I felt my body burning like fire as I let my eyes focus on my surroundings. Lying on my stomach, my knees underneath me, I realized that I was in this dungeon. The walls around me were this dark red brick, and fire constantly burned just outside my cell. The bars seemed to be made of the same material as the walls. What is this place?
I winced as I sat up on my knees, my wrists tied behind me, and the chain on them was attached to the wall. I tugged at them, but I felt so weak. After just a few tries, I gave up on trying. My eyes felt heavy, as if I just woke up from a tiring night. My body was sweating from the heat, and my legs and arms felt sore.
I then looked at what I was wearing. It was a red, thin, almost see-through gown that had slightly baggy trousers underneath them. They were the same color, and I think I knew just what it was made of.
Nether rack. Meaning that I must've been in the Underworld.
Just then, I heard footsteps echoing in a muffled way through the halls. The material of the floors is softer than the bricks, I assume. That has to be Nether rack since anything of a softer texture brings more muffled sounds in brick hallways. I should know because of the carpets within the bricked hallways of the King's Castle. Even the Royal Court makes sure your feet don't make a sound in the Court.
"Rise 'n shine, Nalid," Gaia's voice came as I looked down, trying to put less stress on my neck.
Just then, I heard rattling of some keys as I heard the lock of my cell unlock. She took her arm under my armpit and raised my up with an unspeakable strength. She then took the chains off of my ties and grabbed my wrists and pushed me to gesture to move forward.
We walked down the fire-lit halls, my sweat soaking my outfit, and we soon ended up in this throne room. I was thrown the the ground, but I caught myself on my knees. Unfortunately, my weakness only made that last for a small while before I began to slouch, and Gaia had to hold me up to keep me stable.
"Keep quiet," she the whispered to me. "The Demon Lord may just spare you if you just listen to what he says."
The... the Demon Lord? I, Gunnhild Nalid, am going to face the Demon Lord. I swear to Jasmine, if he does anything to hurt me, I will rebel. Whether I die or not, I am not going down without a fight.
Just then, this smoke started to form around the two of us. It felt like I was being burned when I barely nicked my arms. After a few moments, the smoke all collected together, swirled around in a slow turn, and these golden yellow eyes opened in front of me.
"Remember," Gaia said. "Stay silent, and everything will go as planned. The Demon Lord is more forgiving than you'd think."
Gaia kneeled in front of the Demon Lord, the golden hue of his eyes narrowing as if to scrutinize her. She pulled the cloak hood off from her head and looks to the Demon Lord with her silver eyes. Suddenly, her eyes gleamed red for a few moments, and so did the Demon Lord's. This must be some way of communication or to tranquilize the Lord because as soon as the two did this action, the Lord's eyes seemed at peace and more precise.
"Gaia..." he said in a deep and smooth voice. "You never cease to amaze me with your powers."
"Thank you, m'lord," she replied while putting her head down. "I have Gunnhild Nalid in your presence."
The essence then floated towards me, twirling and spinning around me slowly and steadily. I felt heat radiating off of this... thing. I don't even know what to think of this. I only know that the Demon Lord has incredible power to do anything he wants. However, in return, he must stay in the Underworld.
When he then thought that he was done studying me, he turned to Gaia and, what it seemed to be, gave her a smile.
"I am impressed," he complimented her. "She has no major damage done to her."
"So," Gaia said, excitement hinting in her voice. "Does that mean that I am upgraded to Underworld Knight?"
The Lord merely gave a small chuckle, as if what she said was something humorous to him. This made me and Gaia both confused.
"When did I ever say that I keep promises?" He said while looking her in the eye.
Before Gaia could speak, the Demon Lord shot fire through his essence, and it hit Gaia's cloak and clothes.
Her screams were unbearable. It was high-pitched and scratchy. Screeching, almost. She tired to get the fire off of her, but instead only spread it to her hair and skin. I couldn't bear to watch her burn to ashes, so I averted my eyes to the ground and tried to block out as much of her screaming as I could. When her screams and cries of betrayal ended, I took short, shaky and shallow breaths. I couldn't stop shaking even though the heat here was burning my skin and making me sweat through my thin garment.
"Now..." the Demon Lord said, turning to me. "What I shall do with you is beyond what I want."
I looked up to him and scoffed. "Of course it isn't," I said sarcastically with my hoarse voice. "It's not like you have all the power in the Underworld."
"Oh ho ho," he chuckled. "I do have all the power, but I take requests from my young Demon Souls. Specifically one that you know personally."
He then turned towards the opening behind him and spoke in this Demonic-like whisper. It honestly felt entrancing, like I wanted to listen to more of his suave voice. No, Gunnhild! Stop this!
It was said that the Demon Lord's voice was so nice to listen to that most men and women couldn't help but do many of the sinful requests he has asked them to do. I will never bring myself to listen to his favors.
"Come, Alex," he spoke. "Your mother wants to see you."
Alex? As in Alex Nalid? I stopped breathing as I faced forward and saw my long dead son standing in front of me.
Alex Nalid, my son, was standing in front of me.
K.C.T: SAY WHAT?! Dang, a lot of stuff happened in this chapter. First Gunnhild is taken to the Underworld, then Gaia is burned to death, and then Alex comes out of nowhere to be like "what's up bruh?!" XD In all seriousness, after months of not updating this book, I finally have the inspiration to do so, and I end it off with one of my famous cliffhangers. I IS BACK! Anyways, everybody say bai! OOWAY! <3
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The Shadows of the Fair Maiden
Fantasy(Originally named "The Fair Maiden's Quest") The Fair Maiden, as most of the men of the land call her, was a royal guard. She was known as the most beautiful woman. However she did not want to get married seeing how her past had never seen a marri...
