I'll regret updating so soon once I've run out of prewritten chapters to give me a buffer, but right now there's a pestering sugar happy muse in my brain that won't leave me alone.
x x x
Chapter 7: My Web of Lies
x x x
At that moment Rita got back from whatever she was doing. Oh right, telling the guards about the blastia thief in the ruins. Wouldn't he have woken up and left by now? Unless she tied him up...
"I know I asked you to wait for me, but you sure made yourselves at home, didn't you?"
The swordsman stood up from where he'd been lounging on the floor. "Sorry for suspecting you."
"What a heartfelt apology. I'll take it though. It worked out pretty well for me, too." She walked over to her formula covered blackboard and looked thoughtfully from it to Estelle, who just looked back at her questioningly.
"Well, thanks for the hospitality."
The mage turned back to the black haired man, "What? Going so soon?"
He put his hands on his hips. "We don't want to overstay our welcome. Plus, we're in a bit of a hurry." I groaned and forced myself to stand up. He glanced at me. "Well, maybe we'll borrow one of those shelves in the library for a few hours of sleep first." I gave the man a grateful look, no longer caring if the bed I wanted so badly was going to be a large piece of wood.
Estelle bowed at the waist, her pink hair bobbing. "I'm so happy to have met you, Rita. I'm afraid we have to go now. I'll thank you properly later."
"Okay..." Hmm Rita sounds uncertain. I bet she's not used to that.
x x x
The Frail Girlfriend
Estelle: So tell me about this frail girlfriend of yours, Karol.
Karol: Wha?
Estelle: The reason you want to go to Nor Harbor is so you can see her, isn't it?
Karol: H-how do you know about her?
Estelle: I knew it!
Karol: N-no! I mean, she's not even in Nor Harbor...
Estelle: Oh, it's not Nor Harbor?
Karol: I d-don't know what you're talking about!
Yuri: You might as well come clean, Karol. It's obvious Estelle's not going to give up.
Karol: You've got it all wrong!
*Karol runs off*
Estelle: Karol...!
*Estelle follows*
x x x
I wasn't the only one who was tired. Karol and Estelle fell asleep almost immediately despite the uncomfortable beds, though Yuri kept turning over in his bed...shelf...for awhile. I can't say I've slept in much worse, but I could deal with it since I've slept on the floor a number of times back home or during slumber parties.
It would have been fine, but I was hit by one of my attacks in the night. They weren't as bad as before, I didn't pass out or anything, but I had to fight to keep breathing normally so as not to wake anyone up. It eventually passed, and I fell into dreamless sleep.
x x x
Yuri woke us all up early the next morning. "Make sure you have everything you're going to need, then meet by the gate in half an hour."
I definitely needed to restock on apple gels, I'd used up the last ones Ludwig gave me while fighting Gollum. Oh, that's right, there was also that promise to buy "more suitable clothes for a young lady." Though I didn't think I'd have time to pick any out, and probably wouldn't have a chance for a while still...
While carefully packing my bag with the gels and food I'd bought (must not annoy teammates with my hungry stomach again) I heard someone walk up behind me. Turning, I saw Yuri standing there with his free hand on his hip. "There's something you haven't told us, isn't there. About why you left home." It was a statement, not a question, but it demanded answers.
"I don't know what gave you that idea. I'm just traveling." Crap, I couldn't look him in the eye. None of that was really a lie, but it felt close enough to one that I was uncomfortable. Which the swordsman noticed, of course.
"Then what are you really traveling for?" I stayed quiet. A spark of an idea had formed in my mind. If I gave an answer too easily, then Yuri probably wouldn't believe it was the whole story. Which it probably wouldn't be. But if I resisted, then gave him an edited version that left out fairies, Earth, and video games, maybe he'd think that was the whole thing and leave me alone.
"I'm...really just traveling. See the world and all that."
"Estelle told me." I looked at him in confusion. "When you fell, she said she it looked like your started to glow." Shit, I'm gonna have to buy gloves or something. "She thinks she imagined it, but there's also the fact that you were waiting for us in the Shaikos Ruins." So my story about Aunt Sophia didn't fool him.
