Serenity: The Ghost In the Shadows

                       

                                                      Chapter 1









                  She stands upon a lonely hillside, the breeze blowing through her short raven black hair, her golden eyes focused and full of vengeance. Locked and zeroed in upon the man who stole everything from her, her family, her husband and her life. She stands in the shadows, her black clothing keeping her quite concealed, she stands with sword drawn and her muscles twitching with anticipation. 

                She watches the man intently, studying his every move all the mannerisms, watching for signs of weaknesses that she can use against this man. Her mind recalling every horrible memory of that night, that night that would take everything she... held dear and leave her with the scar that runs the length of her face from jaw to hairline. She finds her hand caressing that horrid reminder of this man's evil, this day she will have her revenge. She finds her point and with catlike grace she bursts into a full run, her feet making no sounds as they hit the grassy hill beneath them. Her blade's razor sharp edge glistens with what seems like a fiery glow, her eyes narrow as she sprints ever closer to her destiny to her vengeance upon this man. She leaps just as he turns to face her caught off guard and totally vulnerable, he can do nothing to stop her attack. Her mind flares with hate and her heart fill with rage, bitter painful tears fill the corners of her eyes as she rises above him and everything goes white.

                She stands still, heart chest rising and falling as fast as a hard rain, her eyes fixed upon the now lifeless body her target. Her eyes now bloodshot and stinging from her weeping, she gazes at the lifeless man's head,(which is cleaved in half,almost perfectly split down the center from her attack), his eyes now long since glazed over. How long had she stood there just staring at him, she shakes her head to snap back to her senses. She thinks to herself as she cleans her blade of the blood from her target, she thinks and finds herself letting out a small soft chuckle between the sobs," My name is Serenity, but funny how I do not feel serene." Her gaze goes to her hand, she looks it over, from her deep tanned skin to the short black nails tipping her fingers," What have I become?!" Serenity's body begins to shake with grief as it works it way up through her body like waves, she crumples to the ground, her body shaking as her tears come forth like a deluge, her weeping is loud and full of sorrow and all she can say is mournful, "Why!"............





    Meanwhile half a world away in a dense forest a bestial woman swings through trees in a hurried manner, her sea foam green cat slit eyes focused on the vines before her, her muscled frame zips by overhead the forest floor. She knows this is the fastest way to elude her potential captors, she knows what would happen if she is caught like other members of her race and she isn't content with being an enslaved attraction for others to mock and humiliate. She feels the fear welling up inside her, thought of the possibility of her capture alone made her anxious and thus her movements pick up in speed and intensity, her breathing heavier and her eyes wide with panic. Her eyes notice the ever advancing sight of the moonlit plains, she leaps from the vine and with a catlike posture lands on her hands and feet, her scantily clad spotted furred form fully in the moons' soft light, her two tails whipping about. Her back arches as she throws back her dark maned head and howls like a wolf at the two moons , she rises to her feet as the panic passes, Her glossy black lips slide open to form a fanged mischievous smile that quickly closes to a self assured smirk after her four ears pick up no sounds. She knows that she has eluded her pursuers and that she will indeed get away and so she walks sensually away into the plains laughing as she thinks of how stupid these human males be. Her mind is now set on the men who capture her people routinely and sell them into slavery or worse, her human like face scrunches from her anger and rage, finally culminating in a lion like roar, her eyes still looking ahead intently as she is Oondala the Beast Queen and this is not becoming of one of her stature. Oondala stops for only a moment to bow her head in a moment of shame over letting her anger get the best of her, resolving to save that for the one responsible for her people's sufferings. The men in metal, they will pay for what they have done, they will feel her wrath, she thinks to herself as she raises her fist in defiance. She has it clenched so hard that it bleeds, the blood running down her palm over and under her gold bangles around her wrist ,a moment later she comes to her sense and wipes the blood and tears away as she walks on into the night, her mane blowing in the starry moons lit  night's breeze.........



     

