When Wishes Come True
Jina: Hi everybody! Besides doing the disclaimer, I'm here to thank you awesome people who reviewed my story! You guys rock! I really appreciate the advice, and I just loooooove getting any type of feed back. Except for; "Your story sucks. You are a retard. You deserve to be shot.", or something like that. I don't like it when people are mean to me. I WILL get my revenge! MWAHAHAHA… choke…agh…cough… choking…not… breathing… ack…wheeze….gasp…. falls over, blue in the face
Oliver: Jina, only Evil Masterminds can successfully do the Evil Mastermind Laugh. Everyone knows that.
Matthew: laughing hysterically HAHAHA…..Jina you idiot….hahaha…etc. etc. etc.
Eliwood: Don't worry, Lady Jina! I'll save you! lifts her to her feet and begins whacking her (hard) on the back repeatedly
Jina: Aaah! Aaah! Aaah! is breathing again
Hector: What the heck do you think you're doing, Pansy-Boy?
Eliwood: Dude, I'm a chivalrous sword wielding red head! It's what I do! (((Insert extreme thanks to the awesome author Sardonic Kender Smile for that quote. Except for the 'dude' part, that's just me being sweet like that.)))
Matthew: Why are you screaming, Jina?
Jina: I was basically just beat up by a pansy! That's not right!
Eliwood: HEY! I am NOT a pansy!!! drops Jina, who he was still holding upright
Jina: Aah! falls to floor Sorry, Eliwood, you know I'm kidding. You own everybody on my FE game, everybody...
Oliver: ...hehehe….um, yeah. Anyways, Jina does not own Fire Emblem, even though she wishes she did. Poser!
Jina: I beg your pardon, I am not! And I so could own Fire Emblem. If I did, there would be more girls in FE 7 so that all the guys could have one and not go all yaoi. Not that I don't like yaoi, but still… It's so hard to decide who can get what support with who so that every guy has a girl and vice versa.
Matthew: Can we please just go on with the actual story? That's what the readers are actually reading this for, not to read about how some crazy psycho weirdo talks to muses in her head that she kidnapped from a game boy game.
Jina: Fine, be that way. On with the fic! Charge!
Matthew: … cough cough delusional freak cough cough …
Jina: Shut up.
Chapter Ten: Journeying Onwards…
"Uhhh, hi?" Oliver said weakly, raising his arms up so the owners of the several pairs of eyes glaring at him could see that he was unarmed and un-dangerous.
"Who are ya, and how the heck did'ya find your way into here?" an icy female voice drawled from somewhere among the shadows cast by a huge, broken-down, rusty old pick up truck. All he could see of the speaker were her eyes, a light honey-brown that was almost gold, and reminded him of Nergal's morphs.
"I'm Tony," he answered, using his new street name, "And I didn't 'find my way in here'. Mira brought me here. I'm gonna help you guys out with your little, ah, territorial problems."
"It's true, Cian." Mira said, finally catching up to him. "He's here to help us fight off them losers who're trying to take us over."
"Right then. Do you have any experience with fighting street-style, kid?" The girl, he guessed it was this 'Cian' Mira had mentioned before, said, gazing at him sharply with those strange gold eyes.
"Sorta kinda." He mumbled, not wanting to lie outright and then look stupid later, but not wanting to seem like some kind of wimp.
"Ha, we'll see 'bout that." Cian said, sounding unbelieving.
"I might not know how to fight on the street like you guys yet, but I'll learn, you'll see." Oliver insisted.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Right. That's what they all say, kid."
"My name is Tony."
"Yeah, I heard ya."
"So call me Tony, not 'kid'."
"Whatever. If ya stick around long enough, I'll think about calling ya that. But, you're new here, and ya gotta learn that I'm the person in control here, an' what I say, goes. Ya hear me?" Cian stated, still hidden in the shadows.
"Yeah, I hear you, all right." Oliver mumbled.
Cian finally stepped forward, and as Oliver tried to get a good look at her, she was suddenly right up in his face, no more than half a foot away, and she was punching him in the face. Oliver cussed at the pain now causing his vision to swim in front of him, and he could feel a sticky wet substance, more commonly known as his blood, flowing from his face. "Crap." He mumbled. "What the heck what that for?"
"For sassin' me." Cian stated, sounding bored.
"I see. I don't think I'll try that again." He muttered darkly.
