(((Finally, I have finished another chapter of this lovely story. You might be pleased with it, you might not. But at least now it exists. It's been sitting on my desk top for awhile now, so I decided to finish it. (I've got a few chapters of fics just sitting there like that. I really ought to try to finish them all, but I'm...uh....I don't know how to explain how my mental state has been.)
This storyline will end soon. Dirandau is getting very near the age he was in the series, and is going to begin going to actual battles. Therefore, there won't be much more for me to write.
Summary of the end of the last chapter:
It has been brought to my attention to the last bit of the previous chapter was confusing. I will now write out what happened and send with this my apologies for not making things clear.
Gatty had sat down in a spacious area that was frequented by young workers of the Zaibach government to study. His old friends came by. Some girl saw him, thought she was cute, and proceeded to flirt with him. After that, an old boyfriend of Gatty's came up to talk to him. Gatty had decided a long time ago not to talk to that boy anymore because he needed to concentrate on his work. Romance just wasn't on the menu. Well, the boy wasn't exactly happy with the turn of events, so he waited for a chance to meet with Gatty once more and slap him goodbye. Miguel had been watching all this from the edge of one of the corridors. After his encounter with his ex, he decided to go pursue that girl, who had, by now, run away. He brushed past Miguel on his way out of the corners without realizing it.
I apologize to anyone who was confused, especially those that thought it was Miguel that kissed Gatty. That would have to be one of the more traumatizing and confusing images, I think.
Alright, enough talk! On to the violence-filled goodness!)))
"I am certain of what I have seen, sir," repeated Migueru. He was calm and respectful. He had every intention of reconstructing his image. Dirandau would be very angry about this, angry at Gatty. There was no need to bringing bring about excess anger by doing little things that annoyed Dirandau.
Dirandau seethed with anger.
"He is disgracing me!" Dirandau exclaimed. "The bastard could have at least changed out of his uniform!"
Dirandau had little doubt that the uniform would be recognized.
"Where is he now?"
"I do not know, sir. He ran off after the girl, and that is the last I saw of him."
Dirandau growled.
"You didn't go after him?!" he cried.
Dirandau pushed Migueru against a wall, the crook of his hand pressed securely across Migueru's throat.
"S..sir...I wanted to inform you first for the sake of efficiency. I thought that you might want to tell Lord Folken immediately, so that you could get rid of him."
"You dare to assume how I might think?"
"No, sir!"
Dirandau slapped him across the face. Folken had taught him how to as an alternative to Dirandau's usual methods, which often resulted in more injury than necessary. This, Folken thought, was a perfect solution. It would inflict pain while leaving Dirandau's men intact.
After Dirandau left to visit Folken, Migueru sat on the floor leaning, his knees pulled up to his chest. He had a hand clasped against his face.
"Why did he have to pick up -that- habit?"
Migueru disliked being slapped very much. He didn't mind other sorts of injury, which left marks as reasoning for feeling hurt. But a slap left nothing lasting. A handprint that would fade momentarily. One had best forget that it happened, because one had no proof of it ever occurring. Forgetting things. Such a skill that was; necessary and rivaled by no other. He hoped that Dirandau would pick up a different habit in time.
Dirandau felt restrained from breathing. If he didn't breathe he wouldn't scream, and thus wouldn't make the situation worse. Whenever he manifested signs of his anger, Folken would do whatever little things he could to ensure that Dirandau would be annoyed all the more. Dirandau would be so blinded by his anger that he couldn't think straight, and would often lose against this man so lacking in emotion.
"You are not to expel Gatty from the Dragonslayers. It is far too important that you have a good second, and even your ego, fragile and demanding as it is, is must be placed secondary to that. I will hear no more of this."
"You weren't listening in the first place," Dirandau hissed.
"I listen to everything you say, Dirandau. Much as I dislike it, I do listen."
"He broke the rules! How can I maintain order when my men disobey my rules and I can't do anything to them?"
"That rule isn't important."
