( Chapter 4 )
.: First Encounter :.
"Here your
trials will be made realities," Count Dekim
said.
"Your skills will be tested in the greatest
possible way.
Here you will hunt and capture. I hope
you have
prepared well, for this is the ultimate
test."
They stood at the entrance to a deep, enormous,
dark forest.
"We have
prepared," Catherine said darkly. Her eyes
that were once
so full of shining and light were now
clouded and
dark, the result of her training.
"Indeed,"
Relena answered with a sardonic smile. "We
will bring you
our captives when we have finished
here."
"Then
onward," the count said. "May you fly swiftly on
your journey,
hunters."
*~*
"Split,"
Sally said.
"Are you
sure?" Hilde asked with a tinge of
uncertainty.
"If the
Black Widow says it, we’ll be all right,"
Dorothy
answered with a smirk.
"The archers
will travel together," Lucretia stated.
Relena nodded
her assent and Hilde looked a little
relieved.
"I go
alone," Catherine said.
"Meet here
at dusk, then. It is already late, so move
quickly."
"Agreed."
*~*
Dorothy crept
along. She was certainly not the
quietest or the
lightest on foot, but what stealth she
lacked she made
up for with the sword. Searching the
trees and
underbrush, she cursed quietly when she
cracked a large
branch and heard something small
scurry away.
She stopped dead in her tracks, trying to
locate and
identify the fleeing creature. While she
did not hear
further rustling, a different, strange
sound reached
her ears. Gentle strumming of
crystal-clear
notes. Following the beautiful strains,
she happened
upon a small glen. An opening high in the
treetops let
down golden streams of sunlight tumble
down onto a
strange rock, tinted-green, with a boy
sitting on it.
It was this boy who was meticulously
strumming a
golden lyre. He had his back to Dorothy.
His blonde hair
glinted in the sunlight, just like the
reflection from
his lyre. Dorothy drew her sword as
gently as
possible, but the blade shied against it’s
sheath, making
a light, almost inaudible metallic
noise. At this
slight disturbance in the atmosphere,
the boy stopped
at once and, dropping the lyre lightly
to his side,
spun to face Dorothy. She stepped from
the trees into
the clearing immediately, sword drawn,
only to stop
again. The boy gazed at her through
large,
beautiful blue eyes. A deep blue, like a calm
ocean, a bit
darker than her own. His ears gave him
away to be an
elf. Dressed in a neutral, fitted tunic
and darker
pants. Around his neck was a cord with a
single gem
hanging from it, a gem the same color as
his eyes. The
elf’s gaze traveled from her face to her
weapon, and a
slight disturbance appeared in his eyes
when they
caught hers again. As she stared into the
blue pools, the
gem began to glow slightly. As he
continued to
look at her, it lifted from his chest, as
if being
propelled by a strong gust of wind. His hair
began to wave
slightly, as if the gem was giving off
some kind of
energy. Dorothy gasped. There was nothing
moving the
jewel…?! The glow became stronger, and
everything
became a blur; she lost clear sight of
everything but
him. An overwhelming sense of
tranquility
overcame her, and she let her
sword-bearing
hand fall to her side. She closed her
eyes and let
the feeling wash over her. Suddenly, just
as quickly as
it had come, it was gone, and her eyes
snapped open.
As the feeling was gone, so was the boy.
She cursed to
herself again, but caught slight
movement to her
left. Spinning quickly, she saw him
sprint away.
Not bothering to sheath her sword, she
took off after
him.
*~*
The three
archers moved in a triangle, watching each
other’s
backs. They traveled slowly and stealthily.
They had chosen
what seemed to be the most difficult
path, full of
obstacles. They were forced to stop
often to
maneuver past fallen trees, thick underbrush,
small streams,
and the like. It was in the midst of
helping Hilde
climb over a particularly large tree
trunk that
Lucretia stopped in her tracks.
"Stop!"
she hissed. Relena stopped and Hilde tumbled
over the trunk.
They stood stark still for a few
moments.
Lucretia relaxed slightly. "I guess it was
just-" she
began. An arrow very unlike her own whizzed
past her head
and embedded itself in a tree. All three
girls drew
their own arrows quick as lightning and
aimed toward
the treetops, scanning quickly for their
opponents.
Their eyes locked onto three shadowy
figures
standing on high branches, with arrows aimed
at them.
"Lower the
weapons," a deep voice called from one of
the shadows.
The girls backed up until they met each
other.
"Scatter,"
Hilde said without moving her mouth. Relena
and Lucretia
gave the slightest grunts in agreement.
On
Hilde’s inaudible count of three, they let their
arrows fly toward the figures and ran off in three
different
directions.
"Follow,"
another of the figures said to the other
two. Quick as
lightning, they separated to follow the
girls.
*~*
Hilde vaulted a
tree stump and continued running. She
could hear
rustling in the trees behind her, which
meant that her
opponent was not far behind her. She
ran into a
small clearing where light shone around the
edges and moss
grew thickly on the ground. She whirled
to face her
enemy and drew an arrow to her bow. She
heard a gentle
thump on the ground behind her and spun
around to come
face-to-face with an arrow aimed
straight for
her.
"Lower
it," a cheerful voice said. Obediently, she put
the arrow back
in her quiver and slung her bow over
her shoulder.
After she had done so, she expected
death. To her
surprise, her attacker lowered their
weapon as well.
She gazed at the sight that was
presented to
her. A young boy, her age, with huge
violet eyes and
gorgeous, hip-length chestnut hair
that was pulled
back into a long, silky braid.
Neutral-colored
tunic and pants, a quiver of arrows
and bow like
herself. These arrows, however, were
beautiful, long
and seemingly hand-crafted. She
noticed that
the boy wore a cord with a single stone
around his
neck. The stone the color of her hair, a
few good shades
darker than his violet eyes. Forcing
herself to
ignore him, she slowly reached for her
short swords,
hoping that he wouldn’t notice.
"Now that
won’t do," he said, eyes glinting. He placed
an arrow in the
bow and pulled the string, aiming for
her head. He
released the string and she shut her
eyes, preparing
herself. She felt a cold gust of air
as the arrow
flew by her right ear. "Thought I’d kill
you?" the
boy said, replacing his bow.
"I
didn’t know," she said with as much courage as she
could muster.
"Are you
princesses? Or just here for the sport of
killing
innocent creatures?" he asked. She scoffed.
"We’re
no princesses. We’re here to get rid of some
unnecessary
vermin." She gazed around for an escape
route. He
caught her looking and got closer to her.
"Are
you," he said smoothly. "And what ‘vermin’ might
that be?"
His face was only inches from hers, and she
noticed the
unusual shape of his ears.
"We’re
here for… elves… and dragons…" she stammered.
"Really,
princess?" he asked, backing away slightly.
"Elves?
Like me?" She tried to regain her composure.
"Yes, like
you," she stated. She noticed it was
rapidly
becoming time for dusk. The others would
worry.
"Have to
go? Hurry up then, don’t want to keep your
friends
waiting," he said, as if reading her thoughts.
She stumbled
backward and stopped for a moment, not
sure if
he’d really let her leave. "Go on, princess,"
he said with a
grin. "I’ll see you again. You can
count on
that." She turned and fled the clearing, back
toward the
meeting spot. As she left, he picked up a
small horn from
a strap around his shoulder and blew
it.
*~*
Relena was
having her own problems. Her opponent
seemed to be
everywhere at once, and twice she very
narrowly
escaped flying arrows. She ran so quickly
that she hardly
had time to tell where she was going.
She stumbled
when she felt water around her feet. She
had run right
into a small stream. Turning around, she
struggled for a
glance at her pursuer, but none was to
be found.
