Disclaimer: I do not own Maplestory in anyway.

A/N: TsukiNoRondo, thank you bunches! I glad you enjoy the story. I hope this new chapter will please you. Again please read and review, everyone! ENJOY!

Chapter Five: Shiver Village Lost in El Nath

Shiver Village was a small village somewhere close to El Nath. It was a village that very few knew of much less even seen. If you've tried to find it on a map, it would not be there. To the majority of the world, Shiver Village was a legend or myth. There was no way of proving such claims that such a village ever existed. It did however, exist where most dare not venture. The village was hidden away within the El Nath forest. There the snow constantly fell and the winds roared with such intensity that the windows whimpered in strain. The people that live there have roots there for a long time. The cold no longer bothered them. The cutting wind no longer swayed them. The harsh world outside of their home a mere whisper among the trees.

Within this little village, the little girl carefully watched over the young man. His breathing was soft yet full of agony. She tilted her head and closed her eyes, as if she was listening for something. Minutes passed before she opened her blue eyes at the sound of knocking on the front door. She could hear her mother inviting the guest inside and grabbing their scarf. Her father came into the room with some pain killers.

"How is he today, darling?" The little girl looked up at her father and shook her head sadly. "I see. His wounds have yet to heal." He paused and checked the man's pulse. "Your friend is down in the kitchen. Go see him, I'll take care of this man for today." The girl nodded and took one last look at the man before disappearing from the room. The father unwrapped the bandages and applied ointment to the wound. There was a quiet hiss from the young man, yet he did not stir. He silently watched the young man breathe.

Downstairs, the little girl walked almost cat-like in the hallway. As she came up toward the kitchen door, she listened to the conversation that was happening inside. There was a gentle womanly voice that she recognized to be her mother's and a young male voice. His voice was cheerful and airy.

"I was with the other boys when it happened. It was amazing! I couldn't believe that something like that could be so breathtaking. I wanted to show it to her, but she refused in order to take care of that man." The male voice said excitedly with a hint of something the little girl could not decipher. Her mother giggled softly.

"Well, I apologize for wanting to take care of the man then playing weird games with you boys." The little girl retorted from the doorframe. "I don't always have to play with you guys. For one, I have other obligations to attend to then childish games." Her mother sighed to herself and walked over to the counter to cut up the vegetables. The boy frowned and leaned on his left leg.

"Seriously ever since that man arrived, you've spent more time with him then us. What are we to you? Idiots? Obviously you don't seem to really like us." The boy spat with anger. The little girl felt annoyed.

"What's with the assumption Ryan? You weren't like this a few days ago." Her voice was gentle and relaxed the annoyance and retort gone. Ryan muttered something undecipherable under his breath. "Speak up. I can't hear what you're saying." Ryan shook his head and walked over to her. The little girl examined him. He was a few inches taller than her. His black eyes blended with his black-grayish metrosexual hair. His hair kept nicely under his gray visor beanie. He wore a white fur coat with black leather boots.

"Oh come on; let's go outside and play or something! I won't invite them either so it'll be just you and me." Ryan said with his anger subsided. "It stopped snowing hard, plus the winds have calmed down."

"Honey, go and hang out with Ryan. You're father already told you that he'd take care of the young man. Plus, the weather doesn't always stay like that." Her mother said while stirring the pot. Ryan didn't wait for the little girl to answer and pulled her along. He threw her jacket and hat.

"Come on, hurry up!" The girl sighed as she put her jacket on then her shoes. They played outside for a full two hours before the wind started to pick up again. Ryan bid her farewell as she walked back to the house. Inside, her mother and father were working on their project in the study. She knocked and told them she was home before walking cautiously up the stairs. She opened the door to where the young man slept. To her surprise, the young man was slightly awake. His hazel eyes glazed, yet somehow clear. She blinked before walking over.

"Excuse me, are you awake?" She asked hesitantly. The young man turned his head toward her slowly. His hazel eyes studied her, before he nodded painfully. "Want some water?" He nodded again. She smiled gently and left the room.

"Umbra… where… are… you…?" The spirit summoned itself and stood against the wall silently.

"Was it wise to call for me in this room? You don't even know where you are, Eckhart." Umbra said after a few seconds of silence.

"I have a feeling it is." Eckhart replied with a hoarse voice. Umbra sighed as the door opening up. They both froze as the little girl stood at the doorway with a glass of lukewarm water. She blinked at Umbra silently. Surprise was plastered on her face. She tried to ignore Umbra as she helped Eckhart with the water. After drinking up the entire glass, she placed the glass on the table.

"Um… who's this?" Umbra was surprised that the girl wasn't worried about a stranger being in the house, or how he got in. "I guess I'll introduce myself first," she said when she noticed their silence, "I'm Evahart and you're at my house."