                    In a snow covered land sits a tavern is a small village, frequented by the mercenaries and shady types looking for a fight. The place wreaks of sweat blood and ale, sounds of laughter and angry waitresses echo out into the cold evening air. The tavern's life stops cold as the door swings open and a sudden gust of frigid air and snow rushes in, the eyes of many are wide and full of awe, some whisper and some with an itch to scratch smile slyly at the person in the door way. There ...she stood, a woman of fierce countenance but with the face of a stern faced angel, her eyes of mismatched colors of fiery red and crystal blue seemingly glow with an unknown energy. She stands looking the place over, she eyes an empty table in a dark corner, takes a seat and all eyes are on her. She sits with the purple hood of her tunic still pulled over head, her upper face in it's shadow but the suspicion of her eyes glowing is confirmed as they dimly lit what could be made out of her upper face. "I just want to be left in peace go about your affairs" she utters in a slow raspy almost monotone voice. Her voice as strange as it was was the voice of a sad woman who has seen inhuman loss. Her head remains bowed as a waitress works her way over to her amid cat calls and slaps upon the poor waitresses buttocks. The waitress's face looking angry and humiliated over what she goes through on a daily basis, the strange woman raises her head ever so slightly in the waitresses direction only to see some some big muscular lout with a yellow grin block her path to further humiliate the waitress. The lout keeps pressuring the waitress to do certain indecent activities, never noticing the strange woman the waitress was on her way to serve sitting at the table behind him. Everyone else around the lout and the waitress were wide eyed as the strange woman rises silently facing the lout's back," She doesn't want to service you so why don't you leave her be!" The strange woman says as the lout turns in her direction? " Why don't you shut up," was his response and he being new there doesn't realize his mistake for he was one itching for some action, the strange woman barely moves when the lout goes to draw his daggers. His grimy dark eyes full of conceit and lurid imaginings wasn't prepared for what happened next, for no sooner had he grabbed the hilts of the daggers than he found the cold steel of a barrel in his face.The strange woman had (with a super human speed) zipped over to the man put her gun's barrel in his face, " You must be new here for if you had truly known who I am or even had inkling of it then there is no way in HELL you would DARE challenge me," the strange woman said this time her voiced was raised and full of annoyance her eyes now fully glowing the sight was eerie! The whole while a strange breeze emanated around her causing her hood to fall away and her blood red hair flowing! Her blue lips formed into a malicious smile as the chamber on her pistol began to glow an eerie green. The lout's eyes now seemingly worried but his masculine pride being on the line wasn't about to back down to a woman even one as strange as the one before him now," Ssso so what, I I dddon't care who you are I ww will still kkkill you!" "Good boy just what mama wanted to hear," she said as she pulled the trigger of her gun,with a sound like thunder the blast disintegrated his head and most of his upper torso, what remained fell to the tavern's floor with a loud thump into a smoldering pile of gore, the blood running everywhere,"I am Vondra and I will tolerate NO FOOLISHNESS!"









                                                  Chapter 2







      Serenity's body lies upon the ground where she fell, there in a fetal position holding herself as if trying to get some comfort that isn't there. Her sobs and body jerks seemingly coinciding in time with one another as she lays there crying bitterly, her eyes swollen and red from the weeping she has been doing for what seems like an eternity. She knows she should get up and move on, but her body wants to just give up and give in to the sorrow, she thought killing the man may provide some relief but the pain still remains. The sun that was overhead when she made her move is now fading in the horizon, slowly she rises to her feet,wiping tears from her eyes and trying to get her bearings she remembers the man's final words before his life was erased," I am not the one you"  she knows full well what he meant and even if he wasn't the one she wanted he was one of them she holds responsible and her fury will be felt by all connected to her tragedy. She dusts herself off and puts her blade back into it's scabbard and begins to walk off when she faintly hears a group of voices coming her way, her mind still full of the tragic memories slowly begins to ponder the best course of action. Serenity places her hand upon her blade in anticipation of a possible threat from these men and soon her intuition is proven correct as the men,(each one a face from that night,each one a party to her nightmare), see their fallen comrade's lifeless body. Their faces twist with anger and rage as they pull their weapons," Woman, you will die slowly and painfully,I promise you that", one of the men,(obviously the new acting leader), says as he draws a huge battle axe from behind himself. His green eyes full of rage ad hate, his oily should length hair falling about everywhere, slobber drips from the corners of his mouth. The other men move in to surround Serenity, her head snaps from one face to another as she she turns about waiting for the fight to begin, her sorrow gives way to the rage and hate she herself carries. The lead man screams and goes in for the attack, Serenity's hand draws the now glowing blade from it's scabbard with lightening reflexes and the meeting of her blades with the others sounds reminiscent of thunder in rapid successions. She leaps and backflips, dodges and parries attacks, every few minutes one man would fall lifeless to the ground, " All of you took everything from me all of you have to pay, I WANT SATISFACTION!"

          The men that numbered probably close to thirty are down to just one, the bloodied leader that stands before her," You stupid stupid BITCH, YOU DO NOT GET IT DO YOU?!" Serenity stands there getting for her killing blow as the man's words prick her ears," Oh you can kill me, I do not care because soon enough you will meet your fate, those who actively search for it will find it, and you will learn that this is even bigger than YOU can handle, we were small game compared to the one behind us," he declares through hard gasps for breath, he sees the look on Serenity's face, he knows he has caused her to stay her hand for a time," Who who is behind all of this, who is it tell me!"

