"Laila it's almost time to go-".
Laila cut her father off, "I'm not leaving until Rune gets back," Laila looked down, " he promised he wasn't going to be late… he's never late." A face flashed in her head causing her to panic. "Dad, what if something happened to him? He has never been late, and I don't think he would now. Would he?"
Her father looked down on her with a sad expression. "Honey, I know but recently he has been responsible for the whole village's safety ever since the law was passed for lords not to fight as a precaution. He tries to be everywhere but we've been expecting a slip for a while now."
Laila looked up with a fire in her eyes, "Rune would never abandon me for duty, he would never be like you!" Laila could see the pain that she inflicted but she didn't care, "I'm going to go look for him."
"That is out of the question! The carriages are leaving in minutes, there's no time. But I will dispatch a few troops to go look for him, just in case. It isn't like him to miss this and he will be duly punished." Her father put his hand on her shoulder, "just don't judge him too hard when you see him next… or us!" Laila felt something prick her neck and of course the bastard had a dart in his hand. She wanted to call him so many things but no words would come, only a darkness that washed over, drowning her, putting her to sleep.
Laila awoke to the sound of the carriages stopping, jumping up in anger and indignation. Laila saw her mother sitting next to her and realized she must have been sleeping on her lap. Laila fought off all the rude remarks, her mother didn't do this. She sighed, "Did Rune show up?"
"No honey, we left a few minutes after your father put you to sleep."
"And the search party?"
"Already taken care of. I saw your father send a couple men out into the forest just like he promised."
Laila remembered what she was thinking about before she was knocked out, and tears started streaming down her face. "Mom… I just don't want Rune to end up like Avon."
"I know sweetie." Her mother comforted her while wiping her tears away. "But your brother isn't going anywhere, I promise."
"Thanks mom." Laila sniffed and realized something, "What are you doing here mom, I thought I was going alone like always" she asked, eyeing her mom suspiciously knowing the last time she dropped her guard she ended up here. Her mother started fidgeting with her hair and mumbled some nonsense. But Laila knew her mother wasn't very strong willed so she just kept prodding until she finally caved.
"Fine, if you must know and ruin the surprise; I was going to see the king and ask that he lets you stay home after this year. You are eighteen after all."
"Really? You mean it?!" Laila could already imagine it, never having to come back to this personal hell of hers. No more experiments or tests of faith. Getting to go on patrol with Runair and hunt monsters all year long. Her mouth was salivating at just the thought of that freedom.
"Of course honey, but just because we ask doesn't mean that you'll be allowed to…" Her Mother faltered seeing the joy melt off Laila's face, "what I meant to say is that I'll do my best to make sure you can stay with us."
"Of course Mother" she replied, feeling empty after her dreams were smashed in front of her. There was no way the church was just going to allow her to leave. If there was any deliberation for her freedom the church would shut it down immediately. She was their "Savior", "Prophet". But in all reality she was a freak that no one wanted to talk to.
Laila could tell her mother wanted to say more but the carriage door opened before she could get the words out. A guard climbed in and announced herself "I am Leanna, a knight of the Ericstein army." She saluted then looked around the carriage for the first time, first looking at Laila's mother, then her. "You must be Laila, I was told to take you the rest of the way to the church." Laila could do nothing but nod while being in the company of such a powerful woman, whom she could find nothing but admiration for. Leanna then turned toward Laila's mother, "And you must be Diana. I was told to have you stay on this carriage and it would take you the rest of the way to the castle. Any questions?" She turned back toward the door, "I'll be waiting outside for you Laila, say your goodbyes." And with that she was out the door leaving Laila and her Mother alone once again.
"Well, you heard her, I should probably get going if I don't want to die." Laila started to head for the door but was stopped by her mothers embrace.
"I promise, this will be the last time you have to go through this."
Laila looked back at her mother fully appreciating the fact that she looked so much like her mother, soft face, fair skin, bright blue eyes. The only things that differed between them was their hair, her mother had creamy brown hair that any girl wished that she had. But her hair was the first of Laila's problems, marked as the weird girl with white hair. "I know mom, you'll do your best. I believe in you." And with a slight nod Laila was released and with a final wave she hopped out of the carriage into the familiar tunnel into the city.
Without wasting a second she looked around for the knight, finding her waiting by the front of the carriages petting the horses. "Do you like horses ma'am?" Laila asked, wanting to know as much about this knight as she could.
"Without question. Horses are a knight's closest companion, they're bound to be after being with them for days on a mission. Sometimes my horse was my only companion back." Laila could sense a story but decided it was probably too personal to ask about so she dropped it and mumbled an "I'm sorry" instead. Leanna sighed, turned around, and smiled, "We should probably be on our way if you want to make it before dinner, I'll be flogged if the sun lady doesn't get her supper."
