Mirror of Remorse
By J. CA
AVENGER
Queen Etroma of the Kaldorei was the first to propose the idea of class. She was queen before the time of Azshara--in fact, pushed over by Azshara.
Many tried to compare Azshara's bloody reign with Etroma's tyranny, but most agreed that Etroma's was far worse. She trusted no one except for a band of seven warlords and ladies whom she appointed as guards to protect her from harm. She had no family--even the man whom she had a child with was only a means to produce an heir. It was rumoured that she killed the man when she conceived.
Etroma gave her seven guards power--power to land, power to military, and power to execute anyone who opposed them. Each was given adorned castles and the best of everything to distinguish themselves from the commoners.
One could never have enough power. Soon, she felt threatened and insecure. While her seven warlords and ladies kept on killing whoever they wanted to, she intended to kill all of them, save one.
When she gave birth to a daughter, she was worried that someone might bring harm upon the little girl. She almost immediately gave her daughter to Lady Pakiira, her most trusted guard who had no big ambition but to serve her queen, and ordered her to leave the area of the royal city. She thought no one would ever find out that she had a daughter, but she was wrong.
Somehow, one of her warlords named Ferdyei imprisoned her in her own castle and ordered a gang of thieves to capture of the Princess Aszune. For eleven years already, the queen was under his control. The tyranny stopped and transform.
^*^
And this day, Aszune was going to see that very man who changed her life for the first time. Riding on the back of a Nightsaber Panther, she and the thieves rode through the woods from the south to the eastern part of the Moon Glade where Ferdyei lived.
Aszune lingered behind Dakima, the leader of the thieves, and complained, "Dakima, I'm tired."
"Just half a day more, dear Aszune," He replied with a smirk. She still hated him. It was him who beheaded Pakiira--even though Aszune was angry at her for not telling her the whole truth, she still loved her aunt and guardian. It was by his hands that she was torn away from her home that she was accustomed to.
But she made it all right for seventeen years with the thieves. She was not treated badly, though she missed having a motherly figure. Now, she was no longer a child, but a fair young woman--still much too young as an Elf.
Beads of sweat ran down her soft pink skin. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. Her panther also grumbled something under its breath. The weather was hot and humid, and they were tired.
"Why don't we just stop over there at the river for a drink?" Aszune asked, pointing at the water running down from high relief.
Dakima gave in. He asked Aszune to stop while he and a few of his men went to inspect the area. It was quiet--almost too quiet, except for the music of eddies running downstream. Water disappeared at the edge of a river in a canyon below. Grass and trees grew in the lush basin. He could see no danger, so he signalled his men to proceed.
Aszune took a drink from the river. The water was cool and nice. Tilting her head, she looked back at the leader who was standing ten paces behind her, still scanning the area like a suspicious hound.
"Dakima, really," Aszune interrupted, "Nobody knows who I am. They won't find us."
"Always be on your guard," Dakima replied, teasing her a bit, "And make sure you don't go about telling other people you are princess."
Aszune flushed. She remembered the time when she was cornered by Dakima and his men. She stood with her hands on her hips and declared, 'You cannot hurt me. I am the princess', and ended up trapped in a sack. She was lucky Dakima and Ferdyei wanted her alive, or else she might have been killed already.
They heard a flute in a distance. Faint, sad music, and they were all drawn to it. Aszune yawned. She tried to suppress drowsiness, but she could not. She struggled to stay awake to listen to more of that intoxicating music, but it stopped suddenly--or was it that she fell sleep?
"Aszune..."
"Aszune..."
"The warning...has been given..."
When she opened her eyes again, she gasped in horror. The thieves around her were all lying on the floor. She examined them. Each had a deep gash across their chests, caused by a sharp object. Why? How? Why was she still alive?
She turned over one of the bloodied figures--Dakima! He moaned in pain. At least he was still alive but there was, also, a deep wound in position of his heart. His head flopped lifelessly to a side.
What happened?
"Please wake up!" She sobbed, "Please don't leave me behind..."
She was alone.
A figure approached. She turned her head to find a man behind a wooden mask. She could hear her own voice trembling, "Who are you?"
