~~~~A 13 year old Kali was battling a 27 year old man, and was winning. She managed to trip him and drove her sword into his chest, a cold look on her face. Mavida clapped, grinning. "Very good Kali, you're learning very quickly." She didn't say anything; she just stood there, staring at Mavida as some strange people began to talk about her fight.
"It's amazing. A 13 year old able to kill a grown man. Not to mention the fact that she's an ameryst." Mavida placed a hand on Kali's shoulder, but she looked away.
"My parents would not be pleased about what I'm doing." She said quietly.
"Your parents?" Mavida laughed. "My dear, your parents could care less about you. Why else would they have left you?"
"They didn't leave me. They died."
"No Kali, they left you. Left you and your sister behind like you meant nothing. Because you didn't mean anything. Not to them. But I can give you a better life then that. As a fighter, you'll learn that you don't need anyone but yourself. But if you're going to become an excellent fighter, you need to forget about emotions like sadness and pity. Focus only on being the best, and you'll never fail."~~~~
Kali shot up, gasping for breath. She held her head tightly, swearing.
"Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Not again. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God." She jumped as someone placed a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Viole.
"Kali, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
"I don't believe that for a moment. When someone wakes up covered in sweat and in tears, swearing, then something is definately wrong." He leaned closer. "What is it?" She looked up suddenly, glaring at him, tears gone.
"When I say it's nothing, then it's nothing!! You think that by telling you, it's going to fix everything?!"
"Well, no, but maybe you could get rid of some pain if you shared-"
"Get rid of some pain?!! I'm supposed to get rid of 10 years of pain just by telling you about some dream?! About how, my entire childhood was deticated to training me to kill!? About how ever since I was 6, I've been modified into an emotionless tool of war?! I don't think so!!" Viole was shocked.
"Kali....I..."
"Look, my life has been deticated to training me not to experience these emotions, and now that I'm feeling them at last....it's.....just leave me alone."
"Kali-"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" Viole jumped, not from the shout, but from his now stinging cheek from where she'd slapped him. Kali pressed her hand to her chest, directly over her heart, and turned away. Taking the hint, Viole walked past her and left the room, closing the door quietly. Kali dropped to her knees, a torrent of tears wanting to come crashing through. She held them back, refusing to show any more signs of weakness.
She got to her feet, then jumped as her window was shattered. When the rain of glass died down, she looked over at the ledge, and growled when she saw a man standing there. "Siam. What the hell are you doing here?"
"Lord Mavida has requested that you come back to the training house. You're done here. His instructions were that you were to kill Dilandau Albatou, not kill FOR him."
"I'm not done. I'm trying to win his trust over, it's the best way to-" He held up a hand, his green eyes cold, and she stopped.
"Mavida's exact words were that if you try to talk your way into getting some more time, I was to throw you over my shoulder and carry you back." She swallowed hard.
"Siam, if I go back, that means I failed. I can't fail; he'll kill my sister if I do." Siam didn't say anything, he only leaned out the window and whistled loudly, calling a dark blue dragon to the side of the ledge.
"Kali, your time is up. I'm sorry about your sister, but Mavida-"
"I don't care!! I'm staying here and finishing what I started!!!" Siam only sighed and stepped forward, grabbing Kali around the waist. "Siam! Let me go!!" She struggled in his grasp, then managed to get ahold of her sword and pulled it out of it's scabbard, ramming it into his arm. He yelled and let go of her, gripping his wound. She faced him, sword pointed at him. To her shock, he pulled out a sword as well and swung it at hers. She blocked the blade, and stared at her sword in horror as her own blade snapped in half. Kali then jumped as she felt a hand circle her neck.
"I'm sorry, Kali." He whispered before hitting something in her neck and knocking her out. He then got onto the waiting dragon and they flew north.
Dilandau winced as the nurse set his wrist back into place as well as possible and started to put a cast on it. Sighing, he looked out the window and leaned his chin on his free hand, growing bored.
Around 15 minutes later, he was released from the infirmary, frowning at the cast on his wrist, and walked down the hall to his room, planning on opening a new bottle of vino.
He poured the wine into his glass and picked it up, but didn't drink from it immediantly. Instead, he stared down into it, studying the wine as he thought. *Kali's getting out of hand. She's going to have to learn that she's under my command.* Drinking the entire glass in one swallow, he refilled it, then sneered at it and took a long drink from the bottle, leaving the forgotten glass on the desk.
Kali kneeled before Mavida, staring down at the ground.
"I'm disappointed in you Kali. After 7 years of perfect assassinations, you mess up the one that matters most." He said in a quiet voice. She closed her eyes, holding back the tears. "As the terms apply, if you failed a task, I was to kill your sister."
