Kingdom of Glass
I'm back! Yeah, the AN queen is back to haunt you.
Thanks to:
Katt: Of course you're gonna be in this, you've only been bothering me about it since I started writing the original Kingdom of Glass.
Lady Demoonica Darkmoon: I forgive you. I'm glad you liked it! Here's the next chapter.
PeaceLoveOcelot: Nice name. Thank you so much! You really made my day (I don't know why either), maybe it was the wording of it but when I read it in my computer class this morning I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. Of course you can be in it! Unfortunately I've run into a little probably, Netflix, where I get my anime, only has Trigun, so would you like to wait a while, go on with only Vash, or have me go ahead an write your other two Bishonen blind? Please let me know soon.
Yamashira de'Ryu: Ahh, please don't hate me. I'm honored you wrote so much but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to compromise your character. I don't mind multiple characters, and I don't mind other halflings but I'm afraid due to the nature of the Bishonen and the Humans, there can not be a halfling trainer. Bishonen would not agree to one of their own kind controlling them and Humans would not take them seriously, it wouldn't work. However, you may still keep at least Jing and travel with your sister no matter what you choose, in fact (no pressure) if you chose halfling it gives me a character to introduce another concept I have. Of course, you can also yell at me and refuse me use of your characters, all of those are fine.
Um, here we go with the actual story, finally. I decided to start this chapter off by telling you why Phoenix and Arkarian are traveling. Flashbacks will be in bold italics A so you know.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, I own the original Grimm's fairy tales, and that's where I got the idea for the fairy tale. Also, you'll have to wait 'til next time, maybe even later before the real conflict begins. I'm quite pleased with myself, I may actually be able to run the fairytale with the story...
This chapter is dedicated to Stacie, for encouraging my work with Shatter Magic, my gothic fantasy original.
Chapter Three: Crystal Strength
The Queen immediately sent the young boy away from the Kingdom, not wanting him to further influence her daughter. The princess cried, but dared not speak for her best friend, she only prayed he would not hate her for what she had done to him. For beyond the Kingdom lay the dangerous wastelands.
So she grew, and he grew. They never forgot each other as the days past to years. Soon the Princess came of age to be married, and she had found someone she felt a deep fondness, possible love, for. The wedding would be a grand one, and everyone was excited for the beautiful young princess.
Only a few months before her wedding the Princess again approached her mother, begging her to let her leave the Kingdom, this time to find her old friend, and bring him back to be with her.
Again the Queen turned her away, saying "You are to be married soon, there is much to do to prepare, and afterwards you will be far to busy as the new queen to go and search for that ruffian." So the Princess stayed, and so the Princess cried.
She had lost her only friend.
"Mother. I don't want to stay here anymore." She wasn't normally timid around the older woman, but today she had something different to ask, something she hadn't dared speak before.
"Why not? It's nice here, you never complained before." Her mother replied, glancing up from her work in the office, a pair of glasses perched on her nose. "Come, sit, tell me the truth."
So she did, taking a chair in front of the desk, folding her hands in her lap over her skirt. "I..." She paused, "I want to see the world. I want to go out learn more about the Bishonen and the Humans, I want to see a town, I want to meet a newbie, I just want to do things."
"I see." Her mother answered slowly, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear with a small, soft sigh. "I sense that's not the only thing. You can tell me, Phoenix-chan."
She looked away. "I can't stay here forever, all the Bishonen here know it, and so do I. You won't be around forever and I haven't developed a skill yet, I can't just let you take care of me. You told me in your world, humans my age are preparing to leave home, learning skills to live. Here the San stage marks the beginning of adulthood, and the trueborns begin their training before my age."
"So you want to explore the world in hopes of developing a skill worthy of a halfling?" Linla guessed, her chin on her folded hands.
"Yes, If you want to put it like that. I want a skill worthy of being called a trueborn, not just a halfling."
The old trainer smiled at her daughter. "I guess I knew you would ask sooner or later. I will respect your decision to leave Laylas, only if you take a Bishonen with you."
