Post by ShadaAntoinette on Jan 4, 2011 22:55:00 GMT -5
Daylight hit far before she'd wanted it to, streaming into the windows with a vengeance only a hangover would omit. She groaned raggedly and rolled over, but the damage was done. She was wide awake now, and there was no going back to sleep after that.
Downstairs, she heard the muffled sounds of arguing, which immediately brought her to her feet, first concern and then annoyance flickering in her bright green eyes. Who the Hell could be arguing so early in the day? Anyone with half a brain would still be asleep. But no. She clearly heard a male voice and then a female voice, which also brought annoyance to her. What the HELL?!
Stomping downstairs, she entered the library, where the fighting was taking place, only to see Rayflo, and a familiar female face as well.
"Aimee?" Shada asked, incredulously. "What's going on here? Are you two insane? It's barely noon and you're arguing? You're both lucky I'm feeling charitable right now." She snapped, her eyes darkening almost to black.
"Shada. Go back upstairs."
"Nightshade? Amoro, you've stooped...."
"Say and you die, bitch." Shada barked, her fangs peeking from beneath her upper lip.
"Shada. Go. I'll fill you in when I'm done here." Rayflo said, ushering the seething Xurenae from the room. Shada growled at him, but kept walking.
"You better." With that, she disappeared into the kitchen to make coffee. Irritation made her feral, and all she wanted to do was go back into the library and beat that woman into a pulp. But, the promise of caffeine and nicotine won, so when the coffee was done, she headed outside, coffee cup and cigarettes in hand.
She'd just lit her cigarette when the door flew open again, and Rayflo joined her on the porch.
"Hey, I'm sorry about that."
"Not as sorry as she would have been." Shada shot back, taking a long drag.
"..." He said nothing for a moment, but sat down beside her nonetheless. "Aimee had some news."
"Oh yea?"
"Apparently there's a problem and the Revenant Army is supposed to be getting back together. I guess they want my expertise." Shada stared at him for a long moment.
"WHAT?!"
"I don't like it anymore than you do, Shada."
"Rayflo, they can't just do this, can they?"
"I guess they can. Which is why Aimee and I were arguing like that. Didn't mean to wake you, by the way." Shada's lips curled into a snarl but she sighed and drank her coffee before offering him some.
"So, what? Are they recruiting all of us?"
"No." He said simply.
"....Okay...So just..."
"Yea, just me."
"Bullshit." She grumbled, her ears laying flat. "Complete and utter bullshit."
"I know. But my hands are tied." She shrugged, a frown creasing her brow.
"When do you leave?"
"Not sure."
"I see. Well that's just fucking perfect." She stood abruptly, flicked the entire rest of the cigarette out into the lawn and headed inside, slamming the door as she went. Yea, there was nothing any of them could do. And she had no wish to rejoin the army, she was just angry that it had come to this. Alistor and Rayflo diligently watched the news everyday, so she knew what was happening, she just hadn't expected it to be this soon...or ever. They had been disbanded for a reason, and thus bringing them back would do nothing but resurface the reason they had been shut down. The Immortals of this day and age were young and ignorant, she knew, especially if they planned to do this. Foolishness.
She heard Rayflo come back into the house as she entered her room and began to clean it, picking up this and that, Tracing away and returning for more. She wasn't going to stay here and deal with this shit. He was leaving this place, and so would she. There was little choice left. Nothing at all. The others would get along just fine and she knew that, which made leaving that much more simple. Sure she would miss them, they were her friends, but it was time to return home for a time.
Before she had gathered the final load of her things, her door opened.
"You're leaving?"
"No, spring cleaning. What the fuck does it look like?" She snapped at him. "Of course, I'm leaving. Did you really think I would stay here and carry the torch for you? Goddess, Rayflo, you're going off to war, to die! I can't sit here and rot, wondering if you're okay or not!" The look on his face said it all. "Aye, that's how I feel. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings, but I can't sit by and worry about you, I have a lot to do. So I'm going home, to where I belong. This world is not for me, and perhaps one day I'll return here, but....I just don't know anymore."
"You....So just like that you're giving it all up?"
"It's not like that, Rayflo. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe I love you too much to want to see you go. Maybe I'm scared you're going to die. I don't know. But I have to go." She wouldn't look at him, otherwise he would see the blood tears welling in her eyes. It was hurting her to explain to him how she felt. "I'm sorry." She started to Trace away, when he grabbed her arm, which stopped her cold. He pulled her into his embrace and hugged her tightly. Fighting the urge to curl into him, she pulled away, backed up until she was just out of his reach and Traced away, tears coursing down her cheeks.
"Master?" Alistor's voice called from the other side of the door. "You awake?"
"I guess." He hadn't slept in a couple of days, which was encroaching on the time when he would have to leave. "Come in, Al."
"Why are you up here by yourself? We were thinking of going to Johnny's tonight, you wanna come?" Johnny's....No, he didn't want to go there, that's where.... "Hello? Is anyone home in there? I asked you a question."
"I'm not going Alistor." He said firmly.
"And why not?"
"Just don't want to."
"You realize that if I tell Johnny, he's going to come here and drag you from here kicking and screaming, right?" Rayflo rolled his eyes and stared back up at the ceiling. "Look, I'm done trying to talk to you. Now get your ass up, old man, before I have to get rough." Storm gray eyes flickered to his son's face for a moment before he sighed.
