Hey guys! I thought I'd give this type of chapter a try! I hope you guys like it!
Special thanks to: TopzFireCrystal, Ita-chan18, Emerald180, 23crinconcampos for following me and the story! Love you guys!
And thank you to:
Guest: *drags you out of the emo corner and sit you in front of computer* Here's the new chapter, go back to your emo corner later.
…
Once Upon a Time, there was a King, a King who wanted to be the most powerful in the land. But even he knew he was not the most powerful, for his heart was burned to ash, a coal black heart. Hearts are powerful, and those with a golden heart are the most, but they were rare.
"Magic Mirror, on the wall. Who is the most powerful of them all?" The King asked snow flake decorated mirror, as he did every day, hoping that it would change.
But, the mirror always said the same. "You are powerful, that much is true, but there is still one more powerful than you." Lightning crashed and thunder boomed behind the floating head.
The King growled, "Show her to me!" He ran a hand through his raven coloured hair, glaring at the girl who appeared in the mirror.
A girl, bordering on the age of 16 with long flowing brown hair. It fluttered behind her as she rode her horse through the country side, constantly looking back over her shoulder, a smile plastered on her face.
"Those guards are useless…"
…
"Get back here Roselle!" A guard shouted thundering after her on his own black steed. "You can't run forever!"
She laughed and turned back to yell at him, "Just watch me!" She stroked her mare's neck, "Come on Winter, let's go!" The almost red horse took off at an even faster rate, carrying the girl across the field faster than before. "That's my girl."
She watched with green eyes as the guard, and his companion slow their horses down, letting her get away. "God damn it fair maiden!" She heard the female guard shout but all she did was laugh. These guys were way too easy to out run.
Rose didn't stop until she reached the edge of the forest, looking back and saluting to the guard. He gave her a not-so-pleasant gesture, which she ignored, trotting into the deep forest.
She was such a care free spirit, she didn't stick to the rules, and when she thought about it, neither did her friends. They all avoided the law, there were their own kind of rebels. None of them believed in the rules of the kingdom.
Seriously, the King has been known to rip out the hearts of those who don't surrender themselves to the war. He ripped out your heart if it possessed any sense of magic, and the royals are the only ones who can even use magic.
Everyone has to be tested to see what kind of magic their hearts possess. If there's enough found in your heart…well, you don't get seen again for a long time…if they see you at all.
After crossing a stream, and walking through the base of a mountain, she came across the familiar sight of a secluded area. In which, there was an un-touched forest, with a camp sitting in the middle.
"Hey Rose." A deep voice called to her from her right. There stood a boy, around her age with long blonde hair and stunning green eyes. "How'd you go?" He asked pushing a rock over gap she just came through.
She smirked, jumping down off her horse and slung the bag onto the ground in front of him, "Feast your eyes on this!" She said opening the bag to revel a few loaves of bread, potatoes, apples, hay, cloths. "I think I out did myself this time, don't you Liam?" She dusted her nails with a laugh.
A thud sounded behind her, and she didn't need to turn her head to know who it was. James, he acted like the scout of the group, always up high on the mountain, hidden in trees. The higher he is, the happier he is. And no, that's not meant as a drug reference. "Nice stash." He commented, running a hand through his black hair, looking over it with bright blue eyes.
"Is Che' hiding in the tent?" She asks, grabbing Winter by her reins and leading her back to the camp, whilst Liam grabbed her bag.
The camp sat next to a giant oak tree, the only one of its kind in the realm, or at least the explored section of the kingdom. The King had ordered that no one can leave the borders of the city, and went as far as to put up a protection spell, stopping them from crossing into another kingdom. But hey, the Kingdom wasn't that bad, and beyond it looked almost…dead.
Plus, the kingdom was huge, and some hasn't even been explored.
"Che'!" I called out, and I get a response from up in the tree.
"Up here!" She shut her book, placing it in a satchel before grabbing onto a nearby branch, and used it to flip down. Her long black hair flowed behind her as the fell, hitting the ground gracefully. "Did you get it?" Her eyes were pleading with excitement.
Roselle smiled, reached behind her back, pulling out a blue covered book. "Did you honestly doubt me?" She placed it in her friend's hand, and she smiled excitedly.
"Never!" She wrapped her hands around her friend's neck hugging her tightly. "I'm always impressed by your thieving skills."
"Cheers."
…
He watched her salute to the guard, a burning rage boiling inside him. The guard flipped her off, and she left him. But that was all he could see. With an annoyed glare of furious red eyes. The young King turned away from the mirror. Every time she enters that forest she disappears, not even the mirror can find her.
