Hey Guys, sorry it's been so long since I updated. I had such a writer's block with this chapter. I wasn't sure If I was gonna get it done at all. Thankfully I managed to stick to it a little at a time and pushed through. I can't wait to start on the next chapter cause that's where things get good with Mykale and Orianna! I can't wait to get started!

(and btw, if you do play league, then you can add me. My name is Xavveina, I'm NA)

Chapter 3: Nightmare

(This Chapter is told from the POV of Rona)

The forest trees whizzed past me so fast. It got hard to keep my eyes open. I had to squint to stop them from instantly drying out. I should've realized beforehand that I'd be doing this, and brought a facemask or something.

It had been a while since I enchanted my legs to move faster. It wasn't good on my body, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It's not like the Deathmage was gonna give me the leisure to get there in time normally.

"Hey Rona, you think we're gonna make it in time?"

I looked to the big burly man that stood beside me. His armour shook furiously in his attempt to keep up with me. I enchanted his legs too, but it didn't make it any easier to run with all that weight on his back. It was kinda funny to watch him try to keep up though.

"I wish I knew, Connor. I can definitely sense his presence, but I can't tell how far away he is or where he's at." I answered.

"Oh don't worry, it won't be hard to find him once we get there. He left a trail so obvious, a Gromp could find him." The man said with a chuckle.

I couldn't help but smile at that remark, but at the same time an image of the catastrophe that beheld us terrified me. I've seen Deathmage handiwork before, and it was as if God himself passed a poor judgement. Entire cities, decimated in the blink of an eye. A shiver went down my spine as I tried to put that in the "Worst case scenario" part of my thinking.

"By the way, who is that guy? Your boyfriend?" The soldier asked, knocking me out of my daze.

"Hardly, we only just met yesterday. He's the new guy that the League hired. His names Mykale." I answered.

"I had almost forgotten about the whole 'League hiring Mykale' thing with all that happened. It just seemed like it wasn't important anymore. I mean, technically he was supposed to start working today, but it's pretty obvious that that wasn't gonna happen. I was pretty sure that this little corresponding event would be a pretty good excuse though."

Finally the path we were on began to open up. It was obvious we were getting to the clearing. Normally, I'd just teleport to where I needed to go, but that would take up almost all of my mana. It'd take hours for me to regenerate it all, and I needed everything for this situation.

"We're almost to the village. Once we get there, there'll be a straight path through it to get to the capital. I'm assuming you don't normally take this route on foot?" The soldier asked.

"No, it's been years since I've done it. I'm not called to the capital too often, so it's no problem for me to port there when I am. Don't like the attention people give me when I pass through their village. It makes me...uneasy." I said.

"That makes sense. You have always been the anti-social type."

A bright light started to shine on the path in front of us. An archway came into view soon after. The beautifully carved wood looked like it had been made by the Wood fairies themselves. It had been too long since I had seen it, so I couldn't help but smile everytime I did. In the arch was a wall of light.

"Do you still remember what to do?" Connor asked.

"Of course I do! Who do you take me for?" I retorted.

I held my hand up in the sky and began to chant a spell. "Thine Land that's beauty you have kept. Through troubled times and great contempt. I beseech you now, hear my plee. Open up your portal to me."

All at once, the wall of light began to consume itself. A vortex appeared in the center, kinda like how you'd picture a black hole, but white. It began to spin faster and faster as the 2 of them got closer.

"Alright, are you ready?" Rona asked.

I watched as the man backed off for a second. A demeaning look came over his eyes as he stared me down. He folded his arms and gave a hefty snort. He sounded like a pig everytime he did that.

"First, I gotta know one more thing...you took the pill, didn't you?" The man questioned.

A silence broke out. I wasn't necessarily trying to be discrete about it, but I didn't think he saw me take the thing. That, or he just knew me, and assumed I'd take it for a situation like this. I looked away for a second, turning to the portal. I was tempted to try and change the subject. I knew that if I admitted to taking the pill, Connor would give me another lecture. At the same time, I knew I couldn't lie to him.

"Look, whether I took the pill or not, it doesn't matter now. We don't have the time to talk about it." I answered back in a stern voice.

Connor gave me a harsh look for a bit, but loosened it after a while. He breathed a heavy sigh as he let his arms drop.

"Fine, we'll talk about this later" The Soldier answered.

He stepped up to the wall of light, and slowly stuck his hand in. The man winced as the magic began to suck his body in. Almost disintegrating him as it did so. He turned and gave me a quick nod before he was completely pulled through.

I adjusted my robe, preparing myself. I never liked going through these portals, they always tickled me. Which, I guess, was another reason why I didn't like going on foot. I put my wand away in my pocket as I remembered that holding it for too long would drain my power faster. I had to conserve as much of it as I could.

