Note: I apologize for the many years that I have made pass in the series, but the years lost will be explains as the actual adventure starts up from this chapter and onward. This story is about the teenagers and the fate of Gaia, the others got to save the world already. I am simply letting Hiero have fun with this world any way he can. This chapter is a partial songfic, "Always Will Be" by the heavy metal band Hammerfall, which depicts Hiero's feelings for his losses, and the rebirth of a find he never dreamed of. All in all, this is just a very moving song. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

The Fool*

The Past Returns

~ Twelve Years Later ~

Two guards stood outside, rigid and sweating. It was the summer season, the best time for dragons to be slain as they were out of hibernation. Prime they were now for the right of succession, for the young prince who had to assume his responsibilities as Fanelia's future king through the dragon slaying ritual. The prince was nineteen, that much was true, thanks to the coddling of his Mystic Moon mother. King Van had agreed the age of 15 was far too young for a boy, especially Prince Hiero, to be slaying anything, not after what had happened to his own father. That and Hiero was very childish about being a prince, not liking it one bit, and his mother didn't want him to grow up too fast. It seemed reasonable, but Fanelia needed a king, not a spoiled baby, ruling it.

Hiero was anything but spoiled, only rambunctious and all around the sneakiest, trouble attracted bit of blue hellfire ever born. That all changed after his Uncle Daisuke was murdered, then came the rest of his misery, forcing the boy to grow up fast like his father before him, but still, nineteen remained the age for dragon slaying, to be started on the night before his 19th birthday which was today. It was still the afternoon, but Hiero had already prepared the moment the sun rose, training and packing his armor and weapons.

After that, he'd gone into the family mausoleum to 'pay his respects,' so he said. No one could tell with Hiero, his mood swings were bizarre. He'd be quiet and brooding one moment, then crazy and angered the next, sometimes sarcastic, but never did he smile. It had been a good six years since one had graced his angelic face, since the tragic murder of his mother, then his father's passing through illness. Hiero had once insisted it was murder, that a Zaibach spy had poisoned King Van, and they had nearly believed him for a moment until the doctors inspected the body and found it was just the sickness. His lungs couldn't take the infection any long, it was as simple as that. Hiero stopped talking after that, completely. He'd stare and be utterly fluid and quiet when fighting, like a ghost.

Hiero had always been an excellent swordsman, but the fact he showed no emotion during it was frightening, even when he hurt a samurai every so often, he'd wait for another one to come spar with him while the other one was taken to healers. He'd even put a gash across the arm of his sword master Jenai, one of the two remaining master swordsman of Gaia, a man who'd recently reached 50 years of age with wise old brown eyes and gray streak short brown hair.

Jenai was a good foot taller than Hiero, and Hiero was about 5'9, taller than his own father had been at that age. Jenai was a giant compared to most people, even Hiero, which made him all the more foreboding, but Hiero never flinched when fighting him. Hiero was aggressive and that's what Jenai liked and fact he kept focused on the fight made Jenai like the boy prince even more. He had nothing but praise for the prince, even if Hiero never responded.

In recent years he began talking again, mumbling out things no one understood or to yell at the servants that wouldn't stop trying to help him pick out clothes or bathe him. He went crazy whenever they tried it and nearly strangled one poor young man for trying to help him bathe along with three other young men, but he was the one who didn't get far enough away when Hiero went berserk.

He also avoided his personal attendant, Myrna, most of the time, unless it was time for him to eat or sleep, things she always was allowed to be near him for. All other times he was training or sleeping in his little hidden spots, many of which they had not all located. Myrna was always around him whenever he wasn't training, and he'd sometimes run off for a hidden nap and some quiet. Myrna could talk a mile a minute and was always trying to protect her Lord Hiero from outside influences, namely if they were what she deemed a problem. Everyone knew she was in love with him, but no one knew how he really felt. He wasn't outwardly cruel to her so it was hard to tell. All they could assume was that he tolerated her.

Myrna was inside the castle, locked in her room by her mother so as not to disturb the young prince in any way. Hiero was still inside the royal family crypt, doing whatever he felt like doing, as Hiero was prone to behaving. They were glad he was talking again, they only wished he show a bit of emotion, something, or he might fall prey to the dragon he would be slaying once the sun set.

~ Fanelia Royal Mausoleum ~

Hiero Fanel was leaning his back again his father's crypt plaque, his sapphire-haired head hung low. His slim arms showed a bit of his slender build in his sleeveless vest, similar to what his father wore when he met his mother, only black in color, and his boots went up to his knees, also black, but his pants were the same tan color. He wore the silver dragon bangle on his left arm, the golden eye on it glimmering faintly in the poor torch lit crypt.

He pulled out the dagger he kept on his hip, Celena's silvery dagger she'd given him so long ago. He almost smiled faintly at it, but it barely made it that far, the corners of his mouth only twitching slightly as his spiky sapphire bangs hung over his eyes. Today was the day after all, the day he'd prove he was worthy of becoming Fanelia's king. He almost pitied the kingdom. He knew he was insane, he had been for a long time, but it was a functional kind of insane. The people of this kingdom bothered him, always doting on him hand and foot, never letting him go out into the city to make friends. All he'd ever know were his parents, Aunt Merle, Jenai, the servants, samurai, and hyperactive Myrna.

Hiero shivered a bit at the thought of her. She was far too energetic towards him, always coddling him worse than any servant, always hanging on him and talking so fast he felt his brain would explode from hearing it all come out so fast. She was sweet and very pretty, as a child and now as a young woman, She was only fourteen, going on fifteen in a few months, but still she was so possessive of him, as if it were a sin for him to interact with anyone else his age.

She was slight in her figure, but had a nice chest and voice, but he just couldn't stand her personality. Looks were fine and dandy, but if all you cared about were your needs, your beauty, and what you thought, you'd be a big pain in the ass. He really didn't love her the way she loved him because she reminded him of that annoying princess of Saillune, Amelia. He had hated Amelia's perky and annoying, whiney personality to death. He had to thank the gods Myrna wasn't perky or always happy, but her jealousy was the pits.

Myrna wasn't always saying she was right or a little justice freak of sugar land, so it was all that was keeping him from batting her out a window. That and he knew his friend Val had a crush on her, probably her being a non-human was the attraction, but Hiero wasn't human either and he wasn't attracted to her. he was attracted to every other female in his life, but this time around, thanks to the overprotective nature of his samurai and late parents, he was never allowed to play outside with other kids, or see anything female. All the servants were male and it drove him crazy. The only females he would see were old women that worked in the kitchen or were feeding the horses and cleaning up.

Thinking of that, a fleeting image of his mother came into his head, of the day he lost her to her own self-less love for him, her son. He had to forgive her though, she didn't know he wasn't the target of the Zaibach assassin, she was. Folken wanted her out of the way, it was so obvious to him. He'd seen the memory of Folken's plans in Celena's unconscious memories, he needed the seven reborn angels to raise the two gods to choose Gaia's fate, and he needed them alive. Killing him was not an option, but he'd never told his parents what he'd seen, and he had to blame himself for that. Perhaps if he had told his mother, the other psychic, the one responsible for his enhanced visions, she'd still be alive.

