Small chapter -u- next one will be longer, I promise !
-IN THE FUTURE-
It has been at least two weeks since the Silverwings arrived at Hibernaculum and no Owl showed itself since then, to Frieda's greatest relief.
But the Elder's mind was somewhere else, preoccupied by her lost of faith in retreiving Stella. Mercury had stopped his searches with other bats, saying the temperature outside was getting too harsh and low for them to start new expeditions.
She was lost, maybe dead, and that thought alone was breaking the old bat's heart. She'd need to find a way to ask for peace and forgiveness to Brutus, if that was possible.
Some bats had already began their hibernation, clueless about the danger preying on them. Frieda was keeping herself awake, as well as some others, to guard the refuge's entrance. She noticed Chinook staying awake for most of the time, knowing he wanted to get out there and continue the searches.
He was foolish, but his hope kept Frieda smiling, wanting to believe the same as him….
"Frieda, something is approaching," warned Mercury in a hushed voice, getting next to her.
The bats kept their eyes glued to the waterfall, soon beginning to hear sounds of wings flapping in the air.
The Owls? Already?
As they got nearer, the Elder's heart was beating fast, scared of the next events to come. But only two small frames crashed in, landing on the cavern's ground. They were bats!
Frieda and Mercury flew down to them, recognizing a Silverwing and a Brightwing. Some members of the colony began to wake, startled by the sudden entrance of these newcomers. Murmurs rose, wondering who they were, until Frieda got to the Silverwing's side. She gasped when seeing his face: "… Amon?"
The one known as Amon showed a tired smile, relieved in some sort.
"Frieda … I'm so glad to see you again!"
"Where were you? What happened to you?"
The Elder's questions cut themselves when she remarked the silver band on the male's left wrist, same for the Brightwing female accompanying him.
"The humans," began Amon. "They captured me a year ago and brought me to a strange building, where I met Artemis, my friend here present."
He gestured to the other by his side, bringing her next to him, into the light.
"The bands are cursed, Frieda. The humans marked us, stitched horrible tools of destruction to our bodies; a metal disk that explodes when touching the ground. Then we got thrown into the most hellish place, one they call the jungle, a southern forest. We were able to escape our doom by cutting the stitches and flying away. But we only found peace for some months before getting caught by monsters: the Vampyrums."
"How could you survive all that? How did you get out?" questionned Mercury.
"We met a young Silverwing back there," began Artemis. "She said she was living there, under the protection of their prince. … Stella Silverwing, she saved us, let us escape."
"You met Stella?!"
Chinook got off his roost, coming next to the small group.
"Yes," added Amon. "She's being retained by their ferocious prince, controlled by him." He had said that last part while frowning at Artemis, contradicting her.
"Then why didn't she escaped with you?"
"… She didn't want to," sighed the Brightwing. "She said her life was now in the jungle."
"But I will bring her back," said next the other with confidence. "Frieda, I saw something in her, someone I hold dearly in my heart…."
The Elder nodded: "Yes, Amon, she is what you think, but now is not the time to dwell into these thoughts. If Stella really is at that place, the jungle, we need to get her back immediately. She broke a law, she saw the sun. And by doing so she put our whole colony in danger."
Amon was shocked for a moment, frowning once again at this news: "It can't be … how could she let down her entire colony?"
He growled next, a name burning his lips: "Goth. It MUST be him."
"Whatever or whoever may be the cause is not important for the moment," cut the Elder. "Right now we need to get to her before spring comes back. The Owls are already threatening us to come and attack us right here in Hibernaculum. I won't let that happen. … I will gather volunteers and we will go to the jungle."
-PRESENT TIME-
When Stella finally regained conscience, her eyes first fell on the sky, presenting shades of orange and pink, announcing the sun setting down. She soon remarked Axel sitting on a branch not so far from her, looking at the horizon.
She couldn't help but smile weakly at such a sight. She was so glad to have such a friend as him, and she could personally not help but feel many more emotions when looking at him…
The young Vampyrum turned his head, noticing the other looking at him, leaving the female embarassed. But she soon returned to a smile when he got next to her, leaving a hand on her cheek.
"Hey, little lady," began Axel in a calm tone. "I'm glad I could find you before it was too late. Are you feeling alright?"
Stella looked at her body, noticing a mixture of leaves and berries recovering her thorax.
"I had better days," she answered in a raspy voice.
"Who did this to you?"
She noticed his concern and soon painful memories invaded her, remembering the terrifying event in the royal chamber.
"Jarod planned all this," she started. "He got bats to capture me and bring me to the royal chamber, tying my body to the stone table. Goth arrived not so long after and that's when Voxzaco began to dig towards my heart…"
She winced, relieving the pain. The young male brought her gaze back to him, trying to bring her comfort.
"Hey, it's okay, Stella, you're safe now. I'm here…. I can assure you, Jarod will pay for this."
He suddenly got backed up by a growling bat, no other than Goth. The prince was furious, trying to scare the young one away.
"You have no more business here, banished. She's healed, now go away!"
"Goth!" snarled Stella back. "Calm down. You should thank him instead; he just saved my life."
