Me again... well. Another chapter up. Wow! I can't believe I've made it this
far! TEN CHAPTERS:.... Well, do not worry, the story won't take long, heheh.
Well...I wanted to thank Marlene.... Because you are always reviewing, that makes me very happy!!!!!!!!!
About your questions... well I may not have been very clear... but the letter that the messenger gave Fuu was actually the one that requested her to go to the war.. the talk Umi and Fuu had last chapter about Clef was actually a flashback....heheh 8D I'll make a note on the chap so no one else gets confused... and about the KISS:... well I shouldn't say a thing.. but well....
It's already written... and it's not going to be as sweet as you might think...BUT it's really going to be good, really (I am not being mean with Fuu).
Anyway.... I hope all your questions are answered...so, on with the fic...
(CLAMP owns RAYEARTH)
The Quest
Chapter 10 Betrayal
"What is going on?" asked Umi as she hurried of the room. She saw Fuu lying on the floor, Ferio was hugging her. She kneeled to see Fuu and got Ferio off the way.
"Fuu?! What happened?" she asked very worried. Ferio looked at the two friends. He gave two steps back. Fuu just smiled.
"I am sorry Umi-san, I didn't meant to scare you. I just... had a bad dream."
Umi rose an eyebrow and looked at Fuu.
"A dream? Outside?"
"No. I had it inside but then I... "she stopped and watched Ferio. He looked to the other side of the room. Umi noticed this.
"I'll go get a glass of water for you." He said, his tone serious. Ferio left the girls and Fuu watched him go. She looked at her hands again. She managed to hold her tears, since there was Umi. Umi looked at the two of them.
"What really happened?" she asked helping her friend stand.
"I have been having a dream..." she said not looking at her.
"You too?" Umi said interrupting her. Fuu looked at her bewildered.
"Is it about a girl?" the princess asked.
Fuu looked very surprised. She never expected her friend been having the same dream. She nodded not knowing what to say.
"So... what does it has to do with yelling and that guy?" she asked opening the door.
When they entered, they found Hikaru completely asleep, so was Mokona.
"I can't believe she didn't awoke!" Umi said looking at Hikaru. Fuu smiled. It was good, she didn't want to worry Hikaru too.
"So... it is the same dream." Umi said looking at Fuu.
"Maybe..." Fuu wasn't looking at her. "Does it has a house?"
"In flames? Yes."
"Then it is the same." Fuu looked at Umi. She couldn't believe it.
Umi looked sad. She hold Fuu's hand.
"Why did you yelled? Did Ferio did something to you? Because if he..."
"No. Umi-san, Ferio did nothing to me."
Umi sighed relieved. She would had killed him if he had done something. "I...heard a voice... the voice from the dream." Fuu looked at Hikaru, she was sleeping peacefully now.
Umi forced a smile.
"What did it say?"
Fuu didn't answer.
"They tell me continuously not to love him." the princess said looking at her friend. Fuu looked at her.
"It told you not to love Clef –sama?" she asked very confused.
Umi smiled.
"No. They never say his name. But, since I..." Umi looked at the window and stood up.
"Since when are you having this dream Umi-san?"
"Since yesterday. Why?"
Fuu looked again at her hands. 'Yesterday? But, then why have I dreamt this for years?' she asked to herself. ´Could this be related to the light?'
"Fuu? Are you really feeling alright?"
Fuu smiled. But said no.
"I... heard the voice in my head when I was awake. And it was accompanied by a very painful headache and some images." She said. "That is why I yelled."
Umi looked at Fuu.
"I haven't heard it in my head." She said thinking. "What did it tell?"
Fuu looked at Umi. The princess understood she wasn't telling. In that same moment Ferio entered the room with a glass of water and some food. He walked toward Fuu, who was sitting on her bed.
"Here, I brought you some food. You didn't eat a thing at dinner. Perhaps that's what happened." He said leaving the food on the table next to the bed.
"Thank you." Fuu said not looking at him.
"Do you need anything else?" he said walking toward the door.
"No. I think I will be fine, thank you." Fuu wasn't looking at him either.
With that Ferio left the room and closed the door. Umi stayed watching the door.
"What was all that about?" she asked as she sat on the bed next to Fuu.
Fuu didn't answer again. In that moment Hikaru woke up and looked at her friends. Some tears were on her eyes.
"Are you alright Hikaru-san?" Fuu asked as she got near Hikaru's bed.
Hikaru nodded. "It was just a dream." She said looking at Fuu.
"What dream?" asked Umi looking seriously at Fuu.
Hikaru looked puzzled.
"About a girl, her house was set on fire and some creature spoke to me..." she said trying to recall everything.
Umi and Fuu looked at each other. This was definitely too strange.
"What is it girls?" Hikaru asked even more puzzled.
"We are having the same dream Hikaru. Since when do you have it?" Umi said.
"Since we fainted. Yesterday." She said standing up.
