Tales of Angels

Chapter 14

The first thing Kratos did as he stepped into Yuan's office was draw his sword. Now, with his blade aimed precisely at the blue haired seraph's neck. "Yuan, you knew where my son was?" Kratos asked menacingly. Yuan sighed before rising from his desk. He set the files he was looking over back into their folder and closed it.

"Yes, I found him a few years ago, so what?" Yuan replied daringly. Kratos only growled in response.

"And you didn't even think to tell me?" Kratos asked angrily.

"What would you have done if I told you?" Yuan asked sharply. Kratos hesitated for a moment, his blade dripping a few inches towards the ground.

"I would have-"Kratos started after a short moment.

"Rushed to go see him and bring him back here," Yuan finished for his fellow seraph. "That's exactly what you would have done; don't even try to deny it. And by doing so you would have not only would you have compromised Martel's mission, but you would have risked your own son's life," Yuan explained calmly.

"Yuan, what are you talking about? How would bringing Lloyd home endanger him? If anyone is endangering him, it's you by letting him stay out there for so long! Lloyd is not only a seraphim like us, but he is Martel's Voice, Cruxis needs him, I need him," Kratos rebuked. Yuan shook his head; turning around Yuan pulled a different file from his desk and handed it to his best friend. "What is this?" Kratos asked.

"Read it," was all Yuan replied. Kratos reluctantly opened the folder and began till mill through the contents.

"This… this is-"Kratos was too shocked for words.

"Lloyd's progress ever since I began training him, I hope you will be able to better tune his swordsmanship, after all, you are better at close combat. I included a few memory gems so that you may see some of his progress more personally.

"Yuan, this is…" Kratos couldn't even begin to thank the seraph enough. However Yuan's hand stopped any further words.

"Your welcome, I thought you would like that," Yuan said. "Also, I would appreciate it if you would not let Lloyd know I did that." Kratos responded with a nod. "Now then, if you'll excuse me," Yuan said as he gathered some of his more personal files and made to leave his office. "Some of us actually have work to do rather than running around on vacation," he added as he left his office, passing Kratos on the way.

Kratos couldn't help but smirk. 'Vacation? Maybe, but not right now,' he mused to himself. He shifted his gaze to one of the many small crystals lying in a small case at the bottom of the folder. Carefully retrieving one of them he held the fragile gem in his fingers.

He released a small flow of his mana into the gem, causing it to light up. Suddenly the memories that Yuan had placed into the gem came rushing through his mind, as if they were downloading them onto his brain.

When the memories stopped flashing, Kratos felt slightly dizzy. Deciding it would be unwise to activate more than one gem at a time would be unwise, he carefully placed the fragile gem back in its appropriate spot before putting the folder in his own personal wing pack.

"I have work of my own to get back to," Kratos mused to himself as began to warp back to Triet.

With a smirk on his face, Lloyd shifted his gaze to the stars above him. The stars shined so bright out here, with no trees blocking them from view. He could make out all of the constellations he could see, from the smallest to the largest. He was lost in the stars, their soft lights lighting up the sky, making the moon look insignificant. The light blues and whites mixed together against the dark blue sky in such a magnificent manner, making the sky look like a massive collage of water paints painted to bring out the moon's shine and then make it almost insignificant against the rest of the sky's beauty.

However, a small happy content purr from the sleeping girl next to him broke Lloyd from his trance. Shifting his gaze to Colette, he couldn't help but smile. He heard Noishe quietly say something in his own weird language of whines. Oh, how he wished he could speak Noishe, it would make his life so much easier.

Realizing it would be impossible, Lloyd decided that instead he would tuck Colette in. 'She must have been really tired,' Lloyd mused to himself.

"Of course she was, she really cares for you," Martel spoke to him, emphasizing her words.

"What do you mean? I know she cares for me; we're best friends! But still-"Lloyd replied before being cut off by the Goddess's giggles.

