Chapter 2 – An Unfortunate Accident
In which Lina gets lost, Fia gets in trouble, and Ein gets confused.
Cierra's study of magic was going extremely well. In the months following the return of our heroes, the Scarlet Witch had made considerable progress in the arcane arts.
Today, however, as she pored over the ancient texts in the magic guild's library, she came across a phrase that completely and totally stumped her.
"Hrover does not own Riviera-The Promised Land" she read. What the heck could it mean?
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Serene was currently attempting to have a conversation with the fairy hovering outside Fia and Lina's house.
"Hi there! What's your name?" asked our winged avenger in an uncharacteristically chirpy tone.
"This is where Fia and Lina live" replied the generic looking fairy.
"I know, I live here too, ya know?" the now-annoyed Arc was rapidly regretting starting this conversation.
"This is where Fia and Lina live" intoned the fairy. It really took it's job very seriously.
"Shut up, you-" Serene abruptly stopped as a bolt of yellow lightning streaked past her, nearly knocking her over.
"Lina, how many times have I told you to watch where you're going!" screamed the inappropriately named Arc, picking up a nearby object and flinging it straight at Lina.
"This is where Fia and Lina live." the fairy remarked as it spun through the air, in a definite collision course with the back of Lina's head.
It was unfortunate that Lina chose this exact moment to walk into the house.
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The last thing Lina remembered was the image of a young girl with impossibly green hair and matching dress. From the outstretched hand of this emerald beauty a blinding beam of light gracefully arced it's way towards her, in the blink of an eye it had completely surrounded the hapless Lina.
And then, she was gone.
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"You did WHAT!!??" screamed Serene as she surveyed the scene before her.
Fia was sitting on the floor, with her face buried in her hands. All in all, a classic example of the Oh-my-God-what-have-I-done position.
"I b-banished Lina. It was an accident, really!" cried our kind fencer, as she started sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry!"
Yeah, thought Serene, like I care about what happens to that brat.
Never at a loss, the astute Arc quickly controlled the situation with the judicious application of two sharp slaps to the face of the sobbing Fia.
"Now, calm down and tell me what happened"
A few minutes later, having gotten the entire story from a much-subdued Fia, Serene dashed out of the house, intent on finding the rest of her friends.
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And thus, later on, as the Elendian sunlight began to dim in anticipation of the coming night, we find our heroes, minus, of course, Lina, sitting around a table, discussing their next move.
Fia, however, could not concentrate on the task at hand. In between Serene's biting sarcasm and Cierra's cold icy stare, the young woman was quickly losing her composure.
"So, let me get this straight..." said Cierra in a dangerously quiet tone. "You 'accidentally' BANISHED Lina?!"
"Y-yes." Fia squeaked, resisting with difficulty the urge to lie down and assume the foetal position.
"Any idea how to get her back?" Serene asked. "Can't you reverse it?"
Fia whimpered, then slowly shook her head. The teleportation spell she had used had been designed for use against vicious, bloodthirsty demons, and for that reason was strictly one-way only.
The girls looked to Ein, the natural leader of their group. However, the angel seemed to be in a state of shock.
"How..." he wondered. "How could anyone possibly think of throwing my beautiful rocks away?"
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Author's Note:
And so ends the second chapter. The story line's moving at a snail's pace isn't it? Fear not! I'm sure things will liven up soon enough. Thanks for reading!