Chapter 5 - Skeletal Massacre?! (Part 2)

Sounds of metal clanking against each other filled the air in a section of the Payon Caves, where a silver-haired Swordswoman could be seen engaged in a battle against a big group of Soldier Skeletons. More than three pairs of Stilettos were aimed at the same spot that she had been a split second ago, and had she not rolled out of the way, the Swordswoman would’ve been impaled already. She slid backwards, trying to find a spot where she wouldn’t be surrounded on all sides. In this situation, it would be more practical to be cornered – at least she wouldn’t be stabbed in the back, literally.

“Always remember this: face your enemies according to your abilities. If by any chance you’re surrounded by a big group of adversaries that you have even the slightest lack of confidence in beating, the best choice is to escape. There’s no point in acting like a hero when you won’t walk out alive,” her trainer had told her. She chuckled silently to herself at the memory. Screw that.

Christine twisted her body sharply to avoid a Stiletto that was being thrown in her direction, which disrupted her thoughts. However, she didn’t avoid it well enough, and the tip of the dagger grazed her right cheek before it plunged into the wall behind her. Blood slowly trickled down her smooth face. Her eyes darted around with a dangerous gleam, searching for the one who threw the dagger at her.

“Hey! Don’t you know that aiming for a girl’s face in a fight is despicable?!” Christine scowled, and turned her attention to stab a Soldier Skeleton that was running towards her in the mid-section, kicking at him to free her sword just in time to swipe at another one’s head. As her targets fell to the ground in a mangled heap, she wiped the blood off her face with the back of her gloved hand, flinching when she had accidentally applied too much pressure. That had better not leave a scar.

“Your looks should be the least of your worries right now, girl, don’t you think?” the leader of the Soldier Skeleton battalion leaned against the wall and said casually, looking on as his subordinates tried to pin the audacious Swordswoman down.

“Humph, you’re probably the one who has to worry about how you’re gonna have to deal with me after I finish with your men,” Christine shouted at the top of her voice as she continued to fend off the incoming attacks from a few more Soldier Skeletons.

“Oh, those are big words coming from such a small person. You do realize that you’re dealing with fifty of us, don’t you?”

“I think you meant twenty five more,” she smirked, pointing at the group of Soldier Skeletons who were still standing, and instantly ducked when one of them swung his Stilettos to form an X-shape at the level where Christine’s neck was. “Whoa, that was close.” She swung her leg at the Soldier Skeleton’s ones and brought him down, then mustered all her force in her right hand and punched at his head. The impact immediately separated his skull from the rest of his body.

“That would be enough to finish you off. I trust that my men aren’t so incompetent that they can’t dispose of a brat like you,” the leader said. He kicked away the decapitated skull of his subordinate which had rolled to his feet, disgusted that it had discredited his statement almost immediately after he had said them.

“We’ll see,” Christine said, as she scanned her surroundings for the Acolyte. She half-hoped that the Acolyte had managed to teleport out of the dungeons while she was keeping these Soldier Skeletons busy, but figured that it would be close to impossible, considering the fact that the Acolyte’s pride and ability as a warrior of the Rune-Midgard Kingdom had just been challenged by the leader of the battalion. When one’s pride was on the line, no one would back down from the insult without a fight to death.

“Blessing! Increase Agility!” A voice shouted from behind, and Christine suddenly felt that her strength and speed had increased. There was no doubt that it was the Acolyte who had casted the support spells on her. However, Christine made a grave mistake – she dropped her guard and turned around to look for the Acolyte again. It appears that she was sitting in a corner, grimacing in pain, and probably was close to unconsciousness. The Acolyte was clutching her right arm with her left, and her white uniform was dyed a deep shade of red. More blood was pooled beneath her left leg.

“Oh crap, she’s seriously injured,” Christine muttered under her breath.

“And just where d’ya think yer looking at?” a sinister voice whispered in her ear, and Christine’s eyes promptly flickered away from the Acolyte and refocused on the battle at hand again. But that brief moment of distraction proved lethal, as the Soldier Skeleton whom had whispered to her managed to plunge his Stiletto into the flesh of Christine’s unprotected back.

Christine howled in pain, but managed to quickly separate herself from the dagger before the monster had the chance to push it in deeper and made the wound severely life-threatening. She coughed out specks of blood while she reached for a Red Potion in her pouch and bit on the cork to open the bottle, then thirstily gulped down its contents. However, the Red Potion only managed to slow the outflow of her blood by a little, as the wound was too deep for it to work its wonders.

Damn it. At this rate, I’m going to get myself killed first before Shurank gets his hands on my neck.

“Not so tough now, are ya?” Another Soldier Skeleton sneered as he aimed both his Stilettos at Christine’s shoulders. She parried the attack by blocking the weapons with her sword; and then she leapt backwards to give herself more room to anticipate the next attack. However, a second Soldier Skeleton managed to slash her – one of his Stilettos left a gash across her abdomen.

That attack caused Christine to lose her balance. She slid sideways across the rocky floor of the Payon Caves, and came to a stop only when her left shoulder connected with the rock that she was hiding behind before the fight started with a sickening cracking sound.

“ARGH!” she screamed. The pain was immense, and she coughed up more blood as her previous injury was further aggravated by the second attack. Christine tried to prop herself up with her left hand when she noticed that the leader of the battalion was ambling towards her, but it just wouldn’t support her weight.

Crap, I dislocated my shoulder.

“Having some trouble there, girl?” the leader of the Soldier Skeleton battalion now stood right in front of her, apparently admiring the view of Christine writhing in pain. Christine looked up at the monster, and attempted to not let her weakness show. At that moment, the Soldier Skeletons that were still alive started to crowd around their leader and sneered at her along with him. The leader roughly grabbed Christine by her hair and yanked her head backwards, forcing her to look into the sockets in his skull that were presumably supposed to be his eyes. Christine’s eyes twitched at the sharp pain.

“Hmm, I like those eyes. I can see the determination and defiance burning in them,” he mused. “However, that is exactly the thing that would lead you to your downfall.”

He cackled as he threw Christine’s head towards the ground brusquely, nearly giving her a whiplash injury. While he was walking away from her, Christine quietly uncorked three bottles of Red Potion and downed the contents, praying that it would let her last until she could finish off the final ten Soldier Skeletons, including that annoying leader. The worst of the pain subsided, but she knew that it was only temporary, for her wounds would reopen anyway during the fight. But at least it wouldn’t bother her too much. The tricky part would be killing them all before her blood starts to gush out again.

“Where… are you going…? I’m not… finished with you yet…” She stood up slowly and painfully by using her sword as support, her left hand dangling limply by her side. If there was one thing that Christine was thankful with, it was the fact that her dominant hand and her legs were still in good condition. And although her sword was supposed to be wielded with both hands, she had to make do with one.

The leader of the Soldier Skeleton battalion turned around at the sound of her voice and sighed. “You sure are one hell of a persistent brat, aren’t you? Finish her.”

At his command, his subordinates slowly cornered Christine, smirks plastered on their bony faces. She entered her battle stance, and muttered something inaudible while the Skeletons made their way closer. When she was sure that all of the remaining Soldier Skeletons were in range, Christine shouted “MAGNUM BREAK!”; fire erupted from the tip of her sword, promptly engulfing all of them at the same time, reducing them to ashes.

“Wh… what did you do?!” The leader was taken aback when his remaining subordinates were wiped out in a flash. Christine’s mouth curved upwards, and she slowly walked towards the last monster standing.

“Killed them, of course. You don’t really think that I would just sit there quietly and die, do you…?”

“Then why didn’t you use that skill from the start?”

Christine merely shrugged, still inching closer towards him. “I had to get them close together before it would be effective. So, are you prepared to meet your end?”

He cackled again. “You’re the one who’s going to meet your end. You can barely even lift your weapon or walk right now.”

She said nothing.

“Humph, being stubborn won’t do you any good. Let me have the honour of putting you out of your misery!” he said, and launched himself at her rapidly. The Stiletto in his left hand aimed for her jugular, and his right went for her stomach. Christine dodged the attack by crouching down and sliding to her right, grimacing as the pain flared from her wounds.