Picking the young Chosen in his arms, Lloyd decided to carry her back to the inn bridal style. He noticed that her arms had mysteriously managed to move from his shoulder, to wrapping around his torso. Colette began to absentmindedly nuzzle the boy as she rode in his arms.

Lloyd noticed by the texture of her dress that she was in her night gown, and it brought a question to his mind. 'If she was getting ready for bed, then why did she go outside?' he asked himself. He absent mindedly re-opened the inn door as quietly as he could, rather skillfully as well considering he was still holding the Chosen. He quietly snuck up the stairs without making a sound and entered Colette's room.

Gently setting her down on the bed, Lloyd removed the chakrams from their latch and placed them on the bedside table. He tucked the girl in and made to leave her room. "Good night Lloyd," he heard her mumble.

Freezing for only a second, he turned to see her blissful blue eyes staring back at him. "Good night Colette, sweet dreams," he added before exiting the room.

'That was amazing!' Colette squealed to herself as she happily replayed the images of their time together in her head. She was so happy that she forgot how tired she was until she yawned rather loudly. "I guess sleep would be a good idea," she mused to herself. She looked towards the window, and once again saw the silver-white bird that took the shifting shape of a dove. Completely forgetting that she was sleeping in Lloyd's bed, Colette quickly fell asleep with a large smile on her face.

Kratos stood just outside the inn door as the sun began to rise over the horizon. He heard Noishe say something to him in his whining language. Over time Kratos had successfully learned to translate the Arshis's whines into words of the common tongue. "Is that so Noishe? I hope you kept an eye on them," he replied calmly.

The mercenary made his way inside. As he entered the inn, he could smell breakfast being cooked by the inn keeper and his wife. 'That means the others will soon be up, and then we will be on our way to the Fire Seal,' he said to himself as he made his way to the room he was sharing with his son.

As Kratos predicted, the others soon woke up, himself and Lloyd being the first ones up, considering they did not sleep at all. They were then joined by Raine, and shortly after Colette and Genis followed after. Colette had the biggest grin on her face, and Genis couldn't help but have the urge to poke fun at her for it.

The group settled at the large table where breakfast was being served to their party."So Colette, what has you in such good spirits today? Do anything special last night?" Genis asked with a knowing smirk on his face, as he casually shifted his gaze towards Lloyd who had either not heard the two of them, or was just not really paying much attention. The Chosen's smile quickly faltered and an embarrassed blush swept across her face.

"Wh-what are you talking about Genis, I just had a great night's sleep, that's all!" Colette stammered desperately. She wasn't lying, after her "romantic" night with Lloyd under the stars, Colette slept soundly all through the night.

Raine wasn't paying much attention to the children's conversation either. Instead she was watching their two human companions. While Lloyd had managed to eat only half of a single pancake during the whole time they were sitting there, Kratos hadn't even so much as made an attempt to try and eat anything. The Professor didn't bother to say anything, but she did make a mental note of it.

Kratos looked over towards his son who was seated in between him and the Chosen, the latter of which was much closer than he was. He casually shifted his gaze to the two teens. 'I see, perhaps Lloyd is allowing himself to become attached to her to provide her some comfort during the journey, I just hope he knows where to draw the line,' Kratos examined. He then looked towards Lloyd's plate.

Suddenly he realized the Half-Elf's eyes studying him. Realizing that he hadn't even made an attempt to look like he needed to eat as Lloyd had done, he reached for some pancakes. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as one of Raine's eyes lifted with amusement, or was it conviction, he couldn't tell.

Yuan sat behind his desk back at his base near Triet. Laid out before him was Kratos's family tree that he had burgled from the seraph's office in Welgaia. He traced the lineage from Lloyd all the way back to the first Duke Aruion, who was appointed his position centuries before the first Kharlan War began. The old document was very delicate, some parts having the edges of the paper ripped and torn. The paper adopted a sickly yellow color with age, but the ink was still visible and clear enough to read.