"The same dream at the same time..." Umi said.
"No." Fuu said looking nervous. Umi and Hikaru looked at her.
"I have been having this dream for a very long time now... years."
Umi and Hikaru looked at Fuu.
"Years?" Umi uttered.
"Yes. But it was different. There wasn't a creature before, before yesterday."
Ferio walked through the corridors of the hideout. He was angry. Fuu wasn't telling him everything. It was her life, she was free to tell whoever she wanted what was going on... and still it made him anger. She was not having trust in him, not in that matter. And he wondered for many minutes why. He entered to the children's room. That was one of his favorite places. He liked kids, and he liked the way they looked at life. He sat on a little chair and grabbed his head.
"Why? Why Fuu?" he looked at the floor. There was no answer. He felt stupid. He was always free. He had always loved adventures, he has always liked to be a loner. But in that moment, he felt a terrible sorrow through his body.
"Why, hello Ferio." A voice came form behind.
Ferio looked back and saw the familiar shadow.
"Eagle... what do you want?" he asked in a bad mood.
"I was wondering what you were doing here, at night. I thought you enjoyed sleeping." He said smiling and sitting by his side.
"I am not tired." "You don't sleep because you need it. You sleep because you like it." Eagle said giving a small laugh.
Ferio didn't find that funny. He was still mad at Eagle.
"I better get going then." Ferio said standing up and walking toward the door.
"I heard you are leaving." Eagle said. Ferio stopped.
"You better not be spying on me Eagle." He said looking menacingly at his leader.
"I am not spying. I am doing my job by protecting the clan. Thing that you are obviously not doing."
Ferio smiled. Eagle and him had been friends for a very long time. They had always talked about protecting the clan. However, Ferio had always make himself clear, he would always care only on him.
"Well, then you won't mind if we leave as soon as possible."
"The thing is, I can not trust your friends. Lantis is a guard, I know him and I know that by protecting our country, he'll do anything."
Ferio smiled. "So Lantis is THAT guard." Eagle smiled back.
"Yes. But you are getting off subject. We have enemies inside our hideout. That friend of yours and the princess, no matter if they are good persons, they are form Kiam. And Kiam is in war with us."
Ferio rolled his eyes.
"Ferio... I can't let them go. They'll endanger our clan." Eagle said calmly.
Ferio frowned. Eagle was not going to interfere with his plans.
"You owe me one Eagle. And you know the thieves rules." He said this time a bit more serious.
Eagle looked at Ferio.
"Yes, you are right. I owe you, but are you really going to lose this opportunity by saving those?"
If a thief betrays another thief, then the betrayed one has the right to ask ANYTHING from the traitor. Anything meant anything, Ferio had the right to ask anything form Eagle. Eagle would had swear that his friend would ask for some money, or be fed forever even if he did nothing, a house maybe. Ferio would never ask for something for someone. At least, the Ferio he knew.
"My request is that you leave all of us, and I mean Fuu, the princess, Hikaru, Lantis, Ascot and myself, to leave this place with six horses without problem and that you won't, by any means, follow us or betray me again." Ferio said smiling noting the surprise his request made Eagle.
Eagle looked at Ferio. "Are you serious?" he managed to ask.
Ferio nodded.
"Why?" the thieves leader asked.
"That would be none of your business, my friend." Ferio said as he turned around.
"It is that girl, Fuu." Eagle said stopping Ferio again.
"You've never cared for someone." Eagle said. "But now, you are helping her. Why?"
"Because she is different." Ferio said leaving Eagle alone.
Eagle sat down on one of the little chairs. He couldn't believe Ferio's change. He smiled. Perhaps that was good for him, after all, Eagle has always thought that Ferio was not happy.
"So, are you really letting us go?"
Eagle turned to see Lantis hidden in the shadows. Eagle smiled and motioned Lantis to join him in a little chair. The tall man walked beside Eagle but stayed standing, maybe because he couldn't fit in any chair.
"I don't think so." Eagle said looking smiling at Lantis.
"I thought so." Lantis said. "What did you do to Ferio?"
Eagle smiled and looked at the door where Ferio was some minutes before.
"I got him into a trap, so he could be caught by you guys." He said now looking at Lantis.
"Why?"
"Because we needed to distract you. You, as you now can see, were getting too close to find us."
Lantis said nothing.
"I had to protect the clan." Eagle said fixing his eyes into Lantis'. "As I have to protect it now that you are here."
"So, you are not going to fulfill your promise to Ferio."
Eagle nodded. "Are you going to try to escape?" Eagle asked looking more intensely into Lantis' eyes.
Lantis just stayed there.
"You'll have to fight me." Eagle said as he stood up and walked out the room. Lantis was now alone.
"Eagle."
