Heartfall [PG-13][Started/Still Accepting]Romance/Action[Owned by CristalFlames]

[Jake the Sage]

Noelle had stepped out of the shadows when a sudden flurry of action nad chaos started to swirl around her. With both eyes still adjusting th\o the bright light she hadn't seen anything, but instead everything had been heard, felt and smelled. The feeling of a violent wind against her snow white skin as the sound of giant wing beats sounded off in the distance; those same sounds of wings growing closer with each passing second. Soon the noise was deafening and Noelle had to crouch to keep the violent gale from knocking her over, the smell of a large creature pungent in the air- a sudden scream. Against her better instincts Noelle opened her eyes wide to see a large dragon ascending into the sky, already too high for her to assault with anything effectively, and the beast had Reina in it's talons.

 

Turning to Ven, who had seemed to become paralyzed with fear, Noelle unseathed her long sword and hurled it at the beast; aiming seemingly too high above the beast. The sword arched high and decended slowly enough to hit it's target even if it was no longer carrying enough force to inflict a wound. The sword had dug itself into the dragon's back hind leg and remained there. Kneeling on her knee Noelle rubbed her eyes, she had to look directly at the sun with her sensitive eyes to throw the sword, and remained there. Her eyes still covered Noelle's breathe was slightly labored, showing the pain her eyes were inflicting on her, and called out to Ven, "Which . . . direction . . . is it . . . flying . . . too?!"

[CristalFlames]

The dragon didn't let go even though it had been hit. Reina didn't stuggle to get free. It carried her off to a distant dark mansion and as it flew toward a window it transformed. The dragon dropped her and landed beside her as a human. Reina looked up at the human and froze. The man standing there had shoulder length dark brown hair and was smaller than the guy before but still had muscle. "Welcome back, Princess Reina." Reina gasped. "Master!?"

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Ven cursed under his breath and said,"I was too careless!!" He watched the dragon and said,"Its heading towards that small rock ledge!!" He grabbed Fenrir and gripped it in his hand. "REINA!!! I'm coming to get ya!!" Ven yelled as he ran towards the rock ledge. I don't care who it is...I'll kick the person's @$$, BIG TIME!! he thought to himself. He finally got to the rock ledge and said,"Ok, I don't know who you are...but I'm telling you right now, to let her go!"

[Jake the Sage]

Noelle stood up in her blind stuppor and walked calmly towards Ven, who had become disdraught at seeing Reina being carried away, and placed her hand on his shoulder. NOt even trying to open her eyes she could sense him looking back over his shoulders at her, she could feel his shoulder muscles tense as he held his sword, and she called out to him, "There is . . . nothing . . . more you can . . . do . . . for her . . . now . . ."

 

Her own heart not clouded by angry nor by any other emotions Noelle could tell clearly that the dragon had long ago flown out of range and tracking a beast by air is nearly impossible. No unless they knew prior where the creature was heading Reina was now a lost cause. Pulling on Ven's shoulder she attempted to turn him around to face the forest, "All we can . . . do now . . . is . . . leave this . . . place and . . . continue another . . . way . . . forget . . . Reina . . ."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Ven looked at Noelle and said,"No! I'm going to...save Reina from him so don't try and stop me!!" He looked at Reina at the rock ledge and said,"Princess, stay right there...I'll bring you back and take care of this man and this little pet lizard." He pointed Fenrir at the man and said,"I'm Ven Hawk..I am a master swordsman and the son of a blacksmith. I don't care what it takes...I'll make sure you pay for taking Reina!!"

[Jake the Sage]

Noelle couldn't stand much more of this idiocracy and then turned Ven towards her and slugged him in the stomach. She had hit him hard enough to knock the wind out of him and topple him over. He had been blinded by rage, he couldn't even recognize that the beast had long since flown off with Reina. After staring at Ven for a couple seconds the then peered in the direction that the dragon had flown. What was she thinking? Could she possibly be debating over heading after someone she had no connection too and rescuing them in a darring and possibly life threatening series of events? Guess so . . .

