| Fan Fiction |
by Aelk
As she ran helplessly, the huge beings chasing madly behind her did not seem to be able to tell who she is. It must be due to her cloak, she thought, but she would rather die than to reveal herself. Just when she was about to leave the Temple through the backdoor a while ago, the Empire’s machinas appeared and were suddenly chasing her.
”Just what has this world come to? Didn’t they know who to pledge loyalty to?”
Exhausted, she came to a halt suddenly.
“Argh…This can’t go on forever.”
The Machinas behind followed her actions. She threw back her hood to get some fresh air, revealing her face at last. Flicking her tresses from her purple eyes, she then took in a deep breath --- The breath of salvation after being trapped in the warm cloak for too long. The Machinas scanned her for a while with their electric eye, and then knelt before her after confirming her identity.
“Princess Iris…”
The leading operator of one of them spoke humbly.
“Alright, now go back and stop chasing me!”
“B-but his majesty…”
“GO!”
Iris raised a short dagger and pressed its cutting edge against her throat. Albeit being in a dilemma, the Machinas then began to retreat back to their leader. Now standing alone in front of a muddy road, the princess smiled in triumph.
“… Just when I’d found them…Now I’ll have to find a way to explain things to them,” she thought deeply before looking up again, “But first…… where am I?”
Unknown to her, that a few miles away, the two Juhnas who made the Machinas chase after her were too running away from their foes. Blessed with the power to connect with Nature, the forest they were in was a haven for their green race. Juhnas are able to navigate jungles and forests with ease even without a compass. Although there was no explanation for this phenomenon, it was said that the stationary trees and woods would sometimes help them in secret.
“G-Gunter, t-think of a p-plan fast!! I… I c-can last any longer n-no more…”
Fatigue and breathlessness plagued Kazo as he ran, occasionally jumping over a curving tree root or two. While the smaller Juhna continued forward in silence, the killing machinas were slicing down trees in the matter of seconds, clearing up a huge path for their comrades. Although they were supposedly to be going at a speed higher than those on foot, there was a certain force which prevented them from proceeding smoothly. The trees have whispered their aid to the Juhnas at last.
“Kazo!”
“Got it!”
Both of them took a sudden change of course and made way towards a hidden marsh. They have never been to it but have known its location in their hearts.
“Drown, the murderers of our kinds, in abyss of soil they shall.”
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Azure tilted his head slightly to the side while watching the lady in front of him carve something onto a wall. From another viewing angle, the random curls and lines seemed to be depicting a tree. She has been drawing the same thing onto some trees they saw on their way here too.
“Should they past by our trail, they should be able to find us by following.”
Lilith gave a satisfied grin at her drawings and then pulled Azure away to explore the Human town they have just entered. Although their ultimate goal was to persuade the other non-Humans to join forces, as she put it, a slight sightseeing would not hurt a bit. Azure, being a compromiser, agreed to her requests straight away. Although he looked human enough, it was better to color his hair black again using Gunter’s wondrous invention --- some liquid he called a ‘hairdye’.
“Really, you looked so different than when they’re blue.”
According to her deductions, which were actually her instincts, heading northwards from the Temple should be the right way to get to the Tartan lands. And she was right. The locals told that the current town they were in was the last haven before the treacherous sea of sand beyond. Once in the barren region, everyone, humans or not, will be equal before Death.
“Lady, I think it’s best not to proceed further. For eight years nobody has stepped foot on that piece of land beyond the borders, because those who did never returned to tell the tale. Before then the Tartan king would use his Mu to create a barrier so that traders could cross the desert without facing any dangers from the creatures that lurked it, but now, that barrier is gone. “
The innkeeper spoke to the two when they returned from the outdoors with a slightly shaky tone. Wearing a dusty apron and covering her hair with a headscarf, she appeared as a very typical human woman of the middle-low class status. Her inn is small and rundown, and occasionally Azure felt grains of sand piercing into his thin shoes whilst walking. The same situation applied to even the streets. The human town is rather simple and almost unrealistic in some ways, as there were no traces of Machinas being used in the entire area.
”Machinas?” the female boss answered Azure, “Although we are humans too, we don’t really agree with the Empire’s doings. I believe that not only us, there were a lot of the others against them too. But look at us now, the price of disobeying the Empire is paid with our poverty. Never mind that, since even the Machinas could not get past the desert without meeting any mishaps, we have been granted peace.”
Azure was glad that at least not all Humans are bad to the core, but to leave its own people in the lurch proved that the King of the Humans was a callous person who believed in absolute fealty.
“It’s okay, Madam. We must get there, no matter what. “
Azure answered tactfully, only to invite a murderous stare from the older woman.
“Alright, it is not my position to ask further, but look at the sand; it’s going to hurt your wife’s pretty face when the winds out there blow. Don’t you know how to cherish her?”
Basically her deductions were based on Azure’s ring even though Lilith does not have one.
“W-wif---!!”
Lilith choked on her apricot juice badly and was hitting her fist on the wooden table hard as if to divert the terrible feeling onto it. Azure was helpless and can only answer the innkeeper honestly.
“You got it wrong, madam…. She is more of err, my friend~”
“Really?! I apologize for jumping into conclusions. But then, you two are quite compatible I must say. You are an introvert and she is the polar opposite.“
Lilith forced herself to think of the sentence as a compliment. When she took a quick glance at Azure’s expression, however, he did not appear as amused. Anzu is the only person on his mind and will remain there forever, she thought painfully.
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A/N
Tadaa! Princess Iris is out =3~ (lol she's not Lilith after all) I haven't really described her... but i will soon... maybe.
Am currently stacked under my pile of lecture notes lol, so i don't know when will i be updating again T.T~
anyway, "Anzu" is japanese for "Apricot" i think, muhahaah.