[IRP] The Dead One Calls

[Swift_Assassin]

Almost on queue, when Lita asked about the situation, a small mass of people began walking out from the same door they witnessed Shad stumble out of earlier in the fight. They cautiously took in the surroundings, unsure of if it was safe, or if their saviors had ulterior motives akin to their captors. Behind them came out a young girl, covered in scrapes, blood, and a tattered nightgown, a young boy with a mop of curly black hair wearing a brown jacket under some rather unimpressive armor that was too big for him, and a slightly older girl in a black cloak with white hair and a few facial scars. She swung the key ring around her finger as the trio approached the group. If they looked at the youngest girl, they would notice she was carrying Shad's magic tome.

"I-I am Lady Maria Hyperion, daughter of Lord Daren Hyperion and former ward of Lord Tyber Fen of the now annexed country of Etruria. I give you thanks for...liberating my castle from those brigands." Maria said looking down at some of the corpses around her, noticing her bare feet was stepping on fresh blood. She looked at the group and noticed a peculiar amount of red heads. Despite her ragged appearance, she stifled a laugh. "I thank you for escorting my idiot brother here. If you weren't with him, we'd probably both be stuck in a cell waiting to be sold off."

Maria began walking towards the front door of the castle, beckoning the group to follow her. "To apologize for your ordeals, feel free to help yourself to the castle. Clean up, eat up, drink. It's the only way for me to make amends for putting the castle in this situation." She walked through the door and stared wide eyed seeing two bodies on the ground. Both were moving, but only one seemed to move with some life. "SHAD!" She yelled running over to him.

"Mar-?"

Maria lifted his left arm up and slipped under, trying to help him up. He got up to his knees and looked at Rollo. Maria looked at the other body and recognized it. She got out from under Shad and approached the knight, kicking him repeatedly until he seemingly came through. She saw him looked her straight in the eyes and she took out the fire time. The eyes widened as a magic circle appeared right in his face. The resulting fire ball roasted his head until he finally died, giving Shad flashes of Lennox in Tania. When she was sure he was dead, she ran back, tripping just before she got to Shad. Shad just looked at her and she looked back, tears welling in her eyes. She scrapped her knees on the landing and the new sensation just caused her facade to crack. She got up and jumped into Shads arms, bawling her eyes out into his left shoulder, forcing the side of her head into the sticky blood on Shad's face. Instead of saying something, he lowered his head into her shoulder and just let her cry. "They...they..."

"There, there..." Shad said, trying to console her, stroking the back of her head with his right hand. This was finally over.