Eternally Luminous

Chapter 3

The library contained thousands of books on tall shelves stretched from the roof to the floor. The master was now extended out across the couch, watching Ana while she pulled books off the shelves, looked through them with great interest, and then placed them back. Ana was amazed at the range of books across these great shelves. She found notes on just about every subject she could think of. Some were about hunting, crafting weapons, foods that you could find in the Eastern forest and even theories about what lay beyond the Eltaron Sea. Ana turned around, curious as to what the Master was doing because she now heard the sound of shuffling papers. He was off the couch and sifting through the mountain of papers that were on his desk, he pulled open draws looking for something specific. Her attention withdrew from the Master as Ana fixed her eyes on a dazzling weapon that was behind him. Walking over to it, Ana offered to help him find what he was looking for. “It’s nothing”, he muttered to her, frustrated. She stood in front of the weapon, a sword unlike anything she’d ever seen. Two small pedestals raised it above the wooden case that it lay in. The hilt of the sword was made of a lighter gold and had a black leather grip. The cross-guard was sharp with the apexes connecting to an acute point. The blade was smooth and lustrous. It was staggering. “Gladius Vitae”, the Master said, now standing directly behind Ana looking over her shoulder at the weapon. “It means Sword of Life”, he said as his warm breath gently caressed her shoulder.

A shiver propelled from her neck down to the very end of her spine. Ana hesitantly turned around and then regretted doing so, for the Master had locked his lips onto hers. Ana pushed him off her, unhinging his tongue from her mouth. “No”, Ana said fearfully. He clenched his fists into balls and stormed towards her. He struck her across the face and she lost her balance, stumbling over a pile of books. Desperately crawling away, Ana felt a tug on her hair and it threw her neck backwards. The Masters fists grasped her hair and he crouched down beside her. “You will bear my children for you are the most beautiful woman within this kingdom. You will give me children and they will be strong and handsome”, he demanded in her ear.

“No”, Ana said desperately trying to escape his hold. He let go and she quickly picked herself up, pain shooting through her entire body. The Master hit her again, causing her to cough and gasp for air. She started to cry. The tears streamed down her bruised cheek and the taste of her salty tears and blood filled her mouth. Ana backed herself up against the wall between two bookshelves and tried to steady herself because she was shaking. He came at her again, and Ana shrieked, tensing her body and pressing harder against the wall but instead of striking her, he clawed at her clothes, moving his hands around her body. It reminded her of the guard, and she felt light headed and scared for she knew that no kitchen hand would burst in anytime soon to save her. “Please, stop, don’t!” Ana cried out, frantically trying to push the Master off her. He was like a starved dog that was thrown a piece of meat. Ana pushed him off with one great force and slapped him across the face. Her nails scratched his cheek and blood began to trickle out of the wounds. He felt his cheek and then looked at his hand, seeing the blood on his fingers. Before he could attack her, Ana forced herself forward and drove the letter opener she had found into his stomach. He staggered forwards towards Ana and had and a wicked grin on his face whilst clutching his stomach. Within an instant Ana felt an excruciating pain in her left shoulder and saw the dagger that protruded. Her crimson blood oozed out. Collapsing onto her knees on the floor she ripped the dagger out, throwing it to the side and then pressed the wound, wincing at the pain.

Suddenly she felt a cold sensation and to her amazement, her flesh began to reconstruct itself. The tissue melting together and the blood stopped. The Master stared at her in horror. “YOU’RE ONE OF THEM!”, he bellowed but dropped to the floor losing his breath. The colour had gone from his face and he was becoming pale. Ana could tell that he had lost a lot of blood as the whole front of his shirt was stained with his blood and his arms up until his elbows were covered in it. His eyes slowly closed and Ana saw his life end.

Ana’s heart raced and she grabbed the sword and the dagger. She found a long duffel bag and slid the sword and dagger into their sheaths then into the bag. Ana ran to the bookshelves to retrieve the books she had skimmed through earlier, for she knew exactly where they were. It was odd how her mind sharpened when she was pumping with adrenaline. Still lost for words over her ability she touched where the dagger had pierced her skin, feeling nothing as if she was never stabbed to begin with. She tore the sleeves and shoulders off of the dress as they were stained with her blood and threw them over towards where the Masters body lay lifeless. Hurrying over to the door, she passed a large scroll mounted on the wall. It was a map of Elatron. Unpinning it, Ana folded it gently and placed it in-between the pages of the hunting book she had grabbed.

Slinking down the faintly lit hallway, Ana heard the sounds of the guards below in the dining foyer. As she emerged at the top of the stairs she saw three of them standing below with their swords in their sheaths holstered at their hips. “crap”, she muttered to herself. Before even thinking it through, Ana picked up the closest object, which happened to be a glass vase, and threw it down the hallway she had just emerged from. The glass shattered and the sound pierced her ears. The guards hastily ran up the stairs straight past her. She had hid behind a small table which the vase had been on. When they were down the hallway, inspecting and trying to figure out what had happened, she sprinted down the staircase and burst through the oak doors. Halley stood there, pacing up and down the corridor but she sighed with relief when she saw Ana.

Ana ran to her and threw her arms around Halley’s pudgier build being absorbed by the warmth her body gave. “I killed him, it was an accident”, she cried into her shoulder. Halley tilted Ana’s chin towards her, inspecting the bruises that formed on her face, as well as her swollen lip. “Darling, It looks like self defense to me”, she said, attempting to comfort Ana. It was no use as Ana realized she had just killed someone, taken their life away from them even if it were for self-defense. “Halley, I have a power. I can heal from a wound almost instantaneously”.

“I know child, Chloe had an ability too”. Ana stood back looking confused, what did anything that had to do with Chloe have to do with me? She asked herself. “What?” she asked Halley, whose face turned into a guilty look. “She was your sister Ana, after the incident with the Master many years ago she began experiencing cold sweats within the medical quarters. She had turned the entire quarter into a frozen winter land, and that’s when she discovered her ability to manipulate water and ice. That’s why she was kept into the medical quarters for so long, because we didn’t want her secret being exposed. I suggested to the Master that she be sent away but it was only for her protection. I convinced him that it would look bad if she stayed because he beat her so brutally”.  Trembling, Ana felt the tears welling in her eyes again but fought them back so hard for she knew she needed to be strong at this moment. The guards would find the body any minute and would raise the alarm.

Halley gave Ana fresh clothes and hard leather boots. She told the stable hand that she needed the finest riding horse the Master owned because it was an emergency. Ana was given the Masters riding horse, Lumen, a large midnight blue mare whose mane was an ivory colour. The saddle was fastened on and Ana’s bags which contained food and clothes was strapped on the sides. The duffel bag containing the sword, dagger and books was the tightest bag to be strapped on. Halley had given her a large bow, which was secured firmly to the Left side of Lumen but easy for Ana to grab if she needed it, along with a quiver containing many arrows which slung over Ana’s back. The front gates were opened and Halley urged that Ana rode out of them as fast as she could and not turn back because the guards would try to follow although it would be difficult to find her at this time for the moon had already risen and the area around them would be dark. Halley told her to keep heading west, to Copper where she could find Chloe in the southwestern par. Ana inhaled deeply and pulled on the reigns of Lumen. Within a flash of white, Lumen and Ana were out of the gates and consumed by the darkest that enveloped Ashen.