Evil Beneath Innocence
"Hello, Kain. I am Aisha. Welcome to your worst nightmare."
The vampire lord narrowed his eyes as he glared at the insane woman. Surely she was not referring to herself as his 'worst nightmare'. A pathetic, weak, mortal such as she could not possibly be of any threat to even the weakest vampire.
Amused, Kain decided to play into her declaration. "Do tell me, Aisha, what my worst nightmare could possibly be. Indulge my curiosity. Explain to me, what it is that I do not already know. Tell me, what I cannot, have not, already foreseen."
Aisha lowered her head once more, her eyes hidden behind a curtain of blonde hair. A quiet chuckle escaped her lips. As her mirth rose, her shoulders and back shook slightly with her laughter. Kain snarled his lips at her display. Before he could interrupt her merriment, her laughing ceased and her head snapped back up to attention.
"You haven't the slightest clue, do you? That all you hope to gain, to accomplish, to achieve, is entirely preordained? You, the so-called ruler of Nosgoth, the one being, who upon this pitiful world should have the most freedom, are the one with the least bit of say in your destiny, your fate?"
"And what makes you think otherwise? What is it that says I cannot do as I wish, that I cannot chose my own destiny? You? A mere mortal? I think not. I can run you through faster than you can recall your mother's face."
Again, Aisha laughed at Kain's ignorance. "No, it is not by my decisions how your fate unfolds. It is by a force; unseen, unheard, and unknown to you that controls your fate. You can try to deny it, but you cannot stop it. You are nothing more than a mere pawn."
At these words, Kain sprang from his seat upon the throne. Faster than Aisha could blink, the vampire had wrapped a massive clawed hand around her throat. She choked slightly under the tight grip, but the lord had left just enough passage for air to pass into her lungs. Lifted off the ground by her neck, Aisha instantly wrapped her much smaller hands around Kain's wrists, attempting to ease the tension from her throat. Despite the life-threatening situation, her eyes were void of fear.
At the sudden reaction, the lieutenants were both amused and afraid. They had been anticipating punishment upon the girl. She deserved far worse. But at the same time, they had not witnessed this much anger from their master in quite some time. They only hoped that their sire would not turn his ire towards them.
"I am no one's pawn," Kain growled into Aisha's ear. "Not here. Not now. Not ever!"
"If that thought... helps put... you to sleep..." the blonde gasped between breaths before trailing off.
Kain gritted his teeth, glaring into her glazing eyes. With lack of oxygen, her focus had begun to falter. The psychotic gleam in her eyes softened and her grin faded. With her face turning a dark red, she could no longer hold onto her withering grasp on consciousness. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head as she passed out.
Kain disgustedly dropped the weak human upon the ground and turned back towards his throne. The lieutenants remained silent, not daring to draw their master's wrath towards them. Each wondered what would come of the daring girl, who had openly defied the strongest being on all of Nosgoth. She was still alive, and all of the lieutenants would be honored to rid the vampire lord of her existence.
Kain stopped just before his throne, and cast a glance over his right shoulder. "What are you waiting for?" he called to no one in particular. "Lock her away in the dungeons. And do be careful with her. I want still want some answers from her."
Jumping at their lord's command, Raziel and Turel retrieved Aisha's prone form and dragged her towards the exit. With his wish obeyed, Kain disappeared in a brief flash of light; his teleportation spell taking him to a location unknown. At the lord's departure, the remaining lieutenants understood this as their dismissal.
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"Have a nice night, Mrs. Scott!"
"Goodnight, Aisha. Goodnight, Erik."
"G'night, Mrs. Scott."
"Oh, and be careful driving home! The roads are very slippery tonight!"
"Thank you, Aisha. You do the same. See you tomorrow."
The middle-aged woman left the store, climbed into her car and pulled out of the tiny plaza parking lot. The two younger adults remained behind, watching through the store's windows as the taillights of their employer's vehicle faded into the night.
"Aisha, you disgust me," Erik whined in an irritated voice as he turned from the window.
"And why's that?" she asked, ever so sweetly while she retagged clearance merchandise.
"Because... People think you're this innocent girl, especially Mrs. Scott. And it sickens me. But I know you better than that. I bet when you were showing concern for her safety, you were probably wishing the opposite."
"Ah, Erik. You know me too well. But it would serve her right... promising us that she wouldn't open the store today, then two weeks later telling us that we were scheduled to work."
