Chapter 65: A Trip Back Home
Disclaimer:
The canon story continues soon! I just really want to develop characters in this FanFic so that's why it's taking a while.
Also, this chapter has a few references to previous ones that help with foreshadowing and whatnot. These include Chapter 2, Chapter 12, Chapter 36, and Chapter 60.
With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
A room covered in darkness.
The only source of light it got was from the glowing moon's rays reaching inside through the ajarred curtains covering the glass window that looked outside.
The 15-year-old Magic Knight was tossing and turning in his sleep. His scarred face scrunched up in pain and his hair wet through his cold sweats. The blanket had been thrown off the bed to try and keep himself cool but it made no difference. Lucas's eyelids were shut but the eyeballs underneath them darted around in all directions.
Lucas was floating in a black space, devoid of any light. There was nothing to be seen until now. The light came out from nowhere, drawing the teen's attention. He focused in front and saw a dark-blue silhouette in front of him with two, black, broken, and jagged, wings flapping.
"Now that you're more in tune… with… Time Magic, are you able to remember…?" The silhouette spoke.
Lucas turned his head to the right.
The dark-blue glow disappeared and now a golden-yellow one replaced it. This one also had a pair of wings that were a similar colour to the one the silhouette was giving off. They were complete instead of the jagged, broken ones from before.
"Your memories from the time long since forgotten. Perhaps it was our fault… what we did for you… you are our…".
Lucas turned his head to the left.
He woke up, gasping. He was a combination of being extremely tired as well as confused so he didn't know what to do. Instead, since it was the middle of the night, he decided to continue sleeping. After a shake of his head and a wipe of his sweat, he fell asleep again. This time, there was another dream.
"You've seen me again in that cave, Lucas. Do you still not remember… me?"
This third figure was much clearer than the previous two with a face to recognise as well as some old-style clothing to her. She had a rosy-red colour to her and just as she was about to talk again, Lucas spoke first.
"I do recognise you. You're… Fana from the cave but… how did I know your name and why… does it affect me…?"
There was no reply from the rosy-red individual but she just smiled. Slowly, she started to fade and retreat back into the distance and as she did, her long, pink hair bobbed up and down. Her white-coloured dress moved as she walked backwards.
Now, instead of Lucas waking up for a breather, the dreams kept coming one after the other. There was no time for him to process what was happening and then the next one entered his brain.
It was the same person he saw during the fight against Rhya at the Temple of Valchronos. The blue figure was in front of him but it was completely different to the first one he saw in his dreams. This one, just like before, had Lucas's face.
There was a dark shadow overcast on most of his face but it was undeniably the same as the Dual mage looking at him.
"You're… me?" Lucas asked, pointing at the mirror-like reflection.
"Finally. Do you understand the situation now? Use my power in your next fight if you want some answers… if you don't then you can't expect to protect anyone…", the other Lucas spat.
"Like I said before… I want nothing to do with you! A thing that forced me into that transformation…!"
"I guess you don't understand. I didn't force you when I am…", the last word he spoke turned into silence as he started to disappear. "You'll understand eventually…", he shook his head.
Lucas clenched his hands and rolled them into a pair of fists. The dark space was back but now, another figure appeared but this one was of a child. The darkness lifted and a vibrant, warm colour of orange filled the space.
The Light mage shook his head as it started to throb with the amount of dreams he was having. It seemed like he was about to wake up but the little child in front of him started speaking.
"Do you want to play hide-and-seek again, LuLu?" She asked with a cheery voice.
Lucas's eyes widened with complete shock at hearing that name. "Th-That n-n-name… Just who a-are you?!" He shouted as he pointed down at the child.
"What's the matter?" She asked as she took a step forwards. Her voice became even more fragmented so he couldn't pinpoint who this person was.
"I… I've had a dream like this before! After my first dungeon exploration with Alecdora and Letoile… it was the same!" He reached out, trying to hold the little girl's hand. "B-but that name you said… Lulu. AHHHHH!"
"AHHHHH!" Lucas jumped up from his bed, waking up completely. His blue eyes were covered with his sweat-drenched, ginger hair so he couldn't see anything. He lifted his hands and placed them near his heart which was beating extremely quickly.
"What is going on with me…?" Lucas thought as he stared down at the bed he was laying on.
A few minutes went past after and Lucas freshened up in the en-suite in his room. He washed his face that was covered in cold sweats, as well as getting a fresh change of night clothes. Slowly, after he was done, he walked over to the glass window that was right next to the singular, golden-wood door that lead outside.
Lucas opened the curtains and then the window, leaning out of it as he rested his arms on the window sill.
The glowing, full moon was up high in the dark, night sky. The HQ was completely dark but the illumination from the moon behind the squad's building was enough for some light to pass through.
