Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ I just want to go Home! ❯ in which we meet the characters ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

“There's no more use denying it, how can you expect me to accept this, this letter?!” Red eyes glared at the shrinking form of a skinny man who resembled a thin stick. The stick man continued to shrink, biting his lips to keep from screaming out in pain and agony. The red eyes reflected the glee of their owner, who watched this man slowly die before him. “I never show mercy, for forging this letter, the punishment is death.” A chuckle, cold as a windy night issued from lips, dry to the touch, smelling like blood. Those eyes and those lips belonged to non other than Lord Duragon. Much is unknown about Lord Duragon, but this humble writer writes much from an old memory. All these facts from here on after are from everyone involved in this tragic tale.
He was tall standing at six feet, semi-long dark, blonde hair falling across his face. A visage to be feared indeed, he was not so much ugly as hard looking, a square jaw and piercing blood lusting eyes. It was enough to make the bravest of men tremble and fall to their knees. He, in all senses was of a muscular build, good too look at if what you're going for is the evil overlord of Frenyarshia. Lord Duragon had stolen the throne of this kingdom, because he wanted power. Growing up he never had anyone that truly knew him, it could be easily seen in his eyes, if one looked hard enough.
A satisfied chuckle escaped from his lips as nothing of that stick man remained. “Serves him right for trying to fool me” Duragon spat at his feet to show his intimate dislike of treacherous people. There was a knock upon the wooden oak double doors. The knock sounded soft and timid. “Enter” the cold dark and obviously indifferent Lord answered. The double doors opened to admit a cloaked figure. “Ah, you have returned. With good news I hope?” he asked a hint of glee in that cold voice.
The figure, wore a black cloak black as a moonless night. Standing at 5'8, an average height as most heights go, and the figure bowed kneeling before Duragon. “Aye, My liege I bring news of a good and bad sort” There was silence as Duragon watched, before. “I see and Yurengi what of this news? Please start with the bad.” The cloak figure that was Yurengi stood. “I went to visit the temple as you asked of me, and Shira the highly esteemed priestess of the goddess of sight told me that a stranger will come. Her clothes of the strangest we have ever seen, she will indeed join the rebellion group and fight against you. She will win for it has been foretold; however there will be another friend of this strange girl. Her heart dark in color for she loves power, this girl will be torn between her friend and joining us. If this other were to join us then we would have a chance of keeping this throne…” Duragon nodded. “Indeed, you had me worried for a moment. I never set much faith in prophecies, unreliable you see and shira refuses to tell me anything these days….you are dismissed”
Yurengi nodded his head walking out. As he did so and the doors closed behind him, a soft sigh escaped through his lips. “Forgive me my Liege, for everything…” he continued on his way out of the Castle. Yurengi paced once he reached the stable. As he waited for his horse, one could tell he was nervous. He had good reason to be, he was about to betray the overlord. By omitting part of the priestess's prophecy he had already committed a traitorous crime. The stable boy brought Yurengi's horse out, it was a brown mare. He took it roughly, yanking the reins so hard away from the stable boy that the little stable boy received a rope burn.
He mounted the horse spurring the mare into a fast gallop. His hood was up hiding his face as always. The sense of time running out becoming more apparent, more so then it had at the temple. The words of the priestess hanging over his head as the horse galloped at full speed. He had to get away; he had to find her, the only hope of saving this kingdom which had once been so peaceful. Yurengi missed the old kingdom, the one only mentioned in legends these days. This world knew no trust, true love, nor loyalty. Those things were of the past, and didn't exist anymore.
Duragon watched Yurengi ride away from the castle. He was looking down from the window; a sigh escaped those dry, blood smelling lips. He had work to attend to, at this moment Duragon realized he was still holding onto the parchment, which the man had handed him. He looked over it once more. At first glance it looked like a normal letter, so why exactly was it so special? The words on the paper had just struck him as odd. The man had claimed that Lady Lexandra had written it together with Lady Xarwin. These two women were among the goddesses now; it had not been so long ago that they had been here. They were responsible for the death of his father once known as the Game-Master.
