Hey guys, sorry for the wait. I know i said id get this up fast but i just couldn't force myself to sit down and write. Hehe, anyways, i hope you guys like this chapter. It finally moves the story along somewhere... kinda XD. anyways, please review and tell me whatcha think. I dunno when ill update again, seeing as im pretty much stuck... (sighs) anyways, if u have any recomendations, id love to hear them! Also, something seems to be up with my doc manager so i cant make those lil lines that seperate parts of the stories... so til i figure it out... im putting in OoooOoooO... yay! anyways, u all know the disclaimer so to the story!

OoooOoooOoooO

A torn apart figure lay sprawled across the floor. Her tabard was ripped in numerous places, exposing her badly wounded body. The body layed on her stomach, hiding the bloody gash on her upper torso, and her blonde hair covering her face and some ground in front of her head. The poor figure looked as if she had been dragged by her hair and thrown on the ground to die. Or wait. Her chapeau was lying a few feet in front of her outstretched palm, though there was a large cut through the top of it. It was this body, that was the remainder of the lady red mage, Annette.

The woman's eyes fluttered before opening completely. She moaned a little, one hand reaching for her head, before suddenly yelping from pain, and curling up into a ball shape. She slowly moved her hand to examine the wound by her chest and took immediate notice of her blood loss. She whispered a faint healing spell, something low level, that even a child could master, with work. This stopped the bleeding but did not close the wound. She repeated the process until the wound became a painful scar. In order to remove the scar, she would need something more powerful, but she could not spare her strength, so for now, it would remain.

Annette shivered. "This is impossible. How did I survive? I can't think straight, I can't remember much of anything. I'm in the tower in Qufim, sent by the archduke to investigate the strange occurrences.. Then… I was… ambushed by undead. There was something different. If I hadn't lost so much blood I could probably remember what it was. Still, even here I can sense something. It's very powerful. I have to focus and getting out of here alive in order to report this." Unlike most, Annette could keep herself calm until the situation was truly beyond her control. And since she still had a glimmer of hope, she considered it within her control.

Annette pushed her upper body off of the floor with her arms, and winced. Even with her major wound healed, there were many others that needed intensive care before she would be in travel-worthy condition. Unfortunately, Annette did not have the time for healing them, and forced herself to continue, suffering silently. She limped over the where her hat was, and examined the cut material. She took her dagger, something she kept in case her sword failed her, and cut a strip of cloth from the top of her chapeau. She then used this cloth to very loosely tie back her hair. Had she tied it back tighter, like she did whenever she needed to examine something, she would have reopened a painful cut on the back of her head.

Annette finished tying her hair back and began to take notice of her surroundings. Because of her blood loss, and the fact that she had regained consciousness minutes ago, she was still very groggy. Finally, she saw a small waterfall leading into a tiny pool of water at the side of her room. She limped towards it, and cupped her hands together to get a drink. Once she quenched her thirst, she glanced at her reflection. Her eyes had dark circles around them, bruised cheeks with small cuts all over her face, lips crusted with dried blood… Her normally well-groomed hair was falling into her eyes and looked very dirty, although she had washed it the night she came home. Her hair had red streaks, which Annette could identify as bloodstains. She couldn't even find her link pearl to call for help… Annette examined her red mage gear as well. It was then she took notice that she only had one glove left. The hand where it should have been was badly scratched, and the palm had a deep wound going through it.

She slowly bent down to wash it, not taking notice of the faint footsteps behind her. Only when she felt a hand on her shoulder, did Annette turn. She light out a yelp of surprise, not expecting anyone to be in the tower aside from the undead. The figure behind her was covered in a black cloak, though Annette could see his jaw clearly. Judging from height, he appeared to be an elvaan. The figure allowed a small grin to play on his lips for a moment before speaking. "It's good to see you're finally awake. I was starting to worry that my puppets went a little too hard on the 'great' red mage," he said the word great with sarcasm, and Annette gave him a glare. "You are lady Annette, are you not?"

Annette nodded before asking her own questions. "Your puppets! You're the cause of all this? What have you done to those undead?" Another larger grin appeared on his face. Annette understood that to mean 'yes' and narrowed her eyes. "Exactly… What are you?"

The man removed his cloak, proving Annette's theory that he was elvaan correct. "My name is Ravinthran." He paused afterwards, allowing Annette to mentally repeat the name. "And as of now, I am the thing you fear most."

OoooOoooOoooO

"They say if I don't study harder, they'll send me away to boarding school," The hume girl with black hair sighed and looked over at her friend. "You don't think they're serious, do you?"

"…"

"Hey! Annette? Are you even listening?"

Annette glanced up at the girl, who was currently balancing on the rim of the fountain. "Of course I'm listening Sharlene. I just don't know what to do…"

Sharlene shook her head and jumped down onto the street next to Annette. "Well, you're good with school work. Why don't you tell my parents you'll tutor me?"