"I need her now!" He growled, slamming his fist into a pillar, leaving a spider webbed crack. "I want to be the most powerful in the land…if only I could find her." With a dramatic turn he looked out the window onto the town down below.
People. Little, petty people. Just going about their lives, nothing special about them. But there was that one girl, that one stupid girl and her horse who always escapes his guards. He needs someone who can get her. But who?
"I may have someone who can help, your highness. Have you considered releasing the Huntress?" The rhyming Mirror spoke, and The King lifted his head.
"The Huntress? Is she still under my control?" He became interested in the topic so suddenly, knowing that his guards are useless.
"I knew what you'd say, I don't know how. But, I do have her hiding here, right now."
From up on the ceiling, down drops a warrior. A red mask hiding her face, and a black bow in her long red hair. Strapped to her back, a long sphere, and to her hip, a white sword. She said nothing as she gave a perfect landing, waiting for her instructions.
"Will you do what I need you to do?" He questioned, and she gave one small nod. "Excellent, I want her heart, beating, by tomorrow."
She stood tall and strong, watching the young King with her own glowing red eyes, "Understood." Her voice was strong, but calm. As if she had done this many times before. And then, she almost vanished. A faint red blur seemed to just linger around her exit path.
The young king sat in his chair, content with what he had just heard. "Excellent."
…
Another day had passed and Rose once again rode Winter to the town of Asteria. She had her dark green cloak up, hiding her face with the shade. She learnt to be cautious, well, what else can you do when you're a well-known thief.
She left Winter just outside with a wild herd of horses, they all look after each other out there, they keep her hidden. I don't know why, but they just do.
Today however was different. She was on an Intel mission. She and her friends were determined to take down the monarch. Their King was evil, cruel and heartless. It was rumoured to be true that he took out his own heart at kept it locked away so no one else could take it. Liam and James had found out that the King was searching for something through a merchant, and it was her job to discover what that was.
"A pretty necklace for the lady?" Someone shoved a fake emerald necklace in her face, but she simply walked by without a second glance. She couldn't let her guard down.
She watched everyone at once, looking for a person she's never met. She always questioned missions like these, because she was the one getting the remaining information out of whoever it was. James and Liam said it had to be this way, as if they were to hang around for too long, the guards would get suspicious.
She saw a new cart in the city, one selling unique flowers. As she moved closer, she pulled a gold coin from her pocket, and began playing it between her fingers.
She caught the eye of the seller. Pretty blue eyes, curly blonde hair, quite short for an older man. He grabbed a red rose from his basket, holding it in his hand, almost as if to give it to her as she walked past.
She flicked the gold coin in her hand, and watched as it rolled, landing tails side up. "Tails, I lose." He said as he picked it up, and rubbing it between his fingers.
"Heads up, you'll win next time." She replies, smirking as she heard the next line.
"Heads off is when we'll win," He holds out the red rose to her whilst in the other hand, he held a white one. "Rose for a Rose?"
She took it in her hand, smiling sweetly, before examining the flower, "It's made of wood." She noted, and he smiled.
"Lachy's Wooden Roses. They can survive anything." The salesmen smiles, trying to promote his product, but she only smirked, playing it cool.
With a deep breath, she began to walk around looking at each individual rose, "What information do you have for us?" She says, pretending to smile at the black roses beauty.
The salesmen smiled, and nodded, almost as if to show that he agreed with what she said about the rose, picking up an orange coloured one as if to talk about the fine craftsmen ship. "The King, he's searching for something precious, something that no one else owns. Not even himself. A heart."
She furrowed her eyebrows with a frown, "But everyone has one." She picked up a blue rose next, running her fingers over fragile petals.
"Not everyone has this special heart. It's made of pure gold."
She was taken back in surprise, accidentally snapping a small section in the process. "Are you serious? How does that even happen?" She was baffled, "What does a golden heart mean?"
She went to hand back the rose, but he declined with the shake of his head, "Keep it." He pulled out another two flowers out, holding it out as if to show her, "It means, you have to run."
She listened to the, sounds of the crowd, picking up conversations of others, shuffling feet, and clinking metal. Her eyes widened at the final sound she heard.
The salesmen delicately held the two roses in his hand, one green and a yellow one. Watching the crowd only to spot two identical faces. Both female faces had piercing red eyes watching the two of them standing around.
Rose placed her hand under her cloak, clutching her dagger with her left hand, ready for a fight.
"Would you lovely ladies like to buy a rose?" He steps forward, as Rose begins to slip away. The two girls didn't even phased by the roses, still only focused on their prey. "Here," he says, with a smirk on his face, "Take one for free!" With one swift move, he threw both the roses at the girls, and each exploded in a puff of smoke.
