Chapter Two: The Journey I - Bandits and a Bandit Hunter

Rheanne walked lightly down the dirt path towards the nearest town. She had changed into a commoner's white blouse and a pink cloak over it. She wore comfortable black kung fu pants that she had taken from one of her maids. Her bright red hair was still tied in a long braid but this time she had a white bandanna on her forehead, keeping her bangs from her face. Rheanne looked around disinterestedly and absently chewed on the apple in her hand. Thinking aloud she said, "I wonder what that boy is doing now..." She laughed. "Probably still wondering who the 'mean' girl is." She stopped laughing. Her face scrunched up in concentration as her green eyes darted back and forth around her. A faint sound of clashing swords was heard. Using her newly developed acute hearing she guessed the location of the fight. "Hmm.. there!" With that she started racing to the direction of the fight, excitement clear on her face.

"Finally, some adventure!"

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A tall dark skinned man stood with his sword out in front of him protectively. He is wounded and visibly tired but is unwilling to give up. His dark maroon eyes glanced back at the frightened family behind him. "Darn it," he mutters. "This was suppose to be an easy job. Just escort the noble family to Canain safely, Leo says. Not so hard, he said. Yeah right. Well, Leo you didn't count on a gang of bandits to come and try to steal this noble family's possessions!" A burning pain reminds Herald of the wound he received for one of the nobles. The bandits had planned to kill them all and then take off with the booty. One of them had targeted for the rich noble's young son and he had leaped forward to intercept it. Herald once again cursed himself for volunteering to take up the job. Thought that it would have been an easy job and go home with some money. Now he wasn't even sure if was going to be able to survive at all.

The head of the noble's household stared frightened at the scene before him. Although frightened he had mostly felt guilt and sorrow. "All those young men and women out there are trying to protect us." He said softly. He clutched his wife and children tightly. Whispering comforting words to his bewildered children, he kissed them on their foreheads. Old Ron covered his two fraternal twins' eyes as a sword impaled another soldier. "I'm so sorry. So, so very sorry." He whispered sorrowful.

Herald heard what Ron had said and whispered back. "I know." He blocked several more attacks from the surrounding bandits. "Come TOGETHER!" The injured men and women retreated to where Herald stood and formed a circle around the noble family.

Pain was clear in his eyes as Herald saw his companion one by one, go down. Soon, there was less than a dozen people guarding.

The bandits grinned evilly as their leader called them back towards him. Amoralis raised his hand signaling his followers to take out their bows.

"One..two..FIRE!!!"

Herald and the others stood their ground as they braced for pain that was coming. Suddenly there was a bright red flash that was soon followed by a loud boom. As Herald threw his hands up to cover his eyes he heard an angry voice.

"Killing all these people and taking their belongings is the last thing that I thought I would find out here." Rheanne glared furious at the bandits, her arms crossed. Living in the palace all her life she never expected to see this.

Somewhere way back in her mind a soft voice whispered that she did expect to see something like this, after all, this happened all the time. Her frown deepened as she thought more about it. That little voice in her mind seemed to be growing stronger each day and it had something to do with those weird flashes she got all the time. Ever since the time when she had suddenly fainted at the fountain she had continually gotten incomprehensible images of people and places she had never seen, or so she thought.

Amoralis growled as he held his injured arm. "Who the heck are you, little girl?!"

Rheanne fumed. "I'm NOT a little girl you (she said something that was the most insulting insult one could say in all of ten kingdoms.) She smirked at the berserk look on the bandit leader's face. Then her smirk faltered. She whispered to herself confused. "I know how to swear? I never even heard that phrase before...."

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"Ouche!" Derek winced slightly. "That girl has a very VERY BAD mouth...although that has something to do with.....ain't gonna tell ya although if you haven't guessed already then you are a dimwit, a big ne- OUCHHHHH!!!!"

He jumped up and whirled around. "Hey!" He crossed his arms. "Fine, fine, whatever Jess. If you don't know then you don't know." He turned to the cheerful brunette beside him. "Happy?" The girl nodded.

Somewhere nearby...

"Heheheehe....Gotcha!"

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Amoralis was mad. No he wasn't mad. He was beyond mad. He was furious. "Get HER!!!" Immediately the shocked bandits snapped out of their stupor and went into action. Half of them shot arrows and other deadly weapons from a far while the other half charged at the girl with their swords drawn.

Rheanne dodged from the deadly attacks. She muttered angrily at herself. "What in the world made me do THAT?! I should have just stayed out of this fight. I am barely able to fight!" She scrambled to move out of the bandits' weapons' way as she subconsciously went into autopilot. Inside she was anything but calm yet her body performed moves and attacks that she never knew she could do.