“Not bad for someone who’s injured so badly. But let’s see how long can you last!”

“You know what…? You seriously need to shut up…!” Christine spat, and swung her sword just in time to block an attack that was aimed for her outstretched right leg. She then used the hilt of her sword to bash at one of his wrist joints. The impact effectively knocked his weapon out of his bony hand. The Stiletto dropped to the floor with a resounding clang, and Christine kicked it out of his reach.

He cursed colourfully as his gaze followed the direction of his weapon, but quickly refocused on Christine who brought her sword down upon his head. He side-stepped it, but the velocity of the swing was too fast, and the sword caught him in his left shoulder blade, ripping his arm off.

“Now we’re even,” Christine said. She winced when she felt that warm blood was making its way out of the gash in her abdomen again, and stained her uniform red. Damn it, not now!

Her opponent apparently noticed it and started to laugh. “Save the talk for your afterlife. You’re at your limit, girl.”

“I thought I told you to shut it?” Christine glared at him, and swung her sword at his bony neck. The Soldier Skeleton took a step backwards to avoid it from severing his head, but slipped when he tripped over a skull belonging to his now-dead subordinate. His grip loosened on his last Stiletto, and it fell to the ground.

Before he could retrieve it, Christine got to it first and chucked it over her shoulder. With nothing left to deal any real damage to the girl, the Soldier Skeleton slowly edged away from the Swordswoman, but she quickly closed the distance that he’d put between them.

“Game over, skelly. This is a rather apt reversal of situations, don’t you think?” She aimed the tip of her sword at the Soldier Skeleton’s throat.

“Tch… it seems that I have underestimated you.”

“Damn straight you did. Go to hell,” she hissed through clenched teeth, and dropped her sword on his neck without giving the Soldier Skeleton the opportunity to say his last words. After sheathing her sword, Christine staggered towards the direction of the Acolyte, her good hand clutching her abdominal wound, and the other just swayed limply by her side.

“Hey… are you o…” Christine’s voiced trailed, as she stumbled forward and collapsed due to the massive blood loss she had just experienced. Oh damn was the only thing that managed to cross her mind amidst the ragged breathing from her and the Acolyte in front of her, and then she officially blacked out.

* * * * *

The acrid smell of herbs filled the room, where a heavily bandaged girl lay unconscious on the bed. An Acolyte with purple shoulder-length hair was standing by the window, looking at the children who were playing in the rain despite their mothers growling at them to get into the house.

“Takuma, Miho, Koizumi. I am well aware that you three are out there. You have my permission to enter the room, if that is what you are still waiting for,” the Acolyte said quietly into the wind in the Amatsuian language, and edged away slightly from the window. True enough, three fully-covered figures with only their eyes revealed stepped into the room, and promptly went down on one knee, bowing their heads towards her.

“As expected of ojou-sama to notice our presence; have your wounds healed?” the man closest to the Acolyte spoke in the same language.

“Yes, I am fine now. Thank you for your concern. But have I not asked of you to not address me with sama when we are outside, Takuma?”

“Ah- hait! Please accept my deepest apologies, Ame-san. Our pact slipped off my mind,” he bowed even lower.

“It’s alright, since there is no one else present. Please do away with the formalities. You, of all people should be aware that I am not in favour of such treatment. So, what exactly were you three doing in the Payon Caves? If my memory serves me well, I believe I have requested that no one should be following me,” a trace of anger could be heard in her voice. The three dark-clothed figures remained silent.

“Never mind. I think I already know the answer. It was otou-sama’s orders again, was it not?” she sighed, her hand reaching up to massage her temples. Does he still not trust me enough to let me train alone?

“I apologise if this sounds out of place, Ame-san, but your father means well. He was just worried about your safety,” the man called Takuma spoke again.

“Wakatta, but I have already explained to him. I will not be able to stand on my own two feet if he keeps sending someone to guard my every move. This is a path that I have chosen, and I am fully aware and prepared to face the dangers that accompany it.”

“But-”

She cut him off before he could finish what he wanted to say. “Tadashi… This time, I am thankful that the three of you have decided to overlook my request and followed my father’s orders instead. Otherwise I might have perished in the dungeon with her,” she turned to look at the girl lying on the bed. “I must thank you for not showing yourselves until she had fainted.”

“Actually, we had the intention to save Ame-san from the group of Soldier Skeletons and Archer Skeletons, but the girl appeared just as we were about to make our move,” another dark-clothed person spoke up.

“Yes, I have realized that, Miho,” Ame said, nodding curtly at her.

“Oh yes, Ame-san. I took the liberty to collect these,” the third person said, handing a black sack to the Acolyte.

“What are they, Koizumi?”

“Eto… Skeleton Bones. It is the item that has to be collected to be exchanged for the reward, is it not? I figured that it would be best for us to subtly repay her bravery with these.”

“Ah, arigato.”

It was then that the heavily-bandaged girl who was lying on the bed started to stir and groan, which made all four of them turn their heads towards her in alarm.

“I think that she will be waking up soon. It is best that you three left. I do not intend to invite unwanted questions from her if she happens to see you,” the Acolyte said softly to the trio.

“Wakarimashita. Then we shall take our leave now. Please excuse us,” Takuma announced, and the trio bowed to Ame again before disappearing out of the window. The Acolyte dragged a chair quietly to the side of the bed, and sat there in anticipation for the silver-haired girl to regain her consciousness.

* * * * *

“Christine, you’ve made me very disappointed in you,” Shurank said, his brown eyes scrutinizing the girl intently, almost boring holes into her skull.

“I’m sorry…” Christine said meekly, eyes flickering between the fuming form of her swordsmanship trainer and the floorboards beneath her feet, which shuffled uncomfortably. She closed her eyes and tried to fight back the incoming onrush of tears.

“You know what? Since you always refuse to pay heed to my teachings, I think that it’s best if you stopped being a Swordsman altogether. Even though you have the talent to be an excellent sword-wielder, it’s all negated by the fact that you lack the discipline expected of a member of the chivalry,” he said quietly, not even taking a single look at the disciple that he had just disowned.

“But-“ she began, voice choked.

“No buts. Leave. Now.”

“NO!” her heart thumped, and her eyes flew open once she heard what Shurank had said, jerking forward to reach out for her trainer. However, her forehead seemed to have collided with something else instead, and white spots invaded her field of vision momentarily.

“Ow!” two voices said at the same time. Rubbing her forehead with her palm, Christine slowly opened her eyes, just to find herself sitting on a bed in an unfamiliar room. There was a purple-haired Acolyte sitting in a chair next to her, massaging the bridge of her nose which appeared reddish.

“Goot… yer awake…” the Acolyte said, still wincing at the pain. “Ah… tank gootness my nose isn’t bwokeng…”

“Sorry… come again…?” Christine blinked, unable to comprehend a thing that the other girl had just said.

“I said, ‘Good, you are awake. Ah, thank goodness my nose is not broken,’” she repeated her words and smiled at the silver-haired Swordswoman.

“Oh… Um… wh- where am I…?” Christine gazed around the room uncertainly, and grimaced when she felt sharp pains flaring in her back, abdomen and left shoulder.

“I think you should lie down first, before your other wounds reopen,” the Acolyte said, noticing the blood that had started to seep through the bandages wrapped around the Swordswoman’s abdomen. She placed her open palms over the area, and muttered “Heal” under her breath. A warm, green light started to radiate through her wound, and Christine could feel the pain subsiding into nothing more than mere throbs.

“And now to answer your question, we are currently in an inn located in Payon. The owner told me that someone had brought us here after they had found us unconscious in the Payon Caves. Do you remember what had happened?”

Christine nodded slightly from her pillow, but still appeared confused. “Y… yeah… I was kicking all the sorry asses of the Soldier Skeletons… then I passed out… but where’s Shurank…?”

“Shurank? Is he your boyfriend?” the Acolyte tilted her head slightly and looked at Christine quizzically, a small smile playing on her lips.

“For the love of Freya, no!” Christine shot up again from the bed, then fell flat on her back almost as fast, grimacing once again.

“Whoa, take it easy there. So, who is this Shurank person?”

