Heyy! It's chapter two! YAY! I'm so awesome, I know!
I have nothing to say really so let's just get right into the story! I don't own anything, I don't see why I have to keep saying that… but the story line, and Zarack are MINE!!!
Enjoy this chapter!
--s2--
Ike and the others had arrived at Gallia early in the morning. The other Laguz headed home to their families so it was just Ike, Sothe, Mist, Soren, and Ranulf now. Ike was getting more and more worried about his blue haired cat. Ranulf's breathing rate had decreased to a dangerous level and was unresponsive. No matter how many times Ike asked him to at least look at him the cat would do nothing at all. All Ike could do was hope that they weren't too late.
After they entered the Laguz castle in Gallia's capital, Zarzi, Soren led that way. The sage was the only one that could remember his way around the large kingdom. Left, right, another right, it went on and on. Ike, Sothe and Mist were all starting to wonder if Soren really did know where they were going.
It was then Ike saw the doorway to the thrown room. He felt relief and rushed ahead. With his foot he slammed the door open and marched on inside. Looking around, Ike saw Skrimir just walking in from the right side entryway.
"Skrimir…!" Ike called tiredly. The beast king looked over at the warrior and his eyes grew wide.
"Ike…?" Skrimir looked down at Ranulf. "What happened to Ranulf?"
"No time to explain!" Ike told him. "We need to get him help!"
Skrimir nodded and motioned Ike to follow him; the others followed as well. The lion king ran throughout the kingdom knowing exactly where he was going and stopped at a door. "In here…" Skrimir whispered in his low voice.
Everyone, except for Sothe, nodded. They all entered the room and the first person they saw was Rhys. The healer looked up at the group with a bit of surprise, but was then sidetracked by Sothe running passed him. Turning back to Ike he saw an unconscious Ranulf in his arms. "What happened-- uh… put him over here." Rhys walked over passed a couple of beds, filled with Laguz, and pointed at a bed where Ike placed Ranulf on.
The blue cat stirred and opened his eyes slightly. "Ike…?" his hoarse voice spoke weakly.
"Its okay, Ranulf," Ike reassured him. "You're safe now."
Ranulf stared up at Ike with slight confusion. He then growled in pain and tensed up. Rhys came to Ranulf's injured side and started to take off his vest.
"Ike," Rhys said to get Ike's attention. "Lift him up so I can get this off." Ike did as he was asked and held Ranulf up from the bed just enough for Rhys to slip the vest from underneath the cat. Ranulf hissed in objection as Ike moved him.
"Its okay, Ranulf, it's alright." Ike soothed.
"He is going to be okay, right Rhys?" Mist asked softly.
The carrot top looked over at the scared little girl. Not wanting to upset her more than she already was, he told her what she wanted to hear. "Yes, Mist; he'll be fine."
Mist nodded and took Ranulf's bloodstained vest. "I'll clean this up for him and stitch it back up." Before Ike could say anything Mist was gone, Soren following behind her.
Ike gazed down at Ranulf's injury and bit his lip. "What are you going to do, Rhys?"
Rhys took another moment to examine the wound. "It seems to be infected…" Rhys pulled Ranulf's headband-hat off and felt his forehead. Without saying anything Rhys turned around and grabbed a cloth and wet it down with the tub of water that he had across the room. He came back to Ranulf and knelt down by the injury and gave it a quick wipe. Ranulf gasped and hissed. Rhys apologized about the pain he was putting the cat through and continued to clean around the wound so he could see it more clearly. Once he got most of the dried blood off he stared at the gash; the red skin that surrounded the wound told Rhys that it was, indeed, infected.
Rhys walked quickly away where Ike couldn't see him and came back with a staff. Ranulf growled again and grabbed Ike's hand, squeezing it hard enough to make the warrior cry out slightly. Rhys brought down his staff and the blue jewel on the top that was surrounded by a crescent moon shined gently. At a slow, but steady pace, Ranulf's grip loosened. His facial expression changed to a calm look and soon enough, he was asleep.
Ike stared at the sleeping cat pulling his hand away and rubbing it. He looked at his hand and saw it turn red and his palm had nail marks on it. "He must be in a lot of pain…" Ike said softly.
"I would bet." Rhys told him. "That's a deep wound and it's infected. It's bound to hurt." He walked away again and came back with two different staffs.
Ike stared at him. "How many staffs do you have?"
