Chapter One: The Crash and the Forest
Sailing across the deep blue sea, a lone ship is making its way to the port of a small town. Three passengers are waiting for the long journey to end. These three passengers: a mysterious young boy, a spunky young princess and a wandering young girl, are on the same road: to find an item of immense power.
Three opposing forces are vying for the control of that item. One wants the retrieval of an innocent life lost prematurely. The other wants world domination and vengeance. The last wants the reclamation of an angelic twin.
Each of these three passengers has a different history, a different identity but the same goal. They are arriving at the same time, at the same destination on the same path. They shall forever change the lives of many and themselves.
Only one can acquire the item and have their wish granted and win the competition.
The question is now said.
Who shall it be?
A girl, no older than fifteen, stood on the deck of the ship, gazing at the ocean. She stared at the ripples as they slid across the deep blue water. The ship was sailing to Carona, a peaceful town near the coast of Minea Ocean.
Her long cerulean hair reached down to her waist. Her eyes were cerulean like the sky before the upcoming dawn. A small pouch with three feathers and beads was tied around her neck. Wrapped around her forehead was a long white ribbon.
She wore an undersized white kimono, a waist belt along with a leather belt, cream shorts and a sepia leotard. Covering down her arms were a pair of emerald green armbands, two white cloth-gauntlets in different length and a pair of gloves. Another belt was loosely wrapped around her waist and hanging at it behind her back was a bag. Her boots reached below her knees and belts enclosed around them. Hanging over her back by a belt was a two-handed sword, which was called, "Dragonblade", wrapped with a long clothed sheath.
"...It has already been five years since that day," she said miserably as the seagulls cawed in the sky. "I wonder if I'll ever find the relic..."
A flying cat with long ears and two pairs of transparent wings; a pair of bat wings and a pair of angel wings, flew onto the railing and looked up at the girl. Its platinum fur fluttered golden scales under the rays of the sun. Its eyes were remarkable unusual: one was yellow while the other was sky-blue. A green blob-like creature with pointy yellow ears and no mouth hopped near her.
"Hey! You shouldn't be looking gloomy," said the flying cat. "We'll find it. You said so yourself."
"Qwee!" the blob squealed.
"...Yeah, I know," the girl replied with doubt. "But..."
A steady silent moment hung in the atmosphere.
"Oh, come on! Cheer up," again the flying cat cried. "Maybe we'll find some clues about the relic in this town."
The girl didn't say a word. The flying cat turned away, seeing his effort of cheering wasn't working.
"Yeah, you're right." He looked up to the girl to see her glance meet the ocean in a cast of resolve. "We'll find the relic. For sure..." The flying cat smiled strongly, knowing well she was now confident of finding the relic despite still being in a cloud of regret. The blob squeaked happily.
Meanwhile, on the upper deck of the ship, a fifteen-year-old girl stared at the sea. Her red hair was tied into two traditional ponytails with a hair ornament. Her eyes were red like the blazes of fire.
She wore a royal blue chemise with long sleeves, a royal blue skirt, a black leather swimsuit-like leotard, orange leggings and leather boots. Over her back was a bag and holding onto the strips were two large golden rings, which were called, "Dual Haloes".
She took one look at the endless sea before arching forward unenthusiastically. Tired knees and dusty hair were all she had experienced in her past journeys.
"Phew," she wheezed. She had spent almost half of her money for a ticket to Carona but to her, it was worthwhile. "It's already been 2 years since I left... Dang... I thought it was gonna be easy to find a relic..."
She gritted her teeth in anger as an irritating memory flashed into her mind. She stood up boldly. "Hmph! There's no way I'm giving up! Once I get the relic, it'll be world domination," she hissed and then sneered with wicked laughter, "Maya... You're gonna be my slave."
Near the starboard of the ship, a sixteen-year-old boy stood, looking at the scenery. His hair was sliver and his eyes were gray like metal.
He wore a green baggy outfit, a black leotard, long white stockings and two different boots. Under his forest-themed clothes was a plaid shirt of white and black checkerboard patterns. He also wore a green beret-ish hat swathed with a worn-out ribbon and two different gloves: one a hunter's glove and the other a fingerless glove. A weapon dangled over his shoulder pad by a belt strap, which was called, "Arc Edge".
"It's already been 3 years... And I still don't have a clue where the relic is," he sighed. He gazed down at the railing and thought deeply. He gazed back to the ocean, sparked by his approaching confidence. "Don't worry, Claire. I'm not gonna give up."
"Heh? Hey B-Bro, how about we rob her?" a voice spoke behind him. The boy looked over his shoulder to see two hoodlums. One was short and pot-bellied and the other was tall and muscular. Each had a crooked sword in rusted metal. The fat hoodlum was eyeing at the red-haired girl with a grin that couldn't be wiped away easily.
"...Forget it, Smokey. We got a bigger stash to go after," the tall hoodlum said.
"R-Really?" Smokey asked and looked up at him. "I guess my brudda, Blood, always got big plans."
"You're damn right!" Blood exclaimed. "Alright, listen up..." He whispered softly to his pierced ear.
"A legendary treasure!? You serious?" Smokey shouted. That caught the cerulean-haired girl's attention. She looked over her shoulder and listened. The flying cat perked up his ears.
"Yeah. Sounds cool, huh? I heard some magician made it, and it's hidden somewhere in this area. If we find the damn thing, we're gonna be so rich!" Blood explained.
"Eh-heh! Bro, you're a genius!" Smokey laughed. "So what is this legendary treasure?
