Disclaimer: I don't own Esca, but the billions of new characters are all mine and you can't take them from me! * Runs off with all her characters who look quite dazed * * Collective sweatdrop *
A/N: Oh man, I know I don't update frequently enough with this, it's hard juggling school, music lessons, appointments, friends, and my other fics. I'll probably add to this once a week, or whenever I'm inspired. I'm glad you're all liking it, I've received a ton of fanmail emails telling me ya like the fic and that makes me feel REALLY happy. So thanks again everybody, and keep the reviews coming! ^_^
Chapter 39: Never-ending Death
"Hey! Wake up!" Daren was awoken from his Mira fantasies by one of his roommates.
"Oh Mira, I love you!" Keiji imitated in a singsong voice.
Daren blushed a deep red.
"Did I talk during my sleep again?"
"Oh yeah, you kept blubbering on about that girl of yours ever since you hit the sack!" Variel had a smug look on her face.
"Sorry, I just miss her I guess. I've never been away from home before without family." He sighed, getting up and looking out the window.
"I wonder if they're watching the same sunrise..." He gazed out the window, and a vision of his love, Mira, her face reflected in the sun's golden glow, silver locks blowing with the breeze, smiling that smile she saved just for him. A tear trickled down his cheek. Daren had never cried before.
"You OK?" Urei asked in a gruff voice.
"Yeah. I guess." Daren muttered, standing up and strapping his sword to his belt.
"Don't worry man, from what you've been murmuring about Mira, I'd say she'll wait for you." Shin consoled the troubled raven-haired boy.
"You're right." Daren ran his hands through his hair and pulled on his crumpled blue and black leather shirt.
"I wonder how freaked out the advisors are by now... 'Where has Prince Daren gone?' 'Has he been kidnapped?' 'Is he dead?' I can picture it now." He said in an amused tone.
"I guess royalty has its down sides." Variel commented.
"But you get to boss everyone around and have all that money to burn."
"The advisors and council boss YOU around, and then they bug you not to be frivolous with the royal treasury. Nope, I can't honestly say that if I had the choice that I would be a royal." He pulled on his boots and walked out the door; his newfound friends following close behind.
"You're late." Dilandau muttered as they walked in, eyeing the new recruits with those pools of crimson.
"Our deepest apologies Dilandau-Sama. Daren has not yet adjusted to the routine." Variel bowed, looking at the ground.
"No excuses!" Dilandau exclaimed as he slapped the youngest slayers.
He sat back down after muttering, "Lady Memoria's gone off her rocker making me train these morons..."
"Today you begin your training, you may think it's boring, you may think it's too hard, but guess what? I DON'T CARE! If you succeed you'll be a hero of Zaibach, if you don't, you're dead. It's as simple as that."
The younger slayers looked quite nervous as they gulped down the bland porridge, which was their breakfast.
"Yuck." Daren muttered.
"At least at the palace they give us decent meals." The slayers relaxed and giggled at his criticism.
"What was that you said Fanel?" Dilandau asked.
Daren tensed up.
"Nothing sir."
"It didn't sound like 'nothing.' Ruebi, come in please." A middle-aged man with a shaved head walked in, spoon in hand, apron tied.
"Not Ruebi, this boy over here says he doesn't like your food, what do you say?" Dilandau asked in an amused tone.
"I say if he doesn't like the food, he doesn't eat." He muttered in a gruff voice as he exited.
"Well, you heard the cook, no food for you Daren, and if any of you try to share, there goes your food too." Dilandau was really starting to enjoy this, having Daren as a slayer might not be so bad after all.
The rest of the day was spent training. Daren was beat and he collapsed on his bed that night dripping with sweat, barely being able to move.
"God, I must be more out of shape than I thought..." He muttered.
"Nah, these workouts are just strenuous." Variel commented as she brushed her messy hair.
"Refina warned me, so I've been practicing all week."
"Whoop-de-do for you." Daren murmured, he was too beat to come up with a snappy comeback, it just wasn't worth the effort. He then fell into a deep sleep to dreams of his silver-haired angel.
About an hour later, Daren was rudely awoken.
"Wha... What is it? It can't be morning already..." Daren said under his breath as the shaking continued.
"We've been attacked you idiot!" The angry voice of Variel screamed into his ear.
"Hey, no need to yell." Daren said in a groggy tone.
