Blood & Water

(Florarest 5th, 10019 ADW - Estessavale Castle, Thelahar)

"Well. Well. Well. What do we have here? One of the Chancellor's little pets?" A sinister voice called from the doorway. The sound of metal gently clicking against the smooth stone floor rang through the room as the man stepped out from the shadows of the doorway, the light from the lit fireplace revealing his being. A cloak of crimson flowed from his shoulders to the ankles of his armored feet, his face hidden beneath the cowl of the cloak. The flames of the fireplace waved wildly before withering away into nothingness as though having been doused by water. Moonlight filtered through the window, cascading over the menacing being. His presence stopped at the bedside of the wounded girl. A gauntleted stretched forth from beneath the folds of the crimson cloak. His fingers gently caressed the soft and delicate flesh of Tindle's neck. "Such perfectly smooth and delicate skin. Would be a shame to see it become marred in any way. I can see why that fool of a Chancellor has taken a liking towards you. A pity for him that he is too occupied with other matters that he wasn't able to keep a better eye on his little pet." The man retracted his hand from Tindle.

Hands grasping at the thick red material of the hood of the cloak, he pulled the cloth back and away from his head. Hair that was a dark brown spilled out from beneath the hood. Flesh the shade of a sickening pale white shone in the moonlight as brown eyes gazed psychotically down at the girl before him. A malevolent grin spread across his lips. The man kneeled down and leant over beside Tindle, his lips coming only scant inches away from her ear. "Are you in pain, little girl?" he whispered, "Good. For this is only the beginning of your pain...Tindle VanMora. By the time I am through with you, not even your friend, the Silent Warrior, will be able to recognize you. Your hopes. Your dreams. Your life. They all end here with the Slayer of Hope."

Tindle watched the form, his words dark and foreboding made her whimper, his movements seeming to flow like liquid. Was it the drug she was given that made him seem this way? Like a wraith, the click clack of his footsteps grew closer and her eyes widened. Palenom. Where was Palenom?

As the hood of his cloak drew back Tindle's eyes grew wide. Those eyes, eyes of death, of madness boring into her, seeing straight through to her soul. She wanted to scream, crawl away, but all she could manage where petrified whimpers and her fingers tightening on the sheets of the bed. She quivered, closing her eyes as the cold tip of his metal covered hand brushed against her skin.

His name. Derrek. The Hope Slayer. Oh Gods... she was going to die! The Slayer of Hope, the monster responsible for countless deaths, destruction of nations. "No... no... no..." Tindle mumbled, her eyes watering of their own accord, the fear seizing her heart and making it smash painfully against her ribs. Tears spilled down her cheeks, her chest rising and falling rapidly, flinching again as his breath continued to fanned across her face. "Please..." She cried. This couldn't be! To live through all she had seen, nearly died, only to be slain by one of the most horrible creatures to ever walk the earth. Xeno had told her about him on the ship to Faldarlin, more than she had known about him other than the stories she had heard from bards at home or from her parents threatening his wrath if she didn't do her chores. The real thing was a nightmare... more so than she had ever dreamed. Those eyes... they weren't human. And he wouldn't let her die quickly. It wasn't fair... it wasn't fair.

Tindle's whole body wracked with trembling, yet no matter how much she wanted to scream and run her body wouldn't move... it was like a stone slab lie over her entire frame. A desperate cry parted her lips, a sob of knowing that even if she could move... she couldn't escape. Not from him.

Seeing that look, the look of absolute terror in her eyes caused the fiend to chuckle. Oh how he never tired of seeing that look, to see a person tremble before his presence knowing full well that they were going to meet a gruesome end. How beautiful those desperate cries were that came from the girl. "No? No what? By all means, cry for help. See if anyone cares to save the pathetic little worm that you are. Cry to your Gods for salvation! See if they listen to your pleas!"

Derrek grasped Tindle by the throat, slowly lifting her up from where she had laid. He grinned maniacally while watching her dangle there within his iron grasp. "Go ahead. Scream! The Gods won't hear you. Nobody will hear you! They care not for an insignificant worm like you! You're all alone! Not even your precious little Xeno will be able to save you from the fate I have in store for you."

