'Now the dark begins to rise
Save your breath, it's far from over
Leave the lost and dead behind.'
'I Will Not Bow' - Breaking Benjamin
¢нαρтєя ѕιχтєєη: gяσωιηg ¢σℓd
It was not long after the unexpected visit from the 'messenger' that Crimson crept silently out of her hidden cave. Her kits swung gently from her jaw as she carried them away from the scent of death that now dwelled within the cave that had been meant for life. Her heart was unexpectedly heavy as she walked slowly away from the bodies she had left behind. She should've expected something like it to happen. Neena had constantly warned her of the dangers of fighting whilst so heavily pregnant, and she hadn't listened.
She would return later to bury the still-born.
Cold stone beneath her paws sloped up and curved in a spiralling manner, returning to the upper levels of her kingdom where few cats were waiting for her return. The dull coloured walls matched her strangely dark state of mind, taunting her with the knowledge of her failure to bring all of her heirs into the world. She snarled around the scruffs of her kits and they mewled pitifully, their tiny forms quaking from the cold air of the mountains darkest depths.
A strong urge to lie down and just wrap her body around her kits washed over her. It was a strange urge to say the least but it was such a strong feeling that Crimson found it incredibly hard to continue putting one paw in front of the other in her slow ascent. She feared for the lives of her newborn heirs. Being her kits they'd immediately become a target for any cat that held a grudge against her.
Would she even be a good mother? How could a cat that had not lived a single day as a young, helpless kit know how to take care of the fragile lives she cradled in her jaw? She had murdered the only true friend she had ever had in cold-blood all because that one friend threatened the life of her kingdom.
"Tornheart was warned of what would happen if she continued to betray me," Crimson told herself quietly. But no matter how many times she told herself that she just couldn't believe it. Her claws had been stained with the blood of innocent lives for moons and she had never cared…but now it was all shifting. For some strange reason she cared enough to feel saddened at the knowledge that Tornheart would never speak a single word to her ever again. The cat she'd known, the cat she'd created from the timid kit, would never look at her with warm green eyes.
And she hated herself because of it.
But she hated Frozengaze more for what he'd done to Tornheart. Hated him with such a fierce passion that it burned like a roaring forest fire through her veins. Hated him so much that the idea of being anywhere near him was simply revolting. But hate was always outweighed by love. Crimson knew what love was now. Love was putting the needs of someone else before your own. Love was smiling down on someone regardless of what they've done or said. It was breathless, wild, violent, comforting and otherworldly all rolled into one. She didn't love Frozengaze. But whatever she felt it was close to it. Close enough to know how dangerous it was. Close enough to wish the strange moving of her stomach would cease whenever that cursed tom came near her.
Her paws brushed against a slight rise in the rocky terrain underfoot. The light intensified considerably as she stepped out from her unused tunnel and into the tunnel that lead to her throne room. Keen ears picked up the sound of low murmurings, fur brushing against fur and claws scraping against rock. Warning instincts flared up. There were too many cats in her throne room for a normal occasion. Usually only her Bone Soldiers, – the ones she'd moulded from the dying bodies of those she'd killed – Shadari, Tyron and Gretta, occupied the large cavern. Sometimes Frozengaze joined them; or Jinx passed through on her way to sit by the ledge to stare out at the thundering waterfall, Raz trailing closely behind.
But her entire army had no reason crushing themselves into a cavern even she rarely used.
One of the kits squirmed, letting out a tiny mewl. The voices in the cavern came to an abrupt stop as the tiny mewl echoed throughout her mountain kingdom. Heirs had been born and now every cat inside the stone walls knew it.
A head, followed by a body, stepped into the roughly shaped tunnel. Midnight black fur, numerous scars, a face made from bone that had once been a pristine, smooth white but was now yellowed and gouged. Red eyes a shade lighter than her own crimson orbs met her cold gaze without flinching. "A small part of your army, mostly the higher ranks, has converged in the throne room to welcome your kingdoms heirs."
"I had assumed that much, Shadari. Who let them all in the Hidden Door?" Crimson snarled around the scruffs of her heirs. She had not moved more than two paces away from the small tunnel she'd emerged from, eyeing the silent cavern with a calculating gaze.
"Who do you think?" Shadari rumbled in reply. "There is only one other who has the power to let anyone into the mountain. And he waits for you beside your throne."
