A/N—Ok, I read the charts so I know people are paying attention to this. Do you guys mind reviewing every once in awhile? If you're an author then you understand how good it feels to read people's reviews
~Third-Person POV~
"WHAT THE HELL?" Nina shouted at Lucas "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE OUR GUILD IS IN BECAUSE OF YOU?"
"Nina please let me handle this…" Estelle said in her naturally sweet voice
Nina sighed and let Estelle do her thing, through all this Lucas just stood there with a blank stare
"Lucas…do you know that what you did was wrong?" said Estelle
"Frequently used excuse: The end justifies the means." Said Lucas in his monotone voice
"That's not always the case…" said Estelle "Everything you do reflects on Brave Vesperia. If someone judged our guild based on what they saw you do today, they'd have very poor thoughts about us and that's not good. We need the people's trust. Do you understand?"
Lucas nodded his head
"And you understand that there will be consequences for what you did today?"
Lucas nodded his head
"Do you promise that we won't be having this conversation again?"
Lucas paused a moment as if carefully thinking about what she said, and then nodded his head
"Ok, good." Estelle sighed out of relief, "Let's head back to the base, we'll fill and hand-in our report tomorrow."
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~Third-Person POV~
The deadly trio walked through the large wooden gate of Aurnion, the famed City of Hope
This was probably the only city where both Imperials and Guilds were treated equally, it was meant to inspire hope for a better future. Not a single piece of litter laid on the streets, because of the high expectations both sides worked hard to keep this place clean.
To the untrained eye it was just the first step in a process, all-leading up to a peaceful world of happiness and freedom. But to someone like Yuri or Judith, who could see past the pristine cover, it was a disaster waiting to happen. Because of how focused they were on keeping the city clean, tensions were hotter here than anywhere else on TercaLumireis cause both sides are too afraid to so much as look at the other one wrong, worried that it would cause a war and because of that fear they're both stockpiling weapons, hoarding as many secrets as they can so that they can have an edge over the other, and then they question why the other is building up weapons so the build up even more weapons and it goes on and on and on. Yea, 'peace times'
"The place sure has grown since last time we were here." Said Judith "Sure takes me back…"
"That sure was a night to remember…" Yuri and Judith glanced at each other; even though their mouths were covered you could see what they were thinking in their eyes.
"So…the inn was on the other side of the town, I think it was called the Starry Night." Said David awkwardly
"I can see it from here." Said Yuri
Starry Night was the last place you'd expect to be an inn. It had stonewalls with no windows, a huge door with a few locks on it, and most noticeably a large man standing guard
"We really gotta teach the leader of this den a few things about being subtle." Said Yuri, "Last time I checked we're supposed to be trying to blend in, not prepare for an assault."
"Well everyone in this town is prepared for an assault so I guess it fits." Said David
"The difference is everyone in this town at least tries to hide it," Said Judith. "Our little hideout couldn't be more obvious if it had a giant sign above it that said "suspicious,"
"Well we're only staying one night, might as well go check-in," said Yuri as they started walking toward the inn
"Plenty of time to show this den master how we do things." Judith added
As they approached the door, the bouncer sidestepped in-between them and the door "Sorry, there's no room." he said
Yuri looked up at the sky "Not many stars out tonight," the bouncer raised an eyebrow "Or maybe they're there, just too corrupted for us to see them." The bouncer nodded his head
"I'd be glad to welcome you in, but there really isn't any room," the bouncer said, "One of our members found a group of kids playing vigilante. I've seen them and I guess they have potential, and with our help they'll make excellent assassins."
"Can you at least recommend an inn?" said Judith
The bouncer thought a moment "When you enter the village there's an inn to your right, not the best place but it should serve your needs well enough."
"Thanks." Said Yuri
"Oh, and pass on this message to your den leader," said Judith, "A blind child could figure you guys out, make your den a little less obvious."
With this as their parting words, the trio went back to the entrance of the village
"That was a bit rude." Said Yuri, "I wanted to say that."
"You'll just have to be quicker next time." Judith smirked
"…Permission to speak freely?" said David
"This ain't the Knights, you can say whatever you want." Said Judith
"Ok…you two are weird." Said David
"Flattery will get you nowhere."
