Wangau Tales

[Rache_san]

One

"If we don't leave these grounds now, oohh... someone will pay! Get a move on it, guys! Come on!" Joshua King shouted, his curly brown hair flowing, the wind gently pressed on his face as he ran as fast as he could away from the high school. He smelled the wonderful scent of Spring. The fresh, new air. The smell of the flowers as they softly pushed their way through to open up in their buds. Showing the beauty they so magnificently inherited from their Creator.
"Aye, Laddie, coming from a straight-A student, you sure seem ready to leave school," Wave said in his signature Irish accent as he tried to catch up with him. He was no match. Joshua was a track runner, and one of the best.
"I think his 6'3 stature makes his threats actually scary sometimes," Barb V. whispered to Leiland Mozart about Joshua, giggling.
"Nah," William Mozart put in, overhearing as he does best. "He's too much of a softy to look scary."
Barb, Leiland and William did not try to catch up with Joshua and Wave. Barb's white-blonde, waist length, thick, curly hair was too much for her to run with. Leiland wanted to stay with her, and William just did not feel like running after them.
"Good luck, man!" William shouted to Wave. "His hair hurts to look at. Ever notice that?" William laughed. Wave's hair was bright red. It reflected off the sun so much it hurt to glance his way in the right position. He also had deep green eyes. A show of his Irish heritage.
"I can't believe we're finally out of high-school. It's so weird! Feels like it's been forever," Leiland said with a sigh, looking up at the horizon. The sun was bright. So very bright. Their little high school in Appleton was so peaceful. The trees slowly swayed as the wind brushed up against them, like an artist adding detail to a painting with perfection. His hair moved a little in the breeze, and it reflected off the sun just a little bit. It was a mix between medium auburn and strawberry blonde, a perfect compliment to his midnight blue eyes.
"For you, bro, yes. For me, no," William laughed. He was 14 years old, and had skipped four grades at the age of ten, going into high school the same year as his older brother. He felt tough because of his intellegence. He had short, spiked hair, that was black with blonde highlights. His eyes were dull blue. You would miss them if you did not mean to look into them.
"Be thankful you only had to do it one time!" Barb reminded him of Wave having to do the first grade twice. It was that which inabled him to meet Joshua and Leiland.
"Ah, yeah, true."
It took them a couple of minutes to fully get off the high school grounds. Appleton High was the most important building in the town, and it was gigantic. They were finally off. For good.
"Ah! Finally free!" Wave shouted.
"From school, yes. But we have so much more to do! Get jobs, married... come on! Seriously." She gave him a friendly whack on the head with her purse.
"Well, phooey on you for being so logical, Barbie!" Wave said, snickering.
"Don't call me that!" she yelled at him. With one good pounce, she got him to the ground, and was pounding him with her purse.
Joshua sighed and shook his head. He was peaceful, and did not believe in fighting. William could not help but burst out laughing.
"Oh, little brother, if only you knew how sad it was for two 18 year olds to fight like 5 year olds," Leiland said as Joshua helped him pick up a wincing Wave off the ground.
"19!" Wave retorted. "My gosh, lassie, what is in that bag!?"
"Stuff," Barb said, smirking with a twinkle in her mysterious and sad gray eyes. "Forget about my bag, though. Think about it! We're free!"
Wave raised an eyebrow at her. "Aye, lassie, didn't you just say we should all get married?" William shared a laugh with him.
"Hmph! I didn't mean right now!" She walked over to her SUV.
"Hey! Shotgun?" Leiland called out.
The others groaned.
After about 5 minutes, William lost patience.
"Yo, mom, where we goin'?"
Barb muttered something that only Leiland could hear and decipher as "murder" and "weasel".
"We're going to Lake Hyana," she said, steam coming out her ears. "So we can drown a certain someone named Ashley!"
"WHY YOU-!" William tried to get a good smack at her, but forgot about the seatbelt. "My name's Will!"
"Ah, no, that's your middle name." She had an evil grin on her face of pure satisfaction. She then ignored his next comment and turned on some loud music to drown him out.
"Barbie!!!"
His yells were not heard.

 

[Rache_san]

Two

"So really, where are we going?" Leiland asked.
"Can't tell ya Lei, it's a surprise."
"Oh, come on!"
"Fine," Barb said as she gave up on the argument with him. "Ever heard of those woods 'bout three miles from the general store?"
"'Course I've heard of 'em. Don't know the name though. Wonfu or something?"
"Wangau. Well, I hear they are supposedly haunted by everything creepy under the sun! I thought I'd take everyone there for a little stroll. Scare 'em a little. Just to get out of school with a bang, y'know?"
"I dunno," he said. "You really think it's a good idea?"
"Good idea!? I think it's a brilliant idea!"
He sighed a little. She knew he did not approve. She did not care. She was going to do it. What she did not know was that Leiland knew more about it than he made it seem, though.
"Hey, can we get some different music up in here? My ears are bleeding," William stated.
"Cheerio, mate!" Barb said, picking a CD from the same band.
A few seconds went by of a soft intro.
"Ahh... joy. Thank you so much, mom."
"Sure thing, sweety!" she said, laughing at how evil she was. "Not one bit a problem."
"Now see," William started to say to Wave, "this is good mu - AHHH!"
The soft intro left, twisting into what he considered a most horrid tune. Screamo.
"I said different!! DIFFERENT!"
"Yeah, this is different. It's a different CD. Now, you never stated anything about genre or band. You just said different."
William shook his head as Wave gave a small smile and inward laugh.
They were soon at the Appleton Park parking lot. Near the edge of the woods.
"Where are we?" Joshua asked.
"Wangau Woods," Barb replied calmly.
"Isn't is haunted, though? Or supposedly?" Wave said aloud.
"Well... yeah," Leiland said.
Joshua's eyes got big. "Haunted? By.. what?"
"Oh, just the usual," Barb said, again calmly. "Wizards, elves, faeries, giants, spirits, demons, ghosts, ghouls, and legend has it there's a kid living in there. "Sun" they call him. Creepy tales of him... anyways, it's just tales. I mean, come on. Who believes in all that jazz anyway?"
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Jay. Really! It's all myth," William said, trying to comfort him.
Joshua looked more scared than ever.
"Some of those things are real," he whispered.
"What!?"
"Oh, come on. You can't seriously -" Barb started, but stopped when she saw the dangerous look Leiland was giving her.
"Come on," Leiland said. "Let's just get out of the car."
Joshua was the last one out of the car, and by that time William, Barb, and Leiland were already half way through the park.
"What was up with that?" William questioned.
"Dunno, but do you really think he's that superstitous?"
"It's not superstition," Leiland told them. "He does believe in some of those things. There are two reasons why I don't want to do this. And very logical, at that. One, because of Joshua. I have... pity for him. He'll be terrified in here."
"Why would he be? How can he believe in those things?" Barb asked.
No reply.
"What's the other reason?" William wanted to know.
"Well-"
"Wait! Shh! He's coming!"
William warned them just in time. Joshua had just caught up with them. He inquired as to what they were talking about.
"Oh, nothing important," William said.
As they approached the swings, Leiland gave a small cough. Barb looked at him funny, and he signaled to William and Barb a "two".
They then noticed her. Miranda Prince. The 11 year old girl, swinging on the swings. They all knew what he meant. Her father, Lyle Prince, was the only one in town to actually have gone far in the Woods. He was the one that named them Wangau. Most considered him insane, for when he came back, he was telling tales so unrealistic, there was no further need to think otherwise.
"Hey, where's Wave?" Joshua asked.
They spotted him far off, poking a dead possum with a stick.
"Hey Wave!" Leiland called out. "You comin' or what!?"
They heard a distant, long "awwww", and shrugged as they let him continue poking his possum.
Joshua stopped and looked back at Miranda. She was staring at them. Unaware of anything else but them. She had stopped swinging. She was watching like a zombie. Watching these teenagers do exactly what her father did. What had scarred the Princes' lives forever. She looked at Joshua and nodded slowly at him. He understood what she meant. He broke their gaze and caught up with the others.
They walked in. Only four of them. But they went.

