Other Fan Fiction ❯ Black Roses ❯ A Mother's Love ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: chickenlover2 
Most of the chapters should be about this length. Any author notes attached to the story itself are written for ff.net.
Non Anime: Other Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.24.2006 | Updated On: 05.05.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 220 | Status: Work In Progress
Most of the chapters should be about this length. Any author notes attached to the story itself are written for ff.net.
Non Anime: Other Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.24.2006 | Updated On: 05.05.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 220 | Status: Work In Progress
It had been several years since the rise and fall of Jack of Blades. The Sword of Aeons now rested inside the home of the legendary hero, Gladiator. Though being married to Lady Grey, the hero preferred to live in his home in Hook Coast.
That is not to say, however, that he had no intimate relationship with Lady Grey. They had become familiar with each other soon after their marriage. And so, Lady Grey produced her one and only child. To her disappointment, a boy. There would be no future Lady Grey, for the current one refused to have another “hell born screamer” come from her body.
Gladiator named his son Evange. He had been tempted to name him Brom after his own father but decided not to mix the past with the future.
And so, Evange was born to the greatest and most respected hero in Albion and the beautiful and mysterious Lady Grey. He shared his parents’ common light hair though his was tinted darker than his father’s. He had the dark eyes of his mother but shared most of his face structure with his father.
Gladiator stayed away from his son for the most part. Taking random side quests as he got older. Even Lady Grey began to show her age in time. She was actually older than Gladiator though she would never admit it. She had been able to keep her beauty by donating to various...less respectable chapels.
Evange grew into a life without much affection from either of his parents. Many things were expected of him. He was to be the mayor of Bowerstone and a great hero. Even when he was young the servants treated him as the next great being.
He became a womanizer. Evange didn’t know why but he couldn’t help but adore women. They were almost goddess-like to him. Though not the peasant women in town, they were too dull. And certainly none of the women his parents knew, they were old husks of what they had once been in youth.
No, Evange wanted young, lively, hot headed women. Women who would rather tie him up and slit his throat than shower him with respect and praise. Women not afraid of weapons and monsters.
The boy obsessed so much over what women he wanted that he barely got through hero training in the new guild. This new guild being built on top of the remains of the destroyed abbey in Hook Coast. It seemed Gladiator, the hero of the Guild, wanted it to be closer to home. Though there were women at the Guild, none of them were what Evange wanted. They respected him and would bow to his any request. How dull.
Even if he gave them a little slap on the face, they did nothing but agree to his actions or cower in fear. He wanted something more. Something exciting. Like the life his father had led.
Yet, that was exactly the opposite of what Evange wanted. He hated his father’s shadow over him. Hated his mother’s shadow. The people didn’t understand he was nothing like his parents. He refused to be.
He cared nothing for the well being of the people or his own status. He wanted life the way he wanted and he would do anything to mold Albion to his image.
Anything.
~~~
“Go to sleep, you nasty child!”
The maid straightened her skirt and dared to peek out her door. At which stood the menacing figure of the broad, flat chested Auntie Sal. The head of maids and a rather scary lady when angered. Her giant hands were gripping the door frame so tight the much smaller maid was scared the whole wall would crumble.
“Did you not hear me before?”
The girl gave a nervous grin before backing away. She would have apologized if she could’ve gotten her mouth to start making words again. But she was forced to bow to the woman instead, hoping that it would be enough to escape a hard punishment.
“Too late to start being sorry, little girl.”
The supposed girl stood straight and backed away a bit. It was hard to see her in the dark, but not impossible.
She was tall, not like a giant above men, just tall for a woman. The long dirty blonde hair was tied back in a low ponytail, a sprig of holly (complete with red berries) behind her left ear. Her bangs flopped on her forehead crazily, desperately needing a good brushing. Or a bath. Avo only knew when the servant had last had a bath.
Servant was just a formal term. She was little more than a slave. The only difference between her and the slaves kept in the sheds beyond the house were that she lived in the house, was allowed proper clothes and received one gold per week. Which was quite a bit to a servant.
Auntie Sal advanced with a slow, lazy walk. Her massive feet slightly less graceful than usual. The maid could smell the faint smell of beer on the woman.
“You pest. Come here and understand what it means to be strong!”
The girl turned and ran behind a dresser. She had heard Auntie Sal yell that at other servants before. It usually ended by the girl either being so maimed that she could not do her job properly anymore or with another body to be thrown into the woods for the Hobbes to do away with.
