16+ Nocturnal Awakening

[Akira&Shiki]

Nocturnal Awakening: Chapter One

 

Summary: Leno is a human, a slave of the conceited elf race. He lives as the inferior and hates himself for being weak. But when he gets his hands on a drug that can make him powerful, what will Leno do? Succumb to the power or fight it?

 

He grabbed my arm, squeezing it until it turned pale and the blood stopped circulating. I let out a yelp of pain, and of course, my master ignored it. Instead, he pushed me against the wall, making a loud and hollow thud. I hoped that my master would just sit there and lightly scold me for my mistake, but of course not. He started going on a tangent about how clumsy and useless I was and how I needed to shape up before the council got rid of me.

 

When I mumbled "Yes master", he raised his heavy hand and hit me across the cheek, causing my body to fall backwards. Before I could even get up, he lunged at me, his arms flailing at my face and arms until they bruised an ugly purple that wouldn't fade until a few days afterward.

 

"I don't want the council saying that my slave is useless! Fix yourself, you piece of shit!"

 

My master had a sonorous voice to match his hard and relentless grip. I hated both about him.

 

My master was a proud noble, one of the highest ranking in Alanore. Alanore was the center of trade for the elves. It was the place where a plethora of elves from different tribes met up. Yet I, a total foreigner, was a slave. According to the customs of the master's twisted species, slaves were "graced with the presence of their masters". In laymen terms "be happy that you're a noble's slave". In even simpler terms, it was utter bullshit.

 

But I couldn't do much about it. I was bound to that man. And that was why I hated the caste system of the elves... they were such despicable creatures.

 

My eyes searched my master's face... it was handsomely defined like a beautifully chiseled sculpture. His vacant and unnerving eyes stared blankly at me, ignoring me as a person, but instead as an object. My lips attempted to tremble out an apology, to ask for his absolute forgiveness, but my voice croaked and failed me.

 

At that moment, I feared for my life. The malice and tension coming from my master was alarming. I tried to run off, but he caught my shoulder and yanked me back. He wrapped his hands around my neck and dangled me in the air. I gasped for air and flung my legs back and forth in panic. As his grip on my neck tightened, I felt myself losing consciousness.

 

No... I couldn't let go. I couldn't die yet. And my eyes flickered shut like the dead flame of a candle. I reopened them to a blinding light and I sat up, huffing and trying to catch my breath. My entire body was disgustingly wet thanks to my sweat.

 

"Leno... are you back?" asked the voluptuous voice of Lilaia.

 

Her long, beaded golden hair hung down her shoulder in a strict braid and her copper brown eyes watched me in concern. Lilaia was a nymph and truthfully, the only being I could talk freely to.

 

I nodded. "Another nightmare."

 

"The same?" she asked, handed me a cloth.

 

I immediately took it and wiped away the sweat on my brow. "Yes."

 

I had been having the same nightmare recently: my master accuses me of some wrongdoing that I strangely couldn't remember and beat me for it. Always the same vivid pain and tension. Yet I couldn't remember everything...

And I'd always wake up after I lost consciousness.

 

"Maybe it's a precognition," Lilaia suggested.

 

"Of what though?" I asked, standing up to face the serene pond that was in front of me.

 

We were near a pond where nymphs lived. I got to go there when Lilaia was the only nymph present. If the others saw me, they'd either freak out or most likely, sell me out to the council... or worst: my master. And I couldn't have that happening. If it did happen then I could say goodbye to the world.

 

Lilaia's eyes grew wide and she waved me away. "Someone is coming!"

 

I jumped behind a moss-covered rock and watched as Lilaia stood up straight, getting ready to greet her visitors. She looked at the bushes and watched as a few elves pushed through, grunting as the branches scratched them.

 

"Greetings," Lilaia said, her voice lowering when she noticed who her visitors were.

 

A younger looking elf raised his bow and arrow and pointed it at Lilaia, his eyes squinting. My mouth gaping, I tried my best to remain silent and unnoticed. What was the elf doing?

