Lunatic

1. Lunatic

 

 

Knight-Captain Kathriana vel Daris breathed in the cool, crisp air of the night deep into her lungs with a confident smile. The luscious aroma of eucalyptus and oak swam through her senses, blooming endorphins that sent small shock waves through her body. The first layer of essence that the forest provided was always like the beginning of a multi-course meal. Eucalyptus and oak smoothed through into the next layer, the lush green of leaves and a rich scent of the soil of the earth.

Essence, to Kathriana, was something very important to everyday life. It was the feel of something, it was the very soul of something or someone. It was in every tree, plant, river, animal, person, you name it and Kathriana could connect with its essence. It was untraceable to the common eye, to the common senses of everyday life. But it was something everyone sensed in some way or another. The feel of someone’s kindness, it has no physical touch or thick explanation, it is just what the instinct tells about that person or thing. If a man in the dark alley gives you the distilling vibes of danger, his essence is vile and repulsive. But when it came to the earth and all its pieces, common people had a harder time even realizing there was something there to feel.

Kathriana, knew very intimately just how a tree felt, how a happy, healthy plant could sing and how it could tell secrets only the earth knew. How a river swam with a certain flow that meant where it had been and where it was going. She was a part of everything around her, and every one. There was so much to discover from the essence, then the smells and feel of everything that took part of her surroundings.

And the sounds! What a wonder to never be fully explored, to never find the true depths of what was there to be discovered. It was like a dog chasing a carriage only to get distracted by another, then another. There was just so much to discover, to track, to hunt, to taste and experience in every way. Creatures burrowing beneath the earth, leaving prints in the dirt, sniffing out a meal for the evening.

The leaves above rustled and the soft shift of leather boots against the loose soil suggested that her team was getting restless. It was true that she had made them stretch their patience for a little over forty minutes now, but all good things to those who wait. And Kathriana had waited years to get the order of tonight, and months of effort into tracking down the most notoriously elusive squad of bandits to ever wreak havoc on the kingdom.

'The Thieves Guild' was responsible for not only missing produce from the common seller's market, but in stolen gems, vases and jewels from the very royals that ruled the kingdom. Artifacts and prized possessions from the castle and court itself. They had continuously raided caravans outside the kingdom to the point that the people could no longer receive the imported fruits and vegetables and materials they used in everyday life. Their markets were barren, their black smiths without substance to shape and mold, the tailors without material to cut and sew into attire to be sold. Perfumers had no oils to blend and create their scents. Craftsmen had no woods to carve and jewelers no stones to put to pieces and sell.

The Guild had literally disrupted every life in the Kingdom in one form or another. The constables that policed the streets had done their best efforts to capture the thieves in the act, to find them and trace back to some sort of base that never seemed to exist. When, after weeks of this went on and not a one was caught or even close to being closed in on, the King took in the complaints of his people time and time again. And when his constables failed, he gave the word for a section of his Guard to be sent on patrols and take the place of the constables on any cases that could lead to a capture of the infamous thievery. The guard had done its best as well and only come up with the single consensus that the theft was being done by multiple people and those people, had been trained very well. They were fast, elusive, never struck in the same place, and never left a thing behind besides several footprints in the dirt disappearing into a river or where the earth no longer was condusive to track from. The footprints gave the notion that the thieves were adult men, some as young as teenagers.

When the guard members reported to their King of their failure in the same endeavor, he turned to his High Guard, Nova Valtrees. The order had been given that he no longer cared how many men it took, how long it took, the resources needed, he wanted those bandits stopped and he wanted them stopped now. In the King’s eyes, it had been a mere bug problem at first, something to be squashed and forgotten. But it had quickly turned into an infestation that could not be seen or heard, just destroyed by. His people were hurting and he had not acted to the extreme because it had not been thought to become such an entanglement.

And just as he’d given the order for his best men to be sent out into the field to find and capture, the thieves had seemed to know just how popular they’d become and went after the best and brightest treasures of all- the Royal Family’s precious items.

This was something none other had achieved in the criminal realm. People stole from royals when they went out of the safety of the castle and court and into the town itself, when their guard was down and their security not always as tight as it should be. Small, petty theft with a rare escape with actual jewels or coins. But these were pieces being taken from the very halls of the castle. From the jewelry boxes of the royals, of the King himself. How anyone was getting past the guards and into the bed chambers of someone so important and highly held was something no one could withstand or conceive of. Who could be good enough to do such and never be seen or heard by the surrounding guards?

The final draw had come when the night that the King was first stolen from, a ruby from a neighboring kingdom that had been given as a gift. Taken straight off the King's bed-side table as he slept over night. The castle had been thoroughly searched and no one had found either the ruby or any clues as to how it had been taken.

Rumors had floated that the group was merely a traveling cartel that preyed on many towns. Stealing what they wanted, took it elsewhere and either sold it or hoarded it all somewhere which had yet to be found still. The local knights had all been notified that here was an award by the King himself to whomever caught members of the Guild. Or more importantly, found any in information on its leader and a higher ranking in status at Court as reward for his or her capture.

Kathriana wasn't after the new title, however, she was in it for the hunt and what had become a personal matter. She had not lived in this Kingdom her entire life, but she had chosen it as her home when it had proved to her just how much it was worth fighting for.

The people were kind and good, they were warm and friendly and looked out for one another. The elders were looked after by their kin and the children prized as rare treasures. Women were looked at as wonderful gifts to the earth in every form and men worked hard and earnestly. The thriving Kingdom put love and healthy good will into everything they did. Their crops grew well, their schools were well educating and its people abided the church with diligence. It was a rare thing to find such a place, where murder and crime was low and the people all knew one another well. They loved their King and Queen with great reverance and respect, speaking only highly of him and his family and his ways. They were a great leadership among a wonderful place.

The Kingdom was small in comparison to others, made of the best craftsmen in almost every trade. They specialized in creating with such originality and thought that every other kingdom ordered goods from. Weapons, fashion, woodwork, tapestries, it was all themed here, where creativity blossomed and beauty flourished.

Kathriana had fallen in love with this Kingdom long ago and, in its finding, had the revelation that a place with such principles and good will deserved to be protected. It was something worth fighting for, which was all Kathriana had been searching for. But she’d had a clue of that when she’d found the King’s own daughter so far from home and in a bind.

Princess Alexandria had such heart and innocence to her while still baring a fighting spirit and determination to survive. Kathriana had found so many a things to learn from the young woman that she’d escorted her across the far plains and dangerous regions back to her home and safely to her mother and father’s waiting arms. The Kingdom, the Royal Family and all the people had accepted her so readily, given her shelter, food, new weapons and offered her everything they had, not just for saving their precious Princess, but because they were good people.

