Dearest readers, thank you for coming back to read the rewrite. For those of you that are new, welcome. I hope you enjoy my rewrite that is a little more serious than before. Enjoy~
Chapter 1:
"Claire! Go change and set the table for supper!"
I lazily glanced up from my half-written text message and got up from the creaky bed with a sigh. Glancing in the mirror to appraise my hair and loose clothing, I grabbed a red and white sweater dress and some leggings from the dresser nearby. Mom was busily bustling around downstairs trying to cook supper for the three expected guests that would be joining us in the evening. The smell of meat grilling motivated me to dress quickly and then charge down the stairs to the kitchen. I moved around Mom as she grilled the meat to perfection and stabbed spices into it prematurely. I grabbed the plates and cups and set seven places as she flipped the meat on the grill behind me. I heard the oven beep angrily for the fourth time as the smell of bread became a little more toasty than usual.
"Claire, go check on Leon please! Oh, that looks nice dear." She weaved around me carrying a basket of crescent rolls seconds later and set them down next to the folded up table cloth. I rolled my eyes and walked into the living room where Leon usually sat to color in the evening. I found him stretched out next to the fireplace scribbling something in his coloring book.
"Hey Leon." I cooed and sat down next to him. He paid me no mind and continued to color in his firetruck. I glanced up when I saw bright car lights turn the corner and pull into the drive way. Leon got up and toddled away to the kitchen to present his colored picture to Mom. "Mom, they're here!" I shouted. With a smile, I stood up and opened the door as my three friends walked to the front door.
"Hey Star!" Raven shouted, "It's really windy out here!". I smiled and waved back as they climbed the porch steps.
"Raven, Blaze, Shadow, it's nice to see you." I looked over my three friends individually. Raven's bobbed brunette hair came into the house first, followed by Shadow's spiky black hair. Finally, Blaze trotted in scratching his blond jagged hair. I closed the door and turned to face the three. Shadow had already moved to the couch and Raven had relocated herself to the nearest food item. Blaze remained courteously and joked with me about the other two.
"Supper time!" Mom called from the kitchen. Shadow, Blaze, and I all rushed into the kitchen to see Raven practically vibrating in her chair trying not to take a roll. My older brother, Adam, walked in moments later harassing Leon and Mia into their chairs. Mia hollered at him angrily until Mom intervened and sat the two down. "Let's say grace." Mom spoke the prayer and my friends stayed silent during our families prayer.
After supper, I followed my friends into the living room and fired up the PS2. "What do you guys want to play?" I asked as the system ejected Tales of the Abyss into my hand.
"What's that game?" Raven chirped trying to see the title.
"Oh, Tales of the Abyss. It's another tales game." I replied and debated on sticking it back into its case. "I've been trying to go back and do all the 2nd playthrough side quests again." I lit up at a sudden idea, "Do you want to see a really funny scene? I saved right before it."
"Sure." Raven leaned back into the couch and messed with Shadow's toes. Shadow batted her hands away and kicked Raven in the back of the head. She shared a small laugh with Blaze while Raven glared at the back of her head. She shrieked in surprise when Raven suddenly flopped on her and refused to get off. I threw Blaze a controller and hooked up the game.
"Alright, this is where-" I was interrupted by a sudden crash. All four of us turned our heads to see the lawn chair smashing against the patio's glass table. It was continuously thrown into the table by the ferocious winds.
"Oh!" I exclaimed and got up to fix the problem.
Blaze whistled lowly,"That wind is something else...". I slid open the patio door and walked outside towards the chair. I was nearly knocked over the torrent of air that suddenly blasted from the east. Raven and Shadow giggled as I did an odd hop trying to keep precious balance.
"It's not funny!" I whined. I grabbed the chair and tucked it back into the corner of the house where the wind would not blow it so much. Raven and Shadow came out to help move the rest of the chairs into a safer area.
"Much better." I sighed and walked back into the house. I reassured Mom that a robber wasn't trying to break in and sat down next to Blaze. He seemed entranced by the opening theme guitar solo.
"And they say the men do all the work." Raven snapped playfully. Blaze looked up embarrassed and grinned, "I knew you could handle it."
I opened the save file and selected my old file. And there, lo and behold, Peony stood, trying to get the girls to beg for him. "He's fabulous." Shadow snickered and made comments regarding his pants.
"That's the emperor." I grinned and tapped X every so often. "He runs the opposing country of the main character. He also has a pig obsession."
"He reminds me of Cuzco. But instead of buildings, he wants pigs," Raven giggled and made jokes with Shadow on how he'd tear down a village for a pig farm.
"They're actually called rapp-" I gasped suddenly as the lights flicked out as did the game. "No, nonono!" I cursed silently and looked out the window. The neighboring houses electricity was flicking on and off ominously. I sighed and came to the conclusion that something must have hit the power line. "Oh dear, I think the wind knocked something into the power line. Sorry guys." Leon screeched angrily from somewhere upstairs and Mom went about to calming the 6 year old.
"Woah...hey guys, check this out!" Raven waved impatiently for us to come over to her. When I arrived at the glass patio door, I felt my jaw slacken.
There, in the normally beautiful afternoon sky, was what appeared to be a swirling black hole. It drew in the cloud around it and spun quickly.