"See that ya don't." Cian snapped. Oliver tried to feel whether or not his poor nose was broken as he looked at the leader of this little gang. She was fairly short, actually, with long dark black-brown hair in ringlet-sort of things, falling to her waist. Her skin was a tan creamy color, but it was littered with scars, and it was obvious her nose had been broken at least once. Her eyes, like he had noted before, were light brown-golden, and held a look in them that spoke of her having seen far too much of the dark side of the world. She had a scar running across her face, starting on her left cheek, and sweeping down unto her neck, where it stopped just at her collarbone. She was far too thin for a girl her age, which he assumed was somewhere around his own. Right now, she had her arms crossed against her chest, and stood with most of her weight on her right side, tapping her left foot, annoyed, on the broken-bottle glass-littered ground.
"Oh, you're fine. Stop that and wipe off your face, and I'll introduce ya to the rest of my pack." Cian said to him, and looked around them, gesturing to the shadows at figures he could barely see, beckoning to them to come out of hiding.
"Your pack?" Oliver asked, curious.
"We don't kill, smoke, get wasted, or look around for fights and other trouble, so we ain't a gang. We're a pack, and I'm the leader; and if you can't accept that, ya better leave now, 'cause I won't put up with ya for long." Cian told him.
"I accept your authority, Oh Most Wonderful And Amazing Lady Pack Leader." Oliver said grandly, bowing to her with a large sweep of his arm.
Cian smiled slightly, and then scowled. "I won't be taking none of your sass." She snapped, but he could still see the amusement in her eyes, and he smiled at her. Then, remembering that he was supposed to be meeting the 'pack', he looked around for them. They were standing quite a few feet away from him and Cian, staring at him with huge, distrustful eyes. They were a thin, ragged lot, with their bones seeming to stick out of their rags they called clothes, dirty, scummy articles of cloth that barely kept them warm and covered.
Deciding to take the matter of getting them to relax around him into is own hands, he smiled warmly at the children, holding out his arms. "I don't bite, ya know. At least, not since I was a little bit more than you is now." He said, gesturing to a young little boy who could have been no more than four of five.
Smiling slightly at him in return, they looked to their leader, Cian, for advice on how to handle the stranger.
"Well, go on; check him out. He couldn't hurt a fly." Cian told them, nodding her head in his direction.
"Hey, that ain't nice!" Oliver called to her, trying hard to get his voice heard, since he was abruptly quite surrounded in a swarm of children. Looking about him at the tiny, starving faces around him, his heart was wrenched into pieces. There'd he been complaining about going to a camp, when these children didn't even always know whether or not they'd be eating that day.
Finally, after answering a few questions, and chatting for a few minutes with a few of the eager kids, he disentangled himself from the crowd, hobbling over to Cian with a miniscule little girl clutching onto his leg. Not only did these kids not get enough food, they were love-starved as well. Did they have mothers to hug and comfort them? Did they have fathers to give them piggy-back rides? Oliver thought not.
"Is this one the youngest of the bunch?" he asked, gesturing to the little girl on his leg.
"No." Cian sighed. "We have a few more. Follow me." And with that, she immediately began striding off to some unknown location, assuming Oliver would follow. He did, and soon he caught up to Cian. She was standing next to an old, dirty, broken-down school bus, with few windows, no seats that he could see, and no wheels.
"In here?" he asked.
"Yeah," Cian replied, then roughly shoved open the bus door. "Go in."
As Oliver stepped onto the bus, he was immediately set upon by a girl who looked to be about twelve or thirteen. She brandished a broken beer bottle as a weapon.
"Who are you?!? Get out of here, you little piece of spot-stealing trash!" She snarled, red hair flying about her furiously as she shook it out of her brown eyes, glaring at him.
"He's with me, Corlin. Relax." Cian said, coming up behind him.
"Oh. Sorry, chief." The girl, Corlin, said, and she backed away, giving Oliver and Cian passage onto the bus.
Stepping further into it, he could see that the bus did indeed have seats; they were just pulled out of their original places, and set in a large circle-shape arrangement. Resting on these make-shift crib-things, were three little infants, wrapped up in newspapers and rags and random articles of clothing.
"My God," Oliver said quietly, looking at these abandoned infants. 'What kind of person would abandon their children at so young an age?' he thought to himself, staring in horror at these tiny, fragile beings.
