AN: Sorry for the later-than-usual post! I hope you enjoy today's chapter—please let me know what you think of it! This is what I consider to be the beginning of part 2 of my story; soon there will be an influx of OC's, maybe as soon as next week. :)
One day near the end of fall, Barrett brought his children to Selphia. His divorce had been finalized some time ago, and sadly, he saw his children only infrequently. However, his ex-wife apparently had just remarried, and so their children had come to stay with him while she and her new husband went on their honeymoon trip, which was to last several days. His son looked to be about ten years of age, give or take a little, and was a solemn, steady fellow—much like his father. His daughter, however, looked like she was close to three years, and she was an adorable little bundle of mischief.
I had long since recovered from my previous envy of the scholar. In fact, the three of us were all good friends by this time, and we often spent an evening of dining and discussion together. We usually gathered at our home in the castle, although Barrett had purchased a small but cozy house on Melody Street, and he occasionally invited us to join him there.
The first evening that he had his kids with him, Avani invited them to come to supper. While the three adults sat and talked, Leonel quietly read, quite the budding young scholar. But his little sister swarmed all over the place, running through the rooms and up and down the stairs with a reckless abandon, shrieking with glee as she explored every nook and cranny. Even though she'd only been with him for the day, Barrett already appeared at his wit's end.
Seeing his bemusement, Avani proposed that he, Leonel, and I walk over and have a leisurely dinner at Porcoline's restaurant, while she stayed there with Yuri. Barrett seemed concerned, but she laughingly assured him that seeing she'd conquered dragons, demons, and even one powerful madman with aspirations of godhood, she could surely amuse a three-year old girl for a few hours. Besides, she said, cutting short his protest, she could see that he needed a break. He looked at me, but I just shrugged, then grabbed our coats and tossed his to him. "If she says go, you go. You don't argue with Avani," I said, looking at her with a grin. She just rolled her eyes and shooed us out the door with a laugh, closing it quickly behind us to keep the warmth inside.
Hesitating, Barrett looked worriedly at the door. "Will she be okay, do you think?"
I thumped him on the back with a grin. "Buck up, old man. She'll be fine. Avani won't let any harm come to her—you can depend on that."
He turned a startled face to me. "I meant, will Avani be okay," he said in surprise. I just stared at him, nonplussed.
We lingered over our meal and coffee afterwards, then I ordered two slices of chocolate cake to take to Avani and Yuri. The sun had set, and twilight had all but given way to the darkness of night as we left the restaurant. When we reached the back door, the house was dark and still. I opened the door uneasily, and took a look around as Barrett anxiously pushed his way past me. I lit the lamp on the bedside table, illuminating the main chamber with a golden glow.
There in one of the big, comfortable chairs next to the unlit fireplace sat Avani, with little Yuri cuddled up to her on her lap. Both were sound asleep, and a storybook lay open on the floor, apparently having slipped from her grasp. As the three of us stood quietly watching them, Yuri stirred in her sleep, then turned and flung her arms around Avani, nestling her cheek against her chest as she settled back into a sound sleep. It was such a charming sight, I was loathe to disturb them.
But Barrett was fatigued from his unusually busy day and wanted to get the children settled down for the night, so he carefully lifted his small daughter into his arms. She reached her arms sleepily around his neck, resting her cheek on his shoulder without fully waking. Avani's eyes flew open, startled at the sudden loss of her small companion. Seeing us standing there, she rose with a yawn and a stretch. She smiled a beautiful, tender smile at the sleeping child, saying quietly, "Did you guys have fun? Yuri was no trouble at all. Soon after you left, I fed her some creamy noodles, carrots, and a fruit smoothie. After dinner, we played for a little bit, then she asked for a story. She fell asleep while I was reading to her, and I guess I must have dozed off soon after."
Barrett looked surprised. "You mean… she didn't break anything? Or have any tantrums?" When Avani shook her head, he smiled a half smile, saying, "You must have a way with kids, then. Thank you. I appreciate the break."
She smiled broadly at him. "Any time, Barrett. I had a lot of fun with her. She's a sweet girl, and very bright. Just let me know if you'd like me to watch your kids again for you—I'd be delighted to."
"I just might take you up on that," he said as he turned to head out the door and to his home.
The next morning, Barrett stopped by to ask Avani if she would watch the kids for a couple of hours, as he had a meeting with Arthur and couldn't bring them with him. She cheerfully agreed, and Yuri bounced happily over to her, smiling with delight. Leonel, on the other hand, scowled at her and then at his father. "I don't want to stay with Avani, Dad," he protested resentfully, folding his arms across his chest. "Mom says it's all her fault that you guys got divorced. I hate her! She ruined everything!"