Herald stared in awe at the 'bandit killer.' He figured that she was one since she obviously knew how to handle the bandits. The female 'bandit hunter' was weaving elegantly through the attacks and delivering some herself. She somersaulted as she threw out sharp daggers that appeared out of no where.

Amoralis growled frustrated. "Attack TOGETHER IDIOTS!!!" He crossed the distance between Rheanne and him in mere seconds. The bandits went and followed him as they gave a sigh of relief at having someone to command and advise them. So far attacking the girl without Amoralis telling them what actions to take was terrible. Not to fear though for they now had a strong strategy and weren't going to attack the redhead foolishly anymore.

Rheanne panicked. She had been able to weave through the bandits so far without harm but now she was out of control. She had been in control even though she had no idea what she was doing. How in the world did she know how to fight? The bandits had changed strategy and she was forced to go on the defensive. She gritted her teeth. This couldn't be happening! No it can't! "I won't let you win, no matter WHAT!" She yelled out and her eyes became blank. Looking into her eyes was like staring at a lifeless person's. It scared the heck out of the bandits too, although the fact that she had grinned evilly helped.

"Tornado Whirlwind."

She said it so softly that Herald had to strain to hear what she said. He frowned. "Furball Turnwind? Huh?"

One of the twins merely looked at him. "She said Tornado Whirlwind."

Herald hung his head. "And he said that I could hear even the smallest sound with my acute hearing...yeah right! I had to strain hard and I still got it wrong." He sighed.

The bandits glanced around nervously. A yell of surprise was heard as Herald glanced at them. One of the bandits gasped as the winds suddenly picked up. Strong winds swirled around the group of bandits.

"Oh my gosh! It's a tornado!!!" The bandits yelled as they were caught up in the tornado. The strong whirlwind was thirty feet wide and more than two meters high. And it was getting larger. Herald grabbed the two twins and ran frantically away from the tornado. The bewildered nobles and guards followed.

Rheanne stared at the scene impassively, her green eyes turned blankly black. Suddenly as it came, her eyes returned back to normal, the blankness gone. "What in the world..." She stared shock at the huge tornado in front of her and its captives. "I did that?" For some reason she did not feel threatened by the dangerous tornado. She was standing one foot away from it and she did not feel anything besides calm wind. "That's odd..but..."

She smirked as she cupped her hands to her mouth. "Ha! You ain't so strong now! JERKS!" With a swoop of her arm the tornado lifted off the ground and soared high in the air. Fifty feet above the ground the tornado dispersed leaving the bandits high in the sky...and about to fall. That is until Rheanne snapped her fingers, sending the bandits flying out of sight. "Goodbye!" She smiled happy but after a moment it faded away. "How in the world was I able to do that?" Rheanne almost jumped in surprise when she heard a shout of joy.

"Yeah!" The two twins ran happily as they both hugged their savior. "You did it! You beat them!"

Rheanne smiled at the two cute boys. "If only I had met someone like them...someone kind..." The boys were looking at her with awe and her smile widened.

"Of course."

Ron, holding his wife's hand protectively, walked up slowly to her. He bowed his head almost touching the ground. The two children let go of Rheanne and joined their family in bowing. Rheanne stared her eyes bulging. For a moment she thought that her identity had been discovered and that the old man was going to report back to her mother. She relaxed slightly though when she heard what he said.

"Thank you, miss. You have saved my family's life and I will be forever in debt with you." Ron's family and the guards all nodded.

"Umm..." Rheanne looked at all the bowing people before her and she got an uneasy feeling. She had left the palace to get away from this and she didn't want people to be bowing to her. She may be the princess but she was still a normal person. She didn't deserve to be treated like a superior person. "It's not right." She said out loud causing the saved people to look at her in shock. Seeing that she had accidentally said that a bit too loud she blushed. "I mean, please don't do that. I won't be able to accept that....besides....you're my elder!"

Ron smiled, as he stood up straighter. "Thank you but you do deserve this. It's nothing compared to what you have done for us."

Rheanne smiled. "Well...you can do me one thing." Everyone looked at her, waiting for her favor so that they may fulfill it. "Can you show me to the nearest town? I don't know this place that well..."

"Of course. It's the least I can do for you."

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Rheanne twirled her sword in her hand casually even though her actions were attracting many stares. She ignored them because she was used to it, although the ones she always got weren't stares of amazement or awe. They were usually...lust or disdain...Her face drooped down a bit but her spinning never faltered for a moment. She had no idea why people her age had been so cruel and heartless. All that she had wanted was a friend...

.....someone to share her secrets with.....

