Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Knights. I own Treisha, but all characters and such belong to Mineko Ohkami.
ALERT: Spoilers! There are going to be major spoilers of anything from book one through book 24.
Chapter three: Knights of a feather, part 2.
Rune and Treisha sat in silence for a few moments, and Treisha realized she was nervous. She didn't care for silences, and especially uncomfortable ones like this one. She wasn't sure what to say though, and she was pretty sure he was about as uncomfortable as she was.
"You know what," She finally said, getting to her feet, and saw his gaze whirl around to her. "I am going to go see if I can help with anything in the back, from her….aunt and uncle." And Treisha headed into the back, and once she'd passed through the curtain separating the diner from the back room, she looked around. She didn't see anybody, so she gave a knock on the wall. Immediately, a person got up from where they'd apparently been kneeled down behind a work desk.
"You must be Pyore's uncle?" Treisha asked, moving toward the man, and he nodded a kind grin came to his face.
"Yes, that would be me, and you would be Treisha, right?" Treisha's eyes widened in surprise, and Pyore's uncle gave a light chuckle.
"How did you know?" Treisha asked him.
"Well, you and your friends aren't exactly quiet my dear." He replied to her brightly, and she rolled her eyes, seeing the logic in the mans words. "So, how can I help you Miss Treisha?"
"Oh, well, my friend is heading to the Dark Swamp to retrieve the Phoenix Feather, and one of my other friends is helping Pyore outside, so I was wondering if I could help out in some way too. Some work or something?"
The man looked thoughtful for a moment, as he pursed his lips.
"I think I can come up with something." He said, and then motioned for Treisha to follow him, as he led her toward a back door. They exited through it, and outside he rounded a corner, and pointed to a pile of baskets. "Why don't you grab up a couple of those, and follow me." He said, and Treisha did. She grabbed up three of the huge baskets, and then followed Pyore's uncle away from the diner, until Treisha finally realized he'd lead her to a apple orchard. No apples were on the trees yet, but their blossoms were blooming.
"The job I have for you is to please stand on the ground while your kind friend back there climbs into the tree and gathers all the blossoms and gives them to you to put in the baskets. And then please carry those baskets back to the diner." Treisha glanced behind her quickly, and saw that Rune had trailed up behind her.
"But sir, why take off the blossoms? You won't get any apples that way." Treisha asked the man curious as to why he would rid the apple orchard of their precious flowers.
"My name is Deskle, dear girl, and the reason for this job is because it is believed that these blossoms bring good luck to a village if they are removed in the season of spring."
Treisha nodded, realizing that the villages of this world probably had a lot of superstitions like this one. She'd have to remember the ones she learned, since that might make the lie she came from this world more believable.
"I'll leave you two to get started then." Said Deskle, and then moved away from them. "Thanks for the help." He called to them as he waved, and then disappeared back inside the diner. Rune turned to her, and smiled.
"Well, I think we should get started. Who knows how long it will take for Rath to finish his demon hunting and get back here." Rune gave a chuckle, and then went to the tree, and grabbed the closest limb. He stepped up, and as if using pure strength, he gracefully hauled himself up into the tree. The way in which the water dragon knight did this, showed off the power and strength of both the dragon clan, and of the fairy tribe. Treisha stood there a few moments, watching Rune climb up into the tree without any effort, and it wasn't until Rune called down to her that she realized she should be working.
"Treisha, these blossoms are going to fall on the ground if you don't pick up a basket." Rune said to her, and Treisha, coming out of her momentary daze, grabbed up a basket and moved toward the tree, and then they began.
They might have spent hours out there, or maybe it was shorter, Treisha wasn't sure. Treisha would hold up the basket and Rune would drop all the blossoms that he could reach into it, and he could reach almost anywhere in that tree. It seemed his elfin abilities made it so he could stand on even the smallest of tree limbs. It amazed Treisha, but she tried to keep her awe to herself. She wasn't supposed to know he used to be an elfin prince.
At one point, Treisha gave a heavy sigh, as she took the third basket back to the diner, and came back carrying three more.
This was tiresome work. Its not that she was exhausted and didn't want to do it anymore, it was that it was EASY! Hauling flowers from the apple orchard to the diner was no effort at all. She wanted to be up in the tree, getting the blossoms and putting them in the basket. But she was a girl, and no doubt having a girl do hard work was not something women did here.
