| Fan Fiction |
by Aelk
“Where could he have been?” She thought while staring at the moon which was about to go into hiding a few days later, “To think that I’d personally whipped up a decent meal for him!”
The food is going to turn cold now, she thought sadly.
And it was then the particular moment which pierced through the lonely night’s silence came. The wooden windows were being smashed into pieces with a loud bang. Anzu caught sight of a dark figure rolling in from the newly created opening before the flames from the candles were extinguished.
“What was… that?” she analyzed what she has just seen and took a small knife from the kitchen. Holding the sharp object with both hands, she approached the place where she last seen the figure dropped to carefully.
”ugh…”
A slight, trembling voice alarmed her. It did not take her long to realize whom that voice belonged to.
”Hey, hey!! Are you alright, Mister Thief?!”
Because she does not know his name, she had to give him one for calling. Azure lay semi-consciously on the floor, and although he knew who was talking to him, he had not much strength to think about hiding his identity anymore.
“I have a name, you know…”
“I DO! But you never told me!! Before that, why on earth did you get so beaten up?!”
As she sees Azure bleeding like this, her heart wrenched and a teardrop fell onto his scratched face.
“I’m not going to die, so don’t weep for my funeral yet…The soldiers from the Temple are coming to get me soon… So get away while you still can.”
And before any of them spoke again, a commotion could be heard outside of the shack. As Anzu peered secretively out of the windows, she saw a large group of soldiers preparing to get into the small shack.
”The Shadow stole a golden brooch from our goddess’ statue! We must not let the Temple’s infidel get away!”
One of them ordered his subordinates to charge on his cue.
“Ready…”
”WAIT!”
A sudden call came from within the shack, and out came Anzu, looking at the soldiers so fiercely that they thought they will be punished by the gods. Azure was too weak to stop her from rushing out of the place so inconsiderately, and can only lie down to listen for the progression.
“L-lady Anzu!!”
All of Azure’s pursuers knelt down before her in great respect.
“So, you have found me…”
Anzu’s feeble smile seemed deeper than it was --- She was trying to cover up for Azure.
”W-we are trying to locate a thief…”
”So you are saying that I, the priestess of the Temple, is harboring a thief?”
”N-no…. Lady Anzu, please come back with us! The Temple has been finding you for days!”
“Can’t I even have a moment of peace on my own?”
The captain of the soldiers lowered his head in guilt, “We understand your hard work in praying for the country’s wellbeing. But you must understand that you are the only one who can hear the voices of the gods and convey their messages, we cannot allow any potential harm to be near you…”
“So she is the renowned Priestess of the creator gods Anu and Ishtar…” Azure closed his eyes and thought about the truth behind her identity, “The holy priestess… what is she doing in a chest?”
Before he consolidated his thoughts, Anzu’s voice could be heard again from the outdoors.
“Let me do a final prayer before going back with you,” she demanded.
“As you wished lady priestess.”
Just as how the people are frightened by the powers of gods, they dared not anger the priestess either. Anzu came into the shack once more and closed the door so that nobody can see what is lying inside of it. She pressed her index finger against Azure’s lips to silence him, and began her final ‘prayer’ before departing for the Temple which she escaped from.
“I have to go now…” she whispered, “sorry for angering you in the noon. Here, this will help your wounds to heal. “
She tugged a bundle of herbs into his blood-covered palms.
“Anzu, why did you ---“
“I was chosen to become a priestess when I was twelve due to my gift of being able to hear the celestial’s voices. It wasn’t my own desire. With my freedom taken away for six years already, I yearn for an escape, even if it be a fleeting one. Thank you, Mister Thief, my stay was an enjoyable one indeed.”
She got up and turned around to prepare to leave. But her hand was grabbed by Azure willfully.
“I-I have a name… Not that you want to know though…”
Anzu smiled as her hand slipped away from his. She closed her eyes and whispered one final sentence before getting out of the shack.
“Although you have never told me, I know who you are... and may the gods be with you… Shamash.”
*************************************************************************************
Lilith thought about how important Azure has been to her, and how he has been protecting her along the way. Somehow, she felt that she is becoming a burden to him instead of a useful friend. But then, she does not want to leave him. Such a dilemma is making her chest hurt badly.
She placed her palms on his forehead and wished for a miracle to occur. If only… she thought, if only her Mu would appear now, his wounds will heal. If her flute is a trigger, then maybe the Madain Seri will too, she thought.
And so, she began to sing the prayer using the lyrics Azure knew of.
“Light of the town
As lives of the people glimmered.
Clears a path of uncertainty and points to the next way.
Doubting no more, go ahead without turning back.
We, as the children of Anu and Ishtar,
Blessed by the Sun and Moon,
Enter the gates of intermingle.
O Lost sparrow from the flock,
Return to where you belong...”
A faint white light began to gather in her palm and Azure’s wounds were starting to heal. As she broke into a smile, tears fall uncontrollably and sink into the gaps between the sandy grounds. Happiness overwhelmed her as her brother’s words from long ago surfaced in her mind.
“Lilith, someday, you will find a suitable man to be with for the rest of your life. You can’t be with Brother forever…”
Kazo assured her when he and the other Juhna males were going for training with the Giants so as to prepare themselves for an upsurge with the Humans. That was the last time he saw his adopted sister before getting caught by the Humans’ slave ship.
“I cannot teach you much on these things. But someday, you will know it when you meet him.”
The man she will be with forever, is he the one lying on her laps right now? Lilith wondered. Whatever is it, she wants to stay by his side, even if he does not cast his eyes on her.
Then, a frail voice can be heard.
“…ugh…”
“A-Azure, azure…!”
*************************************************************************************
A familiar song rang in his ears all of a sudden, and he felt himself being pulled away from his dream – The dream about Anzu. He was reluctant to return at first, but gave up in the end. A strong pull was felt, and then, the Shack is no more. When he opened his eyes once again, Lilith was by his side, weeping with her reddish eyes.
“Lilith… “
Before asking where he was, the events on Ladhul’s betrayal and the Race found their way back to his memories once more.
“Thank god you are alright!”
“I… had a dream…”
”A dream?”
“An informative one, which spoke of my past… And a sad one, which spoke of how the end began… A lingering dream that I can’t seem to shake off...”
Lilith smiled and nodded slightly before she added, “May it be a good dream then.”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N
Long chapter! And
Azure had a real name at last =3~
Now that he recalled something between
him and Anzu, and Lilith's inner stuggles....
geez, when shall i update again XD?
sorry for taking so long though ;)