Chapter Two: Getting Acquainted

The dark cargo hold was cold, and Elsword and Aisha could barely see. They sat close together for warmth, the cold not bothering Elsword due to his many campaigns in the winter, but Aisha had always been sensitive to cold weather. He could still feel her shivering, and wrapped his arm around her. Aisha slowly managed to quell the shivers, and made a small orb to give them a little light, just barely enough to see each other.

"Thanks." They both said, and stared at each other awkwardly. Aisha curled her legs in and held them tightly to help keep warm.

"So, where you from?" Aisha asked, wanting to try to know Elsword a little before having him get more comfortable with her.

"Hamel. You?"

"I'm not sure. I lived with the other mages at the institute, but...I had to leave." Elsword didn't ask, but he knew it had something to do with Angkor.

"I'm sorry." Aisha looked at him, confused. He doesn't know why I left; it could have been just because I wanted to.

"Why are you sorry?"

"It's never easy to leave home, no matter the cause." Elsword stood up and looked out the cargo hold window, "We're almost there. We should get ready to move out." Aisha nodded and stood up. They felt the airship shake briefly, and knew they had docked. Aisha waited a moment before teleporting them down into an alley in Elder as the passengers were let off. The night sky was clear, and the moon was a perfect sphere.

"What's that sound?" Aisha wondered, and they slowly walked out of the alley onto the street, "Whoa."

The city of Elder had been turned into a giant carnival. Rides were placed everywhere from the streets to the plaza, even the roofs. They were confused, what could they be celebrating about? A couple walked by them.

"Happy Harmony Festival!" They said merrily as they walked off. Aisha and Elsword looked at each other. They had completely forgotten about the harmony festival.

"What say we take a break?" Elsword said, "Doesn't look like anyone here knows us."

"Sure, it'll be fun." They looked around to see where they should go, and walked down the street. They headed into a restaurant for some food, as they hadn't eaten in a long time. During the harmony festival, food and drink were free for all. They were seated by a nice young girl with long blue hair, but Elsword looked at her like he was analyzing her.

"Hello, what can I get you?" She said, sounding somewhat weighed down by something. Aisha looked over the menu, as did Elsword.

"Just some steak." Elsword said.

"The seasoned shrimp sounds nice, or is it too much to ask for?" The waitress shook her head.

"Our chef looks forward to the harmony festival each year. I swear he loves cooking more than he loves his wife, although no one would tell her that because it's almost true." They all laughed, and she walked off.

"So Elsword, where exactly in Hamel did you live? Obviously not in the city, given that armor."

"I was a guard for the royal family. I was also close friends with Chung." Aisha nodded.

"I see." The waitress came back and silently set their food down. As she turned to leave, Elsword grabbed her hand.

"Miss, I don't know what it is, but whatever your problem might be it's sure to get better." She stared at him, and sighed, a smile on her face.

"Thank you." Elsword smiled and let her go. He began to eat, but Aisha stared at him.

"What?"

"How did you know?"

"Tone of her voice." Was all he said. They ate for a while in silence.

"You got any family?" Aisha covered her mouth, feeling incredibly rude.

"Yeah, an older sister. She is a knight of Velder, and she taught me a lot of what I know."

"Cool." They finished eating, and left the building and headed down the streets. They were surrounded by gift booths, games, rides, and so much stuff they were at a loss as to what to do. Aisha pointed at a nearby game booth, "Wanna play?" It was a game requiring one to throw three small rings onto a pole.

"Sure." They stepped up to the booth, which was clear as many people were not good at the game and didn't want to play.

"Hey there, wanna play?" The man in charge asked, hoping for someone to pay attention to his stall.

"Sure." Elsword noticed Aisha staring at something. It was a small Phoru doll. Maybe I can win it for her.

"Simple game, just get all three hoops on the pole." The owner stood out of the way, and Elsword toss the first yellow hoop neatly onto the stick. It was just like the way he and his sister used to throw rocks into the creek by their home when they were kids; they did it every day for as long as he could remember. He threw the red one, another clean landing. The final green one, and the owner clapped his hands, "Nice arm you got there! Take your pick." Elsword pointed at the Phoru doll that Aisha had been staring at. The owner handed it to him, and he gave it to Aisha as they walked off.

"Thanks Elsword." She said smiling. Elsword blushed slightly, and looked away as Aisha tucked the doll snuggly into her pocket.

"It was nothing." He said, and they continued on. They nipped over to a snack stand and got some cotton candy as they strolled along. They didn't feel like doing much, as they didn't want to interfere with the residents' fun. As they finished their sweet treats, they noticed a massive Ferris wheel in the central plaza.

"Mind if we go on it?" Aisha said, "I...really like being in the sky at night." Elsword didn't see the blush on Aisha's face as she looked down as if she was embarrassed for being somewhat childish.

"Sure. I don't mind." They got in line, which thankfully was not that long and they were already letting on the next round of people. They were about to get on, but security stopped them.

"Apologies, but could you leave your weapons down here?" Elsword and Aisha nodded.

"We get it. Safety precautions and all that." The man nodded.

