Dragon Princess

Chapter 23: Death

Aralia

Time was slowed, watching Shade's body drop to the ground seemed to make everything grow still. His body hit the ground and his face turned towards me, life was still left in his eyes as he held his hand out to me.

I sprinted towards him ignoring the danger of the king and queen. Morvous stepped back and let me pass with a grin on his face. I knelt down to Shade pressing my hand down in his chest to try and stop the bleeding. I didn't need words, my magic just started flowing out of me trying to heal him.

But he took my hand in his and removed it from the wound, "Save it, love. I'm dying."

"Like hell you are Shade! I didn't come all the way here to save your ass to have you die on me."

He chuckled then his body was wrecked with coughs as blood leaked out of his mouth, "Forget about me, sweets, I'm done. Just get out of here before they kill you too."

A tear spilled from one of my eyes and my chest tightened and I shook my head, "I'm not going to leave, I won't give up on us..."

He took his other hand and moved the tear off of my face, "I fear, Aralia, that there can no longer be an us...I-I love...you my dear."

His hand dropped to the side and his eyes grew dark.

My body shook and tears fell from my eyes, I heard chuckling from the king and queen and that was enough to dry my tears and erupt the anger that grew inside of me.

I stood up and turned around to faced them. My body trembled as I could feel the magic building up inside of me until I felt as if I was going to burst at the seams. I threw my hands forward and screamed feeling the magic that had grown so tight and intense inside of me rush out in waves.

The magic was like explosions erupting not just my hands, but from my whole body. The blue shock waves of the magic made cracks in the walls and floors and the castle itself began to shudder as sections of the ceiling started to crumbles and fall.

The king was thrown back against the wall, but the queen was nowhere to be found.

I put my hands down, but the flow of magic that emanated from me still flowed out. I walked towards Morvous picking up Shade's fallen and bloody sword.

I stood before the king that killed my mother, responsible for my brothers death and the murderer of Shade. I brought the sword to his throat.

He smiled darkly up at me and spat at my feet, "Your such a stupid little girl, you can't kill me. Death is just the beginning."

"Just watch me," I stabbed into his throat and cut down his chest and stomach. His body suddenly went up in white flames causing me to drop the sword and fall back a few feet away from the now flaming body.

The fall caused the last of my magic to rush out of my causing the castle to shake and larger chunks started to crack and fall. My magic was drained and I was feeling now weak from all the power I had used.

I stood up light headed and started to stumble back towards Shade. I dropped to my knees beside him and took his cooling hand in mine. A tear escapes my eye and drips down on his body as I mourn the lose of my loved one.

I never told him how I felt about him, but it gave me a sense of piece that I knew that he loved me.

I felt a set of arms wrap around me. I leaned back letting Shades hand go and shutting my eyes. But Grea's voice broke my sense of weariness and brought me back to reality.

"Aralia, the castles coming down, we have to get out of here!"

I look at Shade and say, "We can't leave without him."

She stood me up and out my weight in her starting to drag me towards the doors, "He's dead Aralia, we have to leave him."

I pushed her back and tried to stumble back towards him, but a large chunk of the ceiling crashed down separating us. Grea wrapped her arm around my waist and started dragging me out of the throne room.

Everywhere I looked rubble was crashing around us and the ground was shaking causing us to stumble. Grea was forced to let go of me to steady herself and I assured her I was alright and that I didn't need any help.

We started to run up the stairs, we could see the light from outside up ahead. We lunged ourselves out of the mouth of the castle just as the floor caved in from the inside.

Seeing Goliath's body made my chest hurt reminding me of the person I had just lost. I couldn't dwell in this though, Grea's green dragon swooped down picking both if us up in time for me to see the rest of the castle collapse on itself.

I silently wept until we were gently placed on the ground several hundred yards away from the crumbling structure. I was on my knees drying my tears when Grea knelt down beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"When it's safe to go back I'll get some of our people and we can get they're bodies and give them a proper pyre." She said.

I nodded and stood up and bringing her into a hug surprising her, "Thank you, Grea, Shade would have appreciated that."

Shade

I coughed and gripped my chest as the pain began to disappear. I breathed heavily and blinked my eyes to try and gain my vision back. But all I could see what red.

I heard a woman speaking, it was Belladonna, I strained to listen, but her voice sounded so far away.

Until it felt like I was just smacked by a brick in my chest.

My eyes suddenly became clear and I realized that Belladonna was standing over me with a mother like smile on her face.

I tried to move, but it felt like I was paralyzed.

She knelt down and stroked the side of my face, "You didn't think I would actually let you die did you? You are most cherished of creations and now that I have fixed you, you will do exactly what I say or the fire within you will destroy you."

I felt the skin on my arm begin the crack, I couldn't see it, but the glow that shone from the wound was red and I knew that fire was just beneath my skin.

"That's a minor problem, you see, bringing someone back from the dead has a price, this one just so happens to be your humanity. Before the next new moon the beast within you will erupt and there will nothing that can stand in your way."

Belladonna stood up and started cackling and began walking away and for the first time in a long time I felt true fear of what I really am.