Ceremony in Merthras (Shadow)

As Shadow arrived next to the Prince, he slipped an arm around her waist, murmuring something into her ear. She stiffened briefly, but otherwise showed no signs of acknowledging what he had said. The 'priest' presiding over the ceremony looked more like a soldier than a priest. He drew a knife from his belt, saying something in the language of the dimension.

Be'lakor watched, a look of disgust on his face, but he didn't say anything. His crossbow was ready, but he was going to wait until the prince was more relaxed before firing. Be'lakor had a slight smirk on his face as he watched the event unfolding.

The priest handed the knife first to Arcen, who cut a gash in his hand, running down the centre of his palm. The knife was then passed to Shadow, who created a similar cut. The priest pressed their palms together just before the people of Merthras erupted in cheers.

Be'lakor decided this was a the perfect moment. He raised the crossbow to his eye, and let the bolt fly into Arcen's back, straight through his heart. Blood spattered from the prince's chest, as he gasped in shock. The people in Merthras erupted into a synchronized gasp of horror, as all attention was turned to Be'lakor, who had just finished loading another bolt into the Crossbow.

Shadow barely had time to draw her dagger before she found herself with several swords pointed at her. The Aspherin demons has easily been overpowered. The demoness crouched low to the cround, cursing the restrictive dress she had to wear for the ceremony. Her palm stung as the black blood continued to drip down it and her broken arm, strapped across her chest for extra stability, was useless.

Be'lakor unloaded another bolt into the prince who was staggering on the ground, ending his life. Be'lakor slung the crossbow on his back as he leapt into the crowd, drawing his sword. He cut down two soldiers in his descent, before he charged through to get to Shadow.
"Get back! All of you, unless you wish to suffer the same fate as your prince. A bolt through the heart and brain. Not that he had a brain to puncture." Be'lakor stated, kicking a nearby soldier down the few stairs.

Shadow felt an crossbow bolt bounce off the armour in her bodice, but another one became lodged through the shoulder of her good arm. One of the warriors of Merthras held a blade to her throat, but the demoness put an end to that with a knee to the groin. She could feel her demonic side emerging again, but she found herself pinned to the ground, two warriors holding her there.

Be'lakor let out a roar of fury, his eyes changing to a red colour, as a bright flash filled the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing in shock as where once stood the daemon prince, was now a large red scaled reptile. It had spikes running down its back, big enough to impale a man on. The beast roared, as it started to smack gaurds aside on its way to Shadow.

Shadow struggled until she felt a needle pierce her neck. She felt her muscles relax, a fog descending over her mind until she gradually lost consciousness. The Aspherin demons found themselves defeated, Merthras standing victorious until Be'lakor morphed. The Merthrasans quickly formed a defensive wall to stop the Daemon Prince from getting to the princess.

Be'lakor roared, as he leapt through the air, landing next to the princess and crushed the unlucky Merthrasans that were in his way. He put the horn on his head under her, throwing her onto his back, as he roared again, and smashed his way through the wall. He sprinted out of the area and straight for the mountains. He got to safety, and lay Shadow down on the ground, transforming back to his human form. He sat down, loading a bolt into is crossbow.

Merthrasans scattered as Be'lakor landed, but the Daemon Prince had left with Shadow before they could stop him. Their attentions then turned to their dead prince, preparing for the funeral.
Shadow hadn't recovered consciousness, finding herself unable to wake from the injection.

Be'lakor started to look at the wound from the needle. He pulled the needle out, looking into the wound. He activated his true sight to track the spread of the toxin. He grimaced, opening his coat, to find a selection of vials. He picked out a purple one, before opening Shadows mouth and pouring the liquid in. "That should clear out the toxin..."

Shadow coughed spitting out part of the antitoxin, but she opened her eyes. Her shoulders shook as she coughed, pain shooting through both of her shoulders. She managed to stop coughing a few moments later, sitting up, her breathing hoarse.

Be'lakor sat back, a sigh of relief escaping from his throat. He picked up his crossbow again, looking around. "Are you hungry?" He asked, looking at Shadow with anxiety. Be'lakor stood up, making sure the bolt was properly loaded.

Shadow took a few moments to compose herself.
"No, thanks," She said, her voice catching in her throat. She touched the bolt in her shoulder, but decided against taking it out. She would bleed to death if she did.

- Got to go to bed, g'night -

Be'lakor sat down again, pondering to himself. "Do you have enough energy to teleport us out?" he asked, raising the crossbow again as he heard a noise. A strange deer like creature ran past, darting through the bushes.

OOC: K

Shadow shook her head again. Her mind was unfocused and tired, meaning that teleporting, especially while towing someone alongside. The princess closed her eyes, taking as deep a breath as she could. Everything was going wrong that day and she didn't know how to right it.

"Even though their foolish ruler is dead, they will soon pick a new one, and i bet that they will launch an attack on Aspheri. We are still here. Tell me, Shadow, have you ever seen a Dragon up close?" Be'lakor asked, tilting his head to the right, and slinging his crossbow on his back again.

"Only once," Shadow said, "And that was scary enough when I was five." The demoness shakily got to her feet, wrapping her cloak a little tighter around herself as she shivered. A fire demon in an ice dimension. She could think of better places to be, notably where the temperature was above freezing.

Be'lakor smiled. "Well, i have a plan. Hopefully it won't be so traumatic for you this time. Do you trust me?" Be'lakor asked the princess, a reassuring look on his face. Be'lakor took off his coat, offering it to Shadow.

Shadow shook her head at the offered coat, her cloak starting to warm her up a little. She looked Be'lakor in the eye as she said:
"I trust you," The demoness was slightly comforted by the fact that the Daemon Prince wouldn't let anything harm her on purpose.

Be'lakor smiled, taking several steps back. "Then watch this." Be'lakor let out a roar of agony as a large flash filled the mountains. The flash was red in colour, and the noise it created was deafening. The flash cleared, and there, where once was the Daemon Prince, was now a huge dragon like creature. The dragon roared, releasing a dark red flame from its throat into the air. It looked at the princess, lowering its head in a bow to her.

Shadow scrambled back in alarm, her eyes wide behind her mask. Now she remembered why she had preferred her pegasus to dragons. However, as the dragon bowed its head to her, she relaxed slightly, moving closer to it. She warily reaced out a hand to touch the dragon's forehead.

The dragon did not move when Shadow reached out, allowing her to touch it. Its mouth did not move, but a sound was made, within Shadows head. "Do you trust me?" the voice said. It sounded alarmingly similar to Be'lakors voice.

The only thing that startled Shadow about the dragon's voice was the similarity to that of her protector. She had been around the pegusi for long enough, who could talk if they so wished. She nodded her head in response to the dragon's question.
"I trust you."