Secret Rendezvous

Part 10: Last Song

It's been a week. The island managed to land over a lake and drowned out all the water. Lana was setting everything up. Company would be coming in a few hours or so. She needed to be prepared since she could spy in there without even going in there. She glanced at the struggling elf. How such beauty would go to waste. Just like the other worlds. They would be reborn more powerful than ever and wouldn't remember anything. Just like her. She was the first. She probably had friends, family, and someone. But now it was nothing but killing machines. Her master really liked beautiful things.

"Don't worry elf before you know it, everything would be lost," she said just trying to strike a conversation. No one around but him was able to carry on a conversation, which was good. It gets kinda boring talking to a wall that just static's back. Unfortunately for her Rune didn't talk. She sighed in disappointment. She might as well say something before company gets there and ruins the quiet mood.

"Well you know as I was spying on you, I envied you. When I wanted to take possession to get inside your mind it would probably make me hate you even more. I'm jealous of the fortunate life you have. You have memories, friends, someone beside you. Unlike me I don't even remember who I had, not even a name. But then again I don't know why the hell am I tell you this, I know you're not a psychiatrist. It's not like I love pouring out my life story. I'm sure you don't want to listen to any of it. But you know thanks for listening. I guess it's been awhile since I had someone to talk to that could speak. Well sit tight and don't go anywhere. I'm going to great your friends." Lana said before leaving Rune alone in the room with Water sitting on his shoulder.

Rune sighed as he sat down in his 'cage', there were no doors because it was just some invisible force field. He couldn't get out no matter how hard he tried. Plus he'd been feeling sick this whole week. He always felt intense pain coursing through his body, which wasn't that comfortable. Lana had been giving him sedatives. He was grateful for that. He wondered why. Rune thought she wanted them all dead. But these past few days that Lana 'talked' to him was kinda confusing. He just shrugged it off as one of her ways to get out of boredom but then she talked about personal things. They were surprising. He felt her pain as she talked about her past that she couldn't remember.

They say it's a relief to not know the past but with the past gone where's the future?

He shivered as he felt a cold breeze blew by. Even if there was a force field it didn't block out the air. It was cold. He wondered if Lana did this on purpose. He sighed. He missed Nadil's presence beside him.

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Nadil felt the constant surveillance watch on him. As much as he 'appreciated' it, it was starting to get annoying. For the week he mostly stayed in Rune's room. He had nowhere else to go. He couldn't sleep. His mind has been filled with worry, which was a very rare occasion. The more he thought of Rune the more his worries increased.

They were going to leave today. He was supposed to lead them to the island since he knew where it was. If he gave them the instructions he wouldn't even have to lead them but they were weary of him so it was obvious. It's not like he was oblivious to it. They were just concerned for their lives.

He heard a knock on the door. It signaled it was time to go. He just hoped that his plan would work.

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Rune clutched tightly at the sheets. He felt excruciating pain coursed through his body. Usually Lana would give him a sedative when he felt pain that is if she was here to give it. Beads of sweat were pouring down his face from exhaustion. He shut his eyes as felt himself being ripped from the inside. It hurt so much he wanted to die.

In the background he faintly heard the door open and closed but couldn't tell if he was just hearing things. He was focusing on how to ease the pain he was feeling. He felt Water trying to comfort him; it was helpful but not very much. Rune felt a familiar touch on his shoulder he slowly opened his eyes and saw Lana there. She was holding a drink. This time it was a different one than the one he was used to seeing when she gave him relief from the pain. She held it out in front of him. Rune hesitantly took the glass and drank. He almost spit it out but he resisted because he slowly felt the pain go away.

"What is that?" Rune asked curious. She smiled at him.

"Do you really want to know?" she said.

"On second thought, no."

"I thought so. Now rest up. Your lover and the rest of them should be here in a few hours. Maybe this time…" she trailed off before leaving.

Rune wondered what she meant. He sighed and lied back down. He was bedridden. Usually he didn't like to be cooped up but now it was a welcoming routine. Rune almost jumped as the door slammed open a few minutes later. There, Lana was standing with a serious expression. She went over to him and pulled him up. Her grip was hurting his arm but he made do.

