A/N: Wow! So many nice reviews. Thank you all so much! Glad that everyone thinks so highly of this fic…I didn't think it was that good at first. Well, here's the third chapter. Hope everyone likes this one as much as the last two. What about the title? Does everyone like the title? Should I change it? Am I worrying too much about this? Yes? Okay, then, I'm calm, I'm calm…Argghh! (Runs around in circles)
Disclaimer: I am honored that you all think I own Fire Emblem. I am deeply saddened to inform you that-…Wait, you don't think I own Fire Emblem? ...Then what's the point of this again? ...Oh, right, not getting sued. I don't own Fire Emblem. I don't own any of the many fabulous books I mention in this chapter, either.
A Note to SDS-YukiChan (…did I get your name right? I'm not looking at the review right now, so…?) : Really? That's so cool! Hey, have you by any chance read The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells? Good book on magic…also doubles as a brick (anyone who's seen the book knows what I mean). Earth Mother Magic is another good book, by the same author…Sorry, babbling now.
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Something Wicked
Chapter 3
By Amethyst Bubble
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Dusk was beginning to set in as Legault made his way up the street. He figured it was around five at night. He surveyed the tall skyscrapers closely, looking for one in particular. It was somewhere on this block, if he remembered correctly.
After another few minutes of wandering around, and cursing all the buildings in New York for looking alike, Legault finally found what he was looking for. As he approached the building, something from up high caught his eye. Looking up, he saw a figure standing on the ledge of a window nine stories up. Legault knew that figure…
"Heath! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Legault!" Heath gasped, gripping the ledge tightly.
"Get down from there!" Legault shouted, what was Heath thinking?
Heath looked from Legault, to the ground, then to Legault again, "I don't think you want me to do that…"
"You know what I mean!"
"But, Legault…" Heath whined slightly. Right now, his pride wasn't something that mattered too much.
"Get back inside," Legault ordered, pointing to the open window behind Heath. "What are you thinking anyway? You couldn't possibly survive a nine story jump!"
"I wasn't going to jump from nine stories up!" Heath snapped. "What kind of an idiot do you think I am?"
"What was your brilliant idea, then?" Legault questioned, glaring up at Heath.
"There's a fire escape three floors down," Heath pointed. "I figured if I could jump and land on that…"
Legault groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead.
"…Then I could just climb down." Heath finished.
"You know, you proved me wrong," Legault began, locking his eyes with Heath's. "You're even more idiotic then I originally thought. Get inside!" He shouted.
Heath flinched at the words, scowling.
"Get inside," Legault repeated in a dangerous tone.
The green-haired young man surrendered, climbing back inside the window.
Legault sighed in relief, "I'll be up in a minute!"
The only reply was an annoyed 'hmmf'.
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"Wil…" Ninian broke the silence. "You possess two elements. Wind and Earth. It is…most unusual to have two elements."
"It is?" Wil squeaked. Well, he was just having an unusual couple of days, wasn't he? First, he found out he was a witch, which is pretty unusual by itself, and now, he's not even a normal witch? Was the universe conspiring against him or what?
"However," Ninian continued, locking her ruby eyes with Wil's brown ones. "There is a scroll, one that speaks about five keys."
"Keys?" Wil squeaked again. He really couldn't find anything else to say.
"Yes," Ninian said. "Five keys that each possess something unusual…something special." She smiled mysteriously, "I should think that possessing two elements would be special."
A small girl with curly orchid hair raised her hand, "N-Ninian? What e-exactly are these keys…for?" She asked timidly.
"I'm not sure, Florina," Ninian shook her head. "However, I do remember the scroll prophesizing that the keys will be able to do amazing things, and that they shall bring great things."
A blue haired man seated in the back spoke up, "Scrolls, prophecy, keys…you know what it is? It's a bunch of bull-"
Eliwood clapped a hand over Hector's mouth. "Hector, please!"
Raven was the next to speak, "You said there are five, right? Where are the other four, then?" He demanded.
"I don't know-" Ninian began, but she was cut off.
"You don't seem to know an awful lot," Matthew commented.
