1

                                                   The Capture

I look at the black-winged demon in front of me, not at all aware of my presence. Then I turned my gaze to Serenity.

“You ready, Ren?” I asked under my breath.

She nodded once.

“Okay.”

I slowly pulled my sword out of it’s sheath. Serenity pulled out her dagger.

I charged and struck. I pinned the demon and held my sword to his throat. I pressed harder and cold, black blood trickled down the demons neck. Serenity lay a hand on my shoulder.

“Saph, remember what the Empress said?” Serenity asked and quoted the Empress, “We are to capture a demon and bring it back to the Glade.”

The demon squirmed and struggled under my weight. I elbowed him in the neck and he went back down.

“Struggling won’t help you, you know.” I told him.

“Let off of him, Sapphire.”

“But-” I pleaded.

“No buts. Follow the orders.”

I sighed.

“Fine.” I reached into my jacket pocket and fished out my net. I threw it in the air and the net opened.

I jumped out of the way so I wouldn’t get caught by the electrical net. It encased the demon.

“W-Wait, what are you going to d-do to m-m-” The net shocked him and he fainted. I slung him over my shoulder and started walking with Ren back in the direction of the Glade.

“Why do we have to bring him back, anyway?” I gestured to the demon, who’s wings are crumpled up in the net.

“Because, Sapphire,” Serenity said impatiently. “The Empress wants information out of them. She has to know what the Demonas are planning.”

I grunted. “Everything is always so strict nowadays. It’s demon this and demon that!” I exclaimed.

“That’s because we are in a war, Sapphire! It’s not always about having fun, you know!” She exploded.

“Well, you can’t be so cautious all the time! Loosen up for once!” I yelled.

She gasped, and darkness took over the friendly shine in her eyes. A single tear fell down her rosy cheek.

Oops. “I’m sorry.” I lowered my head. “It got out of hand.” I hugged my little sister tightly.

Serenity hesitated for a moment, then wrapped her arms around me.

“Me, too,” she whispered into my shoulder. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

We let go of each other. I checked my watch.

“Damn it! We’ve been gone for too long! The Empress is going to kill us if we don’t hurry up! Then she will bring us back, and kill us again!” The demon was starting to wake up. I kicked him in the gut before picking him up and speed-walking forward.

Serenity and I, Sapphire, are twins, but I like to think of her as the little sister because I am much taller, stronger, and faster than she is. Serenity is way smarter, though. I used to soothe her when she had nightmares and cook for her because mother and father were never home or were sick.

Father goes to training every day, since he is a soldier and the soldiers must be under constant training, because we never know when we could be attacked. Mother is an apothecary. She gets sick a lot, and then gets Ren sick, so I have to take care of them. Mom usually tends to the soldiers that get injured.

Serenity and I are Guardians of the Glade. We keep enemies from infiltrating the Glade and getting into the Villages. We became Guardians in order to avenge our uncle, who was killed by the Demonas. The Glade is in the Everlasting Forest, which is a giant woodland that holds many different enchanting creatures called Majesties. I have a Majesty who walks with me home from training every day. Her name is Raven, and her main animal is a raven(hence the name raven). Majesties can turn into any animal, though. They are sometimes part-human, which are then called Hyros. They are part-human animals that mostly travel in packs.

Then there’s the Nothing. It’s basically like Hell. A frozen wasteland. Many horrible things roam around there. And the king of the Demonas, Raden, he’s the worst of them all. Cruel, like his kingdom, himself. He cares nothing for his citizens, only he and his daughter, Nelia, live plentiful. The Demonas are Raden’s guard. They are heartless, brainless idiots. They barely know left from right. But, they are ruthless fighters. If you can capture one of them without killing them, you are considered a hero. That’s Serenity and I, the top guardians in all of the Everlasting Forrest.

My dream is to become an Etheran. Etherans live full lives. They are warriors of the highest order who protect the Empress and her daughters, Lauren, Lena, and Livy. All triplets. And her two sons, Andrew and Aaron, twins. The triplets are all four years old. Lauren is my favorite, personally. She’s quiet, nice, and loves listening to my stories about fighting the Demonas. Lena and Livy, on the other hand, are loud and play with Serenity most of the time. But, they occasionally come and tug me into a game of tag, or hide-n-seek. They are identical, but I can always tell them apart. Lauren is always wearing her favorite shorts and tank-top. The other two are always in their purple and green poofy dresses.

Andrew and Aaron are sixteen, like Serenity and I. Aaron has blonde hair that goes down to the base of his neck. He has light blue eyes that shine creepily in the dark. He is probably about 6’4”. Not very brave. Childish. Now, I think, I can see why Serenity likes him. Andrew looks exactly the same except for his dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. Andrew is really helpful and always lets me ramble on about anything. He’s so nice and sweet and… um…. I didn’t say any of that. Speak of this to anyone, and you’ll be dead meat!

Anyway… Eventually we got back to the Glade and to the Empress’s house. She believes in equality. Not power.

She greets us happily. 

“Oh, hello girls! How did it go?” She asks.

I gesture to the net.

“Perfect!” I hear her whisper to Serenity, “she tried to demolish him, didn’t she?” 

Serenity nods.

“Well, you guys are mean. I was only acting on instinct. It’s my duty as a guardian to protect everyone in the Everlasting Forest, including you, m'lady.” I explain.

“Okay. I apologise. You were only doing what you were meant.” The Empress apologises. “Oh! Right! I have something to talk to you two about!”

“I have convinced your mother, and she will let you try and pass initiation to become-” She is cut off be Serenity and I.

“Ohmygodseriously? Thisislikethebestdayofmylife!” We say at the same time. Followed by horrendous squealing coming from my sister, which embarrasses me.

“I know that girls, but initiation is tough. Things that most grown men can’t do.” The Empress smiles. “But I have faith in you two. Now run along and go play with my daughters. They’ve been dying to talk to you.” We nod and run off towards the living room where the Aaron and Andrew were watching the girls five minutes ago.

We stop dead in our tracks.

They are gone.

And the demon escaped.

Crap.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The demon didn’t like being ordered around by the king, but orders were orders, and he had to follow them. The demon was to go and get caught by the girl, and then when he was brought to the Empress's house he would escape and capture the Empress's daughters. That way she would go after him, and she would be like a mouse in a trap. She would add power to the Demonas.