"Fine. But I won't like it."
"No one said you had to." Rayflo glared at his son and got up to change his clothes, having worn the same ones for about three days straight.
"I'll be down in a moment." He replied, going into the bathroom.
Alistor nodded and left, walking down the hall to Shada's room. He was surprised to see that her door was already open. "Shada? You here?" No answer. Huh. She must have gone out into the woods. With a sigh, he went back down stairs where Sira and Remus were waiting.
"Master said he will be down in a moment. Remus, would you go find Shada? She's not in her room." The huge Goliathan's eyes turned violet for a moment, but he nodded and went outside to look for the woman, though he knew she wasn't outside either. Wasn't his story to tell. She had gone a few days before, though she didn't say anything to him, or the others for that matter. Still, if Rayflo knew, he would be the one to tell the human.
"Hurry up!" Sira yowled up the stairs, her tail flicking in irritation. "Some of us are starving!"
"Yea, yea, I hear you. God, you people act like you haven't eaten in a week!" Rayflo grumbled, buttoning his shirt as he came down the stairs.
"Master, where's Shada? Remus said he couldn't find her and she wasn't in her room. Did you two fight or something?"
"....Not exactly."
"Well?" The human male demanded. "What happened?"
"Don't worry about it, Alistor. She's....on vacation, I guess you could say."
"Which means she left." Alistor whispered to the were cat. "Wonder what he did this time?"
"I heard that, you little bastard." Rayflo bristled. "It isn't your business, but if you must know, she went home, okay? She left, and I don't know when she's coming back. Just drop it." The tone of his voice was enough to shut the man up, to which Rayflo was glad for once. He entered the garage, slamming the door behind him with a bang and climbed into his car, speeding off into the night. He only had a day or so left before he had to go, and it was clear that the remaining time he had left was going to be Hell.
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"Oh Hell.... where is it...?" She growled to herself. It had to be nearby...she wouldn't have come here if this wasn't, right? She could only Trace to places she'd been before...or to a person who called for her. But this time, she'd made sure not to tell anyone that.
Biting the inside of her cheek, she pressed her hands outward, feeling for the seam she knew was there. When her hand sank through it, she gave a slight gasp of surprise, yanked it back out and stepped through, into her own lands.
Oh, but it was good to be home!
The second her feet planted, she Traced away, back to the castle where she knew, for once, no one waited for her. It was a welcome change compared to the few times she had returned here, though as she gazed up at her aging home, she realized it was time for a change of pace. Things were going to be different this time... she knew it. How? She hadn't gotten that far, but it was true. She was going to take control, run this place as she knew it must be done, and try to forget about everything....as hard as it was going to be. Still... it had to be done.
As she entered Fury, the townspeople began shifting around her nervously, whispering to themselves.
"She has returned!"
"The Queen has returned!"
"What is that she's wearing?"
"Gods be praised, the Queen has returned!"
She smiled to herself, her face heating with a blush under her fur. It had been a while since she had been here, but it felt good to be home, to finally be where she belonged.
The castle. Hellfire loomed over her, which made her pause for a moment before entering, staring upon the ancient visage of the place. She could still see where the repairs had been made to the West tower; the bricks were still new looking, even after all this time.
Two men stood at the castle doors, watching her with a clear level of interest.
"Majesty, we had awaited your return." The shorter of the two said. "Things are just as you left them."
"...Thank you." She said lightly, clasping forearms with the man. "All... all are well inside?"
"Aye, all are well. There was a bit of a problem a few years back, but things returned to normal." Mm. She was glad to hear that, for the most part. As long as they recognized that this place was still hers.... all was well.
"Very well." She bade them to open the doors for her, which was happily done. She turned to look at the splendor of Fury one more time before she entered the building, feeling the familiarity of the place almost instantly. A good sign, this was. She smiled, walking the halls, allowing her essence to permeate the air again, as it had before. As she passed the commons room, heads turned, curiosity peaking. She stopped mid stride and turned, waving at everyone before walking away, amused that in her wake, the gossip stirred.
At last. She turned the knob and pushed open her bedroom door, seeing the spacious formal sitting room, and tears broke. It had been far too long... this place... with everything and everyone still here... it had to be a dream, right?
No. None of the townspeople would have allowed this place to crumble, even if Arnoz had told them to. She had been Queen far before his reign, and while she could tell he had been here; Proof of which was the larger portrait of himself that had been placed over top of the one done of her father, nevertheless, she was happy to be home, and to finally, once again, sleep in her own, lush bed.
Walking up the stairs that lead to her bedroom, Shada got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach which made her stop before she reached the top of the stairs. Something wasn't right.....she just couldn't put her finger on it...
"No... I'm just being silly." She chided herself out loud. "It's just because I haven't been here in a long time." She took a deep breath and continued, opening the ornate door to show her inner chambers. For some reason, she'd been expecting differently from what she saw... perhaps it was because she was used to seeing her room at Amoro Manor, or perhaps it may have been because the room was immaculate... she wasn't sure. But for some reason, the room gave her the creeps.
It should have, she wasn't alone. Sitting on top of the pale green duvet, sat a small package. A MOVING package. Yips could be heard from the inside of the small box, which was jumping around as if it were alive. Confused and a little bit frightened, Shada approached the bed slowly, her claws lightly lifted the lid and.....inside was a small, silvery white wolf pup.
