Second Glance: Untold Stories

Chapter Eight: The Beginning

"Get out of my damn way!" John Coltin pushed a young beggar away. He cursed under his breath, muttering things about how the streets were being dirtied by these indecent people. The child gasped and fell on her knees, and she immediately crawled away. "You see, Axis! This is why our family is the rightful heir, because that Tristan does not get rid of these rats! It's shameful!"

Eight-year old Axis nodded and didn't say a thing. He looked at the young beggar out of the corner of his eye. He flinched—the young boy wanted to help her, but he knew he would get into trouble for it.

John Coltin saw his expression. He said, "Compassion is for fools, don't lag behind."

Axis nodded again and raced up to meet his uncle's pace.

…

"Our plans can't be foiled. Tristan's bastard must be killed."

Axis's lips were pressed into a thin line, and he did nothing but nod to his uncle's command. He had seen a picture of the woman—her name was Mina. It was rumoured that she was in Alberta, and the king's troops were already on their way to explore the city. His uncle wanted the priestess assassinated before the royal army found her.

Before the royal army arrived at Alberta, Axis had sent himself there. He knew it was probably an impossible feat to find the princess. Of course, she was probably being hidden very well. That's why, imagine his shock when he found her, just sitting on a bench and vulnerable to the world.

He had spoken to her, and they chatted about nothing in particular—Comodo, Juno, the likes. She had such a bright smile to her face, so innocent, as if she didn't have a worry in the world. And as Axis glanced at this face of hers, he knew he didn't want her suffer the way he was suffering.

Since Mina wasn't accounted for (something Axis was thankful about), Axis was the rightful heir to throne. He was called the 'puppet prince' since his uncle dictated everything to him. Nobody knew why, since they all knew he was a good man. But when his uncle turned his back, Axis did all he could for the people. And when his uncle passed away, he was the only one who mourned. That was how good a person he was.

…

"Haven't you figured it out yet, Axis? You're going to die! Axis, you're going to die!"

Axis stood still. He looked at the sobbing sage with an unexplainable expression. The rain throbbed against their skin. Violent fell down on her knees and put her hands on the ground for support.

"Violet," Axis crouched down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine. I'm not going to die. Let's go back to the castle, you need to rest."

The sage looked at him, not trusting his every word. But she nodded and stood up, following him back to the castle.

…

Scarlet, Maki and Cain were discussing their plan of action before they left. Mina was also with them even if she wasn't going to come along. They spoke in hushed tones and were straight to the point, and even Cain could see that Scarlet and Maki weren't making eye-contact.

Cain liked this. It was quick and simple with no unnecessary inputs. People should get into arguments more, he thought.

"Where the hell is the damn Axis! I thought he was supposed to come with us!"

"Ah…" Mina looked sheepish. "I'll go check on him."

"No need. I'll go and hit him in the head," Scarlet said as she stomped off to the King's chambers. Mina and Cain eyed each other, and then they stared at Maki.

Maki seemed taken aback. "What!"

From the hallway, they could hear Scarlet yell, "Rai, where's the King!"

Silence. Then Rai yelled back, with just as much intensity, "I think he's still in his bedroom! Why are we yelling! Hey, hey, you shouldn't just barge, only I can do that—!"

Silence.

And then, Rai's hearty laugh filled the whole place. Scarlet was speechless. She was planning to bash Axis's head in, but instead, all she could do at the moment was stare. There on Axis's bed was Violet. Axis, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.

Scarlet stomped her way back to the rest of the group. Following her was Rai, who was giggling hysterically. Scarlet was muttering, "I'm going to kill him, I'm going to rip his head off and…!"

"What did you see, Rai?" Maki asked his friend, purposely ignoring Scarlet.

"We saw Violet. We didn't see Axis," replied Rai swiftly.

"I'm right here."

They all looked towards the direction of the voice. There was Axis. He looked so tired, as if he didn't get a night's sleep. "I was discussing emergency plans with the army. And, no, Scarlet, nothing happened."

Rai was still giggling. "What did happen?"

