Hey, all! Now it's time for the inner monologue chapter! I'm posting these in blocks, so there is next to no editing done in these past few chapters. I've never written a train of thought like this one before, so I hope it all makes sense! Please read and enjoy! And don't forget to review! I'm gonna keep reminding, just because!

Chapter 7: Enter the Innocent

Beldo was fuming. He was angry at the Tower for failing in helping him achieve the goals he had held in his youth. He was angry at the town of Monsbaiya for forgetting him and for following the popular trainers, the latest fads. But most of all, he was angry at himself.

"My life has been one string of mistakes, "Beldo said through gritted teeth, "One right after another, everything dear to me has been ripped from my grasp and held just beyond my reach."

Elfie trotted at Beldo's heels, struggling to keep up with his quick pace. She sensed her master's tense mood and pulled on his pants leg and cape, trying to make him stop and calm down. But Beldo was walking too fast and any corner of cloth she caught in her teeth was lost a moment later.

"I was a fool to let the boy go on the top level and I was a fool to waste time here!" Beldo walked swiftly, his hands at his temples in a panic. He tipped his face toward the darkening orange sky and sighed hopelessly.

He was standing at a precipice just outside the northern gate of town, the Monster Tower's gate. The toes of his boots balanced just on the edge of the great pit below the Tower. The desert wind blew up from the canyon, catching Beldo's hair and warming his face. He closed his eyes and lifted his face toward the sky as his arms raised to shoulder-height.

Colors, images of a life lost flooded Beldo's mind. He saw his parents, smiling proudly over their exemplary son. He saw the faces of the monster tamers; young men, full of life and he watched as their faces hardened with fourteen years of work and time. He saw Wreath's smiling face and just over her should, Guy and Koh smiling in the friendly, unassuming way Beldo had grown to despise. He saw himself, a dapper young student, full of dream and bursting with life. The years passed like a movie in fast-forward. Beldo watched his own shoulders hunch forward from stress, his once-blue eyes changed to a deep red from the forbidden magic. His carefree, boyish smile faded to be replaced by a rare, sardonic sneer. And the light, the life that once glowed in Beldo's face faded until all that remained was a man standing on the edge of forever, his body worn and his spirit broken.

Beldo saw the canyon in his mind's eye. "I could end it now," he thought suddenly, "I could admit defeat, give up my futile struggle and…fly."

As if in response to his thoughts, a gust of wind raced from the north, over the canyon, and it swirled around Beldo. He felt himself being lifted, his feet leaving the ground and…

"Hey, Mister!"

Beldo's eyes snapped open and he lowered his arms. He realized how close his had been to jumping and he stumbled back a few steps, his hands trembling. Suddenly, he remembered why he had awoken and he whirled to face the source of the call.

A little girl stood in the archway of the wall, her forefinger stuck securely in her mouth. She was in silhouette, her face in darkness thanks to the setting sun on the horizon behind her. She watched Beldo for a moment before saying, "Mister, what're you doin'?"

"I should ask you the same question," Beldo retorted scathingly, "Come here, little girl."

"I can't," she said matter-of-factly, "I'm on'y seven . You can't go intada Tower until you're fifteen. What's your name?"

Beldo felt his temper rise, but he did nothing to control it. He stepped toward the little girl in as menacing a fashion as he could muster. As he neared the girl, the sunlight crept across her face until Beldo could clearly see her features. Then her face registered in his mind and he froze in shock.

The little girl looked to be seven or eight years old, as she had said, but she still sucked on her fingers for comfort. Her huge brown eyes watched the strange man curiously and without a trace of fear. Her vibrant blue hair shone in the sun and was pulled into a short ponytail on the top of her head. She blinked, waiting for the man to answer. When he didn't, she took her finger out of her mouth and said, MY name's Weedy. What's yours?"

Beldo blinked in disbelief and said reflexively, "My name is Beldo. Little girl…"
"Weedy," she corrected, a note of annoyance in her voice. Almost immediately after her correction, she shrank back as if startled by her boldness. She squeezed the little stuffed duck under her arm a little tighter, but her eyes never left Beldo's.

