~*~Chapter 3 Valvalis~*~
He awoke, and wished he hadn't done so. His head felt like it was filled with bees, and his body ached all over. It was cold, and dark. In fact, he began to realize with growing surprise and panic, he was inside a cell, hanging by the wall in his chained wrists. Both his armor and spear were gone, he only wore a simple, stiff cloth; a prisoner's clothing. The only light came from a smoking torch; the smell dried his throat. Kain was thirsty and confused. What had happened? That earthquake in Mist… then what? Where was Cecil?
'And were am I?' Kain thought.
By instinct, he tried to break free from the chains, but since his feet didn't touch the floor, he had no strength.
Suddenly the door opened, and closed behind a man in red, luxurious robes.
"My liege?" Kain gasped with broken voice.
"And my traitor," the king snorted, "I hear you and Cecil was going to leave me behind, eh?"
"How did you… where is Cecil?" Kain whispered.
His throat was so dry that he hardly could breath.
"Cecil?" the king repeated, "he'll be here soon. I sent some troops to fetch both him and that last summoner. They will be brought here, so that I can dispose of them."
"You what?!"
King Baron sneered.
"We can't have traitors like him walking around freely, can we? And speaking of traitors, the fair Rosa seem to have left, too."
"Rosa…?" Kain croaked.
The king smiled coldly.
"Yes, Rosa. The one with the white cloak, remember? Don't worry about her, you'll be together as sad, wandering spirits. Or in Hell, that's another option, of course."
"Your Majesty, why!?" Kain tried to scream, but it became only a whisper.
The king started to laugh, and he began to change. His crown, hair and clothes disappeared, his skin became blue, and he got a turtle-shell. The teeth in his mouth grew to white spikes, shown in an evil smile. Kain stared at the monster, his lips becoming numb. He couldn't even speak.
"Yes," the monster sneered, "I am not the king of Baron. Our names actually starts the same, my friend; I am Kainazzo, fiend of Water."
"The king…?" the captured dragoon stuttered.
"Dead, I'm afraid. Pity… I had to kill him instantly, when I really wanted to do it in my favorite way. But you, on the other hand, you're different. Nobody will hear you scream."
Suddenly, water began flooding from Kainazzo's feet. In only a few moments, the liquid had reached Kain's ankles, steadily rising.
"People should drown more often," Kainazzo sneered as Kain desperately tried to tear himself free from the chains, "it's healthy, really. And such a lovely sight."
The water reached his chest by now, his throat, his face…
"Stop!"
It was a woman's voice. A sudden wind blew the water aside, and Kain took a violent breath. Kainazzo angrily turned his head as his water returned to him; he looked at nothing at all, just an empty wall.
"What do you want, Valvalis?" he snorted.
"I have talked with Golbez," the woman's voice said, "he allowed me to take care of this."
"That's not fair!"
"Then go to Golbez and complain, whiner!"
Grumbling, Kainazzo turned back into the false king of Baron.
"You might wish you had drowned." he sneered and left the cell.
Kain still gulped for air.
"Who are you…?" he finally managed to whisper, unsure if he really wanted to know.
"Valvalis, fiend of the Air."
What materialized in the middle of the room was the most beautiful woman Kain had ever seen. She wore a tight, white dress, and her blond hair was as long as she was tall. She looked strangely at him.
"This is my true form," she said, "that was what you thought, wasn't it?"
Kain didn't answer. She was a fiend, she was going to kill him. Why talk?
She looked so thoughtful.
"You're soaking wet," she said, "you'll catch a cold down here."
"Excuse me?"
She raised a hand and pointed upwards. A warm wind began to blow around Kain, drying his simple clothes and skin. Valvalis moved closer.
"What do you want?" Kain whispered.
Funny, he had been about to drown, but his throat was still dry as a desert. Valvalis once more raised her hand, and suddenly held a cup filled with some liquid. She put it by Kain's cracked lips.
"Here, drink this. You'll feel better." she said.
It was a healing potion, he could smell that.
"What…? You want to kill me healthy?" Kain muttered, with as much sarcasm he could manage.
"I'm not going to kill you," she said.
"What?"
"Now drink this. Don't be so foolishly proud."
