Story: Leverage
Author: spadetje
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or places. Tales of Destiny is Namco's.
A/N: This is just some story I thought about off the top of my head...there wasn't any about Chelsea really, so I have one in Chelsea and Leon's perspective. She may be a bit OOC, but oh well. Thank you to my two reviewers :)
-Leverage-
Phandaria (Chapter 1) – Chelsea
Chelsea Torn sung quietly to herself as she threw in the ingredients to the Beastmeat stew she was cooking for supper. She picked up a slab of cut up meat and tossed it into the boiling pot. Beast meat was common in the woods of Phandaria, so the residents of the cold country cooked Beastmeat stew often. She stirred the boiling pot of water and meat and felt the delicious aroma of the stew fill the kitchen. She was only fourteen, but she knew how to make a mean meal, since she'd been doing it all her life to help her grandfather out.
She liked where she lived, even if she had to cater her old grandpa all the time. She enjoyed the forest and remote location. It allowed her to practice her archery and the solitude was satisfying—perhaps a bit lonely, though. Chelsea had a few friends, the kids her age from Janos, but she'd always have to travel so far to meet them. She hated traveling far into the woods, often she'd get lost. The young archer was not entirely alone at home anyway; she had her grandfather and Garr...
She stopped humming and smiled when she thought of Garr—so incomparably perfect. Garr Kelvin, the son of King Sark Kelvin, acted as Chelsea's older brother…a fact that the girl resented, but also valued. Chelsea wondered when he would come home from the outside. She didn't know exactly where he was, but she imagined he was either visiting Janos or out hunting.
She glanced out the window to her right, and watched the snow fall for a few seconds. It was so white, so pure, falling from the gray sky. She remembered a few years ago, one night she had left the cabin and went outside to stare up at the night sky. The snow was falling that night too, and she'd loved the colors…the gray, black and white mixing together. It reminded her of a picture she'd drawn, of the same scenario. She loved to draw, but couldn't find a lot of time to do so.
Sprinkling on the final spices, Chelsea suddenly heard a loud crash from another room. She immediately stopped spicing, and hurried in to see what the ruckus was about. She entered the living room beside Garr's room and saw her grandfather Alba standing in a mixed pile of different bows, arrows and other archery material. He had the cleaning cloth in his hand, so Chelsea imagined he was in the middle of polishing and cleaning the weaponry.
"Well, they fell." Alba stated obviously, looking around in what seemed to be honest shock, as if he had nothing to do with it.
Chelsea signed inward and realized she would be the one cleaning up the mess. "Yes, I guess we had better clean this up before supper."
She began cleaning, as Alba wandered off into another room of the house. She picked up the first bow, and the feeling of nostalgia came over her. It was a wood colored Flatbow, a very efficient and standard design, with a simple string tied at each end in a plaited loop to keep it secure and easy to pull back. It was large, and crafted well since it had served as her first real bow, for many years. She remembered how young she was when she had started archery.
Looking around for the arrows that went with the bow, she saw sadly that they had been knocked over and spilled out on the floor. But they were Alba's famous arrows, the long and skillfully designed. They were recognized as her grandfather's because of the famous black feather fletching.
She recalled her young childhood while she cleaned, remembering all the times she had gone with her grandfather to Janos, a small town at the edge of their country, and Heidelberg, the capital of Phandaria, to get more supplies. Alba was very respected as an archer, as well as herself. Even at the young age of six, she had already mastered her beginner's bow. They would go through the forever snowing cities and towns, selling their arrows and bows, and buying more feathers and such to create more archery weapons. And after they had gotten back to the cottage, they would go out in the woods with Garr and practice, and practice.
The young girl smiled as she remembered when Garr Kelvin had come to her cottage. He'd only been fifteen—herself, seven—but asked for lessons on archery and ended up living with them out of convenience. He was the Prince of Phandaria, the eldest son of King Sark Kelvin, but his royalty played a small role on how he fit in with society. He acted as if he were another common citizen. When he came must have been about eight years ago, at least. Now he was like one of the family.
Chelsea heard the wooden door of the cabin open and close, the noise snapping her out of her memory. She had just finished picking up the last arrow when someone entered the living room. She looked over too see a flash of silver as Garr nodded to her and hung up his bow. She could not say anything, but he turned to her to ask a question. All she could see was his deep blue eyes and tanned skin...it was strange, since it was so cold in Phandaria.
