Well, looks like people do like this story...
Serra21, DrillingPlanet, Phoenix Dagger, and khmerboi919: Thanks for your reviews!
Millenium Slinky: Yeah, they're half-dragon. Apparently this information comes from chapter 19xx (yes, 19xx) in Hector's route only. To get to it, you need to kill Kishuna in 19x and have Nils up to at least level 7. Needless to say, I'm not going to waste my time getting to it right now, but I have had the fact that Ninian and Nils are half-dragon confirmed by people on GameFAQs.
High King Isaac: *breaks out of hug* You, uh, haven't read my profile, have you? I'm a guy. Just pointing that out, since a lot of people don't seem to notice :P
On the bright side, I have another male reviewer :D
On with the story...
Chapter Two
Flight
"Go!"
This was uttered by Nils to a traveler who had believed he could survive the Dread Isle.
Valor's reputation as the isle that no man had ever come back from caused a fair number of men each year to try to survive it. Everyone that tried eventually ended up finding Nergal, and everyone that found Nergal was immediately killed.
This traveler, however, was lucky. As Nergal had allowed Ninian and Nils to roam freely on the island, they had been watching the horizon when they had seen the traveler's boat appear in the distance. When he reached shore, they had immediately begged him to take them away from the island. They told him that they were being held captive by a man named Nergal, and that they had been there for some time. They carefully left out what had happened before that.
The traveler, a burly young man who seemed very sure of himself, had simply flexed his muscles, bragging that he could "easily beat this Nergal in a fight."
That sureness had quickly disappeared when Ninian and Nils had told the traveler what Nergal could do with his dark magic. The traveler had hastily gotten back into his boat and allowed Ninian and Nils to come with him.
As they sailed away from Valor, Ninian looked towards the sky and smiled.
They were free. She didn't know what was going to happen afterwards, but they were free. And she could see her homeland again...
As the three of them docked in Badon, Ninian took a look at the bustling city around her. It suddenly occurred to her that she and Nils had no money and nowhere to stay. She asked the traveler, rather embarrassed, if he had any money to spare, explaining that due to their recent captivity, they had none.
Fortunately, the traveler was kind, and gave them enough money for a few nights' stay at the local inn. He even led them to the inn before bidding them farewell, thanking them for making him the first person to sail back from the Dread Isle. Upon hearing this, the people near him suddenly clustered around him, asking him how he had done it. Ninian sighed as the traveler began a very exaggerated tale, then she walked into the inn with Nils.
The innkeeper, a middle-aged man, stood up as they walked towards his desk. "Why hello there, young lady," he said warmly to Ninian. "What are young people such as you and your brother doing in a city like this?"
"I..." She didn't really know what to say. Fortunately, Nils came to the rescue.
"We're...we're lost," Nils said like a scared child. Ninian, of course, saw right through his act, but the innkeeper didn't.
"Is that so?" the innkeeper asked, immediately taking on a look of concern. He walked over to the entrance of the inn. "Then I'll look for your parents. What do they look like?"
Ninian looked at Nils, then back to the innkeeper. "Our father is about as tall as you," she said, describing her late father. "His hair's gray and he has a beard. He also has blue eyes."
"All right," the innkeeper said. "What about your mother?"
"She wasn't with us," Ninian said, thinking quickly.
"Okay," the innkeeper said. He took a brief glance out the entrance before turning back and walking over to his desk. He picked up a key and gave it to Ninian. "If...worse comes to worse," he said, "you kids can just stay here for the night, all right? Room's down the hall, fourth door on the left."
"Thank you, sir," Ninian said. As the innkeeper walked back to the entrance, Ninian and Nils walked to their room. It was small but comfortable, with a bed on either side, and a small desk in the middle with a mirror above it. As soon as Ninian closed the door, however, she looked slightly angrily at Nils.
"That wasn't a very nice thing to do," she said. "We could have easily paid him."
Nils shrugged. "It was the first thing I thought of," he said. "Besides, that leaves us with more money for later. I mean...what exactly are we going to do now? We...we will have to make money eventually, won't we?"
