Estarossa found himself running across the field at immense speed. It was that time again. It was quite a dusty landscape, possibly the main contributor being an ended battle. However, Estarossa didn't care about that. His heart was overwhelmed with this feeling, a feeling of needing to find someone. To find that someone quickly. He looked far and wide across the barren landscape, looking around endlessly while trying to keep the sand out of his eyes. "Hello? Is anyone here?!" He called out.
His voice echoed, expanding throughout the land. No response. Just the wind still blowing with the insufferable sand. It pissed him off. Just once, can he get a reason as to why he ends up here every Friday night?
Was it a sign for a path to take? A omen for a person to expect? Perhaps a memory long since pushed to the back of his mind? He clenched his fists, looking up to the sky as he released it all from his lips. "WHY AM I HERE?!" It was then something changed. A feeling familiar yet just as unknown creeped up from behind. He turned to see a new sight. A heavily impacted part of the wall, splattered with blood. Something or someone hit it. He slowly walked up to the sight, stopping when two lights began to glow from within the scattering dust.
One of comforting light and the other of destructive darkness. "Hey...are you oka-" He said, beginning to walk up to the gleaming sight once again until a hand emerged. It was pitch black, a threatening force behind it being added with the fingers looking like claws. Without even a second to comprehend, a pressure of darkness blasted at Estarossa. He flew back for what seemed like miles on impact until he landed with a thud. His eyes shot open, looking around to see...a wooden floor?
He was back in Zeldris and his bedroom; he fell off the bed entirely. The dream was over. Again. However, now he was speechless. Nothing like that ever happened before in the dream.
He laid there in silence for what felt like minutes before a gentle knock could be heard from the door. "Brother? We heard a thud up here! Are you okay?" He heard Zeldris say from the hallway on the other side. "Uh...Yeah, just fell off the bed. Had a hard sleep." Estarossa stated, trying to throw Zeldris' concern off.
Zeldris rolled his eyes, stroking his hair to calm his awakening annoyance. He should've expected a dumb pun yet he somehow didn't. "Hey, I couldn't find you a shirt that could fit you but that blue coat in the closet should work fine for you." Zeldris said, opening the door. He pointing towards the closet door, guiding Estarossa's head towards it. As Estarossa stood up and walked towards the closet, Zeldris noticed he was just about drowned in sweat. "Brother, are you okay?" He asked. "Nothing much, just a bad dream." Estarossa replied, putting on the coat. "If you say so. It's not with every nightmare you fall off the bed." Zeldris retorted. "When you're as big as I am, it's more common than you think." Estarossa quickly buttoned up and stepped out to show his brother.
"How does it look? Not much for being formal like you but it's comfy enough." Estarossa said, then looking in the mirror. "You'll be fine. As for me, I don't have much clothes that vary from each other. I prefer just the usual black shirt, pants, and tie anyway." Zeldris explained. "Probably a good thing. Judging by how you looked back at the prison, that fight you had with Mela wasn't pretty." Estarossa said, stepping out of the bedroom with a smirk. Zeldris only shrugged as he followed him down the stairs. "So what's the plan for today? How close are we to this apparent hiding spot?" Estarossa asked. "Not too far, we could probably walk to the forest from here." Zeldris answered. "I'm just surprised Drole wasn't caught yet. Who knows, maybe hide and seek isn't out of the question for the big guy." Estarossa stated, putting his hands behind his head with a shrug. "I don't see why you're careless about that." Zeldris retorted, crossing his arms. "He's massive! The odds of the holy knights being able to capture him, much less kill him is slim to NONE!" Estarossa exclaimed.
Melascula and Elizabeth both heard the commotion from the stairs, both sighing in relief with Estarossa's status being confirmed positive. "Glad to know he's okay. It was quite a thud up there." Elizabeth stated with a smile. Melascula was about to respond before being interrupted by loud banging booming from the door. She quickly flew towards the door in a nervous hurry. "M-May I h-help you?" She stuttered. The man who stood before the entrance was panicked out of his mind. "Hey, you gotta get out of here right away! The myth was true! The forest spirits are real!" He squealed.
