Lina frowned as she looked the woman in bed over. She seemed so... well, ‘pained’ could be used to describe it, except it was more like a stiff corpse.
The redhead knew the green-tressed woman wasn’t dead, but with how the woman slept, it didn’t seem like she was sleeping at all. Like she was just there...
“Think she’ll be okay, Arvis?” Lina asked as she turned to look at the older man, who was fiddling with something at the table. It was the jewelry, or rather, device that the woman had been wearing. Upon closer inspection and taking it apart, one could find little gears, cogs, springs, and other things...
“I hope so...” Arvis said, getting a real bad feeling about this. If this thing WAS what he'd heard about from his contact... the woman would be lucky to have any conscious thought and NOT end up as some vegetable. Such horrors were commonplace because of the Empire, sadly. And it seemed as if their ambition took yet another victim.
Sighing, Arvis placed the device down on the table. “Lina...” he spoke up softly.
“Hmm?” Lina asked, looking over her shoulder towards the older man. “What is it?”
“You said you found her in the mines, right?” At Lina’s nod, the old man continued, “What WERE you doing out there in the caves to begin with?” He asked, knowing full well what she was probably out there for.
Wincing slightly, the redheaded sorceress said, “Sorry, Arvis. I couldn’t help myself. I just had to get a look at that Esper.”
Smiling lightly, Arvis let off another sigh. Ah, the adventurous spirit of youth. “Normally, I’d give a lecture of curiosity killing the cat, but in this case...” he slowly turned to look at both Lina and the woman in the bed. “Well done.”
Lina smiled softly, but only for a moment, as she heard the stirring of movement, which was followed by a soft moaning sound, as the green-haired young woman started to wake up.
“Arvis!” Lina spoke in a tone of excitement. “She’s waking up!”
Getting up from his chair, Arvis hobbled over to the two women quickly, watching as the woman’s eyelids tightened lightly as her muscles and limbs moved and stretched slightly underneath the covers.
“Ugh...” the woman slowly blinked bleary eyes open, a vacant look in them.
“Easy...” Lina spoke softly, as to not aggravate the woman. “You’re safe here.”
Her eyes fell on the redhead over her, slowly gaining focus. “Ugh... Who...?”
“Lina,” the redhead was quick to say. “My name’s Lina Inverse."
The old man smiled. Seemed Lina was handling this well enough. “Arvis Picke. Don’t worry, you’re amongst friends.”
“I... I... don’t remember...” the girl said weakly, trying to sit up.
“No, you should lay down and relax...” Lina said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder and make her lay back down. “You were caught in that explosion. You’re lucky to be alive.”
The green-tressed woman winced as her body was forced back. “...Head hurts...”
“Easy with her, Lina!” Arvis told her seriously. He motioned back to the table. “That’s a Slave Crown. The others had complete control over her while she was wearing it.”
Hearing what the old man said, Lina nodded her head. “So basically, that thing really jumbled her mind?”
Sighing, Arvis answered, “In a nutshell...”
“Great...” Lina sighed and looked back towards the girl in the bed. This Empire really seemed to be a bunch of assholes.
The woman in the bed continued to moan softly, rubbing her forehead.
Leaning over the bed, Lina brought a small damp towel to the woman's forehead. “What’s your name?” She asked the woman softly.
“I can’t remember a thing...” the green-tressed woman answered softly.
“Don’t worry,” Arvis said softly. “It’ll all come back to you... in time, that is.”
Lina frowned and gently rubbed the damp towel onto the woman’s forehead. She wasn’t trying to hurt her, but she hoped that she could cool her down and help ease the pain in her skull. “You sure you don’t remember?” Lina asked. “C’mon. You can’t let those creeps win. If you can at least remember who YOU are, you’ve gained some victory.”
“Lina!” Arvis chided. “You shouldn’t push her into this.”
Looking at the older man, Lina told Arvis, “Just because her body is weak, doesn’t mean she can’t have some mental agility to her.” She brought her attention back to the woman in bed. “C’mon. Anything. At least your first name...”
It obviously frustrated the woman, her inability to remember even that. Yet with the support she was getting from the redhead right now... “Tuh... Ter... Terra...”
Lina blinked her eyes. “What’s that?” She asked. The woman had spoken softly, but she obviously said something.
