Chapter Thirty-Eight
Life Isn't Fair Nina! Godsdamn Deal With It and Understand You Drew the Better Card!
They were so very, very close...her excitement was as tangible now as the forest of bubbling tubes giving her life.
Nina stopped dead in her tracks. The air around her stilled. Deep in the recesses of her mind something foreign stirred, faint like the shadow of a passing bird flitting by a window yet as heavy as the entirety of castle Wyndia if it were to fall literally on her shoulders. Shaking fingers dug into the dank dirt wall adjacent to her as she fell into it. Arrogantly, the intruding entity strolled though her being, sifting and sorting through her thoughts as though they were its own, probing and turning the pages of her life's story with a rabid interest. Torrents of sweat bucketed her already clammy skin. Ryu's soul began to panic; Nina's legs threatened to give way even more underneath her. Its elation grew exponentially alongside her fear, seemingly darker than any sadistic pleasure the Kaiser would ever attempt to force upon her.
I am so very ecstatic to meet you!
Ryu was shaking her. "Nina! Nina snap out of it, what's wrong?!"
And suddenly it was gone. The Wyndian swallowed hard, fighting to gain a sliver of control over her noodle-like extremities. Glassy eyes blinked, focused on her companion. "...S-she was in my head." rattled a thin, barely recognizable voice through shaking lips. The look on his face kept her heart stuck on overdrive.
In front of them, Magloi turned back sharply. "No no no, we no stop now, too many hours and we-"
"We're breaking now," snarled Ryu. Frowning, the mogu decided against another rebuttal.
Ryu sat down with Nina against him. "Tell me what she said."
Quiet, ragged laughter escaped her. Arson dropped from her shoulders to the ground, hoisting the lit head of its staff high above its hat. "She...revealed a great desire to meet me."
"How lovely." rumbled Ryu through his teeth.
"I only need a moment," said the Wyndian, steadying her tone. "I can't stop here like this, I'm holding us back."
His look. Her cheeks would forever burn at this sort of expression coming from him. "Sha'lei you take all the time you need-"
"What this, dragon?" inquired Arson's squeaky tone on the other side of the tunnel. Shadows danced across the vines snaking through the cavern from its staff swinging back and forth.
"I'm busy," Ryu muttered with annoyance.
"I ask because it weird," huffed Arson, "It pull like gravity. Come see, rude dragon."
Ryu opened his mouth, Nina stopped him. "Go see what it is, I'll be fine," she assured, resting a hand on his forearm.
The dragon rose to his feet, sighing. "What do you mean 'pull'?" he asked walking over and squatting beside the curious nut.
"Look." Arson dug the butt of its staff into the dirt. A piece of faintly glowing crystal peeked through. Ryu tilted his head. "It weird magic. I no see in desert ever. What this? You rude but smart right? Master said before you were."
They'd been out of the desert for a few hours now, humidity, vegetation, and the color of the dirt around them spelled that clearly. Ryu lightly dragged two fingers across the object's surface. It did feel like something was pulling.
"You not know chrysm?" ventured Magloi from a distance.
"It pretty," marveled Arson, jamming its staff at the crystal's edges in an attempt to pry it free from its resting place.
"We see many more as we get close to dark ones," said the mogu, Ryu's questioning look further prompting him. His fuzzy brows raised curiously. "How you dragon and you no know?"
"I'm...I just don't, alright?"
Magloi's face stoned. "If you want know more, you move."
Ryu looked to Nina who nodded back. "Tell me."
The mogu shuffled forward, beady eyes peering up at the dragon from underneath his loose turban. "I tell, you move. You promise."
Ryu stifled an irritated growl. Everything but Nina seemed to infuriate him now. "I promise. Now what does this 'chrysm' have to do with the dark dragons?"
"Chrysm 'blood of land'. Dark one's power."
"Their power?" The dragon's forehead crinkled. "In my time they'd erected machines to steal life from the land. Decay spread as far as their metal roots would reach; I remember seeing countless forests reduced to mere shadows of their living selves." Nina flashed back to his child soul in that white, soulless husk of a tree.
"No last forever. Forest-life all dead this side of world because of them. Machines still there, but no work. Bodies of dead dragons more power."
"Wait, what?"
The mogu shooed Arson out of the way and dug the crystal out with his sharp claws. "Shape like bone, see? It dragon bone. Light one become power hundreds of years after death." He lifted what now resembled a glowing piece of a pelvic bone. "There still many in world. Many light ones slain years ago now power."
Ryu grew solemn. Nina knew he was thinking he had most likely been its executioner. "Myrmidon. That's why it feels so familiar." Nina could feel it too, or rather his soul was making it familiar to her. "So they gather these?"
Magloi nodded, handed it to Ryu's outstretched hand. "Extract, collect. Some folk say imprisoned Light one still alive in fortress. Become power when they die but also have power when alive. Dark one have many white coat too smart for own good. Mogu no like deal with them. Ask to trade strange, strange things."
"Your people...actually provide services to dark dragons?" Ryu asked incredulously, turning the bone over in his hands.
"Mogu neutral. We answer to no one but one who has most coin. Dark one unreliable, violent, inconsistent, but pay odd, expensive metal item we no find no where on surface. We bring seed for crop, part of animal for creation."
"'Creation?'"
"Machine. Put part of animal inside, flip switch...zap! New animal. They smart. You stupid for wanting go against them."
Nina swallowed, talking this all in. "Ryu I'm getting less and less sure of what we're up against."