"Unless you want to be stuck in here if the castle's set on fire, I suggest you move!" She retorted, rushing to wake the next slayer.
"Whatever." Daren continued in his half-asleep tone as he went back to dreamland.
*"DAREN GET UP! DAREN GET UP!" A familiar voice screamed at him.
"Huh? Mira?" He was wide eyed now, staring into the face of his love.
"Yes, it's me Daren. Get out of there now Daren, hurry up and go." His wife said, her blue eyes glazed with tears clutching their children in her arms.
"But Mira, I want to stay with you!" He pleaded.
"Now is not the time my love, save yourself now, you can save me later." She smiled at him before vanishing.
"MIRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"*
Daren woke up and ran out the door, he heard the prisoners' frightened screams knowing the castle was burning down, the guards hadn't bothered to release them, they were trapped. Daren heard a familiar voice.
'Nah, it's just my mind playing tricks on me...' He decided, racing down the corridor of moaning convicts.
"LORD DAREN! LORD DAREN! SAVE ME LORD DAREN!" A voice squealed as Daren stopped in his tracks.
"Ria?" He asked in absolute bewilderment.
"Lord Daren." She said in contentment.
Daren broke open the lock and carried the unconscious catgirl outside with the others as they watched the castle become engulfed in flames, the shrieks of the dead and the dying filling the night.
"I'm glad to see you made it out Ria." A cold voice said to the frightened catgirl.
"W-Who are you? And how do you know my name?" Ria asked in complete confusement as she awoke.
"Don't you remember me Ria, I'm an old friend..." Memoria said with a smug look on her face.
She held her hair up with one hand and said, "C'mon Ria, Hope's waiting!"
Ria gasped in alarm.
"M-Mem-ory..."
"You're quite correct my feline friend, now be a good kitty and tell me the secret of Atlantis!"
"HOW THE HELL WOULD I KNOW?" Ria screamed in rage.
"Here we go again..." Daren muttered.
"This is getting quite repetitive."
"Shut up." Memoria muttered.
"Hey, I'm outside your stupid castle, which is at the moment, shall we say... demolished. I'm my own leader again! Ha!" Daren began to stride away when Dilandau slapped him across the face.
"You're still under MY rule, until the day you die or I dismiss you from my services." Dilandau reminded him.
"I didn't need to know that." Daren muttered, rubbing his sour cheek.
"SIR." A Dragonslayer screamed at Dilandau.
"THE ENEMY, THEY'RE HERE AND THEY'RE ATTACKING!"
"THEY HAVE 10,000 GUYMELEFS!" The Dragonslayer's face was pale and he looked a wreck as he reported to his commander. Then, the Dragonslayer collapsed, an arrow shot through his back. He had been wearing a helmet, which had fallen off when he contacted with the ground and Daren immediately recognized the slayer as Keiji.
"KEIJI!" He cried out in alarm.
"Hey Daren." The Golden haired slayer with the blue eyes groggily replied, blood dribbling down his chin.
"C'mon, we'll get you to a healer." Daren murmured, hoisting his friend over his shoulder.
"Wait Daren. There's no reason too, that darn thing went through my heart, I only have a couple more minutes." Keiji whispered in a weak voice as he coughed up blood.
"God. I'M SICK OF IT! I'M SICK OF ALL THIS DEATH!" Daren screamed as rain began to fall.
"Oh c'mon Daren, what'd you expect when you joined the army?" Keiji asked, playfully punching him in the arm.
"It isn't fair. Everyone I know dies, I'm a curse, I guess it's true." Daren muttered under his breath, the rain washing away his salty tears.
"Daren..." Keiji said with urgency in his voice, gripping Daren's leather collar.
"Here, give this to my mom will ya? She lives in Fanelia. Her name's Raena." Keiji muttered.
"Oh my god." Daren said under his breath.
"Of course I will Keiji, my friend."
"Thank you Daren. Thank you..." He said in a deathly whisper as death overtook him.
