Blaze Pendragon

A young girl with shadow magic, who has been secluded all of her life, finds herself on a journey to unseal a kingdom and unite the realms in peace. She is joined by her new guardian Ren.

Prologue

The classroom grew quiet as a woman entered through the door, she had slanted blue eyes like two turquoises, and luxurious, straight, medium-length hair was the color of freshly poured red wine and was worn in a simple style.  Her body had a slender build and her skin was cream-colored and tattered. Her prosthetic leg seemed fairly new and undamaged. She didn’t seem used to it either. Her stride to the front of the classroom was clumsy but she eventually made it. She took a long breath in and smiled at the inattentive high school kids.

“Good morning. Welcome back to school. I am Miss Pendragon. You may call me Cora if you wish. This is the first ever high school class being taught about the world’s new leader and goddess of realms-” Cora didn’t get to finish before she interrupted by a young man in the back. The way he composed himself reminded her of a scuttling lizard. He had slitted gray eyes. His straight, sand-colored hair worn in a style that was similar to a bale of hay. When he stood up, he was short and had a broad-shouldered build.

“Who cares?” He retorted. A couple of other kids laughed with him. Cora knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

“Don’t you need to know who is helping rule your world?” Cora would question, looking down at the kid. What if you don’t like them? You have rights.”

“There’s nothing we can do get rid of her even if we wanted.” He hissed back.

“Well, your parents pay my salary, and they can, so I suggest you sit down.” Her tone shocked him and so he sat begrudgingly. “Anybody wish to challenge me?” The class fell silent for a moment. A timid girl in the very front center of the classroom raised her hand. Her eyes were blue similar to pools of water. Her wavy jet black hair was medium-length and was worn in a style like a waving flag. She is very short and had an elegant build. Her skin was deeply tanned. She had hollow cheeks and a large mouth.

“So how did you know her?” She gently inquired. Cora smiled at the girl and began to speak again.

“Where do I begin?”

Chapter 1

Blaze

Blaze Pendragon had always been known to love her sleep. Even on a special day, like her birthday. She laid peacefully inhaling and exhaling, hoping her father wouldn't wake her up quite yet. This was the best present she could get. Mortem, her father, knew she loved it but didn't care. He had something to show her that he knew his 15-year old daughter would love.  Silently, he walked into her room, brushing her silky, long, red hair out of her face, slowly waking her up.
“Blaze, wake up. I have something to give you." Blaze just grunted and turned away.
“Can't you just let me sleep? It is my birthday after all." Mortem just shook his head.
“Can I at least show you your present? After that, you can return to sleep if you wish." Blaze didn't respond but just sat up. She was wearing a silver sleeveless top and darker grey pants. Looking up at Mortem with her shimmering amber eyes, she waited for him to go get the present. He left for a while and walked back in with a beautiful red leather jacket. It caught Blaze's eye perfectly. Mortem slowly slipped it on her and blended with her blood red hair.   
“D-Dad..." She looked up at him, "I love it!" Mortem smiled as she hugged him tightly.
“It suits you well." He said in a silky tone. “Now are you going to go back to bed or is it possible I can take you to the Akuma realm so you can try to get rid of your shadow powers again?” He lightly placed his hand on her purple wrists. Unlike most any 15-year old, she had dark shadow magic. Along with it, voices haunted her head and caused migraines which felt like giants pounding her head or earthquakes that would destroy all the realms. Either way, it brought Blaze to the brink of tears. She nodded slowly.

“Dad, can you tell me again why you rescued me?” She said with a hint of depression in her voice. He nodded and looked into the gleam of her flaming orange eyes. The tears were forming in them, about to extinguish the fire of happiness in her.

“Your creator Malafore gave you the shadow magic as a baby because you were his creation. I couldn’t just stand by and watch. I stole you because I saw you were special. He would have used your power for evil things. He was just a jerk with no respect for life. Malafore didn’t understand that you feel the same pain and love and that you bleed the same red blood, just like a normal human. You may be a creation but you are beautiful. Now,” He paused, standing up from the bed. “Are you ready to avenge Malafore and get rid of this shadow magic, liked you vowed to do?” Blaze nodded, zipping up the jacket.

“Are we taking the horses or are we teleporting?” She asked as she slowly slipped on the left combat boot and tying the laces into a bow. Silence filled the room for a moment.

