A/N: Do continue, it gets better.
Phandaria (Chapter 3) – Chelsea
Chelsea stuffed the last dry sheet the cabin had into the final pack. There. She had finished packing the three for the trip to Seinegald. There was the 150th anniversary for the capital of the country, Darilsheid, as well as a promotion, and Garr's father had requested that he go. So, Chelsea and Alba had decided to join him on the trip. She had only been to Darilsheid once or twice in her lifetime, and she was excited at the chance to go again. It would take them about a day to get there, since Seinegald was to the far north and they would have to go through a few towns to get there. Luckily they lived on the northern part of Phandaria, and Seinegald wasn't too far away.
"Have we got everything?" Garr asked, picking up his pack.
Chelsea nodded, and handed her grandfather his pack, as she took her own. "Well, let's go then." She grabbed her bow and arrows, and headed out the door along with the other two men. She fell behind a bit, and pulled the pendant from under her shirt and stared at it. It was so beautiful, one of the most amazing things she had ever seen. It was so ... pure looking.
They set of south, through the path of the snowy forest that had been created mostly from Garr's numerous voyages. Chelsea was very glad she had her fur cape with her, or else she would have frozen to death at least. Phandaria was the coldest country in the world.
They continued through these paths, avoiding the beasts and animals. They only had their compass and packs with them, but the three had traveled this way many times before so they were fine. They continued trekking through the snowy lands, but Chelsea fell a few feet behind, leaving her two seniors to talk ahead. While making her way around holes in the snow and thin ice coatings leading far down to the ground, she thought about that amulet. It was neat that she got to keep something of that importance safe, but she wanted to know exactly what this shiny thing could do. Garr and Alba would not tell her anything about it, and that bothered her a lot. She also wondered just who this Langer was, and why he wanted it so much. Perhaps it had the power of Atamoni? Garr had said it was comparable...and that was impressive itself; the Eye of Atamoni was the most powerful thing in the world. A gigantic piece of lens, about 20 feet in diameter with enough power to destroy the world. The people of this planet had named it after their goddess, Atamoni.
She wished they would just tell her how to work the amulet, but they would just say if she knew she would try to use it. She knew she wouldn't, but that did not convince them. Perhaps she would find out, anyway.
As she continued to sink deep in thought, she did not realize that the two ahead of her had stopped, and they had reached a clearing in the forest. She almost ran into them, but stopped and looked at what they were seeing. It was a lake, in the middle of the forest, but it was not frozen-- a strange occurrence in Phandaria's freezing woods. Chelsea could see the glimmering sun against the small waves.
"Why is this not frozen?" Alba asked. He frowned and started to walk toward it.
Garr followed him, "I don't know. It is strange...but we can refill our water containers here."
Chelsea almost walked up to the edge of the lake as Garr and Alba chatted puzzlingly about this lake, and she heard the crunching of snow. It was very quiet, but the life of hunting and living in a wood trained her ears well. She could also hear a slight breathing, raspy like a beast. The young archer knew something was nearby, and she reached for her bow, quietly and quickly. Walking backwards, closer to the two men at the lake, she scanned the area around them repeatedly, searching for any clues to the animal's location.
"Garr...Grandpa..." She warned, hearing them turn to look at her. Garr, being her hunting partner for years, knew what had happened and pulled his bow and arrows from his quiver. They formed into their regular hunting pose, back to back, and resumed scanning for the prey.
They needed not to scan long. The beast, a skinny bear type animal crept up behind a rock, perhaps trying to hide itself unsuccessfully. It had black matted fur and was very skinny. Although it did not have a lot of weight, it was big...perhaps six or seven feet long, and looked quite agile. The beast had the face of a bear, and the paws, but its exact species was unknown to the archers.
As they watched the creature in silence, Chelsea could see a good portion of it's back, and aimed her bow and arrow toward it. She shot her arrow, and it sailed through the air silently, and hit its target with excellent accuracy. The beast pounced up from its hiding spot at this stab of pain, and jumped toward the two archers with a screech. Chelsea had already pulled another arrow into her bow and her and Garr both shot at once, nailing the enemy on each side.
