Infernal

Furiosa slipped through the darkness, making absolutely no noise, keeping close to the cold, stone walls. She carries with her a simple dagger, for she needs nothing more. Her heart is calm in her chest as she ventures deeper into the chambers, her nimble, gloved fingers trailing along the rough surface of the ancient bricks. Soon enough she spots a dim light at the end of the winding tunnels. She quickly drops into a crouch, and stalks over to the source. A tall, burly looking woman paces, not sensing Furiosa’s presence.

She wears light armor, and always keeps a single hand on the hilt of her sheathed sword. Furiosa almost pities the woman for what is to come, but doesn’t. In an instant, she leaps out of the darkness, and ambushes the woman. With a swift and silent movement, Furiosa expertly disarmed the woman, sending her sword clattering to the ground. Furiosa holds her dagger up to the woman’s throat, while she backs her into a wall, “Where is she?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” the woman said coolly, though her trembling hands betrayed her. Furiosa narrowed her gaze and pushed the tip of her dagger harder into the unprotected skin of the woman’s throat. “Where is she?” She drove the blade down slowly, causing blood to escape from the wound. 

The woman tensed with fear, finally noticing the bright red eyes looking into hers. “Three cells down the corridor!” She choked out, voice shaking.

Furiosa nods briefly, knocking the woman out cold with the butt of her dagger. She let the woman drop onto the floor, her head making a loud thump. Grabbing the lantern that fell from the woman’s hand, she makes her way down the corridor. The glass is broken, and hot oil drips onto the floor. Advancing three cells further, the whimpering of a woman alerts can be heard. Pace quickening, steps muted, Furiosa approaches the noise and holds the lantern up to the rusted, metal bars. 

The woman has fiery red hair, covered in dust and ashes, that has matted to the back of her head. Her face is slim and unhealthy; Furiosa had already assumed Queen Frey wouldn’t have her fed. Her clothes were worn through, practically rags, her ribs could be seen through a tear. Her eyes were a bright pink color, showing she was infernal, but there was no life behind them. 

“Ena? I have come to get you out of here.” Furiosa spoke through the bars, fishing a rusty key from her pocket, which left an orange stain on her hand. She wiped one hand on her trousers, and unlocked the cell with the other. Heaving Ena up was difficult, no matter how strong Furiosa was, because the Nympa had no strength to help herself. Furiosa crouched and threw Ena’s left arm around her shoulders, and helped her to her feet.

“You must try to walk, I cannot carry you all the way to Geah.” Furiosa directed, though she knew it would take some time for Ena to gain her strength back. 

“You are infernal? Who are you?” Ena’s breath was shallow; even talking exhausted her. Ena peered intently into Furiosa’s eyes, as if trying to reach into her soul. Furiosa ignored the question, shifting her face away from Nympa’s intense gaze, and led the way out of the dungeon. 

Being Infernal, one of the cursed souls of the world, meant Furiosa was different from birth. She couldn’t take on normal jobs like a merchant or a messenger, so she became a sort of secret agent; saving Infernal from their undeserved deaths. Before, she hated being defined by having a cursed soul, now she embraces it. If being cursed from birth with bright red eyes and the inability to control her anger defined her, so be it. 

Once they reached the end of the winding corridors, Furiosa overheard her two cohorts arguing, not bothering to lower their voices. Natara and Yumiko have been assisting Furiosa with her missions for almost a year now, and Furiosa has been listening to their bickering ever since. She smacked them both on the backs of their heads, and they yelped and groaned loudly. “Someone could’ve heard you, are you really so incompetent?” Furiosa scolded, still carrying Ena’s weight. the Nympa’s gaze was still piercing into the back of her head, and she chose to ignore it.

“Come on Furiosa, we were being quiet, no one heard us.” Yumiko stated, crossing her arms and leaning against the castle bricks. Natara nodded her agreement. Furiosa glanced at Yumiko with a raised eyebrow, the frustration evident in her eyes. She gave her another whack to the arm. Yumiko shrunk under her gaze and rubbed her arm sheepishly, not making eye contact. Furiosa rolled her eyes and motioned for them to leave. 

Yumiko and Natara both rode their own horses, and Furiosa rode with Ena. Her accomplices both talked the entire ride back. Furiosa wished to slice off their tongues, and knew she could, but she was too focused on keeping Ena awake, trying to clean and wrap her wounds. She had many bruises and scrapes, but what unsettled Furiosa was the large, open slashes on her back. Was Ena whipped? Furiosa knew the queen of Osladal was a cruel person, and hated the infernal, but the sight still stunned her. She didn’t ask questions as she cleaned the wounds. 