“It’s your birthday, what do you want to do?” He asked as he watched her put on the other boot.

“Well,” She paused to tie the bow on the other boot, “I haven’t road Duce in a while. We’ll take the horses.” Mortem’s eyes were full of concern.

"Seriously? It will be a two-day trip, your voice will thoroughly abuse you," Blaze was convinced. The same idea passed through her mind.

“But then I can spend more time with my favorite person in the world.” A perplexed look had fallen across Mortem’s face.

“You like the voices?” She burst out laughing at the idiotic remark. Most of the time her father acted like a noble, despite that he had no royal blood.

“Father, I was talking about you!” Mortem didn’t start laughing, unlike Blaze. He was a serious man with a serious life. His black hair, despite being overgrown was groomed nicely and his bangs that grew over his right eye were just to hide the scar. He had quite expensive clothes for someone of his rank. Black silk with golden buttons was his shirt and his pants were dark grey. His boots were made of the finest leather and were black but the real detail Blaze always noticed was a cape. Mortem couldn’t stand going without a cape.

“Shall I go get the horses then?” He asked with a bit of annoyance that he made a stupid remark like that. Blaze knew this was her cue to be quiet and listen because if not, Mortem had strong shadow magic and would hurt her, despite being his daughter or not. She only nodded, watching him leave. After he left the room, she looked into the mirror at herself. The reflection showed her, of course, but it was not someone she was familiar with. On the outside, she saw the bright red colors of her hair and the jacket, but on the inside, she knew it was just a dark, cold shadow. Almost on the cue of her thoughts, the shadow showed in the mirror. It started to taunt her, like it always did.

“So we meet again Blaze. Still being your worthless self with your father?” Blaze was used to fighting this shadow form.

“No, I’m not worthless, my father loves me.” She grunted back with courage, but not enough.

“You think he loves you? He needed someone weak to manipulate.” She had lost all confidence to uprise her shadows.

“N-No… He is helping me defeat you!”

“He is controlling you because of me!” The shadows chuckled for a moment. Blaze’s rage roared inside her. Using the shadow she still had inside her, she sent a shadow ball at the mirror. Glass shards burst from the frame and went straight into her frightened amber eyes, turning her colorful world into black.

Regaining her composure., it was the same Darkness. Blaze could see nothing. Breaking the mirror was just an idiotic mistake. Now she was blind and the world around her was black and cold. She soon heard a voice. Mortem, she assumed.

“B-Blaze… what happened?” He touched the blood dripping from her eyes. She flinched at the sudden touch. “You’re blind!” She could sense the stress from him. Using magic, he numbed the pain. “You’ll be okay.” He pulled the glass out, Blaze felt nothing. No pain. Then there it was. A presence. Despite the numbing feeling, she could sense the light magic from it. It burst through the wall and a bright light, instead of pure darkness, shined in her eyes. She could see again. As the light faded, a shimmering white dragon with blue eyes was shown. Blaze was in awe.

“Y-You…” She stuttered in fear and amazement.

“Do not worry Blaze. There is no need to fear me.” For someone so big, she had a soft tone. Blaze soon cut her off sharply.

“You broke through my wall and you say there is no need to fear you? I would disagree!” The dragon sighed deeply.

"I am a guardian of light magic, Aithusa, I am here to warn you and protect you from the dangers you are in."  Mortem was in shock but finally got the courage to speak.

“Aithusa, you tell her the truth and I’ll-”

“And you’ll what? For what I see, I have the advantage,” She turned back to Blaze. “Child, you deserve to know the truth of Malafore.” A spark of interest glowed in Blaze’s eyes.

“You know my creator?” She asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

“Beyond what I wanted. He is a very evil man,” She aimed her sight on Mortem. “And your father isn’t any better. They are brothers and Malafore entrusted him with you.” Blaze's spark withered and turned into a flame of anger.

“No, Mortem has taken good care of me! He is trying to get rid of the shadows I was created with!” Aithusa cut her off sharply with a low growl.

“He lied! You’re only embracing the powers and making them stronger! You are in a prison that is under a magical hold and makes you submit!” Mortem had charged much shadow and he was ready to use it at will. He knew what he had to do to not fail what his brother entrusted him to do.

