Mystical Garden – I'm doing the best I can :( I have exams…damn them.

Link Luvr – And another for you. I read your profile and I curious, which part of Wales do you live in? I'm way down here in the South. :) x

Tsukasa Sama – I agree x

Chapter 8 – Paris

The journey to Paris took less time than Lyra expected and before she even had time to appreciate the port they had docked in she found herself saddled onto a horse and riding full speed towards her destination.

She had never left her village and had no experience of life beyond her town so part of her felt almost sad when Bouqois had presented her with the horse she was to ride almost as soon as she had stepped off the boat.

The other part however, was delighted. The sooner she got to Paris, the sooner she would be back in the arms of her lover.

She was only a day or so behind Nightmare, she didn't expect him to have made exceptional progress in his search for Cervantes and the mysterious sword. With any luck, he would have spent the day sleeping off the pains of travelling such a distance over the far from calm sea, as Lyra would like to have been doing, assuming Nightmare had had an equally distressing journey as she.

Lyra glanced around as the horse galloped on, she was vaguely aware of getting lost. Bouqois had told her to keep to the one road, but even still she was in a foreign country with no knowledge of the landscape and by the looks of things on a deserted road with no one to help her should she lose her way.

She had been riding for what seemed like most of the day when she came to a small collection of houses, on the verge of what appeared to be the city of Paris. With a heavy smile, Lyra dropped off her horse and went in search of someone who could point her in the right direction. If Nightmare had been heading for Paris he would have docked in the same port as her and as a result may have passed through the place in which she now stood. The thought that he had crossed the sea and yet she might be able to find him with little effort gave her almost a buzz and she couldn't help a wide smile as she led her horse through the sparsely populated town.

As she was passing she found a small girl sitting outside one of the houses. Lyra approached the girl still smiling, "Excuse me?" she asked. The girl looked up at her, she had fiery red hair contrasting with emerald green eyes. "Is this the way to Paris?" Lyra pointed toward the vast city that the town lingered on. She knew it probably in all likelihood was, but she still had to make sure. Her heart soared when the child nodded her reply.

"Thank you," Lyra said, genuinely. She was about to continue on when she paused and spoke again, "I'm looking for someone. He's got long blond hair, he's about this tall…" she mimed as she described Nightmare, "he's new here, he might have passed through yesterday…"

"Amy!" a voice called. A man emerged from the house behind the child. He was tall and extremely well dressed, clearly wealthy with a rapier at his side. He walked with fast strides, so he appeared beside the child almost in an instant. The girl smiled up at him and held onto his hand as he addressed Lyra.

"May I help you?" he asked, a distinct French accent to his voice. Lyra nodded,

"I was wondering if a man passed through here, just yesterday maybe. He'd be…" she set off again into describing Nightmare. When she had finished the man had narrowed his eyes and gestured the child behind him,

"His name?" the man asked.

Lyra hesitated. She didn't know what he would make of his name, but saw no other alternative but to give it, "Nightmare," she whispered, "That's how I know him anyway, it's…" she added quickly, but the man had already interrupted her.

"It's how I know him, too," he muttered. Lyra looked up, filled with hope. But that hope was instantly dashed when he drew the rapier and pointed the tip at her throat. Amy, the girl however had taken refuge inside the house.

"Why are you here?" the man demanded angrily, "Why is he here? What business brings him to France? I thought he had sealed himself away forever…for the sake of the sword."

"You know him?" Lyra asked, quickly momentarily forgetting the sword that pointed a short distance from her neck.

"Answer my questions!" the man snapped, pushing the sword further against her neck so the point actually touched her throat.

Suddenly fearful for her life, Lyra blurted out the answers that he wanted, "He did. He sealed himself away in a cave near my village. But a few days ago a man found Nightmare and took the sword you spoke of. Cervantes…that's what Nightmare called him. He attacked Nightmare and stole the sword."

"And now you come in search of the sword for yourself," the man tightened his grip on his sword and moved his body into a stance, while Lyra shook her head.

"No, I don't now anything about the sword. I don't want to fight anyone. I just want to find Nightmare." She realised she had been holding her breath as the grip on the sword loosed a bit.

"Why?" the final question asked.

"Because I am…my reasons are my own. I just want to find him, I don't care about the sword. Do I look like a fighter?" she demanded, taking an aggressive tone of her own. To her mild surprise it worked and the swordsman lowered the sword.

