Last Hope [VERSION I]

|33|

"There is never a time or place for true love, it happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a flashing, throbbing moment."

||Thana||

The sword swiftly glided across the stack of hay, creating a crunching noise. I repeated the action over and over again. While everyone else had been at work with their elemental abilities, Andreas and I have been focused on our swordsmanship.

"Start slowly at first." Andreas demonstrated to me, his hand at the hilt of his sword and swaying it back and forth across the haystack. I wiped sweat off my forehead and repeated the action. He smiled. "Good enough, you're getting the hang of it. Now start moving a little faster."

I picked up the pace and slashed at the haystack. "You're a natural." Andreas clapped.

"I had a bit of training before this." I said, blushing at the compliment. "But thank you."

We continued training once more as I picked up the pace and slashed my sword across the poor haystack. Behind us had been our comrades, creating a bustle of noise as they practiced. It was pretty incredible how people if various elements came together; Ace as a Soren, Ruby as a Blayze, Nico as a Dyzek, Xavier as an Asra, and Luke and Joel as Aeronwys, with one common goal. We were a group of misfits, really.

Before we knew it, a week had passed. And then another one. By now we had more materials than we needed in the hut. We had a crops and a few cattle outside the hut, cooking pot and various cooking materials, simple mattresses and quilts, and an actual table that stood up. If it hadn't been for our runs into the village square, we wouldn't have had any of this.

It didn't take me to long to face the fact that I was a criminal. The idea didn't ease my mind, but it kept food on the table and everyone warm.

I ran my fingers through my black hair in an attempt to keep it neat. I yawned and turned away from my reflection, where Ruby sat on her mattress playing hand games with Noah. She roared a laugh.

Noah has been with us since Ruby found him in the woods that one night, despite his uncertainty at first. Ruby absolutely adored him, and her attention slowly drifted away from bothering Nico, though that was never intentional.

Nico's attitude hadn't improved by much, though. He practically ignored the girls and only spoke to the boys when he deemed it necessary. Ruby had yet to confront him about this, I'm sure. She always confronted him.

"I won again!!" Noah cheered. Ruby smiled and challenged him again.

She lost the past 30 times, when will she learn?

"Ruby, when are you going to go train with the guys?" I asked, smoothing out the black skirt of my nightgown as I laid it out on the bed.

"In a bit." Ruby said while her eyes concentrated on the hand game being played. "I might not go, actually. I'm still a little mad at him."

Oh. Nico. I expected that.

"He's an interesting one." I giggled, slipping on a white tunic. I lifted my black hair from the back of the tunic, lightly touching my back. "He didn't apologies?"

"Nope." Ruby said, moving her hands rapidly as they met with Noah's. He giggled as the game continued. "And its pi---"

Noah gave her the look.