The larger woman came closer, easily seeing the girl’s knees shaking behind the dresser despite the many beers she drank. As she reached for the girl’s head, to pull it up and beat it, a sharp sting came from the back of her knees. She fell forward, on top of the girl. The backs of her knees were bleeding heavily, soaking through her skirt and making her gasp.
The girl shoved the woman off her. She didn’t much like people so close to her, especially this woman.
I have to get away.
The girl skirted Auntie Sal, who lay on the floor, moaning in pain. She was too panicked to grab any of the meager items in the room, and there was no time. Someone would surely come looking for Auntie Sal if she didn’t return by herself.
Just... just don’t die.
So, not knowing what else to do, the girl ran. A dark shape running beside her silently, her only friend.
Am I really such a monster that I keep doing these things?
~~~
“Sire?”
The servant bowed low to the ground, on his knees.
“Sire?”
The servant repeated himself, almost soiling himself as the figure he was addressing turned toward him.
That figure sitting in a plush, over stuffed chair. Firelight from the fireplace on the opposite wall flickering in his eyes weakly, almost making it seem as if a distant fire hid within the darkness of those eyes. The room was dark besides the light from that fire.
The room being roughly the size of a peasant’s home. It’s ceiling invisible from the dark floor. The room was mainly great stone blocks with wood supports scattered in between and a cold wood flooring.
“Sire, the Lady Grey asked for your audience.”
The figure stood, the muted sound of rustling clothes heard over the crackling fire. His foot steps were soft, nearly silent, while the servant’s breath came faster and faster.
“Please, sire. The Lady sent me. I am only a servant.”
The figure was standing over the yielding servant. A long finger ran down the servant’s face, receiving a shudder.
“P-please! Sire, the Lady...”
The servant succumbed to silence as the other man’s finger drifted over his lips. A slow smile slid over the standing man’s face. He enjoyed toying with others. He could nearly feel the intense longing of the other man.
He bent towards the servant’s ear, whispering gently.
“You are a pile of filth. Do you think I would ever want you?”
He straightened and took his finger back.
“Now, I must see my mother. I’m sure she’ll be interested to hear of your affections for me.”
The servant remained on the floor as Evange left through the room’s doors. He let his breathing balance out before leaping to his feet. He knew that only death was waiting for him here, he had to leave.
“Damn you. You are the son of a god and a goddess, but you are no angel. You must be the very essence of Skorm. And I will not let you continue on.”
With his small tirade out of the way, the servant ran out of Bowerstone’s walls. He would make a plan to get rid of Evange, no matter what.
~~~
Evange walked in to see his mother glaring at yet another wench. He gave the girl a once over only to find nothing especially unique or fiery about her. Just another average wench.
“Mother, surely this is not another attempt of marrying me away?”
Lady Grey flicked her glare to her son. Both knowing full well that she had never tried to set up a marriage for Evange. He ignored the look and stood beside her lazily.
“I will be with you in a moment, boy. I am dealing with a domestic issue. Perhaps you should pay attention.”
He didn’t bother hiding the sigh that erupted from his lips.
“Mother, I assure you, if I become mayor, none of these pathetic disruptions will occur.” He turned towards the girl and gave her his most sickeningly sweet smile, “Isn’t that right?”
She shook her head up and down quickly, entrapped in Evange’s smile. He only laughed at her show and leaned back against the wall. Willing to let his mother deal with the issue.
“So what is the problem, girl?”
The Lady’s voice quickly broke Evange’s spell over the girl. Though a light blush remained.
“Oh, Lady Grey, it is...well, a horrible crime. You see, our head maid was horribly injured and one of the lesser maids has disappeared. Poor, dear, sweet Auntie Sal has told us how that wretched lesser maid hurt her while she was only doing her rounds.”
“And?”
“Well, you see, my master is greatly grieved. Auntie Sal is his most loyal maid. She is the only one he trusts to not serve him poisoned food. But now, Auntie Sal is unable to even walk to the kitchen! So he wants to find the maid who injured Auntie Sal and kill her.”
Lady Grey scowled at the girl. She hated these kind of requests. They only wasted man power and turned out to accomplish nothing.
“You may tell your master that I’m not interested in helping him with his revenge. You may-.”
“My master said you wouldn’t be interested. But, there is one more thing about this girl that he said you might find interesting.”
