Hi to all readers!! Sorry about the fact I took so long to update this. The
reasons are stated as clear as crystal in the apology previously. Please
forgive me!!! :( Anyway, since I am ready to continue this despite feeling
the fire of writing flicker in me, I will do my very best for you guys,
even if you guys don't review or stuff like that. So here's chapter 4 and I
hope you enjoy!! (
Breath of Fire 2: Chapter 4-A little Winidian Adventure, Part 1: Dreams of a Goddess and an unexpected Royal Surprise
"Uh....." Ryu stirred, feeling the piercing and blinding light, which was trying to force open his eyes. "Not happening....." Decided Ryu, as he turned over, determined to ignore the ethereal light to catch some extra sleep.
He lasted only five more seconds when the light intensified, as though it was giving him a piece of its mind for ignoring it. Hr groaned, cursing the stupid light and whatever was causing it before succumbing to the torturous decision to wake up and find out whatever is causing this other- worldly(I think it's a word) light. Ryu grudgingly forced open his eyes against his body's will and sat up. In response, the strangely bright light subsided gradually and a figure seemed to come out of it, walking towards Ryu. Judging from the long hair, slender arms and lithe figure, Ryu deduced that the person was a female. He walked towards her, wanting to seek answers but the woman raised a palm, a signal for him to come no closer.
"Ryu. Ryu Bateson." The woman said in a dreamy voice which sounded youthful and yet seemed to hint that the being that stood before him was ancient, and dangerously powerful. She seemed to be waiting for a response from the young Ranger. He floundered for reasons he cannot think of and stiffly stood straight, now fully awake. Something about this being made him feel queasy and yet, it was as though this unknown stranger was a friend.
Who was she?
"Yeah, that's me. Listen, can I ask you some questions? Where is the Whisperer Forest? Where am I? Who are you? What happened to m-"
"I'll answer your inquisitiveness in due time, young one." The woman said in an amused voice. Had her aura of overwhelming power not been present, Ryu would have snorted at her statement. She sounded no older than him and here she was, a total stranger, claiming that she was his elder. Maybe he should pinch himself and wake up from this absurd dream. He would find himself in the cool, dense forest, waking up and attempting to wake a lazy Woren and two Winidians.
"Oh, but this is all but a dream, Destined Child. In fact, your first Evolution has decimated practically the whole of the Forest and to answer your next question, Katt Chuan, Nina and Mina Winidia are all safe." The figure stepped out of the white light and revealed itself as a young woman of about twenty years of age, her long, silky ebony hair a deep contrast to her smooth, unblemished ivory skin. She wore a crimson silk robe which boasted her figure and she wore a serene smile on her face as she stepped out to meet a surprised Ryu. He gaped at her until he looked directly into her eyes. They were an unearthly, magical golden, giving Ryu a sense of discomfort and uneasiness. Yet he felt this attraction from this woman, a primal need to touch her, caress her and become her servant.....
Out of the blue, Ryu's head suddenly exploded with pain as though there were hammers in it, pounding away at the walls of his consciousness. Alarms blared in his head, telling him to stop having such unsavory thoughts, urging him to step away from this immortally beautiful woman. An internal battle raged within him and he clutched his head, kneeling down and trying to withhold his urge to scream out. Eventually, the protesting side of his being won over and he stumbled back, away from the smiling nymph-like creature, who, oddly enough, seemed to be content with the fact that Ryu had not succumbed to her callings. Ryu panted, sweat trickling down his brow like raindrops on a leaf and he unsteadily drew his sword, pointing it to her as a threat. To his surprise, the woman merely used a bare hand to deflect the sword with her finger and that little action took Ryu by surprise, the sword wrenched from his grasp by a seemingly unknown and powerful primeval force. Ryu, however, was still unable to tear his eyes from her golden orbs of sight. He looked into them and instantly saw strange things revolving in his head.
He saw a blue-haired man together with a white-winged girl and with two other companions, determined looks evident on their faces as they held their weapons. The scene shifts and he finds himself looking at a demented version of the woman, holding twelve keys, each radiating different colours and powers, their glows seemingly amplifying the aura of madness around the woman, dressed in the most inexplicable exotic dress. The image blurrs, and he sees the blue-haired man, transform into something...great and powerful, something which he unfortunately, was unable to see. He roared, the sound radiating vast power and majesty and he saw the blurred image of the transformation charging towards the demented female. The scene shifts again and Ryu finds himself looking at the demented woman in a sorry state. Her once glorious body was now a mass of bloodied wounds, bruises and mutilations. Her beautiful face was distorted, a grotesque mask of madness and death. Even as her keys were scattered around her, blackened and useless, twelve beams of light shot out from the twelve keys, forming a single ball of light which eventually entered the madwoman's body. The light brightened and a demonic scream was heard...
.....And Ryu came back from his dream-world, panting and staggering from the mere visions he saw by looking into the woman's eyes. He fell on his butt, sitting down, feeling for the first time a sense of complete hopelessness and unbridled fear as he looked at the woman for confirmation.
The woman was no longer smiling, but neither did she radiate malevolence to Ryu as she nodded, a solemn and sad expression present on her face. "To answer your query, Ryu, yes, I am the reincarnation of the legendary Heaven's Succubus, the Goddess Tyr."
"Y-You are the demented woman!!" Ryu stuttered, this time for an entirely different reason than being at a loss in front of females. He felt sweat pouring down now, soaking his collar and down his Dragon Tear, which glowed a cheerful yellowish-green in contrast to the fear Ryu felt.
"Wait a minute, yellowish-green? That means-" Ryu looked at his jewel skeptically, unable to comprehend whether the immortal standing proud before him was a friend or foe.
The Goddess giggled a soft, pleasant sound which sounded like crystal bells. "I hold no hostility towards you, Ryu, or any of your brethren. This is, after all, the new me. My past is dead, thrown into the fire of rebirth and turned to ash, blown away by the winds of change. There is no reason for me to destroy or to dominate. None of those matter now. All I want to do is to help." Her expression changed from having a serious look to a cheerful, almost child-like expression. Her smile seemed to brighten up her features more than ever as though the light behind her wasn't enough, in Ryu's opinion, Goddess or not, she looked completely like a celestial angel of beauty. "I'm glad you didn't succumb to the callings sent out by me. You see, despite being reborn, I still retain some of my old traits and powers which would show up unexpectedly. I wasn't planning on letting you in on some of the things you have seen for I know you are not ready for 'it' yet. You still have a long way, Destined Child."
