"I wondered what ever caused that force field that didn't allow magic to be used," Canas pondered out loud. "I still don't understand."
"The question is who did it," Dart said. "Not how it worked."
Canas chuckled. "I suppose so. Maybe I should read up on it, though…I am still quite curious…" he trailed off and looked too deep in thought to carry on the conversation. Dart shrugged and started to hum to himself as he walked along. He glanced over to the right to see Rebecca looking at him. Realizing that he had caught her staring, she quickly looked back away. Eyebrows knotting slightly, he walked over to her.
"Can I help ye, lass?"
She glanced over at him so quickly that her neck cracked. She winced and put her hand against the back of her neck. "Ow."
"Ouch. Ye oughta be more careful; don't wanna get hurt before another battle, eh?"
She smiled wearily. "Yes, you're right," she chuckled. "As if the last two battles weren't enough."
"I like battlin'!" Dart grinned. "It's fun and time consumin'!"
Rebecca's green eyes widened slightly and she tilted her head to the side, looking lost in a world of thoughts and memories. Dart snapped his fingers in front of her face and she quickly shook her head.
"Ye alright, lass?"
"Oh yes…it's just…" She looked away, biting the bottom of her lip.
"It's just what?"
"You just…look like someone I know. Someone I knew many years back," she murmured.
"Oh? Who?"
"…My brother Dan."
"Hmm," Dart said as he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Name don't ring a bell. Oh wait, it does actually!"
"It does?" Rebecca asked excitedly, looking at him with hopeful eyes.
"Aye, that other archer-Wil, I think-thought that I was some guy named Dan. Weird, huh?"
"Yeah," Rebecca said glumly, looking down at the ground as she marched on. "Weird."
Dart was quiet for a few moments before he said, "What's your name?"
"Rebecca," she answered half-heartedly.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Rebecca!" Dart said cheerfully, trying to brighten her mood. "Ye know, you're quite young to be in an army."
She looked up at him, lips pursed. "I am not!" she huffed indignantly. "I can shoot pretty well and I can catch my own food!"
He chucked. "I'm just messin' with ya, lass! Surely if you've survived all this way, ye must be a darn good shot!"
She smiled. "Thanks. I know I can still do better, though!"
"A few more times at practice and you're a pro."
Rebecca opened her mouth to answer but closed it as everybody in front of her stopped walking. Turning her head to look at why everybody was stopping, she let her mouth drop again. Up ahead was a building like no other. It towered over the growing army, walls as tall as countless Hectors. The grand gate-The Dragon's Gate-was wide open, begging them to enter.
"Stay close together, everybody," Eliwood said to his comrades. There was no need to shout; everybody was silent. The three lords walked in first and were greeted by stone statues of dragons. They glanced around, hands near their weapons, but there appeared to be no sign of life.
Ninian was shivering, red eyes darting everywhere. "No…I shouldn't have come," she whispered and the lords turned to her, concerned.
"What is it, Ninian?" Eliwood asked worriedly.
"Something awful w-will happen…if I…I am here…" she said, grabbing onto her head as if in pain, eyes closed tightly.
"She's getting worse!" Eliwood shouted in alarm. "Let's get her out of here!"
Just as he grabbed onto her arm, a cold voice said, "You'll not be going anywhere."
Somebody appeared out of thin air in front of Ninian and the lords. A few people yelped. The intruder's eyes were bright amber, his hair and cloak a jet black.
"That little bird has escaped this island cage twice," he mused, pupils turning cat-like as he looked at Ninian. "Now that she's back, she'll not be able to escape again."
"Who are you?" Eliwood shouted as he jumped in front of a shivering Ninian protectively.
"I am Ephidel. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," he said and half-bowed in mock.
"You're Ephidel?" Hector roared, pushing past Ninian and Eliwood. "I've been waiting for this!"
"You must be Marquess Ostia's brother, Lord Hector," Ephidel said calmly. "And you," he said, eerie eyes traveling to Lyn, "are Caelin's beloved princess, Lady Lyndis."
