The Descending Darkness

by Michael Chulsky

  Maedara stepped off the ferry and onto the sandy shore of her destination. The journey across the water had been boring and not worth thinking about – especially when compared to the adventure that was so exciting she could barely contain herself. It had been a long time since she had been back to her hometown, and she was eager for the warm reception she was bound to receive. Stopping just short of the town entrance, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Everything had to be perfect; the entrance was everything.

  She flicked her hair and strolled into the town, making her way to a large water fountain in the middle of the shopping hub. “My loyal subjects, rejoice! For I have arrived!”

  “Oh, my God! It’s her!”

  “What? It’s impossible!”

  Maedara beamed as whispers rang out around her. “If only Mezmir could be here to see the glorious reception I’m receiving right now.”

  “What’s she doing back here?”

  “This can’t be good.”

  “If she’s back, I’m getting a one-way ticket out of here!”

  “I don’t wanna die!”

  “Yes, yes…I’ve returned!” Maedara said smugly. “I bet you all never thought you’d be so lucky.”

  The crowd that formed looked at each other, and after a few seconds of awkward silence, a man stepped forward. “Maedara…what are you doing back so soon?”

  “So soon?” Maedara repeated, her smile slipping slightly. “I haven’t been here in what seems like a lifetime. I’ve been busy…but I just couldn’t keep my adoring fans waiting any longer.”

  “It seems like only yesterday,” the man muttered.

  “Is there something wrong with me being back? Are you not…happy?”

  The man saw the expression on her face and took a step back. “N-no, no! Not that…I’m fine, err…happy that you’re back! Truly!” He gave a huge smile, then abruptly turned on the spot and ushered his wife and kids away.

  Maedara watched the man leave with a bemused expression on her face, but shrugged and continued walking. The crowd of people parted, almost as if they were afraid to get too close to her – which was perfectly fine, because they were peasants and probably riddled with disease. Besides, she had places to go and people to see. She refused to be delayed.

  Maedara only made it a few feet before she was forced to stop short. There were two people standing in her way – completely oblivious and browsing a shop’s wares. “Ehm.” She cleared her throat and waited. But the couple didn’t turn around and continued their browsing. “I said, ehm!”

  “What do you want?” the woman snapped, turning around. “Can we help you with something?”

  “Yes, you can help by explaining why you’re preventing me from walking.”

  “Why don’t you just go around, you–” the man began, but stopped short when he saw who was addressing them. A look of fear appeared on his face. “We didn’t mean to inhibit you…we just didn’t see. We don’t want any trouble….okay?”

  “Her outfit is nothing but trouble,” the man’s wife said, frowning in disgust. “Where did you buy that dress, so I know to never shop there?”

  Maedara gasped, eyes widening. “Ex…cuse me?”

  The man quickly pulled his wife behind him. “Forgive her…please. She’s not originally from here. She doesn’t know who you are.”

  Maedara sighed. “I guess I can forgive the ignorance of a commoner…as long as she tells me that my dress is beautiful.”

  The man turned to his wife. “Honey, tell her the dress is beautiful.”

  Maedara leaned and cupped a hand around her ear. “I’m waiting.”

  The woman scoffed. “The dress is ugly, darling. Sorry ‘bout it.”

  “No!”

  Maedara’s eyes closed. She trembled as if she were about to cry, her body rocking back and forth. “You’re a liar,” she whispered. “That’s it…you’re a liar–” Her voice grew louder with every word. “–my dress isn’t ugly…you’re just a filthy…heinous liar!” Her mouth opened wide, and a torrent of a green acid-like substance shot out of it, drenching the couple. Their screams were loud and piteous as their skin melted off, leaving nothing but piles of scorched bone.

  “Oh my god, she killed them!” a woman screamed.

  “You monster!”

  “Stop looking at me!” Maedara cried, putting her hand to her forehead. “I know I’m a superstar, but I just want to blend in like everybody else!” She watched as the town’s residents scattered and ran in all different directions. “And now they’re running away from me! It’s like I’m diseased or something. It’s not fair. I just want to be loved like everybody else. Is that so wrong?”

