Chapter Three - Welcome to Crimson Scar

"Get your things together then," she said. I glared at her. "Can't you just give me a minute!" I screeched. "The only reasons I have for joining you are revenge and so I can get away from those who are searching for me. They aren't going to get here anytime soon and since my revenge is on you then I'm sure you'd like to postpone it as long as possible." She sighed deeply. "Fine. We will wait til morning. Go take your time out. I will keep watch out here." She walked over to the tree stump that sat directly across from my tent and sat down in silence looking down at the ground. I was tempted to make an insulting comment but some how I felt slight pity for her. Instead I retrieved some blankets from one of the bags that had been left outside and lay them over Marie while trying hard to stop the single tear in my eye from turning into many more. I could do little for her where we were so I decided it would be better to rest so we could progress quickly the next morning. Just as I set one foot in my tent Paige quietly said, "I really am sorry Luke.." I turned to look at her, she was still looking to the ground. Again, I felt like giving a snappy comment but as before, I decided against it and got in the tent, zipping it up behind me. I lay there trying to process all the things that had happened and kept trying the shake off the little bit of pity I felt for Paige. Yes. She killed my closest friend, but I was the one who made Marie join me. Yes. She killed my closest friend, but if I saw someone trying to attack me I'd act in self defense as well. Yes. She killed my closest friend but...no, there was no but. She killed her, and she's never coming back. I didn't know what to think, there wasn't even the space left in my head for any more thoughts. I tried my best to sleep hoping that by morning things might be a little clearer.

By the time I had woken, Paige had got the horses ready and wrapped Marie up, tying her across one of them. I scowled at her, she looked back at me. "Oh come on Luke! There was no way of transporting her in a more dignified way. It was this or leave her here." I continued starring, "You shouldn't have touched her at all. If I was killed, my murderer is the last person I'd want handling my body," I stated while dragging my bags out of my tent and tying them onto my horse. "I am not a murderer.." she said before getting the last of the bags. I began taking apart the tent. "Just leave them here. You're not going to need them where we're going." Paige stated. I said nothing but dropped the tent before walking over to the horses. Just as I was about to speak, Paige rushed in, "Yes. You can take Marie." I didn't reply but mounted the horse. "I do understand you know. I've had some of my closest friends and family killed in fights or simple accidents it's hard but in the type of world we live in, where anything can happen it becomes expected." I remained silent once again and Paige mounted the other horse. "We're heading West of here. Just follow me and don't fall behind." She explained. "We don't stop for anything alright. I can only be in this mortal land for so long before I am unable to get us back into my world. If that happens we are both done for." We headed off, as fast as we could go. "You don't think maybe you should have mentioned this sooner!" I shouted across to her. "Hey! You were the one that asked to have some time!" she shouted back. "Well if you had told me before hand we could have gone earlier!" She gave me a skeptical look before going even faster. "Oi! Slow down a bit will you! This horse can't keep up with the extra weight you know!" She ignored me and carried on as I struggled to keep track of her.

Eventually she slowed down a little and I was able to keep up. We had been on the go for two hours with only a short rest for the horses. By the end of the trek we reached a small cave. Paige studied the entrance. "If you're telling me we have to go through there then you're insane. I will never fit through there never mind the horses." I stated as Paige looked around the check there was nobody around. "Well then I guess it's a good job I'm not telling you we have to go through there then isn't it?" I looked at her for a moment and as I did, she placed her hands in front of her towards the small entrance. Just then, a sparkling bright blue circle wall of light appeared in front of the hole. "All you gotta do is walk into it and you'll go straight through." I looked at her in confusion. "Do it. Now!" she hissed. "Fine. FINE." I replied. I walked over to it, standing just a foot away. I slowly raised my hand and edged it through. It felt strange. As if I could feel the difference in temperature between the world. "Goooooooo!" she hissed again. I scowled back before shutting my eyes tight out of fear and walking through, leading my horse and hers with me.

A few seconds later I opened my eyes to the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Hundreds of Japanese style buildings, as far as the eye can see. Each one of them slightly different in looks and colour. Gigantic trees with more houses of the same style built around them. with rope bridges to connect them and stairs spiraling down round the tree trunks. The sky was a pastel purple and it was much warmer than where we had came from. In the sky there were creatures flying and diving from every direction, but they weren't birds. They were dragons. The villagers appeared in many different shapes and sizes. There were Elves, Dwarfs, Centaurs, Taurens and even ordinary human. So many races which I thought I would only ever see in my dreams, but no. Here they were, right in front of me.

