Goddess' Wish

Xxxxx

Welcome Back

Xxxxx

Nabiha and Aoshiro searched the rooms and sure enough, the two boys were missing. However, after several minutes of searching, they realized that wasn't the only thing that was missing.

"Where's Khayru?" Aoshiro asked, causing the two other males to pause in mid action, Hilal paused in mid stride into another room while Nabiha was about to exit one himself.

"Now that you bring that up," Hilal murmured as he turned and faced his brother, a frown clear upon his features, "I haven't seen a sign of her anywhere." He then folded his arms across his chest, "Even her room that she normally stays is and there's no sign that she had been taken along with the boys."

"Do you think that she heard what was going on but decided to stay back instead?" Nabiha asked, his eyes showing bewilderment at the situation, "but why would she want to-" The Moon Lord suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes widening as he whispered, "she couldn't be.."

"She couldn't be what?" The Guardian repeated, confusion clear in his eyes as he slowly approached his brother, "She couldn't be what, Nabiha?"

Snapping out of his shocked stupor, Nabiha hesitated before he replied, "Who...who do you think kidnapped the boys?"

The two clerics glanced at each other, a questioning look clear in their eyes. After several seconds of eye contact, it was Hilal who broke away first, "We both think it's a chance that it is IIarion's doing. After all, who else would come after the children in the middle of the night to kidnap them?" He paused for a moment before he muttered under his breath, "Otherwise there would be bodies in the beds right now." Flinching at the image of two tiny bodies in bed flashing into his mind, Aoshiro quickly pushed it to the side, "It makes sense after all to go after the children of the Heroes of this country but..." The Guardian paused for several seconds, "Why do you ask, Nabiha?"

The Moon Lord hesitated, shifting back and forth on the heels of his feet before he replied, "Khayru...a few days back she asked me to do a favor in exchange for a room to stay for the night." The Moon Lord paused, hesitating once again before he continued, "at first, I thought it was a great idea but that was before she told me what the favor was."

Hilal raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the doorway before folding his arms across his chest, "And that is...?"

Hesitation clear in his eyes, Nabiha murmured, "She wanted me to track down and kill the leader of the defected clerics." The Moon Lord then fixed his eyes onto Aoshiro's, "In other words, she wanted me to kill IIarion."

At first, confusion still stayed in the Guardian's eyes, causing Aoshiro to begin, "What do you mean Nabiha? What does that have to do-" Then it slowly dawned on him, his blue eyes widening in shock as he realized what the Tempest was planning, "She wouldn't. She wouldn't dare risk such a risky plan."

"What?" Now it was Hilal's turn to become confused, "What's going on? Tell me, what did you guys figure out?"

Aoshiro hesitated, unsure of whether or not to tell his brother the new information that he and Nabiha had discovered, "Hilal, whatever may happen, you'll still see Khayru as your sister?"

Hilal raised an eyebrow at this, "Of course, otherwise we still wouldn't be together now right?"

"But what if she does something that put not only her life at risk but...other members of the family as well?"

"...You guys aren't making any sense," The Saint snapped, his eyes narrowing with impatience, "there is no time for riddles. Xithyl and Xsyara maybe-" He then halted in mid-sentence, gawking at the two older males as it slowly dawned upon on what they were trying to say, "Khayru wouldn't...Khayru wouldn't risk the lives of Xithyl and Xsayara so recklessly."

"I don't know about that Hilal," Aoshiro silently retorted, placing a hand to his chin as he pondered, "though she had been with us for years, the elven tradition is still conditioned within her and one of their many habits is sometimes performing 'sacrifices' for the greater good." He then let his arms fall back to his side, "In other words, if she had heard someone sneaking in and she somehow knows it was IIarion, she might have used the two boys as bait to trail IIarion back to his base."

"But that's such a risky plan," Hilal blurted, "if she makes even a single mistake, not only is her own life in danger but as well as Xithyl and Xsayara."

"Which is why I think she left without leaving a note or attempting to awake us," Aoshiro retorted, "she would have went back and awoken us the instant that they were a safe distance away but instead she went to follow them, to ensure that the two boys are safe."

