Disclaimer: Just to be safe, I own absolutely nothing here, NOTHING!!!!
A/N: Note that I took quite a bit of liberty in setting a few of the backgrounds and character history, so please don't get all riled up when something seems weird, contradictory, out-of-character, or flat-out wrong. I haven't played these games for about two years now, so give me a break!
Chapter 2: Strange Encounter
A small expanse of green, clean-cut grass stretched out over the fields. In the middle of it stood a modest-looking mansion, which was surrounded by various other small buildings. A medium-sized tea table stood in the front lawn, one of the seats occupied by a young woman with long green hair and wearing a simple orange dress.
Elincia sighed as she put down her teacup on the table. Although she had been living in this mansion for as long as she could remember, she still had not gotten used to the silence that tended to loom over the place every so often. To make matters worse, this place was strictly kept hidden from the rest of the world, being located at a remote area of the huge castle complex. However, this did give her a great deal of freedom. As a result she had tried out many different activities, some more ladylike than others. Accompanying her would be her aides and good friends Lucia and Geoffrey, who were practically siblings to her. Another person who would visit frequently was Count Bastian, whose dramatic speech and antics were always a source of mirth for her. Alas, Geoffrey was currently running a quick check around the perimeters in case an outsider somehow wound up within the grounds. As for Bastian, he was off doing his… count-ly duties.
"Is anything the matter?" the blue-haired woman clad in white inquired upon hearing Elincia let out a sigh.
"Oh, nothing," Elincia shook her head, "I was just thinking that it's another quiet day".
Lucia face fell slightly. It was quite a depressing situation. Due to some complicated political matters, Elincia had been forced to live a hidden, secluded life. In order to prevent people from noticing, traffic in and out of the mansion they lived in was strictly limited. As a result, it couldn't be helped that Elincia's life was rather dull and monotonous. She and her brother tried their best to keep Elincia in high-spirits, but it pained them greatly whenever they saw her gazing longingly out into the far horizons.
"Say, how about-" Lucia was about to suggest a little sword practice in an effort to improve Elincia's mood, when she noticed something from the corner of her eyes.
A strange glow was being emitted from a large tree not so far from their current position. It continued to glow for a few more seconds, before completely dissipating. Whatever it was, it smelled like magic at work.
"That light came from near that tree over yonder…" Elinica said as she looked towards said direction.
"Wait right here, my lady, I will go and find out what happened," Lucia said as she entered into professional mode.
She was about to dash off when Elincia grabbed her arm and said, "Wait, I'm coming too."
"Oh no, you are definitely NOT. Who knows what happened over there? Stay here where it's safe, please," Lucia began to protest, but Elincia had no intention of obeying.
"I think it would be much safer with you rather than being on my own. Besides, if it's dangerous, then I definitely will not send you there alone!" she countered.
Lucia opened her mouth to say something, but then realized that once Elincia had her mind set on something, it was pointless to argue.
"All right then, but stay close to me at all times," she relented as she grabbed her sword off the table. Hopefully it will be allowed to stay in its scabbard….
The duo made their way down to the site where the light had disappeard. Nothing seemed wrong as they got closer to their destination. Even so, Lucia maintained constant vigilance, her hands at the ready on her sword's hilt, expecting something to pop out and ambush them at anytime. She certainly did not expect to find three people lying on the grass.
"What the? What are these people doing here?" Lucia was utterly puzzled. This area should be off-limits to any outsiders, so how did these 3 strangers end up sprawled over the grounds like this?
"Oh no, do you think they're hurt?" Elincia said worriedly. Certainly, the three figures were not moving at all.
"Well, only one way to find out," Lucia approached the three prone figures, never dropping her guard for an instance. Carefully, she turned over one of the strangers. She was surprised at how young the girl seemed. She must still be in her teens. What was she doing all the way out here? Rather, how did she get in here in the first place? More questions kept popping up as Lucia went to check up on the other two. Aside from the one with the blonde-streaked black hair she checked first, there was a boy with a rather messy blonde hair sporting a pair of glasses. The last one was another male, this one with jet black hair tied into a ponytail slightly off to the side. All of them appeared to be around the same age.
"Well, it looks like they are simply unconscious," she said as she finished examining the black haired boy, "Geoffrey should be coming here shortly if he saw the light. Then we'll have his men move these three inside for the time being, I suppose."
"That's a relief," Elincia replied with a smile as she peered into the black haired youth Lucia had just finished checking.
It was then that she realized all three of them were peculiarly dressed. The bespectacled young man was dressed in a rather coarse-looking blue pants, a dark green coat of sorts with a hood attached to it and a picture of a green and blue circle on it (A/N the earth), and a strange-looking pair of shoes with two short straps running across the top (stickies). She also noticed a large baggage near him. The girl was dressed more normally, with a pink long skirt, white shirt, a black coat of sorts (A/N like the blue one Rinoa in FFVIII wears), and a pair of open-toed slippers. She had a small purse slung across her shoulder. The last one was dressed in long black pants, long sleeved black shirt, and a short-sleeved white jacket with two long coattails and a rather elaborate picture of a dragon, a bird, a turtle with a snake wrapped around it, and a tiger(A/N Seiryu, Suzaku, Genbu, Byakko). He also had a bag slung across his shoulder. All three of them also had a strange object strapped to their wrists. The girl's had a leather strap and was quite small. The black haired boy's had a metallic strap and was considerably larger than the girl's. The other young man's device was made of some black material, and was the only one without three "needles". Instead, it showed numbers, which was constantly changing.
As Elinicia and Lucia continued to observe the mysterious trio, the black haired youth began to stir.
"Ugh…" the youth groaned as he struggled to get up, covering his face with one hand.
