"I'll do it as fast as I can, your grace." Chris turns to me and gently places his left hand on my forehead and his right over my heart. Closing his eyes he takes a deep breath. "What the hell is taking so long!?" Kai snaps at hims. Chris opens his eyes, rolling them, knowing his back is to Kai. "Your grace, it takes more than a few seconds. It will take a significant amount of time." He hears Kai walk towards him, stopping at his back. He leans down to his ear. "If you roll your eyes one more time-" Kai whispers. Chris whips around, furrowing his brows, snapping. "Do you want me to do this or not!?" Immediate regret as he realizes his outburst was towards his king. Kai stands up slowly, looking down at Chris, he tightens his fists. He takes a breath and shakes off his anger. He knew he needed Chris for this task, he'll deal with him later.
Chris turns around and begins the process again. A shadow fills the cave as if the moon had disappeared. Kai turns around to the entrance but he can barely see the bushes right in front. He staggers back slightly as his eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. Two eyes appear just outside the cave entrance. A deep red glow surrounding the iris, almost swaying lightly. Every muscle in Kai's body tightens. A diabolical grin adds to the satanic eyes, possessively crawling across the eagerly appearing face.
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A variety of clips play through my mind like a movie. A vision of a rustic like bedroom fades in to the picture. Natural wood floors, surrounded by lage wooden pillars and the same type bed frame. I realize I'm sitting on the bed, staring down at my hands. I lift them before turning my head to see a beautiful dark haired women staring at me with a somber expression.
"Your mother discussed the gift you had been blessed with, with you." Mikayla's voice rings through my head.
"There is something you need to know." Her familiar voice, soft and gentle. "What's going on mom?" I say without thought, almost surprised that it came from my mouth. "You're acting strange. Why did we move to the middle of no where?" She reaches over and squeezes my hand tight. "Oh darling." She sighs. "You're not just our daughter." I pull my hand from hers. "What!? What do you mean?"
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<-Thirty years earlier->
A desert appears in front of me, it seems to be the middle of the night. Why would I be in the middle of the desert? I look down to see my body seems translucent. I whip my head up when I hear a man singing at the top of his lungs. When I make contact with the figure, I quickly realize it's my father. He's not able to walk straight and seems to be falling everywhere, it's obvious that he's intoxicated. Where is he going?
He begins coughing before projectile vomitting to the side of him. Almost as soon as he starts, two hardened men approach him, more like surrounding him. He looks up to them, greeting them. They discuss for a few minutes when the conversation takes a sharp turn. The two men begin beating him to a pulp. My father makes some effort to defend himself but he isn't coherent enough to do any real damage. I sprint towards them, ripping into the two men but my hands go straight through them. I gasp looking around for anything that I could do to help. I reach down to pick up a small boulder, but the same occurs. When I look up again, the two men have run off and my father lays in a pool of his own blood, soaking into the warm sand. I sit with him in my own sobs, waiting for him to awake, with no real way of knowing if he's alive or not. A bright light fills my sight. I blink a few times to clear my blurry gaze from tears. As my vision comes into focus I see a woman. I look over to see my father pulling himself up, rubbing his eyes. He seems equally as muddled as I am. She was wearing a long white dress that flowed in the gentle breeze along with her snow white hair. Her pure white eyes gleam in the moonlight.
He tucks his knees under and pushes himself off th ground to a strained stance. "A-are you alright Miss?" He weakly asks concerned. He reaches up his arm to cover his eyes from the glow surrounding this being. She stood unusually still, along with her eyes that bore into him. My father looks down to his body, quickly realizing that he had gone through something gruesome, yet he did not feel pain. The women stay silent. "Am... am I dead?" He questions her.
The woman lifts her right hand. As she turns her hand, flipping it to the sky, a clear luminescent flower blooms in her palm. She begins walking towards him, gliding elegantly as she approaches him. The crystal clear flower crumbles in her hand as a white sand spills over each side of her palm, leaving a small crystal behind. She closes her palm, opening it again to nothing. She reaches towards him, placing her hand on his chest. Her hand turns to an icy white, releasing, diffusing across his chest, emitting the same icy layer. As this happens the women glances over to me, causing me to tense. She fades quickly, until all that's left is the desert breeze.
