The Last Legend: Awakened

by Joshua B. Wichterich

  Just then thunder could be heard, followed by lightning that bounced off the walls in the room. Marrisa’s mind worked quickly, even though she was in a state of shock. She scanned the floor with her moist eyes, looking for something to protect herself with. Just then she spotted the bloody shard of glass next to her. She frantically picked it up and held it out infront of her like a knife. It seemed so ironic to her, that the dirty bloody piece of glass that she was going to use to take her own life with; was the weapon of her choice to protect herself.

  “I will take you with me far to the south of Minslethrate, deep into the Forbidden Lands to the Dark Temple of sacrifice; where your ancestors gave blood to the goddesses and to Lucif, my great lord. Your father will send his brainless soldiers to come looking for you—but by that time you will show up back to the castle, unharmed and beautiful as ever. And they will never know that it isn’t really you that they will be looking at… I will live on this earth forever!” The evil being in Lilith’s ugly and decrepit body seemed excitable and terrifying as it raised its arms into the air again. The flash of the lightning glistened off of its black eyes as it looked quickly back at Marrisa. “We have been waiting for this night. Everything has been according to plan over the years, except for your disgusting mother! She would have been my first choice but her heart was too full of light! I could not go near it! So I did what the dark lord wanted me to do—poison it until it pumped no more.” Its face was frightening as a wicked smile crept upon it. The dried blood from earlier still stained her white skin as her hideous smile grinned from ear to ear.

  “You disgust me!" Marrisa screamed, then spat at her.

  “My lady, you will never know the feeling of disgust until I get inside your skin,” the thing called Natas said in a low and terrifying voice.

  Just then, Natas turned its face quickly towards the door, pointing its nose into the air with a squinted face, as if it smelled something putrid.

  “I sense a presence in the air—coming near, a presence that I hate and have almost forgotten… I smell a foe!“ The thing slowly walked backwards, away from the door. Its wide, unblinking black eyes were locked onto the closed door, as if waiting for something to come bursting through it.

  Just then there was a light knock at the door, followed by the muffled voice of a male.

  “Marrisa, it’s me, Tairren, I know I am a surprise, but I had to see you one last time.”

  “Tairren!” Marrisa screamed, but didn’t get his whole name out before Natas quickly yanked her up, pressing its cold, white hand tightly across her mouth.

  “Hush your pretty little mouth or he will meet his doom like everyone else in your pathetic life!” Natas whispered a putrid smelling whisper as it pressed its mouth to her ear.

  “Marrisa?!” Tairren yelled from the other side of the door, banging on it as he tried to yank it open, it was locked.

  Marrisa bit down hard on the dying flesh of Lilith, tasting a small bit of coagulated blood in her mouth.

  “DAMN YOU!” a horrifying growl emitted from its mouth as it loosened its tight grip on her.

  Marrisa yanked herself away, screaming. Panicked, she realized that she was still holding the large sliver of glass. And then with a quick raise of her arms, she shoved the large glass dagger down, hard into Lilith’s shoulder. A loud scream echoed through the room, as it grabbed at the shard quickly, yanking it out.

  Marrisa ran quickly to the door where Tairren and now Natalia were banging from the other side. She yanked at the door, realizing that it was locked somehow. Natas turned towards Marrisa, walking slowly towards her while chuckling.

  “Oh, the mayhem of it all! A stab in the shoulder will never defeat me!” it laughed, throwing the bloody shard down at the ground. It shattered into many small, shiny pieces. “Do you need these?” It laughed again as it shook the ring of many keys that hung around its waist. “Did you forget that Lilith held the keys to every door in this castle? I locked it while you were too busy sulking in front of your beloved mirror!”

  Just then as if energy ran through its veins, it ran full force at Marrisa, banging its hands on either side of Marrisa’s head as it stopped right in front of her.