Fuu walked alone through the corridors of the hideout, she was definitely lost. She left Umi and Hikaru thinking. She had to find Ferio. She knew he was angry. He would probably think she doesn't trust him, but it was different. How was she supposed to tell him that the creature told her not to love HIM. How was she supposed to tell him that she saw him die. Some tears fell form her eyes at the thought. The creature had told her not to love him, but she was not going to listen to it.
Umi and Hikaru had asked why she was leaving, but she just said she was going to the bathroom. She hated it, she hated to lie to her fiends. But she was not prepared to tell them what she was feeling.
Fuu was now walking through the halls when she heard some noises. She stopped in front of a door. Some people were talking inside. She decided to enter and ask if Ferio was there or had been there. She was about to knock the door when someone inside told her name.
"Why is Ferio helping those guys, Fuu and whatever." A woman said in an angered tone.
"He made friends with them. Maybe he just wants to help." Another woman said.
"No, that's not like Ferio. He must definitely owe something." A man said.
"Yeah, perhaps they helped him someway and now he is just paying back." Another man said.
"Risking US?!" the first woman replied.
"Well, that's Ferio, you know he cares for no one." The man said.
Fuu didn't knock, it was not right to be hearing that conversation. She started walking, maybe she would find Ferio soon. The thieves were obviously angry at Ferio. He endangered them. Fuu felt it was her fault again. Still, they were taking of Ferio as if he was a different person. 'Paying back?´ she thought. She hasn't done anything to make him owe something to her. It was the other way around.
She walked for some more minutes until she spotted him. He was sitting in the floor near a strange door. Fuu took a deep breath and walked toward him.
Ferio heard some footsteps and looked up. It was Fuu. She was walking toward him. he looked back to the floor.
Fuu stopped near him and watched him. He didn't raise his head.
"May I seat with you?"
Ferio nodded. She sat and looked at the floor too. There was some silence until Ferio decided to talk.
"You don't need to tell me." He said. "I've already told you, I prefer the truth some other time than a lie now. I don't want lies, not from you." He said not looking at her. His words made Fuu feel even worse.
"It is really a very difficult subject." She said. "I am no sure...I am not sure I will ever be able to tell someone." Ferio looked at her. "That is sad. You should find someone with whom share your things. If not, you'll keep them all inside, and it will hurt more and more everyday."
Fuu looked at him then frowned.
"I do not want to be rude, Ferio. But you are not exactly the person that should say that. You are always hiding things, are you are never honest to anyone."
"I've been honest with you." He said looking at her. Fuu felt something in her heart. She felt happy.
"And precisely because I've been doing it all my life, I'm telling you not to do it. I don't want you to be hurt."
Fuu smiled. That was the real Ferio, not the one the thieves talked about.
"Thank you Ferio." She said smiling. "Why are you different with me than with your friends?"
"Why's that?" Ferio replied.
Fuu wondered for some minutes. "Because...I... I kind of heard this conversation..."
"You were hearing another persons conversation." Ferio said teasingly. Fuu blushed.
"It...it was an accident..." she stammered.
"But you still heard enough to ask me this." He said laughing.
Fuu blushed even more. She was not the kind of people to hear other people's talk, but lately, she had done it twice, unintentionally, but still... Ferio smiled.
"They were saying that you were probably helping us because you owed something, they said you betrayed them because you care for no one, it sounded not like you." Fuu said trying to return her color back to normal.
"And you believed them?" Ferio asked looking into her eyes. This made her nervous again.
"No. It's just that, if you gave them that impression... then you are not yourself with them." She said plainly. Ferio smiled.
"Well. Actually, that's the way I was raised. I had to protect myself since I was little and learned fast not to trust anyone." He said.
"Yes, that's what I thought when I met you. But still, you have been living with them for a while now. Shouldn't you be more yourself ?"
Ferio smiled. "No, I've never trust anyone, not even them, not even my sister."
"But why are you different with me?" Fuu said as she blushed and put her hand on her mouth. The sentence escaped from her mouth, she never meant to tell him that. But she was not that surprised, she continuously lost control of herself around him. Ferio smiled.
"Have you ever heard of love at first sight?" he asked smiling and looking in her eyes. She blushed even more. Her heart beat faster.
"Ferio, Fuu!" a voice came form the corridor. The couple looked to see who was it. Ferio would have killed him for interrupting them if it wasn't because Ascot was truly worried.
"Ascot-san, is everything alright?" Fuu asked standing up, looking at his pale face.
Ascot said nothing. "There's something you need to see. It's about Hikaru and Mokona." He said nervous. Fuu and Ferio looked to each other.
"What happened Ascot?" Ferio asked. He then looked into Ascot. He wasn't looking neither to Fuu or him. he was looking at nothing.
"Ascot?" Ferio asked. Fuu looked at her friend, he was strangely pale, when she then noticed something on his stomach. Something red. She gasped and ran toward him. Ferio looked at Fuu and then at Ascot. There was blood on his robe, Ascot's blood. When Fuu was about to reach Ascot, the young summoner collapsed. Ferio caught him just in time.