The desert illusion fades out, melting back into the rustic bedroom as I sit comfortably on my bed. I look up, expecting to see my mother but instead it was my father sitting across from me. "The strange lady came to visit me one more time when you were born. I knew then what she was and what she had done all those years before." I shake my head, what the hell is happening. "Who was she!?" I ask desperate for the answer. He looks up to me. "She was the life guardian. She had saved my life that night. She healed my wounds and brought me back to life. In return we had a silent contract. My first child would have the burden of her gift." He shifts uncomfortably avoiding my burning gaze. I can think of a million things to say but nothing comes out, I was speechless. "It's such a large task. I wish she had just let me die that night." I swing my arms around him, hugging him tightly.
Once again my surroundings melt and the presence of my father quickly fades with it, leaving me alone.
I squint, throwing my arms up as an immense bright heat flairs in front of my eyes. "Run Aryah! You have to get out of here!" I hear a desperate scream from behind me. I turn around to see Mikayla hurled over, covered in soot. I look to my right to see my cabin home completely in flames. My father bursts through the front door, searching his surroundings. "Run!" He yells at me from afar. A soldier appears from behind, grapping his face and bringing a knife to his neck. I squeeze my eyes shut and turn around. I take a short glance back to see him on the ground bleeding to death and the soldier running towards me. I turn around and burst into a sprint into the forest opening.
I look back to see another soldier close behind me. I run so fast I begin to lose feeling in my legs. A sudden figure jumps out from the bushes and I collide right into them, sliding my feet across the dirt path. His white hair, white eyes and young tanned skin give off a foreign aura, I hadn't seen anyone like it. He glances behind me, which reminds me that a soldier had been chasing me. I whip my head around to see the soldier standing uncomfortably a few feet away from me. "I'll take it from here." The unusual man orders in his husky voice. "But..." The soldier weakly argues. "But?" The unusual man raises an eyebrow and narrows his eyes. The soldier clears his throat and bows. "Of course." He turns around and retreats back. I whip back around to see his gaze burning into me. "Get out of my way-" I demand but he swiftly wraps his arm around my shoulders, turning my back to him and pulling me into his chest. He shoves a small vile of blue liquid forcefully pouring it down my throat. Without a chance for any thought to come to mind. I fade into unconsciousness.
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I wake up in an unfamiliar room. My hazy vision and my eyelids heavy, I shift but my body feels as if it were an extra eighty pounds. "You did well." A dominant male voice booms throughout the small room. I open my eyes as wide as I can but it wasn't enough to see my surroundings. "What do you plan to do with her?" The familiar husky voice from the forest. "I would like to first see if he speaks the truth."
As my vision clears I see a well dressed incredibly handsome man hovering over me. Light brown, slicked back hair, a sharp jawline, bright green eyes and perfectly tanned skin. As my eyelids lift I look down to see his hand hovering over my chest. A dark fog creeps it's way over my body. My eyes shoot open and I shift my gaze to the man, who I now recognize as Kai. He, not expecting me to jump and shift, looks over to me, making eye contact. I immediately pull him into an illusion. He is startled momentarily as he looks around to his new surroundings. I chose the ocean during a storm. We stand on the edge of a cliff as the waves crash angrily. The sky enraged as large rain droplets pour down on us. I swoosh my hand upwards, causing the ground to shake. I pull the ground from underneath him, causing him to sink and fall forward to catch himself. he quickly pulls himself up and sprints towards me. I close my fist, swirling it and throwing it up into the air. Roots slide their way through the cracks in the ground, wrapping around his legs. He trips over himself, looking back at me angrily. I throw my hand towards the ground. A black majestic panther creeps up from behind me, standing by my side. I look back at him, to see him unharmed and untangled from my root grasp. He seems to be observing me with amusement. I take a step forward but pause when he yells out to me. "Wait!" He fades, reappearing behind me, gripping my soldier, spinning me around. He reaches out to attack me but I dodge his advance. I spin behind him as the panther pounces towards him, but the cat jumps right through him. The panther slides across the ground, turning around growling. We continue to dodge eachothers advances for some time until eventually he waves his hand in front of my face, fatiguing me. I hunch over as it continues to exhaust me. He takes this advantage to slam his hand above my chest. I collapse as a heat burns into my skin, but nothing further. Kai yells in exasperation. "Why isn't it working!?" The panther swipes at him, catching him off guard, claws into his back.
