"Boy, cease your running! I have you in my sights and you will be killed unless you stop!" Edward roared as he chased a teenager on foot through a small forest. He growled as he lost sight of his target for a moment. Adrenaline pumped and he pushed forward, hand on the dagger in his pouch.
Michael, when he had heard the approach of horses and a man dressed in black, had decided not to stick around to find out why they were following him. His mind scrambled and legs shaking, he headed into the dense cover of trees. Unfortunately, he was tackled only fifty feet into the brambles.
"Get off me, I have done nothing!" Michael covered his head and remained motionless, peeking up at his pursuer. It was the man in black. Michael's heart beat erratically when the man laughed and kicked the kneeling boy in the ribs. Crying out in pain, Michael managed to stay put, determined to not be weak.
Edward laughed again, brushing his hair from his face before yanking the boy up by the neck. "Why did you run, boy? You are lucky I have not killed you yet." He spat the words with venom, towering over Michael by a few inches; his dark demeanor also added height to his stance.
"I was journeying and when I saw you and your men, my instincts told me to run. I apologize!" Michael was barely able to keep eye contact with the dark man. He was terrified and wasn't sure why he was being attacked. The dagger that he suddenly felt on his neck only further drove his heartbeat into a frenzy.
Edward smiled cruelly and leaned closer, "Where were you journeying to? Honesty will suit you best, I can sense lies, and I have no use of liars."
Michael gulped. "I was searching for a fallen star. It landed in the north. I was merely walking there to bring it back to my home. Please let me go!" Edward released his hold on the boy.
"The you will be free to guide me there, won't you boy. Many of my men have been picked off by blasted lightening pirates. I am in need of a guide to the north. Maybe your star is also what I search."
As the two spoke grimly of their plans under an unstable truce, the star that had been spoken of so often awoke.
A pale woman, slender, and glowing slightly, visibly shook as she took in her surroundings. She lightly prodded her leg, and a sharp pain sprang through her body. She yelped and cradled it close to her body. Again, she surveyed her surroundings.
A beautiful necklace lay on a rock to her right, and an invisible string pulled her hand to reach for it. Against her better judgement, she fastened it around her neck, thinking nothing more of it. Her hair ceased to glow as another round of pain from her ankle erupted. Her eyes grew wide and watery as she viewed the morning sky. This was not her home, she shouldn't be here, what in the world had transpired?
Clouds began to cover the blue sky and she spied the slightly visible moon. The orb comforted her slightly, memories crashed through her aching head. She laid back down in the indent from her fall and fell into a fitful sleep.
Victoria used her seeing stones to find her path. She came across a small homestead that had a goat and a young man attending to the livestock out front. She approached and surprised the young man.
"How much is the cart?" Victoria smiled brilliantly, dazing the farm boy.
"Well, we have no use of it so you could simply borrow it. The only problem is we only have one goat. That cart there require two." Victoria's smile fell to a snarl.
"Of course, well, we can fix that easily." She pointed a finger that soon sprang forth a green light. The young man blinked and suddenly he was a goat, being harnessed to the cart. Victoria laughed as she whipped them forward at a faster pace.
"I'm coming you silly star! And I will cut out your heart!" Her cry was carried off by the wind of the approaching storm.
Off in the distance, Michael and Edward rode at a fast pace to the North. "Make one false move and I will have you killed, boy." Edward grumbled to the startled and slightly queasy boy.
Wincing as he yelled to the slightly older man, "You could call me Michael, you know." Edward laughed without smiling, a trademark of his character.
"And you could call me Death, but that would be too personal for my taste," whispered the Dark Prince to himself as he pushed his horse forward a few paces. He felt no need to introduce himself or use formalities. The fact that the urchin riding beside him did not recognize him was not of his concern and would be left in that manner.
"Boy, how much farther North must we journey before we reach the pendant, or the star, as you call it?"
"U-umm. Let's see, I thought I saw it land somewhere in the white desert, but I could be mistaken." Michael also urged his horse to match Edward' so that he could hear the man better.
"You are almost useless to me, boy. Consider yourself lucky that you are not guilty of trechery, or death would be your journey." And with a final glare at Michael, Edward goaded his horse of midnight into a gallop that his followers' horses could not match.
Edward felt the wind again, the warm air encased him like an old friend. He had no companions that he could trust and the wind, lifeless and free, was the only company that he gladly kept.