-Chapter 13-
"This is getting us nowhere!!" Val yelled at the top of his lungs. It had been three days since they left the cottage to go find Filia but it seemed that all they were doing was walking in circles.
Val was becoming impatient. 'I swear we passed that same tree eight times already.' He thought to himself. Val didn't question Jillas and Gravos when they said they knew the lay of the land and that their tracking skills were second to none, but he was starting to wonder if that was all just in their heads.
"Don't worry Master Val, me and the boss know what we're doing." Jillas said who was walking beside him. Gravos went a bit further ahead of them to get a better look-see.
"I hope so Jillas. For Filia's sake I hope so." Val said feeling a wave of sadness as he remembered the last time he saw her, how horrible he was to her. Val was greatly ashamed of himself for the way he treated her and cursed himself for leaving her alone.
'If only I had just been there! I should have protected her! People are supposed to protect the ones they love.' Val berated himself over and over again.
Jillas must have noticed Val's anguish and patted him on the shoulder. Val looked at him, one of his best friends in the entire world, and wanted to start crying. Jillas gave him a reassuring smile and said, "Please Master Val, there's no sense in blaming yourself. That won't help Onee-chan at all."
Val nodded his agreement. He had to admit it but for a dimwit of a fox man Jillas did know the right thing to say to make someone feel better. 'He's right. I need to concentrate on finding Filia. Once I have her back home and know that she is safe then I can go back on my guilt-trip.' Val started to pick up the pace passing Jillas up and started to gain on Gravos up ahead. Jillas startled by his young master's sudden determination began to run to catch up to him and the boss. Gravos was shocked to see both Val and Jillas run past him. "Um pardon me Master Val but you are going in the wrong direction!" he yelled after them.
Hearing that, Val gave an abrupt stop, which caused Jillas to crash into him. They both fell over and landed in a heap of arms and legs. Gravos walked up to them and started to bust out laughing. Val let out a growl and said, "Gravos this is not funny!" while Jillas asked Gravos for a hand. Gravos leaned down to help them but Jillas brought Gravos tumbling down as revenge for laughing at their predicament. They were now just one big pile and after a few moments they all started to laugh together. Val loved moments like this. The three of them were closer than most brothers and they always made him feel better.
After they finally got out of that mess, they started on their journey once again. They managed to get a good day's worth of walking in and it was soon after dusk that they decided to rest for the night. Val offered to guard the first watch since he didn't feel the need to sleep yet. He was still thinking of Filia and how he wished he could turn back time. 'She will never forgive me. Even if I save her, she will still hate me for how I treated her.' He thought to himself.
A brush of cold swept over Val's body and he shuddered. It was not the time of the year for it to be that cold so what was it? This was happening every now and then but it was not the only thing that had Val worried. He also been having these flashes, and he couldn't determine what they were exactly. Everything would be just fine, and then he got a sudden pain in his head. It wasn't excruciating painful, just enough to make him stop whatever he was doing, and then these images would fly across his mind but they ended as soon as they appeared. They didn't last long enough for him to make them out. It had been like that for a while during their search. The farther from home they got the more frequent the flashes became, or was it because they were getting close to something? Val didn't ask Jillas or Gravos because he knew they would worry and he didn't need them to turn into nursemaids now.
Val gave out a small yawn and gave a start when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Gravos snickering at him. "With your keen alertness, it's a wonder we haven't been ambushed yet." He said with a grin. Val wasn't amused and gave a huff of annoyance. Gravos sat down next to him poking at the fire that was almost out. He didn't say anything for a while, which Val was glad for, and the two of them sat in silence for some time. Just as Val was about to stand up and go to sleep, Gravos spoke up. "Sit down, talk for a while." He said. Val debated on whether he should but figured he might as well and sat back down.
At first Gravos didn't say anything as if he were thinking of something. "I'd like to tell you a story." He said.
Val became irritated. "I don't have time for one of your bedtime fairy tales Gravos." Val said and got up to leave again.
"SIT DOWN!" Gravos yelled. Val turned around, shocked that his servant and friend would speak to him in such a way. One look from Gravos told Val that if he knew what was good for him, he'd sit down. He did and waited patiently for Gravos to continue. Gravos seemed to gain his calm demeanor again as if he never yelled at Val in the first place.
