Chapter 3: The Sleeping Beast

Long reddish lashes fluttered, revealing a mesmerizing emerald, glimmering because of the rays of the sun that reflected from it, making it immediately shut—a bit startled at the light that suddenly accessed the sight.

He groaned, still feeling various aching muscles across his body. At least, the pain that shot up from his right eye when he was last awake had now subsided.

Speaking of his last conscious state, How long had he been sleeping anyway? And where in the world was he? What had happened to the pirate ship and his crew? Was Jean and the others alright? Was he the only one who was thrown out of the ship during the colossal wave?

Question after question ran through his mind, the throbbing of his head returning after trying to brainstorm and answer all the questions that clearly—cannot be answered.

He clutched the dress shirt underneath his pitch black tattered long coat. It was obvious how much of a mess he was. No extra clothes, no place to sleep in, uncertain if there was food, danger of wild animals. He was like a naked baby thrown into a sea of sharks, really.

He couldn't help but draw a long sigh, 'Well, let's be optimistic, shall we.'

His foot trembled under the pressure of carrying his weight, swaying back and forth, the slender trees of coconut lending him help over his own standing. He clicked his tongue, as he entered deeper and deeper into the unknown forest.

All he could see was a sea of trees. There wasn't even a fruit tree that he could possibly get a fruit from to seethe his hunger nor was there a stream that he could possibly procure a fish or two for the same reason. "I refuse to die in an unknown forest without anyone ever finding me, damn. That doesn't match my style." He hissed, snickering afterwards at how pitiful he could ever get.

He could feel the cold sweat running through his face and his spine. He felt so vulnerable, so defenseless, so weak.

His eyesight became obscured—what was happening with his eyes? This was far too often for his liking. His body had gone rigid after a few steps as he stumbled upon a root from a tree and with all misfortune—fainted.

SPLASH.

His visible eye widened, feeling himself damp. Water? He lifted his gaze, and saw that he was now lying on a lake—Well, half on the lake and half on the ground. The water was clear and unlike the sea water, not at all salty.

He tried to make his body move, and it did, as he then drank the lake water as if his life depended on it. Suddenly a fish rose up in the air and returned to the water with a splash, which made his lips tug upwards. 'Yep, I'm survivin' this one.'

Removing his long coat and dress shirt, he entered the lake with the fit black pants he was wearing, leaving his leather boots on a tree where he placed the possessions he had (his clothes) at the moment. The red-head also removed his eyepatch, in case it gets wet.

Somehow, the aches on his body started to disappear, making him more energetic on catching a fish in which he miserably failed countless of times (They were too fast, mind you). He was a man of the sea, he catches fish on the sea, not on a lake.

He emerged from the lake, his hair framing his face, in which was quite rare because of the black-green head band (was removed and left on the same tree where he left his clothes) that always made his hair look like a corn. He was pouting in a way that could also mean as displeasure, seeing as how he did his best catching a fish and seized none.

He sighed for the nth time, retreating to the tree and thinking, 'Are those leaves up there edible?' before sighing once more, refusing the stupid idea that suddenly popped on his head.

He sat beneath the tree and merely stared at the lake. His pair of half-lidded emerald panes lost into the calm, crystal clear lake. The color….

All he could see was the red water and all he could feel was the sensation of stickiness hitting his legs. He lifted his head to see where the liquid came from and saw a silhouette. It was little, rather, about the same size as he, and it had long hair. Long, fuzzy and pure… white hair.

He snapped out of his trance, shaking his head multiple of times, until the same sensation of pain shooting through his right eye occurred. This time, it was much worse. His right eye throbbed, as if the miniature red veins of his right eye were being cut one after another.

"Ugh…ugh..uu.." He clutched the right upper portion of his face as it throbbed more. He shut his left eye in attempt to make the right one to calm and opened it—discerning a long old chain surfacing from the lake.

'W-what the hell…?'

His gut kicked in, telling him to get away. To run. It was a familiar feeling.

He smirked, he wasn't a handsome daredevil for nothing!

He dived on the lake, following the long rusty chain, ending up deeper and deeper into the said body of water. From afar, he could see something glowing. It was pretty huge, and it served to illuminate the cavernous part of the lake when all you could see was deep blue.

He tried to hurry swimming down or he'll have to drown again—in which was all forgotten when he reached the strange glowing object.

He forgot to breathe. What he saw was a very big bubble-like barrier that was firmly attached to the ground. Countless chains floating on the side—to what its purpose is, Lavi couldn't identify.

