Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Well, I'm back from my vacation! It was great. The anime connvention was a blast! I can't wait to go to my next one. Being my first anime con, I did some things I'd do differently next time, but it was fun as it was, and I learned a lot. My next anime convention will be even better! Plus I got lots of nifty souveniers ^.^

Sorry to leave you guys hanging like that, when I was going to be gone for so long! It's actually kind of cool, though...I got more reviews on that chapter, saying how evil I was for leaving that cliffhanger, than I have for any other chapter! Maybe I should go on vacation and leave terrbile cliffhangers for the readers more often ^.^

Actually, though, I am glad I got to go on that vacation. Honestly, I was getting tired of Arelle, and because every week I had to stress myself out thinking of what was going to happen in the next chapter, I never got the chance to look ahead and plan for future chapters and plotlines. Well, this vacation gave me a chance to do that. And it also refreshed me, from Arelle and just life in general. And school. Icky.

So, I'm back. I'm ready to write. I'm seeing good things for Arelle.

Updates will resume as usual, on Thursday. Love you all!

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Akinen wiped his sweaty brow with the back of hand, still clutching his sword in his hand tightly. His gaze turned again to Respitas, who was standing by him, a scowl on his face.

"This battle is meaningless. We need not fight each other!" Akinen exclaimed.

Respitas glared at him, charging him again, and making a quick strike at Akinen's chest. Akinen avoided the attack by quickly ducking, and, seeing an opening as he came up from his dodge, he hit Respitas in the face with his iron gauntlet.

Respitas jumped back, holding his face where Akinen had bruised it. He scowled at Akinen. "You taunt me, Akinen?" he spat. "You could've killed me there, but you chose to hit me with your gauntlet instead?"

"I do not taunt ye, Respitas!" Akinen said. "I merely wish to end this battle without either of us dying."

"You have grown far too soft, Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat," Respitas spat. "To think you were once second-in-command of our Cutthroat clan. It sickens me."

"Will ye never change, Respitas? Don't ye see there's more to life than killing?" Akinen pleaded.

"Enough! I don't want to hear your sickly-sweet words!" Respitas said. "There is more to life than killing. There is power. There is money. But in order to get these things, first you must kill. And kill I have always, and kill I always will. And those who talk of goodness or love—they'll be the first to die," Respitas said, charging Akinen.

****************

Lilliah closed her eyes and mouthed the words to her spell, at which all the Cutthroats by her suddenly slowed down, as if in slow motion. She gasped, wiping the sweat from her brow and preparing to whack the nearest Cutthroat with her sword.

With the slow spell cast on the Cutthroats around her, Lilliah didn't have as much trouble with them all attacking her at once. When more than a few did get on her at a time, since their movements were so slow, she didn't have much trouble making quick work of them. The problem was, she was

exhausted. Her mana was running out, and not being quite as skilled in the sword as in magic, her body was weary of fighting, as well.

Lilliah swung her sword at the nearest Cutthroat, hitting him in the chest, but as she did she was pierced in the back by another Cutthroat. Lilliah crumpled to the ground in surprise. It wasn't a really bad hit, but she hadn't expected it. The Cutthroat that hit her hadn't been affected by her spell—he must have come from further away, where her spell hadn't reached. His movements were fast, and she barely got out of the way of his next strike, rolling on the ground to avoid his strike.

She leapt to her feet just in time to evade an attack from behind her. Dodging it just in time, she was alarmed to see yet a third Cutthroat slashing at her, and she gulped, falling onto her stomach on the ground to avoid the attack. Only too late did she see her mistake—to the Cutthroat behind her, she was now an easy target.

Lilliah cringed as she saw his sword coming towards her and she struggled to roll away, but she knew she couldn't make it in time. Lilliah closed her eyes tight, dreading his next blow.

Suddenly, the Cutthroat in front of her was whacked in the side by a huge sword, sending it back a distance. Lilliah looked up to see Drahkin looking down at her, sweat pouring down his face, panting heavily.

"M'lady?"

"Drahkin!" Lilliah jumped up to greet him, but before she could, she saw another Cutthroat about to hit her. Raising her sword, she hit him in the chest.

Lilliah looked at Drahkin, who was swinging at another Cutthroat.

"We should stay together," Drahkin said. "It'll be easier to hold them off."

Lilliah nodded. "Good idea! We can fight them back-to-back!"

