The Maiden's Handguard

"So," a tall, redheaded boy stated, "We have to go to The Forest of Obscurite to check out a recent Demon attack. Sister Romaine told me that a few of La Pucelle's elite were struck while passing through from Pot au Feu City towards a small agricultural village called Ferme. She told me that she wants her best unit on the case. And well, that means us." The youth wore a navy blue sweater and a navy blue cap, black shorts, navy socks, and leather shoes. He looked towards his three companions.

"I wonder if there's any cute farm hands that I can meet while there," the blue haired woman replied. She had on a white shirt with medium length sleeves, and her skirt was aqua; made so that the front went down only a little ways while the back hung low near her black shoes. She had a leather belt as well as a pair of leather battle gloves for punching, and her eyes were as green as the forest trees.

The third person in the group was a redheaded woman with a purple bodysuit/dress hybrid on covered by a strangely shaped white apron. Down in the back hung an extension of the rest of the outfit that bowed out right below her knees. Her boots were made of leather and she had assorted ribbons all around her outfit. On her head was a white hat. For that little comment, she decked the other woman. To said girl she demanded, "Don't you dare get us in trouble with the guys again; last time I had to save you from everyone's jealous girlfriends. Francoise, you are just damn lucky that I have to watch over you."

The last member of the group was not a teenager, like the boy, or an adult, like the women. She was a young child who had on a long white dress that was bordered on the ends of the sleeves and neck by black. The sash and bow it was tied into were also black as was her boots and a pair of ribbons that she had worn on her sleeves. On her head was a black headband with a black rose worn over her left ear. Her hair was the color of rust and her eyes were brown like the boy and second woman. 'My name is Angelique; I'm an apprentice Demon Hunter. Though I'm only three years old, I can harness the power of both Light and Darkness in such strong amounts that I can be in La Pucelle; the elite Demon Hunting unit of the Church of the Holy Maiden. Not only that, but I'm a member of The Maiden's Handguard; the best of the best of La Pucelle. My powers have also matured me physically and mentally beyond my years; Sister Cherrie says that I'll age at the same rate as any other kid but I'll have the mental capacity of a teenager from my young age until I actually grow up and have to get an adult's mental capacity instead.'

'That,' she pointed to the flirty woman, 'Is Sister Francoise; age twenty two. She joined the church about five years ago, however she's only been in La Pucelle three and a half; some friends of hers were killed by Demons and she wanted to do her part and fight against them. Nice woman…just gets on everyone's nerves cuz she flirts with every guy she sees. Mamma and I even have to use our batons like crowbars at times. Other times it's a punch or an uppercut. Either way, we have to subdue her a lot.'

'The young boy over there is my Uncle Culotte; age sixteen. Everyone tells me he was such a shrimp as a kid; hard to believe now because he's at least six feet tall. He and I are the sorcerers of the group; though I can actually handle myself in physical combat somewhat while he still uses assorted items kept in that bag of his that never do much damage. Sometimes, I see him looking up at the stars and crying; I know my grandparents died so long ago that he doesn't remember them, but I think it's more than that. I think he lost someone dear to him not to long before I was born,' she mused as she looked at the boy.

Her gaze turned towards the redheaded woman; who was listening to Sister Francoise's groveling. She smiled at her and thought, 'They call her Sister Prier, Dark Slayer; age twenty. I heard it's cuz three years and nine months ago she killed the legendary Dark Prince when the Maiden of Light only had enough power to cast a single Miracle yet had to do a follow up attack afterwards. I don't really worry too much about that. Not like I use the name…I just call her Mommy. She's my only parent; Daddy is away on an important journey and Mommy says he's gonna come back to us when he's found himself. Not that I know what that means either. She always says that when I get older, she'll tell me the entire story.'

S...S

They'd arrived at The Forest of Obscurite by nightfall; Angelique holding her mother's hand so she wouldn't be separated in the darkness. A cold stench of death and the foreboding sensations of a Demon were felt in the air. Prier looked down at her daughter and sighed. 'Croix…I don't know what to do. We need Angie to help us fight the Demons; she was gifted with these powers to protect all those that she loves. But as a mother, I don't want to see her in danger. I know she can take care of herself but still I worry. Nevertheless, I'd die before I let any being lay their filthy hands on the child we made.'

