"The Hellish Part" (Muse) The time was drawing near... Pesmerga could now see the faint outline of the 'capital' of the City-State, Muse, in the distance. He did not care to know why he had seen so many Highland soldiers coming to the city, it was none of his concern. As usual, all he cared about was killing Yuber, nothing else. "Probably just some peace summit or such," he said quietly," I will only be in Muse for a few hours anyway..just long enough to find out which direction Yuber took to go to Highland. No need for me to worry about these Highlanders." Pesmerga patted his sword, as a sadistic grin crossed his pale lips. Every time he thought about Yuber, all he could see was his sword sheathed in Yuber's still-beating heart..a look of anguish on Yuber's face as Pesmerga would rain down blows upon him in a wild fury..aah..how he wished his fantasy could come true soon. But he would have to be patient, Yuber was a tricky bastard.. he would probably pull out every trick he had been tought by the High Preist to avoid Pesmerga, but he would die..oh yes he would die..or Pesmerga would follow him straight to hell and slay his very soul, though he doubted Yuber even had one. He abandoned his melencholoy thoughts as the grand city of Muse loomed in the distance, it was almost time to resume the search.. and this time,he would not be denied his reckoning with Yuber. Maybe with some luck, he would still be in Muse. The city of Muse was the busiest place Pesmerga had ever seen, short of Crystal Valley in Harmonia. There were people and shops everywhere, of every possible kind. Runemasters, blacksmiths, item and armor stores, and inn, even a bar and appraisal shop were located in this city. Pesmerga first visited the Item shop, restocking his supply of medical supplies and foodstuffs, and picked up a pair of 'Escape Talismans' just in case. Then he set out to find Yuber's whereabouts. As he strolled around the town, asking everyone he saw about Yuber, and receiving a mixed bag of responses.. from being ignored or pushed aside to getting blank stares or apologies for being ignorant, he finally decided it was time to leave Muse.. he would simply head for the next logical place, the Muse-Highland border to the north-east of Muse, and track Yuber from there. But as he turned to leave, he felt something tugging at the yellow cape that hung from his back, when Pesmerga turned to look at the person tugging at him, he froze. There stood an adorable little girl, probably no older than five or six years old, with long blonde hair and a teddy bear she was hugging against herself with one arm. Her other hand held a balled up wad of Pesmerga's cape, as she smiled up at him with loving blue eyes that looked..familiar to him. The it hit him, this girl looked like Tanya!!! A flood of thoughts roared through Pesmerga's mind all at once, brining back more of his painful past. Pesmerga had once had a very loving family back in Harmonia when he was young. His mother was a kind woman who worked in the High Preists royal temple as a maid, and his father was the cheif general in the Harmonian military. Though he was a harsh and diciplined man, Pesmerga's father, Kahlran, was still a very loving and warm-hearted man who took good care of his children and his wife. He also accepted Yuber, who was orphaned as a young boy, as a second son. But Kahlran also had two natural children, Pesmerga of course..and.. a daughter. Tanya. Pesmerga loved no one, not even Yuber, as much as he did his little sister. His memories of her, and his family, were the only things that, even after his betrayal by Yuber and the Harmonian royalty, still kept him sane, besides his lust for vengeance against Yuber. She had taught him how to be a caring man when they were children, Pesmerga was a good eight years older than his sister,but they acted almost like twins., completely inseperable. Untill one day.. Tanya fell into a river. She had slipped on a moss-covered rock and fell into the raging water. She couldn't swim and imediately began to drown. Pesmerga had tried to save his little sister, but he couldn't reach her, and jumping into the water after her would only get them both killed. Right before his eyes, as he helplessly watched, his sister had drowned. And he couldn't save her..... " 'Scuse me misser," said the young girl, snapping him back to reality, " but i'm lost.. could you pwease help me find my mommy and daddy..i'm scared." He once again felt the pricking of human emotion deep within his soul, but this time, instead of thrusting it away, he embraced it. He smiled, for the first time in over 500 years he truly smiled, at the little girl and took her hand in his. "Yes little one, I will help you find your parents." A lone tear ran down his cheek as he and the girl walked, hand in hand, through the city untill they reached a big road that divided the city in half. As Pesmerga was looking around for anyone who looked like the could have been the little girls parents, the girl suddenly gasped and ran into the street. "MOMMIE!! DADDIE!!!" cried the little girl as she ran across the cobblestone road, a wide smile coming across her face. Pesmerga smiled again, as he watched the little girl run to her parent's , who waited with out-stretched arms. But the little girl stopped half-way.. as she realized that in her haste to reach her family, she had dropped her teddy bear."My teddy bear! I have to get her!". The little girl ran back into the middle of the road and picked up her teddy, but froze when she saw a large horse-drawn carriage coming down the road, oblivious to the little girl in it's path. He family screamed for her to run. but she couldn't..the little girl was terrified out of her mind. Pesmerga was gaping.. images of his drowining sister screaming his name, pleading for help, were echoing through his mind, taunting him. Not again..no..he couldn't lose her again!! The girl wasn't there anymore..to him, it was his sister standing in the road, about to be ran over and killed by the carriage. He couldn't lose the most precious thing in his life again..he had to save her this time..he had to!! "TAAANNNYYAAAAA!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Pesmerga screamed out her name, running full bolt into the road. He lept on top of the little girl, sheilding her body with his..as he waited for the cruel steel-rimmed wheels of the carriage and the hooves of the horses to trample him... no time to move.. all he could do was pray he would be able to protect her.
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