(I wish but) I don't own Capcom, Breath of Fire or its characters. But the
characters, and world in this story for the most part are my own creation
Chapter Fifteen: Coming to Terms
Fat beads of sweat slickly rolled down Silver's creased brow as he tried to undetectably loosen the twine straps tightly pinning his wrist together. The way he was laying on the floor gave him a great view of where everyone was for the moment. The black-garbed guard in front of him continued to hold his sharpened blade to young Aranda's exposed neck. Puren was sitting on the couch in the Inn's main hall, muttering a string of unladylike curses to herself, while the unfortunate Orion was left lying on the front desk. Out of the whole lot of them, Silos had the worst position lying faced down with iron arm and leg cuffs holding him into submission.
Aranda's scared sobs and Orion's pained moans were the only thing allowing Silver to hold on to his scattered thoughts. They were ambushed as soon as they stepped foot in the inn with Orion. He and Puren barely had enough time to give a quick overview of what was going on before the black guards jumped into action.
The Gage's captain wasn't a fool by any means of the word. He had seen Silos on many occasions when he held council with the younger prince. Although everyone in Gage's militia knew of Silos's quite, timid nature, his massive size alone still scared some of his fellow brethren into silence when he came around.
The Head guard knew he wouldn't have an ice toad's chance in Hades if he ran in with his sword ablaze in the sun against the armadillo. So he opted for the next best thing, take him by surprise by holding his only child hostage, while the other two sentinels he brought with him offered aid once things got rough. After he made Silos lock himself into the iron bands, the guards went around the room securing the others. After the lockdown, the captain placed one of the older guardsmen in front of the house as a look out until the deed was done.
"Isn't this cozy." He voiced, edging the sharp sword into the sensitive skin of Aranda's throat. Hazily watching the frightened child, Orion moaned louder from the desk he lay upon, trying to draw attention away from the upset child. As the moaning increased, the Head guard became more and more visibly upset.
"Tomas, do something to shut him up!" The captain yelled at the younger, using his unoccupied hand to point at the Woran. The sentry jumped up and saluted his officer. "Sir, yes, sir! I will follow your orders immedi..."
"Leave off that and just shut him up!" the commanding officer shouted. The sentry apologized and went about, finding a cloth napkin in his quick search. He then shoved the material in the hurt Woran's mouth, muffing the groaning.
"That's better." The Officer replied staring hard at Puren, who at that moment whispered a little to loudly who she though he was a son of. After grabbing the child a little tighter from the barb the Head guard yelled to the outside sentry to come in and report.
An older looking soldier marched inside the inn and saluted "Sir, it's like these citizens have reported. I do not hear the clangs of metal or the screams of battle but the voices of laughter and singing coming from the town. If I may suggest, I think we should leave these civilians and report back to town."
"What!" The captain bellowed incredulously "Leave? I don't know what is going on inside the city walls, soldier but I intend to carry out our leader's orders before we go anywhere. Back to your post." The elder saluted, and then walked out to his place of duty.
Silos cleared his throat turning his head to the side to speak, drawing the attention of the officer.
"For my services, Prince Gage gave me permission to leave the city without fear of retaliation. I don't understand why he would sent you after me." The head guard snorted at his sentence.
"Think Silos!" He laughed at his simple mindedness. "Did you really think that he would just let you leave out of here as easily as that? You've seen and heard too much just to walk away. It would have been stupid and dangerous of him to let you go. Doing so would have placed his and our lives in more danger." The guard finished shaking his head slightly.
"I don't know how you did it but that kid you found was the gear we needed to get things in motion. We'll have that spell in no time thanks to him." The guard added as he stared coolly into the male armadillo's eyes.
Silver's ears perked up at the mention of the word 'kid'. He turned to Silos with a suspicious glare in his eyes. Silos did his best to shift his gaze from the dog-man. Thinking back to the destruction he had witness within the city, Silver gave him a puzzled look.
"Is whom he speaks of the same child attacking the castle? Just how did he get in Gage's possession, Silos?" Silver asked slowly. Silos exhaled a deep breath, giving a brief story of how he took Lakaiko to Prince Gage. As the story went on Silver became more and more enraged.
