Dual Fates Part 6
Magic and Betrayal
by
Sailor Janus
"Ready?"
Hotaru inquired as she and Duo joined hands, their eyes locking as well.
Silently
the pilot nodded. Soon reality began to dissolve, propelling the two young
people into another life.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Slowly, the
young dark-haired woman awoke. Dazedly her soft violet eyes fell open upon the
window as the intense sun shone brightly across her small face, greeting the
girl with its presence.
Peacefully,
Halia rose from her soft bed. It was yet another task filled day for the young
mage.
Since her
father had died of an unfortunate illness several months back and her mother
had long since left the earth, Halia found herself forced to manage the small
cottage alone.
Luckily, the
violet-eyed girl possessed several tactful abilities which proved worthy enough
to allow the girl to survive, mainly sewing clothing using her loom, but was
quite profitable in the skill, producing some of the most elaborate and well-made
clothing known to the small city of Carnelian.
Another
ability which was still regarded among one of the most highly controversial,
was her magery. The power to cast magic did leave some townsfolk weary of mages
and alchemists, however, they were still accepted into the city as much as a
common blacksmith or baker.
"Another
day, another chore," Halia sighed, fetching her freshly lain out clothing
before quickly changing from soft yet, well-worn nightgown to a common purple
dress with a long skirt that barely grazed her ankles.
Today the mage
was in dire need of delivering several articles of clothing to her vendors and
then refill her supplies, whether they be wool or cotton for clothing or
reagents, special herbs used to cast spells.
After weaving
a few braids through her long dark hair, Halia threw on her deep violet cloak
and quickly grabbed her leather reagent bag, and a smaller coin purse.
Swiftly, she snatched
a few fresh apples and placed them in the reagent bag before heading out the
door, locking it firmly behind her. Spinning around, the young mage walked to
the small stable to retrieve her horse.
*~*~*~*
"Lady
Halia, good day to you," the dark green-haired woman greeted the violet
eyed-girl.
Halia had
always enjoyed the woman's company. Sonia always appeared wiser than her age
indicated. In fact, she had taken charge of the stable only a few months ago,
but needless to say, the green-eyed woman knew very well how to run the place.
"Hello
Sonia. How is this morning treating you?" the dark-haired mage inquired as
she was led to her horse's stall.
"Quite
well, my lady. Going to town again?" Sonia asked as she unlocked the
paddock door to Halia's horse, Firefly.
With a smile,
Halia stroked the black horse's mane as she fed her an apple. "Yes. I must
refill my supplies as well as take more clothing to my vendors." With a
sigh, she dropped her eyes to the ground. "If only my father were still
alive, then perhaps things would not be so difficult."
"I
apologize for your loss, Halia, but take faith. You are doing quite well for a
young woman of your age," Sonia said as she bowed her head in respect.
With a nod,
the young mage mounted her horse. "I know and I thank you for
understanding. Fair you well," Halia cried out as she rode away with a
wave of her hand.
Sonia sighed,
watching the girl ride off. "I wish I could pronounce the same for you
child, but in the next few days, you shall meet a dire fate. At least you won't
be alone."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Halia had
ridden a short distance away before deciding to cast a spell into town instead.
There was too much risk in riding through the woods alone. Lately the murder
count was on an increase and no matter how powerful the young mage may be, she
knew it was foolish to attempt to enter the forest which was often frequented
by thieves, murderers and monsters alike.
"Well
Firefly shall we?" the violet-eyed young woman questioned her horse which
nodded its head in return. "Very well then," Halia spoke, opening her
reagent bag and pulled out a black pearl, mandrake root, and blood moss.
Tossing each reagent to the ground the mage called out, "Kal Ort
Por!"
Suddenly, in a
flash of light, the girl and her horse disappeared only to reappear in the town
of Carnelian.
With a small
smile of victory, Halia spun around on her horse and nearly ran into a guard!
"Whoa! Watch
where you are going!" the chestnut brown-haired guard shouted, looking at
the girl in shock. 'How did she do that.'
"Oh dear!
I apologize! I- I'm so sorry!" Halia rambled, blushing a crimson shade as
she dropped her head in embarrassment. "Please don't punish me! I did
nothing wrong!" I'm just a simple mage who was left orphaned by her mother
and father. I didn't mean to scare you."
Dane blinked
as he stared at the young woman with his deep cobalt blue eyes with curiosity.
"What is a mage?"
Frowning,
Halia lifted her head, peering at the guard's face with wonder. "You are a
guard yet acquire no knowledge pertaining to what a mage is?"
