Last Lady

Prologue

 

To whom it may concern,

  My name…its Evelynne Silverfyre. I live in Japan, with my two older brothers, Vyvian and Rhys. Our parents never let us know where we were born, and our family has kept a lot from each other since. For three teenagers, life was normal, school boring. But when I got in a fight with Vyvian, I ran into the basement, to vent my anger. That’s when all of our lives changed. When I had released my anger in the basement, I created a portal, which led to a world where vampires were vast in numbers and humans were nearly legends.

Chapter 1

 

  Evelynne forced her eyes open; she knew she had been sucked into the wall of her basement that was it. She looked around; she was in the middle of a tiled room. Somehow, she didn’t think she was Toto in Kansas anymore. The worst part about this, she could be missing school! So much for perfect attendance, she sighed, and got up. If she ever got back, how exactly would she explain this to her parent’s? She started dusting off her skirt. She was still in her school uniform too! Suddenly she gasped…her hair…it was always stylishly cut. Dyed red, with black tips. But her hair was completely different! Yeah, it was still the same colors, but it wasn’t at her shoulders anymore, it was past, halfway down her back, the top layers were black, and the rest was blood red. Had it always been that dark? The she gasped again…even though the moon shown through a few windows in the building, she could see perfectly in the dark. What had happened? She walked around the room, it was cold, but she didn’t mind too much. She saw a mirror a few feet in front of her. Evelynne rushed over to it, and froze when she saw her face. Her eyes…they were red, but not just that…they were glowing!  Was this how she was able to see in the dark? She looked deeper into the mirror, somebody was behind her. She spun around to see a man in dark clothes standing behind her. He had long, black hair…longer than hers…and glasses. She couldn’t see his eyes…the moon reflected at a point where it shielded his eyes from her view. His appearance didn’t scare her…it was the sword he was holding in his hand that led Evelynne to freeze. The sword’s guard resembled a crescent moon, its tips pointing in the same direction as the blade. Its' grip was a white metal with a pattern made of arcs and spirals done in an inlay of a blue-colored material. The pommel bore a series of rubies. He stood examining her for a few seconds, then let out a soft, evil laugh.

  “You’re new to this world, hm?” He let out another laugh, “Welcome to Arcane! The past world of vampires!” He raised the sword to rest on his shoulder. “There are others that have come from the real world. It’s just…well, we got stuck here. You’re already a legend you know. Your family, the Silverfyre’s, yes. What an old tale! I thought they had vanished. But let me introduce myself. Ivan Morganti, and now that that’s done, I must not allow you to be known to the rest of Arcane. But do not worry; this sword won’t kill you no that would be much too painful. I Invoke The Anger Of Catianio!” He chanted out.
         Evelynne was frozen, he was planning to kill her, but she couldn’t move…Ivan laughed wickedly, a red aura started to surround him, and his hair flew up into the air. Evelynne fell to her knees, is a horrified awe of whatever he was doing.

  “By The Fury of Chi'ssaluli!” A voice behind her screamed the words out loud. Evelynne’s eyes grew wide in fear; she turned her head, to see another man, being surrounded by a furious blue aura. He wasn’t looking at her, but had his angry eyes driving into Ivan. All that was happening was too much to take in; Evelynne gave up fighting consciousness, and felt her head hit the floor…

Chapter 2

           

  When Evelynne woke, she assumed she was dead. She couldn’t feel any pain that the two men’s fight might’ve caused. She was no longer in her school uniform, it lay by her. She was in huge black robes, which were five sizes too large. For the first time since she had awaked, she looked up. The man that had appeared behind her was now examining her from a distance by the window. He had wide blue eyes. His straight, black hair fell down his back, it appeared only centimeters shorter than Ivan‘s. He was very tall and had a graceful build. His skin was china-white, and he wore black under-robes. Evelynne blushed, if he was wearing under robes, she must have been wearing his top robes. She blushed deeper, who had changed her?! The man smiled, reading her thoughts.

  “Wouldn’t be the first time, unfortunately, that I’ve seen you without clothes, Evie,” The man said softly. His voice…she shot up off the floor.

  “Rhys?!” Tears began to fall down her face, “Brother…” she stepped towards him, but his hand flew up to stop her.

