I've got to get away, whatever the cost.
That was all that mattered to Iris at the very moment she came to and realized the danger she was in.
She more or less managed to reconstruct her last memories. It was the weekend, and she'd left home to run a few errands for the week. She dressed simply, in skin-tight jean shorts and a T-shirt with indescribably colorful squiggles, followed by a long, light coat in the same tone as her jeans. She opted for thick-soled black ballet flats. Wanting to leave as quickly as possible, she let her long, flaming hair flow freely down her back.
Of course, she couldn't go unnoticed on the streets, where men always had to whistle at her or make remarks bordering on the indecent.
Yes, she was beautiful, even very beautiful, and most of the time this made her proud, but on rare occasions it annoyed her.
She had to take the bus. So she did. It was already late, night had fallen, but Iris preferred to go anyway, so she wouldn't have to go out again the next day, or more exactly, to use her time for more pleasant things.
She got on the bus and settled into a seat next to two very nice women of mixed ages. They chatted pleasantly. And then nothing.
When she woke up or came out of her trance, or whatever this strange state was, she was still on the bus, in the same seat, with the same passengers, who were just as disoriented as she was, and who were staring at each other wondering what had happened to them.
It was now pitch dark.
"Does anyone know where we are?"
"And what's happened to us?"
They didn't have long to wait, because just then, a man opened the bus door with a rather abrupt gesture and stepped in, glaring menacingly at them.
He was not handsome, but quite impressive with his slim body wearing a beige jumpsuit, his black hair and his pale, almost sickly skin.
"Who are you, what do you want from us?" inquired one of the passengers.
"First I want you to shut up!" he replied in a neutral but frightening tone. "You're going to come out slowly and we'll tell you exactly what you're going to do."
"You're going to kill us!?"
"It will all depend on you, so...obey now."
Iris's two neighbors turned to her, their faces frightened, their eyes misty with tears.
The young woman never knew what had possessed her, whether it was the look in the two women's eyes that had unconsciously prompted her to act in this way, or her own survival instinct, or her own stupidity, but as she was standing next to a window, she looked out to see if it was guarded. She noticed nothing, but that didn't mean anything. But that didn't stop her. She opened the window as discreetly as possible, then took a deep breath, stood up and dexterously climbed through.
It didn't take five seconds. She jumped onto the cold, hard floor, so cold that it penetrated her rather thick soles. And without waiting, she got to her feet and ran away as fast as she could.
She heard the jailer shout something like:
"Hey you, stop right there."
As if I'd obey," she said ironically, continuing her run.
The jailer hesitated about what to do, and was finally about to give chase to the young runaway, but a voice stopped him, an order, grave, amused, but implacable.
"Leave it, Jor, I'll take care of...this incident myself."
The voice came from a dark corner atop a brightly lit building.
"Very well, Your Majesty." came Jor's only reply as he bowed, one hand over his heart to his sovereign, who finally emerged from the shadows wearing a sophisticated, imperial midnight-blue jumpsuit, and considering with a slight smile on his lips the route Iris had taken to escape.
"I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy myself."
Iris, still oblivious to the pursuit, continued her race relentlessly.
The place was vast, bustling, similar to that of humans, apart from the race and size of the people.
She had feared for a moment that her difference, highlighted by her beauty and her hair, would easily get her spotted, but she soon realized just how much color was part of this incredible place. Yes, the people were all different colors, ranging in size from dwarf to giant.
As a result, they didn't seem too attracted to Iris, by her rather incongruous presence in their world. Some looked at her and regarded her with curiosity, but most gave her no meaning, and went about their business.
Iris ran, jostling a few people as she went, until she bumped into a strange and rather terrifying being, a tall man wearing a light brown suit covered by a long coat of the same tone, his shaggy black hair hidden under a wide-brimmed hat.
He lowered his face to the young human and studied her curiously and slyly.
"Human?"
Iris didn't answer.
"You're in the safe zone where no one intends to harm you, even the bad ones, but..."
Iris smiled involuntarily, finally a being who meant her well.
"Now you're not."
And taking the young human by the shoulders, he lifted her and turning slightly, launched her towards a place separated from the safety zone by a thick magical scarlet line.
Iris landed hard on the seemingly colder ground and gave her assailant an angry, frightened look.
She struggled to her feet and watched as the tall, human-shaped monster slowly approached her, his cold, cunning eyes shining with magic.
"You're really beautiful and so young...I think I'll get a very good price selling you on the black market, or better, to the aristocrats!"
He snapped his fingers and his shadow servants, skeletal beings dressed in black, emerged from the ground and pounced on her without delay.
Fortunately for the young woman, she was quite good at sports. She more or less managed to dodge her attackers and get to her feet before fleeing again with all her might.
"Help me! Save me!" cried Iris, trying.
