[Chapter Nine: Home Away From Home]
By dawn of the following day, Atemu, his bodyguards, and the guardians of the tombs, left the palace by chariot and hurried to the Sacred Valley. A guardian had alerted the Pharaoh of the tripped alarm and informed him which tomb had been invaded. Instinct propelled Atemu to take care of the matter personally, even though he risked his life every ( Read more... )
"Don't worry about Mana." he replied, Varon nodding as well as he leaned against the wall, eyes closed and arms folded.
"Yeah we've known him of years, and we still have no clue what he's thinking. Geez, why does he always have to act as such an uptight pain in the..."
"Finish that sentence, and you'll be mucking out the horses for the next month." came the voice of the tall blonde mercenary, as he poked his head through the trap door, though not fully coming into the room, his feet still on the stairs below.
Needless to say, the cocky bruntte jumped slightly at being caught out.
"I was just kidding!" Varon flailed, while throwing a glare, at Amelda, who he could hear snickering beside him. Raphael merely rolled his eyes at the sight, before pointing sternly to Amelda.
"You, stay in bed." he voiced in a strict manner, before turning and pointing to Varon. "You, come with me, now."
"All right all right, I'm coming, not need to tie yourself in knots Raph." the other theif sighed, watching his comrade disappear from sight, before climbing through the trap door after him, muttering complaints about being stuck doing all the work the entire time.
This left Amelda and Mana alone in the room. Glacning over, the redhead smiled at little at seeing a familiar gold chain peeking out from under the girls clothes. Hopefully, this meant things could go back to normal; Mana could be her cheerful self, not feel so alone, and they could maybe even forget the awkward actions he had taken not too long ago.
He didn't want to distance himself from her like that again, her company had become too important to him.
"So how are you this morning?" he smiled at her, as the food was placed beside him.
Yays, good work dear. *huggles* I know the feeling, don't worry about it, just update when you are less stressed. And yes, Atemu not a happy bunny right now. I look forward to when he does meet Amelda face to face, what a showdown that shall be! XD
Reply
"How about you?" She took a hold of his hand then. Though Mana met his eyes, she suddenly felt shy about doing so. "Are you feeling better?"
Thank you, my dear! If I can finish this paper-thing tonight, it'll go a long way. Coming to the end of another semester, whoopie! XD Muhahaha, the showdown next to the ultimate showdown (which will probably have to do with Seto, I'd imagine).
Reply
Nevertheless, he shook off any such thoughts, as he replied to her.
"Still a little sore, but I'll be fine, don't worry." Amelda said, his free hand touching the bandaged wound, trying not to put too much pressure on it.
"Though...I'm afraid I won't be able to take you out for a while not like this. I'm sorry Mana." he apologised, knowing it wasn't fair for her to be cooped up in the attic all the time, but of course she couldn't go outside by herself. He gazed up at her wearily, hoping she wouldn't be too disappointed.
Great, good luck with your paper dear. It's another thing out the way, then you are one step closer to FREEDOM!!! Ah yes, they both shall be epic, but in different senses. I don't know, I just want to see Atemu in an overprotective brother mood about Mana, about what she's gone through, and the possibility she has a boyfriend! Brothers freak out about that stuff. XD
Reply
She lingered a heartbeat before descending the stairs and looked back. Her fingers touched the pendant unconsciously, as if to take some reassurance from it.
"I'm really happy that you're all right." 'I don't know what I'd do if something worse happened to Amelda,' she thought. Mana hardly ever thought about the consequences of battles or accidents, but she suspected that she'd have to consider such more in the future, when she grew up. 'When I grow up...'
As she hurried downstairs, an idea was already forming in her mind. Amelda had given her so much, and she had yet to give him anything in return. Her people were the giving sort, and Mana was no exception. She didn't have any of her own money, though, and she hadn't yet learned how to conjure anything substancial except little Scapegoats.
Raphael glanced up when Mana entered the room, but Varon was completely focused on a pile of maps before him. The kingdoms were vast, and the last piece could be anywhere. Both thieves knew that finding the last piece without their riddle master Amelda was a fairly hopeless task, but they weren't going to give up.
