Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up.
I don't own Tales of Legendia, Namco does.
Chapter 4
It had been two weeks after the recovery of Senel, and two days after the construction of Shirley's grave. Though it was obvious that Senel's mental and physical state had been improving over the last two weeks, it still seemed as if he was depressed most of the time. It also seemed like Werites Beacon was going through those same changes. Only, there wasn't a lingering state of depression on the atmosphere of the town. The people who didn't leave went back to their normal lives, shops were reopened, and a smile reappeared on everyone's face again. They had good reasons to be happy. The Radiant have not been seen for two weeks, Crusand had been defeated, and the population of Werites Beacon received some of the spoils. In fact, if it wasn't for the new reinforced walls and the plaque that commemorated those that fell during the attack, it would have all been forgotten.
This is bad.
Thought Will as he looked over his papers that were lying haphazardly all over his desk. The council had been disbanded on the account of no known enemy movements.
They're all ignorant.
Will imagined them at their home eating dinner and having happy conversations with their friends and families. All blissfully unaware of what might, no, what will happen. It is only a matter of time until they come back, and this time they will be more prepared.
What to do? What to do?
The militia men's numbers under his command had been cut in half. Most saw no need to defend the city and went back to their families and jobs. He doubted that they would come back unless there was another attack.
There was sudden sound of shuffling feet outside the door and Will looked up nonchalantly. "Come in."
The door opened and there stood Alexander Rouland, looking very sad. He had taken double night shifts every night for the last week on top of the shifts already assigned to him. His composure was that of sickly old man, hunched and with a face that matched his poise.
It does not look like he's ready to fight at all.
Rouland gave a weak smile and came in. Will motioned him to sit in one of the chairs across from him and Rouland eagerly complied. When he sat down he took out a rag and wiped the sweat from his sickly face.
"So why did you come and see me?" Will asked.
Rouland had some trouble coming up with the words, but when he did he whispered them in a groggy voice which Will could barely make out.
"Well uh, General Raynard…"
"Yes?"
"Uh, you know how long I've been working for the last week…"
"Yes?"
I know where this is going…
"Well you know there haven't been any recent attacks, and I was wondering if it would be possible to-"
"Take your leave?"
Rouland looked a little surprised and nodded.
"But if you need me more I can stay. It's just that there doesn't seem to be any real trouble, and… well I guess you know about how we aren't real soldiers, and we aren't being paid for this."
Will understood; he didn't think Rouland had a family, but sooner or later he was going to have to find a way to pay his bills. And Will knew standing around at some tower all day in all weather for free wasn't going to pay them. He sighed.
"Alright... you may take your leave."
"Thank you, general…. If you ever need additional help you can always come to me."
And with that said he slowly got up and walked into the hallway. What Will didn't understand was why Rouland had asked him to leave. He wasn't a solider; he could leave whenever he wanted to. In fact, when Will thought on it more, he realized that Rouland was the only one who asked him if he could leave. Will looked down at his papers again.
We might need you sooner than you think.
--
Senel was in a daze. It felt like there was some type of fog that was covering his mind. The more he went through this daze, the more he realized how lost he was. He also realized that if it wasn't for Chloe and Will he probably would have been stuck in this daze for a very long time. But, thanks to them, it seemed like it was slowly clearing. The fog had cleared to the point where he could come to the conclusion that Shirley had not told him to take his own life. Maybe it was just himself saying that he failed. He yawned and looked around. He was sitting on a bench at the plaza. He looked out to see many types of entertainers. People were crowded around them to see their performances. The more he looked around the more he came to notice the large amount of people. It seemed as if all the residents of Werites Beacon were attracted to this center of entertainment. But then he noticed someone who was not observing the sights of the performances. He had his hair in a pony tail, had on purple clothes, was very pale, and very short. The man noticed Senel looking at him, and then started to walk over to him. Senel didn't bother to move, he just kept watching the man walk towards him. When the man finally made his way to him they were looking at each other face to face, even though Senel was sitting. He then realized that this wasn't a man, more like a kid.
"Well hello there." The kid said in a very monotone, apathetic voice.
Senel didn't respond.
"You know, it is not polite to stare." The kid still talked apathetically.
Senel still didn't respond.
"What are you mute? Or are you too stupid to talk?" This time there was a conceited tone to his voice.
"Why don't you mind your own business?" Senel would have liked to make the kid take back what he just said, but he was still suffering the effects of being dazed.
"Then maybe you should mind your own as well." With that he turned and walked out of the plaza.
What a weird kid. Hope I don't meet him again.
Senel breathed out another sigh, stood up, and left the plaza as well. Walking along the crowded streets was still somewhat of a shock for him after seeing them barren only just two weeks before. His daze made it hard for him to remember some things, like where Will's house was. So he stood there thinking until someone bumped into him. Senel turned around to see a man who was too busy observing what was going on in the street to notice him.
"Sorry." He said as he quickly moved forward.
Senel looked back in the direction that the man had come from, to see a weeping woman in chains. The first thing that struck him was that she was a Radiant, but after further evaluating, he thought he could be wrong. Though she looked like a Radiant, there was something about her that seemed Orerines, like the way she walked, or maybe even the way she cried. He then noticed that she was being led by men that kept leading her forward and two men on the sides of her holding out their hats to the residents. Everyone would put a few Gald into the hat as it passed them by. While doing this, the two men had to dodge things being thrown at the woman as well. Senel looked at the residents that had formed around her; they were the ones who were throwing things. He then began to hear things now, as if the daze he was in had somehow made him mute for a period of time.
"Make way for the bitch! Make way for the bitch!" The man who was leading her screamed in loud booming voices that seemed to echo off of every surface.
How could I not hear that?
When the men got to Senel they pushed him violently out of the way as they continued on their course. People began running past him trying to keep up with the group. Senel stopped a young boy and asked what was going on.
