Voices. Nartina's consciousness returned. As she opened her eyes, she saw a light and struggled to wake up. When she finally did, she heard the voices. They were the voices of men, humans. Where was she? She commanded her eyes to focus and the sight that greeted her was a warm campfire with ten men wearing blood-stained tunics, seated around the flames. They were talking among themselves. One of them motioned to her, and recognition hit. She knew who they were, and they were talking about her. Nartina tried to sit up, but her limbs were bound and nailed into the earth. She then struggled to get free. Her struggling, despite her best efforts, caught the attention of one of the men. Her head throbbed, but she payed no heed to the pain.
"Hey! I wouldn't try to get away witch! You'll kill yourself! You're nailed to the ground with iron spikes, so your struggling is futile!"
The men laughed. Nartina's heart sank as she realized that there was no chance of her getting free on this night. She commanded herself to get some rest, but was unconscious as soon as her eyes were closed.
§
When next she woke, she was on a horse, bound so as to prevent her from falling. She turned to get a grasp of her surroundings, noticing one man to her back. Her was young and very good looking. His long black hair hung down his back and his wary green eyes watched both her and their surroundings.
It was a few hours later when they reached their destination, a large estate. In the center of the property stood a manor fit for a king. Surrounding this were smaller buildings. At the southern end of the estate was a massive arena set behind a smaller building. Nartina recognized it immediately and swore under her breath as she was taken to the manor.
The lackeys-as she wanted to call them-pushed her up the white stairs, through a golden door way, and down a long elegant hall to another set of golden doors. One of them pushed the doors open and they all stepped into a large room with a golden throne in the center surrounded by plush navy blue couches. On the throne sat Lord Rackor.
He was a muscular man with tanned skin, pale hair, and dark evil eyes, and he watched the elf now with a curious look. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he spoke, his thunderous voice booming off the marble walls and echoing painfully in Nartina's ears.
"Ah! I see you've finally found the wench!" He said.
"It was a long journey milord, but as is the case with all things, this bitch couldn't hide forever."
"I see, but why is it that you seem to be of smaller company? Didn't I send you out with more men? Surely I couldn't have been that foolish."
"She did this," Another of the men said, "She did this with her might. She is a warrior and a witch!"
"A warrior, a witch and a murderer..." The lord mused, "She is not fit for my bower. Take her to the barracks!" He commanded.
The men dragged her back outside. They took her to the house outside the large arena. Nartina looked around in confusion, trying to take note of her surroundings. When they got to the barracks, the men opened the door and threw her inside. Nartina scampered for a moment and tossed herself at the door, but she was too late. Just as her body made impact, the door was locked, shaking her teeth with the force. The snap of the outer lock rang in her ears. She was trapped. Someone ran into her, gruffly told her to watch out, and went on his way. Nartina turned around, checking to see where she was, and her eyes opened wide. She was the only woman in the room. Afraid, she backed herself against a wall and slid to the dirt floor. There, utterly alone, she cried herself to sleep.
The touch of something wrapping itself around her leg jerked her awake. Before she had time to react, she was dragged across the room to where three men stood; one on her right, on at her feet, and on on her left. As she looked down, the thing around her feet unwrapped itself and gathered in the man's mouth who was at her feet. Her eyes opened wide as she realized what he was. He was a black dragon in human form. His eyes were a clear blue and his hair was long and black. Nartina quickly sat up and started to back away, only to be stopped by the man on her right. Her attention was drawn up his leg to his face.
He looked normal at first, but only with careful deliberation did she realize what he truly was. His eyes were red, blood red, and the tips of his teeth could be seen below his top lip. He was a vampire, thirsty and ready to kill. She gulped, and took a closer look at him. His hair was a dark brown, reaching only to about shoulder length. He was handsome, with large eyes and a pink mouth. His skin was as white as snow.
Nartina then turned her gaze to the man on her left. She didn't need to ponder his origins, for it was easy to tell his species just by looking at the distinct features. he was a Linyo, the most powerful of the free races. His skin was a smooth dark grey and his long hair was white as snow. His eyes were a clear, icy blue, rare for his kind and quite beautiful. She looked along his body, noting long muscular arms and legs. He was a fighter.
Nartina wondered at this strange group of men. Never in the history of this world had a vampire, a Linyo, and a dragon worked together, yet these three seemed to be in cahoots. A rough voice brought her back to awareness. It seemed to be speaking to her, and without her realizing, she'd been asked a question. The Linyo waited for her to answer and when she didn't he asked the question again, his voice sounding more irate.
