Fairyland Chronicles - Character Side Stories

[Summerstream]

((I'm sorry I wrote a book ;A; ))

“Kyaa!!! M-make it stop...! D-d-damnit...” The scream had been heard through Nifleheim.

The nightmare had happened again, and she had screamed all the same. She was sitting bolt upright under one of two torches that illuminated her prison, her breath coming in short, rapid gasps, and tears she was vaguely aware of rolling down her cheeks. She pulled in the pale beige scarf she was laying on to try to calm down, knowing it would be about half an hour until she was calm enough to function. The scarf was not enough to stop her from trembling against the cold stone, readily felt through her silk uniform. Her head rested on the wall as she tried to regain control of her racing heart, and her irregular breathing.

The only times she was able to sleep properly was when the father of her two kids was sleeping beside her. Often she would fall asleep to him stroking her hair and telling her that she was safe. That no bad dreams would come that night. And she believed him, because it worked. The scarf was a gift from him when he came to visit her when she had gotten sick while pregnant, and she treasured it. The dreams still came with sleep when he wasn't there, but they felt more bearable when she had the scarf with her. It gave her a little more courage than she had possessed before. Even still, her shallow gasps filled the stone room, mixed in with the sobs that she could barely manage. Slowly, she felt her heart calm down with the knowledge she was alone, and the knowledge that at the moment, she just needed to eat.

When the first sets of voices reached her ears, her breathing was simply heavy. The violent trembling had calmed down to quiet shivers, and her crying had stopped what felt like hours ago. She raised her head, and saw Kotori enter the room first. Summerstream felt her thoughts kick in. If they saw her dressed not in her Paladin armor, but her Ninja uniform, what would they do? A cold panic gripped her, but the weariness in her bones balanced it into sharpened senses. The others in the party filed into the room. The brown-cloaked traveller named Cutty had offered her a ride on her peco peco, and was waiting for her to respond.

Summerstream slowly realized as she looked around the group that she trusted no one there. That realization was enough to light the fuse on her barely quelled panic.

“Ah... I guess the way is cleared. Thank you, I guess.” she mumbled, glancing around. She gripped the round object she kept hidden in her sash. A movement in the shadows calmed her panic, and she smiled coyly.

“However, now I must leave. Bye-bye~” Summerstream moved swiftly, whipping the round object at the ground. Chaos followed. Smoke filled the room, and her rescuers were attacked by the shinobi hiding in the shadows. Summerstream did not stay to see what happened.

She followed the route that Lucretia had pushed her on. Down the burned staircase and through the now-empty hallway. She had to get to the main gate. As she sprinted down the main corridor, she saw Lucretia and Ezekiel standing under the gate. Ezekiel was carrying Cynbel on his back. She slowed her sprint to a light jog, feeling her legs cramping, and her stomach growl in protest. Her vision darkened for a moment from the sprint, and she gripped the wall for a moment to wait for it to pass. When she approached, she felt Lucretia stare at her hard. Ignoring it, she waved at Ezekiel. He offered a tight smile, and the three walked towards the main door. Rapid footfalls made her look over her shoulder, and she stopped to stand between Lucretia and Ezekiel, and the people who had rescued her from the tower. She noted that Kotori and Cutty had moved to stand a little bit closer to the two fairies, Ezekiel, and herself.

It was only a few dozen heartbeats later that she heard Lucretia thank Ezekiel and kiss him. She instinctively put her arm up, and glares coldly at everyone.

They were not her allies, they most certainly were not to be trusted.

She barely heard Lucretia summon Midnight Jack to attack the others, and she was the last to leave the castle. A faint, but tired smile was etched on her face. Once outside, she told Ezekiel to let her carry Cynbel on her back. She felt weak from hunger, and from thirst, but it would have to wait until they were safe.

When she saw Amdusias, her gaze hardened. She could tell that it was he who had deployed those heros, and he confirmed it with his mutterings. Once he was well out of earshot, she looked to the group. “Ezekiel, let us head to my home in Louyang. There are many people there, and no one will have time to ask every person if they saw us.” Summerstream decided, her voice hard. She asked Lucretia to transport them to save walking across the field, and being seen.

The next couple hours passed by like clouds on a jet stream, and her last memory was asking Ezekiel to knock her out so she wouldn't dream. Shit, did his punch hurt.

The next day, two major things happened. The first was their return to the castle to look for evidence. The second was Cynbel waking up, and Lucretia fleeing the city.

Summerstream had shown Lucretia the main gauche that she used to destroy the machination that had framed her. The dread on her face was enough to sign away the fact that she had been attempting to tell Lucretia the truth. The paladin understood why she was angry, having twins and a lover herself. They arrived to the castle to find the entrance sealed. Summerstream did not pay much attention to what Lucretia had said, but she paid attention to her surroundings. It felt like there were eyes on them, and she hesitated to speak up. How else would she be able to explain the sensations? Her eyes narrowed as they returned to the entrance, with the knowledge confirmed that Lucretia had spies in her castle. Lucretia seemed to understand what she had done, and that made Summerstream feel a lot better. It would make it easier to defend her, when the time came. She just prayed that the time would never come. The entrance had been sealed after they had entered, causing dread to settle on the small party. Summerstream cursed herself mentally, and looked over at Ezekiel. Amdusias had still been in the castle.

