Awakened Nightmare [C Rank Exam -- Lilian]

1 AM
There was a festival going on in Rose Garden to commemorate the dead.  People lined the streets wearing Plague Doctor Masks as a means of warding off a terrifying disease.  While this festival was conceived during a more primitive time, it also worked as a social gathering and worked as a very lucrative means of tourism.  This festival drew in thousands of people world-wide to take part in this interesting event.  

The sound of fireworks popping could be heard along with the follow-up crackling.  The Fireworks blew up in a beautiful display of colors and lights.  Each firework came with it's own particular scent, each scent being very pleasing to the nose.  The lights and smells evoked emotions in those that watch.  Crazy displays could be seen on the main street with women flashing others for beads while still maintaining their Plague Doctor Masks.  Fanfare could be heard as each display of flesh was made.  This is, most certainly, not something for children or those that are easily offended.

A note was slipped under the Lilian's door.  Inside of the note, it reads.  

The Note wrote:To you, dear mage...
I don't have a lot of time...
Neither do you...
They're coming!!
This festival isn't what you think it is...
You have to get out!

As soon as Lilian reads the note, a loud scream could be heard before the sound of dragging could be heard in the distance.  If Lilian walked outside of her room to investigate, she would notice a long trail of blood leading out the door.  It would be assumed that it was the blood of the man that left her the note.  This trail of blood leads all the way out of the hotel that she was staying at, going all the way outside towards the main street where the majority of the partying happened.  

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Alright..  So let's start off with 500 words to start off with.

Well this certainly wasn't the scenery that Lilian had expected for her night. She had just got back from her home, after Gerome healed up her broken arm from a job she recently took. As she was flying along she found a hotel, where she decided to stay for the night. Approaching the front counter, she ordered one room key, then walked out of the hotel and out onto the streets. She seen nearly everyone wearing weird mask things that made them look like weird Albino Penguins or something. Asking around, she found out that this was a festival for the dead.

"Why isn't she wearing a mask?"

"She'll bring us all bad omens!"

"She's a sign! We'll be inflicted with disease!"

People around her spoke, and Lilian felt it. The nervous feeling that she got when a multitude of people were staring at her. Slowly freaking out inside, her breathing got heavy and she quickly ran back into the inn, especially considering the flashing and now nearly naked women outside didn't make her feel any better.

"Marshy, you stay outside, kay? I don't want you inside as you're too big." She grabbed the black and purple spear out of the pack, then used its ability. Two skeletons rose from the ground, and got on one knee.

"We live tp serve, Lord Pluto." The two said in unison.

"I told you guys, don't call me that! Pluto is my great great great... Well you can say 'Many Greats' Grandpa, okay!?" Lilian said, and motioned for the two to come into her room.

"Now, if good ol' grandpappy told you two to be my retainers, then I gotta get to know you guys better, mmkay? Let's start with you, Lyon." Lilian said, not noticing the note that just slid under the door.

"My name is Lyon, I am a retainer to Lord Pluto's many great's-"

"I already know that! Ugh, I want to kn-"

A scream.

Lilian quickly hopped up, and swung open the door to find a blood stain leading down the hallway. She was about to run down there with spear in hand, until...

"Lord Pl- I mean Lady Lilian! A note!" Zen said to her. His boney hand picked up the note and gave it to her. Quickly glossing over the note to save time, Lilian took in the info and quickly dashed down the hallway, following the trail of blood to the end of the hallway. She reached a door that led to the outside balcony, and quickly grabbed the doorknob until both Zen and Lyon grabbed her arm.

"Milady! I can not allow you to go through that door. Whatever is back there poses a threat to you. And that letter? Whoever sent that to you was trying to warn you. Ms Lilian, as your retainer I must-" Lily cut him off.

"Stop it. I'm going into that door! A hero wouldn't stand by as others are harmed, even at any cost! Danger or not!"
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TFW you type exactly 500 words XD

If Lilian opened the door, she would notice the bloodstain continued out and into the crowd of people from earlier. The ones partying, raving, and showing off their private parts for small plastic balls on a string. From within the crowd, it appears that the people wearing the masks were starting to eat the man. Blood splattering everywhere. Occasionally, one of the masked people look upwards, having blood covering their mask.

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Yup, it's a shorty. However, I'm going to let you decide on what to do next.

Write 2000 words. Make your own story for this. If you want to fight through them, go ahead.
If you want to unravel a plot on why they have this festival to eat outsiders, that's up to you.
But yeah, 2000 words! Gooooo!

Opening the door, she went out to the balcony, seeing the blood stain continued down the stairs, and curved back around to the main street. Running towards the people, she couldn't find any trace of a dead person, nor a wounded one. She began to start to shudder, wondering how someone could just...

