Chapter 5: Testing Power
Jack and Ridley waited for Larks to return with the rest of their possessions outside of his room. A million thoughts were going through both of their minds. Were the legends from the book true? If they were how much time did they have? Who would be the remaining warriors? Could they even defeat these celestial beings if given the chance? Jack shook his head as to clear his mind. He looked down at Ridley who was still deep in thought with a faraway gaze in her eyes. Again he noticed how beautiful she looked. Even without light hitting them, her eyes seemed to have a natural glow to them. Her hair was like golden strands of the finest silk. Her face so angelic she could be mistaken for an angel any day. Jack snapped out of his gaze when Larks appeared with their things. He noticed Jack had a small blush on and Jack's eyes pleaded with Larks to not say anything. Larks simply smiled and handed them their items which was kept in a rather large bag.
"This is everything that was taken from you two when you came back to Radiata. You are no longer prisoners, but I must ask you to remain in the castle until everything has officially been cleared. We don't want to start a panic with the citizens of Radiata." Larks adjusts his glasses and continues, "After everything is cleared you are free to roam both the castle and the city as you like, but until we find the rest of the orbs we want you two to stay in Radiata. We must be able to summon you quickly, and we can't do that if you are not near. Do you understand everything I've said?" Jack and Ridley nod. "Good then, Lady Ridley you're room is still available for you, and Jack since Ganz is no longer with us you may stay in his room until this ordeal is settled. This is all for now, we will let you know when everything is settled. If you have any questions you may stop by at any time." They all slightly bowed to each other and Larks went back into his room leaving Jack and Ridley in the hall.
Jack removed his sword from the bag and looked at it with new admiration. He saw the spot where the orb could fit in and the new power that could be unleashed through it. He was tempted to test the power out now with the blue orb that was in his pocket, but decided against it for now. He equipped the sword back on and put the rest of his items away. Ridley did the same and then turned to Jack. "Since we can't leave until things are settled here we can't go to Theater Vancoor, and to be honest I'm kind of tired anyways so I want to just sleep if that's okay with you."
Jack didn't notice till now that he was also tired. Not really physically since he had slept for so long at Adele's place, but mentally tired from all of the news that was just laid on them all. "Yea I'm actually pretty tired too. Hopefully things will be settled by tomorrow. I really want to go down to Theater Vancoor." They continued talking as they walked to their rooms. "I was meaning to ask you ever since you finished reading that book to us. Do you really believe everything that was in the book?"
Ridley walked beside Jack in silence for a second before giving her answer and put a hand up to her heart. "Part of me wants to say it's nothing more than a fairy tale…but the other part of me…the Golden Dragon part of me…believes every word that is in that book." She put her hand back down to her side continuing to walk.
"Hmmm…well I'm still not too sure about this, but if you think it's true then I will trust in you." As they continued down to their rooms a lot of knights and nobles who lived in the castle would stare at them. They could hear the little murmurs and whispers behind their backs as they walked passed them. Jack wanted to go back and say something, but every time he was about to Ridley would stop him saying it's not worth it.
They finally arrive at Ridley's room and they share a hug before Jack goes to his. Jack almost doesn't want to let go of her and Ridley feels the same. After a minute of just holding each other they finally release and say their goodnight wishes. Jack walks to his former captain's room which is close to Ridley's room. He can still smell Ridley's sweet scent and feel her warm body on his. He never wants to forget this sensation.
He stops in front of his former captain's room, and he thinks of all the good times he had with him. The first mission they had to Earth Valley and the fight with the goblins, going with Genius to the dark elf village and the tragic event with Ridley and the orc, even getting fired from the knights and going to Theater Vancoor which the captain couldn't get into. All of these memories flooded Jack's mind, along with his final memory of his former captain when he stayed with his father to die in the collapse of the Gold Dragons Castle. He got sad when he thought of this. He hesitantly reached for the door knob, and held it for awhile. He half expected Ganz himself to open it from the inside asking him why he was entering his room, but he knew that wasn't possible. He finally found the strength to open the door, and was greeted by the giant portrait of Gawain on the wall across the room. He walked across the room, noticing how tidy and organized everything was in it. Not a thing out of place as expected from the captain. Jack put his things down, trying to be as neat as possible in honor of his captain, and then sat on the bed. The bed gave Jack sleepy thoughts and before he knew it he was out cold.
Ridley tossed and turned in her bed, unable to get any piece of mind. She kept having a reoccurring nightmare about the Silver Dragon trying to kill her and Jack getting killed in her place instead. It would always shoot a giant beam towards her and Jack always made it on time to take the hit. He'd fall cold at her feet and no matter how hard she shook him he wouldn't respond. Holding Jack's lifeless body in her arms, she would look up to see the Silver Dragon right above her ready to strike, but she would always awake before the dragon landed its hit. She shot up yelling Jacks name again as she did at Adele's house. She was sweating slightly and breathing hard, clutching at her chest as if she had really been struck. Even though it was just a dream, she could still feel Jack's cold dead body in her arms and this frightened her beyond belief. She jumped out of bed, wrapped a robe around herself, and proceeded towards her door. It was still really late, sometime between late at night and early the next day. She walked over to the room Jack was staying in and knocked on it lightly and calling out to Jack just as lightly. When she got no response after several minutes she decided to open the door to his room. She had to make sure her dream really was just a dream, and that Jack was okay. She opened the door slowly and poked her head inside first. She couldn't see if he was on the bed or not because of how dark it was so she went all the way inside for a closer look. Closing the door behind her so nobody would notice, she walked to the side of the bed, and saw Jack sleeping peacefully. He even smiled while he slept which Ridley found cute and dorky at the same time, but that described Jack perfectly. She placed a hand on his cheek just to make sure he was cold like in her dream and was immediately greeted by his warmth. He smiled even bigger in his sleep at the first touch of Ridley's hand. Knowing he was okay she felt she could get some sleep now so she left the room and went back to her own.
Jack awoke from his sleep feeling refreshed and peaceful. He had a dream he vaguely remembered about the captain, Ganz, his father, and of course Ridley. He couldn't remember the details, but if he slept so well it must have been a nice dream. He got out of bed, stretched a little, got his toothbrush and spare clothes from his belongings, and headed to the bathroom in the room. The bathroom was just as well kept as the room. It had fresh towels hanging on the wall, a very clean and fresh smelling soap, and all the other necessities usually found in bathrooms all in their proper places. Jack walked over to the tub and put the shower head on. He found the temperature he found the most pleasing and put his current sleep clothes in the hamper before jumping in. He stood in the warmth for awhile, enjoying the feeling of it rushing over his body, before he grabbed a bar of soap and started to cleanse himself. In the room next door, Ridley was doing the same, but instead of taking a shower, she wanted to take a soak in the tub first. She thought a good soak in the tub might release some of the stress she had been feeling, and so far she was right. The water was very relaxing and the rose scented soap she added to the water helped enhance her relaxing mood. In this moment, nobody was dying, and nobody was trying to destroy one another, everything was right in the world.
Thirty minutes or so later, after the two of them finished enjoying their peaceful time in the shower, they brushed their teeth, got dressed, and almost on cue, as soon as they were going for the door they got a loud knock on the door. The two of them exited, and were greeted by a knight. They glanced at each other, and then to the knights before them.
"Master Jack, and Lady Ridley; Lord Larks request an audience with the both of you as soon as possible. When the two of you are ready, please go to the training grounds." The knights saluted and went on their way.
Jack walked up to Ridley, "They must have found the other orbs and want us to test them out to see if the legends are true." Ridley nodded in agreement as they started making their way to the training grounds. "I'm kind of curious to see if the legends are true as well aren't you?"
Ridley continued walking without answering his question. Jack called out to her again, "Hey, Ridley, aren't you curious to see if the legends are true too?" again she didn't respond, just staring off into the distance. He put a hand on her shoulder and called out to her again, and she finally snapped out of it. "Huh? I'm sorry Jack I was distracted. What were you saying?"
Jack looked at her curiously, "Are you okay Ridley? Did you get enough sleep last night? You looked kind of tired still." Ridley had slight bags under her eyes. Even after seeing Jack was okay last night, she still couldn't sleep too well. Waking up periodically throughout the night with the same nightmare, she knew it was going to be awhile before she got over it. She didn't want to worry Jack though so she threw on a smile for him.
"I'm fine, just couldn't sleep so good last night, but I'm okay." Jack looked at her curiously as she said this. He knew that she was hiding something, but he left it alone for now. When she was ready to tell him she would. He hoped so anyways.
They arrived at the training grounds where they saw both Larks and the king standing by. Larks had a small bag in his hand which he kept close. "Good morning you two, I hope you were able to get enough rest last night." As Larks said this they nodded and did a slight bow to both the king and himself. "You two have officially been cleared throughout Radiata, and on top of that, we were able to find the other orbs in Cross's room rather quickly."
"The reason we have brought you here today" the kings started to say, "as you might have expected, is to see if the legends about these orbs are true. We want you to each to take an orb and equip it to your weapon of choice. After that we want you to strike the dummies we have set here, and see what happens. Which of you will go first?" They both looked at each other and then Jack stepped forward. "Very well, please young Jack, equip one of the orbs you wish to use and see if enhances any of your power."