"Huh? Ready for what? What's with this 'Destined Child' tag on my head? Even that monstrosity I fought in the Forest called me that, then there was that Angus guy who turned into some two headed lupine creature. What's going on, Goddess Tyr? Who am I truly?" Ryu shouted out complete frustration, unable to bear the burden of unanswered questions rampaging through his head like a mad herd of stampeding Thunder Lizards. He seemed to be attracting lots of attention from unwanted figures and he desperately wanted to know why he was so important in one way or another.
"The time will come, Ryu. For now, try to control your first Evolution. There are people out there who can see you with their hearts and are linked to you through blood. We will meet again when the time is ripe." With that, Tyr walked back into the light, ignoring the screaming queries from the teenager. She nonchalantly waved her left hand and Ryu suddenly felt his movements slowing down. The intoxicating feeling of drowsiness slowly invaded his senses, coaxing him softly to submit to its seductive call and give up. Ryu protested mentally, but with each staggering step he took, the inexorable and unstoppable invasion brought him to his knees and the last thing he saw was the blurred image of a figure engulfed in white light, smiling at him benignly.....
"Ryu, Ryu! Wake up! We planned to reach Winidia today, remember? And I thought I was the heavy sleeper.....Come on! Lazy bones! Open your eyes and get up!" Ryu stirred, knowing that that extremely annoyed voice belonged to his Woren friend. He pretended to sleep just to annoy her for fun, something which was a bit difficult to pull off since he was feeling more dead than alive at the moment. Must have been the fight the night before.....
"Won't wake up, huh? Well, how about this?"
"W-Wait, Katt, it doesn't look like a good idea to-"
One second later, a loud splashing sound was heard followed by a "AHHHHHHHHH!" reverberated throughout the forest. An Owlbear stopped his hunting in surprise and looked on quizzically as a green-eyed Woren who was laughing her head off sprinted by as though her life depended on it with a red-faced and extremely wet blue-haired Human hot on her heels, who was by no means pacified by a Black-winged Winidian flying alongside him, trying to calm him down.
"KATT! HOW DARE YOU USE WATER TO WAKE ME UP! YOU ARE SO GOING TO PAY FOR IT!!!!" Ryu shouted, his little joke on Katt forgotten as he chased the culprit of his unexpected early morning bath with an 'evil' vengeance. The mischievous suddenly braked and pointed behind him with an exaggerated astonished look on her face. Ryu turned around and came face to face with the dark-winged Winidian, who was smiling.....devilishly?
Before he knew it, he was spluttering from the bucket of water Nina had decided that that was the best reward for his curiosity. This of course earned a humorous roar of rage from the Ranger as he turned and set his sights on his new target, determined to succeed in his mission, which was to capture one of the girls and torture them with the fatal tickling techniques he had learned from Bow some time ago. Both girls laughed at his "bestial" facial expression and ran or fly) off as quickly as they could while an on-looking Mina giggled at the childish actions of the three teenagers. At least her sister was happy for now. From her expressions and her actions during the time when they were traveling towards Winidia, she had seemed troubled by something and somehow always managed to evade her questions about what was bothering her. Mina felt a small pang of pain for being ignored and for not being able to console her doting sister but her innocence has all but denied her the fact that there might be some problems which even sisterly love and understanding will never be able to solve fully. Knowing Nina, she would probably try to bottle up everything up within herself and attempt to solve it. Knowing her, she would never want to trouble anyone with her problems and despite being her sister, she never did seem to earn the attention or even the natural concerns of Father and Mother. It fact, both of them were the ones to send Nina away. For whatever reason, Mina did not know. But she was determined to make sure that Nina stays in the palace with her and be reunited with her family once again.
"Mina! We are leaving! Let's go!" Ryu's voice rang out to her like a ringing alarm clock, snapping her out of her thoughts. She smiled cheerfully and floated over to the quiet trio who were surprisingly feisty for their age. "All we have to do is bring you to Winidia right? Then our job is done....." Mina could tell that there was a feeling of disappointment in Ryu's voice. She grinned to herself mischievously and found it weird that a child such as her could understand other people better, be it Ryu or Nina.....or Katt. It was going to be complicated for them.....
"Aren't you excited to see Mum and Dad again, sis?" Mina asked out of the blue, catching the older winged girl by surprise. She wasn't really excited about the prospect of meeting her.....parents, who probably had no reason to make sure that she stayed with them unless the situation becomes complicated. Sent away at the age of six, Nina could still remember the bitterness she had harboured in her heart for more than five years before it seemed like a faint wisp of smoke in her memory. She believed her parents, no matter what they did to her and she hoped that one day, the curse on her can somehow be lifted. She sighed. It was not going to be a pleasant meeting, at least for her and there was going to be disappointment waiting in store for her sister if she believed that there was going to be a happy family reunion. Nina decided that telling her sister the truth behind her exile could wait for a little while longer for she did not want to let the innocence of hers be whittled away by the harshness of reality and the sad truth behind her exile. Maybe, one day, her sister will be able to understand and not hate her for leaving the kingdom, for leaving her alone again.....
"Finally! Winidia's just upfront! Come on guys!" Katt exclaimed with enthusiasm, partly due to her fatigue and partly due to her curiosity of the mysterious "City of Wings". Ryu looked up and held his breath as he took in the splendour of the city. The gates were made of a wondrous purplish-silver metal known to Ryu as DarkSteel. Upon the magnificent gates, there were carvings of winged people holding weapons of war and the shining ornate gold statues which stood on either side of the gates were imposing as well as amazing in which the intricate carvings of different symbols which the Ranger could not understand. From the corner of his eye, he could spot Katt gaping at the gates itself, which were not as impressive as the buildings and the visible castle of the rulers of Winidia. The gate seemed to pale in comparison to what the castle was. Towers of old loomed over in a benevolent manner over the city like ancient and rightful guardians, ready to defend its citizens from any imminent threats. The towers were made of a material whose colour was almost different than that of ivory, and probably no less valuable. The main building of the castle seemed to give out a light of its own and bring an angelic look to it. But what really topped it off was that the castle seemed to be floating on gigantic clouds. Despite having traveled to various places, Ryu never really visited this country, let alone saw such an impressive sight before in his life. Seeming to read her friends' thoughts, Nina smiled sweetly and watched them gap quietly and counted down.....
