A/N: Whew! Finally, I got to type my second chapter! I've been very busy in the Gaia Online world with my (or rather our) avatar, -KiMiGee-… I'd want to remind you, Feathertop that I'm selling the Bammi Hat and the Angelic Boots and I bought a Guitar of Angellus for 9k! Ok, enough of my Gaian stuff, let's get on with the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Ragnarok Online, Final Fantasy or any of the Dan Brown stuff. Whew...
o.O.o.O.o
Chapter 2: Sol Invictus
Isabelle's mother had been shaking her awake, holding her shoulders in a clumsy manner. She opened her eyes wide and found that her pillows were drenched in cold sweat and her sheet was twisted underneath her. The lamp on her bedside table had been knocked off and broken.
"Are you, alright, Isa?" her mother asked her gently.
"I'm ok but- Sissy!" she suddenly remembered and got off the bed.
"Isabelle, calm down," her mother tried to clam her down as she got out of the room hurriedly, "Antoinette is fine."
Not listening to a word her mother said, Isabelle stubbornly got off, her crimson gossamer night gown trailing behind her. She grabbed the doorknob to a huge oak door and opened it with great urgency.
"Sissy?" Isabelle called out breathlessly, her eyes scanning the room.
She found a human mass on the white bed. On it was a ghastly face, as pale as the sheets around it. However deathly glow her face illuminated, her hair stood out with a dark brown sheen. Isabelle took a deep breath and kissed her sister's forehead. Her sister's eyes were still closed as she did that. Her sister looked so serene that time, one couldn't have guessed that she couldn't talk, walk, hear or see.
"She's alright."
Her mother was quite an odd creature in her own right, possessing the same pointy ears as the sisters'. The only difference her ears possessed was that it was pointier and longer than theirs. It was riddled with several unfathomable tattoo-like markings. And it seemed that Isabelle had inherited her mother's dark hair.
"You don't want to wake her now, do you?"
"It's been seven years, mom," Isabelle said, walking with her mother back to her room, "I fear for Sissy… If she'll ever be, you know, normal again..."
"Pretty soon," her mother smiled sadly at her as she got on her bed, "I'm sure she will. Sol will have mercy on us."
"G'night, mom."
"Goodnight, sweetie," her mother kissed her forehead and left the room.
Be strong, little Vieran princess…
"What happened to Vieras being a proud and honest race, Amelia?" Isabelle's mother found herself face to face with her husband, a normal-eared, brown-haired and gruff-faced man much older than her.
"I don't know what to do, Stephen," Amelia hung her head, "Isabelle's not old enough to handle this and the Elder is meeting her tomorrow!"
"She's seventeen, Amelia, and I think she's old enough to handle this," Stephen told his wife, "If Isabelle hears you, it would be as if you think you don't trust her."
o.O.o.O.o
Isabelle pressed her ear harder against the door separating her room from the hallway. In the stillness of the night, every word her parents were saying was heard by her sensitive hearing. She gritted her teeth and bit her lip. She stomped, albeit silently, back to her bed and dived under the covers. She jumped suddenly from a noise on her windowsill.
"Is that you?" she groaned.
A bamboo ladder was propped against the windowsill, and on it was a teenage boy that looked no less than eighteen. He had a wild mane of spiky red hair, the same ears as Isabelle's mother and equally crimson eyes as his hair.
"Don't you ever use the front door, Licus?" she asked him, grinning as well.
"Don't you ever notice that it's 12:45 am?" Licus stepped over the windowsill and grabbed a chair near Isabelle's bed, "So, what's up? You look like my grandma on a summer holiday when my grandpa forgot to bring her suntan lotion!"
"I'm not mad at anybody, Li," Isabelle frowned a bit, "Just myself."
"What did you do to yourself?"
"Stop acting stupid, Li!" Isabelle's frown turned into a huge pout, "You know that tomorrow's the day, right?"
"That you're finally going to give me your collection of Unglued Magic Cards, right?" Licus grinned sheepishly.
"You wish!" she stuck out her tongue, "I will track down the Dark Scar, Li."
"You know that you look scary when you're all tough like that, right?" Licus shuddered, "Besides, what are you going to do to the Dark Scar once you find him?"
