Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson & Clover Chronicles ❯ Journey 4: The Secret of Stone Country ( Chapter 4 )

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Crimson and Clover Chronicles

By: Melissa Norvell

Journey 4: The Secret of Stone Country

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They had noticed Zazzie and finally found her out, sneaking around behind them. Now the girl had been lying on the ground, sound asleep, exhausted from her journeys through portals and helping Cella set traps in the forest. The blue-haired girl really wanted to keep following them, but her body grew tired and eventually, she could not help it anymore. She had to rest.

"Uh, kid?" Shizure questioned as she walked up to the sleeping girl. 'I can't believe that she followed us all the way to Stone Country. She must have run through the portal after us.' The woman thought to herself as she picked her up and carried her.

Feeling herself being bobbed up and down, as if she were on water more than solid land, the sleepy-eyed girl slowly stirred awake. "Huh? Shizure-san!" Zazzie called out in happiness as she threw her arms up.

"What are you doing here?" The maid glanced down at the happy princess. Her ever-present frown was apparent, showing her disapproval for the girl's actions.

"Going on an adventure with you, and now you have to take me!" It was all a part of an intricate plan. If Zazzie went through the portal with her sister, then there was no way that they could even get back to their castle if they tried. That was the true genius behind it.

"Well, I doubt anyone's going to go back on your account, so let's go," Shizure exasperated, carrying the girl back towards the group, who all seemed shocked that she was there, but happy that she was safe.

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A while later, the group had all managed to take shelter in a small house that seemed abandoned. They were all in one room as Shizure read a book to everyone. The knight, princess and her sister as well as Sulphur, listened intently to the story of true love as Shizure continued to read.

"As Masahiro watched his friend run away into the darkening sky, a single lonely tear ran down his cheek. His heart was filled with regret. The end," the blonde-haired maid finished reading the last of the literature as she took a drag off of a cigarette.

"Why would Masahiro's friend leave at sunset?" Gastov was a little confused by the ending of the story.

"What?" Shizure asked, arching her eyebrow. What kind of question was that?

"It is…how you say, illogical to start a long journey just as darkness begins," as a knight who had been on many missions, it was absolutely strange to him that someone would even think about going on a long adventure at night unless they were up to some shady business and with the things that lurked at night being around, Masahiro's friend was sure to die.

"Who cares what the sun was doing!" Zazzie looked a little irritated by the knight's criticism of the story. "He had to leave his one true love."

"Yeah! How can you ask a question like that at a time like this?" Sulphur had also been just as engrossed in the story as Zazzie. They both liked the story and found it romantic and sad, versus Gastov's cynical and critical view.

"Time like what?" The white-haired knight questioned. "I do not understand your emotions. It is just a story after all."

"Gastov, it's really sad that you weren't around when they were passing out feelings," the blue-haired princess told him as Sulphur tried to resist from laughing.

Gastov looked a little hurt. "I do have feelings," he told them simply before he exited the room. Soon after Teruna stood and glared at the two laughing allies.

"…and I think you two just proved it by hurting them," the wavy-haired princess told them and walked after her knight.

"Who? Me?" Sulphur joked as the two burst out in laughter again.

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Two village girls ran for their lives through the plains of Stone Country, screaming in fear as three giant boulders rolled after them, followed by a large Bull Terrier type dog composed of solid gray rock. Running as fast as they could, they tried to keep their footing but one of them fell flat on their stomach. The dog quickly blasted a beam out of its mouth and the fallen girl screamed, eventually being turned into stone.

The other girl managed to evade the rocks by jumping over a large hole in the ground. She barely made it across, her hands barely hitting the ledge as the two boulders tumbled in. She pulled herself up slowly and glanced around for anyone that could help her. She soon saw Teruna and Gastov, taking a walk and talking together peacefully.

The female ran towards the two, hoping that she would find some help somewhere, not only for her friend, but for her village as well.

"I have feelings. I just do not always express them at the drop of hat," Gastov explained to his princess. It didn't matter if it was just a stupid book; it hurt his feelings to know that the younger princess and Teruna's pet thought of him as heartless. They were two of the people he had sworn to protect and they thought of him so callously.

Teruna placed a hand on her knight's shoulder. "Don't feel bad, Gastov. They didn't mean it."

"Help! Help!" The both of them heard the girl scream as they turned their heads simultaneously to see her coming at them with a freaked out expression. "The Rock Dog! It's was terrible!" She shouted as she tried to stop but only managed to skid for a while before she had to hang on to the white-haired man's armor to keep herself beside of them. "He turned everything into stone. He made valleys into barren stony lands and Ouron the Rock Dog turned my friends…" Tears welled up in her eyes. "He turned my friends…into stone." The girl then fainted from exhaustion, causing the princess to catch her.

"I'm going to show that obnoxious rock thing a piece of my mind," Shizure walked up behind them with an angry look on her face.

