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batsutousaiTitle: Fallen Night
Fandoms: Harry Potter & Radiata Stories
Chapter: 9 of 11
Author: Batsutousai/![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison/tsuki_no_suzu
Rating: T
Pairings: Harry/Jack
Warnings: OoC, AU, slash, non-human arc
Summary: Harry slipped when he was standing a little too close, and the next thing he knew, he was far away from everything he'd ever known, with something like eternity waiting for him.
Disclaim Her: This story uses characters and settings owned by J.K. Rowling, her publishers, Square Enix and tri-Ace. No money is being made from the creation of this fanfic, and no copywrite infringement is intended.
There are a couple scenes in this chapter that were taken almost word-for-word from the game, with changes to include Harry and the changed circumstances his being there have brought about.
-0-
Chapter Nine - Arbitrator
-0-
Jack had behaved himself and hadn't done anything more strenuous than walking around the fort for the past day, so Harry had released him to the mythical 'light duty' that morning. Gil was back on normal duty, much to his pleasure, and Jack was once again resting in the field behind the fort, watching Gil beat his troops into shape. He knew he could get up and stretch his own sore muscles a bit, but it wouldn't be the same as an actual fight, and he didn't have a weapon right now, either, since his Deep Lance had been left in Fire Mountain.
Sure, he could easily get a new weapon from Vladimir, but he wasn't really allowed to use it right now, anyway... He could wait another day or two.
Between the warm sun and the repetitive sounds of drills, Jack found himself dozing again. He considered getting up and waking himself some, but decided it wasn't worth it. Harry had insisted his body needed rest, and Jack was willing to take a nap if it would speed his healing a bit more.
-0-0-0-
Jack wasn't sure what had woken him, but he tensed in preparation and opened his eyes to the glare of the afternoon sun. The field was silent and Jack figured it must have been lunchtime, which meant drills were taking a break. Gil would bring him something to eat, so Jack didn't really have a reason to get up, but...
What had woken him?
"What happened to you?" a familiar voice wondered.
Jack swung around to face the voice and blinked, surprised. "Captain?"
Ganz smiled and inclined his head. "Hello, Jack. It's been a while."
Jack climbed to his feet. "Where have you been? I was worried about you!"
Ganz shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, it's a long story... But before we get into that, I have something that I think will make you feel better." He pointed behind Jack.
Jack turned to look and felt his breath catch. Standing between two women was his sister, bruised and filthy, but okay. He remembered Cross mentioning that he had her, but he'd forced himself to focus on his own recovery before trying to figure out what the knight had meant about that. And, now, here was Adele, alive and safe. But their last meeting hadn't been so friendly, and Jack wondered how she'd react to him now.
"A-Adele?" he whispered, ashamed to hear his voice breaking.
Adele bit her lower lip. "Oh, Jack..." she whispered. "I'm sorry..."
That was all that Jack needed and he hurried forward to hug her. Her arms encircled him back and he could feel her shaking. "What did they do to you?" Jack whispered against her shoulder.
"As far as we can tell, they didn't do much more than starve her and beat her a bit," one of the women reported quietly. "Not quite as bad as it could have been, considering her 'crimes'." The woman's lip curled at the last word, disgust dripping from her voice.
"Crimes?" Jack replied, pulling out of Adele's embrace and looking her over critically. It didn't look like more than a few bruises and scrapes, but he'd feel better if Harry looked her over.
"I'm the sister of a traitor," Adele said quietly. "That was enough for the knights."
"Those..." Jack pressed his mouth together, disgusted, then glanced over at the fort. "Stay here," he decided. "I'll get some food." He considered Ganz and the two women who'd brought his sister. "For everyone."
"Thank you, Jack," Ganz said, smiling.
Jack nodded and gave his sister a critical look. "Sit down," he ordered, earning him a quiet laugh. He hurried into the fort and slipped into the mess. He looked around for Gil and Harry and, spotting Gil first, hurried over to him. "Hey, Gil?"
"You're awake," Gil replied. "Good nap?"
"Reasonable," Jack decided. "Listen, a couple of friends came to visit me, and I'm pretty sure they've got peaceful intentions, but they're human, so..."
Gil nodded. "The west wall could use some work," he commented. "I'll have my troop head over there after lunch." He paused for a moment while Jack shot him a grateful look, then asked, "Do you want someone out there with you, just in case?"
Jack shook his head. "I was going to get Harry," he admitted.
Gil shot him a knowing smile. "Uh-huh."
"Shut up, Gil," Jack retorted, moving away from the light elf and scanning the room again for the mess of black hair that always stood out in a room dominated by green and red-brown hair. He finally spotted Harry between Gawain's bright red hair and Ridley's blonde head. He considered for a moment that it was kind of funny that the humans and dragon stood out so much among the group of fairy creatures, then slipped through the room over to where the three sat.
"Hey, Harry? Could I borrow you for a moment?" he asked.
Harry glanced up, suspicion gleaming in his eyes even as he smiled. "What's up, Jack? Have you eaten yet?"
"I was going to grab something to go," he admitted.
"You're on light duty," Harry reminded him.
"Yeah, I was just going to enjoy the outdoors a bit. Collect a few more grass stains," Jack retorted, earning him snickers from Gawain and a couple of dark elves nearby. Ridley covered a smile with one hand while Harry's lips twisted with a full grin. "Come with me, please? It won't take long, promise."
Harry sighed and got to his feet with a groan. "All right, Jack. Lead the way to what ever trouble you've gotten yourself into this time."
Jack rolled his eyes while Ridley and Gawain laughed. "I'm completely innocent of any wrong-doing this time," he said to the dragon as he led the way to where the food was set out. He took a moment to pick out some of his sister's favourite foods, as well as something for himself and his other three visitors. At Harry's raised eyebrow, he admitted, "I got some visitors. I figured we could talk over food."
"Hmm." Harry grabbed himself an apple and bit into it as Jack led the way back out into the courtyard and towards the back entrance. "Human visitors?" he guessed.
Jack nodded. "The captain and a couple of his friends." He glanced at Harry out of the corner of his eye, wanting to judge the man's reaction. "And my sister."
Harry stopped and gave Jack an incredulous look. "Your sister," he repeated, disbelieving.
Jack nodded. "Yeah. Uhm, the knights had her and she's a little beaten up. She, uh... She doesn't seem too intent on attacking me right now, if that's what you're afraid of."
Harry huffed. "We'll see about that," he muttered and started walking back towards the exit again.
When they got outside, they found Adele sitting back against one of the rubble piles near the gate, one of the women crouched in front of her with a worried expression on her face. The other woman and Ganz stood nearby, looking helpless.
Harry took a moment to consider the scene, then stepped forward and crouched down next to Jack's sister, gently taking her chin in one hand and turning her head to face him. When Adele flinched away, eyes wide, he snapped, "Hold still, girl, and let me do my job."
Jack bit back a smile as he offered food to the other three humans. He'd known Harry wouldn't be able to resist checking Adele over, even if he'd last seen her trying to kill Jack.
"Who's that?" the woman who'd been kneeling next to Adele asked as she joined them and accepted some food.
"Harry. He's a mage and a healer," Jack reported, munching on a roll.
"He's the man who killed that blood orc, isn't he?" Ganz wondered, looking over at the mage curiously.
Jack nodded. "Yeah. He and I became friends after we got discharged from the knights. Which reminds me, Captain, what happened to you after that?"
Ganz smiled and made to sit down, the other three following his example. Jack set the rest of the food out between them, leaving aside what he'd picked out for his sister for when Harry was done playing healer.
