All About Runes:Chapter 4

That night, everybody in the castle gathered themselves in the spacious dining room for the special dishes Mamie was to make to celebrate the sudden arrival of the new guests. Everybody was present that night. And since they were in huge numbers, they occupied the three long huge tables.

The first table consisted mostly of Grasslanders; the second one consisted of Harmonians and the last table consisted of the Zexens and the people of the castle. With just one look at the dining room, one could notice the great difference within each of the separate tables. The Grassland men were speaking and laughing at the same time while the women chatted around merrily. The Zexen and Budehuc table were talking to each other in a soft manner and stayed silent most of the time. The Harmonian table was the most silent of them; the people were whispering softly amongst themselves as they studied the surroundings. Yet most of them stayed silent too.

When it was already time for dinner, several waiters walked in the dining room as they carried several large and tall covered dishes to the different tables. After the food was set up, everybody took off the cover of the food as their mouths watered. Mamie was the best cook in the whole Grassland and Zexen, so everybody didn't waste their time on gobbling the different kinds delicious food that seemed to glow bright on it's porcelain dishes.

"Here Roland! You too Thomas! An' this here too!!......" Leo blabbered continuously while giving out some food; unaware of the constant stares the people were giving him.

Roland stayed silent as he stared at the dripping large meat Leo had thrown carelessly on his plate; silently wishing it could've landed somewhere else. After a few more moments of his silence, a person spoke up.

"Err..." Borus' sudden voice made him look at the blonde knight. "Are you--- er---finishing that, Roland?"

Roland saw that Borus was looking at the meat.

"It's ok, you can have it." Roland replied as he pushed his plate towards Borus.

"Are you sure it's ok?" Borus said as he studied at the elf carefully.

"Yes, it's ok. I'm just in no mood to eat."

Borus merely nodded and sliced it in two, putting the other half on his plate. Then he said: "I'll just get half of it, so you can eat the other half, don't starve yourself Roland."

The elf closed his eyes as nodded silently. When he opened his eyes, he began to eat the meat, SLOWLY. It did taste good though, for him. There's just this thought that always held him back when he wanted to eat it. After finishing the slice of food, he left his eating utensils on his plate and looked around the table.

Lady Chris was sitting silently, chewing on the small piece of ham that she took from her scarcely filled plate ('Was she on a diet?'). Percival was drinking wine as he ate some fish ('so typical of Percival'). And the half drunk Leo was gobbling on almost all the food on the table (No questions asked). Roland felt tired and started to stand.

"Roland." Percival called to the elf. "Leaving so soon? The dinner has just begun, you know."

Roland closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm in no mood for that. Pardon me, but I'll be retiring earlier today." Then he left.

"What's wrong with him?" Percival faced Borus.

Borus merely shrugged and continued to eat his dinner.

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'It is soooo boring..." Faye said as she sat eating a little piece of ham she stole from the High Priest beside him. 'The guy didn't even notice!.....Ugh...This is it!'

And with one swoop the little blonde lady forked away the whole ham from Sasarai's plate while he was looking away. Giggling mischievously, she placed it on the empty platter of the chilled shrimp that was already eaten up a while ago and poured the whole case of hot sauce on it.

Sasarai's head snapped at her direction and he looked nonchalant. "Fine, it's yours."

Faye felt disappointed. He REALLY wasn't going to put a fight?? That's odd...'Oh Well, there's always Nash.' she looked at the person beside Luna, who was in front of her, to see Nash eating silently. When Faye glanced beside her on her left, she noticed Sierra with her head on her hand, silently twisting the vegetables around the soup on the bowl. Beside the vampire was Sarah, and in front of the blonde mage was Luc. Luna, who was sipping on her soup, was silent. Unlike Scarlette, whose eyes twinkled as she ate on probably every kind of dish she placed on her plate. And of course there was always Stefan, whose hobby was probably to flatter every girl he met. When she looked beside her, she saw the High Priest talking silently with her older sister.

She sighed as she twisted a lock of hair absentmindedly. She knew the High Priest liked her sister, yet she didn't know if her sister liked him back. The High Priest was an old friend of her family, and he was probably one of the very few who didn't mistreat them immediately after they knew her and her sister's real family origin.

'Everyone's so boring today...' she sighed and pushed her chair back.

"Where are you going, Faye? If you disappear like last time again, your sister will have a heart attack." Nash spoke in a low voice.

