Sabie: Woo! There are more people reading this! Starts dancing
Aika: Yay! Now for review replies!
Aleu: Thanks for catching those! The computer I type on doesn't have spellcheck... Jus be gld i dn't type lyk thys... (Just be glad I don't type like this...)
Onasi: Glad you enjoy it!
The Right Hand Of Fate: No, I haven't... But I'm glad you like the concept!
Telos: Thank you very much. I wonder what you think will happen...
Sabie: Well, that's enough of that. Story time!
"So..." Tuyin said, after hearing Mila's story. "That's what happened..."
"Yes..." Mila said carefully, not wanting to burst out in tears.
"I'm very sorry to hear about Miss Stella's death," The boy stated as he started to clear the table. He hadn't said a word during Mila's recollection of the past few days, paying close attention to the details.
"She may have acted cold a lot of the time, but it was only to endure the scorn of other sailors. She was a truly good person, determined to avenge her family and stop a great evil."
"Yeah..." Mila said, draining the rest of her tea from its cup. "She mentioned that before... Said that people would call her crazy..."
"That was the case a lot of the time. People often don't believe in an evil they can't see. Stella told me about this Gigas... Blade... when we first met, and even I had trouble believing her. But the way she described it..." Tuyin paused and shuddered for a moment. "I never doubted her again."
Mila said nothing, only giving a small, acknowloging nod.
"So... what will you do now?" Tuyin asked.
"I... I'm not sure..." The Valuan replied. "I think I'll look for Blade. I just... I have this feeling that he's not totally evil..."
"Yes, you mentioned that. A Gigas that can take on a human form... It makes sence that he would have a human soul as well."
Tuyin left the table and started to head towards the kitchen. "I think... I think that I will go with you. Stella was my friend as well, and we have to stop the Black moon."
"Really? But... What about your family? Your job?" Mila asked, surprised.
Tuyin gave a small smile. "My family came here from Maramba when Nasrad was destroyed. We had no money... We hardly had a ship, but we knew it was our duty as Nasreans and human beings to help the survivors. I'm sure they would understand. Besides," he continued, "a job won't be very important if the world is destroyed, will it?"
Mila paused, and took a good look at Tuyin. He was an average height, with medium-lengh hair that showed slightly under his hat. He wore a traditional Nasrean outfit with a red design, the type of clothing that was specially made for the desert temperatures. Like all Nasreans, he had a pair of goggles that rested on his forehead. From her time speaking with him, Mila knew that he was kind and had a calm personality. Not exactly the kind of person you would expect to want to fight...
Then again, Mila thought, He's also the kind of person who keeps calm in a crisis, who knows what he has to do. And his eyes... There's some thing about them... Like they have an inner fire...
"I'd be happy to have you come with me, Tuyin," she answered. "You can clear it with your parents, and then we'll leave tomorrow, okay?"
"That will be wonderful," Tuyin smiled. "I can also get some good food supplies; our family has been friends with the owner of this tavern for quite some time."
"Great!" Mila said happily, knowing that they now had hope. "I'll meet you in front of the inn tomorrow!"
Mila lay awake on her bed, staring out the window at the royal palace. It was almost midnight, but she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his face...
Blink. Blade as he first appeared, a sinister figure in his black cloak...
Blink. Blade running towards Stella, striking, killing...
Blink. Blade's tear-stained face, a pained expression as he tried to understand his actions...
The young Valuan groaned and turned on her side. It's no good, she thought. Part of me wants to shoot him, and part of me wants to hold him and comfort him...
A single tear ran down her cheek. Why am I feeling this way?
"You're not pitying yourself now, are you Mila?"
Hearing the voice made her sit up suddenly, and she realized that she now lay on a metal floor. There was a low rumble, evidence that she was on a ship of some kind. Looking around, she saw two figures in a corner.
One was a tall, elegant looking blonde woman, who would look even prettier if not for the ripped violet dress and her scratches. The other was a small child with the same coloured hair and a torn blue dress, currently sobbing in the woman's arms.
By the moons... Mila realized, That's me... and mom... The day we were captured...
It was now clear that this was a dream. However, Mila didn't usually fall asleep so fast... or know she was in one...
Her thoughts settled down when she heard her mother speak again. It was such a joy to hear her voice...
"I understand that you're scared, but pity is useless now. It weakens you, makes you hold back when the only way out is to use everything you have. You, your father and I are alive, that's all that matters."
