52. Memories, Part 3

Frey soon returned, ready to cast the spell. Arganan knew he could do little but watch at this point, and makes ure that nothing went wrong. She was more powerful now, so he was confident that she might be able to pull off the spell and get Ventuswill back.

So why did he have the feeling that something might go wrong?

Frey took a deep breath, taking a step forward. She held out her hands, before yelling.

"GATE REJECT!"

Light flashed around Frey, surrounding her after it burst from her hands. Some of the light accumulated itself in front of her, growing and expanding. A gasp left Frey, and Arganan swallowed, trying not to think too hard about the last times he'd seen light this bright (including his own near-demise).

"Frey!? Dylas called out, just as the light became too bright for anyone to see. Arganan instinctively rushed towards Frey, just as the light hit peak brightness, and…

…Arganan heard a voice. There was nothing but darkness now around him, except for Frey who stood nearby, also confused.

"Are you okay?" Arganan asked Frey.

Frey nodded. She looked nervous as she neared him. "Y-yeah…but..what is this?"

"…me?"

Both of them went silent at the sound. That voice was too familiar. The space around them began to shift and change, and soon Arganan saw the dragon Ventuswill.

"Can you hear me?" Ventuswill stared down at a sleeping Amber, before sighing. "What, you're asleep? I guess this is for the best."

Amber didn't respond. Arganan took a step forward, trying to check her pulse, but his hand passed through Amber's body.

"Is this a memory?" Frey whispered.

He nodded, looking up at Frey as he got to his feet. "I think it is."

"Amber…It is you, Amber! You still live!" Ventuswill sounded relieved, smiling down at Amber. "Thank the stars! Oh, how long has it been? I remember it all so fondly…come, smile for me like you used to. Smile, smile! Amber..?" A sigh left Ventuswill, and she shook her head. "I want to see you smile again. But…should you remember me, it'll only make you sad. And that'll lead you to think about wild plans to "rescue" me again. I wont have that, so I'm going to seal the memroies away. Just the ones of me, that is. So please, smile for me Amber. Brightly. Innocently. Just like you used to. That will be enough for me."

Ventuswill tipped her head upwards, in a silent roar. Magic light shone around Amber, familiar lighting that Arganan remembered seeing when trying to find a runaway Dylas. As the light faded, Ventuswill sighed, looking down at the still-asleep, but memoryless, Amber.

"Goodbye, Amber. I will not forget you. I won't forget flying with you across the cloudless skies…"

The vision shifted.

It was now Dylas that lay there, still wrapped in the bandages that he was in from when Arganan first met him.

Ventuswill sighed, shaking her head. "Hmph. Well, aren't you sleeping like a baby? And what an adorable baby face you have, too, for all that you are a grump when awake. Are you certain you couldn't do a thing about that?"

A weak chuckle left the dragon, and Arganan could only watch as the familiar glow of magic appeared before her. "Earthmates and Guardians, you are all such a selfish lot! You insiste on going about and doing me favors without telling me. You have no idea, do you? You can't know what it feels lik to be the one left behind. You culd never understand how heavy that guilt can be."

She faltered, and then swallowed. "I never knew myself. I had no idea it could be this hard to be left behind without a single word…"

The magic was used again, and faded like last time.

"Goodbye, Dylas. You who call my name. I remember your brusque voice. How could I forget it?"

The vision shifted once more, to Dolce and Pico.

"Is Dolly all right!?" Pico asked, frantic.

"Yes. But there's one thing I must do." Ventuswill took a deep breath. She looked like she had many things left to tell her, but couldn't. Arganan knew it must have hurt to say nothing.

Arganan realized that this was the time when he, Frey, and Vishnal overheard Ventuswill and Pico talking, just before Ventuswill first collapsed. The magic was used, and Ventuswill looked weaker than before.

"I must say goodbye, Dolce. Be happy. That is all your parents ever wanted of you. Even should the rest of the world forget, I will always remember. So please…please, Dolce. Be happy..."

The vision shifted to Leon, Arganan, and Forte along with Ventuswill.

Ventuswill looked Forte in the eye. "I'm getting her back. All of you, stay here!"

"What?" Arganan burst out in memory. "You said you couldn't leave Selphia! How can you…?"

Ventuswill didn't answer him, roaring. Her voice reverberated through the hall, before she began taking flight. With a few flaps of her mighty wings, she soared out of the open roofing, before vanishing in thin air.

"What the…?" Forte's jaw dropped at the sight. "Where did she go?"

