Middle Heaven
By Mister Bottomless
A/N – Hehe… Guys! Annika Lee! Rosarymary! Guys! Awwwww… you're so sweet, you don't know how long my story has been rotting there un'reviewed'… Seriously! Thanks! With cherries on top!
Now, ahem… I'll just give a brief explanation. On this chapter, you may conclude I have lengthened the so-called-prologue a little bitsy more, but hey now… I can't stop making angsty, mushy and family drama! Hahaha! It's actually my new gimmick! Thanks again!
Well yeah, people say my beginning lacks action, so people might instantly get bored reading this, but please! I hope you'd compromise! puffy eyes And yeah, this is not going to be a battle of the babies…
Annika! By an chance, do you know Mary Louise Ramos, or for short, Marlo? Hehe. If you do, you must know Esodane, a writer of fanfics! Haha. Let's then play a guessing game. Who am I?
Chapter 2Eat
On a distance, Kaeryl ran across the populated streets of her city, Juno… It was just day, and it was nice… For it was sunny, and several birds soaring above, and white, cotton clouds steady. But the day after that night, for the sage who found a young entity in an edge of a forest, was no ordinary…
The moment the school gates opened outside, she set off… Let her teachers sue her… Let them scold her, and give her punishment… She'd just make it a point to give a heavy basket covered with cloth strapped on her well-made back to someone she knew would give life a chance… 'Oh god…' she sprinted, and caused to bump a few caskets of cheap-looking stones being selled by desperate merchants, "Sorry!" she said, and continued, "Mother…"
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The green-haired sage knocked on a wooden door of a hollow-looking cottage. No one answered, and she knocked again, "Anybody home?" she calmly said… She waited again, somehow ended up observing the place… it was a long time since she went here again… She rarely did go out and walk as far as she went that day… Heck, she rarely goes out to meet with her mother… the woman living in this homey abode… "Mom?"
A rush of footsteps then was heard inside, "coming!" A gentle voice tattled. She opened the door. Her eyes widened with joy, and she missed the young, pretty woman in front of her, "Kaeryl?"
"Mother!" She loudly said, and hugged her mom tightly. She had a good look on her mom… Shifa… Graying hair, but it was still mild and smooth, and her face too, tranquil and wise. She had the essence of grape stuck on her clothes… "I miss you," she mumbled happily,
Her mother smiled, "Me too," her breath was sweet (A/N – and no, Kaeryl's not going to fall in love with her mother, wakekekekeke! Just joking!) "C'mon in, I was just having breakfast," she gave way to her daughter with a hand, and a welcoming path,
"Yeah,"
They calmly went to the kitchen, "You know, I really miss this place," Kaeryl commented… Sniffing on the hollow air inside the house… Only a few furnishings designed the refuge, but it was the thing that made it cozy… it's natural simplicity…
They ate, and talked about things… Life, in general… The father died, sadly… He was once a hunter of the Ygdrassyl in the age of the last generation… Now it was found… And the family was proud… Though with the sacrifice of family incompleteness… But they talked… joys? What would you expect for a family who haven't seen each other for a while… Until Shifa then noticed the Wicker basket on Kaeryl's back, until then, the young sage was smiling, "Kaeryl, what's that?" and her smile died…
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The huntress was once again invited to meet with the king. Only this time, it was for lunch. She still didn't know what the great Tristran meant… 'Another life… Freya?' she speculated… It was such a ridiculous theory… How could some dead woman's soul go to another body, and how could even that be when spoke of Freya, a fallen… "What's happening, Koy…" she mumbled to the petite blob above her head,
"Why are you asking me, my mistress…" a voice said, "it's obvious I don't know…"
Liandrin just shrugged, "Oh well…" she continued to walk, "But… The king's really serious about this, and he's not telling me…"
"Why would he tell you some apocryphal prophesy? He doesn't want anyone getting so nervous about this…"
"But even so… I'm a warrior of the Maranatha… and I have the right to know…" Liandrin sighed… "Just the moment it was peaceful, the next there's this celestial problem…"
"… and the public hasn't heard of it yet." A gentle voice whispered behind Liandrin's ear, and it was not Koy speaking…
Liandrin turned, and it was the high priest Tobi Jarth in nothing but a robe blocking his bare chest, and pants running down to his heels. His face was smothered with innocence, and her dark-blue bangs protruded his face…"Tobi?"
