Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ Revenge of the Descent ❯ Ten - Dreams of the Past ( Chapter 10 )

Kyros sighed, poking at the dying campfire with a stick. Everyone was chatting about one thing or another; though the conversations mainly consisted of battle plans or how to help Guren break the spell… It all bored him to no end. The only one besides him who wasn't talking was Kai, though it was for an entirely different reason. Poor girl, he thought, frowning. She's so pretty, yet so sad. And because of a cold fool like him, too. His eyes widened a bit when Kai sent him a glare, her cheeks flushed.

 

“Well now, I didn't know you four could read minds as well,” he whispered under his breath, offering a slight smile. Kai rolled her eyes at his foolishness, pushing herself off of the soft sand and walking back up the hill and through the trees.

 

She knew that she probably shouldn't have wandered off alone into such a sinister forest, but she needed time alone to think. With everyone speaking of battle plans and how to free Guren, it left her mind exhausted with despair. She didn't want to dwell on the matters longer than she was forced to. Kai sighed sadly as she came upon a small, dirtied pond not far from the top of the hill. She sat cross-legged, picking up a stick and swirling the muddied water around without touching it.

 

“A lady such as yourself should never wander into a dark forest alone,” said Kyros, looking as haughty as he always did. He smiled at the girl, though she looked thoroughly annoyed at his entrance. He frowned, feeling slightly hurt that no one seemed to like him. “I understand I've been pestering you lately, but it was merely to keep you occupied,” he lied, attempting to keep the real reason a secret. “I am terribly sorry about Guren. He is definitely no gentleman, but if he makes you happy, I suppose he's worth it.”

 

Kai's eyes widened at Kyros's almost-compliment towards her love interest, as well as his acceptance for it. He actually seemed to care about her well-being—not that the others didn't—but he knew she didn't want her mind to linger on the issue. Sighing, her eyes traveled back into the dirty pond. He contemplated leaving her alone, but with a chance like this, he simply couldn't let it go on unnocitced. Deciding to bother her a little more, he sat down next to her.

 

“Kyros, I understand you're a little worried about me, but please just leave me alone,” she said, looking quite irritated. I need to just clear my thoughts, she silently added. He nodded on the side as he gave the girl a small squeeze on her shoulder to try and reassure her.

 

“As you wish,” he replied, starting to stand up. “I shall be here if you need my assistance, in any way.” He smiled briefly before pondering whether he should anger her any more. He found it to be quite worthwhile, as he leaned down towards the girl's face and cupped her reddening face in his hand. He held back a smirk when her eyes widened, seeing the embarrassment and shock in them. Kyros wanted badly to claim her lips, but would not want to face the wrath of Guren, had he ever found out. Without letting another second pass by, he kissed her gently on the nose, giving her a playful wink before hastily returning to the campsite.

 

She couldn't help herself from blushing at the sudden affection this proud and daring man was showing her. Kai had first felt relieved that he was almost kind enough to leave her to her own thoughts, but when he had almost kissed her—nearly on the lips, no less!—she suddenly felt more anger than ever. Is he trying to piss me off?! she wondered heatedly as she threw the stick full-force into the pond. What is he trying to do?! Convince me to get over Guren? Her eyes softened momentarily as her thoughts once more floated towards the subject of her affection. She didn't know what or if Guren had any feelings for her, but she didn't intend to dwell on the possibilities for the rest of the night.

 

Kai sighed heavily as she stood up, stretching as she thought, I should probably get back before they get any ideas about that ass, Kyros. Her nose scrunched up in anger as she stomped back through the darkening trees.

 

Once she entered the small cavern they had taken refuge at the bottom of the cliff, she was not surprised to see Florian holding Kyros by the collar and shouting at him. “What did you do to her?!” he cried. Upon seeing Kai re-enter the cavern, he sent Kyros one last evil look before running over to hug her. “I was worried,” he said, rubbing Kai's back soothingly. “After you left, I glanced over to where Kyros was and he was nowhere to be seen. Did he do anything?” he added in a whisper, glaring towards to prince who looked to be picking at the dirt.

