"So where are we going?" Kaori asked Marth as they walked along the beach.
"We're going to the main city of Talis. Do you know where that is?" Marth asked, turning to her. Kaori nodded. Then her eyes got big and she smiled brightly.
"Will we get to see Princess Sheeda?" she asked excitedly. Marth smiled.
"I'm sure we'll find the time," he told her. For a while they walked in silence while Marth became lost in his memories of the Talisian princess.
In almost no time at all, the two found themselves at the entrance of the Talisian palace. A few of the citizens who saw the prince scowled at him, reminding him of how unwanted he and the other Aritian knights were. As if he needed the reminder. Marth took a few steps inside before turning around to see the awestruck Kaori gaping at the wonderful view from outside the castle. "Kaori?" he asked, getting her attention. The girl looked at him, then nodded following him farther in.
"Marth?" he heard the familiar voice and turned to his right to see Sheeda, smiling from ear to ear. "It is you!" she exclaimed running into his arms. "How was your journey?" she asked. Marth smiled back.
"It went well, but Sheeda," he began, glancing from her to Kaori who stared wide-eyed at the princess, "this is Kaori," he finished, gesturing to the Talisian next to him. Marth seemed to wince a little when he felt Sheeda's icy glare. Before she had time to destroy him completely, Kaori interrupted.
"Princess Sheeda! I've always wanted to meet you! You're such an inspiration! You're so brave and amazing and-and," Kaori stammered, bowing in respect. Sheeda smiled, blushing.
"Well thank you," was all she could say. Marth smiled, happy to have been rescued from his certain doom by a jealous Sheeda. At that, Sheeda led them into a large meeting room, where Jeigan and the rest of the Aritian knights were waiting.
"Prince Marth," Jeigan said standing up from his chair, "the king is kindly sending some of his troops with us on our journey." Marth nodded. "But, I need to talk to you." Marth turned to Kaori.
"Why don't you get to know everyone? The other Aritian knights will be able to take care of you," he told her. She furrowed her brow.
"Where are you going?" she asked curiously.
"I'll be back for you later," he said simply, before exiting through an arch that led into a dimly lit hall to wait for Jeigan.
Kaori scratched her head and glanced around her, nervously. It was a little hard for a young girl to mingle with the bigger knights. Then she felt a pat on her shoulder. "Don't worry young mage," Jeigan said. "They're harmless outside of the battle field," he reassured her before leaving to catch up with Marth. Kaori smiled and nodded to herself. She glanced around her once more in search of someone she figured would be easy to talk to.
Cain and his brother Abel sat at a wooden table with several other Aritian knights and talked about the recent defeat of the pirates.
"I got one of them when he was trying to make off with one of the Talisian children!" Cain boasted. Abel scoffed at him.
"Yeah but then you nearly killed him when he was flung in the air and I had to catch him," he pointed out. The others laughed while Cain scowled at his brother. Then, all laughter stopped. Cain, who had been looking down, noticed a shadow being cast on the table. He looked up to see a mage standing in front of them.
"Excuse me," she said, "Did you say Talis was attacked by the Garuga pirates?" she asked, her piercing blue eyes looked a bit worried. One of the other knights answered.
"Yes, just a few days ago," he explained.
"There's no need to worry," Abel added, sitting up straighter, "We took care of most of them, and the rest were scared away." The girl nodded in relief.
"What's your name, young mage?" Cain inquired. She curled her ash blonde hair behind one of her ears.
"My name is Kaori," she answered.
"Well, Kaori, have a seat," Abel offered, gesturing to one of the empty chairs beside him. Kaori shyly approached him and sat down. "I'm Abel," he announced, "This is my brother Cain," Cain smiled at her. She smiled back.
"So what's your story Kaori?" he asked her.
"Well," she began, "I come from a village not far from here, but I left with Marth to aid in the battle against Garnif and end the disputes among the countries," she explained. The knights nodded, they to had similar reasons for joining Marth on his journeys.
"I noticed you wield a cross bow," Abel noted. "I assume you are a sniper?" Kaori nodded. "How's your shot?" he asked. She smiled.
"Fair enough," she answered.
"Modest eh?" Abel teased.
"You know, you don't look like most mages around here. What are you doing in Talis?" Cain asked, bluntly.
"Well I'm not originally from here," she told them, "I come from Gra," The Aritian knights at the table fell silent for a moment. She looked at Abel questioningly. He looked back up at her, his face rather grave.
"Gra betrayed us," he told her. She shook her head in slight disbelief.
"What do you mean?" she asked. Cain spoke first.
"They were our allies until one day when we got news that they had turned against us and began attacking our troops. It was just before King Cornelius…um, went into battle against Garnif," he explained. Kaori bowed her head in what could most closely be called disappointment.
"I'm sorry," was all she could think of to say. Abel shook his head.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't you," he said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Kaori nodded.
Meanwhile, Marth and Jeigan came to a dark room overlooking the harbor. "I have some bad news," Jeigan said gravely. Marth nodded. "You might want to sit down," he gestured to a chair by the window.
"It's okay, I can take it," he said staying where he was, gazing suspiciously at Jeigan.
"It's not what you think," he said gazing out the window. "Your father was killed the battle against Garnif." The Aritian knight turned to the young prince, awaiting his reaction. He just stood there and stared numbly somewhere no one else could see. Without speaking, he turned around sharply and stumbled out of the room into the hallway.
In a daze, he felt for a bench, pulling himself on it. There he sat for a while, thinking about his father. There was no one to comfort him but the darkness of the empty hallway.
Authors Note: Sorry for the shortened chapter. We have a lot written though, we just had to break it down a bit. We'll update pretty quickly, possibly by the time you finish reading this. :)