Treisha made her way back to the tree with three baskets, and when she set them down next to the tree, and then raised one of them into the air to catch more blossoms, she sighed again. Rune paused in his work.
"Are you alright Treisha?"
"Oh, I'm fine and dandy!" Treisha hadn't meant the words to be sarcastic, but that's how they had come out. She didn't think Rune would trade jobs with her. Girls from this world just didn't do mans work….or a fairies work in this case.
"No, I don't believe you." He said, and Treisha was surprised when Rune climbed down from the tree and then jumped down to the ground with hardly a sound. "What's wrong? Are you tired? We can take a break if you like." He said to her, and she shook her head from side to side. She hadn't planned on telling him, but she might as well now. He knew something was wrong, she should answer him.
"This work is just kind of easy, and I'd much rather the tree climbing….but that's not a ladies work here is it?" Rune shook his head at her, and Treisha nodded. So she had been right.
"Are you saying you'd like to trade jobs Treisha?" He asked her, and Treisha whirled her gaze back to him from where she'd been picking up her basket again.
"You wouldn't mind?" She asked him, for she really wanted to get up into the tree, and get away from the carrying of the baskets!
"Well, you were right when you said women don't do that kind of thing here." He said to her, and it seemed he was hesitating. "Do you think you can handle it?" He asked, and Treisha knew he didn't know what he'd just done. Now she had to do it. She needed to show him she wasn't like the other women here and could do hard work men usually did, and that was it! Women from this world didn't usually do mans work, but Treisha wasn't from this world, was she?
"If you give me a chance, I'll show you." Treisha said to him, and after a moment, Rune nodded.
Treisha smiled, and thanked him as she turned toward the tree. She grabbed a limb, and thought of all her days as a child climbing trees, and of scampering across trees that had fallen across forest creaks. Treisha had to take this chance to show Rune that she wasn't just a woman. She was strong too, and could handle the hard work.
Rune gave a light giggle, and with that sound, Treisha's heart lightened considerably.
Treisha hauled herself up into the tree, and then up again, until she was high in the tree and to the point where Rune had left off. Here, she turned around, and made sure she was in a good spot, and sat down, with her feet dangling below her. Then she began to reach for all the apple blossoms that were within range of her grasping hand. Her reach wasn't nearly as big as Rune's had been, and she couldn't balance on as skinny limbs as he had, but she could do other things. She could get her work done fast for one, and for another she never needed a break, never complained, and did the work without mistake. Treisha could tell that Rune was impressed, and she felt a warm feeling deep inside herself at this revelation.
Eventually, Treisha noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over to the side, and saw, maybe 40 feet across the apple orchard from herself, and in a different kind of orchard, (she couldn't tell what kind) was Thatz and Pyore. Thatz was lying in a pile of hay, while Pyore ploughed, and at one point Thatz lunged to his feet and took over the work for Pyore. Apparently he was showing her how to do it, and in the process just did the whole job for her. Rune, apparently having noticed Treisha's pause in their work, glanced toward where her concentration had been distracted too.
"He's probably messing up her work by doing that for her." Rune said, and Treisha nodded, going back to her blossom picking.
A couple moments later, while Rune was making yet another one of his many, many basket trips to the diner, (Rune looks very elegant with flowers!) Thatz flew into sight at a full run. He ran at Rune, and Treisha, from her perch in the tree still, watched as the earth dragon knight ambushed the water one. Thatz grabbed Rune's hand, and yelling something to him that Treisha couldn't hear, he dragged Rune toward the city road that lay on the other side of the restaurant. Treisha could just barely see a bundle of clothing being carried in Thatz's arms, and made a good guess at what it must be. She might not remember a lot about the first few books, but she did remember this part. Rune and Thatz both dressed in drag and went to the Dark Swamp. (Thatz having just found out from Pyore that the whole place contained the treasure from Costa Rica and other villages!)
As Thatz dragged him along, Rune accidentally dropped the large basket of blossoms he'd been carrying. The basket fell to the ground, scattering the blossoms. Treisha watched for a moment as Thatz and Rune passed out of sight, and even saw Rune send a single glance back at her, and then they were both gone. Treisha dropped out of the tree, a little less soundlessly than Rune had, and then made her way back over to the restaurant. She leaned over, and began to put the blossoms back into the basket.
She sighed heavily.