A soft chuckle left Leon, and Arganan's gaze snapped towards him, glaring at him. "Do you honestly think this is funny? Really?"

"She'll get her back." Leon offered Arganan a soft smile. "Don't worry. I haven't been awake long, but…I can tell she cares for that Earthmate I told her about. It's in her eyes."

The vision shifted a little forwards in time, to see Ventuswill and Leon standing alone with each other, speaking.

"I'm sick of everyone leaving me behind to go off on their selfish missions to save me." Ventuswill mused.

Leon offered her a reassuring smile. "Though I'm glad you got her back…I should tell you something. The Earthmate who saved me told me to tell you this…"thank you, for being my friend. It was fun.""

A gasp left the dragon. For once, Ventuswill looked stunned. Leon chuckled a little, before continuing.

"That Earthmate was rather entertaining. Calling Ventuswill herself, one of the Four Native dragons, a person 'friend.'"

A sigh left Ventuswill. "That fool…!"

The former Guardian tilted his head. "So is that "fool" the one you chose for your current Priest?"

Ventuswill shook her head. "Hmph! I abolished that irksome position centuries ago. Even had I not, who would choose someone so selfish and headstrong as their Priest?"

"Then what is this person to you if not your Priest?"

"I would say…much like you, I suppose."

It was Leon's turn to be stunned. "What?"

"Like all of you who became my Guardians. You are all simply my friends." She clarified.

"Venti…"

It was Ventuswill's turn to smile. "My thanks, Leon. It's only by the efforts of you and the other Guardians that I am alive today. Not only that…I am no longer alone!"

Frey stood there. Arganan stood with her, and both faced Ventuswill. He realized that Ventuswill stared directly at both of them, and perhaps this was the time for them to talk. But what could they say?

Frey beat Arganan to the punch before he could say a thing. "Hey, Venti? Don't leave us." She pleaded.

Ventuswill gazed at her with a sigh.

"Please, don't go away!" Frey begged again. Arganan squeezed Frey's hand as Ventuswill swallowed, looking down at her and him.

"Goodbye, Arganan and Frey. The rest is up to you. Were it my decision, I would not go. But I must."

"What do you mean, you must?" Arganan asked, frowning. "Because you're dead?"

The dragon could only nod. "I was truly happy, meeting you. Because of you, I was able to be fond of mortals again." She faltered, and her whole being flickered. "If…if we were to meet again…somewhere…sometime…then I do not wish to go. I want to go back..to spend the day in idle conversation and simple fun…"

Ventuswill faded even faster before his and Frey's eyes, even as Frey continued pleading and crying. "Thank you, both of you. My last friends…I do not wish to be alone anymore. I don't wish to be left all by myself. I cannot stand it—!"

Arganan opened his eyes to realize that he was on the ground, holding Frey close in his arms. He blinked, noticing her breathing, still unconscious. He felt a hand touch his shoulder, and he looked up, seeing Pico.

"Are you okay?" Pico asked. Arganan nodded, moving to sit up, still holding Frey carefully so she could sit up, too. He heard Frey groan, and he did his best to look her in the eye.

"Frey, are you all right?"

"Ngh…" Frey moved to stamd, before helping Arganan up. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"You're okay!" Pico gasped.

"Don't make us worry like that anymore!" Dolce heaved a hugh sigh of relief.

"What's wrong?" Dylas asked, noticing the tears in Frey's eyes. Arganan instinctively took out his handkerchief upon seeing her tears, offering it to her.

"I had a dream." Frey swallowed, accepting the handkerchief from Arganan.

"A dream?" Arganan repeated, frowning.

She nodded. "About Venti. It was when she had to erase all of your memories…and when she was disappearing, herself."

"You got to see Venti's dreams?" Amber asked.

"Yeah."

"I was there, too." Arganan managed, looking towards Frey, and then to the other Guardians.

"What did she say?" It was Dylas that asked. "Did you see anything? Did you learn anything about her at all!?"

"Calm down, Dylas." Leon shot him a look. "They both just woke up."

"I know, I know! But…!"

Frey took a deep breath. "She said that she didn't want to go. She didn't want to be alone, anymore."

Arganan nodded in agreement. "She also asked us to take care of this town for her. She said she wanted to see us smile as she left…those were her last words."

"But what does that mean?" Dolce pressed.

"That means Ventuswill didn't want to leave." Arganan concluded. "She wanted to stay here and keep living with everyone. It wasn't just all of you that wished that. Therefore, it's not a selfish wish to bring her back, despite what all of you were concerned about earlier."