His left hand, the one not holding the parchment, curled into a fist. He thirsted for revenge against them. Somewhere, not in this world they were alive; when his father had been alive Duragon had been training in the Draconian Mountains, named such, because they were inhabited by dragons. Duragon had never forgiven himself for not being there, he always thought that if he had been there things would have been different. He looked back at the paper reading it.
To the people of Frenyarshia, We Lady Lexandra and Lady Xarwin write this.
This world was so nice and as much as we love it here, we must bid adieu. This is not our world and there are others who miss us. Never fear for if there ever be a need we will return. We leave in the good hopes that no one will ever be able to corrupt this beautiful land. From the large city ports to the smallest villages, we are always in this world whenever you should need us.
Duragon didn't know how many times he read, before crumpling it up and tossing it to the floor. It was a lie, no those girls were gone. They had been mortals, but the people had once loved them, and some still remained loyal to their prayers. He was pacing in his room once more thoughts in his head swirling like a tornado. The world of Zanshra was not how it once had been. Flowing rivers had become dry, no water; instead in order to bring the people under his complete control Duragon had dammed the water. If they wanted water they, the commoners, had to pay a fee. Those once roaming hills and the lush green grass were no more. The grass was so dead that it snapped and fell apart as soon as it was touched. The hills were places of small guard houses and gravesites, the people of Frenyarshia knew no freedom. It made Duragon smile a sinister smile, one to send shivers down even the devil's spine. That was not something many saw and lived.
He had come up with a plan. Duragon had most of the humans under his control, but not the wild forests to the east and west of the world. The kingdom which he ruled was called Frenyarshia. It was a relatively large kingdom. The domain spreading far and wide, however there were other kingdoms that were easily twice the size of Frenyarshia. These kingdoms did not worry Duragon just yet; he had his own problems to deal with. The rebellion group, for instance, a special group of men and women dedicated to bringing him down. It made him smirk every time he thought about it. He was in power and no one; there was no one alive on earth that would ever be able to kill him. He was next to a god, this was his reasoning.
The rain poured down hard against Yurengi's back as he entered Kish village. It was a small village, and the true home of Shira the blind priestess. He hadn't noticed the change in the weather his mind faraway, contemplating about other things, until the rain had struck hard like a thousand needles jabbing him. He hugged his cloak closely to his body, and dismounted his horse. Yurengi led his horse down the single road of the village, a lone cloak figure. The people saw from their windows, doorways and shops, but not one word was spoken. After all upon his black cloak Yurengi had a drawing of the pentagram, a sign that he worked for the king. No one was about to talk to him, no one wanted anything to do with him; one never knew what sort of thing worked for the king.
With the rain as his companion Yurengi made his way to the small cottage with the single Oak tree in the front. The door was open, walking in he was immediately on alert. The whole place was filled with smoke as if a fire were there; the funny thing was that this particular smoke did not go out the opened door. “I've been expecting you, one who follows the king” an eerie voice filled the room, coming from every direction at once. Yurengi's gloved hand rested on the hilt of his sword. He was a spy, that much was true enough, but he had been trained as a knight. He swallowed, “priestess I have come as you asked. Tell me the rest of this prophecy and the part I am to play.” His voice was cold as an iron hammer. The room was filled once more, this time with a soft amused laughter. Shira had the voice of one who knew everything about everyone in this world and any other world. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, “My dear Yurengi, you have done much to betray the king. The part you will play? That Is yet to be decided, for every creature in this world has the power of choice”
“Come on! Wake up you lazy ass!” Faith's mother yelled from downstairs. “Ugh, mom…just five more minutes…” murmured a sleepy sixteen year old girl. Another minute passed, footsteps audible upon the stairs, the covers were yanked off of her. Faith curled into a ball as a wave of cold air hit her once warm body. Her eyes opened, light emerald in color, “What the hell was that for?” She asked harshly looking at her mother. Her mother seemed amused as she watched her daughter. “Time for school, sweetie” Faith rolled her eyes. She despised the word school; it was a place of `learning'. She wouldn't mind if they could learn about knights and other myths, but no they had to study things such as Shakespeare. Faith hated Shakespeare with a passion, if she had choice she would have made it so that he was never born. She managed to stumble from her bed, and to her closet.
