Burdened

Nightengale's Emperor

“Oh Ashley, you caught the stupid b***h?” Said the other General Stark Morgan. He used to be a really nice kid when we were younger. However, the constant bullying finally made him into a nasty person who is always demeaning and a total asshole. He had aged a lot in his service to the Emperor. It must have been from all the raids that he led earlier on in his life. He had scars all over the place from battles prior. Dark beady eyes that anyone can feel the hatred seeping out from his soul were creepy enough. I really missed when things were a lot simpler than it is now. The good old days are long and gone. It was hard to imagine him the way he was back then to what monster he was now. He wasn’t like how Ashley was. He is more about strategy for offense and defensive positions and attack methods. Stark was a literal genius when it came to war strategy. It was scary. “It took you even less time than last time. Congratulations Miss Ashley. It’s a new record,” he chastised. She rolled her eyes at his comment before turning to the soldiers that were left from today’s excursion.

“Great job, men and ladies. We now ride toward Nightengale,” Ashley said before jumping onto her horse and turning it around to head toward the village. “I want Ivory up next to me, so I myself can keep an eye on her myself, none of you imbeciles know how to keep her under wraps apparently,” She ordered. The soldier who had me in my shackles handed them over to Ashley. I was not looking forward to the next four days. It was in the middle of Summer and the heat was rather harsh. I had a feeling that Ashley would have me walking the entire way as well and all I could think about was getting into a nice shower at the palace.

“You know Ashley, the Emperor is waiting patiently for the return of Miss Ivory. Why don’t we just signal for an airship to come to pick the three of us up? The rest can march back on their own,” Stark stated. Ashley turned her head to face him with a look of disgust on her face. As I mentioned earlier, she was all about torturing someone. However, this time around she complied. She took something out of her pocket and threw it out in front of us. It was a colored smoke grenade which was their signal for a pickup. “Pay attention! You are all walking back to Nightengale Village on foot. We will see you all back in the next four days. Those who do not wish to continue will be shot on sight! We do not have time or the patience for weaklings,” shouted Stark to the entire platoon. “For now, you may all rest for the rest of the night. In the morning, you will be heading out at the crack of dawn. The Emperor will be expecting reports from the heads of each team and on his desk by the time you all have returned,” he announced.

Within minutes, the signaled airship had arrived and it was time to go. My heart sank and hoped that the group I was supposed to meet up with would come and get me at Nightengale. Or else I would be stuck there until I had figured a way out. All I could think about is the memories I had in Nightengale. All the happy ones and even the sad ones. Especially Mrs. Highland. Throughout the years I lived with her, I really thought of her as a mother and I wished I had called her mom.

A soldier had come running off the ship to escort us in. Once he got closer I knew immediately who it was and my heart leaped a mile high. He had changed so much from being a little boy into a man now. He now bears a scar that goes across his face. “Lucian LeFay, take Miss Ivory to the holding cells on the ship. Keep watch over her and make sure she doesn’t try anything funny,” Stark ordered. With his arms folded behind his back, Stark walked onto the ship. Ashley rolled her eyes and called out to him.

“Stark! Did you forget we have to walk with Lucian to the holding rooms with Ivory? If he was to ever find out that she wasn’t escorted properly, the Emperor-” Stark had turned around with a fiery look in his eye. Ashley and Stark never got along on missions together. Hell, they barely would make it through school assignments. Stark’s look alone froze Ashley in place. “He… He said we had to escort-”

“I am fully aware of what he said, Ashley. Then do your f*****g JOB and escort Ivory with Lucian into the holding cells. I have other business to attend to and as soon as I get away from your disgusting overly sweet perfume, the better.” Stark replied with harshness in his voice. “Don’t ever disobey me again Ashley. I am a higher rank than you are, and I am not afraid to kill you,” he threatened. He turned around and continued to walk into the ship. I could feel Ashley trembling. I wanted to reach out and try to comfort her however, that’s when Lucian grabbed ahold of my arm and started ushering me toward the ship. When we had passed Ashley, he put his hand on her shoulder and gave apologetic look to her.