Before the color completely left his cheeks he muttered, "I must be in heaven..." And then his body went limp.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Another short chapter, but I keep getting all these angry emails saying I better get the next chapter up, so here it is! SATISFIED? Please review, I miss the feeling of seeing a new one... I WILL definitely redo this fic after it's done, I'm planning 1-3 more chapters, than I swear, it's over. Done. Fine. Thanks for reading! Arigatou and Sionara! ^_^
~Trunks Gal~
A/N: Oh man, I know I don't update frequently enough with this, it's hard juggling school, music lessons, appointments, friends, and my other fics. I'll probably add to this once a week, or whenever I'm inspired. I'm glad you're all liking it, I've received a ton of fanmail emails telling me ya like the fic and that makes me feel REALLY happy. So thanks again everybody, and keep the reviews coming! ^_^
Chapter 39: Never-ending Death
"Hey! Wake up!" Daren was awoken from his Mira fantasies by one of his roommates.
"Oh Mira, I love you!" Keiji imitated in a singsong voice.
Daren blushed a deep red.
"Did I talk during my sleep again?"
"Oh yeah, you kept blubbering on about that girl of yours ever since you hit the sack!" Variel had a smug look on her face.
"Sorry, I just miss her I guess. I've never been away from home before without family." He sighed, getting up and looking out the window.
"I wonder if they're watching the same sunrise..." He gazed out the window, and a vision of his love, Mira, her face reflected in the sun's golden glow, silver locks blowing with the breeze, smiling that smile she saved just for him. A tear trickled down his cheek. Daren had never cried before.
"You OK?" Urei asked in a gruff voice.
"Yeah. I guess." Daren muttered, standing up and strapping his sword to his belt.
"Don't worry man, from what you've been murmuring about Mira, I'd say she'll wait for you." Shin consoled the troubled raven-haired boy.
"You're right." Daren ran his hands through his hair and pulled on his crumpled blue and black leather shirt.
"I wonder how freaked out the advisors are by now... 'Where has Prince Daren gone?' 'Has he been kidnapped?' 'Is he dead?' I can picture it now." He said in an amused tone.
"I guess royalty has its down sides." Variel commented.
"But you get to boss everyone around and have all that money to burn."
"The advisors and council boss YOU around, and then they bug you not to be frivolous with the royal treasury. Nope, I can't honestly say that if I had the choice that I would be a royal." He pulled on his boots and walked out the door; his newfound friends following close behind.
"You're late." Dilandau muttered as they walked in, eyeing the new recruits with those pools of crimson.
"Our deepest apologies Dilandau-Sama. Daren has not yet adjusted to the routine." Variel bowed, looking at the ground.
"No excuses!" Dilandau exclaimed as he slapped the youngest slayers.
He sat back down after muttering, "Lady Memoria's gone off her rocker making me train these morons..."
"Today you begin your training, you may think it's boring, you may think it's too hard, but guess what? I DON'T CARE! If you succeed you'll be a hero of Zaibach, if you don't, you're dead. It's as simple as that."
The younger slayers looked quite nervous as they gulped down the bland porridge, which was their breakfast.
"Yuck." Daren muttered.
"At least at the palace they give us decent meals." The slayers relaxed and giggled at his criticism.
"What was that you said Fanel?" Dilandau asked.
Daren tensed up.
"Nothing sir."
"It didn't sound like 'nothing.' Ruebi, come in please." A middle-aged man with a shaved head walked in, spoon in hand, apron tied.
"Not Ruebi, this boy over here says he doesn't like your food, what do you say?" Dilandau asked in an amused tone.
"I say if he doesn't like the food, he doesn't eat." He muttered in a gruff voice as he exited.
"Well, you heard the cook, no food for you Daren, and if any of you try to share, there goes your food too." Dilandau was really starting to enjoy this, having Daren as a slayer might not be so bad after all.
The rest of the day was spent training. Daren was beat and he collapsed on his bed that night dripping with sweat, barely being able to move.
"God, I must be more out of shape than I thought..." He muttered.
"Nah, these workouts are just strenuous." Variel commented as she brushed her messy hair.
"Refina warned me, so I've been practicing all week."
"Whoop-de-do for you." Daren murmured, he was too beat to come up with a snappy comeback, it just wasn't worth the effort. He then fell into a deep sleep to dreams of his silver-haired angel.
About an hour later, Daren was rudely awoken.
"Wha... What is it? It can't be morning already..." Daren said under his breath as the shaking continued.
"We've been attacked you idiot!" The angry voice of Variel screamed into his ear.
"Hey, no need to yell." Daren said in a groggy tone.
"Unless you want to be stuck in here if the castle's set on fire, I suggest you move!" She retorted, rushing to wake the next slayer.
