Disclaimer: Blah blah…don't own them…blah blah blah…only original characters.
Mythical Times
Chapter 10 (the finale): Sacrifice
"What the…?"
"That is where the sound is coming from." Quatre said, his ears twitching.
"Told you." Thorn said sticking her tongue out at them. Duo leaned down.
"This is no time for childish things like that so put that away before I bite it." Duo said still staring at the distance. Thorn crossed her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, like you should be talking." Thorn mumbled. Duo's ears twitched.
"What was that?" He looked down at her. She glared up at him.
"I said that you'd enjoy that too much." He gave her a goofy grin.
"Well then…you're right." He winked. Quatre elbowed him.
"Bite her and I'll take a chunk out of you." The blond growled. Duo glared.
"Oh yeah? Try it blonde." The brunette elf glared. The blond wolf glared too. Then he looked away and crossed his arms.
"I will not go so low as to fight you and your jealousy." The blond said.
"What jealousy?!" The elf growled.
"You're jealous because Thorn likes me better than you."
"No she likes me. Besides, I saw her first." Duo said with a humph. Thorn glared angrily.
"Since when was I claimable or a prize for whoever who saw me first or liked me more?" Thorn asked.
"Since we saw you!" They both shouted at the same time. Thorn blinked and held up her hands peacefully.
"Whoa there, calm down." She said backing up into Trowa. She tilted her head back and looked up at him.
"Having problems?" The tall brunette asked. She nodded. He patted her head hesitantly and then looked at the fighting men.
"Stop now. We can not waste time on petty fights. An army is approaching for some reason and we must defend the tower." Trowa said picking up his bow that he had leaned up against the wall. Quatre and Duo stopped their fighting and nodded.
"We must defend Thorn." Both chanted as they went down the stairs. Trowa blinked.
"I said the tower." He asked with a confused expression. Thorn patted his back.
"They heard Thorn. Say anything about defending me, helping me, or doing something for me and they're ready for action." Thorn sighed with an anime sweatdrop hanging on the back of her head. Trowa again blinked his green eyes but slowly nodded. She giggled and shooed him so he could go defend the tower.
After all the boys were gone from her room she rushed to the window to look down. The army had disappeared from the distance and was now stomping through the woods. One by one her friends emerged from the tower, prepared to defend it and what was inside. She watched them all. Even Hilde, Acacia, and Morgyn had taken up post outside, waiting for the oncoming army to attack. Hilde had a pair of sai's in hand and Acacia had stolen a bow from Trowa. Duo had taken up his daggers and Quatre and Heero had assumed more vicious states of being. All waited patiently until the first wave of the army pushed through the underbrush.
Then all hell broke out as arrows and daggers went flying and two huge beasts launched forward into battle. Water blasted at the enemies like a hydro cannon and Morgyn looked pleased with herself as she watched a section of the ugly beast army diminish under the pressure. The beast army warriors were falling left and right under the defending peoples.
From the bushes two pairs of eyes watched the battle unfold.
"She is in more trouble than we originally thought." One cloaked figure said to the other. The one who hadn't spoken nodded.
"Yes…" He quieted before he could go on and stared at something. The other figure looked to him with ice blue eyes.
"What is it, Trieze?"
"It is my father." Trieze said to Zechs. They both watched as the sorcerer entered, followed by another wave of beast warriors. This time a female werewolf, Dorothy, was at the head of this army. They looked up at the tower where a familiar black haired head was leaning out a window to see what was happening. "My sister is up there. I know that the girl they call Thorn is her reincarnated self." Trieze said. Zechs nodded.
"Let us go up and talk with her then." Trieze nodded again. They darted around the tower unseen and entered quietly. Trieze led Zechs up the tower stairs, knowing exactly what room Thorn was in. He had memorized the way years ago, when his sister, Thalia, had still been alive.
They came to the room to see Thorn leaning out with a worried expression on her face.
