Sachi followed behind her father and Majic, attempting as best she could to keep up. She often had wondered throughout the day whether this could really be considered 'escourting' when they weren't exactly taking care of her.

"Mr. Orphen, could you please slow down?" she panted just as the town had passed out of sight. Her father looked pretty gruff, she admitted silently. It was clear he took little care for himself in the wilderness as his clothes were wrinkled and dirty. Well, they had been until Cleao had stolen them and washed them anyway. Sachi had yet to understand how her mother had done the great task since she never saw Mr. Orphen wearing anything else.

"Keep up, kid. You'll never do well in training if you go at this pace." He said; his usual self. Sachi had been slightly bothered by the fact Mr. Orphen had failed to change at all with this new open knowledge in their family. She knew he was her father. Shouldn't he have acted a little more fatherly?

"You're terrible, you know that Mr. Orphen. I don't know why my mommy likes you because I sure don't." she said, agitated. She could never believe such a thing. There was no way this man could be her father. She had seen the other children in the town with their fathers and this had not been the way they had gone about it at all. A real father would lift her up and let her sit on his shoulders.

"Well it doesn't matter if you like me or not. I don't see what's not to like, I'm never around enough for you to really hate me for doing something wrong." He said, completely brushing her comment aside. "Besides, I think your mommy likes me enough for the both of you. Isn't that right Majic?" Majic sighed. Orphen was as cocky as ever, though he had honestly thought that the last seven years might change that. But it seemed even having a family wouldn't change the stubborn sorcerer.

"Master, don't you think you should be a little nicer?" Majic said, looking back at the struggling girl. It was obvious Cleao hadn't pushed her too hard.

"Why should I?" Orphen remarked, arching an eyebrow. Majic seemed appalled at this.

"She's your daughter, that's why!" he exclaimed in her defense. Sachi was a bit happy that someone had at last pointed it out to the dolt.

"I don't really see your point, Majic. Whether she's my offspring or not has no effect over whether I have a family." He said. Though the word reminded him of Taro's chubby little face framed with blonde hair being thrust at him by the strange Cleao. The child looked more like her, really. He had her blue eyes and blonde hair, his only features from Orphen probably to come in the future. Sachi was sure to be short like Cleao, but he could see Kohana getting his almost lanky structure. It seemed like Kohana was bursting with energy all the while, enough to keep up even with her older sister and deal with her little brother. Though she and Taro were really close to the same age, the smaller was much shyer. The more he thought about it, Kohana acted a bit like the old Mariabelle, which disturbed him slightly. It was the last thing he needed, for his child to be so dreamlike and naïve.

"Whether you'll acknowledge it or not, Orphen- you have a family now! You should be home taking care of that family and not out here. Won't you take responsibility like a man?" he said, his true feelings about the affair spilling forth.

"And would you be so passionate as to go back there yourself and marry Cleao?" he said, looking at Majic from the side of his eyes. Majic blushed harshly then, the idea seemed embarrassing. Sure, he might have peeked back then… but Cleao was a mother now. And judging the look on Orphen's face he didn't want Cleao to marry anyone.

"It's not like you're going to. What will keep her from marrying a rich merchant now?" he asked then. Orphen was silent.

"She wouldn't do that." Sachi suddenly spoke up. She had finally caught up to their pace, though her legs were burning. "When Kohana was born I used to hear her sing lullabies about her adventures sometimes. She said she sang them to me too. Often she would speak of a maiden who simply kept waiting for her husband to come home."

"Is that so?" Orphen said with a bored air to him. He was interested though; this was something he had missed by leaving.

"You know… he never comes back at the end." Sachi remarked quietly.

"Who?" Majic asked, possibly more interested than Orphen who continued to listen nonchalantly as they walked along the path. They were going deeper and deeper into a forest.

"Her husband never returns for good. One day he comes back to see his grandchildren only to learn that the maiden had died at a ripe old age while he had been gone." Sachi said quietly. Majic looked back at her in surprise.

"Is that true?" he asked, wide eyed. Sachi nodded. She smiled bitter sweetly, far too seriously for a child her age.

"She must have come to the obvious conclusion that this man will never take his place by her side. It's a sad story, isn't it?" Sachi said, looking down at the path. Orphen seemed phased for a moment. He looked back at her, anger apparent in his eyes. He was met with her cold stare.

"Of course I'll… Someday…" he suddenly stopped his failed excuse and kept walking ahead. The other two had no choice but to follow, though Majic had stepped in pace beside her. Sachi took Majic's hand then, much to his surprise.

"I would make you my daddy if it were up to me." She whispered into his ear, making him blush. Orphen seemed to ignore this comment as the approached their camping ground for the night. It had been a long day, and he began to regret ever taking the little troublemaker with them. But could it really be blamed on her when it was his own guilt that plagued him? Orphen muttered under his breath then. It was ridiculous.

A/N

devilchick- I just hope you come back to see the update. My chapters from now on will probably be much longer now. I have as a writer, stretched my wings; you could say.

AnimeGamer- done and done. I went back to fix that just for you. And my sanity. I now have a program that checks my spelling. Be very, very glad. I've also noticed small things here and there while going through the story and I might spell check and replace all the old chapters.

CesiaIlluser- Yeah, you've probably gone for good too now. But I haven't watched Orphen in so long. I think I might be out of touch with the characters. O.O

Mariks-Gurl21- Awww... thank you! I'm so glad you think it's cute. .

LittleMissNintendo- Everyone, you can thank this lady for this new chapter. I read the review and had forgotten this had become a popular fanfic (actually, I was unaware. When I first wrote it Orphen wasn't that well known I guess). So thank you for making me update. Though my next update might be after I watch the series again for some refreshing.