Embers of sunlight flickered through the cracked window, a warm wind blowing into the relatively quiet house as the crackles of the fireplace died into the silence.

The scraping of metal meeting the floor was the only sound that echoed through the house as warm tea trickled out of a kettle and into a waiting cup that wasn't broken like the others.

A figure, with long dark hair and green-grey eyes, watched the amber liquid fill up the delicately crafted piece of china that stood still on the polished silver tray that balanced on the small wooden table, her empty stomach growling in hunger.

Besides her, a girl trapped in a deep slumber shifted underneath the knitted blanket that was placed over her body, dirty, scratched boots scraping the floor. Her short dark hair was tied back with a pin, her sword still sitting beside her quietly.

Dreams, visions flickered by the Mind Siphon's eyes, words of the past whispering ancient curses and languages into her ears, arranging a complex code her mind could not possibly decipher. She could feel the sharpened points of her fingers curling into soft, calloused palms as she searched around in the dark abyss she called her own mind to find some answers.

Answers that were supposed to be attached to questions she was supposed to know.

But the more she kept searching, the more emptiness and silence she found and soon she could her conscience slipping away, her body lurching forward to nothing but darkness and shadows. A silver feeling slipped up the Mind Siphon's body, seizing her in a powerful icy grip that constricted all the air out of her lungs.

Then suddenly she was falling, into a dark hole with no way out, the sense of being pulled downward a force she could not deny. She was falling, falling, falling to a seeming end, her eyes shut and her body waiting for the impact that would crush the literal meaning of life out of her body.

But it never came as she kept falling, a voice cooing into the impenetrable darkness.

"Good morning, dear Siphon."

And just like that, emerald-ringed gold eyes fluttered open and life breathed into Onyx's lungs. Her body shifted underneath the blanket, the pain in her body still rattling her bones even as she pressed the palm of her hand against the floor.

The scenery was unfamiliar, trapped inside a cottage too small with a fireplace to wide and furniture that looked like it was sewn together by a bunch of little children. Several pieces of art hung around the rather dull and gray walls, attempting to bring it to life with masterpieces of flowers and beautiful butterflies flying around a winter meadow.

But the whole setting was too depressing and the colors on the paintings at the end of the day wasn't enough to conjure some life in the dreary scene.

"Go away, Rheynoak." The Mind Siphon groaned, the back of her head throbbing even as she made contact with a soft pillow placed on the ground to support her.

The line that connected the two in the deepest depths of her mind wobbled, a reeling course of cold shivers racing down her spine and sparking her body awake. Onyx suppressed a growl, closing her eyes one last time.

"I can't be nice for one day?" The tribe leader's voice whispered down her thoughts, the chill of his breath intertwined with his mental words as the message whispered in her ears. Another groan escaped her lips, followed by a snarl.

"Go screw yourself Rheynoak." The Mind Siphon whispered her response back down the bond, feeling the nearly invisible line in her mind moving the slightest bit before the message disappeared.

A shifting in the room, a figure rising from a nearby table caught the Siphon's attention and the automatic defenses that were built into her body of destruction alerted to their full potential, killer eyes meeting the sharp line of the sun's rays.

Dark long hair kissed too many times by midnight, brushed past her flushed cheeks and fingers too warm for the cold morning held her head in a supportive way as it positioned her into a sitting pose.

"Arjon tea made from the arjon bush leaves" a voice too kind to exist yet too threatening to not be taken seriously spoke to her, a thin line meeting her dry lips.

Before she could even utter a word, a warm, satisfying liquid slid down her throat and into her veins, slowly building her strength the more she replenished in its sweet taste.

The fingers around her head dropped down to her waist, clutching on to the very tearable material of her dark shirt as the figure positioned the assassinating warrior upright, being diligent in not touching her sword.

Curling her fingers around the cup in her hand, letting the warmth of the tea seep into her skin, Onyx spoke in a tired tone, "If you are trying to kill me now, at least give me time to take a bath first."

Her words were a bit slurred with a tone but the message didn't dull, her eyes raising up to meet a girl about her age crouching beside her in a gray dress that flared at her ankles, dark locks of hair pooling behind her back.

A soft laughter escaped the girl's lips, her figure standing up to tower over the sitting assassin as she shook her head. "If I clearly remember, you hunted me down and forced your way into my house" the girl reminded her, walking over to blow out the fire in the fireplace. "If anything, I should kill you."

