Hello people! Hope you guys like this chapter. Please review, reviews are greatly appreciated. If I don't get any reviews I probably won't continue this story. Anyway, let's get on to the next chapter.

Chapter Three

Lys smiled as she looked up at the sun, but her smile slipped a bit as she looked farther ahead and saw some approaching clouds. It seemed as a bad omen to her, but she pushed those thoughts aside at the sound of Kouhei approaching. He had offered to take her to the next town, but advised her to rest for a while longer and think of where she would go. She took his advice and decided to stay with him. However, she had insisted on helping him as much as she could while she stayed with him.

Kouhei looked down at her as she sat on a bench outside his house. She smiled up at him and he wondered if he should really allow her to accompany him. Of course there was no way he could deny a goddess anything. He sighed and resigned himself to having her company, not that it was necessarily bad.

"I guess we should leave." He said.

She stood and they began to make their way to a farm Kouhei currently worked at. It was owned by an old man and so Kouhei helped with the harvesting and other jobs that were too strenuous. They arrived in a short amount of time and Kouhei had to smile as he watched Lys eagerly looking around the farm.

"So this is where you work?" She asked happily.

He nodded and watched as she looked around and walked over to where the horses were kept. He was about to tell her to be careful, but she seemed to have no problem in dealing with them.

"Good morning Kouhei."

Kouhei turned around and smiled at an old man approaching him.

"Good morning Yamaguchi-san. I hope you don't mind but I brought a friend with me."

"It's alright, there's not much to do today anyway, just feed the animals and you can go." He said with a smile.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"Think nothing of it, but tell me, where is your friend from. She doesn't really look like she's from around here."

Kouhei laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. The old farmer chuckled a bit.

"Never mind, I should leave you alone to your work now. If you need anything I'll be inside."

He walked away towards his house and Kouhei sighed in relief. He walked over to Lys who was now petting a horse. He supposed getting so well with animals was part of being a goddess.

"Lys-sama, if you wish you can stay here, I'll just be feeding the animals. Just please be careful."

Lys laughed a bit.

"It's alright, I think I'll join you. I would like to see the other animals."

Kouhei nodded and began to head to where the animals were with Lys following closely.

Meanwhile, in the Shadow Realm, Atrer sat on her throne and smirked as a group of guards walked in. They bowed before her and the captain approached.

"You wished to see us Atrer-sama?"

"Yes, I have a mission for you. I want you to go into Tellus and get rid of Lys."

The guards seemed surprised, but they knew they couldn't refuse her request.

"Yes Atrer-sama, we will leave immediately."

"Wait a minute."

The captain stopped and turned to the goddess.

"Vel-sama is also in Tellus. He is searching for his sister at the moment. If you encounter him, don't tell him of what I've asked. Even in his weakened state he is very capable of destroying you. Also, I want you to report to me when you find Lys. I will send Atrum with you."

At that a crow perched at the top of her throne flew to the captain.

"You may leave now."

The soldiers stood and left while Atrer smirked and relaxed into her throne. Things were going according to plan so far. The gods were busy looking for Lys in their own realm and didn't think of her being the one responsible for her disappearance. Her only regret was having had to send Vel down to Tellus as well. Unfortunately, she knew that because of his close bond with his sister he would eventually find out the truth. She supposed it was a fair price to pay for power.

Vel stopped his horse as he felt a drop of water hit his face. He looked up and frowned as he saw the dark clouds hovering above him. It was dusk already and he knew he wouldn't be able to advance much further. He dismounted his horse as he heard a faint sound nearby and tied him to a tree. He cautiously walked towards the sound and appeared at a high cliff.

He looked out before him and saw a small village a short distance from him, but what got his attention was not the village, but the feeling he got from it. He could sense Lys nearby. However, Vel could also sense danger, powerful foes wondered nearby and he knew they were after his sister. He hurried back to his horse and left to search for his sister.

Lys sighed as she sat by the window watching the rain while Kouhei worked on starting a fire. He finally succeeded and stood with a grin on his face. The goddess looked at him and smiled.

"Lys-sama I'm sorry about you not being able to leave."

"Don't worry about it."

Kouhei smiled but still felt ad for the young goddess who was trapped in that place. He wondered why Atrer had sent her down to Tellus.

"Lys-sama, why is it that our sister sent you here?"

She didn't turn away from the window and he wondered if he had upset her.

"I'm not sure." She said quietly.

"I suppose it's because she never really liked me."

Kouhei was surprised to hear this, but said nothing. Lys turned around to look at him.

"Atrer rules over the Realm of Shadows so humans aren't too fond of her, but I who rule over the sun and light this world am honored in every city. Because of this she often wished to have my power. However, my father knew of her dislike for me and banished her to her own realm where she rules on her own. Although she is allowed to visit the realm of the gods she must always return to her own kingdom."