"Hey, Nina! How did the castle float on such insubstantial clouds? Is it magic?" The stars in Katt's eyes were enough to make her back away a bit. Nina laughed and replied, "Yes, it is partly due to magic that the castle could float. But it is also due to the layers of energies from this particular piece of land which enables our flying abilities to be maximized. The land contains four layers of energies: the first one is the most basic concept of Wing, in which is the beginning process when we are toddlers, where we learn to fly. These energies are channeled from the land to the air in a process called the Allendria Effect, where when the Sun rises, the light projected onto the land lures out the energy of the Wing layer into the air and into us. Of course, we have to keep in touch with Mother Nature unless we don't want to fly around too much."
"Wow! That's so cool!" Even Ryu was listening. Nina smiled happily and explained further.
"Yup! The second layer is the Float layer, which is practically like an upgrade of the Wing layer. As we grow, we learn to be more capable in controlling our floating and can start out on flying at higher speeds. This will be a bit more complicated though, for this stage is usually during our teenager stage of our lives and that is also when we undergo puberty. The Float energies will then adapt usually to the physique of our bodies and that will mostly determine our speed of flying and our endurance. The Float also ensures that we can soar higher and further into the skies. That's when the issue of worried parents comes in play." Nina winked, eliciting pleasant laughter from her sister and friends at her little joke. "The third layer is the Wind, which is a special case in the sense that usually only the stronger Winidians can reach that stage. This is the stage where we are allowed to use the air as a weapon and draw powers from nature to aid us in different things. Usually spell-casters and priests of our race are able to reach these heights of power. For the warrior class, the storm would be used differently. They can use the Wind layer to speed up their flying to extreme speeds to fight and look for people when the need arises. The fourth layer would be the Storm, which involves the wizardry behind the floating castle. It materialise the insubstantial things of nature and use them in various ways. At this point, it will also involve more powerful attack magics such as the Sonic Boom spell as a firmer grasp of the layers would summon more power from nature itself."
"The last layer would be the Sky layer. This is the ultimate layer discovered by the Great Allendria Stormwind, the greatest mage of the ancient times. This is the layer where the most powerful spells can be used and massive amounts of energy can be drawn not only from the air, but from the other three elements of fire, water and earth. With the manipulation of this layer, we are given the power to summon certain creatures and elementals. The last part of this would be that we will be allowed to transform into what the people in the ancient times call the 'Great Bird'. For some reason, though, we are unable to achieve this level of power despite the great efforts by our wiser and more powerful mages currently."
Ryu grinned. "This is all a bit complicated to me, but I believe that even though you might be a few times younger than those old men trying to achieve the highest level of power, you will be the first one to succeed in achieving that level. That's what you want, right?"
Nina gasped in surprise. "How did you know? Can you read minds or something?"
"Nope. But you describe it so much in detail and your eyes had that look which tells me that it is one of your dreams to reach that goal of yours. How else would you be so knowledgeable about this kind of magic stuff?"
".....Oh. Hey! What do you mean by 'how else would I be so knowledgeable?' What's that supposed to mean?" Nina frowned, advancing slowly on Ryu threateningly while Mina giggled at Ryu's little joke. Ryu nervously backed away and into the opened gate of the city. Nina was about to pounce on him and try to pummel him when Katt interrupted their moment of fun.
"Can we go now? I want to rest first then take a tour of the city!" Katt didn't know what possessed her. She was never the party pooper for people, unless it concerned bullying and crimes. Maybe she was just truly tired, curious and annoyed.
Annoyed? At what? Why would she be annoyed at anything now? It wasn't like she disliked seeing Ryu having fun with.....Nina or something......right?
Ryu jumped out of Nina's grasp, thankful that Katt had saved him for the moment. He had always wanted to visit the city of his dreams. The floating castle, the winged people of this city....But the touring could wait, as they had to bring back Mina to her parents. Come to think of it, Ryu was extremely curious about the young Winidian when Nina had chided her for not bringing out 'at least half a dozen guards' with her. According to the Ranger, he remembered that Winidian soldiers were relatively professional and that only the most elite of guards were hired by the Winidian nobility. What's more, how can a fifteen year-old girl like Mina be able to go out despite having guards? Weren't her parents worried about her safety? That should be the case, unless those guards were trusted THAT much.....
"This is all too puzzling. But at least the riddle will be solved sooner or later. There's bound to be some people who will recognize her. She is, after all, the nobility." Ryu thought as the group walked past the open gates of the city. It didn't take more than one minute for his theory to come true.
"Princess Mina! Are you injured? What happened to you? We were so worried!" A blonde-haired Winidian, dressed in livery of the finest cloth which covered the top half of a intricately designed suit of golden chainmail. He had sky blue eyes and his features were sharp and although he did not have the looks to make girls swoon and bow before him, he did look good. The jewel encrusted rapier and dagger by his side told Ryu all he needed to know about what kind of lifestyle this Winidian was living. He did not really seem overly concerned with Mina, however, as Ryu could detect the lack of sincerity in his voice. This Winidian gave him a bad impression and he was very sure that they would definitely not be very good friends. Ryu did not miss Nina's resigned sigh either. It seemed to him that Nina probably had something to do with this Winidian and she didn't like it. "But what really surprises me is that Mina is a princess! So we have been traveling with a Winidian princess all the while." He turned to look at Nina and realization struck him. "If Mina's her sister, then that would mean..... "Nina's a princess too!" He turned to look at the person of his thoughts (nope, no romance yet.....:P) with an astonished look. Nina turned and gave him the same resigned look which seemed to transfer the message of "Yeah, I'm a princess. So what?"
"I'm fine, Stormwind. Its all thanks to Ryu and Katt for rescuing me and Sis from danger." Mina smiled sweetly despite detecting that the concern for her safety was not authentic. The Winidian smiled and turned to the group, immediately floating over to Nina and held her hands.
"Are you alright, princess? Your sister has informed me that you were in danger. I'm most worried about you, since you started learning magic and went out traveling most of the time. There are always dangers out there, and yet you don't allow me to travel with you. I could always provide enough protection for you....."
Ryu could almost hear Nina sigh as he saw her taking her hands out of his grasp with some difficulty. "Thank you for your concern, Kendrick Stormwind, but I can take care of myself well enough. What's more, my friends, Ryu Bateson and Katt Chuan here can defeat any dangers we encounter. In fact, Ryu had just defeated eight Deathpedes at one go. Isn't that right, Ryu?" Nina turned to smile at the Ranger, who blushed ever so slightly and nodded a quick response before making a fool of himself. Damned, sometimes praise can get him in the worst situations possible.