Faith's room was relatively small, composed of an old bed, the headboard and the end of the bed carved from an Oak tree, there was a small dresser which was lined with make-up and coins, there was also a book case which took up half the room. The shelves on this bookcase were lined with numerous books, all of which had been read more than once. For Faith was an avid reader, she loved to be taken to another world. A world filled with so many different creatures it could make her head spin. Her closet was across from her bed, when opening the wooden doors they creaked. It hurt her ears, but this morning it didn't bother her as much as it normally did. Faith pulled on blue jeans and a black shirt. It was what she normally wore. Tight jeans and a way-too big shirt, it wasn't that she was fat, in fact far from it. Most people who saw her when she looked nice and all made up, would says he looked like an angel, or actress. Looking at herself in the mirror Faith Johnson saw none of these things. She saw a girl, who suppressed her fiery personality, behind books and school work.
Faith newly sixteen was not the happiest person in the world. As usual she pulled her long dark-dark brown hair back into a ponytail, having an emo bang style, the right side of her face always remained hidden from other people's view. She was a sophomore at the local public school. With her messenger bag slung across her body she was ready, not even bothering to eat or say good-bye to her mother, instead Faith simply walked out of the house. The only thing she liked about school was that it was close to home. As she walked her bag thumping against her hip light, the fingers of her right hand fiddled with the necklace that hung about her throat. It was a pendent in the shape of a dragon, curled about a marble which tended to change color from time to time. This small pendent hung from a thin gold chain that was a lot stronger than it looked, near unbreakable going by what her mother told her.
Faith was a student at Memorial High school, MHS being the abbreviation for it. As she walked through the double doors in the blue hallway she heard the first bell ring. She smiled to herself she wasn't late, who knew, perhaps this day would turn out better. Faith, although smart was almost always late to class. The tardiness causing her to be the victim of many long hours of detention. Long hours in which she did nothing but stare at the door, in those hours she let her mind wander. She thought of many thing, but most of all she wished she were able to live in a different place in time.
When the lunch bell rang, she nearly shouted out in joy. Lunch was the only thing she truly enjoyed. She had three friends, who were very close to her. Two of them were seniors, Lexy (short for Lexandra) and Samantha, who liked to be called Xarwin. The other was a sophomore like herself, Jasmine. Faith found the other three already sitting down and eating. As she sat she noticed something weird about Lexy and Sam. “Lexy, you feeling all right you look pretty pale?” She looked at Lexy concerned for her health. Samantha laughed it off softly and waved a pale hand of hers. “She's fine. No worries, Faith.” Faith wasn't fooled, but she accepted the answer and sat beside Jasmine, across the table Samantha was busy whispering to Lexandra. Two years ago when Samantha and Lexy had been sophomores something had happened, they had been gone for a week. The cops had searched everywhere, but no evidence showed up and then a week later both girls had been in their room. When questioned they spoke of things, such as knights and dragons, it hadn't really bothered Faith that much, but now? She pushed the uneasy feeling of being left out aside, now was not the time.
Faith got through lunch, and her afternoon classes. As it was a Friday concentrating for Faith was very difficult. Luckily for her she was in class with Jasmine. The weekend looked promising; she would be hanging out with Jasmine all weekend. The last bell rang and both Jasmine and Faith rushed from the classroom, across the street and to the nearest Starbucks.
“Ah,” Faith smacked her lips in satisfaction, sitting upon the chair outside of the Starbucks, drinking a café Vanilla Frapaccino. She looked at Jasmine who watched her silently. “Are you going to get anything?” A shake of the head, “Nah, I don't drink coffee.” Jasmine had to laugh at the look Faith gave her. Amongst her friends Faith had the reputation for acting like a child. She didn't mind her reputation, knowing she was loved by her four friends. “Why don't you like coffee Jazz?” Faith curiously asked. She had only known Jasmine for nearly a year, but never before had they gone to Starbucks together. Jasmine shrugged, she had never liked the taste anyway. Faith laughed “well, I guess I should hurry and finish up here then?” she received a nod, and laughed once more “There's a tall Oak tree in Lexy's yard and I asked her if I could check it out today, I just have a really weird feeling about it.”