Ryu's pale orbs were still studying the bone. "I dealt with them many times in my day, as I was forced time and again to destroy both factions. I remember your ancestor telling me scraps of information about their kingdom, how she was so proud of the 'humanity' and knowledge she'd bestowed upon them. She would only send me after the ones who didn't wish to follow her. The others, she gave even more technology to. They'd always had the suits and the machines that perplexed us so... You could honestly tell me of the most far fetched inventions and I'd believe you without a shred of doubt."
"Highlander like to buy dark dragon machine. Why stupid monkey so interested, Mogu will never know."
"Highlanders were a race I rarely had to deal with, but when I did, it was a pain. Strong, agile warriors they were."
"Mogu really hate stupid monkey, but monkey have coin just same as others. We almost in monkey territory. I will leave before I deal with fleabag long arms."
"I only vaguely remember seeing their leader in Wyndia during my execution," said Nina, "He's the only one I've ever met."
"Good for you, they hate Wyndian."
"I don't understand why so many races have it out for Wyndians? We keep to ourselves!"
Magloi laughed sharply. "Ha! You haughty birds. Keep to yourself yes, but not because you humble."
"Alright, alright quiet about the damn Wyndians," snapped Ryu, helping Nina to her feet, "I'm tired of being down here, let's get moving."
"This useless talk anyway," mogu scoffed waddling back down the tunnel.
Arson jumped and snatched the crystal Ryu was holding. "-Hey!"
"I want. It pretty," it said stuffing it underneath its hat.
"Let Arson have it." said Nina. "Those are the safest hands for anything shiny to be in."
"I'm trusting you to not lose it" said the dragon to the happy little nut mage dancing in a circle. "For some reason I don't want it to be alone."
Nina took Ryu's hand, intertwined her fingers in his. "There's no way to truly know the cause of its death," said the wyndian softly. Ryu stayed quiet and kept his gaze in front of them, giving her hand a loving squeeze back.
Ethan awoke to sunlight peeking over the horizon. Yawning, he threw Chasta's limp arm from his chest back over onto her own and sat up. Gurgling curses, her nude body turned away from him. He muttered a few of his own, rubbing a line of bruises dotting his stomach.
He'd made a mistake. He'd called her Nina. She'd gone into a rage.
He stood. Sand fell out of crevices he'd forgotten he had. She'd also insisted on not using any sort of blanket like a godsdamn animal. He shook more sand out of his hair. In the distance he could barely see the beginnings of a ghost forest. Drogen was getting closer. They were close.
"Godsdamn bastard...I'm not Nina you ass..." Chasta moaned, still in dreamland. Ethan gave a swift kick to the small of her back. She jumped up, eyes blazing. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?!" shrieked the wyndian, angry, but still conspicuously admiring the morning sun kissing her companion's pale, well toned, naked form.
"Get up, it's time to move," he snapped, gathering his things.
Cold, crisp air greeted Nina's exposed cheeks. Her breath came out in thick, white puffs. She held onto the back of Ryu's jacket as they ascended into a shadow of a forest.
"My job done. Now you go," muttered Magloi nervously surveying their surroundings. He shivered at the sudden drop in temperature.
Soft, petal-like leaves rained down from the ghosts of trees above Nina. No wind. No sound other than the moleman's frantic ticker and chattering teeth. "Thank you," said Ryu back to him, but Magloi wasted no time in replying—he was gone in the blink of an eye.
Thousands of stars sparkled in the clear evening sky. The moon was full, making it easy to see even without dragon eyes. Nina peered out into the distance. She couldn't make out where the where the forest ended. Absently she stepped back, letting herself fade into the shadows. Ryu did the same. "Now which way are we-"
"W-ow-WOW this burn PRETTY!"
"Huh? H-Hey hey hey hey hey stop that Arson, you'll set the entire place ablaze!" Ryu yelled, unstealthing and hurriedly snatching the nut mage up by its robe. Lifeless white leaves sizzled on the ends of its wildly waving staff.
The dragon swore he saw its eye holes expand in wonder as it's head twisted toward him. "Make whole place pretty, mean dragon say?"
Ryu narrowed his eyes. "Don't you look at me like that, if you do it again your staff is mine for three days and I mean it this time!"
Arson swung at him. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT YOU NO TAKE STAFF YOU ALWAYS SO MEAN YOU NEVER LET ME DO NOTHING PRETTY TRY HARD MAKE YOU PRETTY AND YOU SAY NO STOP DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR YOU LITTLE TWIT YOU RUDE RUDE DRAGON MASTER NEVER CALL ME BAD NAMES LIKE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOUmmmmmfff-!" Ryu clamped his hand over its mouth.
"Will you stop it!? Arson we don't know what's out here!" hissed the dragon.
Nina's sideways glance caught a tiny red light blinking in the distance. "Ryu, there's some sort of machine staring at us from one of the trees-"
Neither one of them sensed what was coming in time. A torrent of leaves poured down. Tiny pinpoints of green light darted about with the descent of a small group of heavily geared Highlanders barking their harsh language at them. Ryu crouched, readied himself to spring.
"Ryu, no! I don't want any more conflict than necessary!" Nina snapped waving her arm at him, "I-ve...Let me handle this!" She was a much better diffuser than Ryu, surely she'd think of something!
