A/N: Thank you for the kind words and support!
A caress as light as wind
A feeling that burns like the sun
To see the light of victory, into madness we must descend
Chapter 7: Into Madness
The sharp sound of steel hitting steel stung her ears. With eyes sharp and alert, she ran through the darkness like a blade. She could see the flashes of sparks in the shadows. Her skin tingled as she passed windows, and momentarily bathed herself in moonlight, "Captain!" She cried in desperation when she saw blood drip from a fresh wound.
"No Sodia, stay back!" Clear eyes glared back at a stare full of bloodlust. "What are you doing here? Who are you?" His voice was strong and demanding.
She placed her hand on her sword, "Drop your weapon and surrender at once!" She commanded the shadow opposite of the blonde knight before her. Her confidence shriveled and died when she could see the moonlight illuminate a pale face.
His lips turned upwards into a twisted smile, "All you knights ever do is boss people around." He readied the crimson daggers in his hands, still grinning out of pure pleasure, "Spend less time talking and more time bleeding!" He charged his target again. He could smell the coppery tang of blood, and his adrenaline roared because of it.
"Captain!" She cried once more when twin daggers met the sturdy defense of his sword. Disregarding his former order, she moved in to help, only to hear him shout sharply.
Parrying once more, he turned to her with eyes that danced with a determined fire, "I said stay back! Azure Edge!" He fired a wave of magical energy towards his attacker before charging himself. He'd sooner fall on his sword then allow his assassin to take the offensive all night, "Go and alert the Royal Guard, warn Alexei!"
She hesitated out of sheer loyalty and concern. However, she submitted to his order and dashed back into the dim halls of the castle.
The assassin charged in again, still grinning, "I said," His voice sang with no shame of his lunacy, "BLEED!" His body gave off a bloody pink glow, as his daggers met steel and then flesh. "Ahahahaha!"
The halls of the castle are a cold, lonely place to wander. A lone man treked through the carpeted halls silently. His butler garb seemed out of place in the sad halls. As he turned a corner to continue onwards, he smirked to himself.
Cradled in one arm, a small creature made a soft noise.
"Oh, close to feeding time is it?" His blue eyes looked down the hall and to the next door, "I'll see what I can do for you little guy." It made another noise, and he smiled, although bitterly, "It hurts me to play this role you know. But what must be done, must be done."
He stopped at the door and cracked it open a little. Gently, he placed the small creature on its feet and pushed it towards the door, "Go on, fate will show you what your purpose is." He watched it waddle through the door and gently closed it. Back tracking, he found a small set of stairs and climbed them, his shoes echoing through the darkness.
Shortly after his departure, a pair of wandering warriors turned into that wing of the hallway. One was much shorter than the other. While one seemed in his thirties, the young boy was no older than thirteen. "H-H-Here Eggbear," The younger of the two whispered, "Here E-Eggb-bear."
His older companion shook his head and scratched his chin, "You won't become a good hunter, whispering like a scared puppy." He chuckled when his young friend jumped at his shamelessly loud voice.
"Shhh," The boy hushed him harshly, "don't be so loud Raven." He turned to the door with quivering knees, "It might hear you."
The one named Raven rolled his shoulders, "Remind me why you had the idea of sacrificing your bravery to come here?"
"I couldn't think of anything else!" The youth immediately covered his mouth when he realized he yelled. He glared up at the older man when he heard more laughter, "Well at least I didn't give up my name." He smiled triumphantly when he saw Raven recoil, "That was a dumb idea."
"Hey, show some respect for your elders Karol." Raven feigned injury at Karol's words. A small cry caused both to freeze and look downwards. Shocked eyes rested on the sight of a small bear-like creature. It had one of its small paws in its mouth, cutely looking up at them with big, innocent, brown eyes.
Estelle lightly slept under the watchful eye of Repede. He had allowed himself to be used as her pillow. Uninterested in the conversation going on near him, he simply fiddled with the pipe between his teeth. Every so often, his ear twitched, ever alert for unseen danger.
"Hmm," Rita tilted her head in thought, "I didn't think there was any more to this whole Nightingale thing." She tapped her chin, "But if what you say true, then there is something else going on." Her eyes looked up at the beautiful woman suspiciously, "If what you say is true."
Judith smiled, "Oh my, you make it sound like I'm suspicious." She laughed lightly at Rita's staring, "Don't worry, I'm not good at telling lies."
"Not anymore." Yuri muttered.
Judy shrugged, "I don't miss it much."
His dark eyes remained on Estelle, "We should wake her up soon. We're kind of on the clock."
"I don't see why you can't carry her." Judy gave Yuri a cheeky smirk, as if implying something.
Rita shrugged when she didn't catch the hidden meaning, "I always meet the weirdos in this stupid castle." She brushed off her maid uniform and started towards the door. "We still have two more statues to light, so get a move on."
"You might not want to go that way." Rita froze and her cat-ears went rigid at the familiar, smooth voice. Anger burning in her eyes, she looked to the small balcony above and saw a wolf-eared young man. He smiled at her annoyed glare and waved, "Hello Rita."