“Blaze,” He said in a low voice, shadow starting to take over her. “Stay.” She had no choice. She couldn’t fight the voices and stayed, watching her  

“No! She has too big of a destiny for you to kill her!” She turned to Blaze knowing it was too late. Aithusa had so much more information to share first and only in such short of a time.

“Blaze, your destiny is to unite all the realms with your guardian, Ren, by your side!” Blaze was shaking from so many shadows.

“H-How will I find R-Ren?” She tried to move her limbs while listening to Aithusa

“He’ll find you, don’t worry. He will find you.” Aithusa turned away from her and faced Mortem. In his fear, Blaze could move again.

“Go! You have your chance, now go!” Aithusa screeched in sudden pain as the dagger that was meant for Blaze, pierced through her scales. Blaze didn’t want to leave, but seeing the pain Aithusa was in, she knew it was better that she didn’t end up like her.

Chapter 2

Jefferson

Eyes wide open and another depressing day had gone by in the lonely life of Ren. Slowly he sat up, his black hair in a mess. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly got up. Putting on his raven medieval boots and grabbed his silver overcoat. He gazed at the mirror and began to correct his hair. He closed his eyes for a moment. In a flash he saw Celeste, the girl he was going to marry, but he quickly opened his eyes again. He didn’t need to remember her flowing red hair or her amber eyes. He killed her and he would never get over that. Ren, get ahold of yourself. It’s over she is dead and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it! He thought with anger in his heart. It’s your fault she is dead. For a moment he felt the tears roll down his face but he quickly wiped them away. The dead were dead, but now he was plagued by his miserable life in the lonely world made for him.  The tears kept coming and he couldn’t stop them. He couldn’t take it anymore and just screamed.

“Why do you have to be dead?” By the time he was done screaming, his wall had been burst through by a large white dragon. He looked more than surprised. "How did you come in and you know that I need to fix that wall?" Aithusa just laughed. "How small you are for such a great fate that's been laid before you" He was even more confused. “What do you mean, what fate is it?”

“Blaze Pendragon will unite the land of Albion and all of the other realms together.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

“Everything. Without you, she will die.” Aithusa waved her tail and a vision of Blaze showed in a ball of light. Ren was in awe and whispered to himself.

“Celeste...it can’t be.” Aithusa nodded at his comment.

“She didn’t die, she was revived by the leader of a place called The Veil. Her name is Eva. Celeste won’t remember you for a while, however.” Ren sighed and looked away from the vision of Blaze running to help Jefferson.

“I can’t protect her. I was the one who killed her.” Aithusa growled and hit Ren over the head with her tail. He rubbed his head.

“Ow!  What was that for?”

“Ren, you didn’t kill her.” She waved her tail, showing a vision of Mortem creating Ren. “Your creators did. They are trying to hurt her again. Are you going to let her die?” Ren looked at the dragon with anger in his heart but then calmed himself and sighed.

“What must I do?”

“Take her to the realm we have prepared for her. You won’t be able to teleport in however. This realm can only be unlocked by Blaze so teleporting would restrict you both.”

“How do I know where it is?” Aithusa put her tail on his head and it glowed.

“Now you will have the voices of both Eva and I guiding you.”

“One more question, if I may.” Aithusa tilted her head.

“Yes?”

“Does she know that I will come?” Aithusa nodded.

“Yes,  you’ll need to get to her before Malafore or Mortem.”

“Perfect.”  He took out her aura from that first vision and teleported away. He was going to find Celeste, or as they called her now, Blaze.

****

It had been one long hour since Blaze had been running away from the only home she had ever known. At least she thought. Betrayal and shadows had been the only thing she felt during that time.

How am I not dead?  I’ve never been out on my own. She thought, limping trying to find any sign of this so-called Ren. Maybe I am dead. I really don’t know where I am. A carriage was riding on a road only a small distance away. It wasn’t much but enough to notice in the secluded town. She limped faster, her left foot searing with agony.

I don’t care about the pain. I just have to find Ren. She stopped to catch the breath she lost while running, or rather limping, her way to the road.

The name is so familiar to me. She jerked the thought aside. He can’t be! I don’t know anything about him. Suddenly the silence was broken. A scream of agonizing pain reached her ears and pierced her heart. She didn’t know what she was facing, but her spirit couldn’t take it and burst out. Her feet started moving. She was hurt but she didn’t care, no one deserved to be hurt.

