over to Kratos. "I think this'll do. Come follow me so we can decide on a price." He walked off to the front of the store, Kratos following."
"A mother and young daughter were trying to escape Luin. The mother was found with a gaping hole in her midriff, as though an impressive force has rose from the ground solely to kill her. The girl was missing. We still cannot find her. Maybe the Desians took her, maybe she ran off, away from her mother's corpse. We do not know."
He swallowed hard. "Now, every 28th of August (A/N: I settled on this date before I had even published the first chapter… it has no connection with any events that fall on this day.) the friends and family of the deceased mourn, which really is everyone here; except travelers and those like myself, who arrived here after the tragic incident. They dress in their finest clothes and go house to house, spreading mementoes of the deceased and mourn their deaths."
'That explains the woman I saw earlier.' Kratos thought.
The smile that had been in the man's eyes when Kratos first entered had vanished, he quietly arranged an agreeable price for the shoes with Kratos, and whispered a good day to him. It had drained most of Kratos's money.
As Kratos walked down the street, shoes in hand, a figure caught his eyes. It was a middle-aged man, with thin black glasses and dressed in fine silk clothing and an old leather cloak that draped over it. The man was traveling in the opposite direction Kratos was, so as he passed Kratos spotted tears in his eyes. The man turned on his heel towards a small house.
As a middle-aged man knocked on a door, reaching into a bag at his hip, he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and muttered to himself. He pulled out a bouquet of various flowers. Kratos spotted red, white and tea roses, mixed with statice and pink carnations (A/N: More about this at the bottom, you can scroll down now if you want, but it's nothing you really need to know yet.) The door opened in front of him, and the man began to recite a long tale, he choked several times, but when he came to the end of his tale, he wiped his eyes beneath his glasses and extended his arm out to the door. A hand reached out and pulled the bouquet from him, then patted his hand lightly. The man turned away and the door closed behind him.
As families mourned in their houses.
As tears were shed.
As a young woman, no older than forty, pulled a piece of folded parchment from her purse, Kratos walked by. The woman began unfolding the parchment, turned a light yellow from time, Kratos managed to take a quick glance at the sketch on it.
It was done in black ink, no other colors. Only black lines flowing across the page, to create a moving and marvelous image. An image than made you reach inside of yourself and find your soul.
A little smiling girl, her eyes closed in happiness. Her hair coming down to her shoulders, a dimple on her left cheek. Her face was void of any sadness or uneasiness. It was full of innocent joyfulness, unscarred from the pains of reality.
As all these acts of sadness, remorse, and pain, Kratos walked past and out of the city.
Counting the Gald left in his hand
Anna's mind felt groggy, like it was enveloped in a cool, gray fog. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking them constantly as her vision settled. After a few seconds she recognized the cabin around her, and slowly the world ceased spinning. She remained on the ground, and closed her eyes; breathing slowly and deeply. When she had settled completely, she rose sluggishly, leaning against the door for support.
She looked around her, at the room she had already ventured into, and another that was still unknown territory. She quickly decided she should investigate it, not knowing how much longer it would take Kratos to return to her.
"Kratos…" she grumbled. Thinking about him made her fume with anger. She was no child, she could defend herself. And she knew how to blend in with a crowd. It was not like "I was captured by the Desiens" was written on her forehead.
Anna looked down at the Exsphere embedded on her chest. Judging from Kratos's questions he had made about the strange jewel, it was probably just the same as having those cursed words written on her face.
She shrugged off the idea of Kratos and walked off towards the room. It was wider than the last, by quite a lot. The floors were wooden boards instead of tiles with mold causing cracks to form. They squeaked under her weight. At first it surprised her, remembering the sounds of those odd animals she had discovered in the tiled room, but when, after examining the area around her feet and listening for other squeaks, she realized that there were no creatures there she began to stand on her toes, and then back on her heels. A small smile spread on her lips as she took part in this childish game.
Still rocking, she took in her surroundings. The room was barren except for a small chair next to her, and a small nightstand with a shattered lamp on the floor beside it. Adjacent to the nightstand was a rectangular shaped object. It was large, and came up to about two feet. It was a dark blue, though it was covered in dust and dirt. At both the vertical ends were wooden posts, the one farthest from her higher.
When Anna noticed two oddly-shaped bumps in the object, her balance ceased and she came crashing down onto the blue thing. It was more soft than she had predicted, and she slowly rose herself up on her feet again.
