Torn Hearts and Bloody Tragedies (A Love Story)

This piece is a part of my book, although I haven't truly worked it in yet. It is cut off so here is some info on this piece.

Evonia (the main character) just killed her twin brother, Rajah, because he was possessed by the Necromancer, Jachull. Rajah is the only family she has so his death is devestating. She attacks the Elder and Elderess (the Judges of Cria's Senate) and confides in Nathan (the man she loves).

Torn Hearts and Bloody Tragedies

I don’t remember the walk. I was in a delirious void that threatened to succumb me, but I resisted....for now. I don’t doubt that I was not a pleasant sight to behold.
My face was set in an expression of sorrow buried beneath the caked on layers of hatred. I barely heard the children scream and the mothers bolt them into their house as I marched silently up the main street. My body was soaked in the blood of my brother-the one person that I had ever loved.....and the only one who had loved me back. My wounds, and the lifeblood that spilt from them, meant nothing as I approached the main gate of the Senate’s courtyard, though I scarcely felt the red liquid drip heavily from my clothes and body.
The flash of steel and two swords were crossed in front of my entrance. With naught a thought in my mind, I clouted a guard in the nose, sending him reeling to the ground. Within a second, I had ripped the sword from the other unsuspecting guard and cracked the hilt against his skull. An onslaught of new guards came to help their fallen friends, but halted when I sent them a warning glare, my inner sorrow seeping in without my will.
I stomped through the lush hallway and kicked the door in without knocking, stopping in the shadow of the terraces of seats and doorway. The screaming and bellowing of the Senate members fell silent at the outburst, but their gasps of disapproval and disgust erupted instead. I stormed out, muffled cries of horror and revulsion soaring.
I looked at no one.
I never even glanced at the embassy of Cria standing amidst the room’s inhabitants. I stared only into the frightfully sad eyes of the Elderess. I stopped at the foot of the stairs and stared at the old woman, hearing the drops of blood hit the floor. So many emotions threatened to rule me, but the tenderness behind those wise eyes acted as a balm on my aching soul. It was if the old witch could read my soul like a book and tried to comfort me! I glowered at the ancient occultist, funneling my full rage and passionate sorrow into my gaze.
Before I even knew what I was doing, I had unlatched two daggers from my belt and flung them. One grazed the side of Senator Pais’ throat and pinned into the wall behind him; the other fixed Senator Leonus’ waving scarf up above her head and effectively noosing her. The gasp of women and men as they scrambled to their comrades burst out and one called for the guards. Four guards ran in, swords raised. With a roar of pure fury, I unsheathed my sword and sliced the men down before they could touch me. The final man was run through and pinned to the wall. I yanked it out rashly, grabbed his hair and dragged him towards the feet of the Elder and Elderess.
“I’ve come to pay tribute to the Searchers of Peace!” I thundered, pushing the heavily bleeding man on the stairs. I placed the tip of my blade next to the sensitive hairs at the base of the soldier’s neck.
“Evonia, please....” Numier begged as he stood and began approaching me.
Yet again my mind clouded over with unspeakable agony. When I became aware again, Numier laid in an unconscious heap at the base of the wall and I had not moved. Nathan and the others rushed to him and I turned back to the Elder who threatened to shatter his chair with his nails.
“Perhaps,” I chuckled lowly, “you prefer more......helpless forms of tribute.” I kicked the guard aside, sending him rolling down the stairs. Within a heartbeat, I had the cloth of the Elder’s shirt clenched in my fingers and held him up with some unknown power that tumbled through my veins. His dusty gray eyes stared calmly back at me and I tightened my hand around his jugular vein and wind pipe.“You knew, you old coot!” I shouted. “You knew all along that Jachull was the main threat behind the Senate’s so called ‘quest for harmony’. When you found out that his chief fountain of power was a mortal, you couldn’t help ridding yourself of it. But even when you found out who this human was, you still sent me to kill my own brother!” I threw the old man back into his chair.
I felt the rage begin to be replaced by the inevitable sorrow. I dropped my sword with a clatter on the floor and stepped back slowly. I pushed away the sound of my heart’s rhythmic beat as it shattered. The floodgates of tears rolled over my lashes and mingled with the blood that stained my cheeks. I pulled the sacred, blood stained dagger from my pocket and clutched the handle in my trembling hand.
“I....I...I.....” I gasped as sobs began to soak into my chest. My voice broke when I continued. “I didn’t know it was him.” I closed my eyes and shuddered at the thought of his lifeless body. “It wasn’t him.” I whispered, tears bled from my eyes and my heart with it. “He spoke, acted and fought like another.” I lifted the dagger and stared at it as it quivered. “But after I stabbed him......After I had pierced his heart, he.....” I trailed off as those final moments reenacted in my mind. The smell of blood, the strangled gasp, the darkness that clouded his eyes. I shook my head and stared at the ruffled Elder. Hurling the dagger to stick in the wooden platform at his feet, the Elder glanced at the crimson blade.
The familiar flash of green caught my eye. Nathen_l Armand ran around the platform, but stopped at the side stairs. His physique was tense with fear and worry, as if he would slice down any man that threatened his idea of peace that rested with the Elder. His eyes on the other hand were filled with an all too familiar emotion-pity. My heart retched. No one felt what she truly suffered. I turned back to the Elder Judges.

