Kidnapped

Elon

Listening and talking about everyone's past had taken up most of the day. I sat with my back against one of the large windows, staring at the one who called himself Alahzard.

The way his eyes fell over me caused me to shiver. Something was going on in his head that none of us knew, but should be wary about. Attempting to avoid his gaze, I closed my eyes and tried to relax myself.

Sleep came easier than I had thought. I dreamed of running free, without the water, without anything. Just me, and no painful past. Of course, that would never happen. As soon as Cambosea released us I would be back into captivity. One cannot get away with an attempt to kill the king that easily. And that in itself was a matter of if, not when; Cambosea had kidnapped us for a reason. Were we to destroy everyone in the bordering countries or just those who posed a threat?

A loud bang jolted me from my slumber. Jumping up and reaching behind me to where I would normally keep my blade, I poised for a surprise attack. Nothing came. Scanning the crowd, I noticed everyone else had heard it and done the same thing. At least I wasn't that crazy.

The feeling of a consciousness joining with my own brought my eyes strictly down on Celia. The girl obviously hadn't learned that my mind wasn't a beautiful landscape from my earlier hint. Grinning, I began to recount all of my murders, the blood, the lust, the way the knife felt as it plunged that man's stomach and ripped up. She looked away, a terrified look on her face.

Satisfied, I turned to look at Alahzard. Something about him intrigued me; he would be the most powerful ally. Sure, we were supposed to all be allies in this war, but what if something happened and we did manage to run free? Surely we would jump at the chance to wring each other's necks. Having a Dijinn on my side would greatly increase my chances of winning; not even that stupid Storm Dragon could even scratch a Dijinn. Or so I hoped.

The bang sounded again, this time louder. Looking out the window, I noticed that the sun was rising. Had I really been that tired? I walked over to where Alahzard was; he seemed oddly at peace, despite the loud occasional bang.

"Hello, Elon." He said with a smile, his eyes not even open. Raising one eyebrow, I stretched.

"Mind if I take a seat?" I asked him, motioning towards the edge of his pillow. Closed eyes or no, he surely would know what I was talking about. A slight nod told me his answer.

I sat down softly. My behind sank into the pillow, causing me to flail my arms around. Alahzard caught one of them just before it hit him in the head. With his help, I steadied myself.

"Thank you." I said, my cheeks turning bright red as Alahzard ran his hand up and down my arm. What on earth was he doing? Had he not heard that I was some murderous fiend?

Celia

Horrified, she turned away from Elon. She had never seen such blood lust in all her life.

Everybody was just waking up from restless slumber, but Celia had been awake all night. She didn't want to let her guard down.

Once everybody was awake, she spoke.

"Listen up. We are stuck as prisoners on this land, but that does not mean we have to act like prisoners. We have to do something before Cambosea strikes down our countries, before they strike down our lives. Our powers can pin us against each other, but we can use them together to stop and strike down upon our captors. I say, when somebody comes in here, we should use all the force we have to take them down. Then we should escape here with our dignity. Forget our pasts and we will be strong."

Celia knew that everybody was listening and that they were taking every word in. Celia then propped herself up against a pillar and closed her eyes.

The others stared at her for a moment, then went to thinking their own private thoughts.

Alahzard sat, his back against the wall, his eyes closed, listening to everything being said. He found the fact that all of his new companions seemed to be so worried about there fate. He was not, he knew that eventually the king would die and he would no longer be oath bound. At Least the thought the king would die, he was mortal right? His thoughts where interrupted.

"Hello Elon" He smirked not even opening his eyes.

"Mind if i take a seat?" she asked him.

He nodded.

The large pillow was much softer then she had anticipated. she almost fell backwards. Alahzard caught her arm helping her to regain stability. Her skin was soft to the touch. he ran his hand gently down her arm to her shoulder, where the then stopped and brushed hair from her face.

"Thank you." she said blushing.

