Disclaimer: These characters are not mine; they belong to ENIX and Tri-Ace. So, yeah... Don't sue me.
Chapter 2: The Warrior of Light?
"You are outside the town of Arlia," explained Rena to a seemingly confused Claude. Oh, he knew he was lost, but there is no way she would believe what had happened if he told her. "Where are you from, Mr. Claude?"
"I am from Earth." replied Claude.
"Urth? Where is that?" questioned Rena.
"Umm... How can I explain this so that you will understand? Ah, yes... Earth is a place very far away."
"A place far away!" exclaimed Rena with delight. "I have never even left this continent! Are you from El? Oh, that is so neat!" She took Claude's hand and started pulling him into Arlia. The town was different from anything he had ever seen. Instead of giant apartment buildings, there were little houses with red and green slanted roofs. Instead of cement and concrete there was grass, a dirt path, and trees all about. Instead of smoke and dirt the air was clean and smelled fresh. Claude took a big, deep breath.
"I am really sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Claude, but I have to go do something... Please, look around the town while you wait. I will be back!" said Rena before running off. Hmm... thought Claude, maybe I should have a look around town; see if anyone knows anything that could help my situation. Claude checked the local grocery store, the mayor's house, he asked some little kids, some old people, but no one seemed to know anything about the Federation, or spaceships. It looked like he was stuck... Then he came to a big house with a blue roof, by the lake that ran through the middle of Arlia.
The door was unlocked so Claude decided he would go inside and ask the owners some questions. As he crossed through the entrance way he heard a familiar voice. Rena...Rena and a woman with darker and longer blue hair were talking about something. Claude couldn't hear what they were saying so he decided to move closer, but his foot hit something and he was noticed... "Mr. Claude? What are you doing here?" exclaimed Rena in shock. Claude explained how he was looking around town and just wound up at her house.
"Is this the boy that saved you, Rena? It is a pleasure to meet you, Claude, my name is Westa, Rena's mother."
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well. I see where Rena gets her good looks."
Both of the women blushed. "Ok," proclaimed Westa, "Rena, you show that nice boy around town while I finish the preparations. Come back in a little bit." Rena took Claude's hand and pulled him along with her outside. Claude started to blush a little. She has soft hands... Hmm... I just noticed she has pointy ears, too. As does everyone else here... Neat, this sure beats screwing around on Milocinia. I wonder how my dad is doing...
-
Rena took Mr. Claude's hand and started to escort him around town. Wow, Mr. Claude sure has strong hands. I suppose The Warrior would. Lalala...Rena decided to start by showing Mr. Claude the grocery store. Mr. Hearn, the proprietor, was happy to see Rena's sweet smile and gave them some fresh blueberries, on the house. Claude looked at some of the items on sale, puzzled, so Rena explained that people in Arlia use herbs to heal wounds and such.
She continued to show him around town, introducing him to the local children that she read stories to, the old man that walks around the towns exit, the mayor's maid, because the mayor was not in. A few people inquired if Mr. Claude was her boyfriend... but she just blushed and said no. It was an easy mistake, a pretty girl walking around with a handsome boy; Rena thought Mr. Claude was kind of handsome at least. Mr. Claude looked like he was enjoying Arlia, it seemed almost as if he had never seen a small town before...
Then the pair came to the home of the lovey-dovey newlyweds. "Oh, hi Rena. Is this your boyfriend?" asked the wife, just as Rena expected she would. "No," replied Rena, sort of annoyed because she had to answer that question so much. "I am just showing Mr. Claude around town. He saved my life!" "Wow," exclaimed the two, almost in unison before the man started to talk "That reminds me of when we first met... We were playing stickball and..." "Excuse me," interrupted Claude "What does that have to do with saving lives?" The man paused for a moment. "I don't know... I guess everything reminds me of my sweetie-weetie!" said the man as he turned to kiss his wife. "You be good to Rena, ok boy?" said the woman. "I will try..." replied Claude. Aw...The two were just about to leave when Rena stopped. "You know, I have lived here all my life and I never asked your names!" she said. "Jacob and Rei."