What surprised him was the fact that inside the bubble, there was a field of flowers. Mind you, a field of flowers in the bottom of the lake. How freaky is that? And in the field of flowers, there was a girl.

Lavi squinted his eyes, his distance from the bubble depleting in every passing moment he dives further. The girl was about his age or younger, perhaps. Her dark green hair scattered on the field of flowers, and her hands was situated in a praying position, neatly placed above her chest. She was wearing a dark Victorian dress that had frills as it almost covered her whole body, except from her head, hands and feet.

It was by then that Lavi felt the pain from his right eye again as he groaned, his voice muffled by the water. The bubble suddenly popped, as he was brought to his senses. The water quickly invaded the field of flowers and instinctively speaking, what he did was to hold the girl by the waist and swim back to the surface.

It wasn't all that hard, considering that the flow of water seemed to spit them out from the lake. It only took seconds as Lavi could once more breathe his lungs, gasping for air in great necessity. He then felt the girl's head dropping on his chest, making him instantaneously trudge to the tree where he left his things.

He gently placed the girl, his garments used for her pillow for comfort, while he, on the other hand, just sat beside her. He scrutinized the overall appearance of the girl—her pale and vibrant skin, her pinkish lips, her rosy cheeks, and her pair of violet orbs that gazed at him in suspicion—

Wait, what?

The beautiful girl, who had just awoken, glared daggers at the man who ogled at her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, her mouth parted as she then…. Screamed.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! A PERVERT! A MOLESTER! KYAAAA!" Lavi backed off because he was worried for the well-being of his ears and he was primarily dumbstruck.

The girl found this as her chance to stand up, as she then posed defensively, her palms curled into fists, and well, in general, she looked like a martial artist ready to strike. Lavi was sprawled on the ground, trying to make out what the hell was happening.

"Who are you?! State your name, pervert or I shall beat you to death!" The girl demanded—rather, threatened at the man sitting ungracefully at the ground.

"W-wait a moment!" Lavi flailed his arms, too shocked for his mind to completely process the question, but answered it anyway, "My name's Lavi and I just saved you!"

"Save me?" The girl murmured, unbelieving. She continued glaring at the man who saved her, her brows scrunching in doubt, "Did you really?" she growled, her tone deep and heavy for Lavi to even joke about.

"Y-yeah, I did. You were almost drowning because the bubble popped all of a sudden! If I didn't grab you and swam to the surface, you would be floating lifeless and dead!" The red-head reasoned, trying to avoid any more trouble with the girl in front of him. He didn't believe that the girl would easily be convinced about his reasoning but he has to try. At least, he had to try.

Unexpectedly, the girl stepped back, dropping her fists and letting it rest on her side, "I get it, I'll believe you. You don't seem to be lying, anyway."

The red-head, for once, sighed in relief. The girl was skeptical one second and then she was believing him, what in the heavens is up with her?

"What's your name?" Lavi found himself asking, propping himself up and scratching the back of his head. He had to know her name at least, then maybe he could have a clue how to ditch her somewhere. He was a pirate for god's sake, he doesn't save. He steals.

"Lenalee." The girl answered almost immediately, her gaze pointed at the lake. "Hey, how did you—"

Suddenly, there was a roaring sound from high above, followed by a huge gust of wind to which they had to strain their eyes to see what is it.

To Lenalee's surprise (and Lavi's horror), the creature that was flying just above them was a lion—wait, it had the body of a lion, but its head was an eagle's and it even had wings like an eagle's….

Lavi paled. NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE He did not just see a mythical creature he once read on the books during his voyage, did he?

He could hear the girl beside him squeal in excitement, "Cool, It's a griffin!" The girl snapped her head and looked at him with a very very wide smile, her index finger pointing at the flying mythical creature, "Let's capture it!"

Lavi stared at her like she had grown two heads. Capture it? Is she nuts? "You did not just say that we're going to capture that—that creature, did you?"

"Unless you're deaf or you have no ears, then I suppose, I didn't." The green-headed insulted, her attention now back at the Griffin that was soaring in the sky. "Griffins are awesome to ride!" She added, her eyes practically twinkling.

"Are you serious?! How are you gonna capture that?" Lavi, pointing at the griffin, yelled disbelievingly at the suicidal girl. The girl darkly chuckled, "It's not you, it's we."

She then walked up to Lavi, smiling sweetly, "Your name's Lavi, right? Listen, Lavi, It's common sense that once you defeat a griffin, It would be loyal to you."

