OMFG
It's been, like, almost 2 years since I last updated this story. I reread it, and realized how different I am now than I was then. Major mind****.
I couldn't remember how the story ends, as it is pretty complicated, but I had a dream, and it all came back. And now, I am continuing it.
So here it is. Ascend, continued:
POV Azizah
"Princess Azizah!"
Azizah turned, startled.
An older woman ran up to her, gasping. "My granddaughter," she said between shallow breaths. "She's sick. She really needs help, and soon!"
The woman led Azizah to one of the higher huts, so they had to fly up.
A small baby lie on a pile of blankets, struggling to breathe. Azizah crouched next to it.
"No, princess! Don't touch." The woman was frantic. "She might be contagious."
Azizah brushed the girl's hair out of her face anyway. "What happened?"
"A rare type of fever, is what I suspect. None of the conventional healing methods have worked."
Azizah turned, worried. "Conan's the healer. Why didn't you go to him?"
"He was busy training the dark-haired girl." The woman hesitated. "I know what herb to heal her with, a red clover-shaped thing, but I don't know where to find it."
"I'll fetch him." Azizah flew off.
She landed next to the clearing where Ravyn usually trains. She was about to run in, when she heard voices. Curious, she leaned in to listen.
"You've got a lot of skill with the bow, Ravyn." Conan's voice. Azizah kept listening.
"I guess. It should come in handy."
For what? Azizah's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"Got that right. If my guess is correct, there's going to be some battles in the near future."
What is he talking about?
Ravyn's voice came soft. "What if we can't defeat them all, Conan?"
"We will," Conan said confidently. "You can do it."
"It's not just me."
Conan sighed. "Lyall will most likely be a great help, but Azizah doesn't have the heart to kill."
Heart to kill? Azizah was horrified.
Conan continued, "Especially after she finds out that–"
"I'm worried. The odds are against us, Conan." Ravyn interrupted him.
"You are the future of this village, Ravyn. Remember that."
"You are the future of this village"? Does he mean–? Azizah had heard enough. She walked briskly away, into the forest, somewhere she could think in peace.
But her thoughts were not peaceful.
Does he plan to make her queen instead of me?
Azizah was shocked. And all this time I thought he was my friend. He was like a father to me. And what's all this "heart to kill" crap? Is he gonna make her queen because she's willing to kill people? What battles? There's no one to battle. Azizah gasped. Is he gonna start a civil war? Why would he do–?
A bird call from the forest halted her storming thoughts. She remembered the sick child, and squared her shoulders in anger.
I'll show him who deserves to be queen.
And with that, she marched off into the forest, eyes peeled for any sign of a red clover.
POV Ravyn
Ravyn bit her lip to keep from snarling.
"She went into the forest, I know she did," she hissed.
Lyall and Conan just stared at her.
Ravyn sighed. "I could hear" and smell "her eavesdropping, while we were talking about... my archery."
They just continued to stare blankly.
Ugh. Men. They can be so slow.
Conan frowned. "You knew she was there," He said, looking pissed, "and you didn't tell me?"
"I still think that she should know about the wolves." Ravyn snapped.
Lyall and Conan glanced at each other. "You know she can't, Ravyn," Conan said gently, "that would only bring trouble. She's probably hanging out around the Tree." He smiled. "I'll go check my home, in case she's practicing with the staff or something."
Before Ravyn could explain her worries about her adopted sister, Conan flew off in the direction of his hut. Lyall gave her a reassuring smile, but it didn't help her mood at all.
Instead, Ravyn scowled, an expression she was getting used to lately. "Conan isn't listening to me. It's annoying."
"He's getting old, Ravyn. Look at the gray streaks in his hair. He's probably just... senile."
She snorted. "Conan? Senile? Where have you been?"
Lyall laughed shortly "Touche."
Ravyn continued, "It's just that, well... what if Azi went into the forest?"