Tindle let out a soft squeal as she was grasped by the throat and lifted like she weighed nothing, her feet dangling like dead weights beneath her. She managed to lift a hand enough to encircle his metal encased wrist, her fingers desperately attempting to dig into something, anything... but that action was in vain, for she was too weak to do so. She gargled, sputtering as her airway was clenched firmly closed by his thick hand, and she stared at him, her mouth open and eyes streaming tears. Her vision speckled, making her head spin. Her lungs burned, screamed for air. Tindle closed her eyes, her fingers slowly slipping from his wrist, his words seeming to echo.

His brown eyes danced with sadistic glee at seeing Tindle slowly suffocate. The gurgling sound she made while trying to gasp for air was music to his ears. Derrek loosened his grasp from around her neck, allowing her to fall back down onto the bed. "I must thank you, little girl. Were it not for you, I would have needed to work so much harder to obtain this lovely trinket." The Hope Slayer revealed to Tindle a scroll. "Gornaz had been looking for this scroll for quite some time. He had sent orcs to retrieve this scroll awhile back. How very glad I am that you took this from those orcs. We wouldn't want something so important to be in the hands of the all so mighty Lord of the Demons, now would we? At least not yet."

Landing on the bed with a thud she clutched the sheets, dragging in one precious gulp of air after another. She managed to squirm, as if that one moment in his touch brought her body back to fighting life, and she attempted to scramble away, although it was useless. Her movements were sluggish and off, her eyes still swam like she had drank an entire barrel of her pa's best grape wine. Maybe this was a dream... Gods she wanted it to be, but it felt too real. -I can't die like this... not like this!-

"I don't know what it is!" She spat, her words coming out in a raspy hiss. The Hope Slayer was here for that scroll?! If she had known it would bring the bloody devil to her door she would have left it where it was. "Please... I don't know anything about it... just take it..." Tindle sobbed, still unable to stop her tears. She hadn't known terror... she had known fear, felt it when she had seen that man in her room... felt it when Shade had touched her... but never had she felt such complete and utter terror in all her life. Shade was a creature of mystery... who had saved her life twice... his voice did not evoke complete horror... this man did... and when he looked at you it was as if he enjoyed... no, loved every second of torment he gave. No pity. No remorse. No compassion. They were heartless eyes.

She kept her eyes averted, she didn't want to see them... it was as if she was looking into the very face of the Dark One. -I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I need to avenge my family! I need to help Xeno! I want to see Otaka again! Zabel! Bear! Palenom! Gods, I don't want to die! Please!!- She screamed in her mind.

Derrek's laughter burst throughout the room. "Did you really think I came here to ask for permission to take this scroll? Oh no, no, no. You have it all wrong. Have you not noticed that I already have it in my possession? You see I visited that grotesque place you were staying at and...took the scroll. Then burned the place to the ground. You should have heard the screams of all the people within as I had slaughtered them like the pigs they are! It was like a sweet, sweet melody. There is nothing more satisfying than the sound of a person in unadulterated torment!" His sadistic brown eyes watched Tindle curiously, gleefully absorbing the essence of terror that radiated from her being. Derrek tilted his head and smirked. "You have no idea what this scroll is capable of, do you?" he asked while extracting a small pendant from beneath his cloak. "The knowledge contained within along with this seemingly ordinary pendant, it is the key to unlocking an unimaginable power. I think a demonstration is in order."

Arm extending out, the fiend pointed the palm of his hand directly at Tindle. The room became filled with his dark chanting. An unnatural red glow enveloped the pendant and Tindle's body. A sadistic grin was painted across the psychotic man's face as he watched the girl begin to writhe in pain. "Don't worry, little girl. The pain has only just begun!"

Shaking, jerking sporadically Tindle opened her mouth to scream, but nothing would come out, her body bending in ways she didn't even know it could, her back angling so sharply it felt like her spine was about to snap. Fire, like liquid lightning crawled through her veins, like an army of ants, creeping through the flesh, tearing, ripping... searching. It entered her mind, her head being ripped apart by thousands of shards of glass, searing, digging.

Whatever drug had been in her system didn't dull this. It was immense and mind shattering, she began to forget everything... her mind going numb. She managed some mangled squeals and pain filled sobs through her raw throat, her fingers latching onto the sheets so violently that they tore the fabric, rubbed her fingers raw, her finger tips bleeding.

Then it was gone, and Tindle sprawled out on the bed gasping, groaning, shaking and twitching, her own muscles knotting and twisting of their own accord.. Make it end... Gods... make it end. Blood began to ooze out her nose and run down to the corner of her mouth. This was no dream.

"M... monster..." She stammered through chattering teeth.

