[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Renee pinned back her hair with two jeweled combs. She touched the mirror and ran her hand over her reflection. This woman looks like a priestess, like the goddess I’m supposed to be... Her uniform had been soaked in the rain, so she had changed into a long green dress with wide sleeves and a high collar. The dress was pinned down the center with clasps. She batted the dangling emerald jewels on the combs lightly and smiled. I don’t feel like her, but… It’s all pretty...

Christina stood behind her, holding an overcoat. “I am glad to see you are feeling better, Pandora.” She smiled, “And more than that, that you are finally prepared to venture outside the palace.”

“Yes,” Renee smiled wistfully, “I decided that it was time to find the other three demons. Justin was right, I’m concerned about it, and the best way to solve a problem is to take care of it yourself.”

“Will you be safe?”

“Of course. Lance is going with me.”

“And Justin?”

Renee glanced away, “He won’t need to come until everyone is ready to travel to Rubiihoppou. I will find the others without him. It’s my job as priestess...”

“Is that okay?”

Renee snorted, “I’m sure he’s much happier with that course of action. He can continue with his meetings for the Emperor without worrying about me.”

“Your Eminence?” the male voice interrupted their conversation.

Renee turned toward the door and smiled, “Lance.”

Lance smiled as well. His emerald tunic sparkled, contrasting heavily with his black pants and black sash.

Christina smiled, “Then I suppose we shall meet again, Priestess.”

Renee smiled, “Yes.”

Christina waved and smiled cheerfully as Renee and Lance exited the room and continued down the emerald corridor toward the exit of the palace’s main building.

Lance coughed as they strode through the gardens in front of the palace.

Renee turned to him, “Oh. Are you feeling well?”

“Ah. Yes. I’m fine…” Lance stammered, “It’s just that you look very beautiful, Your Eminence.”

Renee smiled as she smoothed down the dress, “Thank you. I miss my school uniform a little though...”

Lance gave her a warm smile, “Why don’t you show that face more often? It looks the best on you.”

Renee began to blush.

“Ruby, however, certainly does not.” Lance began to laugh.

Renee growled, “Stop making fun of me!” She hit Lance’s arm quickly. “I thought we were friends!”

Lance winced and took hold of his arm.

“Oh…” Renee reached out to him. “Are you okay?”

Lance smiled once more, “No, it’s nothing, Your Eminence.”

Renee lowered her head, “Is it… still hurting from yesterday?”

Lance rubbed his arm lightly, “It’s fine…”

They stepped out of the palace and into the sunlight. Away from the formal fortress that was the palace grounds, the capital of Emeradotouhou was a bustling marketplace. Everywhere she looked were small shops and stalls selling food, clothing, and all sorts of trinkets. Renee smiled and grabbed on to Lance’s arm.

“It’s like a tiny mall…”

“Mall?”

Renee smiled, “It has lots of shops! They can be in a big building or just different stores in the same street complex.”

“Care to buy a necklace for the maiden?”

Lance and Renee turned to the direction of the voice. An old woman sat on the ground with a large golden box filled with rows of jewelry. Her tired face smiled warmly.

Renee smiled, “Oh… How pretty.”

Lance kneeled down and pulled up a necklace, “I’ll buy her this.”

The old woman smiled, “Thank you, kind sir.

“Lance… You don’t…”

Lance handed the old woman a few coins and stood up. He unclasped the necklace and laid it across Renee’s chest. “But, don’t you think it suits you quite well, Your Eminence…?”

Renee put her hand on the delicate gold chain. The charm that hung from it was a small golden tiger holding an emerald sphere in its mouth. Renee turned her head quickly. “Thank you…” she stammered.

Lance pulled Renee toward him, “Your Eminence…”

Renee’s hands trembled. “Lance… Why?”

“STOP! COME BACK YOU THIEF!”

Lance and Renee jumped out of each other’s embrace. A brunette man in a gray tunic sprinted past them. Parts of his tunic were torn and stained red.

Lance’s eyes narrowed and began to glow emerald. “STOP!” he commanded.

The man in the tunic continued to run, either he had not heard Lance or had chosen to ignore him.