Lyn didn't answer, eyebrows knotted, hand on the hilt of her sword.
"By the way, the gift I left you in the forest…was it to your liking? The corpse of that filthy redheaded traitor?"
"FIEND!" Hector roared in rage as he raised his ax. "I'm going to crush the life out of you with my bare hands!"
"Oh, I see now. She was an Ostian spy, wasn't she? Don't worry, she didn't suffer. It only took one blow."
"Die!" he shouted as he charged forth, swinging his ax. Ephidel smirked slightly before vanishing suddenly and Hector stumbled a bit, glancing around furiously. Ephidel reappeared beside Ninian and she let out a cry of alarm.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" Eliwood shouted, unsheathing his Rapier and pointing it at Ephidel threateningly. He merely chuckled, grabbing Ninian's arm.
"You think you can win a battle against me? If you're like your father, I should be able to finish you in a single swoop."
"Don't talk about my father!" Eliwood shouted angrily.
"I have no time for idle chit chat. I have some business to get to. Come along now, birdie," he said and disappeared with Ninian just as Eliwood and Hector charged forth.
"Blast!" Hector growled, throwing his ax down in anger. "Blast it all!"
"He just…vanished," Lyn said mystically, glancing around. "How…?"
A man galloped toward them on a horse. "I've been waiting for you," he smirked and everybody turned to face him. "You've done well to come so far."
"Where is Lord Elbert?" Hector demanded, taking steps toward the stranger.
"Inside…he's farther inside. Not that you'll ever manage to make it over there-I'll kill you all before you do," he said and looked over at the army behind the lords. "Mere children many of you are. You shall soon see the true power of Lord Nergal!" he laughed and dashed off before anybody could respond.
"A battle?" Lyn said incredulously. "Are we to battle?"
"Of course!" Hector said as he picked up his ax and shouldered it. "We will go farther in and rescue Lord Elbert!"
"Orders, Jasmine!" Eliwood shouted as he glanced around in the crowd of his comrades. The tactician weaved her way through them and stopped in front of the lords, blue eyes zooming everywhere.
"We can't take everyone with us," she said. "There's not enough room on the battle field."
"Then hurry up and tell us who we need and don't, damn it!" Hector said angrily. "We have no time to waste!"
"Florina and…Fiora, was it?" she said loudly as she turned around to face her comrades. "You two will not be battling today." The sisters nodded dutifully. "Neither will Canas, Lucius, Kent, Sain-" He started to protest. "-or Oswin." Her eyes rested on Rebecca's and she added hastily, "And Rebecca."
"That's nearly half our army, Jasmine," Eliwood frowned. "We won't have enough manpower, will we?"
"Jasmine knows what she's doing," Lyn cut in before Jasmine could respond. "You have no reason to doubt her."
"…Anyways," Jasmine continued uncomfortably, seeming a bit embarrassed, "I want Marcus and Dart to guard Merlinus. Shall we get going?"
"Yes, let's," Eliwood said. "You all," he said to the ones that were not to battle, "should wait outside the Gate, away from harm."
They grudgingly left, Sain still protesting.
"Matthew," Jasmine said and she turned to face the thief, who was twirling daggers in his hands. "Go unlock that door over there." She gestured to the closed door that hid whatever was beyond the walls. "There might be some treasure."
A ghost of a smirk skimmed his lips. "Yes, Lady Tactician," he said and was gone in a flash. She stared after him for a moment before turning back around, only to be greeted by the face of a worried lord.
"There's a door over there leading into some sort of tunnel-like structure," Eliwood said as he gestured to it. "Shall we open it?"
"Yes." She paused for a moment. "Does anybody have a door key?" she shouted at her comrades, all of which were rather clumped together as they walked through the narrow field, squished in between two structures.
"Yeah, but I'm a little busy at the moment!" Erk shouted as he ducked from a flying javelin.
"If only I hadn't sent Matthew off…" Jasmine grumbled. "I have a couple of chest keys, but that won't do."
"Maybe you should learn how to use a lock pick," Matthew said from behind, causing her to jump. He chuckled a bit. "Really, you call yourself a tactician?"
