Chapter Twelve

"So what's going on in here?" Darrin asked.

How nosy, Tania scoffed. He's probably on a break.

Damn it.

She then realized that she was holding her sword. That meant only one thing: giving Darrin something to make fun of. Of course she knew that he was going to make fun of her. Tania? Purchasing a sword, thinking like she's some warrior even she really was not? Ridiculous.

She felt her jaw muscles tense up. Well, if he was going to make fun of her, she was going to be ready with good comebacks. She unconsciously death-gripped the handle of the sword.

Oh she could already imagine his smirk.

She turned around and tried to stare Darrin down. (Or was it up? After all, she was shorter than him…Anyway…) Unfortunately, he was in the mood of playing "two can play this game" game. He unwaveringly stared back, the same smirk playing on his lips (surprise, surprise).

"Hello, Darrin," Caelan greeted cheerfully. "What brings you here?"

Darrin broke away from Tania's gaze (much to her delight) and grinned at Caelan. "Curious to know what Tania here"—he gestured towards the young fairy—"is up to."

Tania shot Caelan a don't-tell-him-anything-look. Or at least she tried to. Caelan, who was looking at Darrin, missed it.

"Tania wants to buy a sword," Caelan replied with a smile. She nodded her head towards Tania. "That one, in fact."

Here we go, Tania thought angrily as Darrin turned to look at her sword. He sniggered.

"A sword?" he said, grinning from ear to ear. "She can barely lift one."

"Shut it," Tania muttered angrily.

Caelan, ignoring Tania, gave Darrin a stern look. "You are not supposed to insult a young lady like that," she said. "And don't you dare tell me that she isn't a lady. None of that immaturity."

Darrin rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mother," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He received a fierce glare from Caelan, which shut him up.

Tania snickered. He was finally told off. "Thank you, Caelan," she said courteously while ignoring Darrin's glower.

"But I am serious," Darrin spoke up. "She can barely lift one, I tell you."

"She can learn," Caelan said exasperatedly. She turned and gave Tania a smile. "Maybe you can learn from Ethan. He's a nice young man."

"Hey!" Darrin cut in angrily. "I'm already teaching her!"

Tania raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you don't mind if I switch to Ethan instead?"

He scowled. "Yes, I do mind. I don't…" He suddenly stopped as his eyes travelled down to Tania's bosom.

Tania, noticing the movement of his eyes, gasped and clutched her chest protectively. "EYES UP, YOU SICK PERVERT!" she shouted, blushing furiously.

That startled Darrin. He blinked. He looked taken aback as he realized exactly what he was looking at. But he regained composure in a split second. "Don't get excited," he said lazily. He smirked. "I was looking at your necklace." He turned to Caelan. "Don't you have something like that?"

Caelan gave him a look. Then she nodded and said, "I gave the necklace to her."

"Oh…"

"Well," Tania cut in, "I should go now. Farewell, Caelan." She placed her sword back on its proper place for safekeeping.

Caelan smiled at her. "Farewell. Come back soon, all right?"

Tania nodded. "Of course."

Tania saw Ethan leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets. He was busy watching two boys spar with each other. Once in awhile, she would see him say something to the duellers. She supposed that he was giving out pointers.

She decided to approach him. She was a few metres closer when she caught his eyes. He smiled at her.

"Hi," he greeted.

Tania grinned. "Hi." She leaned next to him. "So…on a break, like Darrin?"

He nodded. "Yup. Where is he anyway?" He looked around, as if he was searching for his friend.

"He's in the armoury."

"Oh." He stopped searching and turned to look at her. "So…what is it like having Darrin as your teacher?"

Tania frowned in thought. Well, let me see. We argue more than half the time. He's very annoying and bossy. He really gets in my nerves. I barely learn anything because I'm always so angry…

"He's very picky," she said. "We fight a lot." She paused. "Here's a question for you: when you do a downward swinging cut, does it matter if it's 47 degrees and not 45?"

Ethan burst out laughing. "So he was that picky, huh?" he said, amused. "Well, that's Darrin for you. You can't blame him though. He's one of the best warriors around here, so naturally, he has to be picky. Best warriors always want perfect moves, you know."

"He's that good?!" Tania asked incredulously.

The duellers before them, the two boys, stopped fighting. They turned to Tania and Ethan. One grinned crookedly at Tania and said, "Of course! Darrin's great! I bet he can beat Ryder with one hand tied behind his back!"

Ethan snorted. "Stop exaggerating, Peter."

The other boy laughed. "Yeah, Peter. Ryder is unbeatable!"

