Emerald Forest And The Black Birds

Ch.2~ (Anneska's POV)

"Anneska! Help!" 

"I'm coming mom!" I shifted each foot with speed and precision until I found myself sprinting down the long hallway with crooked paintings and charred blood staining the walls. Pinkish light filtered through the stained glass panels and I huffed as I turned a sharp corner. My vision was blurred with tears and my heart pounded against my ribs like a hammer. The golden amulet that hung from my neck glistened in the pale light from outside. 

"Where are you mom?! Dad?!" I called as I scitted around another corner. 

"Anneska!" I heard a deep, silky voice call from behind me. I came to a screeching hault and spun around on my heel. A man with dirty blonde hair that fell down in ringlets pulled his gaze over me; slow as honey. His squared jaw was sharp as a knife and his icy-blue eyes sparkled in the pinkish light. 

"Dad?" I questioned. 

"Nope." He said quietly. My eyes sparked with confusion and terror as I inched forward. 

"Ar-" 

"Yes. Artem." He smirked, curling his lip evily. Artem is the leader of the Black Birds, a blood thirsty group of killers who attempt to overthrow us and take over Emerald Forest. Not only that, but he looks just like my father. 

As Artem took a step towards me, I staggered backwards, knocking over one of my mom's glass vases. As it shattered into a million shards, so did my courage as Artem pulled out a sword from his leather belt and held it firmly at my neck. 

"Please, please don't hurt my parents." I cried. 

"Pssh, I have a sword held at your throat and your concerned about your parents?" He sneered. 

I swallowed hard and looked into those blue orbs of his.

"You can do anything you want to me. Beat me, stab me, burn me alive; I don't care. Just spare my parents, please I am nothing without them." 

Artem rolled his eyes and brutally shoved me onto the marble floor. I sat on my knees looking up at him helplessly. 

"Where the hell is your soul Artem?" I cried 

"I don't have one. I can get you someone else's if you'd like." He laughed. I felt sick to my stomach. 

He paused as the glimmer from my golden amulet shimmered in the evening light. 

"Give me your necklace." He demanded. I quickly clasped the amulet that hung around my neck. 

"You don't get to do this, you won't take this away from me." I growled. Artem threw is head back in a fit of laughter and grabbed me by the wrist; pulling me close to his body. My body fell limp as he snatched my amulet off my neck and threw me into a wall, causing another painting to fall and reluctently shatter. 

"From the bottom of my cold, dead heart, screw you." I sneered. 

"Hey, watch who your talking to young miss." he said, pointing the sword to the tip of my nose. I watched as he shoved my necklace into his shirt pocket and shot me a smile of pure evilness. 

"Now," he started," You'd better run along now before something bad happens to you, Anneska." 

I shuttered as his soulless pupils fixated on me. 

"What.. your letting me go?" I inquired. Artem nodded and shot me a glare. 

"But if you don't leave now I might change my mind." 

"Why are you letting me go? Why?" 

Artem groaned and crossed his arms over his broad chest. 

"Because your worthless. Now that I have your amulet there's nothing you can do, so why bother killing you quickly now? I'd much rather you wonder outside in the freezing snow and die slowly and painfully then a quick slash to the neck, you know?"  

I narrowed my eyes, spun on my heel and sprinted down the hall as Artem laughed hysterically in the background. I ran down the spiral staircase, out the front doors, and past the main gate that surround the palace. I paced myself as I fled my home; breathing in short quick breaths and pushing myself further and further away from home. I ran until my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest. I tripped over an exposed tree root and tumbled to the ground, landing in the icy snow. 

"Shit." I huffed as I brushed the shards of splintery ice out of my arm dotted with coke red blood. I scooted up against a fallen tree trunk. I felt like my bones were chattering beneath my flesh; it was so cold. I looked up and saw the sun, which was sinking below the bare trees glazed with ice and snow and filling the sky with a pink and orange fire. 

"Why is this happening? Why now?" I cried out loud. My voice echoed throughout the empty woods, and I knew that without my amulet I wouldn't be able to defend myself from the creatures that some out at night. I shuttered as I invisioned the blood elves and dark stalkers.

The snow was beginning to cease it's rapid downfall and slowly swirled around in the wind. I got up and looked up at all the dead trees that danced darkly in the whispering wind. I looked up at an ash tree as old as the earth. It's branches so gnarled, twisted and black that my every bone cried out to climb. I grabbed hold of the lowest branch and pulled myself up. As I slowly climbed the slippery tree, I reached the top and propped myself onto the highest branch. I gazed longingly at the pink palace that loomed in the distance. 

"I'll be home soon, and make things right again." I breathed. 

And that was a promise I intended to keep. 

(A/N: QUESTION TIME~ What do you guys think of Artem? Is he creepily charming, or just a straight up asshole? Maybe both? Comment here! Honestly, I kinda like Artem, haha ._. Maybe it's because I have a thing for bad guys { not"bad boys" just villians in general} Also if anyone wants to help me edit this by NICELY telling me where my spelling errors are that'd be really great ;) I suck at spelling haha. Anyway.. peace.)