“I will have no part in a peace that justifies the slaughter of family members and that holds the value of a good man’s life in less regard then he shows a rat!” I snarled bitterly, turning and striding towards the doorway. I stopped in the threshold. “Peace is the imagining of a foolish man.” I announced plainly.
Then I left the Senate Chamber in death-like silence.

Somehow I managed to find my way through the city streets. When I had collected the fragments of my self control, I had stumbled my way to the Temple of the Mother Goddess and I staggered numbly into the silent worship chamber. My knees were watery, threatening to drop me on my knees and my eyes misted over with a new wave of tears while I struggled to reach the feet of the Mother Goddess’ statue. My bloody hands released the hilt of my sword and clutched the railing in a desperate attempt to stay on my feet as my world started to spin. My stomach lurched and my body tingled with despair and agony.
“What have I done?!” I shouted angrily into the darkness, lip quivering as a new helping of grief surged through me.
Images began to play in my mind. I slammed my eyes shut, to defend my already crumbling soul from the stabs of memories long yet suppressed that rose to control me. Shaking my head, I clenched my teeth until I nigh shattered them with inexpressible agony. Tears slithering down my cheeks and splattering on the stone face, I trembled, willing my body to fight off the pain that ensued from the recollections that I had forced myself to bury long ago.
“Rajah!”
My painful exclamation escaped from my traitorous mouth to ring among the pillars of cold stone and into the rooms within as I bit my bottom lip fiercely to keep another shriek from escaping my tongue. My bloody nails dug into the stone rail in a vain attempt to sweep away the sudden flood of unknown emotions that filled me. I gasped desperately, not only because I had unconsciously held my breath but to clear my mind of the haze of anguish that cloaked it.
The memory of my twin alone almost sent me to my knees as a new bout of cries racked my shuddering form. The warm smile that had swept across his lips when I touched his forehead then froze eternally on his brave visage as my weak, scarlet magic soaked into his skull, slowly extinguishing his inner fire. His dancing charcoal eyes that glowed with lush love and sorrow before they faded into mere glassy orbs of ebony. The feel of his body going limp in my arms and turning stone cold under my touch almost shattered my heart alone. I clutched my ears, trying to evade the rasping of his last breaths that haunted my memory, but only a pitiful whimper seeped through my throat.
“What have I ever done to you?” I roared at the now tear blurry statue of the Goddess Mother as anger began to bubble within my chest. I choked down a stony lump that lodged in my throat as tears freely coursed down my cheeks. “What have I done? Whatever I did, tell me!” I pleaded. “Tell me so that others don’t suffer for my sins!”
A dark cloud slid over my mind and my fury got the better of me. I went on a rampage of throwing anything within reach at the silent sculpture of the Mother Goddess. Plates of offerings and candles were among the many items scattered about her feet and on the shining rock face when I turned from the image. I trembled from the withheld rage and misery. Oh, Gods! It was all I could do to hold that tempting shadow within the corners of my mind at bay. I closed my eyes and shoved the soothing tentacles from it sneakingly growing hold on me, ignoring the untold whispers of peace and safety. I shook my head viciously, clasping it firmer in hopes of smothering the voice. All of a sudden, memories began to play in my mind’s eye.
‘I forgive you.’ He had said. ‘I forgive you......’
With the force of lightning, an unwanted memory played back in my mind. An image of an all-too-familiar pair of sapphire eyes appeared in the darkness. I could see my younger self standing in the midst of the snow, staring at form of a full-figured woman that laid on the cold ground. I had run to her, throwing myself over the body, sobs already racking my tiny body. Her face was pale and tinted in icy blue, but her eyes burned with a blaze of happiness as they had focused on mine. I shuddered convulsively when her cool lips had brushed my cheek. The sight of blood seeping into the virgin snow and several arrow shafts protruding from Hanniah’s chest caused me to pound a pillar with every ounce of strength that coursed through my body.
Protect him, Evling. She had uttered with a wince. Protect Rajah.......
Then, as if it had never truly been there, it was gone.....
The memory of my blade entering into his chest and the feel of the slick ooze of blood that washed over my hilt then onto my hands made me shriek in horror. The fire-like light that had filled his gaze and fallen away like a mask. Like I was there again, reliving the terror of the moment, my heart crumbled into shards of depression. His fingers seemed to really be there, clutching at me like a child with his eyes unwillingly begging for me to relieve the pain that cloaked them. At the sensation of his arms around my shoulders as he had tried to comfort me, I wept hysterically.
“No more!” I screeched as I pushed against the pillar with my back, my cheeks and shirt soaked with tears. “No more! Please!”
The shadow withdrew from my mind. As the emptiness once again set upon me, I buried my face in my palms, bawling. I quivered, truly wished that the shadow that had vanished would return, only to spare me from the overpowering grief that tore at me.
