Title: Surrender Your Heart
By: Alias: Chica
Disclaimer:............twitches some........SHUT UP ALL OF YOU-JUST SHUT UP! hits head repeatedly
Author's Notes: I've been having writer's block for a few weeks, gr, on account of my friend's writer's block. Damn you Brittney! jk.....or am I? O.o
Chapter 8: Amber Skies and Dragon eyes
Jack, Oona, and Arigon were dead silent as the four of them climbed up the ladder.
The tension was killing Sarah. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
She couldn't explain what had happened and, had she worked up the courage to say
something, anything, she wouldn't know how to explain it in the first place. Nothing
came to mind and 'I'm in love with Jareth' didn't seem too appealing.
Arigon climbed out first and helped her up.
Sarah looked at the ground when a loud crack of lighting was heard and all four of them
jumped.
Sarah, Jack, and Oona looked up at the sky, wide eyed.
The sky was as black as coal with a dark purple spiral reaching to the heavens at the point
of an even sinister appearing castle with jagged edges of jet black stone, looking as if it
had been carved from coal by the hands of the devil, its appearance could make anyone
go completely silent. Not that the surrounding area was any less than dead quiet...dead...
"Amlug Ardh," whispered Arigon, more to himself than to the others.
"How could we end up in the Dragon Realm?" Jack fixated his gaze on the goblin, to
which Arigon smiled, "You have many talents, Jack of the Wood..."
Sarah blinked, looking to them as another bolt of lighting shot through the sky.
"Dragon Realm?"
"S'right...Jack here can speak Elvish...you all best stay close together, lest we be ripped
to pieces by one of the queen's subjects."
Oona gulped.
"Oh, and fairy," he said, turning to Oona, "Shut up. Dragons and Shadow Demons hate
shrill, squeaky noises."
He smirked as he turned back around and Jack held Oona back with two fingers.
Around the castle grew a thick briar patch, encircling it in a shadowy gate.
"To keep them in, a spell cast upon the Kingdom. Not in sleep but in death, the soulless
shall walk forever in its halls..."
Arigon pushed his way through the bushes, as he walked, tunnel vision-ed, through the
gnarled trees and up to the winding path that lead to the top of the cliff
where tall iron gates were entangled in the briar.
No one could do much of anything but follow him closely and listen carefully. Although
what they were hearing did not promise them a safe passage through the gates.
"...Speak not a word in hallowed grounds.. What once was is now lost. The ground is
hardened. The air intoxicated. The water tainted. Hallowed ground it is no more. Painful
death is at your door. Lie awake inside the ground and join the dead on grounds so foul."
"Sounds promising," commented Sarah as they reached the gates.
"Indeed." Arigon looked to the right of the gate at a stone gargoyle, wings stretched out,
staring menacingly at them.
"How do we get in?" Jack whispered, as if the smallest of wrong motions would signal
the go for a feeding, considering the dark shadows that crossed the ground.
Above the four flew dragons. Not one, not two, not three. Not five. Not six. Not seven.
Not Eight. Not Nine. Not Ten. Not Eleven. But the most feared number in all of the 9
kingdoms. Thirteen of course. Thirteen scaly, brown dragons circled them like vultures.
The sight of these dragons would have made your blood run cold.
They were not dragons that you might find in a fairy tale.
They were...unique.
Each dragon had two horns growing from the sides of its head, spiraling like the sky
above.
Talons retracted from their scaly hands, opening and closing to rip a man in two easily.
Their necks were long and spiked with horn-like scales.
Razor sharp teeth sprang from the roof of their mouth, encircling their jaws in a slender,
needle like shape. Rows and rows of these needles rested in the beasts' mouths. They
would not swallow you, but crush you in their mouth, sending hundreds of spikes through
your body. Unfortunately for their prey, thousands of years of evolution since the golden
ages left the needle-teeth in all the right positions to keep you alive long enough to feel as
if you were being split in two and burned from the inside out. They enjoyed your pain.
They fed off of it, rather than your body, and your carcass was strewn on the side to leave
to the Shadow Demons, who in turn sucked out your blood, or what was left of it.
Sarah found herself lost in a particular detail.
She was trapped in the pool of light, that of the white eyes of a dragon.
Arigon looked to Sarah and shook her violently out of her daze. She shot daggers at him
for a moment as her eyes clouded over.
