Barren Cross Ch. 4
Saint's Haven: Homecoming
CTC: Yahiro; Argenta; Sunrise; Xam; Jay; Lena; Nunally; Kyouko (mother); Tracy; other characters from the past chapter.
When I had arrived in Ashen ruins, I told Argenta that I can't face Edan and the others anymore and when she asked, I simply looked her in the eye. She then understood. The only reason my eyes are monstrous is because I have yet to control Tristitia's power fully. Now I understand how Argenta's eyes are still human-like even though she herself is a dragon. She had instructed me to journey back to Saint's Haven and search for man named Geraint; he will train me to fight using Tristitia's power. I will depart from Carderock pass with a new friend; I named him Sorrow because of the loss of his mother. Ironic, because I was the one who stole him of his mother; a baby manticore.
I had bought a new hooded cloak and a scarf to hide my outward appearances just in case I run into Edan and the others. I planned on venturing on to Saint's Haven in an old warship which got decommissioned as a transport airship; The Albatross. I sat beside the rails of the airship with Sorrow playing inside of my cloak, the little fur ball purred on my side. After a few hours the airship whirred to life. Suddenly Shian and the others boarded the airship, luckily my face was covered. Another group of men came aboard was the Royal Army commanded by Officer Clark, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw how many wounded soldiers they brought in and most of them were dying. The crew of Albatross made haste and grabbed mops and rags to swab blood off the deck. The last 2 men finally boarded the ship, they were carrying a coffin, I could already see that most of them have died. Camelia looked at me with suspiciousness in her eyes then it disappeared as she started to approach me. I tried to keep Sorrow quiet in my cloak. "Hello, May I sit with you sir?" she had asked me with her metallic friend behind her, I couldn't speak or she could find out who I really was. I just patted the side where I wanted her to sit and so she sat down. She told me that she had made a friend and lost him in one day, and to be honest she had missed him, she told me this while hugging her legs. I felt sorry for her that I had left but what would the others have said? "We miss him…" she added. Then Sorrow suddenly flew out of my cloak, I tried to catch her, however I was too slow. He had already sat upon Camellia's knees. Camellia's metallic friend tried to grab Sorrow the Camellia stopped him. She smiled and said my name softly and tenderly, I quickly grabbed Sorrow back.
"Why do you insist in staying near me? Aren't you scared of me child?" I asked her
"I am scared, but you're still my friend right? You're still our friend, right?"
"Is that what they really say? That they miss me? I'm a monster and you know that…" I had replied to her question.
"… I miss you Yahiro, even if you are a monster."
"I guess I can't complain on that one child. Thanks… Camellia." Was the last thing that I had said. She then sat closer to me, I'm relieved that there's at least one person with me even if I've been turned into a dragon. There's something off about this child but I would rather not find that out.
We've departed from Carderock Pass and now on our way to Saint's haven. I had really missed Saint's Haven, I wonder if my parents are still there, worried about me, and Yuni, I wonder how she's faring. "So are you going to look for Geraint too?" She asked me. "You know Geraint?" I replied to her with a question. "Well… um, uh, Argenta! Yeah, she told us to look for him." She replied suspiciously, I laughed. I noticed the others coming our way so I hid Sorrow in my cloak again and had him quiet then hid my face a little bit more. Angelica offered Camelia to sit with Edan and the others, however Camelia had rejected her offer and had made Angelica pout. "Oh, hey, how are you faring?" Shian had greeted me and offered to shake my hand. I didn't want to refuse the offer but I can't risk the others knowing who I am, Camelia intervened and introduced me. "He's my friend, he's not really fond of strangers. Ahahaha…" Camelia had tried to cover for me. "Okay, I guess we'll just stay here until we get to know each other better. Sound fair?" Shian proposed to everyone and everyone agreed and sat beside me except for one person, Triana. "Why don't you sit down with us?" Edan asked Triana, yet she just shook her head. I hope she didn't figure out who I am.
