Quara hurried down the hallway as fast as her long and slender dress would allow. Her shoulder length blonde hair matched her dress, red and white jewels inlaid in various patterns all across the soft fabric. The woman herself was gorgeous, her curvy body filling the dress in just the right places, pushing her beauty past objectivity and closer to fact. Even the look of despair on her face did nothing to hide her flawlessness. She ran though the elegant but empty corridors that were styled with red stone floors and white walls; gold trim filling every corner. Quara went down hallway after hallway, all of them decorated with the same bland elegance. The blonde came to a stop when she finally reached a tall white door, gold and red leaves running up its length in a circular shape. She pushed it open with both hands, hearing a very familiar argument coming from inside.
"Princess you have to dress like a lady of the court. Your father hasn't given you the finest of everything so you can dress like a mercenary!" Tarishi yelled, her plain grey dress matching her thinning hair.
The weathered old woman was holding up a green and gold dress, emphatically shaking it in the face of Quara's sister. Her sister was scowling back but paying her no mind as she tucked a handgun into her belt next to her knife. Although they were family the two of them looked nearly nothing alike, her younger sister a slender brunette with plain features and angry yellow eyes. A black leather outfit hugged her body tightly from neck to toe, covering her arms down to her wrists.
"I don't care. I'm not wearing that crap!" She screamed back, ripping the dress from the elderly woman's hands and throwing it onto the stone floor.
The old woman started to retort a reply but Quara cut her off.
"Analie we have a problem." She said, the tone in her voice stopping the argument.
"What is it sister?" Analie replied casually, pushing past Tarishi.
The two sisters shared a look before staring at the old maid.
"Get out." Analie said sharply.
The old woman clenched her jaw in anger but held her tongue as she picked the dress from off the floor and strode out of the room.
"Alright Quara what's so important?" Analie said, raising her eyebrows impatiently.
Now that she was here Quara could hardly bring herself to say it. Analie stepped closer to her older sister, looking up at her quivering lips as she started to speak.
"Father's finally done it, he's got the military rounding up all the elementals and putting them into camps somewhere outside of the city!" She said with growing conviction, spitting out the sentence with one breath.
"Damn him!" Analie shouted, clenching her fists before grabbing her sister by the shoulders. "What is he doing? We have to stop him!"
"It's too late for that. 'The relocation is being broadcast on the government channel so it could be over already." Quara said, taking her sister by the hands. "But if it's not we might be able to get to Bannon first."
"Bannon. I have to call him."
Analie grabbed the narrow silver band from her desk and put it on her wrist, a small blue screen coming up as the bracelet locked together.
"Bannon, connect." Analie directed the machinery.
The screen flickered for a few seconds before disappearing, the metal band's clasps releasing.
"Father must have blocked the communications." Quara said as her sister tossed the useless bracelet back onto the desk.
"And of course he's locked down the manor." Analie said, Quara nodding. "But he can't stop us. Let's go."
Analie grabbed a dark grey cloak from a hook on the wall and threw it on before giving her sister a reassuring smile.
"Follow me."
Quara smiled back, trying to look calm as she trailed her sister out into the hall. Analie had chosen her room for a reason. It was on the edge of the servants' quarters and far away from Quara and her father's, making it perfect for sneaking away, something Analie did almost every day. However Quara found herself following Analie the opposite way she would have guessed, the elder sister wondering why they were heading deeper into their home. Analie led her sister down to the end of a long hallway, Quara already falling behind as Analie took a quick left into the oldest part of the manor. This part was decorated very differently, black stone floors and deep red walls that gave off a sinister feel. Their great great grandfather's decorative style. At the very end of the passageway was an old wooden door, the top and bottom starting to rot away with age. Analie pushed it open just far enough for them to enter, the two of them sliding into the blackness that smelled strongly of mold as she closed the door behind them.
Through the shadows Quara could see Analie reaching into a small pocket on her belt and removing out a small orb. She held it in between her palms for a moment before it lit up, shining brightly through her fingers. Its red light illuminated the room, showing stacks of old chairs, boxes, and other forgotten furniture that almost filled the entire space. The only clear spot was a small patch of floor to the left of the lone entrance. On its edge against the wall was a splinter-filled ladder that led up into the darkness. Analie stuck the glowing red ball to the arm of her cloak and hopped onto the ladder before scaling it with ease. Quara went up with a little more awkwardness, the worn wood rough against her hands. Where were they going? Her sister quickly reached the top, natural light flooding in as Analie opened the hatch. Quara followed curiously, finding that the trapdoor had led them into the middle of a staircase. Tall and narrow windows bordered the circular room, showing all the particles of dust their entrance had knocked free. Quara looked out one of the windows but even the view didn't seem familiar; where were they?
