Mirrors

by Lumikuu

Reina saved Kharl from death. From then on, they were friends. But when Kharl decides to work under a dark alchemist, he becomes someone Reina can't recognize. Fic revolves around Kharl and his transformation from childhood to adulthood all in Reina's POV

3. The Chases

.:oOo:.

Author's Notes: Heya, happy day, i got a new reviewer! YAY! eats muffin Dont ask

Oh, yes i changed my to Reina, not Kharl Fanatic, I shall miss that dear Nicky. :sob:

Important: Reina's POV (point of view) REINA IS NOW 13, KHARL IS 16

DiScLaMeR

You all know what goes here.

Right?

.:oOo:.

Mirrors

By Kharl Fanatic aka Reina

Chapter 3 -

The chase(s)

.:oOo:.

NOTE: There is a bit of er, how should I say. a chase, yes, a chase. NOTHING HAPPENS. IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN, BUT IT DOSENT! READ ON!

Days flowed into months, months bled into years. People I know came and went. Six years passed like a breeze, and Kharl weaved in and out of my life like a thread. I saw him every once in a while, sometimes in the market, or at the river. But then there came a time when i saw him while shopping for food in the market. He was bent over a wicker basket grabbing armfuls of fruit, some people passed, obscuring my view, I looked again, and he was gone. The stall owner didn't notice.

The next time I saw him, he was with three other kids, a buck-toothed boy walked up to the stall-owner and enticed him into a conversation as a distraction, while Kharl and the two other boys grabbed meat and vegatables and scampered off, the distraction followed shortly. It was a funny sight, like something from a children's story book, the one's I'd longed to have when I was small. But I no longer was interested in story books, now I craved for something else; I wanted freedom.

I suppose I should have been satisfied with what I had already, after all, life had been going up hill for me, I no longer had to work in the gallows, and I was free to go anywhere as long as I did my chores and other meanial tasks given to me by my mistress. But, still Kharl's talk of running away, sparked something deep inside of me, something that wanted to burst out and be free.

I was coming back from the market, my old burlap bag, bouncing off my legs as I walked along the dirt road by some stores. I heard quiet murmurs, barely audible, but I heard them. My natural curiousity brought me to over to the nearly delipitated wall.

"Be ready tonight..." a voice hissed quietly

"Yes, tonight we kill that demon." another said , his tone full of venom. I paused at those words, these people were plotting a murder.

"To avenge our friend, and only for that." this voice was solem.

"Not so! Sooner or later, he'll get us as well! For our friend, and our lives." It was the first whom i had heard.

"You saw what he did to Mez! He'll so us in as well if he feels like it."

"Yes...but-"

"No buts! Tonight, be there, or else." the threat hung in the foul smelling air. "Tonight..Kharl will no longer be our leader."

My heart felt like it skipped a beat.

Kharl? What did he have to do with this? I thought franticly. More importantly, Kharl is going to be murdered!

I poked my head slowly around the corner.Three boys sat in a circle, all facing each other. I realized they were the same boys with Kharl the other day in the market. I stepped back, my heart pounding. The air was heavy with humidity and rotting food. I needed the find Kharl and warn him before night fell. I gazed at the horizon, my heart sank. The sun was about to set, I took a breath, hitched up my oversize pants, and began running towards the market. A place I was sure to find him. By then the sun was setting, its fiery light slowly being consumed by the earth.

The market was empty, just stalls, and bits of food here and there remained, plus a few wild chickens pecking in the dirt. Kharl was no where to be seen.

"Kharl!" I called "Kharl!" There was no answer. Tears of frustration welled up in my eyes.

Woah! Hold on. WHY am I crying? As far as I know I had never cried before. Which was odd, and made me feel out of place when I had been young. All the little girls cried, why had'nt I? I pushed the matter aside and began to call for Kharl again.

"Well well, what do we have here?" A male voice asked behind me. I whipped around, only to face one of the dungeon guards.

The one who had pestered my about my age, and martial status. (Check FF net Dictionary for "Martial")

"Its the pretty little gallow maid." He stepped forward and grabbed my chin, then tilted my face to get a good look of me.

