Fantasy Is My Life 1: No stopping mid-way, got it. Yessir!
Bella: ::bows:: good, I'm glad tis good!
Evilstrawberry: All will be explained young grasshopper. ^_^
Engulfingdawn: hope I spelled that rite…I'm positive I'm continuing it, updates will just bee every week or two weeks is all. You'll all just have to be patient with me. ^-^ And thanks for the tip, talk about embarrassing…
Serpent of Light: hmm, you read other things I wrote? Then why do I no remember any reviews eh? Lol, hehe, I live off my reviews ehehe, now remember, read and REVIEW! Hehehe…
QueenofConnaught: I've been to Connaught. It's really pretty. Do u live there? Sorry, I read Connaught and went ahh! I remember that! Hehe, I'm a little Ireland obsessed…I got halfway thru one of your ficcies…Hope I didn't sound too cruel, I just gave me opinion..
Kiwi: hehee, I like dragons…
Raven: Queen Of The Rouge: Hope you've never seen one like this before, Cause then that'd mean It was Unoriginal, and then I've have to start the whole idea process over again. Which would be a pain. ;)
FlamingKnight: Nope, not john. Liam using John's name because he needs a fake one. Everyone else may or may not be dead. We'll have to see how things progress won't we? Read story for more info on Draconia. And reviews with questions are good because then I know what to elaborate on!
Aubrey's Black Rose: Yup, Liam is John's son. And the rest will be explained.
Chapter Two: Rhialden
Alanna screamed as the silver blade sliced through her body, the anciesnt song of death spewed from her lips. Life dripped from her body in dark red drops, staining the rocks she stood on, this couldn't be happening. Tortall could not be overrun! This was Tortall! Her Tortall! The savages could not just walk in, kill every one and rule. They weren't trained; there weren't enough of them, how?
She had watched as eight men surrounded John, begging him to rethink his decision to kill an assassin. She had thought it a very stupid thing to do. The man had killed twelve people he deserved to die. A messenger had come, telling her there was a man outside the door demanding he talk with her immediately. She had then left the conference room just as a commotion had erupted behind her.
The men were stabbing John. She had tried to go to him but was cut off by another man.
Her last thoughts were of disgust with herself. How could she have missed this? How could any of them have missed a conspiracy as big as this one?
::-::
He was scared. Draconian's where scary, eerie people. They could figure things out just by looking at a problem, they saw the problem from all angles and then studied the results the actions would have on people. He studied her as she moved about he inn, serving drinks and food. Her actions where graceful and calculated carefully, she had almost perfect balance. She was a little thing, fairly short, though not as short as the once famed Lioness.
Draconia was an island where the Dragonlands and the mortal realm met. The breach had always been there and somehow the people group had befriended the dragons, even though the two had hated each other elsewhere in the world. It was said the Draconians had dragon blood in them. The people had managed to keep the secret from the rest of the world, and in turn the dragons defended the island. No one ever attacked Draconia, and if some one did, they didn't live to tell the tale.
A Draconian princess, he thought as he watched with mixed curiosity as she disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later he went in after her, and entered in time to see her stand on a wobbly chair to grab a pan.
"You're going to-" He started to say and smiled a little as she shrieked and fell to the ground not so gracefully. "-Fall." He smirked as he walked over to her. She was standing up, shaking her skirts to get rid of the dust.
She brushed herself off. She looked at him pointedly.
"Could you reach me that pot?" She asked gesturing to the pot she had valiantly tried to reach. He smiled and reached to pick it up, one handed he grabbed it one handed and brought it down with no trouble.
"Thank you." She said curtly, grabbing the pot. She filled it with soapy water before leaving. He smiled this girl had spunk.
She sighed as she scrubbed yet another table. They're where only a few men left and she was trying to clean around them. Liam was scrubbing the floor on the other side of the room. She was tired and her back was sore.
