Era of First Rutabaski
Survival Arc: Part three
"Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." -Corrie ten Boom
Chapter 11
Dread
Was it any wonder that in the dead of the night, the leader of a band of ruffians continuously slept alone, grieving tearlessly as his mind would focus on calamity? Was it even more worrying knowing that what he longed for, seemed impossible to reach, especially since he had no idea if the object of his desire was even secure? This was how Xetsu spent most of his nights since he started the quest, and while it originally had been about the promise he made to himself, his curiosity got the better of the assassin's goals. The phrase he reminded himself every dawn and evening were "I will find you," but this led to a feeling of guilt and emptiness. The pressure was gradually intensifying, but for a being naturally tempted, the more Xetsu wondered if survival of his beloved father were possible, it would then crash down all at once, like a stake at his heart.
It was no difference what he decided to think; if he thought of his long-lost father, a feeling of wretched twists would lurched soon after. But betraying his suspicions left him with the feeling of betrayal just the same. Choosing to solve one or the other was tearing at the assassin, but he managed this far already, and thankfully the wandering rogues he had saved from village to village decided to support his cause, or so that's what popular belief was of Xetsu's intentions. He didn't know exactly, but for him it was disdainment hearing the simple lines thrown around every moment they could whisper the thought. They saw him as some sort of king, but what he was could not be; simply giving them shelter, protection, and food was all that mattered to the rogues, and so did the occasional teaching he would give. Those who learned would pass it along, and soon, when a group felt ready, they handled the recently freed village to ensure proper order if the Templers were to come again.
However, that praise was soon and along again (if need be) be put to rest with multiple outbursts. The nomads loved their leader and mentor, being a formal, gentle and patient, but the occasional compliment would mentally tick him off. Now he didn't wish to harm them, so the assassin would stay by himself most of the time, with the nomads tailing behind, yet Xetsu continued to feel...out of place with them.
No, it wasn't that he was rejected, but rather, he saw a reflection of himself in the youngest and immature of the group. Anger, Hatred, Grudge, and Envy; these four were what tainted Xetsu, however, he had no control of it. Even if he did try to stay patient with them while training the inexperienced, the assassin could feel an urge that wanted out. It wanted to fight, to butt heads with others, to prove it was superior, to state it was better and more worthy. He hadn't a clue what or where it even came from, thought without a doubt Xetsu knew it was still him. The urge was like a second half, a repressed aspect of himself surfacing up from his childhood. And now thinking about it, eh realized it had subtly influenced his own actions. He had to stay apart from them for their safety.
This was what he feared, isolated for his difference, and if he took it any further, it was also what the entire society feared of his kind. 'I can't believe, that after all these years, I wouldn't have guessed that these people are fearful of those like me. It's no wonder why Fenn told me I couldn't ever stay in a city for too long after a mission. Rotto told me that as well, that our difference is what mark us, no, brand us like demons. How ignorant are they when clearly the Templers are devils themselves.'
The thoughts were broken when one of the rogues pointed out the devastation of another village they passed by. Charred and in ruins, with only a monolith in the dead center, the massive tower was a reminder of the cruelty of their acts. Templers had faced resistance, and since this was one of the times they could not control, they destroyed it instead, then constructed another base here. "Oh," one of the younglings let out, seeing the harsh reality of the truth laid and presented to the world to see. Even the animals and plants that would had survived was dead, the life choked out of them in the midst of all this. Others of the group sneered, disgusted with the horrible acts their oppressors had done, and now taught to fight, were more than willing to gain revenge. However, their respectful leader made it clear to them, that their mission was not to ignite a war, but to drive them away, to strangle their lifeline in these lands if there ever be one. Then and only then could they have a chance.
"Madrich(Mentor), there are drifters along these ridges over there. We should stay clear. It is not best to handle with them along the enemy wake." One of the older pupils who had spent his time from the earlier groups suggested. Xetsu would had taken the advice, but nothing could be done sooner than to take initiative now. Handing Ashquar's reins over to an apprentice, Xetsu ordered for a few blankets and canteens, then told them to stay out of sight while he rallied them up.
