Breath of Fire III: Of Gods and Dragons
Chapter Six: The City of Winds
Written by Estrelita Farr
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The sound of a piano, played to a slow, peaceful melody, echoed through the decorated halls of Wyndia Castle, sweet to the ears of those who listened. Of course, there were those critics who believed that this song was badly played, but even if they thought so, they did not dare to say it out loud, for the player was the only princess of the kingdom. And she was only eight.
Young as she was, she still had to learn lessons on various subjects, from histories of the world to monster studies, but being the obedient girl she was, she did those lessons without uttering a word of complaint, and the current lesson was music, where she learned how to play the piano. This was one class that she loved, for she adored those soothing pieces, and being able to play them was something she was proud of.
When the lesson ended, much to her disappointment, a servant came just as the tutor left and gave a low, polite bow before addressing her, "Princess Nina, His Majesty the King seeks your presence."
She nodded and replied formally as her mother had always taught her, "I understand. You may leave."
"By your leave, Princess." With that, he slowly backed out of the room.
Nina kept all of her piano scores neatly and put them in the nearby shelf – even though it was the maid's job to do it, as she preferred to keep her things on her own. As soon as she was done, she walked out of the room, heading towards the audience hall, and gradually began to run.
Wyndia Castle was, like most castles, elegantly decorated, with gleaming suits of armour along some walls and green carpet along the long halls, complete with pictures and tapestries that showed the class of the royalty. Maids busied themselves with constant cleaning of the building, servants with the orders of high-ranking people, and soldiers with the frequent patrolling of the places. It was a lively place that Nina was born and raised in, and it was a place she loved.
As soon as she had arrived at the giant doors of the audience hall, she slowed to a stop to catch her breath, and then calmly strode into the largest hall in the castle.
The audience hall, as she remembered, was similarly decorated as the other parts of the castle save for the wide green carpet on the floor leading from the doors to the three thrones, the middle and the right ones occupied by her parents. Her mother was wearing a long flowing blue dress with a headdress while the king, as usual, was dressed in an elegant robe with a red cloak and great golden crown decorated with jewels. He had large white feathered wings that were folded neatly behind his back, which was the symbol of the Wyndian royal bloodline.
Nina stepped up towards them and curtsied, bowing her head as she did. "Nina Wyndia, here to seek an audience with the King and Queen of Wyndia."
"You may rise, Nina," the king stated, smiling as both him and his wife rose.
She did as she was told and then, with a giggle, threw herself at her parents. "Father! Mother! I haven't seen you for so long!"
Her mother shook her head. "We're sorry, Nina dear, it's just that we've been so busy these past few days."
"Yes, it is strange." The king sighed. "The direction of the wind is changing, even though it's not supposed to for another few months at least…"
Nina paused, trying to take this all in, but she still could not see the gravity of the situation. She shook her head, grinning happily. "But at least you're here!"
The queen smiled. "Yes… yes, of course."
Her husband knelt down, keeping his head level with his daughter's. "Nina, there's still one last audience for today and it will do you good if you sit here and listen." He gazed at her. "Can you do that?"
"Yes!" The princess clapped her hands. "Then we can have dinner together and read storybooks and everything!"
Both her parents laughed.
A male voice then called out loudly from the entrance of the audience hall, firmly and purposely.
"Balio and Sunder have arrived for an audience!"
"They're here, Nina," the king stated, ushering her to her throne. "Be patient, all right?"
"I will!" Nina piped up and went to her seat.
Once the royal couple had settled down on their own thrones, the king nodded at the guard at the door, who let the audience-seekers in.
The first thing Nina thought the moment she laid her eyes on the two people was that they looked very much like horses with a horn, but standing upright like humans. One of them had blue hair and skin while the other green hair and brown skin, and they set a huge box-shaped thing – covered with a white cloth – down onto the carpet between them. As the princess watched them, fascinated, she wondered why they needed a box so large that even she could fit inside.
"What is it that you have come to seek?" the king asked, reverting to his formal self.
The blue-haired half-unicorn bowed courteously. "Your Majesty, I am Balio and this is my brother–"
"Sunder!" the green-haired one cried.
Balio gave him a harsh look, and then continued, "The reason why we sought an audience with you, Your Majesty, is that we've caught a dangerous mythical creature."
The king raised an eyebrow. "A dangerous mythical creature? Do you mean… a Dragon?"
"It certainly is, Your Highness."
