Most of Amy's childhood was spent in hiding.
She hid because she was afraid. She was afraid of everything in the world. The world was a cold, dark, dirty place, full of danger and men that wanted to hurt her.
Men were selfish, shameless creatures, taller than her and stronger than her, always leering at her body. Sometimes they were friendly to her, but the moment she let her guard down they'd start to touch her in ways she didn't want them to. She didn't understand why they wanted to do such strange things to her. She would have tolerated it, but they were rough and forceful and it hurt.
It made her too uncomfortable to stay with them, even if they said they'd give her food and shelter in exchange. Even on nights when she was so hungry her stomach felt as though it was on fire, and even on nights when she was so cold she couldn't tell if she was alive or dead anymore, she wouldn't put herself into the care of those men. It was unbearable.
She was lucky if she encountered a man who tried to use words to coax her into his bed, because most of them just used their size and strength, instead. She had a knife that she used sometimes for killing rodents. She didn't enjoy it; when she was too weak or tired to steal food, she'd be left with no choice but to eat the creatures that she often slept among. She felt sorry for the mice that she killed. They hadn't done anything wrong to her, they hadn't done anything to deserve their death...nut she didn't feel any guilt when she had to cut a man that was trying to drag her somewhere. Sometimes, cutting those men almost made her feel happy.
Almost made her happy. There wasn't any room for happiness in her life. There was only hiding. She had to hide because it kept her away from men. She couldn't hide outside of the town, because there were wild dogs out there. Dogs were like men, except they were smaller, had more hair, walked on four legs, and were slightly more vicious. She had to stay in the town. There was nowhere else to go.
Aside from men and dogs and the rodents brave or hungry enough to attack her, there was something else she had to hide from. Disease. Disease was the scariest thing in the world, even more frightening than what men did to her. She'd never seen disease, because it was invisible, but she'd seen it kill hundreds of people, starting with her parents. It was impossible to know where it was until people started getting sick and dying. That's when Amy knew she couldn't hide in that part of town anymore, and had to go somewhere else.
She found a good hiding spot, a place where nobody went because it was too dark and cold and smelly and wet and full of rats, and then she slept. When she was awake, she waited. She waited until the pain in her stomach was unbearable, and then she left her hiding spot and found a place to steal food from. As long as she avoided vendors she had already robbed and planned her escape route carefully, her face would not be recognized and she would get away with whatever she had snatched up before being noticed.
She had been caught and whipped in the past, but it was always worth a try. She'd endure a whipping every day if it was the price she had to pay to fill her stomach.
Amy knew she wasn't the only person in the world who suffered like this. There were other orphans, too. She'd learned how to hide and rob and escape by watching them. A few times she had made friends, but they were just as hungry as she was, and just as greedy as men; she'd woken up to find all of her food and belongings stolen by other children who needed them just as bad as she did. She couldn't trust anyone - not adults, not even others like herself. She was alone in the world.
Until she met him.
To this day, it still astounded her that such a simple act had granted her so much. She was lucky; fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time. If she had left her hiding place a minute sooner or later, she would have never encountered the man. But she had been fortunate enough to run into him, and she would be grateful for that for the rest of her life.
The man stood out to her for two reasons. He was clothed from head to toe in extravagant, flamboyant clothing, garbs that were not worn by the peasants. He wore the clothing of nobles, godlike beings that she had only glimpsed a few times previously. Such divine creatures had no reason to trudge through the filthy streets that she walked.
The other reason that the man was remarkable to him was because he was running. He was running for his life, with a look of terror in his eyes, his face twisted in horror. He ran through the streets, pushing aside any who were in his way, as though hell itself were at his heels. When he drew near, Amy braced herself to be knocked down as well - but the man avoided striking her, and then agilely slipped through a crack in a wooden fence and slunk into a crevice between the fence and the side of a building, perfectly hidden and unseen to all in the world - but Amy.
Amy tilted her head quizzically to the side and stared at the man in fascination and puzzlement. He was a noble - he was in this filthy, diseased town - he was running from something capable of striking fear into a man such as himself - he was hiding like a rat, like a thieving orphan...hiding like her.
The man's eyes - intense, passionate, piercing eyes - were locked onto Amy's. The man was completely silent, save for his heavy, exhausted breaths. He watched Amy with an expression she had never been regarded with before - fear. He was worried, afraid of Amy for some reason - but why? What reason could he have to fear her?
Amy heard a stampede of footsteps coming her way. She turned to see a group of men in uniform - soldiers. Her eyes subconsciously narrowed when she saw them. She'd watched men wearing those uniforms mistreat the people of her town - they beat men for petty reasons, abused women as she had been abused, kicked animals who blocked their way, and took food from vendors without paying not because they were hungry, but simply because they could.