Lavi, on the other hand, was feeling tense. Not because of the proximity between the girl and him, but because he had a really really bad feeling. "Y-yeah, so what are you—"

He could feel himself being lifted off the ground, and by the girl. She purposely pointed his head towards the griffin, her fragile looking hands (in which was false, noting how she lifted him off easily) clutched his torso and his leg.

The sweet smile that was once displayed on Lenalee's expression had turned into a sinister smirk, as she bent her knees, preparing for something that Lavi would never ever like.

Pivoting his head towards the griffin, Lenalee threw him as he flew like a missile. Well, a crying and screaming missile. He swore under all hells and heavens that the girl was insane beyond help and that he'll definitely ditch her if he had the chance or he'll die early.

He closed his eyes as he clashed with the griffin and god, you have no idea how much it hurts. 'Oh shit, I think I'll have a concussion or yet, did my brain cells just screamed help and died?!'

His misfortune wasn't over when he felt himself being pulled by the gravity—in other words, he was falling. Into the lake.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed before splashing into the water together with the griffin which was also dumbstrucked at what happened. Because exactly, what just happened? It was just practicing its howl and flying capability when something hit it. Something hard.

Lenalee, on the other hand, wiped an invisible sweat in her forehead with her forearm. "Whew! Good thing my aiming skills are as good as ever!" She exclaimed happily, wading through the water, a hand gripped on the griffin's claw, while the other hand gripped on Lavi's leg.

She tossed them carelessly on the tree, the griffin hitting the trunk while fortunately, Lavi merely hit the Griffin's wings, in which were soft and comfortable. Both were out cold, their eyes swirling and body limp.

"Well, that takes care of the transportation." The green-headed nodded to herself. "Now, about the food…." She looked at the body of water that was engulfing her up to her waist. The same smirk that she had shown earlier tugged the corner of her lips. Let's just say that all the fishes present on the lake shivered and had a bad feeling.

Lavi opened his eyes. How many times was he going to lose consciousness? It was unsightly of him, considering that he was a captain of a pirate ship. He exhaled, quite disappointed at himself.

His nose then perked up, sniffing something delicious. He sat right up, Seeing woods being burnt—so that was why he wasn't cold, considering that the sun was already sinking from the horizon and it was turning night.

"Oh, you're awake?" He tilted his head to see the same culprit who threw him mercilessly earlier near the fire, sitting and eating a fish. A fish?

He abruptly stood up, pointing a shaky finger at what she was eating, "Y-you! That! Where did you get it?!"

"Well, duh, at the lake of course. I could hear your stomach rumbling when you were asleep so how about you eat. I captured a lot, so help yourself." She motioned at the array of fishes being cooked on the fire, taking a bite at the fish like it had no bones.

"O-oh. Okay." The red-head was surprised. The girl was really something. She looked so vulnerable, but she was as strong as a bear. No, much stronger than a bear. And she even captured a lot of fish when he couldn't. Talk about usefulness.

He hung his head down, trudging to her side and getting a fish, biting afterwards. He could feel his hunger lessening and unexpectedly, the fish was tasty despite having no seasonings. "Oh yeah," he started, "where did you get the woods? 'cause it seems to me that it was chopped. Was there any axe anywhere?" Lavi asked and wondered loudly. Really, it's not like there would be chopped wood present on the side. That would be too convenient.

The girl closed her eyes and smiled, " A griffin's nails are quite long you know."

Lavi's eyes widened. Did she just—?

Lavi immediately looked for the griffin and saw the griffin on the same tree where he was sleeping earlier, petrified in fear. His jaw slackened, what had happened to the frightening mythical beast that he had read on the books? As he could remember, they weren't cowards. Or maybe—

He looked at the green-headed who nonchalantly ate fish. Well, anyone would be a coward if they were facing someone as scary as her. "You didn't cut the griffin's nails to cut the woods. Did you?" If she says that she did, then he'd be very horrified at her. Not that he isn't at the moment.

"Are you kidding me? Of course! There was nothing sharp around and the griffin's nails looked like it'll do." She scoffed, making Lavi back off, completely terrified. She was inhumane! This was too much.

Lenalee then stood up, grabbing a lot of fishes and made her way to the griffin. He could see the griffin stiffen at her sudden approach. He could feel nothing but sorry for the poor mythical creature.

The girl patted the griffin's head, offering the fishes at it, while apologetically smiling, "I'm sorry, big guy. I have no excuses—but I really need to survive."

Lavi's eyes widened a fraction. All he could see was the girl's back and it looked so… sad and lonely. The griffin must have noticed the change of atmosphere that occurred to the girl that it suddenly cooed and responded to her by shaking its head.

