Jaques
Two days later, Prier and Angelique were in the auditorium of the church. Angie was twirling her baton; practicing for the festival in three months that would commemorate the fourth anniversary of La Pucelle's victory over the Dark Prince. She wanted to perform a trick that would involve Prier tossing in a second baton for her to catch in mid twirl. However, that one was quite difficult so she was training every day she could.
'I have to make sure this is just right,' thought the child, 'Every year there's a grand fair on Victory Day, and all of the children in the church put on a grand performance. Though Mommy is always real sad on that day; it's the day before Daddy left and the day she conceived me. Whatever that means anyway.'
She thought back to yesterday; right after the mail had arrived and Prier had nearly broken her neck rushing towards the mailbox. Her mother had received a letter from her father. He was doing alright; just slain a rampaging ghost that had spooked a small mountain village. In the envelope, he'd sent some Prica so that Prier could go and buy herself a little treat. In the end, she'd taken Angie out for Ice Cream.
'He always seems so nice from his letters. I wonder when I'll meet Daddy in person,' she mused.
S...S
As the duo was returning to their room, they heard a cry come from the Infirmary. Prier rushed over to see what was going on; finding Sister Cherrie and Culotte hovering over one of the beds that contained a young man with dark brown hair. He was unconscious and covered in blood. Cherrie told the young huntress, "He said that he and his best friend were traveling through Labyrinthe Forest when they heard an explosion. Then, a huge boulder crashed down on the path; trapping the other man on the opposite side. This youth was attacked by monsters on the way to get help; and not the usual fare. I'll ask Sister Romaine to send a detail to the forest in order to rout out the beasts and save the other man."
At that moment, Angelique caught up with her mother. "We've got to be careful! I feel that the Dark Energies in Labyrinthe Forest have been rapidly growing! The sensation is incredibly cold; almost as if I had been locked outside on the night of the Winter Solstice." She immediately began to shiver from the sheer terror. Prier embraced her young daughter. One of the side effects of Angelique's unique powers was that she had the ability to sense the energies from both sides of the spectrum on air currents.
"Then I guess we'll have to send in Sister Prier's unit to investigate," Sister Romaine stated as she and Francoise entered the Infirmary, "Not only are the four of you some of our strongest warriors, but Angelique can sense the Demonic Energies. That should give you all fair warning to any danger around; like whatever has hurt this traveler. While you go, I will help Sister Cherrie tend to this wounded man."
"Why is it that I must always put my only daughter in danger! Angelique is only three years old and yet she's seen things that I didn't witness until I was sixteen! If Croix were here…well you wouldn't want to see the two of us angry at the exact same time," Prier yelled. But Sister Romaine belted her in the gut and gave her a look. Angie was special…this was the fate that Poitreene had given her. At the same time, the child was looking back at her mother's slip up. Was Croix the name of her lost father?
Seeing Prier had calmed down a little, Romaine stood up. She chanted, "In the name of the Maiden of Light…may the Goddess Poitreene watch over you." Her agents responded; leaving hastily afterwards. But Prier vowed to continue the conversation about Angelique at a better time for her boss.
S...S
Labyrinthe Forest was the most direct path between Mayonaise Harbor and Pot au Feu City. Due to the dangerous number of Mini Dragons in the trees and Sirens in the river, most travelers preferred to take the long way around instead. However, members of La Pucelle, Mercenaries, Soldiers, and those that knew self defense tended to use this shortcut; they could handle the monsters easily. It wasn't long before Prier and the gang arrived at the boulder their wounded man spoke of; proving the tale was true.
She looked to her allies. "Culotte! Cast Fire on that boulder to break it apart! Anything larger might burn down the woods! We need to cause at least minor damage to the rock in order to get through to the trapped man." Culotte stepped forward and prepared his spell. It struck right dead center.
Suddenly, at the same second the spell blew up the boulder, a large black wolf jumped from the brush. It was as huge as two Bears combined and the eyes were a bright crimson. The beast looked from Culotte to Francoise to Angelique and finally settled on Prier. 'She's the one Mistress Sang told me about; Prier Dark Slayer. For her crimes against Demons…she must die. The master would approve.'