I squirmed. Why was Yuri so fixated on finding out my motives? Wait, what if he thinks I'm with the assassins that are after him and Estelle? Or someone the Empire sent to bring back their princess? Ohh, I didn't think of that. I have to cobble something together with the truth and the story I've already told them.
"I told you guys that my aunt was a researcher, right? She liked to travel and study ruins." He nodded. "Well, when I was little she found a strange object in one of those ruins. She brought it home to study, but since I was a little toddler at the time I started to play with it. I don't really remember this, but apparently while I was holding it there was a flash of light and suddenly I had this mark on my hand." I held up my left hand to show him the tattoo. "It didn't hurt me or anything, sometimes it just begins to shine. Don't know why." His eyes looked a little doubtful, but he didn't say anything.
"Anyway, she lost the object and died before I was five. I don't really remember what it looked like too well, but I'm hoping to find it, or the place where she got it. Unfortunately, Uncle Ludwig doesn't remember where that was either. So I'm going to travel around to find it myself." I nodded. Okay, I think that works. Damn, I told him more than I wanted to, but I don't think he'd settle for any less right now. I'm not sure he'll buy it, but if he already knew about the light...
"That's a pretty wild story." The truth is wilder...
"Reality is sometimes stranger than fiction," I told him. "Do you not want me with you guys anymore?" He might still decide to ditch me, either while we were still in Aspio or in Halure.
"Nah, it's alright. Just let us know if it starts doing something besides shining at you." I blinked. Wow, Yuri really was pretty easy going about this sort of thing. He let's Judith and Raven join even though he knows they're fishy, and even with my own ridiculous story he barely bats an eye.
"Um, you won't tell the others, right? I'd rather not make a big deal about this." I traced the curving lines on my hand nervously.
"Sure, whatever." He waved a hand without looking at me as he walked away. I was in the clear for the time being, but he was bound to come back with more questions later.
x x x
I was surprised to be one of the first waiting at the gate, though Karol was already there. I looked around for the others, and saw Yuri and Estelle coming together. Maybe they'd been talking about something? If I remembered right, the princess needed frequent pep talks throughout the journey. Repede appeared out of nowhere, I'd guess he'd been following Yuri all along, but I hadn't seen him until just then.
The swordsman quickly took charge, "If everyone's ready, let's head out." He turned and looked behind him. "If you're seeing us off, we'll say goodbye here." Oh there was Rita rushing towards us. She must have been thinking all night about what to do, and hurried out to catch us once she'd reached her decision.
"I'm going with you." Man, if only it could have been that easy for me to join the group. As it was, I still wasn't sure if I could call myself an official member. Not with Yuri questioning me like that before.
"Y-you're doing what?" stuttered the young guilds man.
"Oh, so this is why you told us not to leave without saying goodbye, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Is that it? Just 'yeah'?" You know, Karol had a point. In the manga this scene has a much more flustered Rita. Because she's socially challenged and all. But she's a very confident person, so maybe she was able to stay calm on the outside.
"Can you just leave like that? You're an important mage here, right?" I think Yuri was hoping she'd change her mind. Even he had to feel strange traveling with someone he falsely accused, right? Please, this is Yuri, that would probably never even occur to him.
"...Hmm..." I pretended I could see a light bulb flash over the genius' head. "I want to see Halure's barrier blastia for myself. It's no good to the people there if it's broken, right?"
I had to hide a smile as Karol stole her hot air. "Actually, the three of us fixed it together." Yeah, I wasn't there for that, no kudos for me.
"Huh? What do you mean you 'fixed' it? You're just amateurs."
"You know, we revived it. It was great! Estel-" I had to suppress the sudden urge to cover his mouth with my hand. Yuri was on the ball, guarding the princess' secret, and I didn't need to give him reason to suspect me more.
"Let's just say it was beginner's luck." He dismissed the achievement simply.
"Now I'm really worried. I'll have to go see if it's been done properly or not." Yup, her excuse still applied.
"Suit yourself," Yuri shrugged and Estelle ran up to Rita like an excited puppy.
