Chapter 2: Astoria
The group left early the next morning. Taeami marveled at
the size of the Crusade ("I've never seen a ship this size
before!!") as they soared away from the comforts of Tierania. It
wasn't too long before the group reached King Aston's castle in
Astoria. Taeami's jaw dropped as she stepped out of the ship.
"Whoa..."
Folken
laughed at her. "Is it really that much of a surprise?"
She
blinked rapidly. "It's... huge! I don't think I've seen
a building this big in my entire life!" Van nodded.
"It
is kind of weird at first, but don't worry, you'll adapt."
Suddenly,
a voice cried out from the castle gates. "Allen, is that you?" And
next thing they knew, a beautiful young lady was standing in front of them.
Allen kissed her hand.
"Princess
Milerna. How lovely to see you again." The princess nodded.
"Thank
you. I'm so glad you're back Allen! Father's gone absolutely
mad! He's letting the Zaibach take over completely! You HAVE to do
something!" It was then that she noticed Taeami. "Oh, hello! I
don't believe I've met you before. I'm princess Milerna
Aston."
"Taeami
Saerian," she replied, extending her hand. Milerna shook it, a look of
curiosity spreading over her face.
"Are
you a friend of Hitomi's, from the mystic moon?" Taeami shook her head,
a mind boggled look on her face. Allen laughed.
"No,
no, Milerna, Taeami is queen of Tierania, a lovely little country to the east
of here, and she's going to help us negotiate with your father."
Milerna looked shocked.
"I'm
sorry, I didn't realize you were a QUEEN!" She said to Taeami.
"I hope you're not TOO insulted!" Taeami shook her head.
"No,
not at all!" she looked again at the palace in front of her. "Do
you actually live in there?" Milerna nodded.
"Surely
you're no stranger to castles!"
"No,
but this is so... big." Milerna waved her hand dismissively.
"Oh,
this castle's nothing compared to some! You must not get around all that
much. Well, come in then, all of you. The sooner you get those negotiations over with, the better!"
*****
Samson
sat all alone in the empty throne room, immersed in thought. He had been
surprised at his anxiety over the past day since she'd left. Where was
she now? What did Astoria look like? Had they reached their destination without
a problem? What if the ship crashed again?
There
was a knock on the door, and then a very nervous looking Alastyr Zypher peeked
around the door frame.
"Commander
Reyes? I... There's someone here..."
Samson
ran a hand through his long, dark hair in frustration, thinking to himself how
useless the boy was. "Well, send him in then!"
Zypher
nodded anxiously. "Yes sir!" He cleared his throat. "Dilandau
Albatou of Zaibach!"
Samson
stood up suddenly, his face ashen. Zaibach? Here? But that was impossible...
unless... He raised his eyes towards the doorway, where a young man was
standing, flanked by five other, slightly younger men. The leader glared
piercingly at Samson, an angry look on his face.
"Where
is the Queen?" He demanded angrily. "I have no use for
soldiers!"
"I
will answer for her," Samson replied coolly. The young man glared at
Samson insolently.
"That
will not do. I demand that you step aside and surrender your queen now, before
you are forced to pay the consequences!" He gave a small, slightly
demonic smile at this. Samson set his jaw and answered.
"Never.
You cannot touch her, or this country, for that matter. We have a treaty, or
have you forgotten that?"
"Ah,
yes," replied Dilandau smugly, pulling a piece of paper out of his breast
pocket. "Here it is. It says here that, so long as Tierania does not
disobey the wishes of Zaibach in any way, that we will leave you and your
country to your own devices. It's too bad you had to break so many
rules!"
Samson
shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about. Tierania
has held up it's end of the bargain." Dilandau shook his head.
"Harboring
the enemy, I'm afraid, it against the rules, and I have it under good
authority that you had, until very recently, one Van Fanel, King of Fanelia,
and One Allen Shaezar, knight of Astoria, under the roof of this very castle.
As well as One Folken Strategos, a deserter of the Zaibach empire. Now, I would
suggest that you surrender your queen right now." Samson hid his shock at
the last few sentences. Strategos? So, Folken Fanel was a part of Zaibach...
Taeami! He breathed in deeply, trying to
hide his panic.
"You
will never take our queen. As long as I live, as long as this palace stands,
you will not touch her."
