Disclaimer:
I do not own DanMachi or any of those series characters. Nor do I make any money off my writing.
Synopsis:
It's been six years since the fall of Zeus and Hera familias and the world has changed. Its a time where civilians and adventurers alike are terrorized by Evilus, a group that seems content to slowly seep the great city into a pool of chaos. And it's at this time that Gareth Landlock, high-executive of the Loki familia, stumbles across a six year old dungeon orphan in the middle of a crowded street.
Ch 3: To Be A Hero
A Side Mystery (Gareth/Riveria/Finn/Loki)
The three Loki high-executives huddled just inside of the doorway that opened between the manor's common area and dining hall to watch the small spectacle playing out before them. And they were not the only ones.
"Hey Valdor! You could learn something from the boy about women."
"Shuuud-up, no one wants to hear ya squawk anyway."
"What happened? Did he accidently dunk her in the canal?"
"Well he has been hanging around Kalos alot…"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"
"Alrighty, clear out ya lot. Don't cha have anything better ta do?" Gareth lightly cuffed the back of Valdor's head, cutting off a snide remark from the younger adventurer.
Loyd, who had been standing more off to the side, felt this was the perfect opportunity to interject. "Hey Riveria, looks like Bell found another stray! Ya gonna compete with Gareth and be a momm… UGH!?"
Unfortunately timing with the fairer sex had never been on his side. Loyd's smirk fell into one of absolute horror at the sub zero glare directed at him from the high-elf before he quietly started to slink away.
"Well, it seems like that one has a death wish." Gareth chuckled under his breath.
Riveria passed her glare from the retreating Loyd to Gareth before the dwarf raised both hands in surrender.
Finn just smirked at the exchange. "Riveria, were you able to find out anything?"
"The crystal that had surrounded the girl, seems to have melted. The liquid had almost completely evaporated but luckily we were able to secure a sample..."
Riviera held up a rune-etched vial containing blue liquid that sloshed back and forth in its tube. The substance gave off a faint luminescence that dimly lit the palm of her hand.
"Aye, any idea what it could be?"
Riviera shook her head, jade hair gently billowing from side to side. "I'll need to conduct more tests… possibly even stop by Lenoa's shop."
"Well, we should have ample opportunity to solve that mystery in time." Finn pointed a slender finger into the dining hall, toward the far table that was closest to the door that led into the Twilight Mansion's kitchen. "For now, we have a more immediate concern."
On that far table, a whole array of leftover food had been set out still in whatever container had been used to store it. Different aromas mixed and melded in the air: mashed potatoes, casseroles, dumplings, stir-fry, spaghetti, cakes, and other treats. Little Bell must have pulled out anything and everything he could find from the fridge.
In the middle of the mini-feast sat a golden-haired, golden-eyed girl who couldn't have been any older than Bell himself. She held a spoon and was digging into one of the dessert puddings that had been served at dinner just that evening. Riveria was worried that if the child didn't slow down, she'd make her sick. Actually, Riveria had yet to even see the child eat anything BESIDES treats yet. As the child's spoon once more dipped down into the container of pudding, Riviera could see that her eyes were glued to Lady Loki, who sat opposite and was speaking in gentle hushed tones.
Bell shambled out of the kitchen door, this time carrying a large oval plate bearing an enormous cooked turkey. It was a wonder the boy could even see around his prize as he teetered with each step. But by some miracle, the boy made it to the long table and sat the large plate upon the hard wood table with an audible *thunk*.
Before Bell could run back into the kitchen, Loki leaned over and tousled his white hair, saying something low that the others couldn't catch. Bell beamed a wide smile at the Goddess before he ran to the other side of the table and took a seat beside the golden-haired girl.
Riviera watched as Bell picked up a loose fork and poked it into the turkey, pulling off a sizable chunk in the process. And as Bell started eating it, he also pulled over a bowl of leftover mashed potatoes and started talking excitedly to the young girl, using his turkey baton to punctuate some conversational point between bites.
The young girl took her spoon, cleaned off the leftover pudding traces, and stuck it in the bowl of potatoes. As she placed a large dollop into her mouth, the girl's eyes went wide and she quickly reached for a second.
Loki looked fondly at the white haired boy, before casting a more inquisitive look at the girl beside him, as she extracted herself from the opposite side of the table. After a moment, she lightly shook her head before crossing the dining hall to where the three executives waited by the door.
"Were ya able to learn anything about the little one, or what happened to her?"
"Her name is Ais. She..." Loki looked back at the young girl that was still listening to whatever Bell was rambling on about. "I think that one is in the wrong time."
Finn squinted. "Do you mean 'the wrong place'? How can someone be 'in the wrong time'?"
Loki pursed her lips for a second before responding. "She was asking where her parents were. Said their names were Albert and Aria."
This caused Finn to frown as he started rubbing together his thumb and forefinger in gentle, circular motions.
"Wait. Ya arn't telling me it's THAT Albert and Aria are ya?" Gareth stopped rubbing the hand through his beard as he reconsidered the pair of youths.
Riveria had an exasperated expression as she looked between Gareth and Loki, "I have absolutely no clue who you are talking about. She's been encased in that crystal for at least seven years, and that's just the time we've known about her. How do you both know her parents?"
Gareth just shook his head lightly, small ringlets of his curly beard bouncing with each shake. "If there are the ones I'm thinking about, they've been gone for a long time."
