This is chapter thirty - one. Thank you the Twilight's Shad0w and caitlinkeitorin for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Thirty - One: Magic and Sword

"Can I learn any more spells?"

Gillick groaned, rolling his eyes. This question had cropped up fairly often after Riun had begun learning magic…and Gillick replied with the same answer as always. "You haven't mastered the two spells you do know yet!"

"But I will!" Riun protested.

Gillick narrowed his eyes. "But you haven't yet. Besides, what makes you think I know how to teach spells?" He was still trying to be careful about how much information he gave the boy and Mala.

"Because…you're a hero?"

"Is that your answer to everything?" One of Gillick's eyes twitched. He could only tolerate people for so long before he got agitated, and he tolerated these two for far longer than he normally did.

"You are teaching him how to control his magic," Mala pointed out mildly.

He shot her a glare. "Did I ask for your opinion?"

Mala shrugged, not meeting his gaze. "No, but I gave it anyways."

Gillick frowned at her. She'd been acting strange lately, and he wasn't sure why. He almost asked her what was wrong, then stopped himself. Better not to get involved in other people's business, he decided. Though he was getting along better with his two companions than he did with most others, he still wasn't entirely comfortable around them, and though he was sometimes curious on their thoughts, he was never curious enough to pry into them.

Besides, he was too busy trying to teach Riun magic and search for Silver to bother too much with them.

The thought of the woman he was tracking brought about another eye twitch. Silver. She was proving frustratingly difficult to find. If his pride had allowed it, he would've quit long ago and found someone easier to hunt down. But, of course, it hadn't. So he was stuck looking for the woman, and finding himself growing increasingly aggravated.

He halted suddenly. "Let's take a break."

Two pairs of surprised eyes turned to look back at him. "Did…you just say 'let's take a break'?" Mala asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Gillick growled in response, amber eyes flashing. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Uh, no," Mala responded quickly, blinking in surprise. "You just…surprised me."

He snorted. "Whatever." He drew his sword, stalking away by himself.

He walked until a copse of trees hid him from Mala and Riun. Then he began the dance of the sword.

After the period of time he'd spent healing and all the practice he'd put himself through, he was almost completely back to his normal speed. He cut and arc through the air, relishing the feel of the sword in his hand. The point of his sword touched the grass before he quickly swung it up and out. He allowed his momentum to carry him around in a spin, as if forcing multiple enemies back, before delivering a powerful slash. He ducked low and kicked out with his legs, balancing briefly on his hands as he spun around. He sprang back to an upright position he jerked his sword upward, the blade stretched straight out. The move would've gutted his opponent all the way up through their skull.

From there Gillick proceeded into a simply three-strike combo, then proceeded instantly into another. Then he jabbed the tip of his sword into the ground, jumping and kicking out. He jerked his sword free before he landed. When his feet hit ground, he immediately crouched low and swung his sword in a low arc. He sprang powerfully upwards, bringing his sword high above his head and bringing it down with powerful force to the ground. The blade cut several inches into the earth, but Gillick didn't let it stay imbedded long; he jerked it free and spun part way around, lifting the sword in an upward arc that would decapitate an enemy's head.

He didn't know how long he went on like that, slashing and spinning and lunging, rejoicing in the feel of holding a sword. He even appreciated the slight pain that pulsed from his wounds, and the ache of fatigue; a little pain, after all, was a good thing.

He finally stopped, the tip of his sword resting on the ground as he bent over, panting. Then he jabbed the tip of his weapon into the soft ground and slowly lowered himself down beside it. He rested one hand across his leg and lowered his head, slowly closing his eyes.

Without his companions or the search for Silver or his training to distract him, Gillick found his mind wandering to other things. Chiefly among them, as it had so often been after he'd returned to his homeland, was his past. He exhaled slowly as he recalled his fierce battle with Trevor years ago; the battle that had both doomed him and saved him. "No matter what I do," he murmured, opening his eyes slightly, "I'm never going to escape my past."

"And what about it are you so anxious to escape?"

Startled, Gillick jumped to his feet and spun around, jerking his sword from the ground in one smooth movement. Mala stood before him, giving him a curious look. "What are you doing here?"

"You were gone for a while, so I came looking for you," she responded with a shrug.

Gillick snorted. "Oh, really?" he replied disbelievingly. "You were just so worried about me."

Mala's blue eyes narrowed. "Mock all you want, but it's true."

"Whatever," Gillick muttered, straightening and sheathing his sword.

Mala turned partly away, then shot him a sidelong glance. "What about your past are you running from?" she tried again.

"It's none of your business," Gillick responded, stalking past her.

"Why not?" she protested, jogging to catch up with him. "We're traveling together now, aren't we?"

"That doesn't mean you have the right to pry into my life," Gillick snapped at her. "I didn't ask you about what's been wrong with you, now did I?"

He realized too late what he'd said, and he saw her eyes flicker with surprise. "Because you were just so worried about me?" she asked quietly, though the words didn't hold the same mocking his had.

He snorted. "You're imagining things," he informed her.

