CD: *cries* I'm SO sorry for not updating in such a long time! You all must hate me!
Rath: CD? Only ONE person has reviewed…
CD: *bows* Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU Ebony Falcon!
Rath: *continues* … and that number MIGHT suggest that nobody cares.
Rune: -_-# RATH!!! *Starts chasing Rath around Thatz*
Thatz: *tied to a chair, gagged, and dressed in a pink bunny suit* Mmmph! [Translation: Idiots! Untie me so I can get this costume off!]
CD: *teary-eyed* N-no one cares about my fic? *cries*
Rune: Rath! You made the authoress cry! *knocks Rath unconscious with a sword* *clears throat* CyberDeletion doesn't own Dragon Knights. And yes, the story WILL be continued. Please read!
~*~
I feel a split-second of pain before I black out.
It's dark. I try to move and find it difficult, like I'm walking through water. A faint strain of music reaches my ears. I swim in the direction of the sound. I find a well-dressed elf playing a simple wooden flute with a thread looped through a small hole in it so it could be hung around someone's neck. He's playing the most beautiful song I've ever heard on the petite instrument. I float there for an unknown amount of time, just letting myself get lost in the aria. The silence was deafening when he stopped playing. He smiles benevolently at me. His dress and apparent disposition give him the aura of a kindly noble.
"You must be Rune. I have often wondered if an elf would ever come to my manor. Oh, forgive me," he said, chuckling at the confused look on my face, "I am Musokatakumi, the owner of the Manor."
I am surprised. I try to speak, but my voice refuses to work. I listen to what he has to say.
Musokatakumi slips the flute's thread from around his neck. "You seem to have an appreciation for music. Here, take this." The flute disappears from his hands. My eyes widen as it reappears around my neck. The owner of the mansion smiles again at my surprise. "It is your job to keep it from anyone who wants to use it for their own desires. Be very careful with it…" He vanished when he finished speaking. I was left in the darkness again, only now with the flute hanging from around my neck.
"Hey Rune! Wake up!" A sudden pain in the ribs jolts me awake. I blink dazedly and look around, sitting up. I realize I'm in the mud outside of the Manor, surrounded by shards of glass. Thatz had apparently kicked me to try and wake me up. "It's about time! Jeez, did you slip out the window or what?"
I stand up, aching from the fall but glad not to be dead. "No, I was pushed, which makes more sense than jumping out the window. What's with Rath?" I ask, noticing the Dragon Knight of Fire standing nearby in a very bad mood.
"Him? He's just mad because the demons pushed him out the window, too, and he couldn't get back in. But hey, look at this," he says, holding up his bag of treasure and grinning, "I got a ton of loot!"
"Uh, great, Thatz." It's still raining. It's not like I'm not already soaked to the bone and muddy, but I don't want to stay out here more than necessary. "Let's get going," I say, and start walking.
"What, are you scared that the big bad demons?" says Thatz, his grin spreading even wider.
"No!" I say, which is true. I'm not scared of the demons, but I don't want to think of what they could do to me if they had the chance.
"The poor little Dragon Knight of Water is afraid of the Manor!" says Thatz, taunting me.
"Oh, be quiet. I just want out of the storm because I have no desire to become a living lighting rod! Now, I have a headache, and you aren't helping." I continue walking towards the town. I don't want Thatz to know he was pretty much right. That bad feeling about the Manor is still there, and it's not just about the demons and ghosts, although I don't know why else I wouldn't like the place. I speed up my pace and try to put some distance between the intimidating mansion and myself.
We walk for a while, but it begins raining so hard that we have to find shelter and hope the storm will die down. Luckily for us, there's a cave nearby. Thatz keep a few things in a small waterproof pouch, including fuel for fire and some playing cards. I'm now watching while Thatz and Rath play "War" next to a crackling fire. Thatz had tried to incorporate gambling into the game, but I made them stop. Thatz's treasure had been placed in a pile in a part of the cave. I remember that Thatz had had trouble getting something open earlier. Maybe I can get it open. I reach into the bag and pull out the case that had been in the center of the room with the musical instruments. The top of it was gilded with pearl and had exquisite designs on it in gold with pieces of emerald, sapphire, and tiger's eye. There was a silver lock that matched the hinges. It's probably why Thatz couldn't get it open. I look at the tiny silver item keeping it closed and am slightly surprised to hear it click and unlock. I probably shouldn't be by now, since everything from that mansion seems to work for me. I open the case and look inside. I freeze as I see what is sitting on a few sheets of unfinished music.