It fell to the ground making pain filled noises, but arose on the back two legs, giving an intimidating stance. Garr and Chelsea were not scared, however. Both knew what to do, and they fired another two arrows, aiming directly at the creature's heart. Their weapons hit right on, and the beast fell to the ground, dying. After a few minutes it stopped moving, and they knew they had made the kill.
After the defeat of the animal Chelsea had set up a fire using Garr's Sorcerer's Ring - it was a very handy item out in the cold, where it could shoot a line of heat using lens energy. Alba and Garr prepared the animal, and the girl began cooking.
"Well Garr, do you actually care who will get the promotion?" Chelsea asked as she turned the cooking beast over the fire.
The Prince thought for a second. "I never gave it much thought, so not really. But I heard Langer was in the possibilities, I just hope he does not receive something like that."
Her grandfather spoke from over by the water, "I wouldn't worry about it; he won't get it."
"You're probably right." Garr got up and walked toward the unfrozen pond, "I still don't understand why this is not frozen solid. Usually all the water around here is rock solid of ice. It's really suspicious."
Alba turned to look at his younger housemate, "However, there is nothing we can do about it, I say we just leave it how it is..."
After the fight and meal, the trip was uneventful until they reached Janos. It had only been several hours but they knew the trip to Harmentez would be longer but better, since there would be no snow.
Janos was the border town between Phandaria and Seinegald. If you left to the north, you were in Seinegald, and leaving from the right put you back in Phandaria. It wasn't a big town, just something to give the two countries a borderline mark. There was no other way to get through each country unless you wanted to climb over tall glaciers and huge mountains.
At Janos, the three rested up at the local cafe. After a short while, they refilled anything they would need for the trip north, and left Phandaria to traveled across the barren lands of Seinegald. This was somewhat new to Chelsea, although Garr and Alba didn't seem too impressed; they had traveled all over the world. Chelsea wondered if someday she would see Calvalese, a country where they described as so hot, it never snowed. The young archer found that hard to imagine, all her life there had been snow, snow, snow, and more snow.
When they could just see the bit of Harmentez in the distance, it was beginning to get very dark. They hurried their pace, and made it into the town before everything closed. Harmentez was a small village really; it was a halfway mark between Janos and Darilsheid. The three archers found the Inn and stayed there for a night.
When the morning came, Chelsea felt so tired. She'd been walking and excited all day yesterday, and she was beginning to feel the effects. But she knew that today the ceremony was on, and she'd also have to walk a long distance to get to Darilsheid. They woke up a little after the sun rose, and began traveling to Darilsheid again. That was also uneventful, since the savage animals and beasts were rare out in the plains of Seinegald.
They made it to the capital city just before noon. It seemed like good timing, they had a few hours until the ceremony began. They found the Inn and booked a room for the night, where they stored all their stuff.
After unloading her pack in her room, Chelsea went next door where Garr and her grandfather stayed. Garr was the only one in there; Alba had left to stock up on some supplies.
"Garr." Chelsea said as she entered the room.
He looked up from organizing his material, and greeted her with the same way. "Let's go in the city instead of waiting around here for Master Alba. Hmm?"
Chelsea agreed, and they left together to the city. As they exited the Inn, skipping the bar of course, they found themselves in the center of Darilsheid. Tall, huge houses and shops covered the sky, countless people walking by, so many beggars and peddlers sitting on the sides of the road. This was all very new to Chelsea and she found it very interesting. The last time she had been in this big city was when she was about seven; she couldn't remember most of it.
"I think we should tell my father that we are here." Garr said, and they went north towards the castle, passing by a huge mansion and a group of girls. The girls were standing in a circle by an arch near the bar, talking loudly and giggling. There was a man in the middle, wearing a military uniform so Chelsea guessed he was going to be in the ceremony.
She opened her mouth to say something to the group, but Garr grabbed her arm and pulled her to the left of him where she could not talk to the group. Then he started walking quickly past them, ignoring the group completely.
