Chapter 3: Travling through the moonlit woods
Night fell swiftly that evening, hardly leaving any time for the colors to fade away. There was a sliver of a silver moon in the sky, and stars were scattered about randomly. Patches of moonlight lay on the ground leaving the path visible to the travelers that walked upon it.
The small party didn't talk much, which was quite odd to Pearl, for there was usually never silence amoung the Knight and Gaurdian. She looked him over from time to time to see if he was upset with her. Even if he was, the man showed no sign of it.
After some time, Amerina spoke. "Elazul, I think we should make camp here. I'm tired and I don't feel like walking much longer."
Elazul looked at the speaker. She seemed serious, and he was also tired.
Amerina looked back at the third member in the group. She was quite a ways back, her head was studying the ground as she walked slowly towards the others.
The Amythest Jumi touched Elazul's shoulder briefly to get his attention before pointing at his Gaurdian. She seemd annoyed by the other girl's slow pace, and tapped her foot impaitently, waiting for him to make an attempt at pushing her along faster.
He understood her actions and walked over to Pearl. Whispering to her, he told the girl to swiften her pace and pulled her along the illuminated path in the woods.
Camp wasn't much. It consisted of a small fire and a blanket or two, but that was it. The small party had little money, so they could afford little more than what they had.
Amerina stood away from the other two Jumi for awhile, thinking silently; not letting anyone else come near her. Her main thought was about her Guardian. She had disappeared a month or two ago, and Amerina hadn't seen her scince.
The missing girl was a Jumi of Topaz and was quite a beauty. Her hair was waist length and blonde that usually hung lose. Her face was pale with rosey cheeks and ruby red lips. She wasn't thin, nor was she fat; her build was almost perfect. Almost always dressed in yellow, her clothing almost matched the color of her golden eyes. Amerina sighed. She missed her. Topaz was always smiling and giggling and excited. Very rarely did she frown. But she was also shy, reserved, and quiet. Amerina was the only one who truly understood her because no one else saw the real Topaz, only the silent young woman that scarcely took a moment to look at another living being.
Looking over at her two new companions, she saw Elazul talking to Pearl, who was responding only with gestures of her body. Amerina found it curious. When she had first met Elazul in Geo, he had described the Gaurdian as happy and very talkitive. From what she was seeing now, it seemed as though his description was incorrect. When she had first heard the breif summary of Pearl, she thought she would not like her at all. Amerina thought she might be too much like Topaz, and did not want anything to do with another girl like that. Now, she found herself disappointed with the outcome of Pearl's personallity.
Distancing herself from the other two even more, she walked further down the path in the forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Pearl, what's wrong," Elazul asked. He had decided it might be good to talk with her and see why she was so quiet and depressed. "You haven't spoken more than three words scince Polpota. Why?"
The girl shrugged and began to trace meaningless designs in the dirt below her.
"Pearl. . . " he tried again, his voice sounding harsh, but before he could continue, a noise made him avert his attention from his Gaurdian to their surroundings.
I'm overreacting, again. He thought to himself as his eyes gaze intensely at the trees. Nothing, he reasured himself. Nothing at all.
He looked back at Pearl who was now looking around in attention. Had she heard the noise, too?
"Pearl," he whispered and wrapped his arms around her. "Where's Amerina?"
Again, her only response was a slight shrug of her shoulders, and Elazul tighted his gripped, cuasing her to gasp and make a slight scream. The Knight muffled her sharp cry by placing a hand over her mouth. She looked scared, and Elazul felt guilty.
"Pearl, I need you to talk to me!" he whispered to her gently. "Please."
Pearl turned in his grasp until she face him, which was no easy task. Placing a slender hand on the hand of her Knight's, she pulled it away."Over there is where I last saw her," was her reply. The girl was pointing at a tree further down the path. She sounded sad when she spoke, and Elazul felt terrible for treating her so harshly.
"Do you know where she went?" he questioned more gently now. She shook her head no, and he stood up.
"Where are you-" before Pearl could finish, he put a hand over her mouth once more, and placed a finger on his lips, signaling her to be silent.
She nodded eagerly, and the Knight helped her to stand.
"It's cold," he began as he untied his sand cape, "wear this." He placed the mantle on her slim shoulders. Since he was quite a few inches taller than his Gaurdian, the cloak traveled on the ground as she walked.
"Elazul," Pearl whispered, "how are going to find her?"
He and looked at her for a brief moment before turning around and responding cooly. "Pray to the Mana Goddess and stay on the path." With that said he began to walk further into the darkened woods.
He could clearly see the path he was walking on, but it wasn't the well light dirt raod that made him so nervous. It was the forest that surrounded it. Creatures roamed everywhere in Fa'Diel, friendly and vicious alike. It was the rabid, wild ones he feared. He did not fear them, but rather, he was scared that they would hurt the only one he cared about, scared that the beasts would hurt Pearl.
