-Chapter Nine
Ruins of Darkness-
The image of a tuxedoed man standing in a rose garden in front of her flickered slightly. With a slight jolt she picked herself up and surveyed her surroundings. Ruins of marble surrounded her, tendrils of mist rose slowly to the sky and the echoing sounds of a haunting song. Clasping her hands together she sighed and bowed her head.
"Who is he… where am I?" her voice bounced playfully among the ruins before fading away. The music faltered slightly before becoming bolder then stopping altogether.
You have forgotten? The blonde haired woman narrowed her eyes angrily and whirled around.
"How can I remember if everyone speaks in-" Nothing was there. No one was there, but she had heard someone! She had definitely heard the familiar voice of a genderless individual (or was it a duo?) who had been with her ever since she could dream. The one who claimed to be something special to her yet continued to leave her alone. Internally the blue eyed girl hissed.
Riddles? The voice concluded for her and the girl jumped. Shaking her head she looked around before her eyes fell on a light that shifted listlessly among the mist. Hai, (1) we do… We do because riddles are what we are and also because they are the keys to the door long forgotten. It wouldn't be half the fun if the answer was told before the riddle, now would it Serenity? The petite girl sighed and once again curled into a small ball, tightly hugging her knees to her chest.
"The riddle?" She whispered, her voice thick with tears. The shadow's eyebrow rose in confusion. "Give me the riddle if you can't give me an answer." The light stopped moving. Its filmy form seemed to flicker violently before a sharp crackling sound filled the stifling air.
Paled with cold despair…
As I hang alone within the air…
Dead as the barren land,
I am born to shift the sand…
What am I?
Find the answer to that… and you'll have your answer little Serenity… The voice trailed off slightly and the light faded also. A piercing scream filled the air. Darkness clawed at the half broken barriers of the ruins.
"Don't… I don't want to be alone!" The girl cried, her voice high pitched with hysterics. The shadows laughed, already believing themselves to be triumphant.
"Don't leave me alone!"
-(-)-
Serena's body shot up, her eyes wild with an unnatural amount of fear. With shaky hands she reached for the light and flipped the switch in the on position, flooding the room with bright light. A small shiver ran down her spine.
When did I turn the light off? She mentally questioned as she rubbed her arms in effort to get rid of the goose bumps. I hate the dark… She whimpered softly and curled into a ball. I'm not scared, not scared… not afraid… not scared…With that she stopped shivering and reached over to flip the light switch when she paused, her eyes dark and emotionless slates as she remembered her dream.
I'm not tired anymore, so I might as well get up… Carefully she slid off her bed and walked towards the door, unaware of the glowing numbers of the clock that stated 4:45.
-(-)-
"I'mgonnabelate! I'mgonnabelate!" Darien Shields yelled through a mouthful of a waffle as he hobbled down the stairs shoving his arm into his coat and pushing his foot into his shoe. From the kitchen his mother sighed as she nursed a hot cup of coffee.
"Have a good day Darien," she called. In return she heard a muffled shout and the door slam. Outside the ebony haired boy hefted his bag higher on his shoulder and broke into a run. Coming to the next street corner he heard Luna yell something and when he turned around to answer his body slammed into another.
"Hey! Why don't'cha watch where you're going kid!" Growled an angry voice. Gulping slightly, the boy looked up from the ground and realized that he had run into two tough looking guys.
"S-sorry…" Carefully he stood up and dusted himself off. The guy he ran into scowled darkly.
"Apology not accepted, you clumsy little dweeb!" The first guy growled and second guy chuckled, cracking his knuckles causing Darien to shudder slightly.
"Ya hear that? Maybe your lunch money would cheer him up a bit…" Sneered the second guy. Darien gulped again and took a couple steps back.
"How about a face lift?" drawled a new voice. A tall girl with long brown hair stomped up to them and cracked her knuckles. The two men eyed her skeptically before letting out an intelligent, "huh?" The girl growled slightly. "You heard me, apologize. I saw the whole thing it was an accident, so apologize and bug off, bud."
"What's this? This girl here thinks she can beat us up!" Laughed the first guy, as if cued the second guy joined in quickly. "So baby, care to let us in on what you plan to do?" He purred lecherously when he stopped laughing. Woah, he didn't like the sound of that… this girl just helped him out and now she was probably going to get hurt because of him…. Just as he made up his mind to step in and give the girl a chance to run, the girl snapped angrily.
"Don't call me that you son of a bitch!" She yelled and lunged at the first guy. Cerulean eyes widened fractionally as the first bully fell and the other bully was in the process. When the girl finally 'hmph'ed and dusted herself off she turned to Darien and he studied her. Long brown hair, shining green eyes and the body of an amazon.
Wow… she's amazing! He cheered mentally. Out loud he said, "Umm, thanks!" The girl smiled and kicked one of the bullies.
"I'm Lita."
-(-)-
;Beryl-sama (2) doesn't need this one…Hissed the first voice that caused shivers.
-I can taste its lovely blood already! Hissed another, more alluring voiced that was thick with venomous honey.
- Shut up fools! We can't kill the mortal yet! Hissed the third, icy-filled voice of hatred.
;But we hunger for flesh sister! Just one bite will suffice…
- SILENCE! Zoicite-san (3)has stated Beryl-sama's orders. If the foolish mortal gives in to lust and fails his task then we shall feast. 'Til then, we watch as he hunts for the crystals…
-(-)-
Tee hee hee! Sorry everyone for my long period of absence… I haven't been on in a while and when I have I couldn't think of much to write. :begs: Please forgive me! Anyways, what did everyone think of this recent chapter? Personally, I like the Japanese touch (the respectful titles) that I added just recently. Weeelll, please comment in a review, and don't be afraid to give constructive criticism too. KEYWORD: constructive!
Hai: It's the Japanese word for yes.
–sama: It's the way to show respect to someone superior to oneself.
–san: Another way to show respect, yet not as much as –sama
Thankies for reading, and extra thanks to everyone who has had enough patience to check up on this fic. In the next chappy (which will be out sooner than this one was) I'll answer all the reviews that were made last chapter. Thanks again!
Angel-Of-Serene