Breath of Fire Infinite
It all started when her mother asked her to go to the store and fetch some milk...She had always hated the way her mother would fuss about what she wore. Anything black was forbidden, though ninety percent of the outfits Nina kept were either black or red.
"Nina, don't bother getting yourself dolled up! Just wear a t-shirt. You're only going to the corner store...", her mother called up the stairs to her. So she threw on the ugliest thing she could find, which is usually something her mother would want her to wear.
"Mother, I'm aware! You don't need to nitpick!", she yelled back as she opened the door to leave. "Oh Nina! That looks cute on you, I never see you wear such things!", her mother came in from the kitchen smiling as she said this and Nina could do nothing save roll her eyes as she walked out the door. She had always hated compliments, especially from her mother. It was because she thought herself plain and unremarkable. She hated the dull brown of her hair and eyes and the fact that she was pale. Sighing heavily, she trudged through the rain, listening to the cheery morning songs of sparrows with detached interest. Though the rain was only a mere trickle, it did not help to improve her mood any. Neither did the pale grey sky that was shrouded in thick black clouds.
She did not notice the boy that was watching her from a distance. He had been following her since she left the house and was gazing intently at her as she paused to feed a small group of sparrows. The sparrows chirped and fluffed up their wings gratefully as she threw them some scraps from her breakfast. It had become a daily ritual to do so, for nothing currently held her instance for any long amount of time save animals. The boy attempted to take a step closer, (he had been concealing himself behind a nearby tree), but the sparrows noted this and their happy chirps became nasily, rasping screeches as they scattered to whatever roofs and telephone wires they could find. Nina looked around quickly, barely thinking anything of it, and continued on dejectedly. The amount of time she spent in the store was rather hurried and it seemed as though she despised being there. She was not fond of people, though the boy noticed she was overly friendly to hide this. He tried to catch her eye but she was oblivious to him, so he followed her back home....
About halfway there, Nina turned around as if she suddenly sensed his presence. Her eyes widened slightly and she took a step toward him. " Have you been following me?! I knew I felt someone watching me!", she called to him through the rain, (the winds had grown stronger and the rain went from a sprinkling to a near deluge). She ran towards him through the blinding sheets of water and reached for his throat, "This is your fault! I could have been home by now! Now I'm fucking drenched!" He was startled by the fire in her eyes and the fact that she reacted in such a manner. Seeing the look of utter shock on his face, she said more quietly, "Just what do you expect from me? Why are you here?"
"How unladylike of you...", he snapped as he pulled her hand from his neck. "How did you know that I was following you? I could have just been going the same direction as you. Did you ever think of that?!" She cupped her hands over her ears as a deafening cacophony of thunder abruptly ended their conversation. The boy snatched her hand in his and told her to hold on tightly. Of course her reaction was to flail wildly at him with her other hand, which was clenched into a fist. "What the hell?! Just what do you think you're doing?!", she looked as though she would say something more but was abruptly cut off by more ear-splitting thunder and a barrage of lightning that rent the sky and blinded her in a wash of pure, white light. She winced and tried to shield her eyes but the next thing she saw made herjump back in surprise...
A flood of colors swirled around her and the crashing of thunder had dulled into a low rumbling. She panicked when she felt the earth give way beneath her. "What is this?!", she called to the boy as she fell from his grasp. He suddenly looked very frightened, more so than anyone she had ever seen, and he threw something in her direction. The object hurtled toward her as the colors brightened into opaque flashes of light. It was before she blacked out that she felt the object tangle within her fingers and, almost instinctively, she closed her hand forcefully around it as if it would somehow save her. The last think she heard was a sharp crack and someone calling to her....They called her Princess Nina.
When she came to, the first thing she saw was the sky. How beautiful it was. Pale blue with traces of amber and gold beneath the thin wisps of cloud. The rain appeared to have never been at all and she could no longer hear the faint groaning of thunder. What replaced it was the high-pitched twittering of a seemingly infinite amount of nearby song birds. She attempted to sit up but found that her arm was trapped under something. Laying with about ninety percent of his body draped on hers, was the boy. "What the hell! Get off of me!", she snapped, enraged by the fact that his hand was across her chest. When she noticed he was unconcious, she felt a tad embarrassed without really knowing why and tried to help him up. He moaned slightly and one eye slowly opened. When he saw her looking down at him worriedly, he was instantly awake, alert, and....blushing. "What?", Nina questioned, seeing his eyes wandering to the side of her head. Involuntarily, her hand grasped a strand of hair, her hair. But something was different. She craned her neck to look down at the foreign thing she was holding and was surprised to see a tightly curled locke of golden blonde hair. "What happened to my hair?!......And...my skin?", she gasped, examining the strange, ghostly pale skin tone that had enveloped her. The boy stood up as well, and she immediately noticed that he was about her age and very.....cute.
