Chapter Three

Where IS he? Sil-Lyndiana thought irritated. She stood in the clearing in plain sight in the brilliant light of the full moon. She smiled at it. At least she wasn't completely alone, as the moon was the Goddess Uellie's eye. She knew she would always watch and protect her. But still… Ugh! Why in the world had she sent her group away? Insisted she could do this alone? She sighed. She knew the answer to that. "Foolish pride…" she muttered. She pressed her hand against her shirt, mindful of jagged scar underneath. And revenge. "They reap what they sow," she hissed to herself. "They were fools for tangling with me." Still…

She wondered if this would be the night she would find Thorn.

Sil-Lyndiana closed her eyes, serene. She couldn't place his face, and she didn't know whether he was New Dawn or perhaps an agent of Uellie. But he had saved her when she was bleeding to death in the Heta world. Other than her sisters and her Goddess, she was certain she loved him. She promised herself she would find him one day, find some way to thank him.

"Germany? Italy? What are you doing here?"

She froze. Three Hetas. She hit her head with the heel of her hand. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why, oh why did she send her group away? She couldn't deal with three Hetas alone! Who knew what they could be planning…

Maybe she could find out.

She smiled to herself. She probably couldn't take on three Hetas on her own, but she couldn't spy on them with a group to burden her. She trod lightly towards the foreign voices. Another moonlit clearing, across a row of heavily leaved trees. She peaked between a nearly sizable gap in the tree barrier. Three Hetas, like she had heard. She scowled at the country she was chasing. She supposed he was fairly handsome, messy sun blonde hair and emerald green eyes. He had worked up a sweat, doubled over and gasping for air. "Coward," she muttered. She could not believe he had called for help. Showed how brave he was. One of the two Hetas he had called for aid was tall, muscular, (And as her sister Det-Katia would say) not to be fucked with. He had uniform combed blonde hair, and hard blue eyes. Sil-Lyndiana felt a shiver run up her spine. To think of the weapons he could have on his person! Right now she could see him holding a Heta weapon; something called a gun. It could fire deadly shots of fast moving lead into the body, almost impossible to recover if one was hit. He was not one to mess with. The other Heta with them, well… The same could not be said. He looked nothing like a half-decent fighter, let alone the Heta she was expecting. He had semi-messy, copper red hair, and… Goddess, he looked so lazy about life his eye color was impossible to make out. She wondered how he could see with closed eyes. "Germany," he whined to the more intimidating country, "it's creepy out here!" "I have a gun Italy," Germany said, rolling his eyes, "if a New Dawn comes along, they won't stand a chance." Sil-Lyndiana winced. That did not sound good. "Are you crazy!?" the Heta she had chased demanded, "You're going to make them angry and then we're all dead!" Hum, Lyndiana mused, that is true.

"I doubt any New Dawn could move faster than a gun."

"Maybe they could!"

"Yeah right."

"Well, say you do hit one; you're going to look like a murderer! They have a legit reason to be mad!"

"Oh yeah!?" Germany fumed, "They're the murderers! When Japan came back to the school he was covered in blood. They were going to brutally murder him." "But Germany," Italy protested, "America said he got away because a helped him! Maybe they aren't so bad, ve~?" "Why are we even having this argument?" Germany wondered aloud, "Let's get back before we all get killed." Italy nodded brightly, and they turned towards where Lyndiana was hiding. Damn! For a split second, she and Italy made (well, sort of) eye contact. "Ve~! There's something in the trees!" he raised his gun. You must be joking, Lyndiana groaned mentally. "Whoever you are, come out slowly with your hands up," he ordered. Ordered.

Sil-Lyndiana got mad.

How dare he? How dare he? How dare he demand her to give herself to her death? How dare he talk about her like a criminal? How dare he point the gun so brazenly, so arrogantly at her, who in turn could kill him with the summoning of fire? How DARE he? With a snap of her fingers, and the muttering of a spell, blazing white flames licked from her palms, spreading warmth across her hands. He will pay. Germany shot. BANG!

"Wha-!?" She stumbled out of the way of the bullet, falling into the clearing. "Goddess…" Her heart pounded faster than a jackhammer, when she heard a click! over her head. The gun. "Stand up. Slowly," he commanded. "Make me," she retorted. She jumped out of the way of the next bullet, moving with predatory grace a Heta could never hope to have. She cartwheeled and leaped away from the pieces of lead whizzing towards her. BANG! BANG! BANG!Bullets flew around Sil-Lyndiana. She knew she had to get away; she couldn't keep this up all night! Sooner or later she'd have to attack. With the muttering of the spell, and a snap of her fingers, fire spread into her palms, burning white with purity itself. White magic could be deadly too. Her hands glowed and burned brighter and hotter, until she felt the fire tangible, solid enough to throw.

She jumped. Soaring against the black night sky, throwing the ball of white fire.

To her dismay, Germany ducked before the burning ball could graze him.

The fireball exploded into the tree behind him, setting it ablaze. Italy screamed, "She's a witch!" Sil-Lyndiana faltered.

How… How dare he? She thought. I am not a witch! Witches are evil, practice dark magic, weren't human… voices flooded her mind.

"Kill it! Kill the witch!"

"Destroy the unwholesome thing!"

"Make her burn in hell!"

…Than what did that make her? She gazed at the blazing tree. The white fire looked so beautiful, now a column of burning white. Of purity. Lyndians practiced nothing but white magic! To be called a witch was… offensive. She could think of no other word. Her thoughts were interrupted, by a BANG! She cried out, as white hot pain invaded her shoulder which she now clutched desperately. Stumbling to the ground, blood dripped from her shoulder.

She was shot.

Hot tears stung Sil-Lyndiana's silvery eyes. Do not cry. Do not give them that satisfaction. She felt her hand soaking with blood. Herblood. "What did you do!?" the unnamed Heta roared. "She shot fire at me, Britain! What did you expect me to do?" Germany snapped back. Britain… Why did that country sound familiar… "You shot first! She was defending herself!" he retorted. "Why the hell are you defending a New Dawn!? She came here to kill you!" That was a good question. Why in the name of Uellie was he defending her? She had come to kill him after all.

"She has her reasons! It was my fault for going into the grove in the first place!" Britain shouted.

Sil-Lyndiana looked up weakly. Germany opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. That is enough. I am getting out of here. Slowly, she rose to her feet. Her legs felt as stable as rubber, but she forced them to stay steady. "Guys! She's getting up; she's going to kill us!" Italy gibbered pathetically. Britain and Germany looked from their argument. Sil-Lyndiana, still clutching the throbbing wound, looked them dead in the eye. "Never… come…" she stopped once, grunting in pain. "Again." She turned, and ran back to the academy. Why did he defend me? What was he trying to accomplish? Question blew into her mind, like autumn's leaves on a blustery day. For now, none of it mattered. What mattered, was getting out of here, and never seeing another Heta for as long as she lived.