OOC: Tags to Cambie!
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It had been with a heavy heart she gave herself unto him, to the very King of Demons who wished to destroy her nation. But it was either give herself unto him, or let him ravage her lands. And with it, the one man to whom her heart solely belonged. She would give up everything for him, for Jun'tao, to keep him and her kingdom safe...
And so that is what she had become. To selflessly surrender herself to the King of the Heartless, to willingly give to him her heart. Though the feat itself had not been witnessed before her people, as King Arkh'an swept away with her, on the back of his chariot and escorted by a caravan of shadowed men, she found herself ontop of a steep, glass cliff side when she awoke many a days later- her heart still beating inside her chest as she rose from a glass bed and looked out over the world.
So far away was her own land that she had no idea where she was. But over head the sky stretched on endlessly in a glittering sea of silk black and powdered over in a dusting of stars. But below, she could see down int a world that reflected the stars in a glass land scape that stretched on for miles. But as she took a step back, she gasped to see a massive gaping hole in the glass land and she scrambled to take a few steps away from it when she heard a voice from behind her. She whirled around.
"King Arkh'an."
Her gaze hardened on his as she held a fist to her chest. "Where have you taken me?" For he said he would have her heart, but would take it within his own kingdom. She was confused why he waited, for in her kingdom, she had watched him do the dreadful deed right in front of her on the battle field. He'd slip his hand in behind the rib cage of a foe and bury it in deep within their body before yanking their heart clean out on a blood soaked hand while it still pumped freely wthin his hand. She could see it all- See the veins, see the last pulsating throbs of life, see the faint glitter of hope and pride dwindle away into his grasp as he devoured it whole, fresh hot blood staining his teeth and lips.
She feared what that would feel like, and what would become of her without her heart. But the only fear was evident in the faint sparkling of her green eyes. This was her fate. And at her word, she would give him her heart willingly if he asked. It wouldn't be hard.
All she had to do was think of Jun'tao.
And her people.
And know that through her sacrifice, they would be saved.
In their desperate struggle, they'd offered up their Princess to him. A feeble attempt at fending off the mass of shadows which he commanded, but an interesting choice nonetheless. Their battered gates stood firm, but barely. Outside of their crumbling walls had stretched a sea of black, his legions upon legions of shadowy Heartless. They had stood by silently, unmoving, as the gates slowly opened to allow their purehearted Princess to be forever consumed by the Shadow King. The Heartless could sense the purity of her heart. The King could too. In utter silence, he'd taken her up onto her chariot and ridden away.
Now, on the precipice of the cavernous hole that seemed to stretch for an eternity down under the glass of Seraj Isa, she stood in awe. The skies twinkled above against a dark sky, a soft curved moon peeking out from behind heavy clouds. It was a foreboding sign: though the beautiful night cosmos shone down upon them, soon the area would be drenched in a downpour.
The King's voice was otherworldly as it sounded behind her, causing the Princess to whirl around and face him. What she saw was black: not the dark gray of the distant clouds, but pure black, as though all the light had been sucked away just several paces in front of her. But slowly the darkness seemed to coalesce into a discernible smoky shape that looked almost humanoid. Two piercing red eyes seemingly opened within the darkness, and out of the shadow came a towering man, skin of ash, hair whiter than the blinding light of the sun.
He stood there staring down at her with those glowing red orbs now, unmoving as he sensed her heart beating faster and faster in his presence. Something in him began to stir, a human emotion perhaps, something that must have been a craving. Yes, that was it. He craved her heart, wanted nothing more than to spin her around, shove his shadowy tendrils of a hand into her back and extract that bloody purity in all its beating glory, to consume and replenish himself. He could almost taste the blood on his lips.
And yet he couldn't.
She reminded him of her.
Her.
The first of them, and the purest. She had given her heart to him, and if he had a heart somewhere in the black pit of his restlessness he might have given it back to her. But she was hidden away now, a dying presence somewhere in this sea of glass. Her heart had been corrupted by his touch. He should have consumed it then and there, but he could not go through with it. And now he sought a replacement.
"Take one last look at your world, girl," came the voice of Ark'han, deep and rumbling, light and nasal, everything in between. It was a voice as layered and as fluid as the shadows themselves. His form seemed to dance in and out of focus in front of her as he gestured to the enormous hole before them.
"Take one last look before you enter my kingdom. Forever."
OOC: Forever! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0H6R7xRytk)
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The princess set her eyes angrily upon King Arkh'an. She was hardly fearful of his ability to drift and become one with the shadows, but her skin still rippled over the chilling sensation of it. At his words, she turned away to peer over at the setting sun. It cast the world in a rosied light, that danced beautifully across the reflective glass surface of the Seraj Isa. Had it been any other time, she might have been able to enjoy the beauty of the world here, but as it were- she had only one thing in mind.
Keeping her shoulders back and her chin held up proudly, she turned to him with a nod.
"I am ready."
There was no sense in stalling the inevitable.
The King's eyes flashed a bloody red, as if behind the glaze of those orbs lay unending pits. Her glare was not lost upon him, but as she turned to give her world one last wistful look, a memory struck him from deep inside.
