1 It Begun

Both were covered from head to toe in blood already standing in the crumbling

castle and yet none laid down their swords. Everyone around them was most certainly

dead and yet both lovers had a look of utmost distastefulness in their eyes; they both

wanted to kill the other. Frank charged at Alison and her at him, both stabbing each other

in the heart. The two, with only seconds to live, placed their arms around each other,

swords through each other's hearts, and . . .

Frank walked up to butcher shop to buy meat for the day. It seemed to be a very

good day in Garbodia, quite a normal one in fact. Birds fluttered in the sky, horses ran

wild in the fields, some with riders on their backs, children played in the streets and the

adults watched them play or held conversations of their own from the porches on their

houses; the day was handsome. Frank himself was a very handsome young man of

seventeen, who lived under the cruel command of Garbatrix, king of Garbodia; as

beautiful as it may seem, Garbodia was not paradise. Frank walked in to the butcher shop

to see the butcher, Suzake, chopping some meat behind the counter. The butcher stopped

his chopping and turned to look at Frank with a hearty smile.

"The usual Suzake" stated Frank.

"So that'll be two whole chickens and a doe." recalled the butcher, "Alison! Bring

Frank the usual!" called the butcher to his daughter. Minutes later the butchers beautiful

daughter came behind the counter and bagged the goods. She gave the goods to Frank

squinting her eyes at him as if she was looking at the sun. She had never liked Frank

since he had accidentally shot down her pet owl one night. That night Frank, barely six,

had been pretending he was a master archer until his arrow slipped and he caught

Alison's pet owl that had just happened to be flying by. He tried to explain this to her

ever since but she dared not look at him.

Frank took the goods after he left some coins on the counter and exited the shop into

the open evening. Since he lived in a valley he always loved gazing at the surrounding

mountains. He waved at fellow villagers who waved back at him. After a long walk

Frank finally got home, his home seemed to be no larger than one room from the outside,

but on the inside it was a full 2 bedroom home equipped with a dining area, a living room

and a restroom, as unusual as this may seem it was very normal for him although, today

was different, he found the door ajar. He wondered why his father would do such a thing

and so Frank walked inside to find no one there. As he placed the goods on the mahogany

table, he saw a note with his father's handwriting and so he approached it slowly, picked

it up and read it:

"Son, I have been forced to flee because the king is looking for "The Queens Gem". I

have it in my possession at the moment and I'm heading to the Crove mountains where

I'll be safe. I'll give you details later, but for now you must go warn Suzake that the king

is looking for the G.M. and then start heading here immediately!"

Frank had heard of "The Queens Gem" in stories that his father told him. It was a

gem that had belonged to many queens who all somehow ended up committing suicide.

Also their husbands ended up destroying village by village, town by town, and city by

city just to please themselves. The gem was said to cause madness to any king or queen

of Garbodia. Frank was startled to learn that his father possessed the gem and was being

pursued by an army of brainwashed soldiers.

Frank quickly packed a few clothes, food, and his father's sword, that he

surprisingly left, and set out on his horse to warn the butcher. When he arrived at the

shop the door was wide open so he brandished his sword before stepping in. On the floor

lay Suzake covered in blood with his eyes open, dead. Frank cursed under his breath,

knelt down and closed Suzake's eyes and whispered a prayer before looking for Alison.

Not too far from Suzake lay 2 more bodies, the bodies of 3 men, soldiers, also covered in

blood. All the men seemed to have suffered from deep wounds, including Suzake, which

left Frank puzzled. He walked around the counter of the small shop to see Alison. She

was weeping in the corner behind the counter holding her head, also covered in blood

with a sword lying in front of her that too was stained with blood. Frank knelt down in

front of her and placed his arms on her shoulders and then she screamed. Ahe finally

looked up and noticed Frank after eleven years and said,

"K…Kings Soldiers…They did it." She wailed.

"Never mind that, are you injured?" asked Frank, Alison shook her head and

trembled as Frank continued, "Just get some clothes and your father's horse and sword

and we will leave here immediately. I'll explain everything when we're safe."

commanded Frank. She looked at him awkwardly for a while before obeying. Minutes

later they were speeding out of the valley into the unsafe open world.

After three hours traveling through the wood it was nightfall and the two found a

cave to rest in so Frank decided to rest and explain the situation to Alison. After thirty

minutes she finally spoke to him in a tone of vengeance,

"So what is the G.M?" she asked.

"I was never told. We'll just have to find out when we get to the Crove." replied

Frank.

"Well we better get there soon, build up an army and then destroy the king and his

soldiers for what the did to my father!" said Alison as she raised her voice.

"Yes but first we must focus on just getting to the Crove. There will be more soldiers

coming after us, there will be times we will have to fight, besides, we cannot outrun fifty

men all on horses as well. I think we should rest now, we'll need the energy for our

journey tomorrow and hopefully we're not killed." With these words Frank went to bed

hoping he'd wake up the next morning.

Frank awoke with a start the following morning because he heard unfamiliar noises.

He looked at the dark corner of the cave and saw a shadowy figure moving about.

"Show yourself!" he shouted as he picked up his father's sword and approached the

shadow.

"Hasn't you father taught you it is impure to look at a woman you are not wed to,

while she changes her garments." came the voice of Alison. Frank looked away in

embarrassment and focused his attention on an ant instead. Minutes later Alison was

finished so Frank went into the dark corner to change. When he was finished Alison

looked at him and asked,

"So what do we have here for breakfast?"

"Raw meat." replied Frank.

Alison stared at him for a long while before speaking again, "Couldn't you have at

least cooked it?"

"If I had stayed and cooked it you might have been killed." answered Frank. Alison

looked down at the ground and said,

"Well I guess you are right." They consumed the meat half heartily as the horses

consumed grass. When they were finished they led the horses to a stream to drink. Frank

and Alison also quenched their thirst at the stream. After a few more minutes of rest they

set out again toward the Crove. Frank noticed their only choice when they run out of food

was to steal it. Frank also noticed that it would take them at least a month to get to the

Crove if they followed the road. Also he noticed that it would take at least five days to

cross the desert and they might live but the horses would surely die. Then he noticed that

if they continued on the road it would be easier for the soldiers to follow their trail and it

would be easier to steal food from villages. Finally he chose to travel through the

mountains which would take at least two months and it had plenty of grass for the horses

to eat, many streams for water and one village to steal food, and materials to cook and

hunt food, from.