Nabiha heaved out a sigh as he folded his arms across his chest, "But even so, it's still risky. Khayru is taking big leap to assassinate the Leader of the Defected Clerics." He paused for a second, "especially since she's the queen of the elves."

"Which gives us another reason to pack up and go after her," Aoshiro smiled as the two men snapped their heads towards them, "Did you expect us to sit around and do nothing why our sister and the boys are in danger?"

Xxxxx

Khayu has to admit, this isn't the smartest move.

She had of course heard the intruders break into the boys room and watched as they took them away but she wanted to wait until the kidnappers had reached their base. In other words, where the Traitor Cleric is hiding. The Queen of the Elves didn't see much of any other choice. The only other person who was able to find the Cleric's hideout was Hilal and he refused to give out the location of where. Why? Khayru doesn't know but one thing's for sure, this is the only opportunity she could think of that could lead her towards the Traitor Cleric's base.

As such, she followed the kidnappers at a distance, hiding behind large rocks or debri from old towns to keep herself out of sight. Following the shadowy like figures through the darkness, a thought suddenly overcame Khayru. Were the two boys going to be harmed if she were to be caught? The Elven Queen shook her head.

Of course! That's why you're being careful!

But something tugged on the strings of Khayru's heart, telling her what she was doing was wrong. Guilt, if she recalls, a human emotion where a person does not feel well from the action that they are currently or had performed. Khayru once again shook her head.

There was no time for distractions and what she was doing now was causing her to lose focus on her current 'mission'. Taking in a deep breath, Khayru quickly and quietly leaped to another large boulder, pausing a moment before she peeked over the edge. So far, they hadn't noticed her. However, before she could take a step further, the kidnappers (4 in all) suddenly disappeared from her sight. Immediately, this took the Elven Queen by surprise. Where did they go?

Leaping away from her hiding spot, Khayru slowly and quietly approached the area where they had disappeared and paused, inspecting the ground on where they had- Ah Ha! Their foot prints disappear so that means...

Cautiously Khayru raised one of her hands forward and shoved it into area in front of her. Like she had suspected, her hand disappeared, causing a ripple to form around her wrist from the sudden movement. Taking her hand out and flexing it to ensure that no harm had been placed upon it, Khayru quietly slipped through the barrier.

Xxxx

Xithyl couldn't help but stare wide eyed at the Cleric in front of him. So this was the Traitor Cleric that had led the others away from the will of the Sleeping Goddess? But he looks so..young, not much older than 16 he's betting. Xithyl shook his head mentally. Then again, he should be talking (metaphorically), since he shouldn't even be learning the skills of the Order at his age.

A hand clamping down onto his shoulder snapped Xithyl out of his thoughts, causing him to jump as he looked into brown- no wait, Scarlet?- eyes.

"So it is true, you can't speak," IIarion let a smirk flash onto his features, "that's a waste, without the ability to chant, you aren't going to be much of a threat towards Goddess Vestinel. No fun at all."

Feeling anger being kindled within him, Xithyl snapped his hand onto IIarion's wrist and without warning, let loose a blast of lightning, lighting the room of his prison temporarily before it once again turned dim. Xithyl nodded mentally in satisfaction when he saw IIarion flinch, slowly prying his hand away from the younger Cleric's grasp. The young Cleric watched as IIarion flexed his hand, only for a small spark to flicker to life in response. Apparantly Xithyl's lightning had enough power in it to last a bit longer than he had intended.

"Interesting," IIairon muttered, his glowing red eyes glaring at the young cleric, "who would have thought that the day would come when a Cleric in Training would be able to cast a skill without the use of his voice."

Seeing the older Cleric's eyes narrow at him, Xithyl glared back in response, curling his hands into fists to show his determination.

Suddenly, a crazed smile faded back onto IIarion's features, causing the younger Cleric to stare back bewilderly.

"Goddess Vestinel would be please to know that one of the 6 Heroes' children aren't as 'weak' as we had previously thought," he stated before he released a dark chuckle, "this would make things a lot more interesting."