His true love had done almost the exact same thing, in almost the exact same spot, all those years ago. She'd turned to regard the glass desert with her large sad eyes, as if silently whispering goodbye to everything she knew. She'd known that, whatever her fate, she would never see her people again. And she was right, for as soon as he took her heart, the Heartless had overrun her country and decimated her nation.
Except he hadn't taken her heart, had he? No, she had given it to him willingly. And that, more than anything else, burned him.
"A world of dust," the King said as the princess finally turned back to face him, face her fate. A hand reached out to caress at her cheek, with almost chilling tenderness. And then those long fingers closed around her shoulder and a blanket of shadow completely enveloped them. The roaring blackness was accentuated by a feeling of rapid freefall as though the yawning chasm was sucking them through an endless tunnel. It lasted an eternity.
And then abruptly stopped.
The shadows lifted from them, and they stood before the massive gates of an ancient underground temple complex.
"Welcome to my world."
Despite the fear inside her, despite the unknown, Jai'un did not close her eyes as she was touched, caressed and then whisked away. The shadows moved around her, sending a chilling thrill through her body. Was she falling? Was she flying? Was she dying?
But no, she still at the present, had her heart, as she felt it beat rapidly within her chest, and when she hadn't realized she had closed her eyes, she opened them and peered down at a world of darkness all around her. It was nearly impossible to see a thing as she whispered,
"I can't see a thing. All I can see is the darkness."
But somehow, she was not surprised.
OOC: I figure it'd take her a while for her eyes to adjust (maybe there's torch lights? or something but yeah XD )
@_@ things! I dunno *Flails*
Sorry, I'm half asleep replying to this XD
"This is no world of light," the King's voice emanated in the darkness, almost irritated. It was no surprise she couldn't see a thing. After all, they were many leagues beneath the Seraj Isa, where only darkness prevailed. This was his world, not that petty world of the living up there, so reliant and fire and light.
But her eyes were not the same as his own reddish pits, and to a human it was sheer blackness. With a snap of his fingers, dormant torches spontaneously lit in their sconces, a pale blue light casting flickering shadows across the gates into his kingdom. And they must have been as impressive in the light as they were in the dark. Stretching dozens of feet up before them, it could have been a walled gate in the greatest human cities on the surface. The wall face was flat and sheer, with no adorning marks upon them, and perfectly black. The gates had a little more texture to them, wrought with iron and locked shut.
With another wave of his hand, the massive entrance suddenly opened for them, revealing more blackness within. From it a shadowy chariot materialized and rolled out toward them, its burnished gold frame the only other source of color (aside from the blue flames) down here. The wavering steeds pulled it up to Ark'han and halted.
The King gestured up onto the platform and all but commanded the princess. "On."
Jai'un was taken back when the chariot approached, coming from no where- or more appropriately, from dark, seeded magics. Her gaze narrowed upon it, but she knew she hadn't a choice, and with her head held high, she took a step forward, then onto the beautiful chariot writhing with shadows and gold.
Turning around, she faced the King to see if he would join her, all the while feeling the weight of the worlds upon her- and the weight of the darkness to her back.
When the King stepped onto the burnished chariot's platform, his wavering form seemed to meld in and out with the shadows of the vehicle. He grabbed no reins no issued any command, but the moment he was on board the two shadow horses began their purposeful trot through the black gates.
The blue flames flickering from the sconces seemed to leap out from their stationary placeholders to follow the chariot, basking it in its soft blue light and creating a bubble of visibility around them. As the chariot rode through the wide ancient corridors of the Shadow Temple, the light illuminated passing structures. They seemed to be abandoned in their infinite age, though upon closer inspection it was clear that the black forms of the Heartless were EVERYWHERE.
And as the chariot passed, they all stopped and turned their red eyes to regard this captured human princess.
Though Jai'un was trying to remain strong and appear unafraid, the moment she regarded just how many of those heartless creatures were around her made her gape and release a soft breath. And instincts had her drawing closer to the King, though she had not meant to- considering she should have known better that such a man would not protect her- and for all she knew, he was going to have these creatures tear her apart.
But it was what it was, and the shadows were alive and that very thought made her skin crawl as the chariot rolled onward, and unformed creatures of all sizes turned to regard her- hungry, angry, ready.
The chariot rolled along for what seemed like forever, along the wide and high corridor leading deeper and deeper into the temple complex. The dozens upon dozens of formless red eyes regarded the King and his human catch silently, though none of them approached the shadowy chariot. They could sense their King's seething anger and twisted hunger.
The soft blue light continued to follow the chariot, and cast another strange shadow of the vehicle along the stone pathway beneath them as it rolled along silently. They passed under an arch, then another arch, and down another long stretch of obsidian-walled halls, before finally emerging in a room.
And this 'room', if you could call it that, was massive. It was as if they stood at the very edge of an underground canyon that stretched well into the darkness beyond. The blue light lifted over them and suddenly cast its light across the entirety of the Heartless temple's inner sanctum. It might as well have been a lost underground city, the sheer size of it.
Jai'un was mesmerized by what she saw. Not only was this kingdom vast, but it was evident by what was revealed they had taken homage and thrived in some unknown ruins that sparkled in the silent under belly of the desert made of glass. Such a thing was intriguing, and were it some other life, perhaps she'd enjoy exploring such a treasure- but she knew why she was brought here,a nd her eyes slipped from the massive temple walls and valted ceilings, as her gaze returned to the King.
