Author's Notes: See chapter one for disclaimer and explanation.
I say all flames will be dutifully ignored, and then I get one that just screams for a response. -_-;; I got a flame soon after I posted chapter five that seemed rather hastily contrived. First, they tell me that this story is a Mary Sue, despite what I said about that. Sorry, Kiddo, but Cerise is neither a "perfect character", nor is she much like me at all. Second, they call me immature and such for bitching at Blue Pard as I did. Considering this review was for chapter three, I assume that that is as far as this person read, meaning they didn't see the apology I gave Blue Pard at the beginning of chapter four. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call "jumping to conclusions", which, as we all know, polite society frowns upon (I'm no manners expert, but I do my best). Neither of those things would have bothered me much, meaning I wouldn't have taken the time to mention it here, except that this little pansy had the gall to not leave any form of identification. No name, no email address, no nothing. That really fries my ass. If you're going to slam someone, at least have the guts to say who you are. But, I guess leaving anonymous (not to mention pretentious and uninformed) flames makes this person feel real big about themselves. Loser…
Anyway, now that I've (once again) bored you with my soapbox routine, on with the show.
Chestnuts and Cherries By Annie-chan Chapter Six: Loss of Loved OnesThe Sorcerer Hunters headed for Saint Hordic Mountain. They had left the inn about two hours ago, and were a little less than three days away from their destination. Marron had told Cerise that they ought to get there on the evening of the third day.
"Cerise?" Marron asked, looking down at her. She looked gloomy. "Do you have something on your mind?"
She looked up from where she was walking beside him. The Hunters were walking as they normally did: Carrot leading the way, Chocolat and Tira behind him, and Gateau and Marron behind, Marron a little ahead of Gateau. The formation wasn't intentional, but it had become a habit after several years as a team. Cerise, of course, opted to walk beside Marron.
"Oh," she began, looking down again, "I'm not sure if I like the idea of running. Viande is my friend…I don't like keeping things from friends, much less running away from them. It just seems so…dishonest."
Marron squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "I know it seems like we're running scared, but I don't think that's all Mama has in mind for us. She just wants us, especially you, to be in a safe place that he won't be able to break into until someone finds away to amend the situation. I'm sure we'll find some way to make it so everyone's happy with the outcome. And, if not happy, at least satisfied."
"You're not just saying that, are you?" she asked. "I haven't known you very long. I don't know if you're a perpetual liar or not."
Carrot snorted. "Believe me, he's the worst liar in the world. You'd be able to tell if he wasn't giving you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."
"Right, Darling," Chocolat said, poking Carrot hard in the side. "You're the big fat liar around here."
"Hey!" Carrot yelped, jumping away.
"Anyway," Marron coughed, ignoring the commotion that was heating up at the front of the group, "Carrot's right. I couldn't lie to save my life."
"So, you really believe that this'll turn out all right?" Cerise asked.
"Of course," Marron nodded. "And, if you believe something will happen hard enough, it'll come true."
Cerise smiled. "My mother tells me that all the time," she said. "She treats it like a life philosophy."
"It's a good life philosophy," Marron said as they rounded a bend in the path through the woods. "You'll never get anywhere in life if you don't have something to work for and believe in."
"Um, I hate to break up the conversations," Gateau suddenly broke in, "but someone's coming up behind us on horseback, and they're traveling awfully fast."
Marron, Cerise, Carrot, Chocolat, and Tira all stopped what they were doing. Gateau was right; hoof beats could be heard down the path in the direction they were coming from, and they were getting closer.
"Get to the side of the road," Marron said. "Stay out of their way. It wouldn't do to have someone run over."
The Hunters and Cerise moved to the side of the road and walked alongside the trees. The hoof beats got nearer and nearer, then slowed and suddenly stopped just before the bend the Hunters had just rounded. The six of them stopped and listened, curious as to what made someone in such a hurry stop.
"Let's see, Cinnabar," the rider could be heard saying, apparently speaking to his horse. "The scrying glass showed me that they'd be right around here right now…"
Marron heard Cerise squeak beside him, and looked down. He was surprised to see her look horrified, her hand to her mouth to keep herself quiet. She suddenly grabbed his sleeve and yanked him into the trees.
"Get off the road!" she cried as loud as she dared to the others. "Everyone, get off the road!"
Carrot, Chocolat, Tira, and Gateau looked quizzical, but slipped into the trees as well.
Marron stumbled and almost fell as Cerise pulled him along. He had had enough of this. He planted his feet firmly and wrenched his sleeve away from her.
"What the devil has gotten into you?!" he asked, straightening his sleeve.
