U B I
Q U I T Y
written by "2Sexy4TheDragons" or "Nevi &
Korii"
don't cut my face!
Disclaimer;
Lollerskates. I mean, we don't own Dragon Knights, but we do
own our original characters. (That's really a drag to type out
every chapter.)
Author's Note; Nevi loves you.
A Shift in Power
Chapter Three
Michi's eyes flickered open, the pale girl jumping slightly as she recognized the figure of a young girl perched at the end of her bed. Sitting up, trying to rub away the sleepiness in her eyes, Michi managed to confirm that her visitor was the girl she had met the previous night -- the girl... Yume, wasn't it? "..A-ah, how long have you been there?" she questioned, trying to conceal her surprise.
"Since dawn." The child's voice was no where near as cheerful as it had been upon their first encounter, instead it seemed to carry a sort of dull, dark tone.
Michi glanced to the window, taking notice of the odd weather. Just yesterday hadn't it been moderately warm? And wasn't it almost mid-Spring? "... Is it... snowing?"
Yume, too, glanced out the window, a sly smirk forming on her face. "My, it appears that it is." She stood from her place at the foot of the bed, slowly making her way to the window. Idly, she pressed her fingers to the window and glanced over her shoulder. "Do you like the snow?"
Michi stood up as well, running a hand through her hair, hoping to brush it out some (after all, it always seemed to tangle after a night's sleep). "Well, sometimes... it makes me nervous..."
"Nervous? It's simply precipitation. How could that make you nervous?" Yume questioned cruelly, scraping her fingernails against the glass.
"Mmph, Gil won't like you doing that," came a comment from the doorway.
Michi turned, though Yume seemed to stay in her place, not phased. What she saw seemed to only succeed in baffling her; hovering in the doorway was an exact replica of the girl who currently stood before the window. "Two Yume's?"
The doorway Yume stepped forward, giggling slightly but was cut off by her twin before she could speak, "If there were two of her, I'd kill myself."
Doorway Yume stuck her tongue in the other's direction, a pout forming on her lips. "Ignore her. She's not pleasant company." Shaking her head, she explained, "I'm the one you met last night. My sister there is Akumu..."
Michi nodded slowly; well, it all seemed to make sense. Of course, there was more than just a little difficulty in telling the two apart, but it didn't seem that important of a problem. Besides, wouldn't she be leaving soon? Provided of course that her captor woke up and actually planned on taking her to the Demon Castle (well, it wasn't that she wanted to go, but a demon with orders should obey them, right?).
"The demons captured you." The statement from Akumu seemed to capture Michi's attention. Not only was it true, the two seemed to know something about it.
"... Yes," Michi replied hesitantly. A realization seemed to dawn upon her. "The two of you... are you demons as well?"
"N-no," came Yume's response, her head turning so she glanced to the snow as well, seemingly finding inspiration in the white rain. "You see, the truth is... We were captured by demons as well."
"Bierrez?" Michi questioned curiously, her emerald eyes falling upon the two girls.
"Yes, he murdered our parents and took us and our older brother, Gil, within a matter of moments," Yume continued. "He forced Gil to be his lover..."
/ U B I Q U I T Y /
"Achoo!" A simultaneous sneeze woke both Gil and Bierrez, one looking at the other.
After a moment of silence, Gil commented, "Bless you?"
"... Well, I'd rather not be," Bierrez replied nonchalantly. "I've heard it burns the demon skin."
"You deserve it." Gil yawned, nuzzling against Bierrez's chest. "Mrow."
"Still tired? That's ridiculous." Though as he spoke, Bierrez seemed to catch Gil's yawn as well, eyes closing as he stretched his arms above his head. "Though I suppose a few more minutes of sleep won't hurt us..."
/ U B I Q U I T Y /
"That's horrible!" Michi exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands as she stared in shock at Yume. "... And you can't leave?"
Yume shook her head. "He's placed a binding spell on my sister, brother, and I. Not only may we never leave, but we won't age either."
Without another word, Michi stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Yume. "I'm sorry... I..."
Yume smiled up at her, her arms wrapping around the elder girl as well. "It's fine," she murmured.
"You get used to it... Though..." She glanced to her sister, eyes wavering as though she were about to cry.
Akumu only nodded solemnly, turning from the window. "You will share our fate if you do not escape now," she informed Michi, fingers now trailing along the window seal.
"... He'll trap me here?" Michi inquired, curiosity lining her face. "But... he was supposed to take me to the Demon Castle... Won't he get in trouble if he doesn't?"
Yume gave a bitter chuckle. "Bierrez? Obey orders? No, he's powerful enough he doesn't have to obey orders."
Michi didn't say another word, hands falling limply to her sides. What was she to do? The sensible part told her to make a run for it, escape and hope she wasn't caught, but the more caring side of her reminded her that both Yume and Akumu... They were stuck here... She couldn't just leave them, could she? "But the two of you?"