They were going to be interrupted by a young, persistant mage, however...
"Excuse me, buuuuut could one of you take me to the marketplace so I can find a gift for Amelda please?"
Thank you very much! It's finished and turned in, now I'm waiting for the grade. =O Overprotective brother moments are adorable!
Reply
Sighing, he stood up from the table and turned away from the maps to look at the girl, since his blonde friend didn't appear to inclined to respond to the her request. he would just have to explain that there was no time for them to watch over her.
"Okay, you listen good missie. Just because Amelda cares about you for some bizarre reason doesn't mean we do. Don't you think we have better things to do that-"
"Varon will take you once he saddles up his horse and shuts his mouth Mana." Raphael interrupted, his gaze hovering on the two other occupants of the room briefly before turning back to the counter and putting a few things in a saddlebag. Sadly, his comrade wasn't going to obey the command that easily.
"Wait, wha-bu...me?! Why do I have to..."
"Because Amelda can't and I'm busy. You can spare the time." he replied shortly, causing the cocky thief to fume a little; why did he always draw the short straw?!
"What do you have to do that's so important you can't take her?" the brunette questions in an annoyed manner, only causing the other to raise and eyebrow at him before answering.
"Fine, if want we can swap jobs. I'll take Mana to the market and you can deal with him." Raphael emphasized, noting that Varon turned a slightly pale due to his words, which meant he understood what his friend meant.
They didn't want to give anything away in front of the young mage, but there was only one person they could be talking about. And Varon certainly did not like the idea of going to the temple and facing the Dictator by himself. Just the thought was enough to make him shudder.
Grudgingly he turned on his heel, and walked towards the door, turning back briefly to pull a face at Rapahel and usher Mana to follow.
"Come on, the sooner we go the sooner we can come back." he grumbled.
Glad of it dear, I know the agony of assignments. I got a couple back recently and did okay, so I'm relieved. Just exams to worry over now. ^^; Will email tomorrow when I a free day, been really busy, sorry for my delays. *hugs*
Reply
They reached the market in recond time, thanks to Varon's pace. She didn't mind because she had to slow him down so that she could look at the wares. He tried not to be so agitated as he waited for her and Mana tried not to talk too loud so that she wouldn't attract the wrong kind of attention.
Their unspoken compromise was working.
Useful wooden tools and figurines of dragons caught Mana's eye, but she was still undecided. She wanted her present to be special. "What kinds of things would Amelda like as gifts, Varon?"
My exams are coming up, too. *hugs* No worries, you've had to wait longer for me most times. ^^;
Reply
"How should I know? He'll probably like anything you get him, just pick something." he finally answered in a grumpy manner.
What did it matter anyway? Amelda was never that fussy when it came to material things; none of them were. When you lost everything you owned in the midst of a war but still managed to stay alive, well, the objects didn't seem that important. Still, it wasn't the ideal time to reminice over all that misery. The only thing that Varon cared about at that moment was going back to the hideout...and maybe hoping the girl didn't pick something terribly expensive.
"Besides the only possession he gives a toss about it that locket around his neck." the mercenary muttered to himself, but whispering or speaking in a low voice was never Varon's strong point, so...
Yes, the pain of it all! Once it's over though, months of writing fun!! XD Oh, but you're busy a lot, I understand. I spend too much time on it when I should be working sometimes...^-^;;
Reply
She glanced from the stalls and stared at Varon. There was a lot, she knew, that she didn't know about Amelda. Ever since that accident on the stairs, she knew that Amelda didn't like his past being mentioned at all... but that didn't stop Mana from wondering.
When it came to friends, Mana cherished every one she managed to keep... so she cared about Amelda just as much as she did about her own kind.
Holy crap, it's been a while. >__> And all I had to do was a small response, gah! lol.
Reply
"Nothing, nothing, I didn't say anything!" he babbled , waving his hands in hope the girl would drop the subject, inwardly cursing the fact he never mastered the art of speaking quietly. "Just...find something for him so we can go home!"
