Fan Fiction ❯ Vailla ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )
Vailla kept on running for as long as she could and she eventually came up to the inn Trigger had told her about. She wanted to get out of the public eye so she decided to go in and rent a room so she walked into the inn. It wasn't very busy so it was a lot quieter then other taverns Vailla had been to. The inn was badly lit and the air was cold and dusty. Behind the bar was a hard-faced woman with straggly black hair and brown eyes. She wore a red ragged dress with a dirty white apron. Vailla walked up to the bar and called to the woman. "Have you any room miss?" She asked politely.
"How much have you got?" She asked in a cold voice. Vailla pretended to fumble in her pockets, of course she already knew how much she got but she wasn't going to let this lady know that.
"I have twenty copper pieces on me. I only want a room for one night and I can go without food if I haven't got enough." She tried to sound innocent the best she could but she was still very frustrated about what had happened earlier.
"Twenty eh? I tell you what pay me seven and I'll get you some food as well little girl. Climb on over." The hard look on the woman's face had softened and he helped Vailla over the bar. She grabbed her arm to give her support as she jumped down and Vailla winced. The woman quickly removed her hand and saw blood on it, and then she looked at Vailla's arm and saw the blood leaking through her bandages.
"Thank you." She saw her looking at her wound and Vailla smiled. "I got hit with an arrow on the way down here, its nothing, really."
"Do you need help knitting it?" She asked gently.
"No thank you. I'm kind of tired though, could you show me to my room… Oh I almost forgot." She reached into her bag and pulled out seven copper pieces and handed it to the landlady. Before going upstairs the lady rang a big brass bell that hung just above the bar.
"Now you drunkards listen up. I'm going upstairs for a couple of minutes. If any of you steal any ale I'll know and I'll hunt you down like dogs and gut the lot of ya' with a rusted hook. Got me?" There was an awkward silence at first and then an almighty cheer rose up from the few very drunk men. The woman laughed and then led Vailla upstairs.
The room was not very big but it was nice. The sheets were clean and there were even curtains. The floor had been recently cleaned and the room was a lot better lit up here. "My inn has been called a lot of things but no one had even said that my rooms were unclean." The woman said from behind her with a booming proud voice.
"It is very nice thank you." Then she remembered Trigger. "Could you do me a favour? If a boy about my age is asking for me would you please send him here? I've sort of ran off and left him and I would really like to say sorry to him."
"Sure. I'll bring you some food in about an hour or so. Will you be alright doing your arm on your own?" It was strange but this scary looking woman seemed very worried about Vailla, and this was not long after she threatened her other customers that she would gut them.
"Yes thank you." Vailla replied.
"Alrighty then. I'll see you in a little while." She shut the door behind her. Vailla sighed and put Hayley on the bed, which curled down and went to sleep almost immediately. She then swung round quickly and punched the wall as hard as she could in frustration and then realised quickly it was not a very smart thing to do.
"Ouch." She muttered to herself. Then she laughed about the stupid thing she had just done and sat on the bed. She looked for her needle and thread and started to stitch her wound.
Trigger had walked into the inn looking for Vailla. He was confused why she had run off like that; after all he was the one who had warned her about the dagger. If only he could of got his to bow and arrow quick enough he could of shot that man in the arm or something and then they could of got to him to ask questions before he topped himself. He walked into the familiar murky inn that he had often came to with his father and sat at the bar. The woman was serving someone else at the time so he waited impatiently for her to notice him. "Trigger is that you? Oh it is isn't it?" She almost screamed excitedly and rushed over to him. "I haven't seen you since last fall. How have you been? Climb over boy." Trigger jumped over the bar and the woman swung her arms around him.
"Hello Madlien. I've been fine what about you?" Trigger asked after the rough embrace.
"Same old same old. You've grown boy, you're almost as tall as me now." That however was not completely true, Madlien was still quite a bit taller then Trigger.
"I'm looking for a girl, she might of came in here. Her name is Vailla and she had a big gold stick with her and a funny looking little pink creature. You haven't seen her have you?"
"Vailla? So that's her name, she is upstairs. She told me that a boy might be asking for her. Go on up, she is in the first door on the left." Trigger nodded and then followed Madlien's directions. The door was shut so Trigger went to knock but before his hand touched the door he listened. Vailla was crying.
"Vailla?" Trigger called and then knocked the door.
"Trigger is that you?" A voice thick with emotion answered. "I'll be there now, just let me get dressed." Vailla quickly wiped her tears away from her face and then made some noise to make it sound like she was looking for her clothes. Finally she answered the door with a pretty grin on her face. "Sorry I took so long. I'm glad you're here, come in." Vailla invited him inside her bedroom and they sat on the bed.
"Vailla I'm-" Trigger began but Vailla cut him off.
"No Trigger, I'm sorry. I was very frustrated and I took my spite out on you. Please forgive me." She laughed a bit ruefully
"But there is nothing to forgive. I could of shot that man with the arrow before he swallowed the poison."
