This chapter seems short to me...hopefully you won't be disappointed, however!
Darkness sprang to fiery light, filling the air with the tang of destruction. There was an explosion nearby that rattled the pebbles on the ground with a whining, cringe worthy sound.
"Bringing peace of chaos, and binding the lost threads of fate.…"
The air was thick with dust, making breathing difficult and painful while the sheer darkness of the void around her felt confining and sickening.
"Find us!"
Cuore woke with a startled gasp.
"Another nightmare…"
They were becoming more and more unsettling and realistic, and she found herself unable to remember the words after she woke up.
"Find us…" those she did remember, but she didn't know who was speaking, or where to even start to look for them.
With a groan she flopped back down and rubbed her fingers across her eyes, wishing she could just sneak out of the city without saying any goodbyes.
"I want to go home, I want to spend time with my family and I want to forget about all of this."
She climbed out of bed reluctantly and wandered over to the vanity in her room, dropping down on the stool in front of it.
She stared at her reflection for a moment, taking in all the lines of her face, her skin's color, her eyes, and her hair.
Her features twisted to a scowl and she picked up her comb, starting to work it through the stubborn strands of teal hair.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
"Yes?"
Cuore watched using the mirror as her door opened and Izayoi glanced around looking for her before entering and closing the door behind her.
Cuore sighed, "Uh oh…"
"Excuse me?" Izayoi asked, rising an eyebrow.
"If you're here, that can only mean one thing." Cuore clarified.
"Which is?"
The teen raked the comb through a tangle and winced, "That I'm in trouble."
Izayoi shook her head and walked over in a few graceful steps, "Actually, it's just because your parents are…occupied."
Cuore raised an eyebrow, staring up at the older woman using the mirror.
"They are speaking with Cecil and Rosa."
She groaned and dropped her gaze, "Great, there will be fussing…"
"You know the rulers of Baron care about you,"
"Which is why there will be fussing." she complained, "Rosa will be all…I don't know, overly motherly, and Cecil will be all overly worried and Ceodore, well, he'll try to make good because he's friends with Kieran and I and it will come out with a stupid 'are you okay'?"
Izayoi gave her a look and, chastised, she looked down again, still trying to make some sense out of her hair.
"I'm sorry. I'm crabby this morning."
"I noticed."
Cuore sighed and started on another section, catching her reflection before looking away sharply.
The action wasn't missed.
"Something Kieran said bothered you." the woman observed calmly.
Her movements stilled and her blue eyes stared at the countertop in front of her.
"…Yes."
There was a long moment of silence and then she shook herself and began again with her comb with renewed vigor.
"I always thought that I had done a good job of adapting to life here. I had tried, so hard, to learn all that I could, to watch and copy and be like everyone else just so I could be normal, just so people would look at me and see a person, not a Maenad. And, I thought I had a done a good job. I thought I had changed, grown, made myself ordinary. I did such a good job of convincing myself of this that…maybe I just wasn't seeing that no one else could see past what I was."
She closed her eyes, "What a beautiful lie I told myself."
"Cuore, no one sees you as anything but what you are." Izayoi replied, leaning against the vanity's edge so the girl had too look at her, "You were never meant to be ordinary, I'm afraid. You were meant for something more, that much is obvious."
Cuore looked up, wishing she could believe that so easily.
The woman shrugged, "We will help you get through this."
Her hand stopped the motion of brushing again, "Really? Like last time?"
There was no reply and the tension had been building for so long boiled over, causing Cuore to glare at herself in the mirror.
"Help me? Send me away? That would be easier, wouldn't it? Kieran would certainly be happy."
"I didn't mean it that way and you know it." Izayoi scolded, frowning, "We will help you."
Cuore tore the comb through her hair angrily, "You sound like mom."
"Is that a bad thing?"
The comb slammed onto the table in front of her, "Yes! Because they sent you here to talk to me, to calm me down. Why couldn't they be here? Why couldn't-" she stopped herself, realizing that she was being outrageous.
And, with everything that had happened mixed with her now pounding head, she lost it and began to cry.
