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Memories	By : Asirainis Category: +A through F > Dragon Quest/ Dragon Warrior Views: 1615 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Quest VIII, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Memories
Chapter Thirteen: Dreams and Tiny Medals
As the music played on, it brought a smile to Airlia's face as she felt at peace once more. She saw the familiar area around her with the music almost caressing her… as if her nightmares couldn't touch her there. She went around the platform to see him staring at his rotating globe. Hearing their footsteps, he turned around and was shocked by what he saw… "Aah…? Welcome once more to the Land of the Moonshadow, fortunate travelers." He looked exactly the same as he had during their first visit. His voice soothed her agitated nerves as they struggled to get closer to the source of the curse on Trodain. She feared that the closer they got, the closer that he would come through with his threat of making her his if her friends couldn't defeat him. Ishmahri gave her a calming smile that she couldn't help but return as he strummed his harp, glowing lights floating up from it. He turned to the group as he looked at them in confusion.
"The Moonshadow Window opens but once in a human's lifetime to grant a single wish. It is mysterious indeed that we should meet for a second time. Enlighten me, what wish has brought you back to me upon this night?"
Draco explained about the ship where the ocean once was, but now is no longer there. Airlia smiled as she continued, "I thought, since it was an ancient ship, and an ancient ocean, that perhaps the memories of the ocean may still linger there, and if that's true, then maybe your music could awaken it to help move it back to where the ocean now resides."
He closed his eyes in thought, his hand over his harp as he nodded. "I know the ship of which you speak. Long ago, it would travel the vast oceans, guided by the light of the moon. I remember it well. What you ask of me is a simple task."
He strummed his harp before saying, "As with Ascantha, I will give form to the memory of the ocean that sleep within the land. It should be all we need to return it to the waters. You did well in learning of the ways of the Moonshadow Realm young woman. It is no wonder the door opened to you child, what is your name?"
She smiled as she supplied, "I'm Airlia, and this is Draco." She indicated the dark haired man next to her. "This is Yangus, Angelo, Jessica, Alistair – her brother, and this is King Trode."
He nodded to everyone in turn, "It is a pleasure to know the names of ones who are able to make it here twice in their lifetime."
He clutched his harp tighter as he prepared to play it once more, "Yes, yes, the music will rouse the memory…" He began to play it as she closed her eyes, enjoying the melody weaving around her. Suddenly two sharp pings made her blink. Two of his beautiful harp's strings had broken. She frowned at that, upset that their wish had broken his harp. He sighed softly, "Ah… It is as I feared. This harp is not powerful enough. I will need a greater instrument if I am to perform such a task. I must think…"
He stared at the group as he blinked in surprise. "Yes, it is coming to me… There is an aura that surrounds you… It is faint, but I can feel it. I see it! A Moonshadow harp in the world of the sun's light. With that, no undertaking would be beyond the realms of possibility. Lend me your ears. Somewhere in your world there is an almighty instrument. Somewhere along the path you have already trodden. A friend will guide you to it. My brave children. If you wish to awaken the ancient ship, you must first find the Moonshadow harp. Bring it to me and I shall summon the memory of that ancient ocean, and the ship shall sail once more. It is a place where all of you have been, not just some of you."
Airlia thought about it as the others did, there weren't that many places they all had in common. "It wouldn't be Maella Abbey…" Angelo said as Airlia nodded.
"Father was into laughter more than music, and there are no instruments at the Abbey at any rate."
Yangus shook his head, "Wouldn't be Red or Pickham."
Alistair said, "All of us have been there… Ascantha! Let's start there."
The group started out while Ishmahri turned to them. "I'd like to have Airlia stay here. I sense she has been having terrible nightmares and wish to ease them if I can."
The group turned to Airlia as she nodded. "I'd like that I think. This place gives me peace, where I don't fear my dreams."
Alistair nodded as he said, "Keep Airlia safe Ishmahri. If anything happens to this lady, you will answer to us."
