CHAPTER ONE
"Oh, shit."
The girl froze. She closed her eyes, an expression of resigned frustration slowly spreading across her face. She heaved a huge sigh and opened her eyes, her rich emerald orbs drinking in the boisterous scene surrounding her.
Prontera is undoubtedly Midgard's busiest city, and today was no exception. The streets were packed with people: loud merchants with their attractive carts, shoppers in search of a good bargain, lovers simply strolling around, families enjoying some quality time together by gaping at the curious objects some adventurers were selling. A bard with a couple of dancers was providing some entertainment at one corner. A group of rowdy teenagers were hooting and catcalling on the other. Beggars lined one side of the street. A little girl was selling flowers on the far end of the road. A pet groomer was positioned right smack in the middle.
There. She has found her culprit. With a groan, she limped towards the nearby bench and slumped down. In one swift, agitated motion, she took off her right boot and flipped it to its sole.
Glaring angrily back at her was a huge hole.
She turned her attention back to her right foot. Slowly, she turned the underside of her foot to face her.
Yup. There it was. The warm, gooey poo of a poring. Or was it a poporing? Gah, it didn't matter!
Her deep green eyes traveled back to the pet vendor, blissfully unaware of the predicament one of his cute little monsters brought to the girl. There was one rather violent eye twitch, a suppressed growl and finally another heavy sigh.
The girl snatched a piece of paper littering the ground. After wiping the poo off her foot, she crumpled it and threw it back, hitting a certain sun-kissed blond head. She stared mournfully at her wretched boot, reminiscing the long journeys she had with it.
"Ey there, missie," a voice called from behind her.
She turned around and saw herself looking at a large merchant with a mane of thick black hair tied at the back of his head, his voice a little too high-pitched for his build.
"I see your boots are quite worn out," he nodded at the shoe in her hand. "I have a lot of those, you see." He pulled out a pair of boots from his cart. "Pure, authentic leather! Hunted down the freakin' Argiopes myself!" he beamed, handing her the pair.
The girl ran her fingers through the rich leather. It was soft in the inside, smooth and tough on the outside. The soles were thick and strongly bound.
"Why don'tcha try it on?" the merchant urged her enthusiastically.
It was a perfect fit. The boots were so flawlessly beautiful, the girl almost cried.
"For only thirty thousand zennies! Is that a bargain or what!"
"Thirty thousand!"
Now, her tears were for an altogether different reason. She gingerly took the footwear off and handed it back to the merchant.
But the merchant only laughed. "I see you're no novice with this, eh! Fine…Twenty-five grand!"
The girl only sighed defeatedly.
"No? Twenty-three K?"
She shook her head.
The merchant was starting to get impatient. "Alright. Since you're my first customer for the day, I'll give you my biggest discount yet. Twenty thousand zennies. Now that's a total rip-off!" He flashed her a huge, toothy grin.
"You don't understand…" With an embarrassed smile, she took out her coin purse and pulled out a wad of bills. "I only have six hundred zennies…"
The merchant's smile died on his lips. "Six hundred…"
"Six hundred and thirty-two to be exact." She looked longingly at the pair of shoes before handing it reluctantly back to the merchant. "But they are lovely…"
The merchant held on to the footwear for a minute, a thoughtful look on his face. All of a sudden, he grabbed the pair of boots out of the girl's grip, laughing a little too loudly. "My, my, little missie…you're good, very good…I have never brought my prices this low, but you are a force to reckon with…the best bargain-hunter I've ever seen…"
The girl only gave him a blank, open-mouthed stare.
In one quick move, the merchant seized the girl's coin purse and emptied it on his hand. "Six hundred and thirty-two it is!"
"What the…" The unsuspecting girl looked from the man's stubby fingers holding the money, to her now-empty hand, and back again. "Hey! Wait a minute!"
But the merchant merely shook his head, shoving a box at her. "You don't have to thank me, missie. A pretty girl like you deserves only the best!" He flashed her a winning grin before dashing off with his cart.