"Matthew! Wha-how-"
"I got a brave bow," he said casually as he handed it to her. "Maybe you should give it to somebody."
"That was quick!" she said in awe, staring at the brave bow in her hands.
"Yes, well, the quicker I kill them, the quicker I find Leila's killer, correct?" he stated simply as he unlocked the door. Eliwood and Jasmine eyed each other worriedly, neither of them responding.
"Do…do you suppose that man Ephidel-?" Jasmine asked and Matthew knew what she meant.
"No, it wasn't him. But the killer's around here…I just know," he said and his eyes flashed dangerously. An arrow flew right over his head and he quickly turned, twirling a dagger around in his hand.
"How many times must I tell you to stop swinging your ax so wildly?" Lyn exclaimed angrily as she jumped back from Hector's ax, missing it by a few mere inches.
"Maybe you shouldn't stay so close to me!" was Hector's retort as his ax slammed into the enemy knight's thick armor.
"If I don't, you'll go do something reckless!" Lyn shouted back as she dodged a blast of fire that burned the grass.
"We're all way too cramped together!" Serra shrieked and squirmed her way through her comrades to reach an injured Erk. "I have no room to do anything!"
"Raven, Priscilla, and Guy-all three of you come over here!" Jasmine shouted over the clanging of weapons.
"I'm a little busy at the moment!" Raven shouted back as he dodged the thrust of a lance. "Priscilla-hurry, go on."
His sister looked at him worriedly but galloped off toward Jasmine, Guy following her a moment later.
"Raven!"
"I told you I'm busy, damn it!" he growled back as he slashed away at the enemy, who fell a moment later with a dagger sticking out of his neck. Glancing over to the right, he saw Matthew rush toward the fallen enemy to retrieve his dagger. Without another word, he walked over to an impatient Jasmine.
"What took you so long?"
"I was trying to stay alive, so sorry to have kept you waiting," he sneered and her eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
"You'll be with Priscilla, Guy, and Eliwood-you four venture through that tunnel," she said and pointed to it. "We won't be so cramped this way."
"Brilliant," he said sarcastically. "Utterly brilliant."
"You're just handing out compliments like they're chocolates today, aren't you?" she snapped back at him and he scowled.
"I don't recall you being quite as rude last time."
She seemed to soften slightly. "Just go," she mumbled and looked away. He raised an eyebrow but left to join his group. She glanced at the brave bow in her hand and started her journey back to Merlinus's tent.
"There are too many blasted Cavaliers," Hector huffed as he ducked a stab from a lance. "And they keep coming one after another!"
"Oh quit your complaining, Hector!" Lyn admonished as she sailed through the air gracefully, slamming her sword right into the enemy Cavalier's skull. She landed back on the grass with a barely audible thud and grinned at the bluehead. "It's fun to jump through the air like that."
His mouth was open in awe but he quickly closed it. "I can't fly through the air like you! Look at this armor!" he huffed defensively and gestured to the thick and heavy armor that matched the color of his hair. "You try having a five ton armor rest on your shoulders!"
"I don't need armor," Lyn mused, ducking from an incoming javelin, "because I'm not slow and clumsy like you."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey! Who are you calling slow and clumsy?"
She giggled but quickly stopped, forest green eyes going wide. "Watch out!" she shouted as she ran toward Hector, somehow managing to push him out of the way. A fire engulfed the area that he had been standing on only seconds before.
The two ended up in a rather awkward position. Lyn was on top of Hector, her face only a few inches above his, and they both stared at each other blankly for a moment. Snapping to her senses, Lyn quickly jumped up and politely offered him her hand. Raising an eyebrow at the hand, Hector heaved himself up. Lyn scowled.
"That was rude of you."
"What was?"
"I offered you my hand but you didn't take it."
"I didn't need it."
The two kept at it for a while since there was no Eliwood to stop them. He was too busy in the long tunnel-like structure, dodging arrows from nomads on the other side of the wall that divided them.
