Chapter Two
Disclaimer: Not mine, and after seeing some of the things that people have done to the characters, I'm kind of glad they aren't mine. If they were, I think I would cry.
***
For, alas! Alas! with me
The light of Life is o'er!
"No more- no more- no more-"
(Such language holds the solemn sea
To the sands upon the shore)
Shall bloom the thunder-blasted tree,
Or the stricken eagle soar!
-exert from 'To One in Paradise', Edgar Allan Poe
***
Lina could practically feel time slow as the room around her developed a dull gray haze and an icy chill seeped through the thin cloth of her clothes. One of the creatures, a meshit she assumed, suddenly appeared before her, its rotten breath unbearably pungent as it breathed in her face. She flinched back in surprise, or would have if she could have moved. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Lina attempted to lift her arm. It didn't budge from its spot at her side. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't even hear her heart beating. But her magic, she still felt her magic pulsing through her veins.
Click.
It felt as though a part of her very innermost being had been savagely ripped out of her. She felt empty, incomplete. It was gone. It was worse than just that time of the month, because then she could at least still feel it, deep down inside and a bit dysfunctional, but it was still there. This feeling however, this was wrong. Her very soul cried out in anguish as it was hollowed out of one the key things that had been sustaining it for so many years. In the deepest recesses of her mind Lina aware that she was able to move again, but she was unconcerned with that now. Without her mind controlling her body she crumpled to the ground, a cold metal collar cruelly biting into her neck. Her last conscious thought as she lay lifelessly on the floor was of her magic. Then everything went black.
*
Adora watched the young sorceress with pity as the meshits lifted her and carried her away to what would become her room. No, not her room, her prison. A prisoner was still a prisoner no matter how ornate their trappings were. She served her lord loyally, for to do otherwise was to sign away what little life remained in her, but watching what he did to the others almost made her wish that she truly was dead. Almost. "I do not understand why you felt it necessary for me to accompany the meshits to find the girl, milord. I did nothing."
Yukio smiled from behind the emotionally exhausted girl and slowly ran his fingertips up and down her bare arms. "Ah, but that is where you are wrong. You saw my power in action. You are lenient, my pet. You barely know her and yet already your heart overflows with compassion for her," Yukio said, pausing his ministrations to Adora's arms as she tensed. "I need for you to remember what happens to those who do not obey me. That is why you went to get her with them. That is why you returned. I own you, and as long as I own you, you will never escape me. Remember that."
Adora remained frozen in place as Yukio leaned forward and pressed an almost fatherly kiss against her cheek. Her eyes closed tightly, a few tears catching on her eyelashes, as she listened to his footsteps until they faded and blended in with the other noises of the old palace. Then, when she felt that she had composed herself enough, she turned made her way to Lina's room.
*
When Lina woke up her head felt fuzzy, as though it had been filled with fluff, and she was having trouble forming the simplest of thoughts. It took her several minutes to realize that she was laying on a rather comfortable bed instead of the hard, packed ground she had grown accustomed to during her traveling and that someone had changed her clothes. It took her even longer to register the fact that someone was dozing in an armchair beside her head. A familiar someone whom Lina felt certain she should remember, but for the life of her was unable to. As the woman stirred slightly in the chair a name popped into Lina's head and she decided to try it out just for the heck of it. "Adora?"
Adora's eyes snapped open and she jumped to her feet, a rather nervous expression on her weary face. After taking a deep, shuddering breath to collect herself, she turned to Lina and smiled weakly. "So, you're awake then. Good, I was beginning to fear that you would sleep forever."
Lina blinked, decided that she must be dreaming because it was the only explanation for why she felt as dense as Gourry, and attempted to nod her head. It turned out to be one of her less brilliant ideas. "Argh," she moaned as she clutched her throbbing head with her hand; a milky black curtain of transparent silk, which was attached to her wrist by a simple silver bangle, draped itself over her face in the process. Lina blinked at the material in confusion and pushed it away. The older woman lowered herself down onto the bed, careful not to jostle the young sorceress too much, and gently pried Lina's hand away from her face. With another weak smile she lifted a goblet to Lina's lips and murmured soothingly for the girl to drink from it. With a grimace Lina did as she was told, and after a moment a bit of color returned to her rather pale face. "What happened? Where am I," Lina asked, not liking at all how frail her usually boisterous voice sounded.