Laila giggled "Yeah I guess we should hurry, extra floggings if my supper is cold."
Leanna bowed "After you my lady" in a deep voice obviously mocking a male soldier. Laila started walking down the path in far greater spirits than when she woke up and it was all thanks to Leanna. She seemed hard at first but when she saw me upset she tried lifting my spirits, Laila thought. She listened to Leanna tell stories for the whole walk. First it was a story about how she and her party was ambushed while protecting a merchant. Then it was a story about how a roc from the mountains would come down and steal weeks worth of meat from the kingdom and how she was part of a massive extermination party and how only twenty-five people lived out of a hundred.
But the story that really caught her attention was the story she told in response to her question.
"I've been wondering this for a while now, but why is the Kingdom called Ericstein" Laila asked?
"It's a slightly long story, are you sure that you want to hear it?" Leanna asked looking down at the practically vibrating in curiosity Laila. She sighed "Where to begin… Okay here goes. It all started a little over a hundred years ago. This country was ruled by two groups, one led by the church that followed the devout teachings of our current god, Alzyr, and a church that followed the teachings of the god Twila. The two churches fought with each other for years trying to make the other understand that the plains would do better under their patrons' godship. But they couldn't come to an understanding and eventually took up arms against one another and started what we now know as the War of Day and Night. The fighting went on for almost sixty years with only short breaks in between months of fighting. Each side suffered enormous casualties and the war would have continued if not for the interjection of our King Eric. For he was born in a small village where Ericstein is today and grew up knowing that the war was wrong. And such he joined the military and rose through the ranks eventually becoming a knight recognized by the church of Alzyr and dealt the final blow to the leader of the Twila army driving them away from the plain. From that day on he was heralded as the bringer of peace and became the great leader we know today."
Laila looked up at her in amazement after that story. "Woah I didn't know the King was that awesome! How do you know so much Leanna?"
Leanna looked almost bashful at that question "I don't know what you're talking about, it's all just basic history, I don't know that much."
"No way Leanna you're the coolest knight ever" Laila gushed, "you're everything that I want to be."
Leanna definitely blushed at that "I could get you a copy of the history of Ericstein if you would like '' She hesitantly asked?
"I would really enjoy that thanks!" Laila was definitely in the best mood she'd been since the first time Rune took her out on patrol with him. "You know Leanna, you remind me a lot of my brother."
"I do not look boyish!" She retorted angrily without hesitation.
Laila started to laugh herself into tears "N-no not in that way." Laila took a second to breath, still laughing, "I just meant that you're both super kind people who look out after others, or at least me. Thank you!" Laila grinned as large as she could and thought she heard a sniff come from Leanna and when she stole a glance towards her she swore she saw her wiping away a tear. And with that they broke out of the tunnel into the underground chamber of the church of Alzyr. Standing in the middle of the room waiting for them to arrive was the head of the church, Muriel. Laila could identify that scowl from a mile away.
"You're late. Dinner was served a half hour ago. I knew this job was too important for a female knight to carry out." Muriel sneered at Leanna.
"Actually it was my fault," Laila interjected, "I really had to use the bathroom and we got held up on the way here."
"So you're telling me that our child of the sun reduced herself to using the bathroom in an underground tunnel?" Muriel asked in a slightly mocking tone. She smiled "well we'll just have to do a purifying ritual after dinner then."
The blood drained from Laila's' face and she looked down at the ground fighting back the bile that threatened to come out. All she could do was nod in response not wanting to get Leanna in trouble, because despite their joking, the church wouldn't think twice about punishing her hero. Laila whispered a quick goodbye to Leanna and hurried up the stairs getting away before she could realize anything was wrong, not wanting to involve her. The door at the top of the stairs was locked meaning that witch wasn't joking about the purifying, not that Laila thought she had been for a moment.
Laila waited at the top of the stairs for minutes, giving her time to wind herself down, but the moment she heard the first footstep coming up the stairs her heart started pounding. Each step after the first made her feel more and more numb with each approaching step. At last Muriel turned around the corner, reaching down and grabbing a struggling Laila, unlocking the door after securing her arm. Pulling her down the corridor with more strength than an old woman like her should have. As they rounded the corner at the end of the hallway Laila could see the round wooden door that looked like the sun, but to Laila it was the doorway to hell.
As soon as Laila saw that door she begged "Please Madam Muriel I didn't mean anything by it." But there was no halt in the progression toward the door, and the panic that was welling inside of Laila started to pour out of her, and she began to sob as they neared the door begging with everything she had, pulling with all her might against Muriel's hand but to no avail. Muriel opened the door immediately bright light poured through the door dragging in Laila despite the hold she had on the door.