The crowd of soldiers came to a stop near Amy, their heads whipping from left to right in search of something. "You! Girl!" One of the soldiers barked. "Did you see a man in fair clothing come running this way!?"
Amy did not wish to assist these men, but the soldier's harsh tone forced her to answer truthfully out of fear. She nodded.
"Which way did he go?!" The soldier demanded.
For a moment, Amy's eyes rolled toward the hiding place where she had seen the man go. But she had no reason to reveal his location. If he was an enemy of the soldiers, he was no enemy to her. And she would die before giving any form of help to such cruel men.
Amy looked down, and raised her right arm. She pointed down an alley to the left - opposite of the man hiding a few feet away from her.
The soldiers dashed down the alley immediately, their armored boots clanking on the cobblestone ground and then fading away as they vanished off into the town. For a moment, Amy's lips curled into a tiny smile. It felt good to deceive those men. Although she had lied, she felt that justice had been done.
Amy turned once again to look toward the man whom was hiding behind her. His eyes were wide, his mouth partially open. Such a startled, bewildered expression didn't seem to suit him.
"...you saved me." He murmured.
Amy didn't respond. She didn't know what to say. The man was right, she had saved him. But what of it? It had been an exhilarating moment, yes, but that was all it had been to her. To this man, however, her gesture had apparently been much more.
"I am safe now. My gratitude is yours. You have my thanks." The man whispered.
Amy felt her cheeks become warm. No one - man or woman, adult or child - had ever spoken to her like that...thanked her, shown her appreciation. She was sure that others heard words of thanks several times a day - but she had never heard gratitude.
"Those soldiers have orders to kill me. I would be dead right now without your assistance. You've saved my life. What is your name?"
Amy blinked, swallowed, put her arms around herself nervously.
"...Amy."
"Amy...I wouldn't be alive if it were not for you. I owe you my life, Amy."
Amy was silent. She didn't know what to do, what to say. She'd never been spoken to with such respect, been treated as though she was of value...genuinely.
"I must repay you. Tell me what you want in return. I'll give you anything." The man said. His tone of voice was anxious - he was begging , pleading to repay her, as though his life depended on it. Perhaps that was exactly how he felt.
Amy was in shock. A moment ago, she'd had nothing - now, this man promised her anything? She did not know what to say. Not know what to ask for. She spent every hour of every day wishing she had more than she did - but now that the opportunity was before her, she was without words. She was not used to this, not accustomed to receiving so much consideration.
"...Why?" She asked breathlessly. "Why do you owe me anything?"
The man gritted his teeth - but not in anger. He seemed to be ashamed, humiliated.
"...I do not like owing my life to another person." He said. "I do not like being aware that my existence is dependant on the action of someone else. I live for myself. I rely on myself. And now, I owe you a debt as great as my life. Tell me what I must do to repay you, so that I will not live with such a burden. ...But let's not talk here. If the guards can't find me, they'll come back here. Is there somewhere nearby here where we will not be seen?"
This man was asking her to be alone with him - and yet, she was not afraid. She trusted him. No - she did not completely trust him yet, but she wanted to trust him. She'd never heard such genuine appreciation in a man's voice before, never felt as though she could believe a man's words, never felt as though she would be safe in a man's presence.
Amy knew of a hiding spot nearby where she and the man would be safe.
"...Follow me."
--
His name was Raphael, and Amy told him everything.
As the two of them sat together in a small, cramped alcove, Amy told Raphael about her life. She told him about the conditions that she lived in, the food she ate, the reasons why she had to hide from men. It was the most she had ever spoken since her parents had died, and the only time she had ever spoken about herself to another person.
Raphael sat and listened in rapt silence, engrossed and captivated and disgusted by her every word. When she was finished, the two of them sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Then, Raphael told Amy about himself and his plight - he did not tell her about the luxury in which he had lived, but he told her why his life was in danger, why he had to flee the town, the country altogether.
"You're coming with me." Raphael said.
Amy did not understand.
"No one deserves to live this way. No one should ever be forced to endure an existence such as yours. My life was over, and you granted me extra time. I will give you a new life, as well - a better life than this. From now on, I will take care of you."
Before the day was through, Raphael brought Amy refined clothing to replace the torn, stained, smelly clothes she had worn for years. He brought her succulent food she had never even dreamed of tasting before. He promised that every day she would wear such clothing and eat such food - and Raphael made good on his word.
After the two of them had escaped the diseased town, Raphael secured lodging for the two of them in the countryside. They lived in a town where the people were pleasant and life was easy. Amy did not need to hide from anyone, she did not need to fear rape or disease, she did not need to steal to have food, and she did not need to sleep among rodents and filth.
