Thank you for all your reviews! I'm so glad that there are people out there who actually enjoy my fic... right? Heehee... I hope I can continue to keep Matthew and everyone else (who will soon be appearing) in character!

Ages! Auri is 16 and Corey is 10, but he's kinda short for his age and immature... I'm hoping that this chapter will umm... make their personalities a bit more obvious...

OK... I'd like to again remind you... actually... this may be the first time but anyway... I'd like to remind you that everything about the "Wish Dragon" so far has basically been derived from "legends" and "stories"... which means that everything that Auri tells Corey or Matthew may not be the actual "truth"... For example, even though Auri may say that the Wish Dragon's not an actual dragon... the "truth" may be that the Wish Dragon is a dragon... just not a "normal" dragon... But hey... you never know. To the fic! The first part sounds a little awkward to me...Sorry! I tried to fix it as well as I could... And ummm... sorry if the stuff about bows and arrows is messed up...

Chapter 4: Lords and Ladies

"Auri?"

Still hidden in the shadows, Matthew froze in his tracks, mentally cursing at the unfortunate turn of events. He should have noticed that the boy was awake, but the mask had obstructed his sight. The Ostian spy had originally planned on simply surprising the siblings with his knife and mask, but now...

It looks like I'll have to think up something else then.

He gingerly removed the mask from his face and placed it on the ground without making a single sound. While he was in the process of concocting a new plan of attack, a soft sound, the noise of someone stirring awake, attracted his attention.

"What is it?" The young thief heard Auri mumble sleepily.

Silence, followed by quiet whimpering. "I'm scared..."

The girl turned around to face her brother with half-open eyes. "Of what?"

"I don't know..." Corey admitted. "But I'm scared..."

A sigh and a quiet rustling noise, which Matthew guessed was the sound of cloth being shifted around, soon followed. "I'll go get the bow then... if it'll make you feel better," Auri said, a bit reluctantly.

Alert brown eyes trailed the girl's stumbling figure as she felt around in the shadows for the bow. And in a sudden moment of realization, those same eyes lit up just as if someone had suddenly set fire to a large pile of dry straw.

It's now or never.

"Got it! See, Corey? Nothing to be afra-"

In a sudden flurry of motion, Matthew flew from the shadows, grabbed the boy, and twirled around with his knife to Corey's neck, a slight grin on his face.

"Sorry." he whispered to the boy, "I normally try not to do this but I couldn't think of any other way this time. But don't worry; I promise I won't hurt you."

Corey only nodded and shut his eyes tight, squeezing out a few drops of tears.

Matthew smiled and turned to face Auri. "I don't take kindly to thieves. Especially those who steal my food," the Ostian spy announced to the girl, who was frozen in shock, unsure of what to do. Her bow hung limply from her hand, but as far as Matthew could see, the weapon was utterly useless. After all, what good is a bow without arrows?

A stifled gasp from her brother jolted Auri from her surprised state. She quickly pointed her bow at Matthew and pulled the bowstring back as far as she could.

"You know... there's a certain limit to how far back you can pull a bowstring," the young spy pointed out, still grinning.

"Why should I listen to you?" Auri retorted angrily, but, despite her unwillingness, slightly released her grip on the string.

"Now, now. I never said that you should release your hold on it."

The girl stared angrily at Matthew and pulled the bowstring back even further.

"You really shouldn't do that, you know. Especially with a bow as old as that one. The string might-"

SNAP!

"Auri!"

Just as Matthew had predicted, the bowstring snapped in half under all the extra force being put on it. The weapon fell to the ground, and Auri soon collapsed to her knees after it, clapping a hand over her cheek. At that sight, Corey started struggling to get out of Matthew's grasp, biting and kicking the air furiously.

Once he had the squirming boy firmly secured and out of biting range, the Ostian spy sighed. "I tried to warn you..." Noting the girl's distressed expression, he continued, "If you'll be so kind as to remove your hand, then I can tell you if you should worry or not."

Auri glared at Matthew but gingerly removed her hand from her cheek.

The young spy squinted at the cut and declared, "It's fine; it should heal by itself if you leave it alone for a couple of days. You're lucky that you were holding the bow incorrectly anyway."

The girl glared at him again, this time reaching for the bow and holding it in her arms.

"You shouldn't be so sad over that old thing; you didn't have any arrows anyway." Matthew grinned as he noticed Auri trying to stare him down, but with absolutely no idea of what to do. "Of course... there is a way to get your brother back..."

At that, Corey instantly stopped struggling, and the girl faced the young spy with pleading eyes. "Please... anything." she said quietly. "I'll do anything... if you'll let Corey go..."

Matthew blinked. "Anything?" he asked, unbelieving.

