Heir to the Throne
By: Datenma
Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun! But the song that is sung in this, I do own! Though…I don't think I should be very proud of that fact…
Warning: Shounen-ai hints! Don't like, don't read!
OMG! Midnyte Wolf! That was the sweetest review I had ever gotten! Do you know how much that made my day? I tried to write this chapter sooner so that I didn't have to make everyone wait, but the words just wouldn't come to me. Then my boyfriend broke up with me and the words just wouldn't stop flowing. So, today, I sat down and wrote this. It's not as good as I hoped it would be but I'll go back and make it better later. Thanks for all the reviews everyone, they mean the world to me!
Read and review please!
Chapter 3: Bridge Talk
A week must have passed before the Priest finally said that I would be able to train. During that time, Robin visited me constantly, almost as if he was afraid that if he stayed away from me too long, something bad would happen to me. He was with me when the Priest came in to give me the good news.
He smiles at me kindly, "When the Priest says that it is all right, what do you say to me showing you around Haidia Village? There's no telling how long you are going to be here so it might be a good idea to get a feel for the village, just incase you get sick of me following you are everywhere you go."
"You shouldn't say such things, Robin. You're a really nice person and you're been very kind to me. There's no possible way that I would ever get sick of you." He scratches his cheek, blushing slightly and goes to say something but a knock at the door prevents him from saying anything.
He rises out of his chair and crosses the door, opening to the door to let the Priest into the room. The old man smiles at me as he walks slowly to the edge of my bed, followed closely by Robin. "You have been very patient, Prince Ivan." He says, bowing to me, "And I believe that you are ready to go out and do whatever training Sir Robin has in store for you." He turns and smiles at Robin but the White Knight just nods curtly, looking as if he were struggling with what would be proper of him and what he really wanted to say. Though, it might be too presumptuous to think that I knew that was what Robin was really struggling with.
The Priest excuses himself and exits the room, leaving Robin and myself alone again. Robin drops his formal, stiff stance for a moment, almost forgetting himself completely as he runs a hand through his hair, staring at the door. "The old man really knows nothing about Energists, he likes to pretend he does since he has lived at this village longer than I have been alive. Just because of that he thinks he is some sort of genius and we should all listen to his ramblings."
His pale blue eyes harden for a moment as his voice drops down to a seething whisper. He lets out a sigh before turning to me, his eyes softening and a smile capturing his lips. "Don't tell anyone I said that, though the Priest may not know a lot about Energists, the villagers do hold a great amount of respect for him. Mainly because of what he did when he was younger. You'd be surprised what one great deed will make people think of you."
I tilt my head to the side, a little bemused with this openness but at the same time, finding that I enjoyed it immensely. "And you do not think he is a great person for that one deed?" He shook his head, folding his arms neatly over his chest and leaning back against one of the bedposts.
"It takes more than just one deed to make up for the other things that a person does. If you let it get to your head, then you really aren't a good person at heart. It may all be a part of being human, but you still shouldn't expect outrageous things from other people." I frown at this, "Besides, I judge people on how they are most of the time—not from just one accidental action."
"I see…well, from what you say, he does not seem like a nice person." He smiles softly, shaking his head.
"Just because I do not like him, does not mean that you cannot. The Priest does have his ups and downs, just like any other person." He pushes off the bedpost and lays his palms on the edge of the bed, leaning towards me with a wide smile on his face. "So, what do you say to some 'training'?"
I blink at him, my cheeks warming at the word 'training'. With the way he said it, I was not sure how to take it. But this was Robin; he would not do anything weird, right? I nod at him, "Sure, I'll do whatever you want me to."
He pulls away and looks out of the closest window, "Meet me outside once you're dressed, we'll begin then." He nods to me and leaves the room, closing the door softly behind him.
I wait a moment before pushing the covers away from me and climbing out of the bed, the floor cold when my bare feet touch it. I wince slightly, pausing until I grow accustomed to the sudden chill. I have never been this far north—at least not that I can remember, and it is only cold in Karei Town during winter, so waking up to the sudden cold is new to me. I guess I am going to have to get used to it.
It does not take long for me to wash and dress into some clean clothes, once I do; I leave my room and slip into the silent hallway. Hammet Palace is never quiet during the day, even early in the morning. There is always something exciting going on, maids or knights bustling about the palace, having to go somewhere. Haidia's is nothing like that, it almost seems as if there is no one here at all.
I start to hum a tune Lady Layana used to sing to me when I was growing up, hoping that the familiar song would help me get over this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach…as if someone or, Gods forbid, something were about to sneak up behind me and…
"Boo!" I must have jumped a foot into the air, yelping like a little child. I spin around, hand out and accidentally unleash a strong gust of wind at the person who had suddenly jumped out of a room.