After I had spent a few minutes starring in wonderment Paige stepped in front of me, "Welcome to Crimson Scar." she said. I didn't respond for I was trapped in somewhat of a trance. She waved her hand in my face. "Yes. Yes. It's all very nice but we must keep going. My village is further on. I need to get back, I have some other matters to attend to." I blinked a few times as I snapped out of it. "You're not doing anything until you've made arrangements for Marie," I said harshly. "Well the sooner we get moving the sooner she will have her send off and the sooner I can see to my other commitments. So we both win, Yes?" I gave a nod of agreement as I handed her the reins to her horse. "No, no. We won't be needing them anymore you may let them free, they'll be happy right here." This time instead of questioning her I decided it would just be easier to go with it. I sighed before untying the bags from each of the horses, getting Marie off and letting them go. As I did they ran off towards the blossom forest to the left of the village. I threw some of the bags over my shoulder and picked up Marie while Paige carried the others. "I bet you've never carried a bag in your life." I muttered while we were walking. "Excuse me?" Paige replied. "I do pretty much all of my own things. This isn't like the strict and boring little castle you have back home. Sure I have people who I can rely on for help when I need it but I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself thank you." I rolled my eyes and carried on walking.

When we reached the other end of the village I noticed an elf girl dressing in armor standing by two redish brown coloured dragons also in armor. They were much larger than I had imagined when I saw them flying, they had to be at least 4 times my height. "'Quel amrun" she shouted waving at Paige. "'Quel amrun Nadia." she replied walking over to her. I stood in confusion as they continued their conversation in this odd language. A moment later she came back over and guided me towards one of the dragons. "I'll be sitting at the front and doing all the hard work, think you can manage to simply not fall off?" she asked. I glared at her once again before climbing up as she climbed and sat in front of me. "How exactly am I supposed to not fall off and keep hold of Marie?" I questioned. She threw some ropes at me. "Just tie that round her and your waist, hold on to the bloody dragon and don't let go." By this point her attitude was getting on my nerves. She was supposed to be a queen? Well, she seemed a lot more like an everyday street thief to me so far.

"Asca!" she shouted. As she did the dragon took a small run and kicked off the ground, soaring into the air. I held on for my dear life. It's wings were delicate but mostly covered in metal plates. "What's with all the amour?" I shouted through the wind. "Well as you can imagine a dragon comes in handy during a battle. They are just as valuable and precious as any other life and they need some protection." she shouted back. I didn't much like the sound of 'battle'. It was just then that I started questioning the real reason she wanted me here. Was I just another piece of bait to throw out for her rivals to devour? However, the thought was quickly brushed aside as I looked down to see the outstanding beauty of the land below us. In fact, the dragon itself was a marvelous creature. I struggled to take in all these new things. I kept finding that the only thought I was capable of holding on to was, 'Wow!'

A few minutes later Paige pointed down below us. "Look! There it is, home sweet home." Just as I leaned over to look we dived at an unbelievable speed. I held on the best I could and shut my eyes tight hoping that I'd manage to stay on. No sooner than I had shut them, I had opened them again after feeling the impact of us thump onto the ground. As I looked up I saw we had stopped right at the very entrance to the castle. It was incredible! Much more amazing than my own and almost triple the size. Moreover, it was built of red stone instead of grey, much more impressive for the eye. The entrance was two giant steel doors with two guards standing at each side of it. The were lots of cogs and other mechanisms running down the doors. Seemed like an awful lot just to simply open and close them. As Paige leaped down one of the guards walked over to her. Again she spoke in an tongue unknown to me. The guard said, "Seasamin" Paige replied with, "Diola lle" before turning to look at me. "Luke, please allowed my guard to take your friend. He will arrange her the most wonderful send off but she needs to be contained in order for her body to be preserved in the best way as she so deserves" I looked down at Marie. As I did, I shivered as a horrible wave of sadness swept into me. She was an amazing friend, I loved and valued her but at the same time I couldn't bare to haul around her lifeless body with me any longer. I untied the rope, the guard walked over and I handed her down to him. "You better handle her with care or I will slaughter you." I hissed. The guard looked at me in shock but soon calmed through understanding of my pain and left with her. I slid down from the dragon and Paige whispered, "Diola lle dinaer" as she did the dragon departed.

We walked over the the door where the remained guards all chimed, "Vedui'" Paige smiled and nodded as they opened the doors. Inside was an enormous hallway with solid marble walls and red and gold banners hanging down them as well as as red and gold carpet running all the way through. "It's really nice." I said lightly. She smiled back at me for the first time in a while. "It is indeed. It took 10,000 men 10 years to build this place." she replied. "Couldn't they have just used 'powers' or something. I mean it seems unnecessary." I muttered. Her smile disappeared. "Why is it always the negative with you? I understand you're upset. I understand you hate me but I thought you'd be able to appreciate this kind of thing. It had to be build by hand because we can only place protective enchantments on non magical buildings." I sighed and looked at the ground. "I don't hate you.." I said. Paige looked at me in shock and surprise. "I've been thinking about it the whole time and it is myself I hate. You did what you had to, what you thought was right. But I did not have to force her to come with me..She didn't really want to. She was always doubting my plan and she was right to." She turned to me giving me a sympathetic look. "It's not your fault. You thought you were helping your friend and giving her something better. I will never stop regretting my actions but neither of us ever meant to cause so much damage and hurt..It just happened and we cannot take it back now, so we must move on." I continued looking at the ground for a moment before turning to look at her. "I know. I owe you thanks." I said. "What for?" she asked. "For caring. I led her into a forest with no safe place to stay. If it wasn't you who did it some other sly heartless thief or scrounger could have done. I could have had to leave her there but you invited me here and you've made sure she will have the kind of goodbye she'd never have gotten, even back home." She smiled, looking into my eyes and took my hand. "Come on. Things are going to get a lot better from here on out. I promise you!"