  “I’ve been coming to this world, Arcane, for some time. You must understand, we’ve become vampires. And, that said, I haven’t eaten since I followed you here, I can’t completely control this body yet, it wouldn’t be wise to come near me,” His strong, familiar voice filled the room. Evelynne was about to protest, but nodded instead. She walked up to the window on the opposite wall.

  “That man, who was he? And what were those auras surrounding both of you? I have no idea where I am besides this world, Arcane. And I don‘t particularly grasp the concept of being a vampire strongly.”

  “Currently, I don’t have time to explain much. Ivan is just a vampire, he’s not much of a threat yet. But he has family. We need to get out of this province, currently, we’re in the Province of the Evil Jewels. You’ll see each province has an odd name, but we aren’t in the 21st century anymore, remember that. These people use swords, and such, well...most. Plus several types of magic, but that’s not all of them. There are humans here too, amongst other races you might have to see to believe... Be lucky you came here as a vampire…Of course, Vyvian didn’t do too badly, he’s taken the form of a demon. Of course he still has a human shape,” He said smiling. At that moment, a man walked into the room, he had piercing emerald eyes. His neck-length, hair was the color of blooming violets, and was worn in a handsome style. He had a broad-shouldered build. He wore the same apparel as Rhys, and all at once Evelynne knew who he was.

  “Long time no see, Vyvian,” She said smiling, forgetting that Rhys hadn‘t answered all of her questions. Vyvian examined her carefully.

  “You also took the form of a vampire? I prefer my demonic powers, by the way Rhys,” He said, glaring over at his older brother. “Well, she finally found this little world. Do you know if she can travel back by her own free will?”

  “Ivan sensed she could. He was in the middle of killing Evie when I caught up to her. Hopefully she won’t land so far away from the portal again, eh?” Rhys said, turning around to face Vyvian, who nodded. “Evie, you’ll need to learn how to fight before we can go back home. You appeared here, in Arcane, at the farthest possible point away from the portal that leads us home. It took all I had to reach you before Ivan killed you…”

         Vyvian, now holding a bag he had grabbed from a corner of the room, stuffed her uniform into it. Rhys casually leaned against the window he was by.

         “Well,” Rhys yawned, “Where exactly are we heading now that we’ve caught up to Evie?”

  “I think the Province of dead souls would be a good place to start. I’ve heard Ivan’s family despises the place,” Vyvian stood straight, “Plus I’ve heard that they have a mistress over there that can make some pretty nice clothes, I don’t think Evie wants to travel across Arcane in your clothes, Rhys.” He smiled when both Evie and Rhys suddenly lost their voices.

“Alright then! Let’s see if we can get out of here before Ivan finds us, eh?” Rhys said awkwardly.

Chapter 3

 


  The three slipped out of the castle they had been in, and began running across a rather vast plane thickly coated with fog, making their escape easier. Morning light was piercing through the fog quickly; they would have to get out of sight of the castle soon. Evelynne rode on Rhys’ back, not being able to run in the clothes she had on, and Vyvian was carrying her school uniform. Despite the circumstances, Evelynne managed to fall asleep on her brother’s back, she only realized this when Rhys had come to a stop at the edge of the province, and she woke as he shifted her weight.

  “Vyvian, Aratasael is sure to come after Evie, you know that, right?” Rhys said sternly to his brother.

  So they hadn’t noticed that she was awake…

  “Aratasael is just going to have to come get us. We can’t just let her slip into his possession. Even though the worst thing he could do is keep her locked up somewhere,” Vyvian avoided Rhys’ eyes as he said this.

  “Like we can stop the angel of Arcane from noticing her…”

  “Shh! Even at the edge of this place talking like that isn’t safe. By the way, that mistress in Dead Souls province has her house in Township of Mesas. Which is more to the west of that province,” He whispered. Rhys nodded, and they began running again. It took awhile for Evelynne to compose her thoughts, but at last she gathered her courage, and made herself known.

  “Ah, you’re awake. I’m surprised you slept for that long,” Rhys said, facing the road in front of him.

  “Aratasael, who is he?” She asked loudly enough for Vyvian to hear her. All at once she fell to the ground as Rhys dropped her in surprise. “Hey! Jeeze if you wanted me to walk that bad tell me!” She yelled.