Vanish

She quickly ran over to a penguin mask guy that stood on the outskirts of the party, and tapped his shoulder.

"Excuse me sir, did you see a body get dragged around here?" Lilian said

The man, at first, didn't turn around when he responded.

"What do ya mean!? Of course I saw the newest lamb go by! We all did! That's what those outsiders ge.... HEY!" The man turned around and saw Lilian wasn't wearing a mask, and quickly grabbed her arm.

That was a bad idea.

Lily REALLY didn't like when people touched her without any type of warning. Thus, she freaked out and pushed the man against the wall, making him groan in pain. Lily took a few breaths and crouched next to him, staring into the mask.

"What do you mean by that? And why did you just call that person a 'lamb?'"

"What question can you never truly answer yes to!?" The man maniclly answered her. This left Lilian shortly dumbfounded, until the sound of blade hitting flesh and bound sounded. She quickly looked down, seeing not that she was hurt, but the man stabbed himself with a dagger.

"Sir... SIR! Are you alright!!!" Lilian stood when she realized the man was gone.

"Are you dead..." Her retainer said. "While I may beg to differ, as I can honestly say I'm dead, the answer is 'are you dead.'" Lyon spoke coldly. Lilian made a choking sound, then ran out to the crowd. She turned and continued following the blood trail, until she seen a man talking to the people, wearing the same outfit as the rest.

"Yes! The outsiders caused us this plague! They did it! So, tell me - WHO SHOULD BE PUNISHED!?"

Lilian felt something wash over her. She just felt like submitting to the man. She slowly began to raise her hand, until Zen brought it down and Lyon looked her in the eye.

"What Lyon? I deserve to be killed for starting this plague..."

"Lady Lilian? Please, think like yourself. This man is killing innocents. We must find out why." Suddenly, Lilian snapped back to attention and ran away down back towards the hotel. On her way their she seen a group of five people, each of them crouching by something, the sound of smacking and slurping between them.

"What are they-" Her eyes went wide... The thing the were crouching near was a dead body. And those people were... EATING IT!? She wanted to intervene, but couldn't because of Lyon again. With a shake of his boney head, he told her she had to look as normal as possible, minus the whole mask thing. So she went and continued on, and saw three men with beads in their hands.

"Hey lady, show us your tits and take these beads, huh? We'll let it slide that you're not wearing a mask, if you show us a little more..." The lecherous men brought a glare of death and a deep blush from Lilian, and Zen stood inbetween the three.

"Give her the beads and I won't kill you for thinking the princess of Pluto's throne as some normal whore. You address ROYALTY!" The boney retainer gripped his sword, and prepared to strike until the men dropped the beads and ran.

"Zen, why do that? We don't know what these beads are for, and you could just be branding me more of a whore! Plus, I don't plan on making a name as the queen of the underworld like Grandpappy was, I wanna be the hero of the sagas!" Zen nodded his head, and pointed to two women.

"Perhaps ask them about the beads."

Lilian walked over to the group of three and instinctively closed her eyes. "Mind if I get some info on these beads?"

A silence occured. What broke this silence was outrageous.

"GUYS, THIS OUTSIDER HASN'T BEEN SLAUGHTERED LIKE THE LAMB SHE IS! PLUS SHE HAS BEADS, AND I DUNNO HOW SHE GOT THEM!!!"

Within twenty seconds thirty people surrounded Lilian, Zen, and Lyon.

"We shall defend you at all costs." The skeletons said in unison.

"No! Let them take us, alright? We still have you know who to save us if things go south." Lilian was grabbed by someone in lomg robes and wearing a mask, and Lyon and Zen just vanished into the ground. The last thing Lily saw was a bat, or a club or something hit her in the face.

An hour later, Lily awoke strapped in a chair, in a room of unknown origin. She franctically struggled to get free until someone walked in. He wasn't wearing a mask like the others, but when he spoke Lilian recognized his voice.

"Miz, please excuse the blood on your forehead, let me get that." The man put a paper towel to Lilian's forehead, and she screamed.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"You don't have the right to command me, outsider. Do you know where we are? Who we are? What day this is?"

"We're in Rose Garden... At some festival for the dead... And no, I don't know who you are." Lilian spoke in a woozy voice, the blood loss had gotten to her from the blow to the head. Luckily the bleeding stopped, but she must've been bleeding for a while and her head still hurt like crazy.

"We, my dear, are an orginized society known as Delmecians, not known to many, and I'm the hierophant. We began in Rose Garden when it was first created, long before Black Rose got here! My religion and people follow our way of life, and we populate more of Rose Garden than any guild or outsider. We used to dominate this place even more than we do now, until one outsider came 200 years ago. He brought a disease, a plague that wiped out almost all of our people. Luckily we didn't all die. The way the very little of thrm that survived did, was by eating the man. They killed him and ate his corpse. We believe we took immunity by the man's blood, as he seemed immune to the plague as a whole. So-" Lilian cut him off.