"Go harass someone else Tobias!" I yelled stepping away from him.I knew him quite well, considering I had been the gallow keeper for 4 years. He was known to be a strong , as well as violent man. He was 20 I think. Out of ther corner of my eyes I saw- to my horror, three other men come out of hiding behind random stalls.

Dammit I thought furiously, I punched the approaching Tobias in the stomach and when he keeled over, I clasped my hands together and slammed them down on his back. The men behind me, began to run at me.

The chase was on.

Quickly I bounded to the nearest building. Only to find it was deserted. I was trapped between two rails. I jumped over one, and tore the side of my left pant leg. There was laughter from the men. Ignoring it, I ran to the compound yard, at least someone would be there. Once again I was proven wrong. It was empty , I called for help, but my plea only echoed off the crumbling walls. The men blocked the only exit I had, they were all laughing. Tobias stepped up and moved closer to me.

"Reina, is it? You looked so meek and quiet in the gallows. Not to mention dirty and tired..." he smiled. I stepped back only to bump into the wall. Tobias knew he'd won, because he stepped over to me and pinned me against it with his hands on my shoulders.

"In fact" he continued " You still are dirty and tired...Arent you?"

I glared at him and refused to answer.

"Oh, don't be like that." he cupped my chin gently " I can make you better. I can make you happy again. You'll eat, sleep, and bathe all you want, if you agree to be mine..." His voice was but a whisper. And I have to admit I was almost convinced. But I looked at him angerily.

"And tell me Tobias" I hissed " What's in it for you?"

He smiled. It was a real smile. I mentally flinched. What is he thinking? I thought

"I get to have the most beautiful girl in the village." and he brought his face close to mine. And for a moment, im ashamed to say, I let him do it. Until i realized how dark it was...

I twisted my head to the side so that he instead kissed my ear, he reeled back, letting go of me.

"What more could a lass want?" he asked, a look of hurt on his face. But whether is was real hurt or not I did not know.

I looked away.

I dont know... I thought mentally. It sounded great...A man who thought I was beautiful, even though I stunk, and was covered in dirt, A house on which I could eat, sleep and bathe...And to be rid of my foster parents! What a joy it would be...Plus Tobias could have picked any noble's daughter off the streets, he was handsome, and strong. Being a guard to the Baron payed alot, everyone knew that. But he had picked me, a slave girl, quiet and thoughtful, not flirty and rich. Yet I could'nt say yes...

Tobias frowned, and grabbed me by the arm. He was about to say something but was interupted by a yell from his men behind him. Tobias turned, only to be punched by a white blur in the stomach, Tobias fell over, unconsious. I looked at my rescuer, and my heart leaped with joy.

"Kharl!" I cried happily rushing over to him. He grabbed my hand.

"Come on!" he yelled running to the narrow alleyway which was no longer blocked. We ran for a few minutes until we were in the town square, people milled about around us. Some stared at us quizically. We stopped at the fountain and sat down at the edge. Surprisingly we werent out of breathe. Even though we had ran though half the town. But I had no time to think on this, because all of a sudden Tobias appeared from the alley we had just left. I gulped and quickly told Kharl. His stunningly violet eyes darted to the alley, and then back to me.

"Lets go to my hideout." he whispered , "No one knows about it except for my gang."

He began to get up but I yanked him back down.

"No! Your friends are going to kill you!" I told him urgently.

"What!"

"I heard them, they...they're going to murder you! We can't go to your hideout, we'd be sitting ducks!"

Kharl tooked back towards Tobias, who was now scanning the small crowd for me.

"Either way, we're stuck, he'll catch us eventually, and my killers are probably looking for me as well." he said searching my eyes as if they had some kind of conclusion.

I bit my lip. Afraid of my suggestion, which I knew was very dangerous. But Kharl knew exactly what I wanted to say.

"You're thinking about hiding in the forest, arent you?" he asked, bitting his lip as well.

"Yes, but the demons in the forest! What will we do if one finds us?" I said worridly. Tobias has seen us and was now pushing through the crowd.

If only it were morning I thought The crowd would be too big for him to see us!

Kharl pulled me up.