“My name...” the bed-bound woman managed to say in a steadier voice. “...is... Terra...”
Arvis was simply flabbergasted. “Impressive!” He said, a little louder than he meant to. “I’ve never heard of anyone recovering this fast!”
Looking over to Arvis, Lina smirked. “I told you to have more faith in her, old man.”
Nodding his head, Arvis admitted, “You got me there, Lina.”
Even tired as she was, the woman tried to sit up once again. This time she succeeded in assuming a sitting position.
“You really should relax,” Lina told her. “I saw what happened. You’re lucky you made it through unscathed.”
“What happened?” She asked in a less shaky voice. “Where am I?”
“You were with a gruesome twosome of Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dumber,” Lina said. “When you all got too close to that Esper and-”
Suddenly, there was a sound of barking, LOUD barking near the front of the house, followed by a firm, rapid succession of slamming on the door. “Open up!” A masculine voice shouted from outside. “Give us back the girl and the Empire’s MagiTek Armor!”
“Open this door!” Another male voice shouted. “We want that girl! She’s an officer of the Empire!”
Terra slowly looked back and forth, obviously confused. “Empire...? MagiTek Armor...?”
Arvis growled. Crap! They would come to his house. “Look, you have to get out of here. Lina can explain things on the way.”
Terra blinked her eyes in confusion. “What?”
“Huh? Me!?” Lina asked as she motioned to herself.
“Yes, you Lina!” Arvis said as he gently helped Terra out of the bed. “Lina, you take care of Terra and make your way out through the mines! I’ll keep these brutes occupied!”
“Wait,” Lina shouted, just as surprised as Terra stood up on her own. “We can’t just leave you to-”
“Now, Lina!” Arvis said as he started moving the grandfather clock towards the door. “I’m an old man, and a prominent figure in this town. They won’t do much to me. Two people from outside on the other hand, they wouldn’t hesitate to hang from the gallows!”
Unknowingly feeling her neck with her hand, Lina went a little green. Okay, NOW it was looking like a good time to get the nine hells out of Dodge.
Terra stood there, not really knowing what to do, but understanding this was serious.
Lina sighed, feeling for this poor woman. She gently took Terra’s hand into her own. “C’mon, I’ll lead the way,” she said as she opened the door, the cold wind already blasting in...
...And she sighed as she saw Terra shiver. “Argh, hold on...” Lina said as she started to undo the clasp in the front of her cape, taking off the Demons’ Blood talisman and putting it next to the one on her belt. Then taking off her shoulder-guards and cape, she held them out to Terra and said, “Put this on. You’ve got less clothing than me and you’ll FREEZE without something better.” Lina then managed a small smirk. “Because I’m not carrying around a large Popsicle,” she managed to joke, to add levity to an obviously serious situation.
The joke was lost on Terra, but the woman either way nodded to Lina, placing the cape on herself and fastening it correctly.
Lina nodded her head as she saw Terra put on her cape and draw it close to her. “Good, now let’s-”
Suddenly, the pounding on the front door became worse as an AXE splintered through. The side, sliding past the left side of the grandfather clock
“-GET GOING!” Lina shouted and grabbed Terra’s wrist, forcing her to run off and out of the building with her.
Terra didn’t hesitate and followed after Lina, running as fast as her lethargic legs would carry her.
Lina didn’t bother to pay any notice to the wind and snow that fell, whipping against them. And upon hearing the cries of, “THERE THEY ARE,” drove her on faster as they crossed the raised wooden bridge and made their way straight to one of the natural caverns that had been used for mining.
Terra had no other option than to follow, not that she would've stopped anyway. “Where are we going?”
“If I remember correctly,” Lina started to speak up, slowing down once they actually got into the cavern, “Arvis told me there were more than a few pathways in here. There was another entrance that would lead right out of town.” Making her way further into the cave, Lina looked over at the green-haired woman. “Are you feeling okay?” They may have been out of the cold, but that woman took quite the hit earlier.
The woman nodded her head. “Yes.”
Lina nodded her head. “Good.” She now slowly walked into the cavern, feeling they could lose the Narshe Guards in this near maze-like place. She just hoped they themselves didn’t get lost.
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(Posted Fri, 07 Jul 2006 18:50)
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