That night they camped in a clearing. They both sat around the fire simply gazing into

it and the horses weren't too far away from them sound asleep. Frank was worrying that

Alison would not be able to fight if they were ambushed. He studied her for a moment

before saying, "Let's fight."

"So just because I'm a girl you think I can't fight?" said Alison.

"No it's not like that." answered Frank a little too quickly.

"Then we shall see." said Alison winking at him and picking up her sword. Frank

barely had time to pick up his sword as she leapt at him slashing at his head. Frank

blocked just in time as she swung her sword around and then made a stabbing motion for

his leg. He quickly moves his leg out of harm's way and tripped Alison. She landed on

top of him and then started to get up as Frank's only though was wishing she could stay

there forever; Frank's hear thumped fast. Their noses were now touching as they gazed

into each other's eyes, soon, without realization, the two moved in for a kiss. Frank

watched Alison slowly close her eyes and so he did the same, tilting his head to the right.

Their lips were so close now, as Frank felt his heart racing and then – NEIGH! – The

horses were now awake and they were both starring at Frank and Alison. Alison quickly

stood up, picked up her sword as did Frank.

"We should…" started Alice.

"Definitely…" stated Frank.

The two were soon at it again; Alison swung with the intent to kill and Frank was

just defending his own life. Frank was blocking all her attacks for at least half an hour

and he was feeling tired however Alison seemed to be full of energy. As Alison

continued to make life threatening attacks Frank thought that is was time to fight back.

His first three attacks were blocked, but as he tried to block Alison's attack their swords

clashed with so much force that Frank's flew out of his hand. He staggered back and fell

as Alison made a slash for his head. As Frank was thinking, this is the end, the sword

stopped within an inch of his head.

"Still want to fight?" asked Alison; she extended her hand to help Frank up. As Frank

got up he sheathed his sword and answered Alison,

"Not if it means I'll die. I would like to know where you learnt those fascinating

moves however. If my father hadn't taught me how to defend myself, you would have

killed me."

"Well you shouldn't have challenged me. I practiced with my father's sword four

hours a day, every day and I see we have to work on your endurance." replied Alison.

Frank's back was hurting him and he let Alison massage it for him that night. Her touch

was so soothing it got him relaxed as he fell in to a deep sleep.

The following morning was a bit slow due to the fact that Frank was still exhausted.

As they traveled Frank noticed that before the quest he and Alison were not friends at all,

but now they were talking like they had been friends forever. He smiled at this thought

but his thoughts faded when he slid off his horse. Alison laughed at him and then she too

fell off her horse. As Frank was helping her back on he felt a sharp pain in his head and

then he knew no more.

When Frank woke up he found himself lying down, with Alison and a total stranger

looking over him; his hair was whiter than snow. He looked like he was the same age as

Frank and Alison, and he seemed to keep his body in shape. Before Frank could speak

Alison and the stranger took over,

"Everything is fine, he just thought you were one of the king's soldiers." she said,

Frank didn't see how that was possible as the soldiers wore armor and he obviously did

not, he looked at the stranger to see him grinning,

"The name's Siege. Your lovely young maiden told me about your quest and I would

love to accompany you on it." said the stranger.

"We're not married." Said Frank and Alison at the same time; they both looked at

each other for a brief moment before quickly looking away.

"Well I'm sorry malady," said Siege as he took Alison's hand and kissed it; she

giggled as he did this and Frank felt very much jealous. Siege then focused his attention

on Frank as he said, "I have the equipment we need to hunt, I took it from my village. Oh

and no need to worry about cooking, I'm excellent at that too."

"Well I guess we have the food covered, but I hope you know how to handle a

sword." stated Frank.

"Yes, and also a bow, but we must cover as much ground as we can today. These

wood are filled with the king's soldiers and no need to worry, I have a stallion of my

own." These words startled Frank. What he thought to be the safest way was actually the

most dangerous. Minutes later they were traveling with speed until they had to climb

their first mountain, Carcrut. They camped in a cave on the mountainside where Frank,

too weak to spar, watched Siege and Alison spar. Siege was very good. As a matter of

fact he was as good as Alison. Their fight lasted for two hours and neither looked tired.

The fight could have gone on forever if Frank had not suggested they all go to bed.

The following morning Frank was feeling better and so he went by a stream and

bathed. After he was done and changed he led the horses to the stream to drink and as

they did this he made a fire and cooked some game. Suddenly there was a burst of wind

and the fire burned out of its containment and made the grass around Frank burst into

flame. Siege came running out of the cave with Alison and all their equipment; his eyes

glowing with a bright white light. The flames of the fire faded into nothingness before

Siege's eyes came back to normal. He and Alison mounted their horses before turning to

Frank.

"We need to flee. There isn't a creature in this wood that could not have smelt that

smoke. You used my 'game attracter fire creator'; anything within three miles will smell

that. The soldiers are coming we must go." Said Siege calmly.

"You're a sorcerer!" gasped Frank.

"I thought the white hair would explain it all, but no time for chit-chat we must go

NOW!" insisted Siege. Frank mounted his horse quickly and then they fled. As the horses

were climbing the mountain ten soldiers on horses came darting out of a well hid cave

behind them. They bore on their shields the mark of Garbatrix, a skull with gems for

eyes. They were gaining fast on them Frank noticed.

"We cannot outrun them!" shouted Frank at Siege and Alison; they both nodded in

agreement and they all halted and dismounted their horses. The soldiers did the same and

immediately charged at them. Frank unsheathed his sword and charged at the nearest

soldier and drove his blade into his heart. He turned just in time to block a life threatening

slash to the skull and pushed the soldier into another with his sword facing toward Frank.

