Second Chances
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
The original characters, places, summons, from the games Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age are copyrighted trademarks of Nintendo and Camelot. All rights reserved
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Alex, where are you taking me?" Mia asked as Alex guided her through a snowy forest that seemed endless.
He smiled. "Ssshh..." he silenced.
The forest seemed to hush as he led her to an opening, the only sounds being the soft crunch crunch crunch of their feet against the light snow.
It was mid fall; the snow shimmered where the patches of sun light shown through. Even in Imil, the leaves made stunning displays of amber and burgundy against the snow.
Once they entered the clearing, Alex slowed to a stop. The clearing was obviously special, for the trees and their leaves, were like porcelain the way the ice would not leave. Mia had to shield her eyes from the blinding light that reflected off the porcelain like trees.
"It's so beautiful..." Mia happily sighed.
Alex turned to her. "Here, this is for you." He held his hands out to her, still clasped over whatever was inside. "It may be small, but it has a lot of power...it could kind of be like a pet in a way..." he opened his hands revealing a small animal. "They're called 'djinn'."
"Hi! I'm Fizz!" the djinn squeaked as it jumped up onto her shoulder.
Mia blushed, "Alex... it's so cute..."
"Mia, you're blushing...why are you still blushing after we've been in love for over a year?" Alex looked her eye-to-eye.
Mia broke his eye contact. "I don't know...I guess I'm just...unsure..."
Alex pulled her into an embrace. "Unsure...after a year...how are you unsure?" He paused. "...I love you, and I always will."
Mia pulled away. "Alex, you may be twenty-one, but I'm only seventeen. And I don't know what lies ahead. So please, for better or for worse...one more year..."
Alex hesitated. "Please, Mia. I promise you if you stay with me, there will be no 'or worse'." His voice sounded pleading.
Mia looked into his eyes, "You can't promise anything."
"Mia..."
"Alex, stop it! Your just making it harder." tears formed in her eyes. "You know I would choose you in an instant, regardless of anything else. I just...have an awkward feeling about the next year..."
"Oh Mia..." Alex put his arms around her to comfort her. "Look at me please. After tomorrow I can't hold that promise unless I know if you love me as much as I love you now."
"Why? Why do you need to know now?" she quietly shook her head.
"I just...because... ...it's...uuh..." Alex tried to explain.
"How about if I said yes?" she leaned on him.
Alex smiled. "You're talking hypothetically, aren't you?"
Mia closed her eyes. "Maybe..." she softly replied.
Alex's heart quickened. "Then I would tell you to meet me at the lighthouse, mid-day."
Mia's eyes quickly opened. "The lighthouse? But that's off limits!"
"For all but the healers..." he smiled.
"Oh Alex..." she sighed.
The two sat down against one of the trees and just conversed until they fell sound asleep...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
One hour later
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Alex slowly opened his eyes. He gently stroked Mia's hair. 'She looks so peaceful when she's asleep. It'll probably be the last time I see her, this peaceful.' He slowly got up as not to wake her.
He bent down and softly kissed her. A thought made his heart turn to ice. 'It may be the last time I ever see her...'
He stood back up and took a big breath for reassurance. With that, he teleported away...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"I'll be right back." Mia told Justin, as she headed out to the door. She was going to the lighthouse to meet Alex.
"Wait!" Justin stopped her. "Shouldn't you check up on the old man in the first house near the road? He's been kinda sick lately."
"Thanks, I'll check on him on my way." Mia waved good-bye to Megan and Justin, and closed the door.
Justin smiled. "Alright! I'm in charge of the sanctum! Megan! You have to make lunch!"
"No way! Not fair! Who put you in charge? Besides Mia's just gonna be gone for a sec...right?" Megan argued.
Justin sat back in the 'Main Healer's Chair' and shrugged. "I dunno, she said she was going somewhere else too. And it /b fair because you were in charge last time!"
"Fine..." Megan sighed.
"Hah!" Justin stuck out his tongue but leaned back too far in the chair and fell back.
At that moment, the sanctum doors blew open, and in came three strangers. Justin quickly scrambled to his feet, and sat back down, trying to look more mature. "Can I help you?"
The tallest out of the three with spiky red hair spoke up. "Is 'Mia' here?"
Then the smallest with blonde hair added to the last ones question. "We came from on behalf of the old man down in the cottage, he's turned deathly ill."
Megan poked her head out of the kitchen, "Mia? You just missed her."
"Yeah," Justin added. "But she was going to that man's house though...but I can help you with any healing you might need!"
By then though, the three had left.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
"So how do you feel?" Mia asked the man after she healed him.
He sat up in bed. "I feel wonderful! Thank you Miss Mia."
"Don't push yourself, you should lie back down." Mia quickly told him. "You too, Ma'am. You should rest in bed too."
Mia turned to the three strangers that followed her. "Can I help you?"
Before they could respond, there came a flash light outside that shown through the window of the small house. Mia rushed to the window. "The lighthouse!"
"Wha?" she heard one of the strangers astound.
The memory ran through her mind. "Alex!" she ran past the three strangers before they had time to react. 'Alex, is this what you meant? By not being able to up hold your promise? I love you with all my heart but...'
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"But why?" Mia asked herself when she went to the lighthouse and saw that the door was blocked by a statue. 'Was it all a cruel joke?' his voice echoed in her mind. 'I love you, and I always will...' She stared at the statue. 'No...he wouldn't...would he?'
She kept staring at the statue, like she was expecting it to move or something...but in fact, it did! She looked over at where the source of the sudden movement of the statue had come from, it was those strangers again.
"Did you just...?" she paused, remembering she had to get going. "Thanks."
She quickly hopped over the gap and cast the Ply spell to unlock the door. She couldn't help but wonder who those mysterious three were. And why they, supposedly, helped her. Were they friends of Alex?
What awaited her at inside the statue filled hallway was a giant lizard fighter. The Mercury Adept knew she couldn't defeat it on her own, so she tried to dart past it; unfortunately, it was practically as fast as her. Leaving her stuck. 'Alex, why are you doing this?'
She heard footsteps from behind her, it was those three people again...what did they want in the light house? They stepped in front of her, challenging the monster. Mia stepped back, feeling stupid. Surprisingly, they were able to defeat the monster quite quickly. Once the monster was gone she ran to the door, turned around, and nodded a 'thanks'. She turned around and went through the door.
She skillfully passed through the room with the stone ledges and water until she, yet again, reached a part where she couldn't get around it alone. A single statue blocked her way...again. 'You did this on purpose, Alex...'
She sighed, "Now what?"
She heard a voice from behind her, "Now, you move on..."
She looked behind her; it was, yet again, those three. The one with hazel-blonde hair spoke. 'Are they following me?' She silently watched as he cast some sort of psynergy, much different to hers, into a hole in front of them. He looked back at her.
She shook her head, relieved. "It looks like you guys have saved me three times. I fear there are more areas ahead of which I cannot pass alone..." But her gaze turned to serious. "Only the healers and high elders are allowed into the lighthouse." She looked at the ceiling, obviously in thought, looked back at them and smiled. "But I have a feeling that I can trust you..."
