This story is about to get a little more gruesome than I usually like...but it's necessary to the storyline. Read on...
hyliansage: Thanks for your review! Hey, whatever happened to Wish?
gentleness28: Thanks for taking my request! Hope it's finished soon :)
Icy AngelWings: Thanks for your review!
Poyo: Well, I could play Medic...but I'm quite good at that class as well :P
Dreamer of Riddles: I wasn't aware "dragonologist" was a word...
FireEdge: How did the hug seem weird? I can't improve if you don't tell me how to. :) Oh, and update Stray Arrow! :P
Spectral Flame: There will be no rivalry with Erk, mostly because at this point in my other stories, he's already been paired with Serra. :P
MagicianFairy: Jaffar won't have to do any sort of "odd stunt." He will do something though...perhaps without knowing it.
Hamano Ayumi: Thanks for your review!
Inferno-Hero: Thanks for your review!
Jeanie: How did the last scene seem out of place? It helps me a lot more if you tell me why...
Dark: Thanks for your review!
Flaming Soul: No, Legault wasn't much of a help...but that doesn't mean he can't give Jaffar any aid in the future... ;)
Hinata2004: Thanks for your review!
Firelien: Considering Legault has already seen Jaffar speak, I'm not sure if I'll be able to include the "warn me when you're about to talk" line. I'll try to get it in there, though :)
Nocturna-Fire-Demoness: That was support C...I think both B and A will be coming later.
Ragnarok-legend: Thanks for your review!
Ryst: I don't really think Jaffar is jealous about Nino hanging around other people more than he is fearful. See, when someone's in love (and we all know by know that Jaffar is :P) but not sure if the other person loves him or her back, the person starts overanalyzing everything the other person does. In this case, it's Nino's decision to spend time with other people that Jaffar is reacting to. (PS: preeeeeow :) )
lzn64: And he'll only get more obsessive as the story goes on...at least, that is until he learns Nino's feelings ;)
Cuello: Thanks for your review!
Oswin the Nino Fan: Ah, OK. Thanks for your review!
The Blazing Blade: Thanks for your review!
Kakayo: Uh, I think you spelled your name wrong...thanks for your review!
Kratos Aurion: Thanks for your review!
We now arrive at the (rather long)...
Chapter Fifteen
Hurt
It was as though their embrace had occurred in some blissful dream. Jaffar barely remembered the embrace itself, but the emotions it had sparked within him consumed his thoughts. When the army was marching, when the young mage walked close beside him, he could think of her and only her. It was only when he was alone, when she was off with one of her female friends or studying with Canas, that he had any respite at all. But even then, he could think of nothing but his feelings.
He had briefly considered attempting to speak with Legault again, but he had quickly realized that his words were not enough to convince the thief that he was no longer the assassin he had once been. He knew that he had to find some way to show he had changed, but he could not think of anything he could do.
Nino herself had changed somewhat after that night as well. Her bright disposition seemed to fade a little when she was near the assassin, to be replaced with something else. When she caught Jaffar's gaze as the army marched onwards, as she so often did, the silent smile she always gave him was no longer the sunny, almost childlike expression of delight that had once been normal for her. Instead, it was a softer, more serene smile, and no matter how hard she tried to hide it, her cheeks always managed to turn some shade of pink when she gazed at Jaffar.
Jaffar noticed the change in her demeanor, but it mattered little to him—so long as the girl was happy, he didn't care how she expressed it. Her smile filled him with warmth no matter what form it came in.
The battalion's journey to the Shrine of Seals would take another five days, but for the assassin it passed in a blur, especially the daytime when the army was marching. The nights spent in his tent, when Nino was there, were more memorable to him. After only her second meeting with Canas, the young mage had asked Jaffar if he wished to see the progress she had made in her reading. She would ask him every night, and he was only too happy to oblige. It was clear she learned extremely quickly. She would read out of one of her magic tomes, speaking slowly, occasionally faltering, but still deriving the greatest pleasure from her ability to understand the words on the page.
From time to time, more so in her earlier attempts, Nino would have to ask him if she had read a word correctly or how an unusually complicated word was pronounced. Those were the moments Jaffar liked best; the delight she expressed when he helped her was unparalleled by any other time. Even when Jaffar went to sleep, she continued reading with zeal by the light of the lantern, and in the morning he would always find an open book adorning her sleeping form.