"So will it be here?" she asked, her voice echoing inside this massive chamber. "Where you will take my heart?"
"Where I want," came the cold, almost lifeless reply as the chariot lurched back into motion, down a long narrow ramp toward the underground city and the massive black temple in its center. His red eyes never once looked to her, always remaining straight ahead to their destination. It was distant at first, but slowly the temple grew larger and larger as they neared.
Silent for a moment, the King suddenly continued in that low grating voice of his.
"A pure heart requires a more delicate touch."
"Yes, but what of a heart that does not truly belong to you?" she inquired, the voice soft, but firm as she too, kept her eyes averted of his as she stared at the temple as the pair grew closer, chariot rumbling beneath them.
If any emotion finally showed from the shadowy king, now was the time. He practically whirled on her and stared down at her with those blazing red eyes of his. For a moment, his humanoid form seemed to wither away into formless shadows, even as that deep voice countered her assertion.
"Your heart is mine. Every heart I take is mine."
A silence descended after that outburst of wrath, broken only by the soft sounds of the shadowy chariot's wheels against the stone road as it approached the looming temple.
And despite his assertion otherwise, the King knew the truth of it. Only one heart had ever truly belonged to him. It drove him mad to think of her.
"The possession is not the same thing. Though I'll give my physical heart to you, it will forever remain with the man I love. And my people." Even though the man she loved could not and would not reveal to her how he actually felt, for she had foolishly fallen for a General- and who was a princess to marry a man that was not royal? It was inconceivable, but even now- she had no doubts on how she felt, and no regrets, except she had never gotten a chance to truly love him. So when the man turned into a swath of shadows, it did little to deter her constitution as she kept her chin proudly raised and her green eyes glaring.
"He will have no need with it once I take it," the cold King retorted. They'd finally reached the temple, and like everything else about this macabre underground city it was beautiful and grotesque. The walls might as well have been made of obsidian, the blackness and smoothness of them. The tall wide gates swung silently open for them. Here, the soft blue light stopped. Beyond the threshold was only pitch black.
"It matters not. He will be dead by the time I have finished with you," he said ominously before they were swallowed up by the blackness.
Jai'un gasped at the realization...
"But you promised to cease your attacks!"
"Yes I did," the King's voice replied in the darkness. That was all the King said, as he let the silence pervade her ears and distress her with whatever thoughts she might've had at the moment. Time and time again the Heartless had done this: promise mercy in exchange for a sacrifice, and then coldly turn upon the poor souls that believed a reprieve was coming. Ark'han felt no remorse, no pity for the humans. The shadows had to be fed.
Of course, he'd made that same deal with the very first princess whose heart had been freely given to him. And somehow in the course of taking her heart, he had contracted some deadly disease from these humans.
Empathy.
With an almost guttural snarl, he shook his shadowy head clear of that aggravating thought and directed the chariot to slow to a halt. They stopped upon a raised dais in the middle of the Heartless Temple, where he'd taken countless hearts before. Slowly, the rest of the empty room began to fill with shadows and red eyes, as his minions drew near to watch this princess's heart be consumed by their king.
"What?" she said, staring at the shadowed figure in disbelief. And that disbelief soon turned to rage. Furrowing her brow and tightening her jaw, she glared at the man and the second he halted the chariot, she stepped clean off of it without so much as a word and began to storm back through the darkness from whence she came, ignoring all the twinkling red eyes that watched her from the dark.
The Heartless formed a small circle of space around her as she stormed away in the darkness of the temple complex. They didn't hinder her in anyway, though by the time she came across the high doors of the temple her path was blocked by a line of these wavering shadows. From far behind her, up on the dais, the King's layered voice boomed over her.
"If you think to turn back on your deal now... then we'll just have to take another's heart first while we wait."
And at that, the doors cracked open slightly to allow another figure to be physically dragged in by two Heartless that looked more human than shadow. It was a woman, clad in the armor of her people, but bloodied and barely standing, that same armor cracked and pierced a hundred times. The Heartless dragged the girl right up to Jai'un so that she might look upon this citizen of her kingdom.
The severely injured girl looked up and, in a moment of recognition, whispered in awe, "Highness..."
She could say no more as they began to drag her toward the raised dais. Suddenly, all around them the previously silent shadows began rumbling in gibbering excitement, eager to see a human heart taken.
Jai'un was stunned, to think- he'd use one of her own warriors against her. And as her blood boiled she turned to him.
"Stop!" And her voice echoed throughout the temple. "You will not harm the girl." ANd taking a step back towards the dais, she glared at him. "I will stay. You will get your heart, so long as this woman goes free."
The Heartless still held the feebly struggling warrior-girl in place, bent over with blood dripping from a damaged nose. They stopped in their tracks though as the King raised a hand, red eyes turned to regard both him and this princess. The girl coughed and struggled, but could not break away.
Ark'han's red eyes seemed to glare right back at her, his voice a fathomless pool of pitiless disdain. "You presume to add more terms to our agreement," the voice hissed. "Your heart already belongs to me. There is no reason why I should not let my people sate their hunger as well. She is their captured prey."
"But she is one of my own," she told him defiantly, approaching him with a darkening glare. "And we have no agreement if your end is broken. Release her, unharmed. This is meant to be between you... and I."