Their assailants landed in a crouched crescent before them. One in front wearing the most amount of armor stood and yelled something back at his team. They quieted to a murmur. He turned to Nina and Ryu, lifting the glowing green, complicated looking mechanical goggles he wore to eye them strangely through two different colored windows. He was a good foot or two taller than Ryu with tawny fur sporting various symbols shaved into its exposed portions. A crudely rolled cigarette dangled from corner of his mouth. He closed his lips around it and took a drag. Behind him, the crescent's inhabitants ranged from rail thin to the shape of a barrel and were all looking at them just as quizzically. "Hzzth eigh zie ranthoz. Hurehrika gtub nok rosh?" He folded his long arms after a moment and shook his head. "Sorry, I forget humans usually do not care to know our language. Very strange to see your kind here. State your purpose in these lands."
Nina shook her head at Ryu's opening mouth. No! Everything he ever said always had a bite to it! "We've been lost. Uh, I mean we are lost... Monster...in the sea." she blurted hastily, remembering the drawing of the sea monster on the map Gray showed them back in Chamba. She took a deep breath, gathered her thoughts and put on the most wide eyed, devastated face she could muster. "O-our ship was attacked by a monster...I...I didn't know something as horrible as it could exist! Ten...twenty tentacles ripping the ship apart as if it were paper... It all happened so fast...only seconds it felt like!" She sniffed, "When we came to we were here. My family they're...o-only my brother here is left," she paused dramatically. "We've just been wandering aimlessly through the forest, no food, no water, no protection...I was so frightened...thank the Goddess you found us!"
Ryu blinked at her. The Highlander's face was stuck on skeptical. The 'princess' was out of practice. "For surviors of such an ordeal, you look rather kempt." He sounded a lot more intelligent than his king. This was worrisome. She had to think fast.
Considering all the hardships that had happened to her in the last few months, it wasn't difficult for her to get some waterworks going. Furrowed bushy blonde brows relaxed. His team ventured forward looking suspicious still. "Do-do you have a camp nearby where we can warm up and maybe get a bite to eat? Please." She hiccuped and grabbed onto his hands, staring up at him with big, shining eyes. "I'm so hungry and tired..."
A smaller member of his party with a long red ponytail and chestnut fur snorted. "Like Cap'n Trubo ain't say no to a pretty dame, It ain't possible."
Such an easy weakness to manipulate. She gave his hands a squeeze. Trubo smirked and smoothly draped a long tawny arm around Nina's shoulders. "He's certainly not lying about that," he said pulling her close. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ryu tense. "Tell you what, I like you. You and your sibling are in luck. Our camp does happen to be near and I seem to remember hearing a few weeks back Mantakiou was flirting around these parts so he was probably the one who sank you. The coast here is brutal year round, whether it be him, his brother or the nature of the tide. I am very surprised any ship agreed to your travel plans."
"Our father loved this world," sniffled Nina loudly, "He would stop at nothing to see it all. Of course no one would take us. All of his money...on that damn rickety boat...just for his dreams to end so suddenly..."
Trubo motioned to his group and started to lead Nina east. Ryu and the rest followed close behind. The dragon took note of how many different weapons these guys had attached to them. They were returning the gesture. "These areas can be extremely dangerous, love. I assure you it's best the sea took him."
"Yeah ain't you heard? The Black Wings! They seen it as close as Shyde!
"Let it come. I'll kill it," boomed the barrel shape of the group.
"Ha! You ain't killin' nothin'. They said it's fast as hell. You know that one bird they was lookin' for, Von Buren? The assassin boy you ran with for that summer, Cap'n? They say she wiped the ground with him in the desert. You believe that?"
Nina kept her expression calm. Word got around fast. "You all are just sick of the quiet," laughed Trubo. He smiled down at his new friend 'Natalya' . "The papers keep hyping us up for something big. We're coiled springs out here, that's why we came up on you like we did."
"Don't listen ta him, He's got a thing for humans an' he saw ya a mile away!"
"Yeah don't act like you was actually tryin' to do ye job."
"Cap'n ain't got no luck in the city, our girls can't stand 'im!"
Trubo's face fell. "Hey hey I'm the Prince I get plenty of offers from plenty of women, no matter what the race!"
"Yeah ta hit tha curb!"
"Playin' tha royalty card ain't fair!"
"You're the Prince? And you're out here patrolling?" asked Nina, genuinely interested.
Trubo rubbed the top of his head, looking embarrassed. "Well, yeah, I am. It gets hectic in the castle, my mother's all fussy and I like it out here with my squadron, it's quiet for the most part unless you go to the coast or the mountain."
"Quieter than King Druknik yellin' at ya all day huh boss?"
"Ain't we yellin' at him all tha time too, though?"
"Listen to Cap'n talkin' like he got manners. Leave it to a female to make 'im get all proper-like."
The tawny royalty figure burst into boisterous laughter. "Come on, we're here boys, let's get a fire going for our guests! Nulko, start some soup, I know you caught a bunch of boar this morning!" The smallest of the party saluted and darted into the nearest tent.
They crested a hill and were met with a sea of tents in the valley below. Squadron? This was a camp for the whole gods forsaken Highfort army. Nina was losing confidence in her idea to come here.
Within minutes a bonfire raged in the middle of the encampment, conjuring a mini celebration around it. Nina and Ryu shared a seat on a log nearby. Arson sat in front of them on the ground mesmerized. The dragon's eyes followed Trubo swaggering to a small crowd of singing monkeys on the other side of the fire. "Brother?" He asked Nina in old Wyndian.