----------------------------

As soon as they walked through, it was as if they were in a different world. The sunny, bright, cheery Appleton was completely gone. They now stood in a forest so dark, so fogged, so depressing it was like watching a full-bloom summer garden shrivel and die before your very eyes in just a matter of seconds; a loveless place full of sunless hatred. The deeper they went, the darker it got. It was as if all their nightmares had all come to life in this one forest. The feeling of lonelyness, hopelessness, being lost with no chance of survival - overwhelming. Shadows of creatures they swore they saw brought on an even heavier feeling of fear. Leaves behing trees they had just crossed rustled, and after what felt like hours, they heard a screech. A sound mix like that of cats fighting hawks.
Then Barb screamed.
"Keep it down!" Leiland hissed.
"Sorry."
A few seconds later there was another screech. Now the rustling of leaves came from all sides.
Barb was shaking with fear. Suddenly, the rustling came to an abrupt stop.
"What do you think that was?" William asked.
A blinding white flash swept over the forest like a blanket, and they all fell down.
"Exactly what was that?"
Everyone jumped, for the voice that spoke came from behind them.
"Wave!"
"What are you doing here?!"
"When did you get here?"
"Was that you?"
He waved his arms around. "Whoa, whoa, slow down! One question at a time!"
"We've been gone for hours!" Barb exclaimed. "What took you so long!?"
"What are you talking about, lassie?" Wave said, looking shocked. "It's been probably a couple of minutes since you left. I just now entered the woods."
"What do you mean, 'a couple of minutes'?!" William snapped.
"We've been walking for miles," Joshua informed him.
"That's impossible. I poked that possum 'til he was bored of playing possum, and it took me about a minute to find you all."
"But," Barb began, "how come it seemed like forever with us?"
"I don't know, lassie..."
"So, it was you making all that noise?" Joshua asked. Wave nodded.
"Okay, so that screaming was you," Barb said with a sigh of relief.
"What.. screaming? I was only rustling the leaves to freak you all out."
They all looked at each other with grave faces. What had made that noise? What was that blinding light?
"Aye, perhaps we should go back," Wave suggested.
"Yeah," Barb said. "Sorry for even coming."
William started laughing. "So," he said, "which way is back?"
Wave looked around. "The forest changed... this.. is different than it was a few seconds ago. I don't know how to get back! What are we-"
He was cut off by more rustling of leaves. This time from in the trees.
"Oh dear," William said, looking up.
Out of nowhere a vine suddenly fell from a nearby tree; another blinding flash, a figure came from above, a voice spoke, then nothing. Only black.

 

[Rache_san]

Three

As Joshua openned his eyes, for a moment he thought he was dead. He soon came to realize a few things. He was not dead, he was not in Wangau woods anymore, there were people around, he smelled chocolate, and he was, without a doubt, insane. For none of this could be real.
Could it?
"Ah!" croaked a tired, old, and weary voice. Someone walked toward him. "He is awake!"
He attempted to speak, but failed.
"No need to speak, deary. Everything is going to be fine."
As his eyes got into focus and unfogged, he saw that the voice belonged to an old woman.
When he actually looked at her, he felt differently about her.
"Your friends are fine. Rest now."
When she spoke, it was like the words were sung by the most beautiful voice ever. He was instantly lulled back to sleep, not to wake again for hours.
"Where are we?" asked a muffled yet familiar voice.
"As you may have guessed, you have left the woods," replied the strangest voice Joshua had ever heard.
"So we're not in Wangau anymore?" asked the oh-so familiar Irish accented Wave.
"Oh no, you are in Wangau," the strange voice spoke again. "Just not the woods," the voice repeated. "You are in the town now. At the Healer's."
Joshua openned his eyes again, fearing he was still in his nightmare, but thankful to have realized he was not dreaming about the possessed forest boy who looked to be William's twin that had fallen from the treetops. He moaned and tried to get up, but could not. He found he was in what indeed looked like the house of a Healer.
It was a round, clay house, with herbs hanging everywhere, red pots steaming on wooden tables and again, the heavy smell of chocolate.
He stared up at the ceiling, wondering what had happened. Suddenly, he noticed Wave approach him.
"How are ye, laddie? Okay?"
Joshua coughed. "Alive," he muttered. He tried to speak again, but failed. He had never felt like this before.
"I bet you're wondering what happened, right?"
Joshua nodded. He then saw, to his horror, exactly what he was thankful to have not seen thusfar. The possessed looking William twin walked towards him.
"You were attacked," he said, and Joshua realized that it was he who had the strange voice. It was like a snake with a high-pitched German accent.
"By what?" Joshua croaked.
The boy turned to Wave, then back to Joshua.
"A sorcerer."
"Wh-what?" he said, horrified.
"I am afraid it is true. His name is Scor." The boy looked confused yet somehow not so confused, but continued talking. "He likes playing tricks on wanderers, so I stay up in the treetops following anyone who comes in."
"Is everyone else alright?" he managed to ask the strange boy.
"Yes, they are all fine. All of you passed out..." his voice trailed off.
"Then what's wrong with me?"
The boy looked at him with a forced confused look, but an honest pityful look.
"I... I do not know," the strange boy lied. "No one does. Our guess is that Scor called spirits to come and mess with you and your friends, but when they came..."
"Something happened to you that didn't to us," Wave said, honestly unaware of the deeper things at hand.
"I have never seen a reaction like it," the boy said. "There is something in you that those spirits did not like."
He closed his eyes, thinking.
"Who were you talking to before?" he asked the boy as best he could, remembering another voice.
"Hey, Josh."
He looked over and saw Barb walk in through the door of strung beads. She looked horrible.
"I'm so sorry," she breathed, holding back tears. In return Joshua gave her a forgiving smile.
He tried to speak again, but the boy stopped him.
"Rest now," he said while ushering Wave to the other side of the room. Barb waved good-bye and left.
Joshua's mind scrambled with this new information, but soon fell fast asleep when the old woman came back and placed a steaming dark blue pot on the table next to his bed. The next few days were a fog for Joshua. He still had not been able to leave the Healer's hut, but had been allowed to get out of bed for a few minutes each day.
Many people came to visit him. He soon felt like he knew the whole town. After meeting so many, he realized that they all wore rainbow gray clothes, had black hair, and they all spoke in the same snake-like German accent. Some came to visit him often, and one girl came every day. He enjoyed the Wangauians company, but deeply wished they would explain things to him. It was three weeks before he was allowed to leave the Healer's hut.

----------------------------

"What's your name?"
Joshua had just started questioning the boy who had been the only one to tell him anything.
"Mattin," he replied. "Everyone calls me Mattin, but you can call me Matt."
Joshua thought for a moment. "Have you ever heard tales of a kid in the woods called the 'sun?'"
"Yes. That would be me. My last name is Soon. But it is spelled differently. The tales make it as the sun in the sky, but my name is spelled s-o-o-n. I do not really appreciate the tales there are of me," he said with a bit of annoyance in his voice.
"Ahh... I see." Joshua felt awkward, so he changed the name subject. "Say, how old are you?"
Matt stared at him with a tilted head. "To you? I am 15."
"O-okay... wh-what's today?"
"It is June sixth," Matt replied. "Why the random questions?"
"Just.. curious."
"Ah. Well, alright then. Hey, come on," Matt said. They had been standing at the Healer's window, and were now out the door to go explore the town for the first time.

----------------------------

"Hey - what's that?" Joshua asked, pointing.
"That is Moody River."
"That's a river?!" Joshua exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"Yes," Matt replied, laughing.
From atop the hill they stood on, Moody River looked like a gray rainbow cloth that was atleast a mile wide, and stretched out of sight. He swore he had seen that color before, then realized what it was. He turned to Matt.
"Yes," Matt said. "We dye out clothes in the River. I have to warn you though," he said, looking very serious, "do not go in the River. Ever. Do not even touch it. Do not go near it if possible. There is a very good reason as to why it got its name."
Joshua gave him a completely confused look, but never got a better explination.
"You can find drink and food at the Keyes Cross Inn, which is where you will stay now that you are out of the Healer's. Another thing," he said, this time looking amused, "they are animals in that place. It is safe, do not worry."
Joshua nodded. He did not know what to think.
"Where is this Inn?"
"Oh, you will see."
They started walking around town. After hours of walking, he soon found out that the color of the huts and shops told you what kind of place you were at.
"As you can see," Matt said, "just about everything is two stories. The top level that is the color of the River, that is a home. Homes are always painted that way. The Healer's hut, as you know, is white. The schools are lavender, taylors are olive, potion shops are dark blue-"
"Potions?" Joshua asked, confused.
"Fancy way of saying lotions, soaps, stuff like that," he laughed.
"Ah."
"The library is yellow, the gaming shop is brown, the smith is red-"
"What color is the Inn?"
"Pink."
Joshua laughed. "Why not?"
They were now walking up Hihton Hill.
"Wow, can you see he whole land from here?" Joshua asked, as he stood atop the hill.
"Yes. There are the woods," Matt pointed. "Infront of the woods is Moody Fields. Then the River. Over there is Sunset Fields, and there's Moody Valley."
"Is that a bridge?" Joshua asked, spotting a bridge going over the River.
"Eridanus's Bridge," Matt told him. "That has been here even before this town was built."
"Wow."
"That is Sunset Valley-"
"What's that?"
Joshua had just noticed the swamp against the Woods.
"There's a hut, too!" Joshua exclaimed.
"Mattin!"
Joshua looked down the Hill towards Whin Park and saw a girl calling for them.
"Come on," Matt said.
"Hello, Joshua," the girl said. He now noticed that she was the one who visited him everyday when he was unable to move or talk at the Healer's.
"Mattin, Nora wants to have a word with you."
"What for?"
She gave him a look that plainly said, "I cannot say."
"Right," he muttered. "You can find your way around town, right?"
"Erick said he should not travel alone," she interrupted. "I will take him," she said, smiling. It was not until then that Joshua noticed her beauty. Hey eyes sparkled, and her hair was longer than most, with three small braids in it.
"Yes, good."
Matt walked off without another word.
As they walked, Joshua noticed a few more things about her. She looked to be almost 17, and besides sparkling, her eyes were purple instead of the Wangauing gray.
"Sora," she said randomly as they walked along. "My name is Sora. Erick and Nora, the town leaders, are our parents."
"'Our?'"
"Oh, goodness, forgive me," she said, smiling again. "Mattin is my brother."
"Oh," he said. They looked nothing alike.
As they approached the pink building with the Key sign hanging above the door, he said goodbye to Sora and walked inside the Keyes Cross Inn.

