liz

Chapter 2

Sun, 24 Nov 2013 02:10:02 +0100

So sorry for the delay in updates! School is taking more time than I thought it would, what with keeping grades up so I have access to the internet. Anyways, here's the second, edited chapter of Liz's story.

Chapter 2

After miles of walking through the forest, Liz found herself outside of a small log cabin. It was in decent condition, and, seeing no one home, Liz entered the cabin. It was relatively clean inside, and seemed to be recently abandoned. Only a few pieces of furniture remained inside, and dust was just starting to gather, as if it were time for the house’s weekly cleaning. Exhausted and hungry, Liz slipped into the kitchen, surprised to see food in the cabinets. Ignoring the fact that someone may very well still live in the cabin, Liz made herself a small amount of pasta. She ate quickly, and helped herself to a small glass of water. Once she’d cleaned the kitchen back up, she wandered the house until she found a small room lined with books, and a cot in one corner. She curled up on the cot and closed her eyes.

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Liz whirled around to face the stranger, still shaken from the incident with Robert. She expected someone to have come after her, but when Prince Elliot stepped out from the shadow of a tree, she relaxed slightly. “Elliot? What are you doing all the way out here?” Even though they were friends back at the palace, Liz was still worried he may be out to kill her for leaving. She knew that changes like what happened at the dinner, especially when made by Liah, could have some major effects on relationships. Another possibility was that Liah had sent him, maybe even under compulsion.

“I was hunting. I heard you come by - you scared off my game - and thought something was wrong by how much of a hurry you were in.” Elliot said. He walked over and cupped Liz’s cheek in his hand, She flinched. “What did Robert do to you?”

Liz’s breath caught. She couldn’t talk about it without breaking down; even thinking about it was tough on her. Elliot stepped back when he realized what his brother had done. “I’m so sorry…,” he breathed. “If I could have stopped it…”

“I’m leaving.” Liz said. She’d dismounted the horse after pushing it to gallop three miles, and had walked a fourth mile by the time she ran into Elliot. Now, she remounted. “I’m not going to end up with him.”

“You can’t. Liah’s going to---”

“Screw Liah! She had her son rape me! She expects me to marry him! I’m not going to give her that satisfaction! I’m not going to play her god damn games anymore, Elliot! I can’t believe you’ve even stuck around this long! How has anyone?!” Liz roared. She was shaking, and it showed most in her hands, where she held the horse’s reins. Elliot stepped forward and took her hands into his.

“I know. I’ve been thinking about leaving for a while now, but I’d never heard of anyone actually doing it. We could run together. We could join Syra and the rebels and fight Liah. We might kill her.”

“I don’t want anything to do with anyone here,” Liz snapped, pulling her hands away sharply. “Even you. This place will be gone from my life. Completely. I swear, if you follow me, Elliot, I’m going to hurt you.” she threatened. There’s always the chance he might run back to his mother if things get tough. I can’t risk that, she thought. It might get me killed.

Apparently, she got through to Elliot. He stepped back, resigned. When he spoke, his voice was soft. “Alright,” he sounded hurt, “Have it your way,”

Liz mounted her horse and rode further into the woods, towards the nearest portal she knew of.

Rain poured down on Liz and her horse as they cantered along a busy dirt path winding erratically through the woods. She ignored the other carts on the path, keeping to the edge, silently making her way around the traffic that built up. Eventually, she and the horse came to small village that resembled some kind of medieval village. Liz brought her horse around to one of the stables, outside of an inn. She walked into the main building, weaving through the crowd until she found a slender girl, dressed in skinny jeans and a Paramore t-shirt, handing out drinks to a group of people. Despite her dictatorship, Liah still let music and films into her kingdom. She adored them. Once the girl turned to go back to the kitchen, Liz stopped her and pulled her aside. “Liz!” the girl smiled, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. “Why are you here? I thought you were with Liah.”

Liz winced as the memories of Robert resurfaced for the millionth time that night. “I’m leaving. I need to get to the human world.” she said. “Please. I can’t stay. Liah had Robert do some… nasty things to me. I need to get out.”

“What?” the girl said. She sighed. “I don’t know. You have to talk to Kasumi. You know how she is about the portal.”

Liz went into the kitchen almost immediately after the girl told her to. When she found Kasumi, she relaxed slightly. Kasumi, however, tensed. She pulled Liz into a storage closet, and spoke in a quick, hushed voice. “Liz, you need to get out of here. Liah’s got guards looking everywhere for you. There are some staying in the inn now.”

“You’re serious?” Liz asked, surprised. “I hadn’t expected more than five, at the most.” Why was Liah so worried about her? Had Elliot said something, or was it just because she was one of the more powerful members of the clan? Either way, Liz needed to get as far away from Liah as possible.

“Well, there are a lot more than five.” Kasumi said, “Now you need to get out of my inn.”

“Kasumi, let me use your portal.” Liz pleaded. The red-haired waitress looked taken aback.