"Do you realize how many innocent lives will die because of what you've done!" he spat at the armadillo, Silos grimaced at the words.
"You think I didn't consider that? We worked side by side long ago, Silver, but the war changed things, and you know that! I had to look out for Aranda and me. Prince Gage promised me that if I gave him something that would help him gain control of Auria, I could take Aranda and leave this gods- forsaken town." he replied heatedly
"He was able to get me a small area of land to farm in outside of the city. Granted, I was never to into any other towns and I had to check in with him every day, I was freer than any of you fools living within the walls. Prince Gage gave me more than Aflan could ever do and he gave it to me all on a promise. I only had to think of a way to help him get that damn scroll." Silos reasoned with the dog man.
"Now he repays you by sending his guards to murder you and your daughter." Silver retorted coolly.
Aranda, hearing the words her father spoke sobered up. An expression of hurt flashed upon her face.
"Daddy, is that true?" she questioned him so gently "Did you give Kaiko to Prince Gage?" Silos nodded to his daughter with a feeble smile.
"Yes, baby, I did it for us. I did it so we can get out of here, so we can buy some real farmland for ourselves. Remember how I told you one day we were going to leave here and go far away and..." Tears once again streamed down Aranda's chubby face.
"If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't of gotten better daddy. Now he has to hurt because of helping me?" She reasoned simply. Puren lowered her head at the child's simple sentence. The powerful words had reduced her to tears. Silos looked at his daughter then turned his head once again.
"I'm sorry, pumpkin. It was the only way." He replied but the words fell on deaf ears. The head guard grunted at the Armadillo's situation.
"Soon as the other one you talked about comes back, I take all of you out of your misery." He declared looking at the small coo-coo clock on the wall.
Silver tried to rest his arms, which were now aching from the bound position they were in. Brooding, he gazed at Silos. He hoped to the heavens Imperial somehow escaped from the warring town safely. Then as he watched the captain began to tie Aranda up to ready her for execution, he wished he had stayed in the bathroom to begin with.
----------------Some distance away from Silos's inn------------------------- --
Imperial remember what the child recounted to her after she removed the hypnobands Gage used to confine him. The situation seemed bleak for her friends anyway she looked at it. If she goes to the inn, they all would be killed but if she doesn't go the guard would assume she was lost in the battle and probably kill the rest anyway.
"Damned if I do, Damned if I don't." she thought to herself.
She hated tight situations like this. Imperial wished that Orion was here to save the day but now he was in need of help and she didn't have a clue as what to do. She leaned her staff against her forehead to help her concentrate. How can she save them without losing anyone in the process? By what Kaiko told her about Gage's directions to his head guard, time was of the essence. The child watched her as she gently tapped the orb against her head.
"'Perial," He offered, "I'll help." His soft voice startled her briefly, it would take her sometime to get use to it, she reasoned with herself. Imperial glanced at him with a smile on her face. She shook her head no as she patted his shoulder lightly.
"I know you can Kaiko, but I put you in danger once before and I'm not about to do it again." She replied. Suddenly Lakaiko clenched his hands into fists and shut his eyes tightly. A moment later his lips began to move ever so slightly, as if he was having a conversation. Imperial watched him intently as he continued on growing more upset as the minutes passed. Abruptly, he opened his eyes and turned towards her.
"'Perial, I'll help." He voiced fiercely to her. "Or they'll die!"
Imperial stared at the boy for a moment before looking towards the road that led to the inn. The way he spoke to her sent shivers down her spine. She didn't understand why but she knew he was right, and then it hit her like a thunderbolt. He had received a message! Problem was she didn't have the time to ask him who of what spoke to him.
Looking off in the distance once again, she realized they would need a diversion to catch the officer off guard. Not only that but she had to take into consideration that there might be more than one guard around the inn. Remembering the healing herbs that she brought with her to the town in her pouch, a quick plan formed in her brain.