But eventually, as part of the army, the two of them would have to take part in a battle. They had barely been members of the battalion for a week before that battle came.
-----
"Okay, people," Mark began laying out his plan as the army gathered before him, ready to fight. The Shrine of Seals was visible in the northwest from where they stood, its massive silhouette standing out clearly against the mostly flat landscape surrounding it. The plains on which the army had marched had given way to a more hilly area which several rivers cut across, and the large enemy force which the army now stood against had obviously taken the terrain into account, placing soldiers strategically at choke points between the hills.
The tactician, however, exuded an aura of confidence as he described the battle plan. "We will be making a three-pronged attack on the Shrine," he explained. The piece of land on which the army stood was connected to the area in front of the shrine by three bridges in different directions, and the army would split into three groups to advance over each bridge.
Mark began calling out names, directing each soldier to the path he or she would be following on the way to the Shrine. Jaffar and Nino, along with Rebecca, Legault, and a few other soldiers Jaffar didn't know, would be taking a western route before swinging northward to lay an attack on the Shrine of Seals itself.
"The enemy commander is the White Wolf, Lloyd," Mark went on, and Jaffar heard Nino give an involuntary gasp beside him as the words reached her ears. "He is one of the most proficient swordmasters on the continent, so I do not want anyone confronting him alone. It may take three or four people attacking him at once to bring him down. Be extremely careful once you approach the Shrine."
"L-Lloyd's here?" Nino stammered as the army began separating into the designated groups. As Jaffar turned to her, she looked up at the assassin with a panicked look in her eyes. "W-we have to talk to him, Jaffar! If he knows I'm here...he'll change his mind about fighting, I know it!"
Jaffar looked up, gazing into the distance where the enemy forces were visible. "We will have to reach him first, though," he stated flatly.
Nino hung her head at his reply, her cheeks inexplicably burning red with embarrassment. Then, after a few moments, she looked back up at the assassin, her eyes filled with a sudden fear. "J-Jaffar?"
"What is it?" he asked in response. He hated seeing her unhappy.
She looked away. "C-could you please stay near me?" she asked, as though she dreaded the possibility of him leaving her side even for an instant. "I-I'm not very strong, a-and..." Leaving the sentence unfinished, she looked back up at Jaffar, her eyes pleading with his to accept her request.
"Of course," he replied. He would have done so even if she had not asked.
-----
The battle progressed smoothly, with most of the other soldiers in Jaffar and Nino's group doing most of the fighting at the front. Nino, frightened by the fighting, stayed near the middle of the group as it advanced, and Jaffar stood by her side. When the assassin did fight, his incredible speed and agility made him almost impossible to hit, and he quickly dispatched his opponents. And if it ever seemed as though Jaffar might be in the tiniest bit of trouble, Nino would swiftly call down a lightning bolt with her magic and strike his enemy dead. Nevertheless, she only attacked another as a last resort, preferring to stay a good distance away from the hand-to-hand combat going on around her.
Yet even staying at the center of the group could not protect her from everything.
They were almost directly south of the Shrine when it happened; the group was advancing through an area full of large trees. The soldiers in the group believed that they had cleared the small forest of any hostile presences, but that was not the case.
They were pressing forward, intent on reaching the Shrine quickly, and none had noticed the lone archer hiding in the trees on the group's side. By the time Jaffar's precise hearing had picked up the twang of the bowstring let loose, it was too late. He whirled towards the source of the sound...
And then it seemed as though time had slowed to an agonizing pace.
It was clear that the arrow had been intended for Jaffar, since he was most likely the most dangerous-looking soldier in the group. But the archer's aim was just slightly off, and the arrow sailed past the assassin, missing his chest by only inches.
He could see the arrow as it flew slowly, so slowly...and then he saw that it was heading directly for Nino, who had yet to notice anything.
Jaffar leapt forward, intent on taking the arrow for the girl, but it was clear as he sailed forward that he would not make it in time...
And he could only watch as the arrow lodged itself in Nino's left shoulder.
The force of the arrow's impact knocked Nino to her side as time's flow returned to its normal rate. She tripped, landing in a sitting position as she flung out the arm that had not been hit to steady herself.
The shock of the blow had not given way to the pain yet, and Nino looked to her side, still unsure as to what had caused such an impact.