"We really can't quit, now." Dylas looked a little more relieved. "If that's the case, I say let's pour it on. We're gonna bring her back to us if we have to rip open that dumb gate with our bare hands!"

Leon nodded, smiling. "I agree."

Before anyone else could speak up, Calista, Zael, Therius and Arthur came rushing in.

"Is everyone okay?" It was Zael that asked. "We heard a loud cracking sound from across town."

"We're okay." Argaann reassured him. "Just a spell that went wrong, but no one's hurt."

"Ah! There you are, Dylas." Arthur looked towards Dylas. "Hm? Dylas, do you have a cold? It sounded like you had a bit of a stuffy nose…"

"Wha? No! I-it's nothing! Just a case of the sniffles!"

"Then it is a cold. That is not 'nothing,' I would think."

Leon chuckled a bit at this, and Arganan couldn't help but laugh as well.

Calista noticed Leon, raising a brow. "Hmm? You as well, Leon? Your eyes are a bit red."

Leon frowned, shaking his head quickly. "You're seeing things."

Dylas couldn't help but crack a grin at that. Arganan looked towards Zael, who shrugged.

"About the gate thing…" Sir Therius started.

Arganan sighed. "If you're going to say that I can't go into the Forest of Beginnings, well…"

Zael sheepishly looked between the white knight and the former Count. "We'll discuss that a little later."

"Anyway," Arthur continued, "I wanted to speak with Dylas about something. I found something might be able to open the gate!"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What is it?" Leon's curiosity was piqued.

"I've brought it with me." Arthur took out none other than a Rune Sphere.

"A rune sphere?" Arganan stared at the sphere. "How did you get it?"

"All things in this world hold the power of Runes." Arthur pointed out. "And the Forest of beginnings is where those runes all eventually return. Not even a Native Dragon can defy that. Yet Lady Ventuswill held out against it, delaying her return for centuries. She managed only with the power you gave to her. That power is then, in essence,the power to disrupt the natural order, and the power to change the world."

"And if anything ere to hold power of a level that you four held as Guardians…"

"That would be a Rune Sphere!" Kiel suddenly called, rushing in. "Geez, Arthur! Why'd you have to leave me behind?"

Arthur offered him an apologetic glance. "My apologies. I guess I was too excited to contain myself."

"Kiel?" Arganan hadn't expected Kiel to show up. "What are you doing here?"

The young lad offered him a smile. "I'm helping Arthur, of course! Well, sorta anyway…"

"What?"

"See," Kiel beamed, "we don't want to give up on Lady Ventuswill, either."

"Anyway," Arthur finished, "this may be able to open the gate. What do you want to do?"

"I'll go!" Frey called.

Arganan raised a brow. "Recovered already, Frey?" He knew he shouldn't have to ask, but he wanted to be sure. Then again, this was the same person that fell off a cliff, survived, and used an Escape Spell to get to safety.

"Of course!" Frey nodded.

"Well, then, I think it's wise that Frey takes the Rune sphere." Arthur concluded, offering the sphere to her.

She blinked, staring at the sphere, and then up at Arthur. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Yes. In fact, I insist you do."

"This is all just a theory mind you, but…" Kiel took a deep breath. "I think that whole "proof" of world changing ability is tied up with being an Earthmate. I mean, they invented the spell to make people into Guardians, right? And the Rune Sphere itself can make people able to use Earthmate magic. So I think an Earthmate's power is gonna be needed if we want to open that gate."

Arthur nodded in agreement. "What he said. Will you do this for us?"

Frey nodded. "Definitely!" She looked towards Calista sheepishly. "Well…not too soon, of course. I have to prepare, and we need to finish arranging trade routes, all of that."

"And I'd like to be caught up on what you have planned." Arganan managed, looking towards his niece. "Especially if the Princess will be absent for a little while."

Calista nodded, offering her uncle a smile. "Of course."

The rest of the day was filled in with explanations of the arrangements Lazulis and Selphia had in store, to start a few trade deals they had, and also use the opportunity for Selphia to network with the rest of the Empire that Lazulis was part of, while Lazulis could do the same with the rest of the kingdom of Norad. If the routes proved successful in the long run, it would open up prosperity and connections for both places. Arganan listened carefully, making mental notes, but the knowledge of Frey leaving Selphia to try to get Ventuswill back still hung in the back of his mind.

She'd been successful once, he knew. But would she be successful again?