Author's note: Sorry for the wait, I had some major issues to attend, but here we are now, let's continue with the story.
This time the story will be told by Nina…
"Please, Nina, tell us… what happened in that place?" The brown-haired boy said, weary, he wanted to know more about his friends… whether it's good or bad…
"I… I want to know to Nina, please… unless you really don't want to talk about it…" Curiosity took control of the auburn-haired girl…
"It's… It's okay, I want to tell you" The young blue-haired Laguz sighed, she did wanted to talk about it… even if it hurt, she wanted to share the story… a story about her family, about Laguz tribe of which, she is one of the few survivors…
She remembered the start of those gruesome events
A Laguz Story part 2… Traveling Tales…
"Mother…?" The battered body of a young woman lied on the ground… she had been involved in some kind of battle, her arms were completely filled with sword slashes and she was stabbed 3 times in the stomach…
"Yahiro, you and Reguriar take the women and the children away from the village, we will hold them off!" The tribe leader shouted, his face showed some kind of desperate feeling, outside the hut countless metal clashes were heard, screams and roars were heard along too, a gruesome fight was taking place outside the tribe's resting place.
"Nina! Tell your mother to take your brothers to the sacred palace!" My father shouted, he was looking really scary, as his face changed from that of a human into a beast… I quickly dash out of the tent, with four legs I quickly arrived to my family's cave.
"Nina? Hurry, we need to get going" My mother said, walking with haste toward the entrance, suddenly a soldier in black armor jumped into view, holding a heavy spear.
"You monsters, stay back, or else… Argh!!!" The soldier's head fell toward the ground and the cave entrance covered in blood, a big black tiger appeared from behind the death soldier…
"Keep moving the rest of the tribe is already heading toward the Palace" My father said, pointing with his head the slender, shadowy figures moving between the trees, Yahiro on the lead. "Seid, Likon, come with me, we'll defend your mother and sisters! My dad said again, Seid and Likon nodded and they both ran to my father's side… "Let's go!"
Huff, huff, huff… How far is the palace anyway…? "Reguriar!" Kishina, one of my parents' friends shouted, she seemed rather uneasy… "What is it?"-"Yahiro needs help in the front, he is under attack by some soldiers!" Kishina said with a nervous voice, my father looked toward us, my mother nodded and then my father speeded up toward the front…
"We'll be alright…" My mother muttered to herself… "Mom, when are we going to arrive? I'm tired" My feet are starting to hurt, we have been running for around 5 straight minutes now…
"Mom is tired too, however, we must continue, the palace is beyond this forest… huff, huff, huff… We should see it any moment now…" My mother said between gasps, we had never run this long at full speed, I'm fighting just to keep up with my mother…
Suddenly, everyone came to a stop; a bright red light was coming from the palace… "No… Not the palace…" My mother voice became weak and nervous, what is going on? I can't see at all… after a moment, the forest filled with a smell of smoke and the sound of footsteps that seemed to be coming in our direction…
"Nina, c'mon, we must catch up with your father" My mother said, we started to make our way through the people, trying to reach my father, everyone was very concerned, why did everyone stopped so suddenly? All of the sudden, a fire ball fell from the sky right in front of the crowd in front of us, everything around us became panic, everyone ran into different ways, pushing against each other, we could not move at all… Then another fire ball hit the ground near us, sending everyone into the ground, and some soldiers in black armor appeared from nowhere, they started slaughtering us, some of the elders started fighting them, so we could get away.
"Nina, this way!" My mother shouted to get my attention, we started running toward the front, but in matter of seconds we found ourselves surrounded with a couple more of elders, the elders and my mother formed a circle, with Lethe and me in the middle, the soldiers unsheathed their swords and rushed toward us, the elders were no match for those dark soldiers… "Nina, behind me…" My mother had a deep cut on her side, and some scratches around her neck, but she still defied the soldiers, trying to protect Lethe and me… Suddenly, the soldiers started falling death one after the other, my father, my brothers and Yahiro killed them instantly, my father approached to us, and Yahiro continued to help the others…
"Lirelea, are you alright?" My father asked, looking at my mother's wounds… "I'll be alright… just take Nina and Lethe with you, I'll catch up later" My mother said, trying to calm down my father, it didn't work, but still, Likon took Lethe and put her on his back.
"Mother, are you really going to be okay?" Said asked, he was almost as worried as my father… "I already told I'm fine… just keep moving, you too Nina, I'll catch up as soon as I can" Likon and Seid went ahead and disappeared in the commotion.
"Get moving!!!" My mother yelled, I couldn't help but to cry… "Argh!!!" My father screamed in pain, a spear was sticking from his back, more black soldiers jumped from between the trees and rushed toward us, however, with a single roar from my father, the soldiers stopped in their tracks, dazed; my father took his opportunity and killed them one after another, until there were only 3…
"C'mon, get 'em!!!" One of the black armored soldiers said, and then came rushing toward my father, he just ducked the attack and with his claws tore his limbs apart; the other 2 soldiers ran away in fear after seeing the gory scene.