“I’m coming, just hold on!” She screamed as she tried to run on her limp foot. A new sensation flowed through her fingers. It was light, the opposite of the shadow she had. Blaze finally reached the screaming and a young teenage boy was having his soul ripped away. The carriage had fallen over and appeared to be broken by the same spirit. She couldn’t take it anymore. The light flowed from her fingers to the shadow figure. It dissipated into nothing. Light was the answer to the shadows? The young man seemed frightened. Whether it was by her or the demon of shadows was unclear.

“Are you alright?” Blaze asked softly. He took a minute to respond.

“I’m okay.” He looked at her and smiled. “You saved me.”

“Blaze.” She simply breathed out.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, my name!” She realised her mistake. “My name is Blaze.”

“Odd name.” He smirked. “I like it. I’m Jefferson, royal servant of Atama kingdom.” Blaze had no idea what he was talking about or what any of these kingdoms were but nodded at him nonetheless.

“I’m on my way to find…” She hesitated. Blaze knew she had to find Ren, but why? She decided to take a different approach. “Malafore. He created me. Is your kingdom strong? You could help me destroy him” Jefferson smiled.

“I actually am on a mission to kill him. I’m a servant, but also a trained assassin.”

“Great, so i’m going with you.”

“You’ll get hurt. I shouldn’t take you.”

“I saved your life, didn’t I?”

“I guess so.”

“So we are going?”

“Sure.” Jefferson looked at the destroyed carriage. “But I guess we are walking.”

****

“How could you let her escape? You just let her run off like that” A stinging pain came from the slap Malafore delivered to Mortem. “I kidnapped her from the veil to keep her, not have you try to kill her!” Mortem’s blood boiled.

“Then why did I take care of that brat?” Malafore stood from his throne and got a height advantage.

“Because you loved Glaciem just as much as I! It was your choice to take her. Why couldn’t you of taken Nixen? He is my idiot son and Glaciem would've wanted that.”

“At least he is your blood and kin!” Malafore pulled out a black blade stained with blood. Mortem stepped back, forgetting any weapon. “Malafore, it’s not good to shed that blood either.” Malafore started to laugh deeply.

“Just because we're twins doesn’t mean that I love you.” He went to slash deeply into Mortem’s side when a shadow servant came back in. He mumbled some unknown words to Malafore, but he seemed to understand. Mortem was in awe and whispered lightly.

“S-She… She’s alive?” Malafore pulled away the sword once he heard his brother’s whimpering and watched the vision on the wall.

“Not just her, Jefferson is coming too. Now, did you find out who Eva hired?”

“A man named Ren. He-” Malafore stabbed him finally, only not with the sword this time. With his words.

“You idiot! Ren is the creation! He’ll stop us all!” Mortem was in shock of both pain and his stupidity.

¨Y-You don’t mean…” He paused, collecting his thoughts and his breath, ¨But Celeste is dead. You killed her back 15 years ago. What purpose does he have to go on?¨ Mortem gasped. Malafore sighed, trying not to yell at his brother.

¨Blaze is Celeste!” He screamed. “The gods revived her and made Blaze her daughter. Now she has the destiny to unite all the realms with Ren. If Ren knows this is Celeste, he will fight us until the day we die.”

“Then we will have to use The Cup of Eternal Life on your army.” He laughed. “Do you remember Freya? We found a wonder together, the cup! If were immortal, they can’t hurt us.” Malafore’s face would lighten up slightly.

“Bring it in! Once again, brother, you’re useful.”

****

“So we are going to see Malafore right?” Blaze asked with a hint of doubt in her voice. Jefferson looked at her with his soft blue eyes and grabbed her hand gently.

“Yes, I want revenge for him killing my mother in cold blood.” His eyes turned stern. “And you want revenge for him giving you black magic.” She nodded in silence as they carefully walked along the sea cliffs. The waves roared and hit against the sides. Most of the time the waves stayed small, but other times they would feel a misty breeze.

“So how long have you had your shadows?” He asked her awkwardly, trying to keep a conversation. She looked away from him and started to tear up. Blaze didn’t want him to see her cry.

“As long as I’ve been alive.” She uttered just loud enough for him to hear, holding back her tears. He knew she was upset but he knew trying to comfort her would make it worse. The cliffs were getting steeper the more they walked. Every second he seemed to glance at her. Blaze finally spoke out.