Evange glanced over at the mention of an ‘interesting’ girl.
“You see...a few of the maids have heard of a maid that has been going from master to master. Injuring people along the way. She practices some form of black magic, surely. For the back of Auntie Sal’s knees looked as if they were hit by a metal whip. And...the skin was bubbling there."
She said the last bit very quietly, afraid that if she said it too loud, a summon might appear beside her.
“Interesting, indeed.”
Lady Grey’s eyes were shining, the same light from days gone by coming back to her. The days when she searched for new challenges, new opportunities that she could gain from.
Evange was vaguely interested, as well. But not as much as he would have liked. This killer maid sounded interesting in the rumors, but one couldn’t trust Albion’s rumors very much. They were always so exaggerated.
“You may tell your master that I will be sure to send along someone to find the girl.”
The messenger bowed to the ground, sneaked one last look at the haunting gaze of Evange, and scurried away.
“Well, boy, I suppose I should speak with you now?”
It was rhetorical, he knew, but Evange would rather not be hindered by his mother’s intentions and say what he wanted, when he wanted.
“Oh, no, it’s alright, Mother. I’m sure you have a lot to prepare for the hunt of this little maid. I won’t stand in your way.”
“Evange, dear boy, it is time you take your life seriously. You will both be the greatest hero and the mayor. Though, you aren’t quite worthy of either of these now.”
The boy stiffened a bit as he listened to the old speech. His mother had been spouting this every time she wanted him to do something diplomatic or heroic. It usually ended up with him sliding off to do something completely opposite of what he was supposed to.
He let her talk for a few minutes about the importance of his position. Silently. Waiting for her to finish so he could be off. Away from this home.
“However, this time, it will not be I telling you what to do. You will be leaving for Hook Coast now.”
He prepared to go anywhere but the wretched home of his father.
“This time, you will obey me.”
Several minions seemed to sprout out of the ground, grabbing Evange and lifting him. Lady Grey walked to him with the look of a snake. His own sickly sweet smile mirrored on her face.
“You will acknowledge me as your better.”
The minions suddenly threw him to the ground. Pushing down on him to keep him from rising again. The Lady now stood over her son.
“I expect you will be much more disciplined when you return. I would like a gift as well. Something rare. Something beautiful.”
Evange watched with fury as she faded away. The minions were teleporting him to Hook Coast. This time, he would not be able to get away. He had been defeated. At least, for now.
“I believe that only your head on a platter could be as rare and beautiful as you wish, Mother. So that I shall do.”
~~~
That is not to say, however, that he had no intimate relationship with Lady Grey. They had become familiar with each other soon after their marriage. And so, Lady Grey produced her one and only child. To her disappointment, a boy. There would be no future Lady Grey, for the current one refused to have another “hell born screamer” come from her body.
Gladiator named his son Evange. He had been tempted to name him Brom after his own father but decided not to mix the past with the future.
And so, Evange was born to the greatest and most respected hero in Albion and the beautiful and mysterious Lady Grey. He shared his parents’ common light hair though his was tinted darker than his father’s. He had the dark eyes of his mother but shared most of his face structure with his father.
Gladiator stayed away from his son for the most part. Taking random side quests as he got older. Even Lady Grey began to show her age in time. She was actually older than Gladiator though she would never admit it. She had been able to keep her beauty by donating to various...less respectable chapels.
Evange grew into a life without much affection from either of his parents. Many things were expected of him. He was to be the mayor of Bowerstone and a great hero. Even when he was young the servants treated him as the next great being.
He became a womanizer. Evange didn’t know why but he couldn’t help but adore women. They were almost goddess-like to him. Though not the peasant women in town, they were too dull. And certainly none of the women his parents knew, they were old husks of what they had once been in youth.
No, Evange wanted young, lively, hot headed women. Women who would rather tie him up and slit his throat than shower him with respect and praise. Women not afraid of weapons and monsters.
The boy obsessed so much over what women he wanted that he barely got through hero training in the new guild. This new guild being built on top of the remains of the destroyed abbey in Hook Coast. It seemed Gladiator, the hero of the Guild, wanted it to be closer to home. Though there were women at the Guild, none of them were what Evange wanted. They respected him and would bow to his any request. How dull.
Even if he gave them a little slap on the face, they did nothing but agree to his actions or cower in fear. He wanted something more. Something exciting. Like the life his father had led.
