Retrace III: Arrival
"What did I think I was protecting? I'm a clown lost in a forest of confusion."
"—Sharon-chan, don't be rash!"
Saying so, the blonde jumped in to save the damsel.
"—Stupid manservant! How dare he leave without me!"
Ah, of course the master has to follow.
"—How can I leave Oz in your care, stupid rabbit!"
The servant of the manservant worries for his master the manservant's safety, so yeah.
"Seaweed head!"
"Shut up, stupid rabbit!"
With that—
A squabbling Raven and a hungry(?) rabbit jumped down the hole as well.
Then when they were dumped on a busy street which looked positively ancient, no one said a word.
After a long excruciating silence—
"Where are we?"
—Good question.
No one had the answer, and the fact that the people were staring at their strange assortment of clothes didn't help either.
Alice tugged at Oz's sleeve.
(I'm hungry. I want meat.)
Ah, the beauty of the words that laid unspoken.
(Shut up, stupid rabbit.)
Raven answered for his master with an annoyed look.
(What was that, seaweed head?)
Of course, the servant rose to the bait.
(You stupid rabbit…!)
Meanwhile, Oz looked back and forth at his two friends bewilderedly.
Just as Gilbert was about to raise his fist…
"Wait. What are you two doing?"
He obviously didn't catch the silent exchange of insults between those two.
"Oz-sama, they're arguing."
"Huh?"
Sharon, who recovered slightly, dusted herself and attempted to get up.
Oz immediately went over and helped her up, ignoring the still quarreling couple.
She looked around cautiously and at the people staring at them.
"We seem to have landed in some old bustling street. And I think our clothes really make us stand out."
Finally, a man approached them.
"Excuse me, do you happen to be foreigners? You don't seem to be around here."
Oz gave a grateful nod.
"I'm sorry, might I ask where are we?"
The man gave him a strange look.
"Why, you're in the city of Miore."
At the puzzled look on the blonde-haired teen's face, he explained patiently, "If you walk for another hour or so, you will reach the capital, Sablier."
"See those buildings in the distance? That is Sablier."
They looked towards where the man pointed to see a city of ruins, destruction and despair.
Immediately looks of shock filled their faces and Gilbert and Alice paused in their fighting.
The Sablier they remember…was an old run-down place which was on the verge of falling apart.
At least, not a place which looked like a vortex just went through it recently.
The scars of the tragedy had seemed old, not fresh, like what they could see.
Given, the tragic capital they have known is worn down, but not deserted.
There were children begging on the streets, women who walked by, casting everyone wary glances, everyone were dressed poorly.
This Sablier however, was devoid of people.
There was also the fact when they arrived, it was as if no one realized that they appeared out of nowhere.
It was most…unnerving, to say the least.
"However," The man gave a sad sigh, "I wouldn't advise you to go to Sablier. A horrible tragedy happened nine years ago. Since then, strange creatures have appeared repeatedly from there and no one dares to live there."
"Tragedy? Nine years ago?"
The tragedy of Sablier happened 100 years ago. Why did this man say that it happened nine years ago?
Unless…!
He nodded gravely.
"It seems that Glen Baskerville did something forbidden and the people there were killed as a result. Few survived."
"Glen Baskerville?" Gil exclaimed in horror.
Oz's face was filled with disbelief.
It really is…!
We have arrived in the past, it seems.
He thanked the man politely for the information and told the others to go.
Once they have managed to walk out of the street into the outskirts of the city, Oz shared with the others his guess.
Gilbert was speechless, and Alice looked like she hadn't heard, chanting something under her breath. (Meat, meat!)
Sharon frowned in worry.
"If so, what has this got to do with Break?"
"I don't know. But we will definitely find him, Miss Sharon."
Gil, recovering from his shock, patted her shoulder comfortingly.
At that familiar gesture, Sharon felt like bursting into tears.
He would always comfort her so gently.
Please be alright.
If not I won't forgive you, nor myself.
"B-Break…" That familiar name caught at her throat.
-X-
After a day of fruitless searching, they settled down in a nearby inn in Miore.
Sharon was determined to resume the search the next day.
"Help me!"
Just then, a girl came running towards them.
She tripped and fell into Sharon's arms.
Looking mildly startled, she caught her and looked at her closely.
"Are you alright?"
The girl, who couldn't have been older than ten, nodded furiously while tears streamed down her cheeks.
Sharon's eyes softened.
"Poor thing, you must have been frightened…"
She let go and sat down, patting the seat beside her, gesturing the girl forward.
"Come, tell big sister what's happened. What's your name?"
The girl took a seat hesitantly and looked at Sharon with wide, blue eyes, clearly not knowing if she could trust this big sister.
Understanding how she felt, Sharon didn't push her, simply giving her an encouraging smile.
Just as she was about to speak, a fierce-looking man came running into the inn, and spotting the girl, ran forward and grabbed her by her blonde hair.
Horrified and furious that he managed to grab the girl under her nose, she placed both hands on her hips and demanded, "What do you think you are doing? How can you bully a little girl like that? Let her go at once!"
Immediately, the man just tugged at the girl's blonde curls harder, and tears leaked out of those innocent blue eyes.
"Help me, big sister!"
"What can you do? She's mine."
The man leered at her.
Sharon's eyes hardened and just as she was about to summon Eques, Oz placed a hand on her arm.
She gave him a puzzled look and turned towards where he was pointing.
Raven, with a really annoyed expression, was pointing a gun at the man's head.
"So? Are you letting her go or not? This is the real thing."
He gave a murderous smile.
"Damn it!"
"If you value your life, you'd better let her go and get out of my sight now."
The man let go of the girl roughly and slipped away hurriedly.
As Sharon went to help the girl up, she turned to give her friend a grateful smile.
Usually this kind of job was done by him, but he wasn't with them now.
The girl, frightened out of her wits now, started stuttering, "I-I was with K-Kevin, but I got lost…T-thank you…"
Sharon smiled kindly at her.
"It's okay now…don't be afraid. What's your name?"
"A-Autumn."
-X-
天空晴朗心情很藍 緊握的手絕不鬆開 (The sky is clear Tightly holding hands never letting go)
怎麼不回來怎麼不回來 刺鳥呼喚 (why won't you come back The thorn bird calls)
A/N: I posted this early...because I juz dunno what else to write...I would like to say, for my other KHR story, after this update, I'm putting it on hiatus for the time being...I've lost sight of what to write...I promise that I won't abandon that story, for those that are reading that story as well...and this one, well, I'm still thinking...if nothing comes up, I'm sorry that I'll have to put this on hiatus too...because I'm getting very stressed trying to cope with writing and school...I'm so sorry...;_; But as along with the other fic, I will definitely come back to finish this story, no matter what it takes, I promise! I've started on the next chp, so if I actually can think of anything, I'll be posting the next chapter the next month as usual...I'll juz try my best, kay? -stares about timidly-
Since I know that you all will probably be angry with me, I won't ask you to review...if you'd review, I'd be very grateful, but anyway...yeah^^
That's all I wanted to say, I guess...
Signing out,
The Absolutely Hopeless Break-fan