Axis gave a weak smile. "She refused to let me get out of her sight for some reason, so I let her stay over at my room. I left the minute she fell asleep, though. Like I said, I've been planning with the army."

Scarlet still had a frustrated expression, but she said nothing else. Of course, nobody missed the way she glared at Axis. Just to get rid of the tension, Mina asked, "Why were you planning with the army, Axis?"

"The rebel army from the north," answered Axis. "We've been getting reports that they're moving… there's a chance they might attack while I'm away. That's all."

When Prince Michael the Third was alive, he had angered the people from the northern lands. He had been known as a selfish Prince, crushing those who didn't give him what he asked for. There was a time that Prontera was going through a famine, and Prince Michael had demanded for food stock. The Northern people were also going through a famine and had to decline—enraged, Prince Michael had sent troops, who had attacked a farming town. This had caused a war, something which Axis has been trying to fix. Still, the war had been going on for so long that conversations were no longer listened to.

"Should you really go, Axis?" Mina asked gently. "It seems the city needs you."

Axis shook his head. He couldn't meet Mina's eyes, as if he was hiding something. Everyone noticed this. Axis said, "I've already decided to come along. Don't worry."

Mina looked like she wanted to say something else, but Scarlet suddenly moved and she was caught by surprise. Confused, Mina looked around and realized that Scarlet was no longer around—she had cloaked herself. The High Priestess looked at Cain with an inquiring face. Cain shrugged and nodded his head towards the direction of Axis's room. Sure enough, Violet came strolling out in the hallway, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Whose room was that?" Violet asked in a cheerful voice as she tilted her head to the side. "The bed was amazing. I wouldn't mind staying there again."

"That was my room," said Axis. "Don't you remember anything from last night?"

Violet blinked and shook her head. She glanced at Maki and back at Axis. "Oh my, I didn't kiss you too, did I?"

This caused Maki to sputter. He didn't know that Violet remembered that incident, since she acted like she was so clueless right after. Rai started laughing hysterically, and then something hard—Scarlet's foot—hit her ankle and she gave a sharp yelp. The gypsy glared at an empty space beside her.

Axis stared at Violet, biting back a smile. "No, you didn't kiss me."

…

Just South of Prontera, a distance away from the high gates, an attack was being planned. A few hundred men itched for battle, their weapons ready to hit human skin. Their expressions were all disgruntled as a tall, rugged blacksmith riled them up for the battle that was to come. The blacksmith, the apparent leader, spoke in loud yells, effectively getting the attention of all the men.

"It is the day for revenge, my men!" he yelled, waving his huge axe in the air. "These bastards will finally pay for the lives they took so many years ago up until this very day. We will avenge our brothers and sisters, our children who had no warning about the cruelty—all of them were killed for one city's greed. What do you say, men!"

The men cheered and cursed; some yelled battle cries.

"I will not lie… the Prontera forces are strong. Lives will be lost from both sides. But do not be afraid, for our cause is righteous!"

More yells. Somewhere in the back, a middle-aged man joined in the cheering, but his hands were shaking from nervousness. He had heard rumors about one of the Generals—a Paladin who managed to rise the ranks because of trust from the King himself. And aside from sheer power, he also had the ability to outwit most enemy troops in the blink of an eye. Five years ago he was the lone soldier who foiled the plans of the rebel group camping on the outskirts of Prontera. Today, he was one of the most trusted Generals.

After the leader gave his last call for preparations, he separated himself from the crowd and nodded his head towards an Assassin Cross who was leaning against a tree. It was Seth, and he looked impatient.

"Is this going to work—tricking these fools to being our bait?" Seth asked the blacksmith.

The blacksmith shrugged. "It's all we got. The boss says they're good enough, and the supply of fire arm we've given them should make the right push."

Seth sighed. With a shrug, he stood up straight and started to brush off the dirt on his shirt. The blacksmith had his eyes transfixed on Seth. By raising his eyebrow, Seth inquired what he wanted.

"Seth," the blacksmith started. "Did you take the pendant?"