"How the hell should I know?" Blood yelled. "It's legendary."
"Oh yeah... It's probably something big."
The flying cat looked up at the cerulean-haired girl. "What do you think?" he whispered. "Could it be the relic they're talking about?"
"Maybe," the girl suggested. "We better find the relic first before they get their hands on it."
The sliver-haired boy looked back at the sea. 'Sounds like they're looking for the relic, too. I gotta find it before they do,' he thought.
"Heh?" Smokey spotted a strange red hovercraft hovering over the ocean at a fast velocity. "Hey, Bro. What is that thing?"
"What? That red thing...?" Blood asked. A strange mechanical sound lifted in the air. "What the hell...?"
The sliver-haired boy and the cerulean-haired girl, wondering what the commotion was about, turned away from their scenery and walked over to find out.
"We're gonna crash!!!" Smokey shouted. Only the red-haired girl was not aware of the danger that was coming towards them, drowned in her own thoughts.
"Let's see... What should I do first once I conquer the world...? I guess I can start out by making Maya scrub the toilet! Hmm... What else...?"
CRASH!!!
A loud noise of wood breaking into splinters alarmed the air. The strange hovercraft hit the ship, its starboard meeting with the ship's side, nearly flouting the wooden planks. The impact shook the boat hard, bringing everyone to the floor.
"Whoa!!!" the sliver-haired boy and the cerulean-haired girl yelled.
"Yargh!!!" the flying cat shrieked, frantically trying to fly.
"Quee!!!" The blob swayed across the deck.
"Blargh!!!" Blood shouted, tumbling over.
"Yeow!!!" Smokey whimpered as he rolled around the deck.
"WHOA!!!" the red-haired girl screamed. She felt the railing under her chest before she fell over board the ship and hit the water surface headfirst. No one came to her rescue for the roars of shaken waves disrupted the sound of her splash.
"Oww," the cerulean-haired girl groaned, rubbing the pain on her rear. "That hurt..." The flying cat and the blob lied on the wooden floor, stars dancing around their heads.
The sliver-haired boy got up to his feet. With steady eyes, he examined at the ocean. Left to right, then to left. The hovercraft that nearly crashed into the ship had already gone in a flash.
He uttered only one question. "What the heck was that?"
On the docks of Carona, the red-haired girl panted breathlessly. Her clothes were damp and wrinkled, soaked with salty water. Drips of seawater drizzled from her hair and beat the dock beneath her.
"Dang... I thought I was gonna die for sure," she groaned.
Her savior stood nearby. By sheer luck, the man was sailing past by when he spotted something flowing in the water. Pulling up the drowned girl by the pole of his harpoon, the red-haired girl was dragged into his ship and brought ashore.
"Well, you're lucky. If my ship didn't pass by, you'd be fish food by now," he said.
"You're right. Thanks..." She was grateful to be alive as she gasped the breath of life. "What's your name?"
"It's Davis," the man introduced himself. "I run the docks here. Pulling people out of the water is my job, too. I don't know what happened out there, but you'd better be more careful."
"...Yeah... Thanks."
"Oh yeah. One more piece of advice," Davis suggested. "Watch yourself around here. Generally, it's a safe place, but I noticed some suspicious characters comin' in lately."
"Don't worry," she uttered boldly. "Anyone messes with me, I'll send 'em home crying with my magic."
"Magic, huh? That's cool. I guess I'll see you around."
"See ya." The red-haired girl ran a start and darted up the stairs. She stopped halfway and thought deeply of Davis' advice.
"Suspicious characters, eh...?" she said. "Maybe they're after the relic, too."
"Get outta my way!" Blood snapped behind her as he pushed her off the stairs. She tumbled down the stairs and landed on the dock with a thud. The hoodlum walked away towards the path leading to Carona. Following behind, Smokey turned and looked down at the girl lying on the docks, his grin wide and crooked.
"Eh-heh, Eh-heh. Good hit, Bro. Let's see if she's got some money," Smokey chuckled. Blood, however didn't listen to the fat hoodlum.
"Yo!" Blood yelled. "Hurry up and get your butt over here!"
"Heh!? Wait up, Bro." Smokey walked after Blood, who was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. They soon disappeared along the path that led to the town off the coast.
"We're goin' to the forest," the tall hoodlum remarked and the two bandits left the docks.
"Ungh..." The red-haired girl groaned in pain and got up on her aching knees. "Those hoodlums must have a death wish!" she growled. "Nobody hits me and gets away with it!"
She ran towards the stairway. She did not notice the cerulean-haired girl standing in her way. The cerulean-haired girl also failed to see the charging red-haired girl. Neither of them saw each other in time before they made contact, hearing the knocks of their bones. A loud thud and a couple of moans lifted in the air.
The ship had slowly landed into the docks of Carona. Sailors tossed ropes over the railing. Crates and boxes were carried off the ship slowly, onto the docks where they would be pushed away into their places. Merchants hurried off to the town, thrilled, in hope of selling their items at reasonable prices.
The sliver-haired boy gazed at his surroundings from left to right once he was off the ship. He stared around, feeling familiar of his site seeing. But could not recall where he had seen this place.
'This place, have I been here before?' he thought.
"Welcome to Carona," a voice greeted him from behind. Davis was standing on the ship and jumped off. He walked towards the boy and gave a friendly smile. "How you doin'? The name's Davis. I run the docks here. As you can see, it's pretty slow here. Not many tourists come in. Mostly merchants. The same people just keep comin' and goin' out."
