Raining Blood, Chapter 64: The memory.

"Do not be alarmed, dear Aqua." She said, I could see her now. Her colors fit nicely with the room. "Where am I?" "You're under Crescentia. Not in it. Which is why you're not longer on the spiritual plane." "Spiritual plane?" "Yes. The spiritual plane is where people go when they die. Nike intentionally put you all there, knowing you wouldn't be able to interfere with his plans that way," I couldn't feel my brothers and sisters anymore. They had just left Crescentia. I would be on my own when solving this. "I would like to tell you my story, Aqua. Do you mind?" "I guess now. But please. Don't take to long." "I will take as long as needed. Afterall, what's going on above, you cannot interfere with, even if you tried. My entire existence in and of itself was a mistake. I was just the product of a alcohol fueled hormonal reaction between two people in their early twenties. My mother was the one who carried me for nine months, and "cared" for me when I was a child. Well, she didn't really care for me. Every chance she got, I would be put down and laughed at by the one person that I was supposed to be able to find solace in. This didn't change, and if she were still alive today, it would probably still just be the same. When I began going to school, I was an outcast. The children abused me like I was merely a piece of garbage that they could throw away without a second thought. The only person I could ever talk to was my best friend, Vence, and I grew to trust him like a brother through my childhood. He was always so kind towards me, and helped me through the pain I had at school as well as at home. I would commonly stay the night with him just to have someone I could be with that understood me. As I grew into my teen years, I began to open up and find out what kind of person I was. I learned a lot about myself in a very short time, usually figuring things out either on my own or by talking with Vence. This is when I decided that, in order to actually become something in the small community I lived in, I would just do odd jobs around town to help people. It worked perfectly fine for a while, but over time, things began to happen with one of the men I usually helped around the house. I was no longer a little girl, and I had completely skipped being a normal woman. I was to become a mother just a few short days after my eighteenth birthday. Upon learning this, the leaders of my home town forced me out, saying that it was a sin against our guardian protecter and Demi-god. I lived in that forest for eight and a half of the nine months, trying my hardest to not only find a way out of there, but trying to dangle on to my life and my baby's. I tried to live on berries, but quickly ran out of those as well as clean water. I was easily just a day or so from death, and a miracle happened. A man clad in pitch black armor, carrying a scythe with ten blades, had appeared out of seemingly nothing. It was like he was watching me. He walked up a steep hill, and I followed, hoping he could help me. Just as soon as I saw him for the first time, he was gone. I kept walking about a mile, stumbling and falling in and out of consciousness, until I came upon the most amazing sight I had ever seen. A castle, perched at the top of a mountain. This castle was gorgeous. Sterling gold gates, walls that appeared to be made of silver, a lake that was sapphire blue, and a pathway to the main door that was actually made completely of smoothed onyx bricks. It was amazing, and as I walked toward the castle door, I could hear the ocean. At least I believe it to have been to ocean. It just seemed to violent a sound to be the ocean, which absolutely amazed me. I barely got a single knock on the door, and my body finally gave out on me. I was just about an hour from death, and I thought my resting place would be with my unborn baby at the door of this amazing castle." "Why is your story relevant to me?" "If you'll wait a few damn minutes, I'll get to that." She smiled. "Fine." "I woke a some time later, unaware of my surroundings. I was in a massive bed that had a black comforter and red sheets. It was large enough to fill my old bedroom back at my home, wall to wall. The head posts had what appeared to be scythe blades carved in them pointing in an upward arc over the headboard, which was made of mahogany. The room itself appeared to be about fifty feet wide by about sixty feet long. It was very dimly lit, so dimly in fact that the shadows of the furniture would flicker with the four candles that were placed in the corners to illuminate them. I was beginning to get drowsy again, and the door to the hallway opened with a massive, well built male figure standing in the doorway, gazing at me with eyes redder than shined rubies. He walked towards me calmly and sat down in a chair right beside the bed. As I looked closely, I could see that his skin was a very tan, his face was almost emotionless, and his bare chest had the mark that only a select few could ever adorn. He was one of the mystical Demonis Siblings. It was the master of Indelatra, Demi-god of nightmares, and the seventh child. Shade Veltro Demonis, the Demonis Warlord, was the man who saved me and my baby from death." "What!?" My heart nearly stopped. Who was this girl, and how dare she speak of such nonsense? "Let me continue..." "Fine. I'll call you out on your lies at the end, I suppose." "We'll see. He felt my head, and uttered the first words I ever heard him say. "Tell me now, darling, what do you desire the most in this world that has seemingly