"Oh my...p-please calm down, sir." Melascula lightly said, trying to calm the man down with a quiet, caring tone. However, it wasn't enough to soothe the panic of the person before her. "No, you don't understand! They were powerful monsters, they told all about how they defeated holy knights who stepped in the forest and..." He stopped immediately when in a blink, Zeldris and Estarossa had appeared near the door. They were so quick, even Elizabeth didn't even see them move past her. "Come on now, you heard the nice lady. No need to get noisy." Estarossa said calmly yet with surprising sternness. It was enough to make the sudden anxious man instantly silent, like he came face to face with the bogeyman. "Here, come inside. Let's get you cleaned up." Zeldris offered, giving more passive energy which drew the man more to Zeldris than his brother.
Zeldris was working up some leftovers in the kitchen while Elizabeth and Melascula had gently sat the man down to further calm him down. Estarossa on the other hand grabbed a chair and sat across the table from the man. "Okay, two questions. Who are you and what's these forest spirits you were freaking out about?" He asked simply. "Oh, m-my name is Simon. I was off looking for some fruit to harvest around this area, although I was warned by my friends in the nearby village that there was these forest spirits that killed anyone who entered these woods. I, of course, thought it was just some dumb story someone thought up." Simon explained. "Oh? And what happened when you stepped in?" Estarossa added, growing more interested with each passing second. Elizabeth and Melascula stood by near the table as well to start listening in. "I was walking for a little while and I find this huge, oddly shaped cave. I take one look inside and I come face to face with the beasts themselves. A creepy looking woman with these tentacles and a disfigured looking giant." Simon explained as he was getting worked up again.
His breaths were getting heavy as if he was looking at the two again, a terrifying sight. Zeldris gently put his hand on Simon's shoulder to make his presence known as he placed the food down on the table. "Oh, thank you." "No worries." Zeldris replied; "Now then, my interest is peaked. How far into the forest is this cave?" It took many attempts of convincing but Simon finally gave up the information Zeldris wanted and the group was off. Simon, however, wanted none of it and went his way back home. Melascula flew up to Zeldris, curious as to why this possible ghost story, inhanced by a delusion of fear made him interested of all things. "Captain, I do-don't mean to be a bother but I find all this a bit hard to believe. What's exactly gotten your attention?" Melascula asked softly. "If my suspicions are correct, it seems you were right about having us coming to search for Drole and Gloxinia here." Zeldris said, leading Melascula on as her eyebrows raised with a curious grin.
Meanwhile, Estarossa and Elizabeth were lightly treading behind. Elizabeth looked to the left of her, seeing the Commandment of Love watching a flock of birds in the distance. His gaze locked with simple yet unmistakable intrigue. "Are you enjoying yourself, Sir Estarossa?" She asked softly. The man's attention snapped back as his head turned towards her. "Apologies, could you repeat that?" He asked respectfully.
"I saw you staring out those birds. Is birdwatching a hobby of yours?" She rephrased. Estarossa stuttered once, then clearing his throat. It's been a while since someone other than Zeldris asked him a more personal question.
"It's not that. Sure, being in prison was honestly fun but the one thing it costed was exposure to the outside world." He explained; "Sometimes, I just like to get out and take it all in.". Elizabeth listened fondly. She never really took Estarossa as that type of person. "It sounds lovely. I'd like to join you sometime." Elizabeth offered earnestly. Estarossa, although listening, couldn't take his eyes off her. Something about her gleamed into his soul. Her kind gestures, her sweet voice. It felt familiar yet not at all at the same time. The thoughts didn't escape his mouth though as he kept his cool demeanor. "I wouldn't mind that at all." He replied with a wink.
After a few more steps, Zeldris stopped in his tracks with the rest following his lead. There it was, just as Simon described. The supposed cave. However, it seemed like a specifically designed entrance with surrounding vines. Zeldris took one step forward, only for a booming voice to echo from the cave. "STOP THERE, MORTAL!"
The spirit itself peaked its head out from within the cave. It was missing its right eye due what looked like a genetic defect, the skin was sapphire color, the head itself towered over everyone on the ground. "I AM THE ALL POWERFUL FOREST SPI-I MEAN, ONE OF THE ALL POWERFUL FOREST SPIRITS! WHO DARES STEP NEA..."