Adora grimaced slightly and glanced at a portrait of a lovely young woman on the wall as she helped a protesting Lina sit up. The instant her eyes landed on the painting she forced her lips into a somewhat fixed smile. "You are," she began in an overly-cheerful, loud voice," in the home of my lord Yukio Warui, who has graciously decided to have you as a guest." Then Adora leaned forward under the pretense of straightening Lina's gown on her shoulders and whispered in her ear, "He's a sadistic madman who has decided to make you the newest addition to his collection of women. He's listening to our conversation from behind the wall. Wait until I tell you before you ask any more questions." Adora leaned back from the sorceress and smiled brightly. "You really should get out of bed so that I can help you with your hair."
"My hair," Lina asked, the wary expression on her face suggesting that she doubted the sanity of the older woman. "Why my hair?" Adora grasped her arm in a surprisingly tight grip and practically pulled Lina off of the bed, who sputtered as she stumbled over the long skirt of her dress. With only a little bit of force, Adora guided Lina across the room and onto a plush bench before an ornate vanity.
"Lord Yukio wishes to speak with you immediately," Adora chirped happily as she snatched a brush from one of the vanity's drawers and began untangling Lina's hair. Her eyes darted to the mirror and in its reflection she could see the picture of the woman. The annoyingly happy smile remained in place, betrayed only by the guarded look in her eyes. "We must have you looking presentable if you are to have an audience with the lord. Please, hush for now. There will be time for questions later, child."
Lina started at the motherly tone in the other woman's voice and studied Adora's reflection in the mirror as she fussed over the sorceress's fiery locks. The older woman's face was smooth and unlined with an elegant, almost understated beauty. Her wavy brown hair cascaded down her back, held out of her face by some sort of pin Lina couldn't see from where she was sitting. The effect should have been that of a woman in the prime of her youthful beauty, but her eyes ruined that. Most of the time they were hidden by Adora's long bangs, but the few times Lina caught a glimpse of the shimmering brown orbs she was surprised by the weariness and acumen they held. They were far too old to be the eyes of one as youthful as Adora, no matter what she had seen. Lina was so absorbed in studying her chosen subject that she nearly fell off of her seat when the object of her scrutiny heaved a sigh and carefully arranged one final wisp of hair.
"He's gone now," Adora said in a normal tone of voice, the gleeful smile slipping from her face to be replaced by a more maternal one. "Not that it matters any longer. Your hair is done and there is no other reason to detain you from your meeting with him." Adora gently grasped the still- groggy Lina by her elbow and turned her toward a full-length mirror. "What do you think?" Lina glanced at herself in the mirror, did a double-take, blinked, and brought a trembling hand up to clutch at her neck.
Her dress was lovely. It was made from several layers of transparent black silk that accentuated and clung to her curves. It was held up at the shoulder by two silver brooches and loosely hugged her torso before flaring out at her hips. The sleeves were slit from shoulder to wrist, where they tied to bracelets on Lina's wrists. A glance back at Adora confirmed that she was adorned in a similar costume in white. Lina's hair had been skillfully arranged on top of her head in a series of intricate coils and curls. However, the dress and her hair were not what had surprised Lina. The surprise was the thin metal cord that was wound around her neck, a small lock hanging from it to rest in the hollow of her throat. "What is this," she asked in a choked whisper. Lina jumped back as Adora tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, and instinctively tried to make a fireball. Nothing happened. Lina stared at her hands in horror. "What's happened to me?"
Adora sighed and walked to the room's door. "I will explain on the way to Yukio's rooms, but we really must leave now. If we are late then he will punish both of us." Lina nodded blindly and drifted over to stand beside Adora. She opened the door and motioned for Lina to walk through first, but stopped her for a moment as she stepped over the threshold. "I'm truly sorry that you got mixed up in this, child."
Lina glanced up at the taller woman with terror in her large scarlet eyes. Then she gathered the last few remnants of her pride around her and with her head held high and her shoulders thrown back, she stepped out the door and fell into step beside Adora as they strode down the corridor.
***
Special Thanks to:
Graywords-girl- I already replied to your review in an e-mail, but basically to recap, thanks for the review, never heard of the movie.
Slayers Okatu-Girl
paintedstars- *dances around happily* I made your favorite's list! Yay!
Samanda Hime-sama- Yay about you updating soon, but I'm not exactly big on lemons. In fact, I generally try to avoid reading things with explicit sex in them. So far I haven't minded reading your story because it doesn't really have anything that bad in it; however, due to personal preferences, I won't be reading the lemon chapter. As far as your question goes, yes there will be romance later on, no it will not be Lina and Zelgadis and nothing will change my mind about that. However, if it makes you feel any better she will be with a canon character. Want to make a guess at who it will be?