"But you said you needed help with your white mage training! I don't know a thing about magic! Well, I mean I've read books and all, but I've never tried any of the spells. I couldn't possibly tutor you."

Sharlene giggled and leaned forward, "That's why I got you this!" She handed Annette a small piece of parchment tied with a ribbon. Annette took it and gave Sharlene a skeptical look. She rolled her eyes and took Annette's hand. With the other she unwrapped the scroll. "Well, take a look! I know you'll be good at it! Heh, you're good at everything…"

Annette glanced at her friend doubtfully before looking down at the scroll. 'Dia' was written in light red letters. "Don't white mages heal, Sharlene?"

She bit on her lip. "It's not a difficult spell… And 'sides, they were all out of the basic 'Cure' spells. I promise that once they get the next shipment of scrolls, we can go get it. Please Annette! I can't be sent to boarding school! How awful would that be?"

Annette close her eyes and thought for a moment. "Okay… I suppose it's worth a try. Let's just hope I can learn quickly enough. I'll start practicing once I get home, alright?"

Sharlene jumped up and down, her black hair flopping in a similar motion. She ran over and hugged Annette. "Thank you! I know we can do this!" With that, she waved her hand goodbye and ran home. Annette nodded and began walking in the opposite direction towards her own home. As she walked, she read what was imprinted upon the scroll…

OoooOoooOoooO

Annette narrowed her eyes at Ravinthran. He lied. That was something Annette despised. "You will never be the thing I fear most." It was the wrong thing to say…

He grabbed her by her hair and held her above the ground a good few inches. She yelped in pain and watched fearfully as he pried her dagger from her hands and put it at her eye level. "He's taunting me…"

A twisted smile fell on his features as he suddenly brought his hand back and went in for the kill. Annette gasped and put her head down, the pain she felt from the back of her head was indescribable. She fell to the floor, many strands of her golden hair falling with her.

Ravinthran and smiled cruelly and left her, saying a few last words for the time being. "Then you better change your perspective, Lady Annette." He said the words menacingly and left the room. The sound of doors being locked echoed in her ears.

After the initial shock wore off, Annette slowly lifted her head of the ground. She felt her neck prickle as blood from her head wound dripped down. The bastard had reopened her wound. Annette used whatever strength she had saved for crawling on healing it. She then glanced into the pool of water. Her reflection gazed at her sadly. Her once long hair was cut nearly to her skin on the back, while the front was still long.

Annette's vision was becoming blurry. Quickly, her world faded back into black.

OoooOoooOoooO

Annette blew the bang out her eyes and looked out in front of her. The garden was the most peaceful place one could be in during the evening. One bright lamp lit her study space. Annette took out the scroll and bit her lip. She needed something to practice on, and an old vase had been her only option.

With a deep breath, she began chanting softly. The first few times, Sharlene told her, chanting helps, but once the spell is memorized you could cast it solely by thought. Although she finished chanting, nothing happened. She frowned and tried over again. This time she focused not on her friend's advice, but on the spell she was casting. A faint light flashed quickly before fading out. Annette blinked. "Was it a firefly? It couldn't have been…" She pondered this for a moment before trying again. The light flashed once again and went out. Suddenly, Annette felt tired. Every time she tried that spell, she found it harder and harder to recast it. The last attempt had left her panting from fatigue.

Some more advice her friend had given her came into her mind. "Altana gives us this gift to use, but gives us our limits too. When you feel like you've worn yourself out, focus your thoughts, and ask Altana for strength." Annette seemed to chant it to herself before settling down to see if it was true. Within moments, Annette felt completely rejuvenated.

Now that she knew what to do, Annette was sure she could make the spell work. It was Altana who fueled magic wielders, so they get their strength from Her. It all made perfect sense to Annette. She closed her eyes and began to chant again. She directed her chant not at the vase, but to Altana, as a prayer.

A small flash surrounded by bright rings of light emitted from the vase. At first, Annette thought that was all it did. She smiled to herself, when suddenly, she heard a cracking sound. In a matter of moments, the vase had burst apart into hundreds of pieces, all scattered throughout the yard.

Annette's eyes widened. The effect left her shaking. "What have I done?" she asked herself quietly. It was more the fact that she had such a powerful force that could destroy, than her guilt for breaking her mother's old vase. The thought of using that force to destroy and hurt made Annette shiver. She quickly shook her head and ran into the house.

As she entered her bedroom, another thought flashed through her head. "What if I give up? Then Sharlene would be sent away. I have to keep going, I can't let it get to me.." Truth be told, what really terrified Annette was the thrill she felt when she first began casting the spell. She should never get such a thrill destroying something, even if it was a vase. Her new found power, the thing she knew she had to learn to control, that was the thing she feared most…

OoooOoooOoooO

Seeing as annette was juilians fav character, id say this chap was dedicated to ya :)

Thats all for now folks... also, once school starts i dunno how often ill be able to update... buuuuuut, once i finish this story, i have 2 more im planning (1 at a time :P) that coincide with this one. yayness! ttyl, hugs!