Lucas looked outside towards the courtyard and sighed heavily. "What is wrong with me…?" He asked himself as he thought back to the multiple dreams he just had.
"First, there were those dark-blue and golden-yellow silhouettes which I just can't make any sense of".
"Next, was Fana showing up for some reason. I sensed some sort of familiarity with her but… how?".
"After that was the reflection of me… but that seemed different to the others".
"Lastly, there was that little girl who said LuLu. I haven't heard that nickname since…", he tried to think. "Hang on, why don't I remember who used to call me that?"
Without hesitation, he slammed the underside of his fist down on to the window sill in a bout of frustration. "I can never remember anything before 'that' day back when I was younger. I'm forgetting something important but…", he bit his lip.
Lucas closed the window and drew the curtains. Slowly, he walked back and got into bed, staring at the ceiling afterwards.
"I need to get away from all of this, for a day at least", he rolled over to the side and stared at his closet. "Captain Vangeance did give us a day off tomorrow…", he said to himself as he closed his eyes again to fall asleep.
The shining, afternoon sun was high above the Clover Kingdom, giving light to each and every place on the surface. The birds were singing as they flew above, whereas the animals in the trees and on the floor frolicked about.
In the town of Hoffvol, a woman no more than the age of 23 was tending to the garden that was right outside of her house. Her vibrant, red hair swung from side-to-side as she moved her head - Her two ponytails kicking against the wind as she did so.
"It really is a nice day today, huh?" Iris said to herself as she wiped some of the sweat away from her forehead. "It's quiet outside. I guess everyone's working at the site then", she thought.
Her hands were dirty from tending to the flowers and plants that were growing in the soil below. She sat down and tried to wipe the dirt away but it didn't make much of a difference. With a sigh and a little pout, she sat down and looked towards the blue, cloudless sky with her yellow eyes.
"I took a little break from everything but it keeps coming back to my mind… we have more than enough money through Lucas's willingness to send us a lot of his pay, but we just don't have the manpower to do it…", Iris shook her head.
She lay down on the grass with her hands on the ground and picked up a book that was next to her. "I guess I'll read for a bit before heading back".
All of a sudden, the bushes that were next to the house started to rustle. One second went by, then the next and then on the third, a brown squirrel popped out and ran all the way towards Iris and ran over her body and away from sight all in a quick flash.
"Ah!" Iris screamed and threw her arms up in the air as she felt the feet of the animal go across her. Though, as she did this, the book she was reading was launched up into the air and didn't fall back down.
"Where did that book go?" She looked above and saw the answer to her question.
It was sitting in the dark-brown branches of a large tree that stood next to her house, casting a sunlit shadow over the small building.
"Really…?" She sighed as she put her hands on her knees. She looked above again before sighing one last time. "I guess I'll climb it".
Iris started climbing the tree but as she did, her blue dress got dirty almost immediately. Her white blouse took a few cuts through it but she managed to reach the book in the end. Sitting on the branch the book was on, she wiped some sweat away from her forehead.
The Earth Magic user looked in the distance towards where the Royal Capital would be. She saw so many birds racing across the clear, blue sky, as well as some leaves swirling through the air as they were caught in a flowing breeze.
"I haven't done something like this since Lucas was here", she chuckled. Then, she looked down at all of her clothes and frowned as she examined the dirty dust that was all over. "I wish I wasn't out of mana otherwise I could've just used my magic", she sighed again.
Slowly, she moved away from the branch but when her light-brown boots stepped on a crack in the middle of it, snapping it in two and thus, losing her footing.
"This is gonna hurt…", she closed her eyes and braced for impact.
"Time Magic: Alter Decel!"
Instead of falling on the hard floor, Iris didn't even touch the ground until five seconds later. With the delay in impact, Iris wondered what had happened but then she clocked the voice that called out from next to her. Opening her eyes, as she realised whose the voice was, she saw a blue sphere encircling around her. Then, it slowly dispersed and Iris turned her head.
Her yellow eyes saw her little brother standing right by the tree trunk with his arm up high, waving at her.
"Hey, Sis!" He shouted, running over. It looked like he was going to go in for a hug as his arms were out wide.
"Hey, Lucas!" She shouted, running over. She had the same way of running towards him with her arms out wide too. It looked like the two were going in for an emotional reunion with so many months away from each other.
However, as the two neared, Iris jumped in the air and tackled her brother to the ground. It looked like she had flown all the way towards him and now the both of them were down and covered in dirt.
"What the heck was that for?!" Lucas shouted, brushing all of the random bits of dirt that were on his clothes. His ginger hair had some twigs in that came from the fallen branch so he brushed them away.
Iris sat down and crossed her arms. "Hmph. So many months have gone by and you never visited me until now!" She pouted and turned her head away. Though, he left one eye open to see her little brother's reaction.