  “So you haven’t been asleep that long,” Rhys sighed. “Right now, it’s not safe to talk about him, but he’s a very rare species of this world. He’s an angel. They’re a dwindling number, but all the same, he is the lord of this world. He’s proved his strength countless times.” Vyvian picked her up off the ground.

  “This is a road, come on, we can’t stop until we make it to Mesas, and Livia Del Cromwell, the seamstress,” Vyvian whispered impatiently.

  “Fancy name for a seamstress…” Evelynne said, standing up fully.

  “She’s quite wealthy-” the sound of horse hooves cut Vyvian off, “Quick, Evie!” He swooped her into his arms, “Act unconscious!”

  “What?! Do I look like a stage actress to you?!”

  “You’re in our school’s drama class, now act dead!” Vyvian’s voice struggled to stay at a whisper. She rolled her eyes, but relaxed her muscles, and laid limp in his arms. They began to walk down the road again; the approaching horse hooves grew louder, until they stopped next to Vyvian. Evelynne cautiously opened her eyes ever so slightly, and saw a group of men on several more horses than she had thought. Some had smirks, and she knew this meant trouble. Both of her brother’s faces were masks that showed no emotion. Finally, the man in front spoke.

  “A bit far from a town, aren’t you?” His cocky voice rose above the noise of the horses.

  “We are traveling a rather far distance, it’s only natural that we should come to a point where there are no towns,” Rhys’ level voice spoke out beside her, she could hear several of the men snicker.

  “Well, since your traveling such a long way, I’ll be glad to take the woman off your hands.”

  Vyvian’s grip tightened.

  “I’m afraid she’s our sister, and we cannot leave her with you,” her brother’s voice struggled to stay level.

  “Well, it’s either you relieve her off your hands, or I relieve you of your life.”
         She could hear several of the men unsheathe swords.

  “I’m sorry I can’t allow that to happen. Infernal Enchantment of the Ensnaring Beast. I Invoke Artal-vioc!” Rhys’ voice thundered into the air, he hadn’t even finished his invocation when the ground shook suddenly, and a screeching plant-like creature erupted from the road. Evelynne’s eyes were open now, and she stared at the creature as it grew vines, and started ensnaring each of the men and their horses. She climbed out of Vyvian’s grip, landing on the ground.

  “Rhys, just the men, the horses have done nothing, we could ride them!” She screamed over the creature’s screeches. He nodded sternly, and closed his eyes. After several moments, the horses were gathered up by Evelynne and Vyvian, and the men they had once carried were dead. She looked away as Rhys picked up one of the men, and tilted the man’s head to reveal his throat. Vyvian saw it, and smiled over at her, digging through the bags, he found what he had been looking for, and went over to Rhys. They spoke in hushed tones, while Evelynne tried to keep herself busy by calming the horses. Finally, Rhys appeared by her side, holding a cup. He offered it to her, and she took it, examining its contents. She froze, looking incredulously at the cup. It held blood in it.

  “Evie, you’re a vampire, if you don’t drink it you’ll go out of control around Ms. Cromwell, who is human. I don’t want you killing her.” Rhys said softly. Evelynne met his eyes, and nodded. She slowly raised the cup up to her mouth, she took a small sip. Her eyes widened, a desire she had never felt before rushed over her at the taste, and she quickly drank the remaining blood. What was happening to her? The rush for blood hadn’t ceased, was she going to lose it anyway? She stepped back from Rhys, who watched her carefully. He stepped forward, and she barred fangs from her mouth. His eyes became serious, and he stopped coming towards her. Putting two fingers vertically to his forehead, the lowered his head.

  “Snaring, by the Sinews of Ractavil…” He chanted. Several sinew-like snakes came out of the ground, and rushed towards Evelynne. She screamed and began to run, but only got several inches when one of the snakes coiled itself firmly around her ankles, and she fell. Before she could recover, three more snakes coiled themselves around her wrists and other ankle, and she lay sprawled on the ground. She screamed again, and began to tear away at the sinew snake on her wrist, no sooner had she killed that one, than had another one coiled on to her, making her scream yet again. Rhys walked in front of her with Vyvian.