Lance’s wings shot out and he sprinted after the man in the gray tunic and tackled him. “STOP!!” his voice rang out.

The man in the gray tunic growled and pulled on a chunk of Lance’s hair. “What are you doing demon, get off of me! Are you some sort of crusader for justice?”

Lance’s eyes continued to glow with the sickening green haze, “YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!! NOT UNTIL YOU HAVE GIVEN YOUR LIFE FOR HIS!!”

“What are you talking about?!”

Renee’s hand shook as she raised it to her mouth, this man… This man had… Even outside of the military camps, even away from Justin’s nightmarish war, this land is full of death and people who kill to keep from being killed. Is no one remorseful here?

The man in the gray tunic grabbed Lance’s sides and flung him backward. As Lance lay sprawled on the ground, the man in the gray tunic stood up. He brushed off his hands and reached for the loaf of bread he had been holding. “I see… You are one of those men in the rice field I attacked yesterday.” He laughed.

Lance sat up, his face stained with blood and tears as he growled. “How can you… How can you… HOW CAN YOU LAUGH WHEN MIKAGI IS DEAD?!”

“Oh… One of them has died…” He sneered, then began to laugh harder.

Lance’s eyes glowed bright green once more. His fangs spilled from his mouth and his wings unfurled again. He put his hands together and formed a glowing ball of emerald light.

The man in the gray tunic stepped backward. “What is this!?!”

Lance shot the emerald bomb toward him. The man in the gray tunic clenched his fists as the orb exploded and surrounded him.

Lance narrowed his eyes. “The murderer is dead.”

As the light began to subside, a male figure appeared through the smoke. The hunched form of the man in the gray tunic rose as he released his wings.

Lance gasped, “You are a demon?!”

The man in the gray tunic scowled, “Being a thief is bad enough, now you’ve forced me to reveal my true self!” He raised his hands and the sky darkened overhead. Hail began tumbling from the sky.

The air became crisp around them, then swirled with wind. The demon in the gray tunic turned his head quickly. An arrow shot past his face and landed only inches from him. His eyes grew wide for a moment, staring at the object of his near-demise.

“Christopher!!!” a male voice rang through the icy air. “The next one will pierce your heart!”

Lance and the demon in the gray tunic, Christopher, turned toward the direction of the voice. A man with a white tunic and black pants stood on the sloped roof of a nearby building. His trembling hands steadied a second arrow against his bow.

“I heard you had returned to town! This time I will kill you!!” He pulled back on the fletching making the bow’s string taut.

Christopher growled, “Damn! It looks like the bounty hunter, Joshua, is back!”

Lance’s eyes glowed more intensely as he clenched his hands into fists, “STAY OUT! THIS IS MY CONQUEST!!!!”

Joshua jumped from the building, his tunic flapping freely in the air and his wings spread from his back. He landed in a crouched position before rising to his full stature. He aimed the arrow right in Christopher’ face. “Move one more inch and I will shoot.”

Lance formed another energy orb within his hands. “GET AWAY!” He shot one at Christopher, then formed a second and shot it at Joshua.

Christopher leaped from the center of the blast. Joshua stood his ground and shot an arrow toward Lance, bursting apart the energy blast. Lance caught the arrow’s shaft and snapped it in half. Christopher landed a few feet away, then jumped toward the other two demons again and kicked both of them in the abdomen. Joshua released his arrows randomly, hoping his unrecognizable targets would end up being Christopher or Lance at this close range.

Renee dropped to her knees as the battle royal raged around her. I already know that Lance is a cardinal demon, but… Christopher… Joshua… She held her chest tightly. It’s difficult to breathe. She took several quick breaths and wrapped her arms around her chest and shoulders. Their names… It feels like I might die... Is this the end for me? Before I even see Minako again? Do I even want to see her? Maybe I do… This feels like the end and I’m only thinking of her… What did Lance say yesterday?

“What a ridiculous thing to say! I don’t need a companion, Lance!” She gripped her hand at her chest. It hurts when I say your name… Why? “Why is this hurting?”