Lucas scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly. "Haha… I've been so busy with the squad and so much has gone on! Besides, I wrote back to you every few weeks!"
"That's not the same!" Iris said back, her head turning back to face Lucas.
"Sorry, Sis…", he sweat-dropped.
As he did so, he felt an embrace as Iris moved in for a long hug. A few seconds went by and as the two loosened their hug, the Earth mage kissed the Light mage on his forehead, prompting an embarrassed reaction.
"Oh, come on!" He wiped the kiss away. "I'm not a little kid anymore!" He said as he stood up.
"Maybe not, but you are always going to be my little brother", she smiled toothily.
The two were now standing and Iris suddenly gasped.
"What's the matter?" Lucas asked.
"Hang on… Time Magic? You really used it – Time Magic?" Iris shook her head for a good few seconds. Her mind was so distracted with Lucas suddenly appearing that she didn't properly realise, until now, that she was saved by her little brother's other magical attribute.
Lucas gulped with what Iris asked but then replied a few seconds later. "Y-Yeah, I mean… I did mention it in my letters that I started using it, you know", he smiled and twirled his index fingers around each other.
"Yeah, you mentioned it but that was the extent of it", Iris crossed her arms. "The last letter you sent me was around the time you went to Nean. Has anything happened after that? Tell me all of it!" She sat down again with her legs crossed and invited Lucas to join her.
"It's really been that long?" He gulped, realising the lack of communication he was having with his own sister. "Fine…", he sighed. It wasn't that he was ashamed or hated his Time Magic anymore but actually speaking about it with his sister of all people seemed to be a bit of a task. Nonetheless, he sat down across from her. "Can't we just go inside to talk about it?"
"N-No!" She quickly waved her arms to refuse.
"Okay…", Lucas rolled his eyes, not thinking much else into it.
For the next few minutes, Lucas explained everything in detail. From what happened in Nean when he used Time Magic for the first time against Draien and then against Licht and the Third Eye. There was only a matter of days between that and the journey to the Forgotten Forest as well so he spoke about meeting the Druids as well as unlocking more Time Magic spells. Finally, he spoke about Rhya and the peculiar transformation that he went through during the battle against the Copy mage.
Surprisingly, Iris wasn't that surprised for some reason. She kept nodding and it looked like she understood what her little brother was saying.
"So, how do you feel using it?" She asked as her yellow eyes met Lucas's blue ones.
"At first… I hated it. I mean, I was using little bits of it through my Dual Blades to slightly slow or speed up things from before Nean but afterwards, I had to get used to it. I'm still not the best with it but I'm learning. My squad know about it as well and they've been a big help!" He smiled as he leaned back to stare into the cloudless sky.
"He sure has matured since back then", Iris smiled. "What about when you were injured after Nean? You were out for about two weeks weren't you?"
Lucas stopped looking into the sky and looked back at his sister. "Oh, yeah, about that…", he scratched his cheek but then stopped suddenly. "Hang on, I never told you about that. How did you know I was in the hospital?"
"Your squad let us know about what happened. Being out for quite a long time is something we should know about", she scolded.
Lucas sighed. "I really am sorry for not sending more letters or even coming to visit. After Nean, so much happened one after the other, and then my training as well…", he paused and shook his head. "Again, I'm sorry".
Iris stretched her right arm out towards the garden and grabbed a little stone, no bigger than the size of a coiled-up worm and lightly threw it at her brother's head.
The Time mage stared at her as the small projectile bounced off and did nothing. "You know, that was never going to hurt", he said.
"Oh, I know", Iris replied. With a smile, she added; "it's just that you should stop apologising so much. Just… keep us updated from now on, please?"
"Sure, Big Sis", he smiled back.
Lucas then stood up and walked towards the house where Iris lived along with her friend Melanie and her dad. He went to open the brown door to enter but Iris called out from behind, stretching her arm out.
"S-Stop, Lucas! You should probably use the back d-", she tried to explain but Lucas had already opened the door anyway.
A pile of papers tumbled down and out of the house, burying the Golden Dawn mage beneath it all. With a bit of a struggle, he managed to free himself as he took a huge gasp for air.
"What is all this?!" He shouted, picking up multiple papers in both of his hands and turning to his sister.
With a drop of her shoulders, she answered him. "That would be-". She was interrupted again by a voice that was unfamiliar to Lucas, coming from inside the house.
"Sorry about that! I hope you're okay!" A young man ran out, brushing all of the dust that Lucas had accumulated on his clothes yet again.
Lucas was silent as he didn't understand what was going on. A random man had just ran out of their house and started cleaning him and he didn't know what to say. Instead, he wore a poker-face as he waited for the man to finish.