"Well, as you know, Jack, I failed the Theater Vancoor test, but in a strange turn of events I found myself in Void, the bandit guild. Ms Rynka and Miss Flau took me under their wing and I helped them with their bandit work."
"A bandit?" Jack said, eyes wide. "Nuh-uh."
"Other than Theater Vancoor, there wouldn't have been a lot of options," Harry helpfully pointed out, picking through the food Jack had gotten for Adele.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Jack demanded.
"Finding things your sister can actually stomach after a week with little food," Harry replied drily. "We don't have any broth, but I gave her a potion that should help her keep down solid foods, if they're weak. Give me that roll," he added to Flau, who had just picked the last roll out of the pile of food.
Flau handed it over, blinking.
Harry nodded and turned back towards Adele with the food.
"Mages," Rynka muttered, making her companions grin.
Jack glanced back at Ganz. "Anyway, you. Bandit."
Ganz nodded. "Perhaps not the best job for me, but I did my best and managed to survive all right. Anyway, sometimes bandits steal information. One evening, the three of us uncovered a terrible secret concerning Sir Cross."
"What secret?" Jack asked, curious.
"It was about the blood orc incident," Ganz supplied.
"He's the one who brought the blood orcs north of Radiata, wasn't he?" Harry enquired, turning a bit so he could face their group, but also keep an eye on Adele.
"What? No way!" Jack looked over at Ganz and the man nodded, looking surprised. "Seriously?"
"You know how Cross was, Jack. Don't tell me you're honestly surprised," Harry said drily.
"Well, no, not really," Jack admitted, mind flashing back to Cross' pride over defeating Parsec. "But why would he do something like that? Especially with Ridley so close?"
"If you'll recall, Jack, we weren't actually supposed to be at the Forest Metropolis, but at the City of Flowers," Ganz reminded his fellow ex-knight.
Jack nodded. "Yeah, okay. But, why?" When Ganz didn't seem to have an answer, Jack turned to Harry.
The dragon offered a grim smile. "Cross was hardly the first human intent on killing the fairy creatures. And last time I saw Parsec, he told me that Aphelion was hiding out in Radiata Castle. For all we know, Aphelion was the one that gave Cross the idea."
"Maybe Cross was Aphelion and we don't have to worry about him anymore," Jack muttered.
"Nope, sorry. Cross was one hundred percent human," Harry offered cheerfully.
Jack sighed and looked back at Ganz, who was wearing a curiously blank expression. "Sorry, Captain. So, how'd you get Adele, then? I remember Cross mentioning something about her, but..."
"What? When?" Harry cut in, leaning forward.
"Shortly before someone gutted him," Jack shot back drily.
Harry sat back, smiling in a self-satisfied sort of way. He'd never regret killing that bastard.
The humans other than Jack all gave Harry surprised looks. "You're the one who killed Cross?" Rynka asked.
Harry shrugged. "Yeah."
"He didn't just kill him," Jack offered, "he blew up his stomach."
"I didn't 'blow up' anything," Harry corrected matter of factly. "I pulled out his intestines and his skin just happened to be in the way."
The humans were silent for a long moment, then Adele coughed and commented, "You're a bit scary."
The humans let out some nervous laughter while Harry rolled his eyes and Jack grinned. "He only kills monsters and humans with murderous intentions towards his friends."
Adele's eyes took on a nervous cast. "Not very reassuring," she commented, obviously remembering her own attack on Jack.
"Jack would never forgive me if I killed you," Harry offered drily.
Adele looked to Jack for some reassurance and he smiled at her, then looked back at Ganz. "You. My sister. Harry, stop distracting us from the story."
Harry snorted and occupied his mouth with an apple he'd filched from the dwindling pile of food between the humans.
Ganz cleared his throat, a faint smile touching his lips. "We infiltrated the castle to find out more about what Sir Cross was up to, and we found Miss Adele in the dungeons. I knew we had to get her out of there before anything else, and we brought her straight to you."
Jack nodded and glanced back at where Adele was watching him, sadness in her eyes. "Thanks, Ganz. I wasn't sure Cross wasn't just messing with me back there, and I wasn't sure how I'd get into the city to find out..." Or even if he'd be welcome to help his sister out. Adele and he hadn't parted on the best of terms after all.
"Rynka and Flau will look after Miss Adele for you," Ganz offered.
Jack was starting to nod, but Adele cut in. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather stay here and fight."
Jack gave his sister a startled look. "But, Sis–"
Adele shook her head. "I had a lot of time to think in that cell, Jack," she said, eyes dark. "And you were right – I did teach you to do the right thing, no matter what. Maybe helping the nonhumans isn't the best thing for the world, but after everything that happened to me in that castle, I can't bring myself to fight for or with the knights."
"No one says you have to fight at all," Jack pointed out quietly.
Adele shrugged. "No, but I'm the daughter of Cairn Russell; I can't just sit this one out because I don't know who's right. You've seen something in these people, something worth throwing your life away for. Maybe I don't know what that thing is, but it being there at all is enough for me."
Jack stared at his sister, surprised and touched. "Sis..."
A hand landed on Jack's shoulder and he looked over at Ganz. "I, too, intend to stay here and fight with you. This is where my friends are, as well as my father. There's nothing for me back in Radiata."
Jack turned to Harry, eyes wide with panic and the dragon smiled. "Zane is going to throw a fit, but I don't see any reason why they can't join us. Everyone deserves a chance to fight for what they believe in, no matter their personal reasons." Then he turned to Adele, eyes stern. "But you're on bed rest for another two days, no arguments."
Jack grinned. "Better listen to him, Sis. Harry throws around sleep spells like they're candy."
"If you lot would bloody rest when you need to, I wouldn't have to hit you with sleep magic all the time," Harry retorted.
"Pot, kettle," Jack said, still grinning.
"I don't need to sleep as much as you, and you know that."
Jack chuckled and got to his feet. "Yeah, yeah. You want to tackle Zane?"
Harry groaned and got to his own feet. "Might as well. Come on, Ganz, I can show you to Gawain on the way."
Ganz nodded and stopped to say his good-byes to Rynka and Flau.
"Talk to Coco about getting another bed set up in Ridley's room," Harry said to Jack. "Your sister can sleep in there – Ridley shouldn't mind, and putting either of them with one of the fairy creatures is just asking for a blood bath."
Jack nodded. "Okay. I'll let Ridley know about her new roommate once Adele is settled in."
"Fantastic," Harry decided, then motioned for Ganz to follow him and led the way inside.
Adele gave Jack a searching look as the younger Russell helped her up. "You're good friends, then?" she asked.
"Best," Jack agreed. "He's my reason for being here."
Adele let out a thoughtful hum, then reached over and touched a mostly-healed cut on his cheek. "So what happened to you while I was rotting in a dungeon?"
Jack grimaced, then shrugged and started explaining his recent adventures, leaving out only that Harry was a dragon.
-0-0-0-
Harry came to check on Adele during supper, while everyone else was eating in the mess. He brought some bland food with him for her to eat and conjured up a chair to sit in while she ate.
"You don't trust me," Adele commented quietly.
Harry shrugged. "Do you blame me? The first time I saw you, you were about to swing your sword down on Jack's head."
"I misjudged the situation."
"That's a pretty way of saying you overreacted." Harry leaned back in his chair. "I'm willing to let you stay because Jack wants you around, but I'm not about to trust that you won't 'misjudge the situation' again."
Adele looked down at the crackers on the plate Harry had brought. "I don't intend to hurt my brother again." She looked up at him, brown eyes challenging. "And I don't intend to let you hurt him, either."
Harry snorted. "Me? Why would I hurt Jack?"
