Title: Last Dance of Chances
By: Aina Song
Fandom(s): Radiata Stories
Genre: Yaoi
Rating: NC-17 (Um… eventually…)
Warning(s): Tonight, on the Warning Channel - Language; Death; Depression; Direct Quotes; Altered Scenes… Slight chance of OOC, major OOC to follow. Back to you, Bill.
Pairing(s): Flau + Jack + Ridley; Jack/Gil
Reviews: Yes, please.
Author's Note: Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. The game had its rules and specific plot points, but just so you know… I intend to break a whole mess of them with this one!
Teaser: What might've happened, had Ridley not survived that blood orc's attack? The Golden dragon will demand a vessel, regardless. Meanwhile, Jack is haunted by dreams of another life, a darker path…
Chapter Four - Canopy of the Forest
Jack groaned one afternoon as someone pounded heavily on the door to their room. Leonard dropped his quill into its inkwell, casting his young roommate an apologetic glance as he straightened away from the table. Jack could hear the door creaking open, and Leonard softly presuming, "Come to tell me Captain Natalie's looking for me again, Al?"
"No, Sir Leonard," replied the voice of the castle steward. "In fact, I'm here for Master Jack. Is he in?"
"He's unwell," the knight answered shortly, his good humor swiftly giving way to hints of impatience. "Is it urgent, or can you leave a message?"
There was a slight pause, as Al seemed to think that over. Finally, "He isn't needed immediately, I suppose. The Rose Cochon are being called for another mission, and Captain Ganz wanted to meet with both his subordinates to discuss the details."
Jack suppressed a second groan, lifting his arm to press the fingers of his hand against his temples. Leonard glanced over his shoulder at the very slight sound of movement, and Jack returned the glance under the shadow of his hand. Sighing, Leonard looked forward again. "When's the mission?"
"I believe it's to be tomorrow morning. Early."
"Let Jack's captain know that he's a little too under the weather for the meeting. But, with enough rest, he should recover in time for the mission tomorrow." And, without even waiting for an answer, he shut the door and turned away.
With a small whimper, Jack draped his arm across his eyes. His head throbbed, and the muscles of his back ached terribly. Blindly, he reached with his other hand into the space between his bunk and the wall. His fingers rummaged a bit until they grasped his remedy pack. Heaving it onto his stomach, he lifted his arm away from his eyes so that he could see what he was looking for. Healing salves, various poison antidotes, bandage roll, curved needle and thick thread in case a wound needed stitching… Countless ingredients for rarer and more potent remedies…
"I don't believe it," he quietly moaned. Tying the satchel together again, he shoved it away from him, wincing as it fell loudly atop the bag of his other belongings. Rolling to his side, he cast his eyes across the room. Leonard had returned to the table to continue his report under the muted light of a lantern.
"What's wrong," the older knight whispered without turning around.
Jack sighed, closing his eyes against the soft light playing across his face. "Mint drops."
"You're out?"
"I never run out. If I can't find them, it means I never thought to stock them."
Leonard whistled, sympathetic. "How could you have overlooked something so common? I mean, you, with all those other remedies I'd only ever heard of…"
Jack bit his lip. Having to admit his mistake the first time had been difficult enough. But before he could say anything, his vision blurred, and the room spun about before his weary eyes. The muscles around his spine pinched painfully, and he ground his teeth with a low hiss, fighting back a sickly urge to attack the only other living thing in the room.
Damn. Battle confusion.
Though Leonard and he had only been sparring that morning, Jack had received an unexpectedly direct blow, and had become disoriented almost immediately. Leonard had been completely apologetic, but Jack had only waved away his roommate's guilt, pleading to be taken somewhere he might rest awhile to gather his wits.
He must have drifted off, because the next thing he knew Leonard was gently shaking his shoulder to wake him. He whimpered, too tired and lightheaded to even open his eyes. The older knight carefully rolled him again to his back, callused fingers hesitantly brushing across Jack's lips to urge them to part. Something cold and wet dripped onto his tongue and rolled toward the back of his throat; Jack automatically swallowed, then coughed as the potency of what he had consumed flared up in his lungs and within his skull.
"Sleep," he vaguely heard his roommate urge. And he saw no reason not to.