 

Lilaia's eyes narrowed and she backed up in suspicion. "Why hostile?"

 

The other elf, an older looking one with an arrow as well, pointed it at Lilaia. She shook her head, her golden braid waving in the air.

 

"Back down nymph," the younger elf warned. "I will shoot to kill."

 

"Why?" Lilaia exclaimed, her eyes widened with fear.

 

The younger elf was about to shoot, but the older one stopped him. "Stand down. Now."

 

All elves held that commanding and demanding tone. All of them, even the dirt poor elves. Even the servants treated non-elves like trash.

 

Lilaia shook her head. "No. Now leave before my sisters come back."

 

As I crouched behind the rock, I saw another elf, this one was behind Lilaia, quiet and armed with a sword.

 

I didn't know what to do- no, what could I have done? My good consciousness was telling me to warn Lilaia. But my fear for my life kept me from opening my mouth. Even if I did open my mouth, I knew that my voice wouldn't make a sound. I was just that afraid, that fallible. I was weak and truthfully, I wondered why I was even alive. What was the point in my life?

 

As I thought those things, the elf that was creeping behind Lilaia lunged at her, sending the blade of the sword through her back. She let out a scream, a loud and painful scream, and toppled onto the ground. I watched in silence and I didn't move an inch. It would have been best to keep quiet. She was already on the ground and the elves were still there. It wasn't smart to let them catch me then. The elf that stabbed Lilaia yanked out the blade and her blood spilled out onto her white dress and the ground.

 

As I watched the gruesome scene, tears formed in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. She was my only friend...

 

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Hello there! I'm extremely new to this site, and I love writing! This was something random I decided to write so it has a few grammatical errors. I hope you enjoy and continue to read this ^^

[Akira&Shiki]

I ran and ran and ran until my feet could not take me any further. I wanted to vanquish the picture of Lilaia falling to her death… It was too much… too emotional. The blood that painted her white dress and her hair stained my memory. I hated it. I wanted to be rid of it. I wanted to forget the fact that I was weak… that I was not enough to protect her.

 

But I didn't even try, I thought to myself. I didn't even try to call out to her, to warn her. I was just a selfish human. That must have been why so many creatures hated humans. My tired and sore feet carried me to the ocean. The cool, salty breeze seemed foreign to me. I hadn't been there before… never once in my life.

 

"The wind carried my song and it felled three men, felled three men…"

 

The soothing voice of a woman near the coast of the ocean pulled me closer. My feet suddenly gained strength and I absentmindedly walked to the edge of the beach. In front of me sat a woman, youthful and beautiful. Her black hair had odd tinges of iridescent greens and blues on the tips. Her eyes were a deep, ocean blue and her skin was deathly pale.

 

We stared at each other for a few moments… blank and meaningless, until her eyelids widened and she gasped.

 

"You are Rhode!" she exclaimed, her voice an octave higher because of her sudden surprise.

 

"Rhode?" I repeated, bewildered.

 

She nodded and opened her arms to me, revealing her bare chest and her fish tail. "Oh, Rhode, I have missed you!"

 

I shook my head. A mermaid! They were said to be beautiful and delightful creatures… but if you upset them, they would not hesitate to kill you.

 

"I don't know you… nor a Rhode…" I murmured, backing away as slowly as possible.

 

"Impossible!" she exclaimed, her voice sounding angrier and shriller. "I am Sybil! Your Sybil!"

 

"I… I don't know a Sybil."

 

Her eyes flared in fury and she hissed at me like a rabid animal. "You liar! Liar! You smell like Rhode! You ARE Rhode!"

 

I turned on my heels and made a dash for it, but my legs immediately gave out on me. Sybil pointed at me with her scaly index finger and beckoned me over. Without my control, my feet gained its strength and brought me over to Sybil. My legs gave out once I was in front of her and I dropped to my knees.