Dilandau
shrugged. "Hmm, I see you're quite determined. Pity, it really is a
beautiful country." he turned to the boys behind him. "Quickly,
prepare Oreades." The five young men ran out of the room, and Dilandau
followed at a leisurely pace. Samson stood for several seconds, and then tore
off for another exit. By the time he got outside, Dilandau was climbing into
his Guymelef.
"Goodbye,
Commander!" He cried down at Samson, raising the large mechanical arm of
his guymelef. Samson looked up in horror.
"Stop!
You can't do this! We didn't know..." He stopped as Dilandau
let loose a steady stream of fire at the castle. Samson dashed for the door,
entering the burning palace and tearing through the halls at top speed. He
rushed up four flights of stairs in a matter of seconds and was soon in the
east turret, where the bell tower was located. The bell was only rung as a
means of alerting the people of disaster and on particularly special occasions.
Samson tugged several times on the long cord, the bell sounding thunderously
right over his head. He leaned over the railing, expecting to see the town
folks running from their houses, in panic, but instead he saw nothing but
flames and Zaibach fleets. And then he remembered; the queen's birthday,
one of the few occasions on which the bell was rung, was today. He buried his
head in his hands. They were lost. Samson thought to himself that it was rather
hot in this turret, and turned around to see a red glow advancing towards him
up the stairs. He gasped as the fire came into view. He was trapped! He was
pressed against the railing, trying desperately to think and seriously
contemplating jumping when he heard the rush of a small motor behind him; the
sound of one of the small two man airships that his army flew.
"Commander!"
cried the pilot, opening the hatch, "Get in, Quickly!" It was
Zypher. Samson stared in wonder for a few seconds and then jumped into the
plane behind Zypher, still in shock.
"Alastyr...
You saved my life... and at great personal risk. I don't know how
I'll ever be able to thank you for this."
Zypher
shook his head. "Don't bother. That's my job, isn't
it?"
"Your
job, Alastyr, is to protect the queen."
He
gave a little half smile. "And the queen needs you." He circled so
that they were facing the palace. "Look what they've done,"
He said sadly. Samson's eyes went wide at how quickly the fire had
spread. The whole countryside was ablaze. Zypher shook his head.
"There's nothing left for us here. We must find the queen."
Samson nodded bitterly, and Zypher flew of towards Astoria at top speed.
*****
By
the time the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, the two soldiers had
reached the outskirts of Astoria. They were flying over the dense woods only a
short distance away from the castle when Zypher spoke up.
"Um...
commander? There's something wrong with the engine... I'll have to
land and take so we can take a look." Samson nodded wordlessly, and
Zypher set the plane down in a clearing. The two men got out of the plane.
Samson opened the engine compartment.
"Zypher,"
he said, turning around, "There's nothing wrong with..." He
stopped as he saw his companion. Alastyr Zypher was standing behind him with
his sword raised, an angry look on his face.
"Of
course there isn't. But I couldn't very well kill you while we were
in the air, now could I?" Samson looked at him in shock, his hand on the
hilt of his own sword. Zypher laughed bitterly.
"I'm so sorry to do
this, Commander,but I'm afraid it's the only way. We can't
have you stealing all the credit again, now can we?"
Samson
shook his head. "I don't understand."
"Don't
you see? You're a hero, her 'knight in shining armor'!
You're her favorite, Commander, she cares about you! But she never even notices me!"
Samson thought he saw a tear in Zypher's eye as he said this. He shook
his head again, amazed.
"Alastyr,
How will killing me make her love you?"
Zypher
grinned psychotically. "You see, she'll think you burned to death
in the fire. I'll be the only thing she has left. She'll HAVE to
love me."
"You're
insane!" cried Samson. Zypher nodded.
"Probably,"
He said, swinging his sword. Samson dodged the blade and swung back at him.
"I
don't want to hurt you, Alastyr!" He cried as he blocked the blade
again. "Stop now and I'll let you live!" Zypher shook his
head.
"I'm
not afraid of you!" He jabbed his sword at Samson, this time striking the
knight in his side. Samson winced as Zypher withdrew the blade from him. He
lunged wildly at the younger man, who stood above him, cackling demonically.
Samson fell on the ground and lay still as Zypher raised his sword to deliver a
final blow.
"Long
live the queen," whispered Samson as he opened his eyes and raised his
blade straight up, impaling Zypher upon it as the tip of the younger
man's sword came to rest inches from Samson's face. He squeezed his
eyes shut and flung his sword to the ground, Zypher still hanging from the tip.