As they passed, Chelsea looked up at the young Prince. "What was that about?" She asked quietly.
"That man is Sergeant Langer." Garr muttered, still looking forward. "It's better not to have anything to do with him."
The younger archer nodded, and thanked her older companion for the advice. They reached the Castle, and headed inside having no problem with the guards since they knew who Garr was. When they got inside, Chelsea had to stop to look around. This was the first time she'd been inside Seinegald's main castle, and it was very impressive. She figured it was nicer than Heidelberg's Castle, where there, the small, closed windows always frozen with ice and covered in snow and the stone walls always cold and uninviting. Castles, she had thought, were meant to be warm and welcoming, since they held the country's leaders.
But, unlike Garr's castle, this one had big, wide windows with stained glass windows full of artistic design. The stone walls had carvings in them that were so complex and beautiful. They stood on a royal red carpet, which led up some stairs, and probably to the Throne Room. Chelsea thought this was a real castle.
The two went up the stairs and indeed into the Throne Room. In there was the King of Seinegald, King Sark, and a few other guards and soldiers. Garr and Chelsea ignored the other people and went up to the two Kings, who were sitting in two thrones. Garr's father sat beside two soldiers who seemed to be of importance.
Garr stood in front of Darilsheid's King and saluted. Chelsea wondered if she should do the same; she'd never been taught acts of chivalry, even though she lived with a prince. She decided not to bow or salute…if they asked then she could blame it on ignorance.
After the King returned the salute, Garr spoke, "Hello, Your Majesty."
The King returned the greeting and then the King of Phandaria nodded, "I am glad you came today, son. The ceremony should start in a few hours." King Sark turned to the two soldiers beside him and gestured to the closest one, a middle aged man with black hair. "This is President Hugo of the Oberol Company, whom I'm sure you have met before."
Garr nodded, and Chelsea searched through her memory, remembering a time when the man had visited their cabin. Hugo cleared his throat, "I have some business matters to discuss with you, Prince, but we will take care of that later. Who is this girl you have with you?"
The Prince turned to Chelsea and introduced to all four figures of authority, "This is Master Alba's granddaughter, Chelsea Torn. She is a respectable archer."
Chelsea curtsied, "I am pleased to be introduced to you all."
Hugo smiled. It seemed a bit phony but she could tell he was somewhat impressed. "And this is our finest swordsman, Leon Magnus." He turned to the soldier standing beside him, who came to attention. He was young, maybe a few years older than Chelsea, and had these cold, almost evil lavender eyes that seemed to see the world through bitterness. She could tell he had black hair, since not all of it was under his military beret, and his face was complete with perfect ivory skin. He did not seem the friendly type, but she still respected him; he was the capital's finest swordsman at that young of an age.
After the two introductions, Hugo seemed somewhat excited and said, "Well then! Garr, I wish to speak to you in private. We shall go to the conference room now." He seemed very ready to leave.
"That's fine," Garr replied, and then turned to Chelsea. "I will only be a few minutes, wait for me in the castle."
The Kings turned to Chelsea and Leon, "You two can make yourselves at home here." Seinegald invited, and Chelsea turned to the young swordsman beside her. She didn't really know if she could wander around the castle, so she followed him as he left the Throne Room.
Once they got out of that room, Chelsea was surprised when Leon initiated the conversation. "So you're an archer." It was a statement and he seemed entirely bored and uninterested.
She nodded, and touched her bow unconsciously. "Yes, I have been since I was a young child." They were walking in the direction where Chelsea figured was the mess hall, and as they walked, she noticed an impressive-looking sword at his waist. "That's some sword you have..." She commented, implying for him to talk about it.
The young swordsman looked down at it and nodded. "That is Chaltier."
She figured Chaltier was the name he had given his sword. That wasn't unusual; most of the knights named their sword, feeling a type of bond between the weapon and their self. She understood that—sometimes her bow, she realized, seemed to understand her.
