Author's Note: HGGNN. I'LL NEVER FINISH THIS SO I'LL JUST DUMP IT HERE. Someday, you'll be finished... Not today... Give it 5 years... sobbb

Disclaimer: I do not own any Tales of Graces characters, places or plot lines.

Red Chamomile

Chapter 1

Baby Pink

The sun's harsh rays hammered on my scarf wrapped head, my tiny little shoulders. I looked up with my pink gaze, peering at the big ocean of blue without cloud foams. Then to the side to see the taller woman that held my hand. The blond hair that leaked from her hood and head veil waved in the sand crusted wind, her sun kissed skin glistening in the earthy warmth of the blistering sun. She dressed so freely, but didn't allow me to, wrapping me in scarves and sheets like a potato to be baked in a large sandy oven. I protested, but she threatened to take away my Le Fairy doll.

Today, we were traveling, but it was different from the traveling we usually did. Dad wasn't with us. That's why it's different. I squeezed Mom's hand, clutching my Le Fairy doll closer to my cloth wrapped body. Is Dad sick? He looked fine when we left. We left with all of our things though. We didn't have much in the first place. All of our clothes and belongings fit into three bags, the lightest I was carrying while Mom carried the others, but still. We left all the pretty clothes though. The pretty clothes that Dad gave us to make us more comfortable around those people. I liked those pretty clothes. They would flow around me and some of them would sparkle in the sunlight. They were a little stuffy to wear outside, but I felt closer to Dad when I wore them. My gaze was on the road before us, well rather, a large desert that could suck us into its endless abyss if we weren't careful.

Mom said that the desert is dangerous and I shouldn't venture out until I learned how to fight. Fighting seems really hard; I've seen Mom do it sometimes. She would bring out Tolly, a big bad whip that she would threaten to use on me if I was bad. I guess the monsters were being bad because she beats them up with Tolly. She beats them up so hard that they don't follow us anymore. Or don't move again. If Tolly doesn't work, she would throw these shiny things she calls Lilia bombs. She would shout "Lilia Bomb" and I would always laugh because it was just like the comics Mom reads, the Story Of series. My fingers squeezed Mom's hand tighter. Are Mom and I leaving Dad? Is that why Dad isn't with us?

"Mom?" my little voice called. I guess she didn't hear me cause she kept on walking without hearing me. I tried again. "Mom?" She ignored me again. I think she ignored me. But she could have not heard me in the first place. Yeah. That's it. One more time. "Mommy?" This time, her rose pink eyes widened and she looked down at me.

"Huh? What is it sweetie?" she replied. She didn't hear me the first time and didn't hear me the second time. But my voice was clear, I know it was.

"Mom, are we leaving Dad behind?" I asked. We slowed to a stop under Mr. Angry Sun.

"Yes dear. We won't see Dad for a while." She replied. We started walking again. I frowned and squeezed Le Fairy closer to my figure. For a while…? Does that mean we'll see him again?

"Does that mean we'll see him again?" I asked. Mom looked down at me with her rose pink eyes. They looked sad. Why did Mom's eyes look sad?

"…Maybe. We might see him again." My face lit up again. So I might see Dad again with Mom! Dad was really tall and he's really nice. He gave me my Le Fairy doll and he would sit me on his lap and tell me stories of the land. He and Mom would have story telling competitions to see who would tell the best story. Before I would sleep, they would each tell me a story and I could fall asleep happy as they would bicker about which story was better. They fought sometimes, but I could tell they loved each other. They were my best friends after all. I looked up at Mom, but the light on my face faltered when I saw her face. A look of regret was on her face, a shadow created by the sun overhead and her hood and head veil. It scared me. Was it alright to leave Dad? Did Dad know? …Would he be sad that we're gone?

"Mom?" She looked down at me, but the shadow remained. "Is it okay for us to leave Dad?" We continued to walk into the dusty nothingness under the sun, but Mom was silent for a while.

"It's… something that you'll understand when you're older." I shifted Le Fairy in my arm, pulling at the pendant necklace that Dad gave me for my fifth birthday. I was six now. I'm totally old enough to understand.

"Maybe I'm old enough Mommy. Tell me please!" I pleaded, grasping the pendant. It was a small glass bird that glows pink and orange sometimes. I think my Dad said it was a Lum Bird. He told me Lum Birds only live somewhere called the place of protection and are made of… uhmm… Mom told me this before. It was… normal eleth with orange, yellow, pink and violet mixed in. I think... Anyways, Lum Birds are symbols of… vitality? I don't know what that means. But Mom explained it better. She said I was named after them and she hopes I live a long life. If Mom can explain it better than Dad, then I can understand what she's saying now. Mom thought for a moment before speaking again.