"What happened to Master Alba?" Garr asked, his question pulling her out of her strange daze. He had been living with them for a long time, yet he insisted on calling her grandfather Master.
She blinked hard. "Uh? Oh...well, he knocked over some archery...I had to clean it up." She replied, waving a hand to the newly organized shelves of bows and arrows.
Garr nodded, and then grinned as he made a notion toward the kitchen. "That smells good. Another one of your famous Beastmeat Stews, hey? I caught a couple of beasts on my way back. I stored them in the shed, like always."
They left the living room and walked to the kitchen as Garr spoke. He would usually hunt the meat of the night and bring it home for Chelsea to cook. They'd been doing that for years. "Speaking of which," Chelsea brought up, "we're low on meat right now. Perhaps after supper we should go out hunting..."
As they walked into the kitchen Chelsea still felt the gust of cold wind that Garr had brought in with him when he'd come home. He noticed her shiver and threw a couple pieces of firewood on the blazing fire in the corner. Chelsea served out the stew, leaving some for her grandfather, and the two ate casually as Garr talked idly about his day in Janos. It was another relatively boring night.
When they were satisfied, Chelsea went to her room on the left and retrieved her new bow, one she was very proud of. She still used the Flatbow design since she found it very efficient, and prepared plenty of arrows in her quiver. Her bow, she figured, was her closest friend. On days when she was sad, or angry, she would run into her room, slamming the door and talk to her bow. She'd never admit that to anyone, but found her bow's silent response comforting. She walked into the kitchen to find Garr already set to go.
They left the cabin, and headed north where they usually had more luck. They trekked through the thick snow, avoiding pits and animal nests, to make it to their usual hunting area. It was a good spot, since there was a small river running through an open area where the deer and beasts liked to get a drink of clear mountain water, and all along the sides were great places to snipe from.
She took her usual spot opposing Garr on the other side of the river. They had only been there a few minutes when they seen the first prey, a beefy looking dog-like beast. It was taking a sip from the river, like most of their prey did.
Chelsea looked up to see Garr giving her the okay signal, and in which they both locked onto their target, aiming with each bow. Garr fired the first shot, nailing the victim in the upper arm. She heard the creature scream as the snow around it turned a shade of red. Chelsea followed with her partner's shot, hitting the beast in the back. It fell, and she watched Garr run out with his dagger to finish off the beast.
"That was quick and easy," she heard the man mutter as he stabbed the dagger into the beast, killing it instantly.
After he had killed the animal, the younger archer came out from her spot to help assist Garr take the carcass back to the cabin, where she would prepare it. They returned, and placed the to-be meal on the kitchen countertop, where the girl could prepare it for the ice shed properly.
As she continued her usual task, they heard Alba call from the living room for only Garr. He excused himself and left in the direction of the elder man's main room. Chelsea found it strange that Alba would not come in the kitchen to talk, since he usually included Chelsea in just about anything the two men talked about. But, she did not eavesdrop since she knew it was probably none of her business.
So she continued with the preparation of the meal. As she silently thought while sprinkling salt, she heard Alba and Garr enter the kitchen and sit at the table.
"Chelsea?" her grandfather asked.
She turned around. "Yes, grandpa?" she found it strange that they were both carrying solemn faces, when usually they had an amusing smile with them, over anything.
"You must come here."
So, Chelsea complied and sat in the chair between the two men. "Yes?" She asked, somewhat confused. She pulled at her red, messy hair.
Alba hesitated for a second, looking at his granddaughter. Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out a chain with a charm at the end, which looked like a clear crystal, but it was only the size of a marble. It was very pretty, and she felt the need to stare at it, and hold it in her hands, as hers...
Still keeping her eyes on the necklace, she asked her grandfather, "What is that?"
"Well, it is lens energy compacted into a small charm," Garr answered for Alba. Lens... the energy source for the world. "A lot of lens energy...comparable to the Eye of Atamoni. Something like a paradox, if you look at the size of this amulet." Garr picked up the small charm and looked at it sadly.
Chelsea looked at her two elders in curiosity, "Well, what are you going to do with it?"
Alba set the amulet on the table and slid it over to Chelsea. "I need you to keep this safe. I know it is extremely dangerous, but we cannot let it fall into the hands of Dyre Langer..." the old man looked away. "He has been looking for this for a long time, and I know that man is evil."
