Ch 2: Memories and Love
It was morning and the Sweet Candy was stationed in the sea directly north of the Arctica Mountains. The waitress knew in the back of her mind that there was a narrow cave through the mountains so she had Bartholomew drop her off. She found the entrance to a cave and the ship departed leaving her alone. Once emerging from the cave she could see the back of the castle she spoke softly to herself, "My..home."
It was easy to walk to the castle, and oddly enough she already knew the layout. No monsters were in the surrounding area. Inside were four stone statues to greet her. They carried large battle axes and shields. The one on the right closest to the door had a scratch across the shield. Rose fell to the ground holding her head, "My..name isn't Rose...I'm Elmina the Sword Princess! And that man... The one that has been visiting me all along..."
xxxxx
She stood by a warrior statue which held an axe. A young man with short blonde hair stood opposite facing her; a piece of paper was in his hand "Please... Just give me a chance. I'm sorry I'm late. Please, I've always wanted to be a Fenril Knight."
The Sword Princess unsheathed her sword and hit the statue's shield making an echoing bang, "We don't need any knights that can't even get their registration in on time." She was obviously very angry.
An older man with black hair and a scar across his eye came in. A dark colored sheath was at his side. A hilt with the head of a black wolf peeked out, "What's the trouble Elmina?"
She pointed her sword at the young man "Coldbird, this fool wants to become a Fenril Knight. He can't even turn in his registration in on time."
Chief Coldbird pushed Elmina's hand down lowering sword down, and he walked towards the young man. He looked over him and smiled, "What's your name pup?"
"My name is Garrett... Garrett Stampede."
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"Jack Van Burace was Garrett Stampede all along..." She knelt next to the statue crying, "..all along..It was you... You knew who I was.. Why didn't you tell me..." Ice crystals flew across her face and her tears made her face cold. The green ribbon in Elmina's traveling bag fell out onto the floor. Instead of putting it back in she tied it around her forehead. The warrior woman wiped the tears from her face and walked further into the castle.
The woman walked out onto the balcony. She could see all the ruins of the town from it.
xxxxx
Coldbird looked at the new knight, Garrett."You're a newcomer... You will be Van Burace, the hand guard."
A disgusted look came upon the warrior's face "Van Burace? What is that? It sounds terrible."
"The sword is the key to defending against an enemy. You, Van Burace, are the hand guard that protects Elmina. Are you not satisfied?" Coldbird said as he was shaking his head.
Garrett started scratching the back of his neck, "Ha ha ha... No problem. I'll guard everything... Let me at it... I am Van Burace! I am a Fenril Knight as of today!" He unsheathed his shiny new Arctica blade. Coldbird left the balcony to return to the knighting ceremony.
Elmina began walking back as well, she turned around to face Garrett. A tattered green ribbon tied around her forehead blew in her face, "Has Coldbird informed you that I will be your instructor?" Before he could answer she turned back and started towards the door.
The young knight put back his sword."Hey wait up. Maybe I should get you a new ribbon; that ones old and ripped. What's a student without an instructor with a new ribbon?" the young knight joked.
Elmina laughed, "You know Garrett, you're really pathetic. Ha ha ha..."
"At least let me give you some Gella for a new one."
xxxxx
Elmina looked at the end of her ribbon blowing in the wind, "Why didn't you tell me who I was... Who you were... We have such wonderful memories.
xxxxx
Jack walked into the Milama bar and looked around. It was empty, the only person there was the owner. He sat down on the stool and Hanpan jumped on the table. "Beer for me and a mega berry for Hanpan." Jack ordered.
The bartender handed Jack a glass of ale and set a small plate with a red berry next to Hanpan. Hanpan thanked him for the berry. Jack never was good with manners and quickly grabbed his beer.
Jack gulped down all his beer, and the bartender grabbed the empty cup, "Why are you back so early from the tournament; I figure you would've won."
"My first opponent was Zed; he kicked my ass. I have no idea how he became so strong."
Hanpan looked up from his berry. His face was dyed red with the juice, "That's not the way I remember your loss! Zed was kicking your ass until the fifteenth goat doll. Once the sixteenth one came out Jack got disqualified. Hehehe"
"Hey!" Jack swat at the windmouse but missed, "Anyways where's Rose?"
"I gave her a few days off; she left for Arctica yesterday afternoon." the pub owner replied.
"Arctica? Why did she go there?" Jack stood up knocking the stool to the ground.
In a calm voice he replied, "She has been wondering about her past for a while now. Rose went there to find out who she was, thought she would find some clues."
