I must say, what a reception! You guys must have been waiting for this story quite eagerly, as I received eighteen reviews for just the first chapter! Thanks, everyone:D
FireEdge: Thanks for your review!
Inferno-Hero: "Much awaited," eh? Thanks :)
potter29vo: I think I've grown too attached to my old single-spaced style / Double-spacing does make it easier to read, but I still just don't like it.
Ragnarok-legend: Thanks for your review!
Spectral Flame: Thanks for your review!
Bloody Mary: I don't think the "pretty please" is necessary. It's not like I'm just going to drop this story anytime soon :P
Frombern: "2 months of pain..." Were you really awaiting my story with that much enthusiasm? If you were, thanks :)
Sword of Seals: I do try to keep improving! I hope this turns out better than Different as well.
Ryst: I started the story with Leila's death because Matthew is going to be incensed with Jaffar later in the story. Expect quite a few encounters between the two.
Rednal29: Uh...I'm not sure how to respond to that review...
Firelien: There will be quite a few "conflicts" with Matthew in the future. He's going to play an important role in the story.
gentleness28: That was the sort of personality I was going for, after all :) I think that an "emotionless" person such as Jaffar would scare just about anyone.
Jeanie: Ugh, I just got so used to my old formatting that double spacing looks ugly now. Even though everyone says it looks better...
hyliansage: I will definitely be including the Matthew/Jaffar supports, but I'm not so sure about the supports with Legault. I may include one though...
jupiter adepts rule: Thanks for your review!
The Story Master 125: Thanks for your review!
demonesszen: Thanks for your review!
SweetMisery430: Thanks for your review!
On with the story! And hey, it's a longer chapter!
Chapter Two
Only a Girl
Jaffar stood in a dark corner of the large, nondescript fortress as the snow continued to fall outside. The trek up one of the highest of the Bern mountains to the Black Fang fortress would have been treacherous to those who were untrained, but Jaffar had scaled it with ease.
The meeting he was waiting for was going to involve the four warriors with the greatest skill in the organization: the Four Fangs. Rarely was there ever a need to summon one of these warriors, let alone all four. The assignment awaiting Jaffar and the others had to be important.
"Mother?"
Jaffar's head rose ever so slightly as the sound of a girl's voice pierced the silence that pervaded the fortress. Children were never found in the Black Fang fortress—no child had the strength and skill to climb up the mountain without some sort of outside aid.
Jaffar's hand moved to one of the sheaths at his waist. If a girl had scaled the mountain, then that meant there must have been an intruder helping her—though why an intruder would bring along a girl was a mystery to him.
The sound of footsteps crunching snow turned to taps on stone as a girl stepped into the fortress through a doorway that was on the same wall as the one Jaffar was pressed against. He made no movement towards the girl, as she posed no threat to him. He kept his hand on the hilt of his dagger, however, just in case this girl's "helper" decided to show up as well.
"Mother?" the girl called again. "Are you in here?" The girl was rather short—anyone seeing her for the first time would think her height made her look like a child. Upon further inspection, though, one would see that her chest and hips were clearly developing, so she could not have been very young; to Jaffar she seemed to be about thirteen or fourteen years old. She wore a blue sleeveless shirt over a white dress, with a purple cloak wrapped about her body to keep out the cold. She had bright, clear baby-blue eyes and her messy bright-green hair was held in place by a dark blue headband.
The girl's eyes scanned the fortress for any signs of her mother. Finding none, she began to turn around, but she stopped as her eyes fell on Jaffar.
A bright smile lit up her face; she had found someone who could help her. "Hello, Jaffar!" she called cheerfully, walking towards him.
Jaffar's hand uncurled from around the dagger at his hip. This girl, whoever she was, must have had some relation to a high-ranking Black Fang member. Most of the low-ranking members and everyone outside of the organization referred to him only as the Angel of Death, the title a substitute for a name they did not know and did not care to find out. Though it was not kept secret, only the highest-ranking members of the Black Fang knew his actual name.
"Jaffar, have you seen Mother?" the girl asked in the same cheerful tone.
"...No," Jaffar breathed after a moment to the girl he didn't know. He only knew of one female member of the organization who actually had a daughter, let alone a child at all. But certainly, this girl could not be the child of—
"Heyyyy, it's Nino!" came a deep, cheerful voice.