"It is! Damn you...You're going to change the policies I make as well? Why don't you just take my fucking uniform and run the program officially? I'm so sick of you disrupting everything I try to do. Why don't you just let me do things the way I want to do them? I'm not incompetent."
"It isn't that you are incompetent. You are simply inexperienced."
"How am I supposed to get any experience if you prevent me from doing anything?"
"You will gain experience in time."
"I can't wait that long."
"You have to."
"I can't!"
"Obviously you can, as you have been doing this for quite some time now."
Dirandau was infuriated beyond his self-control. He unsheathed his sword and took a ready stance. There were no thoughts behind his actions, only feelings.
Folken sighed.
"Put the sword down," he said with a bored tone in his voice. He wished that Dirandau would quit these stupid games and rash decisions. "You know that you're just going to get hurt."
Dirandau responded by brandishing the sword, making a few graceful strokes. Just showing off. He was better than he had been the first time Folken had met him. He improved every day. He was expected to be the perfect killer, and wasn't likely to let anyone down in that field.
"You have one more warning, Dirandau. Cease what you are doing and sit down."
Dirandau stepped back into his ready stance and edged towards Folken, taunting him. A wonderful grin flashed across his face.
"You are intent on receiving pain today, then?"
Dirandau snapped his teeth together, a sign of aggression. Folken drew his own sword.
"Where'd you get that?" Dirandau asked, laughing. Folken with a sword...what the hell was that about? Folken couldn't fight! Folken didn't do anything, except play games with the power that he obviously must have stolen from someone more worthy.
Folken raised the sword above his head and brought it down slowly, his eyes closed. A slight bit of meditation before a battle. It always seemed to help.
Dirandau ran at Folken, sword raised high above his head. This stance, while it allowed for the best sort of attack, left little to no chance for defending oneself. Not counting on Folken's ability to fight which he might have done had he taken the time to think about the situation, Dirandau assumed that this would be the best attack. He would be able to dispose of Folken quickly and without much chance for Folken to retaliate.
Folken stood waiting. Swordfighting was not so much about strength as it was about precision and thoughtful action. Mastery and control of the emotions was a necessary skill, one he had mastered and Dirandau would most likely never even attempt. That was Dirandau's failing and the reason he would lose today.
Dirandau's first stroke was easily deflected. Dirandau had controlled the amount of power in that blow, so that he was able to pull back and try another stroke immediately. Folken deflected that movement easily, using the strength of it to force Dirandau's sword from his hand. Once disarmed, Folken clasped Dirandau's arm and pulled him closer. He wrapped his arm around Dirandau's neck in a chokehold. Dirandau kicked and fought but he was never able to break free from one of Folken's holds.
"Do you want me to snap your neck?" Folken asked.
Dirandau became frightened. There were two things that he hated thinking about: losing his men and losing his life.
"Quit it," said Dirandau. "You kill me, you get in trouble."
"Not likely," Folken said as he released Dirandau.
"Dirandau, you can not get rid of him. I don't care how much you want to. He hasn't done anything illegal."
"He has broken my rules."
"Are we to repeat these events again?"
"How can I command my men effectively without my rules? He was warned, and he disobeyed."
"And if I asked him whether he had been warned or not, would you be worried?"
"No. I would simply ask why you have to question everything that I do."
"Because everything you do is so questionable."
Dirandau's eyes rolled to the back of his head.
"Look, if you're not going to let me get rid of him, why don't you at least let me punish him? He'll live and be wiser for it."
"You are too prone to cause excessive damage, due to your lack of restraint."
"Damnit! You can't just force me to do nothing! Everyone knows that a leader is supposed to discipline his followers when they step out of line. That is a major part of this army's structure. You break tradition."
"Some traditions should be broken, then."
"Damned foreign traitor! You jealous or something? You want to sabotage Zaibach's way of life?"
"I am sabotaging nothing. I simply see something wrong and work to fix it."
Folken, it seemed to Dirandau, would never admit his true intentions. Dirandau couldn't fight against him, as he had some strange unseen power.
Dirandau backed away slowly from him.
