Alternative
Chapter 2 -- The Arrival
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Live-a-Live! Square does! This message was also supposed to appear on Chapter 1, but what the heck.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, this is Chapter 2. I'm going to have to try pretty damn hard from now on, so that this doesn't turn into a freaking soap opera ^^ ... Well, by now the plot is my own creation, and I'm beginning to bastardize the characters a bit more. Not a good thing, but the game *does* leave open a lot of room for our creativities. Well, anyway, enjoy!
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"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Straybow asked cheerily as they walked through the fruitful land of Lucretia. Sparrows and other birds were flying across the sky and among the many trees. Squirrels, racoons, and sometimes foxes raced on the flowering ground. The trees and grass grew, with an almost happy aura released from them. Orsted breathed in the many wonderful scents, and smiled.
"It is," He said. "Despite everything else that's happened this morning..."
Straybow frowned. "C'mon, Orsted, cheer up. We gotta put the past behind us!" Then his expression turned a little more serious. "How do you think I felt when you... when you beat me at the tournament?"
This was somewhat of a shock to Orsted; his friend was not one to wear his emotions on his sleeves. Even though they were best friends, Orsted felt that Straybow kept many things from him. At this, he was slightly taken aback. "I thought... you..." He shook his head in disbelief, before trying to compose his thoughts. "But then why would you come help me?"
The long-haired mage looked at him, with a coldness in his eyes. After a long silence, in which they just continued walking, side by side, with Uranus bringing up the rear, he said, "Because I, too, love --loved-- Alicia."
Orsted stopped dead in his tracks. Straybow didn't notice at first, but soon paused and spun on his heel to face his friend. Orsted knew that his face showed exactly what he was thinking, and that he need not speak. He did anyway. "I... merciful gods, Straybow, I'm..."
"Don't speak, you idiot." Straybow said as something resembling a grin crawled onto his face. "The king wanted her for the strongest. You were the strongest... you deserved her..." Then his expression grew angry, and again surprising Orsted at this change of personality, he turned and ran.
Orsted was about to make after him, but Uranus stopped him. "He needs to be alone. He must deal with this loss."
The young warrior looked at the older man, concerned for his friend. "If I had known..."
"If you had known, you would've let him win. I know you well, even though we haven't been companions for longer than a week." Uranus said, interrupting him. "He will overcome himself, I'm sure."
Orsted was silent.
Uranus sighed. "Come on, now, boy. Let's walk, and you tell me about your friendship with Straybow."
So they did. Orsted was at first somewhat ashamed at telling all this to the healer, but after some reassurance, he decided it was for the better. "We have been friends since childhood... we went to the same school, were taught the arts of fighting together... we've been best friends as far back as I can remember. I guess this is why I'm so... well, frightened... at this whole ordeal."
Uranus nodded, weighing the young warrior's words. "Have you been at equal terms, at least most of the time? Has there ever been competition that could lead to this outburst?"
Orsted thought for a few minutes before replying. "I guess I was always the leader... I was respected more highly by our teachers and lectors. The king and his court favored me more, because I had chosen sword over magic."
Uranus nodded at this with a look on his face, that Orsted guessed was reminiscence of his training with Hash. He had been the magic user, Orsted realized... could this be the same situation? Is this why Uranus wanted to hear about it? Orsted did not know, so he continued anuways.
"From then on, he grew more quiet, and less open towards me. Maybe he thought that I was the winner, and he was the loser... but I would have gotten nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE without Straybow. Without him, I would have been a cripple, or a beggar, or something like that. It really boggles the mind, now. I always thought I was considerate of him, but I see that now..."
Uranus smiled. They were reaching the crossroads, where one path led to the castle and town, and one led to Lucretia Village. "As you may have guessed, you and Straybow just seem like young versions of Hash and me. Leave this Straybow issue to me; you go to the king and tell him what happened."
Orsted nodded. "But, are you not coming with me?"
"My guesses lead me to think that Straybow has retired to our childhood village. That is where I would always go when I thought the world was unfair... on those not-too-rare occasions when I despised Hash. Straybow was born in Lucretia Village, too, if I remember correctly?"
Orsted smiled, hearing the two older men's childhood histories. "Yes, this is where Straybow was born."
"Therefore you see my point," The healer explained. He put his hand on Orsted's shoulder. "Don't worry about anything. Don't lose sleep over this. Just go to the king and tell him what you can."
Orsted nodded, and watched as Uranus continued on the straight path leading to the village. He, on the other hand, turned towards the castle and started walking. As he let fall light footsteps on the dusty path, he took note of the absence of monsters. He had sighted some among bushes or under trees, but surprisingly, they did not attack either the three humans on their journey back from the cave, or the animals around them.
The young warrior wondered why it was so. When the four had been traveling down from the Hero's Mountain, towards the Devil's Cavern, the monsters had been rampaging everything and everyone that passed even three dozen feet away from their dens. Their blades and rods had not been at peace the whole time down one mountain and under another.
He soon noticed the snowy Hero's Mountain looming in the distance. There was a slightly hidden turn off the main road that led to the cliff, but that was not Orsted's destination. He turned his head to glance at the far- off towers of the Lucretian Castle. The king and townspeople awaited him there.
The sun was setting behind the western mountains in the distance by the time the young warrior reached the city. Townspeople eyed him with concern and wonder as he walked, grudgingly, through the main road leading through the city. They who had been so eager to see him leave, so positive in their thoughts that he would bring back the princess, that he would be their hero... and now they were afraid to look him in the eye.
Was loss really such a scary thing? Orsted thought as he motioned silently for the guards to open the gates before him. Was it really all that different from victory?