“My trainer… I was talking to him just a moment ago…” a confused look formed on the Swordswoman’s face, accompanied by a tinge of sadness when she remembered what Shurank had said in her face.

Ame chuckled at Christine’s words. “There is no one else in this room except for us. I believe you were just having a bad dream, um… how should I address you again…?”

“Bad dream…? Oh,” the other girl blushed, then quickly added, “I’m Christine, Christine Fletcher. I’m turning eleven soon, and I come from Prontera. A pleasure to meet you. And you?”

“My name is Ame… Fujioka, and I will be fourteen this year. I have been born and raised in Amatsu, but I am currently residing in the Prontera Sanctuary in order to receive my Acolyte training.”

“Oh, no wonder your accent sounds different,” she smiled. Christine noticed that Ame had hesitated a little before mentioning her surname, but thought nothing of it. She just held out her right hand from under the sheets for Ame to shake, which she gladly accepted.

“By the way, how long have I been unconscious?”

“About three days, I believe.”

“WHAT?!” Christine shrieked, but caught herself before she darted up again and inflicted more pain than was necessary.

“Considering the wounds you have received, I am more surprised that you have awaken this fast,” Ame commented as-a-matter-of-factly. Christine merely managed to let out an exasperated sigh. Then she remembered that she didn’t pick up all the reward items, and groaned again.

“What’s wrong? Do you feel any pain anywhere?” Ame panicked.

“Oh, no, no. It’s just that I didn’t get to pick up the Skeleton Bones which were left behind by those Undead pain-in-the-asses. There goes my reward,” the silver-haired Swordswoman shook her head and sighed again.

“Speaking of that, I almost forgot.” Ame stood up and walked over to the table in the middle of the room and picked up the black sack that she had received from Koizumi earlier, and handed it to Christine. Christine untied the strings around the sack and took a look at its contents, then stared wide-eyed back at the grinning Acolyte.

“Eh? Skeleton Bones? B... but-“

“Take it as a token of appreciation from me. You have my sincerest gratitude for saving my life. I do not think I would be able to sit here and talk to you right now, had you not showed up at the caves,” Ame smiled.

“In that case… You’re welcome? Though Shurank would probably rap me on my head for acting so brashly,” Christine scowled.

Ame laughed at her expression. “It sounds like you are rather close with your trainer. Do you like him?”

“Yeah…” Christine mumbled, and then finally registered what Ame was really implying about her feelings for Shurank. “Wait- no! Not in that way! I mean, there’s no way I’d be remotely interested in that grumpy old man romantically,” she mimicked Shurank’s angry face, complete with closely knit eyebrows and flaring nostrils, to which Ame laughed again. “I guess it’s more of a feeling of respect. He really tries his best to teach me, even though we started off on a bad footing.”

“I see…” Ame mused.

“Oh, right. Something has been bothering me while we were in the caves. Why didn’t you heal yourself, but casted Blessing and Increase Agility on me instead? From what I gathered, you were injured quite badly yourself.”

“Hmm? I ran out of Blue Potions. I drank the last bottle I had and could only cast the supportive spells on you before my spiritual powers were exhausted. In any case, I would not be able to heal myself and fight the Undead army either. Anyway, I believe you shouldn’t overexert yourself. Perhaps you should rest now, then we can return to Prontera in two days,” the Acolyte smiled at Christine.

“Eh-? What about the Soldier Skeletons and Archer Skeletons?”

“A lot can happen in three days, Christine. The other warriors have successfully eradicated the Undead army for the most part. Maybe there are a few of them left, but they can do no harm to the citizens of Payon anymore.”

“Aww shucks. That means I’ve missed all the fun while I was out cold here?” Christine asked, and her speech slurred a little.

“In a way, yes.” Ame nodded wistfully.

“Damn,” Christine yawned sleepily, and the next thing Ame knew, she was in a deep slumber again.

Looks like I’ve found an interesting new friend, Ame chuckled silently to herself at the sleeping face of the younger girl, and sauntered off to her bed to catch up on her sleep as well. I just hope that she would not treat me any differently if by any chance she discovers my true identity in the future.

* * * * *

Two days later, Prontera.

A gray-eyed girl whirled around excitedly with her long, silver hair breezing behind her, apparently elated that she had the chance to enter the Central Palace of Prontera.

“Wow, this is really huge!” she looked goggle-eyed at the reception hall, where a large chandelier was hung in the middle of the room. Red tapestries woven intricately with gold threads adorned both sides of the wall, symbolizing the royal colour. Even the pillars were made of the best marble around, each pair carved in a specific floral design.

A purple-haired Acolyte with brilliant amethyst eyes looked at her in amusement. “Christine, if you whirl around like that any longer, you will get dizzy and crash into one of those marble pillars, you know.”

“But isn’t this great, Ame?” the Swordswoman made one last twirl around the hall, then stopped to look at the Acolyte. The latter stared back at her with a puzzled expression.

“Is there something on my face?” The Acolyte asked instinctively, and began to head to one of the marble pillars to look at her reflection when the other girl shook her head.

“Nope. Aren’t you excited to be able to see these great stuffs? You seem rather apathetic to me,” Christine spread her arms out, as if trying to show the Acolyte the hall.

“Oh. No, I’m afraid not. I am not really interested in lavish things.”

“Oh right, I almost forgot that you’re an Acolyte. Do all Acolytes and Priests act so indifferent towards materialistic things?” Christine looked up at the ceiling to admire the mural that depicted the Valkyries – Odin’s battle angels.

Ame shrugged. “I think it depends on who the person is. But I guess most of us do not really chase after wealth.”

Someone suddenly cleared his throat behind the girls, which made them jump. They turned around together, and found one of the palace officials looking down at them. He handed a pouch to Christine, which she accepted.

“This is the reward money for the Skeleton Bones with a grand total of twenty thousand zennies, as promised. I would like to thank the both of you for doing such a noble deed. Now, would you please excuse me,” the official bowed to the duo, and then turned around to leave. Christine shot a confused look at Ame, whom in turn raised an eyebrow.

“Twenty thousand zennies? That would mean there was 400 Skeleton Bones in there! How did you manage to collect so much? I thought I only killed fifty of them?” the silver-haired girl asked while they started to walk out of the palace.

“Um, I am not very sure of it myself. I guess I might have lost count,” Ame said. She reassured herself internally that she wasn’t technically lying – for it is a sin for Acolytes or Priests to lie – about the Skeleton Bones. She really had no idea exactly how many bones Koizumi had collected in the first place.

“Ame, this seriously far surpasses the actual amount that I have killed. I should return the excess to you,” Christine said.

“I told you that I seriously do not mind. After all, you have saved my life, so it is only natural that you should accept all of the money.” However, when no reply came from the younger girl, Ame turned to look at her, and discovered that Christine wasn’t beside her. She stopped in her tracks and whirled around in search for the silver-haired girl, and found her standing in the middle of the hallway, looking at something intently.

“Christine?” Ame called out, but the Swordswoman still didn’t break her gaze with whatever she was looking at. The Acolyte broke into a short jog towards her friend, and turned to see what she was looking at. It was a family portrait.

“Christine?” Ame asked again. Still no response. Chuckling silently, the Acolyte waved her hand in front of the Swordswoman’s eyes.

“Huh?! What?!” Christine finally snapped out of her trance-like state, and stopped looking around when she found Ame smiling at her quizzically. “Oh, sorry. I stopped to look because the people in the portrait looked familiar.”

“Oh?” Ame fixed her gaze upon the said portrait again, and scrutinized the figures in it. There was a very good-looking man with white hair and silver eyes, a beautiful woman with beige-coloured hair and eyes of a deep shade of blue, and also a pair of new-born infants sleeping blissfully in the cradle, most likely twins. “Hmm, they are probably a part of the royal family.”

“I feel like I’ve seen there somewhere before… but I just can’t remember.”

“Maybe it was a mistake. Members of royalty hardly show their faces in public anyway.” Ame reminded Christine, whom shrugged.

“Maybe. Let’s go?”

* * * * *

Up until the moment that the two girls reached the main gates of the Central Palace of Prontera, Christine was still trying to persuade Ame to take her share of the reward.

