Disclaimer: Come on, you know I don't any of the characters...blah blah
blah...
Rebecca: Alright! Another chapter already! It looks like I'm doing my job well. ^^
Me: Yeah...but the next one will probably take a long time, because I'm AP testing tomorrow, and I probably won't want to do any writing for a LONG time after that.
Rebecca: Maybe you should consider not writing for a while, because you just wrote one long run-on sentence.
Me: ...Leave me alone!
Rebecca: Sorry, it's my duty! ^________^ Now onto the thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Houyoku: Yes! Another review from you! I consider you the authority on the Rebecca/Wil/Dan story, so it's so awesome that you would read and review mine. It's OK to be lazy sometimes. I'm lazy a lot, so I can't say anything! Yeah, I like writing the battle chapters and stuff, because I actually have a guide that I write by. Thanks again for the review!
Thatdoesn'tmatter: I'm glad that you were the first one to answer my random question! Those things are always nice to know. Yeah, Wil or Raven are good pairs for Rebecca in my opinion too (and maybe Lowen or Sain, too!)
The Story Master 125: Whoa...a review in all CAPITAL LETTERS! Coolness! Glad you like the longness of my last chapter, but this chapter is quite short compared to the last one... I think I got lazy or something... I'm just trying to wait until the part where Wil comes in, but that's about four battles away! *sigh* Oh well...
Hyliansage: Thanks for the nice comment on my battle scenes! I do try! ^^ I love Rebecca/Wil too! They're just so perfect for each other, since they used to know each other as children and all that good stuff. Hm...Rebecca's son, Wolt, does look an awful lot like Wil...just coincidence? I think not. ^^ Yeah, I'm not very far in the game...@.@ Huh? Rebecca and Raven don't really become a couple? ...Then why are there so many fics about them—even more than Rebecca/Wil?! Yes! I want her endings, pleeease! I guess I'll email you for them...hehehe.
Burning_phoneix: Wow! That's the coolest review I think I've ever gotten...clever! Oh, thanks for the spelling correction. I wouldn't think the spellcheck would know how to spell Pegasii. Yeah, just now, the spellcheck said that I spelled it wrong... Thanks again!
Mornie: Aww! You're really sweet, saying all that stuff about how I portray my characters...^___^. Yeah, I was getting so tired of waiting for Wil to show up, and I NEEDED to write some romance fluff! Hmm...romance with Wil...or Sain? Interesting. I know that if you get her support with Sain up to A, she does marry him, but nobody's really talked about that couple a lot. That's awesome!
????: You're back! Yay! Yeah, the battle scenes take a lot of time to write, but I think they're worth the effort...hopefully. I do wish that I could skip some though, just so Wil could hurry up and get here! Hey, spoilers are all good! Please tell me!!!! *puppy-dog eyes*
SweetMisery430: *blush* You think my story's well-written? How sweet of you! Thanks for the answering my questions—it's OK if somebody else told me already. Confirmation is always good! Rebecca/Wil all the way!!!
DTN: You killed homework time to read my story? Wow...I never thought that you would sacrifice so much to read it...^_______^ (I'm killing homework time by writing it!) Yep, Rebecca/Wil rocks, and I guess Rebecca/Raven is getting popular by all the fanfiction... There's got to be more fics about Rebecca and Wil! Hey, your brother may have beat the game, but you're way ahead of me! (I'm so far behind in the game...)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were sitting around the campfire—Rebecca, Marcus, Bartre, Dorcas, Eliwood, and the new arrivals, Hector and Oswin. Krista was off taking a walk to let off some stress, and Lowen was busy preparing their next meal. Rebecca and Lowen (the designated cooks) took turns making meals, since they were the only ones that could really cook. Lowen would not let anyone else touch his precious cooking utensils since Bartre's wonderful cooking episode the day before.
'So, Hector was an old friend of Eliwood...' mused Rebecca. They could certainly use more help since someone obviously wanted Eliwood dead. But why? She sighed in resignation. This was getting stranger and stranger all the time, but right now she wouldn't try to figure it out. Perhaps when they made it to Castle Santaruz everything would be made clear. She sure hoped so... Suddenly, a high-pitched shrill pierced the air.
"Lord Hector! Why didn't you tell me the fighting was done!?" A girl with bright pink pigtails burst out of the nearby forest to glare at Hector. A very harassed and apologetic-looking young man in a red cloak was dragged along behind her.
"I apologize for the intrusion," the young man panted. "I just couldn't restrain her any longer!"
Rebecca stifled a laugh, while Eliwood looked slightly amused. "Are these some of your companions, Hector?"
Hector shrugged his shoulders. "Guess they are. One might have hoped for better, but..."
"That was SO uncalled for!" shouted the pink-haired girl. "I can't believe you said that!" She turned to the harassed young man, and laid a hand on his shoulder in pity. "Matthew, did you hear what he just said about you?"
That was as much as Matthew could take, and Rebecca could feel an explosion about to happen. "ME?!" he yelled. "He was talking about you!"