forsaken you?" I was speechless. I was in the castle of the famed Demonis Warlord. He was the protector of all Indelatra and it's inhabitants. I decided that I had to get an answer from him on one thing. "I need to know something. Why did you let that man take advantage of me?" "I did no such thing, Ella Isabelle Negorin. I never let him do such a thing to you, darling, and since he did have the chance, I made sure that he was killed without mercy nor regret." Shade then went on to tell me that he never meant to have me forced away from my home, and when he knew that I was gone, he made it so that I would subconsciously walk myself to his home, the grand castle Agylio. I was amazed. He cared about me enough to have me come to his home without even knowing it? I then started to have a breakdown, do which he merely sat on the edge of the bed and let me bury my face into his chest. I was given a feeling of comfort and acceptance, more-so than what I was able to with Vence. After I stopped crying, he put my head down and close my eyes with his hand. I began dreaming vivid dreams, yet the only thing I saw was a ring with a platinum band and a beautiful onyx as the gem. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of an infant's crying. Without knowing it, I had given birth in my sleep. I didn't know such a thing was possible, but I still to this day believe that Shade made me sleep through it so I wouldn't have to feel the pain. I also felt more alert, as though someone had put a jolt of pure energy into my body. Shade told me that he had taken care of me for a good two weeks, including the birthing. I appeared to be healthier than I had been before we had met, and I was proud of that. I asked for his hand, and when my hand was in his firm palm, I asked to be his. I wanted nothing more than to aide him in his life and show him the love that I never felt as a child. His face broke the stoic expression that I had seen when we first met, and he said yes. The Demonis Warlord wanted to be the husband to a lowly townsperson like myself. I was astonished. I leaned over and hugged him closely, being able to feel every breath he made. It was amazing, and I will never forget when he put that onyx and platinum ring on my finger," So Shade had married this woman? I couldn't say I was surprised now. She didn't seem to be lying, and Shade was conceited. Someone of low beauty couldn't so much as stand next to him in the past, and this woman wasn't exactly unattractive. "For a time, we lived happily as a married couple. I began to learn that in his castle, he was actually rather lonely, and longed for someone to be his companion. I was lucky enough to fill the void that was in his heart. He truly did love me, and I truly did love him back. He kept me safe, and I helped him learn to be kind and care for others, including my newborn son, whom he fathered. We named him John, just because we couldn't think of a better name. Over time, Shade allowed me to go into his throne room and participate in the so called Games he played to keep the island safe. It was all controlled by a massive chessboard that he kept hidden behind his throne. All the pieces that the opposition used were just chalk representations of normal chess pieces, while the pieces that he controlled were all made of rubies, except the Queen, who was made of onyx. After taking time to watch him play several games, I decided to just place myself on the board. I know he didn't want me to, but I wanted to help him as best I could. It was perfectly fine, and we won many, many games together as a couple and a team. Sadly, there was one game that I will never forget. It was a cool day in autumn. You know what, who cares about that? Shade and I were in the middle of a Game, and I was playing alongside the bishop piece and general, Calamiris Odelad De'Lend the Second. We got separated, and I went on a killing spree, taking out all but one of the pawns on my own. Without warning, Calamiris had been taken off the game board by the opposition. I was alone. I was alone and desperate. In order to stay alive, I kept hidden, waiting for backup, but I kept getting messages from Shade that my followers were getting taken out one by one. It eventually came down to myself and all of the higher ranking pieces of the opposition. I kept moving swiftly, but they closed in on me. Within the blink of an eye, I was held to a tree by chains. I was almost sure that they opponents were going to kill me as quick as possible, but this wasn't they case. They wanted something more. Something they knew would not only hurt myself, but my husband as well. The head rook took out his sword, and slowly dragged it down the front of my dress, slicing it wide open for all to see. I was mortified. They began to rip my clothing off, so I closed my eyes and hoped that memories of that fateful night wouldn't return. Within moments, I could feel something warm splatter on my half-naked body, but I knew it wasn't what I had originally thought it was going to be. It was fresh blood. I opened my eyes, and before me stood Shade, clad in his armor with blood on Tenscythe. He forfeited the game by stepping on the board, but he saved me. He came to my rescue. He was and always had been a hero in my eyes, but until then, I had never known that he was willing to put everything on the line just for me. After taking some time out of the Games to recover from the loss, I joined back in. I was now aided by Calamiris the Third, a young man who was always clad in golden armor. He was very rash, and even though he took