"This leads all the way up to the roof." Analie said, starting up the stairs before stopping and turning back to Quara. "When we get up there we're probably going to have to run."
"I'll try but this dress doesn't really help."
Analie pulled the slender knife from her belt, kneeling down to cut Quara's dress. A few of the tiny embroidered gems fell onto the floor as she sliced up to just past the knee. Quara didn't object but couldn't quite look away from her ruined attire. Her father had bought her this from offworld.
"There, now let's go. And be careful." Analie said tapping the red orb to turn it off before tucking it back into her belt.
She grabbed Quara's hand and pulled her up the large and uneven stone steps. They must have climbed up a hundred of them before Analie finally stopped. By then Quara was gasping for air, Analie impatiently holding a finger to her lips to tell her to shush. Quara tried to breathe more softly but her lungs were burning; she was a politician not an athlete. She should have let Analie go on her own while she tried to persuade her father. The thought stuck in her mind although she knew it was a useless one; her father would never change his mind, he hated the elementals more than anything. And even though Analie was about the least helpless person she knew Quara would still be there to protect her younger sister, no matter what.
Tiny rays of light were visible through the door up ahead, Analie sneaking up and opening it just a crack. Sunlight flooded in as the younger princess pointed a silver square the size of her thumb through the gap. She squeezed the only button on it twice before closing the door, careful not to let it make a sound when it hit the frame.
"Alright, my cruiser should be out there any second. We're gonna run straight out off the roof and jump into it." Analie said, excitement fueling her voice.
"What? We have to be ten stories up!" Quara said, her heart pounding just at the thought.
"Come on sis, I do this all the time." She grinned.
"I can't." Quara said, her knees shaking now.
She should have stayed in the manor.
"Damnit, you're Princess Quara, the heir to all of Loordania; including this building and all the soldiers who will probably try to stop us. You can jump into a ship no problem." Analie replied nonchalantly.
That was not reassuring. Quara took a deep breath but didn't reply.
Please, if there's a chance...I have to get to Bannon." Analie said, taking her sister's hand in the darkness and squeezing it.
Be brave; if Analie could do it so could she.
"Yes, you're right. Let's do it." Quara said as she squeezed back.
Analie grabbed onto the metal door handle, her body poised for action with Quara right behind her.
"As fast as you can." Analie said before throwing the door open and running full tilt straight out towards the edge.
Quara followed, her eyes trying to adjust to the sunlight as she followed her sister. She was actually able to run in her newly-modified dress, trying to only focus on the twenty feet she had to go before...jumping. She wasn't going to look left or right but when she heard a shout her head instinctually turned to find the source. A soldier was shouting to his fellow guardsmen, pointing at her as she neared the edge. They were everywhere up here, way more than were usually stationed on any of the manor's rooftops. Keep looking ahead.
The silver two seater hovercraft, that Analie had gotten from her father for her twentieth birthday, was hovering a few inches away off the edge of the building just a few more feet away. Analie was already in midair, her dark grey cloak flapping in the wind as she landed flawlessly in the driver's seat. This was it. Quara's whole body was shaking with fear but there was no going back now. Once she was actually at the edge panic took her, Quara diving forward towards the vehicle as her legs locked up. She overshot her landing, crashing onto Analie's lap and hitting her side painfully on the complicated control panel.
"See, you made it." Analie teased, pushing her sister into the passenger seat before hitting a button in the middle of the controls that closed the clear dome roof in just a couple of seconds.
The little cruiser rocketed forward, pushing the sisters' heads back in their seats as it took them straight up into the sky. Once they were well above the massive white manor Analie directed the ship towards the entrance. Their lavish home looked even bigger from the outside, a massive conglomeration of chiseled stone that had been built up and fortified for over two centuries. It was surrounded by lush green fields and colorful gardens of every kind of plant imaginable. In addition two lakes, each with an ornate fountain in the center, also strafed the building. The whole thing was encased in an immense clear dome, keeping the harsh red sands of the outside world out of the picturesque scene. Analie's cruiser headed towards the large clear main gate but she pulled it to an abrupt stop over one of the lakes when she saw the amount of guards covering the entrance. There were at least forty of them, all wearing bulky black armor with rifles in their hands.
"He's really doing it." Analie said sadly. "I never thought he would go so far."
