Chapter 10: The Apple

May was sleeping soundly, when she felt someone poking her. She ignored it and rolled over. The person, who was disturbing her sleep, didn’t give up – now someone was shaking her. She distantly heard voices calling her name. May mumbled something incoherently and drifted to the sleep again. Then, she felt a sharp pain in the vicinity of her kidneys. Her eyes opened instantly, and she rolled onto her back. Then, she realized that her nightmare was indeed reality. Above her, she saw the concerned face of Erik, Baltar with folded arms and Aedain gazing at her with distaste. May guessed, that the long-haired demon was the one who had kicked her just now.

         “Get up, lazy human,” Aedain ordered, forcefully yanking May up. “And gather the provisions before we depart.”

         May took a step away from the demon when she freed herself from his indelicate grip. She bit her tongue, refraining herself from arguing with Aedain – taunting her kidnapper wouldn’t be the wisest thing to do; she should just do what he wanted. But, how was supposed she to get those provisions he wanted, when there was no town or village nearby?

         “We’re in the middle of the forest,” May pointed out. “What possibly can be here to eat?”

         Aedain huffed from irritation, before scanning her up and down.

         “A pampered Lady,” he assessed May and looked at the fellow demon. “Baltar, take care of that.”

         The said Baltar mumbled a curse under his nose.

         “I’m a warrior, not a babysitter!” he grunted, but apparently he wasn’t eager to defy his superior. Not stopping cursing under his nose, he grabbed May’s sleeve and began dragging the girl deeper into the forest.

          “What the heck are you doing, let go!” May protested. Baltar groaned like a caveman.

         “You stupid girl!” he retorted, dragging her like she weighed nothing. “We’re going to find food for you and the brat, as Aedain ordered. If you weren’t so useless, I wouldn’t have to come with you!”

         “Oh,” May muttered. Baltar let go off her sleeve and wandered deeper into the forest.

         May followed the demon, as he was looking for something edible. Maybe it would be a good idea to try to get along with him, she thought. If she was to travel for some time with that sadistic demon Aedain, she would use someone to talk to, someone who could reveal to her what Aedain was exactly up to.  And, Baltar was a fairly good target – he might have been a strong scary oaf, but he wasn’t really smart. Some praise should have helped her get on his good side.

         “Baltar,” May spoke up; her gaze lingering on a large axe on the demon’s back and his armor. “You’re a warrior, right? I bet you’re strong.”

         “Damn right.” Baltar muttered, blushing like a young boy proud because of May’s praise. “After all I became the youngest royal guard in the history of the Northern Domain.”

         “Really?” May had no clue what exactly it meant, but Baltar was getting less hostile. “Wow, that’s impressive. You’re a very accomplished man then.”

         Baltar nodded, his smile growing. Then, he stopped abruptly and pointed something with his finger. “That looks quite edible.”

         May looked in the direction, that Baltar pointed, and there it stood – a lone tree with branches full of red fruit, resembling apples. It was bizarre, seeing the fruit next to the blooming flowers on the branches, but she assumed that it was just another of the Callesmere’s wonders.  The girl heard her stomach rumble again. She made her way to the tree. She grabbed one apple-like fruit and before taking a bite, she sent Baltar a questioning look. The demon nodded and gestured her to hurry up. May bit the apple, praying for it to be edible. Slowly, she chewed on the apple. Then she let out a surprised noise, startled by the delicious taste of it – it was like a mix between pineapple and raspberry, only better. She tossed another one to the huge demon.

         “It’s delicious!” May wondered, smiling at the prospect of filling her rumbling, empty stomach with the exotic fruit.

         Back on the path, Aedain, Meirch and Erik were still waiting for Baltar and May to return. The boy was sitting on the winged stallion, where Aedain had put him. The child looked  impatient to see May  again, worried and scared by the two of them being separated. Hesitantly, he glanced at the tall demon.

         “Mister?” he spoke up quietly, his voice shaking a little.

         The black-haired demon abruptly turned his head to him, surprise flickering in his golden eyes as Erik never spoke to him without being questioned.

         “What is it, boy?” Aedain asked, quickly averting his gaze from the child.

         “Do you think May and Mister Baltar will come back soon?” Erik asked, this time feeling more encouraged.

         “Hn,” Aedain muttered, an annoyed expression on his face.

         The demon had enough of waiting for his underling and that infuriating human woman, but was grateful for a moment of silence, free of her yapping and Baltar’s stupidity. He cursed himself inwardly for his own foolishness, which caused him to bring the wretched woman along. At first, he hoped, that she would convince the Guardian of the Key to eat and stop the annoying sobbing. The human female served that purpose, as the boy finally began eating properly and seemed to be less a nuisance. However, the woman herself was trouble incarnated. She was loud, disobedient and on the top of that – he had to keep an eye on her, so she would not try to escape again. However, she was useful, as long as she kept the boy alive. That is, she would be useful until the moon eclipsed. And then…

         The demon smirked, clenching his fingers, as though they were snapping a neck.

