"How... how much further?" The gray-haired girl asked between heavy breaths. She was barely keeping up, and Annabeth was worried that the girl's legs would give out beneath her at any moment. But until then, they had to keep running. Keep moving away from the danger.
"I don't know." Annabeth kept her grip on the girl's wrist, dragging her sword along with her other hand. Though it was one of the shorter swords her father had made, it was still too large for a nine-year old like Annabeth to carry effectively with a single hand, and the tip of the blade often found itself dragging along the dirt. "We just need to get away."
"To where?"
"I don't know."
The girl was quiet after that. Annabeth could tell that she was exhausted. And yet, she kept running behind her. At this point, Annabeth had no idea where they were. Where the nearest shelter was. Who were those bandits? Why did they want this girl? They called her a princess, right? That meant she was important. So why was she in a remote village in the middle of -
"Stop right there!"
Annabeth gasped as a figure stepped out of the darkness, more armored than the bandit before and wearing a helmet that obscured his face. He had a giant sword in his hands, nearly as long as he was tall, and yet he moved it with ease, pointing it towards the two girls. Annabeth's sword was a twig in comparison.
"Get behind me," Annabeth whispered to the gray-haired girl, shoving her back before turning to the armored man and raising her own sword with both of her hands. "Stay back! I mean it! I'm not letting you get to her!"
"So be it." The armored man raised his sword. Annabeth's hands shook. The bandit had been threatening, but this armored man... his presence was overwhelming. Like a mountain, or a rockslide.
However, running was not an option.
As the man's sword crashed down towards Annabeth, she dove to the side, letting the blade crash into the dirt before leaping forwards. That sword must have weighed quite a lot. That meant it would be slower than a regular sword. Maybe she could use that to her advantage. Annabeth swung her sword towards the armored man, but he raised his arm, blocking the strike with the back of his armored gauntlet.
"Tch." Annabeth skipped back and ducked just before the man's blade came up at a horizontal, passing just above her head. She dived forward again, this time slashing at the man's legs. She had seen her father forge plate armor before; she knew that this man's armor would be most vulnerable at the joints.
However, hitting these joints was easier said than done, and her blade bounced off the steel covering the man's shins. The next thing she felt was the man's fist against her chest, knocking her back and sending her tumbling across the ground.
"Gotta get up," Annabeth muttered to herself through grit teeth, balling up the pain in her ribs and pushing it to the back of her mind as she got up on her feet. A flash of steel. Annabeth's legs were off the ground before she could even think, leaping over the man's giant blade. As her feet hit the ground, she dashed forward, intent on trying for another hit before her opponent could recover from the missed attack.
"Wait! Stop!" the gray-haired girl shouted, running in front of Annabeth and stopping her in her tracks. Annabeth reached out, grabbing the girl and pulling her back.
"I told you to stay behind me, what are you - "
Something smashed into Annabeth's head. She was out before she even hit the dirt.
Annabeth woke up. Her head hurt. Her chest hurt. She was lying on something hard. What happened? Where was she?
"Ugh..."
She tried to bring her hands up to rub her eyes, only to find that they were tied behind her back. Upon opening her eyes, Annabeth found herself in the corner of a small room. Maybe in some sort of inn, judging by the bed on the other side. Turning her head, she saw that her hands were bound to some sort of post that went from the floor to the ceiling. She pulled, but it didn't budge. She considered shouting, but that would possibly alert her captors.
"Gotta get out of here," Annabeth muttered. Had that armored man captured her? Why? And where was that gray-haired girl? Was she safe? Before she could find all that out, she needed to free herself. She strained her fingers and tried to reach for the knots binding her, but they were much too tight for her to unwind, even if she had the proper leverate to do so. She sighed. Maybe she could -
The door creaked open. The armored man stepped inside.
"Who are you?! What'd you do with that girl?!" Annabeth shouted, straining against her ropes. "If you hurt her - "
"Garland, is she awake yet?"
Annabeth heard a voice from outside the room. That girl's voice.
