Author's note: Finally! I'm able to update! Yay! At least it gave me the chance to write some more chapters. And I even wrote a short fic about Zoids NCO about Harry and, of course, my own character. But I don't know if I'll ever post it as it was mainly something to get me off this writer's block that's been bothering me. (Grr...) Anyway, hope you like this chapter and thanks for the reviews!!!
Dragonflame by Shelly
CHAPTER SEVEN
Raven ran until he could run no more, collapsing to his knees on the ground amid a cloud of dust and coughing as with every breath he inhaled it into his lungs. He couldn't believe that he had been so weak as to let his emotions overrule his thinking. He had her right where he had wanted her, and the only thing he had wanted to do was rip her clothes off and ease this pain that had been gnawing at him. "Damn you, Riese!" he cried, grabbing handfuls of dust and scattering it into the air.
He leapt to his feet when he heard footsteps near him, growling when he saw it was Riese herself standing there. "What have you done to me?" he demanded, advancing on her and stopping when she didn't so much as budge.
She laughed. "Don't blame me for your weaknesses," she scoffed.
"No, you did something to me back there. What was it?" he repeated.
She gazed into his eyes. "I merely gave you a glimpse of something you're missing in your pursuit of revenge," she replied.
"I'll be glad to be rid of it," he said. "I don't like feeling this way."
"Why?" she asked.
He looked away. "I don't like not being in control."
She chuckled. "Typical man," she replied as she walked away.
Raven stared at her back a moment before kicking at the dust to release some of his frustrations. "Maybe I should add women to my list of things I hate."
After a good night's sleep, the travelers were ready to leave Sand Colony and continue their journey onto the Empire. Each of them prepared their zoids, Moonbay stopping by and speaking to Irvine. "I wish you guys luck on your journey," she said.
Irvine jumped down from the cockpit of the Command Wolf. "Why don't you come with us? We might need your help again."
She smiled. "Yeah, you guys seem to get in a lot of trouble. But as it happens I have a few other job offers I was thinking of taking instead."
He stepped closer to her, his eyes looking deep into her own. "Come on, Moonbay. You know that Van and Fiona will want you to come along....And I want you to as well."
Her expression revealed nothing of her emotions, but inside her heart leaped with joy. "Well, if Van and Fiona want me to come then I will. But I expect to be fully compensated for the money I'm losing," she said as she walked off back towards her Gustav.
A smile spread across his face as he watched her. "A woman after my own heart."
Before long they were on their way across the remaining miles to their destination. They had no further problems from Raven or anything else for that matter, leaving Tania to wonder why he hadn't chosen to attack them since that evening. Not that she wasn't complaining, although she was tiring of the constant surveillance that Karl and Thomas kept on her, leaving her little time to herself except when she was inside her Lightning Saix. Even then she was flanked by the slower zoids, forcing her to restrain her own as she knew the Saix chafed at such a slow pace.
It had been strange how she had gotten used to the zoid so quickly, knew its strong and weak points as well as being familiar with its temperament. Looking over at her old Saber Tiger, she wondered at how she had piloted it before she had gotten the Saix.
After many days of travel, they arrived at the Capitol, the military immediately taking Tragar into custody as well as directing their zoids to a safe location after being told that Raven had attacked them twice already. Then they hopped on a car towards the Palace, Tania nervous as it had been a while since she had last been here. She felt a hand on her own and looked over, smiling when she saw it was Karl's.
The front lawns were still as well-manicured as she remembered them, and when they pulled up to the front steps, Emperor Rudolph was there to greet them. They bowed down on one knee before him before hearing his wish for them to stand instead as they had done a great service to the Empire as well as the Republic. He especially thanked Tania as he took her hand in his, expressing his wish that there was some way he could repay her for her loyalty.
"I only have one thing that I would ask of you, Your Grace, and you already know what that is," she replied. "Have you kept your end of the bargain?"
He smiled. "Of course."
"And how is she?" she asked.
"Good as always. As a matter of fact, why don't you see for yourself? She's been anxiously awaiting your arrival," he replied.
She allowed a smile to appear. "I would at least like to clean myself up a bit before visiting her, Your Grace."
He eyed her sternly. "Enough with the formalities, Tania. You know better."
This time she laughed and reached forward to hug him, laughing at his dismayed cry. "I have missed you, Rudolph. And you have grown so much!" she exclaimed as she released him.
He gave her a long-suffering look but smiled in the end as he adjusted the crown on his head, looking down and noticing a ring on her left hand. With a gasp of surprise, he grabbed her hand and looked at it, exclaiming at its beauty. "You're engaged! Who's the lucky man? Is it Van?"
She nearly fell to the ground as did everyone else at his question. "Not quite, Rudolph. I believe the lucky man would be Colonel Shubaltz."