The young girl looked at Garr and Alba, "Who is Dyre Langer?"
"A nutcase." The Prince replied. "He's of some high rank in the Seinegald Army, and lives in Darilsheid. I met him a few times before, and I've had a bad experience with him and that amulet. He suspects I have something to do with its location..."
Chelsea nodded slowly, thinking if she remembered the name. She could not. "So all I have to do is keep it? That's no problem! But why can't you or Garr carry it?"
"I would have given it to Garr, but since he is the eldest son of King Sark, and from his past experience with Langer I have reason to believe they will go after him once they realize that I do not have it. They know someone in Phandaria owns possession, and they will eventually find their way to me. They would not suspect you." Alba explained. "But if Langer ever gained control of this, there would be chaos."
Chelsea thought about the situation. "What if they find me?" she asked nervously.
"They won't," Garr confirmed confidently, "and if they ever did, I would protect you."
Her eyes hit the floor and she blushed, mumbling a thank you. Usually Garr's comments like this had no effect on Chelsea, but lately it was different. She knew he meant it in all platonic sense, and she also knew that he was about nine years older than her, but it still made her flush.
"I...don't think it would be wise to use up the life of the Prince of Phandaria over me, you know. I could take on the enemies with my Flatbow!" She looked up and saw that Garr and Alba were giving each other a knowing look.
Alba gently put the powerful necklace over the youth's head. "I wouldn't worry about it anyway. Once you have this on you, it has a protecting 'spell' over it. If anyone but you tries to take it off, they will be killed." As Alba placed the amulet around her neck, the young archer felt a strange feeling go through her whole body, almost like a shock. She gasped, but then felt fine again. She picked up the glowing charm, and realized it really was very small despite it's amazing powers.
"What else can it do?" She asked incredulously staring through it with her bright green eyes, seeing the cabin in a warped vision.
"Many things...I wouldn't explain them, since you won't have to use them anyway." Garr stood up and walked over to the boiling stew. "But you must keep this away from Langer at all costs!"
Chelsea looked over at the Prince of Phandaria and nodded. "I will, Garr..."
Author: spadetje
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or places. Tales of Destiny is Namco's.
A/N: This is just some story I thought about off the top of my head...there wasn't any about Chelsea really, so I have one in Chelsea and Leon's perspective. She may be a bit OOC, but oh well. Thank you to my two reviewers :)
Phandaria (Chapter 1) – Chelsea
Chelsea Torn sung quietly to herself as she threw in the ingredients to the Beastmeat stew she was cooking for supper. She picked up a slab of cut up meat and tossed it into the boiling pot. Beast meat was common in the woods of Phandaria, so the residents of the cold country cooked Beastmeat stew often. She stirred the boiling pot of water and meat and felt the delicious aroma of the stew fill the kitchen. She was only fourteen, but she knew how to make a mean meal, since she'd been doing it all her life to help her grandfather out.
She liked where she lived, even if she had to cater her old grandpa all the time. She enjoyed the forest and remote location. It allowed her to practice her archery and the solitude was satisfying—perhaps a bit lonely, though. Chelsea had a few friends, the kids her age from Janos, but she'd always have to travel so far to meet them. She hated traveling far into the woods, often she'd get lost. The young archer was not entirely alone at home anyway; she had her grandfather and Garr...
She stopped humming and smiled when she thought of Garr—so incomparably perfect. Garr Kelvin, the son of King Sark Kelvin, acted as Chelsea's older brother…a fact that the girl resented, but also valued. Chelsea wondered when he would come home from the outside. She didn't know exactly where he was, but she imagined he was either visiting Janos or out hunting.
She glanced out the window to her right, and watched the snow fall for a few seconds. It was so white, so pure, falling from the gray sky. She remembered a few years ago, one night she had left the cabin and went outside to stare up at the night sky. The snow was falling that night too, and she'd loved the colors…the gray, black and white mixing together. It reminded her of a picture she'd drawn, of the same scenario. She loved to draw, but couldn't find a lot of time to do so.
Sprinkling on the final spices, Chelsea suddenly heard a loud crash from another room. She immediately stopped spicing, and hurried in to see what the ruckus was about. She entered the living room beside Garr's room and saw her grandfather Alba standing in a mixed pile of different bows, arrows and other archery material. He had the cleaning cloth in his hand, so Chelsea imagined he was in the middle of polishing and cleaning the weaponry.