He unsheathed the sword, and Chelsea saw it was very powerful looking, with a very long and sharp blade. The handle was made of expensive looking metal, and was engraved with elaborate vines. In the center of the handle was a circular hole, which appeared to have a device locked into it. She wondered, but decided not to ask.
As he re-sheathed the weapon, a knight came speeding down the hall, running wildly like a maniac. As he neared the two kids, Leon stood in front of him, blocking his way. But the knight turned and tried to get by Leon as fast as he could.
Leon grabbed the knight's arm as he flew by. "Stop this! Keams, what's the matter with you?" He demanded coldly.
"There's a beast down there, Lieutenant!" Keams shouted, pointing down to the end of the hall. "It's horrible!"
The younger soldier's eyes flashed with anger as he pushed Keams into the wall. "What kind of a spineless pansy are you? You're a soldier!" He shoved him down the opposite way of the hall and began walking toward where the older knight had pointed. "And when you're a soldier, you fight."
Chelsea pulled her bow from her quiver, along with an arrow and got ready to shoot. "That was strange," she commented on Keams.
Leon pulled Chaltier from his waist, "Get used to it. This castle is full of morons."
They continued down the hall and turned left, where the other soldier had came from, and at the end of the hall was indeed a beast. It was a dark green color, probably because it lived in the forests around Darilsheid. The creature was only about six feet long, which wasn't too big for a monster, but its face was the worst, with two black, beady eyes and lots of slobber everywhere and other disgusting material. It reminded her of a monster that roamed the area around Janos, one that she had only encountered a few times, and was grateful the creature didn't live near her house.
Chelsea pulled back her arrow on her bow, and aimed for the creature's throat. While she was doing this, Leon quickly ran to the right and over to the left, giving the beast slashes with his sword while confusing it. She was surprised at his agility, but shot her arrow and speared the green beast on the right side, hearing it scream in pain from the attacks.
Leon took this moment of pain to gash the animal several times, each time making it twist in agony. Chelsea fired another arrow, and the creature jolted on it's back. Leon jumped on top of it and made the final stab, piercing his sword through the beast's chest, killing it instantly. The girl was amazed at how brave he was to stand so close to the beast through the whole fight, but figured it was part of being a soldier.
The boy pulled his sword out of the beast, and cleaned the blade off on his pants, then sheathed the sword. "Good." He looked at the mess in front of him and spat on the enemy.
"I guess we should tell the King..." Chelsea suggested.
Leon gave the creature a final kick, making sure it would not stir alive again. "Yes." He began walking down the hall toward the Throne Room.
Chelsea quickly followed, catching up to the boy. "You are good in battle..." she complimented.
Leon turned to her, and seemed to decide right then if she was worth his time. Then he frowned, reaching to her neck and picked up the amulet that Alba had given her. She gasped, it must have fell out of her shirt while in battle. "What is this?" He demanded, even though she could tell he already knew.
"Nothing." She quickly grabbed the amulet from the boy's hands and hid it behind her shirt.
"The Amulet of Atamoni?" He stared at her and frowned harder. "Why do you have it?"
She looked back at him angrily, "I don't even know what that is." What if he was on that man Langer's side?
"You do realize it was a foolish thing to bring that to Darilsheid, and especially this Castle," Leon warned. "I don't want it, but I know some people around here are looking for something like that..." he trailed off, thinking about something. Then he snapped back and snarled hotly, "Anyway, it's not my concern. It's your stupid fault if you get killed."
She glared at him, angry that he knew about the amulet, and angry at his haughty attitude. "Let's talk to the King about this beast, okay?" She growled.
"Fine." Leon walked ahead of her and entered the Room.
Chelsea followed and as they walked inside, they saw that Hugo and Garr were finished their meeting and were parting. She was relieved to see Garr there, and felt save again.
"Well, I guess we're done here." Garr concluded, and he began to walk out of the room. "I will attend the ceremony later along with Chelsea. We will see you all then." He walked by Chelsea, and she followed him. She figured Leon could tell the King about today's monster.
