Secret of the Stars: The Forgotten Tale Chapter 3: The Iron Bandit, Dram!
A Secret of the Stars fic by Dustin M. Dixon
It's been almost as long since I've updated this fic as it has for Shi's Having a Baby, so once again, let's see if I've still got it!
As thunder resounded in the sky, Aldayne peeked out of the tent, noticing the branch holding the bucket Gara had set up earlier falling to the ground. Pointing at the bucket, he quipped "Well I guess you could say it's raining buckets." only to get forcefully kicked out into the rain by Gara.
"Hey! What the hell was that for?" he shouted angrily.
"That joke was horrible. You should be ashamed." Gara grumbled. "Besides...this tent's nowhere near big enough for us to sleep in together."
"Yes, it is." Aldayne remarked dryly, sarcastically stretching out his arms to encompass the tent, which he could barely do.
"You've never slept with a woman from Amaboss, have you?" Gara mused.
"No. I haven't slept with a woman period. Do you have a point to that quip? Because as amusing as the subtext to our little argument is, I don't like the look of those clouds." Aldayne stared up at the sky. "...Can I PLEASE sleep in the tent with you?"
"...Fine." Gara sighed. "But I make no promises that you'll be rested. We Amaboss women are trained to sleep lightly...and, well, I do swing my sword around sometimes while I sleep."
"It's all good...I tend to fire up an occasional spell in my sleep. So, you know..." Aldayne trailed off, as he climbed into the tent and laid down next to Gara.
"Yeah, you go off sometimes in your sleep. Don't worry, I hear it happens to lots of gu-" she cut herself off, her expression turning from joking to weirded out. "Oh WOW, this conversation went from zero to awkward in ten seconds flat."
:"You're the one who said it, not me." Aldayne smirked, resting his head on his arms as he stared up at the roof of the tent.
"Oh hush, you." Gara playfully punched him in the arm. However, not knowing her own strength, she actually managed to bruise Aldayne.
"OW!" he shouted, rubbing his arm. "Damn, Gara, you're stronger than you look!"
"I'm from Amaboss." Gara repeated. "Are you okay? Sorry about that."
"I'm fine...just a little bruising." Aldayne sighed, returning to his previous position. "You know, I bet your parents are out looking for you already."
"Probably." Gara also sighed. "What are your parents like, Aldayne? Or rather...what was your mother like?"
"Well...from what I remember, she was kind, gentle...she and Dad were happy together...I've missed her every day since that...THING murdered her."
"But you have friends. It's not like you've been TRULY miserable." Gara shrugged.
"'The HELL would you know?" Aldayne glared at her. "Both of your parents are alive and well!"
"...I didn't mean it that way. You know I didn't."
"...Yeah, I know." Aldayne raised up, staring out into the forest, taking note of the rain that had started falling.
"Do you honestly think killing him will make that pain go away?" Gara asked, after a few moments of silence between the two of them.
"...I don't know. Sorta doubt it."
"Then why do you want to do this?"
"...I don't want any other families to be torn apart...or for this guy's crimes to go unpunished. He deserves to pay..." Aldayne looked disgusted as thoughts of the man who had haunted his dreams continued to push themselves to the forefront of his mind.
"Then let's stop him! Or at the very least, we can point the proper authorities in the right direction. Hey, why don't you try to get some sleep?" Gara suddenly changed the subject. "I can tell you're thinking stuff you probably don't want other people knowing about." she sighed. "Besides, I'm not all that tired...I'm gonna go for a walk."
"..." Aldayne remained silent, looking up once again at the tent's roof as Gara got up and walked off. "You gonna be okay with that rain?"
"I'm from Amaboss." Gara stated again. "I'll be fine."
"Right. See ya in the AM, then." Aldayne rolled over, shutting his eyes and letting sleep overtake him. Gara looked down on her new partner, giving a little half-grin as she turned around and started to walk deeper into the forest.
"Wonder what Sara's up to right about now?" she thought aloud. Before she could continue her thought, though, she was interrupted by a pair of strong arms, one wrapping around her midriff and the other clamping its accompanying giant hand over her mouth. As she kicked and thrashed violently, the unseen figure dragged her off into the shadows...