"Oh don't mind her. It's her choice anyway. And she's old enough to make her own decisions. Just don't bring us to be shook awake early tomorrow to look for you again." Sierra said as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

Faye smiled and crept away silently.

"That little girl has grown much...She's one of them isn't she?" Sierra said silently to the spy in front of her.

"Yes. And for some reason, I like her better than her sister too, even though she's a little rebellious, very unlikely for her kind." He replied as she watched the young girl close the entrance door silently.

"Me too." Sierra sat up straight and sipped wine from her goblet. She glanced at the pale blonde girl beside her who was eating silently and then at the expressionless Luc in front of the blonde mage. She had become acquainted with the True Rune bearer a few years ago in the Dunan Unification War. But even at that time, if she'd remembered correctly, he had been silent and reserved, rarely speaking to anyone. As if he changed whatsoever.

And one time while she was one her way to this castle a few months ago, she had met, or rather, saw the pale (yet again) blonde mage sitting by the lake near some ruins. Sierra was still on her 'other' form that day, so it was easier to study her. Sierra thought she was a vampire at first, with her pale features and all. But her clothes and staff didn't make her look like one. Sierra wondered who she was and what she was doing here. She was probably in some connection to Luc, with the way they were acting. Not that she cared anyway.

'Why did I even bother going here anyway? As if the food would make any difference.' Sierra sighed and glanced out the window.

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On one end of the grassland table, Hugo and Fubar were fighting over an extra large slice of meat. Fubar was biting the other end and Hugo's fork was pulling it from the other side. Lucia and Aila tried stopping them, even suggesting that they just share. It was hopeless.

"Fubarrr...Give it to----me—" Hugo said as he pulled with all his might.

Fubar just pulled harder.

"Fuuu---barrr---Just this---once-----It's----mine!!" Hugo thought he won.

Alas, a sound of something ripping was heard. The large slice of meat was ripped in half because of their constant pulling. Now they had no choice but to eat their share. Lucia and Aila sighed in relief.

"I wondered when it would break." Lucia mumbled.

"Yeah...Uhm..." Aila blushed and looked down. "...Chief Lucia, I have something to ask. But uh...I don't think this is...er...not the proper place."

"Is it important?"

"It's---It's about me...There's just something wrong about me..."

"Ok, we'll talk later."

Aila nodded and concentrated on eating her food, unaware of a faint yellow glow that emitted from her stomach.

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Faye walked aimlessly around the castle top's wide terrace. She'd grabbed a box of muffins in the kitchen before heading out the castle. For a moment she didn't know where she would go, and upon discovering the empty space on the top of the castle, she immediately went there. The terrace was a wide space, and although it was lacking a few more lampposts, it fortunately had several benches around.

'Probably another added place...' she thought as she went near the edge and looked down the balcony railing before sitting down one of the benches near the edge. It was a little windy and cold up there, a perfect place for relaxing. She silently munched on one of the muffins as she closed her eyes, leaned back and let the wind play with her blonde twirls. It was really good to be up there, with nobody disturbing.

She stayed like that for a moment, with her emerald robes fluttering around before she felt a blade on her throat. She immediately went alert.

"Don't move." A low voice mumbled on her ear.

"So what? You're going to kill me?" Faye snapped back, crossing her arms. "As if I care."

The blade slowly moved away from her throat as he felt the person move away from her. She immediately turned around and summoned her staff in front of her. It was hard to see the person at first, but then she discovered there were actually two people. The person holding the blade was a tall guy in black with his long blonde hair in a braid, his face covered by his black hat. The other man was a redhead in white robes with his face hidden in darkness. The second figure seemed familiar somehow, but she couldn't quite put her finger around it.

"Hmph. Not so bad for a mage. I can't wait..." The man in black said as another blade slid down from other sleeve, appears he had twin blades. Faye readied herself for a spell.

"Wait Yuber." The other man said. "I think..."

The redhead stepped out of the dark, totally revealing his full figure. Faye had the blank look on her face. 'Is that----?'

And upon realizing the truth, she spared no time and leaped into the arms of the redhead and hugged him tight.

"Brother Albert!!!!" Faye squealed in delight. "Where've you been?!"

Albert had a closed his eyes and hugged her back. "I knew you looked very familiar. I'm sorry little princess, I didn't recognize you."

"You know her, Albert?" Yuber said.