The King's eyes flared a deep red and his voice rumbled in a low snarl, echoed by the small mass of Heartless all around them. The warrior-girl was coughing and heaving now, so much so that she barely had the strength to stare in wonder as the shadows growled all throughout the temple.
Still, they all remained motionless as the King glared down at the princess. "A bargain it is. But if you turn your back on me once more, then you doom the whole of your city to darkness."
Jai'un kept her shoulders square and chin held high.
"Then release her," came her demand, and she expected no less for him but to obey.
With a wave of his shadowy hand, the Heartless holding the girl up suddenly let go and backed away, their red eyes watching as the injured warrior collapsed to the ground. In unison, the throng of shadows parted, forming a clear path for the girl to drag herself back out the temple and presumably find her way to the surface.
And yet the fallen warrior girl looked up feebly at the temple's arching entranceway only once, before slowly dragging herself toward her Princess.
Jai'un's eyes widened as the woman began to drag herself back towards her. Did she not realize she was free? Not caring what the King would think, she rushed over to the female soldier and dropped to her knees before her.
"My warrior, please, you are free..." Jai'un began to speak, a hand to her shoulder, voice soothing. "This sacrifice was made so that you can live. And live you shall. You should head back to the surface.. to the light."
"She can stay here if she wishes," came the uncaring voice of the King from behind her. "What a loyal subject, crawling to her Princess to offer her services."
The way out was still open to the wounded warrior, but it was pretty clear by now that she wasn't going anywhere -- at least not without her liege.
"If she will not go back on her own, then I shall escort her myself." And she cut the King a look. "This ceremony, or whatever you can call it, can wait until this woman is safe from you and your demons."
"She goes. You stay," the King hissed back at her, those red eyes flaring. Suddenly it seemed as if the shadows that surrounded him blackened even more, if that was physically possible.
"Do not test my mercy a second time."
Jai'un had enough of this and turned hotly towards the King of the Heartless and struck at him, slapping his cheek hard as she stared defiantly back into his gaze.
"And you do not test me." And she kept her head held high, her shoulders thrown back. Her pride was not so easily crippled, and she had sacrificed herself for her people- and this woman, though just one- still counted in that deal as far as she was concerned. And the anger, the challenge flashed within her jade colored eyes, as if daring him to question her authority here. After all, she had come willingly, who was he to just dismiss their promise when he already had what he sought?
The impact of her hand against his face sent ripples through his ashen skin, and the imprint of her palm on his cheek slowly turned black. It spread over his entire being until, once again, he was no more than a massive shadow looming over her tiny form, those red eyes burning red hot. His booming voice echoed throughout the underground chamber, and the reverberations had the other Heartless taking a step back from their wrathful king.
"You would challenge me in MY KINGDOM?"
And then slowly the angry roar turned into a soft laugh, building and building until it reached a crescendo with its seething amusement. It was as much a mockery of this human as it was a way for Ark'han to hide his own uneasiness. For the touch of her hand against his Heartless self had, somehow, sent a thousand memories flowing like a torrential flood through his mind. It reminded him so much of her.
"Take her, then. Drag her dying body back to my city walls. When her breath stops in her throat and her heart ceases to beat, you can bury her in the cold lightless ground."
Jai'un narrowed her gaze at him poisonously.
"Better for her to get to the surface, for at least that one chance at the freedom my people were promised," she hissed. And if she died on the way... well.. well, so be at. At least she would not die as a prisoner, another piece of meat for the heartless to devour.
"This is no prison," he snarled with another mirthless laugh. "That wretched body you inhabit, so weak and fragile. That is the prison and I am freeing you. But by all means, drag her broken corpse out of my city and bury her where you wish."
He leaned down with a shimmering red eye level to her death stare and added, "But know that her grave will never see the sun."
With that, the King of the Heartless turned his back on the two human women. Almost at the same time the gibbering horde of shadowy Heartless split like a parting sea, allowing a clear -- if dark-- path out of the temple, back up the streets and toward the underground city's yawning gates.
Jai'un wasted no time. With her back to the King, she kept her head held high and her shoulders thrown back as she marched through the split sea of heartless. And before her the injured soldier stopped, and moved to bow before her princess.
"Princess Jai'un.."
But Jai'un held up a hand to silence her.
"Please, no need to be formal." And she moved so that she could place the soldier's arm over her shoulder as she leaned her weight into her. "Just stay close to me. Walk as much as you can. We'll get you out of here. We'll get you back home."
The path out the Temple and back up through the underground city of the Heartless was clear all the way through, save for the teeming masses of silent shadows lining either side of the road, watching, waiting. As they approached the city's obsidian gates they too swung open silently for the Princess and her grievously injured warrior woman. Beyond the gates lay nothing but darkness, but the two of them must've known: somewhere through that blackness lay the long path back to the surface.
Jai'un would not get the chance to see her charge safely back through though, as the moment the two of them stepped beyond the boundaries of the Heartless city, the mass of shadows began surging forward after them, intent on snatching the Princess back up and dragging her back to the Temple where their King awaited.
Jai'un made it about two steps when she heard the chittering laughter from the hoards of shadows. She felt her heart freeze in place as the whole lot of them, moving like a thundering wall, charged at the pair and snatched onto her. She only had a chance to flail but once before they consumed her, her screams echoing in the darkness as she was dragged back through the gate as the massive doors slammed shut- sealing the injured woman outside while Jai'un was passed between each blackened limb from the mass of heartless until she was back before his throne and tossed purposely at his feet.
