Disclaimer: I dont own Grand Chase

(Seeing as how everyone is doing this I guess I should as well =p)

I opened my eyes, blinked once, twice.

"AHHH!"I screamed, sitting up. That was a bad idea. I felt a sharp pain in my side as I slowly and painfully remembered the cut I had gotten. I could feel my arms tied tightly in front of me with chains, along with my ankles, they cut into my skin like ice.

"Calm yourself." I heard a low voice and slowly turned my head to see the boy, sitting nonchalantly in front of me, attempting to light a fire. We were in an open area with a few trees as a long field of tall grass. What the hell?

"You're going to open your wound." He reminded me and I looked at him with caution.

"Who are you?" I asked, "Where are you from?" He seemed to be in thought for a moment about what to say. Finally he spoke,

"My name is Lass." He muttered and I stifled a laugh which I simply could not hold in. He glared at me with piercing blue eyes but I looked away trying to pretend I didn't just do what I just did. He sighed, must have been used to it by now, and continued, "I'm from Ellia."

I nodded at him; there was a moment of silence as he looked at me up and down. I frowned.

"You're Elesis aren't you? You seemed pretty experienced in combat." He guessed, smirking. Fine by me, I was going to pretend I was Elesis anyways. "Don't worry, I bet your fiancée will come to your rescue tomorrow."

I scoffed, "Pshh... Whatever you say." They wouldn't come rescue me; I'm not nearly as important. Besides, I'm trained to survive in these situations. People were never supposed to step outside the walls of Kanavan unless they were moving to Serdin which never often occurred. They never left the walls. Not the guards, not the nobles, not the normal people. The few select people who went out often were people like me and Elesis, before she was engaged to Ronan.

Lass eyed me wearily, "Here," He tossed me a piece of bread; I caught it with both hands, since, of course they were tied together, and looked at him questioningly.

"You've lived like a princess your entire life, I have at least this much decency." He sighed, biting his own piece of bread. I laughed hard on the inside but used all my will to keep a poker face, I had him completely fooled. I guess I would play along for now.

"I'll have you know I was trained and went out of missions." I stated, guessing that was something along the lines of what Elesis would say.

"I suppose, you were that tracker's daughter after all." He muttered, chewing on his bread. I frowned; he was definitely informed about her, wasn't he?

"Yeah…"I muttered, "You know a lot don't you?"

"Kaze'aze knows a lot." He corrected me, smirking.

I turned away, so he did work for her. "I see. So, do you work under her or are you just one of those rumored magician's puppets?"

"Yeah, I work for her. She took me in when my parents died." He told me, "They were killed by Kanavan soldiers."
I sat in thought; there was no way soldiers went to Ellia! They were meant to protect and fight in wars.

"Lass…" I sighed, "Kanavan soldiers don't go to Ellia. They're supposed to protect and fight wars only when Kaze'aze attacks them. Even if they were killed during the war, how could it have affected you? The last war was twenty years ago, and you're not that old! You look around 16!" He didn't seem to believe me for he simply lied down and turned his back to face me; wonderful.

I sighed defeat and tried to get comfortable so I could sleep. Obviously, it wasn't very easy since I was still tied and all I had to sleep on was the cold, hard ground. Then I remembered the blanket I brought.

"Hey," I said, "My backpack has a blanket." Still no reaction.

"Maybe I can um, use it?" I suggested hopefully. After a moment of silence when I was starting to get quite frustrated he finally replied,

"Fine, is sleeping on the ground that horrible for you?" He snapped,"Besides, how can a blanket fit in that puny thing?"

"What good is a blanket if you're not going to use it? Since I have one I think it's a perfect idea to bring it out." I retorted, annoyed, "And yes, it can fit in there!"

Lass gave me a weird look before he got up walked over behind a tree and grabbed my bag, supposed to have been hidden from my view, which looked too small an excuse for a child's toy.

"Really?" He scoffed, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"For the second time, yes!" I urged, "Now, give me the bag."

"You think I would actually give this to you? I'll get it." He grumbled, annoyed, and impatiently reached in the bag. His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed his whole arm fit in the thing. I snickered.

"Told you."

