The Kingdom of Glass
AN: I'm back, sorry for breaking the chapters up, here's the second part of chapter three presented as chapter four. It takes place where the other one left off.
Oh yeah, if anyone cares, the song Phoenix sings in chapter two is "Sigh on the Wind" from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.
Yamashira was the first reviewer for chapter three!!! Everyone give him a big round of applause, he beat Katt!
Thanks to:
Katt: Whatever... Is there anyone out there who thinks were the same person? I was thinking about that. An anonymous reviewer called Katt, well, we are identical, even our parents can't tell us apart, but You and I are most definitely two people.
Yamashira de'Ryu: Goodness, yes. All right, you win, I'm seriously thinking about it, I have to alter my plot to find a way to put you into the story, but I should have it figured out by the time I've finished researching your Bishonen. If all else fails, you'll travel in a party of either free Bishonen or with a trainer with your Bishonen. "Writing is an organic process." Just a little food for thought, I can't grow a weed in place of a flower, you know.
To answer your other declaration (question), Yes, I live in Washington. I moved to Island County a few months ago from Southern Maryland. Ask around for a girl from Pax and you might just find me (wink). Actually, a lot of people transfer from Pax to the Island so it'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
PeaceLoveOcelot: If Immortal Rain is a manga series I'll pick up a book of it from the mall next week or get it online. So you'll at least have Vash and Rain, besides, I want to check out these Animes, that's why I'm offering to take in all requests. Oh, and you said it's all over in your review... Well, the bad guy's gone but we still need a trainer for poor Yuki-san. After this chapter it'll be on to the next part: tournaments. Thanks for reviewing once again, you really brighten my day.
Everyone: Yes, all of you. Before I posted chapter three I had an average of two reviews per chapter in all of my stories. That's ten reviews total. Five of them were from Katt. Now, as it stands, Katt's reviews account for about 1/3 of the total reviews, let's all show my baby sis how reviewing is done, and keep it that way, or more, shall we?
This chapter is dedicated to the Winding Circle club. Sometimes you learn more from those you're supposed to be teaching. Dedicate Lark wishes everyone the best as we the Circle scatters to the far corners of the world.
Chapter Four: Mirrored Images
The young girl stiffened, closing her large blue eyes in concentration. "The trainer put a training spell on him, which is perfectly legal, but she left him with severe wounds, some of them several weeks old. it's very severe, I can feel his life leaving because of it." Then she screamed out. "Why didn't anyone stop that woman?! He could have died today! Any Bishonen can feel how bad it is!"
"What were they supposed to do?" It was the captain who spoke, a young man older than the girls but younger than Micheal, his dark hair kept short and neat and blue eyes alight with a secret smile. "It's easy for you to speak out, you exist to get in the way, its expected of you to interfere with trainers and their Bishonen, we rely on the half lings in the city to alert us of trouble."
"So you didn't think Phoenix was up the one causing the disturbance?" Amanda asked softly.
He smiled, "She did, didn't she? I knew that much, but if your asking if I really thought this lovely young lady is to blame, I'll tell you no. And it's not because she is the sector leader's daughter either, Lord knows those kids are a curse from Hell, no offense to you, Phoenix. Just call it gut instinct. When the world tells you something is wrong you sure better listen."
'No one's making any sense.' She complained silently. 'First Phoenix, now this guy, and what does he mean by 'the world' anyway?'
"Ahh, such a noisy evening it's been in this little town and it's still not over yet. We still need to hand the trainer's Bishonen over to another trainer and set free the healthy ones. I'm gonna be up late to night." The captain sighed, one gloved hand to his forehead. "Ah well, complaining never paid the bill. Why don't you two come with me to the clinic, I'm sure you'll be interested to know who we'll had this Bishonen's custody over to."
"Of course! That would be great." Phoenix cheered as the group started off. She, at least, knew that the healer would look over the Bishonen, and heal him enough to be moved safely to the clinic soon.
"I'm so lost. You rescue this Bishonen then hand him over to a different trainer? I think there's something wrong with this picture." Declared the black haired girl, her arms folded across her chest stubbornly.
"We can't very well let him go. Even if he could defend himself well enough to get to a secret city the Bishonen would still declare that we had not cleaned up after our kind and simply passed off our mess to them. No, it's best to ask a different trainer to take care of a sick Bishonen until they're better and ready to leave or decide to stay with the new trainer. If you ask me, I'd say our whole world's got one to many flaws in it, but what works keeps us from war. These days the world is dying so quickly one can only pray our peace will last."
'Again with the world thing.' The human thought, understanding one thing but still questioning another. "What's with the world being alive? What's that got to do with anything."