He turned and and waited patiently for Pearl to catch up. She's not her usual self. Something wrong withe her and I don't know what . . . .
She looked up at Elazul with a sad look on her face. The Knight squinted to look at her face more closely in the darkness of the night. A silver glint slid down her cheek, a small twinkle of light accompaned the crystal as it fell from her soft cheek.
A tear? She's crying?! Elazul panicked at this sight and the only thing he could think to do was to pull his Guarding close to him, hold his life to his chest in a gentle embrace. He felt so terrible. So upset. I am I really that bad?
He could hardly hear himself as he spoke to her, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm I really that bad to you Pearl? I'm I truly so terrible that I make you cry?"
She looked up him, obviously startled. "N-no! It's not you Elazul . . . not you. You've done nothing but take care of me!"
"Then why are you crying?" Elazul asked trying hard not to raise his voice.
"Because of the world." "The world?" He stared at her confused.
"Yes. It's not fair. . . . Did you see the way those town people treated thqat poor Siren? Just for singing? Since when was it a crime for singing?" Another tear streamed down her delicate cheek.
"You can't change that, Pearl. You can't change the way people react to misunderstandings."
"But why?" she whispered quietly. "Why?"
Elazul wiped tear from her face. "Because not everyone is as perfect as you, Pearl, and there are just to many to convince. Now cheer up Pearl and smile for me."
She did as she was told and smiled gently for him. But before she could say another word, a young woman spoke up. "I hope I'm not interupping?"
"Amerina?" Elazul asked letting go of Pearl and turning around. "Is that you?"
"Yes, it is," Amerina responded. "Shall we get back to the campsite?" She was not asking Elazul this, but rather, she was talking to Pearl.
"A-all right," the shy girl responded. She followed Elazul and Amerina as they walked back to the bright fire, this time, humming a quiet peaceful melody that she learned during her short visit to Entansel. She sang ever so softly a song entitled Sparkling City of Ruins . . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just more unimportant fluff. Wondering what all those noise are? Me too!! But only the voices inside my head know the answer... Well.... Aurora (the girl) will be introduced in Ch. 4 and Thalamor (the guy) will be introduced in Ch. 5! I'll have ch. 4 up (hopefully) in a week or two, I'm writing it down on paper and it will be typed and up soon.
Oh and I'm thinking that if I don't get more reviews soon, I won't continue the story, so if you've all ready reviewed, review again and THANK YOU!!!! If you haven't please do! YOU CAN EVEN FLAME ME FOR AL I CARE!!!!!
Night fell swiftly that evening, hardly leaving any time for the colors to fade away. There was a sliver of a silver moon in the sky, and stars were scattered about randomly. Patches of moonlight lay on the ground leaving the path visible to the travelers that walked upon it.
The small party didn't talk much, which was quite odd to Pearl, for there was usually never silence amoung the Knight and Gaurdian. She looked him over from time to time to see if he was upset with her. Even if he was, the man showed no sign of it.
After some time, Amerina spoke. "Elazul, I think we should make camp here. I'm tired and I don't feel like walking much longer."
Elazul looked at the speaker. She seemed serious, and he was also tired.
Amerina looked back at the third member in the group. She was quite a ways back, her head was studying the ground as she walked slowly towards the others.
The Amythest Jumi touched Elazul's shoulder briefly to get his attention before pointing at his Gaurdian. She seemd annoyed by the other girl's slow pace, and tapped her foot impaitently, waiting for him to make an attempt at pushing her along faster.
He understood her actions and walked over to Pearl. Whispering to her, he told the girl to swiften her pace and pulled her along the illuminated path in the woods.
Camp wasn't much. It consisted of a small fire and a blanket or two, but that was it. The small party had little money, so they could afford little more than what they had.
Amerina stood away from the other two Jumi for awhile, thinking silently; not letting anyone else come near her. Her main thought was about her Guardian. She had disappeared a month or two ago, and Amerina hadn't seen her scince.
The missing girl was a Jumi of Topaz and was quite a beauty. Her hair was waist length and blonde that usually hung lose. Her face was pale with rosey cheeks and ruby red lips. She wasn't thin, nor was she fat; her build was almost perfect. Almost always dressed in yellow, her clothing almost matched the color of her golden eyes. Amerina sighed. She missed her. Topaz was always smiling and giggling and excited. Very rarely did she frown. But she was also shy, reserved, and quiet. Amerina was the only one who truly understood her because no one else saw the real Topaz, only the silent young woman that scarcely took a moment to look at another living being.
Looking over at her two new companions, she saw Elazul talking to Pearl, who was responding only with gestures of her body. Amerina found it curious. When she had first met Elazul in Geo, he had described the Gaurdian as happy and very talkitive. From what she was seeing now, it seemed as though his description was incorrect. When she had first heard the breif summary of Pearl, she thought she would not like her at all. Amerina thought she might be too much like Topaz, and did not want anything to do with another girl like that. Now, she found herself disappointed with the outcome of Pearl's personallity.
