Chapter II
Sarah's P.O.V
Learning to read was a pain, as I was already so used to English.
My mother was the one who taught me, not that I was ever told why, though. Maybe Dad has to work in the field more?
Who knows?
Anyway, back to the topic. Having to learn how to read and write again took up most of my time. Not that I didn't like it, though. I would rather be occupied than be forced to stay inside that blasted wooden crib.
Speaking of wood, our whole house was made of wood. My parents made it themselves, as they didn't have enough money to buy their own house. They just bought an axe and started cutting trees, soon letting them build a cabin and start their farm.
Oh, right! They were farmers. Not the worst job, if I say so myself. I always wanted to have a garden…
Oops, my crayon broke.
"Mwom?" I said, speech not fully developed.
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Cwayon!"
She looked at my now broken crayon and laughed slightly before giving me another.
"Make sure not to break that one, we don't have a lot. Okay, sweetheart?"
"Okay!"
I was writing the alphabet. Since my grip was weak and I decided to try learning to write with my left hand (This was a chance to be ambidextrous!), all my letters were sloppy.
Aa…
Bb..
C…
My crayon slipped and I drew a huge line across the paper, causing me to sigh and turn the paper over. I then drew a picture of a farm, me, my mom, and my dad.
I was never good at drawing, so it came up pretty horribly.
"It's wonderful!" my mom said. "Why don't you add some more to it?"
Oh, she needs to keep me busy until Dad came back.
"Okay!" I responded, causing her to smile and turn back to the book in her hand.
Let's make the sky and… yeah.
But anyway, life was pretty good. I wasn't mistreated or anything, I got good food everyday, and I had a future in farming, if I wanted to go into it.
My parents were also nice.
Mom was something akin to a housewife. While she did work, she was also the one to stay home and watch me. She also cooked for us.
Not that I'm complaining, she makes the best food ever.
Dad worked in the field and brought me a small apple everyday as a treat. I always took it, as we didn't get much sugar in this house.
Now, don't get me wrong, I missed my old life. I had friends there and another amazing family. I had everything I ever wanted…
But it is gone now, and I've had a year to accept it.
What's the quote? "Don't dwell on the past?" or something like that? Meh, not important. End point is: I'm happy.
I'm looking forward to not dying.
"Daddy's home!" Mom said to me.
Yay!
I was going out into town today. Mom promised me that she would take me to her work, so I was pretty excited.
It's been over a year in this place, and the only form of interaction I've had was with my parents, so I was hoping to meet someone.
Mom was a fisherman, I had learned. So I might be able to splash around in the water a bit… and relearn how to swim. All my muscle memory was gone, sadly. And to think that I had been a good swimmer, too.
A wistful look must have entered my face, because Mom said "Whatcha thinking about, honey?"
I looked at her, a obviously fake 'I'm curious' expression entered her face. I smiled at this, at least she was trying.
"I wanna go swimming! Like in the books!"
She laughed.
"Maybe you can walk around in the shallow end, but you might hurt yourself if you swim without a float. Okay?"
"Mm!"
"Good, now. Why don't you go get your shoes and socks on while I gather my gear."
"Okay!" I said, running to my room to get my shoes. When I had secured the Velcro straps, I went back to the living room, my mother waiting their with a patient expression.
"Ready?"
"Yeah!"
Then we left the house and started taking the path through the woods and into the village. It looked pretty medieval, if I were to be honest. All the houses were made of wood and no cars could be seen. I knew that we lived in advanced times, though. I saw a phone somewhere, and Mom often got called.
Thought it makes me wonder…
"Mom, where do we live?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious."
Mom put on a thinking expression, as if deciding it was worth it to tell me. Eventually she shrugged opened her mouth.
"We live in a village outside the walls of Vale- A big city, it holds a lot of people. Our village is called 'Ansel'. Can you remember that? Here, say it with me. 'Ansel'" she said.
"Ansel!" I replied.
"Good. Now, if you ever get lost, just tell someone that you are from Ansel, kapeesh?"
"Kapeesh!"
And then we started focusing on walking again, Mom humming a light tune under her breath.
Here is the wild~
Beautiful and sweet~
May the Gods bless us~
Capable of feats~
I listened to her soft voice- It really was beautiful. It also allowed me to, for once, appreciate what was around me.
The sky was clear except for a few fluffy clouds, allowing the sun to shine down on us. The wind made it slightly chilly, but not enough to make you need a jacket or sweatshirt.
The tall, thick, trees cast shade over the two of us, making us press slightly closer together for the little warmth we needed, and the bird chirped loudly, almost as if singing.
Pwooh~
It almost sounded as if the wind and the birds were singing a duet, and I couldn't help but just walk.
Soon the smell of water was in the air, and the duet turned into a triplet when the sound of small waves joined in.