She joined the three strangers, now known as Garet, Isaac and Ivan, in their quest up the lighthouse. During the time in between the battles, Garet told her what happened and why they were here. During battles, she was dazzled at the different psynergy they unleashed. She now felt better somehow when she was with them, it felt so natural...however she still longed for the answer and her love...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
The battle with the man known as Saturos was hard and long fought, but they were able to prevail.
"Hah we beat him!" Garet cheered.
Saturos slowly got to his feet, but then had to fell to a kneel, cursing under his breath.
"What? But we just beat you?! How can he still be standing?!" Ivan exclaimed.
"I didn't lose to you! I lost to this damned lighthouse!" Saturos growled.
"Wha...?" Garet questioned. All eyes turned to the lit beacon. Expecting something to happen, and something did, but not to their aid.
"It's true. Saturos lost to the lighthouse, not to you." A voice came from behind the beacon, the wielder of the voice stepped out from behind the beacon.
"Alex!" Mia softly gasped. She stepped back, slight tears in her eyes. '*After tomorrow I can't hold that promise unless I know if you love me as much as I love you now.* This is what he meant...violating the rul...no, the whole clan!'
By this time, Alex was already helping Saturos stand. Alex dared not look at Mia, for he knew if he did, we wouldn't have the heart to continue what he was doing.
"What do you mean 'he lost to the lighthouse'?" Ivan ferociously asked Alex.
"Water and fire are opposing elements. This being the Mercury Lighthouse, and Saturos being of the Mars clan, the lighthouse severely limited his psynergy." Alex explained.
"You're kidding!" Garet argued.
"No, I have been watching this whole battle from behind the beacon. Saturos was indeed was at an extreme disadvantage. If the lighthouse hadn't limited his power such, you surely all would've died." Alex briefly hesitated at the word 'died'.
"Isaac, we can't let them get away!" Garet reminded.
"Oh, will you finish him off?" Alex sneered.
"Damn right!" Garet responded angrily.
Alex shook his head, "Another day, another place. But now I must take my leave. I bid you, adieu." At that moment, he teleported, out of sight.
"He did it again!" Garet complained.
Mia quickly looked at Garet. "He's done that before?!" she astounded.
"Yeah," Garet sourly replied, crossing his arms. "He did that when we where in Sol Sanctum."
"Alex never had those powers before..." Mia quietly remarked. 'Tell me this is just a nightmare...'
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Dear Diary,
Month: I Day: IXX
It's been three months that I've been traveling with this group. So far, we've fought a lot of beasts and demons...like killer bees...a tree spirit...a giant kraken...even a giant desert fiend. I'm still worried about Imil though, even though the Hermes water is flowing, I don't know if Megan and Justin were ready for this... Oh sheesh, I should really stop worrying. Everything is going to be fine!
Right now we're in a place called Tolbi. It's crowded beyond compare! We're not even in a private inn right now, we're in the Babi palace in one of the spare rooms, but there are four beds. Good thing for that!
It's weird; I can swear that Isaac's eyes are always on me. I see that glint in his eyes... I just feel sorry for him though...I mean...no matter how much I try, I'll always love Alex. I can't believe I'm saying this but, Isaac is kind o---no, very handsome. He'll find some one else...
Oh who am I trying to kid? I'm a nervous wreck! My heart is in pieces but the pieces are not with me...I just want to wake up from this nightmare/dream or what ever this is!
Mia
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
3 Months Later on the Boat...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Mia was on the bow of the boat, staring into twilight, lost in her own world, having nothing more to do. It was Garet's turn to cook, and she had already served her shift at the orb steering the ship. The sea was tranquil and not a cloud in sight, but then again, no land in sight either...
She suddenly felt an arm around her, hurling her out of her world. Startled, she quickly turned around and instinctively slapped whoever it was, on the face. She realized it was Isaac.
"Oh Isaac! I'm sorry, I didn't know who...you startled me." She half laughed, half apologized. "It was instinctive."
Isaac laughed. "Next time I'll know to carefully approach you when the lights are on, but no one's home." He joked.
"Right." Mia smiled. "So what did you want?"
"Oh...I was just...wondering where you were..." Isaac smiled back.
Mia turned to the sunset. "Do you think we'll ever find land again?"
Isaac shrugged, joining her. "Who knows? ...If what Ivan says is true...then we might see Indra...or Osenia."
"Oh..." Mia drifted off.
There was a somewhat awkward silence between them. Until Isaac broke the silence, he was ready to finally tell her.
"Mia...?" he stepped back, just in case she was in her own world again.
"Hmm?" Mia looked over at him.
Isaac took a deep breath. "Before I saw you in Imil for the first time, I never believed in love at first sight..." he hesitated, regaining his confidence. "But you proved me wrong. Ever since then, I couldn't stop thinking about you. S-Safely of course, but---"he quickly added before Mia interrupted, as politely as interrupting can be.
Mia sighed. "Isaac, I know where you are going. But there's only one person for me...and he betrayed me. I don't want that to happen again. Love is like a rose, as beautiful as it may be, the thorns must never be underestimated..." She spoke with a hint of sorrow in her voice, but was able to keep her voice steady.
Isaac paused, obviously heart-broken. "Do you believe in...Second Chances?" he asked slowly.
Mia looked down at the water below them, and how the boat created the miniature waves. She replied almost instantly. "...No..."
Isaac didn't know how to respond. She was the one he had loved secretly for half a year now and ever since he had first laid eyes on her, and she had rejected him in an instant.
To save them from any awkward moments, they heard Ivan call out, "Man-o- War!"
So they both quickly grabbed their weapons and went to fight the strayed jelly fish. It was an easy victory.
During dinner Isaac ate only half as much as normal, he was depressed, but he wasn't going to give her up...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
The rest of their journey, Isaac hadn't abandoned all hope. Of course, he kept his distance and his mouth shut. They were still friends of course, but just that.
Every once in a while, whenever Mia seemed sad or depressed, Isaac would cheer her up. It was the only times he'd ever seen her cry. Whenever she was most depressed, he would ask her softly, 'Do you believe in Second Chances?' and every time she would still answer the same thing, no. While every time, she seemed more reluctant and hesitant.
It was five days after they completed, or helped complete, the lighting of the lighthouses, everyone was in Vale, helping rebuild everything and getting the town back on track. Everything had turned out actually great, most had found love. The burning flame of love ignited between Jenna and Garet. Though Felix strongly didn't like this, he had his owns problems to worry about. In fact, he and Ivan were somewhat in a small feud over Sheba, small enough that she didn't know, but big enough so that everyone else knew...and Isaac...Mia still loved Alex.
The men were working on rebuilding the houses and inns, while the women were scavenging for anything that might've survived like some silverware or something. Mia approached Isaac.
"Isaac? Where can I find some herbs? Some of the villagers are getting overheated and I should get some herbs for them." Mia explained.
Isaac thought for a moment. "You can probably find some at the most northern part of the village, but I'm not totally sure..."
"Alright, thanks."
