Chapter One: Abduction

An hour had scarce passed since the sun had risen and taken its place in the sky above the city that shared its name with the Freija kingdom of which it was the capital. As such, most of the shops in the middle and upper-class commercial districts of town had opened for the day, and people were out and about on their morning business in said districts. The slums of the town, however, were entirely different; separated from the more wealthy sections of the city by high stone walls, the district of town located directly to the south of the Cathedral of the Faith seemed nearly devoid of life. One would have either been foolish or well-protected to travel the thief-infested streets of the slums, and it would seem as if most of the inhabitants of the district's ramshackle apartments and derelict houses chose to remain within their homes. The few shops in the district were run out of the homes of the shopkeepers, for the very act of traveling to and from work each day posed a threat to the health of an individual.

Such a lack of human activity suited Seth; his mission was one of utmost secrecy.

It was upon the flat roof of one of the many abandoned apartments of the district that Seth contemplated. Even when undertaking a mission such as his, he was a thoughtful young man; even as he sized up the possible dangers of his task, his icy blue eyes held a contemplative gleam. His hair, an unkempt mass of platinum that, though odd in color, seemed to accent his pale, almost feminine face, had begun to sway and shift, indicating a slight wind from the north. Despite the cool weather, the young man wore only a sleeveless shirt and loose-fitting pants, along with a katana in a battered scabbard hanging from a black leather belt. His hand continually darted to the hilt of said weapon, for his nerves had begun to heighten his senses and instill a feeling of general paranoia within him, but one could not blame him; it was not every day that one was paid to kidnap a princess, after all.

After a bit of silent reflection, Seth stood and stretched his cramped legs. Looking directly ahead of himself, he could clearly see the stone wall that separated the north side of the slums from the upper-class quarters of the city, beyond which rose the majestic Cathedral of the Faith. Being the center of the kingdom's religion, it was a magnificent and overly extravagant structure composed mainly of white marble. In actuality, the Cathedral was more of a keep; its ivory spires shot into the air as if in defiance to all that opposed the Freijian Church. The very sight of the Cathedral caused Seth to sigh in disgust, for it was a testament to the fact that the king certainly had a great deal of money to spend on the poor of his city, but chose not to do so in favor of erecting magnificent structures that seemed to serve no purpose other than to mock the poor to a great extent.

As he scanned the horizon, the platinum-haired young man caught sight of another individual on the next roof ahead. Aside from being slightly shorter than Seth, the young man appeared to be very similar in appearance, if a bit more masculine. His black hair was every bit as unmanageable as Seth's own platinum hair, and he, like Seth, was lithe but well-muscled. At his waist hung two identical daggers in twin sheaths, each slightly curved and ideal for slashing. The mere sight of the young man caused Seth to shake his head and smile slightly, for the young man was none other than his brother Ryn, who was two years the junior of Seth. Thus, forsaking all semblance of stealth, Seth called out to his brother.

"Ryn!" cried the elder of the two. "What are you doing up there?"

Ryn spun around to face his brother. "I'm scouting ahead!" he said. "You know, there could be guards or-"

"Guards? In the slums?" Seth asked with a smile. Ryn had always been the more ambitious of the two, being quicker to act than to think. Seth, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. "Slow down. There's no need to rush; we will do what we have to do soon enough."

"Are you afraid?" Ryn joked, taking a seat and awaiting his brother, who approached the edge of his respective roof.

Seth shrugged. As the apartments of the slums were packed far too close together, the young man was able to clear the nearly nonexistent gap between the roofs in a single short leap. "Why shouldn't I be?" he asked. "I know we're being paid quite a bit of money for this, but any number of things could go wrong. For God's sake, we don't even know who our employer is or who he works for."

Ryn shrugged. "He probably works for the Freija City Rebellion," he replied nonchalantly.

"You know I don't trust them," the elder brother replied. "Their intentions are noble, but I do not agree with their means of achieving their goals."

"Fine, fine," Ryn replied, crossing his arms and glancing toward the Cathedral that towered above the wall ahead. "Only a few rooftops to go…it'll be so easy."

Seth sighed. "Perhaps, but keep in mind that we still haven't figured out how we're going to get the princess out of the Cathedral without being detected."

"We can escape using the same route we used to get in!" the younger brother said in exasperation. "Of course we're not going to be able to avoid detection, but we can evade anyone in the slums, especially the personal guards of the Church. Don't think about it so much."

In response, Seth simply nodded. His nerves were bothering him more than ever, and he decided that it would be best to execute the mission quickly. "Let's go. I'm becoming more and more worried by the second."

Ryn simply smiled, then proceeded to run off in the direction of the wall, followed closely by the nervous Seth. It did not take a great deal of time to reach the wall, and, as the building upon which they stood was nearly as tall as the wall itself, the brothers were forced to duck under the top three feet of wall to avoid detection by any stragglers in the Cathedral's back courtyard. However, a quick survey of the area proved that there was nothing to fear, and the two quickly stood. Their goal was at hand.

"There it is," Ryn said, nodding in the direction of the massive stained glass window that formed the greater portion of the Cathedral's back wall and smiling in anticipation of what was to come. "Let's do this."

Seth nodded solemnly, then drew his sword and pointed it toward the gargantuan window. He closed his eyes in deep concentration, proceeding to mutter several odd syllables…

* * * * *

"…In the name of God and the three Goddesses of Fate. Amen…"

Though her prayers had come to an end, Princess Elina remained in her kneeling position before the altar of the church. Her eyes still closed, she silently contemplated on how much she did not wish to return to the castle for another day in the life of royalty. It was not as if her life was boring, she rationalized; the runaway princesses of fairy tales and myths were quite stretched in that they believed their royal lives to be dull. Rather, the life of a princess was stifling. One could not direct the course of their own life; rather, they were forced to become whatever their parents wished them to be. Thus, despite her father's wishes, Elina had begun to learn the holy arts from the priests of the Cathedral, for she not only wished to defy her father, but wished to help those in need, as well. In fact, she had become attuned to the mystic arts quite quickly, and she believed that there was something about herself and her spiritual properties that only the priests were aware of.

Certainly, the princess could always have simply fled from the castle. However, despite the fact that she would have nowhere to go if she did leave, Elina could not fathom the abandonment of her younger sister Eve. As their mother had died some years before, the two princesses were forced to practically fend for themselves, and the elder of the two could not stand the thought of her sister's life being strictly directed as hers was. Thus, she would return to the castle and continue her all but meaningless life as always she had before and always would, if only for the sake of her sister.

Before she could stand from her position, Elina's reverie was broken by what sounded to be the voice of one wise beyond years. "Is something troubling you, Your Highness?"

Elina opened her eyes and slowly rose from the floor. Turning around, she saw the man who had addressed her; he was a bald, elderly individual with gray eyes that practically shone with intelligence. He was clad in elegant robes of gold-trimmed white, and atop his straight, scholarly nose rested a small pair of spectacles. Upon being noticed by the princess, the man bowed his head in acknowledgement before speaking again. "You were simply kneeling silently for quite some time, and I was wondering if you were troubled in any way."

Brushing her golden hair out of her deep azure eyes with a pale, delicate hand, the princess simply shook her head and smiled. Father Ranus had always been sympathetic of her issues, and never failed to lend a caring ear when she needed to speak her mind. "I'm fine, Father," Elina said. "I was simply…"

"You were simply thinking of leaving again," the priest finished. "My child, you know that I would not recommend such a course of actions. However, my life, nor that of your father, is synonymous with your own. Your decisions are yours to make, for only you can decide what is best for yourself. Do as you will."

Elina sighed. "You know it isn't quite as easy as you make it sound. My father wouldn't hear of it, and I could never abandon Eve."

"You may be correct," the priest said, his tone ever simultaneously indifferent as a judge and caring as a father figure. "Remember, you and your sister always have a home here, should you decide that the life of royalty does not suit you."

