Authors note- Yay.

Chapter 11

Fiona wanted to get away as far as possible just in case the maid did come back...but she doubted it. The acid she'd thrown was a deadly one... it could have fatally wounded her. Fiona firmly told herself there was nothing to worry about as she walked quickly down the winding corridor.

Hewie was gone...she hoped he was okay and prayed for him to find her fast. She hated being alone. As she moved down a small staircase...she saw something oddly familiar. The place in that film reel. She stepped up to the strange symbol object, set on three full circles. What was it normally set at? She strained herself to remember the code. Slowly, she began turning the blocks, relying on trial and error.

It didn't take too long. With the first symbol as a half circle, the next a full circle and the last, a circle cut into three pieces, there was loud clicking noise, followed by the thundering sound of water draining. Fiona waited for it to finish, before pushing the thick metal door open. Hey! She was back in the damp room...but on the other staircase. She looked downstairs...there was a single door at the bottom but it had one of those planet symbols on it. Probably locked. Then there was another right at the top.

Fiona headed upstairs, her mind set. Maybe there was an observatory tower up there where she could see exactly where she was... then, I can find out which way to go when I get out of this place...

She pulled open the door at the top, stepping into some kind of decorative armor room. One of the knights towards the end held a deadly looking crossbow in his arms... Fiona eyed it carefully, then looked down at the floor. Hexagon-shaped panels lined the path, red and gray ones, leading all the way up to that knight...Fiona stepped on one carefully, hearing a clanking noise. She looked up just in time to see a arrow soaring at her head-

-screaming, she ducked as it soared out of the open doorway. Another clanking noise. Another arrow was loading into the knight's crossbow. Fiona trembled on the floor, shocked. What...who set this up? After considering it for a few moments, Fiona began to move towards the knight, keeping low. If I'm correct, it can't move the bow in other direction. She was right. Arrow after arrow flew over her head, flying out into the damp hall. This would attract attention...she thought, feeling the urge to laugh at it all. Eventually, she made it past the knight, searching it's back for a switch to turn it off. There! She flipped it, hearing a soft hum go completely dead. Now...I don't have to worry. She made her way out the next door, finding herself on the dusty catwalk of the grand library.

This room again...but what's in the next room. The next room had a high ceiling, the light coming mainly from outside... making it bluish in colour. Big...and wow...She stared up at an enormous glass ceiling, looking out into the sky above.

Fiona gazed up into the big blue moon, wondering what exactly was so special about this particular room. For star-gazing maybe? She was standing near a silvery round platform that shone in the moonlight. Four blocks, a different coloured stone on each of it's heads glinted dully. Three seemed to be pushed already in their rightful positions, just so they bordered that circle. One however was a little bit away. She stepped toward it, touching the stone lightly, wondering if all this was another one of those puzzles. And what happens if I push this in the right place? She stepped to one side and nudged it with her shoulder. It wasn't too heavy, she could push it-

-Creeeaakkk. The noise jerked her head upwards, her head turned towards the way she'd come through, her heart beating fast, her mouth becoming dry-

-but Hewie just trotted into view, looking more then just a little happy to see her.

"You gave me a fright" she told him as she rested one hand on his head, smiling a little as he licked it, then moved away to explore the area. Feeling a little more better, she continued to push that block-

-and when the maid suddenly stepped out from the shadows, her once-perfect features now hideously deformed, blackened and wax-like, a high-pitched laugh escaping from deformed lips, Fiona understood there was nowhere to run.

That disgusting woman was there, her disgusting eyes widening at the sight of her as Daniella moved toward her, her body twitching uncontrollably. Azoth, I must have azoth, was the only thing running through her mind, and she raised that iron rod, pointing it toward her carefully, wondering where to stab. A little lower maybe.

She stopped in front of Miss Fiona, letting out another chorus of laughter, her head wobbling, jerking horrendously on her neck. She lifted her rod, pointing it up at the ceiling, still laughing-

-and that stupid dog grabbed her by the hand, biting, chewing it's way into her flesh. No, she felt nothing. Not feeling anything as the creature ripped off a piece of her flesh, spilling dark blood to the floor.

"Hewie!" Miss Fiona cried out in shock. Daniella pushed it away, the dog skidding across the floor from the force of her push, her bloodied hand reaching up to her face. She tried to taste the blood. Nothing.

"Blood...flesh...woman" she said slowly, beginning to circle Miss Fiona. "You vile creature"

"You lure the man into your filthy body again...and again...and again..." she rasped "And you are allowed to do that because you are a precious...precious...precious little princess"

She began to laugh again, slicing the sharp edge of the rod against her face, licking the jagged edges with her tongue. More blood spilled. And she felt nothing.