Kendrick raised a skeptical eyebrow even though he had to admit silently that this teenager did look SOMEWHAT impressive. Nina was also known to tell the truth most of the time. He had to watch this teenager. There was something.....weird about him and it had been so long since Nina was back, about two months to be exact and he did not want to let her go again this time round. Manners destroyed his desire to dismiss the Woren and Human commoners away and he bowed, saying a quiet but polite 'Thank You' before turning to hold Nina's hand again. "Come, princess. It would be safer in my home, lest your parents bundle you out again. Let my most trusted aides escort Princess Mina to the Sky Palace." With a snap of his finger, four burly looking Winidians clad in platemail appeared from nowhere and slowly escorted Mina away, her protests obvious as she did not want to leave her sister as she still believed that her parents would receive Nina with open arms. After all, they had not seen her in eleven years. Surely they would want to keep Sis close to them now. However, Mina knew better than to resist against the aides. Kendrick Stormwind was a dangerously powerful person in the Royal Winidian Council and she decided that her parents would sometimes listen to the descendant of the most powerful mage rather than their fifteen year old and still naive daughter. Mina floundered about for a situation but could find none. Was she really going to lose her sister again?
Seeing Nina's pained face, Katt had a strong urge to step up and punch the suffering Winidian's lights out. She was only restrained by an equally irritated Ryu, who shook his head and said, "Let's just follow them, alright? No violence.....yet." Katt nodded her approval, gingerly touching the spot where Ryu had grabbed her arm and restrained her. It was a firm grip, but she felt a bit.....floaty. Must be the fatigue she felt Katt thought silently, trying to shake her head free of the web of thoughts of a certain blue-haired guy. Something was definitely wrong with her today, she decided.
"At least let them come in with me. They did rescue me after all." Came the protesting voice of Nina. Katt looked up to see a sighing Kendrick who nodded his reluctant approval. Apparently, he did not trust the people of other races such as Ryu and herself. Even though she found herself disliking this Winidian, Katt was curious to find out more about her friend, who apparently was a princess. That came as a surprise to the Woren, who always imagined princesses to be prissy, stubborn spoilt brats and yet, here was a princess who was not only the total opposite of her imagination. She was also an accomplished mage (in Katt's point of view) and was able to fend for herself. She had once heard from her teacher of martial arts that 'curiosity kills the cat'.
"Well, let me prove that proverb wrong." Katt grinned and followed Ryu, Kendrick and Nina into the mansion looming like an ominous storm before them.
"Okay, spill. What's the story between you and him?" Ryu demanded as the noble known as Kendrick Stormwind went up to his room to change. He felt extremely irked and a strange new emotion boiled within him, threatening to spill over. Nina sighed, as though she had expected that question. She then began to tell the whole story about Kendrick Stormwind.
".....Alright. Kendrick Stormwind is the direct descendant of Allendria Stormwind, explaining why he has so much influence and power in the Council. He has magic coursing through his veins, but he is more of a warrior as both of you had seen from his armor and military colours. He has learned the tiniest bit of magic though, thus earning him the title of "Mage-Knight" despite disapproval from veteran officers. He then took the post of the Captain of the Royal Guards. Before you ask about 'our' history, let me tell you that we were supposed to be in an arranged marriage. We met two or three times. The first time was before I was sent away, the second was when I returned two years ago and the third was just now." Nina finished in one breath while unclipping and clipping her hair back again. Katt was rather amused by the fact that Nina seemed so.....uncomfortable. She had never seen her friend act this way before. Was this something which had been troubling her all the time?
"Erm....." both girls' heads whirled at the sound of Ryu's uncertain voice. "So.....do you.....l-like h-h-him?"
Damned the stuttering. And why did he have to ask such a stupid question when there were so many other topics to talk about? Where was the confident and cocky Ranger now?
Nina was slightly surprised and touched. While traveling with them, she had always thought that Ryu was only a merrymaker with dangerous sword skills to boot. Never did she imagine in her dreams that the brave and yet shy (when it came to girls) warrior actually cared about her. The knowledge that Ryu was concerned emanated a fuzzy feeling in her, something which she had never felt before. Could it be.....no it couldn't be. She did have a good impression of Ryu: The spiky blue hair went perfectly well with his bright, attractive emerald eyes which seemed to hold immense knowledge and deep emotions. Sometimes she would just prefer to drown in them forever, looking deep into his inner being and trying to prise open the shell of his feelings. Was this.....love? Nina stopped thinking, trying to process the reactions her feelings had. She was attracted to Ryu inexplicably.....but to her, it probably was too early to figure out her mixed emotions right now. She had more pressing matters at hand and they had to be dealt with quickly.
"Nina? Hello! Anyone home?" Nina blinked and saw a gigantic paw waving right in front of her face. She yelped in surprise and nearly fell to the floor. Katt giggled while Ryu continued to stare at her solemnly. "Wow, what happened to him? Why doesn't he laugh at me like he usually does?" Nina pondered as she turned to look at Ryu quizzically.
Ryu struggled to restrain his raging blood cells and trying to keep as calm as possible, asked Nina with the straightest face he could muster: "Do you.....like him?"
"Ryu?"
"Yes?" He dreaded the answer.....
"Erm.....your face is all red. Is something the matter? Are you sick?" Nina floated towards him and put a hand on his forehead and at the same time, placing her face bare inches away from Ryu's.
".....Eh? Wha-no! I'mnotsick! Every dandy is just thingy! I-I mean everything is just dandy! Don't worry about me!" Ryu laughed nervously as he slowly backed away from the Winidian princess. With a "Ineedtousethewashroom!" excuse, he fled as fast as he could from the well-furnished living room. Katt frowned purposefully while Nina blinked innocently, not knowing that there was someone watching them from the shadows.
"Hey Nina, I heard that Storewind guy saying something about you being a princess and being exiled by your parents. What's going on?" Katt queried, determined to keep Ryu out of her topics of questions currently.
Yet another sigh. Nina gestured for her to sit down and carefully chose her words. "His name is Stormwind, Katt. Regarding my exile, its going to be a long story....."
To be continued.........