"Oh, you're awake, thank goodness", Elincia said as she kneeled down next to him. He turned his gaze to her, blinking a few times rapidly, as if he was quite disoriented. A few seconds later, he seemed to have regained his senses as he asked uncertainly, "Uhh… who might you be?"
Before Elincia could give her name, Lucia abruptly cut her off. Outsiders were not supposed to know about her, after all.
"I think the question is who YOU are. This area is off-limits, how did you get in here?" Lucia asked curtly.
"Get in… here?" the youth looked perplexed. He took a look around at his surroundings, and then suddenly became wide-eyed. "Wait a minute, where am I?! What happened to the ruins?!"
His sudden outburst caught the two women off-guard, as well as utterly confusing them. What ruins? There weren't any ruins nearby as far as they were aware. Before they could say anything, he caught sight of the other two lying on the grass behind him.
"Lloyd, Liliana!" the young man exclaimed as he scurried over to them. After seeing that they were unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief, then proceeded to shake them awake, "hey, both of you, wake up!"
The girl, who was apparently called "Liliana" managed to slowly get up, though her eyes were still a bit glazed. The male called "Lloyd", on the other hand, seemed to be getting up, but then promptly rolled over to his side muttering something that sounded like, "5 more minutes, mom".
"Lloyd, I'm not your mom, and this is no time to be snoozing!" Ryuuki gave Lloyd a finger-flick to his forehead, which managed to jolt the latter awake.
"Yee-ouch! What's that for Ryu?!" the blonde exclaimed as he rubbed his forehead.
"…it was just a flick…" Ryuuki was taken aback by Lloyd's over-exaggerated reaction.
"Dude, you break bricks with a kick! Watch your strength, for crying out-" Lloyd trailed off as he finally registered that they were in a strange situation.
"Hey… Ryu, where are we?" Lloyd asked pointing at the mansion that visible a little distance away, then, jabbing his thumb towards the two women, "and who are they?"
"I don't know, and it's rude to point," Ryuuki replied as he put Lloyd's hand down.
"So…. Mind explaining yourselves any time soon?" Ryuuki almost jumped at the voice. He turned around and saw that the blue-haired lady was the one who had spoken. Wait, "blue" hair? Now that he could see more clearly, the other one had green hair. Not only that, they were dressed rather strangely. The green haired one was wearing a simple dress, although the style seemed like it was from the Victorian age or something. As for the other one, she was dressed in white clothing that just looked a bit… odd. What drew his attention the most, however, was the gleaming hilt of the sword that she had by her side. Isn't there a law against carrying guns and swords around?
"Um… actually…" Ryuuki barely got started when he heard a group of horses galloping towards them. Now, if the other two were dressed rather strangely, the ones that came now were DEFINITELY from another period in time. Most of them sported simple white armor with a green cape billowing behind them, armed with various assortments of medieval weapons ranging from bows, swords, lances, and even axes. The one with short blue hair at the front who seemed to be their leader was much more noticeable, as he sported a heavy-looking green armor and held a pretty big lance by his side. He was promptly followed by a man in red armor, this one holding a pretty big axe in his hand
"I knew it! Intruders! My lady, Lucia, are you both unhurt?" the lead rider exclaimed as he jumped off his horse, lance aimed straight at Ryuuki, who had moved in front of the only female of the group to shield her, warily eyeing the weapon.
'"My lady?" Are they filming a movie here or something?' Ryuuki thought as this new turn of events puzzled him even further.
"You there, how did you get in this place, explain yourself!" the spearman demanded, keeping his lance aimed at Ryuuki's heart the whole time, ready to lunge should this outsider make any sudden moves.
Before Ryuuki could answer, he was cut off yet again, this time by the one the man referred to as 'my lady'.
"Please, Geoffrey, I don't think they mean any harm. We found them lying unconscious here."
"My lady, the mere fact that they are HERE to begin with makes them highly suspicious. It was fortunate that we were close by when that suspicious light appeared. Who knows what these cretins are up to?" Geoffrey asserted as he shifted the lance towards the blonde youth.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!! Point that thing elsewhere, will ya! You can kill someone with that thing!" Lloyd exclaimed as he backed off a few steps, only to jump as he felt a prick behind him. Looking back, he saw that the other soldiers had them surrounded, all with their weapons pointed towards the three students.
"That will depend on your answer," the man called Geoffrey replied as he once again pointed his lance at Ryuuki. Liliana flinched as she saw the point of the lance came within centimeters of Ryuuki's throat, although Ryuuki himself remained still as a stone, though his fingers were curled up like claws and his muscles tensed.
"Dude, we're just, uh, lost is all. I mean, just where the hell are we, anyway?!" Lloyd was sweating profusely as he watched the soldiers take a step closer towards them.
"Brother, I don't think that would be really necessary," this time the women in white stepped in, "I checked them and found no weapons whatsoever. That, and they really do seem lost. Besides, they appear to be just children."
"But-"
"Please Geoffrey, could we at least talk to them back at the mansion? I think you're scaring them," Elincia pleaded as she glanced towards the girl, who was trembling and had tears forming at the corner of her eyes.
"Uh, I didn't mean to, I mean, very well, my lady," Geoffrey answered awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable that he, a knight of chivalry, almost made a young girl cry.
The moment the soldiers withdrew their weapons, Lloyd let out a huge breath of relief, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, muttering, "Man, I thought we were in one hell of a trouble"
The other young man relaxed a bit, though his eyes still remained alert, darting from one soldier to another, as the three of them were led towards a large mansion that was nearby. The girl was still trembling slightly, maintaining a firm grip on the black haired youth's arm the whole time.
'Okay now, how to get out of this mess?' was what Ryuuki was thinking as they approached the mansion.
Blue Orbi Angel: He wrote more, all right, so here it is. It's good to know you're enjoying it~