"It's Viande!" Cerise said, her voice high-pitched. "He's here! Didn't you hear? He has a scrying glass! He knows about you and me!"
Marron looked back toward the road. "That was Viande…?" He looked back to Cerise. "If that's Viande…I thought you said you didn't like running from him."
"I don't!" she squealed, getting hysterical. "But, he knows about us! He wants to kill you, I know it! And, he hates Sorcerer Hunters! If he finds out what you are, he'll slaughter all of you without blinking!"
Marron sighed. "I know it sounds crazy, but we shouldn't run. If that scrying glass can show where something is, then he'll be able to follow us no matter which direction we turn from here. Running may only anger him, and we can't afford to do that. I'm sorry, Cerise, but I think it's best we confront him now instead of later."
"Cerise!" Viande could be heard calling through the trees.
Cerise squeaked again, grabbed Marron's other sleeve, and tried to pull him farther into the woods, but caught her foot on a tree root and tumbled to the ground, the sleeve slipping from her grasp. "Oh!" she cried as she fell, startled.
"Cerise!" Viande called again. The sound of feet hitting the ground and running toward them could be heard. Viande had jumped off Cinnabar and was coming for them on foot. The trees were too close together for a horse to safely run through them.
"Go away, Viande!" Cerise screamed, jumping up.
"You!" Viande roared at Marron, grabbing the front of his clothes and propelling him back several feet before they came to a stop. "You! You bastard! Let her go!" He was nearly as tall as Marron, and his build was a little stockier. He looked about ready to pick up and throw the black-haired mage.
"What?" Marron asked as calmly as he could, though he still sounded a bit defensive. The other four were moving in on Viande, catching Marron's eye. "No!" he cried. "Don't attack!" He looked back to Viande, lowering his voice again. "He should be reasoned with in this situation, not attacked. Now, what do you mean, 'Let her go'?"
"You know what I mean," Viande hissed, shaking Marron once. "Cerise. You've bewitched her, haven't you? Haven't you?! Else, how could you possibly get her to love you? She belongs to me!"
Marron didn't answer right away. He was a little stunned Viande thought he had Cerise under an enchantment. He opened his mouth to speak a moment later, but Viande began speaking again before he could answer.
"Come to think of it," Viande said, sounding suspicious, "what's an Eastern Magic user like yourself doing with this bunch? I thought your kind generally traveled with each other, not with Parsoners like this." He surveyed the other four, his eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute…I sense unusual abilities within you all…now, what would a group of uniquely powered individuals be doing wandering around the woods like this…?" His fingers tightened on Marron's clothes, and he gritted his teeth, his hazel eyes boring into Marron's black ones. "You're Sorcerer Hunters, aren't you? Aren't you?!"
Marron frowned. That had to be a lucky guess…still, there was no use denying it. "Yes," he said, trying to sound even.
Hate flashed through Viande's eyes. "I should kill you—" he began to growl, but was cut off. His eyes widened, and he suddenly let go of Marron and backed away a few steps. Marron could see that a faint white outline had appeared around him. The other four looked just as surprised as him. They all looked at Cerise, who was standing back away from everyone else. A white light was glowing between her hands, and she looked at Viande, a sad look in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Viande," she said. "I just can't let you harm them." She drew her hands farther apart, as if to clap.
"What?!" Viande gasped. "Cerise, no!"
Cerise brought her hands together hard, scattering the ball of light into tiny fragments that burst outward and dispersed into the air and faded. The banishment spell was complete.
"How could you?!" Viande shrieked as he was engulfed in the white light. The inferno burned for about five seconds, then faded. Viande was gone, but the echo of his cry still lingered in the air.
"I'm sorry," Cerise whispered again, closing her eyes to keep a tear from falling.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The world spun crazily for what seemed like forever, but he finally found himself sprawled on his back on sloped ground. He quickly rolled over and pushed himself up to his knees, though he almost fell down again with disorientation. He looked around. He hadn't a clue as to where he was.
He jumped up and screamed his frustration and anger at the landscape for a few minutes, then dropped to his knees again, his body shaking.
"Oh, Cerise," he moaned softly, his eyes stinging with tears. "How could you…how could you do that? And, to me, of all people!" He clenched his fists. "It must be that spell he has on you! It must! How else could you turn against me like that?! Me! Your dear fiancé!"
He managed to hold his tears in check. After a few minutes, he pulled the scrying glass from his belt, thankful it was not damaged. He looked into it and willed it to show him Cerise and her captors. When he saw them, his eyebrows arched downward sharply. Cerise looked very upset, and she was walking next to the Eastern Magic user. He had his arm around her shoulders, holding her close as they walked, and seemed to be speaking to her. Viande felt his blood boil at the sight of him touching her.