You never know, she thought, as she easily realized that no one would answer her call. Indeed, her pursuers and their leader only sniggered at her desperate attempt to escape from them. But they soon stopped laughing and jeering when Iris, without realizing it, took a darker road than all the others.
"Not there, you idiot!" her pursuers' boss shouted at her as she quickened her pace to catch up before she was actually on the road, but it was too late.
Her pursuers came to a screeching halt at the road's threshold, while Iris was about two meters away.
They were so terrified by this specific area, darker and colder than the others that they stopped without hesitation at its entrance.
Iris did too, even more terrified than before.
"What's in here?" inquired Iris to the boss while studying the place fearfully.
"Something terrible. Now come slowly back to me and let's get away from here as fast as we can."
Iris, without answering, continued to consider with attention and deep fear.
It was a fairly wide road with equally wide sidewalks, bordered on one side by a high, long wall that gave a glimpse of an immense forest teeming with various equally fearsome and repulsive creatures, and on the other side an immense lake stretching as far as the eye could see and possessing an even more terrifying aspect, especially with its smooth surface gleaming in the almost non-existent starlight.
"What the..." she began, but the chief didn't let her finish.
"Can you see where you are now? Now stop standing there like the idiot you are and come back here so we can get out of here as soon as possible." He repeated, horribly nervous.
The crucial question for Iris was, should she choose the monster she knew or the monster she didn't know. She knew the chief, or at least what he intended to do to her, while she was totally unaware of the one who inhabited these places so sinister she doubted sunlight would ever shine in them. A monster that even the chief and his loathsome henchmen feared to the bone.
Finally, she made up her mind: she was going to try her luck in this place.
She gave the chief a frightened but determined look, then shaking her head while continuing to stare at him with will, stepped back, penetrating the road even further then turned on her heels and resumed her run.
"You stupid bitch. Suffer and die!"
"Scream in vain, your dirty coward!" retorted Iris with rather obvious satisfaction. At least she'd defeated him, even if it was the last thing she had to do in this life.
The young woman had covered about a kilometer when the monster who lived in this place feared by all decided to show himself.
First, there were growls of various kinds, but from the same beast? Flying creatures screeched and flew out of the deep forest.
Iris looked around, making herself as small and unobtrusive as possible.
But it was all doom and gloom as eyes opened up, eyes of the most repulsive and terrifying yellowish brilliance, and they quickly settled on the unwanted young human.
Then he finally came out of the night, looking so abominable that Iris couldn't dodge the slightest gesture, and trembling with all her limbs, watched him approach her and then devour her.
This was the end. She thought vaguely. There was no way out, no hope.
The chief was right, she was going to die in pain. She knew now that she should have followed him, that by being his prisoner she might still have had a chance to free herself later, but now any attempt, any option was non-existent.
Iris wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. She felt so little and had no desire to suffer, let alone die, but this was her fate.
The monster was skeletal, covered in fur oscillating between brown and yellow, with sharp-clawed paws and a huge mouth equipped with razor-sharp teeth. Drool dripped from his mouth, and he was huge, the size of her bedroom.
She shook her head and closed her eyes as the monster pounced on her, but?her death never came.
She waited and waited, but nothing. Then, cautiously, she opened her eyes and what she saw literally took her breath away.
The monster lay at her feet, his body covered in blood, which also spilled onto the floor, dead, and on top of him sat a being Iris knew she could never forget.
He stared at her intently with his fiery gaze, then leapt to his feet and stood before her.
He was about the same height as the Chief, but leaner, more muscular and, above all, more handsome.
He wore his battle suit in a stellar blue, similar to his hair, which reflected even the most insignificant light, and his face, like that of a Roman medal, was fascinating, his mouth sensual, which at this moment was smiling slightly mockingly, and finally his eyes, a deep green that seemed almost to blaze, so incredible was their intensity.
Iris felt her heart racing and her limbs trembling again, but for an entirely different reason.
When she finally regained the strength to speak, she swallowed her saliva with difficulty, looking in turn at the dead beast and then at the killer, and inquired.
"You killed him without a sound."
"So what?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm the one asking the questions," he imposed, crossing his arms authoritatively.
This attitude piqued Iris.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes."
She was shaken by his palpable dominance.
"Well, let's hear it then..." the young human ventured, running her tongue over her lips. But the stranger didn't reply. Instead, he turned towards the lake, and soon bright eyes pierced its surface, startling the young woman, but curiously, she felt no fear.
How could she have been in the presence of such a strong, arrogant and obviously horrifying being.
The beast emerged from its watery realm and strode towards them.
It bowed to its stranger, took the monster's corpse in its mouth and, after an ostentatious growl, plunged back into its abyssal world.
The waves collided with an invisible barrier, so neither of them got wet.
"Thank you," Iris said almost shyly.
"You're welcome. Now it's our turn." he continued, facing the young woman.