His hand was unnaturally warm, his touch was gentle and comforting.

Slowly he opened his eyes and took hold of her hands.

"These are not the hands of a Murderess." he said messaging her palms with his thumbs.

"Why do you say that?" she asked unable to meet his gaze.

"These where made to Create not destroy" he smiled softly.

She looked up trying to harden her expression the best should could. "They do, they create death."

Alahzard laughed softly releasing her hands, though she wished he hadn't.
Fatigue was taking hold of her again. She laid her head in Alahzards lap, it seemed natural as if she had fallen asleep this way every night. She was soon lulled to sleep by his gentle rhythmic stroking of her hair.

** once more... i've been gone so can someone bring me back in? **

Elon

I woke with a jolt once more. The sound of the doors of our cell crashing open and large barrels being rolled in would wake anyone up.

Yawning, I felt something on my head. Putting my hand on top of it, my fingers overlapped Alazhard's, yet strangely, I didn't want to let go. I looked up into his gaze, caught already in a deadly romance. A good romance.

"Don't get too comfortable, Elon my dear.You never know how long you, or he, will be around." Templar said from the entrance of the room. I stared out the window; it was already mid morning. "And Dahlia, we regret to inform you that your weapon was lost at sea. Would you kindly take a replacement?" I raised an eyebrow, looking over at the girl Dahlia. She seemed vastly disappointed at the loss of her weapon.

"What are you bringing in here?" I asked, sitting up beside Alahzard, still leaning on him. Templar looked at me.

"This will be your new permanent residence. For a while you will be locked up in here unless on a mission, but once you're trained, you will be free to roam the city. Here we have a large supply of of the water you all will need, and cots for you to set up where ever you like in the room. If any of you wish, we will also provide a bookcase filled with books that will be changed periodically. And as for when training begins; we had a small setback earlier. I'm sure you all heard the banging. Anyway, training will begin tomorrow at noon."

I watched as Templar began to walk out of the room, pushed back in by another crate. "Oh, and one more thing. We didn't just lose Dahlia's weaponry and equipment, we lost all of yours. On purpose, of course. In this crate," he said, patting the newly placed wooden box. "Is all of the equipment you all will need. Packs, weapons, fishing equipment, hunting equipment. There is enough to burden you all, not just one of you."

With that, he left the room, leaving us to unpack everything.

Kiron-

Arms crossed he leaned against the wall. Not paying much attention to the others, Kiron was too busy brooding about last nights dream. He stood in the center of a roiling fog, small forks of lightning crackled across the sky. Though the wind howled it didn't touch Kiron. Shifting he looked down and realized he was in his dragon form. Kiron twisted his head, extending his right wing, the wound was gone, the dark blue scales unmarred. Even though the landscape was chaotic he felt at peace.

"Kiron." The lyrical voice echoed through his mind, the DragonSong was strong and warm, full of life. Turning he found himself face to face with another dragon. Her scales were the color of white silver, her eyes the brilliant blue of the summer sky. Folded along her body were three sets of closed wings.

His eyes widened in recognition, Kiron raised his head, exposing the delicate scales of his throat. "Great Mother Dragon. Why am I here?"

Crooning, she leaned forward and rubbed his head. "Because this is your wyrd, your fate. Understand me Kiron, I didn't warn you of Cambosea's actions for a reason. You can not be knighted, elemental beasts are the essence of life. The most beloved children of the gods, they are shunned, and walk the land alone. And as such they can not, must not, be bound to a single land. It would disrupt the balance of power."

Kiron shook his head, confused. "But if I'm helping Cambosea aren't I still taking sides?" He queried.

Her laughter filled the air, as she backed away, beginning to fade into the landscape. "Yes and no. This island is but a small step. The first note in your song. Don't worry. You will understand with time, Kiron.

"Kiron, Kiron? Stop spacing out or all the good stuff will be taken." He came out of his daydream to find Dahlia shaking his arm. Her green and gold eyes swirled with emotion. Smiling he bowed elaborately and took her hand. "As you wish my lady. Let's go pick our equipment."

