Young Ambition
By: Fairy Friend
"There's been nothing but trouble here lately.... Not too long ago, Briggs and his good-for-nothing crew raided our peaceful town. Luckily, they'd been captured, but not for long. With a bit of wit and luck, they managed to escape, taking the goods with them.
"But, just recently, a villager of ours got lucky and found one of Brigg's men lying unconscious next to this gigantic ship. He claims he's not from Champa, but when you come across someone with long blue hair, you don't know what to expect."
That had been the first thing Sheba had heard when Jenna, Felix, and she had first stepped into the formerly peaceful village of Madra. It was the only thing the village was talking about.
"I wonder what this peculiar man did to anyone," the young girl thought to herself. She followed Felix and Jenna's footsteps as they soon came to a stopping point. Sheba looked up. The room her party was in was dank and cold, as she soon realized that she was in the Madra jail. Sure enough, there was a man who looked to be in his late 'teens, standing behind bars. One of the Madran guards walked right in front of him before she could even get a closer look.
"So, boy, would you mind telling me what you and the rest of Brigg's crew were thinking when you raided our beloved village?" the guard provoked. Another walked to the front of the cell with him.
"I have no clue who you're talking about," the blue-haired man replied calmly.
"Briggs! He's the filthy scum from Champa that goes around stealing things with his crew!"
"I am from no part of Champa."
"Then elaborate!"
"If I told you where I was from, you wouldn't believe me."
The first guard got angry and kicked the jail cell. "Speak! Or let your silence condemn you!"
"I implore you, do not anger me," the man said with tranquility. "Even my patience has its limits."
"A fine jest, boy. But what could you possibly do to me when you're standing behind rows of steel bars?"
Sheba could see nothing at the moment, but she did hear a silent whisper and pretty soon, the puddle that the second guard had been stepping on had turn into a frozen ice pillar. Shocked, the guard fell from the pillar, moaning with pain.
"What was that?" He cried with dismay. "Some sort of black magic?" He sprawled back onto his feet and smoothed his outfit. "I'm out of here!" The guard then limped as quickly as he could out of the jail. The first guard's eyes bulged from his eye sockets.
"You're a monster worse than any Champa men I've ever seen!"
The young man's eyes looked disdained. "I am no monster."
The first guard sighed. "Alright, fine. Continue being a stubborn fool. I'm warning you, though, I will be back." He remarked sharply. He then stormed out of the jail. Soon, it was just Sheba and her group, along with the blue-haired man. She got a closer look at him from where she was standing. He seemed to be quite calm for being locked in a prison.
"The people here are just terrible, aren't they?" Sheba said meekly, hoping to get a word or two from the poor prisoner. He remained silent, his back turned to her. "My name is Sheba."
Finally, the young man turned around and faced her. His face remained the same, but his eyes turned kind. "Piers." He then turned back again.
"Poor guy," she thought to herself. "If only there was someway I could…" Her voice trailed off before she could finish her sentence as she heard a soft scream. She listened again for the voice, but she could not hear it. Just then, it came again.
"…Sheba!" It called. Was she reading someone's whispering mind? No, she couldn't be. It was just her and the prisoner. Wait, just her alone with the prisoner?
"…out, Sheba!" the voice rang again. Sheba gasped. Where was her party? The thought of them gone without her intrigued her-
"Watch out, Sheba!" The voice said, now shouting.
"Huh?" Sheba said innocently.
"Sheba! Watch out!"
Sheba was too slow to respond. She felt the strong piercing of a sharp pair of claws striking across her chest as she then fell silently to the ground.
"Oh, Sheba!"
Piers ran quickly to her side, leaving Felix and Jenna behind in the battle. "Sheba… Sheba, are you alright?"
Sheba said nothing, but moaned as she removed her arm from her stomach to show a patch of red blood on her clothes. The water adept closed his eyes firmly as his cold hand touched her shoulder. "Ply well," he whispered. The psynergy hadn't worked. His eyes turned worried.
"She's been downed," Felix said, running with Jenna toward Piers and Sheba. Felix got down on all fours. "Revive."
Sheba's eyes opened slowly as she looked up to her group of friends. Jenna glared down upon the fourteen-year-old blonde.
"What in the world were you thinking out there?" Jenna lashed. "I mean, I've seen some ridiculous stunts from you but that was just plain stupid!"
"I'm sorry, Jenna, really, I am," Sheba murmured.
"Of all the times to daydream, why did you then? You could've saved Felix and me from some trouble, had you not had your head in the clouds!" The fire adept raged, tempestuous.
"Leave it be," Piers intruded. "It was a simple mistake. No one is perfect."
Jenna tried to put on a happy face, but instead ended up looking miffed. She walked away with Felix, leaving Piers and Sheba to themselves. Sheba smiled up at him.
"Thanks for curing me," the young girl said softly.
"Don't thank me; Felix was the one who revived you. I only came by to help you up," Piers replied.
"Well... thank you for trying to help me." She grinned. Piers said nothing but acknowledged the reply with a nod.
He then got up and followed Felix and Jenna. Sheba picked herself up and ran after him.
It was obvious that Sheba had developed feelings for him, but she knew the feeling would probably never be mutual. Besides, she figured it was forbidden to like someone not of her people. But she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter every time she thought of him. Her thoughts skipped back to Jenna, the hot-headed, short-tempered girl, seventeen years of age, and the older sister of Felix. No matter what she did, Sheba couldn't help but think that Jenna didn't like her too much. Sheba also had the slight feeling that Jenna had a slight crush on Piers, but she could never seem to tell.
The party eventually headed onto the Lemurian ship, where their source of intelligence, Kraden, was waiting for them. The elderly man smiled at the group.
"Shall we be going to Champa now?" he asked. Tidbits of Sheba's dream popped back into her head. She looked up at the clouds as her mind wandered.
"...Sheba?" said Kraden, waving his hand in front of her face. Sheba shut her eyes and then opened them again.
"Huh? Oh, sorry... I wasn't paying attention. What'd you say?" She said groggily.
"I asked you if you were ready to go to Champa," said Kraden, astonished.
"Sure. Yeah, I guess."
Kraden shot her a look. "Alright." He turned his attention towards Felix. "Well, Felix... I guess we'll be on our way, then. To Champa!"
Authors Notes: Yeah, yeah, I know it's short and it may seem sorta plot-less right now, but trust me, there will be a plot. I promise. But this is only the first chapter, and first chapters aren't exactly my thing, so PLEASE read and review! I beg of you! XD
Fairy Friend