We both fall forward. As I lose my focus I'm no longer able to keep the illusion; bringing us back to reality.
I open my eyes to my curled in a ball and Kai hunched over, both breathing heavily. "Am I missing something? This has been a really long awkward silence." I look up to see the young white haired man staring at both of us with a perplexed expression. "I-I can't do it... I can't consume her soul." Kai says between breaths, exasperated. His tone quickly changes as rage fills him. He whips around. "He lied to me!" The young man and I both jump at the sudden change in demeanor. He grabs a ceramic pot from the table and throws it across the room, smashing against the wall. We all pause as he stares at the floor, breathing quick and heavy before he abruptly staggers out of the room.
The young man turns to me. "Maybe you should rest." I shoot a hateful look at him. He throws his hands up as he backs out of the room backwards.
I collapse to my knees beside the bed, relaxing my body.
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<-Days later—Kai's P.O.V->
I stand alone in the throne room. The bright sun shines through the wall length windows behind me. The silence is deafening, but it gives me time alone with my thoughts. My eyes shift to the double doors directly in front of me. My cousin, Rickie, enters the room, closing the door behind him. His white hair is blinding as it shines against the morning sun. He flicks his unusually crystal eyes towards me, giving me an almost somber look. He takes a deepbreath as his feet come to a complete stop, only a few feet away from me. "So, what's the verdict?" I think, taking in his words as I come to a decision. "I think she could help us." I finally respond. He bursts into a fit of laughter. I look at him confused, not sure what I said that was funny. He stops laughing and looks at me equally confused. "That wasn't a joke?" I roll my eyes at him. "Can you bring her here please." He shakes his head vigorously, throwing his hands up. "She's not going to come willingly." I scoff, turning towards the window, allowing the warmth of the sun to heat my face. "Then force her." I hear him sigh as he turns around, walking towards the door.
I continue to stand in thought for several minutes. The sound of the door clicking brings me out of my mind. I swing around to see Aryah and Rickie entering the throne room. Rickie seems to be hurdled over as he drags himself behind her. "What took so long?" I raise an eyebrow at them. "She punched me!" Rickie wails. She shrugs, giving me a 'what?' expression. "He deserved it." I roll my eyes and wave off Rickie. "Leave us." He raises his eyebrows and widens his eyes as if I were insane. "Are you sure you can handle it." My face twists into annoyance. "Get out!" Rickie shrugs and turns around. "Your funeral." He states before leaving the room.
I shift my gaze to Aryah who's stare is burning into me. "I apologize for my cousin, he's not exactly sympathetic." She narrows her eyes further. "Says the man who wants to steal my soul for his own immortality." I pause, thinking how I should handle this situation. "Yes, it seems that is untrue. Apparently it's not possible." I pause. "I think we can help eachother." Her body tenses as she crosses her arms and her fists tighten. "Why the fuck would I help you." Emphasis on the swear. "The last time I checked you sent your minions to my house to kill my family and kidnap me." My eyebrows shoot up. "Your family was killed?" I say shocked. "I'm very sorry to hear that..." She scoffs at me as tears brim her eyes. "You're sorry? How can you even say that!?" I give her an empathetic look. "We have something in common Aryah. It wasn't me who sent those soldiers to your home. The only person I sent, was Rickie." She switches her gaze between both of my eyes, searching for any sort of deception, but only finds honesty. A single tear flows down her cheek. She quickly wipes it away as she inhales a deep breath. "I-I don't understand." She finally says. I reach my arm to the side, suggesting we sit at the small round table in the corner. She sits down softly, while I turn to look out the window. "Death has been giving orders to my army since this all began, and they're listening to him." We stand in silence for a minute. I turn to face her and our eyes connect. "It's true, I seek immortality." I sit down, keeping our eyes on each other. "I seek it for the sole purpose to defeat him. He is framing me, Aryah; for the horrible things he has committed. I knew he had been using my army to search for lights. I caught wind that he was sending soldiers to retrieve you, and I decided to act. I sent Rickie to get you himself, to bring you to me. Otherwise you would have been in a place much worse then