The Stearate had a cool, refreshing feeling as we walked through the water gate. When we had impacted against the water, we automatically closed our eyes. Or at least I did, for Blondie’s mind is beyond my comprehension.
Pushing through the water was just as easy as walking across the ground. The water gave no resistance to our passage, and so we walked past the water and ended up in a single, dark room.
I do not say it’s black, for on the walls they twinkled with lights of various hues. Red, violet, green, orange, and a couple dots of pure white.
In the center of this room stood a pedestal, with only a thick book upon it. The pedestal was made of wood though, and was illuminated slightly by the array of blinking lights.
I ignore the book, and continue staring at all the lights that surrounded me. Since the Stearate was a magical object that was used to travel long distances, or so I could gather from my resources, then these dots would represent different towns and cities with Stearates already set up to receive travelers.
But what do the colors signify?
I couldn’t make heads or tails of the lights, so I turn to Blondie in order to ask him what the lights could signify.
Blondie was currently walking to the pedestal where the thick book lay, his pace slow but assured. I begin to walk over to him, as he stands at the pedestal. He opens the book with no hesitation, despite the chances that the Stearate would reject him.
Wait, why would an object reject him? Why the hell do I have this pointless knowledge suddenly springing up?
Well, in this case I guess such knowledge is good, since Blondie obviously knows what he is doing.
“So Blondie, why did you know to go to the book?”
My question startles him out of his focus, the book dropping back to the pedestal with a nice slap.
“Ah, um. Well you see, it’s because before I was a slave, I used this before. Yes, that’s it!”
His finger is pointing straight up, his smile almost forced. But all I can do is believe in his words, as my life has only been inside the slave trade. I nod to him in understanding, and he returns to the dropped book.
I can only trust him, for he has earned it. No room for doubt, yes. No room for doubt.
I turn away from Blondie, the sound of pages being flipped echoing through the dark area. The lights still twinkle, the colors not fading in the slightest despite the amount of light they emitted. My eyes are constantly drawn to the rare pure white lights quite often, although I don’t know why. Maybe because they stood out more than necessary?
The sound of something wet hitting a very solid floor enters my ears, and I turn quickly to the source of the sound. The sound of pages also stops, as a gasp comes from Blondie’s mouth.
The Priestess was lying on the ‘floor’, as if I could actually call it a floor. Her bottom is raised up in the air, her arms sprawled out in front of her. Her face is facing down, the sound of her breathing gurgled by the water dripping off her soaked hair.
In front of her stood the majestic Blondie, the book still in his hands. The water from the Priestess slowly encroached onto his feet, and he steps back from the water.
With a gasp, the Priestess lifts her head. Then she lifts herself up from her awkward position. Her chests jiggles from her movement, and a little glare enters Blondie’s eyes. I’m just standing to the side, and I can tell the gale is about to hit.
“Why are you here?” says Blondie, the question thick with malice.
“I’m here because someone decided to destroy the Stearate.” The Priestess looks in my direction. I shuffle a little bit towards Blondie to include him in her gaze. Best to be safer then be like a deer in headlights, but wait… what are headlights and a deer?
“Well, that’s because we want freedom.” Blondie replies to her accusation. Nice one!
“If you want freedom, I can guarantee it.” The Priestess offers.
Blondie remains silent, and I agree. Is it really that simple? To be free after all this time…
I look over at Blondie, and I see his nose screwed up at the offer.
“What’s in it for you?” asks Blondie.
Oh, I didn’t even think there would be a catch..
“I can’t tell you that. You will just have to trust me.” Says the Priestess.
“Blondie, we should just take the offer. Despite the negative consequences, it is better than before.”
“But Boss…”
I look at Blondie and give him a look, telling him to be quiet. Then I look back at the wet Priestess.
“So Priestess, do you know how to work this thing?”
The Priestess nods, and begins to walk. Walk over to Blondie and the book. He begins to shake a little, the past few years he has been having flashing in his mind. The Priestess walks in front of Blondie, and forcefully takes the books from him with a ‘Hmph!’
She turns around to look at me.
“You do know I have a name, right?” I can only shake my head at her question, but I guess it is rhetorical.
“I am Maria von Vacheau, the High Priestess of the Yuran faith. I will abide by my word, no matter what.”
Her haughty voice is full of confidence, and I only shrug in response. What are names for anyways?
She opens the book, and flips almost immediately to the center of the book, and begins to read the passages within. Then she looks up at the lights and strides over to a pure white light, poking it with her finger.
The Priestess…. No, Maria is her name apparently. Well she then smiles confidently, her face and chest filled with confidence.
“I should say this now, but let us get through the most difficult part of the journey. The waiting.”
After she says that, the multiple white lights shine brightly, and the other colored lights dim to almost a nonexistent level. Maria’s wet hair instantly dries for some unknown reason.
The sound of water pouring onto a hard surface enters my ears, and I look to the source of the sound. Blondie does the same, and he gasps. I look back to Maria and give her the same look as Blondie, but she is completely unfazed.
This is because the water from the before is pouring in the dark space, and the bright lights closest to the imaginary bottom. I personally can’t tell what is going to happen, and also my body is frozen solid by the fear of the unknown. I really don’t want to die.
