Breath of Fire II, Katt, Bow, Rand, Sten, Ryu, Nina, Deis, Spar, and other characters as well as the Breath of Fire name are copyrights of Capcom. I do not own any of the characters from those games. Any similarities between my own Characters, and new BoF characters is purely coincidental
e-mail at kkisblpeen@aol.com
http://kirkis-elf.com/
Days Ahead (Breath of Fire 2.5)
By Kirkis
Chapter four - To Wyndia: Transport
The morning dew had fallen, but the sun was still yet to rise. The second cardinal ascended the stairs to the Ceremonial tower. As he reached the top, he looked about.
"You're late," A man's voice said from the shadows.
"I know, I had to make sure I wasn't followed. Did you make sure no one was up here?" The second cardinal said, still scanning the area.
"It's clear, the first phase of our plan has been completed. The king will fall ill again, with you resuming his poisoning from now on. However, Hina is stronger than we had first though. She's convinced her daughter to stay in Wyndia," The man replied, placing his hand on the ledge.
"But Nina won't get in the way of the main plan will she?" The cardinal asked, approaching his co-conspirator.
"The princess must be taken into account. She's had a hard life because of her black wings. I suspect she'll turn out to be a stronger adversary than Hina," The man said.
"What do you plan to do about Nina then?"
"She'll listen to reason if her mother's life is stake," The man responded, smiling.
"So you no longer plan to kill the Queen?" The cardinal asked.
"Once I have this kingdom in my palm, Hina, and Nina will be useless, as will the high priest of Wyndia," He said, turning to the cardinal with a sinister grin on his face.
"You'd better be right, Donovan, I'll be killed for treason if we get caught," The cardinal said, turning and heading back down the stairs. As he sunk out of sight, Donovan chuckled.
"There will be no high priest, only me as emperor," He said, looking out over Wyndia.
"Wait a minute," Katt said, stepping off the road in front of the dragon statue. Baan stopped, puzzled.
"You're a Woren, yet you pray to the ancient dragon god?" He asked.
"I pray to Woren gods, but this is an icon of my friend's god, so I'll ask his god to give him a safe journey," She said, dropping her bag nearby. She knelt before the dragon statue, clasping her hands together. Baan watched her lips move, mouthing words of care for a friend. Her, albeit naïve, indifference to other's religions was uncommon, most considered their own to be the true god or gods. But she didn't think twice about praying to someone else's god.
"There," She said, standing back up. She picked up her bag, and slung it back over her shoulder. Baan smiled at her, and, as usual, let her go ahead.
"When we get to the port, are you going to come with me, or are you going home?" Katt finally asked. The question had been burning on her tongue for some time. She'd grown to like Baan, he reminded her of Ryu. Besides that, she always hated parting with friends.
"I hadn't planned on it," He said, looking at the fresh spring leaves on the trees.
"oh," Katt responded, partially let down that he wouldn't be coming with her. Ever since she'd set out with Ryu and Bow, she'd missed everyone else, especially Nina. Katt and Nina had developed a very close relationship, the two being very good for each other emotionally. Katt's innocence kept her from seeing Nina as an outcast because of her wings. It didn't matter to her. Nina was the first girl to treat Katt like an equal, like a girl, not a half-breed Woren. They had been drawn closer after Mina took the mark of wing. But after the defeat of Deathevan, Katt had decided to go with Ryu, while Nina decided to stay in Wyndia. Katt's rush back to Wyndia was not coincidental, she wanted to meet back up with Ryu and Bow, but she also wanted to see Nina again.
"My mother can run the store by herself, but she can't forge the weapons," He added, turning back to face her. Katt looked up at him. Behind the huge wooly beard and hair, his face seemed so warm. Katt couldn't resist smiling herself.
"I understand Baan," She said, turning her eyes toward the road. She understood this more and more every day. Ryu's responsibility as the destined child, Nina's responsibility as princess of Wyndia, Rand's responsibility to tend the fields of his family. Katt never had any responsibility, except to stay alive. She looked ahead, thinking quietly. Walking around the bend she caught sight of a few small buildings.