"Yes, I'm a family friend of hers. So you may keep those blades of yours. She may be of assistance too." Albert replied.

"Why? What's wrong?" Faye said as she glanced at the two.

Albert explained the situation to the little lady. Just a few days ago, some odd blind lady 'visited' them. The 'blind lady' told the both of them to head here because what they were looking for were here, and that the seer there would help them. But the strategist thought that simply walking in would not work.

"Oh I know the seer! She just arrived this morning too! Her name's Yun, maybe I can call her here and let her talk to you." Faye exclaimed brightly.

"That would be great. Can you do that without being suspicious now, little princess?" Albert asked.

"You're underestimating my talents. Of course I can! And quit calling me that, I'm not a kid anymore." She frowned slightly. "By the way, where are you two going to stay tonight?"

"We plan to stay here until then."

"That won't do! You can stay in my room!" she offered.

Yuber, who had been silent, snorted. "I'd rather stay here."

"Fine then! It's your choice anyway. But I promise it's not comfortable here."

"Don't mind him. He'll really stay here anyway." Albert said.

"It's a good thing you know that. Then again, what don't you know?" Yuber's blue eye glanced at the strategist.

Faye ignored the man. "So you'll be staying in my room, brother Albert. And that's final! You know better than to argue with me!"

Albert closed his eyes. "I'm sorry princess, people might see me. And besides, your sister might see me."

Faye grinned. "You really underestimate me. I've BEEN practicing magic, you know. And a door separates our rooms anyway. You're staying there so quit arguing with me. And your friend can stay there too, it's big enough."

Albert sighed.

"Ok then, I'll stay there for now but I doubt he will. " Albert then faced Yuber. "You ok here?"

"Most comfortable." Yuber replied before going back to the shadows.

"So...how do we get there without being noticed?" Albert asked.

Faye stood in front of him and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she waved her staff and light surrounded Albert. When the lights disappeared, Faye opened her eyes and smiled.

"Now you're invisible. So we can go back to my room without getting you noticed. Don't worry about getting bumped by people, almost all the residents are in the dining room celebrating." Faye faced the shadows. "Are you sure he'll be ok here?"

"Without a doubt."

"Ok then, let's go back, it's starting to get hot already." The girl walked towards the exit, with Albert in tow.

"Hot? I think you may have worn too much of your robes princess. It's cold here." The man replied.

Faye grinned sheepishly. "Maybe. Come on!"

And with that the girl walked quickly down the steps, pulling the strategist down with him.

When they arrived at the Faye's room, she immediately closed the door and locked it with a swing of her hand. She went straight to the door that separated her room from her sister Farrah's and sealed it.

"Ok feel free to use anything, brother Albert. I'll be back in a minute." Faye said as she went to a door at the far corner of the spacious room that led to the bathroom.

Albert took the time to explore her huge room. From his view by the door, there were several messed up boxes piled up in the middle. Her large bed was stationed at the far left corner. There was a side table beside it and a few spaces beside that was her wooden dresser. Her large cabinet was a few spaces left of the door. At the right side were two doors, one that led to Farrah's room. And the other one led to the bathroom.

Albert walked along the carpeted floor and sat down the door in front of the dresser. He laid his head in his arms on the dresser and closed his eyes. He didn't expect the Milian sisters to be there at the castle. What WERE they doing here? And since Faye is here, Farrah's probably here too...and probably their 3 favorite cousins too. How did they manage to escape Harmonia? Last time he went there, almost everyplace had guards channeled.

When he was around 16 years old, his uncle brought him to the Milian mansion to stay for a week because his brother Ceasar was studying nearby. His Uncle was Faye's grandfather's close friend. And his uncle and grandfather Milian always went out in the morning, leaving him to stay with Farrah and Faye. Farrah was 8 yrs. old then, while Faye was 7 yrs. old. Farrah was more of the silent and reserved type; she rarely spoke and always checked if her younger sister was ok. Faye was friendlier and liked to talk with him. The latter got close to him during his stay though. She was more unfeminine, not exactly a tomboy perse, but most of the things she enjoyed were outdoor activities and she didn't like to be idle at all times. And when they go back to the mansion, she would always be covered by dirt and mud. Hell, she was even more active than him! They always hung out in their large garden and talked about almost all of the things, even runes and wars. Sometimes, they would fight using swords; sometimes he would help her practice magic. But most of the time, they played Chess; a game that 1st class Harmonian citizens always play. She was a cunning one too.

