The Roads of Fate
By: Sora
*~::~*
Chapter 7: Memories
When they reached the Fletz Grand Castle Albert left them in the hands of one of the servants, a young boy of about 18 with strands of hair so blonde it appeared white sticking out from beneath his servants cap. He was dressed in the local servants attire, with the royal family's crest embroidered on his left sleeve.
The boy stared at them a moment before recalling that his king had given him a duty. "If you'll follow me Sir, Ma'am." He nodded at each respectfully as he motioned a tanned hand in the direction of one of the guest rooms and began to lead the way, not looking back or waiting for them to follow.
The two warriors followed the young servant into the guest room.
"His majesty told me he would be with you shortly, he just has a few things to take care of first."
"Alright. Thanks." Said Dart as he nodded once at the servant, who bowed to them and took his leave of the two warriors.
The guest room was the same as it had been almost half a year ago. The seven beds lined up against the far wall with the traditional Celestial designs common to a city such as Feltz; a city whose beliefs centered strongly around the moon and stars.
Rose walked to the balcony and looked out into the courtyard as she placed her intricately gloved hands on the silver-white banister. "Can you feel it?"
The blue-eyed warrior looked at her, a tinge of confusion on his face.
Rose, sensing the confusion, continued on quietly. "The strange magic in the air? I've been sensing something strange ever since we left Seles but I'm having trouble identifying it." I wonder what it could be…?
~*~*~
"Emille?"
"Albert! You're back!" The young queen sat up straight in bed, much to her sister's non-amusement.
"Emille! Please don't sit up so quickly…"
The blonde-headed queen ignored her sister's worried expression. "I'm fine," she replied impatiently. "Albert? Are you alright? Lisa told me the Evil she had been sensing has vanished…did you find out what was causing it?"
"Yes. I did in fact. I promise to tell you the entire story later. But I brought guests with me from the Barrens."
"Guests?"
"Yes. Two old friends of mine happened to be in the Barrens as I went to search for the cause of the storm."
~*~*~
As the door to the guestroom opened both personages inside turned their heads towards the entrance simultaneously. The King entered without saying a word and closed the door quietly behind him. He looked at them both in turn before finally resting his gaze on Rose. She returned the stare with her ever-cold dark eyes.
"Rose. There are many questions I think need to be addressed here." He said, slowly walking towards them both.
"Just as I have questions for you Albert." The dark-dragoon replied from her spot in a chair near the open terrace doors.
He nodded to himself, knowing even as he did so that this conversation was bound to last far into the night. "I think we should all take a seat before we begin. I'll order us something to eat." As her blue-eyed companion grabbed a chair from the nearby dressing table Albert stepped outside for a moment to order some food from a passing servant. Within moments he stepped back inside and pulled up a chair next to Rose and Dart. After a moment Albert sighed. "There are so many things to ask…But I have no idea where to start…"
"How about you start by telling us how you survived the explosion." The divine dragoon crossed his arms over his chest as he slouched in his chair.
The golden haired king cast him a glance. "Yes. I believe that would be a good place to start. I've been wondering much the same thing all day."
Rose sighed. All things must be spoken of in time…. "I suggest, then, that the two of you make yourselves comfortable….It is a long story." She waited a moment for the two of them to get comfortable before the dark eyed woman took a deep breath and let it out slowly, bringing her mind back to her first memories after the explosion.
And so she began her story…
~*~*~
Slowly, ever so slowly my senses returned. The first thing I remember was feeling cold. And numb. It took a while for my memories to return and when they did I felt even colder than I had before. At first I could only remember bits and pieces. But even those fragments of memory were enough to turn my blood cold. I'll explain more later. The next thing to return was my hearing. Wherever I was, it was silent except for the occasional sound of a rock falling and colliding with the rubble that I could feel pressing down on me from all sides. Finally my eyesight returned. Though the cracks in the rubble I could see faint traces of light. There was dust all around, choking me, filling my lungs, and making it hard for me to breathe.
"Why am I still alive?"
It was the only thought running through my head at the time. Then I remembered.
The explosion.
The never-ending heat.