  “Be prepared to meet the ugly!” It raised its hand up high, hitting her clear in the face with the back side of its hand. The force was so strong that Marrisa flew a couple of feet away, landing unconsciously to the ground…

  †††

  …Some time ago…

  Tairren sat and ate his deliciously royal food as Natalia chatted with everyone who sat around her at the table. Tairren didn’t speak much, worried that he would be asked a question that he wouldn’t know how to answer. The courtiers who sat around him were older and by the way that they smiled and looked, they appeared gentle and caring. Some of the women who sat around him looked very odd, with their eyebrows and hair-lines shaved off, making them look like they had a very large fore-head beneath their headdresses. It was obviously a fashionable thing amongst the noble women since more than one appeared that way; it just appeared odd to him.

  Tairren didn’t hear much of what they were talking about amongst each other because he was too busy watching Marrisa. She looked dreadfully sad and uncomfortable, but still beautiful. He noticed that Marrisa drank down too many glasses of Minsleberry wine, which was very unusual. He could tell that she was becoming influenced by the wine. He watched King Julpen give her his beautiful red pendant necklace. She put it on, fiddling around with the red jewel. He noticed that she still wore the necklace that he gave her earlier that evening; it was tucked in the lace of her gown. It made him feel good to know that she seemed to care for him.

  Some of the courtiers left the dining hall, making their way into the grand hall or out into the gardens for some fresh air. Goblets were refreshed with wine and laughter and conversation echoed through the hall as the night carried on. Soft thunder could be heard in the distance, making it known that another storm was approaching the castle. Tairren sipped on his wine, noticing that Marrisa had left quickly with her handmaidens following close behind her.

  “What’s happening? Where is she going?” Natalia asked Tairren, softly.

  “I don’t know, maybe she just needs some fresh air.” Tairren took another sip of his wine. He noticed that Prince Phillip was excusing himself from the royal table and slowly went off in the same direction as Marrisa.

  Tairren didn’t like how the situation was looking and decided to go find out what was wrong with Marrisa. After a couple of minutes of waiting for nearby courtiers to quit staring, Tairren left his table, casually walking towards the entrance of the dining hall. No one seemed to notice, except for Natalia who was glaring at him from the table with a “what are you doing?!” look on her face. He made his way through the entrance that led to the great hall, looking back towards Natalia. She stood up, excused herself, then smiled as she made her way to him. She discreetly motioned her hands for him to stop as she walked toward him.

  “What are you doing?!” Natalia demanded as she took his arm.

  “I have to see Marrisa, something is wrong,” he said as he looked around for red hair.

  Courtiers were walking around, mingling with each other and sitting down at the smaller tables in the great hall. The musicians on the balcony above the wide open space of the dance floor began to play music.

  “The ball is about to begin, Marrisa should be down here,” Natalia said as she pulled away from Tairren.

  He watched as she approached a servant boy who was walking around with a golden tray that held filled goblets of wine. Natalia smiled and chatted with him for a minute, then he pointed towards a small hallway that was across the great hall. Natalia said something else with a smile, as he offered her a goblet of wine. She took one, then made her way back to Tairren.

  “She went through that small hallway over there, which will eventually lead to her room,” Natalia said as she put her arm around his again, escorting him towards that direction.

&n
bsp; “Lady Natalia, how are you?” a familiar voice said from behind them.

  Natalia cringed.

  It was Lady Daleasa, who was accompanied by a group of young courtier women that she had been sitting with during the feast.

  Natalia rolled her green eyes as the group of fashionable young women approached them. Natalia took a large sip of her wine as she looked at Tairren, who raised his eyebrows.

  “Oh—Lady Daleasa, how quaint,” Natalia said, with a cunning smile.

  “I hope your evening has been well,” Daleasa said as she fanned herself with a dark-blue fan. She looked at Tairren with a flirtatious smile. “Natalia, I believe I haven’t met your companion yet.” She kept smiling at him, making him blush.

