Pain. Hot, searing pain. Ripping away at her body, tearing away at her flesh with its bare teeth. There was a scream. Such a scream that its echoes rippled through the newly deserted village.
Then nothing.
Silence
As if nothing had ever happened.
T...
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She had been so sure.
Ariella had everything planned. The rotations of the guards, the route she would take. She'd even managed to secure a sword from the armoury before she left. Sure, she had attempted escape before, but she had never felt so sure of her freedom until now.
She loathed the armour that had been weighing her down, for it grouped her with her captures. But it had been necessary to do so. The helm shielding her face, so as not to be recognised. It wouldn't be long before someone found the body of the oaf on shift at the armoury. And her concealed identity would bring her a few precious moments when they realised that only she would be the one stupid enough to attempt escape.
She could almost feel the grass on her feet. The wind in her hair. Smell the salty sea air. She was so close.
And then they arrived.
She had ignored them at first. Fools, who had broken into the very fortress she had been trying to escape for years. She recognised one of the voices as she passed. Another prisoner that had been brought in mere days ago. A shaman. It seemed people in the Overworld cared enough about him to cross realms to rescue him. Ariella felt herself wishing she was in that same position.
Again, she was going to ignore them. If anything, this was beneficial for her. The shaman was an invaluable resource to their captors, and the commotion of his escape could aid in her own. A part of her was filled with glee at the prospect and she continued on her path.
But as she approached the end of the long corridor, the voices of the strangers began crying out, and she faltered. That was her first mistake.
As their cries of pain and terror grew louder, Ariella cursed her weak heart. She turned and ran. But not to her freedom, no. Back to the strangers. Her second mistake.
Upon entering the room, she took in the information around her as quickly as she could. Three people. A woman, a man, and the shaman. And they weren't being attacked by knights, as she had thought. No, this had been far, far worse.
The Shadow Lord, a being even Ariella didn't quite understand. She knew he was in a weakened state, not even being able to hold a physical form, but that didn't make his aura any less chilling.
Whilst the two strangers flailed their swords desperately at the being who was attacking them, Ariella turned her attention to the shaman, who was attempting to coax the last of his chicken friends from the cage in which he had been held. She rolled her eyes under the helm. She had spent a brief amount of time with the man, and all she knew was that he was the most insane person she'd met in her life. Of course, his priority was his chickens, rather than escape. She sprinted over to where he was and grabbed the final chicken, which struggled against her grip.