So to Kathriana, these bandits, this Thieves Guild as it had come to be called, had not only caused a riot of problems to those she cared for and stolen from the crown she served, it had posed a serious threat to the well being of the very thing she was fighting for, something worth every blade and sacrifice to keep alive and thriving. Good, was worth fighting for, it was worth every sacrifice to readily be made and she would see to it that such happened it the case ever arouse. And this darkness, this ill will and malice had seeped in through the cracks and posed as nothing but common mischief, and had now become a dark cloud seething at the innocence of this Kingdom.

It could not be tolerated.

In protecting what she believed in, what she fought for, she also got out of it the hunt that made her veins sing with coursing adrenaline and set her teeth on edge to a gleeful smile. The thrilling anticipation of a new lead, the exhilaration of finding you're one step closer to the end of the line. Hard work and dedicated tracking for months was all about to pay off.

Her superior would surely congratulate her, showering her in recommendations to the Courts, meaning the King would surely fund her a new armory at her disposal. The image of new, shinning steal glittering from a newly-carved cabinet had her clenching her fists in anticipation.

Not that the physical rewards meant much in the long run, they were a nice perk atop the satisfaction that she’d kept the darkness away and the good allowed to shine through as it was meant to. No, the compliments and treasures and gratitude was not needed for her, it was merely the idea that she’d succeeded in keeping alive what she had not seen very often and knew deep down, that she was meant to protect.

There was a rustle of movement and someone brushed against her right side. Her first Lieutenant, Michel vel Tomas, gave a quick nod and slow blink. He was impatient but curious as to why she was delaying the squad so long. He was right, though Kathriana was infinitely patient and overly cautious about her tracking, she had the men waiting poised for attack a tad too long now.

Her men, every single one that she knew so very well. From the youngest, a fresh out of knighthood young man with a drive that kept him coming back for more, to the oldest, seasoned guard that had been with the kingdom all his life like his father and his father before him. She knew them very well, they were her comrades, her friends. They were men she trusted, which was a rare find for Kathriana. She knew that if she gave an order, they abided it with not a question asked, not a doubt ensued. They believed in her every much as she believed in them. They shared the same building as their quarters just to the East of the castle, visited the same tavern every now and again, shared lessons and tips on their fighting techniques in the practice fields just behind the Guard Quarters.

She knew every name, every reason they had for doing what they did and just how far they would go to perform their shared task in protecting the Kingdom and the crown.

Kathriana steeled herself, shoving away straying thoughts of the past and her men.

It was time to release the dogs.

Downwind, in an oak-ringed meadow, camped the Thieves Guild as a temporary gathering place. Too little did they take meet together and Kathriana had tracked their severely encoded messages down to this oh-so rare opportunity. They camped just yards away, eating their meats over the camp fires and chortling at their jokes. She could smell the cooked pork roasting in its own juices, hear the sizzle and pop of the logs where flames licked hungrily. The slashing of their ale in cans, the symphony of clangs and tings of various stolen artifacts echoed between the trees to her.

Somewhere in the troupe was her main goal, the ruby among monotonous rocks, the leader that was among the most wanted to the King. No name was ever given and no hints that there even was a single man to blame but Kathriana had more than a keen sense of criminal behavior. She listened intently to her instinct and right now, it was telling her that someone of great importance to the Guild lay up ahead. An organization as accomplished as this could not have been banded together without careful planning and execution. It could not have come so far and stolen so much without giving away practically nothing to follow back to. It could not have become the single most worried thing in the kingdom without having someone strong and clever and cunning to lead it. She knew, in her deepest beliefs that there was a leader and if there was, that he would be here. And that she was going to find him, capture him, and drag him back to the King with pride.

Nodding once curtly to her Lieutenant, she reached for  her set of blades. Her long sword and its twin-sister only half its length. Drawing them out silently, she noted the growing tension around her as the Scarlet Guardians did the same.

The first wave of her best shooters hid among the trees and brush, bows drawing and taking selective aim. Ordered to aim only for immovability and no fatal blows so as not to harm her precious captures beyond repair. The second wave was the ring of her best swordsmen surrounding the large oval meadow ordered to counter-attack those fighting back, again ordered to cause the criminals to be unable to run. The third wave of men was sanctioned to obtain and arrest. Thirty-six men at her disposal to capture and stop the notorious Thieves' Guild, this moment would be the pay off for several months of dedication.

With all weapons drawn, hearts stammering a thundering cadence like the oncoming heard of stallions, Kathriana gave the order. She flipped her long sword in a circular wrist flip. The cold steel glinted with a silvery light, the moon sending a single ray across the woods in silence.

Soft whips snapped arrows across the darkness into the meadow. Men cried out and as the bow men reloaded, the second wave rushed forth. The circle enclosed on the Guild and chaos ensued. The Guardians disarmed first, knocking blades away and striking stunning blows to temples and throats as the third wave took advantage and locked iron cuffs on the dazed Guild members. By the time the first round of men were in custody, the remaining Guild began their retort by way of angry cries and drawn swords.

As steel clanged and men cried out, Kathriana hung back near the edge of the ring on looking with undivided attention. She was looking for a tell, the sign that one or more of the men was more important the others. But no sign showed, no man or men were especially protected or looked to for orders. If one was above the others, surely, the bandits would surround him and fight off her men. Surely, he would be looked to by his men for orders or help.

For what seemed like forever, there was no notion that her hunch was right. Steeling herself she forced her patience to hold out and wait. Something deep within her told her that she was right, that tonight was the night and she would have been a fool to ignore her instinct. There was so much more to this world than the obvious, and the instinct was given to every person alive for a reason, it meant fight or flight. It meant to keep survival as prime and it meant to provide a glimpse into more than the human mind could understand as important. And right now, Kathriana knew if she just waited, the dust would settle and she’d find what she was here for.

As the monotonous sounds of the attack drowned away into the background of her senses, she felt a shift. Something unnatural, unlike the common thieves amass in the meadow, something of a different essence became apparent. It stirred the fabric of reality around it and began moving toward the North East corner of the oval. To the common eye and senses, it was undetectable and unnoticed. But to Kathriana’s superior senses and trained for such a thing, it was a big splash with wild ripples in the very air around it. It cast a subtle glow like a dim lantern. The same thing only ever happened when something powerful of a different nature than that of humans was there.  

