Disclaimers: All the characters in this fic is copyright
of Karashi, if there are any similarities between my characters and actual
characters, it is purely coincidental. The game Ragnarok Online and anything
related to it belongs to the Creators of Ragnarok
Chapter Two
Lilac eyes opened to the sight
of a dark room as slender fingers ran through blonde ringlets. She blinked in
surprise at the thin gossamer strings wound tightly on her arms, even more so
on the odd striations on her elbows and wrists. Goosebumps prickled her olive
skin as the faded pink dress she wore barely reached her knees. She untied the
thin cords and unsteadily got to her bare feet.
"Where… am I?" she wondered as
she scanned her surroundings. The blonde tried her best to remember the events
that passed, but all she could recall was haze. She was exhausted, though she
didn't quite know why. She barely took a few steps from her cot when her leg
suddenly gave way. With a clatter, she collapsed onto her back on the cold,
stone floor.
The impact caused the haze in
her mind to dissipate, and visions to flash before her eyes. Visions of eyes
that watched her every move, of running through a dark forest, of figures
silhouetted in sickly moonlight, of swords made of flesh that drove into her and
tore her apart from within…
Bile rose in the back of her
throat, as she fought to bury the memories. Panic surged through her body, as
questions screamed in her mind. Where did they take her? Do they intend to
ransom her to her parents? What had she done to deserve this? The acrid taste
of these questions forced rage into her system. And in her fury, she rammed her
small frame against the metal door. The portal creaked open to reveal a
blackened limestone hallway. Wasting no time, she bolted outside to make her
escape.
While the cold floor stung her
bare feet, she had the consolation that they were no longer bleeding. Still,
she could feel odd textured stones scrape at her soles, and then she heard an
ominous crack. She halted, scared at what she might see should she look down at
her feet. Did she break her ankle? Was she bleeding again? Why didn't she feel
anything? Upon closer inspection, she realized the stones she had been stepping
on were in fact human skulls.
The entire hallway was
littered with bones, rusting weapons and other human remnants. They had all
been picked clean of flesh, muscle and tissue. Only the dust covered garments
and protective armor remained on them. The gravity of the situation suddenly
became apparent to the lilac eyed one. Whoever or whatever lived here did not
seem to like humans, at least living ones.
She squeezed her eyes shut,
trying to forget what she just saw. She made her way along the limestone
corridor quietly, doing her best not to look down. In uneasy silence she continued,
half-dreading, half-expecting a horrendous monster would appear and mow her
down.
Child-like giggles suddenly
broke her thoughts, and the blonde stopped in her tracks. She tried to peer
through the darkness, maybe there were others like her. Other who were lost and
scared, who were kidnapped for some sick unknown purpose. But there was
nothing, no movement, no cause for alarm, nothing but deathly stillness and
unearthly silence. Maybe in her paranoia, she was imagining things?
'Yes, that has to be it.' She
told herself, swallowing a scream in the process. 'It's all in my mind.'
Somehow, she didn't feel quite reassured, especially when she began to hear
unintelligible whispers and knowing snickers. There came a rattling of chains,
steel ringing against stone, and an
almost inaudible growl of hunger.
Terror was gradually building
up in her chest. Her logic dictated she should remain calm and continue in
silence. But her instincts demanded she make a break for it, to Hel with making
a noise. The two sides warred with each other as she remained rooted to the
spot. In the end, she broke into a blind run.
The moment she bolted, her
imaginary pursuit became real. Shadowy figures of armor and swords glided after
the blonde, and the clattering of hooves joined shortly after. Rustling pages
and wind whipping against cloth were added to the growing cacophony of inhuman
sounds.
She rounded a sharp corner,
her bare feet pounding against the floor to the rhythm of her frantic
heartbeat. She had the strangest sensation of flying, but she attributed this
hallucination to her unbridled fear. The blonde had been running for quite some
time, and fatigue began to wear her down.
It was then she noticed the
sounds chasing her had considerably softened. Maybe they gave up? She risked a
quick glance behind her, and in that instant tripped on a furry object. She was
flung head-first into an open chest where its lid fell firmly onto her torso.
In the sour darkness of the
container, she could make out a pair of red eyes staring into her own. An
ominous gleam shone in those orbs as the top was once again raised. She turned
her attention to the lid and found it was lined with rotting human meat. A
shriek emerged from the blonde's lips as the cover was brought down onto her.
A pair of hands roughly pulled
her out of the Mimic's mouth just as it was about to clamp shut. She clattered
onto the floor, with her posterior cushioning the impact. Whatever remained of
her strength decided to flee from her body. She remained motionless while
drinking in the furnishings of the large antechamber. Her gaze soon fell upon
her savior, and lilac eyes widened at the slivers impaled on his arms,
shoulders and legs.
"What do you think you're
doing, Ferro?" the Injustice demanded as he struck the demonic chest. "Didn't
the master specifically tell us we are to treat this special guest with
respect?"
"Sorry, sir. Ferro no know thing
was guest! Thought it was just stupid human."
"You are to be punished for
this."
"No, please mercy! Ferro was
hungry! No think tha-"
The Injustice did not care to
listen to the Mimic's excuse as he slashed Ferro into splinters. A dark haired
woman holding a broom arrived as she adjusted her white apron. She took one
look at the remnants of the Mimic and shook her head.
"Wasn't that a little harsh,
Sir Schyll?" asked the demi-human as she began to sweep. "Mimics are usually
too preoccupied about their stomachs to be thinking straight. And it isn't as
if Ferro could really harm the master's guest. What with his kind having no
elemental alignment that is."
"That's beside the point,
Ashley." Schyll answered gravely. "See to it that the other Mimics are aware
that the master does not tolerate disobedience."
"Yes, Sir Schyll." The Alice
bowed.
"And that goes for the rest of
you." The Injustice yelled out into the darkness. "Ignorance is not an
excuse!" When silence greeted him, Schyll's expression turned ugly. "Do you
understand!!" he bellowed.
"Sir, yes sir!" several
Raydrics, Khalitzburgs and Mysteltainns rattled.
"Very good, and what say the
furry ones?"
"We get the point, Sir
Schyll." A Deviruchi chuckled, waving his miniature trident in the air for
emphasis.
"Will it apologize for
stepping on my head?" a goat-like creature demanded, in a gruff tone that did
not quite match its small size.
"You shouldn't have been
sleeping there in the first place, runt." A Rideword sneered.
The blonde could not help but
stare, while monster after monster emerged from the hallways joining into the
antechamber. The Injustice named Schyll approached her, and she instinctively
cringed as he brought a hand to her.
"Don't hurt me." She pleaded.
"On behalf of my master, allow
me to apologize. Your awakening came as a surprise, we didn't expect you to
rise for another two human months."
"Two… months? How… how long
have I been asleep?" she blinked.
"Nearly an equivalent of a
human year."
"What?" she gasped, suddenly
rising. "What is going on here?! What happened to me?"
"The master is currently away,
but he will return in two months to explain everything. In the meantime, he has
left Glast Heim Castle under my care."
"G-Glast Heim?!" she shrieked,
"No human has ever survived in such a place."
"Oh my, it doesn't know?" a
Joker trilled in sadistic delight. Some of the monsters who heard this
declaration began to laugh.
"Don't know what?" the blonde demanded
in a mixture of anger and dread.
"That you're no longer a
human."
This old man, he played two
He played Knick-Knack on my shoe