He looked at me and opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He simply shook his head as if to clear is thoughts, embarrassment written on his face complimented with a reddish tint and frowned after seeing my smug smile.

After a bottle, my emergency staff which Lass carefully kept away from me, my extra staff which confused him even more, a change of clothes, 3 thick books on alchemy, and a lot of other random things I shove in there and forget to take out, poor Lass finally found the blanket. He tossed it to me and started to shove the other items carelessly in the bag.

"Hey, careful with that!" I called, annoyed. He could respect one's belongings; after all, it was really hard to clean up in there!

He spared me only a glance and continued to shove my extra staff inside the little pack, ignoring me completely.

"Hey!" I yelled, even more annoyed, clenching my fist. He just loved getting on my nerves!

I tried to get my mind off the aggravating assassin who seemed to want to get on my nerves so very much. I didn't have time for this, I needed to stay alert, I needed to escape before he decided to return to Kaze'aze, before he finds out that Ronan won't come get me, and that I'm not of noble blood. I tried to make myself comfortable again which was still not easy, even with the blanket. I tried to think, harder, I had not much time. And with one wrong move I could easily blow my cover as Elesis. Obviously seeing as how Lass wasn't told that Elesis was a red-headed tomboy knight, I could tell he was really only after Ronan. I guess Elesis still wasn't officially Mrs. Royal guard master until she actually married Ronan, which would happen as soon as she turned 15, which meant she wasn't noble just yet and just yet targeted. To him, Elesis was simply a hostage to lure out Ronan. I would have a few days before Lass grew suspicious of me, I hoped, I couldn't make a mistake here. But if I took a chance and tried to get to know Lass I could find out important things about Kaze'aze.

I decided I would just talk to Lass for now instead of planning my escape.

I watched Lass throw my backpack some ways away and come back beside the fire. He lay down and was about to turn his back to me, "Hey Lassy boy." I started, but was cut off quickly.

"Lassy boy?" He yelled, obviously quite mad, "Lassy boy?" He muttered again, more to himself, looking a little distressed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Okay, okay, sorry!" I laughed, loudly. He glared at me. "I was just wondering how old are you?"

He was silent for a moment before he answered, "Um, 14." He answered, a little confused at the random question.

"Same." I smiled, "You're tall for 14."

"You're just short." I frowned, can't he say anything nice?

"So?"

"So you're a midget." Lass stated, trying to get at my patience.

"And you're a tree." I stated in return, testing his. I didn't have to put up with this like when Ronan teases me, I don't like Lass.

Lass sat up and added more wood to the fire, causing a few sparks which I tried to avoid.

"It doesn't matter if I'm a tree; you still lost to me, badly." He sneered, pointing a stick to the side of my waist where he had cut me. I blushed furiously.

"I was protecting Ronan!" I retorted quickly.

"Actually, you believed you had the upper hand since you recklessly tried to choke me believing he had your back, no?" He continued, "But can't blame him, he probably didn't ever have to battle with his life on the line before."

"Yeah," I sighed, "I guess so."

"That's where you people went wrong, you're too defensive and you don't ever train anyone properly. You're not prepared for an all-out war at all, I almost feel sorry for your poor state.

"What war?" I asked in a sharp clear voice that made the world go silent.

"Well, aren't we in a war right now? I just kidnapped you and monsters of Kaze'aze constantly attack Kanavan." He reasoned, his poker face was good but I could tell he had just given away a big hint which he was, quite obviously, not supposed to have mentioned.

"This Isn't an all-out war, this is a moment of peace," I stated coldly. "Tell me, what war?"

"I was a slip of the tongue!" Lass yelled angrily, "Get over it!"

I frowned. I knew something was up, but he was holding back on me.

"No, tell me Lass, what war?" I continued, I needed to know this.

He was silent for a while again; I couldn't see his expression for his head was facing the ground, with his shoulders hunched over. I waited for his answer for what seemed like an eternity.

"…You're…" He voiced quietly, "…Smart, a little too smart."

I flinched, had Kaze'aze told him Elesis was a hothead, that she wasn't sharp on these types of things? Had he realized?

"Alright Elesis, I'll tell you." He smirked, and at that moment I felt a chill run down my spine. It was as if I myself sensed that what he was about to tell me wasn't good news for me.

