Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the characters involved in the Bastard! series, they belong to Kazushi Hagiwara. I only claim ownership of Elira as she is of my own creation as well as any spells that are read here.

Haunting Melodies

Chapter 1 - Cryptic Identity

Bubbles swished around the end of the reddish hued tail fin, they floated to the surface before disappearing, diamond shapes of the sun beams filtered through the ocean, and a large shadow passed over it. It appeared to look like a ship, the tail fin paused in its powerful movements, the shadow passed over the reddish scales that slowly gradiented to purple until it reached fair skin. Silvery aqua colored hair flowed all around the half-fish human, obscuring the face from view as the massive shadow passed over the creature. Direction had changed as it swam up towards the hull of the ship, touching the bottom with delicate finger tips, wondering what could be harbored within. Before anything could be thought further, the ship rocked violently, the creature quickly surfaced to see the commotion, only to find that another ship had fired upon it. Large black spherical objects were launched from the cylindrical shapes. One landed near the creature but it managed to evade before ducking beneath the surface to help the wayward ship.

The half-fish humanoid had reached the hull, strong but delicate hands grabbed onto the ladder that was swinging carelessly from the side, the creature held a feminine shape with a thin light blue strapped dress and dark blue sash with a bow on the back covering her torso to the middle of the tail fin, and she peeked over the edge. Crimson eyes looked left and right before ascending onto the deck to see if she could be of any help to the wayward sailors. When she realized that they ignored her, she sighed, and was about to return to the water but a large sphere had crashed into the center of the ship. The impact threw debris everywhere, the mast was damaged, and began to fall towards the center of the ship. Another sphere rocked into it, she held on for balance as half her body was that of a fish, and she looked up to see the mast falling towards her. So she let go, in hopes that she wouldn't be injured too badly, but the mast had other plans. It smacked her in the head, immediately knocking her unconscious as she fell back into the water, her body floating with the currents of the ocean.

It carried her away from the battling ships, she twirled in the undertow, was tossed about in the violent currents, and she was finally set to rest in the calm waters that ebbed to and fro. Sea foam dotted around her face as she floated on her back, the sun shining upon her sleeping visage. Her body was gently placed upon the sandy banks of a deserted beach littered with various sizes of driftwood. The creature of the sea was unconscious still, her tail fin was curled as she lay on her back, it slowly faded into a set of human legs, a defense mechanism when out of the water. So she lay there in the darkness of her own mind, not knowing where she was or what she was as the event was traumatic for her beautiful and fragile mind.

-::::::-

The sun was shining brightly upon the beach as a woman chuckled aloud to no one in particular, her bare feet happily digging into the warm sand, and her amber eyes glowing at the man that stood beside her. He was smirking to her as they walked along the beach, enjoying one another's company as they sauntered through the sand with their hands linked together. As odd as the sight appeared with his long white hair and her short fiery orange hair but there was more to the couple than appearances. The woman stated happily, "It's so nice to be out here right Rushe?" The man she had indicated nodded but there was a bit of a scowl behind that false smile on his face.

"Yoko can we go back to my room at the palace and have a bit of fun?" he asked slyly. Her anger immediately boiled up as she whirled onto the man. Ready to strike him but he caught both of her hands deftly while tugging her towards his body. "Now, now, you've done that to me far too many times when I was much smaller than you. I don't think you'll be able to do it again." He leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips but she gasped loudly and maneuvered out of his grasp. Rushe sighed in frustration as he watched her dart around his body, the man turned around to see what had caught her attention, and noticed the woman that had just washed ashore. Blue eyes watched as she ran to the woman, he trudged behind her, not wanting to actually be involved in the task, and paused when he was a few feet away from the fallen woman. "Can we leave her here? She's intruding upon my private time," he stated grumpily.

Yet Yoko was by the woman's side, turning her onto her back, and she noticed that her eyes were closed with shallow breaths. "Rushe she's barely alive! We need to get her back to Metallicana as soon as possible!" she exclaimed. When her amber eyes darted from the fallen woman to the man behind her, he sighed once more in defeat as he knew he wouldn't win against her, and so the male approached the shipwrecked woman. He looked scrutiningly at her but for some reason the woman held a magical aura, he could sense it, so he bent down, and picked her up. "You're such a good person Rushe. I promise that once she's well then you and I will have some time together."

"Good because I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to last if you keep teasing me."

"Huh? Teasing you? What do you mean?"

A smirk arose on his face, "Oh you've been teasing me the whole time Yoko. Bending over, squatting, and brushing against me. I know you've been doing it on purpose to rile me up." At this, Yoko's face turned crimson and she couldn't find her voice. "But since you promised some alone time then I won't have to force myself on you." At this her outraged cry followed by calling him an idiot but he only smirked at her as he headed back to the horses that had been tethered by the tree line. Riding back is going to be difficult with her but I'm sure we'll manage. This magic, it feels like water so Kall should be happy to someone of his element around. The man chuckled at his own thoughts as his fiery spirited companion caught up to him. They mounted their horses and rode out to Metallicana as fast as they were able in order to save the woman's life that they had discovered on the shoreline.

