主题：【原创】Love Game -- 雪花

Red fungus shined brightly under the morning suns. Black and golden pieces of mindworms scattered around. A lifeless body of a girl lay in the center. A dimly lighted phrase showed up in the background of crimson fungus: “Sorry, you lost.”

She lifted the cover and stood up from her seat. She felt exhausted. Her head ached. Her legs were heavy as if she had walked for a hundred hours. She vaguely remembered how this game was supposedly to feel very real.

“Has anybody actually won this game?” She asked, handing her GP card once again to the GM. “Yes, there have been some lucky ones.” He replied sympathetically. “Don’t lose hope. You might win this time.” She nodded, giving him a forced smile. “You know, you are almost as beautiful as Claire, if you could only smile.” She looked up sharply, startled by the feeling that she had heard the exactly same words before, but the GM already turned around to work on his own things.

Pulling the cover back on, she wondered what the game would be like this time.

Lady, I’m your knight in shining armor and I love you

You have made me what I am and I am yours

My love, there’s so many ways I want to say I love you

Let me hold you in my arms forever more

You have gone and made me such a fool

I’m so lost in your love

And oh, we belong together

Won’t you believe in my song?

Lady, for so many years I thought I’d never find you

You have come into my life and made me whole

Forever let me wake to see you each and every morning

Let me hear you whisper softly in my ear

In my eyes I see no one else but you

There’s no other love like our love

And yes, oh yes, I’ll always want you near me

I’ve waited for you for so long

Lady, your love’s the only love I need

And beside me is where I want you to be

’cause, my love, there’s somethin’ I want you to know

You’re the love of my life, you’re my lady!

Blue moon.

The dark outlines of the forest and the hills were strangely tall and precipitous. The night was unnaturally silent, as if all noises were muffled by the darkness. Somebody was watching her. Myia turned her head around, and was startled by two shining green eyes. She sat up abruptly, grabbing the jade ring that was hanging in front of her chest subconsciously, and scooted back. A soft milk-white glow from the ring leaked through her fingers.

It looked like a man. She could not tell how old he was. Most of his face was hidden in the dark, except for the two glittering green eyes. His ears seemed a little pointy, indicating that he may not be entirely human. She opened her mouth to ask who he was, but her words were frozen before the man’s cold and silent stare.

He stood up, and disappeared into the darkness. Myia let out a breath, while surprised how tall he appeared to be. All the noises of the night suddenly came back. She could hear the cry of an owl not far from her. And the pains … She almost mourned to the sharp pain in her left leg when he came back with a bowl.

Seeing that she didn’t intend to take the bowl from him, the man sighed, and explained: “You fell from the cliff and broke your leg. You’ve been unconscious for two days.” Two days! Myia mentally examined herself quickly, shooting an untrusting glare toward the man. The green eyes were again glittering mystically. So strange … She started to feel hypnotized. She took the bowl, and drank the black thick watery stuff inside, and then lay back down and slept.

She spent about one month in this strange valley, taken care of by Mordic, the green-eyed rogue. He went out every morning. And every night, he would come back and make the same black stuff for her to drink. They did not talk much. Most of the time, she would sit there, with the jade ring in her hand, and look into the depth of the forest through her misty eyes. When he was around, he would sit a few steps from her, his glittering green eyes watching her. Sometimes wicked smiles would float up to the corners of his mouth. Her broken leg recovered fast and she started wandering around. The forest seemed a little odd sometimes. Some of the brightly colored flowers seemed unreal. Other times she could swear she heard whispers that did not exist.

Mordic stayed behind more and more in the last few days, following Myia and dragging her back from time to time. Many times he was amazed how she would unconsciously elude the traps he laid. It was as if she was part of the forest herself. He found himself more and more attracted to her natural temperament. At night, after she went to sleep, he would stare at her, and the jade ring hanging at her chest for a long long time. What he didn’t notice was that the time he spent looking at the ring was getting shorter, and the time he spent looking at her was getting longer. One day, when Myia thanked him and told him that she would like to leave the valley, he did not say a word, but packed his own stuff. He told himself that he was after that jade ring, but he knew that was only an excuse.

