Hey everybody! It's your favorite drunken writer! (song in back: everybody in the club get TIPSY!) School's out and I'm happier than a clam at high tide. One note, to everyone reading this: I have enough trouble with English. So why do they stick me in SpanisH? (cries) I don't understand other languages! English barely makes any sense to me as it is. Hope that class doesn't bring my GPA down too much....
Anyway, you guys ain't here to listen to me bitch (though if you want, I'd be more than happy to oblige you!:) So, Silver will stuff his linguistic problems into a small, dark place (shoving noises) and get on with the work. A note to reviewers....
Sabriel: As always, thanks for your wonderful reviews! It's a pleasure to read'em. Hope you like this chapter- and that you've figured out who is pursuing our favorite trio of heroes...
Mal: Thanks for reviewing! Glad to see you're sticking with this story. You should get a ff.net account, my friend- they make keeping up with reviews/stories so much easier. I know- I reviewed for forever before finally getting my lazy ass to hotmail and getting an account, then going to Register at ff.net.
Peachrocks- Cliffhanger solved! Here you go. Thanks for the kudos!
Reiko5- Another new reviewer! Wow! People must really love me for this stuff... thanks for reviewing! Next chapter is up as of now!
Sinister Papaya Fondue- Glad to have you onboard! Thanks for the comments on Kilik and Mitsurugi. Both are new character types for me, and it's good to know I haven't completely screwed them up.
Well, enough's enough. Time to get this show on the road.... but first! The classic opening line!
"SHOWTIME!"
Chapter 14
The Rain of Life
Mercenary Depot, Firecat, Spain. Daylight.
Lenin, Ivan, and the clerk stared at Siegfried and in particular at Ivy, who had withdrawn almost completely into herself. Her face was utterly blank, like stone.
" What is it?" the clerk asked, hand reaching down to clutch a small dagger under the counter. He hoped like hell that these two hadn't suddenly decided to go insane. The mercenaries in the outside crowd, perhaps having been struck by the same thought, shifted their grips as well. Two against this many wouldn't be much of a fight, but that was no reason not to be prepared.
It was Siegfried who reacted first. Understandable, since the name had been that of Ivy's father, not his.
" Sorry. It's just that..." Siegfried shook his head. Coming up with a lie as fast as he could considering the circumstances, he said, " Our family was killed several years ago by Cervantes. It was a shock to hear his name. But isn't he dead?"
" He is," the clerk said, not releasing his grip on the dagger at all. " However, it seems that every wannabe pirate in Spain has suddenly decided to try and impersonate Cervantes. Many of them are quite good at it. Of course, none are quite as powerful as he was, but the peasants don't know that. It's increased their revenue greatly. Come in to a town, claim to be Cervantes, and scare them into paying tribute. The Spanish Navy has been having great trouble curbing the problem lately."
Mind reeling with the very idea of someone impersonating Cervantes ([Who in the hell would want to?] Siegfried thought numbly), Siegfried asked, " Can I see the papers?"
The clerk reluctantly handed them over, keeping his good hand beneath the desk and on the knife. Siegfried looked at the papers and cursed. They were in Spanish. He turned to Ivy and almost asked her to read them, then thought better of it. As he turned to ask Ivan to read them, he felt more than saw Ivy reach over and pluck them from his grasp. He turned and looked at her. She said not one word as she read over the report and memorized it. Looking up, she said, " May we take these?"
The clerk shrugged, a hard gesture when one's hand was stuck fast on something out of sight. " Sure. We have multiple copies."
Turning to walk out of the crowd, Ivy's face was blank as stone. Thoughts of suicide flickering nervously through his head, Siegfried followed her. A few minutes after their departure, business returned to normal. Ivan shook his head and looked to Lenin.
" That was strange, wasn't it?"
" Manhunter's Rest", an inn of Firecat, Spain. Seven minutes later.
Ivy sat numbly on the edge of the bed, this latest reminder of her father's status weighing heavily on her mind. As she stared down at the paper in her hands, the mocking laughing crying voice in the back of her mind, the one that had departed after she and Siegfried had talked a few days ago, reappeared with a chuckle.
[ Ah, poor little Ivy!] it said, gleeful as ever, but always, always, with that faint sound of tears in it's voice, [ And you thought it was all over! That, even though it hurt, you might just be able to forget about it. But no! You can't, Ivy! You can't!]