Isaac watched her go, he was love struck again. Once he was out of the trance, he mentally laughed at himself, and went back to hammering, little did he know, his new unconscious target was his hand. He hit his hand with a hard force and cursed in pain.
Once Mia had reached the northern most part of Vale, around the 'ruins' of Mt. Alph and Sol Sanctum, she saw the plants Isaac had told her about. She bent down to pick them when she noticed something recluse in the ruins. She cautiously walked over to it...it was a small piece of paper, well, a folded piece of paper...
She opened the paper. Tears filled her eyes. It read:
Whoever finds this message, please give this to Mia, of Imil.
Mia,
Right now, I barely have the strength to write this message. As I write, Mt. Alph is slowly sinking into Weyward. I'm not sure how much more I can write before it's too late. I thought I had it all, I thought I had finally attained the powers of the Golden Sun. I thought I had everything, but I was wrong. I tried to conjure a small storm over Vale, but nothing came of it. Then, the 'Wise One' came and approached me. He told me I had not attained eternal life or limitless psynergy. He was right. I was defeated...it was then I realized...I had nothing...nothing! All this time, my greed for power, had overridden what should've really mattered to me that day. You, if only I hadn't left you that day, you would've never had to suffer...I know what you have been doing. You've been in a kill or be killed world and it's my entire fault. All I want is you, I love you. I always have, and you know that. But what I mean is I'm glad you didn't meet me there at the lighthouse in time, because then you'd be here with me, and the last thing I'd want, would be for you to die. I've seen little, but still seen some of who you travel with, I do not want you to live the rest of your life alone, do not be afraid to rekindle the flame of love. It's no use...I can write no more, the air is scarce.
Alex
Tears blurred her vision; nothing could explain how she felt. Forgetting about the overheating men, she sat down next to the rubble and wept.
~-~-~-~-
Isaac wiped the sweat from his brow. It was late night, but the Inn had been finished. Isaac yelled over to Garet, who was also working on the Inn. "How's it lookin' from down there?" Garet was on the ground, giving the Inn a final look over.
Garet yelled back to Isaac. "Looking good!" Garet gave a big thumbs up.
"Good." Isaac said to himself, as he jumped from the roof and onto the ground next to Garet. The two started to walk over to their tents.
"Didya hear about what happened to one of the villagers?" Garet casually asked Isaac.
Isaac shook his head, "No, what happened?"
"I think he passed out from dehydration. Something like that." Garet shrugged.
"You mean overworking?" Isaac corrected.
"Yeah, that. Anyway, he's in Vault right now in the Healers Sanctum."
Isaac stopped walking. "What? In the Healers Sanctum? You're kidding!"
"No...why would I?" Garet gave Isaac a strange look.
Isaac took a deep breath. "Mia said she would handle the villagers that may have overworked..."
Garet shrugged. "Maybe she missed him."
"I doubt it...If you see my mother or father, tell them I'm taking a walk around the village. Alright?" Isaac asked Garet.
"Sure. You haven't given up on her have you?" Garet grinned.
"Garet, for me to give up on someone like her, is like for you to win against Jenna in a cooking contest."
Isaac turned around in the direction of Vale again. "As true as that is, I resent that!" Garet replied.
Isaac walked past the Inn, Vale seemed so solitary and desolate now. The night veiled the once appealing looking cliffs, making them seem uninviting, as if something hid inside...
Isaac decided to look where he thought she went last, even though that was around seven hours ago. As he neared the stairs, the wind shifted. It used to be a nice, soft, warm breeze, now a harsh, strong, cold breeze. He had always heard that the winds reflect strong emotions. He quickened his pace.
As he neared the ruins he slowed again. He heard light, uneven footsteps. Instincts took over and Isaac quickly ducked behind a tree. The footsteps grew nearer; Isaac took a small peek from where the footsteps came from.
"Mia!" Isaac gasped in horror. She had blood all over her arms, from deep cuts on her wrists, there was blood all over her left shoulder, supposedly also from a deep cut. "Mia? What happened?!"
"I-Isaac!" Mia took one step more, but collapsed, Isaac caught her.
"Mia, what happened?" Isaac asked frantically. "Come on, let's get you to the Sanctum!"
Mia ripped herself out of his arms. "Get your hands off of me!" there seemed to be flames in her eyes. Only after 10 seconds of staring each other down, Mia fell to her knees, in tears. "Alex died, he left me a note. He promised, he told me not to worry. But I still love him...please Isaac, help me. I can't control myself."
Mia was sobbing uncontrollably; Isaac gently stroked her azure hair and closed his eyes. "Mia..." he opened his eyes again. "Do you...believe...in second chances?"
Tears streaming down her face, she looked up at him. "...You always ask me the same thing...and I always reply the same thing..." she struggled to keep her consciousness "...I..." Mia lost consciousness.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Mia awoke in a familiar room. She had bandages on both wrists and her left arm, up to her shoulder. She realized she was in the Sanctum in Imil. She quietly tried to get out of bed; she had succeeded until she messed up by stepping on the creaky floor board.
"Mia!" Justin was on her in an instant. "You shouldn't be outta bed yet! Thank the stars you're still alive!"
Megan giggled, "More like 'thank that man who brought you here'."
Justin nodded as he pushed Mia back in bed. "Yeah, and all the way from Vale even!"
"Vale?" Mia astounded.
"Yup." Megan replied. "Isaac was his name...right?"
"Isaac? Where is he now?" Mia quickly asked, while Justin was trying to get her to lie down.
"Miiaa...stop worrying! He pulled you back from the brink of death and unless you get back in bed, you'll be going there again!" Justin explained, trying to sound calm.
"All I'm asking is where he is! I could rest easy if I knew where he is!" Mia argued, her tone harsher than she intended.
Justin and Megan were taken a back. Justin responded quietly. "He left once he knew you were going to make a recovery...umm...early this morning..."
Mia got out of bed, walked over and grabbed a coat. Megan and Justin just stood and watched, they felt inferior. Finally, right before Mia opened the door, Megan piped up. "But Mia, why are you leaving when you're in such bad condition...and you know it."
Mia softened, walked over to Megan, and kneeled to her level. "Love makes you do crazy things. You'll understand when you're older."
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Isaac slowly walked into Vault, hands in his pockets looking down at the ground.
Ivan saw Isaac walk by and merrily greeted him. "Hi, Isaac! Where've you been for the past 3 days?"
"Oh, no where." Isaac convincingly lied.
"Riight..." Ivan turned to a more serious note. "Have you seen Mia? Did she leave?"
Isaac thought quickly. "Uhh...yeah...yesterday...she left yesterday..."
"Without even a good bye..." Ivan said sadly. "Oh yeah. Before I forget, your mother had been looking all over for you."
Isaac winced. "Oh great...thanks...I think..." Isaac walked up to the bell tower place and sat down on the cliff. He was trying to think of his 'grand excuse'. Before anything came to mind, it was too late.
"ISAAC! There you are! Where have you been the past three days?!" Dora marched up to his spot, and it was too late for Isaac to run.
Isaac laughed nervously. "W-What do you mean? I've been here the whole time. Just been going to bed late and getting up early!"
