Cross Heart's

Chapter 3: The black queen is who exactly?

The black queen was a woman of impatience, when she wanted something done she got it done quickly. When she first started ruling Deathland, she first got rid of everything her sister created, and that was peace. In the beginning everyone wasn’t afraid of her, that was until she started to let out all the horrible, nasty beings. Such as the wolfmen, and the vampires. Hell even zombies were set free, and were running rampant throughout Deathland. That was how it got it’s name was from all the deaths that occurred in the first five years of the rising queen.

Now Belesphere had no remorse for the killing of her sister, nor did she care. All that she cared about was the taking over her older sister’s once land, of happiness and pure insanity. Belesphere wanted nothing more than to rip apart the very souls that pranced around happily, and just plain carefree while she was stuck in a body that had no delight to it.

A body that could not feel love, but only hatred and pain. Her parents (before they had died) ignored her to no end, never paying her any attention. The only love she knew was from the servants, and even they ignored her. Her older sister didn’t even know she existed until she found her playing by herself in the courtyard one day.

“Hello? Who are you?” Young Angel asked the even younger Belesphere.

“I am Belesphere, Who are joo?” The younger Belesphere asked with her head titled to the side a little.
“Me! I am Angel Black!” The young Angel said proudly as she stood in front of Belesphere with her hands on her hips, making her look older and bigger.
“Oh are you my older sister that the servants always talk about?” Belesphere asked the older one.
“Perhaps so, what do these servants talk about?”
“Well they say that you will one day rule this entire world, and I will have to bow down to you.” The younger stated sorely.
“Yep that sounds like what will happen. Except I don’t think I’m your sister! Because I’ve never even heard of you, and today is my first day of meeting you!”
“ANGEL! Who are you talking to? Get away from that girl immediately!” Rosalyn Black, the queen of Wonderland came running down the stone steps that led out into the courtyard.
“Ah! Mother I was just talking to Bele here. What’s so wrong with that?” Angel asked innocently.
“Who?” Her mother asked.
“Belesphere, I believe she is my little sister from what she has told me. Mother why didn’t you ever tell me I have a younger sister?” Rosalyn thought for a second, then said.
“It’s because I don’t want her to get in the way of your perfect future. While she has so tainted us with her misfortune, that even the surname of Black has been erased from her. She is treated as one of the servants here, and thus she shouldn’t be talking to you, now Angel lets go!”
“Bye Bele.” Angel said this with a hint of sadness in her voice, and eyes as her, or more approximately their mother dragged her back into the mansion.
Now Belesphere has always hated just about everything, but there was one thing she did care for. And that was her nephew, Shane. Shane was or is like her, he was always forgotten, and or overshadowed by his siblings. His little sister’s was always the ones who got everything, while he got nothing. Well except the love from his father, but even that was wasted when he died days after his six birthday.
Which after that his mother Angel was killed by his aunts’ soldiers, who had found him next to the murdered body of one servant, named Iska Vanderan.

Iska was like a second father to Shane, except the servant was always busy with attending to his little sisters. Shane has accompanied a couple of times to tend to the needs of the one who steals his only friend from him. And started to actually care for the girls, when he noticed that they didn’t notice that they do it. They were just infants, harmless beings that didn’t understand the world. Harmless, innocent, young creatures. The twins had become sort of playmates for Shane, that was until they were taken from him.

He had no clue at where they had gone, that was until he saw miss Sarah come out of a passage way, holding onto his sisters’ favorite stuffed animals. She was crying at the time as well. And thus he ran up to her, and asked her.

“Where is my little sisters!?!?”
And she had replied;
“In a land far, far away from here. You may never see them again!”
With that Sarah ran from the young lad, she had an enormous smile upon her face as she ran. That was the beginning of her insanity.

Now here we are with Shane black in the forbidden forest of Darksphere, a town ruled by Belesphere. A town that to almost none lived in, for fear of being eaten by a zombie or wolfmen, or being killed by a wondering robber.

The reason he was here was because he is one of these wondering robbers. He loved to steal, and market the things he stole. Also included in his job is killing the poor victim he robs. Sometimes he does let them go, but that’s very rare for him. He loves his job, and technically he is called a mercenary but also he’s an assassin. Except he does this job at night, and during the day he is normal civilian who works a job to pay for his home.

His home is a small cottage that is hidden from the sights of anyone, and is set with traps all over it so any wondering beast is killed on spot. He does this to make sure he himself is not spotted by his aunt, Belesphere. Really he can’t stand the woman, not after what she had done to his mother. Even if his mother didn’t have time for him, he still had a love for her for when she did spend time with him.