"OH SHIT! I got to go. See you later." Jack threw some coins on the table and ran out onto the Gullwing. "DAMMIT! I can't allow her to find out about Lady Harken."
Hanpan climbed into the comfort of Jack's pocket, "I doubt she'd regain that much of her memory from just going to Arctica. The guardians are the ones who gave her amnesia. She would have to have memories of such a magnitude to overpower the work of a guardian."
xxxxx
The sword princess walked back into the castle and started towards the left, but the faint image of a dark man caught her eye. "Coldbird..." She whispered. Elmina decided to go left instead where she saw the figure. She made her way to a room with torn banners on the wall, and a green velvet chair sat in there like a throne. It was dull and torn up, but she got a glimpse of it in a more extravagant state.
xxxxx
A dark but strong man sat in a green velvet chair lined with silver. He was absorbed in sharpening his sword. Elmina walked towards him and bowed slightly, "Chief Knight, may I have a moment of your time?"
Coldbird paused for a few second before looking up to her, "I'm not changing Garrett's instructor to Ryan."
"No, it's not that. I have a request." The chief signaled for her to go on. "Please... He is unfit to be a knight. I request you make him a normal castle guard; preferably stationed not in the castle. I've been teaching him for almost a year now. He's a moron, is always late to training, he hasn't even performed a known fast draw nor discovered any. Also he thinks he can make it up by buying me gifts." She pulled out a green ribbon and threw it to the floor, "This ribbon is expensive; I've seen it at the store and know how much he spent on it. He thinks he can throw all this Gella away on me for being late and expects to not be punished! I'm surprised you are even allowing this! If any of the other knights acted so irresponsibly, you would have them demoted.
Coldbird stood up and roared, "That's enough Elmina! You may not see it, but Van Burace has the potential to be a great knight. You know His Majesty has requested to see how much Garrett has learned, his behavior will be dealt with later. Getting him ready to fight is of higher priority at this moment. You are his teacher so I have chosen you to be Van Burace's opponent for His Majesty's demonstration. Until this point no other knight has been able to beat you, Elmina. Well I believe he may be the one to do so! Until then you will continue training him, and I don't want to hear any more complaints about it."
The sword princess clenched her fist reddened with anger, "You honestly believe that moron can beat me in battle!" Elmina stomped out the room in rage.
When she was out of the room Coldbird gazed down at the long green cloth and spoke to himself, "Sword Princess... It is obvious that man loves you. Perhaps... Perhaps you should open up your eyes and realize it, and maybe even opening up your heart..." The chief knight grabbed the ribbon and put it safely in his pack.
xxxxx
Elmina finally made it down to the main room, it was here she was flooded with so many memories. She fell in even more tears. Chief Coldbird had died here, the king's brother, Commander Ryan, and part of herself.
She recalled Jack holding her in his arms, however the rest was blank. She then remembered something from long ago; something that happened six months before the demon attack. It was the day she fell in love with this man... Garrett...
xxxxx
King Arctica was seated on a large throne in front of a pulsating cocoon-like object. His brother was standing to the left of him and Chief Coldbird to the right. Elmina and Garrett were in the center of the room. The warrior woman had her sword ready a deadly glare directly in Garrett's direction. Garrett, on the other hand, did not look like he wanted to fight.
Chief Coldbird walked down to both of them, "Garrett, you've never been to on of these and I know Elmina probably left out some rules. This is not a sparring match. It is a real battle much like fighting monsters. You two will fight until I declare a winner, and we have ambrosia and revive fruit incase anything bad happens."
Garrett dropped his head at the thought he looked much like a puppy in rain,"But... Chief, why do we have to do this? It seems dangerous."
"It's the best way to test a knight's skills, and it's been a tradition among the Fenril Knights for 1000 years. The king must know if his new knights are qualified to be among his personal protectors. Now start on my command." Coldbird back away and rose his hand for the battle to commence.
Elmina sprang forward like a panther aiming right at Garrett nearly catching him off guard. He never expected her to attack so suddenly and barely blocked with his sword. The sword princess lived up to her name as she slashed relentlessly with great speed and accuracy. Garrett was able to parry her attacks, but he didn't know how much longer he could do it.
The sad knight was able to avoid a few more of the woman's attacks while still keeping the king entertained.
Elmina jumped back slightly then lunged forward meeting Garrett's sword. A few phantom spears penetrated his torso. It was one of her Fast Draw attacks called Magnum Fang. No wounds showed up but he was in great pain. "I hope you realize you can attempt to attack me sometime you moron. You do know what a battle is?" The woman taunted as she prepared another Magnum Fang.
