A/N-thank god,i finally finished my essay's as well as my bio test,unfortunately I still have another test within a month and a research paper to do now,Q.Q anyways here's another chapter,I'm going to "try"to get another chapter done before I get serious again in college,as always read and review.
It was late at night when Tabitha heard a voice calling out. Tabitha was to tired to find where the sound came from. Her mind was taking a toll as she kept thinking about the consequences of not finding joesaya in time before he escaped the country. She was also worrying about the safety of her mother,her uncle would not hesitate to kill her mother,but he needed a valid excuse to kill her. With her eyes closing again,she heard a male voice call out in a rash manner.
"please...no...don't die"Zaro's mumbled in his sleep. It was evident to Tabitha that his familiar was having a nightmare. Having no choice,she got up and tried shaking Zaro's awake until he final got up.
"are you ok?you were having a nightmare"Tabitha said grudgingly,as she tried to suppress a yawn even though she failed.
"Tabitha..."Zaro's hesitated before he touched all over her throat,trying to feel a cut or scar mark.
"hey..."Tabitha stated as she grabbed Zaro's hand and glared at him. "don't touch what doesn't belong"
"I'm...I'm so sorry,can you please forgive me"he stuttered as he couldn't help but let the tears slide down. Guiltily,Tabitha forgave him as she didn't like the feeling of making others cry. To Zaro's though,he wasn't crying because of the scolding Tabitha gave,instead he was crying because Tabitha was alive...and all the horrible things the men did,did not occurred. In Zaro's mind,he made it a top priority to kill anyone who threaten to harm Tabitha. Deep down,Zaro's knew he was inevitable going to be a murderer. The archives that vintage times held in his library proved that after 15 years,the arcanist of darkness had a desire for power grew to immense proportions as the time went along,to the point that they would murder every Arcanist if they didn't stop him.
"it's ok,just don't do it again..."Tabitha said as she never got touched by the opposite sex. "right,right,lets just go to sleep then,sorry for waking you up."Zaro's said as he finally regained his composure,soon enough he finally fell asleep.
Tabitha didn't know what made him have a nightmare,but guessing from what he said earlier in his nightmare,it seemed like someone important to Zaro's died. She knew from experience that nightmares involving death or events like her mothers,were hard to distinguish from reality. Pulling on the blankets,she felt goosebumps as the coldness got in. "just what exactly were you dreaming about..."she thought as she tried to get some sleep,she would have to ask him tomorrow morning...
Mean while in outskirts of the town,a old man was stalking the shadows of the dark alleys or the corners of the markets. He kept looking behind him for anyone following,he was paranoid as he knew his former king would want him dead,he had valuable information to give to the supposed "ally"of Galia, which would be a key advantage for Albion should the other nation withdraw or worse betray them.
"dam it!i don't have much time!"The man hissed,soon a cold breeze came by which made him tighten his grip on his clothes. The night in the port city was quiet warm compared to the freezing countryside. However because he was in a port city instead of a regular city,the freezing winds from the ships wind stones made it harsh to live outside a reliable heat source. The man suddenly coughed,as the cold wind stabbed his lungs and made it hard to breath. After two minutes of coughing ,he saw bright tints of red in his hand.
"shit...i don't have much time"the man said worridly,he was about to go to a nearby market to get some warmth.
"Joesaya I presume..."A rough voice called out from the sides of the alley.
"speak your name boy!"Joesaya said as he immediately pulled out his wand and pointed it at the shadow where he felt the person was hiding.
"Now,now. Would you kill the person who happens to be your only escort to Albion,hmm?"
"EN PENUMBRA DE AQUEL..."Joesaya chanted as he started controlling the magic in his body to the enemy.
"All right,all right. My names is Jean-Jacques De Francis Wardes"Wardes stated unpleasantly as he presented himself to the elder Mage. Joesaya let out a deep sigh as he canceled his spell right before he hurt the (man).Joesaya was glad he found Wardes,but he shivered again as the magic he was about to use robbed some heat from his body.
"I know your cold. So here."Wardes got his jacket off and threw it to Joesaya.
"come with me to the hotel,i know you're trying to escape your pursuers and considering you spent a week in the countryside,you'll need it."However what Wardes heard next was a deep thud as the old man fainted,probably from exhaustion.
"Jeez,why would Oliver Cromwell even want a general like him?"Wardes complained as he carried the old man on his back to the hotel.
"we'll,at least he'll be useful to us as a bargaining chip."when Wardes arrived to the hotel hallway,Louise stood in shock as she saw her fiance helping a dirty old commoner,The cloths the person was wearing was stained with filth,dirt,but mainly...blood.