He did not answer.
"Wha-?" Her question was cut short when he revealed a flute--was he the flutist? No. Behind him, there sprawled the body of a woman all clad in black, her long blue hair flowing on the ground--a total stranger. Her expression was peaceful, but her death was quite gruesome. Two ugly slashes on her stomach, and one stab through her heart.
She was the true flutist, but she was killed.
In the other hand, the man projected a bloody blade. Aszune backed down in horror and almost tripped over one of the bodies of the thieves. Her steed was gone, and there was no other way to escape but to run. Ran and ran blindly deep into the woods, towards the sun that was rising. She had to get away.
She seemed to have lost the man, but she worried about Dakima and the flutist. Her heart wanted to go back, but she knew she must not. She could not save them both and herself. She must go on.
Who was that man? How could he have killed them all? Was there a fight, or were they all hypnotized like Aszune herself?
A shadow right in front of her. Someone had to be up front. She almost screamed when she figured out that it was the masked man. He was coming for her with his blade and flute in hand. She needed to find a weapon and fast, but all she could see were twigs lying scattered on the floor. There was not even a baton she could use to fend for herself.
'Mirror...'
A voice whispered in her head, neither male nor female. Mirror? Why? She looked around but saw nobody she could ask. The man was closing in on her. She needed to escape.
She ran back in the direction from where she came and almost slipped when she stepped into a puddle of water accidentally--it could have rained earlier in this part of the forest, or it could just be fate. She stood between the puddle and the masked man who approached her with malice. What was a puddle of water good for now?
But she noticed in the water that the sun was moving towards the west. Soon, it would move over the puddle.
She noticed that she was standing in the light whereas the man stood in the shadows--did it matter? She attempted to move away, but the man would not let her go. They circled around the puddle once. Nothing happened.
She ran.
Then, she heard a cry of pain. Sunlight reflected on the surface of the water onto the masked man as steam escaped from his body. He dropped his blade and flute and melted into ashes.
Unable to believe what she saw, Aszune stood there in hesitation for a few seconds. Then, she picked up the blade and the flute and attempted to find her way back to Dakima and the others in hopes to find someone who was still alive.
But when she got there, the woman in black vanished, together with Dakima. The thieves were still lying on the floor, dead as can be.
^*^
Ferdyei narrowed his eyes on Etroma who kept on staring out the window of her high castle, refusing to look at him.
"Ah ha," He said, grabbing her chin and forced her to gaze into his eyes, "Your daughter is strong, Etroma the Tyrant. She had gotten away this time."
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Etroma snapped angrily, breaking away from his grip. She would have slapped him if it was not for that she could not escape from his control for the past seventeen years.
He had made himself clear that he would make her pay for the bloodshed that she had caused by taking away her only daughter and heir. "For every one of the guards you killed," He had told her before, "A mirror image of his dark sprit will arise and take revenge upon your daughter. They will find her and crush her, and they cannot be destroyed."
Etroma played indifferent--she even denied the fact that she had a daughter. But Ferdyei was not fooled. He knew exactly where he held her daughter captive, and soon, he would get to the princess.
Questions/comments, pls email Jen H. Concept at jenconcept@yahoo.ca or ardentsq@hotmail.com.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Oh oh things are starting to come back into my very mushed-up mind. If you look at the x-ray of my brain, you can almost see it drying up. Blame it on the papers and stuff, but it's all starting to kick in after I read a few really good books. Sorry for that awful third chapter. It doesn't say a thing. I just had to find a way to make all my core characters meet up.
Dope, me! Forgot to mention that my story will go Ardomael/ Aszune/ Ardomael/ Aszune. According to the numbers 1,2 ,3,.in the chapter boxes on your top and bottom right hand corners, odds are for Aszune, evens are for Ardomael. So you get it. I'm trying to tell two stories that happened at different times and connect them. See if this works?!
Last thing, I apologize to J.R.R Tolkein for "borrowing" (and not returning) his idea of the Ringwraiths--read Lord of the Rings if you have not, and you'll understand what I'm talking about.
