Klein's body was gone. But he knew it would come back.
He wasn't sure how he could tell, but Klein knew that his soul was in motion. Traveling through some type of ethereal plane, Klein's mind was being filled with knowledge. He wasn't quite sure how, but somehow Klein knew. He was traveling to a faraway land. To a kingdom called Askr. And though he wasn't quite sure why, he knew he had to protect it at any cost.
A loud sound reverberated in his head and he knew his moment had come. He opened his eyes, and sure enough his body was back, as if it had never left. A figure stood before him, an oddly shaped weapon pointed straight at him, but Klein knew, just as he had known everything else, who this figure was and that weapon meant no harm.
"I am Klein, son of Count Reglay of Etruria. I'll be happy to accompany you!"
The figure nodded in acknowledgment and Klein bowed his respects before leaving to take his place in the summoning area. He couldn't quite tell how he knew where that was, but once he stopped in a particular spot, he knew. That place just felt right.
Klein blinked. Now that he had time to think about the whole ordeal, he did find it a bit odd. Just where was he? Askr, but how? Come to think of it, he had never heard of the place right before he ended up here and yet somehow he knew exactly where it was.
Perplexed, he allowed his eyes to wander. The figure with the weapon hunched over as if looking at something in their palm, and Klein couldn't help but overhear the figure muttering something excitedly.
"Heh heh...plus attack, minus res...perfect! Heh heh…."
Klein furrowed in confusion, unsure of exactly what that meant. It was then he noticed that he was not alone in this area he knew was called the summoning circle. Other figures stood silently in their space as well, holding weapons that he recognized and looking as if they had just gone through the same process he had. Perhaps he could inquire some more information from them.
To his right, a man with a scar on his face stood idly. He did not look amiable in the slightest. Upon catching his eye, he scowled.
"What?" he spoke in a gruff voice.
"Uh, pardon me," Klein did his best to remember his training in etiquette, as he did not want to offend this man. "I was just wondering if you could tell me about the predicament we find ourselves in."
Klein felt pretty good about that, and he thought his father would be quite proud of how he had handled himself there, but the scarred man did not seem to agree.
"Sorry," He grunted. "Don't like to speak much."
And with that, the scarred man turned away, pointedly ignoring Klein and his inquiry. Klein scratched his head at the rude treatment, but decided not to push it. No reason to bother this man any further, it seemed.
Perhaps someone else then, he looked to his left, and sure enough another figure, this time in the form of a young girl with pointy ears and - BY GODS what was she wearing?
Or the more appropriate question in this case, what was she not wearing? Not much, by the looks of it!
Hastily, Klein tried to turn away, but the young girl noticed his movement too quickly and caught him before he could with a large smile on her face.
"Hi! Wanna play?"
Oh Gods, no. Klein struggled to unfreeze himself and cautiously faced the young girl. He didn't quite know what this young girl meant by play and he didn't quite like the glint in her eye, but he also didn't want to appear unseemly on a first impression, no matter who the party he was talking to was. Still..
"What would you mean by 'play'? " he chose his words carefully.
"Oh we could do some like hide-and-dragon seek, or tag, or - hmm what else is there? Ah!" the girl suddenly seemed to realize something. "I guess this isn't the time for that, is it? Sorry, I forgot. How about later then?"
Klein breathed a mental sigh of relief at her choice of games before answering.
"Sure. That's fine."
"Great! It's a promise! Er, sorry, what was your name?"
"I am Klein, of-"
"Okie-dokie, Klein! I'll see you later! Oh, and you can just call me big sis, since I'm about a thousand years older than you, alright? Just call out if you need me!"
"Okay, but - wait, what?" Klein wasn't quite sure he heard her correctly, but did this young girl just claim to be thousands of years older than him? A certain face of a young girl with purple hair suddenly appeared in his mind, and somehow he wasn't too surprised.
The young girl contine to fix him with an innocent beaming smile, and Klein decided that for better or for worse, it wasn't quite worth pursuing this topic.
Next to the girl, however, was something well worth pursuing. Klein's eyes widened as he recognized a familiar face, off in the distance.
"Lord Roy? Is that you?"
At the mention of the name Roy, the person on the far end turned his attention to Klein, and slowly, Klein could tell that…that…
That wasn't quite Roy. He had similar features, but Klein could tell from the way that that man was looking at him that he didn't recognize him in the slightest.
"Excuse me? Did you just call me...Roy?"
"My apologies," Klein bowed his head in embarrassment. "You just looked like someone I knew."
"Ah, but wait," Klein looked up to see the man giving him a doubtful frown. "Roy is the name of my son."
Klein blinked not sure how to process this information.
"You mean...Roy is your boy?"