"Rose! Watch out!" She heard James scream, before arrows were deflected away from her, clattering to the ground.
Rose was shocked to say the least, seeing her raven haired friend protect her with his sword single sword. "James?" She breathed, taking out her own dagger amidst the crowd of screaming towns fold. She noted that there were three archers who sat on the roof with arrows drawn, aimed at her and James.
A flash her metal caught her eye and she was able to block a swing from a not so good looking royal guard. He was a lot bigger than her, with a long sword too. The look in his eye was brutish, as if the palace was so understaffed they had to hire the crooks of the town. "You're coming with me." He says with a deep, raspy voice.
She only laughed, "Yeah right." She leant backwards, placing her hands on the ground, and kicking her feet into the air, landing a blow to his chin. She landed back on her feet, smirking at the dazed man in front of her.
"Rose!" She spun around at her name, before being tackled to the ground.
She was winded, and slightly disorientated, but there above her, was teenager. He was male, with bright blue eyes and a charming smile, "Hi there." He smoothly said, a British accent clinging to his words, and she rolled her eyes at him. He had her pinned, one arm on her wrist stopping her from using her dagger, and the other held a knife to her throat.
She squirmed under him, glaring into his forest green eyes. "Get off me before you're killed."
He chuckled at her threat, but felt his grip loosen when the back of an axe came out of nowhere, colliding with his head. "Rose get up." Liam demanded, and she stood there confused.
"Liam? What's going on?" Her hand held his outstretched one, and he pulled her to her feet.
She looked around, seeing that they had become surrounded, with James, Liam and Rose like sitting ducks in the middle. The twin red haired girls stood in the middle, "Get them." They ordered, and the chaos started.
Everyone charged and the trio stood their ground. Ready for a fight. Liam and Georgia fought back to back to back, "I thought you said this was going to be a secret mission?" She shouts about the battle sounds.
"It was!" Liam grunts, pushing against a sword going his way. "We were compromised! So we came as quick as we could."
Rose growled, "Well that's just great." She said, slicing through another castle guard.
Thundering hooves made their way through the battle ground, with a girl sat on the back, firing arrows at anyone who came her way. "Sorry I'm late!" Che' announced, jumping from Winter onto the roof of a nearby building, shooting the archers on the roof. "Rose!" She shouted, shooting someone who was about to swing at her from behind.
"We need to get you out of here." James roars at Rose, as he jumped to her side.
"What? No!" She protested as Winter came up beside her, "I can't leave."
She barely had a choice, she felt Liam grab her hand, and fling her onto the back of her horse. James slapped Winter on her ass, and the horse took off, "Winter, get her out of here!" he shouted and Rose felt her horse run faster and faster.
"Winter, turn around!" She screamed at the horse as she held on tight to the blonde mane. "Winter! We can't leave them!" But the horse kept running. "Winter! Turn around! That's an order!"
But the horse ran, and didn't stop. Winter knew deep down that Rose's safety was the priority. She wouldn't let anything happen to her, not as long as she was around. For you see, she was a special horse, and not just in colour. There was a reason she could outrun all other animals, though people just brushed it off as good genetics. Winter, like Rose, was special.
Rose ducked under low hanging branches, hissing when the small twigs scratched her skin. She shut her eyes, trusting that the horse knew what she was donning. She clutched the horse's hair tightly, holding on for dear life.
Unknown to them however, was the red figure jumping from branch to branch, trailing them like a hawk on its prey. Red eyes shined behind the mask as she took her time to strike.
With one blow from her spear, Rose flew off the horse, tumbling across rocks and dirt like a rag doll. She screamed in pain, as rocks and sticked split her skin, but once she stopped rolling, she opened her eyes.
She pushed herself up onto her elbows, "That hurt." She mumbled to herself, before beginning to try to stand. A pain in her right wrist caused her to hiss through her teeth, bearing the pain of a sprained joint. "Shit," She hissed. Her forest green eyes scanned the forest, looking for her animal companion. "Winter?"
A distressed neigh echoed through the forest, and it sent a chill up her spine, "Winter?" She questioned, moving towards the sound, but she heard it again, this time even louder. It was as if she was screaming. "WINTER!" Rose screamed taking off towards the noise.
She froze, as a red blur sped in front of her. "Who's there?" She demanded, talking her dagger hilt in her left hand. Rose felt a shove in her back before falling to her knees. She pushed herself up again, only to be knocked down again by anther blur, "What the?" Rose began to focus, listening to the forest. Then, she threw the dagger, lodging it into a tree.