"I had to think on my feet there, Ryu, but it should work out. I'll be able to get more out of him if he thinks I could possibly be interested."
"Interested?"
"Don't be jealous, I'm just exploiting his flirtatious nature."
Just because Ryu knew that didn't mean he liked the idea. "I'm not sure this was the greatest decision coming here," he said with his head low. "I sense dozens of seasoned warriors and while I do believe us strong, these odds are hardly in our favor."
Nina glanced back at a large gathering behind them sitting around a table drinking and playing cards. Each one had at least one sword or axe twice their height strapped to their backs. Legs and arms sparkled with daggers. "We need food, some sleep if we can and most importantly information. It's been five hundred years; your memory probably won't help us much out here I'm afraid."
Ryu had to agree with that. "While that may be the case, I worry about this technology they are wearing. What is it capable of? Will it detect us when we decide to take our leave?"
"Detect us in stealth you mean? How?"
Trubo caught a stein filled with mead that was thrown at him and downed it like he hadn't had anything to drink in years. Ryu shrugged, watching him toss it to the ground triumphantly while his audience cheered. "One thing I do recognize is the mountain due west. With Drakken being that close, there's no way these men could have realistically avoided contact with the dark ones. Five hundred years is plenty of time to birth counters against them."
Nina swallowed. "Well, then that's the sort of information we need to find out."
Trubo waltzed over and squeezed himself between the two, flashing Nina a full toothed grin. "Hey, cheer up, Nat! Can I call you Nat? You're safe with us! Join the party. We celebrate like this every full moon. It's not healthy to dwell...the past is the past! Today's a new day, a new you!"
Ryu was grinding his teeth. Nina smiled sweetly. "Trubo, dear, I wonder if you can help me understand some things? Obviously this wasn't our destination, and I'm just a poor girl from the slums that's barely seen the outside of Chamba so what would I know about the world, right? But what...exactly is out here? The forest is so eerily dead."
The prince had another full cup in his hands. "You've never heard of them have you, love?" Innocent amber stared up into his mismatched yellow/brown pair. He took a swig and bumped Ryu a little farther away with his hip. "Dragons. A whooole lotta them live in that mountain over there, see?" Nina followed his finger to the mountain Ryu said housed Drakken.
She gasped in fostered amazement, her hands going to her cheeks. "You have to be bluffing, dragons? Aren't they only in stories? They can't be real!"
"No, no, contrary to what most of the world leaders think, they quite surely exist. All underground. Little tanned, pointy eared, white haired, shiny suit, blood thirsty demons, they are. Smart too, they've got machines that turn the spirits of the forests into energy for them until it ends up looking like what you see around you now."
"How dreadful!"
Mead dribbled down Trubo's hairy chin as he greedily drank. "They don't come out often though. Highfort has a sort of truce with them...although they often conveniently seem to forget it if we get too close to their base."
"I heard they're strong."
Trubo turned his gaze to Ryu, looking like he'd forgotten he existed. "That they are."
"And they can become invisible."
Gulp, gulp, gulp- "It's true. Isn't that the craziest thing you ever heard?"
"How on Elanaar can you fight something like that?" Nina asked, clasping her hands together at her chest.
The highlander tapped the contraption on his head. "These right here can see them! And you know what's funny? All this stuff, the goggles, this thing on my arm, my one busted yellow eye, all of it was made by them. They sell it to mogu and we buy it up quick."
"I knew it," murmured Ryu in Wyndian, absently chewing on one of his nails.
"Oh my goddess they can see stealth? What's the thing on your arm? Is it a fancy watch?"
"Love, there isn't a watch in the land that does what this baby does." He was starting to slur his words. "It's got a radar telling me everything around me, invisible or not, so even if I don't have my goggles, I'll know where those bastards are hiding!"
"Wow that's amazing!" Nina said through a tight lipped smile, digging her fingernails hard into her palms, "Have you beaten one of these monsters before? Surely you have, you're soo strong looking!"
"Well, I mean I've participated in the defeat of a few but, girlie, they are very, very dangerous. Especially to someone who can't see them coming. I have all this equipment and I still never travel outside of this camp without the group you met with me."
Nulko appeared with two bowls of steaming soup. Nina and Ryu took them graciously. Guitar music and more singing floated out one of the bigger tents near them. Arson stood and danced with the fire. "Are they normally very aggressive?" Asked Ryu between bites.
Again he was greeted with a dull 'oh you're still here?' look from the Prince. "Territorial is a better word for them, but yes most would rather show you their blades than make conversation. I called them blood thirsty before because they literally drink the blood of their prey and everything is their prey. The shiny suits they wear feed them intense power...like they're ten highlanders in one."
"Okay so at least that's old news," said Nina to Ryu in Wyndian, "Now we just have to figure out how to dodge this radar of theirs'."
"What language is that? I didn't know humans spoke anything other than common," asked the monkey gulping down the rest of his drink.
Nina giggled, "Oh it's just my brother and I, we're very close...we have our own language!" Ryu gave a halfhearted 'heh'.
"Thas neat. Thas rlly rlly neat there." Trubo's eyelids were drooping.
"What about Drogen?"
He woke up suddenly. "Drogen? You talking about the ruins to the south?"
"Possibly?"
"Why are you asking about that place? There's nothing there but a few sad looking people in rags living in the rubble."
Ryu turned to Nina excitedly. "Drogen has people, Sha'lei!"
Nina nodded. "So that's the plan, to head there?"