"Because the world is what protects us." Phoenix explained. "It makes the food grow, and protects the cities, the world decides who shall pass into our land as trainers and banish the ones who betray her trust. Conflict kills her though, and with each passing war she dies a little more. Now only those with Bishonen blood can feel her life beneath us."
'Finally, some answers.' They came upon the darkened little place marked by a sign declaring it a clinic and stepped forward through the sliding doors, greeting the secretary at the front desk before heading to a back room where they found Micheal, Link, Edgar, and Celes waiting.
"Ah, my niece returns from her adventures in the town." The tall dark-haired trainer greeted them warmly. "We heard the news from a trainer on the other side of town and came here to help get everything sorted out, well, to wait for you to return." He told Phoenix, then noticed Amanda behind him. "And who is this lovely young lady?"
"This is Amanda, a newbie, Arkarian and I met her in the woods this morning." Phoenix explained, taking a seat beside the older man.
"Ahh, pleased to meet you, Miss Amanda." Micheal nodded to the girl as she too took a seat on the other side of Phoenix.
"If introductions are finished," Interrupted the captain, "I have a proposition." He turned to Micheal. "The Bishonen left in my charge is in need of a new trainer, it would be an honor if a trainer in good standing, such as yourself, would take him on."
Micheal shook his head. "I'm afraid, Captain, I'll have to turn you down. I am honored you think so highly of me as to offer but I am raising a chibi up to Sama stage, I'm afraid I simply cannot take on another Bishonen, having four Samas, a Chibi, and now being charged with my niece and her Bishonen companion, it would be far too taxing."
"Great." The captain sighed dramatically, closing his eyes. "Back to the drawing board. Oh yes, it most definitely is going to be a long night."
"Perhaps Amanda would take him?" Micheal suggested with an almost innocent smile. "After all, she stood up for him, I think she deserves the chance to accept such an honor."
The captain turned to face him, surprise shown on his youthful face. "A newbie who has barely been in this world a single day? I sense there's something you're not telling me, Micheal."
His smile broadened. "Ahh, but Amanda is no ordinary trainer. She came through from a book in her world. The World must believe strongly in her as a trainer, or it would not have gone through the effort to bring her here."
"Hmm. All right." He turned to Amanda, contemplating.
"Of course, Amanda won't be alone to raise him." The older trainer added quickly. "She may travel with my party for a few months to learn the ropes. It's a rare and rewarding opportunity." He told the girl.
"I'll help!" Phoenix cheered then blushed as she realized all eyes turned to her and added, "I learned from mother, she taught me to train Bishonen so I could maybe become a trainer's assistant. I know some medicines and some training techniques to strengthen trust."
The captain smiled, 'Yes, this might just work out.' and, hiding a growing amusement at the group, said. "It's quite a challenge, as you saw, trainers don't have it easy often Bishonen can be stubborn. Are you up to it?"
"If you aren't careful, Amanda, you'll knot the yarn, take your time and you can do anything."
She closed her eyes, thinking it over. Challenges, everything was a challenge, wasn't it?"
"Oh, Amanda, the pie crust needs a little more salt, don't worry, this tastes good anyway."
"Amanda, don't worry so much, it's just a little spelling test, I know you can do it!"
Her life had been riddled with challenges to learn anything, from cooking and crocheting to math and spelling tests. Patience was the key, and she was a patient person. She opened them. "Sure. I think I can do it, and everyone else thinks I can, I'll only know until I try. I want to help this Bishonen."
"We lift each other up, no one shines without someone pointing the spotlight on them."
"All right then! Paperwork, paperwork, a lot less paperwork! Yes!" Cheered the captain, leaving quickly, ready to get things going. The others decided to follow him, Amanda somewhat apprehensively about the whole thing.
Arkarian, Alanna, Aly, and a nurse of Bishojo origins were waiting for them. The nurse, a Millerna by her long blond hair tied away from her face, spoke first. "We brought the Bishonen here and identified him as a San staged Yuki Sohma from Fruits Basket, his trainer had fourteen Bishonen and was a trainer of seven months. Yuki's her newest one."
"That explains everything." Micheal mused, caressing his chin thoughtfully.
"How so?" Amanda asked.
His gaze flickered over the new trainer, "Oh, a newbie who takes on to much at once. Surely you've been overloaded like this before. It can often lead to... well, this. The same can be said for abusive parents."
'This place.' Her thoughts raced, in silent promise. 'I'll never understand it, but I'm going to try.' She glanced over to Phoenix, talking animatedly with Edgar. 'To understand Phoenix, definitely, she's certainly not like other girls.'
Almost as if reading her thoughts, Phoenix bounced over to her, all smiles and cheer at a happy ending. "You're first Bishonen, aren't you excited? They need to make the transfer tonight, I want to see how it works."
