Blackened is the tenth chapter of my twentieth fanfiction, “Wrath of the Bloody Crow”. Sorry about the last chapter being too short, but I really had to write it in a hurry. This chapter is going to be so much better. So far, I’m loving this story, so I want it to continue to kick ass. I hope you like this chapter.
Blackened[]
Getting up to leave the workshop was surprisingly difficult due to the position I was in. I didn’t want to wake Maria up, which wasn’t easy when she was leaning on me all night. I propped up my legs, stood up a little bit, looked at Gehrman, and mouthed the words “help me”. He stood up, and lifted Maria’s head gently off my shoulder, which allowed me to stand up without waking her up. He straightened her up, and backed away. Before leaving, I wrote a note for Maria for when she woke up, placed it next to her, and kissed her on the forehead. I stood up, and looked at Gehrman.
Altair: Let’s go.
Gehrman: Alright.
I quietly gathered all of my weapons, put on my helmet, and left with Gehrman. We went to the School of Mensis in Yahar’gul to speak with Micolash. We entered, spoke to one of the Yahar’gul hunters, and were escorted to Micolash’s office. The hunter tried to open the door, but it was locked. I might have been imagining things, but I believe that I heard Micolash loudly whisper “oh, not again”. I definitely heard him slam a book, set it down on his desk, stand up, button his belt, walk over to the door, and unlock it before opening it. He had the second most suspicious smile that I’ve ever seen on his face.
Micolash: Altair, it’s good to see that you’re awake. Need something?
Altair: Yes. There’s something that I want to talk with you about. Gehrman isn’t really interested, but I am.
Micolash: Well, come on in, and take a seat.
He walked back over to his desk, and sat down. Gehrman and I sat down in two chairs in front of his desk. The chair was very uncomfortable, and hurt my back just by sitting in it.
Micolash: Might I ask where Maria is?
Altair: That’s part of the reason that I’m here.
Micolash: Why? Did something happen to her?
I took a deep breath.
Altair: Before I woke up, Maria was kidnapped. Ronan and Morrak did it against Antal’s orders. He was furious when he found out. He has being hospitable to Maria, until she asked why he betrayed you....
Micolash interrupted me.
Micolash: Why did he do it?
Altair: He wants to take over the school. He thinks that you’re....
He interrupted me again.
Micolash: I’m sorry, but it’s very hard to understand you with that helmet on.
Altair: Oh. I didn’t realize that I still had it on.
I took off my helmet, and set it on my lap.
Altair: Does the helmet muffle my voice?
Micolash: Yes.
Gehrman started snoring. He fell asleep during me and Micolash’s conversation.
Altair: Uh, where was I?
Micolash: Why did Antal betray me?
Altair: That’s right. He thinks that you’re unworthy to be in charge of this school, so he wants to take over.
Micolash: I see.
Altair: As I was saying before, Maria asked him why he did it, and he snapped. He beat her badly, and raped her while she was unconscious.
Micolash suddenly got a very surprised look on his face.
Altair: When she woke up, Antal beat her again, and allowed Ronan and Morrak to take turns raping her. Gehrman and I....
Micolash interrupted me yet again. I could tell that he didn’t want to hear anymore of this story.
Micolash: Why did you need to speak with me again?
Altair: Stop interrupting me, dickweed. I’m getting there.
Micolash: Sorry. You may continue.
I cleared my throat, and slightly adjusted my seating. I wasn’t enjoying telling this story, but I had to.
Altair: Is something wrong with Antal? It doesn’t make sense for someone to be able to change attitude like that. He went from hospitable to hostile very quickly. What’s wrong with him?
Micolash: Oh, boy. This is bad. (Deep breath) He was physically abused as a child. I guess he has some sort of illness that makes him have different personalities or something. I’ve noticed that about him before, but he seemed to be able to control himself. But this is very different. He’s never been abusive to women before. I don’t understand.
He covered his face with both of his hands as he tried to gather his thoughts. He uncovered his face after 20 seconds, and leaned forward in his chair.
Micolash: How did you get Maria back?
Altair: Prisoner exchange. Gehrman and I abducted one of his wives, and we had an exchange.
Micolash: Was Maria awake when Antal brought her to you?
Altair: I don’t know. We didn’t ask her. Why?
Micolash: If she was, she definitely knows where Antal is hiding.
Altair: I didn’t think of that. You’re a genius.
I kicked Gehrman’s leg, waking him up. He jumped, stood up, and yawned.
Gehrman: Are we done here?
Altair: Yes. We need to talk to Maria.
Gehrman: About?
Altair: I’ll explain on the way there.
We left Micolash’s office. After we left, he stood up, closed his door, locked it, and sat back down at his desk, picked his book up, and opened it.
Micolash: Do they only want to talk to me when I’m looking at porn?
Back at the workshop, Maria woke up. She yawned, rubbed her eyes with the back of her left hand, and noticed that she was alone. She was nervous, but that feeling didn’t last long. She looked to her left side, and saw the note that I had left for her. She picked it up, and read it: “Go to Zilpha’s house”. She folded the note up, put it in her pocket, rubbed her eyes again (this time with her pointer and middle fingers on both of her hands), yawned again, and stood up. She began walking out of the workshop, but stopped when she noticed something on one the chairs.