The sword went through the soldier's back and the tip of the blade forced its way through

the left side of the soldier's heart. The soldier that had been holding the sword and was

charging for Frank tripped over his dead colleague face first. Frank wasted no time in

thrusting his sword into the soldier's head. He turned to check to see if they were more,

but instead he saw Siege and Alison just watching him dead soldier's at each of their feet;

Alison killed four and Siege three.

"Impressive, but you need to work on your swiftness; you're a little too slow." Said

Siege; Alison nodded in agreement. Frank paid little attention to him; he focused mainly

on staying alive. He wiped his sword on the grass and then they all mounted their horses

and continued up the mountain. After three hours of riding the climb got too steep for the

horses so they dismounted and led them up themselves. They did this for another three

hours before finding a place to camp. The following morning Frank mad sure he had the

right equipment to make a fire. After they all ate, changed and drank, they led the horses

slowly up the mountain. Silence followed them for an hour before Alison said,

"So Siege do you know lots of magic tricks?"

"More than I could possibly show you in a year's time malady." Replied Siege; his

eyes turned brightly white as a rose appeared in his hand and he handed it to Alison. She

smiled brightly at him.

"It would have taken you just a second more to pick one from the side of the road."

Stated Frank.

"I sense jealousy, but no need to worry I have a gift for you too Frank." Said Siege;

his eyes turned bright whit again and then it turned back to normal. Nothing visible had

changed so Frank was confused and by the looks of it, so was Alison.

"Unsheathe your sword." Ordered Siege. Frank obeyed with annoyance and as he

unsheathed his sword he noticed that in its place was a solid gold one instead. Alison

clapped in amazement as Frank sheathed his sword.

"Oh Siege what is it that you cannot do?" asked Alison.

"Well malady I cannot let the mountain turn to dust as it is part of the environment

and we are crossing it at the moment." Answered Siege. Frank looked at him with disgust

before turning away when Alison flashed her eyes at him. After nine more hours of travel

they camped.

Alison being the best with a sword practiced with both Frank and Siege and it did not

end until Frank nearly received a fatal blow to his head and backed away and hit it on a

tree.

It was mid afternoon of the following day and Frank noticed that they had a month

and three weeks to go to get to the Crove. He was feeling downhearted when he noticed

they were finally at the top of Carcrut and now it was time for the descent. It looked like

a fifty mile journey down and it was not so steep. He was glad to see that he would be

able to ride again. He was sure the others were glad too because they mounted their

horses and rode off. Frank did the same following close behind. Frank heard a whistling

sound and turned back to see at least a hundred archers coming downhill on horses all

bearing the king's mark. An arrow whistled past Frank and caught Alison on the

shoulder. She wailed with pain as she pulled it out and continued to ride. Frank followed

this example and did not look back anymore as arrows came zooming past him. He was

sure that they could not outrun the soldiers let alone fight them.

"We must stand and fight!" shouted Siege yielding his horse. Frank and Alison did

the same even though it seemed like suicide. Frank moved his head slightly to the left just

in time as an arrow grazed the side of his face. As the soldiers came closer they charged

into the army. Frank drove his blade into the sides if many horses causing the horse and

rider to fall. Frank stole a glance at Siege to see that his eyes were glowing bright white

and the soldiers he fought were either turning to stone or falling off their horses, looking

as if they had invisible swords forced through their hearts, dead. Frank continued to make

horses and their riders fall, but he had to do this while dodging arrows. He was glad he

did not have to attack so many soldiers because their arrows were whistling past him,

finding a home in the heads, chest, legs and other body parts of soldiers. As Frank got

back to the top of the hill he reared his horse and rode in the opposite direction. As he

was continuing his routine he noticed a soldier aiming an arrow directly at Alison. As

Frank got closer to the soldier he jumped off his moving horse onto the soldier's one. He

took the bow and arrows away from the soldier, and knocked him off his horse with one

hand and held the reigns of his own horse with his other. After this he jumped back on to

his own horse and used all the arrows which found marks in only soldiers. When the

arrows finished Frank looked around to see Siege turning all the injured soldiers to stone;

their horses were left to run wild. Alison was directing Siege to the undead soldiers.

Frank was exhausted but also surprised seeing that three people had demolished an army

of at least a hundred people. When Alison and Siege were done they all rode down the

mountain. While they dealt with their cuts and bruises Siege spoke,

"You were great out there. You are what we sorcerers would call 'evarb' which

means brave."

"I can say the same about you." Stated Frank.

Siege turned around from healing Alison's shoulder and gave Frank two thumbs up;

his eyes glowing bright white.

"Can you focus on my cuts and bruises!" interjected Alison; her shirt was off so she

only turned her head slightly.

"I am done malady" stated Siege; his eyes came back to normal as Alison put her

shirt back on and turned completely to look at them both.

"Can't we talk about some feminine things once in a while?"

"Sure we can malady." Said Siege; he made a stick sprout wings then fly away.

"Starting with that soldier I stabbed in the rib. He was gorgeous until blood started

coming out of his side." Said Frank, tying to hold back a laugh.

"Oh stop it." Said Alison; she whacked Frank in the head with a stick. They burst into

laughter. Siege broke the guffaw when he said,

"So what do you wish for us to speak about malady?"

"I think we should just stick with spars." Said Alison; the outburst of laughter was

louder this time. "I think we could start with the fight at Siege's village."

"Malady it is too much to handle, it's just…" said Siege, leaving his sentence

hanging.

"Why not?" pressured Alison.

"I SAID DO NOT PRESSURE ME!" shouted Siege; he stood up with outmost fury

on his face.

Frank stood up and positioned himself between the two. "She didn't say anything

offensive so sit." Alison looked away from the Frank and Siege as Siege sat. Frank turned

his attention to Alison, "Look he's just upset. He really is just upset."

"Well I don't care," started Alison already in tears, "I didn't do anything wrong, but if

that's the way he feels then fine. As far as I'm concerned it's just you and I again Frank."

"Malady Please…"

"LEAVE ME ALONE SIEGE!"

Frank new that Alison was easy to anger and she made no exceptions for anyone.

Frank was too tired to explain this to Siege; he lay back on a tree and knew no more.