"M'lady." Zech's bowed slightly. Thorn whipped around in surprise, holding up a fist just in case. When she saw who it was she relaxed slightly.
"Don't scare me like that." She said putting a hand over her heart. "I almost had a heart attack." Zechs bowed again.
"I'm sorry for the scare." Thorn nodded.
"That's okay." She smiled. Trieze went up to her. Thorn looked up at him with her golden eyes questionably. "What?"
Treize grasped her clenched fists in in own, "I believe...that you are my sister…or at least the reincarnation of her. We came here to protect you." He said flat out, not wasting time. Thorn blinked.
"H-how did you know I was here?" Thorn asked still confused. It was better to just avoid anything that confused her. The cinnamon haired man pulled the garnet stone out of her shirt and twirled it on his fingers.
"This…this both protects you and lets us know where you are. It also tells us if you are in any kind of danger." He said. Royal blue eyes locked with her gold eyes. "I would not let anything happen to my sister."
"But I'm not your sister." Thorn said.
"Oh but you are. You house Thalia's spirit in a body that looks just like her." Zechs said as he sat down on the bed. "You have her spirit and her body but you have a different mind." Thorn shook her head.
"This is way too confusing. I thought I only had a sister." Thorn said putting a hand to her head. The whole tower suddenly shook and Thorn was caught by Trieze. She looked towards the window. "What was that?"
She rushed to the window and looked down. But what she saw she did not like at all. Duo, Quatre, Heero, Wufei, Morgyn, Acacia, and Hilde were all lying still after the sorcerer blasted them with a huge amount of energy. Thorn feared all the possibilities that were running through her head. She couldn't wait. Thorn had to see if they were alright.
The raven haired girl took off down the stairs. Behind her she heard the shouts of the two men, Zechs and Trieze, but she didn't care. Right at the moment, all that mattered were her friend's safety.
She tore through the tower till she was rushing out the entrance towards the first person she saw. Duo. He was lying on his stomach with his braid frayed and disheveled and his clothes were singed. She turned him over and shook him.
"Duo…oh please be alright. Duo, wake up." Thorn said. His eyes slid open and a pair of cobalt-violet eyes stared up at her.
"Thorn?"
"Yeah Duo, it's me." She said smiling.
"I'm so glad you cared enough about me to come see if I was alright." He smiled.
"Now don't you get all mushy on me. In all the sad romance drama's the guy says that right before he dies." Thorn said with half a grin.
"Don't worry I don't feel like dieing anytime soon." He replied while pushing himself up onto his elbows. Thorn looked around at the others before looking back down at him.
"I have to go check on the others. I'll be right back." Thorn said getting up. He nodded. She ran to the next person but before she could get to Quatre the old man sorcerer fired at her. Thorn tried to get out of the way. The energy blast was coming at her quickly but she knew. She knew the second that Trieze and Zechs intercepted the blast with a shield. The dark haired girl stared at their backs and felt the warm pulsing of the garnet stone against her breast. She watched them fight off the sorcerer, who looked confused at who he was fighting.
She scrambled to Quatre. His one eye was shut and swollen with a ring of blue-ish purple black surrounding the swollen area. The blond looked up her with his one good aqua blue eye. Thorn pulled him up against a tree and, with a piece of clothe, she dabbed at the blood on all his wounds. The raven haired whispered for him to stay quiet and in one place while she tended to the others before she ran off to the next victimized friend.
Each one she tended to and made sure that they were still alive until she came to Trowa, the last, who had propped himself up against a tree as was holding his side. Red stained his fingers and cloak. Thorn rushed over.
"Trowa are you alright?" Thorn asked. She pulled his hand off his wound and pushed the cloak open, blushing slightly at the prospect of an open cloak. The golden eyed girl winced though as she looked at the nasty cut. Thorn ripped a piece of her skirt and pressed it against the open wound.
He looked up at her with something unfamiliar shining in his forest green eyes. Thorn blinked as his attention quickly darted to something over her shoulder. She turned in time to see the sorcerer fire one large blast her way, screaming that Thorn would not live. The raven haired girl was frozen as she stared at the blast. Her mind was a dead blank with options.
