A/N: Thanks for the reviews again, guys. I'm rather dubious about this chapter, but I still hope that you enjoy it. Happy holidays!
EDIT: Changed some minor things for grammar, should look better now.
Shadows of Arcadia
Chapter 3
Location: Nasr airspace
Stella groaned and slowly opened her eyes. Ugh... that does it. No more playing the hero. Turning her head, she was able to see the mangled wreck of The Wanderer.
"Shards!" Stella cursed, seeing how badly her ship was damaged. It wouldn't make the rest of the way to Sailor's Island, that's for sure.
"Great. My ship is toast, I'm lost in the desert, and I have no clue how far I am from Nasr." The girl grumbled. "Just great."
Since she didn't have many other options, Stella limped over to the remains of her ship and started looking for supplies that had survived the crash. After an hour or so, she was able to get out all her supplies still in good condition.
"Let's see... Some Sacri crystals, leftover ammunition, some emergency rations... sigh, but no water. Maybe..." Her eyes drifted towards the wreck of the valuan ship. "I hate to do this, but it's either fight the survivors or die. They're bound to have water, and maybe a signal gun." Grabbing the items she had salvaged, she trudged towards the second wreck.
Once she was able to get inside, Stella was shocked at the number of bodies in front of her. Did anyone even survive? She wondered, a little worried. She had never been comfortable around corpses, even before the... attack. Okay, find the supply room and get out ASAP. Should be...simple...
Suddenly, Stella could see a girl around her age in front of the supply room (The door had been knocked open), barely breathing. She had short, blond hair that was currently covering her face, and was wearing brown pants, a yellow vest and a blue tank top. She also had a yellow scarf in one hand and a dragon bracelet on her right arm.
What should I care? Stella thought, feeling a little sorry for the girl. She's just a renegade...
ALONE...
Stella jumped in surprise. She looked around wildly for the source of the voice, but noone else was there.
LOST...
"Who are you?" The voice... it was deep, dark, but also somehow musical...
FORGOTTEN...
Stella sighed. "I'm probably going to regret this." Picking up the girl, she headed out of the ship.
The sun was setting over the desert as Stella tried to start a fire. She had ended up using some wood from her ship, as well as some fire-starters from the Valuan ship. So far, that girl was the only survivor.
Why am I doing this? All I'm gonna get out of it is less rations and a pain in the neck. Anyway, she's a renegade Valuan. A murderer. I should take care of her right now...
A small groan interrupted Stella's thoughts as the girl opened her eyes and slowly sat up.
"Wha... where am I?"
"So, you've finally woken up, renegade." Stella said, looking over the fire. "I didn't think you'd make it, considering no one else survived."
"What? Everyone's...dead?" The girl looked shocked, and Stella couldn't blame her. The girl looked up at Stella, and appeared to be seeing her for the first time. Her gaze then shifted to the wreck of The Wanderer.
"It... it was you..." The girl got up, shaken with rage. "You DID THIS...!"
She tried lunging towards Stella, but after one step her ankle twisted and she cried in pain. Stella looked on, indifferent.
"H...how could you..."
"Grow up kid." Stella said cooly. "Like I would have spared you if I knew you were on there? You renegades are all the same, liars and murderers." She stared at the girl, lifting her hair so her robotic eye was visible. "You think you're the only ones that matter..."
"That's not true!" The girl said, finally appearing to have heard enough. "I'm not like that! And neither were my parents! But we didn't have a choice because they were taken hostage! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A 'RENEGADE'! MY NAME IS MILA!"
Stella froze, stunned. She hadn't expected THAT. "Mila... I'm sorry..."
"Yeah, well what do you know! I bet YOU haven't lost anyon-"
SLAP
Mila held her cheek, looking at Stella.
"I've lost more than you could ever realize."
The red moon slowly made it's way over the desert, and two girls by a fire.
"I'm so sorry Stella, I had no clue..."
"Forget it. You didn't know."
"Yeah, but..."
"Drop it. We've each had our little rant, let's think about how we're gonna survive." Stella lay back and looked at the stars. "You think a caravan will come by?"
"I suppose. Especially with the trade route to Esparanza so common now," Mila replied.
"Okay, but we couldn't find any signal guns. Only that rifle of yours." That was true. They had searched the Valuan ship together for hours and had only found Mila's rifle, her preferred weapon, and some water.
"Well, actually, I'm quite good with... Hey, what's that?" Mila pointed into the night sky, where Stella could see the port and starboard lights of...
"A ship! It's a ship! Stella, we're SAVED!" The blonde cried in joy, bouncing up and down where she sat.
"Well, DUH, but how will we..."
FLASH
Mila had started to charge up some magic, looking at an imaginary spot next to the ship. Holding up her hand, she shot a Electri spell at that point, which had to get the captain's attention.
"Well, whaddaya know." Stella watched in admiration.
"Well, kid," Stella added, as the ship lowered and a rope ladder dropped down a short ways away. "It's not much of a ship right now, but I guess..." Stella thought about this for a few seconds. "I don't have a choice. Welcome to the crew of The Wanderer."
And that is the end of chapter 3. Stay tuned for chapter 4, which will probably go up after christmas holidays.