 

"Do you . . . love . . . Reina?" she asked to Ven without looking at him. She wanted to know this at least before making up her mind. If he hanswered incorrectly then she would forget the entire plot twist of going after the captured princess and saving her, leaving to wander as she had before. But if he gave Noelle the correct answer, then she would accompany him to save Reina.

 

<sorry about the long delayed post>

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Ven looked at Noelle and said,"First...warn me next time you do that..." He looked down at the ground and then thought about Reina. He remembered how her and him were when they first met. He sighed and looked at Noelle and said,"To tell you the truth...I-I do...I just don't want her to leave...I was also afraid that she'd freak out cause I told her I loved her...thats why I didn't say anything to her. But I'm going to save her....no matter what it takes!"

[Jake the Sage]

Noelle had her answer. Ven DID love Reina, yet was too afraid to tell her the truth. Holding out her hand Noelle offered it to Ven so that he could get up and then spoke, "I will . . . assist . . . you on one . . . condition . . ."

 

She gave a small pause as Ven steadied himself. He had complained about how she had slugged him without any warning, but she didn't pay much attention to such complaints. If she had warned him then there would have been no point of it, she might as well have simply attempted to slap him while yelling like an idiot. No she had to make her point hard and fast to get through Ven's thick skull. Now satisfied with the time laps Noelle finished her sentance, "when we save . . . Reina . . . you tell her that . . . you . . . love her . . ."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Ven looked at Noelle and sighed. "Alright. If you'll help me only if I tell Reina that....then I will." he said with a smile. He looked at the sky and his smile disappeared. Princess..don't you worry. I'll bring you back and I'll take you back to Heartfall. Even if it kills me. he thought to himself. He looked back at Noelle and asked,"So, where do we have to go to get Reina?? Cause I have no idea where to go."

[CristalFlames]

Reina was dragged into a dark room where a norman human couldnt be able to see a thing in. She was shackled to the wall and the door was closed taking the light with it. She sat there looking around the room. "You really are going to get it Reina. You did wrong by running away." Her master spoke to her in the dark. Screams could be heard throughout the mansion but no one ran to help. No one cared. The door opened and he left her alone in the dark.

[Jake the Sage]

Ven and Noelle had been traveling for quite some time now. Before they had even gotten started Ven had questioned how they'd find out where Reina was, but luckily this area wasn't a total stranger to her. No she had been here before a long time ago, almost so long it was as if it had been another life, and she was slowly remembering certain things about it. Take a left at the giant redwood and you'd head to a stream, turn right from there and you'd make it to a small fishing village. By the time the sun had gone down Noelle had successfully lead Ven to a small village where they could get information and food. Looking back with no expression what-so-ever Noelle called back to Ven, "We rest . . . here . . . for now . . ."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Ven nodded and sat down on the ground. He was still upset and felt like he had let Reina down..but he knew that he'd save Reina. He looked at the ground and then looked up at the sky and saw a few birds fly by. "N-Noelle..." he asked with a sigh. "How much further is it??" He was getting impatient and wanted to save Reina like now! But he also knew that if he rushed in...he'd get killed. "So, how many more miles do we have to go??"

[CristalFlames]

Reina was still shackled to the wall. She held back tears that longed to fall. She was used to the pain. Her body was immune to the sting. Nothing she did would change it so why should she cry? Reina believed no one was coming for her. She hoped no one would come for her anyway. They would get hurt and that was something she didn't want. Her arms slightly glowed red and the shackles melted off. Her legs glowed to, melting them off just like the first. Reina stood up as her body stopped glowing and ran toward the door. It was locked. She held her finger to the keyhole and heard the lock unlock. Reina opened the door and ran. Her legs didn't want to stop. She was almost at a window when her collar started burning her and something shot out and grabbed her from behind. Reina was pulled to the ground. A whip was wrapped around her right leg. She looked back and saw her master with his best fighter. "Reina, are you trying to anger me again?" He said calmly. "!?" She gasped. "Please let me go! I want to go home!" She cried. "This is your home Reina. They didn't want you there." Reina lowered her head. "They sold you to me. I love you. How can I protect you if you don't stay here where its safe?" Reina stayed quiet. He did have a point.