The younger Mila then spoke, and Mila was surprised to hear herself quietly say the same thing.
"But mommy... I'm scared..."
"Shh... I understand, sweetie... Fear is perfectly alright, but we can't give up. We can still be rescued..."
8 years older since that day, Mila could hear the lie from her mother's lips. The renegades whose ship they were on had sent a ransom notice, the amount they wanted ten times the money Valua had, even before the rains of destruction. As a child, Mila hadn't understood what the note was, and believed her mother.
But Mila also understood that the lie had calmed her down, and given her hope. Even years after, when all she knew of life was the ship and the surrounding area, she still had that optimism deep in her heart.
Thank you mother... Thank you for giving me that lie. Thank you for the hope keeping me from fear and despair...
Blade can still be rescued... And this time, it's true.
The scene changed. It was several years later, as the dream Mila now wore the familiar white vest, blue tube top and brown pants. She had gotten those pants after an adventure landside; They were much more comfortable than the dresses usually worn by arcadian women. Mila had always wondered why they never caught on...
The dream Mila walked into the room, closing the door behind her. She then turned and gained a look of shock on her face, seeing her parents in tears. The real Mila realized with a start what this part of the vision was.
"Mom! Dad! What happened?"
Her father was the first to look up, using his scarf to wipe away his tears.
"It's your mother... Some of the sailors have been beating her..."
"What?" Mila ran to her parents and sure enough, large bruises were on her mother's arms and legs. A small cut had formed on her cheek; the blood was mixing with her tears.
"No..." Mila said in shock. Her mother was always so kind, so caring... How could they do this? "Did they do anything else..."
"No, thank the moons," Her mother replied. "But if they turn towards you, Mila..."
That was the first time in her life Mila was truly angry. Seeing how her family was treated like they were dirt, beneath dirt... And despite her own injuries, her mother still worried about her safety...
"I'll kill them!" The young girl shouted. "They can't do this! I'll steal a gun, and I'll..."
The dreaming Mila, though she wasn't feeling it, still flinched at her father's slap across her face.
"You will do NO such thing, Mila," He said sternly. "As far as they know, they can. And if we react like you just did, they will do even worse things. We've survived for the past 6 years, and I will NOT let you throw away your life!"
"What life?" Mila yelled back. "What chance do we have of getting out? We'll never escape, all because you won't let us! I wish that I was never born! Or at least not to a family that gets captured!"
She then turned towards her mother, and instantly regretted those words. Instead of the sad concern from before, there was an expression of deep despair on her mother's face.
"I know you don't truly think that..." She said quietly. "I understand that you're mad, but there's no point in reacting. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Mom..." Mila paused, then knelt and hugged her mother. "I'm sorry. I just... can't take this anymore..."
"Shh, I know. It's hard to keep going sometimes..." Her mother paused, and slipped off her armband. It was a deep brass color, with a serpent image wrapped around the center.
"Here, I almost forgot," Her mother said, holding the piece of jewlery out. "Happy birthday, Mila."
Mila's father unwrapped the scarf from around his neck, giving it to her as well. "It's hard to keep track... But we were able to find out the current date, and..."
Mila looked up with tears in her eyes. "Thank you..." She said hugging them both.
Her mother smiled. "Just remember... Even if there's nothing to live for, there's always something to smile for..."
And I've remembered that, mom. I would have died if it wasn't for you stopping me... I lost control, and wanted to rush in without thinking. You reminded me to be sympathetic to others, but not to throw my life away...
I'll keep fighting. I'll find Blade. I may end up killing him, but only if there's no other way.
He can change... I know it. I can help him find a new purpose, and a reason for him to smile.
Suddenly, a huge explosion tore the ship apart. Mila's parents were torn from her arms, and she screamed as they fell into deep sky. Looking up, she could only see darkness, and then...
A large, golden-yellow dragon was flying straight at her.
Mila woke up suddenly, shivering from the cold night and the shocking end to her dream. Looking out the window, she realized that large columns of smoke were rising from the docks.
The explosion was no dream. Nasr was being attacked...
And in the light of the flames, there was the sillouhette of a large serpent. Mila's voice faltered, but she was able to say the name of the atacker:
"Bl...Blade..."
Sabie: Thank you, everyone who's read this story! I hope that you continue to like it enough to follow it to the end! See you next chapter!