A/N: Um…hi…I understand…I have not…been here…in well over half a year…and I apologize greatly. To say I'm sorry, I have another Crash Fanfiction in development right now. Until then, the details shall remain secret.
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A Feudal Fairy Tale II: Requiem of Ice Chapter Three: Passion~*~
"Trust me, will thee, lassie?" Brio pleaded. "Please do this. Thou art the spitting image of mine dear student. I love her as if she be mine own daughter. I'm too old, I can't be following her around forever."
The blond haired she-bandicoot hesitated, as she could not bear to see the old wizard's face, but the mere thought of such a great responsibility discouraged her from accepting such a task.
Yet, at the same time, it urged her to press on, as she thought about those she would be leaving behind if she were to walk away.
The faithful blacksmith, Koala Kong, who trusted her from the very beginning, and stood by her side, even upon learning she had no divine powers. Though Coco was not sent from above, the muscular koala still thought of her as an angel, the greatest mortal to ever grace the land.
The village idiot, Ripper Roo, who had no sense of direction, yet still earned credit for being able to lead anyone to the lair of a non-existent dragon. Always full of energy, he was able to leap for over two hours without a rest.
The clever little crossbred thief, Dingodile, who had long given up the life of crime and lived by his own code of honor. However, he always managed to find ways around it, often leading to the frustration of another living creature.
And then there was Tiny, the bespectacled, intelligent librarian. He seemed quite fond of giving his books away every so often, and indirectly contributed to the fall of Cortex, the evil duke who had ruled the land with an iron fist.
And now, all of them were frozen, serving as ornaments to the evil Sorceress that bore the same name as Coco Bandicoot.
"Okay." Coco nodded bravely. "I'll do it. And I'll try my best. No guarantees of success, I'm afraid."
"An old codger like me be just satisfied finding a willing youth." Brio mumbled, using his wooden staff to stand himself up. "Most of them grasshoppers would not be caught dead around the likes of me, says I."
Brio continued to ramble on about young creatures of all species as he turned his attention to a rotting bookshelf and picked a dusty book, probably older than he was, off the very top row. Some of the pages fell to the wooden floor as he began to flip through it, dust and mold flying up in the air.
"Come here, Coco Bandicoot." He muttered, not taking his eyes off the page they had landed on.
Coco crept closer as Brio waved his wand in the air and chanted some incantations she could not understand. He repeated them over and over, still swinging the wooden wand in the air.
"Why be thee just standing there!?" He demanded, looking up. "Say them too!"
Instantly, Coco found the same words coming out of her mouth, one after another, as if someone else was saying them through her voice. A warm feeling surged inside her, as the chanting soon faded and came to a complete halt.
"There." Brio huffed, replacing the book to its proper place. "I be satisfied now, but before thou takes thy leave, I have one last gift for thee." He stuck his head out the window of the tower. "Pura! Pura, thou shall come up this very tower this instant!"
A soft cry was heard, and the sound of paws on wood approached at a rapid speed. Coco barely had time to get away from the door as it swung open, allowing entrance to a young tiger cub as it rushed in.
The cub skidded to a complete stop right before Brio's feet as his disgruntled master stared down at him.
"This be Pura." He said, motioning to the tiger cub that was grooming himself. "Pura shall be thy companion. He be quite disobedient," At that last word, Brio glared at Pura, who had now begun swatting at a moth. "but also a most useful animal. Off thou goes." He eased himself into a chair and shooed the two off. "Make an old badger like myself proud."
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"Easy for you to say." Coco grunted, walking along the iced path with the orange cat by her side. "I'm starting to see why nobody wants to be near him." Frustrated, she whipped her head to the sky. "What am I? This dimension's savior?" She demanded to the heavens.
As if ignoring her, the clouds up above continued to float by lazily. The proceeded to block the sun's rays as the atmosphere grew darker, unusually dark for midday. Once dark enough, slowly, small white snowflakes drifted down.
Coco continued to stare up, as if she was in a staring contest with the sky. Giving up, she sunk down to her knees and buried her face in her hands. She sat there, sobbing for a few minutes when finally, she felt something warm and wet brush her hands.
She removed her hands from her eyes as Pura proceeded to give her a reassuring lick on her cheek and rubbed himself against her, purring contently. She put her arm around the tiger, and they cuddled for a minute.
"Which way is it to the castle, anyways?" Coco asked, looking around. All she could see was white. The spell of the evil mage's reached quite far. "And how far is it, anyways?" She continued to ask.
Pura gave the bandicoot a playful look as he lunged off in one direction before Coco could react. He raced up a hill, and upon reaching the top, motioned for Coco to follow him with his paw.
Beginning to understanding what Brio meant by "disobedient", Coco climbed the snowy hill, not as effortlessly as the quadruped waiting for her at the summit.
When she finally reached the top, Pura jumped and did a one hundred eighty degree turn in midair, staring at the other side.
Coco followed his gaze, and in the distance, saw the beautiful translucent castle. It seemed quite far away.
"Are you sure that's the right one?" She asked, seeing what a long journey it would be.
Pura nodded and looked back out at it. His paws and tail began to twitch.
"Oh, no you don't!" Coco snapped. And with lightning fast reflexes, she grabbed the energetic cub by the fur on his neck and held on tight. "You're not leaving without me." She mounted the young tiger's back. "Well, the sooner we depart, the sooner we get there, I guess."
Releasing the fur, she locked her arms around the tiger's neck, very well familiar with the speed this little cub was capable. Pura crouched down, stretching his muscles and again, twitching his paws. His tail swished wildly and he showed his teeth to the entire countryside, ready to show it who was boss. The trigger was set.
All he needed now, was the signal.
"Whenever you're ready."
And no sooner had those words been said, Pura sprung into action, blazing with amazing swiftness down the hill and onwards, snow flying up with every stride.
The young tiger took in a deep breath, and released a powerful roar for such a small creature, a roar of pride and persistence. And he listened with great satisfaction as it echoed throughout the land.
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Back at the castle, miles and miles away from the tiger's current position, a young sorceress by the name of Coco Bandicoot was walking down a long hallway, as her ears perked. Something was coming her way.
"Come." She commanded, as the sound of something scuffling in the darkness began to follow her.
Stopping at a window slit, her raven glided in from the courtyard and sat itself atop the raven that was perched on its master's staff. The creature that followed the witch also gazed out the window.
All three of them watched the snowy hills intently, when finally, the cry of a tiger reached their ears.
A small smile formed on the malicious girl's lips as she turned around and proceeded down the corridor as she originally was, her companions by her side.
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End of Chapter Three
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A/N: The action is starting to pick up now, and if you're wondering, yes A Feudal Fairy Tale II: Requiem of Ice, will be longer than the original A Feudal Fairy Tale.
Next Chapter: Chapter Four: Run