Chapter 8-The Doom of Innocence
The home was small and only three-roomed—the bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room. Kari had continued to look saddened, but her mother was humming to herself as she made tea with a small kettle in the next room. The house was cluttered with random items, and sunlihgt streamed through the windows easily, lighting the rooms up nicely.
"Please, take a seat, now," Kari's mother, Umi Tynave, called. "Kari, I'm so glad that you're safe. Is it thanks to this young man?" She was a squat woman, her skin was still smooth looking but had traces of wrinkles. Her hair was a whispy gray instead of a bright white, her ears drooping slightly. She wore normal, forest-green clothing with a worn-looking blue apron. They all sat around a small, ricketing table. Soon, he understood why she was sulking.
"Actually, yes," Kari said, smiling this time. Kael flushed. "He saved my life against some attackers."
"Speaking of which," Kael interrupted, "why were they trying to kill you?"
"I…I…can't say," she replied, her good mood vanishing. Kari's mother remained silent, loudly stirring the tea with the spoon banging against the sides of the china. Kael opened his mouth to say something again, but stopped himself.
"Well, in any case, they didn't seem too serious about it," he said. "The one other woman left, and we haven't seen her since."
"Skilled assassins. Most of them will bide their time," Mrs. Tynave said. "I'm so glad you're okay." She returned into the living room and hugged Kari again. "But," she added, "you're safe you. They shouldn't be able to track you now. Not ever since we moved."
"Oh?" Kael interjected. They both looked at him. Kari shook her head, smiling. Fixedly. Kael blinked, then took the cup from Mrs. Tynave with a grin, thanking her. When he sipped it, the warm liquid washed away quite a bit of fatigue and eased his sore throat, which had only been accustomed to warm, boiled water from the days before.
"I'm sorry, dear, but it is something that we'd rather forget for the time being," Mrs. Tynave said somberly. Kael decided it was time to end his curiosity.
"So what now?"
"Well, like the pubmaster said, we can either create our own clan, or join one. Of course, you seem to be so nervous around girls, so I would understand if…" she said pausing, uplifted again. She paused, eyeing Kael teasingly.
"Very funny," Kael said sarcastically. "Well, it's not really my position to choose, so…"
"Oh yes it is," she said, nodding. "You're going with me, aren't you?"
"Yeeeah…"
"Well, then you should get some say."
"And, like I said before, whatever you choose, I'll follow."
Mrs. Tynave chuckled suddenly, eyeing the two of them. She tried to say something, but shook her head, standing from the table and retreating back into the kitchen. They both watched her, then returned attention to eachother.
"Well, to be honest…starting our own clan would allow us more option. Let's just say I'd rather have time to choose which side to take in this war, even though I'd prefer not fighting at all."
Kael thought about this a moment, then nodded. "Sounds good to me."
The sun set in an hour later. Most of the time, Kael just stood out on the porch on the other side of the house and observed as much of the city he could. Many houses were shaped in the same fashion, although deeper inward, homes were taller and wider looking. The temples and the palaces still towered over them and, along with the well kept foliage, gave the city a certain beauty that he had never seen back home. The mix of races that went up and down the streets also made it feel more like a society, rather than just all Humes. Every once in a while, birds that he had never known to exist fluttered past, intriguing him even more, wondering about the other kinds of life that may exist.
"So, what do you think?" Kari asked slowly, coming up from behind him. She leaned on the railing, where potted plants were growing in the dark soil. Flowers and pretty plants also grew from it, although a majority of it was green.
"It's beautiful," he found himself saying. "Much better than even any city I've ever seen."
"It's nothing, really. And I'm sorry," she said.
"Huh? About what?" he asked kindly, enjoying the soft warm wind that brushed through their hair, adding to the scenery of the setting sun.
"About my family and our…house."
"What're you talking about?" He pretended not to understand what she had been thinking about.
"We're…not exactly the…the…the…house."
"It's wonderful," he said, not lying. She shook her head.
"Don't lie."
"Oh, but I'm not," he said. She shook her head again, muttered something in Viera, then continued to gaze toward the largest building in the center of the huge city. He looked at it too.
"Is that where the Royal Family used to reside?"
"No, it was more of a meeting place than anything else for royalty and the governors and whoever else had power. And between nations."
"Nations?"
"Yes, Ivalice is large, but we have a few neighbors. I'm surprised they haven't tried to take over."
Kael nodded, interlocking his fingers and leaning over the railing. "Where's your father?"
Kari glanced at him, her expression neutral. "Not here," she said simply. Kael looked out the corner of his eye at her, bewildered.
"Dead?"
"No."
She turned on her heel and stomped back into the interior of the home. Kael blinked a few times, still looking at the same place, wondering about her reaction.
"Was it something I said?"
She didn't talk to him for the rest of the evening. Mrs. Tynave gave him a blanket, and he willingly laid down on the soft rug with a soft pillow.
