Hiya! It's me again! Here's the third chapter of my Golden Sun-fic.
Disclaimer: Too lazy to put it up, look at the previous chapters if ya must.
- Dream -
I stood somewhere. I don't know where, but it felt nice. It was warm and kinda… Empty.
"Hi, Firefly." I heard a familiar voice. I twirled around, and saw mom and dad. Even though it was a dream, I felt tears on my cheeks, rolling down. I walked to them.
"Mommy, daddy?" I asked and they nodded. I rushed to hug them both, and I actually did. I sniffled, and breathed in the scent. It was the same as always: A mixture of lavender from my mom and musk from my father. The safest scents I could think of.
"Honey, we know that this is confusing right now, but there's a reason for your existence here." Dad said and petted my hair. I nodded. I kinda figured it out when the great rock ball sent me with Garet and Isaac on this journey.
"We had noticed that you have some trouble with your weapon." Mom said and seated me to the "ground".
"Mom, that's the understatement of the year." I said and frowned. Why did she give me a weapon like that?
"It was your father's, you know." Mom said and I looked at dad. He smiled at me like he had always done.
"It was? How did you fight with it?" I asked and shot him a curious look.
"Quite easily, actually. It takes a while to master it, but with those two young men guiding you, I think you'll learn it just fine." He said and grinned.
"No, dad, I doubt either of them will be my boyfriend." I said and rolled my eyes.
"Hm. I could've sworn that red-head, Garet has a thing for you." He said and snapped his fingers.
"Dad, he has a thing for every girl his age." I said and glared at him. He chuckled at me and patted my back.
"Don't worry, Angelwings, you'll do fine. We'll aid you if it gets too difficult, okay?" He asked and I nodded.
"So mom, what's this about you being a sorceress?" I asked with a sly smile and poked her ribs. She was ticklish. Always has been.
So mom explained. She was a sorceress from Vale, a very powerful on at that. She used to be the guardian of Sol Sanctum. While on duty, mom met dad. Apparently, dad tried to solve the riddles inside Sol Sanctum. He was stopped by mom, and they fell in love at first sight. They were completely from different races, dad being one of the winged Phoenix-people. Even so, they got married and had me. I was a so called "Forbidden Child", a mix of two races. You see, the Phoenix were forbidden to mate with humans. This was some kind of a blood-line thing, but as the result of this, the tribe became quite internally bred. Dad didn't want to marry anyone from the tribe, so he ran away. And while solving the riddles, he met his "soul mate", as he put it (at this point I asked them to get a room. Too much lovey-dovey stuff). The people of Vale accepted dad into their community, and I was born seven months after their marriage (Funny, mom always drilled into my head: "No sex before marriage!" Guess I have to do as she says, not like she does.). The people of Vale loved my family, but the Phoenix-tribe attacked mom and dad. Mom fended them off, but before they went away, they swore they'd find me and kill me, no matter where I was, they would also attack the village I was in and destroy it. Mom wanted to protect the villagers AND her family, so she transported me and dad to Earth. There we lived, until my 17th birthday few weeks ago. Mom and dad died in a car crash a week later, and I sunk to depression. And the rest, as they say, is history.
"But aren't the Phoenix-people gonna try and wring my neck?" I asked after the story.
"Oh, no. They all died a few years ago to some kind of plaque." I sighed out of relief.
"But the harpies, closely related to the Phoenix-tribe, might." He stated matter-of-factly. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
"WHAAAT?" I shouted. It isn't exactly fun to hear your head is wanted on a silver-platter.
"Oh, it's almost time for you to wake up. We'll talk later, okay, honey? Bye bye!" Mom said, and both my parents gave me a kiss on my cheek. All became blurry, and I clenched my eyes shut a bit more.
Back to the cold, harsh reality -
"Wake up!" I heard Garet saying to me. I cracked one of my eyes open.
"Five more minutes…" I mumbled and turned my back on him. I felt the covers tugged off of me, and the warmth was gone. I sat up and hugged my body.
"C-cold…" I stuttered and glared at Garet, who rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. As I shivered rest of my warmth away, I remembered my dream. I think I spaced out thinking of my parents and lamenting over my sudden leap between realms, because the next thing I knew Isaac was shaking me and looking very worried.
"Aura? Come on, snap out of it!" He shook me and Garet was behind him looking at me very worried. I blinked a few times.
"I'm awake, I'm awake. What did I do?" I asked. Really, once I space out I don't even remember it.
"You had us woried when you spaced out like that!" Isaac said and checked my forehead if I had any temperature.