He withdrew his sword from the young man's chest and heard a soft
rattling sound as Zypher's lungs drew their last breath. Bleeding heavily
from the side, Samson limped towards the airship and climbed in, taking off for
central Astoria under the red glow of the setting sun.
*****
On the eve of her seventeenth birthday,
Taeami sat in the castle with Milerna and Van, laughing and talking happily. It
was the first time she'd been together with other royalty, and for once
in her life, she felt like a normal person, with no one praising her or waiting
on her hand and foot. Folken had gone off to some place or another, and Hitomi
and Allen were out watching the sunset. Merle was sitting on the floor at
Van's feet. Taeami found herself wanting to stay there forever. There was
a knock at the door, and a very panicked looking guard stepped inside.
"Your
Majesty..." They all turned. The guard cleared his throat.
"Princess Milerna... May I have a word with you?" Milerna got up
from the couch looking quite irritated.
"Well?"
she said walking over to the guard. "What is it?" Her eyes went
wide as the guard whispered something in her ear. "No..." she
breathed. "Are you sure?" The guard nodded. Milerna shut her eyes.
"Taeami," she called weakly, "There's someone here to
see you." Taeami got up from her chair.
"Really?
But who could..." her smile faded as she saw the look on Milerna's
face. Milerna ushered her into the hall. There, in front of them, stood a very
battered and bloody Samson. Taeami drew in a sharp breath and ran to him, her
eyes wide with panic.
"Samson!
What on Gaea..." He reached out and touched her cheek with one bloody
hand. Taeami gasped as he collapsed onto the floor. She spied the deep wound on
his side. "Who did this? What's going on?" Samson breathed
shallowly.
"The
Zaibach..." he whispered. "They came... wanted you... I told them,
I told them no, but they still insisted..."
She
shook her head. "Why did you do that? I can take care of myself..."
He
closed his eyes. "Fire... They burned everything... I couldn't make
them stop..."
"No,
no... you're delirious, Samson..." she shook her head stubbornly.
"You're imagining things."
He
touched her hair lovingly. "I tried to protect you... I'm so
sorry."
She
bit her lip, tears forming in her eyes. "It's not your fault... You
didn't know..."
"At
least I got to see you... before I..."
She
shook her head, placing a finger over his lips. "No, don't even say
it. You're fine, You'll be fine." she looked over her
shoulder wildly. "Someone get a doctor!" Milerna stepped forward.
"I
think I can help..." But Samson shook his head.
"It's
too late. I failed you... I failed Tierania. I must suffer the
consequences."
"No!"
Taeami sobbed, "I don't care, you CAN'T leave! I need you,
Samson."
He
closed his eyes. "I needed you... But I was never the one... I'll
always love you..." She shook her head.
"Don't
say that... please... don't say that..."
"I
love you, Taea..." He closed his eyes, his hand falling at his side.
"I
love you," she echoed, falling dejectedly onto his lifeless body and
sobbing. Van stepped forward and put an arm around her.
"Taea,
he's gone. We'll get through this, I promise. You'll be
fine." She whipped her head around towards him, her eyes full of sadness
and anger.
"What
do you know? You have your brother, you have your Fanelia, You have friends who
care about you. What do I have now? This man was the only person who ever loved
me, and now he's gone. What do you know?"
Van
looked at her, still sympathetic. "There's something I never told
you about Fanelia. It was destroyed, just as your country was, by Zaibach. And
at that time, Folken was... not around. So I know how you feel, and believe me,
it will get better." She looked at him in shock.
"Van,
I... I'm so sorry, I didn't know." Van shrugged.
"Of
course not, how could you possibly? Come on, you're shaking. Let's
get you some place warm." He helped her up, and she leaned on him as they
walked.
"Van?"
she whispered.
"Hm?"
"What
do I do now?" He looked down at her.
"You
join us, help us fight the people that did this to you. Will you?" Taeami
stood taller.
"What
else can I do?" She sat down in front of the fire. "Tell me
we'll destroy them."
Van
nodded. "We will."
Suddenly,
the door to the room flew open, and Folken burst in, followed by Milerna, who
had just explained the situation to him. Van stepped away and Folken took his
place beside Taeami.
"Taea,"
he whispered. She leaned against him, tears still spilling down her cheeks.
"He
was in love with me, Folken." He nodded, staring into the fire.
"I
know. Were you..."
She
shook her head. "No. How could I have been? He was like my brother, my
best friend." she sighed. "I never should have left."