Completely puzzled at IIarion's words, Xithyl barely blinked even once before a hand wrapped around his neck, cutting off his circulation of air before being lifted off the ground. Wide eyed, Xithyl clawed at IIarion's wrists, his fingers tearing away at the leather gloves protecting the older Cleric's skin. Smiling at Xithyl's attempt to free himself, IIarion slammed the younger Cleric into the wall, only to be satisfied with himself when he heard Xithyl gasp.

"Do not worry, I won't kill you," He grinned as he tightened his grip, "I just want to make sure that you won't be able to speak anymore."

With that, he then wrapped his free hand around Xithyl's fragile neck, tightening his grasp as he felt the younger Cleric struggle. IIarion could hear Xithyl's gasps and coughs as he felt small fingers desperately clawing away at his hands before the older found the small area that he was looking for. Without a second thought, IIarion pressed his thumbs against Xithyl's healing wound, hearing a small 'pop' as he did so. Xithyl's eyes went wide before he released a silent scream before he shivered then went limp in the older Cleric's grasp. IIarion released several "Tsk" in response.

"That's all it took h'm? Expected more of a reaction to be honest," He then dropped the unconscious Cleric to the floor, uncaring when Xithyl made contact wtih a sickening 'crack'., "Never the less, your parents should be dropping by soon to rescue you." A sly grin faded onto IIarion's features, "and when your parents come, your 'Uncles' should be coming as well." He then licked his lips as he finished, "Also meaning that Father Shiro is going to come along with them."

No sooner had he spoken these words when a messenger entered, dressed entirely in Cleric uniform before kneeling down and spoke, "Lord IIarion, intruders have been spotted entering through the barrier. What are your orders?"

Turning his head around so that only his glowing red eyes could be seen, another sly smile faded onto IIarion's features, "That must be them now." He licked his lips again, "Capture them and bring them unharmed. Goddess Vestinel would be pleased to meet them in person."

Xxxx

"Elven or not," Nabiha grumbled as he glared at the light footsteps of the Elf Queen, "she still should have enough common sense to know that following them alone is a horrible idea."

Aoshiro gave the Moon Lord a gentle smile, "Oh, and you haven't done that before?"

Instead of replying, Nabiha turned his gaze away from his brother, however, a deep shade of red started to form on the surface of his face. Hilal couldn't help but smirk in response before tightening the buckle that held his shield on his right arm. Aoshiro saw this action.

"Is something wrong with your weapon Hilal?" Aoshiro asked, his eyes full of concern, "that's the 5th time you adjusted it since we started walking."

In that instant, Aoshiro thought he heard his brother say 'curse his sharp eyes' or something similar to the phrase however, it was enough to cause Aoshiro to tilt his head to once side, curiousity taking over his worries, "Is it a topic that you do not wish to speak about?"

Hilal heaved out a heavy sigh, catching the interest of the Moon Lord as well before he replied, "Back when you and Nabiha were still 'alive', the four of us decided to split into two different groups right before a battle." The Saint turned his eyes towards the blue haired Swordsman, "Nabiha and Khayru decided to take the south side of the battle field to ensure that we weren't flanked from behind." He then turned his gaze towards the Guardian, "While you and I decided to take the frontlines, to both protect and heal the soldiers there." Hilal then fixated his gaze in front of him, avoiding eye contact as he continued, "However, during the battle, we were almost overwhelmed and you, Shiro, gave the orders to retreat. But..." He paused for a moment, contemplating on what to say next before he continued, "But you and I made the decision together to stay back and act as a diversion, to give the surviving soldiers time to escape." Hilal paused once again, reluctancy clear in his eyes, "the leader, the General of that army of the Jealous Goddess was a bomb type. He runs around and tosses bombs at us, hoping that one would make a direct hit." He shook his head, "However, your ability to block and negate any attack was very useful that time, Shiro. Everytime he tries to throw a bomb at us, you would run in between us and the bomb and block it easily, the impact of the explosion not even fazing you." He shrugged as he added, "All I did was drop relics around the enemy. That way, we were slowly able to detain him and we thought we ended his life."

"Thought?" Nabiha repeated at he raised an eyebrow, earning himself a nod from the Saint as a response.