"You tell me," Adele snapped. "He says you're his best friend, but what about you? Do you consider him a friend too, or is he just your roommate and one of the few other humans here? Don't think I haven't noticed how hard it is for humans here."
"Don't be so quick to judge the relationships between those of us in this fort, Miss Russell," Harry replied tightly. "Jack is hardly restricted to only having humans as friends."
"You didn't answer my question," Adele pointed out, not about to be side-tracked.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Of course Jack is my friend."
"But not your best friend."
Harry scowled. "I don't like labelling which friend I like best. If you're asking if he's my closest friend... Then, yes, I'd have to say so. He knows the most about me of all the people alive right now. If you're asking whether or not I'd trust him with my life, of course I would."
"And if you could give your life to save him, would you?" Adele demanded, and something about her tone set Harry's teeth on edge.
"Would you?" he shot back.
"Yes," Adele said, no hesitation. "He's my little brother, and I would give anything to see him survive. Even when I sat rotting in the Radiata dungeon, thinking Jack was being foolish, I never even considered helping the knights to find him."
"You'd rather kill him yourself," Harry snapped.
Adele had no response for that and she looked away.
Harry stood and vanished his chair with a wave of his hand. "Good night, Miss Russell."
Harry had just reached the doorway when Adele called, "You never answered my question: Would you give your life to save my brother?"
"No," Harry replied, reaching out for the doorknob.
Adele's plate smashed on the stone next to Harry's head and he flinched away, turning to shoot her an incredulous look. Adele glared at him and demanded, "Why not? Is my brother not good enough for you?"
"I have no need to sacrifice myself for him," Harry snapped. "I would just save him without the loss of either of our lives."
"And if one of you had to die?" the woman demanded. "If there was some sort of spell that required the death of one of you?"
Harry clenched his fists at his sides. "Then it wouldn't matter, since I cannot die." He snapped the door open and stormed out, leaving the human to stare in disbelief at the empty doorway.
-0-0-0-
Something had happened between Harry and Adele, but neither of them would say what it had been, no matter how much Jack pleaded with them about it. All he knew was that Adele appeared to absolutely despise Harry all of a sudden, and Harry would leave any room that Adele walked in to or would change the subject if mention of her was made.
Really, Jack was getting kind of sick of trying to pick between his sister and his best friend.
His other friends – Gil, Ridley, Gob and Ganz – were no help in the matter and often just told him to let it be and let the two work it out on their own, but that required far more patience than Jack had, especially since he'd remained on 'light duty' for another two days. (In retrospect, getting irritated at Harry's bad mood and taking his frustration out on the training dummy probably hadn't been his best choice.)
The first day Jack could finally go all out, he bought a sword from Vladimir and started walking to the Forest Metropolis, taking on the monsters on his way by himself and enjoying himself.
When he finally reached his destination, he let Mikey talk him into eating there, since it was getting to be supper time, then used the pig to warp back to the fort.
He'd half expected Harry to be waiting around to chew him out for being so active, but the only person out back was Gawain, and the older man was training with one of the dummies.
"Hey, Gawain," he called, adjusting one of his bangles. The things were useful, make no mistake, but they tended to chafe after a day of fighting.
"You're back," Gawain noted, relaxing against his Morningstar.
Jack shrugged. "Yeah. Needed to get out of the fort for a day, especially with Harry and Adele practically going at one another's throats every ten minutes." He grimaced. "I wish they'd get over it already."
Gawain snorted and shouldered his weapon. "You'd have better luck defeating me, I should think."
Jack's eyes lit up. "Was that a challenge?"
Gawain smirked. "Only if you're not too tired."
Jack pulled his sword out and got into a ready position. "I'm never too tired for a fight!" he declared, then rushed the older human.
Their weapons clanged together and they jumped apart, circling and watching for an opening. They'd spent the past week and a half watching each other train with the troops and the dummies, so they knew exactly how good the other was.
In the end, Jack's break at the Forest Metropolis ended up helping him surpass Gawain, who had enjoyed no such break. Both exhausted from their duel, they laid back on the grass to watch the stars above them, content.
After a few minutes, Gawain commented, "Your father and I used to look up at the sky together. If I close my eyes, I can still see it in my mind." He sighed. "We were both young, both always competing for first place. The brigade captain scolded us for it. Ah...seems like a lifetime ago..."
Jack smiled to himself, always happy to hear about his father. "Was he... strong?" he wondered. Jack had always heard about how wonderful his father was, how he was a brilliant knight and a friend to all the fairy creatures, but he rarely heard about his father's fighting skills, for all that he'd been a knight. The story he'd been told the most was about Cairn's defeat of Kelvin, but since he'd used an orb, like Cross, he wasn't sure that was a good story to judge him by.
"Yes, he was strong," Gawain offered. "He was a great warrior, perhaps as great as he was a person." He let out a quiet sigh for days long past. "It seemed like his shining sword was what always led us to victory."
Jack touched the sword at his waist, mind turning to the wrapped sword which rested against the wall in his room. "Do you think the day will come...when I'll be ready to used Dad's sword?"
Gawain sat up suddenly, eyes bright. "Do you have it? The Arbitrator?" When Jack nodded, he asked, "Can you... show it to me?"
"Sure. It's in my room," Jack agreed.
Gawain practically leapt to his feet and helped Jack up, then led the way into the fort and through the halls to Jack and Harry's room.
Harry was working at his potions table when they entered and he scowled. "Finally done wearing yourself out, Jack?" he enquired.
"You missed my epic duel with Gawain mere moments ago," Jack retorted, leaning around his bed to grab his sword and handing it carefully to Gawain. "Here it is."
Harry turned to reprimand the two humans about duelling so soon after Jack had been wounded, but the words died on his tongue as Gawain pulled the wrappings off the Arbitrator and the blade caught the light. "Is that...?"
"The Arbitrator," Gawain breathed.
Harry stepped over and touched the sword. The stone on the guard lit with a painfully bright white light and the three men turned their eyes from the light.
"Have you used this sword yet?" Gawain asked Jack once the spots had cleared his vision. Harry had, wisely, taken a few steps away from the sword, not wanting to chance setting off the stone again.
Jack shook his head. "No, I didn't think I should. Not until I've surpassed my father," he admitted.
Gawain stared back down at the sword, eyeing the dull stone on the guard. After a moment, he looked up at Harry and asked, "Is it–?"
"It's clean," Harry replied, expecting the question. "Whatever sickness had been in the sword is gone now."
"Sickness?" Jack asked, frowning.
"When Cairn contracted algandars, the Arbitrator was similarly affected," Harry explained. "I told you the illness is in the magic, remember?"
Jack nodded. "So the sword sort of contracted algandars? And it’s better now?"
"In a nutshell," Harry agreed. "The last time I touched that sword, the stone lit up a dark red, but this time it was white, and white is universally considered to be the colour for good, so..."
"Universally?" Gawain wondered.
Harry shrugged. "It's just a saying, Gawain. I haven't gone off to another planet and asked them what colour represents good or anything."
"With you, one can never tell," Gawain muttered, making Jack laugh and Harry roll his eyes. Gawain turned the sword in his hands and held the hilt out to Jack. "Take it," he ordered.
Jack blinked, but took a hold of the sword and lifted it. It was heavier than any one-handed sword he'd ever held in the past, but he'd carried his father's sword many times over the past months and the weight was a familiar one. He glanced past the blade at Gawain and raised an eyebrow at him curiously.
Gawain smiled. "You are ready to wield this sword," he declared, smile growing as Jack's eyes went wide. "I, Gawain, best friend of Cairn, declare this sword, the Arbitrator, the property of Jack Russell!"
Jack stared down at his sword. "My...sword?" he murmured.
