Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the characters involved in the Bastard! series, they belong to Kazushi Hagiwara. I only claim ownership of Elira and Rosalia as they are of my own creation as well as any kingdoms and royalty that appear here.

Haunting Melodies

Chapter 9 - Frightening Nightmares Surface

Kall had been watching and listening to Elira as she spoke about the surroundings and how she wanted to speak with Rosalia once more. The image of the dryad that she wove made him think that Rosalia was very old indeed but the fact that she couldn't leave the forest made him quite curious about her. So when he asked about her, Elira was delighted to share the little bit of information she had about her newfound companion in the forest. He gave a small smile as her own crimson eyes lit up with the joy and he glanced at Zephyr; the Argonite was happily wagging his tail back and forth as they trotted along the path. Elira paused in her talk, she glanced up, squinted at the sky, and turned to face the road once more. The Ice Lord was perplexed by her sudden change in demeanor, "What is it?"

"I'm not sure," she whispered. He could tell that she was uncomfortable with something, even the Argonite stopped wagging his tail as they drew closer to the village. "Something...about this village...something...dark."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't rightly describe it but it gives me shivers. Do you feel it Zephyr?"

"I feel it my lady. It does not bode well for the village nor the inhabitants. This is dark magic."

"I've felt it before..." Elira was quiet as she pondered the feeling, "Abigail gave it off..ah! Necromancy."

Kall's eyes narrowed as he faced the upcoming village, "Necromancers are few but none as powerful as Abigail. I do hope that we don't run into a necromancer here, especially a novice." Elira nodded as they began to push forward with caution now that they new something was amiss in the village. The pair entered the village, Elira dismounted Zephyr, he nuzzled her gently while Kall dismounted his steed, the dragon made sure to keep the stallion company while the two humans wandered around the village. Elira was looking around for the people but there were none, she knocked on a few houses, entered them, and returned with a look of concern on her face. Kall-su had done the same with the same result, "Where is everyone?"

Elira began to feel that the inhabitants were somehow doomed, she bit her lower lip until there was a commotion near the corner of a house. She quickly sauntered over, her crimson eyes looked around until they landed on a child who was about eight years old, he was dressed in rather expensive cloth. Elira made a motion for him to come to her, he ran to her, and she rubbed his back. She knelt down, picked him up, and asked, "What's your name little guy?"

The boy sniffled and whispered, "I am Prince Zeke of Kingdom Erlendale."

"Are you here alone?"

"Yeah...I was with my protectors but something happened and they all turned into...things. I don't know I ran away from them and hid."

"What about siblings?"

"I have an older brother, Ike but he didn't meet me here yet..."

"Were you on your way to Metallicana?" He nodded and sniffled once more while she rubbed his back and returned to Kall, he looked at the boy while she explained the situation. Kall's eyes narrowed once more while staring at the deserted village. "We need to keep him safe." The Ice Lord nodded while she made her way to Zephyr, she placed the boy on the back of the Argonite, and she smiled at him. "Zeke this is Zephyr. He's my little one, my precious companion. He will protect you just hang onto this spike here and you'll be alright." The boy nodded while still in shock at the fact that he was sitting on the back of a dragon, Zephyr nuzzled her to show that he was alright with it, but mostly to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. "I don't know Zephyr. It's all so strange." He nodded while she returned to investigating with Kall.

The more they inspected the houses, the more that they came to the conclusion that a sorcerer placed a spell on the village and its inhabitants. "Must be powerful to alter the will of people including those who enter the village."

"I don't think it has anything to do with will." Kall looked at her, "I feel necromancy here, perhaps the spell used allowed the souls of those passed on to inhabit the bodies of the living."

"It's something worth considering. How do you know about that?"

"Information in my spell book. It appeared in my mind and I think Rosalia helped me out." Kall nodded while she silently thanked her dryad friend. "But...when we do find the villagers what do we do?"

"Good question."

"The answer?"

"I'm not sure."

"We can't return to the castle." Kall looked at the amnesic woman, her eyes were determined, "If we leave here then we run the risk of whatever has infected these people to reach Metallicana then we'll have a whole kingdom to deal with instead of a small village." The Ice Lord nodded and they checked the rest of the village, they turned up with nothing until Elira spotted a temple, it was built out of stone with small windows, and large wooden doors. "That building..." Kall looked at it and nodded, "If they have been possessed then they cannot come into the light so they'll need to hide until nightfall. That's the perfect place."