Fortunately, Eliwood—always the skilled diplomat—tried to stop a catfight from breaking out by asking Hector to introduce them.
Hector, who was betting with Bartre on who would win—the pink-haired girl, probably—quickly put his moneybag away, looking properly ashamed of himself. ("Darn!" said Bartre.)
"Uh, the noisy one..." Hector pointed to the girl. "...is Serra, and believe it or not, she's a cleric." Rebecca felt her mouth drop ten feet in shock. Weren't clerics supposed to be, well, quiet?
The cleric winked. "Yep, I'm Serra, my lord. Pleased to meet you." She then started to vigorously shake Eliwood's hand.
"And this..." Hector continued as he motioned for the young man behind Serra to step forward, "...is Matthew. He does a lot of...uh...sneaking around."
The guy introduced as Matthew, bowed to Eliwood. "My lord."
Eliwood looked slightly suspicious. "Sneaking...around...?"
"Well...I, er..." Matthew became nervous under Eliwood's polite but obvious interrogation. "I gather information, and open doors, chests, and such. You could say I've got...nimble fingers."
Eliwood gave Hector a piercing gaze. "Sounds like...a thief's kind of work..."
Hector just shrugged, acting like it wasn't such a big deal. "Well... Don't worry about it."
"But..."
"Your journey..." Hector interrupted. He sounded so serious that Eliwood shut his mouth on whatever he had been going to say. "I suspect that it'll be harder than you imagined. You may have to accept things like this if you want to survive." Rebecca was impressed. 'So the fighter Hector actually DOES think from time to time...' she thought.
Eliwood looked at Hector curiously and maybe a little suspiciously. "What is it, Hector? Do you know something?"
"Nothing specific, but..." Hector paused, and everyone leaned in so they could hear better—even Bartre was interested although he tried not to show it. "Rumors abound. A league of assassins from Bern has been moving around in Lycia." At this statement, Dorcas coughed slightly, and Rebecca remembered that Bern had been his birthplace. "Experienced bounty hunters and mercenaries are vanishing..."
"Which reminds me," Eliwood jumped in. "One of the men who attacked us said something odd." He seemed unwilling to go into more detail. Rebecca couldn't really blame him. They HAD tried to kill him after all...
Marcus spoke up to rescue Eliwood from having to say anymore. "Lord Eliwood, if I may?"
Eliwood gave Marcus a gratifying look. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Marcus."
"Very well," Marcus continued. "The apparent leader of that gang of thugs indicated that someone was watching Lord Eliwood... And that someone needed him dead." Rebecca shuddered, remembering how ruthless Zagan had been.
"Hmm...troubling news..." replied Hector. Then he seemed to have a revelation dawn upon him. "Actually, now that you mention it, a guard was watching the fight when we arrived. He even had the nerve to call himself a knight of Santaruz, and yet he just stood there and let a lord be attacked. I think that he was planning on seeing you die."
"Something must have happened with Lord Helman." Marcus took out the Secret Book he had acquired from a nearby village. "When I went into a village, they told me to save him. Apparently, the villagers know that something is going on, but they are powerless to stop it. We have to get to Castle Santaruz, and quickly!"
"Eeeeeee!" Everyone jumped and grabbed their weapons. Rebecca had gotten more arrows from a nearby shop, and now she strung one, ready to shoot at an enemy. "Krista! Is that really you???? It's been far too long!" Serra squealed again, and ran to crush poor Krista in a hug. Rebecca laughed and put her bow down. It was only a false alarm...
Krista had just come back from her self-restoring walk to be squealed at and hugged by Serra. She would definitely need to go on another walk after this horrific event...even though it was nice to see her old friend again. It took Krista a while before she realized that Serra was still talking. "You missed me, didn't you? Course you did! I knew it! Hehehe!"
"Huh?" asked Krista. "What are you doing here?"
"Hm? Oh, didn't I tell you before?" Krista gave Serra a blank look. "I'm in the employ of Ostia, Lycia's ruling territory. I'll be here to help just like before! Aren't you lucky!!!" Lucky was the last thing that Krista felt, but it would be nice to have a healer again. Too bad Erk wasn't here to blast the enemies away with his magic. He must have finally had enough of Serra...
Matthew rescued Krista from the hands of Serra, by shoving her out of the way. ("How rude!" scoffed Serra.) "Hi! How have you been, Krista?"
Krista's eyes widened in surprise as she saw yet another of her old comrades. "Do you work for Ostia too, Matthew?"
"Eh? My secret's revealed?" He laughed nervously and ran a hand through his light brown hair. "Yes, it's true. Sad to say it, but my guise as a common thief was a ruse... I've served House Ostia for some time as a spy of sorts."
Krista raised her right eyebrow in disbelief. She had never seen Matthew as someone who would work for someone else...
"Surprised?" asked Matthew. "Well, regardless, we'll be traveling again, so here's to our mutual survival!"
Krista smiled. With the addition of Hector, Oswin, Serra, and Matthew, their group was pretty formidable. Unfortunately, that also meant four more mouths to feed...