His smile grew even larger. "But of course! What a perfect match! I wish you both the best of happiness!"
"Thank you, Your Grace," she heard Karl speak as he came up behind her to snake his arm around her waist, earning a smile from her.
Rudolph sighed as his worries for the past few years had finally eased, although by no means were they gone altogether as there was still much to do. "Please allow me to show you where you'll be staying as you'll have a whole wing to yourselves."
They were led into the Palace, Tania amazed that some things had changed since she had last been here, although times of peace allowed for decorations to become more beautiful. Soon they entered down a hall with doors along the sides and one at the end which he said was reserved for Tania and Karl both since he knew that they wished to be together. Everyone else picked their rooms and Rudolph showed off the suite to the soon-to-be husband and wife, Tania expressing her thoughts that they didn't deserve such a lavish suite. The Emperor responded that it was nothing when compared to what she had done for them, and expressed his wish that they attend the celebration in their honor that was being held tonight before he left to attend to other matters.
Tania was amazed at the beauty of the suite, but her attention was caught and held by the glass doors that opened up into their own private garden complete with a fountain and fragrant flowers whose beauty was found nowhere else. Walking outside, she smelled of the delicate blossoms and brushed her fingertips along the soft petals, sighing when she felt Karl's arms come around her and leaning back against him.
"I'm overwhelmed," she finally said. "To come back here after four years and be presented with all this...."
"He only wishes to show his appreciation for all you have done for him, and he's well aware of what you went through at the hands of your father," he whispered, lightly kissing along the side of her neck.
She turned in his arms, seeing that he had removed his hat and now the breeze played through his golden hair, his green eyes looking into her own with all the love he felt for her. "It is beautiful, but only because you are here to share it with me. Without you, there would be nothing for me to live for as you are everything to me. I love you so much, Karl, and I never want to lose sight of that. Never."
Her words touched his soul, and he couldn't find the words to express his feelings but he could show her, and he touched his lips to hers in a soft kiss so full of emotion it brought tears to her eyes, which he wiped away when they pulled apart. "No words can say how much I love you, Tania, and I always will. But as much as I hate to end this moment, we have a busy day ahead of us, and I think it would be a good idea to go ahead and get certain things out of the way, if you know what I mean."
She arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh, you mean a bath," she teased, knowing full well what he meant and teasing him nonetheless, laughing when he pulled her closer to him.
"How about I show you what I mean," he breathed into her ear as he took her back inside to do just that.
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Okay, they're finally at the capitol, but what else is in store for them? One thing I can tell you, it's something that will bring Tania and Raven even closer than either of them want to be. Thanks for reading and please review!
Dragonflame by Shelly
CHAPTER SEVEN
Raven ran until he could run no more, collapsing to his knees on the ground amid a cloud of dust and coughing as with every breath he inhaled it into his lungs. He couldn't believe that he had been so weak as to let his emotions overrule his thinking. He had her right where he had wanted her, and the only thing he had wanted to do was rip her clothes off and ease this pain that had been gnawing at him. "Damn you, Riese!" he cried, grabbing handfuls of dust and scattering it into the air.
He leapt to his feet when he heard footsteps near him, growling when he saw it was Riese herself standing there. "What have you done to me?" he demanded, advancing on her and stopping when she didn't so much as budge.
She laughed. "Don't blame me for your weaknesses," she scoffed.
"No, you did something to me back there. What was it?" he repeated.
She gazed into his eyes. "I merely gave you a glimpse of something you're missing in your pursuit of revenge," she replied.
"I'll be glad to be rid of it," he said. "I don't like feeling this way."
"Why?" she asked.
He looked away. "I don't like not being in control."
She chuckled. "Typical man," she replied as she walked away.
Raven stared at her back a moment before kicking at the dust to release some of his frustrations. "Maybe I should add women to my list of things I hate."
After a good night's sleep, the travelers were ready to leave Sand Colony and continue their journey onto the Empire. Each of them prepared their zoids, Moonbay stopping by and speaking to Irvine. "I wish you guys luck on your journey," she said.
Irvine jumped down from the cockpit of the Command Wolf. "Why don't you come with us? We might need your help again."
She smiled. "Yeah, you guys seem to get in a lot of trouble. But as it happens I have a few other job offers I was thinking of taking instead."
He stepped closer to her, his eyes looking deep into her own. "Come on, Moonbay. You know that Van and Fiona will want you to come along....And I want you to as well."
Her expression revealed nothing of her emotions, but inside her heart leaped with joy. "Well, if Van and Fiona want me to come then I will. But I expect to be fully compensated for the money I'm losing," she said as she walked off back towards her Gustav.
A smile spread across his face as he watched her. "A woman after my own heart."