"Now how did you get in there?" She asked softly. The pup gazed up at her with full, bright blue eyes, it's little nose twitching as it sniffed her. A dark green collar of leather encircled it's neck, upon which was a blank, silver tag. "....I'm sure I should be worried about who brought you here... but I'm not." She lifted the pup, looking it over. "Oh... a little male. Hm.." She cradled him, scratching behind his ear. Something wasn't right..this pup was only a month old, but here he was, sitting in her arms, a collar around his neck and everything. How did he get here? Who brought him here? Who had known she was coming home? It didn't make any sense. She frowned, but petted the animal lightly so she wouldn't hurt him.
"How about I call you.....Nyjel?" The pup barked, which made her giggle. "All right, Nyjel it is!" His little tail wagged and he squirmed against her, happily. She smiled and nuzzled him lightly with her muzzle, which he licked. "All right, then, my dear, how about we get something to eat, eh? I'm sure you could use it as much as I could." She set him on the floor, her own tail wagging a bit. Nyjel barked excitedly, jumping around her big paws. She giggled, chasing him around her room for a while. "Come on, Nyjel, let's get something to eat." She started for the door, which he followed her, down the stairs and down to the kitchens.
It had been a long time... but the cooks seemed to remember what she liked, which was good, though a bit surprising at least in her mind. Still, they were happy to see her, which made her smile. Nyjel didn't stray far from her, which was a mite strange, but she gave it no mind. There was something different about him, she could say that much, but he was a pup, thus not a threat. Plus, she found that she was ravenous, thusly, nothing was more important than what she was eating at that particular moment. Everything was.....to DIE for. She chuckled at her own mental joke and popped the rest of the meat into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Mm... there was so much to do.... so much to do. She slid from the chair she sat upon and called for the pup, who barked and bounded after her, making her smile.
"Come one, luv, let's go outside, aye?" Another bark. She chuckled and headed for the garden door, wolf pup in tow.
It was as breathtaking as she remembered, the scents were rich, the colors were just as vibrant as they had been. Oh... she had missed this place most of all. The wind picked up, blowing the faint scent of.... lilies toward her. Smiling to herself, she walked toward the center of the garden, where she knew there was a gazebo, over looking a small pond with brightly colored fish in it.
"Come, Nyjel." She called to her small companion. The pup barked and lopped after her. Her mind wandered then, and she wondered what the others were doing at that particular moment. Time flowed differently here, a day here was but an hour there. The thought put a frown on her lips. Hard to admit, but she missed them... all of them. Sighing, she entered the gazebo, bracing her weight on the old wood. "I am such a bitch." She murmured to herself. Nyjel barked at her feet, and when she looked down, there was a strange white scroll sealed with black wax in front of him. "Oh? For me?" He barked again. Frowing in confusion, she reached down and picked up the scroll, sniffing it lightly to check for poison as well as the original scent of the writer. Unfortunately, she smelled only the ink used and nothing more.
"Very clever." She shook her head as she broke the seal.
'My dear Nightshade,
It has come to my attention that you have returned home. I am sure you have questions as to my identity, and that will come with time.
I sent Nyjel to you as sort of a peace offering, as you and I have been enemies in the past due to certain crimes that have been commited against you. I do hope that you will accept him as such.'
She stopped reading and frowned. How had this person known what name she had given Nyjel? She looked around cautiously, growing angry at the thought of being watched. But there was more to the letter, thus she kept reading.
'I should like to meet with you, if you are interested. Included with this letter is a key. Find the door in the castle in which this key belongs, and surely you will find me. I look forward to speaking with you, Majesty.
I am glad for your return and what good you will bring to the Kingdom of DeEmbrell.
Sincerely, '
She unrolled the rest of the scroll, looking for a name, only to find nothing. No key and no signature.
"Okay.... I think I'm officially creeped out now." She looked down to see Nyjel chewing on something shiny. "Oh, luv, don't do that." She reached down, swiping the key from his small mouth. "Silly, you'll hurt your teeth doing that." He whined, but wagged his tail. "Okay, so we have a little trip to take, eh? Come along, sweetheart." She picked him up, cradling him in one arm as she headed back toward the castle, ready to find out the answer to the mystery.
The writer had said they had been enemies because of the crimes they had commited against her. That left several people, none of which she was in the mood to see at this moment. She grit her teeth, clutching the key tightly in her fist. She hoped this person was none of them. And she hoped she hadn't set herself up for some sort of assassination or something. The likeliness of that was staggering, almost enough to make her NOT want to find out who the mystery writer was, but curiosity got the better of her, so she began to try the key on doors all over the castle. None on the first floor....
Nyjel watched her with his big blue eyes, which shimmered with intelligence. This one was amusing, much more so than the few that his Master had pulled this on....He had to admit that she was taking this easier than the other had, perhaps it was because she was far stronger mentally than the others had been, or because she had no fear of whatever she might happen to find while searching. He wasn't sure. But if everything went as planned, Nyjel would be out of this horribly cramped form before too long. But for now, he was quite content laying in the crook of her arm.
"Bloody Hell..." She grouched. She'd finished the first floor, and had gone up a level to start again. The first door refused to give the key back, so she'd had to break the knob off to retrieve it or risk breaking the key itself. The second door she tried allowed the key to slide into the lock, but wouldn't turn. But the third....the key slid in effortlessly and the knob turned. She paused briefly and took a calming breath and pushed open the door. "Hello?"