Night has fallen and everyone aboard the airship was called to dinner, Edan asked me if I wanted to go with them and I had to reject by shaking my head. They had all went to the mess deck of the airship except for Camelia, I asked her why she didn't go with them to eat yet all she did was lean her head against my arm and said, "Being in a state of hunger with my friend is way better than seeing a friend hunger alone." Then she looked at me and smiled. Triana came up from the mess deck with a basket of food then suddenly hooks came flying and grabbed hold of the airship's railings. "Hark! Kobold Pirates are come aboard! Make haste to battle stations!" The watchman announced ringing a bell from the top of the airship's mainmast. This was bad since I did not possess a weapon. Quickly the Kobold pirates boarded the ship continuously. Camelia had pulled out her hand-held cannon as her metallic friend charged at the pirates on board and Triana dropped her basket as she pulls out her bow and arrow. The fight has begun, gunshots had been fired, swords were clashing and I was still unarmed, I had to do something. A pirate tried to attack me but failed, I took his sword away from him and used it as my own. I forced my mana in to the sword and began to fight the pirates off with Camelia and Triana fighting alongside me. I released a wave of mana to blow off some of the pirates. "What in blazes is going on here?!" Shian shouted as he arrived at the main deck. Camelia yelled at Shian saying to call the others for help and so Shian did as he was instructed. Compared to Triana and Camelia right now, Camelia's not even trying to fend the pirates off, and Triana's has quite a share of downed pirates already. I on the other hand, am cornered. "You're holding back, why?" Tristitia had asked me, "End it, now, for your sake and theirs." I gripped the sword with my right hand and focused magic on my left. I attacked the pirates, hacking and slashing, I was doing good for once, but in harsh truth I'm not. A pirate shot my left shoulder and I fell, and a stab followed quickly, if I were still a human I would already be dead by now. All that mana I gathered on my left hand, wasted and dissipated, is this really all I can do? Even with Tristitia's aid, I'm still rendered useless. "Don't give up, you've endured more pain than this!" Tristitia reminded me, and he was right. Shian and the others were trying to fight off the pirates even if they're already surrounded, I had to help. I stood up and stole a halberd from one of the wounded soldiers, I ran in to the pirates and swung the halberd just enough to decapitate three pirates at once. Triana aimed for me. I guess she had figured out who I was, and now she wants to kill the monster that I am. I closed my eyes just waiting for the arrow to pierce through me. I opened my eyes and just saw Triana nod at me. I look behind me and there lay a Kobold pirate with an arrow through its head. I laughed at myself for a second and continued to fight the pirates off.
The pirates were retreating as their numbers decreased dramatically, the clouds clear the sky and once again, blood is spilt on the ship's deck. We were all relieved when the pirates have left. We had no casualties, only two wounded, me and a soldier. There are many differences between that soldier and me, one is our cause, two is I can live forever and he can't, but the biggest difference that I could ever think about was that he was human… I'm not. My cloak was tattered from the fight but it's a good thing my face is still covered. Triana and the others gathered together talking about how much fun the fight had been while they walk towards my direction. Shian offered a handshake once again saying that I did a good job fending the pirates off. I still couldn't accept his handshake. This time Triana intervened by walking between Shian and me. "How did you survive that? A gunshot and a stab at the shoulder…" she had asked me, I couldn't answer, "More importantly, why did you leave?" She added to her question, I felt a tear fall down my eye as I stepped back. Silence… Edan and rest were confused about her questions, then Sorrow purred at my leg and as they saw her, their confused looks turned to me then turned into shock. I tried to take another step back however I was too slow. Triana held me in her arms, "Why did you leave us Yahiro?" she asked me the question again as a strong gust of wind blew my hood off and uncovered my face. Tears flowed down from my eyes as they all come to me and held me saying, "You silly goose, the group was sad when you left!" Shian had said
"Just because you're different doesn't mean we'll think of you as a monster"
"We're sorry if we hurt you with our stares and looks." They all apologized to me.
And all I could say was "I'm sorry." I had repeated saying that for a few times. I sat down with them talking about everything that happened when I had left, and that the town now calls them Carderock Saviors. Shian had asked me why my eyes appeared like a beast's when I had fought Saslavan. I lied to them by saying it was an ability that allows me to access and use the power of other beasts and people. I couldn't believe they played along with it, they even thought it was cool. They asked me if Argenta sent me to Saint's Haven to look for Geraint too, and I said yes. They offered for me to accompany them but like I had said to myself, I had my own path they had theirs, however my path cannot simply intertwine with theirs. Shian asked me why my path couldn't cross theirs, what was the reason. Then Triana intervened again, "He just can't Shian, I understand what he's saying but maybe you humans don't. Just like Elves, Humans have a telezia or in your language, a calling or destiny, he has his and we have ours, however, in his situation, he just simply cannot come with us." We all stared at her in awe. She asked us what was wrong, "That's the most you've ever spoken" Shian told her, "But anyway, I understand what you're talking about now." He added. We all fell silent for a while until I felt something hit my arm and when I looked, Camelia laid there asleep with her head resting on my arm and Sorrow resting on her arms. We all smiled.
