Chronicles of the Black Rose Ch. 01

The icy clearing was unusually quiet for this hour as Myranda sat underneath a tree and checked her supply of arrows, handling each one with care and cautiously placing them back in the quiver. She had never heard the forest this silent so close to twilight. The tiny hairs stood up on the back of her neck as she watched Rikishi carefully, checking for any signs that he might feel the same uneasiness as she. The cat just yawned, bearing his long, white fangs as his pink tongue snaked out to lick a black, triangular nose. Sighing restlessly as she scratched behind his ears, watching the shadows, determined to find the source of her uneasiness.

Her life was a fairly lonely one, consisting of very few friends and everybody was a potential enemy. Rikishi was her only companion and though at times her longing for human company was great, her distrust made it difficult to travel in groups, even if they were her own kind. She knew the laws of the land and she followed them precisely. The trees, the sky, and the waters spoke to her in a language long since forgotten by most of her people. The beasts of the land trusted in her and depended on her for protection. They spoke to her, because she listened. She only hunted the corrupted; the ones who had fallen prey to the dark forces which now seemed to be consuming everything around her. There wasn't a place in these lands she could go these days without seeing the signs forewarned by her ancestors. But the worst, they foretold was yet to come.

A twig snapped in the distance and Rikishi instantly jumped to his feet, nose high in the air as he shifted his weight, turning his head side to side seeking out a scent. Myranda watched in quiet contemplation, eyes shifting back and forth from Rikishi to the shadows in the distance, her bow drawn as she placed the first arrow in place. Muscles tense, every sense alert, she watched and waited as her mind searched for clues as to the source of the disturbance.

Her body started to shake as the minutes ticked past. Rikishi stared off into the east and a low growl escaped his throat as a shadowed figure stepped towards them. She swung her bow around, pointing it directly towards where she imagined the head to be as she snarled in the most menacing voice she could muster.

"You there, show yourself!"

The figure took two steps forward and her finger tightened on the crossbow's trigger.

"One more step and I don't care who you are I'll put this arrow strait through the middle of your forehead."

He stopped abruptly and laid his weapon to the ground at his feet.

"It's alright Milady I mean you no harm."

His actions disturbed her, no warrior she had ever came across parted of his weapon this easy. She made a hand signal to Rikishi who instantly pounced with purpose onto the stranger, holding him firmly in place as Myranda picked up the weapon, examining it for any clues as to who this stranger could be. A familiar symbol glowed upon the handle, a blood red rose with an outline black as coal. She looked down and saw his face in the moonlight, their eyes met and a strange tingling sensation flowed throughout her body, starting from the soles of her feet and rising to the top of her head. Her ears began to ring as her face flushed. A shiver ran through her although she was no longer cold. Her face burning with an impossible heat as her breath caught in her throat.

Rikishi began to purr as the stranger scratched him behind the ears.

"So we meet again noble one, ever diligent in protecting your Lady I see, well done... well done indeed."

Myranda dropped to her knees before the man as he rose to his feet.

"My apologies milord I didn't know that was you there."

Tears began to stream down her face as he leaned down, fingers gently cupping her chin, bringing her face up so he could look into her eyes.

"Milady you never have to kneel before me. You are not a servant, but my equal. And please, dry your tears, you could never shame me. It is I, who should be apologizing for startling you, I was not aware anybody would be here."

Myranda's eyes locked onto his for a moment as he ran the back of his hand up the side of her face and then slowly helped her rise to her feet. Her heart began to beat faster and she lowered her gaze. He was always so kind, yet she could not afford to hope his affections for her could be any different than they were for all of their people. She thought for a moment that his purpose this evening was to see her again, but as the wind changed direction she caught that familiar scent and knew immediately there was something sinister that brought him here. Rikishi sensed it too and let out a low whine as he jumped to her side, the hairs along his back standing on end.

"Milord," the fear in her voice was rising and he could see the terror on her face, the hatred burning in her eyes.

"Shhh," he whispered as he placed a finger gently to her lips.

"I know. That's why I'm here."

His heart ached for her. What must it be like to be so connected to the beasts of this world as she? He knew of her powers, had been drawn to her in his visions. He must protect her and convince her to stay with him. She was not like the others of their kind, and neither was he. They shared that bond. The loneliness, what it felt like to be different, resented by some yet revered by others. There was no animal she didn't know of, she felt their presence from the moment of birth and knew the instant they were taken from this world whether naturally or by force. She could track a man, demon, or beast for miles. He knew that death was what she sensed, what caused her terror to rise.

He had seen this moment long before it transpired and cursed himself as he realized why he had been here in his dreams. If only he had taken another path, he could have saved the poor beast, could have saved this woman before him. He was always too late. Damn this gift! Damn the God's who kept it alive in him when nobody else possessed it! It was times like this that he longed to be ignorant, longed to live a normal life behind the gated walls of the city. To have and possess what other men of their kind possessed. To settle down in some peaceful city, maybe marry and have children. Perhaps he'd be a blacksmith or work in the mines, only yielding a blade when necessary to protect their homes from invasion. But he reminded himself as he always did that the future is never really written. He told himself that one day he wouldn't fail; he would change at least one of these visions if he had to die in the process. This couldn't be for nothing, there had to be purpose!

He was jarred from his thoughts by Rikishi's loud growl as the air around them grew thick with the foul stench of death. Myranda was on the dead woman in a flash screaming her rage as she plunged her pole arm deep into the walking corpse before her, pinning the aberration to the ground and as she looked up at him he could see the hatred in her glowing eyes.

"Milord, your sword," she shouted as she kicked up with the toe of her boot, sending his weapon flying through the air at him with a force only one of the chosen could possess.

He caught the sword in his hand and wasted no time in bringing it down upon this dead mages neck, severing the head from the shoulders with one swift twist of his wrist. He could hear the sobs coming from the woman beside him as she dropped to her knees and laid a single black rose upon the body of the corpse before her. He watched in awe as she said a silent prayer for the dead that once were living and thought of the irony behind it all. Once again he was touched by the passion in this woman. How could she know about the black rose? This was an old tradition not used commonly these days among his people. He felt that sensation returning to him once more, the need to protect this woman, to shelter her from this evil that was manifesting all around them.

Slowly he moved to her side and knelt before the decapitated corpse, laying his own black rose upon her chest as he removed the amulet from around her neck and crushed it with his boot. His tears falling as her soul drifted to the heaven's, finally released from the bondage of this world as it should have been so many years before. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into the bewildered eyes of Myranda. He followed her gaze as she looked down upon the two black roses, crisscrossed one on top of the other. His fear for her increasing as the petals began to glow in a manner he had seen only in his dreams.

"It is time Lyran," she whispered, as she offered him her hand.

"We must go find the others. There is nothing more to be done here."