--------Back at the inn --------
The captain ordered Tomas to have everyone down on the floor in a kneeling position as he prepared for their execution. The other foreigner was taking too long to come back and these traitors had to be executed sooner than later.
'Whoever else was to come has to be dead from the battle." the officer reckoned with himself. "If not he or she will be dealt with at another time."
Silver and Puren huddled close as Aranda and Silos knelt near to each other. The two guards took their positions; both withdrew sharp swords from out of his sheath. It would be quick and simple, just slice off their heads and off they would go to back to town...
A loud crash of glass sounded behind them disrupted their swings. Surprised by the noise, the officer jerked back in time to avoid a large rock sent at his head. The bright face of Lakaiko could be seen through the broken pane.
"Bpppppppppppp!" He blew a raspberry at the captain as he stuck his thumbs into his ears and wiggled his fingers. The officer, enraged at the little imp, called for the elder guard that was supposed to be patrolling the outside parameter to get the child. When the other sentry didn't respond, Tomas was ordered outside to give chase.
With a swift timed blow, Imperial's orbed staff came crashing down upon Tomas's uncovered head, knocking him unconscious. In an odd way, she felt she owed Prince Aflan a thank you for showing her that move when she was imprisoned.
The other guard wasn't that hard to subdue either. All she did was coax him away from the inn by making some noises. He followed the sounds and when he was far enough she hit him the same way. Imperial hoped this more experienced soldier would fall for the same cheep tricks.
The officer regained his composure and took a battle stance as he stared furiously at her.
"It looks like the last foreigner has decided to join our party. Don't worry I'll make your death quick!"
Imperial twirled her staff as the Head guard gave a yell moving forward. Imperial stood waiting for the right moment to attack. When the guard raised his sword to land his death strike, her other hand hidden behind her back surged forward, tossing a hand full of crushed healing herbs into his face. Blinded by the leafy flakes, the officer gave an anguished roar as he stumbled back. Seeing her chance to defeat her opponent, Imperial quickly retaliated.
"Wind!" she commanded, pointed her staff at the guard. Her sea-blue green hair whipped about as a blast of wind blew around her. The powerful gust blasted the captain to the other side of the inn, knocking him onto the wooden wall. He slid down wall and landed in a motionless heap as the spell died down.
Imperial ran over to Silver and quickly undid his binds. Silver rubbed his aching wrists, then using the rope that held him and the others went about to secure the two unconscious guards. He looked over to Imperial and gave her a grand smile as Lakaiko ran to her from his hiding place outside the inn.
"You're safe!" He announced proudly to everyone. Silver smiled warmly at the child as he finished securing a knot around the out cold officer's hands.
"I don't think we would have made it without your help, little one." Silver chuckled at the child. Puren knelt down near Silver, throwing her arms around her lover's neck and embracing him passionately.
"Oh my honey bunny, my sweetie pie, you were so brave throughout all of this. Later I'll show you my gratitude for coming to rescue me." She smiled seductively at him. Silver's ears perked up as a wide grin came across his face. Puren leaned close to him and whispered something in his ear. His eyes opened wide as he raised his eyebrow in surprise. He nodded slowly as he reflected on the thought and smiled brightly in agreement. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, She secretly began to pocket the unused portions of rope, giving Silver a sexy wink.
Aranda waddled over to Lakaiko as Silver went to unlock her father from his bonds, giving him fierce hug from behind, nearly choking him in the process. Silos thanked the dog man as he got to his feet and walked off to the Woran.
"I'm so happy you're okay, Lakaiko. Now you and me can play together all the time." She voiced happily as she raised him off of the floor swinging him in the process.
Silver smiled at the two as his sights landed on Silos speaking soft words of apology to Orion as he removed his gag. He turned to see Imperial's wings turn blood red as she too watched him lean over the woren.
Hearing quickened footsteps against the hardened wood floor, Silos turned to see who coming up behind him and was met with a hard swinging staff to the face. He stumbled back from the blow but did not fall to the ground.
Although shocked from the onslaught, Silos did nothing in defense. Aranda seeing her father being assaulted let go of Lakaiko. Aranda began to move towards her father's only to be held back by Silver. Imperial raised her staff to smack him again only to be stopped by Puren holding on with all of her might to the weapon.