"So you're telling me that by trusting you, we can take back our land and resettle without any casualties on our side?" Malus, an aged widowed father restated Xetsu's words to make the negotiations clear. "What's in it for you?"
Apparent to him was the distrust of a deal. Typical for people in the east lands, especially since Xetsu approached them in a brash way. Next to Malus was his deceased companion's boy, who tried to subdue the skilled man, but found himself on the floor. Now the others could had attacked him further, but thankfully Xetsu had known enough of the old settler's language to have them trust him. "I have no intentions taking any possessions for compensations, I merely offer assistance to the unfortunate. In return, I only need for your group to comply with the plans, and then after, you may settle back to your homes with a better, formatted regime."
Scoffs could be heard, an obvious failure for Xetsu to appeal to them in the least. He would sometimes be rejected, making waste of his approach and valuable time, the finite time he had to find his friend before it was too late. However, even if they didn't want to collaborate, he could still make it work here.
Malus stuck up an arm, silencing the heinous laughter, for what the stranger talked about was critical. He didn't know why the man wanted to aid them, but he could see that he was a troubled young man, much like he had been when it was only him left to raise his kid. "I will help you, but firstly, what do you plan on doing?"
"I feign myself as a prisoner, get inside, and raise the robust youth within to break out. Meanwhile, there will be a group of militia I have trained over my travels. Wait with them, and when the time comes, we will surround the officials, and you will take back what's yours."
More laughter arose from his explanation, finding him as a true wacko for suggesting such idiocy. As a wanderer, they didn't see him as the type to have a militia with him, though what made them find humor was how easy he made things seem with the plan. "Is that all?" A few of the youths chimed in as they mocked him. "Vidal isn't a simple village that the Templers decided to take over now. It's one of their bases."
As he finished, Xetsu patiently sighed, picked up a smooth stone and cast it where the youth was. Frightened and agitated by his act, they all pulled their weapons, only to find him undisturbed, but simply walking towards the youth. Awe and confusion left them speechless, but Xetsu had not harmed their own. He may have shocked the arrogant prick, but indeed was aiming elsewhere. "Your safehouse has been compromised. An agent was sent to spy on you amateurs and would had gotten you all imprisoned." He revealed the fallen spy on the other side of the tent, showing them the seriousness of his intentions.
Now convinced, Malus' own son asked, "How soon can we get started?"
-x-
Regrouped with his followers, Xetsu had filled them in with his plan, then had elaborated for a few alterations if his expectations weren't exact. The following morning he would get inside, but had to get a sure nights rest first.
Soft and distant noises caught his ears, and continued to keep him awake. The sun had set, and the night had begun; only the light of a fire was evident of the presence of others, and they had already drifted to sleep. Except for him. Xetsu dreaded falling to the fearful images which plagued him at night, taunting and revealing him of truths and fears. He didn't want to accept it, but it was never effective enough to keep himself from falling asleep afterwards.
As the sunlight cast shadows all around the fields, Xetsu walked intentionally to find his old friend. The children had gone to bed, and the brothers had entered the fortress as well. But Xetsu could not leave the area until he knew she was safe. There was many places the girl could had gone, and he dearly hoped she would forgive him for what he said earlier. It wasn't his intention to cause her to tear up, for it was a small misunderstanding, but she wouldn't know that, because Rosalina had not told him what they did together.
Calling her out as the moons had begun their trail back to the high night sky, Xetsu cautiously trekked around the fields, searching as far as the woods, to the raging river edge. He cursed his luck finding no one around, and the cold night air treated him horribly, almost like a punishment for not telling her what secrets she believed were hurtful. Slipping on a mossy boulder, Xetsu slid down the side of the cliff, but quickly managed to get into a ledge for safety.
Breathing slowly, he conditioned himself as the first thing on his mind. Then finally, he turned, coming face to face with the betrayed friend of his.
"What are you doing here?" She immediately interrogated Xetsu since he had not given a damn in trusting her with secrets. Perhaps he did it to mock her, or had found her unreliable. Whatever the case was with him, Xetsu could be friends with Rosalina for all she cared now. She only wanted to be alone, to feel solitude before accepting responsibilities left on her.
