Chapter 2: Plans and Curiosity
Zara looked up at Anner, who had a blank look on her face, and continued, "The computer said that you were the weapons master of this country and that you could help me. However, you're only about my age. I am sorry. You must not be the one?"
"No, I must be. I have a lot of weapons, and I know how to use them. But I had no idea that I was a master of anything," Anner said. She laughed at the thought. She looked at the sky and then back at Zara. "Um, it's very late. Come home with me. We can talk about this in the morning, okay?"
"Okay," Zara replied. She tugged a piece of her hair behind her ear and followed Anner. They walked to Anner's house in silence.
"Naubu, I'm home," Anner yelled as she walked into her front door. She shut it behind the other girl. "Put your stuff there," she told Zara as she laid her jacket on a chair.
Naubu got up from a chair in his downstairs bedroom where he was drawing a picture of a beautiful, but wicked girl sitting in an old chair and holding some kind of orb. He didn't know what made him draw that girl like that. He walked into the other room and asked, "Ann, who's with you?" He stopped when he saw Zara.
Anner grabbed onto Zara's arm and stepped forward. "This is Zara Talentae. I'm going to outfit her with some fighting clothes and some weapons tomorrow," Anner said. Zara remained silent.
Naubu smiled and said, "Hi, Zara," he looked at Anner and said, "Night, ladies." He turned around and went back to his room.
"That was a little rude," Zara said, crossing her arms.
"Naubu is like that around pretty girls," Anner replied as they went into the elevator. She laughed. "But to tell you the truth he prefers the cute guys." They entered Anner's bedroom.
"He prefers guys? Prefers them for what?"
"Never mind," Anner sweat-dropped. Zara was obviously the meek, innocent type.
Two hours later, Fayer was laying on her back under a thin blanket and on the soft floor, with her eyes fixed on the sky through a huge hole in the ceiling. A dark, gray mist blocked out most of the far-off light that reflected from the moon. She turned her head towards Lan, who was lying on her side, with her back to Fayer. "Lan, are you awake?" she asked.
Lan rolled over onto her stomach and mumbled, "I'll give you two, but that map must be worth it?"
Fayer looked away from Lan and thought for a while. She slid out from under the blanket and slowly got up. She stepped over Lan, careful not to disturb her dream. She put on Lan's long-sleeve, green shirt over her midriff and knelt by her pack. She grabbed a light-ring with a red gem and a long necklace that had a red, heating stone.
The church was built in gothic style and made nearly completely of black and purple, un-breakable glass. The roof was made of a more stony material. Behind where the girls had been sleeping was a glass statue of the supreme goddess, Averi, standing in a short, white robe with her wavy, raven-black hair loose, to her knees. A glass figure of the Averian orb hovered above her up-turned, left hand.
Fayer took a moment to kneel down and pray. Then she went to the front door. She looked at Lan and then slipped out, un-noticed.
The frigid, stale air immediately stung Fayer. She turned on her light-ring and lifted up her hand. Even with the bright light from the ring, it was difficult for her to see through the thick mist. She fingered her heat stone to regain some tepidity in her fingertips. They had one good heater, but Fayer had left it by Lan to keep her warm while she slept.
Fayer began back to where she had heard the crying sound earlier that night. As she got close to the spot, the crying started again. She followed the sound into an old house. The crying got worse. "That sounds human?" Fayer thought.
Fayer walked into a bedroom that looked like it probably once belonged to a little girl. She moved her right hand with the light-ring on it around the room. A small, crying figure sat in the right corner. Fayer's eyes widened as she thought, "?A human child!?"
Fayer quickly went forward and knelt down. "What is your name? And what are you doing here all by yourself??" Fayer asked gently.
The girl, about the age of five, had long raven-black hair and black eyes. She looked up and tried to stop crying. "Destiny. My parents both died in the cevariki storm," the little girl said.
Fayer eyed Destiny. She blinked and then said, "That was a long time ago, too long. Tell me what really happened, Destiny."
Destiny stood up. "I'm not lying!" she cried, tears running down her face.
"Okay, Okay," Fayer said, "Come back with me to the church and me and my friend will think of what to do with you later." She held out her hand to Destiny and smiled.
Destiny paused and then took Fayer's hand.
The two walked back to the church without saying a word to each other. The entire time Fayer thought about Destiny. Destiny, however, just jumped around like a normal little girl singing in a different language. Fayer kept her eyes on the girl.
As they approached the church, the image of Lan standing outside the building began to come into focus. Destiny stopped singing and got behind Fayer. At first Lan didn't notice them, but as the sound of their footsteps grew loud enough for Lan to hear, she glanced over. She began to walk angrily towards Fayer without seeing the child at first. "Where have you been?" she demanded. She arched her eyebrow when she saw Destiny. Lan tugged on Fayer's sleeve and said, "Come over here." She pulled Fayer over to the side. Destiny sat on the ground and started to braid her hair, singing were she left off. Lan motioned towards Destiny, "Explain."
Fayer thought for a second. "That is the thing? I can't. Remember that sound that I said might be a Kavie? It was that girl," she said, "She says that she was here during the cevariki storm. I don't know how she really got here."
"She couldn't have been here! She would be really old by now. And there's no way that that girl got through all those traps. We could barely get through them!" Lan said quickly with her hands on her hips. She glanced over at Destiny. "Someone must have brought her here," she looked back at Fayer, "Talk to her. She's probably singing in her home language. Knowing what that is might help."
Fayer looked at Destiny and then Lan. She replied, "Alright. I'll try. But she seems pretty strong willed. Last time I contradicted her she nearly lost it."
"Just try, Fayer."
