Disclaimer: If you've actually been reading this story then you already:
a) Know my opinion of disclaimers.
b) Know what I'm gonna say (actually...if you've read any fanfiction then you should know this one).
The First Stranger
Chapter 2 - First Day in Fanelia
AN: Just a small recap here ^_~ Oh...and I'm not sure if Van would be able to talk at the age of
three...but he's an intelligent person...if it's not normal then he just started to talk early *shrugs*
It is MY fiction, after all. Oh, and Achaia doesn't know Van and Folken are princes in this chapter.
Also, in addressing my one review (that I just got ^_^):
Sarina Fannel: I was just about done with this chapter when I saw your review...I was gonna put
this off till tomorrow, but since you were so eager to read more I decided to finish this chapter
and post it ^_^. I hope you enjoy! ^_~
" All right," Folken said, picking up Merle, as he and Van walked towards the source of the light.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They walked about 10 kilometers into the forest before it opened up into a large clearing. In it's
center was a girl on the ground, it seemed she was the source of the mysterious column. Folken sat
Merle down next to Van. At the moment they were hidden by thick undergrowth, and Folken told them
to stay there hidden while he checked out the girl, Mom and Dad would kill him, well not kill him,
but something similar, if anything happened to those two.
As Folken approached the girl seemed to stir, but didn't wake up. Folken studied her. She appeared
to be about his age and had dark hair of a brownish-auburn hue. She also wore glasses, that were
threatening to slip off at the moment. Folken carefully pushed them back up the bridge of her nose,
not wishing to wake her up. The girl stirred slightly again. Folken quickly decided to take her
back to the castle, after all, he couldn't just leave her out here in the woods, now could he?
Folken gathered the girl in his arms, noting her weird garb, some kind of pants and a really short
sleeveless tunic, he'd never seen anything like them before. Then he walked over to where Van and
Merle were hiding. Van and Merle both were curious as to what had caused the light and Van was trying
to jump even to Folken's arms to get a good view. The trip home was somewhat slow, as they had to
keep pace with Van, who was trying his best to carry the skirming Merle.
Once they reached the castle Folken showed the strange girl to his parents so that they could decide
what to do. It was decided that at the moment she would occupy one of the vacant guestrooms, until
she woke up and they could find out where she was from. When Folken laid her upon the bed in the
chosen guestroom Van and Merle were on his heels.
" Wow, she's pwetty," Van stated.
Folken didn't say anything, but he was inclined to agree with Van. The three sat down, or rather
Folken sat down, Van was up every 10 seconds going here or there, and Merle was moving around constantly.
Folken sighed, at least they weren't causing any major trouble...yet. Folken leaned back in the
cushioned chair he was setting in and was about to doze off when the girl moved a little, then she
opened her eyes.
" Where...where am I? This doesn't look like home...," the girl asked, trailing off as she gaped
at the finery around her.
" You're in the castle of Fanelia, Miss," Folken told her.
" Oh...I've never heard of Fanelia.... Ummm...who are you?" the girl asked, quite obviously confused.
" I'm Folken Lacour de Fanel, and this is my little brother...," Folken started.
" Vawn!" Van interrupted.
" Yes, Van Slanzar de Fanel, and our adopted sister, Merle, is the little cat girl in the corner,"
Folken finished.
Merle looked up when her name was called, before proceeding to what she was doing before...which
looked like trying to find something to stick in her mouth. Van walked closer to the bed, wanting
to see the "pwetty" girl. Folken noticed that her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue that held
a slight greenish tint, they reminded him of the ocean he'd once seen in a picture.
" Youwr, pwetty!" Van exclaimed.
" Oh," the girl said, a bit suprised at Van's blunt outburst, " Ummm...thank you."
" We told owr names, what youwrs?" Van asked.
" Achaia," the girl replied.
" Well, Miss Achaia," Folken cut in, " Welcome to Fanelia Castle, do you need anything?"