  In the middle of her breakdown, Maedara reached out and grabbed a man who was running past by his throat. “Excuse me…may I have a word?”

  The man struggled, trying to pull her hand off his neck, but his strength was no match for hers. “P-please . . . don’t kill me!” he whimpered, fear etched in his voice.

  Maedara made an impatient humph noise. “Why does everyone automatically assume that I’m going to kill them? Like I’m a psycho, or something!” A kick at the front of her dress brought her attention back to the man. She reinforced her grip and looked into his eyes. “Why is everyone running away from me and screaming?” she asked, her voice becoming high and valley girl-like.

  The man opened his mouth to reply, but the tightened grip around his neck made it hard for him to do anything but gasp for air.

  Maedara watched him struggle for a few seconds and then sighed. “Not being able to breathe is no excuse for bad manners. Answer me!” She shook him a bit, and he became limp in her grasp. “Fine. If you are going to treat me like this, then I’m done talking to you!” She tossed the man away with all of her strength. His body flew from her hand and went through a brick wall. “How utterly rude of that man to not get up and apologize for his awful behavior,” she thought, shaking her head. “I guess people just don’t raise their children right anymore.”

  Maedara continued on toward her destination. It wasn’t long before she reached the town square. She knew the entrance to the Black Market was beyond a portal, and the portal used to be in the town square – but it was nowhere in sight. “This isn’t fair!” she said aloud, stomping her foot on the ground. “Why can’t I find the portal? Why are they trying to keep me, of all people, out?!” She picked up a nearby barrel and smashed it against a wall. Then she kicked through a small shop kiosk and sent the goods flying. In the middle of her rage, she noticed that the guards nearby weren’t trying to stop her, instead, they didn’t move away from the building they were positioned around. She stopped and stared at them – they returned her gaze, but remained stationary. “Hmm, why aren’t those guards trying to stop me? Maybe, just maybe, they know what’s going on around here. She smoothed out her dress and walked over to the guards.

  The guards watched as she made her way over to them, but didn’t break formation.

  “Hello, there!” Maedara called, waving her arms. She waited to be addressed, but they remained silent. Sighing, she took a few more steps forward until she was mere inches away from them. She looked over them until she found one who had a different uniform: the leader. “Hey, there, cutie,” she said, her voice like a valley girl again. “How are you doing today?” There was still no answer. She frowned. “You know, it’s rude to not answer a lady when she’s speaking!”

  The head guard flushed, but almost instantly regained his composure. “Sorry about my manners, Ms….?”

  “Maedara. My name is Maedara!” she replied, flicking her hair. “Everyone knows me around these parts…I’m like royalty.”

  The guard looked at her for a second, and then frowned. “Well, my apologies, Ms….Maedara, but this area is restricted. You’ll have to leave now.”

  Maedara giggled like a little girl at the man’s authoritative tone. “Wait, I’m sorry…but are you giving me an order?” she asked, putting her hands to her cheeks. “That is jus
t so adorable!”

  The guard shook his head. “It’s no laughing matter. My orders are clear. This is a restricted area; no civilians allowed. You must leave.”

  “Yes, I heard you the first time,” Maedara replied, waving her hand at him. “I’m sorry to say that it just wasn’t as funny the second time you said it. You’ll need some new material.”

  “I must ask–”

  “So tell me…you’re the big cheese around here, right?”

  The guard blinked at her. “I am the lead officer of Hyael, if that is what you mean.”

  “Good, good…so if you’re here and your guards are here, that must mean you guys are guarding something pretty important. Is that right?”

  “Why, yes, that is accurate. But I’m afraid that information is classified. So unless you have the proper authorization, you must leave.”

  Maedara looked him up and down and tilted her head to the side. “Or what, may I ask?” she questioned, her voice low and almost a purr. “You’re not threatening little ol’ me, are you? Because that just wouldn’t be gentleman-like. And I’d hate for you to spoil the friendly dialogue we have going here.”