“Don’t listen to him, Ashley. You know he’s just trying to get a rise out of you. We all know he’s miserable out here. He’d rather be”

“Lucian, did I ask for you to speak to me? I’d rather throw up than be talking to you. I don’t need your sympathy and for the record,” She said as she turned toward him and gave him a mean look. “I am not afraid of him, I’m plotting my rebuttal. He’ll rule the day for speaking to me in such a manner!” With that, she roughly grabbed my other arm and started dragging me along with Lucian to the holding room on the ship.

After several corridors and pathways, we finally reached the holding rooms. Ashley waved goodbye to Lucian and went off on her merry way. Lucian and I looked around to make sure that there wasn’t anyone around. Once we knew the coast was clear, Lucian wrapped me in a massive bear hug and I gave him one back. It had been a long time since I had seen him last. It had been about a half year if not longer. He had released me from the embrace and pulled me into the holding room.

“Ivory? What in the hell happened? You told me you would be on the ship with the Fayth. Not at the Hotel! How did they find you?” He said as his grip on my arm tightened. “Now you have to see him and I’m not sure-” Lucian had stopped and took a deep breath. He was clearly upset, and that is one thing about Lucian I liked about him. He could never lie to me about when he was upset. He would always lose when we would play poker.

“Lucian, I’m going to be okay. He won’t hurt me, he never has. Besides, I had to get into the castle, and what better way than to be caught by”

“He won’t hurt you? He won’t… Are you serious Ivy?” Lucian said with a deep growl. “For every time you say that you should be paying me a dollar. I’d be freaking rich right now!” He exclaimed. Lucian let go of my arm and sat on the bed and put his head into his hands. “I have done so much to keep you safe and away from all of this while we figured a way to stop him. You can’t… No. You shouldn’t be here!” Every time he spoke, his volume would increase. At this point, he was spewing so much from his mouth that I had to cover his mouth with my hand.

“Lucian. It’s going to be okay. Don’t worry. I left a note for the Fayth on where to find me. I didn’t do this totally blindly,” I told him. “However, if you keep talking and raising your voice they are going to know that you are basically helping me and I need you to keep your mouth shut. I know it is not ideal to be here but I have to try anything. I’m not wasting our resources if I can get a free ride to the Village,” I said as I sat down next to him. I explained everything to him. I wanted to give the emperor a final chance to step down before the newest plan was executed.

“Lucian to the navigation room, Lucian to the navigation room!” The speaker boomed. We looked at each other and I could see how he was worried for me. Lucian knew the risks I was taking and didn’t like it. We hugged each other goodbye and he shut me in the holding room. Now it’s a waiting game. Off to Nightengale Village, my hometown. Where it all began.

I opened my eyes. I must have fallen asleep while trying to get my thoughts in order before we reach the village. Outside of the door, I can hear busy bodies gathering the other prisoners and leading them away. We must have reached the village. I sat up on the cot and looked around the holding room. It seemed like someone had been in the room since there was a tray of food on the table that had been undisturbed. Since I had fallen asleep, I took my hair down and quickly ran my fingers through my long black hair. One thing I hated about having long hair, it had to be frequently brushed. Once I was done finger-brushing, I went and put it in a ponytail and then a bun. I was meeting the Emperor and I wanted to look my best, even if I was a rebel. As I was standing up, the door opened, and in the doorway were Stark and Ashley with the shackles again. Once shackled, we disembarked off the ship and started walking through the center of the Village. On either side, it was lined with Villagers, some old familiar faces and some new. When the emperor came into power, many of the Villagers fled in fear of the evil reign of the emperor, however, there were some who were not so fortunate. Once the Emperor had caught wind of everyone fleeing, he had ordered a wall be built around the Village and have guards on the barricade twenty-four-seven. Everyone was giving me dirty looks as we walked toward the castle. Some of the villagers even started throwing rotting vegetables at me and calling me awful names. This, however, was nothing new. Out of the crowd, a voice rang out.

“Ashley!! ASHIE BABY! YOU’RE HOME!” From the crowd, a woman emerged. The woman looked like a rainbow had literally thrown up on her. In the old world, one would have called her an… Otaku?

The woman charged Ashley, wrapping herself around her. Her name was May Punche. A face I hadn’t seen since the Emperor had taken over. I know before everything had gone into chaos, Ashley had proposed to May during our wedding rehearsal and once the world went mad, they never had the chance to marry. Ashley being a general was tough in May, especially when Ashley would go on missions and wouldn’t be sure if she’d come back in one piece. I caught a glance of Stark, who looked as red as a cherry tomato due to him being so angry.