Too much? Too little? Personally, I thought it was a bit too much; the pace might be a bit slow for you guys and this probably isn't the best you guys have seen from me so do kindly review my story if you really desire to do so. I'm open to all suggestions and criticisms due to heavy schoolwork and thus, am unable to concentrate more on this. Watch out for part 2 of the story! Lastly, thanks to all readers for kindly spending your precious time reading this average story, regardless of whether you review it or not. See y'all in part 2!!! (
Breath of Fire 2: Chapter 4-A little Winidian Adventure, Part 1: Dreams of a Goddess and an unexpected Royal Surprise
"Uh....." Ryu stirred, feeling the piercing and blinding light, which was trying to force open his eyes. "Not happening....." Decided Ryu, as he turned over, determined to ignore the ethereal light to catch some extra sleep.
He lasted only five more seconds when the light intensified, as though it was giving him a piece of its mind for ignoring it. Hr groaned, cursing the stupid light and whatever was causing it before succumbing to the torturous decision to wake up and find out whatever is causing this other- worldly(I think it's a word) light. Ryu grudgingly forced open his eyes against his body's will and sat up. In response, the strangely bright light subsided gradually and a figure seemed to come out of it, walking towards Ryu. Judging from the long hair, slender arms and lithe figure, Ryu deduced that the person was a female. He walked towards her, wanting to seek answers but the woman raised a palm, a signal for him to come no closer.
"Ryu. Ryu Bateson." The woman said in a dreamy voice which sounded youthful and yet seemed to hint that the being that stood before him was ancient, and dangerously powerful. She seemed to be waiting for a response from the young Ranger. He floundered for reasons he cannot think of and stiffly stood straight, now fully awake. Something about this being made him feel queasy and yet, it was as though this unknown stranger was a friend.
Who was she?
"Yeah, that's me. Listen, can I ask you some questions? Where is the Whisperer Forest? Where am I? Who are you? What happened to m-"
"I'll answer your inquisitiveness in due time, young one." The woman said in an amused voice. Had her aura of overwhelming power not been present, Ryu would have snorted at her statement. She sounded no older than him and here she was, a total stranger, claiming that she was his elder. Maybe he should pinch himself and wake up from this absurd dream. He would find himself in the cool, dense forest, waking up and attempting to wake a lazy Woren and two Winidians.
"Oh, but this is all but a dream, Destined Child. In fact, your first Evolution has decimated practically the whole of the Forest and to answer your next question, Katt Chuan, Nina and Mina Winidia are all safe." The figure stepped out of the white light and revealed itself as a young woman of about twenty years of age, her long, silky ebony hair a deep contrast to her smooth, unblemished ivory skin. She wore a crimson silk robe which boasted her figure and she wore a serene smile on her face as she stepped out to meet a surprised Ryu. He gaped at her until he looked directly into her eyes. They were an unearthly, magical golden, giving Ryu a sense of discomfort and uneasiness. Yet he felt this attraction from this woman, a primal need to touch her, caress her and become her servant.....
Out of the blue, Ryu's head suddenly exploded with pain as though there were hammers in it, pounding away at the walls of his consciousness. Alarms blared in his head, telling him to stop having such unsavory thoughts, urging him to step away from this immortally beautiful woman. An internal battle raged within him and he clutched his head, kneeling down and trying to withhold his urge to scream out. Eventually, the protesting side of his being won over and he stumbled back, away from the smiling nymph-like creature, who, oddly enough, seemed to be content with the fact that Ryu had not succumbed to her callings. Ryu panted, sweat trickling down his brow like raindrops on a leaf and he unsteadily drew his sword, pointing it to her as a threat. To his surprise, the woman merely used a bare hand to deflect the sword with her finger and that little action took Ryu by surprise, the sword wrenched from his grasp by a seemingly unknown and powerful primeval force. Ryu, however, was still unable to tear his eyes from her golden orbs of sight. He looked into them and instantly saw strange things revolving in his head.
He saw a blue-haired man together with a white-winged girl and with two other companions, determined looks evident on their faces as they held their weapons. The scene shifts and he finds himself looking at a demented version of the woman, holding twelve keys, each radiating different colours and powers, their glows seemingly amplifying the aura of madness around the woman, dressed in the most inexplicable exotic dress. The image blurrs, and he sees the blue-haired man, transform into something...great and powerful, something which he unfortunately, was unable to see. He roared, the sound radiating vast power and majesty and he saw the blurred image of the transformation charging towards the demented female. The scene shifts again and Ryu finds himself looking at the demented woman in a sorry state. Her once glorious body was now a mass of bloodied wounds, bruises and mutilations. Her beautiful face was distorted, a grotesque mask of madness and death. Even as her keys were scattered around her, blackened and useless, twelve beams of light shot out from the twelve keys, forming a single ball of light which eventually entered the madwoman's body. The light brightened and a demonic scream was heard...
.....And Ryu came back from his dream-world, panting and staggering from the mere visions he saw by looking into the woman's eyes. He fell on his butt, sitting down, feeling for the first time a sense of complete hopelessness and unbridled fear as he looked at the woman for confirmation.
The woman was no longer smiling, but neither did she radiate malevolence to Ryu as she nodded, a solemn and sad expression present on her face. "To answer your query, Ryu, yes, I am the reincarnation of the legendary Heaven's Succubus, the Goddess Tyr."
"Y-You are the demented woman!!" Ryu stuttered, this time for an entirely different reason than being at a loss in front of females. He felt sweat pouring down now, soaking his collar and down his Dragon Tear, which glowed a cheerful yellowish-green in contrast to the fear Ryu felt.
"Wait a minute, yellowish-green? That means-" Ryu looked at his jewel skeptically, unable to comprehend whether the immortal standing proud before him was a friend or foe.
The Goddess giggled a soft, pleasant sound which sounded like crystal bells. "I hold no hostility towards you, Ryu, or any of your brethren. This is, after all, the new me. My past is dead, thrown into the fire of rebirth and turned to ash, blown away by the winds of change. There is no reason for me to destroy or to dominate. None of those matter now. All I want to do is to help." Her expression changed from having a serious look to a cheerful, almost child-like expression. Her smile seemed to brighten up her features more than ever as though the light behind her wasn't enough, in Ryu's opinion, Goddess or not, she looked completely like a celestial angel of beauty. "I'm glad you didn't succumb to the callings sent out by me. You see, despite being reborn, I still retain some of my old traits and powers which would show up unexpectedly. I wasn't planning on letting you in on some of the things you have seen for I know you are not ready for 'it' yet. You still have a long way, Destined Child."
