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Chapter 2: "Humble Beginnings"
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"I... I need to tell you something tomorrow... Can you promise me that you'll be here just like you've always been?"
"Yeah... I will be here... I... I actually have something to tell you as well..."
"Promise?"
"Mhm mhm. Yeah."
..
"Hey... Hey... Rai..."
"Mhmmm mhm..."
"Rai wake up! Raiiii!"
A certain warm feeling started to envelop my cheeks right after the high pitched voice rang through my ears, interrupting the thoughts that were swirling inside my head.
"So.. Early..." My parched throat barely coughed the words as I slowly prepped myself in a sitting position, blanket and pillows a mess around me. I noticed my curtains were drawn, which explains why the sunlight was flooding in.
"Geez Rai. Isn't today going to be an important day for you?" Said a familiar voice resonating from the far end of my room, or more specifically, to where my closet is. "Come on, get up. Here's your tunic." She added, tossing a closely knit tunic, one that has a red cross sewn in front of it.
The cloth landed on the edge of my bed as I scratched my eyes free from sleepiness, noticing the clock nested on the bedside table, it was just a quarter past eight. "Oh come on Miya. It's barely past eight and I don't take off until ten!" I remarked, preparing to throw my body back to bed but...
It was... I mean, her lips were... Rather soft, and it had the tinge of chocolate.
"Mhm... Mhmmff!" Flabergasted, I quickly pulled my head back, the sheets on my bed sliding off, sending me crashing on the opposite side, flat on the floor. "Wh-what are y-you doing?! Are you nuts?" I retorted as I frantically wiped my lips.
"Nishishi~ Are you not aware that a country from the orient treats a kiss just like how we treat 'hello'?" Miya placed her index finger above her lips as she pranced a few steps farther, one eye winking towards me.
"Bah. I told you not to be that vulgar towards men." Complaining, I decided to just pick myself up and get a move on.
"But I only act this way towards you Rai. I will never ever do that to anyone else. Hmp. Why can't you even see me as another girl anyway. This is sooooo annoying." Pouting, she began to stomp and romp her way out of my room but I stood in front of her, blocking her.
"-I've never met a girl as flat as a board." Smirking, I playfully pointed towards her... Budding bumpers.
A sharp, quick pain rattled my cheek as Miya's hand found it's mark against my flesh, not taking my joke quite lightly.
"Ew. Ouch. Gahahaha. Sorry, sorry. I'm just joking!" Raising both my hands and ignoring the searing pain I was feeling, I thought it was not nice to further entice the anger of the growling Archer in front of me so I decided to back off.
"HMP. After I went to soooo much trouble cooking breakfast for you..." She snided, and as she opened the door, a sweet smell of cooked eggs and tea started to fill my senses.
Shriveling my shoulders in response to the loud slam my door suffered, I began stretching my arms, bones lightly crackling in the process of doing so. I then picked up the tunic lying sprawled on my bed, feeling the softness running through my fingers before stepping out of my pajamas.
"It's been ten long years now huh..." Whispering, I started feeling the thick scars running across my chest, down to my navel. The marks of a past long gone, a past I will never forget, a past I will forever hold anger towards, yet a past I will always want to change.
I closed my eyes, letting all the damned images of yesterday flow into me, drowning my own senses... Remembering the searing flames of destruction, the icy cold waves of hail, and the dark void that eats everything in it's path... It was all fresh in my mind as if it was just yesterday... Yet, so distant like the promise that was not meant to be.
"Raaaaaaaaaaai! Hurry up! The food will get coooooold!" Snapping me out of that trance-like state, Miya's voice rumbled inside the small wooden shack I call "home".
"Comming!" I answered back, hastily donning my tunic, along with the prescribed trousers and cuffs for the Cleric class, which I've been wearing for the past five or so years, completely covering up the scars under a protective layer of chainmail.
