Chapter 6 Part 3. Language of flowers.
With the others, Asta and the rest are chatting and enjoying the nicely cooked meals made by Sister Lily.
A while later, things are calming down. The guests who helped search leave, and Recca stands by the gate watching them as they leave. She looks at the moon. "Bye everyone," Asta yells and waves goodbye to the villagers. Then he turns his gaze to Recca, observing Sister going inside with the younger ones.
Recca takes a step to the side and sits on the bench, sighing.
Asta walks up to her. "Is there something on your mind, Recca?" he asks as he gets up to her.
"Well, I just... I don't know," she says as her eyes slightly sadden.
Asta gets on the fence and sits next to her, looking at the moon with her. "It's nice tonight, huh?" he says.
"It sure is," Recca replies. She looks at the trees and then to the side where she can see the demon head in the soft moonlight.
"It's just... seeing you and Yuno go out there into the big world. Hearing about your adventures through the letters you both send, and now Nach is..." she says, trailing off.
"Huh, what about Nach?"
"Nothing, it's fine. I just... well, I kind of want to do something more too," she says and looks back at the moon. "I'm just not sure what. I-I don't have a clear goal like you three do." The wind blows through her hair as it grows quiet while Asta is looking at her, trying to understand her...
"I guess... finding a goal in life is different for everyone. I kind of always had one, so I'm not sure how you're feeling right now, aside from uncertainty," he tells her, and she looks at him.
He pats her head. "You'll find your way too, so no giving up until that happens, okay?" he tells her, and Recca blushes a little. "Besides, this new job of yours can be the perfect opportunity," he says cheerfully.
"Opportunity?"
"Yes, you could learn something new, and it might inspire you," he says in an uplifting manner.
"I don't know. It's just a job at the tavern," she says, and a smile crawls on her face. "But maybe you're right. Maybe I will find something," she utters and looks at the moon again.
Meanwhile,
Millie flies over to the Demon skull and lands on its huge head. She looks around herself and stops. "Hold on, was there not a statue here last time?" she thinks out loud, looking to the valley and the quiet village as it gets ready for the night.
She notices someone flying their brooms at rapid speed. "That looks almost like Aurora... does she need help?" Millie wonders and takes to her wings, flying after the sound mage.
She transforms into her cat form and lands not too far away from the mage. She follows, trying not to be seen.
She sees the girl sit down on a rock and hears sobbing. Her eyes soften.
The girl sits there and cries, catching her tears with her fingers as they trickle down. She takes off her glasses to dry the tears at the source.
"Miss, is your heart hurting?" a gentle voice asks. She looks up and sees a shadowy figure in the grass. She puts on her glasses and sees the black cat with two tails and silver eyes.
"I'm sorry. I could have sworn I heard you speak just now," she says, holding back her tears.
"I did, miss."
"How is a cat speaking? Wait, you were with Asta earlier. Recca told me about his letters. Are you his familiar?" she asks.
"You are a clever one, miss," Millie compliments, and Aurora almost smiles.
"What are you doing here?" she asks, trying to put on a brave face.
"Your heart looks to be hurting, so I'm here to listen if you need someone to listen," Millie explains.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to let it show. I just... I am just so frustrated and..." she struggles to find the words.
"Damn it. My tears won't stop forming," she sobs and wipes her tears away.
"What has you frustrated, miss?" Millie asks, being softer than usual.
"I just... I don't want to burden anyone with this," she says.
"It's not a burden at all, so please, miss, honor me by sharing your feelings," Aurora looks at Millie.
"Well, my family and I have been moving around a lot, and when we do move, everything is fine. They say the next place will be so much brighter and better, but once everything settles down and everyday life kicks in... It doesn't take long before they start fighting again," she says, her voice shaking.
"And then, then..." her voice breaks as tears run down. "Then things get bigger and scarier to the point it even gets violent. I want to run away and move to a different place away from my parents, but currently, I can't do that..." She dries her tears away again, clenching her fist before speaking again.
"I've tried getting jobs in the settlement we moved to, and I managed to earn a little, but then we move again, and they ask for money. I want to help them, so I do, and I know it's stupid," her breathing shakes with a ball of fear, sadness, and anger. "I don't want to imagine what happens if I don't," she sobs.