The terror of death didn't shake the Siphon, her vision finally repositioning to a clear picture. Setting the cup of tea down beside her, she gently moved the blanket aside and planted her palms on the floor to pull herself up, her legs still wobbling from the weakness that shook her body.

Memories of the previous night rushed into her mind, flickering past her eyes in a way that she didn't find too challenging, her mind picking up on the small details that pieced themselves together into a larger memory.

"Alesandria Erovex" Onyx uttered the girl's name in a quiet tone, the horrid screams of her pleas for help and Jaris's scalp being split into two right after a force of magic too powerful for her to handle manifesting themselves into a big picture.

The girl was silent, her fingers toying around with a piece of silk she had taken from the scraps of material lying on the floor. Spots of blood outlined the tiny ribbon that twirled around her fingers, strews of thread hanging from the sides.

"How do you know who or what I am?" Alesandria asked when the silence in the room had become too unbearable for her to stand in without questioning the mysterious girl. "How do you know me?"

"Don't tell her." Rheynoak's voice hissed at Onyx in a threatening manner, the feeling of his blade wrapped around the base of her neck manifesting its way through the mental connection of the Ruges and down her body.

She wanted to ignore him, wanted to push his advice and his voice out of her head. He was Rheynoak, a creature of hell not to be trusted. He was hell himself.

But in a crazy sense that she hated to admit, even to herself, he was right. She couldn't reveal her identity.

Not yet at least.

"Go slit your own throat, you annoying prick." The Mind Siphon hissed back at him, sending her message coiling down the mental connection between their minds. A laugh taunted her, echoing obnoxiously in her mind.

Turning her attention back to Alesandria, who was standing by the wooden door, eyes staring wide at her, a sigh escaped her own lips.

"I am Onyx Ashrevion and I am a Mind Siphon" the assassinating warrior began with a light introduction, trying as much to keep her tone welcoming. But the slight edge hidden in her voice was enough to have Alesandria back into a wall. "You don't need to know where I come from but It's not that hard to know who you are Alesandria. I know what's going on with you. I want to help you. I'm not asking you to trust me but at least believe when I say I know what is happening to you."

Silence reigned over the two girls in the silent house, an eerie vibe teetering on the edge of believable and practical lies any being with a brain could have made up. The Mind Siphon would see the hint of uncertainty in Alesandria's eyes, the ways her fingers shook as she let the ribbon slip from her fingers.

"Mind Siphons have been dead for as long as anyone could remember" Alesandria said after minutes had passed by, her voice soft and questioning.

Onyx raised an eyebrow, cocked her head over, and smiled. "And yet, the entire kingdom is talking about how you could possibly be the last Mind Siphon alive. Safe to say not all of us are completely dead."

The village girl sighed, letting her fingers brush past the material of her dress as she took several steps towards the assassinating warrior, letting her fingers intertwine with each other. "Prove to me that you are who you say you are. Show me you are a Mind Siphon."

"No, don't do it Onyx. This mission will die if you do." Rheynoak's voice whispered to her again but this time she dismissed him out of her mind temporarily.

The request was odd, rather unbelievable but the Mind Siphon didn't falter, taking several steps in front of the village girl before placing her hands on either side of the girl's head. "Is your family still present in this house?" she asked, her thumbs pressing into her temple.

"No. My mother and brother are currently in the market. They won't be back for a while" the village girl replied, a frown pulling at her lips.

A smile slipped on Onyx's lips. "Good."

And with that, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to transform into a terrifying force that eased its way into the barriers of Alesandria's head. The Mind Siphon could feel her conscience intertwining with the other girl's thoughts, memories flickering past her eyes at rapid speed.

Nothing seemed to connect itself with each other which Onyx found odd, knowing that every vital moment that happened in everyone's life was supposed to align together. But in Alesandria's head, she was missing pieces, chunks of her life that she couldn't remember.

A strangled gasp escaped Alesandria's lips followed by a scream when Onyx came in contact with the magic that flowed through her body, blinding lights made of pure gold burning a path through the girl's body, fighting a war with another side of her that wanted to stay.

A part of her that didn't want to let go and give in.

"Don't kill her Onyx. Don't!" The tribe leader's voice cursed at her, the feeling of his nails biting into her skin so real, tiny marks began to etch its way into her skin. But the feeling of power, of magic, of destruction, was addicting and she couldn't stop herself from wanting, craving more.

