My body was pale and fragile. I could barely stand.
"Look, it's the traitor!" a soldier yelled out.
They shot an arrow aiming at my throat, but Renka had put a forecfield around us, so the arrow fell like a pebble.
"What? Why are they aiming for me?" I asked my self.
Renka threw out his arm and an invisibleforce blew the men unconscious,"Because you're my 'accomplice' now. We ran away as soon as I placed Saeo's soul into you. Your illness was killing you, but with the soul of God, your body regained strength. So now imperials believe we're the ones responsible for his death. But the Solsarians also wanted to use this chance to bring down Amayans and assert power as the true celestials. Honestly, the imperials don't care. They never liked Amayans nor Solsarians. They just want to become the next power in line and with Solsarians on their side, they will eradicate those against them, even the Zarqans, just because they were the longest ally of Amayans."
"Is that why... they killed Shia?!" I yelled out as Renka put me into a wheelchair and flew out of the window.
"Exactly, because he was your benefactor, your sponsor to walk in Solsarian territory," Renka sighed.
"Still! It was wrong for you to kill Saeo! He was my brother! My kin! How could you just leave him lying cold on marble tiles... How could you... Even if you say it was for my sake... wasn't it also your greed? I was READY TO DIE! I already knew my body would one day crumble from myself! Why couldn't you leave me to die! Die like a normal person!" I cried.
"Because I love you!" Renka failed to fight back his tears," I love you and I'm greedy because I want to live my life far longer with you!"
An explosive arrow was shot at us in the air and
blew us crashing into a noblemen's yard.
"Renka!" A slendered young man with short green hair and jade eyes ran to him and used his green mana to heal him.
"Ugh, how did you find us, Exeme?" Renka coughed up blood and his body ceased, throwing back blood as purple mana enveloped his body in a glow of spell markings. His wings deformed then reshaped into translucent vibrant green scales, like a pair of butterfly wings.
"You're... a devil?!" I watched his body transform as he continued to cough out blood. His green wings and body was covered in the purple swirling entrails followed by spiked vines that grew from his back. The vines wrapped his neck like a lover, poking into his flesh as it bled.
"Haha.. not quite. That kinda hurt when you said that," Renka began to sweat and his skin flushed red from the exertion of his transformation," I'm a homonculus, created to resemble the Haras, because their generation was beginning to be highly mixed. They couldn't find the right heir that grew the same jade eyes and spring green hair. So they made me as a replacement, for my brother-"
"What are you doing, Renka!" the man squealed. "-or should I say, sister." Renka used his strength to hold Exeme and break open the buttons that sealed his chest. The military suit revealed a pair of pale succulent round buns, lightly blushing in peach.
"Exeme, you're.. a woman?!" I pulled myself up to my knees so I could crawl to them.
"Father only did it to protect me!" she defended herself.
"Yeah, and he left the others to rot away. While you were given mercy since you were the most closest to a pureblood, I had to become you! You know what he told me? 'A son for a daughter-' Urggh Aggghhh Arghhhh!" Renka writhed with pain and finally said," I thought I could be with you longer. I guess this is as much as I could wish for," Renka rose from the ground and released Exeme from his grasp. His pupils glowed purple in his jade green eyes and the vines that wrapped his body in purple glow sprouted out from his back.
"There they are! Shoot the traitors?! A monster! There's a beast! Hurry shoot them!" a soldier said.
BANG! BANG!
Exeme's head dripped in red and her body fell slump to the floor. Blood seethed from Renka's chest down as he turned around to massacre the ones who shot them. His eyes widened and his grin rose. He laughed maniacally as he slaughtered the army. His laughter was similar to when Celia would use me as a comfort bag. I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.
I mustered up my strength to stand and grabbed a broken pipe of metal from the shattered wheel chair. I relied on the metal stick to bring me closer to the mad man who had finished off the army of green.
I held him from behind," Renka.. stop. It's fine now. Just stay in my arms... for the time we have," I whimpered as tears rolled from our eyes.
He turned back to me and wrapped his warm tongue around mine.
"I'm sorry... I don't...know what came over me," Renka said," I.. I love you no matter what, Kyuro," I could see his lips forming the words that haunted me before," Thank you, Kyuro-"
Red splattered and stained the pit of our stomachs as Renka's body grew weak in my arms.
"Kyuro, beast of the Silver Night, you are arrested for the murder of two Hara noblemen, 238 Hara soldiers, and the death of Saeo, our God," said the imperial," Your punishment for your crimes will be, to be detained to the grounds of the lands of which you last slain," the thousand whispers echoed with thunder.