For a moment, Lyall's eyes flashed with something kindred to fear. He covered it with another charming smile. "She'll be fine. C'mon, let's go find her."
Lyall gracefully leaped into the air, leveling out to sail towards the Tree. Ravyn ran to catch up. She wasn't nearly as good of a flier as he was.
As she followed Lyall, horrible scenes that involved wolves, the princess, and lots of blood crept back into Ravyn's thoughts. She shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold.
Where are you, Azi?
POV Azizah
Azizah had no idea where she was.
"Stupid. Forest. Stupid. Conan. Stupid. Freaking. Tree!"
For every word, she kicked a tree in frustration. It hurt her foot more than the tree, which just made her angrier.
This reminded Azizah of her flight ceremony a few years back. A tiresome search in a tiresome forest.
She ran her hands through her hair, forgetting she was wearing a hair ribbon. Yanking it out, she shoved it in her pocket. She was wet, cold, hungry, and completely lost.
Exhaustedly, she sat down under a tree. She scanned the surrounding foliage, looking for even a hint of red, making a list of everything she saw.
Blue butterfly. Green leaves. Brown. Green. Brown. Red. Gre–
Red?
She focused on the glint of crimson in the forest, thinking of the suffering child in the village.
With renewed energy, she jumped up and dashed towards the red streak. A she pushed away the undergrowth, she was vaguely aware of the branches stinging her face as she whipped past. She kept running, ignoring the pain, when she tripped on a log, falling face-first into some grass.
Groaning as she sat up, she noticed that she was in a meadow. Beautiful flowers decorated the lush, grassy hill, like sprinkles on a cake. It was surrounded by thick forest on all sides.
Temporarily forgetting her quest for the red clover-plant, she laughed and collapsed in a particularly large patch of flowers. It smelled sweet, like honey.
A flash of red appeared in her peripheral vision, then vanished.
Running over to the edge of the meadow where she had seen the flash, she scanned the ground, thinking of how happy the old woman would be when Azizah found the plant.
She frowned as she searched the field. None of the flowers are red.
Another glint caught her eye. In the forest.
Bloody red.
There was a dark blur, and Azizah didn't even have time to scream.
POV Lyall
"She went into the forest."
Lyall turned towards Conan's voice. He looked anxious, like he was ready to dash off and find Azizah himself.
Lyall's heart sank. Ravyn was right. She had gone into those horrible woods. "How do you know?"
"An elderly woman was hanging around my hut. When she saw me, she asked if I had the medicine."
"What medicine?"
Conan ran his hand through his graying hair. "Exactly. She said that Azizah said that she would fetch me to get some kind of herb to heal a sick little girl. I had the herb in storage, and the girl was healed, but there's still no sign of Azizah."
Ravyn glided down to the platform where Lyall and Conan were standing.
"Well," Ravyn muttered, "I found the trail. She was headed towards the archery grounds... but then she veered off course headed into the forest."
Lyall smiled, relieved. "Now we can find her! Let's go." Before anyone could say anything, he leaped off the platform and landed on the ground. Conan and Ravyn followed.
Ravyn led the way to the edge of the trees, and Lyall looked around for a clue as to Azizah's whereabouts.
"Don't bother," Ravyn said flatly.
Lyall looked up, startled. "What do you mean, 'don't bother'? We have to find her!"
Ravyn didn't hear him. She had her head tilted slightly upwards, and her eyes were closed. She appeared to be breathing deeply.
Her eyes suddenly shot open, and she turned to the south. "She went that way."
Frowning, Lyall asked suspiciously, "How did you...?"
Ravyn started to head south. "Scent."
"I don't smell anything."
She turned her head towards him, but didn't stop. "I have a good nose," she said, and tapped her smiling upper lip.
Suddenly, her eyes widened and her smile disappeared. She started to run. Lyall had to race to catch up. Conan didn't seem to have any problem dashing after Ravyn.
