So, this is updated a day early because I'm going to states today with my cross country team (wish us luck), and won't be back until late tomorrow night or early Sunday morning. So…enjoy?

Thank you Bond of Flame08 and Eddie Camp for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Thirty: Traveling

"Gillick!"

One amber eye flicked open. "What is it, Riun?" the older boy asked tiredly.

Riun looked at him plaintively, excitement burning in his eyes. "You said you'd teach me stuff today!"

Gillick snorted, eyes shifted towards the window. "It's not even light out yet," he commented.

After their conversation the day before, the trio had caved and decided to stay in the inn for the night. Mala, however, had been adamant about not spending money on food. At this point, Gillick didn't really care enough to complain.

"Yeah, but but but…!"

"No buts," Gillick responded. "I'll teach you after we leave."

"Then why don't we get going?"

He jumped in surprise at the new voice, and whipped his head around to see Mala standing in the doorway. "You're up, too?" She nodded. Gillick rolled his eyes skyward, muttering, "Doesn't anyone sleep around here?"

"Aren't we supposed to be running from an assassin?" Mala asked, her voice sickly sweet.

Gillick sighed in exasperation. "Fine. I'm up."

Not much later the trio were leaving the inn and walking down the road in the darkness of the night. It wasn't until they left the town far behind that Gillick turned his attention to Riun. "What do you know about magic?" he demanded immediately.

Riun hesitated, apparently startled by the question. "Um…Keybladers use it."

When he was silent for several moments, Gillick prompted, "Anything else?"

"Well…what you told us you learned from other people," Riun added. "I know that some magic is used to attack, and some to heal." He shivered, and continued in a small, quite voice. "The Knight used attack magic."

Gillick nodded. "It's a start, anyways." He paused, thinking. How was he going to do this…?

"Well, 'Master'?" Mala prompted, amusement filling her voice. "Aren't you going to start teaching him?"

"I'm getting there!" Gillick snapped. He inhaled deeply and turned back to Riun, choosing his next words carefully. "From what I learned and saw during my travels, magic is based on the individual. How much of it you can use depends on how much 'magical power' you have stored up inside you. When you drain all that power, you have to wait until it restores itself to use magic again. This means you have to be careful about how much and when you use magic when fighting."

He could sense Mala's surprise at his knowledge of the subject, and hoped he hadn't said to much. Riun, however, seemed to take it in stride and nodded vigorously. "So, someone like the Knight must have a lot of magical power."

"Probably," Gillick conceded.

"So…the Keyblade gives magical power to people, but other people just have it naturally, right?"

"From what I know," Gillick confirmed.

"Is it different for Keybladers to use magic than other people who can, then?"

"How should I know?" Gillick spluttered, though he brought up and excellent point. How different were the two types of magic users? He hoped not too much, or else teaching Riun would just be that much more difficult. "Look, what I do know on that subject is that Keybladers will a lot of times channel their magic through their Keyblades." Because it's easier, he added silently. "Other magic users, however, don't have that option."

Riun nodded again. "Ok, so, what do I do?"

Gillick paused again. How to answer this without giving anything away…? …He hoped the pause would make it seem like he was less knowledgeable in magic than he actually was.

"Well," he said finally, "from what it sounds like, you'll have to reach for this magical power and channel it somehow."

"Ok!"

Mala seemed nervous. "Gillick, are you sure this is a good i-"

Her words turned into a startled cry of surprise as fire erupted in a giant blaze from Riun's hand. "Turn it down!" Gillick barked in alarm.

"How?" Riun asked in dismay.

"Cut down on the magical power!" Instantly, the fire dissipated, a few stubborn embers blinking in the night before fading into oblivion.

"Ok," Gillick growled, "maybe before we try that again, I should tell you about spells."

"Spells?" Riun queried.

Gillick nodded. "Spells are how magic is released. There are elemental spells, such as Fire, healing spells, such as Cure, and effect spells, such as Stop. Most spells can gain higher levels of power as a person trains. What you just used is a 'Fira' spell, which is the second stage of a Fire spell."

"Cool!" Riun exclaimed, sounding excited by thee fact that he could already use a higher level spell.

Gillick snorted. "Don't get too excited, kid; higher level spells may be more powerful, but they take more from you. And, for the record, you usually can't stop them in the middle of an attack."

Riun nodded. "So, can I use anything else?"

"You'd know that better than me," Gillick responded in mild agitation. "But I'm guessing that, at the moment, you only have fire based spells."

The sky had steadily been growing brighter as they talked. As the sun peeked over the horizon, Gillick suppressed a sigh. This is going to be a long journey…

The assassin looked around the area Viril had taken her to suspiciously. "Humph. A bit dark, isn't it?"

"I thought assassins liked the darkness," Viril responded dryly.