"They brought a half blood bitch from the main land!" He said this with a tone of absolute enjoyment which perturbed Senel greatly.
"Half blood?"
"Yeah, that's right! Someone who is half us, and half Radiant; they're really rare." The boy's way of making it sound like the girl was just something and not a human being made Senel angry.
"And what are they doing with her here?"
"Well, first they're going to make it march the streets, and then they're going over to Will's house. Dad says something about it going to be a spy for us, or similar to it."
"They're going to parade her around in the streets?!?" Senel was almost at the point of losing control. It seemed the more angry he got, the less of a daze he was in.
"Well of course! Dad says the owners need to make money somehow. And like I said, its kind is rare."
The urge to smack the kid was now immense and Senel had to use every last bit of his strength to fight it off.
How could Will allow such an inhumane thing to happen here! Isn't he the sheriff! Aren't there laws that make this illegal?!
Senel began to run towards Will's house. He couldn't see the crowd, so they were probably still out parading.
Lucky for them. If I saw them now I would have to beat their asses.
He made his way to Will's, went in without knocking, and found Will in his kitchen.
"Damn it, Will, how could you let something like this happen?"
Will frowned in confusion, and then he realized what Senel was talking about.
"Senel, I know what it looks like, but in the end it will help her."
"Like hell that's going to help her!" His breathing had become louder. If it wasn't for the fact that Will could take him down before he could attack, he would have charged.
"Senel, calm down, you didn't let me explain."
"Explain what?"
"You know that she's a half blood right?" Senel nodded.
"Well, I was planning on using her to spy on the Radiant for us."
"Why would she want to help us? After seeing the way she was treated, I don't think she will comply."
"Because after she is done spying for us, she will be free."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it was not cheap, but, like you, I don't want to see someone treated like that."
"Why wouldn't she just join the Radiant once she's free?"
"Because if the Radiant were to find out who she was, they would kill her on the spot."
"But couldn't she just run away?"
"Where? No one would accept her. The Radiant would kill her, and we will just use her to make a profit out of."
"But-"
"He's right Coolidge."
Senel spun around to see Chloe. Her face showed an expression of pity and sadness.
"I've seen this kind of thing before Coolidge. A young man like her escaped, but he had nowhere to go. He wanted to live, but not the kind of life that the young woman outside is living, so he ended up becoming insane, and eventually killed himself."
Senel didn't know how to answer. He was afraid that Chloe and Will would wait until he would say something. But, much to his relief, there came a loud banging at the door.
"The bitch is here!" Called the same booming voice that Senel had heard earlier.
Will began to make his way to the door and Senel was about to follow him.
"Don't, Coolidge." He turned. Chloe had a serious look in her eye. He nodded and stopped moving.
"Now here it is! Your very own half blood bitch! I would recommend that you keep those chains on it. Ye see, it sometimes gets a little violent when we let it get free."
"I'll make sure I will."
"Well okay. I'll be see'n you then."
Will and the half blood made their way to the kitchen. There Will began to take the chains off. Senel came and helped him. After twenty-five minutes of prying they finally managed to see what she looked like underneath the chains. The sight was repulsing. Her hair was much longer then they thought; it went down to her upper thigh. It was tangled so badly it looked like the only way to get it untangled was to cut it off. Much of her hair was dyed a deep gray oil color that was caused when the hair was tightly packed by the chains. Senel then noticed her clothes, the sight of which made him blush a little. What she was wearing wasn't really clothes, more like to strips of cloth that covered her breasts and her waist. Senel quickly diverted his eyes to her stomach, which was bulging, but not from being full, it was like that because she was so hungry. He then moved onto her arms, which were badly bruised and flea bitten. He stopped his evaluation and looked over at Will. He too was evaluating, but he soon ended his evaluation as well, and said in a sympathetic voice, "What is your name?"
She looked confused. As if this was the first time anyone had ever bothered to speak with her. She turned back to Chloe, then Senel, to make sure they weren't the ones being talked to. After hearing no one speak her faced flushed when she realized that she was supposed to answer; she made little grunts and squeals, but could not seem to form any actual words. She kept trying for five minutes. But in the end, she fell to her knees and began to cry. Senel could not tell if they were tears of fear or of frustration.
"I guess she can't talk," said Chloe as she moved to comfort her.
"It appears so. I'm still trying to decide what to do about her. I know the inn or hospital would not take her in…"
"Why don't you just let her stay here?" Senel said with some confusion.
"I was thinking about that, but decided against it."
"Why?"
"Because I have many visitors. If they were to see her, who knows what might happen."
"Couldn't you just keep her in her room?"
"Yes, but I want to her to be free. Tell me. Do you think being locked in a room alone is any different than being locked in a cage all day? True, she has many comforts, but what are these things to her?"
Senel reluctantly knew that Will was right.
But where should she go?
"Raynard, I think the first thing we should do is to clean her and feed her."
"You're right, come on let's give her a bath and give her some new clothes."
After giving her a bath and changing into new clothes, Chloe set to work on cutting her hair. Apparently it was worse than Senel had imagined, Chloe had to cut the half blood's hair all the way to her ears, giving her a very boyish look. While her hair treatment was going on, Will was preparing her food. When it was brought to her she began to consume it in great bites and swallowed little. This caused her to choke twice, and Senel saved her on both occasions. When she was done eating she went over to the couch and fell onto it. Chloe then brought over a blanket and put it over her. She soon went to sleep.
"Will, do you know what you are going to-"
Boom! The door suddenly slammed open.
Senel, Chloe, and Will spun around to see a man standing at the door.
"W-Will! A caravan has been attacked!"
"What?!?"
"Just outside of Port-on-Rage. All the goods were stolen and people have been kidnapped!"
"How many people?"
"At least fifty, maybe even more."
Will got up and rushed out the door, followed by Senel and Chloe.
"Come on, we got some of the militia men. They are waiting in the plaza."
