AGNPH Stories
 

Forbidden by sabata

 

The Untouchable Treasure

Forbidden

Chapter 1: The Untouchable Treasure


[Gods,] the Absol thought, [She's beautiful.]

He was crouched in the bushes overlooking a cliff. The cliff stood above the Great Ocean, which surrounded the entire continent of Lutheria. The sun was setting over the surface of the water in the distance, casting its fading pinkish hue onto the soldier's subject.

She was a young Ninetales, and she sat on the soft grass of the cliff, staring out over the water. He knew that she was one of the Emperor's dancers, and that the soldiers and knights were not allowed to chase them. He also knew that she was the lead dancer; and the most attractive of the 12.

Her silver fur was only disturbed by the gentle wind that blew from the wind over the ocean. The light from the disappearing sun cast a reddish glow upon the gentle curves of her body. She wore nothing but a white cotton tunic cut just below her breasts, a white skirt that was cut short on the left leg, and reached the knee on the right. She was supposed to be wearing sandals that had white painted leather, but those lay on the ground behind her.

He had been watching her since he saw her leaving the castle. He was patrolling outside the gates, and slipped his rifle from over his shoulder when he heard someone crawling through the bushes. He slowly crept around the corner, his finger on the trigger of the weapon, thumb ready to flip the bolt. He then saw her walk down a path to the cliff. Thinking that she was going there to commit suicide, he followed. Instead, he watched as she sat down on the grass and watched the setting sun.

"Enjoying spying on me?" a voice said behind him. In one move, he grabbed his rifle from his shoulder and lifted it, bayonet ready to strike.

"Uh...well...not really..." he stuttered.

"Then go back to your castle. I left to be alone, not to be followed by the guards," she said tartly.
"I wasn't spying on you," he managed to say.

"Really?" she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Then why were you here?"

He stumbled for an answer. "Well...because...uh...I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Her arms remained crossed, but her eyes softened a bit. "I thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine. I'm one of the dancers, but I'm not completely helpless."

Feeling much more relaxed, the soldier slid his rifle back on his shoulder and extended his hand. "I think we should at least know each others' names."

Reluctantly, the dancer shook his hand. "Very well, I'm Cassandra. Your name would be...?"

"I'm Elias Belmont. 1st Division, 2nd Battalion Infantry. We hardly see any action. We're more for guarding. The 1st Battalion does most of the fighting," he said.

She clearly wasn't interested. Struggling to keep the conversation moving, Elias looked around, which is when he noticed the art pad on the grass. "You draw?"

"Oh, yes," her eyes lit up; "I usually sit up on the ledge and sketch the sunset, as well as other things that come to mind." She walked over to the pad on the grass and handed it to him.

The pictures were drawn very well. There was one of a large wave overtaking a small boat. The detail on the wave and the depth of the color looked as though the picture was done by a master artist. The next picture was of a majestic dragon standing guard over a mass of gold coins on the floor of its lair. The dragon's scales were dark red, the wings spread powerfully across the span of the paper.
"These are amazing!" he said, astounded.

"Do you really think so? The other dancers think I'm wasting my time drawing."

Elias glanced up. "How do they think this is a waste of time? You should sell these; you'll make a fortune!"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think they're quite that good."

"Are you kidding? You could easily buy your way out of this dreary castle."

She hit him. Hard. "Don't you dare think I'll tarnish my family reputation by buying my way out of things. I was born into servitude here, and I intend it to stay that way." She grabbed her sandals, snatched the art pad out of his hands, and stormed off.

Dammit, he thought to himself, I never was any good at these things. Probably why I'm still single.
He shrugged and walked back to the castle, ready to face the screaming from his Brigade Commander for being absent from guard.

*****

"You're lucky you don't get stripped of your rank!" Brigadier General Pershing screamed.

"I was investigating a suspicious sound near the grounds, sir," Elias replied calmly.

"Suspicious sounds are best left to the guards, not soldiers! You could've been easily ambushed and killed!" Pershing shouted, spit flying everywhere.

This had always been a stupid excuse, used whenever Pershing knew that one of his subordinates had left their post for a good reason. All of the soldiers knew whenever he pulled this reasoning out of his ass; it was because he hadn't yelled at anyone that day and needed to get it in before night fell.

So Elias only half-listened as Pershing shouted for a few more minutes, finally ended with the classic "don't let it happen again". Elias got up and left the general's chambers. He walked down the white marble hallways, the sounds of his boots echoing off of the walls. The walls were lined with torches burning brightly, and they stayed lit by magick. Never once had he seen someone going by lighting the torches.

