The Edits, and Everything Else! discussion

Nothing much here...

DRAFT

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Oɴᴇ
Jᴜɴɪᴘᴇʀ Rᴏsᴇ

My heart is not supposed to pound, but it does. It bangs against my chest so hard I want to just stop running and rest, but I do not. I run and run, dodging tree trunks and leaping over their roots. Their branches snatch at my dress and rake against my skin, but I don’t let them bother me. My flames devour their tips and turn them to ashes as I dash by. “Your job is not done,” the stars whisper at me, but they sound like frantic cries in my ears. “Hurry, hurry, hurry,” they urge, making me force my legs to run ten times faster than the fastest horse.

I am a Fiend. My job is not done.

Finally, the trees thin and I can see more grass. Bursting out into the chilly night air, I find myself standing in front of the old, abandoned mansion that used to be my home. Only hours before, I was released from it by a little boy, Person. The memory of me, stuck inside my circle for decades, makes my scowl. “Destroy it,” the stars say, “watch it burn.” Curling my hands into fists, I march over to the entrance and step through its hollow doorframe.

The walls have been torn down by multiple animals, the wallpaper barely anything but rotten waste. The floor creaks under my feet and I can hear the dust and dirt falling through its holes and onto the ground below. The foundation is hollow, and so is everything else. The pieces of furniture are skeletons of the comfort they used to be. Walking into what used to be a grand ballroom, I stand right across the tiny olive tree, which was planted into my circle in my place. That was how Person released me, by trading my soul with another. I watch it silently for what seems like an hour, or maybe two. I don’t know what to think… I certainly do not miss my dirty dungeon.

Dirty…so dirty…I cannot believe that this was my home for ten decades… I cannot believe it! Curse those Mages! Who did they think they were, throwing me in here? Thinking back, I do not recall this mansion being so abandoned and uncared for. But as I watch the silent ballroom around me, I start to remember.

When I was brought here to the mansion for all the murders I had committed, the owner agreed to let me be bound to his home. I was his toy, his little trophy. He would invite his wealthy friends and family to mock me in his ballroom. During his parties, he and his companions would tease and jeer at me, agitating me so much I would throw my fists and knees at them--only to watch my flesh burn into ashes by my circle’s barriers. I would scream in anger and cry of pain back then, yelling at them and promising empty threats. But not long after, I gave up. I fell into silence and this empty, helpless feeling as I watched my ‘owner’ grow old and die. His family thought of me as the cause and left the mansion the next morning in a hurry, abandoning everything here except their money and carriage.

Remembering everything just makes me angry. No, not angry--furious. Growling as the fury rushes through me, my Magic starts to work. Fire cackles from my fingers and flaming embers fall to the floor, setting it on fire. Damn this place! Damn the Mages! Damn that olive tree! Damn the circle! Damn everything that is wrong with my life! Letting a bloodcurdling yell, I wring my hand towards the olive plant and the circle itself. Smoke streaks through the air and devours the olive plant’s pathetically small leaves and the dirt below it. I wring my other hand and the floor in the circle begins to catch fire, the wood charring and dropping to the level below. In my beginning rampage, the fire bursts into desperate hunger. “I’ll destroy you!” I scream, wringing another fireball wildly. It crashes into the wall opposite me and the flames begin to race around the room, burning a bright red.

I let my rage engulf me.

I declare war.

Ah, century. Right. I shall replace "ten decades" with that. (Thanks for suggesting. :P)

Unfortunately, I'm incapable of thinking as deeply as you can. *coughs sheepishly* (Honestly, I just wrote "ten decades" because it seemed reasonably long enough, since Juniper's a young Fiend. "Century" never occurred to me at that time...)

I didn't change anything, it's still "ten decades". (Doesn't say "edited" above the post, does it?)