She heard Izayoi sigh as she squeezed her eyes closed, "I'm sorry, I…"
She wasn't sure what she wanted to say and ended up merely exclaiming; "I just want to go home!"
Gentle hands stroked her hair and lifted it off her back; she heard the brush leave the surface in front of her and felt a tug on the last snare.
"I know."
Cuore sobbed quietly, feeling guiltier then anything.
"I'm not mad at them," she whispered, mostly to convince herself.
Izayoi continued to work on her hair, "You are. You should tell them."
"…But, what if they…" she trailed off, staring at her hands in her lap as teardrops plopped on them.
"Get mad? Upset? Cuore, they need to know how hurt you are." the older woman explained, "They missed you, you know. Rydia cried after you left, so did Leo. Edge, well, he was in bad mood for a few days to I know he missed you too."
Izayoi pulled her now unraveled hair over her shoulder and knelt all in one motion, lifting the girl's chin so she had to look at her.
"I missed you too."
Cuore bit her lip, and the dark haired woman sighed, shaking her head, "We all tell ourselves beautiful lies. We all…try to be something we're not."
She sniffed and her friend flicked a tear off her chin, "I'm no good at sympathy. That alone is a reason for you to tell your mother."
She had to smile at that, and Izayoi stood, walking back behind her, letting her hand rest on her shoulder as she went.
Cuore looked up, catching her reflection again and then noticing how the other woman stopped to look at her.
"Kieran's a jerk." she added.
That made the teen laughed through her tears as she nodded, "He is."
Izayoi gave her one last pat on the shoulder and then started for the door, "I'll wait for you outside. We all want to go home, so let's go."
The door closed, leaving the room in silence again, and her eyes searched her reflection for a moment, before she looked away.
"Maenad," she whispered bitterly.
The thought of telling her parents how upset she was to have been sent away was too stressful. She couldn't imagine how they would react. Anger? Sorrow? Disappointment? None of the options were good, but she couldn't deny how much it hurt.
"They didn't want to send me away, I know that…" she thought to herself, looking down, "There wasn't a choice."
A fresh wave of tears blurred her vision, "What if there's no choice this time, too?"
Would she spend another four years in the Feymarch? Would she return, then, and have yet another ability manifest?
She groaned and rested her forehead against her arms, on the counter in front of her. Something cold was against her cheek so she lifted her head and saw the red jewel her brother had given her.
A sad smile crossed her lips and she traced the outline with her fingertip.
Her family meant everything to her, and she wanted nothing more then for everything to just be alright.
Cuore quickly brushed away her tears and hastily tied her hair back before tying the choker in place and then getting dressed.
She gathered her things and exited the room, nodding to Izayoi as she closed the door.
They started down the corridor and Cuore chewed her lip in anxiety until Izayoi spoke up, "That is a terrible habit. Edge used to do that whenever he was trying not to tell someone off."
The girl grinned a little, "I do it when I'm worried."
"That, you get from your mother."
She smiled and watched the floor tiles as they passed underneath her feet, counting her steps out of habit.
"Cuore!"
She turned and saw Ceodore leaning out through a doorway to call to her.
"Round one…" she thought, faking a smile.
He walked over and there was a strange mixture relief and worry across his face.
She stared at him and he fidgeted before speaking, "Um…last night…I mean…are you okay?"
Cuore heard a muffled sound behind her that she assumed was Izayoi trying not to laugh.
"Told you so."
To his face, she nodded, "Yes, I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
She forced a grin, "If I say no, what are you going to do?"
He stared at her, and her grinned widened, making him sigh, "Your well enough to be sarcastic, I'm going to take that as a good sign."
She nodded and Ceodore hesitated before glancing up the hallway and back, "I don't know where Ursula is, but I'm sure she'll want to say goodbye to you, too."
Cuore averted her gaze, "I don't know if I have time to find her. If not, will you tell her for me?"
He looked worried again, but merely nodded slowly, "Sure."
She smiled at him and then moved past, wanting to get away before the conversation threatened to become anything but superficial.
They continued their walk in silence, and Cuore fiddled with the red stone dangling off her choker, trying not to cry again. Her emotions were out of control, and she had no idea how to calm them.
