"Y-you're a girl!", said Duran when the King had broken the silence. He couldn't believe what he saw: a fighter that was nearly identical to him, from the wild tangled hair down to the loose-fitting pants and boots.
"Well… yeah…", Silver replied, still unsure if her senses weren't lying to her. She shook off her daze, however, as Angela gently nudged her. "You were saying, your Majesty?"
"Ah, yes… the Mana Stones and their guardian Elementals. Now, you undoubtedly know that releasing the energy of the Mana Stones is out of the question due to the curse put on the necessary spell. You need to know where the stones are, however, to find the spirits… Now, how many Elementals have you gathered so far?"
"Two, sir", said Wisp as she and Gnome materialised and bowed in front of the king.
"Howdy, King Richard!", shouted Gnome. "Hello there, Duran. Last time I saw you, ya were lost in my caves, ya were… grown into a nice young fella! Say… Silver, you wouldn't just happen ta be…"
"No, I'm not, Gnome.", said Silver aggravated, but the pained look on Duran's face showed she wasn't alone in her disliking of the comparison. The two spirits retreated, along with the fairy, leaving the heroes to theirselves. "King Richard, we are a bit lost here. We were told to talk to you about the Mana Stones… we really need to get the Sword!"
"Yes, my mother and Koren are after it as well. We must get to it before they do!", added Angela. The King thought it over for a minute, then he nodded and spoke up, motioning for Duran to approach as well.
"Before I say anything, I believe you have to tell these ladies what brings you here, Duran. Silver, call your fairy back, she will have to hear this…" Silver mentally called the fairy – it was hard to try and locate the spirit being in her, but she succeeded: the fairy appeared again.
"Well," said Duran, "I was told to search for you by the Priest of Light. …But, my lord, why must she call her fairy?"
"Tell her just how much you have in common…", spoke the king softly. Duran seemed to catch on now, and he looked as if he was in deep thought for a moment…
…that's when his fairy made her first appearance to the others. Both fairies, Silver's brown-haired one and Duran's blonde one, looked at each other approvingly, then complimented each other.
"A fine choice of hero you have made!", said Duran's fairy.
"I had no other choice… she was there when I needed the Hero…"
"So was he." Duran and Silver pretended to be hurt by that. "But a fine choice nonetheless."
The two fairies then grew silent, and the king spoke up again.
"You three must now go to Rolante, the wind kingdom. That's where the Mana Stone of Air is located. Its guardian spirit, Jinn, should be there as well… Return to me when you have found him, and I'll tell you of the other four…"
"Four? Aren't there s'posed to be eight Mana Stones, and eight Elementals, huh?", spoke Carlie from the back of the room. The king smiled.
"Ah, a priestess from Wendel! Duran chooses his friends wisely, I see… Yes, there are supposed to be eight Mana Stones and eight Elementals… but the whereabouts of the Mana Stone of Darkness and its Elemental, Shade, are not known. Shade is said to wander the world in search of his stone… it was taken away from his care ages ago. But not to worry," he said to the others as they looked a bit disappointed, "I'm sure you'll find Shade!"
"Yeah!", agreed Duran. He left the throne room, followed by the others as they needed to talk. Duran brought them to the pub, where he was instantly offered a cold beer, and the others ordered while the waitress was with them.
"We're in a bit of a situation right here… proper introductions?", he said as they sat down to enjoy their drinks (everyone but Carlie had beer, and the little priestess drank orange soda).
"Well, I know most of you. Anyway, I'm Silver, champion of Pedan and Mana Hero for a world linked to yours. I was sent here to save your world – and mine in the process – and to investigate the three evil ones that have arisen recently. But, to be quite honest, my main goal is starting to turn to stopping Koren and that Darkshine Knight…"
"Ah, well, then we have one more thing in common!" Duran said as he shook her extended hand as a sign of friendship. "I just wanna say that I didn't really mean what I thought about you previously… I never thought I'd have a girl as a rival, let alone as an equal!"
"Well… let's expect every possible surprise in the future, shall we?", Silver said as she sipped her beer.
"Yeah… oh, you already know my name and where I come from. And that I'm a fighter, like you are."
"And that you're seventeen years old, and that you adore your sister…" She suddenly grew silent again, as Duran was utterly surprised. "I have no idea…"
"Never mind. You are seventeen too, and you have a brother you would die for." Now it was Silver's turn to be amazed. "Guess our lives are very similar at certain points… Anyway, my father used to be King Richard's soldier, and they were of the same age. They were good friends, and called each other by first name, which was very exceptional. One day, when I was about seven or so, and my sister was barely born, my father had to go away to fight the Dragon Emperor, the head of the Dragon people. They hade the mysterious ability to turn into dragons… my father and King Richard succeeded in slaying the Dragon Emperor, but my father got lost afterwards, and they never found him…" Duran bowed his head to hide a tear sliding down his cheek, but Silver had noticed and comforted him a bit.
