Valerie grabs Rosaline tighter on her right side; holding her lower hip and hoists her higher up so she doesn't drag down, she turns back with explosive speed.
Just why, why, does this all have to happen tonight?
She thought to herself, tears filled her eyes as she tried to run, each step became a greater effort than the last; she was drenched in sweat, from the heat of the flames, and the physical movement.
She runs down the hallway illuminated by flames at its end. Using all she can to move faster; even though it felt useless, she pushed on.
Her heartbeat thumped, she could feel it in her neck.
The worst sound was the footsteps of the seven men chasing behind her, the sound of their footsteps getting too close for comfort.
Her feet tangle in Rosaline's dress, making her trip; and she fails to regain her balance.
They both fall. Valerie maneuvers to absorb most of the impact; she stays on the ground for a moment, It felt better to just lay down on the ground and give up.
But she struggles up, even with her muscles in protest. Tears flow down her eyes.
No, not like this.
She gets back up and tries to run again, but her time is up, as she feels a hand grab her shoulder.
"No!" another hand grabs her arm, pulling her back.
"Let me go!" she roars in pure anger, as two other men grab Rosaline.
"Rosaline!"
"Valerie!" Rosaline shouts back, with a tone of panic.
"Ok, we have The Scarlet Maiden. leave the maid lady; she's useless," one of the three men just standing, says dismissively.
"No, she's with The Scarlet Maiden, she could be a good source of intel, we keep the woman," another one says, lighting himself a cigarette.
The man holding Rosaline on her left proceeds to strike Rosaline's neck, knocking her out.
Valerie's world slows down as she sees this, there was just too much happening too fast.
Valerie grits her teeth, turning back to look at her arm being held. She jerks it back and forth abruptly, loosening his grip, and breaks free.
She elbows the man in the face, and uses her leg to sweep his own, making him plummet to the ground.
She wiggles free from the other man's grip and knees him in his family jewels.
She dashes towards Rosaline but gets plunged onto the floor by two other men. The air in her lungs escapes from the force of the plummet.
"No way she just did that, I'm gonna kill this bitch!" the man who got kneed says. He reaches for his knife, while keeping Valerie on the ground.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!? We need her alive, so control yourself! Stupid!" a man says to him.
"Guys, can you not? We have to get moving, we don't have time to be in one place for too long, we need to leave before... You know, the Amethyst arrives?" a guy with his arms crossed says.
Valerie's vision blurs, her body felt exhausted, to the point even the ground felt restful. She couldn't move, her body refuses to do so. Her chest felt like it would burst from being choked.
As Valerie slowly loses consciousness, she looks up in front of her.
What looks like a woman, sitting cross legged on the ground. She has brown hair and her pale skin glows a warm white, covered in a pure white gown.
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A finger on her lower lip and was smiling; Valerie couldn't make out her face. Although she did look around her twenties.
There was a woman right in front of her, yet no one seemed to notice her presence. Valerie didn't linger on the thought for much longer, as she passed out.
"Great! She's passed out," the guy spits on Valerie, and gets off her.
They all stay in silence for a bit bemused, the man smoking the cigarette exhales a small cloud of smoke.
They then start carrying Rosaline and Valerie.
"We head to where the assault leader is in the south, and he'll take us from there until we leave this place."
They walk over to the required location. As they walk the man carrying Rosaline, also the one who was angry at Valerie and the man smoking a cigarette, creep behind a bit.
"This woman's heavy!" he says in irritation.
"You're probably just weak,"
"Well, the only thing I see you holding is that cancer stick between your fingers. You might as well be the strongest one here with how you carry your way to cancer," he says with the marks of a fragile ego.
They both go silent.
He takes a puff of his cigarette, "The quicker we reach the assault leader and get out of here, the better, he's our best bet against the Amethyst."
"Please, it's not like he could beat him," he says with arrogance.
"Exactly, it's just a stall game; to keep him busy. There's only so much you can do against a force you can't comprehend."
Valerie opens her eyes slowly and finds herself submerged in water.
It's Cold...
She thinks in her head, looking around her with her eyes, since she can't move. It looks like she was in an infinite expanse of water and was slowly sinking. The place was dim, with a small amount of light coming from the surface.
Where, is this? Am I... Dead?
She thinks, she couldn't feel her body but she could see it; she was wearing a white gown. She didn't breath, but she didn't choke on the water, it was like she didn't need air.
"It's about time I take over, so we can get to work, my Scarlet Maiden." a female voice says coming from all directions.
Scarlet... Maiden? Right... I am, The Scarlet Maiden.
She starts to get her strength back, the cold water around her starts to heat up and boil, and the water gradually becomes red.
Orion Sinclair, is on top of the rooftop surveying the area of the house, with his hands in the pocket of his suit; looking down blankly with his purple eyes at the sight of the house.
Hm, Me, Lilith and the rest did a good job cleaning up this infestation.
He looks towards the front entrance of the house.
All the Sinclairs who were not needed for this event have left, good. And they're no more energy signals left from the assailants.
He glances over to a specific direction as his expression darkens slightly.
...Except, for one.
One hallway was splattered and splashed with red like a canvas, from the blood of the seven people that took Valerie and Rosaline; there bodies limp on the ground. It is safe to say they never made it to the assault leader.
Rosaline was on the floor, still unconscious. Next to Rosaline was Valerie, on her knees. Her black dress covered in blood. She was also unconscious, with her head down and arms relaxed on her sides.
The assault leader walks through the halls, looking through the now empty house. It was silent and relaxed, almost like there was no whole invasion that happened. But of course, the environment gave it away, the shattered windows and lights, blasted walls, and floors and flames burning left and right.
"Hm, all this time and I haven't laid an eye on the Scarlet Maiden yet, what an interesting night this is, truly," he says with an amused smirk.
The assault leader was a giant man, around 6'6. A diagonal scar was planted on his face, with a full black beard. He carried a big axe in his hand.
He takes a left turn into a hallway that leads to a loggia, and back into another hallway on the other side of the loggia. In the middle of the other hallway he sees a sight that cancels out the words he just said.
He grins and walks over to the other side, "Well, bloody hell... What do we have here?"
He says approaching closer until he's right in front of Valerie, looking at her.
"So this is the Scarlet Maiden of the Sinclair family, I suppose she led to this gruesome sight through a rogue activation of her ability," he pauses, "the things that stress and fear can make one do," he smiles to himself as he realizes.
"It makes someone shake uncontrollably, panic, want to look away from the sight, produce cold sweat, and overthink," he says to himself as his smile widens into a grin.
"I can tell as a father, and the Amethyst of the Sinclair family, that you know that feeling all too well, don't you, Orion?"
He turns around to look at Orion standing behind him with a blank expression, and his hands in his pocket.
The assault leader continues to grin and rests his axe on his shoulder, holding it with one hand.
"No words unless necessary? Your just as they say. But yes, how rude of me, to not even greet, to welcome a new day, despite the circumstance of being night, I say now, Good morning."
Orion continues to stare at him blankly, "I'm here for my daughter, you know you're outmatched, so move over and your death will be instant, at the very least." he moves his head down while still looking at the assault leader.
They both stay silent.
Orion removes one hand out of his pocket and scratches his stubbled beard, "You choose foolishly, very well."
"The knight in shining armor comes to save his princess!" he pauses, "But with your sins, your armor remains quite filthy." he grips his axe in a ready position as his grin fades, replaced by a more serious one, focusing on the impending fight.