Hearing rustling from behind her, she tried
to turn but
found an arm wrapped around her shoulders
and a short
sword held to her throat. She stood stark
still.
"Trying to
hunt elves, are you?" a deep voice said
roughly.
"Only
those who pose a threat to me," she said
testily. The
arm released her with a shove and the
sword was
sheathed. She fell into the stream and sat
up quickly to
face her assailant. Tousled chocolate
hair and deep,
dark blue eyes. Jewel of sapphire
around his
neck, in contrast with his outfit that she
guessed to be a
common elven uniform. His gaze was
piercing and
she nearly flinched, but forced herself
to meet his
stare.
"You think
you’re brave, don’t you?" he asked in a
slightly more
gentle tone.
"Only
compared to some," she replied.* He smiled
slightly and
took a single arrow from his quiver.
Approaching
her, he lifted her chin with the arrowhead
and forced her
to look at him.
"I
don’t know whether to kill you," he said slowly,
getting closer,
"or kiss you." She gave a start at
these sudden
words. He smiled, fully this time. "You
are very
beautiful," he murmured, bringing his lips
closer to hers.
All at once, a low cry from a horn was
heard clearly
throughout the forest, causing some
birds to
scatter in the treetops. The elf looked up
suddenly and
backed away rapidly. "Get going," he
warned.
"And hurry." She did not know what danger she
faced, but she
sensed that she should do as she was
told. However,
she did not want to leave. This boy
intrigued her
so… "Hurry," he urged. With a spring in
his step he
seemed to fly back to the treetops, and
with a final
rustle in the leaves, he was gone.
"Relena!"
She shouted her name after him. Staring for
only a moment
longer, she turned and ran, back to the
safety of her
friends.
* From The
Princess Bride. I love that movie! ^.^
*~*
Lucretia took
her time. If it was her time to die,
then so be it.
She did not get the impression that
this creature
would kill her, however. After he had
caught up to
her, they both had stood, neither wanting
the other to
run away. They scrutinized every detail
about one
another. She memorized everything about him.
His platinum
hair that cascaded down his back, almost
as long as hers
had been. His piercing, icy eyes that
still
mysteriously held warmth and compassion. The
beautiful,
yellowish bauble hanging around his neck.
And now he
walked beside her, without weapons, without
words. She
broke the silence.
"Where are
we walking to?"
"Their
den." She shuddered. Dragons? Dens belonged to
dragons, did they
not? She stopped.
"I
don’t care for dragons," she said. "Not when they’d
rather care for
me as a meal." Suddenly, laughter from
many small
voices seemed to fill the forest. She spun
around and
around, trying to pinpoint the source, but
to no avail.
"What is it?" she cried to him in
despair. He was
unaffected by the eerie laughter.
"Show
yourself," he said loudly, in a commanding tone.
The laughter
halted.
"Wwwwhhhhyyyyyy???"
a small voice hissed.
"Gremlin,"
Lucretia said almost silently. He turned
his head and
she knew that she was correct. A blackish
form darted in
between the trees.
"Show
yourself," the elf growled. A hovering, ugly
creature
appeared in front of him. Black, bumpy,
leathery skin
and tiny, evil, dark eyes made Lucretia
dread the
creature at once. "What do you want," the
elf said. A
statement, not a question.
"Yyyoouurr
ccoommmppppaannniioonnn…" the creature
hissed again.
It turned to her, locked eyes, and she
found herself
unable to move. Filled with fright, she
trembled.
"Help…"
she found herself asking weakly.
"Stop
it," the elven man snarled at the gremlin.
Lucretia felt
as if a hand was probing at her mind.
"Help!"
she cried, more fearful than before.
"I said
STOP!" the elf cried, drawing a sword and
slashing at the
Gremlin. The creature disappeared, but
the invading
force still remained in Lucretia’s head.
"He’s…
still… there!" she whimpered. The man looked
anxious.