Night had passed and dawn has come. They all still lay in a deep slumber as I prepare to depart, I left my rosary beside Edan with a letter of farewell. I had spotted Saint's Haven's walls when I was about to leap off the airship, then I suddenly felt a tug on my cloak and to my surprise it was Camelia. "So you're leaving without even a word of goodbye?" she asked me, and so I knelt down to her and held her saying, "I need to do what must be done, a monster like me has no place with you guys." I felt a tear roll down and wet my shoulder. I stood up and gave another look back, then I leapt out of the airship and into a forest, I need to see some things before I go look for this man named Geraint.
As I landed on the ground, I can't help but notice a gray goblin running away from orcs. The poor thing. I pursued the orcs and got their attention, with only magic on my hands I killed the orcs. It appeared like these orcs wanted to kill that poor thing. Three minutes later I just see this goblin running from orcs again, surely this goblin did something to tick these orcs off, but the question is what? So I decided to help out the goblin again and even after the orcs were already gone, the little gray goblin still kept running, I sighed then chuckled. I passed by a blonde swordsman that looked at me with a surprised expression, which I had not the slightest idea why so I just kept on walking. I finally arrived at a place I can perfectly remember. Port Hermalte. Me and Yuni used to play here a lot when we were kids, and only God knows how much I miss those days. I took a deep breath in, smelling the air from the sea and finally after a long period of time, I can finally say I'm back home. I tried calling Yuni out, I forgot. She wasn't with me anymore. I wonder how she's faring ring now. As I neared the fore gates of Saint's Haven's outer wall, I heard a scream came from an alley. I ran to see what had caused it, as it turns out, a man was being attacked by a succubus. I casted a purifying spell and the succubus left. The man that was attacked was a guard on his break then that's when the succubus attacked him. He let me in through the gates vouching for me that I had saved his life. Not much has changed since the siege, only trees grew and houses anew.
First thing I wanted to do was to see if my home was still standing, and surprisingly, it still was. I went up the steps and knocked on the door, a tear fell from my eye when I saw the person whom had opened the door. When she realized who I was she covered her mouth with her hands and tears flowed down from her face. She put out one hand and felt my face, I held her in my arms weeping. "Mother, it's been a long time." I had said to her, "I'm home."
"Welcome home my child, my little boy." She said to me as she looked me in the eye, "Look how much you've grown. You're taller than me now."
"Where's father? Is he faring well?" I had to ask.
Her facial expression suddenly changed from overflowing joy to overwhelming sorrow. She held me even tighter than before as she cried onto me. Five years ago, Mother and Father had been defending Saint's Haven from the cultists; father had died during the siege when a dragon cultist blew up a wall and fell on father and led to his bitter demise. When the wall fell on him he was still breathing, but he only had much time left. Mother slew the surrounding dragon cultists and went to father to hear his last words. By the break of morning, mother and I went to visit my father's grave and offered my respects. "Here lay Tristan of Saint's Haven. Beloved husband of Kyouko of the Furukawa clan and beloved father of Yahiro and Yuni. He defended Saint's Haven with is full might, and in doing so lost his life. He is now with God the Almighty. May the Grace of God be upon his Family." These were the words etched on to his tombstone. I felt anguish and devastation as I read the passage, only God knows how much hatred and pain I have in my heart right at this moment. "The king's men never came until the last second, the only help that we received was from the Astral Coven Sorceresses." Mother had explained to me. I stood silent for a while, then I spoke.
"It's been five years, and now… I've already lost two important people in my life."
"Wait two people? Speaking of which, where's Yuni?" she asked me in a raised tone. After a second of silence her expression turned into terror.
"Mother, be at ease. She is faring well alongside the Astral Coven."
"I'm glad, for a second I thought Yuni had joined your father."