"Fine," he huffed. "You know what? Forget this. I'll just kill myself and see what comes of that!"
Folken massaged his forehead. It never ended with Dirandau.
"You truly wish to die?"
Dirandau didn't answer. He unsheathed his sword and removed his gloves.
"You do realize, of course, that if you die, you can't do anything even if the situation does improve."
Dirandau removed his jacket as well. His left hand graced the right wrist as he tried to decide where the most opportune cut could be made.
"Dirandau, quit it. I know you're doing this just to get a reaction."
Dirandau held the sword against his wrist, looking something like a violinist preparing to play a piece. He smirked at Folken.
Folken's eyes narrowed. The next person that told him Zaibach soldiers were obedient to a fault was going to get a lovely lecture. A lovely, lengthy lecture, with tons of examples to cite.
"Cease what you are doing or I will not hesitate to send you to therapy for the next six months."
"First tell me what I have to live for, then I'll stop."
"You have your duty."
"Which you won't let me perform. Next reason."
"I'm not playing games with you."
"Neither am I!" Dirandau screamed. Was there no limit to how aggravating Folken could be? "Either let me do my job or leave me alone."
"You can't do your job on your own and there is no reason to keep pretending you can."
Dirandau ceased to breathe for a moment.
"So you finally admit it?" he asked when he finally began to breathe again.
"You are irrational and need to gain some measure of discipline. As it stands, no, you can not do this job on your own."
"Fine."
Dirandau took one quick swipe across his arm with the sword. Upon realizing how painful this action actually was, Dirandau dropped the sword and gripped his arm. What the hell had he done?!
Folken was surprised that Dirandau had actually done what he promised to. Dirandau was becoming increasingly recklass reckless.
"Come here and let me take a look at that," Folken said.
Dirandau backed away from him. He moved his arm so that he could get a look at it. The blood was flowing quite freely. He could see where the skin split and it horrified him. He'd never been cut before, as far as he knew. His arm slowly became numb. After a moment or two, he screamed.
Folken tried to get a look at the arm but Dirandau refused to let him.
As soon as Dirandau became weak enough, Folken carried him to medical. He was attended to by the sorcerers, who were none too pleased with the results of Dirandau's latest bout of dramatics. They had worked far too hard on him to have something like this happen. They accused Folken of being negligent.
"If this keeps up, we're going to put you on report," one of them said.
"That's a little harsh, isn't it? You can't hold me solely responsible for his behavior. He does have a mind of his own, if you failed to notice."
"He never showed signs of suicidalism before."
"Well, people do change."
"That's obvious," said one, remarking with a hint of sarcasm upon Folken's choice to leave. Folken was not amused.
"This is not my failing, it is yours. You have failed to equip him with what he needs to comprehend the world around him. As it stands, he can't even deal with his own men. He's likely to kill them if left unsupervised. What's more, he is miserable."
"We didn't create his personality. That came about of its own accord."
"I suppose you are responsible for nothing in regards to his way of thinking?" Folken asked with an incredulous look on his face.
The sorcerers cared little for being questioned by Folken.
"If you wanted to know, you should have stayed with us," the sorcerer coldly replied. "Leave. We have no further business with you. The boy will be sent back when he is well enough. If there are any further incidents, you will be held responsible."
"I will not be punished for your mistakes," Folken said as he walked away.
Dirandau was summoned into Folken's quarters. He was quite fired up and ready to scream at Folken about how things needed to change. This made Folken's words even more surprising.
"W..w.hat..?"
"You are to ready yourself for battle immediately. You are needed in resolving a matter with Kosukei immediately. One of their leaders has come across some very important information and refuses to cooperate with us by keeping his silence. The call is for total subjugation. Is that understood?"
Dirandau nodded, smiling as widely as he could. Battle! At last! His smile faded momentarily.
"And what about Gatty? I'm not going to use him as my second for this! He-"
"You are required to keep him as your second for the battle. After that, I will allow you to punish him. All I ask is that you do not permanently disable or kill him. Is that understood?"
