The second half to the first Part
Ria carefully examined the raven. He was smart. It was almost as if he was the answer to her prayers. Gently, she kissed him on his head in gratitude. She had finally found a friend to be by her side that wouldn’t be thrown out of her kingdom. “Always and forever,”’ she thought. With her spirits lifted she was able to go back to her usual cheery self.
Every night the raven would come and every night he would leave. Even in the dreary rain he managed to show up. She would talk about palace life with him and the most personal of secrets. Ria enjoyed the feeling of being burdenless. As the days went on she could never bring herself to tell him about the marriage in which she was about to partake. She didn’t want to think about leaving her good friend behind. Every now and then she would tear up in sorrow and when she did this she’d hide her face. Weeks went by and the two still met. Of course, all happy things must come to an end at some point. If they didn’t life would be perfect, but everyone knows that the powers of nature would hate that.
“Ria? Where are you?” Arie’s voice could barely be heard over the waterfall that Ria and the raven were lounging near. She took a chance of being seen and flew above the trees. Luckily it didn’t take too long for her to spot Ria. She gracefully descended from the sky and onto the grass. “Did you forget that we were supposed to be metting to sabotage your wedding? Or did the idea of spending the rest of your life with some practically random guy start to grow on you?”
“You shouldn’t have talked about it. I haven’t told Raven and thanks to you you now he knows!” Ria regretfully looked down to the raven that was looking back up at her with sadness in his eyes. How could she have let him hear this? Arie’s presence no longer mattered. She just repeatedly apologized to the raven. Would he forgive her? “Probably not,”’ she thought. After all, in her mind she deserved it.
Arie watched the raven for a little and then started to move towards him. Just like she predicted, she felt strange the closer she got to him. He wasn’t a raven at all was he? The only ones that could produce such waves of power had to be users of dark magic. Arie clutched her necklace and then briefly looked to her friend, “Forgive me.” With that she took off her necklace and threw it into the air. It turned into an ornately decorated staff with glittery spheres surrounding the top. She caught the staff in mid-air and pointed it at the raven.
The raven flew in circles above Arie. He was getting ready to transform. He became surrounded in smoke and then vanished. A tall man that Ria didn’t know was now standing next to her. Arie on the other hand knew exactly who the man was. The black hair with blue tips that went just past his ears was unmistakable. Especially, considering the fact that he had mini-skulls hanging from the two completely blue braids in front. The man was cloaking a dark robe that had the emblem of Hell on it. He was known as Dark One.
“Hello, your Highness. Long time no see. Wouldn’t you agree?” He grinned at Arie and waited for her reaction. Arie was the person that Dark One loved to ruffle the feathers of most.
“You look at same as ever, Balvoik,” Arie sneered in reply.
“Glad to see that we’re on a first name basis, Aritalegif. Oh, wait. My apologies. You prefer Arie, don’t you? Anyway I think being on a first name basis makes this meeting rather casual and a little less uptight.” Dark One then turned to Ria, “Wouldn’t you agree, my lovely?”
“You couldn’t dare look at her, would you? I don’t want you near her. So, please do step over here so that we may have a proper battle.” Arie stilled watched him in an irritated manner and wondered if he’d notice that she was being sneered at.
“So, where exactly is that master of yours? I haven’t seen him in decades. Did you two ever hook up after that last war? The two of you looked cute together.”
“We’re not an item!” Arie snapped. “He always gives me a hard time about the things I do. Do you know what he did the other day? I was in the middle of a fight and then all of a sudden I was in his office. Why? Just because he was bored! He sent Loretta in my place to deal with that case. Because of him she nearly got herself killed! He is a complete nitwit!” She panted as she tried to regain her breath. Complaining about Master took a lot out of her.
“Well, he’s in love with you. We devils can tell these things. You know, how don’t you? Everytime you come within his sight his aura generates an irritating love wave. It’s pretty sickening.” Dark One then made a chair out of smoke and seated himself.
Arie’s blushing at the fact that Master may be in love with her didn’t make the situation any better. Her mind began to wonder. Luckily she was able to take control of herself. “What does that have to do with anything?” she shouted at him furiously.