Unfortunately for the seraph, the Aruion Family Tree didn't have the answers he seeked. "Impossible," he muttered to himself as he realized the only other option available. "Anna," he whispered the name.

Kratos had picked his wife out from the humans among Kavar's Ranch, and a following squabble had Kvar removed from his position as Leader of the Grand Cardinals. But that was not important at the moment. He remembered Kratos telling him something about Anna's hometown being Luin, which would now be his next stop.

Regardless of how long his investigation would take, Yuan was determined to find out just how Lloyd was related to the Goddess Martel. Rolling up the family tree, Yuan figured it would be best to put it back before Kratos realized it was gone.

With an exhausted sigh, Yuan rubbed his temples; this whole ordeal was beginning to edge at his sanity. Yuan knew he had to find this information before Yggrassil, but working himself like a dog over this wouldn't get him anywhere. Even angels have their own limits, seraphim were no exception. "I guess Luin will have to wait," Yuan spoke as he made his way to his bed to rest and regain some of his energy.

Once the group was ready to proceed, they checked to make sure they had enough supplies to get them to the Fire Seal and back. They thanked the inn keeper for taking them in, especially when he gave them their money back when he found out they were the Chosen's group.

Lloyd felt his hand become slightly tingly. 'This key crest is probably going to give me a rash sense I don't use an exsphere,' Lloyd reasoned as he absent mindedly rubbed his hand over the metal. Like everyone else in their group, Lloyd had his weapons at the ready, In case they ran into some violent monsters, or bandits.

Kratos stood at the head of the group now, He analyzed their new formation. He was at the head of the group, leading them to their next destination, Lloyd was right next to the Chosen, just in case she needed defending and Kratos would be unable to get there in time. Noishe was behind the teens, carrying most of the groups supplies and accessories. Raine was behind the Arshis, ready to cast items, or distribute items accordingly, and Genis was behind his sister ready to cast the magic he boasted as "the best in the whole village." 'If only he knew,' Kratos mused to himself.

Shifting his gaze to the path ahead of them, they should reach the temple by sun down, there they planned to rest for the night, break the seal first thing in the morning, recover their strength, then return to town. It was a sound strategy, nothing could go wrong.

Suddenly as if he jinxed their luck, a volley of arrows shot at them from over the sand dunes around them. "Look out!" Kratos yelled. Raine used a protective barrier to protect herself, Genis, and Noishe. Lloyd lashed, and deflected all of the arrows heading for him and Colette, making the broken fragments land harmlessly in the sand. Kratos simply jumped out of the way of the arrows while determining the exact location they came from.

A group of at least twenty or so bandits came out of hiding behind the sand dunes. "Well well well, lookie what we have here, a group of travelers," the leader said, his voice deep and rough. He was a big buff man, with tanned skin, revealing that he must have grown up here in this desert. His men were similar in size and shape, but he stood out from the rest. The leader was the only one not equipped with a crossbow and dagger like his men were. Instead he had a sharp, blood stained cutlass as his weapon. He wore a simple vest, with tan silk pants and a white cloth wrapping around his head. His men wore simple clothes, but all of them had all of their faces covered except for their eyes.

"Hey boss, check it out, I bet that little flower over there is sweet and tender, and just waiting to be plucked," one of them said in a higher pitched tone, the lust in his voice was sickening.

"Alright, alright," the leader spoke again. "Kill the men, but leave the girls alive, they can provide us with some…entertainment tonight," he laughed.

Colette whimpered as she hid behind Lloyd. Kratos backed up so that he and Lloyd sandwiched the Chosen between them. Raine and Genis, and Noishe quickly followed suit. The large dog covering Colette's right side, Raine her left, Kratos her Back, Lloyd her front, and Genis was right next to her.

"Damnit," Kratos cursed. He was over confident, and that led them straight into an ambush. The group quickly brandished their weapons as the bandits readied another salvo of bolts to fire. As soon as the leader gave the signal, all of the bolts were released at once.