"I see, so she wants your power, but won't the other gods look for you or suspect her?"

"The gods don't come to this world often as it generally weakens them. Even if they do come they can't stay for too long so this will be the last place in which they look. Atrer is also very clever so the gods won't suspect her too soon. At this rate I'm the only one who knows the truth."

Kouhei frowned and wondered how the gods could act in such a way. Before he could say anything there was a series of loud knocks on the door. Kouhei opened the door and saw a villager standing there. Lys recognized him as the man from the store they had gone to earlier that day. He was soaked and panting as he had obviously run there.

"Tanaka-san, what's wrong?" Kouhei asked as he let the man in.

"Kouhei, there are some strangers approaching the village on horses. They wear dark armor and appear to be looking for a girl who looks like your friend."

Kouhei was startled by this.

"Wait, how do you know this?"

"My son was returning from a nearby village and he ran into them. They questioned him, but he didn't know anything. When he arrived he told me of what had happened."

Kouhei frowned and Lys walked to the man.

"These people wore dark armor, right?"

The man nodded and she frowned a bit.

"Thank you for telling us, now please return home before they arrive."

The man looked at her for a moment and then nodded and stood up.

"Kouhei, be careful." He said before he left.

Kouhei stood there not knowing what to do. He looked at the goddess and she gave him a small smile.

"I guess I should leave before they arrive. I hope I haven't caused you trouble."

She was about to leave when he caught her by her wrist.

"Wait, you can't go alone. Who are those people?"

"They are Atrer's soldiers. If I stay here the village will be in danger and you will probably be killed."

Kouhei froze and she could see that he was scared.

"Thank you for your help. Now I must leave."

Kouhei didn't let her go and she was puzzled as he shook his head.

"No, I can't let you go alone. If they find you…" He trailed off.

"Kouhei, it's alright."

"No it's not. You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, I promised I would accompany you."

Lys watched as he took a sword that was above the chimney. He grabbed a black cloak and placed it around Lys. He drew the hood up to hide her face.

"Don't worry Lys-sama, I'll protect you."

Lys was stunned by his determination. Before she could protest he had pulled her out into the pouring rain. They hurried down the road and to the outskirts of the village. As they ran past the farm in which Kouhei worked they saw someone approaching on the distance. Kouhei pulled Lys to the side and they could make out a group of horsemen. Kouhei looked around for a place to hide and then the old farmer appeared at the door to his house.

"Come on." Kouhei said.

They hurried inside and closed the door. The farmer turned off the lights and they waited for the soldiers to pass. Kouhei sighed in relief. Lys approached the old man and smiled softly at him.

"You know who I am."

"Yes I do, Lys-sama."

Kouhei was surprised to hear that he knew Lys.

"How did you know?" He asked.

"The medallion you wear has the symbol of the sun goddess."

She clutched her medallion and sighed.

"But that doesn't matter now, go out through the other way and head into the forest." The farmer said.

Kouhei nodded and headed to the exit. Lys gave the old man a hug. She stood and looked down at him kindly.

"Thank you for your help."

She followed Kouhei who was waiting for her and they made their way to the forest. Kouhei stopped once they were there and looked at Lys. The rain had stopped and he was soaked, but his cloak had kept Lys dry. She watched as Kouhei shivered a bit.

"Maybe we can make it to the next town before dawn so we can rest. There we can think of where to go." He said.

Lys shook her head and sighed.

"Kouhei, you should go back. You are already in danger."

"Lys-sama, I won't leave you by yourself."

Lys looked at the boy and wondered how he could be so determined to protect someone he didn't know. It occurred to her that it could just be because of her status as a goddess.

"Kouhei, you don't have to help me. If you leave me now, it will be alright."

"I can't leave you I promised I would help you. Come on, we should leave before we are found."

He took her hand and pulled her along as he hurried through the dark forest. They could hardly see where they were going and they kept stumbling with the roots of the trees. After a while Kouhei stopped.

"We should rest for a while I don't think those guys will find us here." He said.

He leaned against a tree and Lys looked around the forest. She heard a faint noise in the distance.

"Kouhei, do you hear that?"

Kouhei looked up at her and then listened closely. He stood up quickly as he realized what the sound was. It was the sound of a horse growing closer. He stood before the goddess and placed his hand on his sword as a cloaked horseman appeared. The man stopped and Kouhei drew his sword. The horseman did the same and Lys gasped as she saw the sword.

"Vel!"

Kouhei looked back at her and then back up at the man standing before him. He lowered his hood and Kouhei was surprised to see a boy around his age with silver hair and sharp blue eyes. Lys hurried to him as he put his sword away. They embraced and Kouhei could do nothing but stand there dumbfounded.

End Chapter Three

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