"I'm Eckhart, and this purple guy is Umbra." Eckhart replied. He was amazed that his voice was no longer hoarse. Evahart smiled softly from her chair.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. I should probably tell you how you got here. I found you unconscious in the snow on the outskirts of the village. You were bleeding pretty badly so I made a sled and dragged you back. My father is a doctor so he's the one that fixed your wounds. I don't think you'll be walking normally for a while. That bite did quite a number on your bones. Some of them are bruised others are broken." She sighed at herself. "Sorry about rambling on. I should have asked if you wanted to…." Eckhart stopped her.

"It's fine. I would like to know what village I'm in." Umbra watched Evahart with confusion.

"You're in Shiver Village. We're not on the map, just so you know. I'll go get my father so you can get a detailed report on the extent of your injuries." Evahart got up and left the room. Umbra spoke up after she left.

"There is something unusual about that child." There was a frown of curiosity and confusion on his face.

"Explain so I can understand what you're talking about."

"That child, her soul is like yours. It's dark yet pure." Umbra said softly. Eckhart sighed at the explanation. Umbra looked at Eckhart as he touched the bandages.

"Her future is going to be dangerous. If her soul is like what you said it is; then she has by far a destiny similar to mine." Umbra twitched at the memories.

"There is nothing you can do then. If destiny is what drives you both, then you have no power to overcome it." Umbra stated austerely. Eckhart shook his head and looked around the room. The room was really plain. The walls were a cream color, and the curtains blocked out the sun in the daytime.

"That my friend is where you are wrong. We have the power to make our choices. Our choices will create our future. Maplers live life by choices. One choice will lead to other choices, which will lead to even more choices. The people that live here on Maple World are not controlled by destiny. They're controlled by their own choices."

"Eckhart that logic of yours is called naïve, for the foolish minded souls." Umbra responded.

"Then I'm afraid that you have a foolish partner." Eckhart replied shortly. Umbra was about to retort only to stop when the door opened.

"My, what spirited guests we have. So this is the young man." A young female voice vibrated through the room. There were three people in the doorframe. Eckhart noticed Evahart standing behind a man, and the woman that spoke. The man chuckled softly.

"Yes and the fact that he's so spirited is a very good thing. We know that he's healing properly enough to voice such spirited debates. I'm Doctor Nafoire." The man was not elderly but not young either. He was wearing a doctor's lab coat with a white dress shirt and black slacks. However instead of shoes, he wore black socks. "Please allow me to do a checkup and I'll tell you how you're coming along." Eckhart nodded as the man ran a few checkups. Evahart watched silently from her seat next to the window. The moon was halfway up the night sky. The wolves were howling loudly in the distance. Umbra continued to watch Evahart from his side of the room. She was spacing out from what he could tell. The faraway look in her eyes and the hinted curiosity laced her irises. "I must say, your body does a fine job at repairing itself. Your injuries will take a few more weeks to heal enough for light exercise. Otherwise, you're good for walking on crutches."

"Thank you very much sir. I appreciate all you've done for me." Eckhart said in return. Nafoire smiled and left the room with his wife. "Evahart." she tilted her head at him. "You've helped with the treatment correct?" she nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll get your crutches for you so when you need it, you'll have them." Umbra grabbed her arm as she walked past him. She looked over at him with confusion.

"Have you had doubts about yourself?" Eckhart starred at Umbra with shock. Evahart blinked and sighed.

"Why do you ask such questions about people like that? The world is full of different types of people. Some would feel it as rude if you ask such a question. However, I do have doubts but not about myself. My doubts lie within the unknown future and not with myself." She smiled gently. "No worries, I don't take offense to things like that. Oh one more thing. Don't go walking around the village; most of them aren't friendly about spirits. They're kind of ignorant on those types of things." Umbra blinked as Evahart disappeared outside of the room.

"I think you lost that one Umbra. Were you satisfied?"

"No." Umbra smiled. "However, we can take a closer look at this village tomorrow. It is late. Once your clutches get here, you'll rest some more." Just as he said that Evahart put the clutches down next to his bed.

"I heard that you two. Don't talk about people behind their backs. That's mean." Umbra laughed.

"I see, but that's not going to stop me." She pouted and smiled at the two of them. "If you need anything, that walkie-talkie on the table will contact me. Night." She walked out and closed the door.

"I must say that she's very skilled at bringing in things. I thought she only brought in the crutches, but she also managed to bring in dinner too." Eckhart exclaimed softly. Umbra looked at the table and noticed.

"That is extremely surprising. I didn't expect her to have better sneaking abilities than me." Umbra said. Eckhart shrugged and ate his meal before falling into a deep sleep.

A/N: I realized that this chapter is boring, but it is needed for reasons I will not state. Thanks again for giving me your time in your busy day to read my amateur fanfiction. ~KairaKara101