After that visit, they rarely visited the Milian mansion again. But when they were to say their farewells again, Faye entrusted crystal glass chess piece to him. The Queen. She told him that the chess piece would be his good luck charm in his battles since he wanted to be a strategist. And since the Queen had the most moves in the chess game, it gave multiple chances for the bearer to be victorious. But if he didn't come back to beat her though, she would always be better than him. Right now, the crystal glass chess piece was still with him. He made it his necklace over the years and it was still hanging around his neck.

"Hey!" A loud voice broke his chain of thoughts.

When Albert turned around, Faye was already in her usual sleeping clothes. An empress cut loose pale green silk robe that ended just below her knees and an overlarge velvet dark teal hooded robe that seemed too heavy for her. She left her hair down leaving her perfectly twirled blonde locks cascading down her back. She was standing in front of him with her hands on her waist and a silly grin on her face.

"See? I made a larger version of my childhood sleeping robes." Faye whirled around to show him and plopped on the ground. "But my robe's a little heavy though..."

"Spoiled Brat." Albert mumbled and tousled her hair on habit.

Faye glared at him. "Am not! And you KNOW I hate it when people touch my hair! So quit that!"

Albert chuckled and sat back. "By the way, how did you end up here anyway? I thought you were forbidden to leave?"

Faye looked out the window and then up at him. "Well, you can say we escaped actually. Nash helped us escape last night. He had help from his friend so it was a lot easier."

"You're using this castle as hideout aren't you?" Albert asked.

Faye's gaze was cast down when she replied. "You know how we felt there. We felt really alone and locked, especially me. No other people came to visit us except our cousins. Everything was strict and limited. The only time we got little freedom was when you visited. And after that it was back to the usual. This time we want to escape; I want to escape MY destiny. We were taught watch the world as time passes. I don't want to waste my time training while I CAN STILL use it...you know better...you know what'll be happening to me soon...And yes, they're still looking for us probably everywhere, I just hope they won't be able to arrive here soon...But until then, I'll just---enjoy my stay here then." She looked up and smiled.

Albert looked down at her. "So...how do we sleep?"

"Er..." Faye looked away and laughed nervously. "I haven't really thought of that...but we'll find a way!"

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"OK, Now that's done!" Faye exclaimed happily as she glanced carefully at Albert's 'bed'.

Since Faye's bed was in two cushions, they took one and laid it beside her bed on the ground. She gave one of her many pillows and her extra blanket to him and laid it on his 'bed'.

"I told you it would be easy! Now let's go to sleep, I'm...yawn...sleepy already." The mage said as she climbed her bed.

"Ok..." Albert took off his coat and folded it neatly on the dresser. He laid on his bed and started to sleep when he remembered something. "Faye...what if somebody knocks?"

But the lady was already asleep. Albert ignored the thought and slept, thinking that they wouldn't be suspicious anyway.

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After the dinner, the elder people stayed at the dining room and drank the night away while other residents went back to their respective rooms and tried to sleep, thinking to sleep the night away peacefully. They were wrong.

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Two loud screams erupted that night at the castle, rattling some people from their sleep. One was from the just built 3rd floor rooms; the other was heard from the second floor. Sgt. Joe, Thomas and surprisingly Luna (who was nearby) immediately went to the source at the second floor and found themselves to be in front of the closed door of the room shared by Nei and Shabon.

Thomas looked at Sgt. Joe to see him prepare his weapon while Luna stood a few distances away. The duck nodded, signaling Thomas to open the door.

'Please don't let this be an enemy...Please---not---' Thomas was cut off when he opened the door completely, revealing Shabon crouching on one side of the bed, trying to peep on the other side.

Sgt. Joe faltered. "Er...Shabon?"

Shabon's head snapped back. She ran to the doorway and pointed to the other side of the bed where she was a moment ago.

"It's Nei! She's changed!! Look! Look!" Shabon exclaimed to Thomas and Sgt. Joe.

Thomas glanced at Shabon then at Sgt. Joe. "Uhm..." Thomas mumbled.

"I'll do it." Sgt Joe sighed and walked forward. When he reached the bed, he paused for a moment before walking towards the corner of the bed slowly. The sight before him was astonishing. On the floor was like a Mini version of Nei. She had the same eyes, hairstyle and clothes, as if she had changed and became her 4-year old self. She was kneeling on the floor and was fumbling a big banjo in front of her, which was probably hers.