"I agree. But what do we do?"

"Let me look." He watched as she closed her eyes, he could see them moving back and forth quickly while she paged through her book. She sighed, opened her eyes, and knit her brow, "I couldn't find anything related to this at all. I have many spells but none that repel a spirit from a body."

"You need to look for purification my lady," came Zephyr's voice. Kall-su's stallion had also followed the dragon to them, "I did not wish to wait at the entrance for fear that you may need my aid."

"Thank you Zephyr. I apprecaite it." She kissed his forehead which made his scales shimmer and she looked to see that Zeke was sleeping, "Poor boy. We'll get this figured out and hope that we can purify this village before his brother comes." Kall nodded while she began to page through her book once more, she sighed again, and went through it a third time. "I can't find a purification spell."

There was silence until the Argonite spoke once more, "Craft one." Elira stared at him as did Kall, "You can craft a spell my lady. It may seem daunting to you but I have faith that you can do it. The stronger your emotion is in crafting then the stronger the spell will become."

"I...I don't think I can do that..."

"You must. These people depend on you my lady for you are their Healer." She smiled at him and nodded, "If not for them then for the prince who lays on my back. I would not want his brother to turn into one of those..." He nodded towards the stone building, she nodded, took a seat on the ground, and began to meditate to craft a spell of purification using water.

Kall-su stood between Zephyr and his white horse, "Can she do it?"

"Have faith in her my lord." He nodded while they waited for her to craft something, he could see small rivulets of water forming around her body as she meditated. It was fascinating to see her craft a spell, the rivulets became more frequent, and more of them until her body was obscured by the moving orb of miniture streams. The whole ordeal was carved into Kall's memory, it was something that he knew he would never be able to see again; an Undine crafting a spell was as rare as finding a dragon and the Ice Lord was not going to forget this spectacle. Zephyr was smiling as his mistress finished, the orb of water spiked outward, crystallized, and faded into her body. She woke with a start, her breathing was rapid, and she could feel something move inside her. "Are you alright?" She nodded, got up, and looked at her hands, they were trembling but she could see the water shining on her skin. "You have crafted a very mighty spell indeed."

"How can you tell?"

"I can feel it."

"That's good right?"

"Of course my lady." She smiled but his own smile faded, "Day is falling. We need to find a safe place to hide or perhaps a barrier to keep them from leaving the stone building."

"Good idea," replied Kall-su. He murmured some words and created the barrier that Zephyr had asked for, Elira nodded. "I'll keep it here while you try to purify them. The more you do at once then the better chance we have at containing the situation." Elira nodded and they made their way up the hill to the building that housed the possessed people of the village. The small prince was still sleeping on Zephyrs back, the dragon turned his back on the building to watch for incoming travelers while his tail snaked around Elira's waist. She smiled at the support while his amber eyes were blazing as the sun dipped below the horizon. The moment that the darkness enveloped the town, the doors to the stone building were pushed open, the people limped out, and Elira's eyes widened. "I see," stated Kall.

"Yes, they are more like..."

"Zombies." She nodded, the moment that those possessed people spotted them, they reached out their arms, and lumbered towards them. She felt fear at them but realized the shield was in place, they hit the shield hard but kept trying to push onward, and she took in a deep breath. "Try to purify the whole lot because if you don't then they'll just get possessed again." She nodded, took in a deep breath, opened her eyes, and focused on her newly crafted spell. Kall-su watched as it was implemented, her crimson eyes faded to purple then to bright blue as the spell was invoked. He made a note of this and watched as that same sphere of rivulets was created in thin air, it sucked the moisture from the surrounding area, he could feel the temperature drop. That sphere grew in size, it kept growing even when she guided it through the shield, it was inside, continually growing larger and larger. The moment that it enveloped the entire barrier and everything inside, it crystallized, the people immediately grabbed their heads, and began to writhe in agony. The dead souls were sucked from the bodies of their hosts, they coalesced inside the water sphere, once everyone had been purified, those souls were kept locked inside that sphere, it solidified, and faded away in the dusky light. Her eyes faded to purple then crimson once more, Kall-su knew that this was important. Zephyr's tail released itself from Elira's waist, he turned to see the people waking up from their latest ordeal.

Kall released the barrier, she ran up to the nearest person while Zeke peeked over the head of Zephyr, she helped the woman up, and she was rubbing her head. "Where am I?"

