Chapter 3: Onward to the sea!
"You mean to tell me that Jess and I are…?" I stuttered.
"Yes, but in order to complete the link you must find the last remaining sister and the two remaining necklace elements." She started to leave but stopped herself and looked at me. "Oh yes, you mustn't tell Jessica that she is a sister. She will find out for herself eventually."
"Then why did you tell me?" I asked a little irritated.
The woman hesitated a little and then looked at me with sad eyes. "I was once the wind sister like you. My two other sisters and I used the light and brought peace many a year ago."
"Then why don't you do this!" She looked down. "Well!" I crossed my arms waiting for a reply.
"The power is yours and it's your responsibility for now on. Don't fail our world. The ancients will guide you if need be." She disappeared in a cyclone into the sky.
"Hey wait! Come back!" I yelled into the wind. My necklace pulsed as I heard a voice in my head. If you trust the wind, it will guide you. I sighed and drug myself over to my bed. I jumped on it, letting my mind wander. "Why...why did you choose me? How in the world am I supposed to help?" I asked the air around me. A slight breeze blew over my face and moved me to look at Jess. She had both arms spread eagle and one leg off the bed as she quietly snored. I chuckled to myself and pulled the covers over me letting sleep arrive.
"Brenna! Brenna! Get up sleepy head!" I heard Jess yell.
I sat up quicker than I expected and ended up losing my balance. I flipped off the bed, landing on my head with a thud. "Ah man! Jess, that had to be the rudest wake up ever!" I whined.
"It's not my problem that you sleep in till 12:00 PM!" She said placing her hands on her waist.
I glared at her and slowly got up. I returned to my bed and buried my head in the pillow. "I don't wanna."
"Oh boy... (sigh) this isn't going to be easy." She said to herself. "The food will be gone soon if you don't hurry up." she said.
"What! Food!" I instantly shot up and sprinted out the door.
"Hey wait for me!" Jess yelled following.
Now, we had no idea where the kitchen was and we were in a new place. Thankfully Jess had some direction sense so we stayed on the same floor. I was randomly running in any direction I could. I turned a corner blindly and ran into a huge man with maroon hair. He wore a long cape and towered over me by two feet.
I had a one track mind at the time so I grabbed his shoulders and yelled, "Do you know where the food is!"
The big guy chuckled and said, "You two must be the foreigners. You seem hungry so follow me."
When we walked into the dining room, the place was loaded with everything you could imagine. Pot roast, grilled chicken, meatloaf, chicken fettuccini, steaks of all types pork steaks and gravy were for one dish. Salads had Caesar, ranch, strawberry, blue cheese, thousand island, and any dressing you could think of. There was mashed potatoes and gravy, rice, corn, garlic broccoli, sautéed mushrooms, steamed carrots, and broiled vegetables of all kinds. There were bowls and bowls of fruits like apples, mandarins, pineapple, cantaloupe, peaches, nectarines, and ripe berries. Our mouths were drooling as we looked at the man.
"My chefs are working on desert but I hope this satisfies you." He motioned to the food.
"You're joking right?" Jess asked as we plunged into a lunch we would never forget.
"Who would think that this is lunch?" I exclaimed, stuffing warm biscuits down my throat.
"I think I'll move here," Jess said, filling her plate.
"I will see you in the grand hall when you are finished." He walked away as we stuffed ourselves.
It took us a long time to finish. Finally the chef was so annoyed with us he chased us out.
"What a jerk! I didn't get to finish my chicken." I said.
"Hey, come on! We have to find this great hall or something," Jess said.
"I think it was the grand hall, wasn't it?"
"I don't know. For now, it will be the hall."
"All right!" I exclaimed.
After a long time of trying to locate the hall, we finally found a huge gathering. We saw Ike's group and the big guy that fed us. Instantly, we were pulled behind a wall of pillars. I looked over and saw Ike's sister Mist with Oscar's little brother Rolf.
"I think my brother is having an important meeting with the king," Mist whispered.
"Hold up, King!" I exclaimed, surprised.
Mist nodded and pointed to the guy I yelled at earlier. "That can't be the king!" Jess said, panicking.
"Of course it is. He's the King of the Laguz beasts in Gallia."
"This is not good!" I said.
"Why are you guys panicking? He's on our side," Rolf said, giving us a confused look.
"Well, I grabbed him and shook him and yelled at his face," I said quickly.
"The fact that you both are still standing here alive is remarkable," a female voice said.
I turned around and saw the orange cat that pounced on me yesterday. "Who are you?" Jess asked in a snotty tone.
"I'm Lethe and you better watch your manners little 'human'," she said as claws appeared on her hands. Jess backed up against the pillar when I noticed another voice.
"Lethe, stand down!" Ranulf walked out of the shadows. "They are from a different world so they don't understand our ways. We need to get going so get ready."
