Ok, excuses time!!!
I know. I take a long time to update. But I have valid reasons:
School – Do you people have any idea how hard it is to be a ECE student?
Chapter Plot Overhaul – I rewrote this chapter 3 times. I was writing too many things with too little meaning.
Story Plot Overhaul – That's right. I had to rethink the entire story plot. It had a lot of holes in it. (Reasons 2 & 3 gives you an idea how filled my mind is.)
I think that's it. Now, with out further ado...
...the Disclaimer:
The following is a story of pure fiction created using elements not belonging to the author. These elements belong to their respective owners. Any similarities with other stories by other authors, either living or dead, is purely coincidental.
And with that done...
He knelt before his master. His breathing was rough and haggard. His wrists and ankles were bound by manacles of obsidian steel. The already tattered shirt he was wearing was ripped wide at the back, exposing the scars and wounds on his pale skin caused by days and nights of torture.
His master sat in a blackened, yet, imperial looking chair. His face and features were hidden by a shadow that surrounded the room. Only his bony, gloved hand was illuminated as it drummed at the armrest of the chair.
"How are you feeling, my servant?"
The master's voice was smooth, but it had a tint of darkness in it that was quickly detectable.
The servant remained silent.
"Still giving me the silent treatment after all this time?"
The master flicked his wrist. In a flash the servant was flung into the wall on the opposite side of the room. He dropped to the floor with his face down. The servant looked up to his master from where he sat. His eyes were narrowing with rage. With a cry he leapt to his feet and charged at his master. Before he could get any closer, however, a wall of flame erupted before him. He stepped back until he hit something. He turned and saw the blood red eyes of his master. In a flash, he was back handed and was once again against the wall.
Slowly he stood up again, still intent on taking down his very powerful master.
"You haven't learned a thing, haven't you?" the master said.
Raising his hand, a sparkling crystal materialized on the master's palm. The servant's eyes widened.
"So long as I have this, you belong to me. No matter how much you fight it, you will forever be my servant."
In an act of frustration, or perhaps a way to curb his anger, the servant slammed his fist on a near by pillar. The pillar cracked and crumbled into small pieces of stone. He then walked to his master and knelt before him.
"That's better."
The master waved is hand and the shackles on his servant fell.
"Go now. Resume your patrol of my kingdom. Sacrifice to me any who would trespass."
The servant stood and responded.
"Yes, my master."
When his servant finally left the master returned to his throne. He had many things to ponder.
'He grows more powerful by the day. He has already surpassed the power of my own elite personal guards. Yet his mind and heart is still as impregnable as ever. I thought I had already erased every scrap of who he was, but it seems I have failed.
That crusader. She awoke something in this servant of mine. She may have been someone from his past. Someone of great importance for him to have faltered.
I cannot allow this to happen again. I am too close to accomplishing my goals only for it to be jeopardized.
I will not let a mere woman stop me.'
He walked briskly towards the great doors of the castle. His eyes stared straight before him, rage clearly emanating from those pools of darkness. The castle's other denizens scrambled about, trying to get away from his path. Among the other populace of the dark city, his kind was one of the most feared, and he was the greatest of his kind.
As he drudged through the dark halls, putting on the last pieces of his armor, the servant's mind began to wonder. For as long as he could remember he was the servant of his master. His sole purpose was to serve him and only him. He knew nothing before the dark duty, only the duty itself...
...and because of this he hated himself.
H knew he was something else. He knew he was more than this. But he had no memory of such things. Only those images.
At the back of his mind lay images. Images of a world unlike that around him. Images of rivers, seas, forest, desserts, cities, castles and so many more. Along with these images was the burning desire to be in the places he sees, to leave the eternal darkness of this city, to be free of his master's chains.
He did not know why he had these images, or why he had these desires. All he knew was he had them.
And now this woman came. Ever since their battle, he would see her face whenever he closed his eyes, she would appear in the images he sees. She would appear differently in each image, sometimes younger, sometimes wearing different clothes, but she was always smiling at him and she was never out of place. It was as if, he was supposed to know this woman. But he didn't have any memory of her.