"Huh? Ready for what? What's with this 'Destined Child' tag on my head? Even that monstrosity I fought in the Forest called me that, then there was that Angus guy who turned into some two headed lupine creature. What's going on, Goddess Tyr? Who am I truly?" Ryu shouted out complete frustration, unable to bear the burden of unanswered questions rampaging through his head like a mad herd of stampeding Thunder Lizards. He seemed to be attracting lots of attention from unwanted figures and he desperately wanted to know why he was so important in one way or another.
"The time will come, Ryu. For now, try to control your first Evolution. There are people out there who can see you with their hearts and are linked to you through blood. We will meet again when the time is ripe." With that, Tyr walked back into the light, ignoring the screaming queries from the teenager. She nonchalantly waved her left hand and Ryu suddenly felt his movements slowing down. The intoxicating feeling of drowsiness slowly invaded his senses, coaxing him softly to submit to its seductive call and give up. Ryu protested mentally, but with each staggering step he took, the inexorable and unstoppable invasion brought him to his knees and the last thing he saw was the blurred image of a figure engulfed in white light, smiling at him benignly.....
"Ryu, Ryu! Wake up! We planned to reach Winidia today, remember? And I thought I was the heavy sleeper.....Come on! Lazy bones! Open your eyes and get up!" Ryu stirred, knowing that that extremely annoyed voice belonged to his Woren friend. He pretended to sleep just to annoy her for fun, something which was a bit difficult to pull off since he was feeling more dead than alive at the moment. Must have been the fight the night before.....
"Won't wake up, huh? Well, how about this?"
"W-Wait, Katt, it doesn't look like a good idea to-"
One second later, a loud splashing sound was heard followed by a "AHHHHHHHHH!" reverberated throughout the forest. An Owlbear stopped his hunting in surprise and looked on quizzically as a green-eyed Woren who was laughing her head off sprinted by as though her life depended on it with a red-faced and extremely wet blue-haired Human hot on her heels, who was by no means pacified by a Black-winged Winidian flying alongside him, trying to calm him down.
"KATT! HOW DARE YOU USE WATER TO WAKE ME UP! YOU ARE SO GOING TO PAY FOR IT!!!!" Ryu shouted, his little joke on Katt forgotten as he chased the culprit of his unexpected early morning bath with an 'evil' vengeance. The mischievous suddenly braked and pointed behind him with an exaggerated astonished look on her face. Ryu turned around and came face to face with the dark-winged Winidian, who was smiling.....devilishly?
Before he knew it, he was spluttering from the bucket of water Nina had decided that that was the best reward for his curiosity. This of course earned a humorous roar of rage from the Ranger as he turned and set his sights on his new target, determined to succeed in his mission, which was to capture one of the girls and torture them with the fatal tickling techniques he had learned from Bow some time ago. Both girls laughed at his "bestial" facial expression and ran or fly) off as quickly as they could while an on-looking Mina giggled at the childish actions of the three teenagers. At least her sister was happy for now. From her expressions and her actions during the time when they were traveling towards Winidia, she had seemed troubled by something and somehow always managed to evade her questions about what was bothering her. Mina felt a small pang of pain for being ignored and for not being able to console her doting sister but her innocence has all but denied her the fact that there might be some problems which even sisterly love and understanding will never be able to solve fully. Knowing Nina, she would probably try to bottle up everything up within herself and attempt to solve it. Knowing her, she would never want to trouble anyone with her problems and despite being her sister, she never did seem to earn the attention or even the natural concerns of Father and Mother. It fact, both of them were the ones to send Nina away. For whatever reason, Mina did not know. But she was determined to make sure that Nina stays in the palace with her and be reunited with her family once again.
"Mina! We are leaving! Let's go!" Ryu's voice rang out to her like a ringing alarm clock, snapping her out of her thoughts. She smiled cheerfully and floated over to the quiet trio who were surprisingly feisty for their age. "All we have to do is bring you to Winidia right? Then our job is done....." Mina could tell that there was a feeling of disappointment in Ryu's voice. She grinned to herself mischievously and found it weird that a child such as her could understand other people better, be it Ryu or Nina.....or Katt. It was going to be complicated for them.....
"Aren't you excited to see Mum and Dad again, sis?" Mina asked out of the blue, catching the older winged girl by surprise. She wasn't really excited about the prospect of meeting her.....parents, who probably had no reason to make sure that she stayed with them unless the situation becomes complicated. Sent away at the age of six, Nina could still remember the bitterness she had harboured in her heart for more than five years before it seemed like a faint wisp of smoke in her memory. She believed her parents, no matter what they did to her and she hoped that one day, the curse on her can somehow be lifted. She sighed. It was not going to be a pleasant meeting, at least for her and there was going to be disappointment waiting in store for her sister if she believed that there was going to be a happy family reunion. Nina decided that telling her sister the truth behind her exile could wait for a little while longer for she did not want to let the innocence of hers be whittled away by the harshness of reality and the sad truth behind her exile. Maybe, one day, her sister will be able to understand and not hate her for leaving the kingdom, for leaving her alone again.....
"Finally! Winidia's just upfront! Come on guys!" Katt exclaimed with enthusiasm, partly due to her fatigue and partly due to her curiosity of the mysterious "City of Wings". Ryu looked up and held his breath as he took in the splendour of the city. The gates were made of a wondrous purplish-silver metal known to Ryu as DarkSteel. Upon the magnificent gates, there were carvings of winged people holding weapons of war and the shining ornate gold statues which stood on either side of the gates were imposing as well as amazing in which the intricate carvings of different symbols which the Ranger could not understand. From the corner of his eye, he could spot Katt gaping at the gates itself, which were not as impressive as the buildings and the visible castle of the rulers of Winidia. The gate seemed to pale in comparison to what the castle was. Towers of old loomed over in a benevolent manner over the city like ancient and rightful guardians, ready to defend its citizens from any imminent threats. The towers were made of a material whose colour was almost different than that of ivory, and probably no less valuable. The main building of the castle seemed to give out a light of its own and bring an angelic look to it. But what really topped it off was that the castle seemed to be floating on gigantic clouds. Despite having traveled to various places, Ryu never really visited this country, let alone saw such an impressive sight before in his life. Seeming to read her friends' thoughts, Nina smiled sweetly and watched them gap quietly and counted down.....