They entered the airship hanger and she cringed at the amount of people within. People that would undoubtedly want to ask her how she was, and fuss and be more then a little annoying.
Speaking of annoyed, Edge was standing on the ramp of one of the airships looking put out.
Izayoi sighed upon seeing it, and walked over, leading Cuore to follow suite.
"See, if I had my own airship, we could be gone already." he mentioned. She noticed Leo wasn't around and then she noticed neither was her mother.
"Where's mom?"
He tilted his head to the left and she glanced over, seeing the summoner talking animatedly to someone, Leo at her side, looking puzzled.
"What-"
"She's telling Kain off, I think." her father explained.
Cuore groaned and buried her face in her hands, embarrassed.
"Yes, she opted to talk to him because she was worried I would be too angry." Edge explained, rolling his eyes and looking slightly amused.
Izayoi frowned, "So I see."
"Cuore!"
The teen wondered how many people could possible call her name today.
She glanced down the ramp and her eyes widened, "Save me."
Izayoi gave her a shove and she had little choice but to talk to Rosa.
"Round two…"
The white mage stroked her hair back, "Are you alright? Did you get enough sleep?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" she wondered but forced a smile, "I'm okay, really."
Rosa's expression was pained, "Listen, if you need anything, you know you can ask me, right?"
"…Thanks." she said, thinking inwardly, "Can you turn Kieran into a toad? And leave him that way?"
"Alright," the queen said, smiling at her sweetly, "Cecil couldn't come down here but he was worried about you, too."
"Round three…"
Cuore nodded, "I know, and thank you, really…"
She lowered her gaze, "I'm…sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to cause such an upheaval at the party. That was not my intention."
Rosa smiled at her, and this time, it didn't seem quite so patronizing, "That's quite alright. We expect something whenever we invite your family."
She glanced at Edge, who looked insulted, "Hey! I was really good last night."
The white mage rolled her eyes.
Rydia walked over, features unreadable, she glanced at Rosa and they stared at each for a second. Cuore felt like she had missed some unspoken conversation and bit her lip, ignoring Izayoi's comment about the bad habit.
Leo looked around, "So, are we leaving or what?"
His innocent comment melted any tension in the air and everyone broke up in much better moods with much well wishes.
Cuore, however, scurried aboard the ship and hung to the middle, trying to stay out of sight as much as she could.
As the propellers were started, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and noticed Kieran glaring at her from one of the staircases leading to the upper portions of the hanger.
She glared right back.
"Jerk."
It had been a week since they had returned home, and Cuore felt both a mixture of relief to be home, and a growing sense of dread. The strange dreams she'd been having since her return from the Feymarch hadn't gone away, and every night they repeated the same phrases over and over to her, begging her to find them and reciting a strange set of lines that she felt she should know.
Not only that, but she'd had a few more telepathic incidences, though nothing as dramatic as the one that occurred in Baron.
These were mild cases of gentle whispers in the back of her mind, and one case of hearing her brother's thoughts on a dinner he didn't like.
Over all, Cuore tried to ignore them.
She also had tried to avoid talking about the topics with her parents, though they had both brought it up in gentle ways.
Cuore walked from the library back towards her room, open book in one hand as she went. She'd read the book before, but was having trouble remembering all the details. Besides, when she was reading, her mind was occupied with something other then her own problems.
She stepped off a staircase and did a set of spinning steps to avoid running into her father who was trying to go up the staircase.
"Hi," she greeted distractedly, engrossed in her book.
He looked surprised, "Cuore, what are you doing?"
"Multi-tasking," she replied, glancing up ever so briefly from the pages in front of her, "What are you doing?"
Edge grinned, "Trying to avoid going to a council meeting, but you didn't hear that from me."
Cuore chuckled and started walking again, heading back to her room. She happened to notice that her father hesitated and then caught up to her, falling into step next to her although he said nothing for a few minutes.
In fact, he said nothing as they passed through an entire corridor and then up another set of stairs.
Finally Cuore stopped, slamming her book shut, and fixed him with a look, "Yes?"
"What?" Edge asked, doing a poor job of trying to look innocent.
She sighed, "Dad, you're following me. What is it?"