The assassin moved swiftly through the night, cloaked in an outfit darker than shadows, her ears folded underneath her turban. She squinted down the narrow street, looking for signs of soldiers or movement. When it was clear, she put an arm in the air and beckoned with two fingers.
She listened as two Humes moved just as swiftly and quietly, climbing up to the top of the homes. When she assumed that they had gotten to position, she crept along the dark side of the street, even though there wasn't that much light coming from the waxing half-moon.
When the description was matched, she leapt nimbly up the steps, knocking over only a single sandrock that crumbled as it contacted the street. Her two subordinates, wearing similar attire, joined her at the front door.
"Find the woman, then find the girl. We need to do this in one fell swoop, otherwise even that criminal will track us down, despite what he did to his family," she whispered.
They nodded. One leapt to the roof and then descended onto the porch. The other began silently opening a shuttered window, which creeped open just barely.
The lead assassin leapt into the window, tucking and rolling onto the hard floor. She narrowed her eyes, drawing a short sword that was sheathed at her side. Nothing moved. Satisfied, she crept across the small room toward what seemed to be the bedroom. Her foot found a heavy lump in the ground.
Kael stirred uneasily, groaning sleepily. He yawned, but then became aware that something had touched him. He looked up into a pair of unbelieving green eyes. A moment of staring passed by. He yelled alarm.
He rolled out of the way of a stab at his chest and felt around for his katana in the darkness. A small hand gripped him around the neck, rendering him motionless for a moment. When whatever it was seemed to be in range, he cocked his head and slammed it into the attacker, making what sounded like a her groan.
He launched himself, throwing his entire body weight against the intruder, tackling her to the ground. They tumbled around, and he found himself atop her. He raised a fist and tried a punch, but it was grabbed by stronger arms. What felt like a foot connected solidly with his ribs, making him keel over in a burst of pain.
A scream through the night drained the color from his face. Soon, it stopped. Gripping his side, he found his katana pushed against the wall and hurled the sheath at one of the figures in the darkness. He threw himself forward again, whirling the blade sideways. He felt the sharp edge cut through the flesh of two people. Each groaned, but not loud enough to make it seem like they were dying.
A groan from the next room along with coughing made him dash into the next room. Another assailant was standing atop the largest of the two beds, a short killing sword in his hand. A drop of blood fell downward, and the figure turned its head to look at him. After a brief pause, it hurled itself out of the window.
What's going on what's going on what's going on!
Kael floudered for a source of light. Soon, he found a waxy candle and lit it hastily with a match that he had salvaged from his jean pockets, which were abandoned in the woods. When he held it up, the sickening sensation pulsated through him again.
Mrs. Tynave was twitching uncontrollably, a deep wound in her stomach. Kael hastily went over to her. Her eyes were wide, her breath rattling, and her arms shaking as though someone had them on strings. She started gasping for breath. Kari was shaken awake, and began shouting at the top of her lungs with her hands covering her mouth.
She placed her hands over the wound and tried to heal it with magic. The white light flickered on and off, her panic overriding her concentration. Kael found any cloth he could and wrapped it around her.
Mrs. Tynave's hand jut in the air, feeling around. Kari ceased healing and grasped it tightly. Kael pulled the cloth as tightly as he could. A slit stomach was the worst way to die in terms of wounds. The blood began pouring from the cloths.
Kari began speaking in fast Viera, obviously trying to get a reply from her mother. Amidst the suffering, Umi Tynave found the strength to smile. Her hand rubbed against the side of Kari's cheek, and then she glanced at Kael. She nodded once. Kael felt a swift, sharp pain in his heart.
Her hand lost grip, and slipped easily from Kari's hand. Kari began speaking, softly at first, then began shouting, more desperately. The tears began pouring from her eyes like a fountain, her eyes heavily bloodshot. The pain in his heart still pounding, he reached over and shut Umi's eyes.
Saddness soon turned to anger.
Kael whipped around and charged into the next room, where the two assassins still were, trying to escape by crawling. He sliced in a wide arc at their hands, decapitating them. They cried desperately, collapsing to the ground.
"You…" Kael shouted, pointing the tip at the Viera's throat. He pressed the tip against the top of her chin.
The woman just looked at him, her face expressionless under the mask of cloth. Kael lifted his blade and thrust it downward into her back. When he was sure she was dead, he retracted the blade, blood dripping from the tip, and started for the other. In the reflection of the candle light, he watched as he swung in a wide arc and removed the other assailant's head from his shoulders.
Panting, he collapsed to his knees. He was shivering, hate reverberating through himself as he had never experienced it. Kari's bawling continued to haunt his ears. Finally regaining control of himself, he staggered into the next room and cradled Kari. She collapsed into his chest, her head attempting to bury itself into him. Warm tears seeped into his shirt. Words escaped him.