A/N: Well, it's R-Rated for later chapters as well as the usual blood,
gore, etc. Besides, I didn't want to accidentally rate it too low and have
someone scream at me if I cross the line. Whatever.
Chapter Four – A Leader of Nations
A man with mask wrapped around the lower half of his face dressed in drab brown, somewhat loose clothes stepped into a large cave, bowing low to the shadowy figure ahead of him. The bowing man's sword hung loosely at his side, without even a sheathe. "Lord, my agents have returned. The two women are here."
The shadow-cloaked figure smiled. "Good, good. Excellent." He stepped out, revealing a very tall man with a stony grey face and pure white eyes, with long white hair going down behind his head. Two swords hung at his sides. "Your payment, as agreed on." He drew a pouch from his jacket and tossed it to the man, who caught it out of the air without even blinking.
"Thank you, Lord."
With that, he turned and stalked out of the cave. The taller man followed him, looking down at a wagon surrounded by four men, all of whom were wrapped in robes, hiding their armour and weapons and revealing only their faces, with several scars to show their battle-readiness. The first man tore the covering off of the wagon, revealing Seung Mina and Xianghua, their hands bound behind them, their feet bound together. Seung Mina looked up at the man defiantly. "Cervantes de Leon. I never thought I'd see you here."
Cervantes grinned eerily. "Ye've got my shard, girl, and I know you'll tell me where it is. Reveal a little to old Cervantes, eh?"
"You'll never get anything out of me," Seung Mina said through gritted teeth.
"Ah, but I know how to make you talk. You've got a weakness for watching innocent people get hurt," he said eerily, his gaze shifting to the unconscious Xianghua. Seung Mina's eyes widened, then she squinted through them.
"You wouldn't."
"Evidently you haven't known me long enough, darling."
Seung Mina's eyes opened wide, then she closed them, trying to wake up and hope it was all a dream.
-
A pair of large brown eyes shot open, as a young girl sat up straight in a cold sweat. She looked around the dark room, her hand instinctively reaching for the hunting knife beside her bed. Then she blinked, looking around again, and remembered she was in her own bedroom, safe here. "It was just a dream," she whispered. "Probably from trying to sneak away."
She rose quickly, dressing herself in short pants and a small top, and grabbed the bag she had packed. Two tonfa with blades on the ends were strapped to the back of the backpack. Talim got up, strapping the hunting knife to her right leg and moving quietly downstairs to escape without anyone noticing.
As the stepped out the front door of her house, quietly closing it behind her, she noticed the sun just rising over a nearby hill like an orange, casting golden light down on Talim's getaway. She turned, setting off, hiking the backpack up onto her shoulder further up her back. However, just as she reached the edge of the village, she heard a strong yet quiet voice call out to her. "Talim."
Talim turned to see an older woman with grey hair loosely tied back to fall over her shoulder and a walking stick to help her stand watching Talim intently. "Mother," Talim whispered. "I'm sorry. You know I have to go."
Talim's mother, the village elder, watched Talim and sadly nodded her head. "Yes, my child, you must go. Your father would never approve, so go now while he sleeps. Talim, you have a special place in the world that only you can fill, and whether that place is big or small, affecting the world or a single person, know that every task you complete is of the same importance. Do good not only for yourself, but also for the world. A great evil is coming, and you have been borne into this world at the precise time to observe its occurrence. Go in peace, my child, and with my blessing."
With that, she bowed her head and slipped a circular silver medallion with a carving of the wind and the sun off of her neck and held it out to Talim. "As this was passed from my mother's mother to my mother, and from my mother to me, I now pass this, the medallion of the Wind Princess, to you, Talim. May you go in peace."
"But mother,"Talim protested. "This is yours. I cannot take it."
"It is yours now, my daughter, as it was destined to be passed to you. Bow your head."
Talim did so, and her mother placed the medallion around her neck. "Go now, my child. And may the medallion bring you light in dark places and hope when all hope has faded."
"But-"
"Hurry, before your father awakens. He would never let his only daughter leave. He wishes you to be his child forever, but you are growing. You have to go, dear. Hurry."
Talim nodded, brushing a tear from her eye, and turned, running out of the village away from the rising sun. Her mother watched her receding back slowly, and sadly, waving one hand solemnly. "Farewell, my daughter ..." she whispered. "We will never meet again. But you are destined for greater things. Goodbye."
*
A/N: I know it's probably sappy and crappy (Hey, it rhymes!) but I needed to introduce Talim somehow. And besides, I needed to show everything that happened there somehow. I guess this was the only way, except in flashbacks or sob stories later on. Anyway, I hope to update soon, and sorry for the wait between Chapters 3 and 4.