Crimson gave a single, short nod as she brushed past Shadari and entered her throne room filled with the more important members of her army. Their heads turned to stare at her as she entered the cavern, two bundles of tiny fur clutched tightly in her jaw. They had parted down the middle to make a walkway wide enough for two cats straight down the middle of the cavern to where a single stone throne loomed. Behind the throne sat the open ledge beside the waterfall where all sorts of mountain greenery had been allowed to bloom.
A dim sun had risen spreading faint rays of golden light into the spacious cavern, over the tops of the gathered cats and straight into Crimson's narrowed eyes. She padded through her gathered army with her head raised high. But a raised head could see the distrusting glances the living members of her army gave her; the shifty glances they shared with others; the unsheathed claws that gouged rivets into the stone floor. Her army distrusted her. Her subjects hated her. Her closest right-paw cats were all hiding something.
This world was cruel.
Frozengaze sat on the right of her throne, Jinx and her accomplice – Raz – to the left.
But she was crueller.
She came to a halt in front of her throne, one paw placed on the raised ground, eyes staring down the father of her heirs. He blinked and arched a brow as a silent command passed between them. With her power having vanished entirely there was no way she could raise the thrones her heirs would sit upon as they grew. That left Frozengaze being the only one that could, if he decided to stoop so low as to create them.
A moment of sizzling tension burned between the two cats, broken only when Frozengaze dipped his head ever so slightly and tapped the ground once with a sharp claw.
The mountain gave an almighty heave inducing fearful yelps and cries from the living amongst the crowd. Small chips of stone rained from the uneven cavern roof as the floor beside Crimson's throne rose in the shape of two smaller thrones; the seats her heirs would rest upon. They were the same colour as everything in her kingdom – a bland gray.
Jinx stepped down from the raised ledge, taking one of the kits from Crimson's jaw and placing it surprisingly gently upon the left throne. The other kit, the one that remained firmly clasped in the black-furred she-cat's jaw, was placed lightly on the right throne where his soft purring came to an abrupt stop at the sudden removal of his mother's closeness.
Red eyes scrutinised her first born son. He had a soft gray pelt, black tabby markings running down the length of his spine like shadows created by fronds of ferns. The tip of his tail appeared to have been dipping in shadow, as were his paws. Paler gray fur peeked out from the underside of his tail and his belly, though the paler coloured fur didn't extend up his chest. His eyes remained firmly closed.
"You will be Shade."
Her other son, the second born, had a darker pelt. It was a dark gray with a tinge of blue, longer than that of his brother. A black line ran from the back of his neck, along his spine and to the end of his tail. The only similarities he shared with Shade was the tail tip dipped in shadow and lighter fur on the underside of his tail as well as his belly, though the lighter colour stretched up past his chest to end at his neck. Only two of his paws were black whilst the other two were the same colour as his underbelly. The tips of his ears were inky black.
"You will be Dark."
She turned her back on her newborn sons to face her gathered army, observing the few colourful pelts that were spread out among her brown-pelted, mind-controlled soldiers. "Know that, from this day forth, the future of our kingdom and of our reign has been secured with the birth of two heirs that will take over the role of ruler when – if – my time on this world comes to an end."
"They are to be protected at all costs, treated as the most precious treasure in the entirety of this treacherous world. No cat, except those few chosen to be their personal guards, will be allowed to go anywhere near them. If you are found to be ignoring this rule then you will be executed. No cat is to speak of their existence to anyone who is not currently dwelling in this cavern. If you are found to have been whispering in the ears of others you will be executed. My heirs are to be this world's best kept secret."
"Which one will be the ruler after you?" a brave tom called out.
Crimson swung her head in the direction that the voice came from, seeking out a thickset silver tom hovering close to the tunnel leading away from the cavern. She opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted when Frozengaze cleared his throat, "both will be trained until they reach are old enough to take over your Queen's role. When that time comes the strongest will be chosen to be the next ruler."
The strongest? What about the most cunning or the smartest?
She glared over her shoulder at him, feeling burning anger rise up when he returned her glare with an amused smirk.
"After all," Frozengaze added, "a leader with strength can strike fear into his enemies. A leader with more brains than brawn can only sit back and confuse his enemies with big words."
