~Chapter Two~
The Thief and the Tamer
"Having trouble there, babana-girl?"
Esther softly growled, fuming as she sat crouched on the ground, trying to light a fire, which she had been doing for almost ten minutes now. She looked over her shoulder and gave Swaine a vicious look. "If you think you can do better, have at it, or would you rather stand around and make smart-remarks all night?"
Swaine pretended to ponder. "Hmm, I think I chooose... 'smart-remarks', heh heh."
Esther seethed. It had been almost six months since Oliver returned to Motorville in his own world after defeating Shadar and returning Cassiopeia to her former glory. Since then, she went back to Al Mamoon with her father, Rashaad, as well as spend time in her homeland, as she had grown to miss it while travelling so much. Swaine, in the meantime, continued to travel the lands, starting first by going back and visiting Marcassin, his younger brother and Emperor of Hamelin. After a month or so, Esther began to miss travelling and taming familiars, often summoning her own and taking them out to the desert for training just to make sure she hadn't lost her touch. It wasn't until after Swaine dropped by for a visit two months ago that she took to travelling again, after he invited her to join him on a trip to Castaway Cove, claiming he missed picking on someone (though Esther knew that was his way of saying he missed having company). Excited to have another adventure, Esther immediately leaped to the chance...
And now she was regretting it. The most they had done was re-visit familiar friends (which was the best of the trip), fight off beasts (which they were used to), or argued with each other over anything from which paths to take, to who should buy the provisions next (the worst for her). If Mr. Drippy, Lord High Lord of the Fairies, were still with them rather than back in his homeland, he would no doubt compare them to an old married couple.
She had to admit, though, she did miss travelling, and no matter what kind of comment he had to make, she was glad to have Swaine at her side through it all... She just wished Oliver would return too, as the boy returned to Motorville in his world to move on with his life. She often looked forward to him visiting.
Esther let out a bitter sigh. "Just help me out, alright? I'm too tired to bicker with you now," she muttered. It had been a long day of wandering, the two of them setting up camp in Golden Grove after fighting off a few beasts.
"Alright, if you're too tired to work," Swaine joked, but humbly got to work building a fire, managing to have one lit in less than five minutes. "See? That's how it's done,"
Esther rolled her eyes. "Marvellous," she then lied down on her sleeping bag, exhausted. It was Swaine's turn to keep watch that night, as she had been up in the late of last night to the early morning, having only gotten enough rest when they passed by Ding Dong Dell. Despite they had nothing to worry about now that the Dark Djinn and White Witch were gone, there were still a few beasts that loved to pick fights on travelers, not to mention there were other thieves looking to nab anything that wasn't nailed to the ground. Not to mention they had to keep an eye on their provisions and fire- when beasts weren't attacking, they were trying to sneak away with their food, and with the fallen leaves around the grove they had to make sure the fire didn't spread.
But, it was nothing they couldn't handle. They could get some sleep when they reached Al Mamoon anyway, as they were heading back there so Esther could tell Rashaad how their travels had been- plus she missed having a babana-split, which she had been craving for the past week now.
As the desert-girl lied down to rest, Swaine leaned back against the tree, looking up at the branching tops, spotting the stars in the sky. The trip was long, and he admitted he wished Oliver were with them to use one of his spells to immediately transfer them to any location, and spare the treading, but when they stopped to rest and had a chance to enjoy the scenery, he didn't mind it too much. Back when he first ran away from Hamelin, it was one of the things he enjoyed most- when he wasn't fending for his own survival, that is.
Sometimes he missed the old times, despite they weren't too long ago: Travelling with Oliver, Esther, Mr. Drippy; fighting various enemies; hunting down long-lost treasures... It had its ups and downs, of course- for one thing there were times where he wanted to kick Mr. Drippy across the field whenever he would ramble about something, Oliver had to be given a lesson about many places they visited as it took him a while to understand how their world worked, and- of course- he and Esther couldn't go one day without bickering about something. But, the ex-prince had to admit, he couldn't find better travelling companions.
One reason why he invited Esther to join him was just to get a feel of those times again. He even considered sailing on a ship to the Faerie Grounds, to see if Mr. Drippy would tag along too- the only thing that stopped him was that he wouldn't want to invite him without Oliver around, as he and the fairy seemed to be on friendlier terms. Perhaps, if/when Oliver decided to return, they could visit the Lord High Lord of the Fairies together, as a surprise... depending how patient Swaine was feeling.
Then there was Tengri, their dragon. Ever since Oliver left, the massive creature took to the skies, perhaps to search for him, or explore until his return. Swaine wished the dragon had stuck by them after the young wizard left, as flying sounded a LOT easier than walking, but perhaps since everyone went their separate ways for a while, perhaps the dragon decided to do the same. It wouldn't be a surprise if they came across him again, though, and Tengri was immediately willing to give them a ride anywhere.
The thief looked to the skies, imagining seeing Tengri swooping down, or Oliver using Gateway to appear, or Mr. Drippy suddenly falling out of a tree and going on a rant of how they started travelling without him. He looked back at Esther, thankful that he had at least one friend with him on his travels now.
You can't keep hoping it will be like this forever, the pessimistic side of his brain kicked in. Someday, everyone will have to move on with their lives, and your days of travelling with them will be limited, if not stop entirely.
He sighed. If only time could stand still, he wished. He looked at Esther once more, seeing she had already fallen asleep, and their familiars were still resting from their last fight, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Someday, he thought. But hopefully, not too soon.
*0*0*0*
A/N: Thought I'd just throw in a scene depicting what Swaine and Esther have been up to. I figured, after Oliver left, everyone would go off to do their own little things, until Swaine decides he wants some company again.
I'm still watching the walkthroughs as there's still some information to be gained (if you can't tell already). I watched all the cutscenes, learning a little more of all that happened, but still felt confused at some parts, especially since there wasn't much detail given about the places they visited and such, so forgive me if I botch anything up.
Reviews are welcome as well as constructive criticism, but please hold back on the flames.