He closed his eyes and concentrated. If one had a strong will, as he did, one could discover how much distance is between them and whatever's in the glass. "That way…" he murmured a few minutes later, looking to the southeast. "Almost ninety miles that way…and they're walking away from me."
He suddenly jumped up, the scrying glass clutched in his hand, and took off in that direction. He hadn't Cinnabar with him, and he'd have to be fast if he wanted to catch up to them, even with the endurance-enhancing spells he had learned awhile back.
I'll find you soon, Cerise, he silently swore. I'll free you from his thrall if it kills me!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was relatively silent around the campfire that night. They had all decided to sleep under the starts, for it was a warm night. The normally cheery atmosphere the flames gave a small clearing like this one was subdued, however. Chocolat and Tira had decided to turn in early, and they were lying down in the soft grass on one side of the clearing. Gateau and Carrot were sitting on one side of the campfire, speaking in voices too low for the two people across from them to catch more than every fourth word or so.
Marron and Cerise sat on the other side of the campfire, very quiet. Marron sat up straight with his arm around Cerise, and she leaned against him, her head against his chest. She heard his strong heartbeat, and drew comfort from it. Her staff was lying on the ground next to them.
She opened her eyes as Marron spoke for the first time since they sat down like this.
"Try to put today behind you," he said softly. "It didn't go any way near how I'd hoped, but no one's hurt. Our only option now is to get to Saint Hordic Mountain as soon as we can. He'll undoubtedly come after us again, and we should try to get past the point Sorcerers cannot cross without an invitation before he catches up. How far did you send him?"
"I don't know," she said just as softly. "He was resisting the spell very strongly, and that made the results unpredictable. I have no idea how far he went." She sighed. "I'm willing to bet he thinks I did that because of the bewitchment he thinks you put on me. He'll hate you even more because of that. I'm sorry…"
"Mm," Marron replied. "It's not your fault." After a few minutes more of silence, he suddenly squeezed her briefly. "I just realized I don't know much about you. Why don't you tell me?"
Cerise smiled, glad for the opportunity to get her mind off of today's events. She began telling him of her childhood, how she was precocious and energetic and always got into trouble for something she did or made some other kid do. She had little interest in things done indoors for the first several years of her life. She hated reading and writing, she couldn't sew or do any other type of needlework, and her cooking attempts—mostly sweet stuff, as children had little interest in any other type of cooking at that age—were disastrous. The Western Magic users assigned to train her had quite a job keeping her in line, but thankfully, they never gave up. Little by little, they managed to tame her, turning her into a wild, disobedient little terror into a more or less patient young lady, and for the past several years, she had taken to magic training—not to mention indoor activities—much better than before. She had had a sister two years younger than her that had died five years ago in an accident in a building that wasn't done being built. She and Fraise had been very close, and her death had hit her hard. Her demeanor had changed dramatically immediately after Fraise's death, and she was now more downhearted and despondent. Her reluctance to enter marriage with a man she didn't love contributed to this as their yet-to-be-decided-upon wedding date drew nearer. She was now very different than how she had started out.
Marron listened patiently, and he tightened his hold on her as she was describing the emotions she had felt from Fraise's death. He could identify, as he had felt the loss of his mother Apricot very deeply after she died, and he had mourned her for a long time. The few months following her death was the period of time he had changed from the shy little crybaby he had been as a child to the strong, self-assured, and tenderhearted man he was now.
"And, that's my life story," Cerise finished after speaking for a long while. "Know enough about me now?"
Marron smiled and nodded. "Yes. I hadn't expected such a thorough story about yourself, but thank you."
"No problem," Cerise smiled back. She looked at the rising moon. "Now, you tell me about yourself."
"All right," Marron nodded again. He suddenly stopped and tilted his head slightly, listening. "Shh," he hissed at Carrot and Gateau. "Be quiet a moment." They were speaking very low, like Marron and Cerise were, but it was still loud enough to muddle what he was trying to listen to.
Carrot, Gateau, and Cerise were listening, too. "Sounds like someone running…" Carrot began.
"…toward us," Gateau finished a few seconds later.
"Oh, no," Cerise squeaked, her eyes widening.
Three seconds later, a shape burst through the trees that surrounded the clearing and skidded to a halt. He was standing half in the shadows thrown by the trees under the bright light of the full moon, and the dancing shadows from the firelight were moving over him, but they knew immediately who it was.
Viande Mariné.