Hearing Mavida snap his fingers, she fought every instinct to look up as she heard a small voice yelling at someone. Soon the voice got louder, and started yelling her name. This time, she did lift her head, and saw her little sister struggling in the grip of a soldier. Kali watched, fear gripping her, as Aurora was carried over to where Mavida sat.
Mavida picked her up, standing, and gripped the young girl's hair, pulling her head back to rest on his shoulder. Kali stood, starting forward.
"Mavida let her go!" She was stopped by two guards holding her back by the arms, and strained to get away from them as Mavida glared down at her.
"We had a deal, Kali." He hissed, venom filling his cold eyes. "You complete any task I give you, ON TIME, then your sister stays safe. You've run out of time." He pulled back harder on the young girl's hair, causing Aurora to start to cry.
"Kali!" The little girl sobbed.
"Mavida!!" Kali yelled, straining to get away from the guards. She twisted in their grip, her silver eyes flaring with anger and fear. "You let her go right now!!"
"Say good bye to big sister, sweetie." Mavida hissed in her ear, a sadistic grin on his face.
"MAVIDA!!!!!" Kali screamed, pulling forward several feet and almost pulling her arms out of the sockets as Mavida yanked back on the little girl's head, snapping her neck. Tears poured down Kali's face as Mavida handed the limp form of her sister to a guard and she fell to her knees, pounding the floor over and over as sobs exploded from her chest.
She felt someone grab her arms and was hauled to her feet again. Glaring at Mavida, she managed to push the guards off, but barely got 3 feet ahead before the other guards swarmed her, hauling her down to one knee as Mavida got up and walked over to her.
"Kali, I'm ashamed of you; 9 years of training, down the drain. Why? What happened in the Vione that prevented you from killing Dilandau Albatou?"
"You know what it was?! He treated me like a real human!! Not like some tool for war! He may have used the panther form like a war weapon, but at least he acknowledged me being more then a simple fighting tool!!" She snapped at him, glaring up at the man. His reaction to this was to slap her across the face, knocking her to her side.
"But you're not human, Kali. You're more of a demon then the Draconians are." Kali took a shuddering breath and leaned her forehead down against the floor, not wanting to look Mavida in the face. "Take her down to the dungeon. And do something with that body." Kali felt the guards stand her up, and fought them all the way down to the dungeon.
Viole walked into Kali's room, looking around in shock at the trashed interior.
"What the hell happened here?" He walked around the room, finding her sword broken. Picking up the pieces, Viole closed his eyes to hold in the tears. He then left the room and ran straight into Miguel. "Miguel, I need you help. Kali's been kidnapped or something and-"
"Miguel, it's better that she's gone." He said quietly.
"What?! Why?"
"You mean Lord Dilandau didn't tell you?" He could tell by the confusion in his eyes that he didn't and let out a sigh. Hating the fact that he was about to bring his best friend's world crashing down, he looked down at Kali's sword.
"Viole, Kali's an ameryst."
Kali hissed at the guards as they locked her wrists into place above her head, growling as they walked away. She yanked at the shackles repeatedly, cursing, then gave up, leaning her head back against the wall, closing her eyes as sobs started to come out.
"Oh, god, Aurora, I'm so sorry." She didn't try to stop her sobs, not caring what anyone thought if they saw her.
After around half an hour, Kali was staring up at the celing, tears drying on her face. She ignored the sound coming from the other prisoners, the smell of the rotting dungeon, and the plate of gross food one of the guards had shoved in. She sighed and her eyes slid shut, another tear slipping out of her eye as images of Mavida snapping her sister's neck flashed across her mind.
Hearing keys ringing, she opened her eyes and looked over at the bars to see a guard walking in. He approached her cautiously and knelt beside her, settinig the tray of food beside her.
"Miss, you really should eat." She just looked away, closing her eyes. The man sighed. "Look, miss. Master Mavida is not going to just let you rot down 'ere. There is a good chance 'e'll call on you quite oft'n, so you'll need to keep your strength up." Kali still didn't look at him. He picked at the food, then smiled weakly. "Will you eat if I c'n get you some more appetizing food?" She looked up at him, suspicion in her eyes.
"Why are you trying to help me?" She asked in a hoarse voice.
"Not ev'ryone in 'ere is a jerk." He said gently. A cold look came over her.
"That's not what my past experiances have shown me." She muttered, pushing the plate away with her foot. "I'm not hungry." The guard sighed and stood up, taking the plate as he left, locking the door behind him. Kali swore in frustration, jerking her wrists hard, trying in vain once more to free them. Ceasing only when her wrists were burning, she sagged against the wall, giving up.