So they traveled together. She learned to trust him on dealing with traps and various creatures they met on the way. One day he asked where her destination was. She seemed baffled. And she told him the story of the jade ring. It was a magic item. Given to her to protect her from ill intended people. He remembered how he wasn’t able to touch it in the first night when he found her. “They both dressed in white. He had a white horse, and she had a red horse. I envy her so much.” He felt his heart was squeezed hard, seeing her dreamy eyes filled with happiness and admiration. “He saved me.” He had saved her too, but he was too late. And they only stayed with her for a day. He cared for her for months. It seemed so unfair. But he continued to protect her and taking care of her faithfully.

They heard about the Scroll of the Nine Suns in a small village. Each day the little inn they were staying was filled with warriors who drank loudly and mages who sat in solitude. Dead bodies were carried through like a river flowing past. Myia watched as the green-eyed rogue filled their bag with food and ration and followed him heading toward the mountain. She knew he also wanted the scroll, while she had a different wish. He might be there.

She had never seen this much blood before. It seemed every species in the world had come to this mountain. Human, elf, dwarf, orc … Some traveled in groups. Others traveled alone. Fights broke out every minute. Everybody knew that one less opponent meant one more chance for himself. Sometimes somebody would suddenly drop dead, becoming the victim of poisons or secretly cast spells. She and her jade ring had attracted many greedy glares, but the vicious dark look of her green-eyed friend had kept most of the troubles away. She had to fend off the others using her own short swords, with the help of the rogue’s dagger.

It was twilight when they reached the broken cliff near the top of the mountain. In front of a stiff crag beside the dark entrance of a cave, two paladins riding on their horses were surrounded by dozens of people. Fresh blood stained the paladins’ white armors. A slain black dragon lay on the floor, alongside heaps of unidentifiable bodies of humans and other creatures. Myia’s heart almost leaped out when she saw the face of the male paladin. The ecstasy was too much for her to bear. She was about to faint.

The female paladin rode a round circle, and went back to the side of her companion. He raised a leather scroll over his head, and spoke to the crowd. “We are Beverdere and Poppea of the Church of Melderon. We have been tracing this scroll for years. And today we have accomplished our mission. There have been too many deaths and too much destruction associated with this scroll. Its dark power is too great for anybody to handle. It must be destroyed so that no more blood will be shed because of it.” The crowd was roused with shouting and clanging of weapons. The female paladin pulled out her long sword in her hand and again rode her horse around, stifling the unrest while the other began striking his flint.

Suddenly a man swooped down from a giant dead tree, in the blink of the eye snatching the scroll out of the paladin’s hands, alighting atop the crag before flying away like a bird. Myia let out a half cry, shocked to see that it was her green-eyed rogue.

Hearing her voice among the commotion Beverdere glanced over in her direction while turning his horse around. The soft shimmering of the jade ring caught his eyes. He had no time for her but he had been wondering about her and wanted to know how things had gone. He swiftly grasped her onto his horse before starting after the red horse that was already darting away.

They caught up with them at the top of the mountain. Beverdere dropped Myia under a pine tree. “Wait for me here,” he said gently, and then proceeded to join his partner, whose sword pointed to the rogue. “We do not want to take your life. Drop the scroll and you are free to go. A paladin’s words can be trusted.”

Mordic laughed out loudly. “Why would I give up something that I acquired through my own effort? You have no need for the scroll. You only want to destroy it. You paladins always think you have the right to decide the fate of other people and other things.” A rage was rising inside him that he didn’t understand. “You have no more right than I do for anything.” He said defiantly.

“Don’t waste time on a low life like him.” Poppea drove her sword directly toward him. The rogue dodged, and blocked another attack from Beverdere with his dagger. The battle was one-sided and quick. Agile as he was, the rogue did not have a chance fighting two well-trained paladins. Within a minute he fell to the ground and the scroll rolled out of his hand. With a light laugh, Poppea extended her sword to reach for the scroll. As the sword about to reach the scroll it was suddenly swung off by a short sword. It was Myia, standing beside the rogue, who grabbed the scroll back in his hand.

