One year had passed since the destruction of Energy Nede, and life had returned to normal for the young group of heroes, once again. The people of Expel had no recollection of dying or even of the large planet that had gradually inched closer and closer to theirs. No one knew of the fantastic journey Rena, Dias, Claude, Celine, Precis, and Ashton had completed. And what's more, it seemed that no one ever would.
It had taken them all a while to return to their old lives, which were, in comparison to the ones they had been leading, rather mundane. Celine returned to Mars and was currently teaching others how to further their heraldry, Claude had set up shop in Cross, Precis and Ashton had relocated to Salva and were currently mining ore for weaponry and machinery, Rena had returned to Arlia and was staying with her mother Westa, and Dias had been on the move ever since. He had returned briefly after their victory, to visit his family's graves, but was gone by the next morning, without a trace. Rena had been left heart broken once again. She had always reminded herself not to expect a lot from the swordsman, but however much she told herself this, it was always in vain. She had prayed to manna for the strength to tell him how she felt, but still, the words had not come out of her mouth. Claude, on the other hand, was reliable. He had always been there for her, comforted her, listened to her, and so logically they had become an item. At first, Rena had found it enjoyable, being told she was loved, going on double-dates with Precis and Ashton, but most of all the prospect of finally moving on with her life, and leaving the days of daisy picking in Shingo forest behind her, such memories had become like a haze to her now. Deep down, she knew that she was not truly happy, but she would stand by her word, regardless.
"Rena, as the last of our species, I ask you this, live your life to the full, always keep your face towards the sun, and embrace every opportunity that comes your way, because in this life, none of us have much time." Narl had shouted over the sounds of chaos and destruction, as her home planet was being blown apart, and with one final look at them all, he activated the crest, and sent them all back to Expel. Claude was the only option if she were to fulfil Narl's wish, and being the last of the Nedians, she felt obliged to do so.
Rena awoke to a clear blue sky, and frost creeping up her bedroom window. She smiled to herself, and relished the fact she was in a warm, cosy bed, and nowhere else. The calendar on her bedside table read November 22nd.
"22nd…22nd…what was I going to do today?" she said absent mindedly, her hand pressed against her forehead.
"PRECISE AND CELINE ARE COMING OVER! OH CRAP, I FORGOT!" the young girl leapt out of bed as if electrocuted, threw on a large leather and fur coat (which conveniently covered her pink pyjamas) grabbed a pair of boots and ran out of her house. She continued running until she reached Arlia's general store, the frosted and glistening grass crunching under her feet, and her breath rising as if it were smoke. The bell above the door gave a tinkling 'ring' as she stepped inside, and rubbed her cold hands together.
"Why, good morning Miss Rena, and to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I forgot my friends were coming over today Mr Hearn, and I need to make a stew and some desert, and oh my gosh look at the time!"
"Calm down Miss Rena, I will fetch you the ingredients immediately." And surely enough, within 3 minutes he had packed all the ingredients neatly into 3 brown bags.
"Thanks so much Mr Hearn, you're a life saver!" And with that, she reached into her coat pocket, grabbed a handful of notes, left them on the counter, grabbed her bags, and ran back to her house.
The grandfather clock chimed 12 by the time she had the stew simmering and her cake in the oven. Breathing a sigh of relief, Rena wiped her forehead with her apron, and went upstairs to get changed.
"I really do need some new clothes…" she muttered to herself, whilst thumbing through her wardrobe. Eventually, she decided on a casual pair of jeans, and a black jumper, which revealed her shoulders. She scraped her hair back into a messy bun, and decided to put on some makeup for a change.
Half an hour later her cake was ready, and she set it on the counter-top to cool. Voices were approaching the house, and when the familiar phrase
"I'm going to FREEZE out here" pierced the afternoon's air; Rena opened the door, and saw Precis and Celine walking down the garden path.
"RENA!" the two shouted in unison, running to the door for a group hug.
"It's been far too long!" Celine said as she shut the door behind them, glad to be out of the cold.
"A month is too long?" giggled Precis.
"Well, considering we were all living together on a daily basis," Rena said, smiling,
"Come and sit down, the stew will take a while, I over slept again!"
The three chatted right the way through lunch, and as Rena was serving the cake, Celine's eyes widened and her mouth dropped at the sight of Precis' hand.