He nodded, his long hair swaying with the movement. "I promise; she will be safe here. My Moonshadow realm magic lends itself only to the land we are currently in. Ascantha will be progressing as normal unlike when I came out to help with King Pavan. Safe travels dear travelers."
As the group left, Airlia smiled at Ishmahri. "My dear, even though my harp is broken, I know you have nightmares about different problems. I believe getting them off your chest will help ease the fears that come with them…" She nodded as she began to explain them…
"I've witnessed the unleashing of a terrible demon, of being forced to be its bride. I've witnessed the death of my father, of the murder of one of the men now traveling with us, Alistair. I've felt the death of a man named Master Rylus, as he burned to death. I've seen a castle and its people cursed. I've had nightmares of a man I've grown up with trying to control me, which is an unfortunate reality that I've escaped from for now, but I don't think it'll be the end of his attempts." He smiled sadly; as he wished that he could have changed all of that for this young woman somehow.
Instead, he changed the topic, "How did you save Alistair then Airlia?" She frowned as she recalled that event. She explained how she saw the Goddess and how the ability came to her, and he sighed heavily. He couldn't help but to feel horrible for what happened to her. A small yawn escaped her lips as he smiled. "Just relax here. It's okay, I promise you. I have a place over here you can rest."
She smiled as he pulled a sheet to roll out on the small wall nearby. He placed a pillow down for her to rest her head on and once she had lain down, he covered her with a small comforter. "Just sleep little one." He started to sing a wordless song as she fell asleep.

She looked around, frightened of her location. She was back in the Abbey, and yet, something was different. She looked at her hands to see that she was younger, but not by much as callouses hadn't formed on her fingers yet. Was this a memory?Unsure, she looked around her room. Nothing seemed to be out of place, perhaps this is a memory of hers. Deciding to see where the memory takes her, she went to her mirror and saw she was dressed in her normal Abbey attire. Not sure of what day it was, she was about to go to her door when a knock came from it.
Going to the door, she saw there was no lock, so it was before that dreadful day. She opened the door to see Marcello there, smiling at her as she felt herself trying to calm the panic in her. "My dear Airlia, happy birthday!" He handed her a small box. Oh right, her birthday – almost a year before everything started to go downhill at the Abbey. He had tinted her view so much that she couldn't recall her memories that had any other emotion other than fear tied to it. She opened the box to see a gold bracelet that she put on her wrist feeling joy at the great start to the day.
She turned to him with a serious look. "You know you didn't have to do anything like that. There is only one present I want for my birthday."
He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her questioningly. "What would that be Air?"
She continued to look at him seriously, "For you and Angelo to get along for just one day, my birthday."
He looked at her clearly perturbed by her request, "I cannot promise it, but I will try."
She smiled as she went about the day, enjoying the music with her father, and with the brothers. The other Templars were stern, but no one seemed to at least disturb her while she enjoyed the music. Angelo had given her a simple pair of gold earrings as she smiled. Her father merely gave her a mysterious smile, "My present to you my daughter will be revealed when you need it most."
She grinned at him, "For now, I am okay father. Just enjoying today. Marcello and Angelo haven't really talked, but at least they're not fighting."
He returned the grin. "It breaks my heart when I see them fight. I'm glad they were willing to put their fighting aside on your day."
She smiled as Angelo held his hand out to her. "Care to dance?" She grinned as she reached up to grab his hand from her seat. He pulled her to him as they began to dance together.
After three sets of music, Marcello came over to her. "Would you like to dance with me now Airlia?"
She nodded as he swept her away. Angelo just watched her wistfully. He wandered over to her father as the pair talked for a bit. Marcello just enjoyed having her close to him. "Oh Airlia, I wish we could stay like this forever."
She looked at him as she nodded, "But all things must change Marcello. People change, hearts can change too." He sighed heavily as the dance came to a close. Airlia smiled up at him, "This was a start, but I wish you two could grow to tolerate each other more. Goodnight Marcello. Sweet dreams to you."