"Wardes!what are you doing,you could be accused of killing a commoner!"Louise whispered with discontent at Wardes. Although it was pretty commonly known that the nobles were mistreating the commoners with cruelty,corruption,or just simply the dominant behavior. It was against the law in tristain,for a noble to kill a commoner without a justified reason(duels,criminal acts,in defense).Any noble who committed this crime would face execution or worse,be ridden of their title as nobles.
"oh Louise,you have a gentle heart. Fear not,I was helping him out when a bunch of rogues came and beat him senseless,nearly to the point of death"Wardes lied as he set the man on the wooden floorboards. "anyways,i bought this man a room as an act of kindness until he regains his strength."
"we should probably get a water mage then..."Louise was about to leave the room when Wardes stopped her.
"It's ok,besides there could be a chance that the man could retaliate ,he suffered not only physically,but also mentally. It's best to let time take it's course"Wardes tried to reassure Louise.
"fine..."Louise hesitated looking at the injured man who was breathing normally,before she went to her enough,the old man moaned as he got up,and noticed that he wasn't in the cold outside alleys anymore.
"Rest up,tomorrow I'm heading to Albion to meet the last hier of the royal family of Albion."Wardes explained to joesaya as he finally shook off his sleep.
"so what?I'm going to go with you then?"Joesaya asked
"I'm afraid not,I can't risk not going on this mission. Besides it'll look suspicious if my fiance see you going with us. So your going to go on a ship to see Cromwell,you'll be leaving at 5:00, earlier than us when we leave at 8:00."Joesaya just nodded,he was just glad that he was free from the bitter cold,it would have been easier if he was a fire mage,unfortunately he could never really control fire well.
"If you'll need me it'll be in room 165"Wardes stated.
Before Joesaya could ask where he was going to sleep,Wardes threw a room labeled key at him,Joesaya went around the hotel to look for his room and finally get a decent night of sleep...
By morning,Zaro's insisted on being together with Tabitha rather than splitting up the area to search. To Tabitha,this hindrance would mean they would only search half the area they intended to look for Joesaya Or they have to take twice as long to search the entire city. She didn't even get an explanation of why Zaro's was crying yesterday or about the nightmare he had. Zaro's kept insisting that it was best that she didn't know. In the end,Tabitha had to accept that response but was adamant of splitting up.
In the end,Tabitha had to explain that her mother's life was depending on the death of Joesaya. If she failed,and Joesaya successful escaped to Albion,she could not stop his uncle from killing her mother.
"I'm just worried about you"Zaro's stated as he knew nothing he could do would change her mind.
"honestly,your treating me like a child who can't defend themselves. I've took rigorous tasks besides this,i can take care of myself"Tabitha said with sincerity to Zaro's.
"just promise me you'll be aware of your surroundings and..."Zaro's paused as he got his dagger out of his pocket and gave it to Tabitha. "If your in any danger,use my dagger and try to get some blood on it."Zaro's said as he wrapped her fingers around the handle. Tabitha sighed,if this was the only way to get him to search,then she would agree to it. Tabitha stored the pitch black dagger in her skirt pocket,along with her wand.
Zaro's went looking for any signs of Joesaya,whether it be looking for the hair color of people to see if it's grey or looking into peoples eyes to see the red eye's of the target. It was so ironic though that he was looking for him,considering that the color of the rainbow was all over peoples hair or eyes. Yet Zaro's couldn't find the old man. Tired,Zaro's decided to enter a random shop to see if he could at least have fun while searching.
"Greetings!My,my,you seem to be an adventurous type of person,and with every adventure you'll need a sword!"The shopkeeper said with a grin as he finally had a customer rather than a window shopper.
"sure I don't mind buying something,actually did you see a old man with red eyes?"Zaro's said as he picked a sword with jagged edges and swinging it.
"hmm,I think I seen him"the shopkeeper said,as he recalled someone walking into the shop with a short pinked hair,he knew the old person had grey hair,but he couldn't remember if he had red eyes or not.
"Really did he say or see where he was going"Zaro's exclaimed as he stabbed the sword back into the barrel,this was the first time someone said they saw him.
"I might remember better if you buy something"the man grinned as he could easily make a profit,considering how desperately this man wanted this information.
"Hey!That's not fair!I could easily tell you where they went for free."a voice called out in the background.
"huh?"Zaro's thought as he looked behind to see nothing but the swords,shields,and crossbows.
"Shut up Derflinger!You're always doing this to my potential customers,guah!"