"Hey everybody!" Lowen called. "Lunch's ready and waiting!" Bartre sprang up and sped to get his food, while Dorcas rolled his eyes and sighed. Marcus got up slowly and with as much dignity as he could muster—then his stomach rumbled loudly.
"Oh forget it!" Marcus exclaimed as he ran stiffly to catch up with Bartre and Dorcas.
Krista caught Rebecca's and Serra's eyes, and they all started giggling insanely. Then they immediately ran to get their lunch too.
"Well my friends," said Hector, addressing Oswin, Eliwood, and Matthew. "Shall we join them?"
Eliwood smiled. "The last one there's a rotten egg!" He took off running.
"Not fair, Eliwood!" yelled Hector as he also took of running.
Matthew turned to look at Oswin. "Enjoy being a rotten egg!" he laughed as he rushed off to get his lunch, easily passing both Hector and Eliwood who were hindered by their armor.
Oswin looked down to inspect his own bulky armor, and sighed. It was going to be a long day...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helman paced back and forth, waiting for His inevitable arrival. How could he have gotten into this mess? It would have to stop! He, Lord Helman, the Marquess of Santaruz, would see to it.
A chilling gust of wind signaled His arrival before He actually appeared. He had the long, dark cloak on again, so Helman could only see half of His face. The one eye that could be seen glinted golden with mixed annoyance and...humor? Helman shook his head. He wouldn't be swayed by Him this time. He would stand his ground, and protect Eliwood.
"Master Ephidel! What's the meaning of this?"
The man with golden eyes—Ephidel—cocked his head as if in innocent ignorance. "Peace, Lord Helman. What's wrong?"
"You said that you were just going to frighten Eliwood! Your men almost killed him!" Helman was breathing heavily with the rage of someone who has been betrayed. "My patience is at an end! I've decided to tell Eliwood everything and apologize."
"...You would betray us?" Ephidel asked with quiet intensity.
Helman should have heard a warning in Ephidel's voice, but he was too angry to pay any attention to it. "I'm tired of you and the Black Fang! Remove yourself from my castle! Your presence pains me!"
"Lord Helman..." Again, Ephidel spoke with a hint of malice in his voice. "Is there nothing that I can do to change your mind?"
"Nothing!"
"In that case..." A knowing smile crossed Ephidel's lips. "You're no longer of any use."
"Huh?" Before Helman fully realized what was happening, he was on the floor, Ephidel's blade drawing his life out of him. "Gaa..urrgh..."
Ephidel watched Helman as he struggled for his life. Ephidel had always preferred slow deaths to quick ones for they let the person's quintessence ripen. He smiled in anticipation, and then, with a swish of his dark cloak, he was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After everybody had had their fill of lunch, they set out on their way again. Soon after setting out, Eliwood got the strangest feeling that something wasn't right with Lord Helman. His uneasiness spread to all the other members of the group, and nobody seemed to want to speak about anything. Even Serra was quiet—for once in her life. Rebecca took this rare opportunity to observe her new companions.
First, there was Lord Hector, or just Hector, as most of the group were apt to call him. The only people that used his title were Oswin, Matthew, and sometimes, Serra. He was so tall that Rebecca had to crane her neck a little to see his face clearly; she could probably get lost in his shadow—it was so massive. Unlike most other people of the upper class, Hector's face was open to where she could read his emotions. She could tell that he was worried, which somehow surprised her—she didn't think he was one who worried at all. At first, she had thought that he was just another brute, who fought a lot and never bothered to listen to his brain—much less, his heart. But...that just wasn't true. His concern for Eliwood was genuine, and Rebecca believed that she could trust anyone that Eliwood trusted.
Then there was Oswin. He had sandy brown hair, rustic red armor, and an expression that never changed no matter what he was feeling. He was supposed to be Hector's guardian, but Rebecca severely doubted that Hector needed one—he could definitely take care of himself in a battle. She smiled, remembering how he always joked about Oswin looking like an old man, because he had to take care of him. Oswin couldn't be THAT old...surely not more than thirty-something...oh well. However old he was, he could sure handle Hector with a hard hand.
After Oswin, Rebecca looked toward Matthew's direction. As a thief, he had a knack of being what could only be described as...nondescript—all except for his eyes and his bright, red cloak. His eyes were sharp with cleverness and shrewdness, the perfect eyes for spying a treasure chest amidst the chaos of battle, and his cloak... Well, Rebecca thought that red was a strange color for a thief to wear, since they were all about stealth and secrecy...or were they? Maybe she would ask him about it later.
The last of the new members of the group was Serra. What could be said about her? She had pink pigtails, a high voice that would scare the bravest brigand into surrender, a white cleric's outfit, and a very...interesting...personality. Rebecca smiled. She didn't really mind Serra's voice (as long as it wasn't directed toward her), and having another girl around to talk to was pretty cool. Not to mention that her skills as a healer would come in handy as they fought their way to find Eliwood's father, for she had already patched everyone up from the last fight. Krista was so happy to have a healer again, but she kept talking about someone named Erk, who apparently used magic. Rebecca sighed; she would have liked to see some offensive magic...
