Dripping Wings
Giant mahogany doors burst open with a bang so loud, the sound of an explosion echoed down the endless hallway. Atemu stormed past the marble columns and darkened passageways few new existed. Adrenaline hummed through his blood stream. Red clouded his vision. All he felt like doing was destroying something large, expensive, and irreplaceable. He needed to vent his anger, and more than anything, he needed answers.
He needed answers now.
"Tranquility!" His voice boomed. "Tranquility! Eternity! Divinity! Show yourselves to me! Face me!" He pounded down the hall, his hands balled into fists. Every muscle felt like it would snap with tension if he didn't hit something, or scream his anger towards the heavens and demand Those above that they appease him. "Cowards!" He kept screaming. "Look at me and tell me what you've done! Why have you set this upon the Throne! Why! Reveal your faces to me!"
"Your descendent defiles our names, sister. Shall you allow it?"
Atemu whipped around, hearing a voice that was all too familiar. A face started to come into view, perfect in its smoothness, hair like clouds billowing out behind it. The woman stepped out of the darkness, her gown a liquid mirror reflecting and emitting heavenly light. Bright yellow-gold eyes starred levelly back at him.
The Goddess Divinity, the embodiment of the starlight.
"He is angry, sister. He knows not what he says. Let us calm his raging heart." Another face appeared, the soft white light that permeated down her body revealing a gown that glowed like the surface of the glittering moon. Crystal clear blue eyes looked down at the Prince gravely from a soft face.
The Goddess Tranquility. The embodiment of the moonlight.
"I do not take kindly to insults. Consolation is your element, sister. I will not partake." Gold light clashed and intermingled with the silvery white and sharp platinum of the other goddesses. Angry ruby-maroon eyes glittered down at him with the force of a thousand suns.
The Goddess Eternity. The embodiment of the sunlight.
Atemu's intense anger fled in the faces of heaven. Despair filled the void of the volatile red flame that had swarmed within his chest. "How can you take him from me?" He pleaded. "How am I supposed to go on without him?"
"War simmers on the horizon, grandchild. You are entering an atmosphere of battle that has never before been seen upon this earth. The World Beyond is in upheaval. The Wicked One threatens the very thresholds of our sanctuaries Beyond." Tranquility's voice chimed brighter and clearer than a thousand temple bells.
"How can I fight this without him? How will I go on? Why him? Of all people? Why would you have him be the soul that's destined to bond with me? It's not fair!"
"The child turns trite," Eternity spoke. Her unhappiness with the Prince's behavior was tangible The very air crackled with tiny solar flares around her. "I would love to be informed when life began catering to our every wish. Do you not understand, Prince of Sekesha? The existence of your Goddesses hang in the balance! The Wicked One will destroy every last one of us, and cast this world to blood! The life of the last Assai to be born will save every being within your borders and beyond. Questchal will finally be under the rule of the Crown. The wars will end!"
The Goddesses themselves were in danger? Could they possibly be that fallible? "But the universe would cease to exist without you. How could he destroy you?"
Divinity spoke with a thousand tiny stars glittering in her perfect strands of hair."Do not be daft, Prince. Everything is subject to change. Including us. Including our parents. Their hands have not been able to touch Questchal soil for ten thousand years."
Atemu had nearly forgotten about the parents of the Three Sisters. The perfect ideals. They had no names, no faces attached to their forms. They were simply two perfect beings. One, the embodiment of Eternal Peace and Unfailing Love, the other the embodiment of Fair Justice and Unwavering Loyalty. Little was spoken about them. Even less was known about them. Atemu doubted if anyone outside of the Eternal Palace and the Haven of the Elves knew about them.
Everything is subject to change. Including us. Including our parents.
"How long do I have with him?"
"We cannot give you a certain amount of time," Tranquility stated. "No future is certain. However, you can knows this; the war is over when Yuugi dies. His death will mark the beginning of a new era of peace. Powers of old will begin to appear, and the Empire of Sekesha will regain its former glory."