Suddenly the wind picked up and the door swung open. Getting up she groaned and moved to the door. A man came through the door, dripping wet though there was no rain.
"Venus, here." The man gasped handing her an oiled tube before he disappeared all together. She blinked, more than surprised by the mans sudden appearance and disappearance.
She looked at Liam quizzically and he walked to join her at the bar.
"Open it." He prodded. She sighed.
"I don't know if I can, my name's not Venus." She murmured looking the tube over. It looked as if some one had tried to burn it; dark brown scorch marks scarred the leather.
"Then who's Venus?"
"She was my mother."
"But then why can't you open it?" He asked confused.
"There's a spell on it, I can't open it without whatever' is inside self destructing. But what I don' get is how he knew me..." She murmured.
"But you said he called you by your mothers name."
"He did, and normally I look exactly like my mother did, but I don't know."
"What?"
"Glamour spells. Like you're using, this isn't what I normally look like." She quieted as the last drunk stumbled out of the inn.
"How did you know..." Eh asked.
"I'm a mage, a pretty good one at that, I can see that you've got the spells on, just not through them."
"Whoa, I didn't even notice that you had-"
"Most people don't, I'm very good at what I do." She said before grabbing her soapy water and heading to the vacated table.
Liam rolled his eyes; this girl was difficult, interesting but difficult.
The room was clean and the two where out side, locking up and she was still fiddling with the leather tube. He watcher her carefully, she looked nervous. Draconians never looked nervous. They where above human emotions, inner struggles, they thought logically. Stoicism his brain whispered to him, that was what they practiced, stoicism. A rather unfair thing to do to yourself, he thought, deny yourself every emotion. Sure I'd like to be rid of sadness and depression, but happiness and joy too? I suppose it has it's benefits, I certainly couldn't do it.
"We need to talk." He said after a moment. "I want to know what's going on." He said. She merely nodded.
"This way then." She said, stepping down an alleyway. He followed close behind. He followed her through dark alleys, past the city's outer limits and deep into the forest. HE was wet; the sky had opened up and was amused with dumping buckets of water down onto the earth, mainly on his person.
"Where are we?" He asked, disgruntled. She smiled a knowing smile.
"We're almost there, don't get your panty's in a bunch." She said, liking the show of outrage on his face. She loved making men uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, this boy was smarter than the rest of his kin, and knew what she was doing. "Bet mine are prettier than yours."
"Really? Well than you might just have to show them to me sometime." This time he blushed, but he was not one to end a fight so quickly.
"Why would I do that?"
"So that I know what I'm competing with." She said, smirking. He gasped as she disappeared into a tree. He waited a few seconds before testing the seeming tree. He was surprised as his hand passed through. He quickly withdrew his hand.
"What?"
"Are you coming, it won't kill you, it's just an illusion." She said as she popped back out. He merely shrugged, not showing his fear and walked into the tree. She was trying to create a fire using flint and he watched in mild confusion.
"Why don't you use magic?"
"I've used more than enough tonight, if any hedge witch tried to find her cat she would see the magic trail I've left behind. And it would mean death for both of us if we were to be found." She said quietly. He watched as she looked to the ceiling, a small hole, only a hands breath in width was directly above her. "For ventilation." She murmured as he followed her gaze. "So, what do you want to know?" She asked, rifling trough her shelves.
"First of all, where you came from, why you are here, what you know that I don't know, what your name is, how you knew who I was, where you learned to fight, mainly flipping large men over your shoulders and what it is you expect me to do. That's all." He said, all in one breath and she smiled a little as he took in one very large breath.
"Alright, I come from the Isle Draconia, which is on the southern most tip of Tortall, on the Great Inland Sea. I'm here to help you through the task you have been assigned by the gods. I know a great deal of things that you don't know, some of which I will share with you, some of which I will not. I have many names, for all purposes in which we are not alone that name shall be Ria, when we are alone you may call me Saturn. I knew who you where because to an eye trained to look for you there where more than a few hints, otherwise it could be found out through your pendant. My brother taught me to fight. And I expect you to complete the task set before you. That was it wasn't it?" She said and he rolled his eyes at her superior tone of voice.