Maria: That’s where my hat went.
She picked up her feathered cap, and put it on. She left the workshop and walked all the way to Zilpha’s house. She was extremely paranoid on the way there, since she was terrified when walking past an alley way or rounding a corner. She kept telling herself that she was overreacting, but was still overly paranoid. It took her a lot longer to reach Zilpha’s house than usual. Gehrman and I hadn’t arrived yet when she got there. Zilpha was sitting alone at the dining room table, drinking some wine. When she heard Maria come in, she stood up, and walked over to her. Maria leaned her head down, trying to hide her face with her hat.
Zilpha: Is something wrong?
Maria said nothing, and took off her hat. Upon seeing her face, Zilpha covered her mouth with her left hand, and backed up a few steps. She uncovered her mouth, and gave Maria a hug. Maria hugged her back, and felt somewhat comforted, even though she didn’t really like Zilpha very much. They stopped hugging, and they both sat down on the couch in the living room. Zilpha felt sorry for Maria, but didn’t ask what happened.
At Antal’s house, him, Ronan, and Morrak were in his bedroom with the wife that Gehrman and I abducted. She was shivering a lot, and Antal was trying to comfort her. She couldn’t think of anything to say, so Antal spoke.
Antal: I underestimated how far they would go to get Maria back. Micolash must have helped them out. I won’t let this happen again, Emma. I promise.
Emma: That’s it? You’re not going to ask if I’m okay or if they hurt me?
Antal: I can see that you’re okay.
She slapped Antal on the face, and stormed out of the room. Ronan tried very hard to resist laughing, and Morrak had a very amused smile on his face.
Morrak: That was interesting.
Antal: Fuck you too, Morrak.
Maria and Zilpha had been sitting in silence, so Zilpha tried to have a friendly conversation with her guest. Maria wasn’t going to like it.
Zilpha: So. Maria. Can you do something for me?
Maria looked at her.
Maria: What do you want me to do?
Zilpha got a big smile on her face.
Zilpha: Well, Gehrman and I....
Maria: I don’t care about you and Gehrman. Just get to the point.
Zilpha moved slightly closer to Maria.
Zilpha: Can I have a kiss?
Maria got a very confused look on her face.
Maria: Why?
Zilpha: It’s a challenge that me and Gehrman have. Will you do it for me? Altair refused when I tried to get him to kiss me, so will you do it?
Maria was extremely uncomfortable about this whole experience.
Maria: I’m not like that.
Zilpha: I’m kind of like that.
Maria: Bisexual?
Zilpha: Yeah. Well?
Maria: My lip.
Zilpha: I don’t care about that. Yes or no?
Maria took a deep breath.
Maria: Okay. I’ll do it.
Zilpha’s smile grew bigger. Maria leaned in, and kissed Zilpha’s lips. Zilpha enjoyed it, but Maria didn’t. It lasted for about 10 seconds, and Maria had her eyes open the whole time. She pulled her head back, and really wanted to vomit.
Zilpha: See? No big deal. Want some wine?
Maria said nothing, and nodded. Zilpha stood up, went into the kitchen, and poured Maria a glass of white wine. When she left the living room, Maria spat on the floor, and almost threw up.
Maria: Ugh. Her breath.
Zilpha sat back down, and gave Maria the glass of wine. Maria crossed her legs, and sat in silence. She was slightly disgusted by what she just had to do.
Gehrman and I entered the house, and Maria looked at us as she was taking a sip of her wine. Gehrman and I exchanged another look of confusion, since Maria never accepts when someone offers her a drink. I was starting to get worried. I sat down on a chair near Maria, took off my helmet, and set it down on the coffee table.
Altair: Maria, there’s something we need to talk to you about. You’re not going to like it, but you have to.
Maria: What is it?
Altair: Were you awake when Antal brought you to us?
Maria’s eyes got teary. I had just reminded her of the pain that she had been through. I leaned forward, and grabbed her hand. She shook when I touched her, but remained mostly calm, although I knew that tears were coming.
Altair: You need to tell me. If were going to get that bastard, you need to help us.
Gehrman and Zilpha went into their bedroom, leaving Maria and I alone. Maria started crying, so I got up and sat down on the couch next to her. She got herself under control after a few seconds, looked at me, and spoke in a surprisingly calm voice.
Maria: Yes. I was.
Altair: Do you remember the path they took to bring you to us?
Maria: Yes.
Altair: You need to tell me how to get there. You don’t have to come with me, but I need to know how to get there.
Maria adjusted herself so that her body was facing me. Her face suddenly turned very serious.
Maria: They need to pay for what they did to me. I’ll go with you.
Altair: Thank you.
Maria leaned in and kissed me for the first time since the incident happened. Her bottom lip felt very weird. It felt mostly hard, but was soft in the three places that it was busted. It made the kiss less enjoyable, but I didn’t care. It only lasted for maybe a second, and Maria stood up afterwards.
Maria: Let’s go.
Credits[]
This chapter is definitely better than the previous one. I hope you liked it.