Chapter 1 - The Bet
Nutmeg. A small town on the outskirts of Atlas. Hardly big enough to be called a town when it's more like a small village with a population of no more than 200 people. There was nothing about the silence that night that hinted at the happenings that would take place in a few moments. It was just another evening, quiet and peaceful. Except for one home. This is the place where my story unfolds...
My name is Ami. The last name is of no importance to you. I was here outside this house as a result of a little bet, so to speak, between my sister Aran and I. It came to my mind a few months after we had been heading home from a long and exhausting journey, which is also none of your business, even though I wouldn't doubt if you found out sooner or later what this is. Anyway, as we were flying over this rather small place, we felt a great surge of energy pulsate from this house. Of course, being the curious girls we are, we decided to investigate.
What we found was this - six people lived in the house, three guys and three girls. One guy was rather tall with blond hair that reached down to his feet - how a guy can keep his hair that long is beyond me, I've only seen guys where it down to their waist and that's it - who carried a long sword that was strapped to his back. This young man - who looked to be around 18, 20 or so - had quite an appetite, and he ate whenever possible. Another guy was a bit shorter than the blond swordsman and had blue skin with patches of... rocks on his body. A chimera, no doubt. Poor guy. This one wore a white outfit, giving the impression that he was a sorcerer. Despite that fact, he also carried a sword with him. The last guy was a small baby that was always being packed around by a tall blond haired woman who looked too kind for her own good. I later realized that she was definitely too kind for her own good, or at least mine. The other two girls were also sorceresses by the look of them. One was quite a bit shorter than the young men with a rather small chest. Her hair was a flaming red, and she wore an outfit consisting of a black cape lined in red, a sort of reddish coloured shirt and black pants. The other girl - who had a much larger chest than the latter, though she looked a bit younger, around 15 or 16, while the red-haired girl was about 17 or 18 - had dark hair that formed a sort of fan about her head and she also had a cape, hers white, along with the rest of her outfit. She definitely had the look of a pacifist about her, and I shuddered. I hated pacifists, they're so... goody goody.
This group of people caught my interest and I watched them for a few months, along with my sister Aran. Then a thought crossed my mind - why not wager a little bet? Why not pick straws to see who has to spend a year with the 'people'? If they succeed, they must fork over their most valuable possession to the other. If they lost, they must give the other their most valuable possession. It seemed like a good idea at the time. For me, anyway, considering the fact that I never lose. Never. I never had. Unfortunately, there's a first time for everything as I found out for myself the hard way.
Aran accepted the bet, as I knew she would. We sat on the roof of the house - our now regular spot to sit and watch the 'people' in the house - and picked straws. I took a deep breath and held it as I picked a straw from the stack I held in my hands. When I opened an eye and looked down at the blue coloured piece of plastic that was clutched in my hand, I heaved a sigh of relief. That straw was pretty damn long, and it was blue. All the longest straws her blue, and mine looked like the longest in the stack. Or so I thought. As Aran slid a rather long straw out of my stack of 30, a sly smile crept across her face. Damn! It only took one small measurement to determine that her straw was definitely longer than yours truly's.
So that pretty much brings you up-to-date on my present situation. I was currently laying on my stomach on the roof of the house, looking down upon the 'people'.
The golden dragon - the blond haired woman, the little bitch - was bending over a cradle and seemed to be singing the child to sleep. The chimera was sitting on a seemingly comfortable chair reading a book, while the younger sorceress - a princess by the name of Amelia - rattled off new justice rants she had been working on. He just nodded his head absentmindedly at times, completely ignoring the girl. From where I was sitting on the roof I couldn't see the older sorceress or the swordsman, but I knew they were in the kitchen pigging out - as usual.
I rolled my eyes in my head and turned around to lay on my back, throwing my hands behind my head and leaning back onto my laced fingers, looking up into the endless black void of sky that was dotted with billions of sparkling white stars.
Bloody hell, there sure are a lot of them up there.
My mind wandered, as it usually did when I was alone and when I had nothing else to do. I began to think of things. What if something goes wrong? What if I mess up? What if I let something important slip? What if Aran shows up? What if... what if... what if? I was beginning to have some regrets about the whole thing. But... if I were to back out now, Aran would never let me live it down. I was here, so I might as well give it a shot. Hell, I really had no other choice.
"Why am I doing this?" I asked myself, heaving a sigh as I sat up and leaped off the roof, landing softly and silently in the shadows of the house.
"Interests sake," came a gleeful reply. I whipped around, searching for the source of the voice.
"Oh shut up Aran. I swear, if I get out of this alive -- and trust me, I think I will -- I'm going to--" I hissed, realizing that my sister's voice was coming from out from every direction.
"Ah ah ah, fair's fair Ami. We picked straws after all," came the all-too-happy reply.
"Bloody hell! Don't you think I know that, Aran?"
