With her worldly possessions strewn all over her floor, Aislyn finally found her cosmetics bag and marched into her bathing room, slamming the door hard enough so that the boys could hear it.
She walked over to the enormous mirror that hung over her sink and grimaced at her reflection.
At least the absence of her eyebrows drew attention away from her scar she thought to herself.
She pouted at her reflection in the mirror. She knew that without the scar, she'd be considered pretty, beautiful even. An unusual eye colour to have, Aislyn actually preferred her new black ones to her old amber coloured ones. She didn't know how or why they changed, all she knew was that when she looked in the mirror after Nikolas' death, they had changed.
Her eyes were lined with long luscious eyelashes and her cheekbones were beautifully defined.
Her lips, although they were slightly on the thin side, always held a pink tint and when she smiled, they parted to reveal pearly white teeth.
Her nose, crooked from the many fights she got into, added a certain character to her face.
Her obsidian hair always lay pin straight down and gleamed in the light, it's silky strands, soft to the touch.
She took pride in maintaining a presentable appearance. She had never been ashamed or resentful of her looks. She wasn't necessarily fond of the scar, she would much have preferred not to have it at all. If she wasn't always trying to preserve her powers, she was almost certain she would cover it up for good.
But it always served as a reminder.
A reminder of what she was fighting for.
She pulled a glove off and lightly ran a finger down the scar thinking back to the day she got it.
As Nikolas dropped to the ground, Aislyn let out a heart-wrenching scream so hard it shook through her entire body. She lunged for the Necromancer, who stood just behind fae's body, in his usual crisp white medical outfit, face covered in a simple white fabric full-face mask. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could tell from the way he rocked on his heels, that the pleasure he got from seeing her pain, rolled like waves off of his body.
Aislyn dredged deep into her internal reserve and tried to push past the barrier that prevented her from using her powers. She pulled against the men who were gripping her arms so tightly she could already feel bruises forming, trying with all her might to reach her companion's killer.
With a roar that echoed through the abandoned building, Aislyn burst into flame, searing the mens' hands.
She threw out a palm, and a pillar of blue flame shot out at the Necromancer. He dived out of the way a second before the flames hammered into the wall, incinerating the wooden planks.
"She shouldn't be able to use her abilities," she heard one of the men yell, "I took them from her!"
Ignoring his shouts, Aislyn continued to hurl fireballs at the Necromancer, screaming through her teeth and the emotional pain that hit her likes blows from a fist.
"Incapacitate her," was the last thing she heard from Him before He ran out the door, dragging Nikolas' body with Him.
She was tackled from behind by one of the men that had held her down earlier.
Aislyn bellowed, trying to claw her way after the devil who had shattered her life in more ways than one. The man ripped off her shirt, leaving her in nothing but a strip of cloth bound around her chest but he made short work of that too, slicing through it with his knife.
"Don't touch me!" she screamed, fighting with everything to dislodge the man who pinned her down.
The man ignored her as he dragged a knife down her spine, reopening an old injury, drawing a strangled cry from her throat. A moment later, he had his palm pressed against her wound.
Aislyn shrieked as she felt her internal well of power slowly drain down to nothing. Trying desperately to summon whatever little power she had left, she found that she couldn't. There simply was nothing left.
Whilst the man was occupied of ridding her of the last bit of energy that she needed to wield her abilities, she stretched her arm out, straining against the searing pain that ran down her back, to reach for the knife that the man had so foolishly tossed to the side.
As soon as she had a good hold, she reached back and plunged the knife into the man's side, roughly shoving him off.
Aislyn rolled to the side, biting down on a cry from the stinging sensation she felt on her back, and, with the same knife, threw it at one of the other men who stood over her, lodging it straight through his eye.
She pushed herself to her feet and looked to her right, seeking out the remaining assailant when she saw the claw coming straight for her face. She jerked back but it was too late. The claw scraped its way down the side of her face, her blood immediately spewing from the new wound.
She held her face in her hand and began to convulse, howling in pain.
Her head shot up when she heard wings flapping in the room and she felt strong arms wrap around her middle. She began to thrash against her restraints but stopped when she heard Galen's voice say, "Ais! It's me."
This time she began to thrash so she could get back to kill the man, the thing, that had just marred her forever.
"Let me kill him!" She wailed, slapping against Galen's hands.
"No! He's stronger than you!"
Aislyn blinked through the blood that poured over her eye to see a creature, prowling against the wall, snarling at her. It looked like something out of a nightmare. Leathery skin stretched over the humanoid form, and yellow beady eyes glared at her from the top of its head. Foam spat from its mouth as it snarled at her. It's extended arms, ending in a single, long, curved claw, reached to the floor, even as the creature stretched to its full height.
Even though she knew she was in no state to fight anything, she continued to flail against Gaen's grip.