"Weirdo," the girl muttered, staring incredulously at the disappearing cart. "He took all my money with him, too." She sighed. "Well, at least I have my boots…"
She opened the box and nearly dropped dead.
Instead of the handsome leather boots that she had worshipped earlier, a pair of bright red, Barbie-girl plastic sandals greeted her. She stared at the pair in disbelief for a whole five seconds. "No. Way."
"You have just been scammed," an amused voice put her thoughts into words. She looked up to a pair of dancing sky-blue eyes. "Welcome to Prontera."
The boy was gorgeous. He had light blond hair with a matching pair of light blue eyes. He was tall, tanned, and although his merchant outfit covered the rest of his body, she was sure he had perfectly toned muscles in all the right places. His smug grin revealed straight, pearly-white teeth worthy of a toothpaste ad. She hated him in an instant.
"You could still use those, you know," he continued in his impish tone, gesturing at the pair of sandals. "At least it will help keep your feet off poring shit. Come to think of it, I think it rather compliments that long black cloak covering you from neck down. Adds some color to your outfit."
Her eyes narrowed. "You've been watching us all this time…you knew he was a scammer…"
The boy gave a noncommittal shrug. "He was just trying to sell his boots. But when he realized you didn't have enough cash…well…"
She nodded her head in silent understanding. "Merchants. They're all the same." She took off her other boot, placed it beside the red sandals, then stood up and started to walk away barefooted.
"Hey, now, come on, that's not fair," he picked up the boot with one hand and the boxed sandals on the other, and started to follow her. "Don't generalize. We're not all scammers." He glanced at the tattered footwear and noticed that it, too, nursed a perhaps smaller hole. He threw it over to a nearby beggar. "At least I'm not."
She grunted. "Right."
"Why don't you wear your new sandals? You can't possibly walk around Prontera with your bare feet." He held out the box to her.
"I already am." She walked faster.
But he was still right at her tail. "So where are you going anyway?"
"None of your business."
"Mm…Feisty. I like that."
The girl stopped suddenly. Fumes could be seen coming out of her ears. She whipped around and faced the young merchant. "Why won't you leave me alone? What do you want?"
The boy flashed his toothpaste-ad grin. "Well, since you put it that way. I wanted to ask you out for lunch."
She cocked her head on one side with her index finger lightly tapping her chin, as if considering his offer. "Hmm…let me think…" Then she placed her hand on her hip and gave him a haughty look. "No," she replied flatly, before turning around and taking long, purposeful strides.
The nerve of this guy! He insults me, and then he asks me out!
The boy looked taken aback for a few seconds. "Wow. That's a first. No girl has ever declined my offer before."
"Yeah, well, with that arrogance I'm pretty damn sure it ain't the last either."
He was back at her heels. "Oh, I get it. You're using reverse psychology on me. You're trying to make me think that you don't like me so that I'll become more interested in you. Well, I'll have to admit, it's kinda working."
"You are one sick, egotistical jerk, did you know that?" She graced him with a long, hard glare.
"See? You know, you don't have to do that reverse psych thingy with me. You could simply accept my offer."
"Oh, fuck off, will you!" For the second time, she stopped walking and fixed him with agitated glower.
"Wow. Another first. I've never been cursed--"
"Just because you're cute doesn't give you the right to harass people--"
"So you think I'm cute?" He raised an eyebrow, grinning broadly.
"Argh!" The girl gave out an aggravated scream. She hurriedly fished from inside her cloak a piece of flywing, dropped it to the ground and stepped vehemently on top of it.
With a flash, she was gone.
The boy just stood there, his brilliant blue eyes still focused on the spot where the girl vanished. He chuckled softly.
"She likes me."
-o0o-
"Urgh!"
The girl shivered with disgust the moment her feet touched the cold cobblestones. She shook her head fiercely, trying to rid herself of the memory of that conceited, narcissistic merchant. When she finally opened her eyes, she found herself standing in the middle of a deserted side road, her sense of direction totally escaping her.
Where the hell am I?
She started walking anyway.
