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Keeping their distance from the other pilgrims the three travelers wandered after them, hoping they would lead the way to the town with the 'angel'. After they had left the forest for the town there was nothing but baroness all around them. Tiny shrubs and rocks covered the brown landscape. Thankfully, there was a good amount of water around as well. Nick had to get over drinking from a stream or lake, and the first few times he did, the water did not last long in his stomach. Soon enough he was drinking it down with the rest of the group and helping those who could not get water for themselves to drink.
Albert watched Nick as he adjusted to traveling with the group. He went from walking behind both Rose and Albert to walking next to them chatting about what their next plan of action might be, to walking with the sick, helping those that had difficulty walking, and carrying children. He administered to the sick and helped Rose keep her wound clean. It seemed to Albert the journey was making more of a leader and someone worth following out of Nick.

The group tried to walk at least ten miles a day so that it would take them four days to get there, but with some of the sick, they found it harder to keep to that. Nick insisted they stay with the pilgrimage and tend to those he felt he needed to. This frustrated Albert only a little. He was anxious to have Rose healed, but he saw Nick grow in character in each passing day.

On the evening of the fifth day, they were now seven miles away; Rose took Nick aside from his self-assigned duties to talk. They walked to a small grove of bushes, far enough away from the group that their voices would be difficult to hear, but close enough to be able to run to help if needed.

"Did you bring me out here to steal a moment away with me?" Nick joked. "I know you can't keep your eyes off of me." He chuckled and looked up at Rose, her face implying that his statement was a feeble attempt to be funny and she was not amused. His laughter ceased immediately.

"Nick, what do you know of fighting?"

Her question took him off guard. "What do you mean fighting?" He gulped nervously.

"I will take that as a no." She sighed. "Have you ever been in a fight?"

Nick nodded. "Sure when I was younger, some of the other boys would pick on me because I liked to sing." He looked to the ground a bit sheepishly; he was embarrassed to tell Rose as a child others picked on him. "You won't tell Albert will you."

Rose ignored the last comment and continued. "As a Dragoon Nick there come certain responsibilities. Inevitably, there will be fighting involved. It's what we Dragoons were designed for. We will need to prepare you for the fighting to come. Dart, who the Red-Eye Dragoon Spirit recognized before you, chose to use the sword as his weapon. Do you have a preference on fighting style or weapon?"

Nick stood gaping for a few minutes. He had to choose a weapon to fight with. The only fights he had ever really experienced where when others picked on him, which did not count as fighting, fighting with the rest of his band, and the fighting that he did on his many video games. He looked nervously around himself then back at Rose's serious face. "I suppose, well what would you be able to teach me to fight with?"

Rose sighed. She had known this was coming when Albert told her how Nick burned down the sick house. "I fight with a blade, Albert fights with a lance. Either one of us could teach you one of those weapons. Of course, the blade is close enough to a sword that I could also teach you swordsmanship as well." Rose waited for Nick to make his decision; she thought she could actually see his thought process and it felt a bit unnerving.

Finally, Nick came to a decision. "Perhaps I'd like to learn the sword." He had come to that decision because all his favorite Final Fantasy game characters fought with swords. He nodded affirming his choice.

"The sword it is." Rose replied. "When we reach the next town, we will look into getting a sword for you."

Nick nodded in response. The whole idea of fighting really did scare him. He wasn't sure he could handle fighting, or if it came to it, killing someone. Thinking the discussion between him and Rose was over, Nick turned to get back to the group and those he was helping.

"There is, of course, the matter of the other powers that you receive from the spirit." Rose shot out to keep Nick from leaving the scene. Nick slowly turned around and faced Rose again. "He told you didn't he?" Nick asked.

"You thought he wouldn't?" She coolly replied. Nick hung his head as he awaited her reprimand for attempting to use something he knew nothing about. "To be able to transform and use a spell, even on accident, is farther then I thought you would have come by now." Rose continued. "I am curious as to what you said in the sick house before the fire started."

She hadn't yelled at him for starting the fire. He was shocked that he had done something that was not completely dreadful. He slumped to the ground and began to recall what happened in the sick house. He remembered trying to kick in the door, unsuccessfully. He also remembered cussing and a burning feeling. "Fucking explosion!" He exclaimed as if it was the final answer on a show to win him the grand prize.