Rhys pulled up a chair and took a seat beside Ranulf. "I've mastered all the different healing staffs. I have at least three of each somewhere." He picked up the green jeweled one and started working on healing Ranulf. Ike sat and watched as the wound cleaned itself up. When Rhys moved on to the next staff the wound mended itself at a slow speed.
"There…" Rhys said when the gash was completely healed.
"He's alright?" Ike asked just to make sure.
Rhys nodded as he placed his hand on Ranulf's forehead. "Yeah, he's fine. He does have a fever, unfortunately, so he will be a bit iffy when he wakes up, but he'll be fine." Ike was able to relax because of Rhys words. Rhys continued. "If you hadn't had came when you did though, he might have had something more serious than a common flu. What happened anyway?"
"He was attacked…" Ike told him.
"By Zarack…?" Rhys asked.
"Yeah… he-- wait, how did you know?"
"He and his solders attacked here last night." Rhys walked over to the other beds, Ike followed. "Everyone here was attacked by the solders." Ike stared over at the other Laguz.
"I wonder why they attacked…" Ike whispered.
"I wonder that myself, but there's not much we can do right now." Rhys made his way over to a door on the far left side of the room and entered.
Ike went inside and saw more beds filled with people. What caught his eye though was Sothe sitting on a chair next to a bed. Moving closer he notice that Micaiah was lying in the bed. Once Rhys stood at the end of the cot Sothe looked up.
"How is she feeling?" Rhys asked.
Sothe stared at Micaiah again. "She said she was fine." Sothe told him. "She was awake just a couple minutes ago."
"Good…" Rhys turned around. "I'll be by to check on her later. If anything concerns you let me know." With that he left the room.
Ike looked over at the other weak Laguz before sitting next to Sothe. "So, what happened?"
Sothe eyed him for a split second. "She used Sacrifice to save Leonardo…" he informed him. "The attack was sudden. He was hit with a flying dagger and it sliced his neck."
Ike's eyes widened with shock. "Why do you think they attacked?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sothe asked standing up. "Begnion wants to enslave the Laguz. They don't trust them"
"But we finished that war, Sothe." Ike stared at his hands that rested on his lap. Even though he said that the war was finished, he couldn't bring himself to believe it.
"I guess not." Sothe said as he walked over to the window and gazed upon the village below.
There was an awkward silence; neither one of them wanted to break it though. Both were lost in thought about the whole situation. Ike didn't want to believe in Sothe, but there was no other solution. What Ike wanted to know was: Who was in charge of all this?
Ike was getting annoyed of the silence so he decided to ask questions. "Why were you out in the woods?"
"Hunting," Sothe said plainly. "…for Zarack."
"Why…?"
"Because he… after Micaiah fainted he came up to us... and nearly killed her." Sothe spat out. "If I wasn't there to stop him, she would be dead."
Ike didn't know what to say. He sat in silence again. After a while, Ike found no reason to stay. Getting up he announced, "I'm going to tell Mist that Ranulf's okay. I'll see you later." He then left.
--s2--
"So, Ranulf is okay?" Mist asked yet again.
"Yes, Mist," Ike said slightly annoyed. "He's fine. Stop asking already."
Mist pouted and crossed her arms. "I was only making sure." She then went back to working on Ranulf's vest turning away from Ike.
Soren walked over to Ike with a small smile on his face. Ike glared at him a little making Soren's smile grow. "Ranulf's right, you two fighting is amusing."
Ike walked passed him. "Shut up..."
--s2--
Ike walked around the kingdom trying to find his way back to the clinic. He found the thrown room and started down the hallway that Skrimir lead them down when they first got here. Right, left, left, there was no end to this maze. Finally, he saw someone familiar.
"Hey, Rolf," Ike called.
The little green haired boy looked over and his face lit up. "Ike?!"
They made it over to each other with a smile. "Rolf, how have you been? You grew a little."
Rolf chuckled. "Yep, I'm as tall as Mia now; and she grew too!" He said proudly. "I've also became a master with the bow and arrow! Shinon would be proud of me if he knew."
Ike was puzzled. "Isn't Shinon here?"
"No..." Rolf answered sadly. "He left saying that he rather die then live with a bunch of Laguz."
"How long have you been staying here?"
"About maybe a year... Everyone else thought that they would stay here so they can show that the Laguz are nothing to be afraid of. The Dawn Brigade came to visit two days ago." Rolf's face showed depression and fear. The Begnion forces came just after that. He hoped of having a good time with friends that he hasn't seen for awhile and everything fell apart with war once again.