 

[Rache_san]

Four

He did not know what to expect at the Inn, but it definitely was not to take what Matt had said seriously.
Everyone was an animal. All of them on two legs, all of them talking. It was as if they did not notice. There were cats, dogs, elephants, cheetahs, hyenas, every mammal under the sun practically.
He walked up to the bar and sat down. He noted how pleasant the Inn looked. A nice, clean bar, hanging lamps, a fireplace, wooden tables with iron chairs, and a spiral staircase that went up and down at the end of the main, big room. There were little rooms that led off from this one, at the far end of it.
"Um," he aimed to get the Flamingo bartender's attention. "I'm looking for some friends. Has anyone new-"
"Oi!" she called to the end of the bar. "Ya friend is he'!"
"Josh!"
He stared at the Unicorn at the end of the counter, and he cautiously walked over to it.
"Aye, you get used to it after a few days," said the voice of Wave coming out of the Unicorn.
"Wh - how - uh..."
"Bet ya wunderin' how ya turned inta a animal, royt?" the bartender said in her thick New Yorkesque accent as she brought a glass of milk over to him.
"Slightly," he said, admiring Wave's horn.
"Nobody knows for sure. Oi say it was that blawsted Scor!"
"This Inn came before his time!" protested a Raven a few seats down.
"Huh," Joshua said, ignoring the bartenders argument with the Raven. He sniffed his drink.
"Oi! Come awn! Is juss' milk. Oi only serve milk. 'Sides," she added, "ya a feloyne. Ya haf' ta like it!"
"I'm sorry, miss... Finn," he said, reading her name tag.
"Lorrie Finn," she said, sticking out a pink feather.
"Charmed," he said, stinking out his would-be hand. He saw an orange paw and yelled.
"I'm - I'm a -"
"A Lion! Oi told ya!"
The Fox next to him giggled slightly.
"Thanks for the milk, Finn."
"Ya welcome, Bobby."
Bobby? No, it could not be...
"B-Barb?"
"Hmm?"
"You're a - a fox!"
She blushed and gave a fake gasp. "Oh Josh! I didn't know you felt that way!"
He looked at her as though she had an extra eye for a second, then realized what she meant and rolled his eyes. "Wave, you're a Unicorn. Okay. And Barb's a... Fox."
She giggled slightly.
"Aye, laddie! Or should I say, kitty?"
"Funny. Where's Lei and Will?"
"Hullo!"
"Miss us?"
He looked past Wave's horn and saw a Rabbit and a Wolf waving at him.
"Oh! Okay, so," he pointed at the Rabbit, "Will and," here he pointed at the Wolf, "Lei. Right?"
"Okay," said the Wolf, "now I'm offended. You think I could be that stupid head Lei!?"
"Whoa. So that means..." he looked at the Rabbit. "Lei?"
He hung his head low. "Yes," he muttered.
Everyone burst out laughing.
"It's not funny!" Leiland protested.
William, Wave and Barb started singing.
"Here comes Leiland Cottontale! Hopping down the bunny trail! Hippity, hoppity -"
"BE QUIET!!" he bellowed.
William fell out of his chair laughing.
"Okay, this is too weird," Joshua said. "Exactly what decides what animal we - what, turn into? - when we enter?"
"Our courage," Barb said. "It's one interesting way to tell who's brave," she smiled at him, "and who's..." her voice trailed off as she turned to Leiland, and had one mad gigglefit.
"Rabbits are brave!" Leiland said, very much so asking for it.
William gave a loud growl and Leiland fell out of his chair with a squeak.
"Ya true colors show in this place," said Lorrie with a nod towards Leiland. "Ya alright there, pretty fingers?"
"Yeah," he said, getting up.
"Oi said no mo' doin' that, strong fingers!"
"Sorry," William said, still laughing.
"What's with those names?" Joshua asked Wave once Lorrie had gone to have another argument with the Raven.
"Their last name. Mozart. Mozart was a pianist. To her, Lei is pretty and Will is strong."
"Oooh. Right."
They all went through atleast three more glasses of milk and two more singings of at Leiland before going off to bed upstairs.
It was very early the next morning, and Joshua, Barb and Wave were downstairs having a pint of milk.
"So, do they always fight like that?" Joshua asked Barb as they watched Lorrie and the Raven in another argument.
"Yep. Finn's always having at it with Sean... great thing about it?" she laughed. "They're engaged."
"Wow... and they already act like they're married." he commented.
"They do love each other, though... you can tell after just a little while," she said.
"Hey, guess who that is?" Wave said to Joshua as they saw a penguin enter.
"Dunno, but it's gotta be someone really-"
"Josh! Is that you? Great! I see you made it safely, and you are a lion! That is..." he paused, "unbelievable."
"Matt!?"
"Hmm?"
"Hello, Mattin," Wave said.
"But you always seemed so-" Joshua started, but did not finish.
"I would rather not talk about it," he muttered.
"Wonder why," Wave mouthed to Joshua, turning his head the opposite way.
"So!" Matt said in an oddly high voice, "now that you have seen the Keyes Cross Inn, why not explore a bit more today?"
"Yeah, you should, laddie. I think I'll visit Daniel, aye?"
"Of course! I guess since you will probably spend the afternoon with him, we could split up for a while?"
"Aye. Sound fun, Joshy?" Wave asked.
"Well - I just - I mean - I don't... well," his voice trailed off as he looked uncertain.
"Sora will be dissapointed," Matt said.
"Besides, she's not fond of Dan," Wave said.
"Hmm?" Joshua said, trying to sound casual.
"Sora is coming with us," Matt said. "She was looking foward to taking you around town. Say, Josh, would you like to come with us?" he asked the question once again, trying to sound as if it was his first time asking.
"Sure," he replied, trying desperately to hide the excitement in his voice, as he thought of another day touring town again with Sora.

----------------------------

As she left the Inn, Barb was looking up at the dreamy late afternoon sky, and thus ran into someone.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Barb said.
"It is not a problem deary. The sky is hypnotizing this time of day."
Barb noticed she was a faerie. Complete with light blue hair, yellow eyes, clothed in a beautiful silk dress that turned black, green and purple at different angles. She had a majestic voice that seemed to calm Barb's every feeling, and small transparent wings.
"I am Angela," she said coolly.
"Oh, hello," Barb said. "I'm -"
"You are new here?" Angela had somewhat of a Russian accent. She talked slowly.
"Well-" she paused. "The newest."
"Ooh, perhaps someone else then," Angela said, turning away.
"Wait! What?"
"Oh, I need help. My poor Ross went wondering through the swamp, and I just cannot locate him." She looked quite helpless.
"Oh!"
"But since you are new here," her voice trailed off.
Barb's thoughts scrambled worse than really good eggs. She wanted to help, but she was new, but she did have an excellent sense of direction, but...
"Well, I'll help in any way I can!" Barb said very enthusiastically.
"Thank you," Angela purred.
"No problem!"
Was it? Was it really not a problem to go looking for who-knows-what in a swamp you have never been in before? This sickening feeling only got worse as the day progressed. Barb felt more uncomfortable with Angela every second she spent with her.
"So, when did Ross get out?" Barb questioned Angela as they walked through the swamp.
It was dank, muddy, insect infested, with puddles of water from Moody River all around. It was a dark place, full of evil; Barb could not help but shudder. It had taken a long time to get to the swamp. Having to go past the River and Moody Fields, it was miles of walking.
Although next to each other, it appeared that Angela had not heard her.
"Angela? Angela!" Barb shook her.
"What, what?"
Barb was intrigued, but did not inquire as to why Angela had not replied, only merely repeating her question about Ross.
"Oh," Angela said, "last night."
"Well, he couldn't have gotten far. Say," she said, looking at a black hut in the distance, "think whoever lives there might have spotted him?"
"I thought you would never ask," Angela muttered.
"What's that?"
"Why not go and ask?" Angela asked, smiling.
"O-" Barb never got to her "kay" for Wave had just come up.
"Hey, Barb!" he said. "What's up with this?"
"We're looking for Angela's," she nudged toward Angela, "pet Ross. But I should ask the same of you."
"We're looking-"
"We're?"
Barb just noticed him. With light blue spiked hair, and bigger wings: there stood Angela's twin brother.
"Probably got lost running from my Ross," Angela commented.
"Well, sister, if that vermin would just leave my Siri alone-"
"Oh!" she shouted. "That stupid thing is annoyed by my Rosslin! Good!"
As she shouted, her features seemed to change. She looked evil; her eyes glowed red. Looking at her made one's neck hairs stand. Her brother was no better. With an already frightening appearance, his anger, which made him look taller, with already bigger wings, did not help.

