Chapter 9: Lazulis Castle: Ballroom
Zael's POV
Lady Calista's engagement was to be celebrated with an extravagant ball. Nobles and aristocrats gathered from all over, not wishing to miss such an occasion.
I watched the ball for the first hour or so with enthusiasm, practically bouncing from excitement. Skip ahead a few hours to the present, however, and I was bored out of my mind. I stretched and yawned, trying to do something, anything, to keep from falling asleep. Dagran walked over, a disapproving look on his face.
"Zael!" he scolded in a whisper. "We're on duty. Shut your mouth!"
"But there's almost nothing to do!" I answered back without a thought. Dagran gave me a flat stare.
"Well, you'd better get used to it. This might not be a one-off." I tilted my head slightly in confusion. "If we play our card right, we'll be attending these events regularly." I shook my head skeptically.
"Come on, do you really believe that?" I asked him. He sighed and relaxed slightly, allowing himself to lean slightly on the wall behind us.
"Just pay attention," he emphasized. "You don't want to embarrass yourself when the time comes." He paused when a maid came our way. She walked by us without giving us a glance, as if we were part of the wall. Once she had left, Dagran continued. "If we can impress people now, then becoming knights might not be a fantasy." My mind started to wander and I looked past Dagran. "Please, Zael. This is important."
"Huh?" I said, focusing on him again. Dagran sighed, before catching sight of something. He hit my arm lightly.
"Hey take a look." He pointed to a man sitting in the center of the three thrones at the front of the room. He wore an eyepatch across his left eye and had blonde hair. He was currently wearing what I assumed to be an expensive black suit with a gold decorative trim. His left arm was all metal, as was his left leg below the knee. Both metal pieces were colored similarly to the suit. Next to the throne was an intricately designed walking cane. Standing beside him was another man. "That's our boss. Count Arganan." I blinked in surprise. For some reason, I thought the Count would look….. nicer, for lack of a better term. Not as heartless as this man appeared to be.
"He was the previous count's younger brother," Dagran continued. "Had no title of his own. But the previous count suddenly died some years ago. His daughter, Calista, should have succeeded him. But, she's a woman, and at the time, she was just a child. So that was when our boss stepped in to be the head of the family. That said, it's not all due to luck. He's got cunning and guile too. In only a few years, he's expanded his family's power and influence significantly. And that man sitting next to him is Lord Jirall. Heir to the house of Duke Rambalt."
I gazed at the other man. He was about Dagran's height, maybe a bit shorter. He also had his blonde hair tied in a loose ponytail, although his hair was more of a dull, beige blonde, rather than the bright blonde of our current… boss. He was wearing a cream colored coat with a brownish-red inside and trim, or at least, that how it looked to me in the heavily red decorated room. He wore a matching suit beneath the jacket and even his shoes matched with the outfit.
"He's the man Lady Calista is going to marry. The House of Rambalt is famous for having imperial blood in its lineage. But it's a House on the decline. Lord Jirall's marriage to the daughter of a mere count can only be a play for power. They can see that the House of Arganan is on the rise." I felt anger rise within me. What kind of scum would marry a person just for power? You should love someone before you marry them.
"Lords and ladies! Presenting Lady Calista!" one of the knights announced. I didn't pay the comment much thought.
"Oh, wow, look at her!" a noblewoman told her husband. I gazed at the door to see Lady Calista. When she entered the ballroom however, my stomach dropped.
Long, pale hair, almost white in color. Bright blue eyes that seemed almost bored with the world and everything about it, while still holding a slight desire to challenge both it and its beliefs. An extremely light complexion that contrasted sharply with the midnight ballgown with detached sleeves she was wearing.
She could be Lisa's twin,I thought, amazed, before realizing that this probably was Lisa. I looked at her again and noticed that Jirall had walked up to Lady Calista and had taken out a deep yet vivid blue rose while I wasn't paying attention.
"Calista," he said, "your beauty knows no bounds! Look at this rose. So lovely. Yet compared to you, it is but a weed!" He turned to face her, and I caught him mouth 'Now, walk with me," into her ear. A few of the nearby noblewomen took out their fans and started fanning themselves to calm down. I rolled my eyes. Lady Calista took Jirall's arm, closing her eyes in annoyance. When the couple passed our way, Dagran blinked.
"Zael, look!" he whispered. "Isn't that…?" He paused for a second. I cut in, taking a step forward unconsciously.