Kain wasn't really sure if he drank the potion of his own will, or if the fiend used her powers to make him, but anyhow he emptied the cup. The clean liquid filled him with a soft, warm feeling, and the pain in his legs and head ceased a bit.
Valvalis still watched him in a strange way. She made the cup dissolve and raised her hands to touch his face. Her fingertips sent lightning of pain through the dragoon's head, and he couldn't fight back a groan.
"You've got some bad wounds here…" Valvalis said, frowning, "summer breeze that soothes, ease the pain…"
Kain's skin felt wonderfully warm for a moment, and once more his pain drew back a little.
"Much better," the fiend of air said.
She touched his hair, as if she was confused. Like she'd never seen a bound man before. She made Kain very nervous, and still… she touched his face and hair in the way he'd always wished Rosa would do.
"I scare you, don't I?" Valvalis said, without taking her hands away from Kain's head.
"What do you want?" he said once more.
She didn't answer at first. Then she spoke:
"I kept an eye on you and your friend, making sure that you really went to Mist. Golbez didn't want to see any mistakes."
"Who the Hell is Golbez?"
"My king," Valvalis answered, with a small smile on the brink of a sneer, "not my master, but I obey him at the moment."
The smile disappeared, and she looked strangely confused again.
"I watched you fight," she said, "and I saw you jump… you're a warrior of the air, just like me."
"And you work with someone who want to kill me, my best friend and… and Rosa!" Kain exclaimed, turning his head away in anger.
Valvalis' eyebrows went up.
"You think a lot of that white mage Rosa," she pointed out.
"Stay away from my thoughts!"
"Alright, if you want me to."
Kain stared at her. She shook her head.
"But you know the truth," she said, "and even though you don't want to, you're jealous. You feel anger towards the one you call your best friend."
"So that's what you want?" Kain growled, "you think that you can use my feelings to make me work for that damn Golbez? No, call your turtle-friend here, I'd rather drown!"
Valvalis startled, as if he'd hit her. They stared at each other.
"That's not what I meant," Valvalis finally said, "but you'll work for Golbez whether you like it or not."
"Never!"
"What you want is not of the matter," the fiend of Air snarled, "you will do as Golbez says, believe me. And you should be grateful I saved your life."
"I'm not grateful for becoming some kind of slave!" Kain exclaimed, "why did you even care, you're a monster!"
The last word hung in the air, making it thicker than the smoking torch ever could do.
"Do I look like a monster?" Valvalis said, cold as ice, "do I have fangs and scales? Am I hideous?"
"No, your beauty is stunning," Kain snarled, "but you're a fiend, and you work with monsters that want to destroy my life and kill my friends!"
There was another silence when they stared at each other again.
"I am an elemental fiend," Valvalis said, coldly, "but I haven't said anything about killing your friends or harming you, have I?"
"But your friends will, won't they?" Kain accused.
Her nails cut into his cheeks.
"I save your life and this is your way of gratefulness?!" Valvalis growled as he tried to break free from her grip, "you! I thought you was different than the others because you were an air-fighter, I guess I'll never learn!"
"Why… did you… care?" Kain croaked.
"You're such an idiot."
His head hit the wall behind him, making him see dancing stars.
"Lightni…!" Valvalis exclaimed.
But she never finished the command. Kain gulped for air, trying to pull himself together.
"So how much power will you waste…?" he snarled, "will you have me raw or well done?"
No answer. He looked up. She seemed so strangely confused again.
"What is it now, then?" Kain growled.
She was silent for a moment. Then she pointed at him.
"Summer breeze..."
The world stopped spinning. Kain looked at her, and she watched him.
'What does she want?' the dragoon thought, confused, 'why doesn't she kill me?'
"You look so helpless." Valvalis suddenly said, as if she was thinking aloud.
"It's because I'm hanging here like a damn dead chicken!" Kain snarled.
"I've almost forgot how fear felt…"
Kain turned his head away, furious.
"Then you've really forgot humanity!" he growled.
"That is true, at least I thought so." Valvalis said, not angry this time.
Her fingers touched his face again.
"Why do you do that?" Kain snarled.
"It was almost impossible to talk Golbez into not killing you," she said, "but I had to… you remind me of something…"
"Now, now, Valvalis," a man's voice said, "let's not get too personally involved."
"Good afternoon, Golbez," the fiend said without turning around.