"Not trying to be rude or anything, but I don't think now is the best time for your conversations, Lord Hector, Lady Lyn," Wil said as he shot an arrow at a nomad. "There are still quite a few enemies left. Actually, there are too many nomads for my liking."
"Oh, of course!" Lyn said and abruptly stopped bickering with Hector. "This is no time for your silly arguments, Hector!"
His jaw dropped and his eyebrows furrowed. "Me? You're the one who started arguing with me over some stupid-"
He was cut off when an arrow clanked off his armor. Grinning, he shouldered his ax and dashed off toward the closest enemy, Lyn hot on his heels.
The wall broke down and Guy was the first to run out, followed by the three others. An enemy nomad immediately noticed them and quickly strung a bow on his arrow. Guy and Eliwood ran forward to attack, leaving the two redheads to explore their surroundings.
"Look, there are the others!" Priscilla said and pointed to the left to see that, surely enough, their comrades were fighting away at many horse ridden men.
"Wonderful," Raven replied sarcastically. An enemy Cavalier charged toward Priscilla but didn't even get a chance to properly raise his sword; Raven flew the air and killed him with a sickening crunch.
"Thank you," Priscilla breathed, wide eyed. He didn't respond and wiped off the blood that had gotten on his face with the back of his hand.
"Hey, over here!" Guy shouted, waving his arms at the two to get their attention. "We found a way to break inside!"
Raven and Priscilla looked at each other before turning around and dashing off.
"Lyn, Lowen, Matthew-all three of you go through here," Jasmine ordered as she gestured to the open door. "I think it can also lead inside further in."
"All right," Lyn said and nodded. "I hope you don't kill any of our comrades because of your wild swinging," she added to Hector over her shoulder and bounded off with Lowen and Matthew.
"Blasted woman," Hector grunted as he ducked from an arrow. "Is she always like that?"
"Not really. I guess she just doesn't like you," Jasmine responded with a shrug. Hector scowled and looked back at his opponent to find that he was already dead. Dorcas grabbed his fallen hand ax.
"Nice one," Hector commented.
"Thank you."
"I'm going to go look for Eliwood's group," Jasmine said and left the scene, dodging arrows and sword attacks. She reached the area where the tunnel-like structure had ended and found that the wall had been broken down and there was no sight of her comrades. Glancing around, she found another wall that had been broken down in the building in front of her. She walked through it to find herself in a hallway with two chests. She walked up to the first one and frowned to see that it was already open; somebody had already pilfered the treasure. She looked over to the second one and was disappointed to see that there wasn't anything there either.
She heard somebody murmur some sort of incantation and she quickly turned to see a mage looking at her with a raised tome in his hand. Eyes widening, she jumped back from the fire that burst out in front of her. She shielded her face with her arms and felt a horrible stinging sensation envelope her arms. The fire disappeared and Jasmine slowly lowered her arms to stare at them. She was horrified to see that her skin had vanished, revealing red flesh with a burnt scent that smacked her right in the face.
The mage started another chant and Jasmine quickly turned around, starting to run off, feeling the stinging in her arms grow as she heard another blast of fire land right behind her. She could feel the heat radiate her legs and didn't dare turn back to see what was going to happen next-
Somebody passed by her and she stopped running for a moment, panting, to turn around to see who it was. Her eyebrows rose in surprise as she saw a certain redhead sail through the air and attack the mage. She ran in place, looking back and forth, trying to decide whether or not to leave.
Raven jumped back from the circle of fire that flashed before him. He quickly shrunk against the wall, shielding his eyes from the radiating heat. He could feel the flames start to grow closer and closer to him, only inches away from licking him-
The fire suddenly disappeared and Raven sucked in a deep breath of air. He turned to find the mage glaring at Jasmine and raising his tome, starting to chant-
The mercenary flew through the air and stabbed his sword right through the mage's back. He let out a scream and fell to the ground, dead. Raven looked up to face Jasmine, breathing hard, and saw that her face was dotted with blood. And one of her boots were gone.
She blinked at him slowly. "You saved me," she said as if she didn't quite believe it.