"Right, Weedy. Do you know someone named…" Beldo cut himself off, thought for a moment, then drew himself up to his full height and said in a hard voice, "What do you want little g…Weedy?"

Weedy shrugged, "I found a cute little doggy and he led me here an' you were actin' weird. What're you doin'?"

"What I do is one of your business," Beldo said coolly, "This dog, where is she?"

"It's a 'he', Weedy protested, "I'm naming him 'Koh', after my…"
"You will do nothing of the sort!" Beldo shouted suddenly, "She is my dog and her name is Elfie. Now, where is she?"

Elfie's bark floated over the wall and she came barreling toward the gate, tongue flapping and tail wagging hysterically. Suddenly, she slammed headfirst into a glowing, green barrier that blocked the gate. She fell onto her rump, shook her head and took up her place against the barrier, the wagging of her tail now slowed a bit.

"He can't cross, either," Weedy explained, "not without his mater and I'm too little Hey! What're you doin'?"

Beldo had moved across form Elfie and gently picked her up, pulling her through the barrier and cradling her in his arms. "Her name is Elfie," he said to Weedy, "She has been living with me for five weeks now."

"Oh," Weedy said, crestfallen. She gazed longingly at the little dog and said:Could I still come play with him…er, her?"

Beldo hesitated; the last thing he needed was a little girl poking around his house and following him in town, especially one that so closely resembled Wreath. The likeness was eerie and Beldo had decided she had to be Wreath's niece if not her daughter. That thought gave him chills.

Finally, he nodded grudgingly and said, "Yes, you may play with Elfie. I hope this does not cause…"

"Oh, yay!" Weedy cheered, her contrary mood completely dissipated, "I made two new friends! Wait until Mama hears!"

"No!"" Beldo interrupted, dropping Elfie to the ground. The little dog landed on her feet, then fell over, not caring one bit about her tumble. "You must not tell Wreath that I am here!" Beldo continued. His eyes widened in slight fear, though he didn't understand why he should be so afraid of Wreath.

"How'd you know her name?"

"I…I just did," Beldo stammered, "You resemble her. But you must not tell her my name. That is my one condition."

Weedy frowned and shrugged, "Awright. I'll just tell Mama I made a new friend named Joe. 'Kay? Let's read my Monster Book!"

Beldo sighed and followed Weedy away from the Tower. Under his breath, he muttered, "What have I gotten myself into this time?"

Considering the size of Monsbaiya, Beldo considered it a wonder that he had yet to run into Koh or Wreath, especially now that Weedy followed him like a shadow. Every day, he expected Weedy to arrive with mother or brother in tow, and every day, he breathed a sigh of relief when the little girl burst in the front door alone.

Weedy apparently had nothing better to do than follow a 34-year-old man and his miniscule dog, because as the temple bell rang every day at 10 'o clock, Weedy would appear, beaming and toting her Monster book. Every day, she left at 4 'o clock, promising to return the next day.

Weedy was like her mother in more than appearance. She quickly deduced that Beldo had been a monster tamer and demanded stories of Beldo's adventures in the Tower. She would open her Monster Book to the table of contents, point at a random monster and Beldo would tell her of his encounters with that creature. When he spoke, she would lay on her stomach, her chin propped on her palms and her entire focus on Beldo's descriptions of life in the Tower. Beldo learned to love his stories again and told them with renewed vigor, changing the tone and pitch of his voice and adding gestures as well.

Weeks passed and Beldo grew fond of the little girl. He looked forward to her visits and sometimes, they would walk around town, Elfie trotting a few paces in front. Beldo still maintained his gruff personality, but around Weedy, he found it difficult to keep his protective emotional shell. She laughed and gasped at all the right times in Beldo's stories and sometimes told him stories of her own that made Beldo laugh with their childlike antics and characters. It wasn't long before Beldo thought of Weedy as his own daughter.

This chapter is really short because I wanted to keep the next part intact and this part didn't really fit with the next chapter. That's also why it ends with a kind of not-ending. So, press-a de arrow and keep reading!