Ryder was a famous warrior who travelled everywhere about, helping knights with their jobs. He had been in ogre hunts, he had stopped village raids…he had pretty much done everything. He was a very tall man, around 6'9. He was big, with bulging muscles in his arms and legs. He could crush a man's skull with his two hands. No one knew what he looked like, for he wore a black veil with the hood of his black cloak pulled up.

He had only been famous for a year. Before, no one knew who Ryder was, but after helping capture a group of deadly assassins, his fame grew. Citizens praised him, while criminals scorned him.

Peter sighed. "All right," he said. "Maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but Darrin is a good fighter."

Ethan shrugged. "Get back to your duel."

The two boys inside the ring exchanged looks. Then one jumped forth, and they began sparring once more.

Ethan turned to Tania. "If you're interested in that archery lesson, let me know," he said with a smile.

Tania's eyes lit up. "Really? You will actually teach me?"

He burst out laughing. "Of course," he said, amused. "Why would I lie about something like that?"

She grinned. "Wow…all right." She paused. "I think I have lessons from Darrin today. Maybe you can persuade him to lighten up a bit if you come over. That is, if you want to," she added hastily. She didn't want to force Ethan into coming over if he was busy. She didn't want to be demanding.

Ethan smiled. "Why not? I don't think I have anything to do today."

"Great!" Tania exclaimed. "Wait here, while I tell Darrin."

She hurried back to the armoury. When she quietly entered, she noticed that the main room was empty. However, she could hear voices coming from the back room, and she knew that they were Darrin's and Caelan's.

They were arguing about something. But what about?

Tania, unconsciously holding her breath, crept near the entrance of the back room and listened quietly.

"I deserve to know!" she heard Darrin yell.

"Not today!" Caelan yelled back.

"That's not fair! Why are you doing this? Tell me! I have to know!"

What does Darrin have to know? Why are they arguing like this? Tania thought. She felt guilty at being such an eavesdropper, but the heated argument between the two got her curious. Why were these two so angry at each other?

"Stop it, Darrin! Today's not the right time!"

"Oh?" Darrin scoffed. "Then when is the right time? You keep stalling, and I don't appreciate it! Will you just get over it and confess whatever you're hiding?"

Then there was a tense silence. Tania could have sworn she could hear Darrin's heavy breathing, as if he was trying hard not to explode with anger. It was almost scary. But it was more confusing. This situation was out of place…

"Fine," came Caelan's weary voice. "I'll tell you."

This should have been the cue for Tania. She should have acknowledged her presence. But she was frozen in spot, holding her breath for whatever Caelan's confession was…

"Ahem."

Tania let out a little squeak and whirled around. She found herself looking at a handsome man, who looked to be about Caelan's age. He had golden brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Um…h-hi," Tania muttered.

Caelan and Darrin came out of the back room. Tania turned and saw Darrin staring at her with an expression on his face that she couldn't understand one bit. Caelan was frowning.

"How long have you been there?" Darrin asked suspiciously.

"N-not long…" Tania sputtered.

"What did you hear?" Caelan asked.

"Nothing!" Tania said. "I didn't hear anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Tania squeaked out.

Caelan gave her one suspicious look before turning to the man before her. "Hello, Vance. Did you get it?"

Vance, Caelan's husband, nodded and held up a sack. "Yes." He turned to Tania. "I don't believe we've met."

"I'm…um…Tania."

Vance nodded, but said nothing. Darrin spoke up next.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Tania.

"I came here to ask you if we have lessons today."

"Yeah, we do."

"Great. Oh, and, Ethan's coming."

"WHAT?!"

Tania shrugged. "He's teaching me archery."

Darrin scowled. "I was going to teach you that."

"Too bad. Ethan offered first."

"Then don't take the offer."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"That's being rude."

Darrin scoffed. "That's never a problem with you."

Tania's glared. "Jerk," she muttered. "Anyway, I'm going now. And Ethan's teaching me archery."

She smiled sheepishly at Caelan and Vance before turning around and walking away.

"Ethan's not coming!" she heard Darrin yell as she exited the armoury.

"We'll see," Tania said coolly without looking back.

"I thought I told you that Ethan's not coming," Darrin said bitterly as he approached Tania. He looked over the girl's shoulder and scowled as he watched Ethan sway his sword around, with Kylee watching him.

Tania gave him a look. "What are you? Afraid of competition or something?" she asked suspiciously.

Darrin glared. "No!" he said angrily. "Ethan's no match for me."

Tania clapped half-heartedly. "Very modest," she commented dryly.

He glared once more. Then he sighed heavily, took Tania's wrist, and led the way to the field. Ethan, in the middle of his "exhibition," looked up and grinned at the approaching people.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," Darrin said dully.