"Let go, Puren." Imperial's chest heaved furiously. "This is between me and him." Puren persisted in her stance, stepping in front of the lumbering beast. She looked searchingly into Imperial's eyes.
"No Imperial, it between all of us but now is not the time to take action..." She softly scolded.
Imperial glowered at her roughly pushing Puren out of the way as offered another blow to the crestfallen armadillo. Puren grabbed Imperial's arms as she raised the staff once again the two began to scuffle
"Puren, Get out of my way!" Imperial voiced through clenched teeth as Puren continued to tussle with her. After a brief struggle Puren finally wrestled the staff from Imperial's hands.
"He nearly got all of us killed!" Imperial shouted at Puren, shoving her once again. Pointing a judging finger at him, she continued, "Innocent people were slaughtered on account of him and you 're taking his defense. How can you stand on his side knowing what he did?"
Puren threw the staff to the side as she moved her face within an inch of Imperial's. "Because he did it out of love for his child! He wanted nothing more than to see Aranda live and blossom in a place where she didn't have to worry about civil wars, stupid laws or selfish dictators! Yes, his actions were wrong but he was given an opportunity and he took it, like anyone of use would have done in his place. What if it were you and this boy in his position? How far would have gone Imperial? To what lengths would you have run to gain Gage or Aflan trust in order to see him safe?"
Imperial's eyes brimmed with angry tears as she turned her head away from Puren's words. What would she have done if it were Kaiko in Aranda's place? What if she was living in this war torn town, under the rule of two tyrants. What would she have done? In her heart she already knew the ugly truth of the matter.
"That wasn't fair, Puren!" she hissed, as Aranda broke free from Silver's hands and clutched to her father's waist watching Imperial.
"You better pray to the gods that we never cross paths again!" Imperial turned from Silos disgusted, grabbing Lakaiko in her arms she marched upstairs to her room, slamming her door.
Silos rubbed his jaw, clutching his daughter to his waist with his other hand. He was more shocked than hurt by the assault. "Thanks, I owe you one..." He began only to have Puren raise her hand to stop his apology. Puren moved towards him with her arms folded across her chest, rage written all over her face.
"How dare you offer me thanks!" she fired back. "They trusted you. The boy saved Aranda and in return because of you, Imperial had to put her life on the line not only to save her friend but our lives as well, ones you placed in danger. You know, if I wasn't a believer of the gods I would tell you exactly what I think of you right now, but I can't!" She finished racing towards the stairs slamming another bedroom door.
Orion coughed unexpectedly as Silver walked over to him. He was somewhat awake, but still in pretty bad shape. He would require someone to give him medical treatment if he was expected to be in the clear of the night. Orion glanced up at Silver's brooding face, then closing his eyes once again.
"All... this over... paper. " He gasped harshly. Silver glanced worried at the Woren.
"You shouldn't talk. You need to keep up your strength until we can find a healer. Just rest right now." He whispered softly to him.
Orion nodded his head no slowly, his face filled with remorse as he continued on. "All...of this, everything... that happened ...started because...of me. I led Kaiko...and... Imperial... here. I'm...the...one they...should be...angry with. All those...people...dying...over a piece...of paper. I'm the one... that allowed it...to happen. It's... not... Silos's fault. I... gave... him... the weapon..." He whispered.
"No," Silver strained out a reply " You only came here for some help and we took advantage of you. You are not the blame for this war, Orion, the ones who led the residents of this town are. You can not blame yourself for the evil of others..."
When Orion didn't reply, Silver realized that the hurt Woran had fallen unconscious. Silver gave a deep sigh as ran upstairs to tell Puren he was going to town to find a healer for the Woren. As he made his way to town his thoughts wandered over the events of what just happened.
Within the span of one day, he has seen more and done more than he ever had in his whole life. It was exhilarating. Everything that happened in this one day, the end of the civil war, the deaths of the princes, the liberation of Auria, it all centered around a single child.