"Oh."
"Yeah, I recognize most of 'em. But never saw those fellas that just walked off the ship before."
"You mean two hoodlums?"
"Yeah. I overheard them say something about the old ruins at the forest."
"Really?"
"Better watch out for those fellas. Look like they're up to no good."
"I will."
Davis walked away, leaving the sliver-haired boy to his thoughts. 'There are ruins in the forest...? Maybe I should go see...'
WHUMP!!!
A loud sudden crash disturbed him, nearly making him jump. He looked over his shoulder to see what had happen, only to see two girls on the dock floor, groaning in pain.
"Ouch!" cried the red-haired girl as her head throbbed painfully.
"Oww..." groaned the cerulean-haired girl, feeling the pain on her rear doubling.
"Are you two alright?" he asked as he walked over to them.
"Watch where you're going!" the red-haired girl spat.
"Me!? You ran into me!" the cerulean-haired girl shouted back.
"You're the one who ran without looking," said the flying cat.
"You're not in this talk, cat!" yelled the red-haired girl.
"What did you call me!? I'll scratch your face until it's bleeding like hell!!!"
The sliver-haired boy stared blankly at the arguing girls as they simply ignore him. "Hey...?" he said.
"You wanna fight? Or are you too big-headed to do so!?" the young cerulean-haired girl spat heatedly, reaching to the handle of her weapon.
"Now wait a minute! Can we be reasonable here?" he asked, astonished by her tone of voice.
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" the girls snapped, glaring coldly at the silver-haired boy. He backed away, not wanting to be bitten by one of them.
"You got a lot a nerves saying that! Ha, you couldn't even fight against a royalty," the other girl shouted at the cerulean-haired girl as she got up.
"Royalty?" The sliver-haired boy and the cerulean-haired girl looked at her, waiting for an explanation.
"Uh... Bye!" she shouted without hurling an excuse and ran out of the docks. The sliver-haired boy turned back to the cerulean-haired girl.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright," she replied. She got up and brushed the dust off her clothes.
"What happened?" he asked.
"That rude girl was the start of all this, I guess," replied the flying cat. The boy looked up in surprise.
"A talking flying cat?" the boy said. He had never seen or heard a flying cat talk.
"I'M NOT A CAT!!!" shouted the platinum cat. Just as the flying cat was about to tear him to pieces, the girl quickly grabbed its tail, preventing it from flying close to the boy's face.
"Calm down, Cosmomi. He didn't mean it," she said. The green blob bounced up and sat on the girl's shoulder.
"What's that?" he asked. Once in his life has he ever seen such a blob either.
"Oh, his name is Green and I'm Aurora," she answered.
"Qwee!" the blob squeaked.
Aurora then pointed the flying platinum cat with a thumb. "And this is Cosmomi."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Rue."
"Rue, huh? That's a weird name," commented Cosmomi.
"Be nice," said Aurora, giving Cosmomi a slight hit on his head.
"Ouch!" cried Cosmomi.
Rue laughed softly. Aurora smiled at him while Cosmomi rubbed his aching head to ease the pain.
"Hey, I'm sorry that I yelled at you. Lost my temper back there," Aurora apologized.
"It's okay. It's the first time anyone had ever shouted at me like that," Rue laughed. "I'd better get going. Goodbye."
"It was nice meeting you. Bye."
Rue smiled and walked up the steps to the exit of the docks. He stopped and looked down at Aurora. 'That face... Have I met her before? ...Maybe not.'
He walked towards to Carona. Cosmomi stared uneasy at Rue as he left the docks. He felt a bad feeling about him.
"Hey Aurora, didn't you sense something different about him?" he asked.
"Like what?" she asked.
"Like he's not human... Didn't you sense it?"
"Well, I did sense something but he looks human to me."
"Yeah, I know that... But for some reason, he doesn't look like a human on the inside."
"Let's forget about it, ok? He's seems nice."
"Yeah, nice and mysterious," he remarked.
Aurora sighed, knowing her companion would be stubborn enough to suspect people.
"Hello there," someone greeted them from behind. Davis walked up to them. "Welcome to Carona. The name's Davis and I run the docks here."
"Hi," Aurora greeted back. "I'm Aurora."
"Aurora, huh? Sounds pretty familiar."
She jumped, startled and quickly uttered, "Maybe you're mistaking for another person!"
"Maybe. Though you pretty familiar. But then again, I've seen so many people that I sometimes forget the first person who came here," Davis laughed.
"...Might I ask something?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Sure. Ask away."
"Maybe you have seen a lot of people who have just come here."
"Yeah."
"Well, then. Have you seen a little girl about this high, a demi-human girl with cat ears, a blond-haired boy with a sword and another boy with dark-blue hair covering his left eye?"
"Hmm... Nope. Never seen those kind of people," he replied, recalling carefully.
"Oh. Okay." She looked down at the floor.
"But I have seen a couple of suspicious people, especially two kids who just walked off that ship."
"Kids?" Cosmomi said. "What did they look like?"
"Interesting cat you got there," Davis said.
"I'm not a cat!" Cosmomi exclaimed but was stopped by the hand of Aurora.
"Well, better be careful around here," Davis advised. "And hopefully, you'll find your friends soon."
"Yes. Thank you," she said and watched Davis walk away. "Cosmomi, do you think...?"
"No. I don't think they would follow us. Or else they might end up getting themselves in trouble," Cosmomi explained.