"Matthew!" Guy and Leila scolded in unison. When they realized that, they glared at each other. Matthew sighed, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. They only continued to glare.
"I don't see why we don't just sell those scrolls to the Metropolitan, or something," Farina swung her legs over the arm of one of the sofas. "I bet we could get a lot of money for them."
"Sell the scrolls?" Fiora gasped. She whacked Farina over the head, "Sister! I'm ashamed of you! How dare you even suggest it!"
"I think Farina's right," Serra inspected her nails. "The scrolls are just moldy old pieces of paper. Nothing they say is true. It's just a lie! A myth! Like the Yeti, or the Chupacabra."
"The Chupacabra is real!" Nils said, glaring at Serra.
"Sure it is," Serra drawled, not looking up from her hand.
"It is too!" Nils shouted, "If anything's not real, it's the Fae folk!"
"The Fae are real!" Nino piped up.
"How do you know, pipsqueak?" Hector asked, removing Eliwood's hand from his mouth. Eliwood scowled at his friend's behavior.
"Uncle Legault knows one!" She retorted, "He told me so!"
"I'm sure he did, Nino," Eliwood attempted to make peace. "Now, if we could all stop arguing and-"
"I wouldn't believe anything Legault says," Hector said.
"And why not?" Nino demanded.
"Because he's a thief, that's why!" Nils chimed in.
Eliwood sighed. Obviously, peace was an impossible goal.
"He's not a thief anymore!" Nino cried, "He only stole because we needed the money!"
"Then how come Lucius' best robe went missing?" Nils asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Actually, Raven just took it to be dry cleaned," Lucius said. "I spilled something on it and couldn't get the stain out."
Raven nodded, placing an arm around Lucius' shoulders.
"Well," Nils sputtered. "Other stuff's gone missing!" He scanned the room, his eyes falling upon Guy, whose hair was still loose. "Like where did Guy's hair tie go?"
"Matthew has it." Guy sighed, brushing a few locks of hair behind his ear. Matthew grinned triumphantly, playing with the long, dark-green strands. Leila frowned.
"Why would Uncle Legault steal a hair tie?" Nino placed her hands on her hips.
"I don't know!" Nils snapped. "I was just looking for an example!"
"Of what?" Nino retorted, "Your stupidity?"
"Oh, that's a real good one, greeny-locks…"
"Children, children, please…" Eliwood said, but was silenced by two pairs of glaring eyes.
"You stay out of this!" They snapped in unison.
Eliwood sighed, collapsing next to Hector, "You can't say I didn't try…"
Ninian rubbed her temples. This noise was too much. She caught Serra's eye, and mouthed 'Could you…?'
Serra nodded, grinning. She stood up, took a deep breath, and screamed "EVERYBODY BE QUIET!"
And just like that, everyone was quiet, their eardrums ringing from the sheer force of Serra's voice.
"Thank you," Serra chirped, sitting back down and going back to examining her nails. "Erky-Sweetie, how do you think I would look with purple nail polish?"
Ninian cleared her throat, "Now, if I may continue, I suspect that the keys-"
The word 'key' was all it took for the room to break into argument again. Ninian sighed, and lightly banged her head against the tabletop.
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"You idiot," Legault growled as he materialized threw the wall. "What were you thinking?"
Heath sat on his bed, his knees pulled up to his chest. "I want to get out of here. I thought you understood that."
"Heath," Legault sighed, sitting down on the bed.
"Don't," Heath buried his face in his knees. "Just don't. You know that's my only way out," He looked up at Legault. "Don't you want me to be free, Legault?"
"Of course I do," Legault rubbed Heath's shoulder comfortingly. "I'm breaking you out tomorrow."
"What?" Heath's voice shook with hope, and his eyes lit up.
Legault rolled his eyes, "You didn't think I'd let you rot here, did you?"
"Why tomorrow? We could go tonight! They aren't here now!" Heath suggested, grabbing Legault's arm.
"No," Legault said. "Tomorrow. I want to show that hag that this cage she's kept you in isn't unbreakable."
"…It's not her fault," Heath breathed.
Legault sighed, shaking his head. "I brought food," He changed the subject. He pulled a bag out of his cloak and handed it to Heath.