"Your father would have wanted you to be joyous when you remembered him. After all, he went missing in battle, and he gave you opportunities no one else could ever have given you!"
"You're right…", he said as he straightened himself, no sign of the tear remaining. "What about you? How come you became a fighter?"
"To be honest, I never was until I came here… I used to be a scholar on my world, studying to go to work and gain wisdom, at least I think I was… but when I came here, when Darien gave me his sword and armour, it felt natural. I can't explain it, but it was as if I was born to wear this…" Duran looked at her curiously when she said this. Then, out of the blue, Hawk made a comment.
"You never did tell me where exactly you were from…"
"I would tell you if I could, but my own memory of my world is a bit blurred at the moment and I don't feel like brainstorming over it now." She grew silent, thinking of their task again.
"Rolante… Rolante, the wind kingdom…"
"Hey, wasn't that other princess, Lise, from Rolante?", commented Angela.
"Yeah, you're right! She said she was in Byzel…" Duran caught on to her and nodded. Silver turned to Hawk and Carlie. "But… what'll you do when we're out searching for the Elementals?"
"Oh, I have the distinct feeling you can use our knowledge… we'll follow you and help out where we can.", Hawk answered. Carlie nodded in agreement while still sipping her soda. "Besides, I want to keep a close eye on you…" But, while saying that, it was pretty obvious what he meant by the looks he cast Angela. Angela did hit him with her staff when they exited the pub, but she could hear the two talking when she went to bed.
"And she's as delicate as a rose… just as you are!"
"Well, if she makes you that happy, why are you hitting on me?"
"Uh… well, I…" She could easily imagine the shade of red Hawk's face was at that particular moment. Slowly, her thoughts drifted off elsewhere and she fell into a blissful sleep…
Images of a childhood flooded Duran's mind, causing a grief that could not be comforted within him. He saw the image of a small girl and her baby brother, one child holding the other with awe. He saw the girl cry because her father went away, he saw her laugh with joy when she was allowed to eat ice cream… but it was only when he saw her grow up that he fully realised who she was and why he was seeing it.
"Silver…", he whispered as he saw her life as the battle she felt it to be. Fighting for approval, for acceptation, for her brothers and for herself. Fighting against failure, constantly being put down by others, never being able to try… And what hit him most, was the words he heard her speak: as if they were an echo of the ones he spoke not too long ago…
"Nobody will ever take what I have achieved. So if I achieve more, they'll have less to deprive me of."
And at that same moment, the images of Duran's life came to Silver, completely overpowering her dreams and sending her mind reeling into an area that wasn't there before. Longings surfaced: a longing for his parents, a longing for the prestige his father had, a longing for a fair chance in life. She found his life a struggle, equal to - and almost surpassing - hers. His words caused her to comprehend, as he did too. She awoke by the fairy's calls, seeing that it was morning already and the others had already left.
"Silver… why were you screaming just now?"
"I…", started Silver, but she was cut off by someone sitting on Angela's bed.
"She didn't scream." Duran stood and went towards her. "I did." The fairy was taken aback by that a bit, but Silver added.
"I think we need no further proof that Duran and I share more than physical resemblances. We also happen to share a soul, which enables us to go into the other's mind."
Greetings again, dear readers…I apologise in advance, for what is to come, will surely be confusing. (A/N: it is, even I can't write most of it out!) But it has to be. This will be a psychological journey as well as reading how Silver gets more and more involved in Duran's world (I still do not know the name of the world Seiken Densetsu 3 takes place in! Come to my aid, oh faithful ones…) Poor Duran will not be spared. Neither will the others. There will be a whole lot of violence to come, as well as very intimate moments. (A/N: The violence'll be mainly when fighting. And that happens a lot, so brace yourselves. I won't try to write it outta there. "Bloody"'s my middle name!) But in the end (which is still very far away – I'm currently writing their departure on the ghost ship, and that's chapter 21 or 22!) The chapter quality is steadily increasing, Durey-kun says, so maybe he won't need to edit anymore in a few chapters… Do not fear, I will do anything to make him stay. Also, I must announce that both Durey and I have passed and will be going to university after the summer. Literally: academic year starts September 22nd.
Greetings for now, my dear readers…