 

She rose her arm to seemingly hit me. I closed my eyes, bracing myself to get the thrashing of a lifetime, but no pain erupted. A little afraid, I opened my eyes to see Sybil struggling with a man. I peered closer at the man to see my own… my face. He looked exactly like me. Sybil sputtered and howled. Her elegant voice turned into a siren's shriek. She was just a siren… not a mermaid. I felt slightly made a fool of.

 

"I will kill you RHODE!" she yelled as she fought back my look-a-like.

 

The man rolled his eyes and squeezed Sybil's arm. "You think he's me?"

 

When Sybil heard his voice, she froze. "Rhode…?"

 

The man smirked and pulled her closer. "Why would you try to kill me? Oh? You've been plotting this for a while, huh?"

 

The man who seemed to be this mysterious Rhode chuckled at his own words. He knew what Sybil had been planning and was happily mocking her about it.

 

"N-no…!" Sybil exclaimed. "I… I wasn't, I swear!"

 

Rhode tsked and squeezed her throat. "You damned… I thought I trained you right… Eh, maybe not." He eyed me. "And you attacked him, huh?"

 

I shivered and looked away as he mercilessly killed Sybil. Her screams of pain stuck in my head and hit a chord in my heart. I clenched my fists and closed my eyes shut.

 

"You can look now, Leno."

 

I looked up to see Rhode peering at me. My eyes went to Sybil's bloody corpse at his feet… and I looked away.

 

"What…"

 

Rhode smirked. "Little brother."

 

I looked at him again, confused even more. "What?"

 

"Leno, my brother! I've missed you," he said, his voice seeping into my brain like water to a sponge.

 

I shook my head. "I'm the only child…"

 

"No, we look exactly the same. I am your older brother, you my little. Here, I can prove it!" He dug into his pocket and pulled out a pocket watch.

 

With a huge smile, he pried it open and showed me a picture of two boys.

 

He pointed at the younger one… who was clearly me. "That's you." Then to the older. "And me."

 

I didn't quite believe him. "We" looked too wealthy to be where we were; I was a slave and Rhode looked like a beggar.

 

"Then why do they look so wealthy?" I asked. "And if they are us, then why am I a slave?"

 

"A SLAVE?" Rhode repeated, grinding out the word in an edgy effort.

 

"Yes," I answered. "If you're telling me the truth… then tell me why."

 

"Who the hell enslaved you?!" Rhode exclaimed, clenching his fist and scowling unpleasantly.

 

He seemed like a totally different person from before.

 

I shook my head. "That's beside the matter… just tell me why."

 

Rhode huffed violently and sat down on the rock that he was standing on. "I don't know… I got separated… we got separated when I was ten and you were six years old. That's all."

 

I sighed. That told me nothing at all.

 

"But it's fine now! I have you and you have me. There's no one that can stop me now!" Rhode exclaimed happily, standing up and addressing the roaring ocean.

 

"Not even the elves?" I asked.

 

He turned to me, a wide grin played out on his face. "I have the ocean! I have the creatures under my control! They say I'm just a human, but forget that! I OWN them now."

 

"How?" I simply asked, completely astonished.

 

For me, hope had seemed to have dried away long ago. But for Rhode, it was abundant.

 

"Don't tell a soul," Rhode said.

 

"I won't," I assured him.

 

There was no one for me to tell.

 

"Do you want to be strong?" he asked.

 

I… strength? Me and strength didn't seem compatible. But… despite that, I did. I most certainly wanted to be strong. I wanted to protect Lilaia. I wanted to fight off Sybil so that Rhode hadn't had to kill her. But I was weak. Useless and weak…

 

"I do."

 

Rhode grinned. "I found an elixir. No, I created it. It completely changes your personality. It makes you stronger. Though those things are only temporary. It's kind of like a withdrawal. But after a while, you become crazily strong. Look."

 

He dug into his ragged pants pocket and pulled out a small, clear, glass bottle. I could see a blue, liquid substance in it.

 

"This," Rhode said, presenting the bottle to me, "can change your whole life forever."

