This story belongs to me and my creative mind. However, most of the characters, names, and places all belong to their respective companies, so don't yell at me for copyright infringements! Remember, Italics represent a person's thoughts or the telling of past events.
Enjoy...
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:Faraway Dreams:
Chapter Nine:
Everyone looked back to the source of the voice with slow motions, seeing the female Burman standing with her arm outstretched from her attack, a cruel grin on her lips and dark intentions circling through the depths of her eyes. Snorting a laugh, she straightened herself up and looked around, relishing the unbelieving eyes staring at her.
"What?" She asked.
"C-Claire?" Fedrich sputtered, shocked at the turn of events.
"Oh, you must be surprised that I just killed Edvard Gestahl's son!" She said, as if surprised. "You see, I wasn't really part of your little team of wannabe heroes. I'm just as involved with killing that man as Riyu here was."
"You're a spy, then?" Illis posed, anger again seething into her voice.
"I was supposed to make sure no one got involved in the mission, since Riyu knew that Setzer's nephew Gordan was part of the Regulators. After he saw that Gordan was gonna interfere with it, he had me join you so I could warn him if any of you tried to follow his lead." Claire explained further, gesticulating with her hands. "Th'problem is, I was too slow on my part, and now he's dead. Better for me, though, 'cause now I get the entire payment to myself!"
"Traitors like you aren't gonna get any money, 'cause yer not leavin' this place 'cept to go 'ta jail!" Gerick promised, hefting his hammer.
"Like any of you can stop me." She said mockingly.
"You can't beat five on one odds." Fedrich insisted, drawing his sword out. "Don't make us hurt you."
Claire laughed loudly, glaring at her fellow Burman. "You? Hurt me? Did you forget that wasted a close dozen monsters without breaking a sweat!? Not a single one of you has was it takes to best me!"
Illis got to her feet slowly, pulling her blood stained sword free despite her arm's arguments. "I killed your partner, so don't go making promises you can't keep."
Claire glared at the dark clothed woman, sneering. "You can barely stand, much less fight."
"You underestimate me." Illis warned, assuming her attack stance.
The female Burman looked around at the others present, sighing. "Peh, you people are worthless to me."
With a single jump, she cleared the length of the room and landed next to Setzer's body. She pulled the lance free and used the blade to cut off his ring finger, taking the digit into her hands. Pulling sharply, she tugged loose the two rings decorating it, one a simple gold band and another bearing a large diamond and smaller pearly stones. Securing both rings to her pocket, she gave everyone a last looking over before tossing the finger aside. The Regulators all moved in to attack, but the female Burman used her lance to pin down a nearby worker. The woman cried out in terror and pain, the lance's sharp tip pressed hard against her midsection as her back was flush with the wall.
"Hold it, or she dies!" Claire warned, pushing harder and drawing another cry from the servant.
The group all stopped, not wanting to risk another casualty to an already failed mission. Claire grinned again, looking around her environment to find a chance to escape the manor.
"You will not get away with this atrocity." Gordan informed, struggling to keep himself steady.
"I already have!" She corrected.
"Claire! Tell me...why did you betray us!" Fedrich shouted, getting her attention.
She laughed again, still bearing her evil smile. "You can't betray people you never allied yourself with, Fedrich."
"Still...!"
"Don't speak!" She ordered. "I'm taking my leave of you weaklings, and you can call me Claire the Demon Lance from now on."
"Don't do this!" Fedrich pressed, struggling with himself.
"Farewell, comrade." She sneered.
Drawing her lance back, she freed her captive and made a quick run for one of the large windows nearby. Swinging her lance out, she shattered the obstacle and leapt outside of the manor before the Regulators could catch up. Fedrich came to the window before anyone else could reach it, using his eyes and keen hearing to try to find her. Despite his efforts, she had disappeared into the surrounding buildings as if she had never been there. Ruthy came to his side, putting a hand to his shoulder as she looked for the treacherous woman as well.
"Fedrich? Is she...?"
"Gone...Claire's gone." He growled.
"The Gods damn her." Gordan swore, kneeling next to his deceased uncle. "How could have I let such a foul woman go pass me without warning?"
"It's my fault, Gordan." Gerick admitted. "I let 'er into the Regulators while you were gone. I shoulda known better'n 'ta trust her outright like that."
"No, my friend, is it not your fault. You could not have predicted her betrayal, nor could have any of us." He reminded, struggling with his inner feelings. "The treachery that followed my uncle...seems to have been more than he ever let on, and now we have all paid the price, some more than others."