"I know." Cian said, gazing at the children. Corlin had moved over to three babies, and had picked up a little boy, who gurgled happily and grabbed at her hands with is tiny little fists. Cian walked over to another makeshift crib, and picked up a little girl, who smiled and giggled, and waved her arms around and clutching onto Cian's ratty shirt like a little monkey, making Oliver smile.
"You can pick up Charlie, if ya want." Cian told him in a hushed voice, pointing quickly to the remaining child, a tiny little boy. This one did not look as healthy as the other two, he was pale and his breathing was rattly and uneven.
"Hey there, little guy." Oliver crooned to the baby as he picked him up and held him in his arms. Charlie opened is eyes, gazing at Oliver with milky light blue eyes, then he smiled sleepily, and snuggled deeper into Oliver's warm shirt, cooing a little as Oliver held him closer, sharing his body heat with the shivering infant. It was November, and the baby was in little but rags, old newspapers, and a dirty sweatshirt that looked suspiciously like something that may have once belonged to a certain gold-eyed brown-haired 'pack leader'.
"Is this yours?" Oliver asked quietly, gesturing to the hoodie. "Yeah," Cian replied, "He was pretty much in nothing but his diaper when I found him in a trash can near a place called, 'Charlie's Restaurant'. So I gave him my sweatshirt to keep warm."
"So you named him after where you found him?" Oliver asked, fascinated.
"Yeah, so maybe when he's older we can tell him where we found him, and he could possibly figure out where his parents might live from there. We named the little girl Cara, after 'Cara's Hair Salon', and we named Dave after 'Dave's Bike Shop', so we can remember where we found them. And, it was just plain easier to name 'em that way." Cian explained, rocking the little girl, Cara, in her arms gently.
"And do you take in any child that you find?" Oliver asked.
"Pretty much, yeah… I would never have forgiven myself if I had let Charlie stay in that trash can and die, or if I hadn't pulled Lila out of a cardboard box on the side of a highway." She said quietly. Oliver hadn't noticed until then, but the seemingly invincible, unbreakable, tough pack leader was crying. Cian looked up to see Oliver staring, and furiously brushed the tears off of her cheeks. "What're you lookin' at kid?" she snapped gruffly. Oliver only smiled. "Nothing," he told her, "Just a tiny piece of goodness in a dark, bad world."
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"I can see you haven't changed much in almost a year now, have you, Matthew?" Lora said to the thief as he moved around and sat down in the chair next to hers.
"I suppose not." The thief replied, grinning. "Anyways, Lora dear, why are you here in Ostia this fine day?"
"Actually, I've been here for a week or two now. I've just been…traveling…and this inn here in Ostia is my latest stop. That's my reason; why are you here, at this inn? Did someone tell you of my presence here or something?" Lora asked.
"Well, the castle where Marquess Uther and Lord Hector live isn't very far from here at all, and earlier this morning reports came in about how a mysterious stranger has supposedly killed 'Kadhaver the Killer', here in this very inn, sometime last night. The man is a wanted murderer, you know." Matthew replied.
"And you thought you'd come here to investigate who killed Kadhaver? How very wise of you. The person might be a threat, I suppose. Were you ordered here or did you come of your own free will?" Lora inquired.
"I came to this inn a little after I heard that the man was dead, after asking my friend Leila to tell the Marquess and his brother where I have gone. Yes, you're right; I suppose the person who killed that evil murderer could be dangerous to others as well. I must try and figure out the person's motives soon." Matthew said teasingly. "Well, I'd best be off, to go find the killer. It was nice seeing you again."
"Uh, right. Sure. Farewell, Matthew." Lora said sardonically. She had an idea of what Matthew had in mind to do next, and she watched as he sauntered away a few tables, sat down, and ordered a drink from a nearby waitress.
"What's he up to?" Lora asked herself quietly, watching him.
A few minutes later, after draining his cup, Matthew walked slowly back to her table in the corner. "Excuse me, milady, but I have a few questions for you." He said to her, grinning wickedly.
"Oh? Is that so? Well, fine with me. Ask away." Lora replied innocently, grinning back at him. "I can't guarantee an answer, though."
"I see. Well, in that case, I'll just have to skip the questioning part and go straight to the arresting. Lora of… where the heck are you from, anyway?" he asked.
"Well… let's just say I'm from…the border of Sacae and Lycia, somewhere around there." Lora told him. She couldn't very well try to explain that she wasn't from this continent, much less this galaxy.