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~Third-Person POV~
After the incident at the bakery, Estelle gave the team the rest of the day off while she talked to Karol.
Lucas went off on his own, while Collin and Nina decided to follow him and see if he did anything interesting
The first place Lucas went was the Dusty Bookshelf, a library owned by the historian guild Crystal Catalogs
Collin and Nina watched from a dark corner in the room watching Lucas…read
…That's it, he just read and read a huge stack of books for hours
Collin softly groaned out of boredom "How could someone so violent be such a nerd?"
"Shut up! Do you want him to hear us?" Nina shouted/whispered
"You're louder than I am!"
"Am not!"
"Are so!"
"You are such a child!"
"I'm the child? You're a child!"
"You're both children, shut up!" said someone nearby, trying to read
"Shhhh!" they both shushed at him "If you're too loud he'll see us!"
"Who'll see you?"
"That guy!" Nina pointed to where Lucas was sitting, but he was gone along with his books
"What guy?"
Nina and Collin looked at each other then silently agreed to leave "Never mind." Nina added before they made their exit
"Where could he have gone?" said Collin "I mean, we were watching him the whole time!"
"I don't know, but he's good." Nina thought about what happened
They walked in silence for a little while. Not going anywhere in paticular, just walking
"So…what do you think of Estelle?" said Collin, trying to start a conversation
"Our new mentor? I dunno, she's nice enough but I think she's a little too nice, to a creepy degree."
"Really? I thought she was great. Kind, and thoughtful and smart and pretty…" Collin's voice trailed off
"Oh…my…God…you have a crush on our new mentor!" Nina laughed
"Shut up! It could happen!" Collin said, blushing heavily
"Y-You do realize she's over half-a-decade older than you!" Nina said in-between laughs
"Yea…so?"
"You're even more childish than I thought!" Nina laughed
"Ah what do you know about love? Not like you've ever had a date!"
"I-I've had plenty of dates!"
"Oh yea? What were their names?"
"D-D-Douglas…Applesauce!"
"You just made that up!" It was Collin's turn to laugh
"Shu-"
"NINA IDY IS 15-YEARS-OLD AND HAS NEVER HAD A DATE!" Collin shouted into the sky for everyone to hear
"S-Shut up you little insect!" Nina hit him on the back of the head, hard
"OW!" Collin clutched his head "That really hurt!"
"Good!"
Collin let out a soft chuckle "Just what are you laughing about?" Nina said
Collin stood up and walked casually "Oh nothing…"
"Tell me what you're laughing about!"
"Hmm…no." Collin chuckled
"Tell me!"
"Catch me first!" Collin started sprinting off into the distance
"Come back here!"
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Third-Person POV
"I hate staying at inns." Judith sighed as they walked in
"Why?" said David
"Cause they put all the beds in the same room, and that room is visible from the front desk." Judith sighed, "No chance to get any privacy…" she glanced at Yuri
"I sort of prefer it. I don't have to worry about any sex-happy, bloodthirsty psychopaths doing anything to me in my sleep." Yuri glanced back
"Ouch, that hurt." Judith jested
"Can we please just rent the bed?" David groaned
"Aww, we made the poor kid blush," said Judith "Come on, dear. Let's not torture the boy any longer."
"As you wish, honey." Yuri replied
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~Third-Person POV~
"You wanted to see me?" Estelle said, closing the door behind her
"Yea, come in." said Karol, "So, have you read today's paper?"
"No, did something happen?" said Estelle
"Well, a place in Hypionia called Gravestone Manor was attacked. Everyone was slaughtered, sparing a kid. The media thinks it was Unholy Star." Said Raven "And our fearless leader can't let it go."
"But…what proof is there that Unholy Star even exist?" said Estelle
"That's what I'm sayen." Raven shook his head
"It exist, I know it." Said Karol, "Raven, you said that a good guild master trust his gut. Well I can feel it in my gut that it's real!"
"A good guild master also knows not to fly off the handle because of their gut feelings." Said Raven "Anyway, Estelle we wanted your new team to investigate. We don't expect anything dangerous but still, be prepared."
"Of course, we'll spend a day to gather supplies and then head off."
"Good…" Karol said sadly
"Is something wrong, Karol?" Said Estelle
"I-It's nothing I just…forget it."