"I came to apologize," Xetsu blindly began. "You weren't around to hear the whol-"
A dark glare cut him off, clearly perturbed with his ignorance. Hot droplets collected at her cheeks, making the girl look like a striking resemblance to the fabled maiden. Like she had read his thoughts, the girl chidley began. "You never give it much thought what others think, do you?"
Xetsu stood abrasive, not truly wanting to let her go on, but also, could not sum up the will to stop her. "You live in a fantasy, denying what you are, even when it is clear you hide it with a mask."
Finally, he spoke up, "Kara, what are you talking about? You're scaring me."
"NO, you are simply lying to yourself again. I can't be friends with a liar, Xetsu, so show me your true self."
He had little idea what she meant by that, so he stood, a stiff upper lip showing his courage against her berations. Again she demanded he reveal himself, but he only bowed his head to the notion of it.
"You won't do it will you?" Kara carefully considered her next decision. This wasn't what she wanted to do to him, but it was clear he didn't what to comply, and Xetsu was too much of a threat to others if he continued to be this way. Gasping with her own dark thoughts, more tears sprang up before finally, "I HATE YOU!"
It was sudden, at least for him, and there was no way to reply, since fear itself had morphed his surroundings into a tremendous darkhearted beast, similar to a reptilian, as it waited to swallow him whole. His vision faded fast, but a dim blue light cast upon his eyes and he could see a figure, levitating above- like the person was trying to save him.
"-OI" Xetsu woke up with a start, the events of what had occurred early that morning transpired him to where he was now. Chained up and secluded, but the materials he needed for the break was hidden well inside his robes. Hopefully the guards would leave him awhile, then he could plant the seeds of discord. Turning to meet the owner of the call, he eyed a scraggy clothed fellow; this man was near his age, as far as he could tell, but seemed like he was not an ordinary being here. The more he noticed the small details, the more it seemed he was framed and captured against his will. With smooth unblistered skin, Xetsu had an idea that this fellow here had known some fatal evidence against the Templers, thus his imprisonment.
"You were out for three hours now; didn't think you'd stay alive, especially since they don't feed you till midday." Said the mystery man. Difficult to tell what he was trying for, Xetsu shifted around his chains to take a better look in the light. "Don't struggle," He mistakened his actions. "The guards make it a hobby to break the will of new prisoners, especially the young ones. If you're lucky, they might let you out of the cell for some time in the yards." He briefly passed a while, most likely to catch his breath from the sound of his raspy heave. "My names Bagha, by the way."
Xetsu paused, feeling distraught with his formal speech, wondering what education he had, since it had an air of flamboyance ridden with his weakened state. Oddly, he figured that Bagha had some ulterior motive for a couple of seconds, but Xetsu ignored the intuition and left the thought to himself. Instead, he sighed, stated his name, and looked around for a bit until he could group together what he needed.
-x-
"So what are you doing here?" asked Bagha after their last discussion. They were allowed out from their cells as part of an order from Warden Ruteniscis, for some project as some have dreaded speaking of. Xetsu had no fear of what the Templer had in store, he just hoped he could plan his escape quickly before chaos ensued."You don't seem exactly like the type to get captured are you?"
"Neither do you," he retorted. Xetsu eyed a few individuals who seemed offish, but instead of ignoring it like he would have done, he continued to stare. A few of the guards that followed along side the chained prisoners halted them in their tracks, grabbed said individuals and released them from their cuffs. These prisoners took the opportunity to fight back, but pretty soon found themselves getting beat upside the head. The sight of brutal assault was what kept the others in line, however, Bagha informed otherwise.
"The ones who rebel are taken... you'd want to conform with the guards to play it safe."
He had questions of who Bagha was exactly, but Xetsu instead wonder something else. "Where are they taken?" What ever they were doing to them, it couldn't get worst than what he imagined.
"Dr Abraham Artemisia gains custody of you, and he isn't exactly what one would call 'humanitarian'." Bagha was cut briefly as one of the guards noticed him speaking. He held his head up, passively waiting for the punishment, but a shout from the warden stopped the act.