Guessing that, with all the commotion, she had not had the time to really take a good look at him, Nina was suddenly taken aback by how good looking he was. He was slightly shorter than her and had large, crystalline blue eyes and long hair that was tied back into a ponytail that came down to his waste. The odd part was that his hair was a bright shade of blue, which she figured she would ignore for the time being. Otherwise he looked perfectly normal, though he was wearing somewhat medieval looking garments and had a sheath for what looked like a very large sword strapped to his waist. She noted that the sword was missing. "Well, do you mind explaining yet?", she snapped at him when she noticed that he was giving her the same once-over inspection. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but instead looked to the north of them. His eyes were expectant. When she looked in the same direction, she was startled out of her wits when she saw an immense castle towering before them. It was composed of glossy marble and menacing statues of birds of prey loomed at the gates, as if warning them not to come any closer. "What the-", she started to shout at him but was interrupted by another voice....
"Princess Nina, it's good to see you home at last!", the voice called to her. A strange figure was approaching them from the castle gates. The voice was from a male, but there was something odd about the bristly silhouette that was nearing them. Nina almost fell over with the shock of it when she saw a bi-ped wolf with clothing and a sword running up to them. Her jaw dropped open and her eyes widened as he came up to her and bowed graciously. "Princess, your mother has been so worried about you. Indeed the entire castle had all but given up on your safe return", he said to her, bowing lower to the ground. Not really knowing how to react to such a spectacle, Nina just froze, mouth still agape. The creature that stood before her walked on two legs, had the head of a grey wolf, and it wore the same medieval armor as the boy. Momentarily, she regained her composure and smiled nervously, saying "I actually have no idea where I am. It would be more than a pleasure if someone could help me with that." The wolf turned a surprised eye on the boy, who responded with a shrug. "She doesn't seem to remember anything," he said, smirking slightly. The wolf began to look worried.
"Um, if I may.....your names and what I'm doing here?" Nina prodded. The wolf shook his head and sighed. "Princess......." The boy suddenly burst out laughing, which sent Nina into a frenzy. "Listen, You! If you don't explain what the fuck is going on in the next five seconds, you'll be choking on your-" The wolf stopped her with, "Princess! What on earth has gotten into you?!" After watching her piss and moan a bit more, the boy told her that his name was Ryu and that the wolf was Nemuren, who, at the mention of his name, bowed once again. "The story of why you're here is kind of long, but I guess I could summarize it for now.....This is your real home and, as you've probably figured out by now, you're a princess. That other world you thought was real was just another dimension you were thrown into when you were cursed." Nina looked incredulous. "Curse?! Dimension?!! What the hell?!" She looked as if she wanted to say a lot more but only a long, exasperated sigh followed. Nemuren, smiling warmly, comforted her with, "It's good to have you back, Princess. Now, your kingdom awaits you. More will be explained when you are settled in. Shall we go?" When Nina abruptly decided to saunter past the both of them and not turn to see if they were following, they exchanged concerned glances.
The castle itself was simply amazing with its marble halls, elaborate paintings, towering archways and looming staircases. Nina could barely refrain from repeatedly gasping at each new sight. Ryu attempted to conceal a small chuckle as he watched her flutter to and fro like a small child. Nemuren seemed a bit uneasy at the sight of it. He hadn't yet grasped the fact that the princess had amnesia. He swung a sidelong glance Ryu's way and whispered, "What will the queen say about this? She is expecting the Princess' safe return. That includes being in good health." Ryu simply laughed to himself. "She'll be fine. Once she gets used to the idea of living in a place like this." Nemuren looked puzzled. "A place like this?" Ryu shook his head, "Yeah, you should have seen where she had been living in that other world...." With that, he suddenly burst out with more laughter than before. Nemuren simply huffed his frustration and took Nina's hand. "Come, Princess. I will show you to your room."
Nina did not know quite how to react to her "room". It certainly looked fit for a princess with its towering marble ceiling and heaping mountains of jewelry and various riches piled high upon gold plated dressers. The massive bed was intricately carved and took up a good portion of the room and the sheets that adorned it were of shimmering satin and silk. She merely stood, gape mouthed at the spectacle of it as Nemuren and Ryu watched her curiously. "So, Princess....You remember nothing then? This is your room and has been since you were about ten years old." She simply turned to gawk at Nemuren, whom regarded her with the same steady, worried gaze he had been giving her for some time now.
"I think we should leave her alone for awhile." Ryu piped up from behind him and attempted to pull him from the room. "She needs to adjust."
Finally alone, Nina could barely piece together the events that had just transpired in the last few hours. She had been wrenched from her dull and tedious world and thrown headlong into a world that of boys with bright blue hair, riches beyond her wildest imaginings, and biped talking wolves. She loved it more than dared question it. She saw no reason to wake herself from a dream that was on the furthest end of the spectrum from a nightmare. She wanted to stay awhile and see what it had to offer.
A few hours later, Nemuren returned and knocked on her door. She had been examining the various paintings and murals at the far end of the room when he entered. "Princess, Are you at ease? Is there anything I can do for you. Please do not hesitate to ask." She simply looked at him with still lingering disbelief and slapped a hand to her forehead. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't be too much to ask if someone could show me around...." Nemuren smiled. "Of course, Princess."