When I reached for the portal, my hand was thrown back with a sharp pain shot through my left arm. The blood felt like it had sped up to 10x the normal speed coursing through me. I instinctively grabbed the arm with my good one, and squeezed tightly. I knew this feeling all too well.

"Cmon, not now! Why does this always happen at the worst times?" I lamented under my breath.

After a short while, the pain subsided. I shook it a few times to make sure the phase was completely over. This same thing happened 6 hours ago. The time span between each one of these spasms was getting shorter. I knew that I was running out of time, but I was gonna use what I had left to the fullest. I quickly clenched my hand a few times before letting it relax. Thankfully it didn't last long when it happened.

Reaching for the portal, I grimaced, letting the magic begin to suck my body in. It tickled like it always did, and I had to fight not to laugh. Who knows what could happen if you went through a portal laughing like that!? I mean, probably nothing, but I'd rather not test it.

In no time, my entire body was pulled in, and a calming feeling went over me. Like I was sinking in a hot tub filled with Orange Jello! How I know what that feels like, I'll never say. Within a matter of seconds, I was completely pulled through, and my body began to take shape again.

I stumbled a bit as my feet hit the ground on the other side. It always felt like you were drunk once you got through a portal. The magic almost puts an intoxication affect on you. It's hard to explain, you'd have to try it for yourself.

Blinking my eyes a few times, I glanced around to make sure I had actually ended up in the right spot. Tall pillars lined a large stone corridor. Statues of past kings and queens stood beside each one. Solid Gold chandeliers lin(fart cakes)ed the roof of the building. It was like I had ported into a castle or something. I didn't remember this place being quite so...over-decorated. It had been around 5 years since I used this portal.

"Wow, they really did a number on this place." I said.

Each step I took echoed throughout the interior. This definitely wasn't a place that someone could sneak into easily. A pin drop would of sounded like a gunshot. A cold breeze went down my spine, taking me by surprise and causing me to jump out of my skin. Thankfully, I was able to hold back the shriek that had welled up in my throat. I could only imagine how that would have sounded in a place like this.

I turned around to see where the wind had come from. All along the walls there were stained glass windows with the image of mythical creatures in each of them. Yet the thing that I was looking for was not there. There was no entrance that the wind could have come from. The building was completely sealed.

Something definitely didn't feel right here. Where were all the guards? This section should be heavily secured, but there was no one in sight. I walked down the corridor, looking left and right for any signs of life. Finally realizing that I had lost track of my companion, I decided to call out to him.

"Connor, where are you?" I yelled.

I waited….no response.

I felt the same cold shiver run down my spine, but this time it was from fear. I ran towards the only opening I saw. A large door at the back of the corridor. I ran up to it, and knocked on it as hard as I could. The sound echoed loudly in the room. I was sure that if anyone was near, they'd of heard it.

"Hello, is there anyone there? I'm Rona, the Archmage! Please, if anyone can hear me, let me in!" I screamed in angst.

Again, I heard no response. In desperation, I shoved on the door as hard as I could. To my great pleasure, it actually began to open. I shoved harder, and a gust of warm air began flowing out from the room. I swatted at my face as the blast had caused it to tickle.

After I finally managed to open the door wide enough, I squeezed through. Closing my eyes as a bright light shone on them. I took a few steps forward, letting my eyes adjust to the light. It didn't take long before I started to make out what looked like a bedroom, and a fancy one at that.

I'd describe what it looked like, but to me, it just looked like a princess had puked out all her life savings into making nonsense. The bed was way too finely detailed, and all the furniture was made from much too expensive wood. And don't even get me started on the water fountain...my gosh, people have way too much time on their hands.

The thing that most confused me though...was this place almost seemed familiar to me. I don't know how, but I knew this over-decorated room. I grazed my hand along the top of a dresser. Someone had been keeping the place tidy, because there wasn't a speck of dust on it. Which meant that I wasn't alone here after all. I opened each of the dresser's draws, but they were all completely empty.

"Why would someone dust an empty dresser?" I asked myself.

"I would think you'd know, this is your room after all." Came a voice from behind me.

I jumped back, screaming at the top of my lungs. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a second, because I almost blacked out. I turned around frantically to see who the voice had come from.

In Front of me stood what looked like the ghost of a girl. Her transparent and colorless figure floating in the air with ease. She couldn't have been older than 10. Her long black hair laid managed and unkept down her back. In terror, I grabbed my wand and pointed it hysterically in front of the spectre. I had hoped I could be able to scare the thing away, but instead she shot me a grin that made me uneasy.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I frighten you?" The little girl said mockingly.