"Well, they fell." Alba stated obviously, looking around in what seemed to be honest shock, as if he had nothing to do with it.
Chelsea signed inward and realized she would be the one cleaning up the mess. "Yes, I guess we had better clean this up before supper."
She began cleaning, as Alba wandered off into another room of the house. She picked up the first bow, and the feeling of nostalgia came over her. It was a wood colored Flatbow, a very efficient and standard design, with a simple string tied at each end in a plaited loop to keep it secure and easy to pull back. It was large, and crafted well since it had served as her first real bow, for many years. She remembered how young she was when she had started archery.
Looking around for the arrows that went with the bow, she saw sadly that they had been knocked over and spilled out on the floor. But they were Alba's famous arrows, the long and skillfully designed. They were recognized as her grandfather's because of the famous black feather fletching.
She recalled her young childhood while she cleaned, remembering all the times she had gone with her grandfather to Janos, a small town at the edge of their country, and Heidelberg, the capital of Phandaria, to get more supplies. Alba was very respected as an archer, as well as herself. Even at the young age of six, she had already mastered her beginner's bow. They would go through the forever snowing cities and towns, selling their arrows and bows, and buying more feathers and such to create more archery weapons. And after they had gotten back to the cottage, they would go out in the woods with Garr and practice, and practice.
The young girl smiled as she remembered when Garr Kelvin had come to her cottage. He'd only been fifteen—herself, seven—but asked for lessons on archery and ended up living with them out of convenience. He was the Prince of Phandaria, the eldest son of King Sark Kelvin, but his royalty played a small role on how he fit in with society. He acted as if he were another common citizen. When he came must have been about eight years ago, at least. Now he was like one of the family.
Chelsea heard the wooden door of the cabin open and close, the noise snapping her out of her memory. She had just finished picking up the last arrow when someone entered the living room. She looked over too see a flash of silver as Garr nodded to her and hung up his bow. She could not say anything, but he turned to her to ask a question. All she could see was his deep blue eyes and tanned skin...it was strange, since it was so cold in Phandaria.
"What happened to Master Alba?" Garr asked, his question pulling her out of her strange daze. He had been living with them for a long time, yet he insisted on calling her grandfather Master.
She blinked hard. "Uh? Oh...well, he knocked over some archery...I had to clean it up." She replied, waving a hand to the newly organized shelves of bows and arrows.
Garr nodded, and then grinned as he made a notion toward the kitchen. "That smells good. Another one of your famous Beastmeat Stews, hey? I caught a couple of beasts on my way back. I stored them in the shed, like always."
They left the living room and walked to the kitchen as Garr spoke. He would usually hunt the meat of the night and bring it home for Chelsea to cook. They'd been doing that for years. "Speaking of which," Chelsea brought up, "we're low on meat right now. Perhaps after supper we should go out hunting..."
As they walked into the kitchen Chelsea still felt the gust of cold wind that Garr had brought in with him when he'd come home. He noticed her shiver and threw a couple pieces of firewood on the blazing fire in the corner. Chelsea served out the stew, leaving some for her grandfather, and the two ate casually as Garr talked idly about his day in Janos. It was another relatively boring night.
When they were satisfied, Chelsea went to her room on the left and retrieved her new bow, one she was very proud of. She still used the Flatbow design since she found it very efficient, and prepared plenty of arrows in her quiver. Her bow, she figured, was her closest friend. On days when she was sad, or angry, she would run into her room, slamming the door and talk to her bow. She'd never admit that to anyone, but found her bow's silent response comforting. She walked into the kitchen to find Garr already set to go.
They left the cabin, and headed north where they usually had more luck. They trekked through the thick snow, avoiding pits and animal nests, to make it to their usual hunting area. It was a good spot, since there was a small river running through an open area where the deer and beasts liked to get a drink of clear mountain water, and all along the sides were great places to snipe from.
She took her usual spot opposing Garr on the other side of the river. They had only been there a few minutes when they seen the first prey, a beefy looking dog-like beast. It was taking a sip from the river, like most of their prey did.