Drahkin nodded before swinging at another Cutthroat…

***********************

Arelle gasped as she saw the Ogre behind Moren raise his club, preparing to smash the unsuspecting Moren.

"Moren! Look out!" Arelle cried. Moren turned just in time to see the ogre's club coming down on him. Swiftly, Moren jumped forward, sliding between the ogre's legs. Jumping upright once behind the ogre, Moren grabbed hold of the armor on the ogre's back and began to climb up him.

As soon as the ogre felt Moren crawling up his back, he became enraged and began thrashing around, trying to shake Moren loose. Moren held on tightly, slowly making his way up the ogre's back, and then onto his shoulders. At this height, he was about eye-level with the bottom of Arelle's cage.

"Moren!" Arelle cried, panicking as she saw Moren being thrashed about on the ogre's back.

Moren looked up at Arelle. Taking a deep breath and gathering his courage, he jumped from the ogre's shoulders to the cage, grabbing onto the bars with his arms, and trying to swing himself up. Arelle helped him by taking his arm and pulling him up, and soon Moren was nearly upright, clutching to the outside of the cage.

As soon as the ogre saw what had happened, he was enraged. Moren was now on the other side of the cage, so the ogre swatted the cage, making both Moren and Arelle clutch to the bars for security. Moren knew he had to work fast.

Closing his eyes briefly, he cast a simple Burn spell on the thick rope holding the cage up. It began burning right away, and Moren quickly cast a Fire spell on the lock of the cage, breaking the door open. Arelle swung the door open and clung to the outside of the cage by Moren, all the while the ogre was thrashing the cage about, making the already singeing ropes give way completely.

Moren grabbed Arelle as they jumped off the falling cage. The cage fell directly on the unexpecting ogre, smashing him. Meanwhile, Moren landed with a loud thump on his back, protecting Arelle by keeping her above him, to cushion her impact.

Arelle jumped up as soon as they fell, only slightly jarred by the high fall. But she gasped as she saw Moren, eyes closed, blood gushing from a wound on the back of his head where he had landed on a jagged rock.

"Moren!" Arelle exclaimed, horrified.

Moren opened his eyes. "I kept my promise…you're finally safe…" Moren mumbled.

"Moren! You're wounded!" Arelle exclaimed. "You've got to heal youreslf! I don't know how!"

Moren squinted his eyes in pain. "I don't think…I can…" he said as his eyes closed.

"Moren! Wait!" Arelle cried, grabbing his hand. "Don't die, Moren!"

Moren lay still and unmoving, and Arelle could see he was paling. Arelle bit her lip, concentrating in her mind.

"I'm not letting you go, Moren. I'm not letting you go," Arelle said, eyes shut tightly.

Suddenly, everything around her began to give off a glow. She was feeling the Flow. Arelle looked down at Moren, and could see his bright flow fading. She saw the wound on the back of his head, and touched it lightly, concentrating.

"This is what I do…right? Just concentrate on the area of the flow I want to manipulate…?" Arelle focused on the wound, and it became clear in her mind. Arelle touched the wound, feeling it in her mind more than in her touch. Suddenly, the flow began to change. It glowed with a warmth…a deep warmth. She was healing Moren's head. The wound on his head no longer disrupted Moren's flow. The unstable flow became serene and calm. The flow was calm.

Arelle opened her eyes and stopped concentrating. She saw Moren opening his own eyes, looking up at her.

"Moren…" Arelle said, tears running down her cheeks.

"Heh…" he chuckled, "and here I had come save you!" he said. "It turned out, you saved me."

"I couldn't have done it without your training, of course," Arelle said, watching him sit up slowly.

"I'm still a little sore, but that was a good heal. Especially considering it was your first!" Moren said.

Arelle smiled. "Everything felt…right. Everything was flowing perfectly. I knew what I was doing, Moren. I could feel how right it felt…" Arelle said.

"Maybe you were born to be a Cleric!" Moren smiled, standing up. "In any case, we better hurry over and help Akinen, Drahkin and Lilliah. In my blindness to help you, I left them to fend off the other Cutthroats. I'm glad I saved you, but I am sorry for leaving them alone to face so many Cutthroats!" Moren said.

"Well, let's hurry, then!" Arelle said as they took off towards where the others were.

**********************

Akinen jumped out of the way as he saw Respitas swing his sword at him. Respitas burned in fury.