He walked straight, through the courtyard, until he could see the king sitting on his large dragonbone chair. He knelt before his master, and bowed his head. "My lord and king..." He began.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Live-a-Live! Square does! This message was also supposed to appear on Chapter 1, but what the heck.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, this is Chapter 2. I'm going to have to try pretty damn hard from now on, so that this doesn't turn into a freaking soap opera ^^ ... Well, by now the plot is my own creation, and I'm beginning to bastardize the characters a bit more. Not a good thing, but the game *does* leave open a lot of room for our creativities. Well, anyway, enjoy!
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"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Straybow asked cheerily as they walked through the fruitful land of Lucretia. Sparrows and other birds were flying across the sky and among the many trees. Squirrels, racoons, and sometimes foxes raced on the flowering ground. The trees and grass grew, with an almost happy aura released from them. Orsted breathed in the many wonderful scents, and smiled.
"It is," He said. "Despite everything else that's happened this morning..."
Straybow frowned. "C'mon, Orsted, cheer up. We gotta put the past behind us!" Then his expression turned a little more serious. "How do you think I felt when you... when you beat me at the tournament?"
This was somewhat of a shock to Orsted; his friend was not one to wear his emotions on his sleeves. Even though they were best friends, Orsted felt that Straybow kept many things from him. At this, he was slightly taken aback. "I thought... you..." He shook his head in disbelief, before trying to compose his thoughts. "But then why would you come help me?"
The long-haired mage looked at him, with a coldness in his eyes. After a long silence, in which they just continued walking, side by side, with Uranus bringing up the rear, he said, "Because I, too, love --loved-- Alicia."
Orsted stopped dead in his tracks. Straybow didn't notice at first, but soon paused and spun on his heel to face his friend. Orsted knew that his face showed exactly what he was thinking, and that he need not speak. He did anyway. "I... merciful gods, Straybow, I'm..."
"Don't speak, you idiot." Straybow said as something resembling a grin crawled onto his face. "The king wanted her for the strongest. You were the strongest... you deserved her..." Then his expression grew angry, and again surprising Orsted at this change of personality, he turned and ran.
Orsted was about to make after him, but Uranus stopped him. "He needs to be alone. He must deal with this loss."
The young warrior looked at the older man, concerned for his friend. "If I had known..."
"If you had known, you would've let him win. I know you well, even though we haven't been companions for longer than a week." Uranus said, interrupting him. "He will overcome himself, I'm sure."
Orsted was silent.
Uranus sighed. "Come on, now, boy. Let's walk, and you tell me about your friendship with Straybow."
So they did. Orsted was at first somewhat ashamed at telling all this to the healer, but after some reassurance, he decided it was for the better. "We have been friends since childhood... we went to the same school, were taught the arts of fighting together... we've been best friends as far back as I can remember. I guess this is why I'm so... well, frightened... at this whole ordeal."
Uranus nodded, weighing the young warrior's words. "Have you been at equal terms, at least most of the time? Has there ever been competition that could lead to this outburst?"
Orsted thought for a few minutes before replying. "I guess I was always the leader... I was respected more highly by our teachers and lectors. The king and his court favored me more, because I had chosen sword over magic."
Uranus nodded at this with a look on his face, that Orsted guessed was reminiscence of his training with Hash. He had been the magic user, Orsted realized... could this be the same situation? Is this why Uranus wanted to hear about it? Orsted did not know, so he continued anuways.
"From then on, he grew more quiet, and less open towards me. Maybe he thought that I was the winner, and he was the loser... but I would have gotten nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE without Straybow. Without him, I would have been a cripple, or a beggar, or something like that. It really boggles the mind, now. I always thought I was considerate of him, but I see that now..."
Uranus smiled. They were reaching the crossroads, where one path led to the castle and town, and one led to Lucretia Village. "As you may have guessed, you and Straybow just seem like young versions of Hash and me. Leave this Straybow issue to me; you go to the king and tell him what happened."
Orsted nodded. "But, are you not coming with me?"
"My guesses lead me to think that Straybow has retired to our childhood village. That is where I would always go when I thought the world was unfair... on those not-too-rare occasions when I despised Hash. Straybow was born in Lucretia Village, too, if I remember correctly?"
Orsted smiled, hearing the two older men's childhood histories. "Yes, this is where Straybow was born."
"Therefore you see my point," The healer explained. He put his hand on Orsted's shoulder. "Don't worry about anything. Don't lose sleep over this. Just go to the king and tell him what you can."
Orsted nodded, and watched as Uranus continued on the straight path leading to the village. He, on the other hand, turned towards the castle and started walking. As he let fall light footsteps on the dusty path, he took note of the absence of monsters. He had sighted some among bushes or under trees, but surprisingly, they did not attack either the three humans on their journey back from the cave, or the animals around them.
The young warrior wondered why it was so. When the four had been traveling down from the Hero's Mountain, towards the Devil's Cavern, the monsters had been rampaging everything and everyone that passed even three dozen feet away from their dens. Their blades and rods had not been at peace the whole time down one mountain and under another.
He soon noticed the snowy Hero's Mountain looming in the distance. There was a slightly hidden turn off the main road that led to the cliff, but that was not Orsted's destination. He turned his head to glance at the far- off towers of the Lucretian Castle. The king and townspeople awaited him there.
The sun was setting behind the western mountains in the distance by the time the young warrior reached the city. Townspeople eyed him with concern and wonder as he walked, grudgingly, through the main road leading through the city. They who had been so eager to see him leave, so positive in their thoughts that he would bring back the princess, that he would be their hero... and now they were afraid to look him in the eye.
Was loss really such a scary thing? Orsted thought as he motioned silently for the guards to open the gates before him. Was it really all that different from victory?
He walked straight, through the courtyard, until he could see the king sitting on his large dragonbone chair. He knelt before his master, and bowed his head. "My lord and king..." He began.