"You're safe now."

"Ah Healer! You came for us!"

She nodded, "Of course I did." Elira helped each person up and get on their way to their homes, they lit the torches for light, and those torches even kept the evil spirits away because they were made of sage. A smile graced her face as everyone was finally back to normal, they didn't have any memory of the incident but she didn't mind, Zeke was with his protectors once more, they never left the side of Zephyr either. Crimson irises locked onto the stone building, they dipped down in anger, and she marched towards it. Kall was shortly behind her, asking her what she was doing, "I'm going to give that necromancer a piece of my mind. You cannot meddle in the affairs of the dead!" He knew that she wasn't going to back off so he accompanied her inside, the moment that they entered, the doors were shut behind them.

A voice echoed, "I've been waiting for you Healer." She glanced around, "Ah yes, you are as beautiful as they said you were." She kept silent, "Oh? Not talkative? Let me see those tentacles that you used on Princess Sheila, those were a nice touch." She kept her angry face on, all of her more powerful spells at the ready, "I know that you have a lot of spells but so do I!"

"None that involve using a host!" The male appeared from the shadows, his hair was black, and his eyes golden. Elira clenched her hands into fists, "You have no right to call the souls of the fallen to inhabit the bodies of the living! It's meddlesome."

"Well how else was I supposed to get your attention."

"What do you want?"

"I want your spellbook. The one in your head."

"No."

"Why? You don't need it."

"I will not give it to you or any one else that is seeking it."

"You're awfully greedy healer. Then if you won't give it to me, I'll take it by force!" Immediately he cast a spell, hands appeared from the ground, they grabbed the two in place, and she squirmed as they were slimy; they touched her skin, she felt ill. "I see you don't like my friends," he laughed, "That's alright because they certainly like you!" Elira grew angrier by the second because he was toying with them, "What they feel, I feel." A pair of hands shot up and grabbed her breasts, she gasped, and the man relished the feeling. "Oh so soft!" She ground her teeth together, "I wonder what they feel like without your dress on." The hands began to remove the straps from her shoulders and it was then that she couldn't take any more of it. Elira's eyes glowered at him, they changed from red to orange to golden, and she released one of the most destructive spells that she could use.

A tidal wave of water appeared at their feet, the man looked down as it filled the room, the liquid gathered behind her until it formed a large wall of water. It transformed into the face of a snake-like creature, it hissed, and launched itself towards him, the hands immediately disappeared, Elira stepped towards the man, he tried every one of his spells but they didn't work against this water creature, instead it wrapped itself around him, and squeezed. He let out a breath as Elira approached him, "You think that you can touch me with your filthy hands?" The male couldn't speak because he was being squeezed, "I should kill you for what you did, trying to defile me like that." She didn't realize that her dress had slid down her shoulders to show the markings on her back. There were white pearl markings on her spine, her shoulder blades each had a spiral shell that resembled wings, and the Ice Lord smiled. Her attention was focused on the man, "This is Serentine. She is loyal to only me no matter how strong your magic is because she obeys me. She is one of the Five Currents and she's hungry, necromancers are her favorite food." The creature leaned down with an open mouth, drool dripping from those large fangs, and Elira looked over at Kall, "Shall I feed him to Serentine?" He noticed that her eyes were golden whereas before they were bright blue, he made a note to ask Zephyr about it.

"By law, no but there is no law here and no one knows about him so no one will miss him."

Elira grinned as she turned to look at her water friend, "You heard Kall. Eat up Serentine." The snake swallowed the necromancer whole, he was ripped apart from her current body, and she flicked her tongue out. The water snake slithered up to Elira, she stroked the nose, "Good girl Serentine. Was that tasty?" She nodded and the amnesic smiled, "Good. I'm glad I got to feed you, it's been too long." Once more the snake nodded, "You must return to the current. Thank you." A forked tongue slid along the side of her face, then it moved to place her straps back on her shoulders before the water serpent turned into a large puddle of water that disappeared into the ground. Elira's eyes faded from gold to orange and back to their crimson color. She collapsed on the floor, Kall-su helped her to her feet, she stumbled but clung to him. "I feel weak."

"You used two very powerful spells."

"Yeah but he won't bother us anymore."

