Chapter 8—Unexpected Occurences
Same Day (Unknown Era)
His blade slashed through nothingness.
Where Kazara had been an instant before, there was simply air. Kain stood there with his sword outstretched for a moment in blank confusion. Then he whirled around, searching desperately for the man. He scanned the faces of the crowd in a surprised haze, but he was obviously gone.
Then there was a voice.
"Why do you desire to kill me?"
It was obviously Kazara's voice, but the man was still not there. Kain reminded himself that this man was a magician, and he was probably using his magery to hide himself. Like a coward.
"You know why." His voice was angry with a thousand woes.
"Are you one of the Netherfolk? Have your kind reached this town already?" Disdain.
"I'm not one of your blasted Netherfolk, scum. Don't play your mind games with me. You're the one who ruined my life."
Before Kazara could answer, Riktarin stepped up a grumbled into Kain's ear: "Give it up, kid. You don't need to be starting trouble already. I've a mind to lock both of you up. Once I find the mystic one," he added.
"But…" Kain realized that for Riktarin to understand, he'd have to tell him what had happened in his own time. And he couldn't do that. Not yet, maybe not ever.
He had a problem. Either step up to Kazara and try to kill him without Riktarin interfering, or leave him be and try to find him later, on his own terms. The former would get him banished or thrown in jail, before he'd even had a choice of staying, and the latter might let Kazara flee somewhere where he could never find him. Never get any answers.
It was then that he realized his idiocy.
'Answers…I need answers. If I had just killed him then, I would have no answer, no reason why he did what he did. And I need to know. I need to know how to get back to my own time, and I need an explanation. If I had simply killed him, I still wouldn't be able to go back…what a fool…But he said what he did, and that….that fury….'
The fury had consumed all of him. He'd acted without thinking, one of Lacan's most warned about mistakes. 'What a fool, what a fool.'
Riktarin was still waiting for a reply.
"Alright, I'll leave him alone." To Kazara, loudly: "You can try your coward tricks, but eventually I'll find you. And you'll tell me why you did what you did. And you'll wish you never had…"
There was no reply. Kain clenched and unclenched his fist. He saw Riktarin's hazel eyes, a look that was trying to figure him out.
'Well, good luck,' thought Kain. 'I still haven't figured myself out yet.' He span around and stepped off of the
platform, anger coursing through his veins and his mind.
* * *
"I'm not even going to ask what that was about," said Riktarin, opening the door for Kain.
He walked into the Saranessei house and looked around. Riktarin closed the door behind him.
Everything was a greyish stone. There wasn't much in the house; a large table, a few circular stones for seats. Two openings in the back led to separate rooms. There was very little decoration. Riktarin obviously didn't have money to waste on want, and there probably wasn't much to buy here, anyway.
Something peculiar arose in Kain's mind, though. 'Isn't this a little too established? The time's obviously somewhere during the Ice Ages,' he had decided, 'And from the stories the parents told me, even after Zeal fell into the ocean, and they destroyed the Black Omen, civilization was still primitive on the ground.' Thinking more on this, he remembered more of the old stories that Crono and Marle would tell him when he was younger. At first they were like fairy tales, when he was six or seven years old. Then as he grew older and was told more and more of the story, he realized that they had gone through a huge hardship for a future they weren't even a part of. 'In fact, this would have to be significantly after the Black Omen appeared, since they have real towns and such. Crono said that the Earthbound they met always lived in caves.'
"So, how's the place?" said Riktarin, gruffly, as usual. Kain was brought back to reality by these words, and replied, remembering his manners, "It's good, it's good. Thank you for letting me stay here, again. I wouldn't have anywhere else to go."
"You'll probably not be saying that when I have you clearing snow from the town square and out looking for firewood. But you should like it here, and I'll treat you kindly, as long as you don't try anything funny with my daughter." This last part said with a blunt laugh.
"Daughter?!" asked Kain. Possibilities and potential problems arose in his mind.
Riktarin noticed and furrowed his eyebrows. "Er, yeah. I have a daughter. Nineteen years old, given to me by my late wife, bless her soul to the stars."
This was the first remotely personal thing Riktarin had said, and Kain was surprised that the man actually did have a soft side. 'But everyone has more to themselves than they show, everyone has more 'bout themselves than they know,' he quoted one of his own poems.
To cover his weakness Riktarin added twice as shortly, "I'll go introduce her. You can have a seat. If you like."
As the patrolman walked by him and into one of the back rooms, Kain accepted and sat down on one of the circular stone stools by the table. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but Kain hadn't sat down all day (more like a combination of two days, actually…). He discovered how much his knees were aching.
'By the stars, I am going to enjoy sleep tonight.' he thought.
Riktarin returned, motioning to someone behind him.
When Riktarin said, "Kain…Triggara, I believe, meet my daughter, Sylvra Celeste Sarranessei," and she stepped before him, Kain was shocked. Immensely shocked.
She looked exactly like Aubrey.
Cool red hair flowed from a part on the side of her head down to her chest, a single dangling thread of it falling over her nose, framing small blue eyes that were relaxed yet curious. She was a little shorter than Kain, slender and lithe with average sized breasts. A smooth purple robe made an open V to her stomach, showing the blue silk shirt beneath. Under the robe she wore a long black skirt where roses sprouted from the fabric. Around her neck was a strange, transparent silk tie with a small flower pinned on it.
Right then, Kain thought his jaw couldn't be picked up by a whole group of imps.
'But it's not her. It couldn't be. This is a different time. And…she wears darker colors than Aubrey ever did, and her hair's different…but she looks like Aubrey's twin!'
"By the stars, boy, I know she's beautiful, but you act like you've never seen a woman before!" said Riktarin.
Kain realized he was staring and blinked.
"Eh…sorry…" he tried to think of something intelligent to say and failed. Luckily, Aubrey—'Sylvra!' filled the silence before he could make a fool of himself: "Rik, give him a break…If you say he's going to be living with us, the least you could do is try not to embarrass him." She smiled a wry grin that made him crazy with attraction.
'No, definitely not Aubrey. She'd always smile a huge grin, like she was trying to show the world how happy she was. This girl, Sylvra, is more…subtle.'
Regaining his wits, he said: "That's not a problem. Your father's been very kind in letting me stay here, and I see now that I'll be in good company." 'Let's go get acquainted in the snow' was what he wanted to say, but Riktarin would no doubt throw him out the window for that.
"Well, you need to get cleaned up, kid. Go into that room over there and Sylvra will get you some pails of melted snow for the bath and to wash out your clothes. I like you already, but not enough to let you wear my own stuff."
Sylvra looked at Kain and started towards the door. "Ah, she doesn't have to, I can go get them," he offered.
"Do you know where the pails are at?" asked Riktarin.
"No…"
"She does. She can get them herself, she's pretty but she's strong too. That's the way I raised her."
"Thanks for offering, though," Slyvra said, amused, giving a 'what can you say' look to her father. Another grin at him, and this time her eyes sparkled.
As she walked out the door with a smooth stride, Kain thought, 'Damn. I'd do anything to have her.'
Riktarin said in a gruff voice, "I know she's pretty but you can't have her. Now go get ready, I don't want a visitor in my house smelling like roly shit."
'Damn.' One word could say everything. Kain nodded and walked out of the living room.
He knew now that if he wanted anything with this new girl, he'd have to watch his steps carefully. And…
'Can I give up my search for Kazara, before it ever starts? …No. I'll just have to be smart about it. Can't let them see me searching. Riktarin will obviously be watching me, so I'll have to find someway around him…
'Just when you think things can't get any more complicated, they do.'