"No doubt. It's Lisa!" I said. My heart joined my stomach in whatever pit it had landed in. I had known that Lisa was a noble, so the chance of me ever seeing her again was slim, but I hadn't expected her to be getting married.
"Bet that's a shock," Dagran murmured.
"It's like," I sighed, "she's a completely different person!"
"Zael, nobles are out of our league," Dagran said flatly, yet with a hint of sympathy. "All the more so with the Count's niece!" I saw him come to where I had moved to out of the corner of my eye. In a hushed voice, he added, "Try to forget what happened last night. For both your sakes!" I stared at Calista, she was slouched slightly in her throne, her head down and hands on her chest. I gazed away and sighed, staring at any other part of the ball except where she was. Dagran suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. "Look! There's something wrong with Lady Calista!" he whispered to me. I watched as she got up and started to walk towards the exits onto the balcony, inching closer to the thrones.
"Where are you going, my muse?" I barely heard Jirall say over the noise of the party.
"I must apologize, Lord Jirall, I feel somewhat woozy," Calista said in response. I froze on the spot. Any doubt that I had had about Lady Calista not being Lisa was erased in that instance. That voice….. its calm and gentle tone….. its foreign yet familiar accent… it had to belong to Lisa.
"Wait! I…" Jirall's statement shook me from my thoughts. When a few nobles came within hearing range, Jirall changed his sentence. He laughed and said, "Such a delicate flower! No doubt nervous. It is her first time at such a magnificent ball, you see." I felt my hopes rise. Maybe Dagran was right about us never being able to be together, but still, I had to talk to her one last time. I walked towards the balcony, stumbling slightly over all of the feelings currently swirling around inside of me.
"Oi! You! Get back to your post!" a knight ordered, running in front of me.
"Let me pass," I said, "I need to go outside."
"What are you yapping on about? Get back to your post!" Even though I couldn't see his face from inside of his visor, I could feel his glare.
"Oh boy…." Dagran muttered tiredly, coming up from behind me. "Hey, he said he needed to go outside, didn't he? There was a change in the roster, weren't you paying attention?"
"I have heard nothing of the sort," the knight answered.
"That's odd. Look come with me and we'll go sort this out."
"I cannot leave my position unguarded!"
"Well said." Dagran turned to me. "Zael, new orders. Guard this spot until we get back." I nodded. The knight looked skeptical of leaving me to be the guard, but he still went with Dagran. I breathed a sigh of relief and, once they were gone, walked outside. I instantly saw Calista, leaning against the balcony with the same sad expression as before. I quietly approached until I was standing a few feet away from her. I rested my hands on my belt.
"Lisa…" I said. I had tried to make my voice sound serious, but to my own ears I sounded like a child who had had a bad dream and had gone to his mother for comfort. "S-sorry," I stuttered, scratching the side of my head, "I mean, Lady Calista, right?" Lisa finally looked at me, a ghost of a smile on her face.
"Zael!" she whispered. "Why are you here?" The smile that had settled on my face when I had seen her again faded.
"Yeah, my fault for not mentioning it earlier. Wait, where I my manners?" My eyes slid to my dirty, black boots, tilting my face down with it. "My services have been contracted by the Count." I mentally scolded how pathetic I looked and forced myself to look her straight in the eye. "As a hired guard, milady," I finished, the formality slipping off of my tongue with only the slightest bit of awkwardness. Lis-Calista, put her hand to her mouth.
"You're a mercenary?" She shook her head sadly. "Then it seems we were both hiding something. I suppose we're even," she said with a small yet sad laugh. "And please, don't talk to me in such a formal way."
"But, milady—"
"It's OK. Nobody's listening." Calista started to grin as she said it. She rested a hand on her waist. "You have my special permission," she said in the same matter as she had scolded the guards. Her posture was even the same. The one main difference was, this time she chuckled at the end. I smirked.
"I am truly grateful for your kind words, milady!" I teased, bowing. And I didn't perform a small bow. No, I did the most respectful type of bow, even going as far as to bend a knee and cross my legs while holding a hand against my back. I looked up her. Calista was trying to keep a straight face. I laughed a bit, standing back up straight. I stepped towards her. "But, seriously, you're the Count's niece?! I gotta say, I was surprised. But that does explain a bit about last night."
"Was I that strange?" she asked as I leaned against the railing. I could see her rocking slightly, her head cocked to the side a bit, out of the corner of my eye.