"And on Christmas Eve, nonetheless. We have had barely a dozen customers in here all day, yet she insists that we stay open until eleven. Why is this worth our time? We should be at home with our families like everyone else! Like she's doing right now!"
"Yes, but Erik, we're also being paid overtime. And we have had more than a dozen customers. You know that."
"We should have just called in," he replied in a depressed tone. "What time is it anyway?"
"'Bout six."
"Damn it. My family is probably sitting down to dinner right now. I'm going on a break to get something to eat. Want anything?" Erik inquired as he set a box of merchandise down on a counter.
"No thanks. I'm not quite hungry yet."
"Alright."
Erik walked behind the counter and passed through the 'employees only' door that led to the stockroom and beyond that, the employee lounge. With Erik out of the room, Aisha let out a depressed sigh of her own. She tried to remain in good spirits around Erik to try and cheer him up, but sometimes it was difficult to brighten the mood of those who get over stressed about every little detail.
As Aisha placed the last of the holiday DVD's she had marked down back upon its shelf, she heard the bell that hung above the door ring behind her, indicating a customer had entered the store. She watched the tall man walk to the far end of the store, seemingly interested in the digital cameras on display. She turned her attention to the snowy streets outside. Judging by the hooded winter coat, baseball hat, and gloves the man wore, Aisha gathered that it was quite a frigid Christmas Eve, and she was glad to be out of the cold.
Aisha went to the counter and grabbed the box of merchandise Erik had been previously stocking. Taking the box of CDRW's to the shelf, she began refilling the empty space. In the corner of her eye, she saw the customer move over to the computer software rack, but she paid him little attention. If and when he needed assistance, he would ask her for it. She usually wasn't one to bother people, even if it was her job to assist customers.
What Aisha didn't notice, was that the man had been watching her. Pretending to be last minute shopping, he had been scoping the store, waiting to see if all was clear. Naïve little Aisha didn't realize the customer's intentions that night at Electronics & Entertainment was not as pure as she would have expected otherwise.
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Coughing, Aisha woke up from her unnatural slumber. She slowly sat herself up off the dirt-covered floor. Rubbing her neck, she knew that she had three fresh bruises on her neck, courtesy of the vampire lord. Looking around, she saw several other humans were sitting or lying up against walls in the room surrounding her. She noticed then, that her legs had been chained to the wall behind her.
Aisha leaned against the wall behind her. The dungeon cell she found herself in was quite large. Torches poorly lit the room, but she could see three humans shackled to each wall of the room. In the center was a large wooden table, adorned with several strangely shaped objects, but Aisha could guess that they were tools for torture. The room was almost silent; the sounds of prisoners' coughing or moaning were the only noise. The air felt damp, causing the cell to smell of mildew and dust, making seem hard to breathe.
"Ah, so the foolish wench has finally woken!"
Aisha turned her attention towards the entryway to see an elite vampire staring at her. He stood just within the shadows, so she could not determine any distinguishing features. But his eyes briefly flashed a red glow, clearly indicating his age. Aisha refrained from replying to the vampire's comment. Instead, she chose to glare defiantly at the guard as he approached her.
Unshackling her ankles, he sneered, "The master has been anticipating your company,"
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Okay, I figured out my story. And finally I am able to update. **grumble** Stupid job... taking me away from valuable writing time. Okay, time for review responses, since I got a few already.
COAD: Hmmm... Maybe. It's still kind of open what could happen. I guess you'll just have find out.
Spectral Sereda: Yes, Aisha is a bit odd. But so am I sometimes. I'm glad you think I described her approach well.
AquaSword: Thank you! I'm glad you like it.
TaleSpinner: Thanks for the review. Hope you like chapter two.
Dark-Sephiroth: Call me modest, but I never thought my writing skills were that good. I'm glad you like this, and 'Bane and Ambition'. I've kind of put that one on hiatus for now. Didn't like where it was going, but I'm thinking of starting it over. Zidane's Grand Lethal is my favorite. I beat Ozma the third time I played FFIX. But Penance and Zanmato? There's nothing mentioned of those two weapons in the U.S. version. Perhaps they are called different here in the states?
Okay, I'll be working on chapter three soon. But until then, let me know what you think. I welcome reviews with open arms! And now...
Mikoto's Quote of the Week!
"It's not my outer evil that you should be afraid of. It's my inner evil lurking deep within that you should be worried about." **cue insane laughter**
"Hello, Kain. I am Aisha. Welcome to your worst nightmare."
