The Sealed Warrior

⇺10⇻

"All hail the Queen!" A voice shouted out among the crowd.

The crowd repeated the man as they let out whistles and shouts. Soon when it quieted down the band began to play. Women in dresses of many kinds and men in suits began to drift into a dance.

Dahlia looked out among the crowd, a smile plastered onto her face. She was wearing an emerald green dress, with red roses making up her collar. The Queen's crown was placed on her head. Her hair was braided from the side and pulled back in a half-up, half-down style. Today was her coronation.

"May I have this dance?" a voice asked. Dahlia turned her attention to a pair of dark brown eyes.

"Yes, you may," Dahlia answered. Ethan took her hand and guided her into the middle of the room.

Ethan put his left hand on her waist as Dahlia outstretched her left hand. Her top skirt was attached to the bracelet on her left hand, her dress had multiple layers. Ethan was wearing a simple dark attire.

"Isn't it great to be Queen, Dahlia?" Ethan asked as they began to waltz to the music.

Dahlia thought about it for a moment, "Yes, yes it is."

"I guess you won't need me then. Since you're no longer a Princess anymore," he stated.

Dahlia gave him a small nudge with her shoulder.

"Don't say that. I will always need you. And Sylva," she added hurriedly as Ethan raised his eyebrow.

Ethan let out a small laugh before smiling at her, he then turned Dahlia in a circle.

"Well, I guess you will need me. If it weren't for me you probably wouldn't even be Queen. Kalabhiti wouldn't be dead if it weren't for me...and Sylva," he hesitated as he added the last part.

"Yeah, I guess," Dahlia said with uncertainty dripping in her voice as she looked down.

She heard Ethan sigh as he cupped her cheek with his right hand. They stopped dancing.

"Kalabhiti is dead. You are safe and now are Queen. What do I need to do to convince you?" Ethan asked, leaning his head against hers. She could feel his warm breath on her nose.

"Nothing," Dahlia said, smiling.

She gazed into his eyes. Something was different. Her head began to throb. What was different?

"Good," he replied, letting go of her cheek as they started to dance again. After a few minutes, someone else approached them.

"May I have this dance?" a voice questioned.

Dahlia, reluctantly, looked away from Ethan as she studied her father thoughtfully. He was wearing a red overcoat that had fur along the edges, which covered most of his body.

Dahlia smiled as her father took her hand, and led her away.

"You look as beautiful as your mother did on her coronation. You should speak to her later," The ex-King said.

"You mean Beatrice?" Dahlia asked, thinking of her stepmother.

"Beatrice? No Amina. Your mother," he told her with a look of confusion on his face.

Dahlia's head throbbed again as Ethan took her as her partner again.

"Is this what you want?" Ethan whispered into her ear.

"What?" she whispered back. The dancers slowed.

"This is the life you want," he told Dahlia again.

"I-"

"Dahlia, this is the life you want, isn't it? With me, your father, your mother, Sylva." Ethan asked.

Her eyes widened. It suddenly made sense.

"Y-You're not. You're not Ethan," Dahlia said, taking a step back from him.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked Dahlia, taking a step towards her.

"Y-You never boast about anything you do. You always take care of others before yourself. You are not Ethan," Dahlia stated, growing confident with every word she took.

She looked back into his eyes. That's what was different, Ethan's normal warm brown eyes were replaced with something cold, darker. Besides, Ethan can't dance.

"You figured it out," 'Ethan' stated, giving her a leering look.
Dahlia stared in horror as 'Ethan' started to melt, his skin peeling off to reveal a darker skin color, he morphed into a man she had never seen before. He had brown hair in a crew cut and crazy brown eyes, he was still wearing the same attire. Dahlia gasped and tried to get out of his grip, but the man held tight.

"Not so fast, Queen. I haven't had my dance yet," the man mocked, as he pulled Dahlia into a quick waltz.

"Who are you?" Dahlia asked.

The man brought Dahlia down into a dip, her strawberry blonde hair touching the floor.

"You already know who I am. Let me give you a hint. The Sealed Warrior," he said sinisterly.

Dahlia's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"You do know who I am. Why don't you give it a say," the man said mockingly.

"You're Dolion. It means betrayal," Dahlia started slowly, "You were a Princess Guard to one of the first Princesses in the history of Ansone. Princess Lilyanna, daughter of the second Queen of Ansone. You betrayed the Royals and murdered Lilyanna. You should be dead, they killed you for what you had done. Even if they didn't kill you, you should be dead anyway! That was thirty-six hundred years ago!"

"Correct. I give you full credit, but I now go as Kalabhiti. It means 'Of whom Death is afraid.' Your Majesty," Kalabhiti said, saying the last word like it was venom on his tongue.

Dahlia said nothing as Kalabhiti spun her around and then pulled her close.

"Let me tell you something. They never killed me, they did something even more terrible. They sealed me. The Silerona Priest at the time sealed me into a dimension. A dimension not known to man. A dimension so terrible no man would want to know about. Yet, I had to stay there for, what did you say? Thirty-six hundred years."

He continued in a menacing tone of voice.

"You may not know it yet. But I will be your downfall along with all the rest of your precious kingdom. Or I will die destroying your legacy. You have my promise, Queen. You have my word, Princess. I will have your life, Dahlia," Kalabhiti promised as he released Dahlia and walked away.

Dahlia stood there shocked and then snapped out of it. She ran. She ran through the ballroom and out into the night. She ran towards Shatter Heart Cliff and jumped. She let out a sharp whistle and waited for Levina to come and catch her.

Ten seconds passed. Fifteen seconds passed. Dahlia let out another piercing whistle. Thirty seconds passed. Dahlia started to panic as the village became clear. She let out a scream before everything went black.

The only thought that went through her mind was, Levina's gone.

...

A/N: I don't know why, but this chapter was pretty difficult to write. I'm not gonna explain it, because I most likely haven't posted the next chapter when you've read this.