As Rebecca was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, she didn't realize that they had traveled all the way to Castle Santaruz until...
"There's the castle, Eliwood!" Hector was the first one to spot their destination.
Eliwood stared at Castle Santaruz, a look of determination and concern etched on his weary face. "I have to speak with Lord Helman..."
Before Eliwood could finish his statement, a fierce-looking man with a green beard came up, and startled everyone. "Not if I, Boies, have anything to do with it, laddie!" Rebecca was about to get an arrow out, but Krista stopped her.
"Boies could kill Eliwood way before you shot your arrow, Rebecca." Krista whispered. "I think he's just here to intimidate us, for now..." Rebecca nodded her understanding, and put her arrow back.
"Who are you?" Eliwood asked diplomatically, showing neither fear nor anxiety, even though Rebecca was sure that he was feeling both.
Boies laughed. "Who am I? Do better to worry about yourself. You'll be worm's meat before much longer."
"Think so?" Hector jumped between Eliwood and Boies, ready to defend his friend. "My axe'll change your mind!"
Again, Boies laughed. Rebecca was starting to dislike him even more. "Ha! The cub things he's a wolf! Your bite match your bark?" He then began to walk away, but turned around to address Hector once more. "Tell you what. If you make it to the castle alive, we'll find out, eh? Hahaha!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young man with a long black braid, a Sacaen from the looks of his clothes, gazed out at the battlefield he was on. It was his first job, and he couldn't lose it. But...he knew in his heart that he shouldn't have gotten involved in this ugly bunch at all.
"Hey, you!" The Sacaen looked around to find out who was speaking to him. His eyes rested upon a bucktooth bandit. "Yeah, new dog! Get this right, or you're gone!"
The Sacaen sighed. "I know, I know. I just got this job, and I don't want to lose it! I've gotta have gold to eat! Don't want to repeat that time I passed out in Caelin...oooh." He shuddered at the memory. "If it hadn't been for that man...Matthew? I would've starved to death..."
The bandit lost patience with the Sacaen. "What are mumbling about? Get here now!"
"Yes, yes, I'm coming!" complied the Sacaen. "At least I've got work now!" He prepared his Killing Edge, a beautifully deadly sword that lived up to its name, and waited for orders.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hector had not stopped glaring since Boies had gone away. In fact, his glaring was getting on Rebecca's nerves so much that she was about to say something to him. However, Krista beat her to it.
"Get a grip!" she shouted. "He hurt your pride. So what? All you have to do now is make it to Castle Santaruz alive and show him up!" She smiled and handed Hector and the rest of the newcomers their own ear devices. "Sound simple enough for you?"
Hector looked confused. "Huh? Krista, what are these?"
"They're Krista's special ear device things. Duh!" Serra told Hector, looking proud of herself for knowing information that was important.
Krista gave a little laugh. "Put it in like this..." She proceeded to show Hector (and Oswin) exactly how to put her devices in. "...And then I'll be able to talk to you and give you directions and stuff like that."
"Fine." Hector declared. "Can we hurry up and fight?"
"Yeah!" agreed Bartre. Dorcas sighed and pulled out his axe.
Krista rolled her eyes. "I guess so...if everyone else is ready..."
Rebecca watched everyone else nod in affirmation, and then concurred—agreed—herself.
Krista smiled. "Alright. I'll just go scout out the battlefield, and then..." She pointed to her right ear. "You'll hear from me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rebecca: What? You're stopping?
Me: Give me a break...I've been testing for 4 HOURS! Standardized tests are such a waste of time...
Rebecca: Actually, the AP tests require some knowledge, so I don't believe that they're a waste of ti—
Me: Don't you dare finish that statement!
Rebecca: ^_____^
Me: *sigh* Oh well... Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I know it was kinda short, but if I combined this with a battle chapter...too much to write for one chapter!
Rebecca: No, you're just lazy.
Me: Hey, that was uncalled for!
Rebecca: It's the truth.
Me: @____@ I can't deal with you right now...
Rebecca: Then don't. Just tell the nice people to review, and go on with your life.
Me: OK... Be nice people and REVIEW! Thanks!
Rebecca: That wasn't so hard now was it?
Me: ...Fine. It wasn't that hard. Are you happy now?
Rebecca: Yep! *pats me on the head*
Me: ...
Random question: Do any of you have a good name for Krista's "ear devices"? I'm getting really tired of calling them that...but I'm not good at making up names. Your help is greatly appreciated!
Random fact: All Rebecca/Wil lovers MUST, and I repeat, MUST, see this picture! ent=rebeccawillwolt.jpg Isn't it cute???? ...............Oh no! Somehow, this link doesn't work or something in my story...so...I'll just tell y'all how to get there. First go to photobucket.com, and then in the box, type in Mgoblue201. See all the wonderful topics you can click on? Well, click on Rebecca and bask in all the lovely pictures! The one I wanted y'all to see was the one with Rebecca and Wil and their son, Wolt. Sorry the link didn't work...