It was so peaceful…
Then, all at once, sun hit me. I covered my eyes with my hands to stare at the image in front of me. People were chatting noisily and happily. Merchants were trying to sell their goods.
We had reached the Ansel, a port town near a giant lake. Wooden houses were everywhere, all attached to the hill which we were standing on top of.
Sand was at the bottom of the hill, and children were playing in it. Further ahead, the lake which was a gorgeous sea-green blue.
I couldn't help but laugh happily.
Mom couldn't help but smile sadly at me.
"It looks beautiful, doesn't it?"
"Yeah! Can I go play in the sand?"
She looked worried for a second before saying to me-
"No, stick with me. It isn't safe for you to go out alone."
I wonder why…
I learned why once we entered the town. It was still loud and happy, but there was something sinister about it.
Perhaps the glares and sneers that people were sending our way?
"Keep your head down and do not look at them" Mom whispered to me, and I did as she told. For some reason, we had a bad reputation. Might as well take the easiest option, right?
Eventually we came to the port, but Mom didn't stop there, instead going even further and away from the town.
I didn't know why, but we passed the port, even though she was a fisher! I ended up voicing my opinion.
"Mom, the port's over there!" I said, pointing behind me.
"I know, sweetie, you'll see why we are going this way in a second."
I silenced myself and allowed us to walk in a tense and awkward silence. This trip wasn't as fun as I thought it would be…
I looked around us. We had entered a forest once again, and the roar of the town was long behind us. I was about to ask where we were going, again, but I didn't need to.
Everything suddenly made a lot of sense.
There was another port. It was huge and filled with plenty of people. It was obviously of less quality, but it was still neat and felt more… happy.
There were at least 100 people, all scattered around and chattering with each other. It was another beautiful site.
And they all had animal parts.
"Mommy, why are-"
She kneeled down next to me and quickly cut me off. She looked serious.
"Look sweety, we are Faunus. We have animal parts on are body while humans don't have them, alright?" she said kindly, as if not trying to hurt my feelings.
"But-"
"We Faunus are not treated as nicely as humans. Some humans, almost all of them in Ansel, are called racists. They dislike people of a different race, meaning they dislike us. So I need you to promise me that if you ever see a human, bow your head and do not insult them. They can hurt you badly, alright?"
"A-Alright."
I just looked down in sadness. That was why everyone was glaring at us in that beautiful town- we were Faunus. I guess it was just bad luck, but there is nothing we can do about it.
"C-Can I go and play with the other children here, though? The other… Faunus?"
She smiled at me gently and urged my towards the makeshift sandbox that was embedded into the ground a few yards away from us.
"Have fun, okay?"
"Yeah!"
It made sense, really. That there would be racism in this place too. It was everywhere. Personally, I think it's stupid to judge someone on what their ears look like.
Then again, many people judged others on what their skin looked like.
I let out a sigh and ate another spoonful of cereal. This world had lost most of its magical flare since then.
Most of it, at least.
My parents now deemed me worthy to learn about the world, by extension the Grimm. Magical but not quite amazing monsters. They hunted Humans and Faunus and were attracted to negativity.
Almost straight from a fairy tale, am I right?
Then there were the hunters who wielded super kick-ass weapons, like a great sword that turned into an Rocket Launcher. They also had magical shields known as Aura. They also had super magical powers called semblances, most people called the semblance an extension of the soul.
Personally, I think it's magic.
It'd be cool to be a huntress or huntsman. Sadly, however, I was stuck to the role of a farmer. Ansel only had one huntsman school, and it was pretty bad.
It didn't help that they only taught humans.
"No bad thoughts!" I thought to myself. "You can work on the farm today!"
My parents were now letting me work on the farm! Sure, it won't be hard work or anything, but I assume that I'll be tired by the end of the day. In another language:
I'm not bored!
Seriously, the house was so boring, and I spent most of my time either drawing, reading, or playing in the sand with children.
Those devils always grab my luscious and amazing hair.
Unfortunately, they are the only ones who talk to me besides Mom and Dad, so I'll have to endure.
"Ready to go?" a voice sad from out of nowhere.
I jumped in shock and turned around to see my Dad. He was holding his hoe and a bucket of chicken feed.
"Do I get to feed the chickens?!"
"You bet! Now put your bowl in the sink and let's go!"
"O-Kay!"
I quickly put my bowl in the sink, put my shoes on, and ran outside. It was beautiful, as it always was in Ansel.
I tugged on the arm of my father as he walked out.
"C'mon! I wanna feed the chickens!"
"Settle, Settle!"
I climbed in bed and waited for my Mom to pull out a book. Dad was sitting next to me and resting his head on mine.
It was bedtime.
Perhaps one of the worst parts of this new childhood. I had to go to bed at 8. Sure, it was healthy, and yes, it helped me wake up early in the morning, but still. I like my late-night adventures in my past life.