"That is true," she said. She walked to the far side of the room, glancing up at the mirror as she passed it. It occurred to her that she had never seen the way she looked as a human, and she looked into the mirror. Staring back at her was a somewhat tall girl with red eyes and long light-green hair that fell past her shoulders. She looked as though she were around seventeen or eighteen years old, which was accurate considering her age as a dragon. She smiled a little at the thought of an eleven-hundred-year-old girl who looked like she was seventeen.
"Do you have any ideas?" Nils asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She thought for a moment, before replying, "Do you think you could still play the flute?"
"I...think so," Nils responded slowly. "And...you could dance..."
Ninian and Nils's father had always had a passion for music, and he had bought Nils a flute when he was young. Nils had been very good and loved playing it, and Ninian had fond memories of dancing to his melodies. Conveniently, the flute was meant for human hands, and that meant that maybe, just maybe, they could make money as a traveling group. All they had to do was buy a flute, which they could do with the money that the traveler had given them, and they could be all right.
"That should be good, shouldn't it?" Ninian asked.
Nils smiled a little. "I suppose," he replied.
Ninian sat down on her bed. They were silent for awhile before they heard a knock on their door. Nils opened it to find the innkeeper with a man that somewhat matched Ninian's description.
"Is this your father?" he asked. "He says he has been looking for his children."
"I'm sorry, that's not him," Ninian replied.
"Oh...alright," the innkeeper replied. He turned and led the man out, closing the door behind him.
Ninian lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
Making money dancing, traveling to different places, and maybe seeing her homeland again...
Perhaps life as a human wouldn't be so bad.
Find them...FIND THEM!
Ninian awoke from her nightmare with a jolt. She had dreamt of Nergal telling some of his minions to find her. For some reason, she felt a tingling sensation in the back of her head. She sat up, looking out the window into the night sky.
She suddenly heard Nils's voice. "Ninian? Are you awake?"
"Yes...what's the matter?" she asked.
"Did...did you just have a nightmare too? About...Nergal looking for us?"
"Y-...yes," she said.
The tingling sensation began to get stronger. Something wasn't right...
Suddenly, she heard the doorknob rattle.
The tingling became so intense it was almost painful. She started breathing quickly, scared by what might be behind the door.
"Who...who's there?" Nils asked.
The door was suddenly knocked down, and Ninian gasped. The sensation in the back of her head was painful now.
Standing in the doorway was a man, but his face was covered by a hood and some black cloth covering his nose and mouth. He gave a sinister laugh. "Looks like I found you kids," he said. His voice was quite low.
Ninian screamed.
The man slowly advanced towards her and reached out to grab her, but before he could do so, he suddenly froze, and as he did so, the sensation in the back of Ninian's head vanished. He stayed in place for a few seconds, before falling face first onto Ninian's bed. Ninian clambered away from him as she noticed a knife sticking out of the man's back. She looked to her side, and she saw the innkeeper standing there, breathing heavily. Strangely enough, on his face was not a look of concern, but a look of anger.
"Th-thank you s-so much, sir," Ninian stammered. "Y-you saved our lives..."
"Get out," the innkeeper said angrily.
"What?"
"I said get out!"
"But...why?" Nils asked. "You...you said we could stay here..."
"Do you really think I believe your story now?" the innkeeper nearly shouted. "You kids aren't lost...you're on the run from someone, aren't you?"
Silence.
"I'll take that as a yes," the innkeeper continued. "If someone's following you, then you must be up to no good. I may have saved your butts this time, but I am not putting my other customers in danger by letting you stay. You're leaving. Now."
"But...but, sir," Ninian pleaded, "it's the middle of the night..."
"The perfect time for more men to come for you," the innkeeper retorted. He pointed his finger at the door. "Now get out, and don't come back."
Ninian and Nils slowly got up, and walked out of the room, then out of the inn. The innkeeper slammed the door behind them.
Ninian took one look back and burst into tears. Nils tried to comfort her, but there was nothing he could do.
It's just like in the dragons' realm... Ninian thought.
Even in this world...we're still not accepted...
***
Damn, I hate writing angst...but don't worry, Ninian meets Lyn soon, and then it gets better.