"No. I just thought a smelly ogre had disguised himself as a human."
"What do you mean, 'himself'?!" she exclaimed with fake offense. She also leaned against the railing. I laughed, and for that fleeting moment I was back on Stargazer's Tower, telling her about my dreams while staring at the millions of tiny lights in the sky.
"Say, Calista. Are you OK?" I asked, toning down the lighthearted mood. "You looked like you were gonna cry." Li-Calista sighed. A single tear ran down her cheek as she told me her story, about how her uncle was forcing her to marry Jirall.
"What?" I asked after she had finished. "If you don't want to get married, you should just refuse the offer!"
"But my uncle would never allow it," Calista said instantly, voice choked slightly. "He aims to put Jirall in a position of power within the Empire, then use his influence from behind the scenes. And he's willing to do absolutely anything to achieve that goal, anything. When my father passed away, my uncle inherited his title and land. This place changed a lot after that. All who opposed my uncle disappeared. Issues which were discussed openly started to be resolved in secret, behind closed doors." Calista shoved herself away from the bansiter. "People started dying under mysterious circumstances. Sometimes I even wonder about my own father's sudden passing. But if I oppose my uncle, I dread to think what will happen to everyone. I don't have a choice." She sounded on the verge of tears.
"But, Calista, surely you can't be…" I couldn't finish my statement.
"Of course I'm not happy with it! How could I be? They watch me even when I sleep. It's impossible to get a single moment's peace. Then I wake up the next morning and hear that someone's died. Just another victim of my uncle's ambitions, no doubt. I feel so weak and powerless." She turned to face me, and as she walked towards me, she did the second most outgoing thing I had seen. She took her arms off of her chest and used them to emphasize her next sentence. "Like I have to put up with it until I die." She buried her face in her hands. "I don't know what I should do…" She started to cry and after a moment of thought, I reached out a hand to comfort her.
"Lord Jirall," someone shouted before I could, however, "over here!"
"Ah! Here is my muse!" Jirall's sickeningly sweet voice said. I lowered my hand and turned around. My gaze focused on his figure and it was all I could do to keep from glaring at him. A small part of me (probably the part where that obnoxious voice lived) wanted to attack him, to teach him a lesson for making Calista cry, but the larger part of me knew what the consequences were and kept this small part at bay. "An opera without the leading lady makes for a rather poor show, do you not think? Are you trying to embarrass me, my kitten?" I bit my tongue hard enough that I could taste the coppery liquid called blood in my mouth to keep from lashing out verbally.
"No," she said quickly. "I'm sorry. It's just—" Jirall cut her off, shoving me to the side and nearly over the edge.
"Yes, yes, never mind. Now, come with me!" He yanked her roughly and I just couldn't stand there and watch him hurt her! Ignoring the blood in my mouth, I said,
"Lord Jirall, please wait!" Jirall stopped, glaring at me with icy daggers. In that glare, I could see the lust and possessiveness that truly made up his character and it sickened me.
"Just who are you? A mercenary?" he spat out, saying 'mercenary' with the same tone as Therius did. I took a breath.
"My lord, Lady Calista has informed me that she isn't feeling well. Please let her rest for a while."
"I'll do no such thing. She is my betrothed. What I do with her is my buisness. Stand aside!" I ignored him and didn't even bother to choose my words carefully.
"If she's your fiancée, shouldn't you treat her a bit better than that?" I nearly shouted, emphasizing my statement with my hands. In all of the towns I had been to, most married men at least considered their wife's feelings and emotions before making decisions. This…. possessiveness was both new and disgusting to me.
"Zael!" Calista whispered.
"What did you say?" Jirall asked me, grinning in a way that did not mean he was happy. "Just what are your intentions towards Calista, you cur? It seems you were enjoying your private little chat."
"Lord Jirall, please stop!" a tear-choked, Calista begged. I struggled to finds words to say while debating the question. "That's not how it was at all!"
"Why do you defend such a lowly wretch?" He looked at her. "Oh, I see. Calista, how could you let yourself be seduced by this commoner?"
"No! You're mistaken!" Jirall went to draw his sword and Calista attempted to stop him. He easily shoved her away and pointed it at me. I didn't even bother to flinch.
"I will not tolerate you openly wooing my betrothed!" he growled. "Draw your sword, you filthy dog." I kept my hands at my sides, not allowing myself to fall for the temptation. If I drew my blade, then Jirall would have the excuse he needed to lock me away. "What's wrong? Are you scared? You craven cur!"