“I’m sorry.” He looked at her fully again and stopped walking.

“Maybe we should take a rest.” He sat down on a cliff side and she sat down beside him and laid her head on his lap. He was in shock. Did she really trust him? He slowly put his hand on her hair and started petting it. For the longest time, there was silence. Not an awkward silence, but a good silence because there were no more words left to speak. After a while Blaze stood up and so did he.

“So you are okay?” She about answered but  the ground slipped beneath her and she got pushed back by him. She was safe, but Jefferson had fallen off the cliff and there was nothing she could do about it. Quietly, with tears running down her face, she answered his question.

“Not anymore.” She slowly fell to her knees and started to sob. Quickly a hand jerked her to her feet.

“Don’t worry Blaze, I’ll take good care of you.” Mortem said in a sly tone as he abruptly pulled her closer. She was in shock.

“M-Mortem, you betrayed me!” She tried to be stern but her voice was weak from grief.

“Betrayed? It’s not possible to betray a monster. You’ve always been a demon since you’ve had your shadows. My brother made you a little brat.” He threw her down to the ground as he said this and pulled out a black blade. “I don’t care what my brother told me, you deserve to die.” Mortem stood above her, eyes full of blood-thirsty greed. She wanted to move but had no strength to carry on. Her death flashed before her as she closed her eyes. She didn’t want her last image to be Mortem. She waited for the slash but it didn't come. What was he waiting for? She peeked open her eyes and there it was. A tall figure with black hair and a long silver overcoat. She didn’t know how she knew it but this was Ren. He looked at her with his light blue eyes. When he spoke, his voice was steep but soft.

“It’s going to be alright.” He turned back to Mortem and pushed him against the cliff wall with strong magic. “You hurt her and I kill you. There is no warning.” He started to choke him with only protection in his eyes. Mortem struggled to get a breath out.

“This...isn’t over... Blaze.” With the mutter, he teleported away, leaving no way to find him. Ren ignored this fact and rushed to Blaze’s side. He looked up at her and froze for a second.

Ren, get ahold of yourself, this isn’t Celeste. Celeste is dead!

“Excuse me? Ren?” Blaze asked him. He finally came back to reality.

“Yes?” He asked, still kinda zoned out.

“Where are we staying?” Ren hesitated to answer but finally did.

“Well Aithusa told me of a safe place built for you but we have to travel by foot..” She just blinked in silence, not knowing what to say. “This isn’t the safest thing either but once we get there, we will be safe, I promise.” She just nodded.

“I guess if I stay with you I’ll be safe.” She tried to sound hopeful but she was in pain. He had only slightly cut her but it had released a lot of blood. Ren noticed it quickly and charged up magic. Blaze cried out in fear. Magic reminded her of Mortem.

“It's just a scrape!” He sighed and replied back to her.

“This will heal it.” Blaze grabbed into Jefferson’s old bag she still had with her and pulled out bandages.

“So will this.” Ren noticed her fear and smirked, laughing.

“You're afraid of magic when you have magic?” She didn’t think this was funny and just started to cry.

“At least you weren’t created to be a monster!” She screamed at him, no longer able to hold back her emotions and ran. She had no idea where she was going but she had to leave. Ren was just a jerk with no respect for her or anyone. Then suddenly her world just went black and she fell to the ground unable to move. She had been hit with a power to force her to sleep.

****

(Make this scene longer, and harder for Ren to get there)

Day one and Ren was already doing a terrible job at this “protecting” thing. He didn’t even know where she was! I should've put a tracker on this kid or something! He thought. I don’t need anymore dragons bursting into my home telling me I failed! Running quickly in the direction Blaze left, he was breaking down again. I can’t lose Celeste again. He followed her boot prints for a while until they just ended. At the end of the trail he could sense teleporting magic that wasn’t hers. At that moment, he panicked. No, don’t tell me she was kidnapped! The aura was impossible to follow and he started to break. He suddenly heard a soft, angelic voice.

“Hurry to a place called The Dark Tower. Mortem waits there.” Ren finally had hope again.

“How do I find it?” He asked telepathically almost as soon as the unknown female stopped talking.

“Aithusa and I will send you the aura.” A moment passed and a dark purple orb showed in front of him. It contained a dark spirit which he quickly absorbed.

“I won’t fail you. Blaze will complete her destiny and the realms will be united.” He quickly followed the aura and teleported away.