“So, you get a weird feeling? What kind of feeling?” Faith shrugged. “Like its old, you know time; it's as old as time or something like that.” Jasmine nodded, her blonde hair blowing slightly in the light breeze. Jasmine had blonde hair, but not the light come; it was more yellow to be exact. She was around 5'7, and the same age as Faith. Her eyes were a light shade of hazel, sometimes twinkled and that twinkling was the only hint of her emotion, She was naturally shy and introverted.
Faith's own emerald ones shone with a bright intensity that made jasmine blink twice. For a moment it was like faith was someone else. She shook the thought from her mind, it wasn't the time. Faith stood up, looking around she spotted her car. She wasn't one to know the differences in cars. All she knew was that her car was cool, and new, and shiny. Both girls walked to the car, jasmine in the passenger seat and Faith in the driver's seat, the key in the ignition, then the rev of an engine coming to life. They were off to Lexy's house, the drive being ten minutes long.
Ten minutes later found Jasmine and Faith in Lexy's garden. Faith led jasmine to the oak tree; both girls stared at the tall oak. The oak tree was very old, one could tell that much not only by how wide the trunk was but also by its height. A whistle came from jasmine. “Now, that tree is freaking in huge!” Her hand rested on the trunk, and for the fleetest second she thought it was raining. Faith hadn't seemed to notice anything and if she did she said nothing. She only circled the tree like a hound dog that had trapped a cat in the branches of a tree. “Aha!” She exclaimed, her hands grabbing a hold of some of the tree's bark that jutted out farther than the rest. “Faith, What in the hell do you think you're doing?!” Jasmine yelled, as the bark came off with a loud ripping sound. Faith nearly fell, the most surprising thing however was, what had been hidden in that piece of bark. The bark itself looked completely different from the tree's normal bark. The color of the tree seemed to have faded from its original color.
Stooping down, Faith saw two pieces of gold; they were in the shape of coins, old coins at that. She looked back at the piece of bark she had pulled. The only reason she had pulled it off had been because of its weird shape and color. She picked it up and was to find that one end, the end from which it was obvious that the coins had fallen out, was in fact hollow, the end being sealed with wax. She dug her fingers pulling the crimson colored wax, there had to be more. Silently she handed to two coins to jasmine that remained silent. She shook it lightly this time two more objects falling out. One was a key, which faith could have sworn would open a pirate's treasure chest, and the second object, a sealing ring.
The ring was the one that caught her eye. Jasmine took the key, each object calling to mind a memory in both girls. “I think I'll take one coin and the key. Is that all right with you Faith?” To faith her friends' voice seemed very far away as if twenty football fields separated them. Her head nodded slowly to show agreement. With that, Jasmine decided to walk herself home, faith only stood there dumbfounded and caught between something. Her eyes, the light emerald darkened to a hard crystal clear emerald color, looking exactly like a newly polished stone. It took all of her concentration to make her way to her own car, getting in, and speeding off towards home. The journey home took about fifteen minutes, but to her it seemed like an eternity.
“Just where have you been missy?” Came the demanding voice of her mother, like a newly sharpened dagger slitting skin, it cut through Faith's stupor; she looked at her mother. “I was out.” Her voice was flat and uncaring. Her mother looked astounded by her daughter's reaction. She just let out a soft humph and was off. Faith watched her go, shaking her head; she walked into the house, up the stairs and into her room. She flopped down on the bed, today was Friday, but she didn't feel like hanging out anymore not after the feeling, or rather, vibe she had received from removing the piece of bark. Her ceiling was white she noticed as she stared at it, her brain not really thinking, just spaced out.
Jasmine got home by herself, as she did not live very far away from the school. She was in a rather cranky mood, the key held loosely in her left hand. It gave her thrill, if a key could do that. She was craving adventure, wildness, just something out of the ordinary. Maybe to star in some action movie involving bombs, and loud explosions, this thought made her smile. It wasn't the sort of expression she normally wore in fact, it was sort of creepy.