She turned and went to her father, giving him a kiss on his cheek, she wished him good night as Angelo walked her up to her room. "Good night Airlia." He said as she smiled at him, and gave him a kiss on his cheek before she went into her room. This was a good memory to keep close to her heart. A sign that Marcello could change and become a better person. She only wished that the sign had been true. Sadly it was after that when he started to show a darker nature to him.

Airlia sighed as she awoke from her slumber. Ishmahri looked at her, "Sleep well dear child? Your friends should be back soon."
She nodded to him, "Yes, thank you. First good night's sleep in a while. So far I think I've been able to hide the nightmares from them for the most part, but I fear the nightmares will soon strike me harder." He nodded as she got up while he stored the sleeping items back under the center isle of the room. After that, the pair walked over to the wondrous musical instruments that were playing to listen to them. A few minutes after they had, the others came back into the room.
Airlia smiled at them, "Did you find it?"
Draco grinned, "It was a treasure hunt because some Moles had stolen it from Ascantha. The Mole Man trying to use it made such awful music that one of the moles, in a fit to get it away from him inadvertently handed it to us and told us to run with it."
Airlia giggled as she nodded. Ishmahri stared out of the window, lost in thought as he began to speak, "I have witnessed the passing of many moons, but never before have had I felt time pass so slowly." He turned to Draco with a smile as he saw the harp in their belongings.
"The brightness in your eyes shows much beyond the retrieval of the harp. Please allow me to have the harp…" He waved his hand as the harp floated out of Draco's hands, glowing as it did so. This was much more of a harp than the harp he had before. Instead of the four strings it had before, this one had eleven strings, and stretched out as far as Ishmahri's arm. It was still silver, like the one before, but it had the markings of the Moonshadow clan with crescent moons at the top and bottom of the end of the harp. The crescent moon at the top had a second moon just below it, held to it by the edge of the larger moon. Below the moon was a blue sapphire, same as the stone that was inlaid in the large crescent moon. It was truly a beautiful harp. He merely opened his arms as the harp floated into them, clasping his hands around it tightly, smiling as he held the harp close to him. "This harp has traveled far, as have you dear travelers. I did not imagine it would ever find its way into my hands again. Now, let us attend to the task at hand. Let us go to the ship. Music will awaken it from its slumber and set it sailing once more."
Airlia nodded as she watched him hold the harp in one hand, and gently strum it with the other. The next thing any of them knew, they were staring at the ship in the wasteland. Ishmahri stood in front of them, staring at the ship as it sat in the dusty wasteland in determination. Trode was in shock as Airlia held her hand out, "Let him work his magic. He will come through for us, I promise Your Majesty."
He settled down as he watched the mysterious man worked his powers. "This ship, the Moonshadow harp and I, we are all the same. We are all from the old world. I must thank you for reuniting us ancient ones." He turned to them with a smile, his arms wide spread. Airlia smiled as she nodded to him. With the moon overhead, he began to play the harp, as images of ancient fish began to swim around the group, everyone watching curiously, even if a bit nervous.
Ishmahri continued to play as he spoke, "Now, come. Come to me, times past. Come to me, Ancient Ocean. Return once more…" Even as lights came from his harp, and a beam of light from the moon came shining down on Ishmahri. It seemed to swirl to life as images of an ocean started to pour from the ground below him, sending everyone a step back in shock.
Ocean water seemed to swell and then suddenly, it vanished. Yangus felt annoyed at all of the work that they put into it. "Eh!? Is this 'arp duff, an' all!?" Airlia shook her head. The music felt incomplete to her, and a glance to Medea said the horse felt the same way.
Ishmahri felt defeated since he had tried so hard to bring the ancient ship back to use. "No! Can it really be beyond even the Moonshadow harp? Ah, but wait…" He looked at Airlia and Medea and smiled. Medea whinnied as she stomped her feet on the ground, rearing up into another louder whinny before settling. Airlia placed her hand on the shoulder of the cursed princess, nodding in agreement.
