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*Nova* -> RE: =AoA= The Annalist of Ackrum (2/10/2012 18:54:36)
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Part 1 Prologue
Chapter 4: The Protector
Vincent Staccato couldn’t go on with his story, in the middle of it; he had fallen to his knees as he tells Andrew about his past.
“By the time I found my way back to our campsite,” he said while losing his grip at keeping a steady voice. “Everyone was…; some tents were in ruins, others burned down. There was a huge pile of bodies at the center of our home.”
“We came here for safety and shelter. That’s how we came to know you, Andrew Ticlud…”
Andrew was silent, then he asks, “were you sure that no one was left?”
“I-I check for as long as I dared,” Vincent explains. “No one was left.”
“I was only able to pack a few of my possessions,” he listed. “My guitar, some food, and bits of my clothing; when I was done, I beat it out of there because I couldn’t stand their faces. Or in case the armies came back…”
Vincent stood up and walks away towards the exit that he was trying to leave before entering this story.
“You see, I could have saved them but I failed…” he tries to say back at Andrew in the most controlled voice he could.
Andrew watches him go out into the night without acknowledging that he hasn’t told him how he found Kite.
As the night breeze covers around the Bard, he sees Kite on the floor crouching next to the wall outside. Vincent continues forward to walk pass her. When he went right by her, she stood. Vincent watches her in the corner of his eyes and halts with his back to her.
“Please,” she said in one final attempt.
“When are you going to stand up for your own problems?” He says, reclaim his calmness.
“I can’t do it without your protection.”
“I gave you loads of chances.”
“I’m sorry, but it wasn’t enough. Please, you must stay with me.”
“I don’t have stay for anything. You almost killed me about ten thousand times. I am seeing no room for improvement at all.”
“I’m sorry,” she says again.
“You failed, you lost my confidence; you’re just a waste of space in this world. You’re worthless,” Vincent’s calmed mood suddenly changed into rage.
He started to walk farther away from her, but then she finally approaches him.
“You would rather see me dead in order to save your own skin? You just want to see me suffer as your revenge?” she pauses and shouts. “You’re no hero in my eyes; after all we been through, you rather run away from my crimes that I never intended to do?”
Vincent felt his heart stop for second right when she said ‘run away.’ Somehow, that made him think of how he run off from his Tribe in investigation but he actually should have forewarn his Elders.
They may still be alive if he did.
The Bard felt hollow inside but then he turns around in anger and faces her straight in face as his wound is fill with hatred.
“So, is that what you think of me?” He glared, which caused the girl to back up. Vincent smiled at that evidence of fear.
“I’ve already risk my life in helping you survives, I’ve took care of you when you were just a loner out in the fields, but I guess now that I’m giving up.” He laughs unrecognizable, and that scared the girl. Kite could have sworn she saw flames reflecting within his eyes. Then he sung to her slowly, one sentence.
“’First you’re wanted to me to stay, the next time you’ll share my hatred’.” He grinned in a scary way to her. “Don’t you just love it when you’re right? It was thrilling for me to tell the future...”
Vincent turns back around to start walking around the school. “You really don’t know what you’re saying? I’ve contribute to you a lot more than you did for me. See you around Kite.”
He disappears from sight when he walked into the overturn shadows of wild trees. Kite crouches back down in sorrow but Andrew went straight to comfort her.
“It’s going to be alright, Kite,” asked Andrew. “I’m still here.”
Kite whispers, “He’s my protector… he’s special.”
Andrew wasn’t sure if he should be upset for the lack of security he could provide compare to Vincent.
In a few hours, Vincent was called back on stage and congratulated for being the best guitarist. He, however, wasn’t that excited. His main goal was a success; which was pulling Kite away from him.
After all the cheers, a speaker announces, “And from all of us, we hope you aren’t too desperate from the break in your recent relationship.”
The microphone left his mouth and headed over to Vincent’s; to see if he has anything to say.
Vincent merely just sighed.
Vincent arrives at school the next day. It was going to be tough getting through the weekdays now without Kite and Andrew to accompany him. However, he knew it would be worth it to break their ties soon enough.
Still, the day went pass very dreadfully, but finally it was done. He heads on over to the local library but then he saw Kite there. He quickly reappears going back outside and to the far end of the library until he was away from her…
* * *
Late during that day, Kite decides to leave. She meets Andrew by the entrance and they leave together.
“Are you okay, Kite” Andrew asked when he realizes she was still depressed.
“Andrew, I should probably go home alone. I’m endangering you if you’re with me,” Kite suddenly said.
“But how,” Andrew asks.
“Because Vincent was my Protector and I need him for me to stay away from the dark. Now that he’s gone, I’m basically dead.”
“Listen, Vincent told me about his past,” Andrew exclaims. “I know that he’s a Bard.”
“He told you that?” she asked lightly without much of a shocking emotion. “That isn’t the whole story…”
“I know, he didn’t mention where you two met,” Andrew recalls. “I didn’t want to push him anymore.”
“Do you want to walk home together,” she interrupts so they don’t need to talk about Vincent.
Andrew was hoping for more on the topic, but said unsurely, “alright….”
He thought maybe he will get some solid information if he follows along with her. Maybe she will explain to him later. The two of them exits the library and into the night.
“Let’s walk around the school, it’ll be a shortcut for us,” Kite says more to herself.
Their school was really tall on one side and really short on the other. That was the outcomes of the second floor only existing on one side of the building. As the two walks around the shorter side, only they didn’t know they were being watched. From above on the roof, two figures stared down upon them.
“The Protector isn’t among them. It’s perfect.” One of them whispers as the two jumps down to them. Kite and Andrew were confused at the random appearances of falling people. They thought the two was going to break their feet but instead they land fine as though it was only a two feet drop.
The figures landed right next to their prey, the bigger one of the two grabbed Kite and held her hands behind her backside. The other figure held the boy by the chest. Andrew fought to throw the stranger off him but he was a lot smaller than the attacker. He gasps when he saw the man was holding a knife that points the tip at his throat.
“No!” shouted Kite. She tries to run to help but the one behind her held on tightly.
“Stop your struggling boy or I’ll kill you!” the big one shouted.
“Now, I am Skish and this is my partner.” The one who was holding Kite swings his head at the other figure.
“Don’t do it, leave him alone,” said Kite, staring at the immobilize Andrew, who was trying to move backwards against his bondage to stay out of the knife’s edge.
“Only if you cooperate, now I believe you know what we’re after. Your aura inside of you is vast. I hope your Protector has told you all about this.”
“Yes, he has. What do you want with it?”
“Hand it over, give it to us, and we’ll spare your little friend.” He inches the knife even closer to Andrew’s throat so that there was only a centimeter gap.
“But, I don’t know how to take it out,” Kite tried to explain.
The two figures look startle, but then their faces overturn to anger.
“She just messing around,” the one holding Andrew said. “She should have the will ability to remove it.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Skish spat. “We don’t have time to play; faking won’t help you, girl.”
“I told you, I can’t” she said as she struggles to release her energy.
“Do it or he dies”
“Master, let me kill the boy,” the servant suggests. “He’s nothing to us, plus it will trigger her anger.”
Skish immediately agrees, “Good idea.”
“No!” shouts Kite as she tries to rip her arms free.
The servant grips his knife more firmly. He brought it slowly over the boy’s neck to give Kite a little time to squirm. When the blade was over Andrew’s throat, he brought the knife upwards and struck back downward at Andrew’s flesh…
There was a cleave sound as the knife met its mark…
The servant was surprised at the effect. He looked down at the boy he was still clutching and saw a long board sword blocking his view. He looks along at the long sword. At where a normal blade’s handle should have been, instead was replaced with the butt of a guitar. The weapon was sticking out and outstretch from an instrument. He follows up the guitar to where hands were gripping the strap of strings. His eyes look across the hands and up the arms to see who the user was.
“Vincent!” Kite cheers but was soon breathless as Skish toss her onto the ground as he faces this new appearance.
The sword just barely reached the tip of the servant’s knife and prevents it from hitting Andrew’s throat. He rushes forward and swing kicks to separate servant from his captive. The Bard grabs Andrew away from the black figure by his collar.
“You have guts to just appear out like this, Mr. Staccato,” said Skish. “But you forgot one thing…”
He turns to his follower and was about to shout for him to take the girl and run but he was force to stop. Skish was catching the tune of a terrible tune that was starting to squeak loudly; making him unstable and numb.
In his psyched state, he watched as his partner forcefully shut his ears before he starts screaming. Skish wipes his mind until he was back into familiarity. The servant was pulling a knife out of his back. Behind him, the master saw the Protector in a position that he just thrown something. His guitar was flipped as though he was just playing a few notes and the sword has vanished.
“You attacked while distracting us with a bad tune?” said Skish asks Vincent, who gotten Kite by his side.
“I certain did,” said Vincent while Andrew and Kite hid behind him.
Skish laughs, “You think you can protect both of them by yourself? You are not a Protector of them both, you won’t save them.”
Skish ran forward at Vincent. Vincent gripped his sword tightly. He had known now that it will be hard to protect them both. So he stood his ground, as the black figure approached. Vincent blocked him, and slashed as he jumped over Vincent.
Skish swings attack Andrew with a shadow formed curve blade. Kite jumps in front of him as he approached. Skish quickly stopped his attack. He mustn’t kill Kite, for he still needed her. During his change of target, Vincent stabbed Skish through his back and into his heart.
Skish coughed up dark red blood while more escaped out of his chest. He stared down and looked at Vincent in anger before falling to his knees.
“I underestimated you.” Skish quickly lied.
“No, you should never take your eyes off the enemy. You deserve what you got,” taunted Vincent.
“I’m not finish yet!” Skish’s voice grew ever louder.
“What?” said Vincent as he steps back and got in front of Andrew and Kite. He watches as Skish roars and begin to fade away slowly, covering in darkness. Then suddenly he swung his arm forward bring huge dark spikes shooting from him in all angles.
The large thorns stuck his follower and Vincent; the rest zoomed away and vanishes without hitting a mark.
Both the victims of the attack fell backwards onto their back. When the dark thorn vanished, beneath left a huge wound, the remaining follower endures the pain before fading away, leaving strips of darkness that leaks into the air. As Vincent was falling, he was caught in the hands of Kite. One hand behind his neck, the other gripping his arm.
“Vin, no!” Kite shouts as she saw the depths of the wound.
Vincent gasps and was unable to get up. He watches as tear formed in her eyes...
“No” protests Vincent. “Don’t cry, be strong and heal me! Please Kite, I need you.”
“But I haven’t master it, what if I,” she said carefully.
“Be strong...” he cuts her off.
She lay him on the ground, and put her hands right above the wound. A mixture of pink and light blue light appeared there. She begins to push it forward to heal him.
Andrew was watching in amazement, but once again confuse as to what was going on. And he hates that feeling, but he knows it’s better to be quiet and still at this moment.
Vincent watches Kite struggle with the spell, he already known it’s won’t be enough. As her magic was shortly reducing, he pulled up his sword into the air. The sword slowly reformed into his personal guitar. Kite wasn’t surprised at this at all, but Andrew was watching wide mouthed.
Vincent brought the guitar right above his wound and begins to play it…
He plays out in a wonderful fantasy type theme…
“There are things in life you’ve to see. Cause out there somewhere
it’s all waiting, if you keep believing.”
“Just keep believing…” Kite whispers to herself. And then her magic seem to strengthen. Vincent felt it and sung louder in encouragement…
“So don't run… don't hide….It will be all right
you'll see, trust me”
“I will always be there, watching over you!” Vincent pauses to breathe.
“Just take a look. There has to be a better place somewhere out there.”
“Just take a look. Everything changes; you'll be amazed what you'll find. If you just a look,”
Kite starts to smile while Vincent grins shortly after.
“There will be times on your journey and all you'll see is darkness, but out there somewhere daylight will find you if you keep seeking.”
“So don’t run, don’t hide out.”
“Trust me, I'll always be there… watching over you.”
Kite whispers, “I trust you, Vin.”
“All the things that you can change, there's a meaning in everything. And you will find all you need, there's so much to understand”
“All you need to do is just take a look. There's a better place somewhere out there…”
Kite just noticed that the bloody wound was almost sealed. She was shock at her own powers. Vincent showed a little sign of pain and Kite quickly increased her heal farther.
“Everything changes; you'll be amazed what you'll find and all you need to do is look and believe.”
Kite finishes sealing the wound as Vincent finishes with one finally faded sentence.
“Just take look and seek…”
He stops playing.
“Thanks Vin,” Kite said weary.
Vincent gets up and says.
“No, you have my thanks, Kite,” said Vincent brightly. “I’m sorry, but it seems you do have the potential you need.”
“Vin… Why did you come back?” Kite wonders.
Vincent hesitates before answering, “I guess, I rather help then watch you die; same for you, Andrew.” He says to them both.
Kite jumps up and hugs him. “You truly are wonder. Thank you, master.”
Tomorrow, Vincent and Kite entered the school side by side. When they reached the end of the hall, Vincent suddenly stopped. It was so sudden that Kite thought that he died.
“Vincent? Are you okay?” Kite asks alarmed.
He pauses before reassuring her. “Yeah, I’m alright it’s just- don’t you feel that scent?”
“I don’t feel anything” Kite said.
“Never mind, just keep your eyes open more today. I feel something is flowing in this school…” Vincent saw that Kite was getting scared at what he was saying. “Don’t worry, it'll be okay. I'm here.”
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