~o~
When he awoke the next morning, Jack lay still a moment, feeling something was missing. He marveled that he could think clearly again, and a glance toward the table confirmed his suspicions that Leonard had purchased for him a phial of mint drops from the castle's supply shop. Yet another favor Jack would owe his roommate.
He sat up slowly, carefully swinging his legs over the edge of his bunk. It was then that the missing puzzle piece clicked in his mind. The dream… He had slept the entire night, and the afternoon before, and yet those hauntingly blue eyes did not visit him throughout the whole of it. But, rather than feeling relieved, Jack knew only a terrible sense of emptiness and a cold dread that he would not receive another chance to discern whatever message those eyes had been trying to tell him.
He readied himself to report to his captain. He dressed quickly, shoved his feet into his boots, and strung his new blade behind his back. As an afterthought, he grabbed the phial of mint drops from the table and tucked it into his satchel of remedies on his way out the door.
Jack's mind wandered as he navigated the corridors of the castle. He could not understand why he should feel so disturbed by the dream's absence. It was almost as though somewhere in the darkest recesses of his mind, he knew that he might never see those eyes again.
"Jack?"
Startled, his steps halted and he looked up. Ridley Silverlake had just stepped out from the brigade meeting room, and she seemed quite surprised to see him. Jack looked over her shoulder; Captain Ganz had gone a few paces ahead of her, but now he turned back.
"Master Jack," the captain greeted, a smile playing under his mustache. "We'd heard you weren't feeling well."
Jack dipped his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir. I was a little too disoriented yesterday, and I knew it wouldn't be wise to join the meeting."
"But you feel well enough for the mission, do you?"
His scarred hand curling into a loose fist at his side, Jack took a breath and strove to remain honest. "Well enough, Captain. I give you my word to step aside and out of the way if I feel I can't handle whatever it is we're about to do."
"Ah," Ganz nodded. "Yes, of course you'll need a brief detailing of the mission. To put it simply, we'll be delivering a royal missive into the elflands."
Though he could not guess why, Jack's heart missed a beat. "Elflands, sir?"
"Yes. To the leader of the light elves, himself. However," the captain sighed, "this will likely be very difficult. The elves are very mistrustful of the human race, and will not permit us within their territory willingly. Therefore, along our journey, we will meet up with a member of the Vareth Institute. He's rumored to be an authority of sorts."
~o~
This one introduced himself as Genius Weissheit.
While he was busy explaining to their captain how very vast his intelligence was, and how every minute he spared for their mission distracted him from weeks' worth of scientific breakthroughs, Jack noticed a strange look flit across Ridley's face. He discreetly shifted closer to the blonde beauty, "Hey…"
Her dark green eyes flicked over to him very briefly, before returning their gaze forward. "Hey," she answered as softly.
"So," he ventured. "Am I the only one who thinks this guy's gears are strung too tight?"
Her mouth twitched, as though she was suddenly trying very hard not to smile. "If we didn't have to work with him," she whispered, "I wouldn't want to hang out with the guy."
Jack quickly lifted a gloved hand to his mouth to smother the urge to laugh aloud.
They had had to meet Genius outside his home, which conveniently lay on the very outskirts of the elflands. It was a brief enough walk after that to the hidden entrance to the light elf haven. They stood before a cliff, wherein lay a deep crevice. Genius explained, and quite haughtily too, that the light elves protected their secrets with every devotion. If any human did happen to discover the entrance into their haven, awaiting the unfortunate trespasser would be two deadly gatekeepers.
It were those gatekeepers that swooped down before their brigade now, looking unearthly beautiful but also somewhat menacing. The two light elves - one male, one female - were very brusque in their warning. They definitely did not want visitors; they would not even hear out Genius' plea.
As his brigade could not help but be turned away, Jack dared one more glance over his shoulder. Curiously, he had not felt threatened by the two guarding their haven. He had only felt… humbled. As he had in Earth Valley. The dwarves had had their mountain and their diligence in weapons-forging. The light elves, it seemed, were possessed of a fierce loyalty - to their secrets, and to one another.