Chapter Four – A Leader of Nations
A man with mask wrapped around the lower half of his face dressed in drab brown, somewhat loose clothes stepped into a large cave, bowing low to the shadowy figure ahead of him. The bowing man's sword hung loosely at his side, without even a sheathe. "Lord, my agents have returned. The two women are here."
The shadow-cloaked figure smiled. "Good, good. Excellent." He stepped out, revealing a very tall man with a stony grey face and pure white eyes, with long white hair going down behind his head. Two swords hung at his sides. "Your payment, as agreed on." He drew a pouch from his jacket and tossed it to the man, who caught it out of the air without even blinking.
"Thank you, Lord."
With that, he turned and stalked out of the cave. The taller man followed him, looking down at a wagon surrounded by four men, all of whom were wrapped in robes, hiding their armour and weapons and revealing only their faces, with several scars to show their battle-readiness. The first man tore the covering off of the wagon, revealing Seung Mina and Xianghua, their hands bound behind them, their feet bound together. Seung Mina looked up at the man defiantly. "Cervantes de Leon. I never thought I'd see you here."
Cervantes grinned eerily. "Ye've got my shard, girl, and I know you'll tell me where it is. Reveal a little to old Cervantes, eh?"
"You'll never get anything out of me," Seung Mina said through gritted teeth.
"Ah, but I know how to make you talk. You've got a weakness for watching innocent people get hurt," he said eerily, his gaze shifting to the unconscious Xianghua. Seung Mina's eyes widened, then she squinted through them.
"You wouldn't."
"Evidently you haven't known me long enough, darling."
Seung Mina's eyes opened wide, then she closed them, trying to wake up and hope it was all a dream.
-
A pair of large brown eyes shot open, as a young girl sat up straight in a cold sweat. She looked around the dark room, her hand instinctively reaching for the hunting knife beside her bed. Then she blinked, looking around again, and remembered she was in her own bedroom, safe here. "It was just a dream," she whispered. "Probably from trying to sneak away."
She rose quickly, dressing herself in short pants and a small top, and grabbed the bag she had packed. Two tonfa with blades on the ends were strapped to the back of the backpack. Talim got up, strapping the hunting knife to her right leg and moving quietly downstairs to escape without anyone noticing.
As the stepped out the front door of her house, quietly closing it behind her, she noticed the sun just rising over a nearby hill like an orange, casting golden light down on Talim's getaway. She turned, setting off, hiking the backpack up onto her shoulder further up her back. However, just as she reached the edge of the village, she heard a strong yet quiet voice call out to her. "Talim."
Talim turned to see an older woman with grey hair loosely tied back to fall over her shoulder and a walking stick to help her stand watching Talim intently. "Mother," Talim whispered. "I'm sorry. You know I have to go."
Talim's mother, the village elder, watched Talim and sadly nodded her head. "Yes, my child, you must go. Your father would never approve, so go now while he sleeps. Talim, you have a special place in the world that only you can fill, and whether that place is big or small, affecting the world or a single person, know that every task you complete is of the same importance. Do good not only for yourself, but also for the world. A great evil is coming, and you have been borne into this world at the precise time to observe its occurrence. Go in peace, my child, and with my blessing."
With that, she bowed her head and slipped a circular silver medallion with a carving of the wind and the sun off of her neck and held it out to Talim. "As this was passed from my mother's mother to my mother, and from my mother to me, I now pass this, the medallion of the Wind Princess, to you, Talim. May you go in peace."
"But mother,"Talim protested. "This is yours. I cannot take it."
"It is yours now, my daughter, as it was destined to be passed to you. Bow your head."
Talim did so, and her mother placed the medallion around her neck. "Go now, my child. And may the medallion bring you light in dark places and hope when all hope has faded."
"But-"
"Hurry, before your father awakens. He would never let his only daughter leave. He wishes you to be his child forever, but you are growing. You have to go, dear. Hurry."
Talim nodded, brushing a tear from her eye, and turned, running out of the village away from the rising sun. Her mother watched her receding back slowly, and sadly, waving one hand solemnly. "Farewell, my daughter ..." she whispered. "We will never meet again. But you are destined for greater things. Goodbye."
*
A/N: I know it's probably sappy and crappy (Hey, it rhymes!) but I needed to introduce Talim somehow. And besides, I needed to show everything that happened there somehow. I guess this was the only way, except in flashbacks or sob stories later on. Anyway, I hope to update soon, and sorry for the wait between Chapters 3 and 4.