“Do you know what you’re asking of me?” she gaped, “Everyone here could be killed!”

“They wont be. Trust me.”

“And what are you going to do to ensure that?” Kasumi spat venomously.

“I— … I don’t know…”

“Exactly. Now get out,”

Kasumi started out of the room with a handful of tomatoes. Liz sighed. She didn’t want to put Kasumi in danger getting her help, but there wasn’t another person who she could trust. Then again, if they made a bargain that could somehow work in Liah’s favor, Kasumi may be allowed to live. Their clan was bound to their word. Liz sighed. “Kasumi, wait,” she said. Kasumi paused in the doorway. “Let me use the portal and I’ll owe you a favor.”

Kasumi turned to face Liz. “What kind of favor?”

“Any. Just let me through.”

The waitress stayed still. “Do I get a summoning with the favor, so I can call in my favor any time?” she asked. Liz nodded, reluctant. Summonings were annoying, but if she wanted to use the portal, she had to give Kasumi what she wanted. Kasumi let out a long breath after a moment, setting her tomatoes down. “Fine,” she said, kicking a shelf. It vanished, and door stood behind it. Liz hurried through.

Chapter 1

Sat, 26 Oct 2013 03:52:19 +0100

Chapter 1

Liz sat up groggily. Every part of her body ached, and her head pounded. She had no idea where she was, and could not recall anything before waking up. Her mind was blank. She knew something wasn’t right, and it scared her to think something might be wrong with her. Wanting to keep her mind off of what may be wrong, what might kill her, she forced herself to her feet, and began walking through the dense forest surrounding her. Hopefully her memory would return. Hopefully it wasn’t anything lethal.

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“Liz?” a voice called, bringing her out of her memories. “Hey, are you okay?”

“What?” Liz asked, startled. She realized the voice that had brought her out of her thoughts had been her maidservant, Miley. “Oh. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Miley tied Liz’s long, bleached blonde hair behind her shoulders with a ribbon. “Rumors about you and Prince Elliot have been going around. That may mean trouble from Liah. You know how she is about her children.” she warned.

“Lovely.” Liz mumbled. She hated being in the royal sector of the Suzuki clan, and she definitely didn’t want any trouble from their “constitutional” monarchy, which was more like a dictatorship. She had preferred life when all the branches of the clan were equal, and when they’d had no real government. She’d liked to roam the world and see things. When Liah gained power, Liz had been called back to the clan’s territory to fight the rebels, who were led by Liah’s sister, Syra.

“Yes, well, this is how things are now. It would be best to get used to it. You don’t want to be the one who’s stuck in the past while everyone else has moved on,” Miley said.

“Yeah, well, people need to remember the past. They need to remember what it was like before Liah came into power,” Liz argued. “It’ll give them a reason to fight. Surely they don’t want to be told what to do every second of their day,”

“Maybe so, but they won’t. If needed, Liah will erase their memories to keep herself in power. We all know she has the power to do it, even with how many of us there are. Even for someone in the Kagami branch, she is powerful. The fact that she can take our powers away demolishes any hopes of planning an attack.”

“She can’t take us all on if we all go at her at once…”

“No, she can’t, but we wouldn‘t be able to keep an attack secret from her. You know she‘s got spies everywhere.”

Miley finished Liz’s hair and makeup, making sure to bring out her blood red irsies. They were the give-away mark of a Kagami, the most powerful beings in the Suzuki clan. She ushered Liz out of her bedroom and down to the dining room. The long table was set with exquisite china, and there were gauntlets made of shining crystal. People were already filing into the huge room, with its vaulted ceiling and rich wallpaper. Liz hurried to her seat, hoping that the dinner would go smoothly. Liah rarely planned dinners for the clan, and when she did, she usually caused trouble. Liah seated people who hated each other together, and she did the same with those who were in a forbidden love. Usually, those lovers were exposed. Liz glanced around the room, hoping not to see her own lover. If Liah found out, terrible things would happen

She prayed that Elliot wasn’t sitting next to her.

Once all of the guests for the dinner arrived, Liah appeared. She wore a flowing black gown, a contrast to her usual white, and she had her waist length white hair pulled into a bun of some sort. Her lavender eyes flashed at Liz, then moved on to the next target: Elliot. He was placed several seats down, Liz noticed, on the opposite row to Liz. She gave him a quick glance, which he refused to meet, choosing to pay attention to Liah instead, who took her seat at the end of the table. Servants, mostly from the Yagami branch of the clan, the weakest, brought out a magnificent feast that could have easily fed any city’s homeless population. Liz felt sick. She knew how wasteful these people would be if Liah didn’t have the leftovers handed to her lower class people. Whatever could be said about her, she made sure that her people were well fed.