Phandaria (Chapter 3) – Chelsea
Chelsea stuffed the last dry sheet the cabin had into the final pack. There. She had finished packing the three for the trip to Seinegald. There was the 150th anniversary for the capital of the country, Darilsheid, as well as a promotion, and Garr's father had requested that he go. So, Chelsea and Alba had decided to join him on the trip. She had only been to Darilsheid once or twice in her lifetime, and she was excited at the chance to go again. It would take them about a day to get there, since Seinegald was to the far north and they would have to go through a few towns to get there. Luckily they lived on the northern part of Phandaria, and Seinegald wasn't too far away.
"Have we got everything?" Garr asked, picking up his pack.
Chelsea nodded, and handed her grandfather his pack, as she took her own. "Well, let's go then." She grabbed her bow and arrows, and headed out the door along with the other two men. She fell behind a bit, and pulled the pendant from under her shirt and stared at it. It was so beautiful, one of the most amazing things she had ever seen. It was so ... pure looking.
They set of south, through the path of the snowy forest that had been created mostly from Garr's numerous voyages. Chelsea was very glad she had her fur cape with her, or else she would have frozen to death at least. Phandaria was the coldest country in the world.
They continued through these paths, avoiding the beasts and animals. They only had their compass and packs with them, but the three had traveled this way many times before so they were fine. They continued trekking through the snowy lands, but Chelsea fell a few feet behind, leaving her two seniors to talk ahead. While making her way around holes in the snow and thin ice coatings leading far down to the ground, she thought about that amulet. It was neat that she got to keep something of that importance safe, but she wanted to know exactly what this shiny thing could do. Garr and Alba would not tell her anything about it, and that bothered her a lot. She also wondered just who this Langer was, and why he wanted it so much. Perhaps it had the power of Atamoni? Garr had said it was comparable...and that was impressive itself; the Eye of Atamoni was the most powerful thing in the world. A gigantic piece of lens, about 20 feet in diameter with enough power to destroy the world. The people of this planet had named it after their goddess, Atamoni.
She wished they would just tell her how to work the amulet, but they would just say if she knew she would try to use it. She knew she wouldn't, but that did not convince them. Perhaps she would find out, anyway.
As she continued to sink deep in thought, she did not realize that the two ahead of her had stopped, and they had reached a clearing in the forest. She almost ran into them, but stopped and looked at what they were seeing. It was a lake, in the middle of the forest, but it was not frozen-- a strange occurrence in Phandaria's freezing woods. Chelsea could see the glimmering sun against the small waves.
"Why is this not frozen?" Alba asked. He frowned and started to walk toward it.
Garr followed him, "I don't know. It is strange...but we can refill our water containers here."
Chelsea almost walked up to the edge of the lake as Garr and Alba chatted puzzlingly about this lake, and she heard the crunching of snow. It was very quiet, but the life of hunting and living in a wood trained her ears well. She could also hear a slight breathing, raspy like a beast. The young archer knew something was nearby, and she reached for her bow, quietly and quickly. Walking backwards, closer to the two men at the lake, she scanned the area around them repeatedly, searching for any clues to the animal's location.
"Garr...Grandpa..." She warned, hearing them turn to look at her. Garr, being her hunting partner for years, knew what had happened and pulled his bow and arrows from his quiver. They formed into their regular hunting pose, back to back, and resumed scanning for the prey.
They needed not to scan long. The beast, a skinny bear type animal crept up behind a rock, perhaps trying to hide itself unsuccessfully. It had black matted fur and was very skinny. Although it did not have a lot of weight, it was big...perhaps six or seven feet long, and looked quite agile. The beast had the face of a bear, and the paws, but its exact species was unknown to the archers.
As they watched the creature in silence, Chelsea could see a good portion of it's back, and aimed her bow and arrow toward it. She shot her arrow, and it sailed through the air silently, and hit its target with excellent accuracy. The beast pounced up from its hiding spot at this stab of pain, and jumped toward the two archers with a screech. Chelsea had already pulled another arrow into her bow and her and Garr both shot at once, nailing the enemy on each side.
