Hi there: ) My name's Brady and I'll be writing every other chapter of this wonderful little fanfiction. This is on a joint account with my fellow writer Mar, you'll meet her in my next chapter. We find that we get things done better when we work together. A lot less abandoned fanfictions. Anyways, we go back and forth between chapters. This story takes place in the world of DragonQuest IX, during the first reign of the Gittish empire. We wanted to do something different because most DQ9 fanfics just go along with the storyline of the game. And please forgive us for the occasionally misspelled word...we don't have spellcheck and I'm dyslexic..
Hope you enjoy~
Run
Chapter 1 -Sweet Sacrifice
Alex rolled over in her bed and slammed a pillow over her head, blocking out the uninvited rays of sun that were peeping through her window, reminding her that another day had gone by and still there was no news. She was going to avoid facing this day for as long as she could.
Too soon, a knock came at her door. "Yes?" She called. She knew who it probably was, but she couldn't help but hope that maybe, by some miracle, it was Kris that had come to greet her this morning.
"Tis me, m'lady. Antionette."
"Come on in. And call me Alex." Alex couldn't help but be disappointed. Kris was her best friend and she hadn't seen him in weeks. But she liked Antionette.
The door creaked open and Antionette tiptoed in the room. She wore a plain cotton dress with an apron and her red hair was tied up in a bun. Alex had never really seen many peple around Brigadoom with red hair, and honestly she was glad she wasn't one of them. "You may want to get dressed rather quickly today ma'am, your father has requested an audience with you. It's about our soldiers in the Gittish Empire"
Alex's heart stopped. Finally news had come. But what if it wasn't news she wanted to hear? She quickly got out of bed and Antionette began to disentangle the long braid of golden brown hair that fell down Alex's back. As soon as she finished Alex dashed to her closet and blindly pulled a dress. It was a silky blue one. She threw it on and stepped into a pair of shoes Antionette had laid out for her. She was lost in her thoughts and worries as Antionette brushed and styled her hair but she remembered to call a quick thank you back to her handmaiden as she darted as gracefully as possible to her father's throne room.
"Father," Alex monotoned as she curtsied in front of her dad. He was a tall man with a dark beard and matching hair. He had a powerful prescience in the room as he sat in his red velvet throne.
"Alexandria." he acknowledged his youngest daughter with a nod of his head.
"The soldiers," Alex said as she straightened, "You've found them?"
"Yes, the Gittish Empire is holding them captive in their highest security prison, the Goretress."
Alex froze. Prison? "So are we sending in more troops to get them? Or are we negotiating?"
"Neither."
"What? You mean to tell me that innocent citzens of Brigadoom are LOCKED UP IN A PRISON SOMEWHERE AND YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LET THEM ROT? JUST LEAVE THEM THERE TO DIE WHILE THEY WERE SERVING UNDER YOU? IN YOUR HONOR?"
"Alexandria. we do not have the funds to continue to wage war against the Gittish."
"But father-"
"Unless some stubborn princess decides to marry into the ever eager Armstrong family. Then Brigadoom would definitely have enough gold to defeat the Gittish Empire."
"Fine."
"Fine what?"
"I'll marry the Armstrong prince."
xXxXxXxXx
Alex walked down a cobblestone street in Brigadoom, lost in her own thoughts as she headed for training with Wil. She needed to talk to somebody about this, normally her first choice would have been Kris, but under the circumstances Wil was her next best option. The only problem was that Wil was just a little...different. He was the most powerful fighter in all of Brigadoom. He was also the most paranoid. He had a chronic phobia of insects, especially butterflies and moths, and he had a bad habit of concocting scenarios in which the simplest things caused immense death and destruction.
As Alex approached the palace garden where she and Wil trained, she sighed. The strongest fighter in Brigadoom was curled up in the fetal position on the ground as a butterfly fluttered innocently nearby, moving from flower to flower. "Um...Wil?"
"Alex! Quick! Get down before it notices your here!" Alex walked over to the butterfly, shooed it a good distance away and walked over to Wil.
"It's gone now, oh mighty one." She said sarcastically as he got up.
"OH MY GOSH ALEX THAT WAS A TIGER BUTTERFLY ONE OF THE MOST DEADLY BUTTERFLIES IN THE WORLD AND YOU JUST WALKED UP TO ITA ND MADE IT GO AWAY WHEN IT COULD HAVE KILLED YOU WITH ITS WINGS OF DOOM!"
"Well, what can I say? I'm awesome." Alex decided Wil was not in the state to give advice, so she would just talk to Antionette tonight. "Now what are we doing today? I need a good spar." Alex drew her sword, its blade appeared to be black but when the sun shone on it, flecks of blue emerged from the darkness. The blade also had a pattern of swirling silver lines etched into it, and the hilt was made from silver. It was one of a kind.
"Alright princess, have it your way. A spar it is." Wil stood up and equipped himself with his dragon claws. Alex may have stood a chance against Wil if he used a sword, but claws were his specialty. They both took a stance for battle and Alex tried to clear her mind. Wil was the first to strike and it was the most she could do just to block his attacks and wear him out before she could even think of landing a blow. He was going easy on her, of course, and if he really wanted it, Wil could've already killed Alex by now. Although, Alex was becoming a more formidable opponent.
After their spar Wil accompanied Alex to all of her mundane princess-like duties for the day. The young Armstrong king (who was painfully obnoxious and referenced his family history any time he could) had arrived by that afternoon and she had to attend a painfully long tea with him and her sister Mona, who was joined by her Fiancé.
After that she and Mona went to the royal tailor to begin the measurements for her wedding dress.
All in all, Alex's day was miserable. She would give anything to save Kris. If only there was some other way...
I swear it gets better! I hope you guys liked it though, I worked really hard. Mar and I have been planning out the story and working out kinks and such for almost a year now, and I'm so glad we finally got this posted! Please please please review! I'll give you a hug. And more chapters. We should update within every week. Maybe two weeks for the next one because Mar's having issues with the beginning.