"Actually, I'm new. My friends Hollis and Trey found me this
job," the chestnut brown haired man admitted with a sheepish grin.
"So what is a mage if you do not mind my prying?"
The
dark-haired girl smiled slightly, nodding her head. "A mage is a person
who possess the power to cast magical spells using raw materials such as
spider's silk and sulphurous ash, along with a few words."
"Really?
So what does that combination create?" Dane asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nightsight. It enables the subject of your choosing to see in the
dark. Quite more beneficial than one might believe it to be," Halia simply
spoke, finding herself unable to take her eyes off the guard for too long.
Blinking, Dane
snickered at the girl. "Sounds like a very special skill you have there my
lady, uh..."
"Halia," the young woman pronounced with a smile. "What
may I call you Good Lord, since you have acquired my name?"
"They
call me Dane," the guard smirked causing the mage to lightly giggle.
"Uh, anyway, I need to get back to work. Never know when I'm gonna need to
break a fight or kill something," Dane mumbled, after taking one glance at
his best friend's relentless glare.
"Yes, and
I must refill my supplies as well as restock my vendors. No rest for the weary
I guess," the violet-eyed made sighed as Firefly backed up a bit. "It
was lovely meeting you, my lord."
Bowing his
head slightly, Dane agreed, "It was a pleasure as well, to meet you my
fair lady Halia. Can I expect to see you again?"
The mage
blinked at the question in shock. "You- you want to see me again?"
the young woman stammered. 'Surely, he cannot be serious. I'm a mage, and he's
a guard. That's just completely curious. After all, it's his kind that punishes
those such as myself.'
Grinning, the man
nodded before taking the girl's hand, kissing it gently. "Very much. You
are so different compared to all the other girls I have met. It's like you see
the world in a different way."
"Thank
you, my Lord," Halia bowed her head, "I am quite flattered by your
words, but your fellow guard has been glaring quite coolly at you," the
young woman whispered, indicting the direction where Hollis was appearing very
cross at his friend.
"Eep! I
got to go! Will you be here tomorrow?" Dane quickly, said, as he began
backing slightly up.
"Ye- yes
I will. I practically come everyday," the violet-eyed mage answered as the
guard began reluctantly backing away.
Dane instead
grinned yelling over his shoulder as he ran off, "Good! I'll see you
then!"
Blinking,
Halia gave a small hand wave, as she watched the young guard race off towards
his friend who was acting rather cold, quietly the two men returned to their
stations.
With a sigh,
the girl returned back to her duties, unknowing as to the fortune and
misfortune which would soon affect her life gravely.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had been
several since Dane and Halia first met, but was not the last. Even though it
was quite difficult to talk to the guard because of his endless duties of
keeping the townsfolk out of danger, the cobalt blue-eyed man always tried to
make time.
Sadly, all
good things had to come to an end. The young mage only wished she knew why
everything had to end this way.
The day seemed
like any other. Halia arrived at Carnelian by teleport as she always had, and
Dane cheerily, marched up to greet her, often times, escorting her around town.
Soon they had
to depart, once again, except time, reality would be different.
After Halia
had finished purchasing more reagents, for her spells, she happily left the
shop, and departed for the nearest vacant street of the town to teleport from.
However, this was a terrible calculated error, for at the same moment, an evil
mage Berlynn had cast a flame strike upon a peasant girl whom must have angered
her before teleporting out.
Stunned, the
young mage stared at the scorched corpse with horror. At the same exact moment,
another peasant appeared and screamed.
"GUARDS!
MURDER!" Kay screamed at the top of her lungs. Unfortunately for Halia,
the redhead despised the mage with a vengeance.
Quickly,
several guards appeared, Dane and his friends Hollis and Trey were among them.
"What is
the problem my lady?" Hollis asked in a monotone voice, his Prussian blue
eyes remaining icy cold.
"Arrest
that woman! She committed murder on Lady Selene! I witnessed it with my own
eyes! Murderer!" the fiery redhead reported with venom dripping off of her
very words.
"What?! She lies! I was in search of a
place to teleport! I would never take another life!" Halia exclaimed,
outraged over the fact that Kay was trying to frame her for a murder that the
mage in her right mind would never dream of committing.
The black-eyed
woman instead shook her head, "Liar! You cannot hide behind the guards you
criminal. You deserve to die for taking Selene's life away from her!"
Dane stared at
the woman he loved in disbelief her his cobalt blue eyes. He may be a guard,
but there was no guarantee, he could actually protect Halia. The woman known as
Kay already had much influence over the town being the mayor's daughter and
all.