They retreated to a bridge that had been comprised from a fallen redwood. Jack did not refuse the opportunity, quietly requesting of his captain whether he might sit and rest. Ganz gave him the moment he needed. While the captain confronted Genius on why they had not been allowed into the light elf haven, Ridley moved closer and casually sat down at Jack's side.
The blonde beauty gave Jack a solemn glance. "Are you all right? Our journey here was demanding, and I'd have thought you'd ask for rest before now…"
He turned to her in mild surprise. Her bright green eyes watched him with shy concern; he offered a small smile. "Don't worry. I've been pacing myself."
"You could've asked before now," she softly insisted. "The captain would've understood."
"I know," he nodded. "Really, I'm not suicidal. But I won't hold my captain back, either."
Ridley seemed to study him for a moment. She asked, "You're truly devoted, aren't you?"
"My father was a knight," he confessed. Glancing down and away, he explained, "He'd died one month before I was born, but my mother used to tell me stories. They'd inspired my sister and me to make something of ourselves. Adele had promised our mother not to join the knights, but she and I trained together anyway. And she studied some with me under the guidance of that nomad healer I told Clive about." He looked up again, "She stayed home; she'd said the village could use a healer in my absence, and I should be the one to become a knight in her place."
"Did you not want to be a knight?" Ridley almost-whispered.
He considered, but replied honestly. "I wanted to prove myself. My academic studies were mediocre, at best. I had no aptitude for pig farming, or fishing, or preserving milk products…" His mouth tugged in a small smirk, "I had no niche in the world. But then the nomad came to us, and I drank in his wisdom like a man parched."
"You could've stayed at home," she suggested.
Jack's smirk faded, and he shook his head. "No. When Adele had given our mother her word, it almost killed her. I let her train me, because it put the life back into her eyes to put her knowledge to use. I went to the selection trials, because she couldn't. Our father's blood runs in my veins as much as in hers. If she could become a knight, she would've. I wasn't about to disappoint her by staying at home."
"But-"
"Ridley," he cut in, meeting her gaze directly. "I can be a healer anywhere. But I can only be a knight under the king's command, and to do that I had to come to Radiata."
Captain Ganz patiently brought his brigade to order. "We're off to the Nowem region, the other half of the elflands," he announced. "Master Genius seems convinced that the dark elves there will give us a warmer welcome. Perhaps we might propose our missive to their leader and try again."
~o~
Nowem region was a realm of much wonder. Its forests were vast and beautiful to the weary eye. Jack stared up at the ever-reaching branches, marveling that the day seemed to have rewound itself - bright orange sunlight streamed through the canopy of the branches, giving the illusion of late afternoon, when outside the forest it was closer to early night.
The ground was blanketed with golden amber leaves, and leaves of emerald and ruby waved gently on the winds from the trees' branches. Some few handfuls would ride a calm breeze toward their brethren on the ground.
Ganz Rothschild caught Jack's awed expression, and an understanding smile spread beneath his mustache. "Yes, it is beautiful, isn't it."
"The dark elves live close to the land," Genius explained, his tone for once devoid of any superiority. "They work hard, play hard, and enjoy life to the fullest."
"Is that so?" The captain commented, "Well, that's a life to envy, don't you think?"
Jack said nothing, but in his heart he wholly agreed. He fell in step at Ridley's side as their brigade ventured further into the forest, letting his eyes roam over every detail they could find. He opened his mouth and breathed deep the scent and taste in the air - earth, smoke, and remembered rain, all rolled into one heady cocktail that was soon put to shame as they neared their destination.
The trees of the forest were quite large and tall. Yet their brigade paused before one that stood larger and taller than them all. Jack wondered at the spicy sweet scent that now dominated the air. Almost like sun-kissed berries, but… thicker, somehow…
A pair of doors had been carved into the tree's very broad trunk, and beside them stood an ashen-skinned youth with blond-streaked brown hair which fell over his dark blue eyes. The boy studied them each in turn, but amazingly found a smile upon recognizing Genius Weissheit.
"Hello, Mikey," Genius greeted, stepping forward.
The young dark elf's smile widened. His eyes swept over their brigade one more time, and then he pulled one of the doors open, allowing them entry. Jack met the boy's gaze as he followed his captain in; Mikey returned his look quietly, as though contemplating what he saw. Jack suspected it would not be the last time their paths crossed.