"Chinese!" Heath exclaimed, looking through the contents of the bag, "Singapore Mei Fun! Fried Wontons!" He dug out the plastic fork in the bag and speared one of the wontons.
"I'm glad you like it," Legault half-smiled. Heath was so cute when he was happy. Legault was just glad he could make Heath's face light up like that.
"Legault, I love you," Heath said after he'd finished off the wonton.
"You'd better," Legault kissed Heath's cheek. "My niece is going to kill me when I get back."
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After a long hour of non-stop arguing, Ninian gave up. She stormed out of the room, cursing about how nothing ever got done. Most of the group dispersed minutes later, leaving only a few people left in the room.
Wil had collapsed on one of the sofas, mumbling about how this could not be happening. Rath was attempting to comfort his poor, confused student.
"Why me?" Wil wailed, leaning against Rath.
Rath rubbed circles on Wil's back, "…You're special."
"I don't want to be special! I've never wanted to be special! I just want to be normal! Can't I be normal witch number three or something?"
"Number…three?" Rath repeated, blinking. Well, Wil certainly was something out of the blue.
"I don't know! It just seemed normal!" Wil cried, burying his face in his hands.
Across the room sat the only other inhabitants of the room. Erk was calmly reading a book, as Serra leaned over the arm of the sofa, talking to Sain, and frequently glancing back at Erk. Kent sat in an armchair, reading a book that was upside down and twitching.
"Oh, Serra, my lovely, dainty butterfly," Sain clasped the pink-haired girl's hand and sighed romantically.
"Do tell me more," Serra giggled.
"You are truly an angel from up high. Tell me, did God send you to keep this lonely soul company?" Sain stared adoringly up at Serra. His eyes flitted over to Kent. The red-head continued to twitch, but he didn't look up. He flipped a page in his still upside down book and pretended to read. Sain sighed.
Serra also had her eye on someone else. A purple-haired, grouchy someone else. He ignored her, of course. She pouted, crossing her arms across her chest.
Leaning over the arm of the sofa farther, she whispered into Sain's ear. "It isn't working!"
"I know," Sain hissed back, looking most unhappy.
"Can you kick the flirting up a notch?" Serra asked, separating her finger and thumb an inch to illustrate her point.
Sain nodded. Clearing his throat, he got down on one knee before Serra, "Serra, my sweet," he began. "I fear I cannot live without you. Tell me, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Serra squealed, clapping her hands. "Oh, Sain!" She gushed, watching Erk's reaction out of the corner of her eye. He remained as calm as ever.
"Have a nice life together," He said without looking up from his book.
Kent, however, could not ignore this any longer. He slammed his book down, stormed over to Sain and dragged him to his feet.
"Kent?" Sain blinked. Well, it was about time the plan worked!
"You're mine, and mine alone!" Kent growled, shaking Sain by his shoulders. He dragged the brown-haired teen out of the room.
"Thanks, Serra!" Sain waved as Kent pulled him through the doorway.
Serra frowned. Oh, that was just dandy. Sain gets his prize, and what did she get? Nothing! The love of her life would be happy to see her get married to another man! How very unfair!
Oh well, on to Plan B.
"Erky," Serra squealed, latching onto his arm. "Erky, Erky, Erky…" She twirled a lock of his slightly wavy purple hair around her finger.
Erk closed his book, setting it down on the coffee table in front of him. Slowly, he turned to face Serra, an unreadable look in his eyes. "Serra, Serra, Serra…" He mimicked.
"Yes?" She asked, laying her head on his shoulder and gazing up at him with what she hoped was an innocent, doe-like expression.
"You know, it's funny. All I want to do with my afternoon is finish this one novel I'm reading. That's all I wanted to do, but, obviously, that's just too much to ask. First, Ninian calls us all here for this stupid meeting, which really didn't amount to anything seeing as no one in this whole house can ever agree on anything! And now, you won't leave me alone! What did I do to deserve this?" He asked the ceiling, shaking his head.
"So…" Serra began. "Does that mean you'll go out with me this Saturday night?"
