The Celestial Knight - Battle of Love

Chapter 3: Captured

Valeriana woke up with a gasp.

She looked around at the dark room, but there was nothing there. The night pressed into her, heavy, and suffocating. She reached over and flicked on the night light. A weak, but warm glow bathed the still semi-dark room. Everything was the same. 

The curtains seem to ripple suspiciously, but Valeriana knew that her eyes were just playing tricks on her. Her huge wardrobe casted a sinister shadow on the ground, and everything farther out remained black and foreboding. But nothing was wrong, or so it seemed.

However, she just couldn't shake up a shiver up her spine. 

She padded to the window, looking out into the clear, empty night. But the field was plain, and nothing stirred in the wind.

Crack

The sound of branches alerted her. Valeriana's head snapped to that direction, but all there was are branches scattered around. Valeriana tried to calm her racing heart, but her body told her she was being watched.

She strained her eyes, looking for shifting shadows in the night. But there was nothing, everything was dead still once more. She turned back to her bed, closing her eyes briefly.

And bumped straight into a scaly head. Valeriana scrambled back, narrowly avoiding the slashing claws that came at her. In the darkness, she had misinterpreted the dark patch as the shadow from her wardrobe.

Despite her vigilance, it had not been enough.

Valeriana dived between the beast's legs, but the spiked tail whipped down, grazing her arm. Blood welled up from the cut, but she stood the pain, desperately reaching for her sheathed sword.

The demon leapt at her, and the sword was knocked over. It clanged against the smooth marble, the blade sliding free of its sheath. Valeriana kicked the huge face ferociously, but it shrugged it off. 

She stumbled back, eyeing her glinting blade. It was so near, yet so far. The door stood tantalizingly near, blocked by the massive demon. Gritting her teeth, she knew she had one thing left to do. 

"CHARGE!"

She sprinted, head down and leapt, higher and higher, shrieking a challenge....

And fell straight into the open field below.

"RUN!"

Valeriana picked herself up, and bounded across the grassy field. She screamed once, still running, before a sharp claw closed around her neck and yanked her backwards. She had one glimpse at the glittering lights of the Academy, before blackness entered her vision.

Sounds filtered into her ears, but all she could hear was rolling thump of the beasts' gait and the clamours of the morning. 

She never knew who had took her.

Valeriana, was gone.