Nigenai Megumi: Unlikely Goddess
Author’s Notes- Aha! The chapters lengthen! *smiles* Well, in any event, this would be, without a doubt, my longest chapter so far. So proud! And it’s actually good! -^^-
-Tifmonk (tifmonk@chichiri.com)
Chapter Three:
What a Vacation.
Marium woke up in a
strange room, on an unfamiliar bed, with alien faces staring down at her. Two
of them were male, and one was... well, she couldn't tell. It looked like a
kid, though.
"Who are you
people?? Are you with those horrible creatures??" her voice was shaking
with paranoia. The first man shook his head.
"We can't be. Evil
isn't allowed in this forest. Didn't you know that?"
Marium replied in
earnest, "No. I'm... kind of new here."
"New here? Are you
from Highroads? Or maybe Junction Meet?" he asked again. The other man
looked a little familiar. He was completely silent and had a strange expression
on his face, like he was scanning her, but she couldn't tell because his eyes
were shaded completely by his bangs. She blushed a little and turned away.
"I'm from Fresno.
I've never heard of Highroads or Junction Meet." she admitted, frowning.
"And... I came from a Temple, not too far away."
"Temple? Oh, you
mean the Temple of the Six Elemental Dragons Yin. It's the goddess Yin's temple.
She must be outraged at the desecration of the sacred place."
"Yes, well... I
still don't know how I got here. One minute I'm asleep in my front room with my
two best friends... omigod. Tasae and Sachi... they're still in that temple
place!" Marium jumped up, and fell down immediately. The three people
blinked at the action and the man that had been talking helped her up.
"I'm sorry, miss.
You are in no shape to go looking for your friends. Especially in Jinju
territory." he said. "I'm Jonah, Master Weapon smith of this
country."
"What exactly is
this country?? Monsters are running around eating my friends and tearing up
holy buildings like that temple, you wouldn't see that back on my world!"
"Your world?"
the little person repeated, confused. "What do you mean?"
"On my world. You
know, Earth? Well, anyways, it doesn't matter. I just need to find out why I'm
here and.."
"Wait a minute!
What's your name?" Jonah asked her.
"Me? Oh, my name's
Marium Tomo."
"Hm... you're just
like the legends say.." he stated, poking and prodding her. She turned red
and jumped away.
"Quit that! Weirdo!
What d'you mean 'legends'?! I'm just a normal teenager! And this must be a
nightmare! Little squirrel kids, friend-eating monsters, silent men in huge
cloaks, and perverted weapon makers! What is wrong with me?! Why can't I have
regular dreams!?" Marium exclaimed, rocking her head in her hands.
"I'm not a squirrel!
And I'm not a kid!" the squirrel-like, gender confused child screamed,
angrily. The quiet man in the white cloak's eyes widened under his thick bangs,
then hooded again.
"Really? Then what
are you?" she teased, snickering. It glared at her.
"I'll show you!
Girls shouldn't make fun of powerful mages!" it shrieked, jumping up and
down. She rolled her eyes and caught him by his cape.
"You're just a runt.
What can you do?? Oh, never mind. I've got bigger things to worry about then a
ticked off midget." she let go of his cape and he dropped to the ground
with a thud.
"She can't be the
High Priestess Yin! She's almost as evil as those Jinjus!!!!" the small
mage exclaimed, making the tall cloaked man glance at him. "You agree,
don't you, Altaire?"
Altaire, obviously the
cloaked man, didn't show any signs of agreement or disagreement. This made the
little man-squirrel even more furious.
"You never talk! Why
don't you say something!!"
Marium looked at the
young man. He didn't seem much older than her, maybe by a few years.
"Leave him alone, squirt. He's mute."
"What?! I'm not a
squirt! Jonah tell her to stop calling me that! It's not my fault I'm
short!" he cried. Jonah grinned.
"You agree with her
then? You just said you were short, Cadillac." Jonah inquired, making
Cadillac a shade redder.
"I'm sorry I called
you that, Altaire. That's your name, isn't it?" she asked him, smiling.