"Oh goodness! He's been stabbed." Fuu said as she looked at the wound. Ferio looked at Ascot. He was now unconscious. He new what was going on.
"Fuu, stay with Ascot, you can heal him right?" he said as he stood up. Fuu nodded. Ferio started to run.
"Ferio! Where are you going?" She said trying to reach him.
"He said there was something about Hikaru and Mokona. I'm sure it's Eagle. Your friends are in danger." He said as he ran away leaving Fuu and Ascot alone.
Fuu looked at the wound. It was clean. She then cast her healing spell on him. The wound started to disappear along with the blood. Ascot regain his conscious again. As he opened his eyes he started to mumble something Fuu couldn't understand. As Ascot focused his gaze at Fuu he then jumped and grabbed her form the shoulders.
"Fuu! We are in danger!" he said looking terrified.
Fuu tried to calm him. "What happened Ascot-san?"
Ascot looked bewildered. He looked all around them and the closed his eyes. He remember the light, the sword, the blood, his blood. Ascot opened his eyes and looked at his stomach. There was nothing.
"I healed you. What happened Ascot-san?" Fuu asked again patience on her voice.
Ascot closed his eyes and tried to talk.
"Eagle... he had betrayed us. He entered your room and tried to kill Hikaru. He told his thieves to take Umi to a dungeon. I tried to protect Umi... but the thieves got out their swords. Lantis came and started fighting Eagle. But then something happened. Eagle used some strange artifact and Lantis got knocked out..." Ascot was speaking very fast, as trying to tell everything before it was erased from his brain. Fuu listened carefully. Ferio was right... Eagle had betrayed them.
"...then Hikaru got all angry and something happened, a light got of Mokona's head and enveloped Hikaru... she got a sword..." Ascot stopped. "And then you were stabbed." Fuu finished for him. Ascot nodded.
"But how did you get here?" Fuu asked.
Ascot looked around them. "I...I don't know...there was a creature..."
Fuu gasped... it couldn't be THAT creature. She stood up.
"Ascot-san... we need to help them." She said as she started to run. Ascot watched her and nodded. He had to protect Umi.
Ferio got to the girls room and watched the strange scene. Eagle was being threatened by Hikaru. All the thieves had stopped fighting since Eagle had Hikaru's strange sword right at his neck. Hikaru, however, wasn't herself, her gaze was lost and it showed anger. Umi was in the floor and Geo and Zazu arrived just as Ferio. Lantis was on the floor.
Zazu and Geo tried to help Eagle but Ferio stopped them.
"She'll kill him if you get any closer." He said. Geo and Zazu stopped and looked at Hikaru.
"He's just trying to protect us!" Zazu yelled. Ferio looked at Hikaru... what the hell was going on?
"Umi, come on..." Ferio said as he motioned her to stand up and walk toward him. She did so, no one tried to stop her.
"What happened to Ascot?" she asked very worried.
"He's with Fuu." Ferio answered.
This made Umi relax. She knew Fuu could heal him.
"Hikaru..." Umi said. "She got that strange sword form Mokona." She said.
Ferio looked at Mokona, it was standing on the bed doing nothing. There was definitely something wrong with it.
Just then Fuu and Ascot appeared form behind. They stopped as they saw the scene.
"What is going on?" Fuu asked as she saw Lantis on the floor and Hikaru. Eagle couldn't move.
"Can you check on Lantis?" Ferio asked. Fuu nodded and approached the royal soldier. Ferio was making sure no one would hurt her.
"Don't let them go!" Eagle managed to say. Hikaru's sword got closer. The thieves didn't move.
Lantis was just unconscious, she could just could try to wake him up. She did and after some seconds Lantis opened his eyes. Fuu helped him stand up and they walked near Ferio.
"Hikaru! We need to go." Umi said. "It's useless, she isn't hearing." Ferio said. Fuu nodded. It was as if Hikaru was on some kind of trance. Lantis looked at Hikaru.
"Hikaru..." he said softly. Amazingly, Hikaru's eyes turned to normal and she focused them on Lantis.
"Lantis... you are alright!" she said smiling, then she realized the sword and Eagle. She took it away.
"I'm sorry... what happened?" she said looking at the sword.
They didn't had much time. Ferio jumped and placed a strange thing on the floor. He took Hikaru and started running.
"THIS WAY!" he yelled. Ascot, Fuu, Umi and Lantis followed as a bomb exploded inside the room.
They ran outside the hideout and into the forest. They needed to get off there, fast, Ferio tried to think fast... they had no horses, and now, not only all the guards were looking for them... but the thieves.
'Eagle would take revenge. He can't trust them. He thinks we are going to revel the clans hideout.' Ferio thought as many crazy plans for escaping crossed his mind.
As they reached a little river in the woods a shadow appeared in front of them. And t held Mokona.
Well....... I think this is a little bit longer than usual. =D I hope you liked it... and I'll write more... soooooooooo wait for next chapter.
