"How dare you!" Aella screamed, jumping at him with her hands curved into claws. She fully intended to carve him into ribbons. There wouldn"t be enough of him left for the crows to eat!"What in the…" muttered Alfred, dodging her swipes by streaking a good 20 feet away from her. "Aella, snap out of it, and talk to me. What"s going on?"
He was right, and she knew he was right, but everything inside of her was screaming for blood. Panting hard, as if she had been fighting those ants again, Aella stepped towards him, preparing to attack.
As the first flicker of flame danced along her arm, there was a gasp behind her, distracting her.
"Aella? How can you control fire?" asked Frederick, looking at her in confusion, paused in the action of rubbing his head. He sat on the ground, with his wings folded behind him, and the other figure was starting to sit up as well.
Taking opportunity of the distraction, Aella was able to rip herself out of the haze of rage and gain control of herself.
"We need to return to the palace, now!" she gasped, struggling against the strange emotions that were flooding her body.
Frederick jumped to his feet, rushing towards her. The figure behind him, charged after him, and grabbed her arm, just as Frederick grabbed her other one. Alfred grabbed her shirt, and glanced at the figure curiously as Aella teleported them all to the throne room. The moment they arrived, she fell to her knees, the world going black.
When she opened her eyes, Aella"s first instinct was to roll to the side, and check for anyone about to attack her. The guards around her, were standing confused as to what to do. She was still in the throne room, and Frederick was over her, his wings spread out, as if to protect her. The stranger was crouched a few feet away, a snarl on his lips as he prepared to attack Frederick again. It was obvious from the blood dripping over his lip, they had already been fighting some.
Alfred was standing off to the side, similarly confused, watching as they seemed intent on killing each other.
"Frederick?" she asked, shaking her head. Whatever fog had been clouding her head, was starting to clear. "Stand down. Guards, if the intruder moves, restrain him."
Frederick stood slowly, as if he expected the guy to charge, but he didn"t. He stood from his crouch as well, and studied her.
The stranger had dark brown skin, with a tint of green to it, and small protruding tusks. His hair was long, hanging down his back, with ties holding it together, and bones sticking out of it as decoration. Various piercings in his pointed ears and around his face, glinted in the light, as he looked around at the guards who were waiting for him to do something.
Looking over his well muscled body, Aella could feel her face starting to flush and gave herself a mental shake. Whatever was going on, she needed to gain control of it, right now!
"Alfred, go get Josephine. Something is wrong."
He didn"t even bother to acknowledge her, before streaking to the door.
"Let me kill him," growled Frederick, his muscles taught and ready to attack him.
"Let me kill him," growled the figure, asking Aella for permission to attack.
"Who are you?" she asked, trying to tear her eyes off his muscled form. Why was she acting this way? It wasn"t anything like she had experienced before, and controlling it, was incredibly difficult.
"I am Jogug, from the Klog Orc tribe."
"Orc? You must be from the southern mountains," she said, trying to stay focused.
"I was separated from my tribe, and those in the mountains chased me from them. There were many dead, from a battle, so I continued north, hoping to find my people, or another clan to join. I camped in the ashes of the dead town, to stay warm. The nights are very cold here."
Could he have been summoned with another portal? There wasn"t another hero to activate one, unless there were another type of hero she didn"t know of, yet. Her father being a hero was a huge surprise, so she supposed there could be others.
Her eyes were roaming over his exposed body, and she had to turn away from him. Why was she acting this way? It wasn"t the first time she had seen naked men. In fact, nakedness had never bothered her before. It was good to look at, but it never controlled her actions like this. Catching herself studying the muscles on one of the guards, she turned to the thrones in frustration and started pacing, until Josephine arrived.
"Clear the room," Aella said, slashing at the air in front of her. "I want only Frederick, Jogug, and the heroes in the room."
The guards didn"t hesitate to leave, prompting the Advisors and the scribe girl to hesitate only a moment before leaving as well.
"Josephine, what"s wrong with me?" panted Aella, pacing towards her as the Hero of Water studied for fevered movements.