"Hey, Drole." Zeldris said calmly. Drole stopped his monologue immediately, dropping the act all together. "Captain?" He said, getting closer to the group. His face lit up with joy. "Hey there! Mela, Estarossa! It's been a while!" Drole then exclaimed gleefully. Elizabeth, having learned from meeting Melascula, wasn't too much put off by Drole's ginormous size. "This is Sir Drole?" She asked curiously. "Sir Drole I am!" Drole answered quickly. He extended his arm forward and gently scooped up Elizabeth in his hand. "Who's this one?" Drole asked excitedly. "Woah, careful! Drole, that's Princess Elizabeth!" Melascula assured. Drole's eyes shot open. "The Princess?!" He exclaimed accidentally having her slip out his hand. "Ah!" She squealed. The commandments aside were immediately going to catch her but in that same second, a second arm below reached out to grab her swiftly. Everyone sighed in relief, Elizabeth and Drole in particular. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" Drole exclaimed, examining her closely for any damage. "Don't worry, I'm o-okay. Just...uh...how exactly did you do that?" Elizabeth asked, just a little shaken up. "What do you mean? I just used my arm." Drole answered, showing both of his left arms. "Drole, she doesn't know yet." Zeldris stated, chuckling slightly. "Oh!"
Drole gently placed down Elizabeth and stepped out of the cave. He had four fully muscular arms, all to go along with his beefy body. "I got four arms!" Drole said, as if that was the most interesting feature of his body. He then sat down with a large smile. "Oh my, you do!" Elizabeth squealed in awe. She had never seen a being like Drole before. Melascula giggles slightly, seeing Elizabeth so happy but Zeldris and Estarossa, while joyful to see their comrade again, were both looking around. "Drole? Did you happen to be traveling with Gloxinia before stopping here?" Zeldris asked. "Oh...uh...Nope." Drole said, a blank yet nervous expression plastered all over. "Oh, really? Cause from how I remember, wherever he goes, you're following right behind." Estarossa said, crossing his arms. "...Who's Gloxinia?"
"Drole, where is he hiding?" Melascula asked softly. "OH, I GIVE UP! Gloxinia, come out from in there!" Drole exclaimed, turning towards the cave. "DROLE!" A voice bursted out like before. Out flew a smaller figure. Gloxinia was a slim man with flowing red hair and a large pair of shorts. The only thing about Gloxinia that's relatively big is his large colorful wings. "What did you do that for?! I told you not to reveal me under any circumstances!" Gloxinia scolded. "I'm sorry, they were interrogating me and besides, they're our friends." Drole exclaimed in his defense. "Oh...Well, how do we not know they're not illusions?" Gloxinia huffed, floating down near the ground. He stopped right near Elizabeth, who taken aback by Gloxinia's speed. "They look like Zeldris, Mela, and Estarossa but who's this woman right here? Who knows? Maybe she was making fak- OW! OW! OW!" Gloxinia was suddenly interrupted by Estarossa suddenly pinching his ear. "Fake, are we? Guys, I think we may just be part of his imagination." He joked, smirking.
"Alright! Alright! You're the real deal! I'm sorry, let go!"
After then taking some time to calm down, Gloxinia took it upon himself to formally introduce himself to Elizabeth. "Greetings, I am Gloxinia of Repose and you've already met Drole of Patience. Apologies for losing my temper. Being out here for so long somewhat made me paranoid, especially with the Forest Spirit thing we decided to put on." He explained with a calm tone, contrasting his earlier behavior. "All's forgiven!" Elizabeth exclaimed warmly; "I'm Elizabeth Liones! It's wonderful to meet you!" "Liones, huh? You do look a little familiar. Say, would you happen to his majesty's youngest?" Gloxinia replied. "That's correct."
"Do you remember her from somewhere, Gloxinia?" Melascula asked curiously. "I do, yeah. When we were working with the king, I remember seeing his daughters, Elizabeth especially, sticking near him for a good amount of times. I even remember seeing her peeking from a certain corner, just watching us train." Gloxinia explained. "I did that? My, I must've been quite interested." Elizabeth exclaimed, giggling awkwardly with a blush. "I don't remember seeing her." Drole stated. "Well, Drole. You couldn't even fit inside, you couldn't have been able to see much." Zeldris exclaimed to the giant.
