Dragonfire: Celestia

Chapter 39: Ubiquitous Gold - Part One

Lui fell facefirst into…gold? She let out a “bwah” as she met the ground. She got up to her knees, before springing to her feet dramatically. She looked around, her eyes meeting only unfamiliar sights. She was in the middle of a courtyard, standing by a massive cherry blossom tree. But the tree, the courtyard, the castle surrounding it…even the sky itself, was all made of gold. It was dark, eerily so. No one was around. Everything was just empty…and cold. Fear began to grip her. “M-Mama…?” She asked. She began looking around rapidly, until her eyes landed on a massive set of double doors. The doors were ten feet tall, giving off an ominous presence. She walked up to them, and pushed out. To her surprise, she pushed right through the doors! She emerged on the other side, completely uncertain of what just happened! She was now in what appeared to be a large bedroom. There was a massive bed, fit for a giant. It appeared to be fancy, though its golden nature made it hard to tell. There were paintings all around, completely blank with gold. On the left, there was an open closet. Rustling was coming from within!

Lui approached, and found a single person standing inside. A girl…no…a woman. She was wearing knee high dark blue boots, with green lining atop them. She had what appeared to be a one piece bikini on, with a green pattern on the front. The pattern consisted of two long lines, mirroring each other as they curved up towards her collar. The back was open, revealing her skin. Though considering what she was wearing, this was no surprise. She had lighter, very pale skin. Over her one piece, she had a green belt, with knives slotted within. She had blue fingerless gloves on, also lined with green. Curiously, her one piece had a mask attached to it. It was merely part of the cloth, and had a green pattern similar to the other part of it. The mask mimicked a ninja mask, only covering half her face. This revealed her eyes, which were dark blue. She had green eye makeup on, giving her a rather unique style. She had black hair, with green highlights throughout. She was putting on a jacket as Lui approached, the final piece of her attire. It was a green jacket, going down only half of her abdomen, making it rather short.

She was facing away from Lui, meaning she didn’t see her just yet. “M…Mama?” She asked. Obviously this woman wasn’t Kei, but it was worth at least asking…surely. She turned around, facing Lui. She slowly took a knee, looking her in the eyes. “Well…this is interesting. How did you get here, little one?” She asked. Lui began to tremble. “Y-Y-Y-You’re not mama!” She exclaimed, “No…I don’t believe I am. My name…” Everything began to slow. The woman’s words echoed through Lui’s ears. It felt as though everything was about to end. “...Is Vaani.” Lui screamed, and ran away in terror! Vaani rose to her feet, gazing after her as she ran off. Lui sprinted back through the doors, and looked around for any path she could find! On the opposite side of the courtyard, there was another set of double doors! She ran through them, stumbling as she felt something odd. It felt like…a shiver down her spine. Only it wasn’t her spine that was being chilled. It was someone else’s…yet…she could feel it as if it were her own. At that exact moment, someone else felt the same thing.

Ten minutes earlier, Albedo appeared in a hallway. She glanced around, and came to the realization that this hallway was…familiar. It was made of dark stone, lit brightly by torches. Paintings were hung on the walls, and a green rug crossed the floor. She had been in this hall before…another time. But she didn’t quite know when. “Well, I’m definitely not in the cave anymore…did I…teleport? I guess people can teleport…so it wouldn’t be that unusual…but still…why to this place?” She thought to herself. There was a door at the end of the hall, made of dark wood. She approached it, and entered the room. Immediately, someone aimed a gun at her! “Hold it right there!” They shouted! However, they lowered their weapon the moment they saw her. It was Rain! Curiously, Yulan was not with him. “Albedo…I nearly blasted you to smithereens.” He said, “Well…thank you for uh…not blasting me to smithereens. I appreciate it.” She responded, awkwardly giving him a thumbs up. He rested his blunderbuss against his shoulder, looking down at the map they found in the cabin. “Where’s your girlfriend?” He asked, “M-My girlfriend? W-We’re not a couple! Y-Yet…unless she rejects me…which she probably will, actually…” Albedo stammered. Rain looked up at her with one eyebrow raised.