"Right then; Lora of the Border of Lycia and Sacae," Matthew said, making Lora laugh at his ridiculous title for her, "You are hereby under arrest by Ostian law for refusing to submit to questioning and… for the murder of one Kadhaver the Killer; even though he deserved it, the bloody piece of wyvern…" as Matthew trailed off into curses under is breath, Lora just sighed.
"You aren't really going to arrest me, are you?" she asked warily. Knowing Matthew, and she did, he would too, just for a laugh. Though, Lora had always wanted to try and escape a prison…
"It depends; did you kill him?" Matthew said, "And I want an answer, a true one at that." He continued, seeing her open her mouth to debate over it. Lora shut her mouth, and smiled ruefully.
"Well, I guess since we are sort of friends, and we have known each other for awhile… I guess I can tell you. But not here, though. I'd rather not get mobbed by that fan-club over there." Lora replied slowly, gesturing vaguely towards the crowd of excited people, who were still trying to figure out which one of them was the killer.
"Oh, but of course. Follow me, then, if you please, milady." Matthew said gallantly, then sweeping into a very low bow.
"Yes, yes; let's just go, Matthew. I think that crowd is beginning to realize that I look suspicious of being the killer, seeing as how I'm not participating in their search…" Lora hissed at him, nervously eying the crowd of people from the inn, who were whispering and glancing over at her and her fellow thief conspicuously.
"Oh, I see… Is this the part of this play where we make a hasty exit from this scene?" Matthew muttered.
"Yes, we're exiting…stage left." Lora whispered back, and the two quickly speed-walked over to the chef's exit, as the crowd began to slowly creep towards them.
"Right… And we're out of here!" Matthew cried, and they dashed towards the door, and then flew out of it, not bothering to shut it behind them as they ran, laughing, as fast and far as they could go, just because they felt like it.
Panting, Matthew and Lora finally came to a stop, near what appeared to be the castle home of Marquess Uther and Lord Hector themselves.
"Whew! You sure know how to get a mob started, early in the morning." Matthew told Lora as they leaned against some trees.
"I guess so," Lora replied, "Though I wouldn't mind not having that particular skill." She grumbled. Matthew chuckled at this.
"I'm pretty sure you're stuck with it, if you keep you keep up your sneaky travels, going about killing evil-doers like you've been doing ever since Lady Lyndis' Legion broke apart." Matthew said, with a slightly more serious tone of voice.
"A-and what makes you think that's what I've been doing all this time?" Lora replied, as smoothly as she could. How did he know about how she had been traveling along, gathering information and killing wanted criminals? She had been doing everything she could think of to cover her tracks. How did Matthew find out?
"Well, for one thing, you just pretty much gave yourself away right now by being obviously nervous all of the sudden when I mentioned that. And for another thing, I've been…keeping tabs on everyone of my friends from Lyndis' Legion's days. I know that Lyn and Rath are visiting Lyndis' grandfather still in Caelin, along with Kent and Sain. And that Wil returned home with his parents, and I'm here in Ostia, and now you are too. I know more, but I won't bore you with the details." Matthew explained.
"And how in Elimine's name did you manage all that?" Lora asked, curious.
"Oh, I have my ways…" Matthew said mysteriously, smirking at her.
"I see. Fine then, I won't tell you all about my awesome adventures I had while traveling. You'll never find out how I brutally took care of that dangerous and most-wanted murder by… oh wait, never mind. I won't bore you with the details, Oh All-Knowing One." Lora retorted snidely. Matthew just laughed.
"Hmm, I think I like that title. I think I'll have everyone call me that." Matthew said cheerfully. Lora just glared at him.
"I wouldn't bet on it, kid. I know several people who would gladly chop you into pieces if you ever tried to tell them to call you that." Lora replied. Matthew grimaced.
"Yes, I guess you're right. Oh well…" Matthew sighed dramatically.
"HEY! Who goes there? Come out and face me, you cowards!" a challenging, deep male voice called out. Lora winced. Surprisingly, Matthew just smiled widely. Motioning for her to stay silent, he gestured to the tree. Figuring out what he meant, Lora quickly climbed the tree, and she heard Matthew's cloak whisper behind her as he followed her to rest on a heavy branch, hidden from view on the ground.
"Come on out, show yourselves!" the man called again, sounding angry now. "Stop hiding from sight like a weakling and come out and face me like real men!" he continued, Hearing the clanking of the armor grow steadily louder, Lora watched from her spot in the tree as the man walked over to stand almost directly beneath her and Matthew. He was tall, and wore a huge amount of bulky armor in the colors of Ostia, and he wielded a lance.
