Note: Here’s the next chapter, I don’t know if it’s any good. Like
I said I don’t have a beta for this one (I’m a brave little girl) and I still
love Helloween. If you got the time, listen to it
Chapter II - Beginning
to doubt.
Put on your armour
Ragged after fights
Hold
up your sword
You’re leaving the light
For the lords of the dark
They’ll watch your way
So be cautious, quite and hark – Keeper of The Seven Keys
Realm of The Keepers
The sun rose and lit up the whole land, birds singing and the
animals already playing. The Keeper known as Ethiene stirred from her bed “Nice
morning .. to do nothing” she sighed in exasperation, being the last of your
kind sometimes bore yourself to death.
“Morning Ethiene” the young lady was greeted by her good
friend “Remy!!! What on Heaven’s Earth are you doing here? If your guardians
finds out, they are not going to be pleased”
The young tall man laughed, that soft and melodic laugh of
his, the one that captured the hearts and souls of infinite ladies. Well, all
but the one he wanted “You’re not supposed to be here, at least not at this
hour” Ethiene reprimanded her best friend.
“Classes got bored and I got out, it’s boring being the King
of your land” he chuckled at his own dilemma, he had taken over the Kingdom of
The Wise Men Realm “Why my father had to die?”
A note of sadness and bitterness on his words, Ethiene placed
her hand on his right shoulder as a sign of comfort, to which he appreciated by
softly taking the hand on his and kissing her palm.
“It’s never easy to carry your kind’s responsibilities, but
you were chosen and now you have to do what you must” her advices were rarely
listened by Remy, he had his own opinions on the matter, but for looking at her
getting dressed .. hell, he’d even listen to a Barbarian telling jokes.
They left her chambers and walked to the garden, where a
wealthy breakfast was waiting for them “I thought only that sorry excuse of
magicians could do that”
“Remy . . “ her intense stare told him not to joke about
their fellow creatures “The Wizards are more powerful and certainly more useful
than you and me both, besides you and that boy Prince of theirs used to be the
best of friends”
Not really liking her train of thoughts, hut interrupted them
“Key word were, now we’re not, end of story” and she dropped the subject.
One thing she learned from being friends was that Remy never
talked about things he didn’t feel comfortable with, for being the Leader of
The Wise Men, he was quite stubborn and proud. Two qualities not suit for one
of his kind.
When every piece of food was finished, Ethiene stood up “You
should head back to your classes, your ‘advisers’ must be crawling the walls by
now”
“Like I care what they say, the only reason why I agreed on
taking over was because my father asked me to on his death bed. It was never my
intention to be the King” His red auburn hair shone with the sun lights, his
demon eyes covered with soft bangs hanging over his face “And regarding Wizard
Jeffrey, forget about it. He chose that stupid Warlock over me”
The Keeper laughed at the streak of jealousy on her friend,
Jeff and Remy had been friends from childhood, when they grow up it was easy
for them to continue being friends. But suddenly Jeff took the crown over his
father and his tasks were no longer classes and fun, he had to rule his
Kingdom. Add to the fact that they were on constant war with the Warlocks, they
couldn’t hang out anymore.
But what shocked Remy even more was that Jeff had decided to
become ‘good friends’ with Warlock’s King Hunter and not only friends. They
were lovers, Hunter stole his best friend and Remy never took that kind of
infringement lightly. “Rem, drop that, Jeff and Hunter love each other and is
good for the Realms, including yours and mine” she embraced her friend and he
finally smiled.
“Just because you asked for it” the young King placed a soft
kiss on her forehead and left her Realm, to continue his ‘classes’.
“Remy . . you shouldn’t love me like you do” she whispered to
the wind, even if she loved him back, his people wouldn’t like it the very
least. The long dark hairy woman cleaned her garden and headed to the Endless
River, to check the keys, which were placed a long time ago. When her race was
extinguished.
The walk to the River was long, but quiet. The River was
situated a few miles from the Mount of Despair, up north from The Wizard Realm.
“King Jeffrey, that’s a man that would keep me up all night long just trying to
figure him out, that man has more secrets than I do”
Even when she respected all creatures from the Realms, The
Wizards were completely out of her comprehension. “The Barbarians, I can
understand them, all they want is to conquer whatever they want to. The
Warlocks, those men are more resented about the world that any other creature
I’ve ever known, but all they seek for is a place on the witchcraft hierarchy.
The Peace Makers are nothing but soft men that want everyone to sit and sing
along, quite boring. My friend Remy, those people think they know
everything, which they do. And The
Humans . . well, I hate to remember that particular event on my life, but it’s
not like everyone is like that greedy old man, the new Council is pretty
decent. But The Wizards, those I can’t understand them”
“Thinking out loud young Keeper?”