Outside her body, a warm voice cried, "Curses! I believe you! Please, stop. This is hell!" The girl pleaded with great fear, her knees making contact with the hard floor as Onyx unknowingly began sucking away the life force that kept her alive. Her energy.

The magic of the girl's powers running through the assassin's fingers was blissful, a tingling sensation running down her spine as she craved more of her magic. A force pushed her out, fighting internally with her mind not to kill the girl.

She didn't want to give into the powerful force that held her back, the pure taste of raw magic running through her body strong enough make her legs shake with happiness and shivers. She was more desperate than ever to fight it off and consume her prize yet she knew that action would consequence with the fact that Alesandria would be dead.

Willing her powers not to kill Alesandria, the Mind Siphon pulled away and let the village girl breathe, her lungs gasping for air as she clutched on to the skirt of her dress. Green-grey eyes surveyed the room, looking for anything that could restore her energy or her breath at least.

"I said prove it not kill me" Alesandria hissed once her words could form into a sentence once again, the flat bottoms of her shoes pressing into the floor of the cottage as she pulled herself up. "But nevertheless, you have proven yourself."

A nonchalant smile slipped on Onyx's lips, a rookie victory she was always used to. She could feel the presence of Rheynoak's words and laughter taunting her skin, scaly touches kissing the skin of her arm that made her legs weak. "I'm never wrong sweetheart" she replied back in a mocking tone, raising her brows

"Don't flatter yourself, darling." The tribe leader taunted her again.

The assassin frowned, concentrating all her energy on the tiny voice in her head. "Looks who talking. You're the same person that kissed their own reflection" she replied down the bond, feeling happy with her response.

Gold eyes flickered back to Alesandria. The girl smiled, curling a strand of hair over her shoulder. "But if you are going to help me, you have to fit in with this twisted, poor kingdom" Alesandria said, taking huge steps as she brushed past the assassin and headed towards a basket that sat on a chair near a flower vase.

Opening it, the village girl rummaged through it for a few seconds before she emerged victorious with a dress similar to hers, a bright shade of orange that looked like it has been kissed by the orange trees and the rays of the sun too many times.

A dreaded feeling twisted its way into Onyx's stomach, the sheer imagination of how much restriction she would have to deal with wearing the tight material angering her soul.

How in the world would she fit her leather holder and belt around that?

"Well, at least I'm not the one who has to wear a dress" was Rheynoak's reply as Onyx was well aware he could see everything happening right now. "Try not to trip on it, darling."

The assassin frowned, eyeing the horribly bright dress with a frown on her lips, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so.

Yet she didn't complain as Alesandria handed it over to her and said, "I have a feeling orange is your color."

"Orange is quite a lovely shade on you Onyx." The tribe leader whispered his thoughts into the assassinating warrior's head, causing her to frown once again.

The sun was not as strong today, a lot of people crowding around the town square as others whispered gossip to their fellow neighbors and friends. Sighs of the wind kissed the assassin's skin, cold and savoring on her hand as the two girls wove their way through town.

"So is your blood on my blade" the warrior whispered back into her thoughts and down the bond between them, tugging at her cloak to keep her shielded. Ignoring Rheynoak's laugh, Onyx turned her attention over to Alesandria, who was trying her best to be invisible, pulling the hood of her cloak closer to her face to hide strands of hair.

"I can see why you like coming out at night" she uttered as they passed by a group of young women who eyed them suspiciously, curling their fingers over one another. Alesandria smiled lightly, crossing her pale arms across her chest. "I don't like coming out at all" she responded back with a feeble voice. "Whether if I'm protected by the rays of the sun or the shadows of the night, I am still a target no matter what."

Her words left a frown on Onyx's face, her hair not long enough to cover her red cheeks that blazed so brightly with just a single touch. Her golden eyes flickered down to her dress instead, hating how constricting it was around the waist and how much it flared out at the bottom.

"It's never easy being the different one" the assassin uttered, shrugging her cloak closer to her shoulders. "People stare, they talk, they degrade you. But it's all about how much you are willing to let their words hurt you and how much you are willing to risk just to prove to them you are no different."

Her eyes met Alesandria's curious ones, seeing the way her hand curled around her hood. "But let me tell you something. You can risk your entire life just to show the fact that you are one with them and they would still see you as an outsider. That's when you build walls, barriers to shut them out and you rise to your fullest potential."