  “This is my—companion, Lord—Smithington, from—far away,” Natalia lied, hoping that Daleasa would believe her.

  But Natalia knew Daleasa would fall for such lies—she wasn’t as sharp as Natalia was.

  “Hello Lord Smithington, I am The Lady Daleasa of Vaughn.” She brought her ringed hand to his lips.

  He glanced at Natalia as he took Daleasa’s hand. He kissed her hand lightly, then smiled at her.

  Natalia made a noise as if she were clearing her throat. “What can we do for you, Lady Daleasa?” Natalia raised her left eyebrow, crossing her arms.

  “Why Lady Natalia, aren’t we annoyed this evening,” Daleasa looked at the other courtier girls as she said this, making them giggle and whisper amongst each other. “I just wanted to make a comment that I heard that our princess hasn’t been doing so well today,” she said condescendingly as she looked at her ringed hand, moving her fingers so that the hall light would catch the facets of the decedent jewels. “After I left you and your odd fan this afternoon in the marketplace, I bought this beautiful trinket.” Daleasa stuck out her chest, showing off a jeweled necklace that dangled upon her ridiculous amount of cleavage. “After I left the luxurious shop, Lilith stopped to speak with me, telling me that Marrisa seemed to be—jaded—with her life. Lilith spoke of how worried she was about her, and that Her Royal Majesty even spoke of running away… Oh—my...”

  “And what makes you so special that Lilith would tell you such things?” Natalia demanded with one eyebrow still raised. She took a sip of her wine, peering over the rim of her goblet.

  “I think it’s because Lilith can clearly see that Marrisa and I are so fond of each other. She is just concerned about our princess and she said that I am a “better” friend to her.” Daleasa continued to fan herself. “Are you envious, Lady Natalia?”

  “I’m not one to be patronized, Lady Daleasa. I think you were strongly misinformed. I think it may be that she knows that you have the ugliest and most rancid mouth in all of Minslethrate, and that you would tell everyone any little lie and gossip just to get attention.” Natalia raised her eyebrows, and then smiled.

  The other courtier girls covered their mouths with their hands, trying not to giggle.

  “How dare you!” Daleasa scolded. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment.

  She glanced at Tairren, and then at the other girls. She glared at Natalia then turned quickly to leave. With the sounds of their gowns gliding across the smooth, elegantly tiled floor, her entourage followed right behind her like a litter of lost puppies.

  Tairren and Natalia watched as they made their way across the hall, their outrageous evening ware appearing like a blob of colors that were meshed together.

  “I can’t stand that little harlot,” Natalia said as she took another sip of her wine, then sat it down on the empty table next to where they were standing.

  “Do you really think that Lilith told her those things?” Tairren asked as they turned back towards the hallway.

  “I don’t know, but I believe it’s a lie. I don’t trust Lady Daleasa or Lilith. But even though Lady Daleasa is conniving and as worthless as vermin, I don’t think she made that up—she’s not that bright,” Natalia smiled at her own remark again. “Lilith probably did tell her those things, but I don’t know the intentions behind it.

  “Well, let us go ask her ourselves,” Tairren said as he motioned his hand towards the hallway.

  “Yes, we shall.” Natalia pulled Tairren’s hand as they went through the small hall.

  The hallway was small and dark, only lit by a couple of torches that were scattered here and there along the stone walls. The faint sound of rain against stone could be heard down the cool hallway.

  “I can’t believe she had the nerve to say those things; and even if Marrisa loathed her own life and had the intentions of running away by herself, she would’ve spoken to us about it first.” Natalia’s low voice echoed down the hall as they came to a twisted stair case. It was just as dim as the hallway. “Marrisa would never keep such secrets. I can’t stand Lady Daleasa—that conniving little…”

  “Shhhhh,” Tairren put his finger to Natalia’s ranting mouth, cutting her off. “Someone is coming; I hear heavy footsteps.”