Arigon jumped back for a moment and Sarah's chocolate brown eyes cleared to their
normal state.
"Keep your eyes to yourself. Evil has lordship over these lands."
Stone crumbled as the two gargoyles turned their heads to the four of them, staring
malevolently.
"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars
and under hills, and inside empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, fills empty
hearts, and kills laughter."
Sarah and Jack jumped at the grim voices of the gargoyles and all four stepped back
cautiously. It wasn't a good thing when rocks started talking to you.
"A riddle," said Oona, glancing from the others back to the stone beasts.
Each of them remained quiet for a moment, tracing over the words carefully in their
heads.
"Speak quickly, the omen of death is upon you."
Something about the vibe Sarah was getting from whole place sent little alarms off in her
head to get the hell away from these mock gates of hell.
Although your options seem limited when you're fresh meat in a Kingdom full of hungry,
mutant-morphed dragons.
"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt...fills empty holes....kills laughter..." Sarah whispered.
Flashback
A woman with long raven black hair, chocolate brown eyes, and fair pale skin sat rocking
in a wooden chair holding a child in her arms.
The woman sang softly as she rocked with the brown eyed girl, who looked no older than
four.
"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars
and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, fills empty holes,
kills laughter. Darkness fades as dawn arises. Aroara, aroara, amber skies of gold. Fear
not my child, the darkness is gone, come out from the cupboard and soak in the sun.
Aroara, aroara, amber skies of gold. Fear not my child, the darkness is gone, come out
from the cupboard and soak in the sun..."
End Flashback
Sarah raised her head high to the stone figures and spoke loudly and clearly t the
gargoyles, "Darkness."
Arigon, Jack, and Oona's eyes widened as they glanced from Sarah to the gargoyles,
waiting for an answer. If one could imagine waiting to know whether they would die
slowly and horribly, or rather free passage to a possibly more dangerous castle at the top
of a winding cliff in the middle of a terrible dark storm involving lots of lighting and
thunder. Choices, choices.
The gargoyles simply turned their attention back to the gnarled trees in the dark forest
from whence the four had come from and spoke no longer.
"....Are we dead?" Squeaked Oona, covering her eyes with both tiny hands, sitting on
Jack's shoulder.
"I don't...think so." Replied Arigon, a little confused himself as to what was going, or
had already happened to them.
"That's not good enough!! You don't think-you know!" Yelled Oona, twitching slightly.
Everyone could feel the tension growing as silence consumed them once more.
"I know it was right, I know it was!" Sarah said.
"DARKNESS!" She screamed.
They froze as Sarah's voice echoed through the cliff and the mountains in the distance.
For certain, every dragon, shadow demon, and evil spirit had heard her cry, faint though
it was in the strong wind, it was sure as hell loud enough echoing.
The tall black gates opened slowly, with an iron screech and a graveyard vibe that would
make anyone feel less than welcome.
Sarah looked at Jack. Jack looked at Oona. Oona looked at Arigon. Arigon looked to
them....
They shot through the gates like hell was opening up behind them.
"Might I ask why we are heading straight for the castle?!" Sarah said, between breaths as
they stopped in front of the briar patch, turning their attention to the dragons that were
closing in on them from above.
"Would you rather we stay and be eaten?" Arigon shot a glare at her, getting a bit
frustrated too.
It was then that they realized they were completely trapped.
The way was shut off by the towering thick briar surrounding the castle and the gates
opening to the forest (which hadn't looked too promising from the start) had closed with
a loud clashing, the sound that echoed in their ears as the 'death omen' did indeed wait
for them.
Jack looked around as the others started to panic.
"Follow me!" He shouted, ducking beneath a small opening in the briar as a dragon came
swooping down on them, mouth open to razor sharp teeth.
"What?!" Yelled Sarah as Jack grabbed her arm, pulling her in with him. Arigon
followed, with Oona still clinging to Jack.
The dragon quickly pulled upward and with a loud scream like a banshee, darted through
the sky angrily.
"They cannot reach us here." Jack whispered, gazing up at the dragons.
"B-but they can." Arigon stuttered, raising a finger to hundreds of phantoms in black
cloaks, faces shadowed, gliding over the ground from the forest.
"Shadow Demons..."
Out of luck.
Author's Notes: Sorry again for being so...late-ish with this chapter. Take note of the foreboding drum music! HARK! A battle scene approaches..
