Half Dead

Broken Promises

Ace awoke with a jerk she felt a hand on her shoulder. She yelped at the sudden pain. She whipped around to see an elven man with white hair and green eyes. But what interested her most were the lines of lyrium etched into his neck, arms and probably everywhere else too. She rubbed her shoulder and saw cuts and bruises all over her. Her gaze went from her body to the elven man's face. He looked concerned with her state.

  "You. Soulless. Bastards! HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU! AND YET YOU KILL HIM!" She screamed until her throat burned and her screams became little more than hoarse whispers. The man knelt down next to her and when she began to cry he slapped her across the face. Her eyes went from blue to violet. Her hair began to become red as flames dance across her vision. Ace shook her head desperately.

     "Don't touch me you slaver bitch." She snapped pulling away from him. A grim smile appeared on his face. 

  "Slaver? No. Slave? Yes. I'm Fenris." He said extending his hand out to her. She looked at him for a moment then took his hand. His hands were almost as callused as hers were from all the times she and Kitten had gone climbing trees.

     "I am Ace. Where are we? Where is.... What is his name? Genrik? Da said he owed mum a favor. So where is he?" She asked looking around. Fenris looked at her with a sadness.

"Denarius found your marking interesting. No one named Genrik was at the bidding. Looks like he skipped out on you and your father." He said coolly.  Ace's eyes widened. She scrambled to her feet and looked around.

Where is Da?

   "Da? I..... They killed him. They killed him when he was unarmed and he didn't raise a finger toward him!" She clutched her arms tightly to her body.

  "Who killed your father? Is that why your here?  Did your father threaten them? He was stupid. He should've just let you go." He scoffed at her. She didn't even turn around but by lifting her finger he was pulled off the ground and into midair.

"Never assume anything. It makes and ass of you and me." She said turning around slowly.  A door opened and Ace felt sharp pain run through her head. She dropped her finger letting Fenris down.

  "Good slave. Next time you shouldn't go hurting your friends." A man with shaggy blonde hair said as he walked in. He grabbed Ace by her chin and looked her in the eyes.

     "Get anymore feisty and you might end up being my wife instead." He grinned. She spit at him.

    "I would rather die than be your personal whore." She snapped. The blonde man kissed her and than dropped her face and turned to Fenris. Fenris looked at him with increasing hatred.

  "Denarius. They killed her father." He said coldly. Denarius shrugged.

"Why do I care? I have the pretty little thing. I don't give a damn that they killed her father. He probably attacked them." He shrugged. Ace's eyes came back to life. She stood with such sudden strength that Denarius flinched.

"He raised not a weapon nor a threat to your idiotic goons who came for me! So DO NOT tarnish my father's name neither his memory. Are we clear?" She bellowed as white light erupting from her eyes and her markings. Denarius smiled at her with a nod. Her muscles showed slight relaxation and her eyes became blue once again. Her hood fell from her head as she collapsed back onto the ground.......Stone and Clover were standing in front of her with disappointed looks on their faces. Blood covered her father's jacket. Her mother's eye had fallen from it socket leaving it to dangle by a string. Her white dress was stained with fragments of her brain, pieces of her hair were stuck to her misshapen face. She remembered exactly how her mother died. They had been walking back from seeing the former Warden named Anders. He was a healer and had helped Ace when she had gotten sick from a reaction to a spider bite. It turned out she was actually bitten by a very poisonous arachnid and the fact she had even lived long enough to get treatment was amazing. When he had seen her forehead he looked like a child seeing magic for the first time. As he treated her he asked all kinds of questions. He was extraordinarily nice about it Ace never once felt uncomfortable about answering his assortment of odd inquiries.

  "So your name is Ace right? Why are you named Ace? Isn't that some sort of playing card?" He had asked.

"Well when I was born a man handed my mother an ace of hearts. She thought it was some sort of luck charm and named me Ace." She shrugged. He had blond hair that he tied back, small strands of bangs were in his face.  His brown eyes made her think there was something more than just Anders inside him.

     Vengeance. That's it's new name. It used to be.... Just-   Her mother's hand took her from her train of thought.

  "Ace? Honey? Are you okay? You dazed off." Clover said frowning. Ace shook her head quickly tried to smile. But after leaving the clinic six man came from the shadows.  They grabbed Ace, covered her mouth then slit her throat. She fell lifelessly onto the dirt road. She whimpered quietly as they surrounded her mother.  Clover's eyes were full to the brim with tears. Sadness became rage and within moments she had one of them by the neck. At first he struggled fiercely but then a quick twist of his neck made him stop. Three more fell to her mother's anger. She was holding Ace in her arms when he hit her blood splattered across the clinic wall. Ace tried so hard to move. To use any magic she could to heal her mother. But he hit her again this time her head slammed into the wall and her skull shattered.

  "M....Mu....Mum! SOMEONE.... HE....HELP!" She cried using every ounce of strength to speak. But her mother was gone. Her brain was spread across Ace and the wall.

   "Mom....An....Anders....Someone...." She whispered her blood staining the stony road. She heard a door from behind her open.

  "What the hell? Ace?" She recognized the voice. Warmth spread throughout her body. The voice belonged to Anders. Flashes of light stung her eyes. She was the men run from the scene. Anders picked her up and with caution looked at her face. She was half dead.

  I'm sorry.... Mum.... I'm coming with you. Anders will tell Da. I'm coming.  Ace closed her eyes for what she thought would be the last time...... Anders didn't give up. He spent five days trying to wake her. Finally on the sixth day she shot back to life. But Clover was far past saving.......