Hey peps! Here I am with a brand new chapter, I hope you guys will enjoy it. Have a great read, bye.
A Shattered Life
Chapter 13: Darkness Approaches
It was a rather beautiful and quiet night as the moon glistened brightly along the small river at the edge of the settlement, there weren't many souls in sight as almost everyone was either asleep or otherwise. The market located at the town's center was packing with a quite large number of citizens that sill needed to buy supplies for their families, while others were simply enjoying themselves in the local taverns with drinks and songs about the great achievements their people had made through the years. But, there was a single, lonely man who was next to one of Gwain's biggest monuments.
The structure was built about fifty years ago, this obelisk at the old town center is here to commemorate soldiers of all ages whose sacrifices have made sure life is as good as it is today. Its position within the community is meant to represent the backbone of the brave people of Gwain, and is a symbol of strength and perseverance. It was designed by a local artist who exquisitely captured the people's joy of the region and used an ornate style to convey her vision in this piece of art. Every element was crafted and created with deluxe materials from local suppliers, ensuring this monument will continue to uplift spirits with minimum maintenance requirements.
"For years that man has been in power and he doesn't do absolutely nothing to expand our territory, he wishes to make alliances with weak villages instead of conquering them. What a foolish man, but his time will soon come to an end and my blade will be the one to bring him down." Solomon chuckled. "When I take control of this place, everything will change. Those filthy animals will become slaves and the weak shall be eradicated from this land, only the strongest deserve to live in my new kingdom." His eyes burned with determination. He wants the throne of Gwain for himself so he can turn his twisted dreams into reality, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if it means killing a large amount of innocents along his path.
Solomon looked at the obelisk with a disgusted expression, he then released his sword and swung it sideways, making a small scratch on the surface. Solomon's blade has a barbed, curled cross-guard, offering plenty of protection to the owner's hands and thus his life. The cross-guard has a jeweled horn on each side, a unique design for a unique weapon. A massive pommel is marked with the sword maker's symbol. "This monument to Gwain's heroes will be the first thing I destroy after I become King, in fact every important landmark that was built by that idiot Aiden and his supporters shall be brought down."
"My, my, your desires are so simple Captain." Said a mysterious figure with ashen-black hair and bright amber eyes, while approaching Solomon. "But remember, you will only get what was promised if you do your job correctly, and let me say that my Mistress will not tolerate failure." This young woman was wearing a dark-red, off-the-shoulders, V-neck mini-dress with yellow designs. There is a blue feather-like accessory on her right hip, at the top of an open portion of her beautiful dress. The outfit ends in an upside-down triangular tail in the back, ending just above the knees.
Captain Solomon was surprised by her sudden appearance, he placed his sword back to its holster and said. "I didn't expected you so soon Cinder, I still need more time to handle those Genesis cannons. Since Lord Aiden decided to double the guard, getting inside the control room without anyone noticing has been a real pain in the ass." He then noticed the young woman was all alone. "Where are your men?! Don't tell me you came here without support." Solomon couldn't believe it. "Taking down Gwain's warriors won't be easy, specially that Avala bitch, she's quite strong and if you think you can beat her all by yourself than you are more stupid than you look."
"Don't worry Captain, I'm not alone, my associates are already taking care of a few things that will aid us in the upcoming battle." Replied Cinder as she placed her hand gently on the man's chest, and with a smile she said. "Now, lets get one thing straight." She pinned him to the obelisk, her right hand began to slowly burn through the armor that Solomon had on. "You are here to serve me and not the other way around. If you disrespect me again, I will end your pathetic, miserable life without thinking twice."
A sharp pain struck Solomon's chest because of the heat that was being radiated from Cinder. One hand reached for the stability of the wall behind him while the other tried to push her back, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough strength. "S-Stop it!" He shouted while in pain. "My apologies, I promise I won't disrespect you ever again. Please! Release me, I beg you."
"That's better." Cinder pulled her hand back. "Tomorrow night, I want to hear what you have done so far to cripple their defenses and how many soldiers we have at our side." She said. "Now, where will I sleep? I hope you have picked a good place for me."
"I...I told Lord Aiden that I was bringing a member of my family to town and he offered a room where you could spend the night." He replied while struggling to get up, his armor's chest-plate had a small hole in it and the surface of his skin had burn marks. "F-Follow me, I'll take you to the castle, and if anyone asks, you are my daughter."
"Lead the way, old man."