"Everyone remain calm," Gastov stated.

"Calm? Calm? Only someone with no feelings can remain calm at a time like this!" Sulphur called out in a flurry in frustration. This was the second time Gastov said something that didn't make sense to him.

"I mean…We need a plan," the knight elaborated.

"I agree," Teruna nodded.

"But, we'd better find out what makes Ouron tick," Gastov instructed.

A few minutes later, the girl woke up in the princesses' arms. She slowly glanced from side to side as she heard them discussing the topic of Ouron. "Maybe we should ask Mr. Taigo, the village elder. I hope he didn't get turned into stone too."

"Just tell us where to go," Shizure looked to the girl with a serious expression on her face.

"It's alright, little girl. We won't let that walking stalagmite hurt you," the black bird landed on her shoulder.

"You can talk?" The girl was a little confused by it all.

"Of course," Sulphur looked to the tan-skinned girl with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

'First talking dogs made of stone and now birds…I feel like I'm in a dream.' The brown-eyed girl thought to herself. This was going to be a long day.

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The group decided to travel to the elder's house with the girl showing them the way. They cautiously made their way across the plains of Stone Country until they found a cozy little house on top of a hill. The dark-haired girl gave the door a knock before they were told that they could enter. When they all came inside, they were confronted by a man in Celtic-style robes with a long, white beard and equally long white hair that stopped at his hips.

"Oh, Yuuya!" His features lit up with surprise, and then he was even more astonished to see the group that came in behind her. He had never seen such people and judging by their clothing, they didn't come from Stone Country. "Hm? What are you folks doing here?" The elder glanced at the group of strange people.

"Have you heard of an Ouron the Rock Dog? He comes from somewhere in the Ouron Mountains," Shizure asked without introducing herself. She wanted to get straight to the point of the matter. Introductions will come later.

"I can't say that I have but…If he comes from the Ouron Mountains then you should probably ask the Mountain King. Just head for the mountains, you can't miss it!" The elder told them with an enthusiastic smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Taigo," Yuuya bowed to the man as they left.

"At least, I think it's the Mountain King…" The forgetful elder then requisitioned his prior thinking on the matter. He hoped that his advice had been right on his information. When it came down to it, there wasn't anything he could do about it now, other then leave the task up to Yuuya and the foreigners to take care of.

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Everyone began to advance through the mountain area, walking around; they could see many people of all types who had been turned into stone along the way. It was a haunting sight to see statues that had once been composed of flesh versus the stone that they now stood in, even the horror on their faces were frozen in time as their final moments were etched in stone.

"This is bad, alright," Sulphur flew around, examining the statues one by one.

"These are the Ouron Mountains," Yuuya stated as the group stood at the base of the mountain. Peering up at the monumental work of nature, they gazed at their surroundings. The mountain towered over them, and scaling such a large piece of stone would take a considerable amount of time.

"So, if we get there, we can find the king. Huh?" Teruna heard a crashing sound that was similar to boulders falling,

"What was that?" Zazzie glanced around to see where the source was coming from.

"Ouron the Rock Dog!" Yuuya called out in terror as everyone ducked behind a large rock as another village girl ran over the hillside, followed by large, turtle-looking rocks accompanied by the same large, Bull Terrier looking dog. As the girl ran by, Yuuya jumped out from her hiding place and attempted to go after the girl to try and assist her but she was quickly grabbed by Teruna.

"No! Don't! It's dangerous!" Teruna tried to warn but the girl struggled against her violently, slipping out of her grasp and running towards her destination. The princess watched in horror as the girl ran after her fellow village mate.

Soon, Yuuya caught up with the other girl and looked at her.

"Look out behind you!" Yuuya warned.

"Behind me? You think?" The other girl looked to Yuuya with an irritated look as the two of them then ran down a steep hill in an attempt to get away from the dog and his minions but they ran into a dead end and screamed in horror. Now they were pinned in.

The two girl's looked horrified as the dog jumped down, his front paws shaking the land as he landed in front of the two, nearly knocking them on the ground.

"Look," Ouron's voice boomed through the air, "two for the prince of one," the dog then counted as he blasted each girl with his yellow mouth beam and laughed in an evil manner. Everyone who had witnessed the incident gasped in horror.

"I'll deal with him!" Zazzie shook her fist and jumped out form her shelter of the rocks and headed over towards the laughing dog.

"Zazzie! Don't!" Her sister called out as the girl stopped and looked back at her.

"What? It's just a dumb ol' dog," Zazzie replied.

"Oh dear," Gastov didn't think it was a good idea.

"Hey you!" The light-blue haired girl pointed at Ouron, who turned and looked at her. "Yeah you! You walking stalagmite! You're a bad dog! Bad! Sit! Sit down right now!" Zazzie shouted but it did nothing more than amuse Ouron as a smile came across his hard face. "Bad! Heel! Lie down! Down!"

This was a mockery! Ouron burst out in laughter, as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever heard in his life. How could this little girl sit there and try to order him around? It was so cute that it was hilarious!

"She's blown our cover, damn," Shizure cursed the girl's insolence.

"Our only option is to run," Gastov replied.

"I think you're right," Teruna agreed.

"Hey! What's so funny, butthole?" Zazzie puffed up her cheeks and placed her hands on her hips. She didn't see what was so funny about any of it. She was serious.

"Come on Zazzie!" Teruna grabbed the girl around the waist and took off running. Her sister protested for a few moments but then calmed down, seeing as she had no choice but to go with them, leaving Ouron laughing hysterically.

"Sit! Bad dog!" Ouron called out in a fit of laughter as everyone fled the premises. Soon, he saw what they had planned and jumped to his feet. "After them!" He ordered his turtle-like rocks to go after the group.

As they ran, Zazzie fell behind. "Go on without me!" The cog-wheels in the girl's mind continued to roll on and on with upcoming ideas. She would show that rock dog how serious she was and back it up with a bit of magic that should provide enough time for everyone to get ahead to the mountain entrance.

"We're not leaving you!" Teruna called out as worry crossed her face.

"I'll draw them off and catch up at the mountains," Zazzie informed.

"I must protest!" Gastov he ran past her.

"Here I come!" Zazzie quickly ran in front of the rocks and brought her hands up in the air as a small swirl of water appeared in them, growing in form. "Here's water in your face!" The girl called out as she brought her arms down, until they were in front of her and a blast of water shot out, consuming the ground and blasting both Ouron and his rocks with water. "See, I'll wash 'em away with a small monsoon and I'm out of here. Learning magic from the master mage paid off," the girl smirked at her own victory.

The rocks soon came right through the water, as if nothing happened and they weren't hurt in any way, aside from being a little wet.

"Um…" Zazzie didn't know what to think now. "Come to think of it, it takes a long time for water to erode rocks." The girl felt very stupid. She tried to run but ran into Ouron's giant paw and fell down.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Ouron looked down on the girl. "I didn't think you were headed anywhere. In fact, you'll be here quite a while."

Zazzie turned to run but she was soon blasted with the golden beam, turning into stone in the process.

"Shit!" Shizure cursed as she saw the event unfold in front of her.

"Oh no…" Teruna looked down sadly at the loss of her dear sister.

"That rock thing is going to be sorry that he messed with Zazzie!" The maid swore.

"We'll be turned to stone if we help her. We should save ourselves," Gastov told everyone what he thought, was the best advice for the team.

"How can you go off and leave our Princess?" Sulphur questioned, a little angry that a knight, someone who was supposed to be so loyal to the royal family, would leave her when she was in most dire trouble.

"What do you expect from someone who has no feelings?" Shizure crossed her arms, also angry with the knight's decision.

"No, he's right. We have to go." As much as Teruna didn't want to, she knew that getting to the Mountain King was their best bet if they wanted to save her sister and everyone else of Stone Country. Shizure looked on to see the rocks coming towards them in a hurry.

"Well, whatever we do, we'd better snap to it," she told her team mates as they all took off running.

Sulphur flew ahead until he was close to Gastov. "You know, I think that Princess Zazzie had something," the black bird turned around and stared down the rocks. "This one's for you, Princess!"

"Sulphur! Don't!" Gastov called out but the bird would not listen to his words.

"Hey! Rock for brains! Bet you can't catch me!" The bird teased as the rocks charged at him. He then teleported to a few feet away on the other side of them, taunting them. "Hey, over here, retards!" The rocks charged at him again and his disappeared just in the nick of time. He repeated the process about three more times before everyone started to run off.

"He's drawing them off! Let's go!" Gastov instructed as the group left and headed for the mountain.

Sulphur appeared for the ninth time. "This way!" He appeared at the edge of a large cliff. They charged at him and he reappeared on the other side and said the word 'earthquake' as the ground shook violently and their combined weight on the cliff's ledge caused them to fall into the chasm below.

"I hope Sulphur is okay," the wavy-haired princess said with worry as she ran as fast as her feet would carry her.

The black bird teleported beside of her, "I'm sure he's fine."

"Sulphur! You did it!" The girl's features turned to those of shock before they lit up in happiness.

"Well, rocks aren't the most intelligent things around. That's why they have so many sayings, you know, like as dumb as a box of rocks," Sulphur joked as they came to a green hill.

"Now, all we have to do is find the Mountain King," Shizure informed.

"Mr. Taigo said if we came here, we couldn't miss him,Teruna told everyone, hoping that she was right.

"Greetings!" An elf called, standing on the ledge of the mountain, dressed in monochromatic purple, edged with golden trim. "I…am the Mountain King."

…To Be Continued…