Nine years later
"Li!"
Stalks of wheat bended and swayed as somebody rushed through them, avoiding the person behind the call.
"Li! Where did you go?"
A young girl of about 9 years looked around angrily for her escapee. Jet black hair tied back into two buns with long strands handing from each bounced up and down above the wheat fields, searching for the boy she seeked. Scarlet red eyes darted this way and that, furious. Storming around, she stomped her feet into the ground, throwing her head back.
"Li! Wait till I tell your mother you ran off again!"
From the safety of the bushes, her escaped prisoner grinned maliciously, watching her from above while sitting contentedly on a small cliff.
"Go ahead, tell mother," he taunted softly, amber brown hair waving in front of his eyes as he turned away. "See if I care."
Walking along side the rock face, Li jumped down, landing squarely on the grassy field. Ignoring the cries of the girl, he began marching towards the lake in the distance, sparkling like sapphires in the light of the sun.
Within minutes he was there, drinking in the sight of the landscape. To the north were the rugged purple peaks of the Mordomir Mountains, home of the immensely powerful dragons, said to possess strength and magic unimaginable. To his right was the Great Burning desert, dangerous, yet captivating in spite of itself. Turning his head west, he sighed at the sight of the castle. The kingdom of Falyndor sat tucked beneath it.
Seeing the village made him scowl, thinking of his home, overly protective, and of the people within it- including her.
Shaking his head with disgust, he turned and walked towards the trees. Stopping in front of one, he jumped, grabbing onto one of its branches, and swung himself on top. Sitting straddled on the branch, Li reached up and grabbed an apple from among its leaves. He bit into the bright red fruit, savoring the sweet juices it released.
As he ate, he heard a noise below him. Discarding the core, Li crawled along the branch, pushing aside leaves to see.
"Zia, where are you?"
A young girl stepped daintily around the banks of the lake, searching, Li guess, for some sort of pet. She looked about the same age as the companion he had previously ditched, which meant she had to be 2 or 3 years younger than he was, with sort copper hair swinging about her shoulders as she pushed her way through the underbrush. The skirt of her light pink dress caught in the brambles, tearing several small pieces of the fine material.
Li smirked. "Check out Miss Wilderness. Clad in protective gear and everything."
Suddenly, something rustled behind him. Cautiously, he turned around. The leaves stopped moving.
Leaning forward, he sifted through them, not finding anything. Confused, he turned back around.
Li froze. In front of him sat a strange, cat-like creature, long and thin with lavender fur and a long bushy tail. Long, fox ears twitched. Velvet purple wings, bat-like, stretched, flapping a few times before they folded against the creature's back. Big, silver-blue eyes watched him with never ending fascination.
Li had heard tales of Kreetals from the villagers- the legendary creatures with multitudes of magic at their disposal. This was his first time seeing one up close.
He smiled, reaching above him and breaking off an apple. He held it in front of him, crawling slowly towards the animal.
"Shhh, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said soothingly, edging carefully towards the curious Kreetal, who tilted its head to one side, observing him with intrigue. It chirped inquiringly.
"That's it, just stay there," he cooed, his hand now inches away from the creature. The Kreetal sat back on its hind legs, its large eyes staring at the fruit. It leaned forward while still balancing on its back legs, sniffing the food apprehensively.
"Zia!"
The animal looked down, eyes sparkling at the sight of the girl. Looking back briefly at Li, the Kreetal vanished in a puff of lilac smoke. Looking down, Li saw it reappear on the girl's shoulders, tail wrapping possessively around her neck. Gently rubbing its neck with her finger, she looked up at him.
"Thank you for finding Zia for me."
Li snorted, jumping down from the branch and landing in front of her.
"I didn't find her. She found me."
Recognizing the interesting human she met before, Zia squeaked, leaping off the girl's shoulders and gliding to his head, sifting her claws through his hair. The girl giggled.
"Zia seems to find you very interesting."
