Chapter 3
Auronaha watched in great dismay as her step-brother flew off.
"Well, well," said a raspy voice from behind her, "look what we have here." Two large familiars looked at her menacingly.
"She looks absolutely delicious," hissed the other familiar.
"Back off!" shouted Auronaha, nervously she held up her staff in defense. The familiars stopped and hissed as they saw the elven staff. But when they saw her shaking, they smirked, showing their yellow, sharp teeth.
"A feisty, delicious looking one indeed," the first one added and then they started to slowly creep towards her.
"Stop right there you imbeciles!" shouted another voice. Auronaha looked up and saw the demon leader approaching them. The familiars backed away as she roughly pushed them out of her path.
"Where did you get that stone?" demanded the demon to the Elven Angel before she had time to react.
"Don't even think about touching it! Only the bearer can." Said the girl frightened.
Rikku saw that the Elven Angel in front of her was, in no means, ready for the battle she was sent into. The girl's long blonde, yellow hair not even tied back, nor her wings covered by any protection. The girl even wore a dress, which make Rikku uncomfortable.
"I don't want that stupid look-a-like," snarled Rikku. But in her mind she was questioning it because she could feel the power of the stone leaking out.
Auronaha looked shocked and was about to speak when a dark portal that suddenly appeared in front of them cut her off. But she saw Rikku straighten and put a small scowl on her face.
"I see a little birdie was left behind," spoke a voice. It was strong and hearsh and it belonged to the other demon leader that had just appeared between Auronaha and Rikku.
"Make that a cute little birdie," he added eyeing her with pleasure that gave Auronaha a chill up her spine. Then he face Rikku and gave her a mocking smirk.
"What? No Greeting to a higher rank general?" he knocked Rikku to the ground with the back of his armored hand. Rikku turned her face to lessen the blow, but it did little effect. 3 small gashes were trickling small amounts of red blood when the general turned back to face Auronaha.
"Greetings General Broyno," Rikku snarled though gritted teeth.
"So this is the young Elven Angel?" he asked again still eyeing her.
Auronaha didn't say anything. She only looked back at him and tried to look hateful.
General Broyno frowned and said, "Very well, if you want to be stubborn, you can die stubborn," then added with a fake sadness, "Take the stone."
A familiar lunged at Auronaha. She put up her staff in defense, then the stone on her headdress shone brightly then the orb of the staff also began to glow with bright pulsating light. The familiar instantly dissolved. The other familiars backed away form the staff and hissed.
Rikku and the demon general were both awed. Could this be the real stone? thought Rikku in surprise.
"Is this the real stone, Rikku?" demanded General Broyno as he quickly recovered from his shocked look.
"I.. I'm not sure anymore," said Rikku still in aw.
"WHAT!" roared Broyno, then he picked Rikku up by the neck and shouted, "How the Hell could you not know!?!"
Rikku struggled in his grasp, trying to get air into her lungs. She then lengthened her talons and pierced the armor on his hand in an instant. He dropped her and snarled as his eyes grew redder.
"Take her to the lower chambers!" he ordered. Then he pointed at Rikku and shouted, "You take her!" and with that, he turned heel and stormed to the main bunker.
Rikku stood up and wiped the blood off her face still glaring at Bryono, then she approached Auronaha.
Auronaha looked up at the demon in front of her and felt sorry and fearful at the same time. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't find her voice.
"Did the king give you that stone?" asked the demon when she was right in front of the Elven Angel.
Auronaha could only nod.
"You're not the first person he sent to their death," the demon said as her eyes dazed for a second. Then, her face was full of hate again.
"Come on," the demon ordered and grabbed Auronaha, but Auronaha was surprised that the demon picked her up carefully. But in just a couple steps, she stared to get dizzy. The next thing she knew, everything was black.
"Wait, you coward!"
"You weak little girl, you will die here today!" the general reared his horse and ripped the fake stone off the girl's chest.
"The king doesn't want a peasant like you to be worthy of this power!" Then he crushed the fake stone and threw the remains of it at the girl.
All of a sudden there was an evil laugh as the king's face appeared and he drew a sword and sliced.
Auronaha woke suddenly from her nightmare. ‘Who was that,' she thought remembering her terrifying dream. The general; she knew him from the castle, but in the dream, he was younger. Everything was somewhat blurry, but the only person she didn't know was the girl in her dream. But the more she thought about it, the girl looked familiar, but Auronaha couldn't put her finger on who it was.
Then her mind came back to the present. Auronaha found herself lying on a rough mat on a raised spot in the corner of a small cell. There were no windows; only torches lit the dark, underground fort. The wall that faced the hallway was mostly bars like a jail cell.‘Great, a dark, Hordge prison cell. I'm going to have a lovely time,' thought Auronaha.
"So, the little birdie is finally awake," an unencourageing, harsh, strong voice echoed in the hallway. General Broyno walked into her cell carrying a torch. On one side was two familiars, on the other was Rikku, which, strangely make Auronaha feel a little more comfortable.
"Well, what's your name, little birdie?" asked Broyno mockingly.
Auronaha hesitated. Why did he need to hold her prisoner, or know her name. "What are you going to do to me?" Auronaha countered, avoiding his question.
