Other Fan Fiction ❯ Black Roses ❯ It's Alright ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Helpless eyes surveyed the damage. Saw so many broken things. Coated in hollow shells that managed to stay upright. Everything... It was all wrong.
And there he stood. Among the broken, he was king.
His eyes were so empty and his smile numb. A body that did not feel and a soul that was lost. A mind that refused to think of his broken state.
She cried out for him and he turned to her, bloody tears dripping down his face. She tried to hold him, comfort him. He pushed away, smile painted on his lips.
“It’s alright.”
Violet scales fell from the clear sky and he lifted his hands to catch them. The scales broke on his hands and his laugh was hollow.
“It’s alright.”

Things faded to a pale yellow, leaves replacing the falling scales. Low, mumbling voices replaced the hollow laugh. In truth, it was a relief.
Leah wiped her eyes, faintly annoyed that her company had woken before her. She hadn’t wanted to look weak in front of them. Yet, here she was, sleeping, probably drooling. The girl stood from her makeshift bed of leaves and brushed herself off.
The woman mercenary, Mariah, sauntered over, a small bottle of cider in one hand. She offered it to Leah, who took it gratefully.
“You were twitchin’ a lot.”
Leah choked on her mouthful, Mariah looking the other way with a distant expression. The other mercenary at camp, Gavin, ignored the women. He focused on sorting through his bag, occasionally throwing objects out of it.
“Were you dreamin’?”
“Dreaming?” Leah had managed to swallow the cider and talk.
Mariah nodded, though she was already walking away. Leah frowned, taking a sip of the cider.
Why did she ask if she didn’t have the time to wait?
Leah finished off her cider, tucking the bottle into her robes, just in case. The four mercenaries had packed up and were already starting to leave, not caring if Leah was following or not. The girl looked around, making sure she didn’t leave anything. She sighed as she realized she had nothing to leave behind.
Well... Finding Kuyo fast is the important thing. And without anything to carry, I’m much faster...
The girl looked down, scooping up a leaf before jogging after the others.
“...It can’t hurt to have something to carry.”

~~~

Leah sat on a tree stump, waiting to hear the information the others had gathered. They had told her not to help. Obviously, they didn’t think she was capable of even asking questions. It was rather offensive to the girl.
Of course, she had hired them to do the work. But that didn’t mean Leah didn’t want some part in it.
“Looks like we’ve got a few places we can check out. All of them have had strange behavior...” It was another of her mercenaries, Caden. “In Hook Coast, Gladiator is-.”
“Next.”
Caden frowned, thinking Leah was being rash, “Strange ships have been spotted around Knothole Glade’s island. Nothing has been done, however, in the past few months of the sightings.”
Ships? Maybe Kuyo’s on one of them?
Mariah spoke up, “There’s the usual Darkwood crap, too.”
Leah looked up expectantly, frustrated when Mariah didn’t elaborate. Caden picked up the slack.
“Just rumors of people disappearing. Guards have been assigned to groups of traders and Lady Grey denies anyone disappearing. It’s very typical Darkwood stuff.”
“Except that this ‘stuff’ hasn’t happened in some twenty years.” Yet another of the mercenaries, Brian, added his voice.
“So, doesn’t that seem suspicious? I mean, my friend,” Leah hadn’t mentioned Kuyo being a dragon, “Disappears and Darkwood suddenly becomes the place it once was?”
“So, we headin’ there?”
There was hardly a need to ask, the party was already on it’s feet and walking. Lucky enough for them, they were in Greatwood. Which happened to be very near their destination.
And the broken boy of Leah’s dreams.