"Don't lie to me!"
Isaac looked away, "I was in Imil."
Dora sighed. "I know you love her, but at least tell us when you're going to leave for such lengthily times!"
"It's not..." Isaac started, he then explained to her what went on between him and her throughout the journey and how she had been betrayed by Alex and et cetera.
"Ohh..." Dora sighed. "My apologies."
Isaac switched the subject. "Do you need anymore wood? For the fires or anything else?"
Dora thought for a second, "Actually, we are running a bit short on fire wood."
"Alright," Isaac jumped off the small cliff, and grabbed a nearby axe. "I'll go cut some. I'll be back around dinner time."
Isaac walked out of Vault without any interruptions. There weren't very many thick woods around Vault, not any that would work very well at least. All the forests around Vault were pretty scarce and the wood wasn't as good as quality as the wood up north.
As he walked north, the wind grew colder, he found the forest that gave the best wood, or in his opinion at least. He started chopping, after seven good hits; the tree gave way to gravity. "Timber."
The tree made a large *CRASH* as it hit the ground. But something awkward followed the crash... It sounded like the hum of a thousand fighter bee...and it was...
Isaac sighed and pulled out his sword. 'Just my luck...'
His victory was easily won, after all, the only time they had been any of a challenge was when he was just a squire. He walked over to where the branches started on the fallen tree and cut all the braches off. He then cut the tree into five about even pieces, and cut those into ten. Giving him around fifty equal sized logs. Carefully, he set the logs into a pattern, "PROPERTY OF VALE", so that if anyone came through the forest, they couldn't get any free logs.
Isaac picked up the axe and skillfully threw it into a tree, so the sharp part of the axe was buried in the bark of the tree. Isaac beamed; he was the only one out of everyone he knew who could do that.
He picked up the left over logs, and headed back to Vault.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
The wild autumn winds flew mercilessly across the small valleys near the mountains that separated the desolate, snowy plains of Imil, from the other worldly area of climate near Biblin. Mia read over the note for the fourteenth time. She looked up at the road ahead, "If only I could've held my conscious for just a minute longer..." she murmured to no one in particular.
The winds abruptly shifted their course.
Taking this to notice, Mia looked to the west, from where the wind had come, and so abruptly. She heard yelling and little screaming. After traveling with wind adepts, she was able to tell which wind was natural and what was summoned. This was Ivan's wind. To lastly convince her that something was wrong, although now she needed little, the obvious smell and sight of smoke came into sense.
Fear arose inside her as she broke to a run.
~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-
"Ma'am! Are you alright?" Jenna asked the woman whose house was burning to the ground, the woman had barely been able to escape the flames.
"Yes..." the woman coughed. "But...My son...still in there..."
Jenna nodded and looked over to her fellow adepts. "There's a kid stuck in there! I'll go!"
Ivan nodded. "Got it!" he turned the wind.
"Piers! Douse Jenna!" Felix led.
Piers nodded and doused Jenna in water, "Garet! Separate the flames!"
"Of course!" Garet replied as he focused on the flames that were devouring the house.
Isaac dropped the logs and came running. "What's going on?!" he quickly asked Felix.
"Overfed the fire." Felix quickly explained. "C'mon. We gotta stop the spread."
Isaac and Felix swiftly dashed to the backside of the house. Where they summoned small cliff to appear behind the house to stop the spread and then summoned soft Spires, more like shaped dirt, onto the house to put out the flame.
Jenna entered the flaming house, having the flames spread a path for her; she searched the house for the boy. "It's alright! I'm here to help you!" Jenna yelled through the flames, trying to get some output from the boy to discover his whereabouts.
"Mommy?" she heard a small voice cry out. Jenna immediately ran over to the voice, and saw the little boy. The clothes on his arms had caught fire, and he had many burns throughout his entire visible body. Even his hair was burnt at the ends.
Jenna picked up the boy, he cried softly. "Where's my mommy??"
"She's waiting for you outside." Jenna reassured him, as she made her way back through the house. She was only yards away from the exit when one of the support beams fell, blocking her only exit and the only air hole.
Jenna frantically looked around for another way out, but none was to be found. "Felix! Piers! I'm trapped inside! Do something!" she yelled out. Only little breathes later did she find herself on her knees, in a fit of coughing.
Outside, many of the villagers were throwing water at the fire trying as much has they could to aid Piers in the dousing. But now matter how much water Piers could douse it with, the fire just seemed to keep on spreading. If they didn't stop the spread soon, the neighboring house was bound to catch fire as well.
"It's no use!" Piers stated, shaking his head. "The fire's to strong!"
He heard a voice from behind him. "Not for two!"
Piers looked over to see Mia helping him douse the flames. He didn't know how, but knew not to ask.
After a minute or so, the fire finally died, and Jenna made it out with the boy. Who she released and ran over to his mother, the mother had tears of joy in her eyes as she thanked them.
Now that the commotion expired, Isaac resumed to getting the wood, ignoring the fact that Mia had returned so early. He wasn't depressed, but had other things on his mind.
After Mia escaped the "What happened to you?" and "Where have you been?"'s from her friends, she searched for her hazel blonde Venus adept. She spotted him on the outskirts of the village, and silently caught up to him.
"Isaac?" she silently called from behind him.
Isaac turned. "Oh. Hi, Mia." He looked apologetic. "...I'm sorry about Alex."
"It's alright...now..." she looked at the ground.
"Not to be prodding, but shouldn't you still be in bed? You lost a lot of blood..." Isaac asked, concerned.
Mia took a deep breath. "Weelll..." Mia started. "I couldn't rest easy..."
Isaac stopped walking. "What do you mean?"
Mia smiled. "I lost conscious in mid-sentence..."
Isaac started walking again. "It's alright..." he looked down, "I already knew what you were going to say." He said so silently he didn't even hear himself.
Somehow Mia heard. "No you didn't Isaac. You're a Venus not a Jupiter." She paused as Isaac turned to her. "One thing I've learned is to never assume. ...but what I was going to say was, I changed my mind."
Isaac didn't know how to react; he was overwhelmed with joy, but also as curious as to what changed her mind. Mia walked up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek, then spoke in a soft voice. "Just don't leave me; I don't know if I could take another betrayal..."
Isaac embraced Mia, who passionately returned the embrace. "I would never leave you, never..."
Meanwhile...
"Garet? Can you get Isaac for me real quick? I think he went out into the woods to get some logs." Jenna asked, once she had finished fixing her hair.
"Sure." Garet agreed. He exited the village, following what he hoped to be footprints. Not long after, the two embracing adepts come into view. Garet quickly hid behind a large nearby tree, poking his head out.
He sighed. "Now, would I really butt into this?" He thought for a moment. "I would, but I'll save it until they do this more in public, better blackmail." He sneered and silently snuck back to the village.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Sorry that the ending was kinda crummy. I wasn't sure how to finish it and this was all that came to mind. I know it wasn't the ending that most romance stories give, but then again, if everyone was the same, their wouldn't be any thing to laugh at and make you feel good. ^^
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
The original characters, places, summons, from the games Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age are copyrighted trademarks of Nintendo and Camelot. All rights reserved
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Alex, where are you taking me?" Mia asked as Alex guided her through a snowy forest that seemed endless.