“Ashley, get a hold of your w***e, we are still on duty and the Emperor is waiting. Her cry is f*****g annoying. Make her stop, or I will.” He said coldly. It looked like May was about to say something to Stark when Ashley looked at her and shook her head no. May feeling defeated slunk back into the crowd and disappeared without a trace. That’s when Stark shoved me very hard that I almost fell on my face.

“Watch what you’re doing Stark, you wouldn’t want to damage the goods,” I taunted. I could feel his eyes stare at me, and his eyes alone made me feel like there were daggers on my back. He didn’t say another word and we kept moving forward. Once we got to the castle, the guards opened the gates. Behind those gates was a man; the Emperor. He was wearing a very dark maroon button-up shirt, black slacks, and a pair of black boots. His hair was short and parted on the side, and was wet.

“Ivory! It is so finally nice of you too, you know, join us here in Nightengale Village. I’ve been waiting for your return. I was starting to feel like my generals were incapable of doing their jobs,” the Emperor said. “Welcome-” I had cut him off.

“Burden, I didn’t come to stay, I came to talk,” I told him. I gave him a stern look and stood my ground. After what he did to me, I was never afraid of him again. The worst thing one person could do was kill. He had carved me up, there wasn’t much more he could do to make me scared. Burden may have become the Emperor, and literally maybe one of the worst people in the world, however, I still loved him. He would forever be the one I want to be with. However, I couldn’t stand by and watch the world burn while he descended further into the darkness.

“All in due time my Empress. All in due time! Hopefully, you’ll be sticking around this time, because we, my darling, have a wedding ceremony to take place and for you to join me on the throne,” Burden chirped happily. He then instructed Ashley and Stark to bring me up into his chambers in the castle. Castle Nightengale. There were several stories about the castle being haunted by malicious spirits who had unfinished business, however, those stories emerged when Burden had taken over the castle at the beginning of his reign. Scared villagers made up the stories to keep others away, not only from Burden but away from the village. That way others didn’t get involved in the torture of being in the same village as the deranged Emperor. The outside of the castle had been made with some kind of black stone, and it was a strong material too. Whatever it was, it could withstand any kind of magical attack. Which made attacking the castle even harder. For long-range, it wouldn’t work. The Fayth didn’t have the weaponry that would be able to destroy the castle and its weird protective magical wards. Yet. On the inside of the castle, it was a different story. One would figure if the outside is dark and dreary, so would the inside. However, on the inside, it was just the purest of white. If one’s eyes weren’t used to it, it would hurt their eyes. Burden liked keeping things clean and orderly. The white insides made it easier for him to know when something was dirty and he could punish the servants for not keeping it clean. The stories I have heard while traveling about Burden and the servants were awful.

Burden’s chambers were in one of the turrets of the castle. It was a place to be harder to escape from. The other times I had escaped he had me on the ground floor. Now, it made my plan to escape so much harder. Burden knew this. Of course, he had to have known. Once we had climbed to the top where Burden’s room was, Ashley and Stark shoved me in, then shut the door behind me. I heard a click after the door had shut. Did… Did they lock me in? I scurried over to the door, twisted the knob several times, and pulled. The door wouldn’t budge. Turning around, I signed and looked around the room. It was still white, however, it had some maroon colors placed strategically around the room so it wouldn’t be too overbearing. It had actually made it really beautiful. On the walls had pictures of him and me together from when we were younger, There was one in particular that had caught my eye. It was over on what would have been my side of the bed (back when I was with Burden), and it was a picture of me, Burden, and Mrs. Highland. I sat down on the bed and shocked myself. When had I even walked over to the bed? I picked up the picture and looked right at Mrs. Highland’s face. I could feel tears starting to form. I missed her. I missed her so much. I wonder if she had survived and lived if Burden would have ended up differently. I’m not entirely sure if that was the beginning or if it was something he had planned from a long time ago.

“You know, I miss her too,” said a voice in a hushed voice. When I looked up it was Burden and he had been hovering over me. I wasn’t sure when he had come in or how long he had been there for. I could feel the tears finally falling down my face and quickly wiped my face from the tears and stood up. “She really was like a mother to us. Taught us everything we know today,” He said quietly. “I wish I had the chance to have called her Mom,” Burden claimed.