"Cowards…" My father said, still with the spear sticking from his back, he looked at me, asking for a bit of help, I jumped on his back and pulled swiftly the spear, it was rather light. "Stay with your mother, I'll come back in a moment…" My father said, dashing to where Yahiro is fighting.
"Mother… Are you okay?" I walked toward my mother, she was struggling to get up, I got close… "Here I'll help you" My… My mother is heavier than I though… there.
"Nina, we must go to a safer place, let's go with Likon and Seid, you can track them right?"-"Yep, Likon and Seid taught me how just a week ago" Although I didn't learn that much… Here goes nothing…… No… I can't concentrate… there's too much noise.
"NINA, WATCH OUT!!!" My mother pushed me, she… She got hit by a spear…! "Mother…! Are you alright?"-"Nina, you must find your brothers, get away from here"-"No, I can't leave you!" I can't leave my mother just like that… "Aaaahh!" No...! My mother got hit again-"Nina, just go away! You can't do anything now!" I'm so useless… "I'll come back for you with my brothers!" I must find Seid and Likon, they can help mother… Everything is in turmoil; it's too hard trying to find them…
"Nina!" That's Seid's voice, where is he…? I keep looking around, but I can't find him…I… What am I going to do…? -"Nina, don't cry now!" Kuh… -"Mother, where is our mother?"-"I'll show you, follow me!" Seid nodded, I just have to retrace my steps… isn't it…?
"Mother!?!" Seid must've spotted mother… Why is he so anxious…?-"Nina, they're taking mother away!" What? What do they want her for…?-"C'mon, we must save her!" Seid took the lead, hold on mother, we are going for you…
Seid left me behind already… He was weary to kill some of those soldiers… Huh…? He forgot one soldier; I better kill him before he tries anything… Hya! Done! That soldier is squirming on the ground, now… Where's my brother?
I need to get a little closer… Where are those soldiers…?-"GOT YOU!!!" Aaaahh! The soldier is right behind me… Gah…! My… neck… everything… everything is going black…
…
…
…… Ouch… my head hurts… what… what happened? Where am I…? The floor is cold… Am I in a cage…?
"Do… Do we really have to… you know…?" Seems like there are 2 soldiers talking… I can't hear very well… what are they talking about?
"You like these beasts? Maybe you're losing it…"
"No, it's not that… Well, I mean, we have to kill even their women and the children? It's just too much" What did he just said…?
"Kill 'em? Are you mad or what? The king said we had to capture all the beasts we could and bring them to the alchemists"
"Nina, don't get closer to them!" That voice is… Kishina… Why is her voice so weak…?
"Hey you freak, get away from the edge!" Kya!!! My leg… The soldier whipped me really hard… -"Nina, come here quickly!" Kishina's body is full of wounds… What happened after I blacked out…?
"Nina, be careful, they will kill you if they have the chance… even if they were ordered only to capture us"-"Kishina… Do you know where they are taking us to…?" She only shook her head…
There are more of my kind in this cage… I even recognize Jadel and Hari… Come to think of it… the soldiers where taking my mother too before I fainted… "Excuse me, Kishina… Have you seen my mother?"-"Your… Your mother?" Kishina's eyes widened… Why am I so anxious…?
"Your mother was mortally wounded during the fight… It's almost a miracle she is still alive, she is on another cage, I'm sorry Nina…" Mother…! I'm… I need to see her!!! There must be a way…!
"Nina, please, calm down, you must remain alive… That is your mother's only desire… Don't let go wasting your life like that" I… mother…
"I waited there… with Kishina and the others… the long wait was killing me from the inside… All I wanted to do was to see my mother… In more than one occasion, I got discovered trying to get out of the cage… they savagely attacked me each time… I arrived to that place more dead than alive; the scar with the shape of an X was done there… A scary green haired woman, I think they called her Petrina… She was the one who gave me that scar… She was ruthless and unforgiving… She was my executioner every time I got punished…" Only thinking about that woman was enough to bring fear upon the heart of the young Laguz… Her eyes filled with tears… Remembering each punishment, she would cross her arms on her chest… The scar that woman left on Nina would remind her of her executioner's cruelty and hatred toward the Laguz…
"I… I had no idea" Mina was as shocked as me… Neither of us knew about Nina's past… I am very amazed myself…
"And it was only the beginning… What happened on that prison was something I would never forget… My people… Almost all of the prisoners died there… they were mutilated… twisted beyond any recognition… My nightmare started after I found that my mother died on the way to the prison… Those alchemists, they messed up with my people's bodies…"
"Nina…"
"You really don't have to tell us what happened there if you don't want, we would understand…" I say that… But very deep within myself I want to know… But I feel bad for Nina…
"No… I already say I would tell you… Isn't it?" Nina's faint smile tells me she is happy that we are concerned about her… Something inside me is begging me to tell Nina to stop… I don't really think her heart can resist it…
"Then, if you let me, I'm going to continue with my story…"
End of part 2…