The castle was larger than she could have possibly imagined. The looming corridors of marble and ivory echoed with each step she took and the immense stained glass windows glared with a fiery, blinding light as she passed them. Nemuren seemed very much to enjoy giving explanations of each room and passageway. It seemed each and every part of the castle held a special history. After an hour of exploration, Nina turned to the wolf and chose a rather odd question. "If I am the Princess, like you keep telling me, then who is my mother? I mean, she can't possibly be a queen. It's impossible.." Nemuren looked taken aback. "Yes, why, of course your mother is the queen. She awaits you in the dining hall as we speak." At that he suddenly realized the importance of his own words. "Ah!....I've forgotten! You need to prepare for the special banquet party your mother has thrown in honor of your safe return. Hurry! You must get up to your room and change into something suitable." Nina attempted to protest, but Nemuren prodded her around the next corner and back up to her room. Wow, this place is a frickin maze. Who knew this stairway would lead back to my room. I mean, we've been walking for hours..., the random thought entered her mind as she was pushed gently up the ornately carved staircase.
When they reached her room, Ryu was leaning against the archway with an impatient expression on his face. "What's your problem?!" Nina went to grasp at his throat but was hurriedly rushed into her room by Nemuren. "Princess, please hurry. You don't have much time and your mother will be very displeased if you don't look your best." When she heard that, Nina tried to claw her way back out the door, screaming, "Excuse me?! My mother will be displeased?! Shouldn't she be more worried about my safe-", she attempted to say more but the door was slammed in her face by Ryu. "She's a bit more whiny than I remember. Don't you think?" he asked a worried Nemuren. He was pacing and wringing his hands in such a manner that Ryu could not help chuckling. "What do you mean by laughing? Your not in good shape yourself, might I add. If the queen finds out that your still within these walls, she'll have you beheaded." Nemuren snapped at him, flicking his right ear. This being a sign of the utmost annoyancer. "Yeah, I know. I'm not afraid of that old hag. And besides, this is too good to miss. Nina used to hate the outfits that her mother forced on her." This caused Nemuren to suddenly remember something else. "Ah, the Princess needs her new dress the queen special ordered for her." With that, he rushed into the room and found Nina glaring hard at him. "Don't you dare tell me-" she began to say but was cut off by, "You must wear this." He threw a poofy, ballroom dance style gown at her with ruffled sleeves and more taffeta than could choke a horse and then exited the room.
Nina was left staring at her own startling reflection. Her massively dull brown eyes had been transformed to a sapphire blue and her hair to shoulder length lockes of tightly curled blonde. She resisted slapping a hand to her forhead in exasperation. Instead, she examined the ballroom dress Nemuren had prepared for her and almost choked on her disgusted gasp. It was full of shimmering sequins, jewels, feathers, and glowing baubles that she could not identify. "Wow. Overkill..." she said to herself, her gut wrenching at the prospect of wearing such a thing. So saying, she tossed it aside and began digging through the nearest dresser, attempting to find some material or clothing she could work with.
Meanwhile, Nemuren and Ryu stood waiting outside her door, exchanging glances at the odd noises they heard within. Muffled clanks and thumps issued forth from behind the marble door and Nemuren began to sigh softly, steeling nervous glances toward the hall, praying the queen would not send for him. After two long hours, Nina finally announced to them that she had finished and Nemuren breathed a great sigh of relief and grabbed at the already twisting doorknob. His relief was immediately replaced with pure and utter shock as his eyes took in what the Princess of Wyndia had adorned herself with. She stood before them, glaring hard at Ryu for some unknown reason. Her hair was dyed bright pink, the curls gone and the straight lockes that remained hung down from either side of her head down past her knees. Her hair in the back had been chopped off and barely reached past her ears. Her blue eyes had been replaced with pale pink contact lenses and she wore an outfit of her own creation. A black leather affair that was like a dress but with chains, clasps, and buckles hanging from it in all directions. She wore knee high black boots to complement it. Nemuren could barely open his maw, let alone speak. Ryu took one long look and abruptly began laughing as hard as he could.
His laughter shot through her, snapping each nerve in turn, until it flared up in her eyes as an unreasonable rage. She opened her mouth to snap at him, but was cut of by Nemuren's dumbstruck whining, "Princess, what have you done with your clothes?" he yelped, his ears flattened against his skull and his amber eyes widened with fear. "Oh, just a few nimor alterations..." she began and was once again interrupted. This time a string of bells hanging above the archway to her room rang with a thin clatter. "Is that supposed to be a dinner bell?" Nina asked, pointing at the disturbance. Nemuren looked as if he would drop dead then and there. "Oh, it'll be alright. Her mother will get over it." Ryu could barely muffle his laughter. Before Nina could smack him, Nemuren grabbed her wrist and lead her silently down the corridor. Sensing a massive error on her part, she decided to keep her mouth shut. She guessed that he was taking her to the banquet.
The marble corridors, after twisting on seemingly endlessly, finally gave way to an immense dining hall flooded with tables studded with what appeared to be diamonds.