"Don’t
worry, I can help," he said as soothingly. The
brilliant gem
around his neck shone and, as if by some
invisible hand,
gravitated toward the trembling
huntress.
Slowly but steadily, she felt the invading
presence fade
away from her mind and the gem once
again became
like a regular jewel. "You must make it
back to your
friends," he said. Seeing her confusion,
he touched the
gem and added, "I had to reach into
your mind,
Lucretia. To rid it of him." She
understood.
"I will go
quickly," she said. Turning and starting
away, a
question occurred to her. "Will I see you
again?"
she asked, catching his eyes. He nodded.
"We know
where you are," he said. It was not meant as
a threat, it
felt strangely reassuring. "Be wary,
Lucretia,"
he cautioned as they parted ways. "As we
know, so do the
Gremlins."
*~*
Catherine stole
through the shadows, a technique she
had picked up
during training. She had even tested it
on her friends,
none of whom had seen or sensed her
coming. She had
a clear view of everything around her,
but nothing
could see her. She heard something small
scurry through
a bush to her left, but ignored it,
finding to be a
rabbit. She still had regrets about
agreeing to
harm innocent creatures, troublesome or
not… She
froze, hearing soft whispers from somewhere
nearby. She
approached a place where the trees thinned
and a small
entrance could be seen, almost like a
cave. ‘Or
a den,’ she thought. She ducked behind a
tree as the
voices grew louder.
"I’m
sure she didn’t mean harm," a gently, peaceful
voice said. It
was sweet, like honey.
"Still, be
careful Quatre," another voice, slightly
deeper,
replied. Two boys walked into view. One
blonde, who had
spoken first. The second speaker was a
taller boy,
brown hair and stunning green eyes. She
knew at once
that they were elves and therefore her
‘prey’,
but the young girl in her came out and she
wanted to
listen to their conversation.
"I
will," the blonde promised. The brunette fingered
the gorgeous
emerald around his neck idly. "Are you
going to play
for Adriel, Trowa?" the blonde asked
with a genuine
smile. Trowa returned the smile.
"Yes,
today I will. Mytrica, also, if it is present.
Are you staying
to listen?"
"No, I
must check these disturbances in the wood. The
dwarves become
very protective of their territory, you
know,"
Quatre said with a sigh. With another smile, he
set off lightly
and exited the clearing of the den
entrance into
the wood. Trowa stood, leaning against
the slightly
rocky entrance to the cave and produced a
set of pipes
from the sack around his waist. Placing
them to his
lips, he began to play. It was the most
beautiful music
Catherine had ever heard. Smooth,
strong, clear,
and flowing notes flowed from the pipes
as if they were
an extension of the elf boy’s very
self. As she
watched, a pair of eyes, glowing like
embers,
appeared in the cave. The boy stopped playing
for a moment.
"Adriel,"
he called soothingly. Come out, I will play
for you."
He resumed playing the sweet, haunting
melody.
Catherine looked on as a dazzling crimson
dragon appeared
from within the cave. It lowered its
massive head
right next to the boy and looked at him
with an eye
that was bigger than Catherine’s entire
body. As the
dragon listened, Catherine heard
disturbances in
the leaves to her right. She resisted
the urge to
spin and grab her weapon as she had been
taught, knowing
that doing so would result in both boy
and dragon
disappearing into the wood.
‘Either
that,’ she gulped, ‘or she would turn out to
be lunch for a
dragon.’ Trowa stopped again and smiled
without
removing the pipes very far from his mouth.
"Mytrica
is here as well!" he said, obviously pleased.
He resumed the
song once more. An absolutely
breathtaking
silver unicorn pranced into the clearing.
Its horn
glittered with all the iridescent colors of
the rainbow
after a morning mist, and it gave off a
shimmering aura
that made the trees brighter and
flowers seem to
flourish as it walked by. Catherine
drew in her
breath, then clapped a hand over her
mouth,
realizing that she was making too much noise.