Rena finished showing Claude every building in town and introducing him to everyone. Hehe... I hope the Warrior likes our town. Not wanting to keep Westa waiting, Rena decided to bring Claude home now. After all, who knows what that crazy woman would do left in a house by herself? The two opened up the door and were hit with a wave of magnificent aroma. Upon the table was a gigantic mountain of food. "Mother! What did you make all this food for?" asked Rena in shock. Westa explained how growing boys, like Claude, could eat tons and tons of food, and after being persuaded by her mother and the smell of the food, all three of them sat down for a lovely meal.
During the course of the meal Mr. Claude talked about his mom, not to mention eating three full plates full of food, Rena talked about some of the little kids in the village that she plays with, and Westa talked just a little bit about her youth. She was a real looker back in the day, don't you know? Rena looked at Westa for a good while... She still was pretty, but she just looked older since her dad died. Rena didn't want to think about that at such a happy time, though.
-
Claude had just finished the best meal he had eaten in almost three years. After dinner, Rena brought him upstairs. "You wait here, Mr. Claude. I am going to help my mom clean up." said Rena. "Oh, please let me help. It is the least I could do after such a wonderful meal." offered Claude, but Rena refused to let him clean up. He felt it best not to argue, he might as well take advantage of their hospitality. The people on this planet really are something.
Perhaps leaving Claude alone upstairs wasn't such a good idea after all, because being the inquisitive youth that he is, he decided to go exploring. The house was set up very simply. In the northwest corner of the second floor was the staircase, which was beautifully crafted out of wood. The walls were painted tan and the floor was fashioned out of hardwood. This home on a simple planet in a simple town felt much more comfortable than the modern homes of earth to Claude.
To the south was a big room with two twin beds. There were wooden nightstands on the side of each beds and a couple of small chairs in the room. What stood out to Claude were the two beds. There was another room down the hall that he assumed was a bedroom, but the main bedroom had two beds. Claude started to wonder where Rena's dad was.
Still engrossed in thought, he began to wander down the hall to the other room. Claude's hand was on the knob, about to turn it when he heard someone walking up the stairs. He headed back to where Rena had left him, expecting her to be there waiting for him. When he turned the corner there stood Westa. "Did you enjoy the meal, Claude?" the pleasant lady asked with a smile. "You bet! I haven't eaten that good in quite some time." replied the boy, rubbing his full stomach happily. "That's great," started Westa "I don't know what I would do if The Warrior didn't like my food..." Claude was confused. "Who is the wa-" he managed to get out before being interrupted. "Oh, it's nothing, forget about it!" stated Westa erratically before quickly dashing down the stairs.
Claude scratched his head, not quite sure what had just transpired. He slowly crept towards the top of the stairwell and tried to listen to those downstairs. "Oh, Rena, I did it! I am so sorry!" he heard an older woman's voice say, guessing it was Westa. "Did what, mother?" replied a young girl with a sweet voice, Rena. "I did it! I called him The Warrior!" Then Claude heard something he did not expect. It was the voice of an older man. A deep, raspy yet monotonous voice that was actually quite annoying to listen to, not full of warmth or comforting like the voice of Claude's grandfather.
"Worry not, Westa. Does the boy seem to know what is going on? I thought not, so calm down, woman." Not sure what was going on, Claude started down the stairs. They were talking about him and he wanted to know why. "Ah, Mr. Claude," started the man as the boy came into view. "My name is Regis. I am the mayor of Arlia. It is a pleasure to meet you." Claude shook the man's hand reluctantly, but shook it all the same, for he did not want to appear rude in front of the two women who had been so kind to him. "It is a pleasure to meet you, too. Now, who is this warrior you are discussing? Are you three talking about me?"
"Have a seat, boy, and I shall make everything clear." Claude sat even though he did not like to be called "boy". "As of late, the lands have been plagued with earthquakes and storms and the animals have become violent. All of these terrible tragedies occurred after a star fell from the sky, a star that the peoples of Expel have named The Sorcery Globe. It is written in the prophecies that The Warrior of Light would appear in the time of need and rescue this world. This Warrior is said to wear foreign raiments and wield a sword of light. You, Mr. Claude wear foreign garbs and you, Mr. Claude carry a sword of light. You, Mr. Claude are The Warrior of Light."
"What!?" exclaimed Claude. "I don't carry this "Sword of Light" and I certainly ain't no Warrior of Light." Regis paused for a second, and then resumed talking. Claude also heard Rena mutter a soft "No..." "No Sword of Light, you say? What of the weapon that you saved the girl with? Is that not the legendary sword of light?" The phase gun... I can't believe this! Violate the UP3 one time and now they think I am some legendary warrior. How am I supposed to explain this?