He glanced at her for some seconds, sighing in slight exasperation, knowing she was right.
"… Thanks, tonto muchacho."
"Chingado…" muttered Axel under his breath.
"OH YOU LITTLE-"
"Stop it you two!" shouted Stella before the prince could lay a hand on the younger male. "I need to know first how Axel got to us. How did he know we were here?"
"Yes," added Goth in a cruel tone, still baring his fangs at the banished. "The jungle isn't big enough for you to fly somewhere else?"
Axel shrugged, moving into Stella's view, trying to answer her without having to feel Goth's wrath all over him.
"I don't know, I just knew. Something told me I had to follow a certain path, it's hard to explain…"
The prince backed him up again: "Okay, good, you're only crazy. Now stay away from Stella. Forever! She has enough problems right now, I don't need her to feel the constant fear of being punished for hanging with someone like you."
"Someone like me?" roared Axel, furious. "She shouldn't be hanging with someone like YOU. It's your kind that created such injustice in the jungle. … I don't want to harm her, I always keep our meetings secret. I know the risks we're taking!"
"And I will still meet with him," added Stella. "… He is my friend, Goth, the first real one I've ever had. And personally I feel more connected to his tribe than yours…."
The giant froze, somehow hurt by her words. He next growled, rubbing his temples.
"I've heard enough," he sighed. "Let's go home…"
"Be careful that she doesn't lose her remedy or-" began Axel
"I know!" harshly cut the prince. "I know… Just… go away now. … You better watch yourself if we ever meet again, I won't be so generous."
The banished frowned, soon taking flight. He decided to hide long enough to see the Silverwing get on the giant's back and see them flying away, in the pyramid's direction.
He was furious. He wanted to do something, but couldn't. … At least not right now.
For the next few days in the Hole, Stella could already feel Goth being distant, hardly speaking to her and only interacting with her when he was bringing her food. The female was tired to stay in that place day and night, waiting for her wound to get better. She wanted to get out and try to see what was going on with the prince. She knew he once spoke to his father, confronting him about the revelation of Zotz, but she hardly got any more details.
One night, when her strength was finally back to her, she decided to stop him, decided to know what was going on.
"Goth, will you finally speak to me, for Nocturna's sake? What is wrong with you, you're so silent…"
He was getting hesitant, slowly turning back to her and mustering all his courage to declare: "You need to go back north."
Stella felt her whole world shattering, her ears lowering. She gently put a hand on his arm, as if trying to see if it was real or not. Her eyes were big from shock.
"W-why?"
"Because I can't ignore the threats anymore!" he declared, a grave look on his face. "My father, your constant meetings with Axel and now me…. I don't even remember what happenened when I was possessed by Zotz and that worries me. I don't want to kill you…"
"Goth, you saved me back then!" reassured Stella, tightening her grip.
"But for how long? … Stella, you can't trust the dark lord."
The female seemed distressed, not releasing him for a single moment.
"Don't send me away," she said in a weak voice. "Please, not after all this…"
"It's all my fault, anyway," added Goth, moving away from her. "… If only I had listened to Zephyr back then. He warned me about the prophecy. He told me we were related by something far more greater than anything. … Oh if only I listened, you wouldn't have been on the verge of dying!"
The Silverwing's fur suddenly spiked up: "Why did you never tell me that? When I first spoke to you about that damn story, why didn't you bring that detail up?"
"Because I thought it was ridiculous!" he raged. "I prefered to brush it away. No one could possibly have the soul of a god … but here I am today, doomed or maybe even blessed with the spirit of Zotz!"
Stella frowned. She couldn't believe how secretive the prince could be. After all they went through, she thought she had win his trust…
"Is there anything else you're hiding?" she began with venom in her voice. "Or maybe you just LOVE to play tricks on me, trying to make me feel safe? … I can see your game now; you want to send me back north because I'm becoming aware of everything wrong with this stupid world!"
The Vampyrum was now furious, snarling at her, towering her and backing her to a wall.
"You ungrateful little pest!" he growled. "I only wish for your protection and what you only do is back-stab me with stupid accusations? I hid that from you because I thought it was ridiculous. I wanted to believe Zotz sent you to me for a reason, a good one! Not for killing you!"
"I wish I had never met you," she barked back. "Your god is stupid, your colony is disgusting and so is this nightmarish jungle!"
She didn't let him time to answer, rushing out to the exit, flying away. The giant came next to the entrance, looking at her escaping.
"Get lost!" he shouted at her, his fist in the air. "You can even die, I don't care!"
But when he saw her disappear, his ears lowered, soon regretting his words. He grumbled, angry at how stupid he was. How could he apologize…?
Stella didn't really have any destination in mind, losing herself in the pyramid's core. She kept repeating her previous discussion with the prince in her head, rage fogging her vision.
She knew he wanted to protect her, and personally she was glad he was doing so, but how could he hide such things to her? How could he want to send her home after everything they went through? The Silverwing wanted to scream; would she finally have a place she could call home one day?
Going further on her path, the female remarked everything getting dark around her, small moon rays coming to her through small cracks in the walls. A familiar scent suddenly came to her, remembering her of the north….