Then she saw the arrow.
Her eyes widened to an impossibly huge size, and her mouth opened silently. She tried to draw breath, but the only result was a ragged, shuddering gasp.
And then she screamed.
All eyes in the group were instantly on her—except for Jaffar's. Instead, clenching his jaw murderously, he scanned the trees from whence the arrow had come, and he quickly sighted the archer that the group had not.
The rage filled him, consuming him completely, and the only thing he could see was the hardened face of the archer—of the one who had hurt Nino.
He leapt towards the trees where the archer was hiding, putting on a burst of speed that was unmatched by anything he had ever done before in his life. The archer tried to retaliate, tried to draw another arrow, but Jaffar was there before it had even left the archer's quiver.
Screaming with a rage such as he had never felt before, he plunged one of his daggers into the archer's chest with an extraordinary force, killing him instantly.
The force of the blow sent blood flying in all directions, some staining the assassin's clothing, but Jaffar did not care. The archer deserved a death such as this. He had hurt Nino. That was all that mattered.
He had half a mind to stab the archer again, to let out more of his fury, when suddenly he heard Nino cry out in pain.
Nino! Jaffar felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He had broken his promise to her...he had left her side!
Breathing heavily, he turned and dashed back to where Nino lay. She was wailing at the top of her lungs, tears of pain streaming down her face without end. Rebecca knelt over her, trying to soothe her, and Legault stood off to her side, appearing uninterested but paying attention nonetheless to what was going on. The other soldiers in the group were getting ready to move on—they did not mind an incident like this very much, because such an injury was common in any army. The medic of the group would be along soon and the event would be forgotten.
But Jaffar would not forget what had happened here, not for a long time. Uncaring of anything but Nino herself, he shoved Rebecca to the side as he approached the young mage, knocking the sniper to the ground. Rebecca might have protested had she not seen the intense worry in the assassin's eyes, an emotion that had never before been present. Instead, she simply got up and knelt again by Nino's form.
Fear had taken control of every fiber of Jaffar's being, and panicking, he hurriedly glanced over Nino's injury, attempting to determine how serious it was. A circle of blood had formed around where Nino's skin had been pierced, but the injury was not anywhere near fatal. Nothing vital had been damaged, and the wound could be healed almost instantly with white magic.
But Jaffar's worry consumed him nonetheless, and he had to keep repeating to himself that the wound was not fatal to keep from driving himself to madness.
"You need to get her to a healer," Rebecca advised him quickly.
"I know that!" Jaffar snapped, surprising the sniper with his passion. Nino's cries had quieted down to softer sobs, but she was still clearly in a great deal of pain. Slowly, the assassin knelt down, and with infinite care not to touch her injured arm, he picked the girl up, holding her with both arms as though she were a baby. She looked up at Jaffar's face with desperation in her blurred eyes.
Help me, please...I don't want to die! her eyes silently screamed. She didn't speak, only whimpered painfully, but Jaffar understood her gaze nonetheless. Nino, like himself, was clearly mortally terrified, afraid she might die even though the wound was not serious enough to kill her. He needed to get her to a healer as soon as possible, for her health as well as for both of their sanities. Either of them might go mad with worry if the young mage was left in this state much longer.
"Where's the healer?" Jaffar demanded heatedly.
"She should be coming soon," Rebecca replied worriedly, clearly also afraid for the young mage's well-being, though not on the scale of Jaffar or Nino themselves. The healers always stayed behind, so a delay such as this was not unexpected. The path needed to be cleared before a healer could advance, so that there was no risk of the healer getting hurt.
Jaffar could see the auburn-haired healer in the distance coming from where the group had come before, mounted on a white horse. A wyvern rider circled above her, acting as her bodyguard. It could not have taken her more than a minute to ride over to where Jaffar stood, but the wait was agonizingly long for the assassin. The longer that Nino stayed injured, the more worried he became that something worse might happen to her...
He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, tried to calm himself. Her wound is not fatal, he reminded himself for what seemed to be the millionth time. Her wound is not fatal, she will be fine...
The healer dismounted her horse as she approached, pulling out her healing staff without even asking what had happened.
"Oh, my," she said gently upon seeing the arrow lodged in Nino's shoulder. She looked up at Jaffar. "Ah...you need to put her down," she said softly, clearly afraid of the assassin's appearance.