"Maybe you're right." Turning to the rising steps, they walked past a large crate that sat by the steps, under a shelter of poles and a cloth. At the corner of her eye, two heads popped down behind the crate. Aurora stopped and eyed the crate.
"What's wrong?" asked Cosmomi
She didn't answer but went to investigate the crate. Aurora looked behind the crate.
Two kids with long ears: a small girl who was wearing a small dress with a hood and a small boy who was wearing a rode, stared up at the cerulean-haired girl, surprised they have been found. The girl was older than the boy but younger than Aurora. They had light olive-green hair: the boy's hair was trimmed shortly while the girl's long hair was tied in a ponytail.
They giggled nervously as Aurora stared at them bewildered.
"Hi, Aurora," they said.
She could not believe it. Her two apprentices had followed her from Sylaio, a town she lived nearby.
"Coco! Cairo! What the heck are you two doing here!?" Aurora demanded.
"We tagged along? Hee, hee," giggled Coco. The two elves knew they were in deep trouble.
After a short conversation with the two elves, they headed to an inn in Carona. Aurora was still fuming with the two kids for disobeying an order: not to follow her.
"Aurora, we really didn't mean to follow you," said Coco, with her ears perked downwards.
"So, could you not give us house floor duty for a punishment?" Cairo pleaded.
"You both disobeyed me! You know that if you had come along, no one would be looking after the house!"
"It's okay. We locked the doors and windows before we left," Cairo stated.
"And we left it in Mrs. Tayfields' possession," Coco added.
"That's not the point! When we come back home, you both are going to start mopping!" scolded Aurora as she went to the empty desk of the inn to register for the night.
The kids sobbed, wishing they had never come to Carona in the first place. Aurora gazed around, finding no innkeeper at the desk.
'The innkeeper must be out. Well, it doesn't hurt to register,' thought Aurora. She looked at a register book and noticed a name written on it. 'Rue. Guess he's staying here.'
Seizing a quill by the register book, she wrote her name neatly. After writing her name down onto the book, a shadow blocked the light from the window. 'Must be the innkeeper.'
She turned face to face with the red-haired girl.
"You!!!" they shouted, pointing at each other.
"What the heck are you doing here!?" demanded the red-haired girl.
"What am I doing here?" yelled Aurora. "What are you doing here!?"
"You meet each other?" asked Cairo.
"Yes, she was the one who almost stampeded me!" remarked Aurora.
"Me!? You're the one who didn't look before you leapt!" retorted the red- haired girl.
"You have a good resemblance to an arrogant bull!"
"And you have a good resemblance to a blind bat!"
Lighting sparked between their eyes. Their rage was like a blazing, red-hot flame. Cairo, Coco and Cosmomi backed away from the lighting, feeling the intensity rising. Green, however, just stood nearby.
"I'm not going to stay here if you're here!" spat Aurora.
"Fine by me!" the red-haired girl yelled.
"Fine!!!" Enraged, Aurora walked out of the inn.
"Eh... Wait, Aurora!" cried Coco.
The two little elves ran out the inn, along with the animals. Aurora slammed the door hard and walked away furiously.
"Aurora, where are we going?" asked Coco.
"We're going to look around! I don't wanna see that hotheaded expletive there!" she answered angrily.
"She said 'we', which means we get to go with her after all," Cairo whispered to Coco. The two elves cheered softly to themselves "Yes!"
"Why are you two excited about?" asked Cosmomi. "You still got house floor duty to do."
Back in the inn, the red-haired girl gazed at the door. 'So her name is Aurora. Odd name. Not to mention, she looks odd too. I wonder if she's going after the relic,' she thought as she went to the desk to register. She groaned as she gazed at the list.
'Oh great! That girl's staying here! But there's no way I can afford to sleep at the hotel... Dammit! Guess I have no choice.' She picked up the quill and before she began to write her name, she noticed the other name.
'Rue,' she thought. 'Another weird name. There are too many weird names in this town.' She signed her name down and walked out of the inn. Written on the register book were only three names: Rue, Aurora and the third one, written in a neat but violent style, Mint.
As Mint walked out of the inn, she gazed to the huge gates of Carona, the barrier and the link between.
"Those hoodlums said something about goin' to the forest," she said to herself. "I wonder what they're up to... Maybe I should go, too."
She ran to the gates and when the huge doors gave way, as if accepting her royalty, she sprinted along the path that lead to Carona Forest, the forest blooming with exotic plants and fierce monsters.
A bell rang as the door to a shop opened. Aurora and her small group entered the store and gazed around.
Ranges of items were displayed on every shelf of the store. A counter stood at the far end on the shop. The young owner, checking his storage, heard the bell rang but did not looked back to see his customer. "I'm sorry. If you're here to shop, can you come back later? Thanks," he said.
"Actually, we were just looking around," Aurora stated.
The owner turned and before he realized, he tripped over the steps and fell down. Cosmomi, Green and the elves looked over the counter.
"Are you alright?" Aurora asked, looking over.
"Ouch! ...Yeah! I'm fine." he groaned and got up, rubbing his head. "Huh? I've never seen you around here before... Did you come to Carona to look for the relic?"
"How'd you know?" she asked.
"We rarely have newcomers come here. If that's the case, you should go see Klaus," he explained.
"Who's he?" she asked. In the beginning of boredom, Cairo and Coco looked at the attention-grabbing items on the shelves, to enlighten their interest.
"He owns an antique shop across from here," he elucidated. "You won't find him now, though. He and his wife, Mira, left Carona last weekend. I think they went to the forest to do more research on the relic."
