CHAPTER II: Just a Little Secret
"I am that which they hate. I am the bane of their existence. With my presence, all those who ruin this great city's name shall know fear."
"I AM THE DARK PRINCE OF HELMDRR! THOSE WHO OPPOSE ME SHALL KNOW DEFEAT! SURRENDER IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE!"
The dark prince shattered the silence of the night with his booming voice. The sound piercing the darkness which hides his prey. He travels in the sky, rooftop to rooftop as his jet black shades target his quarry.
With the speed of a hundred airships, he descended among the rabble, sending dust flying as the shockwaves shook the criminals bodies.
"The Dark Prince?!" exclaimed the leader, the grand entrance seemingly having not fazed him the slightest. "Get him!" he ordered.
One by one, the criminals brandished swords, daggers, and clubs as all at once they rushed after our cloaked hero.
A smirk dancing upon his lips, the dark prince crouched low before launching himself straight upwards. From his coat he took out his grappling gun, firing a hook and rope for each assailant under him. With great finesse, he flipped through the air and landed upon a nearby ledge before he hoisted the hooked criminals upward.
The Dark Prince's steel blue eyes then stared at the leader of the group as his voice bellowed out once more.
"I have captured your allies and I demand you surrender yourself immediately! Your days of crime in Helmdrr are over!"
Cursing under his breath, the gang's leader drew his own weapon from its sheath, a long steel cleaver the size of a full grown person. With great speed, he swung his deadly blade overhead. Only to miss as the dark prince almost vanished right in front of him.
Vanish he did. Using the power of the Time orbal arte, our hero weaved through the criminal's attacks with ease. Each swing drastically slower than the last as the prince increased his speed. Clutching the Fire quartz in his palm, flames wreathed upon his knuckles.
"Finishing move: Ten Thousand Strikes of Inferno!"
At impossible speeds, the Dark Prince's fists met the criminal's face and body. The fire arte burning in his hand inflicting severe damage to his foe and the time arte multiplying his speed to punch several times a second.
Badly bruised and beaten, the gang leader staggered back.
"IT'S OVER!" the dark hero proudly boasted as he pulled his right arm back and delivered a fire infused straight right his opponent's body, flinging his enemy several feet away to a nearby wall. The criminal leader was knocked unconscious as his defeated body slumped down to the floor.
"I am that which they hate. I am the bane of their existence. With my presence, all those who ruin this great city's name shall know fear."
"I AM THE DARK PRINCE OF HELMDRR! THOSE WHO OPPOSE ME SHALL KNOW DEFEAT! SURRENDER IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE!"
The Dark Prince repeated his mantra as he took off yet again, disappearing in the blackened sky to fight another battle in the Great City of Helmdrr.
"Fie, please."
"..."
"Don't tell anyone."
"..."
"I'm serious."
"..."
"Say something..."
"..." Lime-green eyes continued to stare at his costumed self. Uncomfortably so, if Rean may add.
His hand instinctively reached down to cover the exposed portions of his torso, which was made more difficult by the fact that the coat was several sizes smaller than usual. He had not expected Fie to be in his bedroom when he retrieved the old costume from its storage. Nor had he expected to give himself up to the temptation to try on said costume. Out of simple curiosity, he forced himself to fit inside the fabrics. To his dismay (or not), he found it still fit his adult body, albeit barely. He quietly snuck into his room for needed solace before turning around and finding a silver-haired intruder apologizing to him.
Said intruder was still intent on staring him down, however.
I wanna crawl into a hole and die, his mind opined.
"I'm gonna change now… alright?" he asked, sweat pooling on his temples as he desperately wished to be elsewhere. Defeating extra-dimensional beings intent on corrupting Zemuria, Rean could handle. Embarrassing himself in front of his dear classmates, Rean could not. "You can step out and we'll forget this ever happened-"
"You're hot," Fie finally said.
"What?" was his equally eloquent response.
"You're hot," the usually stoic girl repeated. Eyes narrowed and cheeks flushed, she flashed him a grin that was equal parts flirty and dangerous.
His impending humiliation aside, Rean could not stop his face from heating up at her remark.
"I.. don't think that's an appropriate complement given our ages…" was all he could think of saying. He rubbed the bridge of his nose to hide the flaring of his cheeks.
"Eh, I tell it as it is," Fie explained before a sinister smile flashed on her face. She moved several steps closer to her victim. "Don't take it from me though. I'm pretty biased. Maybe I should ask the others…? Or maybe your students~? Towa~?" the girl teased.