"…Oh alright, if you're goanna pout about it you can go ahead." Said Raven, shaking his head
"Really?" said Karol, suddenly exited
"Sure, I'll hold down the fort here. Just don't get yourself killed…"
"Thank you! I'll go pack right now!" said Karol, sprinting past Estelle and out of the room
"Yeesh, the young and their enthusiasm…"
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~Judith's POV~
"Ba'ul?" I looked back behind me and saw the flaming rocks falling on him, at first I wasn't worried. He was an Entelexia after all. But the rocks kept coming, and it soon became too much for even him
My mind turned off and I started sprinting toward him. Not thinking about anything but saving him, the shouts behind me sounded like whispers as I jumped off the cliff in a desperate attempt to save my friend
Next thing I knew, I was washed up on a rock. My head was bashed open and blood was flowing out, needless to say I had a pretty bad headache
Clutching my head, I looked around for my friend and found him lying on the ground. He was buried in earth, and bathed in fire. I could sense his life essence going faint and I forgot all about my head wound, all that mattered was getting to him even if it cost me my life
As I ran, I could still feel his life diminishing. He kept on telling me to stop, that I'd only die if I came to him. I told him that if he died, I would too. That he was all I had left of my old life.
He said I had another life to live, that I couldn't give up living to save something old. I told him he was talking crazy.
I was just about to reach him, when a strong hand grabbed mine and stopped me from running into my death
I fought the grip but it wouldn't let go. It pulled me in and I could feel arms wrap around me as the last of my friend's life essence drained from his body
He was dead, and for the first time since I was a little girl my eyes became moist and rivers streamed down my face
I gasped as I awoke from my memory, touching the scar on my head that the wound had made. It served as a reminder of that day, the day life taught me its final, and cruelest, lesson.
I climbed out of my bed and looked around the room. David lied down on the bed across from me, there were a few random people in the other beds, and Yuri slept against the wall
The memory always shook me up pretty badly, even after all this time my eyes still become moist afterwards. And every time I go to the one person who could help me…
I sat next to Yuri and wrapped my arms around him, placing my head in the crook of his neck
He stirred awake and looked around, confused as to what woke him up
When he saw the tears in my eyes, he immediately understood. Only one thing could make me cry…
He wrapped his arms around me, holding me gently like he would a small child.
In his arms…
I felt safe, secure. I knew that no matter what happened, no matter who would attack me, he would keep me safe. Normally the idea would infuriate me but…I guess we all need to be weak every now and then. Heh…it's pathetic…
But I didn't care how pathetic it looked; I never wanted this feeling of security to end! In his arms…
After awhile of sitting like this, Yuri placed a hand on my chin and lifted my face to his
"It's okay, you're strong. Now dry your eyes, and go back to sleep." He said in his deep, handsome voice
I didn't mean to, but I felt a smile form on my face. I guess you know it's genuine if you don't mean for it to happen. He always knew how to make me smile…
He softly wiped the tears from my eyes. I was always flustered by how carefully he touched me, like a precious gem he was afraid of hurting. It made me feel like I was actually worth a damn. Ever since Ba'ul died no one else has made me feel like that
Soon my tears were gone, and I managed to put the poker face back on
"Do you really want me to leave?" I cooed, pressing our foreheads together
He chuckled, his poker face also returning, and closed the distance between our lips. Kissing me with a passion that rivaled only my own
I deepened the kiss, and then felt his tongue try to slip into my mouth. Deciding 'why not,' I parted my lips and let our tongues dance
I let my inner badgirl take over for a bit and slipped my hand into his pants, rubbing his crotch until it became nice and hard
Then he broke the kiss. Surprised by the sudden action, I was a little disheartened and it must have showed on my face "May want to slow down Gorgeous, we're in a public place after all." He did have a point…
"We'll finish this discussion later." I said seductively
"Looking forward to it." He smirked
I was about to get up, but there was still something I wanted to say…
"Hey…Yuri…"
"I know; you don't have to say it." He placed a soft kiss on my lips, not full of passion and lust like the last one, but of sincerity and gentleness. I loved him so much
I went back to my own bed and fell to sleep with that kiss on my mind. I didn't even remember what I was upset about…