I ran and ran and ran until my feet could not take me any further. I wanted to vanquish the picture of Lilaia falling to her death… It was too much… too emotional. The blood that painted her white dress and her hair stained my memory. I hated it. I wanted to be rid of it. I wanted to forget the fact that I was weak… that I was not enough to protect her.

[Justme]

I like this fanfic a lot! :Dancing:

[Akira&Shiki]

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[Akira&Shiki]

Despite it being cold, we sat outside near the beach. Though we sat across from each other with a burning fire between our crouched bodies, things felt awkward. I looked at Rhode, who claimed to have been my older brother. I wanted to believe, but then again, I was very afraid of believing. If I believed him, that meant that I gained another person that had the ability to get close to me… and then to disappear after I got attached. I was afraid of being abandoned.

 

I never wanted to lose anyone. And when I did, it felt like my world was falling apart.

 

Rhode cleared his throat and spoke up, "Leno?"

 

I looked at him and found myself staring at him. Though we looked alike, Rhode was clearly older and handsomer. The years had done him good. He looked healthy and strong; I looked weak and pathetic. How the hell could we be alike?

 

"Leno…" He said my name again, that time a little louder.

 

"Huh?" I replied.

 

Rhode looked at me with visible concern. "You okay?"

 

I nodded.

 

"Are you sure?" he continued. "If it's because of the drug-"

 

"No!" I interrupted. "I just… I'm still flustered about you."

 

Rhode shrugged. "What's there to be flustered about? We're brothers and that's final."

 

I couldn't be so sure. Only a crazy person would believe that someone they just met was their sibling… especially when there was no evidence except for a photo.

 

When he didn't get a response, Rhode spoke up again, "Leno, want to see something nice?"

 

I shrugged and watched as he came over to me and pulled me to my feet. He pulled me along the beach and through the sand. In front of us was a shadow of a person. It looked human… hopefully human…

 

"Heron," Rhode called. "Come here, and bring Bolbe with you."

 

The shadow crunched in the sand and walked over to us to reveal a man about Rhode's age and an ageless woman behind him. The man had golden hair that was neatly groomed and about neck length, his hazel eyes were immediately set on me. I felt a little uncomfortable, but Rhode clenched my shoulder, making the uneasiness melt away.

 

"This is Heron," Rhode said, introducing the man. "He's a friend of mine… he helps me a lot, so please Leno, respect him."

 

"Nice to meet you, little Rhode." Heron gave me a smile and extended his hand to me.

 

Seeing his hand shoot out to me, I jumped backwards and stumbled to my butt. Rhode bent down beside me and touched my shoulder, but I shoved him away. My trembling hands already told me that I was so used to getting beaten that just seeing a stranger's hand nearing me frightened the crap out of me. Heron sighed and bent down in front of me.

 

"Little Rhode," he said. "What'd I do?"

 

I shook my head and tried to regain any composure that I had left. "I-I'm sorry, mister."

 

Heron chuckled and looked at Rhode. "He's so adorable, Rhode! Why'd you hide him from me for so long?"

 

I slightly jumped again. Me? Cute? How old did that guy think I was?

 

Rhode grinned. "Leno and I have been separated for a while."

 

Heron eyed me again, that time, less jokingly and more curiously. Uncomfortable again, my eyes went to the woman behind Heron. She had been just standing there the entire time, watching. The woman wore a green dress that flowed down past her feet. Her body was lean and she carried an air of regality. Along with her green dress, she was adorned with gold jewelry.

 

Heron saw me watching her and extended his hand to me again, that time carefully and much slower. I watched his hand for a while, then finally took it.

 

He smiled and held onto my hand like a child. "That's Bolbe. She's a limnad… a very important limnad, actually."

 

Bolbe looked at me with her green eyes and frowned. "What a child."

 

I turned red in a mixture of rage and embarrassment. Why did everyone refer to me like I was a kid? Heron and Rhode chuckled at my reaction.

 

"He's closer to being an adult," Rhode said. "He's… how old are you now, Leno?"

