~ Chapter Two: The First Sight of Sunlight ~
"Raaaaaaven~!"
A beautiful young woman called out the name of her beloved, elongating it as long as her lungs allowed her to. The winds tickled her luscious pink hair, and her eyes reflected the bright shine of the sun by a thousand folds. She was lightly running around, in the forests near the edge of Velder, where the tall green trees wrapped their leafy, wooden arms in a giant and soft embrace. She knew he was here. Where else could he be? She called his name again, louder this time,
"Raaaaaven!"
She slowed down as her eyes caught the glimpse of a young man sitting with his back against a tree, arms behind his head, legs crossed one over the over, eyes closed in peaceful slumber. The wind spirits had played with him – tossed fallen leaves onto his flatten, dark black hair, ruffled his white fur coat, and whistled gentle, soothing melodies into his ears.
The lady walked up to the man, careful not to disturb his rest. She couldn't help but bemuse herself at the sight. Raven, lead commander of the fearsome Crow Mercenaries, guards to the imperial Velder kingdom. His swordsmanship outranked any and every knight found in Elrios. He was an elegant swordsman, his blade strokes like sharp leaves slicing through air. His fighting style was like a wolf – patient, always waiting for the right moment to mercilessly tear his sharp fangs into his opponent, but quick and always moving, never giving his opponent even a slimmer of a chance to react. He always held a calm and composed demure, but was far too serious. It was nearly impossible to catch him doing something other than practicing his blade strokes when he was off duty, much less actually resting. The Blade Master, they called him, the frozen knight who fights with blades that could command the wind gods themselves. And here he was, sleeping without a care in the world. The lady laughed.
"And what would your men say if they saw their 'ice-hearted leader' sleeping on the job?"
The man smiled in response. It was a small smile, barely anything more than a light smirk. The lady pouted; slightly annoyed that he did not even greet her. No matter. She would continue to tease him until he properly responded.
"Well, since you seem to be having such a nice nap, I suppose I'll just eat this nice, juicy, blackberry pie all, by, myself. Ah~, what a shame. And here I was hoping you would have a slice or two, too."
She grinned. She knew he could not resist the offer of his favorite blackberry pie, despite disliking most sweets and desserts. And she was right. Almost instantly, the man opened his eyes and looked at his beautiful lover, noticing that she was not carrying any baskets or containers to store food in, much less an actual pie in her hands. He frowned and let out a sad sigh.
"Wow, sighing already? And it was such a long sigh too. You must be getting old~." His lover chaffed lightly. He let out a small chuckle.
"Good afternoon, Seris."
The woman smiled one of her rarest and most happy smiles. She cheerfully skipped over and kneeled by her lover, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before replying, "Good afternoon, Raven." He returned the gift with a slow and sweet kiss of his own – aimed at her lush, soft pink lips this time. The two lovers stared at each other with pure, innocent love, treasuring the peaceful moment. It was truly moments like these which felt the most special to both of them.
Raven lowered his arms to his lap, and leaned his head on Seris' shoulder. The soft fabrics of her shirt tickled his nose, and he had to adjust his head multiple times until he felt more comfortable. Seris let out a small laugh, brushing black strands of hair away from her lover's calm, serene, smiling face. Neither person wanted to speak or move, wishing for the moment to last forever. But the sun was setting soon, and Seris knew that no matter how beautiful and peaceful the forest was, it could still be very dangerous at night. She rolled her shoulder slightly, in an attempt to get her lover's attention.
"You know, if we don't hurry back soon, the blackberry pie might get stolen~." She said in a sing-song voice. The raven-haired man chuckled. Both parties knew it could never happen. Their house was in the first residential area, where only nobles and high-classed citizens lived. There were guards everywhere in the rare occasion a crime occurred. And plus, everyone in Velder knew of the fierce Blade Master and his skills. Who would dare steal something from him lest for those who didn't care for their safety? But the raven-haired man still decided to listen to his childish lover. Just… Not the way she had hoped.
"Carry me back then." He said, wrapping his arms around her small waist, keeping his head on her shoulder. She pouted, flustered. She was an experienced and talented fighter, but being a lightweight, speed-reliant attacker, she could not carry her lover and the twenty-something pound sword he always carried around all the way back to Velder. She let out a childish "hmph" sound.
