Disclaimer: Naturally, being that I'm a sixteen year old teenager, I don't
own Escaflowne, or any of the characters from that show, that are present
in this story.
Note: There are two footnote type things in this chapter. When you see the asterisks, look down for vaguely amusing comments!!! Yay! Oh, and reviews are good and I apologize for the long wait, what can I say, I'm a lazy b***h.
The Four Points Part 5
It was what would have been Friday night if this story took place on Earth, so naturally all the taverns were full. The one in question, called the Tumbler, was beginning to get rowdy. As a man was flung against the table to her left, spilling beer all over the floor she drummed her fingers on the table and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She was beginning to think that there was a double meaning behind the Tumbler. The smell of watered down beer and fish oil lamps hung like a cloak over the room.
"Not really your kind of place is it?" The voice seemed to come out of nowhere taking her completely by surprise. However she was carefully trained never to let her emotions show unless they were beneficial, such as anger, which inspired fear and obedience. She looked to her right and found another woman leaning against the wall wrapped in a dark cloak that covered her features from view.
"What have you to report to me tonight? Sit and tell me," the woman spoke in a polite enough voice but with her it was never a good sign. It meant her mind was alert and her temper aroused. The other woman sat without fear, and ordered a drink from a passing waiter.
"The children trust me now. I have them all in the palm of my hand. When will you need them?" She shifted, lounging comfortably in her seat.
"Just a few more thing s need to be attended to and then I will need them. Has anything been going wrong with any of them?" The first woman put no particular emphasis on the question, but it made the other uneasy.
"No. Why do you ask?"
"I ask because I know that you are lying to me. Do you think that I don't know when things have been going wrong?" The other woman leaned forward and grabbed the other woman's hand imposingly.
"They are only dreams. I will have Kole under control in days," the other woman said her eyes growing hard and cold.
"They are dreams of home. Of his sister, specifically. I know about the special bond that exists between twins even if you do not. I want you to keep him from dreaming again," the first woman spoke in a commanding tone now, challenging the other woman to disobey.
"How do you propose that I do that, Your Majesty?" The second woman looked her in the eye, a look of pure hatred.
With a movement as quick as lightning a knife whizzed through the air and slammed into the back of the second woman's chair, pinning her hood to the back of the chair. Her face was now revealed to the world, scarred from numerous burns covering the entire right side of her face and neck.
"Never call me by my title here. And I'm sure you'll figure something out, Rena. You'd better." With that the woman stood and sauntered out of the tavern, leaving Rena pinned to the chair by her hood.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The wagon train moved a long the muddy dirt road, spraying the horses traveling beside the wagons with muddy water. The sky was overcast but shed no rain as yet. The water dropping from the trees all around them was a good enough substitute.
Jamaea thought irately as what seemed like a small flood dripped from the hood of her cloak and onto the neck of her horse. Her hands were stiff, nearly frozen onto the reins. Though it hurt she flexed her fingers and ran her hand along her horse's smooth neck.
Jabya was the clan leader. He had only been his position for five years and Jamaea had been there the whole time. He had always strictly obeyed the tradition of hitching down (staying camped) during bad weather. A large raindrop plopped onto the top of her cloak and soaked through to her scalp.
She kicked her horse into a trot heading toward Jabya's wagon, which was at the head of the train. She was jolted sharply as her horse's foot plunged into a puddle, splashing her leg with water. She growled deep in her throat and tightened her grip on the reins.
As she approached his wagon she slowed her horse and called his name.
"Jabya! Jabya-" She broke off as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked behind her to find the very person that she wanted to see.
"Jabya this is ridiculous! It's wet, it's cold, and I can just feel a cold coming on. Why in the name of -" Jamaea was interrupted again as Jabya placed a finger on her lips. She backed up her horse and both his finger and he sighed.
"Listen, I know what I'm doing and maybe a little misery will take the edge off your tongue Jamaea," he elbowed her playfully and smiled.
"If you think a little flirtation is going to get me off your back, Jabya you got another thing coming!" Her tone was rough but inside she was beaming. She could feel the color seeping into her cheeks, and was glad of the cover of her cloak. "If you're going to herd us along like a bunch of cattle and force us to endure the water and the mud and the sticking wheels you should at least give us a legitimate reason!"
"I do. All I can ask is that you trust me. I would also like to refrain from inciting a rebellion against me." He smiled again and pushed his horse ahead. Jamaea grumbled to herself as she watched him ride ahead taking his position at the head of the train.