"Maybe...it could have been orchestrated by someone else. One or two of the Regents?" Quara defended; thinking of the man who had groomed her all her life to be his heir.
How could he do such a thing?
"No. The High Regent is the only one who can initiate military action and there's no way our father would tolerate anything close to this from a Regent." Analie said, anger in her voice now. "Besides, you know as well as I do how much he hates elementals. He's always hated them, even before grandmother was killed."
"Let's get to Bannon." Quara said after a moment of silence, neither of them wanting to continue the bleak conversation. "Head to the supply gate, I might have an idea."
Analie pulled the single joystick to the right and flew back over the manor, speeding up over the gardens as they approached the dome's only other exit. It was half the size of the other one but still towered over the tiny cruiser as Analie brought them down to just a few feet above the paved white bricks. There were a handful of guards standing outside the gate and a couple inside but there were still far less here than at the front.
"Pull up to the checkpoint." Quara said, pointing at it unnecessarily.
Analie turned her head and looked at her sister's bold statement with a raised eyebrow.
"Trust me sister."
Analie guided her vehicle slowly forward, hitting the button to open up the top when a guard with a buzz cut came jogging up. It was Torrow, thank the sands. Maybe she could help Analie more than she had thought.
Quara smiled at the sight of him, seeing he wasn't wearing the heavy black armor that the other soldiers around him were wearing, or the traditional red and gold chain armor. He was still in the simple brown garments that he always wore. He did have a plasma rifle but it was slung over his shoulder and he was holding a clear pad in one hand. As he walked up to the cruiser the soldier hit a few buttons on the pad, names and numbers flying by on the translucent screen.
"I don't see any clearances. You're going to need..." He began before finally looking into the cruiser to see both of the Princesses looking at him. "Ah shit."
"Hi Torrow." Quara said, leaning forward so she could make eye contact with the quickly blushing solider.
"Princess Quara." Torrow replied, a pained smile on his red face.
"Are you going to let me through?" Quara said flirtatiously, pouting her full pink lips outward.
Analie had been quite confused but finally caught on, smiling at Torrow as well now as he looked around, trying to see if anyone was paying close attention.
"Fine." Torrow said flatly, hitting buttons on his pad until the gates began to open outward. "But you owe me Quara."
Quara blew him a kiss, Torrow smiling despite himself.
"And if your father finds out we're all going to be in some trouble." He warned in almost a whisper.
She sat back in her seat as the cruiser's top closed and they headed slowly through the gate, thinking about Torrow's words.
"So you're screwing a guard?" Analie teased.
"Not everyone can be sleeping with a fire elemental sister." Quara quipped back.
Once the two Vorza sisters left the dome Analie pulled the small ship upwards into the blue sky until they were high above the desert below, tiny white clouds floating along not too far above. As they went other vehicles started to appear ranging from huge supply ships, with their companies logos displayed on the sides, down to cruisers like Analie's. The traffic got much heavier as soon as they reached the edge of the upper district. Most of the buildings here were hundreds of stories tall, the towers of glass and metal shaping the flow of traffic around them. Everything here was sharp and new; bright flashing lights accenting most of the skyscrapers. Women in bright cloaks with short dresses underneath carried shopping bags as they passed men in black cloaks arguing with each other.
"I don't see any soldiers." Analie said, looking around.
"No one even seems to notice that people are being taken prisoner in their own city." Quara observed sadly.
There was nothing that could be said. Quara knew that races from other planets were not welcomed in Loordania, especially elementals, but it was still hard to watch the travesty go ignored.
Traffic got lighter as the buildings became quickly shorter, the two of them continuing on in silence through the usually bustling streets. In another fifteen minutes Analie was driving just a dozen or so feet off of the dusty road below, old brick buildings packed in all around the narrow streets. The military presence grew very quickly, going from seeing one or two soldiers every few buildings to large groups of them standing everywhere. What traffic there was flowed over Analie, slowed down by the checkpoints as everyone tried to head out of the ghetto. The low road in was totally empty now, Analie using the space to push her cruiser up to top speed. Even as passing blurs Quara could see people being dragged out of their homes and beaten by the heavily armed soldiers. She pressed her face against the glass, unable to look away, until she saw a brunette woman her age get shot in the chest. Quara jumped back into her seat, her heart pounding as she squeezed her eyes shut, still seeing the young woman's chest explode outward in a spray of red.
"This is horrible." Quara said, nearly in tears.