"W-what?" Rita's not a dog person.
"I've never had a real friend my own age before!"
"I-I'm not so sure we're-"
"This is going to be so much fun!"
"Y-yeah..."
x x x
Rita and Repede
Repede: ...
Rita: What are you looking at?
Repede: *Woof!*
Rita: Hey dog, you keep away!
Karol: Huh? Rita, are you afraid of dogs?
Rita: Not at all! Mind your own business! Oh no...
*Estelle enters*
Estelle: Hey Rita, I wanted to ask you about this- Oh, Repede!
*Repede leaves. Estelle follows.*
Karol: Repede sure knows who he likes and who he doesn't.
Traveling with This Bunch?
Yuri: When we left the capital, it was just me, Repede and Estelle.
Estelle: Now Karol, Letha and Rita have joined us. I'm so happy to have more people to travel with!
Karol: I'm not so sure about some people in our party, though.
Rita: I'm not so sure about you, you little runt.
Yuri: Hey now, go easy on the young Captain.
Estelle: Rita, we all have to work to get along, okay?
Rita: Oh, yeah... Right.
Rita's Age
Estelle: Have you been doing research in Aspio for a long time, Rita?
Rita: Yeah, I guess about five years.
Estelle: Five years, wow... Rita, how old are you anyway?
Rita: ...I'm fifteen.
Estelle: W-wow... Y-you're so grown up. I can't believe you were researching blastia at ten...
Rita: It's not a big deal. How old are you, Estellise?
Estelle: Oh, umm, I just turned eighteen this year.
Rita: Time to grow up.
Estelle: R-right... I'll do my best.
Letha's Age
Estelle: I was wondering...
Letha: About what?
Estelle: Karol said your uncle's guild disbanded fifteen years ago.
Letha: Yeah...
Estelle: And you said you were five then. So that means you're twenty now?
Letha: Estellise, I thought you would know better than to ask a lady's age!
Estelle: Oh! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-
Letha: I'm just kidding Estelle! Yeah, I'm twenty.
Rita: I would have figured you were younger.
Estelle: Really? I thought she was older.
Letha: I have an ageless spirit.
Estelle & Rita: ...
x x x
It took most of the morning to reach Halure, and on the way we were attacked by more of those wasps I'd seen before and various bird-like monsters. My new-old daggers from the ruins proved to work very well, they were nicely balanced in my hands and cut cleanly. When I managed to hit something that is, it's hard when all your targets are flapping and buzzing around.
Though it was probably for the best, I was starting to get a little queasy from slicing things open. I don't like to kill needlessly, and while killing monsters to defend myself and others was justifiable, I didn't particularly enjoy it. Reaching Halure's barrier made me breath a sigh of relief.
"H-hey! The tree's already blooming?"
"Heh heh, I told you! We brought the tree back to life." Rita smacked Karol in the head before running off towards the tree.
"Oh, you've returned! Just as the knight said." An old man I assumed was the mayor shuffled over to us. Did he choose to live in that house just so he could monitor who came to Halure? Disturbing thought... Everyone else gathered in close to him, but I hung back a bit. Ugh, I feel stiff...
"Umm...do you mean Flynn?" Estelle sounded so hopeful. I stretched my arms out high above my head.
The mayor folded his hands in front of him, mirroring the gesture Estelle often made. "Unfortunately, you just missed him."
"No way! Not again..." You lost your own little bet, little Captain.
"He was quite surprised that the barrier had been fixed." I couldn't see Yuri's face, but I imagined that the swordsman might have smirked at successfully one up-ing his childhood friend and rival.
"Umm...would you happen to know which way he went?" I twisted around to work out some kinks in my spine.
"No...I'm sorry, I don't know... However, he did entrust me with a letter." Dammit, my back still feels awful.
The others took the letter and opened it. I smiled when I heard Karol exclaim, "Wha? A-a wanted poster? Wh-why?"
"I guess I made a little too much mischief..."
"W-what kind of mischief gets you into this?"