As he rounded the corner to the soldiers' barracks, he was pulled aside by several pairs of hands. They pinned him against the wall and covered his mouth and held his arms to the wall.

"You're the soldier that Cassandra met, right?" one hissed.

Elias couldn't reply, so he merely nodded.

"Then stop meeting her. You're wasting your time; she won't let any man get close to her. Go back to whatever it is you do, and don't meet Cassandra anymore. She's not interested in you at all."

They threw him back into the hallway. When Elias spun around to say something back, the people were gone. He thought nothing of the encounter, but heeded their word. Was she really not interested in him?

His thoughts irritated him to no end later that night, even as he stood guard in the courtyard, watching the dancers as they twirled about on the grass, pink dyed silk strands in their hands. The glow from the huge bonfire in the courtyard reflected off the mirrors in the walls of the courtyard, lighting up the entire rectangular garden.

Not even the loud drumbeat below could drown out the screech of an incoming artillery shell. When it hit the south wall, soldiers and dancers alike dove for cover. The soldiers on the grass that weren't killed by the blast lined up by that wall, rifles ready to fire.

Elias leapt down from the 20 foot west wall, and dashed over to join the line. As he sprinted through the grass, he tripped over a tree's root. This was good, for another artillery shell landed in the center of the line, sending dirt, rocks and body parts everywhere.

"All units scatter! Ambush whoever gets through that hole!" the General called over the shouts of the soldiers and the screams of the dying.

Elias crouched down behind a boulder and lifted his rifle. He didn't have to wait very long before white-clad soldiers sprinted through the hall, and all of Elias's men opened fire. The scores of enemy soldiers dropped, some still firing while on the ground.

Another artillery shell landed in the heart of the Lutherian soldiers, destroying scores of them, and blowing a gaping hole in their defensive line. Elias fired as many shots as he had in his chamber, and soldiers were still fighting fiercely. As he loaded another small clip of bullets into his rifle and pulled the bolt, he saw one of the soldiers carrying off a flailing figure. Closer inspection recognized it as Cassandra.

He contemplated freeing her, but remembered what her fellow dancers said to him. She wasn't interested in him, but that didn't stop him from charging forward, bayonet fixed and aimed for the soldier's spine.

The soldier saw the crazed Absol charging at him, and broke into a sprint. Elias followed, but dared not fire; he was too close to his target, and the slightest jerk of the rifle could cause the bullet to hit Cassandra. So he merely sprinted after the soldier, his eyes not leaving his enemy.

The enemy soldier drew a handgun, and stopped. Before the Absol could gut him with the bayonet on the end of his rifle, he put the gun to Cassandra's temple.

"Freeze or she dies," he sneered.

Elias stopped, but did not lower his rifle. "What do you want her for?"

"That question and more will be answered if you do what I say." He motioned towards Elias's rifle. "Set that thing on the ground. You won't need it."

Reluctantly, Elias dropped the rifle, sending up a small cloud of dirt. Behind him, he could still hear gunfire and artillery firing from the cliff where Elias and Cassandra had first met.

"Very good. Now hands behind your head, and follow me."

The soldier turned and led him to the cliff, keeping the pistol to Cassandra's head to prevent Elias from attacking from behind. Elias and Cassandra were both led to a large ship anchored just on the beach east of the cliff. Long-range cannons roared as the shells sailed through the air with a loud screech.

"You'll get on the ship, and get into the cargo hold, and stay out of the way as our crew loads the ship with whatever we find of value in that castle," he said, handing Elias and Cassandra to two other soldiers.

"Please, I beg of you," Cassandra pleaded, "don't hurt the other dancers."

The soldier smirked. "Don't worry; we won't lay a finger on them." He nodded to the two soldiers holding Elias and Cassandra. "Take them to the cargo hold and tie them down. We don't want them getting away."

They were dragged to the ship and up the bridge to the deck. The soldiers took them to the cargo hold, and tied them to support posts below deck. The door to the hold slid shut, and the only sounds were the boots from the crew above and their own breathing. The artillery had stopped firing, which meant that the castle had surrendered.

"What do you think's gonna happen to us?" Cassandra finally said.

Elias shook his head. "I have no idea. But whatever it is, it won't be good."

Chapter End Notes:

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, and is applicable for all consecutive chapters that follow.

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