Author's Notes:  See chapter one for disclaimer and explanation.

Chestnuts and Cherries By Annie-chan Chapter Seven:  Family Bonds

Saint Hordic Mountain.

The Sorcerer Hunters had come home to the hidden village situated in a secluded valley.  Marron had been out for several hours after that disastrous encounter in the forest clearing, and didn't come fully awake until the next morning.  He barely ate, despite the others' efforts to get him to, and then sat down on the ground under a tree, seeming to fall asleep sitting up.  It wasn't until much later, when he finally opened his eyes and spoke, that the other three realized he had been in a trance, gathering his energy and magnifying his magic.  He had been concentrating for a teleportation spell, which he knew how to do, but was very difficult and exhausting for people who didn't specifically train for it.  He had little use for it and hardly thought of it, focusing more on learning and practicing attack, defense, and healing spells.  Teleporting a group instead of just himself was even trickier.

When he finally was ready to cast the spell, the four of them and Gateau's body disappeared and then reappeared as far up Saint Hordic Mountain as was possible.  Wards put up to keep the village secret and Sorcerers out wouldn't let them teleport to the village itself.  There were people waiting for them there, as in his trance, Marron had sent a mental alert to anyone listening that they would soon come, and that they needed help getting a body to the village.  He had hoped to God that his plea would be heard, and was relieved to find that it had been.

He had collapsed again as they appeared on the mountain, his energy completely spent.  The next thing he knew, he was in his own bed at the Glace residence a few hours later, his father sitting in a chair on his left and his brother standing over him on his right.  Gateau had been buried the day after they arrived, but Marron did not attend the funeral.  He had witnessed his violent death; to see his burial would have been too much.

He had barely come out of his room for the five days since they arrived.  He seemed to be in deep shock, for he had not only lost his best friend, but the woman he had so quickly found himself in love with had been taken away only a few minutes later.  If someone else was in the room with him, he barely spoke, if at all, and seemed to hear what they said to them even less.  He had barely eaten at all, and from the looks of him, hadn't been sleeping much, either. Everyone was worried.  Mama had sent a message conveying her deep sadness from the recent death, and that the Sorcerer Hunters should stay in the village for as long as it took Marron to recover, as he had been the one hit the hardest.

Carrot found himself staring at the outside of Marron's door, contemplating if he should knock or not.  Marron had hardly seemed to notice him all the other times he had come in, and he was wondering if leaving him alone for a while would be better.  He was just about to turn away when the sound of breaking glass inside the room reached his ears.  Alarmed, imagining the worst, he grasped the knob and opened the door.

Marron was standing by the small reading and writing table on one side of the room, shattered glass and water on the floor by his feet.  Tira and Chocolat had brought in a glass and a pitcher of water a little while ago, hoping he would at least drink something, worried that he was most likely becoming dehydrated.  He looked up, regarding Carrot with dull eyes as his older brother came through the door.

"The condensation on the outside of the glass made it slip from my fingers," he said flatly, almost in a monotone.  He reminded Carrot of those being controlled by some malevolent puppet spell.  "There is no need for you to be alarmed, Carrot…"  He was speaking very softly as well, and Carrot found he almost couldn't understand him, even in the otherwise silent room.

Carrot looked at him a minute, then came fully into the room and closed the door.  Marron was wearing all black, the mourning color, a stark contrast to the all-white he usually wore, and the clothes he was wearing looked like he had been in them for at least three or four days.  His long hair looked like it hadn't been brushed for quite a long time, and there were dark circles under his eyes, standing out very sharply against his pale skin.  If Carrot looked closely, he could see Marron was shaking from lack of sleep and nourishment.  He had obviously been neglecting to look after himself since they got here.

"There is too a need for me to be alarmed," he replied, his voice much more serious than was normally heard from him.  "You're a strong and healthy man, Marron, but keep treating yourself like you have been the past several days, and you'll end up killing yourself."

Marron sighed and turned, walking toward the bed.  "I am fine, Carrot," he said, sitting down on the edge of the mattress.  "I don't need your concern.  I—"

"Yes, you do!" Carrot interrupted.  "If you don't start eating and sleeping right again, you'll waste away into nothing!"

"I said, I am fine, Carrot," Marron said again, looking at Carrot through the hair that fell over his face.  "Please, leave if all you're going to do is rail at me how I'm 'killing myself'."