"My, my, you found me faster than I thought you would, Nightshade." It was a male voice, but not one she knew."
"Um..... do I know you?" She studied his face for a long moment. He was attractive, in sort of a rugged way, but she still didn't know him, and wasn't impressed by the fact that he seemed to be watching her.
"Perhaps, and perhaps not. That is unimportant." The male replied. "I see you have taken to the pup quite well, I am happy to see this, as he has been quite a pain in the neck for me. But then we all know how you so love your wolves, eh?" Her eyes turned a bright blue.
"That is none of your business!"
"No need to get testy...."
"Who are you and why are you watching me? Why all the secrecy?"
"My name is...." The man paused for a moment, watching her face. "Merihim Iykarea, and that," He pointed at Nyjel. "Is my assistant, Dominick Eleyk." Shada looked down at the pup in her arms, startled. Nyjel...Dominick barked once and hopped down, transforming into a much larger, anthropomorphic version of himself.
"Uhm.... I think I'm missing something."
"Not at all." Dominick said, his voice deep. "Iykarea and I have a job for you, if you're interested in it." She frowned at the wolf man before shifting her gaze back to the other man.
"A job?"
"Indeed. You see, Dom and I are Dragon tamers. But a brood of our dragons have been taken out to the Summer lands of Amaliam and we want them back. Your job is to go there and retrieve the eggs of the dragons there. The elder Dragons had clutches after they had been moved, thus won't return here. We want one egg from each Dragon type to replenish our group." She stared at them for a long time, confused why they were asking her to do this.
"But why me?"
"Because, you, Miss DeEmbrell, are capable of entering Amaliam undetected. We are not. The last time we went there, the Ruby Elder tried to incinerate us. You are the only one we know of that is able to withstand the fire." Dom explained, kneeling before her. She sighed and ran a clawed hand through her hair. This sounded like they were sending her on a suicide mission, and to be quite frank, she had no wish to help them. She didn't know them, though they seemed to know her, which was a little unnerving. The wolf man took her paw in his and gave her a pleading look.
"Please, Miss DeEmbrell. You are our only hope in bringing Dragons back to Blade. They are a dying race, especially the Gemstones. All we ask is that you bring a few eggs back for us." She rolled her eyes.
"Fine. I'll do it. But you are going to tell me just how exactly you know me, and why you have been watching me." She snapped. Iykarea chuckled and rubbed his sky blue eyes.
"All right, fair enough." He began, steepling his fingers in front of his face, bracing his elbows on the arms of the chair where he sat. "You and I were in the Revenant Army together when you were young. You and your sister joined the same troop I had been in during boot camp. After that, you two were split up, and I watched as you climbed the proverbial rank ladder." She frowned, trying to place him on that dirty battle field and failed.
".. I still don't remember you." She replied.
"That is unimportant. The reason I've been watching you is because I knew there was something different about you, that made you stronger than the others of your kind. I wanted to find our your secret. And I must say, it is a doozy. A Hellborn? Your mother must have been one strong willed woman."
"You have no idea." Shada frowned. "Okay, so why contact me this way? Why didn't you just come to me and ask?"
"Would you have agreed if we had?" In all likeliness? Probably not.
"Mm." She shook her head. "I see your point. Very well, I suppose I can do this for you. In return, I want you to watch over the castle in my absence. If I return and you have betrayed me, I will punish you for it."
"Understood." Iykarea replied with a nod. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She turned and left the room to prepare for her journey, Dominick hot on her heels.
Okay, so things had gotten worse.... her mission had gone okay, but getting home seemed like heaven after the time she'd had. Assassin's duty had taken more time than she'd wanted, but at least she'd managed to dispatch several people on her list.
There were more to do...but she just wanted to go home, see Ali and rest for like a week before she had to go after the others. Yea.... a shower was never going to feel soooo good.
The manor was dark, and the werecat wondered how everyone could be in bed, this early at night. It was barely dusk, there was no reason.... She growled lightly to herself and walked up to the door, trying the knob lightly. Locked.
"What the hell?" She whispered to herself. She jumped down from the porch and walked across the lawn to the garage. Lifting the aluminum door, she found both cars were gone. Rayflo's car was unimportant; The man left about a week ago or so. But the other? Alistor must have went out. "...He better be back soon." She said aloud, clenching her hands into fists. Everyone had left this place, except Ali for some reason. It seemed everyone had somewhere to go, except her, and Ali. Which was fine with her. She was quite content spending time with him on his own. Still, she had no idea where he went, or when he would be back. Kinda annoying. So, she sat down on the porch to wait for his return, an angry look on her face.
"Where's the old man?" Johnny asked, setting his plate on the table.
"Called off to war." Alistor replied. "Thanks man."
"War huh? That kinda sucks. Hope he can manage to stay alive this time."
"Eh, he wouldn't let anyone kill him. He's better than that."
"True. But I guess you would know that better than anyone, huh?" Alistor glowered at the man.
"Just what are you trying to say?" Johnny seemed to sense that Alistor was in no mood to chat.
"Never mind. Enjoy." The larger man walked away, leaving him to his meal.
