The Pure Hearted Heroine (A Ni No Kuni Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

As they were leaving, Sappy asked the question everyone had on their minds.

"Why do you think that Song-girl stayed behind? I would have thought that she would have wanted to join us, mun! Seeing as she had been locked up for a while and hadn't had a chance to battle for a bit!" Nicky shrugged.

"Maybe she's a bit tired. After all, she has been dragging around that stone foot for a while That could be hard for the strongest of people." Jayden nodded, then grinned.

"Yeah. Plus, she's getting older. She probably shouldn't be running around anymore." Sappy and Arjun laughed while Nicky whacked him in the arm.

"Jayden! She'd kill you if she knew that you said that! And anyway, she can't be that old. She was, what, nineteen when she met my father?" Jayden nodded grinning.

"Yeah, and now she's at least forty five!" The boys all laughed and Nicky shook her head, but was smiling.

"You three are impossible!" They laughed again, but the laughter petered out as they reached the gate into Al Mamoon. The city wasn't trashed like Ding Dong Dell, but it was destroyed. Rotting fruit lie around, burnt or burning wooden poles and tent covers lay around, one house had a hole in it.

"My home!" Arjun cried out, running to a clay house. Or what was left of it. The roof had caved in and one of the walls were down. Inside was broken glass everywhere and torn cloths. Arjun looked ready to cry as he picked up an overturned basket that was charred on the bottom and had what looked like used to be a pillow in it. "This was Frylous's bed." He told the others, tears filling his big brown eyes. Then he dropped the basket and clenched his fists. "Lelina and her Flyers will pay! I will make sure of that!" Nicky went over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Don't worry, Arjun. We'll make sure that this doesn't happen to anybody else." Arjun nodded, hugging her back. Jayden cleared his throat.

"If we're going to do that, then we best get going. I'll bet those Flyers are hiding out in the palace. That was where Lelina unleashed them." Sappy jumped up and grabbed onto Jayden's shoulder, nodding.

"Yeah, mun! Let's get a shuntin, Nicky-girl!" That was when they heard a dark laughter behind them. They spun around and saw a woman wearing a crimson dress with black roses on the front and a black cape over her shoulder. Her black hair was in dreadlocks and fell to her knees, with a black thorny headpiece pulling it back.

"I'm afraid that your mission is futile, Young Savour" She told Nicky. Arjun pointed his gun at the woman.

"That's Lelina!" He told them. Nicky gasped and looked back at the woman, who glowered at Arjun.

"So, little boy, you choose to stir up trouble with me, do you? A very unwise decision, if I must say so." Arjun didn't say anything to her, but kept pointing his gun. Nicky stepped up to Lelina.

"You wouldn't dare touch him!" She growled. Lelina glared at her, then scoffed.

"You seem tougher than you look, Young Savour. No matter. You are no match, for my pets." Then she vanished, laughing, and Jayden and Sappy gave a yell.

"Flyers!" They screamed. Nicky and Arjun looked up, and indeed, Flyers were coming down on them!

"Ah!" Nicky screamed, covering Arjun as a Flyer tried to claw at him.