"Is that it?" She asked, looking up to Baan.
"Yes, that's it, but it doesn't look very busy," He said. Katt looked back toward the mass of buildings.
"I hadn't noticed, but now that you mention it," She said, scanning the low skyline. "You don't think something could be wrong do you?" She asked. Baan didn't answer, he knew something was wrong. There were no ships in the water, only a few in the dock. There weren't many people to be seen as the walked through the big arch at the entrance to the town. Katt and Baan made there way through the quiet streets. "Baan, what's going on here, it's noon, shouldn't there be more people here?" She asked, looking this way and that.
"Yes, this port is usually bustling at this time of day. Lets see if we can get some information at the Seaman's guild," Baan suggested. He made several trip to the south port in a week, and had forged a friendship with the dock master, Zaul. An older man, Zaul had worked on the dock since he was nine. He was well built for a human, stocky in build, with a hard face. Baan walked through the door of the Seaman's guild first, with Katt following behind.
"Oi Mate," The young girl at the front desk said cheerfully as he entered. "can I help ya with somethin' love?" She said with a grin.
"Kylie, is Zaul around?" Baan asked, smiling at her. The girl lifted her chin up a bit and placed a hand on it.
"Well, I think he's been at the Gray Tabby ever since the guild master shut down all the shippin'," She said, keeping her cheerful composure.
"Stopped all the shipping?" Katt asked, stepping up to counter.
"Mm, That's right lass, till them damned pirates are routed. The guild has a five thousand Zenny reward for anyone who'll clear em out," She said, in her ever enthusiastic demeanor. "With the guild master sailing to Highfort for weapons, it'll be weeks before we can get business going again."
"But we need to get to Wyndia as quickly as possible," Katt said as if that was going to magically make a ship sail.
"M' sorry lass, if you wanna sail to Wyndia, you'll have to get rid of the pirates first," She said, trying not to break her cheerful face. "If you wanna take them pirates on, go an' talk to Zaul," She added. Katt scrunched up her nose in frustration.
"Katt, we'll have to talk to Zaul, then maybe we can get some transport to Wyndia," Baan said, turning to leave the guild office. Katt slowly moped behind him.
"What, you want to go out and fight the pirates?" Zaul, a huge older sailor said, nearly spraying the other card players with ale. His face looked like it had been carved out of pure granite, and it was covered in stubble.
"Yeah, I need to get to Wyndia as soon as possible, so all I have to do is,"
"Listen missy, fighting pirates ain't like fighting boars or bears. Pirates are nasty people, hardened by the sea," Zaul started, quickly interrupted by Katt.
"But I'm really good, and Baan here-"
"Baan has his own responsibilities without having to go with you on some pirate hunting trip," Zaul added.
"But..."
"Besides if you pick a fight with one, you may as well have picked a fight with the whole lot of them," Zaul added, clunking his massive tankard down on the table.
"But Zaul, if we don't fight them now, She'll have to wait weeks, maybe months before she can get to Wyndia."
"Listen, I've been working by the sea all my life, and one of the most important rules of the sea is: Don't pick a fight with a pirate,"
"Listen Zaul, I know you think because I'm a girl that I'm not that strong, But with Baan's help, I can take care of a bunch of pirates," Katt said, boldly. Zaul looked up at her and sighed.
"I guess I'll have to see about that with my own eyes," He said, standing up. Katt looked up at him with naïve confusion. "Lets step outside, shall we?" He added, grinning.
"Man I love sailing, the salt air, the shimmering ocean," Bow said, peering out over the bow of the ship.
"The nauseating waves," Ruki added, hanging her head over the side.
"How could you not like this, it's so relaxing," He said, breathing deeply. Ruki straightened up as best she could (which wasn't very straight considering how sick she felt) and turned to him.
"Why'd we have to take a boat anyway, We could've traveled to Wyndia on foot," She complained.