At this
disturbance, Trowa stopped playing and his
eyes turned
colder. His eyes fixed on the shadows in
which she was
hidden. "Adriel," he said sternly.
"Vanish."
The dragon immediately seemed to almost melt
into itself as
it retreated to the depths of its den.
"Who’s
there?" the boy called, putting the pipes away
and advancing
slightly forward. She made no sound, not
even dared to
breathe. "Who’s there?" he asked again.
He drew a small
sword and she reacted instantly.
Pulling a
dagger, she armed herself and pulled an arm
back. Even
before she released the dagger she
regretted it
and found herself crying out.
"Move!
Hurry!" His reaction was swift, but her knife
flew faster. It
pinned his tunic, next to his abdomen,
to a nearby
tree. She rushed from the shadows,
proclaiming her
apologies. He simply put a hand to the
hilt of the
dagger and pulled it from the tree and his
tunic. He
offered it back to her as she ran toward
him. She
stopped. "Wha… what?" she asked in pure
confusion. She
gasped as she saw a smear of blood on
the blade.
"You’re hurt!" she cried.
"So I
am," he said calmly, his eyes showing more
amusement than
pain or anger. He gently pulled the
tunic off and
she saw she shallow slice.
"I’m
so sorry," she said again, gazing at the ground.
"Not a
problem," he replied with a slight smile.
"Mytrica,
your services?" The unicorn huffed and
trotted to his
side. Touching the wound with the horn
produced a
bright flash of light that caused Catherine
to flinch and
turn away. When she turned back, the
slash had
completely vanished. "You are here to hunt
us," he
said to her, placing a hand on the unicorn’s
back and
stroking it slowly.
"I
was… I mean, I am," she said, trying to sound
confident.
"You do
not sound very sure of your cause," he said,
reaching with
his other hand to take one of hers. She
looked at him
with startled eyes, to meet his own
laughing ones.
He placed her hand on the unicorn’s
sparkling mane.
"It loves its hair to be played with,"
he said in a
light tone. She stroked the mane gently,
almost afraid
it would vanish under her touch.
"You have
a marvelous way with them," she said softly.
"My…
Mytrica and the dragon, Ad…?"
"Adriel,"
he supplied. "There is no reason to fear
Adriel,"
he added. "I tamed her when she was a
newborn. Her
mother died at birth." Catherine’s heart
instantly
softened for the poor creature. "As long as
your intentions
are pure and you move quietly and
slowly, dragons
will trust you." He smiled. "May I ask
your name, or
is that to be kept secret?" She actually
smiled.
"Catherine…"
she answered quietly, wondering why she
was conversing
and acting so freely with an elf.
"Catherine
Bloom." She wondered if she would regret
telling him.
"A
beautiful name," he said. Then he looked up. "Dusk
is falling. Do
you have shelter? Dwarves and goblins
roam freely at
night."
"I am here
with others," she said honestly. "We will
find shelter
that is safe, I’m sure. But I must leave
to meet with
them again."
"Then go,
Catherine Bloom," he said with another of
his smiles. He
lightly tapped Mytrica on the flanks
and set it
prancing off into the wood, whinnying a
farewell.
"May I
come here again?" she asked. "I… I would like
to see Mytrica
again, and to hear you play once more."
"Yes. Come
here whenever you wish, so long as your
heart remains
as pure as it is now." He turned with a
final smile and
vanished into the thick trees, leaving
Catherine to
stare and take her leave.
*~*
Sally walked
along. What did she care of being quiet?
Anything that
found her and threatened her would fall
at her hand.
She had taken to wearing all black, to
fit the
nickname her swordfighting teacher had given
her and used so
often.
‘I am
invincible,’ she thought as she strode through
the woods. She
was so caught up in her own thoughts
that she walked
over a rocky part of the ground. She
heard running
water and a slight splashing sound.
