Fan Fiction ❯ Strings of Fate ❯ Stage Three ( Chapter 3 )

Stage Three

Khrystan woke late at night, the clock blinked 4:04. She clutched her blanket, closing her eyes, she had heard noise outside. She silently told herself it was merely cats or dogs, but there was a figuring standing outside. She was sure of it. She pulled herself from the covers, as she kneeled and gazed outside from her blinds. There was definitely someone standing there, she yawned, rubbing her eyes lazily. She stared again, and whoever was out there was instantly gone. She fell back into bed…that happened way too frequently over the past week- no, it was probably that she wasn't getting enough sleep. Khrystan rolled over to her side, burying her head into her pillow as she attempted to get to sleep. She felt her bone chilled, as if someone was still eagerly watching her.

Khrystan walked across a small bridge, there were many figures waiting for her at the other side. Water gazed back her reflection as she glanced over the side of the bridge. The people were calling her, seventeen in all…if she counted correctly. Her steps were heavy, muddled as she attempted to pull to them. She felt someone tap her on the back, as she turned she saw a young girl staring back at her. One with her eyes, though she wore an assortment of robes and her hair was pulled back into a fashionable style. She giggled slightly, placing a fan over her mouth as she did so. "Do you remember me?" She asked, as the voices from the other side of the bridge called to her.

Just as she was about to walk to them, the other girl with her face began to walk past her. And they welcomed her as if she was Khrystan. They enveloped her with welcome and forgot all about Khrystan…this other girl had taken her place. Tears welled up in her eyes as the water began to rise. The seventeen people began to slowly walk away and water began to grab at her. The water devoured her, sending waves over her head. She tried to pull herself out of the water, but someone was grabbing her legs. She stared at the sun and mist gazing back at her, but there was no oxygen for her to take. Something holding her in a bind that she could not fight.

Minaret and Charisma were dropped onto the floor and a bleeding figure collapsed amongst them upon his knees. Brazen roared, bearing a set of fanged teeth. He dashed forward grabbing Parvenu by his collar and held him up so that they were looking eye to eye. "What did you do!? This is your work…" He lifted up his hand clenching it into a fist. "Damn you…you filthy Rat, crawl upon the sewers where you belong and…" Brazen nearly instantly dropped his fist and Parvenu was dropped to the floor. The Rat cast his eyes down, not moving from his fallen position. There was a look of hurt in his eyes, though he wiped it away before anyone could tell. Illusion stood at the opening to the hall, just in front of the living room. His eyes were gauzy, a flashy emerald green as he leaned against the doorway to the hall.

"Brazen. Get Minaret and Charisma out of here. Call Panacea and make sure that they get a room." Brazen nodded, as if he had done nothing wrong, and quickly humbled himself into picking up the two bloody corpses. He hauled them up, he was shirtless and it reflected within each sinew and muscle that he was fell built. He lifted the two bodies as if they were nothing, blood dripping off his back as he began to haul them into the hallway opening, for there was no doors in this whole house.

Illusion sighed, rubbing his index and middle finger against his temple as he crouched down so that his eyes were level with Parvenu. He said nothing, avoiding Illusion's eyes as he stared past his arm rather than at him. Illusion smiled, half-heartily, his eyes flickering softly as he grabbed Parvenu's chin so that they were staring face to face. "Glad you're home, I…" Parvenu broke away from Illusion's grip the instance he began to talk. Parvenu hissed, lashing back as he jumped to his feet instantly. He growled, almost like a wild animal, his eyes a fury. Dark hair covered his messy and bloody face as he dashed into the night. Illusion shook his head, sighing as he walked into the long hallway to the room with the small phone. The room was basically bare, for it belonged to no one. Minaret and Charisma were lying on the floor, their eyes closed.

"Hello, Panacea?…" Brazen muttered, his eyes furrowed, "no…no it's not Optical, no not this time. It's actually Minaret and Charisma we had an accident and- you'll be here right away? Yes, good, good…yes, you too, yes I'll try, yes, yes, bye." Brazen placed the phone on the receiver, as he looked back at Illusion who was standing at the opening to the room.

"You shouldn't be so harsh."

"You shouldn't be so nice to the Rat."

Illusion shrugged his shoulders, "he's still part of the family…still one of us. Do not judge my decisions." He muttered staring at Brazen, "I am still above you." He said walking away and out of the room. A number of bleats came from the front door, a young woman in scientist robes sat upon a ram, stroking its fur as she smiled softly, though she quickly dismounted. She pushed up her glasses, her dark eyes staring at Illusion. She nodded, "I'll try…" She mumbled. Her ram stood outside, his coarse wool upon his body was dense and there were colorful markings upon his face, above his brows and down his cheeks. He leaned forward, munching the small grasses of the forest, waiting patiently.

"…Minaret…Charisma…" Panacea said, shaking her head, her heart skipping, it was hideous. She kneeled down, Minaret was more damaged than Charisma, but no matter…they were both hurt. She pulled off her robe, beginning to patch up the wounds. "Do you know who…"

"No. Our only witness left, and Sanguine is not here…then again, no one is here as often as before." He said softly staring out the window. Panacea shook her head, her silky white hair drifting over her shoulders though tied neatly into small clips at the top. "Our family has broken apart…" She mumbled, cleaning up the wound upon Minaret's stomach with a soft cloth and water. "…and humans are bound to find us sooner or later."