"Enough. I will be the one to decide which of my heirs will rule in my place. As Queen it is my duty and my duty alone to secure the future of my kingdom," Crimson snapped in reply.
The big tom tilted his head to one side, "but, my Queen, are those heirs not offspring of mine as well? Does that not make me your King?"
"No." Three paw-steps brought her nose to nose with the cocky tom-cat. Her pelt bristled along her spine, lips curling into a furious snarl. "My kingdom does not need two rulers at once. It is my kingdom; not ours, mine."
Frozengaze's eyes narrowed to tiny slits and a low growl vibrated in his throat. "Perhaps we should take a walk, my Queen."
"Shadari, Nocture, Greta." The bone soldiers moved as one from their positions in the shadowed corners of the cavern.
"Yes, mistress?"
Crimson indicated to her heirs that had fallen asleep on their thrones, "watch over my kits. Jinx, escort the living soldiers from my kingdom."
Without leaving any time for refusals Crimson stalked behind her throne, heading for the ledge jutting out from the side of her mountain; Frozengaze following quietly behind. Her paws brushed brittle mountain grass as she twisted her body in the direction of the thundering waterfall that sounded so much louder outside her throne cavern than within.
A path carved into the side of the mountain curving behind the rushing waterfall and vanishing within the rocky terrain. Spindly trees clung onto the rock face for dear life, tufts of mountain tucked away in cracks.
They walked their secluded path in silence, secretly enjoying the feel of cool water sprayed against their pelts as they passed behind the waterfall. This path had been walked by them on many occasions during the sixteen moons prior to Crimson's pregnancy. During these walks they had shared strategies for obtaining more territory, swapped torture tactics and commented on the lack of obedience from the Clans. But there had been a few rare occasions where Frozengaze had shared stories of his life back in his realm. To someone that had only experienced one world, his world sounded incredible.
His world was made of sunlight. The sky was a warm gold colour as was the soil beneath the lush, green grass. His moon and his sun were midnight black, and when the stars came out of a night time they too were darker than the shadows. The world never grew entirely dark, just dimmed a little when night rolled around. But there were similarities between his world and the one Crimson walked. They shared the same sorts of foliage though the colours were always much more vibrant and vivid. However the world was populated by creatures so powerful it left Crimson in a stunned state of awe.
The stories he'd told made Crimson want to look over his world with her own eyes. But his world was barred to her; locked away on the summit of a mountain that had been destroyed.
Their stone pathway came out just on the edge of a rugged, sparse patch of forest that hugged a rare, moderately flat patch of mountain. Fresh air hit her lungs and Crimson inhaled it greedily, drinking in air that wasn't tainted with the smell of musty caves.
Frozengaze brushed gently past her. "I'd prefer if we didn't spend the afternoon arguing over lives that have only just entered the world. The predicament of our heirs can be argued over on another day."
"It would be nice just to walk for once," Crimson sighed.
He nodded, offering a small smile.
So they entered the forest in a comfortable silence, listening to the sounds of the forest around them: the twittering of birds, skittering of small animals amongst the fallen leaves and the wind as it murmured through the treetops. "Would you mind if I shared a story?" the tom asked after a little while had passed.
"Go ahead." She sounded nonchalant but on the inside she was grinning, looking forward to hearing more about his home realm.
"You already know how I wasn't born in the powerful family?" Crimson nodded, for he'd told her some moons ago. "There were…acquaintances of sorts that helped me claw my way into that family and be granted the power that ran in the family. I met them whilst travelling – four nomads with no home or family. They were friendly, keeping me company whilst I travelled for many moons. We never got too friendly with each other only remained as travelling companions. Because of this I didn't know anything about the magnificent powers they all had until many moons later."
"We parted ways after having reached crossroads in our travelling. The kingdom I was heading to, the one I hoped to work my way into the powerful family, was in the opposite direction to where my companions wanted to go. You see they yearned for the freedom and peace that came with the wide open spaces of the prairie lands beyond a wall of tall mountains. I wished them well when we parted for I had come to care for them a little. An entire season passed before I saw them again," his cold eyes had grown soft and his tone wistful.
"In that season I had managed to worm my way into the powerful family's favour. I was the captain of the royal guard, charged with looking after the family. But that seemed to be as far as I could get regardless of how many dangerous situations I threw myself in. They only saw me as another guard, not a potential member of their family. So when I heard that the family was organising a tournament to win the paw of their youngest daughter I began to think up a plan. As captain of the royal guard I'd no doubt be the strongest competitor there."
Crimson glanced down at her paws, unable to meet his gaze.
"I suppose I had underestimated the possibility of there being any actual competition. The tournament was a fight to the death arranged in rounds. Winners would verse each other until only one was left standing. There were a few rounds that were particularly tiring," he admitted, "but I made it to the final fight only to find myself face-to-face with the one of my old travelling companions. Apparently he and the others wanted to settle down within the kingdom and he had his eye on the youngest daughter. There was no way I was going to let an old companion ruin my chances of gaining power so I made up my mind to forget ever meeting him and simply focus on killing him."
"He had other ideas regarding which one of us would die. I was slightly stronger than he and was winning for the most part until he called upon the power he had. Fire, hot and ferocious, obeyed his command, scorching my fur and searing my flesh. The crowds watching the fight with eager eyes erupted into chaos as onlookers scrambled to get away from the hungry flames."
"To tell the truth I might have died under his paws if the others he travelled with had not arrived, screaming at him to calm down. There was no calming him however and that was when I got a taste of all their powers. Fire, ice, wind and earth. All four of them commanded one element, wielding it as a devastating weapon. Unfortunately only one could control her power whilst the others struggled to keep theirs from spiralling out of control."
"Disaster forever stained the memory of that tournament as a tornado spitting fire tore across crumbling earth, destroying the beautiful kingdom and killing so many; including vital members of the powerful family. Only the youngest daughter survived to find a crumbling kingdom begging for her help." A wicked grin spread across his muzzle. "That was when she came to me for help. She asked me to help her restore the kingdom to its former glory and promised to give me anything I wanted in return."
"I helped her and the kingdom flourished back into life. The dead members of the royal family were laid to rest as our religion demanded and younger members were bumped up to take their spots. But the title of Emperor remained untaken as the youngest daughter had refused to take a mate after the death of her parents. So when the time came that she asked me what it was I wanted I demanded to rule by her side as her mate and as Emperor. The daughter had no choice but to agree after I warned her of the dangerous criminals imprisoned beneath the kingdom that might one day escape to wreak havoc once more."
He shrugged his large shoulders in a dismissive manner, "the title of Emperor was given to me as was the power that came with it. I had what I wanted."
An odd sort of silence descended over them as Frozengaze finished telling his story. Crimson wanted to ask the tom where his mate was now but she settled for a different question instead. "What happened to your travelling companions?"
"They were sent to this world through a portal as punishment for their actions. The four of them had become tainted with evil and had set about destroying the realm they had been imprisoned upon. A cat was born during that time with the power to stop them. According to legend during a great battle between them, my travelling companions were encased in solid ice and haven't been seen ever since."
Her eyes widened a fraction. His travelling companions, the ones with control over the elements, had been imprisoned on this world?
A loud yawn came from Frozengaze's jaw and he stretched out his weary muscles. "If you don't mind I think I'll head back. There are sons I wish to meet."
"Go ahead," Crimson murmured.
She watched him go, snaking his way around the trunks of spindly mountain trees. Only was she was sure the tom wasn't going to come back did she turn to her left and leave the trail they used to walk each day. There was someone she wanted to visit one last time.
In a clearing, overshadowed by a ledge of dark stone jutting out from the mountain side and ringed by a small babbling brook, sat a small pile of smooth soil. Soft red flowers spotted the crisp green grass around the pile. A cedar sapling grew closer to the brook.
The she-cat splashed through the shallow water and made her way over to the rise in the ground, sitting down next to it. She placed a single paw on top of it bowing her head close to her chest.
"It's strange, when you were by my side I never had the need or the want to talk to you. But whenever you left all these questions began to fill my mind that I knew only you would care enough to answer. Even if it wasn't really you answering them I still felt better for having asked you and not someone else. I thought of you as my daughter once; thought that perhaps, once this was all over and we ruled the world, I could give you back your mind and you would think of me as your mother. But you betrayed me. You were planning on using others to kill me. I had no other choice but to kill you. I should've killed you when I first got the chance."
"This is your fault and I hope that your spirit lingers long enough to watch me bring your world to its knees before I tear it apart."
"Goodbye, Tornheart."
AN: Have a thing.
-нυηтєя