It was the following morning and Frank explained the situation to Siege. He even told

him about the time she refused to forgive him for her owl. Siege had responded by

saying, "I did not want to tell her because it is too tragic for me and because I am

partially the cause for the raid. The rest of the fault falls upon your father and hers and I

think I thought off the both off you to be the cause of my family and friends' death. How

foolish of me."

"We all burst sometimes; with the exception of some." Gestured Frank to Alison; she

rode in front paying no attention to the two soon to be men.

"Ouy od ton evah ot eveirg rof em." Replied Siege.

"What did you say?" asked Frank; he was expressionless because of the weird

language that Siege spoke in.

"I forgot you are not a sorcerer, but if you must know that language was the language

of the sorcerers and it means 'You do not have to grieve for me'."

"Where do the sorcerers live and how many are there?"

"There are thousands of us but to where we are from I have no idea since I was born

away from my kind."

Frank pursued no further. Instead he rode ahead to Alison. There was dead silence for

a while until Dontro, Siege's home, came into view. It was situated on a hill with a flat

surface. A river was flowing strong behind it. When they reached at the edge of the town

Siege picked up speed to meet up with Frank and Alison. He looked at Alison hopefully

but turned away and spoke when she made no response that he even existed. His eyes

turned bright white before he spoke.

"There are still soldiers here," he said; his eyes came back to normal. "Their

positioned at the banks of the river so we can't continue this route."

"We have to." Argued Frank. "We destroyed a hundred men, what makes you think

we can't take on another hundred."

"It isn't only a hundred this time it's…" started Siege; he looked around and then

continued. "Where's Alison?" Frank did not have to answer the question because they

both noticed Alison riding fast into Dontro; she had gone to see the damage that it

suffered for herself. Frank and Siege pursued her quickly then Frank asked,

"So how many soldiers are there?"

"One thousand strong." Relied Siege. Frank looked at him in awe as he thought the

king must be crazy if he is willing to send a thousand men to kill three people who he

thinks has the gem. Alison stopped in the center of the town and looked around for a

moment. Frank and Siege yielded on her sides; Frank on her right and Siege on her left.

"Alison we need to get out of here it's…" Frank's sentence slowly faded as he looked

around to see the damage. Clothing of people were all over. There was a high scent of

rotten food and only the rubles of burnt wood made Frank know that houses were once in

the town. Frank turned to Siege to se Alison already starring at him too.

"if you must know how this happened," begun Siege, "Then I shall tell you. The

soldiers attacked during the night first by killing our guards so there was no alarm sound.

When they got to my house they torched it and yet they came in and slit my father's

throat, next my mother was cornered and as she begged for mercy an arrow came from

one of the soldier's bow and buried itself in her heart. My sister was also killed by an

arrow when she tried to run for it and as for I…I am the only living person because I am a

sorcerer and so I killed many soldiers before I fled into the mountains hoping to warn the

citizens in Norva."

Frank was stupefied. So that's what he was doing by Carcrut, thought Frank.

"I understand now." Said Alison. Frank thought he saw her eyes go bright white like

Siege's for a second as the wind shifted and blew harder. Siege must have seen the same

thing because the he said,

"It can't… Well it must be a trick of the light but no matter now its time to go. Looks

like we have to continue through the mountains because one hundred of the brainwashed

freaks have just been positioned by the gates and the rest are surrounding the perimeter."

Said Siege, as his eyes turned the usual glowing white and then back. They rode through

the destroyed town fast and as they got to the edge of the hill the mountain stood upon

they saw it, the remaining soldiers standing fast at the bottom of the hill. The army

stretched as far as the river banks, the frontline was archers and their bows and arrows

were aiming up at Frank, Siege, and Alison.

Frank noticed that these soldiers did not bear the mark of the king but another mark.

On their armor and weapons they bore a mountain with a dove on top. A soldier, who

was clearly the commander because he wore more armor than any other, stepped before

the army and spoke,

"The queen of the Crove and master Satoney wish to see you."

Frank was surprised to hear that his father and the queen of the Crove knew exactly

which route to the city they were taking but much importantly was that his father was a

high person in the Crove. He wondered what his mother would say if she knew how his

father was living; at the age of four she ran away or so he was told by his father. Frank

rode forward too and spoke,

"Then we shall go with you to the queen."

"Yes the two of you," said the commander, 'But we were not informed of a third

therefore he cannot accompany us to the Crove."

Frank stole a look at Siege and then at Alison who gave him a 'you better do the right

thing' look. He turned back to the soldiers and responded, "If we go he goes with us." I

can't believe I said that, thought Frank; he and Siege had really become friends.

"Very well but the queen and master Satoney will not be pleased." Indicated the

commander; he sounded calm but he looked afraid. Frank, Alison and Siege rode up to

the army. Before they left they waited for the soldiers who were positioned by the gates

and around the town to join them. When they arrived they marched across the low

flowing river ands back into the mountains to the Crove. There were many questions that

Frank wanted to ask his father when he arrived at the Crove. He did not want to seem

anxious to get there so he simply asked the commander,

"How is the Crove protected?"

"It is protected by the magic of the sorcerers. I do not know how they protect it from

so far or what protections are on it but maybe you sorcerer friend can sell their secrets;

sorcerers hide secrets quite well."

Siege raised an eyebrow at him before he spoke, "It is true that we sorcerers keep

secrets well but for the protection of the Crove I have no idea on that. You see I know a

spell that protects me but I do not see any way in projecting it for miles." Alison seemed

in interested in the subject and so she pursued on. Frank did not pay attention to this;

instead he rode on in silence. He was finally glad that they had protection. That night they

camped at the bottom of a mountain. They had a great supply of food and protection so

Frank went to sleep early. Later that night Frank woke up because he felt something

brush against his head. He woke up to find Siege and Alison fighting at the amusement of

the soldiers. They were cheering and laughing as the two were dodging and slashing. Out

of anger Frank picked up his golden sword and joined the fight. Frank dived on top of

Siege and as he was about to slash his throat, Siege's eyes turned bright white; he was

thrown ten feet into the air before falling with a hard thud. Siege got up and looked down

to Frank,

"No need to be so angry is there?" he said; the soldiers laughed louder than ever.