A spiraling blast of flames suddenly erupted from the stone window above their cruiser, Quara immediately thinking of Bannon. It went right through the tan family ship above Analie's, everyone inside incinerated as the flaming vehicle fell out of the sky. Analie jerked her ship's control stick to the left, the cruiser listening instantly. Quara was petrified as she watched the burning wreckage hurtle down past them, its right wing scraping loudly across the top of Analie's ship before crashing down onto the road.
"Those bastards!" Analie exclaimed with surprised anger. "They're starting a war!"
Analie cursed them further under her breath bringing her cruiser back into the empty lane as they neared their destination.
Since they had come to the planet most of the elementals had been living in the sand district, lovingly called the monster pit by some parts of the city. Tall, tan brick skyscrapers jutted up in between rundown homes as if placed by random, creating a cramped and confusing layout. There was a military checkpoint at the main road in and out of the district, Analie slowing down apprehensively. Two huge transport vehicles rested on the sand by the checkpoint, the sun reflecting off their black sides. They were clearly military but Quara had never seen them before. Analie opened the cruiser's roof, jumping as the sound of nearby gunfire echoed off around them. A soldier walked up to each side of the vehicle, their guns in hand.
"Princess!" The stocky bald soldier said when he saw Quara, his brown eyes opening wider as she sat forward and waved.
"Princesses."
"Oh, right of course. Sorry to inconvenience you Princesses, carry on."
The bald man gave them a fake smile and stepped back, the soldier on the passenger side not moving.
"Be careful, those creatures are going crazy in there." He scowled.
"They're people you ass." Quara snapped back, glaring at the soldier's dumbstruck face as Analie pulled the cruiser into the sand district.
Beyond the checkpoint the road split into three main paths; left, middle, and right, the last of which was currently blocked by a passing squad of soldiers. A huge grey helicopter hovered over the streets, large guns secured to the front and sides. The whole thing had been covered in heavy metal plating that only left enough of the two spinning rotor blades uncovered for air to pass through. Analie took the left path, Quara glad her ship muted the sounds of the chaos outside as a building a few streets over exploded into a shower of smoke and rubble. It did nothing however to mask the anger rising in her chest. Their father had turned this peaceful place into a warzone.
The street headed straight towards the enormous outer wall of the city that had stood since its founding; huge stone blocks stacked together thousands of feet into the sky. At the top of the wall motionless turrets stood atop barracks every couple thousand feet, the high-tech weapons looking out of place on the ancient structure. Analie's silver cruiser continued on until they were almost to the wall, Quara still amazed at the ancient monolith she had lived inside of her entire life. Analie pulled to a stop on the street outside of a two story building that looked just as plain as the ones surrounding it.
The sisters got out of the cruiser quickly, Analie looking around to find there wasn't one soul outside. They both knew exactly what that meant; they had either beaten the military there or were far too late.
"Come on." Analie said as she jogged into through the open stone doorway.
The two royal sisters ran into the bar to find it almost deserted; the stone tables and chairs sitting empty. A single screen on the wall showed the same woman reporting on the elementals that Quara had seen this morning. She recognized Elhar standing behind the bar as always, the bartender whispering with a lone figure in a black cloak over the counter. The soldiers hadn't made it here yet. Neither of them seemed to notice the two women walk in, Analie trying to make eye contact with Bannon's boss/landlord. Quara had meet Elhar a few times in the last year, the blonde father of two always kind and soft spoken. While he still hadn't acknowledged them his tense demeanor told her he knew what was going on.
Quara saw tears well up in Analie's eyes when she saw him come down the stairs, Elhar's barely teenage boy and girl following after him in their matching orange cloaks. Quara had never actually met either of Elhar's children before; the young son and daughter of the elemental generally out playing with the other kids. They both had the same shade of brown hair and soft blue eyes, the two children so close in appearance Quara would have believed they were twins. Bannon's usually perfect sandy brown hair was disheveled and stuck to the side of his head, the simple brown pants and shirt he always wore wrinkled and stained.
"Analie?" He said with surprise, concern showing through his big green eyes.
"Bannon!" Analie called back with a grin as she ran at him.
The muscled young man smiled back, catching the Princess as she jumped into his arms. They squeezed each other tightly, the flame tattoo visible on Bannon's hand as he stroked Analie's hair.
"What are you two doing here? The military is going to be here any second." Bannon said, setting her back onto her feet.
"I couldn't let them take you." Analie said, grabbing onto his messy brown hair and giving him a hard kiss.
Elhar left his secret conversation and came from around the bar, his two kids hurrying over to him.