Stella stopped, now facing a large door, a circular stone blocking an entry. Curious, she sticked her ear on the rock, hearing faint voices after a while on the other side. The odors came back to her and she immediately understood; she found the northern prisonners Hell told her about! The female went to the door's side, trying to move it away, but her weakness proved to be futile against such task. What could she do? When looking around, the Silverwing spotted a large crack near the door. Maybe she could get through it…
She remembered the last time she tried to do such trick, back in the north in the human building, and it scared her a little. But she soon found courage to squeeze into it, growling as she finally fell inside with a loud thump.
The room was hot and the scent was stronger. Not seeing a thing, Stella used her echolocation to scan the place, jumping in surprise at the pictures that got back to her. Many bats were roosting around, all looking at her. Echoes soon started to rise, many voices cursing the Vampyrums for bringing a new sacrifice, this time a young one. Stella didn't wait before correcting them:
"Please, everyone, I'm not a new sacrifice! I came here on my own."
Everyone stopped, wondering how that could be possible.
A bat soon began to fly down to the Silverwing's side. Stella could notice how the other's fur was brighter and her frame bigger. The young recognized the newcomer as a Brightwing, having met some during her first migration.
"How is that possible?" began the other, a female. "Were you not stopped by guards or anyone?"
Stella shrugged.
"I guess not… I didn't see anyone when coming here. Most Vampyrums stay away from me, actually."
Many bats gasped, wondering how such thing could happen.
"… Who are you?" questionned the Brightwing, confused.
The young one's stance straightened up: "My name's Stella Silverwing and I'm here to get you all out of here!"
Excitation began to rise amongst the captured bats, somehow relieved at such declaration. The Brightwing was speechless until a new frame landed beside her, this time a Silverwing male. This one came straight to Stella, leaving a claw in a threatening and accusative way on the small female's chest.
"Stop saying nonsense," he began, frowning. "There's no way to escape. Tell us the truth; who sent you here?"
Stella was slightly scared, her eyes glued to the male. She tried to get her courage back up, pushing the other's hand away.
"I'm not lying! I got told northern bats were held up here and I need to get you out."
"Amon, look," cut the Brightwing, suddenly taking Stella's left wrist, bringing her band to light.
She compared it to her band, silver and bright like the moon. The young Silverwing could also see the same one on the male, this Amon.
"How did you get this? It's not even the same color as ours" questionned the male.
"Humans gave it to me back in the north," answered Stella, harshly getting her wrist back. "I was held up in a building with many others until I managed to escape, meeting Goth at the same time."
"You know prince Goth?" gasped the Brightwing.
"Don't believe her, Artemis, that young freak is out of her mind," cut Amon. "Nobody, especially not a northerner, could live up a single day alive with that barbarian."
Stella frowned, clearly angered by the male's comments.
"Well here I am. I almost spent a month with him now and I'm at the best of my shape."
The other Silverwing brushed up the fresh scar on her thorax.
"… Obviously," he commented with small disdain.
Artemis, the Brightwing, moved Amon to the side, trying to catch the young's gaze.
"You've got to run away while you can," she warned. "That prince is cruel and without pity. He and his father often like to come here and rip some hearts, believe me. Leave this place, I beg you. It won't be long before he decides to sacrifice you."
Stella wanted to laugh at such comments, but she knew at the same time that these bats must have seen much more than her, probably a darker side she never guessed in Goth.
"I won't be leaving without you all," Stella declared.
"Stop saying nonsense," growled Amon. "The minute we get out of here, all the Vampyrums will fly down to us. You're thinking the unthinkable."
A sound suddenly cut the male, the door beginning to move away. Artemis and Amon began to back away in fear, the moon rays soon filling the room, a large shadow appearing. Stella turned around, jumping in slight surprise when she recognized Goth.
How did he find her?
The Vampyrum rapidly came towards her, his fangs showing.
"What are you doing here?" he raged.
Stella instantly looked defiant, trying to make herself larger.
"You wanted me to get lost, that's what I did! And I'll stay here. You wish my death? Then I want to be with my people."
"I did not-"
He wanted to get nearer, but a bat got between them two; Artemis. She had opened her wings, trying to hide Stella behind her.
"Stay away!" she commanded in a trembling tone. "You will not touch this child!"
The prince frowned, a strange fury crossing his eyes. He grabbed the Brightwing by her neck, lifting her up to his level, laughing cruelly: "You pitiful creature, you dare block the prince's way."
"Release her!" shouted Stella with rage.
The Vampyrum glared at the young Silverwing, still holding his victim.
"You shouldn't be caring about these bats, one day or another they will all die."
"Then kill me! Right here, right now! Me instead of her, since that makes no difference!"
Goth couldn't stop grinning, recognizing the soul warrior in her. He harshly released the Brightwing, soon grasping the young Silverwing next.
Stella was scared for a moment, believing he was really about to end her life. But it soon shifted to confusion as he began to exit the place. The female started to punch his arm, baring her fangs.
"I order you to release me! I want to die!" she declared.
The prince chuckled evily, both from her comment and by how he couldn't feel her blows, her strength almost non existent to him.
He was then closing the door as he had exited with the female. He would need to talk much with her.