Legend Of Dragoon Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Dragoon II ❯ Aftermath ( Chapter 15 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
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Chapter 15) Aftermath

Orrin and Rashe'm walked through the streets of the burned city. They had already passed the castle, where the rest of the knights, including Shel, went back inside to report back in and make sure the Queen was safe. As Orrin and Rashe'm walked, they traversed the city weilding their weapons at their sides, in case any more robed men remained, even though they doubted it. But, they reasoned that it was better to be safe than sorry, so they searched the burned buildings for Al.

It was difficult looking for Al, since there were so many homes on fire, but the three eventually met up as Al, covered in soot and had a few singe marks on his clothes, but overall completly fine, rushed out of a burning house near the edge of town carrying two little children. He had immediatly been greeted by a desperate mother, who rushed up to him, hugged him tight enough to make him pop, and then took her two children in her arms, thanking him all the while. The two came up to the scene, snickering at the sight of Al, but Rashe'm was the louder of them. Al came up to them, in surprise rather than being upset by being teased. He said, "So, did ya both kill that thing, the Mirage.... or whatever it's called." Rashe'm replied, "Yes, the VIRAGE is gone. I told it if it didn't leave, I'd give it a spongebath, with you as the sponge. It died of a heart attack." Neither Orrin nor Rashe'm could keep their composure anymore. They had planned that while they were trying to find Al, and they just had to laugh when Al looked at them with a funny expression.

As all three walked back to the castle, Orrin and Rashe'm told Al what really happened, and each filled in for the other as one got tired of talking, back and forth, exchanging many times. When Orrin described the battle, it seemed dreamy and figmented, but Rashe'm told it as if it were a funny joke. Al hadn't minded, they were together again. So, all the way back to the castle, they talked, and talked, still talking as they entered the main foyer door, but they silenced when they realized that the Queen was there waiting.

The Queen began talking when the three came to a stop. "I don't know how to say this enough. Thank you, all. You have not only saved the country from the basilisk, but you rescued Deningrad in a perilous time. You have all proven yourselves heroes, but now is not the time for that. I'm sure you are all worn out, except maybe for you, Rashe'm. You've been sleeping since you got here." Rashe'm had barely been paying attention, because this was the first time he was consciously inside the castle, so he decided to look around. He only snapped back into attention when he heard his name, that and when Orrin nudged him. The Queen continued, "Is there anything that we can do for you, since you have done so much for us?" In a line, the three responded, starting with Rashe'm, "Food!", then Orrin, "Sleep." Last was Al, who said, "A bath." The Queen nodded to each of these, afterwards saying to each one in turn, "Go to your room, and I'll have someone in the kitchen bring you some food. You know where the beds are, and I wish you a good night's rest. The bathing rooms are down the hall to your left, take a right, follow the hallway, and it's the third door on your right. If you want, we can accomodate you with some new clothes, since your's seems to be extremely sooty." Al replied to the Queen, "Okay, thank ya. I'll just have to get a new uniform when I get home."

Orrin and Rashe'm took the hallway to the right and Al took the one to the left after the Queen said, "Sleep well tonight, for tomorrow, we must discuss some difficult matters." Rashe'm said cheekily under his breath, "Goody, something to look forward to." They both returned to the room, and each took their beds, Rashe'm had to guess, but Orrin told him where. Orrin began to feel sleep as soon as he laid down, but Rashe'm remained wide awake. Sleepily, Orrin wanted to ask Rashe'm something, "Hey, Rashe'm. Are you going to keep the Dragoon spirit? I mean, when you get back to Heidra, what would you be able to use it for?" Rashe'm sat considering a moment, be he replied, "I haven't really decided what I could use it for. Maybe, when I get back, I could use it to travel the rest of the world, see things no one else has. I'm not totally sure though." Orrin didn't say much after that, because he had fallen asleep withing minutes.