"And just what, Miamian," He asked, naming the goddess of knowledge. "Is this task set about me by the gods?" She smiled.
"I think you know." Moonlight spilled into the cavern, bathing everything around it in a soft glow.
"I know? I don't know, I haven't a clue! How am I supposed to know?" He asked, glaring at her. "You're the messenger from the god's shouldn't you know?"
"No! I might know, but usually the chosen figure these things out for themselves, and they never interrogate the messengers! Think the Lioness, the Wildmage, the Protector of the Small, Griffin, the Dragon, Alexander the Conqueror, Charlemagne, anybody! They all figures it out for themselves!"
"Yes, they also all died! Think about that for a minute." She glared at him and silence reigned.
"Yes but they all died nobly." She whispered.
"They still died. How they died is of no consequence. Now either you tell me what it is I'm supposed to do, or I won't do it at all."
"Ohhh!" She screamed. "Why do you have to be so difficult? Are you having fun is that it? Why can't you just do what you're told and be done with it? Must you question everything?" She yelled, while getting up and pacing.
"I might do it if I know what I was supposed to do!" He yelled back. "I haven't questioned anything! All I want to know is what I'm supposed to do!" Soon they where both yelling at the tops of their lungs and showed no signs of ceasing.
A light blazed into the cave and the winds roared. A sound could be heard above the wind, a song that claimed the attention of any and all that heard it. If anyone had been listening they would have seen what looked like a falling star come crashing down to earth, if they had been looking.
STOP! A voice shattered their fight; they clasped their hands over their ears as a sound like an avalanche invaded their heads. Liam's eyes watered, and Ria thought he was crying from the pain.
This is no way to act! Shame! What have you got to say for yourselves?
The two humans looked up to see a very tall woman who radiated a dull red/orange light. Like the color of amber. She was beautiful, there were no two ways about it, she was gorgeous, but dangerous.
"Um," Liam began.
Um? Typical human response. And you? Ria guessed that question was aimed at her.
"We where just fighting, Madame. Who are you?" She asked timidly. And then it laughed, a sound of a lightning storm, crashing through their heads, Ria swore that he head was going to explode before it stopped.
Fighting? What for? It solves nothing. You, young men are to put your country back to rights, you will rule. And for your stupid behavior Saturn, You will help him.
"What? No!" She yelled and then it laughed again. "Who are you to tell me what to do?"
I am the god Rhialden, and I am in charge of your life for the next few years. It said before shooting back into the sky.
"Disgusting, gods! Thinking they can just come in here and screw with my life! Ug!" Ria yelled. "I'm NOT DOING IT!" She yelled into the sky.
"Right, now, how do I fix Tortall?" He asked puzzled.
"What? I don't know! I'm not helping!"
"Why not? Got something better to do?" He asked, she glared at him.
"Yes." He gave her a look that said, really? "Maybe." He continued to give her that look. "No. But I'm not helping."
"And why not?"
"Because." She said, sounding like a churlish child.
"Because…"
"Because I will not be bossed around by some uppity god who thinks that she can come down here and screw with me. Because SHE CAN'T!" She ended that sentence yelled at the sky. He rolled his eyes.
"That's what gods do. It's they're whole purpose in life." He said soothingly.
"DO NOT PATRONIZE ME!" She yelled and then stomped out. Liam merely rolled his eyes and curled up close to the fire to sleep.
A/N: Okay girlie's, you will never guess what I just thought of. Picture this, Orlando Bloom, outside you door, in a black tux, with a bouquet of red roses. Hehe, okay, maybe it isn't that great of a picture for you, but my friend and me just about died when we thought of that.
Okay, to the point, hope you liked the chappie, though If you didn't please tell me why. And any hint's that would help my writing skills would be highly appreciated!