A tear pricked at the corner of his crimson colored eye, his eyes so much like the gold goddess's that was glowering at him. He fell to his knees, defeated. "Forgive me. My anger was not at you. My anger stemmed from the fact that I can not control and keep the most precious thing in my life. Yuugi will not even be able to see and experience the joy that he will give to us."
The Goddesses laughed. All three of them. "Fear not!" Tranquility cried.
"He will not be gone forever!" Divinity declared.
"We never said his soul would be erased," Eternity chided. "You know as well as we that reincarnation exists, along with awareness after death. You will not be separated for ever."
It was the only hope that he could hold on to, lest he fall to despondence. They would meet again. Eternity would be theirs to spend together. "Thank you."
"Have faith, grandchild. My mother has told me how fond she is of Yuugi. Even if anything happened to him, you can be certain the cosmos would bend the realities you know and don't know to bring him back. The last Assai is a treasure we have all been anticipating."
"You must have your child soon, though," Divinity warned. "You will not have time after the Bonding ceremony. Organize the ritual as soon as Yuugi is through with his training. Otherwise, everything will be lost. Remember this."
"You may also tell the Assai that his parents say hello, and allow him to know how proud they are of him." As Eternity's voice died away, so did the bodies of the Goddesses. As quickly as they appeared before him, they were gone, and the Hall of Remembrance was once again steeped in shadows...
Atemu awoke with a start, his heart hammering in his chest. Why did he keep dreaming about the night he and Yuugi had returned from Northern Reach? Hadn't he made peace yet with what was to come?
The Goddesses had not been happy with the way he challenged fate. He would also be the first to admit it; he'd been foolish to howl his anger at them so quickly. Yes, he was the descendent of Tranquility, and related to Her sisters, and was therefore more spiritually closer to them than even the priestesses of their temples. Anyone else other than Yuugi would have been shunned by them until they opened their hearts up to accept their mistake. However, it did not give him the right to question what they knew. They could See far more than him. They knew what would happen, even though they would not tell. He was lucky they hadn't been angrier with him. Eternity especially. She was the warrior, the fighter, and the strongest in battle than any other goddess or god known or unknown. She could have snuffed him out like a winter candle.
Yuugi's breathing slowly entered his train of though, and seduced it to pay attention to the body next to him in bed. "Kono mongatari wa toosaku sareta mono desu orginaru no sakusha wa gin no yuri desu," Yuugi muttered in his sleep. "Onjinaru no saito e itte yonde kudasai."
Yuugi. The endless source of love and despair in his life. Atemu hadn't been able to tell his younger lover just what his lot in the celestial chain of events was. How could he tell that beautiful face that it was up to him to save the life of not only earth, but heaven as well? How could he watch those crystal purple eyes well with tears of frustration and helplessness?
He couldn't. That was just the thing. He downright couldn't tell him.
Perhaps that was why his dreams were plaguing him. Whenever the subject of the future came up, he'd clam up and say hardly a word. Yuugi would always press for answers, and Atemu would always refuse, or divert the subject to more stable grounds.
The only thing he found himself able to repeat from that night was the message from his parents. Yuugi had been dazzled and shocked at what they said, and curious how the Prince had acquired such a message. 'The Goddesses' had been a simply enough answer, and Yuugi never questioned to know more.
Oh, goddess, Yuugi...
His training was nearly over. It had been decided that Yuugi needed to travel to the Elves and receive the last instructions any tutor alive could give him. His talents had accelerated far beyond anyone's highest expectations. Atemu had to even admit it to himself that Yuugi was stronger than him.
Much, much stronger.
There was a gaping hole in the earth larger than the Divine City that Yuugi had created at practice one day with Daemon. They had teleported to the most remote region in Sekesha to see what the extent of Yuugi's powers had reached to.
Yuugi wasn't even winded.
Atemu's heart was bleeding. Never could he have guessed how hard this would be. Surely the perfect ideals, the parents of the Sisters, had a hand in his making. They had to. Yuugi was the most divine creature that walked on the planet.