He smiled. "Ssshh..." he silenced.
The forest seemed to hush as he led her to an opening, the only sounds being the soft crunch crunch crunch of their feet against the light snow.
It was mid fall; the snow shimmered where the patches of sun light shown through. Even in Imil, the leaves made stunning displays of amber and burgundy against the snow.
Once they entered the clearing, Alex slowed to a stop. The clearing was obviously special, for the trees and their leaves, were like porcelain the way the ice would not leave. Mia had to shield her eyes from the blinding light that reflected off the porcelain like trees.
"It's so beautiful..." Mia happily sighed.
Alex turned to her. "Here, this is for you." He held his hands out to her, still clasped over whatever was inside. "It may be small, but it has a lot of power...it could kind of be like a pet in a way..." he opened his hands revealing a small animal. "They're called 'djinn'."
"Hi! I'm Fizz!" the djinn squeaked as it jumped up onto her shoulder.
Mia blushed, "Alex... it's so cute..."
"Mia, you're blushing...why are you still blushing after we've been in love for over a year?" Alex looked her eye-to-eye.
Mia broke his eye contact. "I don't know...I guess I'm just...unsure..."
Alex pulled her into an embrace. "Unsure...after a year...how are you unsure?" He paused. "...I love you, and I always will."
Mia pulled away. "Alex, you may be twenty-one, but I'm only seventeen. And I don't know what lies ahead. So please, for better or for worse...one more year..."
Alex hesitated. "Please, Mia. I promise you if you stay with me, there will be no 'or worse'." His voice sounded pleading.
Mia looked into his eyes, "You can't promise anything."
"Mia..."
"Alex, stop it! Your just making it harder." tears formed in her eyes. "You know I would choose you in an instant, regardless of anything else. I just...have an awkward feeling about the next year..."
"Oh Mia..." Alex put his arms around her to comfort her. "Look at me please. After tomorrow I can't hold that promise unless I know if you love me as much as I love you now."
"Why? Why do you need to know now?" she quietly shook her head.
"I just...because... ...it's...uuh..." Alex tried to explain.
"How about if I said yes?" she leaned on him.
Alex smiled. "You're talking hypothetically, aren't you?"
Mia closed her eyes. "Maybe..." she softly replied.
Alex's heart quickened. "Then I would tell you to meet me at the lighthouse, mid-day."
Mia's eyes quickly opened. "The lighthouse? But that's off limits!"
"For all but the healers..." he smiled.
"Oh Alex..." she sighed.
The two sat down against one of the trees and just conversed until they fell sound asleep...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
One hour later
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Alex slowly opened his eyes. He gently stroked Mia's hair. 'She looks so peaceful when she's asleep. It'll probably be the last time I see her, this peaceful.' He slowly got up as not to wake her.
He bent down and softly kissed her. A thought made his heart turn to ice. 'It may be the last time I ever see her...'
He stood back up and took a big breath for reassurance. With that, he teleported away...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"I'll be right back." Mia told Justin, as she headed out to the door. She was going to the lighthouse to meet Alex.
"Wait!" Justin stopped her. "Shouldn't you check up on the old man in the first house near the road? He's been kinda sick lately."
"Thanks, I'll check on him on my way." Mia waved good-bye to Megan and Justin, and closed the door.
Justin smiled. "Alright! I'm in charge of the sanctum! Megan! You have to make lunch!"
"No way! Not fair! Who put you in charge? Besides Mia's just gonna be gone for a sec...right?" Megan argued.
Justin sat back in the 'Main Healer's Chair' and shrugged. "I dunno, she said she was going somewhere else too. And it /b fair because you were in charge last time!"
"Fine..." Megan sighed.
"Hah!" Justin stuck out his tongue but leaned back too far in the chair and fell back.
At that moment, the sanctum doors blew open, and in came three strangers. Justin quickly scrambled to his feet, and sat back down, trying to look more mature. "Can I help you?"
The tallest out of the three with spiky red hair spoke up. "Is 'Mia' here?"
Then the smallest with blonde hair added to the last ones question. "We came from on behalf of the old man down in the cottage, he's turned deathly ill."
Megan poked her head out of the kitchen, "Mia? You just missed her."
"Yeah," Justin added. "But she was going to that man's house though...but I can help you with any healing you might need!"
By then though, the three had left.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
"So how do you feel?" Mia asked the man after she healed him.
He sat up in bed. "I feel wonderful! Thank you Miss Mia."
"Don't push yourself, you should lie back down." Mia quickly told him. "You too, Ma'am. You should rest in bed too."
Mia turned to the three strangers that followed her. "Can I help you?"
Before they could respond, there came a flash light outside that shown through the window of the small house. Mia rushed to the window. "The lighthouse!"
"Wha?" she heard one of the strangers astound.
The memory ran through her mind. "Alex!" she ran past the three strangers before they had time to react. 'Alex, is this what you meant? By not being able to up hold your promise? I love you with all my heart but...'
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"But why?" Mia asked herself when she went to the lighthouse and saw that the door was blocked by a statue. 'Was it all a cruel joke?' his voice echoed in her mind. 'I love you, and I always will...' She stared at the statue. 'No...he wouldn't...would he?'
She kept staring at the statue, like she was expecting it to move or something...but in fact, it did! She looked over at where the source of the sudden movement of the statue had come from, it was those strangers again.
"Did you just...?" she paused, remembering she had to get going. "Thanks."
She quickly hopped over the gap and cast the Ply spell to unlock the door. She couldn't help but wonder who those mysterious three were. And why they, supposedly, helped her. Were they friends of Alex?
What awaited her at inside the statue filled hallway was a giant lizard fighter. The Mercury Adept knew she couldn't defeat it on her own, so she tried to dart past it; unfortunately, it was practically as fast as her. Leaving her stuck. 'Alex, why are you doing this?'
She heard footsteps from behind her, it was those three people again...what did they want in the light house? They stepped in front of her, challenging the monster. Mia stepped back, feeling stupid. Surprisingly, they were able to defeat the monster quite quickly. Once the monster was gone she ran to the door, turned around, and nodded a 'thanks'. She turned around and went through the door.
She skillfully passed through the room with the stone ledges and water until she, yet again, reached a part where she couldn't get around it alone. A single statue blocked her way...again. 'You did this on purpose, Alex...'
She sighed, "Now what?"
She heard a voice from behind her, "Now, you move on..."
She looked behind her; it was, yet again, those three. The one with hazel-blonde hair spoke. 'Are they following me?' She silently watched as he cast some sort of psynergy, much different to hers, into a hole in front of them. He looked back at her.
She shook her head, relieved. "It looks like you guys have saved me three times. I fear there are more areas ahead of which I cannot pass alone..." But her gaze turned to serious. "Only the healers and high elders are allowed into the lighthouse." She looked at the ceiling, obviously in thought, looked back at them and smiled. "But I have a feeling that I can trust you..."
She joined the three strangers, now known as Garet, Isaac and Ivan, in their quest up the lighthouse. During the time in between the battles, Garet told her what happened and why they were here. During battles, she was dazzled at the different psynergy they unleashed. She now felt better somehow when she was with them, it felt so natural...however she still longed for the answer and her love...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
The battle with the man known as Saturos was hard and long fought, but they were able to prevail.
"Hah we beat him!" Garet cheered.
Saturos slowly got to his feet, but then had to fell to a kneel, cursing under his breath.
"What? But we just beat you?! How can he still be standing?!" Ivan exclaimed.
"I didn't lose to you! I lost to this damned lighthouse!" Saturos growled.
"Wha...?" Garet questioned. All eyes turned to the lit beacon. Expecting something to happen, and something did, but not to their aid.
"It's true. Saturos lost to the lighthouse, not to you." A voice came from behind the beacon, the wielder of the voice stepped out from behind the beacon.
"Alex!" Mia softly gasped. She stepped back, slight tears in her eyes. '*After tomorrow I can't hold that promise unless I know if you love me as much as I love you now.* This is what he meant...violating the rul...no, the whole clan!'
By this time, Alex was already helping Saturos stand. Alex dared not look at Mia, for he knew if he did, we wouldn't have the heart to continue what he was doing.
"What do you mean 'he lost to the lighthouse'?" Ivan ferociously asked Alex.
"Water and fire are opposing elements. This being the Mercury Lighthouse, and Saturos being of the Mars clan, the lighthouse severely limited his psynergy." Alex explained.
"You're kidding!" Garet argued.
"No, I have been watching this whole battle from behind the beacon. Saturos was indeed was at an extreme disadvantage. If the lighthouse hadn't limited his power such, you surely all would've died." Alex briefly hesitated at the word 'died'.
"Isaac, we can't let them get away!" Garet reminded.
"Oh, will you finish him off?" Alex sneered.
"Damn right!" Garet responded angrily.
Alex shook his head, "Another day, another place. But now I must take my leave. I bid you, adieu." At that moment, he teleported, out of sight.
"He did it again!" Garet complained.
Mia quickly looked at Garet. "He's done that before?!" she astounded.
"Yeah," Garet sourly replied, crossing his arms. "He did that when we where in Sol Sanctum."
"Alex never had those powers before..." Mia quietly remarked. 'Tell me this is just a nightmare...'
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Dear Diary,
Month: I Day: IXX
It's been three months that I've been traveling with this group. So far, we've fought a lot of beasts and demons...like killer bees...a tree spirit...a giant kraken...even a giant desert fiend. I'm still worried about Imil though, even though the Hermes water is flowing, I don't know if Megan and Justin were ready for this... Oh sheesh, I should really stop worrying. Everything is going to be fine!
Right now we're in a place called Tolbi. It's crowded beyond compare! We're not even in a private inn right now, we're in the Babi palace in one of the spare rooms, but there are four beds. Good thing for that!
It's weird; I can swear that Isaac's eyes are always on me. I see that glint in his eyes... I just feel sorry for him though...I mean...no matter how much I try, I'll always love Alex. I can't believe I'm saying this but, Isaac is kind o---no, very handsome. He'll find some one else...
Oh who am I trying to kid? I'm a nervous wreck! My heart is in pieces but the pieces are not with me...I just want to wake up from this nightmare/dream or what ever this is!
Mia
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
3 Months Later on the Boat...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Mia was on the bow of the boat, staring into twilight, lost in her own world, having nothing more to do. It was Garet's turn to cook, and she had already served her shift at the orb steering the ship. The sea was tranquil and not a cloud in sight, but then again, no land in sight either...
She suddenly felt an arm around her, hurling her out of her world. Startled, she quickly turned around and instinctively slapped whoever it was, on the face. She realized it was Isaac.
"Oh Isaac! I'm sorry, I didn't know who...you startled me." She half laughed, half apologized. "It was instinctive."
Isaac laughed. "Next time I'll know to carefully approach you when the lights are on, but no one's home." He joked.
"Right." Mia smiled. "So what did you want?"
"Oh...I was just...wondering where you were..." Isaac smiled back.
Mia turned to the sunset. "Do you think we'll ever find land again?"
Isaac shrugged, joining her. "Who knows? ...If what Ivan says is true...then we might see Indra...or Osenia."
"Oh..." Mia drifted off.
There was a somewhat awkward silence between them. Until Isaac broke the silence, he was ready to finally tell her.
"Mia...?" he stepped back, just in case she was in her own world again.
"Hmm?" Mia looked over at him.
Isaac took a deep breath. "Before I saw you in Imil for the first time, I never believed in love at first sight..." he hesitated, regaining his confidence. "But you proved me wrong. Ever since then, I couldn't stop thinking about you. S-Safely of course, but---"he quickly added before Mia interrupted, as politely as interrupting can be.
Mia sighed. "Isaac, I know where you are going. But there's only one person for me...and he betrayed me. I don't want that to happen again. Love is like a rose, as beautiful as it may be, the thorns must never be underestimated..." She spoke with a hint of sorrow in her voice, but was able to keep her voice steady.
Isaac paused, obviously heart-broken. "Do you believe in...Second Chances?" he asked slowly.
Mia looked down at the water below them, and how the boat created the miniature waves. She replied almost instantly. "...No..."
Isaac didn't know how to respond. She was the one he had loved secretly for half a year now and ever since he had first laid eyes on her, and she had rejected him in an instant.
To save them from any awkward moments, they heard Ivan call out, "Man-o- War!"
So they both quickly grabbed their weapons and went to fight the strayed jelly fish. It was an easy victory.
During dinner Isaac ate only half as much as normal, he was depressed, but he wasn't going to give her up...
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
The rest of their journey, Isaac hadn't abandoned all hope. Of course, he kept his distance and his mouth shut. They were still friends of course, but just that.
Every once in a while, whenever Mia seemed sad or depressed, Isaac would cheer her up. It was the only times he'd ever seen her cry. Whenever she was most depressed, he would ask her softly, 'Do you believe in Second Chances?' and every time she would still answer the same thing, no. While every time, she seemed more reluctant and hesitant.
It was five days after they completed, or helped complete, the lighting of the lighthouses, everyone was in Vale, helping rebuild everything and getting the town back on track. Everything had turned out actually great, most had found love. The burning flame of love ignited between Jenna and Garet. Though Felix strongly didn't like this, he had his owns problems to worry about. In fact, he and Ivan were somewhat in a small feud over Sheba, small enough that she didn't know, but big enough so that everyone else knew...and Isaac...Mia still loved Alex.
The men were working on rebuilding the houses and inns, while the women were scavenging for anything that might've survived like some silverware or something. Mia approached Isaac.
"Isaac? Where can I find some herbs? Some of the villagers are getting overheated and I should get some herbs for them." Mia explained.
Isaac thought for a moment. "You can probably find some at the most northern part of the village, but I'm not totally sure..."
"Alright, thanks."