I was still trying to get my bearing. I have seen a lot of terrifying things since I became an Archmage, but I had yet to see anything like this. I steadied myself back on my feet, and lowered my wand. Still holding it in a position where I could blast her with the only exorcist spell I knew if needed.

"Who...who are you? What is this place? Is this not the capital?" I asked, trying to calm myself.

The little girl shot me a concerned, yet maniacal look. It caused my legs to shake a little, but it wasn't too noticeable.

"Do you not recognize me? I would think you'd know what your own face looked like." The spectre said.

My eyes widened. It was as if every single nerve and tendon in my body tightened at the same time. This time I lowered my wand completely. I was pretty sure I wouldn't need it anymore, because this wasn't a ghost I was dealing with.

"You...are you saying...that you're...me? Or at least, a memory of me?" I asked hesitantly.

A big, menacing smile covered the girl's face. She threw her hands up in the air, and clapped loudly, laughing while doing it. A shiver went down my spine.

"YES YES, YOU'RE CORRECT! I am a memory that you have forced yourself to forget. You were too scared to face me, so you just abandoned me! DO YOU REMEMBER NOW!?" The girl said, now with anger in her voice.

"Remember what? I don't know what youre talking about." I said nervously. My hand that held the wand shook nervously, never letting go of it.

The girl's expression died down. Her terrifying smile turned solace. She lowered her arms to a fold, and gave a heavy sigh.

"So, you still refuse to remember? Well then, I guess I'll have to MAKE YOU REMEMBER!" The girl said.

A large gust of wind, burst outwards from the girl pushing me back. I was shoved down to the ground, covering my face instinctively. The air was hot. It felt like steam from that of a volcano. Soon, the air died down, and my nostrils were soon filled with the scent of smoke. I opened my eyes to see the room that I was in covered in flames.

I Instinctively threw myself up. Where did the fire come from? How did it start? Did that girl do this? So many questions that I didn't have time to figure out the answer to right now. I covered my mouth, and started heading for the door. Thankfully, the flames hadn't spread throughout the whole room yet.

I made my way to the slight opening in the door that I made. Thankfully the girl didn't close it on me. I would of been trouble if I had to open it again while being in here. I shimmied my way through the crack. I had hoped the smell of fresh air would soon fill my senses, but I was wrong. Instead, the smell of fire and smoke still lingered.

Once I got through the crack, I gasped at the long hallway in front of me. The room was completely different. The hallway looked like that which you would see in a castle. Except for the immense fire that had started accumulating in it of course. I looked back to the room. This was definitely the door that I went through...so what in the world was going on!?

"Connor! Connor, can you hear me!?" I yelled out, hoping for an answer. I was worried what had happened to him. I was hoping he wasn't in the same situation as me. It was pretty obvious though that this wasn't reality. I just wasn't sure WHAT it was, or where I was for that matter.

Without much other choice, I started running through the hallway. Sparks came flying at my face as I went. I swatted at them to keep them out of my face and off my clothes. I had to hold my breathe when I could. I didn't want to breath in more of this smoke then I had to. It was after that that I remembered…..I'm an Archmage. I can put out this fire!

I held my wand up in the air and starting twirling it around like I was mixing something. I closed my eyes, and started chanting the phrase "From water to ice, I command thine might. Coat the lands with all at your hand!" ...nothing happened.

I stood there with the wand held high. My expression turned sour very fast. What went wrong? I chanted the spell right, didn't I? I decided to try another spell, maybe I forgot a word or something. I moved the wand to just over my head and began chanting again. "My body is your vessel, and my soul is your king. Grant me this wish for your praise I will sing. Expunge the air of all the unclean, and put out the flames of strength and sustain."...Nothing again.

The only thing that I could think was that this place had some magic barrier stuff to it. It couldn't be helped, I tucked my wand back into my pocket and continued down the burning hallway. I stopped before too long after I heard a voice crying out.

"Help, somebody!" It sounded like the voice of a man. I looked around, trying to identify where the voice came from. The man cried out again, and this time I pinpointed his location. My eyes fell upon a large door, engulfed in flames. If there was someone in there, then it wouldn't be long before they were burned alive.

I quickly ran up to the door, and without much hesitation, I gave it a big kick. Thankfully the fire had weakened the doors hinges, otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd of never been able to kick it down. With a crash, the door came crumbling down. Inside the room looked like a furnace. Flames along every inch of the floor and walls. If someone was in here, I don't know how they could still be alive.

Yet again, I heard the man cry out for help. I help my breath and covered my mouth as I entered the room. Once inside, I could feel my body melting as if I was made of wax. I couldn't stay in here too long, that's for sure.