"You see… We're different sweetie." Different? My hand fiddled with my glass Lum Bird. As if she could hear my thoughts, Mom nodded and looked ahead at the dusty landscape. "You see… You and I are what people call Acumens."

"Aquuumanss…" I repeated. It was a weird word. I'm a girl, so why am I a Q-man?.

"But Mom, I'm a girl, so why am I a Q-man?" I asked. Mom chuckled lightly and squeezed my hand.

"Sweetie, Acumen is spelled A – C – U – M – E – N. We're called that because of that thing we can do."

"You mean when your eyes look like opals!" I said. Mom nodded. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I can kinda do it, but I can't do it for too long or I'll get a headache and get really sleepy. But I can see pretty colors, especially when Mom teaches me how to mix things up to make even better things. Mom can do it for really long and she says it helps her with her job. She makes medicine for people and sometimes makes weird things too! Like she made a bomb this one time...

"I know you don't think it's weird, but other people do." She's told me this before. Don't use your sparkly eyes in public. She said people would get mad at me or not want to be my friend. I want everyone to be my friend… so I don't do it.

"Is that why we left? So Dad wouldn't be mad at us for doing our sparkly eyes?" I asked. Maybe that's why we left Dad. So he wouldn't be mad anymore. Mom shook her head.

"Dad loves us. Even with our sparkly eyes." She was looking down at me again. There was something big in the distance. It was hazy, so I couldn't see what it was. "But people here think Acumens are bad." Bad? I'm bad? Does that mean Tolly will hurt me?

"Mommy, I don't want to be a Q-man if that means I'm bad." I pouted, looking up at her with my pink gaze. "That means you have to whip me with Tolly." A small smirk came to Mom's face and it stopped at her full cheeks.

"I know dear. But you're not bad, people just think you're bad. And if people think you're bad, people will think Dad is bad." I don't want people to think that Dad is bad. Daddy has a dream. He wants to be the President. I don't know what a President is, but it's someone important that protects everyone. Maybe even Q-mens. He can't be someone important that protects everyone if they think he's bad. I looked to the ground, my feet still shuffling along in the sand as Mom walked forward. Left foot. Right foot. Left. Is that why we left? So Dad can have his dream? If Dad has his dream, he'll be able to protect everyone, even me and Mom. So we'll come back to him. Mom stopped walking. Her hand left my sweaty one and it rested on my wrapped head. Blond hair poked from underneath the scarf. I looked up. The shadow lifted from Mom's face, a strong smile on her face.

"One day, you'll understand. You'll understand and I think you'll be mad at me, but for now, I want to show you something." I clutched my Lum Bird as it glowed pink, Le Fairy swimming in the sweat that poured from my underarm. My pink gaze followed Mom as she walked from by my side to a weird looking door. It had different colored rocks and it kinda looked like the entrance to a tunnel. Like the ones the big worms dig in the sand. Mom put her hand on the door and stepped back. It opened. My eyes widened and my fear began to quell at my heart. Mom coaxed me to her side and I obliged, clinging to her hooded cape. Behind the door was darkness and stairs. When we descended down the stairs, the door closed behind me, making me cling closer to Mom. She put a hand on my head, but I couldn't see her. It was just pitch darkness.

We descended more and some light began to slay the darkness. Mom's told me what those are once before... Cryas torches? It wasn't until we reached the bottom of the stairs that my eyes would widen and the fear in my heart was put to rest. Underground, there was a small town where people with pink, pastel blue or mint eyes lived, the earth completely around them, but a sky above them with fluffy cloud foam. There were rows of vegetables growing along the wall and there were three trees in the middle surrounded by herbs and tea leaves. There were little cottages everywhere and there was a warm quietness that made my heart soar. And even better, a white bird that glistened with green, red and blue moving spots fluttered above us before darting to the herb fields. Lum birds! I looked up at Mom and she was giving me one of her biggest smiles.

"Mom, where are we?" I asked her, a smile matching Mom's.

"Our new home, Marin Terrain." It was in that moment I was The Pink Eyed Little One.

Mom was right when she said I had to be older to understand why we left Dad. But she wrong when she thought I would be mad. That I would resent her for her decisions. It would be wasteful if I did that, now that she's gone. What I have now is a purpose to fulfill to the Acumens and help them with the problems they're having with the world. I've made a few relationships along the way, but I plan to do the things Mom never did: cherish what is in front of me and never run away from those I cherish.

Author's Note: It'll never be finishedddd! Neverrrr!