Fan Fiction ❯ A War of Three Nations ❯ Chapter Two: Divided Decisions ( Chapter 2 )

A War of Three Nations

 

Chapter Two: Divided Decisions

 

Aleq had a brief moment of surprise that held her thin lips in a small 'oh,' at her kings words before she reverted back to her cold face.

 

Aleq gave a dramatic sigh before answering: "I am, my lord, very enthusiastic to hear what you have planned."

 

Andreas smirked, amused by his general's response. He had known that she would be just as excited as he.

"It is true! I have found a way past the Forbidden Gates, and a few smaller demons have already made their way into the countries of Fayrie and Gaia to have some fun. But you cannot yet go," he paused, looking straight at her to see if she were listening before continuing.

"Once they have aroused the fear of demons that lies dormant in the hearts of the elves and of the neko-jins, then I will send you out on a task. A task to bring back the means by which we will resurrect Shafira!"

 

"My lord," responded Alequintaine, voice as smooth as silk, "if we have had the opportunity to escape these gates that restrict us of our freedom, would it not be better to leave Malo now, and attack Fayrie and Gaia without warning? So that, perhaps, they have no time to prepare their army and such-and-such? If you have our demons experiment with their fear, they would merely prepare themselves for war against us."

She paused lightly, and then looked around, waiting for what her king would say next. Andreas simply smirked at her question.

 

"There is a reason as to why I want you to wait. I'm sure you have heard of the heart stones, the ancient crystals that hold unimaginable power? We will need to collect all of them in order to bring Shafira back. The stones of stone, fire and darkness are in the castle's armory, but the other 8 are somewhere in Gaia or Fayrie. I'm sending the smaller demons to first see if they can find any of them, and, if they can or cannot, you will be sent out very soon."

 

"I can afford to be patient, then, my lord-- though enthusiasm is beginning to boil up within me, imagining what we can do when the goddess Shafira is finally back among us."

 

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"We shall, Aceline. We shouldn't keep the Queen waiting for longer then necessary."

Aceline gave a swift nod, and followed her king, and their two escorts, watching silently as the guards disappeared when they entered the corridor leading to the debate room. Aceline was truly impressed at how the Fayrie castle was built of marble, and how the sunlight was reflected of the marble when it hit-- whether it be the walls, the floor, or even the ceiling.

The door opened, and Aceline caught a glimpse of two men standing stiffly to the side of Queen Fara. She raised her eyebrows gently, but then quickly lowered them as she paid Fara a respectful bow before turning swiftly to stand beside her king.

 

By the time General Aceline Aaralyn of Gaia had stepped beside King Rai, Zephyr was already transfixed with her. Bellatrice and Bade bowed lowly and went to stand beside Matthias and Zephyr. Bade poked Zephyr lightly, and when Zephyr gave a jerk, Bellatrice giggled lightly. Zephyr glared at Bade, "And that was for?"

Matthias gave his son a small smile, "Staring isn't very polite, Zeph."

The general gave a slight blush as his glare intensified, "If I might inform you that I was not staring, Father."

Though he was whispering, his voice had authority behind it, and made Matthias, Bellatrice, and Bade close their mouths for the time being.

After the meeting, however, Bade concluded, he would tease his older brother to no end.

 

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Rye's eyes snapped open. He held his breath as he listened and tried to interpret the feeling that suddenly hit him, like a slap in the face. He stood up on the rock he was sitting on in the water and frowned.

`What is this feeling in my gut? Has something happened in town?'

He quickly stepped up onto dry land and hurried to his cottage. He wasn't sure why or what he would do once he got there, but he wanted to go into town. It was a spontaneous decision, something he thought up without thinking of the consequences. Once home, he pulled on black pants, a deep-red, sleeveless T-shirt and dark brown boots. As he placed his hand on the doorknob he hesitated.

`Is this a wise thing to do? I have been shunned and cast away from town. I am dangerous to them, what would they do to me if I'm discovered? What would I do to them in self-defense? But I cannot ignore such a dark and disgusting feeling...'