Curious, she
ventured toward the sound. ‘Perhaps I
shall stumble
onto a dwelling of elves,’ she thought,
‘or a
dragon’s den, or even a cave of dwarves!’ She
began to get
excited. She was disappointed to merely
find a rocky
ledge with a waterfall to her right.
Throwing her
other thoughts away, she walked closer to
the waterfall
and stood at the edge of the rocky
balcony, sword
drawn at her side and hair blowing in
the breeze off
the water.
‘She
almost looks beautiful,’ he thought. ‘But she is
not here with
kind intentions. I will do my duty.’
‘Anthony…’
her thoughts wandered to him. ‘Why did I
have to lose
him?’ A lone tear joined the cascading
waterfall on
its long descent to the jagged shore
below. ‘I
will fight to make him proud,’ she decided.
Looking down,
she realized that she was quite farther
away from the
level water than she had thought. Her
fear of extreme
heights came rushing back to her, and
she stepped a
good deal away from the edge. A sudden
feeling came
over her, as if she was being watched.
She whipped
around instantly and scanned the area, but
there was no
one to be found. Still suspicious, she
turned back to
the waterfall, to find herself staring
up the blade of
a sword. A boy with jet-black hair and
eyes to match
stared back at her from the other side.
His light tunic
was in utter contrast with her black
attire, and the
ruby around his neck glittered like a
droplet falling
from the setting sun. ‘An
elf,’ she
cursed. She
began to raise her sword slowly.
"I
wouldn’t," he said. "You are at a disadvantage. You
do not know who
you are fighting."
"Then would
you tell me?" she asked sarcastically. She
was in no mood
for jest. This seemed to satisfy him
and he smirked
slightly.
"I am
Chang Wufei," he said haughtily. "Greatest
swordsman of
any these parts."
‘Wufei?!’
she gave a start. Words came rushing back to
her. Me…
Merian… My… Wufei… ‘Was he…??’
"What
troubles you, woman?" he asked with a tone of
annoyance.
"Afraid of your death? Then you should not
have come here
to do damage." Her eyes flashed.
"And what
could you do? You’re nothing but a boy. Lord
Dermail has
already captured all the women and girls
of your kind;
it is only a matter of time before you,
too are dealt
with." The boy laughed.
"He may
have captured the women, but he will never
take the men.
Besides, day after tomorrow, all the
women will be free.
Merian and I will slaughter this
‘lord’
of yours, and we will live peacefully. In fact,
we may as well
slaughter all of your kind, for humans
would be better
off dead. Merian said that once,
before she was
so rudely taken." Humans would be
better off dead.
A picture of Anthony flashed before
her in an
instant and she boiled over with anger.
"I do not
think your Merian would say that now, if she
was
alive," she hissed at him. His eyes grew wide and
he pressed the
cold, metal tip of the blade to her
neck.
"You
lie," he said huskily. "YOU LIE!" he cried,
bringing his
sword down and within inches of her
chest. The
metal connected with the rocky ground and
he stared into
her eyes.
"I do not
lie," she said. "She was killed at a
conference,
during trials. I was present to see her
slaughtered."
He visibly fought to keep himself under
control.
"Fight
me," he said falteringly. She immediately
raised her
sword. He would get his fight. Their swords
touched. A
crystal clear note came wafting over the
waterfall and reached
their ears. He glared at the
area from which
the sound came. "We will finish this."
She nodded with
a small smirk. At least he knew the
importance of a
real fight. Maybe he was a warrior.
"I am
known as the Black Widow," she said proudly. But
when had she
become proud to be a killer? Never tell
your name to an
enemy, Treize had said. She took a
breath.
"But my name is Sally Po." ‘Why?" she asked
herself. He
understood.
"I will
meet you again, Black Widow," he said.
Retreating to
the edge of the rocks, he sprung to the
opposite bank
and was gone.
"We will
fight, Wufei," she said aloud. "And I will
win."
:. *~*~* .: