Her hand was over her chest-
Heart pulsing-
Breath a bit erratic-
'So alike-'
A faint smile-
Crackle-
The fire burned near her-
Just like that day-
Except-
On that fateful night twenty-two years ago-
She wasn't just lying near the fire, no. she was on top of the fire.
Screaming-
Roasted alive.
"Help! Help me! anyone!"
But no help came.
Only giggles and lustful glares.
Clothes torn-
Some fluids leaking-
Red.
They tortured her, and now they were going to roast her alive-
And then eat her.
Such was the way of devils.
Not demons. Devils.
Long ears, three horns, black eyes with golden pupils; very humanlike but definitely not humans…Devils.
They loved devouring humans, particularly mixed blood humans.
And this particular human just happened to be one…
Tears streamed down her face as she tried her best to stop the sobbing.
But-
It just wasn't working.
Her back was already burnt, blood and other liquids dripping, creating a horrible, horrible burning sensation and smell.
It stung-
No, that was an understatement. It was as though her cells were dying one by one and she could feel it; one by one.
And she couldn't help but wail.
Wail in the pain-
Wail in the disgrace-
And wail… in despair.
But there was no help coming.
All her companions had died way before her; only their bones remained. And if not for some dwarven blood, she perhaps would have long died and been eaten too.
These canyons were devoid of life- and no help was going to come.
She knew that.
Yet-
She cried for help. "Help me…"
She cried with everything-
Someone-
Anyone-
"Severe-"
A whisper- and three devils lost their heads.
The other eight stared around-
But nothing.
Not a single thing.
Then what?
It burned- and yet-
Yet for a second pain didn't register-
Instead-
It was replaced by hope.
"Whiplash!" Someone dropped between them-
She could tell, there was movement, but even she couldn't see the moves.
Yet-
She could see something-
Trails of blood-
Blood bursting out in slow motion as the man in that darkness stared her way- appearing seemingly out of nowhere.
All dead.
"Hel-" She managed but passed out.
However-
She passed out in relief.
She was going to die-
She knew that.
But at least she wouldn't be eaten now.
At least she'd-
"Whoah-" But she woke up the very next second from the intense burning-
But no- she wasn't in the fire-
Rather- "ARHHH!!!" She screamed as the man poured some purple liquid all over her-
Burning-
Sizzling-
Smoking-
The pain made her cry anew-
The tears that had dried up- started flowing again-
Pant! Pant-
Heart going so fast, she wouldn't have been surprised if it just stopped outright.
But-
Everything- dulled.
The pain-
The fear-
The shame…
Dulled.
"That was very brave of you-" The man said- sitting down next to her bare body, not looking at her but rather staring up the sky, the stars.
"How was begging for my life brave?" She tried to speak normally, but only sobs came out, as did tears.
She was covered in her blood, puss, snot, piss, and even a bit of feces. Her body tried everything it could to help her survive-
And sufficed to say, she survived but she should have smelled like hell too-
Yet the man didn't really move away from her, he just sat there, on the ground, as she stayed laid on her stomach- staring up at the man-
At those eyes-
Innocence-
He'd just killed devils yet, she saw innocence.
"Not many can survive for so long-" he said, grinning. "If it were me, I'd be long dead by now." He chuckled. "You were brave to stay alive for so long; to not give up. Thank you for living."
It only made her sob even more.
Yet-
She sniffed-
And-
She survived.
***
The next morning, the two headed back to the nearest city.
The man knew a bit of first aid, but that was about it.
So- they had to get a doctor's help.
A bit of cleanup was necessary beforehand though.
They wrapped her body with herbs and bandages-
It hurt, it itched, and for some reason, she felt suffocated. But she was going to live.
"So, I guess this is goodbye miss. I'm sorry I couldn't recover your companion's corpses."
Alone in a small room, just the two-
"Don't be. It was our fault for not listening to the guild and charging in here…" And as the vice leader, she should have convinced the leader, but she didn't. Drunk on power; overconfident. "If anything, I'm grateful to you for at least digging them a grave. Thank you. And-"
"And-?"
"I'm Amanda… you?"
"Edilous. Nice to meet ya!"
They shook-
And from then on- they sometimes partied up-
Did quests, got drunk- even fought.
They were great friends.
But-
"I'm sorry-" on a particular day Edilous shook his head. "I'm not ready."
Just behind the guild building-
Just the two of them-
Or so they thought.
"Is it me?"
"No- it's… I have a crush on someone. I'm sorry, I can only see you as a friend."
Some days later, she found out, Edilous had proposed and his partner accepted the proposal.
They were slated to be married.
They even invited Amanda but-
But-
She went on a journey.
She had enough.
Every time she thought things would change-
Things would get better-
They always went to shit.
Every single fucking time!
"To hell with it!" She'd said, packing her things, just outright leaving.
.
..
…
Yet-
Now-
After twenty-two years and hundreds of adventures later-
Amanda Voran-
'So, like him….' She smiled, snickering to herself.
And this time-
Perhaps-