It is a wooden flute with a thread looped through a small hole in it so it could be hung around someone's neck.
I carefully lift it out of the case and look at it. There are no jewels, no metal, and no decoration of any kind except for a few worn yet still elegant carvings. Thatz glances over at me handling the treasure.
"I'll never be able to sell that thing," he says, sighing as though it is an inconvenient loss. "Oh well. You can keep it if you want. At least the case will be worth something."
"What're you looking at the flute for, Rune?" asks Rath, "It's not that interesting. Do you know how to play it or something?"
"No!" I lie. I am not a very good liar.
Thatz starts laughing. "He can! Rune can play the flute! I'll bet he could've played the harp and a bunch of other stuff back in the Manor! Jeez Rune, I knew you were a girlie-girl, but this is too much!" He falls over laughing and knocks over his pile of cards. Rath is nicer about it… at least he hasn't fallen over laughing.
I can feel my face going red. "Stop! It's not funny!"
"You're right, it's not funny," says Thatz. I blink in surprise, and then he finishes his sentence. "… It's hilarious! Next you'll be reading sappy romance novels and having tea parties!" He continues howling with laughter louder than the wind that is howling outside. I get angry and throw a candlestick at him, but he ignores it and continues laughing. Rath stops laughing soon, but Thatz keeps going. Both Rath and I are getting bored from waiting for Thatz to stop.
"So, can you really play that thing?" asks Rath, pointing at the flute.
"Yeah," I say, and pretend to be very interested in the fire in the hope that the subject will change. I have no such luck.
"Let me hear, then."
I look up at Rath, perplexed. "Nani? What?"
"I wanna hear you play the flute. It'll be better than listening to Thatz laugh for half an hour."
Thatz's laughing lessens enough to say, "Yeah! Play the flute! While you're at it, play 'Mary had a Little Lamb'!" He collapses into another fit of laughter.
I glare at Thatz and pick up one of the incomplete sheets of music. I am going to play the flute, but certainly not "Mary had a Little Lamb". I begin playing the music from the sheet to get the feel of the instrument. I'm soon playing swiftly and masterfully, as if I've played this song a million times before. The sheet leaves off near the middle of the page, but I continue on. The notes seem to come out of nowhere and I somehow know exactly how to make it sound right. I close my eyes and listen to the music as I play it. It reminds me of something… yes, fire and ice. A strange combination, I know, but that's what I think of as I'm playing it. I'm so swept up in the song that it takes me a moment to realize that Thatz has stopped laughing. The thief is waving a hand in front of Rath's face. Rath looks almost like he's spacing out, like he's not really here.
I stop playing. "What the…? Rath?"
Thatz gets one of those 'bright ideas' and grabs the candlestick I threw at him earlier. He whacks Rath over the head with it and yells, "Hey Rath! Dusis to Rath!"
Rath snaps back to reality after that. He takes the candlestick away from Thatz and whacks him with it. "What was that about?" asks Rath, facing me now. He doesn't look too happy.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," I say. I look at the flute in my hands. Rath spaced out after I started playing the flute, so maybe… no, that can't be it. The flute had nothing to do with this. Rath's just being weird, and I'm letting my imagination run away with me.
"Well, if you're both done being weirdoes, can we get back to what we were doing before? Rath, we haven't finished our game of 'War' yet!" says Thatz, putting his cards back in a pile so they could continue.
"Yeah, you're right…" Rath gives me a confused and suspicious look, and then continues playing "War". I let the flute hang from around my neck and watch them, wondering what just happened.
~*~
Thatz: *snore*
Rath: *angry* Hey Rune! What was the deal with that flute?!
Rune: I honestly don't know!
CD: *cries*
Rath: *sweatdrop*
Rune: Jeez, Rath! She's STILL crying because of what you said earlier!
CD: *sniffle* Please Read and Review!