The Slayer of Hope could have nearly danced to the rhythmic sound of her cries of agony. Chuckling his hand dropped back to his side. After all he had done to the girl she still had the strength to speak. Derrek expected no less from the apprentice of the infamous Xeno. The Silent Warrior had done a well job in training his apprentice. Derrek grinned. Oh how much fun he was going to have torturing this girl. "I know," Derrek retorted. After having placed the pendant and scroll back beneath his cloak, he reached out and grabbed a fistful of Tindle's golden brown hair. Sharply he jerked her head so that her eyes met his own. "Did you not enjoy the experience? I found you wriggling around like the maggot you are rather entertaining! I would have thought that the apprentice of the great Silent Warrior could handle more than that! Shall we see just how much you are truly able to handle before I end your miserable life?"

"What are you doing?!" A familiar voice called from the doorway. Palenom ran up behind Derrek, a furious look crossed over his face. "This was not part of our agreement! The girl is to be left alone! She is mine to deal with!"

Derrek's free hand snatched Palenom by the neck and squeezed hard. His dark gaze peered into Palenom's cerulean eyes. "Sorry. Afraid I didn't quite catch what you said. Would you care to repeat that?" Palenom's lips parted, a gagged sound escaping from them. He tried to break free from the Hope Slayer's deadly grasp, but was unable to break the man's grip. Then without warning, Derrek effortlessly tossed him to the side. Palenom glared at the fiend. "How dare you!"

"Silence, maggot!" Derrek's voice boomed, "Would you prefer I render you limb from limb! Better yet, maybe I'll just rearrange that beautiful face of yours."

Palenom scooted himself across the floor to get further away from the fiend. "No! Not the face!" "Then you best be quiet!" Derrek looked down at Tindle. Releasing her hair from his grasp, he turns back to Palenom. "You are quite right. This wasn't part of the deal. You got me the scroll in return for this." A small orb rolled from his hands, clanging against the floor and slowly rolling before Palenom. "Eternal youth and beauty is all yours, Chancellor." Derrek slid the crimson hood of his cloak back over his head. Eyes gazing over to Tindle, he grinned at the girl. "I have my eye on you, little girl. We will meet again. When that day comes, you shall wish that I had ended your pathetic existence this night." Demonic laughter erupted throughout the room as the Hope Slayer slowly walked past the doorway and disappeared into the night.

As the sinister laughter faded Tindle rolled to her side, curling into a fetal position and sobbed, the touch of death once again lingering in her soul. Third brush with death. Her chest was aching and her head pounding, but she couldn't stop. "H...he was go...going to... k...kill me..." She bellowed between sobs.

Palenom stared at the object lying against his leg. His cerulean gaze went from the orb to Tindle and back again. Picking the orb from the ground, he stood back up and brushed his clothing off as though they had become dirty within the last few seconds. He frowned as he listened to Tindle's sobs. Everything had gone all wrong! Things weren't supposed to happen this way. Could the night get any worse? He slowly stepped towards the distressed woman. Coming to and sitting down onto the bed beside her, he released a heavy sigh. He really didn't know what to say to the poor girl. "Don't worry, dearie. Everything is fine now. That creepy man is gone now. Did he hurt you any?"

Tindle flinched as the bed shifted with Palenom's weight. "You... you were working.. f...for him?" She questioned, still unable to stop her jerky breathing, but the tears had finally stopped, as if there were no more to shed. "I... I thought you... you were my f... friend."

Indeed, if Palenom hadn't shown up when he did... he did save her life. She owed him that much... but knowing now that he had been employed by that... that creature, it put a huge shadow over her heart. "H... how could you? H... he's a monster."

"Not necessarily working for him, dearie," Palenom interjected, "He is far too brutish for my liking. However, he came to me with an offer I could not refuse. All he wanted was a scroll in exchange for...eternal youth and beauty. He was not supposed to come barging in here like he did! "I am your friend, Tindle darling. I don't always plan to be nothing more than the Chancellor to the King. We humans have such short lives. Naturally when the opportunity to defy the laws of nature was presented to me, I took it. My goals are far too grand to be stunted by a little thing such as age. How was I to know that brute would come after you?" Palenom rolled the orb around within his delicate fingers. He had sacrificed a great deal to obtain this object; he could not let a little thing such as friendship get in his way. The beautiful nobleman rose from where he sat. "You need to get some rest, dearie. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to summon me," he said as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him...