Geminia – I'm glad you stumbled across this new category. You should watch the series one day. It's fairly short and the animation is beautiful.
xKeyBladeAngelx – Thanks for your review. I'm glad you read the first chapter!
And now, onward with the chapter!
Chapter 2
"What do you mean you lost her?" His voice raised in sheer force.
"I didn't mean too," Angela held her head low with her translucent wings withdrawn to her sides. "They came out of nowhere."
"You knew you weren't allowed to leave in the first place. The full moon is out. It's the perfect time for the hunters to be lurking, and it's the only time they can detect us."
"I know…I'm sorry. It's just that these rules we have are too constricting. There needs to be change." She noticed that Ginpun had entered the common area, and she apologized to him.
Ginpun placed a hand on her shoulder, and knew his young charge had a knack in breaking the rules. "There will be no more yelling tonight." The head fairy had cut Furaski's and Angela's conversation short. "We need to find Yume before any harm comes to her." He walked over to the garden that held a small spring of natural water. He looked into it, but couldn't find Yume's aura signature anywhere.
Furaski approached him. He was still angry over what had transgressed in the night. "Is there anything of her?"
"No. I can't find her." He paused for a moment to think how he should handle the situation. The full moon still shone her innocent rays, and he didn't want to risk losing any more members of his clan. "We have to search for her in the morning, it's just too risky right now." The long night continued to move forward, but every hour that passed killed them. They all hoped she was safe somewhere.
"Why do you look so sad, teacher?" A young Yume asked her mentor. Her brown eyes were curious about the look he held for so long.
"You'll learn it when you fall in love," his response was short. "It's something you don't have to know about me, Yume." He turned around and showed her how to have seedlings bloom into a small flower.
To her, this was a matter that shadowed her training. It bothered her that she couldn't help in any possible way. "Will it eventually tell me what happened?"
"One day perhaps. Lets head home now." His eyes look so distant. They seemed to be drawn to happier times.
Yume awoke on a cold stone slab. Sounds of trickling water fell, creating a pit pat rhythm. Her shoulder stung, and she pulled out the arrow with the strength she had. "Where am I?" she mumbled, trying to be coherent as she could be. Her brown eyes opened, and she saw a man staring above her.
"You're not wanted here," he hissed.
Yume looked on in confusion. This was first time being out from her training, and her vision faded for a second. "I don't understand, what did I do?" She felt her heart crumble into pieces. The words were like poison, and it seeped through her veins. "Stop it!" She screamed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The man grew angry again, "It was your kind that did this damage upon my people. Don't ever help us again! Your kind is not wanted in these woods, you hear me!"
Waves of nausea crept up her body, and she passed out from the words the man kept saying. She felt her life force fleeing from her, and she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Back away from her," a young man's voice pierced the darkness.
"You have no business here, lad. Get out!" The older man scowled.
"I don't know what you want with her, but she's in pain. If you harm her, I'll send this sword through you." He flashed the light silver blade in front of the middle-aged man. "You'll be in far more trouble than her." His eyes were bent on striking him without another moment's hesitation. He bounded towards the man in an attempt to scare off the girl's attacker.
"You shouldn't be meddling in this, boy. There will be others who will finish the job."
Zennosuke made a quick swash at the man. He was tired of hearing this mysterious talk about her. He watched the man escape through the woods, tumbling after a row of roots he fell upon. The young lad then returned to the mysterious girl's side and noticed she was burning. He tore a shred of clothing from his own shirt, and dabbed it in the nice cool liquid that trickled slowly. In the moonlight, he gently placed the swollen cloth on her forehead and took her hand in his own. He whispered into her ear, "I don't know who you are, but please hold on." He watched the moon set in the west, and on the eastern border, he could already tell the sun was rising with its rich red orange rays coming over the valley. A soft crack came below his foot, and he pulled the broken arrow out underneath. At the tip of arrowhead, a small trickle of blood remained. On instinct, he looked for the deadly wound, but he didn't see it in front of her. The severity of the situation took its toll on him, and he carefully propped her in his arms. A hardened, dusty copper was on her back.
Immediately, he lifted her and carried her out to from the cave. To his amazement, she was light as a feather, which made it easier for him to go back into town to find a healer for her. When he returned to his workshop, everyone had noticed that his limp was gone and that he had a stranger in his arms.
A lady that had a food stand asked him a question, "Zennosuke, when did your legs heal? I never have seen you run like that before?" The old woman looked on in curiosity.
"A miracle happened, but I can't explain it." He became flustered as to where he should look for the healer. "I have to go help someone out, please excuse me." He dashed across the road, and ran to the dispensary. "Hello," he called out, "is anyone here? I need some help."
A wave of scented herbs greeted his face. "Zennosuke, what are you doing here? You look like you ran the entire way in arriving here. I thought your legs couldn't do that." The old man looked in amazement.
