Part 1: The War
Chapter 5
Taste of Blood
"Wars take many lives away. Humans never forget the grief, but they also never stop the fighting. Streams of blood and tears are only an ornament for their destructive ritual." ~Duo Maxwell, Gundam Wing
"You're welcome to believe that the world is a nice, logical, rational, safe place... You'll be wrong, but that hasn't stopped anyone else who thinks the same way." ~Dierdre, Otherworld by Mercades Lackey and Holly Lisle
"Catch me, Daddy!" Amelia called. She was standing high up in a tree in the gardens outside the palace. She had a blanket tied around her like a cape, and held a fake sword in one hand. Philionel looked up, and held his arms out. Laughing, Amelia jumped down from the tree into her father's arms. She clambered up on his shoulders, and insisted he give her a ride.
Laughing right along with his youngest daughter, Philionel and Amelia began to play "Heroes of Justice" in which Amelia was the hero saving the world from evil, and Phil was her trusty sidekick. Lydia, who was sitting on a bench near some roses, watched them and smiled at their antics. When roles switched, and Phil was the bad guy, Lydia couldn't keep it in any longer. The sight of tiny little six-year-old Amelia defeating Philionel brought her to laughter.
Gracia, Amelia's older sister, was sitting on the large swing which hung from the tree Amelia had jumped from. She smiled and laughed occasionally, but didn't join in the fun. At the age of fifteen, she felt herself too old to be playing with her dad and little sister anymore. But it was still fun to watch them. Like her mother, she was dressed in a light white dress with wide sleeves, and her hair was done up in an intricate array of ribbons and flowers.
It was Amelia who first saw it. She was running away from Phil, who was now her sidekick possessed by an evil sorcerer, when she saw someone jump down from the wall around the garden. "Daddy, it's a bad guy!" she cried out, pointing at where she'd saw the intruder. But when she looked again, he was gone. Philionel thought it was more of their game, and was suddenly unpossessed, her trusty sidekick once more, and said, "We should defeat the evil bad guy with the power of justice!"
At once, Amelia forgot about the stranger, and was involved once again in their game. The tree was an evil tree that took away all the happiness in the town! It had to be destroyed! Amelia took her wooden sword and began hacking at the large tree, not making so much as a dent in it.
Gracia laughed at her little sister. Amelia was putting so much effort into that, determined to cut down the tree, and all she had was a fake wooden sword. Out of the corner of her eye, Gracia thought she saw something move. She turned quickly, the smile gone from her face. There wasn't anything there. Had she imagined it? She frowned, and turned her head, but kept glancing back over where she thought she saw something.
Suddenly, Gracia gasped, and stood up. There was a stranger dressed in black standing behind Lydia! "Mother!! Looks out!" she shouted. She started to run over to her mother as fast as she could.
Confused, Lydia looked over her shoulder. She screamed, and fell backwards off the bench when she saw the intruder behind her. He held a short sword in his hands, and his hood covered most of his face from view. But Lydia could see his bright orange eyes glaring at her from under his hood. She could see the joy in his face as he climbed over the bench, and held the sword up.
Philionel looked over when Lydia screamed. He nearly dropped Amelia in horror. A tall man, cloaked in black, was towering over his wife, holding a sword, ready to attack. Gracia was running over there as fast as she could, but she wouldn't get there in time. Phil fel his stomach turn to ice, and he could only stand there, frozen, as he watched the sword swing down.
Lydia screamed again, in pain. The pure white of her dress was quickly stained crimson with her own blood. In Phil's arms, Amelia cried and yelled and struggled to get out of his vice-like grip. Gracia reached the attacker, and tackled him to the ground, tears streaming down her anguished face.
Suddenly, something inside Phil jolted him out of his frozen shock. Setting Amelia down, he ran over to where his oldest daughter was grappling with the attacker. She had one hand holding the wrist with his sword in it, and was struggling to keep it away from herself.
When Amelia was set down, she tore off and ran over to her mother. She shook Lydia weakly, crying for her to wake up. "Mommy! Mommy, please wake up! Mommy!!" Amelia's face was red and streaked with tears. She sat there in shock when her mother didn't move.
Gracia gritted her teeth, and tried to push back the attacker's hand. The sword was getting too close to her for comfort. Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind, and pulled off of the attacker. She kicked and screamed. "Let me go!! I'll kill him!! I'll kill him just like she killed her!" she shrieked, struggling to get out of her father's hold.
Philionel set Gracia down beside him, and reached for the attacker. The stranger's hand shot out, lightning quick, and the blade of his sword slashed Phil across the arm. He staggered, and grabbed at his arm in pain. Gracia lashed out from beside him, attacking the intruder again. "GRACIA!" he yelled, trying to get her to stop. But she kept at it furiously. Philionel could only watch once again as the sword tore across one he loved. "GRACIA!!!"
Amelia turned around just in time to see her sister attacked. "Gracie!!" she screamed, fresh tears on her face. "GRACIE!!" Her vision blurred from her tears as she ran across the lawn towards where her older sister stood.
Gracia held her side, unaware that her dress and hand were covered in her own blood. Her hair was a tangled mess now, and her face was red and dirty. The only thought that ran through her mind was that man had to die. He had to die for killing her mother. When she heard Amelia calling her name, she looked over, and saw the little girl running towards her. "Amelia!" she yelled. "Stay back!" But Amelia didn't listen.
The attacked looked over his shoulder, and spotted the little girl running towards him. He grinned from under his dark cowl. He smacked Gracia across the face, knocking her to the ground, and turned to face Amelia. He held his sword tightly in anticipation as the little girl got closer and closer to him. When she was in range of his sword, he attacked.
For the fourth time that day, his blade tasted blood.
Authoress Note
PLEASE!!!! FORGIVE ME!!!!! I haven't updated in FOREVER!!! If you kept up to date with stuff on my bio, I had major computer problems, I started school again, along with Seminary, then when we got my computer working again, the network was screwy... *siiigh* So I'm really really really sorry!! And then I come and update and it's uber-short chapter!!! I feel so bad now... *sniffle* Just keep on keeping on, okay? Don't stop reviewing or reading please? I like having people like me!! In my cartooning class, everyone knows me and talks to me and stuff! I don't know ANYBODY'S names, but it's nice having people that like you. It's sort of the same thing with ff.net. I may not know who you are, but I appreciate having you like me anyways ^___^.
Anyways... It's a common theory among Slayers fans that Amelia's mother was attacked by a man with a sword, and that's why she doesn't use a sword. I'm a supporter of that idea, and decided to use it in the fic. It's also said that the man who killed their mother got away without being punished, which is one of the reasons Amelia's so heavy on justice. I think the website Slayers Kawaii (www.slayerskawaii.tk) has a lot on the Naga/Amelia sister thing, too. They have lots of evidence suggesting that they really are sisters.
I guess this chapter is really the start of all the darkness and stuff. Until now, nothing really dark has been going on. But now, the royal family of Seyruun has been attacked, people have died... Darkness starts here. Sort of. I guess.