"Jamaea! Hey Jamaea get over here! The wheel's stuck!"
She sighed deeply. I
Rena sat at her desk drumming her fingers angrily, reflecting on her week. Frankly, it had sucked big time. They still hadn't gotten hold of the last child and Kole's dreams had become a real problem. He had woken up every night this week, crying and telling of his mother and how he had seen her crying, his aunt at her side trying to comfort her.
The mention of the two of them was not pleasant. She brushed the side of her face and her hands balled into fists. The memory seemed to come alive in her mind of its own accord.
"Nooo!! Die traitors!" Chaos erupted in one section of the audience to the left of the stage. Two figures blurred onto the platform, motions so perfectly attuned that they were barely distinguishable from each other. One gold and one silver.
"Galne lookout!" Rena shouted a warning but too late. The two figures fell on him, slashing his throat before he could even turn around to see what the danger was. Galne fell, choking and gasping out his last breaths. (I'm sure he was getting a strong feeling of deja vu).
"Galne!" Rena screamed in rage and leaped at the two figures with no weapons but her bare hands.
Naria and Eriya swiped her out of the air with two powerful arm movements made as one. She landed up against the side of the machine.
Suddenly things began to whir and move as the machine was activated. Altasni thought in silent horror, frozen in place by fear and twisted fascination.
An enormous but highly centralized explosion split the air, obliterating Galne's shriveled remains and the righteous leopard twins.
* * * * * * * * Her fingernails dug into her palm until they drew blood and she unclenched her hand. Those two catgirls. She ran a hand over her scar again* and smiled wickedly**. She could find comfort in the fact that she would have a small measure of revenge on their son. I will definitely enjoy bleeding that little pr**k dry.
She was sorry about the other children but there wasn't a thing she could do to help them. The Queen said they were to be sacrificed through bleeding. (by that I mean they will cut the children and let the blood run until they bleed to death. Nice people huh?) So Rena would bleed them. After all she did owe that bitch just a little. She had taken her out of the slums (remember the epilogue?) and she was being paid no small sum for this job too.
Despite all that she had a vaguely bad feeling about this, and a people who were once capable of predicting the future should always trust their instincts.
~end of chapter~
*reminding you of anyone? ** chiku chiku chiku etc
Note: There are two footnote type things in this chapter. When you see the asterisks, look down for vaguely amusing comments!!! Yay! Oh, and reviews are good and I apologize for the long wait, what can I say, I'm a lazy b***h.
The Four Points Part 5
It was what would have been Friday night if this story took place on Earth, so naturally all the taverns were full. The one in question, called the Tumbler, was beginning to get rowdy. As a man was flung against the table to her left, spilling beer all over the floor she drummed her fingers on the table and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She was beginning to think that there was a double meaning behind the Tumbler. The smell of watered down beer and fish oil lamps hung like a cloak over the room.
"Not really your kind of place is it?" The voice seemed to come out of nowhere taking her completely by surprise. However she was carefully trained never to let her emotions show unless they were beneficial, such as anger, which inspired fear and obedience. She looked to her right and found another woman leaning against the wall wrapped in a dark cloak that covered her features from view.
"What have you to report to me tonight? Sit and tell me," the woman spoke in a polite enough voice but with her it was never a good sign. It meant her mind was alert and her temper aroused. The other woman sat without fear, and ordered a drink from a passing waiter.
"The children trust me now. I have them all in the palm of my hand. When will you need them?" She shifted, lounging comfortably in her seat.
"Just a few more thing s need to be attended to and then I will need them. Has anything been going wrong with any of them?" The first woman put no particular emphasis on the question, but it made the other uneasy.
"No. Why do you ask?"
"I ask because I know that you are lying to me. Do you think that I don't know when things have been going wrong?" The other woman leaned forward and grabbed the other woman's hand imposingly.
"They are only dreams. I will have Kole under control in days," the other woman said her eyes growing hard and cold.
"They are dreams of home. Of his sister, specifically. I know about the special bond that exists between twins even if you do not. I want you to keep him from dreaming again," the first woman spoke in a commanding tone now, challenging the other woman to disobey.
"How do you propose that I do that, Your Majesty?" The second woman looked her in the eye, a look of pure hatred.
With a movement as quick as lightning a knife whizzed through the air and slammed into the back of the second woman's chair, pinning her hood to the back of the chair. Her face was now revealed to the world, scarred from numerous burns covering the entire right side of her face and neck.