His aunt being the crazy she is thinks he was treated like how she was treated, and thus she tries in all her power to get him whatever he wants. Which really isn’t much besides him wanting to see his little sister yet again.

It has been thirteen years since he had last seen her, he was seven at the time when Sarah had done something to the girl. Belesphere had found out about what Sarah had done to the infant, and had Sarah chained forever in the room of purity, to make her rot away for eternity, and leave her with her insanity. Shane had found this an injustice, but went along with it. Even though it was useless because he knew that his once maid could use magic, which in the new world was forbidden but back when his mother ruled it was a blessing to be born with the power of magic.

Now Sarah at the time he had known her, which was when he was still a kid had known Sarah was not all that insane. Now she did have her sparks of craziness, but in all respect she was a pretty sane woman. But after that day when his mother died, and the day the twins went away, she had drifted over to the crazy side. Spouting non-sense, and always shouting her sentences or just doing things that anyone with the right of mind would think is completely insane. Then when he used to go and speak to her she would mutter things like; ‘I did it for Mistress Angel.’ Or ‘I should’ve gone with them, I should’ve, I should’ve!’ it was pretty insane when he went.

Now back to where Shane was at the moment. Shallows breathes were heard as the man who was running from Shane or as most called him ‘Twilight Killer’.
The man was of skinny stature, but did have muscle. His brown hair shone in the moonlight, and his wide blue eyes seemed to have brightened more as the array of light shone down on him as Shane moved in for the kill. Sinking his large hunters knife into the mans heart. Instantly killing the man, taking his money bag and running. Not before too long a howl was heard through out the Darksphere forest. Shane chuckled to himself, and took off running back out the forest. Not even taking the chance to look back, he heard running behind him. He abruptly stopped and turned around only to meet face to face with a giant beast.

“Hm? Who might you be?” He asked the beast.
It didn’t answer, instead it lunged at him. Kicking the thing in its neck making it stumble backwards. He put the money bag away safely in his satchel. He took out his hunters knife yet again, ready to kill the thing.
“Ah, ah, ah! No you don’t!” The thing ran forward at him again, Shane jumped to the right only to dodge the attack just barely.
“Well that was a close one! But you’ll have to try better, you ugly bastard!”
Shane took in how the beast moved, and how it attacked as the thing kept swatting at him. Looking for an opening, Shane moved in and in one final blow took the beast down. “Ha-ha severs you right you ugly bastard! That was for just trying to kill the Twilight Killer!!” After his little outburst he heard the howling of what he believes to be the beasts pack coming in on him. “Welp, it’s not like I don’t want to stick around, it’s just I have places to go, things to do.” With that he ran, disappearing into the night.

It was such a wonderful night, a full moon had a risen. The evil queen took it upon herself to send those beasts to her nephew, but she had forgotten how great he was at killing. He was almost a natural, which could be a good sign or a really undelightful sign. She wanted to kill him. Plain and simple was all that she thought it would take. Except she had forgotten that one little detail. Her nephew had been on his own since he was practically seven years old, and he had been killing things since he was able to wield a sharp object.

Belesphere was lost in her thoughts, when the sound of an alarm went off.
A man dressed in a butlers uniform busted through the door. “Malady it seems the twilight killer has killed another once again. This time in the castle courtyard!”
She smiled to herself and sat down onto her throne. “Bring him here if you can get a hold of him, I want to see this twilight killer myself.” The butler left a minute after words. She rested her chin on the palm of her right hand.

What are you playing at Shane?
She couldn’t stand it when others don’t play by the rules of her game. And that was exactly what Shane was doing, he was playing by his own set of rules in this game of killings. Shifting a little she looked outside the window that on looked the marvelous white rose garden, out in the courtyard.

She saw her nephew giving her guards a hard time, and her guards were struggling against the one boy. The one boy she had ever shown love to, yet he doesn’t take it. She wonders why this is? Did she do something wrong? Wondering this she saw blood splatter all over the ground, she immediately ran over to the window to make sure it wasn’t her nephews.

She let out a sigh of relief that it was just a guards blood that was shed. Standing there for a moment she finally got bored and sat back down, letting her mind wonder.

Back to Shane we are in the middle of a blood inducing fight.
The only thing that seems weird is that Shane has yet to spill a drop of blood. The guards have no idea how to get a hold of him. They were already tired and ready to quit but their queen had ordered them to capture this one, small boy.
This one teenage boy, who is more agile then these older men.
More trained in the art of killing, and not even blinking an eye at it. This boy some wondered if he was even human, but others don’t dare ask in fear that if he was he would eat them, and or kill them for asking.

