Young Writers Society

Chapter 9

Yuuki, formerly Nastusia, leans up against a tree watching nearby townsfolk go about their daily lives not noticing the extra people nor seeming to care why they had come. The small group of dismal shacks line along the forest, marking the edges of the town, if it could be called such. With a light sigh she glances down at the book on Ancient Traditions with a dark scowl. Many of their traditions did not sit well with her and she wishes desperately to change them. Change it for the better. The thought of being hidden did not please her having spent most of her life hidden as it was from even most of her family.

Beside her, Miko, formerly Aydan, glances up to spot the subtle frown and asks curiously, "What's wrong, Yuuki?"

"I do not like these rules! These traditions cage the Ancients. Surely there has to be a way for us to have the right to be equal with those humans instead of hiding in the shadows!" Yuuki vehemently rants while glaring angrily at the book. "Who the hell decided that children who brings dishonor to the family should be burned alive instead of just disowned?!" Her voice turns increasingly louder, drawing the attention of her healer, Anastasia who pauses from her rune research to come over to the group of children.

Anastasia kneels down beside Yuuki, taking the book and glancing over the chapter Takeshi assigned her the hour before. Catching the title she winces in sympathy, "I'm sorry, child. Some of these traditions and laws are barbaric. But if you truly wish to change them then I know you can. You just need to believe in yourself."

Takeshi leans against the same tree adding in his own two tokens, "I know if anyone can change the ways back to what they were before the war, it will be you, Yuuki." His eyes soften as he watches his daughter smile brightly, all her anger forgotten.

Amya carefully shades in the broken glass flower she has been meticulously drawing for the past two hours to look up and spots her target. A woman a few feet in front of her with blonde hair and the grace in her stride obviously told the surrounding people that she was of Redmoon.

With a slight smirk she goes back to her drawing knowing soon the showdown would begin. It is only a matter of time now. Watching from the corner of her eye she grins to herself as the woman glances up and spots Yuuki and Miko. Her face turns red then white with rage as she encroaches upon the small group of children and trio of adults.

Feeling something enclose upon them with a threatening aura, Takeshi turns to stare at a furious woman with steely amethyst eyes. She says nothing as she stares at him then at his daughters, Yuuki and Miko, with sheer hatred and resentment.

"How dare you protect the likes of them!" Lady Redmoon roars, jabbing her finger at the siblings whose face reflect matching terror as they watch helplessly as Takeshi moves to stand, protectively in front of them, eyes taking on a fierce glare.

"They are the Princess and Protector of this planet! If you're so ignorant to disregard that crucial fact then are not worth their time." Takeshi snaps, fingers itching to throttle the woman who had been a helping hand in the abuse of both of his precious daughters.

Grasping hold of Takeshi's shirt, Lady Redmoon snarls, "Those children should've died when they were born. You made a mistake in choosing them as the heir. Damien would be a much better suit for such a role then those Fyrak!"

Not even blinking, Takeshi retorts, "As history has shown itself over and over, male rulers only end in war. Females are much more sensitive, more willing to listen to the needs of the people over the Yami."

Snarling with rage, Asinga strikes Takeshi across the face, hissing out, "I dare you to say that again, Phantom Takeshi!"

A smirk enters his eyes as he remains silent, to study her aura. He knew that from the rising aura behind him that one of his daughters is close to snapping in rage. Waiting to learn just who it is he adopts a bored expression that sends Asinga to grit her teeth in frustration.

Yuuki's eyes flash dangerously as this woman dares to hurt her father. Growling, she storms over to the duo and takes hold of the woman's wrist tightly. With quick reflexes Yuuki shoves her old guardian away, hand tightening til a loud crack rings through the eerily silent atmosphere in their area. The others stare at Yuuki in surprise, but also a longing to protect. Evelyn, Rayan, and Aryiana move to surround Yuuki as they feel a dangerous aura spike from the woman as Miko buries her face in Takeshi's side, whimpering in fear.

Face twisting in pain, Asinga snarls to Takeshi, "You will never be able to save her. The past cannot be undone." Turning her gaze to her two daughters she adds, "And you two! I will make sure you die in the most painful ways imaginable."