"I'm going to kill him."
o.O.o.O.o
He was stumbling down the Morrocan streets, a brown-haired figure with glinting green eyes. His face held a kind of rough air, maybe telling others that his experiences had not at all been pleasant. However, this man had worn these experiences as a badge of honor. As he used a scratched old guitar as a makeshift cane, he stumbled on the streets in a drunken stupor, his head spinning like mad.
The night was growing deeper as the minutes dragged by. The moon had bathed the desert city with an eerie, pale blue light.
I want her.
On the distance was a teenage girl, flourishing a dagger. She was in the garb of a thief, and was apparently doing some midnight practicing of her skills.
Get her.
His eyes suddenly flashed and the scar on his cheek turned blood red…
o.O.o.O.o
Isabelle's mother was trying to coax her to eat by dangling a piece of toast above her nose. This was her day, she figured, and she was too nervous to eat. Instead, her eyes shifted to her sister, witting serenely… mutely… beside the open window of the dining room.
I won't fail you, Sissy.
"You look less a magician today than you are yesterday," Stephen remarked at her semi-gothic attire, "Why can't you dress properly?"
Amelia flashed her husband a dangerous look and went on fussing on Isabelle.
"You have to be ready, dear," Amelia kept on fussing.
"I can handle this, mom."
At that, a knock came at the door and a perk Licus came in supporting a limping, bald old man garbed in a pure white robe. The man had a beard that trailed to the floor. His baldness also emphasized his ears, which were as long as Licus'.
"Licus, you finally used the front door!" Isabelle grinned at her best friend and then whispered, "Your grandpa looks creepy, by the way."
"It is time, Isabelle," the old man reached out for Isabelle's hand, "Give me your palm."
She tossed a light gray bag to Licus and grinned some more. Isabelle then turned her right hand face up and the old man held it gently. The tips of her ears suddenly illuminated and the room was bathed in a golden light that gave off some sort of feeling of melancholy. Isabelle stood very still, clutching her bag tightly beside her.
There was another flash and the floor glowed with different colored symbols, inscrutable in themselves. She gently closed her eyes as she felt something materialize beneath the fingers of her outstretched hand.
The Sol Invictus…
Bit by bit, she disappeared from sight, leaving behind a trail of yellow Pyreflies.
Stay safe, Isa… Good luck… Licus sighed and looked into the grey pouch. He pulled put a Magic Card box with the heading "Unglued."
o.O.o.O.o
Antoinette sat still on the corner silently, not seeing nor hearing anything… But she knew how Isabelle felt… What she's doing right now… What she will go against…
Joys…
Triumphs…
Suffering…
A tear fell from Antoinette's blind eyes as she prayed in her head.
Sol Invictus, help her…
o.O.o.O.o
A/N: Whew! That's it! I was inspired by Yuna, Tidus and Co. while I was writing this! Oh yeah, and I won't forget my other inspiration, you know who you are, Cloud Strife! Ahihihihi… Just kidding! Oh yeah, Pyreflies are these things in Final Fantasy Xthat appear when the monsters die orsomething... Sol Invictus is aLatin word that means Sun Worship... So the Vieras worship the Sun, "Sol" in this case, literally...Neyweys, my reviewers who receive warm fuzzies:
Feathertop- Reviews… make… the world of fanfiction go round, eh? Oh yeah, pink does NOT suck! I just don't like it anymore as I have liked it then… ahihihi… Nag-iisa na lang si Louise, the Pink Menace… Wehehehe! Mizya Baby Gee! Nyahahahahahaha… Oh yeah, Eric is STILL sexy… -evil laugh again-
Beh- I know you, don't I? Sabat! Ahihihihi… Neyweys, my biggest fan! Hahahaha… (I'm all "hahaha" in this commentary) Malapit na lang yung birthday ng iba diyan… Ahem ahem…
Zeek72- Eh? Poring By Your Side was my first-ever fic! Glad you liked it! Continue enjoying this one! Hehehe!
Chonki- Dude, she did NOT die… Bro, you stereotype too much… Once again, I prove you wrong! Oh yeah, typos are acceptable and the Kafra part was a bit tricky to phrase… Thanks for the comment, bro! And you don't "rock" you're just sexy… Am I right, Gee?
Oh well, that's all for now! Thanks to everyone! Even those who read my story even ROCK ON!