 

I frowned. "I'm eighteen… I think."

 

I had lost count after I had become a slave. It sucked, but it was the truth.

 

Heron squeezed my hand a little and kissed it. But he didn't say anything.

 

Instead, Rhode spoke up: "I totally forgot… you're four years younger than me."

 

I nodded. "So you're twenty two?"

 

Rhode nodded and pried me from Heron. "You're becoming a little too comfortable with my little brother."

 

His voice was different: a little hostile and angry.

 

Heron gave a nervous chuckle. "O-oh yeah… I apologize."

 

It became apparent to me that Heron feared… or at least revered… Rhode. What was that their relationship? My eyes went to Bolbe, who watched us. Her eyes met mine and she sneered in disgust. Oh god… I must have really angered her somehow.

 

Rhode noticed Bolbe and my exchange and intervened. "Let's go back to my place and eat."

 

Bolbe turned from us and walked out into the ocean. I watched her, in complete confusion. Where the heck was she going?

 

"She lives in the ocean," Heron explained from behind me, his voice now dull instead of playful.

 

I didn't respond and followed Rhode to his house. His house was above the shore so that the tide couldn't get to it. But I could still feel the ocean's most against my skin. Rhode led us inside of his house. We walked into a large room that was dimly lit by a candle.

 

Heron immediately went to a wall and turned in the lights. The entire house illuminated at the same time so I had a look around. His house was beautiful. It could even rival an elf of Alanore's house.

 

A voice emerged from my side. "Like it?"

 

I jumped, startled.

 

Heron chuckled and pressed his index finger against my lips. "Rhode had it made a few years back. It's nice."

 

He looked me dead in my eyes. It felt so weird to have someone look so intimidatingly into your eyes, yet be so careful with it. Was I like a scared animal to him?

 

Rhode cleared his throat again, and Heron quickly extracted himself from me.

 

"Heron," he said, "go make up a room for Leno."

 

Heron looked at me as if he didn't want to leave, but he soon gave in and trudged upstairs.

 

Rhode approached me and gave me a reassuring smile. "Let's go eat."

 

He led me to a dining room where a hot dinner was already prepared. I didn't even want to think who mad dot or when it was made or why it was still hot. I just ignored my thoughts and let myself be treated like a pampered kid, even if it were for a little while.

 

As we ate, Rhode brought up the drug again… or the elixir. Whatever it was called. He referred to it as an elixir, but I thought of it as a drug.

 

Rhode was telling me about how good it was and how I should use it. I told him that I needed time to think. And that was the absolute truth. I was slightly afraid that I would change… change for the worse. After eating, Heron came down to show me to my room. We walked up the long flight of stairs and to my room.

 

It was well decorated and well lit, but things still felt unsettling.

 

"Will you do it?" Heron asked once we were finally alone.

 

I looked at him. "Do what?"

 

"The elixir."

 

I shrugged. "It depends… I guess."

 

"Depends on?"

 

"I don't know…"

 

Heron shifted and looked at the wooden floor. "Shit… it's not in my place, but I need to tell you this."

 

"Tell me what?" I asked.

 

"The elixir has horrible side effects… Rhode is much more hostile than he was before."

 

So that was why Heron was so obedient. He didn't want to be killed or hurt.

 

"Rhode… he's much more erratic and power hungry. He's protective of you now, but once you become independent, he'll do… who knows what he'll do to you. So please Heron-"

 

I shook my head and interrupted him. "I'm still going to take it."

 

Heron's eyes grew wide. "Y-you will?! Why…?"

 

"I'm weak," I simply answered.

 

He went silent and looked at the floor again. After a few moments, he turned to leave the room. But before he left, he turned to me and said:

 

"It's okay if you're weak… I'll try to protect you."

 

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Well… I don't know how to change the rating of the thread, but I'm just letting everyone know now that this is becoming 18+. If anyone knows how to change the rating if the thread, please let me know! Thanks! ^~^