[Jake the Sage]

"We have . . . quite a few . . . miles left," Noelle answered back knowing that it wasn't going to be what her travelling companion would want to hear. The truth was that Noelle only knew the general direction in which the dragon flew and not the exact location. At the moment she was merely tracking the beast by the faintest of scents and by the intuition she had gained over years of living as a nomad. She could tell the dragon had been flying no more than at half strength due to the strength of the scent which she could still pick up; and scent by air always disipated faster so any scent would mean the beast had not gone at full speed. Noelle also could, by remembering the surrounding area, remember that there were a large range of mountains in the farther part of the territory and that it would be the most likely place for the dragon to roost. However she didn't know if the beast was wild or had been trained by someone. If it was trained that'd make it . . . harder to find Reina as the beast might divert off the supposed path at any moment. She stopped thinking and looked back at Ven, "Do you . . . need . . . rest?"

[CristalFlames]

The whip was removed from her leg and she stood and walked over to him. He put his arms around her. "Remember. I was the one that took you in when no one wanted you." Reina clung onto him. He had her. What he said was true. "I'm sorry. I should of remembered that..." He lead her to another room that was made for a girl. It looked like it was a princess' room. "This is your new room. Behave and I will get you more stuff." He and his guard left. She layed on the bed and fell asleep.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"We have . . . quite a few . . . miles left," Noelle answered back knowing that it wasn't going to be what her travelling companion would want to hear. The truth was that Noelle only knew the general direction in which the dragon flew and not the exact location. At the moment she was merely tracking the beast by the faintest of scents and by the intuition she had gained over years of living as a nomad. She could tell the dragon had been flying no more than at half strength due to the strength of the scent which she could still pick up; and scent by air always disipated faster so any scent would mean the beast had not gone at full speed. Noelle also could, by remembering the surrounding area, remember that there were a large range of mountains in the farther part of the territory and that it would be the most likely place for the dragon to roost. However she didn't know if the beast was wild or had been trained by someone. If it was trained that'd make it . . . harder to find Reina as the beast might divert off the supposed path at any moment. She stopped thinking and looked back at Ven, "Do you . . . need . . . rest?"

 

Ven stood up and said,"No..I'm fine. We just have to get Reina back." He walked past Noelle and said,"We should get going...Noelle.." After that he continued to walk in the way they were heading before they stopped. Princess...I'll bring you back to Heartfall and I'll tell you my feelings.... he thought to himself. I promise you Reina...on my life, I will save you!! He looked back at Noelle and said,"You coming or what? Cause we ain't got time to just wait around and do nothing."

[Jake the Sage]

"No we . . . don't," Noelle said and began to run herself, quickly passing Ven and continuing on. She never slowed down for a second nor did she look back. If Ven couldn't keep up with her at the brisk pace she was going, as she had yet to go into a full sprint, then his chances of saving Reina were slim to none. They ran over rock and grass, over streams and through forests. All the time Ven would manage to keep up and a few times even lost sight of Noelle, though he would quickly gather his breath and catch back up. Soon they found themselves at the base of the mountain and completely out of breath; not even Noelle was breathing easy by the time they had stopped. Squatting down she let her hair hang down as her breath caught up with her.

 

"Ven we should . . . camp . . . here for . . . tonight," she replied once her breathing had become normal and she didn't have to speak between breaths, though it didn't seem to change her speech pattern. Looking up the moon was now visible and the stars began to shine in the evening sky.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Ven looked at Noelle and said,"Ok...if you say so.." He sat down and lean back on a tree. Lifting his head, he looked at the moon and sighed. This night felt like the same night he met Reina and Jecht. He sighed and shook his head, to get the thought out of his head. "Noelle...I'm just curious....how long do we have until we reach the place where Reina is at? And just tell me the truth...don't sugar coat it. Whatever the answer is...I'll handle it." Ven said drawing his attention back on Noelle.