Disclaimer: Not mine, and after seeing some of the things that people have done to the characters, I'm kind of glad they aren't mine. If they were, I think I would cry.
***
For, alas! Alas! with me
The light of Life is o'er!
"No more- no more- no more-"
(Such language holds the solemn sea
To the sands upon the shore)
Shall bloom the thunder-blasted tree,
Or the stricken eagle soar!
-exert from 'To One in Paradise', Edgar Allan Poe
***
Lina could practically feel time slow as the room around her developed a dull gray haze and an icy chill seeped through the thin cloth of her clothes. One of the creatures, a meshit she assumed, suddenly appeared before her, its rotten breath unbearably pungent as it breathed in her face. She flinched back in surprise, or would have if she could have moved. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Lina attempted to lift her arm. It didn't budge from its spot at her side. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't even hear her heart beating. But her magic, she still felt her magic pulsing through her veins.
Click.
It felt as though a part of her very innermost being had been savagely ripped out of her. She felt empty, incomplete. It was gone. It was worse than just that time of the month, because then she could at least still feel it, deep down inside and a bit dysfunctional, but it was still there. This feeling however, this was wrong. Her very soul cried out in anguish as it was hollowed out of one the key things that had been sustaining it for so many years. In the deepest recesses of her mind Lina aware that she was able to move again, but she was unconcerned with that now. Without her mind controlling her body she crumpled to the ground, a cold metal collar cruelly biting into her neck. Her last conscious thought as she lay lifelessly on the floor was of her magic. Then everything went black.
*
Adora watched the young sorceress with pity as the meshits lifted her and carried her away to what would become her room. No, not her room, her prison. A prisoner was still a prisoner no matter how ornate their trappings were. She served her lord loyally, for to do otherwise was to sign away what little life remained in her, but watching what he did to the others almost made her wish that she truly was dead. Almost. "I do not understand why you felt it necessary for me to accompany the meshits to find the girl, milord. I did nothing."
Yukio smiled from behind the emotionally exhausted girl and slowly ran his fingertips up and down her bare arms. "Ah, but that is where you are wrong. You saw my power in action. You are lenient, my pet. You barely know her and yet already your heart overflows with compassion for her," Yukio said, pausing his ministrations to Adora's arms as she tensed. "I need for you to remember what happens to those who do not obey me. That is why you went to get her with them. That is why you returned. I own you, and as long as I own you, you will never escape me. Remember that."
Adora remained frozen in place as Yukio leaned forward and pressed an almost fatherly kiss against her cheek. Her eyes closed tightly, a few tears catching on her eyelashes, as she listened to his footsteps until they faded and blended in with the other noises of the old palace. Then, when she felt that she had composed herself enough, she turned made her way to Lina's room.
*
When Lina woke up her head felt fuzzy, as though it had been filled with fluff, and she was having trouble forming the simplest of thoughts. It took her several minutes to realize that she was laying on a rather comfortable bed instead of the hard, packed ground she had grown accustomed to during her traveling and that someone had changed her clothes. It took her even longer to register the fact that someone was dozing in an armchair beside her head. A familiar someone whom Lina felt certain she should remember, but for the life of her was unable to. As the woman stirred slightly in the chair a name popped into Lina's head and she decided to try it out just for the heck of it. "Adora?"
Adora's eyes snapped open and she jumped to her feet, a rather nervous expression on her weary face. After taking a deep, shuddering breath to collect herself, she turned to Lina and smiled weakly. "So, you're awake then. Good, I was beginning to fear that you would sleep forever."
Lina blinked, decided that she must be dreaming because it was the only explanation for why she felt as dense as Gourry, and attempted to nod her head. It turned out to be one of her less brilliant ideas. "Argh," she moaned as she clutched her throbbing head with her hand; a milky black curtain of transparent silk, which was attached to her wrist by a simple silver bangle, draped itself over her face in the process. Lina blinked at the material in confusion and pushed it away. The older woman lowered herself down onto the bed, careful not to jostle the young sorceress too much, and gently pried Lina's hand away from her face. With another weak smile she lifted a goblet to Lina's lips and murmured soothingly for the girl to drink from it. With a grimace Lina did as she was told, and after a moment a bit of color returned to her rather pale face. "What happened? Where am I," Lina asked, not liking at all how frail her usually boisterous voice sounded.
