~Chapter 1~
In his dreams
Edea lay sleeplessly awake on her hard bed on Grandship. She had been counting sheep for hours. 826, 879... Her eyes finally drooped slowly. 999...Her eyes snapped open. That number, it some how sparked her memories from yesterday. She rolled in her bad and stared at Ringabel. He twitched ever so slightly when she gazed at him.
In his dream, Ringabel's memories rushed back to haunt him, and he let them.
Lightning stuck...
"Edea!" He had cried.
"Help!" The familiar voiced yelled in reply.
"I'm not letting go!" He yelled, clutching tighter and forcing his arm to gain altitude. I have to save her. My bride, my love, I must die if it means her survival!His thoughts trailed as his armored hand's grasp had slipped hers.
"Edea!" I yelled through the loud rain.
"Alternis!" She cried as she fell down the chasm. Alternis stood, astonished. There is no time to waste!He thought before throwing himself off the cliff. He dived, speeding up, he had to match her pace.
"Alternis!" She screeched in terror. The bottom of the abyss came into view. He sped up, then he cast Dark Bane above him, boosting him down. He then faced the bottom and cast Minus Strike. But in his attempts, The Dark Night Alternis Dim, was Edea's true slayer. To his horror, his sword had slipped from his wet armor and was trust through Edea's breast. Her eyes, they remained lifeless. His eyes closed in attempt to shed at least one tear. But it was too late. He landed on his back and the last thing he felt was pain, mentally and psychically. I hope i die. For now, i have nothing worth living for.
Ringabel bolted awake. He sat up swiftly, only to find the whole group starring at him. His eyes searched the group and caught Edea. Alive.He thought. But not for much longer.
"Are you OK Rin-" Edea cut off.
"Alternis." She finished.
"I'm fine." he said.
"We were just about to go awaken the wind crystal so we went to go wake you up and you were thrashing and mumbling..."
"It was just a bad dream." he said. A REALLY BAD DREAM.
He set off with the rest of the group to the wind crystal. And it was smooth sailing, most of the time.
"Uh, Ringabel?" a voice said.
"What?" He said busy piloting.
"S-sh-should we worry about that- that other airship?" Anges pointed off the deck at a huge airship, almost their size.
"Wow." he said in surprise.
"M-maybe they're friendly?" She said hopefully.
"I doubt i-"
*KA-BOOM!*
"Cannon fire! Take cov-"
*KA-BOOM!*
Again they assaulted the ship, making everyone go flying. Ringabel's hand gripped to the railing in fear he might fall.
*KA-BOOM!*
Ringabel went flying. Strait off the ship. He was knocked unconscious from the impact, soaring through the sky... as he had a dream.
~Chapter 2~
A man of his word
Abandon. No place to go. No place to call home. Had he become a burden so quickly that his parents left him before he got to know their names? Or were they afraid of him? Of his strength and his intelligence? He did not know the answer. He did not know if his family ever loved him. He did not know if they even gave him a chance. Still, he lived on. For two years, alone, sad, fearful. Stranded and lost, just as a toddler they had left him, when he was 3. He didn't even know his birthday. He couldn't even talk when they left him. Or walk, or SURVIVE. But he still did, for two years. But finally, on the third day of the sixth month, a friendly man took him in. Raised him, trained him, loved him. Like he was his own. On that day, he had a new birthday, and a new name, Alternis Dim...
"Alternis!" a familiar voice cried. Alternis looked at the road ahead. There stood Edea, his best friend, the man's daughter.
"Where you waiting here the whole time?" he asked. He had just come back from his battle training, and he was 11 years old.
"The whole time." she said in a happy tone. There was a big age difference between them. She was 6, and she looked to him as a brother, but Alternis wasn't sure if he felt the same way.
"Do you want to play hide and seek?" she asked.
"I have homework." He said, smiling.
"But you promised! Plus Victoria said she would play." Edea said. Victoria was only 4, but her intelligence was beyond belief. She was in the same class as him. And i'll tell you, that's a high level.
*Sigh* "OK fine. But only a couple of rounds." he said.
"Yeah! I'll go find Victoria!" She said, running off. Alternis stood up, glad. He smiled in a slight way that made him look ridiculous.
"Run! Run! It's coming! It's coming to kill us al-"
*SPLASH!*
Ringabel woke with a shake under water. He stared up at the surface before panicking, thrashing about and swimming to the surface. His head popped out of the water, taking huge breaths. He now remembered what was happening in the real world. He scaned the sky, while treading water. Grandship was nowhere to be found. He coughed, in attempt to remove the water lodged in his throat. He also hit his head from side-to-side to remove the water in his ears. Now, he searched for land, but found none. He chose one direction, and swam that way.
*cough cough!* "Is everyone OK?" Tiz yelled.
"I think they stopped firing!" He continued.
"Guys?"
"Tiz!" Anges yelled.
"Thank god you're OK." Tiz replied.
"Where is everyone else?" Anges asked.
He saw nothing but black, but he heard voices.
"Run! Run! It's coming! It's coming to kill us all!"
*SCREECH!*
"Alternis! Draw your blade, help me remove of this fiend!" Said an unknown feminine voice.
Ringabel heard nothing more except mumbling, as if he were deaf. Than, after awhile, Sound came back to fill the empty darkness.
"Edea, no!"
*SMACK!*
"That was brave, the way you risked your life for that little girl." Said the same female voice from before. Just then, visual returned to the dream. Alternis was laying down on a medical bed in the central healing tower, a blond hair girl sitting next to his bed. Praline. She was the same age as him, and, aparently, "totally cute" to everyone else in his class, and they all knew she had a crush on him.
"No, it was heroic." She said, after awhile.
"Hmmmm" Alternis groaned. He felt much pain in his back and his head.
"Arrrggg..." He shifted where he lay in attempt to find a more comfortable spot, only to find more pain.
"You OK?" Praline asked with concern.
"Fine..." He grunted.