Less than 24 hours before, her life was completely different.
Varya's silvery hair was curled and her bangs swept to the side. She wore a white tank top and khaki cargo pants. Her black combat boots were in pristine condition showing their purpose being for style above anything else. She stood at the opening of the large, modern kitchen her mother was cooking in. She watched her mom drop garlic in a pot and smiled when it sizzled. Her mom was the best cook she knew. As much as she wanted to stay and eat a home-cooked meal, she had plans.
Varya glanced over her shoulder at her hidden company before addressing her mom. "Mom," Her voice was soft and innocent - a tone she only used if she wanted something, especially if it was something her parents might not approve of. "Is that alright if I go to the mountains with Kallo? He's sure to protect me from whatever daddy keeps going on and on about."
Varya leaned out of the kitchen and pulled her company by the arm. Mrs.Vance's blue eyes widened at the sudden company.
Standing before her was Kallo, a 15-year-old from the village Shotonna outside of where the Vance Family lived in West Burgh City. For whatever reason, Kallo was particularly small for being a boy from Shotonna. Men from the village were normally quite massive. He had unruly black hair and orange eyes that looked particularly striking against his tan skin. Despite his small stature, he was one of the village's best fighters. He always wore the same thing: faded, grey gi and flat shoes. A sword was always at his waist in a dark blue sheath. His relationship with Varya was like that of a younger brother, having known her since he was 11 years old.
People from the villages beyond the city walls were known for their fighting abilities. Oftentimes, these villages conflicted with one another so people from within the city rarely left the city walls. After Shotonna was ransacked by a neighboring village, Kallo was the only survivor left. For the last couple of years, he had been living between the Vance Estate and what was left of Shotonna, using funding from Vance Corp to restore old buildings and rebuild his home. After he had protected Varya from a mountain lion when they first met, her family was indebted to him for saving her life.
"Alright!" Mrs. Vance threw up her hands as if surrendering and smiled. "Your father is probably just being careful. As long as you promise to keep Kallo with you at all times then I see no problem."
Varya jumped up in excitement, and kissed her mom on the cheek.
"Thanks, mom. I promise I'll keep Kallo with me wherever I go. We'll be leaving now." Varya tugged on Kallo's arm, "Come on. I want to get there before lunch."
Kallo nodded and followed Varya to her motorcycle - a sleek design her father was responsible for inventing. He sat on the bike, making himself comfortable before Varya did the same.
With a push off the ground, they were speeding away to the mountains, "Remember, Kallo. We're not telling my parents who we're meeting up with when we get there," she said with a wink.
"Why?" He gripped the seat that separated the two of them and lowered his dark eyebrows in confusion.
"They still don't like Rosh! You know that."
Rosh was someone Varya had been seeing behind her parents' backs for the last year. After a date with him when she came home visibly intoxicated, her parents formed their opinion of him very quickly. Being from a family constantly under the scrutiny of the press, the Vances believed their daughter should protect her image. Rosh fit the description of a typical rebel with long, dark brown hair and sleeves of tattoos. His unpredictability was what Varya liked the most. She could never guess what they were going to do next.
However, Varya was smart enough to know that having someone with Kallo's fighting abilities around would be good if Rosh got her into trouble. Rosh looked tough, but she had never met anyone with combat abilities as incredible as Kallo.
Varya sped up and Kallo's arms went around the seat. Where he was from, there were a few trucks used to take supplies to and from the city, but everyone relied on their feet to get around. His experience with technology was nonexistent until he met the Vances. After the destruction of Shotonna, he was happy to have people to go to, but the technology made him feel like he was in space and, at times, he would go back to his village and sleep in his old house, having more sound sleep without the noises of a modern home. He always missed the complete darkness at night.
Varya giggled in excitement, maneuvering the motorcycle as fast as it could go. She was born a speed demon and knew she could trust her father's inventions. Her silver hair shone in the sun and whipped in the air. Kallo had to lean back to avoid getting hit.
When they reached the heavily forested road that Rosh lived on, Varya slowed down and looked at Kallo, "Look for Rosh's house while I drive."
Rosh's house was a dilapidated cabin that someone abandoned before he came upon it and claimed it as his own. The road to get there was rough and the pavement was crumbling.
Kallo's sharp eyes scanned the trees. They were hard to navigate. Even the best tracker could get lost in this dense expanse of forest.