"I'll protect you." he said and we began to run towards the forest. Suddenly, the three boys who had been plotting to kill Kharl jumped out behind a huge barell, brandashing carving knives. Kharl didnt stop, instead he made a half circle around them and kept running, pulling me along with him. Tobias was behind us along with the three boys.

What a strange scene we must make I thought, a boy and a girl, being chased by three boys with knives, and a man.

Kharl and I ducked into an alley and made several random turns in the backstreet alleys. Finally, we lost them, but Kharl insisted we keep running. By now, my legs were getting tired, but we were nearly at the outskirts of the forest. We climbed a very small hill and stopped at the top.

Below us lay a long trench, or moat-like river. It surrounded the forest. I saw a large demon-ish looking fish jump out of the water and ghash its long white teeth, several more did the same.

Kharl gripped my hand tighter.

"What are we to do?" I asked francticly. Kharl seemed to be reasoning with himself. Finally he looked at me, and I saw fear in his eyes.

"Jump." He whispered.

"JUMP! Are you crazy Kharl? We wont make it! We'll be swimmin' with those nasty looking fishes!"

I heard shouts behind us, and we both turned to look. Tobias and the boys had found us, and now were running towards us.

"You might not be able to jump that far. But I can." He said quickly. "Get on my back."

"Have you lost it!" I cried " Kharl, you go, I'll stay, dying isnt as bad as getting married."

"Married against your will" He corrected.

"Lots of girls have to, now go!" I yelled

"Stop being stubborn." He said and grabbed me and put me on his back so quick, i have no idea how he did it.

I heard Tobias's yell just before Kharl back up a bit,

And launched himself over the edge.

.:oOo:.

Author's Notes: This one was pretty good.

Kurama13-
This is really good. Please update soon.

Reina's Response- :Head swells with all the compliments: I love you! well, you know what I mean.

Sarehptar-
Aw! Squee Little Kharl is soo cute! Update, update, update! I don't think you need an editor... You don't have very many grammar mistakes at all. Write more soon, pretty please?

Reina's Response- O.O My idol is reviewing... :Dies of shock: THANK YOU:Hugs:

Mjw -
NO! You cant qiut! Its so good! oh, and by the way, I dont care if it doesnt have me in it. I might bother you about such things, but thats only to annoy you. Anyway, i like the story, but are you going to get to the point? As in, Is Reina going to need Kharls help soon? oh, and by the way(hm, I seem to do that alot), if you do quit, you'll leave alot of other readers hanging. Not very nice. But whatever, Later!

Reina's Response- Ok, im not quitting! lol. the annoying part makes me feel special. And the point hmmm, should come around the er... 5th chap. hahaa... :Sweatdrop:

chaotic pink chocobo-
wow, great story so far.

Reina's Response- :D TY:Hugs:

Neith4-
Yay! New chapter! It was great. Hm...it's making me curious about the next chapter...and yes, you did better with the background thing.

Oh...Kharl-sama...:huggle: He's so cute. Especially in this chapter. I liked how you emphasize the eyes...after all, the eyes are the windows to the soul. Kharl is such a bishie nOn I don't mean to steal him from you though! Nadil is Numero Uno for me always!

Keep up the good work!
Peace!

Reina's Response- I..did...better...:Breaks out into uncontrolable sobs: THANK YOU SO MUCH! Lol, Nadil is kinda hot...Ahem, but I LOVE KHARL! lol And i think i like Tetheus too...O.o

Arwen-
I still likey the fic, even if u dont. it's sweet. anyho... erm.. u need to have me proofread stuff 4 u, i noticed a lot of spelling errors. PLZ DONT KILL ME 4 SAYING IT! but i'll edit anything u want me to. im REALY freaking myself out now, ur spelling errors r driving me crazy. OMG! im turning into a lang. arts teacher! kill me b4 i start criticizing grammar! AH! go away little voices that r telling me to spell check! SRY! bye, now. plz, wack me over the head with something 2morrow & knock the spelling syndrome out of me!
-Arwen
P.S. PLZ continue with the fic! i beg of u!
on knees, praying, staring holes into u with big sad eyes

Reina's Response- NOT THE LOOK! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :Melts: Dont wry, i no quit! lol. promise.