Lance loosened his embrace as he winced and gripped his chest. “It is… how we know that we are connected. Your heart calls out our true names and our hearts call back…”

“When does it stop?” She sobbed. Did it hurt when I said Justin’s name? Has it always hurt? Does it still hurt?

Lance tightened his arms around her again. “I don’t know. We’ll make it through this together, Your Eminence.”

Not just when I say your names… When I hear them… Is my heart calling out to Christopher and Joshua specifically? She fell to the ground. It wants me to call out to them… It wants me to call out Chris and JC… I can’t! If I call them by these different names, it means I’m accepting that they have a place in my heart! I can’t! What have they done for me?! These creatures! If I call them by these other names…

“But he isn’t sickening! I love him!”

If I accept these other names in my heart, is that when the demons start taking away the pain? But Lance… Lance seems like the right name. It’s the one I felt inside. And Justin too… Did Justin’s name even hurt my heart? Was I already hurting too much to notice? That other creature…

“You’re Renee… Aren’t you? I’m Nick, don’t be afraid, Renee. I’m not so scary.”

Is that other creature even called Nick? Or is that the name Minako wanted to call it? Maybe the pain stops when we accept their place in our heart and they accept our place in theirs… When they decide that they want to be called by the name in the priestesses’ hearts… If I called them by those other names, would they…

“If… I… could… pro…tect… her… then… it’s… okay… If… I… take… care… of… her… it’s… okay…”

Do you love your other demons like that, Minako? Are you all involved together? Did you replace me with a gaggle of creatures or is it just that one? Why is that one so special? I don’t think… I don’t think I can accept them in my heart, even if it would end my pain. They’ve done nothing for me! Justin treats me like a plaything, so I can’t accept him… These ones are strangers… And Lance… Maybe Lance, but… No matter what, I have to stop their fighting. Even if I won’t call them those other names, I still need them to beat you. You have to lose, Minako... She stood slowly and began to drag herself toward the three demons.

Lance was the first to notice Renee’s wheezing and struggling body. The emerald glow in his eyes ceased and he folded his wings against his back and ran toward her. “Your Eminence!”

Renee shut her eyes and clenched her hands tightly, “Please… All of you… STOP FIGHTING YOUR COMRADES!!!!!!!”

Christopher and Joshua turned to face her.

“What’s this, woman?” Christopher sneered. “Comrades? As if a bounty hunter and weak ki user deserve to be my comrades!”

Lance’s face began to fill with rage. He snarled. “You mean to tell me… That this murderer is supposed to be my ally!” Lance turned to him and growled, then clenched his fist. “I refuse!” He spread his hands again and formed another energy ball between them. He shot it toward Christopher.

Christopher dodged, and shot an ice shard toward Lance.

Joshua lowered his head, “This is my bounty, ki user!” He raised an arrow and shot it toward Lance.

Lance gripped the shaft and snapped it again.

Christopher grabbed his bread from the ground, "Seeing as you have both spared my life, I will forgive you…” He began backing away from them.

“STOP!” Renee’s voice rang through their ears. “No one is going anywhere. NONE OF YOU WILL LEAVE! LANCE! CHRISTOPHER! JOSHUA!” She clenched her fist. I can’t accept them with those other names… This will have to do…

Lance, Christopher, and Joshua sank to their knees and gripped their chests.

“STOP FIGHTING!”

The sound of hooves pounded in the distance like a metronome. Renee stepped back as a figure on horseback rode toward her and pulled the reins of its horse, forcing it to come to a stop. “Your Eminence, the General has requested you at the palace.”

She looked up at him. “Good! Captain, he has ordered these two demons to the palace as well.”

The captain bowed. “Understood, Your Eminence.”

Two more men on horseback rode up to him. He motioned to Christopher and Joshua, “Bind them and present them to the General.”

They dismounted and began binding the two demons.

“What is the meaning of this, woman?!” Christopher growled, “I will tear you apart!”

“I am not some common criminal!” Joshua growled as well.

Renee pulled Lance from the ground. “Let’s go back to the palace, Lance. They’ll meet us there.”

Lance glanced back at them, “Your Eminence?”

Renee clenched her jaw, “It will be fine.”