And yet, she was not happy.
She could not set aside the instincts that she had developed during her short life. Many things had become second nature for her during her life in the slums, and her lifelong habits did not fade. She felt uncomfortable and unnatural in her new clothing, she scanned her surroundings for hiding places and escape routes with every step she took, and she could never get used to holding money or handing it to anyone in exchange for food. Although she knew it was the proper, civilized way of life, she had never known such behavior, and never adapted to it.
Her fear of men lingered. She could not stand to give money to a male vendor, for that meant coming close enough to him to be grabbed. It was second nature for her to hide whenever a man was in sight, and she hid behind Raphael whenever she saw one approach. Raphael was the only exception - he wasn't a man to her - he was Raphael. He was her guardian, her friend, the one who had rescued her from the terrible life she'd had. Beside being her savior and caretaker, he was also the closest thing she had to a father. He told her that she was like a daughter to him - and from then on, she called him Papa, and the name filled her with joy every time she said it.
But although she had found someone she could live with, she still had difficulty living at all. She was paranoid, constantly afraid that every animal wanted to bite her, that every man wanted to touch her, that every cough or sniffle heralded the coming of disease. What's worse, she acknowledged her own paranoia, understood that normal people did not live this way - but was incapable of changing herself. She had lived too long this way, never known another form of life. She could never adapt. She was beyond recovery.
Amy had never known happiness, and so she did not have the capability to feel it. Raphael could not relate to Amy's suffering. Instead, he thought that he simply wasn't giving her enough. If she was unhappy, it must mean that the food wasn't good enough, the clothing wasn't fancy enough, their house wasn't big enough. He found another cook, another tailor, a larger house - but nothing ever made her happy. Not even when he and Amy lived within a mansion with their own cooking staff and private tailors did a smile ever grace Amy's demure face.
It was around this time that Raphael discovered the threat of Soul Edge, and embarked to destroy it. He was slain by Nightmare, but kept alive - or simply undead - by evil energy that had taken residence in his body.
When he returned to Amy, he inadvertently infected her with the same affliction that cursed him.
Amy was gripped with fear, terrified that both she and Raphael would suffer the fate of her parents, killed by this infectious ailment that had consumed them both. But Raphael reassured her, comforted her, told her that everything would be fine. She believed him, unaware that his plan was to infect the world with the same evil disease that blighted them.
Amy did not know that Raphael had gone mad. He still cared for her, pampered her, spoiled her, coddled her, gave her the love and affection that no one else had ever given her. Whatever his physical or mental state, he was still the same loving, caring, tender man that had cared for her since she had rescued him.
Until now. Until his death.
Leave this room and never return to it, for now it is necessary that I remove your Papa's head from his body.
After the green-clad intruder had bested her in combat, Amy had confined herself to her room. There was no point in fighting the woman, since she had already defeated her and her father. In the past, just the thought of her beloved Raphael being injured would bring her emotional distress - the sight of his dead body and the knowledge that he was now nothing more than a corpse had turned her into a wailing, sobbing mess.
To say that Amy was devastated would be an understatement. Raphael was the most important person in her life - the ONLY person in her life - the man who had saved her from the worst existence imaginable, given her everything she had ever dreamed of having. Just a few hours ago, he had been alive, embracing her, caring for her - and now he was dead, gone forever, and she could do nothing about it. He had been murdered, she had failed to avenge him, and his shameless killer was free.
Amy cried for hours. She cursed Raphael's murderer using words she'd never spoken before, screamed at volumes she'd never reached before, felt despair that she had not experienced since her time as an orphan. She didn't know what her future would hold. Without Raphael, what was going to become of her? What kind of life was she going to have from now on? Would she have to steal for food now? Wear rags again? Go back to hiding from everything, everyone?
Broken. My life is broken. Everything is broken.
--
The group could tell that something foul had polluted the city without ever stepping foot in it. The weather was fair beyond the city, but the sky directly above it was perpetually occupied by black clouds. The streets of the city were covered in a thick, dark fog that reached the rooftops. A feeling of doom and disaster radiated from the city, a sensation that could be felt from miles away.
The Soul Embrace reacted as the group drew near the city, the evil sword twitching and trembling as though it was about to break free from the holy sword's grasp. The group strongly wished to avoid the city, but they also felt compelled to investigate it and, if possible, rescue it from whatever wicked force had corrupted it.
In the evil fog emanating from the city, they could sense the aura of Soul Edge - the evil blade, a fragment of it, or a victim of its influence was responsible for contaminating this city at some point in the past. As they felt that it was their duty to rid the world of the sword, they also felt compelled to erase whatever stains the sword had left behind, as well.