Dirandau's smile came back. Things were finally looking up for him. He didn't wait for any more instructions or words of wisdom. He ran out of there quickly to tell his men to ready themselves. They would all have a wonderful celebration after this.
Folken readied the paperwork, immensely pissed off. This would be a fiasco, one which he wanted nothing to do with. He would not have allowed Dirandau to go, but the sorcerers had forced his hand. If Dirandau were to become insane, Folken would be blamed for it unless he could find some other immediate and probable cause.
Kosukei wasn't even that much of a problem. The only reason the Dragonslayers were being sent to attack it was that it was small and out of the way. No one would notice, and thus it would be a good test run for them.
Folken kept to the paperwork, repeating to himself that this would be an utter disaster. If it was, then maybe they would listen to him.
The Dragonslayers stood at attention, excited as much as Dirandau. Dirandau was not overcome by his excitement, however. He would have this mission succeed without fault.
"This is what I've been working towards for years. I will not have any mistakes, understood?"
Cripes, that's all he needed! For one of them to screw up and then have Folken refuse to let them do anything ever again. What a waste that would be!
"Yes, sir!" they all cried in unison.
Dirandau walked over to Gatty.
"And you had best be better than anyone else when we get out there. I'm not going to tolerate any less from you."
"Yes, sir!" replied Gatty. Gatty had been working very hard at becoming a decent fighter. He was rather good at it. He could become good at anything when he set his mind to it. He hoped that this battle would give him the chance to prove himself and win Dirandau's trust.
"Everyone stand by to prepare for battle," Dirandau said, addressing the group as a whole. He then ordered Gatty to come with him to await further orders from Folken.
The Dragonslayers were transferred to the ship Vione, which housed an excellent guymelef hangar. It was state of the art. There were, in fact, only two things which could be complained about here. These were the heating system and the food.
Advanced as they were, comfort was an often neglected issue in Zaibach. To waste fuel on heat in such a place as this would have been ludicrous. Zaibach, much like its dear leader Emperor Dornkirk, could not survive without the machines that sustained them. Life-support. They should have died out a long time ago, but their technology kept them alive. For what purpose, one must wonder. At times, there seemed to be none. Everyone was so miserable so often, always going without, always sacrificing. One had to wonder whether or not a person sacrificing his own life was done out of love or selfishness.
The attack began with perfect coordination. The guymelefs, which had been checked over in a most scrupulous and unforgiving manner, were now ready to perform their function. A more perfect battle Dirandau would never fight. It took a total of half an hour to lay waste to Kosukei and defeat its little army. There would certainly be no living with Dirandau after this. Now perfectly convinced of the abilities of himself and his men, he felt it impossible for Folken to stand in their way.
Some assumed that when they got back, Dirandau would praise them. After all, if they had done so well, they deserved to be reminded of it. However, the first thing that Dirandau did when they hopped out of their guymelefs was to berate them for all the mistakes he saw.
"You'd think I hadn't trained any of you...." Dirandau said, his dissapointed air cutting deeply into the Dragonslayer's hearts. They vowed not to dissapoint him the next time.
"You will all report to the training hall. As soon as the reports are finished, we will have a training session. We're not wasting any more time. You're all being so pathetic that we can't afford it. Go."
"Hey, Shes, why don't you go and get something for us to eat?" asked Guimel. Shesta was so good at sneaking around quickly that they figured he'd be able to do it before the galley closed. And he never did seem to get in much trouble by Dirandau.
"What? No!" Shesta was getting tired of these sorts of requests. He might not be on the up-and-up all the time, but he wasn't a criminal. He was becoming more withdrawn from the others. He almost seemed to lead a double life. Ever since Miguel had fallen from Dirandau's grace, Shesta had been taken into Dirandau's company a lot more. The two would often have talks behind closed doors and in silent empty corridors. One just had to wonder what they talked about.
"...fine...be useless!" yelled Guimel. Some of the others decided to ignore Shesta after that. Shesta rolled his eyes.
"Oh, come off it! Why don't you bother Miguel about this? He's proven himself to be so -good- at stealing food, after all."