The princess simply gave a silent nod as her eyes began to wander. Beginning at the primary altar of the church from which all services were given, her gaze slowly moved upward to the ascending flight of stairs at the very back of the large building. These stairs led to the enormous stained glass window set into the Cathedral's back wall, stopping at a point that seemed to be level with the top of the wall located directly behind the building. Often, the priests of the Cathedral would conduct important services from atop the platform that seemed to serve as the lower windowsill of the glorious window; such services often had a lasting effect on those attending them. Elina gazed into the multicolored panes of the window, her eyes becoming distant and whimsical as she viewed the scene created entirely of glass. Such a scene would have been the fulfillment of the princess' most wild and exotic desires, for displayed upon the window was a knight set astride an armored chocobo, his steel-clad hand extended toward a shy, unassuming princess. Though Elina was well aware that such was only possible in fairy tales, she could not help but hope that she had a knight of her own who would simply sweep her away from her troubles forever.

Yet again, Father Ranus' voice broke the silence that pervaded the room, and he pointed a gnarled hand toward the window. "Oh my…Princess Elina! Look!"

Though Elina had previously failed to notice the object of the priest's attention, she suddenly became aware of a single shadow that had seemed to materialize near the bottom of the window, as if it were standing upon the wall. As her eyes attempted to focus upon its blurred form, it shifted slightly, then ceased all movement. Suddenly, however, an odd glow seemed to form in the center of the shadow and expand outward, eventually becoming large enough to emit light through the stained glass of the window. As quickly as it had grown, the glow receded back into the center of the shadow, then seemed to explode outward in all directions.

In a mere instant, the Cathedral of the Faith was thrown into chaos. The stained glass window that so beautifully depicted Elina's romantic dream exploded inward with a force that threw the princess back into the unsure arms of Father Ranus. The sharp crashing sound caused by the breaking of the window caused both the priests in every far corner of the Cathedral and the clerics charged with guard duty for the day to rush into the central hall of the church with weapons drawn, provided they possessed any such items. As the turmoil came to an end and Elina was helped back onto her feet, two young men could be seen standing upon the ledge that had once protruded from the base of the window. It was difficult to discern their features, as they were standing within a cloud of light smoke that seemed to be an aftereffect of whatever force had broken the window, but it soon became apparent that both were armed.

"This is the work of Chaos!" the rather shaken Father Ranus cried. "They are servants of the devil Chaos himself!"

One of the young men, who seemed to be wielding a dagger in each hand, seemed to take on an annoyed posture at the comment. "Chaos? Of course not! We aren't demons…we're worse than demons, in fact; we're mercenaries."

Almost immediately, several of the armed clerics stepped forth to confront the two mercenaries. However, before they could reach as far as the bottom of the stairs leading to the platform, the taller of the two men raised his sword into the air. "I will not hesitate to destroy you all as I destroyed your blasphemous display of magnificence," he said, his voice carrying a tone that was both unsure and commanding. The clerics simply froze.

Ranus shook his head in disbelief. "You wielded the magic of death! Only one of darkness can be capable of casting the Black Magic."

"It's not magic," the taller man replied. "It's an ancient art passed down through generations of skilled warriors. Unfortunately, I am the first of my family and my ancestors before me to use the 'drawing out' ability for less than honorable acts." He shrugged. "Regardless, it is quite useful in dispatching those who oppose us."

"What…what business do you have here?" the rather shaken priest asked, his voice quivering.

The taller man pointed his sword directly at the princess, who took a step back as if expecting another blast in her direction. "We require but one thing: her," he said. "The princess of Freija. Well…it isn't we that require her, it's our employer. We're taking her regardless."

"I will become a corpse before you have her!" the priest cried. With a gasp, Elina grasped his hand, and seemed to attempt to persuade him to simply let her go with them. Ranus silenced her, however, and continued to speak. "You wish to fight?"