"Are you going to kill me?" couldn't help asking Iris although she doubted a positive answer.
"That depends," said her savior, annoyed.
"The person who...I'll say...welcomed us into this incredible world, said the same thing."
"Jor? Yes, I know."
"What's going to happen to the other passages of the bus."
"You shouldn't have run away like you did if you wanted to know."
"Because you think a normal person would have stayed and waited for what he didn't know would be done to him in an enchanted world?"
"Still, it was safer than going off into this enchanted world without knowing where to go or what to do, and without any means of support."
His face, as he said this, reflected such contempt that the young woman straightened defiantly.
"You can talk since it's all your fault, in the end."
"And why is that?"
"Who drew us, poor humans that we are who only wanted to live our life in our world, than you, you and your kind, and for some unknown reason!"
"If you'd stayed, you'd know."
"But I didn't stay, I ran away, so let's not talk about it anymore. Why did you bring us here?" she continued, pursing her lips.
Her savior couldn't help but snicker.
"Ah, so human, because you'd landed here without understanding, you immediately think it's our fault."
"And whose else!"
"It never occurred to you, did it? That it could be one of your own kind?"
Indeed, Iris's expression clearly revealed that it had never crossed her mind. That she'd never even considered it.
"Did it?" she inquired, defiantly.
"Yes."
She shook her head.
"I don't believe you!"
"Tell me about it." he gestured ostentatiously.
Iris ran her tongue over her lips, her hand over her face as she gestured to avoid having to acknowledge the truth.
"Jor, that's right. Your henchman, there."
"What, Jor?"
"What did he want with us? And don't tell me I'd have known if I'd stayed."
"Since you said it for me, I'm not going to tell you anymore. As for Jor, his mission was to get you off the bus to search all of you from top to bottom looking for the smuggler."
"Smuggler?"
"One of your kind who brought you here?"
"How can he, does he possess magical powers?"
He emitted an unbearable sneer.
"Of course he doesn't. But what he does possess, however, is a magical object powerful enough to open a portal between our two worlds."
"And how could he have acquired it?"
Another sneer, this time aimed directly at her.
"Oh please, you're not stupid and even less naive."
"In other words?" she inquired while turning a murderous gaze on him.
"That someone from home gave it to him. His role was to bring you humans in exchange for real gold."
Iris hesitated to ask.
"And what's the value of a human in the magical world?"
"Ah, if you only knew..."
"Yes?"
"I can tell you that it's the favorite met of a certain breed of creature, colossal and very powerful, and whose battles bring their owners a fortune that even they find hard to spend."
He looked up and gazed distractedly at the starry sky, then a winged creature with glowing eyes appeared and moved towards the savior, informing him of something rather important in a language she couldn't understand. The warrior nodded, then the winged creature left as he had come.
"Knowing Jor and his henchmen, he must have found the...how do you say it in your human world? The rat?"
"You know our expressions?"
"And not only that."
"I can't imagine what you mean by that. And so, what are you going to do with the...rat?"
His laughter as well as his expression was worth all the words in the world.
"You don't want to know, human."
He was right, but he hadn't finished.
"But it will be nothing compared to what I'll do to the traitor of our world."
Never had Iris heard a more icy, ruthless voice.
She didn't reply.
"And...what are you going to do with the innocent passengers who didn't ask for anything."
He laughed mockingly.
"What do you think I'm going to do to them?"
"I don't know, then?"
He tilted his head to one side, considering the young human for a long moment, then shrugged.
"I'm going to send them back to your world, but only after I've erased their memories."
Iris supported the changed look as best she could. A look any normal woman would recognize.
"So that's my fate too." It was not a question.
"Yes. Don't worry, it won't be terrifying or painful, and all memories will disappear. Forever."
Memories of his world, especially memories of him. She didn't want to, but it was impossible to tell someone you were meeting for the first time, even if that someone saved your life.
"Why do you care so much about the separation of our worlds?"
"Do you really think I care about that?"
It's true. They'd only just met, but already she could say with certainty that he didn't care about other people. Human or not.
"This is my territory, and I don't want anyone I don't want here."
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
A chastened, angry voice uttered these words.
From the shadows of the forest emerged a whole group of monsters similar to the one his savior had eliminated in total silence.
The one who spoke was unquestionably the group's leader.
The warrior faced him with determination.
"I have no desire to fight your clan, Kajun. I asked your idiot nephew to stop as long as I didn't wish to intervene, but he wouldn't listen."
"So you killed him?"
"And now the situation is settled."
Iris regarded her savior with wide eyes. He wasn't serious. But from the look on the monsters' faces, she assumed he was.
She couldn't stay silent any longer.
"Majesty or whatever, if your intention was to negotiate, this was not the way."
"I never negotiate my murders."
"Huh?"
