Junsuisa
Chapter Five: Harque the Witch
No one reviewed!!! AHH!! Since no one reviewed this chapter isn't very good because I didn't feel like going back and re-reading it. I didn't feel very inspired.
Elwine was out in a field watching her two children and Usagi
pick flowers. Their friend, Belor, sat by a tree watching the three girls
run about. It had been three days since Keleios had had a prophetic dream.
While Elwine hoped that wasn't a prophesy she had this feeling that something
was going to happen. Prophesy wasn't in her family so Keleios shouldn't
have it. Magic talents didn't just appear by themselves.
Keleios had dreamed of Harque the Witch. Elwine had gone against
Harque on the sands and had beaten her, but had not killed her because
she followed Cia and gave mercy. Harque had felt humiliated and held a
grudge against Elwine since.
Keleios had dreamed of Harque leading her through hallways to
a room where someone lay. When the door opened the smell of decay had over
powered her and she had kneeled over to throw up. When she got back up
she looked into the room almost against her will. What she saw on the bed
she had described in such detail that Elwine could tell it would stay in
her mind for a long time. A rotting corpse, oozing black sores covering
every part of the persons body. The body moved. It was alive. The eyes
open and the face moved towards them. Rotting lips opened in a silent scream.
The only thing still recognizable was her eyes. Brown eyes. Elwine's eyes.
Elwine shuddered at the memory, hoping that Keleios never had
to see that for real. She closed her eyes, resting her head in her hands.
"Mother, here!" Methia said, shoving a small bouquet of small
red flowers into her face. Elwine gently took them from Methia's hands.
She pretended to smell them for her daughters benefit.
"They're very pretty, honey." Elwine stated, smiling at her
daughter, the dream slowly fading from her mind. She held her hand out
to Methia, getting up to follow the child. She started to laugh and skipped
in the field of wild flowers, her duties a far off thought. The castle
was lost over a hill and she felt free.
A scream to her left. She snapped her head in that direction.
A large demon had appeared in front of Keleios and Usagi. Another appeared
behind them. The first was an eight foot red demon. He was covered in crimson
scales with long black talons on each hand and feet. He had pointed, bat
like ears that curled when he smiled. He had a gold linked necklace with
two blood red stones on either side of an large ebony one. He was known
as the Hound Master. His demon name, not known by many, was Alharzor. And
never ask Elwine how she knew it. The second demon was a blackmane. It
had black feathered wings which it used to float just above the ground
in front of the children. With a lion like head, and midnight black fur
covering its body, it was much in contrast against the burning of his red
eyes. Black hooves and a silver sword finished him off.
Elwine took all this in within a few seconds. "NO!!" she screamed
letting go of Methia's hand rushing towards her other child. She threw
an instant enchantment at the red demon, but because it had been rushed
nothing happened. Another demon appeared in front of her, grabbing her
arm before she could do another spell. Pain spread through her like a wild
fire. She saw a flash of green scales before falling unconscious from the
excruciating pain. A scream cutting through the dark before all went black.
"Mmmm..." someone moaned. Oh wait, that was her. Usagi forced
her eyes open, a shape insistent pain stabbing through her head. 'What
happened?' Usagi thought to herself.
Usagi tried to sit up, but cried out and fell back onto the
hard concrete as a flicker of fire burned at her side. She put her hand
to her left side and it came away covered with blood. "Ow..." she muttered.
She turned her head slowly and saw that she was in a dungeon of some kind.
She was laying on a concrete floor that sloped down into a silver drain.
Metal shackles attached to the walls in many different lengths. Weird contraptions
were place strategically around the room. Usagi did not understand what
they were but she decided that she didn't need to know, the same reason
why she didn't need to know why there was a drain in the middle of a room.
