Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 20: Bait and switch

[Dark Sage]

"What the....what have I done?" Alf stared in horror, dropping the axe and clutching his head. He couldn't believe himself! He nearly killed someone, a woman no less. He swore he'd never do anything like that again and he failed.

"Oh goddess, what have I done?" he said in a strangled tone of voice. He rocked his head back and forth for a bit, before he pulled the knife free from his stomach.

Jumping out the window, he headed towards Aiya, he held her steady, pulling out the shard between her ribs and turned towards Pary.

"You're a healer right? Why are you just standing there? Help her! And don't charge use please. Please help her from my...mistake...."

Reika merely glanced the other way, seeing Helios holding a tome in his hand.

[Psych]

Pary:

"Of course it's your fault! A thief and a bandit defending her trying to kill a woman. You should be ashamed of yourself." Pary rushed downstairs, and out to the courtyard. He hurriedly tried picking out a few shards of the glass, before he healed her with his staff, and rubbed a salve of some herbs on it. He wrapped the wound, before turning to the bandit. He took some herbs out of his bag.

"Here. Rub these on your stomach." Knowing full well they'd simply speed up an infection instead of heal one.

Edited October 1, 2010 by Shopkeeper

[Ansem]

Watching the asshat hastily fixing up Aiya's wound, Helios clenched his fist. Then Pary handed Alferis some of the herbs and told him to use them. "A vulenary works just as well." He said. "There is a chance that your wound can get infected, just saying."

Edited October 1, 2010 by Gary Oak

[Dark Sage]

"You can gloat later," said Alf, impatiently. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Aiya? Aiya? Are you ok?" he asked gently, gently shaking her to get her awake. "I'm so sorry Aiya. I...didn't mean this to happen..."

[Script]

Luc Altair

"I suggest you pull away Alferis, I doubt she'd want to see you when she wakes up. I will handle care of her until then," Luc advised the man. He turned to Pary and spoke. "Thank you."

[Dark Sage]

"But Aiya is she...gonna be alright? I didn't want to...oh god if I killed her then...." he said, turning away, clutching his face, grateful he had the mask as he knelt down, a few tears trickling down his cheeks.

[Psych]

Pary:

"Hmph. This is why a bandit and a thief shouldn't have joined us. Just watch. I'll bet something like this will happen again. I'm going back to bed." Pary turned and headed back up the stairs and got back into bed.

[Script]

Luc Altair

"It'll take time to see if she'll be alright, if something happens I will inform you. But for now, take care of yourself," Luc said before adding something important, "and Reika."

Pary meanwhile, scoffed about letting Alferis and Reika join before walking off in a huff. If Luc hadn't just needed the man's services he would have done something, but as things were that would be idiotic.

[Ether]

As Aiya's eyes opened slightly, she looked around, confused.

Everything hurt. Her arms, legs, torso, head... her whole existence was pain.

"What's going on?" She asked, dazed. She saw Luc, Pary, Helios, Alferi-

Fear.

Pain.

Pain was caused by Alferis.

Fear.

She backed away, face blanched with fear.

"S-Stay away... p-please..."

Bandits. Bandits advancing, axes drawn. Tearing into her flesh.

"I-I don't have any g-gold... I don't have any!"

She felt the rough bark of a nearby tree against her back. She was cornered, trapped.

"This is all I have, please, please don't do anymore, please, why are you doing this?!"

Her face now white as a sheet, she threw a gold coin at his feet and began to sob uncontrollably.

"Bandits... bandits again... please don't kill me."

[Dark Sage]

"Reika, I know but...I can't believe I nearly killed somebody...." he choked, on his knees now. "I didn't mean to hurt her. I didn't want to...please...I didn't want to hurt her...." he sobbed, taking his axe and pointing it towards his throat.

"But...I can't die now...Reika needs me...oh god..."

Seeing Aiya stir, Alferis gazed at her, though she seemed to be very afraid and mumbled something about bandits.

"Aiya? Are you...ok? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...I'm sorry..."

OOC: Added the Aiya bit.

Edited October 2, 2010 by Yoshimitsu

[Ether]

The man approached. The source of this pain.

"No... stay away... stay away!"

There was nothing but fear. Fear, crushing fear.

He kept coming.

"The gold is right there, it's right there, what else do you want?!" She yelled, beginning to panic.

He was close. Too close. He would hurt her again.

"Just get away! Go away you monster!"

She backed further into the tree. Her hands digging into the ground nervously, her whole body was shaking, and her tears flowing with no sign of stopping.