"It's the beginnings of a tornado!" Blaze shouted, "Everyone, to the basement!"
"Tornadoes don't look like that!" I cried out.
That was the last thing said before the patio door suddenly exploded into a million shattered pieces and the world spun out of control.
"Ugh..." I opened my eyes slowly before quickly shutting them when bright light streamed in. "Huh...?" I wiggled around trying to find out what bed I had accidentally fallen asleep in. I knew it wasn't mine since there was no creaking and I suddenly knew it wasn't a bed at the loud cracking sound. I opened my eyes alarmed and saw that I was not in a room, but in fact, I was hanging from a tree branch suspended by the branch in my sweater dress. My heart seized a little at the realization and I didn't dare look down.
"..." I held my breath and ever so slowly turned to see if the branch was close to snapping. Unfortunately, it was because of my previous squirming, but it didn't look like it would snap anytime soon. Or at least, that's what I thought until I heard a distant 'BANG!' and felt the shock wave coming. I prayed silently for mercy and screamed when the branch snapped and sent me plummeting to the ground.
Luckily, the branch was only a few feet off the ground. However, I didn't remain unscathed. The branch that had previously held me up came down and whacked me in the back.
"Ow..." I groaned and got up. I freed my slightly torn dress from the evil clutches of the branch and dusted off what I could from the black leggings. I rubbed my bare feet and looked around for something to identify where I had fallen. "Where am I? Did the tornado throw me into the woods somewhere?" I looked around again before ultimately giving up. There was no way I could identify anything to tell me where I was. I had certainly never seen the foliage around me before and I hadn't ever taken any horticulture classes.
I heard a rustle behind me and saw a giant catlike creature limp out. It gazed at me and kicked into attack mode in a split second. It snarled and lunged at me.
Screaming, I turned tail and ran away from it as fast as my legs could carry me. Of course, I was pinned to the ground in a split second with claws starting to sink into my back. "Ow, ow Ow OW!" I screeched and started to panic. There was another boom and this time, the shock wave sent us both flying. The sky turned dark for a moment before regaining its former color. I scrambled to my feet and took off before I had even realized what had just happened. I heard the great beast get up and lumber behind me roaring angrily.
I skidded to a stop and squeezed down in between the roots of a large tree. I scooted back to the wall quickly as it thrust its claws into the gap and tried to hook my stomach with them. After 15 minutes of pure terror, it finally gave up and stalked away, looking for new prey. I wheezed quietly and rubbed my throbbing feet carefully.
"Mewww?"
I froze up and slowly turned around to see a little fluffball curled up in the back, staring at me with huge innocent eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief and stared at it. "...What.. are you?" Its huge ears flopped a little as it sat up and toddled over to me. It was pink-ish and white and had the cutest little eyes and posture I had ever seen. It stuck its head in my lap and mewed quietly shaking a little.
As an animal lover, I felt a swell of pride in myself. I pet it gently and held back a quiet coo. There was another scuffling outside the tree and right as I looked up, the same cat like thing from before fell in front of the tree roots, dead. I shrieked and covered my mouth quickly. The thing in my lap squeaked and got up quickly.
"Did you hear something?" I heard a deep tenor ask. The little creature in my lap sprinting out of the roots and away from the area.
"It was just a cheagle. Come on. Let's go before Arietta finds that we killed another one of her friends." Three pairs of boots scuttled on by, each varying sizes. One of them had definitely been a females boots, since it had sharp looking heels on it. I peeked out the roots and saw a wave of red disappear into the forest.
"...Phew..." I slowly climbed out and groaned at the throbbing in my back and feet. I gave the cat like corpse a swift kick as petty revenge and started on my way. It was only after a while that the words 'cheagle' and 'Arietta' kicked in. 'Cheagle... Where have I heard that before...?' I wondered. I froze in my tracks when several militia dressed people surrounded me suddenly, appearing out of the woods from no where.
"Stop right there! You are under arrest!" One of them crowed. I gasped quietly and stood stock still as they came over and clicked handcuffs onto my wrists.
"Wait, can you tell me where I am?" I asked as they led me through the forest. The men remained silent and steered me along the winding path until we emerged out of the forest. Lo and behold, a giant tank like thing was sitting idle in front of the woods. A man with bronze hair was just stepping into the hatch when the men alerted his attention. He paused and turned around to see us and that's when it all clicked.
Jade Curtis looked down at me with his narrow red eyes and his infamous smile. "Tales of the Abyss..." I muttered quietly in shock. He slowly came back down the stairs and paused to look at me.
"Where are you from?" He asked smoothly. Tongue tied, I continued to stare at him unsure of what to answer. "En-Engave."
He looked me up and down and smiled a little. "Oh, perfect timing. We were just heading back. Come, let me give you a ride." He made a signal and they unlocked the handcuffs on my wrist. I rubbed them and was escorted along the rail of the ship. I swallowed hard, knowing that we weren't going to Engave. I couldn't say anything through since we were in Malkuth territory and as a good little farmer, I wouldn't know what was going on.
Quietly lamenting every decision up to this point, I timidly followed the Necromancer into the darkness of the ship.
End of chapter 1...
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