A growl startles Ethiene, she doesn’t need to turn around to
know who it belongs to “Greetings Logan”
“As I’m surprised to see you wander around, I’m equally
afraid of why you answered” the short Barbarian always speaks his mind “Why
wouldn’t I?”
Now, this man is an enigma. General of The Barbarian’s army,
also King Karnov’s loyal guard.
He’s been in more battles than any of the other men all
together, always dressed on his armor and with his word tighten to his grip
“Maybe, because you’re the Keeper? Or would it be because you’re or think you
are better than the rest of us?”
The tone of his voice left little doubt on how much of a
grudge he held for the woman “Oh, so that is? And I thought you were only being
your cheerful self. Well, Logan, I have nothing against any of you and I
certainly do not feel better than any one” they were standing face to face, her
black eyes meeting his blue ones “I’m just different . . . just like you are”
she walked past him, shortly casting a glimpse of him from behind.
‘Maybe he needs to be taught a lesson’ Ethiene told herself
and she knew damn well who could do that for her.
“King Hunter!!!” a scream broke the silence, of which Hunter
had been for the past hours from the moment he woke up.
“Now what?” he muttered, still a bit taken of anyone who
dared to broke his meditation “What is it . . now?” he asked the messenger.
“The Keys Milord! The Keys!!!” the young man couldn’t finish
delivering his message, he slumped to the ground . . exhausted from his long
walk. “That the hell!” the tall warlock stood up, his golden locks hanging to
his shoulder and his hazel eyes blazing with fury. “Ethiene” he whispered,
Hunter knew that if something happened to the Keys, the Keeper must be involved
somewhat.
“Kanaval! Get the Council together, quickly” he left to his
chambers, took his armor and cape and went down to get his horse “Jeff . . God,
what is happening?” just as he was concerned about the Keys he was worried
about his lover, the new King to the Wizard’s. This would mean a new ordeal for
him, as if dealing with the elderly to let him take over the throne was not
enough.
From all the Realms, the only ones with strong Kings were his
and Karnov’s, the rest tough their race was strong, their Kings were weak or
non existent. And Jeffrey’s were one of the weakest, for him not being used to
rule or give orders in any way.
Hunter jumped on his horse and rode to Wizards Realm, which
wasn’t that far away from his, just a few miles down South.
The morning hadn’t been what King Jeffrey had wanted, but he
couldn’t complain, his responsibilities come before his personal issues, even
if it meant not being with his lover.
“Morning Milord” his loyal adviser, the same who’s been with
the prior Kings, approached him, to give the morning news “We’ve been trying to
contact the Keeper, it is time for us to finally reestablished ourselves as the
rulers of the Seven Realms, as it had been thought for the moment we lay a foot
on these grounds”. Hearing all these babbling made the young King regurgitate his
breakfast.
His Realm was one of the most beautiful and often it was
tempting for The Barbarians to go and try conquer them. But according to Jeff,
it was just a bunch of trees and animals driving people nuts with their noise
“Alright, you go and see what you can do about that” he dismissed his stupid
counselor, he had enough of his bullshit for one day “Jeff . . are you in
here?” he heard someone called his name from the window, which happened to be
on the top floor on the tower.
“Hunter?” he would recognize that voice anywhere “You got a
death wish or something? You shouldn’t be here, never the less on my window .
. fifty feet from the ground!” he
peeked at his window and saw his lover hanging from the ledge “You’re nuts!”
the young King pulled the older man inside his chamber. “I came to warn you,
something happened to the Keys”
Jeff had pulled him into a strong embrace when he heard those
words ”What? What do you mean, something happened to the Keys? What about that
sleazy bag of Ethiene? She’s the one who’s supposed to be guarding them, much
to my dismay”
“I know how much you don’t like that girl, but she’s the best
for the job, at least that’s what I thought” they were interrupted by some
banging to the door “King Jeffrey!”
“I hate these guys, I swear they have the tact of a stupid
pig” he whispered to his lover’s ear, which caused the older King to laugh
“Hold a sec, would you?” Hunter nodded and Jeff walked to the door “What is it
that you want?” an annoying look shot to his guards.
The five guards pulled down their weapons and stepped aside
“I asked them to call you, it’s important” the slight older man standing in
front of him responded, which shocked our young King. He hasn’t seen Remy in
ages “What the hell do you want here?”
“Oh, shut up and let me in, I won’t tell you keep a furry
friend locked in your closet” Jeff shot him an evil glare and let him in “Get
out of here and if you even consider interrupt me again, I’m gonna turn you
into pigs” he yelled at his imperial guards.
