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[Liz Bathory]

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She stares blankly at the dark stones above her. Tensing and relaxing her muscles, she tries to gain comfort from the soft bed beneath her to no avail. From the corner of her eye she sees the light starting to creep in her bedroom window and she sighs heavily, letting the damp morning air cleanse her lungs. She wonders how many more nights she must endure filled with sleepless dreams.
She sits up slowly, her body aching from lack of sleep and the previous day’s grueling training with Galathan. The thought brings a slight smile to her lips. A few more days and she might get the best of him, in more ways than one. Despite her pledge to stay clear of matters of the heart, she must admit she’s growing quite fond of him, although not nearly as much as he is of himself.
She walks stiffly to her wash basin and splashes cool water on her face to clear the fog from her mind. Memories fill her every waking moment, and no matter how far she has run from her past the awful images keep nipping at her heels. She hasn’t seen any sign of the two big men since she acquired this house outside Umbra… but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
A strong breeze blows behind her and she instinctively draws her sword, turning to face the door in one swift movement. Stray locks of hair temporarily block her vision before she blows them out of the way.
“M’lady!”
“Vivienne, how many times have I told you that you cannot come barging in on me? I could hurt you without meaning to!”
The look on her dear friend’s face is enough to stop the rest of the lecture.
“What’s wrong?”
“M’lady, the eagle has circled five times now.”
Vivienne’s usually ruddy cheeks are ashen with lack of blood.
“Best you go and check, Vivi. Be very careful.”
The gruesome sound of cartilage popping and bones breaking and realigning fills the room as the tiny blonde woman transforms into a huge red daemon. Vivienne gives her one last desperate look before spreading her vast, leathery wings.
“Bathory, if I don’t come back…”
“Then tell Danielle I love her.”
She watches as the daemon plummets out the window into the morning mist and ascends high into the sky.
“This is it, I’m tired of running.” She holds the tears back as best she can, praying for the safe return of her friend.
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"An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness."
-Elbert Hubbard