Curiosity got the better of her, and she stared at one of the large bumps in the bed. As clumsy as a drunken man, she approached the side of the bed with the shattered glass. Fortuitously, she avoided contact with the glass. Her heart began to thump with excitement as she slowly extended a hand towards the blue substance that covered the mysterious object that had so quickly caught her undivided attention
Anna took a deep breath, but her mind refused to settle. It was packed with images of what she believed was just a few inches from her fingertips. A hoard of some delicious food that had not yet touched her tongue. A pure delicacy, Kratos's odd slices would compare nothing to what would be beneath this blanket.
Even Kratos would be surprised.
A small smile spread on her face as she thought of Kratos staring down at what would be in her hands in a matter of seconds. He would let her do what she wanted; he would let her go to her hometown, Luin.
He would truly protect her.
The excitement heated up inside of her to the point when her actions were uncontrollable. She grabbed the cover in her hand and pulled it back.
She screamed.
Kratos was flying peacefully, at a steady rate when he heard Anna's scream. He was at his usual height, and was only a matter of minutes from the cabin. He could see it with his near perfect angel vision. When the sound of Anna's scream reached his ears, he instantly sped up and began careening down to the earth as fast as an arrow. He pulled up a few feet from the earth at a small meadow a short distance from the cabin, and drew in his wings. He tore through the forest; worried that his one true chance to foil Mithos's plans might slip through his fingers.
When he reached the door he quickly began to tear at the make-shift lock he had produced to keep Anna from running off. In a matter of seconds he had rid it of enough logs that he could wrench the door open.
Anna w as not in the atrium. A loud crash came from the bedroom, and Kratos began to sprint towards it. His hand gripped his sword hilt, preparing to strike whatever was attacking Anna. When he entered, she was on the ground, lying on top of a chair. From the steady rise and fall of her chest he confirmed she was still alive. He cautiously examined the room, but was unable to find whatever had frightened Anna.
He released his sword and kneeled next to Anna, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her face was as white as snow, but her cheeks were tearstained.
"Anna." He said, shaking her lightly. When she did not respond he shook her harder and repeated himself in a stronger voice. "Anna."
Her eyelids fluttered. They were bloodshot and watering, a tear fell from her left eye, streaming from her chin. With his free hand Kratos pulled his waterskin from his rucksack. "Drink," he commanded.
Anna hands shook violently as they reached for the waterskin, and when she held it Kratos realized that she was too weak to help herself so he helped her frail hands guide the waterskin to her lips. Her mouth was unclosed, except majority of the water feel from her lips and onto her chest; namely, the Exsphere. Kratos's eyes wondered down to it, watching as the water fell to it and splashed onto her red skin.
A small, gurgling sound came from Anna's mouth, and Kratos lifted the waterskin away from Anna. Some color had returned to her cheeks, and her eyes were open and they wandered the room cautiously until they met his eyes.
"Are you injured?" He asked. "Do you hurt anywhere?"
She shook her head, which sent a sharp pain coursing from the back of her neck. She flinched, and reached her hand to the source of the pain. Kratos grabbed her wrist before she managed to, and Ana looked into his eyes with wide ones.
"Turn." He commanded.
Anna shifted instantly, so her back faced Kratos. He grabbed her brown, knotted tresses and placed them over her shoulder; leaving him a clear view of a scar on the back of her neck. It was not very deep, but quite wide. "Stay perfectly still." He commanded her. She responded with silence, fearing that if she nodded she would in turn cause more pain.
Kratos began to dig in his rucksack, pulling out an apple gel. He broke out a small piece and lifted Anna's hand, which had ceased violently shaking, but was still not impeccably still; he placed the gel on her hand. She lifted her hand to her mouth and the gel slid easily in. Luckily, chewing didn't hurt, so she was able to swallow it. Kratos watched as the scar on her neck slowly began to close. (A/N: Is that how gels work? Do you eat them or do you rub them on your wound…? Does anyone know, because I don't.)
Kratos place his hands on her shoulders and turned her around, so she faced him. Tears were rapidly spilling from her eyes, running down her chin and falling down onto her dress. "Tell me what happened." His voice was hard, and he instantly regretted it when the words came out. Anna was like a small little girl—clueless. She didn't know anything.
He softened his voice and lifted his hand to her face. He caressed her cheek, and she looked up into his eyes. "Anna," he spoke, nearly whispering. "Tell me what happened, Anna."
She was breathing hard, her chest heaving. He let her calm herself, waiting impatiently. After several long minutes, she twisted her head at the bed in the center of the room. , Kratos could see a white object, dangling from a few inches below the pillow; emerging from inside the covers.