They ran to the plaza, to find many people standing around. Some had confused looks on their faces, others were talking silently in a group, but most were waiting for Will to speak. When Will reached the front of the crowd he turned and shouted as loud as he could:
"Escort all civilians out of Werites Beacon; we're taking them to the mainland! I then want you to find people who are willing to stay and fight! Men or women, it does not matter! Next, I want a group to follow the Radiant's trail and to see where they're hiding, and that's it! Don't try and engage them in any sort of fighting! Lastly, go to Port-on-Rage and tell them to issue a statement saying that no ships can dock there as soon as tomorrow and it will be closed until further notice."
And with that, all the men went their own ways. It was not until sometime after that Will received word from the group that had went to search for the Radiant. The group had come back, but some were missing and others were injured. Will was furious as to why they were this way. They met at the plaza looking at some twenty or so men. Senel believed they originally started with forty.
"General Raynard, we didn't engage the enemy. Rather we were ambushed, shortly after we had found their hiding place," said the second in command of the group. Apparently their leader had been lost somehow.
"Where is their hideout?"
"Well it was something I'll never forget! It was this massive gorge, filled with the oddest of things!"
Will turned away from them and mumbled. "Could it possibly be the Great Hollow?"
He turned back towards them.
"I think you are referring to the Great Hollow."
"Is that what it's called?"
"Well, assuming that I know what you are talking about, then yes, it is called that."
"Well okay, yeah, there you are, then."
They left and Will turned to Rouland, who apparently had been turned into Will's personal secretary, and told him to keep the city well fortified. He didn't believe that they would try and attack the city, but he wanted to be safe.
"Raynard, what should we do now?" Chloe sounded a little frightened.
"We will do nothing for now. I don't have enough men to take siege to a place like that."
That was the end of their conversation. They left the plaza and began to begin the path down the road. As they made their way to Will's house, Senel saw some of the residents that had come back being escorted by militia men. The look on their faces was hard to describe. It seemed as if they had lost hope of ever coming back, but there still remained a glimpse of hope that they might return. But soon their faces and their emotions were soon forgotten as they went by. And other then this, and a few other deportees, the group met no one. When they got to Will's house Chloe said her good-byes and they parted ways. Senel and Will walked through the gate and stopped when they reached the door. They thought they heard the sounds of feet running about in the house. They opened it slowly to find all the lights off. Then the noise was heard again. This time it seemed that the sound of the feet had become a little more urgent. Then without warning, a small shape came lunging at them from the darkness, Senel and Will were about to attack when they realized who it was. The half blood. Will, after seeing who it was, went and turned on the lights, Senel led the half blood over to the couch were they sat down.
"She must have woken up when we were gone and went looking for us." Said Will, his voice full of optimism. Senel wasn't quite sure why, though.
"Yeah… I guess this is going to make a place to keep her harder to find."
"That might not be so." Will got up and went to the window and looked out of it.
"Really, And why is that?"
"Because, with the evacuation there will be no one but the militia men."
"So?"
"So… It means we can keep her here. And if any one tries to take advantage of, or to harm her, they would have face my wrath."
Senel knew what he was saying, but there was still a question that still needed to be solved.
"Will… How do you plan to use her as a spy if she can't speak?"
Will took a deep sigh and turned around. He looked at Senel and said in great frustration.
"I don't know, but what I do know is that we can't do anything as of now because of it."
With that Will told the half blood to come with him, and they went up stairs. Senel didn't do much; he just looked out of the window for a while. He thought of what had happened, and also of what could happen and shuddered at the thought. He then thought some more, but his thoughts were interrupted by the chimes of the clock, which chimed that it was two in the morning. After hearing that, Senel looked away from the window, lied down, and went to sleep.
--
Senel awoke to the feeling that someone was staring at him. When he opened his eyes he saw that the half blood was looking down at him with curiosity. As he began to get up she leapt away, but in the process tripped and fell. As he made his way towards to her she became frantic and quickly scurried away to the wall. This feat that she had just undertook, apparently made her tired, and soon she collapsed and began to breathe heavily. Her eyes slowly closed and she no longer moved. Senel became frantic himself after seeing this. He realized that the dirt that had covered her body also covered a myriad of bruises. He began to search everywhere in the house, but could not find Will. He was about to head out, but when he heard the front door being opened. Senel rushed over to find Alcott, Will, and Chloe standing in front of the door.
"Good you're all here; look, that girl collapsed over in the living room."
"Well then it's a good thing I came here then." Said Alcott.
He walked over to her and began to examine her. While he was doing this Senel was hoping that he hadn't done anything to harm her.
"Well she collapsed from exhaustion… What happened to her? There are bruises and flea bites all over her body. I know she was different, but did she really deserve treatment like this?"
No she didn't.
Senel could feel his anger coming back. Then, he realized something; he did not feel dazed once since yesterday.
"She probably has many more problems, and I doubt that I can treat them all. Not only that, she probably has emotional and mental scars. Come on; help me lay her down on the couch."
With little difficulty, Will, Senel, and Alcott were able to put her on the couch. Chloe then brought a blanket and laid it on top of her.
"She is going to need constant bed rest. You are going to have to feed her many types of food as well. I will stop by twice a day, but if you ever need me any other time, I will be at the makeshift infirmary at the inn."
"Thanks, Alcott." Will said this in a relieved tone.
"Of course."
He made his way out the door and left the four of them there.
"Senel, Chloe, I want you to look after her if you don't mind."
"Of course not Raynard."
"Sure Will."
"Alright then, I will be attaining to other business if you need me."
Will nodded to both of them and he went outside. Senel and Chloe sat at the couch across from the one that the half blood was resting on. They sat there doing nothing except watching the half blood. They waited for something to happen. Maybe some event that would ride on their actions on whether or not she would survive. But they knew that they would never want to be faced that kind of situation. And nothing like that did happen. It had been two hours since Will had left, and Senel was beginning to wonder how long he was going to have to sit here doing nothing. Even though he had nothing to do at all, he still wished that he could be doing something else then just sitting here.
