This is my first star ocean fanfic, so pretty please be kind. Just an idea that popped into my head one day, so i thought, why not write a fanfic on it?

I hope you enjoy. If you hate it, review anyway. I like reviews XD. Oh and if I get any facts wrong, feel free to tell me, and I'll make changes so they're fixed.

Disclaimer : I don't own anything you recognise. Just my own brain...

The air was fresh. The night was young, as was the lady huddled in her bed covers. Producing a small globe of light in her hand, she marvelled at it. How could something so precious, like light, be created from her?

She had the gift of runology in her blood; the tattoos on various parts of her body represented this. However, never could she practice this amazing gift in public. The main reason for this was her mother, who had been the one who had chosen the surname Zelpher. She was so opposed to this runology; often she had seen her throw stones at those with the tattoos.

This was the reason she had to cover up. She knew that if he saw those tattoos on her ankles or wrists, she would most probably kill her.

She shook her head, in an attempt to dispel the thoughts. Her bright red hair, cut short, just below the ears, shook with it, annoying Nel even more. How much she would love to have hair that could just be tied back, so it no longer bothered her. She had always been told to keep it short, as her mother told her if she acted like a boy, she could have hair like one.

Maybe her mother felt Nel acted like a boy because of her decidedly boyish traits. For instance, from a young age, she had practiced skills with daggers, until now, she could easily hit a target hundreds of meters away, so skillfully, the dagger had to be removed from the target with another weapon, generally an axe. Firstly, her mother had complained, even attempted to take the weapons away. This did not last long, as then Nel's father had returned home and persuaded her mother that it was a great idea, as she needed to be able to protect herself.

The small family of three lived in Arias; an area known for the fighting that often took place between Airyglyph and Aquios. Though they were supposed to be on the side of Aquios, Nel knew that her mother had always supported Airyglyph because of her well-known intolerance for magic, not believing in it at all. Her father, Neville, was a top spy for Queen Romera, and was often away on business, meaning Nel was usually left at home only with her mother for company. This was yet another reason why Nel's mother hated Aquios, and the queen with a strong passion, as she loved Neville more than anything, even her daughter.

Nel was different to both of her parents, as she supported neither, and hated bloodshed. The only reason she had practiced with her dagger was because she wanted her father to be proud of her. She saw him so little, it was a hard task to do, but she wanted him to start to take notice of her. This had succeeded, and he had taught her many spying techniques.

To make her mother happy, Nel wore a skirt, though she had always detested it. It would have appeared common for a girl to wear anything other, and her mother hated the common. However, in her there was a large streak of rebel ness, so instead of the normal calf length skirt, she wore a mini, barely covering her underwear. The only problem, Nel had found with this, was that in winter, it was unbearably cold. To compensate this, she had taken to wearing a woolly scarf, which kept her neck and face nice and toasty.
With her light globe, Nel curled up into a tight ball, reading a large worn book. It was about the history of runology, a subject she adored. She read page after page, her wide blue eyes never becoming tired. As she finished reading the last page, a sound erupted from the darkness. Nel quickly lifted her head from under the covers, wondering where on Elicoor the sound had come from. As she had the globe in her hand, she saw that there was nothing odd in her room. Which meant something must be happening outside.

The sounds of screaming filled the air, fulfilling Nel's suspicions. What could it be? Quickly, she changed into her normal outfit, placing the 15 or so knives around herself. Though she normally only used 2 in battle, it was always useful to have spares. She crept out through her door in a ninja motion, leaving no notion of her departure. This was one of the many things she had learnt from Neville, though he definitely did not want to see his little girl go into the world of spy hood. He was a traditionalist, instead wanting her to marry a nice boy who was wealthy and had many connections. She tiptoed through the landing, as one thing she definitely did not want to do was to wake up her mother, who was cranky at the best of times. However, as Neville was at home on a break from being a spy, Nel's mother slept soundly beside him.

She jogged down the stairs, being careful to mind all the odd bumps and lumps that would cause the staircase to creak loudly, and would bring Her out of the slumber. Opening the door, she thanked the goddess that her dad always kept it well oiled in case of emergency. She exited the grand house in the centre of Aquios.

Immediately, she grabbed her two favourite daggers, twirling them in her fingers in an attempt to warm up. The reason for this was that the town was in chaos. Fire surrounded many buildings, the smoke swirling, causing the air to become thick and it slightly clouded Nel's vision.

It became apparent quickly that it was yet another attempt by Airyglyph to take control of the little town of Arias. Clenching her fist around the dagger, she tried desperately to locate the enemy. Firstly, she saw a group of people lying on the ground, most certainly dead, from the large puddles of blood that surrounded them. All Nel could do was hold the sick that threatened to erupt from her mouth down, and carry on looking.

Finally, she found what she had been looking for. A group of soldiers stood near the exit of Arias. Everything turned red for Nel, and she threw the two daggers, which firmly implanted themselves in the hearts of two of the soldiers. She didn't even care that they were her first and second kill.

However, this definitely gained the attention of the rest of the mass of soldiers, as they glanced around, attempting to find the man who had thrown the daggers.
What they did not expect was a young girl, so as their eyes scanned over her, they seemed to miss the way her hands were poised, as if in mid throw.

Only when two more men fell dead to the ground, did the idea that it may have been the young girl entered one of the men's mind.
He signalled to the other men, and as artfully as soldiers could be, they crept towards Nel. Nel was to entranced to notice.

This was because she had turned, looking at the destruction. Still, many houses were blazing, but many had been fully turned to ash.

A scream filled the air as she looked to the centre of Arias, where her mansion was allocated. It was the scream of Nel Zelpher, as the mansion was another building that had begun blazing.

Her father was in there. The one man Nel adored with all of her heart. So was her mother, but neither felt any love for the other. They were not even acquaintances. She had to save her father. She had to get in.

But as she made her way to the door, the soldiers who had been creeping up on her, reached their destination, grabbing Nel, which stopped her movement.
Again she screamed, trying to get them to hear that her father was in there! He was asleep! He was going to die if they didn't let her go!

They didn't care, the people in the house were simply Aquios scum. Instead, they picked the young girl up, taking care of the many daggers that were on many parts of her body.

She fought and fought, but couldn't get away. Instead, she was forced to watch, the house burn down, the acrid smell of burning flesh entered her nostrils. Neville was gone. The only relative she cared about. Nel broke down and cried, letting the soldiers take her away.
And there you go. Hopefully I'll update soon, but I need to wait till some ideas enter my little head.

Please review, but all I ask is that if you flame me, please give me some helpful hints.

Thank you all!!

Bron1991