 

[Rache_san]

Four Continued

"Sirius is not stupid!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Barb and Wave did not know what to do to calm them down.
"Angela?"
"Hans?"
Both of them addressed whom they had entered the swamp with. Neither responded.
A meow came from a tree a few feet away. Barb looked and saw Ross, staring at the group.
"Rosslin!"
"But where is my-" Hans began, but stopped when he heard a croak come from beside Ross.
"Siri!"
"Siri's a frog?" Barb asked.
"Yes!"
"Thank you for helping me locate my Ross," Angela said, snuggling the midnight black cat.
"Thank you," Hans said to Wave. All of a sudden, they both seemed extremely pleasant again.
"This is a decent place," Angela said randomly.
"S-Serpen's Swamp?" Wave asked. "Sure."
"Yeah, lovely," Barb said, looking around the horrid place.
"Perhaps we could have a picnic!" Hans suggested. Barb almost laughed.
"Wait, seriously?" she asked, wide-eyed.
"Yes! I will go-"
"Aye, y'know what?" Wave interrupted, "I need to get back to Daniel."
"Well, just Bar-"
"And Barb, you have to help Nora today, remember?"
Wave looked so serious it scared her.
"Yeah, I do. Sorry," she said, unsure about what was happening.
"Another time then, I guess," Angela said.
"Are you-" Hans began.
"We really must go. Good-bye."
Wave grabbed Barb's arm and pulled her along as he left.
"What was that about?" Barb hissed at him.
"Later," he hissed back, as he smiled and waved back to Angela and Hans.
The twins were greatly troubled by this, but accepted the raincheck. Once Wave and Barb were out of sight, they ran inside the black hut.

Five

"What was that about?" Barb asked Wave in astonishment.
"Did no one ever tell you about that Swamp?"
"No, never heard a peep."
"And didn't you ever wonder why!?"
"I just..."
"Look," he said, again very serious, "everyone thinks Scor lives there."
"Well, I didn't know that," she said defensively.
Their moods were exact opposites of their surroundings. Moody Fields was a beautiful lay of the land in Wangau. It almost seemed a little too beautiful. They quarreled as they approached Eridanus's Bridge, the crossing path of Moody River.
"If it's evil, why were you there? Weren't you with Dan?"
"I was. Hans needed help, so I thought I'd help. Okay? Just, don't go back there. Please."
"Yeah, fine," she said as they were still crossing the Bridge. It was about a mile long, and another two miles to the outskirts of town. They did not speak to each other the entire way back.
"Hey, Wave! I thought you were with Dan," Matt said, walking towards them as they passed Gryf's book store.
"Yeah, I was, but I wanted to go for a walk."
"Where's Josh?" Barb asked. "I thought he was with you and your sister?" Wave gave her an odd look as she avoided saying Sora's name.
"He's with Sora, just around town."
"Oh," she said curtly.
"It is worse than we thought," Matt said suddenly to Wave.
Wave looked around, spotted them, and knew why he had said that.
"I need to go see Gryf about a book," Barb said in a very matter-of-factly manner, and was immediately off.
"Hey, where's Barb going?" Joshua asked as he walked up, holding hands with Sora.
"Oh, just to visit Gryf about some book," Wave told him, smiling.
"Ah," he said.
"Well, I'm going back to Daniel now," Wave announced, walking off and waving.

----------------------------

"Hans?"
It had been three days since Wave had helped Hans find his pet frog, Sirius, and now he found him sitting on the rock that marked the road to Tolkton.
"Hans, is that you?"
"Mon - um - " he stopped and closed his eyes. "Wave," he said, sniffing and opening his eyes again.
"Hans, is everything alright?"
He was trembling, with a weary and shaky breath. Wave could not get a good look at his eyes, but it was obvious he had been weeping very hard. Why would someone supposedly in league with Scor be so open and well, be weeping? Wave was beyond confused.
"Yeah," he lied, "how - how are you?"
"Confused and worried. You sure you're alright?"
"Yeah!... no, I'm not, no."
"What's wrong then?" Wave asked, cautiously sitting down on the rock with him.
"I was kicked out."
"Oh, Hans, I'm sure your parents will let you back!"
"My parents are dead. My sister and I were found as babes in the Woods. I can never go back to him."
"I'm really sorry, Hans. Surely he'll-"
"He's never forgiven someone. I was foolish enough to turn my back on him. He'll push my sister past her abilities, that I know."
Hans knew he was now an enemy of his father's.
"Who is he? Maybe I can get Erick and Nora to talk some -" he stopped talking when he realized it was useless.
Hans looked him in the eyes and considered him for a minute.
"You have no reason to trust me, but will you listen and never tell?"
"Sure."
"And never tell?" he double-checked.
"Laddie, one person knows my real name."
Hans gave a small laugh and deep inhale.
"I need to go to Tolkton," he said. "Walk with me."
After a few minutes, he started to talk.
"My name isn't Hans," he said, looking down at the dirt road. "It's Draconis."
"O-okay. That's a start."
"My father is Scor."
Wave stopped. "What?" he said in what seemed to be less than a whisper.
"Come," Draconis said. "I will tell you everything." He looked Wave in the eye. "Everything."

----------------------------

ANNOUNCMENT: June 15th, town meeting. First in 100 years! Everyone must attend. New evidence of Scor plot. 9:00AM sharp. All shops must close. Keep houses locked!

"I wonder what's going on," Barb whispered to William.
"Man, I don't have a clue. But it's kinda exciting, first meeting in 100 years? I guess they don't have much to talk about."
"Quiet! Here's Erick."
They were third row, on the left side of the Town Hall. Joshua at the end of the row, then Sora, Matt, Wave, Leiland, William, then Barb.
They listened as he talked. He was short, but a strong speaker. He looked exactly like Matt, but older, and gray hair. He talked about a plot involving children of Scor, Centaurs, and many other things. He let known the intent Scor had: World domination. He had the magic to do it, too. They were all scared. Nora came and announced sword and archery lessons in September for everyone. She looked exactly like Sora, but also, gray hair.
Afterwards, they asked everyone questions. No one knew what the questions were until they were asked. When Wave was questioned, he was unsure about what to do. He was asked if he had any info about anything even remotely related to Scor. He did. He knew everything. He had gotten inside information from Scor's own adopted estranged son. He could not tell. He would not. He promised. Promised Draconis he would not. He did not. It was hard to lie, but he did not tell. He trusted Draconis for his word. He knew he would keep his promise for what he said to do for him. He did not tell. He knew whose side Draconis was on, and whose side he was on.
"Are you sure you know nothing?" Erick asked him.
"Yes, sir," he said, with false certainty in his eyes. They let him out.
"Odd questions, huh, Wave?" William came up to him after he left the Town Hall.
"What? Oh, yeah. Odd."
"Hey! Where you going?" William asked as Wave started to randomly walk off.
"Daniel's!"
"His shop's closed, remember?"
Wave stopped. "I'll open it for him." The way he said it scared William, but he did not dare follow him just yet. He knew he was lying.
William followed him with stealth. It was around 2:00 in the afternoon. The meeting had lasted so long. Wave was definitely not going for Daniel's shop. He had long past it.
He sat down for a couple of minutes to take a rest by a large tree, for it had been a five mile walk. He spotted a fox off in the distance of Sunset Valley. All the other animals in Wangau seemed nice, so why not go say hi to the little fella?
He walked over to it and petted it a few times. A sudden chill came down his back. He was only 14, he did not truly know this land. They had been there only a month. What was he doing out in Sunset Valley alone, with a stray fox? His worries increased, but it was too late. He was already done for. Scor's plan had worked. He had gotten one of the outlanders into his trap.
William heard that horrid screech from the Woods. A blinding flash, and he was unconscious.

 

[Rache_san]

Six

Wave turned around. It was the most horrid sight he had ever seen. He furiously muttered to himself as he thought of a way to get William back. Nothing came to him. He slowly fell to the ground, crying. Hoping for a solution to come to him. Nothing came. The sight of William being taken away as he was by those demons would haunt him. He sat there, with no way of being able to save him.
Wave closed his eyes to try to shut out the images. To try to remember something different. Anything. Ah - there it was. He was back at the shop, knocking on the door.
"Hello, friend!" said the man that answered the door. He was taller than Joshua, with honest hazel eyes and a genuine smile. His hair was black, longer than most of the other Wangauian men hair. With a presence around him that made anyone feel loved and at home.
"Hello, Daniel. May I come in?"
"Of course!" he said, letting Wave in.
His house was amazing. Everything in it was handmade. Everything. All the furniture was made out of wood, the cushions sewn by his hands. He had built the house, too. Daniel was one of the best craftsmen in the world.
"What brings you here again, Wave? It has been four days since you left with Hans. What happened?" he asked, sitting down in a chair, offering another for Wave.
"I've meant to stop by, just haven't had the time. Anyways, about Hans. He... needs our help."
"Oh?"
"He's been kicked out of his house and needs a place to stay."
Daniel looked a bit confused. "Surely his parents would let him back. Perhaps Erick or Nora-"
"No. You don't understand. His parents are dead."
"Oh. I am.. sorry. I did not know. Who is he living with then?"
Wave couldn't bring himself to tell Daniel. What would he say for knowing Wave was helping Scor's son?
"Right," Daniel said. "Well, whoever it is is surely decent enough to atleast talk with Erick and-"
"He can't go back!" Wave interrupted. "Literally. There's...," he stopped and took a breath. "There's a.. curse... blocking him from stepping foot inside the house."
"A curse? But..." he looked at Wave with a look of amazement. "You are... asking me to help... Scor's son?"
"Yes."
Daniel sat still for a minute, then got up and walked over to a wooden table and picked up some blueprint plans.
"We talked about making it. Now it is time to do it. But where will it go?"
Wave smiled. "At the end of Sunset Valley, in that one tree that's past here near the edge of Wedeve Forest."
"Wonderful. Where has he been since he got kicked out?"
A look of shame crossed Wave's face. "In.. your shed..." he muttered, but something about the look on Daniel's face made him feel lighthearted.
"Well, bring him in!"
"He's not there now. He's at Tolkton. He goes every day."
"... Tolkton? What business does he have with them?" Daniel said in a very serious way.
"It's alright, he goes to get food there."
"How sure are you he will not doublecross us?"
"I'm completely positive! Really."
Daniel was not convinced, though.
"Well, we had better get to work," Daniel said. "Hopefully we can get this finished by tomorrow."
They did. Two sets of hands worked faster than one, and Daniel could make a treehouse in two days when he was alone. It was an amazingly pleasant house. The tree it was in was so large that they made a walkway up in it, with two seperate ladders, and a rope to get to it by. They painted the walkway and ladders the color of the bark, with the house perfectly mixed so that it was the shades of the leaves. You would not notice it even if you walked right up to it and sat under it.
Wave openned his eyes again. There he was. Sitting, crying, in the same spot. If only Daniel could build something to bring William back. He had not noticed the storm brewing above him. It was too late for him. When he heard the thunder, he realized that he had not gone unnoticed. He saw a lightning flash, heard a crack, and felt as if he had been hit by a bus. It was not a bus though. It was a tree. He was pinned down. Life flashed before his eyes. What would he give to make it out of this alive? How many things did he wish he had told everyone? To not have been so secretive. Too late, though. The pain he felt was deadly, and the regret was too much to bear. He was awake only for a few seconds of agonizing pain before the unconsiousness took him. Forever? Maybe.