"C'mon elf the show is about to begin." She stated and proceeded to drag him. He resisted for a while with the help of Water in his mini dragon form. It wasn't much help because he couldn't change. Lana rolled her eyes and subdued the dragon and tossing Water into Rune's arms.

"Keep him still. I'm not in the mood. I want this over with."

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The dragon's and Nadil met up with a bunch of demons guarding the entrance all around. They immediately went into action and attacked the couple of guards that were there. If they were powerful it would take them a while before they could get through. Nadil easily slipped through the fighting going on. He noticed that they saw him but didn't pay him any mind. So he figured everything has been planned. He was just walking into a trap.

Nadil made it in unfortunately it didn't go unnoticed by certain people. Looks like he had to change his plan a bit. He glanced behind him to see the dragon lord and the knights of earth and fire. Typical. At least he didn't have to change anything. He pretended not to notice them and walked around to see where he faintly heard voices. The castle seemed pretty much empty so echoes could be heard.

"…I want this over with."

The four of them heard and they took off straight ahead. Everything was easy so far. Rath and Thatz offered for the first entrance while both lords went for another entrance. Lana stood in complete calm as the two knights busted through the door. She smiled, which freaked them out. It seemed she knew something they didn't.

"Guys!" Rune said, happy to see them. He didn't want to stay in this castle any longer.

"Well, well. I see. Nice but it isn't going to work. How you managed to get in was kind of a surprise for me. Enlighten us, did you actually separated the demon lord's head from his body?" she asked. She felt Rune tense under her grip.

"Yeah they did before. Thanks for caring," she heard him say from behind them.

"Oh dear, I'm trapped, what's a girl to do? I know, have some fun." Lana let Rune go. Before he could run, however, he collapsed because his legs were paralyzed.

"Now, now elf, sit down and enjoy the show. Be good and I might let your friends live, okay?"

As soon as she said that, groups of demons appeared in the room, which isn't good because they're outnumbered. The four of them managed to fight against them. Though they were loosing badly.

"Ah isn't this interesting? Hey, it's like a movie. I should've warmed up some popcorn," Lana commented while looking at Rune. 'Hmm…' she thought of something. She kneeled down behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Rune tensed under her grip.

"Calm down, Rune, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want your opinion on something. Now tell me who should I kill first? The dragon lord? No that's too easy, how about the earth knight? No too easy too. Hmm…how about the fire knight? No he would be a challenge somehow but I doubt he'd last very long too. Oh, I know why don't I kill the demon lord right in front of you? Yes that would be more appropriate. In his dying minutes all he'll see is you and how helpless you look because you couldn't help save them, your friends and your lover, but don't worry, I think I'll give you sixty seconds."

She began to count down.

Rune thought frantically. He couldn't move, couldn't decide, and…he just couldn't. He saw that his friends and lover were almost finished in killing the last few demons. Lana knew that it would take the remaining seconds that the elf had. She smirked as the seconds began to tick down.

3…

2…

1…

"Times up," she whispered in his ear, "since you failed to come up with a decision, I get to decide. And I've already made my choice I think I'll kill the one who's most precious in your heart, first."

"No…please don't," Rune pleaded as tears threatened to spill out of his eyes.

"You're too sentimental. First I have to take care of the other three rift rafts." Lana stood up and blew away the three dragons in one space and trapped them inside a barrier. Nothing could go in or out. "Now we got that taken care of, it's now down to important business." She stated and turned to face her opponent, the demon lord Nadil. "Don't worry, you were randomly selected. It just happened to be a coincidence. So don't take it too personally. Now remember, if you kill me you all get to live. But if you don't, I kill all of you and we destroy everything. Capish?"

Nadil didn't like this one bit. Plus the odds were not in his favor. Lana had an advantage over him as proven days earlier, back at the castle. He barely avoided an attack by her when she made a move to attack him. He began to fight back.

(A/N: I'm not really good with fighting scenes so you people could make up your own imaginations. We'll just skip ahead.)

Lana smirked, as the sword was pointed. She was enjoying herself way too much. Is that a crime? Considered to someone else it is. She nicked the demon lord's neck spilling a little bit of blood. Lana had him right where she wanted him.

"Now I wonder how should I do this? There are too many ways to kill you slowly. Though I prefer the fast way but I think you people interest me and I want to make this slow and painful for you."

"Just get it over with," Nadil growled out in annoyance.