"It's for real!" Sunder stated, evidently excited. "A real Dragon!"
Nina recalled learning something about them in both her history and monster study lessons. Apparently Dragons were evil creatures that had tried to destroy the world but were defeated four hundred years ago… and she had learned that they were powerful.
But if they were that powerful, how were these men able to contain one in a little box like that?
The king seemed thoughtful. "Hm… if what you say is true, then it is a most serious matter."
Balio nodded in agreement. "Indeed, they tried to destroy the world." He moved to the side of the box-shaped thing and grabbed hold of the cloth that covered it. "Your Majesty, I bring you–" He pulled the cloth off and cried dramatically, "–the Dragon!"
Everyone else in the room leaned closer to take a look at this supposed legendary creature, and even Nina did the same. However, as hard as she tried to stare, all she saw was a small boy in a square cage, around the same age as herself, with short messy azure hair. She could not help to notice that he appeared extremely frightened, and that he was ready to burst into tears any time soon.
There was a long silence in the room as everyone stared at the boy, except for the soft gasps of some maids, and Sunder broke it by saying, "Uh, bro…"
"Damn it!" Balio cursed. "He's gone back to being a kid!"
The other half-unicorn shook his head. "Let's try hitting him again!"
He nodded, and then together, both brothers kicked the cage mercilessly, the loud sounds resonating through the hall. The boy in the cage put his arms over his head, as though it would protect him, and he shook with fear as he curled up tightly.
"Hey, kid!" Sunder cried as he kicked as hard as he could. "C'mon! Why won't you change?"
Nina shook her head. "Stop, please! You're scaring him!"
Her father had thought that it was enough as well, for he slammed a hand onto the armrest of his throne, clearly angry at this display of violence in his court. "Enough! Explain yourselves, charlatans!"
The half-unicorns obeyed immediately, slowly backing away from the cage, but they simply could not explain themselves.
"Guards!" the king cried, looking around the audience hall at his trusted soldiers. "Arrest these conmen and their 'Dragon'!"
"Daddy! You can't mean that!" his daughter exclaimed, standing up as the guards complied. "Can't you see how scared he is?"
"I've no choice, Nina…" The king sighed softly. "It might just be an act, so the three of them might be at it together. In that case, I can't let even one of them go free."
The princess shook her head quickly, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "You really can't let him go…?"
"No…" He put a hand on her small shoulder. "I'm sorry, Nina."
She turned her gaze downwards, terribly disappointed in her father. However, she had to remember that he was the king and could not do as he pleased…
"It's… it's okay…" she muttered, but immediately after that, she sped out of the hall, leaving both her parents with concerned expressions on their faces.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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Ryu curled up on the bed at the corner of the prison cell, his back leaning against the stone wall, his knees pulled closed to his chest. Occasionally he sniffed, trying very hard not to cry, but his overwhelming fear made it terribly hard to stay calm. What would happen to him?
He jumped when the loud voice belonging to Sunder from the next cell yelled at him, "It's all your fault, you brat! If only you'd turn into a Dragon, we wouldn't be down here!"
Dragon…?
The green-haired brother let out a frustrated sigh. "Man, we're gonna miss the Contest…"
Ryu remained silent.
It was at that moment when a light tapping sound came from the door of his cell, startling him out of his thoughts. He looked up and his eyes widened when he saw who it was – a small girl about his age.
This girl was slightly shorter than he was, with long blond hair that was tied into a high ponytail with a blue ribbon. She had on a red and white dress that went past her knees, large orange ribbon sewn to the back of the dress, a pair of long pink gloves and black shoes. Her cerulean blue eyes shone with kindness. Somehow, though, Ryu felt that she did not look right without a pair of wings…
He blinked. Wait, what was he thinking?
"Um… hello," she greeted shyly, clasping her hands lightly together behind her. This gesture made her look even shyer.
Ryu approached the cell door slowly, not knowing how to react. "Hello… um, who… are you?"
"I'm Nina…" She hesitated, as though her answer would make him stop listening. "Nina Wyndia."
He blinked. "Wyndia? You're the princess?"
She nodded. "My parents don't know I'm here… do you have a name?"
He realised that he had not mentioned his name. "Oh, it's Ryu… I don't know my family name."
"You don't know your family name…?"
A forlorn expression crept over his face. "Yeah, I don't remember anything about my life before three months ago…" He shook his head and tried to change the subject from his past. "But if you're the princess, why are you here?"