I held my mother in my arms and whispered that I was scared when she went to the Astral Coven. Then she just held me tighter then soon let me go. We sat down at the grave for a while talking about how me and Yuni fared this past five years, when she noticed Sorrow trying to play with me, she grabbed her and tickled her belly. She asked me what her name was and I told her Sorrow, then she asked me why did I name her that and so I told her the story. She kept slapping my arm and pouted like a child after I finished, although I didn't mention to her anything about Sorrow being a manticore or how I killed her mother or about Tristitia. I think it's best to not say it to her for now. "Say mother, did you know about Yuni's birthmark at the nape of her neck?" I had asked her, and she kept quiet for a while until she found the right answer to give me. The "Mark of The Grand Arcane" then she explained what it was and what it meant. "I have to sho— introduce you to someone." My mother had said as she led me back to the house.
She pulled something from a chest in the attic, something covered in cloth and dust. "This is Lilith." She had said as she gave the object to me; I unraveled the object and found that it was a sword. "She was your father's guardian and weapon, in his final moments he wanted me to give this to you when the time comes that I see you again." I pulled the sword out from its sheath and examined it closely. Every edge, etch, stone and mark was perfectly aligned and symmetrical. While I was the Divine Order, they taught us that Lilith was once an angel that served God on Verathea as a peer or watch over the ancients, but she got caught in their wars and Lilith never got to return to the heavens because one of her wings got torn off. Poor thing. "Say mother, are you not scared of me?" I had asked.
"Scared? Why would I be scared of my own child?" she asked me as she messed my hair up.
"So it doesn't bother you that I look like a monster?"
"Why are you calling yourself a monster? You're no monster. Did something happen in these five years that you would like to tell me?" she asked me with a depressed look on her face.
"Wait… could it be that… mother do you have a mirror?"
She then nodded and showed me to a mirror. Gold brown eyes and no sign of marks on my left eye, I looked like I was back to normal even though is still feel the presence of the power Tristitia had bestowed me. I held my mother in my arms, and kept whispering, "I'm glad, I'm glad." She just held me and didn't bother to ask again what happened to me. The front door opened so I came to see who it was, I was surprised to see a little girl come in as she was surprised to see me. She then shifted to a joyous expression as she ran and tackled me. When mother came in the room she smiled at both of us, as it turns out, this girl lost her parents during the raid and mother took her in as if she was her own. I now have a little sister. Her name was Nunally. She had been playing with some other kids in the neighborhood after I had just arrived in Saint's Haven, she kept clinging on to me like glue and mother said it was cute. She kind of is cute, soft silver hair and red eyes and a smile that can bring up anybody's day. We laughed. I asked Nunally about her age so she stood up and began counting by fingers, it was so cute that I couldn't help but pinch her cheeks. She's 12 years of age and I am 17 years of age. I asked mother how old she was and surprisingly she was only thirty-four years of age, and she looks as if she's at the age of 20 years.
After a while Nunally decided to go outside and play with Russell in the town's storage. My mother sat down petting sorrow on her lap still not knowing that Sorrow was a manticore, someone was knocking at the door. A familiar face came to visit. "Lady Lena, to what honor do we owe your visit?" I had greeted her as I bowed to humble myself. "It seems that the story of your return from one of the guards is true, who would've known after five years you would still be alive. So I wanted to see if it were true." She lied, "You have something to tell me, considering you've only brought your maid with you with no guards and that your white dress had been recently stained in red. Should we talk about this matter in a different place?" I had asked her. Wait… did I just? "You indeed have changed, however, how did you know about all this stuff?" she asked me as she gave me a suspicious look. Then I apologized to her and told her that even I do not have an answer. I bowed to her again and she smiled. "Follow me to the castle." She had instructed me, and immediately, I followed.
I have never once thought to be lucky enough to set foot inside the Royal Castle. "Have you ever heard of the Dragon cult?" she asked me as she sat down at the balcony and yes I have heard of them and I told her that they killed my father. "I guess we have one thing in common about this matter. You see, I have a job for you." She said to me then I chuckled.