The vampire lord narrowed his eyes as he glared at the insane woman. Surely she was not referring to herself as his 'worst nightmare'. A pathetic, weak, mortal such as she could not possibly be of any threat to even the weakest vampire.
Amused, Kain decided to play into her declaration. "Do tell me, Aisha, what my worst nightmare could possibly be. Indulge my curiosity. Explain to me, what it is that I do not already know. Tell me, what I cannot, have not, already foreseen."
Aisha lowered her head once more, her eyes hidden behind a curtain of blonde hair. A quiet chuckle escaped her lips. As her mirth rose, her shoulders and back shook slightly with her laughter. Kain snarled his lips at her display. Before he could interrupt her merriment, her laughing ceased and her head snapped back up to attention.
"You haven't the slightest clue, do you? That all you hope to gain, to accomplish, to achieve, is entirely preordained? You, the so-called ruler of Nosgoth, the one being, who upon this pitiful world should have the most freedom, are the one with the least bit of say in your destiny, your fate?"
"And what makes you think otherwise? What is it that says I cannot do as I wish, that I cannot chose my own destiny? You? A mere mortal? I think not. I can run you through faster than you can recall your mother's face."
Again, Aisha laughed at Kain's ignorance. "No, it is not by my decisions how your fate unfolds. It is by a force; unseen, unheard, and unknown to you that controls your fate. You can try to deny it, but you cannot stop it. You are nothing more than a mere pawn."
At these words, Kain sprang from his seat upon the throne. Faster than Aisha could blink, the vampire had wrapped a massive clawed hand around her throat. She choked slightly under the tight grip, but the lord had left just enough passage for air to pass into her lungs. Lifted off the ground by her neck, Aisha instantly wrapped her much smaller hands around Kain's wrists, attempting to ease the tension from her throat. Despite the life-threatening situation, her eyes were void of fear.
At the sudden reaction, the lieutenants were both amused and afraid. They had been anticipating punishment upon the girl. She deserved far worse. But at the same time, they had not witnessed this much anger from their master in quite some time. They only hoped that their sire would not turn his ire towards them.
"I am no one's pawn," Kain growled into Aisha's ear. "Not here. Not now. Not ever!"
"If that thought... helps put... you to sleep..." the blonde gasped between breaths before trailing off.
Kain gritted his teeth, glaring into her glazing eyes. With lack of oxygen, her focus had begun to falter. The psychotic gleam in her eyes softened and her grin faded. With her face turning a dark red, she could no longer hold onto her withering grasp on consciousness. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head as she passed out.
Kain disgustedly dropped the weak human upon the ground and turned back towards his throne. The lieutenants remained silent, not daring to draw their master's wrath towards them. Each wondered what would come of the daring girl, who had openly defied the strongest being on all of Nosgoth. She was still alive, and all of the lieutenants would be honored to rid the vampire lord of her existence.
Kain stopped just before his throne, and cast a glance over his right shoulder. "What are you waiting for?" he called to no one in particular. "Lock her away in the dungeons. And do be careful with her. I want still want some answers from her."
Jumping at their lord's command, Raziel and Turel retrieved Aisha's prone form and dragged her towards the exit. With his wish obeyed, Kain disappeared in a brief flash of light; his teleportation spell taking him to a location unknown. At the lord's departure, the remaining lieutenants understood this as their dismissal.
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"Have a nice night, Mrs. Scott!"
"Goodnight, Aisha. Goodnight, Erik."
"G'night, Mrs. Scott."
"Oh, and be careful driving home! The roads are very slippery tonight!"
"Thank you, Aisha. You do the same. See you tomorrow."
The middle-aged woman left the store, climbed into her car and pulled out of the tiny plaza parking lot. The two younger adults remained behind, watching through the store's windows as the taillights of their employer's vehicle faded into the night.
"Aisha, you disgust me," Erik whined in an irritated voice as he turned from the window.
"And why's that?" she asked, ever so sweetly while she retagged clearance merchandise.
"Because... People think you're this innocent girl, especially Mrs. Scott. And it sickens me. But I know you better than that. I bet when you were showing concern for her safety, you were probably wishing the opposite."
"Ah, Erik. You know me too well. But it would serve her right... promising us that she wouldn't open the store today, then two weeks later telling us that we were scheduled to work."