"Oh, we do," she agreed. "But who would've thought the 'defenders of the world' would live in someplace so well hidden in it. Hiding something, hmmm?"

Viril seemed a bit agitated by this comment. He carried her forward, either not trusting her not to try running away/committing suicide and murder, or not believing she'd be able to walk where he wanted her to go on her own.

…He was probably right not to trust her on both regards.

He opened a cell and tossed her in. The assassin looked at him with a glare. He snapped his fingers, and another person appeared next to him. "Here are some clothes," Viril said as the other Keyblader through them in beside her. Then he shut the door and left.

"Aren't you even going to tell me why I'm here?" the assassin barked. She got no answer.

She sighed, slipping on the ragged burlap clothing. 'Rags' was a more apt name. She felt more naked without her weapons, truthfully, than without clothes. She had thoughts about killing herself, but quickly reminded herself that she still had a target wandering around. I can't die, she decided, until I've killed him.

"Hello. Who are you?"

The assassin whipped her head around and saw a girl staring at her through the bars of her cell. "What's it to you?" she responded harshly.

The girl recoiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you!" she stammered. "But I've been alone for a while, and…"

The assassin sighed. She was trapped here as much as she was…or was she? Was this actually an elaborate trap?

…She didn't know, but if it was, she didn't want to be caught in it.

"My name is Allia," she informed the girl tartly, "and that's all you'll be getting from me."

"Nice to meet you, Allia," the girl said cheerfully. "My name's Cheeka."

"Cheeka?" Allia barked out in laughter. "What kind of name is that?" Cheeka looked embarrassed. "I-I know it's a funny name, but…it's my name."

Despite her reservations, Allia found herself liking the girl. Not enough to reveal much, of course, but enough to think it may not be so bad to be stuck in this cell for a while longer. Which is good, she thought, because I have a feeling I'm going to be miserable after I leave…

The days seemed to blur together as Gillick, Mala, and Riun traveled together. Each day Gillick talked to Riun about magic, and tried to teach him about how to use his newfound talent. Riun was making progress; slowly, but he was. The rest of the time was spent either looking for food, sleeping, or looking for Silver.

During everything, Mala found herself feeling a bit left out. She didn't know much about magic, and she wasn't all that interested in finding Silver…especially not just so Gillick could kill her. She was good at finding food, at least; her skills with a bow and arrow allowed her to shoot game and bring it make to her comrades. Riun usually made the fire now, as practice for his magic, though usually a good supply of water was kept nearby.

She'd listen a lot when Gillick talked to Riun about magic. She found the subject fascinating, and was surprised by how much the boy knew about it. She knew he'd said he'd done a lot of traveling, but…she hadn't been sure she'd believed him before. Though still somewhat wary of him, and still not overly fond of him, she was beginning to grow more and more curious of this amber-eyed boy.

His eyes were just another mystery to him. She knew what an eye color like his meant; she'd heard it from many, many people, whether they were speaking directly to her or speaking to others in her vicinity. Amber eyes meant that a person had been infused with darkness, the affect of it changing their physical appearance. She wondered how, then, Gillick's eyes had become that shade, and if that was the reason he and Trevor had ended up fighting. After all, Trevor was a Keyblader for the Light Army.

Maybe Gillick had gone to darkness because Trevor was a Keyblader and he wasn't. Maybe he'd gotten jealous, but after beating Trevor had been ashamed. Maybe that was why he'd gone on his travels around his world. And maybe it was part of the reason he hated Keybladers so much.

…But she wasn't getting anywhere by guessing. She'd tried asking him about the subject again, but he'd dodged the questions she threw at him.

Riun was much easier to understand and much more willing to talk. He was always excited about anything new he learned in magic, and was quick to show her. He could only do two spells at this point - Fire and Fira - but he seemed quite proud of them. Mala would smile, happy for him, and glad he was a bit more open than their other companion.

But she still couldn't help hoping that Gillick would finally open up and reveal who he really was, instead of hiding himself behind his façade. Because, even though he may claim that he's no hero, he had the faith of both Trevor and Riun. And…he was starting to gain her faith, as well.

The woman looked over her soldiers from where she stood above them. They milled around the camp, the daily activity a comforting sight. The camp was temporary, of course; they couldn't afford to stay in one place long.

"Your orders, Silver?" The woman lifted her head slightly at the voice, her green eyes glinting. "Did the ambush go as planned?"

"Yes, ma'am. All targets dead."

"Good." Silver closed her eyes briefly. "Now is the best time for us to begin packing up. People will start asking questions, and we don't want to be anywhere nearby when they do."

"Of course, ma'am."

She stood in silence as her warrior left to relay her orders. She watched as the camp was quickly disassembled. She lifted her head to the sky, the wind blowing around her and sending her short hair flying.

She was Silver, and below her were her loyal warriors, the Silver Fang.

That's it for chapter thirty. Review?