"CANAS!" Erk shouted, standing up and fleeing the room, "The She-Devil won't leave me alone!"
Serra pouted, "Oh, that's right! Go hide behind Canas! I'll get you Erky!" Under her breath she added, "And your little dog too."
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Leila examined herself in her mirror, smoothing out the wrinkles in her black dress. Matthew was taking her to a very nice restaurant that evening, so she wanted to look nice. Pleased with her appearance, she picked up her hairbrush and gave her hair a quick going over.
Leila started as someone knocked at the door. Crossing the room quickly, she opened the door to find a petite, pink-haired girl wearing a large grin.
"Oooh, the little black dress!" Serra squealed as Leila ushered her in, "Classic." She gave her friend the thumbs-up sign as she sat down on the red-head's bed.
Leila smiled, "Thank you." She picked up two pairs of earrings from her dresser, holding each pair to her ears and comparing them. She settled on a gold and ruby pair.
"So, is tonight anything special?" Serra asked, her grin growing mischievous.
"Maybe," Leila sang, giving Serra a mysterious smile.
"So it is!" Serra exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement. "You and Matthew are such a lovely couple," She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, closing her eyes and sighing.
"Thank you," Leila chuckled, slipping a few bangles on to her thin wrist.
Serra opened one eye, peering at Leila, "How special is 'special', by the way?"
"Very special," Leila replied with a wink, digging around in her closet for a pair of shoes. After a long mental debate, she decided on a pair of strappy sandals, slipping them on.
"Very special?" Serra repeated, giving her friend a look that said that if Leila didn't say more, Serra would be very, very annoyed. An annoyed Serra did not bode well for anyone or anything.
Leila stifled her giggles by pressing a hand to her mouth. She nodded, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
Serra's eyes widened considerably, "No…" She whispered, her grin growing wider. "You don't mean…"
"Well, no, not tonight, I don't think." Leila shook her head, her short red locks flying back and forth, "He does want me to meet his parents, though. I think he might ask me soon!"
"Matthew popping the question…" Serra giggled at the thought. "The second he does, you have to tell me!"
"I will," Leila assured, laughing along with her friend.
Serra got up, skipping over to Leila's dresser and handing her friend a bottle of perfume, "This one's the best," She said. "I'm going to be your Maid of Honor, right?"
"Of course," Leila laughed, spraying some of the perfume onto her wrist.
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"Why won't she leave me alone?" Erk wailed, hitting himself over the head with a copy of War and Peace.
Canas removed the book from Erk's hands, "She likes you quite a deal. I think you should be honored."
"Easy for you to say," Erk glared at the older man. "She's not stalking you."
Canas laughed nervously, "No, she is not." Canas was very, very thankful that Serra was not stalking him. Very, very thankful indeed.
Nino entered the library, flopping down in an arm chair. She held out a book to Erk, "I liked this one much better then the last. It was a lot easier to read," she sighed, adjusting her headband.
Canas leaned over, inspecting the book, "Yes, Of Mice and Men is not a hard read."
"I suppose it's easier then Crime and Punishment," Erk commented dryly, taking the book from Nino. He looked through a stack of books, pulling out one. "I've got a treat for you," He said, handing the book to Nino.
Nino read the title out loud, "The Lord of the Rings…The Fellowship of the Ring."
"It's a sort of adventure book," Erk said. "You'll like it."
"…It's pretty long," Nino weighed the book in her hands.
"It's just the first volume," Canas commented, sorting the books on one of the shelves into alphabetical order.
Nino sighed. How come Erk always gave her the long books?
"It's not hard to read, and it's…fun," Erk said, helping Canas sort the books.
"If you say so," Nino said, tracing the letters on the cover with her finger.
Canas paused, something was not right about this situation. Nino wasn't as energetic as she usually was. He kneeled down before the young girl. "Why so down?" He asked, "You're usually more excited to try new books."
Erk leaned against the bookshelf, observing Nino. Canas was right, she did look a bit upset today. He wondered if this had anything to do with Legault's disappearance.
"Well, it's just that Uncle Legault…"
Bingo, Erk thought. When it came to Legault, Nino had a one track mind.