"What?" I asked stiffening at a very familiar sound. "Just now, I heard screams!" I looked away. I could hear something coming—
"What are babbling about? Face me you worm!"
"Quiet!" I snapped, finally fed up with him. I placed the source and raced to the edge of the balcony just as a dragon shaped airship flew overhead.
"It's the Gurak!" Calista exclaimed.
"What? That's impossible!" Jirall said, laughing nervously. "This is Lazulis Castle! Wh-why are the Gurak here?!" Another ship flew towards us, way too low for comfort.
"No, look out!" I shouted. Instinct kicked in, and I shoved Lisa to the ground beneath me to protect her from the debris suddenly flying towards us. Jirall fell to the ground
"No! What's that?!" I stood back up and pulled Lisa gently to her feet as three Gurak fighters flipped out the ships. Literally flipped. Finally, I took out my blade.
"Lord Jirall, I'll hold them off here! You take Lady Calista somewhere safe!" I ordered.
"S-someone please! S-save me!" Jirall ran away in a similar matter to how Zoran had tried to escape after we had surprised him, leaving Calista behind.
"Calista! Stand back!" I shouted when she approached. Surprised, she ran to the edge of the balcony. I glared at the Gurak fighters. One of them attacked, and I blocked the blade. I saw another ship fly by. "There's so many of them!" I commented, slashing at the leg of a Gurak who was trying to attack Calista. I crashed into it with my shoulder and it went over the edge to its doom in the courtyard below.
"Zael, what do we do?" Calista asked, moving behind me as another one tried to swipe at her with a dagger. I grinned in what would probably count as a sadistic way at this comment.
"Well," I said, parrying another blow. "I am a mercenary after all. It's my job to—" I took a quick break from my sentence to stab one of them through what I assumed to be the gut. It didn't do anything, thanks to thick armor covering the area."—fight them off."
"Then I shall fight too!" Calista declared.
"Are you out of your mind?" I asked, my annoyance activating the light. I barely noticed. "This is a real battle! You could die if you're not careful!" I flipped over a blade swinging my way and landed on the Gurak's shoulders, knocking it to the ground beneath me. I cut it in the place where most species' jugulars were.
"I can use magic, you know." I froze for a second in shock. The remaining Gurak attacked my arm with his club in this moment. Crack. I shook my head, bit my tongue, and jumped away from the pool of brown blood forming around the fallen Gurak. I was not going to swear in front of a lady. "Plus this is my home! I can't just stand by and watch the Gurak destroy it!" I let my broken arm fall limp, swapping my sword to my other hand. I quickly maneuvered around behind the Gurak, using its larger size as my advantage. I smacked its neck with the flat part of my blade, before sending over the edge with a kick.
"OK," I said, sighing. "Just don't try anything stupid. You got that?" I touched my arm and winced; how hard had I been hit?
"Are you OK, Zael?" Calista asked, coming over. "Here, I'll see to your wounds." I stood still as she cast a spell, a white light bubbling up from around us.
"Thanks," I said. A familiar sensation filled me as my busted arm started to, well, un-bust itself. "Is this the same magic that Mirania uses?" I wondered aloud.
"When it comes to using magic, no one can rival the House of Arganan."
"Really? But…!" The sphere of light surrounding her hand vanished, as did the spell around us.
"The Gurak haven't attacked us in decades! Why now?!" I bent my arm and moved it in a circle. Unsurprisingly, it was completely fixed.
"Calista, it's dangerous here. Find somewhere to hide." I turned to walk away, only to hear the sound of fabric ripping. I spun around.
"I'm going to fight too!" Calista announced. I stared at her. On the ground by her feet was the bottom half of her dress, as well as all of the jewelry she had been wearing minus the small locket around her neck.
"What?!" I asked.
"I told you. My magic use is without peer." I sighed; there was no stopping her when she got an idea in mind, was there?
"OK. Just take care."
"Right." She nodded. I heard the clank of swords behind us and kicked down the doors that Jirall had shut. Inside, it was obvious to see Asthar and Therius, along with a few other knights, fighting a small mob of Gurak.
"General Asthar! Sir Therius!" Asthar led his two opponents over towards us.
"Lady Calista," he said, "I am relieved you are well!"
"I think it would be more prudent to worry about the Gurak right now!" Calista commented. I dodged a blow from a Gurak, counter attacking with a strike that ended up guarded. Asthar laughed, taking down one his foes with a single, clean hit.