“You act like I’m lying. By the way, devils can tell the truth. Sadly enough we’re not very believable creatures.” Dark One sighed in dismay. He didn’t really care, but the antics kept him amused for the time being.
When the one you are working for is called “the father of all lies”, it really makes someone wonder if they should be trusting one of his servants.” At that point she knew that she had struck a nerve. From what she knew about devils, ‘servant’ was just about the lowest form of an insult. It made them feel absolutely powerless.
Dark One practically turned up his nose at the remark. “You’re a sly one.I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am the advisor to Satan.”
“Well, I’d hate to disappoint your slaveishness, but a servant is one who expresses submission, recognizance, or debt to another. You are a servant. Now servant of Satan be gone!” As much as Arie would have loved a fight, Dark One was irritating her to no end.
“What’s going on? I don’t understand. Where is my Raven? What happened to my beloved Raven? Is he alright? I want to see Raven now!” Ria managed to partly break out of her state of shock. However, it was not enough to understand things to the fullest.
Dark One got out of his chair and walked over to the stunned Ria. She had a terrible look of terror and guilt on her face. He then took her hand and kissed it sofly. “I am you Raven, Ria. I was the bird that met and sat with you everyday under these trees. When you felt down I helped to lift you up. Why? I am simply in love with you. Come with me and we will be married. You don’t belong here with these people.”
Almost immediately after he finished talking Ria’s palm met his cheek with a loud smack. Ria had appearently regained her senses and was acting on whatever feeling happened to pop up. The current emotion was anger. After slapping Dark One she walked over to Arie and stood behind her. She really wasn’t scared; she just didn’t want to do anything too drastic.
However, Ria didn’t get the reaction she was looking for. He first placed a hand on his sore cheek. That was to be expected. Then he looked at her in amazement. No one moved or said anything for a good while.”I will have you for my bride. Then, you will be Lady Darkness.” I swear it by the river Styx. You have until tomorrow to decide your course of action. Till then, my precious!” Dark One turned back into a raven and flew in the direction of the portal to Hell.
“I won’t let him take me. You won’t let him take me. I’m not going. I will not go. What are we going to do?” Ria’s question was followed by her wimpering almost puppy-like.
“Got to your palace and stay there. I will return shortly.” Not even bothering with whether or not the guards could see her, Arie quickly flew up and out of sight to put together a plan. The question was how smart was Dark One. Diversions didn’t always work out to the fullest, but then seemed like as good a time as any. She wouldn’t be able to move Ria off the grounds of her palace without him knowing. If she could keep him away from Ria long enough, she would have a chance at killing the deceiver.
Ria spent the next day in her room making flowers grow instantly out of pots. She wasn’t going anywhere near her sacred garden. While she grew flowers, Arie was positioning Risen Bade. The plan was to have her older sister Consetta stand in for Ria and Fagonl, her older brother, stand in for herself. Arie knew that Dark One knew that she would be there to protect her friend. While Dark One was engaged in combat with Fagonl, whom he would think was Arie, Risen Bade would attack. In the mean time Ria and Arie would be in Ria’s room. Hopefully, Dark One wouldn’t notice where the real Ria was. If she put up a strong enough barrier around the palace grounds he wouldn’t be able to distinguish between auras.
Finally, nightfall came. Arie and Ria watched Dark One as he assertively floated into the garden on a wisp of smoke. Of course, it would have been hard to see the whole thing if they had not been watching through one of the blue spheres of Arie’s staff. Each and every member of Risen Bade was perfectly hidden so that no one could be seen. The rather audacious Consetta acted just like Ria would if she were there. She not only acted, but looked the part too. As did Fagonl thanks to some potions brewed by the witch Loretta.
“What are you watching?” a cold voice asked from behind.
Arie and Ria quickly turned around to see Dark One standing there. He had set a diversion of his own. Before the two girls had been able to regain their senses, Dark One Grabbed Ria and disappeared into a puff of smoke.