Rose nodded in understanding. This Nick boy was further along then she had thought. Explosion was a harder spell to accomplish, even if it was in error. She recalled how long it took Dart to learn that spell; it was at least a few months after learning of his powers. Shaking her head, she opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get the words out, Albert shouted from across the way. Nick was already running back to where Albert was Rose was not too far behind when they arrived.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked between breaths.

Albert pointed straight ahead. "I think the 'angel' got sick of waiting in the town."

They whipped their heads in the direction that Albert was pointing. They watched as a woman came towards them. As she got closer Nick was able to make out a tall, lanky woman who walked with graceful steps. She had a glow about her that had no one questioning why Albert thought this was the 'angel'. She was wearing green pants, with a light colored top and over that, she had a darker green cloak clasped around the neck. In her hand she carried a bow, long and curved, it had the same kind of flow as the woman herself seemed to have. Poking from above her left shoulder, the hilt of a sword was apparent. Over the right shoulder, quivers stood tall and colorful.

Rose squinted her eyes at the approaching figure, ever cautious, she was not willing to except this 'angel' right away, and after all she did come bearing weapons. As she watched the 'angel' approach, she gasped when she saw what she was wearing around her neck, a silver amulet. Rose quickly glanced at Albert, he hadn't noticed it yet or he would be gasping too. She returned her gaze at the woman, she was close enough now that they could see the features on her smiling face.

The beauty of this woman was unsurpassed in anyone Nick had ever seen before. Loosely tied, her curly blond hair fell down her back though a few strands of hair fell and framed her face. Her ears slightly came to a point, and when she was close enough, Nick thought of many of the descriptions of elves he had heard about in his world.

"I have been hoping to find you," the angel spoke when she stopped in front of Nick, Albert and Rose. The pilgrims were slowly gathering around the woman holding out their hands, reaching for her and her rumored healing powers. One man pushed his way through to her and held his son towards her, his eyes pleaded with her to help. She broke her gaze from the three, to all the sick gathering around her. "Please excuse me Albert, Nick and Rose, I will come back to you as soon as I help these wonderful people."

She smiled and took the boy in her arms, unafraid of catching whatever disease might be inflicting these people. Albert watched in wonder as the woman placed the child back in the arms of his father and instructed him on how to hold the child. She then grabbed at the necklace around her neck, Albert gawked as he recognized the Silver Dragoon Spirit on the end of her chain. A glow came from the spirit and all the pilgrims watched in awe as the boy's boils disappeared. Several hours passed, tents arose and those healed went to sleep. Some severely sick huddled in a corner together, they had approached the woman, but she had denied healing them. There was a cruel twist to this woman, as she gave hope to all, but only selected some to live.

Albert sat outside an erected tent and watched the woman carefully. The Silver Dragoon Spirit evidentially had found its new owner, but what had become of Miranda? She had the spirit when Albert was dragged into this new world. Had the vortex pulled Miranda's Spirit in, after all, Zieg's had been. If it had, what had become of her? Albert started to worry about the others, since they were all in their Dragoon form and flying when Albert had last seen them. Thinking of the others forced his mind to wander to Emille. He promised her that he would return, but would he ever return to her now?

He looked up and saw the woman standing in front of him. "Albert, do not worry, everything will work out." She smiled trying to comfort him. He could not help but stare at this woman, she seemed to know what was on his mind.

"I know you are confused right now, but I am here to help. If you could please show me to Rose, it is her time." She was so serene in everything she did, and her movements were so graceful that it was hard for Albert to tear his eyes away from her long enough to turn his back and lead her to Rose. He showed her where Rose was resting, Nick nearby watching over her as she slept.

The woman leaned over Rose and held the amulet over Rose's side, amazing the other two that she knew what was wrong with Rose, none of them had said, but of course, she knew their names before she was told as well. "She is done." The woman simply stated and then walked off, finding a place for herself to rest.

Nick ran up to Rose and checked her side, carefully removing the bandage still clinging to her. Rose stirred as he did so and watched him as he stared at the area the wound was supposed to be. "What is it?" Rose asked.