.....someone to lean on when things turned rough.....

.....someone to laugh with.....

...just a friend.....

"No." She muttered softly so that no one would hear her. That time was gone. She wasn't going to be sad and cry because of all those mean tauntings and disdain looks she got from the people she had thought might be her friend. She was free now and she was not going to wallow up in depression. "Besides..." her voice was hopeful. "Maybe I might find someone....a friend...."

She looked at the carefree children and frowned. "I think that we should rest, Mr. Ron." She turned to look at the old man walking with his wife.

He started at hearing his name and his mind finally registered who it was that called him. He looked at the children and nodded, seeing what she meant. Rheanne wasn't tired, even after performing such a big feat only hours ago. It was his children. He could see them slugging behind and the older twin, by two minutes, supported his brother. Kito, the younger twin, was dead tired and was leaning on to his brother, Keno. "Yes," he said. He admired the young sorceress/bandit hunter. She was brave and considerate.

The children, hearing the exchange, cheered in joy at the prospect of resting after walking continuously for two hours. They both rushed to a large tree nearby with a burst of speed and fell exhausted at the trunk. They laid content on the fresh grass, catching their breath.

Rheanne smiled. "Cute." They were indeed cute. Little boys, nine or ten years old, both looking almost exactly alike except for their eye and hair color. Keno had dark blond hair and blue eyes while Kito had raven hair and green eyes. She leaned against a convenient smooth boulder-

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"Gee, there seem to be a lot of boulders around you know. How convenient..." Derek scrunched up his nose in thought. Then he shrugged and said, "Oh, well."

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-nearby and closed her eyes. She yawned slightly and sighed. "Long day..."

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She waved at goodbye as she walked away from the group. They were really sweet. Keno and Kito were jumping up and down waving goodbye furiously. Getting a bit tired after a while, they replaced their previous actions with cupping their hands to their mouth and shouting loudly farewell at her. A small smile spread slowly across her face. It was a true smile, not the fake ones that she always showed in the palace, but a TRUE smile of joy. Her eyes shined more brightly than usual and her smile touched her eyes. Thinking about the brief time she had known the guards and noble family, she whispered softly. "Farewell, my dear friends...maybe...just maybe, we'll meet again."

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Somewhere deep in the shadows of the forest, orange yellow eyes were seen. A ferocious smile appeared on the figure's face. "Or maybe not..." (A/N: Oh lala!)

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(End Chapter Two......Just kiddin'!)

Rheanne sighed again as she walked slowly to Askaba, the nearest town. She missed the twins. She laughed slightly shaking her head. "I can't believe how much effect those two have on me in such a short period of time." She smiled. "Besides, we will meet again. In one way or the other."

Recalling what had happened something was still bothering her. "How did I fight all those bandits? I never learned how to fight...nor did I learn to make tornadoes!" It was confusing. She looked around her as if the answer was around her. "Maybe some sorceress or wizard helped me..."

She stopped walking and held up her fist. She had small hands she knew and there could be no way that they held any strength. "Not enough strength to knock out a healthy young man." Her eyes widened in amazement. No wizard could have done that for her! She looked for a rock or tree to hit and then thought about it. "No." She shook her head. "I'm going crazy! Hitting a tree or rock is going to hurt really really bad."

"Hmmm.." She started walking again. She had split up her concentration. One was to concentrate on NOT walking into a tree or wrong direction. The other was on her practicing punching. To an outsider, she would have looked extremely weird.

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Derek snorted. "No duh! Of course. A young girl walking while throwing punches at invisible enemies. No, that's just completely normal." His voice was thick with sarcasm.

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She continued doing so for a while. The whole time she was wondering if her punches could hurt anyone but her. She was shocked when she heard a bunch of people yell in rage.

"ARRGGGHHHH!!"

She whirled around looking for the source and gulped. In front of her stood more than thirty bandits if she was correct. They all had menacing looks on their face. "Uh oh."

A tall man with black hair snarled viciously at her. "You little brat! That's for what you did to our comrades!" It was obvious that he was the leader of this batch of bandits. She absently thought that the previous leader had been better built than this one. "Idiot." She scolded herself. Here she was about to be killed and she thought about how the other bandit was better built than this one.

She could feel every one of the bandits' eyes on her even though she did not see every one of them. The one that made her senses go haywire her out was the leader's. It was orange yellow like a predator feline. She shivered slightly, causing several bandits to smirk tauntingly.

"So the bandit killer," Rheanne's eyes widened at what he called her. "Is afraid. She's sorry isn't she but it's just too bad. Because we're going to kill her." He laughed cruelly. The bandits joined laughing mockingly at her.