The dinner proceeded just as any other would, for the most part. Conversations and mild arguments filled the room, along with the chiming of silverware. Eventually, Liah stood. The entire room fell silent almost immediately, as if speaking could break the ocean of ice they sat on, and cause an apocalypse. “Guests,” Liah started. “Thank you all for coming here tonight. I know that you all want to make sure your families are taken care of, and with those rebels starting a war with us, it has been difficult, to say the least,”

Several guests nodded in agreement.

“There is a reason we have gathered here tonight. I have an announcement to make, and it may come as quite a surprise to some of you.” she continued, throwing a glance towards Elliot. “My son, Robert, is to be married to a girl from the Kagami branch. Liz Montesquieu, stand please.”

The guests mumbled and shifted, shocked by the engagement; they all knew that Liz and Robert hated each other. Liz, however, was frozen in place. She’d hated Robert her entire life. He’d always been so horrible to her, shoving her face in the dirt and throwing rocks at her. He humiliated her in front of the entire academy. He ruined her first date. Lately, they hadn’t been around each other much, and if they were, he tripped her or spat on her. Now that she was engaged to him, she wanted to die. Liah couldn’t have picked a better revenge.

“Miss Montesquieu, please stand.” Liah repeated, her voice now full of warning. She hated having to repeat herself.

Ty, an old friend of Liz’s who had been seated next to her, elbowed her in the side, making her jump to her feet. She shot him a quick, thankful glance, and began playing her part. “Thank you, Liah. I am honored to be engaged to such a prestigious, handsome prince.” she said, bowing. The room remained silent as she played her part, and Robert stood as well.

“Come with me, Liz,” he ordered, walking out of the room and into the corridor just outside. Once Liz had caught up with him, he led her to his study, and whirled around to face her. “We both know why she did this. It’s your fault we’re stuck in this situation.” he said.

Liz sighed. “You think I want to marry you? You’ve lost your mind.” she said, crossing her arms.

“We may as well make people think we’re happy.” he smirked, advancing in on her.

Liz caught on to what Robert meant immediately. She knew he’d done some nasty things to some of his previous girlfriends, and she had no intentions of becoming his next victim. “Fuck you, Robert. There’s no way in hell I’d ever sleep with you,” she exclaimed.

“That’s why it’s called rape, hun.” he cooed, suddenly pinning her to a wall.

Liz writhed under his touch, as if it caused her pain to touch him. “I’m warning you, Robert. Back off,” she growled. “You’ll regret it,” All of the guards were stationed near the dining room, across the castle. There was no one else in the wing she and Robert were in, and no one would hear her call. She was on her own.

“Back off?” Robert chuckled. “Liz, you’re hot. There’s no way I’m going to back off now. I’ve wanted you for a long time, but I knew you’d never date me. So, when my mom said she wanted to punish you, I filled her in on our situation.” he smirked, pressing himself harder against Liz, his hands untying the back of her dress as she struggled against him.

“Robert, stop!” Liz shrieked when Robert began kissing her bare neck. She tried to summon her powers, but when she did, she found that there was nothing there. Her powers were gone; blocked. It took her a moment to realize that Liah had taken her powers, just so Robert could do this. She tried to shield her body when Robert tore her dress away from her body, exposing her almost completely. He smirked.

“Better than I thought. Being a Kagami, I’d thought you’d have scars defacing your skin,” he said, looking her over, holding Liz to the wall by her shaking shoulders. Robert moved to her ear. “Instead, you look like a Yagami. Like you’ve never fought a day in your life.” he whispered, nibbling her ear. She inhaled sharply, wishing she could scream, but Robert had cut off her speech with his own powers. She couldn’t scream, or even say she hated him. Instead, he forced words out of her that made her skin crawl.

“I love you.” she whispered, shrieking inwardly and wishing to be released from her agony.

Robert’s smirk widened. “Good girl.” he mumbled, removing the rest of Liz’s clothes. She shuddered, full of hate, as his hands wandered her body, slipping just inside her. She gasped, and broke down into sobs as he continued violating her, taking her virginity by force.

“Oh, Liz, I’m so sorry.” Miley said, holding a shaken and beaten Liz to her chest. “Did he do anything life threatening, darling?” she asked.

“No… He didn’t… Liah took my powers, too. I couldn’t do anything to stop him.” Liz cried. Miley stiffened slightly.

“Do you have them back?” she asked.

“I think so,” Liz sniffled, standing. “I’m leaving.” she said.

Miley rose with her. “What? You can’t! Liah will hunt you down and kill you, Liz!”

“You think Liah’s going to waste her time on me when she’s got a whole rebel army to deal with? The most she’ll do is send a few of her soldiers after me,” Liz said, throwing some clothes, toiletries, and personal valuables into a bag. She zipped it, and pulled a set of daggers from her closet, along with a sword, which she set beside the bag. She hurried into her bathroom and bathed quickly, hoping to get some of her blood off. Dressed and packed, she threw her black cloak around her shoulders over a red dress similar to the one she’d worn to dinner. Liz hurried to the stables, saddled and mounted her black horse, and fled the castle.

Several miles out, a familiar voice called to her. “Liz?”