****

Slowly waking up, Blaze looked around. She was chained to a wall in some kind of prison. The last thing she could remember was Ren. Did Ren do this to her? Okay Blaze, just focus your magic and you can break the chains. She slowly looked at the chains and used magic. She failed and the chains tightened and so she winced in pain. Don’t give up. Just keep going. Focusing her magic more than before she tried again and the chains tightened again. It was absorbing her energy and magic. She was stuck until Ren let her out.

“Hello Blaze. Glad to see you home.” The voice wasn’t Ren. It was Mortem. As soon as she completed the puzzle, he was already in the room, ready to taunt her.

“Home? This doesn’t look like home to me.” She looked around for a moment. “Looks like a prison to me. Oh wait they are the same thing!” Mortem chuckled.

“You really believe you're safe out in the real world? I’m the only one who can protect you. This Ren fellow only wants to hurt you.” She sighed, trying not to yell about how much she hated Ren right now. If she wanted to fight Mortem, positive thoughts had to fill her mind.  Looking up at him, she smiled.

“You're just scared because he defeated you.” Mortem grabbed her hair and pulled her head up forcefully. Pain seared through her scalp.

“He didn’t defeat me, you got that you little brat?” Blaze just mumbled her agreement and he threw her head back down. Her faith in Ren was low, but she believed in him somehow and mumbled.

“He’ll save me” Mortem kneeled down to look into her eyes.

“What was that?” He asked but he knew the answer. Blaze wasn’t going to give him what he expected.  

“Are you going deaf? I said he’ll save me!” At that moment, she was slapped.

"You little spitfire! I brought you up during the last 15 years, and is this what I get?" Angry, he tightened the chain with magic. Crying out in pain, she looked up and saw what she was waiting for. Her heart was beating faster, and her mind was spinning. Ren came!  she thought but her thoughts soon turned dark. He’s probably only doing it so he doesn’t get killed by the dragon. Ren quickly grabbed a staff out of nothing with his magic and pointed it at Mortem.

“What did I say about hurting her?” Ren said with a stern voice. Dark red magic fused out of the staff and corned in on Mortem. “There is no warning and you have disobeyed me twice. Do you know what I do to people who disobey me?” His voice turned sly and the red mist encircled Mortem’s whole body structure. Slowly his life was being ripped from him because of Ren. Mortem wasn’t going to take this and broke through, emerging as a dark wolf with vivid gold eyes. His long claws scratched the steel cell floor as he stepped over to him. Ren snickered lightly.

“Oh, the puppy wants to fight?” The raven wolf snarled at him and his right eye turned dark velvet. The magic that almost killed him burst out of him and shot right back at Ren. He didn’t dodge it fully and winced in pain.

“Smart man,” He muttered. Looking down, Ren seemed to change. Once he looked up again, his peaceful blue eyes had changed to a hateful red. “But I’m smarter.” His staff changed with him. It radiated shadow magic. Blaze gasped at the sight.

He’s like me... She thought. The pain was getting to her and she couldn’t stay awake much longer. The last thing she heard was the battle screams of Ren.

Chapter 3

The Journey

   “Blaze!” A stern voice growled. “Wake up!” As she opened her eyes, Ren’s face was staring down at her. He didn’t seem very pleased.

   “I’m awake now, okay?” She mumbled at him. She wanted to get up to prove this to him, but she couldn’t feel the strength to do so. “Where are we?” Looking around, the area seemed desolate and quiet. Black trees encaged them. They seemed to be outside of the castle they were just in.

   “Let's call it, Fun happy land!” He voiced quite sarcastically. “Maybe then you’ll feel safe and not break out into a sprint!” He would've continued but he could see the fear in her eyes. It pained him. It was the same look of fear Celeste had before he had taken her life.

   “I-I’m sorry.” She turned onto her side so she didn’t have to look at him. “It’s not my fault you laughed at me…” She exhaled.

   “Well, just so you know, I didn’t use magic to heal you,” Ren grunted in a very hostile tone. “I respected that you didn’t like it.”

   “Thank you” Blaze sighed back. Maybe she could get used to him. “I appreciate the gesture.”

   “May I use magic to give you some strength?” Ren choked out. He wasn’t used to being so kind to anyone, but if there was a chance that Blaze could know who she used to be. It was worth getting his darling Celeste back.