"I see the king had invited you too to lunch…" he commented, and then gave Koy a friendly cuddle,
Liandrin smiled, "A meeting?" Tobi nodded,
They were finally there, and they were welcomed by an antique table, and the royal king seated opposite of the doors, "Good evening," the Tristran smiled, "I see you two have met on your way here,"
Both of them bowed, and Tobi stepped forward, "Yes, my highness…" he mumbled to Liandrin, "shall we…?"
"Liandrin Morgase, Tobi Jarth… I invite you to eat…" he said courteously, and the two ushered to the two seats opposite of him. "And after our dinner, I'll discuss to you some matters,"
"Yes" the two said in unison, and they ate…
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"I see," Shifa said calmly as Kaeryl displayed Anaiya inside the basket, "And where and when did you find this baby girl?" she said curiously,
"Mother… I know its dumb I'd tell you this, but I found it last night in the forest." Kaeryl said with a sigh and an obvious trace of honesty to it,
Shifa raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you students not allowed to go out at night?"
The naughty sage froze, and gave out a nervous giggle, "I know," and then she coughed, "But I caught sight of a magic spell out there through the window in my room. When I saw it, I was curious…"
"And you really went out?" Her mother sighed, "and what am I supposed to do, you're always like this, sneaking out and all that," she smiled, "And then, what happened, my dear,"
"But the strange thing is, I went there, and as horrible as it sounds, I found this baby surrounded by dead people," she said straightly, that caused her mother to spike up her back in shock.
"You didn't…"
"Yes I did. I know. You must be thinking about the violence. Heck, I'm sure all of us have killed porings before, mother…" she paused, "But its really weird I found her in a place like that… and she even has purple eyes…" she sighed…
"Purple eyes…" Shifa repeated, "What a rare iris for dirty bloood of demi-humans like us… the whole civilization of Midgard…" she mumbled, and sighed.
"I guess…"
"So what do you want me to do, Kaeryl…" Shifa spoke, waiting for the obvious answer,
"Isn't it written all over this whole situation, mother?" Kaeryl said nervously and slowly, hoping her mom would take this light and tender… "I… I want you to take care of the baby for the meantime." The green-haired sage finally stated,
"Isn't this typical, throwing your responsibilities again to your mom," the lady sighed, "Sure, and when your older, and when this girl is older, I'll give her to you…"
"I'm sorry, mom… really… I know it was stupid of me to recklessly bring a breathing baby to you, or even to my business…"
The mom touched her daughter's cheek, "Well, it would also be stupid of you to leave a clue to some mystery, and it would also be stupider of you not to bring this girl to me…" she said, and hugged her, "What is this baby's name again…?"
"Anaiya, mom… Anaiya Estefanne…" she said, her heart doing that flipping thing… she guessed this must be the feeling when you have someone or something weak to take care of… "…Obelath, she'll be my future adopted daughter…" the young sage ambitioned…
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"Now," The king coughed,
"Yes, my highness…" Tobi and Liandrin said again, that loyal tone of voice, full of dutiful justice… Koy then went outside of the door politely, as commanded by his master… This was a conference only for the king and his advisers…
"As you may have learned, Freya still hasn't been killed yet, instead, our soldiers have been," he said as-a-matter-of-factly, "I have explained it to you, Liandrin…"
"Yes, my highness…" she replied, and nodded,
"And you too, Tobi…" he sighed, a mysterious depth then appeared misty inside the dinner room, "I invited you here, since I have to give you some important updates, of what has come by the kingdom… The public still hasn't known yet, and is apparently unwary of what is happening right now… Right now, the problem is only known only inside of the great walls of the Pronteran palace…"
"… and the Maranatha," Tobi said,
The king nodded, "I… I'm going to use Line again…" he sighed, and was right what would be the reaction of Liandrin,
"But my lord!"