“How hard is it?” Ena leaned against the horses crest, closing her eyes, “To control your infernal soul?” 

Furiosa pursed her lips as she cleaned one of the deep slashes, still ignoring the questions. She didn’t confide in others, especially another infernal. It was dangerous enough to be with anyone, and Furiosa didn’t know what could happen with Ena around. 

“Not much of a talker, huh? Too afraid of your own soul to speak with anyone?” 

“You seem to have your energy back.” Furiosa said, stitching the last gash closed, taking off her gloves for the first time in days. Ena turned and smiled brightly at her, eyes glowing bright pink, causing Furiosa’s heart to race. She hadn’t had many people smile at her, most looked away or glared, but Ena was different. She had a purely kind soul, somehow untouched by the cruelness of the Queen.

“Why were you captured in the first place?” Furiosa couldn’t stop the words falling from her mouth. Instant regret filled her as Ena’s smile dropped, along with her eyes, which were now on the path ahead of them. 

“I am one of the infernal. I am hated just as much as you are, for being able to seduce any man or woman, even if I don’t mean to. I don’t know you, but I can tell when someone has been broken by the words and looks of those around them.” Ena finally looked into Furiosa’s eyes again, “Furiosa, is it?” She held out a hand.

Furiosa stared at the extended hand for a while; no one ever wanted to touch her. She took Ena’s hand, but ripped it away the second they touched. Suddenly her body felt as if it were on fire, her fingertips losing feeling, her chest tightening.

“What did you do to me?” Furiosa hissed, tears welling in her glowing red eyes. Ena gasped, quickly reeling away herself. Furiosa tried to hold her anger in as the sensation building in her fought to claw it’s way out.

“I didn’t do anything! All I did was touch you!” Ena’s own eyes filled with tears as she reached for the water canister hanging from the horses saddlebags. 

Natara and Yumiko rushed over to them, asking questions that Furiosa couldn’t hear over the ringing in her ears. She could see Ena’s lips moving, tears flowing down her face as she poured water over herself, but she heard nothing of what she said. What just happened between them? Furiosa knew it had to do with them being infernal, Ena was the only other infernal she’s ever touched, there was no mistaking it. Ena was still breathing heavily, though the burning must’ve worn off, since she wasn’t pouring water everywhere. 

“I feel weird..” Ena said, shuddering a little as if the words chilled her. Furiosa knew what she meant, she felt it too. The lingering feeling of something different inside of her. It was a constant ache, or shakiness, that needed to escape. Furiosa busied herself with their bags, fumbling around with the bandages and tonics they carried. Ena turned her gaze toward the path once again. Furiosa silently thanked her for understanding. She didn’t want to acknowledge the growing sensation. 

“Are you guys sure you can go on? We can rest for a while if you need it.” Yumiko slowed her pace to match theirs. Ena politely told her they were fine, though Furiosa didn’t know how much longer Ena would fare. Yumiko nodded and took the lead again, chatting with Natara, but still glancing over her shoulder every now and then. Furiosa was thankful for her, even if she was a pain to work with sometimes. 

The rest of the ride went moderately smoothly, save for an accidental touch between the two girls again, causing another uproar of sensations. After the second touch Ena sat with Yumiko on her horse, leaving Furiosa to ride alone. She didn’t mind, she was used to riding in solitude, and preferred it over riding with someone else. It also gave her time to think about the interaction between herself and Ena.

Once they reached an inn, they rented four rooms, or tried to. One look at Furiosa’s eyes and they got the rooms for free. Ena had hid underneath the hood of one of Yumiko’s coats, covering herself for the sake of others. Furiosa didn’t feel the need to hide herself for the comfort of others, if they were uncomfortable, let them be uncomfortable. 

Later in the night Furiosa paced alone in her room, flipping a kunai through each of her fingers. The sensation still hadn’t left, and she was becoming restless. She hasn’t ever been restless, or lost control; she was always calm and patient. She deciding to go for a walk, Furiosa opened her door, only to find Ena standing in the doorway, fist ready to knock. 

“Whoa, are you psychic?” Ena asked, inviting herself into Furiosa’s room, making herself at home on the bed. Kicking her shoes off, she smiled again at Furiosa, patting the spot next to her. 

“I was going for a walk, I’m not psychic.”

