A/U: Well, I see that there have been 45 views to my dear fanfic. Yet only 2 reviews, and from the same person? Gentlemen, ladies, readers, feel ashamed. You break my heart. Start reviewing NOW! Please. I may just cry if you don't. Thank you to Funsized once more for reviewing and being awesome! Oh, and a name for "the girl" in this chapter! I'm sick of saying she and the girl all the time.
The girl stepped back. Her arms shot up not to cover her nearly naked body, but to cover her scars. She didn't want her new "friends" to see her old scars. Her scars were her link to her past and that was NOT where she wanted to go.
Angel eyed her with great horror and sorrow showing in her eyes. He clenched his fist so tight they turned ghostly white. "Who did this to you?" The girl looked away. "Who are you running from?" She began to cry.
"Darling, we can't help you if you do not tell us what happened to you," Antalya said as she wrapped her arm around the girl. "Do you want to talk about it?" The girl opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She began to cry. "All right, we'll leave it at that for now. Right now, we need to clean you up, tend to your burns, and get you some sleep!" Antalya ushered her son out and helped the girl into the bath.
When Angel entered the kitchen, he found his father wolfing down his dinner. When Delvan saw his son and the tears forming at the rim of his eyes, he knew something was wrong. He stood from the table and grabbed his son by the shoulders. "What has you so bothered, my son?" Delvan asked with more sensitivity than he usually showed.
Angel blinked, and for the first time since he was seven, tears streamed down his face in front of someone. "Father…" Angel shook his head. "My problem is that this world is filled with rotten hearts and sick minds. Why does Ishvala not protect her children from harm?" Angel shrugged off his father and sat down at the table. Delvan studied his son for a moment. In that instance, the baby cried. Delvan jumped so high he hit his head (It wasn't very high, he was very tall). Angel calmly followed his father from the kitchen as Delvan raced for his bedroom. Antalya had made a make-shift bed for the baby out of pillows and blankets on her bed. The baby shook his fists and cried, his face red with tears. A horrid odor wafted to the doorway where Delvan and Angel stood.
The girl heard her child's cries from the bathroom and tried to jump out of her bubbly bath. Antalya stopped her though, telling her to relax and that she needed her rest. "Angel, son, please check on the baby and make sure she's okay. Delvan, try not to freak out." She went back to covering the girl's back with aloe cream.
Delvan stared at the baby, then stared at his son. Angel stared at his father. Neither wanted to change the baby's diaper. She protested this quite loudly. Seeing as his father was still in shock at seeing his son cry and then finding a baby, Angel made for the bed. Angel told his father that he would take care of it and Delvan immediately left, saying "I need a drink." Upon reaching the bed, Angel smelled just how direly the diaper needed changing. Now he knew why the baby was creating such a fuss. Angel searched the house for something to use as a diaper. He reappeared with two old rags, one for the baby's bum and one tied around his face to guard against the odor. Changing a diaper was tougher than he thought. Making a mess on the bed (Which he neglected to tell his father about), the serious, terrifying to some, Ishvalan man changed the girl's diaper. She giggled at Angel the whole time. He had thought he would scare the child, but apparently not. Angel picked up the baby and held her in his arms, readjusting multiple times to make sure he held her right. The baby enjoyed hearing his heartbeat and feeling his warmth. Slowly, she shut her eyes and her breath deepened. Not knowing what to do, Angel rocked the child gently in his arms. He began humming a song his mother once sang to him when he was young. The child was quite beautiful, like her mother. Her eyes shimmered rainbow, like her mother. Unlike her mother, the girl's hair was curly and strawberry blonde. She must get it from her… father.
Angel closed his eyes to keep from crying, but when he did that he saw her scars again. He had never seen such gruesome scars before. Some day he would be a warrior monk and be able to protect innocent people from such tainted souls. As much as that should have comforted him, it did nothing. He knew he would never be able to take back what had happened to that lovely young girl. Then he realized: he could protect her daughter. The man opened his eyes and stared down at the babe in his arms.
"I promise you, I swear to you, I swear to Ishvala herself, I will do everything I can protect you. I won't let anything happen to you; I won't let any man hurt you like your mommy was hurt. I shall protect her too, so that she can be here to care for you and love you." Angel looked down at the child, feeling confused. What just came out of his mouth? What was he thinking? He could not promise that to her or anyone. And the fact that he swore all of this to an infant too young to comprehend his words was ridiculous. Yet still, he felt it was his obligation to help these two. After laying down the baby, he turned to leave. The girl was standing in the doorway. "How long have you been standing there?" She stared at him with wide eyes. Then, she grinned. Angel stared back with even wider eyes. "Did you hear what I just said?" She nodded.
