5 The whispering nothingness

Kiaros's view.

I hated seeing her the way she looked now, fragile , sickly, heart broken, almost as if she was dead. Her body lay still on the earth wrapped in teal which fanned out beneath her pink hair. I couldn't look at her like that so I turned away, hoping she was okay. Maybe she would be better without me.

Her story of how heart broken she was made my knees buckle and my cursed heart stop and shrivel, my skin shiver and and my sorrowed eyes stream tears like liquid crystals. Oh how I hate myself for it. Why must I torment the ones that mean most to me?

" Caw! CAAAW!" The raven squawked. " I hate to break it to you mr HEARTBREAKER but , SHES FLYING !"

" shut up you insolent little ra-

I turned to see her lifeless body hovering , getting higher and higher, as blood seeped out of her little pale lips, eyes and even her nose and on to her teal dress, as she choked. Her eyes rolled back demonically in to their sockets. Her thin pale legs and arms dangled downwards like a rag doll.

The raven flapped his wings in dismay

" I am NOT a rat! I'll have you know that I am a very highly thought of member of the Corvus Corax family, thank you very much.! And a dead one if you don't sort your girlfriend out! " He squawked

He was beginning to get on my nerves.

An over-reacting talking bird is not what I needed.

" she's not my girlfriend " I sighed " why don't you go bug someone else. "

" I can't go do that, you see I'm part of the fairytale "

He winks at me as if he knew everything

" Besides, I've kinda grown strangely attached to that mun, I 'ave. in a short amount of time. Shame she's not a member of the Corvus corax family ! "

Ugh the thought of her being a bird Was weird.

" you know..Once.. I met a guy just like you I did, very cold, not very talkative, but muscular. Wasn't what I'd say a bad looking guy.. Therapist I think it was.. Or wait.... No, no I think that was rapist. "

" I'm nothin like that! " I snarled

stupid bird.

I turned back to annabelle and was startled to see she was stood vertically opposite me now. Her eyes as black as night and her expression vacant.

The wind was violent and her hair whipped in the wind like a lion tamers whip. I could smell trouble leaking from her fragile body , and i didn't like it one bit. I knew this stench all too well, it was the stench of death, like a thousand rotting corpses.

I knew this wasn't annabelle anymore and I knew that if I had to hurt her in order to save her I would do it.

" Did you really think leaving her alone in this forsaken world would be safe for her ? My, such an imbecile. And I would of thought the king to choose someone with more power, or expertise, shall I say. "

the creature growled lazily from within Annabelle's body It was waiting for the bomb to drop.

But I knew better than to start first.

I wanted to figure this demon out first. Before I crushed it.

I thought of how i'd learned she'd somehow entered in to the realm and how angry we'd been with each other.

I thought of the day when the king had handed me the responsibility to be her guardian.

I remembered how annabelle had been Cooped up for so long in her tower in the castle.

It'd seem cruel to a mere human to coop someone up like that, but when the vast majority of demon, entities, and even angels Wanted the princess dead for her power, she had no choice.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance and shifted my weight on to my other foot. "I didn't leave her alone! Things were.. Complicated."

I said, as rain lightly began to fall.

"That isn't what she tells me.

You abandoned her in this world, and the human world.

The heart is a fragile thing.

Not many know how to use it.

I being one of those.

But you.. You tore her heart to shreds. An unforgivable curse.

You brought the darkness in to her soul.

I like that you've made it easy for me to peel away what's left, feeding me the power she possesses. "

" no! I may have done my fair share of sins and bad deeds, but I NEVER, ever, FUCKING left her. " I snarled, ready to knock that unpitiful demon out of her tiny body. I was more than willing and ready to rip that throat apart and take away what little remaining life force it had left.

Using humans and other souls to cling on to it's own life here, scared to move on. " you're Pathetic." I said coldly, as quiet as a feather falling to the ground.

" pathetic? We are all trying to dwell as our ordinary selfs.. Well the people, or souls shall I say, that I have gathered. " the lonely, the scared, and the broken hearted." Does that last one mean a thing to you?"

A sickening little smirk snaked it's way on to her face.

I gritted my teeth. I couldn't bear this much longer. Something on Annabelle's chest seemed to glow a dazzling white. It shimmered beautifully within the thick somber shadows of the woods. And then I remembered something I should of remembered a long time ago. Something the king had once told me.

" if she shall ever step foot back in to this world, you must guide her, protect her. The locket of Gwyndolyn is the key. its her whole heart. her very power. it shall unlesh the veil surounding Annabelle. Demons and other unholy beings don't like to be touched with it, it burns them, unimaginally painful, but it will not destroy them, it's simply just a repel. "

At that precise moment i heard a deafening shriek, which dragged me back to the present. And i knew what had happened, the heart of Gwyndolyn had served its purpose for the first time. Annabelle would be fine for now. Not safe in this world but she would not die. and i would protect her. But this fight was not over between me and the demon.

" Bloody 'ell, an I thought I'd seen everything!"  The raven squawked. " Nice bit of jewellery that is though. Shame her tatters are muddy, in it mun!"

I glared at the raven.

" alright alright, I'll shush it. FOR NOW. But I don't do QUIET!" He squawked at me, fixing his top hat in annoyance.