1Iea

VIII : Outrage

"Sis, are you okay?" Ain stumbled off of the stone bench, feeling around. He came into contact with bitterly cold skin, which he responded to by immediately pulling the girl close. "Sis?"

"My stomach hurts..."

"I'm going to move you to a bench, okay?" Feeling behind him, Ain came in contact with the wet bench. Slowly and carefully, he pulled his sister and himself onto the seat, trying to brush away some of the pools of water on it's surface. After getting her head up, he tried to position her feet, which was not an easy thing to do when he couldn't see. "Are you comfortable?"

"I'm cold..."

Ain responded to that by taking Nia into a hug, "I know I can't do much... but... I hope this will do."

"You think..." Nia listlessly gazed into the darkening sky, "...that we will get out, Ain?"

"Of course we will..."

"I think I'm going to pass out..."

"Sis, are you okay? Really?" Ain tried to make her as comfortable as he could.

"Maybe..." She let her eyes slide shut, "I'm going to sleep."

Slipping away into dreamy mists, Nia found herself like a shallow wind, drifting through trees. From her heavenly perch, she saw, through the fading leaves, a horse and rider, followed by a child with bound hands, and yet another man carrying a glowing object. The bundle of white cloth in the dark man's arms glowed softly, never revealing itself to the world. The girl, with bloodstained features and worn feet, was being led by glaring faces... she appeared to be crying ever-so silently, tears hitting the darkened path.

Drifting away with the breeze, the dream's vision came upon a great castle standing against a raging storm. Smoothly gliding in and through a window, the vision came upon a gorgeous throne room that held a massive chair. Within a chair was an equally as stunning a woman, bound to her seat by chains wrapped around her figure. She was smiling lifelessly ahead, blood running from her forehead. Turning the sleepy gaze to the door, a figure was lit up. Against the doorway, a figure drenched in light held aloft a massive sword, the blade ever dripping in blood. All was silent except for the shallow breathing and constant dripping, broken by the sound of a sickening chuckle.

Snapping awake, Nia suddenly pulled closer to her brother. Her stomach was complaining loudly, feeling entirely empty. With a quick gasp, she looked up at him. As the boy had his head hung to the side, looking rather asleep, Nia frantically tugged at his clothes. "Brother?"

"What?" He suddenly sat upright, taking ahold of her hand and trying to look in her direction.

"Bad dream..." She sighed, noting she felt a lot better. "Thanks for letting me take a nap, I wasn't too long, was I?"

"Uhm..."

"What?"

"You've been asleep for a full day..." Ain let out a faint sigh, his stomach joining in the chorus presented by his sister's, "I was afraid to wake you..."

"A whole day?" She sat upright, holding her head. Her skin felt rather cold, damp with condensation. "I'm sorry, you should've woken me up!"

"No, it's qu..." Losing his train of thought, Ain suddenly moved his blind gaze seaward. "Can you hear that?"

Nia slowly closed off all internal thinking, listening. Down against the crashing waves, she could hear voices. "Somebody's here!"

Jumping to her feet, Nia ran to the edge of the cliff. Staring down, she noticed a tiny little boat, complete with some passengers. Though she didn't say a word, she was apparently noticed as an arrow shot past her head. Stumbling over, she scooted back to Ain, whimpering. "We have an emergency!"

"Emergency?"

"Uninvited guests..." Nia paused for a moment. "Wait. There's someone our size there too. There weren't any other horned children I didn't know about, were there?"

"Not that I know of..."

"...We've got to go help them!" Nia stood up, mindful of the waters below and flying arrows, "We can't let them trap anyone else there! Come on..."

Helping her brother rise to his feet, she quickly took off up the stairs that wound around the rocks, dragging the poor boy along faster than he could manage. Reaching the top, she nearly dragged him across the stone platform to a makeshift elevator of sorts, pushing him into a corner. Quickly grasping the dial-like switch, she began running around in slow circles, causing the gondola to rise.

Meanwhile, down below, a young woman was shoved out of the boat and onto the rocky shore. Her hands were bound and her face was covered, which was all well and good since nobody could've recognized her anymore. Being roughly shoved, she could barely make any sense of the talking around her.

"Are you sure this will work?" A gruff voice came out of a man retrieving the glowing sword, "I mean, they don't..."

"The priest said it would work. It may even lure those two back to the tomb." The other devilish man walked to the elevator, waiting for the door to open. In his arms, a small bundle of dull-colored blankets gently rose up and down as if breathing. "What's one sacrifice for another?"

"Yeah, true." Opening the doors, the first man shoved the girl into the elevator, not even paying attention to the fact she fell on her face. Walking in over her, he took the bundle from the first man, then hit the switch. "Don't leave without me."

"Heh, I won't..."

