Dolls that Kill

Entry Four: Sleepless

Dark brown flowing hair passed by the halls. Everyone stopped to look at the woman--the warrior--who was making her way down the hallway. She was covered from head to toe in tattered armor which was covered in blood and a variety of other unsavory articles. She had all of her weapons with her as she strolled down the palace's hall.

With the greatest grace anyone could muster she threw the doors open. "Your highness!" she said, demanding respect, "What is the meaning of this?"

The man on the thrown remained silent. His arms were crossed in his lap, and he was giving the world a complacent look. It also looked as if he wanted to stab someone in the face at the same time. "I should ask you the same, Nkiru."

"Ask me the same?" Infuriated the knight threw her massive broad sword down the the ground. "You sent INNOCENT men to die by the hands of the enemy! General Tevok was perfectly capable of taking the over whelming forces. If it were not for your order the siege would have been completed without out three hundred casualties!"

"If you're so willing to sacrifice yourself, why are you not on the front lines?"

"I am, your highness, unlike you." She pointed to the bandages around her neck, which would have normally covered with some sort of metal collar.

He gave an indignant huff. "How--"

"NO! I refuse to listen to your banter!" She came crashing forward. The guards helplessly tried to stop her, only to be pushed the ground effortlessly. With one swoop of her hand she grabbed the king by the neck and pushed him against his thrown. "You needlessly sacrificed the lives of you people!"

He choked a bit, unable to speak.

She dropped him back on the thrown, still angry. Nkiru, the greatest knight in all of the lands, had no fear.

Footsteps echoed through the chamber as a young man entered from the side. His slick blonde hair flowed down the the floor, and his dark eyes were light up like fireflies. He could be no more than sixteen, the youngest member of the royal family, and he gave off the air and grace of an angel. He blinked a few times at the mess Nkiru had caused and tilted his head in question, "What happened here?"

The king and the knight remained silent, glaring at each other with burning hatred. Something that neither of them should have had towards the other. The young prince stepped between the two. "What happened here?" he repeated.

Nkiru shook her head, "Nothing sir."

Lars looked to his father, who made no reply. The young boy raised an eyebrow, "This situation has gone far enough. We should end the war without fighting."

The king gave his son a bitter look, "How do you propose we do that?"

"We ask for a ceasefire. Then we propose a treaty."

"Nonsense!" the king scoffed.

The knight stepped forward, "Prince Lars is correct, Your Highness. We can't win this war thanks to your judgment calls. Tevok is on her deathbed, half her men are completely gone because of interference with the other battalions and and I'm the only Royal Knight capable of standing. The enemy is in a similar condition according to my spies. Now would be the time to offer a peace treaty between our countries."

"No," the king said. "A child will not decide the fate of our country. I order you to battle, Royal Knight Nkiru of the Holy Sword Gudrun."

The court stood silent for a moment. Lars nearly in tears looking to the only female knight of all the kingdoms. She bowed to her king, "As you command."

Lars watched her walk out of the room. Knowing full well she was doing this for the people. "Vanquish Evil," the boy whispered, "Please."

"To sleep... perchance to dream," Nkiru muttered as she sat by the tree. Nothing had come of the trail she was on. She was now outside a small village, and no one seemed to notice her sitting by the trees. This was the edge of the kingdom she used to serve, and this was the place where they had the final battle. It looked nothing like she remembered.

She slowly stood up, and decided she would take a walk though the village where her life was destroyed. The glances and stares could easily be ignored, after all, most people in this area dressed close to her.

There was a blood curdling scream from the opposite end of the village. The Queen of Hearts blinked in surprise as the screams continued. With more hesitation she ran towards the edge of the village. Apparently there was no one else in the village to here the screams of pounding of the former knight's feet. After what seemed like an eternity she made it to the opposite side of the village, and saw a lifeless body fall from the trees. She stared at the thing that used to be a woman--she had been crushed to death.

HISSSSSSS! Nkiru heard in her head.

She blinked and looked around, her eyes finally following the trees. There was something she had never seen before, wrapped around a tree branch.

HISSSSSSS!

"What the hell?" she asked allowed. The creature looked like a dragon, but it seemed to be made of wood and metal. The whole body was painted red, except for the face, that must have been made of silver, with a small gemstone like heart on it's cheek. It had small tattered wings, at least they looked something like wings.

The dragon tightened its grip around the tree, shredding some of the bark underneath the pressure.

"Another broken doll," Nkiru said. She might as well put it out of its misery. If it was a dragon without its intelligence it would not want to live, she was sure.

*GO AWAY!* the dragon screamed in her head.

She faltered and shook her head out. "Hey! Do you know its not proper to piss off the Queen of Hearts? Secondly something as dangerous as you should be in the Requiem?"

The doll's eyes twitched. She wasn't sure if that was all it could do or not. She wasn't going to push her luck either. The dragon just remained silent.

"At least tell me your name, Dragon."

*No name. Humans call me Demon of Hearts before they break.*

Well, this sucked. She was dealing with a highly dangerous monster of a dragon. A Bishel? She didn't think any lived in this realm. "That won't do. You need a proper name."

*No name.*

She rubbed her nonexistent temples. She had a headache when it wasn't possible. What joy, at least she cold tell it was close to male by the voice. "Yakov. That will be your new name."

*Ya...kov?*

She nodded. "Do you want to come out of that tree now?"

The dragon's grip became tighter. It gave her another mental hiss. How could he trust her?

She shrugged. "You'll find me in the village for a little while longer if you decide to change your mind." She gave a slight bow of respect and moved towards the body. The dragon's eyes traced her every move, she was taking the body away from his tree.

Nkiru walked to the other side of the town. and place the body on the soft ground. She wandered into the houses, one after another, until she found a shovel. Then she went to burry the body, at least the girl could have some peace. Even if she was the last one in the village.

When the job was finished Nkiru looked to the sky. It was fading into darkness, the red seeping into the ground. "Another sleepless night," She smiled weakly.