"Thank you for being so co-operative. Enjoy the ride." They sat down on each side, looking at each other as the wheel began to bring them higher up. They stopped every now and then so people could take in the sights, and about halfway up Aisha moved next to Elsword.

"Something up?" Elsword asked as Aisha held his arm tightly, "Scared of heights?"

"Y-Yeah...kinda contradictory isn't it?" They laughed as the wheel moved once more. Aisha squeaked as they got to the highest point and it stopped abruptly. Elsword looked down and saw some smoke.

"Looks like something went wrong with the machine." Aisha sighed.

"Oh well, either they fix it or they help us off." They stared up at the full moon, the clouds forming around them, "It's so peaceful up here isn't it?"

"Yeah." Elsword sighed, and looked at Aisha, "I think I should tell you my story." Aisha said nothing, simply nodded her acknowledgment, "I was a guard for the royal family as you know, and I have been slowly been corrupted by my use of Conwell. Five years ago, I returned home from a campaign to the queen and Chung. They wanted me to walk with them, but I felt strange. Regardless, I did so. We were fine in the garden as I talked with Chung like we always did, but when we watched the initiates training, I felt like my head was clouding over. The next thing I knew, I was being rushed by the guards and the queen and Chung were far away. I knew what happened, I went insane and attacked her. I had no choice but to run away. Chung sent me a message a month later telling me that Delilah forgave me, and that I could return home if I wished. I sent him a reply saying I wouldn't return home as long as there was a chance I would hurt someone again. I just...can't bear the thought of doing an innocent harm." Elsword covered his face in his hands. Aisha held his shoulder, making him look at her.

"You've told me your story, now it's time I tell you mine." Elsword shook his head to clear his thought, and stared at Aisha attentively, "I lived with my friends, the other high mages, many years ago. I wasn't that good of a mage, always messing up the more complicated spells while my friends whisked by. They always supported me, but I felt bad always having them look out for me. I wanted to do the same." They looked in front of them as Angkor appeared.

"I sensed Aisha's want for more power to protect those around her. I came to her with a proposition. I would let her use my power, if she would wear what I want."

"Kind of a strange contract." Elsword said.

"Hey, I have a marvelous mind for fashion, especially in the...dark regions of it." Angkor chuckled, "The next part is yours to tell my dear."

"I came to my friends after the contract, obviously I was changed, and they didn't react well to it. They quickly contacted the Arcane Order, the specialized group of High Mages that are tasked with keeping mages free of the abyss. They were on their way to...take care of me. I ran. I had never ran so far and so fast in my life. I managed to lose them in Bethma, and I snuck onto an air carrier to go to Altera, as the Arcane Order never ventures there. I just...wanted to...help my friends...and they tried to have me killed!" Aisha was sobbing, and Elsword held her tightly. He didn't know what Aisha had been through, and sighed.

"It's okay Aisha. I'll stay with you, I promise. After all," Aisha looked at him, "We're both sides of one coin in a sense."

"Thanks Elsword." Aisha wiped her eyes, "Do you think that-" Aisha was cut off as the Ferris wheel suddenly rocked violently. Elsword quickly looked down, and terror gripped his body.

"Get down here fucker!" It was Raven. The security was laying on the floor, some motionless and others writhing in pain, "Fine! I'll make you come down!" Raven started to claw at the supporting beams, focusing on bringing it down. The wheel was shaking, and the people below were evacuated while those on were screaming for their lives.

"Aisha! Get these people off this thing!"

"What are you-!?" Before Aisha could finish, Elsword leapt off the ride. He was lucky enough that Raven was too focused and didn't notice him as he landed on top of him, sending Raven's long sword across the floor into the street. Elsword tried to grab his sword, but Raven recovered quickly and lashed out with his claw. The sharp claw dug deep into Elsword's left arm, and he quickly managed to duck to dodge a right hook and counter with a strong uppercut to his chin. Elsword flipped backwards as Raven slammed his fist down, bending the thick steel platform with relative ease. Elsword saw Aisha was using her magic to get people off the ride and onto the roofs for safety. Not much more. Elsword needed his weapons, there was no way he could handle Raven in hand to hand combat. Raven rushed towards him, aiming to slam his head and knock him to the floor. Elsword ducked, but Raven retaliated with a strong kick that brought him right back up. Raven tightly gripped Elsword' throat, and started to choke him.

"Got you little rat!" Raven said, grinning a smile that made Elsword's very soul shiver in fear.

"Elsword!" Elsword was floating down from the top of the ride, and shot an orb of darkness at Raven. Raven thought he could take it, but the force knocked him clean into the wall. Elsword quickly recovered, and grabbed their equipment. Raven grabbed his own blade, and knew he had lost his element of surprise. He heard the authorities approaching, and vanished into a manhole.

"Come on, let's get out of here. We got to get to the ship now." Aisha nodded, and teleported them as far as she could. They were fairly close, but the ship was in the middle of departing. They rushed past security, and dove into the water to evade them. As the ship moved out, they held on tightly to the ship; Aisha using her magic to let them breath under water until they were a safe distance out. After three minutes, she teleported them inside. They took off their clothes, drying them off, and pressed their backs together to try and stay warm. They would be in the Hamel kingdom in a few hours, and they could have sworn they heard something climbing up the side of the ship.