That had to be her man, she sprung forward almost unnaturally quick. Kathriana ran in large strides across the meadow, moving in and around fighting men as if she knew where they would  move next, stepping around their movements rhythmically. Slowly, she began to close in on the essence, the edge of the circle coming into view just as a set of running feet became clear up ahead. The man was a good five foot, ten inches and had a thin frame. Every inch of his skin was covered in black material, either leather or cloth. His forearms were sleeved in leather gauntlets branded with the Thieves Guild coat of arms and a long sword was strewn diagonally across his back. The common Guild mask coated his face down to where it tucked beneath his shirt. He was dressed as commonly as any Guild member which made him as suitable believe as the sly liege she knew the Guild head must be. A clever leader knew not to stand out and be the obvious target.

Not only was this man sly enough to weasel past her well-trained guards, and quiet enough to slip out the back, he was dressed as a commoner to mask his importance. And more notably, his essence had her senses going haywire. His energy had flared there in the meadow as if he had used his power to distract away from his escape and hadn't been counting on her to be there able to see it. It made sense as to why the Guild had yet to be caught, especially why this seemingly ordinary man was slipping away from her men. If something with great power could veil the Guild from eyes and ears, that would account for how treasures were taken without a trace to follow. But those footprints were something a veil could not erase. This man had used power, and at a strong level of power at that, to veil his escape from the Scarlet Guardians.

Whatever he was, he wasn't human.

Now, his essence was slowly sealing off, vanishing into a traceless energy signature. She was starting to lose track of him solely by feeling out his energy, she had to get closer and finish his escape off completely. Kathriana had been taking her time after him, reveling in the wonder that he was, pondering over what possibilities were left to someone who could hold such power, veil an entire guild every time they stole, and again here in the fight, veil himself from everyone to escape. The only reason she’d caught his escape was because she could see what others could not, and could feel what others could not. He must not have been planning on that fact and she was counting on it now.

But as he gained on her now, impossibly fast for a mere man, she realized she needed to stop gaping in awe from a distance and give real chase. She needed to stop playing with her prey, prolonging the fight just to make it last, and catch him.

Throwing aside her patience and deliberation, she double-checked behind her, ensuring no one followed. Alas, none of her men had seen the strange man slipping away and due to the way she'd weaved between fights at the speed she did, no one could have kept up.

She pushed off hard from the log she'd stepped upon, kicking up the dust as she ran with all her might. The forest blurred past her, her chestnut curls blowing back off her shoulders. He was yards away up ahead, quick and silent and in the darkness, he was melting away. Deliberately, he was swallowing up his energy to fully vanish. But her trained eyes kept to him and she stilled her breathing slow as her strides grew longer, eating up the space between them faster than he was able to escape. As she raced forward, she grew closer and closer to him. Able to make out his every detail now and smell his musky scent on the wind all the better. A scent that seemed somehow familiar in a distant way, somewhere in her mind, it registered as known, but she couldn’t take the time to allow her attention to stray and figure out just where she’d tasted that scent before.

Upon him now, due to her unnatural speed, she stepped up on a large boulder protruding from the earth and leaped forward, arms extended. Her long fingers enclosed on his collar, the other hand on the edge of his vest. She gripped him hard and jerked him off balance as her body began its descent. They both fell hard into the dirt and oak tree roots. The man grunted and shifted, trying to slither away.

Kathriana shifted as well, countering him and keeping a firm hold on his vest. His essence suddenly began to open up once more, invading her senses with a distracting maze of colors. She couldn't see his shape or anything else, just powerfully bright, vivid colors before her eyes. She felt the vest slip free of her hand and she blinked into focus, scattering the colors away to see reality again. He had managed to scramble up and began tearing off again. She stood fast, spinning into his path, closing off his route and flipping out her sword. The blade pinned flat against his throat, pulling him back against the large oak next to him as she squared off, facing him fully. She angled the blade to pin his windpipe at the tip of her steel, eyes glinting daringly at him.

As the man fought for his breath, she stared calmly at him. This was her moment, everything she'd worked so hard for, planned for. Before, in the meadow, she could smell it. Now, she could taste it.

"Either you remove your mask, or my blade does." her voice was crystalline in the crisp, night air, a stunning contrast to the scratch of paws and screech of the occasional owl around them.

Through the only holes in the mask, the man's eyes creased as if he smiled from behind the cloth. "As you wish." The smooth tones said confidently, and the voice slithered along his scent toward the recognition in her mind. His gloved hand pulled away the mask. The veil of cloth pulled free, unveiling the man single-handedly responsible for the madness in the Kingdom. A thin face to fit such a frame, commonly toned skin and a wreath of short, dark curls.

Her breath hitched in her throat and her knee buckled to make her kneel though she held herself up and stared into the black eyes. "Treason!" she urged the sword into his throat and heard the satisfying gasp. Now it all made sense, the musky scent and the voice to match. She knew this man, knew his name, knew his life, knew his rank. And it was a rank above hers.

"Knight-Captain," he choked out, throat struggling against her sword, a trace of authority teasing his voice. "I assure you, I intend no malice to you or especially the Kingdom we both serve." He spoke truth, she felt it in his tone and heard the steady rhythm of his heart beat.

“Sire Nova Valtrees,” she hissed, still unbelieving as she stared at the truth. Nova was the High Guard in the Royal fleet of guards. The man that answered only to the King, his right hand man that kept all things in order. He was the one that the King gave the order to for the Guild problem to be in his hands now. He was the one to have made Kathriana the Knight-Captain she was. He was the one to have helped her train her men and taught her to be the great guard she was now. He was well known and well trusted in the Kingdom, yet here he stood, caught red-handed with the Guild ensignia on his gauntlets, as the man that led such tyranny over the people they both served. “I don’t understand.” She admitted. “Why? Why you? Why would you be leading this terrible force against the crown?”

When her sword didn't budge and her eyes moved from him even less, he continued. "As your superior, you will allow me the time to explain myself." It wasn't a hope or a question, it was a blatant order.

She gritted her teeth and tilted the sword edge against his skin harshly, drawing the slightest drip of blood from his throat. "As a traitor to the crown, I will allow you nothing but a set of irons as I walk you before the King and expose you."

His dark gaze glittered, "I understand your strain and conflict, but I have done this all for a very great reason. Though I know you cannot see or understand it now. There is a greater game at play than you could dream of and I nor my men have harmed a single citizen or taken what cannot be replaced with our endeavors.”

She narrowed her glare to a slit, the amethyst burning at him. Again, all she could read was sincerity. And what he said was true, there had not been a single casualty nor even a scratch to any citizen in any of the attacks where treasures were stolen. But that didn’t change the fact that he had still stolen, and there were people suffering because of it. The makers without their materials, the people feared the night and leaving on the roads in case they were stolen from.

What she couldn't understand was exactly what he'd said. Kathriana couldn't piece together why her superior, the Captain of the Royal Guard, the man that was personally attributed to the Royal Family's safety was also the man who assigned her the exclusive task of hunting down the Guild. Of how he could reason what he’d been doing away as part of some ‘bigger game’ and why he’d do such terrible things.

 

Sir Nova Valtrees stared back at her, waiting ever so patiently for her to think through all her options and decide. Although he seemed to know exactly where the dice would stop rolling and as she eased her sword away from his skin and slipped it to her sheathe, his suspicions were confirmed.

He slipped his sleeves over the traitorous gauntlets and shoved the mask into his pocket. He took a step forward to make them side by side and placed a hand on her tense shoulder. "You've made this decision of your own free will, know that. I only had to test you and plotted the course based on my observations of your behavior so far. Have no doubt that I am thoroughly impressed and I will never forget this achievement, and the answers you seek will soon be answered to their fullest." He patted her shoulder and began forward. "I'll see you after you've got the dungeons full and the King notified."

Kathriana blinked out of her daze and turned, "What about their leader? I'm to have every member in custody, it's what I earned after all." She held his gaze a moment, willing him to understand the need for full payment to what she'd worked so hard for.

His smile sent chills feather down her spine. "One of the men you captured this evening is my progeny, he is to blame for all but where I led them and will serve as your suitable leader. His name is Godrick Allen, I'm sure with your exquisite senses you'll find him easily. Now go, you're needed to seal off the most impressive and vast capture of criminals this kingdom has ever seen."

 

As Kathriana made her way back through the forest she'd just sped through after her prey, she found her thoughts warring inside her head violently. Right then, her 'prey' and 'capture' was probably racing back to the castle, taking his place again as if nothing had happened and she hadn't caught him red-handed as the leader to the Guild.

Her loyalty was in sure questioning, if she served the crown and the king so deeply and without shadow, why was she allowing an obvious traitor just walk away and not haven irons on him as there should have been. Why had she given in? Why was she weakened and vulnerable to something she was so sure of? The answers were still to be found but she was beginning to hate herself for walking away. The reason for walking? Because any prey so cleverly disguised, plot so wisely set and chase so well executed deserved a little grace. Deserved something for being such a great prey, as he was a predator in himself as he was prey to her. Sometimes the poacher had to release the tiger just for the shear reason that it was such a powerful predator and put up a great enough fight. It was a respect that the hunter sometimes owed the hunted.

Another question rose even more powerfully to the surface. Why had she not ever known or sensed that her own superior was the villain in her hunt? She thought back to the meadow where his essence splashed alive in the sea of dull colors and again when he blazed her to escape. Why didn't she ever see that before? Because he wasn't human and whatever he was, he was able to control his energy in such a way that she'd never known before. He could control who saw it, when and how much. He could manipulate energy, something dangerous and potent that meant he was even more the great prey and predator alike she released him for being.

The camp fires had all been extinguished save for the largest in the center where the Scarlet Guardians had their captives in small groups of five or so. With deep thought hanging about her still like a black cloud, she entered the meadow and was joined by the Lieutenant.

Michel bowed in greeting and smiled at her in pride. He was a great Lieutenant in many ways more than one, and one great aspect was that he often showed the emotion Kathriana could not portray. It was a useful tool seeing as her men often could not read her and sometimes needed that little offering of emotional pride in their achievements to strike home. It was also something Kathriana had long forgotten how to achieve.

"You going to report, Lieutenant, or just smile like a school boy?" her replying smirk told him all he needed to know in an instant. Luckily, Michel was also adept at reading her and knew what the simple act meant. She was proud too and his reaction brought her humor.

"Sixty-two men caught and ironed, none escaped to our knowledge. Forty-one withstand non-fatal injuries to the limbs. No fatalities to either the Guild or the team and only the sparse bruises and nicks to the men." One such scrape rested with a smear of blood to Michel's angular cheek, a small price to such a steep capture.

her nod was a silent salute to her pleasure, "Any obvious divisions of leadership?"

Michel's eyes darted to the center left group of chained men by the fire. A man stared at the fire with an inner thought process that seemed to wholly envelop him. Michel glanced back to her in the same instant and shook his head. "No leads, my Lady." The dismal note to his voice gave way that he had pinned almost as much as she had on finding the Guild's leader. It was a shame that the truth may never be known to any that said leader was probably already back at the castle strolling its halls now.

She patted his shoulder and moved toward the small chain gangs, "Don't doubt yourself so much, Michel." She took her intense gaze to focus on the men as a warmth touched Michel's body, stirring something more.

She captured the eyes of every man, scanning for her tell, in case Michel's brush of instinct was off. It wasn't, when her eyes met with the thoughtful criminal's, she knew it had to be him. "Your name, sir." Her voice was steely and every man went visibly rigid with surprise from a woman. A woman, that had spent years earning the respect from the very men that now served her with utter loyalty and respect, something unheard of in their lifetime. Women were to stay at home, provide children and cook the food that the man brought home. They tended the children, taught them to be moral and educated and stayed in their place. It was not a low position, in much surprise, women in the Kingdom were revered as their light to the men's darkness. They gave birth to living children, a miracle that only a woman could accomplish. They were the calm to the man's wild emotions. They were sacred and to be protected and held high above all else. But that had all been put under question when a woman had joined the ranks of the Guard under the King's very decree. A notion that had put a lot of the kingdom at war with whether the decision was indeed prudent or foolish. In the following years, it had proved as the wiser choice and one that the King always found to be among his most daring and rewarded ideas.

 The man in question smiled darkly at her but didn't speak. A progeny alright.

To her right, one of her Guild held the stack of parchments with Royal seals, birth certificates and official Papers that every citizen was to carry on them by Royal Decree. Unfortunately, every member caught alone prior had already burned their names to ensure nothing could be tracked further. No doubt another clever move by Sir Valtrees. but they'd caught them all by surprise at a weak moment and only a few had made it to the flames.

The Guardian handed her the appropriate paper and she smiled down at the neat script of the King's Decree man. "Godrick Allen, prepare yourself to be held accountable as the leader of the ring of rogue bandits known to the Ethorian Kingdom as the 'Thieves Guild.'"

Godrick's smile deepened, a ghoulish sight that sent a strangely cold bite to the otherwise warm summer night. Kathriana smiled back in her own darkness and handed the parchment back. This was her man alright, he did not argue or protest her declaration that would surely send him to the guillotine or a noose. This woman had just named him to take the fall for an entire series of acts against the crown and the man hadn't even flinched. He was prepared to take the fall and the smirk had ensured she knew it.

His act worried her gut though she knew his death would be within a matter of days after public announcement. His death wouldn't stop the gnawing tug at her instincts. Something was terribly wrong with this man, something dark and twisted and killing him wouldn't stop it.

