********* (I love you) Chapter VII: Orders-A FFXI Love StoryFollow

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is Chapter VII of my love story ************ (I love you)[/i].

If you have any complaints or thoughts about my work, feel free to post them, I look forward to what you have to say!

I don’t own anything related to Final Fantasy XI, so don’t sue!

(Chapter I)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=11148161352496864&num=0
(Aki II)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1115076868790365180&num=7
(Chapter III)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1115183358960358628
(Aki IV)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=1115608634938805350
(Chapter V)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=1115851026175436111
(Aki VI)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=111630303543160197&num=0

This chapter is for Kali. We all make choices, and it is up to you to choose the one that is the best for you.
***
I remember a story I was once told about the man who wrote a certain famous play.

The man sitting down at his Millionaire’s Desk started to pen out his play, and finally reached the climax of it.

To be, or not to be, tha-

One of the most memorable lines of all dramatic literature to be ever placed in any library across Vana’diel, being penned…

And the writer has to stop to sharpen his pencil.

Would it have turned out differently if he hadn’t had to hesitate?

I wonder about that sometimes.
***
Chapter VII: Choices
***
"All right men, get ready." My voice crackled through the orangish-yellow linkpearl that I had secured to my armor. "Once we are inside, total silence. I would rather not wake any dead that might happen to be wondering about."

A smile broke across my face as soft chuckles flooded the pearl. After a brief moment, I turned serious again.

"Okay men, invis up."

With that, I reached into my small pouch on my side, and pulled out a small jar. I unscrewed the metal lid and dipped two fingers into it, feeling the sticky power inside trap itself onto them. I then pulled my fingers out and exposed them to the light where the materials caught my eye, and I finally saw what the big fuss about this stuff in the alchemy department: the powder shimmered for a moment, and then turned my fingers completely invisible to my eyes.

Ummm,...wow...those Jeuno alchemists sure know how to make one hell of an invention when they want to.

Gradually, I started to rub the powder all over myself, making more and more of me disappear, until finally, I was totally invisible.

Just earlier today, I had tried on the armor that my assistant had sent off to the alchemists also. Apparently, while the armor was there, the alchemists applied some sort of experimental oil into the joints that was supposed to reduce and remove virtually all friction, in order to make my every move seem like it was soundless.

But before I left, the alchemy department was sure to warn me that both inventions would dry up and flake off within a couple hours, or if I made excess movement such as drawing my sword and/or fighting. They had forced upon me some extra bottles of oil and a couple extra jars of powder before I was permitted to leave their lab.

Mentally, I pushed these thoughts away, and started to focus on the task at hand.

Out of the four entrances to enter into the Necropolis from, I had drawn the northern most one in lottery, which was totally fine with me. With any luck I would find nothing and therefore I could then go back home to my roaring fireplace.

I took a deep breath and then headed into the Necropolis where immediately upon descending the steps, the stench of death raped my nostrils banishing any sense of life from them. Getting to the bottom, I realized that the rotting, decaying bodies were each barely a foot underneath a marble slab, with few, if any, tombstones to mark who these people were. The graverooms were lit up with a series of candles along the walls that never seemed to go out, or ever seemed to grow any shorter no matter how much time may have passed.

Quietly, I started to probe each of the rooms that I came to as I descended further into the maze with the only excitement I could find was maybe a rat here or there. After about an hour of searching and exploring, I found myself in front of a huge wooden door that had a handle partially broken off. The brass hinges were rusty, and it looked like no one had dared to venture up to or beyond this point for a long time.

Swallowing up my courage and pushing away my fear, I tried to open the door as slowly and carefully as I can to prevent any noise from being made.

Key word there, tried.

Instead of opening quietly as I had hoped, the door instead creaked open with a loud screech. If I wanted the element of surprise...weeellll...I just lost it.

Pushing it open all the way, I stepped then stepped into the room, and quickly found that there was no one there. Scanning around, the first thing that I noticed was that there were three other doors leading into this room.

The archways of each of the other three doors were decorated with what looked like to be some sort of sculpture or relief above each. Around the room, I saw perverse version of a purple woman with ice on her lips, a fiery red beast whose very skin seemed to ignite the air around him, and a monster who had the tide flowing around his blue body. Looking up above my own door, I found a bearded old man with a gaze that could probably even make the bravest galka shiver in fear and obedience. The paint on these figures was chipped and cracked, as if someone had painted them long ago and then forgot about them, leaving these reliefs to slowly die at the end of time. Next to these sculptures were more of those eternal candles that never seemed to burn out, that served to only illuminate the grand majesty of each wall piece.

