You, Me, and the World Between Us (Dragon Quest)

II - Trouble in Vrenor

"We have no need to stress ourselves over such matters; surely if we continue on for long enough we will exit the mountain path and be on our way back to Zamoksva. We can explain to mother and father that we went out for late-night walking, got ambushed by monsters, and lost our way home. So simplistic it could fool the sagest of scholars!" Maxim explained to his sister with a stately nod. The Tsarevich bore a confident grin on his face for the sake of convincing his sister, but beneath the facade, he too had his concerns. Inessa had brought up a valid point about how brutal their mother might be when the time for punishment came. And, if she were to see through Maxim's tall-tale, the discipline would be a far greater cross to bear.

Nevertheless, the duo pressed onwards, seeking out an exit to the mountain passage. As they wandered, the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, alerting them that day was upon them and that their parents would soon discover their children to be missing. "Mother and father must be so scared!" Inessa cried out, wringing her hands as she followed behind Maxim, "To awaken and find Tsarevna and Tsarevich missing must cause such distress. Father, oh, poor father, surely his heart is broken! And mother, I cannot bear to think about the heavyweight of agony we have pressed on her by abandoning the castle! Dear Goddess above, I pray thee, help my brother and I find a safe passage back to Zamoksva!"

"Do keep your whining and your prayers to yourself," Maxim grumbled as he spun around to face his sister with a glare. He watched as Inessa's eyes grew wide and she staggered backward with a scream. The Tsarevich stood confused for a moment. Surely his sudden complaint couldn't have shocked her that much. It wasn't until then that it had hit him - she looked beyond him, meaning that there was something beyond him that had scared her. Monsters are upon us, he made the connection, whipping his sword out of its sheath and coming face-to-face with a massive cat with a black and blue striped pelt. He charged forwards towards the Cheater Cheetah, the blade colliding with the coat of the beast.

Maxim slammed his side into the creature, sending it flying backward a few feet. The Tsarevich sprinted forward and planted his foot firmly onto its chest. Hardly a physical match to combat the enormous cat head-to-head, keeping the monster down proved to be quite a challenge. The Cheater Cheetah reached up, slashing at Maxim's ankle. He gasped, removing his foot from the beast and staggering backward. Still, he kept a strong hold on his sword, ready to retaliate when the fiend came back. Sure enough, it sprang after him, and without hesitation, he executed an artful counterattack, plunging the weapon deep into the monster's chest and killing it.

The fiery haired Tsarevich stood above his fallen prey, his breathing heavy and unevenly staggered. He pulled the blade from the Cheater Cheetah's pelt, grimacing at the beast's blood that clung to his weapon. With a sigh, Maxim dug deep into the bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out an old cloth. He sat down upon a nearby boulder, wiping the foul liquid off of his blade. Footsteps slowly approached him, followed with a short silence. "I offer my sincerest apologies for not coming to your aid," Inessa told her brother sheepishly, her head tucked down in shame. "The beast put me into a state of petrification and it was impossible for me to function at the moment. Please forgive me."

"It is forgotten," Maxim told his sister, flipping his weapon over to clean the other side. He looked up to face his sister and smiled, bringing some light to her expression as well. "It is quite understandable that you would be startled by such a creature," the Tsarevich said with a nod towards the lifeless corpse of the black and blue cheetah. Inessa's eyes traveled over to the beast, a shiver passing through her body as she looked upon it. "What matters now is not what actions we took during battle, but rather that the both of us are alive and well. Let us celebrate such a blessing by continuing onwards!" Maxim exclaimed, completely disregarding his injured ankle as he leaped up. He released a pained cry, falling back onto the boulder with a grimace.