Sorry about the long wait. One word: School. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. By the way, for those of you game music lovers out there, check out www. ocremix. org/ downloadmix. php . FFN isn't very good with urls, so copy the url, paste it into the address bar, and delete the spaces in between (www.) and (ocremix.), between that and (org/), and so on. Click on the letters at the top-right of the screen once you get there to see music remixes for games by alphabetical order. They've got Suikoden (not much, though), Final Fantas'ies', Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, you name it. A-Z game remixes. It's a cool website, so check it out.
Also, I just went through every chapter and did a bit of upgrading. My suggestion is, if you haven't read the chapters before this in a while, read them again. I've changed a bit of things, but the basic outline remains the same. If you find any type-os, don't hesitate to place them in a review or something.
Now, as for reviews:
Lily (Lena) Evans: It's about to get much better! Just not much in this chapter…
Cathy7: Chris hugging Louis was stretching her personality a bit, I think. But it worked out okay in the end.
Widower: Sorry, but the "impending attack from the bandits" isn't much a spectacle in this chapter. It does, however, come up in later chapters.
StickyRice: I just had to add the flirting in there somewhere. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Aries28: I don't know how much fluff I can put in without making the story unrealistic. But I'll try!
Once again, thanks for the reviews! Now on with the slightly (just slightly) uneventful chapter!
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Chapter 8: Fate
The battle was over quickly. The victors of the battle were obvious from the start, considering the bandits were outnumbered at least 2 to 1. Chris found herself wondering why she had been so worried when Roland had stated the news of the two hundred bandits. The battle was over so swiftly, in fact, that Chris's army had lost no one. Now she, Louis, and the other five Knights of Zexen sat in a tent, discussing their next course of action. They all sat comfortably with wine glasses set for each of them, except Louis, of course. Throughout the entire talk, however, Chris remained unusually silent.
"We should send out scouts to locate the rest of the bandits. Once we know where they are, we can plot our next movement," Salome stated, addressing everyone.
"Yes," Roland said. "But until then, we are sitting ducks. The bandits could sneak up at any moment, just like they did earlier today."
"I agree with Roland," Leo said. "They may be small in number, but they could easily take the upper hand in a surprise attack. I think we should move back to Brass Castle, restock, then send out different patrol groups to search for the remaining bandits."
"If we do that," Percival said, setting down his glass of wine, "we might as well send out an invitation to them saying, 'please, come rob the travelers.' We cannot let this theft continue."
"I understand your reasoning, all of you, but as long as we keep up our guard, we can just send out scouts and have Brass Castle send us a caravan of supplies. We do not… need…" Salome trailed off as he noticed the table shaking, small ripples spreading through the glasses of wine. Borus looked up from his very own glass and looked about the tent, looking for a source to the shaking. At first he thought it was enemy attack. But soon all eyes turned to Chris. She held her wine with loose fingers, her hand visibly shaking. Her entire body was shaking.
"D-Do c-cont-tinue," she said with chattering teeth. Louis gasped.
"I knew I was forgetting something! Earlier today, milady said she was cold. She did say that, didn't she, Sir Roland? You were there."
Roland cocked his head slightly. "I do not recall. I was in quite a hurry to relay the information of the bandits to milady."
"What about the poison on the bandit's blade?" Borus asked, speaking for the first time in a while. "The blade of the bandit that struck Chris a couple days ago. It was poisoned, was it not?"
"Y-you are a-a-all m-making a b-big deal a-b-b-b-bout this. I am just a bit cold. N-Nothing m-more." Chris was growing more irritated by the second, but not at the others. Throughout the entire day, she had slowly been getting colder.
Completely ignoring Chris's comment, Percival said, "It is true that the blade was poisoned, but the mages completely removed any poison. Master Mage himself overlooked the removal operation; it was he who said she was poison-free."
"What if it was an undetectable poison?" Roland inquired. "Something like toxis or terulum?"
"Toxis and terulum are myths!" claimed Salome, putting his logic into the situation. "We have no proof of their existence, and it would not matter anyway. Toxis and terulum poisons supposedly do not have these effects on victims."
Chris gave them all cold glares. 'Even Salome had joined in with this buffoonery!' she thought. She let go of the wine glass, and the table ceased its shaking. It seemed that Leo and Roland had gotten into an argument over the legend of toxis and terulum, and it did not look as though it would end soon. As she stood, everyone's attention had turned to her, and she spoke, forcing her voice not to waver. "We shall send for reinforcements and supplies from Budehuc and Brass Castle. Scouts will be sent out to do a little reconnaissance after we move our camp a little closer to the cover of the Zexen Forest. Any questions? Good." She left the tent, a cold breeze eagerly entering the warm tent as the tent's flap drifted shut behind her.
Everyone stared after her, surprised at her sudden outburst. Salome shrugged, standing and saying "It is late. Milady Chris must be quite tired. We should all get some rest." Everyone muttered their agreement, and one by one left the tent until only two remained.
"What do you suppose is wrong with her, Borus?" Percival questioned, swishing the wine around in the glass. Borus stared into his own wine before taking a small sip.
"I know not, dear Percy," he said, earning a scowl from Percival. "She has been acting so strangely ever since she received the rune. Perhaps thoughts on what is to be are plaguing her."
"That does not explain the reason that she shivers like a dog that fell into a frozen lake. If it is not poison, then what is it?"
Borus looked up from the glass. "Has your brain failed you, Sir Percival?" he asked, the light from a lamp gleaming in his eyes. "It is the rune. For some reason, the rune seems to be perturbed, ill at ease. These are the signs that something great is about to happen. We all must be prepared for the worst." He looked back down at his wine. "The runes are mysterious and powerful things that Sadie, or someone else, graced us with. With them we can keep a peaceful world. With them we can crush it. Do you believe in fate, Percival?" Silence reigned. "Do you believe that if we are meant to live, we will? And if we are meant to die, we will?" Percival studied the tent's ceiling.
"That is a hard question you ask, Borus. Was Chris destined to bear the True Water Rune? Was the war between the Grasslands and Zexen preordained? I cannot answer such a question. Neither, I believe, can you.
"In that, you are correct." The flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows across the wall of the tent. Borus watched these with an amusing question. Was the man who lit the lamp destined to do so? He suddenly chuckled to himself. "My dear friend, we waste time questioning the unanswerable. I will bring milady Chris some extra blankets before I turn in. Winter is rearing its ugly head. Perhaps she caught something while out today. Hopefully it will blow over in the morning." Percival nodded. Then a wicked smile crossed his face.
"Forget not to kiss her on the cheek after you tuck her in!" Borus's eyes blazed with anger, and he opened his mouth to say a few nasty things. But before a word left his throat, Percival was gone. Scowling, Borus realized he was far too tired, and decided to peruse the matter in the morning. Leaving the tent, he went and grabbed a few blankets from the supply tent before heading back down the tent rows to Chris's not so lavish pavilion.
Clearing his throat at the entrance, he called quietly, "Milady, do you sleep?" No answer. "Milady?" Still no answer. Worried, Borus called, "I'm coming in," and pushed aside tent flap. Darkness greeted him, and he waited for his eyes to adjust before proceeding. He was relieved to find Chris asleep under one blanket on her overstuffed mattress, but to his dismay, she was still shivering. He carefully unfolded the three blankets he had grabbed and laid them gently across Chris. Then a thought occurred to him. Perhaps I will fulfill Percival's request. He bent down and gave Chris a very small kiss on the cheek. He pulled back quickly as she shifted under her covers, but to his surprise, she gave a content sigh. He smiled to himself before leaving the tent.
He just hoped to Goddess that he was destined to do that.
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