"Oh."
"You know, her daughter, Elena, is supposed to be watching over the shop. Why don't you go talk to her?"
"I might just do that. Cairo, Coco, we're going," she said. The two elves walked back to Aurora and they walked out of the shop and towards the antique shop.
"Do you think this Elena might know a thing or two about the relic?" asked Cosmomi.
"Yeah," Aurora replied. "And hopefully, she's in."
They stood in front of the door to the shop, spotting a sign that was nailed up, written in black ink.
"Sorry. We're closed for today. Elena," she read.
"Guess we've come to a dead end," Cairo uttered.
"Where do you think she went?" Coco asked.
"Excuse me," someone spoke to them. A blond-haired middle-aged lady walked up to them from the door of the inn next door. "But are you planning to go to the forest?"
"Well, yeah," Aurora said. "Why?"
"If you are, can you find Elena and bring her home?" she asked.
"You know Elena?" Cairo asked.
"Elena is the daughter of the shopkeeper here," the lady explained. "Her parents went to study the ruins in the forest. They haven't been back for 5 days now. Elena got so worried, she went to look for them by herself! I told her not to go, because there are monsters out there..."
"So she went to the forest, huh...? Don't worry. If we find her, we'll bring her back here," Aurora said.
"Oh, thank you very much," the lady said gratefully, giving a polite bow. Her expression changed as her eyes studied the cerulean-haired girl. "..."
"Is something wrong?" Aurora asked.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I thought you looked familiar. Are you by chance Aurora the Dragon Guardian?"
Aurora gasped softly, jumping with a startle. "What makes you think I am that person!?"
"Well, you just looked like her," the lady answered.
"Look like her!? Ha-ha-ha! I may look like her but please, you must be mistaking for another girl! "
"But, Aurora, you are the-" Cairo began but was cut off when Aurora put his left ear with her right hand.
"Many people do mistake me as the Dragon Guardian, so it's no big deal! Right, Cairo?" she asked.
"What are you talking about, Aurora? You don't have to hide-" Coco started but was cut off when Aurora put her right ear with her left hand. She laughed.
"Kids there day! Well, we'll be off!" she said and she dashed away, carrying the elves in her arms. She let them go once they reached the tall, huge gates. Cairo and Coco rubbed their sore-red ears with tears blurring their eyes.
"Why did you have to do that, Aurora!?" whined Cairo.
"And why didn't you admit that you were the Dragon Guardian?" Coco asked.
"That's because I don't want to attract attention around here!" Aurora yelled. "I just want to play it low. Even if this town is peaceful, there are still some people who might want to challenge me if they find out that I'm 'the' Dragon Guardian. Plus, I want to get the relic without anyone knowing who I am."
"You got a point there," said Cosmomi. "It'd be easier and quicker if we don't attract attention."
"And hopefully, we'll find Elena. Maybe she might tell us about the relic," Aurora said.
"Hey Aurora, will we find the others?" asked Cairo.
"...I hope so," she answered and looked away. "I hope so..."
Coco glared at him coldly for asking. He shrugged his shoulders. Not long ago, Aurora lost her comrades in a storm. Aurora managed to survive but she was unsure about the others.
She shook her head and bit her lower lip, feeling guilty. Coco looked at her. "Cheer up, Aurora. We'll find them," she said. "They might be alive."
"She's right," said Cosmomi. "And then, we'll find the relic and then celebrate!"
Aurora smiled at their encouraging words. She knew they were right. "Yeah, you're both right. Let's go... to Carona Forest." The group walked through the gates and towards a road that led to the forest.
Mint panted breathlessly. Sweat tinkled down her cheeks. Her legs ached after walking for a long time. The trees were tall and looked all the same. She was lost.
'How could I get lost?' she thought. 'Stupid pollywog!'
Mint was bitten by a wild pollywog, which was merely thinking that her hair would have made a nice lunch. She chased it, trying to kill it with her magic but in the end, she lost the Pollywog. To make matters worse, she was lost.
'Now, which where is the exit?'
She heard a faint sound coming from a distance. Curiously, Mint followed the direction of the sound, coming to an old ruin. She spotted the two hoodlums and a girl with pink hair. Quickly, she hid behind a boulder and eyed suspiciously at the hoodlums.
Blood had the girl's arms tied up while Smokey was holding his sword to her throat. She knew what they were doing. They were going to rob her.
"This is great. I can get even and be a heroine too." She grinned. She could smell victory coming.
Nearby, Aurora pushed back a branch that blocked her way. Listening to any sudden noises of Saber Tigers approaching, she held onto the handle of her blade. She was ready to seize her weapon out from its cloth-sheath. She was alerted when she heard the crackling sound that whistled through the bushes.
"Coco, Cairo, you two stay here," she commanded.
"What!? Can't we come with you?" Cairo asked.
"You both want to do Attic Cleaning Duty? There are lots of spider weds in the attic," she hinted.
"We'll stay!" the elves yelled, afraid of cleaning the disgusting webs left by merely small but poisonous spiders.
Aurora, Cosmomi and Green dashed closer to the ruins, leaving the elves behind. Laughter was heard nearby, which made them stopped.
"Eh-heh, Eh-heh!"
"Huh?" Aurora said then saw what was going on. She ran quickly and quietly behind the rock along with Cosmomi and Green. The young cherry-haired girl struggled to break free but she couldn't.
"Please, let me go!" she pleaded.