"Leonel Spenser!" Barrett reprimanded him angrily in his booming voice. "Apologize right this minute! That is no way to speak to a lady!"
Avani placed a hand on his arm. "No, it's okay, Barrett. Don't blame him—he's only repeating what he's been told. He doesn't know any better." She turned and looked down at the sullen boy glaring angrily at her. She crouched down next to him, looking him eye to eye. "I'm very sorry about what happened with your family, Leonel. Your dad and I are quite fond of each other, but only as good friends—nothing more. I had nothing at all to do with your parents' divorce."
"I don't believe you," the boy said angrily, then he turned and fled swiftly out the door into the courtyard.
"Leonel!" Avani and Barrett both shouted after him, but he ignored them and sped out the town gates into the wilderness.
"Watch Yuri, will you? I'd better go look for him," Barrett called as he ran after his son.
Avani looked at me, her brow furrowed in concern. "I think we'd better help him, Leo. Three sets of eyes are better than one, and I have a feeling he isn't going to make it easy for us to find him. You saw how fast he was—he would have been long out of sight by the time Barrett reached the plains. I'll ask Clorica to watch Yuri, if you'll go grab our gear. We'd better be prepared for combat, just in case." Then lifting the small, bewildered girl in her arms, she set off towards the butlers' quarters.
She returned a few minutes later, just as I was buckling my heavy boots and shrugging into my armor. Avani quickly suited up, and we followed behind. We had no idea where either Leonel or Barrett might be, so as we started down the path out of town, Avani thought out loud. "If I were Leonel… if I were a kid that was mad at my parents and hurt and resentful… where would I go? I think I'd want someplace to hide away, someplace that was not easy to find me—just to make it more difficult for whoever was looking for me. And I might even pick someplace dangerous, without really thinking it through, just because that danger would make it even harder. It would also need to be someplace he'd know about, even though he's not familiar with the area, and that he could find…." Then she looked at me in a panic, the blood draining from her face. "Oh, gods and dragons, Leo. He'll go to Leon Karnak! An unarmed, untrained, ten-year-old boy, alone on the tower. We have to hurry!" And with that, she bolted down the path leading west.
As we paused at the gate to the haunted manor house to catch our breath, I put an arm around her shoulders. Her adrenaline response was such that I could feel her shaking through her armor, even after her run. "Stay calm, My Lady. We don't know for sure that's where he is. Barrett may even have found him by this time and returned to the castle."
She shook her head and looked up at me, still panting as she tried to catch her breath. "Think about it, Leo. From the city gates, for as far as you can see, there's nothing that really stands out on the horizon—only woods and distant mountains and the occasional clearing or lake. Except Leon Karnak. It rises so high, he'd be able to see it from anywhere for miles around and make his way to it. And he would almost certainly have heard about it from his dad. Unless he's run into trouble on the way there, I'm sure that's where we'll find him. I just hope…." She trailed off, biting her lip, then dashed off at a run again towards the tower.
The exterior of Leon Karnak was surrounded with terraces, most of which were connected by ladders, though some used ramps or even warp points. When we arrived at the base of the tower, there was—as usual—no sign of life. After hunting around the base with growing desperation, Avani flung herself at the ladder to the first terrace, climbing it rapidly despite her cumbersome armor and weapons.
The lower terraces were largely populated by tough gangs of goblins, whose weapons of choice were throwing knives. Quickly dispatching them and inspecting the terrace to no avail, we climbed to another terrace. Then another, and another. Finally we stood at the base of the ramp leading up to the lair of the grimoire, a species of dragon particularly known for its cruelty and intelligence. Just as Avani started up the ramp, we heard the dragon bellow in rage, and a terrified scream.
Moving as if she'd suddenly sprouted wings, she flew up the ramp. I followed as quickly as I could, arriving just in time to see her dive between a small, hunched up figure and an infuriated grimoire already in mid-attack. Unable to alter its course, it came heavily down on her, its thick neck knocking her to the side. I dove in and snatched up the boy before it could regroup and claim its prey. Avani shouted to me, "Leo, he's hurt! Get him to the clinic! I'll hold the grimoire off while you get away, and join there you as soon as I can—go!"
I hated to leave her, but I could see blood soaking the child's clothing. So without further ado, I cast escape until we were back at the city gates, then rushed him to Jones. The doctor took one look at him, then shouted for Nancy, who came running down the stairs from their second-floor home. Grimly, they set to work, peeling away tattered and bloodied clothing, cleaning and stitching his many wounds. They hadn't waited for the analgesic to take effect, not wanting to delay, and the poor boy cried out and shook from the pain until finally the medication numbed him.