"Would you like to replace him in today's event, Arthur?" Ruteniscis satirically scolded his minion. The man was a complete wacko, by the subtle clues Xetsu had caught on of him. Over the last months, the assassin had trained himself to find cleverly disguised details, and this one had the sadistic smirk just edging near his lips. By the look of his eyes, Ruteniscis had a malicious intent a few moments away. They just had to survive the preliminaries first though.
"I know you're here on your own will." whispered Bagha before they were whisked away into the arena.
"H-How would you know? I haven't spoken anything of-" He stopped short, figuring that Bagha could have easily deciphered his intentions through body language like him, but it was not that obvious...was it?
"I've been around long enough to tell what a man likes and dislikes. Through simple observation, I've deduced that the common man desires a compatible partner, comfortability, and freedom of will. Symptoms would show of any distraught from any individual denied of specifics, and you are not irritated like a lion in a cage, or shifting around as if you had a rash. Instead, I see you anxious, a subtle clue that hides nervousness and loneliness." he stated. Then to finish his explanation, "You are searching for someone important to you, no?"
Visibly faltering, Xetsu stuttered to make a comeback, but all he could was let his jaw agape like an idiot. Smug, Bagha placed his hand on the railing as they were walking down the waiting room. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He led on to say, "But I could help you find your person of interest if you aid me."
That got the assassin's gears running again. He considered it for a few seconds, then remembered that it had taken some serious amount of work to get him this far. Asking for help was always a first option he'd try from knowledgeable sources, though even as he closed his eyes to check Bagha with the eagle sense, the man was a mixed color of green and white. It was strange for him, since it meant that not only could he have information and act friendly, but he was a potential target to kill since he was green- a first in his life.
"Why are you even here? You have grand knowledge and exhibit great potential to get by anything with what you know. So what would someone like you be doing here?" Xetsu began to wonder whether Bagha was really as brilliant as he made it seem. Immediately he had a hushed answer.
"There are things I've learned which are dangerous, things which can break apart what many claim so dearly. My own brothers and acquaintances, or so they claimed, had betrayed what little honor I saw left in our ways. They claimed to shed the light on the masses, to free them of sin through devotion and a firm hand, but they were as corrupt as any would. And nonetheless, the citizens never questioned our authority, just grazing about, letting wolves take what they want and never batting an eye. It was until I saw, with my own eyes, that the man I saw as a role model, act selfishly. Turns out he had been doing this for years, when no one was looking. And he made dark deals, the kinds which would do more harm than the greater good. So I ran away, with their secrets of an indulged life, taking what little the poor had left. Now I see myself in this prison, after months having gone away. The only reason they can't kill me is because of my father, and he's not so fond of my decisions either."
Bagha's explanation had a reflective effect on Xetsu, seeing that the two had common issues with their group. However, the little discussion they had left was abruptly ended when a guard came up to beat him into a corner and then drag him off. For whatever reason they had, it would not justify what the infamous doctor would do to him.
-x-
Erin Von Auttenberg had traveled many miles to reach the massive trading center that was the Templer's conditioning slave quarters in Vidal. As the military secretary of Sagratius, Auttenberg had his eyes bent on finding the best of what he could around the world. However, in these foreign lands, not much was quite interesting. Even a rock had better value than the harsh conditions these Templers left their slaves in. True, they were great for building projects, but Sagratius had a dire need for warriors.
"No, I haven't found anyone that caught my eye yet, Ruteniscis." He said, with a tone which threatened his leave.
While the two settled negotiations, Dr Abraham had himself a new test subject to work on. While he had known the guards would never leave these individuals in a conscious state when they arrived, Abraham was shocked that the new subject was still conscious. Blood matted his face and he had the will to keep struggling against the guards. Xetsu had seen and heard several of the mistreated men in flashes as he was limited to his sight. As they threw him inside, Abraham distributed the sedation over his mouth, with resistance (in the form of bites), yet managed to render Xetsu unconscious.