“C’mon Ame, don’t be so stubborn. We’ll split it 50-50?”

“No.”

“60-40?”

“No, Christine. I said that it’s okay,” Ame laughed at the younger girl’s antics.

“If the both of you don’t want the money, I’ll gladly take it.” A third voice spoke up behind them, and the next moment, the bag of coins in Christine’s hands disappeared. The girls turned around just in time to see a Thief running away from them towards the direction of the usual Pronteran crowd.

“HEY! COME BACK HERE! THAT’S MY MONEY YOU DIRTY BASTARD!” Christine yelled and broke into a mad dash, chasing after the Thief.

“Ah-! Chotto matte!!” When she had finally deciphered what had just happened, Ame squealed after her friend, and started running after them as well.

It must be quite a scene for the bystanders to see a Thief dashing past them, only to be followed by a Swordswoman who was yelling something unintelligible after him, and then an Acolyte who was trying to catch her breath while running after the aforementioned people. Everyone looked at them with raised eyebrows, trying to guess the story behind their marathon. Some grunted and others cursed colourfully at the trio whenever they had bumped into them or stepped on their foot.

“Sorry! Pardon me! Excuse me!” Christine kept on apologizing to everyone around her as she tried to squeeze through the crowd. “DAMN THIEF! YOU HAD BETTER STOP RIGHT THERE THIS INSTANCE!” she suddenly yelled, making some of the people jump.

The thief suddenly swerved around a corner and turned towards the direction of the East gate of Prontera, much to Christine’s joy, as the crowd was thin in that area. A plan suddenly came to her mind, and she detached her weapon from her belt, then unsheathed her sword.

“Ah! Christine! Don’t kill him!” Ame, who was running a good distance behind Christine, went wide-eyed when she saw the metal gleaming in the morning sun. But of course, Christine couldn’t hear her shouts as she was too far away.

Back to Christine, she took a good aim at the Thief who was still running in front of her. He doesn’t even know how to run in a zigzag pattern while trying to escape?! She scoffed internally, but was glad because it would conform to her plan. Then she raised her arm over her shoulder and hurled the scabbard at the Thief, hitting him squarely in the back.

The Thief stumbled when Christine’s scabbard found its target, and went sprawling on the ground. The silver-haired girl managed to close the distance before he could get up, and sat right on his back. “Hah, gotcha!” she panted, trying to catch her breath.

The Thief squirmed under her and tried to say something, but the words came up muffled so Christine turned him over and sat on his stomach instead. She looked over at his face, and rolled her eyes when she realized that he was wearing a Mr. Smile mask.

“Oh, hah hah. Very funny. Hide your identity, will you?” She gave a mirthless laugh and reached over to pry the mask off in order to uncover his identity.

“Geez… You… seriously… run… too… fast…!” At the same moment, Ame had finally caught up to her friend and the person who initiated the entire wild-goose chase, doubling over and took in deep breaths to replenish her oxygen deficit.

“YOU!” Two distinct voices said together, and Ame immediately looked up to see what was happening, just to find the Swordswoman and the Thief glaring daggers at one another.

“Oh, as if stealing my sheets wasn’t enough, you decided to come steal my money as well?! You ungrateful bastard!” Christine spat at the green-haired Thief lying on the ground.

“I merely took your sheets. Have you forgotten that you threw out my clothes? How am I supposed to walk out without wearing anything?!” he shot back.

“I thought I told you that it was the Acolyte who disposed your clothes?! Good grief, were you deaf as well?”

“Uh… Do you know each other…?” Ame glanced between the Swordswoman and the person pinned underneath her. Then she narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the Thief closely.

“Joel?!” Her hand flew to her mouth when she realized who the boy was. This time, it was Christine’s turn to be bewildered.

“Do you know him?” she raised an eyebrow at the Acolyte.

“Ye-yeah… He’s Joel Etherington… son of Cyrus Etherington…”

“Cyrus Etherington…? As in Father Etherington, the High Bishop of the Prontera Church?!” Christine stared at the Acolyte incredulously. Her question was answered with a nod.

“B- but…! His father is a High Priest and he’s a Thief?!”

Ame nodded again. “His mother is from the Stalker class anyway…”

The information proved too much to Christine, whom still sat comfortably on top of the son of the Prontera Church’s High Bishop, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of the water.

“And just how long do you intend to sit on me? I could very much sue you for sexual harassment and flashing, you know.” Joel finally spoke up. Christine’s head snapped in his direction, eyebrows furrowed.

“What do you mean?” her tone was dangerous. He jutted his chin at the direction of his chest, and Christine’s eyes followed the path which stopped at her skirt. Which was opened towards the field of vision of Joel Etherington that was lying underneath her. Never mind the extremely compromising position that the both of them were in right now. Christine jumped up, flushing furiously as she pressed her skirt down.

“You perverted…” she began, but he cut her off.

“Ah, ah,” he raised his index finger to her eye level and waved it twice. “Technically speaking, you were the one who showed your undergarments to me. It was purely unintentional on my part.”

He smirked gleefully as he brushed off the dust off his clothes, and enjoyed the scene of Christine fuming. “Now then, if you’ll excuse me.” Saying that, he disappeared into one of the dark alleys of Prontera city.

“Are you okay…?” Ame tapped Christine on her shoulders, and noticed that she was trembling in fury.

“I. Am. Going. To. Kill. That. Bastard. Someday.” Christine said through clenched teeth. Ame sweat-dropped at the sight of her, and went to pick up the bag of coins that was left behind.

“Here you go, and really, you can keep all of the money. Just take it as a present from me, for being my new friend.” Ame slipped the bag into Christine’s hand. Christine’s anger immediately dissipated.

“Okay, fine. We’ll do it your way this time. Just because you’re my friend.” She smiled at the Acolyte, whom grinned back in response.

Just as they were walking away from the East gate, Christine stopped in her tracks again. Ame looked back at her quizzically.

“Christine, what’s wrong?”

“Um, do you by any chance know what day of the week it is?” A contemplative look was plastered on the Swordswoman’s face.

“Monday, why?” Ame cocked her head slightly, eyebrows raised.

“Oh Lord Loki, please bless me and bestow your strength unto me,” Christine breathed, staring into the distance.

“Huh?” Ame blurted again, and then suddenly shouted when Christine sprinted away again at a baffling speed. “Hey! Where are you going?!”

“SHURANK IS GOING TO SKIN ME ALIVE!!!” Christine’s voice echoed down the empty streets, earning odd stares from the occupants of the houses around.

Ame just stared at the non-existent shadows of her new friend, clueless as to how she had managed to run so much in a single day. Nonetheless, a smile found its way to the Acolyte’s lips. She should’ve at least asked me to cast Increase Agility on her. Silly girl.

Chapter 4 - Skeletal Massacre?! (Part 1)

“WHOAAAAA!! OW!” Christine yelped as the warp portal she travelled in opened in mid-air, causing her to fall out of it and landed on the floor with a loud thud. Feeling dizzy, she held on to a fence nearby as she tried to steady herself. Once she was certain that she wouldn’t fall backwards, she let go of it and brushed the dust off her clothes.

“Ugh… Mental note to self: NEVER EVER trust the Kafra warp service EVER again! I paid 1200 zeny and got this kind of service… what a rip off… warp portals are supposed to appear on the ground… not in the air!” she grumbled while she continued to straighten herself up and pulled some grass out of her silver waist-length hair.

When she finished cleaning herself up, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, savouring the cool mountain air. The lush green forest surrounding the city provided an ideal escape from the scorching heat in Prontera for Christine. There were many young children, all younger than she was running around barefoot in the mountain city of Payon, their laughter filling the air.

“Hmm… it’s unbelievably serene here…” she mused. She’d thought that the civilians would be cooped up at home, keeping themselves away from the imminent danger, but apparently that was not the case. The main reason Christine ended up in Payon was because of an incident earlier in Prontera…

--

“Hear ye! Hear ye! By the bane of His Royal Highness King Tristan of Rune-Midgard, I am here to deliver his proclamation!” A royal messenger bellowed so that everyone in the vicinity of the Fountain of Prontera could hear him. Everyone began to crowd around the fountain, eager to hear what the proclamation was about. Christine, who was on her way home after doing some grocery shopping for her mom, was curious as well, so she joined in the fray.

