by RedRaspberryswirl
Disclaimer: SQUARESOFTTTTTTTTTTTTTT... I edited this, because I was getting flamed alot. Instead of making this a romance, I decided that I would make it a story of friendship. MUSHY MUSHY MUSHY! (don't mind me). It would be too hard to pull off a romance between Norris and Riddel and not get flamed. so anyway, this is what I have provided you with. The events before this scene are unknown, except that Porre is trying to invade Viper Manor. You don't know how injured Norris is. Anyway, the happenings of this story do make room for a sequel, so if you like how I edited it, then i will proceed. If not, I will take it down again for good.
~~Redraspberryswirl
***
I.
"My goodness, what is going on here??" Riddel heard loud rummaging below her. Just minutes earlier, she was chatting with her maid while brushing her long black hair, but she was soon distracted by the loud sounds that had suddenly disturbed her.
"Where is daddy??... I don't like the sound of this!!" Riddel started to wonder if she should leave her room to see what the ruckus was, but she fought it. What if someone saw her? Would she be captured... raped?? She didn't know if she could risk it. Then again... Karsh and Glenn, her lifetime friends were gone: off on some adventure to find and punish her father's advisor, Lynx. She knew that the people in question would find the switch behind the pillar eventually, and she had her elements in their slots. She decided to sneak out of her room... no one would notice her from that high up, if she was quiet enough.
"Anyone here??" an abrasive voice echoed through the halls, "If so, surrender now!! You are now prisoners of the Porre Army!!"
Porre?? Riddel thought, what are they doing here? Could that girl given a lead to them? What's going on here??
With that, Riddel slipped off her shoes, and straightened out of her chair. She tiptoed quietly to her door, and turned the golden handle slowly. The door opened without a sound whatsoever.
"Miss Riddel?" whispered her maid, " Don't go out there! You'll put us both in danger!"
Riddel did not respond, but just turned her head and nodded. She had made up her mind: when Karsh heard about how brave she was, he would perhaps stop teasing her about how concerned with being a lady she was. Riddel loved Karsh, but only when he treated her with respect.
Riddel slowly stepped out the door, onto the red carpeting in the hall. As her bare feet touched down on the soft carpeting, she felt every muscle in her leg and all throughout her upper body tense with fear. There was no turning back now. She quietly tiptoed to the doorway, and noticed that a Porre soldier was one pillar away from finding the hidden switch. Without thinking, she broke her cover and used a FireBall element on him. She ducked back behind the doorway.
"Give up, whoever you are! There is no use in re...sist..ting!" the hurt Porre soldier grasped his left arm in pain. He backed away from the pillar and ran down and out the hallway.
Riddel sighed quietly in relief. She spent a few uninterrupted minutes trying to figure out her next move. Then, suddenly, she heard a metallic voice.
"THE-NORRIS! SCANNERS-SAY-THERE-IS-LIFE-UP-ABOVE-US!" a robots voice rang out.
Riddel peeked around the corner. There was a soldier, not older than 25 in age, standing next to a red-haired robot. The soldier was lightly armored and had blonde hair that was parted to one side. He looked very serious and official, however.
"Whoever you are, show yourself now, or I will start shooting until I hit something! --Uggghh," he grasps his arm in pain, "I mean... someone."
Riddel could not help but giggle at how the SERIOUS soldier had broken his character. She almost felt bad for burning him.
'Norris' turned around. "Stop mocking me... whoever you are!" He took out his pistol with his free hand and held it up.
Fifteen minutes of silence went by, and both Norris and Riddel experienced each other's standoffishness. Then, quite suddenly, Norris fired a shot up into the ceiling, a few feet away from Riddel. Small pieces of plaster rained down on to the marble floor. Riddel held in a sneeze. She tried to swallow it down, but it was no use... she had to let it out.
Achoo!! She sneezed quite daintily. It echoed through the hall... but so did a lower pitched one. They happened to sneeze at exactly the same time. She was safe-- until Norris fired a shot that grazed her shoulder. Before she let out a cry of pain, she angrily cast another FireBall on Norris. The two of them sat for another half an hour, tending to their wounds.
II.
"I know… there is a switch here… somewhere!!!" Norris said threateningly. "And I know that you are hiding… right behind that pillar up there…You might as well… give up right now and spare yourself anymore… agony."
Riddel spoke up for the first time.
"Never!"
"Aw, how cute. The little princess is… defending… her… castle."
"Like, Shut up and, like, get the hell out of here!" Marcy's voice echoed from the back of the hallway. She appeared behind Norris, next to the first pillar on the right. Norris turned around abruptly, pointing his gun in the vicinity of Marcy. Riddel's eyes widened, but deep down, she knew that Marcy could take care of herself.
Marcy giggled and quickly cast Cat'sCradle on Norris. Norris fell to the ground, weak. He was now both singed and scratched. He was bleeding across his chest. He dropped his gun and collapsed.
III.
"Marcy!!!" Riddel shot up quickly and pressed the button for the elevator. It rose slowly, and Riddel grew massively impatient, so she met it half way up, and carefully jumped down to the floor. She ran over to where Marcy was triumphantly sitting upon Norris' chest, playing with his blonde hair.
"Marcy!! Why did you kill him??!! He wasn't going to hurt me." Tears began to well in Riddel's eyes.
"Like, he was going to, like, kill you. His types are, like, all the same! And, like, look at your shoulder! Didn't he aim at you??"
"No, actually, he didn't… it was a random shot. I was hidden too well. I bet he didn't even think before he fired."
"Well, like, anyway you killed him too… look at, like, all his burns!! It wasn't, like, entirely my fault!!"
Suddenly footsteps could be heard… ones of high heels.
"It's Luccia! What do we say??"
"I don't know! He's, like, your boyfriend or whatever… you figure it out!"
"Hello?? Vat is going on here? Vat vas all zat noize?"
"Luccia!!" Riddel cried. "Help!-- Help me carry him to the balcony!"
"And who might zis be?" Luccia said as she walked in and saw Riddel and Marcy around Norris.
"An intruder… from Porre."
"Porre?? Vat are zey doing here?"
"I don't know, but Marcy and I killed him."
"Vat??! Killed him?? Couldn't you have just taken him prizoner or somezing??"
"I tried, but we were too strong for him. He must have been weak already-- Help me carry him to the balcony please! I don't want to feel like a murderer. I want to get it over with!!!!"
"Vell, okay. Marcy, go flip ze switch."
Marcy got up off Norris' chest, and ran to the second to last pillar on the left to flip the switch. The elevator, which had just finished its venture upwards, slowly started to reverse.
Luccia and Riddel slowly lifted Norris. Luccia carried him under his arms, and Riddel held his feet. From here, Riddel could see Norris' face.
Oh my goodness, he was handsome! His hair is soo blonde-- but he was going to kill me...-- but it's all over now anyway, I killed him. With that she started to sob.
"Vat?? Vat darling?? So you killed a man who vas goink to kill you? So VAT? Ven Karsh hears about how brave you ver, he'll surely congratulate you... and maybe, even kiss you. Darling, I am very proud ov you, you VER very brave. But ve better hurry and move zis guy so zat we can tend to your arm, No?
"Yes... Yes Luccia... you're right... I did the right thing--- I defended the Manor, and myself... that's it... it was self-defense.....…. but then why do I feel so miserable?
"Vell,… he VAS very handsome, if I do say so myself! Ohoh-hoho..." Luccia chuckled.
Riddel sighed and rolled her sobbing eyes.
"Could you two, like, cut the chit chat, and hurry it up or whatever???" Marcy said impatiently.
"Yes, yes, ver coming, Marcy. Don't you get hysterical on me as vell." Luccia and Riddel arrived at the elevator, and placed Norris down in the chair. Marcy pushed the button on the armrest and the four of them rose slowly up to the second story.
IV.