  “Perhaps…that was an overdose of blood. I wasn’t nearly this out of it…” Rhys said calmly, examining his growling sister.

  “It is her first taste of it, but I worry about how long it will take her to calm down,” Vyvian said equally smoothly.

  “True, we’ll have to move rather quickly to get to a reasonable resting place before nightfall. How about this,” Rhys put his fingers to his forehead in the same position. “Dream breath of Farstha, let her sleep.” A small cloud creature formed in front of her face, and giggled. I then waved, and blew a sweet scent from its mouth. Her eyes drooped, she fought to stay conscious, but failed as her vision blurred and went black.

Chapter 4

  “Evie…wake up, we’re here,” Vyvian said, softly shaking her. She woke to see his kind eyes looking worriedly at her; she opened her eyes fully and looked around. It was night, and they were in a town that had few buildings with lights on. She sat up from her sleeping position in one of the horse’s saddle. The horses were tied to the porch of a manor whose lights were shining. A woman stood on the steps, looking over patiently at her brothers. Rhys walked up to her. The woman had round brown eyes and thin eyebrows that made her look serious even when she smiled. She had curly, iron-gray hair that was short but she was tall and had a graceful essence about her. Rhys and the woman shook hands, then it came back to her, the lady must be Livia Del Cromwell. She hastily dismounted, and walked with Vyvian to join Rhys. They each introduced themselves, and were invited into her home. Vyvian quickly told her what business they had with her, and she disappeared into a back room, saying she had stored a lot of extra outfits in the closet. Seconds later she appeared with a basket full of clothes, and while Livia talked with her two brothers, Evelynne went through the basket. In the end, she chose an emerald satin blouse, and a matching linen skirt.

  “That’s perfectly fine, Evelynne, now what about you boys? I gave you those outfits quite a long time ago! How about I find something you might be able to maneuver in?” Livia asked, looking over at Evelynne’s brothers. They both nodded, knowing Livia wouldn’t let them reject the offer anyway.
She disappeared into the back room and came out with two outfits, one was a robe of satin turquoise, and with it was an emerald cotton hood. The other was a robe of grass-green satin bordered with leaves and vines, with it was a scarlet brocade cloak that also had a hood. After handing them to her brothers, she watched Livia go into the room, and appear with another cloak, a cream-colored one, that had elaborate designs lining the seams, and a hood, which she gave to Evelynne with a smile.

  “Traveling with your brothers, you’ll never know when you’ll need a hood. Be sure to come back every once in awhile, I don’t get many visitors these days, and your clothes will become threadbare eventually! And Rhys…have you heard about Princess Cecilia? You told me you were going to Valdimont, so I assumed you’ve gathered all your facts before you got a crazed idea to go there…”

  “Ah, yes. I’m hoping her death, though unfortunate I’m sure, will be enough of a distraction to harbor us in Valdimont’s castle town for awhile. Besides I hope to find your sister there, Livia,” He smiled.

  “Hah! Good luck getting Gwendolyn to listen to you for more than a minute. However, I’ll give you some good news, she is in old Elvira’s tavern,” Livia laughed.

  “I’m hoping she’ll take an interest in Evie, maybe teach her a thing or two…”

  “Or twenty…Oh! And old elf Elvira is still alive, so I’m sure she’ll have a good lecture waiting for you. Anyhow, I’ll see you out, hm?” 

  Rhys nodded and directed his siblings to the door, where they said their goodbye’s, and mounted the horses once more, who had been refreshed with water and grain by one of Livia’s maids. Shortly after they had left the village, the three put their hoods on, and kept riding until they were several leagues from Livia’s. There, they stopped,  and Rhys brought out a map. While her two brothers discussed directions towards Valdimont’s castle town, Evelynne searched the bags of her horse’s saddle, when she found a mirror. Just out of boredom, she looked into it. Her eyes again glowed eerily, even though the moon was a plentiful light source, of course she had trouble telling whether it would be a suitable light for humans. She heard the crumpling of paper, as Rhys folded the map, and Vyvian grabbed his reins. They started off again on the same road, turning only every once in awhile.

Chapter 5

         

  Several nights passed before any town was seen, and Evelynne learned a great deal about the animal’s native to Arcane. Of course, she was in a hilly area, and figured that different animals lied elsewhere, but all the same she found the  birds fascinating. The most common ones resembled pigeons, but they were bigger, and not as plump as most birds.
         