Remus, on the other hand, and Gamma as well, were in pursuit of the devil called Valdek.... his, as reluctant as he was to call the creature that, uncle. He'd taken something from them that was important, and they had to get it back, at all costs.
Downstairs, she heard the muffled sounds of arguing, which immediately brought her to her feet, first concern and then annoyance flickering in her bright green eyes. Who the Hell could be arguing so early in the day? Anyone with half a brain would still be asleep. But no. She clearly heard a male voice and then a female voice, which also brought annoyance to her. What the HELL?!
Stomping downstairs, she entered the library, where the fighting was taking place, only to see Rayflo, and a familiar female face as well.
"Aimee?" Shada asked, incredulously. "What's going on here? Are you two insane? It's barely noon and you're arguing? You're both lucky I'm feeling charitable right now." She snapped, her eyes darkening almost to black.
"Shada. Go back upstairs."
"Nightshade? Amoro, you've stooped...."
"Say and you die, bitch." Shada barked, her fangs peeking from beneath her upper lip.
"Shada. Go. I'll fill you in when I'm done here." Rayflo said, ushering the seething Xurenae from the room. Shada growled at him, but kept walking.
"You better." With that, she disappeared into the kitchen to make coffee. Irritation made her feral, and all she wanted to do was go back into the library and beat that woman into a pulp. But, the promise of caffeine and nicotine won, so when the coffee was done, she headed outside, coffee cup and cigarettes in hand.
She'd just lit her cigarette when the door flew open again, and Rayflo joined her on the porch.
"Hey, I'm sorry about that."
"Not as sorry as she would have been." Shada shot back, taking a long drag.
"..." He said nothing for a moment, but sat down beside her nonetheless. "Aimee had some news."
"Oh yea?"
"Apparently there's a problem and the Revenant Army is supposed to be getting back together. I guess they want my expertise." Shada stared at him for a long moment.
"WHAT?!"
"I don't like it anymore than you do, Shada."
"Rayflo, they can't just do this, can they?"
"I guess they can. Which is why Aimee and I were arguing like that. Didn't mean to wake you, by the way." Shada's lips curled into a snarl but she sighed and drank her coffee before offering him some.
"So, what? Are they recruiting all of us?"
"No." He said simply.
"....Okay...So just..."
"Yea, just me."
"Bullshit." She grumbled, her ears laying flat. "Complete and utter bullshit."
"I know. But my hands are tied." She shrugged, a frown creasing her brow.
"When do you leave?"
"Not sure."
"I see. Well that's just fucking perfect." She stood abruptly, flicked the entire rest of the cigarette out into the lawn and headed inside, slamming the door as she went. Yea, there was nothing any of them could do. And she had no wish to rejoin the army, she was just angry that it had come to this. Alistor and Rayflo diligently watched the news everyday, so she knew what was happening, she just hadn't expected it to be this soon...or ever. They had been disbanded for a reason, and thus bringing them back would do nothing but resurface the reason they had been shut down. The Immortals of this day and age were young and ignorant, she knew, especially if they planned to do this. Foolishness.
She heard Rayflo come back into the house as she entered her room and began to clean it, picking up this and that, Tracing away and returning for more. She wasn't going to stay here and deal with this shit. He was leaving this place, and so would she. There was little choice left. Nothing at all. The others would get along just fine and she knew that, which made leaving that much more simple. Sure she would miss them, they were her friends, but it was time to return home for a time.
Before she had gathered the final load of her things, her door opened.
"You're leaving?"
"No, spring cleaning. What the fuck does it look like?" She snapped at him. "Of course, I'm leaving. Did you really think I would stay here and carry the torch for you? Goddess, Rayflo, you're going off to war, to die! I can't sit here and rot, wondering if you're okay or not!" The look on his face said it all. "Aye, that's how I feel. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings, but I can't sit by and worry about you, I have a lot to do. So I'm going home, to where I belong. This world is not for me, and perhaps one day I'll return here, but....I just don't know anymore."
"You....So just like that you're giving it all up?"
"It's not like that, Rayflo. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe I love you too much to want to see you go. Maybe I'm scared you're going to die. I don't know. But I have to go." She wouldn't look at him, otherwise he would see the blood tears welling in her eyes. It was hurting her to explain to him how she felt. "I'm sorry." She started to Trace away, when he grabbed her arm, which stopped her cold. He pulled her into his embrace and hugged her tightly. Fighting the urge to curl into him, she pulled away, backed up until she was just out of his reach and Traced away, tears coursing down her cheeks.
"Master?" Alistor's voice called from the other side of the door. "You awake?"
"I guess." He hadn't slept in a couple of days, which was encroaching on the time when he would have to leave. "Come in, Al."
"Why are you up here by yourself? We were thinking of going to Johnny's tonight, you wanna come?" Johnny's....No, he didn't want to go there, that's where.... "Hello? Is anyone home in there? I asked you a question."
"I'm not going Alistor." He said firmly.
"And why not?"
"Just don't want to."
"You realize that if I tell Johnny, he's going to come here and drag you from here kicking and screaming, right?" Rayflo rolled his eyes and stared back up at the ceiling. "Look, I'm done trying to talk to you. Now get your ass up, old man, before I have to get rough." Storm gray eyes flickered to his son's face for a moment before he sighed.
"Fine. But I won't like it."
"No one said you had to." Rayflo glared at his son and got up to change his clothes, having worn the same ones for about three days straight.