By: Alias: Chica
Disclaimer:............twitches some........SHUT UP ALL OF YOU-JUST SHUT UP! hits head repeatedly
Author's Notes: I've been having writer's block for a few weeks, gr, on account of my friend's writer's block. Damn you Brittney! jk.....or am I? O.o
Chapter 8: Amber Skies and Dragon eyes
Jack, Oona, and Arigon were dead silent as the four of them climbed up the ladder.
The tension was killing Sarah. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
She couldn't explain what had happened and, had she worked up the courage to say
something, anything, she wouldn't know how to explain it in the first place. Nothing
came to mind and 'I'm in love with Jareth' didn't seem too appealing.
Arigon climbed out first and helped her up.
Sarah looked at the ground when a loud crack of lighting was heard and all four of them
jumped.
Sarah, Jack, and Oona looked up at the sky, wide eyed.
The sky was as black as coal with a dark purple spiral reaching to the heavens at the point
of an even sinister appearing castle with jagged edges of jet black stone, looking as if it
had been carved from coal by the hands of the devil, its appearance could make anyone
go completely silent. Not that the surrounding area was any less than dead quiet...dead...
"Amlug Ardh," whispered Arigon, more to himself than to the others.
"How could we end up in the Dragon Realm?" Jack fixated his gaze on the goblin, to
which Arigon smiled, "You have many talents, Jack of the Wood..."
Sarah blinked, looking to them as another bolt of lighting shot through the sky.
"Dragon Realm?"
"S'right...Jack here can speak Elvish...you all best stay close together, lest we be ripped
to pieces by one of the queen's subjects."
Oona gulped.
"Oh, and fairy," he said, turning to Oona, "Shut up. Dragons and Shadow Demons hate
shrill, squeaky noises."
He smirked as he turned back around and Jack held Oona back with two fingers.
Around the castle grew a thick briar patch, encircling it in a shadowy gate.
"To keep them in, a spell cast upon the Kingdom. Not in sleep but in death, the soulless
shall walk forever in its halls..."
Arigon pushed his way through the bushes, as he walked, tunnel vision-ed, through the
gnarled trees and up to the winding path that lead to the top of the cliff
where tall iron gates were entangled in the briar.
No one could do much of anything but follow him closely and listen carefully. Although
what they were hearing did not promise them a safe passage through the gates.
"...Speak not a word in hallowed grounds.. What once was is now lost. The ground is
hardened. The air intoxicated. The water tainted. Hallowed ground it is no more. Painful
death is at your door. Lie awake inside the ground and join the dead on grounds so foul."
"Sounds promising," commented Sarah as they reached the gates.
"Indeed." Arigon looked to the right of the gate at a stone gargoyle, wings stretched out,
staring menacingly at them.
"How do we get in?" Jack whispered, as if the smallest of wrong motions would signal
the go for a feeding, considering the dark shadows that crossed the ground.
Above the four flew dragons. Not one, not two, not three. Not five. Not six. Not seven.
Not Eight. Not Nine. Not Ten. Not Eleven. But the most feared number in all of the 9
kingdoms. Thirteen of course. Thirteen scaly, brown dragons circled them like vultures.
The sight of these dragons would have made your blood run cold.
They were not dragons that you might find in a fairy tale.
They were...unique.
Each dragon had two horns growing from the sides of its head, spiraling like the sky
above.
Talons retracted from their scaly hands, opening and closing to rip a man in two easily.
Their necks were long and spiked with horn-like scales.
Razor sharp teeth sprang from the roof of their mouth, encircling their jaws in a slender,
needle like shape. Rows and rows of these needles rested in the beasts' mouths. They
would not swallow you, but crush you in their mouth, sending hundreds of spikes through
your body. Unfortunately for their prey, thousands of years of evolution since the golden
ages left the needle-teeth in all the right positions to keep you alive long enough to feel as
if you were being split in two and burned from the inside out. They enjoyed your pain.
They fed off of it, rather than your body, and your carcass was strewn on the side to leave
to the Shadow Demons, who in turn sucked out your blood, or what was left of it.
Sarah found herself lost in a particular detail.
She was trapped in the pool of light, that of the white eyes of a dragon.
Arigon looked to Sarah and shook her violently out of her daze. She shot daggers at him
for a moment as her eyes clouded over.