-::::::-

Noises intruded upon her dark mind, some were loud, others were soft, but the presence of magic was all around her. She was sure that such noises were not around the last that she remembered but then again her head hurt. Yet the noises were so unbearable, her eyes flashed open at one particularly loud bang, and she sat upright. Immediately her head pounded, her pale hands covered both sides of her face while her eyes were squeezed shut, and her breathing was ragged. The noise seemed to have abated but the pounding was excruciating. A voice hollered somewhere in the room, "Father! Come quick! She's awake!" Pounding feet echoed in the hall, there were a set of hands on top of her own, but she refused to open her eyes or even try to move her hands for fear of the pounding to continue. "Father, I think there's something wrong with her head."

A deep male voice replied, "Yes, it appears that there is some slight head trauma but nothing serious." The man sat down on the bed as it sank, the other woman's hands had been removed and his hands were now on the strange woman's own. He whispered, "Don't be afraid. Remove your hands, I have something that will help you. I'm a priest, a healer." At the word, 'healer' she slowly removed her hands and slowly opened those crimson irises. They turned up to see the man with the deep voice, his eyes were dark brown with matching hair and a moustache. He handed her a cup, "Here drink this and your headache will go away." She took the cup gratefully, the first sip was tentative, but she seemed to like it all the same, and finished it off. The man was surprised, "Normally people don't like the taste of the herbs. It's usually too grassy for them. Did you like it?"

The woman with crimson eyes wanted to speak so she opened her mouth and her voice was soft, "Yes. It..was enjoyable." She gave him a weak smile that made him give her a strong warm one in return. "Who are you?" The priest smiled as he took the cup from her, he refilled it with a decanter he had brought with him, and handed the cup back to her. He noticed that she took smaller sips this time around.

"I'm Geo and this is my daughter Yoko. She found you on the beach," replied Geo. The woman standing in the room smiled at her and waved. Another few sips were taken and Geo was beginning to wonder where she had come from since no one in the kingdom so readily drank the herbal concoctions that the old woman created. Hmm...there is something strange about her but I don't know what it is yet. For now I want her to get better so she can walk and take care of herself. "Do you remember anything?"

She thought and replied, "I remember my name but that's it."

"What's your name?" asked Yoko.

Ruby colored orbs turned onto the amber ones of the priest's daughter as she replied with a small smile, "Elira."

Yoko replied, "Pleased to meet you. I'll be watching over you when my dad's not here. This way one of us will always be here for you."

"Thank you Yoko, Geo. I appreciate the help." She finished the second cup and handed it back to Geo but there was a rumbling from her stomach. Elira laughed, "I guess I'm hungry." The others joined in her laughter as she looked at them, "I don't want to intrude..."

"Don't worry Elira. You'll be fine. What do you like to eat?" asked Yoko. The woman that washed ashore shrugged, "I see. Well I'm going to get you some soup since it's easy to digest and I don't know how long you were out at sea. I'll be back!" With that the priest's daughter darted out of the small room which made Elira smile as her face turned to look at Geo.

He had placed the cup and decanter on a bureau not far from the bed before returning, "I know that it's going to be hard for you but you have amnesia which means you have no memory. I'm sure it won't impact you too much but know that your memory may never return. Is this alright with you?"

Elira smiled, "What will be, will be. If it returns, wonderful and if it does not then I will do my best to stay here and return the kindness you have shown me." Geo smiled at her words, she was a blessing but again there was that feeling of something more to her than she let on or she didn't remember. However it wasn't long lived as there were more noises outside in the hall. Elira looked at the open door, just as a burly man walked by carrying a sword followed by another leaner built man with long white hair. She quirked an eyebrow at Geo who only laughed. A dark skinned elf with long raven hair paused in the doorway, her crimson eyes turned towards the girl that sat in the bed, and she felt the same energy from her; water magic.

Her voice was like the forest, "Geo who is our newest guest?" She entered the room while closing the door behind her. The armor she wore squeaked as she took a seat in the free chair that was sitting idly by the small end table. "Your eyes..."

"I have the same color as yours," replied Elira.

The elf smiled, "I'm Arshes Nei."

"I'm Elira."

Arshes looked to Geo who replied, "Elira was found washed ashore by Yoko and Dark Schneider. She just woke up a short while ago and she has amnesia."

"Pity," replied Arshes. There seemed to be genuine sincerity in her voice that the priest had picked up on but didn't know a reason for it. She was cold to most people and this was something unique altogether but he was willing to let it ride its course out until Elira would remember something. "I do hope you regain your memory soon Elira."

"Thank you Arshes. You're very kind," replied Elira just as the elf excused herself and left the room while closing the door behind her. Her crimson eyes were curious about the elf, "She's very nice."

"Only to you, to others she's quite cold," answered Geo.

"Oh?" asked Elira and the great priest nodded as Yoko returned with some soup for the woman. It was placed into her hands, Elira blew on it gently, and took a tentative sip of it. It was a simple vegetable mixture but it tasted wonderful, so she looked at Yoko and smiled. "Thank you. It's delicious." Elira continued to sip at the soup while Yoko explained many different things about the castle. Once she finished her liquid food, Elira held the bowl on her lap, "Is there anything that I can do? I want to repay the kindness that you two have shown me so if there is anything that I can do to help then please let me know."