They were nearly finished when Barrett burst in, pale with shock. Leonel was all but unconscious from exhaustion and medication, but he managed to give his dad a weak smile before slipping into oblivion. Barrett knelt next to him, holding his hand tightly as Jones and Nancy applied salves and medicated ointments to the burns and wounds. After they left, he told me that upon his return to town, he'd been informed of our return by the guard on duty at the gate, and he'd rushed over as fast as he could.
I filled him in on Avani's intuition, and how we found him about to be devoured by a grimoire. Then I realized how long it had been since I'd fled with the boy, and still she hadn't returned. I began to feel the first stirrings of concern, and told Barrett that she should be back by now, and that I was concerned that she wasn't. Standing quickly, I took my leave of him to go in search of her.
I returned to the tower Karnak and climbed the terraces just as I had done several hours before—dodging monsters when I could, for the sake of speed, and fighting only when it was unavoidable. Soon I reached the ramp to grimoire's lair, and with serious misgivings, I mounted the ramp to its perch.
When I reached the top, I found the grimoire collapsed on the floor of its lair, unconscious but not quite dead. I quickly dispatched it, sending it back to the forest of beginnings, and looked around. After several minutes of searching through the mists that enshrouded the aerie, I tripped on something on the ground. Bending down to take a closer look, I found it was Avani's leg. My heart stopped as I threw my spear and shield aside and bent over her. After a moment, I found she was alive—but only just. She was breathing, even if her breathing was ragged and shallow; her heart was beating, even if weakly. I gathered her up gently in my arms and cast escape to return to town, rushing to the clinic yet again.
Jones looked grave as he examined her, and I felt my chest tighten at the look on his face. She was battered almost beyond recognition, and her skin and clothing were slashed and scorched. A massive dent in her armor looked as if it would have broken her ribs, it was so deep, and her hair was matted with sticky, half-dried blood. The physician sat down and looked up at me. "Well, she's in pretty bad shape. I can't do much for her in her present condition—she'd go into shock, and that could possibly kill her. So as unorthodox as it is, I'd like to ask you to heal her. If you can magically repair the damage to her internal organs and restore some strength to her, I can take over and finish the job."
I knelt next to her, taking her hand in mine and leaning forward to rest my forehead lightly against her chest. Alarmed at how much more shallow her breathing had become in the few minutes since I'd found her, I closed my eyes and cast a healing spell, then another and yet another. I had no energy left after three incantations, after all the fighting I'd done earlier. But it was enough. I felt her chest heave, and she coughed and choked, gasping for air. Jones moved in quickly and began to work over her, and I moved out of the way. Nancy arrived a moment later, having settled Leonel as comfortably as she could, and shooed me out to wait in the front room so that they had space to work.
Barrett was out front now, too, sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting area. I threw myself down into the chair next to his, burying my face in my hands. After a couple of minutes of silence, he awkwardly patted my shoulder. "Hey," he said, somewhat uncertainly, "she'll be okay. She's a strong woman—she'll pull through. I'm sure of it."
I just shook my head without raising it. "You didn't see her, Barrett. I've never seen her hurt so badly before. I've never seen anyone hurt so badly. Jones… he even asked me to cast healing spells on her, because she was too badly injured for him to do anything for her. I cast as many as I could, until I had nothing left—no more energy for spellcasting. I should have gone right back. I shouldn't have left her in the first place. I should have been there to protect her."
He remained silent for a few moments, digesting what I'd told him. "I know I'm not really in a position to offer much comfort. I mean, it's my fault—or my son's fault, which is essentially the same thing—that she's so badly hurt. But I do know you can't just beat yourself up over what's already been said or done. You can't be there for her all day, every day. And you know she wouldn't want you to… to fight her battles for her. She's strong and independent, and I know that you know she would feel smothered if you tried to keep her out of harm's way all the time. Even if somehow the unthinkable happens and she doesn't pull through… you know she wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what happened. She takes responsibility for her own actions, she doesn't blame others for the outcome."
I sighed, still clutching my head. "I… I know. But…."
Before I could finish my sentence, Jones stepped out. His normally pristine lab coat was splattered with fine flecks of red, and he looked exhausted, as if he, too, had been in heavy combat. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes tiredly as he walked towards me, then he looked down at me solemnly. I jumped up from my seat, on tenterhooks as I waited with bated breath for him to give me the news, whether good or ill.
Disclaimer: Rune Factory 4, most locations and many of the characters in the story, and the game's plot belong to Neverland Co. and XSEED Games. The story plot and some characters and locations are my own invention.