"It's not like I had much a choice," he said sharply. "I have to keep on the lookout for careless little you!"
"I'm not careless."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"I saved your life twice, and you don't thank me?"
"You didn't save my life twice."
"Yes, I saved it the first time on that pirate ship."
"I thanked you that time."
"You haven't thanked me this time."
"…Thank you," she murmured grudgingly, folding her arms across her chest.
"Do you enjoy aggravating me?"
"Wha-you're the one who's aggravating me!"
"I don't think I've done anything wrong."
"I think you have."
He sighed exasperatedly. "This arguing is a waste of my time! I have some business to do-"
He was interrupted when a rumbling noise made the ground beneath their very feet tremble and pieces of rubble started to fall on the top of their heads.
"Watch out!" Jasmine screamed and pushed Raven aside. He fell to the trembling ground, Jasmine falling beside him, and watched the ceiling collapse where he had just been standing.
"What's going on?" he shouted at her as he stood up, putting a hand against the trembling wall.
"I don't know!" she shouted back as she stood up shakily. The shaking stopped suddenly and an eerie silence followed. "What in the name of St. Elimine…?"
"Are we stuck?" he asked suddenly, walking up to the rubble that had nearly crushed him. It acted like a barrier between the rest of the hallway and the part they were stuck in. He attempted to move a few pieces but was unsuccessful. He swore underneath his breath and ran his fingers through his fiery hair.
"…At least I got my boot over here," Jasmine mumbled and Raven raised an eyebrow as he watched her slip a brown boot over one of her feet.
"I was wondering why one leg was boot-less."
"I took it off when I hit the mage with it to stop him from burning you alive," she said casually and paused for a moment, smirking. "That means I just saved your life!"
"So?"
"You owe me a thank you!" she grinned and he scowled.
"Actually, you wouldn't have saved my life if I hadn't come around to save yours."
"...Your point is?"
"I owe you nothing because you saved my life when I had to save yours."
She pursed her lips and didn't respond. Raven smirked and he walked up the pile of rubble. "What do you propose we do to get out of here?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know." She paused for a moment, eyes widening, and she stood up quickly. "We're trapped here!" she shouted, the realization hitting her like a wave.
He rolled his eyes. "How observant of you."
"What are we going to do?" she asked worriedly, ignoring his sarcastic comment. "There are no cracks so we can't break down the wall!"
"You're the tactician; you think of something."
"I'm a military tactician, Sir Raven," she said in a clipped tone. "Not a what-do-we-do-when-we're-trapped-behind-a-pile-of-stone tactician."
"You're never so rude to anybody else, other than that pink-haired cleric," Raven commented, looking annoyed. "And your attitude is getting quite irritating."
"I'm not nice to people who push my buttons," she snapped, "and you're one of them."
"I can say the same to you!" he snapped right back and she didn't respond. He too didn't say anything as he stood up, grabbing his fallen sword. He walked over to the pile of rubble and started to stab away at it.
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously.
"Trying to get us out of here."
"I don't think that's going to work."
He sent her a look. "You have no better ideas?"
She sighed. "No."
"Good. Now help me out."
"How can I? I have no weapons."
"Not even a dagger?" he asked incredulously.
"No."
"Wow, you really are useless."
She looked hurt, though he couldn't see her expression. And even if he did, he wouldn't have cared. "I know," she mumbled and he raised his eyebrows in surprise; he hadn't expected her to agree. Rather, he had expected another argument to break out.
"At least you're smart enough to know that you are," he said as he continued to stab away at the pile of rubble.
"That's the first time you every complimented me."
He turned to face her with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't call it a compliment."
"It was probably the closest thing to it, coming from you," she giggled.
He shrugged and turned back around. "That's probably true."
It was quiet for a few moments other than the clanking of the sword against stone. "I wonder what the others are doing," Jasmine said conversationally, tired of the silence.
"Probably enjoying their time now that you're gone."
"Jerk," she mumbled.
He smirked at her over his shoulder. "What? You're the one who asked."
"I just hope they found Lord Elbert," she said and he was quiet for a moment before speaking.