[Script]

Luc Altair

Aiya had come to, and was predictably frightened. She backed away, right into a tree which blocked her from retreating any further. She was rying about bandits and money. This... certainly would make everything difficult. Perhaps some form of temporary memory loss from the trauma?

But as Luc's concentration was on Aiya, he saw a glint of metal from the corner of his eye and Alferis' own ax, ready to cut his throat. But thankfully, he noticed Aiya and stopped the action.

"Calm down, you all need to calm down and listen," Luc tried to placate the factions. "Aiya, I'm not a bandit, see?" Luc tossed her coin back to her, before dredging up a few of his own and tossing them to her as well. "Would a bandit give money away like that?" It was a poor option, but it was fast, and had a decent chance of being a better end.

"Alferis,stay back, let me handle this. And don't you dare think of taking your own life over this."

Edited October 2, 2010 by Script

[Ansem]

Suddenly a hand came across Alferis blocking him from proceeding any further. "Alferis, she is in no shape right now. Please leave." He asked in a neutral tone taking heed of Luc proceeding. Hopefully she wouldnt freak out near Luc as much as she did Alferis

Edited October 2, 2010 by Gary Oak

[Dark Sage]

"Yes...I guess I am a monster...." he choked. "Please..........I'm so sorry...Are you ok?" he said, putting away the axe.

"Aiya...I didn't mean to hurt you. Please understand..." Alferis sobbed.

"You monster! You killed my husband!" a woman yelled hitting a young boy over the head with a broomstick.

"Please...I'm so sorry...I didn't want to...I'm sorry! Let me make it up to you!"

"You animal! You deserve nothing less than death! I wish you were dead you monster!"

"I didn't want to...please...understand..." he said, blood trickling down his head as the broomstick continued to beat down on his head.

[Ether]

Luc. Luc was strong, right? Luc was kind. Luc could help her, help her get away from the bandit.

"Luc! Please help me! Don't let the bandit kill me!" She begged the Count, backing further into the tree, which began to dig into whatever exposed flesh was touching it.

"Don't let him hurt me again... leave me for dead again..."

[Script]

Luc Altair

"There will be a time for understanding later Alferis," Luc told the weeping man. "For now, please hurry and attend to Reika, she has no one to rely on but you."

Aiya began speaking in a panicked voice again, begging Luc for help. She at least had some recognition of other people. He could use this. If Alferis didn't leave right away... Luc quickly wiped up a plan in his mind. yes, it could work. "Don't worry, the man will be gone soon."

Edited October 2, 2010 by Script

[Ansem]

"Alferis back the fuck off!" Helios said raising his voice. "My god does the mask delude your listening? You just attacked her and you expect forgiveness? Not to mention she is emotionally unstable. You have done enough, now leave."

[Dark Sage]

Ignoring Helios's words, Alf nodded towards Luc and headed back up to where Reika was leaning against the wall. She had no expression on her face it seemed to Alf. He sat by her and inspected her body very carefully. Her face was somewhat bloody and bruised, a result of Aiya's work and the hand appeared to be crushed. This was quite bad and he knew he couldn't ask Pary to heal her. He knew he couldn't ask Pary to do anything.

"Reika, you ok?"

"Mmmmph. At least you got her off me, although you should really do something about that stab wound she gave you."

"Don't care, as long as you're safe," he said, trying to clear his voice and feeling the sharp shooting pains in his stomach. This was going to be hard to explain to the others.

"God....I can't believe I nearly killed somebody."

"Hey, if it weren't for you, I would've died. That woman was out for blood. She's alive right? In that case, you managed to stop any deaths at all."

"But I-"

"Stop it. Now do you know how to heal a broken hand?"

"Not very well, and I don't have much bandages on me," he shook his head apologetically, clutching his stomach as blood flowed all over his fingers.

Edited October 2, 2010 by Yoshimitsu

[Ether]

As Alferis backed away, Aiya began to calm down, if only slightly.

"I-Is the bandit gone, Luc?" She asked, still shaking somewhat.

[Script]

Luc Altair

Thankfully, Alferis had finally decided to take Luc's advice and pull back. Aiya asked an obvious question, and Luc answered. "Yes, he's gone. Now, are you alright?"

[Ether]

"Are you sure he's gone? He won't hurt me again?" She asked, shrinking back into the tree. She was still nervous. The bandit was still nearby.

The young girl ran through the alleyway, weaving through anything she could. The sneering faces, the gleam of the steel axes...

Pain.

The hand axe swept through her legs, knocking her to the ground. Her face landed in a muddy puddle, and she sat up, coughing. Her hands and arms were bleeding, glass, remnants of beer bottles littered the ground, digging into her skin.