Take care
Kaze
Well...I wanted to thank Marlene.... Because you are always reviewing, that makes me very happy!!!!!!!!!
About your questions... well I may not have been very clear... but the letter that the messenger gave Fuu was actually the one that requested her to go to the war.. the talk Umi and Fuu had last chapter about Clef was actually a flashback....heheh 8D I'll make a note on the chap so no one else gets confused... and about the KISS:... well I shouldn't say a thing.. but well....
It's already written... and it's not going to be as sweet as you might think...BUT it's really going to be good, really (I am not being mean with Fuu).
Anyway.... I hope all your questions are answered...so, on with the fic...
(CLAMP owns RAYEARTH)
The Quest
Chapter 10 Betrayal
"What is going on?" asked Umi as she hurried of the room. She saw Fuu lying on the floor, Ferio was hugging her. She kneeled to see Fuu and got Ferio off the way.
"Fuu?! What happened?" she asked very worried. Ferio looked at the two friends. He gave two steps back. Fuu just smiled.
"I am sorry Umi-san, I didn't meant to scare you. I just... had a bad dream."
Umi rose an eyebrow and looked at Fuu.
"A dream? Outside?"
"No. I had it inside but then I... "she stopped and watched Ferio. He looked to the other side of the room. Umi noticed this.
"I'll go get a glass of water for you." He said, his tone serious. Ferio left the girls and Fuu watched him go. She looked at her hands again. She managed to hold her tears, since there was Umi. Umi looked at the two of them.
"What really happened?" she asked helping her friend stand.
"I have been having a dream..." she said not looking at her.
"You too?" Umi said interrupting her. Fuu looked at her bewildered.
"Is it about a girl?" the princess asked.
Fuu looked very surprised. She never expected her friend been having the same dream. She nodded not knowing what to say.
"So... what does it has to do with yelling and that guy?" she asked opening the door.
When they entered, they found Hikaru completely asleep, so was Mokona.
"I can't believe she didn't awoke!" Umi said looking at Hikaru. Fuu smiled. It was good, she didn't want to worry Hikaru too.
"So... it is the same dream." Umi said looking at Fuu.
"Maybe..." Fuu wasn't looking at her. "Does it has a house?"
"In flames? Yes."
"Then it is the same." Fuu looked at Umi. She couldn't believe it.
Umi looked sad. She hold Fuu's hand.
"Why did you yelled? Did Ferio did something to you? Because if he..."
"No. Umi-san, Ferio did nothing to me."
Umi sighed relieved. She would had killed him if he had done something. "I...heard a voice... the voice from the dream." Fuu looked at Hikaru, she was sleeping peacefully now.
Umi forced a smile.
"What did it say?"
Fuu didn't answer.
"They tell me continuously not to love him." the princess said looking at her friend. Fuu looked at her.
"It told you not to love Clef –sama?" she asked very confused.
Umi smiled.
"No. They never say his name. But, since I..." Umi looked at the window and stood up.
"Since when are you having this dream Umi-san?"
"Since yesterday. Why?"
Fuu looked again at her hands. 'Yesterday? But, then why have I dreamt this for years?' she asked to herself. ´Could this be related to the light?'
"Fuu? Are you really feeling alright?"
Fuu smiled. But said no.
"I... heard the voice in my head when I was awake. And it was accompanied by a very painful headache and some images." She said. "That is why I yelled."
Umi looked at Fuu.
"I haven't heard it in my head." She said thinking. "What did it tell?"
Fuu looked at Umi. The princess understood she wasn't telling. In that same moment Ferio entered the room with a glass of water and some food. He walked toward Fuu, who was sitting on her bed.
"Here, I brought you some food. You didn't eat a thing at dinner. Perhaps that's what happened." He said leaving the food on the table next to the bed.
"Thank you." Fuu said not looking at him.
"Do you need anything else?" he said walking toward the door.
"No. I think I will be fine, thank you." Fuu wasn't looking at him either.
With that Ferio left the room and closed the door. Umi stayed watching the door.
"What was all that about?" she asked as she sat on the bed next to Fuu.
Fuu didn't answer again. In that moment Hikaru woke up and looked at her friends. Some tears were on her eyes.
"Are you alright Hikaru-san?" Fuu asked as she got near Hikaru's bed.
Hikaru nodded. "It was just a dream." She said looking at Fuu.
"What dream?" asked Umi looking seriously at Fuu.
Hikaru looked puzzled.
"About a girl, her house was set on fire and some creature spoke to me..." she said trying to recall everything.
Umi and Fuu looked at each other. This was definitely too strange.
"What is it girls?" Hikaru asked even more puzzled.
"We are having the same dream Hikaru. Since when do you have it?" Umi said.
"Since we fainted. Yesterday." She said standing up.
"The same dream at the same time..." Umi said.