Whoever it was, the gust of wind sent them flying back onto the floor, laughing so hard they were on the brink of tears. I held my hand to my heart, trying to calm the pounding muscle. Gerald was lying on the floor, clutching his stomach as he double over with laughter. "Ahaha! I haven't seen someone jump like that in years! Not since old Prince Picard was last here! That was priceless!"
I glare at him, my cheeks heated with embarrassment. I certainly was not expecting that, though I probably should have. "I cannot believe you would do such a disrespectful thing to Ivan," I turn around to see Garcia coming down the hall, his hair out of the ponytail I had seen it in before. He has a stern expression set on his face, his eyes smoldering. "You may be able to get away with that sort of stuff with me but Ivan is a different matter. Now, I expect you to apologize to him and go immediately to training with Kyuhi."
Once Gerald's fit of laughter had died, he pushed himself to his feet and bowed to me respectfully. "I apologize, Your Highness, for any misgivings that may have passed between us because of my disrespectful actions, it will never happen again." He pulled out of the bow and grinned at Garcia, winking at him and running down the hall past us.
Garcia sighs as he looks down at me, "I'm sorry about that. Gerald means well, but sometimes his stupidity gets the better of him. We keep him around so that he doesn't hurt himself too badly. Keeping an eye on him all the time is a chore, but someone has to do it." He smiles. "I bet you were going to meet Robin, right?"
I nod and his smile softens, "You really bring out the best in Robin, not many things here can get him to stay, not even his parents. It isn't that he has an obligation to you…" He trails off at that, falling into deep thought. After a moment passes, he shakes it off, "Sorry, I tend to space off now and again. Picard says it's a bad habit that I really need to get over."
Prince Picard must be a great person, if so many people talk about him without being provoked. I hope I can meet him one day.
That is when I notice his attire. He is dressed as if he is going on a long journey or something. "Oh, was I keeping you from something?" He notices my gaze and looks at his clothes himself.
"These? I was just going on a routine trip, every three or so months; I take a boat from Raripero Town to Lemuria. Picard and I switch off every time, and this time it was my turn to go there. I'm sorry that I have to leave so suddenly, but he would never forgive me if I didn't show up." I wave my hand at him.
"It's all right, I don't want anyone going out of their way for me. Robin has already done so much for me; all of you have done so much for me. I only hope that I can repay your kindness."
"I didn't do anything, Ivan, and neither did my parents. If anything, Robin is the one you should be thanking. Try not to put him on the spot, though. I should go now; I'll probably be back before your training is finished, so I'll see you then." We nod to each other and he walks down the hall in the opposite direction.
I turn away and walk down the hall, making my way to the entrance. I do not run into anyone else so it does not take me too long to find the entrance, if you exclude me taking a wrong turn and getting lost for a couple of minutes. I pull the doors open and jump back as a spear slams into the ground where I had been standing a second before.
"Be careful!" yells Robin, running over to us from where he had been standing near the steps leading from the palace. He shoots a cold glare at the guard.
"Sorry, Sir Robin, my hand slipped—" started the guard, gathering his spear up in his hands and saluting to Robin, his fist over his heart.
"That's no excuse, you could have hurt Prince Ivan." Robin holds his hand out to me and I accept it more than willingly. There had been one too many scares this day and I just wanted to relax. Robin pulls me forward, catching me as I stumble. "Are you all right?" He asks gently, pulling me close to his chest.
"Yeah, it's fine, really." I say, both to him and the guard, "There's no damage done." He looks down at me skeptically but says nothing, which I am very thankful for. He pulls away a little bit, not releasing his hold on my hand and leads me away from the palace, back to the main part of the village.
This time he goes slowly, giving me a chance to look around the town more carefully. It is much larger than Karei Town, with more trees and large hills. Karei was built on a flat plane so that would account for the lack of hills. A long river flows from an unseen source in the middle of the town, ending at a lake near the front gates, which I spotted when I first arrive here.
It must be late in the afternoon by now but still it is too quiet, with only a few people standing outside here and there, a lot of them waving to Robin as he pass. He smiles and waves back to them, not stopping as he points certain things out to me. He pulls me over to a bridge and finally lets go of my hand as we stand in the middle of it with me leaning over the thick ropes of the bridge and leaning over the side to look at the rushing waterfall.
I feel his hand on my shoulder, "Do you see that mountain there?" I look up at him and follow his gaze to a mountain a few miles away from the village. "That's Mt. Aleph, where Sol Sanctum is built. There isn't anything special there now because not all of the Heirs have awakened from their slumber, but once the final one does…the Elemental Stars will awaken as well and the Elemental Lighthouses, the Thrones of the Heirs can be lit again."