Don't worry dear, tis all good, we have a whole summer to work!!~ Anyway, will email soon, just have some chores I need to do first, sorry for the lag as well, and that I can't think of much else to write just now, hope this is okay. Curse you creative block!! >.
Reply
One stall was selling dragon statues, talismans, and pendants. The pendant that caught her eye was made of silver, engraved with a dragon curling up in itself in a spiral design. In the middle of the talisman was a tiny red ruby. Now the dark blue sapphire was much more valuable in the Dragon Kingdom, but the ruby had a special meaning in her homeland.
It meant protection, and courage. People here probably didn't know that - but to Mana, it was like double protection: the raw power of the scary dragon, wrapped around a magician's protection stone.
She pointed towards that, and luckily it wasn't more than a few coins, which Varon paid, relieved that they could get back before anyone saw them. He handed her the small package, and they began to walk away. But Mana's curiosity hadn't been satisfied yet.
"What locket?" she asked.
Then, Mana turned her deadliest weapon on Varon: the wide, innocent, undeniably cute puppy-dog eyes.
"Please tell me? I won't tell Amelda you told me, okay? I just want to know more about him... Pllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaassssseeee?"
Welcome, welcome summer! XD Got your emails, will reply back soon. No prob, I know how that feels. *shudders* Writer's block is the worst.
Reply
Quickly pulling the mage away from the stalls, they headed back to the horse, and saddled up quickly. It wasn't until they were on the trail back to to the hideout did the cocky thief speak.
"It was...his mother's." her murmured, eyes softening a little.
He remembered the woman from his childhood; she was so nice and caring, and treated both Raph and himself like her own sons as well. And she loved Amelda and Milko greatly, she hadn't deserved for her life to end so abruptly. The memories tormented his redheaded friend everyday, exactly why he was so defensive on the matter, and why they never really spoke of it.
"The only think of hers he's got left, and...it has his little brothers picture in it, which is why he never takes it of, but's that's ALL I'm telling you!" he said quickly, hoping Mana's curiosity would be satisfied. Going any deeper into the matter would be painful for everyone.
Vacation fun!! ^^ Okies, well, I turned in my app, and hope you can reply to my email soon dear.~ And yes, it sucks so much, but I think it's lifting a bit. I just hope my writing is up to scratch here, I don't want to mess up a chapter. ;-;
Reply
At the same time, she still treasured every piece of new information that she learned about him.
Congrats on being accepted! Looking forward to Sunday. Your writing is still good, it's me I'm worried about. XD If either of us mess up, we can always work together on fixing stuff. ^^
Reply
When they finally dismounted in front of the house, the theif shook his head to disperse the thoughts, before giving Mana another strong stare.
"But remember, I told you nothing! So don't say anything when we go back inside, got it?!" he spoke in a tone that was meant to be strict, but it lacked any malice.
Thanks again dear, looking forward to playing come next week...um, Sunday? And did you get my last email at all?
Well we can work on things together, though I still think you're doing great! Want to wrap the chapter up with her giving Amelda the gift, then I can start with Seto in the next one?~
Reply
"You're a good friend, Varon." Mana smiled up at him as she slipped off and gave the horse a friendly pat on the head. "I can't wait to show Amelda his gift!"
And after saying so, she then bolted to the house.
Gaaaah, the craaaaziness. XD
Thank you, dah'ling. ^^ Yeeeees, let's finally wrap up the chappie~
Reply
Amelda was still there, propped up in the bed comforably. The minute he heard the familiar creak, he offered a warm smile on seeing Mana bounce into the room, and snicker a little at Varon's expression; he clearly didn't cope well with openly happy people like the young mage girl.
"So, did you two have a good time?" he asked pleasantly, only hearing Varon grumble something incoherant. Thankfull he restrained himself from laughing at the fellow thief.
Well, I can send you the message again if you want, since it involves a lot of our plotting.
Welcom much much <3~ We don't have much more with this, so I can piece it together once were done. ^^
Reply
Leave a comment