"Gordan..." Illis whispered, sharing a sense of the sadness the nobleman felt.
"Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust." Gordan spoke quietly, closing his uncle's eyes gently. "I hope you'll find rest in the afterworld, uncle Setzer."
"What are we going to do now?" Fedrich asked tensely from the window. "We can't just let her get away with this!"
"What can we do? You know as well as I that anyone can immerse themselves into this city and disappear without much difficulty. There is little chance that we can find her now." Gordan explained, standing up.
"How...how can you say that so easily, she just killed your uncle!" Fedrich blurted, surprised.
"I know that, Fedrich." Gordan spoke harshly. "But I alone cannot do much. I will contact the Guards and post a reward for her capture and arrest."
"Don't let it get to you, Fedrich." Illis added. "I want as much to hunt the bitch down, but we can't just run around the city looking for her blindly. We have to use the Guard's help for this, no other way around it."
Fedrich was about to reply, but he growled and pounded his fist against the wall, frustrated by his inability to stop the woman he'd grown to trust. Ruthy looked at him, concern apparent on her face, but the Burman strode off before she could offer any words of comfort. He paced past the Regulators and to the dead assassin's body, staring at it as the scent of death wafted about his nose.
"So he's our only source of information now, the dead." Fedrich concluded.
"Yes. Perhaps there is some information on his person about their mission or who hired them to kill my uncle." Gordan speculated, walking also to the assassin's side.
"Hey, the headband." Fedrich began, kneeling to get a closer look at the item. "That's an odd symbol."
"That it is..." Gordan agreed, reaching down to untie it and look it over. "Stained black leather, and the image of a...rose with bloodied thorns?"
"Maybe it's part of some group he's with?" Illis tried.
"It could just be a decoration for all we know." Gerick countered with a sigh. "Maybe we ought 'ta have Captain Cecil look it over, he'd probably know fer sure."
"He should be here shortly, their armory is not far from here." Gordan nodded, looking over the assassin's things. "It looks like he carried nothing more than his double sword and some Gil. There is nothing else to identify him with."
"Damned luck." Fedrich cursed.
"Gods, what a mess." Cecil grunted. "You're sure you can take care of the rest?"
"I do not think it will be difficult, Captain. Thank you for coming so soon." Gordan nodded.
"Hey, for helping me with the Fire Bandit, I owed you one as it is." Cecil said with a grin. "I'll have my men get posters up right away and scour this city for any leads."
"Cecil, did you recognize the symbol on the assassin's headband?" Fedrich asked.
He shook his head. "Nah. It doesn't look like any group in Lindblum I know of. Treno would be a a good guess...but anything shady could involve that place."
"I know..." Fedrich muttered, well aware of that city's less than friendly atmosphere.
"Don't worry about it, kid. Word'll filter into the Treno underground for the reward, so those thieves and mercenaries might help us turn her in!"
"Such is the standards of loyalty for Treno's miscreants." Gordan commented with a growl.
"Right...so you need anything else?"
"Not at the moment. Thank you again, Captain." Gordan said with a light bow.
"Alright, we'll take our leave!" Cecil replied with a fast salute. "Let's get goin', men!"
The few guards present all followed their captain as he left the manor, the sound of shifting armor and murmuring voices also departing to leave the few present in a depressing silence.
"You gonna be okay?" Gerick asked from his place near the front door.
"I...I will do my best to stay well."
"That's good 'ta hear. I don't want you to end up bein' some depressed hermit after all this."
Gordan stifled a laugh. "Thank you for your efforts, though I wish to be alone now to reflect on this..."
"O' course." Gerick nodded. "Let's head out, Fedrich."
"Sure." The Burman agreed, stepping to the front door.
"Fedrich? Why do you still have that headband?" Gordan asked, eyeing the black strip of material in his hand.
"This? I figure...maybe we'll need it for something."
The nobleman gave him a strange look, but nodded regardless. The two Regulators closed the door silently, leaving Gordan alone to mull over the day's tragedies. Walking through the small courtyard, they met the two sisters at the front gate and proceeded back to the Hall.
"How is he?" Illis asked first off.
"He's gonna be fine, just needs some time alone to grieve." Gerick answered.
"Did Mr. Cecil find out anything else?" Ruthy also wondered.
"Nope, 'though he said that he'd get his men around lookin' for her and to post a reward for her capture."
The redhead looked crestfallen, but kept quiet as she walked alongside everyone else. Glancing over to Fedrich, she saw the Burman holding an angered expression, eyes unfocused in inner thought. She then noticed his eyes were looking down towards a scrap of black cloth tightly held in his hand, digits rubbing the material around.