"What's wrong?" Conan asked, hand going to the short-sword he kept on his belt.
"Wolves. I smell wolves," Ravyn said, panic trickling into her words.
"Wolves? Nearby? Could Azizah have...?" Lyall panted, trailing off.
Silence, except for the pounding of feet.
Eventually, the trio burst into a pretty meadow, breathing heavily. Ravyn wasn't even braking a sweat, and ignored them as she sampled the air. After a moment, she ran for one corner of the field.
Catching his breath, Lyall was about to follow when he heard an inhuman wail. It was a horrible sound, a mixture of anger and horror and pain. It only lasted a couple seconds, but it was enough for Lyall to recognize who it came from. Ravyn sounded like someone was stabbing her with a white-hot dagger.
When he got to her, Ravyn was shivering. She looked like she had collapsed. When she turned to look at him, her eyes were glazed. She opened her mouth to say something, but only a whimper would come. Lyall had never seen his friend this weak and broken.
He glanced in front of her and immediately saw why.
A hair ribbon was lying on the ground. It was surrounded by torn bits of fabric and a boot from the pair Lyall had given the princess for her 14th birthday. He knew that the ribbon used to be blue, matching Azizah's eyes.
Now it was red.
Just like the pool of blood it drifted in.
POV Azizah
Azizah was aware of very little while she was conscious.
Ouch. Hurts. My head... can't move... can't see either...
Black out.
Still hurts. Hearing voices... Can't open my eyes. Too weak to move. Thirsty. So much pain...
Black out.
Really thirsty. Pain. Too much pain. I can taste blood. Ground isn't moving like before. Not being carried anymore, I guess. Tied up. Whispering and giggling voices everywhere. So sleepy...
Black out.
Water? Someone's pouring water into my mouth. Washes away the blood taste. Good.
More voices. Can't make out the words.
Open eyes but can't see. Still can't move or talk either. Head hurts...
Black out.
Azizah blinked, fully awake.
She couldn't see squat. Probably because she was blindfolded.
Her mouth tasted like moldy rag. Probably because one was stuffed in her mouth.
Her limbs were all tingly and numb. Probably because she was tied to a tree.
She tried to spit out the gag, but she couldn't. Listening, she realized that the voices were back. They were light, tinkly voices, like little kids. Azizah highly doubted that she had been kidnapped by a bunch of toddlers. She couldn't understand what they were saying, so she assumed they spoke another language. Azizah inhaled through her nose, and the smell was overwhelming.
It was roasted meat, and it was the most repulsive scent Azizah had ever encountered.
She gagged, and the rag fell out of her mouth. Good thing too, because after that she threw up. Azizah actually preferred the odor of her own vomit to that of the cooked flesh. Her people were vegetarian, after all, and the thought of eating meat had never even crossed their minds.
Whispering echoed around the princess. Careful not to breathe through her nose, she struggled violently, trying to break free of her bindings.
Suddenly, the blindfold was ripped off. She squinted her eyes to the bright light, temporarily blinded. Her own blood was dried on her face, making it itch unbearably. Her head throbbed. She couldn't think clearly...
Someone or something brushed up against Azizah's leg.
She shrieked. The blindness was wearing off, but she was exhausted. Hearing the hissing/whisper voices again, she looked up straight into the face of...
… a little girl.
Azizah blinked, shocked. She was surrounded by what appeared to be a herd of nine-year-olds.
She was in a camp. Tent-like dwellings circled a huge bonfire that currently held the source of the roasted meat aroma: a boar.
The first thing she noticed was that the children were all staring at her. The second thing she noticed was that they all had black hair.
And red eyes.
Azizah's heart started to beat faster. I need to get out of here. These are not normal children.
Her suspicions were confirmed when a couple of them changed into big black wolves.
