Fan Fiction ❯ Stolen Prayer ❯ The Eyes Of The Diablo ( Chapter 10 )

Stolen Prayer

Chapter Ten- - The Eyes Of The Diablo

Wink sat in the room of the inn, tolerantly waiting for Nicholai to get back. He had gone to purchase 'his' ticket for the Queen Fury but deep inside, Wink knew that he would not leave her behind. The Queen Fury had once only carried royalty across the seas, but after Miranda came back, King Zior decided to open the ship up to everyone. She stood up, padding into the bathroom where she took her first glance at her new hairstyle. She admired it, turning her head slowly from side to side.

"He is rather quite good," She murmured. "I'm in awe." She ran her slender fingers over the thick braid looping her head like a tiara. "I really look nothing like me at all…"

Suddenly, the door opened. Wink turned around, watching as Nicholai walked in and stopped, his eyes searching for her.

"Did you get the tickets?" She asked.

"I got the ticket," He replied monotonously. "YOUR ticket comes as a reward for our upcoming battle." He jerked his thumb to the door. "Outside. Come on."

He led her outside, the starry night exposed upon them.

"I am in disbelief," Wink told him softly. "There is no trace that there ever was rainfall. Could it have been that…Faust guy you mentioned?"

"His powers are foreign to me," Nicholai replied. "What he can and can't do is beyond my knowledge." He untied the boat at the steps and stepped in, lending his hand to Wink, who graciously took it.

Steering the boat to the left, Nicholai pushed the wooden staff to Wink. She took it and braced it confidently. "What will it take to impress you?" She asked.

"Well," He began, keeping his eyes only in front of him. "I'm sorry to tell you that I will not be hindered by a neophyte. If you slow me down at all or burden me, I will discard you like meatless bones to a mutt. I will moot the issue with you, but it's up to YOU as to whether or not you are prepared to face countless enemies on the far land. Do you speak the indubitable truth when you tell me that you can take me on?"

"I only said I knew how to fight." She retorted. "Not that I was a warrior."

He hid the smile on his face. He had shown the same perspicacity with her that he did with everything else. He was not unaware of the deep power lingering within her. He knew it was an esoteric matter discussed only among her loved ones. But he was very wise and not stupid. He could see it.

'It's as though she denies it even to herself. She will not let anyone know how powerful she is.'

Nicholai pulled the boat off to the side and tied it at the steps.

"Where are we now?" Wink inquired.

"At the entrance of Furni," He responded, helping her out of the boat. "We should be able to practice here. There's enough room."

Wink glanced around. All the streets were deserted, just like Deningrad had been. It made her heart anxious, remembering such a tragic thing. She bit her lip and looked back up at Nicholai. "All right, when do we start?"

"Now." He gestured to her staff. "Raise the staff and assume the basic fighting stance."

"The what?"

"Get ready to fight."

"Oh." She spread her legs apart, about shoulder width, and rose the staff to her chest.

Nicholai drew his long claymore, the steel reflecting in the night. "This is Eternia," He told Wink. "I got it from my father. It was about the only thing I received from him."

"Eternia? Your sword has a name?"

"Don't they all?" Nicholai shrugged. "I've had this sword for as long as I can remember. It's gotten me out of the most perilous circumstances. Eternia was what my father called it."

"Why?"

"I actually don't know the reason. But no matter. Raise your staff higher…that's better. All right. Now don't expect any mercy. A villain would give you none, am I right?"

Wink nodded.

"Good," He said. "Then neither shall I."

Wink was hesitant to start, uncertain of herself. 'She must overcome her self-doubt or else she will remain weak,' Nicholai thought as he made the gambit in the battle.

He lurched forward, the Eternia coming down upon her. Nearly shrieking, Wink jumped backwards, dropping her stance.

"I don't want to hurt you," She protested.

"Right now, dear, you're not even making a dent. Suppose I was the enemy? Do you think I'd really care what you wanted?"

Wink bit her lip.

The bestial Wingly did not come to a standstill as Wink took another step backwards. Instead he only brought the sword up in a diagonal motion. Wink yelped as she thrust the staff out, blocking Nicholai's strike.

'There we go,' He smiled secretly. But to her face, he said, "What? Is that ALL you've got? You're a disgrace to even the simplest of warriors."

"Shut up!" She snapped as she twirled the staff, nearly catching her counterpart in the leg but was blocked by his claymore.

"Close," He told her. "But not good enough." He swung the sword up, pushing the staff away and leaving the girl vulnerable. "You need to embellish your art, my dear."

Wink, anger rising, took a furtive move to the left, faking him out before spinning on her back heel and trapping his ankle with the end of the staff. Nicholai was too slow. The ground greeted him warmly as he tripped up and toppled over his feet.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay!?" Wink gasped as she attempted to help him to his feet. Instead, Nicholai jumped back up, and brought the sword to her neck.

"NEVER let your guard down! NEVER help your enemy up! Had I been so inclined, I could've KILLED you just now." Wink trembled, her steps faltering. "Now pick up your staff before I disembowel you!" Nicholai threatened.

Wink obliged, terrified of him now.

"This is a life or death situation Princess! If you DON'T do as I tell you, I'll KILL you."

Wink's hands fumbled with the staff as the Wingly drew nearer, the sword rising slowly above his head.

"I'll cut you into two," He told her.

She quivered with fear, and held the staff in front of her, protecting herself. Her eyes were closed and she bit her lip so hard that blood had begun to trickle down her chin. He stalked closer and grabbed the staff from her hand. "What a pitiful display," He growled. "Your cowardice is painted in such garish colors that it is disgusting to even look upon you. It was an illusory to think that you could outwit me." He tossed the staff away from her like a ragged doll and continued to pursue her, the sword growing more menacing with each step. "Deningrad must have been such a inconsequential city to have even bothered saving it. No wonder it went down so easily."

And then something in Wink snapped. Her quaking stopped, her eyes opened, dangerously, and her soft hands curled into powerful fists, like wrecking balls.

"Don't you EVER dishonor my city with SUCH sacrilege EVER again!" She snarled, hurling herself towards the Wingly, her fists coming as blurs to his face.

Now it was Nicholai who had tottered backwards. He arched his body to the side, evading the blows. Then Wink grabbed the sword with her bare hands, blood trailing down the steel in a thick wave, as though it were consuming the very blade it touched. She jerked it from her opponent's hand, pitching it aside as her darkened eyes burned into Nicholai's.

"Your fatuous remarks will be the end of you," She snared, like a snake. Now it was she who hunted him, mirroring his steps until he reached the steps where the boat lay. He was trapped, but like a wild animal, he would not be conquered so easily. His arm whipped out, seizing Wink's arm, but her reflexes were more deft. She had quickly evolved from a pusillanimous woman to a juggernaut, no longer lackadaisical in the art of battle.

It was as though she now prayed upon the Dance of the Macabre.

"Amazing," Nicholai breathed, but was cut short as his head began to ring and a crushing force plowed into the side of his head, leaving him dazed, slouched over, and vulnerable.

Wink pulled her arm back and swung her arm below Nicholai's head, driving it hard into his spinal cord. He grimaced, but did not yell, and did not collapse. But when she tried yet again, he snatched her leg, twisted it, and watched in satisfaction as her body flipped over and landed in a crumpled heap. She took the blow almost as well as he had taken his beatings, but he did not tempt Wink any further- - ESPECIALLY with reverse psychology.

She lay there on the ground, wheezing, and clutching her stomach. Her lips were now highlighted in ruby from her own blood and her hands were clasping her ribs, the crimson liquid staining the ground and clothes before her.

Nicholai wasn't in any better of shape. He grinned, so wide that it hurt. 'I knew she had it in her…' And he nearly laughed. "I cannot tell you that I portended this, because I didn't."

Wink did not respond.

"I'm impressed Princess. VERY impressed. No woman has done that to me before."

Not even her. Not even Zeellia.

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There was a slight breeze in the early dawn. Shana was still asleep against the knight's back, and Dart had just awoken moments earlier. A piquant scent had immersed itself within him. Flowers, in clutters, showered the knights and himself. This must be Donau, Dart thought.

The early birds were already awake, opening their doors, walking to the market or to the house next to their own. Their myopic views on the real world were secluded from the rest. Here, they lived peacefully and tranquilly. It was a outstandingly fecund village and Dart paid close attention to every nuance delineating the precious flower city. They had a spirit of concord encircled within the city. And they had a right to be happy. Dart could not decry against their ways of life. In fact he almost envied it. Then going back to the matters at hand left him distraught and he sulked on the back of the horse all the way into Donau. The atrophy of his body had begun after the knights had shown up in Seles. Now, he was just exhausted.

"Ah, here we are," The knight broke the silence. "The flower city."

"Where will we meet Albert?" Dart asked, groggily.

"At the port," The knight answered. "where the Queen Fury is."

There was no mistaking the jade blur pacing back and forth at the dock, his hands held behind his back. Albert was indubitably upset.

Dart waved to his companion as they descended the road and padded towards the Queen Fury. But Albert did not see him. He was too lost in thought to even notice the man in red clad.

"Geez, what a joy-killer," Dart muttered to himself. He did not want to start the reunion with the whole cake. He wanted to eat around the icing first. "Albert!" Dart called out to the king.

The two knights fell to a stand-still, Shana still in deep slumber, and Dart dismounted the horse, sprinting towards his friend.

Albert was still not quick to look up and it took Dart a few more thrashings of his arms until he finally noticed.

He shook his head sadly. "Dart, I truly hoped that our next encounter would not be revolving around something tragic. How could this happen?"

Dart sighed, all good feelings gone. "There's no point debating about what little we know about the situation. We still have to contact the others."

"I have sent men to Rouge to call upon Kongol and Haschel," Albert told him. "The rest are looking for Meru."

"She shouldn't be too hard to spot. She's always causing a scene."

Albert smiled lackadaisically. "Where is Shana?"

Dart jerked his thumb to the knights and their horses. "Sleeping Beauty still needs her rest. She was up most of last night."

"I am apologetic that we must put her through so much again."

"And I am remorseful for having to tear you away from Emille and your honeymoon."

Albert finally broke into laughter. "She'll manage. She understands."

"Good. Now let's board before they forget about us," Dart said, breaking into a jocular mood.

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A Foresight Into Episode Eleven

"Because of YOU, I have no hometown to go back to! Because of YOU, everyone I love and adore is dead! It's all because of YOU!" The tears were falling freely down her puffy, red cheeks now. She turned away from him, her face buried in her hands.

He froze. This had happened before. And he had been the cause of it…and her demise…

"Nicholai!" Her voice was raspy and hoarse. Probably from all the crying she had done. "How can you turn your back on me!?" She was small, her body so frail. He wanted to protect her, but all he had done was cause her the utmost misery.

"Zeellia…" He reached for her…but she faded away…

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^^' Nicky is a tad mean…isn't he? Ah well, whatever. He'll get better…like…a lot later.

Please R&R

Kat