"For a made up language it sure sounds pretty...especially coming from your pouty little lips-"
"Trubo, how far south would you say it was?"
He stopped leaning towards Nina and took more of a serious tone. "Look it really doesn't matter, that place is too dangerous for you. We'll get you on the first sandflyer ride back to Shyde in the morning. Someone there is bound to be heading toward Chamba and will let you tag along. You two don't need to be exploring anything out here, I wouldn't want anything to happen to that cute face of yours."
"Didn't you say you knew that Wyndian boy, the one who kidnapped the little princess? Von...?"
Trubo gave a little sigh. "Von Buren? Yeah I knew him. Highfort works with the AG all the time. He did some of his training with me. Great kid, helped me take out a pretty nasty band of thugs that were terrorizing the city at the time. Shame he's getting into so much trouble for trying to do something I think is heroic. That little girl doesn't need to die, her sister's the one doing all the evil!"
"There are people that believe Isabella is innocent?"
"Is that her name? Well, she's just a little girl, and the prophecy never said anything about a second monster. People are just scared. I think they believe if they see someone with the same blood as Princess Nina's die then it'll somehow slow down the darkness."
"It's all so scary...," said Nina with a shiver.
The highlander placed a hand on her knee and gave it a rub. "I can keep you real safe tonight if you want."
Ryu cleared his throat loudly. "It's getting late, which tent can we rest in?"
"You can sleep wherever you want, but I was wondering if the little lady here would like to join me in my quarters for some extra protection-"
"I asked where WE are sleeping tonight?" repeated the dragon through clenched teeth, hastily hooking his arm with Nina's.
The highlander laughed awkwardly. "Alright, alright we've got a protective brother over here that's for sure." He pointed past the soldiers playing cards. "Over there behind the big tent. That's where the extra soldier's quarters are and right now I'm pretty sure no one's using them so help yourself."
Nina waved as Ryu pulled her away. "Thank you for everything Trubo! See you tomorrow!"
Trubo watched them disappear into the tent town and sighed, attempting to take another drink from an empty cup. He tried to ignore the embarrassing sniggers of his nearby peers. What the hell was that blue haired boy's problem, that was his sister. Natalya was beautiful and Trubo was smitten. It was rare to see the soft, delicate features that those wretched but enchanting Wyndian's usually possessed on a human. He wondered if he could get her to change her mind if he tried after her brother was asleep. Lighting a bent cigarette, he watched the pair's little nut mage pet shaking its rear to the beat in the air.
He also wondered why the hell they both smelled a little like dark dragons.
Hurry and bring her to me... I cannot wait any longer...
A few hours later, as the party started to die down, so did all the highlanders.
Trubo stumbled to a table on numb feet and grabbed onto it fiercely, the drink in his hand sloshing over wide eyed bodies strewn across it. Godsdammit something was in the grog! He helplessly watched his entire squadron dropping like flies around him. No one was safe. There wasn't a soul that didn't drink...except Nat and-
"Trubo! What are you doing here?" Retching, the highlander struggled to set his blurry gaze on a familiar face.
"V-Von Bur-" A sharp pain in his stomach made him howl. Behind him, the ones who weren't dead were being slaughtered by a blur of blue. What was Von Buren doing here with a dark dragon? No, that wasn't a dark dragon, it had wings too!
"Duties in the castle not interesting enough for you, huh Prince? A shame. It's always difficult to have to dispose of a friend for being in the wrong place at the wrong time." Ethan said pulling his blades from the barrel of his team.
Difficult? The smile on the Wyndian's face didn't reflect that mood. Trubo's stomach rumbled. Fire poured through his veins. "W-w..hy?" he fought to ask though numbing lips.
Ethan Von Buren answered with his blade.
A chorus of blood curdling screams wrenched Nina's eyes open. She jumped up from her pallet in a panic at thick black smoke billowing into the tent. "Ryu!" she called; she couldn't smell him through it. More screams sounded, closer this time. A hand grabbed her arm, pulled her out into the night.
She was just in time to see Trubo's tawny head disconnecting from his body and thudding wetly at Ethan's feet, the body following in a sickening heap.
"Did you finish the last of them over here?"
"There's still a few more in the back," He said locking eyes with Nina's.
The wyndian lost all of her words. Standing beside Ethan was Chasta with a detached Highlander arm casually swung across her shoulders like one would an umbrella. They were both wearing dark dragon armor, specifically the armor belonging to the dragons Nina had killed. Now that she was outside in some sort of wind, her nose was working better; she could without a doubt smell the remnants of both Red and Blue.
What in the all the gods names was going on?
Ryu never needed words. Smoke shifted and he was on Ethan. Nina stepped back, nearly tripping over a pair of mangled highlanders in the dirt. There was flash of blue and Chasta was on her.
Nina dumbly deflected her former friend's blows, backing up and stumbling over more prone, bloody warriors. "Ha! Look at her, Ethan! She backs away like the coward she is!" Chasta raved. Nina's mind raced, a million questions she wanted to ask desperately fighting for her lips' attention left no room for any combat strategy to form. Chasta's extra furry appendage swung around and slapped Nina hard across the face, throwing her even more off balance. Flailing, she grabbed onto Chasta's wrist, doubled over and let go when the brunette's other fist sunk deep into her gut. Ribs cracked, all the breath flew from Nina's lungs. Chasta snatched a fistful of blonde hair and jerked her close.
Nina's eyes streamed. Chasta's laughed louder than her mouth. "Ch-Chas...!"