Auri looked down at the ground. "I... I don't..." She paused and closed her eyes. "Yes... Anything."

"No! Don't do that, 'Ri! Don't! I don't want you to! You promised you wouldn't leave me!" Corey gasped, muffled by Matthew's hand.

Auri turned away sadly, hot tears streaming to her eyes as Corey started struggling again.

"You know... you're taking this far too seriously. I understand that you've never faced a situation like this before, but books and fairy tales really just aren't the best places to learn about reality."

Both siblings glanced at the spy confusedly. Matthew stared back, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"What did you think I would ask you to do? Marry me?" he asked Auri, but she only looked away coldly, trying to hide the embarrassment written all over her face.

Realizing that the girl wasn't about to talk anytime soon, and realizing that he would have to make her feel secure, Matthew did the only thing that he could think of doing. He laughed. "Am I really that undesirable? Besides, I hav-"

The sudden recognition of what he was about to say struck him... hard. "I... had someone..." he finished, lowering his gaze and releasing his hold on Corey, who squirmed free and ran to his sister, afraid that his kidnapper would try and grab him again. But the Ostian spy did not care anymore, merely staring straight into space, lost in his thoughts.

Leila... what's happening to me? I've been so distracted lately... I haven't even been able to concentrate on my job... Is that... Is that why Lord Hector wanted me to have this... vacation? Leila... I-

He felt a soft tug on his cloak and glanced down to see Corey, who looked at him with large, sad eyes.

"It's OK, sir. Me and Auri just lost our parents too..."

Reminded of his previous plans and faced with Corey's heartfelt attempts at soothing him, Matthew could not help but smile. He knelt down on one knee so he could look the boy in the eye. "Do you miss them?" he asked.

"A little," admitted Corey. "But I'm really strong! I even told my sister that we could live without them!"

"Corey!"

Both Matthew and Corey turned around to see Auri, who was standing in a corner, staring unhappily at her brother, but still unwilling to say anything.

"But 'Ri says that we have to get them back. She told me that no one would respect us if they weren't here 'cause we're not pretty or handsome enough for people to respect or treat nicely." With that, the boy glanced at Matthew again. "But you respect us, right, mister...?"

Even though he was caught a little off guard by that question, Matthew quickly recovered and gave Corey his warmest smile.

If the girl won't talk...

"Matt. You can call me Matt. And of course I respect you."

The boy beamed at that and rushed over to his sister. "Did you hear that, 'Ri? See? He respects us! We don't need Mother and Father anymore!"

Auri clutched her brother protectively and glared at Matthew, who rose to his feet. "Don't say that, Corey! And don't believe him. He's probably just lying. And we still have to get Mother and Father back... it's for your own good, Corey."

"I- If you say so, 'Ri... But can't I be friends with Mister Matt? I think he's nice!" the boy finished, looking at his sister with bright, cheerful eyes.

"Nice? He tried to kill you, Corey!"

"B- But he was only doing it because I stole his food! It's not right to steal! And he's just like us, 'Ri! He lost someone too!" Corey protested.

Matthew regarded the siblings' conversation with amusement and waited patiently for them to finish.

Not right to steal? Then it's too bad that I'll be stealing something from you... Only if I have that something then... perhaps... there still is a way to save you, Leila...

"Please, 'Ri? Please? I promise I won't do this ever again! But can I please be friends with Mister Matt?"

Disturbed from his thoughts, the Ostian spy glanced back at the siblings to see Corey still pleading with his sister, who sighed in defeat.

"I... I guess, Corey... I only hope that I've made the right decision..."

The boy smiled happily, not forgetting to thank his sister, and bounded back to Matthew. "Mister Matt! Mister Matt! 'Ri says that I can be friends with you!"

Matthew grinned. "That's great, Corey! But I was wondering..."

Corey stopped skipping around to stare at the Ostian spy with a questioning look on his face. "What, Mister Matt?"

"Oh, it's nothing much, really..."

Excited, the boy grabbed at Matthew's cloak. "Tell me! Tell me! Please?"

Matthew gently freed his cloak from Corey's grasp. "I suppose that I'll have to tell you then... Since we're friends and all..." he said nonchalantly, ignoring the small "hmph" that he heard from Auri.

He knelt down again and grinned at the boy. "I was wondering... when you and your sister were talking about getting your parents back, how were you planning to do it?"

Auri tried to stop her brother, but it was too late. The cat was already out of the bag.

"That's easy! Me and 'Ri are going to find the Wish Dragon and wish them back!" Corey announced triumphantly.

Matthew's grin grew even wider. He had the boy completely in his grasp. While Auri slumped down against the wall, he interrogated Corey for more answers. "Can you tell me anything else?"