"What do we do if did find him?"
She shrugged. "Go back home, I suppose."
"Home," Raven echoed.
"Yes, home," she said, sounding mesmerized. "Where are you from, Raven?" she asked conversationally and quickly added, "not that you have to tell me if you don't want to."
"Then I won't tell you."
"Okay."
He didn't respond as he chopped away, thinking about what he would do if they had found Lord Elbert. Perhaps he could simply kill that bastard Hector the moment he saw him-after all, everybody would probably be too busy cheering to notice. And he would finally avenge his parents' death as well as his home…
He blinked at the large crack he had made in between two particularly large pieces of broken stone and jumped back. He quickly dashed over beside Jasmine, near the back of the hallway, to watch the debris give way. After a few moments the rumbling stopped and he slowly walked over the large gape he had made in the middle of the wreckage. He glanced back at Jasmine, who was staring at the rubble with an open mouth. He sheathed his sword and walked toward the mess.
"Are you coming or not?" he asked and didn't wait for her to respond, walking out the large hole he created. He started to walk down the deserted hallway and didn't even bother to wait for Jasmine as he heard her scurry behind him.
"Where is everybody?" she asked, glancing around.
"How should I know?" he snapped back. "I've been stuck behind with you!"
"Sorry for the inconvenience!" she retorted, sounding just as snappy as him. "It's not my fault the ceiling collapsed on us."
He twirled around to face her, scowling. "If you hadn't walked inside without a guard, I wouldn't have had to go save you. So in the end, if you hadn't walked inside, none of this would've happened!"
She looked like he had just slapped her across the face. She looked away and down at the ground. "Just leave me behind, then," she grumbled. "I'll just be a burden; I've always just been a burden," she whispered, her voice barely audible. For a moment, he was horrified, thinking that she was going to cry. But no tears came and a long silence filled the air.
"...What happened to your arms?" he asked, noticing the red flesh.
"They got burnt."
"We need to get you to a healer," he said and she looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "What?"
"I'm surprised you didn't insult me."
"I was worried that you would cry."
She blinked blankly. "I don't cry."
He raised an eyebrow. "Not at all?"
"Never. I haven't cried since I was a little girl."
"Well that's a relief," Raven replied and she smiled slightly.
"What, have you ever made a girl cry?"
"Let's get you to a healer," he said, not answering the question. She pursed her lips but nodded. "You have blood on your face," he added and she immediately put a hand up to a cheek.
She tried to rub it off. "Did I get it?"
"No."
"What about now?"
"No; it's all dried up."
She frowned and rubbed her face even harder, making it tinge red. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed onto her hand and ignored her flinching as he leaned in toward her.
"Stop doing that," he growled, looking even more menacing because of the close proximity. She blinked at him and opened her mouth to speak-
"Ooh, what do we have here?" a male voice called out teasingly and the two turned to see a man walking toward them casually, twirling daggers in his hands. Jasmine snatched her hand away from Raven the same time he let go of it, which caused Jasmine to stumble a bit. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything," the lavender haired man continued playfully, putting his hands up innocently. He wore a black cloak that resembled one of the Black Fang's and there were to long scars across his left eye. Raven immediately unsheathed his large sword, pointing it threateningly at the unknown man. "I mean no harm!" the man laughed, eying the sword with a smile.
"And I'm to believe that?" the redhead asked with narrowed eyes, taking steps toward the stranger.
"Yes," the man chirped, "because it's the truth!"
"Stay there, Jasmine," Raven ordered her and he ran forth, jumping up in the air and slamming his sword down into-
The ground. A loud ringing noise echoed throughout the hallway as the stone and iron collided. But it wasn't just that; it sounded as if something broke. Raven slowly raised his sword, which now looked like it had been sliced in half.
"I knew your sword was looking a little rusty," Jasmine commented and the mercenary shot her a dangerous look. His dark brown eyes widened alarmingly.
"Watch out!"
Jasmine stiffened and held her breath as she saw a dagger approach her neck from behind. Everything was silent and still until somebody started to laugh from behind the tactician. Two daggers clanged onto the floor and the lavender haired man poked his head out from behind Jasmine's shoulder, grinning.