  “It’s not a threat, ma’am. Leave now or you will be forcibly escorted off the premises or be detained. This is your final warning.”

  Maedara’s smiled widened. “Alright, I guess I have no choice then.” She abruptly thrust her hand forward. Her palm connected with the man’s chest and propelled him backwards, sending him flying across the street. It seemed to be what the guards were waiting for, as they drew their weapons from their holsters and took aim at her. She became still and watched them in the same way a lioness would a gazelle.

  “You’re under arrest! Any movement, and we’ll shoot,” one guard yelled.

  “You must be the second-in-command.”

  “On the ground, NOW!”

  Maedara laughed at the sound of fear in his voice. It was like candy to her, sweet and intoxicating. She dashed forward and sunk her elbow in his chest. As he doubled over in pain, she backhanded him and sent him careening through a nearby building.

  This was all the remaining guards needed to open fire.

  As the lasers shot toward her, Maedara jerked her head down, sending her hair fanning out in front of her like a veil. The lasers hit her hair and rebounded at the guards. She raised her head and gave a satisfied smirk at their unmoving bodies with multiple burn holes like Swiss cheese. “Oh, dear…maybe I used too much hairspray this morning…or maybe it’s Maybelline.”

  She was about to move forward, but she turned around when she heard a groan. The leader of the guards remained alive, though bleeding from a wound on his head. She frowned, watching him slowly crawling to get away. “I missed one? How embarrassing…this just isn’t my day.”

  Maedara made her way over to him, casual and slow. It was pretty easy, given how weak he was. She kneeled down by his body, purposely resting her knee against his arm. “Hello, friend. Were you trying to leave without saying goodbye? Because that’s just rude.”

  “Go…away….”

  “Now, now,” she replied, wagging her finger at him. “We’re not done here. We still have business to attend to.”

  The man let out a gasp of pain as she ground her knee deeper into his arm. This continued until he screamed. “I’ll talk!” he yelled. “What do you want?!”

  “I want to know where the entrance to the marketplace is.”

  “That’s what we were guarding! We were told to not let anyone in unless they have a password…by orders from the king.”

  Maedara nodded slowly. “I see…well, you failed.” She stood up and shook her head down at him. “You have got to be the worst guard ever. You’re a shame to your hometown, your parents, and everybody you love. You should probably kill yourself.”

  “You’ll never…get away with this….”

  “Oh, how clichéd,” Maedara replied, kicking the man in the head. He rolled across the ground and didn’t move when he came to a stop. “Hmm…well, that’s upsetting. There’s no fun in killing if he’s not going to scream or beg for mercy.” She strode past his body and through the formerly guarded doors. As she walked further into the building, she could see a shimmering black light on the balcony in front of her: the portal. “Ding, ding, ding…we have a winner.” She flicked her hair and gave a delightful squeal as she entered the portal.

  Maedara rematerialized and found herself inside a small room. She always hated traveling via portals because it made her nauseated, which was undesirable. Vomiting was not fabulous. Taking a second to get her bearings, she flicked her hair and brushed the dust off her dress. She opened the door and stepped out into a large ballroom-type area. The floor was lined with bright fluorescent lighting, and expensive candles decorated the walls.

  As Maedara walked further into the room, she noticed a bunch of very well-dressed people standing and chatting with one another. “Well, isn’t this a fancy soiree…that I wasn’t invited to.” She clenched her fists. It was so rude of them to throw a party the day she was back in town and not send her an invitation. No, it was beyond rude…it was selfish. She would have to find the host of the party and share her grievance by stabbing them in the throat. Before she could do anything further, a nasally shriek drew her attention.

  “O...m…g, Maedara?!” a woman yelled across the room. She was short and her warm bronze face was decorated with enough makeup to make a drag queen jealous. She seemed to favor the color pink: bubblegum-pink hair styled in a beehive on her head, neon pink nails, skirt, cropped shirt, and her tiny body was held up on six-inch bubblegum-pink heels. She sauntered over and put her hands to her face dramatically. “Is it really you?!”

