Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Magic Knight Rayearth: Medieval Mystery Series ❯ Dinner with Gypsies ( Chapter 4 )

Magic Knight Rayearth, Medieval Mystery Series...Part 4.

No rambles for now. C-chan.

(Actions)

Name: Thoughts.

Name: Speech.

*~*~*~*~*

(Ascott's black carriage lumbers along a winding road, overlooking a rugged coastline bathed in the orange glow of sunset. The waves crash majestically against the shore, and seabirds cry boldly from above. Ascott looks out the window and sighs.)

Ascott: Man, are we there yet?

Ascott: This sure is taking a long time.

(He pets his friend, the little Hikari type creature seen in Rayearth1, and regards the blue jewel that floats, magically trapped in a gold hoop on the end of a tall sceptre. He remembers Clefs parting words... )

Clef: Remember, each stone is attracted to it's element. Red to fire, blue to water, and green to air. Search out the element, and you will be one step closer to finding it's magic knight.

(End flash back. Ascott turns to his friend.)

Ascott: This should be easy, everyone knows the biggest body of water is the ocean. And the biggest city on the coast line is Cape Frayel. The Magic Knight is bound to be hiding somewhere near here. We'll be sure to bring him out, won't we Hikari...

Hikari: Preee!

Ascott: He he...

(He smiles, produces a magic ball, and plays with Hikari a bit. Suddenly the gem flashes momentarily as a warning, signalling the proximity of it's knight.)

Ascott: We must be getting close...

Driver: My lord, we have arrived in Cape Frayel.

Ascott: It's about time, Sheesh. I was just about to die of boardo.....!

(He pulls back the curtain to reveal a HUGE city sprawled out before him. Tall ships in the harbor, markets bustling and churning with people, streets twisting and turning every which way...)

Ascott: On second thought, maybe this will be harder than I thought...

*~*~*~*~*

(Meanwhile, Ferio and Fuu are in the now almost dark forest, sitting around a brightly snapping fire. The two morsels of meat are cooking on a spit.)

(Ferio sits down beside Fuu after stirring the fire a bit.)

Ferio: There, that should do it.

Fuu: They look really delicious, do you know when they'll be ready?

Ferio: Soon I hope, my stomach has begun gnawing on my backbone.

(Fuu laughs as he makes a face. Then she smiles, gazing contentedly at the fire as the shadows play upon her face, accentuating her fine features. Ferio observes her for a moment.)

Ferio: What are you thinking about Fuu?

(Fuu seems to blink herself awake again.)

Fuu: Hmm? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention.

Ferio: That's ok, but what were you thinking about? For a minute there, you seemed to be in a different world all together.

Fuu: Oh that, just daydreaming again I suppose. My aunts say I do that far too often. I guess they're right aren't they.

(She looks down at the ground.)

Fuu: I...I was just trying to remember the last time I enjoyed an evening like this. It must have been more than five years ago, before the death of my parents...

Ferio: Oh, I...I'm sorry...

Fuu (shaking her head gently): No, it's ok. I like talking about them, it helps me remember.

Fuu: In a way, I guess you could say I was spoiled with such a loving family. My father was a scholar, and a tutor as well. He spent a lot of his time travelling the country, teaching philosophy and literature to everyone who wanted to learn, regardless of weather they had money or not. He was a daydreamer, and a hopeless romantic, but my mother loved him very much.

(She smiles)

Fuu: I'll always remember, whenever he came back from any long journey, he would pretend I was a princess, kneel down before me, kiss my hand and say, 'Majesty, would you lift the heart of this unworthy traveller, and give me the honour of this next dance?'

(She giggles happily at the memory of it.)

Ferio: He sounds like a very intelligent man.

Fuu: Oh he was, and my mother was too. She taught me math, science, geography, grammar and many other things too. She was a very practical woman, it's hard to believe my father and mother could have loved each other as much as they did, but I know she loved him deeply.

(She sighs deeply and looks up at the stars.)

Fuu: It's strange, but she always knew when my father was about to return from a long journey. She'd sweep into my room in the early morning and say with a smile, 'Wake up Fuu. The wind has changed. Your father will be home before dinner tonight.' ... and she was always right.

Ferio: Wow, that is strange. He must have written letters to her about when he'd be home, right?

(Fuu gently shakes her head, smiling.)