         “Mister!” Erik exclaimed, pointing towards the nearby bushes.

         Baltar and that idiot woman returned, happily talking to each other. His companion was boasting about one of his adventures, and the girl was listening, while making enthusiastic comments from time to time.

         Perfect, now she has that idiot Baltar on her side, Aedain thought, gritting his teeth and trying to maintain his emotionless façade.

         He saw that the woman was carrying a lot of fruit, wrapped in the fabric, and now she was wearing only a single layer of clothing, a cotton petticoat. He noticed, that the thin fabric didn’t leave much to imagination, making the woman’s curves perfectly visible as the clothing clung close to her body and exposed quite a lot of legs. Aedain had to admit, she had a very womanly shape despite her child-like height.

         “May, you were gone for too long!” Erik complained, as he made a face of a pouting child. May smiled at him, happy that the child regained some of the good humor, even though both were being held captive by demons.

         “Come, on, Erik! We weren’t gone for that long.” May scolded Erik and fished an apple-like fruit from the bag made of her skirt. “Here, I’ve got an apple for you.”

         May gave a fruit to the child and then another one to Baltar, who already treated her more like a companion than a prisoner. Erik bit into his apple, while Baltar discreetly tossed the fruit into the bushes when May wasn’t looking. Surprised Aedain noticed, that the woman made her way toward him. She seemed to be unsure, probably was scared of him.

         “Aedain, here’s one for you,” she said, offering him a fruit. The demon was looking at her for a while and, suddenly, he knocked the apple out of May’s hand. The girl’s eyes followed the fruit as it fell down to the ground and rolled in dirt.

         May stood still for a while, staring at the apple at her feet, before looking up at Aedain.

         The demon smirked, seeing that his action upset May. When she clenched her fists, he bursted out laughing.

         May gritted her teeth as she glared at the laughing Aedain. He kidnapped her, ordered her around, mistreated her and now that monster was laughing at her when she tried getting on good terms with him. The grudge she held against Aedain grew with every moment of the captivity, and at the moment it couldn’t be contained anymore. May tried behaving in a reasonable way, but she just lost it.

         “You arrogant bastard!” suddenly, she screamed at the top of her lungs, making Aedain stop laughing and gaining interested stares of Baltar, Erik and Meirch. “You crazy sadist! You…”

         “She’s so dead,” Baltar commented, while Meirch neighed in agreement.

         May’s insults stopped as Aedain’s self-control snapped and the demon closed the distance between them, grabbing the girl’s throat and effortlessly lifting her off the ground. She struggled, her legs dangling helplessly above the ground, while Aedain was observing her desperate efforts with his cold golden eyes, his face stoic. May dug her nails into the demon’s wrist and tried to draw a breath. Aedain was staring into her eyes as she struggled to free herself from his grip. He lifted her a bit higher with such ease like she weighed less than a feather.

         “Do not disrespect me, woman, ever again,” Aedain slowly, flexing his fingers and releasing May.

         The girl fell limply to the ground, painfully crashing into it. She pulled herself to her knees, gasping for breath and rubbing her aching throat. When the air filled her lungs again it felt as though someone just poured liquid fire down her throat. Shocked and bruised, she looked up at the cruel demon. Aedain gave her a final enraged glare and turned around.

         Erik slipped off  Meirch and ran to May. The boy fell on his knees beside her and embraced her, looking at her with concern.

         “May, are you all right?” Erik asked.

         May slowly nodded, massaging her sore neck.

         Erik helped her get back on her feet, despite her insisting, that she’d do it on her own. She looked around. In the ground, her wrinkled skirt was laying, and apples were all over the path. It would be a terrible waste to leave them here – she put quite an effort into collecting those.

         “Come on, May!” Erik exclaimed, pulling her sleeve. “We have to go.”

         “Go ahead,” May girl answered. “I’ll just gather the apples and catch up with you later.”

         Erik reluctantly let go off the sleeve and ran off to get back onto Meirch. May noticed, that Aedain turned his head and gave her a suspicious look.

         “I won’t run away,” she assured him and reached for the skirt, which served her as a bag.

         “I would catch you anyway,” Aedain responded and departed.

         The black-haired demon and his companions were soon out of sight. May sighed and started gathering apples.

         She lifted her hand to the face and touched her cheek. She felt tears wetting her cheeks. May fell on her knees and buried her face in her hands as she gave out a loud sob. It was the first time she allowed herself to cry since she arrived into this world. May realized how scared she was – thrown into a world other than her own, and she didn’t know if she would ever come back, if it was at least possible. Ever since she switched souls with Lady Maewyn, she concentrated on a single task – discovering how to go home. Now she was a demon’s hostage with no idea what to do next. She felt helpless. What if coming back was impossible, and she would have to spend the rest of her life here?