"Finally," he said, breathing hard. The endurance-enhancing spells had kept his energy at a pretty good level, but he still looked like he had almost killed himself from the long run. He had been running at full speed since the middle of the morning, after all. "I've finally caught up to you!"
"Holy shit!" Carrot yipped, jumping to his feet. "The cross-country runner from Hell! Tira, Chocolat, wake up!"
Tira and Chocolat had been jolted awake at Carrot's exclamation, and scrambled to their feet when he yelled at them to wake up. They were just as surprised to see Viande standing there as Carrot had been to see him come through the trees.
Everyone was on their feet, as ready as they could be at such short notice for an attack. Marron had pushed Cerise behind him, and had three ofuda cards in his hand, ready to be thrown if need be. Viande looked at him and sneered.
"It's not her I want to kill, you ninny," he bit at Marron, forming a Magic Missile spell in his hands.
Marron brought the ofuda up in front of his face, his other hand behind them, the fingers held in a formation to call a shield spell. Magic Missiles weren't the most damaging attack spell, but they hurt like hell.
Viande launched himself forward, meaning to slam the ball of blue-green energy into Marron's chest.
Carrot saw Viande go for Marron and acted without thinking. He didn't care if Marron had already gotten a shield up or not; all he could think about was protecting his little brother. Half the hits the Glace brothers took in battle were directed at the other. They both had this urge to keep each other from harm.
Viande cried out in fury as Carrot suddenly blocked his path. Before he could stop it, the Magic Missile had hit Carrot hard in the upper chest, neck, and the lower half of his face. The shorter brother skidded backward several feet. To Viande's surprise and horror, he didn't seem to have a scratch on him from the attack.
"Tough luck," Carrot chuckled, his voice getting deeper, more guttural. He felt the magic being absorbed into his flesh, going deep within his body, and triggering one of the twelve animal genes in his body. "Enemy magic don't hurt me a bit."
Viande clenched his teeth. Apparently, this skinny little pipsqueak had the ability to change form when attacked. He didn't have the time to deal with this. He again surged forward, this time toward Carrot, who was now at least eight feet tall, hairy, and sporting bull-like horns on his head. Using a considerable amount of strength, he shoved aside the morphing Sorcerer Hunter, ignoring the roar of anger as he tumbled to the side and fell to the ground. All Viande had in mind was getting to Cerise and Marron.
Marron dropped into a fighting stance, and was just about to cast his own attack spell when Cerise suddenly broke away from him and ran. Both he and Viande stopped what they were doing.
"Cerise!" Marron cried. "Where are you going?!"
"Cerise!" Viande shouted at the same time, shoving Marron aside and pursuing her. "Wait!"
Marron hit the ground hard and lay there a moment, winded. Oh, no, he thought. She's drawing him away from us. A sudden fear of Viande catching up to Cerise and spiriting her away to where Marron would never see her again filled his mind, and he stumbled to his feet. He pointed toward the now fully changed Carrot and shouted to Chocolat and Tira. "You girls take care of him first! Gateau, you come with me!"
"Right," Gateau said, cracking his knuckles before he took off after Marron, who was already running in the direction Cerise and Viande had gone. He promised he would fight his all to keep Marron and Cerise together, and he had no intention of breaking that promise when it was most needed.
Cerise, farthest ahead of the four running through the woods, had reached another small opening in the trees, and stopped. The sprint she had just pulled off had drained her energy quickly, and she had to catch her breath. She whirled around when she heard Viande's voice.
"Cerise!" Viande cried as he entered the clearing, slowing until he was walking toward her. He held his hands out to her imploringly. "You must fight the enchantment he has placed on you! Come back to me! Please!"
"You're wrong," she said, backing away. "He doesn't have any spell on me! I love him—"
"No!" Viande interrupted. "That's not you speaking!" He sprang forward and caught hold of her upper arms. "Please, Cerise…you must fight it…please…"
"Cerise!" Marron cried, coming through the trees, Gateau right behind him.
"You!" Viande growled, turning toward the two newcomers and shoving Cerise behind him. "Sorcerer Hunter scum…if you die, my Cerise will be free." He grinned, the magic he began gathering in his hands throwing eerie shadows over his face in the moonlight. "I'll finish this here and now."
Marron snorted, feeling his own smile spread over his face. He thought another Magic Missile would "finish this here and now"? Something like that was so easy to reverse…
Gateau stood back. He knew that standing too close to an exchange between two powerful magicians could be seriously hazardous to one's health. His eyes traveled from Marron, who was making ready to catch the Magic Missile and turn its energy into a counterstrike, to Viande. Wait a minute…that Magic Missile…the light was too green…
"Oh, SHIT!" Gateau suddenly cried, springing forward. He didn't know what had gotten a hold of him, but he somehow knew in his heart that the one he loved was in grave danger.