Miguel glowered at Shesta. He'd had quite enough of all this being piled about him. He didn't need to hear it from someone like that, just to make fun. He ran at Shesta and the two began clawing eachother.
"Wait a minute!" Dalet yelled, trying to get some sense of order in this place. "Lord Dirandau is upset with us because we dissapointed him with mediocre fighting skills. If you're going to fight, why don't you do it properly?" He tossed two practice swords at Shesta and Miguel. The two let go of eachother, took up the sword and a ready stance. They began their fight. Soon the rest of the Dragonslayers began sparring and they looked the professional group that Dirandau intended them to be.
Dirandau kept Gatty with him. As Gatty was his second, he would be the one to give the reports to Lord folken."Alright, let's get straight what you will report to him," Dirandau said. He wouldn't have Folken getting a bad report. He had too much to lose.
".....Sir....I thought I was to report to him the events that actually happened..."
"You are. And lucky for you, you have me to tell you what happened."
Gatty stared at Dirandau, eyes narrowed. Dirandau expected him to lie about this? He was struck by how low Dirandau's behavior was.
"I will only report what I have observed, sir."
"Of course, of course. But you don't have to report everything."
"Sir, I am honor bound to report everything."
"Fuck you and your sense of 'honor.' You don't know anything about it and thus, you have none."
"Sir, I know more about it than you do!" Gatty was being very bold about this. Dirandau circled him, growling at him.
"You're going to tell him exactly what I order you to tell him." Dirandau would have hit him then, but he had to wait until after the reports were done to punish him.
Gatty stared at Dirandau, who was now fiddling with a tiara he'd taken during the battle. Gatty blinked.
"Sir, where did you get that?"
"Don't question me."
"Sir, all items of value obtained on the battlefield must be turned over to the proper authorities."
"I know that. I am the 'proper authority.' I properly killed that idiot royal and now I have the authority to keep this."
"Sir, I must report this to Lord Folken."
"You do that. You tell him every damned fucking thing you want to. And when you do, I want you to keep in mind what you have waiting for you." Dirandau paused as he slipped the tiara on his head.
"Folken has decided to deny you any further protection. I don't know or care why. The point is I get to do exactly what I like with you."
That wasn't quite true. He wanted to kill Gatty but this still would not be allowed. Dirandau began circling Gatty now.
"You will not sleep again until I decide that you are allowed to. During this time, you will train until you drop. When you drop, you will be beaten, thrashed and otherwised maimed until I see fit to stop, after which one of my men, your 'comrades,' will take over and continue. You'll eat once a day, if that. After this is over, you will be weak, exhausted and most likely have broken limbs. You will be given the appropriate time to heal, after which you will return to your duties and execute them flawlessly. I do not want you here, but you are. You are mine. You belong solely to me and I always keep perfect care of my toys. Do you understand all this, Gatty?"
"Yes, sir. I understand perfectly."
Ugh....how horrid this was going to be!
Dirandau stood to the right of Gatty, looking over at him with a horrid smirk on his face. He had obviously been planning this a long time and would enjoy it most heartily.
"Then get going."
Gatty bowed and left the room. His heart sunk at the thought of being stuck with Dirandau for the rest of his life however long that would be if he lived as a soldier. He prayed that Folken hadn't decided to let Dirandau mistreat him so. He intended to ask Lord Folken about it when he delivered his report.
"Lord Folken, I don't understand what I have done to deserve such a thing," Gatty said, shocked to hear that Dirandau hadn't been lying.
"Apparently you broke one of his rules," replied Folken. He worked on some of the paperwork that had built up on his desk while he had been away. He seemed altogether unconcerned with Gatty's plight.
"What rule, sir?"
"Apparently, he caught you sleeping with a girl." Folken was fond of the word 'apparently.' Sometimes if he didn't pay attention, he used it incessantly in conversation.
"I didn't sleep with her. And I was not informed of this rule."