"You didn't have to come with us Ruki," Ryu said, walking up to his friends.
"Hey buddy, check it out, sometimes you can see the whales jumping out of the water," Bow said sounding almost like a child. Ryu only laughed.
"Bow, you say that every time we take a boat," He said, still laughing. Bow looked over his shoulder at Ryu.
"Yeah, but I just notice every time, and I forget about them when I'm on land," He answered, stepping back from the railing. "I still wish this boat had gone straight to Wyndia," He added.
"Well, Captain isn't that far from Wyndia, it shouldn't be more than a few days walk," Ryu responded. Ruki looked up from her lurched position over the rail.
"Ryu, do you really think your other friend will be in Wyndia?" She asked, holding her hand over her stomach in an attempt to ward off nausea.
"Yeah, we agreed, if we got split up, we'd all go back to Wyndia," He replied.
"But I mean, aren't you worried that she might not make it or is too badly hurt to come?" Ruki continued her questioning.
"Katt is too tough to let something like a sunk ship kill her," Bow answered.
"Just how did that ship sink anyway?" Ruki asked accusingly. "It wasn't from the dragon power was it?" She finished.
"No, I'm not sure why the ship sunk. They just got us up and said, the ship is sinking. Bow and I got separated from Katt when the ship broke up," Ryu said in answer.
"I wonder what it was that made it sink?" Ruki said to herself. Her eyes widened quickly. She turned back to the railing and wretched over the side. Bow scrunched up his eyebrows. He felt much empathy for her, but he'd never been seasick, neither had Ryu or Katt. But Ruki wasn't having a fun trip so far.
"Maybe you should try sleeping, Ruki," Bow suggested, placing his hand softly on her back.
"I'll feel better in a little bit, I can't imagine having anything else left to throw up," She coughed meekly, immediately blowing more chunks into the sea.
"She shouldn't have eaten so much last night," Ryu said. "Bow, I'm going up to the upper deck," He said turning away.
"Ok buddy, I'm gonna stay here and make sure she'll be okay," Bow said grinning at Ryu.
"You don't have to- HHMM!" She started, quickly throwing her head back over the railing. Ryu turned and walked up the stairs toward the upper deck.
"I hope Katt is alright, I'm very worried about her." He thought, leaning on the rail. The reflection of the sunset glimmered on the wavy sea. Ryu smiled without realizing it. "The last sunset we watched together, was in Wyndia. Me, Katt, Bow, and Nina. It'll be good to see Nina again too." The sun was mostly down over the horizon. Ryu remembered the night before they left Wyndia, Nina's mother threw them a party. Ryu remembered how beautiful Nina looked in that dress. But then Nina was always beautiful no matter what she wore. "Those were the days, everyone was still together then." He thought, watching the sun dip completely below the sparkling sea. "I wish Nina could come with us..." He said aloud as the sun finally faded out of sight.
The young guard walked down the hall all the way to the end, turned around and started back. It was his duty, every hour he was to walk the length of the hall and back. However, most of the guards didn't take their duties seriously, In the past thirty five years, no one had even tried to break into the Wyndian castle. This guard spent most of his time daydreaming, He had the unlucky job of guarding the hallway leading to the dungeon and the ceremonial burial ground of the Wyndian Royal family.
All the young guards argued over who would get the guard duty over the hall leading to the north tower, The tower that the new princess of Wyndia lived in. She chose the tower instead of the princess' bedroom, because she liked the view from the tower better. She never went down to the dungeon, or the burial ground. So his watch was quite dull. He passed the day dreaming about princess Nina. Most of the older people in Wyndia were mistrustful of her because of her black wings. Some of the guards felt the same way, but most of the younger citizens felt that the old prophecy had no real merit. After all, princess Nina had helped to save the world. Almost all of the guards were young, some not even as old as twenty.