Jai'un didn't have a chance to catch herself as she landed painfully on her belly, cheek and side smarting from the fall. And as she lifted her gaze and her sight came back to her, she saw the presence of him before her, and angered tears welled up inside her eyes, and what strength she had she used to pull herself to her feet and balled up all of her hate and energy into a fist, and swung it directly at his face.
"You lying coward! How could you! You broke your word! You said they' be safe! She could be free!" she shrieked, her voice echoing through the darkness, and the very sound of her plight made the shadowed creatures shiver as they watched and waited for what their master would do.
The fist connected directly with his face, which did not waver like a shadow this time, but took the full brunt of the Princess's force. The King's head snapped to the left from the blow and remained looking away for a brief moment before ever so slowly turning back toward her. That red gaze peered deep and long down at her, nothing showing on his face except for a scowl of disdain.
"She is free. Free to find her way back up to your land of light. Free to live the rest of her meager existence as she wishes."
"And more free than you. You are MINE now." With that, his long slender fingers shot out lightning fast to grasp at her wrist with a grip of iron. The spectacle was over. Now it was time for him to drag her out of sight and do as he pleased with his property.
Jai'un's breath caught in her throat long enough for her to be able to release a heated growl through clenched teeth and flaring nostrils.
"Let me go!" she said, tying to fight against him, but his grip was tight and felt permanent, which made her squirm as she continued to bare her teeth at him.
The Heartless King stopped in mid-step and turned to regard the little Princess with an amused grin. All around them, the shadowy figures that had parted to allow their king a path through toward the private quarters gibbered in equal amusement.
"So the little fleshling still has some fight in her. Very unbecoming of royalty."
He gave her another sharp yank, his irresistible grip pulling with enough force to nearly tug her off balance.
"The only unbecoming royal here I see is you. Some proclaimed King, a tyrant!" she snarled, finding herself stumbling and barely catching herself- but consequentially, she had to latch onto her captor to do it.
Almost oblivious to the struggles of his captive, the Heartless King continued lumbering through the crowd with his prisoner in tow. He did not stop even briefly to allow her to catch her step, forcing her to stumble along after him.
They left behind all of the other Heartless and through two double doors that slammed shut behind them. One by one, the torches along the wall burst into soft blue flame, illuminating the room. For all intents and purposes, it could've passed for the royal chambers of any palace on the surface. Only everything in this room was glazed over in blackness.
Finally, Arkh'an let go of his grip and practically dropped her, before turning with a smile. "A King nonetheless, my little dove. And now your master."
The princess snarled at him, baring her teeth.
"No King of mine. Nor master. I might be a prisoner, but I am here by choice, and what I see you, what I call you, will still be by choice. What you think of it, it can be your own delusion. And I regret no place in my step. My people.... they are free, and if my life unto you is how it comes, so be it. But do not think for a moment that you have truly won."
For she, herself, wanted to believe this as a moment of this powerful King's defeat.
Her snarl was met by the King's own snarl, though his seemed more of a triumphant smile than anything. Her anger and unrepentant defiance amused and intrigued him for some reason. Maybe because he'd seen it before, once.
His love had once shown that same defiance. As if materializing out of nothing, the thought of her soft human features flashed through the King's mind and stunned him for a brief moment. That pure-hearted Princess, who had freely and willingly given herself to him. Somehow, it had changed him into something less than Heartless... and he hated it.
He realized then that he'd faltered for a second in front of Jai'un, caught up in his thoughts of the one woman who ever truly captured his heart, if he could call it his 'heart'. The amusement on his face quickly disintegrated into an irate roar at his own weakness. "Of course I have won! I always win in the end!" he snarled as he swept at her with a vicious backhand.
"You best start living by your choice then, human, lest our little deal be broken and I crush what remains of your city."
The princess kept her head up high, and the faintest fear flashed within her defiant eyes. Her people were the reason she chose to enslave herself. She would not forget it.
"Then forgive me, my King," she told him with some salt, her eyes never once leaving his.
"Good, that is more like it," he snarled at her, before turning his back to her. He had to. If nothing else than to hide his rage at having shown any sign of weakness to her at all. Ever since the first Princess had given her heart to him and in the process stolen a piece of him with her, he'd had to be careful with the way he presented himself. To the rest of his kind, he was still King of the Heartless. Human emotions were beneath him. Or were they?
Turning back, he reached out with his long fingers and roughly wiped the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "Weep not for yourself or your people. They are beyond you now. You should embrace the shadows."
When his hand reached out to touch her, she flinched and tore her face away. Glaring now out into the darkness and towards the hordes of shadow creatures that plagued this land, she kept moving beside him but said nothing. SHe would not agree with him, even if she was forced to follow. Her fate was already sealed, but she could at least keep her pride until the end....
She just hoped losing her heart wouldn't be so.... painful. Though she imagined it would.
It was a while before the King said anything else. In his silence, the darkness seemed to cause those dim blue lights to flicker dangerously, barely illuminating their surroundings. After all, these lights were only there for her courtesy, as the Heartless had no need of light to live in their natural black surroundings.