But luckily, the water only rises up a few inches, and stops. Then it becomes calm, the silence almost serene, and only the breathing can be heard. A hum then resounds around us, and the water leaps up off the ground like it is alive. It wraps itself around me and Blondie, and I look over to find the book and Maria held in this odd water’s grasp. Oddly enough, the water is shaped like human hands.
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I begin to struggle against the water, but its hold is like the bricks that I used to carry. Strong and firm, I could not shake myself out of the water that didn’t even make my clothing wet. But it isn’t like I began with much clothing either. I look at Blondie to see him not struggling in the slightest, and Maria doing exactly the same. By their example, I must assume that I shouldn’t struggle. But I feel something inside me break a little when I don’t put up anymore resistance.
Then the force of the water moving hits me, as we are all lifted off the ‘ground’ and thrown towards the brightest of the white lights. The light almost seems to engulf us, and there is only my terror that rises up in me.
“AHHHH SHHHIIIITTTT!!!!”
My voice doesn’t seem to echo, but the other two look at me with a glare. The chill I feel from their looks makes the yell stop, and I can only panic on the inside.
The darkness felt like forever as we began to move through it, the only light coming from in front of us in the form of a small dot. I close my eyes shut so I can ignore the surrounding darkness, despite the fact that closing eyes will make it dark as well.
“Damn Damn Damn Damn Damn.”
I mutter to myself as the sound of water rushing past me begins and continues. Like a curse, I continue to damn the Stearate, and the feeling as if things become rougher… it must’ve been my imagination, hopefully.
The feeling of many suns passing by, as in it became suddenly hot and then cold makes me snap out of my cursing, and I look at the other two beginning to smile as another bright light emerges from the darkness. The time it took for us to pass through the never ending darkness felt like forever, at least that’s how I feel.
The light begins to surround us, but doesn’t grab onto us like the water did. Instead, it feels similar to huddling to a clothed pile of hay, a blanket if you will.
Well the sound of splashing water, coupled with the blanket feeling, made me think of the time we entered the Stearate, and suddenly my brain links two things together. Are we going to get out of here, into the real world? Is freedom the next step? The sound of my heart rises over the sounds of splashing water, and I begin to feel the weight of gravity returning, the feel of the brick-like water releasing its grip on me.
I slip from its grasp and I land face first into something wet. The sound of water being impacted enters my ears, and I open my eyes to find myself underwater. Two other sounds of impacted water echo through the water, and I lift my head to gasp for air. Pure white stone enters my vision, columns upon columns of stone, decorated by someone.
No sign of degrading stone, and my loincloth is sopping wet. The feeling of chains on my ankles brings my sense of freedom down a notch, and I begin to look around in earnest, to find something to cut the chains. Blondie is lying in a pool of water with Maria, and I’m standing in the middle of this pool. No, correction, it’s a fountain. The arch of the Stearate enters my vision, the language as incomprehensible as always.
Maria and Blondie stand up, each competing by pushing the other down. I continue to look around, and I finally see something I didn’t want to see again. A mass of people in white clothes similar to that of Maria are amassed before the Stearate, looks of shock on their faces. I wonder why they’re shocked.
The stone, no wait, the marble stone is glossed and looks similar to glass upon the floor, the pool of water at my feet blocked by a raised edge. A language I do not know decorates some pillars and columns of stone, and the halls that the mass of people are in are incredibly narrow, because the people look like one big blob of white.
The murmuring begins when Maria stands up without falling. Blondie is up after her, shaking the water out of his outfit. He doesn’t have a loincloth like mine, and I find that odd now…
“I have just come back from the Forlorn Desert! I am the High Priestess Maria von Vacheau.”
Maria’s arms are spread out wide, a smile floating on her face. Her clothes are still extremely wet, really emphasizing her curves. No catcalls are heard from the mass, which in a sense is a good thing. But I hear some bodies falling onto the floor.
Maria then points to Blondie and I. My red hair and his blond hair, my height and his shortness. I put on a smile while Maria begins.
“I have found some slaves I am taking under my wing. No objections!”
Like a mother, she commands the group. Wait, how do I know what a mother does… gah, I can’t keep up with these strange thoughts.
“Also, I have discovered that one of these slaves is in fact the princess of our very kingdom!”
I look at Maria as she says some pretty hefty lines. How could I be a princess… then a few things begin to click in my head. It’s been doing that a lot recently…
But the style of hair Blondie has, the way he wears his clothes, and when he saw Maria’s huge chest. I look over at Blondie to find him. No, it’s her now. I find her blushing furiously under the spotlight.
“We have found Emilia Regil!”
Maria’s voice echoes through the halls.
The crowd begins to cheer, some crying. I’m guessing Blondie is that loved then? How nice.
But what happens to me? I’m still chained.
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Author here! Sorry for the long delay, but rl wanted to be a pain. So I felt nice and doubled the length. And for those who read this on Japtem, don't worry, the story line is just slightly change from the original. Going against Gods is a little too much, so I change the enemy. The History chapter might give you some insight as to who the enemies are.
And also, the development is something I am working on. An OP character too fast is fun if done correctly, but those who work hard for it are better in my opinion.
Also, I will try to make the rest of the chapters at least 2,000 words from now on. And when I finish the first Arc, I will publish it as one long thread... I have 20 pages so far...
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