This only fueled the burning hatred he had for his master. He felt that his master was behind all this. He was the reason why he knew nothing his pass, why these images haunted him, why he could not remember this woman.
To the abysmal knight, one question summarized all of his thoughts.
'Kat. Who are you?'
Kat slammed the book she was reading very hard.
It had been a month since the king's order came out. She has spent all this time reading through every single book on history, magic, magical history and magical lore she could find. She had exhausted the libraries in her guild house, the Geffen Tower, and even the Prontera Archives. She was now in Juno, the city of wisdom, but still she could not find the answers she needed. The answers to the questions that night at Glast Heim left in her mind.
The young man she once knew as Jays, a young man whom she thought was dead, has come back to life. But instead of the kind and caring young knight she had once known, he has become a dark mockery of his former self. He has become an abysmal knight, a knight of darkness and evil, devoid of any goodness that made him so endearing to her.
"It looks like you just dismantled the great library."
Kat turned and saw a young woman walking towards her. Her green hair was bound into two ponytails by ribbons. Her clothes were similar to that of a mage, except for some details and the circular object around her shoulders.
"Hello, Debora."
The sage sat beside her crusader friend. Surrounding them were hundreds of books. She had never seen her friend so driven like this.
"Kat, you've been here for almost the entire day. You have to take a break. If you don't you might suffer a breakdown."
"I'm okay." Kat answered.
"Are you sure?"
Debora poked her finger at Kat's shoulder. The young crusader immediately lost her balance and fell to the floor.
"Debora, why did you push me?"
"I didn't. I only poked you in the arm. You're already too weak, Kat. You lost your balance with such a small force even though you're already sitting down."
Kat shakily climbed back up to her chair.
"I have a lot to do. If you're here just to play games with me then I don't have time of it."
The sage sighed and stood up.
"Suite yourself. But I'm telling you. If you don't get some rest, you won't be able to find what you seek."
The crusader didn't say a word as her friend left. She was too busy to even listen to her words. She had to know what has happened to...her knight.
Kat sat on a bench outside Izlude. She was waiting for her mentor, Jays, who had left to find some other members for their party. The two were planning to go to Byalan Island where Kat will continue her training.
As she waited, she noticed a commotion to her right. A group of thieves were scaring a little girl merchant into selling her wares to them at a cheaper price. She was no younger that Kat, while the ruffians were almost twice their age.
Remembering the swordsman's creed to protect the weak, Kat jumped up and ran towards them.
The ruffian leader was smiling maniacally. Just a bit more intimidation and this little girl will be begging they take her merchandise.
"C'mon missy, why don't you just..."
"Back off jerk."
The group turned their heads and saw Kat. Seeing their momentary lapse in concentration, the young merchant made a run for it. This made the leader really mad.
"Look at what you did. We almost got those potions for a cheaper price."
"You were scaring her half to death. Besides, you had no intention of even paying a single zeny for it."
"Why you little twerp!"
The leader charged at Kat. The young swordswoman dodged the blows her adversary was giving her.
'Sheesh! For a thief, this guy is pretty slow.'
Using her agility, Kat put the leader in an awkward position, causing him to lose his balance and fall face flat on the ground. He quickly got up and shouted at his companions.
"What are you waiting for? Get her!"
The group quickly went for Kat. The girl quickly turned and ran down hill. The thieves thought that she was running away. In truth, she was only turning the fight to her favor.
Kat was thought well by her mentor. Jays didn't just teach her combat skills, but also battle tactic and strategies. She was luring them to where she knew she could fight at her best. Kat ran until she reached the shore and turned around. As expected, the thieves were there behind her, and quite tired.
"No place to run, twerp."
Kay drew her sword.
"Yeah, for you."
The thieves promptly attacked. As they drew closer, Kat turned her sword around and stabbed the ground.
"MAGNUM BREAK!!!"
A ring of fire erupted from the blade, hitting the thieves just as they came close enough to attack. Their formation broke as they fell. They recovered one by one and scrambled to bring Kat down. They attacked with daggers of all shapes and sizes, but Kat had the advantage a shield. She skillfully used it to defend herself, occasionally landing a shield bash here and there. Soon the thieves were down, all except one.
"Wait a minute. Where's the leader?"