"And what makes you think I'd do it Lady Lena?" I asked
"Because it's not your choice, and besides I think you'll have fun spying on dragon cultists. Maid, get us some tea please and that outfit I had made." She had said. I looked around, lost at the enormous size of the room. She offered me to sit down as the maid served us tea so fragrant that I couldn't resist. According to her sources, an ogre has been spotted in the river ruins just outside the town, Gunther our town guildsman had posted commissions concerning the ogre and a lot of adventurers took the commission, however, but all of them never returned, she thinks the dragon cult is involved. If the dragon cultists are involved, she wants me to bring one of them as a prisoner to interrogate. I asked her if there's anything else and she said yes. She wanted me to wear damn white garments even a mask! I told her the deal's off if I have to wear that. To think that she thought I would look cute in garments like those, and cute isn't exactly me. It took me a while before I got her to understand that white wasn't my color and for a second I thought she wouldn't be able to comprehend. Then she pouted and made a jellyfish face, I laughed. She had the maid put the garments up, and that's when a small boy wearing a crown came in. Lady Lena bowed down to him and I don't know why, this child looked familiar. Lady Lena tugged on me, "What are you doing?! Bow down, he's the king!" she said to me and immediately I bowed out of panic, "Rise" the king had said then he ran to Lady Lena and hugged her crying. The Royal Court had been fighting again about "The Prophet" I have not heard about. To think that this child needs to take care of such businesses at such a young age, so he runs to Lena for the comfort of a mother. I feel sorry for the child. Lady Lena introduced me to the king, King Cassius III. The king asked me of a favor but he insists of calling it an order. The order was to rid the river ruins of the dragon cultists because his father was killed by the dragon cult. Of course, I could not refuse.
I went back home to fetch Lilith and Sorrow. As I opened the door Nunally had been knitting while Sorrow and Mother watched silently by the side. Mother welcomed me back with a hug and a kiss at the cheek while Nunally quickly ran upstairs and hid her knitting tools. I asked mother why she did that and she just told me that it was a secret. So I told mother that I got a job from Lady Lena and I just came to fetch Sorrow and Lilith. She understood and swiftly brought Lilith and a bag of Lunch to me. I also told her I'm taking an Adventurer's League commission, that's when she asked me where I was going. When I told her I was going to river ruins her face grew sad, I told her I'll be back before sunset just to stop her from worrying. Gladly she stopped, she told me to lean forward then she kissed my forehead and said "May you be blessed upon." It was an old good luck charm that she used to give me five years ago. Oh how times have passed.
When I visited Gunther in the Adventurer's League headquarters, he was tearing off all the commissions about the ogre at River Ruins. I asked him why he was tearing those off, and he told me so much of his people have died because of this commission and he doesn't want any others to die too. I told him I'll take the commission, that's when he held me by the collar and told me that it was suicide to go in there alone. I told him Lady Lena told me to finish the job then he let go. "Three adventurers just took the commission and are heading to the south gate as we speak." He had said to me and gave me the commission paper, "If you really can do it. Don't let those adventurers die."
As I was nearing the gate to Port Hermalte, the three adventurers were looking for one more person to join their group to hunt down the ogre. One of them was an elf that looked very familiar somehow, I know we've met before but where? And when? After a while of waiting, they finally got bored and decided to just go on a three-man hunting party while I followed closely behind. Just outside the gates lay Port Hermalte, a place full of memories, a place which I could remember from the back of my head. They stopped and seemed to notice me. "Yahiro?" a familiar voice called to me. I looked back and saw Edan and the others waving to me as they approached. I smiled at them and asked them how they were faring and where they were going; they asked me likewise. One comment I was so happy to receive was "Hey your eyes are back to normal." The comment came from Shian, they asked me if I was in a party with the three people I was following and I said no. as the three pressed on further, I had to say my farewell to them again and continued to follow the lot of adventurers.
As they went in farther into the ruins, I stayed very close behind, following. So far they've been doing fine fending the monsters off, and so far no sight of an ogre anywhere… or so I thought. A portal opened from one of the gates and the ogre had come out of it, and just like what Lady Lena expected, dragon cultists were involved. Two dragon cultists were right behind the ogre. The boy with the sword took the first strike, not at the ogre but at the dragon cultists. However the ogre was under their control and had defended themselves with it, the elf shot an arrow at one of the dragon cultists and luckily hit him and died. "Damned luck!" the swordsman boy said to the elf and the elf smirked. The third person, a paladin was directly attacking the ogre but had not even scratched it.