[ Shut up,] Ivy thought glumly, staring at the paper. [ Leave me be.]
[ Oh, I think not,] it said, and the sound of tears, like the soft tinkling of broken glass, seemed to become stronger. [ I think not. You see, Ivy, I can no more help mocking you than you can escape your father! Look at this! Your father was so evil that others impersonate him to make themselves more terrifying! Look at this! They say mimicry is the highest form of compliment, but what a black thing to be proud of! Your father...]
And here the voice broke down into weak, crying sobs of laughter. Ivy closed her eyes, but found no respite behind closed eyelids.
" Ivy."
Ivy kept her eyes closed. She couldn't concentrate on what Siegfried was saying now; he may have been through something horrible, but this had to be worse. After all, what was in his past? Thievery? Murder? A million petty sins, all washed away by the flood tide of evil that was her father. They were nothing compared to the creature that was her father.
" Listen to me."
She kept her eyes closed.
" Listen to me, dammit!"
She finally opened her eyes and turned her head. Siegfried stood there, face both dismayed and worried. His eyes bore a hunting look, as if searching for something in his mind.
" Look. This is one hell of a shock, especially after what we've been through. But it's just bad luck. Ivy, let's take a different bounty. The clerk said that Cervantes is dead. These are just impersonators. They don't matter..."
" Of course they do," Ivy said sadly. " Of course they do. They're a reminder of how evil he truly was, aren't they? After all, you don't imitate someone because they were somewhat evil or partially evil. You imitate them because they were pure evil."
Siegfried turned his hands palm up and raised them in supplication. " Ivy, listen to yourself! Sure, Cervantes was evil, I'm not denying that. But... it wasn't really his fault. It was the Soul Edge. He couldn't control them."
" How do you know that?" Ivy asked. " Have you ever wielded them? Have you ever picked one up?"
Siegfried almost felt like breaking out in cynical laughter- without meaning to, Ivy had just struck upon his great secret. But he couldn't tell her that, not now nor ever. That was a secret he would take to his grave.
" No," he lied, " but we ourselves know the power of the Soul Edge! Look at the shards we gathered, Ivy! They were just shards, bits and pieces of the broken Soul Edge, and still they tried to take over our minds! Imagine what the entire blade could do! And Cervantes didn't have just one sword; he had both of them. Ivy, your father didn't stand a chance. Even if he had been a noble and good man instead of a pirate, he wouldn't have been able to resist both swords. It was the swords, Ivy, not your father."
Belatedly realizing he shouldn't be saying that last part so freely (especially in a town full of mercenaries and bounty hunters who would love to claim they'd captured the child of Cervantes) Siegfried dropped his hands and shook his head.
" Ivy. It wasn't Cervantes' fault. That's little comfort, I know, but the only comfort I have to give. And even if it had been Cervantes' fault, that was him. You are you, Ivy. Daughter of British nobles. A mercenary and an Alchemist. A woman I respect. Nothing more, nothing less."
Ivy looked at him, then shook her head. " But still... this is a huge shock. Coming so soon after what we learned...."
Siegfried shook his head. " I know. But it's alright. We'll get over it, soon enough. Go on with our lives."
Ivy turned her head forward and leaned it back, looking at the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she sighed and said, " Yes. I believe we might. But the road is hard."
" It always is," SIegfried said truthfully.
JUst then there was a knock on the door. Siegfried turned and opened it, doorknob squeaking in his hand. On the other side was Ivan.
" Are you two... alright?" Ivan asked. He peered over Siegfried's shoulders, looking at Ivy, who still sat on the bed with her head laid back on her shoulders. Her eyes were still closed.
" We're fine," Siegfried said, wondering whether he was lying or telling the truth. " Uh... we've decided to take a different bounty. Can you lead us back to the mercenary depot?"
" Yeah," Ivan said. " Want me to wait outside?"
" That'd be nice," Siegfried said.
" Alright," Ivan said, turning and walking off.
When he'd left, Siegfried turned to Ivy and said, " Are you alright, Ivy? I mean, we could wait a while if..." Siegfried stopped rather pathetically, not really knowing what to say or do.