Arie could not believe that she had been so naïve. How could she let her best friend get kidnapped? And by a guy like that! What would happen to her reputation? Slowly the thought of what Ria may have to endure made its way into her head. Maybe this was worse. But what could she do now? She had already failed.
Every night the raven would come and every night he would leave. Even in the dreary rain he managed to show up. She would talk about palace life with him and the most personal of secrets. Ria enjoyed the feeling of being burdenless. As the days went on she could never bring herself to tell him about the marriage in which she was about to partake. She didn’t want to think about leaving her good friend behind. Every now and then she would tear up in sorrow and when she did this she’d hide her face. Weeks went by and the two still met. Of course, all happy things must come to an end at some point. If they didn’t life would be perfect, but everyone knows that the powers of nature would hate that.
“Ria? Where are you?” Arie’s voice could barely be heard over the waterfall that Ria and the raven were lounging near. She took a chance of being seen and flew above the trees. Luckily it didn’t take too long for her to spot Ria. She gracefully descended from the sky and onto the grass. “Did you forget that we were supposed to be metting to sabotage your wedding? Or did the idea of spending the rest of your life with some practically random guy start to grow on you?”
“You shouldn’t have talked about it. I haven’t told Raven and thanks to you you now he knows!” Ria regretfully looked down to the raven that was looking back up at her with sadness in his eyes. How could she have let him hear this? Arie’s presence no longer mattered. She just repeatedly apologized to the raven. Would he forgive her? “Probably not,”’ she thought. After all, in her mind she deserved it.
Arie watched the raven for a little and then started to move towards him. Just like she predicted, she felt strange the closer she got to him. He wasn’t a raven at all was he? The only ones that could produce such waves of power had to be users of dark magic. Arie clutched her necklace and then briefly looked to her friend, “Forgive me.” With that she took off her necklace and threw it into the air. It turned into an ornately decorated staff with glittery spheres surrounding the top. She caught the staff in mid-air and pointed it at the raven.
The raven flew in circles above Arie. He was getting ready to transform. He became surrounded in smoke and then vanished. A tall man that Ria didn’t know was now standing next to her. Arie on the other hand knew exactly who the man was. The black hair with blue tips that went just past his ears was unmistakable. Especially, considering the fact that he had mini-skulls hanging from the two completely blue braids in front. The man was cloaking a dark robe that had the emblem of Hell on it. He was known as Dark One.
“Hello, your Highness. Long time no see. Wouldn’t you agree?” He grinned at Arie and waited for her reaction. Arie was the person that Dark One loved to ruffle the feathers of most.
“You look at same as ever, Balvoik,” Arie sneered in reply.
“Glad to see that we’re on a first name basis, Aritalegif. Oh, wait. My apologies. You prefer Arie, don’t you? Anyway I think being on a first name basis makes this meeting rather casual and a little less uptight.” Dark One then turned to Ria, “Wouldn’t you agree, my lovely?”
“You couldn’t dare look at her, would you? I don’t want you near her. So, please do step over here so that we may have a proper battle.” Arie stilled watched him in an irritated manner and wondered if he’d notice that she was being sneered at.
“So, where exactly is that master of yours? I haven’t seen him in decades. Did you two ever hook up after that last war? The two of you looked cute together.”
“We’re not an item!” Arie snapped. “He always gives me a hard time about the things I do. Do you know what he did the other day? I was in the middle of a fight and then all of a sudden I was in his office. Why? Just because he was bored! He sent Loretta in my place to deal with that case. Because of him she nearly got herself killed! He is a complete nitwit!” She panted as she tried to regain her breath. Complaining about Master took a lot out of her.
“Well, he’s in love with you. We devils can tell these things. You know, how don’t you? Everytime you come within his sight his aura generates an irritating love wave. It’s pretty sickening.” Dark One then made a chair out of smoke and seated himself.
Arie’s blushing at the fact that Master may be in love with her didn’t make the situation any better. Her mind began to wonder. Luckily she was able to take control of herself. “What does that have to do with anything?” she shouted at him furiously.
“You act like I’m lying. By the way, devils can tell the truth. Sadly enough we’re not very believable creatures.” Dark One sighed in dismay. He didn’t really care, but the antics kept him amused for the time being.