"That's okay. You can save me the next time someone tries to kill me." She smiled at him and yawned. "It's getting late, maybe we should go to bed." Vailla suggested.
"What do you mean the next time someone tries to kill you?" Trigger demanded.
"Never mind, I was only joking." She laughed again and then smiled. She knew there were assassins after her but there was no point in worrying her friend about it. "I'm going to go to bed now. I'll see you in the morning." She nearly pushed Trigger out the door; she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and shut the door. Trigger rubbed the spot where she had kissed him a little confused and then went downstairs to see Madlien about another room. He wondered why Vailla was so tired; it was only about five hours past midday.
Vailla woke up not long past midnight. She had slept soundly but now she was fully awake and unable to go back to sleep so she got out of bed and walked over to the window. She started to look at the night sky and frowned, the stars predicted bad fortune. Vailla then heard a knock at the door. She didn't turn round when the door creaked open because she was fairly sure that it was Trigger. "Hello Trigger. I'm sorry but I don't like late night visitors, what if I have been nude?" She turned round pretending to be angry only to discover to her horror that it wasn't Trigger but instead a tall burly man dressed in a black cape.
"Well that, little girl, would have been an extra bonus." He sniggered. Vailla quickly went for her dagger that was under her pillow but the man was too quick for her and got to the pillow before her and grabbed her hand. The only other weapon she could use was her Staff but that was also on the bed.
"Take anything you want. That big stick over this is worth a packet and it will give you magical powers."
"I am not going to touch your Staff. I'm a wizard myself and I know what will happen if you take another person's staff."
"Who sent you? Tell me!" Vailla demanded.
"Well you're going to die anyway so I suppose I'll tell you. After all dead people don't tell tails." He laughed and almighty roar and then smiled an evil grin. "A certain man don't want you to return to Laces, I'm not sure if you would know him though but your mother would. You never knew your father did you? That's a shame really, I hate it when families don't work out."
"What do you mean?"
"The person who wants you dead is your own father, I don't know why though you're such a pretty girl. Now that I got your `last request' over and done with shall we get on with it? Oh there is no point in screaming, though you can try if you want. Screaming always makes it more fun." He grabbed on end on the bed and pulled it in front of the door with ease. Vailla tried to get to the door before the man but he brushed her aside easily. Her heart filled with fear, this man was strong and there was no way out. She saw her staff on the bed and made a run for it but like the dagger he was there before her and grabbed her throat. He lifted her off her feet while squeezing his big strong hands round her throat tighter and tighter. Then he flung her across the room. Vailla quickly tried to recover her breath and tried screaming, it went against everything she believed in but it was the only hope of surviving she had. The assassin just laughed and pointed to the bed in front of the door.
"Trigger! Help!" She screamed in hope Trigger could hear even though she knew it wasn't much good and then she scrambled to her feet but before she could even get her footing he kicked her feet from under her and she fell back to the floor. The man picked her up by the throat once more and slammed her up against the wall and pinned her up by holding onto her neck, gripping tighter and tighter. "You bastard." She managed to say as she gazed at him with pure hatred.
"You know I could just snap your neck don't you? But I find this way more fun." He held her up higher. Vailla felt her lungs gasping for air, screaming at her to let them breathe. She tried to scream but instead she managed a muffled gurgled sound and her lips felt as though they were being pricked with loads of tiny needles. "Go on little girl, beg."
"I'd…rather…die." The gap in her windpipe came smaller and smaller as he squeezed tighter and tighter and her life became shorter and shorter.
"If you insist." He laughed. She feebly tried to kick him but it was like kicking steel and it didn't even seem to hurt him. She tried to pull his arms away from her throat but that was no good since he was unbelievably strong and no matter how strong she was she was only still a little girl while he was a fully-grown man. The light around her became dimmer as she tried to bring air into her choking lungs, she heard a banging at the door but she was unable to answer and unable to care. There was no point in pro-longing this, it was over anyway and there was no way that Trigger or anyone else could get here in time so she closed her eyes and let darkness surround her. She let out one last horse cry before her own grip round her killer's arms lessened until they finally fell to her side. He laughed a lot before letting go of her neck and then he let her fall to the ground limply. He smiled with an evil kind of pleasure and kicked her in the stomach. She didn't even flinch. He bent down checked that she was dead, he had completed his task so he bid farewell to the corpse and disappeared into puff of smoke.
Trigger had heard Vailla calling for him but he couldn't open the door, something was blocking it. He had to get Madlien for help before she finally smashed open the door with an axe. Trigger was the first to scramble through the hole Madlien had made but he couldn't see a thing, the room was surrounded in smoke. "Vailla!" He cried but there was no answer. He jumped off the bed and started to feel his way round the room. He kept to the wall, feeling his way round. It wasn't long before he came to something blocking his way; it was at his feet and was fairly soft. His heart gripped with fear and terror as he reached out a trembling hand to touch whatever or whoever was on the floor. It was a body of that he was sure but to whom did it belong? The smoke was still thick and he couldn't see a thing but when he reached the hair he felt a small pendent that dangled just in between the eyes. It was Vailla! He tied to shake her awake but she wasn't moving, she was so cold.