"No. T-That won't be necessary," the instructor said. His mind wandered to how his students and colleagues would react to such a query.
Juna would freak.
Altina would find creative ways to insult him on his 'indecency'.
Towa- No. He was NOT going there. He'd die of embarrassment.
And Musse, dear Aidios, would never let him live it down.
Kind of like what Fie was doing now, to be honest.
"Fie, please. If anyone found out, I'd… I'd have to leave Erebonia for good. Please. Don't tell anyone."
"Quit being melodramatic. Of course, I won't." to which she gave him a flat glare.
"Thanks." One step closer to getting out of this ridiculous outfit.
Rean sighed in relief before he flinched from a finger that had poked him on his stomach. The nail scratched into his skin as it clawed its way up his exposed midriff.
"Don't expect me to do it for free though," Fie said with possibly the evilest smirk she had worn to date. A faint blush dusted her cheeks.
Poor Rean could only gulp as his normally docile and reserved classmate placed a hand on his chest and pressed her body against him. Red continuing to suffuse his cheeks, he shut his eyes and tried to calm his mind, body, and heart… among others. He swore to himself never to wear such tight pants ever again.
The day was doubly productive for one Lucia Schwarzer. Along with the laundry, she had finished dusting every room, polished every ornament, replaced every bed sheet and cleaned every inch of the kitchen. She had also tasked herself with cooking dinner for 6 as well, two more than usual. As a reward for today's hard work, she had tried to come up with an exciting new taste for the classic Ymir hotpot. Thankfully, Rean fished up a bottle of aged Calvardian sake from the storage shack that Master Ka Fai had shared with the family way back when.
Rolling up her dress sleeves and donning her apron, Lucia put her pride on the line to create the best hotpot in the history of the Schwarzer name.
Evening came as the last train had begun the trip bound for Roer. The whistle signaling its departure had faded into the mountain range as everyone in the quaint little town said their goodbyes to one another and left for their respective homes. Lucia was putting the final touches on her new, deluxe hot pot when she heard knocking on the front door.
She's here. Lucia gave the dining room another once over before nodding to herself as every plate and cup was perfectly placed for tonight's dinner.
She removed her cooking apron and was fixing her hair when the knocking continued. "Coming!" she informed as she walked briskly to the entrance. Composing herself once more, she lightly turned the knob and welcomed their guest with an elegance and refinement worthy of her status as a noble.
Standing at the door was a woman with long fuschia hair tied in a ponytail. She appeared to be in her early-20's but her actual age was far older. She wore a yellow jacket over a blue cocktail dress with a slitted dark green skirt. A red sword and gun combo hung from the holsters on her hips. The woman also had an expensive looking designer brand coat folded on her arms. The most eye-catching, however, was that she held an entire bag of various kinds of wine and beer on her person.
"Evening, Lady Schwarzer," said the guest in a way that was half formal, half not.
"Good Evening, Miss Valestein. Please, Lucia is fine," the baroness greeted as graceful as ever. She was clearly used to the eccentricities of the former instructor.
"Great! Uh… can I come in now? These bags are Huh-eavy," Sara asked while unconvincingly lifting said bag with one hand.
"Of course, you may. Shall I carry those for you?" Lucia felt only the need to smile and nod to the other woman's quirkiness.
"Oh no need, I got it," the alcoholic slung the bag on her shoulder and stooped down to the side of the entrance. The slender woman then lifted up a large box covered in parcel and strolled inside while humming a tune. The clinking sound of bottles and cans inside the carton gave away its contents.
Lucia failed to stop the sweat from beading on her face.
Patting her cheeks and shaking her head, she followed after her guest. Sara Valestein was, and is still, a figure Rean looks up to. More than that, from what she was told, Sara was the mentor of the girl that was with her son. The child even bluntly said that she considered the former instructor her surrogate mother or older sister.
And hell, Lucia loved the girl. Which was why she had determined herself to establish a rapport with the eccentric woman. Even if that meant defeating the bracer in a bout of alcohol.
Lucia Schwarzer had faced impossible odds before. She had triumphed every time.
Sara Valestein was not a quitter. Nuh-uh. When life gives you lemons, you drink beer. Which was why Sara Valestein was gonna party tonight.
"Man, the pub here always have the best beer. I just had to buy more, ya know? Wonder what's their secret? Cooling it in the snowy mountains perhaps~?" Sara wondered aloud. She placed the carton of valuable goods on the counter before fishing out a cold can of beer from her bag. The contents revitalizing the poor woman as it was chugged down her throat. "Phaaaahh… That's the stuff…"
"My my, drinking already?" the voice said from behind her. The Baroness was smiling with a practiced air of dignity, Sara noted. "Did you have a frustrating day perhaps?"