          It came to the fifth day on the road that a tower in the distance finally peeked above the horizon. They had, eerily enough, met no one on the road coming. But, as they neared the town, they often started passing shipment carts going all directions. Finally, two days after first seeing the tower, they arrived at the eastern entrance gate of the town. The guards made them take off their hoods, and after the better part of an hour explaining what they needed from the town, they were let through the gates. The sun was directly overhead, and a crowd of people were scattered throughout the one street, Evelynne almost felt nauseous. Dismounting, and leaving their horses inside the gate, her brothers led her through a series of streets, all as crowded as the last. Finally, they stopped and turned into a deserted alley. It was much different from the clean street, the alley had scrawny excuses for dogs laying in the shade of buildings, and fat rats scurried across the road every so often. When they came to an old wooden, once brown, door, Rhys stopped to open it. As Evelynne entered the sound of soft music came to her ears, and she breathed in an odd spicy scent. At first glance, she saw only a young-looking woman behind  a bar, but as she spaced herself from her brothers, she could see several populated tables in a den-like area. The music was coming from a girl who was sitting on a wooden box, playing the ocarina. Nobody glanced up at the newcomers as the three made their way over to the bar. Vyvian smiled when Rhys scooted slightly away from the woman, and Evelynne waited for her to notice them. Finally, the woman spoke, still not looking up, as she was shining a glass.

  “It’s about time you two showed up here. I haven’t been able to give a lecture to anyone since you last left. So, tell me. What utterly stupid situation have you put yourself in now. Kidnapping a girl?” She said, setting the glass down and looking up at Evelynne. Both of her brothers smiled.

  “Yes, Elvira we kidnapped our sister,” Vyvian said sarcastically.

  “Like I knew you had one,” She snapped, “Anyways, that doesn’t explain much to me.”

  “Well we haven’t exactly come for your aid, actually, we need Gwen to help us a bit. Our sister just found Arcane, and she doesn’t know anything about magic or swords,” He said, leaning against the counter.

  “I know about swords, I just don’t know how to use them,” Evelynne said crossly, glaring at Vyvian. Elvira smiled and looked over to the girl.

  “Gwen, you have visitors-”

  “I don’t want visitors,” The girl, Gwen, cut off. “Not these fools at least,” She said, glowering at Vyvian. Evelynne looked over incredulously.

  “Fools? Is that what my brothers are to you? I-” A hand clamped over Evelynne’s mouth, Rhys.

  “Don’t speak, Evie, you go on forever…” He said, loud enough for Gwen to hear, which made her smile.

  “So you have learned something about respecting your elders,” she said. “But let me introduce myself to her, I’m Gwendolyn Cromwell, and I have lived five of your human lifetimes. I have taught your older brothers all they know, and I am the one legendary source for information of all combat types, as well as any magic you might need to acquire. And know a little alchemy, which is very different, in my opinion, from magic because it can be defined scientifically.” Gwen stood up, and walked towards the door, waiting for them to follow. Rhys and Vyvian grabbed Evelynne’s arms, and pulled her out the door.

Chapter 6

Once outside, Evelynne immediately ripped herself away from her brothers, and faced Gwen.

         “One question, what’s alchemy?” She asked curtly, Gwen shook her head.

         “Never mind, if you don’t know by now then you probably don’t need to know.”

         “By now? By now, I have been lost in this so-called world of Arcane! With very little hints as to who tried to kill me when I first arrived, and very much confused with everything that appears normal!”

         Gwen eyes widened, and she looked over nervously towards Rhys, “He’s after her already? How did he even know she appeared?”

         Rhys shifted to his right foot, “She didn’t exactly appear in the best of places. Evie landed herself in his castle.”

         Evelynne looked from Gwen to Rhys, then stamped her feet and screamed.

         “Who is he?! I have been hearing that since I got here! I want to know about the man who is trying to murder me!”

         Rolling her violet eyes, Gwen looked over at Evelynne.

         “Both Ivan Morganti, and Aratasael are well known for their power. Fortunately, Ivan gets his from his family’s wealth, not his strength. It’s Aratasael we need to worry about. Not only is he an angel of power, but he knows Ivan. So I can  guarantee if one of them attacked, that means both of them know you’re here.”