"Analie, Princess it's good to see you but we need to go now before they find us." He said to everyone, hugging his children tight. "I suggest you two get back home."
As if on some dark cue a soldier walked into the bar, the massive and unfriendly man looking around to see the tattoos on Bannon and the bartender's family's hands along with the two Princesses.
"Stop at once! Back away from the High Regent's daughters now!" He said, his brown eyes opening wide as he struggled to get his plasma rifle up to his shoulder.
Analie immediately put herself in between Bannon and the soldier while everyone else froze.
"Please you don't understand!" Analie pleaded, the soldier aiming at them anyways. "You can't do this!"
The cloaked figure got up from the bar and walked silently through the tense scene, stepping to the soldier's side as they tried to slip out the door.
"Stop sir." The soldier said grabbing their arm. "Let me see your hands."
The figure stopped and turned to look at the soldier, Quara unable to make out any of their features underneath their long hood.
"Of course." A low voice said answered, the growl almost indiscernible.
His harsh tone said it all, the soldier swinging his weapon towards the new threat but the cloaked man had already grabbed onto the rifle with one hand and the soldier's face with the other. He lifted the much larger man off of the ground as if he weighed nothing, his cloak sliding up his wrists to reveal the purple and black orbs tattooed on the backs of his hands. A dark elemental. His hood fell back to his shoulders, revealing a grinning young man that looked just slightly older than herself. He was by no means attractive, his features unfriendly and sharp; with a crooked nose and shallow cheeks, his brown hair a tangled mess. His one saving grace were his eyes, that were so blue they were literally glowing as the man opened his mouth and uttered a few whispers. Black smoke poured out of his palm, forming a black claw over his hand in the blink of an eye. Quara fell onto her butt trying to scramble away as the three hooks of the claw dug into soldier's face, tearing deep into his skull. The poor man opened his mouth and shrieked in equal parts pain and terror, the smoke lunging down his throat the instant he did. The soldier went silent as the living darkness tore through his flesh and armor with ease, ripping bloody holes in and out him like horrible snakes.
Then the smoke was gone and the cloaked man let go of the dead soldier, his body slumping down onto the growing pool of blood below. Quara's heart seized in her chest as the dark elemental turned and looked right at her, walking over before extending the very same hand to help her. Beyond his elemental tattoos his hands and fingers were covered in black ink, patterned into complex shapes that left nearly no open skin. Who was he? How had a dark elemental been here so long without being detected? The smile on his face looked out of place with the rest of his features as Quara cautiously took his tattooed hand. The man pulled her to her feet with a sudden pull, the princess leaning against him as she found her footing.
"Princess Quara." He said in almost a growl.
"Thank you." Quara replied quickly with a small nod as she backed up away from him to her sister's side.
"Who are you?" Analie almost shouted at him.
The strange man smiled at her before turning back around to see a young redheaded soldier walk into the entranceway. She looked down and started to scream at the top of her lungs when she saw her fellow soldier lying dead on the floor, his body full of gaping holes.
"Music to my ears." The dark elemental chuckled to himself as he casually strode over to the solder.
She lifted her weapon to her shoulder much faster than her dead counterpart had managed and squeezed the trigger, the rifle firing rapid red shots into the smiling elemental. Quara watched mystified as the rounds tore into his flesh while the elemental stood tall against the gunfire, acting as if he wasn't even getting hit. He let out a loud bellowing laugh at the attack, the horridly evil sound sticking in Quara's mind. The soldier took a step back and slammed her fist against the orange button on the back of the gun, a small empty canister popping off the back onto the floor below. She grabbed a black canister from a pocket in her armor and clicked it into its pace, the liquid inside quickly mixing with another yellow fluid. A white light flashed on top of her rifle as she put it back up to her shoulder, ready to fire again. The dark elemental watched the soldier's frantic efforts without moving muscle, his laugh fading away into a soft chuckle.
"Ignorant little pawn." He smirked, holding his hand out towards the soldier.
The soldier didn't bother shooting her reloaded weapon; she knew it wouldn't do anything. She simply listened to the young man utter a few strange words before the darkness came. The same black smoke as before shot out from his hand, expanding outward until it completely covered the soldier and Analie's cruiser behind her like a fog.
The blue eyed elemental turned to Quara, walking back over to her as the smoke dissipated in just a second's time. There was no sign of the soldier or Analie's ship left behind, not even a mark in the sand. No one said a word as he approached, all of them staring at him, waiting for him to speak.
"We should leave." He directed, his voice calm and soothing now.
"Come on out the back." Elhar said, pushing his children out the door first.