   “I guess so…” Blaze muttered. Her hands were already shaking and the purple on her wrists glowed even brighter.  Ren noticed this and grabbed her wrists.

    “Okay, I have a new job for you. Think of whatever makes you joyful. Anything!” Ren started to panic. In all his years of studying magic, he had never seen this. Lots of thoughts rushed through his mind. You can do this Ren. It’s your job to protect her.

“I don’t know what makes me happy!” Blaze yelled out. The tears rushed down her face, wetting her cheeks. Her wrists radiated shadows and her eyes seemed to lose their color, making Ren start to panic.

“How about you tell me about how you got this?” He breathed out very quickly. He wanted to distract her.

“...I was born with it.” She breathed out. Her eyes dropped down to her wrists, letting some more tears fall to the ground. “That's what Mortem told me, anyway.” Even though this seemed to be difficult for her, the aura around her wrists started to calm itself down.

“What does it mean?” He would try to urge her to speak, it created the impression that this was encouraging her.

“My creator, Malafore, is trying to use me. I was created out of shadows, and so he tries to harness my power. Normally I’d go to the Akuma realm to try to help get rid of it.” Exhaling, her breathing seemed as simple as ABC. But who knew if even the ABC’s were the same, she’d been lied to all her life. Everything she identified with was wrong.

“Blaze, the Akuma realm is a place unruled by anyone. It’s a town full of lunacy. Why would you ever go there?”

“Mortem always took me to a tower that is supposed to help with the agony and helps me regain force over Malafore.” She responded without thinking. Mortem used to be like a father to her, and now he was just another rancorous man to avoid, along with Malafore. What made everything worse was that they were twin brothers!

“The only tower I can even think of in the Akuma realm is where they used to put their prisoners of war. It’s a place that uses your very fears against you. It breaks them down so the leaders could hold the reins on them through a process called magic prison. They’d end up with the mark of Lex-” It hit him as the words tripped out of his mouth. The lavender color on her wrists was the mark of Lex.

“So you're saying I’m a prisoner to Mortem?” Her voice started to crack up again. She was going to start crying the bitter tears again. Ren couldn’t bare to see her like this, she even wailed like Incendium.

“W-We can fix this! Don’t worry, we’ll find something!” The dread in his tone wasn’t reassuring to her in the least.

“Like what?” She grunted.

“I don’t know yet!” Standing up, he reached his hand out to her. “I promise I’ll take you under my wing though. I’ll defend you, okay?”  

“Okay, we can do this.” And for the first time, Ren looked at the shape of a smile on her unhappy face.

****

The doors of the throne room sprang open and Malafore just started at his visitor.

    “You brought it?” Malafore questioned as he tapped his fingers on his throne.

    “Of course we did.” Mortem growled. “I wouldn’t fail you, brother.”

   “Then give it to me.” Malafore would stand, making him taller and more intimidating than his brother.

    “Why should we?” A powerful voice rang through the castle halls until it reached the throne room. A beautiful young woman wended her way in. Her looped lemon hair draped over her full set of unkempt armor. The way she wielded her helmet in her hands before a king was a sign of her honor. “What is in it for Mortem and me? How do we profit?”

   “You get to watch as I destroy Mortem’s creation.” Malafore would fake a smile. “And you will be paid quite properly. Let’s just say, much more than your normal chicken feed.”

“How much?” Mortem would ask. The worldly matter was all that he really was fond of at the moment but Freya had other plans,

“No. We want to be immortal along with the rest of your guards.” Her voice had a well-founded command in it. She was not afraid to cross Malafore, unlike Mortem.

“There is no way I’m letting you be immortal.” His chuckling boomed through the throne room. “You’re funny Freya.”

“It’s no joke, my crowned headed loon. I am serious as you are foolish.” Holding up the cup, she would point it directly at him. “It’s either eternal life...or your head.”

“Who are you to threaten me?” His tongue rolled the words out as a growl.

“The niece of a friend of yours. Shade.” As the words punched out, Malafore conveyed his thoughts on the matter into a vast scream.

“You do not mention that name in my kingdom!” A few drops would leak out of his eyes and spin to the floor below him. “He slaughtered her!” When his eyes were cast away from her, Freya’s lips shaped into a content smirk but she promptly wiped it away. If she was going to make even a dent in Malefor's relentless skull, she’d have to make her remarks sound just right.