I noticed something off about the dragon cultist, as if it lost control of something, then it clicked to me. The ogre WAS out of control. The ogre went on a rampage hitting everything that came in his way and sight, even the dragon cultist. With the dragon cultist out cold, the ogre attacked the adventurers. The swordsman boy tried to stop it with brute force and the paladin took up his shield and kept on hitting the ogre with a flail while the elf tries to aim for the ogre's heart. "You need to save them." Tristitia said to me, I asked him what he was talking about because in my point of view, they were doing fine. He told me the ogre will leap smash its club to the ground creating a powerful shockwave. Devastatingly enough, everything he said was true. The ogre had caused a huge wave of rubble and wind. The three adventurers flew quite a distance, and without hesitation, I had unsheathed Lilith and began an assault of the ogre. The swordsman lay out cold while the paladin and the elf lay on the ground in pain. I tried to make it as quick as possible however, this ogre had moved faster than I had thought, I found an opening and took the liberty of putting it to my advantage. Quickly I hacked the ogre's throat making blood spray everywhere. "Gruesome, but good job." Tristitia had complimented me. I was wet with blood, so much blood that it kept on dripping from my coat. I approached the dragon cultist and bound him in light. As I looked back, the elf girl was staring at me with glistening eyes. Quickly I rushed to them and casted sacred healing. The Paladin groaned and the swordsman boy was still unconscious, yet the elf girl was still staring at me with complete and utter confusion. I offered her a hand to stand up asking if she was alright, she nodded in reply as she took my hand. When I helped her stand up, I saw the pain in her face as she fell back down on her back. I checked her feet and it appeared that she had sprained her ankle.
I took the elf girl and carried her by my back while the Paladin carried the swordsman over his shoulder since he said he was feeling well enough to carry the boy along. As we neared the gates, the guardsman ran to us to help however when he saw how bloody of a mess I am, he rushed in and called for help as well. The healers and clerics took the elf girl and the swordsman out of our hands. The paladin took me to the side and thanked me with a bag full of silver, I tried to refuse but he just insisted and so I left with a little bit of money in my pocket. As I neared the castle I ran into General Douglas, Lena's Stepfather. He asked me "What in Verathea happened to you!?" of course I told him what happened and that I needed to see Lady Lena. He suddenly had an angry expression on his face he asked me what was my business with her and I told him just a favor she asked me to do. I don't know if he warned me or threatened me when he said "If you as much lay a hand on my beautiful daughter's face, I will have you executed." I sighed. When I got to the castle gate a guardsman named Joey halted me then asked me "What in Verathea happened to you!?" I also told him what happened and went on to Lady Lena's maid and she asked me the same thing, then she led me to Lady Lena's chamber. As always she was still sitting by the balcony while sipping tea. When she looked in my direction she asked the same thing the General and Joey asked me. "What in Verathea happened to you!?" She had me sit down and have some tea. I told her every bit of everything that happened in the ruins then her face grew grim. "Where's the dragon cultist now?" she had asked me, then I remembered I had left the cultist alone in the ruins. She slapped me at the back to the head with a fan for forgetting. So she sent me back again to retrieve this dragon cultist.
I arrived back at the ruins exactly at midday where I had left the dragon cultist, and miraculously, he was still there and so I took the liberty of taking him in the city. "You're not thinking that you can pass the gates with that thing dressed like that did you?" Tristitia had warned me, and to be fairly honest, yes I did. When I took his mask off his face was surprisingly feminine, and when I took her garments off, it wasn't only his face that was feminine, it was her whole body. Tristitia and me both had the same reaction. "I—it's a girl…" I felt guilty of taking her garments off and putting my coat over her, but, it needed to be done. When I passed the gates, the guards kept on eyeing me suspiciously, it was embarrassing. I went home to get this girl proper clothing before we go to the castle when she wakes up, and to my surprise again Lady Lena was in the house sipping tea with my mother. My mother looked at me with a flustered expression on her face, having a half-naked girl over my shoulder would be surprising. "So where's the dragon cultist?" Lady Lena had asked, and so I told her that she was looking at her. A shadow grew on my mother's face as she stood up and went to the kitchen, Lady Lena told me to stop her as she sipped her tea. I couldn't understand her at first but when my mother came out of the kitchen with a knife on her hands it all became clear. "It's because of people like her is why Tristan died!" she exclaimed furiously as she ran to kill the girl. I tossed the girl at the chair right beside me and got in the way of my mother.
