Chapter 1) Hero in The Making



Delita woke up in an unfamiliar surrounding, a very dark room… he felt unusually cold. Luckily, there was a blanket near by… he grabbed it and wrapped it tightly around himself.

"Why Teta?"

Delita kept thinking as he closed his eyes, which were shut so tightly that tears began to slip through them. Suddenly he felt a warm hand on his forehead… he opened his eyes again to see the same girl.

"Good morning…" She smiled crookedly.

Delita stared at her… she was so different from any other girl he'd seen before. Her sweet hazel eyes looking back into his… it was something he'd never felt before. It was an incredible feeling. There was also her adorable smile… and the way her hair hung in her face. She had it in a bun like she did before, with the same little curly hair sticking up from the ponytail.

But then Teta crossed his mind again… he couldn't concentrate on a girl at this point in his life! His sister had just passed away! He'd never noticed any other girl before, what was so special about this one? Delita had confused himself with these thoughts interrupting each other.

"Good morning to you as well" Delita frowned, "How long have I been asleep?" He wondered.

The girl looked up at him, "Three days now…"

"Eh…" Delita was surprised.

"Can I get you something to eat?" The girl offered.

"I don't think I'll be able to eat it… due to the fact my stomach has been ripped open…" The girl squinted at the thought. Delita kicked the blanket off of his self and let it sit on his knees.

"Oh!" She looked at his shirt and giggled, "Would you mind removing that?" She asked.

Delita looked at her, "Uh… why?" He laughed a little as well.

"So I can wash it, silly! What did you think?" She smiled at him.

Delita smiled back at her "Just being a little hopeful" He teased her. Delita unbuttoned his collar, and pulled his arms out of the sleeves. He passed the blood stained cloth to her.

She made eye contact with him, "I forgot to ask you this before… what happened at Fort Zeakden? I've never seen injuries like yours before"

Delita turned his face to his left side, "It's a long story… all I can tell you is my injuries came from a battle, followed by an explosion" Delita paused, "It didn't hurt me as much as her though…" He wiped his eyes. "My sister Teta… she was killed. She spared her own life for mine"

"I… I'm… so sorry" The girl replied.

Delita fell onto his face "Don't worry about it" He rested his head on the girl's lap. She brushed her hand through his hair.

"But I really am…" The two just sat quietly for a moment with no words following hers.

Delita enjoyed the way the girl had begun to stroke her hand through his hair, again and again. "Thanks"

"Kiki!" The two heard the voice of a young boy, "Kiki… di je?"

"I'm sorry, I have to go… Toby calls" She smiled, gently lifting Delita's head off of her lap and onto a pillow. She stood up and covered him with a blanket, "Till then" She walked towards the doorway.

"Wait!" Delita cried.

The girl turned around.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"My name?" She laughed, "Karina Valentine, and yours?" She returned the question.

He smiled happily, "Hyral… Delita Hyral"

"Delita… Hyral?" Karina asked almost in shock.

"Yes… what's wrong?" He worried.

She looked up at him, "Nothing… nothing at all" Karina blushed slightly, "Bye now… Delita" She left like she was in a hurry.

Delita wondered… he was even more confused now than he had been before she had walked in. Oh well… he decided to get some more rest.

Days went on… and each one was similar to this. Delita would nap for almost sixteen hours a day, eat a small meal, and think about his losses during the night.

He was still in despair, and mourned over the loss of his sister. The two had both been orphans after the loss of their parents to the plague… but now they had lost each other. Delita was the only one left… there would be no one to carry on the name, "Hyral" after his death.

Thoughts raced through his mind as usual, by after the two weeks he had been staying with Karina… they had slowed down quite a bit.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, "Yes?" Delita replied covered in his blanket from head to toe.

"May I come in?" He heard Karina's voice.

"Sure" He replied.

Slowly she turned the knob, and made her way in with a smile as usual, "I brought a midnight snack"

Delita stared at her again; easily fascinated… yet he couldn't explain why he felt this way. "Thank you"

Karina passed the bowl of chocolate pudding to him, "Home made, as always" She said proudly. "Try it"

Delita took a spoon full, a grin on his face, "Really good… really, really good"

"I'm glad you like it" Karina frowned… "Hmm…" She seemed to be concentrating deeply on something in her mind.

Delita looked up at her, "What's wrong?" He asked.