Aryiana turns to the siblings, encouraging them by saying, "Don't worry about them. We have your backs! Besides, soon we'll be in Reya and that makes it impossible for anything but letters to find us."

The two smile weakly at her before both of them cling to Takeshi, seeking comfort in his warm, powerful aura as he calmly begins to hum a lullaby, not at all afraid to do anything to break them out of the frightened looks in their eyes.

With that threat delivered, Asinga leaves the area without a single reply given back. Appearing in front of the elegant manor of Redmoon, she growls out, "You will pay, foolish girl." As she enters the Redmoon manor, her husband glances up as she snaps the bones in place, murmuring a healing incantation while explaining with one word. "Them."

Eyes narrowing he chuckles darkly as he whispers, "Don't worry. I'll make sure they'll pay." Pausing a few seconds, he lets out a smile before muttering a simple phrase, eyes tinting with sinister glee, "Ala sha."

While Yuuki places her book back in the bag laying desolately beside the tree she fingers her mark absently. Staring down at it, she remembers slightly the many items within the mark now and asks Takeshi, "Why do things seal themselves inside the mark, daddy? Does something-" She stops abruptly as her throat constricts and her chest lights up with searing agony.

As her fingers dig into her chest in hopeless attempt to halt the onslaught of pain. Upon her throat, just above the voice box, a small runic circle glows brightly as Anastasia gently pushing herself inside, knowing she had to override the runes or the damage from overexposure to such debilitating pain could permanently destroy the delicate organs.

Traveling down from the brain stem into the larynx to spot the first set of runes settled upon the child's voice box, Anastasia pushes her healing magic around the delicate organ, willing the damaged skin to heal. Surrounding the organ in her magic she forces the runes to overdrive with magic shutting them down for now. Inspecting the damage left over she finally moves farther down to the heart.

The first thing she searches for is to see if the containment runes were keeping the damage contained like they were designed too. Scrutinizing the runes she lets out a relieved sigh as the damage did not go outside the circle before willing the dying cardiac muscle to heal. Several minutes slowly pass before the muscle turns a slightly healthier shade.

Knowing she would need to keep healing for the next few hours, Anastasia pulls out and glances around to spot Takeshi kneeling down beside Yuuki as is Miko. They quickly turn to look at her expectantly.

"She'll be fine. But I'll have to heal her every few hours in order to reverse the damage enough that she can function normally without any complications." Anastasia explains while Aticulis packs up all the bags.

"We need to move on if we wish to reach Reya. We can't use the crystal here. The wards around the town from the bank will not allow such magic to take place." He explains while motioning for the group to follow.

Takeshi carefully helps Yuuki to her feet, keeping close to her side as she staggers on unsteady feet before finally managing to walk with somewhat cautious steps along with the rest. Soon the small run down shacks vanish from their hindsight as they head deeper into the forest. Takeshi glances down at Yuuki, absently wondering if she would like Reya. A small voice inside his head whispers that of course she would, but still he doubted.

As they walk Nova begins to glare fuming at Yuuki. Aryiana notices the glare and moves to confront her when Rayan and Amya quickly shook their heads, mouthing, "Let her be." Each step forward, each minute that passes sends her blood boiling until she snatches hold of Yuuki's arm to pull her around in order to face her.

"Why are you the heir when you're just a snobby, attention seeking Fyrak!" She shouts in Yuuki's face, finally sick of the way the other girl "appeared" to be.

Yuuki stares at Nova in shock for a few minutes before finally hissing back, "If you weren't so blind with envy you'd notice that I'm not like that at all! Do you think an arrogant Fyrak would allow herself to walk in a group without throwing a giant tantrum? Did you ever stop and look at just how I react to the world around me?"

As her rant continues, Yuuki feels her magic swirling inside her. It pulses like a beacon as she finds herself whispering the words the darkness stirring within hollers in her mind, "If anyone is a Fyrak it is you!"

Nova takes a step back, her face frozen in fear and shock. Yuuki takes a step forward when a voice behind her speaks up, amused, "Well that was entertaining to say the least. But at least I have found you, Nastusia."