Silver laughed to himself as the thought crossed his mind. He wondered where this unlikely trio would take him next in the world...
Chapter Fifteen: Coming to Terms
Fat beads of sweat slickly rolled down Silver's creased brow as he tried to undetectably loosen the twine straps tightly pinning his wrist together. The way he was laying on the floor gave him a great view of where everyone was for the moment. The black-garbed guard in front of him continued to hold his sharpened blade to young Aranda's exposed neck. Puren was sitting on the couch in the Inn's main hall, muttering a string of unladylike curses to herself, while the unfortunate Orion was left lying on the front desk. Out of the whole lot of them, Silos had the worst position lying faced down with iron arm and leg cuffs holding him into submission.
Aranda's scared sobs and Orion's pained moans were the only thing allowing Silver to hold on to his scattered thoughts. They were ambushed as soon as they stepped foot in the inn with Orion. He and Puren barely had enough time to give a quick overview of what was going on before the black guards jumped into action.
The Gage's captain wasn't a fool by any means of the word. He had seen Silos on many occasions when he held council with the younger prince. Although everyone in Gage's militia knew of Silos's quite, timid nature, his massive size alone still scared some of his fellow brethren into silence when he came around.
The Head guard knew he wouldn't have an ice toad's chance in Hades if he ran in with his sword ablaze in the sun against the armadillo. So he opted for the next best thing, take him by surprise by holding his only child hostage, while the other two sentinels he brought with him offered aid once things got rough. After he made Silos lock himself into the iron bands, the guards went around the room securing the others. After the lockdown, the captain placed one of the older guardsmen in front of the house as a look out until the deed was done.
"Isn't this cozy." He voiced, edging the sharp sword into the sensitive skin of Aranda's throat. Hazily watching the frightened child, Orion moaned louder from the desk he lay upon, trying to draw attention away from the upset child. As the moaning increased, the Head guard became more and more visibly upset.
"Tomas, do something to shut him up!" The captain yelled at the younger, using his unoccupied hand to point at the Woran. The sentry jumped up and saluted his officer. "Sir, yes, sir! I will follow your orders immedi..."
"Leave off that and just shut him up!" the commanding officer shouted. The sentry apologized and went about, finding a cloth napkin in his quick search. He then shoved the material in the hurt Woran's mouth, muffing the groaning.
"That's better." The Officer replied staring hard at Puren, who at that moment whispered a little to loudly who she though he was a son of. After grabbing the child a little tighter from the barb the Head guard yelled to the outside sentry to come in and report.
An older looking soldier marched inside the inn and saluted "Sir, it's like these citizens have reported. I do not hear the clangs of metal or the screams of battle but the voices of laughter and singing coming from the town. If I may suggest, I think we should leave these civilians and report back to town."
"What!" The captain bellowed incredulously "Leave? I don't know what is going on inside the city walls, soldier but I intend to carry out our leader's orders before we go anywhere. Back to your post." The elder saluted, and then walked out to his place of duty.
Silos cleared his throat turning his head to the side to speak, drawing the attention of the officer.
"For my services, Prince Gage gave me permission to leave the city without fear of retaliation. I don't understand why he would sent you after me." The head guard snorted at his sentence.
"Think Silos!" He laughed at his simple mindedness. "Did you really think that he would just let you leave out of here as easily as that? You've seen and heard too much just to walk away. It would have been stupid and dangerous of him to let you go. Doing so would have placed his and our lives in more danger." The guard finished shaking his head slightly.
"I don't know how you did it but that kid you found was the gear we needed to get things in motion. We'll have that spell in no time thanks to him." The guard added as he stared coolly into the male armadillo's eyes.
Silver's ears perked up at the mention of the word 'kid'. He turned to Silos with a suspicious glare in his eyes. Silos did his best to shift his gaze from the dog-man. Thinking back to the destruction he had witness within the city, Silver gave him a puzzled look.
"Is whom he speaks of the same child attacking the castle? Just how did he get in Gage's possession, Silos?" Silver asked slowly. Silos exhaled a deep breath, giving a brief story of how he took Lakaiko to Prince Gage. As the story went on Silver became more and more enraged.