Distancing herself from the other two even more, she walked further down the path in the forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Pearl, what's wrong," Elazul asked. He had decided it might be good to talk with her and see why she was so quiet and depressed. "You haven't spoken more than three words scince Polpota. Why?"
The girl shrugged and began to trace meaningless designs in the dirt below her.
"Pearl. . . " he tried again, his voice sounding harsh, but before he could continue, a noise made him avert his attention from his Gaurdian to their surroundings.
I'm overreacting, again. He thought to himself as his eyes gaze intensely at the trees. Nothing, he reasured himself. Nothing at all.
He looked back at Pearl who was now looking around in attention. Had she heard the noise, too?
"Pearl," he whispered and wrapped his arms around her. "Where's Amerina?"
Again, her only response was a slight shrug of her shoulders, and Elazul tighted his gripped, cuasing her to gasp and make a slight scream. The Knight muffled her sharp cry by placing a hand over her mouth. She looked scared, and Elazul felt guilty.
"Pearl, I need you to talk to me!" he whispered to her gently. "Please."
Pearl turned in his grasp until she face him, which was no easy task. Placing a slender hand on the hand of her Knight's, she pulled it away."Over there is where I last saw her," was her reply. The girl was pointing at a tree further down the path. She sounded sad when she spoke, and Elazul felt terrible for treating her so harshly.
"Do you know where she went?" he questioned more gently now. She shook her head no, and he stood up.
"Where are you-" before Pearl could finish, he put a hand over her mouth once more, and placed a finger on his lips, signaling her to be silent.
She nodded eagerly, and the Knight helped her to stand.
"It's cold," he began as he untied his sand cape, "wear this." He placed the mantle on her slim shoulders. Since he was quite a few inches taller than his Gaurdian, the cloak traveled on the ground as she walked.
"Elazul," Pearl whispered, "how are going to find her?"
He and looked at her for a brief moment before turning around and responding cooly. "Pray to the Mana Goddess and stay on the path." With that said he began to walk further into the darkened woods.
He could clearly see the path he was walking on, but it wasn't the well light dirt raod that made him so nervous. It was the forest that surrounded it. Creatures roamed everywhere in Fa'Diel, friendly and vicious alike. It was the rabid, wild ones he feared. He did not fear them, but rather, he was scared that they would hurt the only one he cared about, scared that the beasts would hurt Pearl.
He turned and and waited patiently for Pearl to catch up. She's not her usual self. Something wrong withe her and I don't know what . . . .
She looked up at Elazul with a sad look on her face. The Knight squinted to look at her face more closely in the darkness of the night. A silver glint slid down her cheek, a small twinkle of light accompaned the crystal as it fell from her soft cheek.
A tear? She's crying?! Elazul panicked at this sight and the only thing he could think to do was to pull his Guarding close to him, hold his life to his chest in a gentle embrace. He felt so terrible. So upset. I am I really that bad?
He could hardly hear himself as he spoke to her, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm I really that bad to you Pearl? I'm I truly so terrible that I make you cry?"
She looked up him, obviously startled. "N-no! It's not you Elazul . . . not you. You've done nothing but take care of me!"
"Then why are you crying?" Elazul asked trying hard not to raise his voice.
"Because of the world." "The world?" He stared at her confused.
"Yes. It's not fair. . . . Did you see the way those town people treated thqat poor Siren? Just for singing? Since when was it a crime for singing?" Another tear streamed down her delicate cheek.
"You can't change that, Pearl. You can't change the way people react to misunderstandings."
"But why?" she whispered quietly. "Why?"
Elazul wiped tear from her face. "Because not everyone is as perfect as you, Pearl, and there are just to many to convince. Now cheer up Pearl and smile for me."
She did as she was told and smiled gently for him. But before she could say another word, a young woman spoke up. "I hope I'm not interupping?"
"Amerina?" Elazul asked letting go of Pearl and turning around. "Is that you?"
"Yes, it is," Amerina responded. "Shall we get back to the campsite?" She was not asking Elazul this, but rather, she was talking to Pearl.
"A-all right," the shy girl responded. She followed Elazul and Amerina as they walked back to the bright fire, this time, humming a quiet peaceful melody that she learned during her short visit to Entansel. She sang ever so softly a song entitled Sparkling City of Ruins . . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just more unimportant fluff. Wondering what all those noise are? Me too!! But only the voices inside my head know the answer... Well.... Aurora (the girl) will be introduced in Ch. 4 and Thalamor (the guy) will be introduced in Ch. 5! I'll have ch. 4 up (hopefully) in a week or two, I'm writing it down on paper and it will be typed and up soon.
Oh and I'm thinking that if I don't get more reviews soon, I won't continue the story, so if you've all ready reviewed, review again and THANK YOU!!!! If you haven't please do! YOU CAN EVEN FLAME ME FOR AL I CARE!!!!!