ooooh, this is great!! cant wait to see the competition.

ooohhh how very very very very nice! I like it a lot!

Ha, great ones,
and, duh is this a magic performance competition and not a duel?
Rhen'd have hard time to practice, good luck then!

She did not know when she stopped practicing. She knew only that she swung and stepped and swung and stepped until every single muscle in her body ached, until she could barely keep her eyes open- and they felt like they were popping out of her skull- until she was nauseous from exhaustion, until she could barely move.

“Seriously, I think you should stop now,” Lars had said, but she’d shoved him aside impatiently. She was almost there. She almost had it. If she could only think clearly, if her head didn’t ache so much, she could feel where everything was supposed to go, only it was ever so slightly out of focus, just out of reach, maddening…

She collapsed. She collapsed because of the headache, because of the exhaustion, because it was two in the morning and she couldn’t keep going anymore.

Lars, who had dozed off by the entrance, snapped awake.

“Rhen?” He said, muzzily.

“Lars,” she whimpered.

“What the- what time is it?” He said, in horror.

“It’s only nine,” she managed to say. Forcing her mouth to shape words took too much conscious effort. All she wanted was to sleep.

“Lars…” She nearly sobbed. “I’m so, so tired.”

“Well, yeah, you complete moron, what were you thinking? You can’t cast spells straight for hours, that’s insane-“

She burst into tears. “I’m so tired… it hurts. I can’t think. It hurts. I’m so tired-“

“Shh,” he said. “Calm down. You just need to get to bed.”

“I can’t!” she said, in blind panic, “I’m so tired Lars I’m so, so tired,” and she couldn’t stop herself from repeating it, mindlessly, cathartically, she couldn’t feel anything- not even the hunger, and she was sure she was starving, not even the mana-drain, nothing but this huge, overwhelming, unbearable exhaustion.

She staggered towards him and he reached out to support her.

“I’ll just bring you to your apartment,” he said, soothingly. “You live on school grounds, it’ll only take a minute-”

She forced herself to walk with him, all the way down the winding glass stairs towards the main training grounds, out of the school building and right across the plaza to the teachers' apartments. She forced herself to stay upright for three flights of stairs. She forced herself to keep going as they walked down the hall.

He jiggled her doorknob. The apartment was locked.

“Where’s your key?” he asked.

“In my bag,” she mumbled.

“Where’s your bag?” he asked.

“It… um… oh no, I left it at the field, I left it at the field, I can’t do this, I can’t go all the way back, Lars I’m so tired.”

He shook her. “Calm down. Stop freaking out. Calm down.”

She blinked wearily at him. Her eyes were tearing from sheer exhaustion, big drops of water oozing down her face.

“Alright,” he said, clearly coming to a decision. “You’re not in a state to go back, you’re right. I’ll just leave you here and I’ll go get-“

“No!” She said, frantic, clutching at his sleeve. “You can’t leave me!” She was half-sobbing.

“Okay, fine, we’ll just- Where’s Neya’s apartment?” He asked.

“I don’t- I don’t remember,” she said. “I’ve only been there once, it was… 32. Or 24. Or something. I don’t really remember, I can’t think, it hurts.”

He groaned in frustration. “Forget it. All right. We’ll just have to… Stop crying, will you?”

“I can’t…” she said, pathetically.

He breathed in deeply. Rattled the door handle once again, as if hoping to force it open. Pressed his weight against it and shoved.

“Alright,” he said, at last. “Come with me. I’ll take you to my place.”

---

He was mostly dragging her by the time they got there, because she could barely move her feet.

His apartment was surprisingly close to the school.

There was a footman. Any other time she would have laughed at this but her eyes were barely open anymore.

He supported her up the stairs. Only one flight. And then he fumbled for his keys and opened a door and guided her through a hallway into a big, spacious living room and then another hallway and then a bedroom.

There was an outfit of clothing and a few books laid out on the bed. She gestured at them helplessly and burst into tears.

“Oh of all the ridic-“ He began. Gritted his teeth. “Forget it,” he said, and swept them off with one sweeping motion. “You. Go to sleep. Now.”

“But what about you?” She said, already collapsing onto the bed.

“I’m not going to bed yet. I’ll wake you up in a couple of hours and kick you out.”

“Okay…” She murmured, and fell asleep.

---

She woke slowly, sunlight filtering through her closed eyelids.

“Mnghghgh,” she said, and rolled over

Someone was knocking.

She staggered out of bed, dizzy.

KNOCK KNOCK.

“’M coming,” she slurred, blearily, and staggered out of the bedroom. She was still fully dressed from the day before, although she vaguely noticed that she was barefoot. She must have taken her shoes off before falling asleep, without remembering it.

The door was locked with a latch and a chain. She fumbled at the chain for a minute or two, trying to figure out how to free it from the metal bar, before she managed to slip it through the hole at the end.