"Do you realize how many innocent lives will die because of what you've done!" he spat at the armadillo, Silos grimaced at the words.
"You think I didn't consider that? We worked side by side long ago, Silver, but the war changed things, and you know that! I had to look out for Aranda and me. Prince Gage promised me that if I gave him something that would help him gain control of Auria, I could take Aranda and leave this gods- forsaken town." he replied heatedly
"He was able to get me a small area of land to farm in outside of the city. Granted, I was never to into any other towns and I had to check in with him every day, I was freer than any of you fools living within the walls. Prince Gage gave me more than Aflan could ever do and he gave it to me all on a promise. I only had to think of a way to help him get that damn scroll." Silos reasoned with the dog man.
"Now he repays you by sending his guards to murder you and your daughter." Silver retorted coolly.
Aranda, hearing the words her father spoke sobered up. An expression of hurt flashed upon her face.
"Daddy, is that true?" she questioned him so gently "Did you give Kaiko to Prince Gage?" Silos nodded to his daughter with a feeble smile.
"Yes, baby, I did it for us. I did it so we can get out of here, so we can buy some real farmland for ourselves. Remember how I told you one day we were going to leave here and go far away and..." Tears once again streamed down Aranda's chubby face.
"If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't of gotten better daddy. Now he has to hurt because of helping me?" She reasoned simply. Puren lowered her head at the child's simple sentence. The powerful words had reduced her to tears. Silos looked at his daughter then turned his head once again.
"I'm sorry, pumpkin. It was the only way." He replied but the words fell on deaf ears. The head guard grunted at the Armadillo's situation.
"Soon as the other one you talked about comes back, I take all of you out of your misery." He declared looking at the small coo-coo clock on the wall.
Silver tried to rest his arms, which were now aching from the bound position they were in. Brooding, he gazed at Silos. He hoped to the heavens Imperial somehow escaped from the warring town safely. Then as he watched the captain began to tie Aranda up to ready her for execution, he wished he had stayed in the bathroom to begin with.
----------------Some distance away from Silos's inn------------------------- --
Imperial remember what the child recounted to her after she removed the hypnobands Gage used to confine him. The situation seemed bleak for her friends anyway she looked at it. If she goes to the inn, they all would be killed but if she doesn't go the guard would assume she was lost in the battle and probably kill the rest anyway.
"Damned if I do, Damned if I don't." she thought to herself.
She hated tight situations like this. Imperial wished that Orion was here to save the day but now he was in need of help and she didn't have a clue as what to do. She leaned her staff against her forehead to help her concentrate. How can she save them without losing anyone in the process? By what Kaiko told her about Gage's directions to his head guard, time was of the essence. The child watched her as she gently tapped the orb against her head.
"'Perial," He offered, "I'll help." His soft voice startled her briefly, it would take her sometime to get use to it, she reasoned with herself. Imperial glanced at him with a smile on her face. She shook her head no as she patted his shoulder lightly.
"I know you can Kaiko, but I put you in danger once before and I'm not about to do it again." She replied. Suddenly Lakaiko clenched his hands into fists and shut his eyes tightly. A moment later his lips began to move ever so slightly, as if he was having a conversation. Imperial watched him intently as he continued on growing more upset as the minutes passed. Abruptly, he opened his eyes and turned towards her.
"'Perial, I'll help." He voiced fiercely to her. "Or they'll die!"
Imperial stared at the boy for a moment before looking towards the road that led to the inn. The way he spoke to her sent shivers down her spine. She didn't understand why but she knew he was right, and then it hit her like a thunderbolt. He had received a message! Problem was she didn't have the time to ask him who of what spoke to him.
Looking off in the distance once again, she realized they would need a diversion to catch the officer off guard. Not only that but she had to take into consideration that there might be more than one guard around the inn. Remembering the healing herbs that she brought with her to the town in her pouch, a quick plan formed in her brain.
--------Back at the inn --------
The captain ordered Tomas to have everyone down on the floor in a kneeling position as he prepared for their execution. The other foreigner was taking too long to come back and these traitors had to be executed sooner than later.