"Indeed. Roy's my boy."
"..."
"..."
"Wait!" Klein shouted in astonishment. "Does that mean that you're Lord Eli-"
"Ah, hold on one moment," the man cut him off. He pointed back over to the figure. "It's about to happen again."
"What do you mean by that?" Klein frowned in confusion.
"Just watch," the man kept his eyes on the figure. "It's mysterious. I've never seen anything quite like it."
With those words, Klein's curiosity was piqued. He shifted his attention back to the summoner.
The figure slowly raised his oddly shaped weapon. Klein could not tell what emotions were running through the summoner's mind, but oddly he could hear a few words.
"Please not another Draug, anything but that."
Klein frowned. He didn't quite knew what those words meant. But he wouldn't have time to find out.
BAM! The summoner in the middle shot his weapon. Klein's eyes widened at the sight before him. Multi-colored orbs shot out of the weapon, converging into a stone pedestal holding a red orb across from where Klein was standing.
Before his very eyes, he watched in astonishment as a cloud of dust appeared, sending a shiver down his spine and resulting in a twinkle of excitement in the figure's eye. And then the pedestal glowed as if by magic, a blue light burst out of it towards the sky, but before Klein could follow it with his vision, another flash of blinding white light made him shield his eyes and when it was gone-
"You stand in the presence of Sanaki, Empress of Begnion! I am the Apostle - the voice of the Goddess!"
Klein lowered his hand and peered at the figure across from him. She was a girl with purple hair and some sort of red hairband now stood in the place where the pedestal once was. She looked familiar.
It was only until the girl looked back at him when recognized her. He did know who she was. And from the looks of it, she had not forgotten him either.
In between them, the summoner with the weapon was hollering loudly with elation, joyously bouncing up and down.
"Woo-hoo! Two focus characters in one summon! How lucky am I? And she's plus speed minus resistance too! Ha-ha!"
Klein only caught half of that, but he was sure he wouldn't be able to understand it anyway. He was fixated on that girl across from him, and she had not left her own gaze onto him. What were the odds, Klein wondered, that they would meet again like this?
The circumstances were incredible, but perhaps it was fate. Maybe she knew more about this world they were in and could fill him in. It was worth looking into, anyway. Chancing a smile, Klein nervously greeted her with a small wave.
Her mouth opened and her hand moved to mimic the motion. Suddenly, however, she froze. In a very pointed manner, she turned her head away from him, a cross expression on her face. She left the room shortly after, in a very brisk manner.
Klein frowned. What was that all about? Deciding to confront her about it, he left in her pursuit.
The hooded summoner skipped jovially behind him.
She had not gone too far. In fact right outside of the entrance to the summoning room, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Sure enough, the small but fierce figure of the "empress of Begnion" met him, looking coldly into his eyes.
"Explain yourself," she demanded.
"...Huh?"
Klein blinked blankly as the empress continued boring a hole with her eyes into him, looking at him with a distrustful expression.
"Do not play dumb with me, mister. I am the Empress of Begnion and you have shown yourself in my presence twice in this odd world. Are you some sort of stalker or something?!"
"W-wait a minute," Klein took a step backwards, as rightfully so as Sanaki eyes began to flare. Her right hand grasped a book, no, a tome, very tightly and from what Klein remembered from their previous battle together, he did not want to make a wrong a move here. His skin burned just thinking about it.
"Hold on," he pleaded, holding his hands up. "I was going to ask you the same thing. W-well, not the stalker part, obviously, but I'm just in the dark about this as you."
Sanaki gave a small 'hmpth' as a reply, her composure not relenting one bit.
"And you expect me to believe that? I am the empress of Begnion! I am the apostle, the voice of the Goddess! And you- you are some strange unknown peasant. Give me one good reason I should believe anything that you-"
"W-wait a second. Peasant? I'm the son of Count Reglay of Eturia." Klein frowned. Okay, obviously, he didn't think he was anything too special. But peasant seemed to be going just a little too far. Besides- "And I have no idea what anything you said meant."
"E-tua?" Sanaki stumbled over her words, sounding uncharacteristically childish in her mispronunciation. She realized it too as she turned red almost immediately.
"D-d-do not try to make a fool out of me! I know that's not a real place!" The empress stammered. "Do you know who I am? I am the Empress of Beg-"
"Look," Klein interjected. "I apologize for interjecting, but you have already stated that far too many times for even a man with the shortest memory to forget. I understand that you are an empress of some sort, but it seems we come from different worlds. Believe me when I say that I don't have the slightest idea what that is."
Sanaki paused in the middle of saying something, her mouth agape and face slowly turning redder. She attempted to say something a couple of times before finally managing to get her words out.