"Trigger? What is happening over there?" Madlien voice called through the smoke. Trigger was unable to answer as he picked up the small limp body and carried it back to the door. "Vailla? Is she okay?" Madlien asked when Trigger handed her though the hole in the door. He emerged from the hole; his eyes filled with bitter tears and looked up at Madlien who was holding the girl who seemed so small in her arms.
"She is so cold." It was all he could say. Madlien looked at the pale girl in her arms and laid her on the floor. Her own eyes were filled with tears as she looked for signs of breathing or for a pulse or a heartbeat, anything that would mean that she was living but she found none. Vailla led motionless where Madlien had laid her. "Is she…?" He was unable to finish.
"Yes child, she is." Madlien replied solemnly. Tears were streaming down her face as she lifted herself to her feet. "I better close up downstairs, you stay here with Vailla." She walked down the stairs to tell the punters of the terrible event that had taken place upstairs and that they must leave now, while upstairs Trigger stayed with Vailla. Trigger slowly wrapped his arms around the motionless girl brought her closer to him. He rocked her slowly while weeping uncontrollably. Her arms fell limply to the ground and her head fell back. He then looked at her face and kissed her sweetly on her cold, still lips.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered in despair, knowing that he could not be heard. "So sorry." He buried his face into her. Hayley was at Vailla's side meowing and softly pawing her master to get her to wake up, but Vailla didn't.
She walked down a familiar street in Wrendore that led to her house. Vailla was running to see her mother who, for some strange reason, she was desperate to see. Finally she reached the house. She swung open the door and saw her mum standing there cooking lunch. "Hello dear. I think we should talk."
"Are you alright mother?" Vailla asked in a worried tone.
"Vailla dear try and remember, what had just happened to you." She said firmly.
"I must have been sleeping because the last thing I remember is waking up in the ally behind the tavern. I must have got in a fight or something again, I'm sorry mother." She shuffled her feet and looked innocently into her mother's eyes. Then all of a sudden it hit her, that her mother was dead! She trembled violently as she looked at her mother once more. She could also remember Trigger and the inn, and…
"That's right. I know you want to be with me dear but you must go back while you still can. Your father killed us both; don't give him the satisfaction of staying dead. Show him that your power is greater then his." Her mother told her.
"I don't understand." Vailla stuttered.
"You don't have to, you'll forget about this once you're back but in order to go back you must want to. Please Vailla go back for me, I'm begging you." Her mother's eyes were filling with tears as were Vailla's.
"But I don't want to leave you."
"I'll always be with you child, maybe not in the physical world but in your heart. We'll be together soon enough but you're only fourteen, you are too young to stay with me. Please go."
"I love you mother!" She wailed and threw her arms round her.
"Look behind you Vailla and walk through the door and you'll be where you belong." Her mother urged. "Quick before it's too late." Vailla nodded mutely and walked through a door that just seemed to appear from nowhere. "I love you." Her mother called.
"I love you too!"
Trigger was holding her close to his protective arms when she began to gasp for air and he nearly dropped her. Vailla was alive! He didn't know what to do as she coughed and choked so he shouted as loud as he could Madlien. Madlien came bounding up the stairs almost as soon as Trigger called her. "She's alive!" Trigger exclaimed when he saw Madlien. Vailla sat on the fall gasping for air and looked up at Madlien.
"I'll… kill… him…Where… is he?" She said in between gasps.
"Give her some air Trigger, don't crowd her." Madlien ordered and Trigger quickly moved back. Once Vailla regained she breath she quickly stood up and, even though she was still feeling a little faint, she climbed into her bedroom. The smoke had cleared a little bit now, she could see but everything was covered in a thin layer of mist. Her Staff bust with joyous light, and Vailla had to shield her eyes.
"Stop that! That fool couldn't kill me. Now lets get him." Vailla snapped. It glowed a little sheepishly as Vailla took a firm grip of the magical object.
"Vailla? Are you alright?" Trigger asked her worriedly. His face was stained with tears and his eyes were puffy.
"I will not letting him get away this!" She screamed; she was so angry that she didn't even notice Trigger and what he had just said. She clasped both of her hands round the Staff and began to chant in some ancient language and then all of a sudden an explosion of bright harmless fire that let off no heat and didn't even burn filled the room. A black looming cloud hovered above Vailla head and even seemed to be attacking Vailla's fire. Trigger could see that whatever Vailla was doing it was putting a lot of strain of her. She started to chant louder and the room was filled with a desperate wailing then just as suddenly as it all appeared everything stopped and vanished leaving Vailla standing there with her hands raised in the air and panting. "I'll get you for what you have done!" She vowed. "You will burn in hell!" Then she lowered her hands and supported herself on the staff and burst into tears.