Armageddon

Tia ambled through the corridor late one day, her head off in someplace other than the palace. Her bare feet felt the warm, golden carpet just below them as her burgundy gown danced around her ankles. It hung off her hips in lush rolls of fabric and collectively gathered its way up her torso, a bundle of ribbons and fabric decorating the back of her neck. Her hair was pulled to the side, the elegant curls pinned in place.

A running, shorter female came up to her, grasping her wrist excitedly. Her blonde hair was curled today, perfect ringlets bouncing around her round face. By now Tia had come to know the Mermaid very well.

“Tia, Tia, Tia!” Svetlana gasped, glancing around enthusiastically. Her blue eyes, brighter and lighter than a summer sky, locked onto her own. “I heard! I heard Vladimir kissed you!! What?! Is it true?! He did it right in the medical wing! My friend saw, she’s a Witch Doctor there ya know. Don’t lie to me!”

Tia laughed nervously. “Yes, I suppose he did do something like that.”

The girl gaped. “Are you two going to get married now?”

“I think it’s too soon to tell, Lana.”

Svetlana pouted. “Well, that’s no fun! You must keep me updated on these things! It’s no fair finding out from the grapevine!” She spun on her heels, her blonde curls dancing around her face. She waved at Tia, running off down the corridor. “By now!”

Tia watched her go with a look of amused bewilderment. She shook her head and continued walking. The girl was the daughter of a Duchess summoned here as an Advisor from a kingdom in the ocean. The world was so big. There were multiple factions of races, some staying amongst themselves while others, like Vladimir’s realm, welcoming all walks of life.

During one of her lessons she learned that this was the largest land-based realm and had direct contact with Greater Beings who remained on the Other Side (She wasn’t sure what the Other Side meant, or who these beings were; it had only been brought up once), but there was an even larger kingdom under the water, with more ancient creatures. Their hostility towards Humanity had no bounds - they wanted to eradicate them from the face of the earth; which explained why the ‘Zoo’, as the people here called her homeland, was dead center in the largest landmass left on the planet. She knew it was the current King of this world that had assembled the Human civilization there. Tia could only assume it was for their protection.

Lost in her thoughts, she continued walking through the palace with no real destination in mind. She’d been excused from her classes for the time being and wandering seemed as good of a pastime as any.

After a while a shadow crossed her path and she looked up, hesitating beneath the cold gaze of a very tall, dark-skinned man without pupils. He resembled a Human, except that his ears dropped slightly and the teeth on his bottom jaw were a larger than the teeth on the top of his jaw. Black markings swirled across his nearly green skin in elegant and violent twists and turns, some disrupted by harsh scars.

“The Lady Tiana herself.” His husky voice rumbled from his core.

She hesitated, recognizing the voice of the being she had overheard speaking with Alex. She gave him a small curtsy, her curiosity getting the better of her. “My fiancé’s assassin.” It was a wager, but she couldn’t resist calling him out.

Whatever reaction she had hoped to gain did not come. After a moment of them sizing each other up, he relaxed his stance, if only slightly, and adjusted his grip upon the bundle of wood in his grasp. “How might I pay for your silence? Vladimir’s number one order was that you were not to find out.”

Only slightly surprised by his honesty, she quickly said: “I do not want anyone dying because of me.”

His piercing gaze seemed calculating. “And it’s not because he’s yar fiancé?”

She gave him a dismissing wave of her hand. “I gave up that life when I entered the woods. I’m committed to this life and everything that comes with it.”

“Only death can be found here for you, Human.” He seemed to be speaking honestly, not a hint of a threat to his tone. Those frozen eyes, surely reflecting his frozen heart, nearly seemed to soften. If only a fraction.

Gently she placed her hand on her heart, her gaze taking her a little further away from their conversation. “I expect my death, and I’ve come to terms with it already. I know I’m here today, right now, on borrowed time.” Her resolution solidified. “But I won’t have others die because of me,”

He sighed. “You are a fierce Princess. I can see that now. I have already delivered the Human male, alive and unharmed, to Prince Vladimir. He’s been put into solitude for the time being. There is to be a battle in the colosseum for your hand in marriage. Many will fight, most will die. The final will be Vladimir removing the Human’s throat,”

She gaped at the dark-skinned male. “That’s horrible, do I not get a say in any of this?”

“No, it appears not. Princess Cleo had a tournament as well, but she ended up joining the fray and killed them all. I cannot say you would fall under the same conditions; you are only Human after all.”

She frowned, thinking as hard and as fast as she could. “To pay for my silence, I’ll ask that you help me save him.”

He regarded her carefully for several moments, knowing full well the weight of what it was she was asking. He slowly took a few paces away from her, his eyes traveling through the darkness beyond the courtyard. He frowned and turned back to look at her. She was still waiting patiently for a response. “I cannot go against my master; I cannot save the Human. I will see what I can do, however, to help you save the Human.”

She offered him a small smile, knowing full well she shouldn’t expect too much. “Whatever you can do, I will appreciate the help.”

“Young Miss, you are no longer pure,” he commented, catching her completely off guard. She blinked in confusion. He took a step closer, bending down so that their eye level was even. He straightened his back and gave her a confused look. “Perhaps it was my imagination.” He shook his head, his braided, thick hair swaying from side to side. “We will meet again.”

“Bye,” she said softly, waving her hand and watching him go.

No longer pure?