“Myia!” The female paladin was surprised and a little annoyed. “Are you helping him?”

“Yes. He was right. You don’t have the right to destroy the scroll.”

“We do not have a choice.” Cold reply accompanied a swing of her sword toward the rogue. The fight broke again, but in a very different way. Myia and Mordic fought together against the female paladin. Receiving a baleful glare from Poppea, Beverdere hesitantly joined the battle. Those two would not be an equal opponent for Poppea, but they’d always fought together.

The power of two joint swords was too great for Myia. She uttered a cry when Poppea’s sword dived to her chest like a flash. “Clang!” The female paladin was astounded to see her sword blocked away by her partner. He was helping her. Blood gushed toward her head. Biting on her lip she continued swinging her sword at Myia, only to find each of her move blocked by Beverdere. Feeling the temporary release of the pressure the rogue took Myia’s hand and tried to sneak away, but was forced to back off again by a trembling tip of Beverdere’s sword.

The battle continued as Mordic and Myia backed away step by step toward the edge of the cliff, until there was no room for them to retreat any more. Sword pointing to the rogue, Beverdere demanded again: “Concede your defeat and hand over the scroll.”

The rogue laughed wildly, “I will never surrender to you, never.” Heated hatred squeezed out from the clutch of his teeth. He suddenly turned around and leaped into the bottomless ravine. “Mord--!” Myia cried out a shriek as she plunged after him without thinking. Almost at the same moment a rope wrapped around her waist and she was pulled back.

“You killed him!” She pushed Beverdere away from her and tried to run back toward the edge of the ravine.

Beverdere hold her hand firmly, stopping her. “It is stupid to waste your life for a mere scroll! Hasn’t it caused enough deaths already?!”

She suddenly stopped struggling. She looked at the paladin strangely, and said, “It was not for a scroll. It was for his pride and dignity. And love.” Her voice became low and painful. “I have loved you ever since I met you. But you have killed an innocent man. He was my only friend. And you killed him.” Beverdere stood in silence, stunned. It wasn’t really he who killed him, but he couldn’t argue. Myia pushed him away, and ran down the mountain.

She didn’t know how long it took her to get down to the bottom of the ravine. She had no doubt it was too long. She stumbled through damp scrubs and shattered rocks. It was dark. She couldn’t see anything. But she knew he’d be there. She could feel it. She didn’t dare to cry out, fearing there were others looking for him.

She almost tripped over on his body. His body … Blue moon shined on a torso laying in an unnatural position. All noises suddenly muffled in an eerie silence. She felt down on her knees beside him. “Mordic.” She whispered. Her hand touched his face. He was cold. Where were the glittering green eyes that she was so used to see? She lowered her face to his mouth to feel his breath. His lips were cold. She used her fingers to open his eyelids. The mystical shimmering was not there any more. Oh please. Don’t die. Please. She hugged him. His body was lifeless. She kissed him, wanting to insert some warmness into him. Don’t die, please. She started to sob. Her hands trembled, feeling his face, his lips, his neck, his cold body. Don’t die please… I’ll take care of you like you took care of me. I’ll stay with you, feed you and watch you. Please wake up. Don’t die. Please…

At dawn the paladins found Myia kneeling in front of a newly formed pile of earth and rocks, back toward them. “So you can’t let him off after all, even if he is dead.” Myia’s voice was grieving and resentful. She did not have to look. She knew it was them.

“I’m sorry, Myia. It shouldn’t have been like this.” Beverdere said tenderly. “What can we do for you?”

“Just leave us alone.”

“We need the scroll, Myia.” Poppea added quietly.

Myia stood up and turned around abruptly. “Is that what you want? You want the scroll don’t you? Nothing is more important than the scroll. Not even somebody’s life.” She suddenly laughed. “Why do you think I would give it to you? He didn’t give it to you. He exchanged it with his own life. Why do you think I’d give it to you?”