He walked back into his room and reached under his bed before dragging out the sword his demon-father left behind. He stared down at its brilliance for a while: The black scabbard was engraved with silver inscriptions and a deep-red stone glinted at the sword's hilt. Rye's brother-in-law had once carefully studied the sword and said under his breath, "Such a brilliant sword could not have possibly been wielded by an ordinary, low-class demon."

Rye attached the scabbard to a large, black belt, which he placed over his right shoulder and buckled at his chest. He covered himself in a black, hooded cloak before leaving his cottage and running towards the nearest town.

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It took some time to reach the closest town, the town where he was born in. He stared at it from its outskirts; hesitating; concentrating. The darkness he felt was not from this town, but another. It felt close, very close, perhaps in the neighboring town. He decided to find his half-sister, his only family left, to warn her of the possible danger. He kept his face down, eyes at the ground, as he walked the streets. He felt extremely nervous that he would be found out, but he pushed on. He hadn't been around so many people ever in his life before and it flustered him.

 

He was so preoccupied with his own self-consciousness that he didn't realize the townspeople were in a state of unrest.

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"As of now, four small demons have been spotted within the region of Gaia, but they disappeared without a trace."

"There has yet to be any sightings within Fayrie, but that simply troubles me all the more. Why would they be appearing now? What purpose do the demons have? And further more, how are they able to get past the Forbidden Gates?"

King Rai shook his head to Fara's question, sighing as he resisted leaning on his arm as he would have done when he was simply a prince. "I honestly don't know, and the 'magicians' of my court can figure no way that the demons can get around the Gates Magics."

Turning to the two generals, Fara lifted her hand.

"What are your opinions, General Zephyr, General Aceline? Why do you think that the demons are suddenly showing activity?"

 

Zephyr gave his full attention to his queen as she asked for his opinion. "They could be restless for many a reason, my lady. Since the kingdom of Malo is locked beneath the Forbidden Gates, they are sure to be restless, and are sure to want out. They might be nearly out of their food supply, and want to gather more food-- you know how Andreas and his general get when Malo has a shortage of food. The only other reason, I fear, however, that is causing their so-called 'restlessness,' is that perhaps--" Here Zephyr took a pause and looked his queen directly in the eye. "Perhaps-- and it is just a theory --Andreas has miraculously found a way to have his demons pass through the gates; why do you think King Rai and General Aceline have seen demons in their kingdom, when they are supposedly held back by the Forbidden Gates?"

Aceline frowned beside her king, staring intently at Zephyr as if asking for an explanation, but when she and the others received none, she told them her own theory, readying herself for the reactions she would receive. She whispered quietly, "Isn't it also possible that ... Andreas and his general have found out how to resurrect their goddess, Shafira?"

 

Every head in the room turned to look at Aceline when she suggested the possible resurrection of Shafira, the possibility ringing in their heads.

"We have to hope that that's not what they're doing." Rai broke the silence, the advisers nodding.

"If that were to happen, our only hope would be to bring Etaine back to life as well," Fara added, sighing. That would be difficult to do.

"I say that this is enough talk of demons for one day. Come Rai, I'll show you the palace, since you'll be leaving tomorrow." Rai nodded and followed the elven queen out, the advisers leaving as well.

Ronin walked to the two generals and clasped Zephyr on the shoulder. "Well, old friend. It seems that after a lifetime without demons they have started to act up again." Shaking away that thought, Ronin forced a smile. "What do you say to joining my family for dinner tonight, Zephyr? I'm sure Jamina would be thrilled to see you again. And you are welcome as well, General Aceline. My home is your home, and Preia would probably love to meet a neko-jin."

 

Zephyr said solemnly as he, his brother, his mother, his father, and General Aceline, watched King Rai and Queen Fara disappear along with their advisors, "Resurrecting Lady Etaine might just be our only hope."

"Don't be so sentimental," Bade said, glancing sideways at his brother. "You don't have to be so moody, either, Zeph."

Aceline looked at the brothers, and then gave Zephyr's mother and brother a small smile and bow. "Thank you for escorting me and my king to Queen Fara's throne room." She turned to Ronin, then told him, "Thank you. I would very much appreciate that."

Zephyr glanced at his family before they nodded, and he answered Ronin, "Yes. And I will have my army prepared, Ronin. My father is behind me, after all. As for dinner, yes, I'd love to join you. I haven't seen Jamina in a very long time."