Jor came upon a winged creature accompanied by half a dozen of his henchmen.
"Master, we're here."
"Take this human away from here, I have a score to settle here." he ordered his loyal subordinate, pointing with a nonchalant gesture of the head at the so-called human.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"And you're going to fight them...on your own?" inquired Iris, not believing he could actually do it. True, he'd taken out that filthy nephew who'd nearly ended his life with ease, but this was a whole group of monsters and clearly more formidable than the victim swept away like dinner into the bottomless waters of the lake.
"There are so many of them! You'll never beat them alone!"
"And how can you know that?"
"I may be human, knowing nothing of magic and monsters, but I'm no fool!"
The warrior rolled his eyes.
"Jor, please!"
"Yes master...majesty, anyway."
And so his subordinate delicately seized Iris by the waist, and brought her behind him onto the winged creature whose dark, shiny plumage was soft and comfortable. Meanwhile, the warrior's other henchmen put their feet down, standing behind their master, awaiting his orders.
"Jor, is he really going to win?"
Iris felt more than saw Jor's expression and smile, a smile that reflected what he thought of his sovereign.
"Don't worry, young human, it's not that he's dangerous or anything, it's just that he's different. He always has been."
And then, high above the deep water, protected by the brave and loyal Jor, Iris saw her warrior transform into a monster. He already was, but this time he literally became one.
A monster twice the size of his opponents, with striped fur similar to that of a white tiger, and emerald eyes that radiated power and the desire to destroy all those who opposed him, including the beasts of the forest.
But powerful as he was, master of these people and his vast territory, he was not invincible, nor was he flawless.
The battle was fierce. Jor wanted to leave, but Iris threatened to hurt herself, to run away again if they ever left.
Fighting the other monsters was more or less passable for him, even if their sheer numbers didn't make his job any easier, but the hard part was his confrontation with Kajun, the clan leader. He may not have been as strong and powerful, but he seemed to have more fighting experience. Given his age and position, this was understandable.
His agility was also a tad better than that of his opponent.
The henchmen were efficient, as you'd expect from his kind, but they could only take on one monster each.
One group reddened, and together they formed a shell which they hurled furiously at their leader's adversary.
The latter didn't even try to dodge, too enslaved by his pride and arrogance.
"What an idiot!" cried Iris, clenching her fists in rage and extreme anxiety.
Her warrior faced the massive force of the shell head-on and managed to defeat it, despite some signs that it wasn't without after-effects.
He tore through the group of shells, but the clan leader pounced on him just as he broke the neck of the last of the group of shells, and grabbed him by the neck in turn, but his enemy was too imposing, so he managed to break away from his bite. Kajun stepped back and irradiated to send a magical shot at the warrior, who waited and faced up to demonstrate his superiority. He weakened but did not retreat.
Glowing red in his turn, the sovereign increased his strength and charged at Kajun with a roar, sending him flying into the distance, then sending a magical shot that he took full force.
Kajun's body disintegrated in an incredible display of fireworks. This tremendous blaze finished off Kajun and the fight.
"Leave!" ordered the victorious warrior to the remaining clan members, glaring at them with an almost demented but triumphant gaze, "or I'll wipe you all out, and your clan will disappear from history."
Kajun's son glared at his enemy with a hateful yet terrified gaze, so after a brief wait, he nodded and ordered the surviving members to retreat to the forest.
"I'll remember this day, Zogias. You humiliated us and killed our leader, my father. It was an unforgivable, unforgettable act. I'll be back one day for my revenge."
"And I'll be there, Karief, and I'll kill you like I killed your father."
The new leader of the monsters pursed his lips until they bled, while Iris couldn't hold back the sound of surprise and indignation at these words, which were as crude as they were cruel. But what she retained most from their incisive and terrible exchange was his name. Zogias. A sublime name that suited him perfectly.
After one last evil glance, Karief finally withdrew. He returned to the dark, living kingdom that was his forest.
As soon as he disappeared, caught up in the walls of ancient trees that lined his territory, Zogias let himself go. He let out a pained sigh, then fell to his knees on the arid ground, bringing his hand to his arm.
"Master!"
"Zogias."
Iris shouted his name at the same time as her loyal subordinate, joining him as quickly as possible.
Jor helped him to his feet, placing an arm around his shoulders for support as Iris surveyed the scene, her eyes misty with tears.
He was clearly suffering, grimacing in pain, a trickle of blood running down his face and neck.
The other henchmen had already prepared the makeshift bed that was to carry him, pulled by their flying beasts.
Jor was now to take her back to his world, but Iris refused and insisted on accompanying them.
She consulted Zogias, who studied her expressions for a moment, then finally sighed with an exasperated, resigned smile.
"That's because you're beautiful."
Never was Iris happier to have been born with this beauty that turned men's heads.