"Thank you."
"Hey Phoenix-chan, I haven't seen you in a while. Wow, you're not the same chibi I knew from a few years ago." The tall, dark haired man smiled down at the shorter girl, ruffling her hair affectionately. "Look at you, all grown and turned into a fine young woman."
She blushed. "Thank you, Uncle Micheal." They were in a small street corner café, all of them, she, Arkarian, Micheal, and Micheal's Bishonen, Link, Celes, Edgar, Alanna, and Aly seated in a private conference room enjoying a nice lunch. "Are these you're Bishonen? I'm so excited! I know Link, my mother has one but she doesn't have any of the others."
"I see you haven't changed, ever eager to meet new Bishonen. Yes, these are my game and book Bishonen." Micheal replied, motioning to the others. "Guys, meet my 'niece', Phoenix Laylas, Linla's daughter."
The first was short and thin, a Sama staged Bishojo who radiated strength in her violet eyes, and sensibility by her practical short red hair. "I see. You bear next to no resemblance to your mother, still, one would be blind not to notice the connection by the way you carry yourself."
"Ah, Alanna, you are to rough on this fair, beautiful flower. I have seen none so lovely in many years." A blonde haired man on the other side of the table, beside Arkarian, remarked flirtatiously. "Beautiful Phoenix, you grow more and more lovely as the years pass by."
The woman on the other side, another blonde with long curls tied back in two clips, sighed, closing her eyes. Lightly she smacked her companion upside the head. "Honestly Edgar, you leech. Don't mind him, it's best just to ignore his advances, annoying as they are."
"Ahh, Celes, you wound me so."
Phoenix ignored the two game Bishonen, her attention focused on the book Bishojo, more specifically Alanna-sama and the chibi Aly. "I have a question, Arkarian." She asked the guardian softly. "Why does Micheal have a chibi in his group?"
"Because Aly is Alanna's daughter. Aliannes, like Micheal's Aly-chan, are born only to two parents of a regular coupling, that is the original couple. In Aly's case, her father would have to be a George... I think. I'm not that good with the Tamora Pierce books, she's an American author after all." The older Bishonen explained patiently.
"I guess that makes sense." She mused. "Micheal, Arkarian, who was my father?" She asked suddenly.
Everyone fell silent as Micheal laughed. "Don't worry so much Phoenix-chan. You're far to young and bright a girl to be modeling your life after an unknown father. Just live life your own way."
Phoenix nodded. Live life her own way. Novel words often spoken yet the truth rang clear. She turned her attention back to the oblivious mother and daughter.
"No, you can't have any dessert until you've eaten something." Alanna was saying. "You want to turn into a San soon, right? You need to eat healthy and learn quickly, unless you want to stay a chibi and cause problems for Micheal forever."
"Ahh, all right Mama, but can I have a soda?" The reddish-brown haired chibi asked cutely, staring up at her mother with large, innocent blue puppy dog eyes.
Everyone laughed at the child's antics. Alanna sweat dropped. "I suppose so." She sighed. Who could say no?
Their stomachs full, the group decided to spend the rest of the day in the market, stocking up for their journey. Phoenix, Arkarian, Alanna, and Alianne were one group charged with getting more supplies while the others formed another and went to get new weapons for Celes and Link, who both had broken their weapons not long ago.
"I wonder where Amanda is. Shouldn't orientation be over right about now? It's getting late."
"I wouldn't worry, she's probably already got many new friends to spend her time with." Arkarian remarked dismissively, taking in the crowded streets around him with watchful eyes, aware that other Bishonen kept their eyes closely on the group. He wasn't surprised, a halfling, a Bishonen with a master they couldn't detect anywhere, and a chibi wandering around in a group surely was a strange sight.
Still, it seemed normal enough in the market center. A Gawl and a Misami argued in front of a restaurant without regards for volume or surroundings, a young trainer was trying to control an unruly Mika, who seemed set on attacking another trainer's Bishonen. Yes, even so late in the day the markets were open and modestly busy, completely ordinary. Nothing truly out of place.