'Whoever else was to come has to be dead from the battle." the officer reckoned with himself. "If not he or she will be dealt with at another time."
Silver and Puren huddled close as Aranda and Silos knelt near to each other. The two guards took their positions; both withdrew sharp swords from out of his sheath. It would be quick and simple, just slice off their heads and off they would go to back to town...
A loud crash of glass sounded behind them disrupted their swings. Surprised by the noise, the officer jerked back in time to avoid a large rock sent at his head. The bright face of Lakaiko could be seen through the broken pane.
"Bpppppppppppp!" He blew a raspberry at the captain as he stuck his thumbs into his ears and wiggled his fingers. The officer, enraged at the little imp, called for the elder guard that was supposed to be patrolling the outside parameter to get the child. When the other sentry didn't respond, Tomas was ordered outside to give chase.
With a swift timed blow, Imperial's orbed staff came crashing down upon Tomas's uncovered head, knocking him unconscious. In an odd way, she felt she owed Prince Aflan a thank you for showing her that move when she was imprisoned.
The other guard wasn't that hard to subdue either. All she did was coax him away from the inn by making some noises. He followed the sounds and when he was far enough she hit him the same way. Imperial hoped this more experienced soldier would fall for the same cheep tricks.
The officer regained his composure and took a battle stance as he stared furiously at her.
"It looks like the last foreigner has decided to join our party. Don't worry I'll make your death quick!"
Imperial twirled her staff as the Head guard gave a yell moving forward. Imperial stood waiting for the right moment to attack. When the guard raised his sword to land his death strike, her other hand hidden behind her back surged forward, tossing a hand full of crushed healing herbs into his face. Blinded by the leafy flakes, the officer gave an anguished roar as he stumbled back. Seeing her chance to defeat her opponent, Imperial quickly retaliated.
"Wind!" she commanded, pointed her staff at the guard. Her sea-blue green hair whipped about as a blast of wind blew around her. The powerful gust blasted the captain to the other side of the inn, knocking him onto the wooden wall. He slid down wall and landed in a motionless heap as the spell died down.
Imperial ran over to Silver and quickly undid his binds. Silver rubbed his aching wrists, then using the rope that held him and the others went about to secure the two unconscious guards. He looked over to Imperial and gave her a grand smile as Lakaiko ran to her from his hiding place outside the inn.
"You're safe!" He announced proudly to everyone. Silver smiled warmly at the child as he finished securing a knot around the out cold officer's hands.
"I don't think we would have made it without your help, little one." Silver chuckled at the child. Puren knelt down near Silver, throwing her arms around her lover's neck and embracing him passionately.
"Oh my honey bunny, my sweetie pie, you were so brave throughout all of this. Later I'll show you my gratitude for coming to rescue me." She smiled seductively at him. Silver's ears perked up as a wide grin came across his face. Puren leaned close to him and whispered something in his ear. His eyes opened wide as he raised his eyebrow in surprise. He nodded slowly as he reflected on the thought and smiled brightly in agreement. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, She secretly began to pocket the unused portions of rope, giving Silver a sexy wink.
Aranda waddled over to Lakaiko as Silver went to unlock her father from his bonds, giving him fierce hug from behind, nearly choking him in the process. Silos thanked the dog man as he got to his feet and walked off to the Woran.
"I'm so happy you're okay, Lakaiko. Now you and me can play together all the time." She voiced happily as she raised him off of the floor swinging him in the process.
Silver smiled at the two as his sights landed on Silos speaking soft words of apology to Orion as he removed his gag. He turned to see Imperial's wings turn blood red as she too watched him lean over the woren.
Hearing quickened footsteps against the hardened wood floor, Silos turned to see who coming up behind him and was met with a hard swinging staff to the face. He stumbled back from the blow but did not fall to the ground.
Although shocked from the onslaught, Silos did nothing in defense. Aranda seeing her father being assaulted let go of Lakaiko. Aranda began to move towards her father's only to be held back by Silver. Imperial raised her staff to smack him again only to be stopped by Puren holding on with all of her might to the weapon.