"See to it that he's kept under close supervision and five men kept surrounding him at all times." No one dared question her authority to name a leader without investigation, but all knew she knew her instincts, her superior trusted her and the King trusted her. Kathriana was untouchable in the same instances and in this matter, she was smoke. "Gentlemen, begin loading them up, we have King's mind to put at ease." And a Guild's secretive leader to interrogate.

They hauled the men one by one onto the prisoner transport carriages, wooden platforms led by horses lined with iron bars and each criminal chained to a separate bar.

With the dungeons stocked and the papers in hand, Kathriana made her way down the dimly lit corridors toward the King's bed chambers. The sudden increase of guards in the halls was a testament to the precautions needed since most of the Royal Guard's best men had been out with Kathriana. When a guard was chosen from the fleet of warriors serving the King to become a Scarlet Guardian, that guard went through a specific training course. Upon passing the series of test and getting officially recognized as an accomplished Guardian, they resumed duties as a Royal Guard unless given a task by the Scarlet's division leader, Kathriana. Or her superior, the Royal High Guard, Nova Valtrees.

As respect went, it was left to a pyramid much like the Royals. The base was that of the men sired as knights whom completed quests and took main stage in tournaments representing their name and honor. Higher up was the men trained in to the Royal Guard after knighthood. warriors that served the Kingdom's Royal blood exclusively, laying down their own honor and lineage to the crown. These men were placed as protection detail to whomever the King deemed worthy. Namely, the various members of the Court and especially the Royal Family.

The Division of the Scarlet Guardians was established when the Royal Guard acquired its first and only female into their ranks. But that was a matter of years ago and far too tedious to recall for Kathriana's already bogged down mind.

 

"The King rests," the nasal voice of the King's personal assistant said, lids low to the point that Kathriana doubted he could see. "he shall see you at your earliest convenience come the morrow."

It would have been early in the dawn's light when the entire kingdom began its morning routine, but the King had always followed Kathriana's preference to the Night Guard's time table. And because the dutiful Knight-Captain had always been so loyal and most effective to the King as such, he respectfully kept to her request.

She bowed her head to the man in thanks and left the hall, heading toward what had become a much more pressing issue than enslaving the most infamous band of thieves ever to swarm the kingdom.

The halls stretched high above, some thirty feet up to give the freedom and space fit to give the Royal Family the feeling of being amongst the clouds. The windows were much the same, and always framed in stained-glass decor into four panels, the panels alternating the set of crossing swords and winding serpent. Everywhere, the Royal colors red and gold shone with the rich vibrancy and proud loyalty.

The farther away one got from the Royal chambers, the smaller the halls, the more common the decor and the less detailed the scenery became. Apart from the castle itself was the pillared structure of the Royal Guard. It limbed corridors that housed the guards quarters, though less refined, it was far better than the life of peasantry.

Up the stone steps, past the white pillars that stretched high above,  she took the corridor straight and true which housed the upper ranks of the Guard. Herself included, her Lieutenant Michel, the common Lieutenants of the Guard apart from the Scarlet Guardians, and her goal now, Captain Nova Valtrees.

Kathriana reached the dark-wooded door of her superior's chambers and raised a hand to knock when the scent brushed her senses, teasing her nostrils with the rich scent of man. It was a warm scent of sandalwood that felt heavy in the air and seemed to infuse itself into her clothes that took weeks to fully filter out.

"Knight-Captain vel Daris,"

She turned to follow her nose and found Michel vel Tomas bowing with that smile of his. He always seemed like a puppy with a new toy when she saw him. His grin reached ear to ear and hinted at the boyish dimples that gave stunning relief to his sharp features. Tanned skin from working long hours in the daylight shift and rough hands that carried surprising gentleness due to his past as a wood-carver's son. Simple crafts he gave to the occasional children town proved it was still something he commonly practiced.

"What can I do for you, vel Tomas?"

For a moment, he seemed to just forget what he'd meant to say, he ran a hand through his shoulder-length sandy hair which fell restlessly back into mess place and he finally found words again upon looking at the floor. That was common, unfortunately, men would often look her in the eye and lose track of their thoughts if they looked too deeply.

Michel found himself and continued, "I just wanted to be the first to formally congratulate you."

She raised a thin, dark brow at him.

"That is, for successfully capturing the Thieves Guild."

"Ah," she remembered to smile thankfully and watched the Lieutenant relax before her. "Thank you, Lieutenant. It was certainly a strenuous goal but the Scarlet Guardians pulled it off quite-"

"No," he shook his head with a more serious tone. "The Guardians follow a wise leader, that is why it was successful. Because we had someone led by true instinct and cunning to lead us to a well-deserved victory."

Compliments were not something Kathriana was used to accepting and worse, she hadn't the slightest clue how to react once one was given to her. So as she stared at Michel, it was a glad thing that he knew his Knight-Captain's mannerisms or lack thereof.

He smiled and clasped his hands together, "Congratulations again, Knight-Captain. Sleep well." He bowed out and slipped into his bed chamber. After a moment of stunned silence as she tried to piece together what the interaction had meant, she turned back to the door and hopefully more easily detangled mess.

She knocked twice and heard no foot falls before the door opened to reveal the former leader of the Thieves Guild. Nova smiled at her and stepped aside, waving an elegant arm to beckon her inside. Kathriana kept her place and politely asked, "May I come in, my liege?"

The depths of his black gaze twinkled with amusement before he answered. "But of course, my dear."

She thanked him and entered, taking in her surroundings for the first time in his chamber.

It was much like her own in layout only slightly large due to his superior status. The massive area of the room held the entirety of what she could see. The dark stone walls and matching floor. Royal-colored area rugs decorated the cool stone and softened the clacking of her boots against the rough surface. The opposite wall of her was lined with various trunks, cabinets and cases, all locked tightly and kept in select alignment to one another. One large cabinet made of a dark mahogany she guessed to be his armory but the rest puzzled her. Surely he hadn't that many clothes and no one put theirs under lock and key it was all indeed clothes.

To the left, a chair sat before a large desk littered with parchments also neatly aligned and piled. His own, larger chair with a black velvet cushioning looked to be often used where as the other on the side closest to her looked rather more vacant.

To the right was a shrouded display case draped in black velvet shrouds from ceiling to floor. The energy of the room felt as if it was tilted toward the hidden display which drew her interest more and more as she looked upon it. His four-poster bed akin to her own was set just beyond the desk on the left wall. Black velvet curtains hung at all corners, tied in hold rope with elongated tassels whispering to the cold floor. Black silken sheets were folded nicely from the servants to visit the Guard Hall.

