Awakening
Aisha lay on the clean floor, hugging a small pink cushion in her arms. Staring out the window, a spell of wind came to mind, and her body began to absorb mana as she entered a state of peace.
Three weeks have passed since they unwillingly parted with Chung, and since then they managed to meet land, Altera.
Rena sat on the bed opposite of Aisha's, smiling to herself as she read a novel of life. Shutting it and placing it back on the shelf on Aisha's side of the room, she turned towards the door and walked through the halls towards Raven's room.
Raven was silently polishing his weapon with an overused cloth which he picked up from the ship they were riding upon. Upon hearing a knock on his door, he stood and pulled the door open to see Rena smiling up at him.
"Come in." Without wasting any words, he welcomed Rena, who was smiling brightly as she entered.
"Heheh, thanks for letting me in." She pulled a chair out and made herself completely comfortable. Raven settled himself back on the dent he made on the bed and looked up at Rena.
"You're worried about Chung aren't you?" He spoke up, his deep voice piercing through the silence.
"Ahahah, you knew?" Rena laughed nervously, and picked up a slightly serious tone of voice. "We've not been able to make contact with him for three weeks, so I'm slightly worried about his well-being. I've been asking myself repeatedly, 'is he in safe hands?' and-"
"It has been three weeks ever since he fell from the ship, so I'm not surprised you're worried. But your worry is written all over your face. You'll end causing unwanted anxiety from Elsword and Aisha."
"I know. Should we make finding Chung be our first priority?"
"He'll be fine even without us. His training wasn't for nothing."
"Yeah, you're right... Oh, we should wake Elsword shouldn't we?" Rena began walking towards the door, her hand resting on knob. "Raven. Thank you." Raven let out a quiet sigh under his breath, which Rena turned around to, to find him giving her a faint smile.
"WAKE UP!"
"WOA-" At the sound of Rena's voice, Elsword immediately flung his head up from his pillow. Rena's face twitched upwards in irritation as he fell back onto his pillow. "Elsword..." She grumbled, then grabbed the collars of his half shirt and began shaking him violently back and forth. At that moment, Aisha walked past the open door, then stepped back and stared inside.
"Rena! You're killing him!"
"What do you expect?! It's already noon!" Rena flew Elsword backwards on to the bed, putting her hands on her hands and pouted.
"He's a heavy sleeper, yes. But you doing that just now would knock him out... Actually, it would knock just about anybody out." Aisha patted Rena's shoulder before walking out of the room to grab lunch.
Grabbing his arm and flinging it over her shoulder, Rena dragged him across the halls of where they would be staying for the duration of their mission to protect Altera from an expected demon assault. If there are no attacks, the group would stay for a month to gather as much information as possible on what people know about Hamel, in favour of Chung.
Throwing Elsword down on the chair next to Aisha, Rena looked up at the purple head and Raven, who ruffled his ebony black hair.
"I'll go get us lunch. What do you guys want?"
Eve sat at the fountain which she usually stared into. The fountain was built exactly where the sun would reflect, and she could not avoid sitting there most of the time. As she placed a red rose into the water which floated as if it were oil on water, she fished a guardian stone out of her pocket, careful not to knock Remy or Moby, who sat on her lap, in the head.
It had a beautiful gleam to it, unlike anything she had ever seen. There were careful carvings engraved on it, but ever since she picked it up from her front doorstep, she has had many odd dreams; dreams of someone who knows not of her existence, and even Eve has doubted his existence.
She has kept it close to her, knowing she will find the truth to why she has faced these dreams.
Smiling to herself, she remembered a song of her childhood. Although she had only ever heard it once, it had stuck to her mind. Remy and Moby stirred and peered at Eve curiously. Stroking them, she took a deep breath, and began to sing, Oberon and Ophelia watching her like they always did.
The figure behind the door was small and... furry? It pushed the door open further, and revealed a pongo, who held a smoking pipe to its lips.
"My my, you're finally awake! My name is Adel. How are you feeling now?" The pongo whose name was Adel walked casually towards Chung, but kept a gracious distance.
"I'm feeling fine... Was it you who found me? Where is this?" There were lots of questions muddled up in his mind, but he managed to narrow it down to the most important ones.
"You are within the safety of Altera. It wasn't I who found you. A kind nasod who serves the princess of Altera found you in front of their home, and since she cannot offer you refuge, she brought you here." The pongo nodded after his statement, and held the smoking pipe in his small hands.
"I see... thank you for letting me stay... Ah, I am Chung." Chung bowed his head slightly, and as he lifted his head again, a smile had spread across the elderly pongo's face.
