Chapter 1 – The Incident
This is my first ever Legend of the Legendary Heroes fic, and I'm a little nervous. It feel a little weird to write something like this, because this chapter seems really sober. I usually write light hearted things, and this may seem like it doesn't flow together because of that. Sorry if the characters seem a little OOC, but I hope you enjoy it! The next chapter will most likely be out sometime next week, for anyone who is interested.
Italics are flashbacks
Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of the Legendary Heroes, and if I did the rest of the novels would be adapted into more seasons for the anime.
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up to something, sometime in your life. ~Winston Churchill
They were surrounded. The two of them against hundreds of soldiers, with more pouring in from the forest around them. Ryner and Sion stood back to back, fighting with magic and sword in the middle of the crowd, both equipped with swords, but Ryner was depending solely on his.
They were in a dangerous country where Alpha Stigmas were the ultimate monstrosity. The people, both nobles and commoners alike hated the Stigmas with a passion, with decades of bad history involving them. If Ryner used his gift, which was considered a curse to many, not only would they be killed on the spot, but this nation would declare war upon Roland once they saw him with Sion. Even though they were under cover, with Sion's hair pulled into bun under his hood to make it less noticeable, his golden eyes, silver hair, and royal features make him easily recognizable to many people.
Sion fought with a sword in one hand and the other was used to cast magic. Even though they were ridiculously outnumbered, the two had a silent agreement that they wouldn't go down without a fight.
"Sion," Ryner grunted as he deflected an incoming spell with his sword. He hit a nearby soldier over the head with the hilt of his sword and knocked him out. "Let me use magic. I can make a distraction and we can get away!"
From behind him, Sion responded quietly. "No, Ryner. We can't risk it. But look over there, to your left. There's a small gap where soldiers aren't filling it in." he directed a lightning spell to knock out five more soldiers. "Go, quickly! I'll cover you."
"You're going first. I'll cover you.
"This isn't up for deba-"
"You're royalty, Sion. If we lose you, the consequences would be a lot worse than if I die. Either you go first, or we don't go at all."
With one last spell, Sion ran towards the gap in the soldiers, deflecting a spell on the way. He almost got hit by a couple, but he kept running. He looked back to see Ryner walking backwards towards him, the crowd closing in around him as he did. He shot another cast another spell to help keep the gap open, and Ryner shoved the remaining soldiers out of the way. He ran for the tree line a hundred feet away, and watched from the bushes as Ryner ran to his hiding spot. The mob of soldiers was close on his tail, and Sion quickly cast a fog cover to throw them off. Ryner appeared from the fog cloud, and the two quickly retreated deeper into the forest.
"Ryner-"
"No, Sion, we're not discussing it."
"It was still risky and unnecessary. I was the one with magic, and if you got hurt I would have never forgiven myself."
There was no response.
"Ryner."
"Ryner! Do you really think your life is so worthless?"
"Some lives are just worth less than others."*
They had slowed down and started to walk, and were quite some distance from the fight by now. Although the soldiers still looking for them, they could slow down for the time being.
After an hour of walking, they had not reached a village and were alone in the middle of nowhere. All their supplies, horses included, were left back at the Inn they stayed at before the fight.
Sion had just dragged Ryner out of bed before he slept through the afternoon. He shoved him into the bathroom and threw his clothes after him with a shout of "Get dressed, we're leaving soon."
As soon as Ryner was done, they headed over to the market, and he kept Sion company with his whining.
"Why couldn't you have just let me sleep? You can go to the market yourself, you know."
Sion gave a beaming smile at him in response. "Then you wouldn't have been ready and we would have wasted more time. Besides, you sleep too much."
When they came to a stall selling fresh fruit and meat, he elbowed Ryner, who was looking towards a stall full of pastries. "We're not getting those, you know that."
Ryner pouted. "C'mon, Sion! We have all the money in the world! Can't we get just one?" Sion just turned back around to the stall.
"If I let you have everything, you're going to get spoiled. We don't want that happening."
"You're already a spoiled tyrant, Mr. I'm-the-king-of-Roland-so-I-get-whatever-I-want." He smacked Ryner on the head and quietly whispered.
"Remember where we are. Here, I'm not the kind of Roland; I'm your cousin." He watched as Ryner's eyes widened a fraction at his mistake.
"Sorry. Anyway, what do you want here?" Ryner looked over the produce and scowled at the meat.** "There's free breakfast and lunch included with the room at the Inn. Is their food not good enough for you?" He got out a cloth sack from his pocket and looked at the apples and oranges that were sitting in crates.
"No, we're going back once we're done here, but we'll be on the road all day and I don't intend to make any unnecessary stops. We're already behind schedule, and at this rate we won't make it to the border in time."
The lady at the stall had just finished helping a customer, and turned to them in time to see Sion hood be blown down by a sudden gust of wind. "My, golden eyes and silver hair is quite rare! Are you a traveler, sir?" She smiled kindly as Sion returned one of his own charming smiles.
"Yes, Ma'am, my cousin and I," he gestured to Ryner, "Are traveling to the coast to visit family." Ryner glared at him and mumbled something under his breath.
The merchant gave Ryner a smile as well and gestured to her wares. "Then take some food with you. Fruit will help you keep up your energy, and I'll throw in a chicken for free if you get more than ten of any fruit!" Sion gave an amused glance towards Ryner and faced the lady.
"Thank you very much for the kind offer, but my friend doesn't eat meat and I'm afraid it'll spoil if just I take it." The woman shrugged, and Sion bagged a few apples, oranges and kiwis. He paid for the food, and turned around to go back to the Inn, but he noticed a guard walking towards him. He glanced at Ryner, who was watching the guard from the corner of his eye, and back to the guard, who came straight up to him.
"Who are you? You're not from around here, and few travelers are permitted within our borders. Do you have proof of permission?"
Sion put a shocked expression on his face to keep up the commoner act. "Sir, I'm just a common traveler, my cousin and I-"
"Sion Astal, hero king of Roland." He spat out the word out like it was poison. "Your presence is not welcome in our country. Any state that allows monsters within their borders will be forever an enemy to us." The guard reached for his sword, and Sion and Ryner took off running, leaving the fruit behind
Sion continued walking until he found a small clearing, and signaled for Ryner to stop. He heard the footsteps behind him go silent, and turned around to face him.
"We need to stop. Tomorrow we have to find a village and get new supplies, and leave this country as soon as we can…" He trailed off. Ryner was swaying on his feet, and Sion started forward as he collapsed. He caught Ryner and gently lowered him to the ground, and felt something wet on his side. He withdrew his hand and gasped as it came back red.
*- A quote based on a conversation in BBC's Merlin, the Poisoned Chalice
**- Personal headcannon that Ryner is vegetarian
So, liked it? Hated it? Let me know, and tell me what you think. If you read this all the way down to here, thanks for sticking with me! My writing definitely isn't the best, and could use a lot of work. Sorry for any errors, spelling, grammar or otherwise. Thanks for reading, and good fortune to you all!