Celestials and a Demon prince

Chapter 6: Ritual

CHAPTER 6

Inside a cave, the place is illuminated with torches placed on the walls of the cave, a small population of women are seen on red robes, they stand in circle around a blood bath, they appear to be making some enchantation, their hands weaved in each other connecting one to another. The leaping step of a woman on greyish looking robe is heard as she drags one foot while hopping on the other. She peels off the almost extinct flesh on her knuckles as she scratches it. Two ladies on black robes walk slowly behind her till she stands right in front of the circle.

A hum begins amongst the sisters led by one of them, the rest follows immediately humming in a ritual manner. A tiny cage is slowly let down from it's suspended height with a young lady in it. The lady seems still and spelled. The lady on grey slowly drops her veil to reveal her almost rotten face, she smiles revealing greenish looking teeth with spaces in between them seeing the young lady step out of the cage walking towards her like she had no control of her legs. The lady stands before her with wide opened eyes, she soon comes to her senses as she sees the terribly shaky hands of the awful looking lady stretch towards her neck. She also takes knowledge of the place she is as she quickly captures the images around her. She gets extremely scared at this sight, her voice betraying her mouth as she tried to scream.

She had been lured out of her father's farm one day by a lady who offered to give her money to buy the service of a local physician to treat her father's ailment, she was desperate and if her father was not treated he would die. She had asked the lady how she knew of her father's sickness and she replied.

Because I know things.

She followed the lady sheepishly in a bid to get the money but when she realized she had been taken deep into the woods she decided to head back sensing danger but it was too late for her. The other sisters on red suddenly appeared and she was spell bound in a sleep and now she had awoken in the midst of some ritual and this horrible hands before her were reaching out for her neck. She shuffled but the hands of the ladies on black held her still from making more movements. Now she was met with the terrifying gaze of the woman before her. Her body vibrating in fear uncontrollably and soon she let out an inaudible scream, more to her horror her voice was lost, she was being held from escaping by two ladies behind her and some fingers were getting closer to her neck.

"Still." The lady on grey commanded quietly spelling the girl with her darkened eyes which soon went back to normal once she remained still. The tip of her fingers touched the girls neck and her skin sparkled a pinch of revival then her eyes grew hungry and she had her hands wrapped around her neck. The hums increased as the process continued. Her skin gradually started coming back to life while her source was being sucked dry until melted to ashes.

She took in a prolonged breath after the exchange, her body looked a bit human but still awful then she turned gradually to face the sisters whose voices had returned back to the normal pitch and finally to a stop. The ladies behind her started taking off her cloth till she was completely naked. The sisters made way for her to pass through as she walked into the blood bath while the sisters on black raise another chant, their voice more powerful than the rest, the sisters join in the chant and soon the lady is deep inside the bath. She stays in for a short while. A tiny bubble appears on the surface of the water and a young looking lady steps out covered in blood, her skin completely whole as human. The chants stops soon after. With much youthful energy she walks past the sisters to stand in front of the other two in black. She has a magnificent visage with a dark aura around her. She was pretty and still managed to look evil at the same time. Her lips parted for a mischievous smile as she licked the blood stain on her lips.

Another sister on red robe comes out with a black dress on her hand as she stands behind her.

"Davina." The lady called as she kneels before her. Davina gradually turns to face her and the sisters on black help to fit her into the long black dress with a hood.

"You are yet to say anything about the King's message Davina." One of the sisters spoke.

"Let us watch instead, it could be a trick and we have nothing to loose if some witch manages to break the spell. The princess will not remember a thing Muriel." Muriel nodded stepping back after dressing her dark hair to the back.

"The horses are ready my lady, we can now begin our journey." The second lady on black speaks. A frown settles on Davina's face. She swallows hard and moves towards the lady. She places her hands on her shoulder and looks into her eyes.

"You must be ever ready, we do not know how deep the elders fury is and they may need a willing sacrifice before they answer."

"I am always ready my lady, I will lay down my life if the elders demand so." She said with much assurance, while Davina smiles uneasily at her. She had lost the celestial princess just when she had found her after many attempts to lure her out of the castle. The elders were angry and she needed to report back to them, she had informed them when she found the celestial and now she lost her. The elders demanded she came before the Giant Gate of Ancients. She knew what to expect there, they were going to paint their fury on her and for that she needed the ritual for a temporal youthful look in order to withstand the rain of their fury on her. Otherwise, she would fade to extinction from the living from the purnishment as her old rotten body would not withstand the pain.

They three ladies had mounted their horses while the rest of the sisters stood as they watched them journey off to the Giant Gate.

In the thick of the woods ceci appears stamping her staff to the ground as she walks. She drags dried leaves with the hem of her clothes as she walks, her slave crawls right behind her making a low growling and hissing sound. She stops and sniffs as if perceiving a smell the creature does same and they begin to move towards the direction of the smell.

"Lydia!" A female voice calls out in the woods, the young blonde girl walks through the woods dragging her dress by her hand as her eyes searches around in search of someone. "Lydia!" she calls again but no response. "This is no time for hide and seek Lydia, let us go home now." She said and after standing some seconds she decides to head back.