"Come on, baby. We ain't gonna hurt you. We just want a little food, that's all. We haven't eaten for 2 days, y'know," said Blood.
"Yeah, got no money for dinner, either. Eh-heh, eh-heh," laughed Smokey.
"I got to do something," Aurora whispered, thinking carefully of a strategy. "Or else those thugs might hurt her."
"Better not use magic," Cosmomi suggested. "This place has a shield that repels magic."
"Then I use normal attacks. Now we need to distract them, but how?" she said.
"Hey!" a voice shouted close by.
"Huh?" Blood looked up and saw Mint flying towards him in a jump-kick position. His face was smashed hard by her kick. He was pushed aside, letting go the girl. Now she had the chance to escape but she was too scared to move or run. She froze in fright.
"Bro, are you alright?" Smokey asked. Blood got up, furiously.
"...The hell do you think you're-" Blood spat but before he'd finish his sentence, Mint gave him another jump-kick, sending him aside. Blood lay on the floor in pain. His bones ached in soreness.
"N-Not fair..." he moaned.
"What do you mean, 'not fair'!?" shouted Mint. "You're the thug that knocked me down at the docks! I hope you have painkillers because I'm gonna give you plenty of payback."
Aurora pinched the bridge of her nose and hung her head low. "...What is 'SHE' doing here?" she inquired.
"...Maybe getting into more trouble," answered Cosmomi.
Blood got up again and seized his crooked sword angrily.
"Shut up!!!" he spat. "You think we're gonna waste our time on a little brat like you? Smokey, take the girl hostage!"
"Right, Bro," grinned Smokey.
"Oh no, you don't!" yelled Mint.
She quickly raised her rings in front as light flashed before the hoodlums. Her rings started spinning around her left arm energetically. A sphere of burning fire appeared in front of the rings. She was going to shoot at them, despite that she did not know of the existence of the shield.
"Wait! Don't-" Aurora shouted as she leaped from her hiding place. But it was too late.
"Flare!" Mint commanded.
The fireball shot at a rapid speed from her spinning rings, aiming at Blood. Suddenly, the fireball hit an invisible force field and bounced off. It charged towards Mint.
"What the-!?" she cried. The fireball dashed by her as she ducked and hit the trunk of a tree. It singed her clothes, darkening the royal blue color.
"You idiot! Didn't you know that there was a repel spell around the ruins!?" Aurora shouted.
"Hey! What are you doing here!?" demanded Mint. A loud snap disrupted their argument. They looked up.
"Huh?" the girls exclaimed. The trunk of the tree was burned and snapped and couldn't support the whole tree for long. The tree was going to fall on top of them.
"Gah!" gasped Cosmomi. Knowing the danger, the two girls started to ran including Cosmomi and Green.
"HELP!!!" Mint yelled.
"ARRGGHH!!!" Cosmomi screamed, crying hysterically.
"DAMMIT-!!!" Aurora shouted.
The tree collapsed onto them before she could finish cursing at the top of her voice. Luckily the only thing that hit them were the soft branches of the tree but the impact had made them unconscious.
"...Looks like the good gals lost and the bad boys won," said Blood, grinning. The hoodlums laughed sinisterly over the chirps of frightened birds.
Far from the ruins, Cairo and Coco overheard the conversation. Worried, they had to do something but failed to think of a plan.
"What are we going to do!?" cried Coco.
"We'll going to save them, that's what we'll going to do," Cairo exclaimed.
"But how!?" Coco exclaimed. "There's a repelling shield. Our magic isn't strong enough. We don't even have weapons. And, you're still a Third-Class Sorcerer."
Cairo glared angrily at his sister. He hated to be reminded as a Third-Class Sorcerer, despite that it was true. Coco always liked to make fun of him since she was a Second-Class Sorceress herself.
"Excuse me, but what are you two doing here?" a voice spoke behind them. They turned and saw Rue looking down at them. Even though they did not know him, they knew he could help.
"Mister, you got to help Aurora!" Cairo pleaded.
"Aurora? What happened!?" he asked.
"Two brutes got a girl hostage and Aurora and this spunky girl are both out cold," Coco explained.
"You two stay here. I'll go help them," he said.
Cairo and Coco watched Rue ran towards the ruins, hoping that things would be all right. Rue saw the brutes and quickly hid behind a rock. He noticed the two unconscious girls and the out cold creatures under the branches of the tree.
"Alright, let's get back to business. Got anything to spare?" Blood demanded.
"I don't have money. Someone, help me!" the girl cried.
"Those two ain't gonna rescue you," Blood uttered.
"Eh-heh! Let's rough her up," said Smokey.
'What should I do?' Rue thought. 'I have to be careful or she might get hurt...I know.'
He closed his eyes and focused deeply. Suddenly a bright, red, warm light surrounded him. He was changing shape. His skin turned yellow and he grew small. His arms grew short, disappearing away and his legs disappeared. A tadpole-like tail slowly sprouted out.
In his place was not a young boy, but a Pollywog.
'...This is good,' he thought and hovered slowly towards the hoodlums, hoping to sneak by them. Smokey spotted the Pollywog.
"Heh? Hey, Bro, we got company," said Smokey.
"It's just a Pollywog, butthead!" spat Blood.
"Ugh... Please! Let me go!" the girl cried.
Smokey turned his attention to the whining girl. With the hoodlums unwisely preoccupied, Rue snuck closer behind Blood. Without wasting time, he slapped him with his tail on the face. Blood let loose the girl's arms. Now would be her chance to run but still she quivered with fright.