He frowned, and it took another few seconds before he spoke up.
"Cuore, you are you alright?"
She blinked and looked away, which prompted him to continue, "You've been acting strangely quiet since we got back."
"I'm fine," she insisted, fidgeting with the book in her looked unconvinced, "Your mother noticed-"
"Then she can talk to me," Cuore snapped, glaring at him. "She doesn't need to send you or Izayoi to come talk to me."
"It's not just Rydia who's noticed something," he replied, his voice sounding as tense as hers, "I have too, and Leo, and the Eblan Four…"
Cuore averted her gaze as her father continued, "Something is going on, and if it's about what happened at Baron, you shouldn't worry about it."
Cuore remained silent, not willing to admit she wasn't herself lately. The constant headaches and anxiety over her problematic abilities were making her irritable.
Her silence must have lasted longer then she thought because her father sighed and set a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention.
"Cuore," he said, shaking his head a little, "I get not wanting to talk to people, trust me, I do, but…sometimes you have too. Whatever it is, you can tell us. You know that, right?"
Deep down she did, but something held her back. Cuore dropped her eyes again, the annoying buzzing starting to echo inside her ears once more.
She hugged the book to her chest and forced herself to look up, even as she decided against telling him anything.
"I…know that. And…I have been a little strange lately, I know. But I'm alright." she explained, chewing her lip.
Edge sighed, a hint of disappointment in his voice, probably because he knew she wasn't being completely truthful.
"Alright," he finally conceded, voice quiet.
Cuore backed up a few steps and forced a small smile before going onward, leaving him alone in the hallway.
She felt badly for snapping at her father when he was obviously concerned over her well being, but she had a fear that if she shared her pain of being sent away that they would react badly. She didn't want to ruin the delicate relationship they had.
She had a good amount of fear, as well, that if she shared her unstable power problems with them they would likewise respond poorly. She didn't want to go away again, to loose so much time of her life, to become even more alien than she already was.
"I can deal with this myself," she thought to herself as she climbed the final staircase to her bedroom, "I can learn to control this power. I can suppress it…I have too."
In answer to her resolve, a splitting headache came on suddenly, leading her to gasp and drop the book she'd been carrying as she collapsed, catching herself before completely falling into the stairs.
"Find us!"
She flinched from the shout, pressing a hand to her face with a groan, wishing she could feel relief if only for a moment.
"Whoever you are, I don't even know where to look!" she hissed under her breath, "I can't find you!"
The pain slowly subsided and Cuore breathed deeply, relishing the reprieve before she staggered to her feet and leaned against the wall, eyes shut tightly.
The episodes were getting worse.
Cuore felt herself falling until she slammed to a halt on uneven ground, although everything around her was dark and stifling, sparking a fear she hadn't felt since back on the moon, back where she was created. When she had first awoken without warning, when her creation pod had been mysteriously damaged and her growth interrupted, when she had been utterly alone.
Cuore tried to clamp down on that fear and took a deep breath, although the air was thin and she choked a little.
A hand enclosed around her wrist and a wheezing voice whispered into her ear, "One unlike the others, find us!"
Cuore gasped and tried to pull herself free, only to have another hand compress her shoulder, holding her in place, as a smoother voice whispered, "Last of her kind, find us!"
A third voice, this one sounding more feminine although more sadistic, spoke from in front of her, "She of destined design, find us!"
Cuore's already panicked and frazzled mind shuddered with fear and she yanked herself free of the hands, stumbling back away from the voices, even if she couldn't see the speakers.
"Leave me alone!" she cried, although her voice sounded far more quiet then she thought it would.
Two hands rested on her shoulders from behind, and even as she jumped from the touch, it wasn't as demanding as the others had been.
A fourth voice spoke up, "Caller of those undying, find us!"
Cuore pulled away from the final person and then spun around in a circle, trying to get a look at whoever was speaking, even if she knew it was futile.
"Find us!"
She screamed and clutched her head, "Leave me alone!"
"Find us!" they shouted again.
Cuore sank to her knees, fingers digging her into scalp, "Please, just leave me alone! It's too much!"
The world around her burst to light and she felt herself falling again, slamming once more onto the ground, although this time she wasn't blind.