"Apparently, then, the rule does not have to do with having a sexual relationship with someone else. I do not know what this rule is, perhaps you should ask him about it. And as for you not being informed, perhaps you should have looked further into his rules when you joined. I had assumed you would have done that, as it is in your nature to do so."
"Sir, I couldn't learn all his rules. He wouldn't tell me and neither would the other soldiers. He doesn't have them written down. How was I supposed to find this out?"
"You could have found a way."
"Sir...." Gatty was completely frustrated. Folken was telling him to make the impossible true. The words of that nurse rang in his ears and he could now see that they would be coming true.
"Sir, you are intelligent and wise. I do not see how you could allow things to be run this way."
Folken sighed. He finally decided to bother with looking at Gatty while he spoke with him.
"I have a lot of work to do, Gatty. Much of this work deals with Dirandau. He has strange ways and many needs. He causes me endless trouble. Keeping you from his anger has caused me quite a bit of trouble and I do not need it. You will have to fend for yourself, I'm afraid. I can do nothing. As you are good at dealing with ill-tempered leaders, I feel you will be fine.
"Easy for him to say. He's not the one who has to worry," Gatty thought angrily. He didn't think he'd have to take seriously Folken's earlier suggestion of figuring out some way to keep his new master from killing him.
"You are dismissed unless you have something further to add," Folken said.
"Very well, sir. I will not dissapoint you," Gatty said with a bow. He didn't know why he bothered to worry about dissapointing others. Everyone was always dissapointing and abandoning him. He walked out the door and began that long walk back to the Dragonslayers wing. He prayed that Dirandau couldn't stay up for very long.
The first and second days were not so bad. The third was tolerable until Dirandau had decided that Gatty hadn't earned his meal for the day. The fourth left Gatty to feel so miserable that he would have welcomed Dirandau's execution. His uniform, lovely leather and vinyl thing that it was, bothered his skin, which would soon become rough and calloused if he were to continue so much activity. He felt so light-headed and dizzy that he couldn't lean over for fear of hitting the ground. Dirandau seemed perfectly fine. He had been yelling at Gatty all this time. Not a crack in his voice nor prolonged shutting of his eyelid came to pass. Miguel was forced to stay up as well. This was as much his punishment as it was Gatty's, for he had not prevented Gatty from going after that girl. He was still held accountable for Gatty's 'worthlessness' to some degree.
On the seventh day, Gatty felt he could endure no more and dropped to his knees. Dirandau smiled when he saw that. Now for the fun!
"You're so pathetic. Everyone here can outlast you by at least four days! Get up!"
When Gatty did try to get up, Dirandau struck him to the ground.
"Try again."
Each time Gatty attempted to get up, Dirandau struck him down again. By about the tenth time, Gatty could see no point in trying it again.
"So that's it. In weakness, you die. You give up on me. Someone tells you to die and you do it?! How pathetic is that?!?! Get up! I told you to get up, damnit! It's not hard, is it? You do it every fucking day! I ordered you to do one simple thing and you refuse to do it. It's not that you can't. It's that you won't. Gatty, you're going to die. Someone is going to kill you, and it won't be me. No, not me. Some enemy will stab you in the back when you aren't looking. Your death is imminent and all you can think of is how you're so damned tired and hurt. GET UP!!!!"
Dirandau's voice thundered through the hall. The rest of the Dragonslayers heard his words, but were unafraid. They were comforted. No one else understood what Dirandau meant but them and they treasured his words.
Gatty wanted to end this, end that screaming, to close the mouth those words came from. He wanted to kill or maim, to just do what he had to in order to end this. But all that would require getting up, something he seemed unable to do.
"This is your life, you idiot! How dare you end it in such a foolish manner!" Dirandau knelt down next to Gatty, lifting his face to make certain he had Gatty's attention.
"You will not die on me! Get up!"
The expression on Dirandau's face was not the same one of vehement hatred that Gatty was used to. It was determination. This was different...what was this...? Dirandau had just thrown a wild-card in his direction and Gatty didn't know how to respond.
"No Dragonslayer ever makes me repeat an order! Quit making me break that tradition. GET UP!"