Great Dragon Gods! Make him be alive, please for the sake of my sanity--- Make him be alive!!! Riddel thought as the elevator reached the top. Riddel and Luccia once again picked up Norris, and carried him up the few stairs to the balcony.
The sky and the sea were a magnificent shade of blue. The high tide was coming in and the wind was whipping back Riddel's hair. The two of them, trailed by Marcy, walked to the very edge of the balcony.
"Are you ready?" Luccia asked.
"Not really." Riddel said
"Vell hurry up and let's get this over with!"
Riddel took a moment. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Her stomach was churning. All of the sudden she felt a muscle twitch in Norris' left leg.
"I'M READY!" Riddel said abruptly.
Luccia took a breath. "Ve are gathered here today to grant a safe departure to the soul of… Norris Ishito-- of the Porre army. Though his deeds and beliefs vere against zose of his buriers, he iz still property of the Sea. Vat came from the sea shall return to the sea." Luccia looked to Riddel. "On ze count of three ve heave."
Riddel nodded, but did not make eye contact with Luccia. She was sobbing.
"Von….two--"
"This not the proper burial of an army officer!!! You're supposed to throw me into a ditch!- after a 40 soldier salute." A voice said. Riddel's head popped up.
"OH MY GOODNESS!! YOU'RE ALIVE!!!"
"Hmm--- vell, ve don't have 40 soldiers right now… so this vill have to do!" Luccia said without realizing what happened.
"Luccia!!! He's alive!! Stop!!" Riddel yelled.
"Hmmm… Vat??" she looked at Riddel, who had dropped Norris' feet. She was staring down at him, straight into his eyes.
"Excuse me, but would you mind putting me down now? I'm starting to lose blood to my arms…" Norris joked.
"OH!! OH!!! Vy yes… ov course!" Luccia dropped Norris' arms… and his head fell and hit the marble floor of the balcony, knocking him unconscious.
"OOPSIE! Looks like I might have made a little bit of a boo-boo… but vasn't he supposed to be dead?"
"Not again! Let's bring him to my room to let him rest… hopefully, you didn't give him a concussion."
"Zat's ok, I have long since invented an anti-concussion serum, but it may take a vhile to vork…"
"Anti- concussion serum?? What brought that about?"
"Vell tink ov all ze marble in the Manor... someone iz bound to get a concussion... especially myzelf... anyway, let us get moving now?"
V.
Norris was sprawled across Riddel's bed, with Riddel sitting on the edge, a bandage around her wounded arm, rubbing Ointment on Norris' chest. She and him had been alone for over an hour, and the serum had not begun to work. But it had given Riddel a better chance to realize that she had fallen in love with him. Something about him... besides his looks, had found a way into her heart. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew that he never intended to kill her. Maybe he had respected how she was defending the Manor. She could not tell.
It was another two and a half hours until Norris stirred. Riddel was playing with Norris' hair, combing it back gently with her slender fingers when Norris' eyes slowly fluttered opened.
"Wow, I must be in heaven, because I'm staring into the eyes of a beautiful angel." Norris said half consciously. Riddel blushed and rolled her eyes. That was the stupidest come-on she had ever heard. Norris shifted his eyes to the bandage on Riddel's arm.
"Did I do that?"
"Yes… yes you did. For some one with absolutely no aim, you're a crack shot!" she said, with hesitation in her voice, " And anyways, it only hurt a little."
"Unlike all the harm you caused me by dropping me on my head, burning and scratching me, right??"
"Excuse me sir, but you were being a jerk!" Riddel defended herself.
"And you… you were being just as stubborn as me." Norris shot back chuckling.
"Oh, so stubbornness is a crime now?? What law says that?? A new "Porre Conduct Law" that you just made up or something??" she said, irritated.
"No, it's not a crime… In… in fact I-I like people who don't… give in easily." He made sure to stare directly into her eyes. She changed her expression.
"...Is that so?" She grinned. "So then, would you like to storm the Manor again? I'll make sure to kick your butt twice as hard!!" She laughed as Norris brought her down into a hug.
~~The End~~