Beverdere sighed softly. “It’s not safe to keep it with you, Myia. You know many people wanted it. It won’t be long for them to find out you have it. They’ll try to get it anyway they can.”

“Just like you.” Myia added scornfully. “You’ll have to try it by force.” She backed half a step, and drew out her double swords.

Poppea’s hand was on the handle of her sword before Beverdere stopped her with a gesture. “We can’t fight her, Poppea.”

“Why?

“We can’t allow any more innocent blood being shed because of this scroll.”

It was a perfectly righteous statement. But Poppea couldn’t help feeling that he wouldn’t have said this if it was not her. “Have you forgotten about our mission, Beverdere?”

“No. But if we keep fighting and hurting people for it there is no difference between us and the others.”

She agreed. Being a paladin was hard, but worth it. “What do you propose?”

“We’ll take her with us. We’ll protect her, take care of her.”

Poppea raised an eyebrow. So that was what he wanted. Ever since that spring morning he gave her that jade ring, she had a feeling this day would come. “What about the scroll?”

“She can keep it.”

“What did we swear when we accepted our mission, Beverdere?” She raised her voice and asked sternly.

“We have to destroy the Scroll of the Nine Suns regardless any circumstances.”

“Then do it! Finish your mission, Paladin!” Poppea pulled out her sword. It was met by another great sword in the middle of the air, producing a loud clash and a bright sparkle. All color drained from the female Paladin’s face. “You are fighting me.” For her. “You have forgotten your mission. You have betrayed your church. You have betrayed me.” The sorrow in her words was so heavy it made Beverdere drop his sword.

She was waiting for this moment. He would not be able to block her attack. She rapidly charged toward Myia. “Don’t do it!” Beverdere sprung out from his horse, shielding Myia behind him. The sword struck deeply into Beverdere chest. He fell backward at the slashing force of the sword.

Oh no. Myia couldn't understand what was happening. Everything happened so fast. The short swords fell to the ground as she caught the paladin's falling body. The world was tilting. Swirling … Something inside her was broken. She could hear the cracking sound …"I didn't have the scroll, Beverdere … I have buried it with him." She mumbled. Nobody was listening to her. Poppea was kneeling beside him … She was laughing … crying … She was busy doing something … "Potion! Get me some potion!" Right. Potion. He could use some potion. Mordic had the potions. Where was he? Where were the potions …

A lightening suddenly flashes through her mind. No, this was all wrong! She could now see clearly. The two paladins in white armors … She shouted: "Wait for me, Beverdere. I'll save you. Wait for me!"

She flung open the cover and run toward the GM's desk. "I want to restart the game. How can I restart?" The GM looked at her pitifully. "There is no restart in this game, I'm sorry." He paused for a second, not wanting to disclose the truth. "You game is already over, Miss."

Looking toward her seat, she could see two white shadows embracing together. A couple blood tainted swords laid around. A blue moon was hanging in the sky … A dimly lighted phrase showed up in the middle of the scattered rocks and bushes: "Sorry, you lost."

The GP card fell from her hand. She stood there, like a statue. Somebody walked past behind her. The footsteps were slow, and heavy. She turned around. Something exploded in her head. It was him. His right hand pressing on his chest, he walked slowly, as if all strength was depleted from him.

The door sliced open and closed noiselessly. She suddenly woke up from the nightmare and dashed out of the door. The street was quiet and empty. Bright sunlight scattered onto her shoulder. Something sprinkled not far from her. She picked it up.

It was a jade ring. Soft milk-white light shimmered in her hand.

There was a boy...

A very strange enchanted boy.

They say he wandered very far, very far

Over land and sea,

A little shy and sad of eye

But very wise was he.

And then one day,

A magic day, he passed my way.

And while we spoke of many things,

Fools and kings,

This he said to me,

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn

Is just to love and be loved in return."

Game Over.