At first she was mysterious, then she was merciless, and now she was compassionate. Lavi pulled out a strained smile. What a peculiar girl. You don't see her kind every day.

She then returned beside him with the griffin following. When she sat, the creature did the same, and it even placed its head on her lap, while Lenalee continued to pat it. "We're leaving here at dawn." She informed and he nodded, "Got it. You still didn't rest did you? Go to sleep."

"Don't worry about me," Lenalee said, her eyes fixated on the burning woods, " I already slept for two years. That's more than enough." Lavi gaped at her words. Two years?

"Why were you sleeping in the bottom of the lake, anyway?" Lavi couldn't help but ask more questions, the girl might not be as strong as he expected of her. He had that intuition telling him.

"None of your business." She snatched a stone from the side and brought it forward, her clutch tightening and her hand turning white, "there's just one thing I need to do and that is to strike that man down." She hissed, her words laced with venom and hatred. The stone was pulverized by the pressure of her grasp, returning to the dirt where it came from.

'Vengeance, huh?' Lavi decided to ask no more, it might bring back bad memories from her. His gaze warmed as the fire crackled. Revenge never ends well. It would only hurt the person taking it.

"By the way," Lavi snapped out of his stupor as he looked at her, "As I was trying to ask before the griffin showed up, how did the bubble burst?"

Lavi felt stupid, as he answered with a "huh?"

Lenalee sighed in exasperation, "I said, how did the bubble burst?" Lavi's left eyebrow rose, "Well, of course, It just burst?" He shrugged because how do you explain exactly how the bubble burst when it just burst on its own?

"No, idiot, that bubble was extraordinary. No one can make it pop aside from its caster. And from the hints and traces that I could make out, you clearly are not the caster. Hell, you don't even know how to produce magic. So how did it burst?" The girl now looked irritated, glancing at the red-head.

"How could I know? Magic? Does that even exist? It just burst on its own—"

"What?! Can you repeat that?"

"Err—It just burst on its own?" Seriously, Lavi has no idea what was going on anymore. Magic, for once, is just a make-believe story for the kids so they'd have useless hopes and dreams. What he knows for now is that the girl in front of him might have a loose screw or something.

"It can't be—that can't be right! It was Cross who made that bubble and trapped me there. And Cross is the head priest! He is the greatest caster! And to think it burst just because of some pervert who doesn't even know magic! That's outrageous!" She repudiated, and Lavi couldn't help but be offended (by the pervert part) as he stood up, "You know what, I don't know anymore. Don't drag me in your fantasies, lady. Sleep now, we're leaving at dawn, right?" He then returned to the tree and rolled, his arms serving as a pillow.

He could feel his consciousness slipping and the last thing he heard was a soft, "Nii-sama"

Nii-sama. Brother? Now, why does it sound so familiar? It was like…..

The figure's deranged smile made him incapable to move. He needed to run. Fast. Tears rolled on his cheek as he slowly stepped back. And he halted. The figure which he greatly feared dropped the old man's head as it sunk underwater. It then proceeded to cover its face with its bloody hands. It was crying. He could feel the sympathy welling up inside him. But there was anger too. The figure wailed, calling out a single word over and over again. "Nii-sama…"

Author's Note: Wow, my progress is slow. I'm sorry u-u;

REPLIES:

Ern Estine 13624:Thanks! Although this is like, the beginning of the beginning. It hasn't even actually touched the main plot or anything of the sort yet. Please look forward!

Cutiepie120048: HELL YES. I will do my best to make it good.

egefriend2:YES SIR! *salutes at le scientist* XDD

Nella Moonblood Royalle: Well, it's an original idea. Really. I don't know what chick was born in my mind when I suddenly typed this. I'm really happy at your review and yes, I SHALL DO MY BEST MUAHAHAHAHA

PREVIEW: To the capital

Allen snickered at his words, "Again, our mighty prince is being dishonest. I know you liked living with me." He teased which was responded by a sword almost throttling him by the throat, "Say your prayers, beansprout, because you won't live to see the next day."

"At least I can still live today."

"Excuse me sire, but emotions and heart is a very annoying thing to consider in my profession."

" I prefer it perspicuous or else I'm afraid that I might do something that you will later regret and that, is indeed extremely aggravating on my part."

She pulled out a sulky expression, "Well, wondering if you're a pirate or not because your outfit screams that you're a pirate."

"Save your bad feeling after you get on the back of this cutie and fly."

"I followed, but where are we heading anyway?"

"To the capital."