"...The hell!!!?" the hoodlum yelled.
"Eh-heh. Let's get him!"
The hoodlums charged at Rue and tried to slash him with their crooked swords but despite his size, he easily dodged the strikes.
"Hold still, you little tadpole!" shouted Blood. Smokey suddenly stopped running.
"Bro, I'm struck!" he cried.
"Not now, Smokey! Can't you see I'm busy!" Blood spat while striking at Rue. "Come here, you little maggot!"
All of a sudden Blood felt that he couldn't move his legs. He looked down and saw that his feet were covered in a thick layer green, clear, sticky slime. Smokey's feet were covered with the same slime, too.
"What the!!!?" yelled Blood.
"I can't move!!!" Smokey whined.
'Where did that slime come from?' Rue wondered, seeing the chase has been stopped.
A globule of slime shot out of nowhere and hit Blood's face. Rue looked around to see where was the slime coming from. He spotted something watery near the fallen tree.
Green the little creature was next to the insensible Aurora, looking very irritated.
"Qrrr!" It squeaked with anger and shot another blob at Smokey's face from its mouth. It was the mysterious shooter who fired the balls of slime.
"Why you little...whatever you are! I'm going to smash you into a pile of mush!" shouted Blood.
Unexpectedly, a red brilliant light shone. Resting by the unconscious Dragon Guardian was a small orb in crystal bright red. It glowed like the ember of a fire, flickering wildly. A symbol that looked like a flame was embedded in the red glass of the orb. Flames suddenly appeared, sparking the midst of the atmosphere, combining into a ball of fire that did not burn the scattering leaves of the forest. Rue could hear something, something breathing inside the ball of fire.
Out of the ball of fire sprouted a red small creature with wings of blazing fire feathers. It looked like a young red dragon of scales and fur. It had a mane of red fur around its neck like a lion. Its long crooked ears hid in the bush of its mane while the tip of its tail flaked with fiery fur. It opened its ruby-red eyes and looked at its surroundings.
"Looks like I got here in time," said the fiery dragon as it gazed around.
"Who the heck are you!?" Blood shouted.
"If you must know, I am Flames, the Fire Dragon," it said. "I suggest you both leave all the people here alone or else you get into more seriously trouble."
"We ain't going anywhere, you fleabag!"
A twitch of Flames' eyebrow, he fixed his anger down.
"Then you asked for it," Flames replied.
Flames inhaled a deep breath. He blew out a mighty breath of fire at the two hoodlums. The dragon breath burned them at a high temperature, scorching them like meat on a stove. Their skin and clothes turned black as soot and the slime dissolved away by the intense heat.
"You better leave unless you want another breath of fire," demanded Flames.
"Sheee...Can't fight on an empty stomach, y'know," complained Blood. He ran away from the ruins as a coward.
"Heh!? Hey, Bro! Wait for me!" yelled Smokey as he darted after Blood and both hoodlums disappeared into the ," Flames mumbled under his breath. "...You can transform back, boy."
"How did you-" Rue shouted but was cut short.
"Know you're not human and your ability to transform?"
Rue became even more amazed. "How-?"
"Simple. Ever heard that a dragon can read what a person thinks?"
"Dragon?"
"I think you heard me before that I'm...a fire dragon. Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. You better help that girl over there. I'll see if Aurora and that red-haired girl is alright."
Rue nodded, taking his words despite he was still puzzled of this strange dragon, and transformed back into his original form. Flames watched the silver-haired boy rush quickly to the stunned girl before disappearing in a puff of red sparkling dust.
"Are you ok?" Rue asked as he led a hand to the girl. The girl got up on her own and looked at him, amused.
"Thank you, Polly! Wow, you can turn into a person, too!?" she exclaimed.
"Polly...?" Rue raised an eyebrow and realized why she called him such a strange name. "Oh, no, I'm not a Pollywog. This is the real me."
"But I saw you. When you came out, you were a Pollywog."
"That was a disguise to catch them off-guard. My name isn't Polly. It's Rue."
"Ohh, ok! Your name is Rue and you're a Pollywog."
Rue stared at the girl with a sweatdrop hanging over his head. "...?"
"I really like 'Polly'...Can I call you Polly?" the girl asked.
"...Um...How should I explain this?"
"I hope your friends are ok."
"..." Rue looked at the fallen tree to see the dragon no longer there in sight. "Where'd he go?"
A groan was heard in the treetop. Aurora slowly got up on her feet, massaging her aching head.
"Oww, my head," she groaned and soon noticed Rue. "Rue?"
"Are you ok?" Rue asked.
"Yeah, I'm ok. Except for my head," she moaned.
"Where's Flames?" the silver-haired boy asked the Dragon Guardian.
"Flames?" Aurora echoed as she darted her eyes around. But there was no sign of the dragon around. "You...saw Flames?"
"He was here a minute ago. He said he was going to check on you." Rue explained.
"Who's he?" Elena wondered. Rue realized that they might not have seen the strange red dragon back at the ruins, and that only himself saw him.
"...Never mind," he said. 'Maybe he left... Fire dragon...'
He quickly recalled Flames' mysterious appearance when he appeared before Rue and the bandits while Aurora's small orb were glowing. He looked back at the girls fighting and stared at Aurora's bag of where she had kept the orb away.
'Did that orb...call Flames?'
Aurora watchfully stared at the boy who was in thought, feeling rather nervous. 'He must have seen Flames. Damn, Flames! Couldn't you have come without anyone seeing ya? ...Then again, why did he come? He never comes when there's people around.' She begun scratching her head, puzzled. 'Some Elemental Dragon he is...'