Yet, that was exactly the opposite of what Evange wanted. He hated his father’s shadow over him. Hated his mother’s shadow. The people didn’t understand he was nothing like his parents. He refused to be.
He cared nothing for the well being of the people or his own status. He wanted life the way he wanted and he would do anything to mold Albion to his image.
Anything.
~~~
“Go to sleep, you nasty child!”
The maid straightened her skirt and dared to peek out her door. At which stood the menacing figure of the broad, flat chested Auntie Sal. The head of maids and a rather scary lady when angered. Her giant hands were gripping the door frame so tight the much smaller maid was scared the whole wall would crumble.
“Did you not hear me before?”
The girl gave a nervous grin before backing away. She would have apologized if she could’ve gotten her mouth to start making words again. But she was forced to bow to the woman instead, hoping that it would be enough to escape a hard punishment.
“Too late to start being sorry, little girl.”
The supposed girl stood straight and backed away a bit. It was hard to see her in the dark, but not impossible.
She was tall, not like a giant above men, just tall for a woman. The long dirty blonde hair was tied back in a low ponytail, a sprig of holly (complete with red berries) behind her left ear. Her bangs flopped on her forehead crazily, desperately needing a good brushing. Or a bath. Avo only knew when the servant had last had a bath.
Servant was just a formal term. She was little more than a slave. The only difference between her and the slaves kept in the sheds beyond the house were that she lived in the house, was allowed proper clothes and received one gold per week. Which was quite a bit to a servant.
Auntie Sal advanced with a slow, lazy walk. Her massive feet slightly less graceful than usual. The maid could smell the faint smell of beer on the woman.
“You pest. Come here and understand what it means to be strong!”
The girl turned and ran behind a dresser. She had heard Auntie Sal yell that at other servants before. It usually ended by the girl either being so maimed that she could not do her job properly anymore or with another body to be thrown into the woods for the Hobbes to do away with.
The larger woman came closer, easily seeing the girl’s knees shaking behind the dresser despite the many beers she drank. As she reached for the girl’s head, to pull it up and beat it, a sharp sting came from the back of her knees. She fell forward, on top of the girl. The backs of her knees were bleeding heavily, soaking through her skirt and making her gasp.
The girl shoved the woman off her. She didn’t much like people so close to her, especially this woman.
I have to get away.
The girl skirted Auntie Sal, who lay on the floor, moaning in pain. She was too panicked to grab any of the meager items in the room, and there was no time. Someone would surely come looking for Auntie Sal if she didn’t return by herself.
Just... just don’t die.
So, not knowing what else to do, the girl ran. A dark shape running beside her silently, her only friend.
Am I really such a monster that I keep doing these things?
~~~
“Sire?”
The servant bowed low to the ground, on his knees.
“Sire?”
The servant repeated himself, almost soiling himself as the figure he was addressing turned toward him.
That figure sitting in a plush, over stuffed chair. Firelight from the fireplace on the opposite wall flickering in his eyes weakly, almost making it seem as if a distant fire hid within the darkness of those eyes. The room was dark besides the light from that fire.
The room being roughly the size of a peasant’s home. It’s ceiling invisible from the dark floor. The room was mainly great stone blocks with wood supports scattered in between and a cold wood flooring.
“Sire, the Lady Grey asked for your audience.”
The figure stood, the muted sound of rustling clothes heard over the crackling fire. His foot steps were soft, nearly silent, while the servant’s breath came faster and faster.
“Please, sire. The Lady sent me. I am only a servant.”
The figure was standing over the yielding servant. A long finger ran down the servant’s face, receiving a shudder.
“P-please! Sire, the Lady...”
The servant succumbed to silence as the other man’s finger drifted over his lips. A slow smile slid over the standing man’s face. He enjoyed toying with others. He could nearly feel the intense longing of the other man.
He bent towards the servant’s ear, whispering gently.
“You are a pile of filth. Do you think I would ever want you?”
He straightened and took his finger back.
“Now, I must see my mother. I’m sure she’ll be interested to hear of your affections for me.”
The servant remained on the floor as Evange left through the room’s doors. He let his breathing balance out before leaping to his feet. He knew that only death was waiting for him here, he had to leave.
“Damn you. You are the son of a god and a goddess, but you are no angel. You must be the very essence of Skorm. And I will not let you continue on.”
