Yeah yeah i know. I havent updated in forever. and I'm sorry. I've been busy with Life and most of it ain't fun at all. I've been workin on the stories on and off since i last updated is just i havent gotten around to updating or posting em. I am terribly sorry.
I've also been thinking in changing this story up a bit with the characters and stuff and turning it into an original. Not sure yet but it sounds like fun.
Anyway enjoy and i am sorry for such the delay.
Rissa May
Chapter 4:
By sunset she had awoken. Her strength and her magic had been slowly healing but she still felt weak, sore, and drained. Her chest, waist, and hips ached from being thrown up on the saddle like this, rather than being sat up on it correctly.
Aradia wearily looked around her, but her eyes narrowed on a set of tall gates ahead of the path. The walls that connected to the Gates were a stone grey color with black metal spikes jutting out from the top.
"We are here, princess," Spencer, the man she was forced to ride with, sneered. At the sound of trumpets, the towering gates creaked loudly, slowly opening for them.
Not wanting anymore attention than what she believed she would get, she allowed her body to go limp. All the while, peeking through the curtain of her curly, brown hair, she could observe the city.
The houses were made of a dull red brick with some sort of metal roofing. The road was merely the earth itself unlike Dalila's paved roads. But what drew Aradia's attention was the cheering crowds of people, mostly avians and wolvens. Word must have spread about her capture.
But it honestly made her sick. She wasn't completely sure why, but it was almost unbearable. Her head ached and her stomach twisted and churned in an uncanny fashion.
She sighed softly as the palace came into sight. It towered over the city, probably even more so than Dalila's. As they approached, the second set of gates that protected the palace, gradually opened with loud groaning sounds on worn hinges. The inner garden surrounding palace and stables consisted of pine trees and rose bushes giving the place a haunting but welcoming look to it.
They pulled the horses to halt as they reached the steps that led to a pair of doors; the entrance in to the building. The guards on duty around the palace came to greet the two warriors and take the reins to steady the two stallions as Brooklyn and Spencer dismounted from them.
Spencer then lifted her off the horse roughly, her knees not catching her as she was dropped to the ground. She sat there where she collapsed as the pain, soreness, and the paralyzing effects seeped into her muscles and bones.
"Get up!" Spencer commanded, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her to her feet. She gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw as pain raced through her skull. Being half dragged up the stairs, they brought her through the doors of the palace.
The hall was shadowy and long with a few corridors branching off from it to who knows where. But the furthest end of the hallway had a set of towering wooden doors. The doors were engraved with something that looked similar to the ones of the throne back home yet there was something differently about them.
A low growl escaped her throat, thankfully going unnoticed. She fell silent as the doors slowly swung opened, inviting them into a spacious room. It was better lit than the hallway they were just in. One of the two chairs that sat on the opposite end of the room was occupied. The man was aging with long grey hair and it was obvious he was human. Wolvens and Avians were the only two species able to sense who was what. But this man was tainted; wielding powers foreign to humans. But the magic itself felt wrong, evil, and unnatural. It sent a shiver over her skin and tried to shake the terrible feeling the crept into her mind.
"Lord Voltaire, we have brought you a gift of sorts," Brooklyn said bowing as did Spencer and three other guardsmen who had filed in behind them.
Aradia was tossed to the ground before the human Lord, unable to suppress a groan. Spencer immediately kicked her in the ribs, instantly silencing her and sending her body into a wave of pain. Aradia slowly looked up, her cool brown eyes glared into the old man's stone grey cold ones.
"So this is how low the Fire Avians go? Letting a human of dark and unnatural magic take hold of the throne? How pitiful," she stated her voice carrying to all ears in the room.
He smirked down at her, "Ah, Lady Aradia, how nice of you to… drop… by," his voice cold and sarcastic. He stood and walked over to her before crouching before her, "I'm more powerful than you think and I always get my way," he told her, grabbing her chin roughly and turning her head from one side to the other. "Even over young women like you," a sick grin making its way to his face.
Aradia's eyes flashed darkly, and then narrowed into slits. Suddenly Lord Voltaire was shot back a few yards, "Don't. Touch. Me. EVER!" she hissed, feeling violated as energy radiated off her in angry pulses. Another powerful burst shot outward, keeping them all at bay.
"How is she still powerful, even after a fight like that in Dalila?" Lord Voltaire wondered as he protected himself with a shield of dark energy, but still not able to approach do to the force of the pulses.
"I think she recovered a little bit on the way back, but I didn't think she'd recover that much," Brooklyn growled as he shot a black ball of fire at her. Automatically, she summoned a shield, deflecting the shadow ball.
But the shield soon dissipated and Aradia collapsed, falling limp against the cool tiled floor. Her breathing was labored and her body trembled every now and then from over exertion.
"She won't be getting up," Brooklyn said, stopping the guards from approaching the fallen female Avian. "She has drained whatever she had stored. She may still be conscious but she far too weak physically and her energy sources have been depleted," Brooklyn told them as the nodded.
"Chain her to the wall in the dungeon. I think a daily beating is also in order to keep her magic depleted and her physical strength low," Lord Voltaire ordered, "Brooklyn, go with and put a magical seal on the cell itself and when you are finished, meet me in my chambers, I have some questions to ask of you," he added.
The guards and Brooklyn nodded and bowed before two of the guards grabbed the Aradia under the arms. But before they dragged her down to the cells, she glared at the smirking old man who only grinned at her distaste.
