A/N: Thank you to the people who have followed my story and gave me reviews. I am truly trying to take your comments to heart and trying to give a story that I would be proud of.

Chapter 6: The Price of Power

"I thought you said you the Gold dragon inside of you was about to die? How is it then that you are able to access its power and so much of it at that?" Larks asked after witnessing her incredible display. Even after experiencing Jack use the power of the orbs, he still couldn't believe what he just saw. Jack himself couldn't understand it, and he had used similar power a moment before.

"Honestly…I'm not too sure myself." Ridley started to say. She started walking towards them as she continued. "While I was trying to concentrate on the orb I felt a power well up from inside of me, and then a voice spoke out to me. I couldn't make out what it said, but soon after I felt the power going throughout my body, and I was able to accomplish what you just witnessed. The Gold dragon inside of me is dying yes, but I feel it is a slow death, and until that time comes the Gold dragon will not allow me to tap into the power of the other dragons."

"That is disappointing; it means that we still have to find three other warriors." Larks said this as he went into deep thought and then he got an idea. "Let me try something." He pulls the red orb from the bag he was carrying and places it into a sword that he brought along for this occasion. He gets covered in an aura, but it is less vibrant than what Jack had and the orb doesn't shine as bright. He takes a swing at one of the other dummies that was placed in the field they were in and makes it halfway through before he is stopped. The place where he cut smolders a bit and looks charred, but besides that not much damage was done to the dummy. "Interesting…Sir Jack please take hold of this sword in my hand." Jack takes the sword, and immediately the aura transfers from Larks to Jack and it becomes much more vibrant and the orb shines brilliantly.

"Do you want me to swing at the dummy?" Jack asks Larks.

"No, that won't be necessary. I'm afraid you would burn half of Radiata if you were to do so." Larks adjust the glasses on his face. "You proved a theory I had though."

"Huh? What theory are you talking about?" Jack asks confused.

"That you have to be a strong warrior in order to use the orbs to their full potential. Not anyone that can swing a sword could use them. So we must carefully select the other three warriors."

"Okay" Ridley started to say, "We should…" before she could finish her sentence she collapsed to her knees and then all the way to the ground.

"Ridley!" Jack started to run towards her, but then noticed a fatigue settling over him as he drops to one of his knees. His eyelids feel heavy as he looks over at Ridley, and then to Larks who has already fallen to the floor. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion as he struggles to move more. Jack fights himself up to an awkward standing position and makes his way to Ridley, but falls again as he is mere feet away from her. His whole body aches as if he had just been in a fight that had lasted for years. He finally knocks out at the sound of guards rushing towards the three of them.

When Jack finally awoke, he was in the infirmary of the castle. He looked around and noticed lots of other knights in the room, but not Ridley or Larks. He started to make his way out of his bed and noticed how sore he felt. Every movement felt like he had giant weights attached to himself. He slowly made his way to the door when before he could grab the handle the door opened and Jack fell through the doorway.

"Jack what are you doing out of bed?" Ridley said in concern as she helped him get up off the floor.

"Ridley…what happened? Last thing…I remember…you were…and Larks…are you okay?" Every word was a struggle for Jack to say. Every time he tried to speak the words wanted to force their way back down Jack's throat.

Ridley helped Jack back to his bed before she answered him. "Don't try to speak Jack. Your body is under extreme exhaustion from having used the orbs. Apparently using the power of the dragons causes a lot of stress on the body."

"Then…why…you…" Jack tried to speak more, but the words didn't want to come out.

"Jack please, no more talking. Since I didn't use the orbs and the Gold dragon is inside of me it helped me recover faster. Although I still feel a bit stiff and sore as well. Larks couldn't tap into the full power of the orb he used, but because he isn't a warrior it affected him in almost the same way although he recovered faster than even I and feels only slight soreness. You used the power of two separate orbs and were able to use a great amount of power in doing so, which is why your recovery is going to take awhile longer so just wait it out."

Jack lay in the bed frustrated and feeling helpless. Ridley sat next to him on the bed and placed a hand on his own. "It's okay Jack. That you are able to do so much already is a good sign. All the other knights in here were testing out the orbs after we passed out. They couldn't even come close to the power you displayed in using the orbs and they collapsed almost automatically. That you even had the strength to get out of bed and move before any of the knights in here shows that you are recovering quickly." Jack felt a little better at this news, but then something else came to his mind. As if she could read his mind Ridley responded. "Yea, none of the knights in this castle are going to be able to be the warrior we need to wield the orbs. Larks and the others want us to go out and see if any of the guild members have what it takes to wield the orbs after you recover. If they can't then we are in bigger trouble than we thought."

Jack closed his eyes and started to think. He was sure that Elwen would be able to wield the orbs for as powerful as she was, and maybe even Gerald. After that though, Jack didn't know whether or not the other guilds had the warriors needed to fill in the other spot. Theater Vancoor would have to be the first spot they try was the only thing Jack knew for sure.

Larks arrive as Jack is in the middle of his thoughts and comes to the other side of Jack's bed. Jack opens his eyes and Ridley stands up from the bed. Jack struggles to sit up, but Ridley lays him back down.

"Well I'm glad to see you already have some of your strength back Jack. These orbs are more complex than the book told. I'm lucky I wasn't able to use that much of their power or else I don't think I would be getting up anytime soon." He looks around at the other knights in the bed. "They are strong enough together, but I'm afraid none of them have the individual strength it takes to wield the orbs. Even Lady Natalie couldn't withstand the power of the orbs for that long, and none of them showed the skill you showed when you wielded the orbs." He looks at Ridley, "Did you inform him about the discussion we had earlier?"

"Yes, I just finished telling him." Ridley said, "We will go out to the other guilds as soon as Jack is up to it."

"Very good then" Larks said as he started to make his way out of the room. "Oh, I almost forgot" He walked up to Ridley and gave her the bag filled with the three remaining orbs. "Keep this safe. All of Radiata are depending on you to find the remaining warriors, and I don't need to remind you the importance of these orbs. The guild leaders have all been informed on the matter and are waiting for you at their respective guilds." With this said Larks finally left and Ridley and Jack were left with in the room with knocked out knights.

"I'll be right back." Ridley said as she left the room as well. She arrived moments later with a wheelchair and brought it up to Jack's bed. "I thought if you were well enough that you would like to finish recovering in your own room." Jack smiled and nodded as Ridley helped him up and into the wheelchair. They exited the room and started to make their way to Jack's room, Captain Ganz former room. "They started to remove some of the captain's personal items from the room to make it a permanent room for you." Ridley started telling him. Jack wasn't sure how he felt about that. He liked the thought of having his own room in the castle, but he liked that even though the captain was gone he felt close to him by being in that room.

As they pulled up to the room, two knights were moving the portrait of Gawain out of the room. Jack yelled out as best as he could "Stop" which came out a little shaky and choppy. The knights stopped in their tracks and put the portrait down as they saluted Jack and Ridley.

"Good evening Sir Jack and Lady Ridley. Our orders were to remove all of the former Captain Ganz's items from the room for Sir Jack." They started to pick the portrait back up, but Jack lifted his hand, which felt like a ton of weights were tied to it, and told them to stop again. Ridley understood what Jack was trying to say.

"Sir Jack wishes to keep the portrait in his room." Jack nodded as Ridley said this. The knights looked at each other confusingly and with a shrug they brought the portrait back to its place on the wall.

"Okay, well if you need anything else please do not hesitate to let us know." The knights saluted them again, and left.

"Gawain was a good man." Ridley said as she wheeled Jack into the room. Gawain looked just as proud and strong in the portrait as he did in real life. More than the portrait could show Jack thought, but still. Having the room to remember Ganz and the portrait to remember Gawain was nice to Jack.

Ridley brought Jack close to the bed which was already freshly made. She pulled back the covers and then proceeded to help Jack get out of his wheelchair. As she assisted him to the bed, her foot slipped dropping him on the bed clumsily with Jack pulling her down with him on top of him.

I'm so sorry Jack I…" she stopped mid sentence while gazing down into his eyes. Jack winced a bit in pain, but then looked up at her. His simple big brown eyes brought warmth to Ridley, and her piercing yet gentle emerald eyes had the same affect on Jack. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment not moving a muscle. They looked deeply, seeing past what was scene and into each other's souls. They looked down at each other's lips and then back and forth to their eyes. Their faces blushing as Ridley leaned in closer and closer to Jack's lips. They are mere inches from connecting when suddenly they hear a knocking at the door.

"Sir Jack? This is Al the steward. Are you in there?" At the sound of the door knob turning Ridley jumped up off of Jack and started to fix him on the bed. Both of their faces still blushing red. "Oh Lady Ridley, I didn't expect to see you in here. Please, allow me to help Sir Jack."

"No its fine, I've almost finished." Ridley said as she pulled the covers over Jack and tucked him in. "I'll come check on you tomorrow Jack." As she walks past Al he makes comment on her blushing face.

"It looks like you are about to come down with a fever Lady Ridley. I'd advise you to rest in your room as well." Ridley nods as she walks past him and into her room. "Now then, Sir Jack I came to tell you that if you are in need of any assistance while you're unable to move. Please do not hesitate in pulling the string by your head. I will come as soon as I can to aid you in any way you need." Jack nods to this looking up to the string near the left side of his bed. He is sure he won't need it, but it is nice to know it is there. "If you are not in need of any assistance at the moment then I shall leave you to rest." He does a slight bow and leaves Jack's room closing the door behind him. With everyone gone and his room so quiet, it didn't take long for Jack to fall asleep. Surprisingly he didn't dream, not even of Ridley.

The next morning after getting showered and dressed, Ridley headed to Jack's room to see if he needed help with anything. As she approached the door she got a flashback at the near incident they had the day before and she started to blush a bit, but then shook it away. She knocked on the door calling out Jack's name, and when there was no answer she let herself in. Jack was still on his bed resting peacefully. Ridley was about to exit when she heard him move, and went to his bedside to see if he had awaken, and needed help getting out of bed. At a closer look she could tell that he was still knocked out. Just stirred a bit in his sleep is all. She walked to one end of the room to pull the wheelchair out for when he needed it, and when she turned back around Jack was sleepily opening his eyes.

"Good morning Jack" Ridley said with a smile as she brought the wheel chair to him. "Are you feeling any better today?"

Jack was able to sit up by himself with little struggle. He stretched and yawned which hurt and felt good at the same time. "Yea…I feel much better today."

Ridley was happy to hear his voice and gave him a soft smile. "Do you think you can make it down to Theater Vancoor and the other guilds today?"

Jack stretched a little more which loosened him up a bit and then gently moved his legs over to the floor. He stood up a little wobbly which worried Ridley into trying to catch him, but Jack balanced himself fine after a while. He stretched his legs out. Flexing and extending his leg while rotating his ankle with a hand on the wheelchair for balance. He still felt sore, but it was tolerable.

"I should be fine to go down today. Just give me a second to loosen up and get ready." He said to her with his big smile he always has on.

"Okay, I'll be waiting next to the front of the castle whenever you are ready." She walked out of his room and closed the door.

Both Jack and Ridley wanted to talk about what had almost happened yesterday, but both were too embarrassed to bring it up. Jack slowly started to walk around his room to loosen up more and to get his blood pumping a bit. The more he moved the better he felt. After a few laps around he moved the wheelchair back into the corner of his room hoping he would never have to use it again. He made his way into the bathroom and took a nice long warm shower which made his aching body feel that much better. He didn't want to keep Ridley waiting though to he cut it short after quickly washing up and got dressed and headed off as quickly as his sore body would allow him to. Ridley was waiting right outside the castle for Jack.

"Are you sure you are ready to do this Jack? You are still moving kind of stiff there." Ridley said this with a bit of concern in her voice, but Jack reassured her that he was fine.

"This is not the time for me to be lying around in bed. I can move fine and the more I move the better I will feel in no time you will see." Jack gave her another smile which she responded with a more nervous smile. She still wasn't too sure if he was up to this, but she will just have to watch him throughout the day and decide when he has had enough."

They headed down Yellow Town of the Sun and Glory towards Theater Vancoor. Jack was nervous more than anything to meet his old guild members again. Would they be happy to see him because they were worried or happy to see him because they wanted to end his life themselves? Knowing them it would probably be both. They stopped in front of the door and Jack took a big breath. Ridley saw that he was nervous and let him take his time to open the door. When he finally did, everything looked exactly how the last time he left it. Carlos slamming on the table to the left of the door, Gene sitting there like he doesn't care about anything, Rolec looking nervously at the jobs on the wall, and Thanos sitting lazily behind his desk. Suits of armor line the walls as the dim light above lighten the room. As soon as he stepped through however everyone froze and stared at them. Jack slowly made his way to Thanos as everyone kept their eyes peeled on them.

"Hey Thanos is Elwen here at the moment? We need to speak with her." Jack said this nervously as Thanos looked at him with cold eyes.

"Yea" Thanos replied, "The Chief is in her room. I'll let her know you are here." He got up slowly walking towards the stairs. He looked back at them once. "A couple of us weren't too happy that you betrayed us to join the nonhumans." He continued walking up the stairs and Jack got a cold shiver down his spine.

The others were still staring at them as they waited for Thanos to return with Elwen. From the stairs they hear someone running down the stairs in a hurry. Sliding down to the final floor with weapons in hand, Deputy Gerald stares violently at Jack.

"You think you can just leave Theater Vancoor and return like nothing happened without paying your dues!" Gerald lunges at Jack who with his sore body was barely able to dodge on time. He and Ridley ran out of Theater Vancoor with Gerald hot on their trails. Ridley pulls out her axe, but Jack tells her to put it away as he pulls out his sword.

"It's me he wants. This isn't your fight to fight."

"Jack you still aren't fully healed yet, don't be stupid!" Ridley pleads with him.

"Don't worry Ridley" Jack says with a smile as Gerald approaches him. "Even if I'm only at fifty percent, it is still enough to deal with him."

"Don't get cocky kid! I was a soldier before you were even a thought!" He rushes Jack and they clash swords with sparks flying. The echo can be heard throughout the city.