The Amethyst Order - Ranger's Apprentice Fanfiction

Chapter 11

Pain. Suffering. Torture. It was all Gilan knew.

He laid in a pool of blood on the soft grass, only he couldn't feel the grass. The blood had grown thick.

The smell was unbearable. The strong stench of blood filled Gilan's nose and mouth. He coughed, wanting to throw up.

The lashes came swiftly, and the screams came quickly. Sweat and tears poured down his face.

"Stop!" Gilan cried. "Please stop!"

The figures under the cowls of the deep purple cloaks laughed at Gilan. Their spit landed on his face.

"Please!" Gilan coughed.

Crow Man found his way to Gilan's vision. He leaned down. "Oh?" Crow Man said, his voice a whisper.

"Stop," Gilan gasped.

"But we can't stop, Gilan," Crow Man continued.

Gilan looked at Crow Man, his eyes begging for some kind of break. "Why?" he whispered.

"Because this is how life should be. Full of pain. Yearning. Emotions.
Peace."

>>>------------->

Gilan's eyes flashed open. He didn't gasp, he didn't bolt straight up, he didn't scream. He just opened his eyes. Pushing himself off of the ground, Gilan slowly looked around.

He could sense Elaine's deep green eyes on him. Their eyes met for a split second before Gilan looked away.

Gilan settled down in his corner and subconsciously stared at Humphrey, who happened to be in the corner closest and in front of him. His thoughts swirled in his head like a tornado.

Pain. Yearning. Emotions. Peace.

Gilan didn't understand. Out of the four words he had heard in his nightmare, only one made sense to him.
Pain.

Torturing people gave them pain. But when does the yearning, emotions, and peace part come in?

"Gilan?"

Gilan turned his head in surprise. Elaine had sat down next to him without him noticing.

"I-I just wanted to say sorry," she said after a minute. "For yelling at you yesterday."

"There is nothing to be sorry for."

Elaine took a quick intake of breath. Gilan's voice was blunt and distant- very much unlike him. "Gilan," she pried. "What's wrong?"

As Gilan looked away and didn't answer, Elaine internally growled in frustration. She stood up and stalked back to Milo, who was watching.

"That went well," Milo muttered. He had gotten more used to Elaine and talked more openly with her.

"I don't want to talk," she sighed as she slowly slid down to the ground next to him. "I don't understand, Milo," she groaned. "What's wrong with him?"

Milo opened his mouth. "Well if you would have lis-"

The door slammed open and in walked Raphael. "Get up," he growled menacingly.

All of the children slowly stood and was forced out into the cold, crip morning air.

Crow Man stood on a wooden platform with a pole going through the middle. Gilan gulped. He could already tell what was going to happen.

"Pain! Yearning! Emotion! Peace!"

Gilan winced as Crow Man started his speech with the same four words in his nightmare.

"That is what we stand for here," Crow Man continued. "Today, we will honor these four aspects of life!" He turned to Raphael. "Bring me the youngest," he quietly snarled.

Raphael marched towards the kids, and picked the youngest one- a 7 year old girl with blue eyes and blonde hair. She was dragged to the platform and tied onto the pole.

The girl widened her eyes and was frozen from fear. Gilan looked down as Crow Man smirked.

"Pain!" Crow Man announced as he lashed out a whip at the girl, who immediately screamed.

The lashes continued and the mass of purple cloaks cheered. Milo hid himself behind Elaine, who had squeezed her eyes shut.

Gilan looked up and watched every hit the girl received. His eyes never blinked; his gaze never wavered. It was like he was in a trance.

"Yearning!" Crow Man loudly laughed as tears started to run down the girl's face. She started to beg for him to stop. "Emotion," he continued as the girl moaned from the continuous hits.

This continued a moment longer before Crow Man suddenly unsheathed his sword and plunged it into the stomach of the girl. "Peace!"

An ear-splitting scream echoed through the air. The children took a breath, realizing that one by one, they would also die.

Gilan's expression didn't change. He listened to the loud chant of the cult.

"Pain! Yearning! Emotion! Peace! Pain! Yearning! Emotion! Peace! Pain! Yearning! Emotion! Peace!"

Gilan closed his eyes as the chanting continued. He wouldn't last long here. He would only need to survive long enough until Halt arrives.

Gilan gulped.

Would Halt even come to the rescue?

A/N:

I have a confession to make. I didn't really plan what was to happen after Gilan was captured.

So these chapters are being written as ideas form in my head. It's not ideal, as I'll have to work harder on different ideas.

And if you have ideas, feel free to share! I may even use some of them.