Both Cinder and Solomon made their way towards the castle. The walls of the courtyard were crawling with vines, there were also a few ornaments scattered around, giving a sense of style, but the most magnificent piece would be the beautifully carved water fountain that was installed in the middle of the area. Has they continued to walk, they soon realized they weren't alone, as Ruby and Geo were also in the courtyard. "So that's Prince Geo over there?" She looked at the boy from top to bottom. "For the son of a noble family his choice of clothes is quite normal. But who's the girl next to him?" Cinder asked intrigued.
"That girl is Ruby Rose, she's the boy's woman."
Cinder smiled. "So Geo has a girlfriend, how interesting."
At a certain point they crossed paths with the young couple. "Hello my Lord, Lady Ruby." Greeted Solomon while bowing his head. "I have to introduce you my daughter, her name is Cinder Fall and she'll be staying at the castle for a couple of weeks." He said.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cinder." He shook her hand. "My name is Geo, and this is Ruby, my girlfriend."
"Hi." Ruby smiled.
"It's an honor to meet you both, I wish we could talk some more but I'm very tired from my travel. If you excuse, I will head to my room so I can rest for tonight." Cinder replied. "Father, can you show me to my bedroom? I have no idea where it is, this castle is big and I don't want to get lost."
"Of course my dear." Said the Captain. "Good night, to you both." He and Cinder entered the castle through the main gate, leaving Geo and Ruby alone in the courtyard.
The young Lord turned to Ruby. "Did you see the hole in Solomon's armor?"
"I did, I wonder what caused that." Ruby answered. "Anyway, lets go back to what we were doing. Try one more time, I know you can do it."
Geo sighed. "Alright." He cleared his throat and started. "Citizens of Gwain, I am here to tell you that after much discussion between my father and the nobles, they have decided to let the Faunus keep living within these walls. I understand if many of you are not happy with this decision, but remember that these people are our brothers and sisters. They have fought on our side for years, we can't let the White Fang divide us. We must remain together so we can protect the future of our town." He finished with the speech.
Ruby clapped. "It was good, there might be a few parts that could use some work, but nonetheless, it was a great speech. I'm sure everyone will like it."
"Let's hope so." The young Lord smiled.
"Excuse me." Lord Aiden said, gaining the attention of the couple. "My apologies if I interrupted something, but miss Ruby, I would like to have a word with my son. There's an important subject we need to discuss."
"O-Okay." She then turned to her boyfriend and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night." Ruby walked away.
"Sleep well my princess."
When Ruby was far from sight, Lord Aiden took a seat on the bench near the fountain. "You have picked a good girl for you son, she is kind, strong and beautiful. I can see in her eyes that she truly loves you." He said with his usual attitude. "And that's another reason for you to not use your Semblance, otherwise, you will never see her face or her smile ever again."
"What do you mean father?" Geo asked.
"Geo, your Semblance allows you to increase your strength, speed, eyesight and Aura. Not only that, has you can also perform extremely hard technique's that takes years for most warriors and Huntsman to learn." He answered. "But everything in this world comes with a price, and I'm afraid your Semblance come with one to. Tell me, what did you felt after you used it?"
"Well, I felt exhausted and my eyes were hurting like hell." He said.
"Has I thought. The more you use it, your body will get weaker and at a certain point you will go blind." Said Aiden with a serious expression. "That's the reason why many Casterwill's were blind before they reached old age. A good example of that was Lady Neptis, she was twenty-two when she became blind and I don't want the same to happen to you."
"...I-I had no idea." This new information about his family left him almost without words. "But you still should have been honest with me father, I'm not a child anymore." Said Geo.
"Haha! Yes you are." Laughed Aiden. "You are only sixteen my boy, you know little how cruel Remnant really is, I learned that the hard way." He replied. "I'm sorry for the lies, but you have to understand that in more than two hundred years there weren't any Casterwill's with purple eyes, and when you were born with those eyes I had to protect you from yourself and Sal..." Aiden paused at that precise moment.
"Protect me from who?"
"...Just from yourself, because I thought when you found out, you could perhaps abuse it's power."
"I would never do such a thing, besides I don't even know exactly how I activated my Semblance." Replied Geo. "I'm not sure if I can do it again."
"Maybe that's for the best."
Geo then yawned. "Well, I should go to bed, tomorrow is going to be a pretty busy day, specially with that speech I have to do in front of the whole town." Just with the mere thought, Geo started to get a little nervous. "Good night father." He walked to main entrance.
"See you tomorrow my child."