"Hey, Nina! How did the castle float on such insubstantial clouds? Is it magic?" The stars in Katt's eyes were enough to make her back away a bit. Nina laughed and replied, "Yes, it is partly due to magic that the castle could float. But it is also due to the layers of energies from this particular piece of land which enables our flying abilities to be maximized. The land contains four layers of energies: the first one is the most basic concept of Wing, in which is the beginning process when we are toddlers, where we learn to fly. These energies are channeled from the land to the air in a process called the Allendria Effect, where when the Sun rises, the light projected onto the land lures out the energy of the Wing layer into the air and into us. Of course, we have to keep in touch with Mother Nature unless we don't want to fly around too much."
"Wow! That's so cool!" Even Ryu was listening. Nina smiled happily and explained further.
"Yup! The second layer is the Float layer, which is practically like an upgrade of the Wing layer. As we grow, we learn to be more capable in controlling our floating and can start out on flying at higher speeds. This will be a bit more complicated though, for this stage is usually during our teenager stage of our lives and that is also when we undergo puberty. The Float energies will then adapt usually to the physique of our bodies and that will mostly determine our speed of flying and our endurance. The Float also ensures that we can soar higher and further into the skies. That's when the issue of worried parents comes in play." Nina winked, eliciting pleasant laughter from her sister and friends at her little joke. "The third layer is the Wind, which is a special case in the sense that usually only the stronger Winidians can reach that stage. This is the stage where we are allowed to use the air as a weapon and draw powers from nature to aid us in different things. Usually spell-casters and priests of our race are able to reach these heights of power. For the warrior class, the storm would be used differently. They can use the Wind layer to speed up their flying to extreme speeds to fight and look for people when the need arises. The fourth layer would be the Storm, which involves the wizardry behind the floating castle. It materialise the insubstantial things of nature and use them in various ways. At this point, it will also involve more powerful attack magics such as the Sonic Boom spell as a firmer grasp of the layers would summon more power from nature itself."
"The last layer would be the Sky layer. This is the ultimate layer discovered by the Great Allendria Stormwind, the greatest mage of the ancient times. This is the layer where the most powerful spells can be used and massive amounts of energy can be drawn not only from the air, but from the other three elements of fire, water and earth. With the manipulation of this layer, we are given the power to summon certain creatures and elementals. The last part of this would be that we will be allowed to transform into what the people in the ancient times call the 'Great Bird'. For some reason, though, we are unable to achieve this level of power despite the great efforts by our wiser and more powerful mages currently."
Ryu grinned. "This is all a bit complicated to me, but I believe that even though you might be a few times younger than those old men trying to achieve the highest level of power, you will be the first one to succeed in achieving that level. That's what you want, right?"
Nina gasped in surprise. "How did you know? Can you read minds or something?"
"Nope. But you describe it so much in detail and your eyes had that look which tells me that it is one of your dreams to reach that goal of yours. How else would you be so knowledgeable about this kind of magic stuff?"
".....Oh. Hey! What do you mean by 'how else would I be so knowledgeable?' What's that supposed to mean?" Nina frowned, advancing slowly on Ryu threateningly while Mina giggled at Ryu's little joke. Ryu nervously backed away and into the opened gate of the city. Nina was about to pounce on him and try to pummel him when Katt interrupted their moment of fun.
"Can we go now? I want to rest first then take a tour of the city!" Katt didn't know what possessed her. She was never the party pooper for people, unless it concerned bullying and crimes. Maybe she was just truly tired, curious and annoyed.
Annoyed? At what? Why would she be annoyed at anything now? It wasn't like she disliked seeing Ryu having fun with.....Nina or something......right?
Ryu jumped out of Nina's grasp, thankful that Katt had saved him for the moment. He had always wanted to visit the city of his dreams. The floating castle, the winged people of this city....But the touring could wait, as they had to bring back Mina to her parents. Come to think of it, Ryu was extremely curious about the young Winidian when Nina had chided her for not bringing out 'at least half a dozen guards' with her. According to the Ranger, he remembered that Winidian soldiers were relatively professional and that only the most elite of guards were hired by the Winidian nobility. What's more, how can a fifteen year-old girl like Mina be able to go out despite having guards? Weren't her parents worried about her safety? That should be the case, unless those guards were trusted THAT much.....
"This is all too puzzling. But at least the riddle will be solved sooner or later. There's bound to be some people who will recognize her. She is, after all, the nobility." Ryu thought as the group walked past the open gates of the city. It didn't take more than one minute for his theory to come true.
"Princess Mina! Are you injured? What happened to you? We were so worried!" A blonde-haired Winidian, dressed in livery of the finest cloth which covered the top half of a intricately designed suit of golden chainmail. He had sky blue eyes and his features were sharp and although he did not have the looks to make girls swoon and bow before him, he did look good. The jewel encrusted rapier and dagger by his side told Ryu all he needed to know about what kind of lifestyle this Winidian was living. He did not really seem overly concerned with Mina, however, as Ryu could detect the lack of sincerity in his voice. This Winidian gave him a bad impression and he was very sure that they would definitely not be very good friends. Ryu did not miss Nina's resigned sigh either. It seemed to him that Nina probably had something to do with this Winidian and she didn't like it. "But what really surprises me is that Mina is a princess! So we have been traveling with a Winidian princess all the while." He turned to look at Nina and realization struck him. "If Mina's her sister, then that would mean..... "Nina's a princess too!" He turned to look at the person of his thoughts (nope, no romance yet.....:P) with an astonished look. Nina turned and gave him the same resigned look which seemed to transfer the message of "Yeah, I'm a princess. So what?"
"I'm fine, Stormwind. Its all thanks to Ryu and Katt for rescuing me and Sis from danger." Mina smiled sweetly despite detecting that the concern for her safety was not authentic. The Winidian smiled and turned to the group, immediately floating over to Nina and held her hands.
"Are you alright, princess? Your sister has informed me that you were in danger. I'm most worried about you, since you started learning magic and went out traveling most of the time. There are always dangers out there, and yet you don't allow me to travel with you. I could always provide enough protection for you....."
Ryu could almost hear Nina sigh as he saw her taking her hands out of his grasp with some difficulty. "Thank you for your concern, Kendrick Stormwind, but I can take care of myself well enough. What's more, my friends, Ryu Bateson and Katt Chuan here can defeat any dangers we encounter. In fact, Ryu had just defeated eight Deathpedes at one go. Isn't that right, Ryu?" Nina turned to smile at the Ranger, who blushed ever so slightly and nodded a quick response before making a fool of himself. Damned, sometimes praise can get him in the worst situations possible.