Loki just casually nodded her head before she replied, "Waldstein".
Riveria glanced first at Loki, and then to Gareth, indicating that they didn't just reveal the answer to the universe.
"Well, I've been reading that damn book to Bell every night for the better half of a year. Some details are bound to stick on the 4th retelling of those stories."
"Wait, wait, wait. The hero from Bell's story book? THAT Albert Waldstein?"
"The mercenary king himself. I don't remember him and Aria having a little one though. Loki?"
Loki raised both hands in a gesture of supplication. "That's way before I decided to come down to the lower world. I didn't take much interest in the mortals day to day."
Riveria's mind raced through implications. "But wait, that story has to be..."
"...over a thousand years old." Gareth finished, nodding his head in confirmation.
"And as far as I know, she wasn't lying." Loki paused, as if considering the weight and gravity of her next words. "The girl has an extra dimension to her, like something I'd feel around an individual blessed by one of the old spirits... Probably a half-spirit actually."
Finn cocked his head. "How does that even work?"
"Beats me."
"And, the lass doesn't have anywhere else to go..."
The high-elf included her head in a nod. "Sounds like someone else we took in."
"Taking in one more shouldn't hurt. But Riv, I've got my hands full with that white haired monster over there." Gareth glanced sideways toward Riveria.
Finn turned just enough to re-enter the conversation. "He has a point Riveria, this one would be on you."
Riviera rounded on Finn, surprise evident behind her jade eyes.
Gareth turned to Loki. "Did Bell overhear about the girl?"
"No, she told me when he was in the kitchen bringing out more food. Are you worried about him?"
"Well, ya." Gareth surreptitiously pointed one sausage like finger at the wafish looking girl that sat next to his ward. "She is very well the closest thing Bell will ever come to seeing those old heroes from his book. I'm not sure how he'd react to be honest."
As the executives paused in their discussion, they could just faintly overhear Ais and Bell.
"Um... does that hurt?"
Bell was pointing down near the bench. The golden-haired girl, Ais, looked down and noticed that he had actually been pointing at her scuffed knees.
"Yea... a bit."
"I can help you with that if you'd like?" Bell asked shyly.
"Um... sure?" Ais looked inquisitively at the young boy sitting beside her.
Bell got excited and placed his small leg harness on the table. It had a small pouch that Bell could use to carry small things while he ran around with the familia's messages. Once he had even impressed Gareth by pulling an entire sandwich out of there.
What Bell pulled out of his pouch this time though was a distinctive red vial.
"Um Gareth...?" Riveria looked sideways at the stout dwarf. "Why is Bell carrying around a healing potion?"
"He asked me if he could carry one of those around after he came back from dropping off Mia's money, seemed harmless at the time so I said 'why not'."
Bell slid out of his seat and motioned for Ais to turn around so she could face him. He beamed one of his innocent wide smiles up at the girl who looked on in puzzlement. "This won't hurt, I promise."
Ais gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head..
Bell furrowed his brows in concentration as he cleaned the wounds, unstopped the vial, and added a few drops of the healing potion to each of the girl's scuffed knees.
Ais' eyes went wide as she saw her skin knit back together before her eyes, and in a moment any discomfort she had, vanished. Looking up she saw once again the wide smile of the white haired boy infront of her, and an excited tone crept into her voice. "You know magic?! Who's your spirit?!"
Bell looked down sheepishly at the vial. "No... it's just a potion."
"Oh..." Unless Riveria was reading the girl incorrectly, she looked a bit crestfallen.
Loki gently shouldered Riveria before she made her way back over to the two children, Riviera following close behind.
Loki squatted down in front of the young girl so that their eyes were level.
"Ais, this is Riveria." Loki gestured with one hand at the high elf beside her. "She'll help you clean up and find a room."
"She will?"
"I will?!"
"Alright ya two, off with ya now."
As the two left, Gareth finally strolled over. "So Bell, what's on ya mind?"
Bell sat, still staring at the retreating forms of Ais and Riveria, and seemed to have a solemn expression on his face. "She seemed sad... I hope she feels better."
"Don't you worry, Riv will take care of her."
Bell looked solemnly at the still large piece of turkey he had on his fork.
"But ya know, I bet she'd also like it if you showed her around. She doesn't know anyone around here yet."
"Yea. Yea I can do that." Bell smiled again as he took another large bite of turkey.
"Now let me help you get some of this cleaned up... but first..." Gareth took his own bit of turkey as he ripped off a drumstick. "First... I'll help you get rid of this turkey."
Stories of Our Lives (Ais)
Ais weaved through the crowded street staying close enough behind the white-haired boy that she could easily have reached out and held the back of his shirt had she wished. Which was probably a good thing as she kept careening her neck, marveling at the buildings, colorful shop wares, and multitude of people as they passed.
Where... is this? Ais thought.
The buildings were too big. Some even stood taller than the trees back home. How did they not topple over one another? And where did all of the people come from? Where did they sleep? Question after question tumbled in her head. The prior giving birth to the next. A list so long that Ais thought she might burst from sheer curiosity.
In front of her, Bell continued to speak as they made their way.
"Riveria is pretty nice... but she can also be super scary sometimes." Ais could see the side profile of Bell's face turn pale. "Just don't call her old. You won't like it if you call her old."
