Chapter 4

Jack

I can see everything from inside the bird cage, I watched Ginta get beaten and when Light showed up, she looked so exhausted, she didn't stand a chance. Now nothing stands in the way of this guy from destroying Babbo. To my surprise, everything starts glowing a bright white and when my vision returns, I'm back to my normal self. The boy looks at me from his spot above Light, his weapon no longer activated.

"I'll spare her for now, but I will give you this warning. She is not your friend or your ally. She will use you as long as you are useful, and leave you for dead when she's done." His words are harsh, and each one makes me want to yell at him. What stops me is the look on his face as he tells me his warning, his shoulders are slumped and his eyes look tired. He stands in front of me looking defeated, even though he effortlessly took out both of my companions.

"Earlier, you said you had seen Light die… What happened?" I ask, desperate for answers.

"Years ago, in the last War Games, Light and I were members of the Cross Guard. We were just children, but we both wanted to do all we could to fight the Chess. One day, the Cross Guard decided to move our base of operations closer to some high-risk towns. The original plan was to go around a thick forest that was blocking our path, but Light had convinced us to go through the forest instead, claiming she had overheard some Chess Pieces talking about a plan to ambush us." He sighs before continuing.

"But she was one of them. She led us straight into their trap, and we were unprepared. They lit the forest on fire and killed us as we fled. Many Cross Guard died that night, and in the confusion Light was badly injured. She was bleeding badly from a deep cut across her stomach, and by the time she found me she had little chance to survive. We left her there, she was an enemy and we couldn't risk saving one of them. There was no way she could've survived, she had already lost so much blood and the fire was closing in. I don't know how she's alive, all I know is she should be dead along with everyone else we lost in those trees." As he finishes, I find myself looking at the unconscious girl, and despite everything, doubt starts to fill my mind. The boy tells Babbo he's safe for now but one wrong move and it's over. I'm hardly listening, I'm too busy thinking about everything that's happened since I left home. It's only been a day or two but so much has happened, I never thought I'd ever get involved in something like this. The only thing that snaps me out of my thoughts is the boy addressing me again.

"I'll leave these two to you," he says as he motions to Light and Ginta. "They'll be alright, Ginta's not too injured and I've seen the girl survive worse. What you want to do with her is your choice." His final statement confuses me.

"What do you mean, 'my choice'?"

"I've told you my warning and explained why she can't be trusted, so you have a choice; leave her here and take Ginta or ignore my warning and bring her with you. She's not going to die if you leave her, so don't think you are morally required to save her. I won't fault you for taking her with you either, just know you are risking Ginta's life too." With that he motions to his fairy companion, and leaves. After he's gone, Babbo hops over to me.

"What are you going to do Jack?" He asks, sounding just as confused as I am. When I don't move, he speaks again. "You're not really going to leave her, are you?" I sigh and stand, throwing Ginta over my shoulder.

"Of course not, she's our friend and she came running when we were in trouble." I tell him while walking over to Light. With a grunt, I toss her arm over my shoulder and start to carry her and Ginta out of the clearing.

Light

The darkness is back, but there's less pain this time. It's still there but more of a dull ache all over, instead of the sharp, crippling pain before. Carefully, I wake up.

I open my eyes and take in my surroundings, I'm somewhere in a forest, my back propped up against a tree and a blanket draped over me. I can feel bruises on most of my body, and a quick prod of my ribs confirms that I probably cracked one. Bandages cover a few cuts on my arms and face, other than that I'm not too worse for wear. I try to stand and groan with the effort, but moving feels easier once I'm on my feet.

"Hey Light! You're awake!" Ginta yells from a small pond a few meters away.

"Passed out for the second time in a few days… I'm losing my edge…" I mutter as I walk over carefully, not wanting to test my injuries. When I reach the pond, I notice a very tired Jack sprawled out on a rock near the edge of the water with Babbo beside him. Ginta is waist deep in the water, and is panting slightly as well. He has bandages covering his arms, a few on his legs, and one on his cheek. I do spot a slight black tinge on his forehead, indicating a bruise just below the skin.

"What have you three been doing? And how long was I out?" I ask while taking a seat near the water's edge. I cup some water in my hands and gently wash some dirt and blood off myself.

"You were only asleep for a few hours, I only woke up about an hour or two ago. And Jack and I've been training! I want to get stronger so I won't lose any more fights." Ginta tells me as he gets out of the pond and shakes excess water from his hair. He pulls his shirt back on and looks at Jack. "Come on break time's over Jack!" I can't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm, Jack on the other hand seems less excited.

"I'm exhausted Ginta, I'm done training for the day." Ginta's smile falters only for a moment before sprinting off, yelling something about a 5-mile run.

Now that Jack and I are alone, the uncomfortable silence is palpable. I risk a glance at Jack, he is now sitting up and seems deep in thought about something. I don't ask what he's thinking about, but my companions have come to expect my silence. I don't talk much, and they don't pry.

"Hey, Light? Do you know that guy? Ya' know, they guy with the blue hair."

Seems like at least one of my companions wants to pry today. I sprawl out on the grass and turn my head towards the boy. He's still not looking at me, instead favoring scratching something in the dirt with a stick.

"I don't know."

He sighs deeply. Something is definitely bugging him.

"Never mind, I just thought… Never mind." I feel bad for not telling him what little I know, but at the same time, who knows if my memories are even correct.

A loud yell cuts through the trees and makes Jack and I jump to our feet.

"Guys! Come here! I found an unconscious dog!" It sounds like Ginta's screaming at the top of his lungs, so Jack grabs Babbo and we both take off in the direction of the yelling.