"We thought he was dead for sure," Hilal admitted, "however we were gravely mistaken." He paused once again, taking in a deep breath before he continued, "When we turned to leave, the General stood up and released a war cry before opening up his vest only to reveal that he had turned himself into a living bomb." The Saint then turned his eyes towards the Guardian, "In the instant that he was to explode, you Shiro, placed yourself between me and the explosion and both of us were blown off our feet into..." He paused, "into a large crevice behind us."

Ignoring the wide eyed expression from his older brothers, Hilal teared his eyes away from Aoshiro and fixated his gaze back towards what was in front of him before he continued, "Since you took the full brunt of the blow, you were knocked out instantly, Shiro. Me? I barely managed to grab you and the side of the crevice before we plummetted to our deaths. However, when I grabbed the side", Hilal paused, glancing down at his right hand before he added, "the nerves and tendons in my right hand tore apart from the force of stopping two bodies in free fall." The Saint paused again, looking through the corner of his eyes to see the reaction of his brothers. Nabiha was gazing with his mouth wide open while Aoshiro had turned his eyes away from the younger cleric, his face showing obvious guilt.

"It's nothing," Hilal added as he flexed his hand several times, seeing that it would not close, "it healed just enough that I still am able to use it in everyday uses." He hesitated, "Just...not as well as I could before."

"Shouldn't you stop fighting with that injury?" Nabiha blurted, "though it may look small, a small mistake in a fight can lead to immediate or slow death."

Hilal was silent for a moment, contemplating on his words before he replied, "Why should I stay inside and hide while our sister is out there fighting against Vestinel's Nightmares?"

The Moon Lord remained silent.

"I know as well as you do that this injury could be the death of me," Hilal continued, "however knowing that any moment that Khayru can be killed while I stay inside of the Haven safe and sound would not let my conscience rest. I have to fight, even if it kills me."

Soon after speaking, an uncomfortable silence fell between the three, the only sound permeating through the air was the soft 'thumps' of their footsteps hitting the dirt beneath them. Finally, Nabiha broke the silence.

"Wait, you said you fell into a crevice and grabbed onto Shiro before you guys fell right?"

Hilal slowly nodded once.

"Then could you explain how you got out?" Nabiha asked, "and what happened to Shiro in all this?"

No sooner did Nabiha ask the question when an uncomfortable pause came between the there males, easily tangible as the three brothers shifted uncomfortably as they walked.

"You know as well as I do that Shiro is known as the 'Ultimate Tank' in the world of Altera," Hilal murmured, causing the two older males to jump, "as such, almost nothing is able to penatrate through his defenses. But that time when you took the brunt of the explosion..." The Saint's voice faded, the silence causing the Moon Lord and the Guardian to stare intently at the younger cleric, waiting for him to continue, "the damage to you was severe. You couldn't move your body at all no matter how hard you tried." Hilal glanced towards the older Cleric before he quickly snapped his eyes away, "I tried getting both of us out but your double army..." he shook his head, "it was too heavy for me and the fact that my hand was injured." Hilal took in a deep breath, "There was just no way that both of us were going to make it."

"You dropped Shiro!?"

Jumping at the sudden conclusion, Hilal quickly added, "Let me explain, I didn't drop him willingly." Hesitating for a moment, Hilal finally made eye contact with the older Cleric, "You knew that both of us weren't going to make it. So Shiro you...you told me to..." Hilal clenched his fists, "You told me to drop you."

Ignoring the look of shock on the Guadian's face, Hilal continued, "You told me that it was better off for only one of us to survive. You explained to me that if both of us died there where our bodies could never be discovered, then Khayru and Nabiha would have thought that we were captured by Vestinel's army and they would act irrational which is true." Hilal snapped his eyes towards Nabiha who quickly closed his mouth, "so you convinced me that for the sake of our family-" Hilal stopped suddenly as he felt his voice crack, causing him to try and quickly to regain his composure. However, to his surprise and dismay, he felt tears roll down his face, causing him to snap his eyes away from his brothers, quickly wiping them away with the back of his hand, "for the sake of our family, you told me to let go."

After finishing his story, a grim silence passed over the three males, one trying to regain his composure of his grief and guilt while the other two were filled with shock, unable to process anything to say to their younger brother.