What is that he's holding? Is it something from the assassin? From Claire?...
Curiosity prodding her, she stepped over to his side and nudged his arm. "How are you?"
"Okay, I guess." Fedrich replied after a moment.
"You look troubled to me." She said, as if correcting him.
"Of course I am." He stated a bit louder. "First we couldn't protect Setzer Gestahl from being attacked by that assassin, then he dies because of Claire betraying us. Everything's just gone horribly wrong."
Ruthy tried to think of something to comfort the warrior, but she couldn't think of anything to say.
"I don't get it, Ruthy, why did she do that?" He continued.
"Well...she was partners with the assassin, so she wasn't ever concerned with us, I think." Ruthy speculated. "She played us all for fools because we were close to Setzer, used us to get to him."
"She never did act like a killer to me. Tough and arrogant, maybe, but not a murderer."
"Probably part of her skill to gain other's trust."
Fedrich sighed, confusion evident on his features. "I just don't get it. How can someone be so friendly to others and so cruel as to kill them?"
"Some people are like that, Fedrich, not everyone is as nice to one another as you'd think. Evil people are all over the world, some that are open with it and some that disguise it. Elric was never one to hide his evil...but Claire does so we don't suspect her." She looked to his eyes, hoping to draw his own. "Does it really bother you that much?"
"I've...just never been betrayed by someone like this before. It hurts to think that the Claire I knew was a lie." Fedrich admitted.
Ruthy sighed wistfully and put a hand on his shoulder, finally getting his attention. "You'll be fine. Things will get better."
Fedrich smiled warmly. "Thanks for listening to this poor guy's woes."
"Anytime." She smiled back.
* * *
The normally clear skies over Lindblum seemed darker, puffy clouds blocking sunlight and spreading patches of shadow across the metropolis. To casual observers, the addition of clouds made the day look prettier, but to a small gathering near Lindblum's cemetery, they only provided a greater sense of things lost.
"...Setzer, though a upper class nobleman and heir to one of Gaia's greatest industries, was also a man of simple tastes and approachable manners. His deeds were many, some for good, some for ill, but all with the knowledge that somehow he had changed the world, had left his mark in history. In the end, he died a man standing up to a great challenge eagerly, assuming a position of great importance with the same nonchalant attitude as a boy buying his first wrap of candy. He died with his hopes set aside for the sake of the people who benefited from his labor. Setzer Gestahl, my uncle, obeyed the will of the people before his own...lived for the people before himself, and that is his final remembrance."
Gordan wiped at his eyes gingerly, stepping down from the small podium as the priest came up front. "Now, after making his testimony and life clear to the heavens, shall we offer our final prayers before returning him to the earth from whence he came. May the soul of Setzer Gestahl be with his beloved ones in heaven, and may his deeds and life be remembered by the living."
The priest stepped away from the podium and to the side of the coffin, the wooden casket covered in flowers and pictures of the departed. The attendees stood and walked by, offering last words as they quietly talked to one another about his life and his past, some crying and others looking angry. After several minutes, Gordan came forward and looked at the images of his uncle, some in his youth and others just before his passing.
I am sorry I was not able to save you, uncle...I hope you are happier where you are now, among your parents and your friends...
"You okay?" A voice asked from his side.
He looked over to the voice, seeing Illis standing quietly, arms crossed over her black dress as she waited patiently. Although the funeral was being held for family and close friends only, she had insisted that she come with him to pay her respects to the person she barely knew.
"I will be fine." He replied quietly.
Illis grinned weakly. "That's good. I don't think Setzer would be happy to see you angry with yourself."
"That is true. He always wanted us to be honest with ourselves."
"Do you need more time?" She asked.
"...No, we can go. Better to leave with good memories than to let them slide away to sad ones."
The two turned to leave the coffin, the priest making final arrangements with Setzer's parents before leaving as well. Illis' hand reached out and gripped Gordan's tightly, reassuring him of her support. The nobleman looked at her for a moment, then smiled and squeezed back in acceptance.
* ^ * ^ *
The Author Speaks!
Greetings, all, time once again to inform you of things that need informing. This time around, though, I don't have much to say, really. College is chugging ahead full speed, so I might not update as often as normal due to more homework and projects. I'll try my best to keep those from interfering with my writing schedule, but sometimes it can't be helped, so bear with me. Additionally to that, I updated the Information Database with new characters 'n stuff, so check it out!
Peace, everyone!