Jack took out his sword the Arbitrator, which already had its own natural power to it, and held it out. Then he fished the blue orb out of his pocket and placed it into the swords hilt. The orb shined brightly and almost immediately both Jack and his sword were covered in a brilliant blue aura. Everyone in the room stared in awe at Jack who was checking himself out. The aura looked like it was taking the shape of armor around Jack and he felt a deep power welling up from his sword into his body. He looked at the dummy, walked up to it and took a stance. He swung the sword as fast and as hard as he can through the dummy and it went clean right through. The whole dummy that was cut in half turned into giant pieces of ice and the fell onto the floor and shattered into a million pieces. The dummy wasn't the only thing effect by the sword swing. Everything in the path of the swing turned into ice. It was like a blizzard came through the sword and froze over half the training ground. Again all everyone could do was stare in awe. None of them could believe what they just saw, especially Jack. He removed the orb from the hilt and returned back to normal.
"Well" Larks said after a moment, "The legends of these orbs must be true…which means the celestial beings must be just as real…Lady Ridley it is your turn to test the orb, but first let us go outside of the castle. I'm afraid of what might happen if we let something like that happen again."
"Good idea Larks' the king pitched in, "No matter how sturdy it may be, even the mightiest castle will fall if put under enough force, and this proves that these orbs can give out a lot of force."
Exiting the castle, they notice something astonishing none of them expected. Half the castle from the outside where Jack swung the sword was frozen. From the bottom floor and surrounding ground, almost all the way to the top of the castle was almost completely covered in ice. They could see the surrounds knights trying to pick the ice apart to almost no avail. The ice is really strong making even the sharpest tools go dull.
"Whoa! I can't believe how much damage was down from only one swing of my sword!" Jack yelled this out with astonishment and little bit of pride. He knew it wasn't his strength, but he seemed happy he was able to do something like that on such a massive scale.
"Impressive yes, but don't make a habit out of damaging the castle or Radiata itself." Lord Larks starts to say, "The purpose for these orbs is to help stop the celestial beings, not to destroy the city." Jack puts a hand behind his head nervously and scratches his head with an uneasy smile.
"I know I won't do anything to harm Radiata. I just got back on its good side." Jack couldn't believe the power he had in his pocket, but had to hide his excitement in front of the others, especially from Ridley who would scold him about it in a heartbeat.
"Good, and now Lady Ridley it is your turn." Larks held out the little bag he had in his hand and Ridley pulled out the green orb. She placed the orb into the spot she had modified for it fit in the night before, but unlike with Jack's orb it didn't shine and brighter or cover her in any aura. It was odd. She held her axe up and took a swing at the dummy which she cut through, but with no other special side effects.
"This is odd" the king started to say, "when young Jack swung his sword with the orb he nearly turned the castle into an ice pop, but for some reason when you try nothing special happens…try again with a different colored orb." Ridley nodded and placed the green orb back into the bag and brought out the red orb. Again no special glowing or aura occurred while she placed it in the spot and no special thing happened after she cut another dummy. She tried again with the purple orb and even Jacks blue orb and nothing happens still.
"Let me try something" Jack says as he takes Ridley's axe and places the green orb into it. Immediately the orb shines bright in Jack's hand and surrounds him with a different green aura. He uses Ridley's axe to strike the dummy down and this time the dummy turns into soil and crumbles away and the floor beneath the dummy turns into a giant crevice. All of Radiata shook with the swing of the axe in Jack's hand. After the tremor had finally stopped Jack spoke, "Whoa…well it worked for me so it has nothing to do with the axe so try again." He handed the axe over to Ridley and the green aura and the glow from the orb went away in her grasp. "Just try to concentrate of the power of the orb Ridley. Draw it to you, and then unleash it."
With these words of advice, Ridley nodded and held her axe firmly. She concentrated on the axe as hard as she could. A few minutes pass, and when she's about to give up hope on using this power, she feels something swell up from inside of her and not the orb. She puts the orb back into the bag and begins to concentrate on this feeling. She starts to radiate a golden glow and her eyes change from green to a bright gold color. It is similar to the glow that Jack got from the orbs yet somewhat different. The aura that Jack got went from the sword to his body, but this aura is coming from inside Ridley herself. She looks at the dummy, and with a mighty swing the dummy seems to evaporate into a bright light along with the surrounding ground and plant life.
She puts her axe down and stares down at herself, and she is still glowing. She takes a deep breath, and then exhales slowly. The bright gold light surrounding her starts to fade and her eyes change back to their green color. She takes another look at herself and then looks towards Jack and the others who look even more shocked then when Jack froze half the castle.
"I think I know why I can't access the dragons power through the orbs…it's because I already have the power of one of the dragons inside of me."