“Hello,” Dameon said, as the door swung open, and then froze, mouth open, staring at her.




A/N: YOU KNEW IT WAS COMING.


(also, how appropriate that I post this now. It wasn't planned to happen this way, but I am drop-dead tired right now. ldfjdlk (not as tired as when I was inspired to write this scene, which was months ago. I cannot describe in words how exhausted I was but as I dragged myself home I kept myself awake by promising to write SOMETHING along these lines...)
(-falls asleep-)

*screams loudly* oh great, oh no, Dameon's here?!?! this is going to be really, really, really interesting...

hurry up and update, please?

Oh the drama that is about to be unleashed...

this needs some serious editing, if anyone could help me track down mistakes it would be greatly appreciated (honestly I don't think this was entirely ready for posting, oh well... *wince*)

Blurble, you are an excellent writer. Seriously. The longest thing I've ever written was 38 pages and 5 chapters long... and that one fell apart. Quickly. And this is 125-or-something pages long... wow is all I can say. Not only that, but this manages to stay close enough to the canon (though it seems a bit more modern in here than it was in the game), and the characters are in character.

Plus this is hilarious. I loved Te'ijals letter, I was seriously laughing the whole time. My funny stuff is either entirely parody-ish or not funny at all. So, nice job.

I would be willing to look for mistakes- I'm my sister's own personal spell check/proofreader.

Dameon??? Whoa, talk about a major surprise!!! Oh well, at least he didn't walk into something that would have come out of MY writing... He would probably die from heart attack...

Ohh,
Dameon's here!
*panic mode on*
what would happen?
Rhen, you,- wait, why he manages to come, and veldarah?
What a,
huh, great chaptire at all!

OMG! my heart was pounding hard through the whole chapter! omg! that was great! dameon! this is going to be sooo exciting!

please please update soon =3

updating soon may depend on the state of my writer's block. currently it is being bratty.

*wanders off to read kikoayumi's love potion dilemma*

aarrgg! i hate writers block =0 poor you.... recover soon =3 (haha X3 )

Writer's block?! NOOOOO!!!
And Dameon! Ahaha, Yesss, SUFFER, YOU LITTLE HALF-BALD PANSY, SUFFER!!!!MWAHAHA -- whoops, sorry, I have slight mental problems.
Wow, Dame Eon, Rhen in Lars' apartment.....juicy, no? Now, why is she possibly staying there? Perhaps she moved in with him? Married?? Hmmm??? Perhaps.....she looooves him? Rhenny and Larsie sitting in a training field, K-I-S-S-I-N-G???

That would be my
reaction if I didn't know any better....

...writers block...?

thats...really bad news.

“D-Dameon,” Rhen stuttered, numb with shock.

From the corner of her eye she saw Lars begin to stir on the couch.

“Rhen,” Dameon said, smoothly. His voice was, as always, the honeyed, rich, mellifluous voice of a sun-priest, washing over you softly and soothingly, lulling you into a sense of happiness and security.

Rhen’s heart was beating so fast she didn’t notice. From terror? Shock? Embarrassment?

Shame.

“I’m confused,” Dameon said. “I had heard-“ He hesitated. “I had heard this was where Lars was living?”

Lars stretched and rose from the couch, padding softly towards them. “What’s going on here?” he yawned. Then stiffened, as he saw Dameon.

“Goddess, hellfire and resurrection-“ he swore.

Rhen felt her face burning as Dameon looked back and forth between the two of them.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” she said, desperately.

Dameon raised his eyebrow at her. “Really now?”

“I didn’t- we’re not- It’s not like that.”

“Not like what?” Lars said, extra-pleasantly, slipping an arm around her.

She shook him off, angrily. “You know what I mean.”

“I’m afraid I don’t,” he said, smiling his extra-wide, super-fake smile. “What isn’t this like?”

“We’re not- we didn’t-“

“I was under the impression that we were rather ‘like that’, actually.”

“You know that’s not what I meant! Last night wasn’t- we didn’t-“

Dameon coughed.

“What?” Lars hissed

“I appear to be interrupting a lovers’ spat,” Dameon said, calmly. Rhen felt herself shriveling up.

“Not at all,” Lars said, just as coldly.

“I received the opportunity to take a small vacation from my duties to the throne of Thais-“ He glanced, briefly, at Rhen. She wished she were ten feet underground- “and decided to visit, for old time’s sake. I thought to ask if perhaps you were aware of Rhen’s whereabouts. It becomes clear you were far more aware of them than I was.”

“And if I was?” Lars said.

Dameon ignored him, looking at Rhen, his eyes like tiny shards of ice. “How long did it take? A week? Two? Did you rush into his arms the day of the wedding?”

“You know I didn’t-“ she whispered, helplessly.