"So did you hear?"
Senel turned to Chloe. Even though they had sitting next to each other for the whole two hours, they hadn't talked. And he thought it was a weird time to start now.
"Hear what?"
"That all the militia men are moving into the vacant houses."
"Is that so?"
Couldn't have chosen a more boring subject, could you?
"Yeah, since there is no one living there now they decided those houses will be the new barracks."
"Really?"
Is this what we're going to talk about for the next couple of hours? Oh well… Guess I can just tune her out.
"Yes, it's because they need that space to-"
Heh, it's kind of easy to tune her out. Now what am I going to do? I don't know how much help I will be around here. But I can't go back to the mainland. Maybe I can just look after that half blood, even though it's boring. I'm sure I can-
"Coolidge!"
"What, is there something the matter!?!"
Chloe frowned.
"No Coolidge, I was trying to ask you something, but you must have not been paying attention."
"Oh, what are you trying to ask me?"
"About the housing."
Senel made a silent groan.
"Yeah, you were talking about that."
"Well you know how I've been staying at the hospital."
"Yeah."
"Well… the hospital is closing and I had no place to go, but Raynard offered me a house."
"Yes? Where are you going with this?"
"I wanted to know if you would move in with me."
The feelings of boredom and of sarcasm left Senel. He now felt the feelings of awkwardness and something else that he could not quite name, taking their place. There then ensued awkward silence. Chloe shifted nervously and was blushing slightly. Senel didn't respond. He was too busy trying to understand the new emotion inside of him. After a long pause that seemed to go forever Chloe finally spoke.
"I-I mean you don't have to. I w-was just thinking that since you stay here and I stay at that place. Maybe we should move in together?"
"Yeah… sure, I guess it's okay with me. If it's okay with you?" Senel couldn't believe what he just said. She was the one who offered it in the first place.
"Uh, yeah it is…"
"Okay then, I guess you can show me our new home when we're done here?"
"Sure, that's fine."
With that, the conversation ended. Though, it didn't get rid of the awkwardness. They didn't talk until Will got back. And that was four hours later. He thanked them both for watching and they both replied that it was no problem. Chloe left in a hurry, but before she went she told Senel to meet her at the hospital at six o'clock. At around five o'clock Senel began to pack the few things he owned. When Will saw what he was doing he went over and asked why he was packing.
"I'm moving in with Chloe at her new house." Something about saying that didn't seem right.
"Hmm… very interesting…" Will smiled.
"It's not like that!"
"Not like what?"
"You know what I mean!"
"No I don't! But, if you would, indulge me in matters of you and Chloe?"
"Go to hell!" Senel got up and left a half an hour early. He didn't even bother to say good bye.
--
When Senel left Will checked on the half blood to see how she was doing. He found her asleep. After making sure she was okay, Will went up to his room. He went over and sat at his desk. While he was out this morning he had asked Rouland to observe the behavior of the militia men, and report to him what he had seen. Will was dreading the report. There came a knocking at the door.
"Come in."
Rouland came in and closed the door silently. He turned to him and sighed.
"How bad is it?"
"Well… General Will, the men have turned to booze."
Great.
"Well at least we can break them of that habit."
"There is more sir."
Ah hell…
"Like what?"
"There are prostitutes as well."
"What! Tell the men to stop indulging in their services immediately!"
"I tried, sir. But they refused to…"
"Is there anything else that they are doing?"
"Some have begun using opiate sir."
Will couldn't believe that.
"Opiate, as in the opiate they use at the infirmary?"
"That's the one sir."
"How did they get into it in the first place?"
"They were probably wounded, and were treated with it."
"Why are the men turning to these things? There really isn't a good reason. Or is there?"
Will looked at Rouland to answer the question.
"Well sir, they are angry and frustrated."
"Why? Why is it that are frustrated?"
"Because sir, they feel that you aren't doing enough to fight the Radiant. And they want to avenge the deaths of their comrades. Remember sir, everyone is friends with everyone in this town. And they hate how you are not letting them take action for their friend's deaths."
"Still… they shouldn't be turning to all of those things just because they're angry."
"They are also afraid. We are not soldiers; none of us are prepared to die. And they fear death greatly."
When Will did not respond to the last comment, Rouland took his leave, but before he left the room and said one more thing.
"There has been talk of an uprising… though, I think they were drunk and they didn't know what they were talking about. So, I wouldn't worry."
Then he left, leaving Will alone.
Am I really cut out to be a leader?
--
Even though he was an half an hour early Senel went to the hospital any way. When he got there he was surprised to see Chloe already waiting.
"I-I'm sorry if you were waiting."
"What, oh, uh, it's no problem. I was just done packing early, so I decided to start waiting."
"Still…" Senel couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Well, shall we go?"
"Ah… sure."
They walked past the quiet residential area, past Will's house where, Senel could have sworn that he saw Will looking out the window at them. Then they went past the shops until they came to a small house. The house was next to the slow meandering river that ran through the town. It had a small garden in the front as well as a gate, but besides these things, there was nothing particularly unique about it. When they got inside the place was empty. There was a large foyer that led into a small kitchen. A flight of stairs led to a small area where a bed and other personal paraphernalia were supposed to go. All and all, it was a small house. After some arguing, Senel finally persuaded Chloe that she should have the top area and that he would sleep in the foyer.
It did not take long for them to unpack their things. And when they were done they didn't have anything to do. There was an awkward silence throughout the house. Senel looked at the oven intensely, thinking about food. Chloe was staring out the window. After a half an hour of doing nothing there was a knock at the door. Both of them went right away, happy that there was something to break the monotony. But it was just a delivery man who was dropping off food rations. Since the food was precooked, there was going to be less to do that night. After they ate, even though it wasn't late, they both went to bed. But Senel wasn't able to sleep. There was complete silence in the house, except for Chloe's breathing. After a couple of hours Senel decided to go outside. He got up and headed outside. To the east he heard the groans of the wounded men of the caravan. He decided that he would head north instead; he kept walking north until he came to house with all the lights on. Intrigued, Senel went over to knock on the door. A man with a bandage around his face opened the door.