" I'm fine," Ivy said. " For now, at least." She got up and turned to the door, opening it and looking over her shoulder to Siegfried.
" Coming?" she said, and a sad smile crossed her face.
Mercenary Depot, Firecat, Spain. Five minutes later.
Ivy and Siegfried found that the large crowd had dissipated slightly, now that many of those gathered had received the bounties they wanted and were off to prepare for the trip (or had returned to their homes empty-handed to try again later). It took Ivan only a few seconds to return to the front of the group and accost one of the clerks. It ended up being the same paranoid clerk who had waited on them earlier. He looked up and fairly squeaked in surprise.
" Hello," he said, hand immediately going to his knife. It was going to be a bad day today, he could tell already.
" Hey," Ivan said, handing him back the papers on the Cervantes impersonator, " these two want a different bounty. Got any others?"
" That depends," the clerk said, looking down at the stacks of papers below him. " Where would you like to go?"
" Greece," Ivy said. Siegfried looked at her- she apparently hadn't forgotten about Fygul Cestemus. That would have been their next stop anyway... to see why the insane Grecian order wanted Ivy dead. " Greece would be nice."
The clerk nodded. " Alright. Let's see.... yeah, I have a warrant here for someone in Greece. Hmmm, it's a completely new bounty, a criminal new to the game.... Won't be worth much. New guys never are."
" That's all right," Siegfried said. " We don't need much money as it is."
The clerk nodded. " Okay then. Here's your warrant."
He handed them a picture of a young girl in fighting gear. Beneath it, the words " WANTED FOR ROBBERY AND THE DEATHS OF TWO MEN" appeared in English. Below that was her name.
" Cassandra Alexandra," the clerk said. " The warrant says to head to Athens, Greece, for information on the bounty."
Plains surrounding remains of the Town of the Wind God, near present-day Tajikistan. Same time.
Seung Mina looked all about herself, amazed at what she was seeing. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people, some with horrible wounds, most of them burned, and all of
them tired, just walking about in a daze. They were heading north in a general pattern, though the shamblings and wanderings of wearied individuals was causing it to spread out more and more as it headed into Russia. They were covering the road she had been walking on when she found them. As Seung Mina looked them over, she saw two people who were obviously priests leading a small band across the road. Seung Mina went over to talk to them.
" Ma'am?" she shouted at one of them. " Sir? Can I speak with you?"
One of the robed leaders turned around at her call. The old woman's eyes were dull and listless, and her droning voice matched her eyes. " What do you wish of us, traveler? Can you not see that we are suffering, and in our suffering have nothing to give? What do you want, from such as us?"
Seung Mina, taken slightly aback by this calm, slightly mad greeting, blinked and said, " I was wondering if you'd seen somebody."
" I've seen many people," the woman said, voice in a monotone. " I saw a lot of them burning. Shrieking and flapping their arms as Death came for them. I saw some people get caught in a fiery breeze and just burn away to nothing. I saw many things. Does that answer your question?"
Seung Mina raised her eyebrow and stepped back slightly from the old woman. She was a naturally cheery, optimistic person, and this quiet, depressed, somehow terrifying madness dismayed her. " Uh... he has red hair, and a real grave expression. Doesn't smile much."
" Do any of us smile much anymore?" the old woman said. " But I know of whom you speak. A brave young man, without whom many of us here would not have made it. Though I do not know if that is a commendable thing, or if we should hate him, for allowing us to live where once we might have died and known peace."
Seung Mina blinked in utter confusion, both thrown off by the fact that the old woman knew who she was talking about and the "brave young man" part. " Huh?"
" Thou knowest nothing," the old woman said, " and I shall not teach ye. Come. We must leave, and sing our songs for the dead.... let their ashes blow in the wind and see the world, and their tears become raindrops..."
The old woman tunred and shuffled away, leading her little group in a chant that scared the hell out of Seung Mina. It sounded like the chanting of lost souls to her, of creatures that have found the night and cannot go back to the day. Shaken, she walked off to see if anyone else knew of Yunsung or his whereabouts.
She began asking passersby the same question she'd asked the old woman, and finally someone gave her the answer she needed.
" I saw him," a young man told her, neck burned and melted where flames had touched his skin. " Yunsung. That's what they called him at the banquet, right before we ate. And before the village caught on fire."