"I… it's just that I feel sorry for you. It must be really horrible to be treated like that…"
He was surprised. "Oh, you don't have to worry about me… it's okay."
"Even so." She nodded. "I don't think it's fair that you're treated like that so… I just thought I'll let you go."
"THANK YOU!" Sunder suddenly yelled, making both of them jump violently.
The two children turned, gazing at the cell door not too far away where the half-unicorns were imprisoned.
Sunder was half-turned towards his brother. "Hear that, bro? She said she'll let us go!"
Nina seemed surprised, then she shook her head. "Um, no, not you… If I let you go, you'll just pick on him again, won't you?"
Balio shook his head and spoke softly that was dripping with false humbleness, "We wouldn't do that, Princess Nina; we won't pick on him again."
His brother nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we won't! I swear it!"
The princess stared at them for a moment, not knowing whether to trust them or not. "…really?"
"No!" Ryu said. "If you let them out, there's no telling what they'd do!"
"Hey, watch i–" Sunder started, but received a hard elbow blow on his chest.
"Yeah, we really won't pick on him again," Balio promised, ignoring the glare that he received. "So… if you'll just… let us out…"
Nina thought for long time, and then to the boy's despair, nodded. "Okay, I trust you enough…"
"N-no!" Ryu cried.
She went over to the switch next to their cell door, fiddled with it for a moment, and the door swung open easily. The half-unicorns, now free, slowly stepped out and stretched.
"Whoo! We're FREE!" Sunder shouted.
Balio turned to Nina and bowed. "Thank you, Princess."
She gazed upward at their tall figures. "And you won't pick on him again, right?"
He shook his head, now with an evil grin on his horse face. "Oh, no, we won't do anything to that kid again…"
Suddenly he swung a hand to the back of her neck, instantly knocking her out with one hit.
"Way to go, bro!" Sunder cheered.
He laughed. "We don't need that freak now… a princess is worth more money anyway!"
Sunder lifted the unmoving princess onto his shoulder easily and they, laughing as they walked, strode down a particular hallway further into the dungeons.
Ryu stared in horror as the brothers cantered off with Nina, and frantically looked for a way to escape from his cell to follow them. However, the cell was so well built that there was no way to escape outside… unless he charged the door down.
Taking whatever chances he had, he threw himself hard against the bars, but immediately recoiled back and landed forcefully on the ground in pain. It took only a moment for him to get back onto his feet despite how painful it was, but to his dismay, the cell door did not even budge an inch.
No! They're getting away with her!
Out of desperation he charged the door down again. Unlike before, however, this time he was filled with a sudden burst of power that he never knew he had, his whole body glowing. When he hit the door, it fell completely off its hinges, landing on the ground with a loud clang.
He stared at the fallen door for a moment, stunned, then shook his head quickly and focused on the task at hand – rescuing the princess.
Not even wondering why the guard was not there, he pulled his confiscated weapon from the nearby cupboard and sped down the dungeon hallway as fast as his little legs could take him, drawing out his short sword in preparation for battle. He didn't give a second thought to whether he could win or not, nor did he feel fear.
"Let me go!" Nina's shrill voice shouted from not too far away, echoing along the dungeon walls. "I said let me GO!"
"No can do, princess!" Balio laughed. "Not until we get our ransom money!"
Filled with an unexplainable burning determination to rescue her, the boy picked up speed. The moment he caught sight of his targets with Nina, he leaped high into the air, his blade gleaming in the light, and slashed downwards at Sunder's broad back.
Unlike the past battles, this time there was no sign of hesitancy in his strike.
"OWW! YOU BRAT!" the half-unicorn cried in fury as he turned, tossing the princess aside. "I'm gonna KILL you for THAT!"
"But what if he turns into a Dragon again?" Balio asked uncertainly. "He seems invulnerable that way…"
His brother seemed too fired up about being hit to care about anything else, for he yelled, "Who cares? He wouldn't dare to do anything stupid while the princess is with us!"
Ryu said nothing and stood his ground, watching the two half-unicorns who were very much bigger than himself, their tails swishing. He was no longer the terrified boy they had seen before, with his sword held in a manner as though he had done it for years – seeing Nina in trouble had somehow sparked a fiery determination from within him.
He quickly healed the princess with his Rejuvenate spell, which woke her up, and then proceeded to divert the brothers' attention while she scrambled to her feet and fled somewhere.