What do you guys think of this chapter?
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT
Serra21, DrillingPlanet, Phoenix Dagger, and khmerboi919: Thanks for your reviews!
Millenium Slinky: Yeah, they're half-dragon. Apparently this information comes from chapter 19xx (yes, 19xx) in Hector's route only. To get to it, you need to kill Kishuna in 19x and have Nils up to at least level 7. Needless to say, I'm not going to waste my time getting to it right now, but I have had the fact that Ninian and Nils are half-dragon confirmed by people on GameFAQs.
High King Isaac: *breaks out of hug* You, uh, haven't read my profile, have you? I'm a guy. Just pointing that out, since a lot of people don't seem to notice :P
On the bright side, I have another male reviewer :D
On with the story...
Flight
This was uttered by Nils to a traveler who had believed he could survive the Dread Isle.
Valor's reputation as the isle that no man had ever come back from caused a fair number of men each year to try to survive it. Everyone that tried eventually ended up finding Nergal, and everyone that found Nergal was immediately killed.
This traveler, however, was lucky. As Nergal had allowed Ninian and Nils to roam freely on the island, they had been watching the horizon when they had seen the traveler's boat appear in the distance. When he reached shore, they had immediately begged him to take them away from the island. They told him that they were being held captive by a man named Nergal, and that they had been there for some time. They carefully left out what had happened before that.
The traveler, a burly young man who seemed very sure of himself, had simply flexed his muscles, bragging that he could "easily beat this Nergal in a fight."
That sureness had quickly disappeared when Ninian and Nils had told the traveler what Nergal could do with his dark magic. The traveler had hastily gotten back into his boat and allowed Ninian and Nils to come with him.
As they sailed away from Valor, Ninian looked towards the sky and smiled.
They were free. She didn't know what was going to happen afterwards, but they were free. And she could see her homeland again...
As the three of them docked in Badon, Ninian took a look at the bustling city around her. It suddenly occurred to her that she and Nils had no money and nowhere to stay. She asked the traveler, rather embarrassed, if he had any money to spare, explaining that due to their recent captivity, they had none.
Fortunately, the traveler was kind, and gave them enough money for a few nights' stay at the local inn. He even led them to the inn before bidding them farewell, thanking them for making him the first person to sail back from the Dread Isle. Upon hearing this, the people near him suddenly clustered around him, asking him how he had done it. Ninian sighed as the traveler began a very exaggerated tale, then she walked into the inn with Nils.
The innkeeper, a middle-aged man, stood up as they walked towards his desk. "Why hello there, young lady," he said warmly to Ninian. "What are young people such as you and your brother doing in a city like this?"
"I..." She didn't really know what to say. Fortunately, Nils came to the rescue.
"We're...we're lost," Nils said like a scared child. Ninian, of course, saw right through his act, but the innkeeper didn't.
"Is that so?" the innkeeper asked, immediately taking on a look of concern. He walked over to the entrance of the inn. "Then I'll look for your parents. What do they look like?"
Ninian looked at Nils, then back to the innkeeper. "Our father is about as tall as you," she said, describing her late father. "His hair's gray and he has a beard. He also has blue eyes."
"All right," the innkeeper said. "What about your mother?"
"She wasn't with us," Ninian said, thinking quickly.
"Okay," the innkeeper said. He took a brief glance out the entrance before turning back and walking over to his desk. He picked up a key and gave it to Ninian. "If...worse comes to worse," he said, "you kids can just stay here for the night, all right? Room's down the hall, fourth door on the left."
"Thank you, sir," Ninian said. As the innkeeper walked back to the entrance, Ninian and Nils walked to their room. It was small but comfortable, with a bed on either side, and a small desk in the middle with a mirror above it. As soon as Ninian closed the door, however, she looked slightly angrily at Nils.
"That wasn't a very nice thing to do," she said. "We could have easily paid him."
Nils shrugged. "It was the first thing I thought of," he said. "Besides, that leaves us with more money for later. I mean...what exactly are we going to do now? We...we will have to make money eventually, won't we?"
"That is true," she said. She walked to the far side of the room, glancing up at the mirror as she passed it. It occurred to her that she had never seen the way she looked as a human, and she looked into the mirror. Staring back at her was a somewhat tall girl with red eyes and long light-green hair that fell past her shoulders. She looked as though she were around seventeen or eighteen years old, which was accurate considering her age as a dragon. She smiled a little at the thought of an eleven-hundred-year-old girl who looked like she was seventeen.
"Do you have any ideas?" Nils asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She thought for a moment, before replying, "Do you think you could still play the flute?"
"I...think so," Nils responded slowly. "And...you could dance..."
Ninian and Nils's father had always had a passion for music, and he had bought Nils a flute when he was young. Nils had been very good and loved playing it, and Ninian had fond memories of dancing to his melodies. Conveniently, the flute was meant for human hands, and that meant that maybe, just maybe, they could make money as a traveling group. All they had to do was buy a flute, which they could do with the money that the traveler had given them, and they could be all right.
"That should be good, shouldn't it?" Ninian asked.
Nils smiled a little. "I suppose," he replied.
Ninian sat down on her bed. They were silent for awhile before they heard a knock on their door. Nils opened it to find the innkeeper with a man that somewhat matched Ninian's description.
"Is this your father?" he asked. "He says he has been looking for his children."
"I'm sorry, that's not him," Ninian replied.
"Oh...alright," the innkeeper replied. He turned and led the man out, closing the door behind him.
Ninian lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
Making money dancing, traveling to different places, and maybe seeing her homeland again...
Perhaps life as a human wouldn't be so bad.
Find them...FIND THEM!
Ninian awoke from her nightmare with a jolt. She had dreamt of Nergal telling some of his minions to find her. For some reason, she felt a tingling sensation in the back of her head. She sat up, looking out the window into the night sky.
She suddenly heard Nils's voice. "Ninian? Are you awake?"
"Yes...what's the matter?" she asked.
"Did...did you just have a nightmare too? About...Nergal looking for us?"
"Y-...yes," she said.
The tingling sensation began to get stronger. Something wasn't right...
Suddenly, she heard the doorknob rattle.
The tingling became so intense it was almost painful. She started breathing quickly, scared by what might be behind the door.
"Who...who's there?" Nils asked.
The door was suddenly knocked down, and Ninian gasped. The sensation in the back of her head was painful now.
Standing in the doorway was a man, but his face was covered by a hood and some black cloth covering his nose and mouth. He gave a sinister laugh. "Looks like I found you kids," he said. His voice was quite low.
Ninian screamed.
The man slowly advanced towards her and reached out to grab her, but before he could do so, he suddenly froze, and as he did so, the sensation in the back of Ninian's head vanished. He stayed in place for a few seconds, before falling face first onto Ninian's bed. Ninian clambered away from him as she noticed a knife sticking out of the man's back. She looked to her side, and she saw the innkeeper standing there, breathing heavily. Strangely enough, on his face was not a look of concern, but a look of anger.
"Th-thank you s-so much, sir," Ninian stammered. "Y-you saved our lives..."
"Get out," the innkeeper said angrily.
"What?"
"I said get out!"
"But...why?" Nils asked. "You...you said we could stay here..."
"Do you really think I believe your story now?" the innkeeper nearly shouted. "You kids aren't lost...you're on the run from someone, aren't you?"
Silence.
"I'll take that as a yes," the innkeeper continued. "If someone's following you, then you must be up to no good. I may have saved your butts this time, but I am not putting my other customers in danger by letting you stay. You're leaving. Now."
"But...but, sir," Ninian pleaded, "it's the middle of the night..."
"The perfect time for more men to come for you," the innkeeper retorted. He pointed his finger at the door. "Now get out, and don't come back."
Ninian and Nils slowly got up, and walked out of the room, then out of the inn. The innkeeper slammed the door behind them.
Ninian took one look back and burst into tears. Nils tried to comfort her, but there was nothing he could do.
It's just like in the dragons' realm... Ninian thought.
Even in this world...we're still not accepted...
What do you guys think of this chapter?
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT