Voiceless Bird

Visions of Ruin

Golden hair flashes between the trees. A woman holds the hand of a man as they run further and further away from the echoes of a fight.

Behind them, shouts and the clash of battle ring throughout the forest.

The golden-haired woman stops abruptly and makes a move towards the fight that ensues far away. The man pulls at her hand and whispers inaudibly.

"But..." She looks hesitantly between him and over her shoulder.

The man shakes his head, "We must keep moving, Viola... for their sake."

The woman- Viola- nods and takes off, the man barely keeping up behind her. As they move further away, dead silence overtakes the forest. The sounds of the battle were no longer audible because of the distance... or it had ended.

Viola pales as she hears the sound of another person hot on their trail. How had he caught up to them so fast?

She increases her pace, pulling the man along with her, their hands gripping each other tight.

"You think you can run away from fate?" A dark figure, concealed by the moonlight shadows, appears in front of them.

The man stops short and swiftly backtracks, Viola in tow. The figure merely laughs and vanishes into the night, reappearing again further up.

"Jasper... " Viola whispers as they stand together, facing the dark figure.

"After all these centuries..." It chuckles softly, raising its arms up.

A dark aura gathers around the figure, power swirling around its hands. Jasper moves in front of Viola, holding her behind him.

Viola frowns. Why is Jasper-

Her thoughts were cut short as he grabs her and diving to the side, narrowly misses the dark energy the figure releases.

"Get to Reina." Jasper whispers in Viola's ear as he pushes her away from him.

Her eyes widens in surprise but with another forceful nudge from him, she runs off.

"Don't stop!"

Jasper's shout reaches Viola and she resists the urge to look back. Just as she takes another step, a pained cry echoes throughout the forest.

Heedless of his words, she stops. Viola clenches her fists in resolve and turns back, running at full speed back to Jasper.

No. Viola will not- can not- let another person die for her sake again. Especially not Jasper- not the person that she loved most in the world. Her two best friends were most likely dead, leaving their only child behind... because of her.

And all for what?

Nothing.

Only her prestigious heritage that meant absolutely nothing in comparison to the lives of all her loved ones.

The familiar dark chuckle sends shivers down Viola's spine as she presses forward, almost reaching the barely identifiable figures in the trees.

The figure turns towards her and she imagines the dark grin on its shadowed face. A cry leaves her mouth as she sees the outline of a body on the ground, motionless.

Jasper!

Viola's terror and pain morphs into something different as she stares at the figure across her. Both are silent and still, like the calm before a storm.

The figure takes a step forward and she snaps into action, heedless of the many warnings of not to use her power under any circumstance.

She reaches for the strands of the dead beneath the ground. She feels them clawing at her life force, the one thing that they crave.

Please, please let this work.

Viola channels her energy, feeling it sweep out and calls out the force of the unseen dead souls. The strain on her heart kicks in and she drops to her knees. But her determination is stronger, as she focuses and ignores the advancing figure.

"Nothing you do now will save you."

The souls rise up from the ground, death and destruction filling everything they touch. They wrap themselves around the figure as it struggles in their grip.

"How could this-"

Its voice drowns out as the wails of the souls grew louder, their ghostly bodies bringing the figure to the ground. Viola only stares as one by one they fade away slowly, leaving the motionless remain of her enemy.

If she had known it would have been this easy, she would have done it earlier.

She stands there for awhile, feeling the drain of calling up the dead. Viola looks at the two bodies at her feet, one that she loved and the other she hated.

Her heart clenches painfully. She knows that Jasper is no longer living and can feel his spirit hovering gently over his body.

Still on her knees, she crawls towards Jasper's still body. The emptiness inside her can not even call up tears. Who will guide her now that Jasper is gone?

A gentle hand touches the top of her head and she leans into it. Glancing up, she sees that it is Jasper's spirit. She had subconsciously called it up.

"Don't be sad..."

Her chest squeezes, this time not with strain but loss. She stares into his blue eyes that once were full of life, not processing his words.

"I know what you want to do- don't do it." Jasper's spirit gives her a warning look before he brushes the hair out of her eyes.

Viola bites her lip. She wants to bring him back to life- she knows she can- but...

"A life for a life. You can't bring me back without consequence Vi." He drifts slightly higher up, ghostly form wavering in the breeze.

"At least he's gone now..." She glances back at the still body behind her before quickly looking away. So much death, all because of her.

"I want to help you... but the dead are forbidden to interfere with fate." Jasper gazes at her, a sad smile on his face.

Viola frowns and watches as his eyes go out of focus as he glances at something just behind her. She senses a presence behind her and without warning, Jasper vanishes without a sound.

"Did you really think you could get rid of me that easily?"

Viola's eyes widen and she sucks in a breath, her heart thudding as a chill runs up her spine. A sudden flash and then she was lying motionless on the ground, dark energy draining the life out of her eyes.

The figure chuckles darkly once more, before looking down at the bodies by his feet.

Just as it starts moving off, it stops short almost as if in thought. Something gold glints on the woman's neck and it peers closer.

Its hand reaches out and grips the thin chain of the necklace. Ripping the necklace off her neck, it chuckles to itself.

"Finally..."  

A/N: thanks again for reading! hope you liked the chapter :)