And it was a diversion that definitely drew their attention.
Ryu, with his expression hard and his eyes calm, drew back and doubled over as though in pain, but the half-unicorns could only stare when he began to glow brightly, thunder-like sparks appearing around him.
His mind was only filled with instincts.
To protect.
With a scream, he turned upwards while a great flash of white light engulfed him, and he took the form they had dreaded to see in combat.
A Dragon.
He was still a young Dragon, looking more like a newborn with his size that retained his human height, but with a sharp glare and a blazing resolve that rivalled that of a fully-developed Dragon.
"B-bro!" Sunder exclaimed. "He t-turned into a Dragon!"
Balio snarled. "He's still small, he won't be able to do much damage!"
Oh, how wrong he was.
Ryu gave a high cry, hot energy gathering in his throat, and then threw his head forward, ready to unleash his powerful fiery breath that burned anything flammable in its path. Balio and Sunder yelped as they sped away, hiding around the corner of the hall to escape the fire breath, and yelled so loudly that even the Dragon could hear him.
"Bah! We don't have time for this now!" Balio shouted, in an attempt to appear brave. "We've got more important things to worry about!" He started to trot away. "C'mon! Let's get outta here!"
Sunder, having seen the power of a Dragon's fire breath, was not too keen to stay there either. "Wait for me, bro!"
Ryu continued to glare down the hallway as they fled, unfolding and refolding his wings.
To protect.
But, after a while, he suddenly snapped out of his trance. He felt puzzled as he glanced down at his green body, as though he had just realised his new form. He remained that way even as his body glowed while he reverted back to human form, staring at his small hands.
I'm… a… Dragon…
It had felt wonderful being in the Dragon form, so free and powerful… it was as though he was able to do anything in the world, as if he was able to make people believe with his power alone.
…as though he was able to destroy the world itself.
No… he told himself, shaking his head. I'm not going to destroy the world… I don't want to…
Then, there were light footsteps echoing in the dungeons, belonging to Nina who came running towards him. His heart fell – would she start to avoid him now, knowing that he was a Dragon?
"Are you all right, Ryu?" she asked when she arrived at his side, concerned.
He nodded slowly. "I'm fine, don't worry about me."
What the princess said after that lifted his spirits a little. "I didn't see what happened earlier. I went on hiding once I managed to escape…"
"R-really?" He gave a sigh of relief. "That's good…"
"You're really brave, fighting them like that… I was safe because of you." She smiled. "Thank you, Ryu."
Ryu turned red. "I-it's nothing…"
She giggled a little. "Come on, we should get you out of here!"
"Yeah, but…" He shook his head. "Where can we go?"
Nina seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Let's see… we can't go into the castle because my father will catch you again…" There was a pause as she thought hard. "If I'm right, there's an abandoned passageway here that leads into the city…" She perked up. "I'll take you all the way there!"
The boy shook his head again. "No, it's okay, you should go back up to the castle, just tell me the way and I'll just go there myse–"
"I'll take you all the way to the city!" she insisted. "After all, as a member of the royal family, it's my job to help people in trouble!"
He gave in. "Okay… thanks so much."
The dungeon was huge. It took them a while to find their way through the series of walls and cells, some of which were filled with the foulest criminals. Ryu saw the princess often averted her eyes each time they passed a criminal who yelled curses and obscenities at them; she was obviously a little shaken from this. He clenched his fists – even now, he felt a compelling urge to silence these criminals, all to protect her. Why? He couldn't explain himself.
Soon, they came to the end of the dungeon and arrived at a gate that was chained and locked. Beyond it was a staircase that led downwards.
Nina paused, wondering how to get past it, but then Ryu suddenly lunged, pulling out his sword again, and slashed at the chains, which fell onto the ground in millions of pieces with the lock. Upon sheathing his sword again, he pushed the gate open, which swung easily with a loud creak despite being locked for a long time.
"Wow, you're strong!" Nina exclaimed. "We can get out now!"
The boy turned red again. "No, n-not really…"
Heading downstairs, they came across an underground tunnel, with a lot of tombstones around – it was a catacomb, partially lit by large bonfires located at various parts of the area. As they walked silently, they had to fend off furry dust-like monsters that had infested the area. To Ryu's pleasant surprise, he learned that the princess was able to use magic as well, like Teepo, though most of her spells were different from what he had seen before.
After a while, the silence became rather unnerving, and Nina began a conversation.