" What happened?" Seung Mina asked, glad to find someone who could talk about it.
" I don't know," he said truthfully. " One minute we were eating, then the next everything was on fire. Chunks of burning flame were falling from the sky. They looked like teardrops... they started hitting the street. Lot of people were killed. Yunsung and that samurai friend of his-"
" Samurai?" Seung Mina asked, bewildered. Didn't Yunsung know that the Japanese were the enemy? Korea was in a war with her right now! He couldn't possibly be stupid enough to befriend a samurai, could he? Unless-
[ Unless what?] Seung Mina thought. [ He was betraying us? Why would he do that? It's not like he knows anything...]
But the White Storm was not just a treasure of her family. It was a Korean national treasure. One Japan would dearly love to get its hands on.
[ Still,] Seung Mina thought uneasily, [ he wouldn't betray us, would he? I mean, he's loyal to Korea...]
[ Right?]
Or was he? How much did Seung Mina know about Yunsung? How much did anyone really know about him? About that mysterious boy-man who had left with the White Storm in the middle of the night, no explanations, no answers, just leaving? How much did she know about him?
Despite the complete illogic of the thought, it stuck in her head. She knew, of course, that Yunsung would never betray Korea- and if he did, the worst that could happen was Korea would get embarassed by the loss of the White Storm treasure- and that there was no reason for him to give anything up, even if he had something to give up. He would not betray his homeland.
But still, she wondered.
" Yeah, a samurai. Big hair-do, looked like leaves on a tree, long sword- you know, a samurai. Anyway, him and the samurai broke open part of the wall around town after it caught on fire. Most of the people went out that way. The others got burned alive. What you see here is what's left of the town. Not much, as you can see."
" Is he still here?"
" No," the man replied. " He and the samurai left to head north. I heard them say something about finding out what had happened. I doubt they'll find it. I think the gods laid a judgement on the town. That creepy bitch and her cronies," and here the young man pointed to the still-chanting priestess and those gathered about her," pissed off the gods somehow. And look what happened."
The young man shook his head. Shouldering his pack again, he left Seung Mina with these words.
" I tell you, it's useless to fight Fate."
-R & R, my friends! And don't worry; the situation with Cassandra will be made clear soon enough. But you might be surprised... if you aren't already. See you soon!
Anyway, you guys ain't here to listen to me bitch (though if you want, I'd be more than happy to oblige you!:) So, Silver will stuff his linguistic problems into a small, dark place (shoving noises) and get on with the work. A note to reviewers....
Sabriel: As always, thanks for your wonderful reviews! It's a pleasure to read'em. Hope you like this chapter- and that you've figured out who is pursuing our favorite trio of heroes...
Mal: Thanks for reviewing! Glad to see you're sticking with this story. You should get a ff.net account, my friend- they make keeping up with reviews/stories so much easier. I know- I reviewed for forever before finally getting my lazy ass to hotmail and getting an account, then going to Register at ff.net.
Peachrocks- Cliffhanger solved! Here you go. Thanks for the kudos!
Reiko5- Another new reviewer! Wow! People must really love me for this stuff... thanks for reviewing! Next chapter is up as of now!
Sinister Papaya Fondue- Glad to have you onboard! Thanks for the comments on Kilik and Mitsurugi. Both are new character types for me, and it's good to know I haven't completely screwed them up.
Well, enough's enough. Time to get this show on the road.... but first! The classic opening line!
"SHOWTIME!"
Chapter 14
The Rain of Life
Mercenary Depot, Firecat, Spain. Daylight.
Lenin, Ivan, and the clerk stared at Siegfried and in particular at Ivy, who had withdrawn almost completely into herself. Her face was utterly blank, like stone.
" What is it?" the clerk asked, hand reaching down to clutch a small dagger under the counter. He hoped like hell that these two hadn't suddenly decided to go insane. The mercenaries in the outside crowd, perhaps having been struck by the same thought, shifted their grips as well. Two against this many wouldn't be much of a fight, but that was no reason not to be prepared.
It was Siegfried who reacted first. Understandable, since the name had been that of Ivy's father, not his.
" Sorry. It's just that..." Siegfried shook his head. Coming up with a lie as fast as he could considering the circumstances, he said, " Our family was killed several years ago by Cervantes. It was a shock to hear his name. But isn't he dead?"