"As you heard, Kaze'aze's going to start a war soon."

War?

"The reason she's been silent all these 20 years is so she can kill you all in one sweep when you're not expecting it." The cold-hearted words stung my ears as I listened intently, this was big. "She herself is going to lead the raid in a year, when you're old enough to marry Ronan. Actually, it's more fitting to say; when Ronan is supposed to take the lead of his family."

I got it. It was traditional, in Ronan's family, for the eldest child to take the role as the queen's protector when he or she got married. Ronan was weak, he was inexperienced. He was a great fighter but was afraid to fight with his life on the line. If Kaze'aze came after he received the Royal guard master title, the queen could be easily killed. Over all this time Kanavan had become very defensive about its people, the new queen had no will or courage to fight back, the current generation was weak.

"B-but why are you here? If I'm supposed to marry Ronan wouldn't you wait until then to do this?" I demanded, frustrated.

Lass smiled arrogantly, "It's to make sure Ronan marries as soon as possible. You see, arranged marriages aren't out of love, they're all about business. So I'm just taking Ronan back to put him under a spell so he'll love you until then, that way he won't try to call off the marriage. After that, we just have to wait until your birthday. You're not really a part of our plan; you were just unlucky to get caught. All I need is Ronan, you're just an extra that I happened to catch."

I couldn't stand those words, for I couldn't hold myself back when I started to defend Elesis and Ronan's love.

"How dare you say that?" I spat, there were tears in my eyes. "How dare you say Ronan and I don't love each other? I work so hard every day trying to please everyone, I bake the pastries I used to hate to bake, I wear the dresses I despised, and I can't even see my best friend often when we live under the same roof!" I was crying so hard, I couldn't believe I was saying this. But it was true; Elesis had given up her life, her personality just to be with someone she loved. I could feel her pain, for I knew that pain was the same as what I felt.

"I sacrifice so much, and I will continue to sacrifice if I can only have his love. Don't you dare say that!"

We didn't talk after that. I pretended to sleep with my back turned to him as I could hear him starting to put out the fire. I couldn't believe I burst out like that, but I was just so angry. I listened to Lass who swore as his shoe was singed trying to stomp out the fire, but I didn't smile. I felt so sad. I always thought I was the one who had it hard, that I was the only one who didn't have things my way, and that I was the only one with a misfortunate end. But no, Elesis and Ronan were simply achieving happiness by trying their best, unlike me who had been too afraid to even take a chance. I had thought the only thing I could do was watch the happy couple from far away, wishing I was like them. Now I know, nobody has it easy, and as I had done before, I will support my friends; I will stop this plan, even if I have to die doing it. Elesis and Ronan wasted too much effort for Kaze'aze to mess it up, and since I was the only one who knew this, it was up to me to protect them.

I felt the heat die behind me and the warm light swiftly fade to darkness. The stars shined above me, and the air frosted my cheeks. I pulled my blanket closer to my face trying to get some rest, I was sad, sadder than I've ever been.

Suddenly, I felt a rough hand grab my shoulder and turn me around so I was lying on my back.

"I'm sorry." Lass muttered, looking down at me with a pained expression. "I didn't know."

I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"You're not so bad Lass." I remarked, looking up at him.

"Y-you too…" He quickly looked away from me, his face red. He must not have had too many friends. Just like me when I had first met Elesis and Ronan. I turned back on my side, but this time to face Lass as Lass quickly lied down on the other side of the burned out campfire, embarrassed. He was very much like me; cold, sharp tongued, and always trying to distance himself. It was as if I was looking at myself in a way, If only he hadn't joined Kaze'aze.

I had meant what I said to him.

This chapter was a little shorter than the last one, and it's sort of starting to get into the plot line ^^;...

sorry for late upload, I was being very, very, VERY lazy(like I am about mostly everything)

so... Arme impersonates Elesis. I wonder where I even got that idea. If anyone has any suggestions to this story I'll try to add them in.

btw, this is before the Chase starts, about a year (seeing as how Elesis and arme are 14, and Ronan is 17...) and it's always in Arme's pov. (because she's my favorite character :)

Thank you for reading! ^^