Erişa
As always, the moment the Templar (yes! I remembered the name!) left, I was at the very front of the line. I darted to pick up my equipment, ripping off the top of the box and taking those in the middle, where everything was protected by the equipment surrounding it. That done, I raced to grab my cot before getting a much-needed drink for my parched throat, almost knocking down someone in the process.

"Sorry," I muttered, my face flushing. It was the Storm Dragon (I think. Kiron?) and a girl who had not spoken a word all this while. I paused, my eyes narrowing. "Shouldn't you be getting your things?"

Kiron glared at me. "We were doing that. Until you crashed in."

I cringed. "Sorry," I repeated.

"That's alright," said the girl, before dragging him off to the equipment.

Sitting next to the water barrel, I thought of what Templar had mentioned earlier. Books? I missed books. I hadn't read one since that beast killed my foster mother, Nerissa. It would be nice to read one again.. Vaguely, I remembered the pleasure I had derived from the hobby once. It also held me in advantage over many of the village people, who could not tell one letter from another. I smiled and gulped down a mouthful of sweet, delicious water. Aah. The liquid trickled down my throat, rejuvenating it. I sang as softly as I could.

Singing. Another pleasurable activity. My voice was a sweet soprano. I once cherished ambitions of being a songstress, when I was a young girl. Those dreams seemed trivial now, in the light of being exiled and next trapped here. I cast a glance around, and noticed that everyone had distinct looks of disliking the current conditions. Perhaps each of them were like the birds of the wild, born to be free. I knew I did not resent this. It little changed my previous way of living, except to add the excitement. The loneliness of the forest, however, was at least compensated by the sweetness of the fruits and the friendliness of the wildlife on Crevetia. I closed my eyes, imagining the succulent berries and apples in my mouth.

"Hey."

I whirled around. For all my sharp ears and quick senses, I had not detected the boy creeping up behind. Momentarily, I was stunned. How could one walk so silently? My eyes went at once to the ears that stood out on his head, and I realised that he was a Nekoen. Cat-like. I smiled wryly.

"Can I drink now, or are you sleeping there?"

I glared at him, before moving over to let him have the water, carefully spilling some onto the floor. "You could've just asked politely."

He smirked, and sat down. The liquid seeped into his trousers as he did so, but he didn't notice. Oh well. Someone would. "Where's the fun in that?"

I did not reply, concentrating only on my little success. He was a Fire Fox. and I had this feeling that he didn't like water. My mind drifted as I thought of the weapons in my hand. I unsheathed the sword, marveling at its beauty. What a pity I could not wield one properly. I had to start training.

Celia

She was still asleep when somebody shook her.

"Celia, wake up," Kiron said. "We have weapons."

Instantly, Celia was awake. She rushed to the crate and saw that there was one sword left. She picked it up and instantly felt its power and weight.

She did a few practice moves to make sure the sword was the right weight for her. It was a tad bit on the heavy side, but it would have to do.

the firefox grinned cheekily. "Isn't that a bit heavy for you?"

Celia laughed. "Want to test me?"

Dahlia Quinn


After waking Celia, Kiron and I walked over to the crate to pick our things.

"What exactly was your weapon, Dahlia?" Kiron asked me.

"It may not sound like a anything special, but it was an old sword my mother gave to me when I was nine. It had my family's crest carved into the blade and had been passed down from mother to daughter for centuries... And now, it's gone" I said and laughed to myself, "my luck keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" I said.

Erişa
Putting down the sword for the time being, I set up the cot in a distant corner, placing my weapons and other equipment there as well. No longer fatigued, I sat on the cot, before deciding to fly a bit. It felt like an eternity since I last stretched my wings. The ceiling, though not particularly high, was just enough to allow me freedom. Closing my eyes, I concentrated. Then my wings grew out quickly, silver and glistening. One of them hit the side of my cot. I massaged it gently, before taking flight.