"Where were you staying before you were caught and brought to the castle?" she asked as they walked, her ponytail bobbing up and down as she did.
At first the boy only stared at the ground, a strong feeling of sadness taking over him, though after a moment, he told her everything from the time he woke up in Rei and Teepo's cabin until the time he was caught by Balio and Sunder at Mt. Myrneg. Once he had started, he found it rather easy to talk to her, as though she was someone who always listened whenever he had a problem…
Nina remained silent for a moment after she had heard his story, looking crestfallen. "I see, so much have happened to you…" She then shook her head and smiled, trying to reassure him. "Try not to think so much about it, okay? I'll help you to look for Rei and Teepo!"
He tried to smile as well. "Thanks, but it's really okay. You're already helping so much."
"But you saved me too, and besides, it's better to be together with someone than being alone!"
It seemed there was no stopping her once she had made up her mind… but Ryu didn't mind. She was certainly right; he felt better with her at his side than he was alone.
Soon, they came across a path leading to a higher ground, where a particular tombstone stood. It drew Ryu's attention because it had a lot of words carved into it, and even Nina said something about it.
"I think this tombstone is the way to get us out of here…" She paused to think, then smiled sheepishly. "But I don't remember what the captain said about it before."
Ryu, looking at the words, read them out loud, "Remember the red words, not the green…"
It was easy to read the words as there was a bonfire nearby to light it, but he felt confused at the words… then, he realised that three of those words – red, words and green – were raised, like buttons that can be pushed. Acting on a hunch, he pushed the word red.
Suddenly, a hole opened up in the beneath ground beneath him, and he fell with a surprised yell. He landed on his feet like a cat, breathing rapidly from the jolt of surprise, and it took him a while to calm himself down before he could look around at his surroundings.
He was in a smaller area of the catacomb, though there were no tombstones this time. It was like a small cave, with no exits except for the newly made hole above.
"Are you all right, Ryu?" Nina called from the hole.
"I'm fine," Ryu replied. "You were right about the tombstone getting us out, but now we're in a smaller room…"
"Oh, that's right, that's what the captain told me before!" She seemed a little embarrassed. "But I don't know if I can jump down there…"
He shook his head. "It's okay, I'll catch you." He held his arms in front of him. "Here, jump!"
The princess hesitated a little longer before she finally nodded, and then awkwardly moved to a sitting position at the hole. When she pushed herself off the edge, however, she landed right on top of Ryu, and both of them fell with a crash.
"Oh… oops." Nina giggled. "Sorry."
Once they had gotten up from the ground, dusting themselves, the girl gazed at the floor.
"Now, I'm sure he said another hole would be somewhere here…" She took a few cautious steps, and abruptly, she fell through the said hole with a scream.
Ryu, his eyes wide, immediately leaped into the hole right after her and landed beside her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, it just gave me a scare…" She got up, apparently unhurt. "But I wish they would put signs to tell us where the holes are."
He shrugged. "I don't think that'll happen…"
Looking around, they found that they were still in the catacomb, but a cleaner area with tiles on the floor that formed a pathway around neatly arranged dark coffins. Several tombstone-like stones stood around the side of the place, with a carved picture of a winged person on them.
Nina narrowed her eyes slightly to see clearer in the dim place. "Okay, we made it, Ryu." She turned to him. "This is the Royal Graveyard, where my ancestors are buried."
Ryu gave a quick, anxious glance around at the tombstones, wondering if the spirits would appear like how it happened in the McNeil Village mayor's manor.
Luckily for him, she happened to miss his anxious look when she turned to gaze at a stone with the picture of a winged person. "I heard that all the Wyndian's ancestors used to have wings and being able to fly with them… I wonder why we don't now, though."
The boy nearly wanted to say that Wyndians did have wings in the past, but he caught himself before he did. After all, how would he know about it?
She turned back to him, smiling. "C'mon, the city's just outside!"
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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Wyndia was nothing like McNeil Village, as Ryu observed, for it was a huge stone city surrounded by high walls, bigger and much busier than the village – women busied themselves with the laundry, travellers walked up and down while taking in the view, men were repairing broken items, and children ran all over as they played. A strong breeze weaved around the numerous stone houses, powerful enough to move the giant windmills that rose from various locations of the city, yet not strong enough to blow people off their feet. The whole city seemed to be built right on top of a hill, for the back, where the castle stood, was much higher than the front entrance, with several wide staircases leading to the castle.
