Sorry about the late update, everyone! I've been really busy and bogged down with writer's block. This chapter really isn't finished, at least, not as finished as I'd have liked, and the story's moving a little slow. But I thought that since I've had it for months now, I'll just post it. I'm also doing all of this from memory, so it's probably not very accurate. That said, here's the standard "please review," and I'll be off to work on Detective Riku for a while.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tsubasa Chronicle or MKR. Duh.
The vessel of wind blushed a deep red when she discovered that she had been saved by the handsome Prince Ferio. Again. It wasn't that she disliked being rescued, just, it got embarrassing after a while. But, she had to admit, Fuu was glad that he had decided to show up here. Strangely, she liked having him around. The rest of the world seemed to fade away when he smiled at her. Was it… love?
-0-/-0-
Caldina stood stock-still, in the shadow of a particularly thick tree. Then, ever so slightly, her fingers twitched. A small blue bird plummeted to the ground from the leaves above her. Just before it hit, the bird suddenly stopped, frozen in midair. The fingers moved again, and the tiny animal shot up three feet, still motionless save its eye, which rolled in anger at the illusionist. Her face breaking into a wide grin, Caldina flicked her wrist and released the bird; it flapped away as fast as it could go, streaking deep into the forest. High above her, a rustling sound could be heard. Mokona popped his head out through the thick foliage.
"Wow! That was so cool! You can use magic just like Fai-san!" he exclaimed in amazement. Caldina tilted her head all the way back to stare at the white marshmallow. "Who's Fai-san?" she asked.
Mokona hopped down onto her shoulder before answering. "He's a magician that Syaoran-kun and Mokona Modoki used to travel with. He's from a different world." Before Mokona could add anything else, Caldina turned her head sharply, distracted by a sound in the distance. She could hear a clamoring ring, though faint, growing in intensity.
"Hmm… Sounds like a fight. Hey, Mokona," she said, getting an idea, "wanna come with me and see what's up? I'll bet there's some treasure or money we can steal!"
"Okay!"
They set off through the trees, Caldina hopping happily along at the prospect of more gold. She would just slip in quickly, scan the field to see if there were possessions ripe for theft, and get out of there as fast as she could. There was no point in risking her life for a simple job like this. Though she made it a point to steal only from Emeraude and her cronies. It was clear where her loyalties lay.
Loyalties… she mused. Reminds me of royalties, which reminds me of…MONEY!
Hey, there was one now! Caldina could distinctly detect each scrape of steel on steel as they got closer. She rubbed her hands in anticipation. Soon, she would be filthy rich, if the enemy was carrying rare weapons or better yet, pure gold. The illusionist could remember the last time she'd pulled a fast one on someone, and quite a fast one it had been. She'd taken the Emerald of the Wind Shrine, a real treasure, even to those who didn't know its value. But Caldina? Instant recognition, she was that good. And she hadn't sold it either. Though it would have brought her a vast sum, Caldina had hidden it away in one of her secret caches in the forest. It would probably come in handy later.
Here, she slowed down. It wasn't wise to alert her intended targets to her existence if she wanted a clean steal. Ducking behind a tree, Caldina carefully sneaked a peek around the tree. A massacre awaited her eyes. Armored soldiers had overrun the field as a few rebel fighters were trampled underfoot. She gasped as she saw the faces of the dying closest to her. She knew those people! It was a horror to behold for her as Caldina watched the ones she passed every day die before her wide eyes. Mokona chose this moment to pop his head up. Unfortunately, he wasn't very familiar with the way spies work. The first sounds that came from his gigantic mouth could be heard miles away.
"Mokona sees… dead people!"
Quickly, but not fast enough, the illusionist clamped a hand over the marshmallow's mouth. "Quiet!" she hissed. "They'll hear…" But it was too late. Immediately, the clank of armor could be heard as some of the soldiers reversed direction to see who was hiding behind the tree. Caldina contemplated the possibility of escape for the few short moments before they were completely surrounded.
"Uh… Hey, uh, how're you guys doin'? Eheh…"
-0-/-0-
Hikaru led her squadron through the shadows of the forest. As one of the primary leaders of the army, she had gathered a good amount of soldiers to accompany her. She felt reassured by the numbers, though she knew that a smaller group would have better luck here. General Lafarga had taken that route, personally heading the ranks sent to capture the Sacred Fountain. Hikaru relied on his skill and experience there. She knew Emeraude wouldn't tolerate failure; Hikaru had seen that even from the few days she'd been in this world.
In any case, this was her first battle, and it was important to make a good impression. Otherwise, she may never find her true home.
Whipping out the crude map she had sketched from memory, she mentally traced her path again. First, west toward the tunnel-like branches. A small rebel force would be stationed there. Finish them off and move on. Make a sharp right in the center of the tunnel to come out into a small clearing. More than likely, another group hid there as an ambush. After that, the trail would be relatively easy to follow; discreet yellow markers showed the way to the Sacred Fountain, where General Lafarga would be waiting. The other parts of her army had their own routes to travel, each leading to the Fountain. If all went well, they could be done with this in a few hours.
Hikaru unsheathed the sword given to her by Emeraude, unnaturally calm. She'd thought her heart would have been pounding by now, adrenaline rushing through her veins. But there was no time to ponder that now. Raising her blade, she called to her men: "Begin the assault; prepare to battle!"
Now, her heart did race, caught up in the excitement of war. Battle was joined!
-0-/-0-
Umi sighed as Ganel and Koren got into another argument. This time, it seemed to be about each other's fighting style. To tell the truth, she was tired of them. Here they were in the heat of battle, and they were arguing with each other instead of engaging the enemy! Right when there seemed to be a lull in the fighting, they'd go for each other's heads again. It was enough to make her puke.