"Oswin, from the castle." Matthew mouthed to her silently. Lora nodded. Matthew had told her frequently of a man from Ostia named Oswin, who was in service of the Marquess there. He had told her of how Matthew often enjoyed playing pranks on this man, and the man never really retaliated besides meaningless threats. Matthew had made Lora laugh with these tales, and Lora was now quite eager to see what Matthew would do next.
"You know, Sir Oswin," Matthew said cheerfully as he dropped out of the tree to land right behind the knight. Oswin jumped, startled and looking quite surprised as he turned to face the chuckling thief. Smiling, Lora thought up an idea…
"And it's not very nice to assume that all people would want to 'fight like men'," Lora said clearly, as she too dropped out of the tree to land behind the already surprised knight, "And I happen to know for a fact that I fight better than many, many men, so I' think I'll fight like I usually do instead." Oswin jumped even higher, now more startled and flustered than ever, and whipped around to face the direction the unknown voice had come from. He swung his lance around with him, and it was only good reflexes that saved Lora from being whacked over the side of her head by it, as she quickly ducked, grinning widely.
"Who are you?!?" Oswin snapped, looking embarrassed to be caught off-guard.
"Let me introduce you to my good friend, Lora of the Border of Lycia and Sacae. Lora, this is Sir Oswin." Matthew said cheerily.
"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Sir Oswin. I've heard much about you from Matthew. It's nice to meet you in person at last." Lora said, dropping a small curtsey.
Oswin just looked puzzled. "Dropping out of trees like a barbarian one moment, curtseying and speaking like a Lady the next…" he muttered. Lora giggled at this comment. "What has this hooligan told you about me anyway?" he asked Lora gruffly.
Lora smiled innocently. "Oh, nothing, just some amusing tales of tricks he's played on you/" she replied sweetly. Oswin's face grew red. "Matthew!" he shouted. "What lies have you been spilling into this girl's ears?"
"Oh, no Sir; I only told her the honest-to-goodness truth." Matthew replied, smirking wickedly.
"Oh, Elimine…" Oswin grumbled. "Well, I might as well escort you two to the castle. Lord Hector has been waiting for you and your reports, Master Matthew. And I suppose this…charming young lady would enjoy a night in Castle Ostia as well. I have no idea what your profession is, milady," Oswin said to Lora, "But if you're an enemy spy, you'll regret ever stepping foot into the castle."
"Have no fears, Sir Oswin. I am no spy." Lora said, somewhat truthfully. During the months between Lyn's story and this coming one, Lord Hector's, Lora had been practicing her spying skills, growing stealthier and sneakier, and getting lots of useful information along the way.
"Good. Follow me, then. And stay out of trouble, Master Matthew!" Oswin reprimanded the thief, who only grinned cheerfully in reply.
And the threesome of a knight and two spies/thieves set off for Castle Ostia, where Lora knew the next leg of the game's journey would begin.
((((((( The End )))))))
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((( for now )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Author's Notes: Grrr… I forgot (again) to make sure you know how to pronounce the weird names I gave to some of the OCs in my story. Wow, I have a lot more of those little peoples know... Anyways, Cian is pronounced "Si-ann" (si like the Spanish word for yes, and ann, well, like ann). Mira is pronounced "Mee-rah" ( I wasn't sure of that name was hard to figure out or not, 'cause of the 'i'). Corlin is pronounced "Kor-lyn" (like door but with a 'c' and lyn like Lady Lyn!). That's all the strange names I can think of at the moment, so anyways… Tons of thanks and free yummy cookies goes out to all the wonderfully awesome amazingly super cool sweet wicked reviewers who bother to take the time whenever I post a new chapter and review it. You're truly appreciated! Oh! I almost forgot. I apologize to all/any readers who were waiting for this chapter to come. I've just been soooooooooo busy lately I haven't had the time. Yes, it's very sad, I know. Darn you stupid teachers who take advantage of Thanksgiving Break to load us all up with huge amounts of homework, darn you! Hehehe… No I'm not insane! Really! Well, anyways, readers, I've got to go, so please, when you read this, do me a huge, jimundo, enormously large favor and review this fanfic! I'll love you forever! Ha, just kidding. Okay, I better shut up now before I scare you all away…. PLEASE REVIEW!!!