I grinned and couldn't resist saying, "And here I thought I was just joking when I said you were all thieves taking me prisoner." Yuri glanced at me, and raised an eyebrow. I was bent over backwards trying to give my back and spine a good stretch (too bad I'm not quite flexible enough for the Table position), and I gave him a bright, upside-down smile.
"I-it's my fault..." the princess murmured.
Yuri returned his attention to the poster, "Oh come on... Only five thousand Gald?"
"That's way too high for just breaking out of jail! You must have done something else!" Yuri threw rocks at people...better than I can.
"S-so, what does the letter say?" Yuri passed the letter to Estelle, I finished stretching and took a look at the wanted poster. Damn, that's a bad drawing...did the Tweedles draw it? "'Catch up with me. I'll be waiting in Nor Harbor.'"
"'Catch up with me,' huh? Easy for him to say." I think this letter made Yuri forget all those good feelings he'd had for beating Flynn to something.
"He also writes that we should watch out for assassins." Was it my imagination, or did Yuri glance at me briefly when Estelle said that?
"Wow, he even knows we're being hunted!"
"Sounds like this guy knows what he's doing," Karol said with a tone of admiration. Well, Zagi's original target was Flynn so-wait, I don't think Flynn knew about Zagi. So how did he know the assassins were targeting Yuri? Maybe he just figured out Yuri and the princess would probably run into the assassins following him.
...Except how did he know he was a target, and why did the assassins switch to targeting Yuri? Was it because Estelle was with him? Too complicated... Oh, I had zoned out and lost the track of the conversation. I think Yuri had just asked Estelle what she planned to do. The sheltered princess was having one of her indecisive moments.
They weren't paying any attention to me, so I wandered off on my own to see if I there was anyplace where my tattoo would start to glow. I wanted to be quick about it, so I could get back in time for when we skipped town to escape the Imperial Knights and the Red-eyes. Or back on Earth in time for the dining hall late night hours. Either worked.
Ugh, no clothes shopping again. Complaining about that sort of thing is unlike me, but I wanted to get something that didn't stand out so much, or at least have a change of clothes. Not much fun walking around with people staring at the old blood stains in your shirt and pants. Though they generally disregarded that when they saw the belted daggers and the dao I was still carrying. I guess this was a normal sight in a world where travelers regularly dealt with monsters.
I'd covered most of the town without any telltale warming of my left hand. Disappointed, but not surprised, I sat on one of the fences and watched the falling petals. I think Halure is probably my favorite town in the game, the tree was so beautiful and I felt at peace despite my worries. I leaned back a bit and began humming to myself.
"Oh! Young lady, where did you get that blastia in your hair?"
"Gwah!" I shouted as I fell backwards off the fence. I tucked in and kept rolling until I was in an upright sitting position again. More or less.
"Sorry for startling you, I was just surprised to see someone wearing a blastia that looked like that." I looked up and saw a grizzled man with a scarred face. "It looks just like one someone I used to know always wore."
"Oh, so you knew Aunt Sophia." I stood up and started brushing off all the luluria petals stuck to me. "You don't look like the scholarly type, so were you a friend of Uncle Ludwig?" I'm role playing a niece right now...crap, I hope he doesn't ask something I don't know. Beat him to the punch! "Can I ask who you are?"
"Arcas. I was another member of The Protectors, back in the day." He offered a hand for me to shake. I could feel rough callouses when I grasped it. "Never knew Luddie had a niece. Hell, I always assumed he was an only child."
It felt like walking a tight rope testing out my story like this. "My name's Letha. Dad was his younger brother, Sirius." NO, I was not referencing Harry Potter. I'd picked the name "Sirius" for my supposed father because I'd heard it was the brightest star back on Earth. Silly little inside joke of mine. Ludwig didn't get it, but humored me.
"They didn't really get along, and hadn't even seen each other for years. Dad and Mom died in an accident when I was a baby, so Uncle Ludwig and Aunt Sophia took me in. I've been living alone with him in that house he made by the Shaikos Ruins." I pulled myself back onto the fence I'd been using as a seat before and started kicking at the air idly.