"I'll be down in a moment." He replied, going into the bathroom.
Alistor nodded and left, walking down the hall to Shada's room. He was surprised to see that her door was already open. "Shada? You here?" No answer. Huh. She must have gone out into the woods. With a sigh, he went back down stairs where Sira and Remus were waiting.
"Master said he will be down in a moment. Remus, would you go find Shada? She's not in her room." The huge Goliathan's eyes turned violet for a moment, but he nodded and went outside to look for the woman, though he knew she wasn't outside either. Wasn't his story to tell. She had gone a few days before, though she didn't say anything to him, or the others for that matter. Still, if Rayflo knew, he would be the one to tell the human.
"Hurry up!" Sira yowled up the stairs, her tail flicking in irritation. "Some of us are starving!"
"Yea, yea, I hear you. God, you people act like you haven't eaten in a week!" Rayflo grumbled, buttoning his shirt as he came down the stairs.
"Master, where's Shada? Remus said he couldn't find her and she wasn't in her room. Did you two fight or something?"
"....Not exactly."
"Well?" The human male demanded. "What happened?"
"Don't worry about it, Alistor. She's....on vacation, I guess you could say."
"Which means she left." Alistor whispered to the were cat. "Wonder what he did this time?"
"I heard that, you little bastard." Rayflo bristled. "It isn't your business, but if you must know, she went home, okay? She left, and I don't know when she's coming back. Just drop it." The tone of his voice was enough to shut the man up, to which Rayflo was glad for once. He entered the garage, slamming the door behind him with a bang and climbed into his car, speeding off into the night. He only had a day or so left before he had to go, and it was clear that the remaining time he had left was going to be Hell.
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"Oh Hell.... where is it...?" She growled to herself. It had to be nearby...she wouldn't have come here if this wasn't, right? She could only Trace to places she'd been before...or to a person who called for her. But this time, she'd made sure not to tell anyone that.
Biting the inside of her cheek, she pressed her hands outward, feeling for the seam she knew was there. When her hand sank through it, she gave a slight gasp of surprise, yanked it back out and stepped through, into her own lands.
Oh, but it was good to be home!
The second her feet planted, she Traced away, back to the castle where she knew, for once, no one waited for her. It was a welcome change compared to the few times she had returned here, though as she gazed up at her aging home, she realized it was time for a change of pace. Things were going to be different this time... she knew it. How? She hadn't gotten that far, but it was true. She was going to take control, run this place as she knew it must be done, and try to forget about everything....as hard as it was going to be. Still... it had to be done.
As she entered Fury, the townspeople began shifting around her nervously, whispering to themselves.
"She has returned!"
"The Queen has returned!"
"What is that she's wearing?"
"Gods be praised, the Queen has returned!"
She smiled to herself, her face heating with a blush under her fur. It had been a while since she had been here, but it felt good to be home, to finally be where she belonged.
The castle. Hellfire loomed over her, which made her pause for a moment before entering, staring upon the ancient visage of the place. She could still see where the repairs had been made to the West tower; the bricks were still new looking, even after all this time.
Two men stood at the castle doors, watching her with a clear level of interest.
"Majesty, we had awaited your return." The shorter of the two said. "Things are just as you left them."
"...Thank you." She said lightly, clasping forearms with the man. "All... all are well inside?"
"Aye, all are well. There was a bit of a problem a few years back, but things returned to normal." Mm. She was glad to hear that, for the most part. As long as they recognized that this place was still hers.... all was well.
"Very well." She bade them to open the doors for her, which was happily done. She turned to look at the splendor of Fury one more time before she entered the building, feeling the familiarity of the place almost instantly. A good sign, this was. She smiled, walking the halls, allowing her essence to permeate the air again, as it had before. As she passed the commons room, heads turned, curiosity peaking. She stopped mid stride and turned, waving at everyone before walking away, amused that in her wake, the gossip stirred.
At last. She turned the knob and pushed open her bedroom door, seeing the spacious formal sitting room, and tears broke. It had been far too long... this place... with everything and everyone still here... it had to be a dream, right?
No. None of the townspeople would have allowed this place to crumble, even if Arnoz had told them to. She had been Queen far before his reign, and while she could tell he had been here; Proof of which was the larger portrait of himself that had been placed over top of the one done of her father, nevertheless, she was happy to be home, and to finally, once again, sleep in her own, lush bed.
Walking up the stairs that lead to her bedroom, Shada got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach which made her stop before she reached the top of the stairs. Something wasn't right.....she just couldn't put her finger on it...
"No... I'm just being silly." She chided herself out loud. "It's just because I haven't been here in a long time." She took a deep breath and continued, opening the ornate door to show her inner chambers. For some reason, she'd been expecting differently from what she saw... perhaps it was because she was used to seeing her room at Amoro Manor, or perhaps it may have been because the room was immaculate... she wasn't sure. But for some reason, the room gave her the creeps.
It should have, she wasn't alone. Sitting on top of the pale green duvet, sat a small package. A MOVING package. Yips could be heard from the inside of the small box, which was jumping around as if it were alive. Confused and a little bit frightened, Shada approached the bed slowly, her claws lightly lifted the lid and.....inside was a small, silvery white wolf pup.