"That's right, beg me for mercy," her former friend whispered darkly with her nose touching hers.
"I...won't...!" Nina fought to control her paralyzed diaphragm. Chasta shot a blast of magic into her stomach strong enough to send her flying back into a table.
Ryu's head jerked in her direction. "Sha'lei-!" Ethan grabbed the crown of his hair and brought his face into his knee.
Nina groaned and tried to sit up. Her ribs wouldn't allow it.
"Pathetic," quipped Chasta, sauntering forward. "Drugged fleabags were more of a challenge than you."
The blonde rolled over and was sick on the ground. Wiping blood and bile onto her forearm Nina glanced up. The tip of Chasta's boot caught her underneath her chin, sending her tumbling back even farther into a pile of dead. Chasta dashed forward. Nina sputtered out a string of old Wyndian and threw her hands up. The handmaiden's blade sparked as it slid across a sudden shield of heavy ice and embedded itself in a body. "I'm...anything but easy...," Nina gasped out, finally able to catch her breath. "I'm just distracted." Chasta glared at the glowing sprite sitting on her former princess' shoulder and failed to break through the barrier a second time. Nina apprehensively watched Ethan dodging Ryu in a dance for survival behind her. The stench of blood from the mound of death she sat against was overwhelming. "Chasta, please stop and listen to me!"
The handmaiden failed a third time. "Why? You almost killed me before. I don't care to hear anything from you but anguish."
"That wasn't me! I would never try to kill you!" Nina's lip quivered, her hands shook and crackled blue as she fed the shield more magic. "W-Why are you both here wearing those godsforsaken suits? They're dangerous, you know! Can a Wyndian's body can really handle all of that power?"
The blue colored energy circulating through the tubes embedded in Chasta's suit flickered and dulled when she pressed onto her wrist. She sighed loudly, crossing her arms. "It's annoying, you know, for you to be worried about my well being."
"Gods you're an idiot, Chasta and so am I." Tears plopped heavily onto Nina's lap. "I have the face you made while you held me down for Vahn burned into my brain...yet it still doesn't erase all of the good memories I also have with you." The sprite was slowly fading away. She didn't have much time. "You say they were fake...and maybe your feelings were artificial but mine weren't. I loved you more than anyone. I got into so much trouble all the time standing up for you and Ethan...and I had fun doing it."
Chasta's suit powered back up and she swung again. The shield cracked.
"I get it Chasta, I really do, you were essentially a prisoner in the castle. You were forced to be my friend and deal with my sheltered, dramatic self, I get now how infuriating that must have been."
Another swing. Another crack spiderwebbed across. "All you did was cry about things that didn't matter, things that only spoiled little brats would bother with."
A burst of flurries beside her let Nina know the sprite was gone. Pity, she was almost tapped. "My world was so small, Chasta. Don't you understand I needed to step outside of it to see that?!"
Chasta laughed sharply. "Remember when I made it even smaller by getting rid of your mother?"
Nina clenched her teeth, managed to fill in one of the cracks with ice magic before the handmaiden sent another heavy blow down onto it.
I do not believe it is within your power to show her reason
"Chasta please!" sobbed Nina desperately, heart pounding in her ears, "I don't want to end up killing you so please for the love of Ladon stop!"
"Kill me? Not while I'm wearing this, you won't!"
I can't do this, she thought to Ryu's soul. It's Chasta...and I love her...Gods I'm an idiot that will always love her!
Just like with Ethan, it is not the person you love, but the memory of them.
Chasta's expression was frightening. Nina created little handles on the back of the shield and rammed it forward, forcing the handmaiden to step back. "I choose to believe you killed my mother because you had no other way to get back at my father. I also believe that's why you want to kill me. I know he didn't treat you right, I always knew that. I was just afraid of him..."
"You don't know anything!"
Nina pushed forward again, this time using the shield to deflect Chasta's incoming blade to the air. "It's not all fake. I know it can't be. Remember that time we secretly spent the night on the roof of the west guard tower? How we laughed so much the next morning both of our stomachs were sore?" Chasta tried to blast her again with magic. Nina's ice shield took the brunt of it, shattering into thousands of beautiful glimmering pieces.
"Stop trying to rile up my conscience Nina, it's not going to work!" Blue streaked over Nina's head, separated a few stray blonde strands from it.
"I'm trying to make sure you leave this fight alive!"
Ryu screamed. Nina whirled to see Ethan drive his swords through Ryu's stomach and lift her mate high into the air. The dragon clenched his teeth and allowed his body to slide down the blades until his feet were on the ground. Ethan tried to pull the swords free by cutting him horizontally, but the scales forming to close his wounds prevented it. Ryu smirked and bashed his forehead into his as hard as he could. Crying out, a slightly dazed Ethan let go of his swords, spun to grab them again from behind and in one swift motion pulled them out of Ryu, unleashing another howl of pain. The dragon barely had time to think before the wyndian spun around again and with the help of a wind conjuration nearly took the tip of Ryu's nose off when he bent backwards to avoid it.
Ethan was one of the most formidable foes Ryu had ever faced. It infuriated him to no end, but that didn't make it any less true. The suit wasn't doing the dragon any favors either. The Wyndian was faster, stronger, cockier. "My, you're a beautiful dancer," Ethan laughed at Ryu's fancy footwork dodging his series of attacks.
The dragon scowled, "Artificial strength like that is a double edged sword, Wyndian," he said trying not to show he was out of breath. "I give you ten minutes before the energy consumes you."