She rolled her eyes at his response, but made no other comment.

Riun raced up to them as they came into his plane of vision. "Are you going to help me with magic now?"

Gillick sighed, rolling his eyes. "Sure, kid. Whatever." Riun jumped for joy, causing the older boy a prick or irritation. "Don't you ever calm down?" he growled.

"Why should I when I'm excited?" Riun responded, grinning.

Gillick's eye twitched. Here we go again…

After several days of being stuck in her cell without anything happening, Allia was quickly growing bored. "If they're going to capture us, they could at least do something with us," she grumbled.

Cheeka glanced nervously across at her from her cell. "Are you sure you want them to?"

"It's better than waiting around and wondering," Allia replied sourly.

"Well…maybe," Cheeka consented slowly.

Allia's head whipped around as she felt an oppressive darkness coming towards them. Not as deep as Viril's darkness, but powerful, nonetheless. "Who are you?" she barked, jerking upright.

"You noticed me?" a voice answered. "That's impressive." And into the faint torchlight stepped a man.

Allia frowned at him, a silently berated herself for her mistake. "I'm an assassin," she scoffed with mock confidence. "That's what I do."

"Maybe it is," the man agreed, a dark smirk playing on his lips. "Why not make this meeting a bit more informal? My name is Xuren." Her looked to her, the flickering of his amber eyes implying that he expected her to reply in kind.

"I'm somebody," she responded tartly, spitting at him.

He drew back, at first looking angry at her reaction, before his face contorted into sadistic amusement. "Stubborn. Now, I'm the one in charge of getting information out of you." Xuren's eyes glittered with a wild, insane fire. Allia tensed. She'd seen that look before; those who wore it couldn't be trusted. They were unpredictable, with sadism lacing their veins. She didn't like the idea of being interrogated by this man. "Answer me, and I'll let you go."

Oh, will you, now? She kept the thought to herself, even though she could tell he was lying.

"Why don't we start with how you knew I was here?" Xuren queried.

"That's none of your beeswax!" the assassin informed him. It was a secret she'd kept close to her, ever since she was little; she could feel the amount of darkness and light from within their wielders. Most average people didn't use either of the elements regularly, so she was unable to sense them. However, Keybladers often used one or the other extensively, and, depending on the amount they used, she could feel the power of their presence from different distances. The darkness was oppressive and ominous; the light was just as oppressive and hot. It was always unnerving to find herself in the company of someone such as Viril or Tollun, who used their elements so often that their power nearly had a physical effect on her.

And then there was the case of Gillick Nogard. He was…odd. From him, she'd felt what could best be considered a combination between the two elements; an ominous heat, but without any of the oppressiveness that normally accompanied them. It made her curious.

The thoughts flitted through her mind in only a few instants. It was a good thing, because Xuren was soon moving on to his next question. "Fine; whatever it is, it doesn't matter to us. But what does matter is what you know about something called the X-blade."

At this, Allia was genuinely puzzled. "The Keyblade?" she scoffed. "And here I thought Keybladers were supposed to know all about their weapons."

"Not the Keyblade!" Xuren snapped. "The X - blade!"

"You're saying the exact same thing!" Allia snapped back at him.

Xuren narrowed his eyes, fury dancing in their depths. "We'll talk later," he promised her. "I was told I couldn't play with you yet." Here he let a sadistic smirk cross his face, his eyes gleaming, before he spun on his heel and strode out of the dungeon.

"This is ridiculous," Gillick growled under his breath.

Another day had passed, with still no sign of Silver. Mala shrugged in nonchalance. "Maybe she's hiding from you," she teased.

He shot her a glare. "Don't," he warned her.

She flinched then sighed, lowering her gaze. "Just trying to lighten the mood," she muttered.

"We could practice my magic!" Riun said, leaping to his feet.

"Fine," Gillick muttered. Even though the trio had stopped to rest for a while in a small clearing, he'd found himself pacing back and forth across it, anxious to be on their way again. Perhaps working with Riun would take his mind off things.

He walked a little distance away with the boy, then spun around and faced him, commanding, "Cast Fire."

Riun did so quickly, calling out "Fire!" as he did. A small ball of fire flew from his hand towards a rock, where it dissipated.

Gillick nodded with approval; the ball of fire was fairly well formed and controlled. "Now Fira."

Riun concentrated harder. "Fira!"

The result was a larger fireball that ended up exploding in the boy's face. He fell to the ground with a cry of surprise. "Try again," Gillick commanded.

Riun nodded. "Mm-kay."

This had become routine for them: every time Riun failed, Gillick would tell him to try again. Fire was a simple spell, and had been easy for the boy to master. Fira was a bit more complicated, and would take more time. Until the boy learned it, Gillick was forcing himself to be patient with him.

But what happens after he perfects the spell? That he had no answer for. Then, Riun would want other spells to learn. Gillick could teach them to him…but not without the risk of his companions learning he could use magic or, worse, learning that he had once been a Keyblader. And that wasn't something he was going to let happen any time soon.

There's the end of chapter thirty - one. Please review?