Lord Nogueira, the dark elf leader, was not himself a dark elf. He was a light elf, winged and as bright-skinned as had been the two warriors that had safeguarded their haven. Yet this light elf was patient and soft-spoken; he listened well to Genius' explanation and to Ganz's plea. His agreement to let the Rose Cochon deliver its missive came with but one term. He would send a dark elf to the City of Flowers, that elusive light elf haven, to seek audience with their elder. He offered food and rest to Ganz's brigade while they waited for a reply.
Jack joined Ridley in taking a small meal to replenish his energy. Catching sight of a large silver pitcher standing in the center of a circle of cups, he abruptly identified that heady and intoxicating berry scent he had sampled outside. Wine. Rich, dark, and red - all the scents and flavors of the forest, poured into a liquid only the dark elves could so purely cultivate.
Jack did not sample of the tempting liquid; it was alcohol, he was underage, and he was with his brigade in the midst of an assignment. But he made a mental note. In his heart, he had already vowed to return to Earth Valley when he was no longer a novice and would be free to do so. Perhaps he should return here as well. Someday.
After the meal, it was rest, and Jack did not hesitate. He claimed one of the rooms that had been prepared for the Rose Cochon, dropped immediately onto a lower bunk, and closed his eyes. He was asleep before the door had swung shut behind him.
~o~
A deafening roar filled the skies as the dying beast fell between the cliffs, and Jack could not help a shudder as he heard its corpse crashing among the rocks below. He turned away.
A gauntleted hand fell heavily upon his shoulder. "Well done, Jack," a deep voice strongly praised behind him. "You have slain the dragon. Just like Sir Cairn before you."
Startlingly blue eyes turned in his direction, narrowing in an attempt to focus beyond the pain clouding their color. Below, finely carved lips parted with a shuddering breath. And the voice that whispered through them had lost nearly all of its lyrical strength, barely any music flowing with its words. "D-did you say… C-Cairn…?"
"Jack!"
He started awake as another's hand lightly shook his shoulder. Blinking his eyes open, he looked questioningly at the blonde beauty leaning over him. "Ridley? What's wrong?"
"The messenger Lord Nogueira sent has returned badly injured," she quickly explained, backing away to give him room. "The captain is ordering us to make ready."
His head spun as he sat upright, and he reached into the satchel hanging from his belt, silently blessing Leonard as he found the phial of mint drops. He tipped the phial into his mouth, mentally counting three drops before swallowing. Their potency immediately flared within his lungs, and he coughed into a gloved hand even as he felt his head begin to clear. "Why are we making ready?" He asked, returning the mint drops to his satchel.
"The messenger was supposed to have returned with a light elf," Ridley revealed. "But they'd been attacked by blood orcs, and the light elf was captured. I think Captain Ganz feels responsible."
Jack frowned, straightening to his feet and strapping his wind-imbued blade behind his back. He, too, believed it unfair that either elf had had to suffer for their sakes, but… "He's not thinking we can win against blood orcs, is he?"
"I don't know. Maybe he only wants to give the light elf a chance to escape."
That sounded like a more reasonable option. Jack nodded to it, following Ridley out the door.
~o~
The blood orc they found was monstrously large, and in a temper. It was not going to give up the light elf without a fight. The Rose Cochon surrounded the creature, attempting to subdue it quickly. But the blood orc fought back with a madness that put smilodons to shame.
It aimed a particularly vicious swing in Jack's direction. Jack, not yet fully recovered and already tiring, could not defend himself. He stumbled back, tripping over his own feet and collapsing to his knees even as the blood orc's club came whistling toward him. At the last second, Ridley was there - she had leapt into the club's path. The force of the club's swing threw her across the clearing; her back slammed against the bark of a tree, and she slumped unmoving to the ground.
Jack's lungs turned to ice behind his ribs. "Ridley!"
"Master Jack, watch out!"
Without looking up, he instinctively rolled to the side, only narrowly avoiding the blood orc's club as it clashed to the ground in the very spot he had just abandoned. The club arched up but came down again. Jack had little choice but to roll again, even as he could hear footsteps racing toward his aid.