I thought for sure I had died and yet I woke up amidst the rubble of the Moon that Never Sets. I was positive that's where I was…where I was supposed to have died. Where Zieg did die. Once my eyes adjusted to the tiny amount of light given to me by the cracks in the rubble I noticed something a little ways off. As I made my way towards it I groggily came to the conclusion that it was human. Then, as I came closer I saw that it was Zieg's gloved hand. The explosion had completely shredded it. There was barely anything left. Yet I knew it was his. Even in the dim lighting I could see the design on the palm. The Twin Dragons he had etched into the leather, so many years ago… I tried to search for the main part of the body but the only thing left was his hand.
"If he's dead…shouldn't I be too?"
The question ran circles in my mind. I tried to think up numerous possibilities but none of them seemed very plausible. Except that something had saved me, or had brought me back to life. It was hard to think for at the time my mind and most of my body felt numb.
After looking around a bit more amongst the rubble I found the Red-Eye Spirit laying a ways away from the remains of his tattered hand. Without thinking I stuck it in the pouch at my waist. Then I went back and sat down on a rock. I didn't understand anything at the time and most of it is still a mystery to me. However, after I had dug my way to the surface, taking Zieg's remains with me, I realized that I wanted to know why. Why I was still breathing? Why I was able to survive? Why had Zieg died? Did he die saving me? Or did something else save me? Something that wanted me alive for some purpose. Did the Dragoon Spirit that I've had with me for so long save me? Or was all of this just a fluke…Did I survive by accident? I honestly didn't know.
With all of the questions at hand my mind felt numb. I decided to focus on the task at hand.
Burying Zieg.
I dug a hole in the earth and laid what was left of him in it. My insensitive reaction to his death may seem harsh and cold but grieving at a time like the one at hand would not have helped me survive, it would have only watered the ground beneath my feet. I buried what was left of him, made a grave marker, and there I left him.
The only person I could think of to answer my questions was Charle. So I headed to Ulara. Rumors of my death had reached Ulara a few weeks after the incident. However Charle didn't seem surprised that I was still alive. I stayed there for a month, recovering, both in mind and spirit. Charle was able to answer only a few of my questions but was not much help in the end. She did, however, say that until the Dragoon Spirit found a new master it kept key memories of its last master.
Supposedly.
"So perhaps if I can unlock the memories within the spirit I can find out a little bit more about why I'm alive."
Even though it was only a rumor I tried to follow it up.
Besides, I had nothing else to go on.
So I headed to Millie Seaseu and spent a week in the library trying to find anything that might tell me if the claim was true.
I couldn't find anything. The books seemed to point in 50 different directions at once and none of them made any sense. Only a few of the books that I found held any useful information. And even those that had even the smallest tidbit of information about the spirits seemed to be based more on rumor than on fact. One of the books claimed that the Spirits were keys to unlocking a horde of demons that would come and descend upon the earth with the sole purpose of destroying the world.
~*~*~
"Wait…Rose?"
"Yes Albert?"
"That doesn't seem so far off…"
"What doesn't?" The dark-eyed woman turned her cold gaze towards him. After a moment she took a sip of the tea that had arrived a little while ago. It was still delightfully hot as it ran down her throat and slowly warmed her body.
"What that one book said. If you look at it in a prophetic sense…it could be correct. The Dragoon spirits are kind of responsible for unleashing the Virages upon the world. Or at least...if not responsible, per say. Then perhaps they had something to do with it…"
"Yeah…I guess. But that doesn't help me to understand why he died and I'm still alive."
Albert nodded. "That's true. I apologize for interrupting. Continue."
~*~*~
In the end the search in the library bore little fruit. By this time things were getting frustrating and I had little money to spend on food. So I hired out as a mercenary for a small village of farmers who had been having trouble with a local monster. They offered me free room and board at the local inn but I turned them down and within two days the monster was dead and I had 2000 gold in my pocket.
I decided to head on.
But at night the question ran through my mind multiple times…
"Why was I alive?"
Perhaps Zieg had used the last of his energy to save me from death. But why would he do that? He knew that I had wanted to die with him. He knew that I was willing to sacrifice myself in order to completely destroy Melbu Frahma. So there was no logical explanation as to him saving me. So after much thought I ruled that out. Something had protected my body from the explosion. However, I highly doubt it had been Zieg.
What was it then?
Or who was it?
There is one detail that I remember discovering when I woke up. The choker that I wore…the one that Charle created for me in order to keep me alive for over 11, 000 years was no longer on my neck when I came to. Instead there was a pile of Crystals underneath me and I remember feeling a burn mark around my neck where the choker used to be. And yet I haven't aged at all in the time since the explosion. Even Charle couldn't explain it.
