VALKYRIE

Chapter 17: Juno's POV

Iris hit the ground.

I was powerless to stop it. I screamed and fell to my knees.

I held my mother in my arms.

She was barely breathing.

But she looked at me, tears gathering in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you in your childhood. I'm so proud of the wonderful, strong, independent woman you've become. I- I-" she coughed.

"No. No! Don't die on me. You can make it. You can fight through it! Please!" I cried, shaking her a little bit.

With her last remaining strength, she brushed my hair out of my eyes.

She looked at me for the last time and said, "I love you, Juno."

Her eyes fluttered shut.

Her chest rose and fell.

Then she went limp in my arms.

I felt her pulse.

She was still.

"No! NO! This can't be the end! IT CAN'T BE!" I sobbed.

I rocked her back and forth, tears rolling down my face. I shook my head in pain, trying not to scream or shout. I didn't want to believe it. I just wouldn't.

But I had to accept that she was gone, no matter how much I didn't want to. I took deep breaths, trying to control my anger and grief.

But my mother, Iris, was gone. We could have spent so much more time together. But it was ruined because of that evil monster.

The Dark Leader.

He ruined my chance to know my mother. I didn't even know her favorite color, or even her middle name.

The Dark Leader did this. It was his fault.

Shaking, I set my mother down, and I stood up, looking into the face of my mother's killer.

The Dark Leader was shocked, looking at the body of the one person he had ever loved.

"Iris?" He asked. He was frozen in his spot.

Overcome with anger and sadness, I ran towards the Dark Leader and tackled him.

He shot a burst of yellow light at me and I flew against the wall, near the spot the Dark Soldier had been thrown before he dissipated.

He shot another blast at me, but I rolled out of the way. The Light Leader stepped out into the open.

"Stop this madness," she said sternly. The Dark Leader laughed, a disgusting sound like nails on a chalkboard. I cringed.

"You are powerless to stop me. Without your necklace, you are nothing," he said, mocking the Leader of Light.

She looked at him, with no emotion showing on her face. I stood up, and very slowly inched closer and closer to Eric, trying not to make any noise whatsoever in fear that the Dark Leader would notice me and shoot more burning blasts at me. I shuddered.

When I reached Eric, he slipped his hand in mine. The Light Leader boldly looked up into the Dark One's face.

"The necklace is only a trinket. With extraordinary power, yes, yet it is only a trinket. An accessory. I do not need any accessories to have power. I am born with it," she said, defiantly glaring at the Dark Leader.

He was not laughing now.

"You are bluffing. My troops are ready to attack the human world. If I just say the word, they will attack, and the realm will be obliterated. You cannot stop me," he said, matter-of-factly. I felt a sharp stab of fear.

He can't take over the human realm. If he successfully does, then he will most likely have gotten rid of the Valkyrie realm, too, I thought, terrified.

The Dark Leader turned to the rest of us, including the backup my mother had sent.

The pain was still fresh from my mom's death, but I had to be extremely grateful.

"Now, for all of you, I will send you to my special prison. You will be in the dungeon, chained to the extreme. Also, the chains are enchanted so that power is numbed. You will be gone forever and it is not possible to escape," he said, and waved his hand.

We all disappeared into darkness.

A few moments later, we reappeared into the dungeon. We were all chained separately with dark metal shackles. It was cold and wet, and there was no entrance or exit that was possible to see.

I looked around for any way to escape, but there was nothing. Nothing at all.

Though I was restrained, I could still see all the others.

One of the rescue party members spoke. "I can't believe Iris is gone. She was so good," he said.

Another one looked up. "She was always so confident she would escape," that one claimed.

"She was technically right," another one remarked, apparently trying to make light of the situation.

Eric looked at me.

"I'm so sorry it had to be this way. I love you and would do anything to protect you and make you happy," he said mournfully.

A tear fell down my face.

"I just can't believe it. I met her one time, and now she's gone. Forever," I sighed.

Eric tried to pull himself closer to me, but the chains restrained him from doing that.

The Light Leader, who had been silent with her head bowed and her eyes closed, looked up.

She said,"I know a way that you can escape."