"Yes, she is," the armored man replied, turning towards the outside. "Though she seems confused - "
"She should be, considering what happened," the gray-haired girl said as she entered the room, carrying what seemed like a bowl of soup. "Regardless, I would like to speak - why is she tied up?!"
"We don't know who she is, Your Highness. Not even her name. She could be - "
"She saved my life! Release her at once!" the gray-haired girl shouted. The armored man - Garland, the girl had called him - nodded, moving behind Annabeth and untying the ropes binding her wrists. Once she was free, she brought her hands up and stretched out her fingers, letting blood flow back into them.
"What happened? Who are you?" Annabeth tried to ask, but her voice came out weak, her throat dry and parched.
"Oh, have this first. I asked the chefs to make it for you," the gray-haired girl said, stepping forward and handing Annabeth the bowl of soup. She took a tentative spoonful into her mouth. It was warm. It tasted good.
"Thanks," Annabeth said, her throat no longer parched as she drank more of the soup. "Who are you two? And... what happened? How did I..."
"The fault lies with Garland. He assumed you were one of the ruffians that were targeting me and was overzealous in his duty " the gray-haired girl said, turning to Garland. "Please, apologize to her."
"I apologize for attacking you. I was not aware of your allegiances," Garland said, removing his helmet. He was older than he sounded, with slightly-graying hair and a thin beard. He turned to the gray-haired girl. "However, I do believe things may have ended better if you had interfered and cleared up the confusion earlier, Your Highness."
"I suppose that fault lies with me," the gray-haired girl said. "I was tired from the amount of running I had to do, and I could hardly catch my breath, let alone move to interfere with your fight. I was surprised that the fight lasted so long, though."
"Indeed. It's rare for a warrior to last more than a few seconds against my blade, let alone a child."
"Thanks?" Annabeth said. Her memories turned back to the fight she had with Garland, and a sudden pain flared in her chest. She stumbled slightly, grabbing at where the pain was coming from. "Though I... I think I might not have gotten out of that fight unscathed..."
"What's wrong?" the gray-haired girl asked, stepping forward and moving Annabeth's hand before pulling up her shirt, leaving Annabeth in her undergarments from the waist up. There was a sizable bruise on her chest, likely from when Garland had punched her. "This looks... manageable. I shall attend to it."
"Your Highness, we have medics for - "
"I shall attend to it," the gray-haired girl insisted, closing her eyes. Light gathered at her fingertips, and as she waved her hands over Annabeth's chest, the bruise began to fade. In a few seconds, it looked as if Annabeth had never been struck, and she felt similarly. "There. That should do it for now."
"What... what was that?"
"Healing magic. A simple spell, really."
"I... I see," Annabeth said, looking up towards the gray-haired girl. "Who... are you? Why... why did those men want you?"
"I believe both of your questions have a single answer," the gray-haired girl said. "I... am Zazie Arcadium. Princess and heir to the Kingdom of Arcadia."
"Princess..." Annabeth muttered. So what that bandit said was true. This girl really was the heir to the entire kingdom. That would explain quite a bit.
"Yes. And if you had not come along, I would likely have been captured by those bandits... or worse," the gray-haired girl - Zazie - said. "Now, I don't believe I have properly thanked you for delivering me to safety. Could I know the name of my savior?"
"It's... Annabeth," Annabeth said. "Helmsmith. Annabeth Helmsmith."
"I see. Well then, Annabeth, I owe you my gratitude. And likely, my life."
"I... I was only doing what I thought was right," Annabeth said, looking away for a moment. "If you hadn't been there, then... I may not have won against that bandit. The one that you used your magic on. What was that, anyways?"
"It's... complicated. If you'd like, I could tell you at a later time, but it is quite late into the night, and I assume you are likely as tired as I am," Zazie said as she and Garland turned towards the door. She was right; though Zazie had healed Annabeth's injuries, her body was still wracked with fatigue, and her legs ached something fierce from running for so long. "You can rest here for tonight. A soldier will be guarding the entrance to your room; you may ask him if there's anything you need, such as food or water. Garland's unit is protecting the entire inn, so we should be able to sleep peacefully."