"I'm sure he's fine," Canas ruffled Nino's hair. "Legault's a talented witch and he's very capable of taking care of himself."
"I guess you're right," Nino sniffed.
Erk laid a hand on Nino's shoulder, half-smiling down at her, "Of course he's right. I'm sure he'll be back soon. Now, why don't you go and start that book I gave you?"
"Okay," Nino smiled, "Thanks for making me feel better!" She chirped, standing up and trotting out of the library, humming a little tune to herself.
"You're like an older brother to her," Canas commented. "It's cute."
"Shut up," Erk threw a Harry Potter book at Canas.
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Wil lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling of his new room. He took his mind off the events of that afternoon by studying the room. The walls and ceiling were white, blank and lonely looking. There was a window looking out at the backyard of the house. In the distance, Wil could see a small garden. Maybe he'd ask Rath what was growing there later. Wil always liked gardens; they were cheerful, colorful places.
A knock came from the door.
Wil blinked, now who could that be? "Come in," He called, turning onto his side so he was facing the door.
Rath entered, shutting the door behind him, "Are you…all right?" He asked, the slightest bit of concern in his voice.
Wil nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's shocking. The whole witch thing came as a big surprise, and now, I'm not even a regular witch…" Wil shook his head, closing his eyes. "It's a tiny bit scary."
Rath leaned against Wil's closed door, "I wouldn't think too much about it. That scroll…it wasn't completely translated. You might not be one of these…keys," Rath said slowly. The whole thing just seemed so unbelievable. Rath had decided that until it was known for a fact whether or not Wil was one of the keys, or if the keys even existed, Rath would chose not to believe it at all.
Wil opened his eyes, "Hey, Rath?" He asked, looking into his teacher's jade eyes.
"Yes?"
"Could I maybe decorate this room a little bit? Like paint the walls or something? I mean, I like the room, but it's just so…white!" Wil grinned sheepishly.
"…Sure," Rath replied. "What do you need?"
Wil thought about it. He'd never decorated a room before…what would he need? "Paint, I guess," He said, finally. Grinning, he confessed, "I've never exactly done anything like this before!" He laughed.
Rath felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips, "Why don't I have Lyn and Florina help you?"
"Lyn and Florina? Who're they?" Wil asked. Hadn't Ninian called the girl with curly orchid hair Florina? He wondered if it was the same girl.
"They're the resident artists of the house…" Rath explained. "…Lyn's element is earth and Florina's is wind, so I suppose they could…give you pointers about your with your magic."
"What's your element?" Wil asked, curious as ever.
"Earth," Rath replied.
"Hey!" Wil sat up on the bed, "That worked out! My element's earth…or at least, one of them is," Wil grinned widely. "You'll be able to teach me all sorts of magic with earth, won't you? I mean, does your element effect what you're able to do? Because it kind of sounds like that and..."
Rath laughed to himself as Wil continued to go on and on about magic and elements. His new student, however odd he might be, was certainly amusing.
"Rath? Hey, Rath? Why are you laughing? Did I mess something up? Rath! Answer me!"
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Chapter 3-End
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… (Pokes chapter) What was the point of that little library scene between Canas, Erk and Nino, anyway? O.o;; I guess I just like that trio, or something like that. Hmmm…or maybe I just did it to make the chapter longer. Speaking of long chapters, I haven't been able to keep a chapter of Something Wicked under ten pages to date! What is this, some kind of a curse? It's draining all the inspiration out of me! Oh well…as long as the chapters come out good, and you all like them, I don't really mind. And everyone who is reading the Matthew/Leila parts and mentally cursing me, don't worry, I don't intend to have much more of that pairing. (Grins evilly) Not much more at all…Guy shall have Matthew to himself soon! (Cackles)
In the next chapter of Something Wicked: Will Legault's plan to break Heath out work? And why exactly is Heath not allowed to leave the apartment in which he's kept prisoner? Will Nino ever have her revenge against her 'Uncle' for leaving without telling her what his business is? Will the authoress ever start ranting about things? No, no she will not.
…You know the drill. Reviews, fanfiction, so on and so forth.