Off to the left, a girl stood. But not just any girl, "A Huntress." She got to her feet, ready for anything, "Did the king hire you?" Rose demanded, searching around for her horse. "And what did you do to Winter!"
The Huntress was silent and stood tall. The breeze picked her hair up, pushing it around. But still, no response. Rose looked into her cold, dull, red glassy eyes. It's almost as if there was no life left in them, no glimmer or anything. Just, dead.
Rose growled, knowing that she isn't in the best condition to fight. She's a good fighter, if her friends are around, and Winter always helps with her speed, but outside of that, going up against a Huntress, she isn't prepared, but she isn't going to go down without a fight.
With a war cry, she ran at the red haired Huntress, jumping with a spin as an attempt of a kick. The Huntress just, ran away. Well, moved anyways. Rose landed on the ground, right next to the tree her dagger was embedded in.
She grabbed it out, holding it tight before running again, dagger at the ready. She ran and swung her dagger, aiming for her torso. But there was no impact. The Huntress then struck back, using her red and silver spear to deflect her dagger. The Huntress was strong, really strong.
Whilst Rose caught off guard by the pure strength of the girl in front of her, she didn't notice a kick coming her way. It hit her in the side, and the force was enough to send her flying into a tree.
"Arrggh!" She cried out, feeing the air leave her lungs. Pain shot through her left side and back, as she tried using the tree to get herself back up again. She noticed that the Huntress began to run again, running at her and knocking her dagger from her hand. Rose looked at her hand, noticing red flowing from it.
"Shit."
Rose looked around with wide eyes, but could not find the Huntress. But a blur of red caught her attention, and she stood in front of Rose. Rose felt her self being pulled back towards the tree, red ropes around her hands and torso. "So what, you're going to kill me now?" She growls as she struggled against the bonds.
"Well, after that pathetic fight, I think we ought to." A new voice broke through the silent forest. "Right Ember?" From behind a tree, stood one of the red haired twins from the market place.
"Right Amber," The other twin emerged. Both wore matching gold, orange and red armoured suits. The second twin, Ember, drew her sword as she walked past the Huntress, pointing it to the bound girl at the tree. "Pathetic."
Rose's anger grew, and she fought against ropes, but stopped when a cold blade touched her neck. "How about you fight me, and then we'll see who the pathetic one is."
The twins look to one another slightly amused, "They said she was feisty." Amber remarked, smirking as her sister placed her blade harder against Rose's skin, until a small droplets of blood appeared. "Fragile too."
"What's this about? Why are you coming after me?" Her eyes glanced between the girls in front of her, all three are quiet, "You might as well tell me if you're going to kill me."
The two just laughed instead. "Weren't you listening when that fake rose guy was talking to you? He did try to warn you."
She furrowed her eyebrows, "So it's true? The King is looking for a golden heart?"
"Looking?" Amber laughed, getting right into Rose's face, before giving her a punch, "He found it." Amber turned her head to the Huntress, "You can go now. We've got this." She dismissed the Huntress.
Rose was disorientated from the blow, but was still able to move. She lifted her head up, looking past the twins and into the eyes of the Huntress. Her eyes shone brightly, brighter than they were before, almost as if she had been brought back to life.
The bound girl watched in confusion as the Huntress took her battle stance, ready to strike. Was she going to kill her? At least it'll be a quick death.
She watched as the closer twin reached behind her cape, grabbing out a bag then pouring the contents into her hand. "Poppy dust…" Rose breathed watching golden dust fall into a beautiful pile in her hand.
"The very one. We don't want you struggling on the way back to the castle, now do we?" She enclosed her hand, preparing to throw it.
Rose sighed, preparing to be forced to sleep, but instead, there was a flash of red and the twin with the poppy dust collapsed to the ground, with dust mixing with the surrounding dirt.
Ember watched her sister's chest rise and fall, forcing herself to keep calm and clearly remind herself that her sister isn't dead. A groan and a shake of her head, showed that she wasn't.
"What the hell are you doing? You're under the King's control!" She shouts grabbing her sword out, shouting at the Huntress.
The Huntress stood there, spear at the ready, but didn't speak, only watched as the fallen twin slowly stood to her feet.
"Answer me you fool!" She screamed, charging at the Huntress, but she only dodged. She quickly moved, left and right, leaping out of the way with ease. "By order of the King I demand you to stop!"
Instead, the Huntress ran past her, swiping her spear at Rose instead.
The bound girl gasped, shutting her eyes tight, expecting for a quick kill, but instead she felt the rope fall at her feet. "What?"