Siegfried could also feel something familiar in the evil miasma that seeped outward from the city - a sensation that triggered memories of escaping Nightmare's control. In his many journeys he had often become reacquainted with previous foes and allies, and had found that such feelings of déjà vu were rarely coincidences.
The group felt that it might be wise to investigate the city, but feared for the safety of the Soul Embrace. They considered leaving the Embrace behind with their stronger warriors protecting it, but wondered if that was exactly the sort of opportunity that the likes of Zasalamel had been waiting for. Just as they had concluded that none of their options were satisfactory, they noticed that Soul Edge had ceased twitching. Turning their gaze to the city, they beheld a phenomenon that none of them had expected.
The city was transforming. The black clouds that covered the sky were parting, and moonlight was shining through with incredible radiance, as though to make up for lost time. The dark mist that blanketed the town was fading away, simply evaporating altogether. No longer did the group feel a sense of foreboding or death from the city.
The 'source' of the transformation - or rather, the part of the land that had recovered first - was the very epicenter of the city. In the exact center of the metropolis, there was a castle that had once been enshrouded almost entirely in shadow and darkness, but was now as clear and revitalized as the rest of the city. The areas furthest away from this castle were the least affected by whatever blight had consumed the land, and were also the last to be restored. Whether the source of evil had been stamped out, or a miracle had just occurred, the event must have occurred at that castle.
With the land once again safe, the bewildered group was now free to advance upon the city - but, as they were confused by this shocking turn of events, as well as apprehensive about the city altogether, they approached it cautiously, prepared to retreat at the first sign of negative impact to the Soul Embrace.
The group spent several hours investigating the phenomenon that had plagued the city. Not a single one of the city's inhabitants - disoriented and confused, every last one of them - was entirely sure of what had been happening to their fair land in the past months. They remembered a time of prosperity and tranquility, and then a slow decline in their quality of life. Their water became foul, their skies dark, their livestock sickly, their air rank, their moods horrid. In the beginning of the decline, not a day went by without violence, and later, it was murder that had become commonplace. The populace of the entire city seemed to become spiteful, and as each day passed, lying, cheating, and stealing became more routine than the day before. Even the most upright and noble of the population found themselves with blood on their hands, and the law was no longer upheld by those who had sworn to protect it.
And then, all at once, it had stopped. The violence and the spite, the crimes and the bloodshed, the rank atmosphere and attitude had dissolved almost immediately. It was as though time had been reversed, and the city had been transported back to the era when life was simple and easy and good. Not a single pair of lips was generating profanity, not a single hand was being used for harm, not a single misfortune was to be found across the entire city. The people were rejoicing, for although they did not understand what had happened to them, they knew that it was good. They knew that the time of pain and fear and fury and sorrow was at an end. They had performed horrific atrocities for the past several months, but the unseen power that had governed their cruel actions was gone, and they had returned to their former selves.
Siegfried felt a personal connection to each and every one of them. Controlled by an evil power - forced to commit terrible sins upon others - and then liberated, allowed to return to their true selves once more. It was the story of his life, imposed upon an entire city...the entire experience was surreal, unbelievable, and seemingly impossible, even to a group that had seen the most extraordinary and implausible events to ever take place.
And yet they still could not find a single soul who could explain what had happened.
Through their investigation, Siegfried and his companions were only able to discover one clue – an event that coincided with the city's 'curse'. Ever since a certain man had taken up residence in the castle nearby the city, things had gotten worse for the population, in terms of health, mood, and society. It would be silly to believe that correlation was causation - but there were no other hints available.
There was also a rumor that a traveler had brought a strange artifact into the city, a rock of sorts with divine properties. This 'Holy Stone' had reportedly cured all who touched it, and seared the hand of the man who had brought this evil curse to the land. Siegfried and his companions were accustomed to hearing about shards of metal causing harm - but never the reverse. This Holy Stone intrigued them, and, if it was capable of stopping the effects of a curse that reeked of Soul Edge's influence, it could quite possibly be an important point to investigate.
Siegfried and the others steeled themselves for further surprises, and began to advance on the castle.
--
Just like the old days, it was hunger that finally drew her out of her hiding spot. When Amy had spent so long in her room that she once again felt hunger that had not been in her life since her orphan days, she forced herself to leave and seek the kitchen.
