“Why are you traveling with a sand wraith?” Forrus questioned Hollia. “Are you mad?”
Hollia watched Cindy muttering to herself as she slowly healed from her burns then quickly waved the others over to her. Daemon and the girls gathered closer while Hollia anxiously fretted as she looked back and forth from Cindy to them with fearful eyes.
“I don’t have a choice,” she quietly spoke to them. “That sand wraith was going to do the same to me until I lied and told her I was pregnant.”
“You lied to her saying you were pregnant?” Rulo asked in puzzlement. “And that stopped her from killing you?”
“What?” Cindy cried out. The group saw the wraith showing shock and anger towards that as she rubbed her foot. “You lied to me? You’re not really having a baby? You dirty liar!”
“That was the only reason she wasn’t eating me yet!” Hollia yelled out at Rulo. “Now she’s going to kill me!”
“You meanie!” Cindy shouted as she got back onto her feet and growled through gritted teeth. “I’m going to eat you up, no more lies from you!”
“Please!” Hollia begged Sasha. “You have to help me! Don’t leave me with her, she’s going to devour me!”
“I would suggest running, but it seems that’s not an option for you,” Sasha commented as she saw the centaur’s broken leg.
“Please, I beg of you! You can’t let me die like this, not now. I need to live, I need to avenge my family!”
“Avenge your family?” Forrus repeated.
“Those horrible demons took everything from me! My home, my family, everything! Ruhelia stands no more and it’s all because of them!”
“What?” Sasha carefully questioned. “Ruhelia stands no more? The centaur kingdom?”
“It’s gone,” Hollia whimpered, with the other girls showing surprise from that. “The entire kingdom… destroyed overnight. I don’t know how many of my sisters managed to flee in time, I don’t know what will become of us now. Please, I have to live, I have to see to it that those wretched demons who brought that hell upon my home die for their crimes!”
“What demons?” Forrus asked. “How could your kingdom fall like that?”
“They brought an army,” Hollia explained. “Goblins, trolls, gremlins, and even ogres were seen smashing apart our beautiful home. Hundreds of those despicable monsters stormed our motherland, burned our fields, razed our homes to the ground, and slaughtered every centaur and child they could find. Not even the human men we had were spared. They were all raped and taken away. Nothing is left in Ruhelia now.”
“Who brought this army?” Rulo asked.
“Those two demons,” Hollia cursed with fury washing over her. “I’ll never forget them. Their sickening laughter, their vile dispositions, and their haunting eyes. Those eyes, they’re burned into my mind now, the eyes of true evil.”
“Their eyes?” Sasha questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“One’s was a mix of red, blue, green, and white colors,” Hollia recalled, with the other girls slowly showing surprise to those words. “And the other-”
“Had purple, pink, yellow, and black colors in hers,” Forrus finished.
Hollia turned to her in wonder and slowly nodded as the lycan growled with rage coming over her now.
“You know of those monsters?”
“They killed my entire pack,” Forrus snarled. “I’ve been searching for them to rip apart their flesh and make them suffer for what they did to my family.”
“They did so to mine as well. My mother, the empress, she was… and even my little sister Maria… they both died at the hands of those demons and their forsaken followers. I have only one sister now, but I don’t know where she is, she’s out in the world and thankfully wasn’t in Ruhelia when it was attacked.”
“Your mother was the centaur empress?” Daemon questioned.
“Yes. I was learning to take her place when her time was over, but now there is no kingdom for me to rule over. I’m a princess without a home. My mother refused to surrender our people to those two monsters, she boldly declined to us becoming their slaves… and then they ate her alive. They ripped her apart right in the middle of the throne room!”
“Dammit, just who the fuck are those bitches anyway?” Rulo snorted in discontent.
“Jovian and Jacqueline,” Hollia told her. “Those are their names, the names of those that are now gathering an army to spill the blood of all who stand before them.”
“Where are they?” Forrus yelled out. “Where did they go? Tell me now!”
Hollia noticed Cindy glaring at her with clenched teeth then gulped before turning to Forrus in urgency.
“I’ll show you, I’ll show you where they went, just don’t leave me with that wraith!”
“Where did those two monsters go?” Forrus demanded, grabbing Hollia by the shirt and growling at her.
“I’ll show you myself if you take me with you. Please, I want them to die just as much if not more than you do, I deserve my chance at revenge as well. Keep that wraith away from me and I’ll lead you to where those demons were last seen, that’s the deal.”
Forrus snarled through her teeth before slowly letting go of the centaur. All eyes then turned to Daemon as he watched Hollia whimpering on the ground before him, her hands shakily coming together in a pleading manner as she lowered her head to him.
“These monsters call you master, you fended off a sand wraith with what looked to be no effort on your part. I don’t know what manner of human you are, but please, if you really are so strong and revered then could you find it in your heart to help this poor centaur? I have nowhere else to go, nobody to turn to. I must avenge my family, I must send those demons back to hell where they belong. I’ve never begged anyone before today, but I assure you I’m doing so with all my being. Please, whoever you are, help me.”