The foot of their huge bed grumbled out a satisfied snort. Atemu looked down, seeing the sun dragon Helios on his back, sleeping the night away. Sun dragons grew slowly, luckily. Three years after his hatching and he was only the size of a small colt. Although, as he aged, the spots of maroon in his eyes filled up the areas of blue, as was normal with his species. He made an intimidating spot in the dark if a stranger happened upon their chambers.
The dragon made a sound between a snore and a snort, rolled onto his back, and kicked at the air like a sleeping dog. He truly was an amusing companion. He'd taken to following Yuugi all over the palace. Atemu had to admit, it was nice to have a dragon by Yuugi's side when he couldn't be there. Yuugi could certainly take care of himself, but confrontations, if ever they might have felt the urge to appear, were immediately ceased when that golden head lifted itself up and dropped down into Yuugi's lap, growling for attention. Yuugi would only laugh, but council members and patrons of the court were always intimidated and minded their tongue. People had a tendency to push for what they wanted if they believed they could get away with it. And Yuugi, with his small stature and young face, always looked impressionable and naive.
Oh, how wrong they were to assume as such.
The windows at the balcony rumbled and shook, just a little. Atemu wouldn't have noticed it had he been asleep. Helios awoke instantly. He rolled over and swivelled his head towards the balcony. His eyes were glowing in the darkness.
Alarm bells rang without remorse in Atemu's head. His instincts were wrought with tension. Shuffling feet slid along the marble floor light and hollow, as if they were covered with dust. He rolled over, but could not see a figure anywhere. Helios growled deeply from his belly.
Atemu allowed a ball of black energy to form sluggishly in his hand. It wasn't the first time Helios had woken up growling. False alarms had been such instances as when a bird flew in from the open doorway one time last summer, or a piece of clothing hadn't been put away properly and finally fell from its resting spot on the edge of the dresser.
"Who's there!" Yuugi sat up and summoned a ball of light in his hands, washing the room with silver illumination. A figure in black stood just beyond the glass doorway, a dagger in each hand. Helios roared angrily as shots of gold sparked out of his nostrils.
"Stop!" Atemu barked, and flung his ball of energy at the masked figure as they ran back to the balcony. Black energy chains wrapped around them, but still they ran.
Helios flapped his wings and was up without pause. His already large talons and still growing teeth captured the person before they could reach the marble railing.
Both Yuugi and the Prince were out of bed at the same moment. Yuugi's insides shook with apprehension and annoyance. Who would have the guts to scale the palace walls and attempt to enter their room?
Atemu was downright pissed. How dare someone attempt such a crime! "Who are you!" He barked. "Answer in the name of the Crown!"
Helios held on to the person as if he were a giant chew toy. They could now see it was a stocky man with a clean shaven head. "Esto'ch enir'ral shtu-ne! Pes's nar -- a -yokch buss'en!"
Helios pushed his claws into the man's ribs, and he screamed.
Yuugi was now angry, himself. He knew that language now as the native tongue of Questchal. Wrarrl. Gods. Even the name of it felt somehow dirty to pronounce.
Atemu watched how as Yuugi drew his hand back, light poured out of his skin to coat his hand and arm. When he swung his arm back around, the glowing energy grabbed the man around his neck and heaved him up. Helios fought to keep his hold on the Questchalite, his claws never leaving gaps in the ribs they'd found. "Answer my inquiry, man. Who are you? Why do you threaten my home? Ehnahyeh esehn uhnyu. Eshehn ah meh lyiah undeh. Aneh."
Atemu shivered as Yuugi spoke Assalyaseh, the sacred language of Sekesha. Yuugi'd learned so much in the few short years he'd been in this world...
The man's eyes glazed over. The power around his neck, and the magick spoken to his ears, forced the truth from his lips.
After all, Yuugi's truth spells were unbreakable.