Chelsea looked up to see Garr giving her the okay signal, and in which they both locked onto their target, aiming with each bow. Garr fired the first shot, nailing the victim in the upper arm. She heard the creature scream as the snow around it turned a shade of red. Chelsea followed with her partner's shot, hitting the beast in the back. It fell, and she watched Garr run out with his dagger to finish off the beast.
"That was quick and easy," she heard the man mutter as he stabbed the dagger into the beast, killing it instantly.
After he had killed the animal, the younger archer came out from her spot to help assist Garr take the carcass back to the cabin, where she would prepare it. They returned, and placed the to-be meal on the kitchen countertop, where the girl could prepare it for the ice shed properly.
As she continued her usual task, they heard Alba call from the living room for only Garr. He excused himself and left in the direction of the elder man's main room. Chelsea found it strange that Alba would not come in the kitchen to talk, since he usually included Chelsea in just about anything the two men talked about. But, she did not eavesdrop since she knew it was probably none of her business.
So she continued with the preparation of the meal. As she silently thought while sprinkling salt, she heard Alba and Garr enter the kitchen and sit at the table.
"Chelsea?" her grandfather asked.
She turned around. "Yes, grandpa?" she found it strange that they were both carrying solemn faces, when usually they had an amusing smile with them, over anything.
"You must come here."
So, Chelsea complied and sat in the chair between the two men. "Yes?" She asked, somewhat confused. She pulled at her red, messy hair.
Alba hesitated for a second, looking at his granddaughter. Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out a chain with a charm at the end, which looked like a clear crystal, but it was only the size of a marble. It was very pretty, and she felt the need to stare at it, and hold it in her hands, as hers...
Still keeping her eyes on the necklace, she asked her grandfather, "What is that?"
"Well, it is lens energy compacted into a small charm," Garr answered for Alba. Lens... the energy source for the world. "A lot of lens energy...comparable to the Eye of Atamoni. Something like a paradox, if you look at the size of this amulet." Garr picked up the small charm and looked at it sadly.
Chelsea looked at her two elders in curiosity, "Well, what are you going to do with it?"
Alba set the amulet on the table and slid it over to Chelsea. "I need you to keep this safe. I know it is extremely dangerous, but we cannot let it fall into the hands of Dyre Langer..." the old man looked away. "He has been looking for this for a long time, and I know that man is evil."
The young girl looked at Garr and Alba, "Who is Dyre Langer?"
"A nutcase." The Prince replied. "He's of some high rank in the Seinegald Army, and lives in Darilsheid. I met him a few times before, and I've had a bad experience with him and that amulet. He suspects I have something to do with its location..."
Chelsea nodded slowly, thinking if she remembered the name. She could not. "So all I have to do is keep it? That's no problem! But why can't you or Garr carry it?"
"I would have given it to Garr, but since he is the eldest son of King Sark, and from his past experience with Langer I have reason to believe they will go after him once they realize that I do not have it. They know someone in Phandaria owns possession, and they will eventually find their way to me. They would not suspect you." Alba explained. "But if Langer ever gained control of this, there would be chaos."
Chelsea thought about the situation. "What if they find me?" she asked nervously.
"They won't," Garr confirmed confidently, "and if they ever did, I would protect you."
Her eyes hit the floor and she blushed, mumbling a thank you. Usually Garr's comments like this had no effect on Chelsea, but lately it was different. She knew he meant it in all platonic sense, and she also knew that he was about nine years older than her, but it still made her flush.
"I...don't think it would be wise to use up the life of the Prince of Phandaria over me, you know. I could take on the enemies with my Flatbow!" She looked up and saw that Garr and Alba were giving each other a knowing look.
Alba gently put the powerful necklace over the youth's head. "I wouldn't worry about it anyway. Once you have this on you, it has a protecting 'spell' over it. If anyone but you tries to take it off, they will be killed." As Alba placed the amulet around her neck, the young archer felt a strange feeling go through her whole body, almost like a shock. She gasped, but then felt fine again. She picked up the glowing charm, and realized it really was very small despite it's amazing powers.
"What else can it do?" She asked incredulously staring through it with her bright green eyes, seeing the cabin in a warped vision.
"Many things...I wouldn't explain them, since you won't have to use them anyway." Garr stood up and walked over to the boiling stew. "But you must keep this away from Langer at all costs!"
Chelsea looked over at the Prince of Phandaria and nodded. "I will, Garr..."