The Secret

Arasoi

Chapter 9- The Secret

Ayame continued to cry in front of me and I don’t know what to do.

"It has begun…." she whined. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little. What does she mean? What does everyone know that I don’t ?! Why am I always out of the loop?!

"What do you mean by that?! Please tell me what is going on!" I yelled frantically. I’m tired of not knowing what’s going on! I want to know now! Ayame whimpered a little bit from my grip.

"You’re hurting me Duran!" she yelled. What I’m hurting her? I stared down at my hands that were clasped tightly around her arms. Oh! I let go of her as fast as I could and she let out a sigh of relief. Her head stayed down. "Duran…I think you should come with me for a moment….." I stared at her confused. Why should I go with her? I have to get to the forest to talk with Rue….but it can probably wait. I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright….I’ll go with you, but you have to promise me that you’ll stop crying alright?" I said gently. She looked up at me with sad eyes and tried to wipe away the tears from her eyes. Then she nodded. I smiled happily. Good. She started to walk out and I followed along after her. I looked at her curiously. "Where are we going….." She turned and looked at me seriously.

"You want to know the truth right between Shadow, Rue, and I, right?" she said seriously. Yeah I really want to know about it, but truth is…..I don’t know if I’m ready to hear it yet…..but I must…it might have something that might be very important. I nodded and Ayame sighed. "Then we shall fetch Miss Shadow?" She tried to smile, but I can tell this wasn’t easy for her to do, but I know that she knows in her heart that it must be done. She grabbed my arm and started to lead my away from my house. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Denae leaning against the doorway, smirking. She’s just probably enjoying what’s going on.

*************

 

Ayame and I walked all the way to the school, that was going under construction after the damage that was done to it yesterday. I narrowed my eyes as I saw the room where the Ego caused mass destruction. Somehow….I feel guilty about what happened. I shrugged off the thought. No…..I can’t blame myself. The only one to blame is the Ego. I have to wonder though. Why is Rue collecting the souls and why does she wear that Rosario? How old is she and why can she use that scythe when you’re suppose to be 18 to use something like that? I guess I’ll find out soon. We turned the corner to find an impatient Shadow leaning against a pillar. Ayame bowed before she spoke.

"Miss Shadow….I think it’s about time we told him what exactly is going on…." Ayame said hesitantly. Shadow snickered and turned to face us. She glared at angrily then sighed. I wonder what’s her problem. It seems today…everyone has a problem with my looks…Shadow moved off the pillar and stood in front of us.

"That girl has really made a mess of things lately." she said with her arms folded. I stared at curiously. Is she talking about Rue? What has she done? I looked at Ayame, but she kept he head down and her eyes avoided mine. Shadow flipped back her hair from he face. She continued. "You’re probably wondering who I’m talking about am I right?" I nodded my head slowly. Was it that obvious? She sighed. "Well I’m talking about that little demon known as Rue Desdemonna." My eyes grew wide. How did she know that Rue was a demon? I was about to interject, but Ayame put a hand in front of me to stop me. I looked at her confused. Why doesn’t she want me to speak?

"Please let Miss Shadow finish….please…" she said sadly. I stood back and calmed myself. Shadow hmphed and continued.

"First things first. Your appearance tells me that she made a contract with you. Silly boy…you don’t even know what you have gotten yourself into have you?" she chuckled to herself. Somehow I think she was enjoying this somewhat. I nodded. Ayame continued. Shadow looked at her before she spoke. "Would you like to continue Ayame Belladonna or should I say the banished goddess Nerringne Roseadeed, daughter of the head goddesss Layla Roseadeed. " My eyes widened. Nerringne? You mean the goddess who was banished to that forest? No there’s way Ayame could be Nerringne. It’s impossible….isn’t it. However, it would make sense….seeming how I could never find her in the forest. Ayame looked at her sternly before speaking. Just what is going on here?

"No that is your job Miss Shadow or should I say Nerristard princess Hime Crescentine?" she retorted. Shadow smirked. The princess? Shadow…no Hime is the princess of Nerrinstard? So Ayame and Shadow are both princesses? I don’t believe what’s going on…I don’t believe any of it. Ayame continued. "You were banished from the kingdom yourself for the same exact reason as I, yet you are here still by a different name…" The two glared at each other. Are they having some kind of feud? I put a hand on Ayame’s shoulder. She turned to look at me.

