Aaaaaaand the amount of text is increasing ever so slightly! \o/
This is a "Flashback" from the other's PoV, still new text, resolutions, and some foreshadowing though!
Ps. I've decided to rename the .5 chapters into "intermission" to have an easier time naming them.
They're still just as important to the story, though!
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Intermission 4:
The king's Decree
*-*-*-*-*
The faint taste of blood came as Mari clenched her teeth, readying herself for the next hit that was already in motion and about to reach her cheek. Her hazel-brown eyes displayed no sign of emotion as the large hand belonging to her master came in from the left. She Looked up at the despicable man who had just hit her twice, which made him flinch slightly over the emotionless eyes, that even though showed no hope, also showed no will to break, and quickly retracted his hand.
"B-Be grateful! I'll let you off with only this much today! But if you ever dare disobey me again, I'll have you sold off in a heartbeat!"
The fat man, dressed in a combination of purple and white, slowly walked away -as fast as the flustered man's heavy body could move- from the hay-filled shack. Mari spat out the red saliva which painted her bed and floor crimson, and quickly assessed her dire situation. Tricked and stripped of her income and saved up fortune, she became a slave for the despicable man and have now worked in his mansion for fifteen years. She would have escaped Egitor -the country that had betrayed her hopes and destroyed her life- in a heartbeat, but... Chained down and observed everywhere she went, it would be easier to slay a dragon with her bare fists, than to fully escape the country. Even now, during bedtime her left ankle would be-
...
Not sensing any restriction on her feet, Mari looked down and saw to her surprise, that the fat idiot had indeed forgot to chain her down after hitting her cheek. Not hesistating, the middle-aged woman dashed out of the shack and ran towards the west wall. After spending fifteen years in the same manor, she knew possible places where she could escape through, and the large crack in the wall was her obvious answer. her blonde hair flung up and down due to the fast-paced sprint towards her freedom.
But she did not seem to be the only one to know about the escape route.
"Kah! Khahahahah! SEE GUARDS!? I told you she'd be betraying me again if she had the chance to! Detain her!"
This was a god-send. Not because she would be caught, but because the one she wanted to kill at least a hundred times had foolishly decided to join the front that would stop her. Mari made a wicked smile, the taste for blood was unquenchable. She lowered her body in order to increase her speed, and ran straight towards the hateful man, then jumped just two metres away, twisting her lower body mid-air, and landed a strong kick on the haughty master's countenance, causing his round body to twist left in accordance with the head, and fell stunned to the ground. Mari saw at least two teeth fly out of the mouth accompanied by a mass of blood.
This moment alone was worth every second of her life. Actually, it was worth it because of the treatment she had got every second of her life since fifteen years ago. Laughing like a maniac, Mari didn't stop there, as she threw herself over the stunned man's body, forgetting her ticket to freedom, but the freedom could wait when she had finally found her peace.
Her freedom didn't come though, as the guards -some laughing over the unsightlyness of their lord's deserved state- still had to apprehend the perpetrator, or lose their own comfortable life as a result. Snapping back from the previous kick, the man tried to spit out some blood before he noticed his missing front teeth, causing him to spout hateful words against the woman.
"Shevss shou righch, bich! Jow Jesh's shee who hash che jash jaughsh ash I shejj shou choo a whoshehoushe! Whash's sho fujjhy!? Guarchhs! Shof jauchinsh!"
The unintepretable gibberish just caused the guards to laugh louder as they held the smirking woman in her arms. She didn't make an attempt to escape at this point. She knew better than to worsen her situation further than this.
Dragged away by two of the guards, Mari wondered what the next step in her life would be, but that thought got interrupted as one of the guards spoke out.
"It seems he had planned for a long time to sell you off to somewhere within the capital. I can't abandon my position because of my family, but I'm happy someone managed to do something towards that slug. Thank you, it was great to see."
"Yeah!" The other guard entered the topic. "That bastard won't be talking for a loooong while! Makes our job a lot easier. Thanks, Mari! And I'm sorry that we can't really help you out other than ensure a safe travel towards the capital."
She had known the two guards since four years back, and ended up getting their support and help whenever it was their shift for the night. The moon stood high up in the clear night sky, still free of any stars. A slight wind was blowing from east to west and the taste of iron filled her mouth again.
'Seems like my trip will be starting with a storm...'
Starting her travel in the middle of the night -in a carriage dragged by one horse- hours flew by and night turned to day, as the next town came into sight.
Jen'in, 'Treachery and Demise', appeared on the horizon.
Jen'in was a small town on the outskirts of the large forest of Egitar, often known for its hospitality, contrary to the ancient meaning behind the name. But once in a while, their extraordinary greediness that defies all moral senses would appear, and during those times...
'Yep, and there's one of those poor bastards, all ready to be picked up... A...teenaged girl this time? Gee, what could she have done in order to warrant a trip to slavery?'
"...Hey! Hey hands off! Where are you taking me!? ahh shit!"
'Litogarian would explain half of it... Better not talk to her, she doesn't seem capable of speaking my tongue.'
Staying silent during the rocky trip, the two never exchanged any glances or anything else that could be taken as an acknowledgement of the other's presence. the wind was roughing up and the sky had already filled itself with dark grey clouds which looked ready to bombard them with rain any moment. The girl kept screaming words that Mari only understood half of, such as 'fucking lock' and 'deep shit'. Then a third voice entered her ears. But only the two of them except for the guards were transpo-
'When did he get here!?'