----------------------------

There was a knock on the shop door.
"Joshua! Come in, come in, you'll catch a cold if you wait out in this dreadful rain."
"Daniel, have you seen Wave?"
"He ran past here a few minutes ago. What-"
"William and him seem to have disappeared," he interupped, panting. "Has anything weird happened since then?"
"Other than this storm? Now that you mention it," Daniel said, "I did hear something weird just a few minutes ago."
"What was it?" Joshua asked.
"It was a sort of scream. Or screech, if you will."
His eyes got big with horror while the thought of what might have happened to them came to his mind. "What... did it sound like?"
"Weirdest thing I've ever heard. Reminded me of cats.." he started.
"... fighting with hawks?" Joshua asked.
"Yeah. You have.. heard it before?"
"Do you know where he was going?" Joshua asked very seriously.
Daniel could tell this was serious. So he told.
"To the edge of Wedeve Forest. There's two giant trees there. He was headed that way."
"I have to hurry," he muttered, running out the door.
Thus Joshua began running. After the years of being a star track runner, he felt he would never be able to run fast enough to save them. Would he? Fear filled him. He had no weapons. How could he fight off whatever Scor had for them? Why was Scor after them?
He shook off the fear. It was not going to help. His brain scattered as he thought.
The further he went, the more anxious he was. Where were they? He came to a fallen tree. Something inside him told him to stop and take a breath.
"Wave!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, looking around helplessly. "Where are you?! Wave!!"
No reply. Tears filled his eyes as he sat there in the pouring rain.
"Dear God," he prayed, "where are they?!"
Involunatarily his eyes fell upon the tree again. He noticed an arm underneath the enormous tree.
"No," he whispered as he ran over to it. It was Wave.
"God, thank you for his life. But he's not through. I'm asking You now for divine help. Death must not befall him now. Death cannot befall him now. It can't!"
He was on his knees. After a few minutes, looking up, he saw two glorious angels lifting the tree off of him. They were the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Joshua closed his eyes, crying, thanking God. When he looked up again, they were gone, and Wave was uncovered. His right arm had taken the most damage. Joshua tried to wake him, but could not. Suddenly he realized that Wave was not breathing.
Falling over on him, crying, he prayed like never before. Sitting there for what seemed to be an eternity. He had never come to know a thing God could not heal. He believed in Him for the strength and power to help.

----------------------------

"Dear God!" Daniel said, opening the door.
Joshua smiled as he carried Wave shoulder-to-shoulder inside Daniel's house.
"You carried him all the way here, Joshua?" he asked.
"That and more," Wave said to Daniel, with a look of admiration on his face. He could not help but laugh, no matter how badly it hurt. "My right arm is broken, though. And I'm afraid I've lost something, laddie."
Daniel looked at him in horrified suspition.
"His right ring finger. We'll have to take him to the Healer's soon."
"I do not understand," Daniel said. "What happened?"
"Oh, not much," Wave said with sarcasm. "Just a tree fell on me.. and I sorta... oh Josh, how would you like to say it? Died?"
Daniel was taken aback. "When you die... you die."
"Not when God's on your side," Joshua commented, crying tears of joy with a broad smile on his face.
"I am sorry, what?"
"We'll explain it when we get to the Healer's. I'll need your help, though. Needing an extra set of hands and all," Joshua said to Daniel.
"Yeah, sure."
It was a hard walk through the pounding rain, but they made it.
"Ooh, oh oh, come in! Come in! I was afraid something would happen to someone in this storm," the Healer said when they arrived with Wave.
"You will need your rest now, deary, while I prepare a few things," she said.
"Come on, Joshua, explain to me outside," Daniel asked.
"Alright. Get some rest now, Wave," Joshua said to him, smiling.
"Wait!" Wave said, just now remembering. "They took William!"

 

[Rache_san]

Seven

As Joshua walked in the hut that night, he found Wave's diary sitting at the table next to the bed. Wave had said to them before that if any of them ever actually found it they could read it, because it was impossible to find. Why had he left it out?
Joshua openned up the blue satan cover, and saw records of things from long ago.


November 5, 1991.

Today was awesome. The four of us (me, Lei, Josh and Barb) went
to the park. I got to push Lei off the swings. It was so cool!

Joshua cracked up at this. He remembered that day oh so well. Leiland had gotten a bad bruise on the knee that day. It was all good fun, though. He flipped through a few more pages of the dairy.

October 27, 1995.

It hurts. I started school a year late, plus doing the first grade
over. I'm two years older than everyone else. Everyone hears what
they say, but do they know how it feels? No... they don't.

He stopped at this remark and read it over. No, he had never thought of how Wave had really felt. It was all just lighthearted with the other kids. He flipped through a few more pages.

August 10, 1997.

Well, today was unexpected. And odd. What a love triangle, though.
Why hasn't she ever said anything to him I wonder? I never saw it
in her eyes. Poor Lei, though. I can't tell him what she said about
Josh. Nor can I tell Josh how she feels. All I can say is that I'm
glad I got over my want of a girlfriend last year. I don't plan on
having anything like this happen.

Joshua stared at it. What? He did not want to think on what he just read, just stop reading. He shut the book and put it on the table. It fell, though, and openned up to the day before they had entered Wangau. He picked up the book, and decided to read it.

May 10, 1999.

Well, only one more day 'til graduation. Barb says she's got
something planned for us. I wonder what it is? Probably something
silly. Not much to say about today. It was boring, really. Although
everyone's getting excited. One day 'til we graduate. Woohoo.

May 13, 1999.

Haven't had a chance to update. We're in a land called Wangau
right now. I don't know what to say. The 11th we went into the
'Wangau Woods' for fun, and it was weird. I stayed behind for a
few moments then went in, found everyone, and they were scared
out of their wits. Said they'd been walking for hours and hours and
miles and miles. I don't know what to make of it. Josh got hit pretty
bad. Supposedly a sorcerer. I really don't know what to make of it.
He's still really weak at the Healer's. We're all worried for him...

May 20, 1999.

Mattin told me something today. I... I actually am scared. He told
me about a legend. About a battle. Everything that's happening
to us is an exact mirror image of what did happen. They think us
being here will end Scor's reign over the Swamp. He really does
think we'll be the ones to free Wangau from Scor. I just...
I don't know.

June 6, 1999.

This is the weirdest place... ever. I was with Daniel today and this
faerie came up named Hans wanting some help to find his pet. So,
I helped him, and we ended up in Serpen's Swamp, and Barb was
there, helping his twin. I have a very funny feeling that Scor has
put two and two together and is trying to get rid of us.

June 9, 1999.

Well, that was interesting. It's risky putting this info in here, but
I promised not to tell a soul, and a book isn't a soul, so here
is the only place I can put it down. Hans is in fact Scor's adopted son.
His name's Draconis, his sister's Hydrus. Scor found him and his
sister in the Woods, and killed their parents so he could take them
and twist their minds to be his servants. It worked. They have
been for their entire lives. But... Draconis and his father had a
fight about the legend that Mattin told me about. Supposedly,
William, also known as Lupus, is gonna kill Draconis, and Draconis
asked Scor about it, and he was like... not caring. I guess
that's what you get for being evil and having an evil guardian. They
don't care if you die. He can't go back, though. There's a spell
blocking him from ever going back inside the hut. I'm going to
hide him in Daniel's shed until I can ask him to build that
treehouse for him.

June 14, 1999.