Carrot felt a rush of anger at those words.  "You idiot!" he cried.  "You think the rest of us don't care for you?!  You think having you die on us would be easy for us to take?!  We've already lost Gateau!  We don't want to lose you, too!"

Marron quickly stood up and went to the window, standing with his back to his brother, looking out.  Carrot noticed he was gripping the windowsill tightly.

"Sorry," Carrot said quietly.  "I didn't mean to upset you.  But, you have to realize that you should take care of yourself."  He had walked over to Marron, and placed a gentle hand on his back between the shoulder blades.  "You're my brother, Marron…I can't help but worry, and I've been worrying about you so much, that I feel sick sometimes."

"I-I know," Marron said, his voice thin, "and I appreciate it, but…I…"  His knees gave out, and he slowly began to sink to the floor.  Carrot instinctively caught him, not wanting him to hurt himself, and lowered him down to his knees on the floor.  He realized with a shock that Marron was crying.  "I just can't make myself take care…!" Marron whispered shakily.  "I lost two of the most important people in my life only a few minutes apart…I feel like I want to die myself!"

"I know you do," Carrot said, holding his younger brother in a tight hug, hoping it was reassuring.  "But, you have to fight your way through this, recover from your sorrow.  None of us want to lose you, too, Marron.  I'll do everything I can to help you, and I know everyone else will, too.  Don't throw your life away like this.  There is still so much more I know you want to do with your life.  Please don't cast the chance to accomplish those things aside like this."

Marron made a halfhearted attempt to dry his eyes, though more tears soon followed.  Carrot's serious side rarely came out, and it was usually in times of crisis or trauma for either him or those he cared about.  Marron was extremely grateful for Carrot's presence at that moment.  He let his tears flow quietly, running down his cheeks and either dripping off his chin or running down his neck to dampen his high collar.

"C'mon," Carrot said after several minutes.  "Let's get up on the bed.  You'll be more comfortable there."

Marron nodded and let Carrot pull him into a standing position.  He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, but before Carrot could do so, he swung his legs up onto the mattress as well and lay down, his head resting against the feather pillow lying near the headboard.  The bed hadn't been made in several days, so it looked quite askew.

Carrot sat down on the edge about level with Marron's waist.  The thought that he may be able to get Marron into a decent sleep tugged at his brain.

"I can't do this alone, Brother," Marron murmured, his voice still shaking, tears still making their way from his eyes.  "Ever since…Gateau died and Cerise left, I've felt so empty.  I feel like…I feel like my insides are gone, like my soul has left me, like everything important to me has gone.  I-I know that's not true…I still have you and Father and everyone else, but…I just can't get myself to even try to recover…"

Carrot nodded, taking Marron's hand and squeezing it.  "You know I'll always be here for you, Marron," he said.  "So will Pop and Tira and Chocolat and Big Mama and everyone else.  If you need anything, you just have to ask.  We'll all help you through this, no matter what else comes to pass.  You're our top priority right now, and you will be until you've pulled out of this."

"You promise…?" Marron asked, a pleading look in his deep black eyes.  The veins in the whites were beginning to stand out from the tears, and he looked and sounded almost timid.  Carrot was strongly reminded of the shy, easily upset little boy Marron had started out as.

"Yes, I promise," Carrot replied, squeezing Marron's hand again.

"Thank you, Brother," Marron said softly.  It was silent for a few minutes after that, and Marron suddenly yawned, making Carrot smile.

"I'll bet you're exhausted," the older brother said, hoping to lighten the mood a little.  "You should get some rest.  It's not good to not sleep well for as long as you have."

"Yes," Marron said, "I should.  And, you're right; I am exhausted…I haven't been able to let myself sleep much since we got here."

"Let yourself sleep, then," Carrot said, standing up.  "You'll do that, won't you?  For me, if nothing else?"

Marron nodded slowly.

"Good," Carrot said, smiling again.  "Maybe after you wake up, you should go take a bath?  I always find a bath helps me out of a slump, and I bet it'll help you, too.  Besides, Marron, you haven't taken those clothes off for at least four days, right?  I'm sure you feel at least a little grungy by now."

Marron managed a small smile.  Carrot was right.  After five days of doing virtually nothing, he did feel like a rat's nest, and knew Carrot's suggestion of a bath making him feel better was probably right on the money.

