Gasoline

The Nether

The girl's eyes flickered and she rolled over in her bed, hugging the covers close. Dark brown eyes locked onto her brother's bed, only to see that he wasn't there. The confused girl stood quickly, changing, before stumbling downstairs. She was suddenly thrown to the ground, and let out a squeak, flailing her arms and legs until she was finally pinned.

"Hah! Gotchya!"

"No fair Aaron, let me go! I didn't know you were hiding!"

The brother let his sister go, and when she rolled over, she could see him looking at her with a triumphant, cocky grin. "What's the matter, Anneliese? Scared?"

"N-No!"

"Then why are your eyes so wide? Hmm?"

Anne squeaked and rubbed at her eyes before pushing herself to her feet, stumbling slightly as she did so. "Don't make me get Mommy!"

"What... No! Mom and Dad are out in a meeting right now. You know what that means?" Aaron looked at his sibling with a mischievous twinkle in his dark grey eyes.

"Yes!" Anne squealed, jumping in place for a moment. She then froze, and suddenly exclaimed, "Race you!" before taking off out of the house, sprinting for the village gate with Aaron biting at her heels in malevolence.

The pair snuck outside of the gate past the two guards on watch, leaving their shoes behind so that they wouldn't get them dirty, hiding them beneath a bush. They then took off once more, weaving through the surrounding forest, straying away from the normal paths. There was a well-worn trail that they ran down, almost like a path deer would leave, though it was from the two siblings. They followed it until they reached a clearing, where both sister and brother collapsed in a pile of limbs, gasping for breath.

"Did you get my bow and arrows?" Anne questioned after a moment had passed, breaking the silence. She heard rustling as Aaron sat up, and sure enough, her palm embraced a familiar wooden curve, only to have it ripped immediately from her grasp. She sat up quickly, glaring at her brother with lips parted in shock. "What gives!"

"Only if you promise to train swordsmanship with me first. It comes in handy if you ever get cornered."

Anneliese watched Aaron for a moment before sighing, nodding her head. "Fine. You better give me my bow after though!" She felt a leather hilt land in her hand as Aaron tossed her a sword, and she looked at him with a raised brow. Her brother himself had a long-sword. "Give me the other one!" After a moment of pouting, he gave in and tossed her the other sword so that she could dual-wield. A smile scrawled upon Anne's lips as she slid into a basic stance he had been teaching her previously.

"AAARGH!" Aaron charged forward, aiming a slash to her chest. Anne crossed her swords in front of herself, blocking the blow, before forcing his weapon to the side. Had he not been gripping the hilt so tightly, she probably would have disarmed him. Aaron stumbled back, and Anne took the opportunity to switch in on offense, becoming a practical twirling ballerina of blades. It was stunning, but Aaron couldn't admire the form, as he had to start in on a series of parries to defend against the onslaught. He found a moment to swoop down and roll to the side, pulling one of Anne's legs out from under her.

A gasp slid from her lips as the girl tumbled to the ground, having lost her balance. She went to get back up, only to find Aaron had quickly pointed the tip of his blade to her throat. She dropped her weapons and raised her hands, panting. Her brother moved the long sword and lent his hand down, offering help to get up. Anne went to take the offer, but... Never found his hand. Her eyes raised in confusion as a shadowy, ghost-like creature bolted from the tree-line, slamming Aaron back against the trunk of a tree.