Ike put a hand on the teen's shoulders. "It will be alright Rolf." Ike told him. Rolf nodded and walked away leaving Ike lost again in the depths of the kingdom.
Ike wondered around again and finally found his destination. Opening the door to the clinic he made his way to Ranulf's bed side.
Ranulf was still calmly asleep. A light sheet covered his bare chest and shoulders. His face was slightly leaned over towards Ike. He was completely peaceful.
Ike traced the patch of fur on Ranulf's right cheek with his thumb. The cat stirred and Ike's hand retreated quickly, scared about waking him. The mercenary found out that it was too late when Ranulf's beautiful multicolored eyes opened slowly.
The cat looked around confused. He wondered where he was. The last thing he was able to remember was Ike running and whispering to him. His cat ears twitched about, listening for something.
"Ranulf...?" Ike whispered. The cat's ears wiped over at the sound of the voice and Ranulf looked over at Ike.
"Ike..." Ranulf sighed, relieved. "I thought I was alone. Where are we?"
"Zarzi, Gallia's Capital." Ike answered.
"I sort of guessed that." Ranulf told him. "But where are we exactly?"
"Oh, uh," Ike chuckled a bit. "We're in the clinic of Skrimir's kingdom."
"Really?!" Ranulf's voice showed a little happiness. "Is Skrimir here?"
"Yeah, I think so." Ike looked over at the door leading back to the hallway. "Finding him in this big maze is a different story though."
Ranulf smirked. "Ah, it's not that hard to get around."
"You know this place better than I do." Ike reminded him.
"Good point." Ranulf agreed.
The two laughed together. Ike was glad to see that Ranulf was okay.
"Wait..." Ranulf turned his head to the left. "My wound..." He threw the sheet that covered his body off and sat up. He winced in pain and placed a hand on his side. "There's nothing there..." He grunted.
Ike moved up on the bed behind Ranulf and made him lean back. Ranulf's body relaxed as the pain disappeared.
"Ah, you're up." Rhys' voice announced. Ike and Ranulf looked up to find him standing at the end of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine, I guess." Ranulf answered.
Rhys came over and placed his hand on Ranulf's forehead. He hummed, wondering. "Are you able to sit up without Ike's help?"
Ranulf nodded and pushed Ike gently away. He sat up straight trying hard not to show how much it hurt. Rhys noticed.
"What about standing up?"
The cat's ears perked up and then down low. "Of course I can." He said. He threw his legs over and placed his feet next to Ike's. He knew if he did fall Ike would be sure to catch him.
Ike didn't like the fact that Ranulf was pushing himself too hard. He looked over at Rhys who shrugged and motioned to keep an eye on Ranulf. Ike watched as the blue cat started to stand. He wobbled and tipped over away from Ike.
"Ranulf!" Ike hollered. He grabbed Ranulf's arm and pulled him back up before he could hit the tile flooring. He wrapped his arms around him and placed him back on the bed.
"Ranulf..." Rhys walked over beside Ike. "Don't press yourself too hard. Your body is weak and you have a small fever. Lie down and rest."
Ranulf pouted and looked over to the side. "I was afraid you would say that... I hate it when I have to lie down all day. It's so boring..."
"It's for your own good." Rhys told him. "I'll be back later to make sure your doing what you are told." He walked away to the next room.
Ike looked down at Ranulf. "Why did you stand when you knew all too well that you wouldn't be able to?"
Ranulf smiled. "I knew that you would catch me if I fell." He chuckled. "I wanted a hug and I got one!" His smile grew.
Ike sighed with a small smirk. "How long are we going to hide this?" He sat on the side of the bed.
"I don't know..." Ranulf answered. "When do you think it would be a good time to tell everyone?"
Ike thought about it. "I don't know."
"Well then," Ranulf shifted underneath the blankets and closed his eyes. "Until we know when, we don't say anything."
"I guess your right." Ike agreed. He looked over at Ranulf and found him sleeping. He smiled and got off the bed and followed the path Rhys took to the next room.
--s2--
Three days later, Ranulf was up and about. He and Ike wondered the streets of Zarzi with the Dawn Brigade. Sothe didn't like the idea of Micaiah going out when she had just healed, but the silver-haired maiden changed his mind. Sothe was now walking by her side ready to kill anything that came near her.
Leonardo and Edward were talking about random things together after Leonardo was finished apologizing and thanking Micaiah for saving him. Ranulf and Ike where telling Micaiah stories they had about their trip while Sothe and Nolan just marched with the group.