"True." She smiled at him as they exited the building, Zephyr nuzzled her, and transferred some of his energy to her. Elira thanked him, mounted up behind the prince, and watched as Kall-su mounted his steed. They were going to leave until the villagers invited them to stay for the night since the young prince's brother was going to arrive the following morning. She looked at the Ice Lord, "We should take them up on their offer. You need to rest."

"Alright, we shall stay for the night. Thank you so much." They said it was no trouble and helped them get settled into one of the larger homes. Zephyr stayed outside the spot where Elira's room was located, the little prince snuggled with her, and she wrapped an arm protectively over him. Kall had entered as well with his makeshift bed, "You're staying here too?"

"In case of trouble."

"Thank you Kall." He nodded, fluffed everything out, and laid down, his blue eyes watched as her eyes fluttered closed, and her breathing evened out. He could see there was an amber eye watching them through the open window, the Ice Lord looked at him, and the dragon nodded as if he knew what the magician wanted to know.

During the night the wizard was awoken by squirming, his blue eyes watched Elira, her brow was furrowed, and tears were flowing from her eyes. She sat up with a start, her crimson eyes wandering around the room aimlessly until she realized where she was and sighed. She drew up her knees to her chest, he could see that she was unnerved by her dreams. The male got up, moved behind her, he gently drew her to his chest. She glanced over her shoulder to look at him, he only nodded, once her back was against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Elira sighed in contentment, her eyes were still staring at the ground before glancing to the window, there was an amber eye watching her, and a smile lit her face. It blinked only once to show that she would be alright and her voice was a whisper, "So many nightmares as of late."

"Do you feel better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Sometimes we need comfort." She nodded while he replied quietly, "When we return to Metallicana, go for a swim in Rosalia's lake. It will help to ease your mind and calm your soul."

"Okay. I'll do that." Her eyes looked at the sleeping prince and she smiled, "They sleep through anything at that age." Kall-su kept silent as she looked up at the ceiling, "The more I tell myself that my memory isn't important, the more those nightmares or memories surface; as if there's a force out there telling me that it's more important than I could ever know."

"Have you been able to understand the voice in the ocean?"

"Yes. I can and so can Zephyr."

"That's a start."

"It's all thanks to you. Is there anything that I can do to repay you for your kindness Kall?"

"Just try to remember who you are."

"Alright, I'll do my best." He nodded as he stayed with her for a time until she was calm enough to return to sleep. "I'll be okay now." Kall released her, returned to his own bed, and watched as she lay down with the small prince once more. Her crimson eyes twinkled in the darkness, when they fluttered closed once more, he shut his own eyes.

-::::::-

Morning approached, Elira sat up, she noticed the young prince was gone and so was everyone else, her gaze drew her to the window, even Zephyr had gone. She got up, brushed her dress down, and began to tidy up the room until a delicious smell wafted through the small house. Immediately she hurried her work, opened the door, and looked upon the owner. She was cooking something, the healer entered, and was greeted warmly; she returned the greeting as well. Then a bowl was handed to her, she looked at it, trying to figure out what was inside it.

"We've heard that you like things from the sea but we don't have any access here so I thought you might like to try some trout with dandelion, dill, and kale. I hope it's alright." Elira took the spoon, sipped it, and nodded with a smile on her face. She stated that it was delicious and the woman grinned, "I'm so glad! I've never had to cook something like this before but I'm so glad!"

"You did a wonderful job, thank you so much for your hospitality."

"You don't need to thank us. We're happy to give you anything Healer. You've helped so many of us in the time that you've been here that it's the least we can do." Elira nodded, thanked her once more, and took a seat at the table, the other family members were out doing work in the field, and the woman sat down with her. She had a bowl of oatmeal while she had her interesting food, they ate and discussed things about the castle and what was going on with the marriages. "I wish Prince Lars would marry you." Elira looked at her and she smiled, "You are so good to us that you'd be the perfect queen for Metallicana. You actually care about the small people and not just the nobles. It's rare to find that in someone and the only other person that we've known that cares about the small people is Prince Lars. The other princesses just want riches, expensive dresses, and big fancy parties."

Elira chuckled, "I don't like those parties. I like the small festivities that the villagers make. It's more homely to me." The woman smiled at her, "If I could have quarters in a village I would! If anything the space will be good for Zephyr too."

"Well maybe we can arrange something. I'm sure that we can have a house built for you and Sir Zephyr. It wouldn't cost you anything!"

"Oh I couldn't ask that of any of you!"