It had been like this ever since they left the Twilight Mansion. The young boy beside her had said he needed to deliver a letter, and asked if she wanted to come. It had been a few days since she had first come to the Twilight Manor and Ais had been wanting something to do.
Ais had been finding herself watching the boy Bell as much as the surrounding bits of excitement. She didn't know much about him, but she liked to believe that they had become friends, even if it was only because they were the only two children living at the manor. Not that she had been around many children growing up, the mercenaries her father and mother usually were around rarely brought their own families to the villages closest to the dungeon, and would regularly go on leave to see them.
A dull ache formed in the young girl's chest as she thought of them again. Her parents, their friends…
The grown-ups living here at the manor seemed as confused as she was about what had happened. They had asked her questions, but even though She remembered a dragon and her father going to fight it… but not much else. When Captain Finn tried to push her for more details she had momentarily blacked out, waking up shortly after in the high-elf Riveria's arms. Riveria didn't allow them to question her anymore after that.
Captain Finn may look like a youthful child, but she could see that he had old eyes, like some of the old mercenaries. Gareth reminded her of a solid mountain, grumbly and stout. Lady Loki just confused the young Ais. And the high elf Riveria... She was nice... and she took care of Ais, though there were times when Ais was around her that the girl felt like one of her father's greenhorn mercenaries. She didn't really know anyone else in the familia due to her own reserved nature. They held their distance, and she didn't feel the need to bridge that gap.
Bell on the other hand, seemed to know EVERYONE. The good natured ribbing he received from the other people that lived in the manor was a lot similar to what she saw when her father would bring in a new recruit to be a member in their group. The attention could go to a lot of people's heads, but it didn't seem to go to his. Or perhaps it was because he just wasn't aware of their focus.
The evening she had spent in the Twilight Manor, Ais had gone to join the familia dinner. Following the sounds of jovial merriment and the clank of silverware on ceramic dishes she had finally found her way back to the dining hall she had been in not too long ago. But after grabbing a plate and some food, she froze. While the hall was decently filled, there had been open seats interspaced between different groups. Even so, the rows of tables and chairs had seemed ominous. Like how her father once described facing down monsters in the dungeon.
But she had heard Bell's voice pip amongst the commotion, and followed it to find that Bell had already saved her a seat. He had quickly introduced her to the adults that sat around them. And even though she hadn't said much through the following conversion, she definitely felt more at ease.
Likewise, while now following Bell around delivering messages, he had been cheerily giving advice. Though the problem was, Ais was so preoccupied looking at her surroundings and thoughts that she was only half-listening to their conversation.
"Um... what was that again?"
"Oh! Ais over here! You'd like this!"
Eh... I hope it wasn't important! EEK!
Bell grabbed Ais' hand and pulled the startled young girl through the crowded street, her golden hair waving behind her like the pennant her father's company used to carry.
They ended up in front of a large cart that had smoke and steam wafting up from its surface. And, it smelled... amazing.
"This is a food cart, you can find all sorts of food at these."
Ais watched as a large burley individual behind the cart handed a foil wrapped package to someone waiting in line. He must have been the cart's owner. "Um... so it's like an outside kitchen?"
"Exactly!"
Even with the mouth-watering smells coming from the cart, Ais was unsure about it all. The last time she had dinner cooked outside, Celdia had given everyone food poisoning and mom and kept her in bed for three whole days!
The cart's owner peered at the edge of his cart and caught their eyes with a grin. "So what would two young customers such as yourselves like today?"
Bell smiled wide as he held up two fingers. "Two please."
And as he gave the man a handful of objects the owner passed back two foil wrapped packages. One of which Bell passed to Ais.
"Yep, I think you're going to like this." Bell said before he opened and dug into his own.
Ais unwrapped the foil to find a steamy... well, something inside. The outside looked dried, like it had a bit of crust to it, and it didn't look gross or anything like that... And even if she was not exactly hungry, it wouldn't hurt to try it. Right?
When she put it in her mouth... an explosion of amazingness happened. And before she knew it the only thing left in her hands was destroyed remnants of the foil wrapper.
Somehow Ais could tell that Bell was smiling even though his own cheeks were filled with the culinary perfection. "I would have gotten us another if I knew you were hungry..."
"Um... I didn't think I was hungry at-"
"!" Ais' breath caught as she glimpsed an instant of golden hair and white dress further down the road. Before she knew it, the wafish girl's body bolted forward before her mind could keep up with what was going on.
"Ais!"
Ais heard Bell's voice, but only as a distant murmur easily lost in the crowd. She weaved between cart's wheels, horse hoofs, and people's legs with a single minded determination. Quickly catching up with the figure she initially saw.
Ais reached out with one hand to tug at the women's white dress.
"...m-mom?" Ais croaked quietly.
"Oh dear, look at you... where are your parents?"
And just like that, everything came crashing down. The walls Ais had tried to build over the past few days, washed away with a tide of sadness, loneliness, and regret. Ais couldn't remember what else the woman that wasn't her mother said, or what she had replied back. But it couldn't have been much or long as the woman was gone by the time Bell caught up.
"Ais? Are you ok?"
"I... think I want to go back please..."
That night Ais woke with a start in her room at the Twilight Manor, clutching at the bed's white sheets. A flash of lightning illuminated the room's simple wooden bed, desk and chair, showcasing the overall room's undecorated sparseness. Thunder rolled soon after, loud and low, as a staccato rain pummeled against the room's window.