 Furiosa turned to leave the room with Ena still in it. Ena shot up and slipped her shoes back on, leaving the room and gesturing for her to follow. Furiosa rolled her eyes, closing the door behind her. Walking was supposed to be something she did alone. 

As they walked, Ena asked questions about Furiosa, while also answering them about herself. Furiosa gave short, one-worded answers, trying to convey to Ena that she wanted to be alone. She didn’t have time to go in depth about her favorite color.

“Listen,” Ena said, stopping in her tracks, ”I want to figure out what happened between us. Ever since we touched, I’ve just had this curse tugging at me. You feel it too, right?” Ena rubbed her arms, looking up into the starry, night sky. Furiosa did feel it, and she wanted to figure out what it was too, but she didn’t know how telling Ena about any of it would be beneficial. She also knew that not telling Ena would result in a multitude of questions like ‘what’s your favorite animal and why?’

“I do feel it. It’s like my curse is trying to claw it’s way out of me.” Furiosa finally answered after a while. She also looked up, pointing out to herself all of the constellations Natara showed her. Ena nodded sighing, showing Furiosa she understood exactly what she felt. They stayed there for a while, and Furiosa pointed out all of the constellations for Ena to see. She told her every bit of lore and history behind each one of them. Ena loved the stories, and asked her to repeat them sometimes. 

Once the sun began to rise on the horizon, they went back to the inn, only to get an hour of sleep before they rode again. The sensation was becoming stronger, but she willed it down. It felt like she was fighting her own soul, and maybe she was. Maybe this sensation was her soul reaching out for something. She could tell Ena felt it too, because she was shaking behind Yumiko, trying to keep the feeling down herself.

They spent the next few weeks together, growing closer. They felt like sisters, as different as they were. During this time, the sensation of the curse became stronger too, making it harder to control. It seemed as if even being in the same room together made their curses more irresistible. Eventually they reached their destination, and

Furiosa, with Ena’s company, ventured into Geah, the forest of the Nympa. 

“Furiosa, I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. I feel like I’m losing myself. I don’t think I can stop it.” Ena looked up into Furiosa’s eyes, longing and worry filled them. Furiosa shook her head, “I’m not sure either, I don’t know if I even can control it, but I’m still trying.” 

Ena began to pace back and forth, mumbling to herself, which worried Furiosa. Does she think something bad is going to happen? What if she’s right? What if we can’t stop it? Ena stopped, suddenly looking as if she had been eating belladonna, and spoke in almost a whisper, “I can’t take it anymore. I have to give in.” Furiosa quirked an eyebrow, not knowing what ‘giving in’ really meant. It wasn’t good, that she knew.

“Ena, what are you going to do?” Furiosa placed a gloved hand on her shoulder. Ena shook her head, as if trying to shake away whatever thoughts she was having. Ena looked up at her, eyes glowing, just like they had when she smiled at her for the first time. She gave into her curse. Furiosa shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. 

“No, Ena, you don’t want this. You can’t let it take over you. Please don’t give up.” Ena didn’t seem to hear her, striding up to Furiosa like a cat stalking their prey. Her eyes glowed brightly, getting brighter by the second, pupils dilated. I can’t stay here, she’s gone. Furiosa wiped hear tears with the back of her hand, turning to leave. 

“Goodbye Ena, I’ll miss you, the real you.” She half-whispered, sucking in a breath as she took off running, not looking back. She wouldn’t let herself turn into what everyone thought she was, she couldn’t. She found Natara and Yumiko not long after she began running, and collapsed at their feet. 

“Whoa, what’s going on? Where’s Ena? Did you bring her back home?” Natara crouched beside Furiosa, wiping away her tears. She’s gone. I lost her. Furiosa replayed everything that happened over and over in her head, more tears flowing each time. 

“Osa, talk to us please.” Yumiko, voice soft, said in a worried tone. Furiosa looked up at them from the ground, eyes swollen, the whites of her eyes now red too. 

“I lost her, she gave in to her curse.” Furiosa sobbed into her hands, unable to breathe. Yumiko and Natara exchanged glances with each other, both looking inexplicably upset. 

“We should go, you shouldn’t stay here.” Yumiko said, helping Furiosa over to her horse. Natara nodded and started packing the saddlebags, and filling the canisters with water she boiled from a spring. They all rode off, never looking back, but Furiosa couldn’t help but feel she left part of herself behind with Ena, her Infernal sister.