Alison looked over to Frank with a look of agreement on her face. Frank's anger

suddenly turned to rage as he plunged on Alison and before he knew it he was dangling

upside down in the air. The soldiers continued to laugh and so did Alison and Siege.

Frank was let down when everyone was convinced he was totally calm. Before long

Frank was no longer very angry at Siege and Alison. As he talked with everyone he

thought he saw Alison's eyes go bright white, but as he blinked they were just normal as

ever. Frank suddenly felt the urge to start singing a joyous melody that amused the

soldiers even more. Alison laughed the hardest as Frank could not contain himself to

continue singing. When Frank was done he noticed that Siege was studying Alison for a

while. He was starring at her for a very long while so Frank broke his gaze by taking him

as far away from the ears of the soldiers.

"Alison is a sorceress." Frank came clean.

Siege looked very surprised at this, "Did you hit your head when you fell. She has no

sorceress blood; I checked both of you when I first met you."

"I know what I saw and I know you saw it too. The changing of the direction of the

wind, and that song she made me sing tonight; I would never ever sing that song even if I

knew what the name was or where it was from." Stormed Frank.

"You've lost your mind." Stated Siege and then he left. Frank was alone for a while

before Siege came back with Alison. "Does this innocent face look like a guilty one to

you?" he said; Alison looked as drunk as ever.

"Do I look very destructive to you Frank?" said Alison, "I have nothing to hide and

neither does anybody else." Frank did not want to defy her even if she was drunk so he

dropped the subject physically but not mentally. Frank walked slowly behind Alison and

Siege who were now both conversing about their goals in life. When they arrived back at

the camp they were greeted with the loud talk of soldiers and laughter. After one more

hour of fun the commander indicated it was time for rest and that they were leaving

within five hours.

It was the following morning and they were hiking up a mountain. Frank had just

realized that sorcerers and sorceresses could keep secrets well so what if Siege and

Alison were keeping something from him. He looked over at the two to see them both

riding alongside each other laughing. Today only their laughs could be heard; the soldiers

were as serious as ever, as if the previous night's events were not too humorous to talk

about. Frank rode up to find the commander, he was finally going to let his curiosity for

the Crove show. He found the commander riding up-right on his horse, leadership

gleaming in his eyes. It was a while before Frank could let go of his cowardice to speak,

"Commander, may I ask you a few questions?"

"Ask away fellow." Replied the commander.

"Well, I was wondering how my dad got such a high position in the Crove; you see he

was just a simple man in Norva." Said Frank; he was really anxious.

"Well to tell you the truth I know little of your father and the only part I know is that

he was not seen at the Crove for seventeen years; he and the queen. She came back after

four years, she left her second in command while she was gone. When he came back a

month and a week ago he was welcomed as a Master which means he is soon to be her

majesty's right hand; he will be king." Stated the commander. Frank was very surprised

now to hear that his father was to become king of the Crove which would give him

royalty; it also meant that these men were his to command whenever he wished. It was

time to test out his royalty,

"You're dismissed commander."

The commander smiled at him brightly before he spoke, "I see you figured out you

royalty then. Very well good day sir." The commander was about to ride ahead when

Frank spoke again,

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was instructed not to." Replied the commander, then he left.

Frank decided not to tell Alison or Siege about his high position seeing or at least

guessing that they both were hiding the secret of Alison from him. When they caught up

to him they both looked as cheerful as ever and they seemed surprised to find that Frank

was too. They rode on in silence as their day continued; the soldiers were as quite as ever.

That night was the same as the previous but this time Siege, Alison and Frank isolated

themselves form the soldiers in a clearing. They all stared at each other for a while before

Siege broke the dumbfounded silence,

"So what's new?" asked Siege.

"Nothing new with me." Replied Frank; he noticed a slight uneasy movement with

Alison as she moved her hand over Siege's back then she quickly pulled it back. Siege

made a quick glance to her and then back at Frank,

"Well that was a very wastefully question," started Siege, "because neither I nor

Alison has anything new to talk about either."

"Well that is not that true and you know it." Said Alison; she was now leaning against

a tree. "I heard you suspected me of being a sorceress, but I see no way that I can be

one."

Frank looked at her awkwardly before standing and pacing around in a circle to find

an idea to express his point. After five minutes he finally found one that would be very

risky; he walked forward back to Alison, got on his knees and said it,

"Alison, will you marry me?" in seconds he was once again dangling upside down in

the air. "What did you do that for?" he calmly asked Siege.

"Because you just asked to marry the woman I am now engaged to marry." Replied

Siege.

"Nothing to hide?" asked Frank; Siege noticed what he just did and so he let Frank

down and then spoke,

"We were going to tell you when we got to the Crove, but since you know now we

got engaged yesterday." Alison nodded in agreement.

"Why will you get married?" asked Frank; he knew now that all his questions would

be answered.

"We have many things in common," said Alison smiling at Siege, "I mean we're both

people of magic. The night we met we talked and…I…I just waited for the moment he

would ask me the question."

"It was like we were meant to be togetherFrank?Where are you going?" said siege;

Frank could not take it any more. He had just recently given up on his dream of marrying

Alison when their journey had begun, but now to find out her situation with Siege made

him feel he had lost the thing that mattered most to him in the world. She deserves better,

he thought She deserves me. In Norva, it was tradition that each person had to wed before

their eighteenth birthday or they would not find peace with God. Frank had seven months

to go, seven months to try to find the right person or else he would be an outcast.

When Frank arrived back at the camp he took refuge in his tent and spoke to no one;

he went to sleep. That night he had dreams that involved Siege mysteriously dying and

Alison turning to him. He woke up the following morning to find reality staring him in

the face. When their journey resumed, Frank made sure that neither Siege nor Alison

could find him. He still did not tell them about his royal position because they were not

going to tell him about their situation until they got to the Crove.

During the afternoon Siege and Alison both tried to catch up with Frank to talk with

him. Frank dodged them every time; he had not intention on talking, especially with

Siege.