Ishmahri nodded as he came to her, and put a hand to her cheek. "Forgive my ignorance. At first, I only saw a horse. But now… I see you are truly a noble princess. You're right Airlia, the melody is incomplete. I realize that now. Magic begins with a word. Music must begin with a voice. The beautiful voice of this cursed princess and of this noble lady is all this great instrument needs to play its music. My ladies, if you would be so kind. Two with different curses, will aid this revival." Airlia blinked, she was cursed too? She had suspected something was wrong because of the dreams, because of Dhoulmagus, but what was the curse… She had no clue what it was, but she could only hope it would break with Dhoulmagus's death.
She looked to Medea and smiled. "Shall we princess?" Medea nodded as he strummed his instrument. As he strummed his instrument Medea began to whinny as Airlia took to song.
Oh Ancient Ocean, of long since passed. The time has come, at long, long last…
Rise again, to show how magnificent you once were.
Time has come to aid your longtime friend.
Help the ship return to the ocean, then be truly at peace once more…
With the waters rising, the ship began to float as they could still breathe the air. The water was merely a memory of the land, helping the ship to rise. They soon began to float in the memory as the ocean as Ishmahri raised his hand up, creating a glowing blue ramp leading to the top of the ship. They swam to the ship through the memory of the ancient ocean as Ishmahri sent them a smile as they got onto the ship. Only once they were all secure aboard the ship, did the stairs vanish. Airlia ran to the edge of the ship as did Jessica. She saw him smile at her once more, though it seemed to be a sad smile. They could all hear his voice as he said, "Now it is time for us to part. I will sing to bless your journey on the ancient ocean, my children…" With one last strum of his harp, he vanished before their eyes while tears slipped from her eyes into the memory of the ocean.
She brushed them away as the ship slowly lowered itself into the actual ocean as everyone struggled to come to terms with all that had just happened. Yangus tapped his foot on the boat, "Love a duck! Stone the crows! Blimey O'Riley! Wot the 'ell 'appened back there!?"
Trode jumped up and slapped Yangus hard as he spoke. "Stop your ridiculous blithering! This is all thanks to my precious Princess Medea and Airlia as well."
He paused for a moment to think of what they had heard before he turned concerned eyes to her, "What did he mean that you were cursed Airlia?"
She shook her head as she voiced only one of many thoughts, "I'm not entirely sure. It could be something Dhoulmagus did when he first saw Alistair and me. He said I was to be his bride after all. Not that it took much to turn me off to any man at the current point at that time mind you. Who knows?"
He nodded as he pulled out the world map. Airlia pointed at a small isle to the west of them. "Let's go there. We could use a chance to explore and see what we can learn of Dhoulmagus. He may have crossed, but we don't know where, so let's inquire. At least if it looks like anything is there."
They nodded as Draco steered them to the isle. From the distance, they could see a gleaming castle. They nodded in agreement as they went to the shore. Draco smiled as he stopped them, "Airlia, we also got Lonely Joe and sent him to Morrie. He was so grateful he let us see where they're staying and it's amazing. The ground below the structure stretches so far, possibly the length of the land itself and has all sorts of habitats built in for their comfort. He has given us access to see it anytime we wish to. He gave us what he calls a strength ring, which Alistair is now wearing, as thanks for helping them to get to safety. He said the more we get to safety, the more he will give us more items to ensure we can help get the rest to safety."
Airlia nodded, relieved that they had plenty of room to roam. When they got off the boat, they walked the length of the stone path to the gleaming castle as they came up to a gold braced door. Opening the doors, they found a luxurious throne room with one of the mini medals enlarged behind the two throne chairs. The beautiful red carpet lined the floor to the thrones as a happy slime bounced along the room as a man in a uniform like the minister of Trodain, except where the blue of his uniform was, it was a dusty rose color, much like the floor brickwork before them. Candles laid lit on stands around the castle as the group looked around.