The room was made completely out of marble with only a pedestal in the middle raising up five feet in the air with chains set in the middle. That wasn't the only strange thing in the room, for it had a roof with a line of holes in the ceiling lining from west to east in the same course as the sun, each hole had glass with a little stone in the middle, glowing lines shining out visible even at a distance. The sun shining through was more intense than normal, being amplified by those rocks. Working basically as a sundial the brightest ray shone in through the third farthest hole on her right meaning she was going to be here for at least three hours. Laila fought from the door, all the way to the top of the pedestal, but Muriel kept dragging her up each step without even a glance back. When they reached the top Muriel turned around and backhanded Laila, knocking her to the ground. Muriel jumped on her at once forcibly removing each piece of clothing, mumbling "be purified from the dirt of the land, shine with grace" over and over until Laila was finally stripped bare. Then Muriel clasped the chains to Laila's wrists and ankles forcing her onto her knees, arms pulled in either direction, her bare chest forced toward the sky. The Light poured directly over her making it to where she could only see white even with her eyes closed.
"Please Muriel I'm sorry I didn't mean it." Laila heard Muriel's descending footsteps and begged louder, "Muriel I'm sorry! Please don't leave me here! It burns!" For a moment there was silence and Laila thought maybe she stopped grasping for her last hope she called out "Muriel, Please-" Laila was cut off by the sound of a slamming door extinguishing all her hope as she heard Muriel's cackling laughter fade away down the hallway.
Laila sat there for hours in this once uncomfortable position but after almost fifteen years of this punishment she'd gotten used to it. But she could never get used to the light gagging all her senses leaving her feeling like a husk. But none of that compares to the pain of the sun hitting her for hours. The last time this happened was almost a year ago; that time she passed out from the pain and it took her two days to wake up not including the week recovery time. This time, though it hurt just as bad when the sun inevitably went down and she was finally able to open her eyes, she looked down in amazement as there was not a single burn on her despite sitting in the sun for a few hours.
The amazement only lasted for but a moment for seconds after the sun went down a massive explosion came out of nowhere, shaking the entire temple, darkness flooded into the room in place of light and began to suffocate Laila. It filled not only her eyesight with darkness but it flooded down her throat not letting her breathe. Suddenly the sensation stopped, air flooded back into her lungs as Laila collapsed to the floor, sweating and coughing. Laila laid on the now cool to the touch marble blinking the specks from her eyes as she heard more explosions shaking the church.
Laila forced herself to sit up, looking down at her hands just realizing she was able to collapse because the shaking must have torn the chains out because they were no longer attached to the marble floor. She shakily rose to her feet, still light headed from the near suffocation, and stumbled down each step toward the door. Finally reaching the door she remembered she was still naked. Laila looked around for something to wear, but that witch normally sent someone to collect her after her purification and since she normally needed medical attention afterward she doesn't ever remember leaving this place clothed let alone on her feet.
She cracked the door open slowly to make sure someone from the church wasn't guarding the door. Laila didn't see anyone so she pushed the door open and rushed out, tripping over something on the ground. Looking back at what she tripped on, she immediately threw up because it turned out there HAD been someone guarding her. The man's eyes had been turned into black mush and black slime dripped from his mouth, his face looked as though his skin shrunk and was hugging his face, and each vein was puffy and black.
Laila was about to run away but a sickening thought crossed her mind. She turned back toward the dead guard knowing what she must do. Steeling her stomach, only throwing up once she undressed the guard, and put on his gear. But she was a short village girl and he was a massive soldier, needless to say it was a terrible fit. At least she wasn't naked anymore Laila thought as she walked down the corridor ignoring the body's, all cooked with what she assumed was the darkness in the explosion. Was she only spared because she was in the sun room or was it because of that other thing. It didn't matter she thought, smirking, no matter the circumstance if it killed that witch and she was free she didn't mind the other deaths. At least, that's what she told herself.
But Laila had to be sure, so she continued on through the hell she endured every year, heading for Muriel's office. She passed more bodies than she could count, recognizing some of them as her "friends''. After what seemed like an eternity trapped in this loop, Laila found herself in front of the door of the office. Without hesitation she opened it and burst inside and satisfaction burned in her as she looked behind the desk and saw the gooped corpse of her head priestess. But the satisfaction quickly turned to horror as she saw the corpse of her mother hunched over the chair in front of the witch.
Grief in all sense erupted from her as she wailed in agony, washing the room in a white light washing away all the blackness from the room and the three corpses of the room. Laila crawled over to her mother grabbing her "Mom! Mom please you shouldn't have been here! I should have just followed with my duty with pride." Laila sobbed, then whispered "if I had maybe you wouldn't have died." She rested her head on her mom's lap and cried. After a few moments her tears ran dry and she opened her eyes and realized for the first time the figure next to her mother. It was the King! His eyes were gone but she had seen him enough to recognize him. But that means… The prince is to be King! But what was the King doing here with her mo… She stood up in horror and backed away from both of them. He was here for her, it was her fault that their great King was dead.