Isaac watched her go, he was love struck again. Once he was out of the trance, he mentally laughed at himself, and went back to hammering, little did he know, his new unconscious target was his hand. He hit his hand with a hard force and cursed in pain.
Once Mia had reached the northern most part of Vale, around the 'ruins' of Mt. Alph and Sol Sanctum, she saw the plants Isaac had told her about. She bent down to pick them when she noticed something recluse in the ruins. She cautiously walked over to it...it was a small piece of paper, well, a folded piece of paper...
She opened the paper. Tears filled her eyes. It read:
Whoever finds this message, please give this to Mia, of Imil.
Mia,
Right now, I barely have the strength to write this message. As I write, Mt. Alph is slowly sinking into Weyward. I'm not sure how much more I can write before it's too late. I thought I had it all, I thought I had finally attained the powers of the Golden Sun. I thought I had everything, but I was wrong. I tried to conjure a small storm over Vale, but nothing came of it. Then, the 'Wise One' came and approached me. He told me I had not attained eternal life or limitless psynergy. He was right. I was defeated...it was then I realized...I had nothing...nothing! All this time, my greed for power, had overridden what should've really mattered to me that day. You, if only I hadn't left you that day, you would've never had to suffer...I know what you have been doing. You've been in a kill or be killed world and it's my entire fault. All I want is you, I love you. I always have, and you know that. But what I mean is I'm glad you didn't meet me there at the lighthouse in time, because then you'd be here with me, and the last thing I'd want, would be for you to die. I've seen little, but still seen some of who you travel with, I do not want you to live the rest of your life alone, do not be afraid to rekindle the flame of love. It's no use...I can write no more, the air is scarce.
Alex
Tears blurred her vision; nothing could explain how she felt. Forgetting about the overheating men, she sat down next to the rubble and wept.
~-~-~-~-
Isaac wiped the sweat from his brow. It was late night, but the Inn had been finished. Isaac yelled over to Garet, who was also working on the Inn. "How's it lookin' from down there?" Garet was on the ground, giving the Inn a final look over.
Garet yelled back to Isaac. "Looking good!" Garet gave a big thumbs up.
"Good." Isaac said to himself, as he jumped from the roof and onto the ground next to Garet. The two started to walk over to their tents.
"Didya hear about what happened to one of the villagers?" Garet casually asked Isaac.
Isaac shook his head, "No, what happened?"
"I think he passed out from dehydration. Something like that." Garet shrugged.
"You mean overworking?" Isaac corrected.
"Yeah, that. Anyway, he's in Vault right now in the Healers Sanctum."
Isaac stopped walking. "What? In the Healers Sanctum? You're kidding!"
"No...why would I?" Garet gave Isaac a strange look.
Isaac took a deep breath. "Mia said she would handle the villagers that may have overworked..."
Garet shrugged. "Maybe she missed him."
"I doubt it...If you see my mother or father, tell them I'm taking a walk around the village. Alright?" Isaac asked Garet.
"Sure. You haven't given up on her have you?" Garet grinned.
"Garet, for me to give up on someone like her, is like for you to win against Jenna in a cooking contest."
Isaac turned around in the direction of Vale again. "As true as that is, I resent that!" Garet replied.
Isaac walked past the Inn, Vale seemed so solitary and desolate now. The night veiled the once appealing looking cliffs, making them seem uninviting, as if something hid inside...
Isaac decided to look where he thought she went last, even though that was around seven hours ago. As he neared the stairs, the wind shifted. It used to be a nice, soft, warm breeze, now a harsh, strong, cold breeze. He had always heard that the winds reflect strong emotions. He quickened his pace.
As he neared the ruins he slowed again. He heard light, uneven footsteps. Instincts took over and Isaac quickly ducked behind a tree. The footsteps grew nearer; Isaac took a small peek from where the footsteps came from.
"Mia!" Isaac gasped in horror. She had blood all over her arms, from deep cuts on her wrists, there was blood all over her left shoulder, supposedly also from a deep cut. "Mia? What happened?!"
"I-Isaac!" Mia took one step more, but collapsed, Isaac caught her.
"Mia, what happened?" Isaac asked frantically. "Come on, let's get you to the Sanctum!"
Mia ripped herself out of his arms. "Get your hands off of me!" there seemed to be flames in her eyes. Only after 10 seconds of staring each other down, Mia fell to her knees, in tears. "Alex died, he left me a note. He promised, he told me not to worry. But I still love him...please Isaac, help me. I can't control myself."
Mia was sobbing uncontrollably; Isaac gently stroked her azure hair and closed his eyes. "Mia..." he opened his eyes again. "Do you...believe...in second chances?"
Tears streaming down her face, she looked up at him. "...You always ask me the same thing...and I always reply the same thing..." she struggled to keep her consciousness "...I..." Mia lost consciousness.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Mia awoke in a familiar room. She had bandages on both wrists and her left arm, up to her shoulder. She realized she was in the Sanctum in Imil. She quietly tried to get out of bed; she had succeeded until she messed up by stepping on the creaky floor board.
"Mia!" Justin was on her in an instant. "You shouldn't be outta bed yet! Thank the stars you're still alive!"
Megan giggled, "More like 'thank that man who brought you here'."
Justin nodded as he pushed Mia back in bed. "Yeah, and all the way from Vale even!"
"Vale?" Mia astounded.
"Yup." Megan replied. "Isaac was his name...right?"
"Isaac? Where is he now?" Mia quickly asked, while Justin was trying to get her to lie down.
"Miiaa...stop worrying! He pulled you back from the brink of death and unless you get back in bed, you'll be going there again!" Justin explained, trying to sound calm.
"All I'm asking is where he is! I could rest easy if I knew where he is!" Mia argued, her tone harsher than she intended.
Justin and Megan were taken a back. Justin responded quietly. "He left once he knew you were going to make a recovery...umm...early this morning..."
Mia got out of bed, walked over and grabbed a coat. Megan and Justin just stood and watched, they felt inferior. Finally, right before Mia opened the door, Megan piped up. "But Mia, why are you leaving when you're in such bad condition...and you know it."
Mia softened, walked over to Megan, and kneeled to her level. "Love makes you do crazy things. You'll understand when you're older."
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Isaac slowly walked into Vault, hands in his pockets looking down at the ground.
Ivan saw Isaac walk by and merrily greeted him. "Hi, Isaac! Where've you been for the past 3 days?"
"Oh, no where." Isaac convincingly lied.
"Riight..." Ivan turned to a more serious note. "Have you seen Mia? Did she leave?"
Isaac thought quickly. "Uhh...yeah...yesterday...she left yesterday..."
"Without even a good bye..." Ivan said sadly. "Oh yeah. Before I forget, your mother had been looking all over for you."
Isaac winced. "Oh great...thanks...I think..." Isaac walked up to the bell tower place and sat down on the cliff. He was trying to think of his 'grand excuse'. Before anything came to mind, it was too late.
"ISAAC! There you are! Where have you been the past three days?!" Dora marched up to his spot, and it was too late for Isaac to run.
Isaac laughed nervously. "W-What do you mean? I've been here the whole time. Just been going to bed late and getting up early!"