"No. No, I did not."

…

From within the castle walls, the King and his companions were finally ready to leave. Mina, Violet and Rai were there, bidding farewell to the group. Scarlet wasn't with them. Everyone but Violet knew she had probably gone ahead to meet her team in a place her sister wouldn't see her.

Cain was looking around the place. Finally, he tilted his head (an unconscious action) and asked Mina, "Where is Cheska?"

Mina blinked and realized that she hadn't seen his little sister for a while now. "I'm so sorry… do you want me to look for her?"

Shaking his head, Cain shrugged. "She might've just wandered off again. Just tell her we already headed off."

"Oh!" Violet suddenly cut in. She gave Cain a huge grin. "Are you looking for the noisy, little girl? She went to the market, something about getting a 'going-away-present' or so! Oh, oh, and I asked her to fetch me some sweets, too! I rather love the caramel a—"

Before Violet could finish her sentence, a loud explosion resounded through the whole city. The explosion was so strong that the ground shook, and Violet gave a sharp yelp as she tripped right into Rai, who gave her own high-pitched shriek as they both fell into the ground. Cain held Mina by the shoulders to prevent her from falling forward, and Maki had to take hold of a nearby pillar. Castle servants all around them were making panicked screams.

With an expression of terror and shock on his face, Axis threw open the nearest window. He peered outside, towards the city, and could see that a thick black smoke was rising to the sky. It was originating from the center of the city, where the main roads intersected and tourists came to see the grand fountain of Prontera. Yelling and shrieking could be heard from the distance.

"Cain…!" Mina called, but she was too late. Cain was already headed towards the castle exit, no doubt to look for his sister. His face was furious, his brows knitted together.

Maki reached out and grabbed Mina's wrist, since she was just about to follow after him. The High Priestess looked frightened. She had no idea what was going on—none of them did. She would feel much safer if she was next to Cain, not because he could protect her, but because she would know if he was hurt or not. Mina stared at the hand grasping her wrist and then at Maki's face, her eyes asking him to let go.

"It's too dangerous," said Maki. He looked at the King, who was now shaking his head at the scene before him and was collecting his thoughts. "May I have permission to head to the area?"

Axis thought about it for a while. His mind seemed to be in a maze. Finally, he said, "Yes, yes. Please hurry."

Letting go of Mina's wrist, Maki followed off towards the direction Cain went. Rai and Violet were staring out the window. Rai was going on and on about what kind of bastard would do this, and Violet was unmoving, her expression unexplainable. Axis could see that her eyes were almost blank, as if she wasn't really looking at the scene before her.

Just outside, a group of soldiers ran up to Maki when they saw him exit the royal gates. All of them wore frantic expressions. Behind them, the Paladin noted that Scarlet was standing on the high wall, her hand perched on a concrete statue for support. Her face looked pale but serious as she looked down at him, as if she were awaiting his next action.

"Scout the area!" ordered Maki to the soldiers. "First priority is the citizens. Get the injured to safety, and clear the area of citizens. Does anyone have a damage report?"

A nearby soldier, who was panting in exhaustion, raised his hand. He had just come from place in question for the sole reason of reporting what he had seen.

"The… the rebels from the North are here. Captain Griggs was near the area and has engaged with them, along with some troops…" the soldier panted. "…some civilians have also joined in. Many are injured."

As he said his report, yet another explosion resounded. It came from the east. The rebels had targeted the church this time. Maki ordered the soldier to go straight to the King and repeat his report, and he sent off the rest to rush into the city. As soon as the soldiers departed, Scarlet leapt down from the wall and landed in front of Maki.

"Cain rushed passed by me. He headed towards the explosion," stated Scarlet.

Maki gave a nod. "I know. His sister was in the market. What are you going to do?"

Raising an eyebrow, Scarlet stated simply, "I am going with you, what else?"

Without asking any questions, Maki shrugged and went off towards the town center, where the first explosion had gone off. He guessed that most of the fighting was going on there. As they ran, they passed many frantic people. Mothers were gathering their children and pushing them towards their houses. Many children were crying. A number of people were yelling, some were running towards the same direction as Maki and Scarlet. They passed by some soldiers who were trying to calm the citizens down, and some were tending to some people who were injured and had been carried from the area of the blast. As they got nearer and nearer to the city center, the yelling got louder and rubble littered the streets.

The fountain was destroyed, its debris scattered all throughout the place. The city soldiers were outnumbered, but they still put up a fight against the rebels. At the corner of his eye, Maki could see the captain that the soldier had mentioned before—he was engaged in a battle with a burly knight. Indeed, some civilians had joined in the fight, no doubt trying to protect their homes. Nearby, a child could be heard crying as she searched for her mother.

A blacksmith recognized Maki quickly, and came charging towards him, his axe in the air. With a yell, he swung his weapon at Maki, who quickly dodged it and unsheathed his sword, slicing the man across the chest. The blacksmith fell to the ground, clutching his chest and yelling in pain.

"Cain!" Scarlet yelled. "Cain! Over here!"

Maki looked towards where Scarlet was yelling. Cain was standing on the roof of one of the low buildings and was scanning over the area. He looked at Scarlet quickly. Cain was hissing something under his breath, curses no doubt. Without saying a word to Scarlet or Maki, he rushed off again, jumping from rooftop to rooftop before he was out of their sight again.

Scarlet blinked, slightly impressed—Cain clearly cared so much for his sister.

"I'm going to help him." Scarlet faced Maki. "I don't care about your people, but I have a debt to pay to Cain."

Maki wore a frown after what she said, but knew it was not the time to get into the topic of her apparent heartlessness. The Paladin didn't even respond to her, just nodded his head and left her there staring at his back. Scarlet watched as he ran towards the crying child who was in the middle of all the fighting and she knew he was going to take her to safety before joining the fight. As he ran towards the child, he kicked a knight who tried to attack him, sending the knight crashing into heaped pile of stone.

Jumping up to the rooftop Cain had been on earlier, Scarlet headed off.

…

Back at the castle, severely injured people were being taken into the courtyard, and the royal priests and priestesses tended to them. Usually they would have been sent to the church, but as the King had learned, that had also been blown up.

Axis watched as Mina helped and was tending to an old man who had a large wound on his leg and was howling in pain. Rai was playing a song that helped the healers, making their stamina increase. Now and then a soldier came up to the King to give him an update about the battle. He learned that the rebels were decreasing in number, and that their biggest damage so far had been the explosions they had set off earlier. It had no warning and had involved many innocent people. And, after the church explosion, another one had gone off—this time by the houses by the southern part of the city.

The King wondered how they got into the city. He was sure that the guards that stood by his gates would have noticed a group of that size suddenly entering. He was sure they would have looked suspicious, carrying that much explosives. Axis stopped that train of thought quickly. He had no time for that—he had to think for the present.

It was no use, though—he couldn't exactly think straight. He hadn't slept in more than a day, and his body was ready to give up on him. In frustration, he ducked into one of the empty rooms (the castle had many) and leaned against the wall, exhausted. He closed his eyes and felt himself sliding down the wall, until he was seated on the floor, his back still resting on the concrete.

"Oh, Axis," said a familiar voice. "Are you alright?"

The King opened his eyes and found Violet looking down at him. She must have followed him there.

"I am. I'm alright." Axis forced a smile at her, and it looked painful.

Violet walked in front of him and sat down, peering into his face. Her expression looked naïve, as if she had no clue that there was a riot going on. She said, "Do you want to rest? You should rest even just for a while."

Axis forced another smile. He didn't even bother telling her that what she suggested was exactly what he was doing before she came in. Axis blinked—Violet had gingerly reached her hand forward and rested it on his face. She placed it near his ear, and smiled at him softly as she massaged his temple with her thumb. Axis gave a soft sigh and closed his eyes, leaning against her hand, getting the little rest he could.

"It is coming near," Violet said. "You must be careful, Axis. I do not believe that death can save lives. Only a living person can save lives."

The King didn't respond.

…

Another painful yell came from another rebel as Maki succeeded in bringing him down with a blow of his sword. Beads of sweat were forming on Maki's forehead and he was breathing heavily. There seemed to be no end to the rebels, and most of them just kept standing upright again once fallen. More explosions had gone off, and Maki wondered how long they could keep this up—he could see that some of the Prontera soldiers were starting to lose hope.

A distance away, Maki could see the form of a person forming. It was difficult to really get a clear view since the air was polluted with smoke and dust. The person was walking slowly, and as he got nearer, it became more visible to Maki who it was.

"Seth!" yelled Maki. "Seth, you bastard!"

Maki ducked as a flash of light passed by him; some strands of his hair got caught and were instantly burned to a crisp, and at the corner of his eye, he saw a fellow soldier engage the wizard who had tried to bring him down.

Seth came into clear view now. He was carrying an unconscious child in his arms—Maki couldn't believe it at first, but it was Cheska. The Paladin wondered why he had the girl.

"Is your guild involved in this, Seth?" Maki hissed. He had half the mind not to come charging at Seth, in fear of harming Cheska.

With a smirk, Seth flipped his hair playfully. "Who knows?"

Maki stared at him, half glaring, as he approached. For some reason, those involved in the battle around them refused to interfere, even though the two of them seemed to have their guards down. They all knew who they were, and most were curious as to what their conversation was about.

"Here you go," Seth said in a sing-song voice as he handed Cheska to Maki, who took her quickly into his arms. "Poor child got caught beneath some rubble. Don't worry, she fainted more out of fear than anything else."

The Assassin Cross turned his back on Maki. He was stretching his arms in the air and yawning, as if nothing was going on. Maki kept silent as he watched Seth walk away. The Paladin was furious—he couldn't believe he used to trust this guy—this person whom his best friend was still in love with.

Seth cocked his head and turned to look at Maki. "You'd better prepare. It's only just begun."

As he said that, another explosion went off—Maki's eyes widened in horror.

"The Palace!" gasped a soldier behind him. With that, Seth disappeared.

…

Scarlet was still looking for Cain's shadow when she heard the last explosion. She stopped in her tracks and looked behind her. Smoke had erupted into the sky again, this time it came from the Palace. The safest place in the City had been brought down. This was what told Scarlet that whom they were dealing with weren't just the amateur rebels from the North. Those rebels grew up as farmers, never capable of this feat.

She growled and headed off again. This time, it didn't take her too long to find Cain. He was standing in an alley, his weapons in his hands, and was surrounded by five men—three Assassin Crosses and two High Wizards. As soon as Scarlet saw their faces, everything was crystal clear to her.

They were all members of the guild they had left. Of course they had something to do with this mess. It just made much more sense now. And, the last explosion was at the Palace—their true target. Everything else had been a decoy.

Cain stared as Scarlet stepped down beside him. She had her weapons in her hands too, ready to fight.

One of the High Wizards gave a laugh. "Now, this is a sight to see. The two traitors are here."

"It's a sight to see, alright," muttered Scarlet. "Never thought we'd ever be fighting like this."

Before Cain could reply (not that he was going to), Scarlet stared at him.

"What's the plan, Cain? After we dispose of these guys, are you going back to the Palace, or are you going to continue your search for your sister? Will it be Mina or your sister?"

Cain was staring at her placidly, but Scarlet could swear he had an expression that made it seem like the answer to her question was the most obvious thing. He said, "I'm going to look for my sister. Mina can take care of herself, my sister's the most vulnerable."

That was about the most words he had ever told her. Smirking, Scarlet nodded.

To Be Continued.

…

Author's Note:

Hi, guys. I never thought that I would ever get around to updating—but I still keep getting messages from all of you that I should, even after all these years. Well, I started playing the game again on a Private Server so it somehow rekindled my passion to work on this story. ;) I hope I still have the hang of it. I know, I know, the story's much more serious than when I started it, and my writing style has probably changed so much. I hope you guys still like it, though.

Kseru