Then again, tonight was difference. As predicted, working out on the fields had drained me of all my energy. It felt horrible now, but, well. It was a fun day.
My mother pulled out a book of fairy tales. It had all of my favorites (And all the ones I know).
"Which one do you want to read today?"
"Erm-"
"Azure…"
"Woops! I mean: I want to read the super women one."
They were also trying to get rid of my 'Erms', 'uhs', and 'um's. Kind of annoy, to be honest. But beggars can't be choosers!
Oh, look. We're starting.
"Once upon a time…"
"Wait!"
My mother and father turned to look at me. I shot them a sheepish smile and went to explain myself.
"Why doesn't Daddy read to me?"
They both froze. I must've said something wrong, because Mom slowly closed the book and placed it on her lap. Mom then proceeded to nod toward Dad.
"Well, sweety." Dad began. "Some people don't go to school, so they can't read. My family didn't have a lot of money so… well, I didn't go to school. I'm illiterate."
That makes… more sense than it should. Dad lived on the farm since he was young- he had to. Ansel didn't give education to Faunus, so only Mom learnt to read. And, if you missed all the queues, my mother was human while my father was a bunny Faunus.
"Oh."
We quickly went to bed after that, Dad looked ashamed and Mom tried to comfort him. I feel bad about it now, but at the time? Well, I was just surprised. In my other life, everyone I knew was literate, I had just assumed it would be the same here.
Sleep didn't come as easily as I had hoped.
I dropped the pile of wheat into the barrel with a heavy breath. In this small body, work was hard. Carrying wheat and seeds to and fro the field really took a toll on me. But hey, at least I'll be physically healthy in this life.
Dad was teaching me about the seasons. Even if he didn't know how to read or write, he was a farmer. Perhaps I was being inconsiderate in checking him off as completely stupid.
"When planting the seeds, you want to dig a small hole, about half an inch, and deposit about 3-5 seeds. Repeat this over and over until the field is full, okay?"
"Sure!"
I grabbed the small shovel from his hand and started digging one, two, three, and more hole into the ground, putting seeds in each of them.
"Those holes are too small."
"Oh."
I started digging them deeper, but dug them too deep. I had made plenty of mistakes, but I never thought that so many of them would come out during farming.
By the end of the day, I had perfected my hole-digging skills, and the whole field had seeds buried into it.
"Dinner time!"
Yay!
"Mommy, what's Vale like?"
"What brought this on?"
The fellow children have been talking about how their parents were going to Vale, the city. Most went for trade, as Vale had plenty of merchants to sell and buy items and materials at. Dad was planning to go, I think. I told her this.
"Well, it's really really big, and it sells a lot of stuff- like tools. Daddy needs some new shovels and seeds for next spring, so he'll be going."
"Oh. How many people are there?"
"Huh? Oh, thousands! Every day, the streets are packed with people going in and out of stores. Maybe one day, when you're older, you can go with Daddy to Vale."
"Yeah!"
"But only if you behave! Now go clean your room."
"Aw…"
I was hoping she'd forget.
Then everything changed when the Grimm Nation attacked. Only the huntsman, master of Aura and Semblances, could stop them. But when we needed them most, they vanished.
To Vale. For the trading season.
Kind of a horrible way for a town to end, to be honest. The villagers didn't go down fighting or anything, they just went… down.
Dad was in Vale, so only Mom was here to protect me. Even then, she was only a fisherman, she couldn't even protect herself.
Not that it matters anymore. Hell, I doubt it will ever matter.
I just stare aimlessly at the Grimm who was gnawing on my mother's arm. She was still alive.
"HELP! PLEASE! SOME- AHH! HELP!"
Yeah, she was alive alright. I could only watch as she looked at me and pleaded. I don't know why she looked at me, I was only a child.
People were running around us, and burst oil tanks had caused fires. Nobody paid any attention to the child, sobbing while watching the woman who raised her die a painful, horrible death.
Nobody paid attention to me, a lonely child.
Then a huntsman came, looking heroic in his armor. He noticed it was too late for my mother… but I still had a chance.
He grabbed me and sprinted, dodging through people and Grimm alike. Eventually we made it to a mob of people, all gathered around one man.
I don't know what happened next because I fell asleep.
Next thing I know, I was in Vale. The city of dreams, some outsiders called it.
And I, Azure Mayella, was alone.
Sperare: Thanks for reading this new chapter! It was honestly fun to write. Just for those who are wonder: the Grimm invasion was meant to be short. One second everyone is happy, the next sees a Grimm grabbing someone's mother. Now, for an explanation on why I am rewriting my chapters:
Loose strings.
I had a ton of things that needed to be added together, but for some reason on the other end of the equal sign. Or in other words: nothing made sense.
For example: What about John? Why did she become indifferent to killing? Etc Etc.
Some may say that I could've added that later, but then I would feel like I'm making fillers.
Anyway, thanks for reading.
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