"Yeah, well if Zia doesn't get off me now, she'll be finding the ground very interesting." Li grunted, flinching as one of her claws pierced his scalp.
Gently, the girl picked up the creature, squealing as she left her find. Rubbing his wounded head, Li glared at Zia, whose head perked as he looked at her.
"You certainly have an interesting way of making friends, don't you?" he replied.
Zia squeaked her response, tail flickering. The girl giggled again.
"What's your name?"
"Li. Li Showron."
Placing Zia back on her shoulders, the girl held her skirts and curtsied. "I am Sakura, Prin-"
Li laughed, watching her in amazement. "What's with the curtsy?"
Sakura flushed pink, straightening.
Li scowled. "You act like my mother- all prim and polite."
"You make it sound as if being polite is a bad thing."
Li placed his hands on his hips and frowned. "Well, when you grow up in a family that cares about nothing but that stuff, it starts to get a little annoying."
Sighing, Sakura nodded. "That's true."
Li scoffed at her. "Oh yeah? What do you know?"
Sakura glared at him, anger beginning to swell up inside her. "What do you mean by that?"
"Look at you, with your fancy dress and curtsy. You're nothing more than a spoiled little purebred!"
"I am not!"
"Yeah you are!" Li taunted, beginning to enjoy himself. "Purebred, purebred!"
Sakura stood fuming, fists clenching, glaring at the boy. Zia, sensing her anger, hissed at Li, whipping her tail in his direction. "I'm not spoiled!"
"Yes you are. You probably live in some big house by the castle, having whatever you want, whenever you want it. I bet you've never worked a single hour in your life! Compared to me, you have it easy!"
By this time, Sakura had had enough. Her face flushed red with anger. In fact, she looked so intimidating, Li began to wish he hadn't pushed her so far.
"Why you immature, idiotic, repulsive little brat! How dare you say I have life easy? You have no idea how hard it is to be-"
"Princess!"
Sakura twirled around, anger in her eyes passing for fear. Li looked over her head at the odd looking speaker.
It was unlike anything he head ever seen. It appeared to be a stuffed animal with its beady black eyes and small golden body. Crème-colored wings beat at the air while his long tail swished back and forth.
"Kero?"
"P-princess!?!"
Kero looked past her, surprised. He had not noticed the boy until now. Ignoring his gaping mouth, the stuffed animal looked back at Sakura. "Princess, do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you? If the king knew you were outside the castle walls, he'd have me hanged! Not to mention the Prince! He'd-"
"But Kero, I'm not that far outside. Zia ran off, and I went to look for her, and-"
"Save the talk for your tutor He's most likely already furious with me enough. Maybe you could talk to him and make him forget about telling the king," Kero said, flying around and pushing her towards the castle. Zia hissed at him, ears pressed against her skull. Kero scowled.
"You hush! If you hadn't ran off in the first place, this probably never would have happened!"
Li stood gawking, staring after the girl he just called a spoiled purebred. He called the Princess of Falyndor a purebred!
Realization finally hitting him, he sank to the ground, groaning.
"Li! There you are!"
The black-haired girl emerged from the bushes, rushing over to him, smiling delightedly. Not noticing he wasn't paying attention, she threw her arms around his neck, shocking him into reality.
"Meilin! What are you doing?"
"Oh, Li! I was looking all over for you! I was so worried," she moaned, sobbing on his shirt. Disgusted, Li peeled himself away from her. Realizing he wasn't with her anymore, she stood up and clung to his arm, pulling him back towards their village outside the castle walls.
"Come, Li! We shouldn't be hanging around here," she insisted.
Ignoring her persistency, Li looked back at castle. Just outside the walls, he saw Sakura, still being shoved towards the gate by that stuffed animal. Zia flew around them both, chattering angrily at Kero. Li sighed.
Noticing this, Meilin followed his gaze looked towards Sakura. Seeing the girl, she frowned, repressing the jealous rage within her and began pulling him even harder towards the village.
"Come on, Li! We have to go home!"
Home. Li shuddered at the thought..