But it wasn't the sound of the current storm that had startled Ais from her sleep. It was the high-picked, shrill scream still reverberating amongst the stone walls.
Ais glanced wide-eyed at first the corners, and then the door, before she realized that the sound was actually coming from HER and calmed enough to quiet. The ruckus of the storm outside must have deafened her scream as this time no one had come running to see if she was alright.
Every night since she came to the Twilight Manor, nightmares had haunted Ais' dreams. Riveria had called them 'night terrors' but Ais knew what bad dreams were actually called. They were dreams of fire, ash, and smoke. In them, Ais would stand alone amongst the rubble of a ruined house. Her home. The smoke and soot stung her eyes, making it hard to see.
Then a monstrous shadow would arise, its faint outline framed against the smoke and darkness of night. Its bellowing roar was loud enough to confound her senses as the ground shook well enough to make her stumble. It was coming towards her... it was coming FOR her... Where was her father? Where was her mom? Why was she alone?!
Ais would start running, doing whatever she could to get away from the mindless horror. It was in this panic that Ais would startle herself awake.
Thunder rolled again, closer this time, and Ais could feel its rumble through the stones of the Twilight Mansion's spire to where she huddled on the bed.
It was like the dream made manifest, a waking nightmare. Gripped in her own bubble of terror, Ais shrank in on herself, pushing herself further into the corner as if to hide herself from the world.
No, stop... please go away... pleeeeease go away...
She tried to tell herself that things would be ok, she just needed to find her mom and dad and they would know what to do. Then everything would be ok.
She sat there, alone, for several minutes until she had calmed enough to realize where she was. Swallowing hard, Ais tried to remember one of the breathing exercises Riveria had been working with her on. It took a bit, especially with the storm continuing to rage outside, but after Ais felt marginally better.
A Light knock rapped against the wood of her room's door.
Stiff from sitting so long, Ais slowly climbed out of the bed moving towards the door. She wiped the backs of her hands across her eyes in an attempt to wipe away any tear marks that may have still been there. She didn't want the high-elf Riveria to catch her crying again.
With a small heave, Ais opened the door just a crack and peered outside.
"Oh. Hi Bell."
The white-haired youth stood just in the hallway, his arms wrapped around a large object clutched to his chest. While Ais knew that Bell's room was nearby to her own, it was the first time that he had actually come to her door.
"Hi Ais..." Bell fidgeted, shuffling his feet restlessly. "I overheard you were having bad dreams."
Ais narrowed her eyes in thought. "You... know about my dreams?"
Bell looked sheepishly down toward his feet. "I... ahh, overheard Riveria and Loki talking..."
He turned over the object in his arms unveiling its cover. It was a book.
'Dungeon Oratoria'
Ais tilted her head, considering the book in Bell's arms before asking in an interested voice, "What's that?" She opened the door a bit more, letting Bell slip in. She didn't want Bell to get in trouble if they were not supposed to be up late.
"It's a whole bunch of stories about heroes. My grandf… um, Gareth reads them to me at night sometimes. They helped me with bad dreams when I first came here."
Bell took a seat on the edge of Ais' bed, the mattress sagging under the weight. He gently caressed the cover of the book as he looked at it with a fond smile. "I was hoping they might help you too…"
If Bell would have been looking at her, perhaps he would have noticed the pang of hurt that crossed the young girl's golden eyes. Or perhaps he wouldn't, the moonlight filtering in through the room's single window was just diffused enough that it helped to keep things hidden.
Bell looked up when he realized she had gone silent. "Ais? Are you ok?"
"I-It's nothing." She quickly crossed the small room, grabbing the heavy magic stone lamp that rested on the desk.
They passed the time amiably, an hour or more passed with Bell flipping to and then reading his favorite stories while Ais sat next to him on the bed. The night's storm outside had even subsided, leaving a freshness in the air. Everything was going so well, until…
"Hey, what's that?" Ais pointed forcefully down at the book.
Bell backed up a few pages until he came upon an illustration. Pushing down on the drawing to smooth out the page it rested on.
"What is that?" Ais suddenly had a certain intensity
"Oh, that's the One Eyed Black Dragon."
Ais eyes bored into the image before her. The impossibleness of it all.
Believing Ais' silence to be nothing more than due to interest in the story, Bell continued. "It's from the story of Albert the Mercenary King and the spirit Aria."
Bell flipped to another page, this one showing a young man in dark armor who was of medium build and height and unadorned of a helmet that allowed his dark-straight shoulder length hair to fall and brush the pauldrons of his armor. Beside him, a woman stood perhaps a few inches shorter. She was golden of hair and eye and had an air of etherealness that even translated through the page.
Bell tilted his head at the image of the spirit staring back at them. "This may sound crazy, but you kind of look like Aria from this book..." Bell picked up the heavy book and tilted it to the side as if to get a better look.
"W-w-what happened to them?"
"Well, they went on many adventures together, but this story was when the One Eyed Black Dragon attacked. Albert stood up to the creature, and put out its eye. That's why the Black dragon now has that nickname." Bell turned back to the illustration of the great black dragon and pointed out its one empty eye socket.
"But… it wasn't enough." Bell turned back to the Mercenary King and Spirit, resting his hand over them. "In the end, the One Eyed Black Dragon killed Albert… and stole away the spirit Aria before fleeing. This story doesn't really have a happy ending."