Sgt. Joe was speechless. When the child finally saw him, she stood up with difficulty and stared back at the duck.

"Gah!!" Thomas immediately stepped back as he saw the child.

"What the--!?" Luna exclaimed as she ran towards doorway.

When (chibi) Nei heard the sound at the doorway, she brightened and squealed. She ran past Sgt. Joe and straight towards them. Thomas gasped and rushed away from the doorway and stopped a few spaces away outside, with Shabon hiding behind him.

"What happen---happened to N—Nei?!" Thomas stuttered.

"I—d---d---don't know. I woke up when I f---felt somebody pulling my ear. When I o---opened my eyes, She was th---there...!" Shabon replied shakily.

When Nei was near Luna, she accidentally tripped; the older girl immediately kneeled to catch her. Nei peeked from Luna's arms and smiled. She plopped on the floor and fumbled something on her pocket. She presented her closed fist to the lady and opened her hand to reveal a small banjo figurine. The child cocked her head to one side as if the tell her to take it.

Luna smiled and took the figurine from the child.

"Your name's Nei?" Luna said tenderly.

The little girl stood up and bowed, and then she opened her arms to the older lady.

Luna chuckled and put her arms around the child, pulling her up. Nei put her arms around Luna and made a childish sound. The lady chuckled and held her tight. Thomas, Sgt. Joe, and Shabon, who were all silent before, went near the lady and stared at the child.

"So what do you think happened?" Shabon said.

"I don't know..." Thomas shook his head then glanced at Sgt. Joe. "What do you suppose we do now?"

Sgt. Joe shrugged. "Let's try bringing her to one of the mages here in the castle tomorrow."

Luna nodded while Nei looked questioningly at the group.

"Exactly which mage is that?" Thomas asked.

Sgt. Joe looked at the floor for a moment before speaking. "I'd hate to say this, but let's try the True Wind bearer first. He's bound to know what's happened. But for now, let's try call it a night and try to sleep."

"So...who's going to take care of Nei for the night?" Thomas asked.

"Obviously me." Luna replied.

"Ok, that's settled. Let's go back before we disturb anybody else. I'm tired of being shook awake by that Lilly lady."

Sgt. Joe started nodded and walked past them with Thomas and Luna in tow.

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Salome put on his sleeping robe and walked out of his room. The last thing he needed was trouble that night. He had arrived late at the dinner with Joker, Jimba and Dios to discover that most of the food had been eaten to half already. He had barely eaten during the day and was very tired to deal more trouble.

He stopped in front of Leo and Roland's room and wondered what could have happened and how a woman could have gotten in their room to scream that loud. He started to change his mind about opening the door, thinking he would dread a sight.

'Might as well do it, since I'm here anyway...' Salome thought as he opened the door to see a just waking up Leo on his bed and a startled Viki standing in the middle of the room staring unbelievingly at Roland's empty bed.

"Lady Viki? What's wrong?" Salome asked. Glancing from her, to Leo and then to Roland's empty bed.

Viki stood straight and stared back at Salome. She stood there for a long time before Salome finally noticed the difference.

"You're not Lady Viki, are you?" Salome finally muttered.

"As a matter of fact, I am. But I am also not her. I am she of the future." Viki replied smiling.

Salome looked skeptical and was about to reply when he heard Leo suddenly jump out of his bed.

"Whoa! Ouch!" Leo stood up, held his throbbing head and glanced at Roland's once again empty bed.

"What's wrong?" Salome asked, walking towards Roland's bed. He stopped even before he arrived to his destination.

It seems that Roland's bed wasn't empty at all. Beneath the covers was a small elf-looking child sleeping rather unchild-like. He was facing the ceiling with his eyes closed and arms crossed. He was wearing a small loose olive green turtleneck tunic tied with a belt and small loose black pants that ended with his small pointed boots. He looked awfully like Roland too.

Salome glanced and Leo. "What should we do now?"

Leo shrugged. "I dunno...wake him up and ask him?"

Salome glanced at the kid before reaching out to shake him gently. The child mumbled something in an unknown language then turned his back to Salome. Salome then shook him less gently this time. The kid moved away from his reach and pulled the covers over him. After a few minutes, Salome heard a faint sneeze and thought to shake him one last time. When he reached for the kid, the child immediately sat up, startling Salome and Leo as well.