"There!" Kallo yelled, surprising Varya and causing her to almost wreck the motorcycle.
Varya toppled over on the bike but caught herself by sticking out her leg at the last minute. Kallo had already jumped off.
"Thanks, Kallo," she remarked sarcastically.
After parking her motorcycle against a tree, she glared at the innocent teenager. He gave her a shrug and raised his eyebrows in return. His orange eyes left Varya and he started looking around the forest, curiosity overtaking him as he started walking away.
Varya fixed her windblown appearance as she walked up the stone steps to get to Rosh's front door. She had butterflies in her stomach as she wondered what was in store for them today. Once she felt her appearance was acceptable once again, she knocked on the door and waited.
"Rosh! It's Varya and Kallo! We've come to steal you for the rest of the da—" her words were cut short when the door creaked open due to her knocking.
"My, my you're a pretty human. Too bad you have to die," an androgynous voice Varya didn't recognize was heard in Rosh's house.
Varya stood frozen as she watched a skinny man well over six feet tall grab Rosh by the neck and squeeze the life out of him. She heard something in his neck pop from the force of the man's hand. Black claws pierced Rosh's neck and blood ran down man's ghostly pale skin as his victim fell limp.
"Oh God no…" Varya gasped and collapsed to her knees. She couldn't move her eyes away from the bloody scene in front of her.
In an emergency, she always thought she would have a better response and be able to get away, but she felt frozen in shock. For the first time in her life, her quick mind didn't help her, and her rushing thoughts paralyzed her in place.
"Have I stumbled into heaven? You're even more delicious than this one," the pale man moved his purple eyes onto Varya. Her fear was palpable and he could practically bask in it.
Carelessly, he tossed Rosh to the floor, blood splattering around the room upon impact. The man wore what seemed to be dark-purple spandex over his entire body, his head and hands being the only part of him not covered by the material. There was shining, metallic-white armor reminding her of what an Ancient Greek general would wear covering his chest, shoulders, and torso. His black leather boots reached just below his knee.
"I collect beauties like you," the man kept speaking, moving forward towards the open door.
Varya kept an eye on his arm covered in Rosh's blood. She had never seen someone have enough strength in one arm to do that to someone. Other than his apparent strength, there was something very off about him. Never in her life had she seen a human like him before. The closer he got, the more pale his skin seemed to be. He was almost grey and his lips were faintly purple like that of a corpse.
"Don't be too scared, precious." The man stepped close enough for her to feel his breath on her face as he bent down. "Call me Emperor Kruos," he lifted her up by her arm and pulled her into the cabin. Her closeness allowed him to whisper into her ear, the soft tickle of his breath giving her goosebumps, "Don't worry. I always kill my victims immediately after I have my way with them."
The man ran surprisingly cold fingers along her exposed chest, his black nails giving her goosebumps in the worst way. As much as she wanted to run, she knew she wouldn't be able to get away from someone of his strength and size.
"Hey! Stop that!" Kallo ran in with his sword drawn, not hesitating until he saw blood on the floor and his eyes widened, confidence faltering.
Emperor Kruos seemed all too amused when Kallo ran in to save the day. However, his eyes narrowed at the boy as if he recognized Kallo. "How did you escape?"
The man's words didn't affect Kallo. He didn't know what the man was talking about.
"S-stop touching her!" Kallo's eyebrows were knitted together in anguish. That wasn't the first time he had seen something so awful. He vividly remembered the image of his own family being slaughtered in front of him. He was determined to be strong this time and took a deep breath. "Varya, go! Forget about me! Just go!"
Kruos pushed Varya at Kallo and chuckled arrogantly, "Let's play!"
Kallo rushed forward and tried to jab Kruos with his sword, but the pale man effortlessly dodged the blade. Kallo was soon knocked out by an effortless swing of the emperor's hand to the boy's neck.
"Now where did—" Kruos saw that Varya was gone. "Damn. She was going to be delicious!"
He looked around at the scene he created with satisfaction. Seeing as his other prey had already gone away, he began dragging Kallo's unconscious form outside of the cabin.
Emperor Kruos's purple eyes looked to the sky expectantly. Suddenly, a beam of blue light flashed down from above and he was raised to the sky like some kind of god. Kallo was dangling by one arm in his grasp.
"I'll be back for you later," he yelled loud enough for Varya to hear as she escaped, the trees hiding her from his piercing purple eyes.