"Oh, my, I spaced out again?" I say and both Isaac and Garet fall on the floor anime-style. I just looked clueless. Anyways, after the guys picked themselves off the floor and I had completed my simplest of simple morning routines, we stepped downstairs and into the hotel lobby. There were some really shady looking characters. You know, the kinda guys that are ugly as hell and you wouldn't want to face them in a dark alleway? Anyways, as we decended, they stopped talking and eyed us in a strange way. Disturbing... I hid my petite frame behind Garet and Isaac, and walked out of the inn, after we left the key to the desk. As we walked out, the sun had barely began to shine, and morning dew still reamined on the small blades of grass and the green leaves of the trees and bushes. I breathed in the sweet and fresh morning air, and let it out in a sigh. I was full of energy, even though my pleasant sleep was so rudely interrupted. But hey, no one said adventuring would be a walk in the park.
"So, what do you say we stock upon potions and stuff?" I asked as I saw the shops opening and people waking up and filling the simple streets of Vault. The boys smiled at me, and we headed over to the nearest potion shop. As we entered, a girl my age greeted us.
"Good morning, travelers! How may I help you?" She asked and smiled at us. Isaac began dealing business with her, and Garet froze over. I noticed this, when I tried to get his attention. No answer was given back, and I looked between him and the girl. I realized the connection here; and so, I nudged him to his ribs with my elbow.
"Like what you see, Garet?" I whispered and grinned. He just flinched and kept looking at the girl.
"That's the girl I want to marry." He breathed out and kept staring. I rolled my eyes.
"You said that from the girl we saw when we entered Vault, in the inn and on the streets." I reminded him and stuck three fingers up as I counted.
"Yes, but she's different!" He argued and I sighed heavily.
"Have you heard? That boy from Hammet's caravan stayed behind!" Someone said behind the window. I perked up and listened. I remembered that someone in that caravan yesterday mentioned one "master Hammet".
"Yes, I did. It is said that he's responsible for the rod that went missing. I wouldn't wonder, the kid must be a demon." The two old hags behind the window conversated.
"Oh, I know! He propably stole it." The harps walked away with their baskets. Propably to get their brooms or something. And as Isaac was finishing up with his shopping, my simple little brain worked overtime. Stolen rod+strange, thief-like people+propably an innocent kidtrouble and a mystery. All I knew is, that my cat-like curiousity took over me, and I walked up to the counter.
"Excuse me, miss?" I asked politely. May it be another world, but politeness is the key!
"Yes? What can I do you for?" She asked and smiled.
"I heard that there was somekind of a rod stolen here, and a strange boy is held responsible for it. Is it true?" I asked as innocently as I could.
"Why yes, some rod was stolen. A boy that was with the caravan that just left from here was left behind with heavy hearts, that I can tell. Poor kid. I think he's innocent." I saw genuine feelings of remorse, pity and sorrow in her features. I thanked her from her information, and our little party of three walked outside.
"This thing about the kid kinda puzzles me..." I said and folded my arms behind my head. I grinned at the silence that followed. I know I've known the guys only for a few days, but I still know how to get their attention. Besides, Jenna gave me tips. Bwahaha. :)
"Aura, you are evil. Now I'm botherd by it." I heard Isaac sigh and talk in a defeated voice.
"So are we gonna look into it? Huh? Huh?" I jumped up and down.
"Curiousity killed the cat, Aura." Isaac said and pulled Garet from the potion shop, in to which he was trying to go.
"That's okay, I still have 7 lives left! Onwards!" I shouted and began walking towards the north end of Vault. Isaac sighed and dragged the very heavy Garet, as he protested. I bounced ahead of them, and asked from the townsfolk about this mystery kid, and where he might be. I was always given the answer, that he was at the mayor's residence. And thus, I bounced to the door and knocked on it. An elderly woman answered and smiled at me warmly.
"Hello, my dear. How can I help you?" She asked and opened the door a bit.
"Is this the mayor's house?" I asked and smiled at the woman. She seemed nice.
"Why yes it is. Are you here because of the boy?" She asked and looked at me with her eyes full of hope.
"Actually, yes we are. We are adventurers passing by, and we overheard that there was a theft here, and the boy got all the blame. We kinda wanted to investigate a bit." I said and acted cute. I don't like it, but apparently, I'm a good actress.
"Oh, that's marvelous! Please, come in." The woman let us in and closed the door.
"Ivan, the boy has been so down. That caravan was his family. Ah, here we are." The woman brought us to a big room, which had bookcases framing the room. A man was hunched over his desk, that was littered with papers, and the fireplace had a fire in it. A small boy was watching out from a window, and I saw sadness dance on his face. I excused myself and went to him. He didn't notice me, until I began talking.
"Hi." I said and stood next to him. He flinched and looked at me surprised.
"I'm Aura. Who are you?" I asked and smiled at him, while I was leaning back on my heels.
"I'm Ivan." The boy said and just looked at me confused.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" He asked shakily, and seemed to fear my answer. It was my turn to look confused.