"You hear that, Therius? We cannot lose this battle!"
"As you command, General!" Therius shouted. I ducked behind a pillar. When the Gurak I was fighting got into range, I attacked with a slash that tore through the armor, but not the skin. Before it could recover, I struck the same spot again, opening a deep gash in the Gurak's chest.
"I can fight too!" I told him.
"Do not desert us, mercenary."
"Of course not." I attempted to strike another Gurak, only to have it parried with enough strength to send me stumbling back a few steps. Seeing an advantage, I raced up the staircase.
"You desert us, mercenary?" Therius asked at the same time Asthar shouted 'Have at you!'.
"What?!" I called. "No!" Just to prove how I wasn't going to desert them, I activated the light, forcing all of the Gurak to turn their focus onto me instead of their opponents. I leapt off of the banister and grabbed the nearby chandelier. I swung and let go, flipping in the air before landing on a Gurak with a sickening crunch. From the Gurak, that is. I was perfectly fine. Unfortunately, I accidentally brought down the entire chandelier with me, squashing what Gurak remained and knocking out the two knights that had also been fighting.
"I've never seen such a move before! What do you call that attack, lad?" General Asthar asked, laughing.
"I don't really have a name for it…" I admitted, laughing as well, albeit sheepishly. Therius approached the General.
"General, this area is secure. We should protect the Count," he said.
"Quite. Make haste!" Asthar agreed. We went up to the hallway that the ballroom was attached to. "You there, lad, protect Lady Calista! Our duty is to protect Count Arganan and Lord Jirall. I am Asthar, what is your name, lad?" He extended his hand towards me, and I felt a rush of excitement, enough so that I didn't even mind that he apparently didn't recognize me as the person he accidentally dunked earlier.
"Zael, Sir," I said firmly, trying not to let the excitement into my voice. I had to make a good impression here. I shook his hand, nodding my head once.
"A fine name!" I couldn't help grinning at that compliment. "And that strange power of yours. Can I rely on it?" I faltered for a second, but nodded.
"Yes, Sir! I can control it!"
"A good answer. Just do not let it become a crutch." Asthar saw Therius, who was extremely impatient, tapping his foot. "Well then, Master Zael, I leave Lady Calista in your care!"
"Yes, Sir!" I said quickly. Asthar and Therius walked away, and it finally hit me what the General had called me. I blinked for a second, unsure of how to react.
"I'm seeing a different side to you now!" Calista commented, refocusing my attention on reality. "But I guess it's the same for you!" We turned down the hallway towards the bridge to the courtyard, only to find Gurak fighters there.
"The Gurak are here already?!" I asked, spotting several archers as well as taking a special note of the sorcerer.
"Be careful, there's more of them!"
"And not a chandelier in sight…." I commented, taking out my crossbow. I loaded a Wizard Slayer onto it and fired it straight at the sorcerer, starting the battle. Unfortunately, one of the archers jumped in the way, causing it to get hit instead. Grumbling to myself (do they know how much those types of arrows cost?!), I raced forward to at least distract the sorcerer.
"I don't think now is the time for cheap jokes," Calista said, rising into the air. I ducked behind a pillar, firing a regular arrow into the jerk who had blocked my shot. I looked up to see the two Gurak who used swords looming over me. Despite it all, I grinned and hit the floor just as they attacked, nearly cutting off a chunk of my hair.
"In comparison to the ones Lowell and Syrenne make, I think mine was just fine." The pillar was knocked down and I barely managed to avoid the debris from it. The two Gurak I was fighting weren't so lucky, however, and a few quick slashes from my blade was enough to finish them off.
"They're that bad?!" Calista teased. I laughed a little; it was hard for me to stay serious when I was talking with her, even if it was the worst time to be light-hearted. Calista suddenly cried out in pain, the mage had finished its spell while I was dealing with the others. Fear coursed through me, which was quickly replaced with anger. How dare they? How DARE they!
I froze for two reasons. The first was to dodge an arrow coming my way and the second was in shock. I was about to do exactly what I had done at the warehouse. I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down and attacked. I raced over to mage, who was already in the air again. I physically yanked it from the air and kicked it in the gut. It keeled over, so I slammed the hilt of my blade into the back of its head. As for the remaining archer, a shooting war broke out between us, which was quickly resolved when I fired one of my Burst Arrows. The fight over, I started towards the bridge.
