Chapter Eleven;
Determination
prog·ress: n.
1. Movement, as toward a goal; advance.
2. Development or growth.
3. Steady improvement, as of a society or civilization: a believer in human progress.
4. A ceremonial journey made by a sovereign through his or her realm.
He looked past the glass and at the figure lying in the bed, weak, vulnerable- dying, even.
It was only by continuously grafting various skins, specific blood transfusions, and the knowledge that Julia had come to sustain that the Schiff member Irene was capable of surviving to date. Though, this would only be a temporary substitution for what her body so desperately needed.
Blood, the blood of the queen that her origin had come from, and sadly, the blood they had come to gain had not been correct. They had received Saya's blood, but before they had given it to the dying human-made chiropteran, they had tested the compatibility of the blood types by drawing an additional, restrained sample from Irene.
The test turned out to have been made with valid caution, for when they mixed a drop of Saya's blood with Irene's, the latter's blood seemed perfectly fine, only to rapidly crystallize. All in all, it was a discouraging result, for the young blonde woman would no doubt have little time left.
He laid a clenched fist against the transom, leaning against it slightly, furrowing his brow and closing his eyes with frustration.
"Kai," A voice, female, called out to him. Opening one eye, the ginger-haired young man shifted his head around only slightly to see who it was.
"Mao, what do you want?" He asked, unsettled and beginning to feel the vague approach of ire within his mind as he glanced at Irene for a last time before straightening himself and looking directly at the approaching girl.
"…You sure seem devastated over what's been happening." She commented, pausing to look through the glass window herself, right eyebrow raising naught but a fraction. "And you also seem quite interested in her state of health." She added, though in a rather unpleasant tone, as she motioned slightly towards Irene. After all, he gave implications that he was indeed worried for her. And the fact that Mao herself liked him- and perhaps with this new variable entering the equation- everything made her feel wary.
"Yeah, it's been hard on me. It's still difficult for me to grasp that Saya left the Red Shield, me…and….Riku..." Kai replied dryly, though trailed off after mentioning his now deceased brother. It brought back the bitter memories of viewing his death, deprived of the proper amount of blood because Diva had drained him of it completely. From that fact alone he was thoroughly confused as to how Saya could have possibly wished to join her sister, because after all, hadn't she known what the divergent queen had done?
Mao noted him drifting into a sea of his thoughts, and she felt herself growing insecure. She always felt rather insecure when it came to the women- or woman in this case- in Kai's life. Hastily, she waved a hand back and forth before his glassy eyes, causing him to blink repeatedly.
"You're zoning out." She pointed out the obvious, continuing, "But, whatever, if you don't want to talk to me about it then I could care less. Besides, I'm here mainly because that David guy requested that I get you."
Kai narrowed his eyes, "Why?"
In response, she shrugged nonchalantly, "Something about getting Saya back. Honestly, I don't even know why you people care about her so much, she's such a brat. If she's just going to be with her sister, than shouldn't you people just find another way to kill that Diva girl?"
However, Kai heard none of this, for he was already walking away and had tuned her out, leaving her. For a moment, Mao simply stood there, and then her visage was embellished with an irate look. She had come so far to find him, and it still seemed like she hadn't even managed to scrape by to be placed at the bottom of the list of people important to him. Furious, she turned her gaze to where Irene lay, though her vehemence became temperate when she saw the girl's face. Something about it just made it so Mao couldn't wish ill for her.
"We have another chance?"
David looked to the younger man, whose eyes were lit up with an anxious hope and hungry for action. "Yes, but this could be our last opportunity for retrieving Saya, well, at least peacefully."
Kai blinked, not following as to why they couldn't bring her back manically, "Why is this chance the last for us?"
"Because, if we go on the offense for a second time, no doubt Saya and the others will cease to come out in the open so frequently, we're lucky as is that they're not overly cautious. But this will make them take the matter of Saya's return more seriously." Lewis cut in, biting down on his custard-filled doughnut.
David nodded in placid agreement, clearly, the twosome had repeatedly gone over this, and this second offensive movement was something the two were taking with the utmost care.
"This occasion will also be important in a different way. Not only is our objective to regain Saya, but also to use her as a bait of sorts. This will all depend on whether or not the bond that she and her sister have formed, if anything. We are assuming that the two must have at least some sort of positive connection, and so we'll hope that we can draw Diva out." He remarked, weathered face firm and confident.
Kai, however, failed to see whatever brilliance they had established with it. He wasn't as affirmed with the idea that the younger queen herself would venture out just for the sake of her sister, one who had once opposed her, as were the others.
But, there was no room for doubt, and so he thought optimistically over the matter, for the sake of Saya, and even perhaps Irene, for her life was to be determined by the outcome of the actions they were about to perform.
She could feel it; her body was reaching beyond what she now liked to consider her former 'human' limits. Like Haji, her sister, and the other chiropterans, she was beginning to be capable of much more condensed movements.
However, with this newly forming ability, Saya found James' attacks becoming increasingly more profound, and she found that she could barely manage to keep up with his brisk actions.
With every slash of the sword, she was met with a steady block from any one of her opponent's appendages, consisting of resilient iron-like flesh. His near luminescent, none-too human eyes could almost be assumed to be mocking her, for though she made progress, it was slow.
