Chapter 1: The Beginning
By Rei Akari
On the planet of double suns, to the island south of the
Spooner Continent a new adventure begins…
A tavern in the city of Gunn
A hooded figure sat in the corner of a crowded tavern. The drink he had ordered sat in front of him
untouched and sweating moisture unto the dirty wooden table. He stared emotionlessly toward the door of
the tavern. When approached by a
curious or drunk patron, the man would glare at the individual until the
unnerved person would walk away.
"Hey, are ya gonna do somethin' about that green-eyed
fella?" A female patron complained to
the bartender.
"What ask him to finish his drink and leave? Nah. I don't feel like dying today." The bartender answered in a hearty
laugh. "That guy's obviously a knight
or a mercenary. You know, someone who's
been trained to kill. Girl, you don't
mess with people like him, unless you have a death wish."
"What's his problem?" she sighed as she looked in the
stranger's direction. "He's been
sittin' there all day lookin' at the door."
"What? You jealous he ain't lookin' at you?" the bartender
mocked. As the redhead scoffed indigently, he continued, "He's probably waitin'
for a friend, or waitin' for someone to kill."
Meanwhile on the road that connects the city of Gunn to Nataku Mountain
"Aw, come on, Heero!" Duo whined as he hovered next to his
swift-footed friend. "I swear I didn't steal it!"
Heero stopped walking and glared at the braided elf. "Were did you get it?" he asked knowingly.
"Ah. Never mind." Duo sighed dejectedly, "You can take it
back, oh great knight."
Heero looked into the mischievous nymph's sparkling violet
eyes. He knew that the elf had stolen the
gold bracelet with the emerald gems, but he did not know where the pesky thief
got it. Heero wanted to force the elf
to return the jewelry, but he knew it was a lost cause. He knew that if he
pressed the issue any longer Duo would send one of his little fairy spirits to
bother him for the rest of the journey.
"Keep the bracelet, but you have to promise not to steal
anything in Gunn." Heero gave the elf his fiercest glare before continuing
walking. If he didn't continue walking
at a steady pace, they would never reach the port city by sundown.
Duo smirked mischievously and began to walk next to Heero.
"I promise. You know, I just don't understand why you have to walk everywhere.
You could get us a horse or two. I'm sick of walking all the time."
"Then fly." Heero sometimes wished that the talkative elf
would just leave him be, and this day was one of those times.
"But I get tired when I float for too long. I can't fly. I float." Duo demonstrated by
lifting a few feet off of the ground. "See, floating."
"Hn."
"You can't tell the difference. Of course, you're a human. 'If it ain't touching the ground it must be flying' says the human." Duo
taunted in a singsong voice.
"Do you see any horses nearby?" Heero asked.
Duo looked around. "No."
"Then stop complaining."
"But I do see a lot of dead bodies over the hill…Looks like
there was some type of battle. You can put your sword away, Mr. Knight in
Shining Armor, it looks like this battle has been over a long time ago." Duo
sighed and returned to the ground. "See, if we had horses, we could be in Gunn
right now protecting the people."
"Hn. Keep moving." Heero stated as he increased his pace.
"Don't you hate it when I'm right?"
At the royal palace in Barrel
"Milphey?" A soft voice broke the knight's thoughts.
"Dotta, you should be in bed." Milphey sighed and motioned
for her to enter his room.
"Momma said I could stay up." Dotta chirped childishly. "I couldn't sleep bigger brother."
"You should start acting your age." Milphey said
fondly. "You're almost 100-"
"10," she interrupted stubbornly. "You are thinking in people years, I think in elf years."
"True. Point noted."
He chuckled and ruffled her long violet hair. "So why can't you sleep, little Dot?"
"Is it true that she ran away? And she won't ever come
back?" Dotta whispered as she tugged a strand of her hair.
Milphey sighed. Dotta must overheard him talking to one of his knights. "Yes."
"Why did she go, bigger brother?"
"I wish I knew."
Outside the temple of Clairvaux in the city of Runoke
"My name's Millie." The tall woman with bright blue eyes smiled as she shook the priest's hand eagerly. "What's your name?"
Wolfwood looked at the tall woman strangely. He never met a woman quite like her before,
and he wasn't quite sure how to react.
He literally ran into her on the way to the temple. He was being chased by gang of thieves. He was racing towards the temple because he
had picked a fight with the leader before realizing that he had left his weapon
inside the temple. He practically crashed into her when he was looking behind
him to see how close they were.
She looked at him briefly with a look of surprise, and then
smiled at him. She grabbed him by the
collar and tossed him behind her with ease. The brown hair woman motioned for
him to leave, but he just stared at her with a look of amazement. She sighed and turned face the group of
bandits, who had stopped their pursuit at the sight of the tall woman lifting
the priest. "You leave the priest alone!"
"What are you gonna do about it lady?" the leader who
threatened to raid the temple sneered.
"I-I'll" she stammered nervously, "Hurt you really bad if
you don't leave."
The bandits erupted in a fit of laughter. "Look here fellas, a big lady with a big
mouth."
"And a big sword." Milly added. She reached into her cloak and pulled out the largest weapon
Wolfwood has ever seen. She turned the
blade so that the rays from both of the suns caught the shiny surface of the sword
and the bright light blinded the bandits.
"My eyes!" the leader wailed. "Let's get outta here."
Wolfwood briefly caught the glimpse of a crest inscribed on
the blade. He couldn't remember where
he had seen it before, but he knew it meant something important.
"You know, Mr. Priest, this place isn't safe for you to be
walking around without a weapon. Even if you did leave it at home."
Wolfwood had to give the girl credit, she was as sharp as
her blade. He was about to introduce himself when he noticed that the bandits
had returned . . .
Back at the Tavern. . .
A young mage scanned the darkened interior of the bar. He had heard that there was a strange young
man who was waiting for someone at the tavern. When he asked what was so strange about the man, the people would tell
him stories about how the man has sat in the same chair for hours, watching the
door. When approached the man would
stare that the person with eyes that were an unnatural shade of green, and he
wouldn't say a word. Quatre knew
immediately who the man was, and whom he was waiting for.
The hooded man spotted the young mage and quickly
stood. He strolled toward the door,
dropping money on the bar as he past. Once he was standing in front of the blond mage, he removed his
hood. "What took you so long?" Trowa
asked emotionlessly.
Quatre smiled brightly at the sight of his friend, but the
smile quickly faded. "Something has
happened. I can't explain it to you
here, but there is a reason I summoned you."
"Another war?" Trowa asked.
"Not if we can stop it." Quatre whispered as he motioned
that they should leave the bar. "The
king is waiting for us."
"What would the king of Gunn want with an apprentice mage
and a mercenary?"
"The entire army was destroyed during an attack on the
eastern front of Nataku Mountain. He needs every man he can get."
"May the Gods protect us…"
To be continued…
Author's note: This is only a teaser for now. Please
review!!! More than 3 reviews and I'll finish the chapter! ~Rei~