"We will be okay," Akumu assured her, though a frown had perched itself on her face. "We have no chance for escape. If we knew you remained here for us, ending all freedom you still had, I doubt either of us would be able to handle the guilt."
Yume nodded in agreement to her sister's words. "It's true. If anything, we'd like you to escape. You've got the chance, don't you see? We couldn't bear it if someone else had the same fate as us, especially knowing that we could have done something to stop it..."
"I... thank you," Michi murmured, giving a sad smile to the twins. "If you'll help me, I'll make my escape now."
/ U B I Q U I T Y /
Kai-Stern hiccupped, stumbling slightly down the dirt path, sword drawn, blade dripping slightly with the tint of demon blood. Though en route to Draqueen from his latest visit to Cezarre, he'd managed to stray from course, finding a few of the finer pubs on the journey home.
A screech caught his attention and the Blue Dragon Officer jerked his head in the general direction of the sound. After a few more screams (all in quick succession), he pin-pointed a location and more or less stumbled towards it.
It didn't take him long before he'd discovered the source; a purple-haired girl who appeared to be either in her upper teens or lower 20's cornered by an oddly shaped demon. Were it not for the alcohol impairing his judgment, Kai-Stern would have sworn the thing was nothing but an overgrown tick. Of course, what it looked like really wasn't of anyone's concern at the moment.
With a swing of his
sword, the beast was split into two separate halves, each oozing out
what appeared to be blood. The girl's eyes were wide and she quickly
lifted her hands to shield them.
"It's --
hic -- alright now," Kai-Stern assured her, stepping towards
her as he placed his free hand on her shoulder.
She nodded slowly, glancing up and for the first time Kai-Stern seemed to notice the tears that trailed down her cheeks. Of course, he couldn't blame her. She had just been attacked by one of the ugliest demons he'd seen in a while.
"You're pretty far from town," Kai-Stern commented, studying her to the best of his drunken ability. "Is that really safe?"
She furiously shook her head, shoulders heaving as she struggled to keep from sobbing. "N-no, but... I was captured by demons and I managed to escape but... I'm lost... and they'll be after me again, soon, and..."
Only comprehending about half of what she said, Kai-Stern nodded solemnly at her. "Sounds... rather -- hic -- unpleasant?" Brushing her tears away, he grinned at her. "No need to worry now though, I promise. Where are you headed?"
"I... I don't know," she confessed. "It wouldn't be safe to go home again. I... I don't know what the demons want with me... but I know they'll be after me... and... and..." She broke down into sobs again, this time fully covering her face.
Kai-Stern patted her back, taking a deep breath, obviously trying to soothe his hiccupping. "I see, then in that case, why don't you accompany me? I'm heading back to the Dragon Castle--"
"The Dragon Castle!" This caught her attention and the girl quickly glanced at him, noticing for the first time the shape of his ears. "You're... a member of the Dragon Tribe?"
"Yes, an officer to be exact... And you are...?"
"Michi, or at least, as far as I know, I'm Michi..."
/ U B I Q U I T Y /
Yume stared out the window, her forehead pressed
against the glass. The snow had since calmed down, a peaceful flurry
now. Behind her, Akumu stood in the doorway, leaning up against the
frame.
"Yume?"
Yume gave a small grunt of recognition, though refusing to turn and glance at her sister.
"Is there something wrong?" Akumu approached her sister, her own dual-colored eyes gazing at the snow.
"What we did... Sister, was it wrong?"
Akumu gave her an almost mortified look. "No, we had every reason to do what we did," she snapped cruelly.
Yume gave a slow nod. "... We lied to her."
"In order to get her away from the demons. Believe me -- it will help her in the long run," Akumu assured her sister.
"I don't think so," Yume replied, her voice almost bitter.
"I believe... what we're doing... will hurt her."
Akumu said nothing more, a look of disbelief on her face. Her sister,
her own twin in blood, was questioning the one thing that allowed
them to exist -- their master's will.
"Master has not always been correct, sister," Yume informed her quietly, turning towards the doorway. "Either way, we should leave now before Gil wakes up."
/ U B I Q U I T Y /
"Shit!" Bierrez growled, fist slamming against the doorframe to Michi's room. She was gone. He'd turned his back for a moment and she'd escaped. Sure, he should have paid more attention to her but who would have expected a timid thing like her to run away? Especially considering the area was full of demons...
"Don't break my doorframe," Gil muttered, walking by him.
Bierrez turned to glare at the cat-demon's back. "She's gone, Gil," he hissed, the words almost making him sick to his stomach. These weren't his orders to begin with, sure... but knowing her importance, he knew he was in for Hell. "I have to go."
Gil glanced over his shoulder, nodding slightly. "I see..."
Giving him a quick smirk, Bierrez instructed, "Don't look so upset. I'll be back before you know it."
End Chapter Three
