Hey guys, I'm so sorry this took so long, and I'm sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger! (No pun intended.) (See what I did there? No? ...Nevermind.) Anyway, school started and then I just lost track of this story. I'll do my best to write as often as I can (given that I have inspiration). Anyway, enjoy Chapter Three!

Chara

Chapter 3

Chara's father was a good man. He smiled most of the time, told horrible but hilarious jokes, and always wanted Chara to be in a good mood. Way back when, Chara didn't actually mind the idea of being happy, being around others.

Chara loved her father more than anyone else she knew.

She was no more than seven when he had gone off to fight in the war.

Another cycle before he was killed by those monsters.

Two cycles of solitude, pity, forced smiles pretending nothing ever happened.

Her mother didn't need a constant reminder of the effect of her husband's death.

Chara didn't need all of this stupid pity, constant reassurances that everything would be fine – she didn't care. Her father's death had just shaped her into what she was today.

A few moons before Father was killed, Chara had found a knife on the kitchen counter. With nobody looking, she decided to take it. She went out into the woods to figure out something to do with it. Taking one look around her, she realized her only good target would have to be a tree - and so she threw her knife at one of them. Surprisingly, the weapon stuck.

As the young girl went to retrieve her knife, she heard a voice behind her: "That was a nice throw there, Chara!"

Chara flinched and spun around. Crap. Someone had caught her with a knife. Wait until Mom and Dad hear about this.

To her surprise, however, the voice belonged to none other than her father. He must have seen the look of shock on her face because he said, "I saw you grab a knife and head out here, and I wanted to see what you were up to. Now that I know you're practicing some knife-throwing, mind if I teach you? Or, shall I say...sharpen your skills?"

He winked at Chara, who rolled her eyes but smiled. "As long as you don't make any more puns."

"I'll do my best," Father responded, hands up in defense.

And so the lessons began. Almost daily, Chara and her father would go out into the woods a good ways away from their house. (Mother would have gone mad if she had known Chara was playing with knives.) Father would teach her how to defend herself, and Chara would finish her lesson feeling accomplished and proud of herself - partially for being able to do what her father had taught her, and partially for gaining praise from him. After all, who wouldn't want to earn praise and acknowledgement from their parent?

Barely a moon into the teaching, a man came to Chara's doorstep. He said that her father had to leave at once - the monsters were coming.

Chara was confused. The monsters? But they were peaceful. They did not bother the humans and the humans did not bother the monsters - there was no conflict between them.

But there was. Chara eventually learned that the queen of the monsters had a sister. There was a disagreement between the monsters and the humans. It turned into a misunderstanding, and then quickly turned into a full-blown fight. Somehow, the queen's sister was killed in the process. The monsters took this as a declaration of war, and began to attack the humans. The humans retaliated.

Chara's father left to fight in the war. Surely he doesn't know why he's fighting, Chara tried to reassure herself. Otherwise he wouldn't be. He would have understood the disagreement and tried to resolve it, not make it worse.

But her father knew very well the context of the situation. And still, he left for war.

However, before he departed, he said to Chara: "I'll be back. Don't even think about forgetting what I taught you, else I'll have to retell all of my points."

Chara chuckled, both at her father's joke and her mother's look of confusion. And then her father left.

That was the last time she ever saw him.

"Chara? I made you some golden flower tea... Chara?"

Chara sighed loudly. She got out of bed and trudged across her room, ignoring the freezing wooden floor on her bare soles. Swinging open her door, Mother was revealed, doing her best to smile as sweetly as possible. Happy as ever, I see, Chara thought venomously.

"I don't want any tea, Mother," she said with just a hint of maliciousness. "Just leave me alone." Seeing Mother's look of worry, she added, "Please," this time not so subtle about her irritability.

Mother reluctantly departed, and Chara was once again left alone in her room. She went back to her bed and sat down, head in her hands. God, why. Why did you do this to me?

She looked up for a second and glanced at her night table. Sighing once more, this time out of fatigue, she pulled open her drawer and retrieved her knife. Still as sharp as ever, I see, Chara thought lovingly. She paused.

I need a break.

She rose and left her room, still holding her knife. She spotted her mother in the entrance room, and managed to slip past unnoticed, knowing that Mother would lock her in her room if she knew of her plans. Having safely made it to the back door, Chara sprinted out of the house and away from the village, into the woods where she could finally be at peace.

It wasn't working. She kept driving her knife into the tree, but seeing the bark split just wasn't enough satisfaction. Chara finally gave up, throwing the weapon onto the ground in frustration. She was about to walk away, when something caught her eye. Her knife, which had landed next to a boulder, had blood on it.

What...?

Chara looked down and realized she had cut herself during her rampage. She stared at the wound blankly. She then glanced back at the knife and went to pick it up. She sat on the boulder and stared at her weapon.

...

"Bloodstone," she decided to name him.

Chapter Four is in the works.

- Emerald Shine