Even if I didn’t know who or what these beings were, they were truly a sight to behold.

Finally tearing my eyes away from the wall sculptures, I looked at the rest of the room. All I saw were several pits of what looked like to be powdered gravel arranged in a grid-like shape that filled the room, leaving just enough room for a person to squeeze in between them on a tiny, broken, stone walkway.

If they chose that way.

Myself, I just ignored the path and started to walk over the pits, the only mark of my passage being my feet leaving twin fine imprints on the shredded gravel. I made my way slowly across the room, until my left foot was poised above the center pit of the room, and when I placed my foot down…

And were I fell straight through the pit, my body landing in a crumpled heap after a short drop onto a dusty floor.

Immediately, I sprang up, my hand on my sword’s hilt as my eyes took in the room quickly.

If there was trouble, then I would be ready to give ‘em hell.

But after a moment, I realized there was nothing there just like in the room above me, and my hand relaxed on my blade.

Slightly.

Spying a small tunnel right next to me, I turned into it and then started to travel along it. It curved up and down a few times, and I almost tripped over a few narrow cracks in the ground as I made my way though. I noticed that the walls were made up of broken bricks, once more lined with those candles that never seemed to grow any shorter no matter how long they burned.

After a few more twists and turns, I finally come upon an awful sight.

Mixed in with the skulls and decayed bodies of people long passed, were rows upon rows of machinery in front of me all pumping out currency with a quiet efficiency, and depositing each individual piece into a giant sack. There were already several bags lining the walls already, most likely getting ready to be laundered out into the Vana’diel economy.

I walked past the equipment, still covered in invisible powder and my armor oiled up, picking my way so not to brush up against anything. Once I worked my way past all the machines, I happened upon a narrow passage with no end in sight set in the back of the room

Could this be where the leader of this little enterprise is? If I could positively ID the person, I could then make a satisfactory report to the Archduke and hopefully get this little counterfeit ring busted up.

Traveling down this new path, I started to hear faint sounds of what sounded like a sword clanging against the ground, and…a spell being cast?

Immediately, I picked up the pace, and hurried my way to the end, where my eyes fell upon two figures.

One was a dark figure, his skin as black as the midnight sky, and his hair as white as the new moon. He was a tall elvaan, and swung what I recognized as a great sword, most likely a Zweihander. He drew the sword back keeping his empty, cold eyes focused on…

Her.

She was sprawled down on the ground in front of the dark elvaan. Her face was bleeding from a cut that ran down the side of her face on her right cheek, and she looked like she was bruised pretty badly in several places from where she had been hit by someone, most likely the elvaan. I watched as she tried to conjure a spell with nervously shaking hands, but the glow sparked out before she could totally finish the incantation.

Looking into her face, I found that her eyes were wide with a shivering fear, her pupils quivering while totally focused on the being before her. Gazing deep into them, I realized that she looked like the very life force was almost totally drained out of her, leaving behind only the tiniest husk of her being. Her breath was laborious, and she coughed, spitting up a small amount of blood.

My hand went to my sword in order to draw it, but it was then that I paused.

Do I dare disobey my orders?

I was explicitly ordered to not interfere with anything that I might find here, but instead to report it all back to Jeuno and the Archduke.

If I attacked this...being...I would be committing an offense that would be easily comparable to treason, and would therefore at least net me a very neat dishonorable discharge along with prison for life.

Is this girl worth it?

She has caused me nothing more than misery, and caused me several problems that I still have to deal with.

The elvaan kicked her in the ribs, and I heard the sound of a couple of ribs snap.

I should just turn around and walk away. No one would miss this girl, most certainly not me.

The elvaan then grinned, and drew his sword back over his head and started to swing it downwards to finish her off.

Clang.

My sword caught the Zweihander’s edge and held it still, just inches above her face.

"That’s enough. If you want to kill her, you are going to have to deal with me first."

-fin Chapter VII: Choices

This is great.. keep it up!
I wish you wouldn't wait so long between each part of the story..
I can't wait untill the next chapter comes out XD

These are great ^^ Read them all after seeing this one, rate up :D