"Yeah, no kidding," she answered curtly, the day's events passing her mind as she took another gulp of her drink.
"Well, I do hope dinner would be to your liking at least," her hostess replied. From the nearby table, a fragrant aroma of braised beef and a brothy soup assailed her nose.
"Mhhhhh~ That smells nice~ You used sake, am I right?"
"Oh, you can tell? You must really do know your alcohol. You arrived just in time too."
"Yes! Free food and beer! This is the life~" the fuchsia-haired woman exclaimed. "So where are my little chickadees anyway?" Sara looked around the floor for a familiar pair of faces, to no avail.
"They are upstairs currently. I'll go fetch them," Lucia said.
"Ohhhh don't worry. Let me." Sara took out her ARCUS from her coat pocket and dialed her favorite student's number. It was the first on her contact list even.
A loud thud was heard from upstairs before an answer came through.
"Y-Yes? Rean Schwarzer speaking," the voice from the phone answered raggedly.
"Guten Tag, my favorite little wunderkind. Guess who just arrived~?"
"I-Instructor Sara-?!" Rean seemed to have choked out. Guess he's excited to see me too. Aww, he's still so shy~.
"Yup, the one and only! Fie told ya I'm coming right?"
Sara heard a loud snicker from the other end.
"Y-Yes… she did… just now in fact- I-I mean, w-why are you calling?"
"Well I'm downstairs and I figured it'd only be respectful for me to call~" she answered, not meaning a word of the latter. She heard more shuffling noises as she climbed up the stairs of the manor. "Is someone there, Rean?"
"No-! It's just… my dog! Uh yeah, my dog- Hey…!" the call ended just as Sara arrived in front of Rean's room. She was supposed to knock before the jostling of the knob got her attention and the door opened. She was greeted by a familiar set of eyes, but not ones she had expected.
"Fie? Didn't expect to see YOU here." Sara placed her hand on her hips before doing a double take. "What ARE you doing here?"
"Napping." was the short girl's shorter response. Sara didn't believe it one bit. For one, her messy silver hair was a bit more disheveled than usual. More noticeably, she was wearing neither her signature scarf nor her black tights and opera gloves.
"Yeah… where's Rean?"
The girl looked to an area behind the door for a moment when Sara heard another thud.
"He's busy," Fie said as she fixed her mentor a neutral stare.
"Okay…" Curious, Sara tried to peer inside the room but every time she did, her vision was blocked by her junior. The quiet girl had no intention of letting her through or explaining, for that matter.
"I'm onto you…" Sara warned her protege through narrowed eyes.
"So Sara, how'd your date go?" the younger girl asked innocently, changing the subject.
Sara didn't notice, however. Her gaze turned sullen as she was reminded of how and why she was still single tonight.
"Bummer," Fie consoled, absolutely zero sympathies in her tone.
"Look. It wasn't my fault that monster came out of nowhere!" Sara exclaimed, hand to her chest as if the very statement offended her. "Okay, I may have… accidentally electrocuted him, but it was going so well! The mood, the atmosphere, this great view as I leaned in closer for a kiss..."
"If you say so..."
"Urgh… I need a drink," Sara said like a true role model for kids everywhere. "Dinner's ready if you want." she said lastly before walking off and grumbling something about being called a "purple brute", along with a few choice expletives.
The stoic girl closed the door as a passive smirk came up her lips.
Dinner flew by in an instant, but Lucia Schwarzer was pleased. Her family and two guests loved her new recipe, as evidenced by the younger of the two seemingly glowing in satisfaction.
It had been a lively affair, with her husband and Sara instantly bonding over wine and her son and Fie spoon feeding each other like an old couple. She laughed at Elise's jealous attempts to coax her brother to feed her as well. As they say, dinner tastes better when it is with family. she thought to herself.
"Thanks for the food Auntie Lucia." the normally quiet girl said to her.
"Did you like what you eat?"
Fie spared a glance at Rean before she regarded the older woman with a small but sincere smile, her bloom growing radiantly.
"You could say that."
"Splendid!"
If she only knew why her son was groaning so uncomfortably.
A loud splash echoed through the halls of the Phoenix Wings as two women dove into the empty outdoor bath.