his father's place as a Bishop and Shade's general, he had the mind of a teen. I somewhat took care of him on the battlefield, but it got old, and I left him to his own devices. With time, I became more and more skilled with a sword, and asked that I be allowed to take control of the Board at some points. This was when Shade began making me a throne, and had the best seamstress on the island make me the dress that I wear at this very moment. He crowned me his "queen", and had the throne hand made by his own fingers. It matched perfectly with my ring, my dress, and my love for everything he had done for me. A few years later, we played against a very dangerous opponent. H, the goddess of Devera. She wanted control of Indelatra, and didn't know the meaning of the word "no". Shade accepted her challenge, and I took my post as his queen piece once again. The battle was quick and flawless. Calamiris led the pawns well while I led the higher ranking Pieces. This Game took merely a day, and even H was astounded by the length of it. For some reason, as soon as I exited the board, I felt something odd in my stomach. I figured it was likely the sandwich I had for lunch, and didn't other to tell anyone. That night ... was the most painful experience of my life. Shade and I were in bed, cuddled closely to each other, talking about our victory. He was genuinely happy, but not for the win against H. He was happy that, no matter what, he knew that I was loyal to him. It was a fact. I still, to this day, want to be with nobody but Shade. We kissed, and after he blew out the candles that kept the slightest amount of light in the room and drew the curtains so that the moon could shine in on me like I loved, we fell asleep. A few hours later, I woke up, coughing and spattering. It felt like something was choking me but stabbing me in the chest at the same time. I looked at my hands, and I noticed fresh blood. I shook Shade awake, and he tried his hardest to save me. Within minutes, I began to black out, slowly losing consciousness, feeling all the blood flying out of me with every outward breath I took. I knew it was over, and I didn't want it to be. He was trying so hard ... so hard to protect the one he loved. As I started to close my eyes for the last time, I saw something that I never thought I would. Shade Veltro Demonis, the Demonis Warlord and Demi-god of nightmares ... began to cry. He began to cry because he was losing the one thing that he truly loved." I hated the use of his false titles. Every title Shade had had was self-proclaimed. So Shade had loved this woman? Shade had nearly died protecting this woman? Or had she died protecting him? "His titles were so stupid." Was all I managed to mutter as my tear ducts betrayed my mind. "I cannot say that I disagree with you there." She smiled at me. A warm smile, to match a warm mood. The look in her eyes told me everything. She knew Shade was gone. She knew neither of us would hear his voice again in this lifetime. She wasn't here for Shade, no. She was here for me. "What do you want?" I asked, curious as to her intention. Why would she be here for me? I had little to no connection with Shade. "You're the most... understanding of your sibling that won't turn me into the Reapers. I've denied my Nirvana for years, trying to connect with one of you." "Nirvana?" "When you die, and come to terms that you're dead, and that you're family and friends will be ok while you're gone forever, you're offered a Nirvana. A Nirvana is your own world, it's whatever you make it. You can change it day to day, it's your world. I have refused this peaceful thing, to be with Shade. And now, to be with my family. The spiritual plane exists solely for a spirit to assure themselves of the family's well-being. I've been in the spiritual plane for a good fifteen years now-" "Wait.. we're not in the spiritual plane right now..." "False. You're not in the spiritual plane. I am always in the spiritual plane. We cannot see each other when we are on the same plane. So I have been dragging you out, to communicate. I've been able to make whispers while we're on the same plane, but that is the best I can do. It seems to have been enough." "Thank you. For telling me your story, Ella. But can you take me back above ground?" "I'll do better than that." My eyes closed forcefully, and with them, my consciousness faded. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I awoke in a town of ruins. Was I in Valer? Had I been sent backwards? I looked around and became horrified. I saw the Crescentian Temple, stating it's authority above on the top of one of the sides of the Crescentian mountain. "You destroyed it. Why? What did we do to you? What is the point of this fight?" Senterra screamed behind me. I was no longer in the spiritual plane. I would have to thank Ella if I ever saw her again. "You've simply made it the most interesting, and the most challenging game, I've ever been able to manage. Rayne makes quite a worthy opponent." That cut deep. "What?" She asked. His mention of Rayne had effected her as well. In an instant, her axes were rotating around her. The axes flew forward, each cutting him. None fatal. He leaped towards her, his blade drawn. He was about to stab her through her chest. The axes reacted once again, forming into a dome around her, lifting her off the ground, but at the same time, knocking Nike into one of the several standing walls. He quickly recovered. And in an instant, fire surrounded her. As it closed around her, Nike stole a glance at me. He laughed menacingly and vanished.