"The Great One sent me. The One True One. You stand in his way of victory. He will defeat you. I, Lord Char'le'maichin have sworn to see His will fulfilled."
Helios snarled and pushed his claws deeper. The light still around the man's throat prevented the scream, but the pain was evident in his dark brown eyes. "No, Helios. Don't spill blood in this room. We will have Mahaado take him down to the dungeons. We'll deal with him later."
The dragon growled and hissed viciously, but he obliged to Yuugi's request. The only compensation the dragon gave himself was to slash at the man's kneecaps, rendering him unable to stand. It was only then that he let go. Although he couldn't speak to either Yuugi or Atemu, he was just as intelligent as the Sacreds.
Just as Yuugi released his spell, Atemu had summoned the guard in question.
The rest of the evening, sleep was cancelled, and meetings were being held.
"This is the second assassination attempt this month," Isis was saying, trying to choke down her incredibly early morning tea.
"The fifth one this year," a member of the council stated. Yuugi had come to learn his name was Seth. Had it been allowed, he probably wouldn't have been a priest by choice, but men were not allowed the honor of priesthood in Sekesha. It was reserved only for the women.
"I think Yuugi needs to go to the Elves now," Jono spoke up, somehow the most awake out of any of them. Yuugi wondered if the blonde captain was human at all. "It'll throw off any more of these fool hearty idiots from knowing where he is."
"Even Ayana informed me she has nothing else she can teach him," The Priestess spoke up. "Daemon is also getting beaten up left and right. They can't keep up with him anymore."
"You realize that if he goes I have to go with him," Atemu stated. "You know the codes of the Elves just as much as I do. I myself have to ask for them to grant permission for anyone to enter their territory. That's one of the conditions of the Treaty of Evansarh. It doesn't matter who he is. Are we ready for me to step away for a while? Especially with all of the insurgents at the borders? Bandits are getting worse."
"True," Jono replied, "but we have a lot more Guardians on force. Those six hundred newborn dragons from El-Ekehrah are fully fledged. They're fighting off the attacks without hardly blinking."
"They could get worse, though," Seth warned. "And become more scattered."
"Do we even have a time line of how long I will be gone?" Yuugi interjected.
Everyone at the oval table stopped for a moment to think. "Six months, I think," Isis stated. "Ayana spoke with me as well. She seemed quite certain that by the time six months arrived, you'd have finally reached the state to receive full control from the Sisters Themselves over your powers."
Yuugi looked back to Atemu. "Would you have to stay for the whole time?"
The Prince's heart sank, but he refused to let anyone know. Their time together was already so short, he did not want to cut it any shorter. "No."
"Well, I suppose it's settled then," Lilian stated. "By noon tomorrow, you two must be off. We can't have any more surprise attacks. Helios will accompany you there, and if you can sway him to do so, he should follow Atemu home. Yuugi will be under enough protection while with the elves. It is here that the greatest concern now lies."
This is the beginning of the end, Atemu thought sullenly to himself. I love you, Yuugi. When I must part with you, please never forget it...
xxx
Mwahahahaha...
Gosh, but cliffies are so easy to write. I'm so sorry for all of you that have been waiting. I've been under the weather for months now, (literally, with a stomach lesion to boot) and have suffered writer's block. Sorry to those of you that have waited so long.
Oh, and to the Bitch that is till plagiarizing my work, burn in hell, fucker. Every time a kind soul sends me a link to your plagiarizing ways, a little part of my dies inside and causes another writer's freeze. Thanks. You really are the worst person on the face of the earth.
So, next time there's a delay, folks, you know why. It's all because of her. The Bitch. Stacey English. (She also has many, MANY other names, that are too long to mention here. Try this site: http / crimes. wawemail. com/
You'll see ALL about her.
So there. Eat that Paine. Stacey. Seth Kaiba. Assahineh. (MY WORD, BY THE WAY! MY WORD! I MADE THIS UP! IT'S RIGHT IN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THIS STORY!) Or whatever the hell it is you're calling your lousy self these days. Bitch.