AVENGER
Queen Etroma of the Kaldorei was the first to propose the idea of class. She was queen before the time of Azshara--in fact, pushed over by Azshara.
Many tried to compare Azshara's bloody reign with Etroma's tyranny, but most agreed that Etroma's was far worse. She trusted no one except for a band of seven warlords and ladies whom she appointed as guards to protect her from harm. She had no family--even the man whom she had a child with was only a means to produce an heir. It was rumoured that she killed the man when she conceived.
Etroma gave her seven guards power--power to land, power to military, and power to execute anyone who opposed them. Each was given adorned castles and the best of everything to distinguish themselves from the commoners.
One could never have enough power. Soon, she felt threatened and insecure. While her seven warlords and ladies kept on killing whoever they wanted to, she intended to kill all of them, save one.
When she gave birth to a daughter, she was worried that someone might bring harm upon the little girl. She almost immediately gave her daughter to Lady Pakiira, her most trusted guard who had no big ambition but to serve her queen, and ordered her to leave the area of the royal city. She thought no one would ever find out that she had a daughter, but she was wrong.
Somehow, one of her warlords named Ferdyei imprisoned her in her own castle and ordered a gang of thieves to capture of the Princess Aszune. For eleven years already, the queen was under his control. The tyranny stopped and transform.
^*^
And this day, Aszune was going to see that very man who changed her life for the first time. Riding on the back of a Nightsaber Panther, she and the thieves rode through the woods from the south to the eastern part of the Moon Glade where Ferdyei lived.
Aszune lingered behind Dakima, the leader of the thieves, and complained, "Dakima, I'm tired."
"Just half a day more, dear Aszune," He replied with a smirk. She still hated him. It was him who beheaded Pakiira--even though Aszune was angry at her for not telling her the whole truth, she still loved her aunt and guardian. It was by his hands that she was torn away from her home that she was accustomed to.
But she made it all right for seventeen years with the thieves. She was not treated badly, though she missed having a motherly figure. Now, she was no longer a child, but a fair young woman--still much too young as an Elf.
Beads of sweat ran down her soft pink skin. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. Her panther also grumbled something under its breath. The weather was hot and humid, and they were tired.
"Why don't we just stop over there at the river for a drink?" Aszune asked, pointing at the water running down from high relief.
Dakima gave in. He asked Aszune to stop while he and a few of his men went to inspect the area. It was quiet--almost too quiet, except for the music of eddies running downstream. Water disappeared at the edge of a river in a canyon below. Grass and trees grew in the lush basin. He could see no danger, so he signalled his men to proceed.
Aszune took a drink from the river. The water was cool and nice. Tilting her head, she looked back at the leader who was standing ten paces behind her, still scanning the area like a suspicious hound.
"Dakima, really," Aszune interrupted, "Nobody knows who I am. They won't find us."
"Always be on your guard," Dakima replied, teasing her a bit, "And make sure you don't go about telling other people you are princess."
Aszune flushed. She remembered the time when she was cornered by Dakima and his men. She stood with her hands on her hips and declared, 'You cannot hurt me. I am the princess', and ended up trapped in a sack. She was lucky Dakima and Ferdyei wanted her alive, or else she might have been killed already.
They heard a flute in a distance. Faint, sad music, and they were all drawn to it. Aszune yawned. She tried to suppress drowsiness, but she could not. She struggled to stay awake to listen to more of that intoxicating music, but it stopped suddenly--or was it that she fell sleep?
"Aszune..."
"Aszune..."
"The warning...has been given..."
When she opened her eyes again, she gasped in horror. The thieves around her were all lying on the floor. She examined them. Each had a deep gash across their chests, caused by a sharp object. Why? How? Why was she still alive?
She turned over one of the bloodied figures--Dakima! He moaned in pain. At least he was still alive but there was, also, a deep wound in position of his heart. His head flopped lifelessly to a side.
What happened?
"Please wake up!" She sobbed, "Please don't leave me behind..."
She was alone.
A figure approached. She turned her head to find a man behind a wooden mask. She could hear her own voice trembling, "Who are you?"