Fuu: It always shocked even my father, because sometimes he didn't even know he would be home that night, until some carriage came along and offered a ride, or some student cancelled a lesson. It was more like she could feel the wind and listen to what it told her. Even I can understand what it says sometimes.

Ferio: So, what? You talk to the wind?

(His voice is only somewhat mocking/disbelieving.)

Fuu: No, it's not at all like that, I just listen, and it tells things to my heart. Like the times when I feel depressed, as if there's nothing in the world I can do right, and my that mother and father are ashamed of me, wherever they are. Those times, if I just close my eyes and listen to the wind, or look up at the clouds as watch them race across the sky. They seem so free and gentle that I know someday...everything will be alright.

(While Fuu lingers a little longer in her daydreams, Ferio turns his head down to look at the ground and tries to understand what she really meant to say when she said "everything will be alright." He, of course, never had a family like Fuu's, or at least has no recollection of one. His first memories are of travelling with a band of gypsies.)

Ferio: I wonder what happened to my parents...

Fuu: Ferio, do you think the pork rolls are ready yet?

Ferio: Ahh! Yes! Perfect!

(He takes the spit off of the supports and breaks it in half so that he and Fuu each have an end with a roll on it. He smiles.)

Ferio: Bon appetite!

*~*~*~*~*~*

(Later on that evening Ferio and Fuu finally reach the edge of the forest just as the last bit of orange sky is fading behind the horizon. The first stars are out, and the clouds are nothing more than dots on the horizon.)

Ferio: Are you sure you won't get in trouble because of the pork rolls?

Fuu: No. My aunts probably won't do anything.

Fuu: Louis however...

(She tries to hide it, but Ferio manages to make out the troubled look on her face in the twilight.)

Ferio: ...Are you sure you're ankle will be alright? I could come with you just to make sure...

(Fuu gently shakes her head, smiling.)

Fuu: I'll be alright, and you'll surely be missed in the castle, I couldn't have you getting into trouble on my account now could I?

Ferio: But I... ...

(Her smile tells him she won't change her mind. He smiles, admitting defeat.)

Ferio: Well then, I guess we part here. Goodbye Fuu...

Fuu: Fare well Ferio-san...

(They both hesitate a moment. Just as Fuu turns her head to leave...)

Ferio: Fuu, wait a minute...

Fuu: Yes?

Ferio: I...uh, I want you to take this...

Fuu: Ferio?

(He takes her hand and wraps it around an object.)

Ferio: They say it has the power to make wishes come true...I think you should have it...

(Fuu opens her hand to look at the gift. It's a small pink object with a red gem, like the one Ferio gave her in the anime series. She's startled for a moment, realises that it must be expensive, and shakes her head.)

Fuu: Ferio, I..I can't accept this...it's too...

(She holds out her hand, for him to take it back, but Ferio turns his back to her and crosses his arms over his chest, taking up once more his "I don't care" act.

Ferio: Just take it would you...

(He starts to walk off into the forest again, but Fuu to chases him.)

Fuu: Wait! Why are you...Ferio?

(Ferio realises he's got to say something to stop her.)

Ferio: Because I love you, that's why.

(It works, Fuu stops dead in shock and Ferio doubles his speed, disappearing into the black shadows of the woods. After a few minutes of staring and blushing, she smiles, and places the object in the pocket of her apron, and heads on her way.)

*~*~*~*~*~*

(Far away, Lantis and his horse wind their way down the treacherously twisted pathways of a mountain range. All about them the mountains loom black under the starred sky. Lantis however doesn't seem concerned about this.)

Lantis: The magic knight must inhabit these volcanic mountains. The jewel reacted just as I entered this valley.

(He turns an abrupt corner around an outcropping corner of the mountain, and peers down as a large, long valley opens up below. Out of the very centre of the valley, the smoke of a village can be seen winding it's way up into the nearly black sky, but no firelight escapes the shuttered windows of the houses. However, at the opposite side of the valley, on a high plateau almost level with Lantis himself, he suddenly notices a light.)

(A large, unshielded bonfire blazes in the wind, it's brilliance stands as the only light visible against the stark blackness of the night cloaked mountains. Lantis pulls out a telescope and uses it to get a closer look. In front of the fire, a lone figure kneels, unflinching against the violent flames before it, braid drifting freely upon the breeze.)

(Suddenly, the figure turns it's head, until it appears to be staring straight at Lantis. He raises an eyebrow, and puts his spyglass away.)

Lantis: Magic knight, it seems I have found you at last.

End chapter 4.