The boy thought for a moment, and replied as cheerfully as before, "Well... 'Ri said that the Wish Dragon can grant any wish... But it can only grant one wish at a time before it runs away. Oh and if you're wishing a dead person back to life, the dead person can only be dead for five years or less... Um... and the Wish Dragon's not supposed to be a real dragon... I think that's it..."

The Ostian spy kept a composed look on his face, but inside, he was about ready to explode from joy. "One more question. That all right?"

Corey smiled in return.

"Do you have any idea where the Wish Dragon is?"

At that, Corey shook his head sadly. "Not even 'Ri knows..."

Matthew stood up, a bit disappointed. "That's too bad..."

Panic quickly streamed through the boy's eyes and he clutched at Matthew's cloak. "You- You're still my friend, right, Mister Matt?"

Smiling, Matthew ruffled Corey's hair. "Of course."

However, the boy was not convinced. He followed Matthew as the young spy picked up his bag from the shadows and swung it over his shoulder.

"Where are you going, Mister Matt?" Corey asked, worried.

"Well..."

"Take us with you."

Surprised, Matthew turned around to face Auri, who had stood up and was still staring at him coldly. Corey quickly ran to his sister's side.

"Take us with you," she repeated.

Matthew grinned. "Not even a 'please?' Your brother is much more well-mannered than you."

"Proper ladies shouldn't have to bow to the wishes of people like you."

Still grinning, the Ostian spy decided that a little fun was in order. Quickly adopting the air that he had observed in many a Lycian noble, he graciously said to the girl, "All right then, Lady Auri... You and your brother may come along with me. However, I must warn you that you should not be so cold with me. After all, I am a good friend of the Marquess of Ostia."

"So?" the girl answered. "This is Pherae, not Ostia."

That... was unexpected, but Matthew was not about to let it get the better of him.

Hmm... wasn't Lord Hector mentioning a meeting with Lord Eliwood and Lady Lyn before I left? And wasn't it to take place in... Pherae?

"Ah..." he continued, still keeping the same tone of voice. "But you are certainly aware that the Marquess of Ostia and the Marquess of Pherae are close friends? Because it just so happens that the Marquess of Ostia has already introduced me to the Marquess of Pherae quite some time ago."

Auri looked at the Ostian spy skeptically. "I still don't believe you," she finally said.

A sly expression on his face, Matthew laughed. "We'll just have to see when we get to Castle Pherae then, won't we?"

With that, he walked off into the shadows without looking back. It was not long before he heard the quiet pattering of two pairs of feet, so he slowed down a bit to let them catch up. "I'd suggest you hurry up. I'm hoping we can reach Castle Pherae by tomorrow evening."

It took the three a good amount of time to navigate out of the maze of scorched stone and burnt wood, and in addition to that, Corey fell asleep in the process, forcing Matthew to carry the boy on his shoulders. Once they were clear of the maze, and with Corey fast asleep, a few moments passed with neither traveler conversing before the young spy decided to break the silence.

"How are you certain that the Wish Dragon truly exists?" he asked without looking at Auri.

"I'm not."

A pause. "Then why are you trying to find it?"

"... Why don't you call me 'miss' first?"

Matthew sighed. "Why don't you drop that? I know what you're really like."

"You'd respect us less if I did. Proper ladies should keep to themselves."

"You do realize that you can't get respect that way."

"Neither I nor my brother have anything that will cause people to respect us. I'm not pretty; he's too scrawny. We're neither talented nor skilled. And that's why we need our parents back. Because people will respect their status and then they'll respect us too."

More silence.

"Can you use a weapon?" asked Matthew, deciding to change the topic. "Because you obviously can't use that bow."

"A real lady doesn't use weapons."

Another pause. "I know a few "ladies" who'd hate you for that."

And with that, the conversation ended, but this time, no one even tried to renew it. Matthew stared straight ahead... at the wide expanse of grass that separated him and his present goal... only one goal in a chain of goals that would lead to his final goal... his final aspiration...

I promise, Leila; I won't be distracted anymore. I'll do whatever it takes to find that Wish Dragon. And this time... this time... I'll be able to save you.

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A/N: Heehee... we're getting closer and closer to meeting the others! And that reminds me... I have to go and start designing the villain's "personality" and... design... yeah... Umm... does anyone want to give me a character analysis of Corey and Auri? It doesn't have to be long... Just a little bit of what you think their personalities are like so I'll know if I'm doing OK... Just keep in mind what the villagers thought of them in the second chapter... I'd be really really grateful if you could help me with that... By the way, are there any people out there who would take offense at a fic with the idea of reincarnation and ghosts in it? It's not that you have to believe in it 'cause I don't either... it's more of a "would you hate it so much that you would never even look at it" thing... Umm... review?