He knew he couldn't keep this up forever. Garrett quickly dodged and countered with a swing of his sword. It sliced the woman's forehead a bit leaving a laceration and then the blade paused for a moment. Elmina fell and held her head in confusion.
This was a Fast Draw Garrett secretly acquired during his training. He had named it Psycho Crack since he released all his emotional pain with one quick blow.
With the beautiful swords woman still dazed Garrett saw it. He could win this. He jumped to the left but in the last moment he paused and went towards the right. Out of all the knights observing the battle only Chief Coldbird noted Garrett's hesitation.
During that split second Elmina came to her senses and she spun hitting him to the ground with great force. Suddenly the tip of her sword rested on the base of his neck. Elmina sheathed her sword and stood for the chief.
The King's brother and the King stood up and clapped, "Bravo! Bravo! That was a great battle. I am very pleased. He will be a great addition to my knights ."
Chief Coldbird walked over and helped Van Burace up, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, my head hurts though."
The chief gave him a fatherly smile and patted him on the back, "Get yourself some rest pup."
Everybody started for the door on the left which led to the barracks and the kitchen, but Coldbird placed his hand on Elmina's shoulder stopping her, "wait..." Once everybody was gone he faced her, "Elmina... I know you probably won't believe this, but Garrett defeated you, just now..."
She held back a slight laugh, "Preposterous! The other knights and even King Arctica saw me defeat him. He didn't defeat me!"
"He let you win, Elmina. I saw it with my own eyes. Seconds before his final attack he hesitated and turned putting him in a position he knew you could easily get him even in that confused state."
The sword princess paused for a moment not knowing what to say, "But why would he let me win! He has nothing to gain with losing. If he indeed had won then he would be instantly famous among all of Arctica. He might even be instantly promoted had he defeated me."
The chief begin walking to join his fellow knights. "You don't have to do it now, but I want you to talk to him sometime today. Maybe you can find out why he let you win..."
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I remember now!" Elmina cried. "You did let me win! I went to speak with you later that night. I remember now. It was the first time I cried in so long." Tears trickled down her cheek and hit the floor. She wiped her eyes. "I remember now..."
xxxxx
Elmina knocked and opened the door to Garrett's chambers. Garrett hid something small in haste before he looked to see Elmina standing in the doorway. Despite her hair being a mess from their battle earlier, Elmina still looked stunning. Her hair blew a little when she opened the door.
Garrett paused for a few seconds. "Elmina! What are you doing here!"
Elmina spotted Garrett trying to hide the object. "I came here to speak with you about our battle earlier. What are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding anything. What about our battle."
"You are hiding something!" Elmina went over and grabbed it from its hiding place. She gazed at it. I was a tiny flower, an object not native to this area. "Where... where did you get this? How did somebody like you manage to get one of these out here?"
"I bought it off of a Dream Chaser. I was planning on giving it to you later. They are supposed to bring good fortune."
The woman stared at his pathetic grin. "You really did let me win! But... why? You had so much you could've gain from winning."
"Guess I couldn't fool you. I swore to be your vambrace. It is my job to protect you, not harm. I was merely doing my job as a Fenril Knight."
Elmina looked at him in shock. "Why are you doing this? These gifts, this behavior? This is no way a knight should act. I want you to stop this and start acting like a real knight! You haven't even learned the most important thing about being a warrior! You still have to find what it is that makes you who you are, the very reason you want to, will be, and will always be a knight."
The Sword Princess paused a moment to flick her hair out of her face before returning to her preaching, "I wield my sword and fight to protect what is important to me. I want to protect every single innocent soul in this world, and the world itself." The woman roared even more, "You're just a common warrior, one who fights for all the wrong reasons! What's your excuse? Is it a sport? Money? Fame? Tell me now, what do you fight for?" She demanded
The knight was speechless like being paralyzed in battle unable to move, unable to utter a sound. He whispered, "I wanted to become a warrior for all the wrong reasons." After a short pause he continued, "Until I met you I didn't even know what I wanted with my life, but now... But now, I know what I want. I know what my sword will protect.."
"The perhaps you'd like to tell me"
"You." There was a long pause as Elmina stared at him. He then added, "Don't you get it? I love you, and to me you are my world, my Filgaia."
She didn't know what to say. Nobody had ever treated her like this, yet alone hear those words. Before she could respond his mouth had met hers. It startled her, yet she didn't push him away. She wasn't quite sure what was happening.
xxxxx
"Jack...you were the first man I've ever trusted and even loved... Now I question you, you never even gave me my memories..." Elmina returned to the main room and took the door to the right. "I better go back to Milama now. But I still don't understand why you wouldn't tell me this. Did you not want me to return to being a warrior?"