"Y-you dare...interrupt the Empress of Begnion? Have you no manners? Most men would shiver in fear in my mere presence...you dare interrupt me?"
Klein paused to think for a moment. This interaction wasn't going anywhere. The girl in front of him was intent on acting like an empress. In that case, perhaps his best move to get through to her would be to play his part. And so Klein bowed.
"Once again, I apologize, my lady. But I cannot help but to wonder how men would shiver in the presence of such a cute little girl such as yourself."
"C-l-u-ittle…!" Sanaki appeared to be caught between saying the word cute and little. Her face turned even brighter and her face went through a whole range of emotions before settling in on anger.
"Y-you dare insult the Empress of Begnion with your...filthy mouth?! I-I should burn you where you stand for saying those...lies!"
Klein started in surprise. He had meant those words as a compliment. The way she reacted, though suggested that she may really be an empress. Did men really fear being in her presence? Surely, she must feel pretty lonely in that case. But he had no time to think of that now, as once again he hastily bowed low.
"I sincerely apologize if what I said insulted you, empress. But I did not mean any foul intentions with my tongue. It is a statement I would tell my sister and you look to be around her age so I just spoke without thought, my lady!"
"You...have a sister?" The sudden change in voice made Klein look up, and what he saw made his heart melt. The little girl had a very sad, forlorn expression on her face, and Klein could tell she was remembering some unpleasant memories. No little girl deserved to have such an expression.
What would he say to cheer his little sister up, had she looked like that?
Thinking quickly, Klein lowered his head again.
"Once more, I sincerely apologize for acting so crass. As an apology, I humbly ask that you allow me to take you out to the nearest candy shop for a treat."
Worked like a charm. Instantly, the head of the empress perked up.
"C-candy?! I mean...what kind of apology is that?! I am NOT a child and I do not care for such things! ...S-still, I will allow it. If you insist."
Klein smiled warmly. "Follow me."
Now, being new to the land and all, Klein didn't quite know where the nearest candy shop was. That being the case, he wandered blindly for a while before a helpful blonde girl offered some direction.
"Oh, a candy shop? Sure thing! The one over here is my favorite! I wish I could come along, but I have so many new friends to meet, so have fun!"
It had taken a while to get there, and the girl he had with him had become quite cranky in her impatience for a sweet snack. Though she didn't say it, Klein could tell by the way she kept fidgeting during the journey. Having finally arrived at their destination, however, Klein decided to make it up to her.
"Sorry it took so long, my lady. But as my apology being so untimely, feel free to help yourself to as much candy as you want."
The girl's eyes widened as she heard that, and she turned to look at him in surprise. She opened her mouth and stuttered, and she looked as if she were trying to say something proper, or something about how an empress such as herself didn't care for such gestures. But all she could manage to get out of her mouth was a tiny squeak.
"R-really?"
Klein bowed. "My treat."
"T-then…" Sanaki didn't waste much time as she looked up and down the vendor's options, her eyes filled with wonder and excitement. "I'll have…"
Klein wondered if he would regret his decision here. His wallet certainly did. But he bought the bundle of treats she wanted anyway, and as she scuffled off to sit on a nearby park bench, he sat down next to her, and one moment of seeing the girl bite into tarts with such a contented look on her face made it all worth it.
After a few dozen treats, it seemed she had her fill.
"Ah...that was excellent!"
Klein gave her a small smile.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, my lady."
Sanaki started, and turned toward him with a look of surprise on her face.
"You...you're still here?!"
Klein looked back at her bemusedly. She must have been enjoying the sweets so much that she got lost in her own world for a bit and didn't notice him follow her.
"Did you expect me take leave?"
"YES! I mean...of course I did...Avert your eyes! I am the..."
She stopped her proclamation and sighed, looking sad once more. Klein leaned toward her, worried.
"My lady?"
"No...it's all right. You've already seen that anyway," she muttered dejectedly.
"Aw, don't be like that. You are the empress of Bagletown right?"
"It's Begnion!" she flared up for a moment, but relaxed quickly. "...But, you don't give a fig for all that, do you?"
"Now, wait a second." Klein frowned, offended. "How can you say that? I have addressed you properly this whole time and even treated you to all those sweets, and you're saying I just did that for no reason?"
"Ha, that's exactly what I meant," Sanki lifted her head up. "I am the empress of Begnion. But here you are, treating me so casually. You stand in my presence with no fear, even though you have seen what I am capable of. Most men would beg me to allow them to approach. But not you. It's...well, it's something else.
Klein peered at her quizzically. "Were my actions that discomforting?"
"No, it's not that at all. It was...kind of nice for you to bring me out here for these snacks and all, but...you have to understand. I am not a commoner. Nor am I child. Though I appear like any other girl, I don't have the luxury of acting this juvenile."