It fell to the ground making pain filled noises, but arose on the back two legs, giving an intimidating stance. Garr and Chelsea were not scared, however. Both knew what to do, and they fired another two arrows, aiming directly at the creature's heart. Their weapons hit right on, and the beast fell to the ground, dying. After a few minutes it stopped moving, and they knew they had made the kill.
After the defeat of the animal Chelsea had set up a fire using Garr's Sorcerer's Ring - it was a very handy item out in the cold, where it could shoot a line of heat using lens energy. Alba and Garr prepared the animal, and the girl began cooking.
"Well Garr, do you actually care who will get the promotion?" Chelsea asked as she turned the cooking beast over the fire.
The Prince thought for a second. "I never gave it much thought, so not really. But I heard Langer was in the possibilities, I just hope he does not receive something like that."
Her grandfather spoke from over by the water, "I wouldn't worry about it; he won't get it."
"You're probably right." Garr got up and walked toward the unfrozen pond, "I still don't understand why this is not frozen solid. Usually all the water around here is rock solid of ice. It's really suspicious."
Alba turned to look at his younger housemate, "However, there is nothing we can do about it, I say we just leave it how it is..."
After the fight and meal, the trip was uneventful until they reached Janos. It had only been several hours but they knew the trip to Harmentez would be longer but better, since there would be no snow.
Janos was the border town between Phandaria and Seinegald. If you left to the north, you were in Seinegald, and leaving from the right put you back in Phandaria. It wasn't a big town, just something to give the two countries a borderline mark. There was no other way to get through each country unless you wanted to climb over tall glaciers and huge mountains.
At Janos, the three rested up at the local cafe. After a short while, they refilled anything they would need for the trip north, and left Phandaria to traveled across the barren lands of Seinegald. This was somewhat new to Chelsea, although Garr and Alba didn't seem too impressed; they had traveled all over the world. Chelsea wondered if someday she would see Calvalese, a country where they described as so hot, it never snowed. The young archer found that hard to imagine, all her life there had been snow, snow, snow, and more snow.
When they could just see the bit of Harmentez in the distance, it was beginning to get very dark. They hurried their pace, and made it into the town before everything closed. Harmentez was a small village really; it was a halfway mark between Janos and Darilsheid. The three archers found the Inn and stayed there for a night.
When the morning came, Chelsea felt so tired. She'd been walking and excited all day yesterday, and she was beginning to feel the effects. But she knew that today the ceremony was on, and she'd also have to walk a long distance to get to Darilsheid. They woke up a little after the sun rose, and began traveling to Darilsheid again. That was also uneventful, since the savage animals and beasts were rare out in the plains of Seinegald.
They made it to the capital city just before noon. It seemed like good timing, they had a few hours until the ceremony began. They found the Inn and booked a room for the night, where they stored all their stuff.
After unloading her pack in her room, Chelsea went next door where Garr and her grandfather stayed. Garr was the only one in there; Alba had left to stock up on some supplies.
"Garr." Chelsea said as she entered the room.
He looked up from organizing his material, and greeted her with the same way. "Let's go in the city instead of waiting around here for Master Alba. Hmm?"
Chelsea agreed, and they left together to the city. As they exited the Inn, skipping the bar of course, they found themselves in the center of Darilsheid. Tall, huge houses and shops covered the sky, countless people walking by, so many beggars and peddlers sitting on the sides of the road. This was all very new to Chelsea and she found it very interesting. The last time she had been in this big city was when she was about seven; she couldn't remember most of it.
"I think we should tell my father that we are here." Garr said, and they went north towards the castle, passing by a huge mansion and a group of girls. The girls were standing in a circle by an arch near the bar, talking loudly and giggling. There was a man in the middle, wearing a military uniform so Chelsea guessed he was going to be in the ceremony.
She opened her mouth to say something to the group, but Garr grabbed her arm and pulled her to the left of him where she could not talk to the group. Then he started walking quickly past them, ignoring the group completely.