It had been such a beautiful day, they were in the garden when he was still thirteen, helping his mother plant some flowers. He'd always liked flowers, more because the blooms reminded him of the beauty of the land, that the beauty of life could be in the simplest things despite the pains of the past. The flowers always bloomed no matter what happened in his life. Staring at and caring for the precious and exotic blooms always made him smile, and the little things were more than welcome to him after losing so much.

It had been an hour or so after they'd started planting when his mother froze, her eye wide and dilated, and then her body began to shiver a bit as she stared at nothing. Her hand crushed the tulip bulb into mush when she broke from it, then she shocked him. His mother grabbed and ran with him back for the palace, then and arrow cut them off.

He found out his mother was just as fast as her memories told him she was. With all of the dream merging spells he'd performed on her, her speed and skills were the ones he paid the most attention to. He'd finished copying all of their memories into his head years earlier, but it was still a marvel to see her in action. Even the memories couldn't compare to actual experience. Though, he had wished it hadn't been to run for their lives.

They had made it to the pond when an arrow struck his mother in the back, sending her sprawling forward with a scream. He tried to attend to her, to get the arrow out, but she grabbed him by the collar and tossed him in the water, straining out a hoarse yell for him to get away. He tried going back, then stopped when saw another arrow hit her, this one jutting out the center of her chest. The blood landed on his face, slinking down his features as it mingled with the crystal clear water.

Our sun is set, our day is done, I'm left here wondering
Is this the end, my final words to you
Day turned to night and now you're gone, I'm left here pondering
Can this be true, are we really through?

She smiled at him a moment, standing up to block the arrows. He begged her not to, telling her they weren't after him for death, but she didn't move, taking a few more arrows before falling forward into the water, dead. He screamed and pounded on her body, telling her she had wasted her life, utterly ignoring the Zaibach assassin that was approaching.

He would have been snatched away from his home in the samurai warriors had not heard his shouts. They killed the assassin, but he screamed at them for taking too long, for not being around for his mother. He was acting the part of a distraught child witness to yet another murder, but deep down he was really upset. His lovely mother had given her life for his, not knowing they were out to kill just her. He didn't know why really, perhaps his uncle Folken feared her more trained psychic mind would interfere in his plans. Hiero hated that man more than ever now, first Daisuke, then his mother, all for his stupid greedy prophecy.

It had been worse when three more years had passed, when his father had fallen deathly ill. Hiero knew his father's illness was not his fault, but his father's really. King Van had gone out to garden on the anniversary of his late wife's death, to pay his loving respects to the love of a lifetime, his only love. He had stayed out far too long, days on end before he was finally too weak, cold, and hungry to fight off his samurai in taking him back inside.

King Van had gotten an infection in his lungs from exposure, pneumonia Hiero had to guess. Hiero had hated seeing his father so wick and pale, sweating and coughing almost everyday. He could only hold down a little food at a time, vomiting it up with blood if he was given too much. The healers tried everything, but couldn't make him well, so they sent word to other kingdoms, except Zaibach, for medical aid.

Healers from a few kingdoms came, and Hiero damned the ones that didn't personally in his head. He'd make them pay when he was old enough for not helping and turning the other cheek with their high and mighty attitudes. Finally, one came that offered a solution to everyone's problems, a famous healer called Sharla. She claimed that she could make sure the king would never have to worry about getting sick again. The royal advisors and Fanelia's healers thought it was worth a try, and since she was a well renowned healer, they trusted in her completely. They just wanted their king to be well again.

Hiero got a bad feeling just by looking at her, but was dragged off by Jenai for training. During a sparring match, now that cost a samurai his life for getting in Hiero's way, Hiero had a vision of his father, of the pretty black-haired doctor with blue eyes being choked to death in her bedroom, but not in Fanelia, in a small cottage, by a hideous doppelganger. Through this his saw that the mighty healer Sharla was dead and the shape-shifter creep was working for Zaibach to murder his father. Hiero wasted no time after breaking the vision and rushed out of the room, forced to take the life of a boisterous samurai who tried to fight Hiero, refusing to let him pass.

Hiero only regretted the action for a few seconds, then started running for his father's chambers, but arrived too late. The fake healer had already poured the bubbling brew down his father's throat, and his father was choking and twitching madly for the longest time, until he stopped completely. Hiero charged the woman wounded her fatally through the stomach, pulling the blade up in hoped he'd eviscerate her for her crime. She pulled away, changing back into the hideous changeling she truly was. The thing tried jumped out the window to get away from Hiero, but he ran after it and beheaded the creature the moment it's feet left the windowsill.

You were the wind beneath my wings, taught me how to fly
With you I lived among the kings, how could this ever die

So I say farewell, I'm yours forever,
And I Always Will Be

All that had been left to back up his story was the blood on the floor, but that wasn't enough. No one believe that his father had been poisoned, only that the healer had failed and fled once the king died, fearing the wrath of King Van's irate and murderous son. He'd shut up after that to put them in their place, so they'd regret not listening to him, feel bad for turning their prince mute and cold.

They'd shoved his information aside for their own brand of pompous hot air, believing he'd lie about his own father near his deathbed. The advisors told the people of Fanelia that his father had died of natural causes, the man who'd taught him how to fly, to understand the Gaian and guymelef texts, and the man that called him son and loved him, had died quietly in the night, weakened and alone. He knew it wasn't true, his father fought that poison, that he tried to keep it away, but his sickness stopped him.

Now Hiero had no one but Merle, Myrna, and Jenai, no one else to turn to, to look to for affection. He liked families very much, and losing another one only hardened his heart a little more. He longed for a friend, for love, for anything other than stuffy old people and over zealous cat-people, he wanted to see someone his age, to understand him a little. He didn't think it was asking much, it was just something everyone needed, to be social.

Hiero held the dagger up in front of his face slowly, reminded of Celena a moment, her beauty the fondest thing he could think up. Her life had been wasted in trying to civilize her and he knew it, although that boorish Sir Allen didn't, the chauvinist pig that he was. Hiero didn't care for Allen or Chid, their minds seemed terribly alike, both believing that women should be women, as in dress wearing little frail children that should never fight or approach danger, but should be treated like goddesses and loved. Hiero agreed with the worship part and love, beautiful women deserved such praise fully, the nice ones anyone. Snobs deserved to be slapped and insulted non-stop, which Hiero couldn't wait for when he got back from slaying. The coronation ball would be held after he was dubbed King of Fanelia, and numerous princesses would be attending, all seeking his hand in marriage.

He inwardly vomited at the thought. He had been shown none of them, but from the letters they sent to him, he got the impression they were spoiled brats with their thumbs up their asses, too high and mighty to care about the people, only their beauty. He still couldn't stand the way Sir Allen tried to change his sister from the obvious talented fighter Val had said she was. Hiero had seen who she was turned into, the son that would never have been if not for Folken or Dornkirk, the skill so fantastic even he was in awe.

Sir Allen wouldn't even let his own wife wear pants on horseback or do much of anything on her own. Though Hiero had never seen Chid with any girls other than Myrna, Merle and his mother, he'd been chatting up his mother about proper female etiquette. It enraged him so much he nearly threw his sweet cake at the blonde idiot, but he held his anger in check, much as it enraged him.

