*Hey guys! So this chapter is going to be long and intense! Please comment and let me know what you think. You rock, my Darkstalkers!*
Emma:
I sat on a boulder in the woods, staring at the crown in my hands. I almost let everyone down: my entire village, my friends...everyone.
"Hey." I looked up to see Daniel. He sat next to me, his golden hair sparkling in the beams of retreating sunlight that curled through the leaves. It was nearly dark, the sun slowly sinking below the horizon and being swallowed up by hues of blue and indigo.
"Hey," I replied with a slight frown. He looked into my eyes, his powerful gaze forcing me to look into his brown orbs.
"We beat them, what's wrong?"
"We almost didn't..." I muttered.
"But we did." Danny smiled, making a small smile form on my lips too. He cupped my chin in his hand and placed a soft kiss on my lips. "Emma... I'm going to tell you something, and you're not going to like it... If you let me explain, I swear I'll make it up to you... Okay?" Daniel pulled away, looking nervous.
"...Okay," I nodded. "What is it?"
Daniel reached into his pocket, hesitating, before pulling out something wrapped in cloth. He slowly unwrapped it and my heart nearly stopped when I saw it. The purple jewel glowed, little sparks of black lightening swirling inside it.
"Danny...is that..."
"Yes. This is the 'Lightening Stone'. It's the stone that can take your powers away, or control you..." Daniel shivered. "I never used it, I swear. Just let me explain, I'll tell you everything." He took my hand.
Daniel then told me everything. He told me that Drago lied to him and convinced him to kill me when we first met. He told me how he found the stone and the more he fell in love with me the more he wanted to give it back, he just didn't know how.
When he finished, I didn't talk, staring at the ground.
He put the stone in my palm, the sky immediately cracking with lightening. The stone glowed brightly for a few seconds, the markings on my arm turning slightly darker. I felt power surge through me. "Emma... Say something, please..." He squeezed my hand.
Finally, I looked up at him. I hit him in the chest, but he barely reacted. Then, I hugged him tightly. "I trust you with my life." I said softly into his shoulder. "And I believe you. I love you, Danny."
Daniel opened his mouth to reply, but stopped. "Ezra." I pulled away from Danny and turned around, seeing Ezra behind us.
"I escaped, no thanks to you." Ezra hissed.
"What did you expect us to do? Go, 'Oh look, it's Ezra, the guy who endlessly torments us, let's save him!'" I retorted.
"I was powerless, and you didn't even try to help me!" He yelled, stepping toward us.
"Why would we?" Daniel answered for me.
"I helped you all escape last time when I didn't have too, you stole my map, and left me!" Ezra growled.
"Hah! Your map! To my island? You just wanted that map so I didn't!" I stood up, becoming more angry. "You've done nothing but ruin my life since I met you, Ezra! Find literally anything else to do with your life!"
Ezra roared in anger, slapping me across the cheek. I lifted my hand to my cheek. Daniel shot an arrow at Ezra in anger, but Ezra easily deflected it.
I threw an energy beam at Ezra, and he formed his own, my purple colliding with his red and it reflected off of his, blasting toward me.
"Emma!" I heard a voice yell, and I was shoved to the ground. I heard and explosion, and I looked up, taking a second to gather what had just happened.
My gaze was drawn to Daniel where he lay lifeless on the ground. "DANIEL!" I jumped up and ran to him. I put my hand over his heart, and I felt no heart beat.
He was dead.
Daniel was dead.
"Danny!" I cradled his head to my chest. I leaned in and whispered into his ear, "No."
"I didn't kill him." A voice spoke, and my gaze snapped up to meet Ezra's. "You did."
You did...
His voice echoed through my head, making me want to scream. Anger boiled through my veins. I felt enraged.
I roared, jumping up and shoving my hands forward, my powers throwing Ezra threw the air and slamming him into a rock formation, making parts of the rock crumble. He cried out in surprise and hissed in pain.
My vision seems to go red, and I snapped, roaring again and tightening my grip. I clench my fist, my powers strangling him, before flinging him to the ground, his head crashing against a rock.
I heard a faint cracking sound, and Ezra clutched his head where it hit the rock.
I should have felt guilty...But I didn't.
It felt so right to see him wither in pain. He deserved it.
