Ch.11: The Search Begins/On the Moonlit Bridge

Kratos stood motion for a minute, staring numbly in the direction Aura had run in. His heart was racing and a few seconds later, he realized that his face was bright red, but he didn't care.

When Aura had hugged him, it reminded him of the first time Anna had hugged him that way. It was strange how much his girl, whom he had only met a few days ago, was so much like his beloved wife he had lost so long ago.

The next day, as he had promised, Kratos asked the others if they would help Aura search Sylvarant for parts of her lost memories. Aura was hopeful that they would only have to find important places, for there were far too many people in Sylvarant to search for just one.

They traveled half of Sylvarant before they ended up in Palmacosta with no luck.

"This is gonna be harder than I thought." Aura moaned one when they arrived at the inn. A few hours later, everyone had fallen asleep in their rooms, except Aura and Kratos. They stood on the bridge near the inn, looking out at the water. Kratos was leaning against the railing, and aura was sitting on it. The moon shone bright against the black sky that was sprinkled with stars. The waster flowing under the bridge was calm, and the moon reflected in the water was as bright as the one in the sky. Neither moved or made a sound, enjoying the calm, quiet night. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked, making the first sound for a few hours. Aura also broke the silence by hopping down from the bridge railing. The sound of her boots hitting the stone seemed to echo louder than usual, and Kratos turned to look at her, partly afraid that she was going to leave and go back to the inn. She stretched and sighed in a happy sounding way, then turned to face Kratos.

"It's so nice out tonight.," she said. "The moon, the stars, everything." Kratos said nothing. She walked over and stood beside him, facing the water. She breathed in deeply, taking the salty sea air into her lungs. "Y'know," she said. "The city seems a lot smaller at night...and so peaceful..." Kratos turned to face the water as well, but still said nothing. "I wonder..." muttered Aura. Kratos looked at her questioningly. Seeing this, Aura said,

"I wonder why I regained a piece of my memory when I spoke to Lloyd?" Could he be an important person from my past?"

"It is a possibility." Kratos said. Aura nodded.

"Yeah, I guess." she said. "And I...uh...never mind." Kratos said nothing. Instead he turned to face Aura and looked at her. She was staring out at the moon.

"Aura..." he said. She looked at him, an expression of concern on her face. His voice had sounded a bit shaky. He didn't know how he was going to say it, but he knew what he wanted to say, what he desperately needed to say. "Aura, I think I know who you really are." he finally managed to say. Aura looked at him in amazement.

"You do?" Kratos nodded. "Who? How do you know? Please! Tell me!" she pleaded. Kratos opened his mouth to tell her, but suddenly Miha materialized out of nowhere, stopping him. She turned and put out her hand. A bright purple light surrounded Aura and her eyes went blank. Miha turned to face Kratos and began to "speak", but this time, the words came out of Aura's mouth.

"Please. You must not tell her." Kratos opened his mouth to protest, but Miha cut him off. "If you tell her, all the mana in her body will be released, killing her. She must find the pieces of her memory on her own. I'm sorry, but it is the only way, because of her Twilight Crystal." Miha bowed her head. "Please. Do not tell her." After Miha disappeared, Aura's eyes returned to normal, and it was as if nothing had happened.

"Please! Tell me! Who am I?" she pleaded. Kratos looked away sadly, a weight heavy in his chest.

"Aura...I'm sorry..." he said quietly. Aura looked at him anxiously.

"What?"

"I...can't..." he said.

"W-wha? Why?" Aura demanded. "Why can't you tell me?" She looked helplessly at him, a need in her eyes. Kratos was silent for a moment, then reached out and embraced her, hugging her like a young child who has just awoken from a nightmare.

"I can't..." he said. "I just can't...I'm sorry." He continued to hold her tightly, as if he never wanted to let her go, Aura stood motionless for a moment, he mind racing. Why was Kratos so familiar? She tried to think of where she knew him from, but to her despair, she couldn't remember. After a moment, Kratos released her and stared at her. She was trembling and tears were running down her face.

"I can't believe…Miha..would do this….Why?" she said quietly.

"If I told you, the mana in your body would kill you." Kratos explained. Aura sighed. More tears ran down her face, but she wiped them away impatiently. Forcing a smile onto her face, she said,

"It's getting late. I'm going back to the inn. See you tomorrow!" With that she ran back to the inn, leaving Kratos alone on the moonlit bridge.