Culotte looked to his sister; she was thinking of Croix again, he could tell by the way her eyes were cast. Prier missed her beloved greatly; his letters and their daughter being her comfort. Boy, was he in for a surprise when he finally returned from his quest for inner peace; he never knew about Angie.

"Prier!" exclaimed Francoise, "I hate to interrupt whatever reverie you are on, but we've got trouble! There's a pack of Zombies up ahead!" It was true…a large army of Zombie Kings. Both Prier and Culotte felt themselves being jolted back to reality at that very sight. The young mother let out an audible sigh.

'I hate Zombies…why do we always have to fight them. Oh well, they're asking for it then!' she thought. With that, she yelled out, "Angelique! Let me see what you can do!" Prier summoned a bunch of energy batons; just as if she were casting Holy Wind. They hovered in midair until hit with a blast of Fire magic from Angelique. Finally, the batons all rained down like meteors upon the Zombies; killing all that they came in contact with. However, there were still many more beasts advancing on the group.

Francoise began to gather fire magic within her fists. "Taste the fires of Hell!" With those words, she rushed at the enemies and began to punch the group with flames; they'd all seemed to stream out of an Icy Dark Portal. Culotte was running around trying to Purify as many portals as he could. Francoise was trained by Prier and it showed; the two of them tended to fight a lot more than closing the portals.

Suddenly, there was only one creature left. However…it was not a Zombie; well, not like the ones they'd fought before. The beast was at least six foot five and had the appearance of a Zombie dressed in all black with a black tuft of hair on its head. It looked at Angie with hunger and advanced.

"I'm calling my Mommy!" she exclaimed as Prier yelled, "Die!" Angelique thrust Holy energy at the monster; a small amount being thrust the opposite way to make contact with Prier's baton. Both Mother and Daughter then held out their charged up batons and attacked; Prier on the left and Angie on the right. That blow caused the creature to fall to the ground; writhing in pain until at last it faded away.

S...S

Further investigation revealed that huge Zombie to be the culprit behind the attacks. Thus, the four were able to go home. Angelique, dog tired from her busy day, was riding on her mother's back; Prier careful not to jostle her so she could sleep. The woman smiled at how brave her daughter was.

'I miss Croix a lot. But I have to keep going forward for Angie's sake. And I did receive a letter a week ago so that means that idiot hasn't gotten himself killed. If he does…then I'm going to follow him down to Hell just to beat the living daylights out of him!' she mused; a strange expression running across her face at that. Culotte was re-forming his opinions of exactly how insane his older sister was.

S...S

In a dark room, a young woman sat in the shadows. The only features that could be made out was her tall lithe frame and the horns upon her head. A Demon in the shape of a humanoid wolf with horns protruding from his head entered her chambers; his features also obscured. The man stated, "Lady Sang…the One appears to be growing ever stronger. When should we make our move to capture her?"

The woman smirked. "Loup…you must be patient. Our master might have been defeated by that woman, but he has left a legacy on this world. Like with any legacy, there is a time and place for it to come into full power. When that time comes, then we will bring the One back where she truly belongs."

Teefa's Last Words...

I originally intended forthis tofollow the formatting for La Pucelle; though I didn'tjust run around in random battles unless they're either A) important to the story or, B) a boss monster. Unlike the original which was told in Culotte's POV, this onewas supposed to betold in Angelique's. Of course, the story shifts a lot following Chapter 7; that was where my original plans went cold and I started writing in unknown directions.

And now for a French Lesson…Obscurite means Darkness, Ferme means farm, Sang means blood, and Loup means wolf. We've got Babel Fish up and running to put French into the fic; being as that all of the characters in the game have French names. I also found out from a friend who is taking French that the female name is Francoise, while Francois is male. So that's why her name is different in this fic.