"The general asked you a question, you damn whore!" roared a familiar, "Answer it!" it leapt up close to their prisoner and spit and small tongue of fire at her.
"Aur...Auronaha," she stuttered realizing she didn't have her staff.
"Interesting name," the general mused, scratching his chin, "Now, Auronaha, where did you get that stone?"
"The king gave it to me," she said weakly and tried to hide the shaking as she spoke.
"That's one powerful stone you got there," the general said looking at the at the stone, then at her face with the same , disgusting look as before.
"We would have taken it earlier, but you seem to be protecting it," added to general.
Auronaha looked surprised. She never trie to protect the stone, in fact, she thought that it was suppose to protect her. Even though the king gave it to her, it always gave her nightmares and flashblacks that didn't even belong to her among other things that kept her up at night.
"Or it may be protecting you?" deduced Broyno seeing the look on his prisoner's face. "Any," he continued, "We need that stone."
"No," stuttered Auronaha, "It is the property of the Trinity kindom and ..."
"And no one can touch it, only the bearer, right?" finished Broyno mockingly, "We can easily get over that, can't we Rikku." He said as he turned to face Rikku with his back to Auronaha.
"Unless you can get her to give it to you, I don't think we.."
"I don't care what you think, just do it!" Broyno demanded threateningly, raising his fist.
Sighing, Rikku began to walk to where Auronaha was. Auronaha backed into the wall as Rikku came closer, but Auronaha could see the hesitation in the demon's eyes, but only for a split second. Then Rikku grabbed for the stone, but then there was a bright light and Rikku was flung to the other side of the cell.
"Damn White Magic!!" the general bellowed. He began pacing, while Rikku was still trying to gather herself again. In mid-stride he stopped and glared at Rikku.
"Stay here and try again." Her ordered furiously, "I'm going to go back and talk to Lord Daemon," with that he stomped out of the cell with the familiars following him.
Rikku, still in a little pain, got upa nd gave a long sigh and looked more relaxed. But Auronaha, on the other hand, didn't know whether to be relaxed or become more tense. A long akward silence filled the small chamber.
"I would get rid of that stone if I were you," said Rikku breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"What?" asked Auronaha confused.
"The stone," said Rikku pointing at it, "Its not worth another life, especially yours." Rikku said sadly.
"I know many brave people died trying to find this stone," Auronaha said defensively, and , she had to admit, it sounded rehearsed, "And as long it is in my guardianship, I will not let it fall into the wrong hands," she finished boldly looking at Rikku.
"The only thing I want to do it get rid of that stone," stated Rikku with no emotion.
"You just want to destroy it, because you know the Trinity will defeat you," said Auronaha with anger.
"Then way haven't you?" demanded Rikku in a loud voice turned facing Auronaha and slowly walked towards her. "You would think with all your fancy White Magic, you would find a person with a ‘pure heart', wouldn't you." Rikku still getting closer to Auronaha. Auronaha backed into the walk and Rikku had her cornered. Auronaha was amazed and worried about how much this demon, Rikku, knew about the stone.
"H ..How do you know so much?" stammered Auronaha felling invaded with Rikku's face only about a foot away from her's.
Rikku's eyes narrowed and she backed away from Auronaha. "I knew a person who was killed protecting the stone. The king gave a fake ring and sent them off the fight.
Auronaha Rikku's eyes glaze over with the remembrance of a painful memory and horrible feelings. Auronaha looked at Rikku as she was distracted and studied her a bit. From the many books that she had read about demons, Auronaha found Rikku different.
"I'm sorry for your friend," Auronaha whispered truthfully. But Rikku shock out of her gaze with, at first, a blank face. Then anger seemed to pulsate off her body.
"Don't feel sorry of her!!" Shouted Rikku at Auronaha with pure rage, "She was damned stupid enough for listening to that ass-hole of a king!"
Then, Auronaha noticed that Rikku's blue eye started to cloud over with red like the other eye. She grabbed Auronaha by the throat with her right hand and picked her off the ground. Auronaha struggled in her grasp as she saw that the full demon in front of her no longer was the Rikku she had been talking to.
‘Come on stone! You halped me before, why not now?! Thought Auronaha desperately.
"The stone now belongs to the Hordge!!" shouted an evil demon voice that came for Rikku's mouth.
Then with Rikku's left hand the demon reached, greedily for that stone on Auronaha's forhead. Then the stone began to glow and produced a blinding white light. Then the hand reaching was lowered and Rikku's eye turned back to blue while the other eye still looked sinisterly red. The evil smirk that was no her face whil;r the demon controlled was replaced by a shocked and worried look. Rikku slowly put Auronaha on the ground and backed away.
"Don't. Don't feel sory for her," whispered Rikku in her normal voice, on the verge of cracking, her head was humg low so her bangs hid her eyes and Auronaha couldn't see most of Rikku's face. "She died...She's dead." Then Rikku turned to the door and slamed it shut behind her. Auronaha grimaced and heard the lock clamp the door into place.
As Rikku walked away from the cellar, she recounted what happened to make her stop from crying. ‘I bet that stone reacted to my arm' thought Rikku as she scowled at it. ‘Either that or the demonic part of me,'. She sighed and walked back to her bunker, alone again, As she looked around the darm room. Parts of her past stared to flow into her mind.