It didn't take me long to see the figure of a man lying on the floor. There were large pillars laying on top of him. Somehow the one spot he was in was the only spot that was not yet engulfed in flames.

"Hey, are you ok?" I yelled to the man while running to his side.

I bent down next to the person, and began to pull on the wooden pillars. I couldn't see his face because of the smoke, but I was pretty sure he was a nobleman due to his attire.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna get you-"

"Don't bother" The man said in a completely different tone of voice than before.

I stopped abruptly. What was he talking about? He was the one crying out for help! Why would he deny me now that I'm right here. I looked up at the man. The smoke had cleared if only momentarily, and I was able to see his face.

My eyes grew wide as I stared at the man. I could feel my limbs growing weak under me, as I stumbled back. A cold sweat ran down my forehead that didn't come from the heat. I didn't want to believe what I saw, but for some reason my eyes just refused to look away.

"F...father?" I said with a shaky breath.

A menacing smile grew over the man's face as fire began to cover his entire body. Then he laughed like that of a witch, terrifying and full of insanity. Within seconds his entire body was cover in flames, yet he continued to laugh as his body burned.

"Nooooooo!" I screamed. I covered my eyes and looked away.

This couldn't be happening. No matter what I was seeing, this couldn't be real. My body trembled as memories tried to force their way back into my mind. Tear's started running down my face. it was as if I was in a dream, no, a Nightmare! I had to wake up! Somehow, someway, somebody please! Wake me up from this Nightmare!...wait…..That's it!

I threw my body up off the ground, and wiped the tears from my eyes. I knew...I knew what this was now. Once again, I pulled my wand out and placed it over my head, pointing down. This time, I knew what spell I had to use. I closed my eyes, and began chantting.

"I see thine darkness surround my heart. That barries the souls and tears apart. I beseech ye now, hear my plee. Dispel this Nightmare inside of me!"

All at once, it was as if time itself had stopped. The flames stood still like a newly molded statue. The man in front of me, frozen, still with that vengeful smile across his face. Even the sweat that came down my face had slowed. I stood in awe and terror at the scene before me.

"My my, it sure took you long enough to figure it out" Came the booming voice of a man from all around me.

I had to catch my breath as I spun my head around, trying to find where the source of the voice came from.

"Who are you? Why did you trap me in here? How did you come to know such sacred magic?" I asked frivolously. the voice laughed at my utter confusion.

"Come now, one question at a time! There's no need to rush things!" the man said.

"CUT THE CRAP! I am Archmage Ronalia Carmont, and I demand that you release me from this hex AT ONCE!" I said with as much force as I could muster up.

"Ohhhh, quite a title you have there. I'm almost intimidated."

All of a sudden the world around me became shrouded by mist. I became tense as a tornado like magic started to swirl in front of me from out of nowhere. I covered my eyes from the wind, but left enough of a space to see what was going on.

From out of the magic stepped a man. He stood embroidered in a long blue cloak, trimmed with gold lace. His long, blonde hair slicked back over his scalp. His demon-like, red eyes pierced through me as if he was sentencing me to death.

It took everything I had to keep my legs from shaking. I knew almost instantly that this had to be the man I was looking for. The magic aura that glowed around him made all of my senses scream, telling me to run for my life. Too bad that wasn't an option at this point.

"You...are you the Deathmage that attacked the Capital?" I asked unsurely.

A creepy smile formed across the man's face. He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. The mist then lifted and revealed a horrifying sight. I stumbled back on my feet, and clasped my hands over my mouth.

Hundreds of bodies of Men, Women, Children, and Soldiers all laid in piles around me. Blood soaked them from head to toe. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. I collapsed to my knees in terror of what I was seeing. I couldn't speak, couldn't scream, it was almost like I had forgotten how.

"Do you see? This is what you were supposed to protect. All these people, and you couldn't save a single one of them...pity, isn't it?" the man said mockingly.

"...why...why did this...how…"

"You see, it's quite simple really. You failed. You never had a chance to save these people. You can't save anyone. You couldn't even save your own father...don't you remember?" the mage said mercilessly.

I could feel reality slipping from me as unwanted memories tried to force themselves into my mind. I shook my body fiercely. Why was this happening...I tried so hard to forget...so hard to erase my past...and within moments it was brought back to me.

"This...this isn't real...you're lying...YOU'RE LYING!" I screamed at the man.

"Hmm...am I?"

Silence spread throughout the area for a moment. Until at last my ears were met with a voice that caused my heart to sink even further.

"Rona...help me..." Said a familiar voice.

I slowly looked up, letting my eyes met with a face I knew all too well. Tears filled my eyes as I looked at the burly soldier in front of me. Blood and gashes covered his armor. His broken leg and arm showed grotesquely blatant.

"C...Connor?"