"A long time ago I lived in a village that was filled with probably hundreds of my kind. It was a simple life but as expected it came with its own hardships, we usually didn't have much to eat since we didn't know a thing about agriculture. The things we were good at were forging and mining and that's how most of us made our living by trading with local merchants. We made our lives work for us, not against us. One day I realized that I had fallen in love with one of the local maidens in my village. She was quiet, very kind, most people never noticed her because she liked to keep to herself. I was afraid to get close to her mainly because I felt like she was out of my league and would call me a fool if I told her. The majority of my days were filled with thoughts of her and it ended up that I couldn't take anymore of it. I would have rather tell her how I felt and be rejected, than to live a life without ever knowing just how she felt… good or bad. So the very next day I went and forged her a bracelet as a token of my love for her. When I went to give it to her I froze up; it felt like I lost the ability to speak. As I went to leave, my village had started to be attacked by human raiders. I tried to protect her but it was no use. She, and everyone else, was killed that day. That was the day when I lost this," he pointed to his eye. "So I never did find out if she felt the same or not, and I regret it every single day."
Gravos then took out a small leather pouch from one of his pockets. He stared at it for a moment, holding it in his giant claws, then handed it to Val. Val stared at Gravos for a minute, and then untied the pouch to see what its contents were. His eyes widened slightly as he gently took out a small gold bracelet. It was a simple woven band that had two hearts merging into one and it glittered brightly in the light of the fire. Val looked up at Gravos his face questioning.
Gravos gave a tired smile. "When we rescue Filia, and we will rescue her, I want you to give that to her and tell her how you feel. Don't be a fool like I was Val; don't be afraid to tell the woman you love how you feel. You'll end up regretting it forever."
Val stood up carefully pocketing the bracelet after he put it back into its pouch. His face had a new look of firm resolve.
"I will Gravos… and thank you!"
To be continued...
A/N: Well did you guys like or not like? I always thought Gravos needed more attention someway or somehow. I want to thank all the lovely reviewers out there who are so kind with their comments. I'm glad you guys like this and are patient enough to wait till I get around to posting more chapters. I apologize to all the Xellos lovers out there but I'm glad you like how I portray him. I always thought when it came to Xellos and relationships he would never be serious about them and most likely use the girl(or guy ^_^) as his plaything. Word of caution though, Xellos will become even worse as the chapters go by. Also thanks for some of the ideas that you've been giving me. I really appreciate the help. Please r&r!!
"This is getting us nowhere!!" Val yelled at the top of his lungs. It had been three days since they left the cottage to go find Filia but it seemed that all they were doing was walking in circles.
Val was becoming impatient. 'I swear we passed that same tree eight times already.' He thought to himself. Val didn't question Jillas and Gravos when they said they knew the lay of the land and that their tracking skills were second to none, but he was starting to wonder if that was all just in their heads.
"Don't worry Master Val, me and the boss know what we're doing." Jillas said who was walking beside him. Gravos went a bit further ahead of them to get a better look-see.
"I hope so Jillas. For Filia's sake I hope so." Val said feeling a wave of sadness as he remembered the last time he saw her, how horrible he was to her. Val was greatly ashamed of himself for the way he treated her and cursed himself for leaving her alone.
'If only I had just been there! I should have protected her! People are supposed to protect the ones they love.' Val berated himself over and over again.
Jillas must have noticed Val's anguish and patted him on the shoulder. Val looked at him, one of his best friends in the entire world, and wanted to start crying. Jillas gave him a reassuring smile and said, "Please Master Val, there's no sense in blaming yourself. That won't help Onee-chan at all."
Val nodded his agreement. He had to admit it but for a dimwit of a fox man Jillas did know the right thing to say to make someone feel better. 'He's right. I need to concentrate on finding Filia. Once I have her back home and know that she is safe then I can go back on my guilt-trip.' Val started to pick up the pace passing Jillas up and started to gain on Gravos up ahead. Jillas startled by his young master's sudden determination began to run to catch up to him and the boss. Gravos was shocked to see both Val and Jillas run past him. "Um pardon me Master Val but you are going in the wrong direction!" he yelled after them.
Hearing that, Val gave an abrupt stop, which caused Jillas to crash into him. They both fell over and landed in a heap of arms and legs. Gravos walked up to them and started to bust out laughing. Val let out a growl and said, "Gravos this is not funny!" while Jillas asked Gravos for a hand. Gravos leaned down to help them but Jillas brought Gravos tumbling down as revenge for laughing at their predicament. They were now just one big pile and after a few moments they all started to laugh together. Val loved moments like this. The three of them were closer than most brothers and they always made him feel better.