"Don't mention it. When you want to get away from the castle, for whatever reason, you will have a home here with us. You've already paid your debt by healing so many of us and with what happened last night," the woman shook her head, "we all owe you our lives."

Elira's eyes softened, "I won't stop you."

"Good! You wouldn't be able to anyway." They laughed together as they finished their food, the healer helped out around the house, the woman was delighted to have her, and Elira asked what her name was. "I'm Evelyn, my husband is Redford, and I have two sons Sanshi and Kanshi." The amnesic smiled warmly and said that she wished she had a family, "You do." Elira tilted her head, "Zephyr is your son. He's your family." Elira clapped her hands together happily and hugged Evelyn, who returned it warmly. "Zephyr is the only family you'll need until you're ready to have one of your own." She nodded and said her farewells, "Yes but you'll return soon! I just know it!" Elira nodded and Evelyn laughed as she exited the house to find the rest of her traveling companions. She also made sure to tell her hostess to keep burning the sage all day long, "No worries there! We've learned our lesson." Elira nodded with a smile and exited to find her dragon.

They were on a hill with the young prince Zeke and an older male, he wore armor, and she assumed that this was Ike, both princes of Erlendale had reunited. Kall-su was sitting on his white stallion, waiting for her, she took a few more steps, and Zephyr spun around immediately to greet her. He nuzzled her chest, "I'm alright. I had some food, it was delicious and Evelyn and her family are going to build us a home here so we can leave the castle and stay here."

"Very good of them. I look forward to those days."

"Me too. Are the two princes ready to be escorted?" He nodded, Elira mounted Zephyr, and he trotted up the waiting caravan. Prince Ike stared at her and her dragon, he was stunned into silence, "We should proceed while we can." He nodded, Kall met up next to her, and they lead the traveling princes down the path towards the kingdom. When they exited the village's signpost, there was cheering, Elira turned around and saw the entire population waving to her. She raised her hand and waved to them in return while Prince Ike watched her carefully, his brown eyes stared at her, he was judging her and who she was to the kingdom for he had never heard of such a creature. "Bye everyone! We'll be sure to visit again soon!" They cheered once more, this time Zephyr spread his wings out, and beat them against the ground; he took flight, flew over the village, and blew water across the whole of their fields while Elira hung onto his scales. She was laughing as the wind whipped through her hair, when he landed once more, the villagers clapped, and thanked them again. Elira smiled at them, waved once more, Zephyr lifted a single foreleg to wave as well, and turned around to proceed on their way.

Kall made sure to stay between Elira and the oldest prince of Erlendale, the young prince rode with one of his guardians, he was chatting with his older brother about Elira's power and how she saved everyone in the village. His brown eyes kept eyeing her up and down as Zephyr sauntered with them, the dragon's head turned just slightly to stare one intimidating amber eye at him. He gulped and the Arognite returned to looking ahead on the path. The Ice Lord kept his face straight on the road ahead, the dragon listened to Elira hum, she was wearing a smile, and her eyes were always looking around at the scenery.

She gasped when her eyes landed on an injured wolf, she leapt off Zephyr's back, he paused, Elira approached cautiously, the wolf had been caught in a trap, it growled at her, but she shushed it. She used her magic to open the trap, once more the wolf growled, and she looked at how injured the creature was. "You poor thing, I can help you." The wolf was silent, she placed her hand over the wound, the glowing underneath her palm caught the attention of Ike, he watched as the wound healed completely, and the wolf looked up at her, "There you go. You haven't eaten in a while right?" The creature stared at her, so she placed her palm gently against the fur, it growled at her once more, and she transferred her energy, as much as she could spare. Elira removed her hand, she watched as the wolf got up as if it had never been injured, it stared at her, then ran off back into the forest. Elira stood up, she sauntered over to Zephyr, mounted him, and he immediately transferred energy. "If you keep giving me your energy you won't have any left!"

He chuckled, this time Prince Ike took an interest in the dragon, "I am fine my lady. Your songs will replenish any energy that I give to you as you give to others that need it. Your heart is very large."

"Thank you Zephy!" She leaned forward, kissed his head, and his scales shimmered in the light once more, "Why does that happen?"

He chuckled again, "It is the highest praise that a dragon can receive from his mistress, when we are extremely joyful our scales will reflect any light. If there is no light the it comes from within." Elira kissed him again, his scales shimmered, Kall smirked at the pair, and they continued on their way to return to Metallicana.