"Mama, can I get some candy now?" Aly asked suddenly.
Alanna smiled. "No Aly, it's almost time for dinner, you don't want to spoil your appetite."
Arkarian watched them with a quiet smile, remembering how Linla had once treated him like that, in careful, watchful worry. Now he treated Phoenix in much the same way, since the teenage girl had yet to develop a maturity skill of her own. Speaking of the halfling... "Where did Phoenix run off to?"
The small Lioness glanced up from her daughter, frowning. "She was standing right here only a few moments ago. Maybe she saw something and went to explore it." The woman shrugged, not really worried about the San in such a small town.
The guardian was not so easily swayed. "This does not bode well." He replied, feeling something wrong in his heart. "Come, Alanna, Phoenix is in trouble." He ran off.
Alanna's frown deepened, she lifted the chibi into her arms and followed him, "That man. Always leaving half a question to his answers."
Sure enough, both Alanna and Arkarian rounded the corner to find quite a crowd gathered to see something blocked from view. Arkarian fearing the worse and Alanna fearing Arkarian had lost his mind, the two pushed their way to the front to see what the excitement was about.
It was a trainer. A red haired teenager dressed in the black goth style favored by anime trainers held a black and silver bish-ball in one hand, yelling at a figure collapsed on the ground. Then there was Phoenix and the newbie from the morning, Amanda, standing not far. They were yelling.
"Stay out of this halfling! Like you would understand, he's my Bishonen and I can do what I want." The trainer screeched, motioning to the unconscious Bishonen on the ground before them.
"I don't care what I understand or not. It's wrong and you know it. Where is your honor as a trainer? Treating your Bishonen like a thing rather than a living, breathing person." The girl called back, her voice strangely serious, almost calm but radiating a cool anger toward the hothead.
"Why you little bitch. How dare you think you can tell me how to train my Bishonen! A stupid little halfling like you? Your one of them anyway." The trainer looked ready to pounce on the other girl.
"Hey!" Protested Amanda, standing up for her friend. "Don't you dare insult Phoenix's heritage. Anyone can tell what your doing is wrong!"
"And you, Newbie, you think you can do better than me? I'd like to see you try training a strong Bishonen! It's not that easy."
"Then riddle me this, dear trainer." Alanna growled, stepping between the girls. "How did Linla Laylas become Gym Master for this sector and Micheal Starbrick become lead master journeyman of his sector if both have never so much as laid a finger on their Bishonen in harm?"
"I- I don't know!" The trainer yelped, turning a brilliant shade of red. "They're cheaters, all of them. It's impossible to raise a Bishonen without force."
Wrong move. "Don't you dare say that about my mother!" Phoenix yelled. "For your information, Linla Laylas is one of the greatest trainers in all the world because she truly loves Bishonen with all her heart and she cares for everyone. Unlike you who hides behind force to get what you want. You're a disgrace to the Trainers! It's people like you that cause the civil wars in this world."
Arkarian ignored them, holding Aly and kneeling next to the unconscious Bishonen, taking in his bruises. Other than a few bruises on his arms and a black eye beginning to color, he seemed perfectly fine, but Arkarian knew Bishonen could take far more damage than humans without anything to show for it. He did not recognize him, a gray haired youth of the San stage with skin an unearthly pale color. Elvish in appearance, like a china doll that might break under the rough touch of a child's hands. Had broken.
"What is going on here?!" An authoritive voice interrupted and all attention turned to the newcomers. The local gym leader, the captain of the city guard, and a squad of patrolmen all stood at the front of a quickly vanishing crowd. The captain stepped forward. "You, halfling." He directed his attention to Phoenix. "If I find out you've disrupted the peace here I'll have you out of this city without a pass faster than you can say 'Broken Bish-balls.'"