She frowned. She could feel her anger rising but she was frustrated at her lack of any way at getting back at them. She had lucked out before, but this time, it wasn't going to be easy.

"Kill her." Her eyes widened as the bandits all charged at her. She tried to dodge as many attacks as she could but she was not left unharmed.

"Aahh!" She cried out in pain as several blades scraped her. One has pierced her shoulder and blood started pouring out. She held her hand to her shoulder, trying to stop the blood.

A fist impacted on her back causing her to fall to the hard ground. She spit up some dirt as she glared at the men. Her pretty face was bruised and there were cuts of various sizes all over her body. She grabbed her sword and took her blade out of its case. She swinged it around trying to kill the bastards, but it was all in vain.

None of her swipes connected. A blow hit her head and she fell down again. This time she didn't have the strength to get up. The leader grinned evilly as he brought his sword up. It seemed that her fate was sealed when...

"Get away from her." The voice was cold and no one could have missed the anger behind it.

The bandits' head jerked as they turned to the source of the voice. She gasped. It was that boy!

Naka was angry. Sure he had meant to get back at the girl for her 'sleeping beauty' and 'common boy' comment, but she didn't deserve this! He looked concerned at the injured redhead on the ground. Her usually vibrant face was bruised all over and it was obvious that she had received a blow to the head because blood trickled down her forehead. Red blood seeped from her wound staining her white blouse. He winced at the numerous cuts she had all over her body. Her clothes were filled with bloodstains and teared at places that the swords had made contact. The sight of how hurt she was made his anger a thousand times stronger. He took out his sword as he leaped into action.

Rheanne stared at the boy not really looking though. She felt pain everywhere and if she didn't stop the blood from coming out then she was going to die from blood loss. The blonde boy had taken out his sword and started attacking the bandits. She hoped that he would kill all of those bastards and she was not disappointed. She wished that she could do something. Something to help him or at least get her healed. A tear fell down her cheek as pain convulsed around her body.

"Ahh..dammit."

She might have been shocked at her language but right now she didn't gave a damn. "Heal. Do something." She cried as she saw how helpless she was. She hated herself. Why was she so useless? And then she heard something. It was calm and soothing. Her logical mind told her not to fall for it but for some reason she trusted the soft voice.

"What...?" Then everything went bright.

Naka spit into the leader's unconscious face as he put away his weapon. His dark amethyst eyes showed no pity for the injured or crippled bandits. He turned to help the girl when his eyes met total brightness. Immediately shading his eyes from the light he waited until it subsided to open his eyes.

"What in the world?!"

There lying in a circle of blooming flowers was the redhead. She was covered in white robes and it was obvious that her wounds had healed. Her eyes were closed and there was a peaceful smile on her lips. Everything else outside of the circle was filled with burned wood.

"How did she do that?" He shook his head. The girl never ceased to surprise him. First she had knocked him out with a punch and then she went and battled against a tribe of bandits. Now she just had to go and do this. He sighed mumbling to himself as he went to pick up the sleeping girl.

"Might as well forget about my revenge. If she can do that while hurt, then I don't want to know what she can do at full strength." He shivered as he saw a pancake him on the ground with his intestines o-- let's just forget that.

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Her eyes fluttered as she tried to clear her vision. The first thing she saw was that boy. Well, not thing but person. It didn't matter much anyway. He looked at her concerned as he got up from the fire he had made. She sat up slowly and looked at her hand in surprise. She saw that her clothes were no longer stained with blood nor did her body have any injuries. "How?"

The boy kneeled in front of her, his amethyst eyes full of worry. He had the strangest eye color that somehow demanded attention. She absently wondered why she did not feel the pull when she had first met him. She stared at him full of adoration but then the moment was immediately shattered. Tears started forming in her eyes as she remembered what had happened. She started shaking as tears began to freely fall from her eyes.

Naka stared awkwardly at the distraught girl. She was nothing like the strong girl he had met several days ago. He still remembered how angry she was and that her anger never made her less beautiful. He shook his head slightly.

She sobbed as she covered her face with her hands. "I couldn't have done anything! I was so useless against those bandits... I could have died..." She trailed off in a whisper. Arms wrapped around her uneasily as she blinked in surprise. It was that boy again. Not caring what had happened between them before she turned and buried her face into his strong chest.

They held that position for hours. When evening turned to night and then night turned to morning. Rheanne hugging Naka looking for the protection and comfort that she needed and Naka embracing her awkwardly, blushing like mad.

That night Rheanne slept peacefully, the nightmares of the day behind her. Too bad Naka never slept a wink.

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"BWAHHAHAHAHAH!!!" Guess who.

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End Chapter Two.