Raphael had employed many people to operate his castle. There were guards to keep watch for intruders (who had obviously failed to do their job tonight), gardeners to keep the grounds in good shape, stone masons to repair failing architecture, hunters to procure the day's meal, a chef and cooking staff to cook what the hunters caught, groomers to keep Raphael and Amy looking presentable, doctor to keep everyone in good health, court magicians to entertain everyone, and much more. The castle was a well-oiled machine with a staff numbering in the dozens. Raphael seemed to have been reared with so much company around him at all times that he refused to live in isolation - either that, or he had been raised with so much unseen assistance that he was now incapable himself of performing such simple tasks as cooking and cleaning, and required someone else to do the job.
Amy considered the staff of her castle to be strangers, even the women who bathed her and clothed her and did her hair every morning. They lived in the same structure and saw one another every day, but she avoided them, only comfortable in the presence of Raphael. Amy did not look up to them as figures of authority. Running to them to announce the arrival of an assassin was the last thought to occur to her, especially when there was nothing the guards could do to stop the killer, whom was powerful enough to overtake Raphael himself. The assassin was long gone by now anyway - Amy decided that she should probably alert the castle's staff to the fact that her Papa was dead.
When she entered the main chamber of the castle, she could not inform the first person that she saw about Raphael. She was unable to, because the first person she saw was dead.
Everyone was dead. All of them. Every last person.
Every servant in the castle had been murdered.
Amy screamed when she saw the first body, shrieked when she saw the second, but when the number of bodies only continued to rise, she realized that shouting would do her no good. She ran from room to room, hoping to find someone, anyone who was still alive, knowing all the while that she would only find corpses, which is exactly what happened. When she lost count of how many dead people she had seen, she lost all hope that she would find another living soul. She dropped to her knees and began sobbing again. That assassin who'd killed Raphael was the only one who could have done this - but why? She'd entered every room and killed every living being in the castle, when only one death was necessary. Had she done it for fun? For sport? For no reason at all?
She's not human...she's a monster...she's a demon...
The only thing clouding her mind more than her grief and anguish was her hunger. Amy dragged herself to the kitchen, where she could only find raw and uncooked food. With no knowledge of how to prepare it, she just ate whatever looked edible, as cold and hard as it was.
Just as the aching in her belly had subsided, she heard something - banging on the door of the castle. For anyone to be at the door, they must have gotten past the gate. Did the guards let them through? Or were the guards at the gate dead as well?
Amy didn't know who it could be, but knew that she had to find someone. A murderer was on the loose, and who knows how many more lives she would take if she was not stopped. Even if it meant speaking to another person, Amy had to get word out about Raphael's death and his sadistic assassin.
Amy ran to the door, pulled aside the lock, and put all of her weight into pulling the door open. After several tries, she realized that her tiny, frail frame would never do the trick. Panting and gasping, she stepped back and called out, "It's open!"
The door swung open, revealing a tall man covered in armor so large that his frame filled the entirety of the doorway.
The man looked down at the tiny girl wheezing exhaustedly in front of him. She had cosmetics on her eyelashes and eyelids that were presently running down her face, making dark lines from her eyes to her chin that resembled black tears stains. The girl looked like a mess, physically and emotionally...and what was worse, he could sense the poison of Soul Edge within her. She was contaminated, tainted by the aura of that cursed blade.
"...We are looking for a man named Raphael Sorel." The man said.
"He's dead." Amy sighed in a voice as tiny and frail as she was. "Everyone in the castle but me is dead."
The man's alarm was obvious. His head whipped up, he caught a glimpse of the corpses littering the room, and he came further into the castle to get a better look. His head whipped from side to side as he surveyed the carnage in the main hall, and then returned his intense glare to Amy. "What happened?" He demanded gruffly. Amy winced and pulled back instinctively.
"Siegfried, have you no delicacy? The girl is obviously terrified!" said a female voice from behind the tall man who darkened the doorway.
Now it was 'Siegfried' who flinched and drew back. The other half of the door that composed the castle's entrance was pulled open, and Amy saw that the man was not alone.
There were women with him, six altogether. Amy was relieved. Five of the women rushed into the castle, each with a weapon drawn, looking all around for any sign of danger. A sixth stayed behind, kneeling by a large satchel bulging with something inside.
"The guards at the entrance were dead." The man said. "We sensed an aura of death from the castle. We knew we'd find some manner of tragedy within - but why? What happened here?"
"She killed everybody!" Amy blurted out. "First she killed Papa Raphael and then she killed everyone else for no reason! A demon with a circular blade and green clothing...she called herself 'Tira', and said she was a 'slave' who served 'Master Nightmare'."
Siegfried's spirits sunk immensely. The armor he wore suddenly felt a dozen times as heavy as it actually weighed. He nearly sunk to his knees. For the first time in many years, he felt tears coming to his eyes.
Tira. Nightmare. No. It's true. He has returned. And now she belongs to him.
Siegfried was aware that his reaction would affect his standing. He had to respond as calmly as possible, or else it would appear that his emotions were going to rule his decision-making abilities.
He turned his head aside and clenched his fists. "I doubt she'll come back. She's lost to us now. What a waste. Too bad that it had to be this way." He muttered. The others thought that his resignation was genuine, and felt relief. They did not want to have to for their leader's stability.
"What do you mean?" Amy asked.
"The woman who killed your father was once our companion." Siegfried said. "We knew her well. She betrayed us. She is no longer our ally. It is likely that we will have to kill her."
Amy bolted upright, emotion filling her stain, doll-like face.
"No - I will be the one to kill her!" She said with an assertiveness that seemed uncharacteristic of her. "I must avenge Papa! No one else will take her life but me!"
"...Is that truly the life you choose for yourself?" Asked Siegfried. "A life of vengeance, fueled by hatred, obsessed with punishing another person?"
Amy swallowed with uneasiness before answering with certainty. "Yes! I choose that life!"
"Then your father is fortunate where you are not." The man said. "His suffering is over, while yours is just beginning. If, from this day forth, you choose to walk the path of combat and bloodshed for the rest of your life, I feel pity for you, girl."
Amy's dejection was visible. The others were taken aback by Siegfried's harsh words, but knew where his feelings were coming from. The days of his youth were spent hunting for the one who killed his father to extract vengeance...and it was this devotion to revenge that caused him to eventually take up the cursed blade and become Nightmare. He saw himself in the girl, and did not want her to walk the same path as he had once walked.
"I don't mean to be insensitive to the girl's feelings - but I think we ought to find out what we came here to learn." Said a gentle-looking woman with long blonde hair.
Another woman who looked similar to the one whom had just spoken knelt next to Amy. "The city around this castle was cursed for the past few months - and the curse was lifted earlier tonight. Do you have any idea what might have caused this?"
Amy's heart sank even more. "Papa's condition was cursing the city? The city is okay now because Papa is dead?"
Her responses were inquiries more than they were replies, but her words were clear.
"What was Raphael's condition?" Asked a woman who wore clothing from the East.
"Ever since he came back from his journey to find a weapon called Soul Edge, he had some kind of infliction...not a physical disease...something supernatural...something evil...like a curse..."
"I don't know how he could have survived that battle." Siegfried said. "He managed to perform one last blow after I thought he was defeated, but his body was dead as I left Ostrheinsburg...if he survived, it was not by natural means. An evil force could have been keeping him alive...the contamination of Soul Edge."
"And then it spread to the city..." Muttered a girl with a long bladed pole.
"...And then to the girl, as well." This voice came from a woman who had just entered - the woman whom had stayed outside with the large satchel. Her appearance startled Amy at first - she thought that the woman was covered from head to toe in blood, and then realized that she was just wearing a tight red suit.
The woman in red regarded Amy with uneasy eyes. "Can none of you see it? The aura around her?"
"I feel something, yes - something that reeks of Soul Edge." Siegfried confirmed. "But nothing tangible or visible."
"I can see it clearly...like a cloud that surrounds her body." Said the woman in red. "She suffers from the same 'curse' as her father. She's as contaminated by Soul Edge as Ivy is."
The only woman who had not spoken yet, a woman with shameless clothing and platinum hair, jerked her head toward Taki. "As bad as me...? Soul Edge runs through her veins as well?"
"Now it does. Even if she wasn't born with it, it's a part of her body now." The woman in red held out the satchel in her hands toward Amy. Immediately, the satchel sprung to life - it began squirming and writhing, and muffled sounds came from within.
Amy felt a bizarre sense of longing.
Taki swung the satchel over her shoulder and took a few steps back until the bag stopped wiggling. "I bet the sword would love her to hold it. I think she would be a perfect host body - no need to release any energy she couldn't handle, like what happened with Siegfried and the Evil Seed."
The man and his female cohorts started looking at Amy differently now - like she was dangerous. Amy became nervous and worried that they were going to attack her any minute now.
"Wh-what does this mean?" Amy asked timidly.
"It means you're a threat to us. You could awaken the sword by getting close enough to it, and become the next Nightmare if you touched the hilt!" Said the woman who had been addressed as 'Ivy'.
"The same is true of you, is it not?" Siegfried said. Ivy clicked her tongue and looked away. "It doesn't mean anything for you. You're no threat to us. You have no reason to go near the Embrace."
"But what is the Embrace? What cursed father? Why did that woman kill him? Who are you people?" Amy asked, her desperation growing by the moment.
The man and the women all exchanged glances. They began to converse with one another.
"Let's not waste time here. Tira was here only minutes ago. If we move fast enough, we can find her trail."
"Do we want to catch up with Tira? She's an enemy now, and she'd only lead us to Nightmare. We should avoid them both. We need to hurry, find more shards to purify, find more 'Holy Stones', and stay as far away as possible from anyone else like this girl here."
"At least we agree that we need leave this place without wasting any more time."
"But what about the girl?"
"What about her? She's none of our business."
"Don't be cruel! We can't just leave her here."
"She's of no importance to us."
"She's after Tira - or at least she thinks she is - and she's a viable host for Soul Edge. She's bound to be a liability somehow."
"What, then, do you propose we do about her?"
The group fell silent. Amy trembled in fear.
The woman with long blonde hair knelt down next to Amy. She made Amy feel comfortable, at ease. "What's your name?" She asked gently.
"...Amy."
The woman smiled. "That's a pretty name. Was Raphael your only parent?"
"...He wasn't my real father. He adopted me. My real parents are dead. Raphael was the only person in my life. I have no relatives. I'm an orphan again now..."
Sympathy became apparent from the more sentimental of the women present.
But Ivy was not showing empathy at all. "All over the world, more children are being orphaned every moment. It's a fact of life. It happens. Our goal isn't to adopt orphans, it's to end the threat of Soul Edge. We have no business taking care of this girl."
"She's no normal girl, though." Said the nice blonde woman. "We can't leave her unchecked, when she has an affliction that has proved to be contagious to both the land and the living."
"If we kept her with us, we might eventually suffer from the same curse." Ivy stated. "What's worse, she has some kind of effect on Soul Edge, and she'd be a perfect host. We can't afford to keep her around."
"I-it doesn't matter to me if I live as an orphan or travel with you...I'm going to find Tira!" Amy announced."
"And then what, get yourself killed?" Ivy retorted.
"...I...I'll get stronger." Amy asserted. "I'll get strong enough to stop her."
Siegfried raised his hand to his face. "This is where seekers of Soul Edge come from. This is exactly how it happens. The girl will wind up on a quest to find a godlike weapon to extract revenge and then all hell will break loose!" The man brought himself to Amy's height. "I will not let that happen. I will not let my tragedy repeat itself."
"But Tira - " Amy began.
"I'll take care of Tira - she was my responsibility long before she was yours." Siegfried said. "I'm to blame for her defection and everything that results from it. I'm the one who is charged with stopping her."
Amy began to cry.
"We're not bringing an emotional, delusional child with us." Ivy said.
"What else can we do?" The blonde woman asked. "If we leave her on her own, she could spread the curse of Soul Edge, or do something drastic for the sake of revenge. We have to keep her in our sight."
"What about her curse?" Ivy asked.
The woman in red stepped forward again. She reached into her belongings, and drew out several transparent crystals that glowed radiantly and almost seemed to emanate a heavenly hum. She held them out to Amy. "Hold these."
Amy gingerly cupped her hands and held them out. The woman in red dropped the crystals into her hands. They stung when they touched her skin.
"Ow! It hurts...how long do I have to hold them?" Amy asked.
"Just a moment longer." The woman in red raised the mysterious satchel in front of Amy. The satchel did not stir, as it had previously done.
"The purified shards are enough to nullify the influence of Soul Edge." The woman said, putting the satchel aside and then taking the shards back. "If she carries them on her person, she should be safe, and so should we."
The woman took the shards back from Amy, who noticed light burns on her hands. The others waited for her reaction. She dusted off her hands on her clothing, and did not let the pain show on her face.
The air was silent and still. No one could deny the reality of the situation; this frail little girl was all alone in the world with only one thing to drive her - revenge. Not only were her goals fueled by hate, but the taint of Soul Edge permeated throughout her very being, and that curse had recently proven to be contagious. Amy was a second Siegfried and a second Ivy, rolled up into one lost, emotional, adolescent girl.
"...well, it looks like she's coming with us, then." Conceded Ivy.
The group explained their cause to Amy, and introduced themselves in turn. A diverse group of warriors from exotic locales, each with a unique story, but a single goal to unite them as one. They were all so powerful, so experienced, so extraordinary - they were like something out of a fairy tale...although Amy's life hadn't exactly been normal to begin with.
Amy told them of herself, as well. She told them of the life she had lived before she had met Raphael, the simple gesture that changed her life forever, and what had become of her since then. Her story, as bizarre as it was, fit in just perfectly with the rest of the group's striking tales.
With formal introductions out of the way and with their causes firmly established, the group was ready to determine their next course of action.
"...M-my Papa." Amy said, still as shy as ever despite her lengthy self-exposition. "H-he's still up there. He has to be buried."
Siegfried had lost his father around Amy's age. Ivy, Taki, and Setsuka had been orphans raised by surrogate fathers. Seung Mi-na had parental issues of her own, and Sophitia and Cassandra were sentimental enough to feel sympathy for the girl. They all agreed to bury her father.
Amy led them up to Raphael's library, where he had been when he was ambushed and killed. She did not enter the room, for she could not stand to see the sight of her father's headless body. While the others occupied the library, she retrieved her and Raphael's rapiers from her room. Waiting outside of the library, she heard discussion from within.
"It is him, to be certain. I recognize the attire. This is the man who struck Nightmare down with his dying breath, liberating me. I owe much to this man. It is a shame what happened to him."
"I guess that must be why Nightmare sent Tira to kill him. Nightmare probably wanted this man dead for that..."
"The rumors have been circulating for a while now, but I still cannot believe it! How can Nightmare return?! The sword is with us!"
"Perhaps the soul of the blade is not with us."
"Then what was it that possessed Ivy in Japan?"
"If Nightmare truly has returned, then the soul of the sword is not here, but elsewhere. If the soul did not possess Ivy, then it was only the sword's mind-warping lust for blood, not the spirit of the blade itself."
The group exited the library like a funeral procession, carrying Raphael's body, draped in a cloth made from a curtain from the library. It was not the ceremony that Raphael deserved, but it was all he would get.
Raphael's body was carried out of the castle and into the cemetery adjacent to it, reserved for castle troops who died in combat. There were already a few caskets and open graves at the ready. Raphael was placed into a coffin, along with his rapier, and lowered into his final resting place. No one present knew him well enough to deliver a fitting eulogy, save for Amy, who was too emotional and soft-spoken to deliver such a speech. After a few moments of silence, he was buried, and his tombstone etched with his name, birth date, and the date of his death.
Amy knelt in front of her adoptive father's grave and wept. The others left her alone and discussed their future plans. Amy was still not finished grieving by the time they had come to a conclusion. When Ivy grew impatient, she approached the girl.
"The time for mourning is over now. We must go now."
"Papa doesn't deserve to be left lying here alone and forgotten...no one else knew Papa but me. I'm the only one left to grieve him."
"Do not waste your grief on the dead. While you bemoan he who is lost, you disregard she who caused this. If you are distracted by something as trivial as the dead, nothing more than nutrition for worms, what commitment do you have to your path?"
Amy winced, but wouldn't back down.
"If Papa wasn't dead, I wouldn't have any reason to seek revenge. I want the demon who did this to pay for what she's done, but I don't want to forget what was done. She stole Raphael's life from him, and destroyed my future. She'll die by my hand...but I cannot focus on her death alone."
"So quickly your fire burns out. Your words of anger and passion dissipate like a puff of smoke. You say you will take her life and then you put the task aside to mourn those who are unable to appreciate the gesture? Then let the inevitability of time take your revenge, and live the rest of your life in grief, girl. I begin to think you would rather join your father than hunt his murderer."
Amy was not privy to insults in English, only French. May the devil take you was the literal definition of what she said to Ivy, and although the platinum-haired woman did not understand the words, Amy's intent was clear enough, and Ivy would not be spoken to in such a way. She backhanded the girl roughly across her face and she fell to the ground holding her cheek, an expression of shock, indignation, and fear on her face.
"Who are you, girl? Who are you that you curse me so? You are a despondent orphan who will only travel with us on the whim of our generosity. If you wish that whim to remain in my thoughts for a second longer, know that I demand obedience and respect without compromise. Reserve your hatred for she who deserves it and do not waste it on me. Should you ever address me with such contempt again, you will not have an opportunity to disrespect me a third time."
Ivy turned and left, leaving Amy sprawled atop her Papa's grave, shaking in fear as her mind processed the fact that for the first time in her life, a woman had harmed her.
The others did not approve of Ivy's brutal words, but knew that Amy would face far worse things than cruel words should she choose the path of the warrior. They waited for her response, waited to see if she would cross this final threshold, or learn from this experience that she did not wish such a life on herself. They watched as Amy stood up, brushed herself off, wiped the tears and make-up from her face, and then walked with composure toward the group.
She stood with symmetry and balance, a picture of stability. Siegfried noted that she was even better at disguising her emotions than he was.
"I'm ready." She said in a voice that lacked the uncertain, timid tone that had characterized her until now.
With this statement, the group left the castle and began to walk away from it in silence.
They all expected the prim, proper, pampered girl to start complaining about something or another, but as the miles went by, she did not speak a word.
Perhaps it was a courtesy that was silently demanded by the solemn members of the group.
Perhaps it was the acceptance of the fact that she would never see Raphael again as long as she lived.
Or perhaps it was the slow realization of what was to become of her.