He let her down slowly, though he was afraid to let her go, afraid that she might be hurt more without his arms protecting him. He reminded himself that this was only to allow her to be healed, that she would be fine in a few moments...
Nino's cries of pain had now become mere whimpers, though her tears continued to stream forth. The healer, who was a few inches taller than the young mage, brought her face level to the green-haired girl's, her eyes full of compassion. "I'm going to have to pull out the arrow," she said softly, soothingly, with the practice of innumerable other injuries behind her. "It will hurt, but I can only heal your wound when it is removed. Okay?"
Nino's gaze was on the ground, and it almost seemed as though she had not heard a word the healer had said, but she nodded slowly, closing her eyes and steeling herself for the pain about to come.
The auburn-haired girl placed herself at Nino's left side, putting one hand around where the young mage's skin had been pierced and the other around the arrow. "I'm just going to pull it out in one quick tug; it will hurt less that way. Ready?"
Nino gave the tiniest of nods.
And the healer pulled on the arrow with all her might, pushing against Nino's arm with her other hand and moving the arrow a few inches. But the arrow remained lodged where it was, and Nino gave a sharp cry of pain.
"Stop it!" Jaffar demanded furiously as soon as he had heard Nino cry out. "You're hurting her!"
The healer shrank back a little under Jaffar's intense gaze. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "But I-I need to pull it out, or I can't heal her."
Without any more hesitation, before Jaffar could protest further, she gave the arrow another forceful tug, this time pulling it out completely, but not before eliciting another wail from Nino. But in one fluid motion, the healer raised her staff, a bright glow emanating from the sapphire at the tip. Nino's skin took on the same glow, miraculously mending itself before Jaffar's eyes. When the light died down, it was as though Nino had never been injured.
Her tears stopped abruptly, the cause of their flow having disappeared in an instant. She looked down at her arm, gaping at how quickly her wound had vanished.
"Are you all right?" Jaffar asked heatedly. He could not be sure she was okay until she said so herself...
The young mage turned to Jaffar, her expression unreadable, then nodded slowly. "Y-yes, I'm fine..." she remarked softly. "Thank you, Priscilla," she went on, turning to the healer.
The healer known as Priscilla smiled a little. "Anytime, Nino." Then she mounted her horse, riding off to the next soldier in need, the wyvern rider following her overhead.
"Come on, Nino," Rebecca said after the auburn-haired girl had left, gesturing towards the rest of the group. "We need to hurry up." She then ran off to join the other soldiers.
That left Jaffar and Nino standing there alone. The young mage smiled shyly up at the assassin, her cheeks taking on a pinkish tint as they lately seemed to do quite a bit when she was around Jaffar.
Her smile sent all of Jaffar's worries flying away.
"Thank you for helping me out, Jaffar," she said softly.
He could not think of anything to say in response, his relief flooding his insides and overwhelming his senses. She was all right...
Nino's expression, however, slowly became grim as she remembered what she needed to do. "Come on," she commanded gently. "We need to speak with Lloyd, quickly."
-----
But it seemed as though Nino might not get her chance to speak with her stepbrother. The two other groups of the army had already converged upon the Shrine of Seals by the time the third group had arrived.
Nino's face filled with worry as she saw the other soldiers of the army already present, a select few of them even running up the steps to the Shrine as she looked on. "Come on, Jaffar!" she shouted worriedly, quickening her pace into a sprint.
He started sprinting as well, easily outrunning the young mage with his speed. Neither of them paid any attention to the soldiers surrounding the shrine, or to Mark as he screamed at the two of them to stay away from the fight going on inside.
When Jaffar reached the top of the stairs, what he saw was truly a sight to behold. Lloyd was engaged in battle with not one but three soldiers at once, but the swordmaster did not seem to have suffered even a scratch.
The assassin watched silently as a red-haired mercenary brought up his sword before swinging it downwards, where it met Lloyd's rune-encrusted blade. At the same time, a green-haired swordfighter stabbed at Lloyd's chest, but the White Wolf deftly evaded the blow, while still keeping his blade pressed against the red-haired mercenary's. The third soldier, an imposing, blond-haired warrior, raised a gigantic axe behind the swordmaster, and it was clear that Lloyd would not be able to evade the strike while parrying the other two fighters.