She gave him an irritated snort, "What are you doing here?" Rita watched with folded arm as Fen hopped over the balcony's railing and onto the tiled floor. Her eye twitched when he intentionally tapped his feet, still wearing his polished dancing shoes. "You're so weird." She sighed when he swiftly made his way over to her.
Fen gave her a wink before looking towards Yuri and Judith, "So how goes it?" He looked to Judy, "Good to see you."
"Well, after too long, Ba'ul got worried." Judith smiled, "I hope you don't mind me giving you both a hand." A bark drew her attention downwards, as Repede warmly welcomed her to the group. Judy effortlessly rubbed Repede's head, "Why thank you Repede, I knew you'd be easy to convince."
Yuri shook his head with a smirk, "Always the opportunist Judy."
"You're hardly the one to say that." Judy shot back.
While everyone was conversing, Rita looked at them in confusion. "So ll of you know each other?" She could swear that something deep within her wanted to click, as if teasing a much desired memory. Her sharp eye caught the slight glances towards Fen and the slight fall of his content expression.
Before Judy could give out too much honesty, Fen answered, "That, my dear Rita," He tapped her nose fearlessly, "is for you to find out."
"Don't touch me you freak!" Rita lashed out.
Fen weaved through her fists and ended up embracing Rita from behind. Carefully placing himself out of reach, he rubbed his cheek against hers, "But you're so nice to touch." He felt her growl stop suddenly when he ran his hand along her rigid tail.
Bristling, the bookworm of a maid shrieked, "Stop sexually harassing me you perverted dog!"
"As entertaining as it is to see Rita squirm," Judy savored the fuming maid's stare, "what did you mean about us not wanting to go that way?"
"Eggbears." Fen released Rita and twirled towards away from her. He stopped to lean against the illuminated Child of the Full Moon statue, his hands in his pockets. "Dreadful creatures; they tend to play tricks too."
Yuri opened his mouth to ask a question, but the loud bang of the door slamming open stopped him. Everyone turned back to the door when a woman shrieked in absolute horror. "Murder! Bloody murder in the north tower!" She rushed to Yuri, "Murder good sir, in the coldest kind!" Rushing onwards almost as quickly as she came, the woman kept screaming madness, "Ring the bells! Wake the guards! Sir Whitehorse has been MURDERED!"
"Oh my," Judy cast a concerned glance towards Yuri.
"Whitehorse," Fen's face looked unusually grave, "as in Don Whitehorse?"
"Who is Don Whitehorse?" All eyes dropped to Estelle, who groggily looked up in shock. The screaming alarm had shook her awake with a fright. Her rosy cheeks seemed to lack a bit of color.
Fen immediately started in the direction that the woman had come from. He answered while passing Estelle, "The only man with just as much influence as Commandant Alexei."
The others quickly followed Fen, leaving Yuri to look after Estelle. He kneeled at her side, "Can you walk?" He watched her try to stand, only to have her legs give out weakly. Whatever that burst of power from before was, it had drained her more than he thought. He smirked and rolled his eyes when Estelle tried to stand again, "I can carry you." It was a half-hearted answer. He knew what she'd say.
"No," Estelle weakly refused with pink cheeks, "I can walk on my own." She huffed when her legs refused to hold up once more. Blushing out of embarrassment, she glanced towards Yuri, "Um, could you-" She didn't get the chance to finish before Yuri hoisted her up on her feet.
"I'll let you lean on me, if you tell a certain friend of mine that I did a good deed today. Deal?"
Estelle smiled softly at Yuri's amused smirk, "Deal." She placed her arm around Yuri's neck while he held her waist. The contact made her face grow warm, recalling the heated encounter with his double. "So, who exactly is this friend of yours?" She tried to focus on something else.
"A blonde boy-scout with nothing better to do than to pester me." Yuri shamelessly allowed the sharp response to roll from his lips.
Bright, emerald eyes looked up at him strangely, "Are you sure you two are friends?"
"Depends on your definition of 'friend'."
"I don't get it." Estelle's cat-ears drooped with her confused expression. The pair simply followed the brisk pace of their companions, allowing silence to mix with the unrealized weight of the situation. Before long, however, curiosity got the better of Estelle. Entering the room that held a set of stairs to the north tower, she asked Yuri a question. "Yuri?"
The long-haired swordsman hummed his attention with closed his eyes.
Estelle lightly bit her lip before asking, "Um, what did you give up to come here?" When she glanced upwards, her eyes shockingly came in contact with the steady gaze of Yuri's dark eyes. With eyes locked, the pair was oblivious to a woman calling out Yuri's name venomously, the thunderous entrance of a pair of warriors, and the gathering black fog at their feet.
All Estelle saw was the empty stare of Yuri's eyes. All she heard was his masculine voice clearly speak one word to her. It was for her ears, and hers alone.
"Love."
A/N: Wow, such weight with one word. Hopefully this gave you enough clues to draw some conclusions. Next chapter will be packed with dynamic interactions and we finally get to introduce some much needed characters. I'm holding true to my short story thing this time, so expect some answers and climaxes soon. Thank you for reading, and please review!