"Hilal," Aoshiro finally broke the silence, "I can sense that you hold a great sense of guilt for..." He hesitated, "for my death. However..." Aoshiro sped up his pace to match the Saint's before placing a comforting hand on the younger Cleric's shoulder before giving him a gentle smile, "it is something that I wanted to occur, it is not of your own free will."

"But.." Hilal's voice faded, his pale blue eyes trailing the ground in front of them,"you died."

"Yeah he died," Nabiha came up onto Hilal's opposite side, "But it's something he had wanted. He wanted 'you' to live that way you can tell us what happened to him."

"But-"

"Hilal please," Aoshiro interrupted, "you know as well as I do that my chances of getting out of their was one to nothing. But you, you had a higher chance. However, with one hand injured and the other hand holding onto me, most likely I would have dragged you down." The Guardian gave the younger Cleric another comforting smile, "if I were in your Shiro's place, I would have felt relieved to know that I died to let you have a chance to live."

Hilal remained silent for a moment before he closed his eyes, silently walking forward as he felt the Guardian's hand leave his shoulder. Then slowly, he opened his eyes, turned his gaze towards the older Cleric and to the two older males surprise, gave Aoshiro a small smile.

"Thanks, Shiro," Then Hilal's face turned serious and determined, "shall we continue after Khayru and rescue the boys?"

Then without waiting for a response, he sped up his pace, leaving Nabiha and Aoshiro in the back.

"...Aren't you going to tell him?" The Moon Lord asked, in which Aoshiro gave no reply, "he just told you how he killed you so it's only right how you-"

"I'll tell him Nabiha," Aoshiro gave the Swordsman a sad smile, "but right now..." He shook his head, "if I told him now, he would be filled with grieve and guilt."

"Eh? Why would he feel guilty?" Nabiha frowned.

The Guardian released a small chuckle, "You know the answer Nabiha," Aoshiro lifted his gaze towards the sky, "Hilal had asked me to do it."

Xxxxx

There was no other reason but that the barrier was rigged. How else would they have known that she would be here now, flinging paralyze spells in an attempt to immobolize her. Luckily for Khayru, Tempests are known for their dodging capability. As such, she was easily able to dodge all the spells and leap far enough to land in front of several of her attackers and knock them out before dodging once again, leaving an empty area where she had once been.

"Come closer!" she yelled as she released several stringed arrows, catching some of her opponents before pulling them in. Then, without a moment hestiation, she kicked as many of them as she could into the air before leaping and performing a spin, hitting her opponents multiple times with her feet before landing gracefully back onto the ground and leaping away to safety.

"Stop moving!"

Hearing a man running up behind her, Khayru easily jumped up and performed a back flip into the air before landing behind her attacker, easily twirling her around and using the momentum of her body, kicked him in the back, watching as he was sent flying across the area. Unable to resist, the Elf Queen stuck out her tongue at the man before leaping away, hearing the other men who had tried to sneak up on her curse. Releasing a soft laugh, Khayru landed before turning around and strung several arrows onto her bow, pulling back the string as she waited for them to get into range.

"Move it!" she cried as she released seven arrows into the attackers, the front lines flying into the ones behind them from the blow.

A smile of satisfaction flashing onto her features, Khayru then flipped backwards before running off again, causing the remaining men to run after her.

While the Tempest ran, the thought that she had infiltrated the 'base' had made her realize it wasn't much of a base at all. All it was an underground cavern almost exactly like the Haven except that this one was smaller, obviously because the inhabitants mainly consisted of Clerics which were already few in numbers from the very beginning. With this in mind, Khayru took a sharp turn, only to come to complete halt.

"I-IIarion?" she gasped as she slowly took several steps forward only to pause, a realization flashed in her eyes, "No, you're not him."

IIarion just gave the Tempest a wide grin, "Nice to see you too, Aunt Khayru." He licked his lips as his glowing red eyes glanced towards the men that had bunched up behind the Elf Queen, his eyes clearly telling to stay and wait for orders, "It has been a while hasn't it?"

A frown formed onto Khayru's lips, "Why are you calling me that? I know clearly well that you're not my nephew who had died from an ailment years back."

IIarion chuckled in response, "On contrare dear Aunt, I am your nephew however..." his red eyes seemed to glow as he added, "Just not the nephew you knew in this world."

A look of confusion flashed over Khayru's features, "What are you talking about? Are you saying that you're from a different world?"

"Precisely," IIarion grinned at the look of shock on the Elf Queen's face, "I am IIarion but not the one you know and Edan and Shian..." He licked his lips once more, "are you sure that you don't recognize them at all?"

Khayru drew several arrows from her quiver before placing them onto her bow, drawing the string back as she aimed at the Paladin, "Why should I believe every word you say? You after all drove the other Clerics Traitor with lies and deception."

"Lies?" IIarion laughed, sending a chill down the Tempest's spine, "Blasphemy, I not once told a lie about the Jealous Goddess." He chuckled as he continued, "I prayed to the Sleeping Goddess as long as I can remember but not once she had answered my prayers. But Vestinel, she was different. I only prayed once and she immediately came before me!" The Paladin laughed once more, "She granted me power so that I may lead the other Clerics towards the right path instead of letting them worship a weak goddess." He then held his hand out towards the Elf Queen, "Come on Aunt Khayru, join our side. You'll be the first of your kind to be a soldier on Vestinel's army. And don't worry about your race," IIarion released a sly smile as he added, "Since you are their queen, once they figure out that you have joined us, they'll come to our side, nothing to worry about."

Hesitation clearly could be seen in Khayru's eyes as she listened to his proposition. After the death of her husband and eldest brother, Khayru had practically lost all her faith in the Goddess for if she had really existed then why had she let them die when they served under her wing for many years? With this within her mind, Khayru slowly lowered her bow before taking several steps forward, her blue eyes locking onto IIarion's outstretched hand. Slowly coming to a halt in front of the young Paladin, Khayru slowly raised one of her hands, hesitantly moving it forward to lay it into his.

"Khayru!"

Jumping out of surprise, Khayru twirled around just in time to see a large sword knock majority of the bunched up cleric's aside, "Shian?"

"Stay away from her!" the Swordsman roared as he dashed forward and leaped towards IIarion, attempting to run him through with the point of his blade.

With a simple laugh, IIarion leaped back, landing a safe distance away from the blade of the sword, "Tsk, Tsk, it's rude to try and harm your nephew like that..." IIarion's red eyes glowed as he added, "Right? Uncle Nabiha?"

"Shut it!" Nabiha roared as he gripped his sword tightly, "how dare you try and cause harm to Khayru!?"

The Paladin calmly whistled, "Though it is not the same Khayru in our world, you still hold feeling towards her?" IIarion laughed, "Fine then, die together in this place." A black mist then seem to engulf the traitor cleric before he faded, his voice echoed, "Die just like you have in this world."

Releasing a sound of annoyance, Nabiha sheathed his sword, turning his attention back toward's the Elf Queen, "Khayru..."

Her mouth wide open in shock, the Tempest's blue eyes were wide as she locked onto the Moon Lord's, the murderous look that had once placed in them now had shifted to those of concern, "...Nabiha?"

A look of surprise flashed over the Swordsman's face, causing him to take several steps back before a sheepish smile flashed onto his features and started to scratch the back of his head, "Sorry if I had to lie to you, it' just that..." His voice faded, unable to place into words on what was occuring.

"So does that mean..." Khayru hesitated, "Does that mean that Edan is actually..."

Nabiha nodded, confirming the Elf Queen's question. Her eyes still wide with shock, Khayru took several hesitant steps forward, her shaking hands slowly reaching forward before cupping them onto the Swordsman's face,"My goddess...so this isn't a dream."

Tears fell from Khayru's eyes as she slid her hands down onto his shoulders before completely throwing herself onto the Moon Lord, wrapping her arms around his neck as she buried her face into his chest. Shock clearly seen in his eyes, Nabiha hesitated before wrapping his own arms around her lower back, feeling the Elf Queen press herself closer to his body.

"Welcome back," she whispered.

Lol next chapter finally ^^'

I was struck with writer's block for a while then in school, a light bulb suddenly just popped into my head lol.

So yeah, Khayru finally figured out that Edan and Shian are actually Aoshiro and Nabiha ^^

and yes, IIarion is crazy -

Lol Enjoy :D

~ 123arcalas