"I... I see. Thank you."
The door closed. Annabeth fell back against the bed. So many thoughts were running through her head. What had just happened over the last few hours? Was her father alright? What should she do? The answers to those questions could wait. She was safe, and what she needed now was rest.
Annabeth closed her eyes. Within moments, she was fast asleep.
Chapter 3: Welcome to the New Age
Annabeth woke up. Her head hurt. Her body was cold. She shivered slightly. What happened? Where was she?
"Oh no, I left the macaroni on too long! Maybe I can still save it..."
Zazie...
She cracked her eyes open. She was back in the tent, on the mattress she had woken up in before.
"Alright, it's a little mushy, but, uh... it should still be good, I think. Now to add the cheese..."
Across the tent, Annabeth saw Zazie sitting by the same metal flame-producing contraption. Probably some sort of stove, judging by the pot over the flames. She was humming to herself as she dumped the contents of the pot into a bowl before stirring in something that Annabeth couldn't quite see.
"There, that looks good!"
"Zazie..." Annabeth's voice was surprisingly weak once more, but this time, Zazie seemed to have heard her, turning around with the bowl in her hand.
"Oh, you're awake! Just in time," Zazie said, making her way across the tent and setting the bowl in front of Annabeth. In it was some sort of pasta dish in a thick cheese sauce. It was still steaming. "Eat this! You've been out in the snow for who knows how long, so having something warm will help against hypothermia. I overcooked it a little, but... it should be fine. I think."
"Thank you," Annabeth said, sitting up and taking the bowl. She brought up a spoonful of the pasta and blew gently over it to cool it down before sticking it in her mouth. The pasta was mushy, barely holding together, and the cheese taste was slightly overpowering, but it still tasted good and warmed her to her core. She downed another spoonful, then another, only now realizing how hungry she was. When was the last time she had eaten? Back at camp, before that battle at the pass? How long ago had that been?
"Man, you're really shoveling it down. Either my cooking's really good, or you're really hungry. I'm gonna guess it's the latter," Zazie said, sitting next to Annabeth. "Thanks again for saving me back there. You said your name was... Annabeth, right? Strange name."
"Annabeth Helmsmith. And thank you again for the food," Annabeth said, setting down the empty bowl and turning to Zazie. "But... do you really not remember me, Zazie?"
"You called me that before. Are you mistaking me for someone else? My name's Zoey. Zoey Ashtray."
"I..." Annabeth paused. She looked like Zazie. Like the princess who had been at her side for over half of her life. Annabeth couldn't mistake that voice and face with anyone else. And yet...
"Look, maybe you're still confused. Hypothermia can do that to your brain. You should probably rest a little longer so you can get your bearings," Zazie said, grabbing a small white bag from the corner of the tent. "Actually, before you do that, stay still for a moment. You got scraped up a bit from that Ursa, and I gotta make sure you don't get any infections or anything."
"The... Ursa?" Annabeth asked. Maybe Zazie was talking about the creatures spawned by the God of Darkness that attacked her. She looked down and there were indeed several cuts and scrapes along her chest and shoulders, as well as a bruise where the creature's paw had struck. It was nothing Annabeth couldn't heal, though. She gathered magical energy in the tip of her finger, letting it release in a slow, gentle pulse as she ran the tip of her finger over the scrapes and bruises across her body. Slowly but surely, her injuries began to fade, the skin mending and repairing itself as the bruise on her chest faded to nothing.
"Whoa, what the heck was that? Guess I don't need this first aid kit now," Zazie said, looking puzzled as she put away the white bag. "But seriously, what did you just do? Is that your semblance or something? Because I don't think I've ever seen someone heal that fast with aura alone."
"Aura? Semblance?" Annabeth asked, equally confused. "This... this is basic healing magic. You taught it to me."