As he finished cleaning Lucas, he looked at him again but this time it seemed like he recognised him.
"Oh… you must be Lucas! I've heard so much about you", he smiled and grabbed the Dual mage's hands. He shook them up and down and then left and right for a few seconds.
Lucas was sweating with worry. Who was with random man in their house and why was he acting so friendly with him?
"Um… who are you?" Lucas asked, pointing with his finger. He tried to look past him but apart from all the paper, there wasn't anything else.
The young man paused and his eyes widened with a bit of shock. "Huh, didn't Iris tell you?"
Lucas turned to face his sister and saw that she had her head in her hands. A few seconds later, she looked back at her little brother and answered.
"That's… my boyfriend".
"Huh, boyfriend?!" Lucas shouted, not really believing what he heard.
Now, in the house, Lucas stood in the middle of the kitchen with Iris to his side and the stranger who was apparently his big sister's boyfriend in front. The papers were moved to the side but a lot of them were still on the floor.
If this boyfriend only came into the picture a few weeks ago then he wouldn't know anything about him. Lucas turned his head but instead of looking confused, he gave a sly look to the redhead beside him.
"Now who's the one that doesn't keep the other updated?" He slightly smirked, earning a laugh from both the young man and Iris.
After this, Iris dropped her shoulders and then shook her head after readjusting herself.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it…", she answered defeatedly. After that, she introduced the man next to them. "This is Matthew. He's-", she began to explain but Matthew offered to finish his own introduction.
He spoke with his green eyes looking calmly at the Dual mage. He wore a bright smile to his face and his medium-length, slicked-back, dark-grey hair moved along the breeze that came in through the open window.
"I'm a builder, you could say. I build houses, churches, stables… anything really. The papers you see all around here are all actually construction plans for something we've decided to build in this town. Actually, this concerns you a lot", he pointed in the air with his right hand and walked to the side of the room. He wore a light-blue, full length shirt with a yellow and black waistcoat over it. He also had grey trousers on with beige-coloured boots. It looked like he was wearing typical construction work-type clothes so it fit well with who he was.
"Concerns me?" Lucas asked, turning around to get clarification from Iris. Though, instead of receiving it, he saw a flustered look from his big sister – something he had never seen before. Her cheeks were flushed with a vibrant pink colour but it looked like she didn't want to be seen like that since she was darting her eyes all over the place to avoid eye contact with Lucas.
Before he could say something, Matthew came back with a single piece of paper in his hand. Though, instead of handing it straight away to him, he posed a question.
"Iris, should we take him there so he can see for himself?" Matthew looked behind Lucas towards his girlfriend.
"Hm, I think that's a good idea. Oh, David and Melanie are there as well so you can meet them", she replied, looking at Matthew then at Lucas.
Lucas wore a deadpan expression, not really understanding what was going on here. "What on earth could this thing that concerns me… be?" He wondered.
Iris flung one of the doors open and grabbed her little brother's arm. She ran ahead, dragging the Magic Knight with him whilst Matthew followed closely behind.
The sun was still up high, but it had started to shift in direction showing that it was beginning to set. Some time had passed since Lucas met with Iris once again but there was still a lot of time left in the day. The trio started walking away from the house and were on the path to see where this mystery thing was going to be built.
The town of Hoffvol was quiet but there were plenty of people living in it. It was bigger than Hage that was a few miles away so it had more buildings, people, and farmlands connected to it.
"This place is exactly the same as before…". Lucas said as he looked around. He saw a lot of houses on the right and they were all single-storey with a little garden outside.
There were a lot of kids outside playing around with each other. Some groups were playing Hide-and-Seek, whereas some of the others were just sat down speaking with each other.
"Nothing of note has happened to this town and that's why everyone is living as comfortably as they can. Now that I think about it… this construction work is actually the biggest change that's happening here", Iris chuckled as she raised her hand towards her mouth.
"It certainly helps that we have a huge lake that people like being at, as well as a mini market square where travelling merchants come by frequently. Compared to a lot of other towns or villages in the Forsaken Realm, we're pretty well off", Matthew explained.
After a few minutes of talking and getting to know one another, the group of three had arrived at an open space near the middle of the town. The market square was to the right of this place so getting here was easy for anyone.
Lucas stood in the middle and saw that the open space was surrounded by temporary fencing which also helped to show how big the place was going to be.
"Wow, this is pretty big for a town like this", Lucas said.
The area was around the width of four houses and a length of three. Walking forwards, Lucas saw that there were people digging out the grass and mud underneath to help lay foundations and space out what they needed.
"So, what is being built here?" Lucas asked as he turned around two the two behind him.
Finally, Matthew handed over the piece of paper to Lucas but before he read it, he saw Iris shuffle away from him as if she was shy or embarrassed all of a sudden. Regardless, the ginger-haired teen lowered his head and started reading.