“Always subtle Jeffrey
. . Hunter, morning” Remy greeted the other visitor “Wise man” was all
the response he got from the Warlock. “He must be incredible in bed, cause he
sure ain’t the conversational type”
Another glare from Jeff “Shut up Rem and what do you want”
“First, don’t call me Rem, you gave up that right when you
chose this Neanderthal over me. Second, I think you know what I’m doing here”
Hunter stepped from the corner he was resting on “The Keys”
“At least he’s clever, yeah the Keys. I left Ethiene a while
ago, when I got back to my castle I had this feeling that something was wrong”
he sighed and sat on Jeff’s bed “I walked to the River and ran into Logan, he
told me he’s just seen here walking to the River. But something’s wrong, I know
it. Ethiene should be back to her village by now and she hasn’t”
Hunter stopped his young lover from talking “Question, why do
you talk to her?”
The Wise Man looked at him as if trying to say ‘why do you
care?’, but he didn’t “Because she’s my friend”
“Your friend or your lover?” Jeff shot back.
“Never mind, I shouldn’t have come here. You haven’t changed
Jeff, you’re still the same selfish brat of old times” the Wise Men’s King
stood up and started to make his way out “Hold Remy!”
When he turned around, Hunter was a couple of steps from him
“I’ll take you to the River”
“You?!?” both Remy and Jeff asked in disbelief.
“Yes, I want to see with my own eyes that our Keys are safe”
Remy shrugged and allowed Hunter to do so “But you’re not going alone” Jeff
intervened and called for his horse to be settled, immediately. “Stubborn as a
mule” Remy whispered “Damn right he is” Hunter replied and both laughed, they
knew the younger man better than anyone else.
“Young Matthew, you must go to your training lesson” an older
man called for the dark hairy one, who has been trying to escape from those
dreadful lessons “I know, but can they wait? Athor and I are going to check on
the horses and see if they need something”
The old man sighed, smiling he allowed Mathew to go with his
friends “These young boys, never tired” he sighed and walked back to his task.
“Athor!! Let’s go!” the young Peace Maker named Matthew
called his partner in crime “You’re free? You’re better than I granted you,
good for you Matt” Athor wasn’t that much different from Matt, both have long
curly hair, well built and a melting smile. But Matt had dark brown hair while
Athor was blonde, Matt’s eyes were brown and Athor’s blue.
Best friends since they were born, they also got into more
troubles they ever wished for. Cheerful and friendly, Athor has always been the
one with the best luck with girls, while Matt was shy around the female. When
he found himself in front a young lady, he would get mute, not a single word
would come out of his lips. Maybe it was due to the fact he wasn’t really
interested in them.
“Well, I’m impressed myself. So where are we going?” Athor
looked at his friend with a guilty face “The Human’s Realm”
“Are you out of your mind? The Council will kills us and . .
.” the blonde looked at his friend and rolled his eyes “Yap, yap, yap that’s
all you do. How are you going to talk to that gorgeous creature you saw the
other day if you don’t go that way?”
Matt thought for a second, ‘What gorgeous creature’ he
wondered “You’re crazy Athor, the red head is not a Human, she’s a Barbarian”
Athor laughed “And who said I was talking about her? I mean
the blonde we saw by the River, where we shouldn’t have been in the first
place. I never thought you were a blonde’s person Matty pooh”
“Shut up, what blonde?” the dark hairy Wise Man scratched his
head, still not remembering any blonde girl he’s met. “The blonde with green
eyes, long hair and one hell of an ass, not the I’m into them but he had most
certainly the best ass I’ve seen in my life”
“You’re a lost case my friend, but I do not . . why did you
just say ‘he’???” a quizzical look on his beautiful brown eyes. “Hu-uh, the
great looking human who was swimming in the river, remember? You were ogling
him, you great pig” he playfully smacked Matt’s arm, only to be rewarded by a
blush from his friend.
“I’m not gay Athor, I like girls” Matt tried to defend
himself, but it was useless, he knew damn well that his best friend was right.
He liked guys and the blonde human was alluring to him, more than he wanted to
admit.
“Sooooooo??????” Athor waited by the horse to hear his friend
answer “What are we waiting for?” both of them hoped on their horses and headed
for the gate “But, he won’t be on his Realm, he’s always on the River at this
time”
The blonde Peace Maker laughed “I wonder how do you know
this, but I’m definitely not going to ask” he was rewarded by a small rock
hitting his arm “Smartass” they laughed while they rode their way to the
Endless River.
A lean tall figure was undressing, getting ready to get into
the calm water “My my, I never expected to find such an image at this time” the
soft voice startled the man.