“Well, one thing for sure I know she didn’t teach you,” I started stating and start moving closer to him. Sadness had now been replaced by anger now. I used my index finger and started jabbing him with it. “She did not teach you to be a tyrant, she did not teach you to be an asshole to the entire world! Mrs. Highland was sweet, kind, and-” his hand had covered my mouth and his eyes looked like they had a fire in them. He removed his hand and leaned in. His lips met mine, while his arms wrapped around me. I started to kiss him back and wrap my arms around his neck. Our spark hadn’t died even though we had been living in two different worlds since then. His touch felt like fire licking my sides. He picked me up and laid me on the bed. Once he was on the bed, his hand started to slide down toward my pants. My hands found him and helped him remove my pants. He had wrapped me around his finger and at the current moment, I could care less. A woman has needs too you know. Once my pants were off, I flipped us around so now I was on top and Burden was on the bottom. I leaned down and kissed him hard. I was starving for his touch. We then continued. The next several hours were filled with love. It wasn't all going to plan. Once both of our hunger was satisfied, we laid in bed, snuggling.

“I’ve missed you so much, Ivy. More than you know,” Burdened whispered. I could feel his eyes on me. However, I was looking elsewhere. I could feel his fingers on my chest tracing what he had carved into my chest. Though the wounds had been healed for a long time, every time he had touched the scars, it felt like it had been just made. He didn’t stop when I winced. “I never meant to do this to you. You have made me so mad. I couldn’t even-”

“Stop talking. I don’t want to think about it,” I had stated to him. Burden then kissed my forehead and got up out of the bed. “We do have other things we must discuss Burden. There is no way around it. I shouldn’t, no, we shouldn’t have done what we just did. We are enemies,” I said as I sat up on the bed. I started putting on my bra and underwear before I got up from the bed. “We can’t keep doing this,” I said with a sad tone in my voice knowing that I was about to tell him. “Burden, I-”. There was a sudden knock on the door.

“My liege, dinner will be ready in an hour. We have much to discuss for the next takeover,” said the voice. It sounded like his secretary Rolland. “Shall I gather the generals?” He asked.

Burden told him to proceed and that he’d be down in a few minutes. He turned toward me and his eyes were filled with love. “Everything is going to change Ivory. We are finally on the right path. The bastard that killed Mrs. Highland will be ours and we will end his life together, especially now that you are here. Please use the bathroom to freshen up. I bet you haven’t had a hot shower in forever,” He said as he exited the room and locked the door behind him. One hour to figure out how I was going to escape. There wasn't any way I could get a message to Lucian. I am also going to assume that the group I was with hadn't seen my message yet. Being in that kind of situation stunk. However, being almost dinner, I knew that Burden was going to invite not only Stark and Ashley, but he was going to invite Lucian as well. That was when I was going to pass on the note to him. Quickly I scanned the room for the desk Burden had taken from Mrs. Highland's home. It was hers, and he wanted at least one thing from her to bring to the palace. The desk was in a well light corner and everything was so organized. I had to be careful. If he knew I was going through his desk, it sure would be the end of me. I had to go through the drawers quietly as well. I can guarantee Burden stationed a soldier outside the door and if there was any unknown sound they'd be in here full force. I quickly wrote out a note to Lucian and stuck it into my pants pocket. Only fifty minutes until dinner, and the party that I am fully aware that Burden will be throwing in my honor since I was "home". Even though I was partially dressed, I had decided to take his offer about having a hot shower. Had I not been interrupted in the first place at FairLyn Hotel, I would have taken a shower. It would have been cold, but I would at least have been clean. Since it wasn't my money to pay the bill, I decided to take a long shower. My aching body started to not ache and the caked-on dirt seemed to have disappeared as well. When I finally finished with my shower, I had walked back out into Burden's room, and found his closet. Even though I hadn't been living with him, he still had clothes pilled up in there for me. I picked up a blue dress. It was lined with the fanciest of jewels along the bodice and it was very beautiful. It was perfect. It would go against his color scheme, and it would be pure defiance. Once I make my escape, I can sell it for top dollar and have additional funding. Once I got the dress on, I sat down on the bed and brushed my hair. I then quickly put my hair in a braid that I pulled forward. Before I knew it, there was a knock on the door. It was time for dinner.