" Oh, um...I don't think so.... Did you happen to find anything with me...?" Achaia asked, trailing
slightly off.
" You mean this ball?" Folken asked, holding up her soccer ball.
" Yeah! It's my soccer ball," Achaia replied, noting from the confused look on his face Folken
had no clue what soccer was.
" It's a game where I come from, I'll teach you sometime," she replied with a wink, " Now, if you
don't mind I'd like to get out of bed and strech my legs a bit."
" Oh, I uh...don't mind at all," Folken replied, a bit caught off guard.
" Okay," Achaia commented, walking to the door. Her voice wafted into the room from the hallway,
as she realized something, " Ummm...how do I get around without getting lost, anyway...?"
" I guess we could take you on a tour or something," Folken suggested casually.
" Yeah! We cwould!! I can show you me an Mwerle's favowite pwaces!" Van enthusiastically agreed.
" Well, then I guess it's settled," Achaia answered, will Merle be joining us?" The two year old
giggled and crawled towards her, as if saying yes, " I guess that's my answer."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Folken guided her through the castle Achaia reflected on when she'd waken up. She'd been suprised,
after all, it's not every day you convince yourself your dreaming when taken up in a column of light,
black out, and then wake up in a room right out of a fairy tale! Then there were the people in the
room. The cute kid, Van, the kid about her age, Folken...who she found quite handsome and like a
prince out of a fairy tale, then there was Merle, her race being something Achaia would've thought
only in a fantasy book. Maybe she was having a dream within a dream? She pinched herself hard.
A tiny jolt of pain came in response, nope...she was awake.
Soon they were outside. Folken was carrying Merle, and Van was holding Achaia's hand. Van eagerly
pulled Achaia forward, wanting to show her the gardens. She gave a grin back to Folken and hurried
to keep pace with the impatient three year old. He led her into the magnificant gardens in the
center of the courtyard, and tried to drag her along as she stopped, frozen with awe. In a few
seconds Van's insistant tugging brought her back to reality and she continued.
" This...this is...beautiful," Achaia breathed.
" I knewed youwd wike it!!" Van cried.
Folken grinned and followed as Van led Achaia towards the center, where all the fountains were. He,
like Van, was eager to see what her reaction would be to this. They walked out of the cover of the
lush gardens and entered the center square, where all the fountains were.
" Oh my...," Achaia trailed off, " It's...it's like a dream...."
Folken sat Merle down on the ground and offered a hand to Achaia, " May I assist you?"
" Uh, I guess," Achaia replied, unused to the respect and chilvary that was all but non existant
in her world.
Folken helped her settle comfortably on the side of one of the fountains, Van scampering up into her
lap. Folken sat down beside her and Merle played contently in front of the group. Van told Achaia
about Fanelia, with a little help from Folken, and Achaia listened intently. She tried not to
laugh when Van stumbled over big words, and gave him a wide grin at those times instead. The rest
of the day passed without event, and Achaia found herself beginning to enjoy Fanelia. She also wondered
why she had been brought here.
After a splendid picnic lunch, and a tour of the actual city during the afternoon the two teens, and
two toddlers returned to the castle. Folken and company escorted her to her room, Van giving her hand
a kiss with a slight bow and Merle hugging her tightly before they took off down the hall.
" Wow, that's the quickest I've ever seen Merle take to someone...especially a person Van was hanging
on," Folken commented, as he stood outside Achaia's room with her. All he could think at that moment
was that she had beautiful eyes.
" Really?" she asked.
" Yeah...," Folken said as the two gazed into each others eyes in silence. Then he broke the silence,
" You might wanna get prepared for dinner, I'll send some chambermaids to help you and then I'll come
up to get you for dinner."
