Strena The Name Of The Sword Part One

 The Visit From The Witch

It had been barely a few months when Strena woke in a town tucked away and high up in the mountains by a narrow river. She had counted the months to three months and a week since that witch…Grasharlo, had tried to use and possess her to kill Zaryb. She still felt slightly ill just thinking about it. She felt naked in a storm and she desperately wished that her mother and father were here, to comfort and care for her. But no, they were dead and she was sick with the one that killed them. She had no idea his plans for her, but she knew that she would not like them.

She opened and read her diary, just to take her mind off things.

She noticed that she was to turn twelve within a handful of months. She didn't not know whether or not she should look forward to it. After all, she knew that it did not matter if she was to come of age soon. She would still be in Zaryb's clutches. Yet even more so was the fact that during that time she would have to become the apprentice to Grasharlo. She had asked Zaryb more about her and the more she heard, the less that she looked.

She soon put on a black blouse and her new coat which was identical to the last one, just bigger. With a set of trousers and done boots.

She looked to the door of her room when Zaryb walked in and sat on the chair next to her. He looked out of the window, but he still looked sleepy. She had noticed that he had been getting even less sleep than usual and had started to doze off as he looked out of the window. Which he did immediately after sitting down. He breathed him deeply and let out a heavy breath as he did.

Looking at him, in that moment she noticed that he looked chillingly like her father. It unnerved her to realise this. She had to look away to distract her from this and get eyes rested upon the single mirror in the room. Yet, to her shock, she looked chillingly like Zaryb too! In fact she looked almost like a younger gender bent version of what a cross between her father and Zaryb would look like! She quickly looked for her mother in her face only to find the only thing that she had of her mother's was that one maroon eye. The other was the same colour of her father's yet even he had the same mismatched colour eyes as Zaryb!

She started to wonder what she was like when she reached their age. Would she be like Zaryb or would she be on her throne like her father. Somehow she did not see herself doing either of them. No she saw herself writing in some day away cave or a cave-like place. She could not picture herself as a wife or as a mother either. In fact she found it difficult to even see herself as an old woman either. She also found it even more difficult to see herself being desired by anyone.

Then her thoughts were interrupted by the loud sounds of screaming below. She soon broke out of her mind and wondered what was the cause of the terrified screams. She collected her sword and as soon as she opened the door the screaming died down. She then ran out to see the witch that played her dreams in person for the first time.

Before she could do anything, work a flick of her wrist Strena flew back in the room. Her back hit the wall and her front hit the floor. She let out a grunt as Zaryb woke. She was about to get up when she felt a heavy weight on her back. She slammed back into the floorboards. She tried to get up again and again, but she could not. Something was keeping her in place.

"Help!" She moaned.

He got up and went to run to her, but flew back immediately after. Then silver bars flew out of nowhere and stuck themselves into the walls where his wrist and ankles were, pinning him to the wall. He tried to pull them off but he could not. He noticed by their tight grip, thet dislocating his joints would do nothing but run the risk of losing his thumbs. Then he felt a hand on his chest and all his energy left him. He could do nothing but hang there limp.

Then the witch walked into the room, both confidently, calmly and with grace. She looked at him with a cold but gracious smirk. Then her eyes slid to Strena. She let out a chilling laugh as she slowly walked up to the girl as she still struggled to get herself up. She looked up and tried to push herself back to get away, but she could not, her legs just would not obey her.

Grasharlo crouched and outstretched her hand to her. She closed her eyes as she started to tremble all over. She then felt the witch's hand gently rest on her cheek. She stroked her cheekbone gently with her thumb almost like a mother would.

"Tell me, have you found out the name of the sword yet?"

"N-no." She felt herself say, almost like her voice and mouth were no longer her's.

"Have you made an attempt?"

"No."

With that answer she smiled with a cruel and wicked smile. Almost as if this was the answer that she wanted. She then gently pushed her into her back. She placed a hand upon her chest. She felt her energy being more and more drained. Soon it faced. She soon felt her body weaken and soon she had no energy at all. She knew that she had become incapable of raising whatever was to come.

"Time for me to show you what happens to those who disobey me, shall I?"

A light grew from her palm. She drove it into her chest. She felt her entire body flooded with pain. She tried not to scream out. But then the pain stopped. She felt her body relax as the pain ended. Then she drove it back into her chest and she felt her body flooded with an even greater pain. She even felt her body slightly rise from the floor. It took everything within her to not cry out in pain. She panted as her body fell back on the floor. She could see smoke rising from her body. She felt her body relax again, much to her dread, then she felt the hand on her and the pain was so great that she could not stop herself. She let out a scream.

"Good, good girl. Now let me hear you scream again."

"No! Please! You've made your point."

"No, not yet." She said taking out a small pin and slid it under her nails.

Strena bit her lip to stop herself from crying out as it stung worse than any bee sting. She felt another drink beneath another nail and another. Soon there was a pin beneath each of the nails off her right hand. She saw her grip her wrist, she weakly tried to pull it out of her hand as the witch placed the tips of her fingers to the heads of each of the pins. She felt fire flare up from her fingers to the rest of her hand. She screamed again and again and soon years followed down both temples. She then stopped the hand. She tried to keep her sobbing as silent as she could as her eyes slid to it. Then she convulsed as she felt her do the same with the other hand. She then felt more fire coming from her left hand. She screamed and screamed and wept and wept. She looked down screaming as the witch took off her boots.

"No, no, no. No! Please no!" She shouted.

She felt the pins sink into her nails and she felt the fire flare up in her feet. Soon she could focus upon the involuntarily and freely leave her. She was completely weeping after.

"Daddy! Mummy! Help!" 

She heard the witch giggle. She could do nothing but scream and weep as she hit her again and again. She then felt iron come out of her mouth. She stopped as she wept and shook her head. The rest of her body could do nothing but twitch.

"Good girl. You learnt your lesson."

She then turned her attention to Zaryb. She climbed to her feet and walked right up to him. She gripped his throat. She summoned light and he too did not cry out. She then punched him again and again. He did not even let out a grunt. She summoned the light and punched him again and again. He let out a grunt as a splatter of blood left him. She pulled out a knife. She slit his arms again and again, laughing all the while she did. Her blade lowered to his thighs and she dug it in and then pulled it out, taking out a punch of table salt and flicked out at his wound.

"Stop it now Grasharlo. Torture the girl and stop touring him will you?!" Zaryb snapped.

She licked her lips.

"Only when he gives me what I want!" She whispered as she flicked more salt upon the open wounds.

He then started to cry out. She stopped and laughed again and again as she punched his wounds again and again. Soon Strena, for the first time, saw Zaryb cry. Grasharlo let out a whine.

"Oh, Zarry! I love doing this to you. There is just something addictive about your screams. After all, you're such a tough one to crack."

"Shut up witch! You're no better than that brother of mine!" He cried. "Fine! You can have the girl! Fine! We will find the name of the Demon Realm destined sword!"

She smiled widely as she learned closer to him.

"Good, good boy."

She looked at his face. She stroked his head and cheek. She pulled his head to her and their lips met. He tried to pull back but she leaned in, ensuring their lips never parted. She then pulled back as her eyes dropped and her eyes lit up.

"I wondered where they went! Glad to see that you put them to good use!" She said, losing her hand to his stomach. "I can't wait for our reunion."

She soon left and the bars fell. Zaryb pulled out all of the pins from her. She then saw the fist right before it hit her. He punched her again and again and again until she was crying again. She saw that Zaryb too was crying. She punched him as she let out a cry of fear and rage. The whole of the tavern's windows and mirrors shattered into dust.

"I will kill her and then I'm gonna kill you!"