Welcome to yet another chapter of The Blades of Destiny! Sorry that this is late, I've been laid up with stuff. Oh, and so you guys know, my writing style is put together so that it leaves the blanks up to the reader's imagination. So quite telling me to describe more than I believe necessary. Anywho, THE FIC IS THE THING!
I only own my OC(s).
Golden Garden, Tuesday, 10:30 AM.
John's eyes shot open wide when he first saw the Golden Garden. If he thought that the Barde garden was amazing, he thought this was spectacular. The air felt cleaner than at the surface. The water was clear of any pollutants. The flora had its own special beauty in each flower and tree.
He was still admiring the area around him when he noticed that Arianna and Tony were knelt at the edge of the large lake in the center of everything. They had each placed a water lily on the surface and pushed them towards the middle of the lake. Once there, they rose and said, "We remember you, Loosha."
He walked over to the younger children. "Who was Loosha?"
Tony softly began to cry as Arianna sorrowfully answered. "Loosha was our friend, probably the last of her kind. She was like us, alone in the world with no one to care for us. We had stuck together through everything, until Descole tried to destroy the town while searching for this place. She gave her life to protect the town."
He placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "I'm sorry for your loss. It sounds like she was an amazing friend."
"She was the best friend anyone could have," Tony moaned.
John stood there with the two for the time they mourned their friend. He could almost feel the loss himself as they wept. Loosha apparently meant their whole world to them.
After they had finished, they showed the group through the forest. There was a path of grass that was grew a slightly more blue shade than the rest. It led them to a large wall made of brass. It looked completely out of place in the tranquil landscape.
"We found this a few days ago," Arianna explained. "There's no door knob, no key hole, no anything."
Flora walked up and examined the wall closely. She ran her hand back and forth across the face of the brass a few times before she stopped. "What's this?" She rubbed the space a little harder, knocking off a layer of dirt. Behind it there was a plaque with these words on it:
Aditus rejicitur ad omnes, sed ipse
qui dat Walker sanguine libere.
Emmy snapped a picture of the plaque as Layton stepped closer to read it. "What does it say?" Grosky asked as he looked over the professor's shoulder.
Layton shook his head. "I don't know. All I can tell is that it is in Latin. But I never learned the language."
"Entrance is rejected to all but he who gives Walker's blood freely." Everyone looked in amazement at John. "My ancestry can be traced back to Roman times. I thought it fitting to learn the dead language."
"What does it mean by 'Walker's blood?'" Luke asked.
"Does anyone remember my last name? It's Walker." John then reached for the end of his lanyard and revealed what hung on the end, a silver ring with a golden chain around the middle. "This ring has been in my family for thousands of years. It was given to me by my grandfather on his death bed. But it is no ordinary ring." He twisted the chain, causing the inside to become serrated. "It was meant to draw blood."
"Will it hurt you?" Flora took a step closer to him.
"It will puncture my skin, but there won't be any permanent damage."
"That didn't answer the question."
John hesitated. "...Yes." He didn't listen to everyone around him as he retracted the serration, slipped on the ring, and slowly twisted the chain back. He grimaced as the blade cut the flesh. Then, retracting the serrated ring, he smeared the blood onto the plaque.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. Slowly but surely, the wall began to slide to the right, revealing what looked like a hallway. John began to walk in, but Flora stopped him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him gently over to Luke. Reaching into his satchel, she brought out a roll of gauze, which she used to wrap his wound.
Soon, they were all walking down the hallway. To each side were glass cases, each filled with some article of weaponry or armor. "I can't believe this is here," John stated in awe.
Arianna looked at him in confusion. "What is this?"
"Imagine a legacy. A legacy of the greatest family in history. Sword smiths, armor smiths, warriors, buglers, everything. This hall holds a piece of every member of the legacy."
Emmy had been taking pictures non stop since they had entered the hall. However, at one case, she stopped. "Uh, Professor. Could you come here please?"
Layton walked over to where she was and saw what she sounded worried about: an empty case. "Curious. It appears that someone has been here before us."
John hustled over to the case in question. When he saw that the lack of items in the case, he shouted and began to check all the others. "NO! WHERE ARE THEY?"
That told them all what was supposed to be in that case. The very thing that had drawn them to Misthallery in the first place. The Swords of Destiny.
Town Square, Tuesday, 11:30 AM.
John was heart-broken. The rest of the group literally had to drag him out of the Golden Garden. He didn't want to believe that they were gone. But soon, he had to realize the fact.
Most of the others had gone to investigate around town to see if they could find out anything else on Descole and the Swords. He, however, sat on a bench in town square, thinking depressed thoughts of why anyone would steal his family's treasures.
How did they? Nothing but a Walker's blood could open the door to that vault. And there was no way they could have gotten their hands on some. It's not as though his family ran a blood drive.
As he sat there moping, someone came over and placed themselves next to him. It was Flora. "I'm really sorry about the vault, John."
"It's not your fault, Flora. I just want to know how they got into there. Only my family's blood can open it."
"What about Emily and Peter? Those children from your flashbacks? Aren't they your relatives?"
John looked at her. "They're my cousins. Well, they were my cousins. I don't even know if they are still alive."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing for things you aren't responsible for. If you have no control over the affair, then you don't have to apologize."
"I can feel sorry for you though."
"You barely even know me."
"I've felt your loss though. Every time we've been in a Shockback, I've felt everything you felt."
John was beat here. He hadn't thought much about the Shockbacks since they've been happening. He knew little about how they worked. They just kind of... happen. "True enough."
She placed her hand over mine. "Tell me about how you got that ring."
He smiled at her. "How about I show you?" He closed his eyes and began to focus on that day, many years ago.
~Flashback~
John, Peter, and Emily all knelt down at their grandfather's bedside. The old man, Jeremy Walker, had taken care of them ever since the fire that had killed their parents.. But know, it was him that was dying. John just couldn't stop his tears from flowing.
Tenderly, the old man put his hand on the boy's face. "Don't cry for me, my boy."
"But... But..."
Emily reached for her grandfather's hand. "Please..."
"There is nothing you can do. My time has come." Then, he reached under his pillow and produced a box. "I have these labeled. Each one of you gets one. Now, let me sleep." He closed his eyes as the three of them left the room.
John then opened the box. There were three pieces of jewelry: a necklace for Emily, a bracelet for Peter, and a ring for John. They put these on and walked out of the house, taking one more look as they left.
Now, there was nothing left for them here."
~Present~
John and Flora opened their eyes and looked at each other. "John... I..."
"I know." His eyes began to tear up as he turned his head. "I wish that I could see him again. He was the only one who cared for us. The only one who loved us."
Flora put her arms around him. "He sounded like a great man. I wish I could have met him. But you know, he is no longer the only one that cares about you."
John looked back into her eyes when she said this. "What do you mean by that?"
She only stared back into his eyes. Slowly, they began to move their lips closer together. John knew exactly what she meant now. This was the clearest thing he had even been told.
And soon, they shared their first kiss.
Chapter Complete. Again, sorry this took so long to get put up. I've been busy as of late. Anyway, R&R AND ADIOS!