"Why should I be?" I asked completely clueless. Hell, this kid looked like he couldn't even hurt a fly. He suddenly grasped my hands, and positioned his palms against mine. I was really confused, and I felt something strange. It was kinda like a shock of electricity, but it didn't hurt at all. I felt it travel through my body, and as Ivan let go of my hands, the feeling faded.
"What wuzzat?" I asked in a daze. Ivan looked quilty, and avoided my eyes.
"I kinda read your mind..." He said quietly, and looked as though he was bracing himself for something bad.
"You did?" I asked and pointed at myself. It's kinda a habit. Ivan nodded.
"Cool! Can you teach me?" I asked and smiled. He was absolutely stunned. Guess his past experiences involving mindreading hasn't been that great.
"Aura! Did he do something to you?" Garet asked and came besides me. He looked at Ivan and looked as though he wasn't sure how to deal with him.
"No, he didn't." I said and sat down.
"So, Ivan, isn't it? I'm Isaac, this is Garet. Nice to meet you." Isaac said and smiled at the boy. He offered his hand for Ivan to shake, and Ivan took it along with his left hand, and read his mind. I smiled. Ivan looked so cute when he was concentrating! (Don't get any ideas about this one, he's what? Eleven?) After Ivan was done reading Isaac's mind, he turned to Garet, and read his. After a while, he yanked his hands away quickly and blushed.
"Let me guess? You dug too deep and found some R-rated things?" I asked and looked amused. Ivan nodded and tried to get the blush off his face.
"I feel sorry for you, kid. I truly do." I said and patted his head. He tilted his head up, and tried to smile.
"What was that?" Garet asked and looked at me and Ivan weirdly, and Isaac's eyes asked the very same question.
"I read your mind. It's an ability I have." Ivan explained again and fumbled his tunics rim.
"Oh. Then that means..." Garet trailed off, and blushed as bright as his hair. Guess he figured out my comment about the R-rated stuff. Hey, he's a teenage boy! Isaac cleared his throath.
"Well, moving on. Ivan, we heard that you were accused of stealing some rod. Is it true?" He asked and we sat down on some chairs. The nice lady who opened the door, the mayors wife, brought us some lemonade.
"Yes, I was accused of stealing master Hammet's Shaman Rod. But I didn't do it!" Ivan exclaimed and looked at us.
"Relax, we believe you." I said, and put my hand on his shoulder to reassure him.
"Do you have any idea about who might have stolen it?" Garet asked and shot a deathglare to Ivan. I glared back on behalf of Ivan. Sheesh, jealous much?
"I, I think it might have been the gang of thieves that live around here. I'm pretty sure about it, but then again..." He said and looked really small. I resisted the urge to hug him. Even though I only met him a few minutes ago, I feel as though he's the little brother I never had.
"Why haven't you used your mindreading abilities to read their minds?" Isaac asked and sipped some of his lemonade. I commented how good the lemonade was and the mayors' wife said it was nothing.
"I... I'm afraid that they'll hurt me if I even get close to them." He said and looked really helpless. I wanted to do something for him.
"I know! What if me and the guys come with you to protect you, and you'll read their minds?" I asked and smiled. The guys nodded to show their acceptance.
"You... You'd really do that?" He asked and looked as though he was in the verge of tears. I nodded, and Ivan dived and hugged me.
"Thank you so much, Aura-nee-san!" he shouted happily and I ruffled his hair. Garet glared at the boy again, and I mouthed "Get over yourself" and glared right back.
"So, are you young people helping Ivan?" The old man, mayor, asked and smiled. I nodded and Ivan let go of me.
"That is so kind of you." He said and smiled at us meaningly.
"Not a problem, sir! We're happy to help! Right?" I said and turned at the guys and they nodded. And so, we went out to find the croock who wanted to make Ivan to take the blame for the theft.
- About half an hour later -
"Waaagh, my feet!" I exclaimed and hunched over. We'd been walking around Vault spotting the thiefs, and reading their minds. So far we've found out that they indeed did steal the Shaman Rod, but we don't know where they hid it.
"We still have the inn to check out." Isaac said and walked towards it. We followed, and stepped in. As we walked upstairs, we heard some talking. There were some people there that looked like thieves.
"Heheh, that was brilliant, boss!" Someone said. Let us call him Thug 1, okay?
"Yeah, stealing that stick and framing the kid!" Thug 2 said and I felt anger well up inside of me.
"I know. Now let's just hope that the kid doesn't find out where we hid it." The man whom I think is the Boss, said and his voice had some certain arrogance in it. We stepped close to them, and they looked at us.
"Hey, it's the kid!" Thug 1 said.
"What, the freak got some re-enforcments?" Thug 2 gloated. Ivan sniffled abit. I squeezed his shoulder.
"Let's corner the boss." I heard Garet whisper and I nodded. I began walking towards the boss.