They stared at each other for some time before Antalya walked in. "What's going on in here?" Antalya found the two still staring at each other, unblinking. "Is everything… you know what? I don't care." She walked past them and checked on the baby. Seeing that the baby was sleeping, she walked back out. The girl started to follow her. She stopped and looked back at Angel. Angel. She mouths his name again and motions for him to follow. He smiles and does.
An Ishvalan family sat at the table eating breakfast. An Ishvalan family plus a foreign girl and her baby. This morning, the family was also joined by an extra member that was not seen around the house much anymore. Ira ate in silence next to his brother who was equally silent. The girl did not mind this, seeing as how she could never find the words to speak. Her baby sat in her lap while she ladled oatmeal into her mouth. The baby gummed the food with bubbly delight.
Ira watched the two strangers in fascination. "Young lady, may I have your name?" Everyone stopped eating (Except the baby, who started spitting bubbles and oatmeal). None of them knew her name either. She stared at Ira with shock as if that was the oddest thing to say.
"Ira, she hasn't actually said a word yet," Antalya explained. Ira stared at the girl.
"Oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I was just wondering…" He trailed off, feeling like he had just eaten his foot. The girl gave a small smile and returned to wiping off her baby's oatmeal covered mouth.
Angel wiped his mouth and stood from the table. "I must speak with Master Ronta about my future with the church." He said under his breath, "Because I still have a future with the church." Ira still heard him. With a sigh, Ira stood from the table and left. He knew better than to argue with his brother about alchemy and Ishvala. Delvan just shook his head and continued eating. Angel began his journey to the church. Before he reached the end of the street, he realized he had two shadows. The young girl was following close behind. For once she was not with her baby. Angel shrugged and continued his walk. As the streets got more crowded, Angel felt a small, feminine had slip into his.
The church stood watch over the town square where the majority of the market did business. Vendors shouted out their wares. Shoppers searched and stared. Everything and everyone was crammed together. The girl pulled herself as close as possible to Angel. Reluctantly, he pulled his arm from her. She gasped and began to hyperventilate.
Angel put his arm around her and pulled her close.
Oh. The girl had thought he was pulling away from her, but he wasn't. She looked up at his face. Angel stared straight ahead, navigating the crowd. He felt her gaze and looked down. Red flushed through her face. She had just noticed how attractive he was.
Great marble steps led to the church. Climbing up those stairs in the heat was difficult for the girl, but she pressed on. This church was important to the Angel. She decided that she should go with him and support him because he had done so much for her. Plus, she was curious about Ishvala. She had never known anything outside of her "home", and she intended to learn about the outside world as much as she could. Antalya had promised to care for her daughter and she believed her. That woman was nice to her. The Angel trusted her as well and that was enough for the girl. She trusted the Angel.
At the top of those grand stairs was a beautiful tribute to the Goddess Ishvala and all the life she created. Ishvalans worshipped in this glorious place made entirely of marble. A large monument to Ishvala stood dead in the center. The girl stared in awe at the great statue before her. A beautiful woman with hair down to her ankles stood with her arms spread wide, looking towards the sun. A skylight was made right above her head so that she could see the sky. Sun poured down on her and the great wings that spread out behind her. She looked an awful lot like the girl.
Now the girl understood.
Angel watched the girl with slight amusement as she stared mouth agape at Ishvala. The girl resembled the Goddess somewhat. She lifted her finger to point out something to him. Following her finger, Angel was surprised to find that she was pointing at one of the many flowers that wrapped around the statue. Irises. Irises were the symbol of Ishvala. Children would say that the iris was Ishvala's favorite flower. Angel often wondered if that was true.
The girl looked up at Angel, still pointing at the flower. Then she pointed at herself. Angel watched in confusion for a moment while she repeated this until he understood.
"Your name is Iris?" The girl, Iris, grinned.
A/U: :D No more nameless girl. My chapters are getting progressively longer, huh? And I got this chapter done earlier than the last two! Well, someone other than Funsized should review (because we all know she will!). PLEASE! Let me know there is other intelligent life on this website other than me and Funsized! Constructive criticism, a good job, or random, incoherent letters garbled together. Please just say something.
P.S. Check out my Deviantart! The author of A Twist Called Valica Quem asked me to draw Valica for her (Excellent Harry Potter fanfic)! I'M SO HONORED TO BE DOING THIS! Happy dance!