As the mountains got steeper Frank noticed that they had not been ambushed by the

king's soldiers for a week and two days. They had three weeks and five days left of travel

and that was plenty time for an attack. He placed his hand over the place where his sword

was supposed to be but found it missing. He looked around to see if it had fell but did not

see it on the ground. He caught Siege's eye to see him waving the sword around his head

as he led his horse up the steep hill. Siege smiled brightly at him; Frank decided he would

get the sword later that night.

That night Frank found Siege and Alison conversing with soldiers. He starred at them

for a while before Siege told the soldiers that they wished to speak in private and so they

left.

"Give me my sword." Ordered Frank; Siege looked at him and then began to laugh.

"Now that's not a nice way to ask. Besides you wont get it back until the two of you

talk." He said gesturing to Alison. "I'll leave you two alone to sort out your problems."

He left.

"Why are you going through with this?" asked Frank.

"Well originally my father chose you to marry me, but seeing that he's now gone I

can choose whoever I please. Besides you never really did… show off for me" replied

Alison.

"How would you expect me to do it when you wouldn't even look at me? When this

journey had begun that is when I gave up; it became clear to me that we could be nothing

more than team mates, not even friends. After I saved you, you still hardly ever spoke

until Siege came along and so I did not care; I did not care until last night because I

hoped you would be free for when we arrive at the Crove…" interjected Frank; he

believed he had said too much. Alison seemed to be in tears now as she ran off to find

Siege. Frank hoped that he made his point clear enough to confuse Alison, but as he

thought of this he suddenly felt a change in the direction of the wind. Next it started to

blow harder than he had ever felt it before; his legs had lifted off the ground so he had to

hold on to a tree so he would not be lifted any higher. Then he saw Alison emerge

through the darkness walking as if nothing was wrong, but something was wrong. Her

eyes were glowing bright white as she walked under the tree Frank was holding on to and

looked up at him.

"This could be your end. Do you not know that you just insulted me? I have more

power than you could ever imagine." She said; she balled her hand into a fist as Frank felt

as if though an invisible blade was being driven into his heart slowly. He screamed but no

sound escaped his mouth as Alison laughed. As he felt limp and about to die the pain and

the wind stopped; he fell to the ground but got up quickly and looked at Alison.

"Don't you ever insult me again if you do not wish to feel that pain again! Leave

Siege and I alone; he is my choice and I am his." She said; Frank hurried away to his tent

where he found his sword waiting. He vowed to tell no one about what had just

happened; well at lest not anyone, but only the right person or people.

It had been a week and a day since their journey had started to be silent due to the

recent events; joining the Crove soldiers, engagement of Siege and Alison, the pain that

Alison placed Frank in when he made half his point clear. Today was just the same but

Frank planned to change that by motivating his soldiers as they all rode with speed down

a hill,

"Let us sing to the glory of safe journey." He said

The commander smiled at him before he started up a delightful song,

Oh our queen has blessed us with her glory

She has left us with no worry

She has trained us with all her strengths

This has left us very strong

Our queen has done nothing wrong

And that is why we sing this song

Our future king is very great

He has also blessed our faith

The Crove will survive to defeat the king

He will make sure we win

With our two great leaders

We are stronger than Czar will ever be

We are might and strong

And again we tell you nothing will go wrong

When the song was over the soldiers still had the pride to sing it four more times and

still had the liberty to hum it until the journey that day was over.

That night Frank was awakened by terrible screams of many men. As he looked

around him he saw the fallen bodies of soldiers with arrows stuck in their backs or chest.

As he found the commander he noticed that the arrows were coming from inside the

trees.

"The trees! Siege destroy the trees." He shouted; Siege who was confused like the

soldiers stopped aiming their arrows around them and instead they aimed them at the

trees. Men and women fell from the trees dead.

"Stop!" shouted an unfamiliar voice; everything seemed to cease at this command. The

men and women in the trees came down. A girl who looked a little older than Frank and

Alison came forward,

"Soldiers of the Crove it is us, the soldiers of Citrus." She said; when she was out

of the shadows Frank thought she was the most beautiful sight ever despite the dirt that

covered her face. He could not help but join the commander in the greeting of these

people.

"Charity?" started the commander, "but how…What are you people doing

here…Where is your father…Where is the rest of your town."

"First of all my father is dead. He was killed when the king's soldiers attacked

Citrus. Next we sent the rest of the town to the Crove. Last, we are here because we were

hunting the soldiers of the king; we thought you guys were them and so we attacked."

She replied.

"No need to remorse on your mislead killings. Your soldiers that we killed and

our soldiers that you killed died with honor said the commander.

The bodies were piled up and burned as they had no time to spare. Few words

were said but not took the dignity to speak; Frank spoke while Alison and Siege watched.

After the service Frank sought to introduce himself to Charity to keep his royal

reputation.

"I am Frank Satoney," said Frank as he held out his hand for a shake; when

Charity did not respond he quickly pulled his hand back and continued, "I am the son of

the future king of the Crove and I'm truly sorry to hear what happened to your father."

"Do not try to soften me with your pity because it won't work." Said Charity; as

she walked away she stopped in her tracks and said without even turning back, "And

since we are both leaders we should try to keep the way we speak to each other

professional."

Frank was taken back as he went back to bed. No matter how hard he tried to find

peace with God he failed. He had even started thinking that it was destined for him to

never find peace with God. No matter these thoughts he vowed to keep on trying.

We'll only have a week and three days left after our travel toady thought Frank. They

were traveling once more on the day after the funeral of the three hundred and fifty

soldiers who mistakenly died. It was a very hot day as they traveled up another mountain.

Siege had to keep on reviving soldiers that fainted so as to keep the pace flowing. Frank

still was not talking to Siege or Alison but he laughed at their jokes once in a while.

Frank joined the commander and Charity, still looking as serious as ever. He said

hello to the commander (he answered) and Charity (she did not).

"So where did you learn to fight?' asked Frank, thinking of nothing else to say.