A burning house, a bellowing roar, the ground shaking beneath her feet…
"How long…?"
"Hu?"
"How long ago did that happen?"
"Ehh…" Bell sat back from his book, mouth opening and closing as he racked his brain. One hand came up to scratch the back of his neck. "When I asked… I think they said a thousand years?"
One. Thousand. Years. A length of time so long that Ais couldn't fathom its scope. This was all too much. Her father? Gone. Dead at the claws of a nightmarish creature she couldn't close her eyes without seeing. Her mother? Captured for a thousand years, or something worse?
Who would be willing to stand against that monster that took everything away from Ais just a few days… no, that was not right… a thousand years ago? Who could rise up to save her mother? Who could save Ais?
Where were the heroes she used to know?
Her fathers once given advice echoed in the back of her mind. "One day little Ais… you'll find your own hero."
So where was her hero? Or did she leave them a thousand years ago too…
Ais felt like someone was tearing the heart out of her chest. She could feel her breath come out with a shake, and her eyes blurred with unshed tears. It was too much to take in. What did she do to deserve this? What could she even do now?
"Ais?"
And so, little Ais did the only thing she knew to do.
She ran.
"Ais?!"
As Ais leapt off the bed and tore across the room, she could hear Bell's small, alarmed voice behind her.
"AIS!"
She opened the room's door and tore through the Twilight Mansion's corridors, staircases, common room, and finally out into the night. The night guard to the mansion's front door started as she nearly clipped them on the way past.
She ran away from the pain, from the hurt. She ran away from the white-haired boy and his stories. She ran away from the certainty that nothing, NOTHING, would ever be right in the world ever again.
To be a Hero (Bell/Ais)
The streets and corridors of Orario were only dimly lit by the moonlight as Ais raced down alleys and sidestreets, the cool breeze blowing back her hair and her eyes clouded with tears. She was heedless of where she might be running to, only caring of her attempt to escape the absolute loneliness and pain that she had felt just shortly before.
She may have been surrounded by people in the Loki familia mansion, but they were not HER people. She didn't feel the safety and comfort she had with her parents, or any of the others that she had grown up around. She was an alien in a strange place, with strange people, and strange if not somewhat familiar customs. It was a different world, and in the final realization of her predicament caused a dam of uncertainty that had been building ever since she had awoken to break. It was a blind terror. One of a child's world being forcibly upended.
It was some time before Ais stopped, breathing in great gulps of breath like a blacksmith's bellows, cool sweat ran down her forehead and down her spine. The panic she had felt had calmed somewhat, allowing her room to think.
Yes, she may be in a strange place, and the people may be strange to her... but they had also been nice, they had not been mean, or cruel. And, well, she didn't really know anywhere else to go at any rate.
Thinking back, her cheeks reddened as she thought about how she ran away from Bell. At the time she hadn't really been thinking clearly... but would he be mad at her for how she acted? Still, she should probably get back... she'd have to apologize to him in the morning.
Ais looked around but was once more met with dismay when she realized that she had no clue where she was, or even how to get back to the Twilight Mansion. The street itself was wide with closed shops and a cafe lining the side. It may have been one of the many side streets that Bell pointed out to her when she accompanied him to run a message, but being so new to the city, she had no clue where she may be with the difference in light.
Relatively few people were on the street, seeming to move more through then to anywhere she could see. Thoughts of bandits and other misfortunes that she had heard from Mercenaries telling stories around the campfire came to the front of her mind, bringing up a different feeling of fear.
"Don't be ridiculous..." Ais whispered to herself, attempting to shield behind a bit of false bravado. "I'll just stop someone and ask for directions."
The sound of someone running up to her, solid boots striking the cobblestones with each step, caused Ais to jump around, searching for who would be assaulting her in the middle of the night on the empty street.
The form of a white-haired boy formed out of the darkness, breathing just as heavily as Ais herself just was.
"Whew, hey... *breath* I didn't think you'd ever stop. *breath*" Bell gulped down breath after breath as he struggled to calm his breathing. He shifted the story book he still held from one arm to the other.
"Whaa..? How..?" Ais just stared at the boy. She was going to ask how he had found her, or why he had followed her in the first place. However what came out of her mouth was... "Why did you bring your story book with you?"
Even though he was winded, she could tell that Bell's face burst out into a small blush.
"Ehh, I didn't really think when I rushed out after you. By the time I realized I had it, I was already outside of the Manor."
"But, then why did you follow me?"
"Well... when we were out delivering messages you didn't seem to know Orario very well." Bell raised his free hand to wipe the sweat off his brow. "I was worried that you wouldn't know the way back to the manor."
Thank goodness for small miracles. Ais wasn't sure what she would have done if Bell hadn't followed. Probably walk around in circles for hours.
"And... and I may have been worried about you. Hey, mind if we get moving? I don't really like this street."
Bell motioned Ais and they both started walking down the road in an awkward silence. It wasn't until they exited the side road which opened up to a wide water canal that Bell spoke up again.
The white-haired youth pointed over the water to a distant lit spire. It wasn't too far from their current location, and against the black night sky shown like a beacon. "There is the Twilight Manor, you can usually see the tops of the spires if you're in an open enough area..." Bell smiled wearily to Ais. "If you ever get lost, it's the easiest way to navigate back home."
Home Ais thought.
Where was home to her now? A home to Ais had always been with her father and mother... could she ever think of the Twilight Mansion as being her 'home'?