"Let go, Puren." Imperial's chest heaved furiously. "This is between me and him." Puren persisted in her stance, stepping in front of the lumbering beast. She looked searchingly into Imperial's eyes.
"No Imperial, it between all of us but now is not the time to take action..." She softly scolded.
Imperial glowered at her roughly pushing Puren out of the way as offered another blow to the crestfallen armadillo. Puren grabbed Imperial's arms as she raised the staff once again the two began to scuffle
"Puren, Get out of my way!" Imperial voiced through clenched teeth as Puren continued to tussle with her. After a brief struggle Puren finally wrestled the staff from Imperial's hands.
"He nearly got all of us killed!" Imperial shouted at Puren, shoving her once again. Pointing a judging finger at him, she continued, "Innocent people were slaughtered on account of him and you 're taking his defense. How can you stand on his side knowing what he did?"
Puren threw the staff to the side as she moved her face within an inch of Imperial's. "Because he did it out of love for his child! He wanted nothing more than to see Aranda live and blossom in a place where she didn't have to worry about civil wars, stupid laws or selfish dictators! Yes, his actions were wrong but he was given an opportunity and he took it, like anyone of use would have done in his place. What if it were you and this boy in his position? How far would have gone Imperial? To what lengths would you have run to gain Gage or Aflan trust in order to see him safe?"
Imperial's eyes brimmed with angry tears as she turned her head away from Puren's words. What would she have done if it were Kaiko in Aranda's place? What if she was living in this war torn town, under the rule of two tyrants. What would she have done? In her heart she already knew the ugly truth of the matter.
"That wasn't fair, Puren!" she hissed, as Aranda broke free from Silver's hands and clutched to her father's waist watching Imperial.
"You better pray to the gods that we never cross paths again!" Imperial turned from Silos disgusted, grabbing Lakaiko in her arms she marched upstairs to her room, slamming her door.
Silos rubbed his jaw, clutching his daughter to his waist with his other hand. He was more shocked than hurt by the assault. "Thanks, I owe you one..." He began only to have Puren raise her hand to stop his apology. Puren moved towards him with her arms folded across her chest, rage written all over her face.
"How dare you offer me thanks!" she fired back. "They trusted you. The boy saved Aranda and in return because of you, Imperial had to put her life on the line not only to save her friend but our lives as well, ones you placed in danger. You know, if I wasn't a believer of the gods I would tell you exactly what I think of you right now, but I can't!" She finished racing towards the stairs slamming another bedroom door.
Orion coughed unexpectedly as Silver walked over to him. He was somewhat awake, but still in pretty bad shape. He would require someone to give him medical treatment if he was expected to be in the clear of the night. Orion glanced up at Silver's brooding face, then closing his eyes once again.
"All... this over... paper. " He gasped harshly. Silver glanced worried at the Woren.
"You shouldn't talk. You need to keep up your strength until we can find a healer. Just rest right now." He whispered softly to him.
Orion nodded his head no slowly, his face filled with remorse as he continued on. "All...of this, everything... that happened ...started because...of me. I led Kaiko...and... Imperial... here. I'm...the...one they...should be...angry with. All those...people...dying...over a piece...of paper. I'm the one... that allowed it...to happen. It's... not... Silos's fault. I... gave... him... the weapon..." He whispered.
"No," Silver strained out a reply " You only came here for some help and we took advantage of you. You are not the blame for this war, Orion, the ones who led the residents of this town are. You can not blame yourself for the evil of others..."
When Orion didn't reply, Silver realized that the hurt Woran had fallen unconscious. Silver gave a deep sigh as ran upstairs to tell Puren he was going to town to find a healer for the Woren. As he made his way to town his thoughts wandered over the events of what just happened.
Within the span of one day, he has seen more and done more than he ever had in his whole life. It was exhilarating. Everything that happened in this one day, the end of the civil war, the deaths of the princes, the liberation of Auria, it all centered around a single child.
Silver laughed to himself as the thought crossed his mind. He wondered where this unlikely trio would take him next in the world...