Long Ago

The Tale Of A Dead Mother

Inspired completely by a fanfic entitled "Thoughts On A Forbidden Romance" by Lady Nephenee Ranulf. I must give this writer credit. Just from reading this story it has given me the inspiration to write this fanfic. I don't own Tales Of Symphonia or its characters, just wanted to write something about them. SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THE GAME DO NOT READ THIS FANFIC! Finish the game first and be a good little fan. SPECIAL THANKS TO LADY NEPHENEE RANULF, TAKAMINEROCKS, KRATOS WILDER, Lyra the Sorceress of Scholars, Sunfrost , Fehize AND CLEARHEART FOR REVIEWING! It's gonna get calm again for a little bit lol, if you like that sort of thing enjoy!

Part 2: LIVING ON THE RUN

Introduction: The Voice of Kratos

There was a time where my world had seemed complete. There was nothing more that I would have wished for, wanted, or needed to survive. We did not just survive, we lived. We thrived with one another.

Even the excitement of escape was not the peak of our life together. It had nothing to do with the dangers of the outside world, but to do with the dangers inside our connected lives.

Everything felt clearer, more defined, more essential than it had before. It felt as if life had taken my soul in and given me a freedom I had forgotten.

This is a small glimpse into a past that will be lost otherwise.

Chapter 11-----Lying

Kratos heard the hollow noise of footsteps on the ground, large feet stepping along in the early morning. Monsters were in this territory, and who knew if they had already smelled them or the smoke.

He slowly lifted Anna into both arms, standing up and walking over to Noishe's quiet body and setting her down next to the large beast, her head leaning on Noishe's shoulder as Noishe blinked and looked back to his friend.

"Watch her, I will be right back," Kratos said quietly.

He stepped quickly away, disappearing into the wilderness as the outside world began to lighten but the sun was still far from rising.

Noishe smelled the air but set his head back down, still tired from the trip they had taken only a few hours earlier. The quiet had taken over again, an hour passing by like a moment. Anna sighed heavily in her sleep, her body feeling much more relaxed and comfortable, like she was once again in the soft bed she had slept in once before. But it didn't smell like Kratos, it wasn't his scent, or the smell of smoke.

Her body woke itself up from the unfamiliar setting, her eyes not wanting to open but her instincts bothering her enough not to be able to fall back asleep. She sighed heavily again, stretching her body out across the grass as she slid down Noishe's shoulder, her eye lids heavily but opening just to see what was around her.

It was still quite dark, the fire had turned to small red ashes and the forest was strangely quiet. Anna blinked and sat up, looking around before she realized Kratos was gone and she had been leaning against his loyal pet.

She stood up and stretched herself out, looking to see which way Kratos had gone. He would obviously be back, or at least Noishe would be able to find him, but why had he gone?

She yawned before feeling an emptiness in her stomach that couldn't be ignored. Her body growled in protest as she took her first steps forward. She had learned to ignore the sensation back at the human ranch, why here was it different?

She looked up at the trees surrounding her, the green leaves blowing about in the breeze, before she saw a familiar tree, something she knew would be of some help to her present condition. She took the ribbon from her wrist and tied her hair back tightly, knowing it would get in the way otherwise. Anna calmly headed a few yards away from the campsite, jumping and hooking her hands around the lowest large branch she cold before pulling herself up easily, the task easy compared to pushing the crates. She disappeared into the branches and leaves.

Kratos had a run in with several small wolf packs, a few hares and beetles, but nothing terribly dangerous and he received some things he could sell from them. He scoped out the area a head of them and found a road, and unfortunately found bandits as well, keeping him away from Anna far longer than he would have liked. The good thing was that he took from them some food and something new for Anna to wear to look less like an escaped human and more like a traveler.

He returned to the small haven, the clothes draped over his shoulder and the pack he had taken from the bandits over his other. He saw Noishe lying and sleeping. He did not see Anna sleeping where he had set her. His mind went immediately to panic but his steps were slow as he glanced around. He set the pack down and draped the shirt, pants, robe and boots over it, patting down the red cinders of the fire with his boot.

"Anna?" he asked in the quiet wood. There was no answer to his call. His foots stepped quietly closer to Noishe, looking down at where she had been sleeping and seeing the grass disturbed and flattened. There were no signs of anyone else here, she just must have woken up, but then where did she run off to?

His ears picked up something, rustling noises in the leaves somewhere nearby. His eyes turned towards where his ears picked up the sounds, seeing nothing except the calm trees. He heard it again and suddenly heard the thunk of something falling and hitting the ground. Kratos began to search around where the rustling had come from, looking around the trees, but then there seemed to be no noise. He stopped his trek just next to an apple tree, his eyebrows frowning in slight frustration, not that he would let anyone know it.

That was when an apple fell onto the grass next to his boot. He glanced down at it quickly, hitting it with the tip of his boot before glancing up and seeing Anna sitting on a higher branch, an apple in her mouth as she reached for more far above her head. She twisted one free the leaves rustling as she did so.

"Anna, what are you—"

The apple fell, hitting Kratos on the forehead and nose. She glanced down as the apple rolled off of his face, trying to hold back her laughter. His face was less than amused.

She took the apple out of her teeth, swinging her legs slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," Anna said with a hint of laughter. He only stared up at her, giving her a stern look. "I was hungry."

She took a bite out of her apple, tossing another one down at Kratos. He caught it this time.

"And the rest of these?" he asked.

"For later," she answered her mouth half full with the juicy fruit. "My mother used to tell me that if you have the time, pick one for now, then pick more for later."

"Come down," he ordered. "I have some things for you."

"Is that where you went this morning?" Anna asked, throwing down her half eaten apple, knowing Kratos would catch it. She slid off the branch and set her feet down onto the next, scaling down the tree easily and landing next to Kratos. She bent down and collected the apples she had tossed down, her tied bandage around her waist falling off of her. The slash on her side was healing but the skin around it was red, infected. Kratos took the rest of the apples from her and handed her the fruit she had been chewing on, before beginning to step towards the sleeping dog, Noishe's feet twitching in a dreaming state.

Light began to leak across the ground, hitting the grass and casting the shadows of the trees across the forest floor, Anna and Kratos' shadows stretching out across the grass, deformed and tall.

"Already morning," Anna said lightly, looking towards the horizon as the red sky chased the dark stars away. "I thought the night would have lasted longer."

Kratos looked at her as she stared outwards, her breathes long and quiet.

"Even the longest days are just days," Kratos replied. "They end and begin."

"Is this a beginning or an ending?" Anna asked quietly, looking towards him, her eyes staring into his.

"That is hard to see," Kratos stated. "It depends on how you see it."

"Last night was an ending," Anna said, looking back to the sunrise. "Today is a beginning."

Kratos nodded his head once in agreement.

He stepped over to the pile of goods, Anna following curiously and glancing down at the new worn clothes eagerly. Kratos looked at the apples in his hand and in an instant Anna took them from him to let him have his arms free and do what he wanted to. He picked up the garments and let the boots fall off of them, throwing them over his shoulder before picking up the pack and holding it open for Anna to place the apples inside. She let them roll from her arms and into the long pack, seeing all of the other food in there as she held onto the unfinished apple.

"Where did you get this?" Anna asked curiously, finishing the apple and throwing the core into the deep woods.

"Traveling merchants," Kratos lied but it was hard to tell with his serious answer. He tied the bag back up and set it down onto the ground, before sliding the clothing off of his shoulder and handing it to Anna. Her nerves stood a little on end, taking the clothing and giving him a strange look. Was he going to stand there and watch her change?

Kratos didn't know what she wanted and gave her the same look. Anna sighed, rolling her eyes at him before taking the robe out from the rest and draping it over his head.

He stood there, his cheeks flustered slightly as he realized then what she had wanted. He waited as she slipped off her old garments and threw them onto the dead fire, straightening her shirt over the new wound on her side. Both fit rather well, the pants almost too long for her as they draped over her ankles.

She took the robe from Kratos' face, his surprise not shown as he stood and looked at her changed form, now looking much more radiant just in the new clothing. She slipped the robe on and tied it tightly, it hurting her side slightly but easily ignored. She walked passed Kratos and to the boot behind him, holding onto both his shoulders as she stepped into them and buckled them on the side.

"There," she said in a confident voice as Kratos turned to her. "No more rags."

"Indeed," his mind let slip out of his mouth in a more sly tone than he usually let on. Anna smiled at him but the rest of her face contorted to a disciplining look. She brushed her front down and straightened her robe.

"I can't tell if that was a compliment or not," she said, turning around. It seemed very dusty for a new robe, she patting her back and pulling it straight there as well. Kratos said nothing as his nerves caught in his throat.

