Finally mustered the will to start Chap. 2. By the way, if this seems a bit rushed, it is, because I want to get to the later chapters soon. Remember, 4-14 are already all written. Thanks for showing me the mistakes, Zipis.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Date: 1003 A.D.
The midday sun shone brightly in her eyes, and disturbed her dreams, despite the fact that she was having none, and her head hurt so painfully. The distant chirp of birds, probably a few canaries, however faint, only added to the headache, and the painful feeling in her shoulder did nothing to ameliorate the situation.
Lucca felt a body stir next to her, and a chair slide into position beside her. Turning her head sluggishly, and opening her eyes with even less fervor, she saw Marle's hand shine green and press against her shoulder. The numbing pain subsided.
"Are you feeling better?" The princess asked, the sickly green glow of her hand contrasting with her vibrant jade eyes. Lucca groaned in anguish and coughed weakly; she nodded her head, but the involuntary convulsions of her body to the pain destroyed her lie.
Glancing around the room, Lucca recognized the grandiose, though bare, interior of the infirmary in Guardia Castle. The marble walls were pristine but uncharacteristically devoid of adornments; every other room in the massive fortress had breastplates, shields, or portraits hanging from every available inch of wall space. The idea was that clutter slowed the healing process; Lucca wished these decorations were there, so the room would remind her less of a nurse's office, and would make her seem less like a brash toddler who just skinned his knees.
"That spell takes a lot out of people. You should have used a barrier like I told you." Marle said matter-of-factly, unrolling a bundle of cloth that would serve to placate the mild dislocation in Lucca's shoulder. The purple-haired girl frowned and jerked her shoulder away.
"You weren't on the other end of the most powerful spell in history. You have no right to talk, so don't." Lucca spat, more spitefully than she expected. She was fully aware of how childish the statement was, and how it didn't exonerate her from her carelessness, but she felt a need to argue nonetheless.
"I've been victim to that several times, and I've always used a barrier. It's almost common sense," Marle answered, mildly defensive. Lucca looked away in scorn as the Princess bandaged her, but could still see the princess through a mirror at the far side of the room. Marle's hair was raised in an elegant bun atop her hair, and she wore a golden necklace with the seal of Guardia engraved on the sapphire at the end of it. Meanwhile, Lucca lay in bed with a hospital sheet hiding her tattered tunic.
"I don't appreciate your elitism. Spekkio used the easiest spell in the book for a reason, you know." Lucca spat harshly. She saw Marle's expression fill with sadness, and the Princess left without a word when Lucca's bandage was well secured.
Date: 1003 A.D.
Lucca was glad Marle had done such a good job of nursing her back to health. She had been out cold for about a day and a half, waking up sporadically just to realize how much pain she was in, only to fall back asleep; yet, she felt fine now.
Pacing through the castle courtyard, the purple-haired girl comtemplated her next course of action. Regardless of how much she convinced herself that Marle had gotten it easier, Spekkio had still wiped her out in a single spell, and a spell that could have been weathered with a barrier and the appropriate potion. It was evident to Lucca that she was quickly losing her "touch", if one may call it that, and was falling behind both in fame, appearance, and combat ability; and she would be damned if she would let that spoilt princess hog all the glory.
Lucca cackled and reveled in her genius. She had something to prove to herself first and foremost, if only to boost her confidence; yet, the plan she concocted for that purpose seemed so challenging that success could only feed her insatiable egomania.
"I need my gun…"
It was dark now, on the very same day. After having quickly returned to the castle to grab her Wondershot, Lucca quickly headed to the castle's archery range (which had been temporarily used as a landing place for the Epoch because of Lucca's condition), and boarded the craft. It felt awkward to enter the craft in near pitch darkness, guided only by a crescent moon which exhumed little to no light, and in the absence of her companions. Yet, Lucca sensed an unbelievable amount of exhilaration at her destination, and typed in the coordinates as she had done so many times.
Date: 6,000,000 BC
The beauty of this primitive Earth struck Lucca, as it had always done before. The jagged geometry of the Prehistoric mountains, still unscathed by time and her relentless chisel, the random volcanic explosion that filled the air with both sulfur and pandemonium; it was a crazed inventor's dream world, and Lucca fit that profile perfectly.
There would be plenty of time for sightseeing, however, for Lucca had a more urgent place to be. All she needed now was an isolated island, some remote speck of land among the immeasurable seas that would provide both the privacy she desired and would leave no evidence of her coming. She found such a location quickly.
The small island was covered with plant life, abundant and unrestrained, so much so that only the sandy beach was cleared. Lucca's intention was simple: to find a few creatures, preferably some dinosaurs, for those were to most challenging. And most importantly, she wished to test her mettle. She had no doubt that she would easily crush any critters that she could find, but the feeling of frying something that can be considered a challenge was good enough.