Methia lay in the corner, still unconscious. Usagi waited a
moment for the pain to stop before sitting up more slowly this time, clenching
her teeth against the pain. She moved to all fours before crying out in
pain. Slowly she lifted one leg and then the other. With her hands still
on the floor she was crouched on the balls of her feet. Small tears of
pain escaped her eyes. Even more slowly than before she lifted her hands
off the floor and straightened her legs. Surprisingly when she was standing
it didn't hurt as much. She opened her clenched palms and saw little half
moons filling with blood. She lifted her shirt and saw a large gash all
along her waist. It was deep and if it had been any deeper she might have
died right here in this dank dungeon, she still might if she didn't do
something soon. Her shirt was soaked with her blood on the left side, the
right full of dirt from the dusty floor. Her long summer skirt was ripped
already and mud cover it in splotches as if it had been splashed up onto
her from a passing wagon. Her bare feet were dirty and cut, dried blood
covering the tops. Looking down at her skirt, she decided it was the cleanest
piece of clothing she had at the moment. She ripped a small strip off of
the bottom, using her teeth to break the seems, then lifted her shirt again
and pressed the cloth to the wound. She would need another pair of hands
to tie it with.
Holding the cloth to her side to turned and gave a better look
of the room around her, trying to piece together what had happened and
why she was here. Methia was the only other occupant of the room. Where
was Keleios and Belor? There were no windows and only on large wooden door.
The whole room was made of concrete. A small puddle of her own blood was
where she had been laying. Other than that, Methia was the only other color
to this room. Her brown gold hair lay spread around her, unbound. Her left
hand was crushed, the bones at odd angles. The light blue dress she wore
was now a dirty brown. Dried blood and mud covered her from head to toe,
but as far as Usagi could tell, none of the blood was hers. The only injury
she could see was the hand.
Usagi stepped over the blood puddle to Methia. She knelt slowly,
increasingly aware of the sharp pulling on her side. With her left hand,
since her right was still holding the cloth to her wound, she gently shook
Methia.
"Methia!" She hissed. When she got no response she slowly turned
Methia so that she was on her back. She felt for her pulse and was relived
when she found one, strong and steady. "Methia!" She tried again, more
instant. This time she was rewarded with a response. Methia moaned and
sat up, putting her hands back to support her weight. Not feeling the pain
right away, she took a few seconds to scream giving Usagi the chance to
put her hand over Methia's mouth to muffle her.
"Don't scream!" Usagi hissed, helping Methia support her weight
so she didn't have to use her badly broken wrist. Usagi did not know why
but she had a feeling that they shouldn't make to much noise.
"What going on? Where are we?" Methia asked, tears falling down
her face.
"I'm not sure where we are, but I know that we should try to
get out of here as soon as possible." Usagi told her. Methia nodded and
slowly stood up, listening to her body complain. She was stiff from laying
on the hard floor, but the pain in her wrist topped it all. As she stood
on her two feet, she stumbled from a pain in her right ankle. Swiping her
dress aside she saw the ankle swelling. "Damn!" Methia muttered. Usagi's
eyebrows raised. That was the closest thing to a a swear word Methia had
ever said. Methia sat back down and lifted her foot off the ground.
"We have to get going." Usagi said, wincing at the purple and
black swelling.
"And how are we supposed to do that? I only have one hand and
one leg! You don't look hurt at all!" Methia hissed at her. The pain put
her in a cranky mood. She hadn't had a chance to look around much yet and
had missed the puddle of blood and the blood covering Usagi's shirt.
Methia motioned Usagi closer and put her arm around her shoulders
using her as a crutch. Usagi dropped the cloth she had been using as a
bandage to put her arm around Methia's waist. Suddenly, Methia slipped
and she fell against Usagi's left side, hitting her wound. Usagi gasped
in a breath, biting her tongue hard enough to draw blood, trying not to
scream. Methia noticed this and carefully lifted the blood soaked shirt.
"Oh, Mother Cia, this is deep. Why didn't you mention this! Now I feel
terrible. I'm sorry I yelled at you!" Methia whispered.
Usagi smiled weakly, a fine sweat beading on her upper lip.
"It's all right." She breathed, spitting out a little blood. Methia quickly
surveyed the room and noticed the puddle and the cloth Usagi had dropped.
She picked up the cloth and folded it carefully with her one hand, then
asked Usagi to rip the bottom of her own dress into a longer strip. So
complied and Methia got her to hold the folded piece of cloth to her wound.
Methia then took the long strip, wrapped it all the way around Usagi's
waist, then using her teeth, tied a knot in the far side to hold it in
place.