"Hello." Ceci's domineering voice called, the girl stops and turns slowly to meet Ceci's pretentious friendly face. She feels uneasy and scared but tries not to show it.

"Yes." She answered, surprised at how she got there so quickly, as far as she could remember no one was in proximity whille she stood there. Something was wrong and it scared her to know.

"You seem to be looking for someone, perharps a sister or friend." She said as she came closer.

"... She must be home I think I will find her..." She gasped seeing the tale of the creature which quickly went back in. "Tha... Thanks for asking." She stuttered and turned slowly, her heart on a flight of fear, her lips were parted as she breathed nervously, then she began to walk slowly trying not to let her fears known.

"Stop." Ceci said quietly but she kept on walking. "I said stop." Her tone got meaner but instead the blonde girl increased her pace and began running into the woods. Ceci began walking stamping her staff aggressively, she stopped and sniffed to get the girls scent then she closed her eyes and muttered some chants. The girl kept running as fast as her legs could take her while searching randomly to know if she was being followed. As she ran she suddenly bumped into someone, she recognized the colour of the robe and it was from the staff lady from earlier. Ceci was standing before her with an evil smile on her face, she trembled and began running in another direction.

"Help! Help! Somebody help!" She screamed at the top of her voice as she ran.

"I said stop!" Ceci commanded as she appeared in front of her gain. She quickly wrapped her fingers around her neck, choking her as her feet gradually left the ground. A loud hiss is heard and her slave creature comes out from behind her.

"Mistress." It stressed and licked it's lips with it's unhealthy looking black tongue. Ceci releases the girl from her grip and she falls coughing while holding her neck and attempting to crawl her way out. Suddenly the creature mounts on top of her pinning her below it.

"You are all mine." It said and began laughing hysterically with growls and hisses in between the process.

The creature stands up now looking like the girl it had sucked out life from, it was completely naked and dripping fluids like it had just been reborn. It stretched its new body in an abnormal manner and soon becomes stable.

"Mistress!" It said in it's animalistic voice and immediately clears it's throat realizing it sounded nothing like human."Mistress," it said in a more human voice and bowed as a sign of respect to her.

"Remember all you have to do and it must be quick even if you have to kill the other physicians to have a closer spot at meeting the princess do it without hesitation. This is the chance we have been waiting for," she said with a smile of hope." Do not dissapoint me." She said stearnly to her slave.

"Never."

Ceci traced her long nails from her cheek to her lips and down her throat making openings on her skin, while she bleed dark greenish blood. "This body will begin to wear off on the third day, you have to return before then or all our efforts will be in vain." She said as she finally let go of her face. The wounds begin to heal gradually till no sign of it is left.

In the throne hall, few guards are with the king, who is seated on his throne, king Egbert looks at the lady before him with a face of doubt which he does not hide. He does not believe the story this lady had told him so far. The lady stood silent and uncomfortable wondering what was going through the king's mind, she had not expected so much questions from the king. She had stuttered, answered incorrectly and disconnectively to the king's questions. She knew nothing about the field and only had to say what her mistress had instructed her but neither of them knew it would go beyond the answers they had prepared.

"He sure has all the time to spare to find the perfect physician for his precious daughter." She thought inwardly, something was off, she realized she was the only one both in and out of the throne hall, she had not met a single physician anywhere. It burdened her to know why it was so but she had a mission and that she must accomplish or face the wrath of her mistress.

"Fiona." King Egbert called.

"Yes your..." She cleared her throat as her voice sounded a bit animalistic again. " Yes your Majesty."

"I must say I am surprised at your presence."

King you are yet to see the surprise I plan for you. She said inwardly.

"I am sorry I arrived late your Majesty as soon as I got the message I wasted no time to obey your Majesty's command."

King Egbert chuckles. "It makes me curious as to how you are the only physician who has answered to my command." He said in a mean manner, Fiona got shocked at what she just heard. The king would not lie about it. She gradually raised her head to meet the king's mean gaze. She avoided his eyes getting nervous and intimidated by the way he looked at her.

"I knew it something was definitely wrong." She thought inwardly again. The king walked down the stairs from where he sat towards her. He stopped in front of her and watched her for sometime, he noticed her almost shaky hands and could feel her uneasy breath, then he began walking round her slowly till he finally came to a halt.

"How can you claim to know the cure when the royal physician has no idea what it is. He said as he studied her body language which sent a message of suspicion.

"I have read books my king and I have practiced for years under my father from whom I learnt all that I know from." She said trying to defend herself."

"Still, Gilbert is regarded as the best in the entire kingdom, how did you beat him to that? .... Except, you are a witch yourself." He said as he gaze turned cold, Fiona looks up at him scared as she trembled in fear for what he might do to her.

"It was a trick all along." She said within herself. She looked at the stern looking soldiers in the hall and there was no escape for her.

"You must be mistaken your majesty." She said nervously but King Egbert would not believe it.

"Seize her!" He commanded, she tried running towards the door but it opened and more guards entered grabbing her arms tightly.

"I have done nothing your Majesty! I am no witch!" Her voice echoed as the guards dragged her out of the throne hall. Things had gone in the opposite direction so quickly and with King Egbert her fate was unpredictable