He'd just keep repeating it, wouldn't he? Was that the real punishment?
"You will rise off this floor, in spirit or in flesh. You choose how."
What was this? What -was- this? So strange...it made Gatty wonder why he wasn't even trying anymore. Dirandau made it seem so easy. It was so hard to keep yourself convinced when you couldn't talk and someone else was screaming the opposite of what you believed. It was so easy. Just get up....as easy as that...
"Get up now," Dirandau repeated once more, showing that his patience had not run out. It seemed, in fact, to grow the longer that Gatty stayed on the ground.
"Folken will never care about you again. You'll never see that girl again. Your old comrades don't want you. No one cares about you. No one will give you pity. So get up. Just get up."
Gatty searched for the strength he suspected lay hidden within his body. He attempted to lift himself up once more. Dirandau was ready once more and struck him before he managed to move an inch. Gatty tried again, not sure if the voice screaming at him to get up was in his own head or if Dirandau was still yelling at him.
Gatty could not blind himself to the pain. He somehow managed to accept it. Pain was a part of reality, as were nightly dreams and breathing. It simply was. He managed to sit up. Dirandau relented a moment, waiting to see how much Gatty could do. He continued screaming at Gatty to get up and, finally, his orders were obeyed.
Gatty stood at a semblance of attention. He swayed back and forth, his head bowed and his eyes closed.
"....Standing....as ordered...sir..."
Dirandau smiled at him.
"So, you can carry out a simple task." There was a pleased and playful tone in Dirandau's voice. Gatty wondered if perhaps he had impressed Dirandau.
"I think you've earned a nap, don't you, Gatty?"
"Yes, sir," Gatty said. There were no words to describe how much he agreed.
Dirandau smiled and laughed in that gleeful manner that seemed so strangely suited to accompany him in his murderous ways. He knelt down and picked up a practice sword.
"Congratulations," Dirandau said. He took a stance next to Gatty and gave him one hell of a hit to the back of the head. Gatty fell, of course, and became unconscious. Dirandau ordered that he be taken to medical where he could be looked after. He then turned his attention to Miguel, who had been enjoying not having the attention turned on him for a short time.
"Put your sword away. We run."
"Yes, sir," Miguel said. He despised running and wished he had never let Dirandau know that. He cursed that little off-hand conversation they'd had in which he mentioned that as he rushed off to follow Dirandau's orders.
(((Authors notes:
I would like to state that I don't hate Gatty. I like him. And not just in an "I like to torment him" sort of way. I find him interesting and I can identify with him. As such he has to suffer my wrath. So sorry. Anyway, on to the note...
This note will consist of future story ideas, and the replies to reviewers.
I'm thinking that there are maybe three or four more chapters to this story. I've got to work on the rest of the storyline. As with Dirandau is my Sister, I haven't decided upon the ending yet. But then, usually when I don't decide upon the ending until it nears that time, it comes out better. (I believe that next chapter I will be talking more about the tiara, because I didn't explaine it as much here as I thought I was going to.)
I have enjoyed this story very much, but they always have to end at some time. I'll have another story sometime that will reach at least the ten chapter mark. I'm hoping right now that it is "I see, said the Blind Man."
I've been contemplating writing several other fics as well Yeah, yeah, too many fics get started and not enough get follow-through.
One would involve Allen after Balgust took him in and began his training. I would like to do this one because no one ever seems to like him at all, and I would really like to change that.
Another that I've been thinking on for some time comes from a dream I had and is dubbed "Behind the closet doors." This happened around the same time as Inconvenient situation. It invovled general Adelphus deciding to fake Dirandau's death and kidnapping him. I was contemplating possibly using this as a continuation for Inconvenient situation, since so many people love that story and I have no inspiration for continuing it. But, that doesn't ahve the same feeling as Inconvenient Situation, so I don't know.
And yet another involves the sorcerers. As I understand it, just about everyone hates them. However, I can understand their side of the story. And I always like to be able to show other people my unique perspective. This would be a fun challenge since so many people do dislike them. I have a chapter and a half written, and plan to post it when I have at least three.