"Magic? You mean that stuff from fantasy and fairy tales? Are you sure you're not pulling my leg or something?" Zazie asked. Annabeth frowned. Despite her age, Zazie was nearly as knowledgeable on the magical arts as the wisest mages in Arcadia's court, if not more so. And now she was sitting in front of Annabeth, confused at one of the most basic applications of magic. Something was wrong.
"I... never mind. Forget it," Annabeth said, pausing for a moment. "How did you find me out here? Actually, where am I?"
"Well, it's pretty simple. I set up camp, looked around, and saw a girl decked out in full plate armor lying frozen in the snow. Let me tell you, it was a pain to drag you back to the tent," Zazie explained. "As for where we are, I don't get any signal out here so I can't say exactly, but... maybe about a dozen miles north of Peakstone?
"Peakstone?"
"It's a small village in the mountains. The best reference point would probably be... I'd say it's a good deal north from Mistral? To be honest, there isn't much on this peninsula besides the occasional fishing or lumber village."
"...Mistral?"
"Alright, you've gotta be pulling my leg now. You know, Mistral? The capital of, well, Mistral? Largest city on Anima?" Zazie asked, crossing her arms. "What, are you from another world or something?"
"I... I don't think so," Annabeth muttered, cradling her head in her hands. After all, Zazie was here. And so were the creatures that the God of Darkness had spawned. But Zazie... wasn't Zazie? She was acting like she knew nothing of what they had gone through together. And the many things she talked about were foreign to Annabeth. "I... I think I'm just confused."
"Yeah, hypothermia will do that to you. Like I said, it'll probably be good if you get some rest," Zazie said, stepping away as she went to get her own bowl of pasta. "It'll be dark soon, so you'll have the night to sleep. After that, I'll be heading out. Couriers gotta keep moving, you know."
"You mentioned that before. Courier, I mean. Is it your job?" Annabeth asked, laying back down. "What do you do?"
"Uh, how do I explain this..." Zazie muttered as she sat down and started on her pasta. "You know about Hunstmen, right?"
"Hunstmen?"
"Huh. I guess you don't know that about those guys either. They're guys who train to fight at a bunch of academies around the world. Then, they keep the peace and protect people from Grimm."
"Grimm?"
"Come on, really? You just fought an Ursa, you can't tell me you don't know what the Grimm are."
Ah. She was referring to the creatures spawned by the God of Darkness. That meant "Ursa" referred to those bear-like creatures, specifically.
"I see. So these Hunstmen, they're similar to the knights that protect each of the kingdoms and their citizens."
"I don't know anything about knights, but yeah, they protect us from the Grimm. They're not aligned with any one kingdom though; they're kinda an international thing," Zazie explained, still eating through her pasta. "Which leads me back to the Couriers. We're like Huntsmen. It's an international organization with training schools everywhere, except..."
Zazie paused.
"Except what?"
"Well, we don't protect people from the Grimm," Zazie finished, pointing to a backpack in the corner of the tent. "We deliver mail. Run packages. Get a message from A to B. Stuff like that."
"I see." Annabeth was having a hard time imagining Zazie carrying mail across the land. A princess going from door to door, delivering parcels.
"It's not glamorous or anything. Sure, people need to get their mail, but in the end they remember the Hunstman who comes running to save them more than the Courier who ran a dozen miles to get a distress message to that Huntsman," Zazie muttered. "That's why nobody really pays attention to us or knows who we are. Then again, you don't know about Hunstmen either."
"Carrying messages across kingdoms is still quite important," Annabeth said. "After all, communication is essential. A war can be won or lost by a single message in the right place."
"Yeah, well, with the CCT network expanding, those messages are gonna get to places a lot faster, and without needing Couriers for it. I kinda wish those things would go down somehow and stop taking all our work... but considering how important they are, I doubt that's happening anytime soon. And if they did, that'd probably be bad."
CCT network. Another term that Annabeth didn't know. At this point, she was getting slightly frustrated at not knowing the things that Zazie was somehow familiar with.