"You mean you're not going to say goodbye? Well then I guess I can give you a quick one. It's much more fun that way."

She struck her sword towards him. Something rushed in front of her and she gasped in shock. Lana wanted to stop he momentum but couldn't. She waited and shut her eyes desperately trying to stop. She slowly opened her eyes as she felt her grip on the sword shaking. Lana saw Nadil grasping the other end of the sword tightly. It was a couple inches from Rune's chest. Nadil chuckled a little.

"You know, you cause a lot of trouble for me, alive. I should've just killed you when I had the chance," he said a bit tiredly though jokingly at Rune.

"Hw can you joke at a time like this?" Rune said. Lana just laughed a little.

"Heh, even in a time like this you still have time for small talk. I'm surprised that you were still able to stand, let alone block my attack. But then again I see where your motivation lies. I guess I'll just have to take you all. I'm sure you all will enjoy the flames of hell very much." Lana said as she dropped the sword and the whole place lit on fire. The dragon lord and the two dragon knights were on the other side. Lana placed a fire between them that reached the walls so neither side could get through to them. They desperately called out to Rune. But they couldn't get through because it was way too hot to handle. Rath couldn't even go through. They just left out the door and to the exit looking around any back doors that could lead to them.

Back on the other side, Lana plopped down tiredly to the floor. It took a lot of energy to summon up the fire all around the island and castle. She glanced tiredly at the two lovers. She saw the elf supporting the demon lord's weight and laughed at their predicament.

"Isn't this what you counted on, Nadil? You wanted a distraction, I gave you a distraction. I'm sure by now that they probably think you're dead. But I doubt they wouldn't come looking for the elf. You need to make it out of here before this place burns down to the ground. If you're wondering why I'm helping you it's because I'm tired. I don't want to be here anymore, I want to go and be with what I missed the past thousand years. If you want elf I can open a path for you to the other side that will lead to the clearing where the other dragons are."

Rune thought for a moment. These turn of events confused him. Lana was actually being helpful. He couldn't understand why.

"Go back. I'll make sure to see you again soon," Nadil said giving him a kiss before walking out the back. Rune looked in the back door he walked into and glanced at the wall of fire. He bit his lip and made a decision, hoping to not regret it.

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Outside with the dragons they were looking around. Rath was the one to spot something. He spotted Water flying through their exit. But Rune wasn't with him.

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Rune ran through the corridors of the castle, looking. He hoped to catch up to his lover before he left. He panted for breath as he ran past some fires. Lana surprisingly gave him enough magical energy to pass through them. But it was hard to see because of the smoke and heat. Rune shielded his eyes as a burst of flames sprung up on him. As it cleared he quickly went ahead. When he turned the corner he saw a purplish color. He dashed faster and wrapped his arms around the figure of his lover. He finally caught up with him.

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Rath tried to decipher what Water was trying to say. After about explaining it to him so many times he finally got the message. Somehow he didn't feel all that sad. He just grinned. He went and told the others what was going on, carefully leaving some parts out. All he told them was that Rune was going to be fine and that he decided to take a vacation. The others graciously accepted that answer though Lord Lykouleon knew better.

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Nadil gently placed Rune on the bed. He didn't want to disturb his elf's sleep. After the elf caught up with him he passed out in his arms. It must've been the heat and the smoke. He figured by now that the dragon tribe knows he's now 'officially' dead. Though he knew some would figure it out with their water knight's sudden disappearance. He sighed and took off his cloak. Then he lied down beside Rune and wrapped his arm around his waist bringing them closer. Nadil smiled slightly as Rune snuggled closer. Now he wondered what tomorrow would bring.

~ Owari ~

Kinshin: Ah, maginghawa! Tapos ang akin kuwento! Ang ikaapat heto! Gusto sabihin sa lahat…

Maraming Salamat!

Okay you people probably have no idea of what I have just said and if you did understand I know my Tagalog isn't that fluent and somehow wrong but I think you can interpret it and this chapter probably sucked because the authoress never gives herself enough confidence so is always hating her stories because she wants to. Anyways what I just said is that what a relief that I finished this and that this is my fourth completed story! And I just wanna say Thanks! Thanks to all you visitors and to DemonandGoddess for reviewing! And to any future visitors or reviewers Thanks!

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