"Now how did you get in there?" She asked softly. The pup gazed up at her with full, bright blue eyes, it's little nose twitching as it sniffed her. A dark green collar of leather encircled it's neck, upon which was a blank, silver tag. "....I'm sure I should be worried about who brought you here... but I'm not." She lifted the pup, looking it over. "Oh... a little male. Hm.." She cradled him, scratching behind his ear. Something wasn't right..this pup was only a month old, but here he was, sitting in her arms, a collar around his neck and everything. How did he get here? Who brought him here? Who had known she was coming home? It didn't make any sense. She frowned, but petted the animal lightly so she wouldn't hurt him.
"How about I call you.....Nyjel?" The pup barked, which made her giggle. "All right, Nyjel it is!" His little tail wagged and he squirmed against her, happily. She smiled and nuzzled him lightly with her muzzle, which he licked. "All right, then, my dear, how about we get something to eat, eh? I'm sure you could use it as much as I could." She set him on the floor, her own tail wagging a bit. Nyjel barked excitedly, jumping around her big paws. She giggled, chasing him around her room for a while. "Come on, Nyjel, let's get something to eat." She started for the door, which he followed her, down the stairs and down to the kitchens.
It had been a long time... but the cooks seemed to remember what she liked, which was good, though a bit surprising at least in her mind. Still, they were happy to see her, which made her smile. Nyjel didn't stray far from her, which was a mite strange, but she gave it no mind. There was something different about him, she could say that much, but he was a pup, thus not a threat. Plus, she found that she was ravenous, thusly, nothing was more important than what she was eating at that particular moment. Everything was.....to DIE for. She chuckled at her own mental joke and popped the rest of the meat into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Mm... there was so much to do.... so much to do. She slid from the chair she sat upon and called for the pup, who barked and bounded after her, making her smile.
"Come one, luv, let's go outside, aye?" Another bark. She chuckled and headed for the garden door, wolf pup in tow.
It was as breathtaking as she remembered, the scents were rich, the colors were just as vibrant as they had been. Oh... she had missed this place most of all. The wind picked up, blowing the faint scent of.... lilies toward her. Smiling to herself, she walked toward the center of the garden, where she knew there was a gazebo, over looking a small pond with brightly colored fish in it.
"Come, Nyjel." She called to her small companion. The pup barked and lopped after her. Her mind wandered then, and she wondered what the others were doing at that particular moment. Time flowed differently here, a day here was but an hour there. The thought put a frown on her lips. Hard to admit, but she missed them... all of them. Sighing, she entered the gazebo, bracing her weight on the old wood. "I am such a bitch." She murmured to herself. Nyjel barked at her feet, and when she looked down, there was a strange white scroll sealed with black wax in front of him. "Oh? For me?" He barked again. Frowing in confusion, she reached down and picked up the scroll, sniffing it lightly to check for poison as well as the original scent of the writer. Unfortunately, she smelled only the ink used and nothing more.
"Very clever." She shook her head as she broke the seal.
'My dear Nightshade,
It has come to my attention that you have returned home. I am sure you have questions as to my identity, and that will come with time.
I sent Nyjel to you as sort of a peace offering, as you and I have been enemies in the past due to certain crimes that have been commited against you. I do hope that you will accept him as such.'
She stopped reading and frowned. How had this person known what name she had given Nyjel? She looked around cautiously, growing angry at the thought of being watched. But there was more to the letter, thus she kept reading.
'I should like to meet with you, if you are interested. Included with this letter is a key. Find the door in the castle in which this key belongs, and surely you will find me. I look forward to speaking with you, Majesty.
I am glad for your return and what good you will bring to the Kingdom of DeEmbrell.
Sincerely, '
She unrolled the rest of the scroll, looking for a name, only to find nothing. No key and no signature.
"Okay.... I think I'm officially creeped out now." She looked down to see Nyjel chewing on something shiny. "Oh, luv, don't do that." She reached down, swiping the key from his small mouth. "Silly, you'll hurt your teeth doing that." He whined, but wagged his tail. "Okay, so we have a little trip to take, eh? Come along, sweetheart." She picked him up, cradling him in one arm as she headed back toward the castle, ready to find out the answer to the mystery.
The writer had said they had been enemies because of the crimes they had commited against her. That left several people, none of which she was in the mood to see at this moment. She grit her teeth, clutching the key tightly in her fist. She hoped this person was none of them. And she hoped she hadn't set herself up for some sort of assassination or something. The likeliness of that was staggering, almost enough to make her NOT want to find out who the mystery writer was, but curiosity got the better of her, so she began to try the key on doors all over the castle. None on the first floor....
Nyjel watched her with his big blue eyes, which shimmered with intelligence. This one was amusing, much more so than the few that his Master had pulled this on....He had to admit that she was taking this easier than the other had, perhaps it was because she was far stronger mentally than the others had been, or because she had no fear of whatever she might happen to find while searching. He wasn't sure. But if everything went as planned, Nyjel would be out of this horribly cramped form before too long. But for now, he was quite content laying in the crook of her arm.
"Bloody Hell..." She grouched. She'd finished the first floor, and had gone up a level to start again. The first door refused to give the key back, so she'd had to break the knob off to retrieve it or risk breaking the key itself. The second door she tried allowed the key to slide into the lock, but wouldn't turn. But the third....the key slid in effortlessly and the knob turned. She paused briefly and took a calming breath and pushed open the door. "Hello?"