"Did you really think that I was going to attack you?"
She opened and closed her mouth like a fish, lost for words. Raven was the one who spoke, looking at the man with narrowed eyes. "Why did you do that?"
"I already told you; I mean no harm," the man said as he walked up beside Jasmine. She turned to face him, surprised expression gone, replaced by suspicion.
"You're clearly a thief or an assassin-you would carry around more than two daggers with you."
He faced her, smiling in amusement. "Very good job. How did you know that?"
"I'm a tactician-I've done my fair share of research."
"Firstly, it would take too long for me to completely empty out my pockets," the man grinned. "And there's also a chance that-" He jerked his head toward Raven "-your boyfriend might try to attack me." Both Raven and Jasmine started to bellow at the same time and the man simply laughed. "You guys are too cute!"
They both scowled. "Though I have no idea how this is relevant to the issue at hand in any way," Jasmine huffed, "he is NOT my boyfriend."
"Are you sure?" the scar-man grinned. "You guys look adorable together!"
Jasmine and Raven groaned simultaneously. "What is wrong with you?" Raven huffed. "What kind of Fang tell his enemies they look…adorable together?"
"One with eyes," the man winked and dodged the broken sword Raven angrily threw at him. "Have a bit of a temper, do we?"
"…Who are you?" Jasmine asked warily.
"How rude of me! I am Legault," he said and bowed mockingly. "At your service, milady."
Raven rolled his eyes and Jasmine looked at him suspiciously. "And what brings you here, Legault?"
"It's a funny story, actually," he grinned as he straightened up. "You see, I was leaving the Black Fang for good when I came across your group. I spoke to Lady Lyndis-kind girl, isn't she?-and the lords have allowed me to join your army."
"We're to believe that?" Raven scoffed.
"Yes. And if you want to attack me, you can't anymore," he grinned, raising Raven's sword. He paused for a moment, looking at the sword. "Not that you could've done much with this."
Raven scowled deeply. "It's not my fault we didn't stock up enough."
Jasmine raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to imply something?"
"I'm not implying; I'm going out and saying it."
"Oh, so it's my fault that we didn't stock up? Excuse me for-"
"When did I say that?" he growled in irritation. "I was talking about that stupid excuse of a lord, Hector!"
"You should stop calling Hector an idiot. He's actually okay once you-"
"Hah! HAH! Of course you stand up for the man that pays you-"
"You didn't even let me finish my sentence! Hector may come off to you as a-"
"Twit? I already know that."
"He's not a twit! I mean he's a jerk and all but I guess I'm kind of starting to warm up to him-"
"You shouldn't, considering all the things he's done!"
"Wha-well, sure, he's almost killed a few of our comrades but-"
"He's destroyed and killed plenty-"
"We're supposed to kill Fang-"
"I wasn't talking about that! I was talking about-" He cut himself short but Jasmine didn't seem to notice, already starting to speak.
"You really should stop-"
"Ah," Legault sighed and the two turned to face him. "As much as I enjoy watching two lovers argue, I really do think we should get back to the others."
Raven rolled his eyes and Jasmine raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
He chuckled. "C'mon now, let's get a move on!" he said cheerfully and turned around, black cloak flying. Raven and Jasmine didn't even look over at each other as they followed him. "I better not see any funny business back there," Legault added with a smirk, glancing over at the two over his shoulder. "You know how crazy lovers can get."
Simultaneously, the two shouted, "We're not lovers!"
Legault chuckled. "That's what they all say."
Oh. My. God. I was so irritated typing this chapter because it didn't let me save and I wrote a lot and blah blah blah...sigh. Oh well. It's still pretty good. And I did enjoy writing about Raven and Jasmine. And Legault. I love him. I can't wait to continue writing about him! Jasmine and Raven should watch out. Or I guess I should say Legault should watch out...he really shouldn't piss Raven off. Hah. Raven and Jasmine have just gotten themselves in for a loooong journey. :P