A heavy thud sounded as the body of the guard fell limply to the floor. A handsome blonde-haired young man wearing a dark green tunic stood wielding a sword. As he caught his breath and wiped the sweat off his brow, he looked behind him and called out.
“You can come out now, Rose! They’re all dead.”
A small black she-cat stepped from around the corner and delicately picked its way through the massacred bodies. The cat opened her mouth and surprisingly words poured out.
“Not bad for an elf.” She meowed irritably, hoping to provoke the man. When he didn’t make a snappy comeback, the cat’s icy blue eyes softened.
“You’re really worried about her huh, Will?” Rose asked, her usually harsh voice now soft. Will let out an exasperated sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
“Let’s just find her and get her out of here.” Rose nodded in agreement and followed Will as he continued deeper into the dungeons. The farther they went, the worse it got. Will shuddered as they passed a cell that had the skeleton of its former occupant still chained to the wall. Flies buzzed around its cracked skull and just looking at it made him want to puke. Just the thought of her being down there made him feel even more sickened. They had to get her out of here as soon as possible. He was about to suggest to Rose that they split up to search when he nearly tripped over her.
“Jeez Rose what’s-” he abruptly cut himself off when he heard what had stopped Rose. It was the sound of someone crying. Specifically a girl. Will raced down the corridor towards the sound, his heart pounding in his chest. Rose followed closely at his heels as he turned a corner and skidded to a stop in front of a rusty cell. A girl with golden blonde hair down to her waist was chained to big metal ball. Her clothes were dirty and slightly tattered as if she had been in the cell for a while and her face was smudged with dirt. When she heard footsteps, she had looked up with a blank look in her eyes but when she saw Will her eyes instantly lit up. Will slashed the bars of the cell and quickly slit the gauntlets on her ankles and wrists with his sword.
“Silver?! Are you-“ Will was cut off as Silver flung herself into his chest, hugging him tightly. Carefully, as if the slightest touch would cause her to break, he wrapped one arm around her waist and started to lightly stroke her hair with the other.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” she sobbed, soaking the front of his tunic with her tears. Will gave her a puzzled look.
“Why wouldn’t we come save you?” he asked as he pushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear. Silver looked up at him, smiling through the tears of joy.
“They told me that you and Rose were dead. When I heard that, I lost all will to live. I thought I lost you forever.” She sniffed, her nose slightly stuffy from crying, and wiped one of her eyes before giving a small laugh.
“You probably think I’m being silly for crying. Not once since you’ve met me have you seen me cry. Now you probably think I’m a silly little girl.” Will shook his head and placed his hand on her cheek. He felt it heat up at his touch.
“You’re not a silly little girl. Trust me. I’ve seen you take out thugs twice you’re size without a weapon. You’re probably the toughest, smartest and most amazing girl I’ve ever met.” He said as he looked deep into her eyes. He saw her cheeks redden before she spoke.
“Thank you…” she whispered.
“Hey!” The two looked over at Rose who was looking both embarrassed and a little annoyed. “This is really touching and everything but we have to get out of here.”
“Right.” Will nodded and took Silver’s hand. “Let’s go.” They quickly exited the cell and jogged down the long corridors to where Will and Rose had entered. They were almost out of the dungeons when they heard shouts up ahead. Will cursed under his breath as he stopped to think this through. There were probably more then a dozen guards up ahead and he was too exhausted to take them all down and Silver was in no shape to fight at the moment. He was about to backtrack when Silver lightly tugged on his sleeve and shook her head. Will felt himself start to bristle with anger at her loss of hope.
“We will get out of here.” He said defiantly. Silver simply smiled sadly at him and shook her head.
“Yes, you and Rose will… But not me.”
“No!” Will yelled, forgetting the guards ahead. There was some momentary silence before the guards surged down the hall and surrounded them. Will took a defensive stance with his sword, but let it clatter to the ground when Silver gave him a pleading. Two of the guards them came behind him and forced his hands behind his back. A tall thin man with sickly pale skin stepped forward, a smirk plastered on his face.
“Tsk tsk. None of that now.” He said in his drawling voice.
“Lord Gratis.” Will growled. Said man pointedly ignored Will and faced his guards.
“Take her to the maids to be cleansed for tonight’s slaughtering.” Two guards nodded and started to lead Silver away who meekly followed and avoided Will’s gaze.
“Why?” Will asked, causing Silver to pause. “Why won’t you fight?” The blonde girl looked back at him, her silver-flecked eyes filled with tenderness.
“If we fought, you would’ve died. And I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you again.” Silver turned and was led away. Will blinked in surprise as he took in the meaning of her words. He was so dazed, he didn’t realize that he was being led to another room. When he reached the destination he was forced to his knees and his arms were bound with rope. Rose hissed angrily in a cage that was placed next to him on the ground. The room they were in was big and in the back there were a small set of stairs that led to a stone-like table with no legs. Will felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw a pedestal with a dagger resting on it. The sound of doors opening made him turn to the right and to see Lord Gratis come in with some of his guards. They proceeded to the steps and only Gratis climbed them while his guards remained at the bottom.