The dark haired beauty held her gaze well with the assassin, her eyes examining the way Onyx's fingers flexed in the leather gloves she wore, jagged nails piercing into her skin. The two girls kept their head down and cut through the fruit market, keeping quiet even as others stared at them and threw unwanted fruit and food at their moving figures.

Eye followed their every move, people dispersing when they walked by them, mothers shielding their children away from their presence if the two girls even did so much as look at the child.

A rotten tomato stained the back of the assassinating warrior's cloak, the once fine material now dulling down to nothing but a dusky black color with no shine. "It's a disgrace, a curse to the kingdom. No one wants to hear Alesandria" a voice rose from the bustling voices of the market, more clearer than the others.

Another piece of rotten meat slapped Alesandria's cheek, leaving a greasy, yellow mark on her flushed face as it slid down her face and fell to the dusty, earthy ground. Onyx could see the tears springing in her eyes, the way her veins illuminated liquid gold underneath her skin as she tried to keep her powers at bay.

"Don't react" Onyx uttered to her, taking another step closer to her until there was very little space in their arms. "They want a reaction. Don't give it to them." But even she could tell that no matter how many wise words she told her, Alesandria's reaction would emerge with anger.

They were halfway across the busy market when Alesandria halted to a stop in her tracks, her green-grey eyes traveling over to a plump woman who was holding a boy in her hands. Onyx followed her gaze, taking in the woman's tan skin and long, dark hair. Not nearly as dark as Alesandria's but a similar shade that complimented her round face speckled with freckles from the sun.

There seemed to be something glazing over her green-grey eyes, that tears that were swimming in her orbs now streaming down her face in a light river. The young boy in the woman's arm with sandy brown hair and amber eyes stared at her, his thumb inserted in his small mouth.

"Your daughter is a disgrace, Parcia" a voice yelled from the crowd as another piece of rotten fruit flew their way. "She should burn in fire like her kind" the voice continued, throwing another piece of rotten fruit. Onyx's hand immediately dipped into the comfort of her cloak where the head of her blade made contact with her palm, sharpened for murder.

"I will happily burn you in hell fire myself if you ever talk to her like that again, ungrateful human" Onyx seethed in rage, letting her body spin around to meet an old man in his sixties, drawing out her beautifully crafted sword that winked at him tauntingly.

As soon as his eyes met the cold, sharpened point of the sword, his voice became silenced.

Parcia just stood there with the boy in her arms, casting her gaze down to Alesandria with a sad smile on her face before looking down upon the floor, kicking some dirt aside. Rushed, uneven breaths escaped the village girl's lips, strands of dark hair getting caught in her mouth.

Her voice was weak, hurt when she spoke, "Mommy, I'm so sorry." Tears ran down her face in endless rivers, her pale face flushed with the scarlet hue of disappointment and shame. "I'm so sorry!"

The honesty, the pain in her voice was new to Onyx, seeing the raw, intense emotion hidden underneath a layer of self-doubt and years of hiding. The way Alesandria's fingers shook as the gold magic tracked down her arm, spreading to her fingertips until it was camouflaged in the bright rays of the sun.

Still the woman, Parcia, only nodded and turned to walk away, her figure disappearing among those who dispersed to make way for her. One turn around the busy market to her booth and they were both gone leaving her daughter in an emotionally, wrecked state and Onyx with anger pulsing through her veins.

Other villagers whispered, snickering past Alesandria as the whole place reset itself and seem to go back to normal, snarky woman brushing past the broken girl as she clutched onto the button of her hood. A cry tore from her throat, loud and wrenching as she shook, collapsing into the assassinating warrior's arms.

The gold magic in her arms had spread down to her fingertips, illuminating each finger with a gold magic made for destruction. Onyx glared at the illuminating light that blended so well in the rays of light, seeing how smoothly it traveled up the length of Alesandria's arms until her entire body was almost glowing.

She could see the way the girl clutched her fist, beaten knuckles pounding on the dirt as her dress dragged against the grounds of the earth. Anger flushed through her face, sparking her eyes back to life. "Don't react" Onyx suggested, squeezing her shoulder lightly. "Whatever you do, don't react. That's what they want. And you will draw more attention to yourself."