"If you'll have a seat, please." He strode past her gracefully after shutting the door and sending the lock home. The lock felt ill to her but she understood it enough and followed his gesture to the more vacant chair closest to her as he sank into his across the desk. "Now to the matter at hand, did you speak with the King upon filing the Thieves?"

The thought that they'd still missed one and that he was sitting right before her had her tension growing but she decided not to spill what was on her mind just yet. He was her superior first and foremost and she was, at her heart, driven by respect among many things.

"No, his Majesty was sleeping as one would expect at such a late hour of the night and was informed by his assistant. I was told there would be a summoning at dusk when was my earliest convenience."

His slow nod had her patience, as wonderfully dragged out earlier that evening, now quickly running dry. She could take her time on a hunt, but this was a matter she had tugging at her anxiousness to get to the result. A traitor sat before her so leisurely that she wondered if he had any realization at all of what he'd done and that the consequence for his actions was death by hanging unless the King had a more fitting result of a mat that stole from the very crown he served.

"And I take it you've established a leader of the Guild found among the criminals?" He acted aloof, as if this were some common briefing they often shared when in fact, she'd never even been to his personal chamber until tonight. It began to tip from anxiousness and slight annoyance to anger in her.

"Yes," she tried to play along, hoping the finish line was near before she lost her temper. "I have identified Godrick Allen , a former blacksmith, as the leader of the Thieves Gild and he has been placed in separate cell on the basement floor of the dungeons away from any contact but a thick Guard detail."

The tick of his eyebrow hinted that he was pleased with her decision to do so, she was beginning to feel acquainted with reading him. As before,  they had always been before the members of the Guard or the King, so there had been little one-on-one interaction between the two for long periods of time. And the time they did spend together had been strictly in business and no common chatter. Now, he seemed to be lowering his guard and showing more of himself to her and so far, she wasn't thrilled with what she was facing.

"What caused you to decide such drastic measures with a common thief?" he asked, his hands meeting before his chest as he rested his elbows on the arms of the chair.

"Because the Thieves Guild are no common thieves and their leader is a cunning serpent of a creature that has more wit and slyness Thant some beggar stealing apples from the market. He has led the Guild for a matter of years now and has never been caught, never lost information as to their whereabouts, their leader or their intentions. A common cell for this man would be as fitting as putting a fine blade in a modern sheathe."

His slow, wicked smile sent chills down her body. "Then, pray tell, how did you manage to catch this monster among common thievery?" Black eyes watched her and she knew that many would falter under that horrid gaze, but she was different than most that would stand before him and fear did not trickle in from the eyes.

Kathriana leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing as her amethyst depths swirled alive at him. "With patience, equally-matched cunning and dedication to the crown."

His lips pulled back to reveal white teeth in a flashy grin, "And that is precisely how you must continue if you are to manage what is to come."

"Does that mean, in so many words, that I am to sit back and allow the true leader of the Thieves Guild to parade around the palace with no retaliation for his crimes?" Disbelief stuff to her like hot, liquid metal ready to be turned into a structure. This was not what she'd imagined to happen and there was no way she could find herself allowing such treachery to the crown she loved and served.

"In so many ways, yes, that is exactly what I expect of you. Among many other things." His calm self-confidence began to boil her patience away.

Instantly, she was on her feet, hands slamming palm-down on the desk. His papers lifted with a sudden draft of air and fluttered to the floor. His eyes left her and followed them, then moved back to watching her.

"That's treason!" she shouted, voice hard and cold though heat burned her insides.

Despite her outburst, his voice was calm and collected. "Now, now, Lady Katherine, that's hardly the tone you are to use with a superior officer." He'd used what she feared might become a pet name and passed all pretense used for her as an officer herself. And he was right, though she loathed it. He was using her own belief in respect over all to keep her where he wanted her. This truly was the fox of a Guild leader and she was beginning to wish more and more that she had clapped him in irons when she'd first discovered him.

She tensed her lips into a thin line, stood full height, her chin thrusting up in a desperate attempt to regain something here as she felt he was taking all the grounds. "It is impossible to respectfully tell your superior that he is a treasonous liar and a slippery snake." The molten gold in her eyes danced angrily at him.

He stared blankly, waiting.

"Sir." She finished, a venomous spike in her tone.

Nova smiled and stood, "Good, now you are to keep this secret of mine to yourself and carry on as if nothing has changed."

She shook her head, feeling slightly defeated and burdened with too much. Keeping his secret meant lying to anyone who spoke with her about her success in capturing the famed leader and betraying their trust in her loyalty. It was a blatant betrayal to the crown, to the King whom she owed much to. To the people whom she protected. He was a liability to the Kingdom itself. No one truly knew what this man was capable of nor who he really was anymore. And it was all being placed on her.

"I cannot do what you ask of me, Sir." She stared down at the desk, tracing each curve of grain in the wood work.

"But you already have, Katherine." His misuse of her name made her twitch. "You stood before the very men who serve under your order and claimed Godrick Allen the villainous leader. You told the King's assistant you've caught the Guild and its head and that they were imprisoned in his very cells. You have already lied to your men and to the crown. All that remains is of lesser importance than those two which you have already accomplished." His voice was easy and compelling, as if he were gently placing nail after nail into her coffin.

As the idea dawned on her, her gaze melted and her jaw went slack. He'd played her like a master with a finely tuned instrument. She'd been dealt her cards and shown how to play them and then watched herself do so seemingly unwilling.

Fury and the sense of betrayal spun a ruthless knot in her stomach as her fists clenched and unclenched reflexively. Biting the words between clenched teeth to attempt to control her already-spiraling anger, "I will not keep your secret."

His brow lifted, amusement touching his features. "Oh? you will confess to the king that you have lied to his Majesty, accused the wrong man and have been harboring the true criminal all along?"

She thought a moment and nodded. The truth was what won out in her and always would. he was a traitorous scoundrel and belonged nowhere near the King, let alone as his personal Royal High Guard. "Yes."

Nova let out a disbelieving huff of air, "I am your superior in every way, and the King trusts me above all other men to protect his interests. You are my dutiful Knight-Captain and a woman at that, you'll look a child pointing blame at a parent. And they will laugh at you, take away your position and hang you for making up lies to disrupt the crown. Not only that, I'll ensure you make out to be a lunatic who's lost her mind and maybe even a witch. That's burning at the stake instead of a noose. It's your choice."

Choice? she had none, he was quickly and efficiently removing all her choices as she drowned. How long had he schemed this and all its outcomes before taking action?

"Besides, he leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk next to hers as she fumed. "I shall swear to keep your secret if you keep mine."

She peeked up at him with sudden interest, nearly all trace of rage fumed away. "you are the liege to the most infamous thievery ever to encounter this kingdom, the best you have is that I'm a woman and I'm sorry to break it to you but everyone came to terms with that years ago."