"Plans to open Hoffvol's very first medical clinic", Lucas read and a bright smile stretched across his face almost immediately. He turned to face his sister and she still didn't look back but was dragging her boots across the grassy floor, fidgeting with anything she could.
He kept reading and saw something very important and why Matthew said this concerned him.
"Your Magic Knights pay that you've been sending every month is going towards this", Matthew said.
"This is…", Lucas began to say but couldn't finish his sentence since his smile wasn't letting up. Trying very hard, he managed to speak again and addressed his sister. "I'm so happy for you. You can finally achieve your dream!"
Iris beamed, just like she had been for the majority of the time. "It's only something little right now but hopefully, in a few years, I can be a doctor…", she said as she twirled the ends of one of her two ponytails.
As Lucas heard this, his wide smile dropped down a bit but he quickly fixed it without anyone seeing the little change in him.
"Of course, we've divided up the funds and are spending it wisely but when you've got a builder like me, there's nothing to worry about!" Matthew added as he put his hands on his hips and stood proud.
Suddenly, there was shouting from down below where the workers were. Then, the sound of footsteps running towards them and when Lucas turned his body to face the sound, he saw just who it was.
Though, right before he could say anything, he was tackled to the floor once again. All he saw was a flash of yellow and a hard tackle against his stomach before his body smacked into the ground below him.
"Oh, no! I haven't seen him in months and the first thing I do is this…!" The culprit panicked.
Lucas, feeling a bit hard done by, sat up and rustled his ginger hair. "Melanie, what was that for?" He sighed.
"Sorry, little Lucas!" She stuck her tongue out and playfully hit herself on the side of her head with a curled up fist. "But… you didn't say you were coming here!"
"Yeah, I just came on a whim really. Our captain gave us a day off so I wanted to see you all…", he smiled.
Melanie didn't say much to respond with but her mouth was wide open like she was shocked or surprised. "Wow, you seem much more confident now. I guess protecting the kingdom can do that to someone!"
The yellow-haired individual helped the teen up by grabbing his hand. As she did, her short, straight hair that stops just below her neck moved slightly with the breeze that was rolling through. She had a flat braid that sat on top of her hair which was put together with an orange band.
"C-Confident?" Lucas questioned. "I guess I am a bit better now with others since I've been a Magic Knight", he smiled with a little embarrassed flush in his cheeks.
"Hey there, Melanie. We're here too, you know?" Matthew coughed to grab the high-spirited girl's attention.
"What do you want you workaholic?" Melanie replied with a little venom.
With a heavy sigh, the green-eyed individual replied while shaking his head. "Same as ever, ay?" The two started exchanging words with each other that eventually turned into an argument.
"Um…", Lucas said, not understanding the slight tension between the two.
Iris put her hand on her brother's shoulder and sighed. "Those two… I guess they can get along with each other sometimes but most of the time? Yeah, they don't click".
"Huh? You met up with little Lucas before me? That's not fair!" Melanie stuck her tongue out. She stomped on the ground with her black boots that were covered in mud.
In fact, all of her clothing was dirty from her checkered brown and white t-shirt to her light-brown trousers.
"Why are you so muddy, by the way?" Lucas asked, prompting the argument to stop between her and Matthew.
"Muddy?" Melanie asked as if she didn't notice she was like that. After a few seconds of examining herself she gasped with her hands on both of her cheeks. "I didn't notice it was this bad! I was helping my dad with digging the ground out for this medical clinic and I guess I went all out…", she lightly chuckled.
"That's the klutz we all know and love!" Iris laughed as she wrapped her arm around Melanie's neck. The two were standing side-by-side and when Iris let go of her friend, she also got a bit muddy. "Wow, you really did work hard".
Lucas laughed as well. He wasn't around his family for a long time due to his Magic Knight duties as well as his training. Though, seeing everyone again was really nice feeling.
"Actually, where's your dad, Melanie?" Lucas and Iris asked.
"Oh, the old man? He was right behind m-!" She screamed as she turned around. The 23-year-old saw her dad on the floor behind them and it looked like no one had noticed him there.
Matthew was the first to kneel down and speak to the tired man. "I've told you not to overexert yourself, David…", he lightly tapped the man on his head.
"Oh, come on… I'm the oldest one here so I have to serve by example. What if Lucas were to come back and saw me on my ass all day? Imagine what he'd think!" David slowly got up and shook his head. As he did, he saw Lucas right in front of him waving.
"Oh".
"Haha, it's good to see you, David!" Lucas laughed as he walked forwards and hugged the man. "How have you been?"
"My, I didn't even notice you were here!" David laughed and hugged the teen back.
"Perhaps you're getting old", the Dual mage said cheekily.
"I'm still young, right everyone?!" David asked and turned around for anyone to agree with him. Iris, Melanie, and Matthew all turned their faces away so they wouldn't have to answer him, signalling that no one was going to agree with him. "Meanies…", he whispered under his breath.
David was a tall man with a short, black, beard. His hair was starting to whiten but it still had a lot of black left in it and his eyes were a soft silver colour. He, just like his daughter, was wearing a checkered shirt but this one had a red and black pattern. The man's khaki trousers were quite baggy but they tucked in well with his black boots.
All of a sudden, everyone's stomachs started making growling noises showing that all of them felt the exact same thing. It sure was a coincidence but all of them looked at each other and chuckled.
"Hungry, huh?" David asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer.
"We should get back home", Iris said. "It looks like David and Melanie need to use the bath one after the other so that'll also take quite a while…", she sighed.
"True. Well… looks like I'm taking the first bath, old man", Melanie said as she rushed ahead already fading away into the distance.
David followed suit, his personality being quite similar to his daughter's. "Hey! Stop calling me that!" He shouted as he followed the klutz back to the house.
All having awkward expressions as reactions to those two, Iris was the first to move ahead. "I'll go on and start preparing for dinner. Why don't you two walk back up together? You know, get to know one another", she giggled before walking away.
"Sure", Matthew replied whilst Lucas didn't say much.
Another few minutes passed and Lucas and Matthew had started to walk up together. Despite Iris's suggestion, it was rather silent between those two since it was a bit awkward getting to know each other. Eventually, the first one to talk was the one with dark-grey hair.
"So, Lucas… how is it being a Magic Knight?" Matthew asked, stepping on a few stones and twigs as he walked beside the Dual mage.
"It's good. It was difficult at first since I didn't really know anyone, but I've made friends", he replied with a smile.
"That's good", Matthew replied.
"Matthew-", Lucas spoke but the person next to him interrupted.
"You can call me Matt", he put his thumb up and smiled.
Lucas returned the kindness he was showing by getting more confident around him. "Matt… Thank you for being there for my sister. Especially with this whole construction work for the clinic", he gulped as he walked ahead, stopped, and turned to face the man.
"O-Of course…", Matt replied, not understanding the sudden shift in tone.
The evening sun had started to set and it the air started to get colder. The birds in the air and the other animals around had returned to where they lived. The other residents in Hoffvol had all began to go back home as well so there was silence in the air except for these two on the path back.
"Years ago, my sister had plans of becoming a doctor in the Royal Capital. She… because of me, had to give up on it", Lucas said. He looked in the air and remembered the day where his sister helped him escape the church in Missbrauch.
"No! If you run away, then you w-won't be able to become a d-doctor. You're already 16, you have the chance to get a job soon… I can run away myself somewhere!" Lucas cried. He really did love his sister and if she had to give up her dream, then he felt selfish about it.
Iris kissed him on the forehead again. "Lucas… I'll gladly give up my dream if it means you'll be safe. I love you, brother". She rustled the crying brother's hair once more as she left the room.
Lucas continued. "So, all of this is… well, I appreciate it a lot", Lucas tried to smile fully but there was some sadness in his grin.
Matthew walked up and stood right opposite the Dual mage. He raised his right arm and placed his hand on Lucas's shoulder. "Lucas, I don't know everything that happened but I know, for sure, that Iris would never blame you for anything. Don't you see how happy she is?"
"I mean, of course she'd be happy. Her medical clinic is being built", Lucas replied, not thinking too much into it.
"No, silly. Yes, she's happy about that but the way she's been smiling and her overall energy has been completely different today. It's because you came to visit so don't think she has any ill feeling towards you for anything", Matt hugged the mage before letting go of the embrace quickly after.
"… Sorry. I'm a hugger, haha", he laughed.
Lucas took a while to respond. "I've always thought that Sis gave up her dream to save me… but, I'm glad she's aiming for it again". He looked at the young man in front of him and tapped him on his shoulder. "I'll race you!"
The light outside was beginning to dim and the town had fallen quiet. Each and every house had started to light up with their candles indoors and it was the exact same for the house where Iris, Melanie, and David lived.
The brown door burst open and plenty of smoke entered the house as both Lucas and Matthew rushed in. It looked like their race was a draw as both of them reached at the same exact time.
Both of them stood up and shook each other's hands, not realising what their race did. The duo suddenly felt a presence behind them and it sent chills down their spines. They turned slowly and saw Iris with flashing, red-blooded eyes, that replaced her calm yellow ones, piercing into both of their souls.
"H-Hey, there…", Matt raised his hand to wave.
"What's up, S-Sis…?" Lucas asked, taking a step back.
"How was your race? Who won? Oh, wait, I don't care", she said with her arms crossed.
Lucas looked back at Matt and whispered. "I thought you said she was the happiest she could be…".
"Oh? Of course, I'm happy… but look at the table! Your little burst through the front door ruined what I had set up!" Iris said, her normal demeanour returning.
The two looked back at the wooden dinner table and saw that the spoons and forks were now on the floor, along with the mats for the plates. With a drop of both their shoulders, the two helped set the table back up.
After this, the food was set up on the table and everyone got eating.
"Wow, these are really good, Sis!" Lucas praised as he scoffed his mouth full of food.
"Iris makes the best food around here; I'll tell you that!" David laughed as he wiped some crumbs from his mouth.
Melanie lightly slammed the bottom of her fist on her dad's head as she heard that. "Hmph, what about me? I made some of the food, too!"
"All you did was peel the potatoes…", David said. He masked what he said with the sound of crunching so she couldn't hear.
"Don't worry, Melanie. I'm enjoying all of it", Lucas said as she ate a spoonful of some mashed potatoes.
"See, little Lucas likes them. You should be more like him, Dad", Melanie said, turning her head away.
A few different dishes were on the table that both Iris and Melanie had helped with. There were mashed potatoes, baked bread, as well as a small chicken dish which had a runny gravy sauce and some vegetables around it
Matthew grabbed some of the meat in the middle of the table and carefully placed it on his plate. "I haven't had a meal like this in a while".
Lucas, though, was a bit surprised at some of the dishes. "We hardly ever had chicken when I lived here. How did we get it this time?"
David was the first to reply. "Matthew's family actually owns a little farm just north of the town. You should've taken him to visit!" He said to the young man.
"There wasn't enough time today. My folks are out of town and my room is a mess since I rushed down to help with all the construction and, besides, Lucas is leaving tomorrow", Matt responded.
"Aw, really?" Melanie moaned, putting her face down on the table.
"You don't have to act like a kid all the time, Melanie", Matthew responded as he drank his water.
"I can act however I like. Little Lucas is like my little brother as well!" Melanie retorted, bringing her fists in front of her and shaking them at the dark-grey-haired young man.
"You can't even take care of a garden. Imagine taking care of a little brother of all things", Matthew laughed.
"Perhaps you're just jealous, Matty. Little Lucas likes me more than you", she smiled cheekily.
"Now, now. There's no need for that", David said as he calmed the situation down. "Lucas is quite busy as a Magic Knight, aren't you?" David said as he drank some water from the cup next to his plate.
"Yeah, we've been going on quite a few missions lately", Lucas replied. "Actually, I went on my first ever mission on the first day. It was to patrol just outside the Royal Capital which was quite scary at first but I managed to defeat two bandits! Then, I was out with a few friends and we met a pickpocket that I eventually stopped. Oh, and then I visited my first ever dungeon with two others in my squad and I'll tell you what… it was crazy what we found in there. There were two statues and some ancient writing that I was able to read… oh, and then we fought some golems!"
Lucas kept going on about each and every mission that he had gone on. Though he didn't mention every single detail since it looked like he was so excited to talk about them that he forgot. The other four saw stars in his eyes as they listened to him talk.
A few minutes later…
"Then, after the Forgotten Forest we had a few rest days and now this is my day off!" Lucas finished talking. He looked at everyone else and saw that they were ready to laugh, and that's exactly what they did. "W-What's up?"
"Nothing, Lucas… it's just that you seem really happy when you speak about being a Magic Knight. I'm glad you got to become one but you haven't reached your dream yet, have you?" Iris winked.
Lucas pumped his fists and looked outside. "Of course, not! Becoming the Wizard King is no small task. I actually met the Wizard King three times and just… wow! I have a long way to go! There's a lot more to my dream than just becoming the Wizard King, though…".
David and Melanie exchanged quick glances after Lucas stopped talking. The latter leaned in and gave a sly look while the former scratched his beard as he stared at the Dual mage.
"What about your other dream?" Melanie said.
"Other?" Lucas questioned.
"Haha, did you forget? We're on about when you said you'd get us a castle for us to live in!" David laughed. He had finally finished his meal so he slammed his fists on the table.
"You're getting a bit too excited, David…", Iris sweat-dropped.
The Light mage started to blush as he remembered exactly what the two were talking about.
"I… I want to become the best Magic Knight, work my way up and become the Wizard King, and w-when I am one, I… I want to move you, Melanie, and Mr Melanie's Dad to a castle where we can all live together!"
"Oh, come on…! That was-", Lucas tried to explain away his childish claims but Melanie started pouting.
"Really, little Lucas? You're giving up on us already?" She cried comedically, her tears falling on the floor.
"What the… is she actually crying?" Matthew wondered.
"Haha! That was when you used to call me 'Mr Melanie's Dad', isn't that right?" David teased.
"F-Fine… I'm not giving up on that either! I'll be sure to get you guys a castle!" Lucas shouted, hiding his head away in awkwardness. A few seconds later, he looked back at David and pouted. "Wow, are all Davids the same?"
"What does that even mean?" David asked, tilting his head.
"One of my squadmates have the same name as you and he also teases me... kind of like you do to me", Lucas sighed.
"Well, that's the special power of us Davids. We're all just a bundle of fun! Anyways, this other David you know... i bet he and I would get along quite well, haha!" David laughed.
Melanie raised her hand. "Well, if that's the case then we should name my dad, David 1".
"WHAT?!" David protested by waving his arms to create an 'X' sign. "I'm pretty sure I'm older than this other David, right?" He looked at Lucas who responded with a nod of his head. "Why are you so against me, Melanie? My own flesh and blood...", he dropped his shoulders.
Iris, ignoring the shenanigans between David and Melanie, changed the subject and leaned forwards to ask a question this time. She looked at Lucas and gave a questioning turn of her head as if she really wanted an answer to what she was about to ask.
"Speaking about your life as a Magic Knight… have you got a girlfriend yet?" She teased.
Lucas, spitting out some of his drink as it was so sudden, shook his head quickly. "No, I d-don't!"
"From your letters you mention two names a lot. What were they… Oh, Daisy and Mimosa?" Melanie giggled, ignoring her father's antics. "So, who is it? Which one do you like?"
Lucas kept nodding his head as he didn't want this conversation to go on. But, since they were so eager for an answer, he replied with one. "I don't know anything about boyfriends or girlfriends or whatever! I like both of them as friends. Come on now, guys!" He panted.
For the rest of the night, they continued just like that. All five of them were talking and having fun in each other's company. They had all finished dinner relatively quickly but they stayed at the table for the next few hours carrying on having fun.
The morning sun had arrived and it was shining down all around. Just outside of the small house, Lucas was getting ready to head back to the Golden Dawn and everyone else was standing outside to send him off.
Lucas looked towards the direction where the Royal Capital was and grabbed his broomstick. He turned around and looked at the house and then at the four who were waving him away.
"I didn't think I'd have that much of a good night's sleep but I did! Actually, I didn't even have those weird dreams. Those silhouettes, that copy of me, or that little girl who always wants to play… H-Hang on… perhaps Sis knows about this?" Lucas thought as he walked towards Iris.
Iris stopped waving. "Did you forget something?"
The wind blew heavily throughout the air as Lucas was about to ask something that had been bothering him the day before. Out of the dreams and visions that he had, Iris would really only be able to confirm the one about the little girl since it seemed to be something related to his childhood.
"Sis…", he breathed in and out. "… Did I ever have some childhood friend that was a girl?" He asked. The mage closed his eyes in anticipation for an answer.
"Who could she be? Surely Sis has to know, right? Or… is it a weird dream and nothing more than that?" Lucas asked himself.
Iris raised her arm and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "Sorry, Lucas. I don't remember anyone like that", she replied.
Lucas sighed and dropped his shoulders. "Ah, that's okay. I think I've just been having some weird dreams then", he said disappointedly.
After a minute or so, he brought his broomstick close and set it up so he would jump on it. Slowly, he started to fly away but not before waving goodbye to everyone as he disappeared in the far distance.
Another few hours passed as the four of Iris, Melanie, Matthew, and David had their own jobs to do. Matthew was back at his family's farm whereas David was working at the area where the medical clinic would be. At the house, it was just Iris and Melanie as they cleaned the house.
Suddenly, Melanie stopped working and sat down at the table, wiping some sweat away from her face.
"Iris?" Melanie said but it didn't look like she heard. "Iris? Iris?!" She shouted which finally got the 23-year-old's attention.
"Yes, Melanie?" Iris replied with a little frown on her face.
"Why did you tell little Lucas that you don't remember her – the childhood friend?" Melanie asked.
Iris stopped working and placed the dirty towel away from her. She walked over to the table and sat down opposite her friend and put her head in her hands. Her teeth were full on clenched and gritting against each other suggesting that she didn't like this position she was in at all where she had to lie.
"You know exactly why… I hate it but… all of us, we gave our word… She said it would only hurt him if he remembered. We gave our word...
... to her".
NOTES:
The return back home was long awaited but it's finally here. Some interesting things happened here so I'll let you keep on guessing what else could happen in the future .
The first introduction to Matthew. I was always thinking to give Iris a boyfriend and he's here now. We'll get more of him later on in the story.
I don't know if you guys remember but this chapter had a few call backs to a lot of previous ones. From now on, including this one, if I do hint at some big things in certain chapters, I'll also add the chapters that those events previously appeared in just to help with things. Let me know if I should do this and if it helps you .