With his small tirade out of the way, the servant ran out of Bowerstone’s walls. He would make a plan to get rid of Evange, no matter what.
~~~
Evange walked in to see his mother glaring at yet another wench. He gave the girl a once over only to find nothing especially unique or fiery about her. Just another average wench.
“Mother, surely this is not another attempt of marrying me away?”
Lady Grey flicked her glare to her son. Both knowing full well that she had never tried to set up a marriage for Evange. He ignored the look and stood beside her lazily.
“I will be with you in a moment, boy. I am dealing with a domestic issue. Perhaps you should pay attention.”
He didn’t bother hiding the sigh that erupted from his lips.
“Mother, I assure you, if I become mayor, none of these pathetic disruptions will occur.” He turned towards the girl and gave her his most sickeningly sweet smile, “Isn’t that right?”
She shook her head up and down quickly, entrapped in Evange’s smile. He only laughed at her show and leaned back against the wall. Willing to let his mother deal with the issue.
“So what is the problem, girl?”
The Lady’s voice quickly broke Evange’s spell over the girl. Though a light blush remained.
“Oh, Lady Grey, it is...well, a horrible crime. You see, our head maid was horribly injured and one of the lesser maids has disappeared. Poor, dear, sweet Auntie Sal has told us how that wretched lesser maid hurt her while she was only doing her rounds.”
“And?”
“Well, you see, my master is greatly grieved. Auntie Sal is his most loyal maid. She is the only one he trusts to not serve him poisoned food. But now, Auntie Sal is unable to even walk to the kitchen! So he wants to find the maid who injured Auntie Sal and kill her.”
Lady Grey scowled at the girl. She hated these kind of requests. They only wasted man power and turned out to accomplish nothing.
“You may tell your master that I’m not interested in helping him with his revenge. You may-.”
“My master said you wouldn’t be interested. But, there is one more thing about this girl that he said you might find interesting.”
Evange glanced over at the mention of an ‘interesting’ girl.
“You see...a few of the maids have heard of a maid that has been going from master to master. Injuring people along the way. She practices some form of black magic, surely. For the back of Auntie Sal’s knees looked as if they were hit by a metal whip. And...the skin was bubbling there."
She said the last bit very quietly, afraid that if she said it too loud, a summon might appear beside her.
“Interesting, indeed.”
Lady Grey’s eyes were shining, the same light from days gone by coming back to her. The days when she searched for new challenges, new opportunities that she could gain from.
Evange was vaguely interested, as well. But not as much as he would have liked. This killer maid sounded interesting in the rumors, but one couldn’t trust Albion’s rumors very much. They were always so exaggerated.
“You may tell your master that I will be sure to send along someone to find the girl.”
The messenger bowed to the ground, sneaked one last look at the haunting gaze of Evange, and scurried away.
“Well, boy, I suppose I should speak with you now?”
It was rhetorical, he knew, but Evange would rather not be hindered by his mother’s intentions and say what he wanted, when he wanted.
“Oh, no, it’s alright, Mother. I’m sure you have a lot to prepare for the hunt of this little maid. I won’t stand in your way.”
“Evange, dear boy, it is time you take your life seriously. You will both be the greatest hero and the mayor. Though, you aren’t quite worthy of either of these now.”
The boy stiffened a bit as he listened to the old speech. His mother had been spouting this every time she wanted him to do something diplomatic or heroic. It usually ended up with him sliding off to do something completely opposite of what he was supposed to.
He let her talk for a few minutes about the importance of his position. Silently. Waiting for her to finish so he could be off. Away from this home.
“However, this time, it will not be I telling you what to do. You will be leaving for Hook Coast now.”
He prepared to go anywhere but the wretched home of his father.
“This time, you will obey me.”
Several minions seemed to sprout out of the ground, grabbing Evange and lifting him. Lady Grey walked to him with the look of a snake. His own sickly sweet smile mirrored on her face.
“You will acknowledge me as your better.”
The minions suddenly threw him to the ground. Pushing down on him to keep him from rising again. The Lady now stood over her son.
“I expect you will be much more disciplined when you return. I would like a gift as well. Something rare. Something beautiful.”
Evange watched with fury as she faded away. The minions were teleporting him to Hook Coast. This time, he would not be able to get away. He had been defeated. At least, for now.
“I believe that only your head on a platter could be as rare and beautiful as you wish, Mother. So that I shall do.”
~~~