Alistair went to the slime and kneeled down as he said, "Well hello there. Who are you?"
He smiled, "I'm Smiley, the blue slime. The princess who lives here is such a wonderful princess. The King's ill, so she's doing everything for him. All the work of the royal family at that! It's the same job they've been doing for generations it seems. But it must be hard for her to do it on her own. Please help her however you can! She was nice enough to even let me live here for slurp's sake."
He smiled as he nodded and stood up. "We will do all we can, if we can, I promise."
Angelo went up to the minister. "What's this about family duty?"
The minister was shaken from his thoughts as he looked at the group and smiled widely. "Ah ha! Visitors! How many years has it been I wonder!?" Angelo frowned; they weren't going to find any news of the man they were chasing here. The minister either didn't see the frown or chose to ignore it as he continued, "Well then, I suppose you've brought some of those little trinkets along with you, haven't you?"
Angelo cocked an eyebrow as he said, "Trinket?"
He pointed to the wall, "It looks like that, but much, much smaller." Angelo fished into his bag and pulled out one to show the minister.
He smiled in delight, "Ah, good! Then take them to the Princess at once! She will be delighted. You can find her upstairs." Angelo nodded as the pair looked around the room. There was a gated area with a slime mat in the northeast corner. However, there was a sailor sitting on a chair near the door.
Yangus went up to him and said, "'Ave you seen a mage walkin' cross the ocean?"
He turned to Yangus, his red bandana swaying with the movement as he paled. "Aye, I saw it. It was a moonless night at sea. Not a glimmer on the waves… I saw a man dressed like a clown waling–… Nay, creeping, he was… o'er the very surface of the brine! He was more terrifying than a sea dragon, I tell you!"
Yangus looked at him as he slammed his palm on the table, "Wot! Where did that guy go!?"
He shook as he spoke, "What!? You want to know where he went!?" At Yangus's nod, he continued, "He was heading west. On the route to Baccarat, I'd say. Frightens me just thinkin' about it." Yangus nodded as he turned to the group.
"Well, now we know where 'e went. Let's 'elp the princess then move on." They nodded in agreement as they saw the healslime at the counter, selling items. They went inside the hallway to see stairs going up. Going up both flights of stairs, they saw two doors. They went inside the first door as the small maid saw them and smiled.
She made a gesture showing that they needed to be quiet. "The king is ill and needs his quiet. Please, be respectful of that and you may enter." Airlia nodded with a small smile. They approached the woman dressed in white, looking at a small man in bed. His hair was stark white, with a full beard and moustache. He wore a red, black and gold crown. All they could see of his clothing was a red robe with a white fur at the cuff and hems. He coughed harshly as he spoke softly to the woman standing before him.
Whatever he had said had worried the poor woman as she spoke, "Don't say such things, Father! I'm simply delighted to carry out my royal duties! Don't you fret one little bit. You just make sure you rest and get back into tip-top shape!" She turned to face the group, and they saw the covering was more like her form of a cape, pink lined and her face was heart shaped and exuded sweet kindness. Her eyes were blue, captured by her dirty blonde hair that peeked beneath her crown.
The king tried to sit up as Airlia spoke, "Your Highness, please, don't exert yourself! We came here to find out some information and also heard you're looking for these tiny medals."
The king smiled at her as the princess looked at her, "Oooh, visitors! How exciting! Oh? You have some of those wonderful, shiny, teeny-weeny, mini medals?"
Airlia grinned and nodded as the princess responded eagerly. "You have! Oh, how absolutely delightful! At last one will be able to 'do one's bit' for the family! May one suggest that we move downstairs? We can have a lovely little chat down there."