Kat heard a sound behind her. She turned around and saw the leader come out of hiding and strike at her with his dagger. He was able to cut her in the small, unprotected area between her shoulder armor and elbow pad. Kat tried to strike back, but her arm suddenly went numb, causing her to drop her sword.
'What's happening?'
She looked up and noticed something dripping from the leader's dagger.
"Envemon!!!"
"That's right, twerp. Now you're going to get it."
Kat's vision was getting dim. She couldn't feel her entire body and it was getting harder to breath. As the leader came closer there was a flash, and then every thing went dark.
The next thing Kat felt was something soft and warm on her lips. It was followed by a strange taste and something falling down her throat. Slowly her vision focused and she saw the face of her teacher.
"Jays?" she said weakly.
"Kat, how are you feeling?" Jays asked his charge. Worry was clearly heard in his voice an seen in his face .
"A bit dizzy."
"Give it some time. Let the green herb do its job."
It was then she noticed the green tint in Jays' lips. She knew green herbs needed to be ingested to work, and that wasn't able to get some before she passed out, so that means...
'...he kissed me?'
She was right. In the state she was in, Jays had to chew the herbs himself then transfer it to her, unintentionally giving the girl her first kiss. The idea made her cheeks turn red.
"C'mon. I got to get you to a doctor. You look like you're coming down with a fever."
As he raised her up, Kat saw a black patch on the ground. No doubt from her mentor's Magnum Break. The group of thieves were gone. All that's left of them were shoeprints pointing away from the scene.
With Jays carrying the weak swordswoman, they began to climb the hill back to Izlude.
"I saw what you did, Kat. You did great today. I'm proud of you."
The red hue in Kat's cheek increased.
"You saved my life. Thank you, Jays." Kat said with her face buried in her master's chest, trying to hide the redness in her cheeks.
Jays smiled and said in a gentle voice.
"I'll always be here for you Kat. No matter what, I'll always look out for you."
Kat woke up with jolt. She looked around and saw she was still in the library. It was already dark outside.
"I must have fallen asleep." She said to herself.
At that moment her stomach growled. Deciding to follow Debora's advise to postpone her search for the moment, she stood up, retuned the books, and went back to the inn she was staying in.
As she walked back to the inn, the young crusader reflected on the dream. She had a crush on Jays from that day on. She only realized the emotion when the crush turned into love. Now that she thought about it, it was because of this that she had been doing what she was doing.
Jays kept his promise and was with Kat during good and bad. He was always there to remind her of things, to help her with stuff, to guide her through the hardest times. Kat, in her part, remained loyal to Jays. She never left his side. She was always there for her mentor whenever he needed her.
They were more than just teacher and student back then, more than friends. They were like brother and sister, like father and daughter.
They were family.
She looked up in the sky.
"Were you the one who sent me that dream, Jays? Are you still looking out for me even now?"
The thought made Kat smile. She lowered her head and said a small prayer.
"Wherever you are, I hope someone is also looking out for you, when I cannot."
As the servant walked, he didn't realize a pair of ruby eyes following him. Its owner hid close by, behind the numerous pillars, trying hard not to be seen by the black knight.
As the servant reached the door, he summoned his black stead to him. When he tried to mount, however, pain coursed through his body. He was still in no shape to ride.
Seeing the knight in pain, the ruby eyes widened. The bearer of the ruby eyes raised her hands, facing her palms towards the black cavalier. Immediately, a ring of light surrounded the servant, healing his wounds. The servant turned to see who cast the spell on him. He turned just in time to see raven black hair disappear behind a pillar. He could also see the bristles of a broom peering behind the base of the stone column.
He now knew who it was.
He mounted his Nightmare and began to ride outside, not bothering to look back at his healer. A sad look fell upon the ruby eyes. It seems that her act of kindness was once again left unacknowledged.
This was all she wanted, a sign of acknowledgement.
The servant stopped at the castle's outer staircases. Before riding out, he turned to the pillar where his healer hid.
"Thank you."
At these words, a look of happiness fell upon the ruby eyes...
...at these words, a smile appeared on the bearer's face...
...at these words, Alice's heart leapt.