So she was allowed to accompany them to Zogias' home, a sort of pavilion built atop a huge rectangular building, the very one built atop a hill far from the others.
"Who lives in this building apart from him?" inquired Iris, very curious about his savior's life.
"Oh, nobody. It's only our meeting places when we have one, but most of the time it's deserted."
As deserted as his life, Iris immediately thought as she looked in turn at her warrior and the place where he made his home.
What solitude.
The pavilion was as luxurious as a Hollywood celebrity's villa, but minimalistic. There was really only what one needed to live.
"It's so empty," Iris remarked in a tone that made Zagios tense like a doomed animal.
He had been washed, groomed and dressed, and installed in a bed large enough to accommodate at least six people.
The two were left alone. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, then Zagios gave one of his trademark mocking smiles.
"I don't even know your name."
"Iris. It's Iris."
"It's a beautiful name."
"Not as beautiful as yours!"
"It's the name my father gave me just before he left."
"He's...deceased?" inquired the young human shyly.
He made a funny sound.
"The word 'leave' has so many meanings."
"And which one is attributed to your father's departure."
He didn't answer, merely smiled at her.
"Now you must go."
Iris's heart ached at the very thought. Never to see this magical world again, this being who dominated so much of it and who had saved her; it hurt so much, so what would it be like when she really got home? Oh yes, she'd forgotten, she thought with unbearable cynicism, she was going to forget. They were going to take away all memory of those moments, of that enchanted universe, all memory of him.
Instead of shouting her refusal to have her memory erased, she smiled at him.
"Jor really does look like he's tearing his hair out over my presence and my persistence in staying when he should have taken me home with the others long ago, with all this," and she pointed with an eloquent gesture to the room as well as the entire magical universe, "forever erased from my mind."
Zogia ran a weary hand over her face.
"He'll get over it," he reassured her in an even weaker tone, "it's not the first time he's been unable to perform his duty."
"With you as his sovereign, it must happen to him even more often than the other way around."
He only laughed at this, so he settled more comfortably on his bed, sketching a grimace of frustration.
"Zogias..."
He beamed at her again, then declared.
"You must leave now."
The tone he used to tell her himself, Iris wished she would never forget.
It was so implacable, irrevocable. He may have saved her, he may have shown her a certain kindness, but he really was a sovereign. One of the rulers of this world so different and far removed from that of humans, and which she had entered by the greatest coincidence.
Fate was so perfectly cruel that one could only hate it, just as she could only feel that way about this being.
She didn't answer, but she felt light, as if she were about to fall asleep in her bed at night.
She could more or less guess what was going on. She made sure that the last thing she saw of his world was him, watching her leave irrevocably with that expression on his face that she would carry with her forever.
Someone had once told her that all it took was a moment. And they were right.
When she awoke, she found herself asleep, sitting on a subway bench, her head leaning against a pillar, her bag and three shopping bags lying beside her.
A policeman approached her and asked.
"Are you all right, miss?"
Iris struggled to gather her wits, and when she did she nodded, then inquired in turn.
"What time is it?"
She had a watch on her wrist but didn't notice. The policeman must have understood her dismay, made no remark and simply gave her what she'd asked for.
Hearing the time, Iris was startled, without understanding why, or rather, she felt she couldn't remember.
The policeman continued to observe her, admiring in spite of himself her beauty, further accentuated by this strange vulnerability.
"Are you all right, Miss? Would you like me to call an ambulance?" he added, detailing her body to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"No, I'll be fine," Iris finally replied, rising to her feet. "Thank you, I only wish to go home, as I was asked."
"Asked? But who?" inquired the policeman, frowning, puzzled.
Iris thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"I don't remember. But this person really wanted me to return home."
The policeman helped her with her groceries to the outside then, leaving her to check that she had enough money for the cab, let her get into one.
Iris expressed her gratitude before leaving.
Back in her apartment, she felt really strange and tired, and after taking a shower, immediately went to bed.
A week later, still in the evening, she was waiting for the metro to take her home. It had been an intense day, with work busier than usual, so she and her friends and colleagues couldn't have their usual gossipy moments. Luckily, her boss is a great guy, a bit strict but very open-minded, and very easy to talk to.
Iris consulted her watch, and when she saw the time, she sighed.
It was early, but considering how tired she was, it was late for her. Fortunately, the train would not be long now.
But as she heard the train coming, she noticed something strange. She noticed that she was alone in the subway.
"At this hour!" she exclaimed, looking around.
She really was alone.
The train arrived and stopped, opening its doors.
She hesitated again, then shrugged and got in.
She sat down on a bench. Immediately, the doors closed again, which was unusual, and the train restarted.
Again, Iris was greatly intrigued, then shrugging again, took out her mobile and exchanged a few messages with her best friend.
Soon, she felt strange and tensed up like a spring about to break, as she was certain of a feeling of d?j?-vu. The same weakness, the same feeling of tiredness, of trance.
