And here's Chapter 1.
Chapter 1 – Slipping Past Security
The next morning was a bright day. The overshadowing clouds had parted and revealed the radiant sun. The town of Poussin was bustling with townspeople, rushing this way and that, through the paved streets, to get where they needed to. Various vendors were holding sales and people ran to the markets, shoving each other out of the way to claim their groceries.
Meanwhile, Zayn and Yida meandered through the town, searching for a way to cross the sea to the harsh desert of Nabata.
"Say Yida, you think there might be a ship here we can take?" Zayn inquired.
"Well duh! Why do you think we came to this port city in the first place?"
"Oh yeah, hehe."
As the duo continued ambling through the town, a young girl dressed in elegant ivory robes, clearly the mark of a worshipper of St. Forrest., searched around for her goal. I must find him, the future of Etruria depends on it, and as a servant of St. Forrest, I must fulfill my duty. The cleric briefly prayed to find the prince
"Say there capi-tan, how about you let me on to your fancy-schmancy vessel?"
"Arrr, price is 15,000 gold per person, sonny." The captain replied.
"What?!? I don't have 15,000 gold! How about 5, old pal?" Zayn nudged the chief.
"'Ow about not?" He replied nastily.
"Please ignore my stupid friend, sir. We can offer 2,000 gold per person though." Yida said unsurely.
"Arr, well lemme think 'bout this for a moment…okay I'll make you a deal. 'Ow about I let ye both on for 40,000?"
"I'm guessing you aren't gonna let us on then?" Zayn asked naïvely.
The captain shook his head, "Run along now boys."
Before Zayn could think up another foolish retort, Yida quickly dragged him away.
"Damn it, now how are we supposed to get to Nabata?" Yida placed two fingers on his chin, pondering about how to get out of this predicament.
"Hehe, Yida, you see the first mate over there?" Zayn shifted his head towards a rather old burly man who appeared to be hunched over and wearing a sailor's uniform.
Yida noticed the mate holding some tickets in his hand…he appeared to be half asleep as well. Putting two and two together, Yida realized Zayn's plot. "Oohhh no Zayn, don't even try it. If the captain found out, he'd skin us alive!"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Zayn grinned and took off before Yida could stop him.
~*~
Sighing quietly, the cleric hopelessly walked back to the port she had arrived in. She sauntered through hordes of people, heading back towards the port. Perhaps I should search elsewhere...it has been a week and I have seen no sign of the prince, perhaps I may have better luck elsewhere.
"A cleric of St. Forrest eh? Go ahead, ye can get on the ship." A sailor answered the juvenile cleric. She boarded the boat and immediately went down to the quarters, deciding to take a nap, for she was exhausted from her fruitless search.
~*~
"Got them!" Zayn beamed as he held two tickets in his hand, set for Nabata.
"Yeah, yeah, let's just get on the ship." Yida couldn't help but smirk though.
After flashing their tickets to the sailor, the two boarded the rather large vessel. Lined with huge masts and three large sails, the ship was quite a wonder to behold. It wasn't long until the sails were pulled up and began to billow in the breeze. The ship floated smoothly through the waters and nothing but crystal clear skies stood in the way. The odd thief and tactician duo were relieved they had been able to sneak past. The two were on deck, Yida's emerald robes and Zayn's ebony cloak fluttering in the soft gusts as they gazed over the sparkling sea.
"Are ye boys enjoying yer trip on this 'ere beauty?" asked a familiar voice from behind.
"Yeah, this is great!" Zayn exclaimed.
"Ey? 'ave I 'erd yer voice somewhere before?"
Yida suddenly recognized the voice as none other than the captain's! He elbowed Zayn and mouthed shut up. Zayn arched his eyebrow, wondering why, but he complied to Yida's request.
"Lemme get a look at ye two." The captain said curiously. He turned both the thief and tactician around and recognized the faces immediately. "ARR! We've got some stowaways here! Towber, get yer boys an' take care of 'em, mateys!" The skipper spat.
Two buccaneers immediately turned around and menacingly lifted their axes, ready to battle. The first mate Zayn had seen before prepared to attack as well. Scared out of his wits, Zayn fumbled for his dagger and held it nervously as the corsairs advanced upon him.
"Zayn!" Yida whispered loudly, "I can't fight, but I'll cheer you on from the sidelines." Zayn nodded and narrowly dodged the swing of one of the pirate's axe. He swiftly counterattacked by slashing rapidly at the burly man's exposed side. The buccaneer roared and swiped again at the agile thief, but to no avail. Zayn hacked again at his enemy and the pirate pulled back with several cuts on his skin.