Suddenly she was grabbed roughly and pushed behind someone. She recognized Trowa's brown hair and bundle of arrows. Her eyes opened wide as saucers as a scream tore from her throat.
"Trowa!"
Light burst all around her so bright that everyone had to shield they're eyes. But Thorn watched the figure getting hit by the blast with dilated gold eyes. No Trowa. She felt consumed by fire on the inside, yet doused in ice water on the outside. And in a moment there was another presence inside her, building…whispering, calling to her. Her own face, no Thalia's face, flashed through her mind.
Thalia was awakened. Her soul had been resurrected from it's sleep. She kept Thorn from feeling alone. All of her memories were Thalia's, and all of Thalia's memories were Thorns. They were one. She saw Thalia's life through unclouded eyes. All the pain, anguish, fears, strengths, and happiness were Thorns.
Thorn thought silently to herself that those feelings had also been Trowa's. He knew the feeling of losing a loved one. Now Thalia was back but Trowa was sacrificing himself for her. It was, as it appeared, a never ending cycle of lost love.
She came back to her body. Unknowingly she had caught Trowa as he fell and now she was stroking his hair. His cloak was gone, nothing but shredded pieces clung to his shoulders and some of his blood soaked clothes. He looked up at her with his pained forest green eyes.
"Trowa…" She almost didn't recognize her voice. It had changed. It leaned more towards Thalia's octave. He reached up with a slightly bloody hand and cupped her face.
"Thalia?" he asked quietly. A tiny rivulet of blood slid from the corner of his mouth. She smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I'm here, in my new body. I'm sorry I left you…please forgive me." Thorn/Thalia said. She hugged him to her and traced his jaw line. He smiled the best he could.
"I…do. I forgive you. I've always forgiven you." Tears gathered in both theirs eyes. She saw his eyes begin to cloud over. He would leave soon, no matter how much she prayed for him to live. To stay with her.
"I love you, Trowa." She leaned down and gingerly placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Trowa smiled gently and closed his eyes. In that moment she knew he was gone.
As she rested him upon the ground neatly and gently, Thorn became acutely aware of the silence. She stared intently down at Trowa's peaceful face. She had just gotten him back…and now, he was gone forever.
Tears dropped down on Trowa's cheek. She felt angry. She wanted him back. The wizard had taken him away from her.
Thorn snapped her head up and glared at the wizard.
"You will pay."
With those simple words, a dam inside her burst and she felt a power, an icy fire, flood through her veins. She felt the land buzz with electric life. The creatures all bucked and shifted in spasmodic movements. The wind kicked up and the horse reared up and kicked at the ground.
Thorn rose, her bangs covering her eyes, but the tear tracks were unmistakable. They glowed a misty rainbow against her pale cheeks. They glittered and when her eyes became visible, they were glittering faintly too.
With her step came a huge gust of wind. The creatures all went flying. The wizard only managed to stay in place by putting up a shield. The others were amazed at the strength she now possessed.
A pulsing light surrounded Thorn. Her rage needed a direction. And the only place she wanted to vent that anger was the area that the wizard just happened to occupy.
She felt it build. The wizard tried an attack but it didn't come within four feet of her before is dissipated in the shock waves that she was radiating. Thorn took her chance. More likely that Thalia took the chance because the second that the attack was demolished she let the built up energy go. It went soaring. There was no way the wizard could dodge or block it. With a cry the wizard was hit and gone. And it all took just over a second.
Then it was all over.
Nothing had been harmed. The grass and tree's were all still intact. But the wizard was gone. And there was nothing left of him.
Thorn blinked. Her gold eyes looked to see if her friends were all still alive and fine. They stared back at her, Duo's mouth looked like that of a frogs; wide open to catch files. She wavered slightly. Thalia's power was receding, even though Thalia's presence was still there with her, and now that it was gone she realized just how tired she was. She was mentally and physically exhausted. Thalia was probably the only thing that was keeping Thorn up.