“I shall now read the proclamation,” the messenger paused to clear his throat, and then continued, “’to all brave warriors of the Kingdom of Rune-Midgard! I have grim news that the Payon Caves has been taken over by a large army of Soldier Skeletons and Archer Skeletons. I understand that these monsters may not be adequate for the more experienced ones to train with, but I hope that someone would step up to the challenge and eradicate these undead fiends before they break through the barrier protecting the entrance of Payon Caves and terrorize the good citizens of Payon. Those who do so would be rewarded handsomely – 100 Skeleton Bones for the price of 5000 zeny. To whomever that would gladly take up the challenge, I pray for your success.’ That is all.”

The messenger stepped down from the ledge of the fountain, and proceeded to pin the proclamation scroll up on the public viewing board, where some of the latecomers crowded around it to read the announcement. The place was promptly abuzz with excitement, and people began to chatter animatedly with their friends, planning their strategies and making decisions whether to go or not.

“Solider Skeletons and Archer Skeletons, eh? As tempting as the reward sounds, they’re not worth my time to kill,” said an auburn-haired Crusader who was standing next to Christine.

“Me neither,” his Hunter friend agreed, and they turned to leave.

Christine, however, was extremely excited at the prospect of training at a new place, and the zeny that she would receive as payment for the slaughter of the Skeleton Army. Seeing that she’d already completed the mission that Shurank gave her for the week, she decided to take up the challenge.

--

“Now… which way should I take to go to the Payon Caves again…?” she wondered. It was her first time in Payon, and to her, every part of the town looked similar. It doesn’t help that she didn’t have her map with her.

“Excuse me, may I help you?” a city guard appeared to have seen Christine spinning around in circles to decide which direction she should head to, and approached her.

“Yes… I’m kinda looking for the Payon Caves…” she said, still looking around hesitantly.

“Payon Caves? Are you sure? There’s an invasion by the Sol…”

“Yes, I’ve heard. That is precisely why I’m going there,” Christine was holding in the urge to roll her eyes at his ignorance, but decided it was rude, considering the fact that she needed help from him.

“Oh, thousand apologies. I didn’t realize that you were a warrior…” the guard blushed slightly after scanning Christine from top to toe, but quickly regained his composure. “Do you see that small lane right there?” he pointed towards their left, and Christine nodded. “Just follow that route, and you’ll eventually reach…”

Before he managed to finish his sentence, Christine was already sprinting towards the direction he just pointed out.

“… the Payon Archer Village.” The guard sighed.

“Oops! Where are my manners?” Christine suddenly remembered that she hadn’t thanked the helpful guard yet, and halted in her tracks. She looked over her shoulder and shouted “thank you!”, and the guard waved back, smiling.

--

The Payon Archer Village was bustling with activity, mainly crowded by the warriors of Rune-Midgard whom, like Christine, decided to give it a go and embark on a massive Soldier Skeleton and Archer Skeleton slaughter. Christine was rather awed by the fact that there were a lot of Acolytes gathered here – normally she’d rarely see any Acolytes around the place she trains at – but remembered that this was one of the best places for Acolytes to train at, as their skill Heal worked wonders against the Undead monsters.

“Guess I won’t have to worry about getting killed then!” Christine enthused.

Suddenly, she saw a boy getting dragged by the scruff of his shirt by a lady with copper hair. He was thrashing about, evident that he wanted to escape, but apparently her grip was too strong for him to shake off.

“Let me go you old hag!” the boy with jet-black hair and dressed in the Archer’s uniform yelped, and everyone turned to look at the odd pair with curiosity.

“Who’re you calling an old hag, you brat?! And besides, if I let you go, you’d definitely go hunt down those Skeletons, won’t you?” she fumed, as she continued to drag him across the open field back to the Archer’s Guild.

“So what?!” the boy continued to raise his voice.

“I told you, they’re way out of the league for you! You can’t even shoot an arrow without nearly injuring yourself and you want to hunt down monsters? If you have a death wish, I certainly won’t stop you.”

“Then why can SHE do it?!” the boy furiously jabbed a finger at Christine’s direction, much to her astonishment. “She’s definitely younger than I am, so why can she go in but I can’t?!”

The lady paused momentarily to see who the boy was talking about, and gave Christine a wry smile when she caught her eyes, giving her a silent apology as Christine smiled back. Then she replied him nonchalantly, “She could probably give you a nice whooping within a minute. Now quit complaining and get back to your training!” And the boy was promptly dragged by his heels back to the Archer’s Guild, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Christine sweat-dropped as the duo disappeared behind the gates, but shrugged it off and headed towards the grocery shop conveniently situated outside the caves to restock her supplies. However, she stopped dead in her tracks right outside the store, jaws open wide in horror at the number of people crammed inside the tiny shop.

“Oh man… this will take a while…” she massaged her nape gingerly.

--

Christine emerged from the store an hour later, bag filled with enough red potions to last her a while. But it also cost her a bomb – because as usual, the unscrupulous shopkeepers took the advantage of the incident at Payon Caves to hike up the price of the goods that were in higher demand.

“Limited number of stocks, my ass!” she was miffed at the reason that the shopkeeper gave her and the other customers for the price hike. She’d caught a glimpse of the store room as the door was slightly ajar – and saw cartons of the goods stocked up to the ceiling. Normally, Christine would’ve reprimanded them, if only she wasn’t desperate for the potions. After doing some final checks on her equipment and healing supplies, Christine unsheathed her sword, crossed the protective barrier, and cautiously stepped into the darkness of the Payon Caves.

--

The cave wasn’t as dark as Christine thought it would be, as several torches were hung up on the wall, illuminating the cave, if only a little. While she was taking in her surroundings, trying to get accustomed to the light intensity of the cave, a purple hand suddenly appeared at the corner of her eyes, swiping at her and nearly caught her ear. If Christine’s reflexes were any slower, she’d get the living daylights hit out of her already.

“Tch… should’ve known better than to drop my guard. What would Shurank say if he was here…” Christine mumbled while she avoided another swipe aimed at her head. She cursed as she ducked the attack and ran to a wider space nearby, swerving around sharply as she did so to take a good look at her attacker.

Staggering jerkily towards her was a Zombie; flies were hovering around it, trying to deposit their eggs onto its rotting flesh. The stench emanating from it was unbearable, and Christine scrunched her nose in annoyance.

“You sure are one hell of an ugly thing, aren’t you?” she sneered, swiftly resuming her battle stance.

“Give… me… your… flesh…” the Zombie let out something in between a growl and a moan, still heading towards her with outstretched arms.

“No way in hell,” Christine said, as she dashed towards it and swung her sword at its head with superb accuracy, killing it instantly. She brusquely whipped her sword in the air, getting rid of the mucus from the Zombie off the tip of her sword. Then she turned around to leave as the Zombie’s remains turned into ashes.

Oddly, there weren’t many monsters around the first level of the cave. Then again, the other people who passed by this route would probably have eliminated them already. Christine shrugged as she walked down the spiralling staircase towards the second level.

--

Her eyes widened when she saw the number of people crowding at the entrance of the second level of the Payon Caves. All of them were busy pushing back the battalion of Soldier Skeletons and Archer Skeletons who were trying to force their way to the first level of the caves, and move one step closer to taking over the mountain city of Payon.

“Wow, I never thought that the situation would be this bad,” Christine thought, eyes narrowed. A few more Acolytes pushed past her to join in the fight, all shouting “Heal!” after casting a wide array of supportive skills that Christine couldn’t quite catch on themselves. She hesitated for a moment, before deciding that she shouldn’t jump into the fray right here. It was obvious that her sword would be too long to be able to sustain a close-quarter combat here without injuring someone else apart from the skeletons – she could block the entire pathway by just holding out her sword across the narrow corridors of the Payon Caves with an outstretched hand.