Cuore's rapid pulse slowly clamed as she realized she was in her own room, although it took time for her eyes to adjust to the light.
"Cuore!"
She looked up at the sound even as her mother rested her hands on either side of the face, kneeling beside her where she had fallen to the floor, tangled in her blankets.
"M-mom?" she asked, breathing hitching as she spoke.
Rydia's face was tense with worry, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"
For reasons she couldn't explain, tears blurred her vision leading Cuore to throw her arms around her mother and cling to her the same way she had done when she was a little girl and was haunted by memories of the Maenad's legacy.
Rydia gasped in surprise at the sudden hug, but she readily returned it, hands stroking her daughter's back.
Cuore squeezed her eyes shut, trying to still her nerves and pushing the dream as far back into the recesses of her mind as she could.
Someone rested their hand against hers, safety locked behind her mother's neck. Cuore lifted her head and saw her father's expression matched her mother's; worried.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
Cuore shivered and buried her face into her mother's neck, "N-no, I'm not alright at all."
"Leo was concerned when he couldn't wake you up. So he came to get us," Edge explained, shifting on the ground so that he was beside them both rather then behind.
"He said you were talking in your sleep," Rydia added, still rubbing her back, "What happened?"
Cuore sniffed, trying to stop the flow of tears, "I had…a nightmare."
"Memories?" her mother asked, pulling back enough so that she could see her face.
Cuore shook her head, releasing her mother and using her arm to dry her tears, "No, not a memory, just…a nightmare. I-I couldn't wake up, no matter how much I tried."
Her parents exchanged a glance and she lowered her gaze, "I'm sorry to have pulled you away from your duties…"
"Don't be," Rydia said softly, giving her daughter's hands a squeeze.
Edge shook his head, "This is more important then any of that. Leo couldn't wake you up, this wasn't a normal nightmare."
Cuore swallowed, "What else could it be?"
Rydia frowned and whispered, "Magic, although unlike any I've seen or heard of…perhaps something else?"
Cuore shivered again, wondering if she should tell them about the other dreams. It did her no good to hide them and so she spoke up, hesitantly. "This isn't the first dream I've had recently. None of them were like this, but they were…similar."
Edge sighed, "I wish we had answers,"
Cuore attempted a smile, "It's okay."
Her mother brushed back some of her hair, "I'll research magical causes for this, but…I'm not sure that's what it is. It could be…something else."
Cuore didn't need her telepathy at that moment to know what the woman was getting at and she bit her lip, "You mean…because I'm a Maenad?"
"We simply don't know what you might be capable of," Rydia explained, expression pained.
Her father frowned, "Whatever is happening, we'll figure it out. For now, what do you need?"
Cuore smiled a little, "Nothing, I just…" she looked away and tightened her hands around the edge of her blankets.
Without her speaking, both her parents gave her another hug, for which she was grateful, and then they left her to get more rest, if she desired it.
Instead, she lay on her back, staring at her ceiling and trying to decipher the meanings of these dreams.
"Who are you? And why do you want me to find you?"
Over the next three days, both of her parents researched possibly causes for her nightmares, although Cuore had a feeling neither of them would discover anything of use. She knew, somehow, that this was no magical spell, no attack from someone, no danger, even.
It was obviously a cry for help. But who was asking? And where did she find them?
She had no answers for her questions, and so she tried to ignore the headaches and continue with her life, although some days it was hard to do so.
Leo, despite obviously being worried about her, treated her no differently since any of this had started. She found herself spending more time with him then anyone else.
Besides, he made her laugh.
"So then," he said, grinning as he recounted his story of attempting to sneak out of Baron's party, "I walk right by this guard, 'cause he's looking straight ahead and I'm short, and he doesn't even notice!"
Cuore giggled, kicking her feet back in forth in the air, resting her chin on her hands. It was a beautiful day outside, and thus she had snagged her brother's attention right after he got out of classes so they could spend the afternoon outside.
They were lying on their stomachs in the grassy area of the gardens.
"Then what happened?" she prompted.
Leo's grin widened, "Then, I hide in this curtain covering one of the really tall windows and I wait to make sure there's no one around, and that Pamela isn't following me."