The princess sat as still as she possibly could, and stared disbelievingly at the wolf-children. She didn't even react when one hissed, "We finally got you, bird-girl. We'll save you for the Fire Clan, and they'll reward us greatly. Why, I can't understand. You don't have any muscle, and you're so skinny. No good eats there." The voice was warped, wrong. It made Azizah's neck prickle with unease.
The wolves snarled and barked. It almost sounded like a round of applause.
The first one to speak leaned over to get in Azizah's face, and gave a twisted smile. Her breath smelled like meat, and the princess might have vomited again if she hadn't been scared for her life.
"Or... we could always eat you now. Not much meat, but oh well. We need all we can get now that the Fire Clan controls the territory and food supply."
The "applause" was even louder this time. Azizah's heart was going a mile a minute.
She looked around for a way to escape, but she was surrounded. There was no way out of this one.
This is the end. Death by cannibalistic third graders. I'm sure Conan would be proud.
I wish I could say goodbye to my sister. She might end up being a better leader than me after all.
And, while I'm at it, I wish I could tell Lyall how I feel about him.
The girl/wolf still looked like a girl, but when she opened her mouth, her teeth were sharp. Her red eyes glinted as she pulled out a knife. A very sharp knife.
"I guess we eat now, then."
Azizah screamed as blood splattered all over her face.
POV Ravyn
"What happened... Oh. Oh, no."
Ravyn barely heard the voice over the roar of blood in her ears. The voice might have been Lyall's, it might have been Conan's, she didn't care. Oh my god, they got her. She's gone. This wasn't supposed to happen...
The pool of blood was already drying. Ravyn clutched the small ribbon like a lifeline, even though she knew it was hopeless. Tears dripped from her eyes onto the cloth in her hand, washing away some of the blood to reveal the beautiful blue color underneath.
"No. She can't be dead."
Hearing the d-word spoken aloud almost made Ravyn start bawling. I should've told her, she thought, horrified. We should've told her.
Too late now.
She recognized Conan's voice through her cloud of horror. "Oh, no," he said, obviously panicking. "We have to find her. She can't be dead. This is horrible. We need the princess!"
White-hot anger clawed it's way through Ravyn's insides like a wild animal, desperate to emerge. She spun to face him, snarling. "'We need the princess'? Is that all she is to you? A tool to be used in your stupid plans? How can you say something so insensitive, you–"
"That's not what I meant at all, Ravyn, and you know that," Conan said quietly. "Remember, anger is just an escape from emotions that are harder to manage, like grief. It's important that you learn to control it." Conan's voice wavered, like he was nervous.
Ravyn took a deep breath, squashing the burning anger into a dark place where she could ignore it. Immediately, she began to feel more calm.
Lyall was still staring at the blood.
The blood. A lump rose again inside Ravyn's throat, threatening her with tears.
"Calm down. We need to think. She can't be dead! Maybe she left something, like a trail of pebbles to tell us where she went." Surprisingly, the voice came from Lyall, who squared his shoulders and frowned determinedly.
Thankful for something to do, Ravyn glanced around. There's lots of blood, Ravyn thought, slightly relieved, but it probably isn't enough for someone – Azizah – to have died.
Then she noticed a thin trail of the red liquid leading into the thicker part of the forest. It wasn't a trail of pebbles, but it was something.
She pointed it out to the others, and they both smiled in relief.
"She isn't dead! I mean," Lyall said, "they wouldn't bother dragging her off if she was already dead, right?"
Unless they were going to... Ravyn shivered. She desperately hoped he was right.
Conan also looked worried. "Let's follow it, see where it goes. Who knows? We might find her at the end..." He trailed off, as if realizing how unlikely his theory actually was.
Wordlessly, Ravyn began to follow the crimson trail, but she wasn't sure she wanted to find what lay at the end.
POV Azizah
Azizah knew that she should probably be scared out of her wits, but she couldn't help but wish that she hadn't had her mouth open when the arrow pierced the girl's chest. Wolf-child blood tastes awful.
She leaned over, spitting out as much blood as she possibly could. Then she realized that the blood stung like crazy.