Leaving Ais to watch the distant spire, Bell walked over to the canal edge before he took off his boots and sat with a humph. The book sat on his lap and his feet dangled in the water, causing ripples as he slowly moved them back and forth. In the darkness the water looked like glass, or the surface of a mirror, until a ripple would shatter the illusion.
Bell looked back at Ais who was still staring toward the lit spiretops. "Why did you end up running Ais? Was my storytelling that bad?"
Ais shook her head before she joined Bell sitting by the canal, taking off her own boots and putting her feet in the cool water of the canal. A small fish arose from the darkness to nibble on her skin, its light bites having just enough pressure to tickle.
Bell stared into the darkness across the canal. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's ok."
Did she dare tell him? How would he react? Would he even believe her? These and a dozen other thoughts crowded for room in Ais mind, but before she could really consider them she was surprised to find herself already talking.
"... my parents' names are Albert and Aria..."
The words rolled out of Ais like a wave. She spoke of waking, of not knowing where she was. She spoke of her last memories of being with her parents and the nightmare that had crashed her entire world. She spoke of how no one told her about her parents, or their fate, until Bell told her their story from his book. She spoke about being frightened, and her worries about her mother possibly being taken by the dragon, just like in the story. At some point Ai's voice had broken into sobs, fresh tears running down her face from the raw emotions.
And in the simple logic of a child who just figured out that one plus one equals two, Ais knew what she had to do. She was tired of being afraid. She was tired of feeling helpless. She was tired of waiting on some hero to save her like a princess in Bell's story book.
Ais clutched her hands fierce enough to make her knuckles go white. "I need to be strong, like my dad. I'm going to get my mom back…"
When Ais had finally finished, Bell continued to sit still and silent as he had the whole time, and a small sense of dread started to flood over Ais.
Bell stared down at the book in his hands, fingers trailing over its cover before he spoke. "I'll help you Ais, and if your mom was taken by that Dragon... I'll help you get her back too."
Ais eyes went wide, whatever she was expecting it wasn't this. "But why?"
"Gareth is always telling me that to be a real hero it doesn't matter how strong you are, but if you're willing to do what is right."
"...what is right?" Ais thought about that in her head, tossing and turning the simple statement. Ais pulled back on her boots before she looked back at her reflection in the water's surface. "…are there any heroes left?"
Bell frowned for a moment before a lopsided grin appeared on his face.
"Well then." Bell got up, barefoot feet still wet from the canal's water and story book underarm. He brought up his free arm to point at the sky in a pose that would have been regal on anyone older than seven. "I'll need to become a hero!"
"Well look at what we have here..."
A rough voice called out of the side-street they had come out of, accompanied soon after by three larger forms that walked out of the street and to the canal's edge. They formed a loose semi-circle around the pair.
When Bell first heard the call he had rushed to put on his own boots, but by the time he was almost finished, leaving one boot only halfway on, they were already surrounded.
"Yea Ged, looks like we caught a rabbit out of water!"
Ais, a bit confused by the group and Bell's reaction, spoke without thinking. "Um why would there be a rabbit in the water?"
The three older children focused hard eyes on her. The middle one who's name was apparently Ged, was becoming a bit red in the face. And for her part, Ais didn't shrink back.
"You think you're something special, don't ya? Well I hate to say it but being friends with this one" Ged smiled venomously as he pointed a finger in Bell's direction. "is a crime, and you'll share in his punishment."
Ged shifted his gaze to Bell. "What'cha gonna do? You don't have your little elf friend to protect you!" He spat on the ground at Bell's feet. "You deserve this, for talking back, for cheating me out of those vails, you'll learn the hard way. And what's that you have in your hands? Well whatever, we'll take that off you too."
Bell held out his storybook to Ais, "Ais, please take it and go."
"But!" Did Bell just tell her to leave him?!
"Just GO!"
Ais turned and started to run down the canal path toward the Twilight Manor. She briefly looked back before continuing to see Bell standing resolute against the three individuals. He should have looked silly, but Ais was reminded of another individual that had one gone out to face insurmountable odds.
Ais turned back around and fled. The moisture of new tears started to form in her eyes.
"Just where do you think you're going?" Ged nodded his head to the nearest lacky, a male member and he moved to grab Ais' arm. A single flying boot hit him in the face, briefly stunning the lackey.
Bell stood, one naked foot upon the cobblestones as he watched Ais disappear into the darkness.
At this Ged was even more red faced then before. He moved to race toward the fleeing golden haired girl but Bell stepped in the way, blocking his chase. The golden hair vanished around a corner into a different street.
Ged growled as he raised both hands and pushed Bell to the ground. Bell rolled several times before finally coming to a complete stop. "I've been into the dungeon fighting GOBLINS! What do you think you can do to me!"
A female voice of Ged's other companion spoke up from his other side. "Careful with him Ged! You don't want to have Ganesha familia or the Guild coming around asking questions!"
Ged hesitated for a moment before his scowl was replaced with a sinister smile again. "Oh he won't be too bad, we'll just rough him up to teach him to listen to his betters!" Ged picked up Bell by his collar, bringing the white haired boy's face close to his. "And you know what? I'm going to find your little friend too. And you'll know... you'll know that you were the one that caused me to hurt her. It will be your fault you little rat."
Ged then threw Bell into a pile of wooden boxes next to the canal causing everything to fade to black.