She looked back at Trowa's still form and couldn't help but let a few more tears slip. Hands came to her shoulders.
"It's alright, sister." She heard Trieze's voice soothing to her. She felt so old and worn now. Thorn reached back and covered his hand with her own; seeking the security that it now gave her.
"I want him back." She whispered. Thorn turned into his embrace and snuggled into his chest, hiding her face from the rest of her friends. His hands rubbed her back in a gentle, lovingly brotherly fashion.
"Go on. Cry." Zechs said coming up to them.
"I want to bury him by the tower. Under my room's window and I want to plant flowers all around his grave." Thorn mumbled into Trieze's chest. He nodded. Everyone had crowded around them by now. Each took a part. Quatre found a good spot underneath the highest window and dug a grave. Wufei took Thorn's cloak, wrapped Trowa in it, and then handed him over to Duo and Heero who carried him over to the grave that had been dug.
They buried him. Quatre ran off and came back with a slab of marble-like rock. They placed it at the head of the grave. Trieze and Zechs began to cast spells. Trieze engraved 'Trowa' onto the rock and Zechs summoned flowers. They sprung up all around the grave. Thorn knelt down and traced Trowa's name on the stone.
"Good-bye Trowa. May you rest in peace." She whispered. She stood and turned away from the grave. "What should we do now?" Thorn asked. Duo came up and hugged her. Thorn blinked.
"We should all go our separate ways. You can come with me and Wufei. We'll continue to travel. Wolf boy can go back to his village." Duo said. Quatre growled slightly.
"I will not go back to my village. Dorothy is there. I do not wish to see her. I'll stay by Thorns side and protect her." Quatre said standing proudly by Thorn. Thorn smiled.
"Stop fighting over me. I'd actually like to stay with my brother for a while." Thorn said. "That is, if that's okay with you, brother." She added sheepishly. He nodded. The two boys looked crest fallen.
"But why? Don't you like us anymore?" Duo asked. He sniffled.
"Of course I do, and I can join up with you guys later, but I'd first like to stay with my brother. I haven't seen him in quite awhile." Thorn said. She hugged both the blond and the braided brunette. "I'll miss you guys. Be good and try not to fight or piss off Wufei." Thorn winked. Wufei huffed.
"Impossible. The braided baka is a nuisance constantly." He said bluntly. Thorn gave him a hug too, causing his cheeks to flare with a slight blush.
"I'll miss you too, bloodsucker." She giggled. He made a disgruntled face.
"I am not a bloodsucker." The vampire said indignantly. Thorn smiled and turned to Morgyn and Heero who were leaning against each other. She bowed respectfully before the shape-shifter and the water nymph.
"Thank you for all your help. I will truly miss you and Heero as my friends and allies." She said. Morgyn nodded.
"And I shall miss you too, sorceress." Thorn smiled. Heero and Morgyn turned around and started to head for the woods.
"Where are you going?" Acacia asked. Morgyn turned her head back to glance at them all.
"We are going home. Back to the lake, the one that the sorceress, the elf, and the werewolf found us, that is where we will be if you ever need us." The blue haired nymph said before they continued on and vanished into the woods. Thorn smiled.
"I'll miss both of you as well." The raven haired girl said turning to the two female elves. Hilde and Acacia smiled.
"We will too." Acacia said. Hilde came forward and gave Thorn a big hug.
"Don't forget to come and visit us some time." The dark haired elf said. Both girls left and Thorn saw them wave before they rode off on the horse.
Thorn looked up at her brother and the pale haired man with him.
"I'm ready to go." She said quietly. Behind her she heard Quatre whimper and a second later a furry wolf head butted her hand. Two aquamarine eyes looked up at her, pleading cutely for her to stay with him. Thorn gently stroked his head and scratched him behind his ears.
"Don't worry, Quatre. You'll see me again." The raven haired girl said. Duo came up behind her and gave her a big hug.