"No." Fuu said looking nervous. Umi and Hikaru looked at her.
"I have been having this dream for a very long time now... years."
Umi and Hikaru looked at Fuu.
"Years?" Umi uttered.
"Yes. But it was different. There wasn't a creature before, before yesterday."
Ferio walked through the corridors of the hideout. He was angry. Fuu wasn't telling him everything. It was her life, she was free to tell whoever she wanted what was going on... and still it made him anger. She was not having trust in him, not in that matter. And he wondered for many minutes why. He entered to the children's room. That was one of his favorite places. He liked kids, and he liked the way they looked at life. He sat on a little chair and grabbed his head.
"Why? Why Fuu?" he looked at the floor. There was no answer. He felt stupid. He was always free. He had always loved adventures, he has always liked to be a loner. But in that moment, he felt a terrible sorrow through his body.
"Why, hello Ferio." A voice came form behind.
Ferio looked back and saw the familiar shadow.
"Eagle... what do you want?" he asked in a bad mood.
"I was wondering what you were doing here, at night. I thought you enjoyed sleeping." He said smiling and sitting by his side.
"I am not tired." "You don't sleep because you need it. You sleep because you like it." Eagle said giving a small laugh.
Ferio didn't find that funny. He was still mad at Eagle.
"I better get going then." Ferio said standing up and walking toward the door.
"I heard you are leaving." Eagle said. Ferio stopped.
"You better not be spying on me Eagle." He said looking menacingly at his leader.
"I am not spying. I am doing my job by protecting the clan. Thing that you are obviously not doing."
Ferio smiled. Eagle and him had been friends for a very long time. They had always talked about protecting the clan. However, Ferio had always make himself clear, he would always care only on him.
"Well, then you won't mind if we leave as soon as possible."
"The thing is, I can not trust your friends. Lantis is a guard, I know him and I know that by protecting our country, he'll do anything."
Ferio smiled. "So Lantis is THAT guard." Eagle smiled back.
"Yes. But you are getting off subject. We have enemies inside our hideout. That friend of yours and the princess, no matter if they are good persons, they are form Kiam. And Kiam is in war with us."
Ferio rolled his eyes.
"Ferio... I can't let them go. They'll endanger our clan." Eagle said calmly.
Ferio frowned. Eagle was not going to interfere with his plans.
"You owe me one Eagle. And you know the thieves rules." He said this time a bit more serious.
Eagle looked at Ferio.
"Yes, you are right. I owe you, but are you really going to lose this opportunity by saving those?"
If a thief betrays another thief, then the betrayed one has the right to ask ANYTHING from the traitor. Anything meant anything, Ferio had the right to ask anything form Eagle. Eagle would had swear that his friend would ask for some money, or be fed forever even if he did nothing, a house maybe. Ferio would never ask for something for someone. At least, the Ferio he knew.
"My request is that you leave all of us, and I mean Fuu, the princess, Hikaru, Lantis, Ascot and myself, to leave this place with six horses without problem and that you won't, by any means, follow us or betray me again." Ferio said smiling noting the surprise his request made Eagle.
Eagle looked at Ferio. "Are you serious?" he managed to ask.
Ferio nodded.
"Why?" the thieves leader asked.
"That would be none of your business, my friend." Ferio said as he turned around.
"It is that girl, Fuu." Eagle said stopping Ferio again.
"You've never cared for someone." Eagle said. "But now, you are helping her. Why?"
"Because she is different." Ferio said leaving Eagle alone.
Eagle sat down on one of the little chairs. He couldn't believe Ferio's change. He smiled. Perhaps that was good for him, after all, Eagle has always thought that Ferio was not happy.
"So, are you really letting us go?"
Eagle turned to see Lantis hidden in the shadows. Eagle smiled and motioned Lantis to join him in a little chair. The tall man walked beside Eagle but stayed standing, maybe because he couldn't fit in any chair.
"I don't think so." Eagle said looking smiling at Lantis.
"I thought so." Lantis said. "What did you do to Ferio?"
Eagle smiled and looked at the door where Ferio was some minutes before.
"I got him into a trap, so he could be caught by you guys." He said now looking at Lantis.
"Why?"
"Because we needed to distract you. You, as you now can see, were getting too close to find us."
Lantis said nothing.
"I had to protect the clan." Eagle said fixing his eyes into Lantis'. "As I have to protect it now that you are here."
"So, you are not going to fulfill your promise to Ferio."
Eagle nodded. "Are you going to try to escape?" Eagle asked looking more intensely into Lantis' eyes.
Lantis just stayed there.
"You'll have to fight me." Eagle said as he stood up and walked out the room. Lantis was now alone.
"Eagle."
Fuu walked alone through the corridors of the hideout, she was definitely lost. She left Umi and Hikaru thinking. She had to find Ferio. She knew he was angry. He would probably think she doesn't trust him, but it was different. How was she supposed to tell him that the creature told her not to love HIM. How was she supposed to tell him that she saw him die. Some tears fell form her eyes at the thought. The creature had told her not to love him, but she was not going to listen to it.