"Temper temper!"
"This is so stupid..."
"Hey, a deal's a deal and besides, it was your idea in the first place!"
"Yeah, loser spends a year with them." I jabbed my thumb in the direction of the house at the word 'them'.
"So get going!" I felt a soft gust of wind push me towards the door.
"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into..." I mumbled under my breath, walking up the stairs.
How was I going to convince these people to let me into their house? That princess seems like a little suck-up, I'll make her feel sorry for me!
As I stood there on the doorstep, I tore my clothes and messed up my hair a bit. I looked around on the ground for a sharp rock and finding one, I scratched myself on the arms and where my shirt was torn, and once on the cheek. I could feel blood begin to trickle down my face, and I knew that what I was going to do next was going to burn that new wound like fire. I picked up some dirt and rubbed it on my skin and grimaced at the sharp sting of pain that crept through my face and settled down to a dull nagging throb.
That'll do it. I already had a story piecing itself together in my head as I knocked on the door.
I stood there on the doorstep, clothes torn, deep cuts, dirty and a bit nervous, swinging my arms for lack of anything better to do when I heard the shuffling of feet across a floor. When the door opened, I stood face to face with the princess. Yes! Just the person I needed to convince! Thank LON!
"Yes?" The young girl asked. I could feel her eyes scan me, running up and down my torn body and I couldn't help but smile feebly as she gasped.
"Please, miss, I've been traveling for days, weeks, trying to find a town that will have some kind soul that will take me in..." I coughed for effect. "There's been a terrible war going on in my hometown and I needed to leave or I would have been killed. Please, could you--" My words were cut short as I coughed again and sank to the ground.
"Oh my! Miss Lina!" The princess called into the house.
"What is it, Amelia?" The sorceress called back from the kitchen.
"Come here!"
I smiled -- my plan was working! So far, anyway.
"Amelia, what--"
"Miss Lina..."
"What happened to her?" Lina the sorceress said, biting into a chicken wing she held in her right hand.
"I don't know, Miss Lina. She just came to the door beat up and then she feel to the ground! We have to get her inside, Miss Lina, we have to help her!" Amelia said in a desperate tone, tugging at Lina's sleeves.
"All right already! Calm down, Amelia! I'll get Gourry to carry her in," Lina replied, nibbling on the chicken. "GOURRY!" she called, pieces of meat flying in every direction. How disgusting. Before long, the blond-haired swordsman appeared in the doorway.
"Yeah?" He asked, looking down at Lina.
"Take her inside," Lina instructed, finishing off the chicken and starting on another she was holding in her other hand.
"Why don't you do it?" Gourry asked innocently.
"BECAUSE I'M EATING!"
"Oh, right." Gourry must have been really strong, because he lifted me up like I weighed nothing and carried me into the house.
"I can walk on my own," I said, looking up at him.
"Is that so?" He replied kindly, placing me on the floor. I smiled up at him when Lina approached me.
"What's your story, kid?" She asked without much concern in her voice.
"My name's Ami Anderson and I'm an ancient dragon--" I paused here because everyone in the room gasped, and I wondered if telling them what I really was was a mistake. But I kept going nonetheless. "I come from a remote island a good two or three months journey from here. There's a great war going on over there, and I had to get away when my home was destroyed by these giant monsters. It's taken me awhile to get to any kind of civilization. I had to pack little, in case the monsters followed me and I had to run for my life. What little food and water I had with me when I left only sustained me for three days, and from then on, I had to find what I needed to survive -- be it food, water or shelter. That's why I look the way I do.
I lost everything, all my childhood possessions, my friends, my family -- mum, daddy, my brother and sister -- and my life. I've been searching for my family, but I can't find them. I don't know if they got out or if they--" I broke away, crying. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see the golden dragon.
"How long do you need to stay?" She asked, getting down to the bottom line.
"I don't know. It'll take me a long time to get my strength back. And I want to look for my family. About six months to a year?"
Everyone in the room except for the princess and the dragon stared at me, wide-eyed.
"A year?" The chimera whispered into Amelia's ear. "It'll only take a month or two for her to get her strength back, and then she can search for her family on the road!"
"Oh Mr Zelgadiss, be nice! The poor girl has been through a lot, can't you see that?" Amelia whispered back angrily.
"But I--"
"Oh great, another mouth to feed, that's just what we need! Stupid kid, she'd better not eat much..." The sorceress continued her rant as she went into the kitchen, followed closely by the swordsman.
"Don't mind her, she can be like that sometimes. She means well," the dragon girl assured me, leading me over to a couch where she sat me down. "I'll be right back with a washcloth and some water, all right?"
I nodded my head absently, looking around me. I was in. Yes! Aran can't bug me now! All I have to do is keep up this charade -- not like I haven't done it before. The only question is... how long can I keep it up? Can I last the year?