"Hah!Don't me make laugh,You haven't even sold anything for the past two month"
"Why would anyone person in their right mind even create you!"
While all this was happening,Zaro's felt like the shopkeeper was arguing to a ghost or to himself. After 10 minutes of arguing,the shopkeeper got fed up,as he slammed his palms on the cashier desk.
"listen here kid,it'll tell you all about the past customers if you agree to take the stupid sword"The man said as he left the counter and pulled out a rusty sword.
"Hey,Hey!Easy pal"The sword said as the scabbard went up and down. This surprised Zaro's as he didn't know that swords could be enchanted to move,let alone speak. "Is that sword talking?!"Zaro's said in amaze as he grabbed the sword off the shopkeeper. After agreeing to take over the sword,the manager explained that the client was traveling with a young teenage girl,most likely a noble considering her magic cape,with pink hair and eyes. They said they were trying to find a person called Joesaya .However after that,they left to go find him.
After leaving the shop,Zaro's was getting worried. It seemed the person that Shopkeeper saw wasn't Joesaya,however the fact that they were looking for Joesaya was a huge problem,Could they be his accomplice? After walking for 10 minutes thinking about it,he nearly forgot that he was carrying a enchanted sword apparently called Derflinger.
"Hey Derflinger,what's the matter?"The sword remained quite as Zaro's waited for a response.
"You don't need to be quiet,I'm not going to treat you like that shopkeeper"he said,remembering the cruel things the man said he would do to the sword if Zaro's didn't take a short while the sword replied with a tone that sounded like pity.
"ho...how long will you live with this darkness?"
"Darkness?what darkness?"Zaro's repiled with a broken laugh,in the inside though he was wondering how the hell the sword know about his darkness spells or worse,his Lich self.
"I sensed the history of your past by soul linkage the moment you touched me. I saw that you nearly killed your only trusted friend the day you met him. Had it not been for the other arcanists he would have surely died..."
Zaro's paused as he heard what the sword just said.
"After that day,you always held this guilt. Asking for him to kill you or at the very least to never forgive you on that ,that was the first and only time you transformed into-"
"Shut Up!Shut Up!shut Up!"Zaro's said as he held the sword high and stabbed into the ground multiple times.
"Why couldn't he be like others,Why couldn't he despise me like the others!"Zaro's screamed in agony as he recalled the buried memory.
"I always tried to be hated,rather than to be loved and forgiven. All my life,my parents hated me,The orphans who were just like me hated me,the Arcanists hated me. I can handle the pain,but why is it so hard for me to accept forgiveness..."Zaro's ranted as memories showed his "archenemy"Gordon angels accepted the pain of death with no malice,instead he nearly used up his final energy on healing the wounds of Zaro's with a smile. Had it not been for Arcane Thomas stopping Zaro's,Gordon would have surely died.
"It's simply,Your familiar is draining your spirit force"the sword stated emotionally,
"what..."Zaro's looked at the sword stunned,as he never heard about this.
"when I reached your soul,i met with your familiar. It seems that rather than relying on physical energy like robbing your bodies life force and making you die early,That raven is resting inside as he robs your spirit. If it continues on like this,your soul will ceast to exist once it finally eats your spirit .When you die,you'll never go to phloem(heaven) or eke(hell).The reason why you still even have a soul was because the fights you had with your colleagues involved you robbing their souls in the process."the sword said as he knew that the news would make the boy go insane,however he had the right to now as his new master.
Zaro's stood motionlessly as he received the news. However,he would not remain that way for long as a the shadows of the alley was swirling and twisting. Soon a black raven with green eyes appeared before Zaro's as the bird stood still like a lifeless statue.
"Well,you have a lot of guts to come here after what I told Zaro's"the sword stated seriously. However Derflinger didn't have a chance to state his entire opinion as the sword was pulled off the ground.
"really!you're going to run away after I told you that?"the sword said in anger as he was being dragged against the wind. To Zaro's though,there was only one way that his familiar would be summoned,And that was when his blood was filled with Adrenalin...and there was blood on the shadow dagger. It wasn't a surprise that Zaro's would be pumped up after hearing what Derflinger said,but to get his blood on the shadow dagger was also the 2nd requirement to summon his dark raven familiar. That meant Tabitha was in danger,and he had to get to Tabitha in time before something bad happened,he Shadow dashed across the streets and air,even though he knew that fragments of his soul would be eaten by his familiar...
okay,bad news. I can't update again as I have to finish my research paper,as well as prepare for finals. QQ. However,here's the good news,i can update as much as I can during the Christmas break!anyways enough talking,read and review,enjoy or hate it.