  Maedara frowned, but upon catching sight of the woman, squealed in delight. “Lydia, darling! Indeed it is! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, girl…I can’t even right now!”

  Lydia smiled and nodded as she looked her friend up and down. “Wow, girl, where did you find that dress?” she asked, waving her hand. “It’s fabulous…so chic. I swear, I could just die looking at you!”

  Maedara shrugged and gave an “aw, shucks” flick of the hand. “You know how I am! I don’t settle for anything less. Would you believe it’s couture? I got it off this nice woman in Naoua. She was so helpful.”

  “Naoua? That’s so far away…I’ve never been – I’m so jealous! And they don’t roll cheap there. You must have paid an arm and a leg!”

  “I didn’t, but the woman did!” Maedara said with a laugh. “You’d be surprised how little people will charge you when they’re begging for their life.”

  “Oh, girl, you’re too much,” Lydia replied, laughing too.

  Maedara wiped her eyes as she finished laughing. “Oh darling, you don’t know how much I’ve missed you. It’s been…years. Almost ten, right?”

  “Yeah,” Lydia agreed. “I wish I knew why you left…you just disappeared and nobody knew where you went. It was the biggest source of gossip for months.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course, dear. People didn’t know what to think. It’s not every day the princess of a country vanishes without a trace.”

  Maedara shrugged. “I guess I can’t blame them…their boring lives were probably enriched simply by talking about me.”

  Lydia nodded. “What happened?”

  “It’s a long story…one I don’t want to get into right now. Let’s just say…I had things to do and places to go. I wasn’t going to spend my 20s living in this hovel.” Maedara shuddered at the thought. And then she shook her head. “Besides, there’s time for that later…right now, I need you to tell me what’s going on here...what is being celebrated?”

  “This party is to celebrate the recent shift in location of the entrance portal.”

  “Why did they move it?”

  Lydia narrowed her eyes and looked around the room. “I don’t know anything for sure, but the word on the street is that they’re selling something really amazing today…someth
ing they didn’t want just anyone to get their hands on.”

  Maedara placed her hands on her hips. “Well, seeing as how I’m not just anyone, why wasn’t I invited?”

  “I’m not sure, dear.”

  Maedara’s frown deepened. “Well, whoever is in charge of the invitations deserves to be fired for making such a mistake. I’ve never felt so insulted in all my life…and I had a homeless person talk to me once.”

  Lydia frowned. “Ewww.”

  “I know! It took me weeks to get over that mental trauma.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. But listen: I know it totally sucks that you didn’t get an invite, but maybe it was some kind of mistake. I’m sure the king could sort it out. Speaking of, have you spoken to your father since you’ve been back? I’m sure he was worried by your absence.”

  Maedara sighed and flicked her hair haughtily. Of course she hadn’t seen her father since she arrived. He wasn’t worth the effort. The pompous jerk was probably out making a law or having his way with a floozy, or whatever it was that kings did. She had more important things to focus her attention on. Like shopping. “No, I haven’t seen him.”

  Lydia reached out and grabbed her shoulder affectionately. “Well, whatever…all that matters is you’re here now!”

  Maedara’s smile returned. “Exactly! I’m just glad I didn’t miss the big auction. I’m really interested in this top secret item that has everyone in a tizzy.”

  “Oh, me too, girlfriend. Me too. I’ll just bet that–”

  The door across the hall burst open. A set of armed guards marched into the room and stood on either side of a man dressed in expensive robes. “The auction will now commence!” he proclaimed, beckoning everyone forward. “If you’d please head into the room – single file. Take the first seat available. No fighting…there’s room for everyone. Yes, that’s it. Thank you.”

  Maedara and Lydia made their way into the new room. It was like stepping into the palace of King Midas – the chairs and the table on the stage were made from solid gold. The rug on the floor beneath their feet seemed to be made from spun gold thread. Even the lighting in the room was dim and gold-colored. There were eight or nine rows of chairs, with twelve chairs in each row. The front row was completely filled with guards.