"But didn't you enjoy those treats?"
"It's not a question of whether I enjoyed them or not. I am who I am. I am the apostle, the voice of the Goddess. I must act as such."
Klein drew a deep breath. He felt sorry for this girl. She was born with a title with a deep burden to bear and because of that she could not act the same as a girl around her age should. Because of this, she couldn't experience the small joys that childhood would bring.
"...Here take this." Klein reached into his pocket.
"...What is it?" Sanaki peered over at him. He held a small tart in his hand. "Another treat?! Where did you…?"
"I bought one for myself while I was getting all of yours. But I don't have much of a sweet tooth in the first place, so I think you would enjoy it more than me."
"But...didn't you listen to anything I said? I cannot afford to look like a child. I am an empress!"
"You don't have to be an empress all the time."
Sanaki's mouth dropped.
"...What?"
"Look, I respect you, my lady. You may not believe me, but Etruia is a real place and I am of noble birth. I've met many people in my life and I've come to learn many things. One such thing I have learned is those who talk the talk rarely walk the walk. Most of the time they flee. But you have done no such thing. You were born into a life where you became an empress at such a young age and despite that all, you still did everything in your power to grow into that role and fit what was expected of you. That's admirable. I can see now that you truly are the empress of Begnion, the apostle.
But, you don't have to be that all the time. Every once in awhile, you can be yourself if only for a short while. If only long enough to indulge yourself slightly while no one's around. If only long enough to enjoy one small piece of candy. I'm sure no one would think any less of you for that."
Klein finished with a gentle smile, and once again held his hand out to her, offering his treat once again.
The empress in front of him hesitated. Finally, she slowly reached out. A small red tint appeared on her cheek as she took his peace offering, though this time it wasn't because of anger.
"Tell no one of this," she huffed as she popped the snack into her mouth.
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"And don't forget," she gave him a glare, though the candy sweetened her eyes just a bit. "I am the empress of Begnion."
Klein gave one last deep bow.
"Of course not, my lady."
Weeks passed and Klein had settled in as a member of the Order of Heroes. On occasion he would still run into Sanaki and though she still was keen on reminding him and everybody else exactly who she was, he felt that her tone with a bit amicable that it had been when they first met.
Every once in while, he would bring her out to that candy store and allow her to enjoy some more of her favorite tarts, though as the castle grew more and more populated their trips became less frequent.
Today, however, the coast was going to be clear. Klein smiled as he laid back, outside in the green grass on a gorgeous sunrise, watching the day pass idly by waiting for the time he arranged to meet up with the girl at their usual spot.
"Biiiiig brooother!"
A voice snapped him out of his daydream, and a familiar one at that. His eyes popped open and a blonde sister focused into his view.
"Clarine!"
"Big brother! I found you!"
Without warning of any sort, Clarine launched herself at him, the majority of her force landing on his stomach knocking the wind out of him with a solid 'oomph!'
"Hey, hey, big brother!" Clarine pushed herself off him but just barely, so their eyes met inches away from each other. Her voice stayed cheerful but there was a bit of spice added on. "One of the members of the Order of Heroes told me you had been hanging out with another little girl, and you were going to buy her sweets!"
Suddenly, her eyes darkened and her voice dropped dangerously low.
"You...weren't thinking of...replacing me, were you?"
Klein, the wind still knocked out of him gasping for air, could do nothing but shake his head slowly in dread.
"Good...I'm glad we got that sorted out. Now...where is this sweet shop that you are going to take your dear little sister to?"
"Hey, hey, mister!" Another voice entered the fray. And Klein's eyes widened in terror as he recognized this one to. And it was not a welcome one at all in this situation.
Nowi the manakete hopped on over to the pair giddily, horribly misinterpreting the situation.
"Hey, you're the man that promised to play with me that one time, right? Great timing! I was just looking for something to do. And is that girl coming along? Perfect! The more the merrier!"
Clarine took one swift glance at Nowi and her outfit before whirling her attention straight back to her brother, her eyes as sharp as a razor.
"Is this your new younger sister?!"
"Huh? No, no it's not like that all!" Nowi quickly replied and Klein breathed a sigh of relief. Too soon. "See, we agreed that I'm his older sister, and mister said he sure loves his older sisters! Now, what game were you two playing?" Nowi looked at the position the two siblings were in. "Oh, I think I've played that one before!"
Klein gulped as his sister looked down at him, her face turning darker and darker by the second. He was not going to enjoy the next words coming out his sister's mouth very much.
"You are so dead."
He was so dead.
Note: I have not played either game where these two appear so all I got going for me is off Heroes. Because of that, I apologize if I made anything appear too out of character.