"Whether you would have managed to best Cairn were he still alive... I cannot say," Gawain admitted. "But you defeated me and you have much of your father inside of you. Were he here, I am certain that he, too, would tell you it is your time to wield the Arbitrator."
Jack carefully switched his current blade for the Arbitrator and grinned down at it for a moment, hanging from his belt like it belonged there, then looked back up. "Thanks, Gawain," he said honestly. "I'll wear it with pride."
"Use it with pride as well," Gawain replied fondly. "Cairn often insisted that a sword was meant to be used, not simply set on display."
Jack nodded. "I'll wield this sword until the day I die," he swore.
A few steps away, Harry let out a strange sound and turned quickly back to his potions, shoulders tight with tension.
Gawain and Jack traded confused looks. "Harry?" Jack called.
Harry started mashing something with more force than he really needed.
Gawain shook his head. "Good luck, Jack," he offered the boy, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Jack nodded once in thanks and the older man turned and left.
Jack took a moment to remove his sword belt and bangles, then stepped up next to the table, leaning down to try and get a look at Harry's expression, which was tight with pain. "What is it?" he pleaded. "Harry, what–?"
Harry set the knife he was slicing with down and clenched his hands into fists before leaning on them against the table. "Leave it," he ordered.
Jack frowned, considered his friend's tense form, then said, "No."
Harry's head snapped up, eyes dark. "Jack–"
"Something happened between you and Adele," Jack said, talking over Harry and not really caring what the dragon's reaction would be; this had to be said. "Neither of you will tell me what, but I'm betting it has to do with me. I honestly don't care what the hell happened, I'm just tired of putting up with the outcome. You're my best friend and she's my sister; I'm not asking you two to like each other, but I'd like to be able to stand in the same room as both of you without worrying that someone's going to lose their head."
Having said his piece, Jack returned to his bed and sat down on it to remove his boots.
Harry continued standing over his table for a long while, unmoving. Jack had blown out the light next to his own bed and was settling in to sleep when Harry finally said, "I told her I wouldn't – couldn't – give up my life to save yours."
Jack sat back up in bed and watched as Harry finally turned away from his work top. "So?" the teen asked. "I never expected you to. I mean, you're a dragon, right? So you don't die."
Harry's shoulders relaxed just the slightest. "She didn't see it that way," he muttered. "She threw a plate at my head."
Jack snorted. "She threw plates at me all the time when I was a kid. And...of course she wouldn't see it that way – I never told her you're a dragon. She just thinks you're a human."
"I had guessed that much," Harry said drily, coming over to sit on the edge of Jack's bed. "And maybe I overreacted to the plate-throwing."
"Yeah? What did she say when you asked her whether she'd give her life for mine?"
"What makes you think I even asked?" Harry replied, raising one eyebrow.
Jack rolled his eyes. "I know you, Harry. And I know my sister. I'll bet she said yes."
"She did," Harry agreed, running a hand through his wild hair. "And then she told me that she'd never have given you up to the knights, even when she'd been angry with you."
"Ah." Jack grimaced. Way to put your foot in it, Sis, he thought. When she'd mentioned the same thing to Jack, he hadn't been as impressed or grateful as she'd expected him to be. When he'd tried reminding her that she'd been about to stick him with her sword moments before being captured, she'd claimed that she'd 'misjudged the situation' and Jack hadn't wanted to get into a fight with her so had let it go. Knowing Harry, though, he figured the dragon hadn't reacted to that claim well.
Harry shrugged. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I really don't like her," he admitted. "I didn't mean to make you upset, though."
Jack shook his head. "Nah. I suppose I can understand. I'll talk to her tomorrow, see if I can't get her to lay off a bit. Now that I know what the problem is, I can fix it." He offered Harry a smile.
Harry stared at the teen for a long moment, then abruptly stood. "Okay. Good luck," he said, moving quickly back to his potions table.
Now what? Jack frowned at Harry's back. "Harry?"
"You should get some sleep if you're going to tackle your sister tomorrow," Harry shot over his shoulder, voice light.
Jack climbed out of bed, wincing at the cold floor, and walked back over to Harry's table. There, he saw the dragon was cutting ingredients unevenly and he reached out and stilled Harry's hands, which were shaking. "I thought you said they were supposed to be cut evenly?" he wondered aloud.
Harry let out a strained laugh and pulled his hands out of Jack's, hiding them deep in his robes. "The potion will be more effective if the ingredients are chopped evenly," he replied. "But this burn salve isn't really all that important, so–"
"Maybe you should get some sleep yourself. You can work on the salve tomorrow," Jack decided and gently herded the dragon towards his bed next to the potions table.
"Sorry," Harry whispered as he sat down on his bed and started pulling his boots off.
"It's okay," Jack replied, hovering over Harry in concern. "I just wish I knew what was bothering you."
"It's nothing. I'm just tired," Harry insisted aloud, but to himself he thought, I got too comfortable and sat down next to you, and then I thought about kissing you and I can't do that to you.
"Okay," Jack said, shuffling his feet a bit to warm them up.
Harry glanced up at the human. "Go back to bed. I'll be fine."
Jack nodded and impulsively leaned forward to hug Harry. "Okay. Good night," he said as he moved back over to his bed.
Harry sat, frozen, on the edge of his bed, heart pounding in his chest. He hugged me. Why did he hug me? Friends hug, right? Ron and I... we didn't hug. And I'd never hug any of my elven friends, right? Right. But maybe Jack would? Why did he hug me? He likes Ridley, right?
"I've found it's easier to get to sleep if you're lying down," Jack helpfully called from across the room.
"Right." Harry shook himself and shucked off his heavy robes. A wave of his hand blew out his work lamp and he slipped under the covers, turning his back to the dark room. Does Jack like me? he wondered, staring at the dark wall that he knew was mere inches from his nose, though he couldn't see it in the dark. I thought he liked Ridley, but...
But Jack never spent time with Ridley, Harry had been noticing over the past few days. The teen spent a lot of time with the other fighters out back when Harry and Ridley were talking war with Zane. But when they weren't squirrelled away in the strategy room, Jack tended to gravitate towards Harry, often sitting quietly in their room and watching as Harry worked on potions.
Jack is a human, I am a dragon, Harry reminded himself. It doesn't matter if he returns my feelings, he's best off marrying some human girl and living out his short life with her. It's better for both of us.
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A/N: I'd hoped to get to the negotiating with the orcs mission in this chapter, but the stuff with Adele and then there at the end sort of defeated me. Oops. Well, orcs next chapter. And maybe Harry will finally come around and the boys will do something more useful than ruminating over their mutual affection. XD
A note about Harry's answer to Adele's question: Jack and Harry sort of answered this, but I figured I'd be a bit more concise down here. So, like how light elves in the game are kind of considered immortal because they can live on through the transpiritation ritual, dragons also have their own way of surviving the destruction of their physical body. I figure that anything that would record a death – a spell or whatever – wouldn't consider the death of the body as an actual 'death' if the spirit/soul is just going to possess a new body. A human might be fooled by something like that, but Adele was trying to specify something that Harry couldn't just magic his way out of.
So Jack would have to be the one to die. Jack's already accepted that, but Adele can't really understand since she looks at Harry and sees a human. And Harry doesn't like being reminded that Jack will eventually die, and there's nothing he can do about it.
~Bats ^.^x
Chapters:
Prologue - Falling
1 - Elves ||| 2 - Humans ||| 3 - Let It Go
4 - And If It Returns ||| 5 - It Was Meant to Be ||| 6 - Ways of the Dragons
7 - To Build an Army ||| 8 - Power Over Life |||9 - Arbitrator
10 - Blood-Filled Days ||| 11 - Hic Sunt Dracones
...