Bell opened his eyes feeling a bit stiff but happily surprised to find himself in his own room at the Twilight Manor. The room was still dark so he couldn't have been out long. If not for the soreness still in his muscles he may have thought the entire night had been a dream.
Bell's room had slowly started to accumulate things. Along with the claw-like dungeon drop on his desk, a mix of hero books and Riveria's assignments were strewn along its surface. He had even asked Gareth to add a small shelf above the desk where he started saving healing potions and other knickknacks received from people in the familia and other places in town. Amongst the rubble were even two of Kalos' food replacement potions Bell asked for, not that he would ever dare eat them.
As he tried to get up, a voice piped up from beside him on the bed. "Don't get up! Riveria says you still need rest."
Looking to the side, he saw Ais' familiar golden hair and eyes staring back at him.
"What are you…?" Bell didn't get to finish before Ais cut in.
"I found Riveria and Gareth and we came back for you..." Ais was quiet for a moment before she added. "A werewolf with a blue lightning bolt on his face chased off the people that attacked us. He didn't seem very nice." Ais' cheeks puffed out before she seemed to wilt before Bell's eyes. "I shouldn't have run away, it wasn't the right thing to do."
"That's on me, I asked you to." Bell looked over to his desk where 'Dungeon Orario' lay. "I really didn't want to lose that book. I shouldn't have taken it outside anyway…"
"Bell… you also sent me away to protect me and keep me safe."
Bell smiled at her from where he lay on the bed. "Well that's what heroes are supposed to do, isn't it?"
Ais turned away and bit her bottom lip as she stared at the wall for a second. When she turned back to Bell he could see a hardness in her eyes, a sense of resoluteness that he hadn't felt in her in the few days that he had known the girl.
"I can't keep running, Bell. I don't want to be afraid. I don't want to be helpless. That… that monster took everything, and… she is my mom…"
Ais produced an audible gulp. "Besides, every hero I ever knew died… even my dad was killed by that… that monster…"
Ais sat up straight and poked her finger into the young man's ribs eliciting a slight groan of discomfort from the young boy. "If you want to be a hero, then you are going to need someone to help protect you so you don't end up dead too."
Bell almost jumped out of where he lay in the bed. "But! That's not how the stories are! The hero always saves the princess!"
Ais shook her head in agitation. "Then this is going to be a new story."
Bell's mouth opened and shut several times, looking a lot like one of the fish that had been nibbling on her skin at the canal. Finally his mouth fell into a weary grin of astonishment. "So then, who is going to write down all these heroic things we end up doing?"
This apparently was when Bell's strength finally tuckered out as he collapsed into an exhausted sleep.
Ais smiled, looking down at the sleeping youth. She too was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open. Her own room... too far away. So, with the innocence of youth she curled up in the bed beside Bell, 'borrowing' his pillow and one of his two blankets. And for the first time since she came to the Twilight Manor, Ais was finally able to sleep through the night.
Author's Note:
Hello again! It's been what, a month since the last update? Sorry for the wait, but I've been adding a little more on my plate to hopefully improve my own personal flushing out of ideas, practices, and execution in my writing. I recently found Brandon Sanderson's 2020 BYU lectures on writing science fiction and fantasy literature and found it fascinating to see/hear his own approach to creating plots and developing characters. Furthermore, I am trying to roll some of his lessons into my own methodologies. It is my hope that I can continue to spin this story into a thread of something that all of you may continue to enjoy.
Like always, please stay safe out there everyone. Sending good vibes and well wishes.
Review Responses:
gogmaggog chapter 3 . May 31
this is great story and welcomed one. sorry but if i remember correctly when God or goddess is sent back to heaven members of that familia loos their falna, if zeus is sent back to heaven zald should know becouse his condition would be worsen becouse of losing falna, if i remember incorrectly than sorry
Response: You are absolutely right, at least as far as I'm aware of the cannon story. Zald would have been aware of Zeus's death… as would anyone that was traveling with him at the time.
Wrentt chapter 3 . May 27
Magic idea:
symphonic eden
Magic that allows the user to control the noise of himself and around is body at small range.
Can be used to strengthent the Body making it faster and more durable (think of it as ariel), to completely erase the user noise or the noise around him.
If the user touchs someone, he can make to noise go through the person damaging it and destroying the person senses or stuning the person Depending on the output.
Response: 'Symphonic Eden' reminds me a little bit of Bell's powers in 'The Cure' by IreJasmine. (good read btw) I really like the multi-layered spell approach. Having a type of enhancement magic is definitely a pathway I had considered.
Skill idea :
white noise
Amplifys the user hearing making him more sensitive to noise and more alert to everything around him .
The user can also hear other people and monsters "noise" making him able to partially read a person movements.
Response: You know there is something I had always wondered. As an Adventurer gets stronger their senses expand. Does that then make their hearing (or other senses) more susceptible to being overwhelmed? It seems at the very least that having such great hearing would lead to difficulties holding a normal conversation in a rowdy bar, or even at home when there is a leaky tap in the house next door.