“Well, I guess there’s only one way out of it…” Reluctantly, she fished out a Wing of Fly from her pocket, eyes rolling at the crazy thought she’d just had. Gulping, the silver-haired Swordsman closed her eyes and crushed the Wing in her right hand, hoping that everything would be over soon.

When she came to a standstill a couple of seconds later, she willed herself to open her eyes and prayed that she wouldn’t hurl. The motion sickness caused by the Wing of Fly could be really unbearable sometimes, as she had learned in the past – Christine was confined to the bed for the entire week after that first episode. She winced at the memory.

It was then that she heard something whizz past her ear, bounced off the wall behind her, and dropped with a clang on the floor. Christine’s eyes flew open in alarm, adrenaline immediately coursing through her veins in response. She raised her sword in defense as she scanned her surroundings carefully. Apart from an arrow on the floor, Christine found no one else – human or otherwise – except her in the area.

“Huh. It’s deserted. But letting my guard down for the second time today? Shurank’s going to maim me if he finds out! Focus, dammit, focus!” She mentally bashed herself for being so careless.

“Well, well. Look what do we ‘ave ‘ere,” a voice came from somewhere in the caves, sounding disinterested. Christine raised her guard and narrowed her eyes into slits, listening intently in case he said something again, trying to pinpoint his location. Damn these dark caves.

“That’s playing dirty Arkk! Her eyes were closed, dontcha’ know?! Wait, she’s not blind, is she?” another high-pitched, apparently overexcited voice chipped in.

“Shut up, Knarl. Since when do we ever play fair? And take a good look, idiot. Her eyes are open now so she’s not blind,” A third voice said, words dripping with aversion against the one called Knarl.

“Both of you, shut yer traps before I shove a Fire Arrow up yer throats. Shall we make our grand appearance then? It’s rude ta keep a lady waitin’,” the voice which belonged to the person called Arkk said again. With that, three Archer Skeletons walked into Christine’s view, each holding a bow and carrying an arrow quiver on their backs. Her knuckles tightened around the hilt of her sword, in case they decided to launch a sudden attack.

“Oooh, she’s scary! Can we kill her? Huh, huh?? Can we?! Please oh please oh please oh please??” Knarl jumped up and down like a hyperactive child, much too boisterous for someone who has nothing but bones left. Christine was getting particularly annoyed at him.

“If you don’t shut up right now, we’ll kill you first!” his two companions snapped at him at the same time, apparently sharing Christine’s feelings. That effectively made Knarl glue his mouth shut.

“Girl, what are you doing here?” Satisfied with the silence from his companion, Arkk turned around and demanded an answer from Christine.

She cocked an eyebrow at his question. Is he for real?

“Well? Spit it out, girl!”

“Oh nothing, I’m just here to take a stroll in the passageways of these beautiful caves, hoping to get some fresh air,” Christine said, voice thick with sarcasm, then rolled her eyes and suddenly yelled, “What the hell do you think I’m doing here?!”, catching the trio by surprise.

“Oooh, the girl has some anger issues…” Knarl nodded thoughtfully at his words, but was met by a smack to the back of his head from the unnamed Archer Skeleton. “Ow! Whatcha’ do that for?!”

Christine swore that one of her veins just popped, and her right eye faintly twitched. She only managed to let out an exasperated sigh.

It was either these Archer Skeletons weren’t with the army trying to stampede their way into the city of Payon, or they just don’t think before they speak. Then again, they probably don’t even have brains to begin with, considering their current state, Christine thought while giving them one glance from top to toe.

“What are you looking at?” the unnamed Archer Skeleton asked, arching his non-existent eyebrows.

“I was just wondering…” Christine lowered her sword by her side and looked up to the roof of the cave, making it appear as if she was racking her brains to find the right word to say.

“Wondering about?” Knarl cocked his head to the side.

“… just how long more the three of you want to stand there idly and blather away?!” she suddenly launched herself at the three Archer Skeletons, not even giving them the chance to process her words and actions. In a blink of an eye, she’d already cut Knarl through the middle of his supposed-to-be abdomen, leaving him in a mangled heap on the floor.

“First thing to remember in a battle against several opponents: take down the easiest target first,” Shurank’s words rang in Christine’s ear.

“Oh, I didn’t know you’re that annoyed at him,” Arkk mused when he saw what Christine did to his now-dead companion, not even sensing his imminent death. She really wanted to smack herself in the forehead.

God, they seriously are lacking in the intelligence department!

“Right. Now who’s next?” Swallowing her annoyance, Christine drew her sword again, glaring dangerously at the remaining two. They finally figured out what she was planning to do, and edged further away from her, picking out an arrow from their arrow quivers as they did so. Without wasting any time, she entered for the kill once more, this time slashing at Arkk’s head and aimed a kick at the unnamed Archer Skeleton’s spine at the same time, effectively killing them both.

“You could’ve finished me off earlier if you guys were smart enough to impale me with your arrows while I couldn’t see you, geniuses. So much for not playing fair,” Christine scowled at the remains of the Archer Skeletons, prodding them with the tip of her sword as they crumbled into ashes.

“But anyway, thanks for the Skeleton Bones!” she picked up the items from the floor and deposited them in her pouch that hung by her waist. “Three down, 97 more to go!” she chirruped.

Suddenly, Christine realized that there was a commotion not far from where she stood. “Huh. I must’ve been too preoccupied with these idiots to notice just now,” she huffed. Furrowing her eyebrows, she cocked her head to listen, trying to ascertain the direction of the incident. Picking up her sword, she slowly stood up and inched towards the source of the noise.

At one of the many bends of the tunneling caves, Christine saw quite a large group of Archer Skeletons and Soldier Skeletons crowded together, and they seemed like they were surrounding something – or someone. She immediately hid herself behind a large stone to scout the situation before deciding on her next move.

“Little Acolyte, I must commend you for killing 10 of my men all by yourself-” It appears that the leader of this group of Skeletal Army spoke up. “-but you do know that you can’t possibly take on all fifty of us here, don’t you? Look at you, all bloody and messed up already. What’s the matter? Why don’t you use your little skill that you’re oh-so-proud of to heal yourself? Or are you planning to give up already?” he taunted.

“I have no intention of bowing down to the likes of you, Soldier Skeleton. I will not let you get away with your plan of taking over Payon,” the Acolyte in question spat, but Christine couldn’t see her face as it was blocked from view by the large amount of Soldier Skeletons crowding around her.

The leader of the Skeletal Army gave a blood-curdling cackle at her answer. “Very well, I’ll make you bow down to me, then send you off to meet your maker!”

Sensing danger, Christine jumped out of her hiding place and swiftly took down the five Archer Skeletons who were standing at a distance away from the main group. The main group of Soldier Skeletons seemed to have heard the commotion coming from behind them, and they all turned around to see what was happening.

“What’s going on here?!” the leader of the group made his way to the spot where he’d placed the Archer Skeletons at, only to find Christine sneering at him, his men nowhere to be seen. “Ah, it seems that we have another guest.”

“I have a proposition for you,” she smiled. “Why don’t you take on somebody your own size?”

“Are you sure you’re not putting up a false bravado? After all, your size is certainly smaller than the Acolyte over there,” the Soldier Skeleton drummed his bony fingers against his chin thoughtfully, then continued, “but if that’s what you want… I can always afford a diversion. I’ll just kill you first then get the Acolyte,” he gave a slight nod, and the Skeletal Soldier army mercilessly rained their attacks down on Christine.

Chapter 3 - Fated Encounter

Christine slowly opened her eyes, and found herself lying in a place she didn’t recognize. “Ugh... Where am I...?” she rubbed her temples to ease the pain, and tried to remember what led her to this unknown place that spelled danger from every corner. She glanced around warily as she lay still, in case some monsters were lurking around her. It wouldn’t be pretty if they realized she was alive – just in case they’d thought that they had finished her off.

It took her some time before it finally struck her that she was in Glast Heim.

How in Odin’s name did I get here...?

After ascertaining that there weren’t any signs of the undead nearby, she slowly sat up and glanced sideways, trying to look for the exit. To her surprise, the little girl from her previous dream was laying there next to her, face down and unconscious.