"Never call me by my title here. And I'm sure you'll figure something out, Rena. You'd better." With that the woman stood and sauntered out of the tavern, leaving Rena pinned to the chair by her hood.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The wagon train moved a long the muddy dirt road, spraying the horses traveling beside the wagons with muddy water. The sky was overcast but shed no rain as yet. The water dropping from the trees all around them was a good enough substitute.
Jamaea thought irately as what seemed like a small flood dripped from the hood of her cloak and onto the neck of her horse. Her hands were stiff, nearly frozen onto the reins. Though it hurt she flexed her fingers and ran her hand along her horse's smooth neck.
Jabya was the clan leader. He had only been his position for five years and Jamaea had been there the whole time. He had always strictly obeyed the tradition of hitching down (staying camped) during bad weather. A large raindrop plopped onto the top of her cloak and soaked through to her scalp.
She kicked her horse into a trot heading toward Jabya's wagon, which was at the head of the train. She was jolted sharply as her horse's foot plunged into a puddle, splashing her leg with water. She growled deep in her throat and tightened her grip on the reins.
As she approached his wagon she slowed her horse and called his name.
"Jabya! Jabya-" She broke off as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked behind her to find the very person that she wanted to see.
"Jabya this is ridiculous! It's wet, it's cold, and I can just feel a cold coming on. Why in the name of -" Jamaea was interrupted again as Jabya placed a finger on her lips. She backed up her horse and both his finger and he sighed.
"Listen, I know what I'm doing and maybe a little misery will take the edge off your tongue Jamaea," he elbowed her playfully and smiled.
"If you think a little flirtation is going to get me off your back, Jabya you got another thing coming!" Her tone was rough but inside she was beaming. She could feel the color seeping into her cheeks, and was glad of the cover of her cloak. "If you're going to herd us along like a bunch of cattle and force us to endure the water and the mud and the sticking wheels you should at least give us a legitimate reason!"
"I do. All I can ask is that you trust me. I would also like to refrain from inciting a rebellion against me." He smiled again and pushed his horse ahead. Jamaea grumbled to herself as she watched him ride ahead taking his position at the head of the train.
"Jamaea! Hey Jamaea get over here! The wheel's stuck!"
She sighed deeply. I
Rena sat at her desk drumming her fingers angrily, reflecting on her week. Frankly, it had sucked big time. They still hadn't gotten hold of the last child and Kole's dreams had become a real problem. He had woken up every night this week, crying and telling of his mother and how he had seen her crying, his aunt at her side trying to comfort her.
The mention of the two of them was not pleasant. She brushed the side of her face and her hands balled into fists. The memory seemed to come alive in her mind of its own accord.
"Nooo!! Die traitors!" Chaos erupted in one section of the audience to the left of the stage. Two figures blurred onto the platform, motions so perfectly attuned that they were barely distinguishable from each other. One gold and one silver.
"Galne lookout!" Rena shouted a warning but too late. The two figures fell on him, slashing his throat before he could even turn around to see what the danger was. Galne fell, choking and gasping out his last breaths. (I'm sure he was getting a strong feeling of deja vu).
"Galne!" Rena screamed in rage and leaped at the two figures with no weapons but her bare hands.
Naria and Eriya swiped her out of the air with two powerful arm movements made as one. She landed up against the side of the machine.
Suddenly things began to whir and move as the machine was activated. Altasni thought in silent horror, frozen in place by fear and twisted fascination.
An enormous but highly centralized explosion split the air, obliterating Galne's shriveled remains and the righteous leopard twins.
* * * * * * * * Her fingernails dug into her palm until they drew blood and she unclenched her hand. Those two catgirls. She ran a hand over her scar again* and smiled wickedly**. She could find comfort in the fact that she would have a small measure of revenge on their son. I will definitely enjoy bleeding that little pr**k dry.
She was sorry about the other children but there wasn't a thing she could do to help them. The Queen said they were to be sacrificed through bleeding. (by that I mean they will cut the children and let the blood run until they bleed to death. Nice people huh?) So Rena would bleed them. After all she did owe that bitch just a little. She had taken her out of the slums (remember the epilogue?) and she was being paid no small sum for this job too.
Despite all that she had a vaguely bad feeling about this, and a people who were once capable of predicting the future should always trust their instincts.
~end of chapter~
*reminding you of anyone? ** chiku chiku chiku etc