Nova's suddenly dark smile felt all too hideous for any man to portray unless he were a demon. He was amused, but more serious now than he had been for the entire conversation. "Don't play coy with me, Lady Katherine."

"It's Kathriana." she urged, deflecting the attack slightly.

"But you're Katherine to me." his smug grin filled out, becoming her absolute least favorite impish smile.

"That look," she snarled. "Is all wrong too."

"And you are waltzing around the truth like it's a wild flame." He leaned further still so that his lips were at her ear. "Do I have to reveal you to yourself or are you going to give up this lie of your own to me?" He leaned back and waited but she kept her steady glare.

Kathriana had told no one, not a single soul alive knew the deepest depths of her truest form just like no one knew the deepest depths of the ocean. She hadn't even said it aloud for such a long time that it was as if she'd forgotten how to say the words.

His lips quirked in a quick smirk, "Humor me." he gestured her to follow him to the opposite side of the room. Nova  came to the display cloaked in velvet and grabbed a hold of one curtain to what was now apparent to be several different items, cases and stand up furniture cloaked near the wall by different curtains. Tugging one free, there stood a massive mirror framed in decorative stones of all colors, shapes and sizes. In their midst was Kathriana's reflection.

At first, it was just that, her reflection staring back at her. All pale skin, slender figure and soft curves. A cascade of dark chestnut hair free to reign at her shoulders and down her back. Her pale tunic dipped under the dark-blue corset. The tight-fitting breaches hugged her shapely thighs and slipped beneath her knee-high leather books laced tightly to her shins. Lastly, the crimson coat embroidered around the collar, flaring out the shoulders, matching the large cuffs and down the spine to the rim of the floor-kissing edges. The gold embroidery was an intricate pattern of swirls and vinery-like twists that brought out the gold in her eyes.

Slowly, surely, the mirror's reflective surface began to change. The hues of her mirrored self changed. Her skin seemed paler, almost a gray tone. Her features began to change slowly like between ripples of a pond. She was herself, then slightly more different than a moment ago. Each ripple more different than the last. Each a worse one than its predecessor. Her cheeks shrank back, her skin pulling tight across her bones as if it were trying to shrivel away from her. The eyes began to sink back and her colorful amethyst depths darkened into black pits staring back.

Though she had not changed, her reflection growled back at her with a hideousness only Hell could have created. Her reflective self snarled and hissed. The lips pulled tight to reveal lengthened canines sharp enough to pierce bone.

The longer it continued, the more alive her reflection became a demonic creature no longer resembling its host. The demon went wild, clawing, scratching and hissing to be released, it's deadly fangs dripping hungrily.

Nova flipped the black velvet back over the mirror as before and all at once, the sounds and sights of the demonic reflection were gone. It had been years since she'd allowed her reflection to go so long and run rampant in its prison. It would never be freed from a reflective surface, it was merely what was inside. Mirrors were a doorway to the essence of a person and for humans, it showed their physical shell because their souls were too transparent to show through. But for other creatures, like Kathriana, it was a reminder of what she truly was.

Nova leaned against the stone wall and simply watched her with highly speculative eyes. She was ablaze with subtle changes to her demeanor, her facial expressions giving away little but her eyes told a thousand different things at once. She was a treasure chest of things to discover and he couldn't wait to begin collecting the more she revealed.

"I've watched you very closely since you joined our ranks and I have to admit, at first, I hadn't the slightest clue that you were such a rare find. It began to leak through now and again but it's taken me all this time to put the pieces together to form the correct conclusion. And I put it all to the test this night because I felt you were finally ready."

Kathriana starred at the shimmer of black velvet before her, contemplating where his conclusion would land.

"It was there tonight as you hunted me. The way you were aware of the presence of every man in the woods yards away from your position. The seamless way you moved between the surrounding battles of your men. It was unnatural yet so graceful and smooth that it was effortless for you. And the speed at which you gave chase. One moment you were yards away and the next you were only feet behind. In the meadow, you sensed my aura like I'd set myself aflame. And again when you'd had me in your grasp, I flashed my aura and you were blinded momentarily." he was smiling, head tilted in awe do her. "You truly are a rare and beautiful creature, Kathriana vel Daris." His used of her true name to emphasize his sincerity.

She perked up, finally awarding him with her glittering gaze. "I don't believe we are on the same page, Sir. I gave chase to my fullest extent because you had to be caught as the villain you are." She rounded her step, facing the door across the room. "And I see no reason for me to tempt my luck and my loyalty. I'll be turning you in in the morning, as is my rightful duty."

"If you turn me in, I'll have already exposed you as the creature you are and they'll have already arrested you." His words were sharp, clear, and he spoke the truth.

Kathriana spun on her heel, coat flailing in a wide swirl. "And what am I, Nova Valtrees?" she demanded sternly.

All flavor of humor was lost from his face, the air seemingly colder and the candles lighting the room from multiple sconces dimmed. His voice was a hiss as it slithered across the room to her ears. "Have you no respect for the dark forces that grant you such gifts you insolent wretch? You cannot be slain by mortal means, your soul burns with a tainted flame bright enough to be seen through all layers of the astral realm." Slowly, step by agonizingly slow step, he closed the distance between them. "Shadows obey your every whim and humans tremble at the very name given to you. Your strength surpasses that most fit warrior, your grace that of a feline and your speed faster than nay creature but your own can comprehend. Your body alters to fit your hunting needs, from elongated nails to sharpening teeth and so much more. The shell you wear in this realm has no need to breathe or to eat and therefore it does not have to abide by the same rules as the lower creatures you find as your prey." He shared her breath with their intimate space, she staring back impassively and he finishing with determination. "You bend lesser  creatures mind to your will and sustain yourself on their blood. Admit it to yourself aloud, Kathriana, take pride in your rarity."

If the room as chilling before, now it dropped to freezing. Nova's breath blew out in a silvery mist of air. The amethyst depths of her eyes were ablaze and the gold in them glittered like the very substance it resembled. The pits of her eyes drew Nova in like a moth to a searing flame. Time slipped away and all sound drifted too far away to comprehend.

Before he'd realized she'd moved, she had slammed him against the mirror before pressing him to the wall. Faintly, the sound of shattering glass landed, the mirror in too many shards to count.

With his eyes completely enthralled in hers, he took no notice of the reflective shards revealing the demonic Kathriana pinned Nova's dark figure, hissing like the creature she was.