Fandoms: Harry Potter & Radiata Stories
Chapter: 9 of 11
Author: Batsutousai/
batsutousaiBeta: Shara Lunison/
tsuki_no_suzuRating: T
Pairings: Harry/Jack
Warnings: OoC, AU, slash, non-human arc
Summary: Harry slipped when he was standing a little too close, and the next thing he knew, he was far away from everything he'd ever known, with something like eternity waiting for him.
Disclaim Her: This story uses characters and settings owned by J.K. Rowling, her publishers, Square Enix and tri-Ace. No money is being made from the creation of this fanfic, and no copywrite infringement is intended.
There are a couple scenes in this chapter that were taken almost word-for-word from the game, with changes to include Harry and the changed circumstances his being there have brought about.
Chapter Nine - Arbitrator
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Jack had behaved himself and hadn't done anything more strenuous than walking around the fort for the past day, so Harry had released him to the mythical 'light duty' that morning. Gil was back on normal duty, much to his pleasure, and Jack was once again resting in the field behind the fort, watching Gil beat his troops into shape. He knew he could get up and stretch his own sore muscles a bit, but it wouldn't be the same as an actual fight, and he didn't have a weapon right now, either, since his Deep Lance had been left in Fire Mountain.
Sure, he could easily get a new weapon from Vladimir, but he wasn't really allowed to use it right now, anyway... He could wait another day or two.
Between the warm sun and the repetitive sounds of drills, Jack found himself dozing again. He considered getting up and waking himself some, but decided it wasn't worth it. Harry had insisted his body needed rest, and Jack was willing to take a nap if it would speed his healing a bit more.
Jack wasn't sure what had woken him, but he tensed in preparation and opened his eyes to the glare of the afternoon sun. The field was silent and Jack figured it must have been lunchtime, which meant drills were taking a break. Gil would bring him something to eat, so Jack didn't really have a reason to get up, but...
What had woken him?
"What happened to you?" a familiar voice wondered.
Jack swung around to face the voice and blinked, surprised. "Captain?"
Ganz smiled and inclined his head. "Hello, Jack. It's been a while."
Jack climbed to his feet. "Where have you been? I was worried about you!"
Ganz shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, it's a long story... But before we get into that, I have something that I think will make you feel better." He pointed behind Jack.
Jack turned to look and felt his breath catch. Standing between two women was his sister, bruised and filthy, but okay. He remembered Cross mentioning that he had her, but he'd forced himself to focus on his own recovery before trying to figure out what the knight had meant about that. And, now, here was Adele, alive and safe. But their last meeting hadn't been so friendly, and Jack wondered how she'd react to him now.
"A-Adele?" he whispered, ashamed to hear his voice breaking.
Adele bit her lower lip. "Oh, Jack..." she whispered. "I'm sorry..."
That was all that Jack needed and he hurried forward to hug her. Her arms encircled him back and he could feel her shaking. "What did they do to you?" Jack whispered against her shoulder.
"As far as we can tell, they didn't do much more than starve her and beat her a bit," one of the women reported quietly. "Not quite as bad as it could have been, considering her 'crimes'." The woman's lip curled at the last word, disgust dripping from her voice.
"Crimes?" Jack replied, pulling out of Adele's embrace and looking her over critically. It didn't look like more than a few bruises and scrapes, but he'd feel better if Harry looked her over.
"I'm the sister of a traitor," Adele said quietly. "That was enough for the knights."
"Those..." Jack pressed his mouth together, disgusted, then glanced over at the fort. "Stay here," he decided. "I'll get some food." He considered Ganz and the two women who'd brought his sister. "For everyone."
"Thank you, Jack," Ganz said, smiling.
Jack nodded and gave his sister a critical look. "Sit down," he ordered, earning him a quiet laugh. He hurried into the fort and slipped into the mess. He looked around for Gil and Harry and, spotting Gil first, hurried over to him. "Hey, Gil?"
"You're awake," Gil replied. "Good nap?"
"Reasonable," Jack decided. "Listen, a couple of friends came to visit me, and I'm pretty sure they've got peaceful intentions, but they're human, so..."
Gil nodded. "The west wall could use some work," he commented. "I'll have my troop head over there after lunch." He paused for a moment while Jack shot him a grateful look, then asked, "Do you want someone out there with you, just in case?"
Jack shook his head. "I was going to get Harry," he admitted.
Gil shot him a knowing smile. "Uh-huh."
"Shut up, Gil," Jack retorted, moving away from the light elf and scanning the room again for the mess of black hair that always stood out in a room dominated by green and red-brown hair. He finally spotted Harry between Gawain's bright red hair and Ridley's blonde head. He considered for a moment that it was kind of funny that the humans and dragon stood out so much among the group of fairy creatures, then slipped through the room over to where the three sat.
"Hey, Harry? Could I borrow you for a moment?" he asked.
Harry glanced up, suspicion gleaming in his eyes even as he smiled. "What's up, Jack? Have you eaten yet?"
"I was going to grab something to go," he admitted.
"You're on light duty," Harry reminded him.
"Yeah, I was just going to enjoy the outdoors a bit. Collect a few more grass stains," Jack retorted, earning him snickers from Gawain and a couple of dark elves nearby. Ridley covered a smile with one hand while Harry's lips twisted with a full grin. "Come with me, please? It won't take long, promise."
Harry sighed and got to his feet with a groan. "All right, Jack. Lead the way to what ever trouble you've gotten yourself into this time."
Jack rolled his eyes while Ridley and Gawain laughed. "I'm completely innocent of any wrong-doing this time," he said to the dragon as he led the way to where the food was set out. He took a moment to pick out some of his sister's favourite foods, as well as something for himself and his other three visitors. At Harry's raised eyebrow, he admitted, "I got some visitors. I figured we could talk over food."
"Hmm." Harry grabbed himself an apple and bit into it as Jack led the way back out into the courtyard and towards the back entrance. "Human visitors?" he guessed.
Jack nodded. "The captain and a couple of his friends." He glanced at Harry out of the corner of his eye, wanting to judge the man's reaction. "And my sister."
Harry stopped and gave Jack an incredulous look. "Your sister," he repeated, disbelieving.
Jack nodded. "Yeah. Uhm, the knights had her and she's a little beaten up. She, uh... She doesn't seem too intent on attacking me right now, if that's what you're afraid of."
Harry huffed. "We'll see about that," he muttered and started walking back towards the exit again.
When they got outside, they found Adele sitting back against one of the rubble piles near the gate, one of the women crouched in front of her with a worried expression on her face. The other woman and Ganz stood nearby, looking helpless.
Harry took a moment to consider the scene, then stepped forward and crouched down next to Jack's sister, gently taking her chin in one hand and turning her head to face him. When Adele flinched away, eyes wide, he snapped, "Hold still, girl, and let me do my job."
Jack bit back a smile as he offered food to the other three humans. He'd known Harry wouldn't be able to resist checking Adele over, even if he'd last seen her trying to kill Jack.
"Who's that?" the woman who'd been kneeling next to Adele asked as she joined them and accepted some food.
"Harry. He's a mage and a healer," Jack reported, munching on a roll.
"He's the man who killed that blood orc, isn't he?" Ganz wondered, looking over at the mage curiously.
Jack nodded. "Yeah. He and I became friends after we got discharged from the knights. Which reminds me, Captain, what happened to you after that?"
Ganz smiled and made to sit down, the other three following his example. Jack set the rest of the food out between them, leaving aside what he'd picked out for his sister for when Harry was done playing healer.
