Sharena and Kiran sat on the bench in the garden, neither speaking a word.
Sharena looked over to the door to see Matthew already returning. "What are you doing back already?"
"They sent me back to you." He approached giving a somewhat sheepish smile. His lip was split and there was reminance of blood below his nose.
Sharena leaned in to look at him. "Did they hit you?"
"I'm fine." He assured her.
She squinted at him suspiciously for a moment before deciding to back off. She looked at the roses and sighed before suddenly popping up, her eyes sparkling with an idea. She looked at Kiran. "You know what I forgot existed?"
Kiran looked at her cluelessly.
"The rose festival is going on. We should go to it." She sounded excited.
"I don't know." Kiran looked at the dirt. "I'm not sure I'm up for it."
"Oh come on," She begged. "You need to relax a little before this stress kills you."
Kiran just sat silently,
"How about this," She looked at them ready to propose a deal, "If I can convince Alphonse to come, then you come too, otherwise I'll go on my own. Is that a deal."
Kiran sighed. "Fine."
Sharena bounced excitedly. She turned to Matthew telling him, "Stay here." before running off.
Kiran looked at Matthew, "Do you think she'll be able to convince him?"
"Hard to tell." Matthew sat down cautiously on the bench near Kiran. He quickly relaxed.
Kiran stared off at the sky, "So she wants to go to the festival… The thought of it brings back memories…"
"Back when things were better." Matthew sighed.
They sat in silence a bit before another young man walked into the garden. His green hair gently ruffled in the breeze.
Kiran looked up at him, "Greetings, Alm."
Alm smiled and gave a slight nod. "Hello Kiran." He looked at Matthew and greeted him just the same before sitting on the bench.
He sat quietly for a moment before finally speaking, "I overheard Sharena talking about the festival as she passed."
Kiran looked at Alm, "What about it?"
"I was wondering if I could go with you. I haven't seen much outside of the castle since I got here."
"Well," Kiran hesitated for a moment, "we haven't decided whether or not we will go." They paused for a moment, "But if we do you could tag along."
"Thank you." Alm smiled at them before watching the sky. "Do you ever get homesick?" He asked suddenly.
"What?" Kiran looked at him puzzled for a moment.
"Do you ever miss your home? Where you came from?"
"Oh…" Kiran looked up at the sky, "Sometimes I really do miss home. But I do like it here with all of you too."
"I like it here too, but sometimes I miss my friends. Seeing everyone here with people they've known a long time." He fidgeted with one of the small gold rings on his hand, "Seeing people with their family."
Kiran looked at Alm, "Sounds like you really miss her."
"Yes I do," Alm sighed, "But I miss everyone else just as much. Do you think they'll ever come into this world?"
"It's possible. We've seen people from all different places and time periods. I'm sure one of your friends is bound to come one of these days. I'll keep a watch out for them, okay?"
"Thank you." Alm fidgeted in his pockets for a moment before pulling out a piece of paper. "Here, hold onto this just in case." He handed Kiran a picture. "Don't worry, I have another picture."
Kiran took the picture and looked at it. It was a beautifully drawn picture. Their face saddened a little bit, but did their best to hide it. The picture was of Alm and his wife, along with multiple of his friends. A few whose faces that Kiran recognized. Kiran remembers the face of every person they unwilling dragged into this world.
They looked at Alm, forcing a smile, "I'll tell you if anyone comes."
Sharena walked up to the slightly ajar door, stopping right as she were about to open it and just listened to the talking.
"Are you sure we must do this?" Alphonse said, sounding concerned. "It sounds a bit extreme."
"You are aware of the danger they pose don't you?" Xander said to him sternly. "They must be controlled. If one can bypass the friendly fire restriction, they can bypass the others. It is obvious that the power of the normal brand is not enough."
"But Xander, a fire brand?" Alphonse argued.
"It's the strongest we have. Unless you want you or even your sister to fall to one of them." A deeper voice replied.
It went quiet for a moment.
"So I take we are at an agreement?" He spoke again.
"Not all of them."
"Of course not." Xander gave a slight laugh, "That would be far too much unnecessary work. Only a select few. It will set an example to the other ones down there. You know who."
"I-I do, but how are we going to retrieve them? I doubt any will come willingly."
"That is why we have men who are specially trained in handling them to do that for us. They know what they signed up for."
The three approached the door now.
Sharena scrambled back a ways to make it seem like she was just arriving.
Alphonse exited the room followed by Xander and another man.
The tall man was clad in thick red armour with a long golden cape. He gave Sharena a polite nod as he passed.
"Come Zelgius," Xander looked at the man in red, "I need your help with something."
He nodded and followed Xander down the hall.
Sharena looked at her brother, "Alphonse I wanted to ask you something."
Alphonse raised a brow, "Yes, Sharena?"
"I was wondering." She joined her hands in front of her chest, "If you would go to the festival with me!" She sounded almost desperate.
"Sure." Alphonse smiled.
"See I knew you wouldn't go, you really-" Sharena paused for a moment. "Wait. What?" Sharena looked at him surprised.
"I said I would come with you."
"Oh!" She hopped happily and then grabbed his hand, "Let's go, Kiran is waiting!" She darted off dragging her brother behind her.
Sharena rushed out the door to the garden, "Come on Kiran, we are going!"
Kiran gave a small sigh before standing up.
