Chapter Seven
"Guess what, Shinon? I made a new friend!" Ike bounces excitedly over to the long-haired archer.
"Oh, you did?" Shinon asks, walking back towards the house.
"Yeah! He was really skinny and had long black hair and was kind of shy, but I gave him my lunch and he said he'd come back tomorrow!" Ike grins. "I still don't know what his name is, but-" "You gave him your lunch? What do you think you're going to eat now?" Shinon asks. "I'm not making you another sandwich." Seeing Ike's mouth start to open, Shinon interrupts, "And I'm not buying you a blueberry tart either."
"Aw, Shinon!" Ike whines. "But it's really good and-"
"You'll have to whine to your mother and see if she buys you one," Shinon says. "I'm not going to get in trouble for buying you sweets for lunch."
Ike pouts for a while, but then continues to chatter about his new friend while Shinon half-listens. Most of the time Ike's "new friends" are imaginary anyway. However, this new friend sounds sort of interesting - perhaps because Ike found him almost the same way Greil found Shinon. Small, alone, starving…Shinon wonders if perhaps he should go investigate later to see if he can find the boy. Greil probably wouldn't mind taking in another one.
As they approach the house, Ike tugs on Shinon's shirt, "Hey, Shinon! Can I go play on the swings over there? I promise I won't go anywhere else!"
Shinon glances down into Ike's pleading eyes, then over at the wooden swings hanging from a large oak tree. It's within sight of the house and Ike's never been in any danger so far. Shinon nods, tells him "But only for a few minutes, okay?", then watches as Ike dashes over to the swings. Laughter rings out as Ike pushes himself on the wooden swing. Warmth circles around in Shinon's stomach momentarily, but is quickly replaced with a sour feeling. He wishes he could have had a carefree childhood like that. His father never allowed him to play on the swings - and even if he had, the neighborhood kids would have destroyed his fun anyway.
"Shinon!" a voice calls out.
Shinon breaks out of his thoughts and turns around to see Elena standing in the doorway. Her normally-gentle face seems highly concerned about something. Shinon frowns. The worry lines on Elena's forehead just don't look right.
"Shinon, can you help me look for the medallion?" Elena asks. "I must have misplaced it somewhere. It's still in its wrapping, I'm sure of it, but…I have no idea where I must have set it down. I don't remember getting it out of its drawer, but it's not there now. I might have placed it somewhere absent-mindedly, I've been so busy."
Shinon nods, giving one last glance at Ike before disappearing into the house with Elena. The medallion is not just a family heirloom - it's something much, much bigger. Shinon isn't sure that he'll completely understand. He's only seen it out of its wrapping once or twice. He reached for it one time and Elena smacked his hand away, commanding him never to touch it. She'd said that if anyone besides her handled it, it could literally make them go insane. Normally Shinon's curiosity would have given him cause to ignore Elena's plea, but she'd felt so strongly about it that Shinon has obeyed without question.
"I've checked every room, but it's always best to double-check," Elena mumbles, peering behind each and every obstacle in the kitchen area. "If you find it out of its wrapping, please don't touch it, Shinon."
Shinon glances into corners and edges, realizing that this is a rather big deal, even though Elena's trying not to make it sound so. If someone has stolen the medallion, any number of things can happen. What sorts of things could people do while insane? How many people could they hurt?
Shinon peers into a bedroom he hasn't checked - the one belonging to Ike and his little sister Mist, who is now four years old. It astounds Shinon just how fast time has flown. It's been nine years since Greil first adopted him. The nineteen-year-old Shinon now is certainly not the same scrawny ten-year-old kid Greil first met.
"Hey, Mist," Shinon says, kneeling down next to Mist, who is playing quietly by herself. "Have you seen a medallion around here?"
"What's a medareeyon?" Mist asks, her large innocent eyes gazing into Shinon's.
"It's sort of like a necklace," Shinon tries to explain in terms a four-year-old would understand. "It's round and it looks really pretty, almost like gold."
Mist's eyes brighten in recognition and immediately dashes across the room to bring Shinon her "medallion" - a simple round wooden block with a string tied around it to make it a necklace. Shinon laughs to himself, says, "It looks sort of different than this, but okay," then freezes.
Something's not right. Something's happening outside.
The villagers are screaming.
Shinon hadn't noticed it before. How long has there been a panic? The shouts sound terrified. Slowly Shinon steps out of Mist's room, wondering if perhaps a riot is occurring - there have been a couple in his time here. He walks around the corner, finding Elena peering out the window. Apparently she's heard the commotion as well.
"Oh, goddess," Elena's voice comes out small and faint, and Shinon just now notices her face is completely white. "Oh, goddess! Gawain! Stop!"
Her body knocking Shinon out of the way, Elena dashes at alarming speed out of the house. Immediately Shinon's heart begins to pound. Elena hardly gets frantic about anything. What could Greil possibly be doing? Shinon glances out the window and nearly collapses at the scene.
Elena is rushing straight towards Greil, who has turned into a complete madman. In one hand he holds a sword. In his other hand he clutches none other than the medallion. Shinon's stomach violently twists as he watches his loving, caring father figure swinging his sword ferociously at other villagers, landing direct hits on several of them. Several bodies have already littered the streets, with widows wailing over them, gazing in terror at the murderer.
And now Elena is trying to grab the medallion from his hand.
"What's going on?" Mist's tiny voice speaks. A wave of nausea slams into Shinon as he turns around and sees Mist's curious face peering up at him.
"Mist, get back into that bedroom and you stay there," Shinon barks, grabbing Mist immediately and nearly shoving her back into her room. "You stay there until I come back to get you, you understand? Stay there!"
Mist's face twists up in confusion and hurt at Shinon's harsh tone, but Shinon doesn't have time to explain to her. He slams her door, prays that she will obey his orders, and runs for the front door. Surely Greil will listen to reason. Surely the voice of his wife and his son will bring back a little sanity, enough to make him stop killing. Shinon still cannot believe it's really his father ruthlessly taking so many lives.
He watches from the front doorway in horror as Greil throws his wife away like an old rag doll, not even watching as she slams into the ground. Elena gets back up and continues to run after Greil as he slays more innocent people. Shinon cannot imagine her bravery.
"Father?" a small voice squeaks.
Shinon glances at the street, his heart leaping into his throat when he sees Ike standing there, watching his father. Shinon starts to call for him, then gasps in horror as Greil's head turns to look at his young son. His eyes are cold and show no signs of mercy. Greil takes three large steps towards his boy. Shinon knows that Ike will not run from his father, and that his father will not spare Ike's life if he reaches him.
Dashing out into the street, Shinon slams into Ike's body, scooping him up and charging away from Greil. He hears his angry roars, feels the wind of the blade slicing toward him. Greil is attempting to kill the child he once saved. Shinon's legs feel like they're made of lead as he tries with all his might to get away. If Shinon gets cut down, Ike is certainly next.
"Greil, stop it! Give that to me!" Elena's voice shrieks. Shinon hears a scuffle. Reluctantly he turns around, then slows to a halt as he sees Elena and Greil struggling for the medallion. Elena almost has it…almost….
In one second, one traumatizing second, all the breath is taken from Shinon's body. He feels as if his spirit has left his body and is now watching from another place, another time. Just as Elena finally takes the medallion from Greil's hand, the sword plunges through her chest, slicing through to the other side of her thin body.
Elena's face displays shock more than anything, and to Shinon's surprise, Greil's face displays the same. Elena gasps for air, then forces a painful smile.
"I will always love you, Gawain," she breathes before falling to the ground, never to rise again.
Greil, only seconds after the death of his wife, loses consciousness as well. Shinon doesn't know what to do, what to think, even what to feel. Is Elena really dead? What about Greil? Did everything really just happen? Did that killing spree really happen? Surely it must be a dream…
Looking down, Shinon sees Ike still in his arms. He'd forgotten all about him. Elena's death had only taken a few seconds, but it felt like long hours of eternity to Shinon. Something registers in his brain that Ike has also seen the whole event. Shinon doesn't know what that means. Does Ike really know what happened? What is Shinon supposed to do about it?
"General Gawain!" a deep voice gasps. Shinon glances to his right and sees a couple of men running towards Greil and Elena's bodies. One of the men is very large, very strong, with short hair and a nice face. The other is taller, thinner, and has very long black hair, even longer than Shinon's. The second man's eyes gaze at Greil for a moment, then glance over at Shinon. He gives an expression that is not easily understood.
Shinon, not knowing what to believe, drops Ike and dashes back into the house.
Hey, guys, this is AllHailMario's sister, a.k.a. author of the story. Here's another chapter, just because I feel so guilty about not updating sooner. So busy! I've also been working on another story, which will be posted shortly!