"Vat ist its yuov vant." Senel could tell that he was drunk.
"Just wondering why all the lights were on."
"Oh… you knows vat, I likes your. Comes inst, comes inst."
Senel didn't want to, but, he it was better than lying in bed. The man staggered and then fell as he moved out of Senel's way. Senel looked to his left to find a room that was turned into a bar. Almost all the men there were drunk, or close to it. But then Senel noticed the kid from the plaza. He was sitting at the counter listening to what one of the drunken men was saying. Senel walked over, carefully avoiding the drunks that were sprawled out on the floor. When he got to the kid the drunk was telling him about the fortifications. But he stopped abruptly and passed out onto the floor. Senel sat down in his place.
"What are you doing here?" Senel asked, more annoyed then curious.
"What does it look like? I'm gathering information."
Senel looked around.
"From drunks?"
"Why yes, you would be surprised to learn the amount of information people tend to give away when they are intoxicated."
"Why would you want to learn about the fortifications and such?"
"Well, gathering information is my job."
Senel was now curious.
"So, you can tell me about anything that's going on."
"For a price, sure."
"Could you tell me about the Radiant's hideout?"
"Sure, but it will cost you eighty-thousand Gald for each piece of information."
"Screw that!"
The pale youth shrugged. "You wanted to know."
Senel left as soon as he heard that. This time he didn't bother to step out of the way on the people on the floor. He was furious, as he went outside he thought.
Cheap bastard son of a bitch. How can he not help us? Doesn't he know that that kind of information could help save lives, maybe even his own? But, I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea if I told Will about him. I hate the idea of giving that smart ass any money, though.
When he got to Chloe's house when he noticed a shadow in front of the house. He saw the smart ass kid standing around with a look of complete boredom on his face. When he saw Senel he piped up.
"Took you long enough."
"Bastard! Get off my property!"
"If I recall correctly, this property is not yours, it belongs to Miss Chloe Valens."
Senel clenched his fists in rage. He tried to suppress the urge to kick the shit out of the kid.
"Since you're able to suppress your anger so well, I think I'll reward you."
Jerk!
"All right, here it is. The militia men are growing more discontent everyday..."
With that he walked off. Senel's rage slowly left him.
Why are they discontent?
But before Senel could think on it more a sudden loss of energy caused him to realize how late it was. He looked up at the sky which caused him to find out how bright it was. He made his way through the gate, and then through the door way. He collapsed on the floor. At the moment of impact, he fell asleep.
--
Unbeknownst to Senel, was that Chloe had heard him leave the house that night. After he had left Chloe had followed him to the house. She decided not to follow him in and instead went to the house next door which had all the lights on at the first floor, but not the second. She wanted to know why that was, so she went and knocked at the door. A middle aged woman answered.
Weird. I thought I was the only women living on this stre-
Chloe saw what she was wearing. It was probably the most revealing outfit Chloe had ever seen. Chloe looked away, trying to keep some of her dignity.
"What is it honey? You want a job? Well you are a good looker, I'm sure you could earn twice the amount as our average with your looks."
"No!"
Chloe stepped back and speed right down the road. She didn't look up in time to see two men walking in front of her. She ran into both of them
"I'm so sorry I-"
"You stupid bitch! Look what you made me do."
He was pointing at himself. Chloe could see that he had spilt his drink all over himself.
"She did the same for me too."
The other man was pointing at himself as well.
"I'm truly sorry I-"
"Hey you know what, me and my pal will forget this whole thing if you can get us in for free.'
"What?"
He pointed towards the house Chloe was just at.
"We saw you coming out of old Berm's place. We'd go there more often if the bitch didn't charge as much."
Chloe went over and slapped him.
"How dare you mix me up with those kinds of people! Wait…. Kings? Kings is that you?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"I know you! You used to be the gardener for the city. What happened to you?"
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."
"You used to be very nice to people. You had a caring wife and-"
"Go on. What?"
"Are you cheating on your wife!?!"
"Hey! My wife left and took the kids, so it's alright."
"She had to!"
"No, she could have stayed. Could have helped."
"But that doesn't mean she left you!"
"Well it's all the same to me."
Both men walked past her and down the road, and Chloe silently made her way back to the house.
What's happening to these people? When I first moved here everyone was nice and welcoming, but now… this.
She went to bed, but didn't go to sleep. So she heard Coolidge's shouting outside of the house.
"Coolidge… are you becoming like them too?…."
--
The next morning Chloe found Coolidge on the blankets he had brought with him. Hostility was still radiating from him, even long after the fight last night. She moved around him slowly, as to not disturb him, and she made her way outside. It was very cloudy out; and the town had an atmosphere of some kind of drunkenness. As if everything had been slowed down and turned somber. She had decided last night she would go talk to Raynard about what had happened to her last night. On her way to his house Chloe looked along the fortifications. There was no one standing guard. She thought of the men that used to stand guard there, now though, they were probably half drunk on some floor with a bottle still in their hand. When she got to Raynard's house there appeared to be no one home. But when she knocked on the door a tired Raynard answered.
"Oh, hello Chloe… please come in."
"Thanks Raynard."
After going through his foyer and then into his living room she saw the half blood sitting on the couch. She was staring at a piece of paper, as if she was waiting for it to do something.
"So why did you come to see me?"
Chloe was trying to find the right words to say.
"Well Raynard… look… I have strong reason to believe that there are women in this city helping out the men in a different way…"
That sounded very awkward.