The Huntress knelt in front of Rose, creating a human barrier between the King's Knight and freed girl. "Run." Rose was still confused with it all, watching as the Huntress charged, locking her spear with Ember's sword. "What the fuck you waiting for? The Kingdom is doomed if you don't get away from here!"
Rose didn't know how to think, but the glare in the Huntress' eye told her she had to run. She hates running from a fight but this time, she was honestly scared.
So she ran, only looking back to see the second twin jump and attack the Huntress, but she was fast enough to block it.
…
The Huntress fought against the twins, and it was definitely a challenge. These twins were fast, agile and strong. But still, she had speed and a touch of magic on her side.
"You let her get away Red!" Ember shouted in her face, "You're a traitor!"
The Huntress, who has been simply known as Red in the past, growled like a wolf, pushing them both away. "No, I was under a spell." She struck again, facing Ember straight on, a hard blow hitting knocking her back.
"Ember! Get back!" Amber came to her sisters rescue, and she did as she was told, jumping away from the Huntress.
Red was, confused, but turned to the other twin. A stupid decision really.
Dirt was thrown in her eye and she had to shut her eyes, to shield herself from it. But it wasn't just dirt in it, there was poppy dust too. She could feel the small grains making its way into her system.
"Now!" The twins screamed at the same time, preparing for an attack. But like Rose, Red ran too. She took off at her incredible speed, but with the poppy dust starting to kick in, and her sonic speed would fade in and out.
"Shit." She muttered, beginning to trip and stumble as her powers picked up again. She can travel hundreds of metres in mere seconds, and after a while, she just couldn't run anymore.
She collapsed, feeling sleep overcome her.
…
Rose on the other hand, ran and ran, with thoughts of all she's left behind running through her brain. She abandoned them, she abandoned them all…how could she do that? She left her friends and allies to fight her own battle. Everyone…they're gone.
"What have I done?" She said, gasping in and out, returning the air she lost from that run. Almost instantly she collapsed to the ground, gasping and panting. "I can't believe it! What have I done?"
Tears began to hit the ground, creating tiny pools of mud as it mixed with the dirt.
Get up.
She couldn't tell if she was telling herself, or if someone told her, but she ignored it.
Get. Up.
She heard it again, and she lifted her head to the sky as he felt small bits of water dropping from the sky, hitting her skin lightly, and then the thunder crashed.
She began to shiver, feeling the cold rain pour down on her shoulders, mixing with her tears in the dirt.
With weak legs, she stood up, knowing that he couldn't stay in the rain. Catching a cold wouldn't help anyone. She could go back and fight, but first she needs to find somewhere to rest. A shelter in the storm.
Rose pushed forward, hugging her arms close to her for warmth until she stumbled upon something. It looked like cottage, with no lights on in the windows. Hope ignited in her, as she picked up speed, heading towards the place.
She peered in the window, but didn't see any signs of life. Her next thought was to try the door.
"Locked." she sighed, pressing herself up against the door as the rain began pouring down harder. Taking a deep breath, she pulled out the butterfly pin form her hair, allowing her long brown hair to flow down her back and shoulders, reaching the middle of her back. She inserted the pin into the locked, and began poking it around. "Come on…" She muttered, but smirked when she heard the click of the lock.
The wooden door swung open, and she walked in, damp from the rain, shutting the door behind her.
When the door clicked shut, she felt the warmth of the room hit her skin.
"Who lives here? I've never seen this house in the forest before." She notes, walking around taking it in. It was nice, very fancy. Well-kept and tidy. Everything was in its proper place, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
A fire sat in the living room, crackling away. She stared deeply into the flames. The King was known as the barer of the flame, with people saying his reign will bring fire and destruction in his chase for power.
Rose felt weak, thinking of her friends where about and wellbeing. Her legs gave out as tears pooled into eyes. She just left them. It went against so many of her morals, but she left them…to die. Everyone wanted her to run, but she wanted to fight, but she still ran…and she didn't try to go back.
Sure, she told Winter to turn around, but she could have gotten off the horse, she could have ran back she could have rant to her friends rather than running away…but she didn't.
Everything started to fade in and out. Her emotional trauma, combined with her injuries were starting to take effect. She felt the room sway, as if the floor was being shifted out from under her feet. The world spun and her eyelids grew heavy, she was struggling to keep them open.
She began stumbling around, trying to grab onto something, but even that was a struggle. She placed her hand on the wall, and began moving it around, trying to help her stay balanced.
She barely heard the shattering of glass behind her, everything just began shutting down. She couldn't stand, and she barely took in the fact that she was falling, or the sharp pain she felt in her head before everything went black.
…
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Until Next Time
Silva Out!