"Please, wait!" Calista suddenly called out.
"What's wrong?" I asked instantly, turning to face her.
"This is my chamber. Do you think it's all right if I get changed quickly?" she asked, looking at the ground. Why was she getting embarrassed and asking permission?
"Get changed?!" I repeated, slightly surprised. "Now?! Er…. Yeah…. I suppose…."
"OK. Please wait outside!" What kind of pervert did she think I was?
"Y-yeah…." I trailed off. I handed her a random set of clothes that I had in my pouch. They were still slightly wet, but she didn't seem to mind. Calista raced into her bedroom and I took a seat by her door, taking this brief delay to wipe the blood off of my sword and finally double-check my wallet's contents. A few minutes later, she came out.
"OK, all done!" she said. We went out on the walkway, only for the bridge to start to shake. I looked up to see a ball of fire from one of the airships slam into a tower. Calista let out a gasp of surprise.
"The tower!" I exclaimed, surprised. Needless to say, the two of us got moving immediately. The bridge started to collapse beneath us and I spun around when I heard a scream. Calista had tripped and was quickly slipping off of the bridge. "Calista!" I shouted. I raced back and caught her wrist as she started to fall. "Hang on!" As I hoisted her back up, I had a sudden bout of déjà vu, although I couldn't figure out why. "C'mon, no time to lose!"
"Right!" she agreed, standing up. The two of us quickly went through the door before what little of the walkway remained could fall. Calista raced ahead as a sudden burst of heat attacked us. "The castle is in ruins!" she exclaimed. "I'll get them for this!" She looked to the side. "More of them!"
"Calista, let's move!" I said, going to where a mob of Gurak fighters were battling a single mage.
"Help me!" the mage said when he saw us. "I can't beat them by myself!" I stayed back, pulling out my crossbow while he rose into the air. Swapping back to my enchanted arrow, I aimed for the Gurak in the back. Despite the fire causing everything to be slightly distorted, I still managed to load and fire a shot into the gap between its chest armor and helmet. I felt another blast of heat and saw that the mage had cast a ring of fire around the Gurak commander. I remembered Gale and was suddenly curious to see if it only applied to enemy heal circles. So, like I had before, I closed my eyes, focused on the circle, and opened them to find the Gurak leader being attacked by a tornado of fire. Not skipping a beat, I quickly stabbed it through its exposed chest and leapt back before the flames could consume me as well. Calista blasted the remaining Gurak with a burst of light.
"Kumawhazit?" I asked as the mage finally fell out of the air. He nodded.
"Thanks for rescuing me, Zael," he said. "But please look after Lady Calista. It's still dangerous!" He raced back towards where Calista and I had come in, ducking into one of the side halls. We went down the stairs.
"We just need to get through the Great Hall and we're outside!" Calista exclaimed, speeding up a bit. I looked behind me to see the door to the courtyard blocked by debris, and prayed that the others were safe and mostly uninjured. Knowing them, praying for them to be completely uninjured was asking for too much. We made it about halfway across the Great Hall when the glass roof exploded and a figure leaped down. He was obviously a Gurak, except he had long red hair, was much larger than the others, and had a red design covering his right arm. He stood up and crossed his arms.
"Calista, stand back!" I whispered to her, shifting into a defensive stance. "This one's different. He's not like the other Gurak!"
"You dare stand in the way of a king?" he asked, his voice echoing in the large room. "A foolish endeavor, boy." At least it is better than kid, I reminded myself.
"King?" I asked. "You're the king of the Gurak?"
"Indeed. Know that I am Zangurak. King of the Gurak!"
"King or not, I won't let you get away with this! It ends right now!" I had no idea what I was doing, only that Zangurak was making me extremely mad for some reason and that I wanted him to be gone. In what was probably a very stupid and reckless move, I raced forward. I went for a vertical slice, but was blocked with ease and sent flying back quite a few feet, hitting the ground hard. My head throbbing, I could dimly hear Calista call my name before I fell unconscious.
Calista POV
"Zael!" I gasped in horror, racing over to his side. I looked at Zangurak with surprise when I saw that Zael was uninjured, barely hearing the footsteps of the knights' approaching.
"Milady!" one of three knights called. "Please escape while you can!" I shook my head as the knights passed us, raising their swords.
"Filthy beast!" another of them threatened. "If you so much as lay a finger on Lady Calista….!"