"Li!"
Stalks of wheat bended and swayed as somebody rushed through them, avoiding the person behind the call.
"Li! Where did you go?"
A young girl of about 9 years looked around angrily for her escapee. Jet black hair tied back into two buns with long strands handing from each bounced up and down above the wheat fields, searching for the boy she seeked. Scarlet red eyes darted this way and that, furious. Storming around, she stomped her feet into the ground, throwing her head back.
"Li! Wait till I tell your mother you ran off again!"
From the safety of the bushes, her escaped prisoner grinned maliciously, watching her from above while sitting contentedly on a small cliff.
"Go ahead, tell mother," he taunted softly, amber brown hair waving in front of his eyes as he turned away. "See if I care."
Walking along side the rock face, Li jumped down, landing squarely on the grassy field. Ignoring the cries of the girl, he began marching towards the lake in the distance, sparkling like sapphires in the light of the sun.
Within minutes he was there, drinking in the sight of the landscape. To the north were the rugged purple peaks of the Mordomir Mountains, home of the immensely powerful dragons, said to possess strength and magic unimaginable. To his right was the Great Burning desert, dangerous, yet captivating in spite of itself. Turning his head west, he sighed at the sight of the castle. The kingdom of Falyndor sat tucked beneath it.
Seeing the village made him scowl, thinking of his home, overly protective, and of the people within it- including her.
Shaking his head with disgust, he turned and walked towards the trees. Stopping in front of one, he jumped, grabbing onto one of its branches, and swung himself on top. Sitting straddled on the branch, Li reached up and grabbed an apple from among its leaves. He bit into the bright red fruit, savoring the sweet juices it released.
As he ate, he heard a noise below him. Discarding the core, Li crawled along the branch, pushing aside leaves to see.
"Zia, where are you?"
A young girl stepped daintily around the banks of the lake, searching, Li guess, for some sort of pet. She looked about the same age as the companion he had previously ditched, which meant she had to be 2 or 3 years younger than he was, with sort copper hair swinging about her shoulders as she pushed her way through the underbrush. The skirt of her light pink dress caught in the brambles, tearing several small pieces of the fine material.
Li smirked. "Check out Miss Wilderness. Clad in protective gear and everything."
Suddenly, something rustled behind him. Cautiously, he turned around. The leaves stopped moving.
Leaning forward, he sifted through them, not finding anything. Confused, he turned back around.
Li froze. In front of him sat a strange, cat-like creature, long and thin with lavender fur and a long bushy tail. Long, fox ears twitched. Velvet purple wings, bat-like, stretched, flapping a few times before they folded against the creature's back. Big, silver-blue eyes watched him with never ending fascination.
Li had heard tales of Kreetals from the villagers- the legendary creatures with multitudes of magic at their disposal. This was his first time seeing one up close.
He smiled, reaching above him and breaking off an apple. He held it in front of him, crawling slowly towards the animal.
"Shhh, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said soothingly, edging carefully towards the curious Kreetal, who tilted its head to one side, observing him with intrigue. It chirped inquiringly.
"That's it, just stay there," he cooed, his hand now inches away from the creature. The Kreetal sat back on its hind legs, its large eyes staring at the fruit. It leaned forward while still balancing on its back legs, sniffing the food apprehensively.
"Zia!"
The animal looked down, eyes sparkling at the sight of the girl. Looking back briefly at Li, the Kreetal vanished in a puff of lilac smoke. Looking down, Li saw it reappear on the girl's shoulders, tail wrapping possessively around her neck. Gently rubbing its neck with her finger, she looked up at him.
"Thank you for finding Zia for me."
Li snorted, jumping down from the branch and landing in front of her.
"I didn't find her. She found me."
Recognizing the interesting human she met before, Zia squeaked, leaping off the girl's shoulders and gliding to his head, sifting her claws through his hair. The girl giggled.
"Zia seems to find you very interesting."