Arigon jumped back for a moment and Sarah's chocolate brown eyes cleared to their
normal state.
"Keep your eyes to yourself. Evil has lordship over these lands."
Stone crumbled as the two gargoyles turned their heads to the four of them, staring
malevolently.
"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars
and under hills, and inside empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, fills empty
hearts, and kills laughter."
Sarah and Jack jumped at the grim voices of the gargoyles and all four stepped back
cautiously. It wasn't a good thing when rocks started talking to you.
"A riddle," said Oona, glancing from the others back to the stone beasts.
Each of them remained quiet for a moment, tracing over the words carefully in their
heads.
"Speak quickly, the omen of death is upon you."
Something about the vibe Sarah was getting from whole place sent little alarms off in her
head to get the hell away from these mock gates of hell.
Although your options seem limited when you're fresh meat in a Kingdom full of hungry,
mutant-morphed dragons.
"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt...fills empty holes....kills laughter..." Sarah whispered.
Flashback
A woman with long raven black hair, chocolate brown eyes, and fair pale skin sat rocking
in a wooden chair holding a child in her arms.
The woman sang softly as she rocked with the brown eyed girl, who looked no older than
four.
"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars
and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, fills empty holes,
kills laughter. Darkness fades as dawn arises. Aroara, aroara, amber skies of gold. Fear
not my child, the darkness is gone, come out from the cupboard and soak in the sun.
Aroara, aroara, amber skies of gold. Fear not my child, the darkness is gone, come out
from the cupboard and soak in the sun..."
End Flashback
Sarah raised her head high to the stone figures and spoke loudly and clearly t the
gargoyles, "Darkness."
Arigon, Jack, and Oona's eyes widened as they glanced from Sarah to the gargoyles,
waiting for an answer. If one could imagine waiting to know whether they would die
slowly and horribly, or rather free passage to a possibly more dangerous castle at the top
of a winding cliff in the middle of a terrible dark storm involving lots of lighting and
thunder. Choices, choices.
The gargoyles simply turned their attention back to the gnarled trees in the dark forest
from whence the four had come from and spoke no longer.
"....Are we dead?" Squeaked Oona, covering her eyes with both tiny hands, sitting on
Jack's shoulder.
"I don't...think so." Replied Arigon, a little confused himself as to what was going, or
had already happened to them.
"That's not good enough!! You don't think-you know!" Yelled Oona, twitching slightly.
Everyone could feel the tension growing as silence consumed them once more.
"I know it was right, I know it was!" Sarah said.
"DARKNESS!" She screamed.
They froze as Sarah's voice echoed through the cliff and the mountains in the distance.
For certain, every dragon, shadow demon, and evil spirit had heard her cry, faint though
it was in the strong wind, it was sure as hell loud enough echoing.
The tall black gates opened slowly, with an iron screech and a graveyard vibe that would
make anyone feel less than welcome.
Sarah looked at Jack. Jack looked at Oona. Oona looked at Arigon. Arigon looked to
them....
They shot through the gates like hell was opening up behind them.
"Might I ask why we are heading straight for the castle?!" Sarah said, between breaths as
they stopped in front of the briar patch, turning their attention to the dragons that were
closing in on them from above.
"Would you rather we stay and be eaten?" Arigon shot a glare at her, getting a bit
frustrated too.
It was then that they realized they were completely trapped.
The way was shut off by the towering thick briar surrounding the castle and the gates
opening to the forest (which hadn't looked too promising from the start) had closed with
a loud clashing, the sound that echoed in their ears as the 'death omen' did indeed wait
for them.
Jack looked around as the others started to panic.
"Follow me!" He shouted, ducking beneath a small opening in the briar as a dragon came
swooping down on them, mouth open to razor sharp teeth.
"What?!" Yelled Sarah as Jack grabbed her arm, pulling her in with him. Arigon
followed, with Oona still clinging to Jack.
The dragon quickly pulled upward and with a loud scream like a banshee, darted through
the sky angrily.
"They cannot reach us here." Jack whispered, gazing up at the dragons.
"B-but they can." Arigon stuttered, raising a finger to hundreds of phantoms in black
cloaks, faces shadowed, gliding over the ground from the forest.
"Shadow Demons..."
Out of luck.
Author's Notes: Sorry again for being so...late-ish with this chapter. Take note of the foreboding drum music! HARK! A battle scene approaches..