Clara

And with a sudden glow, the young Clara and her attacker fell on the ground like two potato sacks. Was that case to say "from bad to worse"?

The last thing she thought was that she didn't want to die in an unknown place, or even better, she would have preferred not dying at all!

When she started coming back to her senses, the girl didn't know how much time had passed or where they were and neither the reason for this kidnapping!

«But why the hell she has saved me from that old mad feathered man to finish the work herself?! Does she want the exclusivity?!» She thought loudly looking around her.

She and the "friendly poultry" were comfortably lying on a group of velvet cushions or, anyway, made of a material very soft and comfortable.

The place had vaguely oriental features with finely inlaid balconies, a series of every type of lanterns floating in the air to spite Gravity force; little cascades that ran across the rock walls which created marvelous games of light and water and a lot of other things!

"I can't understand why I do keep surprising in a world where, for what it seems, physics laws don't exist. The only thing that I'd like to know now is how to avoid finishing on the spit, or in whatever other way, and to run away from here the soonest possible to go in therapy for the next one hundred years and forgetting this disastrous misadventure." Clara thought, keeping looking around in the vain hope to find a way out or something like that.

«Why there aren't any guards surveiling on us? There must something going on. Moreover, they didn't chain or tie us neither.»

She really couldn't explain herself such a lack of surveillance. The options were two: or they were the worst kidnappers ever existed, something that she retained almost impossible, or they were scheming something that she certainly wouldn't have liked.

«What I know is that I don't want to remain here to discover it.»

In the meanwhile, instead, her almost killer was quietly sleeping like nothing ever!

"No, this dude is not normal. As if it wasn't enough being knocked down by a granny, now he's also soundly asleep! Just a moment, this thing could come in handy to me. I would bet all my earnings that I have been kidnapped too because they think I'm in cahoots with him, but if I'd explain the situation to them, maybe they would leave me in peace and would send him back to the place suited to him." She realized.

She knew that this would have been the right thing to do, but, at the very bottom of her heart, she felt just a bit of sense of guilt towards him.

"I don't know why I should worry for such a bastard, God only knows what atrocities he will have done for having been imprisoned in that crumbling and moldy fortress that seemed taken from an horror movie, but I still can't abandon him." She thought, looking at him nearer.

The signs of the recent tortures were even more evident, even if, probably, among his infinite abilities, will appear a rapid regeneration too!

"Maybe it's for this reason that he was so scared. Did he know that it would have finished in this way? Anyway, I'm afraid of needing his help if I want to exit from here alive."

«Hey, you have to wake up. As much as I don't stand you and I would like to you rot in the place you worth, I need you to escape even because I don't know this damn world and I don't have any idea about which one of your damn too many enemies decided to involve me in a crazy vengeance or whatever it is, so wake up!» She "urged" him, starting shaking him with the intensity of a washing machine!

How could he not wake up with such a "sweet" recall?!

«Oh, what a beautiful vision... ah, it's just you. How come are you still here?» He questioned with his usual arrogance.

«I don't know, I hoped that you could explain it to me, since we certainly aren't here thanks to me. Ah, which reminds me, the last time you were trying to kill me so now what has changed? Have we maybe become friends?» She asked sarcastically.

«Oh, please don't tell me that you have really thought that I was going to kill you. I just wanted to scare you a little. I would never kill you before discovering all your potentialities, my dear "special" girl.» He told her, with a sensual and, at the same time, cutting tone.

«Thank you for your kind regard. I am really honored.» Clara was saying when she noted the shining handcuff around his wrists. Those ones were different from the ones that kept him prisoned the first time, because they seemed more like white flames tied to his wrists.

«It must be a priest's trick, just them are used to these tricks. They have taken advantage because I haven't been fighting for some years, but don't worry that once I will have removed them, no one of them will be out of here with his legs still on.» He told her with his eyes darkened for anger. Every time that I did it, Clara felt an unpleasant feeling.

«There is no need to kill anyone. It will be sufficient to be out before they discover us.» She interrupted him, trying to find a way to free him. She did it once unintentionally, so with a little of effort, she would have certainly done an encore!

«It's useless, these are sacred flames, the same used by the Golden Dragons. Them and the priests use their powers to defend the world from the Evil.»

«So, from people like you?» She dared.

«Yes, but I assure you that there are a lot worse, for example, the bastards that have betrayed me. No one can choose in which part of the barricade to be born and, unfortunately, it doesn't matter how much effort you do put to get better, the "Good" ones won't never think of you as one of them, just because you don't have white wings or long blond hairs.» He explained cynically with a note of regret.

«You must have suffered a lot, I am very sorry.» She tried to console him, but he promptly cut short.

He had spent centuries to build a wall around him to stop being injured like he had been when he was little. Growing up, he had understood that he would have had to conquer his place with strongness, because whatever else he did, no one would have ever accepted him. He was different from his people, but the others neither wanted to accept him among them, so, whatever else could he do apart from fighting?

Clara couldn't avoid feeling compassion for all the bad things that he went through. He had never been loved and the ones he considered as his family had sold him to save themselves.

"How is it possible to cure such a deep injury? I know that it's not up to me knowing it, but I would really like to help him." She thought.

«Not so bad, two "cuffs" won't be enough to stop me. Come on, get up, we are leaving.»

«How? You can neither fight.» The shocked girl replied.

«Don't worry about it. I could kill all of them even with the eyes closed and now let's go.»

«I don't want to be killed for you and I want it to be very clear.»

«I know, you have made it clear more than once.»

«Repeating is always better. Come on Superman, let's go.»

«Who?»

«Well, he is... I will tell you once out of here.» She cut short, hanging on his arm. But, suddenly, the two, listening to a known voice, lifted the gaze to one of the balconies.

«Amos, that is the woman that took us here.»

«Yes, and now she will tell what she wants from us, otherwise I can assure her that this beautiful place will be her grave.»

«I am happy that you made peace because you will have to work together to reach our goal.»

«But what are you talking about? We don't know you, indeed, I shouldn't neither be here and I would like to come back to my world. I beg you, leave us before it's too late. I can guarantee you that this one is not a patient type, believe me, I am saying it in your interest.» Clara tried to convince her with her heart pounding. The woman laughed. Evidently, the risk of losing her head made her laugh, the girl thought, very disheartened!

«Don't worry my young friend, we will fix everything. I am not an enemy, indeed, I do want to fight by your side.» Clara and Amos looked at each other perplexed. The situation was becoming even more strange.

«Come on, let me offer you something, you will be hungry. In the meanwhile, I will explain you everything.» The powerful old woman incited them to follow her.

«What do you suggest?» Clara asked, terrorized.

«At the moment, we don't have many others options. Don't leave my side, is it clear?»

«There's no doubt about it.» She affirmed, reinforcing her grip on his arm.

And then, they made their way to the tailing of the woman in that kind of fairy oasis.