However, that was the least of my worries.
I continued to journey from town to town in search of answers. I was continuously on the move for the next three and a half months or so until finally…
I came upon Seles.
Where my adventure with Dart had begun. And where it seemed…a new adventure was about to begin…
~*~*~
"And that's about it." The Darkness Dragoon crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair as she faced the two young men before her.
Albert nodded gravely after a moment. This certainly was a difficult dilemma. "You seem to have quite a mystery on your hands Rose."
Dart looked at her. He finished chewing a piece of his sandwich and swallowed before he said anything. "So basically, even you don't know why you are alive."
The raven-haired warrior nodded curtly as she stood and set her porcelain teacup on the dresser as she walked out onto the balcony. "I don't think it was Zeig. He wouldn't have tried to save me."
Albert walked up behind her. "Perhaps it was the choker you once bore around your neck." The golden eyed king paused for a moment. "May I?" He asked quietly, indicating her collar.
Rose eyed him a moment before she silently undid the top two buttons of her overcoat, opening it just enough so that Albert could see the pale skin of her neck. As the king of two nations meticulously looked at her throat her eyes caught her companions as she looked over Albert's shoulder into the nicely lit guestroom. His blue eyes held her dark ones for a moment before he looked away and continued with his meal. Rose had yet to eat anything and her stomach was now making her pay the price for it by loudly protesting its emptiness.
After a moment Albert straightened. "I am certainly no expert in these matters." He told her. "But there seems to be some sort of foreign pattern where the choker once stood." He stopped and thought for a moment. "It almost appears to be an ancient language of some sort."
"I know." She replied cooly.
"You…know?" Rose nodded silently. Albert's golden eyes lit up at the prospect of acquiring some bit of new information. "Then you can read it? What does it say?"
Her dark eyes closed a moment as she inhaled the crisp night air. When her eyes opened again, she spoke. "Those who live forever…must die forever." She paused for a moment. "I never have figured out quite what it means."
Albert thought for a moment, but his meditation was rudely interrupted by Rose's stomach as it made a very loud protest. Albert chuckled. "Why don't you go eat something. We can continue our speculation tomorrow." He gently placed a amiable hand on her shoulder and started to head for the door. "If you need anything in the middle of the night just ask one of the servants to get it for you. I will see you both tomorrow morning. Goodnight."
"Night Albert" Called Dart over his shoulder as the King closed the guestroom door behind him. As soon as the lock clicked into place Dart stood and stretched. The young warrior watched Rose for a moment before walking over to her and leaning against the balcony rail. "There's a bunch of food left…Feel free to eat some…"
The dark eyed woman just continued to gaze silently out at the garden below for a few moments. "I'm not hungry."
"Bull. Even I could hear your stomach a moment ago. And I was sitting ten feet away. You need to replenish your energy. A measly cup of tea isn't going to cut it, Rose. Even you know that." Only silence answered him.
"Fine. You can stay up but I'm going to bed. 'Night."
Just as Dart turned irritably towards the room Rose called him back. "Dart?"
"Hmm?" The golden-haired warrior turned towards her with his hands clasped behind his head and a curious expression on his face.
"Thank you…For earlier. You saved my life back there…I…appreciate it." Not once did her eyes leave the garden. A gentle breeze blew dark strands of her hair into her face but they were ignored.
Dart looked at her for a moment. Then after a while he smiled. "No problem. I'd save your life any day. That's what partners do." He looked at her a moment more and then bade her goodnight as he headed back into the room to get ready for bed.
For a moment the mask that continually covered Rose's face slipped away and small smile played on her lips as she looked out into the garden and continued in her thoughts.
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A/N: I FINALLY got this chapter done. It ended up being shorter than I had originally planned, but I'll just continue with my thoughts in the next chapter. To all of you who have waited so long for this chapter I am SOOOO SORRY!!!! –bows- I know, I'm a bad, bad person! I can't believe I haven't updated this in over a year! O.o But I'd really like to thank Lloyd's Girl for her lovely little review that convinced me to get up off my lazy ass and finish up the chapter tonight. Lol of course it just happens to be the night before my English Final, but that's ok…: p I hope you all like it and tomorrow I'll hopefully finish up what I was going to write into this chapter so that I can update. Maybe I'll do like a "part I, part II" thing…hm…-thinks- who knows. Anyway I hope that this is satisfactory.
And as a final note Review PLEASE!!