Leo stared at the kid as the child glanced around drowsily.

"Hey...he looks a LOT like Roland, he has the same hair and earrings...." Leo mumbled then froze. "Oh no...don't tell me...."

"I'm afraid I think so Leo." Salome sighed and watched as the kid.

"What're we gonna do with him? We don't KNOW how to handle kids. And how did he become a child again anyway?" Leo mumbled as he walked up to the edge of the bed.

"I don't know myself...but we can ask the other mages tomorrow. But for now, maybe Miss Viki can take---" Salome glanced back to see that Viki had already disappeared.

"You mean Roland too?" A voice spoke up from the doorway.

Salome and Leo glanced at the doorway to see a funny sight.

Chris was standing at the doorway with Percival beside her. Percival was sweating and panting while Chris was holding what seemed to be a small blonde boy in her arms moving here and there, obviously giving Chris a hard time. The boy was laughing as he tried to reach for Percival while being pulled away by Chris.

"You two look a married couple who has just borne a child." Leo muttered wide-eyed.

Chris had a frown on her face as she laid the child on the bed and wiped some sweat on her forehead.

"I'm starting to think about 'grounding' Borus, if that's what you call it." Chris pulled Borus' hooded shirt to prevent him from running away again.

Percival walked towards the window and massaged his neck.

"I can't believe the 'Swordsman of Rage' wasn't really that bad-weathered when he was a kid. He's more of frenzied." Percival said.

"You mean the child is Borus? Why? What happened? "Salome asked.

"I don't know for sure." Percival leaned on the wall and crossed his arms. "I arrived at my room find my roommate gone and a hyper-active storm running around messing things up. Imagine my surprise when I found out the storm destroying things around was actually my roommate."

"Really now. He was worse." Chris muttered as she tried her best to 'tame' the child who was jumping around Leo's bed, jumping dangerously near the glass lamp.

"Will you stop it!?!?" Chris shouted, her patience run out.

Borus immediately stopped jumping and glanced at Chris before sitting down in Indian seat. He looked at Chris and pouted cutely with his lower lip out (A/N: Aww...I can almost imagine him...he's soooo cute!!). Chris stared at the kid for a long time before sighing then she smiled.

"Just behave, ok?" Chris muttered.

She gathered Borus in his arms and sat down herself. The 4-year-old boy stared in Chris's eyes and squealed. He sat still on her lap and laid his head on her shoulder as she rocked him slowly.

Leo and Salome who were watching Chris the whole time looked towards Percival's direction questioningly.

"She's been like that the whole time." Percival said then looked towards Chris's direction.

"It's a woman's habit, I guess..." Leo muttered.

"Yes, it seems like so." Salome replied before glancing back to see Roland sleeping once again.

"So what do we do with them?" Percival asked, walking towards Roland's bed where Chris was slowly putting down Borus' sleeping figure beside the elf and pulling the covers over them.

Salome shrugged. "I thought to ask one of the mages tomorrow, maybe they'll know what happened."

"That would be the best idea." Chris replied, as she stood straight.

"But...uh...who's going to look after them for the night?" Leo asked suddenly.

Everybody looked at Chris.

Chris faltered and stepped back. "You don't mean----but---but----I---I'm not trained for this. I---don't know anything!"

"We really hope we could do it, but we thought it would be better for a woman to do it, my lady." Leo said. "I'll try my best to provide assistance, although I am clueless as to what I should do."

"Guarding them isn't the real problem, handling them IF they wake up would be the real one." Percival said. "I've seen my mother handle little kids when I was a child myself."

"That's great then Percival! You can help Chris with the children." Leo exclaimed.

"Ok then, now that that's settled. Let's try sleeping, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Salome said as he stood up and yawned. "Sleep well." Salome said before leaving the room.

"Well...I guess I'll leave you two to occupy the room now, since you'll be looking after the kids. Is it ok if I just sleep in your room Percival?" Leo said.

"Sure, No problem. Good Night." Percival replied as the knight left the room.

Chris sat on the bed opposite the children and sighed. "So... What are we supposed to do now?"

Percival glanced at the children and smiled. "Nothing really. We just hope they don't wake up."

"And when they do?"

"It's better not to think of it now. You seem tired Lady Chris. It's all right if you rest for the night, I'll watch over them." Percival offered as he sat on a chair beside the children's bed.

"No...No, It's ok. I'm not tired." Chris replied.