Several minutes later, Aldayne jolted up in his sleeping bag. The same dream he'd been having for ten years now had once again disturbed his formerly peaceful slumber. He sat there breathing hard for a few minutes, then gritting his teeth, the image of the red-headed bandit who murdered his mother etched forever into his mind. It was almost as if he could hear the man's gruff voice once again...no, he could definitely hear it, this time for real.
"Come out, boy."
"...!" Aldayne's eyes widened, and his expression twisted into a frightening snarl as he practically leapt out of his sleeping bag, looking over at the sword Which Gara had propped up against the "wall" of the tent and grabbing it, unsheathing it instantly and scrambling outside. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the man standing there. Though he had to have grown even more muscular, Aldayne had no doubt. This was the man who haunted his dreams.
"YOU! I FOUND YOU AT LAST!" Aldayne roared, pointing the sword toward him, which caused his arm to shake under the weight. 'Jesus...Gara carries this thing like it's weightless! How the hell does she do it?' Despite his shaky grip, however, he glared the man down intensely, until being stunned by the next words to come from his target's lips.
"...Have we met?"
"Have we...?" Aldayne couldn't believe what he'd just heard, feeling all the more enraged. Had this man actually forgotten what he had done? "YOU KILLED MY MOTHER, YOU BASTARD!"
"Your mother...?" the giant man's eyebrows raised. "...Who are you?"
"My name is Aldayne Booth!" Aldayne shouted angrily.
"...Booth? The son of Amara Booth?" the man looked shocked.
"You remember..." Aldayne's snarl widened.
"I wondered what had happened to her son...but I'm not the person who killed your mother."
"LIAR!" Aldayne yelled. "I WAS THERE TEN YEARS AGO!"
"You saw the person I'm chasing kill your mother." he said. "Salonius Salazar. I am his son, Dram." Dram announced.
"His son...?" Aldayne looked stunned.
"Yes. He has betrayed the Underground. He has a price on his head so high that even the Von Amaboss royal family could never pay for it." Dram said. "And speaking of the Von Amaboss royal family..." he whipped his right hand around, pointing to a tree which Aldayne hadn't noticed until Dram's gesture. Adorning that tree was Gara, bound to it with a long length of thick, coarse rope, a cloth fitted between her lips to keep her silent.
"She'll lure him out. She's seen him." Dram smirked.
"Yes...she has." said another voice, as a man with spiky purple hair stepped out from the shadows, though the first thing Aldayne noticed about him were the two large, leathery wings that adorned his back. "She can lead us to him...you, however, would only get in our way, based on your emotional outburst a minute ago when you thought Dram was his father."
"And just who the hell are you?" Aldayne shakily pointed Gara's sword at the newcomer.
"Please." the winged man laughed. "You can barely hold that thing up, boy. You're no match for me." he concluded by unsheathing his own sword, which was equal to the size of Gara's sword, though different in shape, as its front side was serrated.
"Don't think I won't take you both on and win!" Aldayne shouted. "I'm tougher than I look."
"Let me take care of this punk, Godem. Just sit back and watch." Dram smirked, drawing his own weapon, a battle axe that was about as tall as Aldayne himself was. "This'll be fun."
"Oh please...you're far too big and lumbering to be a match for me." Aldayne grinned. "I'll kick your ass and then your dad's next!"
"Actually, I'D be next, and if by some miracle you beat Dram, you won't have a chance in HELL against me!" Godem laughed.
"We'll see about that!" Aldayne shouted, charging Dram, who mightily swung his axe downward. Aldayne, barely dodging, used this opportunity to jump up on the axe; as he ran up it, he shouted "It's OVER!" But as he swung at Dram, he was caught off-guard...and that's when it happened. Aldayne had been so caught up in dodging the initial swing that he missed Dram's next move: unsheathing a smaller, hand-held axe at his side and ramming the handle into Aldayne's stomach, sending him flying. As he landed, he remained motionless. Gara yelled out for her companion through her gag, but it appeared as if Aldayne Booth's quest for vengeance had come to an early and abrupt end...
End of Chapter Three