She held his gaze, held his mind tightly bound to hers like winding a string among her fingers. His mind resisted her strongly, more so than any other she ever took under her control. It took so much of her focus to keep him in check that one slip and she knew he would be free. She'd never faced such a dilemma before that she almost feared losing the upper hand on him. Whatever he was, it wasn't human and of that she was sure due to his aura and knowledge of so much beyond others comprehension. It was there, under the surface of his mind, something stirred much like her own demon. But whatever he was, it was not vampire either.

As she spoke, stealing away his breath before he took it, she quietly attempted to raid his mind and find the answers. "You may think you understand what you've encountered because you've done your homework. But if you are anywhere near was intelligent as you claim to be, you will treat me as the creature that I am." She greedily inhaled in, letting out her breath in one long hiss.  "I am vampire, forsaken by whatever powers there are if any. I feed on the blood and essence of life to keep me afloat from death. I am much older than you could ever guess and have experienced so much that I am overflowing with it all. Do not begin to fool yourself into thinking you could begin to understand."

She probed deeper for her answers and felt his shifty mind begin to slip from her. Desperately, she gripped him tighter and searched for what she needed. Kathriana had no grounds. Nova had knowledge of what she was, which was everything worth keeping secret in her eyes. He had her under his thumb and as far as she was concerned, she had nothing to lose now and if she were going to be known as a vampire, then she deserved to know what in him caused his essence to flare like a fireworks display.

Suddenly, as her mind tried to hold hiss though it was like wet, slippery soap, the soap turned and snatched her in a vice-like grip. His mind began dipping into hers without warning, something a human mind couldn't even fathom of trying.

His attempts were met with a vicious barrier, one that he could not break at first try. Something that had never happened before. And a challenge was something he relished. Nova surged at her mind harder than before, pressing her against her mind's wall with all his might.

Kathriana let out a hiss and drilled back at him, their minds locked in a dual that neither seemed to be winning out. As their minds fought at each other's barriers for supremacy, their bodies struggled similarly on the floor of Nova's bed chamber. Their hands gripping one another's clothes as their eyes held on unblinkingly.

But inside the battle raged, through it was clearly a stalemate. Neither side was weakened and neither gained any advantage. The battle left them both weary and gasping on the floor with nothing more to build from than that they were both worthy opponents.

"What are you?" she panted, recollecting her strength slowly as her mind tried to recoup. "You owe me that much, if I've earned any trace of respect from you at all. Whether my rarity or my accomplishments, give me the answer I seek."

For a few moments, there was nothing but silence and Nova's slowed pants. Kathriana, having no physical need to breathe, could alter her breathing at will so panting was a habit until she focused to stop. Which, she had now done and sat up on the trunk against the wall next to Nova on the floor.

He stayed slumped on the floor, back pressed to the wall. He must have decided she was right about something or found some reason to give her answers because when he opened his lips, she sensed the truth. "My kind is nothing like yours except that I see and feel what the humans do not. I am draconian, the kind of dragon. I manipulate energies, collecting special things and have great psychic abilities as you've taken note of." He looked over at her with a very stern face, "Now, it's time for you to get to your cave, little vampire. You'll have a big day tomorrow what with having caught the entirety of the Thieves Guild and its leader." His mouth twitched in a smile and he stood, showing her out the door though they both still felt the weakened state after such a psychic battle. That wouldn't be something either wanted to test again.

Kathriana stepped through the door he held open and into the hall, the silence dawning on her that no one knew of their intense battle or the secrets and truths revealed behind his safely closed door. As she'd past the threshold, she'd felt the subtle shift of energy that she'd not noticed before. His ability to manipulate energy, she was sure. He'd probably sealed the room in such a way that no one would hear nor sense something going on, giving them utter privacy. What else was he capable of?

"Good night, Lady Kathriana, and I congratulate you again on your fantastic efforts to rid the Kingdom of its darkness." his dark smile meant something more as he nodded slowly and closed his door. She headed back to her room, down the hall just a few doors down, past vel Tomas' and on the left. Closing the door behind her, she sighed, staring at the floor. The stone's small rivets tracing a pattern toward the toe of her boot. The night felt ruined and heavy, she had wanted to return to her chambers glowing and happy. Success riding her with a smile but instead, she had secrets to keep and her own was revealed without her knowledge. The day would hold great detail in full, but for now, she needed to rest, and a short meal.

The psychic battle had drained her and she needed to feed to regain her strength and prepare for the long day tomorrow, which to her, was a night. She tugged the golden rope by the door, ringing the bell for the servant to aid her. After a few moments, the young man knocked and she allowed him in, closing the door behind him.

"How may I assist you, my Lady?" His bright green eyes found her amethyst ones and pulled in instantly. His mind slipped into her grasp like putty and she smiled at the ease of it.

"You will allow me to feed from you, and you will remember nothing of tonight but having slept well and dreaming better than you have in months." she took his jaw lightly and tilted as his eyes dazed out lifelessly. Kathriana's teeth elongated and she bit down deep, drinking in his blood with a satisfying breath. Relief swept through her, renewed her veins and sharpened her senses. And after she sent him to rest with no memory and a healed wound that he would only feel as tender in the morning, she lay herself to sleep and dove beneath the crimson, silk sheets as her lashes swept down for a well-deserved rest.

Author's Note

Still under construction. Please give any ideas, thoughts, whatever comes to your mind while reading. Thank you for your time!

Reviews

[IsoRoku]

I found the premise behind your story to be rather intriguing. In many ways it reminded me of the movie Princess Mononoke, though it truly had a life of its own. I found that your expression of magic felt novel and enigmatic rather than the more often expressed Gandolf/ D&D magic. I did like your exploration of city politics and the Idea of purity you tried to instill within a nation.
However, I did find your writing to be a little repetitious when it came to description. This led to long tiresome paragraphs of the same idea. This in turn made your piece exceedingly long and honestly hard to read through. I also found that your characters seemed to be rather one dimensional when they can just as easily be multi-faceted. Kathriana seemed to be a perfect person, loved by her people, super athletic patient, spirited, in tune with nature, with further insight into her reality. I couldn't find any flaw. This made her feel artificial and less fluid than I would hope a protagonist to be. I would also say the same for your city, it may have been interesting if you developed the story to make the city seem rather perfect in a horrific wasteland, a jewel to protect, but again I found the city to be artificial. Even the idea that they didn't want to hurt anyone in battle seemed hard to believe.
That being said I found your story to be a Joy to read. I Hope you keep on writing this story I will read the rest of your book. I would also like to ask you if you would like to join this Fantasy reading, writing and editing group that I have been forming recently. This would entail having to read and edit others work as well as having your work fully edited.
PS. Ignore the grammar th e java script for the review screen was acting up so i couldn't see my review.
PSS Please contact me about my offer, I would like to get this started soon.