"Uh, I knew about this already. We tried to get them to leave, but they hid when we were evacuating. And when Rouland tried to get them to leave again, none of the men would do it. I would go and do it myself, if I wasn't so busy."
"I also have a strong reason to believe that the men are getting drunk… all of the time."
"I know that too, but at least we can fight that one."
"How so?"
"I'm going to release a statement latter today that states that there will be prohibition. But, if they feel a need, temperance will also be accepted."
"That sounds like a good idea."
"Yes, I think so too."
"But what about the women?"
"The moment I find the time, I will go down there and order them to end their services and become a part of the medical staff. All those that don't comply will be jailed under acts of prostitution."
There a sudden sound, it was like a muffled cry. Chloe spun her head to see the half blood cowering on the couch with tears running down her face. She opened and close her mouth each time a sound that was just gibberish came out. But the more she did this, the more her words could be understood. She was eventually to make high squeaky words.
"P-p-p-please don't p-put in a-a j-jail."
Chloe turned to Raynard. It looked like he trying to figure out what she was talking about. But Chloe already knew.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen to you." Chloe tried to say this in the nicest voice possible.
"Bu-But I did-"
"Shhhhh."
Chloe really didn't want to hear what the half blood went through.
Sick bastards, doing that to a poor girl, will she ever be able to get over those experiences?
"Ah. No, ma'am, we won't put you in jail." Raynard just figured it out.
She stopped crying and looked up. Her eyes showed curiosity, as if having the ability to talk now has turned the world into a new place.
"Um… if you wouldn't mind can you please tell us your name?" Raynard sounded very excited now.
"My name…" She creased her brow and seemed to be in a state of deep thought.
"Do you remember it?" said Raynard.
Chloe doubted it. After seeing and hearing about what had happened to her. It would be likely that she repressed all of her past memories.
"Name is Raine. I don't remember Radiant one."
Chloe was surprised that she could remember it.
"But that no help. You needs me to go spy on Radiant."
"Err…" Raynard turned red after hearing that.
"It's okay, you saves me."
"Are you sure? You will be risking your life though."
"I know, it's okay. But hair is a problem though…"
"What does your hair have to do with it?" Chloe unconsciously moved her hand to her hair.
"From what I have seen and heard. Radiant has long hair. "
Chloe thought back to when she young, before she cut her long hair. The memory still haunts her, though she doesn't understand why.
I was sure that I wanted to be a knight. To prove that I was strong. To show that the Valens' name was not fully tarnished by father! But, sometimes though… was that really the smartest thing to do?
Chloe shook off the thought and went back to listening to Raine.
"Can you tell us anything about your life before you were captured?" Chloe asked this hoping it would take her attention fully away from her hair.
"Well… I lived on mainland… I was born on outskirts of Radiant village. My father left mother the moment he found she was a Radiant. When the people of the village heard of what had happened they began to chase us…"
"I'm surprised you didn't suppress all of your early memories." Chloe couldn't figure out how she could remember these things.
"Oh, I uh, was told these things by mother before she died."
"Well, please continue." Raynard said.
Raine talked for another two hours. She told them about how her mother dropped her off at an orphanage were she and the other children were physically and verbally abused by their caretakers. It was there that she became mute, for the fear of being beaten. One night the orphanage caught on fire all but a few children including her survived. They formed a street gang were they would steal from anybody who was careless enough to leave their things out in the open. One day she was caught, but they decided to let her go, so she wandered the streets until she found a beggar women who turned out to be her mother. She was only able to spend a couple of days with her before she died. During that time her mother told her about why every bad thing that had ever happened to her happened. But before she was able to tell what happen to her next she stopped talking.
"What the..?" Will said.
"Raine…Raine?" Chloe was beginning to panic.
She still did not move.
"Crap! Chloe come on! We're going to have to take her to the infirmary."
"Right."
Before they could do anything though, Raine came around. She looked confused and asked why they were standing up. They told her what had happened, and she said it was no big deal. She said that sometimes she would relive her old memories. And said that it was fine, Chloe wasn't sure about that though, for there were tears running down Raine's face as she was explaining it to them. They decided that Raine could finish her story latter. Chloe thought that she should go back to her house, so she said goodbye to both of them, and started back towards her house.
--
When Senel awoke, he found that Chloe wasn't in the house.
She must be out training. I'll go see if I can join her.
He traveled north to the park and then into the residential area. When he got into the area he saw a large tree by the small river that ran through the city. Senel went over and sat down underneath the tree. It reminded him of when he, Stella, and Shirley were living in the village together. They would talk at a spot like the one he was sitting at now. He yawned. He didn't realize how tired he still was. He closed his eyes and laid his back against the tree. No noises were heard except for the running of water. Before he knew it, he was asleep. Only a short time after falling asleep, there was a noise. Senel opened his eyes and looked around. It was dark, not because it was late, but because of the cloud cover.
Looks like it's going to rain; better get back to Chloe's house.
But before he got up, he heard a familiar voice.
"Where are you going?"
Senel turned and groaned. It was that kid in the purple clothes again.
"What is it to you?"
"Well, I'm afraid I can't let you go anywhere." Senel became much more alert. It was hard since he had just woken up, but he tried his best.
"And why is that?"
"I can't tell you… good night. You idiot."
Before Senel could react, the kid was right up in front of him with something in his hand. He lifted it up and threw it down on Senel. Senel tried to block, but his drowsiness made him slow. Before he could do much else he was knocked unconscious.
--
While Chloe was making her way back to her house, she saw that all the militia men were on the street heading towards the plaza. They all looked dazed, staring around with big observing eyes as if they just got here from far away. When she got to her house no one was home.
Where's Coolidge? He must be out training or something…
It was dark inside the house even with the lights on. All the cloud cover outside seemed to suck up all of the light. She sighed.
Not much to do… seems like we're getting nothing done. I hope that Raynard's statement might help bring the men out of their depression.