“I understand. I regret what he has brought to pass.” She haltingly approached him. The reason was not that she was sheepish, it was because at any moment he could call guards on her. Her honor as a knight, even a fake one, would not allow her to fight against any king unless she was serving her own, it was in the written knight’s code. “I heard your story from Mortem and I was troubled.” She choked out a forced pity. “I’ve wanted to be of use and together Mortem and I found a way to.”

“Dead is dead. You can’t just restore her.” His eyes were just as icy as Mortem said they would be, but she’d find a way to thaw through that glaze.

“But there is a way, Malafore.” She was close enough that she reached for his hand. “I know an enchanter who can do these things.”

“At what price?” He would snarl. In all his years of making deals with people, nothing was free.

“It’s a worldly fee but for bringing back the dead, I would charge a lot too.”

“I don’t care about riches. I just want Glaciem back into my arms.”

“Good.” Mortem would cut in. “If you want to ever even meet this man, we demand a reimbursement too.” He eyed the cup in Freya’s hand.

“I want proof that what you're telling me isn’t counterfeit.” Malafore wasn’t simpleminded. He knew his twin brother well.

“If we bring proof,” Freya chimed in suddenly, “will you give us eternal life?”

“Yes,” He sighed. “Anything to get Glaciem back.”

****

(Add a scene of Ren and Blaze spying on Malafore and Mortem’s conversation)

   Ren held the door open for Blaze and once she had slipped in, he closed it and sealed it with magic. After the information they had both retrieved as they spied on Mortem, he couldn’t take any chances at leaving Blaze alone without some kind of magic protection. During their adventures, he found The Jubilant Dragon, a cozy inn for her to stay at while he was going to stop Mortem.

   “How are we going to stop an immortal army?” Blaze groaned as she laid back on the inn’s firm bed. She´d reach over to the nightstand and grab an apple from the complimentary basket that the inn offered. Blaze figured that maybe this might be needed during the journey.

   “We?” Ren inquired with sternness in his voice. “I’m going alone and you are going to stay here.”

   “What if you get hurt?” Blaze’s tone turned cross.

   “I won’t get hurt. If I do a dragon would be crashing through my wall again.” Ren rebutted back, mocking her.

   “You don’t think I’m strong enough.” Her voice would lose its flame.

   “You're plenty strong,” He breathed. Stirring her up again could have critical consequences. “I  don’t want him to use your own power against you or me.”

   “But I-” Blaze started to put up a fight but she slyly came up with an idea. “Fine. Leave then.” She tried to act disappointed and her delusion worked.

   “I’m sorry. I promise you’ll be safe here.” He would teleport out. As he left, Blaze smiled.

   This is my chance to prove to him that I can be useful! She sharply turned to the door. Sealed by Ren so she wouldn’t leave.

He doesn't trust me. She’d walk over to the window and try to open it. It wouldn’t budge. There was a lock on it. It was most likely placed there by the inn owners. As she looked around, she saw a small succulent plant.

   If I can’t go through the sealed door, I’ll go through a broken window. Blaze would grab the plant and aim it for the window. She’d toss it and it’d shatter the glass with a burst. She’d carefully lower herself out the window so she didn’t place her hand in the glass. They luckily were on the first floor of the inn. Her ankles buckled when she jumped down and her landing was far from perfect. Regaining her balance, there was a snippet of pain in her foot.

   I’ll be fine. She reassured herself. I can prove myself and then Ren will trust me.  The castle wasn’t far from the inn. On horseback, she could make it there by nightfall.

   But where am I supposed to get a horse? Inns usually had a side stable to keep the horses, Sure enough, this one did. In the distance, a sorry-looking shed was a short stroll away.  She stepped up the path. There weren’t any guards or stable boys, so she casually walked in. The stable was tenebrous and there didn’t seem to be any horses. The only light was from the faint glow of her wrists. Her steps were cautious and murmured. Then there was a sound. It was hushed, but enough to catch on to. It got more powerful the farther she stepped in. Then there it was, a sooty horse resembling a starless sky. Its eyes were verdant similar to a boksy forest. Its muzzle was touching her nose. At the sight of it, she stepped back in terror. As she stepped back, she could see the horror. The horse had not been fed for weeks and it was trapped in the ropes.

Author's Note

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