The group moved through the cities busy streets toward the waterfront where the main part of the festival was being held, occasionally being greeted by passersby. The sun was just beginning to set but the festival was far from dead. All along the river there was just a sea of stands with vendors selling all kinds of goods. The group consisting of Sharena, Alphonse, Kiran, Matthew and Alm stood at the entrance of the festivals main boarders.
The sunset shimmered on the water as the tent lights began to flicker on one by one like fireflies lighting the night. Just because the sun had gone down did not stop the festival.
Some gathered around the music that was being played in the heart of the festival. Carts with beautifully arranged flowers created a semi circle around the square. The smell of roses heavily scented the air.
Nearby children dragged their parents to the numerous attractions that the festival offered. There were pony rides and a petting zoo, and for those who were brave enough, a chance to pet and sit on a wyvern, an experience very generously provided by members of the Royal Army.
The festival was one of the greatest times for the country, because for a brief moment, everyone was happy. One of the greatest attractions of the festival was the Heroes who came to it. Towns people have always heard tales of the Heroes joining this world to fight for Askr, and during the festival was one of the few times people got the chance to meet them in person.
Heroes began attending the festival the first year they had arrived, many have managed to grow a large fanbase surrounding them. People traveled from all over the land to be able to join in the festival, many for the sole reason of being able to meet the heroes in person.
Even heroes who have not made an appearance in the festival in years carried a large fanbase. People are unfortunately disappointed each year when they fail to show.
For lots of people, the veteran heroes mean a lot to them. They were the first heroes to enter this world, the first ones to bring hope and joy to the people of Askr. Many of them are highly looked up to. Children who saw a hero for the first time all those years ago come to the festival to seek them out once more.
Kiran watched as a young boy, maybe only 12 or so, tug on his mother's sleeve.
"Mom, have you seen him yet?"
"I haven't yet." She looked at him, "I'm sorry sweetheart," She said gently, "Hector may not be here this year."
The boy looked at his mother sadly, and she gave him a hug before continuing walking again.
Kiran looked around the festival, occasionally spotting those who were clearly looking for someone.
Sharena wandered to one of the stalls and picked up a cute handmade doll. She looked at it fondly before looking at her brother, "Do you remember the first time ma took us to the festival?"
"Yeah." He looked up at the stars and smiled, remembering the first time.
Sharena Giggled, "You where such a baby. You just hung onto mother the whole time."
Alphonse's cheeks blushed, "Oh well you don't have to tell everyone that."
Sharena put the doll back and nudged her brother, "You know it's true. But you've really come out of your shell since then." She continued down the path followed by the rest.
The group would be occasionally stopped by townsfolk who wanted to speak to them and share their stories with them. They made their way to the central square. The crowds thickened and the music grew louder the closer to the heart they traveled.
They all laughed and enjoyed themselves just in the sheer motion of traveling along the road and socializing with the citizens and browsing the booths.
They stood on the edge of the central square, it was lively and brightly lit. Tall pine trees pierced the dark skies. The stars twinkled just beyond their reach. A glorious sky of thousands of stars. The breeze blew gently and Kiran sat staring at the stars.
Alm stood watching longingly has couples danced in the center. He turned to Alphonse, "Say, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Well I was thinking," Alm scratched his head, "I never really got to know my blood family, and I remember Kiran saying people from all different worlds and times come here, so I was wondering if it would be possible that if any of my family where to come into this world, if they could be stationed here at the castle instead of another station?"
"Well," Alphonse thought for a moment. "I can see that being a possibility, but I would have to talk to the others first."
Alm lit up, "You'll ask them right?"
Alphonse gave a friendly smile and nodded, "Yeah. I'll talk to them."
Kiran watched silently, their stomach dropping at the suggestion. We aren't sure who his family is. What if they have already come and gone…?
Sharena looked around at all the happy people. The costumes and toys all around them. The gentle smell of roses filled the air. She looked at her brother. "Do you remember the first time we went to the Festival with Kiran? It felt so long ago." She looked fondly at the stars above. "The first time those children first saw the heroes. Just how amazed they were."
She looked at Alphonse, hopeful. "It could be like that again you know."
Alphonse looked at his sister with a slight gleam of recollection in his eyes. He hastily looked away from her. "No it can't. You know that."
"But we could! We don't have to continue like this."
He looked at her with a look of pain, before walking away entirely. He stopped for a moment, his back to Sharena, "Even if we could. It wouldn't matter. They are gone now and there is nothing left to bring back." And continued back to the castle.
Alm looked at Sharena, confused, "What happened?"
Sharena forced a smile, "Oh it's nothing. Just something that happened a while ago. Don't worry about it."
Alm looked to both Kiran and Matthew for any kind of hint, but both just shrugged in response.
Sharena felt bad about lying to him, but it was what she had to do. She perked up again. "But no time to be glum! Let's enjoy ourselves."
She turned to enter the crowd. Just as Kiran turned to follow they locked eyes with someone and immediately stopped.
A shiver crawled down Kiran's spine as they felt cold amber eyes piercing their very being.
A man stood motionless in the shadow of a far tree, his ratty silver braid swayed slightly. His appearance was somewhat obscured by the night's haze.
Sharena grabbed Kiran's hand their attention snapped to her, "Are you coming or not?"
Kiran glanced quickly at where the man was and looked back at Sharena somewhat confused and concerned, "Y-yeah. I just thought I saw Takumi."
Sharena laughed, "Of course you did, lots of people like to try and dress as Takumi. Now come on let's go!"
Kiran followed her somewhat hesitant, taking one more glance to the tree's shadow.