"Stand back," rang Lord Nogueira's voice in warning. In the next instant the clearing was flooded with light, and the blood orc's angry roars cut off with a disturbingly pained cry.
Jack blinked furiously as the clearing came again into focus, and he spared only a moment to stare at the lifeless blood orc on the ground. But then Genius Weissheit was at his side, helping him to push unsteadily to his feet, and together they stumbled over to where Jack had seen Ridley fall. Ganz was there already, kneeling down to feel for Ridley's pulse and to check for any broken bones.
Jack urged Genius to let him sink to his knees at Ridley's other side. He stared at the lack of color in the blonde beauty's face. "How is she," he demanded of his captain, even as his own healer's hands ran an inventory of their own.
"Not good," Ganz Rothschild solemnly answered.
Jack hated that he was forced to agree. With all the knowledge he had gleaned from his nomad tutor, he still could think of no cure for this. Though the blow from the blood orc's club must have been harmful enough, there was also whatever damage Ridley's back had suffered after slamming into the tree. Jack was a healer, not a surgeon. He had not the hands to restore a fractured skull or severed spinal cords…
He looked up at the sounds of another's approach, and he watched wonderingly as Lord Nogueira came near, the captive light elf cradled unconscious in his arms. Captain Ganz moved swiftly out of the way, and Lord Nogueira lowered the younger light elf gently to the ground beside Ridley's unmoving form.
"Ridley!"
All looked up as a heavily armored knight entered the clearing. Jack frowned; whoever this was, the guy was intruding, and Jack for one did not welcome him.
"Captain Cross Ward," Ganz greeted in his surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I was on a mission in the area, and I heard orcs," the man replied shortly. He made to come to Ridley's side, but halted upon receiving Jack's dark glare.
Jack knew he was being unreasonable. But, though they'd not been the closest of friends, Ridley and he were a part of the same brigade. They were as family, or so it had been written in the knights' charter - and this Cross guy was not in their brigade, not of their 'family.' Also, if he allowed himself to think on it, Jack suspected somewhere in the back of his mind that this other knight was not being entirely truthful about his presence here.
"We must act quickly," Lord Nogueira softly spoke. "Or Hap and the girl will die. A transpiritation ritual may be their only hope."
Jack turned his head toward the leader of the dark elves, knowing some reluctant curiosity at the unfamiliar term. But apparently Genius knew exactly what was being offered, as his eyes had grown wide behind his tiny spectacles. "You would perform a transpiritation ritual? On a human?"
There it was again. Transpiritation…
"I see little choice," was Lord Nogueira's response. "Hap's soul has nearly vanished completely, and the girl's… is fading more swiftly than even I am comfortable witnessing." Yet he hesitated, "I cannot say whether the ritual will be successful. But if we do nothing, the chance of losing both souls will increase to definite."
Genius looked about to say something, but instead he turned to Ganz Rothschild. Jack, too, turned to his captain for the answer. For this counted as a brigade decision, and only its captain could authorize any such dwindling hope.
Ganz took a deep breath, and then at last nodded his permission. "Please, my lord. Any chance you offer is a chance we are willing to accept. And we shall be strongly indebted to you for your effort."
Lord Nogueira seemed little concerned with debts. He hovered his hand over the two prone bodies, closing his eyes. His palm ignited with light, and both Ridley and the younger light elf became luminescent in response. From their chests lifted up tiny orbs of blue light, one from each of them, and they lifted higher until they were nearly level with Nogueira's unopened gaze. They slowly circled each other - once, twice - and then came together with a tiny ringing that was like the pinging of crystal chimes.
One strongly pulsing yellow orb drifted down and disappeared into Ridley's chest, at the same instant as the younger light elf suddenly burst in a soundless explosion of soft light.
Lord Nogueira opened his eyes with a sharp gasp, stumbling back to lean against the strength of a tree. Genius was there like a flash, catching the elf lord before he could collapse to the ground. "I'm fine," the elf lord gasped, straightening to his feet. "But I shall have to go to the City of Flowers… Inform my brother that Hap's body is no more…" His gossamer wings spread wide, and he lifted up into the air, disappearing above the canopy of the forest.