"Miss...it's cleaning time now" she said. Azoth...azoth...

She moved closer, the disgusting woman was standing there, scared, not worthy of the azoth. Then Miss Fiona moved away, Daniella could hear the blood pumping through her body, hearing the azoth calling, waiting-

-and then, she could see blood splashing out in front of her. That wretched dog had jumped on her from behind, its jaws digging into her neck. She felt nothing. She shrugged it off, still intending to have the azoth. Her eyes still focused on Miss Fiona, watching her as she tried backing away-

"AAzothhhhh..." she hissed, grabbing Miss Fiona by the shoulder, readying to drive her weapon through her chest-

-and Miss Fiona fumbled for something in her bag, tossing something powdery and grainy in her direction. The grains seemed to shock her system, preventing her from moving. Azoth! Miss Fiona gave her a hard kick that sent her smacking into the ground. Nothing could stop her. She pushed herself to her feet.

"Oh…Miss Fiona" she said, laughing as she spotted her, dashing for the exit. No, you can't escape azoth. Azoth. Azoth. She continued laughing as walked towards the small staircase, standing at the top, slightly amused as she observed the girl trying to escape, but unable to. She locked the door this time.

"Miss Fiona" she said again and Miss Fiona spun around and charged towards her, ducking to one side as Daniella slashed the air wildly. Quickly recovering, she stooped a little and lashed out again. Her reward was a little cry of pain, having just slashed Miss Fiona's thigh. The woman fell, her eyes widened in fear, focusing on her as Daniella stepped over her, the rod pointing at Miss Fiona's stomach. And she stabbed downwards, the woman screaming for help-

-and the dog leapt at her, hitting her left side roughly. The force altered her aim, the rod piercing the ground next to Miss Fiona's head. She stumbled, off balance and fell to her knees, as Miss Fiona rolled away, limping back towards the platform. Won't let azoth get away... Daniella picked herself up and scooped up the rod , heading towards Miss Fiona, the woman was pushing something into place-

-and Daniella stepped into the centre, her eyes widening as something bright gleamed all around her. Stunned, she looked downwards, unsure what was wrong and she was looking at-

-herself. All mirrored images of her herself, her disgusting body, her disgusting disfigured face. Her mouth dropped open in a scream, trying to hide herself from that hideous reflection.Then she looked up, screaming out to the dark blue sky, the glass above her shattering from the sound, spilling down and glittering brightly.

Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.

Her arms stretched out wide, watching in awe as those beauitiful shards rained down over her, then one, bigger then the others came down too, and she was welcoming it, wanting to embrace it-

-and it pierced her chest, and she could her her own blood spilling to the floor. She let out an involuntary gasp, feeling something, something odd, and unpleasant for the very first time. Pain.

Her body was dying, her gasps becoming fainter. Azoth...azoth...

She smiled, feeling her body numbing, going cold and then, Daniella felt no more.

It took Fiona a while to get her breath back after she'd seen that horrifying, gory scene

The maid was dead, her lifeless body pinned to the ground by a giantic piece of glass. Blood stained the floor all around her, still dripping down the glass's jagged ends...God, do I really have to kill so I just survive? Fiona, gasping her injured leg tightly edged a little closer, trying not to look at her sightless eyes, lightly rummaging through her clothes for something useful.

A few moments lately she produced a small key, with a mars symbol on it and pocketed it, and then backed away, collapsing on the ground. Her leg was bleeding pretty badly, the slash that maid inflicted on her was deep. She really needed to bind the wound before moving on.

"Hewie" she said, motioning the dog to come over to her. "Good boy" she stroked him behind the ears, then laid out some more beef jerky she'd taken from the kitchen before, for him to snack on. While he ate, she pulled out those sterile bandage strips and wrapped it tightly around the wound. She wouldn't be able to run...only limp for the time being. Hopefully no one crazy will chase after me anymore...

She watched Hewie eat, then move slowly around the room. Her eyes went back to the maid's corpse and she actually felt a little bit of pity for that maid, she was insane, but something in her thougts obviously motivated her to chase her. The azoth. Essence of life? Was that what azoth was? She thought about that for a while before standing up, the key jingling in her bag. Where ever it would lead her was unknown, but she was sure it would be okay, as long as Hewie was by her side.

"Come on Hewie" she said, limping towards the exit, the dog following her slow steps as they left the moon-lit room.

I kind of feel sorry for Daniella. Well, now I have to type up chapters for Riccardo. It might take a while to do though...

Please review! I really need inspiration from you so I don't get bored and stop writing this! Cause' I easily get distracted. Thanks and bye!