“I don’t want to hurt anymore!” I sobbed into my hands. “I don’t want anyone to suffer for me!”
Suddenly, amidst the turmoil that currently ruled my mind, two warm hands of relief gripped my shoulders tenderly and the last of my walls that had taken a lifetime to build crumbled. Without seeing who I willingly surrendered to, I turned and fell into the outstretched arms. With a moment’s hesitation, the strong arms finally encircled me gingerly. When my legs surrendered to exhaustion, the obvious man figure held me up momentarily before sinking to his knees on the temple floor. I lost myself amidst my tears and muffled my cries in the firm chest as I attempted to lose myself in the enticing oblivion. When the darkness only vanished again, I clung to the bosom like a drowning kitten as I prayed that the safe arms would at least protect me from the demons that had come to haunt me once again.
I was behaving like a common child that had only a bad dream. But I didn’t care! All of my years of protection and caution were gone in the wind. I had suffered from this nightmare my whole life and never shared it with anyone. This was the first time that I had ever cried in front of another living being. But for some odd reason, it felt so......relieving, as if a ton of bricks had been lifted from my chest.
For a long time, I only wept and the figure stayed silent with only a gentle embrace to comfort me. As I struggled to calm my sobs, I began to feel an liquid warmth soak into my body from where the massive hands touched my back. Golden ink spilled into my mind, soothing my frazzled nerves and I suddenly got a very peculiar feeling of someone reading through my mind like a scholar would the pages of a book. The feeling of being exposed and known startled me as I pushed the sensation aside and curled closer to the body as the feeling slipped into the background.
Then the familiar voice rumbled below my ear in the cavern of the ribs and I quieted to hear.
“It wasn’t your fault, Evonia.” The low voice announced silently, the breath ruffling my tangled mane. I winced at the flash of glassy eyes in my mind and the arms tightened protectively around me. “He wasn’t Rajah, or your brother. Merely a shadow puppet.” The voice was sorry and measured, but I detected the underlying grief that rivaled mine.
“What have I done wrong, Nathan?” I asked softly, my mind going numb with exhaustion and depression. I didn’t care what he-or anyone- thought about me anymore!
“Nothing.” He retorted quickly. He pulled me yet closer. “You have done nothing wrong, Eve.” His voice stirred more memories that stung my eyes with the intensity of wasps. “Gods are merely...” He trailed off absently. He didn’t have to go on; I knew what he would have said.
‘To test you....’
“I killed them all.” I murmured, chuckling sardonically. Why was my voice so far off?
“Who?” He asked, hushed.
“The Dwerdie.” I replied quietly. “I killed them..... all!” I chuckled scoffingly as I spied my discarded, blood dripping sword on the floor near the chamber door. “I was so filled with rage and hurt that I butchered them.” His muscles tensed and I shook my head wearily. “I was no warrior, not even a murderer. I was an animal! A wild and uncaged beast!” I held his shirt tighter as the familiar feeling of hopelessness seeped in. “I slaughtered them all, down to every baby and even the creatures they owned.” I trembled in fear. “I couldn’t stop! I wanted to make them hurt as much as I did!” I shook my head, ridding the tempting shadow’s voice to depart from my confused mind. “I tried, but I...I...I...” My voice broke into sobs again and I clutched the front of his shirt desperately as I was overwhelmed by self-hatred at what I had done.
“I always hear them!” I cried, clenching my eyes shut against the tears and pain. “The voices come to me in my sleep and I’m never rid of them!” I shook my head. “Strange voices call me by name from behind molds of dead flesh.
His embrace became more powerful, almost powerful enough to squeeze the air from my burning lungs. My arms slipped beneath his and tightened around him to try to pinch out the memories the threatened to break me. His soft chin rested on the top of my head as tried to absorb some of the comfort that radiated from him. His hand braced the back of my head as he took a deep breath.
“I would gladly have born it to keep it from you.” He uttered warmly and I froze from shock. What did he say? As if he read her mind, he said, “I would have endured it all to keep you from suffering.”
I pushed away from him slightly to look into his eyes. I couldn’t have heard right? He obviously knew what I had gone through. He’d used a Mind Seeker Spell on her only a moment ago. What else could explain the feeling of being revealed? He never met my eyes as his hands rose to my shoulders. His own saddened eyes looking off into space as if to collect his thoughts from the void.
“I know what it feels like to lose a loved one.” He announced to the air more than her. He was silent a moment then smiled wryly. “My parents were slain in front of my own eyes. I too had lost my mind momentarily and killed the men responsible from defacing my mother and maiming my father.” Nathan blinked several times and I saw little pearls of tears grow beneath his eyes. “There isn’t a moment that goes by that I regret my actions that night.”

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