The fact that he was even extending such a small courtesy to her would have seemed strange to his shadowy minions - if they were in the vicinity to see it. But it was just him and her now. He turned to regard her again, and was again struck by how much she reminded him of her. The purity of her heart by itself threatened to cast away the domain of shadow he'd called over the two of them.
With a deep guttural voice, he rasped, "When this is over, you will feel no pain. No pain of emotions, of love, of hate, of anger. The human heart is weak. I will make you strong."
"Strong?"
She could have laughed. Perhaps she did.
"You have no idea the strengths of the human heart. Of anger, of hate.." And her eyes flickered over his form, "And especially of love. Just do what you were going to do. You may take my heart, but you will never fully own it."
"Emotions," the King retorted in disdain. "All weak pitiful things. I have no use for them." Though he did. Whatever the consumption of a pure heart had done to him, the worst was that it had flooded him with all these new human emotions. They were simultaneously wondrous and despicable. He loved them and hated them.
Leaning forward and glaring down at her, he slowly said, "But make no mistake. When I take your heart, it is mine forever. It belongs to me. Fully."
Jai'un kept her head held defiantly.
"We'll just have to see."
"We shall see," he echoed. With barely a flourish, he turned and headed back toward the door. Stopping there, he said without turning, "Spend this time knowing your surroundings. For this will be your home. Forever."
And then he disappeared into the shadows, leaving Jai'un alone in an unlocked room, with only a little glowing ball of blue flame hovering nearby to guide her way, for as soon as the king disappeared the rest of the flames extinguished.
She promised herself she would not cry, but remain strong, even in the endless dark. But she could not help but feel her heart racing and beating within her ears. But thinking back to her people- and how her sacrifice would save them, helped to ease her rapid heart beats little by little. But the second she began to calm her breath,s he felt eyes upon her-
Though even as she tried to see who or what might be watching her, there was nothing but black.
She shivered, then felt something touch her leg, and before she knew it, she could hear the shadow creatures all around her.
It was hard to pinpoint who (or what) exactly had grazed her leg, but the darkness revealed nothing. Nothing except for the soft skittering sound of movement around her. Something else brushed past her, close enough to feel, but too fleeting to determine its origin.
Like nighttime on the surface, the darkness brought about the strangest of sounds, as creatures of the evening awoke and joined together in a gentle symphony.
But down here, where night lasted an eternity, the sounds were cacophonous, rising in a crescendo that threatened to drown out all her senses as the shadow creatures sang her a mock serenade.
She sucked in a breath as one shadowed creature moved as a breath about her legs, then one moved past her air, another ghosting through her hair. It was maddening, and the sounds- near deafening as she felt herself sweat as she tore away, not sure where she was running to in the blinding darkness as she cried out, and struck out in vein- for even the shadow creatures her sharp hair pin met with (for it was the only weapon on her person), she felt it go through them rather than tear at them as she blanched and grew frantic until she stumbled into a wall and found herself fighting sobs among her gasps.
Gods.. was this how it was to be? She shivered, hugging an arm around herself, and felt the wetness of tears trail down her face.
Was this her fate?
The cacophony dragged on for what must've seemed like days, drowning out Jai'un's terrified sobs. But then soon they began fading away until silence overwhelmed the blackness.
Out of it emerged a pair of red glowing eyes, hovering over her curled up form. The King's familiar guttural voice echoed around her.
"They sing for you, Princess. They welcome you to our land. Your land, now."
She gasped and whirled around, tears stained eyes wide as she held out the hair pin towards him viciously.
The red eyes didn't even glance toward the hair pin as the shadow moved closer to her.
"You need not fear the darkness anymore. We will make you one of ours."
"I will never embrace the darkness," she growled through her teeth. "I will never be one of yours. I will still now, and forever be, the Princess of my people. And this sacrifice, their salvation. Whatever tool you think to make of me, it will not be me, but some vacated spirit, a corruption- but no.... it won't be me."
The shadows around the floating red eyes coalesced into a more solid form, the outline of the King barely visible among the blackness that pervaded the underground Kingdom.
"My dear," the voice cooed in mock sympathy, "You speak so soon of things not yet come to pass. Once I take your heart, you will inevitably see things differently."
A hand shot out of the darkness to snatch her by the shoulder.
Jai'un managed to still glare despite her tears, but when the Shadow King reached for her, she found herself crying out in alarm as she was drawn close. Her heart was racing well into her ears, drumming nearly out of her chest as she bared her teeth at him and looked directly into those flaring red eyes.
"If I were to change, it would no longer be me you are imprisoning, but a drone under your command. As I said," she told him, still baring her teeth in a scowl. "You will never truly possess me. I will never fully be yours."
His grip dug into her shoulder and pushed her back, back into the darkness. Eventually, he'd pushed her right up against something had -- a wall, perhaps.
His voice though. It came out softer, more soothing, more... human. His shadowy form, too, took on a more human shape to it. The eyes still blazed red, but they were framed by a long nose, a defined jaw, dark brows, cheeks. He leaned forward, inches from her.
"Come now, Princess. Let me change your mind."
Jai'un tried to fight against his forceful motions, but she was against some wall before she knew it. Her breathing grew short and rapid, and when he formed more of a human shape before her, she only glared back at him, even as fear pooled within her eyes.