Nutmeg. A small town on the outskirts of Atlas. Hardly big enough to be called a town when it's more like a small village with a population of no more than 200 people. There was nothing about the silence that night that hinted at the happenings that would take place in a few moments. It was just another evening, quiet and peaceful. Except for one home. This is the place where my story unfolds...
My name is Ami. The last name is of no importance to you. I was here outside this house as a result of a little bet, so to speak, between my sister Aran and I. It came to my mind a few months after we had been heading home from a long and exhausting journey, which is also none of your business, even though I wouldn't doubt if you found out sooner or later what this is. Anyway, as we were flying over this rather small place, we felt a great surge of energy pulsate from this house. Of course, being the curious girls we are, we decided to investigate.
What we found was this - six people lived in the house, three guys and three girls. One guy was rather tall with blond hair that reached down to his feet - how a guy can keep his hair that long is beyond me, I've only seen guys where it down to their waist and that's it - who carried a long sword that was strapped to his back. This young man - who looked to be around 18, 20 or so - had quite an appetite, and he ate whenever possible. Another guy was a bit shorter than the blond swordsman and had blue skin with patches of... rocks on his body. A chimera, no doubt. Poor guy. This one wore a white outfit, giving the impression that he was a sorcerer. Despite that fact, he also carried a sword with him. The last guy was a small baby that was always being packed around by a tall blond haired woman who looked too kind for her own good. I later realized that she was definitely too kind for her own good, or at least mine. The other two girls were also sorceresses by the look of them. One was quite a bit shorter than the young men with a rather small chest. Her hair was a flaming red, and she wore an outfit consisting of a black cape lined in red, a sort of reddish coloured shirt and black pants. The other girl - who had a much larger chest than the latter, though she looked a bit younger, around 15 or 16, while the red-haired girl was about 17 or 18 - had dark hair that formed a sort of fan about her head and she also had a cape, hers white, along with the rest of her outfit. She definitely had the look of a pacifist about her, and I shuddered. I hated pacifists, they're so... goody goody.
This group of people caught my interest and I watched them for a few months, along with my sister Aran. Then a thought crossed my mind - why not wager a little bet? Why not pick straws to see who has to spend a year with the 'people'? If they succeed, they must fork over their most valuable possession to the other. If they lost, they must give the other their most valuable possession. It seemed like a good idea at the time. For me, anyway, considering the fact that I never lose. Never. I never had. Unfortunately, there's a first time for everything as I found out for myself the hard way.
Aran accepted the bet, as I knew she would. We sat on the roof of the house - our now regular spot to sit and watch the 'people' in the house - and picked straws. I took a deep breath and held it as I picked a straw from the stack I held in my hands. When I opened an eye and looked down at the blue coloured piece of plastic that was clutched in my hand, I heaved a sigh of relief. That straw was pretty damn long, and it was blue. All the longest straws her blue, and mine looked like the longest in the stack. Or so I thought. As Aran slid a rather long straw out of my stack of 30, a sly smile crept across her face. Damn! It only took one small measurement to determine that her straw was definitely longer than yours truly's.
So that pretty much brings you up-to-date on my present situation. I was currently laying on my stomach on the roof of the house, looking down upon the 'people'.
The golden dragon - the blond haired woman, the little bitch - was bending over a cradle and seemed to be singing the child to sleep. The chimera was sitting on a seemingly comfortable chair reading a book, while the younger sorceress - a princess by the name of Amelia - rattled off new justice rants she had been working on. He just nodded his head absentmindedly at times, completely ignoring the girl. From where I was sitting on the roof I couldn't see the older sorceress or the swordsman, but I knew they were in the kitchen pigging out - as usual.
I rolled my eyes in my head and turned around to lay on my back, throwing my hands behind my head and leaning back onto my laced fingers, looking up into the endless black void of sky that was dotted with billions of sparkling white stars.
Bloody hell, there sure are a lot of them up there.
My mind wandered, as it usually did when I was alone and when I had nothing else to do. I began to think of things. What if something goes wrong? What if I mess up? What if I let something important slip? What if Aran shows up? What if... what if... what if? I was beginning to have some regrets about the whole thing. But... if I were to back out now, Aran would never let me live it down. I was here, so I might as well give it a shot. Hell, I really had no other choice.
"Why am I doing this?" I asked myself, heaving a sigh as I sat up and leaped off the roof, landing softly and silently in the shadows of the house.
"Interests sake," came a gleeful reply. I whipped around, searching for the source of the voice.
"Oh shut up Aran. I swear, if I get out of this alive -- and trust me, I think I will -- I'm going to--" I hissed, realizing that my sister's voice was coming from out from every direction.
"Ah ah ah, fair's fair Ami. We picked straws after all," came the all-too-happy reply.
"Bloody hell! Don't you think I know that, Aran?"
"Temper temper!"
"This is so stupid..."
"Hey, a deal's a deal and besides, it was your idea in the first place!"
"Yeah, loser spends a year with them." I jabbed my thumb in the direction of the house at the word 'them'.
"So get going!" I felt a soft gust of wind push me towards the door.
"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into..." I mumbled under my breath, walking up the stairs.
How was I going to convince these people to let me into their house? That princess seems like a little suck-up, I'll make her feel sorry for me!
As I stood there on the doorstep, I tore my clothes and messed up my hair a bit. I looked around on the ground for a sharp rock and finding one, I scratched myself on the arms and where my shirt was torn, and once on the cheek. I could feel blood begin to trickle down my face, and I knew that what I was going to do next was going to burn that new wound like fire. I picked up some dirt and rubbed it on my skin and grimaced at the sharp sting of pain that crept through my face and settled down to a dull nagging throb.
That'll do it. I already had a story piecing itself together in my head as I knocked on the door.
I stood there on the doorstep, clothes torn, deep cuts, dirty and a bit nervous, swinging my arms for lack of anything better to do when I heard the shuffling of feet across a floor. When the door opened, I stood face to face with the princess. Yes! Just the person I needed to convince! Thank LON!
"Yes?" The young girl asked. I could feel her eyes scan me, running up and down my torn body and I couldn't help but smile feebly as she gasped.
"Please, miss, I've been traveling for days, weeks, trying to find a town that will have some kind soul that will take me in..." I coughed for effect. "There's been a terrible war going on in my hometown and I needed to leave or I would have been killed. Please, could you--" My words were cut short as I coughed again and sank to the ground.
"Oh my! Miss Lina!" The princess called into the house.
"What is it, Amelia?" The sorceress called back from the kitchen.
"Come here!"
I smiled -- my plan was working! So far, anyway.
"Amelia, what--"
"Miss Lina..."
"What happened to her?" Lina the sorceress said, biting into a chicken wing she held in her right hand.
"I don't know, Miss Lina. She just came to the door beat up and then she feel to the ground! We have to get her inside, Miss Lina, we have to help her!" Amelia said in a desperate tone, tugging at Lina's sleeves.
"All right already! Calm down, Amelia! I'll get Gourry to carry her in," Lina replied, nibbling on the chicken. "GOURRY!" she called, pieces of meat flying in every direction. How disgusting. Before long, the blond-haired swordsman appeared in the doorway.
"Yeah?" He asked, looking down at Lina.
"Take her inside," Lina instructed, finishing off the chicken and starting on another she was holding in her other hand.
"Why don't you do it?" Gourry asked innocently.
"BECAUSE I'M EATING!"
"Oh, right." Gourry must have been really strong, because he lifted me up like I weighed nothing and carried me into the house.
"I can walk on my own," I said, looking up at him.
"Is that so?" He replied kindly, placing me on the floor. I smiled up at him when Lina approached me.
"What's your story, kid?" She asked without much concern in her voice.
"My name's Ami Anderson and I'm an ancient dragon--" I paused here because everyone in the room gasped, and I wondered if telling them what I really was was a mistake. But I kept going nonetheless. "I come from a remote island a good two or three months journey from here. There's a great war going on over there, and I had to get away when my home was destroyed by these giant monsters. It's taken me awhile to get to any kind of civilization. I had to pack little, in case the monsters followed me and I had to run for my life. What little food and water I had with me when I left only sustained me for three days, and from then on, I had to find what I needed to survive -- be it food, water or shelter. That's why I look the way I do.
I lost everything, all my childhood possessions, my friends, my family -- mum, daddy, my brother and sister -- and my life. I've been searching for my family, but I can't find them. I don't know if they got out or if they--" I broke away, crying. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see the golden dragon.
"How long do you need to stay?" She asked, getting down to the bottom line.
"I don't know. It'll take me a long time to get my strength back. And I want to look for my family. About six months to a year?"
Everyone in the room except for the princess and the dragon stared at me, wide-eyed.
"A year?" The chimera whispered into Amelia's ear. "It'll only take a month or two for her to get her strength back, and then she can search for her family on the road!"
"Oh Mr Zelgadiss, be nice! The poor girl has been through a lot, can't you see that?" Amelia whispered back angrily.
"But I--"
"Oh great, another mouth to feed, that's just what we need! Stupid kid, she'd better not eat much..." The sorceress continued her rant as she went into the kitchen, followed closely by the swordsman.
"Don't mind her, she can be like that sometimes. She means well," the dragon girl assured me, leading me over to a couch where she sat me down. "I'll be right back with a washcloth and some water, all right?"
I nodded my head absently, looking around me. I was in. Yes! Aran can't bug me now! All I have to do is keep up this charade -- not like I haven't done it before. The only question is... how long can I keep it up? Can I last the year?