 

Kai laughed at Florian's increased paranoia, replying, “No, Florian. If anything, he sort of helped me feel better, as crazy as that sounds. But don't worry, I still don't like him.” She gave Florian a light punch in the chest when he let her go with a sigh of relief. Glad that she felt a little less depressed and a little more optimistic, she sat down next to Candis, joining in on the conversation of battle strategies.

 

 

Cassiel was very disappointed as she sneered at the five warriors she had picked. They were all simple demons with no extreme power, but as Rika had commanded, they were her strongest. With the other, more powerful three dead by the hands of those wretched girls three years prior, Rika had very few loyals left that were anything but simpletons.

 

She cleared her throat as they all stood stiffly in a line. “Guren,” she called, smiling wickedly as he came out of the shadows. “You will command these five and take them out to the edge of the moat. There's a cliff, and you will all be stationed behind shrubbery at the bottom of it. There's a small shore, so don't worry about getting wet.” She turned to face Guren fully, very much liking his new apparel.

 

He wore a sleeveless black vest with the zipper stopping at the middle of his torso. Just below the shirt were tight black pants, all underneath a long black cloak. She decided that he looked better with his bright hair hidden beneath the cloak's hood, making him all the more ominous.

 

Slyly making her way over to his figure, he glanced at her with a vacant look in his eyes. She frowned, remembering that the spell she put on him had yet to take full effect. Smirking, she thought, Once it takes full effect, he'll be mine!

 

“Now, go,” she said, giving Guren a small wink before walking down the darkened castle halls to return to her master.

 

Cassiel noticed that recently her master had been getting better. Of course, this was because Cassiel had given her most of her powers, though she still had plenty stored away for herself. Lady Rika still hadn't gained any weight, but she was moving around much easier and was able to talk without struggling to get the words out. Cassiel smiled delightedly as she entered the crumbling throne room. “My lady,” she said quietly, bowing closely to the floor. “The curse has yet to take full effect, though he is quite the obedient one. I have just sent them out to the bottom of the cliff. When do you expect the brats shall come?”

 

Rika cackled madly, echoing throughout the empty castle, reaching even the small rodents who had taken refuge in it, scaring them away into the little shrubbery that existed in the yard behind the castle. She slowly stood up, Cassiel hurrying to help her, though she smacked the helping hands off of her. “Get your filthy hands off me,” she shrieked. “They will come soon. Tomorrow near noon, I am hoping.” She laughed again, nearly scaring her underlings with the malice within it. “I am almost ready. All I need…” She paused dramatically, a sinister grin appearing on her face as she stared Cassiel down. “…is the remaining of your life energy.”

 

 

He awoke to find himself in nothing but darkness. He felt no floor, though he was sure that he was sitting on some sort of solid object. He looked around and frowned, realizing that he was the only being in this vast void of nothing. When he laid back down, however, a bright light flashed before his eyes, and soon he felt a soft, warm substance form beneath his feet.

 

Slowly cracking open one eye as to adjust to the newly lit abyss, he saw that he was on a beach, though he quickly realized that it was not just any beach. `Kai…' his mind immediately said. Looking around, he spotted a small piece of paper floating harmoniously through the air, though there was no breeze evident.

 

He stood up and slowly followed the small scrap of paper further out towards the sea until he was face-to-foot with what looked to be a young girl. Turning to the left and away from where the paper had landed near the feet, he saw that its owner was Kai, three years ago, when she first received the mysterious note that started the entire ordeal..

 

He fell backwards unexpectedly as the scene dissipated while dragging him to another scene. `Of course,' he thought, an amused grin finding its way onto his face. `When we all met for the first time at the café.' He bitterly watched on as the scene unfolded, laughing as his mystifying cloaked figure made its way to the Elementalists' table. `What was I trying to accomplish by being Mister Mysterious?' he wondered, chuckling at the silliness of it all.