"There!" She said, and smiled up at Usagi. Usagi smiled back
and helped her back up.
"Thank you..." She said softly. She lifted Methia's crushed
hand carefully and said, "I would try to do something for this but I'm
afraid it would only hurt it more. We need a healer soon if you are going
to keep the use of that hand. You foot just looks minor, though." Usagi
concentrated on Methia's hand with her enchanters power. Although she had
been taught little, she had found a spell to take the pain of some ones
injury. She was going to tell Elwine but she thought it was a normal spell,
so decided not to bother. Slowly the pain doubled and Usagi winced, clenching
her teeth.
"What are you doing?" Methia asked. The pain was lessening.
She had never seen anyone but a healer do this before.
"I found... a spell to take pain... from people..." she breathed
through the pain. She closed her eyes and took deep breath's. The pain
slowly dispersed and she opened her eyes to see Methia looking at her curiously.
"I have never seen anyone do that before, unless they were a
healer." Methia told her.
"I thought it was a common spell." Usagi said. When Methia shook
her head Usagi added, "I've been able to do that for almost a year now."
"If... When we find out what is going on and get out of here,
you should show that spell to Mother. I know-" Methia was interrupted by
a scream. A familiar scream. Keleios's scream.
"Hurry!" Methia told Usagi as they half ran, half limped to
the door. Usagi tugged on the heavy wooden door, but with only one hand
she couldn't open it. "Let me go I can stand on my own." Usagi knew this
wasn't true but did what she said. Methia leaned against the wall, while
Usagi opened the door, inch by inch. When Usagi went to pick Methia up
again she said, "Leave me. Help Keleios."
"I'll be right back." And with that she slipped out and was
gone.
"Good luck...." Methia whispered to the empty air before passing
out again.
Usagi slipped out through the small crack she had made in the
door. Giving a quick look both ways she sprinted across the dirty hall
way. No one was in sight. The dark hallway flickered with the light of
many torches. She was taking big breath's of air as if she was drowning.
Breathing heavy already was not a good sign. Ignoring it she sprinted to
the corner, stopping, back to the wall just before she could be seen.
Taking a quick peek around the corner let her see Keleios kneeling
on the ground with Harque the Witch standing above her. The smell of decay
washed over her and Usagi gagged. Almost as if hypnotized Usagi walked
around the corner, towards Harque and Keleios. Harque noticed her, though
she was already half blind, but did nothing. Harque helped Keleios stand,
dragging her closer to the door, Keleios resisted, screaming and pulling
hard against the iron grip of the witch. She forced her to the door and
said, "Look." Keleios looked into the room and Harque said, "Where is the
fair Elwine the Gentle? Where is she now?"
Usagi walked the last few feet, trying not to breathe the smell
of decay. She finally reached the room and looked in. The only thing in
the room was a rickety old bed. On the bed a person lay tied. A corpse,
or at least what looked like a corpse, until it moved. Black, rotted, pus
filled sores covered the persons body making the clothing it was wearing
wet with the rotting bodily fluids. Decaying hands twitched and a piece
of meat slipped of, making a sickening sound when it reached the floor.
It's head turned, dry brittle hair falling out, thin rotted lips opening
in a silent scream. Brown eyes opened, the only thing that was still alive.
But the light in those two brown orbs died without seeing her daughter
and her best friend witnessing this terrible sight. Never knowing that
the image would be burned into Keleios's and Usagi's minds in utmost detail
till the day they died, tainting all other memories of Elwine.
The haunting laughter floated to Usagi over the horror, "Where
is the fair Elwine the Gentle? Where is she now?"
And Keleios passed out, sagging in Harque's grip. Usagi, eyes
still wide, staring at the horror on the bed, whimpered and slowly, mercifully,
her vision faded and she passed out laying on the cold stone floor next
to Keleios. Two days later Harque's keep was raided and Keleios, Methia,
and Usagi were taken home. Methia's hand was saved, and Usagi got her side
healed by a white healer. Harque had escaped, and Usagi and Keleios found
that nightmares can be very real...
Come on people!! I would like two reviews before I put up the next chapter!! If I don't get any then I'm going to stop!! And if no one is reading this then I wonder why I am still writing.......