SoarenStrafer chapter 3 . May 26
hmmmm... some thoughts about skills/magic. since skills/magic from canon comes from some deep emotion or motivation like how Bell got Argonaut by wanting to be a hero and Lily got Cinder Ella by wanting to be someone else. if you're not gonna use a grimoire I'd like to see how you make the story if you're going to include that, though It may be hard I'd like to see it. Also, ideas for magic, giving Bell something like Riveria's skill that gives her layers in her magic but this time instead of strength it would be split in utility. something like if he were to have lightning magic Bell would have one for enchantment, one for an attack, and one making a sword made of magic. If you read this thank you, and if you could please consider it.
Response: We'll have to see Also I really do like the idea of different layers to the magic, or even different uses of the same magic but able to be applied in different ways for effect.
NiebieskiLis chapter 3 . May 25
Yes finały best girl Ais on stage loved chapter Bell goes for winę and comes with a girl can see Loki reaction on ews" what he is with girl already ?is't he too young for that".
I think Bell future nickname is preety obvious wink much to horror of Bell yes you are a rabbit .
For magic Now im confused I mean ours suggestions were not some overpovered storms like Argonaut ulti from memoria freese
That loot materiał Bell has on that note how Long is it ? For short sword or dagger? Wonder if only one weapon can be made from it
Response: The drop material Bell has is around 2 feet or 60cm. Since the loot material is melded with at least a base metal of some kind during the smithing process that would lend itself to probably be able to craft anything from a 'hand and a half sword' (aka the 'bastard' sword) to multiple smaller weapons.
Daemon of Wrath chapter 3 . May 24
Maybe something like an enchant type magic? Like the ability to imbue elemental energies into weapons?
But I do like the Forgotten Lullaby idea. Sound magic is interesting. But given how he doesn't know Alfia yet, it is unlikely his magic would be based on hers at all.
Then again, this occurred to me, but given Bell's speed and how he is with Loki Familia...do you plan on giving him the Alias Sleipnir(the 8 legged horse. Child of Loki). Maybe something like Shattered World from Fire Force? Where the world around the user slows down? But that is just me rambling. Or maybe Magic that enhances the user's speed and reaction time? When applying speed to physics, it makes his attacks hit harder. And faster reaction time allows him to move in response to attacks.
Or maybe a minor clairvoyance Magic that let's him see a few seconds in the future?
But Lightning Magic is also cool. Not just because of Zeus, but because of the Argonaut and Jupiter reference given Bell is Argo's reincarnation. Perhaps a Lightning enchantment that enhances physical abilities with the risk of painful backlash and internal damage if built up for too long, but able to discharge said build up for a widespread attack?
Response: Nice thought on Sleipnir and it's a decent fit for Bell in anycase, and it wasn't something that I had even considered tbh. How Bell changes into the 'Jackalope' was one of the pillars I had initially started the thought process of this story on.
That clairvoyance spell is extremely interesting, especially with its potential ramifications. I'm personally of the opinion that the 'future' is never set, but always malleable. So, looking through that lens a person able to see into the future would be reviewing a great number of possibilities of potential futures that derive from any number of actions or events from the 'present' time (now) to however far into the possible futures they can see. This could be hundreds, if not thousands, of possible outcomes that a person would have to scan, evaluate, and ultimately decide which of the possible futures will come to pass. I'd be willing to bet that dealing with that for too long, or attempting to see more into the future than a few seconds, could drive the user insane if they were not careful.
mairsarmy321 chapter 3 . May 24
Omg great chapter and we finally get the introduction of Aiz. i cannot wait to see their relationship develop if you are planning to make it Bell x Aiz.
Also, i'm not entirely sure if all this is taking place before Evilus attacked Orario with Alfia and Zard or after. If it is before, will Bell meet his Aunt Alfia and learn about his mother from her or will it all be anonymous since i'm assuming she would want to keep it all a secret?
Anyways cannot wait for the next chapter
Response: The story starts around 2 years before the Astrea Record events where Evilus attacks Orario with Alfia and Zard. Alfia will run into Bell during that time and at this point but I'd rather not give too much away from what I have planned. :) Sorry
itzyendor chapter 3 . May 24
Eyo! This story has a great start so far, and I am hoping for more. Of there is something I want to ask, then in this chap about Aiz being locked in that basement on smth, is this a canon detail or is it just something ya made up?
Response: 'Frozen-in-carbonite' Ais being in the basement is my own brainchild since we don't know much about how the Loki familia found her.
Wrentt chapter 3 . May 24
Are Bell and Ais gonna become adventures at the same time? If so in how many chapters?
Is Bell gonna still have the liaris Freese?
Response: Homefully this chapter helped answer a part of this question :) So yes, they are going to become adventurers together! In fact, the mass majority of this story is going to be their journey. Sometimes together, sometimes more individually. To this point though, Bell won't be getting Liaris Freese since he won't need it to 'catch up'.
haziqsaffari2 chapter 3 . May 24
Did Bell just found Aiz? Like to see how it goes as he was the one to bring her into Loki Familia.
Response: Yep!
mistalenny chapter 3 . May 24
aww I can't wait for little Bell and little Ais interactions!
Response: :D I like having the younglings play off one another.
Xealchim chapter 3 . May 24
See, this is flows much better, awesome chapter
Response: Thanks!
USSRParrot chapter 3 . May 24
I think forgotten lullaby is neat although maybe change rondo to "blocking all sound and magic" as it blocking physical attacks doesn't make sense. It also makes it a bit more risky instead of being an extremely strong defense that just consumes mind.
Response: Interesting change, I like the vulnerability it provides. Effective counter against magic, but still vulnerable to more physical attacks.