Heart of the Enemy

Blood splattered on my face as my blade sliced through the Demon in front of me. His eyes widened as he sank to the ground. I did not have time to observe my kill as another anger-filled Demon lunged his sword at me, aiming for the chest where a lively heart was supposed to be. But all that was inside my chest at the moment was a black rock filled with hatred for the crimson winged creatures constantly moving around me. Oh, how I despised those creatures.

I turned slightly to the right, easily dodging the demon’s attack. I grabbed his sword with my hand which was wrapped with a black cloth for no other reason other than the fact that I liked it that way. But after this battle, the cloth would be nothing but a scrap of bloody and tattered material.

No sign of pain escaped from me as the blade of the sword cut into my palm. The surprised Demon struggled to release his sword from my firm grip, but to no avail. I twisted the sword out of his hand, badly bruising my palm in the process. I turned my body in a way so that I was behind him, my back facing his back, and then I lunged my sword into his back. I drowned out the Demon’s death cry as I moved for my next kill. One after the other, the Demons fell to the ground, motionless. One after the other the Dark Angels fell to the ground, motionless.

I moved out of the way just in time as a headless Demon was falling back my direction. There was no time for me to acknowledge the killer of the Demon for I felt an attack headed my direction. A very strong attack. With great strength I half-turned and clashed my sword with the attacking enemy’s sword. This Demon’s sword should not have been able to withstand the force of my attack. This Demon’s sword should have been in pieces on the ground that was covered with the blood of both Demons and Dark Angels. But this Demon’s sword was no where near shattered. His sword was still against mine, blocking my attack and forming an X with mine. I lifted my eyes to look at the face of the creature that possessed such strength. I looked up to see the face of the Demon that could withstand the strength of my blade. My blade.

I showed emotion as my eyes met the eyes of the enemy. I showed an emotion. Something that I had never done on the battlefield.

His eyes of onyx were fixated intensely on my eyes. The fine, thin, dark lines of his eyebrows were furrowed at the intensity of his gaze. His body was in the same stance as mine. This Demon. There was something about him. Something different from the others that I have battled with. From the look on his face, I could tell that he was thinking the same of me. But time did not wait for us to just stand there and drink in the details of each other. There was another attack coming from behind me. I removed my sword from the Demon’s sword and turned around quickly to behead the new attacker. After the now headless attacker had sunk down to the ground, I turned around to look at the strange Demon’s face once more. But he was not there. He was gone.

*****

I stood on the battlefield along with the other Dark Angels, looking at all the dead immortals around me. All the Dark Angels killed by the Demons. All the Demons killed by my people. Killed by me. The Dark Angles had managed to win this battle. We are victorious this time. But there is bound to be other battles between the Dark Angels and the Demons. I know that the Dark Angels will be defeated in some of the upcoming battles. But I will make it my point of duty to make sure that the Dark Angels win the ultimate battle. I will make it my point of duty that we regain our land that was founded by the Great Genesis.

“Saphira!” I heard my name as I watched the last of the surviving Demons recede into their territory.

My heart lifted as I instantly recognized the voice of the speaker. I spun around to where the voice had come from and saw my beloved and beautiful friend since childhood, Aeralan. Well, of course, she is much more beautiful without the crimson, liquid attire. I stepped over the Demon and Dark Angel corpses as I advanced toward Aeralan.

“We are victorious” I smiled at Aeralan. She smiled in return. But I could see through her smile into the harsh reality that our victory was temporary. The Demons are very powerful creatures. They hate us as much as we hate them. I know that they will not take their defeat likely. I know that they will strike again.

“Saphira,” Aeralan’s soft voice broke my trail of thoughts. “We must go back into our Realm. The other Dark Ones are receding. Your father will not be happy if he gets back before you.”

“Yes, Aeralan, you are right. We must go.”

I sheathed my sword, but my hand never left the helm of the sword. One can never be too careful in the Middle Realm. You will never know when a crazed Demon lunges at you from no where. Aeralan and I headed for the Dark Realm.