Nick looked at her, "You are healed."

*****

Sunlight streamed through the rip in the tent that Rose had borrowed for the night. Carefully she blinked awake, still unsure if that woman really healed her. She looked at her side and her bare skin showed through her shirt, no bandage, no blood, and no scar were apparent. Sitting, Rose looked around the tent at the sleeping figures of Nick and Albert, quietly and slowly she left the tent careful not to rouse the boys.

Once outside, she scanned the land around her, she was searching for the mysterious woman; she wanted some answers. She was not hard to miss, groups of newly healed pilgrims were huddling around her, giving her thanks and payment with what meager possessions they had. In a few simple steps, she was standing next to the center of the group, the people merely looked at Rose and started to dispense. Hands on her waist, Rose turned to the woman, "And you are?" she asked with an edge of abhorrence in her voice.

The blond woman turned her gentle face to Rose and motioned to her to sit close to her. "We have much to discuss. I am glad you sought me out Rose." Rose leaned against the rock and crossed her arms across her chest. "I hope you can enlighten me." She said bitterly.

The woman ignored Rose's last remark and continued on her own explanation. "All my life I have prepared myself for this point in my life. The point that I was to meet you, Albert and Nick." She looked at Rose, her expression was held in place. "When the time came, I went on my journey to find you, though I knew where you were the whole time."

"So you are a 'seer' and an 'angel' now?" Rose sarcastically spat out.

"Like you, I come from a different world. My people, well we are blessed with a gift, an extra sense if you will." The way Rose looked at her, she knew Rose was going to say something. "Before you say anything, let me finish. You can call us seers, for we do see things before they happen, that is why some of the pilgrims that came to me for healing were turned away, their time had come. I realize that in some aspects, what I do is very morbid. I give people hope, then turn those away who have no hope to live. I am no angel though, or I would save all these people." She paused and looked at the sick she had left unhealed, she sighed and shook her head glumly.

"I am sure you recognized this," She held out the amulet that had caught her eye, the Silver Dragoon Spirit. "I knew I was meant to carry this when I was at the tender age of seven. Now I have said my piece and am prepared to answer your questions."

Rose scoffed, "shouldn't you know what I am going to ask you if you can 'sense' these things." Rose pushed herself off the rock and stood facing the woman.

"It doesn't work that way." Was all the woman would say.

"Fine," Rose settled for that answer, "to begin with, does your grace have a name, or should I just call you angel?"

"My name is Cassie."

"Cassie?" Rose questioned in disbelief. "Such a plain name for 'wonderful' woman." Rose knew she was being overly vicious in her statements to Cassie, but there was something about Cassie that irked her. Cassie ignored Rose's comment, so Rose moved on to her next question. "Where did you find it?" She asked pointing to the Silver Dragoon Spirit hanging around Cassie's neck.

"I had to steal it from a farmer and his wife. They found it lying in their fields and were going to sell the 'pretty bauble' for a fair price. They refused to take my money because I looked strange to them. I left and in the night I crept in and took it from the place they stored it. I did leave the money I had offered them for the amulet in the first place." Even though she left the money, her face still showed her guilt in the act that she committed.

"What a thief you are." Rose laughed. "Well I know you can use the healing powers of the Spirit, but do you know it's true power."

Rose watched as Cassie stood from the rock and relaxed her body. Maybe it was the quills of her arrows, but feathers seemed to fly around her as she let the Spirit take control. A bright light forced Rose to turn her eyes from Cassie for a moment, and when she looked back, Cassie completed the transformation to Dragoon. "Does this answer your question," Cassie calmly replied, then she relaxed again and the Dragoon Spirit relaxed its hold on her. The pilgrims, who were still nearby, gasped with wonder when they saw their angel in full splendor, those left unhealed spit on the ground and made the sign against evil.

Rose shrugged and turned to walk off. "Before you go," Cassie called after her, "Please give this to Nick, so he might start his training." She leaned over and grabbed the sword lying on the ground. It was a lighter sword then Dart had wielded, but then again, Nick knew nothing of swordsmanship. Cassie held the weapon out for Rose and she snatched it out of her hands. Completing her turn, Rose walked away from Cassie to find Nick and finally begin his training.