Treisha was irritated once again that she'd been left behind. She hadn't minded as much when only Rath had gone off, but now that the other two knights had joined him, it made Treisha feel even more useless and weak than she had before. And as she had done before back in Sifinthia when the knights had flown off on their dragons, Treisha considered following them, and then decided against it just as she had before. She did indeed want to go, and dress in drag with them, and retrieve the phoenix feather for the village, but she knew she hadn't the training necessary for such a venture.
Treisha sighed again, and then looked up in surprise when she saw Pyore lean down to help put the last of the blossoms back into the basket.
"Thank you for helping with the chores." Pyore said with her young girly voice. "As you can see, ever since our feather was stolen the village has become poor, and a lot of the townspeople have fled to other towns." A sad grin came to Pyore's lips that seemed to hold more sorrow than a 13 year old girl should have to experience. "But I believe in your three friends. I believe they will bring back our feather, and save our village."
Treisha nodded her head, smiling to Pyore.
"I agree with you Pyore." She said, and then rose to her feet with the basket in her arms. "I want to get the apple blossom job done. Do you mind helping me?" Pyore nodded her head in earnest, and so the two of them made their way back over to the orchard, and to where Rune and Treisha had left off in their work. "So, is the apple blossom tradition just something your family does, or is it a village custom?"
A sad grin came to Pyore again as Treisha set down the basket, and climbed back up into the tree.
"It's actually something my cousin told me about, but she lives very far from here, with her father and mother." Pyore said, and Treisha glanced over her shoulder to where the girl still stood on the ground. Treisha felt she should know who the cousin was. "My cousin told me about the apple blossom custom that her village has, and slowly, that custom became one here too." Suddenly, Pyore turned looked right up at Treisha, and said, "Actually, you kind of remind me of Kuon Sheena."
And so it came to her. Kuon Sheena, Pyore's cousin. That was who Pyore went to stay with later in the series, (Was it volume 14?) and who fell in love with Nadil. Kuon Sheena, Pyore thought she reminded her of Treisha?
Treisha turned back to her work so Pyore would not see the look on her face.
"In what way, Pyore?" Treisha asked, and began reaching for the blossoms again.
"Well, Kuon Sheena is a very calm person, and she always makes it look like she's happy, but sometimes it's not that way." Said Pyore as she lifted the basket above her head to catch the blossoms Treisha was sending down to her. "Kuon Sheena holds a sadness that I don't understand, and she hides it from others….and I saw that same sadness in you when you watched you three friends walk away from here."
Treisha froze at these words. Pyore had noticed her feelings, merely from the way Treisha had gazed off after the knights? How could Pyore see her feelings that she was trying to conceal so her lie wouldn't be uncovered? Treisha felt a ache rising in her chest again, but she shook her head to rid herself of it.
"Kuon Sheena sounds like a very lonely person." Treisha replied absent mindedly, and Pyore nodded.
"I don't know." Pyore replied. "But she writes me letters from where she lives, telling me she has fallen in love. I am glad for her."
Treisha sighed, and ran a hand through her hair, pausing in her work.
For a moment, she considered telling Pyore her secret, that Treisha came from a different world, where this plain of existence was only a story told through a series of manga books. She thought about explaining to Pyore who her cousin had fallen in love with, and all the trouble that was on the way to Costa Rica Village. But then a feeling of foreboding fell on Treisha, something telling her not to say a word. Treisha pursed her lips together, and said nothing. She went back to work.
A couple of minutes later they finished, and Pyore and Treisha had just reentered the restaurant and saw over 9 baskets of apple blossoms sitting on the floor in front of the back door they had just come through. Pyore and Treisha stepped around the baskets, and after washing their hands off in the sinks, they made their way to the front room.
"Do you want some tea Treisha?" Pyore asked, and Treisha nodded her head. Pyore disappeared into the back room again, and a few moments later came back with a tray in her hands. She set it down on the table, and Treisha eagerly drew a steaming cup close. "Do you like doing men's work Treisha?" Pyore asked while Treisha was putting what she thought must be sugar into her cup and swirled it around. "I saw you and Rune switch jobs over in the apple orchard."
A smile came to Treisha''s face.
"I do enjoy it. I would much rather do men's work than a woman's."
"How come?" Pyore asked with genuine interest, and Treisha realized that Pyore had probably never once thought of doing men's work before.
"Well, I find women's work very…easy, and simple. Men's work also shows that I have strength, and I like people to know that I am strong and not weak."
"Why?" Pyore went on, and Treisha suddenly felt like a mother talking to a child who just keeps asking why, why, why, over and over again.