Snarling and screeching echoed around the camp, drawing her attention back to the fighting.
A boy had appeared at the other end of the clearing, bow drawn, arrows flying. Wolf-children were dropping like flies. The fastest ones had almost reached Azizah's bow-wielding savior, but each got an arrow through the heart before they could get close enough to attack.
In a few seconds, all the demonic wolf-children lie dead on the forest floor. The boy began collecting his arrows from the carcasses without emotion, cleaning them off on the hem of his shirt. His dark hair hung in his face, half covering his red-brown eyes. Hmm, she thought absently, he is kind of cute.
Once his quiver was full of clean arrows, he turned to the princess and stared at her expectantly.
After a few seconds, Azizah quirked an eyebrow. "Well? Are you going to help me out here or what?"
He smiled. More of a smirk, actually. "Quite an attitude for someone tied to a tree. As for untying you..."
The boy pulled a dagger out of his belt. Before Azizah could react, he flung the little blade with blurring speed.
At Azizah's face.
She took a breath to scream, but the boy must have missed, because the blade veered slightly to the left. At least, that's what she thought, until the dagger whizzed past her arm and dug into the thick rope she was bound with.
Azizah jerked to her right, and the rope broke and slid off her body, freeing her from the tree.
She immediately tried to jump up, but almost fell over from the dizziness. She was still weak from blood loss, and she was starving.
The boy smiled. "Hungry?"
When Azizah nodded enthusiastically, he tossed a small bundle of leaves at her feet. She picked them up, examining them, as the boy said, "Eat them. You'll be happy you did. You'll be able to walk after only a few minutes."
Azizah hesitated, then nibbled a bit of the leaf. It was bitter, like the tea leaves Conan keeps in his cupboard.
He looked amused at her wariness. "I'm not trying to poison you."
She just stared at him, unconvinced. "And how do I know that?"
He didn't answer her question. "I'll give you some water if you eat all those herbs..." He waved a canteen, and the water sloshed around temptingly.
Azizah licked dry lips. She was desperately thirsty, and her mouth still burned from the blood. She ate the leaves reluctantly.
After draining the canteen the boy had passed her, she jumped up, wanting to be able to run from this person if she had to, even though she was still a little unsteady on her feet. She still didn't trust him.
Rubbing her left arm, which the boy had almost impaled with his dagger, she glared at him. "Show off. You could've just walked over and cut the dumb rope, you know." Azizah flinched. I should really learn to think before I speak, she thought nervously. He could just chuck the other dagger at me and I'd probably be dead.
He just laughed. "And what fun would that have been?" The boy said playfully. He seemed pretty light-hearted...
But Azizah would never again be fooled by any strange forest creatures. "What do you want with me?" She demanded.
"It's a secret."
The dark-haired boy was starting to really annoy Azizah. "Can you at least tell who you are?"
He considered. "My name is He Who Strikes With Lightning."
I snorted. "Do you have, like, a nickname or something?"
He smiled. "Strike."
"Okay, so you're Strike. I'm-"
"Azizah, right? We had better hurry up and get out of here; the Fire Clan could be here any minute."
The princess was tense, ready to flee at a moment's notice. This boy should not know my name, she thought apprehensively. "So," she asked casually, "who told you my name is Azizah?"
Strike smirked again, as if her question had the most obvious answer in the world.
"Your father, of course."
So, what's the deal there? O_o This story is way more complicated than it seems.
I got a question from someone about the plot, and I know I'm not supposed to answer questions like this, but it just struck me as so totally opposite of what I had planned.
"Conan's a bad guy, isn't he?" I was like, wha...? Where the heck did THAT come from?
Then, I looked at the story content and realized it wasn't a bad hypothesis. *facepalm* Oops.
I just wanted to clarify that, no, Conan is most certainly NOT an antagonist. -_-'
AAAAAANYWAY REVIEW! :3