Not so much as a wince left him as her nails scratched his hands and he continued to back away towards the window, eyes glued on the beast before him. His arms left her waist for less than a second before they gripped her under her arms and lifted her out of the window, releasing her so she could drop the few feet to the ground.
Aislyn fell to the ground and dropped to her knees, not so much as a noise leaving her lips. She crossed her arms over her bare chest and began to rock back and forth, paying no heed to the sounds of the struggle inside.
Suddenly a hand touched her shoulder and she flinched back, blood dripping from her face, looking up she saw it was Galen, she whispered, "Don't touch me, Raven."
Galen crouched down to her height and she could see the pure panic dancing in his eyes.
"Azure," he said, worry lacing his voice, "we have to get your face and back sort out, I hav-"
She wrapped her arms around herself, even tighter than before and jerk back.
"Don't touch me!" She shrieked at him, blood that had dropped into her mouth spraying him.
His hand remained stretched out before her, hovering just over her skin, unsure what he should do.
"Where's Nikolas?"
"They killed him," she mumbled in a muted tone.
Galen felt back and muttered, "No," the shock hitting him like a lightning bolt through the heart.
The last thing she saw was a single tear that slid from his eye, swiftly gliding down the smooth planes of his face before her eyes closed and she succumbed to the darkeness.
Aislyn drew in a sharp breath and opened her eyes, still staring back at herself in the reflection.
Shaking her head, to rid herself of the dark memories that lingered in the forefront of her mind, she reached into her cosmetic bag and pulled out a compact of crushed charcoal. She grabbed the small paintbrush and when she lifted it to begin to trace the outline of where her eyebrows should be she saw that her hand uncontrollably.
She closed her eyes and stood there for a moment just feeling her chest expand as she breathed in. She pictured a wall, in her mind's eye, and she pictured it surrounding all thoughts that tied her back to Nikolas.
By the time she had opened her eyes, her hand had stopped shaking.
Being talented at painting paid off and by the time she had finished, her painted eyebrows looked identical to how they had been before. A smug grin appeared on her face as she admired her handy-work in the mirror. She knew Logan was incapable of drawing a straight line.
She took her time in the bathing room, braiding her hair into an intricate braid and apply cosmetics to her eyes. Dabbing on some colour on her lips and a rogue on her cheeks, she stepped back and admired herself in the mirror.
She smirked, knowing the boys would be expecting her eyebrow-less self to emerge in a sulk from her room. She'd enjoy proving them wrong.
She popped her head into her room, checking to see if Galen was there. Seeing that the coast was clear, she walked through her room, trying not to step on the clothes she had thrown out of her bag earlier before her eyes settled on one of her nicer outfits.
Bending down she picked up a black tunic and ran her fingers over the red embroidery, marvelling at the intricate designs that looked like burning flames. She grabbed a tight pair of black, leather pants and put them on, tucking in the top afterwards. Her hand eyes greedily darted over the floor before she found what she had been looking for. She picked up a red satin sash and tied tightly around her middle, hiding the waistband of her trousers.
She rolled up the cuffs of her sleeves, leaving her wrists exposed before grabbing a pair of gloves she rarely used. These stuck to her hands like a second skin and stopped at the crease where her hand met her arm. They were less practical than her usual ones but she was dressing to impress. She stuffed her hands into them before striding over to the mirror to admire her outfit.
The boys had yet to see her dressed up in the fine clothes she had grown accustomed to in the last couple of years. So far, she had stuck to loose-fitting shirts, most of which she had stolen from Galen, that did no justice to her womanly curves.
She turned to the side and was happy to see her curves had returned to what they used to look like before. Maintaining a decent diet and having the chance to work out, had slowly but surely helped restore her body to its original fit state. She smiled to herself basking in the anticipation of surprising the boys she thought had forgotten that she was a female.
The smile dropped from her face when she looked at herself and felt that something was missing. She scanned herself from head to toe trying to figure it out when it struck her she wasn't wearing the jewels she used to loved and collected so dearly.
She went over to a different bag and pulled out an antique jewellery box. She sat on the floor and gently lifted the lid and marvelled at the treasures inside. Aislyn grabbed several flower-shaped diamond hairpins and began to meticulously place them down the braid that ran over her shoulder.
Peering back inside the box, she practically clapped her hands together out of pure glee when she saw a beloved red diamond necklace that perfectly matched her outfit.
She pulled out the matching pair of earrings, leaving the rest of the her jewellery as it was.
Carefully closing the lid, she returned the box to its place and stood up, looking over her shoulder at the mirror.
Satisfied with how she looked, she made for the door but something caught her eye. Lying on her dresser was the bracelet Tamani had returned to her, the night she came home. She picked it up and held it up to her face, looking at the little moon pendant that hung from the chain.
The edges of her lips tilted up as she fastened it on her wrist, its presence a comforting reminder of how simple and... happy her old life used to be.
She chuckled to herself and strode over to her door, opening it, before following the stream of voices that came from downstairs.
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