  They stopped in the middle of the twisted stair case, right below a torch. The sound of footsteps came quickly down the stairwell, echoing off the steps. The flicker of lightning bounced off the stone walls, coming from a small window just a foot above their heads. The rain was still falling from the black sky, spitting some drops in through the opened window.

  “It’ll be okay, just act natural,” Natalia whispered as she began to walk up the steps slowly, motioning Tairren to follow her.

  Lightning flickered again, sending a rolling thunder clap behind it. Natalia jumped a little, and then leaned against the moist stone wall. Just then a large dark figure came quickly around the curve of the stairwell. Natalia let out a scream, startling not only Tairren but the dark figure that came quickly down the stairs. The dark figure let out a startled gasp as it came into the dim light.

  “Oh my, Prince Phillip!” Natalia said in a surprised voice as she placed her hand over her chest. “You frightened us.”

  Both Natalia and Tairren bowed their heads to him.

  “You gave me a fright as well,” the prince said.

  “We were just going up to check on Princess Marrisa.” Natalia took a quick glance at Tairren as she said this.

  Tairren was leaning against the wall, emotionlessly looking up at Phillip.

  “What a coincidence, I’ve just spoken to her highness a while ago. I don’t think she is up for company.”

  They were quiet for a second, and noticed that the ball must have begun already. The sound of music echoed up the stair well, as well as the repetitive sound of the rain which emitted from the window.

  “I think it will be okay, you know I am her best companion, your royal highness.” Natalia smiled her soft smile as she began to go up the stairs.

  “Yes, well, I better go, I don’t want to come off as rude for missing the ball,” the prince said as he glanced up the stairwell, insinuating that their unsocial princess was being just that.

  He started down the stairs, glancing at Tairren as he passed him. Tairren didn’t say anything or even smile as he passed. After a moment of awkward silence between both the prince and Tairren, he quickly went off into the shadows of the stair well, carrying his echoing footsteps behind him.

  “Let’s go,” Tairren said, breaking the silence.

  They rushed up the stairwell, which led them to a silent and dim hallway. It was quiet and much larger. They hurried past many paintings of the royal family, nicely carved chairs and small tables with vases of flowers on them.

  “This is Marrisa’s pleasant little quarters,” Natalia said, motioning around with one hand and holding her gown with the other. “Just down the hall is Marrisa’s private library and study—it is quaint and quite charming. Odd Lilith resides at the very end of the hall—her chamber is, well, let’s just say that it suits her. Just beyond that is a back staircase, which leads down to the servant’s quarters and a back exit. When we were children we used to sneak through there to go outside. The servants used to get irritated with us o
n many occasions,” Natalia giggled a little as she said this. “Speaking of servants, I’m actually surprised that there isn’t any of her many handmaidens going in and out of her room right now.”

  They kept walking until they came to a large door on the left side of the hallway, which had a red banner hanging above it with the royal family’s coat of arms embroidered on it with gold thread. Small tables also sat on both sides of the door, with a small vase of red roses on each one.

  “Here we are,” Natalia said, smiling. “You do the honors.” She motioned to the door as if presenting something. Tairren stood there, not saying anything. “Well, come on,” Natalia said in a loud whispering voice, pulling him towards the door.

  Tairren slowly came to the door, bringing his hand up to the heavy wood with a fist ready to knock. His heart began to pound in his chest as he began to realize that he was going to see the girl he had always loved, again, for the last time. After a minute or so, he lightly knocked on the door, bringing his mouth closer to it.

  “Marrisa, it’s me, Tairren, I know I am a surprise, but I had to see you one last time.”

  Just then Tairren could hear Marrisa scream out his name! Tairren quickly glanced at Natalia, noticing that she heard the scream as well as her eyes widened.

  “Marrisa!?” Tairren yelled, realizing that something wasn’t right.

  His heart sped up as he yanked on the locked door. A surge of worried fear shot through his body as he now knew that something horrible was going on.