"Wow…" Ryu breathed before he could stop himself.
"This is Wyndia, the City of Winds!" Nina stated proudly, smiling. "It's a nice place, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. But why are the castle and some houses built so high up? Aren't the people afraid of falling?"
"Well…" She seemed thoughtful. "Remember what I said about some of us believe our ancestors could fly? We don't have wings now anymore than a normal person, but we're still not afraid of heights…" She nodded, grinning. "It just feels wonderful to be so high!"
"I see, so that's how it is… it makes sense too." He heaved a sigh. "But this place is so big, I'm not sure if I'll find them here…"
The princess shook her head. "Don't worry, we'll find them. I'll help you like I promised, okay?"
He smiled slightly. "Thanks, Nina."
"C'mon! Let's go ask some people!"
However, as Ryu had feared, it was not easy to find someone in such a large, busy place. Everyone they spoke either told them that they had not seen anyone that fitted the descriptions, or that they didn't pay attention to all the people around, yet there were some helpful ones who encouraged him, telling him he would definitely find his friends, and some irritated ones who told him to get lost.
Two hours later, Ryu stopped, sighing. "This isn't working…"
Nina shook her head. "Don't give up, I'm still sure we'll find them, even if it takes time!" She glanced around and pointed to a nearby park. "Look, there are some children over there, we can ask them about it, maybe they'll know something."
The boy found it rather hard to smile this time, but he at least attempted to do it. "Okay, we'll give it a try."
There were a lot of children – all around Ryu and Nina's age – running around the area, squealing as they played. The duo slowly approached a particular boy, a brown-haired one, sitting at the fountain and Nina asked, "Excuse me… have you seen a boy with long purple hair?"
"Looking for a boy?" the boy asked, thinking deeply for a moment before his face lit up. "Hm… ah, I know!"
"R-really? You do?" Ryu spoke immediately, now filled with new hope.
"You're playing hide-and-seek, right?" He grinned. "Okay, you're it! You'll have to find all four of us!"
"Yay!" three other children – two boys and a girl – yelled, and then scattered all over the area in search of a hiding spot.
"Don't chicken out on us now!" the boy, who seemed to be the leader of the group, stated, and then ran off to hide himself.
Ryu was filled with a huge disappointment again – he clearly knew that Teepo wasn't playing hide-and-seek… but it was no good telling the children that, for they were already gone.
"We should still find them," Nina told him, trying to cheer him up. "You said Teepo's a child like us, right? So maybe they'll know something we don't."
He looked up. "Yeah, you're right…" Once again determined, he beamed and nodded. "Let's go find them then!"
It took them sometime to find all four children hidden around the park, though they had fun. Since Rei and Teepo weren't the sort to play games, this was Ryu's first game and it was the first time he had so much fun laughing. It was as though his sad beginnings were already forgotten.
Once they had found the four children, all of them met at the water fountain once again. The leader of the small group grinned as he remarked, "Wow, you're pretty good at this game!"
"Thanks, and it's the first time I had so much fun!" Ryu replied honestly, grinning as well.
Nina giggled a little. "Me too!"
"Right, you said something about looking for some kid?" the brown-haired boy asked. When the other two nodded, he shook his head. "Loads of people come to Wyndia, though not many of them are kids and I don't really remember seeing purple hair on them."
"I see…" Ryu sighed softly, feeling disappointed again.
"But hey, a little while ago, a robber broke into that house over there." He pointed towards a particular house next to a row of shops. "That robber was a kid about your size, and I heard he gave the owner quite a beating."
The blue-haired boy perked up. That sounded like Teepo!
Nina noticed his excitement and continued questioning the leader of the children. "What happened to the boy? Where did he go?"
"Oh, I heard he got beaten up and took off… I think he went down the road outside the city."
Ryu nodded. "Thanks, we'll try looking there."
Nina beamed. "Let's go, Ryu!"
Once outside the walls of Wyndia, they were greeted by a vast green land filled with forests and hills, reminding them that it was still spring. Hoping that they would catch up with the aforementioned robber, they hurried down the road that led away from the city, a road that Ryu recognised – he had passed by here before in a cage when Balio and Sunder caught him at Mt. Myrneg.
Soon, they arrived at a T-junction, a place that Nina called Eygnock Road. There was no sign of anyone around, which made Ryu feel a little dejected, but noticing the small hut, he decided to ask the residents there in case they had seen anyone.