"You're the ones who should escape!" I desperately called after them, not daring to leave Zael's side. "You can't hope to beat him!" Zangurak chuckled, and I wondered yet again what had spurred Zael on to do such a foolish thing. I looked away as he easily swatted the knights across the room and through the walls, and I realized that Zangurak hadn't even been trying when he smacked Zael over here. He approached me.
"Ah! The Arganan girl," he said, recognizing me. I changed my focus back to Zael as two new Gurak appeared and kneeled before him, each letting off an aura of a different color.
"My liege, the humans are rallying their forces," the one with the red aura said.
"Amongst them are two knights who may prove to be troublesome," the one giving off the blue aura added.
"Really? Worthy adversaries who are humans? Well? Did you find the Outsider?" Zangurak questioned them.
"No, sire…." Red Aura said.
"It is of no consequence. This was merely a test. Prepare to withdraw!" A test? All of this destruction was merely a test?! I felt hot, angry tears rise, but kept them down. Now was not the time to be crying.
"The fleet awaits your order, my lord!" Blue Aura told him. Zangurak focused his attention back on me.
"If you value the boy's life, come with me." he said, completely serious. I rose to my feet and gave the boy who had protected me several times now a sad glance, before turning away. Zangurak gestured with his head towards the courtyard, uncrossing his arms. I spared Zael a quick glance.
"C…Calista!" I thought I heard Zael weakly choked out before I was lead out of the room. I didn't look back. It was too late anyway.
Zael's POV
I ached. Not as worse as I ever had, but quite a bit. Cracking open an eyelid, my gaze settled on Dagran, who was crouched next to me.
"Zael! Wake up!" he ordered, his voice echoing slightly. I forced myself to fully open both eyes, vision swimming in and out of focus. Dagran backed off and let me sit up. I did so with some difficulty, my head aching. I shook it slightly and winced. "Are you OK?" Dagran asked seriously, noticing this.
"Y-yeah….." I whispered. I suddenly noticed that Calista had gone missing. "Calista! Where is she?" When? I tried to remember, but I could only recall as far back as seeing that large Gurak….. Zangurak, and suddenly feeling very angry…. No. "Dagran, did you see Calista?" I asked him, praying that he said yes.
"No," he said. I noticed that he had taken a knee sometime after moving aside. "When I arrived, it was just you here." I wanted to bang my head against a wall in frustration. I had let my anger get the better of me again, and Calista had been captured because of it.
"Damn it," I muttered, getting to my feet. I took a step, only to have my vision start to swim again. My head began to throb and Dagran grabbed me before I could fall over.
"Everyone in the castle is looking for Calista," Dagran told me. "Let them handle it." He attempted to lead me out of the castle, but I shoved him away, the world spinning slightly.
"No," I muttered. "I can't. I have to protect her." I stumbled up the staircase, slowly regaining my sense of balance.
"Hey, wait up!" Dagran called, following. "What's gotten into you?" He caught up with me again and looked me at in confusion.
"Calista's been kidnapped! And I couldn't do anything about it!" I explained. Dagran sighed and shook his head.
"They came by ship, which probably means they'll be heading for the coast."
"How do we get there?" I reached the top of the stairs to see that somebody had moved the debris formerly covering the door to the courtyard.
"The east gate," he answered. I took off, racing for the door. "Zael, wait! Get a grip!"
"I know, I know! It's just…." I sighed and shook my head, once again at a loss for words. It throbbed slightly, but it wasn't bad enough that I couldn't fight. Not that that would have stopped me. I opened the door to the courtyard slightly to see five Gurak. One was an archer, another was a sorcerer, and the rest were fighters. They was also a Lazulis Mage was struggling to cast a spell while a Lazulis Knight battled one of the fighters with difficulty. "I can't believe they're here already! What are the patrols doing?!"
"Zael, stay focused!" Dagran ordered. "We'll set an ambush. They haven't spotted us yet. We'll sneak around the back and look for a chance to change things. Got it?" I nodded, and we went in, sticking to the side. While the Gurak didn't spot us, the knight did.
"We're struggling to deal with their mages! Can you take care of them?" the knight asked, guarding a blow from the Gurak he was battling. Dagran glared at him as the attention of the mage, archer, and one of the soldiers fell on us.