As they passed, Chelsea looked up at the young Prince. "What was that about?" She asked quietly.
"That man is Sergeant Langer." Garr muttered, still looking forward. "It's better not to have anything to do with him."
The younger archer nodded, and thanked her older companion for the advice. They reached the Castle, and headed inside having no problem with the guards since they knew who Garr was. When they got inside, Chelsea had to stop to look around. This was the first time she'd been inside Seinegald's main castle, and it was very impressive. She figured it was nicer than Heidelberg's Castle, where there, the small, closed windows always frozen with ice and covered in snow and the stone walls always cold and uninviting. Castles, she had thought, were meant to be warm and welcoming, since they held the country's leaders.
But, unlike Garr's castle, this one had big, wide windows with stained glass windows full of artistic design. The stone walls had carvings in them that were so complex and beautiful. They stood on a royal red carpet, which led up some stairs, and probably to the Throne Room. Chelsea thought this was a real castle.
The two went up the stairs and indeed into the Throne Room. In there was the King of Seinegald, King Sark, and a few other guards and soldiers. Garr and Chelsea ignored the other people and went up to the two Kings, who were sitting in two thrones. Garr's father sat beside two soldiers who seemed to be of importance.
Garr stood in front of Darilsheid's King and saluted. Chelsea wondered if she should do the same; she'd never been taught acts of chivalry, even though she lived with a prince. She decided not to bow or salute…if they asked then she could blame it on ignorance.
After the King returned the salute, Garr spoke, "Hello, Your Majesty."
The King returned the greeting and then the King of Phandaria nodded, "I am glad you came today, son. The ceremony should start in a few hours." King Sark turned to the two soldiers beside him and gestured to the closest one, a middle aged man with black hair. "This is President Hugo of the Oberol Company, whom I'm sure you have met before."
Garr nodded, and Chelsea searched through her memory, remembering a time when the man had visited their cabin. Hugo cleared his throat, "I have some business matters to discuss with you, Prince, but we will take care of that later. Who is this girl you have with you?"
The Prince turned to Chelsea and introduced to all four figures of authority, "This is Master Alba's granddaughter, Chelsea Torn. She is a respectable archer."
Chelsea curtsied, "I am pleased to be introduced to you all."
Hugo smiled. It seemed a bit phony but she could tell he was somewhat impressed. "And this is our finest swordsman, Leon Magnus." He turned to the soldier standing beside him, who came to attention. He was young, maybe a few years older than Chelsea, and had these cold, almost evil lavender eyes that seemed to see the world through bitterness. She could tell he had black hair, since not all of it was under his military beret, and his face was complete with perfect ivory skin. He did not seem the friendly type, but she still respected him; he was the capital's finest swordsman at that young of an age.
After the two introductions, Hugo seemed somewhat excited and said, "Well then! Garr, I wish to speak to you in private. We shall go to the conference room now." He seemed very ready to leave.
"That's fine," Garr replied, and then turned to Chelsea. "I will only be a few minutes, wait for me in the castle."
The Kings turned to Chelsea and Leon, "You two can make yourselves at home here." Seinegald invited, and Chelsea turned to the young swordsman beside her. She didn't really know if she could wander around the castle, so she followed him as he left the Throne Room.
Once they got out of that room, Chelsea was surprised when Leon initiated the conversation. "So you're an archer." It was a statement and he seemed entirely bored and uninterested.
She nodded, and touched her bow unconsciously. "Yes, I have been since I was a young child." They were walking in the direction where Chelsea figured was the mess hall, and as they walked, she noticed an impressive-looking sword at his waist. "That's some sword you have..." She commented, implying for him to talk about it.
The young swordsman looked down at it and nodded. "That is Chaltier."
She figured Chaltier was the name he had given his sword. That wasn't unusual; most of the knights named their sword, feeling a type of bond between the weapon and their self. She understood that—sometimes her bow, she realized, seemed to understand her.