"Never mind about me," he was still catching his breath. "I need your help. I found a girl, and she's burning up terribly from an arrow wound to her shoulder. Can you help me?" He stared the town's doctor in the eye.
"I'll see what I can do," he fetched his medicinal bad and was on his way with the sword smith back to the workshop.
The old man looked at the deep wound, and cleared it with some warm water. He felt her flinch when he rinsed the area. "Keep these herbs on it for several days. Make sure you change the patch every day." The healer took out several more packets and gave it Zennosuke. "She'll be fine," he patted him on the shoulders. "If anything goes wrong, let me know."
"Thank you." The boy returned to Yume's side and changed the cloth on her forehead. The previous night's events lingered in his memory, and he wondered what the girl was up to in the first place. He mysteriously found her in his room, and a light coming from her hands. He then reasoned his way out that perhaps the light from her hands was coming from one of the swords that flashed in the moonlight. With the lack of sleep he was having from the past two weeks, it finally took its toll on him. I better stop making these swords at a rapid pace. He watched Yume's chest rise and fall with each breath she took, figuring that she would still continue to sleep the day through, he went back to his work. Every so often, he peered over to see if she was comfortable and whether her temperature spiked again. For some unknown reason, his heart was changing within him.
ooooo
"Yume, can you hear me?" Angela called out in hopes of trying to find her friend. "Yume!" She moved some of the plants that grew along the forest's path. Through the entire morning from the break of dawn, Ginpun had ordered his fairies to search for her. "Where could she be?" She bit on her lower lip, trying to retrace the path she that entered from the town. There was no single sign of her. She even ventured into town, and concealed her face from the townspeople in case any of the fairy hunters remembered her. In town, she still couldn't find a single trace of her friend.
On the other side of the forest, Masami was looking for his former trainee. "I don't know why she would leave the sanctuary when the full moon is out. That was the first lesson I taught her," he scanned the brush to find any signs of her.
His other fairy in training followed after him. "Maybe she wanted to get out for once, I don't blame her," Smiley said, not knowing if his mentor will be angry with him for saying that.
"The first rule and foremost is not to venture out during the full moon. There are fairy hunters among the mortals, and if they catch you, you will not be likely to survive." Masami said it plain and simple.
Smiley stopped in his walk, and looked down in the dirt. "I think I found something," he bent down and picked up a small piece of pink cloth. "Wasn't Yume wearing something pink on last night?"
"I believe so." Masami went back to his trainee. "This doesn't look good. We have to go back and tell Ginpun about this." He took the frail piece from Smiley, and they both darted back to their sanctuary.
Ginpun looked at the evidence that the two fairies presented, and shook his head in disbelief. "Where did you find this?"
"By the creek that runs by the caves." Masami looked disappointed too. Smiley decided to remain in the background, feeling that it wasn't his place to talk.
"Time has passed too much already." He went over again to the fountain in the center of the grove, hoping Yume's aura will show on the water's surface. There was nothing. "Something must have happened to her," he looked directly at the two of them. "Call the search off."
"But it's only been a couple of hours," Smiley jumped in.
"If I don't see her aura now, she's gone." Ginpun turned away from his kind. He started to listen to the trees, and they were already singing a sad tune. "Call the search off now," he commanded.
"You're just giving up like that," Smiley began to go on the defense for Yume's absence, "you can't just do that. She's still out there! She's waiting for us to find her." Masami tried to hold him back, "Let me go, you can't just abandon her here."
"The leaves will be falling soon, we need to leave. This sanctuary won't be safe anymore." The senior fairy retreated to a special area and remained there all day. Rumors whispered about for their early retreat to the deeper part of the forest. Losing Yume wasn't something he wanted, not at this moment. He looked at a white crystal, and saw the stars shining in different arrays of colors. The time for her to choose will be soon, in a matter of months so to speak. How could their fate be left up to one fairy; that was the question that lingered in his mind for hours. If nothing was done, their world will disappear forever into the cold darkness. Yes, he knew that his kind had faults. Their curiosity about mortals always got the best of them, and at times whenever they tried to help, the act of kindness ends up in a sense of disaster. They weren't a perfect race, but they tried their best all the time.
He faced towards the lake, and wondered how he would tell Hikari about losing her only daughter. Years ago, she had left them, and returned to living with the mortals. With no powers, she knew she was of no use, and that she could get in the way. If she did return, it would break her heart only to learn about her daughter. He confided in himself that he wouldn't tell her and that she would be better off, believing that her daughter was still here. A bit of hope would still linger in her perhaps, and maybe enough to sustain them until they figured a way to maintain their powers. He knew he couldn't just rely on one person to keep their existence, and so, a daunting task lay before him and the others.
Furaski interrupted his quiet meditation, "Everyone's ready."