"Why won't you just die, Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat?!" Respitas exclaimed.

Akinen looked at Respitas with pity. Akinen knew once he was almost like Respitas—he didn't know about anything but thievery and killing. Or at least, what good he knew, he kept hidden and unused. Respitas was worse than he was, though, and would probably live until his dying day just the way he was now.

"Stop that!" Respitas spat.

Akinen looked up at him, surprised. "Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me with pity!" Respitas said. "I certainly don't need it from you!"

Akinen said nothing.

"You always were like that, weren't you? Always better than all of us, always needing to help others," Respitas said. "The Commander's favorite," Respitas said bitterly.

"Are you still bitter about me becoming second-in-command, Respitas?" Akinen asked.

Respitas stared at him hard. "You took that from me, Aka! You took that position from me! The thing that mattered to me most, you took away!" Respitas said. "I was the Second-in-Command. I was the Commander's right hand. Until you came along.

"How do you think it felt, Aka? To have what you hold dearest, taken away and given to some new guy, someone who hasn't been part of the group for half as long? How do you think that made me feel about you, Aka?"

Akinen said nothing.

Respitas snarled at him, raising his sword to attack again. "I will kill you, Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat, or I will die trying. Too bad the Commander isn't here to save you from me this time!" Respitas said as he slashed at Akinen.

Akinen dodged the attack and used his leg to trip Respitas, who fell on the ground on his face. Respitas jumped up again, his eyes burning with anger. He looked down at his sword and tossed it aside.

Akinen looked at him confused. "Are you giving up?" Akinen asked in disbelief.

Respitas drew two daggers, one in each hand. "You know, I've come across a few unusual items since I joined the Cutthroats," Respitas said, eyeing the blades. "Some of the items I kept in secret. In case I ever needed them.

"These two particular blades are somewhat interesting…" Respitas said. "They're poisoned. But it's not a normal poison. It's such a deadly, quick working poison. One nick and you're sick for weeks. Getting slashed by these could be, well, fatal," Respitas smiled. "And getting slashed over and over again would be most certainly, very fatal!" Respitas said, running towards Akinen.

Akinen, surprised, tried to jump back, but tripped on a stone and fell backwards. Akinen winced as Respitas's daggers slashed open his chest…

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Oh, and I forgot to mention in my author's notes, but I'm making a personal website, and it currently has a large section for Arelle stuff. I put a Arelle poll up there, and I was thinking you all could go vote on it if you want to. The poll question is, "Who's your favorite male character in Arelle?". I wonder how many votes I'll get...heh... Well, the link to it is at the bottom of my bio, so check it out if you have time! And vote!

Time to reply to reviews....

Aniviel Freespirit: Gah! nasty nasty cliffy and just before your holiday to! Great chappy anyway, is Arelle going to manage her magic?? Have a good holiday!
Amai's Reply: Indeed, it was a nasty...cliffy. ^.^ Apparently Arelle is learning to manage her magic now...cool, ne? Can't wait till she becomes a full Caster. And marries Moren ^.^ Thanks for the comment!

Rose Red: Wow... nice cliffhanger right before vacation. Have a safe holiday, but don't forget to come back and continue...before we die of anticipation.
Amai's Reply: Haha! I'm sure you made it for two weeks without Arelle ^.^ Though that was a bad cliffhanger. Sorry! At least you can read it now. And see---he didn't even get hit! Moren's too cool to die, anyway ^.^

Blue the Echidna:*scratches her head* Well I hope you have fun at the convention. ^_^ I never knew Moren could fight like that. O.o Anywho, I'll still be waiting around here when you get back. :)
Amai's Reply: Normally, Moren can't fight like that. Only when Arelle's in danger, apparently. Moren has trouble when he get's enraged. He looses his sense and gets to absorbed in acomplishing his goal, which is usually to save Arelle. Thanks for sticking with Arelle, even through the nasty cliffhangers! Thanks for the comment!

ow my brain: do you know how EVIL ur being? 'o lets all leave the worst cliffhanger in the story for when we have a two week holiday! o yes wont that be funny!' gr...=P
Amai's Reply: *cringes* Yes, I know it was evil of me. Forgive me! I'm back now though! See, see? And see, Moren's quite alive! Thanks for sticking with Arelle, even through all my horrible, horrible cliff hangers! Thanks for the review ^.^