The girl's smile became even brighter, if that was possible, as she turned around happily to the source of the person's voice. Said person happened to be a very tall, muscular man. His orange-blond hair whipped in the cold wind coming from outside as he smiled good-naturedly down at the girl. He wore black pants and a reddish-brown coat that he left open somewhat to expose his muscular torso for all to see. A rather large broadsword was strapped to his back.
"Hi, Linus!" the girl cried cheerily as she ran towards the man and embraced him tightly, her head barely reaching his chest. Linus responded by chuckling and ruffling her hair affectionately, knocking her headband off her head and onto the floor.
The girl giggled, letting go of Linus and bending down to pick up her headband. As she placed it in her hair again, she asked brightly, "Is Lloyd here too?"
"Yeah, I'm here," came another man's voice, this one somewhat higher than that of Linus. Lloyd stepped into the room, brushing snow out of his dirty blond hair. He wore a black shirt and pants about his tall, lithe body and he also wore a black coat to keep out the cold. A slightly curved sword was strapped to his side.
"Hi, Lloyd!" the girl cried, running over and embracing him just as she had done for Linus.
Jaffar simply watched silently. He knew who the two men were: they were the Reed brothers, also members of the Four Fangs. Linus was the strongman of the group, his powerful sword crushing anyone who got in his way. And Lloyd was simply a master of the sword, cutting down entire groups of enemies with such speed and grace that few were even able to see him as he flew among enemy ranks.
And this girl...Nino. Lloyd and Linus' stepsister. Now, without a doubt, Jaffar knew it was her. But this was the exact opposite of the impression he had been expecting from meeting this girl.
The girl was the daughter of Sonia, a devout follower of his master. Both Sonia and his master had made Jaffar into what he was now, a cold, unfeeling machine. Yet this girl...the very daughter of the woman who had made him this way...she was smiling brightly, laughing as Linus picked her up and twirled her around in some sort of game.
"You two are such children," came a woman's voice, stopping Jaffar's thoughts. The assassin turned, even though he already knew who it was: Ursula, the only female of the Four Fangs and the only magic user as well. She had short, dark blue hair and violet eyes that were narrowed in slight annoyance as she glared at the Reed brothers. She had her arms crossed over her chest, which was covered by a tight, somewhat revealing purple dress that went down to her knees.
"Ah, cut us some slack, Ursula," Linus responded, chuckling as he put Nino down. "You'd act the same way if you hadn't seen your baby sister in awhile."
"I'm fourteen!" Nino cried at the remark.
Ursula paid her no notice. "I don't have a sister," she countered.
"Then you wouldn't know how it feels," Linus responded. Ursula could only huff in reply.
"He's got a point, you know," Lloyd added, chuckling. "You're always calling us 'childish' this and 'immature' that when we take some time off to have fun with Nino here, but you don't know what it's like to have a sister."
"I prefer doing my job, thank you," Ursula replied haughtily. "Unlike you two, Jaffar and I have some sense of responsibility."
Jaffar did not give any sort of response to the comment.
"Ah, you just don't know how to have fun," Linus said, still chuckling. He put an arm around his brother's shoulders. "Me and Lloyd ought to take you down to the tavern some time, right Lloyd? I'm sure she'd like that."
"Can I come?" Nino suddenly asked brightly.
All of the Four Fangs turned to the girl, three of them staring uneasily. No one said anything.
Fortunately, another voice came, the voice of the woman Jaffar had been thinking about previously.
"So you are all here," Sonia stated as she walked into the fortress, her jet-black, very revealing dress trailing around her feet. She had long, pure black hair, which contrasted her pale skin and glittering golden eyes.
"Mother!" Nino cried happily, running over to the tall woman. Sonia seemed annoyed at the very sight of her, though she did not show it to the younger girl.
"Guess what, Mother!" Nino said excitedly, beaming. "I—"
"Not now," Sonia cut her off.
"But I—"
"Not now!" Sonia shouted. She calmed herself and continued, "I have business to attend to. It will have to wait."
Nino did not seem at all perturbed by Sonia's outburst. Instead, she merely replied, "Oh, okay."
Jaffar stood silently, watching the exchange between the two. His mind showed him the image he had seen only a few minutes ago, an image of Nino smiling brightly, laughing with her stepbrothers. Again, he wondered how Nino could possibly be so cheerful with a mother such as Sonia.
Suddenly, he caught himself, his mind screaming at him. Nino was only a girl! She had no importance to him; he had no reason to even be thinking about her! What was he doing?
He cleared his thoughts as he lined up with the rest of the Four Fangs. Sonia walked in front of them, stopping at each one in turn and speaking his or her name.
"Linus." The burly warrior stood at rapt attention now, a sharp contrast to his earlier playfulness.
"Lloyd." The swordmaster stood silently, just like his brother.
"Ursula." The mage stood at attention, responsible as always.
"Jaffar." The assassin stood silently as he always did.
"If I have the four of you here, I need no one else," Sonia stated. "All of you now have a new target, a man whose living plagues me. His name is Eliwood, a noble of Pherae."
"Pherae is located in Lycia, correct?" Ursula asked.
"Correct," Sonia stated flatly. "But he is no simple country lord. He has friends, other Lycian lords. Individually, they are no match for you, but together they have bested many of our forces. Do not be careless, unless you wish to die."
"Of course," Ursula replied.
Sonia walked over to the Reed brothers. "You understand your orders, correct?"
"One question," Lloyd said. "Are these our fa—the orders of the head of the Black Fang?"
"Of course," Sonia responded. "Isn't that right, my beloved?"
A very tall, muscular man walked into the fortress. He was heavily scarred, and his eyes had obviously seen large amounts of battle, but his hair was turning gray—he was past his prime. Jaffar recognized the man as the leader of the Black Fang and Lloyd and Linus' father, Brendan Reed.
"Mmm...yes," Brendan stated flatly.
"There, are you satisfied?" Sonia asked.
"If the head of the Black Fang has marked this man as an evildoer, then we will not hesitate," Lloyd replied.
"The Fang lets none escape," Linus added.
"Good." Sonia moved towards Jaffar. "I have another assignment for you as well. The rest of you are dismissed."
The rest of the Four Fangs left the room, though Nino and Brendan stayed.
"We have received reports of a traitor that has been found," Sonia told the assassin. "He is reportedly living in the town of Swanchika. I believe you know what must be done to him."
"Yes," Jaffar replied.
"Good. The messenger outside has more details. After you complete your assignment, you are to report to the designated meeting place in that town. My daughter will be there; she will tell you of any further developments. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Jaffar repeated.
"Very well. You are dismissed."
Jaffar began to walk out of the fortress, intent on completing another assignment. Nino's voice reached his ears as he left.
"Are you done now, Mother?" she asked brightly.
"Yes, I am," the assassin heard Sonia reply, sounding somewhat exasperated. "What is it?"
"I think I've finally mastered the Fimbulvetr spell!" Nino exclaimed. "Want to see?"
"Very well."
There was a rustling sound as Nino searched for her magic tome. Meanwhile, Jaffar had reached the door. Then Jaffar heard her begin to chant.
"I call upon the power of the goddess of winter. Bring down the power of the wind and snow, of..." She faltered. "Um...oh, shoot..."
SMACK
Jaffar's instincts told him to just keep walking, to ignore what was happening behind him. But the image of Nino smiling, laughing...he kept seeing it. How could she be this way? He had to know.
He turned around.
Nino was clutching her cheek where Sonia had slapped her fiercely. Tears were rapidly forming in her eyes.
"You call that mastering!" Sonia shrieked. "That was pathetic! Even one of our low-ranking mages could cast that spell better than you!"
"B-But...M-Mother..." Nino began to cry.
"But nothing!" Sonia's onslaught continued. "If you want to be a powerful sage, then you need to know how to chant, at least! Next time, make sure you actually know the spell!"
Sobs racked Nino's body as she crumpled to the floor.
"And what are you waiting there for, Jaffar!" Sonia yelled, her attention turning to the lingering assassin. "Get out of here! You have an assignment to complete!"
Jaffar turned and walked out of the fortress. He knew he shouldn't have waited there. Nino was of no importance to him. She was only a girl.
She is only a girl.
The words repeated again and again in his mind as he tried to stop thinking about the green-haired girl. But the image in his mind kept coming back.
He had to know more about this girl.
Well, the whole idea of the Black Fang "family" was certainly a lot of fun to create! What do you guys think?
And as you can see, Jaffar is developing quite an interest in Nino. For some reason, to me, this seems OOC. Yet their support C is not giving me anything else...please tell me what you think!
Oh, and whoever guesses where I got the name of the town from gets a cookie.
Please review!
-TheOneAndOnlyT