Rebecca: Alright! Another chapter already! It looks like I'm doing my job well. ^^
Me: Yeah...but the next one will probably take a long time, because I'm AP testing tomorrow, and I probably won't want to do any writing for a LONG time after that.
Rebecca: Maybe you should consider not writing for a while, because you just wrote one long run-on sentence.
Me: ...Leave me alone!
Rebecca: Sorry, it's my duty! ^________^ Now onto the thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Houyoku: Yes! Another review from you! I consider you the authority on the Rebecca/Wil/Dan story, so it's so awesome that you would read and review mine. It's OK to be lazy sometimes. I'm lazy a lot, so I can't say anything! Yeah, I like writing the battle chapters and stuff, because I actually have a guide that I write by. Thanks again for the review!
Thatdoesn'tmatter: I'm glad that you were the first one to answer my random question! Those things are always nice to know. Yeah, Wil or Raven are good pairs for Rebecca in my opinion too (and maybe Lowen or Sain, too!)
The Story Master 125: Whoa...a review in all CAPITAL LETTERS! Coolness! Glad you like the longness of my last chapter, but this chapter is quite short compared to the last one... I think I got lazy or something... I'm just trying to wait until the part where Wil comes in, but that's about four battles away! *sigh* Oh well...
Hyliansage: Thanks for the nice comment on my battle scenes! I do try! ^^ I love Rebecca/Wil too! They're just so perfect for each other, since they used to know each other as children and all that good stuff. Hm...Rebecca's son, Wolt, does look an awful lot like Wil...just coincidence? I think not. ^^ Yeah, I'm not very far in the game...@.@ Huh? Rebecca and Raven don't really become a couple? ...Then why are there so many fics about them—even more than Rebecca/Wil?! Yes! I want her endings, pleeease! I guess I'll email you for them...hehehe.
Burning_phoneix: Wow! That's the coolest review I think I've ever gotten...clever! Oh, thanks for the spelling correction. I wouldn't think the spellcheck would know how to spell Pegasii. Yeah, just now, the spellcheck said that I spelled it wrong... Thanks again!
Mornie: Aww! You're really sweet, saying all that stuff about how I portray my characters...^___^. Yeah, I was getting so tired of waiting for Wil to show up, and I NEEDED to write some romance fluff! Hmm...romance with Wil...or Sain? Interesting. I know that if you get her support with Sain up to A, she does marry him, but nobody's really talked about that couple a lot. That's awesome!
????: You're back! Yay! Yeah, the battle scenes take a lot of time to write, but I think they're worth the effort...hopefully. I do wish that I could skip some though, just so Wil could hurry up and get here! Hey, spoilers are all good! Please tell me!!!! *puppy-dog eyes*
SweetMisery430: *blush* You think my story's well-written? How sweet of you! Thanks for the answering my questions—it's OK if somebody else told me already. Confirmation is always good! Rebecca/Wil all the way!!!
DTN: You killed homework time to read my story? Wow...I never thought that you would sacrifice so much to read it...^_______^ (I'm killing homework time by writing it!) Yep, Rebecca/Wil rocks, and I guess Rebecca/Raven is getting popular by all the fanfiction... There's got to be more fics about Rebecca and Wil! Hey, your brother may have beat the game, but you're way ahead of me! (I'm so far behind in the game...)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were sitting around the campfire—Rebecca, Marcus, Bartre, Dorcas, Eliwood, and the new arrivals, Hector and Oswin. Krista was off taking a walk to let off some stress, and Lowen was busy preparing their next meal. Rebecca and Lowen (the designated cooks) took turns making meals, since they were the only ones that could really cook. Lowen would not let anyone else touch his precious cooking utensils since Bartre's wonderful cooking episode the day before.
'So, Hector was an old friend of Eliwood...' mused Rebecca. They could certainly use more help since someone obviously wanted Eliwood dead. But why? She sighed in resignation. This was getting stranger and stranger all the time, but right now she wouldn't try to figure it out. Perhaps when they made it to Castle Santaruz everything would be made clear. She sure hoped so... Suddenly, a high-pitched shrill pierced the air.
"Lord Hector! Why didn't you tell me the fighting was done!?" A girl with bright pink pigtails burst out of the nearby forest to glare at Hector. A very harassed and apologetic-looking young man in a red cloak was dragged along behind her.
"I apologize for the intrusion," the young man panted. "I just couldn't restrain her any longer!"
Rebecca stifled a laugh, while Eliwood looked slightly amused. "Are these some of your companions, Hector?"
Hector shrugged his shoulders. "Guess they are. One might have hoped for better, but..."
"That was SO uncalled for!" shouted the pink-haired girl. "I can't believe you said that!" She turned to the harassed young man, and laid a hand on his shoulder in pity. "Matthew, did you hear what he just said about you?"
That was as much as Matthew could take, and Rebecca could feel an explosion about to happen. "ME?!" he yelled. "He was talking about you!"