Ethan's smile went ear to ear, "I don't need that long." Busy red tubes flickered and dulled, then suddenly sparked to life. His muscles bulged. He spun and sent his knee crashing into Ryu's abs. The dragon's teeth clenched so hard a few in the back broke. His face met the ground, Ethan's foot was on top of it. Ryu reached for his ankle, Ethan's sword clanged on the scales appearing to protect his wrist. He jumped away before Ryu could grab him. Red faded. Ryu spat out dirt, tooth and blood. The bastard was turning off and on the suit, both to conserve his lifespan and another because it was doing some sort of initial burst. He chanced a look at Nina. Ethan turned on a coin and ran towards her.
Nina was starting to gain back her footing. Chasta, fueled by emotion, was starting to get clumsy. "Treat me as en equal? Don't make me laugh. All your attempts at doing so made me retch. Lies by a stupid girl who had nothing more pressing in her life to do than day dream about boys and freedom."
"Getting onto me for day dreaming about freedom, are you serious Chasta? More than anyone you knew I was never allowed to leave the castle gates. Your title may have ultimately been 'servant' but you had so much more freedom than I could've ever dreamed of! I was always jealous of you! I told you every day, remember?"
"Shut up you're so godsdamn persistant!"
"Surely Ethan told you...that there's something inside of me I can't control that does horrible, evil things because it's the godsdamn personification of chaos..." Nina jumped back from the handmaiden and a hand covered in scales thrust forward to catch her blade. "I can't apologize enough you had to witness it."
"Don't you dare try to be so holy," Chasta muttered darkly, summoning more speed from the suit and taking Nina with her to the ground. Hands flew to the half dragon's throat and squeezed. Chasta's terrifying grin showed teeth. The suit funneled cyan energy into her bulging forearms. Veins streaked up Nina's neck. Her mouth gaped, her eyes bulged. She couldn't pull Chasta's grip free. The suit was so bright now. "Try to talk now, bitch."
"Chasta, are you crying?"
Chasta looked up from wet hands at her Princess standing in front of her in the courtyard with one hand on her hip and a mask of worry on her innocent face. Damn it, she thought Nina was still in class, was it really that late? She wiped her nose on her forearm, not caring what it would leave and forced a small, quivering smile. "Don't worry about it Nina, something so trivial shouldn't concern you."
"You're my best friend, why would I not be concerned with something that's upsetting you so?" Nina sat down beside the handmaiden who looked away sharply.
"Someone of your stature can't possibly understand," said Chasta through tight lips.
"Can I at least hear you out? I'll decide then whether I do or not."
Chasta sighed. She should have known she'd get this interrogation. Nina did this often, tried to understand a world she had no business being a part of. "Okay, do you know what it's like to not be respected at all?"
"Yes. Yes I do," answered Nina confidently with her nose in the air, crossing her arms.
"What? No, no you don't, Nina," said Chasta with a furrowed brow, "You're the Princess of Wyndia, if anyone disrespects you, they'll be executed."
"My father sure as hell doesn't respect me and he's not going to face any consequences for it."
The handmaiden sniffed and shook her head. "I suppose I'll need to rephrase myself. Do you understand what it's like to be looked upon like you're subwyndian just because you don't have a share of the royal blood that runs so thin within Wyndia?" That time, Nina didn't answer. She couldn't. "One fifth of our population is noble. Maybe it's their smaller numbers that make them guard the gates of common respect like they do, but they treat anyone without their 'gorgeous' wings to be nothing but an animal. Mine aren't even white."
Nina looked down to her hands clasped in her lap. "What happened to you?"
"It doesn't matter what happened to me, it's all the nobles' fault anyways, this whole society. It will never get better, there will always be classes in this backwards world that you have no choice but to be born into and remain there until you die." Nina didn't understand. There was no way that she could. So what if her father 'disrespected' her; if she meant he wouldn't share with her things about the country, it was because she was sixteen and ignorant. Chasta was the same age and knew with accuracy exactly where she stood and had for years.
"Well...how about if I promise, well, if I don't get married off I can promise this..." Nina looked her friend in her makeup smudged eyes with as much determination as she could. "I'll become Queen and stop it."
Chasta couldn't help barking out a sharp laugh. "Stop what? The disrespect? Nina there isn't a leader in the world that can do that."
"That's why I would get them all to join me! All the world leaders in unison would have to make something happen!"
The handmaiden laughed again and stood, taking a compact out of her apron. She opened it and examined herself critically. Green, simple little Nina. Thinking ones with power would ever give up flaunting it. "Tell you what Nina, you do that. I won't stand in your way. Become Queen and stop all racial and class related prejudice. I'm with you all the way."
"I'm not too naive to know sarcasm Chasta! I will! A-And from now on you're getting more respect too!"
The handmaiden curtsied half-heartedly. "Thank you, my Princess, for your effort in the war against poverty and classisim, I look forward to seeing these promises take action. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late meeting the girls to help clean your bathtub."
How stupid, Chasta thought walking with her head down through the castle hallways. Everything that came out of that girl's mouth was always so incredibly foolish. Noble, she had to admit, but who actually thought with sincerity that one person could change anything in this world? Deep in thought, she rounded a corner right into a group walking the opposite way.
Two men and a woman all tumbled with her to the ground. Books and papers flew out of their hands. Chasta wrestled herself free from the pile of robes and wings. "Whoa, watch where you're going!" Her breath caught in her lungs. Large, white, beautiful wings. "A-ah I'm sorry...!"