"What do you mean?" Jess asked while I just stood there thinking about our argument.
"We have to get Princess Elincia to Bengian as soon as possible so we leave now to cast off," Lethe said.
"Cast off? You mean on a boat?" I asked.
"Of course on a boat! How else would we 'cast off'?" Jess asked.
"I'm just not good on boats, that's all," I replied sheepishly.
"Don't be such a big baby! If you don't hold up the reputation of the sister there's no point of you coming!" Ranulf yelled, storming off.
I stood there unable to speak. I wrapped my arms up as I started to cry. Jess helped me keep standing and gave a glare to Lethe. Lethe turned and growled as she left but I could sense a little pity in her eyes.
Later, after lunch, we were all on the boat sailing to Bengian. The whole way there, we were required to train. I took up the bow. My trainer was a sniper named Shinon and my sparing partner was Rolf. My mood started to lighten up even after Ranulf yelled at me. Of course I was horrible with aim. I guess what kept my spirits up was the constant laughter of my master whenever I accidentally hit a knight named Gatrie in the back. Good thing he had armor on.
Jess on the other hand didn't have a choice. Kieran wanted her to be his pupil but his weapon was an ax. Eventually after her complaining about swinging an ax over her head, Kieran gave up. Oscar, a paladin, trained her to use a sword on a horse. Everything was fine until Ike ordered everyone to be silent. I stood there ready for anything but I still had a feeling that there was great danger. A light breeze caressed my face and a feeling of uncertainty grew. The wind pulled me to face Ike. He just stood there up at the head, waiting. Suddenly, I saw a giant bird reaching out to Ike.
"Ike! Watch out!" I screamed.
He spun around but the bird was too fast. Boyd quickly knocked Ike down and they tumbled down the stairs, out of the bird's reach. The ship jerked and stopped so suddenly that it sent me flying forwards.
"Ahh!"
I looked over to see Rolf plunge over the ship's side into the rapids. Without thinking, I strapped my bow over my shoulder and dove into the water after him.
"Brenna!" I heard Jess cry but I had my mind set on helping Rolf.
Jess panicked as she saw me disappear into the waves. She turned to see a bird lunge at her but she was instantly knocked down and the bird missed her. She opened her eyes and saw Kieran above her with his face three inches away from hers. She blushed and he sprang up. He offered her a hand and helped her up. As she stared at him, she remembered something important.
"Oh no! Brenna went overboard!" she yelled. As she ran to the side of the ship, Kieran was attacked and pushed away, leaving Jess open. The same giant bird swooped down and grabbed her, carrying her over the sea.
"Kieran!" she screamed as she was taken.
"Shinon! Quick! Can you hit it?" Kieran asked, slaying birds.
"If I try, I take the chance of hitting her instead," Shinon replied.
Kieran looked on helplessly as Jess was taken farther away.
I had managed to get Rolf to the surface but he had fainted. I was in the process of keeping Rolf a float when I heard Jess screaming. I looked up and he bird that was carrying her was hovering above me at about fifty feet. I juggled Rolf while getting my bow out and I barely strung an arrow in the bow.
"Please, wind guide my arrow," I whispered as I released the arrow.
My arrow flew on target and hit the bird square in the back. The bird disintegrated and Jess plummeted to the sea. In all the excitement though, I didn't notice the weight on my shoulder was gone. I panicked as I looked around for Rolf. I submerged myself in the sea and winced at the sudden cold shock to my face. I spotted Rolf slowly sinking below me. I swam and pushed myself towards him but I was getting tired. As I started to fade I felt a hand on my back and I was propelled forward to Rolf. I grabbed a hold of him and hugged him. I looked around for who pushed me and I was look at…
"Lanuf!" I said as I stupidly opened my mouth.
I clutched my throat as I took in water. Ranulf grabbed Rolf and reached out to me. I couldn't keep air in my lungs any longer and I started to drift away. He was about to come after me when Jess shot through the water, winking at Ranulf. He nodded and carried Rolf to the surface. Jess grabbed my wrist but with the water in my lungs and gravity pushing me down, Jess could barely move me. When Jess started to lose strength, a bubble formed around us. Jess looked up in shock and found a woman in a shimmering blue dress. Jess slowly stood and took longing oxygen into her body.
"Who are you?" Jess asked as the lady gave her a tender smile.
Ravengrl: Ok, hoped you liked it.
Friend, who has lots of energy: Of course they liked it! What do you mean by hope? angry#>
(Pulls friend aside and gives her a cookie to calm down)
Ravegrl: calm down!
Friend who is eating the cookie: this cookie is good. (mumble mumble) (finishes cookie) You people better review or I will find you! Beware!
(Knocks friend out) Ravengrl: JK! Please R&R
(Friend sleeping peacefully)