"It's amazing. A 13 year old able to kill a grown man. Not to mention the fact that she's an ameryst." Mavida placed a hand on Kali's shoulder, but she looked away.
"My parents would not be pleased about what I'm doing." She said quietly.
"Your parents?" Mavida laughed. "My dear, your parents could care less about you. Why else would they have left you?"
"They didn't leave me. They died."
"No Kali, they left you. Left you and your sister behind like you meant nothing. Because you didn't mean anything. Not to them. But I can give you a better life then that. As a fighter, you'll learn that you don't need anyone but yourself. But if you're going to become an excellent fighter, you need to forget about emotions like sadness and pity. Focus only on being the best, and you'll never fail."~~~~
Kali shot up, gasping for breath. She held her head tightly, swearing.
"Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Not again. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God." She jumped as someone placed a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Viole.
"Kali, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
"I don't believe that for a moment. When someone wakes up covered in sweat and in tears, swearing, then something is definately wrong." He leaned closer. "What is it?" She looked up suddenly, glaring at him, tears gone.
"When I say it's nothing, then it's nothing!! You think that by telling you, it's going to fix everything?!"
"Well, no, but maybe you could get rid of some pain if you shared-"
"Get rid of some pain?!! I'm supposed to get rid of 10 years of pain just by telling you about some dream?! About how, my entire childhood was deticated to training me to kill!? About how ever since I was 6, I've been modified into an emotionless tool of war?! I don't think so!!" Viole was shocked.
"Kali....I..."
"Look, my life has been deticated to training me not to experience these emotions, and now that I'm feeling them at last....it's.....just leave me alone."
"Kali-"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" Viole jumped, not from the shout, but from his now stinging cheek from where she'd slapped him. Kali pressed her hand to her chest, directly over her heart, and turned away. Taking the hint, Viole walked past her and left the room, closing the door quietly. Kali dropped to her knees, a torrent of tears wanting to come crashing through. She held them back, refusing to show any more signs of weakness.
She got to her feet, then jumped as her window was shattered. When the rain of glass died down, she looked over at the ledge, and growled when she saw a man standing there. "Siam. What the hell are you doing here?"
"Lord Mavida has requested that you come back to the training house. You're done here. His instructions were that you were to kill Dilandau Albatou, not kill FOR him."
"I'm not done. I'm trying to win his trust over, it's the best way to-" He held up a hand, his green eyes cold, and she stopped.
"Mavida's exact words were that if you try to talk your way into getting some more time, I was to throw you over my shoulder and carry you back." She swallowed hard.
"Siam, if I go back, that means I failed. I can't fail; he'll kill my sister if I do." Siam didn't say anything, he only leaned out the window and whistled loudly, calling a dark blue dragon to the side of the ledge.
"Kali, your time is up. I'm sorry about your sister, but Mavida-"
"I don't care!! I'm staying here and finishing what I started!!!" Siam only sighed and stepped forward, grabbing Kali around the waist. "Siam! Let me go!!" She struggled in his grasp, then managed to get ahold of her sword and pulled it out of it's scabbard, ramming it into his arm. He yelled and let go of her, gripping his wound. She faced him, sword pointed at him. To her shock, he pulled out a sword as well and swung it at hers. She blocked the blade, and stared at her sword in horror as her own blade snapped in half. Kali then jumped as she felt a hand circle her neck.
"I'm sorry, Kali." He whispered before hitting something in her neck and knocking her out. He then got onto the waiting dragon and they flew north.
Dilandau winced as the nurse set his wrist back into place as well as possible and started to put a cast on it. Sighing, he looked out the window and leaned his chin on his free hand, growing bored.
Around 15 minutes later, he was released from the infirmary, frowning at the cast on his wrist, and walked down the hall to his room, planning on opening a new bottle of vino.
He poured the wine into his glass and picked it up, but didn't drink from it immediantly. Instead, he stared down into it, studying the wine as he thought. *Kali's getting out of hand. She's going to have to learn that she's under my command.* Drinking the entire glass in one swallow, he refilled it, then sneered at it and took a long drink from the bottle, leaving the forgotten glass on the desk.
Kali kneeled before Mavida, staring down at the ground.
"I'm disappointed in you Kali. After 7 years of perfect assassinations, you mess up the one that matters most." He said in a quiet voice. She closed her eyes, holding back the tears. "As the terms apply, if you failed a task, I was to kill your sister."