Umi and Hikaru had asked why she was leaving, but she just said she was going to the bathroom. She hated it, she hated to lie to her fiends. But she was not prepared to tell them what she was feeling.
Fuu was now walking through the halls when she heard some noises. She stopped in front of a door. Some people were talking inside. She decided to enter and ask if Ferio was there or had been there. She was about to knock the door when someone inside told her name.
"Why is Ferio helping those guys, Fuu and whatever." A woman said in an angered tone.
"He made friends with them. Maybe he just wants to help." Another woman said.
"No, that's not like Ferio. He must definitely owe something." A man said.
"Yeah, perhaps they helped him someway and now he is just paying back." Another man said.
"Risking US?!" the first woman replied.
"Well, that's Ferio, you know he cares for no one." The man said.
Fuu didn't knock, it was not right to be hearing that conversation. She started walking, maybe she would find Ferio soon. The thieves were obviously angry at Ferio. He endangered them. Fuu felt it was her fault again. Still, they were taking of Ferio as if he was a different person. 'Paying back?´ she thought. She hasn't done anything to make him owe something to her. It was the other way around.
She walked for some more minutes until she spotted him. He was sitting in the floor near a strange door. Fuu took a deep breath and walked toward him.
Ferio heard some footsteps and looked up. It was Fuu. She was walking toward him. he looked back to the floor.
Fuu stopped near him and watched him. He didn't raise his head.
"May I seat with you?"
Ferio nodded. She sat and looked at the floor too. There was some silence until Ferio decided to talk.
"You don't need to tell me." He said. "I've already told you, I prefer the truth some other time than a lie now. I don't want lies, not from you." He said not looking at her. His words made Fuu feel even worse.
"It is really a very difficult subject." She said. "I am no sure...I am not sure I will ever be able to tell someone." Ferio looked at her. "That is sad. You should find someone with whom share your things. If not, you'll keep them all inside, and it will hurt more and more everyday."
Fuu looked at him then frowned.
"I do not want to be rude, Ferio. But you are not exactly the person that should say that. You are always hiding things, are you are never honest to anyone."
"I've been honest with you." He said looking at her. Fuu felt something in her heart. She felt happy.
"And precisely because I've been doing it all my life, I'm telling you not to do it. I don't want you to be hurt."
Fuu smiled. That was the real Ferio, not the one the thieves talked about.
"Thank you Ferio." She said smiling. "Why are you different with me than with your friends?"
"Why's that?" Ferio replied.
Fuu wondered for some minutes. "Because...I... I kind of heard this conversation..."
"You were hearing another persons conversation." Ferio said teasingly. Fuu blushed.
"It...it was an accident..." she stammered.
"But you still heard enough to ask me this." He said laughing.
Fuu blushed even more. She was not the kind of people to hear other people's talk, but lately, she had done it twice, unintentionally, but still... Ferio smiled.
"They were saying that you were probably helping us because you owed something, they said you betrayed them because you care for no one, it sounded not like you." Fuu said trying to return her color back to normal.
"And you believed them?" Ferio asked looking into her eyes. This made her nervous again.
"No. It's just that, if you gave them that impression... then you are not yourself with them." She said plainly. Ferio smiled.
"Well. Actually, that's the way I was raised. I had to protect myself since I was little and learned fast not to trust anyone." He said.
"Yes, that's what I thought when I met you. But still, you have been living with them for a while now. Shouldn't you be more yourself ?"
Ferio smiled. "No, I've never trust anyone, not even them, not even my sister."
"But why are you different with me?" Fuu said as she blushed and put her hand on her mouth. The sentence escaped from her mouth, she never meant to tell him that. But she was not that surprised, she continuously lost control of herself around him. Ferio smiled.
"Have you ever heard of love at first sight?" he asked smiling and looking in her eyes. She blushed even more. Her heart beat faster.
"Ferio, Fuu!" a voice came form the corridor. The couple looked to see who was it. Ferio would have killed him for interrupting them if it wasn't because Ascot was truly worried.
"Ascot-san, is everything alright?" Fuu asked standing up, looking at his pale face.
Ascot said nothing. "There's something you need to see. It's about Hikaru and Mokona." He said nervous. Fuu and Ferio looked to each other.
"What happened Ascot?" Ferio asked. He then looked into Ascot. He wasn't looking neither to Fuu or him. he was looking at nothing.
"Ascot?" Ferio asked. Fuu looked at her friend, he was strangely pale, when she then noticed something on his stomach. Something red. She gasped and ran toward him. Ferio looked at Fuu and then at Ascot. There was blood on his robe, Ascot's blood. When Fuu was about to reach Ascot, the young summoner collapsed. Ferio caught him just in time.