"Because, well," Treisha decided she could tell her a little bit. "In truth, and you can't tell anybody," Treisha leaned close to Pyore's ear to whisper. "I want to go to Draqueen and become a dragon fighter to serve the dragon lord." Treisha pulled back, and saw a total look of astonishment on Pyore's face.
Was it her surprise at a woman trying to do something so important? Or was it that there had never been a female dragon fighter before? (Treisha didn't remember there ever being a female one anyway, or any female officers actually)
"But you can't tell anybody, especially my Rath, Thatz and Rune, okay?" Treisha went on immediately, and Pyore covered her mouth with one of her hands.
"Of course." and Pyore gave a giggle. "I won't say anything, not a word."
It was then that Pyore saw something over Treisha's shoulder sitting in the corner. She got up and Treisha watched her as she went and picked up something from the corner. She brought it back to the table. Treisha's eyes widened. It was the "package." Had the knights forgotten it somehow when they'd left? She wasn't surprised Thatz had in his frenzy to leave for treasure, but she couldn't see Rune just forgetting it.
"Isn't this your friend's package?" Pyore asked, and Treisha nodded her head, hardly listening. "I guess they forgot it." And Pyore picked up the package, and took it back to the corner again.
Treisha watched, wondering why Pyore wasn't affected by the package either. Was it only Treisha who had been affected? Or had she been affected all, and had it been just her mind, playing tricks on her? This was a different world to her after all, and taking things for more than they seemed would be easy to do.
Suddenly, just as Pyore had sat back down at the table, loud voices were heard outside of the restaurant's front door. Treisha turned around in her chair, and together Pyore and her waited, until the voices presented themselves at the door as three young boys. It sounded as if they were arguing with each other, and Treisha couldn't hear what they were saying, but she caught enough bits to tell it was about wearing drag. (it was Rune's voice that she could tell this from, since it was his voice that was doing most of the yelling!) When the boys entered the restaurant, Thatz announced their arrival, even though it would have been impossible to miss.
"We're back!"
"Ohhhh, you made it!" Pyore exclaimed loudly, jumping to her feet as the knights came over to their table.
"Did you doubt it? I never mess up a demon hunt!" Rath said, and Rune glared at him.
"Never messed up before?" Rune gave a laugh. "That's a laugh!"
Treisha watched as Pyore went and got the package from the corner and handed it to Thatz.
"Here's your package." She said to him, and Thatz accepted it in such a way and with such a tone that it didn't look like they'd forgotten it by accident. Did they mean to leave it then? Treisha wasn't sure. She knew she wouldn't have left the head of the demon lord to be protected by a 13 year old female waitress.
"Thanks." Thatz said, and this is where Treisha finished her tea, and went over to where Rune and Rath looked about to kill each other.
"Guys, you're going to scare Pyore." She whispered to Rune, who had his hands wrapped about Rath's neck. Rune paused, and then let the fire dragon knight go with a glare and a sigh. The three of them then turned to face Pyore and Thatz.
"No, thank you." Pyore was saying, as Thatz put the package under his arm. "May I ask what's in it?"
Treisha watched, as Rune lurched forward to try and stop Thatz from replying, but didn't make it in time.
"A head." Thatz replied simply, and Pyore immediately zoomed back from him and toward the back door. "I'm kidding." Thatz said a moment later, and Treisha saw Rune hit himself in the forehead with a small growl of exasperation.
"Or not…." Treisha thought to herself, and covered her mouth with a hand as she gave a small chuckle.
"I believe you lost this." Thatz said, and held up the feather Treisha hadn't realized he was carrying. Pyore covered her mouth with both hands in shock, and her eyes went a watery color as if she was about to cry.
"The Phoenix Feather!" She gasped, thought the words were slight muffled by her hands, and then she removed them so she could speak more clearly. "Thank you, Rath, Thatz, and Rune. Now, my village will return to normal. How can I repay you?"
Treisha leaned over her shoulder.
"You shouldn't have asked that." Treisha whispered to her, and Pyore didn't have a chance to ask why, before Rath was already lunging toward her.
"By telling us where to find more demons!" Rath said, flying toward her with excitement, only to a moment later have Rune's elbow slam into the back of his head, making him exclaim a loud "Ow!"
"What's the quickest way to Draqueen?" Rune immediately asked, shoving Rath out of the way, and Treisha saw that somehow his mouth had been glued shut because of some kind bandana that had appeared wrapped about his head.
