Lok: Oh, hello everyone! Pike's kinda not here at the moment. You could say he's kinda tangled up at the moment.
Pike: inside the closet and tied up Lok! Lemme outta here!
Lok: Did you hear something? I'm sure I did… Must be the wind coming through the windows.
Pike: LOKHART!!!!!
Lok: Well, last time, Alex and Mia first met, and Mia was overjoyed that Alex got to stay! Let's continue from where Pike and I left off.
Disclaimer: Pike Anderson does not own Golden Sun, and neither does Lokhart.
Lok: Yeah, yeah. None of us do.
Pike: Gee… I wonder if Lok's wondering why I made an Alex/Mia fic – even though it's only a third of the fic…
Lok: Yeah, you're probably right…
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Chapter 6: "How will I survive?"
Mia led Alex back to where her two young friends Justin and Megan were. The two children were almost never apart, nor hardly ever separated. They looked up to Mia for taking her father's art of healing. Nevertheless, Mia only ever wanted them for friends – not followers – of hers. She introduced Alex to the two.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Alex!" they chorused, nearly at once.
Alex laughed. "No, no, you two. I'm 'Alex,' not 'Mr. Alex,' okay?" He was only a head taller than them, even though he was still only older by a few years. He still needed to kneel down to look at them at eyelevel. "And I hope you will consider me a friend too."
"Yay!" Justin and Megan gave each other a jumping high-five. "Alex wants to be our friend!"
Mia couldn't help but release a suppressed giggle. She too knelt down in front of them. "Well, now. How about if you two, Alex, and me all together help make the snowman? If we work together, we can make him just as tall as the Mercury Lighthouse!"
"Yes! Let's do that!"
Both Megan and Justin gave Mia a big hug. And Mia returned theirs with her own, wrapping her arms around their backs. Alex stood over them, smiling. It was nice to see such friends like a family…
Then, that thought crossed his mind. Family… He found his grin fading and he himself faced away from them, while the three below him took no notice. He found himself thinking about his own family, which is something he knew he shouldn't be doing. What he should be doing is thinking of a way to say he had a family, and he was separated from them.
And that moment came all too soon.
"Excuse me, Alex," Mia said quietly, moving herself and him away from Justin and Megan for a moment, "but what happened to you? Where's your family?"
"My family? Well…" Alex thought. "It's kind of a long story."
Mia smiled with a hint of mischief. "I'm not going anywhere."
Alex smiled, equally smug. "You've got your little friends over there, waiting for you."
Mia's grin finally faded. "Honestly, Alex… What happened? Were you abandoned?"
So did Alex's. "Well… No, I wasn't. My parents were merchants, and we got separated in the blizzard. How? Not even I know that." He looked away, gazing far beyond where the eye could see. "…How will I survive, out here… alone?"
The girl smiled at him, her blue eyes shining as she did. "You will survive. If my father doesn't let you stay for free, you can become an apprentice to someone here!" All of a sudden, her voice became quiet and shy again. "You… won't leave, will you?"
He smiled. "Haven't I already answered that?"
"…Yes, you did."
"Come on, Mia!" Justin whined.
"Yeah! We're waiting a hundred hours for you!" Megan exaggerated. "Won't you puh-wease join us?"
Mia laughed. "Okay, okay. I'm coming!"
The two older ones looked at each other again. Each breathed out a little laugh and turned around. …Except, Mia's father stood in the way. Alex swallowed – hard. Mia tried to keep an innocent smile. Her father didn't look very pleased, and he turned to face Alex.
"Alex – that is your name, right?" he said.
"Y-Yes, sir," Alex stammered.
"Well, boy, I'd like you to come with me, please." The stone-faced man turned to his daughter. "You may go along and play with the kids, Mia. This is a matter between your new friend and myself alone."
The blue-haired girl looked at her new friend in concern, but she said nothing. After a moment, she slowly turned around and walked off to play with Justin and Megan. As for Alex… Mia's father led him back to the cottage. Upon entering, the father gently closed the door. He turned to the frightened Alex (he's still a kid, remember.)
"How old are you, boy?" he asked, a harsh tone filling it.
"I'm…" He had to think about that. He wasn't sure if the enchantment of his people was already wearing off him. Glancing at himself, he saw that it was. He didn't look like a young child. He looked more like he was about to enter adolescence. Yes. He actually looked eleven, now. "I'm eleven years old, sir."
"Hmm… About Mia's age, eh? Well then, boy, you're going to have to pull your own weight around here. You're going to have to take up a craft."
"…What craft did you have in mind, sir?"
Through that stone-cold expression, the father smiled. "I was thinking about taking you in as my apprentice. I am a defender of this village, and the lighthouse, if you've already seen it. It's a sacred place, and it should never be disturbed."
Alex was still unsure. But after thinking about it, he smiled. "Very well, sir. I will become your apprentice."
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Lok: Well that ends this chapter. It's been awhile since Pike updated this.
Pike: I guess I'm gonna have to thank a few people…
Lok: Hey! Copycat! …Wait a second. How did you get outta that closet???
Pike: For me to know and you never to find out
Lok: You're copying my Special Thanks in my fics!!!
Pike: Not really… I'm only thanking you and BB, because you're the only ones I have to thank.
Lok: Meh…
Pike: And thanks to all you reviewers out there too! Much appreciated!
It's nearly summer time, y'all! I'll try to get up as many chapters as I can to complete all three parts of this story, okey-day? Peazowt!