"So much for an ambush," he muttered, racing forward. I followed without a comment, heading for the archer. The sooner this battle was over, the better. I saw it load an arrow and hit the floor moments before it fired where my heart would have been had I continued moving. Only slightly annoyed, I leaped back to my feet and closed the distance before it could reload. It looked up, surprised at how fearless I was in comparison to the Lazulis fighters. I gave it a vertical slice through the shoulder. It fell backwards, the hand that formerly clutched its bow gone.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the knight on his last stand. Immediately, I rushed over and smacked the Gurak in the head with the side of my blade to stun it. Luckily, the knight had managed to knock its helmet off, so the attack connected with full force. While it stood there in confusion, I used one of my signature full-body moves, sending it flying into the stone pillar in the middle of the courtyard. It wasn't hard to tell with the sudden explosion of blood, but the Gurak was probably dead. I glanced around to see that Dagran had long since finished off the sorcerer and was wrapping up with the final fighter.
"Saved by mercenaries," the knight said, approaching us, "I can't believe it. We really owe you. Today we fulfilled our duty together! Let us meet again!" He saluted and went to leave through the door on the other side of the courtyard with the mage. Dagran stopped him.
"Sir Knight, where did the Gurak go exactly?" he asked.
"At the inlet to the east. Are ye heading there? That's madness!" he said rapidly.
"Dagran," I said, gesturing to the east path off of the courtyard.
"I know. Let's head to the east gate," he replied, sensing what I was saying. We head down the several staircases to the landing just above the area where the east gate was. Down there, I instantly spotted Lowell and Syrenne fighting seven Gurak, two of which were healers that were carefully guarding the mage as well as two archers and two commandos. I breathed a sigh of relief that they were alive. "Lots of them," Dagran muttered. "Break through and finish the job before they can surround us!"
"Alright," I said, only to see that Dagran had already left. I pulled out my crossbow and quickly shot the healers, swapped to a Wizard Slayer, and shot the mage in the arm before literally leaping down to the others.
"Syrenne! Lowell!" Dagran called.
"Hey, Dagran!" Lowell called casually. "Nice of you to stop by!"
"You both OK?" he asked. Lowell rose into the air as Syrenne took the joy in taking out an archer.
"Yeah, fine. Bit of a mess here though." Lowell froze the healer who I thought was dead.
"I'm quite enjoying myself!" Syrenne exclaimed. "All this fighting!" She grinned and went to attack one of the commandos from either direction with her dual blades. She winked at me and nodded. I nodded back, climbing on top of the small fountain–like statue next to us.
"Have you seen Yurick or Mirania?" Dagran asked. The commando blocked both attacks from Syrenne, but while he was distracted, I leapt off and brought a downward slash upon its head.
"Nope, not me," Lowell commented, putting a slippery floor in front of the commando who had been coming to help its partner.
"Oh, they'll be just fine," Syrenne reassured Dagran.
"I'm a bit worried…." Dagran trailed off.
"Whatcha been up to?" Lowell asked. I noticed that the archer was aiming a shot at him, so I grabbed the standing commando's helmet and threw it at the little shrimp. Syrenne let out a laugh.
"It's a little complicated. I'll explain later."
"Alright! Let's finish up here," she said, taking out the confused fighter with ease. I dealt with the dazed archer with a simple slash. Battle over, we gathered by the giant wooden doors. Syrenne turned to Dagran.
"So what's up, Dagran?" she asked, sheathing her dual blades and resting a hand on her hip.
"Basically," Dagran began, "Lady Calista has been captured by the Gurak. And it's up to us to rescue her."
"Well, that's just smashing!" Lowell said, for once not joking. "The Count'll be impressed!"
"Dagran, we have to hurry!" I said, nearly cutting him off. I turned and started to unlock the doors.
"That's right," Dagran said. "You two, make sure Mirania and Yurick are OK. They should still be fighting somewhere."
"Leave it to us," Syrenne told him. The gate opened up, and we raced through it, leaving Lowell and Syrenne behind.
You all are so lucky that I actually went back and swapped the POV to Lis-Calista instead of leaving Zael barely conscious. Force of habit, not sorry at all. The Voice in Zael's Head was going to make an appearance to talk with Zael and probably insult him, but alas, I changed it so Zael was all alone. Speaking of her, I promised Zael to give her a name, so give a suggestion (stupid voices and they're dumb promises)! I'll try to put some bias, but I think I might do that sort of thing for everyone except Dagran first, then be biased. Considering how rare the situations arise, I think that's fair. Okay, Cormag? KHDreamFan, thanks for the compliment. I think that's it... Sayonara!