"Gya!" Marron's head spun as he was suddenly shoved backward, Gateau blocking the path of the attack, taking the blast of it upon himself. He fell flat on his back. He forced himself up, trying to ignore his scraped elbows. Gateau was standing very still. Beyond Gateau, Marron could see Viande and Cerise. Viande was looking at Gateau with a disbelieving look on his face, and Cerise had an expression of horror, her hands up to her mouth. Marron got to his feet and ran up to Gateau, thinking, Why did he do that? His body is immune to spells like that, but I could easily defend against it myself! "Gateau, you didn't need to do that."
"It's a good thing I did," Gateau coughed, turning around. "If it did this to me, I can be sure that you would have been blown away…"
Marron choked back a scream. In the bright moonlight, he could see a charred, gaping hole in the middle of Gateau's torso. Blood soaked his clothing, and bits of bone and viscera could be seen through the wound. It wasn't just a Magic Missile…Gateau had saved his life at the expense of his own…
"G-Gateau," Marron stammered, feeling weak. "Why…? Why…?"
Gateau smiled wanly. "To protect the one I love." As the last word passed his lips, he fell forward and lay on the ground, not moving. Marron ran over to him and fell to his knees. After checking for all external signs of life he could think of, a thin wail came from his throat.
Gateau Mocha was dead.
"Enough of this," Viande growled, drawing a knife from the folds of his cloak and coming down on Marron. He grabbed his hair and yanked his head up, pressing the sharp edge to his neck. "You're not worth wasting magic on anyway." Marron, in shock, could do nothing to stop him.
"No!" Cerise cried, grabbing Viande's wrist. "Don't kill him!"
"It's the only way to free you from him!" Viande shouted back.
"NO!" she screamed. "Please! Spare his life, and I'll come back to you!" She was desperate. Anything to save her love from dying…
Viande dropped Marron. "You mean it?" he asked, a sparkle coming to his eyes.
"Yes," Cerise whispered, nodding. Her eyes were shut tight.
"Cerise," Marron rasped. "N-no…"
Cerise knelt down in front of him. "I'm sorry, Marron," she murmured, tears brimming in her eyes. "It's the only way to keep him from killing you." She gently ran her fingers through his hair, laying a gentle kiss upon his lips that brought tears to his eyes and made her own spill over.
"Don't leave me…" he moaned as they parted. He watched helplessly as she stood and let Viande take her hand and lead her away. His shock and grief over what had just happened wouldn't allow him to move.
"There's a village near here, I think," Viande could be heard saying as they got to the edge of the trees. "We can get a ride home in the morning…" They passed out of sight, and were gone.
Marron sat there for several minutes, his eyes focusing on nothing. The tears in his eyes would not fall, and a strange calmness had come over him…
"Marron!" Carrot said as he came through the trees, changed back into his normal form. He held Tira's oversized outer robes around him to cover his nudity. "What happened?! We felt Gateau…oh, God…" He trailed off, the three of them running over to their two companions. Tira screamed and Chocolat started crying as they discovered their friend and comrade dead on the ground. "Marron?" Carrot asked, his voice trembling, as he took hold of his brother's shoulders. He shook him when he didn't respond. "Marron?!"
Marron's lips parted as if to speak, then his eyes slid closed and he pitched forward with a groan into Carrot's arms. He had fainted dead away.
High above them, the moon reached its zenith in the night sky.
To be continued…Author's Notes: Hoo boy…loooooooooooooooooooong chapter. I couldn't break up the events into two chapters easily, so I stopped trying. Don't expect the rest of the chapters to be nearly this long. It may happen once or twice, but I highly doubt it. I really hope none of you want to strangle me for killing Gateau. I really do like the guy (his advances on Marron are some of the funniest bits in the manga! XD), but it just seemed fitting to me that his last action would be to save the one he loved from a similar fate. I mean, he cares about those around him very much, and I get the idea that he'd rather die himself than see anyone else get killed. I also said in the summary that loss of life was one thing Marron has to deal with in this story. Please don't hurt me! *ducks flying objects aimed at her head* Also, let me know how you like this chapter in a review or an email to mangareader@hotmail.com, onegai shimasu! Just don't rail me out for killing Gateau…I've already apologized for that. Cry all you want to me about it, if you feel like it, but please don't call me a dumbass or a bitch for doing it…