Frustrated,
the dark-haired mage shook her head, "I did no such thing! Why would I want
to take Selene's life away from her to begin with?! It's just absurd!"
Quickly, she turned to the guards with pleading eyes. "Please, I did not
kill Lady Selene. I swear! You must have faith in me! It is her word against
mine!"
Trey glanced
defeatedly to the ground. From the description of the young mage reported by
Dane, she seemed innocent. Unfortunately, they were in a very difficult
situation since Kay had a great amount of influence of the town through her
father which with one word, could have himself and his friends executed for
committing treason by simply naming Halia as innocent. They only had one choice
which would save anyone's blood from spilling.
The chestnut
brown-haired man knew exactly what his friends were thinking, which was the
only way possible to save Halia and themselves as well. Unfortunately, it was
not what any of them wanted. Solemnly, he bowed his head after taking another
look at the dark brown-haired guard.
"We have
no choice. Lady Halia of Talam, you are convicted for the murder of Lady Selene
of Tukin. We here by banish you from Carnelian. If you are sighted on the
premises, then you shall be executed immediately," Hollis clearly spoke as
Kay gleefully smirked.
Nodding the
tall green-eyed guard softly said as Hollis took the woman's reigns out of her
grasp as Hollis pulled her down, "Halia, please come with us and we will
escort you out of town."
The
violet-eyed girl was at a complete loss for words. 'Banned from the town?! How
can this be possible?!' she thought with a simple head nod.
The entire
ride out of Carnelian, Dane avoided Halia's eyes. He knew she felt betrayed but
they had no choice.
Silently,
Hollis nodded for Trey to follow him back into the city. "We'll give you
five minutes then you have to return to duty Dane."
Mutely, the
cobalt blue-eyed guard glanced at his departing friends and then at the girl
whose violet eyes were now brimming with fresh tears. "Halia."
"Go away.
I never want to see you again," she bitterly said, keeping her back turned
to the man. "You betrayed me. I thought you liked me."
"Halia, I
do," Dane mumbled when suddenly the young woman jerked her head around.
"Ha! You
believed Kay instead of myself and didn't say a damn thing! Instead now I have
been convicted of a crime that I didn't even commit! It was Berlynn that
murderer Selene! I DIDN'T DO IT!" the dark-haired girl who was filled with
frustration shouted.
Biting his
lip, the guard finally said, "We had no choice. If we had argued with Kay,
then our heads would have rolled. Banishing you from the town was the only way
possible to save everyone's life. We hated doing it, but had to. Please forgive
me."
Gently, Dane
lifted Halia's head, and pressed his mouth softly against hers. Unknowingly,
the young mage found herself, wrapping her arms around the man's neck as the
kiss intensified before they broke away.
Sadly, they
gazed into each other's eyes as the guard slowly walked back into town, leaving
the girl alone with her horse.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Duo,
blinked, and grimaced slightly as Hotaru dropped her eyes towards the ground.
"I really hated that part."
"Yeah,
and the fact that Kay ruined everything almost destroyed the entire town.
Need a breather before we live through the final chapter
of that life?" Hotaru inquired taking a deep breath before slowly letting
it out.
Frowning,
the cobalt blue-eyed glanced at the girl. "Wait. This isn't the one I
think it is, is it? The extremely messy
one."
"I'm
afraid so. Be glad we weren't the ones left to clean up the mess," Hotaru
snickered.
"Joy."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: I am so sorry that this is so late, but I was
on vacation and the program didn't match with the computer I was using so I
forced to write everything by hand. Then I got a bad case of jet lag and
sprained my wrist making typing, very interesting. But I'm back now so yay!
Okay, questions with the names? I decided to change
everyone's names for certain lives but I will always describe them a bit and
the first letter of their name will be the same.
Halia is Hotaru. No idea where I came up with this one. It
sounds pretty.
Dane is Duo. It sounded Medevialish
Hollis is Heero. Before I get anyone saying that they hate
the name, Hollis means Hero. Yep I did
a name pun.
Trey is Trowa. Trey means three in Latin
Sonia is Setsuna aka Pluto. Her name means wisdom
Kay is Kaorinite. She didn't like Hotaru so I figured, why
not
Berlynn is Queen Beryl She's evil. Enough said.
Selene is Serenity I just threw that in for grins.
Um, that's about it so thank you for the reviews and oh! I
don't own Ultimate Online. That is what gave me inspiration for the story.