Ethan frowned. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Darrin snapped. "Let's just start."

Ethan gave him a look. Then he shrugged and said, "Okay."

Tania sighed quietly as she watched Darrin sway his sword a couple of times, a scowl planted on his lips.

This was going to be one looong practice.

It was night time, and Tania was in the dining room, eating her supper. Weston was not present. Earlier, after the lessons with Darrin and Ethan, she had given him orders that would force him to behave well. She must have given him a hundred commands. Weston was now furious with her, which was the only possible reason for locking himself up in his room and moping.

Her thoughts strayed back to the lessons. It was a disaster. Darrin criticized almost everything that Ethan had said, while Ethan did the same. They kept arguing about so many pointless things that most of the time, Kylee and Tania were just…there.

Men and their rivalry were stupid. It was obvious that Darrin was trying to make himself look better, while Ethan was doing the same. The result was a long, tiring day of:

"That is not how you do it. Your stance is wrong."

"What are you talking about?! My stance is right!"

"Oh, please. You're standing like a beginner."

(Snort) "And you're teaching like a beginner."

"Say that again."

"I said—"

"Stop it, you two!"

"I'm just trying to correct him. His teachings are all wrong."

"What are you talking about?! My—"

"Shut up, you two! Both of your teachings are the same that neither Tania nor I can tell the difference!"

That was pretty much how it went. Bickers and more bickers. Tania was amused that Darrin found someone else to take his anger out on. She and Kylee were mildly surprised that the day didn't end with a fistfight. Tania wondered who would have won if they did fistfight.

Once again, men and their rivalry were stupid.

Tania sighed and rose from the table. She went outside the manor and took in the cool, evening breeze. She grinned. It seemed to be the perfect night to go flying.

So, she did. She bent her knees, jumped, and took off.

Tania landed on the ground. She was at the empty marketplace. Why did she always enjoy night time outings, especially in the marketplace? Well, probably because this was the only time where she could go out at a public place without people staring at her.

She walked around, enjoying how quiet it was. No one whispering loudly or pointing at her direction. Ah, yes. How she enjoyed night time.

She suddenly heard a small noise from behind. Tania turned, but she was barely halfway through her turn when something hard came in contact with her head.

Everything went black and she crumpled to the ground.

"Here," said a deep, very soothing voice, "drink this."

Tania, too exhausted to protest and too dizzy to think about her situation, parted her lips when she felt something wet on them. Cool liquid slid her throat. She realized that it was water.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pinch in her chest.

This alerted her. Her eyes opened at once and she bolted up, wincing as she felt a throbbing pain at the side of her head.

How could she have been so stupid?! Just because the person had a soothing voice didn't mean that he was actually a nice guy! Now she had been drugged! Again!

She tried to fly. It didn't work.

She mentally smacked herself. Obviously not, her mind scoffed. Because you were stupid enough to accept the water!

Tania was ready to cry. Not again. Please not again.

She looked around and found herself staring at one—two—three…five men in total. Great. Just great. What even made the situation greater was that they were wearing masks. Cowards. Didn't want to reveal their identities, did they?

She glanced at her surroundings. They were still outside. She felt no draft, so she knew that they were in an alleyway. It was also darker than usual.

"What do you want?" she asked quietly. Please don't let there be a third death. Please don't let there be a third death. Please don't let there be a third death.

Please don't let there be any pain, period.

"You're a fairy, right?" one of them spoke up.

"Unfortunately," Tania mumbled.

"We have a job for you."

Tania glared at them. "Someone has already tried that on me, so don't think that you will succeed!"

Ah, but Darrin was there to save you, remember? her brain jeered.

Shut. Up.

One of them snarled, stepped forward, and kicked Tania in the ribs. Tania let out a hurt cry.

Then something dawned on her. What am I doing?! I can just scream!

So, she did. The reaction was incredible. The moment the sound emitted her lips, all five men darted forward, jerked her up, and covered her mouth. Before Tania could bite the man's hand, she felt a powerful fist connect with her jaw. There was a loud and disgusting cracking sound. It would not take a genius to realize that the puncher just broke her jaw.

Tania crashed to the hard ground. She let out a very soft moan as she stroked her jaw. Tears started up in her eyes.

I said no more pain! she thought angrily. She tried to open her mouth, but that resulted in more prickling pains. It really hurt.

Her thought suddenly strayed towards the necklace Caelan had given her. Of course! The crystal could heal her! She reached for her neck. She felt nothing. Tania cursed to herself. Of course…she had taken it off before taking a bath, and had forgotten to put it back on. Could she be any more stupid?

Someone grasped her arm and jerked her to her feet. Tania stood, her knees shaking slightly.

"Now listen to me," one of them snarled, "you are going to rob the royal palace for us."

How blunt of him. The royal palace?! Did they think that she wanted a death wish?! No one had successfully robbed the royal palace before!

She shot them a glare. She wished that she could say something, or maybe even just spit at them. How could they even think like this?

She shook her head, emphasising her "no."

"We thought you'd say that. We have a good way of convincing people to do what we want, you know."

I'm sure you do, Tania thought wryly. Did you rehearse that with Weston?

She paused. Is Weston part of this? But…he can't be.

The man nodded at a companion. The companion nodded back and walked off from the group. He reappeared almost instantly, but this time, he wasn't alone. He was grasping a very young and frail-looking girl by her arm, dragging her towards the group.

Tania stared at the young girl. She wore a gag and her wrists were tied together. She didn't look to be older than seven. She wore very tattered clothing, and her long brown hair was a mess. She was a peasant.

What scared Tania the most was the expression in the little girl's brown eyes. They were full of terror. They were also full of pleading, as if to say, "Please help me."

It hurt Tania seeing that. She turned away and focussed on the man before her, giving him a "What do you mean by this?" look.

The man seemed to have understood. He sneered. "Here's what I have to say: If you refuse to rob the palace, we won't hesitate to kill this girl."

Tania's eyes widened.

"That's right," the man continued. "The life of this stupid wench is in your hands. Refuse once again, and you'll see her die a gruesome death before your very eyes."

This left Tania in a very tight situation. She could lie and pretend to give in. But no…that wouldn't stop them from killing the girl if they found out. Unless…wait…she could save the girl and hide her somewhere safe… But then again, that wouldn't stop them from finding another victim and killing that victim just to spite her.

She could say yes for now and find out a way to get out of it later on. Yes…that seemed to be the best choice.

Tania glanced at the little girl. The girl still looked as terrified as ever. Tania turned away and stared at the ground. She could feel the tears threatening to spill.

She nodded slowly.

"Good," she heard the man speak up. "Very good. We'll meet here tomorrow, same time. You got that?"

Tania nodded again. How many minutes had passed? Did she have her powers back?

She tried to levitate. Nothing.

"Look at me," she heard a gruff voice.

She looked up and gave the speaker a questioning look.

"Here's something to act as a reminder if you're thinking of doing anything stupid."

Tania frowned. What the hell did he mean by that?

Her question was answered in a split second. The man reached over and grabbed the peasant girl from his companion. Wait…what was he holding with his other hand?

Tania's eyes widened. It was a dagger.

"Watch, fairy," he sneered. "Watch and learn."

It happened too fast. One moment, the dagger was high in the air, and the next moment, the little girl was lying on the ground, a dagger in her ribs and dark red blood pouring out of her. The girl had died instantly.

The man's voice seemed so far away when he spoke up. "We have more little girls to kill, so don't worry."

Tania paled. Her knees fell to the ground, but she didn't seem to have noticed the impact. She was just staring. Staring at the cold, lifeless girl.

It began to drizzle. Cool water droplets fell from the dark sky. It was gentle at first, small pitter-pats, but soon the drizzle turned into heavy rain.

Tania remained where she was. Her body felt frozen, rooted to the ground.

She then saw the girl rise from the ground. Wait! That couldn't be right! The girl was a corpse now! She was dead.

Wait…the girl was being lifted by one of the men. Oh.

"Can't have people seeing this now, can we?" she vaguely heard someone say. "We'll see you tomorrow."

She didn't even notice them leave. She continued to stare. Stare at the spot where the little girl had been lying.

It's my fault. A girl died because of me. An innocent little girl. I'm… a…a… murderer…

She didn't notice the tears that streamed down her cheeks. The word "murderer" kept on replaying in her mind. Thunder boomed at a distance. It was her fault. Her blood's fault. If she wasn't a fairy, this would never have happened. It was because of her being a damn fairy…

Suddenly, she heard someone. "Tania?! Is that you?"

The voice sounded so far-off…

The rain was too loud…

A/N:

If you can guess who that was, I'll give you a cookie. I'm sure all of you will get it. And I've decided to stop this at chapter 13, and continue this as a "new" story. Do you get what I mean? Meaning, 1-13 will be part I, and the ones after that will be part II. Part I is Tania's life in Geldrin, and part II is the exciting part, you know? The part where she's in Kyrria and all that. Anyway, if you don't get what I mean, I'm sorry. Please review! They're the ones that keep me going. =)