A/N: So, hello, fellow readers, it's been a long time since I've posted something on , so I guess this may be considered a return? Anyhow, what I really wanted to say was, this story is inspired by Synchronicity, Lost Destination amongst other Vocaloid songs. :) I hope you enjoy. Also, before I forget to mention it - this is a Gen fic. - meaning very little to no pairings at all. In a few chapters time, I will update this ficlet with who the two main characters are, so yeah, stay tuned?
Disclaimer: I'm not sure if people still do this, but, for old time's sake, I do not own vocaloid. This applies for all chapters. I merely own the plot and plot direction.
PROLOGUE - PART I
As the first rays of the setting sun touched the reclusive village in an array of golden oranges, browns and yellows, a fair-haired boy noted, belatedly, that he was most definitely late.
Back pressed against a wooden surface – one of the sides of a house on the outskirts of the city, thoughts swirled around the young boy's mind, thoughts of his equally little sister.
Late was bad. Late meant Rin – his energetic twin sister had probably set off from home to find him now… Late meant Rin would spot him here, surrounded by a group of three and everything would go to hell.
He sighed, shaking his head. The other children in the village didn't take too kindly to either him or his sister because of their fair hair and blue eyes, so different from their own darker brand.
Raising his head once more, he stared straight at the tallest one of the three surrounding him, their figures casting shadows upon his face, waiting and watching for any changes in posture…any sudden movements.
It was always good to be cautious. Especially when they were armed with stones.
"Len Kagamine," a brown-haired boy intoned, "This turf is ours."
'Know your place' his equally brown eyes seemed to say, 'know your place because you have no right to be here'. He was like Len, scruffy and in mismatched clothes that did not fit him – his hair, equally as mused and face smudged with dirt from the day's activities.
But that was where their similarities ended. Len, an orphan brought up by a kind villager: Lily; he, the next chief of the village. It was obvious who held more power between the rag-tag youths.
Think, Len told himself. Think. There was a way out. There always was a way out. Behind sea blue eyes, he thought, mind whirling with complexities unfitting of his youthful age.
"Hey!" a feminine voice screamed from nearby. Len blinked, thoughts whirling to a stop as he turned to face the direction the voice came from. The three surrounding him followed suit.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The setting sun enveloped her back in an orange hue, hands on her hips the young girl stood tall and intimidating, a frown plastered to her face as the dwindling sunlight set her fair hair and sea blue eyes ablaze with life. A breeze caught on her short hair and light dress, sparking light and shadows to dance over her form as she glared at them from afar, feet positioned stiffly on the earthy ground below them.
"Leave my brother alone!"
Len sighed, a strong overwhelming urge to protest and shield her from the other three youths surfacing. Squashing it down slightly, he yelled back: "Rin! I'm fine! I'll be there in a bit!"
As if to reiterate his position amongst them, the brown haired boy stepped forward. "You're not going anywhere," he hissed – raising his stone clenched hand.
Len pushed off from the wooden surface of the house, ducking under the village chief's son's raised arm – thankful for his lack of height for once, and raced off – pulling Rin by the arm after him.
"Run!" he yelled to the skies.
And run, they did.
Further – zip-zagging around the clutter of houses on either side of them – away from the outskirts of the city. Further – away from the outraged yells of the three who followed them – into the labyrinth of small earthy roads their village encompassed. Further – into the vivid green forest behind it all – towards the river, they ran; from the voices, from the villagers, from the world.
This was their secret hiding spot.
Eventually the duo stopped, breathing heavily, hair and clothes mused as they came to sit by the rushing water of the river.
Rin was the first to break the tranquillity – laugher tickling its way up through her mouth. Her blue eyes laughed along silently as she pointed to the dishevelled appearance of her brother. Len, being the more 'mature' one, looked away, eyes holding a touch of annoyance before he too – succumbed to laugher at Rin's appearance. Her white ribbon rested askew upon her fair hair which clung to her face. It was as if she had been run over by a wind storm and had survived to tell the tale.
Rin glanced down at the river, aghast at her own appearance before her eyes narrowed at the laughing figure of her brother's. 'You…' they almost seemed to say.
Jumping forward, Rin tackled her brother over, tickling him mercilessly.