"Celena….I guess you remembered what happened though, when I touched you, you saw what I saw….and you still came to me in the end. You weren't afraid of me….you weren't afraid to give him a chance." He said quietly, the silver glimmer of the dagger reminding him of her hair, the hair that had been frosted with fresh snow and ice when he'd seen her nine years ago, the day she died.

- Flashback -

~ Nine Years Ago ~

Hiero threw a snowball at the frozen pond, watching the fish beneath it scatter in the pale moonlight. It was boring, really, beneath him even, but he liked scaring the little living rainbows. Making them dance and dash about for him gave him slight pleasure, which was better than bothering with the servants. They always agreed with him or pampered him, like trying to bathe him. How he hated that. He wasn't comfortable with the young men and old ladies that tried, but he was still too small to fight it. It was annoying being a kid for that, and even more than none of the servants were cute females.

He sighed, making another snowball with his fur mittens. He was wearing a dark fur-skin cloak, very dark and littered with a few brown spots. He liked how warm and soft it was inside and out, but it was bit constraining for his movements. Still, it was better than nothing. As he readied his next snowball, keeping his keen double colored eyes on the spot the fish fled to, he heard a twig snap.

He whirled around, snowball in hand and ready to fire, when suddenly he felt very foolish. Here he was with a ball of fluffy snow in his hand intent to chuck it at whatever was there. He had to imagine if it was an intruder, the guy might die laughing at the sight of little kid with a snowball about to attack him. Especially since he had a better weapon on him, the dagger Lady Celena had given him was on his hip attached to his belt.

Then the figure came out from behind a tree only a few feet away from him, the silvery blonde hair alerting him that he was safe. He dropped his snowball swiftly as Celena Schezar collapsed to her knees, his eyes widening at the sight of her very pregnant belly. 'Dilandau….has he formed? She must be very close to going into labor being this big.' He thought, then took her hands in his and peered into her stormy eyes.

"Lady Celena, what is it? Why are you here, you should be resting with such….a condition? Its bad for you." he asked, but she shushed him, touching his cheek lightly.

"Take me to….ugh, a room, one that your parents can get to easily. We must hurry, my brother has probably long since noticed I ran away….he could be here at any moment with the Crusade. Oh…." She said, straining through every word and holding her round stomach. Hiero nodded and led her out of the frozen garden and to the palace.

No one knew Hiero had gone out so late at night to play, but a day of training had nearly driven him batty. He had to have a little fun, even if it was all by himself. No guards were posted by the garden, his father's advisors felt no need to guard such an petty area.

He took them through the halls, to places he knew lacked guards or had sleeping ones until he could take the woman no further up staircases and hallways, to the floor beneath the floor he and his parents all slept. He let her into a room that was beneath his, near as he figured, one that was for royal guests with a big bed, a powder room and no window, utter privacy. If anything happened, say Celena going into labor, his parents would hear it from above, but no one would see anything and the door had a deadbolt on it, which Celena was now sliding into place. She quickly walked a little ways to a spot a few feet from the bed, then looked at Hiero.

"Take the sheets off and lay then right here on the floor." She commanded, rather weakly, but she managed. Hiero shrugged and obeyed her, yanking all the fluffy tan sheets off the bed and spreading them across the cold cobblestone floor. Then Celena sat down upon them, her eyes still on Hiero.

"Wouldn't it be more comfortable to be on the bed….if you're giving birth?" he asked, and got a frail smirk in reply. She shook her head, the silvery blonde strands dazzling him a moment, before she put her hand on his cheek again. "I remember what happened three years ago. I saw through you and Dilandau what's going to happen to me, and what you said. You've got a big mouth, little man. You said you were insane….now how is that?" She said slyly, smiling a bit. Hiero felt himself blush, his eyes wide and curious.

"I'm older than I look, is all I can say. Now if you're here to give birth, shouldn't I get a healer or something?" he said, trying to change the subject.

She tutted him with her free hand, wagging her finger at him. "Fine, keep your secrets, but no healers. You and I both no I won't survive. I wasn't meant to, neither were those other poor women Folken had other men rape. You unlocked those memories, so I know…he won't be alone….I know you'll be there for him in your own way, as they will." She said quietly, her face souring as she bit back a wave of pain.

"Celena….I….yes, I know you're going to die, and there is nothing I can do about it. With all this power locked inside my body and I can't do shit to save you, just like Daisuke." He uttered, surprised she didn't smack him for swearing.

"Death is a part of life, young man, always has been, always will be. You seem to know that. You know….I forgive you too." She told him.

"Forgive me? But I can't save you!" Hiero rasped, but Celena just smiled again, leaning closer to his face. "I accept my fate, Dornkirk is to blame for what happened to me, but my son will get the chance I never had to live, to be his own person, not be trapped in that of another. All you have to do is be there for him when the time comes, you've already convinced us that we're being used, the whole lot of us. Dilandau won't be a puppet to that raping bastard, he remembers too. He will always remember what they did to me and what was done to rebirth him, things he can never forgive. Just promise me something….Hiero." she said, her smile faltering again, but she kept it up as beads of sweat poured from her brow smooth brow.

He nodded quickly, clasping her free hands in both of his. "Anything…." He told her, cursing himself for being powerless when Celena, an innocent, was suffering.

With that, Celena kissed him fully on the mouth, making him squeeze her hand in surprised and gasp. He didn't respond, he was too shocked, but he let her kiss him. It was the only rational thing he could get his brain to process. He forgot how old he really was, what he was, just for that moment, then he just fell rigid and waited for her lips to pull back. When they did, she was still smiling, a tear falling from her stormy eyes.

We were one, we were all, we were the only
Future full of hope, nothing could stand in our way
But dreams can change, visions fall, I feel so lonely
I would walk through fire for just one more day.

"Live….for yourself, and those boys. Be their guide. OH!!" she winced, falling on her back in pain. Hiero tried to go to her, but she pushed him away.

"He's coming now….OH, but you have to hide, you didn't see everything of my hidden memories. He'll send those….bastards to come for him…to take him away. Make Dilandau realize….his destiny, don't let them control him. Make him fight! ARGH!!! HIDE NOW!" she yelled, slapping him hard across his right cheek. He staggered a bit, falling to his knees from the pain it caused, but soon he crawled for the bed, and shuffled under at Celena started to convulse, tear the fabric about her belly apart.

Still, he turned about under it so he could see her, watching her stomach push out as if hands were trying to claw their way out. Then he looked at Celena's face, noticing she was looking up at something. He followed her pained and frightened gaze, and saw four dark looking spirals of light, then gasped quietly when they became sinister looking men in hooded robes of black. They didn't see him, or rather weren't trying to. They were all staring at Celena.

Two went to her top and held her arms down and the shorter one with a slightly grizzled beard held her legs. The tallest one pushed his hood off, revealing a bald head and small coin shaped spectacles, then knelt down by Celena's stretching stomach. Hiero could see everything, and felt his heart lurch when he saw the tall one pull out a small dagger.