Reacting instantly, Lloyd transferred some of his mana into his blades before slamming them into the ground as hard as he could. "Beast!" he yelled as the mana shot out and spread taking the shape of a lion's head. The mana created a shock wave that collided with the bolts, knocking them aside harmlessly. While everyone was distracted by the display, Lloyd used it to his advantage as he unleashed two waves of mana as if he was slicing the air itself. "Double Demon Fang!" he said. The two large waves of energy reached and felled four of the bandits.

A few of the bandits decided to get bold and instead of fighting at a range, brandished their daggers and charged forward. "Fire Ball!" Genis yelled as he fired three fireballs at some of the bandits still staying at a range. Raine caught one of the bandits upside the head with her staff, the sound of his neck snapping was sickening to her ears, but it was necessary for their survival. Kratos easily managed to parry and defeat all of the foes that rushed before him.

Looking to see that over half of his men already lay dead, the leader's face twisted into anger. "Damnit! Retreat for now!" he ordered. The bandits began to fall back and regroup with their leader before they too were slain. One of the bandits was not as lucky as Lloyd deflected his attempt at a thrust and slashed the bandit's torso before he had a chance to try again. Once the bandits retreated, Kratos kept a firm watch on the direction in which they headed.

The realization suddenly hit Lloyd as he felt queasy in his gut. 'I-I killed them,' he said to himself. His body began to tremble. They had lives, and he ended them. They had memories, stories, thoughts, dreams, and he ended them in an instant as if they never existed. Lloyd fell to his knees, his face becoming pale. Yuan told him he would probably have to kill a lot in order to protect the Chosen, but he never knew it would be so hard.

Raines hand on his shoulder broke him out of his stupor. "Lloyd, it had to be done," the professor said as if she could read his thoughts. Lloyd just looked up at her, his face still pale. "If you would have let them live, they could have killed us, you did what you had to do," she continued.

"Lloyd," Kratos said. "If they survived, they would have tried to kill us, and most likely try to rape the Chosen and the Professor, would you have rather had that on your conscience?"

"Of course not!" Lloyd spat.

"Then do not let their deaths get the better of you," Kratos said sternly. "Compassion for your enemies will only lead to an opening in your defense, and they will take that opening. Your enemy is not as kind hearted as you are."

"Yeah," Lloyd said weakly. He got back up on his legs and cleaned his blades before returning them. Giving the fallen a quick prayer so that they may rest in peace, Lloyd rejoined the party. Looking at Genis, Lloyd figured that he had actually puked, and would need more time to get over it. Desians were one thing, but human beings?

Colette watched Lloyd the entire time; she ached, unable to do anything for him. She wasn't able to fight, the others didn't give her an opening to attack, and she couldn't help him, she had never killed anything before, the closest she came to that was bruising Lloyd when she tripped causing him to fall down a small flight of stairs back home. 'I'm so pathetic,' she said mournfully to herself.

"Who were those guys anyway?" Raine asked.

"I think that was Ridly-the-Ripper, some of the people in Triet told me about a group of bandits led by him were ambushing small groups heading from Triet," Lloyd explained. "But everyone had said they were to the north of the town, towards the Ossa Trail."

"Do you suppose something is going on there that may have chased them out?" Raine asked.

"It is possible, but given their numbers, I doubt that is possible unless it was a large monster or a rival gang of thugs. The Triet Militia doesn't patrol the area, and the next closest town would be Izoold, but their forces would be spread too thin," Kratos said.

An eerie silence fell over the group for the rest of the day. By the time the sun had begun to descend below the horizon, The distant ruins of an old town became visible.

"There it is, the Triet Ruins, the Fire Seal," Raine said as the group came to a halt. Lloyd looked to his side and saw how nervous Colette was. She took a large gulp, and quickly took Lloyd's hand for support, not that he could blame her, today had been… difficult.

Okie dookie! There's chapter 14, hope you enjoy it!

Comments, questions etc. I'm all ears!

Thank you!