Adora grimaced slightly and glanced at a portrait of a lovely young woman on the wall as she helped a protesting Lina sit up. The instant her eyes landed on the painting she forced her lips into a somewhat fixed smile. "You are," she began in an overly-cheerful, loud voice," in the home of my lord Yukio Warui, who has graciously decided to have you as a guest." Then Adora leaned forward under the pretense of straightening Lina's gown on her shoulders and whispered in her ear, "He's a sadistic madman who has decided to make you the newest addition to his collection of women. He's listening to our conversation from behind the wall. Wait until I tell you before you ask any more questions." Adora leaned back from the sorceress and smiled brightly. "You really should get out of bed so that I can help you with your hair."
"My hair," Lina asked, the wary expression on her face suggesting that she doubted the sanity of the older woman. "Why my hair?" Adora grasped her arm in a surprisingly tight grip and practically pulled Lina off of the bed, who sputtered as she stumbled over the long skirt of her dress. With only a little bit of force, Adora guided Lina across the room and onto a plush bench before an ornate vanity.
"Lord Yukio wishes to speak with you immediately," Adora chirped happily as she snatched a brush from one of the vanity's drawers and began untangling Lina's hair. Her eyes darted to the mirror and in its reflection she could see the picture of the woman. The annoyingly happy smile remained in place, betrayed only by the guarded look in her eyes. "We must have you looking presentable if you are to have an audience with the lord. Please, hush for now. There will be time for questions later, child."
Lina started at the motherly tone in the other woman's voice and studied Adora's reflection in the mirror as she fussed over the sorceress's fiery locks. The older woman's face was smooth and unlined with an elegant, almost understated beauty. Her wavy brown hair cascaded down her back, held out of her face by some sort of pin Lina couldn't see from where she was sitting. The effect should have been that of a woman in the prime of her youthful beauty, but her eyes ruined that. Most of the time they were hidden by Adora's long bangs, but the few times Lina caught a glimpse of the shimmering brown orbs she was surprised by the weariness and acumen they held. They were far too old to be the eyes of one as youthful as Adora, no matter what she had seen. Lina was so absorbed in studying her chosen subject that she nearly fell off of her seat when the object of her scrutiny heaved a sigh and carefully arranged one final wisp of hair.
"He's gone now," Adora said in a normal tone of voice, the gleeful smile slipping from her face to be replaced by a more maternal one. "Not that it matters any longer. Your hair is done and there is no other reason to detain you from your meeting with him." Adora gently grasped the still- groggy Lina by her elbow and turned her toward a full-length mirror. "What do you think?" Lina glanced at herself in the mirror, did a double-take, blinked, and brought a trembling hand up to clutch at her neck.
Her dress was lovely. It was made from several layers of transparent black silk that accentuated and clung to her curves. It was held up at the shoulder by two silver brooches and loosely hugged her torso before flaring out at her hips. The sleeves were slit from shoulder to wrist, where they tied to bracelets on Lina's wrists. A glance back at Adora confirmed that she was adorned in a similar costume in white. Lina's hair had been skillfully arranged on top of her head in a series of intricate coils and curls. However, the dress and her hair were not what had surprised Lina. The surprise was the thin metal cord that was wound around her neck, a small lock hanging from it to rest in the hollow of her throat. "What is this," she asked in a choked whisper. Lina jumped back as Adora tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, and instinctively tried to make a fireball. Nothing happened. Lina stared at her hands in horror. "What's happened to me?"
Adora sighed and walked to the room's door. "I will explain on the way to Yukio's rooms, but we really must leave now. If we are late then he will punish both of us." Lina nodded blindly and drifted over to stand beside Adora. She opened the door and motioned for Lina to walk through first, but stopped her for a moment as she stepped over the threshold. "I'm truly sorry that you got mixed up in this, child."
Lina glanced up at the taller woman with terror in her large scarlet eyes. Then she gathered the last few remnants of her pride around her and with her head held high and her shoulders thrown back, she stepped out the door and fell into step beside Adora as they strode down the corridor.
***
Special Thanks to:
Graywords-girl- I already replied to your review in an e-mail, but basically to recap, thanks for the review, never heard of the movie.
Slayers Okatu-Girl
paintedstars- *dances around happily* I made your favorite's list! Yay!
Samanda Hime-sama- Yay about you updating soon, but I'm not exactly big on lemons. In fact, I generally try to avoid reading things with explicit sex in them. So far I haven't minded reading your story because it doesn't really have anything that bad in it; however, due to personal preferences, I won't be reading the lemon chapter. As far as your question goes, yes there will be romance later on, no it will not be Lina and Zelgadis and nothing will change my mind about that. However, if it makes you feel any better she will be with a canon character. Want to make a guess at who it will be?