He pulled Renka's body from me and my legs failed to fight gravity,"Renka! RENKAAA! YOU IDIOT!" I cried.
The men carried me towards a stoned stump and pushed me towards the black hole. My legs wouldn't listen to me but my arms followed my stubborness to be dropped into the depths of hell. The imperial stomped his staff onto the soil and a glowing spell mark receded into the ground, chaining my neck as he said," You will reflect on your actions in the Abyss."
"YAAARGHHHH!" Purple glow pulsated through the atmosphere in the surrounding area as the man tattooed in purple vines yelled out in anger and pain. Renka stabbed the men in green with his bare hands and knocked all the men and women mages, canceling their magic with his field of purple waves.
I thought he had no experience in physical arts. His sense of magic is incredible. Renka had killed them all, leaving the imperial the last standing on the battle ground. The imperial transported himself to me and kicked me into the well. Gold fell from my pocket and clinked onto the slightly flooded stoned floor.
-flashback-
"You still have them," Renka smiled. I felt his uneasiness and playfully nibbled his neck," I do. I never really thought of throwing them out, but if you don't like it, I will."
"No, it's fine. These rings were hold one of your precious memories with her. I already accepted defeat, when you told me your story. Hya! Your hands are cold!"
"Then warm them up for me," I laughed.
-present-
I could hear the ground tremble and the winds howl as they battled above me. The thundering battle grew quiet just before the imperial landed the last blow. "Ah... you're tainted now. I can't use you anymore. You've gone too far and now you've been infected. Now that you're of no use to us, you'll have to disappear."
Renka fell above the caged lid of the well, facing me.
I could feel his bruises and cuts and though he was in pain, he simled at me and said,"Atleast I get to see you 'til my last breath."
"What about living our lives together, huh? Wasn't that why you risked your life and position? So I can live?" the quivered as I cried.
The bright rays of light shone at my eyes. I could hear her sniffling. It was still cold in the early morning, but the light of the sun shining through the crevaces of the roots, heated the air around us.
"Why are you crying?" I asked Saiya.
She mumbled in her sniffling. I couldn't make out what she said.
"Hm? What was that?"I asked as I rubbed my eyes of the wax that built up during my slumber.
She continued to cry and mumble nonsense," Why did it have to be you..?"
She sat far from me, covering herself in the wool blanket and threw my clothes at my face. I noticed she was fuming red because she had woken up next to me bare, with nothing, but the wool half covering me.
"You really don't like me, huh? Did it bother you that much to wake up in my clothes? Well, it was soaked in my blood and... I did kill your mom and almost killed your lover. I don't blame you-" She raised her hand and hesitated to slap me," Oh ho? Not feeling it today?" I taunted.
But her hand continued its motion after the words left my lips.
"Hah, women," I sighed and puffed as I stomped away to wash my clothes in the water drizzling from the tree trunks. We can use the water purified from the tree for our journey to ezu.
I wrapped the wool around my waist that was covering my shoulders and folded the leftoger cooked Ruvia leaves to carry our water supply.
I restarted the fire placed the wrapped leaves from the undergound container and spoke to her," You can eat them when they're ready and hot. I already cooked them last night. Don't worry about them being poisoned or whatever. And despite its looks, they taste GREAT," I watched her reveal her stomache and looked at her healed wounds. " What.. did you do?" she asked in awe then she hit me with her glares and I grumply walked away.
"Ungrateful little Reem!" I mumbled to myself.
A Reem is a werebeast who is highly taken care of for their role in the household is to be well fed and well raised as a potential candidate of a concubine or mate of a King. But it can also mean one who poses for a position as a Reem to be spoiled rotten.
I packed up extra food and water and strapped them onto my body. I ate a few of the fruit and nuts I gathered and was ready to travel. I looked around for her in the den of the trunks, but she wasn't there. The first was still going and the food I layed out for her was gone. I could hear a faint melody hummed in the breeze.
"So there you are," I spoke out loud.
I climbed up the trunks and found her swinging on a looped vine.
That annoying little prick... Heh.
I swung the vines high and she screamed for dear life," Ahh! You monster! Stopped doing that!"
"Oh? This?" I let go of the vines and she fell onto the bottom branch. The ancient tree was big enough to buffer her fall.
She lectured me,"We're like three stories high! Will you not do that?!"
"Well... when you shake your bootie like that in the clouds, you're kinda asking for a spanking," I snickered.
"What?! You- You perv!" she blushed and jumped down the tree trunks.
I laughed,"Yeah, yeah, let's just hurry on to Ezu. You've had enough sight seeing for once."