But the swordmaster pushed the red-haired mercenary backwards with his blade. Without even glancing at the berserker behind him, his face devoid of emotion, he raised his sword, the runes covering the blade glowing briefly before sending a blast of light magic at the warrior, knocking him back.
The assassin heard Nino run up beside him, heard her gasp as she saw her beloved stepbrother faced with what seemed to be impossible odds.
"Lloyd!" she cried.
And at that moment, Lloyd's emotionless mask broke for a split-second, the surprise at his stepsister's presence overtaking his senses. His eyes widened suddenly, and his head turned towards the young mage...
"Nino?!" he exclaimed.
But their reunion was not to be. Taking advantage of the split-second distraction, the red-haired mercenary stabbed his sword forward. Lloyd's momentary lack of attention was all that the mercenary needed to give the swordmaster a fatal blow, stabbing straight through the famed White Wolf's chest before pulling the blade out with a smug grin.
"Lloyd!" Nino screamed.
She ran up to the swordmaster, Jaffar following close behind her, as Lloyd fell to his knees and then onto his side, rolling onto his back. The young mage quickly knelt beside her stepbrother, tears rapidly forming in her eyes, continually muttering, "No, no, no..."
The swordmaster's life had not yet left his body, and weakly, he turned his head, gazing up at the young mage. "Nino..." he choked out. "Why...did you come here?"
"I came to stop you from fighting!" she cried as Jaffar knelt down beside her. "Why did you have to fight these people?!" she demanded. "They were trying to help everyone!"
"It's...not about what they were...trying to do..." Lloyd breathed. "Don't...blame yourself. You couldn't have stopped me..."
"What?!" Nino exclaimed. "W-what do you mean, Lloyd?" she demanded, a few tears spilling forth from her eyes.
But Lloyd did not reply; instead, his gaze moved to Jaffar, and a strange, weak smile graced his lips. "So...Angel of Death..." he whispered. "You're...the last...of the Four Fangs now..."
Nino guessed the meaning of his words even before Jaffar himself did, more tears streaking down her face. "L-Linus?!" she cried. "W-what—did he—"
"I'm...sorry, Nino..." Lloyd went on, paying the young mage's words no heed.
"NO!" Nino screamed. "Don't talk like that, Lloyd! We'll get a healer in here; you'll be f-fine...e-everything will..."
But Lloyd was too far gone. His eyes glazing over, his gaze suddenly turned to the ceiling, staring up at the face that those around him could not see. "Hold on, Brother..." he whispered faintly. "I'm... coming..."
And then his head slumped over lifelessly.
"No..." Nino whimpered. "No..."
Almost automatically, without even having to think about it, Jaffar placed his arms around the young mage's small frame, holding her close, just as he had after that battle with Sonia. It seemed to have been so long since then...
Nino accepted the embrace, crying softly into the assassin's shoulder, clutching her only remaining link to what had once been her "family".
He heard someone clear his throat behind him, saw a hand that was not his own rest on Nino's shoulder. He looked up to see that the hand belonged to the red-haired mercenary, whose expression had changed drastically into a gesture of sympathy.
Nino brought her head up from the assassin's shoulder, gazing up at the mercenary with grief-filled eyes. But as she noticed who she was looking at, her expression suddenly changed, rage slowly covering her features as she recognized Lloyd's killer.
"I'm...I'm sorry," the mercenary said awkwardly. "I didn't...I didn't know he was—"
"Y-you killed him," Nino cut the mercenary off with a whisper. Then, quite suddenly, the rage vanished from her face, and her gaze dropped blankly to the floor before she buried her face in Jaffar's chest once again. "Y-you k-killed him..." she sobbed, sounding utterly helpless.
The mercenary let out a deep breath as his eyes turned mournfully to the floor, before he turned and gestured to the two other fighters, who were sadly, silently watching the scene unfold before them. "Come on," he said softly. "We should...give them time alone."
And the three soldiers left silently.
Jaffar pulled the girl closer, allowing her to let out her tears as much as she wished. She had lost so much in such a short span of time, he thought. He was all that she had left to hold on to...
The only sounds that could be heard in the shrine were Nino's quiet sobs, echoing faintly off the walls.
I really, really cannot write death scenes. I think it showed here...
But...what did you guys think? Was everything realistic? Is everyone still in character? I need to know these things, guys! :)
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT