As Allen's brain registered what he had just seen, he jumped to his feet.
'Shall I take the chance?' he paused. "Stop!" he roared, "Slow down and ready Sherzade"
"Sir?" Gaddes asked, confused.
"I'm going into the forest," Allen replied.
"Aye sir!"
The guymelef was quickly prepared, and Allen took a running jump into it and was released from the hatch. As he plummeted, Allen searched for another flash. He saw it straight ahead. As he hit the ground in a clearing, he opened the hatch and hopped down. He began to sprint headlong through this forest, passing clearings and narrowly missing branches, while the undergrowth dragged at his legs and hair. All the time watching for that strange flashing light that almost blinded him through gaps in the trees. He was extremely close and his sense of urgency was increasing more with each labored step. He finally came upon it in a small clearing. He stood doubled over, chest heaving and muscles burning.
As his breath returned, he looked up to see a statue. Sky blue gems on it were reflecting the daylight everywhere in dazzling brightness. The shimmering radiance of these gems was mirrored in Allen's eyes. 'These must have fallen from the gods…' he thought. He walked up closer to the statue and examined it carefully. It was a beautiful woman. He circled around it, studying the statue intently. She seemed to be running and she looked frightened.
"Amazing… it looks as though she might run right from the stone," he murmured, "so very… life-like…," he reached up and touched her face. He stood back and studied the statue.
Her hair was long, and fell to her thighs. It was tied back high on the back of her head and silver circlet curled around the back of her head, a shimmering blue stone set in the center of it. She wore two armbands that were also of silver, and imbedded in the center of those were two of the same stones, only larger. She seemed to be wearing some sort of breastplate that tied in the front, leaving a space in the middle. She was wearing a long piece of fabric that coiled around both arms and across her back. On her hands were gloves that cut off at the knuckle and tied crisscrossed almost to her elbow. There was a skirt that looked like it slit on both sides all the way up to the top. On her feet were boots that came up just below the knee, and tied crisscrossed on the sides. A long staff was strapped across her back.
Allen admired her a great deal. He wished she were not stone. He wondered why no thieves had taken the stones or silver.
"I must and will visit you more often…" Allen whispered. He walked up and slowly drew near her. His face was inches from the statue…
"Boss?!" shouted Gaddes as he stumbled through the forest in search of his commander.
Allen blushed deeply as he pulled away. He shook his head 'What got into me?'
"I'm here Gaddes," said Allen as he quickly ran from the clearing.
"We've been looking for you for hours, Boss. The boys thought you'd been attacked."
"No, I'm all in one piece."
"What were you doing?" asked Gaddes incredulously as he looked around, "how can you spend so long in a forest!"
Allen sighed. "I was…hiking." At this Gaddes raised a brow skeptically. "Never mind," said Allen exasperated. "Gaddes, did you pass through that large clearing on your way here?"
"Indeed I did, sir," said Gaddes, "Did you want us to make a camp there?"
"Yes Gaddes. As soon as possible."
A/N: because many people have assumed that this is an Allen story, I feel like I should tell you that it is not.