Blood spewed at that moment, the moment in which that one of the guards had lost their life.

“Hahaha!!! Is that all you had, wow I had thought the queens guards would be more, ah how do I put this…more skillful!” To him these guards were nothing to him, they were just a nuisance. Looking up at the castle, flash of lighting had enough light to make out the silhouette of his aunt. She was looking down at them, as if she was observing them, to see what their next move would be. This bothered him for some reason. Being tested like a guinea pig, it just irked him to no extent. He picked up his dropped knife and started at the useless guards, killing each of them off in one blow. The blood was now making pools around his feet, the rain was finally starting to come down in long strips. Looking back up at where he last saw his aunt, he noticed she wasn’t there. Taking this as a good opportunity to run, but not before kicking one of the guards.

Laughing manically Shane finally made it back to his secluded home. Taking off his shoes, and socks. He ran off to the small washroom, and started undressing himself. Before he even got his pants off he heard rustling in his kitchen, grabbing his shaving knife he stalked to his kitchen. Taking in precautious actions he pushed the door open and dropped the shaving knife and stumbled back. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing it was something he thought he would never see, and yet here it was it was the…

Corith, the butler to Belesphere stood outside of his mistresses courters, ready to help her with anything she needed. “Corith get in here.” He couldn’t help but chuckle at his mistress
“Yes malady?” he said as he pushed the rather large door open.
“Corith I need you to deliver a letter for me, and an errand as well.” Belesphere said as she undressed, not even caring that her butler was in her room with her.
“Where is this letter, and what errand do you need for me to do?” Belesphere pointed over to her desk, and kicked off her underskirt. “The errand I need for you to do is to bring my nephew here, and I want him dead when you bring him here to me. Do you understand?” Corith nodded his head and grabbed the letter on his way out.

Just a little down the hallway the butler stopped walking.
“ha-ha as if I’ll kill your cute nephew! I am not even your butler.” The ‘butler’ started walking down the hallway again, humming to himself. All the while stripping himself of his butler clothing. Then replacing them with a black sleeve-less turtle type neck shirt. With loose fitting black trousers, with multiple belts holding them up. A cat belt buckle gleamed in the moonlight as he walked off.

Corith Hail was a man of many wonders. He was neither human, nor demon. No he was somewhere in between. He carried both demon and human blood in him, even though his parents were angels. He was the outcast of his family, always ignored and always the one to take the blame, and the beatings. After years of abuse he finally cracked and killed his parents, but spared his little brothers’ lives. He loved his brothers’ they always played with him, and he in turn played with them. His brothers Alek, Axel, and Alex, they were all the same in a way. All born with demonic blood except Alex, Alex was that one child that got everything, except he didn’t want anything but the love from his family. It was sad to know that the boy only got the love from his brothers and not his own parents, it had also angered and saddened him to find out his parents beat his older brother Corith.

One day Alex got in the middle of the beating, which in turns ended in the tragic murder of his parents. That was the night his brother, Corith went crazy. That was as well the day the white queen had been killed, and wonderland was then taken over by Belesphere, and renamed Deathland. Corith not wanting his brothers to be sent to court, or killed at that sent them to another place that was not affected at all, and was indeed a faithful place. The missionary was the one place that was not inhabited with those vile beasts his so called mistress had set free. No, they were the most heavenly place on earth, and they had even taken in his demon blood brothers, now him on the other hand was not allowed to set foot into the holy temple. He was as well never to see his little brothers ever again, that was until he stopped his senseless killings. Except he loves to kill, just like Shane. Killing was most of the only way he was able to make his living, but being the butler of the queen was just a cover up, so he could get away with just about everything.

Everything besides killing her, oh how much he would love to slit her throat and watch as she slithered on the floor trying to breath. No, I mustn’t think those thoughts right now, I have to get to Shane. But not before I deliver this message. Doing things quick and fast was what Corith was all about. After delivering the message he immediately high tailed it to Shane’s small cottage only to find that it was up in flames. “SHANE!!!”
He didn’t hear a reply, and thus he set into the burning home. Not even being affected by the flames that surrounded him. “Shane!!” He called out again, and again. Still no replies. Damnit, Shane you better be alive or I’ll bring you back to life and then kill you. Then he saw him. He was curled up under one of the many beds in his cottage. The boy was very feeble looking, and looked like he was crying.

“Shane…” He reached down and lifted the bed off of the boy with ease. Shane looked up from where he was curled up, and immediately went sprawling to Corith. Corith smiled to himself as he carried the still trembling nineteen year old.

