Chapter Two~ A trip to Arant/Message from Eckhart

"Did you HAVE to bring him along?" Will complained, motioning towards Nate who was dancing on the front of the boat singing "I'm going to Orbis" over and over and OVER.

"Yes, I did." I snapped at my brother. "I would've felt horrible, had I left him. He's never been out of Victoria Island."

"But what if we ran into a Balrog on the ship, Caddie?" He attempted to argue. "You and I would have no problem. He'd die as soon as the 'Rog looked at him."

"That is why he is staying in the cabin of the ship." I informed him.

Nate overheard me speaking. "Excuse me?! No way I'm staying down there! I wanna fight a 'Rog!" He argued.

"No," I ordered. "You are to stay in the cabin. If the Balrog were to appear, because it is never one hundred percent certain that they will, it would kill you in an instant and you would be transported back to Ellinia."

He huffed loudly. "Fine."

The loud, eardrum bursting noise of the horn notifying all three people on the boat that it was leaving echoed through the air. And just like that, we were off. Nate and I immediately took refuge in the cabin, Will staying outside to keep guard. I began to talk to Nate about how my parents used to take Will and I to Orbis at least once a month because the city was just so pretty. And if they were feeling up to it, sometimes they would take us to Ludibrum, otherwise known as "Toyland". That was where Father had bought my Gold Titans.

I was about to launch into another story about a time when I was in Ludibrum when Will came crashing through the cabin door. "Will, what's wrong?" I asked, seeing how he was drenched in sweat and shaking nervously.

"'Rogs." He panted.

"Are they not just the regular Junior Balrogs?"

He shook his head. "No, there are two Juniors and one Crimson... I may need your help Caddie." He said.

I turned to Nate. "Stay here. Do not move." I commanded. He remained motionless. Exiting the cabin, I saw the Balrogs. Oh boy were they disgusting and ugly.

Will and I hopped and skipped all over the ship, attacking the Balrogs the entire time. Once the two Juniors were gone, and the biggest one's HP was cut by about half, Will and I went for the kill.

"HOLY CRAP! SO THAT'S A BALROG?!" I could have just slapped Nate right then. The Balrog looked for the new voice, and then his eyes landed on Nate. The smaller mammal's eyes grew wide and he began to run, but the Balrog was faster and got Nate in no time. He disappeared, and was already respawning back in Ellinia. Will and I finished off the last Balrog, and safely made it to Orbis where I called Nate on a payphone.

"You understand that once you have returned here I'm going to kill you, right?" I growled to Nate over the phone.

"Yeah yeah I know, I deserve it. Don't remind me. I'll be there as soon as the next boat comes, kay? See ya." And with that, he hung up.

Will and I went into Orbis and began reminiscing memories of when we were children, when Mother and Father were alive. Happy days, those were. All the shop owners remembered us, and stopped to ask how we were, what line of work we were in. They were all very shocked when they heard that Will had not gone into the family business of Cygnus Knights. He gave the same, untruthful response that he gave everyone else. "I don't agree with what the Cygnus Knights do, so therefore I became a Blade Master."

Once we were done seeing old friends, we stopped at a restaurant to eat something and awaited a call from Nate so we could be on our way to Arant. When Nate finally called and we had gone back to the boat station, he was not alone. Standing by him was a girl, a Wild Hunter from The Resistance I had presumed, if the large violet panther standing by her side was anything to go by. She had long black hair that was braided in two separate pieces. Her eyes were brown, and shaped like almonds, just like an Asian. She was tall, and extremely skinny, almost to the point of being unhealthy. She wore a regular huntress outfit, consisting of a feather-light green top that proved to ease motion, thick brown leather pants, and heavy brown hiking boots. Across her shoulders was a sleek black longbow.

"Will, Caddie, this is Cassidy." Nate said, gesturing towards the girl.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Cassidy." I said, and she shook my hand.

"A Cygnus Knight," she said. "Are you one of the nice ones, or one of those who walk about as if they own the place?"

I raised my eyebrows. How did she know I was a Cygnus? "I can assure you," Will piped up, "That she is one of the coolest Cygnus Knights you will ever meet."

She drew back with a sneer. "You're a knight too. Your blood vibrates the energy of one."

At this Will smirked and explained to her his reasonings for his actions. As they spoke, I turned to Nate. "So tell me again why she's joining us?"

"I just happened to see her on the boat. We started chatting. She said she was going to Arant, and I'm all like 'EYYYYYYY that's where I'm going! And she joined us." He explained, then paused. "Not only that but... she's kinda pretty. And nice. And I kind of like her."

Okay, hold on just a moment. He kind of liked her? What was THAT all about? He just met her. Something began to boil in my stomach. Was that... jealousy I felt? No, impossible. I do not feel jealousy. Pride and wrath maybe, but certainly not jealousy. "If that is how you feel."

Arant was just as hot and dry as I remembered, which was excruciatingly. Arant was a fairly poor country where everything was hideously over priced. The people there were grungy, filthy, their clothes filled with holes and rips and tears. I felt dearly for them.

I searched through the crowd of buzzing people, looking for one specific person... and then I spotted her. Fukayna was one of the more wealthy girls of Arant, having clothes that at least were not torn. Her blonde hair sat in a bun on her head, her bangs falling in her oceanic blue eyes. She too was a fellow Nightwalker, one of Eckhart's most trusted knights. We had gone through the Knighthood Training together, and you could have probably considered us childhood friends.

"Hello, Fukayna." I said as I approached her. "I got your message the other day. What was it you needed to speak to me about?"

"Hello to you too dear Caddie, and I have called you here because I have a message for you from Lord Eckhart." She said after wrapping me in a short-lived hug.

I tilted my head in slight confusion. "What do you mean? Normally Eckhart would just give me the messages himself... why is he making me go through all this trouble to get it? I will never understand him."

Fukayna laughed a little. "He wanted you, Digger and I to meet him at Ereve this Saturday, he apparently has a mission for us. He also specified that you bring NO ONE. It's a big top-secret kind of mission that has to do with the Black Mage."

My blood turned to ice. "He has returned? You mean, he's not dead?"

"I'm afraid not. That is why this mission is so imperative."

And with that, we said our goodbyes and I was off to find my brother and friend, then went home to Victoria Island.

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Until next time!

XxNanamixX