" He is," the clerk said, not releasing his grip on the dagger at all. " However, it seems that every wannabe pirate in Spain has suddenly decided to try and impersonate Cervantes. Many of them are quite good at it. Of course, none are quite as powerful as he was, but the peasants don't know that. It's increased their revenue greatly. Come in to a town, claim to be Cervantes, and scare them into paying tribute. The Spanish Navy has been having great trouble curbing the problem lately."
Mind reeling with the very idea of someone impersonating Cervantes ([Who in the hell would want to?] Siegfried thought numbly), Siegfried asked, " Can I see the papers?"
The clerk reluctantly handed them over, keeping his good hand beneath the desk and on the knife. Siegfried looked at the papers and cursed. They were in Spanish. He turned to Ivy and almost asked her to read them, then thought better of it. As he turned to ask Ivan to read them, he felt more than saw Ivy reach over and pluck them from his grasp. He turned and looked at her. She said not one word as she read over the report and memorized it. Looking up, she said, " May we take these?"
The clerk shrugged, a hard gesture when one's hand was stuck fast on something out of sight. " Sure. We have multiple copies."
Turning to walk out of the crowd, Ivy's face was blank as stone. Thoughts of suicide flickering nervously through his head, Siegfried followed her. A few minutes after their departure, business returned to normal. Ivan shook his head and looked to Lenin.
" That was strange, wasn't it?"
" Manhunter's Rest", an inn of Firecat, Spain. Seven minutes later.
Ivy sat numbly on the edge of the bed, this latest reminder of her father's status weighing heavily on her mind. As she stared down at the paper in her hands, the mocking laughing crying voice in the back of her mind, the one that had departed after she and Siegfried had talked a few days ago, reappeared with a chuckle.
[ Ah, poor little Ivy!] it said, gleeful as ever, but always, always, with that faint sound of tears in it's voice, [ And you thought it was all over! That, even though it hurt, you might just be able to forget about it. But no! You can't, Ivy! You can't!]
[ Shut up,] Ivy thought glumly, staring at the paper. [ Leave me be.]
[ Oh, I think not,] it said, and the sound of tears, like the soft tinkling of broken glass, seemed to become stronger. [ I think not. You see, Ivy, I can no more help mocking you than you can escape your father! Look at this! Your father was so evil that others impersonate him to make themselves more terrifying! Look at this! They say mimicry is the highest form of compliment, but what a black thing to be proud of! Your father...]
And here the voice broke down into weak, crying sobs of laughter. Ivy closed her eyes, but found no respite behind closed eyelids.
" Ivy."
Ivy kept her eyes closed. She couldn't concentrate on what Siegfried was saying now; he may have been through something horrible, but this had to be worse. After all, what was in his past? Thievery? Murder? A million petty sins, all washed away by the flood tide of evil that was her father. They were nothing compared to the creature that was her father.
" Listen to me."
She kept her eyes closed.
" Listen to me, dammit!"
She finally opened her eyes and turned her head. Siegfried stood there, face both dismayed and worried. His eyes bore a hunting look, as if searching for something in his mind.
" Look. This is one hell of a shock, especially after what we've been through. But it's just bad luck. Ivy, let's take a different bounty. The clerk said that Cervantes is dead. These are just impersonators. They don't matter..."
" Of course they do," Ivy said sadly. " Of course they do. They're a reminder of how evil he truly was, aren't they? After all, you don't imitate someone because they were somewhat evil or partially evil. You imitate them because they were pure evil."
Siegfried turned his hands palm up and raised them in supplication. " Ivy, listen to yourself! Sure, Cervantes was evil, I'm not denying that. But... it wasn't really his fault. It was the Soul Edge. He couldn't control them."
" How do you know that?" Ivy asked. " Have you ever wielded them? Have you ever picked one up?"
Siegfried almost felt like breaking out in cynical laughter- without meaning to, Ivy had just struck upon his great secret. But he couldn't tell her that, not now nor ever. That was a secret he would take to his grave.