Hearing Mavida snap his fingers, she fought every instinct to look up as she heard a small voice yelling at someone. Soon the voice got louder, and started yelling her name. This time, she did lift her head, and saw her little sister struggling in the grip of a soldier. Kali watched, fear gripping her, as Aurora was carried over to where Mavida sat.
Mavida picked her up, standing, and gripped the young girl's hair, pulling her head back to rest on his shoulder. Kali stood, starting forward.
"Mavida let her go!" She was stopped by two guards holding her back by the arms, and strained to get away from them as Mavida glared down at her.
"We had a deal, Kali." He hissed, venom filling his cold eyes. "You complete any task I give you, ON TIME, then your sister stays safe. You've run out of time." He pulled back harder on the young girl's hair, causing Aurora to start to cry.
"Kali!" The little girl sobbed.
"Mavida!!" Kali yelled, straining to get away from the guards. She twisted in their grip, her silver eyes flaring with anger and fear. "You let her go right now!!"
"Say good bye to big sister, sweetie." Mavida hissed in her ear, a sadistic grin on his face.
"MAVIDA!!!!!" Kali screamed, pulling forward several feet and almost pulling her arms out of the sockets as Mavida yanked back on the little girl's head, snapping her neck. Tears poured down Kali's face as Mavida handed the limp form of her sister to a guard and she fell to her knees, pounding the floor over and over as sobs exploded from her chest.
She felt someone grab her arms and was hauled to her feet again. Glaring at Mavida, she managed to push the guards off, but barely got 3 feet ahead before the other guards swarmed her, hauling her down to one knee as Mavida got up and walked over to her.
"Kali, I'm ashamed of you; 9 years of training, down the drain. Why? What happened in the Vione that prevented you from killing Dilandau Albatou?"
"You know what it was?! He treated me like a real human!! Not like some tool for war! He may have used the panther form like a war weapon, but at least he acknowledged me being more then a simple fighting tool!!" She snapped at him, glaring up at the man. His reaction to this was to slap her across the face, knocking her to her side.
"But you're not human, Kali. You're more of a demon then the Draconians are." Kali took a shuddering breath and leaned her forehead down against the floor, not wanting to look Mavida in the face. "Take her down to the dungeon. And do something with that body." Kali felt the guards stand her up, and fought them all the way down to the dungeon.
Viole walked into Kali's room, looking around in shock at the trashed interior.
"What the hell happened here?" He walked around the room, finding her sword broken. Picking up the pieces, Viole closed his eyes to hold in the tears. He then left the room and ran straight into Miguel. "Miguel, I need you help. Kali's been kidnapped or something and-"
"Miguel, it's better that she's gone." He said quietly.
"What?! Why?"
"You mean Lord Dilandau didn't tell you?" He could tell by the confusion in his eyes that he didn't and let out a sigh. Hating the fact that he was about to bring his best friend's world crashing down, he looked down at Kali's sword.
"Viole, Kali's an ameryst."
Kali hissed at the guards as they locked her wrists into place above her head, growling as they walked away. She yanked at the shackles repeatedly, cursing, then gave up, leaning her head back against the wall, closing her eyes as sobs started to come out.
"Oh, god, Aurora, I'm so sorry." She didn't try to stop her sobs, not caring what anyone thought if they saw her.
After around half an hour, Kali was staring up at the celing, tears drying on her face. She ignored the sound coming from the other prisoners, the smell of the rotting dungeon, and the plate of gross food one of the guards had shoved in. She sighed and her eyes slid shut, another tear slipping out of her eye as images of Mavida snapping her sister's neck flashed across her mind.
Hearing keys ringing, she opened her eyes and looked over at the bars to see a guard walking in. He approached her cautiously and knelt beside her, settinig the tray of food beside her.
"Miss, you really should eat." She just looked away, closing her eyes. The man sighed. "Look, miss. Master Mavida is not going to just let you rot down 'ere. There is a good chance 'e'll call on you quite oft'n, so you'll need to keep your strength up." Kali still didn't look at him. He picked at the food, then smiled weakly. "Will you eat if I c'n get you some more appetizing food?" She looked up at him, suspicion in her eyes.
"Why are you trying to help me?" She asked in a hoarse voice.
"Not ev'ryone in 'ere is a jerk." He said gently. A cold look came over her.
"That's not what my past experiances have shown me." She muttered, pushing the plate away with her foot. "I'm not hungry." The guard sighed and stood up, taking the plate as he left, locking the door behind him. Kali swore in frustration, jerking her wrists hard, trying in vain once more to free them. Ceasing only when her wrists were burning, she sagged against the wall, giving up.