"Yes, my lord, and what is the reason for using that device again?" Tobi interfered Liandrin. He knows very well Liandrin is the sole protector of the king, his only bodyguard, and a woman too…
"I don't want to take any risks, Tobi… The kingdom has done enough to protect itself. Now, it is my time to guard this land…"
"But surely this problem hasn't gone overboard yet. It is only a matter of time until Freya is dead!" Tobi replied, and Liandrin served as a nodding audience supporting Tobi,
"Jarth is right, my highness…"
The Line was a device made by the gods to make contact to Midgard, an only the most royal, the King Tristran, can only use the machine… It was the sole machine that can only pierce mortality to immortality, to make them contact with each other… But using Line was more than a communication tool… It was far greater… And why? Only the king knows, unfortunately…
"It's plain unnecessary," Tobi concluded, "Line has only be used for only the most severe cases,"
The king just shook his head, "This is severe, Tobi,"
"No it's not, and I like all of us to believe so," Tobi declared, with an ending point,
"Let's just see," The two didn't reply anymore, "And another thing…"
"Yes, my Lord…?" They asked, in unison again,
The king sighed, "I then trust you to take care of Enovah…" he paused, "… after I take leave of Midgard… and this will only be kept quiet within this Pronteran walls…" he whispered sadly, "Tobi… please do everything to mold the prince to what he must face… and you, Liandrin, protect him…" The king stood, and the two commanded themselves to bow in front, "That's all…" he mumbled finally and began to walk…
"Take care, my highness Tristran," Liandrin whispered, as the mighty Tristran passed her way, and begged to god he will…
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The bell had rang, and it symbolized the light at the end of the tunnel… It was the end of Magic Synthesis class, and Kaeryl saw the crummy teacher finally leave the room. She sighed deeply, and began to fix her bag again. She was desperate to go back to school not affording to be late. He spent an extra thirty minutes in her mother's house, just making sure her mother would properly take care of the baby… Heck, Anaiya wasn't even hers! But… she knew she was destined to meet with her… That mysterious, red moon night…
"What happened to that baby last night?" Sandra then popped out in front of her, that caused Anaiya to push back her chair in surprise…
"I gave it to my mom, Sandra…"
"Oh, well, that's good…" she said with a giggle, "It's funny how you get the knack of doing the most reckless things in the world, and not get so nervous and twitchy…"
Kaeryl raised her eyebrows, "I am nervous and twitchy…" she sighed, "Oh well…" she stood up with her bag then on her shoulder,
Sandra smiled, "did you get about that thing when we're supposed to combine all the elemental-support spells, and block their sources to create spell-less ground?"
"Duh…" Kaeryl said nerdilly (A/N – is there such a word?) "Just spell each of them from alpha to omega, and practive up dexterity so you'll have stamina," (A/N – what the fuck am I talking about!) Kaeryl said with closed eyes,
Sandra just looked at her point blank, "You're such a nerd," she sighed, "and you still manage to get all the cute guys in campus,"
"Bah!" she replied. She didn't even liked one of them…
And they walked out of the classroom…
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A/N – There you go! Hope you like that one… Though I'm really upset with myself I made the thing about the king and the two generals so quick, and it was rough and maudlin… But that's my best I guess, though I promise you I'll do better than next time! Promise! Well, anyways, see ya next chappie…
I still have to review for the friggin' quarterly exam on Science… I used to like science, until that crummy, stupid teacher came in that subject… Arghhh…. I hate her, I hate her! She makes the subject and the classroom much worse than hell for 1 hour and 20 minutes three times a week!