" Okay," Achaia agreed, opening the door to her room and waving to Folken as she closed it behind her,
she recalled later that the first thought that ran through her head was that he was the best looking
guy she'd ever seen.
a) Know my opinion of disclaimers.
b) Know what I'm gonna say (actually...if you've read any fanfiction then you should know this one).
The First Stranger
Chapter 2 - First Day in Fanelia
AN: Just a small recap here ^_~ Oh...and I'm not sure if Van would be able to talk at the age of
three...but he's an intelligent person...if it's not normal then he just started to talk early *shrugs*
It is MY fiction, after all. Oh, and Achaia doesn't know Van and Folken are princes in this chapter.
Also, in addressing my one review (that I just got ^_^):
Sarina Fannel: I was just about done with this chapter when I saw your review...I was gonna put
this off till tomorrow, but since you were so eager to read more I decided to finish this chapter
and post it ^_^. I hope you enjoy! ^_~
" All right," Folken said, picking up Merle, as he and Van walked towards the source of the light.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They walked about 10 kilometers into the forest before it opened up into a large clearing. In it's
center was a girl on the ground, it seemed she was the source of the mysterious column. Folken sat
Merle down next to Van. At the moment they were hidden by thick undergrowth, and Folken told them
to stay there hidden while he checked out the girl, Mom and Dad would kill him, well not kill him,
but something similar, if anything happened to those two.
As Folken approached the girl seemed to stir, but didn't wake up. Folken studied her. She appeared
to be about his age and had dark hair of a brownish-auburn hue. She also wore glasses, that were
threatening to slip off at the moment. Folken carefully pushed them back up the bridge of her nose,
not wishing to wake her up. The girl stirred slightly again. Folken quickly decided to take her
back to the castle, after all, he couldn't just leave her out here in the woods, now could he?
Folken gathered the girl in his arms, noting her weird garb, some kind of pants and a really short
sleeveless tunic, he'd never seen anything like them before. Then he walked over to where Van and
Merle were hiding. Van and Merle both were curious as to what had caused the light and Van was trying
to jump even to Folken's arms to get a good view. The trip home was somewhat slow, as they had to
keep pace with Van, who was trying his best to carry the skirming Merle.
Once they reached the castle Folken showed the strange girl to his parents so that they could decide
what to do. It was decided that at the moment she would occupy one of the vacant guestrooms, until
she woke up and they could find out where she was from. When Folken laid her upon the bed in the
chosen guestroom Van and Merle were on his heels.
" Wow, she's pwetty," Van stated.
Folken didn't say anything, but he was inclined to agree with Van. The three sat down, or rather
Folken sat down, Van was up every 10 seconds going here or there, and Merle was moving around constantly.
Folken sighed, at least they weren't causing any major trouble...yet. Folken leaned back in the
cushioned chair he was setting in and was about to doze off when the girl moved a little, then she
opened her eyes.
" Where...where am I? This doesn't look like home...," the girl asked, trailing off as she gaped
at the finery around her.
" You're in the castle of Fanelia, Miss," Folken told her.
" Oh...I've never heard of Fanelia.... Ummm...who are you?" the girl asked, quite obviously confused.
" I'm Folken Lacour de Fanel, and this is my little brother...," Folken started.
" Vawn!" Van interrupted.
" Yes, Van Slanzar de Fanel, and our adopted sister, Merle, is the little cat girl in the corner,"
Folken finished.
Merle looked up when her name was called, before proceeding to what she was doing before...which
looked like trying to find something to stick in her mouth. Van walked closer to the bed, wanting
to see the "pwetty" girl. Folken noticed that her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue that held
a slight greenish tint, they reminded him of the ocean he'd once seen in a picture.
" Youwr, pwetty!" Van exclaimed.
" Oh," the girl said, a bit suprised at Van's blunt outburst, " Ummm...thank you."
" We told owr names, what youwrs?" Van asked.
" Achaia," the girl replied.
" Well, Miss Achaia," Folken cut in, " Welcome to Fanelia Castle, do you need anything?"
