"Dreams: Prologue" by Christina Stratton

The wind rose around her, causing her tattered dress to flap around her legs. The thick clouds above her head clapped with thunder, as if anticipating the upcoming fight. Before her was the only other mortal being that had a chance of defeating her. <i>Why does the idiot not move?</i> The black-cloaked man simply stood, his cape flapping in the wind. She moved closer, making sure as to not alarm her nemesis with sudden movements.

“You seem proud of yourself, Nestan’jye. Why have you done this? Why did you cause these many men to die if all you wanted was to fight me?” Her strong and solid voice defied her slender form as she yelled the questions across the bloodied churchyard.

“You will never understand that you are the only one for me. You think that a pathetic man with nothing can protect you and give you what you need,” the dark man yelled back, and pulled back his hood to reveal a handsome young man with shoulder length black hair. She did not have to see his eyes to know that they were of the deepest purple. If he was not so vile, she could have fallen for him. Nestan’jye was two and thirty, olive-skinned, tall, and built as if he had worked the sword all his life.

“Oh? And if a man can’t, than who can?” She knew what his answer would be, but she enjoyed making his life miserable, it was a perk that came with the job.

“I can.” His simple answer.

“Nestan’jye, you are not man. You are not of this world. You are a vile and disgusting creature who wants nothing but power. I could never love one such as you. Now, are we to fight or am I to understand that you simply want to apologize and turn yourself in?” The beautiful woman challenged Nestan’jye to a fight that he knew he would lose, but as she was the one to do it, he knew that it would be pure ecstasy, no matter what the pain.

“Aucquiliey! I challenge you to a fight to the death! If you will not have me as a lover than have me as a killer!” With that, a large white blast flew at Aucquiliey, hitting her in the stomach, sending her to her knees.

“You don’t get it do you? Nestan’jye, I will never love you. I will NEVER bow to you!” With that, Aucquiliey raised herself up off the ground and closed her eyes, concentrating her mind, soul, and heart on the one man that she could ever fear and had the chance of winning her heart. What she felt was immaculate warmth overcome her mind and a strange calmness in her heart. Her soul was restless, wanting to release from her body the awesome power that would destroy him and her, all to ensure that the next generation and the next would be safe from the terrible power of Nestan’jye.

What he saw was the only woman in the world that he wanted preparing to kill him and probably even her. As he watched her raise her body to an erect position, as he watched her start to glow that deadly white color that was her life-force, he began to wonder what it would have been like if she had just let him love her the way she deserved. Even as he saw her open her eyes and shout the ancient words of eternal banishment to the Fifth Gate of Hell, he wondered at her beauty and her strong will.

Aucquiliey pointed her open hand at Nestan’jye and prayed to her Father, the King Himself, that the man standing before her would suffer his due share in Hell, like he deserved, no matter how much it hurt her heart.

The white light surrounding her beautiful and slender body now swarmed around her soft and elegant hands. The sheer beauty of her awesome person was am astounding contrast to the stormy and starless sky, to the bodies scattered on the muddy field, to the injured and scared lying about in make-shift shelters watching from a distance as their Lady sacrificed herself so that they might live in piece.

Nestan’jye’s last words as he was engulfed in the bright light that would shatter their bodies into nothing were, “I’m sorry…..”