"A transfer?"
"Yeah, that's an authorized exchange of Bishonen that does not include recapturing a Bishonen, only the police can do it because otherwise everyone would be like, 'Oh, you have an Inuyasha and I have a Hiei, wanna switch?' It's only used in cases like this."
"Oh, I think I remember this from orientation, it's a complicated rule of the world, right? Like Arkarian's away pendant, it defies the laws in a manner deemed legal by the guardians." 'For once, something I know!'
Phoenix laughed, "You got it! See, it's not so difficult to figure it out. Ahh, hang on, is your dex beeping?"
Sure enough, the small black device on Amanda's belt was beeping softly, the same flat tone as an alarm clock. She grabbed it, flipping it open to stop the beeping. "Amanda Trent, age 16, Bishonen: 1, name: Yuki Sohma, nickname?"
"Wha...?" The trainer trailed off.
"Do you want to nickname your Bishonen?" Phoenix asked.
"Oh. None." She told the dex.
"Nickname: none, member of a party of two. First Party member: Phoenix Laylas, halfling, stage: San, Bishonen companions: one, Arkarian Sama. Second party member: Micheal Starbrick, Master Journeyman, Bishonen companions: five, Alanna Sama, Link Sama, Celes Sama, Edgar Sama, Aly Chibi."
"Wow. That's the most boring display of information yet." Amanda sighed, closing and replacing her dex after confirming the information.
"That's the dex for you, looks like they didn't waste any time transferring Yuki to you. I can't wait to meet him when he wakes up." The younger girl cheered.
'Younger, yes, probably.' Amanda thought, "Hey, Phoenix, if I might ask, how old are you?"
"I'm a San." Replied the half ling obliviously.
"That's not what I mean, what's your age? How many years have you lived?"
"Oh. I'm fifteen, I guess, I think that's the age Mom told me I was." She contemplated, "Yes, fifteen sounds right, maybe fourteen but fifteen seems closest."
"Oh." She watched the girl for a few more minutes as she wandered over to Link, talking with the quiet Bishonen who seemed open and relaxed with the girl. A secret smile graced her lips faintly, tugging the corners only just the slightest. 'I don't know what kind of chaos I've fallen into, but whatever mess I'm in, I really hope it's not a dream, even of it's not perfect, at least I'm getting on better.'
"Just think, maybe one day you'll fall into one of your books, Amanda, and live a dream life."
It's a dream all right.
Weeks passed to days as the wedding drew near, the young princess spent long hours staring out from her glass window to the far horizon, beyond the city stretches, to the wasteland in a silent promise. 'One day,' she told herself, 'I'll make it up to you. I'll find you.'
Gah! Lot's to talk about! Yes, a reference to two Animes I, pathetically enough, know next to nothing about, Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakisho. I know enough about Hiei (who Erin is obsessed with) and Inuyasha (Who Tall and Stacie are obsessed with) to know they kinda make a fair trade: Demons, hot tempered, hard headed. Other than that, I'm lost. Like I said, boring.
So, moving on.
Millerna: An Asturian princess from Vision of Escaflowne. She's a tomboy who wears pants, rides horses like a man, and practices medicine. Still, throughout most the series, Millerna wears a dress. Anyway, she studied medicine to learn to help people and is skilled at what she does, serving as the 'groups' medic.
Yuki: He was made to beat up, I swear! After living through Akito's abuse in the series, and overcoming it with amazing strength (hence the title of the last chapter), I think Yuki can take a few (okay, more than a few) punches. He doesn't exactly talk about it in the anime, so he won't really talk about it in the story. He should be normal Yuki in a few chapters.
Inuyahsa
Hiei
(I'm assuming you normal folk don't need an intro for those two. I don't know enough anyway)
Aspects: Not much except the whole Transfer program. Yes, I am well away I'm defying everything Songwind spent so long working out but since I've already broken away from her world, might as well run with it.
The title in this chapter also has meaning (you thought I named these on a lark?) Mirrored Images. No matter which world she's in, Amanda is faced with challenge and the strength from her past gives her courage for the future.
Next time on The Kingdom of Glass: Hi! I'm sure you remember me, Amanda. Well, finally we've set off and as I've quickly discovered a Bishonen isn't a Bishonen if they don't have a talent, some stranger than others! The weirdest part of our travel's? Our lovely author didn't make them up.
Happy Halloween everyone! Be safe, have fun, and don't let the Pullyaup (sp?) school distract canceling the party get you down, we're all just a bunch of idiots up here! I'm a Sorceress, Katt's Sandrilene fa Toren from Circle of Magic (Tamora Pierce), what are you?
Lockea