The trainer took this opportunity to verbally assault Phoenix again. "Yes, that's exactly what that stupid hybrid was doing, she came between me and my Bishonen!"
Amanda opened her mouth to defend her friend but paused when she felt a hand grip her arm as Phoenix shook her head in warning. Instead it was Alanna who spoke. "The trainer was abusing her Bishonen, Phoenix is not the kind to pass someone in need by."
The gym leader contemplated this before remarking softly. "I'd have to say I'm more inclined to believe the Bishojo of a highly respected trainer such as Micheal Starbrick over a trainer of questionable reputation such as this."
The captain nodded, scanning the crowd. "Is it true then, did the trainer give reason for this dispute?" He questioned. Some of the remaining spectators were reluctant to nod, not wanting to betray a fellow trainer but most were simply glad to see justice served on the streets. "I see then. All the facts are clear. I hereby decree this trainer under arrest and her Bishonen and equipment seized, under the suspicion of mistreatment to Bishonen and disrupting the peace. Guards!"
As the guards finished cleaning up the mess, and a healer knelt beside Arkarian to check over the San staged Bishonen's wounds, Amanda turned to Phoenix. "Why did you stop me? Do you always let people walk over you like that? He had no right to insult you like that."
Phoenix smiled cheerfully. "Don't worry so much, Amanda. It's because I'm a halfling, they have every right to feel that way."
She wasn't sure what the halfling was playing at so she ignored it, turning to the group gathered around the unconscious Bishonen. "I wonder if that Bishonen will be all right."
Her companion simply sighed in answer as the afternoon breeze rustled their hair.
Gah! The chapter got to long. I'm so sorry, you'll have to wait 'til next time of course you now already know what will happen, but you don't know how severe it was. Ah, no, Kingdom of Glass is not turning into a drama, it's just kicking off... at a very slow pace. Actually, for having about ten to fifteen pages I'm kinda moving pretty quickly, we have a lot of ground to cover and I know it's going to be at least twenty pages long, definitely longer. I have a lot of ground to cover.
Wee, I just noticed that everything I needed to talk about got moved to Chapter Four. Oh, that's right, there's one character aspect here.
Phoenix, who starts off as very carefree can actually be serious, don't you have other sides? So does she, she hasn't changed, just shown a different part of herself.
New Characters.
Gawl and Misami: Generator Gawl. In the anime, if I've got my characters straight, Misami is the daughter of Gawl's landlady, the two are the same age and constantly argue with each other to hide the fact that they're in love. A bit of inside humor on my part. Misami loves cooking and she and Gawl always fight over that.
Mika: A bit more humor on my part. Mika Seido from Gene Shaft. Pretend it's a Hiroto she's bent on defeating and you'll have another joke. Mika also fights with the person she ends up loving in her anime, Hiroto, because she blames him for her best friend's death and doesn't actually forgive him until he nearly dies.
Celes and Edgar: Final Fantasy III (or VI if you play Playstation), Old video games, I'm obsessed with them. Celes is a general for the enemy who betrays them and joins up with the Returners, the rebel movement. Edgar is the flirtatious King of Figaro, a young man set on winning the heart of every pretty lady that walks by.
Amanda: By now we know Amanda, the shy bookworm who knows nothing of anime. She doesn't have an e-mail account and as such needed a different way to enter the world. Still, she is normally polite and well mannered but has a wicked sense of humor and oftens thinks sarcastically. Still, you won't catch her voicing her opinion loudly, always modest and concerned for others.
Yeah, that's it, I think. Next time I have A LOT to talk about so I'll wrap it up.
Next Time:
Hello! Phoenix here. Everything is finally coming together, but the ending is far off. The fairy-tale takes an unexpected turn that does not include a dashing prince or a daring rescue. Of course, in real life there is a dashing prince, Yuki Sohma, and our 'daring rescue' is winding down to a close. How will Amanda take her newly rescued Bishonen after her image of perfection is shattered?
Leave a flame, Winter's on it's way. ;p
Lockea