Cuore still felt sorry for him, having to deal with Pamela.
"I got all the way to the main hall!" he announced proudly.
She raised an eyebrow, "So when did Kain catch you?"
Her brother pouted, "Right after I got to the main hall. I think he was actually following me."
Cuore giggled, and Leo glared at her, "Don't laugh! He's sneaky,"
"I know! But, I am impressed with how far you got."
Leo smiled smugly and picked at some grass in front of him, "Next time, I'll make it for sure."
"I have no doubt." Cuore said, smiling at him.
She rolled onto her back and covered her eyes with arm, blocking out the sun as she let her mind wander for a moment before her brother's voice brought her back.
"Sissy?"
"Yes, little brother?"
He seemed to hesitate and then spoke in a rush, "I heard what Kieran said to you, at the party."
Cuore swallowed uneasily and rolled back onto her stomach so she could see him. His expression was miserable, and he hesitated again, still picking at the grass, before he continued.
"I just…I wanted to tell you that he's wrong. You're not heartless, or soulless, you're…the nicest sister anyone could want and I…" Leo averted his gaze, cheeks reddening with embarrassment, "Well, I-I just wanted to tell you that he's an idiot, and that I don't see that way at all, and even though I don't know what imitation means, Kieran's wrong about that, too."
His innocently considerate words melted most of Cuore's unease and brought tears to her eyes as a smile slowly crossed her lips. She shifted to her knees and spoke up, hoping to draw his attention as he was staring at the ground, looking timid.
"Leo, that's…the nicest thing anyone has said to me since I got back."
He looked up and she smiled at him, crawling the few paces over so she could sit next to him as he sat up.
"Thank you, little brother. I…needed to hear that." she admitted, blinking a few times to try and keep the tears back.
Leo looked uncertain, "Why are you crying then, sissy?"
She laughed and brushed off her eyes, "Because, I really did need to hear it, and I'm crying because I'm happy."
Leo smiled, "Oh, good, 'cause I wanted you to be happy."
Cuore reached out and wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and whispering one more, "Thank you,"
He returned her embrace, mumbling, "Your welcome."
They stayed that way for a few seconds before Cuore released him, sitting back on her heels and sparing him one last smile, which in turn made him grin at her in a lopsided fashion.
She fell back onto the grass and announced, "Little brother, let's stay out here."
Leo followed suit, "Sounds good!"
Cuore sighed, content. Her good mood would undoubtedly last only a short time, but until the unknown voices started to bother her again, she was going to enjoy her life.
A piercing cold startled her awake and she opened her eyes to a gust of wind. Cuore gasped and lifted an arm to shield her face.
It was then she noticed that both her blades were in her hands and that, instead of her bedroom, she had somehow ended up outside.
"What in the…" she whispered, looking around.
The last thing she remembered was dozing off in her bed, staring out her window at the full moon outside.
The waist high grasses around her were almost pushed flat by the wind, proving she was outside, but just as suddenly as it had started, the gale died down, leaving her in silence.
She shivered, freezing in the cold with only her nightgown on.
"Find us…"
Her eyes widened, "Did you bring me out here?"
This went beyond nightmares and voices now, unless of course she was dreaming at this very moment.
Turning around she saw the castle silhouetted against a bright moon, completely still in the dark of night.
"Find us…"
"Why should I?" she snapped, whipping her head to look around for the source of the voice so hard her braid smacked her in the cheek.
"I don't even know who you are! It's the middle of the night, and I've somehow sleep walked my way out of the castle!"
Cuore waited for the reply, fingers loosely gripping the handle of her swords.
"Find us…"
She scowled and slowly walked forward, brushing through the grasses, "Fine, if it will make you shut up. But I warn you, I am in no mood for games nor am I frightened. If you turn out to be a danger, I will cut you down."
It seemed like a poorly thought out plan to proceed with the voice's instructions, but she was tried of having to listen to them, tired of the constant feeling that something was wrong. Perhaps by facing the source, she could finally be free of the torment.
After a few minutes of wading through the grass, she stopped and sighed, "I can't find you if I don't know where you are,"
"Find us, follow my voice."
She blinked and stood still, letting herself calm down enough to focus on the whisperings. It wasn't so much the voice that called to her, but something deeper, something more subtle and buried within her very being.
The voice had a hint of magic to it, and it was through that scent that Cuore began to walk onward, changing directions towards the mountains.
After another few minutes, she spoke out loud again, taking to cutting down the long stocks in her way.
"If you lead me all the way to Tower of Babil, I'm going home."
"Find us…"
She sighed, "I'm trying too,"
"Find us…"
"Us? How many of…whatever you are am I looking for, anyway?"
"…Four."
She stopped and smirked, "Ah, so you can say something else. Well, then, what do you look like? A hint would be helpful."
"Find us…"
Cuore sighed and shook her head, wondering what she was expecting from the disembodied voice.
She took to distracting herself from her current location by marveling at what fine blades her parents had gotten her, but that only led her back through a cycle of logic that returned her to her unfortunate reality.
"Stop."
She did so and looked around; feeling the area vibrate slightly with what was close to a song, but just out of her range of hearing. She supposed that anyone else wouldn't even feel the difference in the air, but with her heightened senses, it was easy to spot.
"I don't see you," she remarked, shifting her weight and bracing against a foul gust of wind.
"Below."
Cuore indulged the voice and looked at her feet, commenting sarcastically, "I see dirt."
"Lower."
"…More dirt?"
"Lower." the voice insisted, starting to sound the slightest bit annoyed by her.
She knew what the strange voice wanted from her but she wasn't pleased by the request. Digging around in the dirt wearing nothing but her nightgown in the middle of a wind storm was not her idea of fun.
Still, she felt compelled to do what the voice asked of her and she knelt down to scrape the first layer of moist dirt away, mumbling to herself as she went.
Less then a foot later she encountered a plate of metal and she knocked on it, hearing a solid sound echo back to her.
"Well?"
"We are below."
Cuore stood up, glaring at the ground, "That's a piece of metal that's anchored to the ground, what do you want me to do about it?"
"So it is. A fragment from the battle machine brought here many years ago."
Her eyes narrowed, "Wait, the Giant of Babil?"
"Yes."
"And you're below this piece of metal?"
"Yes."
Cuore hesitated and glanced at the katana in her right hand, knowing she could destroy the plate if she wanted too, but did she really want too?
"Find us…"
She sighed and gripped her weapon, weighing her options. The urge to be free of this annoyance in her life compelled her to find the source of the voice, despite what danger she might encounter.
With a deep breath, Cuore took taking stance and swung her tungsten carbide katana.
There was a squeal of metal on metal as the sword sliced a thin line through the plate embedded in the ground.
Cuore knelt down and pried the fissure open fully, yanking one side out of the ground and tossing it aside.
She winced as light spilled forth from the opening, blinding her for a spilt second.
Inside a metal cocoon, four differently colored shards of crystals were nestled.
All four were ragged in shape, about half the size of her palm and perfectly clean. They glowed with powerful magical auras; one green, one blue, one yellow and one red.
Cuore blinked and set aside her katana, entranced by the gems.
She stroked the red crystal carefully, surprised that it felt warm under her fingers.
"What are you?" she asked at a whisper.
In all her time on this world, and for all her knowledge, she had never seen or felt anything quite like them.
At first, there was no answer to her question, but then four different voices whispered softly in the background making her gasp, surprised by their presence.
The voice that had guided her spoke, "We're Eidolons."
Author's Note: Now, the fun begins! We're getting into the story now, all the drama and adventure can soon start!
As a note, I am not happy with this chapter, but I'm not really sure what I want to do to fix it to make it better...it just bothers me, but adding anything else seems pointless and I can't take anything away. Hopefully no one is disappointed with it, despite how choppy it is, and how critical of my own work I am.
Before anyone thinks to themselves that people seemed 'out of character' in this, please remember that Cuore is a teenager, and this story is from he POV, therefore, she would...preceive them differently and, in most cases, more dramatic.
I have an important piece of the next chapter written, and I'm hoping to finish it up and get it out to you before the end of the month, but we'll see. Until next time everyone!