"As long as Hyaline, Sovereign, Soul and Illusion…help us, we could stay under cover for a few more years…until, well, until we finally find Emi Ame." Brazen muttered under his breath.

"Her departure has truly taken its toll." Panacea muttered wiping Minaret's bleeding cheek, "Few more years like this and we all shall break a part. Parvenu can't take it anymore…I'm doing all I can pretending I'm a human…I…" Tears dripped onto the floor, landing in splashes onto Minaret and Charisma. "I've…done the most I can for them. They'll both be fine, they're just knocked out." Panacea said nodding as she stood up shaking, her whole body was trembling from the fear that was overwhelming her very soul.

Brazen nodded, trying to be a bit sentimental though he was finding it hard. He knew that if they didn't resolve this soon, that their family would no longer be able to support the position that Emi Ame took…but after four thousand years, it almost seemed more like a myth, as well as their own existence to humans.

"Panacea, let's…find a place for you to sleep okay? You can take Charisma's room for now, it's a bit late and there is still many things I have to get done." Brazen muttered, she nodded quickly, picking up the bags she had brought with her.

As they left the room, she looked over her shoulder at the ram that had been seemingly watching them. Her eyes told all, and instantly the ram knew what she had said. "Dismissed," though she had never verbally said it. The ram picked its head up from the grass that it had been chewing on and turned tail before casually walking away, the large ram seeming to almost disappeared within the forest, as if it had molded within it, a figure that seemed hardly alive. Once the ram was gone Panacea turned back to Brazen and began to follow him down the long wooden house, its doors were slides and the whole area was never closed off from the fresh air and from nature.

Panacea walked behind Brazen, her bags in front of her, it had been so long since she had been in this house, though she had never remembered it to be quite so quiet. It was stainless silence, besides their own feet echoing across the corridors there was no noise to be heard. No Saga jumping around. No Illusion rambling about. No Ardent with her childish ways. The whole world seemed to have frozen in time for her, in the time she was away…had so much changed? Possibly, this would soon be the end of their own existence…then what would be of Earth?

"Here…um, you know how Charisma likes her room, right?" Brazen asked just to make sure that Panacea would be prepared for the outrageous room of his younger cousin. Panacea nodded quickly, she remembered the details vividly, her room was totally an original to her, though probably to a more masculine type…her room was more of towards an "overboard".

Brazen slid open the door, the colorful room seemed to have more of an autumn tone. She had painted it herself, the walls covered in objects she had found, flowers dangling from the ceiling and a great amount of different bird feathers scattered about. Panacea smiled, hardly remembering being in this room for quite some time. The bed itself had leaves on it, possibly from ones that she had recently acquired.

It was hard to understand how such a carefree girl could be so…different from her hobbies. After what Brazen had analyzed, she had been hanging out with her cousin Sanguine more than he would've liked and he was sure that was where her injuries were acquired. Their whole family was taking a turn, and Brazen was the only one their to protect and lead them, he felt that Illusion, their supposed leader of the family was too immature for such this important job.

Panacea quickly nodded to Brazen, "Yes, I'll be fine…I'm a bit tired from my night shift, so wake me up if anything is the matter with Minaret and Charisma- oh, and make sure that you tell Optical I'm here." She said laying her bags on the floor.

For a moment, she stared at the leaves before deciding that she'd rather sleep on the cold, wooden floor anyway. She laid down, feeling the smoothness of the wood, before curling into a ball. It seemed a bit strange for a sleeping position, but from the passing moments, she slowly looked like an innocent lamb.

Brazen smiled for once as he saw Panacea go to sleep, she looked so young, yet he knew that much pressure was on her. She cared about the family so much, maybe too much for her own good. Brazen shook his head as he quietly closed the door and began to walk to the front porch. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the spikes on his head slowly lift again as he fell onto all fours, the feet clashing against the ground. Sprawling on the front porch he watched the day slowly drift by, resuming with its normal lift almost as if nothing had changed within the family.

He smirked, he supposed that possibly Sovereign was working as hard as others had said he was. Humans never saw nature change, though through his eyes he could see every single place on Earth as long as nature still flourished there. He could feel the pulse within each of his fingers, in each beat of his heart, he could feel each creature die and be born. He felt lost for a moment, hardly thinking of the family, just for a moment. The priorities that were constantly laid before him…seemed gone.

Brazen's tail twitched, all his muscles bundling within his tiger form as he saw something rustle within the bushes. A mere snake slithered through, camouflaging with the greenery around it, Brazen couldn't help but smiling, a strange look upon a tiger. Optical… he thought as he saw the snake creep to the back of the house. He'd tell him later about Panacea's arrival, he wasn't sure if Optical would be overjoyed or angry…he knew how sensitive he was these days.

Brazen started out into the forest, beams of light pushing itself through the arms of the trees to meet him. Was it truly possible, that after so many centuries that all this beauty could come to an end? Brazen laid his hand on his paws, trying to find peace, for he knew that soon, very soon that more trouble will be coming towards his way.