Folken
put his arms around her. "You can't blame yourself. I was the one
that convinced you to go."
She
shook her head. "Still, I shouldn't have come. It was
irresponsible."
"You
had no way of knowing." Taeami yawned. "You need to sleep,"
he said, pulling her to her feet. "Come on, I'll walk you to your
room." She nodded, and the started off down the hall towards the guest
rooms together. They reached the door of the room where she was staying and
went inside. Folken lead her to the bed, where she sat down weakly. He kissed
her fleetingly.
"Get
some rest. The less you think about it, the better." He started to leave,
and she grabbed his hands.
"Don't
leave. Please, I don't want to be alone." He turned towards her.
"I
have to show you something," he said, taking off his shirt. He looked
down at the floor, and Taeami gasped as she saw what was happening. From
Folken's back protruded two large, pitch black wings.
"Y-You're
a..."
"Draconian?"
He nodded. "Yes." he saw the look of shock on her face as she
cautiously advanced towards him. "We're not as dangerous as people
think," He said quietly. Taeami nodded as if she already knew. Her
fingers stretched out and touched the soft black feathers, her face solemn. She
placed one hand on his bare chest, right over his heart, and leaned against
him.
"You're
all I have left," she whispered. He stood still, staring straight ahead.
"I
know how it feels to have nothing left. You're lucky, you didn't
lose your soul when you lost your country." She looked up at him.
"No,
I lost my soul to you."
He
placed his hand over hers. "Then you haven't really lost it."
she nodded, and then gingerly touched the place where his skin met the metal of
his false arm.
"Did
it hurt, when you lost it?" He paused, remembering.
"It
was the worst pain I had experienced at that time, but far less intense than
what was to come." She closed her eyes and kissed his shoulder just above
the cold metal. He bent down and kissed her along the neckline of her dress,
hearing her heart beat rapidly as he touched her. Their lips met, casting away
all reservations. She began to unlace her top, and he grabbed her wrists,
stopping her.
"You're
sure?" He breathed hastily. She nodded and began working at the ribbons
again as he kissed her neck. She freed herself from her gown and they collapsed
on the bed, clinging needfully to each other, and Folken realized what was
happening. He'd let her under his skin, let her get to him. For the first
time in his life, he felt completely vulnerable. And at that moment he knew
that he needed her more than anything else in the world.
"I
won't hurt you," he whispered, and she nodded. She already knew.
*****
Van
knocked on Taeami's door the next morning, wanting to help cheer her up.
What a horrible way to spend your birthday, he thought. She could use a little
fun. Maybe he and Merle could show her around the marketplace.
"Taeami?
Are you in there?" He heard her mumble something, and then she opened the
door a crack and peaked out at him squintily.
"Van?"
she said sleepily. "Hey. What's up?"
He
shrugged. "I don't know, just thought I'd see how
you're doing. I'm going to the marketplace with Merle sometime
today, and it would be great if you'd come with us. You'll like
it."
She
rubbed her eyes. "Hmm... I don't know, maybe. I'm really
tired. Just let me wake up a bit, okay? I'll see you later." And she slammed the door, leaving Van
alone in the empty hall.
Inside,
Taeami walked back towards the bed, where Folken was lying under the covers,
now wide awake.
"Was
that Van?" she nodded. "What did he want?"
She shrugged. "Trying to cheer me up, I guess. He's a good guy, your
brother."
Folken
nodded. "I know." he gently caressed her arm. "Are you all
right?"
Taeami
looked at the floor. "I don't know... I guess I will be." She
pulled her robe tighter around herself. "I'm just really...
confused."
"Everyone's
confused," he replied, pulling her against him. "Hitomi, Van,
Merle, Milerna... even Allen Shaezar." She gave a small laugh at this. He
brushed his lips over her forehead. "And Me. I'm confused by
you." She furrowed her brow.
"Me?
Why?"
"Because
I've never needed anyone in my whole life, never felt open, vulnerable.
Then you come along, and suddenly I'm dependent on you. You know when we
first met? How I suggested we talk? Yeah, well I don't usually do
that."
She
raised an eyebrow. "What, talk?" He nodded.
"I
never had anyone who would listen. You were so... unexpected."
"Um...
thanks?"
"You
know what I mean. I never in a million years thought I'd find someone I
could spend forever with, but then..." She turned her head to face him.
"Wait,
what did you just say? Someone you could spend FOREVER with? Do you mean
that?"