"Ahhhh~ I love Ymir this time of year. These hot springs really fix up my tired joints, ya know?" the still sober Sara said as she let the springs warm her up, beer in hand. Amazingly, the Schwarzers had managed to keep up with her drinking. She almost drained her stock and was afraid she'd have to buy another box before leaving.
"You sound like an old man, but yeah~ These springs are the best." Fie had picked up more habits from her senior as the two bracers exhaled at the same time.
Being a bracer wasn't always easy. You get paid pittances, have to deal with inconsiderate clients without kicking their asses, and that's not even going to transport. Hell, most of the time bracers have to WALK. But that's then and this is now, as the two exhausted public workers let their agony and frustrations dissipate into the springs.
Silence descended upon the two. The gentle mountain breeze licked their hair as the mineral water perforated their skin. Simple bliss in the quiet northern lands of Erebonia.
…
"Hey, Sara."
"Mhhh~?"
"Have you heard of something called 'The Dark Prince of Helmdrr'?"
"The dark prince of whutt~?"
"Helmdrr. Double r."
"I do want me some dark prince~ eheheh."
"... Too much info."
"'The Dark Prince of Helmdrr'... where oh where have I heard that before…" Sara wondered aloud as she spoke the title a few more times.
"It's fine if you don't know," Fie reassured, stretching her legs out more in the bath.
Something clicked inside the older woman's mind as she suddenly sat up with her eyes wide.
"Woah Woah. 'The' Dark Prince?! Where'd you hear that one from?"
"Trade secret," the younger girl half answered. "You know it then?"
"Who wouldn't! It's only like the greatest novel ever," Sara declared rather passionately.
"I haven't. And if it was so great, why haven't I even heard about it until now?"
"You don't need me to tell you that you're not exactly the bookish type, right?" to which the quiet girl simply glared back. "Okay, so truthfully… nobody really knows. It just… disappeared from the face of Zemuria. Poof. Like that. Just as quickly as it came," Sara explained.
"Disappeared?"
"I say disappeared but it's more like it disappeared from the public eye. There could be some original copies of the book left, but it's technically illegal to own one."
"What? Illegal? Why?" Worry flashed on the small girl's face from the thought of a certain someone coming into possession of such illegal contraband.
"Who knows?" the older woman shrugged. "I've heard it's got something to do with the war with Liberl, but you wouldn't catch ME saying that aloud. It's one of those things the Empire prefers hidden away if I would guess," she warned her colleague.
"Got it. Thanks for the heads up."
"That said, you won't be apprehended for secretly owning one. But it's not something you can just advertise either. It's banned in Thors for example," the former instructor said.
"Good." Fie sighed as another surge of relief passed the petite girl's body. Had me going for a moment there, Rean. You naughty boy.
"Ohhh man, you should've seen those kids in North Ambria when we brought home a copy. They loved it. Got some boys screaming out 'I AM THE DARK PRINCE!' or something. They were so cute!" Sara let out a sigh as her body slumped further, her thoughts getting lost in the nostalgia.
Fie had made to ask who her teacher meant by 'we' before choosing to drop it. It probably wasn't something to be asked lightly. Instead, she had decided to close her eyes and let her friend relish in her memories. Consider me intrigued, she thought. Maybe Rean would let her read it?
Read it to her that is. In bed. Maybe.
Arise, arise o brethren.
Awaken your spirit to your self, your body and your heart.
For your suffering was never a sin.
Your sin never to be burdened alone.
Arise, arise o brethren.
Your songs of triumph have been silenced, drowned in your greed.
Despair not, for you who oppose the light shall prosper.
Those of you who fight, those of you with the will, shall overcome the beauty of the light.
Arise, arise o brethren.
O brothers of the Aureole.
And enter Sara! Seriously she was an incredibly fun character to write. I can see why Carrie Keranen had a blast voicing her. Still, hope she reprises her in CS 3. Sara would never be the same if she didn't :(
Also, I figured right now would be a good time for an author's note. So let me get some things out of the way.
Yes, this fic is ReanxFie, but I will contain it to these first chapters and future ones only when appropriate. This fic will center on Fie herself and not Fie-with-Rean.
Yes, this is my first ever fanfic if it wasn't obvious from my inexperienced writing. I had entertained this story in my mind for quite a while now and writing the first chapter was mostly an experiment. This entire fic itself will be an experimental run of my ability to write.
But no worries, I DO have a general plan for the story. And if I do well, I might even continue on to write some more using the seeds I planted in this first story so to speak.
As such favorites and reviews are much appreciated. Go easy on me though (or not. If you really think it will help the fic grow, then fire away.)
See ya.