She struggled again against this strange, disconcerting sensation, then closed her eyes and sank into a painful unconsciousness.
She awoke with a terrible headache.
"Ah, you're awake at last!" came a cavernous voice that immediately displeased her and seemed to awaken a distant echo within her.
She forced herself to open her eyes, even though she was certain that what she would see in reality meant her no good.
Her inner warning of danger was screaming atrociously.
When she finally opened her eyes, she saw that she was still wearing the same clothes, an electric-blue blouse, tight black pants and suede boots in the same shade. Her hair, which she had pulled up into a sophisticated bun at the crown of her head, had slackened and now hung down her back.
She raised her hand to her head, grimacing in pain, then when her headache subsided a little, she forced herself to look around to see where she was, then noticed with surprise and terror that she was inside a very cold, black metal cage.
"What? What....What's going on...?"
"You're probably wondering where you are and why you're there," remarked a voice echoing not far away from her.
She forced herself to turn back to the owner of this detestable voice and saw a man in a light brown suit, with a long coat and a lean face endowed with a horrifying moustache.
"Who are you?"
"Ah" he exclaimed, "memory wipe, and too bad for me it was this being's henchman who did it so I've no chance of restoring your memories even though that's what I wanted most."
He pointed an annoyed finger at her.
"You ran away from me, and worse, you chose a greater danger to me with insolence and words that insufferable me to a point...! You have no idea."
"I don't even know you."
"But I do, or at least well enough not to forget you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, so what do you want?"
She had to stay calm and analyze the situation as best she could to get out of it, because she was in great danger, she felt it with every fiber of her being.
"Me, what I want...nothing, but them, it's you. Or rather...your flesh!"
And he shouted that word as he pulled back the huge curtain in front of her, and she saw what it hid. An arena, a huge arena filled with various excited people who were shouting their joy at the fight that was taking place before them and for which they had had to pay dearly.
A giant monster fight of appalling intensity and barbarity, which was to end with the death of one of them.
One was a six-legged monster with purple skin flecked with yellow and bulging eyes all over his head, while the other was a greenish monster with eight sharp legs like a giant insect, smaller than his opponent but faster.
People were screaming and betting like mad as the winner finally seemed to be decided. The insect, of course.
His opponent soon collapsed to the ground, stained with his bluish blood as he howled in victory before beginning to devour the still-bubbling corpse.
The whole scene was disgusting, so disgusting that Iris felt her stomach turn and she folded in half, regurgitating what remained in her stomach.
"As you can see, these ferocious, repulsive beasts that so enliven the public fight to the death for the greater good. So you see, they deserve a prize of the highest quality."
He didn't specify what that prize was, but his gaze was eloquent enough.
Iris's heart stopped for a moment with pain before beating wildly to explode in her chest.
"You're going to stand there with me, watching the matches until the winner rises and comes to take his reward."
Three more fights went by like that, savage, bloody, unbearable.
Iris tried to find a way out, any way, but found nothing. Her jailer was amused to see her struggling, desperately looking for a way out that didn't exist.
He never stopped sniggering.
In the fourth fight, one of the beasts drew Iris' attention in spite of herself. It was a fawn with a perfect long body, white fur spotted with blue and looking so proud and majestic.
She shook her head. No, you couldn't hurt, let alone kill, such a creature. It was a crime.
His adversary, on the other hand, was almost criminally ugly, with his gelatinous black body, heavy legs and bulging scarlet eyes, as well as his antennae hanging pitifully around his face.
She followed the beast's movements attentively, as it seemed to scan the square cautiously, and when it turned its proud head towards her, the impact was almost physical. Eyes so green and bright it was unreal.
She lost her breath for a moment, and then the fight began.
It didn't last long, and ended with the death of the hideous beast. Iris was so relieved that she felt weaker than ever, which was illogical and disarming on her part, since this sublime beast who had won the tournament was now going to come to her, take her and devour her, as her jailer had been telling her all along.
The spectators' excitement was at its peak. They shouted the name of the winner, a certain Veron, a name that suited him perfectly, while Iris's jailer, his partners and a score of henchmen, some of whom were carrying the prize cage, approached him and soon congratulated him vigorously.
The fawn accepted all this with simplicity but also with a kind of insolence that made Iris's jailer and most of his partners wince, and then, visibly reluctantly, they offered him Iris in her cage.
He accepted her and gazed at her with that deep, captivating gaze that plunged her into a kind of inordinate whirlwind.
"You seem to attract all kinds of trouble, Iris."
At first, she was unaware that he had spoken and addressed her.
"Don't move," he continued, "and especially don't ask any questions until it's all over."
Then he turned to the arena owners.
"Since you all love this kind of activity so much that you ignore my sovereignty, then I'm going to give you a show worthy of your greed."