Fortunately, Eliwood—always the skilled diplomat—tried to stop a catfight from breaking out by asking Hector to introduce them.
Hector, who was betting with Bartre on who would win—the pink-haired girl, probably—quickly put his moneybag away, looking properly ashamed of himself. ("Darn!" said Bartre.)
"Uh, the noisy one..." Hector pointed to the girl. "...is Serra, and believe it or not, she's a cleric." Rebecca felt her mouth drop ten feet in shock. Weren't clerics supposed to be, well, quiet?
The cleric winked. "Yep, I'm Serra, my lord. Pleased to meet you." She then started to vigorously shake Eliwood's hand.
"And this..." Hector continued as he motioned for the young man behind Serra to step forward, "...is Matthew. He does a lot of...uh...sneaking around."
The guy introduced as Matthew, bowed to Eliwood. "My lord."
Eliwood looked slightly suspicious. "Sneaking...around...?"
"Well...I, er..." Matthew became nervous under Eliwood's polite but obvious interrogation. "I gather information, and open doors, chests, and such. You could say I've got...nimble fingers."
Eliwood gave Hector a piercing gaze. "Sounds like...a thief's kind of work..."
Hector just shrugged, acting like it wasn't such a big deal. "Well... Don't worry about it."
"But..."
"Your journey..." Hector interrupted. He sounded so serious that Eliwood shut his mouth on whatever he had been going to say. "I suspect that it'll be harder than you imagined. You may have to accept things like this if you want to survive." Rebecca was impressed. 'So the fighter Hector actually DOES think from time to time...' she thought.
Eliwood looked at Hector curiously and maybe a little suspiciously. "What is it, Hector? Do you know something?"
"Nothing specific, but..." Hector paused, and everyone leaned in so they could hear better—even Bartre was interested although he tried not to show it. "Rumors abound. A league of assassins from Bern has been moving around in Lycia." At this statement, Dorcas coughed slightly, and Rebecca remembered that Bern had been his birthplace. "Experienced bounty hunters and mercenaries are vanishing..."
"Which reminds me," Eliwood jumped in. "One of the men who attacked us said something odd." He seemed unwilling to go into more detail. Rebecca couldn't really blame him. They HAD tried to kill him after all...
Marcus spoke up to rescue Eliwood from having to say anymore. "Lord Eliwood, if I may?"
Eliwood gave Marcus a gratifying look. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Marcus."
"Very well," Marcus continued. "The apparent leader of that gang of thugs indicated that someone was watching Lord Eliwood... And that someone needed him dead." Rebecca shuddered, remembering how ruthless Zagan had been.
"Hmm...troubling news..." replied Hector. Then he seemed to have a revelation dawn upon him. "Actually, now that you mention it, a guard was watching the fight when we arrived. He even had the nerve to call himself a knight of Santaruz, and yet he just stood there and let a lord be attacked. I think that he was planning on seeing you die."
"Something must have happened with Lord Helman." Marcus took out the Secret Book he had acquired from a nearby village. "When I went into a village, they told me to save him. Apparently, the villagers know that something is going on, but they are powerless to stop it. We have to get to Castle Santaruz, and quickly!"
"Eeeeeee!" Everyone jumped and grabbed their weapons. Rebecca had gotten more arrows from a nearby shop, and now she strung one, ready to shoot at an enemy. "Krista! Is that really you???? It's been far too long!" Serra squealed again, and ran to crush poor Krista in a hug. Rebecca laughed and put her bow down. It was only a false alarm...
Krista had just come back from her self-restoring walk to be squealed at and hugged by Serra. She would definitely need to go on another walk after this horrific event...even though it was nice to see her old friend again. It took Krista a while before she realized that Serra was still talking. "You missed me, didn't you? Course you did! I knew it! Hehehe!"
"Huh?" asked Krista. "What are you doing here?"
"Hm? Oh, didn't I tell you before?" Krista gave Serra a blank look. "I'm in the employ of Ostia, Lycia's ruling territory. I'll be here to help just like before! Aren't you lucky!!!" Lucky was the last thing that Krista felt, but it would be nice to have a healer again. Too bad Erk wasn't here to blast the enemies away with his magic. He must have finally had enough of Serra...
Matthew rescued Krista from the hands of Serra, by shoving her out of the way. ("How rude!" scoffed Serra.) "Hi! How have you been, Krista?"
Krista's eyes widened in surprise as she saw yet another of her old comrades. "Do you work for Ostia too, Matthew?"
"Eh? My secret's revealed?" He laughed nervously and ran a hand through his light brown hair. "Yes, it's true. Sad to say it, but my guise as a common thief was a ruse... I've served House Ostia for some time as a spy of sorts."
Krista raised her right eyebrow in disbelief. She had never seen Matthew as someone who would work for someone else...
"Surprised?" asked Matthew. "Well, regardless, we'll be traveling again, so here's to our mutual survival!"
Krista smiled. With the addition of Hector, Oswin, Serra, and Matthew, their group was pretty formidable. Unfortunately, that also meant four more mouths to feed...
"Hey everybody!" Lowen called. "Lunch's ready and waiting!" Bartre sprang up and sped to get his food, while Dorcas rolled his eyes and sighed. Marcus got up slowly and with as much dignity as he could muster—then his stomach rumbled loudly.
"Oh forget it!" Marcus exclaimed as he ran stiffly to catch up with Bartre and Dorcas.
Krista caught Rebecca's and Serra's eyes, and they all started giggling insanely. Then they immediately ran to get their lunch too.
"Well my friends," said Hector, addressing Oswin, Eliwood, and Matthew. "Shall we join them?"
Eliwood smiled. "The last one there's a rotten egg!" He took off running.
"Not fair, Eliwood!" yelled Hector as he also took of running.
Matthew turned to look at Oswin. "Enjoy being a rotten egg!" he laughed as he rushed off to get his lunch, easily passing both Hector and Eliwood who were hindered by their armor.
Oswin looked down to inspect his own bulky armor, and sighed. It was going to be a long day...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helman paced back and forth, waiting for His inevitable arrival. How could he have gotten into this mess? It would have to stop! He, Lord Helman, the Marquess of Santaruz, would see to it.
A chilling gust of wind signaled His arrival before He actually appeared. He had the long, dark cloak on again, so Helman could only see half of His face. The one eye that could be seen glinted golden with mixed annoyance and...humor? Helman shook his head. He wouldn't be swayed by Him this time. He would stand his ground, and protect Eliwood.
"Master Ephidel! What's the meaning of this?"
The man with golden eyes—Ephidel—cocked his head as if in innocent ignorance. "Peace, Lord Helman. What's wrong?"
"You said that you were just going to frighten Eliwood! Your men almost killed him!" Helman was breathing heavily with the rage of someone who has been betrayed. "My patience is at an end! I've decided to tell Eliwood everything and apologize."
"...You would betray us?" Ephidel asked with quiet intensity.
Helman should have heard a warning in Ephidel's voice, but he was too angry to pay any attention to it. "I'm tired of you and the Black Fang! Remove yourself from my castle! Your presence pains me!"
"Lord Helman..." Again, Ephidel spoke with a hint of malice in his voice. "Is there nothing that I can do to change your mind?"
"Nothing!"
"In that case..." A knowing smile crossed Ephidel's lips. "You're no longer of any use."
"Huh?" Before Helman fully realized what was happening, he was on the floor, Ephidel's blade drawing his life out of him. "Gaa..urrgh..."
Ephidel watched Helman as he struggled for his life. Ephidel had always preferred slow deaths to quick ones for they let the person's quintessence ripen. He smiled in anticipation, and then, with a swish of his dark cloak, he was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After everybody had had their fill of lunch, they set out on their way again. Soon after setting out, Eliwood got the strangest feeling that something wasn't right with Lord Helman. His uneasiness spread to all the other members of the group, and nobody seemed to want to speak about anything. Even Serra was quiet—for once in her life. Rebecca took this rare opportunity to observe her new companions.
First, there was Lord Hector, or just Hector, as most of the group were apt to call him. The only people that used his title were Oswin, Matthew, and sometimes, Serra. He was so tall that Rebecca had to crane her neck a little to see his face clearly; she could probably get lost in his shadow—it was so massive. Unlike most other people of the upper class, Hector's face was open to where she could read his emotions. She could tell that he was worried, which somehow surprised her—she didn't think he was one who worried at all. At first, she had thought that he was just another brute, who fought a lot and never bothered to listen to his brain—much less, his heart. But...that just wasn't true. His concern for Eliwood was genuine, and Rebecca believed that she could trust anyone that Eliwood trusted.
Then there was Oswin. He had sandy brown hair, rustic red armor, and an expression that never changed no matter what he was feeling. He was supposed to be Hector's guardian, but Rebecca severely doubted that Hector needed one—he could definitely take care of himself in a battle. She smiled, remembering how he always joked about Oswin looking like an old man, because he had to take care of him. Oswin couldn't be THAT old...surely not more than thirty-something...oh well. However old he was, he could sure handle Hector with a hard hand.
After Oswin, Rebecca looked toward Matthew's direction. As a thief, he had a knack of being what could only be described as...nondescript—all except for his eyes and his bright, red cloak. His eyes were sharp with cleverness and shrewdness, the perfect eyes for spying a treasure chest amidst the chaos of battle, and his cloak... Well, Rebecca thought that red was a strange color for a thief to wear, since they were all about stealth and secrecy...or were they? Maybe she would ask him about it later.
The last of the new members of the group was Serra. What could be said about her? She had pink pigtails, a high voice that would scare the bravest brigand into surrender, a white cleric's outfit, and a very...interesting...personality. Rebecca smiled. She didn't really mind Serra's voice (as long as it wasn't directed toward her), and having another girl around to talk to was pretty cool. Not to mention that her skills as a healer would come in handy as they fought their way to find Eliwood's father, for she had already patched everyone up from the last fight. Krista was so happy to have a healer again, but she kept talking about someone named Erk, who apparently used magic. Rebecca sighed; she would have liked to see some offensive magic...