"Aella, how old are you?" she asked, in a soft voice.
"I was taken to the pits when I was 9," Aella answered, trying to make her mind think. "I was in the pits for 6 years, so I am 15."
"That"s awfully old to hit p.u.b.erty, and your body is already defined, so that can"t be it," murmured Josephine, studying her carefully. "What"s that smell? Do you smell it, Alfred? It"s very faint…"
Alfred flared his nose, then shrugged. "They all stink to me, but I try not to mention it."
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"Alfred! This is important!" complained Josephine as Aella restrained herself from snapping at the insult.
"She is in heat," said Jogug, looking at them perplexed. "Is it not obvious?"
"What?! I am not an animal!" screamed Aella, crouching at him and snarling, feeling the urge to tear out his throat.
"Heat?" muttered Frederick, his eyes dilating a fraction as he seemed to struggle with the thought.
"That"s what it is!" exclaimed Josephine, shock obvious on her face. "But how? If she is half human, and demons don"t go into heat, could it be a Demon King thing? There"s never been a girl Demon King before…"
"Aella, regardless of what it is, you need to get hot, right now. Really, really hot, and burn that feeling up!" said Alfred, backing up away from her, pulling Josephine with him.
Frederick"s eyes widened at their reaction, and backpedaled as well, until he hit the wall. Jogug backed up hesitantly, not entirely sure what they were talking about.
Seeing everyone back away from her, made Aella furious. What were they scared of? Reaching deep inside, where the fire flowed in her veins, she pulled it out with a scream of rage. They wanted her hot? She would get hot!
Flames licked along her entire body, burning everything around her. It wasn"t enough. She could get hotter. Fueling the flames with her air, they grew, reaching for the distant ceiling, high above her head. It still wasn"t enough. Crouching down, she intensified the flames, bunching her muscles, clenching her fists, grinding her teeth, until finally, something popped, and there was release.
The flames were gone. Cracks on the floor appeared with loud pops, as the stone flexed from the heat, looking charred and partially melted.
"Aella?" asked Alfred, lowering his hand from where he was blocking his face. "Feeling better?"
"Yes, actually. What made you think of that, to fix whatever that was?" she asked, turned to look at him, and realized her clothing was gone. Flexing the part that was the magical cloak, she quickly had clothing flowing over her body.
"Um, well, actually," he flushed a bright red, and scratched the back of his head, obviously not sure what to say.
"It"s something the church taught us, to rid ourselves of l.u.s.tful thoughts, when they didn"t want us to get pregnant, or impregnant others at that moment. It was taught very early, but I wouldn"t have thought of it. I"ve honestly never seen anyone with the problem you were having, and I don"t know if it will come back," said Josephine, stepping closer, and pausing to look at the floor.
"Wait, so Aella is a hero?" cried Frederick, his eyes wide in alarm. "How in the world did that happen?"
Aella smiled at him. "I stole them from the Hero of Fire. Once I tamed the fire, it calls me its master."
"That"s an option?" he asked, in a horrified whisper.
Shrugging, she glanced at Alfred and said, "Maybe that"s why the church always wanted the Demon King killed?"
Jogug shook himself. "Is that how you are the ruler of your people? That magic is very powerful! I would be honored if you would allow me to be one of your mates! What is your test?"
"Test?" she asked, not sure what he was talking about.
"I think he is wanting to marry you. It seems he thinks you would have many mates, because you are so powerful, and he wants to be one of them. The test must be how you choose a mate," explained Alfred, trying to hide his smile unsuccessfully.
Raising an eyebrow, Aella looked over Jogug"s sweaty body, relieved that it no longer elicited the reaction she was having earlier, and said, "I have taken no mate yet. I have found none worthy and don"t have the time to mess with them."
"I understand. Being the leader can take much of your time away from raising children. That must be why women don"t normally become leaders."
Biting her tongue, to keep from responding, she could only shake her head at this strange orc. She needed to talk to her dad. If that was something she had to worry about on a frequent basis, then she needed to know how to deal with it. He would know, but would he tell her?