"Hold her tight Garufo. She's really going to buck when we cut him out. Kuaru, Foruma, sit on her arms if you hand to, no movement. One false move and I'll kill the boy by mistake, angering Folken won't be taken lightly this time." The bald man said, positioning the dagger on the side of Celena's stomach that Hiero couldn't see.

"Yes, Master Paruchi." All three men said, their hoods already off from the amount of struggling Celena was performing. Garufo looked very gruff and annoyed, just like his name sound. He looked like a grouchy old man who'd probably throw knives at little kids for looking at him. His grizzled old beard was light brown with streaks of fine gray in it, and he looked to be in the process of balding on top. He looked old, like all of them, but he knew who they were.

The two holding Celena's arms were easy to tell apart, since the wrinkled up Paruchi, their leader he guessed, had gestured his chin towards each of them when saying their names. Kuaru showed absolutely no emotion, calm and serene as he held the screaming woman down. He doubted murder was beyond this tone cold creep's desires, and had to bet without a doubt that if given the chance to kill, he'd do it quick and quiet. He also looked about King Aston's, not too young, but not too old either, middle aged at best with his small frosty mustache and short gray hair, his dark eyes unreadable.

Foruma on the other hand looked downright frantic, his blue eyes darting from his companions to Celena and back again, his brow and hands sweating profusely. He had opened his mouth a bit after Paruchi spoke, but Paruchi had glared that inkling away. He looked to be the youngest and had the most hair with no gray in it, only a slight brown, maybe dirty blonde. It was hard to tell much of anything in the failing torch light.

One thing that was easy to tell was that they were the pervert sorcerers that Dornkirk had used with the fate change experiments, the same bastards that turned little Celena into a boy. A swell of hatred lit inside him as he remembered that, and it grew worse when Paruchi cut Celena's pale flesh on the side, then on the side Hiero could see and down the middle.

He reached his hands in as Celena's screams grew downright deafening, blood bubbling up her throats as Paruchi mercilessly and carelessly felt around her insides to locate his prize. Bye the time he did so, Celena had broken free of Foruma and Kuaru to vomit blood down her chest and scream her last, then fell back into them as Paruchi pulled out a naked and soaked parcel, entrails and sinew still hanging from the small, slim body.

No sooner did the parcel move was Celena's body tossed into a corner, the blankets now laid out for what came out of her. Hiero wasn't sick, he'd seen plenty of blood in all his lifetimes, but to see Celena's corpse abused and the four men fingering her child like a lab rat, his rage was building from such sick behavior. He watched quietly, hoping his mother and father, that the entire castle had heard Celena'' screams and would burst through those doors and kill these men for their crimes.

No one came, not yet, but he had faith they would. There was no way they could sleep through such a horrible screams. He kept his focus on the child they were cleaning up and found it to be that of a boy his age. The boy was the same high as they laid the naked parcel out and used the sheets to rid his body of the blood, the hair having a glittering crimson tiny until one of the robed men pulled out a wineskin sack and poured water over the boy. Then Hiero saw silver hair, different from the one inside Celena's mind. It looked less like Celena, no waves to the hair, only spiky downward bangs of liquid quicksilver, skin as pale as his own. He saw the small Dilandau clench his fist as they clean him, his crimson-garnet eyes opening slowly as his face was cleaned.

He was staring at the ceiling, not looking like he was very aware of what was happening. As they cleaned the rest of him, putting some dark pants on him to cover his male parts, his head lolled to the side, aiming right at where Hiero was hiding. A flicker of recollection coursed through his eyes, emotion entering the once lifeless orbs.

He saw Dilandau's mouth twitch, his tell-tale smirk rising across his face and the garnet eyes glimmered with pleasure, the happy look Dilandau had when Hiero said he'd create chaos one day by his side. He moved his arm a bit, then tried to reach for Hiero. Forgetting for a moment what was going on, Hiero reached out too, but stopped when he saw Paruchi's face suddenly rush in front of his.

He yelled as the wrinkling bald sorcerer reached in and yanked him out from under the bed, grabbing up his dagger quickly. He hid it behind his back as the man lifted him up and grinned at him in a sleazy manner. "Folken will love us for this. We kill two birds with one stone, Folken's own angel nephew and angel son, ripe for the plucking." Paruchi beamed wickedly.

Hiero hissed at him and was ready to bring his dagger out and stab the man in the eye, but suddenly Paruchi yelped, his face overtaken by pain, and it made him drop Hiero on the bed. He was able to lift his dagger up anyway, putting a bloody slash across the man's chest.

Hiero quickly scrambled off when Paruchi try to tackle him and grab him again, but he grabbed the bed instead. As he got the floor, he saw Dilandau holding Paruchi's little dagger, flesh blood on the hand holding it. He was swiping it at the other sorcerers, growling. "Nice move….now let's pay them back for what they did." Hiero commented, Dilandau flicking an amused sidelong glance a him. "Their lives for hers….fitting. Get ready to burn in hell." Dilandau grinned, looking back to the sorcerers.

Hiero and Dilandau gasped together when Garufo took out a sword, the other two vanishing from the room in the same manner that they had arrived. "Cowards….they are just children…..they are not angels yet! If you little morons won't help, fine then. I'll get all the glory from Lord Folken myself. Come quietly, you naughty boys, or I'll make you come." Garufo let out angrily.

Hiero looked sternly at the man and raised his dagger. "I'd sooner kiss a land dragon's ass. Give it your best shot old man!" Hiero dared, making Garufo's already wrinkled and gruff face twist with rage. Then he smiled, walking towards them instead of rushing. Hiero felt like killing this man for his arrogance, but by the time he realized what the smile was for, Dilandau was already yelling. They'd forgotten about Paruchi, even though he was favoring his stabbed ankle, he was still about to get behind them and grab up Dilandau. Hiero could only stand there with his own dagger and watch as Dilandau flailed.

"Anymore foolish prattle, test subjects?" Garufo glimmered, still coming. Dilandau spoke for him, screaming out the reply with a frightening chuckle. "Yeah, we may be little, but we know how to fight better than any scientist pervert! HAH!" Dilandau giggled out, his eyes wild with lust, the lust to see blood flow and he got it when he rammed Paruchi's dagger through the sorcerers eye, then bit his nose. Paruchi wailed, loosening his hold a bit, but Dilandau didn't stop, ramming the dagger fully through Paruchi's other eye straight into his brain. The bald sorcerer let out a strangled choke, then his hold on Dilandau tightened with his death spasm as he keeled over onto the bed.

Hiero looked back at Garufo, who was just plain stunned their parcel had turned on them. "We know what you did, pervert! Time to join old slap head, hairball! Die! For Celena!! For you bastards hurting her, for her rape! For everything!!" Hiero yelled, running at the man with his dagger.

Garufo saw it coming and blocked, Hiero felt wretched inside with being shorter than the shortest sorcerer. Still, he fought on until the strength of the older man forced him backwards, his dagger skewing off to the left dangerously close to his face. He felt the biting pain erupt on the left side of his nose first, then it stop for a second before exploding across his cheek, like a million tiny daggers were assaulting his tender flesh. He cried out before leaping backwards, slamming the back of his head into the bed. He staggered forward a bit, standing right in front of Garufo for a few seconds. Then he fell onto the floor, dazed and bleeding from the face. He clutched it, gritting his teeth to fight the pain, to get up and keep them from Dilandau, but his body was too young to take it, the blood flowing too fast. Hiero felt too much like vomiting than doing anything else.