Suddenly, one of the mages was killed. At least that put a stop to the quarrel. Umi whirled around, trying to see what had happened. Her eyes detected a mysterious shadow receding from the dead mage. Purely be instinct, she lashed out with her rapier, just catching the figure on the shoulder. A spray of blood spurted out from the wound as the shadow cursed, clutching his cut.
"They're over here!" Umi yelled, unnecessarily, as the other members of her party had already shifted to face that direction. The wounded soldier stood in the front, flanked by at least five others, all with naked steel in their hands.
Ganel growled and opened his mouth in preparation to speak, but Koren stepped in front of him, cutting Ganel off. "So you're the ones who killed Siele?" he asked. Strangely, the blond swordsman still had a faintly amused expression on his face, probably due to Ganel's reaction. "Koren! That was MY line!"
"Too slow."
Without warning, the enemy soldiers attacked. Umi found herself in the midst of a battle where she realized the cold truth: she was fighting for her life. But she'd scraped up a few skills from her short time here. Her reflexes were definitely a lot sharper than before. Parry after lightning-fast parry no longer seemed to take thought; she had settled into a sort of rhythm, keeping watch for any tricks her opponent might try.
Her arms were getting tired. She'd never fought for such a long time before, and at such a high speed. Umi knew that she wouldn't hold out for much longer. It was only a matter of time until she failed to block another stroke, or the sweat from her palms would allow the hilt to slip from her grasp, and the enemy would cut her down, just like poor Siele…
An arrow streaked across her field of vision to embed itself in the neck of her attacker. He groaned and fell backwards, completely taken off guard. The blood oozed out of his wound slowly, staining his armor, clothes, and the grass beneath him. It was Umi's first encounter with death on the battlefield, but there was no time to consider it. She only paused to wipe away flecks of blood and sweat from her arms and face. There would be time later to dwell upon how disgusting this was, and to want new clothes and a bath.
Apparently, there had been more than five soldiers, for a new wave had begun to pour into the small space between the trees. Luckily, this was a place where the rare sunlight penetrated the canopy to allow a bit of easier sight.
"Behind you, Umi!"
She heard the desperate yell, but when she turned, it was too late to raise her blade. Filled with panic, she did the first thing that came to mind.
"Water Dragon!"
A stream of blue light shot out of the palm that she had raised to protect herself. The light formed itself into the shape of a dragon, with its mouth opened in a snarl. Umi's magic wound around her attacker's head and limbs, effectively drowning him. The body thudded to the ground limply. In the space that she had acquired, Umi paused to take a few deep breaths, something she had not the time for since the battle had begun.
Around her, her allies were just finishing things up. The last two or three soldiers had decided to escape, probably to collect their pay. Oh, no. Koren and Ganel were at it again.
"You could have killed me with that wild swing of yours! What were you thinking?"
"Calm down, Ganel. I just miscalculated, that's all. You don't have to get so worked up. I'm the best swordsman here anyways. You wouldn't have been missed." Koren wisely took a careful step back after these words found their way out of his mouth. "Oops, did I say that out loud?" He chuckled nervously as his cousin stepped forward menacingly.
"You wanna say that 'out loud' again? To my blade?"
"Eheh… Actually, I'd rather not. Run away!"
"Grr… Koren, get back here, you! I haven't finished beating you up yet!"
Umi gave a sigh of relief as they both raced away, as did the rest of the party. Frankly, all of them were quite annoyed with Ganel and Koren's "chatty nature." It was always a trial of sanity for anyone working with them when the cousins were stuck in the same group. Sadly, that happened far too often. Besides, who has the time to be joking around when one of them had passed on?
The lone summoner, whose name Umi remembered as Yourai, knelt at Siele's body. She tried to lift the deadweight, but it proved too much for her. An archer came over to help. Siele had been a constant, always there with her bubbly personality. She'd brightened the spirits of the rebels many a time, and now she was gone. Though she'd not known the mage for long, Umi had become somewhat friends with her.
They were trying to bury her. There were no shovels, but each did their best with scratching a hole deep enough to lay Siele's body into the ground. With tears blurring her eyes, Umi extended a trembling hand that carted away yet another handful of dirt.
-0-/-0-
Ascot was silent during the whole trip. He was a quiet child, but he possessed great magic. Several times, Syaoran had tried to spark up a conversation, but Ascot stubbornly kept his mouth tightly closed. About halfway through the journey, the boy had decided to summon a small creature to keep him company. The spherical pink bird he had chosen flitted around his hands and face as they walked along.
It was strangely silent in this part of the forest. Being relatively new, it was easy for Syaoran to get lost, as he thought he was now. Didn't they already pass this stump? As he stood before it, puzzled, Ascot turned without hesitation onto a path that Syaoran had not seen before. It seemed that the child had done a nice bit of exploring, because the path led them to a bright clearing, larger that most, where a lone figure sat in front of a… What was that? It looked something like a monument or stand, but the top seemed to be entirely flat. Another mystery of Clow, he supposed. He made a mental note to properly examine it later, as it was probably a remnant of an earlier culture, and so might have some connections to the ruins he'd been excavating that fateful night.
Still, the one he had wanted to visit was here.
"Guru Clef!"
The figure turned.
"Ah, Syaoran, and young Ascot! How did you find your way here?"
"Well, it was mostly Ascot. I, uh, kind of got us lost." Syaoran laughed, embarrassed, as he scratched at his head. "I wanted to ask you about something." Here his expression changed, as light humor gave way to seriousness.
Clef gave a slight smile, wisdom reflected in his eyes despite his age. "It's about the princess?"
Syaoran's nod, almost imperceptible, was his answer.
"Well, then, let's see… I'll start from the beginning, from when Hime-sama was trapped by this unfortunate event."
-Merodi-chan, 3.11.06