Blood was once again tainting my garments with a knife stabbing my body, it was a good thing I wasn't human anymore or I would have died. Both Lady Lena and my mother shared the same shocked expression, my mother let go of the knife and backed away with the expression of someone who had just murdered with tears falling from her eyes. I pulled the knife out of my body but the pain was still intense. A familiar voice at the door called to me and said "How nice, your first day in Saint's Haven and you already have yourself stabbed." I turned around, and indeed it was Argenta. "Oh and don't worry, with you looking like that your blood is no harm to anyone." She had said to me as she came inside and slapped me at the back of the head. Lady Lena asked Argenta who she was but all she said was it's none of her business, then Argenta turned to me and asked me if I was done bleeding yet, so I took my shirt off to check. I wasn't bleeding anymore. Argenta told me to go to Black Mountain Path tomorrow then she left. My mother was still on her knees crying while looking at me as I approached her, I held her as tight as I could and calmed her down and told her that everything was going to be alright. "I have never seen anybody heal a wound that fast… nor any human." Lady Lena had said to me as she eyed me doubting me, I looked at her nervously then she followed her sentence up with two words that relieved my anxiety. "Just kidding."
When my mother had calmed down, Lady Lena was just about to leave, she gave me instructions to dress formally then take her to her room once she wakes up. I took the girl to my chamber and laid her down on my bed then I went downstairs to see how my mother was doing. She was just sitting there with a blank expression as she was petting Sorrow while continually saying sorry. I asked mother what she wanted for supper, then she stood up and carrying Sorrow on her arms and told me she was coming along. I'm glad she feels much better now. We went to the general store to get the stuff we want for supper and the first thing we see is Nunally helping the storekeeper arrange merchandise for sale, I actually thought it was cute. The storekeeper's name was Kelly, and she seems to know my mother quite well, then I remembered that I used to pick on her when we were kids because she always got in a conflict with Yuni. Kelly asked mother is I was another one of her "Suitors." It was a joke between her and mother, then after my mother introduced me properly, Kelly ran behind the counter and hid continually saying "Please don't hurt me!" Me and mother laughed and told her that I wasn't going to do anything bad to her, then I tried teasing her by adding the words "For now" at the end of my sentence so mother slapped me at the back of my head.
Kelly is a nice person and I still don't get why she never got along with Yuni. I do have to admit that she's grown since the last time I saw her, however her behavior still hasn't changed. We took Nunally with us on the way back home, and as we walked, she told us stories about how her day went and everything that she did today. As I opened the door, weeping was heard. The weeping could only come from one person, the dragon cultist. I had mother and Nunally just put everything by the kitchen as I went to my room to check on her. I opened my door and indeed she was the one weeping, she looked lost, moreover, clueless of everything around her. I greeted her as I would greet a friend, but then she ticked me off with a response that was too convincing. "Where am I?" she asked "Do you know who I am?" she added to her question. I believed that she was trying to trick me in to making me think that she had lost her memory, so I pulled out Lilith and told her to stop pretending to not know anything and to introduce herself properly otherwise I would put Lilith through her leg, yet she kept the same response, she even added another question. "Who are you?" just when I was about to stab her leg, I saw her face shift to being extremely terrified by me then Tristitia stopped me. He told me that she was telling the truth. I lowered Lilith down and apologized. Now I definitely feel like a total arse.
I borrowed some of mother's clothes and surprisingly mother's clothes fit the girl perfectly. We went downstairs and informed mother that she had lost her memory, even though mother didn't want to believe it, she had to since the girl doesn't even know her name nor where she came from. I released her from her bonds and she therefore thanked me, even though she was a powerful dragon cultist being able to control an ogre, she still looks lost as she sat down by the kitchen table. We decided to call her Tracy. Mother announced that supper won't be ready for a while so she told me to change my garments since I was covered with blood. Mother said she had some clothes for me in her chamber, so I went and fetched it. Nunally and Sorrow were following me as I opened the door to mother's chamber. When I picked up the garments mother had been talking about, I broke into tears. "Your clothes from five years ago won't fit you anymore but that should." Mother had said to me. I had taken the garments and wore them in my room. Mother was right, it did fit me perfectly. I now hold another piece of father with me. I planned on taking Tracy to the Royal Castle since we still had a lot of time before supper, and thankfully mother's clothing had always been formal. I told mother that we would go to see Lady Lena now, so she examined our attire once more to see if anything was out of place. After she had finished examining us she told me to lean down to her height then she gave me a kiss on my forehead, "May you be blessed upon." It's a good luck charm back in my childhood, the last time someone had given me that charm was back in Ashen ruins in Carederock pass from Argenta. When we had reached the Castle, Tracy stood there in awe of the enormous structure. The maid came to fetch us and led us to Lena's room, and in her room Tracy fell over in awe of the brightness of the white colors, it was convenient that I was beside her that I caught her before she even hit the floor. Lady Lena laughed at her for her state of being right now.