As Rebecca was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, she didn't realize that they had traveled all the way to Castle Santaruz until...
"There's the castle, Eliwood!" Hector was the first one to spot their destination.
Eliwood stared at Castle Santaruz, a look of determination and concern etched on his weary face. "I have to speak with Lord Helman..."
Before Eliwood could finish his statement, a fierce-looking man with a green beard came up, and startled everyone. "Not if I, Boies, have anything to do with it, laddie!" Rebecca was about to get an arrow out, but Krista stopped her.
"Boies could kill Eliwood way before you shot your arrow, Rebecca." Krista whispered. "I think he's just here to intimidate us, for now..." Rebecca nodded her understanding, and put her arrow back.
"Who are you?" Eliwood asked diplomatically, showing neither fear nor anxiety, even though Rebecca was sure that he was feeling both.
Boies laughed. "Who am I? Do better to worry about yourself. You'll be worm's meat before much longer."
"Think so?" Hector jumped between Eliwood and Boies, ready to defend his friend. "My axe'll change your mind!"
Again, Boies laughed. Rebecca was starting to dislike him even more. "Ha! The cub things he's a wolf! Your bite match your bark?" He then began to walk away, but turned around to address Hector once more. "Tell you what. If you make it to the castle alive, we'll find out, eh? Hahaha!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young man with a long black braid, a Sacaen from the looks of his clothes, gazed out at the battlefield he was on. It was his first job, and he couldn't lose it. But...he knew in his heart that he shouldn't have gotten involved in this ugly bunch at all.
"Hey, you!" The Sacaen looked around to find out who was speaking to him. His eyes rested upon a bucktooth bandit. "Yeah, new dog! Get this right, or you're gone!"
The Sacaen sighed. "I know, I know. I just got this job, and I don't want to lose it! I've gotta have gold to eat! Don't want to repeat that time I passed out in Caelin...oooh." He shuddered at the memory. "If it hadn't been for that man...Matthew? I would've starved to death..."
The bandit lost patience with the Sacaen. "What are mumbling about? Get here now!"
"Yes, yes, I'm coming!" complied the Sacaen. "At least I've got work now!" He prepared his Killing Edge, a beautifully deadly sword that lived up to its name, and waited for orders.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hector had not stopped glaring since Boies had gone away. In fact, his glaring was getting on Rebecca's nerves so much that she was about to say something to him. However, Krista beat her to it.
"Get a grip!" she shouted. "He hurt your pride. So what? All you have to do now is make it to Castle Santaruz alive and show him up!" She smiled and handed Hector and the rest of the newcomers their own ear devices. "Sound simple enough for you?"
Hector looked confused. "Huh? Krista, what are these?"
"They're Krista's special ear device things. Duh!" Serra told Hector, looking proud of herself for knowing information that was important.
Krista gave a little laugh. "Put it in like this..." She proceeded to show Hector (and Oswin) exactly how to put her devices in. "...And then I'll be able to talk to you and give you directions and stuff like that."
"Fine." Hector declared. "Can we hurry up and fight?"
"Yeah!" agreed Bartre. Dorcas sighed and pulled out his axe.
Krista rolled her eyes. "I guess so...if everyone else is ready..."
Rebecca watched everyone else nod in affirmation, and then concurred—agreed—herself.
Krista smiled. "Alright. I'll just go scout out the battlefield, and then..." She pointed to her right ear. "You'll hear from me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rebecca: What? You're stopping?
Me: Give me a break...I've been testing for 4 HOURS! Standardized tests are such a waste of time...
Rebecca: Actually, the AP tests require some knowledge, so I don't believe that they're a waste of ti—
Me: Don't you dare finish that statement!
Rebecca: ^_____^
Me: *sigh* Oh well... Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I know it was kinda short, but if I combined this with a battle chapter...too much to write for one chapter!
Rebecca: No, you're just lazy.
Me: Hey, that was uncalled for!
Rebecca: It's the truth.
Me: @____@ I can't deal with you right now...
Rebecca: Then don't. Just tell the nice people to review, and go on with your life.
Me: OK... Be nice people and REVIEW! Thanks!
Rebecca: That wasn't so hard now was it?
Me: ...Fine. It wasn't that hard. Are you happy now?
Rebecca: Yep! *pats me on the head*
Me: ...
Random question: Do any of you have a good name for Krista's "ear devices"? I'm getting really tired of calling them that...but I'm not good at making up names. Your help is greatly appreciated!
Random fact: All Rebecca/Wil lovers MUST, and I repeat, MUST, see this picture! ent=rebeccawillwolt.jpg Isn't it cute???? ...............Oh no! Somehow, this link doesn't work or something in my story...so...I'll just tell y'all how to get there. First go to photobucket.com, and then in the box, type in Mgoblue201. See all the wonderful topics you can click on? Well, click on Rebecca and bask in all the lovely pictures! The one I wanted y'all to see was the one with Rebecca and Wil and their son, Wolt. Sorry the link didn't work...