Hopping out of the Epoch, Lucca placed about five bullets into her Wondershot, placed the weapon in its holster, and ventured into the forest.
The greenery was stunning from outside, but blocked out so much of the sun that its interior was dismal and frightening. These were random lizards of the kind she had never seem before roaming freely; massive insects flew by her eyes, some the size of scorpions, but they apparently, and thankfully, did not like the taste of human flesh.
Venturing deeper into the overgrowth, Lucca began to see even more spectacular creatures. There were giant trees that tried to eat animals as large as rabbits, and eat them in a literal sense, with gnashing teeth of bark and enzymes oozing from their "mouths", as strong as acid.
Lucca was too involved in her stupefaction to notice her predator in the shadows. Out of nowhere, a slender reptile, with an elongated tail that made its total length close to nine or ten feet, left out from behind a bush and tried to tackle Lucca into a large stone, but the girl spun out of the way, and planted a bullet in the creature's head, bursting the cranium and splattering blood over the medley of flora and fauna. A second, third dinosaur of this type arose from the darkness, their eyes gleaming with hunger, and dashed toward Lucca at ridiculous speeds. One of them leapt unto a branch and came at Lucca from the top while the other raced at her from the side.
Finding herself outmatched and unable to use magic for fear of setting the entire island on fire and therefore trapping herself inside the forest, Lucca began dashing towards the beach. The velociraptors pursued with ardor beyond belief, with more joining their ranks; one of the dinosaurs was even trapped by a giant "fly-trap", if one may call it so, and devoured. This did not deter them.
Before long, Lucca found herself at the beach, but nonetheless being chased by over a dozen of these creatures. Finding herself out of breath, her pace slowed, and she was almost ripped apart when one of the reptiles barely missed her ankle and an opportunity to take her down. With their speed, she wasn't sure why they had been unable to catch up to her, but it seemed their otherwise incomparable speed was reduced by their sheer numbers. Without fear of causing an uncontrollable forest fire, Lucca turned around briefly and flung a ball of fire at one of the raptors, grilling it and leaving it twitching upon the sandy floor. Another reptile fell with a bullet in its forehead, creating a pallete of red on the otherwise sparkling white beach. Yet, it seemed, no matter how many of these reptiles was felled by either magic or bullet, they relentlessly chased Lucca. The Epoch was so close, and Lucca was sure she would make it, until she pointed her Wondershot to a raptor and felt the familiar click of an empty gun.
"What the hell…" Lucca thought, panting and on the verge of collapse. The only thing that kept her going was the necessity of self-preservation.
A raptor leapt into the air with all of its strength, and tackled Lucca from behind. It bit randomly, trying to harm its victim in anyway rather than incapacitate it, and more reptiles joined, intent on a feast. Most of them injured their teeth against the chainmail beneath Lucca's tunic, but one managed to rip off the armor and sink its teeth into Lucca's struggling form, leaving a massive, bleeding gash on her torso, just below her collarbone but above her breast. The girl screamed in pain, and was able to escape the gnashing teeth of the voracious reptiles only through a powerful but badly calculated fire spell.
Lucca crawled pathetically away from the animals, her eyes livid with terror, the blood running from her wound despite the hand that pressed against it. Yet, for no apparent reason, the reptiles did not give chase, even as their prey limped towards the Epoch, her only method of escape.
Heavy footsteps rumbled throughout the island, and a massive dinosaur, nearly 30 feet in height, appeared from the lush forest. The smaller creatures dispersed immediately, in the manner ants do when hot water is poured on them.
Lucca's eyes widened. It was just like her to let her pride harm her so; what possibly could have made her think that landing on a remote island, completely isolated and miles away from the closest village, was a good idea, especially when she was alone? And now, she felt her chances of survival dwindle. The pain in her shoulder was unbearable, so much so that she could barely concentrate enough to cast a spell. Her gun had no bullets remaining, and she was too exhausted and terrified to reload the weapon.
The massive reptile crept closer, roaring loadly; Lucca was unsure whether it was from primal instinct, or from glee for having scored a free meal. Lucca backed away from the animal futily, and felt the metal wing on the Epoch strike her elbow. She had no room to run now, with the sea at her back, and she was certainly too hurt to climb into the machine's cockpit now.
The Tyranosaurus Rex inched closer to her, its footsteps coinciding with Lucca's beating heart. It was just a few yards now, and survival instincts had slowly overtaken Lucca's fear. The girl held her bloodstained hands forward, whispering lightly in the wind, and closed her eyes, waiting for death.
Chapter 2 finished. I feel that this chapter was a bit rushed, but I unfortunately want to head to the later chapters quickly. I hope this didn't detract from the story too much. If there's something confusing you, feel free to leave it in the reviews.