Impossible. Christine pinched herself on her forearm, but she didn’t feel any pain. It became apparent to her that she was in a dream again.

She quickly rushed to the little girl’s side, and turned her around. Much to her relief, the little girl’s chest was heaving up and down – she was alive.

“Hey, can you hear me? Wake up! It’s dangerous here!” Christine exclaimed as quietly as possible while she shook the girl. She would’ve carried her if she could, but there was only so much that a 10-year-old like her could do, and carrying the little girl to safety in such a dangerous place as Glast Heim without getting attacked would be near impossible.

Soon, the little girl opened her eyes groggily, and then they suddenly flew wide open as she started to scream.

“Wait! Quiet! I won’t hurt you! I swear!” Christine said fervently, as she hurriedly tried to cover the girl’s mouth with her hands. It won’t do the both of them any good if she alerted the monsters. They were too strong for Christine to handle – after all, she’s only a mere Swordsman.

However, it wasn’t Christine who scared the girl. An enormous shadow loomed from behind, covering even the already scarce light source. Christine gulped and slowly turned around, praying hard that it wasn’t what she thought it was.

But her prayers weren’t answered. Or maybe she prayed a little too late to change the course of events. Christine found herself staring Dark Lord right in his face, and she found herself holding her breath – the stench of rotten flesh was too overwhelming. She mustered her courage and stood up, stretching out her hands sideways, as though forming a barrier between Dark Lord and the girl. As a warrior of the Kingdom of Rune-Midgard, she had the obligation to protect normal citizens from these monsters who have taken over whichever place they could.

“Don’t you get close to her!” she hissed angrily at Dark Lord as she turned to the girl and said, “Get up! Run somewhere and hide yourself until the coast is clear!”

The girl didn’t respond to Christine. Neither did Dark Lord. Christine was baffled, so she waved her hand in front of Dark Lord’s eyes. He didn’t give as much as a single flinch. She finally realized why the little girl never listened to her, or why the High Priestess didn’t respond to her questions. She was invisible to everyone in this dream world of hers. Which means this time, she could only stand there and look on as this little girl perishes under the hands of Dark Lord.

“Girl... you are the child of the two foolish warriors... aren’t you?” he pondered thoughtfully as he held her chin up to observe her facial features. The girl let out a little whimper at the coldness of his hand, but remained rooted at the spot, showing no signs of fear at the entity in front of her, whom killed her parents in front of her very own eyes.

“Hmm... interesting... Shall I give you a slow, agonizing death so that you can meet up with your parents in the underworld...?” he mused as his hand slid downwards to her neck, and tightened his grip around it – which made the little girl gag and gasp for air, as she clawed furiously at his hand in a futile attempt to make him stop.

“NO!” Christine jerked forward to try and stop him, but she suddenly found herself back in her room, sitting upright on her bed and panting heavily.

“Ugh! Not now!” She exclaimed, frustrated at the untimely return to reality. She tried hard to fall asleep again, in hopes that she could continue where she had left off and find out what happened to the little girl, but failed to do so.

In the end, she gave up. After grudgingly dragging herself out of bed, she prepared herself to go on the solo hunting mission that Shurank arranged as part of her training.

* * * * *

Christine yawned widely as she tried to decipher the map of the Kingdom of Rune-Midgard in her hands. The sweltering heat of Sograt Desert didn’t help her at all, as she could hardly focus on the direction that she was supposed to go, thanks but no thanks to the lack of sleep she had the previous night. She’d still remember the day that Shurank started her off on these solo missions, a month or so ago...

“Christine, you’ve made excellent progress in these past three months. You have been able to master all the basic skills that are required by a Swordsman and more, even close to perfecting them. That is really good.” Shurank told her.

“Really?!” she beamed.

“Yes. And to tell you the truth, other trainers would only go as far as polishing either the endurance or the agility of their disciples. But as you’ve learned, I decided to go a little further on that, training you in both aspects – which you’ve really done very satisfactorily in. Just to give you a bit of good news – unlike other Swordsman or Knights, you can use both the sword and the spear. However, I can only train you in the art of the sword; you’d have to wait till you finally become a Knight in order to learn the art of the spear.” He creased his eyebrows. Christine just grinned.

“I will now begin to teach you the real skills that a Swordsman should have – Bash, Magnum Break, Provoke, and Endure; not forgetting both the art of the one-handed sword and two-handed sword. Are you ready?”

“Yes sir! As ready as ever!” Christine was getting sick of training her basic skills, but now that she could finally learn the Swordsman’s skills, she was super enthusiastic.

“But before that, I would also like to tell you that I’ll be spending less time with you. As you know, a warrior of the Kingdom of Rune-Midgard should learn how to survive on their own, although fighting in a group is also important, especially when dealing with much stronger monsters. So every week, you’d have to go on solo missions for four days – I will tell you which things to collect,” he paused to determine whether Christine caught all of the things he said, and continued, “and you’ll have to look for the monsters yourself. There will not be anyone to help you out this time, so you’ll have to retreat when you sustain too much damage. Don’t push it so far – I don’t want you dying out there as there are no guarantees that there would be an Acolyte training in the same area that you are in. And try to polish the Swordsman’s skills that I’m about to teach you while you hunt. Understand?”

Christine nodded fervently. Finally some real action.

* * * * *

Snapping back to reality, Christine checked the map again. She grinned happily when she looked around one final time to determine her actual position. “Welcome to Poring Island!” she enthused.

The newest mission that Shurank gave her this week was to collect 1000 each of Jellopy, Sticky Mucus, and Garlets. Easy peasy, she thought. Porings, Poporings, and Marins pose almost no threat to her, although she didn’t really want to kill these cute things. But orders are orders.

She unsheathed her Two-Handed Sword, and started looking for prey. Suddenly, she heard someone shout “ARGH!”, and from the sound of it, the person was just nearby. Christine started running, looking everywhere for the source of the voice. True enough, she saw a Thief lying behind a huge rock, unconscious. And he was about to be flattened like a pancake by a Mastering.

Without hesitation, Christine ran forward and hacked the Mastering with her sword. To her relief, the Mastering and its minions now focused on her. She mustered all her strength into both her hands, and executed the skill Bash. The Mastering died at once due to the great amount of damage dealt to it, and its minions also exploded into pieces. It seemed that the Mastering was weakened by this now-unconscious Thief.

After picking up the loot from the floor, Christine sheathed her sword once again, and rushed to the Thief’s side.

“Hey! Hey! Are you okay?! Can you hear me?!” she shouted at him while shaking his body, but there was no response. She looked around to try and spot an Acolyte, but who was she kidding? Hardly any Acolyte would train in a place like this, unless they want to become a Monk in the future. She focused on the Thief again, and realized that he was bleeding profusely. Not to mention that she doesn’t have any herbs that she could use to stop the bleeding. There was only one way to save him now – carry him home and get someone to attend to him.

“Oh man... I sure hope you aren’t heavy.” She muttered, as she carried him on her back. Unwillingly, she took out a Wing of Butterfly from her backpack. Sure, it was the fastest mode of travel to return to town, but she disliked it the most, next to using Wing of Fly.

“Here we go then...” she said as she took a deep breath, and crushed the Wing in her hands. Suddenly, she jolted forward, as if pulled by an invisible and insanely strong force towards the direction of Prontera. The view flitted so fast in front of her eyes that she had to close them shut, otherwise she would get motion sickness as she had experienced before. Not a pleasant memory.

Several minutes later, she found herself standing at the West gate of Prontera city. Without further ado, she sprinted towards the direction of her house that was several steps away, being vigilant not to drop the injured Thief that she was carrying.

“MOM! HELP!” Christine screamed as she ran through the door. Helen Fletcher saw the person on her back, and immediately sent her falcon to the Prontera Sanctuary to ask for help.

* * * * *

“Ugh... OW!” the Thief stirred on the bed and accidentally aggravated the injury he sustained on his left shoulder when he tried to prop himself up.

“If I were you, I’d stay put on the bed.” growled Christine, who was seated on the floor. She was rather agitated that she had to put off her hunting mission, and it doesn’t help a single bit that she didn’t have enough sleep the previous night. What’s more, he was sleeping on her bed.