After they finally got out of that mess, they started on their journey once again. They managed to get a good day's worth of walking in and it was soon after dusk that they decided to rest for the night. Val offered to guard the first watch since he didn't feel the need to sleep yet. He was still thinking of Filia and how he wished he could turn back time. 'She will never forgive me. Even if I save her, she will still hate me for how I treated her.' He thought to himself.
A brush of cold swept over Val's body and he shuddered. It was not the time of the year for it to be that cold so what was it? This was happening every now and then but it was not the only thing that had Val worried. He also been having these flashes, and he couldn't determine what they were exactly. Everything would be just fine, and then he got a sudden pain in his head. It wasn't excruciating painful, just enough to make him stop whatever he was doing, and then these images would fly across his mind but they ended as soon as they appeared. They didn't last long enough for him to make them out. It had been like that for a while during their search. The farther from home they got the more frequent the flashes became, or was it because they were getting close to something? Val didn't ask Jillas or Gravos because he knew they would worry and he didn't need them to turn into nursemaids now.
Val gave out a small yawn and gave a start when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Gravos snickering at him. "With your keen alertness, it's a wonder we haven't been ambushed yet." He said with a grin. Val wasn't amused and gave a huff of annoyance. Gravos sat down next to him poking at the fire that was almost out. He didn't say anything for a while, which Val was glad for, and the two of them sat in silence for some time. Just as Val was about to stand up and go to sleep, Gravos spoke up. "Sit down, talk for a while." He said. Val debated on whether he should but figured he might as well and sat back down.
At first Gravos didn't say anything as if he were thinking of something. "I'd like to tell you a story." He said.
Val became irritated. "I don't have time for one of your bedtime fairy tales Gravos." Val said and got up to leave again.
"SIT DOWN!" Gravos yelled. Val turned around, shocked that his servant and friend would speak to him in such a way. One look from Gravos told Val that if he knew what was good for him, he'd sit down. He did and waited patiently for Gravos to continue. Gravos seemed to gain his calm demeanor again as if he never yelled at Val in the first place.
"A long time ago I lived in a village that was filled with probably hundreds of my kind. It was a simple life but as expected it came with its own hardships, we usually didn't have much to eat since we didn't know a thing about agriculture. The things we were good at were forging and mining and that's how most of us made our living by trading with local merchants. We made our lives work for us, not against us. One day I realized that I had fallen in love with one of the local maidens in my village. She was quiet, very kind, most people never noticed her because she liked to keep to herself. I was afraid to get close to her mainly because I felt like she was out of my league and would call me a fool if I told her. The majority of my days were filled with thoughts of her and it ended up that I couldn't take anymore of it. I would have rather tell her how I felt and be rejected, than to live a life without ever knowing just how she felt… good or bad. So the very next day I went and forged her a bracelet as a token of my love for her. When I went to give it to her I froze up; it felt like I lost the ability to speak. As I went to leave, my village had started to be attacked by human raiders. I tried to protect her but it was no use. She, and everyone else, was killed that day. That was the day when I lost this," he pointed to his eye. "So I never did find out if she felt the same or not, and I regret it every single day."
Gravos then took out a small leather pouch from one of his pockets. He stared at it for a moment, holding it in his giant claws, then handed it to Val. Val stared at Gravos for a minute, and then untied the pouch to see what its contents were. His eyes widened slightly as he gently took out a small gold bracelet. It was a simple woven band that had two hearts merging into one and it glittered brightly in the light of the fire. Val looked up at Gravos his face questioning.
Gravos gave a tired smile. "When we rescue Filia, and we will rescue her, I want you to give that to her and tell her how you feel. Don't be a fool like I was Val; don't be afraid to tell the woman you love how you feel. You'll end up regretting it forever."
Val stood up carefully pocketing the bracelet after he put it back into its pouch. His face had a new look of firm resolve.
"I will Gravos… and thank you!"
To be continued...
A/N: Well did you guys like or not like? I always thought Gravos needed more attention someway or somehow. I want to thank all the lovely reviewers out there who are so kind with their comments. I'm glad you guys like this and are patient enough to wait till I get around to posting more chapters. I apologize to all the Xellos lovers out there but I'm glad you like how I portray him. I always thought when it came to Xellos and relationships he would never be serious about them and most likely use the girl(or guy ^_^) as his plaything. Word of caution though, Xellos will become even worse as the chapters go by. Also thanks for some of the ideas that you've been giving me. I really appreciate the help. Please r&r!!