" Oh, um...I don't think so.... Did you happen to find anything with me...?" Achaia asked, trailing
slightly off.
" You mean this ball?" Folken asked, holding up her soccer ball.
" Yeah! It's my soccer ball," Achaia replied, noting from the confused look on his face Folken
had no clue what soccer was.
" It's a game where I come from, I'll teach you sometime," she replied with a wink, " Now, if you
don't mind I'd like to get out of bed and strech my legs a bit."
" Oh, I uh...don't mind at all," Folken replied, a bit caught off guard.
" Okay," Achaia commented, walking to the door. Her voice wafted into the room from the hallway,
as she realized something, " Ummm...how do I get around without getting lost, anyway...?"
" I guess we could take you on a tour or something," Folken suggested casually.
" Yeah! We cwould!! I can show you me an Mwerle's favowite pwaces!" Van enthusiastically agreed.
" Well, then I guess it's settled," Achaia answered, will Merle be joining us?" The two year old
giggled and crawled towards her, as if saying yes, " I guess that's my answer."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Folken guided her through the castle Achaia reflected on when she'd waken up. She'd been suprised,
after all, it's not every day you convince yourself your dreaming when taken up in a column of light,
black out, and then wake up in a room right out of a fairy tale! Then there were the people in the
room. The cute kid, Van, the kid about her age, Folken...who she found quite handsome and like a
prince out of a fairy tale, then there was Merle, her race being something Achaia would've thought
only in a fantasy book. Maybe she was having a dream within a dream? She pinched herself hard.
A tiny jolt of pain came in response, nope...she was awake.
Soon they were outside. Folken was carrying Merle, and Van was holding Achaia's hand. Van eagerly
pulled Achaia forward, wanting to show her the gardens. She gave a grin back to Folken and hurried
to keep pace with the impatient three year old. He led her into the magnificant gardens in the
center of the courtyard, and tried to drag her along as she stopped, frozen with awe. In a few
seconds Van's insistant tugging brought her back to reality and she continued.
" This...this is...beautiful," Achaia breathed.
" I knewed youwd wike it!!" Van cried.
Folken grinned and followed as Van led Achaia towards the center, where all the fountains were. He,
like Van, was eager to see what her reaction would be to this. They walked out of the cover of the
lush gardens and entered the center square, where all the fountains were.
" Oh my...," Achaia trailed off, " It's...it's like a dream...."
Folken sat Merle down on the ground and offered a hand to Achaia, " May I assist you?"
" Uh, I guess," Achaia replied, unused to the respect and chilvary that was all but non existant
in her world.
Folken helped her settle comfortably on the side of one of the fountains, Van scampering up into her
lap. Folken sat down beside her and Merle played contently in front of the group. Van told Achaia
about Fanelia, with a little help from Folken, and Achaia listened intently. She tried not to
laugh when Van stumbled over big words, and gave him a wide grin at those times instead. The rest
of the day passed without event, and Achaia found herself beginning to enjoy Fanelia. She also wondered
why she had been brought here.
After a splendid picnic lunch, and a tour of the actual city during the afternoon the two teens, and
two toddlers returned to the castle. Folken and company escorted her to her room, Van giving her hand
a kiss with a slight bow and Merle hugging her tightly before they took off down the hall.
" Wow, that's the quickest I've ever seen Merle take to someone...especially a person Van was hanging
on," Folken commented, as he stood outside Achaia's room with her. All he could think at that moment
was that she had beautiful eyes.
" Really?" she asked.
" Yeah...," Folken said as the two gazed into each others eyes in silence. Then he broke the silence,
" You might wanna get prepared for dinner, I'll send some chambermaids to help you and then I'll come
up to get you for dinner."
" Okay," Achaia agreed, opening the door to her room and waving to Folken as she closed it behind her,
she recalled later that the first thought that ran through her head was that he was the best looking
guy she'd ever seen.