"That isn't how immunity works!" Lilian was met with a VERY hard slap to the face.

"Do NOT interrupt me! Now, every year on this day every year we hold a festival, and everyone that was not born in Rose Garden gets eaten by the commoners, to assure that the plague doesn't come back. People not Delmecian but still born in Rose Garden are also spared. So guess where that leaves you!? However, I will let you live if you can answer one riddle, they are a common form of entertainment to us... So, my dear, what is so fragile, that even saying its name can break it?" The man stared into Lilian's eyes, waiting for a response.

Lilian couldn't think right. All she could think of was where is Marshmallow, Lyon, and Zen were. Lyon would have solved this by now, but Zen would have broken this man's spine... She sat their wondering, completely silent.

Silent.

Silence is when you're completely soundless. By saying something, you break the silence. Saying "Silence" would break it.

"SILENCE!!!" Lilian yelled. The man stood up, and released her. Lilian soon grabbed the man by his jacket and slammed him into the wall.

"Please dear... Don't you want to let me go...? I was just following my birthright as a Delmecian. It isn't like my people are cannibalistic every day, they don't hate outsiders every day, and they don't not value human life or anything..." Lilian got the same feeling as before, the feeling of helplessness, like a strange feeling washed over her and made her succumb to whatever he said. She soon backed off of him, and he led her outside.

"My dear why don't we make a grand display of you okay? I'll take those beads..." Lilian nodded her head, and gave the man her beads. He led her to where he preached before, puttimg on his mask and showing the people both the beads and the woman.

"My people, as we know, these beads are valuable tools to our rite. Any woman wearing these beads is considered holy, not to mention these beads ward off the plague. This woman, HELD THESE BEADS! AN OUTSIDER!!!" The crowd began to uproar, some of them decided to throw stones at Lilian, but she didn't care. She was braindead at the moment.

"With our knife, I'll take her life. With that, those without our beads, may feast on the outsider's blood!" The man drew a knife, and lay Lilian down on the ground. From the sky, a sudden crash onto the ground startled everyone. It was Marshmallow, along with Lyon and Zen.

"Guys, you're ruining the rite! As an outsider this must happen to me! Marshmallow, how could you help them... Marshy.... MARSHY!?" Suddenly it dawned on her, Marshmallow would die as well. And that was nothing she would take in the afterlife. At least not by choice.

Jumping up quickly, Zen amd Lyon checked to see if she was alright, handing her trusty winged lance Vidofnir, to her. Lilian saw the hierophant standing there, arms wide.

"Kill me like the outsider you are. I'm fine with that, it'll only strengthen my hatred for you." Lilian glared at him then thrust her spear at his chest. Her spear became blunt as the near-killing blow was landed, and the man fell unconscious after coughing up some blood.

"Why would I listen to you!?" Lilian said as she walked over to Marshmallow, grabbing some cuffs from her saddle, and cuffing the man. She'd have a great time telling the guard about this. Suddenly, below the man came a blue magic circle and suddenly the crowd began to act different. People took off their masks, the women screamed and ran away trying to find some clothes, and the men just seemed very confused with the whole ordeal. Had they been brainwashed the entire time? Was the story the so-called hierophant told even true? It didn't matter to the Hero-to-Be.

"People of Rose Garden - I am Lilian Truth! As you all may have probably guessed by now, you were brainwashed by a man who claims to be a Delmecian or something. I don't know and don't want to know if that is true, or if the customs practiced by this ordeal are actually true. People died today, sadly. There will be no turning back the past, sadly. If you lost a loved one during this, I know it may not come off as much but I, myself, am entirely sorry for all of this. However Lady Justice did put her faith and power in me, and good triumphed as it always should. Now, I gotta go get to the Guard, okay?" Lilian spoke to the people. She knew many of them would be traumatized, having eaten a person or two, and a lot of them would take what Lilian said with a gain of sand. However Lilian felt the need to speak to the crowd, like she could be a comforting Mother even when her child doesn't want to be comforted. It just felt right. The people in the crowd who actually took her words to heart began to wave in different rates as the rider got atop her wyvern, and as the two skeletons sunk down into the ground again. Lilian didn't know what to think of today as she rode off with the so called hierophant. It all seemed unreal. Who would brainwash an entire city simply to eat outsiders to fullfill the wishes of his possibly fake ancestors? Where were Black Rose? No one but Lilian solved this case, and it was that fact that made her feel like it was unreal.

Well done!
Enjoy C Rank!