"It's no use lying to me, my lady. You kept on yawning a few moments ago, and your eyes are betraying you."

"I never really could hide anything from you..." Chris smiled. "Is it really alright?"

"Of course."

"...Thank you..." Chris replied before lying down on the bed and closing her eyes, somehow feeling a disappointing feeling at the pit of her stomach.

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The next morning, the other residents found out about what happened to Nei, Roland and Borus. After discussing what to do, they decided to approach to True Wind rune bearer. Thomas, who knew the ways around the castle, led them all to Hugo's room. Nei, who was being carried by Luna, was playing on a small banjo Luna made for her overnight to keep her occupied from reaching for Stefan, who was accompanying her. Roland, who absolutely refused to be carried by anyone, walked in between Salome and Louis eerily as if the child was sentenced, while Borus was being carried by Chris and guided by Percival just in case the child would do something naughty.

When they arrived outside the True Wind Rune bearer's and also Hugo's door, Thomas started to knock but was caught off guard when the door instantly opened to reveal a woman with long curly red messed up hair tied at her nape in a large white collared shirt and men's breeches and boots.

"Scarlette!" Luna suddenly exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"They needed help." Scarlette replied, pointing inside the room. "What took all of you so long? We expected you would arrive earlier. Come in, Come in, there's an adorable little child inside."

Everyone was clueless but followed Scarlette in the room to find another surprise.

Floating in a very large green orb was a little version of Hugo. The child was laughing as he ran around the orb touching the walls at the same time receiving a large amount of air that blew to his face, blowing his hair back. He seemed enjoying too. Kneeling on the floor were Luc and Sarah, Luc had Sarah's hand in his as she winced and stared at something on her finger that was covered from the view of the door. After a few more moments, Luc let go of her and glanced around as if looking for something as Sarah stood up and held her hand tight to reveal a fairly large bite on her hand.

Luc started chanting and out of nowhere poofed a little version of Fubar. With a flick of his hand, Fubar was transported inside Hugo's orb as the Karayan child ran to the creature and hugged him.

"Naughty creature..." Sarah mumbled, blowing on her wound softly.

"As you can see, I have also discovered the unusual happenings in this castle." Luc said to the people that just arrived in the room. "And also...I do not know a cure."

"What do you mean? What happened to them?" Luna asked the True Wind Rune bearer.

Sarah moved beside Luc. "I tried analyzing what had happened to them during the night. Clearly this is all the work of a rune. Unfortunately, I couldn't decipher as to what kind or where the rune is. But until then, all we can do is take care of them and wait for the cure or for the rune to disappear."

"Disappear? How can the rune do that? Isn't it embedded?" Chris asked.

"Apparently not. If it was embedded, we could have detected them immediately." Luc replied.

"How could this happen? Did someone break in last night?" Thomas asked.

"Possible, but highly doubtful. I have a theory, but it is not yet a fact. I think that they may have eaten the rune." Sarah said.

Many violent reactions erupted, all similar to:

"But ALL of us ate that night!"

"Nothing happened to us."

"Eaten?! How----?!"

"I think...only the rune could affect only SOME people, not all. I DID feel some oddity in the food we ate last night." Sarah said.

Everybody was silent before somebody spoke up again.

"I don't know anything much about this. But maybe she's right." Louis spoke up.

Everybody looked at him.

"Uh...I mean---It's up to you. Don't mind me" Louis stepped back a step.

"Maybe Louis is right." Salome spoke up. "All we can do is take care of them anyway. But...how?"

"I know! We'll let them stay in one of the empty rooms, all of the kids! And we can visit them any time. Or maybe...we can have shifts." Scarlette suggested from the back of the room.

"But they're not exactly...er...behaved." Luna said.

"We DO have enough mages in the castle." Scarlette raised her eyebrows in suggestion.

"And the people are many enough to do rounds." Percival offered.

"Well that's good then, we'll---" Luc was cut off when there was suddenly a bright light and a loud noise of something falling with a thud in their room.

Everyone looked behind to see a small figure that fell just behind Sarah. When they looked closely, it was a small boy in what seemed like Karayan robes sitting on the ground, rubbing his eyes.

"You...But...I...I...." Chris stepped back as she stared at the familiar face of the child.

The child she saw only in her nightmares

The child she killed in Karaya in the past.

The kid...

"Lulu!" the little Hugo suddenly shouted from above.

-------------end of chapter.

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