“Keeper?” he called, startled by the voice, she chuckled
“Call me Ethiene, mortal”
The man, a tall with long blond hair was standing in front of
her, completely naked “Tough, I well admire a beautiful man, I think you should
put your clothes back on”
The human looked at his naked figure and flushed, grabbing
his shirt and pants quickly he put them on “Sorry for that, I wasn’t expecting
anyone to come at this hour. By the way, my name is Adam, so you don’t have to
keep calling me human”
She laughed at his honesty, human were not that bad and the
young man looked quite innocent “I guess I wasn’t supposed to come, but
something told me to do it”
“Fair enough, would you mind if I swim for a while?” Adam
asked, holding his shirt on his hand, only wearing his pants. Ethiene looked at
the river then at him “Sure, if you don’t mind company, I must swim to the
internal cave over there” she pointed at the formation of rocks that was on the
other side of the river’s shore. He shook his head and got into the water,
followed by the keeper.
‘Damn beautiful, I wonder why no one really talks to her’
Adam was lost on his thoughts he didn’t notice a shadow walking along the
shoreline “Cause we’re damn afraid of her”
“Fuck!!!” he jumped in surprise to hear that voice, the woman
turned around to see what had happened and that’s when she noticed the other
man “Logan, be gentle with him or I’ll make you pay for whatever you do to him”
she warned him, then ducked under the water.
The Barbarian shrugged “Fine, I wasn’t interested in degut
you anyway”
“Glad to hear that” Adam snorted, not ready to admit he was
actually pleased to hear Logan had no intention to kill him “So you’re the
mighty King Karnov’s General? I’ve heard so many stories about you”
Logan sat on a rock, right in front of Adam, who had swum
closer to the shore “And what kind of stories you’ve heard kid?”
“Nothing bad, only your enterprises on the battlefield, my
father calls you the greatest warrior ever been born” the Barbarian had to
laugh at the human’s words, he had no idea they could feel that way towards
anyone “You know, we humans are not that bad. It’s only our fame, a very bad
one that is” the young man added sadly.
“What’s your name kid?”
“Adam”
They were starting to feel a bit more comfortable in each
other’s presence, when they heard Ethiene crying out for help “Get in there,
I’ll be right back” Logan commanded Adam, and the human didn’t hesitate on
obeying the much wiser man.
He swum to where Ethiene had done before, ducking under the
rocks and getting into a cave and what he found there was something he wasn’t
prepared to see. A tall man, holding the girl by her neck, was holding the
Seven Keys on his free hand “Tell the Realms that Tarak is back to claim what’s
his” his voice, like a thunder striking earth. He threw Ethiene over to where
Adam stood frozen and left, from one of the tunnels that lead to the other side
of the rocks.
“Are you alright keeper . . . sorry, Ethiene, are you
alright?” he didn’t wait for a response, he took her on his arms and swum back
outside., where Logan had gotten in the water, sword and axe on hand. “No need
to, she’s alright but unconscious” Adam got out of the water and lay the
woman’s body on the ground, just in time when two horses settled down on their
side.
“What the hell??” Matt’s voice called from behind Athor “I
think someone beat you to him” he teased Matt. “Quiet Athor, she’s the Keeper.
What the hell is wrong here?”
Just as they got off their horses and walked to where Logan
was standing, Ethiene woke up, still on Adam’s arms “Someone stole the Keys”
her voice was calm but filled with sadness, she knew she had failed on her
duty, but she could hardly be a match against Tarak.
‘Call all the Realms’ her father’s voice echoed on her head
“I must get Remy” she whispered.
“Why would you want that good for nothing Wise Man?” Logan
snorted.
“Shut up, frigging Barbarian, and why do you need me
Ethiene?” Remy got off from Hunter’s horse, to which he did the same. She felt
tears threatening to come out, but she held them back.
Jeff followed Hunter to the other’s side “Someone . . Tarak
stole the Keys, we must warn all the Councils” that simple statement made all
the Kings and warriors present to shudder.
“Oh my dear, are you alright? Did he hurt you my love?” Remy
knelt down beside her, not really noticing those words slipping out of his
mouth. Logan snickered, sick of the love display for the girl, he wasn’t to
fond of neither of them but he felt disgusted when those words were addressed
to her. “I’m fine Rem, but we need to get a hold of all the Councils and quick,
you know how he gets when he’s mad”
They heard a scream and then a thud “That’s for you to take
me seriously” the same dark voice Adam had heard before yelled form nowhere.
When Matt, who was standing right next to Adam, turned around he saw his worst
nightmare. Athor laying on a pool of his own blood, an arrow across his chest .
. across his heart.
“Nooo!!!!!”
And that’s when Ethiene cried, full knowing that their
nightmare had just began . . from the hands of her father.