Back at Neo-Adlehyde

A few days later, the crew entered the city of Neo-Adlehyde. It was brimming with life and a cheerful mood was in the air. The foreman had, in reality, been looking for the artifacts in order to display them at the "Festival of Magic", so they had even given him the map. Sasha, however, seemed to be striking a deal to get it back once the celebration was done with. Sierra couldn't figure out why, maybe she knew the foreman from somewhere in the past. After all, they were both Shamans, and came from the same city, there was a chance they could have met before. But that didn't matter to Sierra and Lyle, they had been paid in plenty for a job well done. Jacob had told him not to give him anything, he was just happy to help. And Sasha thought the map would suffice for her share of the payment.

"Well, I can't thank you three enough," Sasha said, "Not only am I back home once more, but I managed to help find the treasures of our ancestors. I'd better get going now, maybe we'll meet again someday. Here is your payment for a job well done." With that, she gave each person a bag with a thousand Gella in it, and began to walk back towards the castle, in order to see her father.

"Well that was nice. She sure was in a hurry to leave," Jacob noticed, wondering why. Sasha was so friendly, why wouldn't she want her new friends to meet her family? It didn't make sense, unless one of her parents was a little bit paranoid over strangers and/or non-Shamans.

Sierra replied, "Don't worry too much. All people have to leave one another one day. It's just a fact of life. Soon, we're going to be apart as well. And then, it won't be too long before we all forget this encounter, it was such a small part of our life and all. The only things a person will remember very long are times when they're hurt or sad, since despair always prevails over happiness."

Jacob looked at her. "You really think that? Maybe you should head over to the Fallen Sanctuary when we arrive at Baskar Colony. I think you might need some counseling from the Guardian of Hope, Zephyr. He certainly can lift a person's spirits high when they feel that nothing is left for them in this life. Why do you have such emotions locked into your heart, what happened to you in the past?"


But Sierra avoided the question by suggesting they visit the local saloon, and book a room for the night. It might be worth it to stay for the festival, maybe she could find her father in the crowd. It was worth a shot, she knew nothing about him and had no leads in tracking him down. Only two days at the most she'd stay here, though, then they'd bring Jacob home and she could finally be alone again.

* * *

"And that's what happened, Father," Sasha concluded, "With the help of those three young Silver Wolves, I was able to get home safely. But now, I'm in need of replacement guards to continue this journey around the world. So, can you assign me any new ones, I want to leave as soon as possible."


"Of course, Sasha. I'll give you some guards to allow you to continue. After all, you need to have this experience in order to become a better queen. But at least wait until after the festival, the people will be so happy to have the princess here for it," the king replied. King Martin Vanderbuilt VII was an aging man of fifty, with black hair beginning to gray, and blue eyes like his daughter. He wore ornate robes, and a crown on his head with a ruby in the center. After the death of his wife to a sickness, he had become extremely close to Sasha, always wishing to help her out in any way. He feared for her safety, worried about what would happen once he was gone and no longer able to protect her. Thus, this journey, so she might never be involved in a war, and never have to die by the hands of an enemy's sword.

She told her father, "That was just what I wanted too. Fredrico is holding a magical item for me until the display ends, so I have to wait. He promised it to me as a reward for helping him to find it. And it will be of great use to me on this journey around the world." Silently, she prayed for the others to be ok, for them to make it safely to Baskar, before she departed. After all, it wouldn't do for her to be seen when she went to make her speech during the festival, what would they think of her then?

* * *

Sierra had no idea where she was. It appeared to be a battlefield of some sort, but she didn't know where. Bodies of what appeared to be demons littered the ground, as well as human remains. One man was standing in the midst of it, a wild looking man with purple hair and red eyes. He looked at the mess of death before him, and hung his head, as if shamed by what he'd done.

As Sierra approached, he began to wave his arms frantically, signaling her to stop. "Stay away, if you're not careful, you might end up like them. It's as if I have a second personality inside of me, one that comes out when I am in battle, or when I get scared. I just can't stop killing then, not only my enemies, but also my allies. I don't want to hurt you, miss, so leave here now." Panic was in his voice, as if he truly believed he would do harm to the girl standing before him.

Sierra wasn't afraid at all. She stepped forward, wanting to see what was wrong with the man. It puzzled her though, usually she could care less about other people. But there was something in this man, a kindred spirit perhaps, that caused her to abandon her usual morals in favor of helping him out. This would be the time when Kyoku would start yelling at her to heed the warnings, but for some reason the Wind Mouse wasn't there. That was strange, Sierra and Kyoku never went anywhere without one another, they were bound as sisters by more than just mere blood.

"Stay back!" ordered the man, "Else I'll shoot you dead like the others!" When Sierra still didn't back off, he pulled out a bazooka, and fired. Pain shot through Sierra's body, like hot knives. She did, however, manage to shoot him back with a Rocket Launcher she didn't own. He too went down, dying. That was the only satisfaction Sierra found, that at least she wouldn't die alone.

* * *

Sierra shot right up out of bed. The dream disturbed her, not just because of the death involved. It was because she had ENJOYED killing the man, wanted to hear more screams of death in her ears. It was as if there was something telling her to go out and destroy all those who had hurt her, her father, the saloon mistress, and even her birth parents. But why would she feel this way, she who had never enjoyed causing death, who always tried to disable and not maim?

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

I know this isn't my usual sort of content. But I just love dreams that subtly hint at a character's past, and make them begin to think. Especially placed at the ends of chapters, where they become nice, juicy cliffhangers. And where the person gets to start the next chapter out with a little sorting of the mind.