"Spencer, you are dismissed and have tomorrow off," he told the tall blonde.
"Yes, sir," he bowed before also leaving, the doors closing behind him. The old man sighed before sitting in his place on the throne.
"Her ancient powers must be locked deep within. There has to be a way to access them," he mumbled to himself. "That witch is clueless to them as well, and if she doesn't know then she won't be able to protect herself. I must figure out how to gain control of them."
The elderly man smirked, "And I wouldn't mind doing a few of the beatings myself," he chuckled to himself, a sick grin crossing over his face as he left the throne room to his personal chambers.
The dungeon smelled awful and was dank and dark like no other. They passed the first level and the second level of cells until they reached the third level. It was the darkest there and the smell of rotten flesh of forgotten prisoners overwhelmed her and made her stomach churn.
They dragged her into the furthest cell, slamming her body up against the wall. Having no strength left to resist, iron cuffs clamped down around her wrists and ankles. Most of her body dangled but if she could stand, there would be at least a little movement.
Her eye lids slowly shut but she fought to remain conscious. She could hear Brooklyn to speaking to someone, a female. She frowned slightly, she didn't remember seeing or hearing any females in the palace. Her mind feeling heavy, everything was almost nonexistent in her mind except the feeling of foreign magic curling around her.
Brooklyn hurriedly moved through the halls and up several flights of stairs to the Lord's chambers. Coming to the end of the hall, he stopped a set of doors and took a calming breath. After a moment he knocked on the door with his knuckles. There was silence after a few minutes and then he heard a come in.
Sighing he opened the door and entered. Shutting the door behind him he bowed to the human Lord who was seated on one of the couches.
"Has she settled in?" he smirked at the orange haired man.
"She fell unconscious as they finished cuffing her," he answered taking a seat opposite of the Lord.
"Did she notice her cell mate?" he asked curiously. Brooklyn shook his head. "Interesting, I figured she would sense the other female," he said thoughtfully.
"I think she was too drained to notice much of anything, sir. I told Lady Mitexi not to bother picking any locks. The magic barrier around their cell and cuffs will shock anyone who dares to try to enter or escape," Brooklyn said as a smirk crawled over his lips.
Voltaire nodded in approval, "Very well, any news of Mitexi's twin brother?" he asked grabbing a bottle of wine off the rack next to where he sat, and poured himself and Brooklyn a glass who nodded a thank you.
"None. The spies haven't seen him approach the city so I'm assuming he is hiding out somewhere," he told him. Voltaire was silent for a moment.
"Tell them, that if they spot the young lord, tell them kill him on the spot," he told the orange haired Avian, who blinked in surprise.
"Are you sure that's reasonable?" he asked the human Lord.
"What does your foresight tell you?" he countered Brooklyn with a question of his own. The young man shrugged.
"There are too many undecided variables to predict anything yet," he answered.
"Well then for now, we will leave it at that until you know more," Voltaire said and Brooklyn nodded in agreement. "Have you learned anything more of the young witch goddess?" he asked eagerly.
Brooklyn smirked, "Plenty. You know the ruins in Zila?" he asked the lord who nodded, "Well, apparently that is where the ritual of Awakening will be preformed on the Day of Reckoning," he told Voltaire. "The Day of Reckoning is still unknown and it isn't anytime soon, but it involves the worship of the three moons and the five gods and goddesses," he added.
"Any idea of the details?" The lord asked curiously.
"Unfortunately, no. Everything is hazy but I have some other, interesting news that I'm sure you've been pondering," he smirked, "To gain control and access Aradia's ancient powers doesn't require much."
"Go on," The Lord said eagerly wanting the orange haired avian to continue.
"They can be accessed through Soul Mate Bonding. When two Partners unite in sexual intercourse for the first time a magic knot is tied between them," Brooklyn explained, yet raised a finger to stop the Lord from saying anything, "But there is a catch. She is a virgin which still makes this situation quite interesting. If the person who takes her virginity is her fated mate he has equal access to her powers and no one else can corrupt the flow of energy between them. If he is not her true mate they would only have partial access to it," Brooklyn finished.
Voltaire frowned slightly, "That's not exactly good because I know you already know that I'm not her mate and you are not aware of who that person is either," he sighed as Brooklyn nodded. But he slowly smiled a cruelly, "Well I guess that's not so bad. Taking her the first time will be one she won't forget and will fear every time," He laughed as Brooklyn merely let a lazy smile slip on to his face. He could almost taste the victory that would soon be theirs.
Aradia awoke to the feeling of something soft, wet, and warm against her face. Her eyes slowly opened to a blur around her. She shook her head and blinked several times to adjust to the dim candle light. Glancing around her a girl no older than herself with silver hair stood before her with a wash cloth in hand. Her wrists though were bound together by a chain as were her ankles with only a bit of leeway for movement and walking.
"Are you alright?" The silvered haired woman asked as worry filled her eyes. She wiped some blood that had dried on her chin.
"Yes I'm as fine as it'll get," she coughed as stared at the girl with a confused look, "Who are you?"
"Lady Mitexi of Thuraya," She told the Desert Lady. Aradia blinked with shock causing Mitexi to look up at the brunette.
"What?" Mitexi asked cautiously giving the brunette a strange look.
"You are my half sister…"