navy = present
Normal colored text is the past
Deep in the over-grown dark woods stood a old cabin, covered heavily with creeping vines. It's shuddered windows barely kept out the frosty wind as it coated the land with hard white crystals. Inside a pitiful fire burned, throwing it's light onto a few chairs, table and occupied bed. Buried under three skimpy blankets lay an old lady, breathing shallowy as she slept. And she dreamed...
...A small, fiery haired girl slowly climbed to the top of the hill and stood over-looking the surrounding countryside. Her three companions trudged up the hill behind her, one a tall blonde swordsman, one a short dark haired girl, and one a pebbly-skinned man, apparently a chimera.
"Lina? Why did you drag us all the way up here? We should be fighting for freedom, not capering around the land! Come on!" The dark haired girl whined as she grabbed the cape of Lina and tugged, pointing down the hill and back to the town. Lina turned on the girl, her ruby red eyes flashing. The swordsman stepped forward quickly and grabbed the girl's shoulders, pulling her away from Lina.
"Amelia, I think you should leave Lina alone. She might fireball you or something..." said the tall blonde.
The blue pebbled man said nothing, just watched Lina intently. He had a hood that covered his head and a mask that protected the lower half of his face. His clothes were of a tannish/beige coloring and his cape almost reached the ground.
The black haired girl was about thirteen years of age and was the shortest of the group. She had little bands around her wrist with the emblem of a star. She, too, wore a cape around her slim shoulders.
Tall, blonde, and handsome is the description of the swordsman. His hair passed his waist and he always wore a goofy grin on his face. Dressed in blue, he could never be seen without his legendary Sword of Light, which he wore proudly at his side.
Lina turned back to the view, a small grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. Gourry may be quite dumb sometimes but he was learning when and when not to bother her. This was one of those times as she gazed intently at the beautiful spread before her. Her gaze swept in a complete circle then turned to rest on the billowing of smoke in the distance. Good! Just what I was looking for! A gang of bandits to loot! Her smile widened and she turned to the chimera. "Zelgadis, do you want to join us on a rai..." she stopped mid-sentence and glanced at Amelia, then changed her line of speech, "...in a fight for freedom?" She winked at Zel and he nodded slighty.
Amelia squealed and danced around Gourry, grinning like a lunatic. "You really mean it Miss Lina?" When Lina nodded, the girl clapped her hands together then began to skip down the hill. "Well? What are you guys waiting for? Come on!" The others followed her obediently, the sorceress last in line as she rubbed her hands together.
"This is going to be like taking candy from a baby!" she whispered to herself then blushed when Zelgadis glanced back at her. He dropped back till he was walking at her side.
"You know Lina, there is more to life than eating, looting, and money," he said as he lowered the face mask. He smiled slightly at her and she blushed deeper than before. Sticking her nose in the air, she stomped off to where Gourry and Amelia were waiting.
As they traveled through the dense undergrowth towards the bandit camp, Lina thought about what Zel had said to her. Have I been too obsessed with looting? Or was he just kidding? It is so hard to tell with him! She didn't even consider the mention of food. As they got near enough to smell the camp fire, Lina noticed that Amelia had disappeared and groaned to herself. Now where has she run off to?! Shrugging, she joined her two male companions and they planned an attack. They spread out, and Lina watched intently from the bush she had hidden behind. She could see six bandits in all and figured the tall, hairy one to the the leader. One....two....THREE! She signaled to the others then leapt from the bushes and prepared a fireball, ready to hurl it at anyone within sight.
The six men looked up in surprise then jumped to their feet when they saw who it was. "Lina Inverse!" The big, hairy one thundered towards her, grunting and swinging his arms... much like an ape would. "You little witch! I'll show you to barge in on us like that!" Lina glowered at him, flames licking in her red eyes and her hands tensing where the fireball hovered.
She was about to reply when out of nowhere a voice retorted to the leader. "Hey! No one calls Miss Lina witch! By the freedom and justice that I stand for, I will make you pay!" Lina slowly, hesitantly, turned her head and glanced up into the tall tree behind her. She sighed and closed her eyes against what she knew what would happen next.
Amelia came flying out of the tree, one foot aimed for the man's face the other a few inches behind it. The gorilla of a leader watching with mild interest then ducked a few moments before the girl would hit his face. She went right on flying through the air and landed in a little heap behind him. Groaning, she sat up and rubbed her head tenderly. The man turned around and laughed, which sounded more like 'uuh, uuh, uuh' and brought back his foot to kick Amelia where she lay.
"FIRE....BALL!!" Before he could even turn around, he found himself laying face down in the dirt, a good fifteen feet from where he had first started, burnt to a crisp. Amelia got to her feet and grinned broadly at Lina.
Stepping over to the filleted ape, she placed a foot on his back and her hand shot into the air forming the victory sign. "VICTORY!" Lina rolled her eyes and looked around at the rest of the camp. Zel stood over two bandits as they struggled in their energy bonds and the other three lay in awkward positions in front of Gourry. The Sword of Light hummed as he carefully placed it back in the sheath.
Inspecting the camp, the sorceress found the loot that the bandits had so craftily hidden...in the garbage heap. She wrinkled her nose as she threw undescribable articles to the side then a bright smile lite her features. There lay four sacks of valuables and a large pile of precious gems. Scooping the treasure into a large bag, she turned and flashed her grin at the others. "Let's get out of here!" Before following the group, she glanced at Zel and her smile faded a little. Did he mean what he said? She slowly followed the others as she contemplated this...
The form shifted and a face was revealed. It was covered with weeks old dirt and soot creased the wrinkles that were so prominent in the old face. The light cast by the fire briefly lite up her features and a small, hardly noticeable smile could be seen on her chapped lips. A slight groan was heard then the woman was silent again. She dreamed on...