“I suppose I should have known,” he said, carelessly. “Although I might have expected you to show slightly more taste-“

Lars punched him.

Dameon staggered backwards. He lifted his hand to his mouth and brushed softly against the corner of his lip, his fingers coming away wet with blood.

Then he straightened, and punched Lars back.

Lars dodged, easily.

Dameon kneed him in the gut.

“Oooh,” Lars moaned, bent double.

“Stop it!” Rhen said, coming between them. “This is stupid!”

“Stupid?” Dameon said. “I suppose that’s one way of putting it.”

“Rhen,” Lars said. “Stay out of this-“

“No!” She said. “You’re both being idiots, I’m not moving-“

“In principle I’m opposed to hitting girls,” Dameon said, “but if you don’t move out of the way-“

“Maybe we should take this outside-“ Lars suggested, simultaneously.

“Oh, right, go ahead, be macho idiots-“ Rhen said, moving to stand in front of the door. “But I’m much stronger than either of you-“

Dameon slapped her.

She gasped, surprised by the ferocity of it.

When she looked up to meet Dameon’s eyes she saw something bordering on desperation bright inside them. And she winced, not from the physical pain of the blow- sun priests, quite frankly, were wimps- but because her heart ached at how he looked at her, ached viciously, agonizingly.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and knew it wasn’t enough.

“For what?” he said, brusquely. “Move aside, Rhen.”

I don’t want to, she thought. I hurt you enough already and it’s my fault and I don’t want more people involved-

But she moved aside. Because in some strange, twisted way, she owed him that much.

“Lars,” she said, instead. “Please don’t-“

He looked at her.

And then rolled his eyes.

She clenched her fists. “You stupid-“ she hissed.

“I hope you-“ she tried again.

“Whatever,” he said, and walked out the door after Dameon.

---

Dameon gave him one last kick in the gut and left him lying there, moaning.

“You cheater,” Lars wheezed, curled up in agony.

“I’m a sun-priest,” Dameon said. “What do you expect me to do, not heal myself?”

“Bastard,” Lars groaned.

Dameon crouched down next to him.

“I know you’ve liked her since forever,” he said. “And I don’t forgive you in the slightest.”

“And I still hate your guts,” Lars hissed, furious.

“I’m glad we’re agreed,” Dameon said. “Maybe I’ll even heal you before I go. Oh wait. No, I won’t.”

He laughed as he walked off.

---

She thought she probably should have followed them. She thought she probably should have stopped them. She felt like one of those girls in the stories she had always hated, the ones who simpered and stood by wringing their hands as men fought over them.

But what was she supposed to do?

She felt miserably helpless.

She felt miserably guilty.

“You’re such a useless lump,” she whispered to herself.

Then she shook her head, irritated. At least she could find where he kept the healing supplies- meat in the ice-box, berries in the cupboard. She could not imagine how a fight between the two of them must have gone. It was not like either of them was particularly good at close-combat physical fighting, after all.

She tried to snicker at the image of them exchanging sissy-punches and failed pathetically. She was too worried about them.

Lars limped back into the apartment and she gasped at how broken and bruised he was.

She ran towards him with the food.

“Ugh,” he said.

“I’m so sorry. I feel like such a horrible person,” she said, pathetically.

“Don’t.” He said. “That guy’s a rotten bastard. At least I- agh- got him pretty good, too.”

“It’s all my fault,” she whispered, meaning that he had gotten into this stupid fight because of her.

“Oh, there’s no denying that,” he said. “But you said you had your reasons for running away.” She could not tell if he was deliberately misinterpreting her or not.

“I just…”

“It’s over,” he said, closing is eyes, leaning back. “He was laughing as he walked away. He said he was going to finally move on, and be the best damn king ever. You need to get over it also.”

“But I don’t know how to forgive myself,” she whispered.

“Figure it out,” he said.

A brawl between Lars and Dameon? Nice Wish you wrote more details about what happened during the though.

Well, Lars left his staff in the apartment so he wasn't really casting spells. They mostly scrabbled around, headbutting, kicking, punching, etc. However, my personal canon is that both of them are wimps (Lars because he always struck me as the geeky type, Dameon because he's a pansy) so the whole thing was less super-cool kung-fu style fighting and more like a lot of sissy-punches, weak kicks, etc... Of course as Dameon kept healing he got the upper hand- Lars at this point is mostly defending himself and losing ground fast, a feint and a jab to the gut gets him down and then Dameon just kicks him multiple times until he feels he's had enough.

Why yes, Dameon, deep down inside you are an asshole. And you'll make a fine, fine king.

I really really really wasn't expecting this :o But hey i suppose he had to come around sooner or later. Good job! Heh I never thought I'd miss an update like that XD But I got to read two chapters together! <3

haha X3 that was great, and it made me mad.. erg! my wonderful, poor, little lars!