When the one you are working for is called “the father of all lies”, it really makes someone wonder if they should be trusting one of his servants.” At that point she knew that she had struck a nerve. From what she knew about devils, ‘servant’ was just about the lowest form of an insult. It made them feel absolutely powerless.
Dark One practically turned up his nose at the remark. “You’re a sly one.I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am the advisor to Satan.”
“Well, I’d hate to disappoint your slaveishness, but a servant is one who expresses submission, recognizance, or debt to another. You are a servant. Now servant of Satan be gone!” As much as Arie would have loved a fight, Dark One was irritating her to no end.
“What’s going on? I don’t understand. Where is my Raven? What happened to my beloved Raven? Is he alright? I want to see Raven now!” Ria managed to partly break out of her state of shock. However, it was not enough to understand things to the fullest.
Dark One got out of his chair and walked over to the stunned Ria. She had a terrible look of terror and guilt on her face. He then took her hand and kissed it sofly. “I am you Raven, Ria. I was the bird that met and sat with you everyday under these trees. When you felt down I helped to lift you up. Why? I am simply in love with you. Come with me and we will be married. You don’t belong here with these people.”
Almost immediately after he finished talking Ria’s palm met his cheek with a loud smack. Ria had appearently regained her senses and was acting on whatever feeling happened to pop up. The current emotion was anger. After slapping Dark One she walked over to Arie and stood behind her. She really wasn’t scared; she just didn’t want to do anything too drastic.
However, Ria didn’t get the reaction she was looking for. He first placed a hand on his sore cheek. That was to be expected. Then he looked at her in amazement. No one moved or said anything for a good while.”I will have you for my bride. Then, you will be Lady Darkness.” I swear it by the river Styx. You have until tomorrow to decide your course of action. Till then, my precious!” Dark One turned back into a raven and flew in the direction of the portal to Hell.
“I won’t let him take me. You won’t let him take me. I’m not going. I will not go. What are we going to do?” Ria’s question was followed by her wimpering almost puppy-like.
“Got to your palace and stay there. I will return shortly.” Not even bothering with whether or not the guards could see her, Arie quickly flew up and out of sight to put together a plan. The question was how smart was Dark One. Diversions didn’t always work out to the fullest, but then seemed like as good a time as any. She wouldn’t be able to move Ria off the grounds of her palace without him knowing. If she could keep him away from Ria long enough, she would have a chance at killing the deceiver.
Ria spent the next day in her room making flowers grow instantly out of pots. She wasn’t going anywhere near her sacred garden. While she grew flowers, Arie was positioning Risen Bade. The plan was to have her older sister Consetta stand in for Ria and Fagonl, her older brother, stand in for herself. Arie knew that Dark One knew that she would be there to protect her friend. While Dark One was engaged in combat with Fagonl, whom he would think was Arie, Risen Bade would attack. In the mean time Ria and Arie would be in Ria’s room. Hopefully, Dark One wouldn’t notice where the real Ria was. If she put up a strong enough barrier around the palace grounds he wouldn’t be able to distinguish between auras.
Finally, nightfall came. Arie and Ria watched Dark One as he assertively floated into the garden on a wisp of smoke. Of course, it would have been hard to see the whole thing if they had not been watching through one of the blue spheres of Arie’s staff. Each and every member of Risen Bade was perfectly hidden so that no one could be seen. The rather audacious Consetta acted just like Ria would if she were there. She not only acted, but looked the part too. As did Fagonl thanks to some potions brewed by the witch Loretta.
“What are you watching?” a cold voice asked from behind.
Arie and Ria quickly turned around to see Dark One standing there. He had set a diversion of his own. Before the two girls had been able to regain their senses, Dark One Grabbed Ria and disappeared into a puff of smoke.
Arie could not believe that she had been so naïve. How could she let her best friend get kidnapped? And by a guy like that! What would happen to her reputation? Slowly the thought of what Ria may have to endure made its way into her head. Maybe this was worse. But what could she do now? She had already failed.