She turned her head back towards him, and began to laugh, "Give me a moment" She leaned over to grab a tissue from a box on the coffee table in front of the couch, that they were seated on. Karina leaned over and wiped Delita's lips, "You're a really messy eater, you know that?" She giggled.

He felt nervous having her so close, "Only when it comes to eating any item made of Chocolate… I think I'm an addict," He said, trying to avoid thinking about the distance between them, and not blushing.

"Ooh… so while I was gone, my sister decided to get a boyfriend!" Karina backed away, as did Delita.

"Stop it Daniel" Karina demanded, she spoke to a boy about Delita's own age. Karina had the same dirty blond colored hair, as did the boy.

"Dude!!" Daniel yelled, "That's a pretty nasty looking scar!" He pointed out.

Delita turned to look for a mirror, "Don't be a jerk!" Karina tried to make him stop. "Bah!" She dragged Daniel out of the room by the sleeve of his wizard's robe, and began lecturing him.

"Hey Karina!" Delita heard another voice, as Daniel and his sister came back into the room.

"So many people…" Delita mumbled.

"Lance!" Karina turned to hug a very blond boy, about five years older than herself, and two years older than Delita.

Not being able to control himself, Delita began to blush. Daniel caught eye of this… "Are you jealous?" He asked. "It's only her brother, you know"

"What did I do to you?" Delita growled.

"Nothing… I just don't like you" Daniel grinned happily and left the room.

Karina turned to look at Delita, "I'm sorry, silly me… These are my brothers, Daniel, the rude one, and Lance, the knight!" She said excitedly.

"Nice to meet you" Lance greeted Delita.

"You too…" Delita noticed Daniel making strange facing at him from the hallway…

Lance looked over at Daniel, and then Delita, "So, boy… what's your duty?" He asked.

Delita choked slightly, "Squire…" He mumbled, feeling a bit ashamed of his self as he was in the presence of a knight. "I was attending a school in Igros though…"

Lance sat beside Delita, "Hey! Don't worry, kid!" He patted Delita on the back, though very roughly, "We all start off as a squire or a chemist… but when you master it… those skills can lead to other great things! Such as becoming a knight… a famous warrior… or even a general!"

"Dinner's on the table you too! If you don't go now, it'll get cold" Karina said, with a smile in her voice. Within seconds… her two brothers were gone. Karina turned around to Delita; "You'd better get some more rest… would you like to go out to town tomorrow?" She asked.

"Love to…" Delita imagined being outdoors… with people, which he had not encountered many of within these last few weeks. "But wait, there's uh…" Delita began to grow nervous as she began to come back to him, Delita turned to face her as she sat beside him. He moved closer towards her face, until his nose touched hers, "Do you mind if I kiss you?" He closed his eyes, feeling the exact opposite of nervous. Delita felt more comfortable at this moment than he had ever been in the entirety of his life.

"Well, I…" Delita placed a hand on her shoulder and moved it up to her cheek as the two locked lips for about a minute.

Karina pushed him back, and turned her head as far as possible, in the opposite direction of Delita.

"What's wrong?"

Karina smiled a bright pink, "First time"

"Mine too" Delita moved onto her again.

Karina backed away, watching him fall off the couch, "Are you okay?" She panicked.

Delita rubbed his head, "Ya… I think"

"I'm kind of tired… So, Good night now" Karina smiled sweetly and exited as quickly as possible.

"Night" Delita tried to hide his blush, by smiling back…

The next morning, Delita awoke bright and early. He kicked off his blanket and extended his arms, stretching them. He was quite eager to get onto the town, as Karina had promised him.

Delita walked to the door, and then down the stairs… he heard a girl scream, and began to move more quickly.



"Karina!" Delita cried, as he saw he on her knees bleeding on the ground… a knife jammed into her heart. "Can you breathe?" He panicked feeling sickened by the bloody mess all over the ground he kneeled on.

"Get out… Get out!" Karina yelled.

"But… Why, Karina?" He asked.

"They'll get you too!" She cried and dropped to her hands.

Delita didn't want to leave… "Who?"

"Delita!"

He froze… shocked by the way she had just yelled at him "I'm sorry! I can't leave until I know you're…"

"I'm sorry too," Another girl said softly. She had long blond hair, and wore a green priestess's outfit.

He felt himself choking… someone behind him covered his mouth with a cloth. Suffocating him… till he lay on the ground unconcious. "Delita!" Was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.