"Precis…is that what I think it is!"
"Well, if you mean my 'big sisters' are going to be bridesmaids very soon, then it's a yes! God, I thought you'd never ask!"
"Congratulations." said Rena and Celine, beaming.
"Not long now before missy over here hears the ding-dong bells as well" grinned Celine, nudging Rena slightly. Her mind flashed quickly to a church, her dress, walking down the aisle, the rings, her bouquet, and the groom…who wasn't Claude.
She blushed.
"Absolutely!" smiled Precis, "Just don't have yours on April 24th, that's my day!"
"She wouldn't dream of it, she knows that you'd have bobot on her quicker than a dragon on Ashton!" said Celine loudly, shaking with laughter. Rena stifled a giggle by shovelling cake in her mouth; Precis began shooting side-glances from across the table at Celine.
"So when bid he popose?" Rena said hastily, forgetting her mouth was full of cake.
"This morning! It was just perfect! I must say I had a sneaky suspicion something was up, he'd been acting weird for days, staying late in the mines and all that. Turns out he was making the ring!" her face seemed to glow.
"Awww" chorused Rena and Celine.
"Would anyone like another slice of cake?"
"Oh no I couldn't possibly darling! None of my clothes will fit me otherwise!"
"OK I'll just wash these plates up then" Rena smiled, and cleared the table. So far so good, she thought to herself, they hadn't touched on the subject she was trying to avoid.
"Sooo Celine, is there a certain someone who you aren't telling us about?"
"Now why would I keep anything from my two best friends? Mother and father are still trying to push me into an arranged marriage, which you both know will never happen," she sighed "Not everybody is lucky enough to find true love as you and Ashton, or Rena and Claude" The plate she was washing fell out of her hand and smashed on the floor. Celine and Precis jumped.
"Are you alright darling?" Rena took a moment to compose her face before she turned around.
"Ooops! You know me! Once a klutz, always a klutz" the three girls laughed. There was a knock at the door.
"I wasn't expecting anyone…" said Rena, puzzled. She pulled off her rubber gloves and walked over to the door, opening it half way. When she saw those chestnut eyes, it was as if somebody had punched all the air out of her body.
He'd come back.
"Are you OK Rena? Who is it?" asked Precis, snapping the girl out of her thoughts, Rena realised she hadn't spoken in minutes. Celine walked up behind her, and saw Dias. He gave a curt nod, which she returned. Suddenly, Celine threw her arms out and gave a loud, dramatic yawn.
"Ohh look at the time! Precis and I better be off! Thanks for the lovely meal Rena darling, and don't forget were going shopping in Cross next week!" Celine grabbed Precis' arm, kissed Rena on the cheek, and walked out the door.
"Oh I get it!" said Precis in a cute but dumb way. Celine smacked her own forehead, walked up the path, and out of site along with Precis.
It had become silent, and the swordsman was still standing at her door.
"…Come in" she said timidly, shutting the door behind him.
"Would you like some cake?" He gave a nod, and she set a plate in front of him with a slice on it. She took a seat opposite him.
"Surprised?" he asked in his same deep voice.
"…Yes, I was" she turned her head away to give her sentence some effect.
"Was?" he raised an eyebrow at her use of tenses.
"When you left the village…and when you left me again"
"…" He sighed.
"You never beat around the bush, do you Rena? Well, I guess I owe it to you to tell you where I went. I've spent a year searching for the bandits that killed my family. I found them, and they are no more. I faced my past head-on, and have finally stopped running. My past cannot destroy me any longer." His eyes fell on her.
"You listened to me…in L'aqua" she said, amazed.
"Of course I did. I've always listened to you" Rena was starting to feel ill. She was living a lie.
" So tell me," she began, a huge smile on her face "where did you travel, and what did you see?"
"Well" as Dias began retelling his journey, a smile inched its way onto his cold features. Rena noticed this, but chose to stay silent, his words lulling her into a dream world. They both knew it- that he was finally home.
End of the first chapter! Please tell me what you thought! It'll probably be a while before I update this one; I have my GCSE's in 2 weeks 0.0 Eeep. Where have all the SO2 fictions gone! People, get off your bums and write some new ones! If you can be bothered please leave some reviews!