“Where... is this place...? What am I doing here...?”

“My house, duh. Just in case you forgot, you got your ass kicked by a Mastering. I just happened to walk by and saved you.

“You?!” he winced as he turned in Christine’s direction. “Aren’t you a little too pint-sized to be taking that thing on?”

"Excuse me? Is that the way you should be talking to someone who saved your ass? What kind of Thief are you anyway? Can’t you even dodge the attacks of something that moves so sluggishly?” she sneered. He was really getting on her nerves.

“Whatever. I have no intentions to thank a Swordsman.” He spat as he slowly got up, being extra careful not to hurt himself further. He turned scarlet and regretted it the moment he pulled the sheets off him.

“Wh... where are my clothes you perverted twerp?!”

“Hey don’t look at me! I wasn’t the one who took off your clothes – it was the Acolyte who attended to you. They were torn up and bloodied during your fight, so we threw them away. If you’re looking for clothes, they’re at the end of the bed.” Christine replied nonchalantly, not even throwing a glance at his direction. Or rather, more like she couldn’t bring herself to.

The Thief grabbed the change of clothes, and held the sheets tightly around him. He suddenly ran towards the window, and jumped out of it, much to Christine’s surprise.

“Hey!” she got up from her spot on the floor and yelled after him, “Those are my sheets, you ungrateful, thieving bastard!”

When she got to the window, the injured boy was nowhere to be seen.

“ARGH! How the hell did he disappear so fast with those injuries?!!”

Chapter 2 - Realizations and Apologies

Author's Note: I'm sorry for not writing in such a loooooong time, but I've been really busy since the start of my university life ;) And I apologise beforehand for the lack of quality in this chapter - I guess you can consider this a filler of some sort. Anyhow, I hope you do enjoy this new chapter, and please look forward to the next chapter! =)

It has been two months since Christine passed her test to become a Swordsman. And in that time span, she had to undergo a gruelling training under Shurank to learn the ways of a Swordsman. If she wasn’t hell bent on being a Knight at all costs, she would’ve given up already. That, of course, was accompanied by the challenging task of trying to prank Shurank time and again. Of the countless times she tried, none of them succeeded, much to Christine’s frustration.

Christine was prepared to feel disappointed that her prank was another failure as she sat there in the room that has been her torture chamber for the past two months, waiting for Shurank to show up through the door. But much to her surprise – and delight – it was Knight De Thomas who walked into the room instead.

“Good morning, sir. Where’s Shurank? Is there something wrong?” Christine asked, trying very hard to suppress her smirk as she waited for the supervisor’s answer.

“I’m sorry that I have to tell you this, but you will have no classes today. Shurank cannot make it.” He said.

“Oh... I see.” She wanted to scream in joy – obviously the laxatives she put in Shurank’s food worked brilliantly. But no, this is not the time. Celebrations come later. “Good day then, I’ll be returning home.” She smiled curtly at the supervisor.

“Christine...” Knight De Thomas started quietly, as he walked to the door and closed it up. “I would like to have a talk with you. Please, sit.”

“Yes sir.”

“Is there anything wrong going on between you and Shurank?”

“Like what, sir?” Christine felt perplexed at the sudden question.

“I can see that you’re very hostile towards him. And Shurank knows it too. He even knows of all your attempts to... prank him.” He stroked his beard as he said.

Christine gulped, and laughed nervously – he had hit the jackpot. “I... I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir...”

“Do you remember the oath you’ve taken when you were initiated as a Swordsman?”

“Yes sir.”

“Then you must remember the one that mentions that the members of the chivalry shall uphold their honor at all times.” Christine nodded at the sentence.

“So tell me the truth, are you bearing any grudges against Shurank?”

Christine admitted defeat, and hung her head down low, heart filled with guilt. Knight De Thomas sighed, and placed his broad, rough hands which were full of scars acquired from his past battles on her head.

“I know Shurank maybe a hard guy to deal with sometimes. He’s a great guy overall, but he has one flaw – he doesn’t know how to channel his thoughts and show how much he cares for someone in a proper manner. While he may be strict and his training methods may be a little... extreme sometimes, he means well.”

Christine remained silent, not knowing what to say. She jumped when the supervisor held her chin up so that she would look him in the eyes.

“Do you know why Shurank is being so strict with you?” She shook her head.

“He sees great potential in you. So does the rest of us here in the guild. That is why I assigned him to train you – he used to be the best Swordsman around the Kingdom of Rune-Midgard.”

“Then... why didn’t he go on to be a Knight?” Christine finally broke her long-kept silence. There was almost no reason why a high-flying Swordsman didn’t end up in the Chivalry of Knights – there was only one other reason, which is they rather join the Legions of Crusaders instead.

Knight De Thomas considered deeply for a couple of moments before he answered her question. “Not many people knew this, but his family – his wife, a son, and a daughter – were assassinated a few months before he was supposed to be initiated as a Knight, ten years ago. Shurank went into a deep depression after that, and when he finally snapped out of it, he decided that he wouldn’t proceed to being a Knight.”

“But why? Wouldn’t he have more power to exact his revenge on the person who killed his family if he were a Knight? Why did he become a trainer here instead?” There was no way Christine could put the subject down. She was too sympathetic and too curious about it.

“It’s best that we do not question his decision, Christine. He has his reasons why, I think. I didn’t want to pursue the matter further so I stopped short of asking him.”

“Oh...”

“Well, for now, please do train diligently under him. He has good intentions, and I suppose he could see the future you if you followed his training menu. Be proud that you have Shurank as a trainer.” Knight De Thomas told Christine as he got off his chair and headed to the door. “I expect great things from you, kiddo.” He winked.

“Yes sir!” She beamed, as the Supervisor walked out.

--

“Good morning, sir!” Christine exclaimed loudly the moment Shurank stepped into the room on the next morning. She considered during her sleep, and thought it best to put forward her best attitude that she has not shown since she was initiated as a Swordsman. That’s the least she could do, after all the pranks she played on Shurank – besides training even more diligently than ever.

“Why, aren’t you a little too enthusiastic today?” Shurank raised an eyebrow. “I’m gone for a day and you had a complete change in attitude? Then I think I should be gone for a couple of days more...”

“No!” Christine yelled, and quickly rephrased, “I mean, please don’t do so. I would like it very much to be a Knight as soon as possible. And I’m... I’m sorry for playing pranks on you. Was the laxatives so powerful?” she grinned awkwardly.

“Ah hah! I knew you were up to no good!” Shurank boomed. Christine gulped, as she thought she was going to get four times the normal training menu as a punishment. Shurank is very capable of that, as she has learned the hard way for the past two months. But to her surprise and comfort, a smiled formed on his face. “Just kidding, kiddo. It’s a good thing you came clean about your pranks – not that I don’t know about them at all. And just to give you one final disappointment before we stop all this nonsense, the laxatives didn’t work – on me, at least. You put them in the wrong food.” He chuckled.

“Eh? Then... someone else ate it? Oh man...” Christine groaned.

“Yup. Poor fella, I say. I think he’s still at it today... Well, it doesn’t matter. He’ll be fine sooner or later, I hope.” Shurank said, and Christine merely nodded. Besides, there was something bigger roaming freely in her mind after her conversation with Knight De Thomas the day before.

“Should I or should I not ask him about his family?” she wondered. Her curiosity was running wild, but her conscience was telling her that there’s no saying as to what his reaction would turn out to be. She hardly even knows the most basic information about Shurank, so it’s not really ethical to be prying into his life all of a sudden, especially when the man himself hasn’t mentioned anything at all. In the end, Christine took all of her mental strength to contain all the questions that she wanted to ask, and kept the lid sealed tight.

However, Shurank seemed to have noticed her troubled expression. “Kiddo, you alright? Seriously, don’t worry about the guy. He’ll be good after some Acolyte attends to him or something.”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing.” She flashed her most convincing grin.

Shurank eyed her suspiciously, but then decided not to pursue the matter. “C’mon, we have loads of work to do today.” He said as he grabbed Christine by the shoulder, and she gave him a single huge nod, grinning from ear to ear.

Things were going to be good.