Our Beginning
Chapter 11
Fauna held up the finely crafted amulet to the sunlight as she leaned gracefully against one of the stone walls around the temple. "Well, well, seems the time has come, to again continue our master plan, Dear Flora."
Flora paced. "Are you certain, Empress? Are you certain we should risk it?" After all, there was still the risk of being beaten.
Fauna laughed. "Oh yes, my friend. Now that Dark Heart has returned, he will no doubt keep the attentions of that stupid priestess, and that meddling priest will be off tending to the Chosen Ones. It is time. The Great One will be unguarded at least once a day."
Flora appeared to think on Fauna's words. His robes fluttered in the wind as he tapped his chin. "Yes, I do believe you are right. Soon the Great One will be no more and his power will be ours."
"Yes, of course, but since a man can't really be trusted with so much power, I will get the most of it." Fauna stated.
Flora stopped and looked up. "Now just a minute. We never agreed to that. We agreed fifty-fifty, you and I ruling this world together as equals."
"Oh, pish-posh, Emperor." Fauna laughed gently. "Since when have men been equal to women? It is clearly logical that the woman take the more demanding of positions. A more logical split would be, at best seventy-thirty, but for a more smoothly run universe, it will almost have to be eighty-twenty or even ninety-ten. But I suppose I can be a bit more trusting and say sixty-five/forty-five. But any more than that would be simply disastrous. It would be asking for another ice age or worse, the polar ice caps melting at a phenomenal rate that the world would be drowned. You understand, I'm sure."
But instead of receiving a favorable answer from the emperor, instead he responded by spreading his arms. "Understand this, wench!" He clapped them together causing the earth to split and thorny vines to come pouring from the crevice to latch onto Empress Fauna's arms. "You attempt to trick me into giving up my fair share, well it won't be done. I will have what is rightfully mine. I've put in just as much if not more work than you have to see this through and I will get what I earn. In fact, I believe I should have the eighty percent and you the twenty, I can be generous too, this is ten percent more than what you deserve after all!"
With a snap of her entrapped fingers, animals from all over came and chewed away the vines holding her. "If that is what you believe, dear Emperor, perhaps I will have to cut off the dead weight before I go for the Great One!"
Meanwhile in Earth's part of the Great Forest, a tall mountain with a waterfall and a large pond….
"STAY STILL!" Dark Heart yelled as he tried to catch Earth with a jump kick. But Earth nimbly avoided it, landing in a slight crouch on the ground.
Earth laughed. "You're getting slow, Deshi. You are out of practice."
Dark Heart laughed with him. "Only because I have no suitable sparring partners in my domain on Earth. Perhaps you should…." Dark Heart stopped suddenly.
"Perhaps I should what?" Earth pressed only to be silenced by the raising of a hand.
"Shhh," commanded the red-haired man. A smirk grazed his face. "Do you hear it?"
Earth cocked his head as if to listen. But what he should have heard was something he felt in his heart. "It is close, the two powers are beginning to bicker. Are you sure those trinkets you gave them will work properly."
Dark Heart nodded and pulled out a small trinket of his own. A small crystal ball hanging on a chain under his robes. The ball was glowing a constant green. "Yes, it is working splendidly. Soon, Sensei, soon…"
AN: Okay, end of chapter here. Next chapter we go directly into something very bloody and gorey. So be prepared.
Anyone have any idea what the "trinkets" are doing to the Emperor and Empress?