~~~

Gladiator rested his head in his hands, tired of the search already. Despite the Guild’s help, no clues had been found leading to Evange. People that knew the whereabouts of vagrants were reluctant to talk to the authorities.
The citizens of Hook Coast had offered their help, but Gladiator had turned them down. He didn’t want them involved with Evange, they were too precious to him.
“Sir?”
Gladiator looked up, placing a tired smile on his lips.
“You shouldn’t be walking outdoors, Elisa.”
“I just brought you some biscuits. They’re cold... But I’ll set them by the fire and they’ll be warm soon.”
Gladiator watched as the girl kneeled by his fire. Though Elisa had survived, she refused to talk about what happened. Her uncles had tried to ask her, but every time they did, Elisa would take refuge at Gladiator or Marta’s homes. Despite their own curiosity, the innkeeper and the hero didn’t question Elisa.
However, because of Elisa’s silence, Gladiator knew he was missing out on vital information. The hero was sickened by himself, for he had reoccurring doubts about Evange’s guilt. He knew if Elisa could just tell him Evange had attacked her then Gladiator could truly go after Evange. But now, the hero wasn’t sure if he could strike the final blow against Evange. That indecision could kill him in a fight.
“Have you had any luck, sir?”
“Not yet. But it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Elisa smiled as she gathered her cloak around her, “I’m not worried. I’m sure you’ll have some luck, soon.”
Elisa quietly shut the door behind her, retreating back to her home.
It seems like nothing happened to her... She’s much stronger than I thought.
Gladiator sighed, forcing himself back to thinking about the search. He didn’t realize that his eyelids were so heavy before. Or when they began to slide close.
The hero was awoken by the smell of the biscuits burning.

~~~

“Should we split up, or take the main path then double back?” Gavin idly tightened the straps of his bag.
“We’ll split up. Who’ll stay with her?” Caden motioned to Leah.
“I can take care of myself.”
Do they think I’m stupid or weak?
Leah crossed her arms, looking away. Mariah opened her mouth to talk around her bite of carrot.
“I’ll stick with her. Let’s meet up at the trader’s camp.”
The woman was already walking, absently pulling on Leah’s arm. The other three wasted no time and split off to search for signs of their employer’s friend.
Leah was relieved that Mariah chose not to speak. The mercenary didn’t seem very tactful when she did talk. And Leah didn’t want to deal with that at the moment.
I wonder if Kuyo’s trapped here? This place is so depressing. I hope he’s not here, even if that means I have to search longer.
Leah let her eyes drift over the twisted trees, making an attempt to look for signs of Kuyo. Mariah didn’t seem to be doing a very thorough job, occasionally looking behind trees or rocks, but otherwise sticking to the path with eyes to the sky.
“Um, shouldn’t we be looking a bit... harder?”
“Don’t tell me how to do my job.”
Jeez, she’s sensitive about that.
The women passed through Darkwood with no major mishaps since they had taken the main road. There were large groups of traders that passed them, accompanied by Bowerstone guards. Leah pressed on, passing the groups while Mariah found she needed to constantly start conversations with the people instead of search. Leah was grinding her teeth in annoyance, ready to fire the mercenary where she stood when thunder rumbled over them. A split second afterwards, something flew across the road, hitting a giant stone and falling to the ground. The stench of burning flesh assaulted Leah and several traders were starting to gag. Mariah had walked over with some of the guards, checking out what it was. After several long minutes examining the corpse, Mariah hurried back to Leah.
“It’s one of the guys. Gavin.”
“What?”
He’s dead? But... how?
“I said-.”
“I know what you said! Are you sure it’s him?”
Mariah motioned to the body, “Go check for yourself.”
“Uh, that’s okay. I believe you.”
A guard hastened over, “You two aren’t traders. I’ll be taking you to Bowerstone Jail.”
He grabbed a hold of Leah’s sleeve and reached for Mariah. The mercenary quickly analyzed the situation and decided it would be best if she ran. So, Mariah had ducked away from the guard and ran into the dense woods. Leah looked after her helplessly.
Great. Now, what’s going to happen to me?
“Um, I think you have me mistak-.”
The guard ignored her words, pulling her along roughly. Other guards were already ushering the traders away, sword and crossbows in hand.
“There’s another one over here!”
Leah’s guard dragged her along to examine what his fellows had found. The girl gasped as she saw another charred body. She wanted to deny she knew who it was, but the lifeless eyes that stared up at her were undeniably Brian’s.
“Huh. Looks the same as the other one. Anyway, it’s not a trader, so dump it somewhere it won’t be found.”
“What?! You can’t do that!”
Leah was disgusted by the guard’s lack of sensitivity. So much so that she didn’t hesitate to confront him.
“What did you catch?”
“Just some girl. I thought I’d blame this mess on her and the Lady would give us a nice reward.”
“You mean the Lady would give you a nice reward.” Argued the guard who had found Brian.
Leah felt the pressure on her arm tighten as the guard holding her grew angry. He turned away from the other guard, looking down at Leah.
“Time to go, girl. You’ll have a nice stay before you’re sent to the gallows.”
“Why don’t you try to actually capture the person who’s doing this?!”
Leah leaned back as the guard raised his hand to strike her. A sharp grunt behind him caused him to turn around, only to witness his rival fall to his knees. Loud gasps could be heard as the attacker grabbed his side, swaying after his victory. It took Leah a moment to recognize Caden through the darkness.
“Eh, you’re the one who’s been doing this? Well, I’ll turn you and the girl in!”
The guard threw Leah to the ground, drew his sword and began to charge at Caden. The mercenary staggered, struggling to lift his weapon for a second attack. Leah watched in horror as Caden’s sword fell from his hands, quickly followed by Caden himself. The guard lifted his sword, ready to strike the final blow.
No... What have I done? So many lives lost because of me...
Leah tried to crawl to Caden, ragged breaths torturing her. She winced as she saw the guard swing down.
“No!”
The guard staggered forward as something pierced him from behind. He looked down at his stomach, terror and panic revealing themselves on his face as he saw blood staining his uniform. From his back protruded a long, black shaft, fitted with corresponding black feathers, the tip of this arrow had been able to show itself through the guard’s stomach.
The guard cried out in pain, letting go of his sword and crumbling to his knees. He trembled for a moment before another arrow slid into the back of his neck. The guard collapsed fully, his eyes already clouding over in death.
Leah was frozen, afraid that his would be her fate as well. A low chuckle behind her sent chills up her spine, something familiar tugging at her memory.
Her eyes widened as she realized why the laugh seemed so familiar.
“Evange?”
Silence greeted the girl and she sat back on her heels. Relief coated her, but disappointment was just as strong. Had the girl hoped that Evange had been her savior so much that she had imagined his laughter?
Leah pushed her thoughts to the side, crawling to Caden. She quickly checked the mercenary for life, thankful that he had been spared. Leah braced herself and slid Caden’s arm around her shoulders as she stood.
Oh, he’s heavy!
The girl barely managed to lift them both from the ground but she wouldn’t stay behind in this forest. And she wouldn’t abandon Caden after he had rescued her. So, Leah slowly made her way out of Darkwood.
Evange played with the leaf that had fallen from Leah’s robes. He glanced down at the guard he had killed, glaring in disgust. The boy saw Leah’s slow progress, knowing she’d make an easy target and decided on something.
She’ll only get into more trouble if left by herself. I’ll make sure she doesn’t die before... Before she forgets me.
Evange didn’t bother suppressing the depression he felt when he thought of Leah forgetting him. But he didn’t care what he felt anymore, he knew his life was never meant to be. While hers...
She won’t be a curse on everyone. She can live happily ever after once she’s through all this.
So, the boy followed.

~~~

And there we are. Another chapter for you. :D
As you can see... Evange has come back, even if Leah doesn’t realize it.
I’ll see you next chapter!
...Brian and Gavin really wish I hadn’t killed them off!