Alice

Chapter 1 / Derrick

He sprinted through the forest, feet thudding against the dead earth. He was concerned about being late for the meeting. His leader was pretty harsh to any stragglers. He pushed harder against the peaty soil. He was almost late. He saw the campground. Almost, there. He barely made it in time for the leader to exit his tent. Panting, he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Did I miss anything?" he wondered aloud.

A girl walked slowly up to him and gently murmured in his ear, "You are lucky you weren't late. You are a part of this tonight." As she spoke, her breath gently tickled his ear. He turned to her and said, "Alice, you grow more beautiful every time I see you." Slightly blushing, she deterred him "Derrick is getting ready to speak."

Derrick turned to the accumulative crowd and spoke. "I have been the leader since before many of you were even born, but it is now time for me to resign from my post." Many shocked gasps met his words. He silenced them with a snap of his fingers and continued. "I need to choose a replacement for the clan so that they may hear and approve my choice." He paused, glancing over the crowd.

He took a deep breath and continued, "I choose Shadow, as the perfect replacement." There were a lot of cheers and excited yelling, Shadow was apparently a very popular choice.

Derrick waved his hand and the crowd grew silent once more. "I am afraid I must go now. Trust in Shadow to lead you as well as I have for many years to come." With that he turned and walked into a beam of bright moonlight. The crowd looked on, awed by what they were seeing as their leader burst into green flames and turned to ash.

Shadow was stunned. By the fact that he was now leader, and by the sight that he had just witnessed. His best friend, Drakonnan, walked up to him. "Wow, man congratulations."
Shadow just stared at him blankly.

Drakonnan looked at him anxiously, "You alright man?" Shadow seemed to snap out of his daze. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just a little freaked out." Draco looked at him sympathetically. "Must be hard being the new leader." Shadow, surprised, glanced at him. "Didn't it freak you out that our leader just turned to dust?" Draco laughed, "Not really." Shadow quickly changed the subject. "What do you think it's going to be like?" He wondered aloud. Draco laughed again. "Very painful and difficult." Shadow started. He had forgotten that Draco had already been inside with the Derrick.

When you become leader, you are allowed to take one person in with you. Derrick's partner was Draco.

Shadow looked back at the crowd as he entered the abandoned mansion. Alice, who was accompanying him, gently touched his shoulder. "You don't have to be nervous, I am here." she assured him. Shadow, feeling slightly better, hurried into the darkness, with Alice trailing behind.

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As they walked into the first hallway, they heard a loud crashing sound from behind. Shadow swiftly turned around, "What was that!?" Alice shrugged, "It was probably just the door closing."

Alice shook her head, bemused by Shadow's apparent cowardice. As they trekked through the first few rooms, Alice was awed by the sheer size of the place. But as they got further in, even she started to get slightly nervous.

Suddenly, there was a splash of color in the dreary light. A woman materialized, seemingly from the air itself. The whispered words surrounding them resonated through the room "My name is Gabriella."

Shadow stepped in front of Alice with his arm protectively in front of her. "Who are you and what do you want?" Gabriella laughed, her voice sounding like wind through grass. "I am here to guide you, brave warrior. May I have your name?" Shadow still looked nervous, so Alice spoke. "My name is Alice, and this, is Lord Shadow."

Gabriella chuckled again. "Lord Shadow?" Her voice was mocking. "There is only one Lord here, and he definitely is not you." Shadow was furious. "I am the leader of my clan, chosen by the prior. You dare to refute my right!?" Gabriella sneered. "You have to earn your title." Shadow was infuriated, but Alice just paused, deep in thought. "You know, Draco said something about this before we left, remember?" Shadow stopped and pondered for a minute. "Alice is right. Sorry Gabriella." Gabriella just looked at him and slowly smiled.

Gabriella turned and motioned towards a door that Shadow had not previously noticed. "Come this way." Shadow hesitated, but Alice quickly followed. "I just feel like we can trust her," she stated. Shadow shrugged and started following, but inwardly he groaned. Alice could be way too trusting.

They walked through the door. Shadow was still jumpy and apprehensive. "Why are we doing this, again," he groaned. Alice sighed, "well you want answers don't you?" Shadow nodded. "But doesn't this seen to be going a but too far?" Alice shook her head. "We have to take a few chances if you are going to take your rightful place." They walked the rest of the way in silence.

They finally arrived at the door. Gabriella turned. "Okay. Now that we are here, I can be more honest with you. Please come inside." Shadow followed, preceded by Alice. Gabriella spoke. "This is the only place where he can't hear us. I am sorry for the way that I treated you earlier."

"You are forgiven," Shadow proclaimed, "But why did you act like that anyway, and what did you mean when you said, 'The only place he can't hear us?' Who is 'he'? Gabriella grimaced. "All questions will be answered in time. Have patience."

Shadow scowled. He has never been an extremely patient person. Gabriella, seeing this, rolled her eyes. "You know, patience is a quality of a great leader, don't you Shadow?" Shadow was taken aback. How dare she talk down on him like this. "Okay you win. Please just tell us what we need to know."

Gabriella grinned. "I knew I could turn you to my way of thinking." "Just tell us what you know," Shadow snapped. Gabriella just rolled her eyes and began her story. "A long time ago, my coven started researching demons. We wanted to harness their power so that we would be able to transcend death." She paused and took a deep breath. "Things went quite well for a while. We even got the ability to see into the future. We have been guiding and protecting your clan for centuries... Until now."

Shadow blinked. "Why'd you stop now?" Gabriella just shook her head sadly. "All my friends died. We did something that no mortal should ever do." She took a deep breath. "We opened a portal to the dead."