"Great. I have no shoes, no money, and no supplies. I used up my last flywing, and now I'm lost."
Her stomach gave a low growl.
"And hungry."
Her mind wandered back to what happened only a week ago. She remembered why she was in Prontera in the first place. Her deep green eyes took on a hard, determined look. She will turn this city inside out: walk down each alleyway, knock on every door. It didn't matter if her feet bled or she fainted with hunger. She had to find her. She'd die first before leaving this city without talking to her.
Don't be so overly dramatic, Shanti, she chuckled in spite of herself. Her heavy heart lightened at the sight of huge cross a hovering unassumingly a few feet above the rooftops. There it is…The Pronteran Sanctuary. The arrogant bastard proved to be a blessing in disguise afterall…
Her strides grew longer and quicker, both in excitement and anticipation. The intestinal parasites that she felt earlier now turned into fully-growned butterflies. The inside of her head became nothing but a whirl of words as she tried to recall the lines she practiced every single day of her journey to Prontera.
She stopped in front of the church. Her palms were sweating, and her knees shaking.
Why am I nervous? Relax, Shanti. You can do this.
She took a deep breath and went in.
o0o
"She's listed in…the Little Angels Orphanage," the acolyte told her, looking up from the thick records book. "That's down this street, left, then another left when you see the large red-bricked house and then…one, two, three, four, four blocks from there you'll see this small two-story building with large windows. That's the one."
"Down, left, left, four," the black-cloaked girl repeated, taking mental notes. "Right. Thanks."
The sanctuary was deserted when she entered nearly an hour ago. She searched every nook and corner of the large hall, but only dust and cobwebs welcomed her. She even went out and explored the small graveyard behind the church, to no avail. She went back in and resigned herself to the fact that it was lunchtime, and even men of God need to satisfy this sort of physical need. Several minutes later, a female acolyte came upon a dark-haired, green-eyed, black-cloaked, barefooted girl mournfully stroking her abdomen area.
"I'm not sure if she's there, though. From what I hear, she's always out on special assignments. She's an exorcist, you know." The acolyte walked her to the door of the sanctuary. "She's supposed to assist Father Manuel in running the orphanage but I barely even see her there."
"I see," the girl replied, the heavy feeling settling back in her chest.
"If you are talking about Mother Elise, I'm afraid you just missed her."
The two girls turned towards the sound of the soft, old voice.
"Father Manuel," the acolyte girl stepped forward to meet the old priest. She bent down and kissed his hand in greeting and respect.
"Bless you, child," the priest returned the greeting. He turned to the other girl but before he could utter a word, he noticed the girl's expression change dramatically from disheartened to dumbfounded.
"Are you following me?" Two different voices, one male the other female, asked at exactly the same time.
The merchant smirked. "Looks like it's Urd herself that's bringing us closer to each other."
The old priest's youthful dark brown eyes traveled from the tall merchant beside him, then to the barefooted, black-cloaked girl in front. "I see you're both acquainted."
They both opened their mouths to speak but the boy was first. "Yes, Father. She was the one I was telling you about earlier, you know, the one who donated that brand new pair of sandals."
"Ah, I see," the priest turned to the girl. "Bless you, child, for your generosity. But I'm afraid you need this more," he offered her the box with a tender look.
"Er…No, thanks, Father," the girl replied with a tight smile. "Apparently, I donated that pair and I don't intend to withdraw it. Besides, it brings back memories I would much rather forget." She glared pointedly at the boy.
"As you wish," the old man nodded. "But I can not permit you to walk around Prontera barefoot, my child. Come, I believe I have a pair of boots that might fit you. Can you walk a little more? My orphanage is not far."
"Thank you, Father, but I would much rather talk about Mother Elise."
"If she couldn't walk anymore, she could ride on my cart, Father."
The two spoke at the same time again. The girl shot the young merchant a look that could stop fire, but the boy simply gave her a smug smile.