"It is no problem. Although you did stay knocked out for almost three weeks! Thankfully, we had the technology to keep you alive, since you wouldn't wake up to eat or drink."
Chung bowed his appreciation once again, and managed a slight smile.
"I have some business to attend to... I'm sorry for having to leave so abruptly." Chung began to stand, but the elder's hand rested on Chung's.
"I believe you have business with a forthcoming demon attack. As chief of the village, I know at least this much. Let us talk of ways to counterattack such an assault." The elderly pongo's dark eyes stared adamantly into frazzled eyes, as deep as the ocean.
Without hesitation, Chung nodded, putting his trust in the pongo before him. The pongo's eyes were enough to tell Chung how important this matter was to him.
"None of the pongos have came back...?" Chung stared at the elder in disbelief. Sitting in the office of the pongo who sat before Chung, the air hung tense as the cream haired boy repeated what Adel told him.
"Unfortunately, yes. The Altera castle has been known to be sacred. However, it is clear that the Altera King and Queen resides there, with more paperwork everyday than I would ever have to sift through in a week, and especially since the rumours of the demon attack rippling across Altera, more than I would have in my entire life." The smoking pipe sat next to a pile of finished paperwork, Adel's stubby hands tightening into fists. "The reason why I sent those pongos to spy on the King and Queen is to confirm my suspicions..." The chief spoke in a hushed tone, and peered outside the window. "...that they may be working with the demons." Adel glanced at Chung, as if expecting a surprised expression from the boy.
Chung, however, remained calm, his face void of any expression. The pongo grinned at the boy's composure.
"Both the King and Queen has never shown their face to anyone, including the princess. We do not know if she is still alive or not, and neither do we know of her name. Isn't it odd that rulers of an entire kingdom would never show their faces? Wouldn't showing their faces gain trust between them and their people?
"Furthermore, demon attacks are never predictable, so why is it that the King and Queen are able to tell that there would be an attack? That, I find very disturbing..." The chief hung his head, clearly worried over a number of things; the safety of the pongos who acted as spies, how he was going to confirm his suspicions, and if the predicted demon attack would actually occur.
Chung blinked a few times before speaking up.
"I can spy for you."
"Pardon?" Adel looked up with surprise in his eyes, his beady eyes piercing through eyes that looked almost dull.
"If I spy for you, then we may be able to label your suspicions as true, rather than mere suspicions. One should not live life with distrust all the time." The prince's voice was firm, but his face showed no other expression than empty.
This boy...
Adel nodded. In his heart, there was hesitation. What if the boy was also caught? Capturing a human after having caught so many pongos within the last 2 weeks would undoubtly arouse wariness, and that was be the last thing Adel would want.
"When should I start?" Chung snapped the pongo back into reality.
"Tonight would be best. Most of the guards have left for Hamel, but the reason is unspecified." The boy's eyebrow twitched slightly upon hearing the name of his hometown. The pongo noticed his reaction, but ignored it.
What could've happened in Hamel?
"I will be preparing for that then." He stood up, exited the office and set off towards his room, leaving Adel to ponder on issues that would arise.
A slight click could be heard as Chung shut the door behind him. He was already making progress, but what about Elsword and the others?
Placing a thumb under his chin and a finger to his lips, he thought of a way to sneak into the castle. Staring at his Freiturnier and Destroyer, he walked over to them and began rummaging for his guardian stone.
It's gone.
The corner of his lips twitched to the side as he thought of Adel.
No, it won't be Adel. Pongos are known for their honesty... Without his Silver Shooters, he wouldn't be able to incapacitate any guards during his infiltration. Sighing out mentally, he left his Freiturnier and Destroyer where they were and headed to the front door. If he walked out there in that get-up he would most likely be thrown on the floor and arrested, probably thought of as a terrorist of some sort.
Smilling humourlessly to himself, Chung knew the only way to find a way to infiltrate would be to spy on the structure of the castle itself.
Author's Note-
Smile: I am soo tired... I've had to stay up late (It's 6am right now) and now I don't even know what I'm talking about.
Since the first chapter is so focused on character 'deaths', I've decided to leave the action for later and just focus on the characters! Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Chung pulls his Silver Shooters from his Guardian Stone.
The next chapter will be dedicated to Eve and Chung, but the one after that will be moving onto... well, it's a secret. But I promise you it's not about Eve or Chung!
Time to announce the classes! -Drum roll-
Elsword: Rune Slayer
Aisha: Elemental Master
Rena: Wind Sneaker
Raven: Blade Master
Eve: Code: Empress
Chung: Deadly Chaser