Lucretia had stepped outside when Cynbel had woken up, and requested to speak to him alone. Summerstream and Ezekiel stepped outside to give the two former lovers some privacy. It took only minutes for the barrier around the house to be raised, and Summerstream was leaning against the wood frame of the door to listen for any signs of attack. Ezekiel had gone to find another entrance, which Summerstream knew did not exist. When the barrier was gone, they returned inside to see that Lucretia and Cynbel were no longer there.

Summerstream's mind was reeling, and she took a moment to gather her thoughts while Ezekiel had decided to explain about his situation. She had listened, for the most part, but she did not find it strange. Yggdrasil's priests would have had her marry the knight that fathered her children if the religion was still active. It made it easy to simply nod, and get what was going in her head in motion.

Morikage were their allies. They were the only people that she and Ezekiel could turn to for help right now. Summerstream smiled, and then sighed wistfully. They were traitors to everyone but the ninja clan.

Later in the day, Ezekiel had returned with a Deviruchi, slung over his shoulder. Summerstream blinked at his appearance, and tilted her head. Where the heck had be been, anyways?

“Ezekiel, why do you have a deviruchi.”

“Was forced to drag it home with me after talking to Cat last night. His name is Mash.” Ezekiel replied, and the paladin would blink, looking up from the letter she had been writing.

“Cat?” she asked. Who was this Cat person?

“Uh, well, that's what I call her; she has weird nicknames for me too, like 'Kid' and 'Sora'. She introduced herself as Cat to me. Whatever, not as if aliases are never a thing. It was take the deviruchi, or she'd try to kill me.”

“Right, uh...” Was all Summerstream could manage to say. “I see.” She looked back to what she was writing in front of her. “As long as no one saw you returning, suppose.” She was writing in Japanese, so she propped her head on her left fist, and continued to write. She felt tired.

“Of course not, man of the shadows and all that.” He would flick the deviruchi's side to wake it, “I'll take him somewhere you won't have to hear him squeal.”

“The backyard should be fine, but if it helps me stay awake, all the better.” Summerstream replied, looking at the letter with a bored expression. It was hiding her exhaustion, at least that was what she thought.

“If you prefer to hear him talk, I'm happy to handle business here.” Ezekiel probably sat down to speak to the deviruchi.

“I'm writing in Japanese, so I don't mind.” Summerstream noted, looking at the letter she had been writing. She couldn't quite focus on the words fully, but she knew what she had written. It was short, but she shook her head to try to read it over. She managed to see the sentences properly.

'I just wanted to let you know I am okay. We're planning out the next steps, and we will keep you posted, Sarutana.'

Short, simple, and to the point. She was alive, and in one piece, for the most part. Ezekiel's voice caused her to glance up to look over at him. He was feeding Mash a few shoots.

“You really should just get some sleep. Not going to be in your best shape if you don't rest.”

Fear gripped her, and it showed in her expression. She immediately looked back at the letter and pushed her glasses up with her fingers. “I do not like sleeping.” She heard her voice as if she was watching from the side. Mentally, she was thankful that the bandages on her throat hid her swallows. Summerstream didn't see Ezekiel's frown, but she heard his voice. It made her hand holding the letter tremble.

“Okay, let me put this stupid thing up to bed. Then, you tell me why you don't like sleeping. Guess it's my turn to play the listening ear.”

Dread made her jaw set itself, and her voice came out a whisker above a whisper. “If.... If I have to.”

After explaining to Ezekiel, and making them both something to eat, she went to lay down herself. Summerstream cuddled the brown scarf that she placed over her pillow, and willed a peaceful sleep to come. It started the moment she heard Mash's shrieks fade away.

The dream always started the same way. She had left home on the first day of winter to watch the snowflakes, and play in the snowdrifts that were formed from everyone clearing the paths to their doors. She was eight years old again, and she was staring at the sky with plate eyes.

The snow crunched behind her. It always did. The child Summerstream turned to see five boys, all older than she was. They weren't holding anything.

“Hey there~ We should play a game~” the first boy called out.

“Oh, what do you want to play, Wu?” the shortest one asked.

“Oh why don't we play Demon Hunters,” Wu suggested. Summerstream saw a malicious glare directed at her, and she started to step backwards. She bumped into one of the other boys.

“I-I don't want to play with you.” she said defiantly, unable to conceal her fear. The boy behind her roughly shoved her towards an alley.

“Oh, and demons do not want to be hunted~ We boys are the hunters, and you, half-breed, are the demon!”

“No...” Her voice died in her throat, her eyes moving quickly for an escape route. It was a dead end behind her, and the boys blocked the exit. She swallowed roughly. There were never any adults out. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an object coming at her. It struck her just over her ear, knocking her to the ground, darkening her vision, and scattering it with stars.

“S-stop..!!” she screamed, moving her arms to protect her face and head. They didn't stop, and instead, continued relentlessly. She could feel her bones breaking, and she screamed in pain. No adults ever came to her aid. The last blow she remembered was to the back of her head.

It was then she sat bolt upright and screamed, sweating, and her heart racing.. Her breathing caught in her throat, and tears streamed down her face. She pulled her knees up, and used them to stiffle her sobbing, broken by her hyperventilating. Summerstream felt alone as her hand absently moved to the scarf.

Only this time, Ezekiel slid open the door to her room, still in his own bed clothes.