"You have not even seen me in combat so why do you ask. Besides I said to keep our

meetings professional." Replied Charity.

"It was just a question of where you learned to fight" pressured Frank.

"Frank," started Charity, "I know what are trying to do because your friends told

me you would." Frank made a glance toward Alison and Siege who both looked away

quickly.

"They weren't professional were they?" he said.

"Well no but I keep things professional with you because we are both leaders and

imagine how I would look with you. I've been married three times and non of the

relationships worked out; what I'm trying to say is that your seventeen and I'm twenty

one." Said Charity; she looked at the commander who was trying to etch away and bid

him goodbye and without looking back at Frank again she said,

"Never give up though; you might get lucky."

That night Frank smiled at the thought of Charity's words 'You might get lucky'.

This thought brought some warmth in his stone cold heart. That night was still the same

as others; filled with laughter, the usual amazement at Siege's magic trick, a guffaw at

Alison's failed attempts, and claps at her achievements. Frank was still not conversing

with either Siege or Alison but he still occasionally conversed with the commander and

tried to catch the eye of Charity. After a while she sighed and picked up her sword.

"You wanted to learn where I learned to fight but first you'll have to se me fight."

She said, "I challenge you." She continued pointing at Frank.

Out of previous experience Frank picked up his blade quickly and made a slash

for Charity's legs. Charity blocked as quickly as Alison did, she then spun around and hit

Frank's back with the flat end of her sword. Frank fell to the ground as his back seared

with pain. Frank turned his body over knocking charity off her feet, he then quickly got

up but as he did this he tripped over a rock and fell once more. Charity got up and held

her sword to Frank's throat,

"Now that you and your clumsiness have failed to beat me, I think you deserve to

know where I learned to fight," she said; she helped Frank up and they both started

waking away from the Laughing soldiers. Before Frank could realize what was

happening, the sat down with Alison and Siege. Charity recounted the story before finally

answering Frank's question,

"My father taught me how to fight and as your friends told me too, it is true; you

need to be trained. As soon as we arrive at the Crove we shall begin your lessons."

"I would have thought that you would have improved but I stand corrected." Said

Siege; Frank ignored him and looked at Alison who nodded in agreement. He returned

his attention to Charity.

"Will you train me yourself?" he asked.

"No, you'll be trained by one of your friends, I'll keep my word; we are both

leaders and must act like leaders, but never give up on your quest, you might get lucky.

You must promise me that you'll have peace with your friends once more or else your

luck will falter." Replied Charity; she walked backwards for a while focusing her

attention on Frank. When she was just far enough for Frank to barely see her face he

thought he saw her wink at him; he knew at that moment that his destiny was to keep

peace and so he made a promise to renew his friendship with Alison and Siege.

The following morning Frank was focusing on the time left for travel, A week and

two days. Everything was peaceful that day so Frank was not so worried; he was

following what fate had in store for him. Then it was like a gust of wind knocked him off

his feet; the world had suddenly changed for him within just two moths of travel. Reality

struck Frank in the face as he remembered what his father once told him,

"You might got always get everything you want, but if you fail keep on trying

even after it seems that it's the end of the line."

I have to try to get this army safely to the Crove and after my training with Siege I

can continue with my quest to have peace with God, thought Frank. Frank rode his steed

up to the commander who was gazing to the bottom of the mountain that they were

descending.

"What is it?" asked Frank as Siege rode up beside the commander; Frank looked at

the bottom of the mountain to see two figures standing at the bottom of the mountain.

"It's the perimetroops, they stand guard at the borders of the Crove and make sure no

intruders get in." replied the commander.

"But there's only two, how are they supposed to destroy an army of intruders?" came

the sudden voice of Siege.

"You just made the mistake of many of our earlier intruders; you have to look around

more closely." The commander gave a wide smile; Frank looked closer to see a hundred

foot prints moving aside to clear a path.

"Their invisible!" said Frank amazed; as he said this the two visible soldiers moved

aside as well to let the army through. Frank was afraid that a soldier might attack since

they would not be able to be identified, however an attack never came as they left the

footprints and the two visible soldiers behind.

"We might never figure out how the sorcerers do this" said Frank.

"I'm not so sure about that," started the commander, "Your father has been talking

about sending you and Madam Alison to the Trop Efas, the safe port and the home to the

sorcerers."

Frank was awe struck, Trop Efas was a city filled with sorcerers. No one knew where

it was and why the sorcerers abandoned their old homes to go live their, but what struck

him the most was that no one ever found the city so how did his father know where it

was?

His thoughts faded as he noticed that they were no longer traveling across the

mountains but around them. Frank turned to ask the commander why ere they doing this

but the commander was already talking to Siege about their journey,

"…travel through here because we are shielded by the mountains from any attacks

from above; you see the mountains are too high to climb fro here on so the only attacks

can be made from through here, the Crove pass."

Frank was even more amazed now and he wanted to find out more about the Crove's

protections. I'll ask my father when I get to the Crove, Thought Frank. Frank had become

accustomed to the wilderness air so as he started to smell the air of human habitat again

he could not help but notice that there was an extreme difference; the wilderness had a

strong smell of grass and moss but the human habitation air smelled of smoke, iron and a

mixture of fabrics. The scent sickened him as he thought of how humans were slowly

destroying the planet for all living beings.

"That is the smell of home." Stated the commander; Frank disliked the smell but

could not deny that it was home.

That night Frank's tent was erected beside the commander's and two guards were

posted outside of each of their tents. Frank was a bit puzzled by this therefore he

confronted the commander whom he found conversing with Charity. Frank motioned

hello to her but did not get an answer so he just got to the point of his meeting.

"Why do guards have to be placed outside of our tents?" he asked.

"Sir Frank they are placed there for our protection. You see anyone with high ranks

not only has followers but also enemies." Answered the commander.

"Yes and I was just telling him that I would like my own soldiers to be guarding my

tent not just anyone I know nothing of." Came the unexpected voice of Charity.