" No," he lied, " but we ourselves know the power of the Soul Edge! Look at the shards we gathered, Ivy! They were just shards, bits and pieces of the broken Soul Edge, and still they tried to take over our minds! Imagine what the entire blade could do! And Cervantes didn't have just one sword; he had both of them. Ivy, your father didn't stand a chance. Even if he had been a noble and good man instead of a pirate, he wouldn't have been able to resist both swords. It was the swords, Ivy, not your father."
Belatedly realizing he shouldn't be saying that last part so freely (especially in a town full of mercenaries and bounty hunters who would love to claim they'd captured the child of Cervantes) Siegfried dropped his hands and shook his head.
" Ivy. It wasn't Cervantes' fault. That's little comfort, I know, but the only comfort I have to give. And even if it had been Cervantes' fault, that was him. You are you, Ivy. Daughter of British nobles. A mercenary and an Alchemist. A woman I respect. Nothing more, nothing less."
Ivy looked at him, then shook her head. " But still... this is a huge shock. Coming so soon after what we learned...."
Siegfried shook his head. " I know. But it's alright. We'll get over it, soon enough. Go on with our lives."
Ivy turned her head forward and leaned it back, looking at the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she sighed and said, " Yes. I believe we might. But the road is hard."
" It always is," SIegfried said truthfully.
JUst then there was a knock on the door. Siegfried turned and opened it, doorknob squeaking in his hand. On the other side was Ivan.
" Are you two... alright?" Ivan asked. He peered over Siegfried's shoulders, looking at Ivy, who still sat on the bed with her head laid back on her shoulders. Her eyes were still closed.
" We're fine," Siegfried said, wondering whether he was lying or telling the truth. " Uh... we've decided to take a different bounty. Can you lead us back to the mercenary depot?"
" Yeah," Ivan said. " Want me to wait outside?"
" That'd be nice," Siegfried said.
" Alright," Ivan said, turning and walking off.
When he'd left, Siegfried turned to Ivy and said, " Are you alright, Ivy? I mean, we could wait a while if..." Siegfried stopped rather pathetically, not really knowing what to say or do.
" I'm fine," Ivy said. " For now, at least." She got up and turned to the door, opening it and looking over her shoulder to Siegfried.
" Coming?" she said, and a sad smile crossed her face.
Mercenary Depot, Firecat, Spain. Five minutes later.
Ivy and Siegfried found that the large crowd had dissipated slightly, now that many of those gathered had received the bounties they wanted and were off to prepare for the trip (or had returned to their homes empty-handed to try again later). It took Ivan only a few seconds to return to the front of the group and accost one of the clerks. It ended up being the same paranoid clerk who had waited on them earlier. He looked up and fairly squeaked in surprise.
" Hello," he said, hand immediately going to his knife. It was going to be a bad day today, he could tell already.
" Hey," Ivan said, handing him back the papers on the Cervantes impersonator, " these two want a different bounty. Got any others?"
" That depends," the clerk said, looking down at the stacks of papers below him. " Where would you like to go?"
" Greece," Ivy said. Siegfried looked at her- she apparently hadn't forgotten about Fygul Cestemus. That would have been their next stop anyway... to see why the insane Grecian order wanted Ivy dead. " Greece would be nice."
The clerk nodded. " Alright. Let's see.... yeah, I have a warrant here for someone in Greece. Hmmm, it's a completely new bounty, a criminal new to the game.... Won't be worth much. New guys never are."
" That's all right," Siegfried said. " We don't need much money as it is."
The clerk nodded. " Okay then. Here's your warrant."
He handed them a picture of a young girl in fighting gear. Beneath it, the words " WANTED FOR ROBBERY AND THE DEATHS OF TWO MEN" appeared in English. Below that was her name.
" Cassandra Alexandra," the clerk said. " The warrant says to head to Athens, Greece, for information on the bounty."
Plains surrounding remains of the Town of the Wind God, near present-day Tajikistan. Same time.
Seung Mina looked all about herself, amazed at what she was seeing. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people, some with horrible wounds, most of them burned, and all of
them tired, just walking about in a daze. They were heading north in a general pattern, though the shamblings and wanderings of wearied individuals was causing it to spread out more and more as it headed into Russia. They were covering the road she had been walking on when she found them. As Seung Mina looked them over, she saw two people who were obviously priests leading a small band across the road. Seung Mina went over to talk to them.