[Jake the Sage]

Noelle gave a rare smirk. She liked that answer. Ven was readying himself for whatever news he would get despite how it would affect him. He was learning to hardened himself. Looking up at the moon Noelle calculated in her mind how long it would take and then looked down back at Ven, "I honestly . . . don't . . . know . . . I don't even . . . know . . . where she . . . is . . ."

 

Noelle had finally admitted that she honestly didn't know where Reina was. She might've said something sooner if Ven hadn't been so eager to find and rescue her. Noelle, in her mind, didn't think too much about saving Reina. It was just something she was doing so she could obverse people whom she found "interesting" and nothing more. Well . . . there was the necklase that Reina had been wearing that Noelle still wanted, but she had forgotten about that for now and didn't list it in her mind.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Ven sighed and looked a little depressed. "So..you don't know where she is?" he asked. He stood up and then revealed a smile on his face. "That doesn't matter...I'll find her one way or another! I don't care how long it takes me to find her...I will!!" He punched his fist into his other hand and he smiled. Right now he showed a courage and a determination he hadn't shown in a while. The last time he showed this kind of attitude was after he was going to kill his father's killer.

[Jake the Sage]

Noelle sighed herself and finally sat down, removing the sword from her waist, and set it beside he; this was the first time anyone had ever seen her remove it. Stretching she ran her hands through her light blue hair before setting them on her lap, "It is not . . . as . . . if I . . . don't know . . . where they . . . are . . . I just know . . . where they . . . aren't . . ."

 

What she said might be a bit confusing, but if one would think about it made a lot of sense. Though Noelle didn't know exactly where they were, she could tell where the possible location might be. For one she knew that they weren't anywhere they had traveled today. Also she knew that where ever the dragon had gone it would have to be large neough, and desolate enough, to hide the beast. That meant that the areas the dragon is currently located has dropped drastically.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Ven sat back down and nodded. "All I know is they have that big dragon...so meaning they might either be in a hideout in a cave..so the dragon has enough room, or their at a palace of some sort." he said as he put Fenrir on his side. "But around here...I haven't seen many palaces or castles. So they might have been stuck in some cave in only God knows where." he said with a sigh as he ran his fingers through his spiky brown hair. "Man this just keeps getting harder and harder."

[CristalFlames]

Reina woke later to a tray of wonderful food in front of her. She sat up and ate all of it. Her stomach was so happy. Such wonderful food she hadn't had in such a long time. She wished for more but knew she would have to wait. She stood up and looked around. The room was so lovely in different shades of purple. She walked to the door and opened it. It was unlocked. Why was it unlocked? Usually she was locked in so she couldnt get away. Why have it so easy to escape? She walked out of the room and down the hall.

[Jake the Sage]

While Ven was resting Noelle had took the liberty to begin gathering more information from the surrounding villagers, which there was plenty to choose form. In the few short hours that she had Noelle had talked to everyone from the local Inn Keeper to even random house wives- all of which gleamed certain information that she'd have to short through at a later time. With the full moon now high in the sky Noelle returned to the campsite and rested underneath the shinning stars. "It appears that there is a castle or . . . something deep in the . . . mountains," she thought to herself whilst fighting back the sleep that was overpowering her. Shrugging her shoulders Noelle knew she needed to sleep in order to do anything correctly tomorrow and drifted off into the realm of the dream . . .

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Ven had gone to sleep, but he couldn't stay asleep...not while Reina was still gone and that monster taking her. He laid on his back and looked at the shining moon and twinkling stars. He sighed and said softly to himself,"Reina..I really wish I could of told you how I felt about you before...but I will when I see you again." He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep. He didn't know this, but while he was sleeping..he started to snore as he slept. The snoring that Ven did, sort of woke Noelle up.