"Oh goodness! He's been stabbed." Fuu said as she looked at the wound. Ferio looked at Ascot. He was now unconscious. He new what was going on.
"Fuu, stay with Ascot, you can heal him right?" he said as he stood up. Fuu nodded. Ferio started to run.
"Ferio! Where are you going?" She said trying to reach him.
"He said there was something about Hikaru and Mokona. I'm sure it's Eagle. Your friends are in danger." He said as he ran away leaving Fuu and Ascot alone.
Fuu looked at the wound. It was clean. She then cast her healing spell on him. The wound started to disappear along with the blood. Ascot regain his conscious again. As he opened his eyes he started to mumble something Fuu couldn't understand. As Ascot focused his gaze at Fuu he then jumped and grabbed her form the shoulders.
"Fuu! We are in danger!" he said looking terrified.
Fuu tried to calm him. "What happened Ascot-san?"
Ascot looked bewildered. He looked all around them and the closed his eyes. He remember the light, the sword, the blood, his blood. Ascot opened his eyes and looked at his stomach. There was nothing.
"I healed you. What happened Ascot-san?" Fuu asked again patience on her voice.
Ascot closed his eyes and tried to talk.
"Eagle... he had betrayed us. He entered your room and tried to kill Hikaru. He told his thieves to take Umi to a dungeon. I tried to protect Umi... but the thieves got out their swords. Lantis came and started fighting Eagle. But then something happened. Eagle used some strange artifact and Lantis got knocked out..." Ascot was speaking very fast, as trying to tell everything before it was erased from his brain. Fuu listened carefully. Ferio was right... Eagle had betrayed them.
"...then Hikaru got all angry and something happened, a light got of Mokona's head and enveloped Hikaru... she got a sword..." Ascot stopped. "And then you were stabbed." Fuu finished for him. Ascot nodded.
"But how did you get here?" Fuu asked.
Ascot looked around them. "I...I don't know...there was a creature..."
Fuu gasped... it couldn't be THAT creature. She stood up.
"Ascot-san... we need to help them." She said as she started to run. Ascot watched her and nodded. He had to protect Umi.
Ferio got to the girls room and watched the strange scene. Eagle was being threatened by Hikaru. All the thieves had stopped fighting since Eagle had Hikaru's strange sword right at his neck. Hikaru, however, wasn't herself, her gaze was lost and it showed anger. Umi was in the floor and Geo and Zazu arrived just as Ferio. Lantis was on the floor.
Zazu and Geo tried to help Eagle but Ferio stopped them.
"She'll kill him if you get any closer." He said. Geo and Zazu stopped and looked at Hikaru.
"He's just trying to protect us!" Zazu yelled. Ferio looked at Hikaru... what the hell was going on?
"Umi, come on..." Ferio said as he motioned her to stand up and walk toward him. She did so, no one tried to stop her.
"What happened to Ascot?" she asked very worried.
"He's with Fuu." Ferio answered.
This made Umi relax. She knew Fuu could heal him.
"Hikaru..." Umi said. "She got that strange sword form Mokona." She said.
Ferio looked at Mokona, it was standing on the bed doing nothing. There was definitely something wrong with it.
Just then Fuu and Ascot appeared form behind. They stopped as they saw the scene.
"What is going on?" Fuu asked as she saw Lantis on the floor and Hikaru. Eagle couldn't move.
"Can you check on Lantis?" Ferio asked. Fuu nodded and approached the royal soldier. Ferio was making sure no one would hurt her.
"Don't let them go!" Eagle managed to say. Hikaru's sword got closer. The thieves didn't move.
Lantis was just unconscious, she could just could try to wake him up. She did and after some seconds Lantis opened his eyes. Fuu helped him stand up and they walked near Ferio.
"Hikaru! We need to go." Umi said. "It's useless, she isn't hearing." Ferio said. Fuu nodded. It was as if Hikaru was on some kind of trance. Lantis looked at Hikaru.
"Hikaru..." he said softly. Amazingly, Hikaru's eyes turned to normal and she focused them on Lantis.
"Lantis... you are alright!" she said smiling, then she realized the sword and Eagle. She took it away.
"I'm sorry... what happened?" she said looking at the sword.
They didn't had much time. Ferio jumped and placed a strange thing on the floor. He took Hikaru and started running.
"THIS WAY!" he yelled. Ascot, Fuu, Umi and Lantis followed as a bomb exploded inside the room.
They ran outside the hideout and into the forest. They needed to get off there, fast, Ferio tried to think fast... they had no horses, and now, not only all the guards were looking for them... but the thieves.
'Eagle would take revenge. He can't trust them. He thinks we are going to revel the clans hideout.' Ferio thought as many crazy plans for escaping crossed his mind.
As they reached a little river in the woods a shadow appeared in front of them. And t held Mokona.
Well....... I think this is a little bit longer than usual. =D I hope you liked it... and I'll write more... soooooooooo wait for next chapter.
Take care
Kaze