"Well, if you're not coming, then I'll just go home and eat the pie all by myself." Seris said, enunciating especially the last three words. Her lover let out a sad whine. "Fine, fine, let's go then." He reluctantly let go of her waist and stood up, stretching his arms out towards the sky. Seris stood up after him, brushing the dust and dirt off her long skirt and legs. Raven grabbed his trusty sword, leaning nearby on another side of the tree, and turned to Seris, a mischievous look in his eyes.
"Hey, wanna race back home? Loser has to do one thing the winner says."
His lover responded with widened eyes and a slightly agape mouth. She stomped her right foot and raised both arms, hands fisted, up to her chest, like a little child throwing a tantrum.
"No fair! You always win when we race!" The man stared, slightly surprised at her childish outburst, before looking away and laughing into his right fist. She's so cute when she acts like this… He thought to himself.
"Okay then, how about I give you a five second head start?"
"Make it ten seconds!"
"Okay, okay, ten seconds then." He replied, laughing. Seris put a hand on her hip, her right hand's index finger pointing straight out at the taller male's face. With sharp eyes and a confident smile, she called out, "You're on! Just you wait! Today's the day Seris of the Crow Mercenaries will defeat the almighty leader Raven! You better start calling me 'Almighty lady Seris' from now on~!" He laughed again, thankful to have such a wonderful woman as his future wife. He stabbed his sword into the ground, crossed his arms and turned to face her, face still brimming with a radiant grin.
"You've got ten seconds Seris. I'll start counting now."
Seris lowered her right arm slightly, eyes wide. "Wait, wait, wait! I haven't even started running yet!"
"One!"
"Raven you big, fat meanie!" The woman pouted once more before quickly sprinting off in the direction of the Velder entrance gates. The young man smiled at her escaping back. Everything felt too surreal, too beautiful. It was so… Perfect.
A scene quickly flickered through his mind. A forest, just like this one. Blood and torn limbs everywhere. Men and women both, bodies laid broken and scarred on the red-dyed earthy soil. And in the middle of it all, the rotting body of his beloved Seris, eyes wide and dull, staring at him, as if asking, "Why didn't you save me?"
He gasped, eyes wide and shaking with fear. His heartbeat became irregular and extremely fast, and he felt drops of sweat gathering on his forehead. A premonition? A memory? He truly hoped it was nothing but a recollection of a bad dream he had forgotten.
Do not worry, do not fear, Raven. Let it go, for it will never happen. Don't worry, forget about it, forget everything that makes you sad, makes you hurt or worry. Don't worry little raven, don't worry…
The voice repeated those words, "Don't worry". But it was not his voice. It was the voice of a girl's. A girl he never heard or met before. Raven felt a little suspicious. Was it a mage speaking to him? But there were not many mages in Velder, and none of them were very powerful, especially in the telepathic field. Nonetheless, he felt himself calm down at those words.
Don't worry.
Raven awoke from his trance, realizing that it had probably been more than ten seconds since Seris left. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts, quickly grabbed his sword, and started jogging back to Velder, never daring to take even a single glance behind him.
After he had disappeared from her sights, a beautiful maiden stepped out from behind the very tree the swordsman and his lovely betrothed were resting on. She was clad in the same, mostly black outfit as she was during their first encounter, a hand once again twirling a strand of silver hair. The girl leaned against the tree, crossing one leg over the other. She crossed her arms and, with a soft and eerie laugh, whispered a secret for the North Wind to spread,
"Twenty five more days little raven."
~ Author's Notes ~
Hello again~! This is G123u, thank you for reading my second chapter~.
Don't be dying anytime soon little raven~. /shot
On a side note, I've got the main storyline all laid out, but if there are any specifications you would like me to add/remove/change, please let me know~ (eg: If there are many EvexRaven fans who read this, I might add in some scenes of romance/comfort/conversation/etc. between the two).
Also, the next chapter will be much longer (much, much longer, haha... ), and will be featuring Lord Knight~! (Even though our little Raven here won't recognize him, since, you know, it's an AU sort of story... (owo) )
Now that that's over, as usual, thank you for reading this, and any and all sorts of feedback are welcome with open arms~.