"My, my, you found me faster than I thought you would, Nightshade." It was a male voice, but not one she knew."
"Um..... do I know you?" She studied his face for a long moment. He was attractive, in sort of a rugged way, but she still didn't know him, and wasn't impressed by the fact that he seemed to be watching her.
"Perhaps, and perhaps not. That is unimportant." The male replied. "I see you have taken to the pup quite well, I am happy to see this, as he has been quite a pain in the neck for me. But then we all know how you so love your wolves, eh?" Her eyes turned a bright blue.
"That is none of your business!"
"No need to get testy...."
"Who are you and why are you watching me? Why all the secrecy?"
"My name is...." The man paused for a moment, watching her face. "Merihim Iykarea, and that," He pointed at Nyjel. "Is my assistant, Dominick Eleyk." Shada looked down at the pup in her arms, startled. Nyjel...Dominick barked once and hopped down, transforming into a much larger, anthropomorphic version of himself.
"Uhm.... I think I'm missing something."
"Not at all." Dominick said, his voice deep. "Iykarea and I have a job for you, if you're interested in it." She frowned at the wolf man before shifting her gaze back to the other man.
"A job?"
"Indeed. You see, Dom and I are Dragon tamers. But a brood of our dragons have been taken out to the Summer lands of Amaliam and we want them back. Your job is to go there and retrieve the eggs of the dragons there. The elder Dragons had clutches after they had been moved, thus won't return here. We want one egg from each Dragon type to replenish our group." She stared at them for a long time, confused why they were asking her to do this.
"But why me?"
"Because, you, Miss DeEmbrell, are capable of entering Amaliam undetected. We are not. The last time we went there, the Ruby Elder tried to incinerate us. You are the only one we know of that is able to withstand the fire." Dom explained, kneeling before her. She sighed and ran a clawed hand through her hair. This sounded like they were sending her on a suicide mission, and to be quite frank, she had no wish to help them. She didn't know them, though they seemed to know her, which was a little unnerving. The wolf man took her paw in his and gave her a pleading look.
"Please, Miss DeEmbrell. You are our only hope in bringing Dragons back to Blade. They are a dying race, especially the Gemstones. All we ask is that you bring a few eggs back for us." She rolled her eyes.
"Fine. I'll do it. But you are going to tell me just how exactly you know me, and why you have been watching me." She snapped. Iykarea chuckled and rubbed his sky blue eyes.
"All right, fair enough." He began, steepling his fingers in front of his face, bracing his elbows on the arms of the chair where he sat. "You and I were in the Revenant Army together when you were young. You and your sister joined the same troop I had been in during boot camp. After that, you two were split up, and I watched as you climbed the proverbial rank ladder." She frowned, trying to place him on that dirty battle field and failed.
".. I still don't remember you." She replied.
"That is unimportant. The reason I've been watching you is because I knew there was something different about you, that made you stronger than the others of your kind. I wanted to find our your secret. And I must say, it is a doozy. A Hellborn? Your mother must have been one strong willed woman."
"You have no idea." Shada frowned. "Okay, so why contact me this way? Why didn't you just come to me and ask?"
"Would you have agreed if we had?" In all likeliness? Probably not.
"Mm." She shook her head. "I see your point. Very well, I suppose I can do this for you. In return, I want you to watch over the castle in my absence. If I return and you have betrayed me, I will punish you for it."
"Understood." Iykarea replied with a nod. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She turned and left the room to prepare for her journey, Dominick hot on her heels.
Okay, so things had gotten worse.... her mission had gone okay, but getting home seemed like heaven after the time she'd had. Assassin's duty had taken more time than she'd wanted, but at least she'd managed to dispatch several people on her list.
There were more to do...but she just wanted to go home, see Ali and rest for like a week before she had to go after the others. Yea.... a shower was never going to feel soooo good.
The manor was dark, and the werecat wondered how everyone could be in bed, this early at night. It was barely dusk, there was no reason.... She growled lightly to herself and walked up to the door, trying the knob lightly. Locked.
"What the hell?" She whispered to herself. She jumped down from the porch and walked across the lawn to the garage. Lifting the aluminum door, she found both cars were gone. Rayflo's car was unimportant; The man left about a week ago or so. But the other? Alistor must have went out. "...He better be back soon." She said aloud, clenching her hands into fists. Everyone had left this place, except Ali for some reason. It seemed everyone had somewhere to go, except her, and Ali. Which was fine with her. She was quite content spending time with him on his own. Still, she had no idea where he went, or when he would be back. Kinda annoying. So, she sat down on the porch to wait for his return, an angry look on her face.
"Where's the old man?" Johnny asked, setting his plate on the table.
"Called off to war." Alistor replied. "Thanks man."
"War huh? That kinda sucks. Hope he can manage to stay alive this time."
"Eh, he wouldn't let anyone kill him. He's better than that."
"True. But I guess you would know that better than anyone, huh?" Alistor glowered at the man.
"Just what are you trying to say?" Johnny seemed to sense that Alistor was in no mood to chat.
"Never mind. Enjoy." The larger man walked away, leaving him to his meal.
Remus, on the other hand, and Gamma as well, were in pursuit of the devil called Valdek.... his, as reluctant as he was to call the creature that, uncle. He'd taken something from them that was important, and they had to get it back, at all costs.