She led me down the hallway, we came to many doors along the way but entered none of them. It seemed endless! However, eventually we reached it's end, two large wooden doors. She pushed through them and I followed. On the other side of these doors was an unbelievably grand dining hall. She continued walking while I stood still gazing in astonishment. "LUKE!" she shouted. I quickly came round and ran over following her again. We walked to the back of the room where three single doors stood. One to the left of the room, one to the right and the other in the middle. We went through the door on the right. There were lots of doors behind it and a narrow sprial staircase. "How the heck did you learn your way around here? It took me a few years to learn my way around my home and this is much much larger." She stopped looking back at me and chuckled. "Lukey my dear. You do realise I am 945 years old! I have had plenty of time to learn my way around." I froze as my jaw dropped. "W-woah.." I responded. "Believe me. That is young. People round here can live for tens of thousands of years. Providing they are not struck down in battle of course. Also, in the space of time a year passes in your world roughly 40 years pass here. So I am actually just about the same age as you my friend." I couldn't find any words, instead I stood quietly, still processing. "Oh, don't ask me how it works either because I have no idea." She chuckled again before continuing up the stairs. "Come now, we're nearly there." I followed her quietly still wide eyed with shock.

After climbing no end of stairs we reached another hallway, luckily this one was much shorter. We walked and to end and she open the door and I followed her in. "This is where you shall be staying." she said smiling. "I took small takes forward, looking around the room before turning to her. "YOU COULDN'T HAVE GIVEN ME A ROOM WHICH DOESN'T MAKE ME LOSE MY BREATH TRYING TO GET TO?" I screeched. She laughed and walked closer to me. "I thought it'd be an idea to keep you in good shape if you're going to be any good in your training." I collapsed to the floor making noises of complaint. Paige sat down next to me. "Gosh. You're such a child. Stop your tantrum and accept it. It's the nicest room in the entire building. After mine of course." I rolled over to my back and looked up at her. "I guess it's a nice room." She chuckled again. "Good. Finally some positivity out of you." she replied. I smiled back, as I did I found myself lots in her eyes. She starred back at me. When I realised what I was doing I quickly sat up. "You're very.." She looked at me puzzled, "Very..?" she questioned. "Well you look like some kind of majestic royalty yet you act like some kind of kid." She gasped as I smirked. "Speak for yourself! Mr man child! You have no idea the kind of things I do. No kid could ever do what I do. I've had to defend for myself for a very long time. You have just been waited on hand and foot all your life. If anybody is the kid, it's defiantly you!" I looked down at the floor. "Yeah, well I never wanted any of that.." She placed her hand on my knee. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, I know how you feel about that kind of thing." I looked at her hand before looking back up at her. "The greatest shock about being here wasn't how beautiful this place is, wasn't the kind of people and creatures that live here, none of that. It was simply the fact that we got all the way up here without a single maid or servant hanging around the hallways or opening every door for you." She smiled lightly. "I told you. I can take care of myself. The only people in this building are those who live here, my family and friends, and it's quite unlikely that any of them will hold of door for you. There are only guards outside to stop anybody entering who shouldn't be. You're free here Luke. It's just what you wanted." I starred into her eyes again. I couldn't figure out why I kept getting so drawn. So what if they're different colours, slightly more sparkly than the average eyes. That's no reason to feel like you're falling into them.

I found myself leaning forwards without even realising what I was doing. I noticed she was doing the same. Without thinking I quickly moved forwards kissing her lips, with my hand on her waist. She also moved her arms round my neck. As she did, she fell back, dragging me down with her. Seen as I spent most of my life shut away in my room to avoid any human contact I hadn't exactly kissed a lot people before, but seen as my father had made multiple attempts of marrying me off, I had kissed enough people to know this was the best one I'd ever had.

A few seconds later my brain revived itself from is mushy and hazy state. I stopped, sitting back away from her. "S-so sorry." I said, not quite sure what I should do now. "I don't even know why I did that..sorry.." I looked around making sure not to make any eye contact. She sat herself up and brushed her hands down her clothing, trying to tidy them before moving closer to me. I didn't have a clue what to do. She leaned across towards me and whispered in my ear, "It's perfectly alright." I sat in shock. She rose to her feet, smiling and walked out the room closing the door behind her.

What the hell just happened? I thought. Was that her way of simply saying she forgives me or something more? I got up off the floor and walked over to sit in the huge four-post bed. It had gold satin covers with red satin curtains around it. Red and gold was defiantly the theme of this place I noticed. I leaned forward burying my face in my hands. So much had happened in such a short space of time. I was struggling to function properly anymore. I took deep breaths trying to refresh myself, hoping that nothing else would happen anytime soon. I needed some time to process everything.