“Send in the demon!” Gratis demanded. A nervous looking guard opened the doors and Silver walked. She no longer looked like she has spent weeks in a dungeon. Her blonde hair shone like spun gold in the torchlight and instead of wearing the tattered clothes from earlier, she wore a fine white dress with sleeves that reached her elbow. She tentatively walked in, glancing quickly at Will and Rose.
“May I… Have one last request?” Silver asked in barely over a whisper.
“Depends.” Gratis said in a bored tone. “What is it?”
“May I…” she took a breath to steady herself. “May I say good bye?” Gratis waved his arm in a bored manner.
“Go ahead.” Silver ran over to where Will and Rose were. The guards there flinched but immediately took up indifferent expressions. Silver kneeled in front of Rose’s cage and looked up pleadingly at the man in charge of her cage.
“Can I take her out? Please?” The guard obliged gruffly and opened Rose’s cage. Rose leaped into Silver’s arms and rubbed her head against Silver’s chin. Silver sank her fingers into her guardian’s fur as she pet her one last time. “Promise me you’ll be good for Will.” Rose looked up at her, her icy blue eyes torn with grief. “Promise me.” Silver repeated when Rose did not respond.
“I promise.” Rose croaked out.
“Good.” Silver put her beloved friend down and stroked her head as tears streamed down her face. She remembered when she has first met Rose. She had just left the village were she lived and was walking along the forest path when she saw the small black cat writhing on the ground. Silver, being an animal lover, had rushed over to check if the cat was all right. Rose’s eyes had been bright red and were wild with fear. “What’s wrong?” Silver had asked.
“It’s my father!” Rose had hissed. “He’s a demon! He was sealed into me at birth! He constantly torments me!” the cat explained between pants. Rose had then clutched at her head, visibly in pain. “I can’t control him! No animal can!” She writhed in pain even more.
“Let me be his container.” Silver had suggested.
“What?!” Rose had screeched. “Are you crazy?! He’ll take control of you!” Silver shook her head, determined.
“Transfer him now!” Silver demanded. Rose’s eyes rolled into the back of her head.
“Fine!” she had hissed before she sank her teeth in Silver’s arm, breaking the flesh. Silver let out a cry of pain as the demon flowed into from the cat’s teeth. When the transfer was completed, Rose removed her teeth from the wound she had inflicted and it healed in a few seconds due to the new power Silver had acquired. When Silver didn’t start to writhe in pain or scream in terror, Rose had a new respect for the girl that had saved her. The black cat dipped its head to its savior.
“Thank you,” she had meowed. “I am forever in you debt.” And that was how they ended up travelling together.
Rose sorrowfully padded back into the cage, ears and tail down. Silver then moved over to Will. “Good bye Will.” She hugged him tightly. “I’ll miss you the most.” She whispered in his ear. AS she pulled back she noticed the tears running down his face. “Don’t cry dear William. We’ll meet again in another life. I’m sure of it.” Silver shifted slightly so she was kneeling a bit straighter as she took Will’s face in her hands. “But until then..” Silver looked deep into Will’s eyes. “Eyes, look your last..” Will tensed as he heard start to quote the famous last words Romeo Montague had said before he had died in the play. “Arms, take your last embrace…” she hugged him close before pulling back only a few inches. “And, lips…” she started to move closer towards Will’s face. “O you the doors of breath…” their faces were centimeters apart and they only got closer as she continued. “Seal with a righteous kiss…” she whispered against his lips. And then their lips touched in a bittersweet kiss, it was their first and last. Their lips moved together for a few seconds before Silver was pulled away. “Good bye my love..” she whispered as she was dragged up the stairs.
“Enough of this nonsense. We have a demon container to kill.” Gratis said sounding very annoyed. Silver obediently lay down on her back on the slab of stone. Gratis took the dagger from the pedestal and raised it above his head.
“Today the holder of the evil demon king, Scourge, will die and the world will be freed from him once and for all!” Gratis shouted as the guards in the room cheered. Will felt a pain in his chest as he looked at Silver lying there, waiting for her impeding doom. “The demon king has caused the world much pain so it must die!” The guards cheered again but stopped when Will shouted out.
“She’s innocent!” Gratis smirked at Will’s comment.
“An innocent demon? Don’t be ridiculous.” He shot his guards a look. “Gag him please. I won’t tolerate any interruptions.” The guards obeyed and Will could no longer speak. “Now we must slaughter this so-called innocent demon. Now!” At Gratis’s last word, he brought the dagger down on Silver. Everything seemed to go in slow motion to Will. Gratis’s arm was about to hit Silver when she turned and mouthed three words.
“I love you.” And then the dagger struck its mark.