"Is this what you aim to do with me? Just toy with me until I am yours? I told you.. take my heart," she went on, thrusting out her chest. "But that is all you will get from me."
Being so close to her brought out something... human in the King. Something that he despised, and yet could not help. This Princess's face jarred so many memories in him.
A small smile crept onto his features as he ran a hand gently down the edge of her cheek, his fingers slender and shadowy, but less grotesque and more humanoid before. The touch was soft, almost caring.
"The heart is so much more though," he whispered inches from her. "So much for you to give."
Jai'un tried to steady her breathing, her shoulders still back and her eyes never leaving his, even as her heart thundered inside her ears.
"For my people... I would give up anything."
"Good," his voice whispered. It no longer rumbled deep and layered as before, but came out as that of a man.
The King took her face into the palms of his hands, cool to the touch but not icy or clammy -- and kissed her.
Her breath was stolen away the moment she felt the intoxicating power behind his kiss. And though she knew she might be played this way, she could never have mentally prepared herself for it. And being a virgin, and one kissed by so few, she was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions so primal, she felt herself tremble. But when the kiss came to an end, she found herself releasing a trembling breath as her eyes opened and she looked at him.
"If you're too take me, do it quickly." For she was in no power to command him other wise- she just wished her heart was gone when he tried it. And though she tried to act so strong, a knot was sealing inside her throat, which made swallowing difficult as those green eyes remained glued to his.
"But if I can make one request," and here, she hesitated before closing her eyes. "Take my heart out, first."
When they broke apart, the shadowy King was no longer a shadow, but now fully a man. Nothing about him seemed distorted or inhuman at all, save for the pits of his eyes which still gleamed a brilliant red. The shadows melted away from his alabaster skin, leaving only raven hair falling about his shoulders.
If that kiss had awoken strange emotions within her, it had done the same for the Heartless King. For a moment he forgot who or what he was, where he was. All he could picture was the beautiful human face of his long lost love, her brilliant blue eyes, the soft pale rose of her lips. She'd reduced him to something less, something... human.
He saw her face there, hovering in front of him, fear and determination in her eyes. But something about it wasn't right. Those eyes in front of her were green, not blue.
Two blinks later, and he remembered. This girl wasn't her.
"No. Your humanity, your emotions... they demand that you experience it fully. Who am I to deprive you of this last boon?"
Just like that the facade of a human man seemed to distort back into the shadowy form he'd occupied before. He felt anger then, another worthless human emotion. These emotions plagued him to no end.
His hands ran down the soft curvature of Jai'un's face, to touch at her ruby lips. They slid further down, to her shoulders, her arms, her waist. All the while his voice whispered as if to entice her.
"Be brave for your people."
My love.
The princess stared at him with a hardened expression, her shoulders back, her eyes a blaze.
"Then I will refuse. I can not give you my body, for you to be the first man to have me, and to soil me with the awareness of your plague. No... I command you remove the heart first."
The Heartless King's soft humanoid face broke open wide in a grin. Those red orbs danced with disdain, but twinkled with a thousand other human emotions. His shadowy hand came up and forcefully grabbed her by the shoulder.
"No need to worry, my love. I am no man. I am your King now, and your commands do not bind me."
Closing his iron grip around a handful of fabric dangling from her shoulders, he let out a soft snarl and tore at it.
Jai'un could just feel the wickedness from his words, and outwardly cringed as he came upon her. He was rough, and it made her feel so small as his hulking, dark form loomed over her. And the second he tore at her clothing, she let out a gasp and finally had the sense to try to pull away. But his grip was like iron, and she found it was only hurting herself as she tried to escape.
"Let.. let go of me!"
The softness of the King's words belied his intentions as he kept his iron grip around her arm, the other hand coming up to caress at her cheek.
"Embrace the moment, my love. You'll enjoy it more than you think."
"I will enjoy nothing from you!" She snapped, and continued her struggle.
His grip might as well have been manacles around her wrists, for it was powerful and unyielding. The King's face drew near again, his breath not warm but icy. His hand slid lower and lower, past any place that could have been considered appropriate. But they were in the shadows now, and the Heartless had no civility to them.
And then just like that, he let go of her, letting her fall out of his grasp and to the ground. One look at her trembling and struggling self brought a smirk to his face. This was a game they could play, a game that would eventually break her.
"Sleep it off, Princess," he cooed, before slipping back into the shadows and out of sight. "Ponder the eternity you will spend here..."
Just like that, the lights went out again, leaving her to dread whatever might come next.
She hated it- all of it...
The darkness, the calls in the void- and how her body shivered still and burned, just a little, at the despicable way he had touched. He might as well have taken her then, for she felt her pride deflating, and her duty to her people pulling away.
And as it were, when she was left all alone to her own insecurities in a world where there was no light, she found herself once again trembling and brought to tears.
The darkness lingered incessantly, but something about her surroundings seemed different after a while. Maybe it was the air -- it was less stale than before, and cooler to the skin. Even the ambient noises of this underground Kingdom were somehow different.
Then the soft blue light returned. It glowed gently, barely illuminating the room she was in; for she was in a room now.
It had no doors, and window that stared out into eternal blackness. But at least the room had a small basin, a chair, a table... and a bed.
Turning around, she studied the room with subtle interest, before snorting through her nose.