Lan watched Destiny closely while her eyes turned a darker shade of brown; she was clearly thinking bad thoughts involving the little girl. Fayer and Lan hoisted their packs onto their shoulders and began walking. "Damn it, Fayer," she muttered under her breath.
Fayer heard Lan and glanced at her in the corner of her right eye. "I did try, Lan, but she doesn't seem to understand," she said in defense. She looked at Destiny, who skipped along happily. She giggled and turned her head towards Lan. "You think that she could have hit her head on somethin'?" She quickly continued before Lan could answer. "And she could have been the child of an explorer, who had to flee suddenly."
That got Lan's attention. "Yeah!" she cried. "Why didn't I realize that possibility?" She quickly lost her enthusiasm. "But-now we got to figure out why they left. And make sure that child is all right. It does make sense."
"Either that or she is a ghost or something," Fayer laughed. "Actually she may just not know very much of our language. She is probably speaking a language from the old Kingdom. I wouldn't be surprised if she was one of those untouchables."
"People so poor that they have to end their life and the life of the children for money and fame," Lan said bitterly. "I am so glad that I do not remember my life before the draft. At first I though amnesia was a horrible thing, but when I found out who my parents really were?"
"You should be glad that the draft failed. If that operation had not been ended, you would have been a mindless slave forever. And you would not have met me. Teaches the Old Kingdom for trying for the iron-fist rule."
"Yeah, no one ever wins when they try to control everyone like that." Lan laughed.
Fayer thought for a moment. She looked questionably at Lan in a playful way. "You owe me your life, so why are you so mean to me?"
"Huh? You only put my body back together. You want me to owe you?! Make me human again!"
"Yeah, but? you would have been scrap metal if I never found you!"
Lan ignored her statement and stopped suddenly and watched Destiny. This time her look was not so harsh and she actually smiled. "Okay, kiddo. It is almost lunch time; whatever you want."
Calissa looked down both ends of the hall ahead of her. She walked carefully down the left end, towards the door that led directly to the stairs that spilled down the outside of the building. She paused to watch the orange light that fractured through the textured glass. It was the color of her hair, so beautiful. "Great," she thought, "Most guards on this side are still on lunch break."
Mariah appeared behind her, unheard as of yet. She stood still and rested her hands on her hips. "And where does she think she is going?" she thought, a slight smirk on her golden lips. She crept towards Calissa with her tiny, bare feet soundless. She stopped walking, unsure of whether she should stop Calissa or follow her. After a moment of thought, she decided to follow Calissa. "She is always doing this and I am only the adviser; how could I stop her? Besides, I want to know where she goes," she quickly added to her thoughts. She adjusted her glasses on her small face. The scene fades out on the bottom half of Mariah's bare legs as she walks down the marble hall, far behind Calissa.
The two girls walked across the large basement of Anner's house. Zara walked behind Anner, almost unable to stand the heat. Somewhere she could hear water dripping. Her arms were filled with various pieces of armor; she blew a strand of her hair out of her face.
Anner picked up a dagger from a shelf along the wall filled with knifes. She wiped the dust off with her hand and examined it, feeling the blade and then slashing it up and down. Zara watched without saying a word. Anner finally shook her head and laid it down. "What you need is not any kind of knife."
"Then what else do you have?"
Anner was looking at the floor, in deep thought. After a long while, she look up and a grin came across her face. "How good do you think you are with an glaive?"
"Awha?" Zara asked, her dark eyes were blank and she obviously had no idea what a glaive really was. "What is that supposed to mean? A grave?!"
Anner laughed loudly. She tried deciding what terms that Zara would understand. "No, Zara, a g-l-a-i-v-e. It is like a staff with a blade on the top."
She walked past Zara to the back of the room, where there was six staffs and spears leaning against the wall. She picked up the only glaive and held it with both hands above her head and, of course, swung it around.
Zara struggled to keep a hold of the gear that Anner had been piling into her arms. "Why do I need all this?!" she asked when Anner signaled that she was done with the glaive examination. Zara leaned her back onto the cold, limestone wall and waited.
Anner smiled, carrying the glaive with her. "I don't know what will be best for you yet. Luckily I narrowed it down to just a few items based on your body type." Anner looked Zara up and down then added, "And one other thing." She continued smiling as she walked past Zara and into the practice room. "By the way, I think the glaive will be fine. If not than definitely a staff.
"Luckily?!" Zara muttered in reply before she followed Anner. She dropped the arms full of armor and weapons onto the nearby table. The surrounding air was immediately filled with dust from the armor. She sneezed. "Damn, don't you ever dust these?"
Anner didn't answer. She only began to sort them out quietly, wiping a cloth over them all. "Oh, did I mention that I am going to bring my brother?" she asked, although it was more like a statement of fact. Anner left the room for her own armor.
A few minutes later she reentered the room already in her armor and wielding a long sword. She wore armor that resembled a knight's armor, and her sword was decorated with rubies and silver carvings. She laughed at Zara's expression, "I had this stuff stashed away." She leaned onto the wall and smiled at Zara. "This is going to be so fun. I have never actually been on an adventure this important."
"I am surprised that you have not asked about where we are going," Zara commented as she began to put on the armor. "Are you that willing to follow people you just met into abysses?" She forced a laugh.
"No," Anner quickly replied. She laughed too. "Simply said, I believe you. But I have my reasons." Anner lay her sword on the table and removed her armor. Her nerves had began to feel fried by the heat.
"What reasons?" Zara asked while testing the weight of her armor by walking around the room. She was slightly uninterested.
"My brother? Um, how do I put this?" Anner said slowly. She raised her right hand and rested it on her forehead. "My brother is an artist. And in one of his recent pictures, the girl looks just like you."
Zara stopped walking and gradually turned. She narrowed her eyes, "What?! Your trust in me is based on a picture." She broke the silence by laughing.