They're having an inquiry tomorrow for everyone in the town. I
don't want to lie, but I'll have to. What if they found out about-

Joshua froze. He looked up, and there stood a shadow in the doorway. This night was not a good night to have someone creep up on you. It was dreary, dark, and mysterious. As the shadow came nearer, he realized it was Erick.
"Oh, hello Erick. You nearly gave me a heartattack," Joshua whispered to him.
"What are you doing?" Erick asked.
"Just keeping Wave company for the night. What's... wrong?"
"... nothing. What's that you have? Is it Wave's diary?" Erick snapped at him. He had never seen him that way before. "Give it here!" he whispered furosiously.
"You have no right to read this diary," Joshua said. He was terrified that Erick would take it by force and read the rest. Joshua knew that Wave trusted the right people, and that Erick would probably have Wave sent to jail for keeping such a secret and thinking he is a traitor.
"What makes you think that?" Erick snapped.
"It's a diary!" Joshua retorted. He said it in such a way, not meaning to, that it sounded like he said it was his.
"Oh... well, sorry lad. I'll.. just leave you with.. him."
Erick stepped out.
"Wait a minute," Erick thought to himself, "where was his pencil to write in it? And why do it near Wave? That was Wave's diary!"
Erick ran back inside, but too late. No sign of Joshua or the diary.

----------------------------

"Wave. Wave!"
Joshua shook him awake.
"What's wrong, laddie?"
He held up his diary. "Erick's looking for this. I suggest you start writing in Gaelic."
"Wh.. what? Erick's looking for it? Why?"
"Oh, I don't know. Half the town thinks you're helping Scor! You can't leave this laying around anymore."
"It wasn't. I had it hidden. Where'd you find it?"
"It was... on that table. You hid it?"
"It was on that table? Oh, no... wait. You read it, didn't you, laddie?"
Joshua smirked. "Only a little."
"Joy. Well, I did say..."
"One question, though," Joshua said putting it back on the table, "about that one entry when you were talking about a love triangle.. what-"
"Under the bed, now," Wave whispered in a rushed tone.
Joshua did not know why, but he got underneath the bed as soon as he could. It was extremely uncomfortable because of his height, but he managed. A few seconds later he heard footsteps come in. Erick was back, looking for the diary. Joshua had just put it back on the table.
"Ah, yes," Erick said, picking it up.
"What do you think you're doing with that, laddie?" Wave said, looking at him.
Erick gulped. "Wh-what? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all," he said, forced to put it back on the table.
"Would you be so kind as to leave now?"
Erick gave him a curious eye. "Don't think I don't know," he muttered as he left.
"I won't," Wave replied.

 

[Rache_san]

Eight

"I just can't!" she whined.
"Oh, come on. Look, steady your hands. Hold it tight. Make sure you don't hurt your-"
"OW!" she yelped, as she released the arrow she skinned her hand.
"Oh, come on!" Joshua whined. "Why can't you just-"
"I can't, okay!"
"Yes, you can."
"No, I can't."
"Yes, you can!"
"No, I can't!"
"YES YOU CAN!!"
"NO I CAN'T!!"
"ARRRRGH! Stop it, would you?! Would you prefer to use a sword?"
Barb sighed. "Alright, show me again. Where should the tip of it go?"
He rolled his eyes.
"I'm not hopeless! C'mon, show me again!" She gave him puppy-dog eyes. "Pleeease?"
"Okay, look..."
Wave and Daniel watched the entire thing from the sidelines.
"Barb's not completely hopeless, is she?" Wave laughed.
"She will get the hang of it. I remember when Sora tried learning how to use the bow for the first time."
"Was she worse?"
"Oh so much," Daniel said, laughing.
"OW!"
"Aarrgggh!!!"
"Hmph!"
"Hey, come on, let us practice," Daniel said, grabbing a glistening sword from the rack.
"En garde!"
They were in Sunset Fields. Daniel had led a project to build an entire camp to prepare for any type of battle. There were dozens of swords, bows with plenty of arrows, morningstars - everything. Tents were put up everwhere if anyone wanted to spend the night at the grounds and practice late, or get an early start. Less than half of the town stayed every night, but more were coming.
"Good, Wave. You are getting better!" Daniel shouted over the rings of metal on metal. He was duel weilding swords while Wave used a sword and shield.
"You think so? I've got a bone to pick with Scor if I ever see him."
Daniel stopped. "Now wait a minute, you are not thinking revenge, are you? Justice is what is needed, Wave. Do not stoop to his level."
"Yea, yea, sure. Now keep going!"
He shook his head and went over to retire his sword to its place. Wave looked confused.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Daniel sat down in a nearby chair and started sharpening a knife.
"Daniel?"
He paused. "Did I ever tell you I was married once?"
Wave looked shocked. "No, you didn't."
"I was about your age. Her name was Belle. She was beautiful. We planned on starting a family, but others did not approve of us."
"Why wouldn't they approve?"
Daniel gave a short laugh. "Because, I had so much potential to become town leader. No one would have wanted a town leader married to a faerie, though."
"You were..." Wave could not get any more words out.
"She was so unlike any others, though. If you had been blind, you would have never guessed she was a faerie. The people of this town are not blind, though. All they know is that all faeries are corrupt. They never saw past that to see what she was really like."
"What happened?" Wave asked, unsure if it was too much to ask.
"She had her midwife with her when she gave birth. I was away on a trip to Tolkton to get some wood. No one else knew she had given birth yet. A bit of time passed, and I was still away on my trip. It seemed like it lasted forever. She went for a walk in the woods and... never came back. She was never found: neither was Emily, the midwife. Or my child. They had left a note saying they were just going for a walk..."
"I'm... so sorry, Dan," Wave said.
"There is no way she could have gotten lost in the woods. She knew them like the back of her hand. It was Scor... I know it." He looked Wave in the eyes.
Wave choked down a lump in his throat.
"Revenge is never the answer. Justice is."

----------------------------

Everyone had become very sore from all their training. Most of the town was back at home, but the best fighters stayed behind and slept there that night to get an early start the next day. Barb stayed behind to get some extra help for her archery. She also contemplated working with the sword. Wave and Leiland were there. Joshua was against fighting, but he did take some self-defence lessons from Daniel.
Barb picked at a scab on her hand she had gotten from the bow. She was in her purple tent, unable to sleep and extremely bored. The field was completely silent outside, apart from some snoring.
"I guess I'll go practice a little," she said to herself. She thought that maybe she would become a pro overnight, and impress everyone later.
As she walked out of the tent with her bow, she couldn't help but admire the beauty of the night. The moon shone brightly. It seemed more white than it ever did anywhere else. The stars lit up the night with splendor.
She walked over to the shooting range, and prepared to fire at the bullseye when she spotted something move in the distance. The stillness of the night made even the smallest twitch of the grassblades noticable.
Unable to tell what it was, she lowered her weapon and slowly walked over. From the distance, it looked as if there were horses approaching. She had not seen a horse in Wangau before, though. She knew there were odd things in Tolkton, but at this time of night in this part of the field?
Terrified out of her wits, she hastily ran back to the tents and went into Erick's. He was not there. She tried for Daniel's. He was.
"Daniel, wake up!" she fiercely whispered.
He yawned and openned his eyes. He only slightly minded being woken up, but did not want to actually get up. "What is it, Barbeira?"
"There are horses outside," she said in a paniced voice.
"No there is not, dear. There are not any horses in Wangau. It was probably a dream."
"Daniel, I went outside. I saw them. There's something out there!"
He paused and listened. He heard nothing, but just to ease her fear, went outside with her.
"See? I do not see any-..."
"What is it?" she asked, curious as to why he stopped talking.
He stood up tall. "Go wake Wave and Leiland up. I will get Erick." He started walking over to some other tents.
"Alright. But wait! Erick's gone. I checked."
He turned around. "Oh, tell me you are joking." He saw she was not. "Alright. Go wake everyone up. Tell them this is not a joke. Tell them we are under attack."
Barb's heart skipped a few beats. "By what?"
"Centaurs!" he yelled back to her, running to Wave's tent.
"What's all this about?" a man asked as he walked sleepy-eyed out of his tent.
"Kevin! Oh gosh. Daniel says to get everyone up. We're under attack by Centaurs."
"No-no joke?"
"No joke!"
He ran back into the tent and a moment later appeared with his brother, Trevor.
"Barb! Run back to town and alert them. Get all the fighters down here, and those who cannot into the shelter."
"Oh, I can't. I really can't. I can't run!"
"Barb!"
"But Trevor, I can't!" She started panicing.
"Listen! There is not time for this!" he said.
"Barb!" Kevin yelled at her after coming out of another tent with some other people. "Go! Now!"
She felt like crying. She felt like exploding. She felt like doing anything but running. She had to, though. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Looking back she saw, to her horror, half-human half-horse creatures running towards the camp. Running towards all her friends. She felt like fainting. She did not turn back again.
It took her what felt like a lifetime to get to town, but once she was there she ran up to the clocktower and rang out the bells as hard as she could. Swinging away at the alarm bell, waking everyone up. What happened next was only chaos.