She rubbed her cheek on her sleeve, before seeing her face was still as dirty as ever.

"And I'm still dustier than this thing," she said in a more depressed tone. Kratos picked up the bag and set it back onto his shoulder, touching her cheek and smearing some of the dirt away.

"Follow me," Kratos said lightly. "There is a stream closer to the edge of the mountainside."

"What about Noishe?" Anna questioned, looking to the sleeping dog.

"He will find us," Kratos answered, holding his hand out for Anna to take.

"And my old clothes?" she questioned again. Kratos looked to the pile, flicking his fingers at them before they erupted in flame and burned easily. He turned back to Anna and against offered his hand.

She took it and stepped with him towards the thinning trees.

"You didn't get these from a merchant, did you?"

"Hmph."

"What if you burn the forest down?"

"You are just asking me that so I speak, is that it?"

"You are quiet."

Kratos looked at her as they continued on, thinking of what to talk about with her, everything she said seemed more interesting than what he had to say.

"How old are you?" he questioned.

"24," she answered, "How old are you?"

Kratos paused.

"You would not believe me if I told you."

"And you believe me so easily?"

"You are telling the truth," Kratos replied.

"And you can tell that, just like that?"

"Yes."

"Well, I lied. I'm actually 25."

"Now you are lying."

Anna stayed quiet, amused with the small conversation. She had an idea to try and see if she could learn more about the mysterious Angel, to see if she could sneak under his alert radar.

"I was born in the summer."

"You are lying."

"I was born in the winter."

Kratos didn't say anything in response, telling her that she was telling the truth, of which she was.

"I was an only child."

"You are lying."

"You're right," Anna laughed. "How do you do that?"

"When you have been around as many—different people as I have then you learn to read them, otherwise they will use you to their advantage."

"No honor among Angels," Anna said lightly.

"Not anymore."

"Alright, try me," Anna said. Kratos tossed her a questioning look as the trees began to be rarer and rarer.

"Try…you?"

"Like I was?" Anna replied in a question.

"I bought this from merchants."

"I already know you're lying there."

Kratos paused again, thinking of something to say.

"I wasn't born here in Sylvarant."

"Then where were you born?" Anna questioned. His mind stopped, immediately thinking she would say he was lying. He was technically telling the truth though.

"That is not of consequence."

"You're lying."

Kratos said nothing in response.

"Alright, enough of that," Anna said in a heavy sigh, hearing the stream that Kratos had referred to. Anna was going to go forward faster, but Kratos pulled her back and held her beside him.

"I do not want anything to attack," Kratos stated to his gesture.

Anna kissed his mouth, slipping her hand free.

"That's very sweet of you," she replied, before heading for the stream in a small run.

"Anna!" Kratos yelled after her. He walked quickly, stepping up a hill before the stream came into view on the bottom of it. Anna took her robe off and set it against a small tree before rolling her sleeves up and kneeling down next to the stream. She rinsed the cold water over her face, something she hadn't really felt in a long time.

Washing her face clean was a treasure that she missed.

She tucked her arm under the clear current, washing it clean of all the dirt and dust that had made its own layer in her skin. Kratos set the bag next to the tree as well, shaking his head at the girl before he leaned against the tree, crossing his arms.

"Where do we go from here?" Anna asked lightly, dipping her other arm into the water and scrubbing it clean as well. He saw her hair beginning to fall out of the ribbon, walking over behind her.

"For today we should stay here and see if there is a proper place we could stay for the night," Kratos stated, pulling her hair back and re-tying the ribbon around it as she shook her arms free of water, her face still dripping of it.

"You need a place to stay?" a voice called from farther down stream. Kratos' senses exploded, he had been paying so much attention towards Anna his body had actually let his surroundings go.

Anna looked to see an older man with a tall walking stick with a very small boy gathering water in the stream.

"Yes!" she called down as Kratos hadn't answered him.

"Come across! We gotta place!" the old man called as the boy lifted the bucket onto his shoulder. Anna looked to Kratos who still looked somewhat disturbed, before nudging him.

"Come on then, let's not keep him waiting," Anna said in a milky voice and smile, rolling her sleeves back up and grabbing her robe. Kratos followed behind her and pulled the bag back to its place on his shoulder.

He hoped this wasn't a trap, but nothing seemed to be indicating it so. He couldn't say no, now that Anna had continued down the stream…

End Chapter 11