A skeletal hand.
He squeezed Anna's shoulders, a gesture that said for her to stay still. She was not precisely sure of what it meant, but even so she did not feel the strength to move.
Kratos rose from the floor, stepping over the chair and towards the bed. He grasped the thick blue covers and pulled them off the bed.
His eyes widened. Lying on the bed were two skeletons with thin purplish skin concealing only some of their bruise and cracked bones.. In his four thousand years of experience with the dead, he was able to identify them as one man, and one woman. They both were in their mid forties. (A/N: I was unable to find some way to show difference in age for skeletons but Kratos probably knows it…if such a one exists. I'm pretty sure maybe spine curvature changes with age, but I don't know; I'm not a doctor. But for the differences in sexes, that I got. There are the obvious ones, like how the female's pelvis is flatter and wider—obviously for child-birth. And some like how women have more rounded shoulder-blades. See how much you guys are learning?)
The sight caused him, in all his four-thousand years of near-meaningless life, to bite his lip. They had been beaten, harshly. Four of the women's ribs were broken savagely, her collarbone was crushed. The man's arms and legs were broken, obviously to keep him from fighting back.
The sheet beneath them was stained a light tan color. The color of dried blood.
Their hands were locked together, and they were facing each other, their mouths open wide. He could see their faces clearly. They were scared, terrified.
The Desians had set them this way. They had made them into a position that would tear their heartstrings, and then they waited for them to die; knowing they could not move. Knowing that they could only stare into each other's eyes until death split them.
They wanted others to come and see this massacre. They wanted them to fear the Desians even more; to know that even in their last moments, they could still torment them.
It was sick.
Kratos grabbed the covers in his hand and pulled them over their bodies, tucking the hand under the covers to keep it from view. He closed his eyes for a short moment, cursing at the Desians.
He turned on his heel to find Anna sleeping, her head against the wall. We was grateful she was able to sleep; he didn't know how upset he looked, and if he showed a single sign of weakness she would have a panic attack.
Kratos kneeled down next to her, placing one arm at her knees and the other near her ribs; which he could feel through her skin, and lifted her up. She was as light as a feather. He stepped over the chair and out of the cabin.
When he exited it, he leaned Anna against a tree and positioned himself several feet in front of the house. He closed his eyes and focused his mana. Red ruins appeared at his feet, engraved with the words in the angelic language.
Per meus manuum may meus hostilis exuro. Incendia ball! (A/N: More about this at the bottom.)
"Fire ball!" He whispered, thrusting his hands outward toward the house. He opened his eyes at the perfect time: Just as the trio of fire balls reached the old cottage. Because of its age, the house immediately lit into flames. It was wholly immersed in the unforgiving tongues of fire in a few heartbeats.
Kratos closed his eyes and whispered: Sileo in pacis.
He opened his eyes and turned back to Anna, who was still sleeping peacefully. He stepped toward her and lifted her up again, cradling her at his chest. He knew the fire would spread quickly, being that these woods were full of dead and rotting trees. He concluded it would be unsafe to fly, fearing that Anna might wake up and manage to squirm from his grasp.
That would not end well.
He had to make his mind up quickly, so he held Anna close-he was able to feel her steady heartbeat pound against him— and began to sprint through the forest.
I woke up because of an odd crackling sound. All I could see was blurred colors, a bright orangish-yellow some paces in front of me and blackness everywhere else. My mind felt groggy, as though it was seeing through a fog. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, my vision beginning to return.
Immediately I felt a cold wind brush against me and the goosebumps grow on my arms. I tucked my legs up to my chest and shivered.
The weird orange thing in front of me was moving, and it gave off a bright light. I curiously reached my hand closer to it, and a small smile spread on my face when I felt warmth rush into my fingers. I moved up, hoping to cloak myself in the orange light.
Just as I was close enough to touch the consistently moving tongues, something pulled me back. I landed on my back with a painful thud.
"What was that?" I thought aloud, I blinked, and saw Kratos's eyes glared down at me.
They looked twice as terrifying in the flickering light. Instead of their constant shadow, they were exceptionally creeping. One moment, as light as the odd yellow thing in the sky, and the next as dark as the night I found myself in.
"Don't touch it," he said, his voice flat. I shivered, unsure of whether it was from the cold or his voice.
Probably his voice.
"You'll burn yourself." He continued. "So don't touch the fire, and don't get too close."
I lifted myself onto my elbows, and back to my sitting position. Even with the warmth of the 'fire', I was still freezing. I was unable to keep my teeth from chattering.