"It will be done." Said the commander; as he did not move to do anything Charity

raised an eyebrow at him. The commander sighed and called in one of his guards and

ordered them to remove the ones posted at Charity's tent. As this was done charity got

upto leave the commander's tent and as she got to the entrance she grabbed Frank by his

hand and dragged him by his arm to her own tent.

"Stay out here." She said.

"Why?" asked Frank dumfounded.

"Just stay out until you're called in!" commanded Charity. Frank waited patiently

outside the tent until he heard Charity call him in. She had changed into a black night

gown with white silk on top. As Frank was about to ask why was he dragged into her tent

she spoke,

"The commander has informed me that you are going to Trop Efas within a week of

our arrival at the Crove. Your training with Siege will not continue afterwards."

"Why?" interrupted Frank. He wished for Siege to go with him because if he and

Alison were alone he was afraid that he might show his feelings for her and that this time

around she may kill him.

"He will be going with you to Trop Efas as it is where he was born but what I mean is

that I will train you personally on the journey there."

"So you're going too?" asked Frank with a sense of delight in his heart.

"Yes I am going, but I have different reasons of which you will know in due time.

Now we must not speak of this to no one; let it be a surprise for our arrival at the Crove.

Frank left her tent with many wonders in his head. No human should be able to have

to think this much, He thought.

Frank woke the following morning and thought, One week one day. His real worries

were not on getting to the Crove, but why was Charity going to accompany him to Trop

Efas. He decided to drop the matter until the right time to look into it came by.

As they were on their way to the Crove again Frank rode head to head with the

commander. They rode in silence until Siege, Alison, and Charity joined them. Frank did

not bother to say hello so instead he let Alison speak first,

"It seems that someone has a lot of explaining to do, Sir Frank."

"Or not," started Siege, "Charity told us everything last night; I guess we weren't the

only people who were hiding secrets."

Frank glanced at Charity who just stared back at him expressionless. He turned his

back on them all and looked at the grass.

"Relax its O.K with us since we were keeping secrets from you too. Frank you can

trust us from here on with anything you want, we're your friends and so we will take your

secrets to the grave if we must. The only thing we ask is if you do the same in return."

Said Siege; his little speech caused Frank to realize that these were his true friends, Siege,

Alison and Charity even though she ignored him sometimes. He turned back to face his

new crew when Siege asked,

"Will you be my best man at the wedding?" Frank was ready for this question and he

knew he could not deny even if he wanted to because of Alison's hard stare, Charity's

studying look and the many soldiers that were watching and waiting for him to give the

right answer.

"I accept."

The cheers of the soldiers never left Frank's ears as he gave his answer. That night as

the soldiers were erecting his tent Charity came by,

"No need to do that he'll be with me and some friends tonight." She said. The soldiers

stopped putting up the tent and left with disgust on their faces.

"What was that for?" asked Frank, "How do you expect me to fit in that small tent of

yours?"

"Does this look tiny to you?" Asked Charity; her tent was triple the size it was before.

Frank immediately guessed it to be the work of Siege. When he stepped inside he saw a

lump of sheets piled in the right corner of the huge tent and folded sheets in the left

corner.

"I didn't tell you to go in." stated Alison. Frank stepped out of the tent annoyed but

became confused once more as he stepped back into the tent at Charity's call.

"Have you forgotten of our customs in Norva?" came the voice of Alison from the

right corner of the room. He looked there to see Alison and Siege under the sheets.

"They must have slipped my mind." He replied.

"Well then I guess this will refresh your memory; Once a person agrees to be the best

man he and the wedding planner, which is now Charity, must stay in the same house of

the bride and the groom as they sleep together for the first time. The best man and the

wedding planner must guard the bride and groom from any jealous persons who think

that the wedding is a mistake." She said; as Frank remembered this he realized what he

placed himself in knowing that he himself was the jealous person in this case and at the

same time he had stand guard against himself.

"You're lucky that I'm here to keep him busy. If it weren't for me he would storm in

here and who knows what he might have done." Said Charity. As Alison and Charity

went back under their sheets Frank turned to Charity enraged he sat on the sheets in the

left corner of the tent and said,

"How do you expect to keep me busy?"

"Just meditate on your worries so they can come to pass. Sorcerers and sorceresses

have no problem with it. They just think on their problem and then it just seems to go

away quickly." Answered Charity; Frank looked at her with a confused expression

wondering how she knew so much about the sorcerers. As he was about to ask his

question she held her and out to stop him and said,

"Don't ask. This meeting is professional as all the rest we've had before and will ever

have; you'll know at the right time everything about me. You'll have to learn how to

follow instructions that are given to you by your elders. Not only that but you also must

sometimes listen to those you know little or nothing about, in this case you know little of

me…" her voice trailed off as Siege gave a loud grunting sound, "You shouldn't judge a

book by its cover Frank, but in this case you shouldn't judge me by my appearance."

Frank knew what was coming next; he was about to be lectured about who and who not

to trust.

"There's more to me that meets the eye." She walked over to Frank and placed her

hand around his throat but did not squeeze it, "I can be your worst enemy," she removed

her hand from his throat and unruffled his shirt, "But then again I can be your best friend.

You see there are many more things to a person than what they appear to be or what they

present to you. You must dig into their past to figure out who they truly are. Some people

may resist telling you this info so you must search for yourself; I for instance refuse to let

you know about me for reasons I will keep personal. With Garbatrix being ruler of

Garbodia it is hard to tell who you can trust and who you cannot; my tip is to follow your

heart."

"But I'm sure of who I can trust and who I cannot." Frank assured her; Charity

pinned him to the ground and quickly wrapped the sheet around him trapping him inside;

only his eyes were not covered so he was able to see. Frank tried to call for help but the

only sound that he made was somewhat like a hum.

"Well then how are sure I won't kill you?" said Charity calmly; she unwrapped him

and lay on the sheet beside him,

"You have to go find somewhere to sleep."

"What!" started Frank, "You told me I was spending the night here."

"You are; It's just that we are not wed so you'll have to sleep on the bare ground. I'm

sure that the bugs won't mind, they might love the company." Stated Charity; Frank lay

on the cold ground and hoped that the night would pass by without him being bitten by

anything.

Next chapter