"Whatever." Daren continued in his half-asleep tone as he went back to dreamland.
*"DAREN GET UP! DAREN GET UP!" A familiar voice screamed at him.
"Huh? Mira?" He was wide eyed now, staring into the face of his love.
"Yes, it's me Daren. Get out of there now Daren, hurry up and go." His wife said, her blue eyes glazed with tears clutching their children in her arms.
"But Mira, I want to stay with you!" He pleaded.
"Now is not the time my love, save yourself now, you can save me later." She smiled at him before vanishing.
"MIRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"*
Daren woke up and ran out the door, he heard the prisoners' frightened screams knowing the castle was burning down, the guards hadn't bothered to release them, they were trapped. Daren heard a familiar voice.
'Nah, it's just my mind playing tricks on me...' He decided, racing down the corridor of moaning convicts.
"LORD DAREN! LORD DAREN! SAVE ME LORD DAREN!" A voice squealed as Daren stopped in his tracks.
"Ria?" He asked in absolute bewilderment.
"Lord Daren." She said in contentment.
Daren broke open the lock and carried the unconscious catgirl outside with the others as they watched the castle become engulfed in flames, the shrieks of the dead and the dying filling the night.
"I'm glad to see you made it out Ria." A cold voice said to the frightened catgirl.
"W-Who are you? And how do you know my name?" Ria asked in complete confusement as she awoke.
"Don't you remember me Ria, I'm an old friend..." Memoria said with a smug look on her face.
She held her hair up with one hand and said, "C'mon Ria, Hope's waiting!"
Ria gasped in alarm.
"M-Mem-ory..."
"You're quite correct my feline friend, now be a good kitty and tell me the secret of Atlantis!"
"HOW THE HELL WOULD I KNOW?" Ria screamed in rage.
"Here we go again..." Daren muttered.
"This is getting quite repetitive."
"Shut up." Memoria muttered.
"Hey, I'm outside your stupid castle, which is at the moment, shall we say... demolished. I'm my own leader again! Ha!" Daren began to stride away when Dilandau slapped him across the face.
"You're still under MY rule, until the day you die or I dismiss you from my services." Dilandau reminded him.
"I didn't need to know that." Daren muttered, rubbing his sour cheek.
"SIR." A Dragonslayer screamed at Dilandau.
"THE ENEMY, THEY'RE HERE AND THEY'RE ATTACKING!"
"THEY HAVE 10,000 GUYMELEFS!" The Dragonslayer's face was pale and he looked a wreck as he reported to his commander. Then, the Dragonslayer collapsed, an arrow shot through his back. He had been wearing a helmet, which had fallen off when he contacted with the ground and Daren immediately recognized the slayer as Keiji.
"KEIJI!" He cried out in alarm.
"Hey Daren." The Golden haired slayer with the blue eyes groggily replied, blood dribbling down his chin.
"C'mon, we'll get you to a healer." Daren murmured, hoisting his friend over his shoulder.
"Wait Daren. There's no reason too, that darn thing went through my heart, I only have a couple more minutes." Keiji whispered in a weak voice as he coughed up blood.
"God. I'M SICK OF IT! I'M SICK OF ALL THIS DEATH!" Daren screamed as rain began to fall.
"Oh c'mon Daren, what'd you expect when you joined the army?" Keiji asked, playfully punching him in the arm.
"It isn't fair. Everyone I know dies, I'm a curse, I guess it's true." Daren muttered under his breath, the rain washing away his salty tears.
"Daren..." Keiji said with urgency in his voice, gripping Daren's leather collar.
"Here, give this to my mom will ya? She lives in Fanelia. Her name's Raena." Keiji muttered.
"Oh my god." Daren said under his breath.
"Of course I will Keiji, my friend."
"Thank you Daren. Thank you..." He said in a deathly whisper as death overtook him.
Before the color completely left his cheeks he muttered, "I must be in heaven..." And then his body went limp.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Another short chapter, but I keep getting all these angry emails saying I better get the next chapter up, so here it is! SATISFIED? Please review, I miss the feeling of seeing a new one... I WILL definitely redo this fic after it's done, I'm planning 1-3 more chapters, than I swear, it's over. Done. Fine. Thanks for reading! Arigatou and Sionara! ^_^
~Trunks Gal~