"You oughta eat a good meal, too," Carrot continued.  "Get your energy up again.  And…"  He looked around the room, which was far from messy, but could stand a cleaning up.  There was that broken glass on the floor, the unmade bed, the clothes Marron had arrived in abandoned on the floor, and such.  "Maybe get your room straightened up?  It'll feel good to be active again, and this room won't exactly take a lot of time to clean up, but it's better than nothing."

Marron felt his smile widen, and realized his tears had stopped.  This was so odd.  It was usually him giving Carrot advice, not the other way around.  The circumstances here were rather unusual, but still…Carrot was much more mature and level-headed than was normal for him.

"All right, Brother," Marron said.  "I'll do as you suggest."

"That's my little brother," Carrot grinned, ruffling his hair much like he did when they were kids.  "I'll leave you alone now."  A moment later, the door clicked shut behind him.

Marron lay there a moment in thought, going over the conversation in his head.  A few minutes after Carrot left, he closed his eyes and willed himself to relax, letting sleep slowly overcome him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that day…

Marron knelt on the ground in the village graveyard, his eyes downcast.  This was the first time he had visited Gateau's grave.  In fact, it was the first time he had set foot outside since coming to the village.  His hair was still a little wet from being washed, and his scalp still tingled a bit from working the snarls out of his hair.  Carrot had been right.  After a good sleep, a bath, giving his room a cleaning, and eating a regular meal, he felt much better on the outside.  He was still aching severely on the inside, but the grief was still much too immediate to be alleviated.  He had done what he could for now.

He reached out and ran his fingers lightly over the letters carved into the gravestone, reading and rereading them over and over and over again.  He felt his eyes sting again, and the tears began to fall.  He had requested he be alone, and the others had respected that wish, and were waiting for him to return back at the house.

"I'm so sorry, my friend," he whispered, his tears falling onto the soil of the new grave, grass not yet having had a chance to start growing in the days since it was dug.  He said nothing more, letting his tears convey his sorrow, his tall and slender form hunched over.  His long hair fell over his face, and a few tears were caught, disappearing into the fine, pitch-black strands.

He knelt there a long time, grieving openly.  Finally, as the sun set and night began to creep over the mountain town, he stood up and started off toward the village proper, walking slowly.

He had no idea where or how far Viande had taken Cerise.  He may have no chance of finding her, and even if he did, the Sorcerer would do everything in his power to keep him away, perhaps opting to kill him before he had a chance to do anything.  Marron had the power and ability to fight off and kill many individual Sorcerers in the world, but he had sensed exceptional power in Viande, and Cerise had told him that her fiancé was expected to surpass the average Sorcerer easily.  Plus, the strength and wrath of Viande's jealousy made him very dangerous, regardless his level of power or skill.

And, I am a Sorcerer Hunter, Marron though, nearing the house.  I must always put my work ahead of my personal wishes.  I willingly took that commitment, and there's no way I can back out.  Being a Sorcerer Hunter is too important to me, no matter how much I want to find Cerise.  As he opened the front door and entered, watching as everyone inside turned to look at him, he made a promise to himself.  He could not abandon his duties as a Sorcerer Hunter, but he would spend as much time and effort as he possibly could until he found Cerise again.  The task was daunting, so many factors coming to play to decide how difficult finding her would be, but he swore to himself that he wouldn't give up.

"Marron?" he heard his father say, and looked up.  Onion was standing a few feet in front of him, looking down into his face.  "Are you all right, Son?"

"Yes, Father," Marron nodded.  "I'll be all right."

To be continued…

Author's Notes:  Augh!  This chapter is so late!  I haven't updated this fic or "The Sacred and the Profane" for weeks!  The holidays got in my way, and I've just now been able to start writing again!  I'm so sorry for keeping you all waiting! *bows apologetically*  Plus, I don't know if this chapter is my best work. ;_;  Please tell me what you think!  I hope some of you are kind enough to try to boost my opinion of this! *crosses fingers and hopes people like chapter*  I got really stuck on some parts, and felt like giving up until another day, but I had kept you guys waiting for too long already.  Let me know what you think in a review or an email to mangareader@hotmail.com, onegai shimasu!  Oh, and if you read TSatP, too, or you know someone who does, I'll probably write a new chapter for that one this next weekend (the weekend of the seventeenth of January), hopefully having it posted by Sunday.