At her last words, Alesandria snapped her head up, cold green-grey eyes pooling with tears as she sniffled in between her gasps for breath and spoke in a breaking tone, "What do I have to lose at this point? I might as well burn in hellfire myself. It will make everyone else happy."

The words confused Onyx, her brows knitting together in a questioning manner but the village girl didn't heed her words, letting all her emotions, all her doubts and fear consume her as she rose up on unsteady feet and buried her face in her bruised hands.

In a loud and painful one that could have rattled the mountains and temples of the entire kingdom she screamed, "Mommy, I am so sorry! Please, don't leave me!" And with that, all the magic in her body bonded together and released in brilliant lights of gold, every line of magic made from the purest gold in a person's soul, navigating their way through the market until they gathered at one familiar spot and combusted in a blinding storm.

Cries of pure agony rang through the thick atmosphere of the market as the gold magic whipped through the markets, starting fires among other booths and food before exploding into fragments of falling fire and ashes. Smoke and thick ash created an impenetrable blanket of darkness that seemed to gather around the market, limbs, and blood spilling on the floor. Chaos overtook the scenario, bending in a twisted way until it corrupted itself into pure destruction.

Onyx ducked behind a woman before inching her way towards Alesandria who cried, even more, her tears, her pain creating more gold magic that unleashed her inner demons into golden beams of mayhem that crushed a single soul that dared crossed its path.

Onyx suppressed her scream, raising her sword up so that one beam that was spiraling towards her could come in contact with the polished steel of her weapon. The gold magic met the steel and pushed her forward, the amount of force that came with that so powerful, it turned Onyx around blindly and the sharpened edge of her sword ripped through another victim's skin in a sheer coincidence.

Screams of pain and pleading stopped as crimson blood splattered onto her sword and face before her victim fell down to the floor, face first. His head met the edge of a jagged rock, about the size of a flat show, and split into uneven parts, chunks of flesh ripping off the cheekbone of his skin.

Taking a deep breath, the assassinating warrior gently brushed her fingers against the splatter of blood that decorated her face and the life she had just taken and stepped over his body, his back split straight down in the middle to reveal bones, tissues, and blood.

Alesandria still stood in the middle of this chaos, blood, and tears painting a perfect portrait of her, people's' lives splattered on her dress as others kept running away from her as she unleashed her anger, her agony on others. "Mommy, I'm so sorry!" she cried once more in hoarse, tunneling her fingers through her long hair. "I can't control the curse that has fallen upon me! I can't control the demons!" Her screams, her pleas filled the air once more and one last beam of gold magic escaped from her soul and erupted into heavenly falling fire and thick ashes.

Horrid screams still erupted through the air, young men and women running away from the fire with their friends or family, wrapping their faces with cloth so they wouldn't inhale the smoke. Others stopped to take care of wounded victims or carry dead bodies that have been burned to crisp. Food, meat, fruit, and grains were littered on the floor, crushed into the earth by fleeing survivors.

Tucking her prized possession away in her cloak, Onyx walked up behind Alesandria as she crumpled in her hand, her long arms locking around her shoulders to keep the brunette in place. Emerald ringed eyes surveyed the scene, death and despair following their paths.

This was her mission. She never said it was going to be easy.

"Fun fact: Mind Siphons have incredible speed" the assassinating warrior whispered, taking one deep breath before she ran, clutching Alesandria's body against hers as her legs ran away from the blood, the fire, the chaos.

Away from it all until her feet could feel nothing, not even the ground or the air but just the wind against their faces. Alesandria let herself relax, even as the tears fell down her face and braced on to Onyx's arms, letting her body and mind forget her destruction and escape into the salty wind against her skin and the boundless feeling of being lifted into the sky. 

A/N: And that is the end of another chapter! I am super proud of this chapter! I liked how all of you Lovelies could see a side of Alesandria I wanted to explore later but her pain and suffering were really such a pain here and so sad.

So even though Onyx and Rheynoak aren't face to face as of right now, I do want to build a lot of tension between them with light-hearted teasing combined with harsh comments and words so that when they do finally come face to face, the tension and wanting between them will be undeniable!

I love their powerful chemistry! It's amazing to write

What do you think about the Ruges and how it's keeping Onyx and Rheynoak connected? How about the fact that certain emotions trigger Alesandria's magic? Tell me!

So tell me what your thoughts on this chapter and don't forget to vote if you liked it!

Until next time!