Sitting next to the young girl, was an old man that had an air of authority around him, even though his tattered attire would say otherwise. He conversated in the girl's language, she was sure of it, yet Mari had understood every single word that was said since he appeared out of nowhere. The old man suddenly looked next to her, and showed a sad face which did not suit his dignified presence at all. But nothing was next to her. She could not see what the old man had focused his gaze on for just a second.
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Then a deep and majestic voice reverberated in her mind. It was impossible to mistake it for someone else. The old man then said something which Mari did not expect. It was not a mistake that the old man spoke the truth, but the despicable words that followed after felt like they were tearing her asunder from within.
In any other scenario, this man's life would be forfeit by her own shackled hands, but right now, it felt like the traitorous words was already meant for her, as if this was the calling which she had searched for. Mari nodded as an confirmation, while she looked towards the girl she had decided to follow and protect with her own life.
Only one sentence filled her mind with determination.
*-*-*-*-*
'We done fucked up now, Lari.'
'You're damn right about that. We done fucked up.'
"Kill the beasts!"
"Burn them!"
Walking openly with shackles around their wrists, in the middle of the road, accompanied by two guards specialized in magic -a blue sigil was inscribed on the back of their cape as confirmation- was two boys who did not look any older than ten. Their brown boy-ish looking hair swayed slightly back and forth as the wind blew from behind. The smell of rotten tomatoes filled the streets they walked on, causing their red eyes to twitch slightly.
Using telepathy -a basic magic they learned through discovery, and the cause for this mess- the two half-demons conversated between each other as the guard from behind narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"No magic under my watch! you demons have already blown half of the town into smithereens! Be grateful that nobody was gravely injured, for then you two would each be one head shorter. I would personally slice those red eyes off if you hadn't been the lord's sons!"
The two looked at each other, then nodded and kept silent for the remainder of the walk until the carriage that would take them both to hell came into sight. They were both too mature for their age, which luckily meant they wouldn't throw a fit, possibly endangering anyone else's, and in turn, their own lives.
The reason they warranted two specialized guards to accompany their trip to the capital's dungeon, was because of their blood. Those unable to percieve magic, would not be able to sense their presences, even if they would still be right there. The carriage was empty. Their trip to the inevitable hell awaited them, yet they didn't feel afraid. They had accepted their coming fate ever since the day they had realized their origin six years ago.
If anyone had been able to percieve them as something else than monsters, the sight would be heartbreaking, to see two such young boys being dragged away across the street, and towards their end. But perhaps an even sadder thought was, that nobody exactly didn't.
As the guard in front of them sat upon the horse that would be dragging the carriage, the other spoke in a rough voice towards the twins while forcing them up and to their seats.
"I regretfully can't join you two in the rest of the trip. It really is such a missed opportunity to humiliate you both even more, but my service is needed elsewhere. Instead my right hand man will gladly do it for me, don't think that you can pull any tricks just because I'm not there."
The carriage started moving, as the two boys, clad in tattered clothes, once again began using telepathy. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was the only thing besides each other that they had left.
'Lari... Is it possible to get out of here?'
'Neri, I would've sacrificed myself for your freedom if that was the case.'
The two looked at each other, then simply snickered at the "older brother's" statement. They both fully knew that the other would do the same, either causing both to end up free, or dead, lifelessly on the cold, hard ground.
The carriage reached the first town on the outskirts of the great forest in order to pick up a middle-aged woman. Her swollen cheek looked awful as she climbed up and almost sat down on Lari, the more insecure twin, causing him to yelp in surprise. She didn't seem capable of noticing the pair.
The wind was taking up its pace, and clouds could be seen forming in the horizon. It was still rather warm temperature-wise, but that seemed to soon change abruptly. The smell of blood came from the woman, and Neri's demonic side almost took over. Lari had no trouble forcing his older to glare at him in order to avoid such a temptation, though. Spending hours upon hours while holding each other's head -staring into the other's eyes- during the journey, a second town came into sight as they then noticed it was already a new day.
'Lari, another girl is joining us...'
'I bet she looks like a monster!'
'She looks about six years older than us.'
'...'
'...Lari?'
'The fuck...'
Lari stared at the young girl who shouted a language he did not understand. He didn't notice that his mouth was agape, as the godess walked up and sat on the other side, across the middle-aged woman.
'...Lari do you think she can see us?.. Lari?...'
Neri's twin simply kept staring at the elder sister in front of them, and a thought struck Neri. Hugging his older twin brother, he tried to bring him back to reality. It wasn't until a deep voice filled with authority echoing within both their heads, that they stopped their actions and simply stared surprised at each other.
An old man had joined the fray. Although he looked like an old man, something felt youthful within him. And the question asked was a godsend to both of them. Even though the content within felt rather eerie, Lari had instantly made up his mind, while Neri would simply follow his brother to the world's end if he so chose.
It would mean their end, but at the same time, something less suffocating than some dungeon in the capital. And with that resolution, they decided to follow and protect. The man who had asked such an otherwise horrifying question, asked it with determination, ready to bear the consequences of his actions. It was something that only a few would possess.
Not the old man, but the girl.
With a single sentence, unknowing how likeminded the twins currently were with the middle-aged woman next to them, they thought to themselves, determined of their future.
'For the undying king, his eternal majesty.'
This would be the start, and soon the end, of their new hell.
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Havn't proofread, so if anything is rather suspicious looking, please do tell!