"Who and what are you?"
"I am an elf. My name is my own business!" She answered.
The Linyo looked towards the vampire who, in a flash had the right side of her neck exposed. As she gasped, two slim fangs tore through her nick and pierced her vein underneath, allowing her blood to escape in two separate torrents. The vampire took one hungry drink and waited. Pain rushed through Nartina's body. She gasped and, following her training, slowed the pace of her heart.
"I don't believe you. The more you lie, the closer you will come to being drained. Now, I'm going to ask you again, who and what are you?"
"I already told you. I am an elf!"
"Prove it!"
Nartina stared at him in disbelief, but didn't answer. Finally she responded by blowing into the air. A samurai materialized and lopped the head off the nearest person.
"Anyone who has power can do that! It doesn't prove what you are."
Nartina felt another pull at her blood and she slowed her heart against the pain. Feeling the need to escape, she closed her eyes and passed out.
§
Rogue thought the woman was dead at first. One look at Kelmeck confirmed she wasn't. He tried speaking to her again, but she didn't answer. She was unconscious.
"Is what she said true Kelmeck?" He asked the Vampire. Kelmeck pulled his teeth out of her neck and licked the holes to stop the bleeding.
"Yes, I fear it is Rogue. Her blood declares it," the vampire stated.
Rogue's face turned a pale gray as she gazed at the woman, "This can't be her!" He whispered.
"Her, who?" Asked Rone.
"But then, there's only one elf in the world like her. That means..."
"Rogue! What are you talking about?" The dragon asked.
Rogue fell silent, his face turning an even paler gray than before as he mused over the information in his head. Suddenly, black anger rose up in his cheeks and he shook to keep control. "Kill her," he ordered in a quietly icy tone.
"What?" Rone could not believe what the Linyo was saying.
"I SAID KILL HER DAMMIT! IF YOU DON'T THEN I WILL!" He erupted.
"Why?" Kelmeck asked.
"That bitch killed my brother, that's why!"
"We won't do it," Rone replied.
"Fine! Then I w..."
"We won't let you do it either, Rogue," Kelmeck finished.
Rogue's entire face grew black. "Fine!" he sputtered, "Just keep her the hell away from me!" And with that he stormed off.
§
Three days had passed. Nartina struggled into consciousness once more. she looked around and panicked. This was not a place she recognized. Finally, she recalled everything. She felt weak and the right side of her neck stung. Actually, it had hurt worse when he pulled out of her neck than when he had bit her. But when he licked her neck, it had soothed the pain.
She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness hit her and, along with a strong steady hand, pushed her back down.
"Woah!" A kind voice said, "Not so fast. You don't want to sit up just yet, not after what you just suffered." She didn't recognize the voice, but she did as was told. Nartina looked over to see the dragon speaking to her, "Do you think you can sit up?" She only nodded, "Good. Her let me help you, that's a girl!" He propped her up, his strong arm supporting her back. Nartina's perception of things was infinetly better and she noticed the vampire and the linyo watching things with wary eyes off in the distance. The vampire seemed concerned, but the look in the linyo's eyes was one of hate.
"Who are you?" She asked them, and the dragon answered.
"I am Rone, and these are my friends. That angry looking bastard over there is Rogue, and the gentleman next to him is Kelmeck."
Nartina sighed and stood up, placing a shaky hand on the firm wall as another wave of dizziness left her swerving in its wake. She tried to walk away on unsteady legs, making it to the window at last. There, she looked out across the estate. Tears now flowed freely from her eyes as she stood there. A rustle of clothing told her that Rone had come up beside her. He gave her a sideways glance and looked out the window. They stood there in silence for a long time before Nartina's voice cut through the wave.
"You are...a black dragon, no?"
Rone looked at her, astonishment clearly written on his pale face. Nartina turned towards him and raised a questioning brow, waiting for his reply.
"H-how did you know that?"
Nartina smiled and answered, "The only species in the world that can shape shift is the dragon. I could tell by your shadow."
"Then how do you know I was a black dragon?"
"When a dragon takes on a humanoid shape, two things remain the same as their true forms. Their eyes and their hair," She reached up and took a lock of his beautiful hair, "I've noticed that dragons like to keep some small part of them the same colour as their hides, generally their hair. Yours, Rone, is pitch black."
"I never thought anyone knew that about my kind."
"Let's just say that I've spent a lot of time with the dragons and leave it at that okay?" She turned to go, but he grabbed her arm.
"What is your name?"
"Nartina." And with that, she turned and walked away.
TO BE CONTINUED....
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