"Ahhaha – O-okay ha – I give – I give!" he gasped, their laughter mingling in the wind.
"So you were late," Rin muttered, pouting. "Remember? You promised we would meet up before the sun began to set."
It had been a few minutes since they had gotten over the thrill of escaping.
Len sighed, "I got held up by the village chief's son alright?"
"I know," Rin muttered, "but still."
Gesturing for Len to move closer to her, she continued. "You need to show them who's in charge! Like this!" she said, gesturing wildly and giving Len a well-placed uppercut.
"Ow!" he yelled, holding the edge of his jaw.
"Opps," Rin said, a small unapologetic smile playing on her lips.
Len shook his head. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently.
"Anyway ~" Rin began in a sing-song voice, brushing off her dress as she stood up, "let's go!" she said excitedly, dragging Len deeper into the forest. "We've got to find Vere again!"
It was a special forest.
It was their secret.
It was the forest of a God.
"Vere!" Rin called out into forest. "Vere!"
"Who speaks?" an old, grave voice spoke, echoing around them as if it was the forest itself.
"Vere! It's us!" Len yelled back at the forest.
It was then – that an ancient, calming presence loomed before them, slowly dissipating as the figure, translucent like water, appeared before them.
The brother and sister held their breaths. No matter how many times they had witnessed the God's water-like form, it never ceased to amaze them – the flowing, tied up translucent hair, the well-defined features, the robe of pure water...
They had spent many days within this forest, returning to it, always, when the sun set and leaving for their home where Lily resided, content and at peace, later during the night.
"Vere, tell us a story!" Rin demanded the figure, stomping her right foot slightly as she did so.
The figure's eyes creased slightly as his chuckle reverberated within their minds.
"What story would you like to hear today, little legacies?" Again, his question seemed to be spoken from within their minds, a foreign language without words that Vere had allowed both Rin and Len to understand.
"You should stop that you know," Len spoke, eyebrows creasing. "You can speak our language, there's no need for us to communicate within our minds."
"That is true, young one," Vere replied. Again, only his eyes seemed to speak – his lips, motionless. "But this old, forgotten God prefers it this way."
Len shrugged and looked away.
"Tell us that story again!" Rin said excitedly, "that one about the Gods and Goddesses and how they used to form contracts with humans and bring them to either glory or doom!"
"Ah, the Era of Glory?" Vere queried. At their nods, he continued, "Alright, but first, take a seat," he said, gesturing to the forest floor.
Both Rin and Len obediently complied.
"Long, Long, ago," Vere began, "many hundreds of years before you two were born, there existed an era, an era of Glory…"
Rin and Len listened, transfixed. The old God's voice always took on a distinctly reminiscent tone as he began telling them a tale from the Era of Glory, as if he was reliving the moment himself.
"Many great men and women rose up to become the ancestors who raised the powerful city of Ese Verwn, this country's capital since olden times…"
"But they weren't always great men and women, oh no," Vere continued, shaking his head as if to illustrate the point, "before they were kings and queens, they were warriors – before they were warriors, they were children…"
Rin and Len sat, right and left hand respectively entwined as they continued to listen with rapt attention.
"What was his name? Ah yes, Dominus, the one who rose above them all – sealing a contract with Ezus, God of the skies and ruler of the seas…"
"His journey was not an easy one, but it was he who gathered up strong warriors from many different villages, earning their trust and founding Ese Verwn and this country…"
Vere shook his head. "As a youth, Dominus knew little of his own destiny which lay ahead of him until he met Ezus…"
And so Vere told them – told the two legacies of the many adventures of Dominus and Ezus, their victories and defeats, their hopes and despairs, tolerance and wrath... until the sun stooped low in the horizon, far above the forest and small village.
As the last orange hues of sunlight drew away from the small village, Rin and Len returned, fingers threaded, tired and worn from the day, into the warm well-lit house of Lily, their caretaker.
It had been another day of peace.
Another day Len wanted to keep within his memories forever.
And Len hoped, hoped with all the might his young spirit of nine possessed that these days would last forever.
TBC
A/N: Thanks for reading. I'm not sure if their characterisations are really that noticeable...but yeah, tell me your thoughts.