The house was in crumbles in a matter of minutes. Shane was still a little shook up from what had happened, and he still won’t tell him. “Shane…what happened?” Corith asked him as he sat next to the trembling teen, putting an arm around him and pulling him against him. Softly Shane replied, “I do-don’t know, one minute he was there then the next the place was set a-a flame.” Shane busted out crying again.
“Who Shane who?” Corith was desperate to know who did this to his Shane.
Shane just shook his head and kept crying.
“I…can’t tell you, you’ll get even more angry than you are now. I hate seeing you mad!” Shane’s tears never ceased, he kept crying and crying.
“Shane…Alright you don’t have to tell me. Just please stop crying, it’s breaking my heart seeing you like this. I love you Shane, I truly do.”
Corith’s face was inches away from Shane’s, that little distance was getting on both of their nerves. Thus Shane closed the distance letting their lips come together in perfect decadence.
Corith picked Shane up, not letting his lips leave the others. Taking the smaller one with ease to an inn in the town over, not even looking at the people as they shared small kisses back and forth. Getting a room, then going to it and doing stuff others wouldn’t dare do in this time.

They a woke in each others arms, naked and a little sticky from the night’s activities. Shane was nestled into Corith’s side, and Corith had Shane in an embrace, holding him close against him. “Corith why can’t you stop being a butler to the queen and just come live with me?” Corith didn’t know the answer to that. So he just laid there in silence, listening to Shane’s shallow breathing.

An hour later Corith was out the door, leaving a note to Shane telling him he will outfit, he noticed he had blood on his shirt. How did that get there? I don’t remember killing anyone. Corith had no idea who’s it was, and that really he doesn’t care.

Side stepping the guards, Corith made his way up to the castle. He already knew what he was doing, he was going to kill the queen before she kills Shane. Heading to the kitchen first, he grabs a knife, not to big, but not to small. It was sharp enough to kill anyone if they knew how to use it, and Corith does having lived on the streets for a while and having to learn how to defend himself. Even if it was a dull butter knife he could do some hefty damage to the person.

Making his way the queens quarters, he by-passed several other servants as he advanced onward. The other servants didn’t question the knife in his hands as he passed by. They all wanted her dead and they knew one day that he would try to kill her, he has the abilities to and someone to fight for. Unlike most of them who are there because they have no more family, because she had them killed, or were killed by the monsters out there.

Taking the key to her room, and unlocking the door. He slowly opened the giant bronze door, and crept slowly inwards. The queen, Belesphere was still asleep. He took his chance and advanced over to her bedside and held the knife over her heart. He was about ready to plunge the knife into her heart, but he was to late she already had woken up and stabbed him with a dagger that was beside her bed. He coughed up blood and fell to the ground.

“I always knew you were going to try and kill me, I just never thought it was going to be today.” Belesphere said as she stood over top of the bleeding butler.

“O-of c..course I w-would ki-kill you af-after giving m-me that k-kind of order!” Belesphere stepped on his stomach knocking him back down.
“Do you mean when I told you to go kill my little nephew which as it seems you didn’t even do.”
“I d-didn’t kill him because… He is everything to me in this world! He is… my sunshine to my darkness!”
“So you love him well that makes it even better to kill you, should I kill you here or have a public killing done to you?” She asked herself.
He spat in her face, leaving some blood running down her cheek. She wiped it off then moved her heel into his stomach. Making him cry out in pain, all the while making him wither. “Yes I love him, you ungrateful bitch!” He knocked her off of him, and stood up. Staggering a bit, he ran falling only after making it past the bronze doors.
Belesphere was laughing like a lunatic, screaming out for the guards to come. They came but Corith was gone, he had already jumped out a window. Landing in a bush in the courtyard. All the guards had came to her room, so none was outside. He ran, more like limped his way to the front gate. Then when he started to feel the numbing come, he took off running. He ran to Shane, wherever he maybe.
He checked the inn first except he had already checked out. He ran to the river, only to find no one there. Then it struck him he was in Darksphere! Shane loved Darksphere because it was close to where his father was buried. He ran and ran to the Darksphere forest, but he just couldn’t yet make it there. He collapsed a few feet from where the beginning of Darkspheres outer woods formed. His breathing was becoming even shallower, and the blood kept oozing from the wound Belesphere made.

He couldn’t even keep his eyes open, he was kind of hoping Shane doesn’t find him. That he doesn’t have to see him like this, he must look horrible. So as he took his last breath he whispered to himself. “Live on for me Shane, I love you…” And with that he stopped breathing, and his heart stopped. The blood was still pouring but what did he care, he was already dead.