"It's good to see you again." Micaiah said. "It's been awhile. I was afraid that after the war we wouldn't ever see each other."
"Well... I believe another war is about to begin." Ike told her.
"Don't get your hopes up on a nice visit." Ranulf finished.
As if on queue, there was a giant explosion a little ways down the street. The whole group whipped their heads over and stared at the crowd of beast Laguz scramble around screaming. They rushed ahead to find the problem. Fire was spreading quickly. Everyone knew that this was not good for the Laguz. They ran forward pushing their way through.
"Help..." Leonardo heard someone; a child. Small strangled sobs where coming from a burning building. He stopped and headed over to help. He saw a lady Laguz about to run in and grabbed her hand.
"Let me go!" She yelled. "My little girl is in there!!"
"Stay here." Leonardo ordered. "I'll get her." He ran in leaving the woman with her husband who came up behind her.
Leonardo looked around the burning house with squinted eyes. He choked on the thick air around him. "Hey!!" He called. "Is anyone in here?!" There was no answer. He hoped that the kid was still alive. He called again, "Hello?!"
The wall beside him burst throwing pieces of wood everywhere. Leonardo jumped out of the way and covered his eyes. He looked down at his whitish-blue suit to make sure he wasn't caught on fire.
"Help..." Coughing was heard. Leonardo looked up and searched for the small voice.
"Hey, if you can hear me, keep talking." Leonardo headed further inside.
The girl didn't say anything, but her sobs told him where she was. Leonardo looked inside a closet and saw the little Laguz girl with purple ears, hair, and tail wearing a purple dress that was slightly burned. She looked up with tearful green eyes.
"Come on." Leonardo said holding out his hand. "Let's get you out of here." The girl nodded and took Leonardo's hand. Leonardo picked her up in his arms and headed for the exit.
Breaking of wood was heard. Leonardo stopped and looked up. Without thinking he dived to the ground and covered the girls head before the roof came down on them. The girl screamed as Leonardo was crushed.
"Are you ok...?" The girl asked still crying.
Leonardo grunted in pain. "I'm fine..." He murmured.
"Leo?!" Edward's voice was heard through the flames.
"Over here...!" The little Laguz called.
Edward made his way through the fire and broken pieces of wood. He saw the little girl and ran up to her. It was then he saw Leonardo with a large log of wood on his back that was caught on fire.
"Leo!" He kneeled down and tried to lift the log.
"I'm fine… Edward." Leonardo gagged. "Get the girl out of here."
"What about you?!" Edward picked up the girl and stared at Leonardo with worry.
"Get Nolan, I'll wait for him." Leonardo told him. Edward nodded and ran outside as fast as he could.
"Ayame!!!" The mother of the little Laguz child called in tears. Edward passed the little girl over to her. "Thank you, thank you for saving her."
"Don't worry about it." Edward said. "Now run!" The mother and father ran off with their daughter without another word.
Edward saw Nolan helping a woman off the ground. "Nolan!!" He called as he ran up to him. Nolan looked up at the worried swords man.
"What is it?" Nolan asked.
"Leo's stuck in the fire!" Edward told him. "This way!" He ran back towards the burning house with Nolan behind him.
Edward pointed to the house and Nolan entered. "Stay here, Edward." He ordered. Edward obeyed
"Leo!" Nolan called.
"Right here…!" Leonardo answered. Nolan followed Leonardo's voice and found him barely conscious. "Quickly… it hurts…" He started coughing.
"Okay, okay." Nolan crouched down and lifted the log off of Leonardo. "Get out…!" Nolan commanded.
Leonardo used his arms to slide himself out from under the log. Once he did Nolan placed the log back down, lifted Leonardo up, and ran them both out of the fire. Leonardo was thankful for the clean air.
"Leonardo!" Mist called as she came running. Nolan placed Leonardo on the ground and Mist readied her staff. The blue jewel glowed brightly and Leonardo's wounds were healed within a couple seconds.
Leonardo stood up slowly. "Thanks Mist." The girl nodded happily.
Ike ran up to everyone and told them to follow him. "The whole Begnion army is over here." He started down the street leading the way.
They ran down the mostly empty road until they came up to Micaiah, Sothe, and Ranulf. The group stood together waiting, staring down the Begnion army. No one moved. The smell of burning wood filled the air and the flames grew larger in size. Some Laguz where still run pass the small group trying to get away.
The leader of the Begnion army made the first move and walked up in front. It was Zarack. He held a teenage boy Laguz by his green hair showing him to the small group of soldiers. "There is no way you can save these low-life creatures." Zarack announced. "Move aside and you won't get hurt."