If she was lucky, Saya could manage to get in a jab, and push him a few feet away, though it was always returned with James storming back and pressing her roughly against a wall, with a force she would not have connected with a simply joust.
And it was one of these times, when she found herself pressed uncomfortably up against a stone wall, air supply minimal- if anything, when out of the corner of her eyes she noted a mere glimmer of movement. Tossing her head to the side, crimson eyes widened a few fractions at the sight of her chevalier.
"Ha-" Saya had began to call out to him, but no sooner had she opened her mouth she was pressed against she wall harder, the stones even beginning to line with cracks behind her.
"Never turn your back on the enemy." James avowed, voice deep like thunder and just as ominous and daunting.
Forced to turn her gaze from Haji back to her adversary, she contemplated on what to do to quickly end this, or at least get far enough away from him so that she could go to see her once absent chevalier.
She was not able to get a scratch on him, but surely there had to be some weak point. After all, even armor could not protect a soldier completely; some Akeley's Heel had to become apparent at some time or another. Though she was dealing with flesh and not armor, it was close enough for her.
Perhaps the wrist? She made a swift cut, and yet nothing came from it, save for James beginning to run, still pressing her against the wall and now dragging the queen along it.
Fighting off a cry of pain, she managed to thrust her sword into her text target, which was just to the left of the shoulder blade closest to her, near the nape of the neck. This outcome was a far more positive one. James ceased to run, dropping her from both the mildest pain and shock.
With a sort of self-satisfaction, Saya turned and ran to Haji, every so often becoming blurred with a speed comparable to something that was as fast as light itself, likening to her sister and the others.
"Haji," She greeted, keeping grasp of her sword and quickly sparing a glance what seemed to be a slightly flustered James. "Where have you been these past few days?"
He seemed uneasy, averting his gaze from hers. Infuriated with the grief of worry that she had felt when he had abruptly gone missing, she narrowed her eyes with fierce determination and grasped his left arm tightly, stating, "You lie. Tell me the truth, Haji. I've been worried."
A jaw was clenched, and an audible grimace could be noticed. She peered curiously at him, and immediately released her grip, making it so that her hand hovered above his arm. Quickly, before he could protest, she gently shoved up the sleeve. Silence overtook her.
The skin itself was fine and in tact, but beneath the epidermis…it seemed like some deeper bruises and cuts had been inflicted there, and were taking a great period of time to heal, contrary to the usual healing aptitude of the queen and chevaliers alike.
"Tell me now, Haji, please." Saya requested, though with a voice in such a one that it was practically a firm and absolute command, eyes fluctuating back to their normal chocolate color.
"As you wish," There was foreign reluctance in his voice as he spoke. "…I was ordered not to speak of it. In order to take you blood sample- knowing I would never allow them to harm you, seeing as how Diva's methods are none-too gentle- Amshel detained me."
"I can scarcely believe that by being simply detained you could come back such serious wounds. Do you take me to be a fool?" She retorted solemnly, not at all too pleased with what she was discovering, if this was in fact true. But what other truth could there be? And how could she be shocked at finding this? This savored bitterly of what her sister would, and could, no doubt, do at any moment she'd fancy.
"No, of course not." Haji responded automatically, "But you shouldn't look into it, as it's not safe. It is not something that should hold great importance, at any rate; I'll heal within a week's time. For your best interest, you shouldn't go to your sister with any intentions less than ideal."
A small smile could have been seen, playing on her visage as she looked up towards him.
"Of course I don't plan on blaming my sister in such a way. Things wouldn't go over well, you're right." Saya stated placidly, shifting the sword to her right hand, she glanced over to where she had been previously been training. Frustration and annoyance ebbed away at her being, James was no longer there.
"Haji, you should go and rest." She avowed, and when he seemed ready to protested, she began her next words partially quoting him, "For your best interest, your body needs to recover. To think of it as a battle vantage, you'd be of little use as injured as you are."
A part of her wondered if that last statement had been close to lapsing into cruelty.
But, that part was weak now, that part's voice was tiny compared to a louder voice. And that part was being eaten, slowly but surely, by a new and far more deadly half.
She turned away from her chevalier and walked away, not looking back at him when he called her…so that he might not see the irises of her eyes glimmering with a foreboding ruby coloration. She wished to find her sister's chevaliers, one in specific. A queen's true nature spreading like wild-fire within her body, all because of oppressing variables. Some things were acceptable, while others were far from tolerable.
A/N: Forgive me, will you, for not updating as quickly as possible? I'm a horrible author, really, I am. I don't find time to update any of my stories; this one is really the only one I make progress with.
But you must understand. I have a minor excuse, at least for this past week. I either had laryngitis or strep throat, so I've kept locked up inside my home, no access to this laptop. So very sad.
Now I'm considering taking on the responsibility of beta-ing others' stories. But maybe that's not the best idea, seeing as how this and a few other stories of my own should be higher up on my list, yeah? Alright, well, hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. Saya's feeling a little threatened, and in our next chapter I shall have a lovely little confrontation between queen and chevalier, a little party, perhaps a reunion…
And oh, what's this? I've yet to involve Solomon's confession and the release of Haji true powers? Mwahaha! So many things to work with. :3 The joy of it all.