"Well, as you know, Jack, I failed the Theater Vancoor test, but in a strange turn of events I found myself in Void, the bandit guild. Ms Rynka and Miss Flau took me under their wing and I helped them with their bandit work."
"A bandit?" Jack said, eyes wide. "Nuh-uh."
"Other than Theater Vancoor, there wouldn't have been a lot of options," Harry helpfully pointed out, picking through the food Jack had gotten for Adele.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Jack demanded.
"Finding things your sister can actually stomach after a week with little food," Harry replied drily. "We don't have any broth, but I gave her a potion that should help her keep down solid foods, if they're weak. Give me that roll," he added to Flau, who had just picked the last roll out of the pile of food.
Flau handed it over, blinking.
Harry nodded and turned back towards Adele with the food.
"Mages," Rynka muttered, making her companions grin.
Jack glanced back at Ganz. "Anyway, you. Bandit."
Ganz nodded. "Perhaps not the best job for me, but I did my best and managed to survive all right. Anyway, sometimes bandits steal information. One evening, the three of us uncovered a terrible secret concerning Sir Cross."
"What secret?" Jack asked, curious.
"It was about the blood orc incident," Ganz supplied.
"He's the one who brought the blood orcs north of Radiata, wasn't he?" Harry enquired, turning a bit so he could face their group, but also keep an eye on Adele.
"What? No way!" Jack looked over at Ganz and the man nodded, looking surprised. "Seriously?"
"You know how Cross was, Jack. Don't tell me you're honestly surprised," Harry said drily.
"Well, no, not really," Jack admitted, mind flashing back to Cross' pride over defeating Parsec. "But why would he do something like that? Especially with Ridley so close?"
"If you'll recall, Jack, we weren't actually supposed to be at the Forest Metropolis, but at the City of Flowers," Ganz reminded his fellow ex-knight.
Jack nodded. "Yeah, okay. But, why?" When Ganz didn't seem to have an answer, Jack turned to Harry.
The dragon offered a grim smile. "Cross was hardly the first human intent on killing the fairy creatures. And last time I saw Parsec, he told me that Aphelion was hiding out in Radiata Castle. For all we know, Aphelion was the one that gave Cross the idea."
"Maybe Cross was Aphelion and we don't have to worry about him anymore," Jack muttered.
"Nope, sorry. Cross was one hundred percent human," Harry offered cheerfully.
Jack sighed and looked back at Ganz, who was wearing a curiously blank expression. "Sorry, Captain. So, how'd you get Adele, then? I remember Cross mentioning something about her, but..."
"What? When?" Harry cut in, leaning forward.
"Shortly before someone gutted him," Jack shot back drily.
Harry sat back, smiling in a self-satisfied sort of way. He'd never regret killing that bastard.
The humans other than Jack all gave Harry surprised looks. "You're the one who killed Cross?" Rynka asked.
Harry shrugged. "Yeah."
"He didn't just kill him," Jack offered, "he blew up his stomach."
"I didn't 'blow up' anything," Harry corrected matter of factly. "I pulled out his intestines and his skin just happened to be in the way."
The humans were silent for a long moment, then Adele coughed and commented, "You're a bit scary."
The humans let out some nervous laughter while Harry rolled his eyes and Jack grinned. "He only kills monsters and humans with murderous intentions towards his friends."
Adele's eyes took on a nervous cast. "Not very reassuring," she commented, obviously remembering her own attack on Jack.
"Jack would never forgive me if I killed you," Harry offered drily.
Adele looked to Jack for some reassurance and he smiled at her, then looked back at Ganz. "You. My sister. Harry, stop distracting us from the story."
Harry snorted and occupied his mouth with an apple he'd filched from the dwindling pile of food between the humans.
Ganz cleared his throat, a faint smile touching his lips. "We infiltrated the castle to find out more about what Sir Cross was up to, and we found Miss Adele in the dungeons. I knew we had to get her out of there before anything else, and we brought her straight to you."
Jack nodded and glanced back at where Adele was watching him, sadness in her eyes. "Thanks, Ganz. I wasn't sure Cross wasn't just messing with me back there, and I wasn't sure how I'd get into the city to find out..." Or even if he'd be welcome to help his sister out. Adele and he hadn't parted on the best of terms after all.
"Rynka and Flau will look after Miss Adele for you," Ganz offered.
Jack was starting to nod, but Adele cut in. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather stay here and fight."
Jack gave his sister a startled look. "But, Sis–"
Adele shook her head. "I had a lot of time to think in that cell, Jack," she said, eyes dark. "And you were right – I did teach you to do the right thing, no matter what. Maybe helping the nonhumans isn't the best thing for the world, but after everything that happened to me in that castle, I can't bring myself to fight for or with the knights."
"No one says you have to fight at all," Jack pointed out quietly.
Adele shrugged. "No, but I'm the daughter of Cairn Russell; I can't just sit this one out because I don't know who's right. You've seen something in these people, something worth throwing your life away for. Maybe I don't know what that thing is, but it being there at all is enough for me."
Jack stared at his sister, surprised and touched. "Sis..."
A hand landed on Jack's shoulder and he looked over at Ganz. "I, too, intend to stay here and fight with you. This is where my friends are, as well as my father. There's nothing for me back in Radiata."
Jack turned to Harry, eyes wide with panic and the dragon smiled. "Zane is going to throw a fit, but I don't see any reason why they can't join us. Everyone deserves a chance to fight for what they believe in, no matter their personal reasons." Then he turned to Adele, eyes stern. "But you're on bed rest for another two days, no arguments."
Jack grinned. "Better listen to him, Sis. Harry throws around sleep spells like they're candy."
"If you lot would bloody rest when you need to, I wouldn't have to hit you with sleep magic all the time," Harry retorted.
"Pot, kettle," Jack said, still grinning.
"I don't need to sleep as much as you, and you know that."
Jack chuckled and got to his feet. "Yeah, yeah. You want to tackle Zane?"
Harry groaned and got to his own feet. "Might as well. Come on, Ganz, I can show you to Gawain on the way."
Ganz nodded and stopped to say his good-byes to Rynka and Flau.
"Talk to Coco about getting another bed set up in Ridley's room," Harry said to Jack. "Your sister can sleep in there – Ridley shouldn't mind, and putting either of them with one of the fairy creatures is just asking for a blood bath."
Jack nodded. "Okay. I'll let Ridley know about her new roommate once Adele is settled in."
"Fantastic," Harry decided, then motioned for Ganz to follow him and led the way inside.
Adele gave Jack a searching look as the younger Russell helped her up. "You're good friends, then?" she asked.
"Best," Jack agreed. "He's my reason for being here."
Adele let out a thoughtful hum, then reached over and touched a mostly-healed cut on his cheek. "So what happened to you while I was rotting in a dungeon?"
Jack grimaced, then shrugged and started explaining his recent adventures, leaving out only that Harry was a dragon.
Harry came to check on Adele during supper, while everyone else was eating in the mess. He brought some bland food with him for her to eat and conjured up a chair to sit in while she ate.
"You don't trust me," Adele commented quietly.
Harry shrugged. "Do you blame me? The first time I saw you, you were about to swing your sword down on Jack's head."
"I misjudged the situation."
"That's a pretty way of saying you overreacted." Harry leaned back in his chair. "I'm willing to let you stay because Jack wants you around, but I'm not about to trust that you won't 'misjudge the situation' again."
Adele looked down at the crackers on the plate Harry had brought. "I don't intend to hurt my brother again." She looked up at him, brown eyes challenging. "And I don't intend to let you hurt him, either."
Harry snorted. "Me? Why would I hurt Jack?"
