Mai and Makai
The black-spotted dragon lowered down over the blue ocean, circling above a solitary island. It SHOULD be solitary, for the safety of the people. Well, no one with a sane mind dared to enter anyway. And even the sun refused to show itself there, hiding so many times behind curtains of gray clouds. But on top of it, gusts of wind playing around. Sometimes blowing with a breeze and sometimes rushing, toppling things over. And perhaps it was a blessing upon the single inhabitant, because without wind, life on the island would be unbearable.
The dragon went into a spiraling descend before landing on the shore beside a small hill. Makai jumped down to the ground while the dragon grunted, sniffing at the hill, its face went sour and turned to the sea, perhaps looking for fish.
Snorting and patting the dragon hide as it hurriedly went into the water, Makai raked his short jet black hair. He straightened his kimono jacket upon his t-shirt, sighing as he looked upon the hill, no longer grimacing and puking as his first days.
He was always amazed that people still flock to this hill. Just to test out their bravery or sometimes only to check out the rumor. It was foolish. Just the smell, the acrid, pungent, and bloody smell of this island supposedly enough to drive them away.
Yet, stupid people keep coming, and never come back. Even now, he could hear muffled screams from above the hill, and he was almost sure that it was another corpse to be.
Inhaling deeply, his dark crimson eyes measured the hill before slowly taking a few steps up the straggled flat stones along the path. It was a small hill, yet it felt as if an unfathomably high mountain every time he climbed. It was slippery, and at each step, the ground oozed a stinky liquid with an unmistakable stench of decay.
A sickening crack told him that he stepped on another skull but he continued his steps. He even didn't stop as even when his feet kept landed on the remains of corpses. Climbing higher to the hill, everyone could see more and more remains of mutilated human bodies, each worse than the last.
Two more steps, and then he saw a girl on the hill, a bit far from him. She was strikingly beautiful, her lips were red on her pale white face,her long and soft hair was jet black just like him. Everyone could easily see that they are twins. The difference was that she was the pretty version and he was the hard male version.
Sitting on top of the hill, the breeze blew her long hair as she played small guqin on her lap. It was an amazingly beautiful sight, her soft long hair and kimono softly wafting on the breeze as she played the instrument delicately. If only she stood above a flowery hill and not a corpse hill, people would think that she's a goddess or fairy.
Above her shoulder, Makai spotted a man, slithering behind the tree, his face determined as he clutched a hilt of his sword and in a flash ran to her. Using his whole power, the warrior furiously swung his sword at her back. Yet, Mai continued to play the guqin, dodging him effortlessly.
Taking an earplug from his pocket, Makai plugged it to his ear, and folded his hand, waiting.
The music changed to a fast and roaring tune. Turning back, her kimono flew as raven wings as her hand roamed fast on her instrument and played the guqin fiercely, facing the man who instantly froze on her track. The music was different, his hand flew instantly to his neck as he felt something was clutching his throat.
"AAAKKK WHAT??"
Struggling with it,his hand pulling on unseen power, while Mai's smirking, her hand moved faster on the guqin, and the man screamed.
"HOW…..?"
The screaming ceased to choking sound as he dropped to his knee, his eyes popping, his face turning blue as he clutched his neck.
The girl smiled as she played another fiery tone, while looking deeply into the intruder's eyes. His hand flew to his head, and then with a loud eerie scream, blood squirted from his nose and ear, and dark red liquid splattered across her face. She laughed softly and stopped the music.
Walking to the canvas nearby she took a long sword beside it and walking back to the dying man, she sliced an arm easily. Bringing the arm, she splashed the cutting part, the blood to the canvas. Taking a brush over the canvas she started to detail the splash, in a flash making it into a portrait of the man she just cut.
"Look!" The mad princess whispered. "Beautiful splashes of crimson. How I love it. I love it! What a beautiful art!" She danced, her black kimono splattered with reddish stains, as she pulled her guqin to her chest and played it ferociously.
The hill she danced upon was no longer green. Every blade of grass turned into a scarlet kaleidoscope broken only by the occasional specs of white and black.
The dying intruder was gasping for air, his life was hanging from that strand of breath, refusing to die but couldn't live much longer. Yet, the princess let him in his misery, bored with him as her painting was done and she didn't need him anymore.
Hastening his step, Makai marched toward the dying man, drawing his own sword and stab him at the chest, relieving him from his despair. The man bellowed in pain, forming words of dejection as his young and early life ended and breathed his last, his eyes finally....closed.
For a few minutes, he stood in silence, silently regretting the man's choice. KIlling the weak was not a pleasurable affair. But it just had to be done. After some times, he walked to her sister,
"Father asked you to join the war. You can spill a lot of blood there."
She tilted her head, her beautiful black hair draped on her shoulder, still playing her guqin. "But I don't want to be bound. And he is not our father"
"You will enjoy it all the same," He said calmly. "Our parents died by the enemy. Why don't we kill them all and have fun?"
"Never. I'll be bound" Glancing toward him, she continued playing, now it's a pleasant tune. "I am not an animal" Yet animalistic gleam was apparent in her eyes.
"You won't, I'll be using a harness, so they won't bound you like an animal. I am in charge, so they won't hurt you. Let's go? The dragon down there waiting for you" Makai coaxed her once more.
Instead answering, she sing a chinese song,
There's a banner rising
I felt sorry when I see its bones
We will always end up washed up on the shore…
Knowing that she couldn't answer much longer, he took her hand and then took the harness behind his back. Softly and carefully he strapped and locked the harness around her waist, then her neck and her shoulder. Almost like a cat harness, but from a very strong but pliant steel. Caressing her long hair, he couldn't take it and hug her, tears streaming from his eyes on her shoulder, while she continued to sing, unaware of her own brother tears wetting her shoulder.