"Don't let them catch you!" The boss shouted and dashed to my right. I went after him, and Garet positioned himself infront of him. He tried to change his direction, but Isaac cut him off. He was his back against the wall, and Ivan grasped his hands. He concentrated again, and then let his hands go. He signaled with a nod that he was done, and we went down, and outside.
"Well?" I asked excitedly from him.
"I got the place. He was thinking of this inn. A stray rock from the Mt. Aleph had struck through the roof, revealing the attic. He hid it there. Up there." Ivan said and pointed a hole in the roof. I looked up, and saw long ladders leading to the hole. I looked around, and no one seemed to care we were there. So, I began climbing up. Note to self: Don't climb first, if you're wearing a skirt and there are boys below you. I heard some very uneasy coughes, and as I looked down, the boys were beet red and looking anywhere but up. I frowned, rolled my eyes and climbed inside. I decended to the floorboards via a rope, and waited for the boys to come. Isaac came first, and upon seeing me, he blushed and looked away. Same went for Garet and Ivan. There was a moment of awkward silence, and I broke it.
"Get over yourselves!" I shouted and pouted.
"I didn't know you wear balck underwear." Garet said and Isaac got a goughing fit. I got one of those anime-veins on my forehead.
"Well, now you do. Can we PLEASE focus into finding the rod?" I said and walked. I reached a small hole. I jumped over it, and began snooping around. Three thuds behind me indicated that the boys had jumped over the gap too. We reached a room full of crates, and began looking around. As we opened some chests, we found some money, a herb and in the very last, there was the Shaman Rod. It looked like a simple walking stick, and there were feathers tied into it. We gave it to Ivan, and began walking away.
"Well, who do we have here?" A somewhat familiar voice asked. I raised my head, and saw the thugs 1 and 2 along with the Boss. I sighed heavily. Why doesn't anything go smoothly?
"Attack the men, but leave the girl unharmed. I feel like having fun tonight." The boss said and smirked at me in a sleezy way. Okay, berserk-mode achieved. I summoned my beloved scythe as the guys got ready. Ivan casted a Whirlwind, and hurt the thugs. Garet engaged a full battle with the Thug 1, and Isaac attacked Thug 2. I attacked the Boss, and didn't do a very good job at it. He continuesly avoided my blows.
"Don't strain yourself, you'll need your energy tonight." He said and cackled. Yes, cackled like the witches in the fairy tales. That kinda did it. Apparently, when I don't even try to handle my scythe, I can actually fight with it. I clashed the blade of the scythe with his sword, twisted it, flung it away and pointed the very tip of my weapon towards his throath. I think I had an out-of-body-experience.
"You are messing with the wrong person, dumbass!" I hissed and glared at him. The fight was soon over, and we emerged victorious. After the thieves were bound and knocked unconcious, I swung my scythe. I could control it okay, but not as good as when I was fighting that dumbass. I shrugged and the scythe returned into a ring. Suddenly, we heard steps and the mayor entered with some men.
"Oh, my! What happened here?" The mayor asked and looked around.
"It was that kid! I'll handle you, you little..." One of the men started, but I stepped in front of Ivan and glared at him.
"For your information, we found the thiefs that stole master Hammet's rod, and dealt with them. It was Ivan who found out that they stole it." I hissed in a venomous tone.
"She's right. We stopped these thiefs from robbing this place." Garet said and stuck his chest out.
"Why, how nice of you!" The mayor said and clapped his hands in delight. He motioned the men he brought to carry the thiefs to the jail, and invited us over to his house. He tried to offer us a reward, but we refused. He gave it to us anyway. It was about 1000 gold. We prepared to leave, and were nearly at the gates of the town.
"Wait!" A voice called from behind, and we turned to look. Ivan was running towards us.
"Yes?" I asked and looked at him.
"I'm coming with you. I still have to return this rod to master Hammet." He said and smiled. I turned my head to the guys and looked at them pleadingly.
"Why not? The more the merrier." Isaac said and smiled. I jumped up and shouted "YES!" We high-fived with Ivan and I hugged Isaac while thanking him for taking him with us. And when poor Garet looked left out, I hugged him too. We set out with new energy, and a new ally. As we left Vault, the sun started to set and dyed the sky orange. I looked back, and was met with the majestic mountains that surrounded Vault and Vale. I smiled to myself.
'Somehow... I realize why mom loved this place.' A tear slid down my cheek as I remembered my family.
"Aura! Come on!" Garet shouted, and I wiped the tear away with my hand as I turned around.
"Haaaai!" I shouted and ran to them. And thus, we were back on the road again. But the thing that still bugged me was the fight... I hope I meet mom and dad soon. Maybe they have the answers...
Well, here we are! Another update! The same comment about reviews goes into this chapter aswell. Till next time, Toodle-loo!
