Chapter 12: Aura's True Identity
Having noticed that Kratos' bed was empty, Lloyd left the room the two had been sharing to look for him. He was just about to open the door to leave the inn, when suddenly, Aura opened the door and came in. She stared at him for a moment, surprised.
"A-Aura, what's wrong?" Lloyd asked. Aura didn't answer. Instead, she pushed past him and hurried to her room, locking the door behind her. He stared after her for a minute, before opening the door and going outside. He lloked around, then saw Kratos standing alone on the bridge. Lloyd walked over and stood beside him.
"Did you get in a fight with Aura or something?" he asked suddenly. Kratos was silent for a moment, then said,
"No...why?" Lloyd looked at him and said,
"Because she came in when I left. She looked pretty upset and she was crying." Kratos sighed. "What happened?" Kratos didn't answer. Instead, he turned to face his son.
"Lloyd, do you know who Aura is?" Lloyd was startled by this sudden question. He looked up at his father, who was staring intently at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you know Aura's true identity?" Kratos asked. Lloyd shook his head.
"N-no, why?" Kratos looked away.
"No, nevermind." he said. "I shouldn't have said that. Forgive me." With that, he turned and walked back to the inn. Lloyd stared after him.
"What was that all about?" he wondered out loud before following his father. The next day, the group decided to go back to Dirk's house as they were going to before they found Aura. The whole time they traveled, Aura was silent, except when she was firing spells at the few monsters they encountered. She seemed to be constantly lost in thought and distracted. Everyone was worried about her, but Kratos told them to leave her alone.
A few days later, they arrived at Dirk's house. Once in the yard, Noishe, whom Aura had seemed to take a liking to, ran to his shed beside the house. Hearing their voices, Dirk came out of the house and welcomed them all. Upon seeing Aura however, he froze and said,
"Wait a minute. I know you, you're--" he broke off as Aura's eyes went blank and she fell foreward, laying motionless on the ground, a petrified look on her face.