Hovering wasn't hard. I controlled my height, blissfully unaware of the going-ons, only knowing that I was, in a way, free, soaring...

But I wasn't. My smile disappeared, my head hung low, and I opened my eyes. Some looked back up, surprised. Celia, on the other hand, was practicing with her sword, the Nekoen watching in admiration. My guilty conscience tugged me down to where my sword lay. I did not want to make a fool of myself tomorrow. Landing by my cot, I picked up my sword and ran to Celia.

"Celia, could you teach me how to, um, wield this thing properly?" I asked, my cheeks going red.

Celia

Celia held back a smirk.

"Sure. Okay, now first of all, the battle stance," Celia held the sword arms length at an angle. "Now you try."

Erisa copied her, then dropped it

"Okay, that sword is way to heavy for you. Here, switch with me. Okay, that's better, now do the battle stance," Celia did the stance again, this time the stance was rather wobbly for the weight of the sword.

"Look! I'm doing it!" Erisa beamed. Her stance was even better than Celia's.

"That's great, if you know that stance, then you can bring the sword out from any angle," Celia motioned for her to try.

Erişa

I don't know how, but I managed to wield the sword properly without dropping it this time. Celia gestured to me, encouraging me to try. I slashed it through the air with glee.

Then I heard a scream, and my jaw dropped.

Dahlia bled profusely from a wound in her abdomen. It didn't look deep... but boy, did it bleed.

I tore a piece out of my dirty shirt and washed it quickly with water. Squeezing it dry, I began sponging to wound and apologising to her. Staring at Kiron, I mouthed, "Do something!"

Teale

I felt it first.

Then I heard it.

Someone's blood was gushing, oh, I feel sick. I pulled myself up and ran over to Dahila who was bleeding constantly.

Trying not to look, I placed my hands on her side. The skin healed quickly, and the blood disappeared.

Everyone stared at me with shock as I walked back dizzily to the shadows, and then I collapsed. I went into darkness but before I went totally under I felt a pair of hot, strong hands catch me.

Erişa

The Nekoen grabbed her as she fainted, obviously affected by the sight of the blood. As soon as he did so, I turned back to Dahlia. Burning hot fear was replaced by cold relief mixed with guilt, which trickled down the back of my neck and my forehead. Sweat dampened my brow, but I ignored it. "Are you okay?" I asked Dahlia. She, too, was looking rather faint, but I gathered that was a sign of recovery.

"Sit down," I added, plopping her onto a nearby cot. She was staring behind me. I turned and saw my sword, dripping with blood that I knew was hers. In an instant, I grabbed it, washed it, and stuck it in my pile of junk.

"Brilliant, Erişa. Brilliant." I felt the guilt wash over me anew, and my brows wrinkled. Sarcasm seeped from Kiron's words. Returning to Dahlia, I noticed some colour going back into her cheeks and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Never gonna wield a sword again," I murmured under my breath. Before I knew it, I had gone back to my cot and fallen on it, perceiving but disregarding the sound of a someone's footsteps at the entrance. I closed my eyes and fell into a light doze.

Teale

I awoke from a nightmare of blood and bloody swords. I tried to lift my head, but was pushed back with a warm hand. My vision blurred as I opened my eyes. Once they cleared, though, I saw Ballow hovering over me along with Celia.

"Oh." I grasped my head. My head swam from the fall and the heat radiating from the Nekoen. Celia read my mind and placed her cool hands on my face guardedly. Ballow backed away.

"My head feels horrible. Did I faint after I healed Dahila?"

"Yeah, I caught you before you hit your head." I turned my head as fast as Celia allowed. Ballow's gaze rested on me. I couldn't read is expression.

"Thanks," I whispered, I felt myself going under again.

"Yeah."

He was the last thing I saw before I went into darkness again. And he was still wearing that strange expression on his face.