Not wanting to further anger Miya, I hurried downstairs, making sure I grab my trusty flail and shield from the holster hanging from the stairs before sitting down in the dining table, revelling at the small feast of sunny side up eggs, bacon, bread and coffee.
"Hmmm... Smells good. You really are an adept with the spatula and the pans aren't you?" I commended Miya as I stuffed my mouth with the bacon, fat and oil and grease and all.
Setting down her own cup with a clink on the saucer, Miya gracefully sliced the bacon strips, shredding them into lighter bits before sliding in an egg and topping it off with another slice of bread on top. "Heeeeh. Pretty rare of you, praising me and all." She said, raising an eyebrow.
"It's true anyway. Welp, I bet this'll help me pass the Paladin trials later. Thanks Miya. I know I've been such a burden for you all these years ever since that chance encounter we had back in Prairie Town and frankly, this is more than enough to repay whatever you owe me..." Softly blowing the steam off my coffee, I started to calmly run through the words I've been meaning to say for quite some time now.
"Well... True. But you know Rai, this isn't something that I am doing just to repay that kindness of you..." Miya's gaze fell upon the far corner of the room, her long eyelashes seem to flaunt their apparent appeal. "...I'm doing this on my own accord... Because... Well, let's leave it at that. Hahahahaha. You should hurry, you wouldn't want to be late nor be the one who's last in line!"
"Ehhh... Tell me!" I bit the remaining toast, leaving it hanging from my mouth as Miya pushed me from behind, catching me off guard and forcing me to my feet. "Huweeh~"
"...Do your best, Rai. I always wanted the best for you." Miya said as she wrapped her thin arms around me, the frail looking limbs providing comfort against my nervousness.
A wry smile slowly formed in my lips as I gently traced a line on the arms that cajoled me. "...Yeah, I know. Thank you."
As I opened the door, the welcoming rays of the sun greeted me, it's bright and warm demeanor always a comforting feeling amidst everything that's been bothering me, that hazy past, to the unclear future, only the present remains crystal clear.
"I'm off!" I bade Miya goodbye, waving my arms as high as I can, my flail sheathed in my waist, it's chains dangling as I skipped the lush green front lawn, and my shield albeit slightly rusty at the edges, remained shiny in the middle, bouncing off the sunlight.
A bubbly and smiling Miya sent me off, also on her way out to head back home, which was a couple of blocks away as she herself would be on her way to the local Archer training school. "Take care and good luck~!" She exclaimed happily.
"You pathetic worthless girl!" A sadistic voice thundered across the dark, cold chamber, followed by muted screams, muffled by the chilling cage of ice that enveloped the girl's body.
"Just how many times do you need to fail before you can cast a single perfect Glacial Spike huh?" The slow crackle of fire began it's smoldering wake in the hands of the lightly clothed woman, her curves exceedingly emphasized by the provoking dress she dons. "Phoenix Storm!" Releasing the bird shaped flames while it was in it's full fledged girth, burning all that comes into contact, including the ice that encaged the fragile woman, shattering and melting the ice, flames sizzling her still wet flesh, inducing more pain.
"Hahahahahahahaha. Does it hurt huh? DOES IT HURT?! Hahahahahahahaha. Yes! Yes! Crawl on the ground and beg for mercy you useless dimwitt!" The lightly dressed woman loathed at the girl, who is now crawling and rolling on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames that were ravaging her petite body, voice still muffled amidst the chaos.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her little hands were beginning to claw at the ground, leaving light scratches on the floor, and her throat was so parched and dry that not even a wail could be heard, try as she might. Inside her mind ran memories of a single person, that person who swore to always be by her side, to be her hero, a long bygone promise.
"S... Save... M... Me..." Were the very faint words that escaped her cracked lips as her body received more and more lashings from the other woman, completely shutting down her pain receptors, numbing everything. Hell, she even wished she would just die, squirming like the worm she was treaten ever since she was concieved.
All while remembering the person who once gave her warmth and hope.