"NO! You stay away from us!" Dilandau's enraged little voice cried out, and Hiero vaguely saw the silver haired youth leap on the bed to jam his dagger into Garufo's arm, pushing off the man's body to land in front of Hiero. He quickly stood over him, his dagger ready for another strike. He eyes were practically alive with flames, begging for more action and garnet raindrops to fall.

Garufo's face was angrier now, like the way a lunatic looks when he can't take anything anymore, the murderous glare of pure unfathomable hatred leaking from his form. He raised his blade and slashed downward at them, with full intend to kill them, but Dilandau blocked it, and again and again until he was practically laughing at Garufo's attempts.

It was all going so well, until the door burst open to reveal a sword brandishing Allen and Van. Dilandau was distracted for only a second, time seeming to stand still as Garufo's blade went off course and struck Dilandau's right cheek, where Hiero's father had struck him once before so many years ago. Hiero felt the blood fall onto his wound, the warmth against his chilled blood stinging for a moment, then just seemed to merge with his own. Hiero made himself get up, swishing his head towards Dilandau's. Dilandau just looked stunned, not afraid or angry, just stunned. Hiero saw some of his own blood has splashed into Dilandau's open wound, melding in perfectly with the streak of crimson.

Then Dilandau looked at him, holding his small dagger up slightly to Hiero's, putting his hand to his wound delicately. "On three, revenge." Dilandau whispered, smiling slightly. Hiero smiled back.

"THREE!" Dilandau yelled, and rushed past Garufo's blade, jamming his dagger into the man's knees over and over again. When the man fell backwards. Hiero stabbed his check, splitting him open quick. He didn't like it being painless, it was too easy for him, but the pain was still fresh on his face and two sorcerers were still alive. He had time to go slow with them, once he found them and avenged his uncle and Celena.

He didn't want to explain what a small Dilandau was doing in this room, along with Allen's dead sister and two dead sorcerers, or why they were stabbing one to death, but his father's haunted expression told him he was really going to have a long talk with his father.

Before Hiero could say anything, the wall exploded in a hail of stone and mortar. No sooner had it ended had a large silver hand yanked Dilandau out of the room. Hiero went after him, dropping his dagger to save him. Dilandau reached out for Hiero's hands as the hand went outside, and all saw it was attached to purple Alseides, one that he could clearly see Foruma hanging onto. Hiero didn't care, he leapt out, spreading his wings to make his body get out there. He latched his hands onto Dilandau's tightly, but the boy was yanked free of his grasp when the guymelef jerked backwards. Hiero felt his body tumble, and one of his wings pushed inward, then he plummeted. He looked up at the fading screams of Dilandau, reached out banefully to him until he couldn't see him anymore.

You were the angel of my life, taught me to be free
Now I'm a stranger in your eyes, walls are closing in on me

So I say farewell, I'm yours forever
And I Always Will Be

~ Present ~

- Nightfall -

Hiero twirled the dagger a bit, putting it back in its sheath as the memories left him, or rather he pushed them away. His father had caught him that night so long ago, sprouting his own wings before everyone who had come to save his life. Hiero was grateful that he wouldn't be living out eternity in a 10-year-old body, but part of him was still sad. That had been the day he lost Dilandau, but though not in vain. He knew that garnet eyed young man was alive somewhere, with his Dragon Slayers he hoped, wreaking havoc for himself, not Folken. He'd gotten through to him in Celena's mind that Folken would use him and the other, he knew that, but it still hurt to know he couldn't stop all the sorcerers.

What was worse was that Sir Allen blamed Hiero for his sister's death and Dilandau's rebirth, and when Hiero tried explaining, he said it was till his fault. If Hiero had told them sooner, they could have aborted Dilandau and saved Celena. Hiero knew better, nothing could have destroyed Dilandau that wouldn't destroy Celena as well. Allen was a fool, ready to blame at a moments notice, especially Hiero, since he was already labeled trouble.

Allen stopped bringing Val all together to Fanelia, saying Hiero was a cursed child and would bring nothing but ruin and trouble into Val's life, and with Hiero being confined for his safety in his own castle, he couldn't visit Val either. He'd lost two friends in one night, all because no one understood the burden placed on them, that separation was the worst pain. Allen had quickly forgotten loss after he got Celena back, having a new person to keep as his, to keep safe no matter how much he'd smother them.

Missing you, in my heart you are The One
And you Always Will Be!

Now here he was, no family, no love, and only one friend, Myrna, in close quarters. Val would be here for the coronation ceremony, he'd made it a royal decree, something even a man stubborn as Allen couldn't ignore. At least he'd get one friend back, but there was still companionship that he longed for, a love. He hoped he'd find it at the ball, but he doubted it. Stuffed shirts were no fun, all fake, only caring about their money and reputations first and foremost rather than true human emotion.

He finger his mother's pendant gently, eyeing the sparkling pink gem in its center. "Good luck, huh? Dreams come true, Mother, like you once said? How about giving me a good fate….send me an angel of love….to make me feel alive again. To see a young lady my own age would be nice….one that can love me….despite what I am. Can you do that, Mother?" he asked the pendant, flicking it once. It shimmered a bit, but then went dull.

"Heh, thought so. Since when should my luck change anyway? Time for the right of succession to begin. Wish me luck, everyone." He piped, pushing off the crypt plaque and waving to the rest of them with stiff look. He pulled his fighting short and armor on quickly as he left the place, his shield, daggers, sword, and crossbow all strapped to his person. It was heavy, but killing a dragon was no walk in the park.

He'd trained for years to get good at it, despite how it sickened him. Dragons here held no intelligence, what he was used to in the species. It might be easier to slay stupid animals than intellects, but still, he liked dragons. It would be hard either way.

~ The Mystic Moon ~

- Westchester, NY -

+ Westchester Orphanage Gymnasium +

Alessa Demitrius did a back flip on the balance beam, her gray leotard with the lavender stripes on the side moving with the contours of her slim body. He slender build moved like silk with each flip, never a muscle out of place during her entire run.

She landed perfectly on the mat below and raised her arms high, but she had no smile on her face. It wasn't like anyone was watching her, or that anyone cared. She had told everyone in the orphanage she was going to try out for the Olympic gymnastic team, but no one seemed to care. She'd gotten a ton of "That's nice" and "Oh, how wonderful for you's," but no one came to watch her practice or said anything beyond those words. She had to suppose it was only natural, orphans were orphans and never had much but themselves and their own dreams.

The dreams of others were pointless, but Alessa still tried to be nice to them. She had been nice every adoption day that came, but it didn't help and neither did trying to be nice to other kids in her age group. She was snubbed for God knows why, perhaps her odd hair color or the fact that her parents had been well off before they died, Alessa didn't know and didn't care. She was determined to be the better person, to show how good a person she was despite what the other kids felt.

Now was different, she's was going to be nineteen in a month, but it didn't matter. She was going to have to move out soon because she was eighteen, the age when all orphans were to leave and make lives of their own. The nuns and brothers that ran the orphanage were still giving her time to find a job and apartment, but she really had her heart set on the Olympics. Despite what happened in the next few weeks, the tryouts were all that mattered.

'Yeah, an orphan getting into the Olympics is like a whale on the cheerleading squad. Why do I have to go this alone?' she thought, getting back up on the balance beam, backwards and lifting her arms up to prepare for a series of back-flips and combo twists and a spiral dismount.

She faintly noticed her father's ring glowing on the leather strap necklace tucked under the front of her leotard, or the sudden flurries of blue and white light shimmering down on the opposite end of the balance beam. She just went through the motions, her eyes only on the balance beam until she did a high twisting flip, turning herself back around in mid-air. When she looked down at the end of the beam where she was to land, there was a young man balanced there in strange clothing, like dark armor, his sapphire blue hair cradled close to his head and the front had sharp bangs. He was holding a sword and what looked like a large section of a metal fan, his eyes hidden from her in the pillar of white-blue light that was around him.

As it faded away, she became aware that she was plummeting towards him, so she let out a strangled yelp. He seemed to hear it and looked up, shocking her further with his green and blue eyes, seconds before she landed across him and knocked him off the beam. He made an audible woofing sound as they hit the floor mat, but the dagger and fan piece were still in his hands. She felt his armor bruise her a bit, but all in all she felt happier knowing she hadn't broken anything. Then it slowly dawned on her that the young man was under her, with his nose stuck between her covered cleavage. He was also breathing pretty hard, eyes wide and staring at what was in front of him, then slowly lifted to her ice blue depths, blinking once before she pulled herself up.

Either way, if anyone saw them like this, the nuns would throw her out without a second thought, seeing her sitting on the chest of a strange young man carrying medieval weapons, and when they demanded to know where he was from, all she could think of was heaven. He looked like the angelic little boy that had visited her 12 years ago, the ghostly form anyway, and the pillar of light could have come from heaven, but why send an angel with weapons was what she couldn't figure. The only thing he lacked was the strange pendant.

"Are you an exotic dancer or something?" he asked quietly, still staring and shifting a bit beneath her. 'So much for that theory…..little pervert.' She thought, her mouth twisting into an angry frown. She slapped him hard across the face, making him frown and buck her off his chest by rolling over. She landed on her side, still cross, but the young man matched her mood perfectly.

"It was just a question, the only girls I know of that wear such clothing are in bars….my mother said it was so." He griped, rubbing his cheek, one that had a thin scar on it. She looked at it for a moment, noting that it went across his left cheek and slightly on the left side of his nose.

He stood up grudgingly and cast his eyes on her again, but this time he was curious. Then he started to look around, his eyes slowly dilating and becoming wide. "Where am I? This isn't the forest….where's that dragon I was fighting?" he asked, his voice like liquid velvet, pure and smooth. It entranced her for a second, but then she shrugged it off, he was talking about strange things.

"There are no dragons on Earth, pal. Just who are you and where do you get off calling me a hooker and nearly breaking my legs by getting on the balance beam?" she demanded. His eyes met hers again, those strange double colored eyes that seemed to be trying to dissect her, then looked her up and down, making her involuntarily flush. "The Mystic Moon….I'm on the Mystic Moon….Mother's Earth….amazing….so you did hear me?" he said, not really talking to her, or anyone at all.

"You call this planet the Mystic Moon…that's a bit…romantic I guess….from an alien's point of view." She commented, crossing her arms over her chest.

He smirked at her, his bangs briefly fluttering across his eyes, then falling back into place. "I resent that remark, but you're an alien to me if I am to you, miss….and to answer your past question, my name is Hiero Fanel, of Fanelia. I come from the planet Gaia. Now who are you and what is this….strange building? And what's that orange strip on your left cheek?"

As he said it, he touched her face, making her jump a bit for she hadn't even seen him move. He lightly poked the Band-Aid on her cheek, then pulled his hand away, the hand that was loosely holding the weird looking sword he had sheathed, so quickly as well she hadn't noticed it earlier. She decided to keep her eyes on the sword instead of his face, for the moment. "Alessa Demitrius, of Westchester orphanage and this is its gymnasium….in the state of New York, and this strip no my face is a Band-Aid, I got a scrape on my face a few days ago, walked into a door. Its already going away….so where'd you get that wicked scar on your face, blue boy?" she spouted, moving back a bit when she saw him touch the hilt of his sword.

"Don't have time….now," He was saying, and pulled his sword out," The dragon is coming, best you leave this place or it'll rip you apart."

He shoved at her, but she didn't understand why. She hadn't heard anything and sure as hell didn't see any mythical flying lizard anywhere.

Thoom!

"What was that?" she yelped, nearly loosing her balance as the loud tremor boomed throughout the gymnasium. She felt the boy called Hiero shove her again, but his eyes were softening, almost pleading for her to go. "Just run….no is going to die for my responsibilities again. Get out of here now, please Lady Alessa, run now!" he shouted at her, shoving at her again. This time she listened, running for the doors that led back into the main building. As she got her hands on the knob, she couldn't help but look back, the growing noise of booming footsteps and growling getting the best of her fear and curiosity.

She started madly tugging at the doorknob when she saw dark and creepy forest appear where the gymnasium wall once was, two large golden eyes glowing from within the darkness of the brush. Then the dragon came charging out, roaring and drooling all the way on its short legs and bat-like wings. It was positively amazing, but it was also really a dragon, something that ate people in fairy tales. Alessa didn't want to find out if that part was true an kept trying to open the door. To her dismay, nothing worked, the door was jammed. She quickly peered out the door window and wanted to scream when she saw two file cabinets were blocking it. "Crap, those little shits from shop class did it again. They barricaded me in here so I'd get in trouble again for not being to my room on time. Those lousy bitches! I'll kill….ooop!" she was yelling, then something tackled her away from the door, a cyclone of white-hot flames licking at her heels as it crashed into the doors, welding them shut even worse.

Hiero had saved her from the dragon as the thing was trying to roast her alive, but he put the fan thing up as the creature was readying itself for another expulsion of flames. "Get behind me and hold on to my waist tightly. He's going for it again…." He shouted to her and she obeyed, making him choke a bit. "Not that tight…gag." He tried, but then seemed to forget about what she did and raised his fan thing up. With a click, the fan thing became a metal shield just as the dragon reared its head back.

She held on even tighter when the thing vomited forth another funnel or raging flames, setting the building on fire. When the creatures stopped, Hiero tossed the simmering shield at it and nicked its eye, melting a slit through it. Then lifted the crossbow form his back and fired it at the other eye, a wet popping sound erupting seconds before the dragon roared out its pain, shaking the building for all it was worth.

"You're blind now, bastard! Catch me if you can!!" he shouted at it, prying Alessa off of him," Run in the opposite direction I do….he's pissed at me, not you, just do it when I say go….."

Alessa nodded and got to her feet quickly. "GO!" Hiero shouted, shoving her away from him as he sped in the other direction," Over here you blind oversized iguana!! Come and get me, you wimp!"

She went towards the rings and he was going for open area, where all the floor flips and twists were done. 'Plenty of room to slay a dragon. Just be quiet and you'll both get out alive….but strangely, this is damned exciting. Even the Olympics aren't even this exhilarating….what am I thinking? Run girl!' she mentally screamed, panting all the way.

She stopped when she got to the rings and turned about, her eyes widening with horror was the dragon tried to jam its tailed through the young man, but Hiero jumped over it and slammed his sword into the things soft underbelly of its tail. Blue blood sprayed all over the place, no Hiero, the equipment, and even the walls and floors. He slid down in his sword through the skin, but the think kicked back at him and sent him flying into the wall. Hiero lost his sword in the process, the thing still sticking out what Alessa assumed was the dragon's ass, and he was also disoriented, blood leaking out of his mouth slightly. The dragon roared again and charged as its chest began to glow, just like it had before it breathed fire, but Hiero didn't seem to notice. He was till looking for his sword and swearing

"HIERO!! It's going to fire again!! Run!" she screamed, and Hiero's head shot up, a stunned look on his face as the dragon reared its head back again. Hiero yanked something else off his hip, a strange dagger and ran right at the dragon as fast as he could! 'He's insane, I can't watch!' her mind screamed, but she couldn't shut her eyes, She was frozen with fear and fascination.

She watched with wide eyes as the young man tucked and rolled under the latest funnel of flames, the dragon totally unaware that he was right in front of its glowing chest. When the flames ceased and the chest went dormant, Hiero rammed the dagger right through its chest and slit it upwards. The dragon was caught by surprise utterly, wailing in pain as Hiero slit his dagger though its chest again and again fast and furiously, blue blood erupting all over his body and the entire front of the dying dragon. Some of it hit her, and she twitched, losing sight of everything as her world went black.

~

Hiero slit its throat before jumping away, his entire body covered in blue blood, and was barely missed by the collapsing creature's body. It let out a final cry, pained and desperate not to die, but it was in vain as its body sunk fully to the gymnasium floor, its eyes glazing over in death. "That's teach you to try and cook pretty young ladies, bastard. Now let's get that energist I fought so hard for." He said proudly, going around the thing's body to yank out his sword. He put his dagger away and came back to the dead fire-lungs, smiling and the light purple glow in its chest.

"I always thought it'd be pink or red….but ah hell, and energist is an energist. This ought'a shut those windbag advisors of mine up good." He griped, cutting two deep cross slits into the fire-lungs to retrieve the glowing prize. He sheathed his sword when he saw it and dug his hands all the way in to pull the black crystalline orb out. He was shocked to say the least holding this large thing up. He had seen energists before, like his father's prized one that was buried with his body, a palm sized pink crystal, but this wasn't the same. It was about as big as a toddler's head and like onyx crystal, strange of lavender rippling about its surface. It was very beautiful, glowing a dull purple, but it was till unlike any energist he had ever seen. He stepped back a bit to inspect it further, faintly aware that the dragon's body was disintegrating and the blood on him was following it

"Jenai said Zaibach land dragons eat a more plentiful and a different blend of these stones, far different from Fanelian dragons, but why would a Zaibach land dragon be in Fanelia's woodlands? Hmm, who cares, I've slain the dragon….Oh, I nearly forgot, that girl….Hey…." he was saying, turning around to look for her. His heart lurched when he saw her laying by the hanging circles, and ran to her. He checked her pulse and smiled when he found it. She was alive, only out cold.

"Mystic Moon people sure aren't used to dragons….ah well, now how to get home and what and I going to put this energist in, I won't be able to fight holding this fat thing." He said quietly and looked around and brightened when he saw a generously sized duffel bag, one nearly like his mother's, except the straps were different. He shrugged, leaving the energist by the young woman and ran over to fetch the bag. He brought it back quickly and pulled the straps loose.

He looked inside a moment, looking at all the snack foods and strange bottles wrapped it glossy fabric. 'I think Mother called it plastic….kind'a neat. This could have save a lot of food on both my past worlds. I wonder what a rice ball is." He said aloud, then picked up his energist and stuffed it in the bag and put the straps back in place.

He put it on his back, then looked at the lavender-haired girl again. Now that he looked at her, he felt he was right in his assessment, she was very pretty. As a matter of fact, she was gorgeous. Despite her odd clothing, her hair was like the color of fresh lilacs, her hair put in a neat and silken looking braid that hung slightly over her should stopping just above below her chest. She smelled of lilacs too, some kind of fancy perfume, her face creamy and smooth and her figure nothing short of perfection. He hadn't seen any other females other than Myrna, his mother, Lady Millerna and Aunt Merle, but there was something different about this Alessa, something that was melting his heart all together, putting his pain to rest the longer he looked at her.

He recalled her eyes fondly, eyes like that of the sky very early in the morning, a blue so perfectly cool and light like liquid cobalt, one would call it heaven sent. Her eyes reminded him of icicles glittering in the morning light, pure as the pond waters of the castle garden. "Perfect…." He whispered, letting his eyes travel slowly down her face.

When I turn to the east, I see no dawn,
but after darkness comes the light
And when I turn to the west, the silent night hides all
Where is the light that shines so bright

Then his eyes traveled to the leather strap pendant around her neck, one holding a ring that held an almost greenish energist spec inside it. It looked to be made for a man like him, his fingers were about that size but Alessa's weren't. Hers were far to slim and delicate, no muscle on them to keep the ring in place. He knelt down by her and pulled her into his lap, fingering the ring gently. "This….matches the energist in Dilandau's Alseides….sort of….wow, its glowing," he whispered, then became aware that his pendant was glowing up through his armor. He'd put it under the armor so it wouldn't be damaged, it was all he really had left of his mother that she'd had for a long time. Her Tarot cards he kept in his room, they weren't worth the risk of getting incinerated.

As the glowing grew brighter, a pillar of blue-white light surrounded them both, like it had before when it brought him here. He knew this light, the light that brought his parents together and changed the outcome of the great war. It was taking him home, but Alessa was going with him. He held onto her tightly as his body left the ground and spiraled them into the sky, back to Gaia.

~ Gaia ~

~ The Forest ~

Hiero had placed the duffel back on Alessa's sleeping back after they'd returned to Gaia, and was now carrying her and his energist back to Fanelia. He looked up every so often at the Mystic Moon, the planet Earth that Alessa and his late mother came from. It was very beautiful, but not as pretty as the young lady he was holding in his arms. It felt odd, despite how old her really was, to be holding a girl after so long. It felt brand new, for he'd never met a girl quite like this. He'd been slapped before in past lives and yelled at, but she had a different air about her, as if she had a power deep down that pacified his wild soul. "Ain't love grand?" he told the sleeping beauty, and got a slight sigh in reply.

Then he got another reply as he tried talking to her again, shaking her a bit, but the words died in his throat as a vision flooded through his head. He saw a slash of blade, blood and both their bodies skewered in midair by a dark force. It gave him a sense of dread so great he threw Alessa away from his body, seconds before the vision ended, and became truth.

He felt cold steel leap through his gut, then pull out and ram through his heart. He had a witty retort ready on his lips, but the moment the metal stole into his beating heart, all thought left him, and the voice of a teasing death washed over his senses.

Two men walked past him, the one that had run him through tossing his blade beside the corpse of the Fanelian prince. He spit in the young man's face before looking at the young woman he'd thrown clear if himself, and smiled sleazily.

He looked at his companion and got the same grin from him, and then walked over to stand over her sleeping form. "Emperor Folken will be pleased we got this little bitch for him. He never said we had to let the little prince live….nor did he say that we couldn't do anything with this luscious number either. I say we have some fun before we deliver her to our Emperor's arms. What he doesn't know won't kill us. It's been a long time since I had me a honey like this, Clovis" The murderous soldier chuckled, rubbing his bald head gingerly.

His friend chuckled with him and gestured for the bald soldier to go first. "Don't have too much fun….Don't want my fun to hindered cause you get greedy, Reeve. Make it quick." Clovis hissed out sweetly, folding his arms across his dull gray-armored chest.

Reeve just smiled and nodded, then turned about and started to undo his belt. "With pleasure, my friend. She doesn't know what she's missing, eh Clovis?" he asked, getting his pants down a little when his friend made a choking sound, then a dull rolling thud.

"Don't get so anxious. Give me time, don't you strip while I am, imbecile." Reeve barked as he pulled his armor over his head and dropped it to the ground.

He was about to knee over the young lady when he felt a biting pain erupt in his left arm, then a warmth flooding across his side. He looked at it vaguely and started to scream. It had been lopped off completely. "Clovis! What in the gods names are you doing?" he shouted, then the pain was in his other arm, making him fall backwards.

His nearly had a heart attack when he saw Prince Hiero, the supposed to be dead Prince Hiero standing over him with his own sword. "Have I ever told anyone how much I hate being impaled?!" the prince said so devil may care, and angel couldn't have said with much more grace and arrogance.

When Reeve just stare and moaned in pain, the prince's face became angry and he rammed the sword through his face. "I HATE IT A LOT! Even more than seeing naked old perverts after I've been killed, your dragon refuse spouting murderers!" he yelled at the dead body. No sooner had his hands left the hilt, his face softened slightly upon seeing Alessa was all right, then went angry again as he looked at the armless corpse and the headless corpse.

"Well, being nineteen for all times isn't as bad as being ten for all times would be, but I still hate being impaled every first time I die. It's like Delphine thinks it's cute to run swords through me, the bloody bastard. Arghh…," he growled, picking up the decapitated head and jammed the back part against the other ones' naked groin," Want to be perverts fine, be perverts. I hope your comrades get a good laugh out of seeing you both get a little head out of your little stunt, jerks."

As roughly as possibly, he stomped over the armless body and went to Alessa still sleeping form. He felt warm again, but he smelled of blood. He'd resurrected himself in time to save her chastity and female dignity, so it wasn't a total waste of taking all that pain. Dying wasn't fun, never was and never would be, but the fact that resurrection was quick was a small comfort. It was the pain that he hated.

He sighed as he picked her up again, getting a little of his blood on her. He grimaced when he saw he had injured her when he threw her, a slight cut on her right side, but it was nothing the healers couldn't handle. He just had to quicken his pace to Fanelia. With that in mind, he started to jog, despite how tired he was from the night's events.

~ Entrance to the Mountain Path to Fanelia ~

Alessa fluttered her icy blue eyes open slowly, a blue peach and black image distorted above her, then she lolled her head to the side and saw the night sky with fuzzy looking stars. As her vision cleared, she saw the Earth and the moon hanging in the brilliant night sky.

"What on Earth?" she gasped, nearly falling off of whatever was holding her up. It steadied, then she heard a musical chuckled. She followed to his face, the face of the strange boy that had slain the dragon in the gymnasium, Hiero.

"Have a good nap? Oh yeah, we're not on the Mystic Moon anymore, this is Gaia, my world. Sorry, Lady Alessa." He said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Oh….hey, where'd all you get all that blood on you from? Are you hurt?' she asked, touching his chest lightly, which made him blush. She yanked it away from him as if she'd been burned, looking away.

"Some enemy soldiers tried to kill us, but I stopped them. They nearly raped you as well, but they won't be doing any more perverted acts for a long time, as in forever. I was injured slightly, but I am a fast healer, but you got a little cut on your side when I threw you to safety. The castle healers can fix you right up, I promise." He told her, shaking his head a bit, as if it would get rid of the blush.

So I say farewell, I'm yours forever
And I Always Will Be
Missing you, in my heart you are The One
And you Always Will Be

"Thank you. You a knight or a warrior or something? Always saving girls and such to win their hearts?" she said sarcastically, but he openly grinned at her comment.

"No, not really. You're the first female my age I've ever saved, but I'm not some chauvinist jackass. You're pretty much the first girl I've seen since childhood that's remotely close to my age. Do you do anything besides those flips of yours?" he asked, still saying is casually. She knew he understood the comments, but he seemed to be truthful about it. She'd see for herself when they reached this place he was walking them to. She looked about a moment as she thought on his question, seeing a mountain pass several feet away and currently he was walking her and her duffel bag through a grassy valley in the night.

She was flattered he called her Lady Alessa and being carried by a handsome young warrior in another word that had dragons and swordsmen. It was like a weird role playing game based story, but it was real, not a book that could be put away. Still, it was exciting either way, just more realistic this way. "I'm a gymnast, not a flip girl, and I do acrobatics. If you must know, I wanted to be in these world wide beloved games where athletes like myself compete for medals, gold being the highest. Looks like I'll never make it being here now. Now what do we do, Hiero Fanel?"

Hiero gestured with his chin to the mountain path. "Through there is my homeland, Fanelia. The healers can attend to your cut then and you can have a good meal, for all the trouble I have caused you. It's the least I can do for the person that saved my ass." He said lightly.

Nah-nah-na ... and you Always Will Be!
Nah-nah-na ... and you Always Will Be!

"Saved you? But you've already saved me twice!" she exclaimed as the sound of grass crunching under his knee-high boots was replaced by that of the scraping of them against stone and dirt. 'Why is he acting so self-less, he could have died because of me?' she thought as she looked right into his curious eyes.

"If it hadn't been for you, I'd have been roasted alive. I owe you my life, Lady Alessa, and I intend to repay that forever. A life for a life….a life debt. Its good manners in my mind….maybe some people wouldn't agree, but they are not me. Just relax for now and I'll get you to Fanelia. It'll be all right." He said quietly, a small smile on his lips.

She just nodded and let him trudge on, remaining quiet the entire walk, until she saw the large wooden gates and the tower above holding two armored men. One perked up as he saw them and waved, then he shouted something that made her jaw drop.

"Open the gates! Prince Hiero has returned!!" the man yelled, the gates lurching forward to reveal the beautiful city of Fanelia, but it could have been made of gold and Alessa would have cared less.

'Prince?! An honest to God, real life prince, rescued me?! Something tell me life just got a whole lot more interesting.' She thought, looking up at Hiero, who suddenly seemed a million miles away, his eyes lost in thought.

And you Always Will Be
my Little One you are
And you Always Will Be!

To Be Continued….

*The Fool card represents an awakening in Hiero towards taking on a new thing, thusly his emotions towards Alessa and the dragon slaying. It also shows his growing up mentally in dealing with all the deaths in the past.