"A cell? Is this where you plan to trap me?" she asked into the darkness, folding her hands across her chest.
The darkness, as it was apt to do, did not reply. The blue light only flickered slightly like a candle caught in a gust, before it gave out again.
Was this some sort of game? She kept her arms folded across her chest and simply glared into the dark. Just because she could not see did not mean she knew not where to direct her hate. He was a man of shadows, so all of the darkness could represent him.
The blue light flickered into existence again, and once more illuminated the small chamber. And then it extinguished again.
And a third time -- but this time, a different glow joined its blue blanket. An yellow and orange one. And it came from the window.
Though naturally her eyes were drawn to the light, she turned her gaze away. She was not going to play this game, and simply sat on the floor, legs crossed and closed her eyes- meditating.
The flicker of light from the window continued, and it grew a bit hotter in the room. From somewhere beyond the pane, a faint echo sounded distantly. "Help us..."
She heard the voice, but tried to ignore it.
No...
She would not fall prey to his tricks! So as she meditated, she began to whisper her mantra outloud.
The faint cries continued.
"Help..."
And they slowly faded.
"Don't leave us, highness..."
No.
It was not them. I twas not her people. She had to stay focused- to keep herself in meditation.
The world was nothing. She, weightless. All of this- lost in space and time. But even as she tried to ignore it, the cries continued to creep in- and haunt her.
The orange flicker grew brighter and brighter, until it shone through the windows, some sort of fire beyond. The voices continued seeping in, quiet and desperate.
"Don't leave us, princess..."
"Why did you go?"
"It hurts so much..."
She bowed her head lower, tried fervently to drown them out, but soon she had begun to sweat. But she refused to acknowledge. It wasn't real. None of this was real. The Heartless King ... He could not so easily.break her!
Soon the cries faded into nothingness, though the room continued to glow a bright orange from the window, and continued to bottle up heat. No more sounds emanated from the window save for what seemed like the crackling of wood in a fire.
For that was the scene outside the window: her Kingdom, engulfed in flames.
Jai'un lifted her head, the sounds of the flames crackling, it's color dancing on the walls- the only thing seen in the darkness. Slowly she stood up from the floor and walked over towards the window, and found herself staring at her kingdom, unable to take her eyes away as the very castle she had lived in all of her life, fell to the ground, and the world was being swallowed up in flames and ash.
The entire city was engulfed in flames that refused to die or even wane, all while the faint echoes of screaming and cries still lingered in the air like passing wind. And then in the distance, a faint light began to spiral up into the sky, a little ball of dim light, almost mist like.
It began as one. Then another, and another. Hundreds and thousands of them spiraling up into the sky as though threads from countless spindles, rapidly being pulled into a torrential funnel upwards into a pitch black sky.
Souls.
An entire kingdom's worth of souls sucked into the black void, the lingering screams and cries fading away along with what was left of humanity.
As the scene unfolded before her very eyes, the Heartless King's voice emanated softly in her ear again, coaxing and almost gentle.
"You can prevent all of this, Princess..."
Tears wet her eyes, soaked her cheeks and dripped off her chin. Was this really to be the future? Taking a step back, she turned to the King of the Heartless.
"Show me... Show me the promise of their freedom. Show me the future you vowed."
As the tears glistened in her eyes, the Heartless King felt something stir in his chest -- right above the breast, where a heart would've been were he more human. He remembered this sensation. It'd come to him unexpectedly only once, when a human princess had somehow imparted a sliver of humanity into his cold soulless husk.
The sensation brought about a sense of rage within his very being, but also a sense of pining. Gods, she had been beautiful.
Beautiful. A human concept that he had no need for. So why did he keep thinking back to her.
A hand raised up to Jai'un's cheek, the pads of his fingers feeling more fleshlike than ever. Gently, he turned her head to look back out the window.
The scene had abruptly changed. Where once was the Princess's burning city, now stood one with ruined walls and gates -- but ruins that were slowly being rebuilt by human hands. Brick by brick, beam by beam, they worked to restore their city that was saved by the grace of their beloved Princess. And at the top of the gates, a silver statue of her stood gleaming in the sunlight. Their memorial to her sacrifice.
To see the change brought another sort of sparkle, another sort of tears to her eyes. Something within her own chest tightened, as did her throat. She was breathless, the sight, the recovery...
And the shrine...
"Why would they build such a thing? I abandoned them in hopes for a better future..."
Though a sacrifice, she still felt terrible for ever letting herself become a prisoner to this man and his legion of heartless beasts.
Turning towards the king, she studied his face and found herself asking,
"Is this trickery? This sight before me? I know what you promised.... but this... this vision. Is it real? Or is it your magic?"
"It is what you want it to be," came the King's reply.
"Honor our bargain, and your people will live."
She placed a hand over her chest, and felt the hard beating of her heart. For a moment, her stare grew distant, and a series of emotions welled within them before ultimately, the last one ended on defeat. She had offered herself over, and even if she had little choice....
She could only pray this heartless king would honor her sacrifice. Or else all of this would be in vain.
She raised her eyes to look up into the king's face. Strange how in that moment, he seemed more human.
"I am your captive. Do with me as you will. But honor our bargain, or I swear to you.." she went on, eyes burning. "You will regret it, and I'll find a way to make you fester in your own hell."