The door opened behind her and she turned. To her surprise it wasn't Coolidge, but some kid in purple clothes. Chloe reached for her sword.
"What do you want?"
What the hell? Why didn't he knock?
"Hello." He said in a creepy, optimistic voice.
He started to walk into the house, looking around with a little grin on his face. Chloe pulled out her sword.
"Don't come any closer!"
He continued to walk in anyway, right to where Coolidge's bed was. When he got there he looked down and a look of distaste fell on his face.
"What do you want?"
"What do I want…?"
"Are you drunk or something?"
"No. But Miss Valens, I don't think it's about what I want. It's about what you want."
Chloe staggered back.
How the hell did he know my name!?! And what does he mean "what I want?"
"Ah, I have startled you, my apologies."
"Just tell me whatever it is, and get out!"
"Alright, alright; this is about a Mr. Senel Coolidge."
"What about him?"
"He seems to have disappeared."
--
Rouland looked out into the crowd. The men looked dazed and discontent, not how the men were supposed to look. Will was taking longer then he said he would, and Rouland was getting worried that if he didn't come soon they would leave or worse.
"Where's Will at?" Someone called from the crowd.
"I don't know. He should be here soon though…"
"He better get his ass over here soon, or I'm leaving!"
"What did you just say? Show some respect for the general!" Rouland couldn't believe the disrespect of the solider.
"Shut up! You can't make us do anything!"
Rouland was glaring around to see who were making these comments. He spotted a pair of men mumbling to one another in the middle of the crowd.
"You two talking! Yes, you two in the middle, come up here!"
The two men made their way to Rouland with surprised faces.
"You think you can talk any way you want?"
"Ah… no Rouland, no we can't."
"Then why were you talking disrespectfully to me and about the general?"
"We weren't!"
"Don't give that crap! I saw you two talking"
"We were talking about the guys who were making the comments…"
"What!?!"
"It's not them you idiot! Hey Earls, Langston! Did ya listen to how that bastard was talking to ya? You shouldn't have to take that! after all, he is the same rank as us!"
Rouland felt that he was being pushed into a corner.
Why are they acting this way? Is it from the booze? Yeah, that's probably it. Too drunk to know what they are talking about.
Earls and Langston looked at him with malice.
"Yeah, we only talk respectfully to Will."
"What? You mean that pompous self appointed leader of ours? All he does is stay in his house and take care of some bitch, while we stand outside and guard in all weather?" A new voice said this somewhere further back in the crowd.
The crowd began to now act as one entity. Swaying from side to side with rage. Rouland began to step back away from the crowd. Now it began to talk in one universal tone of hate.
"Bring Will here now! We want to change some things!"
"Bring out the bitch! Let's see how she treated! Probably better than us!" All these things were said by the militia men.
Then the crowd began to move. But to Rouland's horror, it was no longer a crowd, but a mob. Only a few soldiers were left standing there. As Rouland started to rush forward to try and stop the mob, a rock was thrown at him. It hit him on his cheek. He touched his cheek and found that it was bleeding profusely. When he turned to see who had thrown it another one hit him, and then another, and then another. Soon a barrage of rocks was being thrown at him from every which way. All Rouland could do was lie down, cover his head, and hope that the throwing of rocks would soon stop.
Where's Will? Why didn't he come? What's going to happen to me?
His body was being turn to ribbons as the rocks hit him. Blood was pouring from all over his body. And what was worse is that the rocks were still being thrown at him. As rocks being thrown at him Rouland realized something horrific.
These rocks. They're hitting me perfectly every time… There's no way a drunk could do this… that means… They know exactly what they are doing…
--
Will was on his way to the plaza. He knew he was a little late, but he sent Rouland ahead, so it should be alright. As he locked his door he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Chloe standing in front of him. She was panting and some sweat was running down her brow.
"Well you needed to come here in a hurry didn't you Chloe. Well, what is it?"
"It's Coolidge!"
"Uh… Look Chloe, Senel is my friend too, but I have to be somewhere right now. And I'm sure whatever it is he has gotten himself into he can get out of."
"But I think this could be serious!"
Will saw that Chloe had a look of fear in her eyes; he sighed. He was going to be really late.
"Okay, okay, you can tell me on the way to the plaza."
She told him everything. About how Senel was gone when she got back and about some mysterious kid telling her that Senel wasn't in the city, or worse. When she was done talking Will stopped and looked at her. He knew that the less amount of time it would take to calm Chloe down, the faster he could get to the plaza.
"Chloe, you don't know if what that kid was saying was true or not. He could be trying to trick you."
"No, no, I searched everywhere for him, but I can't find him! What if he tries to commit suicide again! I can't let that happen… can't let that happen…"
"Listen Chloe, you and I have been helping Senel get over his loss, and from what I could tell he does not seemed depressed anymore."
Before Chloe could respond, the two heard yelling. They turned to see a large mob of militia men was starting towards them.
"There he is!"
"Who's that bitch with him?"
"It's that knight girl, or whatever she calls herself."
Will stepped in front of Chloe.
"What is it that you want?"
There were multiple responses from the mob until only one could be heard.
"We don't like the way you are governing."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, we want you out!"
"Really? And who is going to replace me?"
"That would be me."
The people in the mob moved to let their new leader up front. When Will saw who he was, his jaw dropped.
"Mr. Ravin!" Will couldn't believe that the owner of the debtor's house was their new chosen leader.
"That's right, I am now their leader."
Will still couldn't believe it.
"Why the hell would they pick someone like you over me?"
"Well you see… these hard working men are tired of just sitting around all day. Instead they want to take revenge on the Radiant for killing their fellows. Something of which you do not allow."
"It's not that I don't want them to attack. It's just that we need more information before we commence one."
"Excuses! We all know that you're harboring one of them! I bet you're trying to negotiate a treaty with them. You would let the Radiant take all of our land and drive us of the Legacy. While you get some of our land with them."