Daemon lightly drummed his fingers on the handle of his sword, not a word being spoken as the girls waited for his answer. He glanced over to Cindy who was stomping around muttering something while glaring at Hollia, the wraith showing him a nervous look at being his focus before turning her attention back onto the centaur and growling through her teeth.
“Normally your plight would be yours and yours alone,” Daemon said to Hollia. “However the ones you described leading the attack on your home are the same ones Forrus seeks, and the same ones we promised to help her kill in return for her assisting me with something very important.”
“Help me avenge my family and I’ll do anything you ask,” Hollia implored. “I’ve already lost everything in my life, whatever I have left in my future is yours.”
Daemon hesitated for a moment then turned his cold blue eyes over onto the sand wraith, the girls then watching her as she trembled nervously from seeing the swordsman staring at her.
“You mentioned she spared your life thinking you were pregnant?” Daemon questioned.
“Yes,” Hollia confirmed. “When I told her that lie she refused to leave me alone and wished to protect me until I was safely escorted to a village to have the baby. Although she wishes to kill me simply for me being alive before her, she refused to harm an innocent child or even an unborn one.”
“I didn’t think sand wraiths showed mercy to anyone,” Sasha wondered. “They normally kill everyone, man and monster, they rest their sights on.”
“I never heard of one doing so either, but she did. Oddly enough, while I was faking being pregnant she was overprotective of me, and even helped me walk this far by supporting me the entire time.”
Daemon turned to face Cindy and narrowed his eyes at her, the girl gulping and taking a slow step back while trying to force a brave front that she failed horribly in doing so.
“This centaur is coming with us,” Daemon informed her, with Hollia smiling brightly up at him from hearing that. “You had enough kindness to spare her life earlier, I’ll grant you the same liberty this one time.”
“You’re going to do what?” Cindy asked confus
edly.
“He’s saying he’s letting you go peacefully,” Forrus clarified. “I suggest you take his most gracious offer, especially after you tried to kill Sasha earlier.”
“Get out of my sight while you can, wraith,” Sasha hissed.
“But… but… she’s mine!” Cindy whined pointing to Hollia.
“He said go, so get going or else you’re going to be ash!” Rulo ordered with a stern oink.
“That’s not fair! I saw her first!”
A swirling rush of blue and black flames flared up around Daemon’s gloved hand and arm, the wraith squeaking in fright from seeing the magical blaze while Hollia stared at him in surprise from the energy he was exuding.
“If you want her that badly, come and get her,” Daemon taunted.
Hollia found herself to be speechless as she saw the swordsman shielding her then looked over to see Cindy trembling nervously and not taking a step closer. The wraith whimpered and fidgeted her hands together while seeing Daemon and his girls glaring at her then showed them a pouty glare back and stuck her tongue out at them.
“Fine. Take her. Meanies. I need to get going anyway, so I don’t care. I don’t!”
She whined then took off running while crying, the group watching with dull expressions as she ran blindly into a tree and dropped down thrashing about in a fit. She quickly got back up and ran away sobbing and shouting something that couldn’t be understood in her flustered state.
“What a weird girl,” Forrus commented. She then looked down to see Hollia holding her splint and cringing as her foot twitched slightly. “What happened to your leg?”
“It was broken when I escaped my palace,” Hollia whimpered. “I tried tending to it the best I could, but… I fear I’ll never run again. I’m scarred forever because of those wretched monsters.”
“You mean we have to wait for you to limp all the way to where those two bitches went?” Rulo groaned in exasperation. “This is going to take forever tracking them down.”
“Yes, that’s the real tragedy of this story,” Hollia snapped at her with tears in her eyes. “You may not have known this, but a broken leg for a centaur isn’t exactly a laughing matter. If they don’t heal right the first time the centaur will never run again, and a grounded centaur isn’t a happy one!”
“There’s no way that healed properly,” Sasha mentioned shaking her head. “I can see the bones aren’t aligned from here.”
“I know that! Stop reminding me how I’m crippled for life, you’re only making this worse for me!”
“Just tell us where they went and we’ll put you out of your misery,” Rulo insisted as she brought forth her hammer. “You won’t feel a thing, don’t worry.”
“I’m quite certain I’ll feel everything,” Hollia nervously argued as she stared at the large blunt weapon.
Daemon stepped forward and drew out his sword, the centaur’s eyes watching the shiny steel and glowing runes in fright before she started crying and shaking her head.
“Please, I don’t care if I’m crippled, I still want to live. I have to see that those demons pay for what they did. Don’t put me down, please!”
“Sasha,” Daemon said, with the reptile girl nodding then kneeling down and ripping the splint off of Hollia’s leg. The centaur screamed in pain and tried to push her away before Forrus grabbed her hands and held her back.
“No! Stop, don’t do this!” Hollia cried out. “I thought you were going to take me with you! Please, have mercy!”
“Be quiet,” Sasha sternly ordered. “You’re coming with us, so quit with the crying already.”
Hollia strained to keep her screams in as Sasha grabbed her broken leg, the centaur’s eyes widening as she shook her head quickly.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
“We need to place the bones correctly together,” Daemon told her. “To do that we’re going to have to undo what you tried to do.”
“This is going to hurt,” Sasha plainly said before snapping the centaur’s leg.