"Yeah, well if Zia doesn't get off me now, she'll be finding the ground very interesting." Li grunted, flinching as one of her claws pierced his scalp.
Gently, the girl picked up the creature, squealing as she left her find. Rubbing his wounded head, Li glared at Zia, whose head perked as he looked at her.
"You certainly have an interesting way of making friends, don't you?" he replied.
Zia squeaked her response, tail flickering. The girl giggled again.
"What's your name?"
"Li. Li Showron."
Placing Zia back on her shoulders, the girl held her skirts and curtsied. "I am Sakura, Prin-"
Li laughed, watching her in amazement. "What's with the curtsy?"
Sakura flushed pink, straightening.
Li scowled. "You act like my mother- all prim and polite."
"You make it sound as if being polite is a bad thing."
Li placed his hands on his hips and frowned. "Well, when you grow up in a family that cares about nothing but that stuff, it starts to get a little annoying."
Sighing, Sakura nodded. "That's true."
Li scoffed at her. "Oh yeah? What do you know?"
Sakura glared at him, anger beginning to swell up inside her. "What do you mean by that?"
"Look at you, with your fancy dress and curtsy. You're nothing more than a spoiled little purebred!"
"I am not!"
"Yeah you are!" Li taunted, beginning to enjoy himself. "Purebred, purebred!"
Sakura stood fuming, fists clenching, glaring at the boy. Zia, sensing her anger, hissed at Li, whipping her tail in his direction. "I'm not spoiled!"
"Yes you are. You probably live in some big house by the castle, having whatever you want, whenever you want it. I bet you've never worked a single hour in your life! Compared to me, you have it easy!"
By this time, Sakura had had enough. Her face flushed red with anger. In fact, she looked so intimidating, Li began to wish he hadn't pushed her so far.
"Why you immature, idiotic, repulsive little brat! How dare you say I have life easy? You have no idea how hard it is to be-"
"Princess!"
Sakura twirled around, anger in her eyes passing for fear. Li looked over her head at the odd looking speaker.
It was unlike anything he head ever seen. It appeared to be a stuffed animal with its beady black eyes and small golden body. Crème-colored wings beat at the air while his long tail swished back and forth.
"Kero?"
"P-princess!?!"
Kero looked past her, surprised. He had not noticed the boy until now. Ignoring his gaping mouth, the stuffed animal looked back at Sakura. "Princess, do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you? If the king knew you were outside the castle walls, he'd have me hanged! Not to mention the Prince! He'd-"
"But Kero, I'm not that far outside. Zia ran off, and I went to look for her, and-"
"Save the talk for your tutor He's most likely already furious with me enough. Maybe you could talk to him and make him forget about telling the king," Kero said, flying around and pushing her towards the castle. Zia hissed at him, ears pressed against her skull. Kero scowled.
"You hush! If you hadn't ran off in the first place, this probably never would have happened!"
Li stood gawking, staring after the girl he just called a spoiled purebred. He called the Princess of Falyndor a purebred!
Realization finally hitting him, he sank to the ground, groaning.
"Li! There you are!"
The black-haired girl emerged from the bushes, rushing over to him, smiling delightedly. Not noticing he wasn't paying attention, she threw her arms around his neck, shocking him into reality.
"Meilin! What are you doing?"
"Oh, Li! I was looking all over for you! I was so worried," she moaned, sobbing on his shirt. Disgusted, Li peeled himself away from her. Realizing he wasn't with her anymore, she stood up and clung to his arm, pulling him back towards their village outside the castle walls.
"Come, Li! We shouldn't be hanging around here," she insisted.
Ignoring her persistency, Li looked back at castle. Just outside the walls, he saw Sakura, still being shoved towards the gate by that stuffed animal. Zia flew around them both, chattering angrily at Kero. Li sighed.
Noticing this, Meilin followed his gaze looked towards Sakura. Seeing the girl, she frowned, repressing the jealous rage within her and began pulling him even harder towards the village.
"Come on, Li! We have to go home!"
Home. Li shuddered at the thought..