"I’m sorry to interrupt, but can you please explain what is going on?" I said as calm as I could. You gotta give me credit for keeping a calm mind through all this mess. Shadow sighed and Ayame looked down. Shadow spoke.

"I hate to admit it, but the brat is right." she said then turned to look at me, "Duran…we are the banished princess from the two kingdoms….I am princess Hime Crescentine of Nerrinstard and your precious friend Ayame is known as the banished goddess Nerringne Roseadeed of Skylerk. Our reason for being banished is the same for both of us. That rotten demon princess Rue stole the most important thing to each of the kingdoms." Shadow pointed to Ayame. "Nerringne what was stolen from your kingdom?" Ayame…no Nerringne cleared her throat to speak.

"The Orb of Pure Souls…..it protects Skylerk from danger. Indeed it is our most important treasure." her eyes saddened as she continued, "Rue and I were really good friends…but I guess that was a way to get the orb from me. I was in charge of protecting it and because it was stolen…I was banished here and can not return until I retrieved the item." I nodded my head as the situation sunk in, but Rue why would she do that? Shadow stood next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Rue is what you call a special case. You see in Ursenfold, there are two princesses there is Pandora the known princess of Ursenfold and then there is Rue….Rue was born from a mistress of the king and was known to have extraordinary power. Which is why they sealed it with the Rosario that she wears on her neck. For some odd reason she is collecting the orbs of each kingdom. The Orb of Pure Souls from Skylerk and the Orb of the Strong Willed. Reasons why she wants them is unknown, but because of her, Skylerk is at war with Ursenfold. If you wanna know any more information, you better ask her." She started to walk off away from us. She turned around before she left, "Oh and if you see her, which I’m sure you will, be sure to tell her that her reign of terror is coming to an end." Shadow walked around the corner and disappeared leaving me and Ayame alone. She kept her head down. I tried to console her, but I don’t think it’s gonna help any.

"I was never mad at Rue, but….this time she’s gone to far…." she said while crying.

"What do you mean?…" I asked concerned. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and grabbed my arms. She was frantic. I know she’s not in her right mind now.

"She made you her slave!" she sadi frantically. Wait her slave? I’m not her slave! She continued, "You are bound to her by your blood! You probably haven’t even notice the mark on your neck!" There’s a mark on my neck? I looked into the wall of mirrors behind me. My eyes widened. It’s true! On my neck was a pattern of lines in red from the top to the bottom of the side of my neck. I put my hand on it. Well it doesn’t hurt…so it couldn’t be bad right. Ayame clenched her fists. "When you are marked it means that you are bound to the person who marked you…..Slowly you’ll turn into a beast and will kill anyone but your master if need be…..The only way to save you if continue to help her is….to kill you…." I winced a little. Kill me? Isn’t that a little harsh?

"Don’t you think that’s going a little bit overboard?…." I said as calmly as I could. I mean we are talking about my own death here. Ayame nodded her head still crying.

"If you stop now….I can save you with my power! Please!" she whined, ‘the tears coming even faster. "Please…..I care about you more than you know! I can’t stand to see you this way!" She fell into my chest causing me to fall back a little. She looked up at me her eyes gentle. What is going on?! I just want a normal life! Why can’t anyone understand that?! She whispered into my ear. "I….like you…Duran…I really do….so please….listen to me…" I blushed and pushed her off of me and went off running to the forest. If anyone’s story I need to hear, it should be the person in the middle of it. Ayame fell to the floor behind me. "Wait!….Duran….."

End of Chapter

 

 

Author's Note

Anything goes

Reviews

[Livana Lowell]

Girl, you got me screaming. Oh my goodness! You have led me astray in a good way. I didn't see that coming. Rue's the bad person? Wah! Well, I guess I have to hear her story first, huh?

I love it except for a few grammar errors like spelling said sadi or this sentence needs someone Shadow is glaring at: She glared at angrily then sighed. Either way, I think you could've described Shadow a little more.

A slave? A slave! That is so cool! Now I wonder what going to happen next! And I knew Ayame or Nerringne liked Duran all along! Great read.

You could've also described the setting a little more, but either way, it's really good. I really hope you plan on continuing and not leaving me in tears for more.