Malion: Royal Blood

She's Gone

I awoke to an empty room. Feeling slightly more lonely than usual, I climbed down the ladder, weary-eyed. The cottage was empty. The sun still hadn't risen. I crept out of the cottage, simply armed with the short-sword Elliott had given me. I decided to see if he was alright. The Burn's were always awake earlier than anyone else. Once I made it down the mountain and into the forest, I noticed something blue in my peripheral vision. I panned my gaze through the trees, slowly feeling my heart-rate climb.

"Hello? Who's there?" I called out. Although there was no response, an eery silence took its place. I decided to flee and head to the Burns' ship, where I found Elliott on the edge between the beach and the forest.

"Elliott?" I asked, approaching him slowly as he lay with his feet buried in the sand. He didn't acknowledge my presence before I sat down next to him.

"So I hear the God of Fear and Distruction is going to be staying with us... and I thought I would die by Kaylum's hand if not be killed by one of those other creatures." He muttered, draping an arm over his eyes.

"Herros is friendly." I mumbled, glancung towards the ocean.

"Friendly? I don't think a God who's soul depends on the destruction of everything around him would be friendly." He growled, still not removing his arm from his face.

"Are... are you ok?" I asked, scooting closer. He grumbled a reply.

"I've had the worst headaches lately. They're more like migranes, really." He growled. I placed a gentle hand on his forehead and stroked his hair. His long locks caught in my fingers and I haphazardly combed through the shoulder-length mess that hung from his skalp.

"Do you enjoy playing with my hair? It's a strange feeling." He remarked, removing his arm and resting it on my folded leg. I noticed his ear twitch. I chuckled.

"It's pleasant. I don't understand why." He said. I noticed the sky redden. It was an unnatural light red.

"Elliott?" I called his attention and retracted my hands. He struggled to sit up and furrowed his eyebrows. He muttered a curse under his breath.

Before he could ask, I helped him to his feet and escorded him back to the Burns' ship. I told him to stay safe as he shakily took a seat on the side of his cot. I ran back up to Nathaniel's cottage and burst through the doors. Kaylum scrambled backwards, away from a hunk of meat that had landed on the floor.

"Where are Alex and Michelle. We need to get them somewhere safe and-" I was interrupted by an overwhelming pain in my head and a loud maniacal cackle.

"Oh, my little thief! You thought you would be safe with your friends! How naive... poor little girl. How ever will you save yourself!" A familiar but deranged voice filled the air. The shutters all burst inwards, filling the room with an icy chill in the late summer. I let out a shriek and felt Kaylum's arms around me as I ducked into a crouch.

"Go away!" I yelled. Another piercing laugh rang out.

"You can't stop me! I will kill every last one of you conniving, thieving demons! Your bloodline should have been killed off the first chance it got at reproduction!" She shrieked.

"Abby, stop this!" I called out to her.

"Why would I want to do that? The Gods have been immobilized and your mortal friends are useless! Come to the beach for your final moments or I will turn the Skladmir region into a frozen wasteland!" Abby replied with a vengeful shaking in her voice. There was a piercing pain in my head again that made me shriek and a laugh that dueted with it. The snow starting to swirl around the room formed a type of tornado around us. Kaylum helped me to my feet and rushed me outside. I stopped once the piercing cold hit my skin and I realised that the trees were already covered in snow and the once green grass had died and frozen over. I yelled out for Alex, but there was no reply. I ran into the forest with a loud objection from Kaylum, who had become stiff from the cold. I called out for Alex once again and stumbled into a clearing. There I found both Alex and Michelle huddled together, close to a few bushes.

"Alex, get her to the ship around the hill. You do not want to be seen by that thing on the beach." I warned and she nodded, helping Michelle to her feet. They made their way around the possibly dead crops that we had planted weeks earlier and I prayed to Norvek that they would make it to the boat safely and be able to flee. I ran back up to Nathaniel's cottage and told Kaylum to help Herross and his family. That was when I made my way to the eye of the storm. Absinthe Ashwalker.

"Lethallin, be careful. I can sense you are getting closer. You will not be able to take her alone. Those weapons I provided should be able to do at least something to distract her while I conjure a ritual spell. That should be enough to knock her unconscious." I heard Elliott's voice in my head. I made a mental note of his power and tightened my grip on the blade. With every step forward that I took, the cold seeped further and further into my skin, making my movement stiff and painful.

"Absinthe!" I called once below the floating woman. She glared down at me with a mad smile and decended.

"What do you want, you wreched old hag?" I asked her, giving her a piercing glare.

"I am here to right a mistake I made a long time ago." She growled, fer feet finally connecting with the ground. The sand on which she stood froze over completely, sending an icy bolt through my chest. I growled, gritting my teeth together in hopes they would stop chattering. I charged at her, my shortsword held high. With one thrust of her hand, I was thrown backwards and held in mid-air. Icy wind surrounded my head and the air that had once filled my lungs was quickly sucked out. What felt like an eternity of vision slowly fading was broken by a battlecry and an overwhelming white light. That was quickly replaced by darkness.

I woke up to the frozen ground melting under my cheek. I could breathe again, but barely. I panned my blurry vision towards the ocean and found a familiar sword and a body laying in the sand as snow fell around it. I scrambled up to her. It was Alex. Her skin had been burned badly and a part of her cheek was nearly burned through. Her arm was charred. My throat began to burn as strained sobs stumbled from my mouth and floods of tears poured down my face. I was cryinf before I realised what happened.

"Wait, what? Alex! Alex don't go! Please-" I was cut off by a hand on my shoulder. It was Elliott with the Burns' behind him. Michelle was sobbing into her mother's bosom while Elliott was being supported by Mr. Burns.

"I'm so sorry, Lethallin..."