"You tell me," Adele snapped. "He says you're his best friend, but what about you? Do you consider him a friend too, or is he just your roommate and one of the few other humans here? Don't think I haven't noticed how hard it is for humans here."
"Don't be so quick to judge the relationships between those of us in this fort, Miss Russell," Harry replied tightly. "Jack is hardly restricted to only having humans as friends."
"You didn't answer my question," Adele pointed out, not about to be side-tracked.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Of course Jack is my friend."
"But not your best friend."
Harry scowled. "I don't like labelling which friend I like best. If you're asking if he's my closest friend... Then, yes, I'd have to say so. He knows the most about me of all the people alive right now. If you're asking whether or not I'd trust him with my life, of course I would."
"And if you could give your life to save him, would you?" Adele demanded, and something about her tone set Harry's teeth on edge.
"Would you?" he shot back.
"Yes," Adele said, no hesitation. "He's my little brother, and I would give anything to see him survive. Even when I sat rotting in the Radiata dungeon, thinking Jack was being foolish, I never even considered helping the knights to find him."
"You'd rather kill him yourself," Harry snapped.
Adele had no response for that and she looked away.
Harry stood and vanished his chair with a wave of his hand. "Good night, Miss Russell."
Harry had just reached the doorway when Adele called, "You never answered my question: Would you give your life to save my brother?"
"No," Harry replied, reaching out for the doorknob.
Adele's plate smashed on the stone next to Harry's head and he flinched away, turning to shoot her an incredulous look. Adele glared at him and demanded, "Why not? Is my brother not good enough for you?"
"I have no need to sacrifice myself for him," Harry snapped. "I would just save him without the loss of either of our lives."
"And if one of you had to die?" the woman demanded. "If there was some sort of spell that required the death of one of you?"
Harry clenched his fists at his sides. "Then it wouldn't matter, since I cannot die." He snapped the door open and stormed out, leaving the human to stare in disbelief at the empty doorway.
Something had happened between Harry and Adele, but neither of them would say what it had been, no matter how much Jack pleaded with them about it. All he knew was that Adele appeared to absolutely despise Harry all of a sudden, and Harry would leave any room that Adele walked in to or would change the subject if mention of her was made.
Really, Jack was getting kind of sick of trying to pick between his sister and his best friend.
His other friends – Gil, Ridley, Gob and Ganz – were no help in the matter and often just told him to let it be and let the two work it out on their own, but that required far more patience than Jack had, especially since he'd remained on 'light duty' for another two days. (In retrospect, getting irritated at Harry's bad mood and taking his frustration out on the training dummy probably hadn't been his best choice.)
The first day Jack could finally go all out, he bought a sword from Vladimir and started walking to the Forest Metropolis, taking on the monsters on his way by himself and enjoying himself.
When he finally reached his destination, he let Mikey talk him into eating there, since it was getting to be supper time, then used the pig to warp back to the fort.
He'd half expected Harry to be waiting around to chew him out for being so active, but the only person out back was Gawain, and the older man was training with one of the dummies.
"Hey, Gawain," he called, adjusting one of his bangles. The things were useful, make no mistake, but they tended to chafe after a day of fighting.
"You're back," Gawain noted, relaxing against his Morningstar.
Jack shrugged. "Yeah. Needed to get out of the fort for a day, especially with Harry and Adele practically going at one another's throats every ten minutes." He grimaced. "I wish they'd get over it already."
Gawain snorted and shouldered his weapon. "You'd have better luck defeating me, I should think."
Jack's eyes lit up. "Was that a challenge?"
Gawain smirked. "Only if you're not too tired."
Jack pulled his sword out and got into a ready position. "I'm never too tired for a fight!" he declared, then rushed the older human.
Their weapons clanged together and they jumped apart, circling and watching for an opening. They'd spent the past week and a half watching each other train with the troops and the dummies, so they knew exactly how good the other was.
In the end, Jack's break at the Forest Metropolis ended up helping him surpass Gawain, who had enjoyed no such break. Both exhausted from their duel, they laid back on the grass to watch the stars above them, content.
After a few minutes, Gawain commented, "Your father and I used to look up at the sky together. If I close my eyes, I can still see it in my mind." He sighed. "We were both young, both always competing for first place. The brigade captain scolded us for it. Ah...seems like a lifetime ago..."
Jack smiled to himself, always happy to hear about his father. "Was he... strong?" he wondered. Jack had always heard about how wonderful his father was, how he was a brilliant knight and a friend to all the fairy creatures, but he rarely heard about his father's fighting skills, for all that he'd been a knight. The story he'd been told the most was about Cairn's defeat of Kelvin, but since he'd used an orb, like Cross, he wasn't sure that was a good story to judge him by.
"Yes, he was strong," Gawain offered. "He was a great warrior, perhaps as great as he was a person." He let out a quiet sigh for days long past. "It seemed like his shining sword was what always led us to victory."
Jack touched the sword at his waist, mind turning to the wrapped sword which rested against the wall in his room. "Do you think the day will come...when I'll be ready to used Dad's sword?"
Gawain sat up suddenly, eyes bright. "Do you have it? The Arbitrator?" When Jack nodded, he asked, "Can you... show it to me?"
"Sure. It's in my room," Jack agreed.
Gawain practically leapt to his feet and helped Jack up, then led the way into the fort and through the halls to Jack and Harry's room.
Harry was working at his potions table when they entered and he scowled. "Finally done wearing yourself out, Jack?" he enquired.
"You missed my epic duel with Gawain mere moments ago," Jack retorted, leaning around his bed to grab his sword and handing it carefully to Gawain. "Here it is."
Harry turned to reprimand the two humans about duelling so soon after Jack had been wounded, but the words died on his tongue as Gawain pulled the wrappings off the Arbitrator and the blade caught the light. "Is that...?"
"The Arbitrator," Gawain breathed.
Harry stepped over and touched the sword. The stone on the guard lit with a painfully bright white light and the three men turned their eyes from the light.
"Have you used this sword yet?" Gawain asked Jack once the spots had cleared his vision. Harry had, wisely, taken a few steps away from the sword, not wanting to chance setting off the stone again.
Jack shook his head. "No, I didn't think I should. Not until I've surpassed my father," he admitted.
Gawain stared back down at the sword, eyeing the dull stone on the guard. After a moment, he looked up at Harry and asked, "Is it–?"
"It's clean," Harry replied, expecting the question. "Whatever sickness had been in the sword is gone now."
"Sickness?" Jack asked, frowning.
"When Cairn contracted algandars, the Arbitrator was similarly affected," Harry explained. "I told you the illness is in the magic, remember?"
Jack nodded. "So the sword sort of contracted algandars? And it’s better now?"
"In a nutshell," Harry agreed. "The last time I touched that sword, the stone lit up a dark red, but this time it was white, and white is universally considered to be the colour for good, so..."
"Universally?" Gawain wondered.
Harry shrugged. "It's just a saying, Gawain. I haven't gone off to another planet and asked them what colour represents good or anything."
"With you, one can never tell," Gawain muttered, making Jack laugh and Harry roll his eyes. Gawain turned the sword in his hands and held the hilt out to Jack. "Take it," he ordered.
Jack blinked, but took a hold of the sword and lifted it. It was heavier than any one-handed sword he'd ever held in the past, but he'd carried his father's sword many times over the past months and the weight was a familiar one. He glanced past the blade at Gawain and raised an eyebrow at him curiously.
Gawain smiled. "You are ready to wield this sword," he declared, smile growing as Jack's eyes went wide. "I, Gawain, best friend of Cairn, declare this sword, the Arbitrator, the property of Jack Russell!"
Jack stared down at his sword. "My...sword?" he murmured.
