Chapter 12: The First Kill
Chalis sat upon the ancient stone of the Catacombs, re-reading the unofficial orders that the High Empyror had given Chalis and her partner. Chalis leaned back. They were to disrupt the negotiations as much as possible, and, if possible, cause sides to be taken between the countries. The silver tongued Adept didn't know why the High Empyror had ordered it that way, sure she had her suspicions, but nothing was confirmed. He had silenced her before she was able to ask.
The Mars Adept looked up from her seated position just as her partner, Blados, entered the catacombs.
"How did it go?" She asked immediately.
"Those kids have powered up since we last encountered them." Blados admitted angrily, his sword dragging on the ground.
"That bad?" Chalis questioned teasingly.
Blados shot out a glare and continued on to sulk unaccompanied.
Chalis rolled her eyes as she leaned back against her current position. The plan was progressing. Soon the monarchs would come to blows and after that, victory was all but secured. The silver tongued woman looked around the corner to make sure Blados was gone, and then she pulled out her journal.
It was a rather old book that she'd used for years. It was worn, dusty, ripped in places, spilled on in others, and fragile. But Chalis loved it. Within the journal, Chalis had written her history down. How she'd become who she was, how she got her position, who her parents were, and so many other secrets that few could ever hope to know.
Feeling in a mood to reminisce, Chalis opened the journal to the first page and began reading. It brought a smile to her lips, as she remembered how she had managed to seduce one of the original Generals of the Tuaparang. He'd been an ugly sort, and therefore easy to seduce. And it was that easy. Once she was in his pants, the General had opened himself up to anything and everything that Chalis asked for. Previously he'd been a willfully strong fighter, but within a month of meeting Chalis he'd been transformed into the shell of the man he once was.
But it hadn't escaped the High Empyror's notice.
Chalis smirked as she looked at the pages she had written so very long ago.
Today General Dorben took me to the grand ball. While the setting was quite dry, the company was refreshing. Dorben introduced me to the High Empyror today; A handsome man in his forties if I were to guess. Somehow he has completely white hair already, which is surprising, but his features remain rather young looking, and oddity to say the least.
I could feel the power resonating within him. It dwarfed my own, just as Sol dwarfs Weyard. His strength… I'm not sure how he could have gained so much. Could it be possible that he was simply born with it? It seems unlikely, but considering that Alchemy was unleashed, nothing is too unlikely. Anyway, I'm getting on the wrong topic.
During the party, the High Empyror took me on a tour of his palace. It's huge! The dining hall could accommodate over two hundred guests. The ballroom itself? A thousand, easily. But it was the private tour that Chalis had enjoyed the most.
The High Empyror's throne room stood tall, but bleak. Its' grey marble floor cold even through her shoes. The black walls held the Chimera symbol of the Tuaparang which would inspire fear in the hearts of turncoats. The coolest thing about the room, was easily the strong glass wall behind the throne. It gave the most breathtaking view in all of Tua City. But the intrigue didn't stop there.
The High Empyror showed me a hidden door in the Throne Room. By pressing in the right eye of the Tuaparang Chimera a panel on the door opened, revealing a dark stairwell. The High Empyror said that only the Generals and himself knew of stairwell, but that obviously wasn't true. After all, he told me, and I'm not a General… yet.
The stairwell went up a floor, opening to a doorway, or more stairs. The High Empyror chose to show me the stairs. After following up four more flights of stairs, we emerged from a trapdoor onto the zenith peak of Tua City. The Tuaparang Chimera was engraved into the ground, and the area itself seemed ideal for a duel. Luckily that wasn't what the High Empyror had in mind.
We walked back down the stairs to the door from earlier, except this time the High Empyror opened it.
It revealed a small room with an engineering table in one corner. And quaint twin-sized bed, a desk in a separate corner, a closet in a third corner, a in the fourth corner was the bathroom facilities. I was impressed. The High Empyror could have had the grandest room in all of Tua City, but instead he had a quaint room that held only what he needed.