The jailer frowned, seeming to understand the identity of the beast.
"You..."
"Ah, Ledek, it was very clever of you to kidnap only Iris to fly under the radar, at least almost, but I found out what you did last time, at least your intentions towards this young human here, and being fully aware of your unrivalled grudge, I guessed without difficulty what you intended to do."
"And you went to all that trouble for this young human."
"You may speak. But I confess that in addition to saving her, I've also come here to destroy you and see your shitty face when you see no longer than blood and ashes from your creations. It's going to be a blast!"
Iris's jailer shook his head, his face contorted into an ugly grimace.
"Let me tell you...!"
But he didn't have time to finish his sentence, or rather his insult, for a whole horde of enraged beasts burst into the arena and destroyed everything in their path.
The spectators who weren't crushed by this wave of bestial fury were able to flee the arena, howling in terror.
"Don't move or worry about a thing," said the white fawn as he sat lazily in the middle of the arena, "my kind will do the job for me."
Ledek also wanted to run away like his customers, but his enemy stopped him.
"Oh no, not you, Ledek."
And he threw himself on the latter and imprisoned him beneath him.
"Jor, go get Ledek's associates. I'll take care of the bastard myself."
And he pointed fiercely at Iris's former jailer, who tensed under the weight of his adversary.
Chaos reigned all around them, but Iris no longer felt any fear. How could it be otherwise when he was there. Then she gasped again, certain that she'd thought of it that way before. So she summoned her courage and called out to him.
"Hey you!"
The fawn didn't turn around.
"You, the fawn who saved my life, or so I hope."
This time he turned his head towards her.
"Yes?"
"So you know me."
"A little. And no, nothing's happened between us, and it's not for lack of wanting it to."
"You're telling me. This man you're crushing underneath you, I don't remember him or any of you. And yet, he...he resented me so much that he went to the trouble of organizing all this in order to eliminate me in the worst possible way, even if it meant attracting your attention!"
"He killed two birds with one stone, indeed."
"So since you're here now and arranging things, and that bastard Ledek seems to like cages so much, you could let me out and lock him in. I'm sure it would be a novel experience for him."
Her fawn regarded her for a long moment, surprised then admiring, before doing as she said.
Ledek kept up a steady stream of curses and insults as the fawn forced him into the cage.
"You got the wrong shitty woman, Ledek. Serves you right."
The furious Ledek struggled fiercely in his cage, under the mocking gaze of his enemies, but recognizing that this would get him nowhere, forced himself to calm down, then to think in turn, and analyze the situation and above all how to get out of it alive.
And then he noticed something, and an evil smile and a sly gleam appeared on his face.
"You're not joining the battle, Your Majesty?" inquired the prisoner with a deceptive gentleness that made the sovereign immediately wary.
"Why not?"
"Oh, I don't know." raised the prisoner with a dazzling smile and icy gaze, "perhaps the answer is not that you won't but that you can't."
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Iris immediately without even thinking. But when she saw her fawn's expression, she knew that the repulsive Ledek had been right. The latter was gloating.
"So I was right. All that arrogance and image of power for nothing."
He burst into an abominable laugh.
"You're weak."
The beast now put on a frighteningly ferocious expression and prepared to charge at his prisoner to finish him off. Iris, too, wanted that vermin Ledek to die, but not like this.
Just as the beast moved, Iris intervened.
"I wish I could remember you."
This stopped him dead in his tracks.
And he turned to her.
"I forgot you, but I'm sure I didn't wish to, but I had to."
And said, continuing to stare at her with that unfathomable gaze.
"If you're responsible for my loss of memory then please, I'll wish you'd remove that spell or whatever and return them so I'll know. But I already know that I cherish these memories infinitely as I will cherish these."
And with a broad gesture, she pointed to everything around them.
He finally replied.
"You said the same thing last time."
"Then give me back my memory so I can remember it," she repeated with a heartbreaking smile.
He squinted, then closed his eyes.
"Then don't regret your wish."
"Never."
The fawn glowed and enveloped her in his magical aura. The return of her memories was painful, but she felt as little pain as possible. He made sure of that.
When she recalled everything, she smiled with joy and tenderness.
"Once again, you've saved my life."
He didn't have time to say what he thought, for a monster had managed to destroy the barrier he had ruled around them and charged at them.
Zogias had just enough time to protect Iris from this monstrous charge, which succeeded in destroying the cage and bringing Ledek out of his prison.
The latter immediately reverted to his human form in order to fight better.
Ledek managed to push him away.
"Ah, what a joke!" he laughed, wrapping himself in his magical aura and drawing a terrifying-looking saber from his body.
"Fighting those human dealers and bringing order to the devastated wake must have weakened you a lot, not to mention the Kajun clan I heard you'd eliminated with force. Ah, I can see his son's fury now. Watch out, this kid's got a bigger grudge than I do. Who'd have thought it! He won't stop until you're dead!"