She bolted to the door and opened it but blocking her escape was a blood covered, and ragged haired Prince Riyon looking into her eyes. "Where is my father?!" Laila backed away, slowly pointing toward the king behind her. Riyon burst into the room and ran to his father mimicking what Laila had just previously done and cried, holding his father. "Why did this happen" Riyon quietly asked?
"I- I don't know" she choked on the words coming out, they almost sounded alien to her. "But that's my mother" she wasn't even sure she said it her voice sounded so strange. That was the last thing Laila thought before her vision faded into white.
Laila woke up to the night sky looming above her, the stars shining with their brilliance. She admired their beauty for a moment, and one caught her eye as the star blinked out, the whole night's events rushed back to her, and the sorrow that gripped her so deeply before came back. Numbing her senses, no tears escaped her eyes as she pulled herself up to a sitting position. Laila looked to her left and saw Riyon curled up, asleep several feet away from her on the other side of a now dead fire. There were two empty sleeping bags, one to the right of her, the other by Riyon, but whoever was there before was nowhere in sight. When she finally managed to stand up she turned around and her jaw immediately dropped as she could see the outline of the capitol, and it was burning. But she recognized the way the castle outline looked, turning around she started running as fast as she could. She was near her home.
Laila ran for several minutes through the high-plains not even paying attention to the fact that she didn't run into a single monster. All that was on her mind was her family. Laila needed to tell them about their mother. But in the back of her mind she couldn't help but think about the freedom that she had sought for. The edge of the forest was visible above the high grasses at last. It looked as though she could see her destination shining in front of her but that thought turned to horror as she noticed the flames on the horizon. Laila doubled her speed in terror as she ran toward her home. "Please, Please be okay." Laila yelled as she entered the forest, heat slapping across her face like a torch. She pushed through the suffocating smoke and dodged past trees engulfed in flames finally seeing the gate to her village, completely destroyed. She ran past the splinters of wood that was once the gate immediately falling to her knees. "No, there's… there's no way this is happening" Laila mouthed, not even able to make a sound as she looked around at all the corpses of her village. Bodies of women exposed and torn apart, children missing their heads were piled in the middle of the square. But Laila had eyes only for her house and the heads of her father and the twins staring back at her.
Laila stared back horrified, she felt herself stand up but she hardly noticed herself walking toward the house. She was empty, all that was left was a terrible terror deep in her core. She walked in the house the world echoing as she walked through the halls, nothing seemed real as she looked at the torn up walls and the splashes of blood. She stumbled up the stairs, almost slipping on the almost dried blood on each step. Ignoring the pool of blood, Laila felt an intangible pull toward her father's study, following it without a question. She walked past her door not even looking at it and turned toward her fathers study door. She looked down and saw her luminescent hand open the door.
Impaled through the back by a pulsing black spear, kneeling on the floor was her brother Runair. Life breathed back into her as she ran forward. There's no way her brother would lose. He had to still be alive. He promised. She gripped the spear pulling it out of his chest, the darkness faded as she pulled it out. Throwing it aside without a second glance she caught her brother and laid him on her lap. "Runair, please. Wake up… you still have to introduce me to the villagers you patrol everyday for. I still need you!" She punched the armor but there was no reply but the hollow ting echoing around the room. Laila felt tears pouring from her face, she felt something nudge her arm but she didn't care. If whoever did this wanted to kill her she wasn't about to stop them. She didn't want to live anymore in this hollow world. She felt the nudge again, "Just kill me" she wailed. Laila sat waiting for the moment blackness would engulf her but it didn't happen. She finally looked at what was nudging her and she stared in shock at the little golem the was pushing its little arms against hers.
She reached her arm toward it feeling the same pull as when she entered the house. The golem opened up its chest and inside was the most magnificent golden jewel Laila had ever seen. It was the most beautiful thing she ever saw, for some reason it reminded her of her brother's births. The beauty of a new birth. The moment she grabbed the gem she knew what she had to do. It was as clear as day. She gripped the stone in her now radiating hand, the stone now glowing a fierce gold, and brought it down upon Runes chest and Laila pushed through, melting through metal, flesh, and bone. Releasing the stone deep inside the corpse of her brother, Laila pulled her hand out of his chest, the hole immediately closing up behind her hand. Not a moment later his chest was rising and falling as he breathed. Laila felt nothing but happiness for a split second before a sharp pain stabbed her brain making her collapse on top of her brother, darkness engulfing her as she watched the little golem disappear into the ground.