"Damn, sorry to hear that." Arcas leaned against the fence and looked up at the tree. "How's old Luddie been doing? He was pretty devastated when he lost Sophia."
I thought carefully about my answer. I had known Ludwig for less than three weeks, but Arcas was asking me about a life time that had never really happened. For all I knew, Ludwig was still only a shadow of his former self. "...I think he's probably feeling lonely, now that I'm gone. It was just before I left that he gave me Aunt Sophia's blastia. I didn't even know he was keeping it until then..."
"Maybe it's about time I drop by for a visit, though he might not be happy to see me. I'll go with my boy next time he's got some free time from work." He slapped a hand against his leg. It sounded a bit wooden to me. "You ought to stop by our place for dinner! I'd like to introduce the niece of an old comrade to my wife and son!" His eyes twinkled as he winked at me. "My boy's about your age, y'know, and real easy on the eyes."
I laughed at Arcas' heavy handed but well meaning matchmaking skills. "I'd love to, but I'm not sure how long I'll be staying. I'm only passing through today." I leaned back and smiled up at the huge tree protecting this town. "I'd like to come back someday, though. Make a few paintings of the scenery... Maybe I'll take you up on your offer then."
"Ha! Who'd have thought Luddie's niece would be an artist! You must take after someone else in your family!" He clapped a hand on my shoulder, almost knocking me of the fence again. "We'll be watching for you, so bring along one of your paintings or I'll never believe it!"
"Hey, I'm not totally unlike him! I'm a fighter, that I am!" I said proudly, thumping myself in the chest. "But writing and drawing are my hobbies. Oh!" I pulled my bag into my lap as an idea occurred to me. "If you do go visit Uncle Ludwig, could you give him a letter for me?" I pulled a scrap of paper out and began scribbling on it as fast as my short familiarity with Tercan writing would allow me.
"Sure thing. I'll let him know you look good and healthy too."
Dear Uncle Ludwig the Samaritan,
I'm doing just fine, went to Aspio and just arrived in Halure.
I had a rough start, but your fighting lessons and some nice people I met helped me out a lot. I lost the daggers you gave me, I'm real sorry about that. I found some replacements, so you don't have to worry about me being unarmed.
Have you ever been to Halure before? All the flowers are blooming right now, I can't believe how beautiful it is. Though it seems the town was attacked by monsters recently, so people are busy rebuilding right now.
Are you doing alright? Well, I guess it's pointless to ask since you can't send a reply. I'm not even sure where I'll be in a few days. But I'll come back to see you again, so be sure you're healthy when I do!
Letha
I folded the letter and gave it to Arcas, sheepishly adding, "Uh, could you not tell him I'm still dressed like this? He didn't like hearing that I planned to wear these clothes while traveling. He doesn't think they suit me."
He laughed boisterously while tucking the letter into his belt. "Don't worry about that, Letha, your secret's safe!" He winked at me again, "Though I'd bet there's many young men who'd like to see you follow your uncle's advice." Dammit, that made me blush, and he was still laughing as he left.
How long had I been wandering the streets of Halure? I hopped off the fence and hurried back to the entrance where I hoped to find Estelle going tête-à-tête with some Imperial Knights. ...Wait, did I use that phrase right?
Well, Yuri would throw rocks at people. If he didn't, I would. Target practice, that's all Tweedles A and B are good for.
x x x
I feel like this could have been done better...but I wanted to get out of Aspio and on route. Trying to make a time line that's realistic for world travel while remaining consistent with the game's events is such a headache... Let me know if I slip up anywhere?
Eh heheheh. Yeah, Yuri's suspicious of Letha. Because it's no fun if things go too smoothly, and he really would realize something's up with her.
And is that potential romance in the air? I'm not telling (or do I just not know?), though I'll guarantee I don't plan to hook Letha up with any of the main characters. Don't think I'm their type.
Arcas is named after something I came across when looking up the star Arcturus. He seriously makes me think of a dwarf. Not supposed to be one, but I bet he fights with a big hammer. A hammer named Ursa. Look up Arcturus on Wiki and you should get it...