"And then what?" He smiles at the mountain, eyes brightening.
"Then the monsters that have been plaguing Weyard will return to normal. They weren't always monster, you know?" I blink at this, surprised to hear it. "It is hard to come to terms when you are fighting with them, but ever since the previous Heirs died, Weyard has slipped into dark times. That is why I have to find the last Heir." He looks at me solemnly and I feel his emotions rush over me so clearly, as if I had felt them myself. An intense sadness. He was blaming himself for this.
"Robin…" I reach a hand out to touch his shoulder but he meets my hand before I can touch him. He laces his fingers through mine and turns away, pulling me along the bridge.
"Come on, I want to show you the rest of the village."
"Shouldn't we be training?" I ask him, though I don't mean it. I would rather walk around the village with him than train and end up with a splitting headache before the end of the day.
"I'm a harsh teacher," He says, and there is a hint of laughter in his voice. "And I doubt that you want to start training just yet. This will be better, we have enough time to train later." I smile to myself. I am fine with it this way.
After we leave the bridge, he takes me to a secluded area, behind a wooden fence and stops at a dark looking cave. I hesitate as he walks over to it, releasing my hand to let me go at my own pace. He looks back at me just before he passes through the entrance of the cave, "Come on, it's all right, there's something I want to show you. You trust me, right?"
"Of course, or else I wouldn't be here." I say quickly, not wanting to hurt his feelings, even if he asked it jokingly.
"All right then, it'll be all right." I follow him inside, hurrying when my vision dims because of the darkness. I crash into him, grabbing onto his arm to keep from stumbling. "It's all right, there's a torch up ahead. This is Haidia's secret storage room, only the people closest to the royal family know about it."
"So…wouldn't showing me be a bad idea?" Robin laughs.
"There is only one thing in this place that is of any real importance and it belongs to me, but I really have no use for him." I blink at the tone in his voice. Him? I wonder what it could be…
A reddish light gradually fights off the darkness and we enter a large circular room, a lake set in the middle of it with a stone platform in the center, a couple of small stepping stones leading to it. I let go of his arm as he walks over to the water's edge, "Kite, come out, there's someone I want you to meet."
I was busy looking around the cave, but out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of pale blue. It was too quick for me to really see it but as I turn back around to focus on where it had been, I see something sticking up from behind a rock.
Robin sighs, shaking his head, "Kite can be really shy around people." He says, glancing at me quickly before looking back over to the platform, "Come on, Kite, you know I'd never let anyone hurt you. So come out, Prince Ivan is an Air Energist so you'll like him." I take a step closer to Robin and at that moment, a blur of color streaks out from behind the rock, and collides with me.
"Price Ivan!" I fall back onto the ground, taken by surprise and lay there, stars flashing in front of my eyes. I feel something light move on my chest and as I look down, my eyes lock with big, round turquoise ones.
"Eh? Wha-what is this?" I try to keep the shock out of my voice, but it was pointless as my voice cracked.
"You are an Air Energist…" An echo comes from the little creature sitting on my chest and Robin leans down, taking the thing in one hand and helping me up with his other hand. "I like him, Robin."
Robin laughs, setting the thing on his shoulder as he kneels down on the ground, brushing the dirt off my pants. "What is it?" I repeat, my voice a little more steady this time, which I am thankful for.
"His name is Kite, and he's a Djinn." Kite bounces up and down on Robin's shoulder happily, hovering in the air every now and then. "I know that there are others out there, I just never came across one of them before I met Kite."
"A Djinn…? Kite…" Robin nods and looks up at me once he is finished dusting me clothes off. "Ah…you didn't have to do that…"
"I know, but…" He pauses, his cheeks coloring for a moment before he shakes it off. "Anyway, Kite is an Air Djinn, and since you are an Air Energist, the two of you can work together." He stands up again, looking down at me, probably a little more open than he wanted to be. "But…if you don't want him, I understand…"
"You said he was important to you, right…?" He nods slowly, "And…you want to give him to me?" He nods again slowly and I smile sincerely. "Thank you, Robin, this means a lot to me." He returns my smile softly and sets Kite on my shoulder.
"Yeah, now I don't have to be stuck in this cave all the time!" We laugh together at this and Kite hops around on my shoulder, a cool breeze blowing on my cheek with each jump.
"I guess that's it for today, it's starting to get late and you'll need your rest for training." He holds his hand out to me as he starts for the cave's entrance.
"When are you going to start training me?"