Sothe glared. He still hated this guy for what he nearly did to Micaiah. He grabbed his dagger from his side and charged forwards.
"Sothe! NO!" Micaiah called.
Sothe let out a cry in anger as he closed in on his enemy. He came in close and was about to strike but Zarack smacked him away with the back of his armored hand. Sothe was sent to the ground, but quickly got back up and went for another attack. His attempt failed again. Zarack stepped to the side and tripped him. Sothe fell to the ground and was seized by some soldiers.
Zarack walked over to Sothe and the guards holding him stationary. "You fight because of your anger." Zarack told him. "Why…?"
Sothe blew his grass green hair out of his face. "I don't have to tell you anything!" He sneered. "But I'll have you know that my reason to fight is better than your reason!" He tried to pull away from the guards, but he ended up with more of them making it impossible to escape.
Zarack didn't answer back. He looked at the Laguz still in his hand wondering. "I don't know my reason, so I wouldn't know if you speak true or not." He said looking back at Sothe. "I only follow orders."
A soldier came up to Zarack. "What should we do with him, sir?" He asked.
Zarack thought about it. "Kill him." He said. "He is no use to us and he seems to enjoy getting in our way. And take him away with the others." Zarack tossed the Laguz to the pavement and a couple of guards took him to a cart with a bit of a struggle.
Zarack was looked over to face the small group in his way when an arrow shot by his face scratching his left cheek. He saw the rest of the charging forwards ready to attack. His men all got into an attack stance and the group halted just before them.
"We won't let you hurt him." Nolan stated. "I suggest you release him."
Zarack thought about it. His expression showed anger and hatred, but also regret. Ike realized this and started to wonder why. His focus was snapped back when Zarack spoke. "On one condition…" He said.
"What would that be?" Edward asked.
"You'll trade for him for your Laguz friend." Zarack pointed to Ranulf who was in his beast form.
"What?!" Ike glared at Zarack. "That's not going to happen either!"
"No? Alright then." He waved his hand over to the guards and one with a sword stabbed Sothe in the right leg. Sothe yelled out in agony and tried to get the guards to let go of him.
"Sothe!!!" Micaiah screamed. Sothe heard her and held his breath to stop himself from shouting, not wanting her to worry.
"Well? Will you reconsider?" Zarack questioned. "Or, should I just dispose of this low-being?" He waved his hand again and the guard grabbed Sothe's green hair pulling his head back. Sothe grunted as his neck was exposed and the sword stained with his own blood was brought up ready to slice. He stood perfectly still with his eyes shut tight, readying himself for death just incase. Blood dripped from the sword on to his collarbone and rolled down his chest and stopped at the top of his green belly shirt.
"Stop!" Ranulf called. Everyone looked at him. He sighed and a blue stream of light waved around him as he transformed back into a human. "I'll go."
"Ranulf?!" Everyone gasped, especially Ike.
"What if you get hurt instead?" Micaiah asked, scared.
"I'll be fine." Ranulf told her. "I don't want anyone dying today."
Micaiah wanted to object, but her husband was on the line and she didn't want to lose him. "We will come to get you back." She whispered not wanting the Begnion army to hear her.
"I know you will" Ranulf whispered back.
Ranulf nodded and walked towards Zarack. Ike stepped up staring at Ranulf with worry. Ranulf gave him a small smile as if to say, 'don't worry'. He placed his hand his shoulder to reassure him and walked pass standing by Zarack facing his friends.
"Good, Kitty." Zarack smiled. "Release the boy." He ordered. Sothe was pushed away leaving him back on the dusty ground. Micaiah and Mist were there for him in a second.
"We'll be leaving then." Zarack announced. He grabbed Ranulf by the forearm lightly and led him through the large group of Begnion soldiers. Ranulf had the chance to take one last look at the concerned Ike before his sight was blocked with crimson armor.
Ike watched helplessly as Ranulf walked out of sight with Zarack. He bit his lip so he wouldn't call out to him. His and Ranulf's relationship was still a secret and he couldn't let that secret out just yet. Instead, he made a silent promise to himself that he would save him, no matter what the cost.
--s2--
OMG!! That was long!!!! And keeping track of all the characters is hard!!! But I like this story! I don't have much of an idea where it's going but that's okay!
So… REVIEW OR DIE!! The review button was changed to a big box under this message for a reason! PLZ!!!!!!!