         “Angel of Power? Are you kidding me? Angels are supposed to be holy creatures from-”

         “No, Evelynne, there are those with black wings. Aratasael grew up in the Province of the Unholy Grail. It’s where all the little cults live, they’re virtually harmless, but every couple of hundred years one of them gets power a human shouldn’t have.”

         “So, scientifically speaking, Aratasael is like a mutant human.”

         “Correct. He has black wings, and no halo. But don’t focus on him being human, he’s beyond the magical limits of any being in Arcane. And there isn’t a single thing that can stop him from getting to you except…”

         “Except, yourself Evie,” Rhys cut in. “The reason he’s hunting you down is the same reason why he won’t do anything to harm you once he does find you. I’m sure that if he hasn’t killed Ivan for attacking you, then he’s gotten a good bit of information out of him. Enough to lead him straight to us. We’ve passed about twenty of his followers, he could be inside the bar right now, if we didn’t already know that he’s in Cinnabar Flails.”

         Evelynne massaged her forehead, daring herself to pop the question, she decided her headache couldn’t get worse, and did.

         “Cinnabar Flails?” She asked hesitantly.

         “Ah, yes! That would be Aratasael’s Kingdom. Originally Arcane was divided by provinces, but about 700 years ago an angel came, like Aratasael, and attacked and forced the land into his ownership, eventually he gained a whole province, which would be similar to a…state in your world. He named it the moment he gained it, which was in war. His weapon, a flail, was stained with blood, and henceforth Cinnabar Flails Kingdom. It was a deserted kingdom after the angel died, nobody dared themselves to put homes and raise families on land that’s grass was grown in bloody soil. Not even trolls came. But of course, it would be quite unsettling for trolls to live in the center of Arcane; they tend to favor staying away from vampires. The strong scent of blood drives them mad,” Gwen lectured.

         “Wait, you said the angel died? How?” Evelynne questioned hopefully.

         “Don’t raise your hopes, he killed himself. He had lived for 200 years before he even took that castle, all of it became boring. Killing, ruling the kingdom, having people wait on you night and day. It got to him so deeply he drove himself to his death. Your typical ever-living tyrant, don’t you think?”


         Evelynne sighed, “So what? We have no hope? What if I just get to the portal and return home?”

         “That portal is probably is pieces by now, Aratasael gets all his facts before he does anything, one reason why he’s survived for so long,” Gwen concluded. “Now there is one place you’ll be safe…”

         Both of her brother’s heads snapped up and looked incredulously at Gwen.

         “How would we protect her in the Jade Province? She’s not comfortable even talking to you, better yet traveling with you if you were to accompany her! And Aratasael can probably find a way into the Jade Province anyway!” Rhys yelled.

         “She would be safer there than here! Even if Aratasael could come into the Jade Province, there are the women to worry about!” Gwen retorted.

         “If you’d be so kind, Vyvian…” Evelynne whispered in Vyvian’s ear, over the commotion, Vyvian smiled.

         “The Jade Province is an island, the only thing connecting it is a bridge of Jade that’s miles long. The only inhabitants to move there a long time ago were women, as they found the jade bridge, and the jade mountains glorious. With them was a land siren, and she somehow figured out a way to teach the women of the island to sing and turn objects into jade. The siren left the island, and told the women that she would always be watching them, and that if a man came to the island, to sing the Siren’s Requiem, and turn the men into jade. Of course, the women listened to her, and whenever a lonely man tried to come to the island to court one of the beautiful women, he would either be jade on the bridge, or succeed in passing the women warriors on the bridge, and still be turned to jade by the one he loved. Because they sang like land sirens, the women, all of them. Vampires, demons, and humans alike, became beautiful goddess-like creatures.

         Evelynne grinned, “Could I ever learn the Siren’s Requiem?”

         “We’d prefer if you would learn their martial arts when you go.”
         
         There was sudden silence, and Vyvian regretted ever speaking. Evelynne looked at Rhys, who had his eyes locked on Vyvian, anger masked behind an expressionless face. All except for his eyes, which were swirling with emotion. All at once, Rhys lunged at Vyvian.