"That is so gentlemanly of you, Brother Dryden," the priest chuckled, obviously amused. "Now, we shall talk more of Mother Elise once we put some boots on your feet and some food in our stomach, Sister…"
The girl eyed Dryden warily before she replied. "Shanti. My name's Shanti. And I would much rather walk through thorns than ride on his cart."
"Suit yourself, Sister Shanti," the priest's eyes shone, clearly enjoying the scene. He turned to the girl acolyte. "Would you care to join us, Sister Maya?"
The young acolyte shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, Father, but I'm afraid I've got loads of paperwork to organize. Have a blessed day." And with that, she bowed and disappeared back inside.
"If I may," the old man ventured as the three started walking down the road. "I would like to ask how you came to know of Mother Elise. I believe her name is quite popular with the members of the clergy, especially the exorcists, but you don't seem like an ascetic yourself."
"No, I'm not an acolyte," Shanti admitted. "I heard of her a few months back, in the city of Payon."
The priest nodded with a smile. "Ah, yes. She gets called there often. It is such a tragedy, what happened in that cave."
"Where did Mother Elise get called now, Father?" Dryden asked, tugging his heavy cart behind him effortlessly.
The priest remained silent for a moment before answering somberly. "Nifflheim."
Both the boy and girl stopped suddenly in their tracks.
The merchant gave a low whistle. "Whoa. Nifflheim? I know Mother Elise's a great exorcist and all, but Niffleheim? Do you really think she could handle it, Father?"
Father Manuel continued walking. "Mother Elise has had three years' worth of training. No doubt her faith in God is strong. I worry for her safety against the evil spirits that freely roam the place, yes. But more than that, I worry that her defense against her own demons may not prove to be strong enough."
"What do you me--"
"So it's true?" Shanti asked, her voice cracking a little. "She's in Nifflheim?" Her brain and heart were already racing.
The old priest finally stopped and turned around. "On her way, yes. She left only yesterday. Is there anything wrong?"
"No, everything's perfect." Her vivid green eyes met the priest's warm brown ones evenly. "But if I am to catch up with her, I'm gonna have to leave now."
Dryden snorted. "Catch up with her? What, you're going to Nifflheim too?"
"That's exactly why I wanted to talk to her." Shanti answered the merchant's question with an irritated wave of a hand. Her disillusioned, aggravated air earlier now became brisk and sharp. She transformed from a weary traveler to a girl on a mission in a blink of the eye. She turned back to the priest. "Do you have a picture of her? What does she look like? I have to find her as soon as possible."
"Child," the priest began, concern creasing his forehead. "I'm afraid I simply can not allow you to search for Mother Elise in Nifflheim all by yourself. My conscience would never let me rest."
Shanti opened her mouth in protest, but the priest continued. "Brother Janus came looking for her just this morning. I believe he is out to follow her. It would be best if you try to reach him instead. He is unquestionably your easiest and fastest way to Mother Elise."
The girl considered for a moment then nodded. "I see. How am I to find this Janus?"
Father Manuel turned and smiled thoughtfully at the unusually quiet merchant. "If Brother Dryden would be so kind--"
"Ooh, no, Father," he immediately interjected, backing away. "Janus? I don't think so…"
Shanti's perfectly arched eyebrows shot up in mock surprise. "What's this? The high and mighty merchant-- scared? I guess he isn't so great afterall."
He frowned at her from under his slightly curled lashes. "I'm not scared. He's just… odd."
"Aw…the poor little merchant boy's about to pee in his pants with just the mention of his name…" Shanti continued to taunt the boy. "It's okay, little wussy boy…you don't have to come with me. You could just tell me where to find the big bad man and I could go look for him while you stay right here, far from his evil claws…"
Dryden clenched his fists in fury. "You know what? Fine. I'll take you to him," he gritted his teeth, giving the leering girl a smoldering look.
"It's settled then," the priest declared, clapping his hands gleefully. "But before anything else, shall we proceed to the orphanage? Sister Shanti's feet needs tending to, and a bit of bread and soup is bound to soothe the stomach and cool the head."
The old priest closed his eyes walked on, the small smile on his lips masking the anxiety building up in his chest.
-tbc-