"Listen. I do carry a weapon that shoots out light, but it isn't that sword. It is different." Claude tried to convey to them. "What of your foreign raiments?" Claude thought for a few seconds when Rena piped in. "He... he said he was a traveler. Isn't that right, Mr. Claude?" Regis cut off the boy before he could speak. "A traveler that doesn't know where he is and has no destination? I do not mean to offend you, but I must say that you, Mr. Claude, are lying!" Claude was caught there. He was lying, not about being this warrior, but about his true origin.
"You are right," the boy gave in "I am lying about where I am from and my purpose, but even if I told you I know you would not believe me. I am telling you the truth, though; I am not this warrior you speak of. This has all been just one large misunderstanding." Claude hoped that would be explanation enough and that the man would ask no more questions. He was going to be in enough trouble with the Federation as it was.
Regis and the women let out sighs of despair. It seemed they truly hoped that Claude was this hero and the boy felt bad for them. "If you argue so forcefully then what you say must be true. I apologize for this mess, Mr. Claude, but in times of woe people tend to hope just a little too hard. Please, I beg of you not to use your sword of light anymore. The people's hopes have been stirred enough and I fear some will not be able to bare the disappointment. While we have been lucky, the pain and sadness will reach our lands soon. The people need to be prepared." Regis stopped and bowed his head. Rena and Westa looked as if they were about to cry and the girl suddenly stood up. "No, this can't be!" she shouted and ran out the door of the house into the cold and quiet night. Rena...
"Please forgive her, Mr. Claude, we have all been praying hard for the arrival of the hero. Give her some time to cool off. Since you do not know where you are or where you are going you may stay at my abode if you wish it. The beds are very comfortable and the maid's keep it immaculate." Claude thanked Regis for his offer and started over to the mayor's large house. While he lay in bed that night he could not get Rena's face, not bright and cheery like it had been when he first met her, but sad and streaked with tears. Rena...
-
Rena stormed out of the door to her house, not wanting her mother, Regis, or the confused Mr. Claude to see her cry. The night was cold and she could hear crickets chirping all about. She ran and ran to the south of the town and collapsed on the bridge crying. This was the spot where Rena came when she was sad. This is the spot where she cried, just like that terrible night so long ago...
Tonight Rena was not crying about the past, she was crying about her hopes that had been dashed. When she first saw Mr. Claude in his odd dress wielding his sword of light, she had been sure that he was the warrior from the prophecies. She had heard from travelers in cross of the terrible goings on around the globe. Normal peaceful animals attacked people, once calm grounds quaked and roared, and shallow lakes and rivers flooded. According to what she had heard in church, when The Warrior appeared all of this would stop and everyone would be happy. There would be no more suffering...
She also felt bad for Mr. Claude. He had appeared out of nowhere and saved her life, and in return she expected him to save her world. She was asking far too much of him, but she didn't know. She thought he was their savior, not the normal traveler he claimed to be. She hoped with all her heart that he would not be upset at her and he would still want to be friends.
Though Rena had only known Claude for a day, they were already friends. She had showed him around town, he dined at her house, he had good manners and posture and he was very polite. Rena even thought that he was sort of cute, with his shiny blonde hair and deep, green eyes. He also seemed very strong, destroying a crazed ape and saving her life all in one blow. He reminded her of Dias.
This caused Rena to remember Dias, her "big brother" and protector until he had to go away. It seemed every sad thing she thought of reminded her of another. But Rena was a strong girl, and after only a few minutes of crying she was back on her feet. She stopped at the church and spoke to the priest about what had happened and he comforted her. The wise man explained that even though Mr. Claude was not The Warrior, that did not mean that her world would not be saved; all she had to do was wait and hope.
Her faith restored, Rena headed back towards her home. She did not feel nearly as bad as before, but that did not mean the shock was completely gone either. The girl had much more thinking to do before she would feel completely at ease. She decided that she would go to Shingo Forest tomorrow and sort out her thoughts then. Right now Rena was exhausted. She greeted her mother at the door, they talked a bit, Westa explained that Mr. Claude would be staying with Regis, and with a kiss goodnight Rena marched off to bed. She laid thinking about Claude and The Warrior and the Sword of Light as she slowly drifted off to dreamless slumber.