Just as the beast lunged, and just before being slammed in the gut by the Dark Slayer's boot, a single shot from a large gun rang out. It hit the beast in the neck; causing it to fall to the ground in its death agonies. The team turned around to see a raven haired man with crystal eyes looking about 23 years of age. He held a large barreled tube known as a bazooka; its aim right where the beast had been.
'He's hot!' thought Francoise, 'But considering the dirty looks of anger on Prier's face…it would be suicide to stop her. Guess she wanted to beat that wolf up on her own. Heck, I could see her ready to boot that creature. But when it's all over…I'm definitely going to try and snuggle up to this macho hunk.'
"Thanks for blowing up that boulder. My name is Jaques. I was traveling with my friend, Andre, when the boulder fell. He was on the other side and ran to get help. I just hope that wolf didn't find him as well. I'm the might of the team while Andre was our magic user. He couldn't take it alone," he said.
Prier gave him an angry look and yelled, "What's the big idea; killing that beast before me! I had it all under control! You don't know how half the things I've defeated; certainly that thing wasn't as powerful as those Demons! People in Pot au Feu City and the Church of the Holy Maiden call me Prier Dark Slayer for all of the things I've killed!" Angie hid behind her mother so she wouldn't accidentally get hit. If Prier had struck her daughter by mistake while aiming for another…she would kick her own ass. Or, at least that was how Angelique saw it; her mother always said that anybody whohurt her child would suffer.
Jaques was taken aback by Prier's outburst. But Culotte, ever the peacemaker, stepped forward and put his hand on the man's shoulder. "It's never good to argue with my sister; just agree if you value your health. If Andre is a brown haired man, then he's in our Infirmary. We've got to get back there."
"That would be Andre!" exclaimed Jaques, "If you're from the Church of the Holy Maiden, then I feel much safer. We've heard a lot about La Pucelle on our journies. You'll see me safely to town…right? I'd greatly appreciate it." Francoise and Culotte nodded; Prier was still mad and Angie kept herself quiet.
S...S
They arrived in the Infirmary to see Sisters Cherrie and Romaine looking drained. Andre lay on the bed; unmoving, unseeing, unliving. Jaques's face instantly blanched at the sight of the sight of his dead friend. But he could see that La Pucelle and the church had done all that they could to save him.
"We started our journey two years ago. I'd fallen in the river and this traveling Demon Hunter saved me. He said he was glad to help out someone in need and left before my family and I could thank him. I was inspired then to lend my abilities in battle to my fellow man. Then Andre agreed to come along with me as my magical backup in battle. Sorry…I just want to be alone now," Jaques whispered.
Sister Romaine shoed everyone out of the Infirmary. But before leaving, Angelique looked back. 'I'd never seen a man cry before; even at his most upset, I think Uncle Culotte hasn't any tears left. Does Daddy ever cry for Mommy at all? And when she isn't in my sight, does Mommy cry for Daddy as well?'
Teefa's Last Words...
Yes, we've got real drama in this chapter. Jaques is going to stay in this story and there's gonna besome interaction between him and Francoise; as well as her flirtatious crushes. Next chapter is a little bonding chapter. And Labyrinthe means maze.
Dang...after playing Rhapsody, I'm starting to regret the name Cherrie. Cornet's mother was Cherie; same pronounciation. No relation between these women people; as I said before I named her for her hair color, or how it appeared on my TV. And Sister Romaine reminds me of Chrono Crusade's Sister Kate; funny thing is that I hadn't seen the show before writing the bulk of thestory, only the last few chapters.
About Angie. Most of her intelligence is flashes of psychic power that aid in the development of new skills. You'll find out more about how her powers work in Chapters 8 and 9. I based her off the little kids in RPGs and Anime that tend to be compotent warriors/mages despite their young ages. She really doesn't tend to do the thinking; leaves it for Culotte. And pretty much everything else she knows comes from growing up with Prier and the fact that Sister Romaine thrusts her into battle at such a young age.