Chapter 2 – Bedtime Story~

Canna smiled a warm smile and asked about the group. Her face lightened up when they told her they ran away from the Organization. She asked them about their travels and soon it was like Canna had been a long-lost friend to them. Kuroui made ready for bed and took the side of bed facing the wall.

"I apologize for taking up your bedroom." Kuroui finally said. To which Canna shook her head respectfully.

The room was small. She only had 1 bed, but it was large enough for three claymores to fit in. She told them she would sleep on the couch and to wake her if they needed anything. There was a bed stand next to the mattress with a framed photo in it. There was a tapestry featuring a knight battling a dragon, beautifully woven and dyed. The floor had rugs and a small window that led to the ground level. Kayla examined the photograph on the stand. It was a sepia photo of two young children. The edges and corners were burned. Kayla recognized one person wearing a trainee uniform. One was a girl and the other was a boy. The girl wore the uniform while the boy wore basic clothes. The photo depicted the boy giving the girl a kiss on the cheek, which she had to admit was cute. Kayla guessed that the bouquet she held was also from him. She turned towards Canna.

"Canna, is this you?" She shyly asked.

Canna gave a small laugh and wiped away tears. "Yes, in the early days of my childhood. A very, very long time ago."

Kayla set the picture back on the table. Rina had already taken off her armour and jumped onto the soft mattress. "So where's that story you promised, Canna?" she asked.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "I did not suspect you would actually like to hear one, child."

Rina giggled mischievously. "I want to know what life was like in your times, what was the organization like then, and how you made all those battle tricks!" She paused but quickly added. "And who the boy in the photograph is!"

Canna breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, trying to form the memories in her mind to words. Kayla snuggled up beside her sister and pulled the covers over.

"My story is like most of the claymores'; wrapped up in tragedy and death. Once long ago, I lived in a palace that sparkled in the sun…in a far and distant land called Angleland. I was the queen of the land! My palace resided on the moon and everyday I would gaze longingly at the Earth belo-"

Canna's story was cut short by Rina, who threw a pillow at her. She caught the pillow mid-flight. "I guess not, huh?" She grinned at them. By now even Kuroui was sitting up to listen in. Canna excused herself and returned with a bottle of…who knows what. She asked the claymores if they wanted a drink, but they all refused.

"Tell us the real story now!" Rina and Kayla chorused. Kuroui said nothing but they could tell she wanted to listen too

Canna cleared her throat and began anew. "As much as I knew as a young'un, some of the elder claymores found me in an abandoned village, left there by my parents. They found me in a patch of canna lilies, and thus they gave me my name." She sipped a bit of drink and continued.

"In those days, the Organization had no way of transplanting blood through surgery, as they do now. When I was a trainee, we had to drink the Yoma blood to become a claymore. Most trainees felt that they had to suffer the pain alone and made no bonds, but I…I found comfort in a dear friend…His name was Daragan. He was a curious claymore. The Organization found him after a Yoma killed his family. He was always animal-like. His voice, his posture, and the very way he glared at people…"

She took a break to pick up the precious photograph and laid it on her lap lovingly. "The first time we met must have been the time the other boys were stealing his ration of food. He tried to defend his meal, but with all the boys being…well, boys, he had nothing left. I gave him the rest of my meal. At first he stared at me like a raven would a rival bird, but eventually he accepted it…

Canna clambered up the grassy hill wildly. She turned around and stuck her tongue out at the boy running after her. Today was one of the few days the Organization left the children to go out to play, although most were huddled in their beds moaning in pain from the Yoma transformation.

"I win!" the young girl yelled. "That means you get to-

The boy jumped on her and tackled her to the ground. They both tumbled and rolled down the hill, laughing and screaming at the same time.

"Daragan bows down to no one!" The boy proudly roared. He sat on Canna, pinning her down under his weight. "Now beg for mercy or you'll face my wrath!"

"Never!" Canna answered. "A knight never gives up!" She tried to shove the boy off her back, but was met with tickles and screamed out laughter. She laughed until tears streamed down her face. Finally, she managed to throw him off. They both lay on the grass, looking up to the sky and chatting.

"That's not right, Canna, the boy is the one who becomes the knight! You're supposed to wait until I've beaten the dragon and rescued you!" The boy called Daragan scolded.

Canna kicked him playfully. Their childish giggles filled the air. "Hey, Daragan. We'll always be together like this right?" She asked. Daragan nodded and took her hand. "Always, always, always!" He howled like a wolf and made her laugh. "You're such an animal sometimes! I should just stroll around town with you on a leash!"

They shared a peaceful moment of silence and rest. Then suddenly Canna asked. 'So…what exactly are the doctors doing to you, Daragan? I'm kind of worried…" She said as she turned to meet his eyes. Her eyes shimmered with a tiny pang of sadness. "I mean, they separate the girls from the guys and while I get armour and a wooden sword to practice, you guys don't get any training at all!"

Daragan turned away and sighed. "Jeez, Canna. I just can't lie to you when you're like that. Well, they put these shackle-like things on us to measure something…and sometimes they make us fight each other. You know, just fist-fight, until they tell us to stop or one of us gives up. B-but we're getting stronger." He said, assuring his friend that he was fine.

Canna stared into his eyes, and she could tell that he was trying to lie, to keep her from worrying. She touched her forehead with his, their way of showing affection. "I keep hearing that the boys are being used on as experiments, and they all end up as Awakened Beings. I just don't want to lose you…"

Canna took another swig from the bottle. She excused herself and came back with her 3rd bottle. The room was dead quiet as the three claymores listened on, eyes widened with curiosity. She returned and continued.

"After a while, they decided to merge the remaining boys and girls. Sometimes I would train with Daragan. When it came to brute force, my dearest always won. But sometimes I would win too. Ah yes, that year, the claymore trainers were very harsh on us, especially on the girls. And it really did not help that Daragan was so stubbornly protective and had a very bad temper." She said, straining specific words.