SouBlade(Aviant) by Joshua Leong (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2:

Victorique

 On the elemental city of Iye-ron(Mid-Night)

  “Whahahaha...” The extremely-loud echo of laughter coming from a rundown tavern in the eastern side of the city woke up all the residents within a 1kilometer radius. “Sigh... Another drunkard, irritating bastards...” Levian cursed softly at his open window. The night was cool with the northern breeze, flowing through the city. All of a sudden, the silent night was broken by piercing scream but Levian wasn’t surprised at all since the city was plagued by one murder on the first of each year. “Sigh, tomorrows another-” Before Levian could finish the sentence, a dozen or so, screams filled the air, followed by a bright light filled the atmosphere and Levian had to squint his green eyes as they adjusted to this new stranger. Once he had adjusted to the light, he stared at the chaos surrounding him. The unbearable smell of burning wood filled the air, causing Levian’s eyes to water but he could see the burning houses and what looked like the red crest of the royal army of Keirian. “Impossible! This is..... not.... *Cough* real...” Then he fainted from the overdose of smoke that filled his lungs.

  He awoke, only to find himself and a few other citizens in a carriage which he suspected to be where the Keirians kept their prisoners which the had captured after a war with another country. “Weird...” He said as he glanced down to see his silver-plated, gold sword by his side and still in its sheath. Being the son of a famous sword-smith, he realised, in a flash, that all the other prisoners also had swords that were custom-made to fit them regardless of their and sizes. Since he was still dizzy and the prison was dimly lit, he stumbled across the tiny prison and crashed onto the floor next to the closest prisoner. Regaining his composure, he looked up at the prisoner whom he had fallen beside. “Who are you? What are you? Where are we? What are we-” A firm hand closed over his mouth and pulled him backwards, making him practically stumbling head-over-heels and onto the floor, on his back. He squinted at this new challenger and could make out the squarish face and short, trimmed hair. “Do you want to die? Are you crazy?” His challenger said, straining his voice so that the previous prisoner could not hear him, or so he thought. “What the HELL? Was That for?” Levian screamed angrily. “Listen! That person,” He pointed to the prisoner in the corner, who was clutching his arm and groaning in pain, “Do you see those injuries? Those are made, by, HER!” He whispered loudly and pulled Levian to his feet. “Thanks.” Levian thanked his challenger-turned-savior. In reply, his savior nodded and said, “My name is Leo, the third son of... Hey, aren’t you... Levian.” “Heh, took you some time to recognise me, old friend.” Levian said with a smirk on his face then, he hugged Leo tightly. “So, why are we here?” Levian asked Leo as he gazed around the room until his eyes met the girl whom Leo had accused of attempting to hurt his friends. “Dude, I don’t know.” Leo replied informally while he attended to his injured friend’s wound.   

  “Stay here.” He casually waved his hand at Leo and walked towards the girl, whom Leo had nicknamed “Dangerous Demoness, or DD.” “Dude! Are you cra-” Leo’s eyes widened when he realised what Levian was about to do. “Stay. Whatever will happen to me, I shall accept.” Levian took a deep breath and walked in the direction of DD. Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, DD looked up and her gaze met Levian’s. At that moment, Levian saw into those eyes and felt a pang of pity for DD. A alarm in a distance blared, which was followed by a boom, which rocked the whole carriage, causing Levian to stumble and fall, face down, right onto DD’s lap. 

  Levian thought, “Shit, Im going to die.” then, he saw the girl blush for a moment before she pushed him off her lap, gently, but at the same time, firmly. He saw, under the frilly bandana like-band which she wore over her head, he saw a pale face, almost like a doll’s, with small blue eyes and a small, red mouth. “Move.” She mouthed the words and Levian instantly obeyed, moving to a distance that he could still observe her from but enough to give her some personal space. Once Levian was off her lap, she regained her composure and stared out of the window with her cheeks a little red, like a sakura flower, found in Olden Japan. Then Levian found himself being stared at by Leo and the rest of the occupants in the prison. “What?” Levian stared back. Just then, the metal door of the prison flung open and a man dressed in black overalls barged in. “Levian, Victorique, Leo, Aquile! Come with me, Now!” 

  Levian and the other children had no other choice so, they obeyed and followed the man through the ship which held them as prisoners and soon found themselves in a large dining hall filled with people who looked like nobles, duchess and a lot of people who seemed to be of high ranks. “Presenting... The children of Iye-ron!” A mega-phone called from somewhere within the crowd. and Levian, Leo and the rest were made to go up onto the stage. “Now, how much would one pay for them body parts?”

 “What in the world?” Levian thought and squinted his eyes to take a good look at the people that filled the room. “I should have known...” Levian stared at each occupant slowly. “I am Victorique,” Levian turned his head and saw DD standing beside him. “You are right Levian, I agree with you. This are not humans neither are they nobles. This are Ghost Fiends.”

“How right you are, little girl,” The four children spun around and came face to face with the skeleton man. “Yes, we are, The GhostFiends.”