He unsheathed the sword, and Chelsea saw it was very powerful looking, with a very long and sharp blade. The handle was made of expensive looking metal, and was engraved with elaborate vines. In the center of the handle was a circular hole, which appeared to have a device locked into it. She wondered, but decided not to ask.
As he re-sheathed the weapon, a knight came speeding down the hall, running wildly like a maniac. As he neared the two kids, Leon stood in front of him, blocking his way. But the knight turned and tried to get by Leon as fast as he could.
Leon grabbed the knight's arm as he flew by. "Stop this! Keams, what's the matter with you?" He demanded coldly.
"There's a beast down there, Lieutenant!" Keams shouted, pointing down to the end of the hall. "It's horrible!"
The younger soldier's eyes flashed with anger as he pushed Keams into the wall. "What kind of a spineless pansy are you? You're a soldier!" He shoved him down the opposite way of the hall and began walking toward where the older knight had pointed. "And when you're a soldier, you fight."
Chelsea pulled her bow from her quiver, along with an arrow and got ready to shoot. "That was strange," she commented on Keams.
Leon pulled Chaltier from his waist, "Get used to it. This castle is full of morons."
They continued down the hall and turned left, where the other soldier had came from, and at the end of the hall was indeed a beast. It was a dark green color, probably because it lived in the forests around Darilsheid. The creature was only about six feet long, which wasn't too big for a monster, but its face was the worst, with two black, beady eyes and lots of slobber everywhere and other disgusting material. It reminded her of a monster that roamed the area around Janos, one that she had only encountered a few times, and was grateful the creature didn't live near her house.
Chelsea pulled back her arrow on her bow, and aimed for the creature's throat. While she was doing this, Leon quickly ran to the right and over to the left, giving the beast slashes with his sword while confusing it. She was surprised at his agility, but shot her arrow and speared the green beast on the right side, hearing it scream in pain from the attacks.
Leon took this moment of pain to gash the animal several times, each time making it twist in agony. Chelsea fired another arrow, and the creature jolted on it's back. Leon jumped on top of it and made the final stab, piercing his sword through the beast's chest, killing it instantly. The girl was amazed at how brave he was to stand so close to the beast through the whole fight, but figured it was part of being a soldier.
The boy pulled his sword out of the beast, and cleaned the blade off on his pants, then sheathed the sword. "Good." He looked at the mess in front of him and spat on the enemy.
"I guess we should tell the King..." Chelsea suggested.
Leon gave the creature a final kick, making sure it would not stir alive again. "Yes." He began walking down the hall toward the Throne Room.
Chelsea quickly followed, catching up to the boy. "You are good in battle..." she complimented.
Leon turned to her, and seemed to decide right then if she was worth his time. Then he frowned, reaching to her neck and picked up the amulet that Alba had given her. She gasped, it must have fell out of her shirt while in battle. "What is this?" He demanded, even though she could tell he already knew.
"Nothing." She quickly grabbed the amulet from the boy's hands and hid it behind her shirt.
"The Amulet of Atamoni?" He stared at her and frowned harder. "Why do you have it?"
She looked back at him angrily, "I don't even know what that is." What if he was on that man Langer's side?
"You do realize it was a foolish thing to bring that to Darilsheid, and especially this Castle," Leon warned. "I don't want it, but I know some people around here are looking for something like that..." he trailed off, thinking about something. Then he snapped back and snarled hotly, "Anyway, it's not my concern. It's your stupid fault if you get killed."
She glared at him, angry that he knew about the amulet, and angry at his haughty attitude. "Let's talk to the King about this beast, okay?" She growled.
"Fine." Leon walked ahead of her and entered the Room.
Chelsea followed and as they walked inside, they saw that Hugo and Garr were finished their meeting and were parting. She was relieved to see Garr there, and felt save again.
"Well, I guess we're done here." Garr concluded, and he began to walk out of the room. "I will attend the ceremony later along with Chelsea. We will see you all then." He walked by Chelsea, and she followed him. She figured Leon could tell the King about today's monster.