The night came, All faith could do was stare. Slowly her eyes closed at the early hour of eight o'clock. Chirping, it started almost as soon as she closed her eyes. She rolled to her side. “Not now mom I'm sleeping still” AS she rolled over she found not her bed beneath her, but grass. Faith moved to her knees rubbing her eyes in disbelief. “What the hell?” She looked about her, finding that she was surrounded by trees, it was a sunny day. Faith stood up trying to clear her now buzzing mind. “Something tells me I' not home in Texas anymore…” this was said to no one in particular, but as these words left her mouth hoof beats could be heard in the distance. “Oh shit” she said this more out of habit than knowing that she was in trouble. Instinct took over as the hoof beats of a horse came closer to her location. With another exclamation of oh shit she ran away.
“Halt!” A mans voice could be heard, the horse upon which he sat moved from side to side. “Scout the area, some one is here!” He looked down at the spot where only a few moments before Faith had been sleeping. Something glinted, dismounting his horse he bent down to pick it up. It was a gold coin, one of the old ones he assumed, turning it over in his hands he got a shocked. In this place while one half of the coin was smooth the other side, causing the man to gasp, was the mark of King Dart.
King dart had been the king, until Duragon killed him as well as his brother and all traces of family, as far as anyone knew. The man, a soldier in the army, now just an ordinary scout had been patrolling this section of the forest, while he did not work directly under Duragon like his superiors, he had to follow regulations made by Duragon. He was old, in the sense he was not as youthful as he had once been, looking to be around 50. Turning the coin in his hand, he felt his fingers curl about it until a fist was formed.
There was movement, looking up he saw his men walking back, struggling perhaps would be the right word, for between them was a young girl. She fought like a wildcat cat in a net; he stood as he men brought the girl before him.
Faith had been running for awhile, until feeling out of breath she had leaned against one of the trees, and before she knew it she had been caught. Two men had a hold her, a hand on each of her arms. No matter how hard she struggled they would not let go. “Get off you creeps!” She yelled pulling to the right then left, her captors began to shake her. “Enough!” It was the voice of a man, faith paused momentarily in her struggle attempts to look at him. “Is this yours?” The man asked holding up the coin she had taken from the tree. Her light emerald eyes studied him suspiciously. “Why should I tell you?”
“Do you even realize what this is?” His question met by Silence.
“It's an illegal coin, taken back by Duragon. To have this coin…the penalty is death. This is a sign of rebellion-”
“You're joking right? This has to be some kind of joke right? An Illegal coin, Sam! Lex! Where are you guys hiding?” Faith called thinking that this had to be a joke, there was no way it was real. The man seemed shocked as she called for Lex. He motioned for his men to release the girl. There was no where she could run. “Who are you calling for do you not realize where you are?”
“Please, I know this is a joke…I”
“I assure you this is no laughing matter, nor is it a joke. You are hereby under arrest in the name of king Duragon, for being in possession of this coin.” Faith smiled. “I think you forgot something” The man looked confused as she said this. She had realized he was certain she had nowhere to run, in that respect he was wrong, and faith would make him see that. She slowly approached the horse stroking it, while the man laughed. As he opened his mouth to speak again, she mounted and spurred the horse into a fast gallop. “Don't let her get away!” She heard the man's voice calling at his men. She heard them riding after her. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…” Repeatedly these words left her mouth. The fact she was being chased did not make her stop the horse. The wind ran its fingers through her hair. Her knuckles turned white, the horse was not slowing down, but she could feel it was tired, but still those men had not given up chasing her. It was aggravating. There was a consequence for faith not paying attention to the horse; she was thrown out of the saddle, hitting the ground with a loud and tremendous thud. A groan escaped through her parted lips.
 
“There she is!”
“Grab her!”
She pulled her self up, moving to her knees. Things were not looking good. She stood, her legs shaking beneath her. She could see them, their horse panting as much as she had felt hers,only moments before.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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