 

[Rache_san]

Nine

He felt worried. As he ran down the tunnel, he did not know where she was. He had lost her, he was so terrified of losing her for good. Losing his true love.
They had taken her. It was all his fault. If he had just given himself in, she would not be in danger. She would be safe. They could have -him- if they wanted. It was not his life, why should he worry?
What was one less friend? All he wanted was her. All he wanted was-
"AH!"
He was woken from his dream by Wave.
"Aye, ye need to get up! Jupiter's lessons are today!"
"Ohh!"
He had completely forgotten.
"Alright, alright. What's today?"
"May 17th."
"What time is it?"
"It's ten AM."
"And?"
"And you should be there in... minus thirty minutes." Wave laughed.
"Minus?!"
Wave moved away from the bed just in time to not get ran over by Leiland as he ran to get ready.
"Bye!" Leiland shouted as he left.
"See ya later, laddie!" Waved called to him, trying not to laugh as Leiland ran to his eleven AM stars study class.
"Am I late?"
He saw the confused look on Jupiter's face, and realized that Wave had tricked him.
"Ah well," said the graying Wangauian. She seemed content with him early. "Let us get started, shall we?"
Leiland nodded.
"One question, though, ma'am."
"Yes?"
"If you're supposed to be helping me learn about stars, why are we doing this in the afternoon?"
"Smart question. Well," she said, "we are not going to learn -where- the stars and planets are just yet. For our first four lessons I will teach you legends. Myths. Stories."
"But why?"
"When you went into the Inn, what were you?" she replied, planning on telling him stories about fellow whatever-he-was in the Inn.
"A-a rabbit."
"A rabbit. A hare," she said. "Lepus."
"Excuse me?"
"Lepus. It's a constilation. It's a hare. Interesting," she said. Jupiter paused for a moment. "And your brother?"
"A wolf. But why's-"
"Oohhhh!" she exclaimed. "Oh dear, dear."
"What?"
She closed her eyes, thinking.
"The others?"
"Wave's a unicorn." She nodded. "Barb's a fox, and Josh's a lion."
She turned white.
"What?" she said, stumbling back into a chair, a few things falling as she did so.
"What?"
"He is a lion?"
"Yeah.." said Leiland with envy in his voice.
"You are all," she took a deep breath, "in grave danger." She rummaged through a stack of books on her desk, knocking over her miniature planet globes.
"Here it is," she said, opening a book and placing her finger on the middle of the page.
"There is a legend," she said, "that Lepus, Lupus, Monoceros, Vulpecula, and Leo would one day destroy all evil out of this land. They would be opposed by Centaurs, a Snake, and a Wizard."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Understand!" she shrieked. "Lepus is a hare, Lupus a wolf, Monoceros a unicorn, Vulpecula a fox, Leo a lion. See? What did you and your friends turn into at the Inn?"
"But.. it's just a myth, right?"
"To us, yes. But to a stargazer who believes many things with hatred in his heart and power at his fist, it means vengence."
"Haha, so what, my friends and I have to like, become heroes by fighting?"
She gave him an odd smile.
"You make your destiny sound so horrible."
He stared at her.
"Good thing it is just a myth," she said.
He blinked. "Yeeaah..."
"I would be cautious, though. Scor probably knows about you being the same as the legend."
"So, they aren't real?"
"Oh me, no. Not at all."
"Completely fake?" he asked.
"Completely."
"But you think Scor will try to get a hold of us?"
"Oh yes," she said. "He has probably already sent for you."
"Wh-what should we be on the lookout for?" Leiland asked.
"Anything suspicious at all. But Joshua is going to need the most protection."
"Okay," he said. "Got it."

----------------------------

They were starving. It had been one week in the cells, and they were quite losing it. The cells were designed in a way so that the only way to see in them was through a small window near the top of the door, but once in, you could see for what seemed forever from side to side. Each cell was seperated by bars. Wave was very thankful for this. If he had not been able to see Leiland, he probably would have lost his mind.
Having been attacked multiple times by the Centaurs, it was now November, and Wave and Leiland had been taken captive.
"So, what do you think, Lei? Will they ever get us out of here?"
"Probably not," he said, laughing. "Everyone's probably having the time of their lives without us." He sighed.
"Hey, what's the date?" Leiland asked. Wave told him.
A few minutes passed by.
"Hey, Ar?"
"Yeah, Lei?"
He looked up at him. "Happy birthday."
Wave laughed. "You remembered."
"Of course I remembered! I know everything about everyone, remember?"
They sat there, lonely, tired, sore. The door to the dungeon openned. They supposed it was to bring them more moldy bread.
"Wave? Are you here?"
Wave had been lying up against the wall with his eyes closed.
"Who is it?" Leiland whispered to him.
"Wave! Wave?"
Suddenly, it hit him. "Hey! Down here. Cell 117."
"Wave! Thank goodness you are there. Here, let me get you out."
Leiland watched in shock as Wave's cell door openned. Wave walked out, took the keys out of his door, and openned Leiland's cell.
"Uh, Wave? What's going on?" Leiland asked, highly confused.
"I cannot possibly tell you how happy I am to have trusted you, laddie," Wave told Draconis. "But how? I thought you couldn't go back. Isn't this in his house?"
"Oh no, you are in the woods right behind the hut. I cannot step foot in the house, yes, but the land I can go on. Gotta love those loopholes," Draconis said, laughing.
"And you are?" Leiland was still confused.
"Ah! Yes, sorry. I am Draconis, Scor's adopted son. Well, estranged now. And you?"
"Leiland Mozart," he said, wide-eyed.
"Uh.. right. Listen, Wave, I have to be off. They have taken your friend, Barb, and-"
"What?" Wave and Leiland said in unison.
Leiland did not hesistate one second. He was off through the dungeon tunnels like a cannon. He felt worried. As he ran down the tunnel, he did not know where she was. He had lost her, he was so terrified of losing her for good. Losing his true love.
They had taken her. It was all his fault. He was reliving his constant nightmare. What would he do? Suddenly he found himself face to face with Scor.

 

[adisney]

great story! I dont know how you came up with the great idea. read mine

 

[Rache_san]

Thanks so much. =]

Lol, alrighty

 

[Rache_san]

Ten

"Well, well. Escaped, have we? And how did we manage that?"
Leiland froze. He knew he would not make it out of this alive.
"And exactly where did you think you were going? No matter," Scor said, grinning menacingly. "I do not suppose anyone will miss you."

----------------------------

Wave was running through the dungeon, trying to find Barb: looking for Leiland, too. He knew that Leiland would not stop until he found her. Wave found her first, though.
"Barb?!" Wave shouted as he ran through yet another section of cells.
"Wave! I'm here!" she called out. He had found her. At last. Where was Leiland, though?
"Oh thank goodness. We need to get you out of here."
"Where's Lei?" she asked.
"I thought he would have found you first... I honestly don't know."
"That isn't good. We have to find him!"

----------------------------

"And you could not find him? At all? You searched the entire dungeon?"
"Yes. Hans even helped..." Wave put in.
Erick gave him a hateful, disbelieving look.
"What was he planning? Did you find anything out?" Nora asked.
"No, nothing other than it was the myth he believed..."
"We need to find Lei," Barb said.
"I know, I know, but we can't go back, now can we? Unless we purposely get captured again. That wouldn't be too bright of an idea, though. Now would it, lassie?"
"No, wait... it might," Daniel said. They were at the meeting house. Barb, Joshua, Wave, Erick, Nora, Mattin, Sora, and Daniel. William was still at the Healer's Hut. After months in the dungeons, he barely made it out alive.
"What nonsense is this?" Erick snapped. He had always had it out against Daniel. Erick became town leader when Daniel did not, and he had always hated faeries.
"I am saying, if we willingfully went in, we will be in, will we not? Dr-" he began, caught himself, then continued, "Hans has the keys. If we had them hidden in our clothes, we would be able to get out, and we could search through the entire underground dungeon."
"It would work," Barb said.
"But who would be brave enough - or should I say stupid enough - to go?"
"I'll go," Wave said.
"Count me in," Daniel said.
"I' will go too," Mattin offered.
"You most certainly will not!" Nora retorted.
"Fine, fine. Wave and Daniel will go. We will just have to wait for another Centaur attack... should not take too long. You do realize you are probably going to get yourselves killed, right?"
"We have to find Lei," Wave said. He was determined to find his friend. Joshua layed his hand on his shoulder. It was a brave thing to do.
Wave and Daniel went off talking the rest of the day about what they would do inside. They casually left out the fact that Draconis would be going with them.
It was about a week before the next attack, but when it happened, they were ready. It worked out perfectly according to plan: Wave, Daniel and Draconis were captured, and put back in the underground cells. This time in a more 'secure' section. Already having the keys, though, they were able to escape without any problems.
"Alright, we just have to find-" Daniel was cut off from running down the tunnels when they took a corner and found Hydrus. Draconis freaked, swearing out of his rage.
"Calm down!" Daniel shouted at him. Hydrus just stood there, grinning. She fully planned on killing them.
"Listen, I do not care who you are or what you are plan, we are getting out of.... of...." he froze, staring at her.
Wave looked at him, completely confused.
"Oh, what, cat got your tounge?" she said, tauntingly. She looked over at Draconis. "Father already killed the other one. Will you help me with these two?"
"Why you-" Draconis began, but Wave got a hold of him and stopped him. All Daniel did was stare at her with a look of disbelief.
"Daniel, c'mon!" Wave had just spotted a small pathway he had not seen before, in the opposite direction. They began running. Hydrus did not bother to follow them, for she knew they would not be getting out this time.
When they had run far enough and they were in a small dark tunnel, Wave stopped. "What is wrong with you!?" he shouted at Daniel.
He could not speak. All he did was stare at Draconis.
Draconis noticed. "What?" he said, bothered by this.
"How old are you?"
"Why would you care at a time like this?!" he shouted, louder than he meant to. "Did you not hear what she said?"
"Was that your sister?" Daniel asked, still dazed.
"My twin, yes. And if you must know... 17..."
Daniel leaned up against the wall, sliding down it, crying.
"Oh dear God..." he wept.
"Dan...?" Wave was unsure about all of this.
"I lied to you. I'm sorry. I know I should not have. It is just... I figured you would have felt more comfortable.... if you really knew...."
"Dan!?"
"I am not 25," he confessed.
"I knew it! You looked to young to-"
"I am 36..."
Wave looked at him, astonished.
"So?" Draconis said.
"I married Belle when I was 18... she had the child a year later.... 17 years ago." He looked up at Wave. His voice was choking from crying so hard. "When your sister smiled, smirked, whatever," he said to Draconis, "I saw Belle's face again. Oh dear God... she had twins..."
Wave looked from Draconis to Daniel, in full disbelief that he was staring at father and son.
"I have a headache," Draconis said, falling up against the wall.
"We have to go back and tell the others what she said... do you think she was telling the truth?" Wave asked.
Draconis looked at him with horror. They all silently wept for a long time, never wanting to move again.