The High Empyror turned and kissed me right after that. Next he slipped off my dress and kissed my neck tenderly, then snapped the strap to my top undergarments off with his fingers. It was at that point that we fell onto the bed…
Chalis blushed as she remembered her time form that night. A pleasant affair to say the least. She grinned as she flipped ahead a couple pages to what happened after she slept with the High Empyror.
…we strolled out of the room, my undergarments were torn too much to wear. Luckily, my dress covered me, barely. Walking back into the throne room, the High Empyror stopped me. He asked me where I'd gotten my silver tongue.
I was taken aback. No one had ever noticed it before, other than myself of course. I've use it nearly every day. That's the only way General Dorben brought me to the party, or courted me in the first place.
I told the High Empyror that it was inherited from my mother. A special type of Mars Psynergy. According to the tomes mom got they come from manipulate the internal reactions of the body in order to solicit the response that I want. I don't know why I wrote that down, I already know that. Oh well.
Anyway, The High Empyror sounded impressed. He told me that if there's ever a position for General available, I'd be the first pick.
Chalis leaned back as she smiled. The rest of that night had progressed smoothly. She'd returned to the party, danced with Dorben, and then, once they returned to his mansion, she had planned on talking him into killing himself. Chalis turned over a few more pages of the journal, until arriving at Dorben's death.
The page was marked with blood, proof for the High Empyror that Chalis had indeed killed Dorben. Chalis slid her hand over the paper. It still had the gritty feel of blood. Dropping the journal to the ground, Chalis walked to the edge of the catacombs.
The page brought back bad memories… memories, of her first kill.
Five Years Ago, General Dorben's Mansion
"You're so beautiful my lovely Chalis." Dorben said as he kissed Chalis neck and slid the right strap of the dress over her shoulder.
Chalis grunted in response, and placed her hand on his thigh.
"I think I have won favor with the High Empyror today." Dorben stated proudly.
"Oh?" Chalis asked, taking a step back and walking into the large closet Dorben had.
"Yes. He seemed impressed with my plans for anti-Psynergy weaponry ." Dorben poked his head into the closet in order to watch Chalis change clothes, but she shooed him out.
"anti-Psynergy?" Chalis questioned as she slipped into her nightgown.
"Yes. Psynergy is the main tool that Weyard's greatest soldiers use. With my technology we should be able to stop it. And by extension, Weyard." Dorben explained.
In the closet, Chalis could hear him drop his pants to the ground.
"That would be useful now wouldn't it?" Chalis teased as she emerged from the closet wearing only the nightgown.
Dorben's eyes bulged at the sight of the beautiful Chalis.
"Not as useful as you are to me." Dorben smoothly transitioned.
He took three steps forward and leaned in to plant a kiss on Chalis, but she blocked it with a finger.
"Not just yet, love." Chalis walked over to the outer balcony. "Let us enjoy the silver moon." Chalis poured her Psynergy into the statement, and Dorben replied accordingly, walking out onto the balcony in only his slim boxer shorts.
"I have a strange request tonight love." Chalis mentioned calmly.
"Anything for you love." Dorben answered.
"Show me your blood." Chalis poured out Psynergy, and could feel Dorben's body switch pheromones.
Walking back into the bedroom he took out a knife, before bringing it back to the balcony and making a small incision on thumb. Dorben smeared it on Chalis lips, and then kissed her.
"No, that is the weakest of blood." Chalis trembled at what she was about to force Dorben to do. "Give me the purest of your blood." She poured out extra Psynergy just in case.
Dorben nodded and sliced a little bit of flesh off his stomach, and blood flowed freely for a moment. The General looked to Chalis expectantly, and she quickly moved forward, kissing the incision, despite the disgust that she felt.
"Enough, let us continue now." Dorben said, taking the knife and placing it on the balcony rail.