...Fast forwarding memory due to gorified content
Hidden from view, and a blurred vision returning to the assassin as his ears rang, Xetsu awoke to find himself in the same room which he arrived for Abraham's experimentations. By the corner laid what he feared was a body part, but running a quick check on himself confirmed he was still in complete form. However, that worry did not go away as his senses came to full comprehension; the sound of the arena emanated towards his ears.
"They must be fighting each other about now." he silently spoke to himself. "But they don't want to comply to their orders."
"You got that right," another stranger replied as he opened the metal door, revealing a young boy no older than fourteen. He had a melancholic look, hidden by a slight hint of a mischievous smirk as he picked Xetsu's locks. Freeing him, the kid crept back giving him room to recollect his bearings.
"Who are you, and how did you-"
"I can't remember my name since I can remember being here. Not even sure where I used to live, but we've made the best of what we could here." retorted the child.
"We've? There's more of you?" Xetsu hadn't expected the prisoners to already have escape plans, well he did, but not runned by children.
On cue, three other kids walked in, dressed lightly but with an attire that allowed stealth. That surely showed their skills. "The prisoners have been planning a revolt around these upcoming days now, and since today Ruteniscis wants us to put up a show for them, we'll stage the heist behind their backs. Of course, when I saw you, you were too...out of place."
"Tell me something I don't know," the assassin spat out in annoyance. "Anyhow, you just expect to break out so easily?"
"Not entirely, but all of us know that saying this will be easy is sugarcoating it. That's why Satoimo has asked Bagha for some intel on you."
"Satoimo? That's a foreigner's name. What are the Templers doing abducting outsiders?" Out with that question came up a personal one of his own. He always wondered why his name sounded different, however he had not the time to stop and ponder.
"They haven't gone off to kidnap people from other countries yet, but they will soon, and it'll be worse than the Sagratian Regime." the kid which feigned having no idea of his name spoke again, but this time confident in confronting the assassin. He untied a confiscated weapon which the guards took from him. "I believe this is yours." he handed the short-blade over.
"Good work, you four have done great. But now what's your plan?"
"There's a commotion going on past the north towers. We have one chance in getting this right." another informed after returning to check if they were in the clear. "Tell me: are you good with that weapon?"
Xetsu gave him a lopsided smile, remembering how he could expertly manage his own and a party of twelve under difficulties with his father's blade. "No questions about it."
"Good, cause we'll need everyone we can get if we're taking this dump down."
-x-
After releasing the imprisoned members of the east and south gates, Xetsu followed suit behind the group, but felt uncomfortable as Satoimo stayed near him. He didn't speak much, which strangely seemed to reflect how Xetsu would be growing up, and was inexplicably anxious as they neared the last of the slave quarters left.
Soon, this behavior alerted the assassin, "Is there something wrong?"
Satoimo hadn't answered, being in his own world of thoughts, but had acknowledged his question. Struggling to put his dilemma in words, the kid summarized with the best he could. "Tsuna, someone I had used to be with, is somewhere around here. I know she's here in the prison, but I haven't seen here for months. I hope she's alright."
"I know how you feel," he comforted him. Knowing that he was not alone with these types of problems, Xetsu couldn't help but tell him some of the details.
Satoimo had little idea what to say to what he'd gone through. Sure it was more or less the same issue, but the circumstances were far extreme. No leads and no sure idea of where to search for clues, none the less doing this alone was too much for anyone, yet he still had the will. Whether or not he failed in searching was no option, but Satoimo had felt better of his own problems hearing his. "I'm sure you'll find her...umm, "
"Altair," Xetsu quickly told him, fearing that word may spread back to the guild. The child looked at him suspiciously, catching on that he had lied of his own name. The look was bitter, and sort of inqusitive. Almost as if he was backlashing on his own tongue, Xetsu responded with his actual name.
"Xetsu, huh? A bit strange for someone where you live. Are you sure that's how it's said." Satoimo asked again.
"Yeah, what else do you think me of. I've live long enough to know how my names pronounced; yours is the one that sounds strange to me."
Satoimo gave Xetsu a nasty look, but kept his mouth shut to prevent the quarrel from getting out of hand. He didn't need a black eye now of all times. 'Xetsu means reeds anyway. It ain't Caznen, but it's similar to Xesus,' he muttered under breath before the group found its way to the last set of cells.