Before long they were on their way across the remaining miles to their destination. They had no further problems from Raven or anything else for that matter, leaving Tania to wonder why he hadn't chosen to attack them since that evening. Not that she wasn't complaining, although she was tiring of the constant surveillance that Karl and Thomas kept on her, leaving her little time to herself except when she was inside her Lightning Saix. Even then she was flanked by the slower zoids, forcing her to restrain her own as she knew the Saix chafed at such a slow pace.
It had been strange how she had gotten used to the zoid so quickly, knew its strong and weak points as well as being familiar with its temperament. Looking over at her old Saber Tiger, she wondered at how she had piloted it before she had gotten the Saix.
After many days of travel, they arrived at the Capitol, the military immediately taking Tragar into custody as well as directing their zoids to a safe location after being told that Raven had attacked them twice already. Then they hopped on a car towards the Palace, Tania nervous as it had been a while since she had last been here. She felt a hand on her own and looked over, smiling when she saw it was Karl's.
The front lawns were still as well-manicured as she remembered them, and when they pulled up to the front steps, Emperor Rudolph was there to greet them. They bowed down on one knee before him before hearing his wish for them to stand instead as they had done a great service to the Empire as well as the Republic. He especially thanked Tania as he took her hand in his, expressing his wish that there was some way he could repay her for her loyalty.
"I only have one thing that I would ask of you, Your Grace, and you already know what that is," she replied. "Have you kept your end of the bargain?"
He smiled. "Of course."
"And how is she?" she asked.
"Good as always. As a matter of fact, why don't you see for yourself? She's been anxiously awaiting your arrival," he replied.
She allowed a smile to appear. "I would at least like to clean myself up a bit before visiting her, Your Grace."
He eyed her sternly. "Enough with the formalities, Tania. You know better."
This time she laughed and reached forward to hug him, laughing at his dismayed cry. "I have missed you, Rudolph. And you have grown so much!" she exclaimed as she released him.
He gave her a long-suffering look but smiled in the end as he adjusted the crown on his head, looking down and noticing a ring on her left hand. With a gasp of surprise, he grabbed her hand and looked at it, exclaiming at its beauty. "You're engaged! Who's the lucky man? Is it Van?"
She nearly fell to the ground as did everyone else at his question. "Not quite, Rudolph. I believe the lucky man would be Colonel Shubaltz."
His smile grew even larger. "But of course! What a perfect match! I wish you both the best of happiness!"
"Thank you, Your Grace," she heard Karl speak as he came up behind her to snake his arm around her waist, earning a smile from her.
Rudolph sighed as his worries for the past few years had finally eased, although by no means were they gone altogether as there was still much to do. "Please allow me to show you where you'll be staying as you'll have a whole wing to yourselves."
They were led into the Palace, Tania amazed that some things had changed since she had last been here, although times of peace allowed for decorations to become more beautiful. Soon they entered down a hall with doors along the sides and one at the end which he said was reserved for Tania and Karl both since he knew that they wished to be together. Everyone else picked their rooms and Rudolph showed off the suite to the soon-to-be husband and wife, Tania expressing her thoughts that they didn't deserve such a lavish suite. The Emperor responded that it was nothing when compared to what she had done for them, and expressed his wish that they attend the celebration in their honor that was being held tonight before he left to attend to other matters.
Tania was amazed at the beauty of the suite, but her attention was caught and held by the glass doors that opened up into their own private garden complete with a fountain and fragrant flowers whose beauty was found nowhere else. Walking outside, she smelled of the delicate blossoms and brushed her fingertips along the soft petals, sighing when she felt Karl's arms come around her and leaning back against him.
"I'm overwhelmed," she finally said. "To come back here after four years and be presented with all this...."
"He only wishes to show his appreciation for all you have done for him, and he's well aware of what you went through at the hands of your father," he whispered, lightly kissing along the side of her neck.
She turned in his arms, seeing that he had removed his hat and now the breeze played through his golden hair, his green eyes looking into her own with all the love he felt for her. "It is beautiful, but only because you are here to share it with me. Without you, there would be nothing for me to live for as you are everything to me. I love you so much, Karl, and I never want to lose sight of that. Never."
Her words touched his soul, and he couldn't find the words to express his feelings but he could show her, and he touched his lips to hers in a soft kiss so full of emotion it brought tears to her eyes, which he wiped away when they pulled apart. "No words can say how much I love you, Tania, and I always will. But as much as I hate to end this moment, we have a busy day ahead of us, and I think it would be a good idea to go ahead and get certain things out of the way, if you know what I mean."
She arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh, you mean a bath," she teased, knowing full well what he meant and teasing him nonetheless, laughing when he pulled her closer to him.
"How about I show you what I mean," he breathed into her ear as he took her back inside to do just that.
************************
Okay, they're finally at the capitol, but what else is in store for them? One thing I can tell you, it's something that will bring Tania and Raven even closer than either of them want to be. Thanks for reading and please review!