        " You will see yourself soon enough,I have no doubt," He says with an evil chuckle as he coughs up some blood," Tell me TELL ME DAMMIT", Serenity screams as she raises her glowing blade above her head as a threat display," You don't scare me woman, I am dead already, I am not long for this world SO GO TO HELL!" Serenity lashes out her blade finds it's mark as she renders his head from his dying body, it sails through the,( now night), air with a small stream of blood trailing behind it lands dull thump upon the ground. Serenity's violet lips pulled back showing her clenched teeth, her eyes wide with rage, her rage turns to disappointment at what he has had said she falls to her knees, punching and hitting the ground and beating and slashing everything with the anger and raw desperation her sadness brought forth. She screams a primal scream, one full of her hate and sadness, her eyes full again with tears, her sword swinging aimlessly in the cool night air hitting everything within her reach! Serenity's body begins to give in to the fatigue, her smoky eyes struggling to stay open, her blade feeling as though it were made out of lead, knees buckling yet she still tries to destroy all around her as she slowly collapses to the ground with a thump, her blade lying just within reach beside her like a child.Serenity finally sleeps, this days carnage at an end death can now rest for the night as she slumbers...........









      " Lord, did you see that," a sinister man of small frame says, his lightly armored overcoat swishing as he turns to face a shadowy figure on a thrown?!  " Yes, yes indeed I did, those men all got in at least one hit on her for sure, she should be dead but isn't but how, how did the weaponry pass through her", the shadowy figure says aloud yet as if to himself, his red glowing eyes narrowing deep with thought," She will be a problem, Antimodous, call a meeting of the cabal!"  " Yes Lord Greythrun at once,but what about the other two, aren't they of equal threat to you," Antimodous says as his feminine features change to show concern, his long blood red hair falling behind him as he turns yet again to his master! " They will be dealt with soon enough but this one oh this Serenity must be dealt with as soon as possible, she knows too much and has seen too much and I cannot have that," Greythrun says with anger as he slams his heavily armored fist down with thunderous slam upon the arm rest of the ornate thrown he sits upon! The room about them full of red and darkness.........









                                                  Chapter 3









    She walks, her confidence in herself is as sure as the steps she takes into this small town after a night of running from the men of metal. Oondala sees the looks of fear of in their eyes, she laughs to herself as she stands arms akimbo,hip thrust to one side, her two tails whipping about. She is in a playful mood and she wants fun, no she DEMANDS it, her maned head looks around and with eyes narrowing and her mouth going into a smirk the whole thing giving her face a look of mischief," Ah there it is, now for some FUN!"  She walks towards the the inn, her hips swaying sensually from left to right as she does so, her amazonian body with it's many toned muscles steps through the entrance and all eyes fall upon her! Oondala loves the attention, it befits the beast queen that they should do thus. She gazes at the people about her and one in particular, the only one not looking at her, a woman who sits with a look upon her face that just says she is not impressed. Oondala looks at this woman, she sits leaned back in a chair, her black booted feet crossed and upon the table, Oondala's eyes follow the boots that run from foot to thigh, then red of the woman's pants the dark brown belt with pistol and sword, the white top underneath the black and gold jacket with gold epaulettes and then her face with alabaster skin, the blood red lips that smirk , the woman's jade green smokey eyes looking at Oondala as if to say "What is the big deal". Oondala watches as the woman gets to her feet and turns towards Oondala and she takes her hat in hand places it atop her head," The name is Red Legs, Ebony The Red Legs to be exact and I and my crew want no trouble from you beast woman, so make no trouble or there WILL BE TROUBLE!!"  Oondala hears the challenge and responds," Oh if ya want trouble sunshine we can take this outside so none of your boy toys get hurt," Oondala's gaze switches to a variation of her usual look of mischief, this look is a challenge, Ebony's eyes narrow and the anger can be noticed as it rises within her like a fire,her red lips slide back to show her pearly white teeth in a grimace of anger," Have it your way but you will beg me for mercy before it is over ANIMAL!"  The two women head towards the door and the voices inside start taking bets to the outcome of the fight between the two female warriors, upon reaching the street outside both women face each other, each one not giving an inch, their eyes filled with determination and rage. Ebony's hand upon the pommel of her rapier the other on her pistol, her eyes narrow to a glare. Oondala stands facing her opponent, her hands out to the sides of her body palms out, she flexes some muscles in her hands causing her claw like nails to pop out like a cat, her head goes back and she roars the sound of it like that of a lion, her muscled legs bent into a fighting stance the overall look of the beast queen was one that screams walk away, her face full of rage her eyes full of wrath her her fangs showing full and ready to rip and tear some flesh! The town's folk gathered around and even the guards were held spellbound by this unusual sight, a beast woman and a pirate about to duel to the death! The two look and with simultaneous jerks both lunge screaming at one another with weapons thrust forward in attack.........