"How do you remember all that? I barely remember I ate yesterday, much less events from ten years ago." Estarossa asked, stroking his beard a little. "How I'm the oldest of the Ten Commandments and yet the one with the best memory still perplexes me..." Gloxinia groaned. "Oldest?" Elizabeth asked in shock; "From how you look, I assumed you were one of the youngest, Sir Gloxinia." "Don't worry, I'm sure we all have at some point. I thought he was a girl when I first met him." Estarossa stated, causing Gloxinia to get worked up. "I AM NOT A--" He then took a deep breath before deciding to just ignore Estarossa to answer Elizabeth; "It's due to how aging works for Faries. Safe to say, I'm not dying of old age any time soon." Gloxinia boasted with a little chuckle.
"Speaking of dying, your death will be quick, Gloxinia of Repose." They all heard someone speak from within the forest. Out walked a rather slim woman with long black hair. While wearing a metal gloves along with keeping a rapier for battle, she had no suit on to protect herself. "A holy knight. She must've followed us here." Zeldris muttered, keeping his sword in his grasp. "The one time I step out..." Gloxinia huffed; "Hey, I don't exactly appreciate threats. Who are you?" The woman then drawed out her weapon and with a quick flick, multiple medium sized fire bombs shot out towards the group. "Apprentice Holy Knight, Guila."
BOOM! The combined explosion was enough to blast the crowd away, along with destroying the entire entrance of the cave. However, Guila knew better. She waited patiently for the smoke to clear to analyze and calculate her next move. Zeldris was sent flying into the cave, now trapped underneath the rubble with Drole taking out half the right side with being blown back. Estarossa had quickly grabbed Melascula and Elizabeth and jumped away from the blast to a safe distance.
However, Gloxinia had not been quick enough to fly away and was hit by the blast. His body lied silent on the ground with burns all over. Estarossa gently placed down the two ladies and looked back over to Guila. "That's one taken care of, now for the giant." She said with a soft smile. "No...Gloxinia..." Melascula murmured, her hands over her mouth when she saw the stiff fairy. " Mela, please get Elizabeth clear of the area. It's about to rough." Estarossa stated, staying in front of the two as a shield to prevent any damage. Melascula nodded before turning to Elizabeth. "How are we going to get away?" The princess asked, clearly fearful of their foe. Melascula flicked her fingers, a portal opened for Elizabeth to step through. "You can open portals?" Elizabeth exclaimed in surprise.
"No time to explain, Elizabeth. Please hurry inside, it goes to the tavern." Melascula assured, helping Elizabeth inside. "Not so fast." Guila said firmly, lunging her rapier forward. The ground below Estarossa and Melascula began to glow brightly. Something under was ready to blow! "Melascula, Sir Estarossa!" Elizabeth called out before Melascula quickly closed the portal to keep her from the blast.
The flames rose up from the ground, the minor explosion both hitting the two commandments. "Apologies but I've taken precautions to make sure none of you escape alive. I've set up bombs all around this forest." Guila explained, walking forward to see if she truly finished them off. To her surprise, Estarossa stood tall, barely affected. "Oh...what's this?"
Estarossa had been barely affected by the fierce blast and in his arms to cover her was Melascula. She opened her eyes slowly to then look up at her hero. His clothes were heavily damaged but his skin was practically untouched. "Estarossa...are you o-okay?" She stammered, shaking a little. "Absolutely." He said, winking with a smirk but it quickly shifted to a concerned frown when he saw Melascula's right arm. Despite him taking most of the attack for her, he was unsuccessful in protecting her entire body. "Mela..." He murmured, his face turning to that of rage. He slowly started walking towards Guila with an intimidating glare. "You're gonna pay for that." He stated. Melascula herself would be unable to use most of her magic abilities without both of her arms but she could only be able to help at least with one flick on her only useful arm. A magical force surrounded the area, keeping the commandments and Guila inside. "Oh? A barrier? You do realize all you've done is trap yourselves with me." Guila stated, her confident demeanor still remaining intact.
A burst from the cave rubble then suddenly emerged. Out hoped an angry Zeldris, joining his brother in approaching the Holy Knight. "Correction. You're trapped with us." He stated. Drole slowly creeped up from the ground, cracking his knuckles.
3 against 1! Time to brawl!