He moved forward, kissing Chalis directly, and sliding one hand up her thigh until he reached her butt. He gave it a soft squeeze, and Chalis responded by pushing him against the railing in a frenzied kiss. Chalis pressed against his face, sticking her tongue into his mouth, and sliding her hand onto the cut he'd made earlier.
"Chalis?" He asked. In their usual encounters, she was submissive.
Chalis paused. Now was the perfect moment. The knife was right next to him, in easy reach. He was waiting for her to speak, and confused. It was practically guaranteed that he'd submit to her. But could she do that? Dorben had only been kind to Chalis. Never hurting her, and giving her the greatest of commodities. Nothing like Chalis' father had been. Dorben was a good man, he was the only General of the Tuaparang that didn't kill daily! Could she kill a man just like that?
"Chalis." Dorben repeated, this time with more strength in his voice.
It was in that moment, that Chalis realized her fate. She wasn't going to be a mistress to a General. She was going to be the General. She wouldn't have to quake, she would be in control. She would be strong. Nothing could touch her. Everything would be hers for the taking. Soon enough, she'd bed the High Empyror again, and the next time that happened? She would gain control of the Tuaparang wholly.
"I said I wanted the purest of blood." Chalis poured as much Psynergy as she could into the statement.
"Where?" Dorben asked.
"You know where." Chalis replied.
Dorben fell to his knees in resistance, but it was pointless. She'd already won him over, long ago in a room far away. Clutching the knife to his right, Dorben sliced a hole in his chest, and then pulled out the bone, skin, muscle and blood. He looked up at Chalis expectantly.
"The purest." She answered to the unspoken question.
With tears in his eyes, Dorben plunged the blade into his heart, where the purest of blood flowed freely.
Chalis smiled and watched as Dorben grew pale.
"Why?" He asked weakly, finally free from her control. "I gave you everything…"
Chalis glared devilishly. "Because I want it all." She reached into Dorben's chest and twisted the blade out, ending the General's life with pain.
Chalis fell back as the ramifications of what she'd done. She'd just killed a man. For a prize that she might not even receive. Chalis took the blade and ran to her Journal where she wiped the blood on a clean page. Chalis then checked back to the hall and peered out. No one was there. Chalis took a chair and hooked it in front of the door, blocking entry for some time.
Lightning flashed across the sky, freezing Chalis in place. The silver tongued woman was about to jump off the balcony, when she realized she was wearing only a nightgown, and soaked in blood. Rushing into the closet, Chalis stripped bare and grabbed one of Dorben's huge black jackets. It was big enough on her, that it looked like a dress, so Chalis wore it like that. Next she took one of Dorben's cloaks and draped it over her shoulders. Finally ready, Chalis fled to the Royal Palace, to the High Empyror.
"Chalis!"
The woman General was forced out of her thoughts as Blados called out to her.
"What?" She asked, relatively annoyed. She'd been ruminating on that eventful night.
"Get your disguise on, it's almost time." Blados yelled.
Chalis sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'll be ready soon."
Author's Notes: So despite the creepiness, and the mature themes, this chapter has turned out to be one of my favorites, and I'd love to see some thoughts on it. What you guys thought worked, and what didn't. Anywho, thanks for reviewing anti-viper and Anon Dude. I appreciate it! Keep it up guys! It's a massive encouragement to write!
Separate note: I changed the name of the chapter from what I said it would be, but that's alright. The point of the chapter kinda changed. This chapter originally was Chalis remember stuff. And while its still technically that. Its more about Chalis psychology, and what caused her to kill. Why she killed, not so much her remembering killing.
anti-viper: I'm glad you liked all the fluff, cause I was worried a lot of it came out wrong. SO I'm glad that it didn't come out too poorly :p But Thanks for the Review!
Anon Dude: Sixteen will be eventful… Until then keep it up, Thanks for the Review!
And that's all for now. I'll see you guys next time, for The Assault