I explained everything to Lady Lena, and while I was explaining to her, a grim expression crossed Lady Lena's face. She had invited us for supper but we had to refuse considering that mother was already cooking for us. On our way out of the castle, Tracy tugged on my coat and asked if we could walk around before sundown and of course I agreed. I took her to Port Hermalte having the intuition that she has a lot of questions going on her mind. When we entered the port, we went to the beach east of the port and sat at a comfortable spot, and just as I suspected she had some questions. "Say Yahiro, why am I in this timeline?" she asked me.
"What do you mean by this timeline?" I asked her back
"My memories are completely vague but I can remember some stuff that happened. These buildings, these ports are so old to me… it's like I'm from another world with gigantic white birds soaring through the sky with people in them, yet, why can't I remember who I am?"
"This I tell you. The past is not always pleasant. Sometimes forgetting is a merciful gift from God." I had replied to her question. She stayed silent for a while, I pointed to the setting sun, "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah… I hope I don't forget this moment… ever."
When we had returned home, the most irritating in my mind came to a realization. Lady Lena was sitting at the dining table with mother and Nunally, mother welcomed us back then I asked her why Lady Lena is here. Apparently Lady Lena didn't want to dine in the castle alone tonight so she decided to visit me instead. Of course knowing mother, she probably made too much for supper so in case an unexpected guest drops by, that guest could dine with us and so the guest of honor right now is Lady Lena. Tracy humbled herself by offering to help serving the food, surprisingly mother agreed to her proposal to help.
Supper ended with laughs and stories. Lady Lena, Mother and Nunally were curious about my travels for the past five years and decided to ask me the whole five year story, so I told them how Yuni and I faired for the last five years excluding the dragon incident. While Tracy was just finishing up cleaning the dining room, I had to go with Lady Lena to escort her to the Royal Castle. I brought Lilith and Sorrow with me and in the way to the castle; we came across a drunken lot of people who seemed to have an interest in the Lady. Not only were they all armed, they also had a large number, I didn't know what to do if they all attacked me at once. I had Lilith on the ready as one of the drunken men approached us. When they all knelt down, my mind just crashed in the misunderstanding I had. They greeted Lady Lena as they would address a noble and a friend. As it turns out, Lady Lena actually knew these men for they had owed her a very huge favor that they could not speak of. Lady Lena took us to the Castle walls for some reason then she pulled a slab of rock from the wall and made a hole that led straight to her room.
On my way back home, the group of men we encountered earlier invited me for a drink. One drink wasn't too bad, then the tavern we were in had a drinking contest, there I saw the three adventurers that I helped out this morning join. After the first three rounds, the swordsman boy was out cold, the elf girl was tipsy, and the Paladin was still surprisingly standing. I was enticed to joining the contest as well. They changed the drink from rum to something the bartender called "Everclear," he said he invented the drink. Five men and two women on the round table with everclear, the bartender gave us the signal to drink and so we drank. Two ment already knocked out after the first serve, I too almost fell, but luckily enough I was still standing. Second serve came in, one man and one woman fell, only one woman left and two men. The next serve came in, this time they served us rum with everclear. The paladin fell. Competition was tough, only me and the elf are left. The bartender gave us three cups each, our choices were everclear, water, and rum. It was a quick draw, you had to pick a cup without smelling or seeing what's inside, basically, I needed luck. When the bartender gave us the signal, we both rushed for the cup in the middle of our cups and drank from it. I got everclear while the elf was drinking her cup very gently… I fell to the ground still having consciousness, I laughed then the people had me and the elf stand up, cheering. They asked us for our names, the elf introduced herself as Sunrise and I introduced myself as "Yahiro, son of Tristan." One of the people pulled me aside and told me that he had known my father and fought with him in the battlefield back then, he gave me a letter after having a couple of drinks and a conversation, I was drunk so I didn't give a damn then so I put the letter in my pocket and continued drinking with the paladin and the elf. The night was young, but tonight was the night when I upset my mother.
By the break of dawn, I had woken up from my slumber still at the tavern. I found two letters on my hand, one from the three adventurers I met and one from a guild called Adobo. I pocketed both letters and tried to walk home, and when I reached the steps to our door, mother came out and grabbed my ear then pulled me in the house and gave me quite a scolding. Nunally was just there by the side laughing at how mother used her words on me. This day is going to be a long day.