The next morning, around noon, Orrin finally woke up, feeling exhausted. The deeds of early that morning were catching up to him. He looked over to Al's bed, where Al laid, wearing his new clothes, which actually looked like his old clothes, but made with a richer fabric. He turned his head the other way to Rashe'm's bed, only to find it empty. Groggily, he got out of his bed, and stumbled out the door. Following the hall, he found himself at the main foyer, with the statues of the former Queen and the Sacred Sisters. Rashe'm stood there, in front of the statue of Miranda, looking at the crumbled hand of the statue. He walked up to Rashe'm saying, "So, I guess the Silver-white Dragoon spirit really was in the statue's hand. That solves that mystery." Rashe'm said, "I know. I couldn't sleep at all this morning, so the Queen gave me a tour, explaining the statues." Mentioning the Dragoon spirit made Orrin remember that Al still had the white stone. He figured that it would be handed over to the Queen, since they would have to leave for home soon.

Orrin and Rashe'm remained in the foyer, still looking at the statues when Al came lumbering down the hall. He greeted the two saying, "Good morning, chums. What's for breakfast?" Rashe'm turned to Al, replying, "Breakfast came about three hours ago. You can go to the kitchen later, because the Queen asked me to take everyone to see her when you two finally got up." He said the last part pointing at Al and Orrin. As Rashe'm began to lead them all to the ceremonial chamber, Orrin asked Al for the white stone, to hold onto. Al willingly agreed, digging into his pocket, retrieving the stone, and dropping it into Orrin's hands. Walking on, Orrin followed, examining the white stone, the same way he had done long before when he first saw the red and purple ones.

The three finally got to the ceremonial chamber, greeted by the Queen, wearing a different set of her fine coats. Two knights that had stood inside the chamber left, shutting the door behind them. The Queen began, "Good, you're all up. I must talk to you very seriously now. With the major destruction last night, it will take a long while before we are able to hold our own again. It wouldn't be so bad, but I fear that the spreading news of the attack last night will cause a great commotion. I have heard that the countries will start blaming each other as to who's responsible, and everyone's too fearful to listen to reason. If things go a little bit wrong, there will be an entire continental war. I tell you all this to warn you to be cautious on your trip." With that, Orrin approached the Queen, holding the Silver-white Dragoon spirit and saying, "If we're going to be leaving, I guess you'll want to hang onto this." He put the stone into her open hand, but she quickly returned it saying, "No, it's just the opposite, the stones are in your protection now." She opened her other hand, revealing the purple stone, which she also put into Orrin's hands. Orrin meanwhile stood there in confusion.

The Queen was forced to explain, "With growing tensions, and the attack, the Dragoons are needed again. The attack of the robed men, the Soanites, and the Virage appearance is no accidents, it was planned. So far, Rashe'm seems to be the only one capable of using the Dragoon's power, but we need the others as well. Plus the fact that the Dragoon spirit actually chose Rashe'm means that the Dragoons are needed. As legend goes, there were originally seven, but then an eighth was created by the death of the Divine Dragon. You already have three, which means that you must find five more stones and the seven others worthy of the Dragoons." All of this buzzed around Orrin's head, but Al and Rashe'm seemed to understand just fine. Orrin had mixed feelings again, happy that he was still able to be with his friends, but sad that he couldn't go home now.

The Queen continued, "I currently know the rumored locations of two of the Dragoon spirits. Both are in Serdio, one in the Indels capital, Bale. The ancient king, Albert, was put into epics for being a Dragoon, so that's a good place to start. I have sent an envoy ahead of you so that they would expect you. Once you find out about the Dragoon spirit there, there is a town close to the continent's border, called Seles. It's a bustling little city, since its popularity grew after the Second Campaign. I don't know which ones are supposed to be in the towns I have told you about, but I wish you well in finding them. After you find them, I want you to return. In your absence, I will do more research in history as to the locations of the other spirits." Then the Queen added, "Serdio is very south of here, and I have arranged transport for you in Furni. You will be taken to the port just north of Bale. You are free to go now, and I have scheduled the transport for next week. If you leave the day after tomorrow, you will make it to Furni with a day to spare."

All three turned to the door, but then Orrin turned back towards the Queen, he needed to ask her something. He placed the two stones from his hands to his pockets, and then approached the Queen and asked, "Is this going to take a long time?" The Queen replied, "I assume so. It's not easy traveling the entire continent, and you just may have to do so." Before Orrin turned to leave, he added one more thing. "Could you send a note to my mother in Dranc that I'm not coming home just yet? I was supposed to come back after delivering the Dragoon spirits, but I guess that's not an option now."