 

Holding his breath, he let the dark void once more pull him into another memory. It was their final battle with his former companion, Gilead. It almost pained him when witnessing his former friend's death, though he was far more relieved knowing that he was dead rather than corrupted and working for the wrong side. `Yet here I am, forced to come to the same fate as him,' he thought angrily. He felt pathetic and useless.

 

He surprised himself with all the emotion he was showing towards mere memories, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he saw himself giving the four transformed girls an `I-told-you-so' look once they killed Gilead and turned to face the rest of the group. Frowning as the scene once more disappeared, he thought he felt his heart almost flutter at the next memory.

 

Seeing himself so calm and looking serene very much surprised him. He meditated often to balance his own emotions with those of the people around him, though he never thought a person as cold as himself could ever look so peaceful. What shocked him even more was when he felt that familiar fluttering feeling return in his stomach as the girl appeared, sitting close to his motionless figure.

 

He gasped when he found himself once more in darkness, nothing but his own body occupying the large and empty space. He groaned in pain and held his head as a flash of memories flew before his eyes—from that moment she made his cold heart feel warm, back to the content look in her eyes as she watched people pass the café window, then to the flash of hurt in her eyes when he finally visited her on official business, to the strange girl who cursed him, and suddenly… When he had apologized to her. That particular memory lingered much longer than the rest. His eyes seemed to have softened as he clearly remembered the feeling of amused disbelief wash over him when she was so stubborn not to accept the only apology he would ever be able to give her.

 

Eyes snapped open and a cold sweat rolled down a very fragile and collapsed body. He sat up abruptly before falling back down onto the soft mattress underneath him, struggling to see through the many black dots that were before his eyes. They only narrowed, filled with hate, when they saw a woman chuckling darkly across the room. “You,” he growled, attempting once more to push his weakened body off of the mattress.

 

“My, my, my, so hostile,” she said, feigning hurt as she pouted at the man. “I wouldn't try to get up if I were you. You'd just collapse on the ground, and your hostility makes me less eager to help you if that should happen.” She grinned maliciously at the redheaded man upon the bed. Sighing, she moved to sit on the edge of the bed, though he warned her not to.

 

“If you take one more step towards me, I won't hesitate to kill you.” She frowned.

 

“Here I was hoping to make you all my own,” she mused, crossing her arms as her bottom lip further protruded. “I suppose having you just as a warrior is fine. I see you've come to your old self again… For now, that is.” She smiled and sat on a tattered, dark blue leather couch far enough away from the bed so he that couldn't attack her.

 

Guren looked down at his hands and saw, to his astonishment, that they were moving by his own accord. He sighed angrily as he turned to stare heatedly at the woman. “Why? Why did you reverse the curse? I know it's not permanent.”

 

She chuckled, replying, “I didn't reverse it. I guess not all curses are perfect.” She frowned at the thought of it possibly backfiring, though it quickly vanished as fast as it had come. “Though I'm sure this is the last time you'll be able to fully control yourself.”

 

Seeming to put an end to the conversation, she got up and walked closer to him until he was within an arm's reach. She thought for a moment, then dared to go closer, only to gasp in fear as he caught her by the throat, his grip tightening every milisecond. Smirking at him, she was relieved that the curse was once more taking over as he let go and clutched his chest in pain. With the last cruel look that his real self gave her, she quietly murmured, “You'll never be able to go back to her. You are the curse, and you will never break free from it.”

 

She laughed spitefully after closing the door, hearing his cries of pain reach even the hallways as the curse finally took over his complete conscious. Oh, dear Guren, don't fret! You'll still be alive, though only within your own mind. Cassiel smirked to herself once more before returning back to her master's throne room to complete the process of resurrection.