DISCLAIMER: Characters from the cartoon series belong to someone else, but what happens to them is entirely my own doing.
STORY: A stand-alone story, with no continuity to worry about, but set a short time after the final episode that was aired: "The Cave of The Fairie Dragons". And since it is rated R, anything unsuitable will be posted at the appropriate place at adult ff.
RATING: R
THANKS: As always goes to the lovely people who are pleasant enough to review my stories. Writing is so much easier when you know people are enjoying it!
Special thanks for their help/encouragement/general super-ness, and in no particular order goes to: Fayzalmoonbeam, Rana Kane and Random Scribbles.
Watching And Waiting
- Prologue -
The walls of the Castle shook with his cries of anger.
How ridiculously incompetent those Orcs were! He should never have trusted them with such an important mission; he should never have let them anywhere near those accursed children; this was a fiasco of the highest order!
Four Orc Captains cowered on the floor in front of his throne, with the smouldering, smashed and crushed remains of three others close beside them.
'Fools!' Venger bellowed once again. 'You were suppose to bring me all the children, not just a single one!'
None of his servants ventured to reply this time. At least they had learned from their compatriots' fate. That was something.
'You!' he said, pointing to the closest Orc. 'Tell me again!'
The Orc looked round at the others, afraid. Perhaps it would blame them…
'Master, they expect us,' it replied. 'They knew we come for them!'
Their story hadn't changed, and the Arch-Mage was beginning to believe them. But he could hardly contain his anger, and had to fight the desire to crush this Orc's skull against the cold stone floor. But that could wait; he still wanted answers before they met with the proper punishment.
He slowly and deliberately turned to the huge Mirror behind him, looking at its frosted surface. He had seen the Young Ones, watched them as they prepared and knew their every move, and yet they had still managed to escape their fate. What had gone wrong?
They knew…A cold shudder passed through the Arch-Mage. If the Young Ones had truly known, that could only mean one thing: they had found the Seer. That was an unexpected twist of Fate, and must have been the Old Man's doing.
Venger could sense danger. The time was getting very close; he had only a single chance to succeed. A vast array of possibilities became available to him, but if only he could seize this wonderful opportunity; and the Seer's involvement made it more perilous. This was Venger's last chance to challenge the Old Man on his own terms, and he had already gone to far to turn back now.
He glanced at the cringing Orcs, the black anger simmering near the surface. They deserved their fate! They were mindless; they were stupid; they spent too much time thinking about their own coarse gratifications rather than his orders! A growl escaped his lips.
He should have sent the Drow instead.
He should call them now, before anything else went wrong!
Yes, call the Drow. Call the Drow, now…The decision seemed to cool some of the anger and he turned to his slave, Shadow Demon, who had waited, half-hidden in the shadows behind the throne, as his Master's anger burned itself out.
'Find the Drow Leader, and bring her to me,' said Venger. 'Tell her…,' a small sneer flickered over his face at the thought of what was to come, 'tell her that I wish to make use of her services.'
As Shadow Demon bowed and departed, the Arch-Mage turned back to the Captains in front of him. They had managed to separate the Young Ones, it was true. And at least they hadn't returned empty-handed, one of his Enemies was in his power. He had to decide what the next move was, and a short wait alone in the dungeons would do his prisoner no harm; it might even work to his advantage.
Now, all he needed was a way to entertain himself until the Drow arrived.
He smiled.
And the four nervous Orcs all smiled back.