" Ma'am?" she shouted at one of them. " Sir? Can I speak with you?"
One of the robed leaders turned around at her call. The old woman's eyes were dull and listless, and her droning voice matched her eyes. " What do you wish of us, traveler? Can you not see that we are suffering, and in our suffering have nothing to give? What do you want, from such as us?"
Seung Mina, taken slightly aback by this calm, slightly mad greeting, blinked and said, " I was wondering if you'd seen somebody."
" I've seen many people," the woman said, voice in a monotone. " I saw a lot of them burning. Shrieking and flapping their arms as Death came for them. I saw some people get caught in a fiery breeze and just burn away to nothing. I saw many things. Does that answer your question?"
Seung Mina raised her eyebrow and stepped back slightly from the old woman. She was a naturally cheery, optimistic person, and this quiet, depressed, somehow terrifying madness dismayed her. " Uh... he has red hair, and a real grave expression. Doesn't smile much."
" Do any of us smile much anymore?" the old woman said. " But I know of whom you speak. A brave young man, without whom many of us here would not have made it. Though I do not know if that is a commendable thing, or if we should hate him, for allowing us to live where once we might have died and known peace."
Seung Mina blinked in utter confusion, both thrown off by the fact that the old woman knew who she was talking about and the "brave young man" part. " Huh?"
" Thou knowest nothing," the old woman said, " and I shall not teach ye. Come. We must leave, and sing our songs for the dead.... let their ashes blow in the wind and see the world, and their tears become raindrops..."
The old woman tunred and shuffled away, leading her little group in a chant that scared the hell out of Seung Mina. It sounded like the chanting of lost souls to her, of creatures that have found the night and cannot go back to the day. Shaken, she walked off to see if anyone else knew of Yunsung or his whereabouts.
She began asking passersby the same question she'd asked the old woman, and finally someone gave her the answer she needed.
" I saw him," a young man told her, neck burned and melted where flames had touched his skin. " Yunsung. That's what they called him at the banquet, right before we ate. And before the village caught on fire."
" What happened?" Seung Mina asked, glad to find someone who could talk about it.
" I don't know," he said truthfully. " One minute we were eating, then the next everything was on fire. Chunks of burning flame were falling from the sky. They looked like teardrops... they started hitting the street. Lot of people were killed. Yunsung and that samurai friend of his-"
" Samurai?" Seung Mina asked, bewildered. Didn't Yunsung know that the Japanese were the enemy? Korea was in a war with her right now! He couldn't possibly be stupid enough to befriend a samurai, could he? Unless-
[ Unless what?] Seung Mina thought. [ He was betraying us? Why would he do that? It's not like he knows anything...]
But the White Storm was not just a treasure of her family. It was a Korean national treasure. One Japan would dearly love to get its hands on.
[ Still,] Seung Mina thought uneasily, [ he wouldn't betray us, would he? I mean, he's loyal to Korea...]
[ Right?]
Or was he? How much did Seung Mina know about Yunsung? How much did anyone really know about him? About that mysterious boy-man who had left with the White Storm in the middle of the night, no explanations, no answers, just leaving? How much did she know about him?
Despite the complete illogic of the thought, it stuck in her head. She knew, of course, that Yunsung would never betray Korea- and if he did, the worst that could happen was Korea would get embarassed by the loss of the White Storm treasure- and that there was no reason for him to give anything up, even if he had something to give up. He would not betray his homeland.
But still, she wondered.
" Yeah, a samurai. Big hair-do, looked like leaves on a tree, long sword- you know, a samurai. Anyway, him and the samurai broke open part of the wall around town after it caught on fire. Most of the people went out that way. The others got burned alive. What you see here is what's left of the town. Not much, as you can see."
" Is he still here?"
" No," the man replied. " He and the samurai left to head north. I heard them say something about finding out what had happened. I doubt they'll find it. I think the gods laid a judgement on the town. That creepy bitch and her cronies," and here the young man pointed to the still-chanting priestess and those gathered about her," pissed off the gods somehow. And look what happened."
The young man shook his head. Shouldering his pack again, he left Seung Mina with these words.
" I tell you, it's useless to fight Fate."
-R & R, my friends! And don't worry; the situation with Cassandra will be made clear soon enough. But you might be surprised... if you aren't already. See you soon!