He pushed the door cautiously, peeking into the hut to see who the residents were, and found an old couple sitting on chairs by the fireplace.
"Hey, granny…" the old man spoke in a rasping voice. "We have another little visitor."
"Oh my, two visitors in a day!" the old woman stated with a soft laugh. "Come in, come in!"
Ryu nodded slightly and stepped inside, but as soon as he did, Nina's shrill voice screamed loudly outside. A look of horror came to his face, and with a hurried goodbye to the elderly couple, he sped outside.
The moment he did, however, he froze.
Balio and Sunder stood triumphantly in his path, with Nina struggling in Balio's tight grip.
"Ryu!" the princess cried.
"Nina!" Ryu exclaimed, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Don't even think about it, my little lizard friend…" Balio said, his voice dangerous.
The boy gritted his teeth, anger boiling up inside him, but there was nothing he could do but to lower his hand. After all, they might hurt Nina…
"Good move, punk!" Sunder grinned evilly. "There's no use resisting!"
His brother shrugged with one shoulder. "Well, we don't really care about you anyway, since we have the princess… but things would bet messy if you ratted on us, see?" He shook his head. "But it'll be even messier if we try to kill you here and you turn into a Dragon again…"
Sunder neighed. "But don't worry, we've figured it out!" He approached the glaring boy. "Say GOOD NIGHT!"
Suddenly he gave a powerful kick at Ryu, so hard that it made him collapse immediately.
"Ryu! No!" Nina screamed, tears beginning to form, but her attempt was futile.
For Ryu was already unconscious.
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End of Chapter Six.
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Author's Note:
On a side note, I did try to win the second battle against Balio and Sunder in the game by turning into a Dragon (yes, it's possible), but after about twenty tries, I just gave up and read the game script instead. o_o
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Review Replies for Chapter Five:
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To Jonathan Priest:
Great to see you're still reading this novelisation as well as liking it! :D
I, too, prefer adult Ryu's part of the story to child Ryu's, as it has a slightly darker feel (I've this tendency to write not-so-happy stories…) and also the fact that I'm not too good at portraying children just yet. There's always that question of the difference in portraying a child and an adult. T_T
I like Rei too; his "WOOHEE" cry early in the game is just hilarious! It's what made me drawn to him in the first place. xP
I was actually a bit worried about readers' reception when I was writing that… uh, depressing period with Bunyan when Ryu woke up alone. There are two reasons; the first is, despite the fact that Ryu grows strong later on, I always saw him as a weak, indecisive boy at this point of the story, so I always thought the game's take on the scene doesn't have that much emotional magnitude (the music helps though o_o). For a weak, indecisive person, it'll take a lot to muster the strength and determination to break out from the sadness that overwhelms, or at least, that's what I felt.
As for the second reason; like you, I thought of Bunyan as a gentle giant, but with a rough / gruff side and a kind heart. From the way he emphasised the importance of honest work, I thought of it as his way of living, and from the way he mentioned the harsh truth on the Nue after they killed them, I thought of him as the blunt it's-harsh-but-you'll-have-to-face-it kinda guy.
That's why I did that scene. I was worried for a bit… but I'm glad you liked it. :D
Thanks for the review!
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To Airess Byrd:
Yeah, I always find the separation very sad. I tried to emphasise on Ryu's feelings and attachments to his only family, hence the lengthy depression period.
And I've always liked the idea of Ryu's Dragon powers turning his mind to become animal-like, full of instincts, during the times he don't have much control of his powers yet. It's never a good idea to have such great powers when you have little control (or knowledge) over it, right? Glad you like it though. :D
Thanks for the review!
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To Nina Windia:
Thanks! It's great to hear that you like the chapter and the extra scene between Ryu and Teepo. The game just feels… a little flat at that part, and they used the narration thing a lot, though I try to avoid using that prologuey thingy too much. And if Ryu can feel that uneasy, why can't Teepo? :D
Thanks for the review!
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To Kestre Wynde:
Yeah, it's rather sad that Ryu's so young and he already has to go through so much pain and sadness. T_T I sometimes like to bully the main character; in my first (original) novel, the main character has it worse than Ryu, and almost all the time. o_o
Thanks for reviewing!
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To darkgryffon:
Yeah, it's sad for Ryu; even before he could remember anything about his past, he just loses a lot of things… which is why this novelisation turned out pretty sad. :(
Thanks for the review and the compliments, glad you like my novelisation!