He did not answer.
"Wha-?" Her question was cut short when he revealed a flute--was he the flutist? No. Behind him, there sprawled the body of a woman all clad in black, her long blue hair flowing on the ground--a total stranger. Her expression was peaceful, but her death was quite gruesome. Two ugly slashes on her stomach, and one stab through her heart.
She was the true flutist, but she was killed.
In the other hand, the man projected a bloody blade. Aszune backed down in horror and almost tripped over one of the bodies of the thieves. Her steed was gone, and there was no other way to escape but to run. Ran and ran blindly deep into the woods, towards the sun that was rising. She had to get away.
She seemed to have lost the man, but she worried about Dakima and the flutist. Her heart wanted to go back, but she knew she must not. She could not save them both and herself. She must go on.
Who was that man? How could he have killed them all? Was there a fight, or were they all hypnotized like Aszune herself?
A shadow right in front of her. Someone had to be up front. She almost screamed when she figured out that it was the masked man. He was coming for her with his blade and flute in hand. She needed to find a weapon and fast, but all she could see were twigs lying scattered on the floor. There was not even a baton she could use to fend for herself.
'Mirror...'
A voice whispered in her head, neither male nor female. Mirror? Why? She looked around but saw nobody she could ask. The man was closing in on her. She needed to escape.
She ran back in the direction from where she came and almost slipped when she stepped into a puddle of water accidentally--it could have rained earlier in this part of the forest, or it could just be fate. She stood between the puddle and the masked man who approached her with malice. What was a puddle of water good for now?
But she noticed in the water that the sun was moving towards the west. Soon, it would move over the puddle.
She noticed that she was standing in the light whereas the man stood in the shadows--did it matter? She attempted to move away, but the man would not let her go. They circled around the puddle once. Nothing happened.
She ran.
Then, she heard a cry of pain. Sunlight reflected on the surface of the water onto the masked man as steam escaped from his body. He dropped his blade and flute and melted into ashes.
Unable to believe what she saw, Aszune stood there in hesitation for a few seconds. Then, she picked up the blade and the flute and attempted to find her way back to Dakima and the others in hopes to find someone who was still alive.
But when she got there, the woman in black vanished, together with Dakima. The thieves were still lying on the floor, dead as can be.
^*^
Ferdyei narrowed his eyes on Etroma who kept on staring out the window of her high castle, refusing to look at him.
"Ah ha," He said, grabbing her chin and forced her to gaze into his eyes, "Your daughter is strong, Etroma the Tyrant. She had gotten away this time."
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Etroma snapped angrily, breaking away from his grip. She would have slapped him if it was not for that she could not escape from his control for the past seventeen years.
He had made himself clear that he would make her pay for the bloodshed that she had caused by taking away her only daughter and heir. "For every one of the guards you killed," He had told her before, "A mirror image of his dark sprit will arise and take revenge upon your daughter. They will find her and crush her, and they cannot be destroyed."
Etroma played indifferent--she even denied the fact that she had a daughter. But Ferdyei was not fooled. He knew exactly where he held her daughter captive, and soon, he would get to the princess.
Questions/comments, pls email Jen H. Concept at jenconcept@yahoo.ca or ardentsq@hotmail.com.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Oh oh things are starting to come back into my very mushed-up mind. If you look at the x-ray of my brain, you can almost see it drying up. Blame it on the papers and stuff, but it's all starting to kick in after I read a few really good books. Sorry for that awful third chapter. It doesn't say a thing. I just had to find a way to make all my core characters meet up.
Dope, me! Forgot to mention that my story will go Ardomael/ Aszune/ Ardomael/ Aszune. According to the numbers 1,2 ,3,.in the chapter boxes on your top and bottom right hand corners, odds are for Aszune, evens are for Ardomael. So you get it. I'm trying to tell two stories that happened at different times and connect them. See if this works?!
Last thing, I apologize to J.R.R Tolkein for "borrowing" (and not returning) his idea of the Ringwraiths--read Lord of the Rings if you have not, and you'll understand what I'm talking about.