Disclaimer – Nightmare does not belong to me and I nicked the name Lyra from Cordelia who in turn nicked it from Dark Materials…or so she tells me, but Lyra is in general mine.

Summary: At the end of Soul Calibur Nightmare went into the mountain caves to be the guardian of the Soul Edge, well this is set after that when someone stumbles across his hiding place. Sorry for the crappy first chapter. You have been warned IT IS CRAP but gets better I promise. Hugs for all those who review and if u don't like hugs then I give you cake, that simple x

Love's Labours

Chapter 1 – The Monster in the Mountain

Lyra groaned her protest as the water bucket slipped once again down into the well. With a heavy sigh she tried to pull it back up, she bit her lip, trying to ignore the extreme pain that shot through her fingers and palms as she wrapped them around the frayed rope. The broken strands cut into her hand, rubbing them raw as she tried to pull the bucket from the gaping hole.

The rope slipped as her raw hands began to bleed, the bucket landing with a loud splash that rang in the air around her before she let out a frustrated yell, kicking the well from beneath her shabby dress and slipping down to sit against the stone wall. She wiped the blood from her hands using the skirt of her dress. She didn't seem to mind the additional dirt, the brown cotton had already been mingled with dirt and grime mingled from the hardships she endured as a lowly peasant.

Wringing her head in her hands, she could hear her brother, Peter, crossing the field to assist her. Smiling almost sympathetically upon her, he wrapped his hands firmly around the rope and succeeded in pulling the bucket out of the well, complete with a full supply of crystal clear water.

"Don't worry, sis," he muttered, taking the bucket from the rope, "It's not you're fault you're not as strong as me," he said it innocently without any intention of offence, but Lyra glared up at him anyway. It annoyed her greatly when her brother could perform the tasks she so desperately wanted to do herself, if only to prove that she could do them. She was about to let out another frustrated cry, so she surprised herself when a rather masculine roar emanated around them.

Both Peter and Lyra looked up, wildly, was the scream echoed again through the field and the surrounding mountains. Lyra scanned the hills, quickly as she tried to determine from where the sound came from.

"The monster," Peter whispered, causing his younger sister to swiftly turn and face him.

"That's just a story," she snapped, "a story told to stop the children wandering into the mountains." Peter looked at her, defiantly,

"So if there isn't a monster in the mountains, what's making the noises?" Lyra faltered, but quickly maintained her composure,

"Peter, you've seen twenty one summers, aren't you a bit old to believe these stories?" Peter gave a faint smile,

"You didn't answer the question," he told her, smoothly, "If there isn't a monster in the mountain then what keeps screaming?"

"Lyra! Peter!" a voice called from across the field. The siblings turned obediently to see their mother off in the distance. With a silent note of understanding, they picked up their bucket and made their way across the grass towards their home, saying no more of the monster in the mountain.

Their home was a small, whitewashed brick house on the edge of their field. Their late father had worked tirelessly to ensure his children had a better life than he had, though despite their comfortable home and land to their name, Lyra doubted their life was a great deal than her father's. They still had to work tirelessly to maintain their livelihood. Her brother, Peter shepherded the sheep kept in their field. Her mother stayed at home, she took charge of the business, selling the wool and meat from their livestock while cooking for the family and caring for the youngest son, William. Leaving Lyra to tend to the house and everything else that needed seeing to. Most days she would have to go into town to sell the products her family produced, she would have to return with profit and enough food to see the family through. She had to clean the house, keeping it clean enough to please her mother, she would aid Lance, the young man hired by her mother to butcher the sheep and shear them. She would go out into the field to help her brother watch their flock, she had to bring water back to the house. Her shabby clothes were little better than some of the lower peasant girls who lived in the nearby village and her hands reflected the hardships she endured. Lyra seriously doubted her life was much better than her father's.

She snarled as her mother thanked her brother for the bucket from the well, ignoring her daughter's efforts. Peter smiled, innocently and took a seat beside his sister, opposite his younger brother as his mother began to set out their dinner.

William smiled up at Lyra, poking his tongue out, playfully. Lyra looked away deliberately, avoiding her brother; she was hardly in the right mood to play with her brother. Unfortunately she looked away just in time to catch the eye of Lance, who had just stepped into the cosy (or as Lyra called it, 'small') kitchen.

Lance smiled at her, making her stomach clench in slight disgust. It was common knowledge that Lance, the tall, dark-haired handsome farm aid had taken a fancy to young Lyra, some might go as far as to say he had fallen in love with her, and yet she simply didn't return the affection. She didn't even think of him as a friend ever since he had made his feelings known to her. Yet he chose to ignore her rejection and remained enamoured with her. Lyra's family was less than helpful. Her mother insisted she spend as much time collecting the wool Lance sheared, or preparing the meat he cut. A part of her hoped that her daughter would marry the fine man who helped out on the farm.

Lance slipped into the chair beside Lyra and despite her attempts to ignore him, she could see out of the corner of her eye, looking at her with the same air of infatuation that normally surrounded him.

"Did you here the monster?" William asked, eagerly, causing everyone's attention to focus immediately on the five-year-old.

"There is no monster," Lyra muttered, irritably. The three men sitting around the table looked from William to her.

"What do you think makes those noises then?" Lance asked, curiously. Lyra shook her head,

"I don't know, but I do know there's no such thing as monsters," she hesitated, "It's probably a wild animal or something."

"I don't know of any animals that make that kind of noise," Peter assured her, "and I really can't think of anything else that could survive up in the mountains like that."

"Is there a monster, mummy?" William asked, as his mother dropped into a seat between him and Peter. She cast a disapproving glance at her daughter,

"Yes darling," she said, sweetly. Lyra chortled into her water, so much for allowing children to think they lived in a completely harmless society where nothing and no-one would hurt them, "That's why we don't want you playing near the mountains."

"It makes more sense to tell them that they'll fall and break their necks instead of telling them a monster will eat them." This in turn earned her more glares than usual.

"Why don't you go up and see what's up there?" Peter challenged, causing her mother to stand up rather abruptly,

"That's enough!" she snapped, "Lyra I don't want you going anywhere near those mountains. That goes for all of you. You've all heard the stories, I want to hear nothing more on the subject." She sat, slowly and they all sank into an uncomfortable silence. Though Peter's words still rang in Lyra's thoughts.

Lying in bed that night, Lyra repeated her elder brother's words in her mind, 'why don't you go up and see what's up there?' She played out the outcomes in her mind. She firmly believed that there was no monster in the mountains, believing that monsters existed in storybooks and nothing more. Granted she didn't know what was up there or what made the yells that echoed through the hills occasionally but not often, but she seriously doubted it was the monster suggested.

Rising from her bed, she donned her brown, cotton dress and slid her worn sandals on. She slipped through the house and into the field, silently. The door shut with a click behind her and she set off, almost at a run towards the base of the hills in the distance lest her mother come out and find her.

It took her longer than she had expected to reach the bottom of the mountains. It was near dawn when she found herself looking up the rocky path up into the mountains and after so long running she very much regretted not stopping at the well for a refreshing drink of water. Pausing at the base of the path she shook her long, dark hair out of her face and stepped onto the stones that began the path.

It was at times like these she wished she could afford new shoes. She could feel each individual stone press against her soles as she stepped up the path, following it through, unsure of what she was looking for. The sun rose for which she was both thankful and fearful. Thankful for she no longer stumbled in the dark, fearful because her family would have risen and found her gone. With her bloodstained sandals where the sharper stones had cut into her foot, she would have a hard time explaining her night-time venture to her mother.

As she followed the path, she found that the mountain was not as she expected. There were occasional trees and flowers along the path, bushes lined the road and to her relief, they bore berries of which she could partake to prevent her hunger growing uncomfortable.

She had been walking for hours, with determination. She vowed not to return to her home without proof there was no monster. Eventually the fatigue caught up with her and she collapsed, weary and exhausted, yet still determined.

As she sat, panting against the bush, she could hear the distant trickle of water. Her ears pricked and she listened. She could hear water. Rising, she stumbled through the bushes until she literally stumbled upon a trickle of clean, flowing water through the rocks. She gulped it down, thanking whatever God cared to listen. After her thirst had been quenched she fell back against the rocky wall and looked around.

Opposite her, against the rocks was an odd pile of larger rocks. There looked like there had been the entrance to a cave there once, but it had long caved in. Rising, curiously she examined her way around the rocks. There was a gap in the fallen rocks, not very big but she was certain she could fit through it. Hoping she could use the cave for a safe place to rest before she continued, she found herself slipping through the gap with ease and room to spare.

Inside to her surprise, there was more light than she would have thought. Sunlight shone through the cracks in the ceiling, and not to mention the gap she had just climbed through. The floor of the cave was littered with branches that had no doubt been taken from the berry-laden bushes from the road beyond. Lyra knelt down and picked up a branch, the leaves had long died and had not been cast aside recently. Yet there were some that didn't look that old to her. She looked around in confusion which intensified when she saw a faint light deeper into the cave.

She stepped cautiously toward the light and eventually left the cave tunnel finding the main part of the cave. She didn't have time to look around though, her attention was drawn to the centre of the floor. A fire crackled, but before it sat a man. She gasped, alerting the man to her presence. He turned to fix piercing blue eyes upon her, his long, fine blonde hair lifting even with the slightest movement.

"Who are you?" she gasped.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice was hoarse as if he hadn't spoken for years.

"I…I…" Lyra stuttered, trying to get over her shock, that and the man's arm had come into view. His right arm was far from ordinary but before she could study it properly he had risen,

"You're not supposed to be here, get out!" he shouted, the shout was so loud the rocks around her rumbled. In a panic Lyra fled from the scene and out of the cave. When she reached the outside world again she looked back, she had found the monster.

TBC

Yeah I know it was total crap bear with me! Please? x