Kendrick raised a skeptical eyebrow even though he had to admit silently that this teenager did look SOMEWHAT impressive. Nina was also known to tell the truth most of the time. He had to watch this teenager. There was something.....weird about him and it had been so long since Nina was back, about two months to be exact and he did not want to let her go again this time round. Manners destroyed his desire to dismiss the Woren and Human commoners away and he bowed, saying a quiet but polite 'Thank You' before turning to hold Nina's hand again. "Come, princess. It would be safer in my home, lest your parents bundle you out again. Let my most trusted aides escort Princess Mina to the Sky Palace." With a snap of his finger, four burly looking Winidians clad in platemail appeared from nowhere and slowly escorted Mina away, her protests obvious as she did not want to leave her sister as she still believed that her parents would receive Nina with open arms. After all, they had not seen her in eleven years. Surely they would want to keep Sis close to them now. However, Mina knew better than to resist against the aides. Kendrick Stormwind was a dangerously powerful person in the Royal Winidian Council and she decided that her parents would sometimes listen to the descendant of the most powerful mage rather than their fifteen year old and still naive daughter. Mina floundered about for a situation but could find none. Was she really going to lose her sister again?
Seeing Nina's pained face, Katt had a strong urge to step up and punch the suffering Winidian's lights out. She was only restrained by an equally irritated Ryu, who shook his head and said, "Let's just follow them, alright? No violence.....yet." Katt nodded her approval, gingerly touching the spot where Ryu had grabbed her arm and restrained her. It was a firm grip, but she felt a bit.....floaty. Must be the fatigue she felt Katt thought silently, trying to shake her head free of the web of thoughts of a certain blue-haired guy. Something was definitely wrong with her today, she decided.
"At least let them come in with me. They did rescue me after all." Came the protesting voice of Nina. Katt looked up to see a sighing Kendrick who nodded his reluctant approval. Apparently, he did not trust the people of other races such as Ryu and herself. Even though she found herself disliking this Winidian, Katt was curious to find out more about her friend, who apparently was a princess. That came as a surprise to the Woren, who always imagined princesses to be prissy, stubborn spoilt brats and yet, here was a princess who was not only the total opposite of her imagination. She was also an accomplished mage (in Katt's point of view) and was able to fend for herself. She had once heard from her teacher of martial arts that 'curiosity kills the cat'.
"Well, let me prove that proverb wrong." Katt grinned and followed Ryu, Kendrick and Nina into the mansion looming like an ominous storm before them.
"Okay, spill. What's the story between you and him?" Ryu demanded as the noble known as Kendrick Stormwind went up to his room to change. He felt extremely irked and a strange new emotion boiled within him, threatening to spill over. Nina sighed, as though she had expected that question. She then began to tell the whole story about Kendrick Stormwind.
".....Alright. Kendrick Stormwind is the direct descendant of Allendria Stormwind, explaining why he has so much influence and power in the Council. He has magic coursing through his veins, but he is more of a warrior as both of you had seen from his armor and military colours. He has learned the tiniest bit of magic though, thus earning him the title of "Mage-Knight" despite disapproval from veteran officers. He then took the post of the Captain of the Royal Guards. Before you ask about 'our' history, let me tell you that we were supposed to be in an arranged marriage. We met two or three times. The first time was before I was sent away, the second was when I returned two years ago and the third was just now." Nina finished in one breath while unclipping and clipping her hair back again. Katt was rather amused by the fact that Nina seemed so.....uncomfortable. She had never seen her friend act this way before. Was this something which had been troubling her all the time?
"Erm....." both girls' heads whirled at the sound of Ryu's uncertain voice. "So.....do you.....l-like h-h-him?"
Damned the stuttering. And why did he have to ask such a stupid question when there were so many other topics to talk about? Where was the confident and cocky Ranger now?
Nina was slightly surprised and touched. While traveling with them, she had always thought that Ryu was only a merrymaker with dangerous sword skills to boot. Never did she imagine in her dreams that the brave and yet shy (when it came to girls) warrior actually cared about her. The knowledge that Ryu was concerned emanated a fuzzy feeling in her, something which she had never felt before. Could it be.....no it couldn't be. She did have a good impression of Ryu: The spiky blue hair went perfectly well with his bright, attractive emerald eyes which seemed to hold immense knowledge and deep emotions. Sometimes she would just prefer to drown in them forever, looking deep into his inner being and trying to prise open the shell of his feelings. Was this.....love? Nina stopped thinking, trying to process the reactions her feelings had. She was attracted to Ryu inexplicably.....but to her, it probably was too early to figure out her mixed emotions right now. She had more pressing matters at hand and they had to be dealt with quickly.
"Nina? Hello! Anyone home?" Nina blinked and saw a gigantic paw waving right in front of her face. She yelped in surprise and nearly fell to the floor. Katt giggled while Ryu continued to stare at her solemnly. "Wow, what happened to him? Why doesn't he laugh at me like he usually does?" Nina pondered as she turned to look at Ryu quizzically.
Ryu struggled to restrain his raging blood cells and trying to keep as calm as possible, asked Nina with the straightest face he could muster: "Do you.....like him?"
"Ryu?"
"Yes?" He dreaded the answer.....
"Erm.....your face is all red. Is something the matter? Are you sick?" Nina floated towards him and put a hand on his forehead and at the same time, placing her face bare inches away from Ryu's.
".....Eh? Wha-no! I'mnotsick! Every dandy is just thingy! I-I mean everything is just dandy! Don't worry about me!" Ryu laughed nervously as he slowly backed away from the Winidian princess. With a "Ineedtousethewashroom!" excuse, he fled as fast as he could from the well-furnished living room. Katt frowned purposefully while Nina blinked innocently, not knowing that there was someone watching them from the shadows.
"Hey Nina, I heard that Storewind guy saying something about you being a princess and being exiled by your parents. What's going on?" Katt queried, determined to keep Ryu out of her topics of questions currently.
Yet another sigh. Nina gestured for her to sit down and carefully chose her words. "His name is Stormwind, Katt. Regarding my exile, its going to be a long story....."
To be continued.........
Too much? Too little? Personally, I thought it was a bit too much; the pace might be a bit slow for you guys and this probably isn't the best you guys have seen from me so do kindly review my story if you really desire to do so. I'm open to all suggestions and criticisms due to heavy schoolwork and thus, am unable to concentrate more on this. Watch out for part 2 of the story! Lastly, thanks to all readers for kindly spending your precious time reading this average story, regardless of whether you review it or not. See y'all in part 2!!! (