Finishing his round, he sat back down on the old rickety stool, and propped his spear up on his shoulder. "Princess Nina, she's so beautiful. I wish I could get guard duty of the north tower," He thought slipping into another daydream.
"Oh, my someone save me!" He heard a voice yell from the top of the stairs. Immediately he went to investigate, slowly climbing the steps. "Someone, please help me!" The voice called again. He continued his ascent, until he finally saw who was calling, and why. Princess Nina, was being held captive by a huge monster, her clothing was being torn from her. In the corner were seven guards cowering in fear. The young guard surveyed the scene, and jumped into action, drawing his sword, and cutting the scantily clad princess from the monster's tentacles. He slid the sword back into it's sheath, landed softly a few feet from the beast, and held out his arms, catching the beautiful princess.
"Oh thank you!" She said trying to cover her breasts. He set her down, leaving his cape for her to cover up with.
"It's not over yet, your majesty," He said, rising and turning to the angry Hentai Beast. "You have tried to defile the virtuous Princess of Wyndia! For that you shall die!" He yelled, charging in toward the great Beast and landing a single slash at the center of the mass of tentacles. The beast tore into, each side falling slowly to the ground. The young Princess ran up to him.
"You've saved Wyndia!" She said, throwing her arms around him. Footsteps interrupted his daydream. He looked down the hall toward the sound of the approaching steps. From his seat, he saw two small black boots coming down the stairs, a blue dress covered the coming visitor's legs. He caught sight of the well preened black wings behind her, and his eyes widened.
"The princess?!" He thought as she reached the bottom of the stairs. He immediately fumbled to stand himself up. The only times he'd seen her was at ceremonial gatherings, or from the window of his quarters occasionally when she'd walk through the courtyard. But now, she was going to walk right by him. As she approached, his heart pounded so hard, he was sure she could hear it. She looked straight at him as she got within a few steps of him. "I've done it, I've daydreamt so much, that I'm totally lost in one," He thought.
"Good afternoon," She said, in her soft cheerful voice. He'd never heard her speak before.
"G... Good afternoon, your majesty," He said, anxiously.
"May I ask your name?" She asked, standing about a foot and a half away from him.
"G...Gabriel, third class soldier, Wyndian royal-" He stuttered stiffly, interrupted by her.
"Gabriel, that's a Nice name, I'm Nina," She said, smiling.
"Yes, your majesty," He said, again stiffly, unaware of the fact that he was standing at full attention. She sighed, and the smile slipped from her face.
"Are all guards this rigid?" She asked. He couldn't think of any response, she wasn't smiling anymore... why? "Please, my name is Nina, when you see me say hi, don't be so stiff all the time," She said, her smile returning.
"Yes your m... I...I mean, yes Nina," He replied. She giggled a little, covering her mouth with one hand.
"Do a good job Gabriel," She said, continuing on.
"Your... I mean, Princess Nina," He started, realizing his question was too intrusive. She turned back to face him. He could only stand there.
"What is it Gabriel?" she asked. He thought about simply saying it was nothing, but eventually decided to ask anyway.
"Why would you be going down there?" he asked. She smiled and looked down the hall toward the stairs leading down.
"I wanted to visit with the people who were arrested yesterday, and see if I could get them anything," She finished.
"But, they were speaking out against your being here?" He said, not understanding why she would want to help someone who didn't want her there.
"Yes, but my mother imprisoned them, she wants people to accept me. I don't think arresting people is going to do that. So I've advocated to my mother to have them released. Until she does, I'll try to help them out in any way I can. I know it sounds strange, it's just how I am," She finished. He only nodded, watching her turn and descend into the dungeon. He sat back onto his stool. "She's nothing like I imagined, Draco said she was aloof," He thought. "She was actually kinda humble. not like her mother," He watched as she disappeared down the stairs.
"Gabriel, that's an interesting name, like the first King of Wyndia. He's kinda cute too, and he listens. I'll have to get mother to change his assignment to the north hall, He's not as stiff as Draco," Nina thought as she descended down to the dungeon level.
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