I reach Ginta moments ahead of Jack and Babbo, and when we look down at the figure by Ginta's feet… it is in fact a dog. I am quite surprised, even though Ginta had yelled about a dog, I didn't expect a pants clad canine passed out on the ground. It doesn't look injured, although I can spot a pair of thin, round glasses near the canine. I walk over and carefully pick up the frames, and as I study them, the world distorts and bends through the thick glass. From beside me I can hear Babbo making fun of the dog. I hear a grunt, and almost drop the glasses in shock when the dog and Babbo leap back from each other, a sudden electric tension in the air.

"State your name, suspicious dog!" Babbo screams from Ginta's feet, the dog has it's teeth bared, a low growl coming from it. The dog's head keeps swinging from side to side, and it's eyes are squished shut.

"Tell me who you are first!" The dog starts stepping back slightly, and I can see it's hands shaking. I approach slowly, lowering my voice to a gentle whisper.

"It's all right, we didn't mean to startle you." I hold the glasses out in front of me, still a little weary of the animal. "Here these might help you see a little better." I place the spectacles on the dog, while Ginta continues to yell about the dog's ability to speak. The dog blinks a few times, then stares at me, it's mouth hung open.

"Uh… You ok mister dog?" Ginta asks. The dog jumps a bit, as though he forgot the boys were here. He stammers a bit before speaking.

"Yes, sorry, I… Uh… My name is Edward, thank you, for helping me." He bows deeply. I look at Ginta and shrug, I've never seen a talking dog before. I feel something tugging the edge of my cloak and glance down to see Edward. "Please, can you help me? You three seem strong, so please help me." I'm taken aback by this question, but he looks up at me with tears clinging to the corners of his eyes. Ginta responds immediately.

"What's wrong? We'll help in any way we can!" I silently curse Ginta for dragging me into a new mess, but I can't help but feel bad for this little dog.

"It's the princess! She's frozen herself in the castle, and now she's in danger!" Edward's frantic now, panic edges his words and his tears are flowing freely now. I place a hand on his hat covered head and ruffle his fur a bit, he looks at me in response and clutches my cloak a little harder.

"Where is she?" As soon as the words leave my mouth, I feel tiny paws engulf my leg in a tight hug. I pat the dog again and pick him up as he tells us where to go. As we start walking, I feel a small smile creep onto my face. Maybe it's Ginta's enthusiasm, Babbo and Jack's friendly banter, or even knowing that I have a destination, but for the first time in a while, I feel… Content.

"You look a lot nicer when you're not scowling." I look down at the bipedal dog in my arms, a little surprised that he noticed my change in mood. Out of habit, my mouth curves back down at Ed's comment, returning to my usual frown. Ed looks a little downcast at my reaction, so I give him a small smile.

"Sorry, I'm still not used to traveling with people, I'm more of a lone wolf." He nods in understanding, but still gives me a sad smile.

"Well, traveling with others isn't so bad. Plus, when you smile you remind me of the princess." He looks ahead and smiles fondly. "She's always smiling no matter what happens, even when the queen chased her out of the castle, she looked after me and was kind to everyone."

"She sounds awesome." Jack says as he walks up behind me, Ginta and Babbo close behind. Edward nods enthusiastically and jumps out of my arms.

"She's the best! I don't understand why anyone would want to hurt her… it's my job to protect her, but she always ended up protecting me…" he looks at Ginta, determination in his eyes. "But you can help me save her, and then I'll protect her."

"What happened to her? Why is she trapped in a frozen castle?" I ask as we walk, hoping to find out what Ginta's gotten me into. Edward's eyebrows scrunch together in anger.

"Where should I start? So much has happened since the princess' mother died." We all look at the small dog, encouraging him to continue.

"The princess and I are from Lestava, and for a long time everyone was happy. The princess had an older sister too, and they were always together, playing and smiling. The two were inseparable, and loved by the people and even more so by their mother and father. Until one day the queen got very sick and soon passed away." Edward's voice cracks on his final words, and he must clear his throat to continue.

"The king, wanting to find a way to soothe his children's grief, started searching for his new queen. Right from the start, his eldest daughter hated this idea and when the king found his bride, she made her distrust known. The king's youngest however, came to love the new queen and tried to be happy despite the rift forming between her sister and her parents. Everything changed however, when the chess pieces declared war. First the king's oldest daughter ran away, we searched for her but never found her. Until some of our knights came back from the war and told us she had died in the fighting." Ginta turns toward the downtrodden dog, seeming even more determined to help the lost princess. I feel the same way, and I notice that I'm walking a little faster, suddenly eager to get to this girl as soon as possible.

"Then the queen showed us her true nature, first she asked for more jewelry, then it was more ärms, then she took the whole kingdom. She locked the king away and went after the princess, but we ran before she could catch her. We've been running ever since, but the queen's men have been gaining on us. So, the princess locked herself in a castle and used her ärm to seal herself away in ice. She told me to go find help and that she'll be waiting for me to come and save her." He slows to a stop as he finishes, and I can just make out his quiet attempt to hold back his tears. The three boys stop as well and look at me, as if I'm the most qualified person to comfort a talking dog who has been hunted down for his princess. I walk over and pick up Edward, I'm not sure how to comfort him, but I know that getting to his princess is a good place to start.

"Don't worry, we'll save her. The edge of the forest isn't far, so just lead the way." I give him a small smile, and he nods. We continue walking idly chatting as we go, but something was bugging me. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something… Off. I just had a feeling. Edward suddenly got very excited and was pointing to the approaching tree line. We all rushed forward, eager to see what lay ahead.