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Chapter 2
Shana landed silently at the gates to her dark and desolate castle. It once had its shining grandeur, but during these dark times, the castle was a gloomy and terrifying looking place to be. With a smile, her wings faded to shadows before disappearing into her back once more. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of air.
"Home sweet home," she said to herself with a slight chuckle. There was a creaking as the iron gates opened by themselves. As she walked through the gateway, she found the courtyard completely empty. Like always. She crossed the grounds to the stairs and boy were there a lot of stairs. As if it was walking on flat ground, she bounded up them with grace. She gently raked her fingers through her hair before she kicked open the heavy metal and wood doors. The sound of the doors hitting the walls was louder then thunder. The servants that were in the entry way nearly had heart attacks. They were able to calm down when they saw their master stride through the doorway. Out of fear, they bowed. Her gaze passed over them, but she could care less.
She passed through another set of wooden double doors that led to a long corridor. Doors were stationed on each side of the hall. She seemed to have a purpose as she walked down the hall. She stopped in front of a door that was lavishly carved. This was the royal library. She pressed her ear up the door and smirked with satisfaction. There were two people inside. Two people who were waiting for her. She silently opened the door and slipped inside as if she was a shadow. No one noticed her entrance.
Sitting at a table by a large window sat the two people, deep in conversation. Exactly the people Shana was hoping to see. On one side of the table sat a man. When he stood, he was quite tall, a hand or two taller than Shana was. His hair was pin straight, white, and fell to his shoulders. He had two different color eyes, one red and one white. There was one angel wing, which once was white but now was black, and one demon wing concealed in his back. It was just the same as Shana and her dragon wings. His skin was a sickly pale, but not quite as pale as Shana. To accentuate his sharp features, he was dressed entirely in black, from tunic, to pants, to boots.
Sitting across from him was a woman. She was about the same height as Nira when she stood. Her hair was dark brown and it fell an inch or so passed her ears in a wispy cut. Her eyes were a dull red, like unpolished rubies, and her skin was a light tan. She wore a dark purple robe threaded through with silver markings of a culture long past.
Shana leaned against the window between the two, crossing her arms over her chest. She held back the urge to start laughing. She shook her head as she cleared her throat. That finally got their attention. Her two friends jumped at this noise. They franticly looked around the room to find the source of the noise. Finally, their gazes fell on Shana.
"Nice to see that you finally noticed me. Oh, I feel so loved." Her voice broke slightly as she kept back her laughter at them. Both of them blushed slightly. Shana couldn't hold it any longer; she doubled over laughing hysterically. Her two friends stared at her with mock coldness. She looked up at them and ceased her laughter.
"I see you made it back alive. What of your men?" Shana rolled her eyes.
"Just like you to ruin a fun moment, Vergil." Vergil shook his head.
"Will you just answer my question." She mockingly pouted at him.
"Fine. Well, to be blunt, they are all dead." Vergil's and the other girl's eyes widened.
"Are you serious, Shana?" asked the girl.
"Yes, Sehara. That is the honest truth. Oh, and, I have that amulet you made me go get. You owe me big time." Vergil and Sehara could only sit there in shock.
"I must admit, I didn't think you would be able to get it from that brat Allestar." Shana's eyes closed into slits as she stared at Sehara.
"You have the biggest amount of faith in me, Sehara." Shana shook her head, chuckling slightly, as she made her way over to a black velvet chair. As she walked to the chair, she took out said amulet and began to twirl it around her fingers. In one swift movement, she crossed her right leg over her left as she sat down.
"So, taking that amulet was easy?" inquired Sehara. Shana smiled.
"Like taking a toy from a sleeping baby. Allestar is such a weakling compared to me and my army." Vergil looked at her with a puzzling glance. She tilted her head slightly to the side and raised her eyebrows to him.
"Why so confused, brute?"
"I thought all your army was killed off." Shana stared at him a moment longer then started laughing once more.
"Do you honestly think I'm that stupid? I wasn't about to bring my whole army into battle. That’s what Allestar did, not me. I only took half, less then half actually, and used an illusion to make it look like more." Vergil nodded an approval. A sly smile crossed her lips with satisfaction. Sehara still couldn't comprehend that Shana did such a deed.
"But Allestar's army is undefeatable! How is that even possible!?" Shana lowered her head with a sigh of irritation.
"Sehara...Was is the word you need there. It so happens that his army was defeated by mine. I know that is somewhat hard to believe but get used to it." Sehara sat back against her chair, satisfied but embarrassed.
"You really are on my list of the fiercest fighters I know. Bravo," muttered Vergil. Shana looked at him but ignored what he said. She looked down at the amulet that was still being twirled in her fingers. Her thoughts stopped for a moment as she watched the last bits of sunlight glint off the gold and crystals. Sehara picked up a small piece of paper, crumpled it up, and threw it at Shana. Shana lifted her head in shock.
"Oh, I forgot to inform you both of something." Vergil and Sehara looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"I am going to be using my old name once more. It is more fitting for the time at hand."
"And it is?" asked Vergil. A smile crossed over Sehara's face, she knew the name very well. A gleam seems to flutter in Shana's eyes.
"That name happens to be Tallenessa Blooddagger, Vergil." Just as the name fell off her tongue, the room grew drastically colder. A strong wind began to rage outside of the palace. A wisp of this wind rushed through the slightly open window, licking the flames of the torches out. The three companions were left in the darkness, Tallenessa's cold laughter echoing in the shadows.
 ~The~Blackest~Rose~ · Sat Feb 16, 2008 @ 11:24pm · 0 Comments |
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