Even during this, the whole series of events was annoying a rather important person. The Queen sat in her throne room, intently gazing ahead into visions. She was having a hard time keeping her mind's eye on both the two children and the new visitors, which caused more than a few nerves to fire.

"What is this, they expect a replacement will do the job? Filthy beings... But I figure, as long as it's a body, it's a body. And where are my two delicacies heading off to?" Silently murmuring to herself, the Queen watched as Nia pulled out her 'handy' shadow form. "What in the name of the ancients is that girl doing, anyhow?"

Outside, out of a window, Ecoule launched itself in a graceful swoop down, carrying along an Ain. Heading for the tall tower with the cage, it dived through and window, and landed on the stone floors with one foot. Awkwardly hopping, it began wobbling to the old storage room.

The Queen faintly began to smile. "Why, they're bringing everything just outside my door... that sword... and those two... why, it's almost if they are doing me a favor. Let's make it easy for them, then, shall we?"

Just as the tomb began shaking with the coming of the elevator, Ecoule wobbled in and tossed Ain behind a casket. Ecoule itself flew up behind a far casket, staring down at Ain. The boy, being as bright as he was, took off and hid behind a casket, and did a rather good job at being concealed. As the elevator came to the top, he could hear loud whimpering.

"Why? Why did you do this to me?" The girl wailed painfully, being dragged out. Her voice joined the wailing of an infant, as she continued, "What are you doing with us?"

"Your little boyfriend didn't stay where he was suppose to- since you are in league with those devils, you can replace them. You see, they've gone missing." The man began climbing up ladders, nearing the still-glowing one destined for Nia and Ain. He didn't notice the shadow standing directly behind it, as the casket's lid soon opened. "You will do us all good."

"You musn't do anything to that infant!" The girl shrieked as she was shoved into the casket, her arms quickly threaded through a block. She soon felt the bundle being shoved in behind her, the child wailing. "Unhand me thi-"

Her voice was cut off with the sound of wet gurgling. Soon the girl slumped to her knees inside the tomb, blood drenching the stone within.

"You'll do better silent." The man turned, taking his leave. The casket slowly began to slide shut, as he headed, sword in hand, to the elevator. "This is one whacked up year for these things..."

Ecoule quickly caught the casket's closing with it's wings, silently.

As the man walked to the door, he was suddenly tackled around the legs by a small figure. In panic, he swung the sword at the child, managing to slice half of the child's shirt off. Ain, though blind, knew where his target was- clambering to the man's face, he began to angrily claw at it, trying to push the sword from the man's arm with his foot.

"AIGH! STOP! DEMON!!" The man tried to grab blindly at the child, only to have his hand bitten. Dropping the sword, he shrieked loudly, in pain.

Reaching for the blade, Ain suddenly noticed he could see faint lines of dark, green-tinted light coming from his bandages. Grabbing the handle, the boy stumbled upright and back. On a hunch, he tore the bandages off around his face.

He could see the faintly glowing aura around his foe, lying on the floor. As the man came up with his own weapon, Ain was able to counter with the blade.

"What is this?? How can you see me?? You are cursed, aren't you??"

"You get what you deserve!" Ain kept the man's sword held back, "I will allow you to leave, but only if you promise to never hurt anyone again!"

"Who are you to order me?!?"

Ain decided to play on the town's natural suspicion of the two. Finally finding a good use for the 'curse', he hissed through his teeth, "If you do not comply, your life will be filled with disease and bad harvest, and all of your children will be horned! Now put down you sword and leave, and promise me!"

Scared out of his wits, the man dropped the sword and began running for the elevator door. "I won't! S-stay away!"

Ain waited until he could hear the elevator leave. Slowly letting the massive blade touch the floor, he found he couldn't see anything more. Up at the tomb, Ecoule furiously pulled the casket open, ignoring the infant's wails that rose up in the air. Finally getting it open as much as it could, Ecoule grabbed the only living being within and let the casket snap shut. Holding the infant in it's wings, Ecoule jumped down to the boy, pushing the bundle against him.

"A...baby?" Taking it, and dropping the sword, Ain tried his best to get the screaming infant into a comfortable position. He continued to blindly mess with the child, until suddenly two cold hands helped him arrange the infant. "Oh, Sis..."

Dripping in blackness, the girl stared at the baby in disbelief. "When you think they couldn't get any lower... they go and... and do something outrageous like this."

"Who... who was in...?"

Nia gazed up at the casket. Within, Sephiel sat slumped against the stone casket, knees resting in blood. Her head was hung and her breathing was stopped, her soul lost somewhere among the stone walls of the castle. Though she could remember the image from peering in as Ecoule, Nia hesitated.... "...somebody I've never seen before, Bro. Some girl. Her face was torn up, but I would've known her if I had seen her before."

"...how... how could they, Big Sis?"

A breathless sigh floated skyward, lost among the infant's cries.

"I don't know, Ain, I just don't know.