Another idea I have toyed around with but not seriously thought about is something to give people a good perspective of Dornkirk.
That most likely will never happen because I can't ever get his personality right so I won't even try.
I also, of course, have the option of continuing Eternity and Thank your recruiter, though I haven't had any inspiration for those in awhile.
Those are my future plans in regard to FFN stories.
Okay. Review time.
I'll start with reviews from chapter nine I don't think I replied to those...
Aurebec - Thank you very much. Compliments are always well-received. And I do plan to continue this story. You're right, Migueru didn't deserve that demotion. At least, not one of that magnitude. However, he really isn't what Dirandau needs for a second. But, don't worry. I doubt that Dirandau and Migueru will hate eachother forever. If they did, then why would he kill the doppleganger over Miguel's death?
DragonSteel - Heh. Don't worry. Gatty will be safe. Folken's not going to let anything really horrible happen to him. I think maybe more people don't review because the story doesn't stay up near the front of the site long enough for them to get a chance to notice it.
Marty - No, I'm not tired of this fic. I've been living in a way that I'd rather not for some time. But now that's changed. Hopefully it has changed for the better. I love my works and plan on continuing them until they are either finished or I lose inspiration. This one should reach a proper conclusion.
Jhaylin - Well, part A of your question has been answered in this chapter. As for part two, I'm not sure what you're talking about. I think you're referring to when Gatty was found all battered and bruised from that lovely fencing workout. If it were ever brought to his attention, Gatty would inform Folken that he had not been beaten by Dirandau. However, it is not likely a topic to come up. Folken already has his assumption and Dirandau wouldn't want to speak of it again. This, in Folken's eyes, is just one event in a timeline of things. Dirandau has a history of violence against everyone, regardless of whether he hates or loves them. He would expect Dirandau to do something like this.
Threshie - Well, I always thought that Dirandau had a bit of a vulgar streak in him and that perhaps it would have been even stronger when he was younger. He's not exactly spoiled. He's more of a controlled experiment. So, he has some good things going for him, like people worrying about doing everything he says. But he does have a lot of miserable things to deal with. The inability to truly decide things for oneself or to remember things from day to day is a pitiful thing.
Those reactions to love were my own and I thought they would fit Dirandau as well. He does seem proper enough about everything to feel that way, anyway.
I agree that Gatty's constantly pointing things out is a factor in why Dirandau hits him so much. This is only one version of Esca that I keep in my head. I had wondered about the fact that none of the other Dragonslayers ever say anything, and they don't seem to think for themselves either. How, if he were to be in that environment as long as the others were, would Gatty have been able to gain a mind of his own? One solution is to simply put him in a different environment and have him join them later, and that is the solution I chose to write about.
::Snickers::
And never underestimate my penchant for violence in writing. I am certain that some people who read my writings must think that I beat people up quite a bit. I suppose I am that way, but only if I have complete control over a situation. Then I can be quite the ruthless dictator.
...- I hope I spelled your name right.
I won't be putting it on hiatus anytime soon.
And now, my two velly good friends for last.
InfamousLordDilandau
Thanks much. I love this fic, but it's not my favorite. I think maybe mine would be either DIMS or Inconvenient Situation. Hmm....I dunno. I like all my stories, actually...
I'm glad you like this fic and I'll be sure to keep you posted on whenever I get a new chapter done.
Shelley Quills Webster(AKA: Sei)
Aww....you didn't like him before?
Okay, that's it for today. Oh!
I was re-reading some of the reviews I've had in the past 71 for Dirandau is my sister! YEAH!. I noticed a few people saying that I do not describe things very well. I was wondering if anyone has noticed whether or not I've improved on that. If not, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for improving on that.
Also, another member of FFN put this site up on Fate's
It has lovely goodness involving injuries. Lady Thompson thoroughly enjoys this little webpage and has been inspired to attempt to be more realistic in fic injuries. (After all, my characters get them so often, it'd be nice if I were doing it right.)