He raised a hand in an attempt to defend himself, but I stomped down on his hand, the sound of his fingers cracking under my foot reaching my ears. Lava surged through my veins, my blood boiling in pure hatred.
I still felt ridiculous amounts of anger and I kicked him in the stomach. He groaned and rolled over onto his back.
Fury ate away at me, consuming my every thought. I wanted him to feel pain. I wanted him to burn.
I screamed again and threw him up and against a tree and threw my fist across his face. Blood spilled from his lip and jaw. I looked down at my bleeding knuckles from the force of the blow, mixing with Ezra's blood that covered my hands.
It felt good.
It felt right.
He deserved this. All of it.
He coughed up more blood and turned to me, his hands held out in surrender. "E-Emma..." he whimpered.
Something within me snapped again, and I unsheathed a small knife. I roared and Ezra moved his head, the blade connecting with the tree where his head had been a moment before.
He kicked me in the stomach and I stumbled back, surprised at the attack. He wiped the blood off of his brow with his sleeve, looking just as angry as I was.
Only he wasn't.
I was more angry than he would ever be.
A piercing battle cry sounded from my lips and I swung the dagger downwards toward his heart. He caught it and we both gripped the handle of the blade.
We fought over it, neither of us letting go. I cried out as he rammed me into a tree, as we still fought over the knife.
I growled as we stumbled aimlessly, our grip on the handle turning our knuckles white. We spun around and he managed to back me into another tree. He held the dagger above my heart, but I pushed back with almost equal force.
Almost.
The blade slowly inched toward me, but I fought back relentlessly. I glanced back at Daniel's lifeless body, and pure rage engulfed me. I threw Ezra off of me and he lost his grip on the knife, leaving it in my hand.
I lunged with the knife toward his heart, but he rolled out of the way and it plunged into his shoulder. He roared in agony as I ripped the blade out, hearing the sound of his cracking bone and ripping flesh.
He backed up into another tree and I lunged at him again, only managing to stab his other shoulder. He whimpered in pain and I roared in frustration.
Lightning splintered somewhere above me, illuminating the sky in an eerie purple glow. A deafening clap of thunder boomed, but I ignored it.
The usually smug expression Ezra wore had drained from his face, and now he just looked desperate. I bit my lip so hard, it started to bleed.
I hated him.
I wanted him to die.
Ezra grabbed my wrist that held the dagger and he tried to push me away from him, but I pushed back, barely budging.
Then, in one fluid movement, I wrenched the knife to his neck, slicing a shallow cut and holding it there. Ezra winced, but didn't dare move any more than that.
For a moment, neither moved, neither spoke. We breathed heavily in unison and I gazed up into his maroon eyes.
Kill him... a voice in my head hissed.
I tried to move my hand forward, but it wouldn't listen to me. My hand wouldn't move. Ezra stared at me with a blank expression. It wasn't smug, it wasn't desperate...just a stare.
Slowly, my fury started to retreat.
I couldn't do it.
I couldn't kill him.
I let go of the knife and it clattered to the ground. Tears sprung to my eyes, and I squeezed them shut, raining tears down my cheeks. I stumbled back as if from an invisible blow.
I let out a sob and collapsed to my knees. I clutched my churning stomach and leaned forward, sobbing freely, my eyes still still squeezed shut.
I felt like my heart was made of glass, being slowly shattered.
Unable to stop myself, I wept, raising my blood-stained hands to the sides of my pulsing head. I was crying so hard, I literally choked on my sobs, coughing and gasping for air before letting out another sob.
I gripped my hair and slightly tugged on it. A hesitant hand was placed on my shoulder and I jumped, snapping my eyes open and locking them with Ezra's.
His expression was etched with slight confusion, shock, and regret. "I'm...I'm sorry." He released my shoulder before disappearing into thin air.
I shut my eyes again and my heart clenched with grief. I sobbed repeatedly, shuttering and convulsing when I gasped for air.
I crawled over to Daniel's body and hugged him to my chest, bringing his ear up to my lips. "Please wake up." I whispered, my tears dripping and gliding down his face. "Please."
I softly kissed him on the lips and collapsed to the ground, all my strength leaving me.
I trembled uncontrollably and lay my head on the moss covered ground.
Daniel is gone.
He's gone.
It's my fault...my fault...
I'm a monster.
Dark thoughts crippled my mind, and I wept until sleep overtook me.