Armageddon

The Attack

They shrieked , their voices piercing our ears. My sword was drenched in blood and my arms were covered in scars. The bright light of the sun illuminated the sky and our opponents grew weak.

Their olive green scales shone with the light and their long claws shortened. Their frightening faces looked more human in the sunlight as their and their hands covered their beads.

The light seemed to be hurting them and we took advantage of it. Their faces no longer resembled a loved one but under the light , all of us could see their true colour.

The Nerezza scattered everywhere as they screamed in pain which the sun was causing them. "Retreat !" , cried Jenifer's familiar voice in a very commanding tone.

"You will regret this day Esther ! I'll make sure you will !" , Dianea cried as she grabbed hold of Silvia who screamed at Dianea's touch.

"Let her go !" , I commanded glaring at Dianea , who dug her nails into Silvia's arm.

Silvia refused the cry or make any kind of noise. She only hissed in anger at Dianea. She struggled under Dianea's strong grip but Dianea didn't seem to budge.

"Esther stay where you are !" , Silvia warned still struggling to get out of Dianea's grip.

"Ah ! The brave young Silvia wants to save someone !" , said Dianea pulling out her sword.

"Esther ! Get out of here ! You've got the prophecy Frost wants ! Destroy the pillar !" , Silvia screamed at me and without any hesitation I followed her instructions.

I picked a heavy bricked covered in moss which was rooted to the ground and threw it at the pillar. Jason followed my actions and since the pillar was an old one , it fell down almost immediately.

"You !" , cried Dianea, "You dare to defy me ? You will pay !" She lifted her sword high in the air before stabbing Silvia twice. "We will meet again and let this be s warning to you." , Dianea warmed before disappearing into the thin air.

Silvia collapsed onto the floor , into a pool of blood which was spilled from her gut. She groaned in pain and coughed out blood.

"Silvia !" , Daniel cried running towards her. He gently placed her head on his lap and kept repeating soothing words to her.

Christopher and John dropped their swords before running towards her and checking her wound. Jason too ran upto Silvia while stood extremely shocked at what had taken place.

I couldn't fathom the idea that my bully was someone who had wanted to protect me and someone who I thought I could trust betrayed me. I was shocked to find out that my best friend hid a deep secret from me when I thought we were friends.

"Esther." , Silvia croaked her hand stretched out to grab hold of mine. I walked towards her gulping away my tears of frustration in the process.

"I do not have much time. Listen to me very carefully. You unders-stand ?" , Silvia asked as she forced herself to breathe. I nodded.

"There isn't m....much t.....t....-time left. You need to get to Ar....Ar. ..arrmageddon. Three things .... Dan will .......explain ...... Three things ...... S-s-stone . Crown a- and beads. They - .... w.....will....." mumbled Silvia loud enough for all of us to hear.

"Forgive me ." , I said suddenly finding my voice ,"Forgive me for those words that I spoke against you which had meant long ago. I shouldn't have done that. I apologise sincerely. Please forgive me."

"I - I forgive you." , said Silvia before smiling at me as her eyes closed softly drifting away to eternal sleep.

Daniel looked at Silvia as though he was about to brake down any second as he hugged her one last time.

"We'll call on for help. They journey to Armageddon is dangerous." , said Christopher after a while getting up and brushing his trousers. He heaved a heavy sigh.

"I agree." , Jason replied helping me up. He gave me a soft smile of reassurance whilst helping me up.

"No ! We can't leave her here ! I refuse to do that !" , said Dan in desperation, seeing his behaviour hurt. Probably because I once considered him as really close friend and here he was confiding his most confidential secrets to Silvia someone whom I really didn't get along with.

There was a slight pang in my chest as I wondred why he kept this secret away from me. Where did I go wrong as a friend ? He was my one and only friend and now I really must say we are nothing more than aquaintances.

"We'll call Werlina." , said John giving Silvia's limp body one last glance.

"May her soul rest in peace." , he said before closing Silvia's eyes. He looked up at the sky only to find a lone bird flying in the sky circling around us.

"That's Werlina's raven ." , said Jason pointing to the sky as the dark bird flew down towards us. It's foot had something tied on it which caught my eye immediately.

It gracefully flew towards me and sat down on my shoulder as it patiently waited for me to untie the piece of paper attached to its pale claw.

Once the I took out the paper , the raven got off my shoulders before flying up high in the air and disappearing out of visual range.

The coarse sheet of papyrus parchment , carefully made within the castle walls indicated it's importance and value just by it's touch. The sheet was rolled into a small cylinder and it seemed to have some important message scribbled on it.

After careful analysis by Christopher who speculated that it could be a fraud message, I was given the paper to read.

There wasn't much written on it but it held much importance to us.

"The castle has fallen. It is time." , was all the parchment said. Christopher folded the paper and shoved it into John's hands.

"It's coming true , is it not ?" , John asked firmly holding onto the parchment with his eyes fixated at Christopher.

Christopher said nothing , he merely nodded at John's conclusion indicating that he had been right. His eyes soon enough fell on me and all I could see in his eyes were fear , sorrow and worry.

"What is ?" , I inquired, unable to draw any conclusions.

"The prophecy." , Daniel replied with a sigh as he got up and rubbed his palms against his trousers. He glanced at me before eyeing Jason who was squeezing my hand softly in reassurance.

"Then we shall rejoice ! Aramanda shall no longer be held captive by the dark forces that had been leading it for centuries! " , I reasoned seeing no reason why the fulfillment of a prophecy should bring a pregnant silence such as this.

"The prophecy to Aramandans means hope , the prophecy to the royal family means restoration but to you Esther it means certain death !"