Facing Demons, Pt I [plot]

Ari sat on the bed in her inn room, scanning the room listlessly. The major part of the war was over, now all that was left was to rebuild and heal. The room was scattered with its usual mess, but peeking through the piles of clothes and parchment, she could see the remnants of the map her father had drawn when he was searching for her. She had been trying to avoid thinking of Lilly, of her time spent having her mind twisted and her body tortured, but she left the markings there. It was a way of reminding her that she needed to become stronger and, ironically, to face her fears. All she had done since then was bury the memories and try to hide from the evidence that Lilly was not only alive, but even stronger than before.

Since she had found out about Lilly being in Reim with a new toy to play with, sleep had not come easily, if at all. Lilly knew where she stayed and Ari had no doubt the girl was capable of inflicting more damage than she could begin to dream of. Not even her nightmares could compare to the tales she had heard from the few survivors of Savona or the reports drifting in from the Great Plains. Rather than freeing Lilly of her father’s immoral lessons, killing Elric had only given the Contractor the opportunity to further corrupt the young child, solidifying the madness bred into the girl by her own father.

The only thing that had kept her grounded and sane these past few weeks was the war going on. It allowed her to become distracted from her mental anguish and focus on something productive, whether it be assisting in the rebel headquarters with healing and strategy or playing decoy for Azix and Yoshiro. The latter had not been a pleasant experience, forced to spend time with a man she did not trust and felt no kindness towards, but it had been her part to play. She had wanted to be angry with Azix for asking it of her, but she knew he had hated asking and hated seeing her play the love struck fool at his cousin’s side.

She had to admire the determination and dedication of her lover. He had done whatever was necessary to bring peace to a country they had both become fond of, including slaying one of his uncles. He had agreed to become an ambassador for Kou to Reim, to better monitor their relations and to ensure Yoshiro would not follow his father’s path of violent, forceful expansion. He was driven by a desire to improve this war-ravaged country, one of the many things she found endearing about the man. They had become even closer through the conflicts they encountered during the operations with Yoshiro, solidifying her desire to prove to him that her loyalty and affection was unconditional. Since meeting the complex man, she had seen many sides of him, some frightening, others endearing, and she found herself wanting to explore every facet of his personality, to delve into what had crafted him into the cautious, guarded man he was today.

She knew she owed much of her current relationship with Azix to his friend and ally, Garret. The blue magician had done much to soften the thickest of Azix’ walls, allowing her to find a way through the barriers her lover kept around himself at all times. She thought back to the first time she had met Azix, drawn to him by nothing more than spotting his staff and hoping for an opportunity to learn from a magician more skilled than herself. She had been blind to many of the horrors of the world at that point, having just begun to dip her toes into the less savory aspects of society by taking out slavers. What she had discovered during their following interactions had turned her stomach, her own experience with the slave trade had been tame in comparison to the Twisted Sisters, the women living up to their name. They had trained slaves so dedicated to their masters, there would never be a question of loyalty or betrayal, but the means they used were horrendous and sickening. None of the other offending slave traders had compared to the three women.

She had not begun to realize her importance to her lover until the next job they had went on together. Dallas and Dakota had not been nearly as cruel as the Sisters, but they had been the ones to open her eyes to her own feelings for the orange magician. She had intercepted a blow intended for Azix, dying in the process, but Azix had returned her before she could join the great flow of rukh and she had regained consciousness to feel him hugging her. That was when she had questioned her own actions, not having realized she had become attached to him in their short time working together.

He had integrated her into his child spy group, the Grumptoes, and she quickly found herself surrounded by a new type of family. The boys had become loyal to Azix much as she had for similar reasons. He had saved their lives, though not necessarily in a physical sense. He had given then a relatively safe means of making money to support their families, keeping them from turning to outright thievery or prostitution just to earn enough for a meal. He also kept them protected from those that preyed on the less fortunate and the young. His desire to move them away from the undesirable capitol and to teach them a different way of life outside of corruption and crime had come at the perfect time. She could not help but feel that Fate had shoved them together, allowing them to help each other from the edges of depravity they were drifting towards. An inheritance from her grandmother had given her the means to help him see his dream through, the farm in Kios a place far more pure than Remano. While the village had its own troubles, she and Azix had helped to make it a place free from corruption and greed, the villagers helping each other to rebuild while willingly taking in the Grumptoes and their families.

Since then, life had gotten a bit crazy, Azix had went to Imuchakk and she had taken care of finding teachers for the Grumptoes while also helping with the education reform programs in Remano. When her mother was not seen after the coronation of the King, Ariella was driven to find what had happened to the woman that had not been a maternal figure for her in years. It had been her father’s lost expression that had finally pushed her to ask the King for permission to investigate all that had happened that night, the King agreeing in hopes of building a stronger relationship with Magnostadt. Just another person hoping to use her for her diplomatic ties, but she had allowed him to believe what he would so that she could get the answers she needed. It had led to her Investigating the Assassinations and nearly dying in the process.

Now her personal nightmare was back and more powerful than ever.

[exit]