"Aurora!" Cairo and Coco ran to them from their hiding place.
"Aurora, you're alright," said Coco.
"You know each other?" asked Rue.
"Yeah, they're my apprentices. Well, exactly, they wanted to be apprentices in the first place," answered Aurora.
A soft groan muttered from the branches. Cosmomi dizzily flew out of the bushy tree. "Ugh, my head hurt," he groaned.
Another moan was heard. Mint got up with her aching knees but looked around. "Hey! Where are those creeps?" she said as she realized they were gone.
"You mean those hoodlums? They ran away," Rue answered.
"What!!!? They left!? It's all your fault!" Mint complained, pointing a ring at Aurora.
"My fault?" She walked up towards Mint angrily as Mint backed away terribly.
"Who was the one who didn't know there was a repel spell, cast a fireball, and caused that tree to fall on us!?" she asked, glaring at the red-haired girl.
"Hey! It was your fault for not warning me!"
"That's because I thought you figured it out but I should have known that a Fifth-Class sorceress like you wouldn't figured it out!"
"What'd you call me!? You (expletive)!" the princess shouted as she stomped her foot. In fact, she was only a Second-Class sorceress.
"..." Rue remained speechless. The pink-haired girl walked to the two girls.
"Thank you for trying to save me, eh...what are your names?" she asked. That seemed to have calmed them down yet they never stopped glaring at each other.
"Aurora," Aurora introduced.
"I'm Mint," Mint exclaimed, turning to the girl. "People refer to me as Your Highness, Your Greatness, Beautiful Majesty ...You know what, you can just call me Princess Mint."
"Ok, Mint!" replied the girl.
'...What'd I just say?' Mint thought.
"Funny, you don't look like a princess at all," Aurora exclaimed.
"What did you just say!?" growled Mint. Rue sighed and walked to them.
"Who are you?" Mint asked.
"It's Rue."
'Oh, so he's Rue,' she thought.
"I'm Cairo" the elf introduced.
"My name is Coco," his sister said.
"Isn't that name for chocolate?" Mint commented.
"Don't push it," Coco hissed.
"Oh, I haven't told you my name yet," the girl said. "My name is-"
"Elena, right?" asked Aurora.
"How did you know!?" Elena cried.
"I came across a lady in Carona a while ago, saying that you went to the forest," she explained.
"Oh, so that how you know my name. I thought you were a some kind of fortune-teller."
'...Whatever,' Aurora thought with a shake of her head.
"So, what are you doing here on your own?" Mint asked.
"This forest looks very dangerous," said Rue. "There are monsters everywhere."
"I came here to look for my parents. They've been gone for 5 days now. I know they're here somewhere," Elena explained. Then she gave a frightening look as if realizing something. "Those brutes might have gone after my parents! I have to go find them fast. It was nice meeting you all."
Just before Elena ran to the right path of the forest, Mint stopped her with a shout. "Hold it!" The trio, the elves and the creatures walked to Elena, all puzzled of one question.
"I'm curious," Mint admitted. "What are your parents doing out here?"
"My parents came here because of the ruins. I think my father came here because of some treasure. I think it's called the relic."
"The relic!!!?" Mint, Rue and Aurora shouted at once.
"Wow, your father is researching the relic?" asked Cairo.
"Yep!" she answered.
'I can't believe it. Her father is researching the relic?' Aurora thought.
'This is great. If I help her, I'll get the relic in no time,' thought Mint and said with a growing smirk, "Elena...you're incredible."
"Huh?"
"I'm touched by your selfless wish to help your parents. I wanna help you. Let's look your parents together, ok?"
"Oh, thank you very much. I really appreciate this."
"Alright, Mint, what are you up to?" Aurora spoke, not trusting her words.
"Nothing! Nothing at all."
"I'll come along. This forest looks dangerous," suggested Rue.
"...I think it's a best idea if we all come and find your parents," Aurora commented.
"Wait a second! You both are looking for the relic, aren't you!?" the princess yelled.
"Uh..." Rue spoke.
"Well, aren't you, Mint?" asked Aurora.
Mint looked away. She didn't expect that they were after the relic too. 'Oh no, that means that they are my rivals,' she thought. "Then what are you going to do with the relic?"
"...That's a secret." Aurora looked away in shallow despair.
"What!? I have the right to know!" Mint spat.
"Elena, why don't we go look for your parents?" Aurora asked, ignoring Mint.
"Don't change the subject! You better tell me since you're my rival!" she spat.
"Is that the wind blowing?"
"Why you (expletive)!!!" Mint screamed and stomped her foot.
"I wonder how long this argument is going to last," Cosmomi remarked.
"...Why don't we just go now?" Rue suggested. A sweatdrop hung over his head.
"Ok. You both are very kind, including you, Polly. Let's go!"
With that, Elena quickly ran ahead to the right path.
"It's not Polly!" Rue shouted. Elena was already gone by the time he had said that.
"What was that about?" Aurora asked.
"Eh... It's nothing."
"...Suit yourself," Mint commented.
Cairo, Coco, the creatures and Mint walked to the right path, leaving Rue in his thoughts. Aurora gazed at him as he looked down. She guessed it was best to leave him alone. She turned tail and walked after the others
"...She thinks I'm a monster," Rue said to himself. "...Or maybe I am."
1 House floor duty means cleaning the floor of their house for a month