Forwarding to a more recent me... error, memory not found...redirecting to subject Rotto Valogna
[Ordana, one week before Xetsu finds his child]
Finally have finished the work of Bejita in due time, the engineers celebrated with practice runs. While they had a grand time in this dire hour, the assassins had been edgy lately. It was a desperate attempt to smoke the traitors out, but the reasoning was fair. Everyone was shocked when learning of such the drastic attempt to usurp the brotherhood.
"What's going on?" Rotto had began once returning from his last search for clues of the inventor. It was enough fighting seven crafty conspirators, who all had tried to either take economic control of the kingdom or manipulate the people as drones for social success. Even so, he was content on his discovery, especially learning that a small island just a few miles off the coast was said to be a hideout for the arcane inventor.
"Uncle!" Retta started feverishly. "Al Mualim has been murder!"
The news was too great to take, but Rotto held himself in line. The man was warned many times of a conspiracy aiming to take control by all means necessary. He of course had kept a serious demeanor, even though it was obvious Xetsu's leave had affected his psyche. This left the bureau in the hands of Taurese and a couple of members who argued with one another. Fortunately, the dispute was kept under wraps during meetings, so no one would had suspected division between the order.
'Damnit,' Rotto had known of the outcome, but felt like this was on his part. Of course, Retta was the first to inform him, but what made her far worrisome was the concern she had with Fenn.
"Rotto, you'll need to coax the others and corner the conspirators. I've already gotten Malik informed, but the engineers need to be alerted. We can't risk having those machines taken under command by the enemy." She stammered slightly, keeping the concern at a minimum. He could tell how much she was attracted to the adolescent, but this wasn't the time to tease her about it. What was a matter to him was the safety of Malik's sister.
"She hasn't returned from the trip, last I know" Retta referred to Rosalina's visit to family friends who lived in the same city as their old home. It was a mandatory visit, and would take a few weeks, but that was two months ago. Hopefully she'd stay a bit longer and avoid this predicament altogether.
-x-
Xetsu trudged past the old wood lands which was his mountain home. The forest that once stood here with mighty oak and maple was replaced with sprouts and saplings. Life had returned to the charred mountain side, though it was still clear that remnants of destruction remained.
'Majdoube!' he chastised himself, having lowered his defenses the night before. He had killed a total of nine significant templers, virtually freed the entire eastern lands, and was regarded as a hero, not to mention a prophet. Sure, he would be praised for his philosophical insight and wisdom in self regulation, but Xetsu was plagued by his own thoughts. He never found a lead to Kara's where abouts, nor finding the true purpose of enslaving the people. It was just the night before which had tainted him.
Dreaming a night where he finally found and reunited with his friend, his recurrent nightmare had shifted to one of success and hope, but was astonished finding that while he believed he was spending his time intimate with Kara, he had locked lips with Rosalina.
That was another thing- he betrayed her, just as he had dreaded in the nightmares many nights ago.
A few nights ago, Xetsu was taken in by a generous family, who tended him when he had fatal wounds. There, he learned from Selina that they awaited a family friend, which said visitor turned out to be Rosalina. It meant an awkward situation for him, mostly since: he had muttered a comment of their child resembling Taurese and Rosalina heard this, the husband believed that he was Rosalina's love interest, though mostly due to her strange behavior around him, and finally, in his sleep, he had embraced her.
There was no logical reason as to why she was in the same room with him, although he received a passive comment of how he was tormented in his sleep.
However, those moments had nothing to compare to what he had now. Behind a couple of trees laid Rosalina, resting as she fiddled around with several wild flowers. They hadn't spoken to another after that incident, though as far as he could infer, the woman had burned a crimson color whenever he kindly conversed with her, even if it was one-sided. 'Women are strange,' he thought.
Finally, after giving her a generous amount of rest, he had to get going. "Hey Rosalina, this is as close as I can take back to the Citadel. I won't be able to enter the grounds, since I'm sure they'd shoot me on the spot. I'm sorry if that bothers you."