His eyes were covered by his slightly longer bangs, and he didn't make any
motion to answer her question. But she felt his answer within herself. She
could understand him. "Good, we're friends than?"
Altaire's gaze remained
steady on her face. She was quite attractive. He was glad she couldn't see his
eyes. He knew she was the one from the legends.
"Girl, you're
talking to yourself. Altaire is the High Priest of Yang, but he's silent. Never
even spoken one word." Jonah commented, unsure of the Marium's sanity. She
smiled at him.
"He talks to me.
Can't you hear him? He's got a beautiful voice, you know." she said,
momentarily forgetting her troubles. Altaire's face turned a deep scarlet and
he turned away so that she couldn't see.
"Did you see that,
Cad? He's got a thing for her!" Jonah whispered to the little Magi.
Cadillac grimaced and shook his head in pity.
"Then it must be
her. The great union preserve us, we are going to die..." he moaned,
wrapping his arms around himself. Marium was smiling warmly at Altaire, who
made no facial expressions, but she knew he was smiling back at her from the
inside.
"You mean, you'll
help me get my friends back? But I saw them die." she said, in what seemed
like a one-way conversation to Cadillac and Jonah. "So there's a power
that you can get that'll bring them back? You need me to help you get it?...
Why me?"
Cadillac sighed and
cracked his tiny fingers. "Let's get to it then. She'll need armor and
training. And a weapon. That's your job, Jonah."
"Leave it to me.
After all, it's what I do." he said, proudly, then turned to Marium.
"Hm... A weapon that she would be able to handle easily..."
Cadillac waddled over to
Marium and examined her khaki shorts and loose, dark green shirt. She was
shattered from her reverent discussion with Altaire and startled to find a
little squirrel mage clutching her shirt and looking up it at her bra.
"What kind of armor
is this?" he asked Jonah, quizzically. Marium's eyes widened and she tore
away from Cadillac's grip.
"It isn't armor, you
little punk!"
"Then why is it
there? It's useless!" he snapped. "Don't carry more equipment then
you need!"
She blushed. "I need
that! It's just like a shirt! And why were you looking up my shirt in the FIRST
place, you pervert!"
Cadillac flushed.
"I'm no pervert!"
"C'mon you two! I
can't think with all this yelling! Try to get along long enough for me to
finish Marium's weapon." Jonah begged, hustling the two outside.
"Okay, teach her magic. That might come in handy."
"Magic?! Her??
Never!" Cadillac shrieked, clawing at the door to be let back in.
"Jonah!!! I'll never forgive you!!"
"I didn't ask to be
forgiven! Just do it, or we won't stand a chance!" he called out to the
little man. Cadillac sighed and turned to look at the girl. She was still
unstable on her feet, and her legs didn't seem to want to work right.
"This will never
work... Okay, Marium, there are some things you need to know before I teach you
how to spell cast..."
Inside the house, Altaire
was watching Jonah work diligently. Actually, all he was doing at the moment
was thinking about which weapon he should make for the girl.
She was an average built
girl.. short, but not too much. She should be able to handle an axe well... but
axe's were too slow and manly. She was a woman, and a divine one, as well. A
priestess. He needed to make a weapon good enough for the High Priestess of
Yin.
He'd made Altaire's
weapon. It was a staff made out of the rare, alien material known only as
Kethos. There was a phoenix at the top, holding a bright orb filled with energy
from the sun. It was perfect... for the High Priest of Yang. But the Priestess
was different. She was dramatic... intelligent, quick to act, she needed a
weapon that would grow with her... evolve as she did. A weapon to be totally in
sync with her.
"What do you think,
Altaire? What weapon should I make for her? I already know I'll use the
evolving mineral I used for your staff.. but.." Jonah's voice was
troubled, uncertain. "Have any ideas?"
Altaire's gaze was steady, as it always was. He reached out for a notepad and quill. With a glance at the confused weapon smith, he set to work on a picture of the ultimate weapon for Marium.