~*~

Renee leaned against the wide frame of the window and hugged her knees to her chest. She tapped the dangling emerald jewels of her barrets lightly as she stared across the room. Lance sat beside her on the wide frame. Christopher and Joshua sat on the ground eyeing each other suspiciously.

The echo of Justin’s metallic footsteps banged against the silence moments before he entered the room with Christina attached to his arm. He brushed back his cape as he removed his helmet.

“General…” Lance bowed.

Justin nodded. “Thank you for accompanying Lady Renee out of the palace. It is good to see her putting effort into her duties instead of focusing on the sapphire pests.” He turned to her and smiled, “Lady Renee, it seems you have found two more cardinal demons in Emeradotouhou.”

“It was hardly difficult, Justin.” Renee scoffed.

Christopher growled, “Hold on a moment. Comrades and cardinal demons? What is the meaning of this imprisonment?”

Joshua smirked, “Seems I have been seeking a bounty on one of our country’s saviors.” He chuckled, “Emeradotouhou must be desperate to ally with a criminal.”

Christopher sneered, “Tell the king to provide for his people if he expects me to save him!”

“Perhaps the king would save you if your life were worthwhile at all. There were only four cardinal demons in Topazuseihou, so clearly numbers aren’t important.”

Christopher’s nostrils flared as he growled and clenched his hand.

“Enough!” Justin bellowed. “You serve the Empire! Your petty squabbles are meaningless.”

Christopher and Joshua flinched, then froze. Lance shrank back into the window frame.

Renee rested her head on her knees and mumbled to herself. “I have the same number of demons as Minako, now she can’t win based only on amount...”

“Your Eminence?” Lance turned toward her. Minako… Was this the woman she had cried for? She seems too bitter to cry for her… But...

Renee turned and hung her legs off the window frame. “Listen!” She barked. “We need to go to Rubiihoppou! This isn’t the time to fight among yourselves! For now, all your strength must go into defeating the pitiful demons of Safaiananpou!”

Lance frowned, “Your Eminence… We will battle the demons of Safaiananpou?”

Renee growled, “It is your destiny!” A smirk slowly spread across her lips, “Then… I will destroy Minako…” She crossed her arms, “And you can kill each other afterward if you would like.”

Justin smirked and walked toward her as he clapped his hands, “A fine statement from a Priestess of war. We are destined to defeat those cockroaches.”

Christina stepped forward as well, “Priestess, I sense a strong emerald aura in Rubiihoppou. I believe the final demon may be on your way to the box’s location.”

Renee frowned, “You look concerned. Just tell me why directly instead of dancing around it.”

Christina frowned, “I already warned you that I felt my sister seeping into Rubiihoppou. Her powers would be stronger there if there were cardinal demons there. It is possible that this last emerald demon and this last sapphire demon are in close proximity to each other.”

Renee averted her gaze. “I see… with Minako’s demon…”

Justin crossed his arms and smirked, “It seems you will meet the traitorous sapphire priestess sooner than you had thought… Have you truly become a lady of war?”

Renee clenched her fist, “I will meet her head on with my will. The only one to obtain the box will be me.”

Justin reached his hand toward her, “Lady Renee, let us destroy the pitiful demons and priestess together.”

Renee nodded and took his hand.

He gripped it briefly, then dropped his hold. “I will send for your paladin and return shortly. We will use the overpass and travel directly to Rubiihoppou.”

“Justin!!!!” Renee reached her hand back toward him.

“Soon, Lady Renee.” He turned and exited the room, his footsteps echoing in the corridors.

Christina followed after him as the other three demons in the room stared at their exit.

Renee sat back on the window’s wide frame. Justin, you’re always leaving me, but you’re still controlling all of us... Soon, we will be beside each other on this journey and I will show you who is in charge. She clenched her fist. Minako and I are destined to meet quickly. Good. The sooner she’s destroyed, the sooner I will receive my wishes. And the sooner Justin will understand that I am powerful. Wish number one, I will return to my own world. Wish number two, I will get into my top choice college. Wish number three, I will become a God and rule over this world of pitiful creatures. Minako can’t stop me. My power will be the invincible force that makes Minako, the creatures, and the world suffer.