         May’s life wasn’t thrilling, but she missed being safe, going to school and cinema, visiting the library where the old nagging librarian was. She wished, that she could walk through the streets of Baltimore again, talk with mom, watch TV with dad, even argue with Hailey as they always did. Earlier, she despised how boring her life was; she wanted it to be a little more exciting, to experience an adventure. Finally, she got to do that, and it turned to being a nightmare – she got stuck with a sadistic demon who would surely make her life miserable until the eclipse, when he’d want to murder her, unless she escaped first.

         May sighed and wiped the tears from her face. She threw the last apple into the makeshift bag and stood up. She decided, that she wouldn’t worry now. Later, she’d think of something; she was smart, so she’d figure it out eventually. May began marching down the path. She wondered if Aedain would wait for her.

         I doubt it, she answered herself and quickened her pace, not very eager to be alone in the woods for too long. May thought, that she heard the cracking of twigs, as something moved in the bushes. Her heartbeat quickened. She convinced herself, that it might be just a stag or some other animal, and most of the animals are more afraid of people than the other way around. However, she started walking faster, almost running.

         May heard the rustling in the bushes behind her more clearly.

         That is not my imagination, she thought, panicked, as she spun around to see the source of noise. As she did she felt herself freeze in fear.

         “Hello, pretty one.”

Orvik, Karhadon

         Duke Royse was pacing in his chambers, nervously wriggling his fingers behind his back. The reason for his anxiety was sitting in his usual place on the corner across the room, clad in his dark cloak, observing the Duke’s every move.

         “Zhawn, this is insane,” Royse protested. “People began to notice. I can’t spare any more of them!”

         Zhawn’s eyes were calmly following Karhadon’s ruler as he was coursing between the opposite walls of the spacious chamber.

         “Perhaps you should consider other sources for the delivery,” the cloaked man suggested.

         Royse stopped pacing and stared at Zhawn blankly. He shook his head violently.

         “No, no! I can’t interfere in other dukedom’s affairs!” The Duke walked over to the window. Violently pulling the heavy silk curtains aside, he inhaled the fresh air, hoping it would help him clear his mind. “What if they declare a war upon Karhadon? We have Farn’s support, but Dulheim’s army is several times bigger than mine. If the Emperor decides to intervene, my dukedom will disappear from the map!”

         Zhawn stood up, readjusting his hood so that his face would stay in the shadow.

         “Don’t worry about numbers, my friend,” he said, making his way to the exit. “The reinforcements will arrive soon, and you won’t have to worry about any army anymore.”

         When Zhawn was nearly at the door, someone knocked on the door – it seemed as though Royse’s advisor’s timing was perfect when he decided to take his leave. Zhawn slipped out of the chamber when an agitated messenger stormed into the Duke’s private quarters, not minding the manners. The man carried a rolled piece of paper and a very confused post pigeon in his other hand.

         “Duke Royse!” the man exclaimed, panting. “Terrible news!”

         Royse gripped the silk curtain.

         “What news?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly. The messenger swallowed a lump in his throat, his hands sweating and shaking.

         “Your son, Lord Abrran, is dead.”

         Zhawn was smiling slightly as he was climbing the spiral staircase which led to the top of the highest tower. When he reached the peak, he casually leaned on the stone railing. Nesrin was already there, waiting for him patiently. The wind was playing with her ethereal white dress, but she didn’t seem to mind.

         “Well done, Nesrin,” Zhawn offered his praise, but the white-haired woman shook her head, a sour expression on her face. She set her gaze at the sea visible from the tower so as not to have to look directly at Zhawn.

         “Unfortunately the credit is not mine. Someone managed to forestall me,” Nesrin replied and clenched her fists angrily.

         “Find out who that was,” Zhawn ordered dryly, clearly not satisfied with his underling’s performance.

         “I did that already,” Nesrin said quickly. “It was Aedain.”

         Zhawn sharply looked at his underling, recognizing the name, he knew all too well.

         “Aedain?” he repeated.

         Nesrin nodded, her perfectly-shaped, pale lips twisting in a dissatisfied grimace, making her face look like a terrifying mask of a wraith.

         “That is not everything,” Nesrin’s face was serious. “I discovered that Aedain has the Guardian of the Key and the Key itself. He is searching for the Spear, and he’s not far from finding it.”

         Nesrin was staring at Zhawn expectantly, waiting for her superior to display anger or surprise, but the cloaked man’s smile only grew, as though the white-haired woman just told him the best news possible. Nesrin was unsure whether she should tell Zhawn everything, but she did that anyway.

         “I sent your followers after Aedain to retrieve the Spear,” the white-haired woman said, her confidence plummeting with every word, which escaped her throat.

         Zhawn smirked quizzically and said nothing, the unreadable expression in his eyes.