----------------------------

"Wait, Hydrus, you do not have to do this!" Draconis shouted at his sister as they fought with swords.
It was all out battle on Sunset Fields. It would later be called Red Rose Fields, for all the blood that was spilt permanently stained it. Everyone except a few men, woman, and most of the children were still at town, hiding. Waiting. Hoping and praying everyone was alright. Wave had fought an intense battle the week before with Scor himself, literally killing him. Upon learning that Scor was alive again, Hydrus asked if they really thought they were the only ones that could raise the dead.
"Why not, dear brother?!" she shouted at him. They were on the higher part of the fields. There was an actual cliff, which no one went near. They were near it, though.
Draconis had started using more forceful attacks, making her parry and back up more, but always making sure that they never got close enough so that they could fall off the cliff.
"Because this is not right!"
The clanging of swords filled the air. Wave and Daniel were below, fighting back-to-back. Scor had an army of Centaurs, and most of the other creatures that were on his side from Tolkton. Goblins and ghouls, and everything else that gives children nightmares at night, enough so that they have to have a light in their room and always check under their beds and even in their closets.
Every so often, Daniel tried to get a glimpse of the twins fighting up on the cliff. He was so terrified for them. They should not have been fighting. It was just wrong.
Hydrus started worrying. She was losing energy, and her brother was getting more ferocious. "How is it not right, dear brother? Who are you to - say - that something is - right - or not?" Her voice was breaking up from her being out of breath. She was almost ready to give up. Backing up all the time.
"Who are YOU to say something is right or not? You are with HIM!" he was getting worse. More mad every second. Every second he would regret for the rest of his life. For she had now backed up so much that...
"Who says he is wrong, though?! Who!?" she yelled at him. Everyone down below could here them. They were the only ones on the cliff.
The next moments seemed like they took only two seconds yet two hours at the same time. Daniel listened cautiously to them fighting, while protecting himself and Wave. All anyone heard the next moment was yelling. Draconis and Daniel yelled "No" in unison, as Hydrus yelled as she fell to her death. She had tripped over rocks on the edge, losing her balance.
Joshua was too far away to tell of anything that happened. He was battling Scor. One-on-one. The physically conflict was nothing compared to the spiritual conflict. It did worse damage than any actual wounds they got.
Scor taunted him, saying spells so often, teasing and tempting Joshua over things that would drive any sane person to complete madness. The only way Joshua was able to withstand it was his constant prayers. Then it got intense.
"So, you think your pathetic little sayings will help you against a mighty and all-powerful sorcerer?" Scor said, as he pushed Joshua to the ground, holding up his sword to his throat.
"You are an ANT compared to Christ!" Joshua yelled. "You are as all-powerful as a slave is to his master! Slithering around on your belly, you'll never be mighty! Never!"
As Scor lifted and then pulled down his sword to kill Joshua, he found that it had turned into a flower. A lily. The next thing he knew, there was an army of angels coming straight towards him, and he was never seen again.

 

[Rache_san]

Here's the final chapter of the story. I'm actually trying to write a "sequel"

Eleven

Daniel had a locked room in his house that he never let anyone go in. Today, he went in. It was Belle's room. He was looking through her old things, trying to remember her better. Lately, with planning for the funerals, he had had alot on his mind, and she had drifted further away than he liked.
He found an old, small wooden chest. It was locked. He never remembered an old, small, locked wooden chest. It had the design of a humming bird on it. There was no key in sight. Curiousity got the best of him, and he decided to smash the small lock up against the red oak dresser that was there. It came off.
After how long he went through Belle's room before, how he had not come across this chest was beyond his knowledge. In it he found two things. A picture of Belle, Emily and the twins. It was drawn by Eilish, a good friend of theirs from Tolkton who did drawings of families. She must have gone to Wangau before Daniel got back. Also, a piece of paper. It looked to be from a diary. Reading her handwriting again brought a smile to his face. It had been so long without her. He missed her deeply. He read what it said over and over again.

Emily is beginning to get restless. We have not left the house since Daniel left. I think I will take her for a walk to the forest, no matter how long a walk it is. I've picked out names for the twins. Sara Caetul Fairwind and Edwind Darimus Fairwind. I hope Daniel likes it. I've always wanted to name my children that, not matter how strange it sounds. I want them to have my name, too. Fairwind sounds better than Bonniehn to me, anyways...

He had never seen any diary before. Had she kept one he did not know about? He fervently searched the room, and found it. He did not read it, only searching through the last entries. She had written down the day of the twins' birth. June 6th. He knew he should go tell Draconis that he knew his birthday, now... or would it be Edwind?
Putting the diary down on the pink and green bed, smoothing out the covers, he took one long, last look at the room.
"Goodbye, dear," he said as he left the room slowly. Upon locking the door, he went outside and threw the key as hard as he could in a random direction he did not take note of. It was never found.

----------------------------

After Scor's death, his powers went away. Draconis was able to go back to the hut to get anything he needed, but it was not much. He did not want to think of the days he was there. Joshua noticed he felt better than he had after the first attack, too. As if a weight had been lifted off of him. It was nearly a year ago by Wangauian time. Statues were put up in their honor for saving Wangau. They would be forever remembered as heroes, just as Lyle Prince and his wife, who had died, were for defeating Scor's mother. Who knew?
"I will miss you..." Sora said to Joshua, pleadingly.
"I'm sorry," he said.
They were in the Town Hall. Joshua, Barb, Wave, William, Erick, Nora, Mattin, Sora, Daniel and Draconis.
"What will you do?" Daniel asked Wave.
"I don't know... after what happened in the woods when we first came, who knows how long it's really been since we've been gone? I guess we'll start a search in the Woods for a body..."
It was nearly impossible to talk about. Leiland's death had shaken everyone. William spent most of his time in silence, forever holding back tears. Every day his eyes were stained with salt from weeping the night before. He deeply missed his older brother.
The Wangauians held a funeral for Leiland, even though they did not have a body, or even a photo like they would use for a memorial. It was a double funeral, also for Hydrus. The lose of his twin had struck Draconis harder than he anticipated. Daniel was completely overwhelmed.

----------------------------

They were all sore. The Healer's potion had worn off. They walked through the woods with bittersweet feelings. All that had happened to them was so unbelievable.
"Hey - I think this is it," Wave commented.
"Yeah.. it does look like it's gotten alot thicker," William said. "I wonder if our parents have worried."
"Well, we have been gone for months... so, uh, probably," Barb said with a hint of sad sarcasm in her voice.
They walked through. It was a rainy day in Appleton. Miranda was on her swings, though. Swinging away. She immediately looked down solemnly when she noticed only four came back.
"How long has it been?" Joshua called to her.
"Two days," she yelled back through the pounding rain.
They looked at each other in astonishment. Two days? Really?
"How long has it been?" she called to them.
Joshua walked over to her, and sat down on a swing next to her. "Over a year," he said.
"And? How are they?"
They all were over there now, and upon hearing her, they could not help but chuckle a little. The Princes' were not insane after all.
"Good," Barb replied. "Lei, though..."
Miranda stood up from her swing, held Barb's hand for a few seconds, then embraced William. She understood completely.

 

[Copperfox]

I am somehow reminded, believe it or not, of the old Hong Kong kung-fu movies, but in a reverse way. The scriptwriters of those movies usually cared nothing about the characters _as_ characters, being concerned _only_ to set up scenes of people hitting each other. (Bruce Lee once joked that the ultimate Hong Kong action movie would have nothing but a huge empty room, into which two groups of men would come rushing to fight each other for no reason.) This view was held so extremely that, in many films, the final freeze-frame with "THE END" would literally happen _before_ the villain's dead body could even hit the ground.

You, needless to say but I'm still saying it, have not done this. You have given us a conclusion with real feeling.

 

[Rache_san]

Thank you so much. I only recently finished it, and I was afraid I ended it off badly. Your words definitely make me feel more at ease about it... lol. Thanks