It was the strange sensation that woke him up, the feeling of claws running
down his ear and following the curve of his jaw. It should have been a
pleasant feeling, but it wasn't and caused shivers to run down his spine.
He opened his eyes warily and saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring
back.
He gasped and jumped up, trying to move away but the Fiend only smirked and quickly grabbed him around the waist, dragging the elf as close as possible. Celtic felt his blood run cold as he was pressed against the flesh of the Beast and felt two powerful arms holding his waist almost possessively. Nothing happened for a moment and then the hand continued the unwanted caress.
He tried to hold back his whimper, but he couldn't and he knew the other heard it as his smirk grew.
"Such a pretty little elf, aren't you." He leaned down close so that their faces were inch a part. "So pretty and sweet and all mine now." Celtic tried to keep his breathing even but he could smell the other's breath as it hit his face. He shivered again and started struggling; anything to put distance between them, but the Fiend wasn't having any of it. He pulled on the elf's blond hair and forced their lips together in a savage kiss. Celtic's hands reached up and tried again to fight, but he was overpowered. All he could do was wince at the feeling of those teeth on his lips and that tongue down his throat.
'Dark, please! Help me!' But he knew no one could come and save him and as one clawed hand moved down his chest he felt tears sting at his eyes.
"My Lord! The Imp has escaped!" With a growl Celtic was released from the kiss, but the arms still held him tight. He lay there panting and turned his head to the door to see who his unexpected savior was.
The Witty Phantom stood there, looking as if he wanted the castle to reach up and swallow him whole. But then again, with the Beast of Talwar staring at him like he was, Celtic didn't blame the weaker fiend.
"You disturbed me for that?" He could see the Phantom flinch and almost felt sorry for him, but not quite. "It seems that lately you can't do anything right, which would make you fairly useless around here, wouldn't you say."
"M-my Lord! I'll fix this right away. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, it is nothing, p-please go on."
A scream from the hallway stopped all conversation and the two fiends ran out the door, the beast stopping just outside of it before turning back to the elf.
"It seems you get to rest for a moment, but don't worry, I'll be back." Celtic curled up into himself as he heard the door shut and the sound of a lock.
'Now what do I do? I'm too weak to beat him and he knows it.' He looked around the room hoping some solution would present itself, but so far no ideas had hit him.
"Isn't there any hope for me?" He curled up tighter and would have stayed that way if it hadn't been for the mirror, or rather the flash of red in the mirror.
He got up off the bed and walked over to the wall where a full-length mirror stood. He ignored the grotesque carvings featured around the mirror and instead stared at his reflection staring into his own red eyes. He wasn't pleased with what he saw.
While traveling with Silver he had let his hair grow long and now it was tangled and dirty, a hopeless mess. That, combined with his now pale skin and scared expression, made him look helpless and weak and while he was weaker in attack power.
"I'm not weaker in heart!" He looked around the room again and this time smiled. What was the one way a weaker monster could defeat a stronger one? A trap. And since the Beast had considered him helpless he had left behind everything the Elf would need and more. But he started with the knives on display. Testing one he realized they were dull and only for show.
"Or else to give his victims a false sense of hope." He shook his head at that thought, but the knives still had a very sharp point and that's all he needed. Gathering all the knives he placed them by the bed and pulled off the covers. He then grabbed one of the knives and started cutting away at the mattress beneath them, removing most of the stuffing and hiding it under the bed.
"Now for the final part." He carefully placed all the knives inside of the now hollow bed, point up, packing them with the stuffing he left and then lightly placing the stuffing on top and remaking the bed. Celtic smiled at the seemingly innocent looking bed. He had made sure that it was safe at the head of the bed to sit and not fall through. So far everything was going as planned, but he knew he wouldn't have long until 'he' came back.
Walking over to the displays he tossed them all out the small window, making it look as if he discovered that they couldn't be used in combat head on against the beast and had thrown a fit. They reminded Celtic of himself and he grinned.
Once everything was set up he walked back over to the bed and positioned himself at the head in the very center. He curled his knees up to his chest and rested his head against his crossed arms.
Now he waited.
This would either work and he would have a chance to free his friends, or it wouldn't and he would most likely not survive the punishment. But whatever happened, happened and he had done the best he could under the circumstances.
Loud footsteps in the hall told him the Beast of Talwar was headed back to his room and his new 'toy'. Celtic kept his head down, not wanting to give anything away. He heard the door open and then silence for a moment followed by a low laugh.
"I see you discovered my knives. Quite beautiful, but not very useful." It was at this point that the elf raised his head slightly so he could watch the Beast's approach. "Although it's a shame you made such a mess. Now they all have to be gathered again." He shook his head at Celtic as if scolding a small child and rested his hands on either side of the bed at the end, directly opposite to Celtic. "But that can be done later, for now there is us, to think about." He moved quickly towards Celtic, resting all his weight on the bed. Celtic saw the surprised look for just a moment and then he heard the scream of pain and winced at the sound.
It had worked! He looked into the hollowed bed and saw the Beast of Talwar impaled on his knives, but he was only injured and that Celtic didn't have long, but he had to say one last thing. He leaned close to the wounded fiend and whispered.
"Everything is powerful, if used right." He smiled and took off out of the room. There were no guards, thanks to the Beast's arrogance and Celtic was thankful for that, as he was still unarmed. He took the stairs at a run, trusting to his elfish balance to see him safely down. Once at the bottom he heard a familiar growl and saw running past him a blur of silver.
"Silver Fang!" The blur stopped and looked back, his eyes widening at the sight of the elf. He changed directions and bounded up to the elf who threw his arms around his neck.
"I'm glad you're alright."
"Same here, Elf. Although how did you get away? When that Imp and I heard the Beast of Talwar had taken a liking to you we were sure we would never get you back." Celtic smiled.
"I'll tell you later, but right now we have to get out of here." The wolf nodded his head.
"Agreed. The Imp is meeting me in the hall. Hop on and hang on tight. I can get us out of here faster." The elf did as he was told and climbed on and together they raced through the halls. Not many fiends were seen in the castle and Celtic realized they had all been scared of the Beast.
After many twists and turns they finally found Feral, but he was surrounded by hundreds of Kuriboh. Celtic glared at them. They had been the ones who started this whole mess. But they seemed to be helping this time.
"Silver? Are they.?"
"Yes. They're on our side now. The Beast was controlling them, but Feral managed to free them although I'm not sure how. That Imp is resourceful." Celtic smiled as they approached the Imp and the small fiends. Feral's face lit up when he saw Celtic.
"Pharaoh chose right to put you in Deck if you can escape 'his' grasp." Celtic just smiled wider and then looked down as a single Kuriboh approached them and hopped onto Silver's back.
"Kurr! Kurr!" Celtic looked down at it and then at Feral, hoping a Fiend would understand another Fiend. Feral nodded in understanding.
"This one will be our guide out of here. Wants to help make things right." Celtic looked back down at the little thing for a long moment and then finally nodded it's head.
"Okay. Get us out of here."
"KURRR!" It seemed to smile although he couldn't be sure and then in waved good-bye to the rest before bounding ahead of the three friends. They followed it out of the castle and into the forest, but they didn't stop there. They continued to follow it through the twisting maze of branches and fog and finally they could feel fresh air on their skin and fur and then there was light. Real, natural light and Celtic finally felt free.
In the castle, slowly lifting himself off the knives, the Beast of Talwar smiled. This had proved to be more interesting than he first thought it would be. The elf had bested him, wounded him, and had managed to escape.
For now.
It had caught his interest and he would make sure he got the elf back. No one got away from him forever.
"You will be mine, the hunt has only just begun."
He gasped and jumped up, trying to move away but the Fiend only smirked and quickly grabbed him around the waist, dragging the elf as close as possible. Celtic felt his blood run cold as he was pressed against the flesh of the Beast and felt two powerful arms holding his waist almost possessively. Nothing happened for a moment and then the hand continued the unwanted caress.
He tried to hold back his whimper, but he couldn't and he knew the other heard it as his smirk grew.
"Such a pretty little elf, aren't you." He leaned down close so that their faces were inch a part. "So pretty and sweet and all mine now." Celtic tried to keep his breathing even but he could smell the other's breath as it hit his face. He shivered again and started struggling; anything to put distance between them, but the Fiend wasn't having any of it. He pulled on the elf's blond hair and forced their lips together in a savage kiss. Celtic's hands reached up and tried again to fight, but he was overpowered. All he could do was wince at the feeling of those teeth on his lips and that tongue down his throat.
'Dark, please! Help me!' But he knew no one could come and save him and as one clawed hand moved down his chest he felt tears sting at his eyes.
"My Lord! The Imp has escaped!" With a growl Celtic was released from the kiss, but the arms still held him tight. He lay there panting and turned his head to the door to see who his unexpected savior was.
The Witty Phantom stood there, looking as if he wanted the castle to reach up and swallow him whole. But then again, with the Beast of Talwar staring at him like he was, Celtic didn't blame the weaker fiend.
"You disturbed me for that?" He could see the Phantom flinch and almost felt sorry for him, but not quite. "It seems that lately you can't do anything right, which would make you fairly useless around here, wouldn't you say."
"M-my Lord! I'll fix this right away. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, it is nothing, p-please go on."
A scream from the hallway stopped all conversation and the two fiends ran out the door, the beast stopping just outside of it before turning back to the elf.
"It seems you get to rest for a moment, but don't worry, I'll be back." Celtic curled up into himself as he heard the door shut and the sound of a lock.
'Now what do I do? I'm too weak to beat him and he knows it.' He looked around the room hoping some solution would present itself, but so far no ideas had hit him.
"Isn't there any hope for me?" He curled up tighter and would have stayed that way if it hadn't been for the mirror, or rather the flash of red in the mirror.
He got up off the bed and walked over to the wall where a full-length mirror stood. He ignored the grotesque carvings featured around the mirror and instead stared at his reflection staring into his own red eyes. He wasn't pleased with what he saw.
While traveling with Silver he had let his hair grow long and now it was tangled and dirty, a hopeless mess. That, combined with his now pale skin and scared expression, made him look helpless and weak and while he was weaker in attack power.
"I'm not weaker in heart!" He looked around the room again and this time smiled. What was the one way a weaker monster could defeat a stronger one? A trap. And since the Beast had considered him helpless he had left behind everything the Elf would need and more. But he started with the knives on display. Testing one he realized they were dull and only for show.
"Or else to give his victims a false sense of hope." He shook his head at that thought, but the knives still had a very sharp point and that's all he needed. Gathering all the knives he placed them by the bed and pulled off the covers. He then grabbed one of the knives and started cutting away at the mattress beneath them, removing most of the stuffing and hiding it under the bed.
"Now for the final part." He carefully placed all the knives inside of the now hollow bed, point up, packing them with the stuffing he left and then lightly placing the stuffing on top and remaking the bed. Celtic smiled at the seemingly innocent looking bed. He had made sure that it was safe at the head of the bed to sit and not fall through. So far everything was going as planned, but he knew he wouldn't have long until 'he' came back.
Walking over to the displays he tossed them all out the small window, making it look as if he discovered that they couldn't be used in combat head on against the beast and had thrown a fit. They reminded Celtic of himself and he grinned.
Once everything was set up he walked back over to the bed and positioned himself at the head in the very center. He curled his knees up to his chest and rested his head against his crossed arms.
Now he waited.
This would either work and he would have a chance to free his friends, or it wouldn't and he would most likely not survive the punishment. But whatever happened, happened and he had done the best he could under the circumstances.
Loud footsteps in the hall told him the Beast of Talwar was headed back to his room and his new 'toy'. Celtic kept his head down, not wanting to give anything away. He heard the door open and then silence for a moment followed by a low laugh.
"I see you discovered my knives. Quite beautiful, but not very useful." It was at this point that the elf raised his head slightly so he could watch the Beast's approach. "Although it's a shame you made such a mess. Now they all have to be gathered again." He shook his head at Celtic as if scolding a small child and rested his hands on either side of the bed at the end, directly opposite to Celtic. "But that can be done later, for now there is us, to think about." He moved quickly towards Celtic, resting all his weight on the bed. Celtic saw the surprised look for just a moment and then he heard the scream of pain and winced at the sound.
It had worked! He looked into the hollowed bed and saw the Beast of Talwar impaled on his knives, but he was only injured and that Celtic didn't have long, but he had to say one last thing. He leaned close to the wounded fiend and whispered.
"Everything is powerful, if used right." He smiled and took off out of the room. There were no guards, thanks to the Beast's arrogance and Celtic was thankful for that, as he was still unarmed. He took the stairs at a run, trusting to his elfish balance to see him safely down. Once at the bottom he heard a familiar growl and saw running past him a blur of silver.
"Silver Fang!" The blur stopped and looked back, his eyes widening at the sight of the elf. He changed directions and bounded up to the elf who threw his arms around his neck.
"I'm glad you're alright."
"Same here, Elf. Although how did you get away? When that Imp and I heard the Beast of Talwar had taken a liking to you we were sure we would never get you back." Celtic smiled.
"I'll tell you later, but right now we have to get out of here." The wolf nodded his head.
"Agreed. The Imp is meeting me in the hall. Hop on and hang on tight. I can get us out of here faster." The elf did as he was told and climbed on and together they raced through the halls. Not many fiends were seen in the castle and Celtic realized they had all been scared of the Beast.
After many twists and turns they finally found Feral, but he was surrounded by hundreds of Kuriboh. Celtic glared at them. They had been the ones who started this whole mess. But they seemed to be helping this time.
"Silver? Are they.?"
"Yes. They're on our side now. The Beast was controlling them, but Feral managed to free them although I'm not sure how. That Imp is resourceful." Celtic smiled as they approached the Imp and the small fiends. Feral's face lit up when he saw Celtic.
"Pharaoh chose right to put you in Deck if you can escape 'his' grasp." Celtic just smiled wider and then looked down as a single Kuriboh approached them and hopped onto Silver's back.
"Kurr! Kurr!" Celtic looked down at it and then at Feral, hoping a Fiend would understand another Fiend. Feral nodded in understanding.
"This one will be our guide out of here. Wants to help make things right." Celtic looked back down at the little thing for a long moment and then finally nodded it's head.
"Okay. Get us out of here."
"KURRR!" It seemed to smile although he couldn't be sure and then in waved good-bye to the rest before bounding ahead of the three friends. They followed it out of the castle and into the forest, but they didn't stop there. They continued to follow it through the twisting maze of branches and fog and finally they could feel fresh air on their skin and fur and then there was light. Real, natural light and Celtic finally felt free.
In the castle, slowly lifting himself off the knives, the Beast of Talwar smiled. This had proved to be more interesting than he first thought it would be. The elf had bested him, wounded him, and had managed to escape.
For now.
It had caught his interest and he would make sure he got the elf back. No one got away from him forever.
"You will be mine, the hunt has only just begun."