The father and daughter looked at one another as if they were thinking in tandem but it was Geo that looked back to Elira, "There isn't much to do here that's easy work. Perhaps you can help in the fields picking the crops or help with turning sheep wool into yarns and fabrics. There are many things to do in the kingdom so you can take your pick but that's only when you're strong enough to walk. For now, rest up and eat more food. I have to go see the old woman for more of this remedy while Yoko can get you more soup." His daughter nodded to him while he left and she took a seat next to Elira so that they could converse to one another. Mainly it was Yoko talking about the kingdom and what she could do to help out.

-::::::-

Weeks passed and Elira was able to regain her strength so she found herself beginning to wander around the castle, her eyes taking note of everything around her, and mentally putting it away for later use. She had not run into Arshes Nei yet and she was feeling a little sad but that feeling was quickly pushed away as she began to realize that the inhabitants of Metallicana were quite warm towards her. These people are so friendly here. I do hope that I can find something to do here so that I can stay. Maybe I can help with tailoring. I'm sure I can learn something easy like that or quilting. Even though the thought was pleasing to her, she just didn't feel right about anything. Nothing she saw seemed to fit her and so she traveled outside of the castle for the first time.

The marketplace was bustling with strange sounds, smells, and people. Elira didn't have any money but she wasn't looking to buy anything, in fact she wanted to see if a particular trade caught her eye. Although Elira was fascinated by everything that she saw, merchants hawked their wares, and even tried to get her to come over to them especially the ones that sold boots. She merely shook her head and noticed her bare feet, it may have been proper to get some sort of shoe but she just didn't like the encasements of her feet. She politely declined their offer and continued to search for something that she could help out with to repay the kingdom's hospitality.

She was rather fond of doing manual labor, as she enjoyed walking around the marketplace barefoot, although no one mentioned this to her. Elira greeted the inhabitants and they returned her warm greeting, her crimson eyes continued to glance around to see if she could find something useful, but there was nothing that caught her eye until she saw the scales glimmer in the sun. It was fish, they were lined on a plank for sale, cleaned, and beheaded. She immediately made her way over to the merchant, her eyes roamed over the fish, she knew their species.

"Hi young lady. See something you fancy?" came the grovelly voice of the merchant. She looked up at him and smiled, "Ah! So you're the new addition to Metallicana. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you as well sir. I noticed that you were selling river trout. Where do you get the trout?" The man stared at her and bellowed out a hearty laugh.

He grinned, "You sure do know your fish. Well, it so happens that I travel up river. It's rather large and houses quite a lot of fish so I always do well."

"Oh? But you didn't specify which river. There are quite a few around this area."

The man was silent as he found her statements to be far too observant, instead of embarrassing him any more, Elira took her leave of him, and said her farewells. Her bare feet quickly maneuvered her through the throng of people so that she could return to the castle. Once through the mass, she took in a deep breath of fresh air before continuing onward.

She greeted the guards at the entrance of the large wooden doors before entering, she paused in her walking so that she could take a few deep breaths of the still air in the castle, and something thrust her forward. Elira caught her balance, she turned around to see a large man with dark brown eyes, brown hair, and a large build. He was familiar to her and she recognized the sword he carried, she had seen him the day she awoke in Metallicana.

"My apologies, I should not have abruptly stopped. I was careless," she replied to him while curtsying her apology as best she could in her short dress.

"Don't worry about it. I could have watched where I was going too," he replied. "Name's Gara."

"I'm Elira."

"Ah, Arshes told me about you. The little lady who can't remember anything." Elira nodded, "Well come on, we're going in the same direction, and we don't want to hold up the line." At this she looked behind him to see no one and she laughed as they made their way through the castle. "You've got a nice laugh."

"Thank you."

Gara smiled, "So you can't remember anything at all huh?"

"Nothing but it's alright. What will be will be."

He nodded, "That's the truth. I hope you regain your memory Elira." She shrugged, he could tell that she wasn't particularly bothered by it and this made her intriguing to him. "Got any hobbies?"

Elira blinked her crimson eyes at him before smiling, "I like water. I'm not sure why but I have this fascination with water."

"Hmm...could be from your past. It's a start isn't it?"

The woman nodded as they parted ways and Elira entered her room. Once the door was closed, she turned around to see Yoko. "Hello."

"Hi Elira! I got you some new dresses made! They're just like the ones you're wearing now since you seem comfortable in them."

"Oh, thank you so much Yoko but this is too much!"

Yoko grinned and handed over the three new dresses, "Nonsense! I want to help you so I'm doing the best that I can. I hope you don't mind at all. Who were you talking to?"

Elira began to remove her light blue dress so that she could put on the orange one, "His name is Gara. He was very friendly to me and he mentioned something that seemed correct."

"Oh?"

The dress was put on and Elira smiled at it, "I like it. He said that my fascination with water could be from my past and I think he's right."