"Maybe the day after tomorrow," He laughs to himself, "I might just be putting it off for myself, but I do have a valid excuse so I am going to stick with that." I shake my head at him, smiling.
"And here I thought you were perfect, Robin, but you have your flaws too." I see him smile back at me just before the light from the torches disappear and we are thrown into darkness.
DDDDDDDDDD
I can't sleep. Kite does not seem to be having any trouble with it, he is at the foot of the bed, covering with small clothes and dreaming away, or at least I think he is dreaming, his eyes are showing the telltale signs of REM sleep.
My brain is loading down with too many questions, as usual. All I can do is think and keep thinking. I glance at Kite to make sure that he will not wake up before he push the covers off me silently as possible, slip on my boots and tiptoe to the door.
At night, the palace is worse than it is during the day. At least during the day there is light, but at night…the darkness casts strange shadows on the wall, creating frightening figures and move with the natural light drifting in from the nearby windows. I swallow hard as a tree branch shifts outside, a dark claw moving along the wall.
I press my hand against my mouth to keep from crying out and quicken my pace. I hope that a quick stroll will help clear my thoughts, especially now.
I sneak past the sleeping guards, leaning back against the castle walls, their spears propped up against their bodies. It is a good thing that there is a tall fence around the village or else the palace would be unprotected against an attack. I nudge one of the guards with the toe of my boot and he lets out a loud snore. "I feel so safe now…"
I turn away from them and walk down the stone steps lightly, walking along the path until I enter the main part of the village again. The silver light from the moon is dim but it is enough to light my way. I normally do not go out late at night, mainly because it was so dangerous in Karei Town, or at least Lady Layana and Lord Hammet made it seem that way. But here in Haidia, I feel safe, which may mainly be thanks to Robin. Robin really is a hero, but I wonder why he is so cold to other people.
"The sun sets on the horizon…" Ah, that voice…I pause and look around to see where it is coming from. It sounds like it is coming from near the bridge…I lean out from behind a tree and barely manage to stifle the gasp that passes through my lips. It's Robin!
"The moon slowly rising into the embrace of the sky
The Heavens are dancing above us
Because of my pure love for you
I want this innocent feeling to last forever
Borne on the wings of this angel before me
Let me be the first to kiss you
Let it last forever…"
"Wow…" His eyes suddenly snap open and he stiffens.
"Who's there?" I see his hand twitch, moving to the katana on his back and I quickly step out from behind the tree, waving my hands defensively.
"It's me, Robin…" He relaxes visibly and motions for me to join him on the bridge. I walk over to him and leans against the rope with him. He says nothing after a few minutes pass between us, the silence isn't tense, and I welcome it but still…"That is a beautiful song, Robin…"
"It isn't mine," He says softly, "My dad composed it for my mother. I only changed it here and there to match my voice, but aside from that…it's still my dad's."
"Even so, I really liked it when you sung it." He smiles, avoiding my gaze.
"That means a lot to me, coming from you, Prince Ivan." I do not think that I will ever get used to him addressing me as 'Prince' all the time, but it does not appear that I have any other choice, he refuses to drop the title.
He seems to realize where we are suddenly, "What are you doing up so late?"
"I couldn't sleep so I thought a walk would clear my head, that's when I heard you singing and decided to see what it was." He sighs, leaning back on the rope.
"You're too curious, Prince Ivan."
"Maybe so, but I learn a lot that way."
"You will also get into a lot of dangerous situations that way." I go to say something but he lays his arm around my shoulders gentle, pulling me closer to him so that my head is resting on his shoulder. He is warm, and the arm around my shoulder is very protective. I lean into his touch, unconsciously snuggling into his embrace. "Prince Ivan, there are those out there that will want to hurt you…"
"I know…" My thoughts are growing foggy and everything I am saying comes out automatically.
"Please be careful, I am afraid that I have grown attached to you a little more than I probably should…you are a dear friend." I smile, closing my eyes.
"That's nice." I say through a yawn, leaning against him heavily. I barely free the light brush of his lips against my temple.
"Good night, my sweet prince."
Good night…Robin.
TBCNotes: Robin's katana: The handle for Robin's sword, it's the handle for those old fashioned katanas, the ones they don't make anyone. Sort of like Kenshin's, and Robin's pretty quick on the attack so it would make sense for him to have a katana. Besides, the kendo boys at my school are hot. :whistles: I'd join just for them!
I'll work on the next chapter over next week, maybe tomorrow depending on what my mother wants to do. Remember to tell your mothers you love them! Tomorrow is Mother's Day!
Alex: I miss my mother…
Oo You have a mother?