Hollia shrieked as she fell to the side in Forrus’s arms, the lycan holding her upright while Sasha aligned the broken leg with a keen eye and a rather rough touch. The centaur screamed as she felt her leg aching severely, her voice echoing out across the land while Daemon knelt down beside Sasha with his blade.
“Want me to knock her out?” Rulo asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Just help me hold her still,” Forrus grunted as Hollia tried to buck around off the ground, the lycan struggling to keep her in place as the princess was going blind with pain.
“Keep her still or else we’ll have to break it again,” Sasha said with a shrug.
“No! Anything but that!” Hollia wailed in agony.
Rulo dropped her hammer with a heavy thud and ran over to hold the centaur’s bucking rump down, she and Forrus then keeping the wounded princess still while Sasha held the broken leg together.
“Why are you torturing me like this?” Hollia cried out.
“Be quiet,” Daemon ordered as he brought his sword over the wounded leg.
Hollia whimpered and clenched her teeth tightly as she watched his blade glowing, the swordsman holding his hand over it and her leg as a bright light began to engulf them. The centaur cringed and groaned with her screams before she slowly quieted down, her leg gradually becoming numb under the masking light.
“What… are you doing?” she shakily asked while catching her breath.
After a long while of silence the other girls stood up and watched as Daemon continued holding his hand and sword over the centaur’s leg, the leg that Hollia began to have feeling in again as she was able to move it slightly. The light slowly faded as Daemon stood up and sheathed his blade at his side, everyone then seeing the centaur’s leg appearing normal again as she stared at it in disbelief.
“What…” Hollia breathed out.
Ever so carefully she lifted her leg up and gazed at it in awe, seeing there was no blood or broken bones sticking through the skin, but rather it appeared as healthy as her other three. She gently set it down then slowly got back up onto her legs, feeling no pain from the healed limb as she stood on it without any trouble.
“I don’t believe it,” she softly spoke in wonder. Looking to Daemon she saw him watching her with his hand once again holding his sword’s handle. “You… you actually… healed my leg. It feels perfect again.”
“I don’t want you slowing us down,” he reasoned with a quick glance to her leg. “Now I trust you’ll be able to take us to where those two you mentioned were last seen without pause, yes?”
“How did you do this? Who are you? What manner of human are you? Where did you come from?”
“He asked you a question,” Sasha hissed.
Hollia jumped then quickly bowed down on all four legs to Daemon with a worried smile.
“Yes, of course. I’ll take you to where they were last seen. Please, what is your name? I must know.”
“Daemon Warrick.”
“Daemon,” Hollia repeated as she kept herself low. “I see. My name is Hollia. I never knew knights such as yourself existed in this world, but I’m grateful to have come across you. No, more than grateful. You’ve given me back so much with this gift, I was fearful I’d never run again in my life.”
“I am no knight,” Daemon corrected shaking his head.
“I dare say you are,” Hollia insisted with a curious smile at him. “Well, my knight, you have my eternal thanks for not only warding away that… strange sand wraith, but also restoring my leg with your healing touch. If you should truly keep your word about aiding me in slaying those two demons that brought about this, you’ll have answered all my prayers. Tell me, what is it I can do for you in return? I must thank you somehow for what you’ve done.”
“Show us where those two troublesome monsters went,” Daemon answered as he turned to walk away. After two steps Hollia quickly jumped in front of him and shook her head.
“That’s not enough. I don’t
think you understand how big a deal this is for a centaur. You gave me back my leg, that alone is worth so much. You wishing to slay those accursed devils only makes me more indebted to you. I simply must know how to properly repay you. Tell me.”
“If you’re so adamant on severing my lord there is something you can help with,” Forrus mused.
“Anything. Name it,” Hollia insisted.
“He’s searching for some very unique artifacts, ones that are of the highest importance to be returned to him.”
“We don’t need anyone else tagging along with us,” Rulo snorted. “Those last two bitches slowed us down so much, we’re not dealing with that again.”
“I beg your pardon,” Hollia scoffed at her. “I don’t know who you’re referring to with that but I can only assume you’re not actually suggesting that a centaur would slow you down in the slightest. I would be ashamed if you could even keep up with me, orc.”
“My master could outrun you,” Rulo snapped.
“Rulo,” Daemon flatly said.
“I mean, Daemon.”
“Could he now?” Hollia curiously asked as she eyed over the swordsman. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand how he could outrun a centaur such as myself. Or any of you for that matter.”
“You’d be surprised what we’re capable of,” Sasha warned.
Hollia glanced around at the group and saw only serious faces with no hints of amusement watching her. She turned to Daemon and held a hand to her chin in question as she tried to imagine him running faster than she could by any means.
“Very well then,” she concluded with an intrigued smile. “You have my curiosity piqued as far as it can go. I shall show you the way to where those demons were last seen, I’ll take you back to my home and point us in the direction they and their followers went. If you can truly outrun me, I’ll be most impressed. Show me just how unique you really are, and I’ll help you find anything you want in this world. Hell, I’ll become your devoted servant for life if I should be shown my place by a human such as yourself.”
Chronicles of Eden - Act VIII Page 17