Something light fell at my shoulders, and I reached my hand up to feel Kratos's cape draped over me. I looked up to see his eyes on me. I didn't shiver.
"Thanks," I whispered.
He turned gracefully on his heel and out of the light the fire created. He returned a diminutive time later, the waterskin in one hand, and the bag of disgusting in the other.
He handed me the bag and, remembering this morning, I managed to undo the strings, revealing those dry, wrinkly orange things. I picked one up with my fingers and began to nibble on it slowly. I could barely taste it, I was just so hungry.
For an extensive time, there was silence engulfed us. The only sound was the occasional cracking and popping of the fire; which caused me to jump until I became slowly became used to it. I had eaten several pieces of the fruit and had drunk nearly half of the waterskin.
I placed on hand on my hand, and closed my eyes. I was forgetting something, I knew it. I thought back to this morning, slowly piecing together my memories.
'Oh yeah,' I thought. 'I was bouncing up and down when I fell and decided to pull back that blue thing…'
My eyes snapped open, and cool tears began to flow rapidly from them. My chin quivered and I felt my face redden. I choked, feeling my mouth moisten.
I buried my head in my knees and cried. I couldn't shake it from my mind. That color….the skeleton….its mouth still open. I didn't know about life and death then, but I was intelligent enough to put two and two together and conclude that that had once been a human being. That it had once walked on this earth and smiled and laughed, and that now it laid there; stuck in eternal sadness.
I choked harder, straining my throat. I made a loud, whoop-like sound, and hiccupped. I wanted to stop, but I was unable to. My soggy dress began to stick to my knees. I thought I could never stop crying.
Something wrapped around my shoulders, pressing me back onto another warm thing. I looked up, seeing Kratos's face lit by the fire. His hair hid his eyes; and his face was blank.
I couldn't have cared less.
I buried my head in his chest and kept the tears flowing. It was better with Kratos. I could feel his warmth; part of me believed he was made of stone, not human at all. Though I could feel his heart beat against mine, I focused on its steady rhythm while I bawled.
It was good to know I wasn't the only human still alive.
I don't understand what overcame me as I watched Anna shake and cry. It must have been very powerful, powerful enough to cause me to take her in my arms. I knew she looked up at me, but I kept my eyes trained on the forest in front of us; I did not want to look at her.
Her tears slowed when I pulled her into to my chest. She reached up with one hand and clenched my shirt tightly like a small child.
Maybe that was why.
Anna was an oblivious person. It was not her fault; she had been locked up for eighteen years and had lost all her memories . Who was to say that she would wake up in the morning and forget where she was, who I was.
Her own name.
I realized that the occasional sounds of her tears had stopped, and I looked downward to see her asleep, her hand still holding tightly onto my shirt. I pulled her in closer; and I do not know why I did.
I wanted to help the poor, innocent child in my arms.
Iceclaw14: *nibbles on dried apple* Aw…how cute. Alright so a lot of things happened in this extremely long chapter. Over 7000 words—longer than the first chappie. So let's start explaining. #1: The Flowers. Alright, I love flowers. Love love love flowers. And I like learning about what things symbolize in different cultures and religions, so I know quite a lot about what flowers mean. So I decided, what the hell, I'll put in my story. The ancient Romans believed red roses symbolized death and rebirth, which obviously ties into how it's a day of mourning for the people of Luin. White means innocence and purity, which symbolizes how those who were killed were innocent in their ways, and tea means I'll never forget you, which is obvious. Pink carnations are I'll always remember you, so I could have left them out but I think carnations are pretty and statice is remembrance, which I put in just to spice up the color. I love roses….. Anyway, you'll see a lot of this in later of chapters, just to tell ya. There are some flowers that symbolize some purdy awesome things. #2: What Kratos said. I decided to take my Latin skills into my story. I am in my second year of Latin and it feels awesome to be able to use my good ol' dead language. Latin sounds weird enough to sound ancient and not sound French or Spanish or German or anything like that, and yet it is close enough to English for some words to be recognizable. What Kratos first said was " Through my hands may be enemies burn. Fire ball!" And then he said "Rest in peace." Purdy epic, huh? This is becoming really long *sweatdrop*. But I'm not done yet! That part in the middle was really hard to write, you don't know how hard it is to describe a bed until you actually try it! And dead bodies! Sometimes, I love Anna's oblivious-ness, and other times it drives me insane! I think I killed the words "odd" and "object" there; but I really liked the ending part. Now, I shall say good-bye. Walve! Seriously, bye, and review on your way out please.