"We got ya now, little missy, hahahaha!" The burly man stepped over the small girl and picked up his axe, laughing heartily at her misery.

More men stepped out of the shadows, surrounding the small frame of the malnourished four year old.

"W-w-what do you want from me?" She asked, nervous.

A laugh. The sound of flesh smacking into flesh, as the hard slap drove the small girl back into the cold, hard ground.

"Please stop, that hurt-!"

Another hit, from a different man this time. The bandit troupe laughed as the girl squirmed, looking for an exit to the circle of men.

"Please, h-here! Take it, i-it's all I have, p-please!" The young girl pleaded, producing a single gold coin. It had been given to her by a friendly patrolman. It would have bought her a loaf of bread, and maybe even a strip of meat if the shop owner felt sorry for her. Hungry as she was, it still wasn't worth withholding it.

Stooping down and picking up the coin, the bandit leader laughed heartily.

"Hahaha! This'll buy me a nice pint of beer, yes it will! Hahaha!"

Turning away from the girl for a second, he appeared to be walking away.

She would be saved. She could run, get away, she could-

"Rough the skinny bitch up a little, boys."

Those words were damnation.

Knives cutting her skin, rusty axes, fists, boots.

It didn't matter. It was all pain, all unbearable pain.

The girl laid in the alleyway. She would surely die. The blood flowed from her body at an alarming rate, and no one would stop for a dying orphan.

"Am I... going to die?"

It was a stupid question. Of course she would die, hoping for anything else would be foolish.

Yet.

Torchlight.

"Is someone in there? Speak to me!"

It was a voice. A kind voice, a concerned voice.

"Yes... I'm here..."

"Hold on, I'll be right there!"

The voice belonged to a man in violet armour. A Haltonian soldier.

"Oh my Goddess... hold on, I'll help you out!"

She was carried to the infirmary. The doctors and priests looked over her.

"Are you okay? Let me know your parent's names so I can tell them you'll be fine, they must be worried sick."

"I...I don't have parents..."

The man took a step back, then came back forward.

He kept helping.

"Does he... not care that I'm an orphan? Does he still want to help me?"

He did. That hope kept the thin girl living through the ordeal.

He could be her father, he could be the one to take her out of this wretched street life, couldn't he?

Perhaps. The girl never found out. That soldier was killed in action soon afterward.

The little girl found herself alone on the streets once again.

"I... I don't want anything to do with bandits." Aiya said, breaking out of her memory.

[Dark Sage]

"Reika...people always see me as nothing but a bandit and I try so hard not to be like one at all...and look what I just did. I nearly killed somebody. Maybe for once in his sinful life, Pary's right. Maybe I am nothing but a no good bandit."

"Stop it," said Reika, glaring at Alferis. "Stop pitying yourself ok?"

"I just feel so discouraged. I try so hard and yet, it always circles back to before."

"Just shut up ok? It could've been worse a lot worse. She nearly killed the two of us you know."

"I know but...maybe the others would understand if I just tell them what happened." Why should they believe me though? I am a no good bandit.

Sighing deeply, he closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep quickly, keeping a grip on Reika's shoulder, but gentle enough not to hurt her.

Maybe Aiya will forgive me when she's feeling better, but for now, I gotta kick this. Stop it Alf. You are trying to overcome what happened before. It was an accident. Purely understandable. You saved someone's life and no one died. So stop feeling sorry for yourself. Those were his last thoughts just before he fell asleep again, his hands stained with blood.

"Hey? Anyone up? Guys? Healer?" Reika called out, clutching her stomach in pain with her other hand, cursing Aiya for breaking one of them.

Edited October 2, 2010 by Yoshimitsu

[Script]

Luc Altair

Luc couldn't promise any of what she was asking. It was simply beyond his ability, perhaps beyond anyone's ability to stop such a thing. "He's gone, that's for sure. I'm sorry that this is cruel, but I cannot promise you that he can't hurt you again," Luc said bitterly. "Nor can I say you'll never have to deal with bandits again." Placating her with promises would be easy, would just make it all better faster. But It would hurt in the long run, and as bitter as it was it needed to be done.

[Ansem]

Derp

"You seem to have the axe people under your finger." Helios replied scornfully to Reika. "You couldnt have seduced a healer as well couldnt you? That ass Pary isnt coming back and Tessa is no where nearby. What do you plan on doing now?"

[Dark Sage]

Crawling over to where Aiya's military dagger was, she tossed it at Helios, a glare on her face.

"Shut up you ass. What else are you doing, besides gloating? Just go to hell you buffoon."