"I'll be there in a moment." He got up from his spot and walked to small terrace. With a wave of his hand, the area transformed from a lush green to dying blossoms, as if autumn finally graced its appearance in the fairies' eternal spring garden. Ginpun lead the others to the hidden path only known to him. The others held soft lanterns that glowed like apparitions. With everyone in the new area, he sealed it off with a cloak of mist. If any mortal dared to enter, they would just find themselves in a veil of mist and coldness.
Back at the sword smith's workshop, Yume awoke to the sounds of metals being pounded upon. Her headache had slightly faded, but she couldn't get her surroundings straight at all. She still looked disorientated, and she stumbled out of the makeshift cot of straw.
"You alright?" The sword smith walked over towards her. "You shouldn't get up too soon."
Yume swatted his hands away from her, and her shoulder stung as she did so. "Where am I?" her voice nearly above a whisper.
Zennosuke looked at her worryingly, "You're in a town. Do you remember who you are?"
The girl paused for a moment, wondering who she was. The name Yume sounded right, but she felt there was something else she was supposed to do. "Yume."
"Hello there Yume," the sword smith smiled again. "I'm Zennosuke, the sword smith for this town." He went over to get a small cup of water for her. "You came to town yesterday, and asked me several questions." He started the conversation in hopes of getting some answers from her. "You said you could help heal my legs. Funny eh?"
"Yeah," she still looked on, wondering what he was talking about.
"You came to me last night and said something, I don't know what you said, but today, I can walk perfectly." He looked at her. "Is there something you want to say?"
"I don't know what to say to you," she held a quizzical look.
"Do you remember what happened last night?"
Now Yume was completely left in the dark. The pieces of the memories from last night flashed in her mind, but she couldn't comprehend what they were. "Sorry, I don't follow." She paused a moment, "I think I'll sleep some more, I'm feeling awfully tired right now."
"Okay then, I'll let you sleep. If you need anything, I'll be at the front." He watched her slide back down on the straw cot and turned her side away from him. He could have sworn that she had wings last night, but today, he didn't see them. There was something that was mysteriously going on. He ventured out into the town's street for one moment, and recalled the night's events. There were several masked riders running after the two girls, and he knew that one of them was Yume now. "What is going on here?" He stared towards the dark mountains that laid in the east. Its shadows cover the edge of the town, and no one dares to venture onto that path.
"My lord, it has been done." The mortal crouched in front of his superior. It was the same one that Zennosuke had saved Yume from. "The poison had worked, but a townsman interfered the final saying."
A deep haunting voice replied back, "It does not matter now. She will forget being a fairy, and remain her life as a mortal. There is only one chance of her to remember who she is, and that is for a mortal to fall in love with her."
"Aren't you worried that she might?" His cohort asked him.
The seer had already looked into her future, "She won't. The sword smith that she is with now will abandon her by a secret revealed to him over time." He moved away from his throne, "The downfall of fairies is beginning."
"Interesting," the mortal replied back. "Do you want to me to follow her any longer?"
"You have done your job and I thank you," a smile graced his face.
"Will I get my reward now?"
"Of course," he turned away from him for a brief moment, pretending to fetch some coins from a chest. Instead, he grabbed his staff and brilliant flash of light immersed the man in front of him. "Thank you for your service," an evil laugh escaped his lips. In seconds, there were no visible signs of the man that stood in front of him.
Outside, claps of thunder rolled along the valley's edge. Down below, everyone noticed a shift in the weather and it was odd for this time of year. They all felt something controlling the mountains. Mothers scurried their children to run inside before any disasters occurred, while the men looked gravely at the stone hills. Zennosuke even broke from his daily routine and noticed something strange going on. All of a sudden, the sleepy mountain awoke from its slumber.
"What's going on?" Yume stumbled towards him. "Why did I hear thunder?"
"I'm not too sure myself. We usually don't have thunderstorms this time of the year." His eyes remained focus on the mountain.
The two stood in the safety of the workshop and watched the lights flash about at the peak of the mountain. "Is it me or did it just get cooler?" Yume was at a brink of shivering by now.
Zennosuke looked at his young companion, and quickly fetched a heavy coat for her from his closet. "Take this." He wrapped it around her shoulders.
She could already feel the warmth seeping into her body. "Thanks."
"How are you feeling?"
"A little better, and thank you." Yume walked over to where he started working on another sword. "What can I do to help you?"
He looked up at her in shock, considering the condition that she was in. "You still need some rest for a couple of more days." Right then, Yume felt disappointed in her request. "I'll make you a deal. I'll let you start helping me once your wound is healed." His eyes lifted to see if she would take it.
"It's a deal then," she weakly smiled and returned to her makeshift cot.
TBC
Thanks for reading Chapter 2! Comments or critiques are greatly appreciated. Don't forget to check out my forum in this category, Mages Sanctuary. Hope to see some of you there. Feel free to post topics in the forum.