"You better come back to see us. Better yet, you should come stay with us after you've had your brother-sister bonding period." Duo said grinning. Thorn smiled and scratched him behind one long elf ear. He visibly turned to mush under her ministrations. She giggled lightly as he made happily little sounds and tilted his head into her hand. She stepped back, away from her three friends, and into the cloak of her brother. She smiled good-bye and blew them all a kiss.
Trieze wrapped the cloak around his raven haired sister and together with Zechs; they muttered a spell for teleportation. A faint glow surrounded the three and seconds later, Thorn, Trieze, and Zechs were gone, leaving the heavy hearted friends Thorn had made, at the tower.
Thorn lay in bed. Her brother was on one side of her and Zechs, the shape-shifting mage, was on the other side of her. They were both asleep but Thorn was up thinking about her friends. She missed them already. Duo, Quatre, and Wufei. Then her thoughts turned to another thing she missed.
Her family. She missed her little sister, her mom, and her dad. Thorn had been in this world for so long, or at least that's what it felt like. She wondered what they were doing right now. She wondered how the girls in her band were. All her friends from the time she had originally come from.
Thorn sat up. She felt the same pulling that had brought her to this world. The pendent that her brother had given her was glowing. She crawled off the bed and stood. Looking around she began towards the balcony doors. The pulling seemed to get stronger as she got closer to them.
She stopped. What is she was going back home? Trieze would be without a sister again and everyone she had met would never see her again…most-likely. Quickly she fished the two pendants that she had gotten from the renaissance just before come to this mythical age; the pentacle with the tiger head in the center and the Celtic cross with the snake curling around it. Thorn place then on the table by the balcony door.
Trieze was a big boy now. He didn't need his sister to take care of him like when their wizard father was still around. She would leave the two pendants here for him. To remind him that she was there, spiritually.
With that done she opened the balcony doors. A small wind blew in and she stared. There, in front of her was a portal that was about as tall as she was, and through that portal she could see the renaissance fair. It was evening there and the sun was setting leaving the sky an array of oranges, pinks, and purples.
Home…
Without another thought she stepped through the portal and was blinded by hot, bright light.
"Wake up!" She was being shaken. Thorn's eyes eased open and stared up into a pair of worried violet eyes. The young woman blinked in a relieved way. The worry began to vanish. "Thank god. You really had everyone worried." The girl said. She couldn't have been more than a year or so older than Thorn.
"What?" The raven haired girl asked. Her gold eyes flickered around. It was sunset.
"You went missing earlier today. Everyone was so worried. My brother finally found you in the woods. What were you thinking, falling asleep in the woods like that?" The woman said.
"Sleeping in the woods?" Were all those things that happened fake? Only a dream that her subconscious made up? She looked down at her neck and spotted the garnet stone. No, it had all been real. Thorn pushed herself up out of the girl's worried arms.
"Are you sure you're alright?" The woman asked. Thorn nodded.
"I'm fine. But, who are you?" Thorn asked. The girl looked embarrassed.
"Oh I'm sorry. My name's Catherine Bloom. My brother who found you is Triton." She said motioning to the other side of the room. Thorn followed her gaze and froze.
Trowa…?
It couldn't be. He looked just like Trowa and yet she called him Triton. She blinked and recovered slightly.
"Thank you for finding me. I don't even remember being tired or falling asleep." Thorn said. He nodded.
"No problem." She smiled. Thorn was home. And Trowa…well maybe Trowa really was still with her. Just in a reincarnated form of Triton Bloom. She smirked inwardly. Maybe, just maybe, love could be renewed between them.
And Thorn's gold eyes sparkled in a new light as she looked up into Tritons forest green eyes.
~Owari
Raven: Ha! I'm done. Mythical Times is now officially finished. This was the wonderful finale. I hope you all enjoyed. Maybe I'll do a sequel were Thorn goes back or something. I don't know. Review and tell me what you think.