 

Wonderful, shall we be off then?" turning, Ronin exited the room and walked briskly down the long hallway, coming out the front doors and going to where he knew the horses were kept. Mounting his steed and waiting till the General's had done the same, Ronin snapped the reigns and took off at a trot towards the south end of the city.

 

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The wind tickled Preia's nose as she lay in the grass, relaxing and keeping her mind from the worries of her life. Acute ears picking up the sound of carriages, she opened her eyes and sat up, gazing back at the city. Carriages decorated in red and gold, the colours of Gaia, were being driven to the large stables near the edge of the city.

 

A thought suddenly striking her, a wide grin settled on her lips.

 

`King Rai is here for the night, is he not? And he will be leaving tomorrow along with the traders that travel between Fayrie and Gaia, correct?' she mused mentally, growing more and more excited. `I could sneak out with King Rai's party early tomorrow morning! I could get out of Fayrie and see Gaia!'

 

`I'll sneak out tomorrow morning before anyone else wakes up and leave with the caravan; I'll have to stick with the shadows, but that's easy enough.' Plan made, Preia ran home, her eyes alight with excitement. She was going to Gaia! As long as her mother didn't find out about her plans, she would be on her way tomorrow.

Silently sneaking into her house so that no one would see her, Preia quickly went to her room and started digging through her wardrobe for suitable riding clothes.

"Lady Preia? What are you doing?" Turning at the voice, Preia's eye's lit up again at the sight of her hand maiden, Maria; a neko-jin.

"Maria," she paused, walking over to the girl she considered her friend and clasping her by the shoulders, "I need you to teach me everything you can about Gaia and fast, and I need your help with picking some clothing."

 

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"Damn!" Nakamura shouted, punching a tree and causing it to fall over.

"Calm down. You'll get another chance another time," Ishikawa said, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Yeah. Besides, are you really angry about a fight that we were sure to win, or is there something else bothering you?" Ka-Rosu asked, looking down at his shorter companion.

"I'm angry because those two insulted my pride and my training," Nakamura growled, now angry because his friend knew him so well.

"Well, you didn't show as much discipline as you should've. I'm pretty sure Master wouldn't be pleased about that," Ishikawa said with a grin.

"Shut up Ishi," Nakamura barked.

"Are we gonna stand here all day and argue, or are you gonna blow off some steam?" Ka-Rosu asked, dropping his sword to the ground along with Ishikawa.

"I was hoping for a little tussle with you two." Nakamura said, dropping his sword as well.

Ishikawa ran up and kicked at Nakamura's head, but missed when Nakamura ducked down and grabbed his leg. Ishikawa looked at Nakamura before he threw Ishikawa back and into Ka-Rosu, who didn't budge an inch.

Ka-Rosu walked up and slammed his fist into Nakamura's chest, knocking the wind out of the shorter demon. Ishikawa jumped up and slammed his fist into the back of Ka-Rosu's head, sending him tumbling down on top of Nakamura.

"I guess I win again?" Ishikawa asked, picking up his sword.

"By luck," Nakamura said from under Ka-Rosu. "GET THE HELL OFFA ME, ROCK-HEAD!!!" Nakamura screamed from under Ka-Rosu's crushing weight.

"I'm sorry if Ishikawa knocked me over, but don't bite my head off," Ka-Rosu said, climbing to his feet and helping Nakamura up.

"So, off to the next town?" Ishikawa asked.

"I'm actually on my way to Freia," Ka-Rosu said.

"I'll tag along with you," Nakamura said, shaking Ka-Rosu's hand in farewell.

"Let's go then," Ishikawa said, heading off down the road towards the next town.

 

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And yet another chapter finished! Wow, I'm really in the mood to work on this O.o. Anyways… I hope you guys are enjoying this! I'm doing my best to keep things making sense and in order and yah… Thanks for taking the time to read this and please leave a review! XD

 

Amariahellcat

 

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*cough* You're lucky you have me to have them make sense! XD Anyway, this has been another chapter beta-read by Snowy.

 

With sincerest respect,

 

I remain,

 

Snowy