"And on Christmas Eve, nonetheless. We have had barely a dozen customers in here all day, yet she insists that we stay open until eleven. Why is this worth our time? We should be at home with our families like everyone else! Like she's doing right now!"
"Yes, but Erik, we're also being paid overtime. And we have had more than a dozen customers. You know that."
"We should have just called in," he replied in a depressed tone. "What time is it anyway?"
"'Bout six."
"Damn it. My family is probably sitting down to dinner right now. I'm going on a break to get something to eat. Want anything?" Erik inquired as he set a box of merchandise down on a counter.
"No thanks. I'm not quite hungry yet."
"Alright."
Erik walked behind the counter and passed through the 'employees only' door that led to the stockroom and beyond that, the employee lounge. With Erik out of the room, Aisha let out a depressed sigh of her own. She tried to remain in good spirits around Erik to try and cheer him up, but sometimes it was difficult to brighten the mood of those who get over stressed about every little detail.
As Aisha placed the last of the holiday DVD's she had marked down back upon its shelf, she heard the bell that hung above the door ring behind her, indicating a customer had entered the store. She watched the tall man walk to the far end of the store, seemingly interested in the digital cameras on display. She turned her attention to the snowy streets outside. Judging by the hooded winter coat, baseball hat, and gloves the man wore, Aisha gathered that it was quite a frigid Christmas Eve, and she was glad to be out of the cold.
Aisha went to the counter and grabbed the box of merchandise Erik had been previously stocking. Taking the box of CDRW's to the shelf, she began refilling the empty space. In the corner of her eye, she saw the customer move over to the computer software rack, but she paid him little attention. If and when he needed assistance, he would ask her for it. She usually wasn't one to bother people, even if it was her job to assist customers.
What Aisha didn't notice, was that the man had been watching her. Pretending to be last minute shopping, he had been scoping the store, waiting to see if all was clear. Naïve little Aisha didn't realize the customer's intentions that night at Electronics & Entertainment was not as pure as she would have expected otherwise.
///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\ \\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///
Coughing, Aisha woke up from her unnatural slumber. She slowly sat herself up off the dirt-covered floor. Rubbing her neck, she knew that she had three fresh bruises on her neck, courtesy of the vampire lord. Looking around, she saw several other humans were sitting or lying up against walls in the room surrounding her. She noticed then, that her legs had been chained to the wall behind her.
Aisha leaned against the wall behind her. The dungeon cell she found herself in was quite large. Torches poorly lit the room, but she could see three humans shackled to each wall of the room. In the center was a large wooden table, adorned with several strangely shaped objects, but Aisha could guess that they were tools for torture. The room was almost silent; the sounds of prisoners' coughing or moaning were the only noise. The air felt damp, causing the cell to smell of mildew and dust, making seem hard to breathe.
"Ah, so the foolish wench has finally woken!"
Aisha turned her attention towards the entryway to see an elite vampire staring at her. He stood just within the shadows, so she could not determine any distinguishing features. But his eyes briefly flashed a red glow, clearly indicating his age. Aisha refrained from replying to the vampire's comment. Instead, she chose to glare defiantly at the guard as he approached her.
Unshackling her ankles, he sneered, "The master has been anticipating your company,"
///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\ \\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\///
Okay, I figured out my story. And finally I am able to update. **grumble** Stupid job... taking me away from valuable writing time. Okay, time for review responses, since I got a few already.
COAD: Hmmm... Maybe. It's still kind of open what could happen. I guess you'll just have find out.
Spectral Sereda: Yes, Aisha is a bit odd. But so am I sometimes. I'm glad you think I described her approach well.
AquaSword: Thank you! I'm glad you like it.
TaleSpinner: Thanks for the review. Hope you like chapter two.
Dark-Sephiroth: Call me modest, but I never thought my writing skills were that good. I'm glad you like this, and 'Bane and Ambition'. I've kind of put that one on hiatus for now. Didn't like where it was going, but I'm thinking of starting it over. Zidane's Grand Lethal is my favorite. I beat Ozma the third time I played FFIX. But Penance and Zanmato? There's nothing mentioned of those two weapons in the U.S. version. Perhaps they are called different here in the states?
Okay, I'll be working on chapter three soon. But until then, let me know what you think. I welcome reviews with open arms! And now...
Mikoto's Quote of the Week!
"It's not my outer evil that you should be afraid of. It's my inner evil lurking deep within that you should be worried about." **cue insane laughter**