Again she blushed, but had now summoned herself to speak. Just then, Xetsu's attention was caught by the rustling of leaves and the sounds of hoove clomping down on the slope nearby. Xetsu hushed her, worried that whomever was searching in this part of the forest was a bounty hunter. Edging near the cliff, he witnessed a vital conversation to himself.
"Are you sure the bloke's around here? I mean, this isn't exactly the number one place a nomad may spend the night."
"Trust Seviche for once, Erik. She had told me how he would always remember his childhood about this place. And since he may be depressed, remembering one's past is a good source of relief. So likely he should be here."
It was them! The people who he spent months tracking after to find his friend. But something was off; why did the one with the skyward hair speak of Kara as if she was a good friend?
"Yeah, and you'd think that this will be the one place that Xetsu would head off to after months of searching and failing to find anything. If anything, I suspect he's taken vengeance on a couple of undeserving men in his frustration."
"That may be true, but lately I heard that the King was astonished to find nine of his best men have been assassinated. The reports have all stated a super man who could jump six feet in the air, run faster than any sprinter ever known, and kept his own identity a secret, not accepting any rewards for all the deeds he had done."
At that moment, Xetsu decided to confront these two. Startled, the one known as Erik went for his knife, only to be apprehended by his partner before things got wary. Obviously this unnamed fellow had an idea of who he was.
"Who are you? And what the hell did you do to Kara?" He demanded to know, and making himself dead serious, he cracked a tree down with a single punch, alerting Erik that he was not one to mess with.
It was then that the man said his name. "I'm Jita, captain of the pirate crew who had taken your friend by mistake. I felt guilty of the act, fearing that it cause you two despair, but it is not just reunion I came in search of you for."
Xetsu narrowed his eyes, wondering what Jita was going with this. If he was merely making a mockery of his predicament, he'd already be pinned on the floor, and that's how Xetsu mentally felt. However, his heart seemed to perceive something else, something far more serious than what he already knew. AS such, he listened to the rest of what was to have been said.
"Kara has been with your-"
The room was dark and drafty, a sense of abandonment filled the air. What once was a loud and active place had silenced to a eerie feel of its previous state. This was how one described the room which Kara had once slept in before, during, and after the birth of her child. It was fortunate that a widowed midwife had been with her throughout the unknown experience, but the truth was, Kara never felt far more alone in her life. Xetsu was not here to support her, nor was he able to calm down their newborn child. It had cried for its father, wanting to be held by the one person she missed. Unfortunately, Kara's hope of Xetsu arriving on time to see the birth of the baby did not come true.
Now, in the silence which they had once slept in, the wind blew, brushing past the bawling child, with no one to tend to it in this time of need. Abandonment had described this family, but hope was not far.
The following seconds that past, the child's father rushed pass all who stood in his way, knowing that his friend (and now apparently mother of his child) needed him to be with her. Guilt and anxiety was coursing through his mind, adrenaline through his veins. Behind him followed Jita, the midwife, and of course, Rosalina who tagged along.
"I'm here!" He proclaimed into the room as he swung it open. There and then had his heart finally broke apart, witnessing the one moment he had feared in his life. There was no mother where the midwife claimed, only an orphaned child. His own child had cried out, but after hours of bawling, its voice had weakened, which only came out as powerful sobs.
Hesitantly, he moved, picked up his newborn and rubbed its back. It was done with instinct, but his sadness was clear. She was gone, leaving them no clue to what happened. All he had of her was the baby.
"Don't worry Xetsu," Rosalina began, noticing that no one else was in here. "There's at least the newborn here. Just look at how cute she is." At that moment, Xetsu broke down, angry tears sliding by but no cries of grief. Clutching onto his baby girl protectively, and swearing to himself that no matter what happened next, he'd make damn sure that Verbena would live a normal life in contrast to his own. Except... Xetsu realized that he really couldn't do this alone.
A/N: I know it's taken a long time for a new chapter, however with me being a Junior and having to start applying for college, Its likely for me to have a period of writer's block.
I hope this chapter would make up for my absence, but I'll won't be gone for long. Next chapter is the start of Xetsu's adult life and the beginning of his prophesied destiny.