Airlia was able to observe the princess more. Her crown had the symbol of the medals on the front of it, one large with one smaller on either side of the large medal. The gown went to just above her ankle, a dark reddish pink skirt that had a blue band around the hem with a white overdress, which had a pink lining that showed along the skirt. She had a wide gold belt around the waist. There was a lining of that dark pink around the shoulders. She wore long white gloves that cuffed at her wrists with gold bands around her upper arm and wrists. She had white socks with pink shoes on. On the upper arm bands, and keeping the overdress up along her body were mini medals as well. She saw the same emblem in the center of her belt, along her upper arm bands, on her pendant about her neck and her wand. She only just noticed that the wand's medal was freely spinning. The group nodded as they followed her downstairs to the courtroom. Before they left, she bowed to her father, "Please, excuse us father."
The king caught Draco's hand, "Please, help my daughter. Take these; they're from our lands here to thank you for your help." He laid back down as another set of coughs wracked his body.
The maid rushed over to him as Draco and the others bowed to the king before leaving. Heading back downstairs, they found her sitting on the left throne, looking very regal as she smiled at the group. "Well, hello! I'm Minnie, Princess of Medals, you know! I collect mini medals from all over the world. I do hope you'll forgive one's prying, but might you have found any medals on your travels? I'd simply adore exchanging them with you. I've a variety of wonderful items, you know!"
They all reached into their communal bag and pulled out the ones they had with them. She clapped excitedly, "Oh, how simply delightful! You've brought one some mini medals already. Let one have a look then!"
They gave them the medals as she cheered in delight. "So shiny! So dazzling! One will be delighted to accept your consignment of 35 mini medals! Permit one to bestow upon you a pair of fishnet stockings, as an expression of gratitude for the 28 mini medals you have collected on our behalf." She handed Jessica a pair of fishnet stockings. Jessica's eyes lit up in delight as she felt the soft material beneath them. She smiled as she continued, "Let us see. To date, you have brought one 35 mini medals. When the total reaches 36 medals, one shall bestow upon you a posh waistcoat. An expression of our gratitude for your sterling efforts! Isn't it thrilling!?" Airlia nodded excitedly. It wasn't a big deal for them to collect the medals as they traveled the world. It would mean a mere spell over to her castle every now and then, but if it helped in her royal duties, it was worth it.
The group waved their farewell as they left to head back to the boat. Once they were set to said, Draco looked at the map. "Draco, may we go to this isle before we go to the west coast? I've always heard of this holy isle with the large statue of the goddess. We may find equipment there that can help us on our travels."
He nodded, "I think that's a good idea. Anything we can do to bolster ourselves before going after that fiend. The sooner he dies, the sooner my princess, my king, and my home are free of its curse." Airlia nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile Angelo was still chuckling at the Princess's reaction to the mini medals, "The delightful Princess Minnie will fall more and more deeply in love, with every mini medal I deliver!" Jessica shot him a dirty look that Airlia didn't fail to notice.
She sighed softly as Alistair put his hand on the hilt of his sword, "Give me a reason to not kill him Air."
She whispered back to him, "He may be trying to get Jessica's attention. Especially since he hasn't really had proper experience with women. Please, forgive him. If I see him really behaving badly, I promise, I'll set him straight myself." He nodded reluctantly as he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword.
She turned to the group and smiled. "I can't wait to see the Holy Isle of Neos. I hear that statue is breathtaking!"
Trode jumped up and down, "Oh, I forgot to tell you Airlia! I fixed up the alchemy pot so it can handle three items rather than just two. Why not take a look at it?"
She smiled as she said, "Thank you King Trode." She went to look at it, as she saw the design had changed drastically. The pot was now an ivory color with a bronze band around the middle. The green and amber gems from the lid were now in the middle, with a gold design around the green gem. It still stood on three legs, but it had two handles now that were like sideways half-moons. The original design that had gone around the middle was now along the edge of the opening of the pot. Her gaze drifting to the lid, she saw it now had a circular ring with a red gem at the bottom with a green gem on either side. It looked actually quite charming. She left the wagon as they sailed out to the isle of Neos. It was a site to behold, alright!
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Memories