"But anyways, I'm kinda rambling, but that's basically what I do. I'm not a fully-licensed Courier yet, but I pretty much am one in terms of experience. I just gotta take some exams the next time I pass by a Courier training camp," Zazie said. "I think that's enough outta me, though. So, I've been curious, how'd you get stuck out here in the first place? Where'd you come from? You don't look like you're from Peakstone. Or anywhere around here."
"I... I was fighting in the pass leading up to the shrine of the God of Light," Annabeth said, running through her memories of the battle. "They got past me. I saw the light coming from the shrine, and then... the pendant!"
Annabeth looked around frantically. There. Sitting in the corner, beside her armor and her sword, was the pendant with the bright blue stone. It had been glowing before. Now, it was inert. She reached over, grabbed it, and held it up.
"Oh, yeah, that? You had it on when I dragged you out of the snow. I don't know what it is, but it looks pretty."
"You... you gave this to me, you should..." Annabeth muttered. She paused. If Zazie didn't remember everything else, she probably wouldn't remember giving Annabeth the pendant as well.
"Huh? Did you say something?"
"No, it's nothing," Annabeth said, lowering the pendant. "You asked where I'm from, did you not? I am a knight of the Kingdom of Arcadia. I live in the capitol... or, well, I used to."
"Arcadia?" Zazie asked, tilting her head in confusion. "Where's that? Don't think I've heard of that place before, and I've been to a lot of places."
"Are you not familiar with the Kingdom of Arcadia? The largest kingdom in the world? East of Lemuria, across the sea from the Fusang Empire?"
"That's... all gibberish to me, to be honest. Are you sure you're not from another world?"
"I..." Annabeth stopped. So Zazie didn't even remember her home. The very kingdom she was supposed to have been the heir to. "I think I'm tired. I... I'll get some rest."
"That's probably for the best. It's getting late, anyways," Zazie said, putting away the stove and pot somewhere in the corner of the tent. She turned towards Annabeth and flashed her a smile. "Is there anything else you need? I can get you some water if you're thirsty, or maybe bring out some spare clothes if that blanket's not enough, or..."
"Some water would be nice."
"Water, coming right up!" Zazie exclaimed, digging through a backpack in the corner of the room and pulling out a metal canteen before handing it to Annabeth. "I'm thinking you can head down to Peakstone with me tomorrow morning. Then, we'll figure out what to do with you."
"That... that sounds fine," Annabeth said, watching as Zazie turned and set up her own sleeping area. She took a sip from the canteen. "I'm okay with that."
This girl was Zazie. Annabeth knew it to be true. She had lived at Zazie's side for most of her life. The two were intimately familiar. And despite all the differences, her claims to be a different person and her unfamiliarity with the world the two of them were once familiar with, Annabeth knew that face. That kindness. That smile. It was too much to be a coincidence. Somehow, Zazie had survived what was supposed to be the end alongside Annabeth. Maybe that meant the others were also around somewhere. Maybe Annabeth could find them. Bring everyone back together in this strange world for a second chance after what was supposed to have been the end. See them again once more. After all, Zazie was here. Even if she went by another name and was more familiar with a world foreign to Annabeth.
Even if the old world and everything Annabeth knew was gone, as long as Zazie was by her side, she still had a reason to keep going.
"Good night, Zazie," Annabeth muttered as she lay down and pulled the blanket over her head. Within moments, she was fast asleep.
A/N: And that's chapter 3! The two girls get to settle down for a real talk, and Annabeth finds that the world outside isn't the one she's familiar with.
Thanks to YermakGundyr for the review! I'm somewhat surprised that I haven't seen any other stories like this, and I feel like very few writers use the God era as a setting in their stories. Then again, it kind of makes sense, considering how little we know of the era; it's basically a blank slate.
Thanks to everyone who read, favorited, and followed. If you have anything to say at all, please leave a review; I would love to know what you think. Have a nice day!