Will could not believe what he had just heard.
"You have no evidence at all to prove that!"
"Well your past tells different."
"What past!?!"
"About how on the main land you murdered your wife and got all the money that was left to her by her father!"
That was too much for Will to take. He used his eres to cast Lightning on Mr. Ravin. He then started towards him, but Chloe came up behind Ravin and tried her best to restrain him. After he had recovered Mr. Ravin pointed to Will and shouted.
"You see how he reacts when his past deeds are brought up! Come, follow me, but leave them! We will deal with them when we come back from our triumphant victory over the Radiant!"
The mob turned and started towards the storage area for their weapons, then towards the draw bridge.
"Ravin you son of a bitch!" Chloe was still restraining him. His pull was getting stronger so she had to kick his legs from underneath him to stop him from getting any further.
"Lies! What he said about my wife was a lie!"
"I know Raynard, I know."
He got up and sighed. He looked over at the mob to see them slowly making their way outside.
There goes most of our forces.
"They'll all die, Raynard…"
"Yes… but, they choose to die…"
They made their way to the plaza were they found that not all of the militia men had abounded Will. As they made their way around the plaza Will noticed a lump on the ground with rocks around it. When Will made his way over to it he stepped back in surprise and in disgust. For the lump on the ground was Rouland's body. Blood was all over him; pieces of his skin that were sliced from the rocks were now dangling from his body.
"W-what happened to him?"
A sudden rush of sadness fell over Will. He could no longer bear to see Rouland like this and walked towards the remaining militia men and asked what had happened. They told him that while Rouland's attention was focused on the mob, a few militia men crept up behind him and started throwing rocks at him. Soon other people joined in. When Mr. Ravin came and asked why they were throwing rocks at him, they told him that Rouland would try and stop their attack on the Radiant. After hearing that, Mr. Ravin let it continue. Will didn't know what to do now. He felt sad that Rouland had to die like that. He walked over to a bench and sat down.
Chloe walked over to him and said. "Raynard, what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know…."
"Well I hope you don't get too sad about what happened to Rouland. I don't want you to try to commit suicide like Senel."
"Don't worry, I'm not about to go end my life."
Silence ensued and they both just stood there thinking. Chloe about Senel and Will about what to do. Suddenly Will stood up.
"I know what I'm going to do."
"What's that?"
"I'm going to lead my remaining men after them."
"Raynard, I know you want to get back at them for what they have done, but we are severely outnumbered and out resourced."
"I'm not planning on fighting, just the opposite. I'm going to aid them."
"Why?"
"Because they are still my men and it is my responsibility to help them whenever I can."
With that he marched off. When he got to the group of the remaining men he told them that they were to leave immediately. He then told Chloe to look after Raine. Chloe refused on the account that she wanted to fight, and there was a chance that Senel could be there. But after some persuading, he was finally able to get her to stay. When he was done talking to her, all of his men were ready. Then they departed towards what Will believed to be the Great Hollow.
--
Will's forces consisted of six guards, four archers, eight swords men, seven eres users including himself, and one of the survivors of the original team that was sent to the track the Radiant. They had been out for two hours, what was strange to Will was that they had not seen any monsters the whole time they were traveling. When they got to the entrance of the massive gorge everyone was stunned, including Will.
This must be the Great Hollow.
They could already see the remnants of the battle. Two dead Radiant bodies were lying in front of a platform. Smoke could be seen coming up from the bottom. Will went over to the entrance and stopped.
How are we going to get down there?
He heard the groans of men down at the bottom. This took him aback, and as he stepped back he noticed that his finger tips were glowing.
I wonder…
"All men with the ability to use eres come over here next to me."
When they were all there their finger tips glowed as well.
Just as I thought.
But before he could issue any more orders the platform they were on started to move.
Will looked to see that they were ascending into the Great Hallow.
"Keep your wits about you! Be prepared for anything!"
When they reached the bottom the only thing that greeted them were the dead bodies of the militia men and Radiant. After seeing that there was going to be no opposition, he told three of the eres users to bring the others down and the other three to follow him. They made their way past the dead bodies that dangled off of the weirdly shaped walk way. They kept walking until they came to an elevator, which brought them down to another weirdly shaped walkway. This one had more bodies on it, and they were forced to step on them to get to another elevator. This time it led to the bottom of the Great Hollow. At this level Will could only see one or two militiamen bodies.
Barely made it this far. Still, it appears that they wiped out most of the Radiant, so at least they didn't die in vain.
They found the body of Mr. Ravin draped over a dock that was on an underground lake. The front part of his face was smashed in, and there was blood seeping out of it. His blood was slowly falling into the lake, making the water around the dock turn red. There was a small uninhabited house along with an alcove that had bones of monsters in it. Will would have loved to look at them more closely if it had not been for a discovery of a hole found in the wall. Smoke was pouring from it, and they had to wait an hour before they could go in. What they found was the makeshift cells used by the Radiant to hold their prisoners. The prisoners were either dead or unconscious from the smoke. They found that the Radiant had burned their supplies; apparently they didn't want to leave anything for them. They took the unconscious out and waited for them to recover. While waiting, Will felt something on his arm. He looked to find blood on it. He then looked up to find that more was coming down.
The blood from the corpses up there is running off and falling down here… as if it is raining blood…
There was one prisoner that caught Will's attention. She had on a yellow top and skirt that were very dirty. Her hair was tangled and she looked depressed.
I thought that only militiamen and caravan men were trapped in here. She doesn't look like either of them.
He made his way over to her and said. "What is your name?"
She looked up at him and didn't say anything for a moment, but then said. "Norma…Norma Beatty."
Well that was a frickn' long chapter. I hoped you liked it. I'm now working on chapter 5, so it should be here soon! I'm going to change the rating of this story to M after I update next.
By the way, Raine has a real mental condition. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And also, opiate is a narcotic that is very addictive.