"Whether you would have managed to best Cairn were he still alive... I cannot say," Gawain admitted. "But you defeated me and you have much of your father inside of you. Were he here, I am certain that he, too, would tell you it is your time to wield the Arbitrator."
Jack carefully switched his current blade for the Arbitrator and grinned down at it for a moment, hanging from his belt like it belonged there, then looked back up. "Thanks, Gawain," he said honestly. "I'll wear it with pride."
"Use it with pride as well," Gawain replied fondly. "Cairn often insisted that a sword was meant to be used, not simply set on display."
Jack nodded. "I'll wield this sword until the day I die," he swore.
A few steps away, Harry let out a strange sound and turned quickly back to his potions, shoulders tight with tension.
Gawain and Jack traded confused looks. "Harry?" Jack called.
Harry started mashing something with more force than he really needed.
Gawain shook his head. "Good luck, Jack," he offered the boy, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Jack nodded once in thanks and the older man turned and left.
Jack took a moment to remove his sword belt and bangles, then stepped up next to the table, leaning down to try and get a look at Harry's expression, which was tight with pain. "What is it?" he pleaded. "Harry, what–?"
Harry set the knife he was slicing with down and clenched his hands into fists before leaning on them against the table. "Leave it," he ordered.
Jack frowned, considered his friend's tense form, then said, "No."
Harry's head snapped up, eyes dark. "Jack–"
"Something happened between you and Adele," Jack said, talking over Harry and not really caring what the dragon's reaction would be; this had to be said. "Neither of you will tell me what, but I'm betting it has to do with me. I honestly don't care what the hell happened, I'm just tired of putting up with the outcome. You're my best friend and she's my sister; I'm not asking you two to like each other, but I'd like to be able to stand in the same room as both of you without worrying that someone's going to lose their head."
Having said his piece, Jack returned to his bed and sat down on it to remove his boots.
Harry continued standing over his table for a long while, unmoving. Jack had blown out the light next to his own bed and was settling in to sleep when Harry finally said, "I told her I wouldn't – couldn't – give up my life to save yours."
Jack sat back up in bed and watched as Harry finally turned away from his work top. "So?" the teen asked. "I never expected you to. I mean, you're a dragon, right? So you don't die."
Harry's shoulders relaxed just the slightest. "She didn't see it that way," he muttered. "She threw a plate at my head."
Jack snorted. "She threw plates at me all the time when I was a kid. And...of course she wouldn't see it that way – I never told her you're a dragon. She just thinks you're a human."
"I had guessed that much," Harry said drily, coming over to sit on the edge of Jack's bed. "And maybe I overreacted to the plate-throwing."
"Yeah? What did she say when you asked her whether she'd give her life for mine?"
"What makes you think I even asked?" Harry replied, raising one eyebrow.
Jack rolled his eyes. "I know you, Harry. And I know my sister. I'll bet she said yes."
"She did," Harry agreed, running a hand through his wild hair. "And then she told me that she'd never have given you up to the knights, even when she'd been angry with you."
"Ah." Jack grimaced. Way to put your foot in it, Sis, he thought. When she'd mentioned the same thing to Jack, he hadn't been as impressed or grateful as she'd expected him to be. When he'd tried reminding her that she'd been about to stick him with her sword moments before being captured, she'd claimed that she'd 'misjudged the situation' and Jack hadn't wanted to get into a fight with her so had let it go. Knowing Harry, though, he figured the dragon hadn't reacted to that claim well.
Harry shrugged. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I really don't like her," he admitted. "I didn't mean to make you upset, though."
Jack shook his head. "Nah. I suppose I can understand. I'll talk to her tomorrow, see if I can't get her to lay off a bit. Now that I know what the problem is, I can fix it." He offered Harry a smile.
Harry stared at the teen for a long moment, then abruptly stood. "Okay. Good luck," he said, moving quickly back to his potions table.
Now what? Jack frowned at Harry's back. "Harry?"
"You should get some sleep if you're going to tackle your sister tomorrow," Harry shot over his shoulder, voice light.
Jack climbed out of bed, wincing at the cold floor, and walked back over to Harry's table. There, he saw the dragon was cutting ingredients unevenly and he reached out and stilled Harry's hands, which were shaking. "I thought you said they were supposed to be cut evenly?" he wondered aloud.
Harry let out a strained laugh and pulled his hands out of Jack's, hiding them deep in his robes. "The potion will be more effective if the ingredients are chopped evenly," he replied. "But this burn salve isn't really all that important, so–"
"Maybe you should get some sleep yourself. You can work on the salve tomorrow," Jack decided and gently herded the dragon towards his bed next to the potions table.
"Sorry," Harry whispered as he sat down on his bed and started pulling his boots off.
"It's okay," Jack replied, hovering over Harry in concern. "I just wish I knew what was bothering you."
"It's nothing. I'm just tired," Harry insisted aloud, but to himself he thought, I got too comfortable and sat down next to you, and then I thought about kissing you and I can't do that to you.
"Okay," Jack said, shuffling his feet a bit to warm them up.
Harry glanced up at the human. "Go back to bed. I'll be fine."
Jack nodded and impulsively leaned forward to hug Harry. "Okay. Good night," he said as he moved back over to his bed.
Harry sat, frozen, on the edge of his bed, heart pounding in his chest. He hugged me. Why did he hug me? Friends hug, right? Ron and I... we didn't hug. And I'd never hug any of my elven friends, right? Right. But maybe Jack would? Why did he hug me? He likes Ridley, right?
"I've found it's easier to get to sleep if you're lying down," Jack helpfully called from across the room.
"Right." Harry shook himself and shucked off his heavy robes. A wave of his hand blew out his work lamp and he slipped under the covers, turning his back to the dark room. Does Jack like me? he wondered, staring at the dark wall that he knew was mere inches from his nose, though he couldn't see it in the dark. I thought he liked Ridley, but...
But Jack never spent time with Ridley, Harry had been noticing over the past few days. The teen spent a lot of time with the other fighters out back when Harry and Ridley were talking war with Zane. But when they weren't squirrelled away in the strategy room, Jack tended to gravitate towards Harry, often sitting quietly in their room and watching as Harry worked on potions.
Jack is a human, I am a dragon, Harry reminded himself. It doesn't matter if he returns my feelings, he's best off marrying some human girl and living out his short life with her. It's better for both of us.
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A/N: I'd hoped to get to the negotiating with the orcs mission in this chapter, but the stuff with Adele and then there at the end sort of defeated me. Oops. Well, orcs next chapter. And maybe Harry will finally come around and the boys will do something more useful than ruminating over their mutual affection. XD
A note about Harry's answer to Adele's question: Jack and Harry sort of answered this, but I figured I'd be a bit more concise down here. So, like how light elves in the game are kind of considered immortal because they can live on through the transpiritation ritual, dragons also have their own way of surviving the destruction of their physical body. I figure that anything that would record a death – a spell or whatever – wouldn't consider the death of the body as an actual 'death' if the spirit/soul is just going to possess a new body. A human might be fooled by something like that, but Adele was trying to specify something that Harry couldn't just magic his way out of.
So Jack would have to be the one to die. Jack's already accepted that, but Adele can't really understand since she looks at Harry and sees a human. And Harry doesn't like being reminded that Jack will eventually die, and there's nothing he can do about it.
~Bats ^.^x
Prologue - Falling
1 - Elves ||| 2 - Humans ||| 3 - Let It Go
4 - And If It Returns ||| 5 - It Was Meant to Be ||| 6 - Ways of the Dragons
7 - To Build an Army ||| 8 - Power Over Life |||
10 - Blood-Filled Days ||| 11 - Hic Sunt Dracones
...