"Gods forsaken hell, this trash better pick all of this up right now," the middle aged, long blonde haired woman shrieked, glaring daggers at Chasta. "I'm not about to dirty myself touching this floor her and her kind probably thought not to clean out of sport! Oh how disgusting! Look! My white gloves are all soiled because of this wretch!"
"You heard Madam Skye, clean this up you blue winged gutter rat!" One of the men sneered, his fat cheeks red with emotion and effort. The other nodded, kneeling down to help the awful woman up. Chasta opened her mouth to retort and took a book end to the lip.
"Hey! Tell her you're sorry right now! The whole lot of you!" The handmaiden clutched her blooded lip and stared wide eyed at Nina standing in front of her with her hands on both hips. "What do you think you're doing throwing things at my personal handmaiden? What do you think you're doing ordering around my personal handmaiden? And what the hell do you think you're doing even looking at my personal handmaiden?"
"P-p-p-p-princess Nina! Oh what a surprise, this is your handmaiden?!" The group stood quickly and bowed/curtsied. "We can pick up the books ourselves, it's not a problem, ha ha ha! Please do not tell your father, ha! ha! ha!" Handmaidens and butlers alike watched with interest in the background, making the nobles sweat with embarrassment. Chasta smiled ear to ear.
"From now on you will show her the respect she deserves! Now get out of my sight before I change my mind and inform Father."
"Yes, Princess Nina, right away Princess Nina!" they cried, hurrying down the hallway.
Nina took a deep, quivering breath. "Now, you'll be getting more-" Chasta snatched the back of her dress and pulled her into an empty room, closing the big heavy wooden door behind her. "Chasta what're you-"
"Nina you have to promise me you'll never do that again for any of the castle's help."
"-but!"
"Promise me right now!"
Nina's confident posture faded but still held onto existence by the skin of it's teeth. "I...I won't promise until you tell me why!"
Chasta blew air up at her bangs violently. "Look you just saved me because you made it abundantly clear I was your 'personal' handmaiden. You know of me, you'd miss me if I disappeared."
"I don't understand."
"Nina nobles know people that can make us disappear, okay? Don't give them a reason to focus on us!"
"I'll say everyone is my personal servant."
That painfully honest face. "Gods, you...you can't do that...Then it just negates what you said about me and they won't discriminate. No one will be safe."
"So if I see something like that again I have to sit and watch it happen?"
"Yes!"
"That's not fair!"
"Life isn't fair Nina!" Chasta enunciated every word, "Godsdamn deal with it and understand you drew the better card!" Her face softened at Nina's eyes welling up. "I appreciate you caring, my friend, I really do, but you simply need to stay out of it okay so promise me!"
"Fine..." Nina sniffed. "I promise."
What a stupid, naive, noble girl.
Why did she think back to that?
Some say your life flashes before your eyes right before you die. Chasta deduced from the Wyndian royal sword protruding from her stomach that those some were probably right. Her blood splashing Nina's saucer-eyed look of horror was the last thing the handmaiden ever saw.
Ryu stopped mid sprint, heart slamming against his rib cage.
Oh no. Not this.
Ethan snorted as he ripped his sword from Chasta's lifeless body. "Ungrateful bitch. I gave you a try at Nina first and this is how you act. Can't keep promises, can you? I told you she was mine and mine only to kill, got it?" More blood speckled Nina's milky skin as he swung his sword in front of her to clean it off. "Well...have I managed to coax the monster?" His hunter eyes, maddened with excitement, stared down at Nina on her knees. She couldn't move, couldn't speak. All she could do was stare at his sick anticipation.
He'd killed Chasta for no good reason. No godsdamn reason at all!
"She was never going to listen to you Nina; she would have followed you to the ends of the earth to kill you no matter how many childhood memories you funneled into her." The tears weren't stopping. He swaggered towards her wearing a tiny smirk, his face shrouded in shadows, "Now come on, let's make her death worth something. Show me the darkn-"
Suddenly his expression changed. Clang! went his swords to the ground. All the muscles in his body vibrated. He clutched his left arm as it cracked in four places, his right leg contorted into a grotesque work of art. Desperately he used whatever he could to press the button on his mangled wrist. Gods, he'd gotten so excited about Nina, he'd left the suit on. Godsdamn dragon was right. Had it even been ten minutes? He couldn't turn it off! His hands frantically searched for the suit's zipper; he didn't have much time! Nina couldn't look away. "Nina, you have to help me, I don't have time to explain but you've got to help me get this suit off!" Numbly she reached out to him. "Nina hurry-!" His voice was cut off by his throat caving in. Hunter eyes were forced upwards when his head twisted almost all the way around. His chest went the way of his throat and he died a mangled sparkling red heap before Nina.
Oh Gods no.
A/N: Umm...hopefully it doesn't take me 2 years again to update. I'm a little rusty so I hope this was okay. I wanted to give you guys something long for waiting so patiently. I still want to hold onto my promise of finishing this. Sorry it's taken over a literal decade to do so.
Keep in mind that I might possibly flesh this out even more later, I'm not sure, I just really wanted to post something for Christmas! (I'll make a note at the top of the chapter if I do revise.)
I can't thank you all enough for your continued interest. When these awesome reviews his my email every couple of months it inspires me and truly makes my day. I'm really happy that people actually care what happens to my characters and have taken the time to read this long winded love letter to BoF :)