this." She fidgets with her hands as she processes my words. "You still tried to take my soul." Her voice cracks. "A long time ago, I went to him for guidance. He told me to search for you, and to bring you to him. But it didn't make sense, why would he be taking other lights, when he only wanted you in the end. He said you were the key to immortality, so I chose to take a step back while he searched for you himself. When he did find you, I had to see for myself if it were true, so I tried and failed. He lied to me. So my question now is, what makes you different from the others. What does he want with you?" Her hands turn red at how tight her grip is. I look up to her face and all I see is hatred in her eyes. "What if you didn't fail?" She slams her hand on the table, the sound echoing throughout the room. "I would have stopped myself. Despite what people say about me, I would never kill an innocent on purpose." She stands abruptly, sliding the chair backwards. "You just said you seek immortality and now you're telling me you wouldn't take it?" I shake my head. "There are ways, other then killing you to gain immortality Aryah. I had to see if it were even possible to penetrate your internal barrier. If I am unable to gain access, then what he told me was a lie." Her gaze bounces around the room in deep thought. "You're very strong for an essence. You have control over wildlife?" She sits down slowly. "It was my dads favourite." I let her take a minute to process everything I have said. She turns to me, looking me over. "Then why did your brothers leave?" I sigh, running my hand through my hair. "I couldn't be honest with them. They wouldn't understand and I had to be convincing. I needed Death to think I'm on his side. Unfortunately it has caused severe casualties but it's all for the greater good. I had to protect them and I needed to build an army. I needed a plan before I could involve them." I push myself up and pace is a small circle, I take another deep breath, closing my eyes to calm my dispair. "I don't trust you. But I'm willing to see where this goes..." She says quietly.
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<-Aryah's P.O.V->
Weeks go by and I begin to slowly trust Kai. He speaks openly with me about the next movements in the war and different strategies he has come up with to discover what death is really searching for. We became close over time and I began to see that he was honest in his intentions. He became my only family, him and Rickie.
I enjoyed spending most of my time in the royal garden. I found it brought me tranquility as I grieved my lost relatives. "The garden is beautiful isn't it?" I turn around, startled by the sudden voice. I relax when I see Kai standing a few feet from me, his hands casually behind his back as he gives me a small smile. I nod, turning back around. "It really is." He walks to the side of me, joining in my observation of the gardens. "It helps me think." He nods, taking in the fresh air surrounding us. "I get that. I come here frequently to think as well. My mother created this garden for my brothers and I." I turn to him. "Do you miss them?" His gaze drops to the ground. "I miss my mother everday." He turns his head to me, matching my curious gaze. "As for my brothers, they will see in time. I don't believe I've lost them forever." I give him a small smile, reaching over and squeezing his hand gently. "It's good to have hope." He nods, returning the squeeze. Bringing my hand up to his lips, he gives my hand a soft kiss. "I have some this to take care of. Join me for dinner?" I nervously smile, shifting my gaze away from his, nodding lightly.
He let's go of my hand, winking at me before exiting the garden. I turn back to the stunning view, taking in all the fresh air that I can fill into my lungs. A rustle in the bushes takes me out of my thoughts. I furrow my brows, as there was no breeze to cause such a sound. I turn around and search the grounds. "Hello?" I call out but hear nothing but the chirping of birds. I take my time looking over one last time. Turning around to drown myself back in my thoughts.
Suddenly someone grabs my from behind, dragging what seems to be a sack over my head. Before I can react a swift punch in the ribs knocks the wind from me. A kick to the back of the knee causes me to fall forward. Another hit to the ribs and I fall over to the stoney path. One last hit to the head. Black out.
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I hear as the door to my cell scrapes open and an all too familiar voice rings through the room.
"Wake up, please. You can't stay here. It's the only chance you'll have to leave. I've left the door unlocked. You have ten minutes to escape. You have to go, now!"
My eyes burst open.