JUST LOVE

Chapter Three : The Arrival

Elena woke up from her sleep. She sat up on her bed and wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead. She had dreamt of Ryudo and herself in the Birthplace of the Gods. For the past few weeks, she kept having the same dream every night. Elena sighed to herself and got off the bed, wearing a light blue night gown. She went to the balcony and looked up to the stars and the moon.

"Ryudo..." Elena whispered to herself. She then looked down, below her was a beautiful garden. Elena marvelled at the beauty of the garden and then decided to take a walk in the garden under the moonlight.

Elena walked down a path while she admired the beauty of the garden and savoured the fragrant scent of the flowers. She then came across a rose bush with yellow flowers that seemed to glow under the moonlight. Elena bent over and picked up a flower. She straightened up and smelled the yellow rose.

She then dropped the rose and turned around as she heard approaching footsteps. Paulk was right in front of her with a frown on his face.

"Lady Elena! What are you doing out here?" Paulk asked, a bit surprised.

"Ju... just taking a walk," Elena replied.

Paulk smiled. "You know, you should not go out on a night like this. I thought you were an intruder."

"I am sorry," Elena sighed heavily and then looked away.

Paulk caught a glimpse of Elena's eyes. They were full of sadness. He wondered what could make the Minstrel upset but now was not the time to ask. He should wait when she felt better. "Lady Elena?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow at Red Cyrum?"

Elena hesitated to answer for a moment. "Yes. I would be glad to. Thank you."

***

Ryudo walked out of the inn feeling refreshed and excited. Today, he would cross Raul Hills, go to Cyrum Kingdom, and maybe see Elena. Last night, he asked a couple of people where Elena could be found now. Lucky for him, they said Cyrum Kingdom. Ryudo inhaled the fresh air and began to walk down a street that would lead him to Raul Hills.

It did not take long for Ryudo to reach Raul Hills. Ryudo stopped walking as he heard approaching footsteps. Three Snow Leopards then came out of a bush. "Damn monsters! This was turning out into such a great day," Ryudo muttered to himself as he unsheathed the Maken Valborg.

The Snow Leopards began to circle the Geohound. Ryudo kept his eyes trained on his opponents. The last thing he wanted was for one of them to sneak up on him from behind. One of the Snow Leopards growled and pounced on Ryudo but was dispatched by a Tenseiken Slash in mid air. One of the monsters casted a Crackle spell on Ryudo while the other just stayed put. The blow from the ice spell sent Ryudo flying to a tree.

"Damn! That hurts!" Ryudo growled to himself and got up from the ground. He put his left hand forward and a big ball of fire formed above his head, casting a Burn! spell. "How about this?" Ryudo said as the ball of fire flew towards his opponent.

The Snow Leopard growled in pain as the Burn! spell hit him. However, it was not enough to put him out. Ryudo began to charge for a Burnstrike spell to finish the cat off for good. Before he could execute the spell, the other leopard pounced on him from behind. The leopard pinned him to the ground and roared at his face.

Ryudo gagged from the leopard's bad breath. "Ugh, what have you been eating, pal?!" Ryudo said in disgust. The leopard roared again as if it understood what Ryudo said. The Geohound raised his legs and kicked the leopard off of him.

Before Ryudo could do anything, Lance leapt out of a bush while cursing to himself. He was then followed by four Dragon Knights. "It's you again," Ryudo said.

"Oh hello. Nice day, isn't it?" the nineteen year old Ninja said sarcastically as he ducked when a Dragon Knight swung its club forward. Lance back flipped away from his opponents and then put his left hand forward, casting a Howlslash spell. Three of the knights dodged it but one of them got hit, got thrown to a big boulder, and did not get up again. Lance casted a Burnflame spell afterwards but his opponents managed to avoid it.

Ryudo raised the Maken Valborg in the air with both hands and was soon surrounded by a purple aura. "STRIKE! PURPLE LIGHTNING!" he yelled as he rushed to one of the leopards. Ryudo split into four images and attacked the leopard mercilessly, dispatching it.

One of the Dragon Knights swung its club forward, hitting Lance on his stomach. The blow sent the Ninja flying to a tree. "I can't take much more of this..." Lance growled to himself as he got up from the ground. He then unsheathed the Falchion and ran towards the Dragon Knight. Lance threw a punch with his left arm but the knight blocked it with its club. Lance jumped in the air, extended his right foot forward, and spun around, kicking the knight's face. The knight flinched and Lance did not waste anytime. He slit the knight's throat with his Falchion, killing the Dragon Knight instantly.

"SEARING FIRE, CLEANSING FLAME!" Ryudo yelled as he casted a Burnstrike spell on the last leopard. The fire spell finished the leopard off. He then turned to Lance. Lance fell on the ground as he got hit by a Lightning Ball from a Dragon Knight. "Hey, hang in there!" Ryudo said as he ran after a Dragon Knight that was rushing towards the fallen Ninja.

Ryudo caught up quickly with the knight and killed it by thrusting his sword into its stomach. Ryudo stood right in front of the Ninja. "Are you okay?" he asked as he offered his hand.

Lance's eyes widened a bit and gasped softly. Quickly, he got up and pushed the Geohound out of his way. A Dragon Knight that was about to attack Ryudo from behind missed. The Ninja back flipped away from the knight and casted a Quake spell on it, finishing the monster off.

Ryudo got up from the ground and brushed dirt off of his clothes. "When you see an enemy behind me, just tell me, you idiot!" Ryudo growled at the Ninja. Before Lance could answer, the ground began to rumble. "Bloody Hell... What's happening now?!"

"Don't ask, just run!" Lance replied. A big, red dragon about the size of a two storey building then came out of the woods. Lance sheathed the Falchion and ran away.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ryudo yelled and went after the Ninja.

The Dragon roared and went after the two. Ryudo looked back to see if the Dragon was following them. "Dammit! That thing is after us!"

"It looks pretty hungry!" Lance replied.

"Great! We're all going to die!" Ryudo yelled.

The Dragon roared again and began to spit fireballs at the two. "This is not the kind of trip I had in mind," Lance thought after he dodged a fireball that was meant for him.

"FREEZING RAGE!" Ryudo shouted, casting a Crackling spell on the Dragon in an attempt to slow it down. The ice spell had no effect on the Dragon.

"Bloody Hell," Lance cursed to himself as they were approached a steep slope.

"It's times like these that I wish I didn't put that Granasaber away," Ryudo muttered to himself after he avoided a fireball from the Dragon.

Ryudo and Lance began to run down the slope. Their hands began to shake uncontrollably, their hearts raced, and their bodies felt cold for it felt like they were going to trip anytime soon as they gained more and more speed from running down the slope.

The two felt the slope tremble, almost losing their balance, and then looked back to see what had become of the Dragon. Their pursuer was nowhere behind them, it had jumped to the bottom of the slope. The Dragon roared to tell its preys it was waiting at the bottom.

"OH DAMMIT!" Ryudo yelled.

Lance jumped high in the air and put his left hand forward. He casted a Poizn spell on the Dragon and green bubbles began to form around it. The green poison bubbles popped and the Dragon howled in pain. Lance landed at the bottom of the hill and ran past the giant lizard. Ryudo ran past the Dragon as well.

"Quick thinking," the Geohound told the Ninja.

Lance did not say anything and kept running for the Dragon recovered from his attack. The Dragon began to chase them again but it did not move as fast as before. "Excellent, the poison is slowing him down," the Ninja said to himself.

The Dragon snarled and jumped high in the air. It landed right in front of the two. The Dragon immediately swung its long tail at Ryudo. The blow sent Ryudo flying to a tree. The giant lizard then lowered its head and tried to bite Lance's head off but the Ninja managed to jump away.

Ryudo got up on his knees while he moaned to himself in pain. "Damn, that hurts!" He spat blood on the ground and got up on his feet. He unsheathed the Maken Valborg and charged at the monster. "Hiyah!" he yelled as he slashed at the Dragon's left foot. He only managed to scratch its scales a little. "What the Hell is this?!! Just what is its scales made out of?!" Ryudo asked out loud.

The Dragon swung its tail at Ryudo again but he avoided it this time. He narrowed his eyes at the giant lizard and put his left hand forward, casting a Zap! spell. The spell paralyzed the Dragon and was unable to move.

"Let's get out of here!" the Ninja told the Geohound.

"Yeah, you're right. We can never beat that thing, for now," Ryudo agreed and they ran away from the Dragon.

The two came across a river and found a boat on the shore. They ran to the boat and got on it immediately. Both of them grabbed a paddle and began to row.

"Whew, I'm glad that's over," Ryudo panted as he stopped paddling for awhile to catch his breath.

"...." Lance stopped paddling as well to catch his breath.

"So, we meet again. Thanks for your help," Ryudo said and continued paddling.

"....."

The boat then hit the shore. Lance quickly stood up and jumped off the boat. He ran towards the woods and disappeared. Ryudo got off the boat as well and sighed in relief as he saw that Cyrum Kingdom was just ahead of him.

***

"Finally, I'm here..." Lance panted softly and sat down on a big boulder. He was covered with sweat and his chest heaved from all the fighting and running he had just done. "What the Hell just happened to Raul Hills? It's full of monsters. Monsters don't really attack people these days. Well... at least I got here earlier than I have planned thanks to that Red Dragon and the Geohound," he thought and got up from the boulder as he heard someone scream.

Lance followed the source of the scream silently. Just ahead of him, was a young man being attacked by a Land Cougar and a Chameleon. The Ninja stayed behind a bush to keep himself concealed and studied the young man. The young man looked pretty weak, he was definitely not a fighter, probably just a simple traveller. Lance humphed to himself and left. He had better things to do.

***

Ryudo entered the gates of Cyrum Kingdom and sighed in relief. "At last..." he said to himself. Ryudo looked around the place. People were putting decorations everywhere; on street lamps, on roof tops of houses, bushes, and many more. "All these decorations... I guess this means that Cyrum Day is tomorrow," Ryudo told himself. Cyrum Day was the day when Roan ascended to the throne and claimed independence. It was the day when the people of Cyrum left their past behind. It was also the day when Ryudo had his first date. Ryudo suddenly remembered how embarrassed he felt when he could not stop blushing because he had to hold Elena's hand to prove that they were lovers to Hemble.

Ryudo then decided to look for an inn where he could rest before he could start looking for Elena. He walked down the street and passed by a restaurant. His head moved left and right as he walked, looking for a nice inn. Right across the street, he saw an inviting place. Before he could cross the street, he heard a familiar laugh, a laugh he had been wanting to hear for a long time. The Geohound turned around and saw Elena and Paulk exiting the restaurant. Ryudo hid behind an alley and watched the two.

"Thanks for lunch," Elena smiled.

"It was my pleasure," Paulk smiled back and the two of them began to walk back to the castle while they talked to each other.

Ryudo felt a rush of jealousy in his heart and growled to himself silently. "Paulk and Elena?! No way!" Ryudo yelled to himself mentally.

"What do you expect? You've been gone for a long time. Do you think Elena would wait an eternity for you to return? No. She would move on with her life. And apparently, she has chosen Paulk," Ryudo's conscience teased.

"It can't be! Elena knew I would return to her someday. Besides, I didn't see them holding hands when they walked so there's probably nothing between them!" the Geohound said to his conscience. "Damn! I have to find Elena and talk to her later tonight," Ryudo cursed to himself silently.

***

At the castle, in the audience room, Millenia and Tio were putting Cyrum's emblem on a wall with the help of a ladder. Roan was talking with the royal chef. He was telling the chef how much food he and his crew should cook for the evening party after tomorrow's festivities.

"What kind of food are we going to serve to the people for the party tomorrow evening?" Roan asked.

"We have crab soup, grilled ribs, turkey, salmon, omelettes, shrimps, and so much more, your Highness," the chef replied.

Millenia and Tio were finally done putting the emblem up on the wall and got off the ladder. They examined it from below. "What do you think of the emblem? Do you think it is high enough or is it too low?" Tio asked.

"I think it's perfect Miss Marionette," Millenia answered with a smile.

***

Lance stood on a roof top of a house with his arms crossed over his chest while he examined the area below him. Like Ryudo, he was very exhausted and was looking for a place to stay. He did not like the area he was in. It was busy and noisy. He preferred a place that was nice and quiet. He then turned around to leave. Before he could jump to another roof top, he heard a scream from below and followed it.

Lance found a young lady being attacked by a thief in an alley. The young lady had blonde hair, green eyes, and her height was about average. The young lady was trapped in a corner and the thief advanced on her with a pocket knife. Before the man could take another step, the Ninja jumped down from the roof. He ran to him and kicked him on the head from behind. The thief was knocked out unconscious. The young lady cowered in the alley's corner at the sight of the thief collapsing. The Ninja looked at her for a moment with sorrow in his eyes and then jumped back to the roof top as he heard approaching footsteps.

Two knights arrived as soon as Lance left. "What happened here?" one of the knights asked.

"I was attacked by a thief but then a man appeared and knocked him out. He left just seconds ago," the young lady answered.

Lance was perched on top of a clock tower as he looked at the people below him. His short, spikey, turquoise hair danced with the breeze and his long, black leather coat flowed freely in the breeze like a cape. "Those green eyes... if it wasn't for those eyes... she would look exactly like her. Elena..." the Ninja sighed heavily.

***

It was nightfall, Elena could not sleep again so she decided to go for another walk in the garden. After walking for a couple of minutes, she decided to sit down on a bench. In front of her, was a big water fountain. Watching the water flow from the fountain and hearing the splashes it made calmed her troubled heart. She closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of the garden.

Elena opened her eyes as she heard someone clear his throat. She saw Ryudo sitting next to her with a smile on his face.

Before she could say anything, Ryudo spoke. "Hi, Elena."