The dagger-wielder shook his head. "No. We just want the princess. No harm will come of her; you can trust us." Before further words were spoken, the two mercenaries leapt from the platform and approached the princess and the priest. For the first time, those present were able to get a proper view of the two.

"Please, Your Highness, come with us," Seth said, politely extending a hand as if nothing had happened.

Elina simply shook her head. Such did not quite equal her vision of how her escape from her current life should be. "I…will go," she said nervously. "Do not worry about me, and…and tell my father about this as soon as possible. Tell him…tell him not to worry."

Ryn nodded. "Alright! Let's g-"

"Father Ranus! There is a riot of-…oh my…"

All present turned to face the front doorway of the cathedral, which had apparently been hastily bolted shut by the cleric who stood panting as he attempted to register the scene before him. "This may not be the best time to deal with such a problem," he said, "But a riot has formed before the Cathedral. They claim to be members of the Rebellion."

"Damn it!" Seth cursed. He had never trusted those godforsaken rebels, and they were now in a position to ruin his well-paying mission. Before he could utter another word or decide on a course of action, the heavy wooden doors suddenly seemed to warp and bend inward, then splintered into pieces altogether. Angrily, and despite the protests of his brother, Seth ran forth toward the open doorway, his sword pointed straight forward.

"What are you doing?" Ranus cried. "Leave this to us!"

"There's an army of desperate, poverty-stricken townsfolk attempting to enter this temple of God. We may be kidnappers, but we will not tolerate the harming of innocents." As before, the sword began to glow, first appearing to be a soft purple color but eventually reaching the point of glorious white. The glow then receded back into the weapon, then, as it had before, exploded out with such force that what remained of the Cathedral's doors were blown outward into the street beyond. When the smoke cleared, several charred bodies could be seen strewn about the front steps of the church.

"Seth! Let's go!" Ryn cried. Without so much as waiting for his brother, he directed the princess to the ledge and instructed her to leap out onto the wall, soon following suit himself. As the onslaught of revolutionaries charged into the church and entered a bloody melee with the clerics and priests, Seth bolted up the steps and out the gaping hole in the Cathedral wall as quickly as he could manage, causing him to fly over the wall beyond and land abruptly upon the roof of the building that leaned against the wall. He wasted no time in pulling himself up, then collapsed against the wall, panting.

"Oh, God…" Seth said quietly, his eyes staring off into the sky. "What have we done?"

"Our job," Ryn responded, shooting a glance in the direction of the bewildered princess. "We have what we came for."

Seth continued as if he had not heard his brother speak. "It was not supposed to turn out this way…we had it planned…the rebels…I…I…"

Placing a comforting hand upon his brother's shoulder, Ryn attempted to provide support. "It was them or us. You had no choice in the matter; they made the decision for you. It's unfortunate that I can say this, but killing is most difficult the first time you do it."

"Hey!"

Both young men's attentions were caught by the princess. "I do not know whether to thank you or condemn you," she said, "But for now, I think it would be best if we left this area." She paused for a moment, but quickly turned back toward the Cathedral. "No…Father Ranus!"

Seth quickly grabbed the princess' arm. "You can't go back there! Those damnable rebels will kill you. Trust me…they are far more unstable than your father knows."

Elina's gaze shifted toward the ground, which, in that case, happened to be the top of a dilapidated apartment building. "This is his fault. The Rebellion is his fault, certainly…I wouldn't be surprised if you two have done this out of anger for him, as well."

"To be quite honest with you," Ryn replied, "We don't know why we kidnapped you. We were hired to do so for quite a bit of money, but our employer and his purposes are unknown to us. Maybe he knew this would happen."

Seth's eyes suddenly widened. "No…we were…" After a bit of stammering, he leapt from the ground and pointed toward the south horizon. "We've got to reach the rendezvous point!"

"Why are you so enthusiastic all of a sudden?" questioned the somewhat puzzled Ryn.

Seth did not move; his eyes simply narrowed, and his angered demeanor seemed to increase his presence, making him seem far more ominous than he was. "We must have a little talk with our employer."