He
closed his eyes. "That wasn't supposed to come out. I'm
sorry... I didn't mean to scare you..." Taeami shook her head.
"No,
it's fine, I just, well... forever's a long time. I'd rather
work with the rest of our lives, you know, just for now." Folken's
eyes widened.
"Are
you serious?"
She
shot him a sarcastic look. "No, I'm playing another one of those
characteristically cruel jokes, Folken. Of COURSE I'm serious."
He
ran a hand through his hair. "Why are you doing this?"
She
furrowed her brow. "Doing what?"
"Making
me care."
"Because
I have to." She kissed him, a deep, needy kiss, and when she pulled away,
her eyes were full of pain and sadness.
"Folken,
last night... that was something I've never done before. I was at the end
of my rope, I just wanted to be loved. And at the same time, I knew it was
right. But then, when we..." she stopped, and he touched her face in a
comforting way. "I saw things, Folken, and felt things that I've
never seen or felt before. I... I saw your past, felt your pain... and your
loneliness. And Van. Your love for him, and how he hurts you, over and over,
every day, without even knowing it. And I knew in that moment that I had to
make you care, because... because I care about you so much." Tears had
sprung to her eyes. Folken put his arms around her and held her as she cried.
She looked into his face with tearful eyes.
"Please,"
she whispered. "I need you to care." He wiped away her tears and
kissed her forehead.
"The
day I got this arm, I became a monster. Since then, I isolated myself from
warmth and feeling to the point where I'd forgotten what love was. Monsters
don't have feelings, don't love. And I did things that only a
monster could do. Then I repented, I tried to take back the things I'd
done, and became 'good' again. But inside, I still felt like a
monster. Until you." he looked into her eyes. "You make me feel
human again, Taea."
She
lay still and silent in his arms, feeling his heart beat against hers.
"Don't leave me," she whispered suddenly, her eyes frantic.
"Everyone who's ever cared for me has left me. Please, don't
leave."
"I
won't, I promise."
She
nodded, pretending to be comforted, but she didn't relax.
Something
was about to happen. She knew it.
*****
"He
really cares about you, you know." Taeami tossed her shoes aside as she
pulled up her skirt and waded into the foamy tide. Van threw a rock into the
water with an angry air.
"I
doubt it. Sometimes I wonder if he cares about anything at all." Taeami
shot him a scornful look.
"Honestly,
Van, You're so pessimistic! Were you like this as a child?" Van
shook his head.
"No.
I grew up."
"If
I were you, I'd do a bit of un-growing."
Van
fought back a smile. "Is that even a word?"
"DE-growing?"
This time, Van laughed out loud. "No, but seriously," Taeami
continued, wading further and further into the water, "There's no
need to be so serious all the time. Besides, if you're like this at
fifteen, what are you going to be like at fifty?"
"Okay,
okay, so I need to loosen up. How do you suggest I do that, exactly?"
Taeami
shrugged, then, without any warning, fell straight backwards into the water.
Van jumped up and ran into the surf to see if she was all right, but he
couldn't see through the thick whitecaps that the tide was creating. When
she hadn't come up for about half a minute, Van began to panic and dove
under the water after her. he came up for air a couple seconds later to find
Taeami bobbing in front of him wearing a very soaked gown and a devious little
grin.
"That's
always a good start."
When
Van's heart rate had returned to normal, he shook his head. "What
the HELL was that? I thought you were drowning!!" She laughed.
"I
can swim, Van, I'm only partially incompetent." She smoothed her
hair away from her eyes. "It was nice of you to try and save me, although
I have to say it strikes me as the kind of thing ALLEN would do. Chivalry and
all that." This was the last straw. Van drew back and flung water at her
as hard as he could, the large wave hitting her in the face.
"All
right!" she sputtered happily, wiping the water out of her face.
"See, wasn't that fun?" Van tried to keep glaring, but his
mouth began to twitch at the corners, and pretty soon he was grinning like
Taeami.
"Yeah,
this is actually kind of AGHHHH!" He cried as a wave of water hit him in
the face, knocking him over. He came up sputtering, his hair forming a dark
curtain over both eyes. He shook his head, and when he could see again, he
glared at Taeami with mock anger.
"THAT
was a cheap shot."
"Honestly,
you think you'd know to watch out for your opponent, what with all that
combat training you've got!" she cried, sending him under again.
From
a window overlooking the sea, Folken silently watched Taeami and his brother,
wishing with all his heart that he could be a part of the scene before him.