I looked over at Aeralan when I heard the sound of palm rubbing against arm. Yes, I have come to know what it sounds like. Whenever I hear that sound, I know that Aeralan is thinking. And whatever that thought is, it is troubling her.

“What troubles you, Aeralan” I smiled at her.

“I am fine.”

“You know that lying is not one of your strongest abilities, companion” I lightly patted her shoulder.

“It does not hurt to try, Princess,” Aeralan sighed. There was a moment of silence between Aeralan and me. “When is this battle going to be over, Saphira? When are we going to win back our land? I am tired of fighting. I am tired of waking up to the devastating news of another life taken.”

“You must endure, Aeralan. This will all be over soon. We will win our land. I will do everything in my power to make sure that we win back our land.”

Poor Aeralan. I understand the pain she is feeling. This war between the Demons and the Dark Angels has been going on for far too long. Those bloody Demons! Why don’t they just give up the land that is rightfully ours? Why do they prove to be so stubborn? Thinking of those creatures provokes me so much.

After some time of walking on the barren terrain of the Middle Realm with Aeralan, I began to see the peak of the castle. In a little while, Aeralan and I were approaching the entrance to the castle. As expected, there were no guards on the outside of the castle, protecting it. There are never any guards on the outside after a battle. They are all gathered in the Central Quarter, listening to my father’s victory speech. Oh no! This means that my father has already gotten here.

“My Princess…” Aeralan began.

“I know Aeralan. We must run.” With that, I grabbed Aeralan’s hand and we both began to run to the large doors that led to the inside of the castle. Upon arriving, I pushed the great doors with little effort and continued to run past the many chambers and turn into the different corridors to get to the Main Quarter. All the while I was dragging Aeralan behind me.

My father will be a little less than pleased when he sees me. He has expressly warned me never to reach the castle after him. He says that it is for my safety. I wonder when he will come to realize that I am not little anymore. I am a young woman who can defend herself from any attack. Any attack besides the mysterious demon’s, perhaps? I dismissed the thought before I could get any deeper into it. No demon can overpower me. No demon will overpower me.

Aeralan and I halted when we reached our destination. We stood in front of the high, oak doors that led to the Main Quarters. I should have been hearing my father’s deep, loud voice. But all I heard was the noise of over a hundred dark angels speaking at once. This could only mean that the speech was over. I have missed it yet again. And Aeralan was going to face my father’s wrath also… yet again.

I placed my hands on the wing-shaped door knobs of the doors. But before I could pull the doors open, the doors were pushed open from the inside. Luckily, I stepped back on time. Aeralan, on the other hand, was not so lucky. The door hit her on her forehead, making her cry out in pain.

“For the love of Thaenen…” Aeralan began one of her extensive swears. But she immediately kept quiet when she saw the immortal she was swearing at. It was Draynon, the man that Aeralan had always admired. His father is a very close friend to my father. Aeralan spends precious time endlessly telling me of Draynon’s handsome face and nicely sculpted body.

“Forgive me, My Lady. I hope I did not hurt you.” Draynon held Aeralan’s face between his hands. I could see the light fluster of red on Aeralan’s cheeks.

“I am fine, Draynon. Thank you for your concern.” Aeralan smiled nervously at Draynon. She always become like this whenever she is around him. She becomes very self conscious.

The redness on Aeralan’s cheeks deepened when Draynon did not remove his hands from her face. Wanting to make my presence known, I cleared my throat. Draynon’s attention was immediately on me. He looked surprised to see me standing there.

“My Princess, forgive me. I did not see you” Draynon bowed his head.

“You are forgiven. I understand why both of you did not acknowledge my existence” I mumbled the last part of the sentence. “Well, I will leave you two alone. I must find my father and pray that he does not behead me.”

I left Draynon and Aeralan before they could object to my leaving them alone. They need some time alone. It is obvious that they have feelings for each other. And I have a troubled mind that needs to be eased. That demon. The one that I could not overpower. Who is he? And why does he stand out so much?