"All right Zayn, but watch out!" A second too slow from reacting, an iron axe just grazed Zayn's arm, and he flinched as blood started to flow out of his open wound. The thief quickly slashed some more at his opponent however with his short blade. After cutting recklessly at the pirate, this one fell back as well, gashes littered throughout his body.
~*~
What IS all that noise outside? How can I sleep with all these noisy pirates? How inconsiderate! The cleric stomped upstairs, grouchy from her lack of sleep. As she reached the deck however, she was shocked at the battle going on! She had not seen so much violence since Schwartz first took over Etruria. Suddenly, she gasped as she noticed something. Could that be him? Holding her staff up, she began to mutter a few phrases.
~*~
"Hehe, ye won't pass me that easily!" The first mate, Towber hunched over and picked up his heavy steel axe. Towber charged at Zayn, but made no connection with Zayn as he leaped up and slashed down at Towber's sensitive back. "GGGWWWARRGGHH! Me back!" The mate groaned in pain but managed to cause a huge wound in Zayn's left arm. Though both his arms were badly injured, Zayn still dove at Towber and stuck his dagger in the old man's back. "Arrghh, I'm sorry Captain, I couldn't defeat the little scoundrel…" The bulky corsair toppled over. It wasn't long after that Zayn felt a little dizzy and stumbled back a bit before fainting into oblivion.
The youthful thief woke up to a pair of very familiar eyes. "Julina?!" he exclaimed bewilderedly. It was none other than his childhood friend from Etruria, one he hadn't seen for possibly as long as ten years.
"No duh it's me! Zayn, Etruria has been in a state of complete ruin without you. Schwartz has even declared herself the queen now and nowhere is it safe there. You must come back and reclaim the throne from that evil woman!"
The prince however, could not help but stare. Julina looked so different from when he had last seen her. Her eyes were entrancing, and her flowing hair was extraordinary. The soft features on her face were subtle, yet held a remarkable beauty behind them…well, at least to Zayn.
"Zayn! I don't even get a thanks?! Some kind of friend you are!" Julina folded her arms.
Shaking his head, Zayn replied, "Of course, I'm sorry. Thanks for healing me." He managed a weak smile.
"That's better." Julina chuckled.
"Arr, ye got a lotta spunk kid!" The captain barked, startling Zayn. "Beatin' all three of me mateys, that's gotta take some guts. Ye know what? I like ye kid! I'll let ye pass for this ride."
"Really?!" Zayn asked, surprised by the leader's offer.
"Ay. Just don' try any of yer witty jokes."
"Aye aye cap'n!" Zayn saluted the chief.
"Arr, call me Cap'n Rosenberg!"
"Aye, aye cap'n Rosenberg!" Zayn repeated. Yida just shook his head again at his comrade's strange antics.
"Oh Zayn, you haven't introduced me to your friend yet."
"Yida." The tactician answered himself. "Julina, right?"
"Yes, well met sir." She bowed.
"Please don't be formal with me, It makes me feel kind of uncomfortable."
"I'm sorry, forgive me."
"It's fine."
As night fell, stars begin to dot the velvety black blanket that was the night sky. The ship rocked soundlessly through the tranquil waters. Clouds were scant and scarcely did a wave pass by. Though the conditions for sleeping were perfect, Zayn could not sleep. He shifted endlessly for he couldn't believe he was actually returning to Etruria now. After a whole year of absence, he would be returning to his people. He was anxious, but determined to take back the throne from Schwartz. Finally, he decided to just head up to the deck to take a quick look at the sea while everyone else was fast asleep. Maybe it would calm him.
As the prince arrived at the deck, he noticed another figure standing there, gazing over the open sea. It was Julina of course, in her sacred robes. The cleric had heard some footsteps and she turned around to notice the young prince walking towards her.
"Isn't the sea so beautiful?" she smiled and gestured towards the vast sea.
"Yeah, it is." Zayn said, turning towards the water.
"You know, it's nice to be away from the convent. I've missed out on so much in the world."
"I can always show you more."
"Thanks, that's a really nice offer."
"No problem…er, so where would you want to go?"
"Hm, well I've always heard Caledonia was a beautiful island."
"Great! Then we'll go there sometime!"
Julina laughed, "Thanks, that's really sweet."
"Anything for you! After all, we've been friends forever."
"You're so amusing Zayn." She said, chuckling.
"Heh, I guess that's how people identify me."
After staring out into the waters, Julina yawned and said, "Well, I'm getting tired now. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night!"
"Good night…" Zayn said quietly. Zayn continued to look at the sea, for a moment, while Julina stepped down the stairs. He stood there for a while, thoughts just racing through his mind. After a few moments, he himself went to sleep.
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(from Silverhawk): Eh, I don't know. Do you guys think I'm putting too much description? I asked my friend to read it and he said it had too much description and
that was making it boring. So…read and rate please ^^;.