"Hnh," he huffed, "I suppose not." Lyra's held breath exhaled, deeply as he returned the sword to his side. "My apologies for my rude behaviour," he muttered, bowing to her, slightly, "I am Raphael."

Lyra gave a slight inclination of her head, "Lyra," she introduced herself.

"Come," he gestured with his hand, "We should leave the streets." Lyra looked around to notice a small crowd gathered in the streets to watch the potential fight, and yet not one of them had thought of intervening even though it was clear Lyra hadn't stood a chance if Raphael had been so easily swayed.

Leaving her horse outside of the house, a risk she knew but she really had choice. Lyra followed Raphael into the house, where Amy was playing on the floor of a small, but elegantly decorated sitting room. Raphael gestured for her to take a seat in what compared to her own furnishings back home was a luxury sofa. Raphael took the seat opposite her, resting his rapier at the side of his chair.

"Nightmare did pass through here yesterday," he assured her. "And if I had had my rapier with me I assure here he would have gone no further. I would have killed him there and then."

Lyra jumped in her seat, "Why?" she demanded. Raphael's eyes narrowed,

"I will not allow the sword to be public once more. The knowledge of the Soul Edge almost destroyed my country once. Nightmare took the Soul Edge with him when he vanished. Apparently he sealed himself away and destroyed the way to the sword so the world wouldn't be able to find it. If he is here then the Soul Edge will not be far off. This will draw many to fight him for it…"

"But Nightmare wants to destroy the sword," Lyra interrupted. He told me that. Cervantes found the sword and took it, Nightmare went after it saying that the sword shouldn't fall into the wrong hands."

"And Nightmare thinks his hands are the right ones? Ha!" Raphael mocked her, "Granted he may have won over the dark spirit long enough to protect the sword for this long, but how long will that spirit stay away?"

Lyra made no effort to hide her bewilderment, "I know nothing of the sword," she repeated, gently.

"The sword holds within it a dark evil which can corrupt even the most innocent of souls. That is why so many want the sword destroyed. Nightmare fought for the sword, he had been long possessed by it. Then when it mattered, his own soul won over and he vowed to be the sword's keeper, hiding it away from the world."

"Why would someone want the sword so badly? Cervantes must…"

Raphael cried across her, "Have you not been listening to anything I've said girl? To possess the sword is to posses absolute power. That's why Nightmare fought so hard to keep it and that's why so many fought so hard to take it for themselves." Lyra fell silent, while Raphael continued, "It is far from an ordinary sword. Surely you must have gathered that!" Lyra glared at him, indignant but allowed him to carry on. He didn't, however as Amy piped up from the floor,

"If the sword is here, you'll go away again, won't you?" For the first time since Lyra had arrived, she saw an emotion other than anger in his face. She saw fear and sadness all in one as he dropped to the floor,

"Amy…you know I don't want to leave you…but if the sword is here…"

Lyra became suddenly interested, "You're going after them?"

Raphael snapped his head up, "Of course I am. You don't know the chaos that ensued the last time the sword went public…if people knew the sword was here, if they knew they could fight for it again…I assure you they would. Governments would send their best soldiers to capture it…like my government. I won't have the sword fall into their corrupt hands. The moment I saw Nightmare in this place I knew that he had failed to guard the sword. I won't fail."

His resolve burned into Lyra, while she could see it was greatly distressing for Amy. "I'm coming with you," Lyra told him, firmly.

"You don't have a weapon and you said yourself you do not fight. What makes you think I am going to allow you to accompany me?"

"What makes you think you have a choice?"

Meanwhile on the other side of Paris, Nightmare had been successful in tracking down his assailant. His instincts had been proved correct as he made his way through Cervantes' once abandoned pirate den to find the deceased captain.

"You don't give up easily, do you?" Cervantes' taunts rang through the chamber Nightmare found himself in. He held in his hands the Soul Calibur and the Soul Edge, both swords separate were powerful in their own right, but together they posed even more of a threat.

Nightmare drew the sword he was forced to make do with, "I won't allow the evil of the sword to be released again. I defeated you once, I will defeat you again." He assured his opponant, rising the sword, ready to strike. Cervantes too, took his stance, well then, let's see if you're as good as I remember."

TBC

A/N – I don't actually know if Cervantes uses Soul Calibur…can't remember that much sorry. Leave a nice review though x