He paused for a moment, wiping his nose and sniffing contemptuously.
"And now this. You didn't want to run the risk of hurting your human, so you made sure you made it to the final, to be the winner, yet another terrible waste of energy and time given your condition."
He flushed and pointed the sword at Zogias, sending him a powerful magical shot, which the sovereign could face with pride, but he had the wisdom to dodge the following ones.
"What a beautiful day after all. I never imagined I'd see the great sovereign Zogias, so haughty and contemptuous, weaken at my slightest shot and end up at my feet."
Despite his suffering and deplorable state, Zogias stood up proudly before his enemy.
"You haven't won yet, Ledek."
"I don't care, as long as I kill you here, majesty!"
And Ledek flushed violently, hurling himself at his opponent with a howl of anger. He brandished the sword high with the obvious intention of thrusting it into Zogias' heart.
"Die!"
"No, Zogias!" cried Iris, powerless to do anything.
At the last moment, the sovereign managed to create a magic sword and counter Ledek's murderous attack, immediately followed by a weapon fight that seemed to last a century.
Ledek clearly outclassed his opponent in power and energy, but this time the latter possessed skill and, above all, combat experience, as well as a greater desire to kill.
The fight was sublime in its own way, but also atrocious.
Like the Tournament of Monsters, it would only end with the death of one of the two. But, Iris also thought, trembling all over, possibly with the death of both.
Zogia managed to push Ledek violently back to the ground, but the latter decided to cheat as his nature indicated by throwing fine debris at his opponent's face, which inevitably forced the latter to close his eyes and turn away, but not fast enough to avoid getting something in his eye.
He cried out in pain. The bastard Ledek wanted to take advantage of the situation to put an end to the sovereign, but Iris, in her desperation, prevented him by throwing all kinds of debris at him.
"You coward, you cheat! Don't even think about winning!"
Ledek howled in his usual rage and turned to Iris, giving her a crazed look before heading for her.
"I'll kill you, bitch!"
He positioned himself with the intention of slitting her throat.
"I've had enough of you two! I don't care what order I eliminate you in as long as you finally croak!"
Ledek was stopped in his tracks by Zogias, who grabbed the arm holding the saber before delivering an explosive punch to his face.
Iris's former jailer struggled to recover from the punch.
"It was a good blow, Majesty. But to your misfortune, it wasn't enough, it didn't kill me, and you spent what energy you had left on that fist that will doom you both."
"You're right, Ledek, it's not my punch that's going to kill you."
The sovereign's triumphant, sadistic smile put him on alert. He turned around, but it was too late: the dark, gelatinous beast that Zogias was supposed to kill at the finals to get his reward was standing right behind his former torturer, seizing him in its jaws full of sharp teeth, chewing him cruelly before swallowing him in one swallow.
When it was all over, when the chaos finally ended with the victory of Zogias' team, the hideous monster hesitantly approached the latter and waited.
The latter allowed him to leave.
"Go, your debt is paid."
He nodded, bowed to Zogia and left, followed by his fellow survivors.
Jor ran to them.
"Master, are you all right?
"Not at all!" he replied, laughing as he allowed himself to be relieved by his subordinate. "This time, I'm going to get gutted by Mahoun."
"Mahoun!" raised Iris, considering the sovereign's condition with concern.
"Our doctor. This time, he's going to gut me."
"He'll understand, Majesty."
"So you say."
A short silence followed.
"And concerning, mademoiselle Iris, majesty?" inquired the faithful guardian, looking at them in turn.
"You're not going to erase my memory again all the same, after you've given it back to me!"
"What? You've given her back her memory, Majesty!" shouted Jor, who couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I had the weakness to do that indeed," admitted Zogias, who didn't know how to behave.
"But normally, it's forbidden!"
"But there are exceptions." he argued. "And now the subject is closed."
"Not to mention that I saved your life!" reinforced Iris defiantly.
"What!" shouted Jor, increasingly aghast, "you'd needed your life saved, majesty? You!"
"I had, shall we say, another moment of weakness. And that other matter, too, is closed."
"Since all delicate matters are closed, by you, majesty, may I keep my memories intact?" inquired Iris with false confidence.
Another long silence followed this question, then the sovereign sighed and nodded.
"Yes."
She gave a triumphant, happy laugh.
"So great, thank you. So, I can come back as often as I like?"
"What?"
"No time for that, majesty. I'll take you home and we'll call Mahoun to take care of you. He's been really busy lately."
"He's only looking after me."
"That's what I said."
"I'll come with you," Iris decided, following them.
Jor wanted to protest, but Zogias allowed it. The faithful man rolled his eyes.
"It's endless trouble that awaits you, Majesty."
"Yes, I understood that, Jor. From the beginning."