"Hmmmm?" Said Pyore. "What?" She said, appearing flushed, and then Thatz pushed forward in front of Pyore, a huge sack was on his back, maybe four feet wide, and it was so large, that it pushed both Rune and Rath four feet backwards. (Rath, still having his mouth shut tight because of the bandana.)
"Forget it! I got the booty!" Thatz said, and Pyore took a few feet back from him.
"Oh…" She said, looking suddenly slight sheepish.
"This must be the treasure he got from the Dark Swamp." Treisha thought to herself, observing the huge bag he carried slung on his back. "Come to think of it," She thought to herself a moment later. "If that thing has mostly gold and silver items, that bag must be overwhelmingly heavy. Thatz must have more strength than it appears!"
Next, the three knights turned toward the door, and walked outside. Treisha followed Pyore out onto the landing. There, they stood there a moment as the three boys headed out onto the street.
"What happy guys…" Seemed to be what the expression on Pyore's face said, and Treisha nodded, sharing that expression, and so the two of them listened to the words the knights were saying to each other, as they walked down the street.
"Let's exchange these for cash as Cezarre!" Thatz shouted to the world around, and Rath looked almost as excited as him, as he said.
"Any demons there?" Rune glared at the both of them, and shouted at the top of his lungs, just as the other two were doing:
"Aren't we going home?!"
As the two watched the stuff going on before them, Treisha quickly leaned over to whisper in Pyore's ear.
"Oh, and Pyore, just wanted to tell you, make sure you keep an eye on Kuon Sheena. The person she's fallen in love with might cause her more trouble than you think it will. Be careful, and stay by her."
"Come on Treisha." Thatz suddenly yelled. "You don't want to get left behind do you?"
"Coming!" Treisha called back, and then she bounded down the green steps, and, holding up her skirt with a grumble, ran to catch up with the three boys.
"So, another fun adventure!" Treisha said to them as she caught up to them, and fell in stride with them.
"Your right Treisha!" Said Thatz cheerfully. "I got all this treasure, and I can't wait to sell it all for a high price in the next town!"
"And I got to kick lots of demon butt, all by myself!"
"Well, I hope you guys had a great time, because now we are heading HOME!" Rune snapped at them, and Treisha smiled, and then glanced back behind her, to Pyore. Treisha gave a wave, and then turned toward the city road.
She would become a dragon fighter to serve the dragon lord. She wouldn't be somebody the knights would defend or leave behind every time danger came around the corner. (If she was, then she'd be left behind all the time!) Rune had begun to see she wasn't weak, but it wasn't enough. You see, Treisha knew everything that was going to happen in what? The next two years! She wanted to help in those coming catastrophes, but not in the way where she merely warned people. She wanted to fight off the coming trouble, and defend those who couldn't defend themselves!
That was a good enough reason to lie to the knights….right?
And so we come full circle once again with another chapter! Sorry this one took longer than the others. I had somebody review and say the word for word stuff got a little old, and I went back and looked, and quickly found I agreed. So this time, I made sure to add lot's of my own scenes with Treisha and the knights, (and others) and even have her miss a good deal of the scenes the book has.
So, this just goes to show that when you give me a review with advice, compliments, complaints, or just pointers, I really do take them to heart!
Rath: By the way, I have a question now that I don't have to follow what YOU, (meaning Night Silver, me) or the book makes me say. Why did Thatz and Rune have to come and ruin my fun? I had that demon taken care of, and right where I wanted him, and then you guys came and ruined everything! (Talking to Rune and Thatz)
Thatz: If we hadn't helped, you'd be dead, Rath!
Rath: No, he was right where I wanted him….and…
Rune: Rath, you need to learn team work!
Rath: I don't need team work, I can kill demons better on my own.
Glares from Rune and Thatz, and Thatz glances to Rune.
Thatz: This is why we never get back to the capital isn't it?
Rune: It's not like you help! You rush off after treasure and money as often as he does for treasure.
Treisha: Uh….guys?
Rune and Thatz: WHAT?
Treisha: (pointing to where Rath used to be standing) Rath's gone again.
Rune and Thatz both hit themselves in the foreheads in exasperation. Treisha turns toward the camera.
Treisha: And THIS is why it's going to take us two more books to get to the capital!
Rune: (Motions to Thatz and Treisha) Come on, let's go catch him.
Treisha and Thatz and Rune after a momentary pause: Again.
Me: Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ya later!