"Don't lie to me!"
Isaac looked away, "I was in Imil."
Dora sighed. "I know you love her, but at least tell us when you're going to leave for such lengthily times!"
"It's not..." Isaac started, he then explained to her what went on between him and her throughout the journey and how she had been betrayed by Alex and et cetera.
"Ohh..." Dora sighed. "My apologies."
Isaac switched the subject. "Do you need anymore wood? For the fires or anything else?"
Dora thought for a second, "Actually, we are running a bit short on fire wood."
"Alright," Isaac jumped off the small cliff, and grabbed a nearby axe. "I'll go cut some. I'll be back around dinner time."
Isaac walked out of Vault without any interruptions. There weren't very many thick woods around Vault, not any that would work very well at least. All the forests around Vault were pretty scarce and the wood wasn't as good as quality as the wood up north.
As he walked north, the wind grew colder, he found the forest that gave the best wood, or in his opinion at least. He started chopping, after seven good hits; the tree gave way to gravity. "Timber."
The tree made a large *CRASH* as it hit the ground. But something awkward followed the crash... It sounded like the hum of a thousand fighter bee...and it was...
Isaac sighed and pulled out his sword. 'Just my luck...'
His victory was easily won, after all, the only time they had been any of a challenge was when he was just a squire. He walked over to where the branches started on the fallen tree and cut all the braches off. He then cut the tree into five about even pieces, and cut those into ten. Giving him around fifty equal sized logs. Carefully, he set the logs into a pattern, "PROPERTY OF VALE", so that if anyone came through the forest, they couldn't get any free logs.
Isaac picked up the axe and skillfully threw it into a tree, so the sharp part of the axe was buried in the bark of the tree. Isaac beamed; he was the only one out of everyone he knew who could do that.
He picked up the left over logs, and headed back to Vault.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
The wild autumn winds flew mercilessly across the small valleys near the mountains that separated the desolate, snowy plains of Imil, from the other worldly area of climate near Biblin. Mia read over the note for the fourteenth time. She looked up at the road ahead, "If only I could've held my conscious for just a minute longer..." she murmured to no one in particular.
The winds abruptly shifted their course.
Taking this to notice, Mia looked to the west, from where the wind had come, and so abruptly. She heard yelling and little screaming. After traveling with wind adepts, she was able to tell which wind was natural and what was summoned. This was Ivan's wind. To lastly convince her that something was wrong, although now she needed little, the obvious smell and sight of smoke came into sense.
Fear arose inside her as she broke to a run.
~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-
"Ma'am! Are you alright?" Jenna asked the woman whose house was burning to the ground, the woman had barely been able to escape the flames.
"Yes..." the woman coughed. "But...My son...still in there..."
Jenna nodded and looked over to her fellow adepts. "There's a kid stuck in there! I'll go!"
Ivan nodded. "Got it!" he turned the wind.
"Piers! Douse Jenna!" Felix led.
Piers nodded and doused Jenna in water, "Garet! Separate the flames!"
"Of course!" Garet replied as he focused on the flames that were devouring the house.
Isaac dropped the logs and came running. "What's going on?!" he quickly asked Felix.
"Overfed the fire." Felix quickly explained. "C'mon. We gotta stop the spread."
Isaac and Felix swiftly dashed to the backside of the house. Where they summoned small cliff to appear behind the house to stop the spread and then summoned soft Spires, more like shaped dirt, onto the house to put out the flame.
Jenna entered the flaming house, having the flames spread a path for her; she searched the house for the boy. "It's alright! I'm here to help you!" Jenna yelled through the flames, trying to get some output from the boy to discover his whereabouts.
"Mommy?" she heard a small voice cry out. Jenna immediately ran over to the voice, and saw the little boy. The clothes on his arms had caught fire, and he had many burns throughout his entire visible body. Even his hair was burnt at the ends.
Jenna picked up the boy, he cried softly. "Where's my mommy??"
"She's waiting for you outside." Jenna reassured him, as she made her way back through the house. She was only yards away from the exit when one of the support beams fell, blocking her only exit and the only air hole.
Jenna frantically looked around for another way out, but none was to be found. "Felix! Piers! I'm trapped inside! Do something!" she yelled out. Only little breathes later did she find herself on her knees, in a fit of coughing.
Outside, many of the villagers were throwing water at the fire trying as much has they could to aid Piers in the dousing. But now matter how much water Piers could douse it with, the fire just seemed to keep on spreading. If they didn't stop the spread soon, the neighboring house was bound to catch fire as well.
"It's no use!" Piers stated, shaking his head. "The fire's to strong!"
He heard a voice from behind him. "Not for two!"
Piers looked over to see Mia helping him douse the flames. He didn't know how, but knew not to ask.
After a minute or so, the fire finally died, and Jenna made it out with the boy. Who she released and ran over to his mother, the mother had tears of joy in her eyes as she thanked them.
Now that the commotion expired, Isaac resumed to getting the wood, ignoring the fact that Mia had returned so early. He wasn't depressed, but had other things on his mind.
After Mia escaped the "What happened to you?" and "Where have you been?"'s from her friends, she searched for her hazel blonde Venus adept. She spotted him on the outskirts of the village, and silently caught up to him.
"Isaac?" she silently called from behind him.
Isaac turned. "Oh. Hi, Mia." He looked apologetic. "...I'm sorry about Alex."
"It's alright...now..." she looked at the ground.
"Not to be prodding, but shouldn't you still be in bed? You lost a lot of blood..." Isaac asked, concerned.
Mia took a deep breath. "Weelll..." Mia started. "I couldn't rest easy..."
Isaac stopped walking. "What do you mean?"
Mia smiled. "I lost conscious in mid-sentence..."
Isaac started walking again. "It's alright..." he looked down, "I already knew what you were going to say." He said so silently he didn't even hear himself.
Somehow Mia heard. "No you didn't Isaac. You're a Venus not a Jupiter." She paused as Isaac turned to her. "One thing I've learned is to never assume. ...but what I was going to say was, I changed my mind."
Isaac didn't know how to react; he was overwhelmed with joy, but also as curious as to what changed her mind. Mia walked up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek, then spoke in a soft voice. "Just don't leave me; I don't know if I could take another betrayal..."
Isaac embraced Mia, who passionately returned the embrace. "I would never leave you, never..."
Meanwhile...
"Garet? Can you get Isaac for me real quick? I think he went out into the woods to get some logs." Jenna asked, once she had finished fixing her hair.
"Sure." Garet agreed. He exited the village, following what he hoped to be footprints. Not long after, the two embracing adepts come into view. Garet quickly hid behind a large nearby tree, poking his head out.
He sighed. "Now, would I really butt into this?" He thought for a moment. "I would, but I'll save it until they do this more in public, better blackmail." He sneered and silently snuck back to the village.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Sorry that the ending was kinda crummy. I wasn't sure how to finish it and this was all that came to mind. I know it wasn't the ending that most romance stories give, but then again, if everyone was the same, their wouldn't be any thing to laugh at and make you feel good. ^^