"I-I want to follow my dream, not be stuck in the loop that they made. I am just so frustrated and mad at myself for not being selfish and just going out there. But I hate to imagine what would happen if I left. I am so scared," her voice shaking more.
"I just wish... I could follow my dream," Aurora's voice wavers. "I wish to share my music with the world, but... I can't. Not stuck like this. I just can't." She clenches her fist, her voice trembles, "My parents... I fear if just one thing gets more out of balance than it is right now, then they... They might." She tightens her grip, the thought painful. "I hate this. Going through this over and over and over again." Her voice grows softer. "I just wish they could please." Auroras is trembling as tears are streaming down her face.
"This crap is so damn hopeless!" she lets out, drying her tears with both her hands as they keep coming down her face. She continues to sob for about a minute before she starts to collect herself again.
"But who cares, right? I'm just someone who will leave this town soon anyway," she says, pulling herself together.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry this much. I kind of let it all out," she says, taking off her glasses and drying her tears.
"Have you told Recca how you feel?" Millie asks.
"No, not really. I doubt she'll stay friends with someone who leaves whenever things begin to settle," she utters.
"I might as well be forgotten since my family will leave soon anyway," she utters, and Millie looks around, thinking her words over.
She walks over to a flower called "Pearly Everlasting," like the one Aurora had earlier in the day, and she plucks the flower with her mouth.
"What are you doing?" she asks, putting her glasses back on. Millie comes to her and jumps into her lap, and Aurora blushes and takes the flower.
"I wouldn't give up on love and friendships just yet, Miss Aurora. You still have a lot of life left to live," Millie utters.
Aurora looks at the flower and the cat in her lap. "Someone gave you a flower like that for a reason, because they want to remember you, even though you are far away from each other. You both have something meaningful that not even distance will tear apart. And for your music, I heard but a piece earlier today, but I heard enough to tell you, don't you ever, ever stop playing. Keep playing your heart out. Let the world know your feelings, give them comfort, let everyone going through something similar know that they are not alone," Millie's words make Aurora's eyes widen for a split second, and her eyes let out more water. "That is, that is exactly what I wish to... I just," she utters, using her finger to get behind her glasses to wipe away the tears before they fall.
"Thank you for those words," she pauses. "Uh... Millie Millenty. Miss Aurora. It is a pleasure to get to know you and meet you, in that order," she says with a smile.
And Aurora can't help it and lets out a small chuckle through her sadness.
"So please tell Recca how you feel. Let your friends help you find a way out," Millie tells her, and she looks uncertain at Millie as a question comes to mind.
"What about you? How is your relationship with your parents?" she asks.
"My parents? Well, my mother is the head of the clan, and our relationship is... well, saying it's complicated is an understatement," Millie utters.
"Huh, how so?"
"It's a long story..." Millie utters and thinks it over. "But since you've shared something so sensitive, it would be terrible of me if I didn't do the same. To put it simply, I am detached from my family."
"Detached?"
"Yes, if you take a Daisy and look at its bright yellow core and its many petals around it, my family is kind of like that. With my mother at the center, and the petals are my many siblings. I did something that scorched my soul, and like a Daisy, if one of its petals gets infected, the safest option is to remove the petal before it can affect the plant as a whole," Millie explains.
"Does that mean you are cut off from any emotional ties as well?" Aurora asks.
"You really are a smart one," Millie says. "You used a daisy, the perfect flower for family bonds, so it was easy," she says, and Millie smiles.
"I want to have bonds with my siblings and my mother. However, after all this time, that desire is still one-sided, as they want nothing to do with me," Millie utters. "And the same goes for the rest of my kind. No one wants to be friends with someone who has a scorched soul."
"Scorched soul?" Aurora asks, and Millie looks down, not really wanting to answer...
.
.
.
"Have you at least made other bonds?" she asks, changing the subject.
"I have, but..."
"Huh, but what?" she asks.
"I have been fortunate enough to have had one really good Master, one friend of my own kind, and one... but they are long since passed," Millie says, looking into the distance.
"Is it because you have lived long that you have outlived them?" she asks.
"No, my master was killed, and the only friend I ever made of my own kind... well, she, I..." Millie fumbles with her words.
"I was forced to kill the only friend I ever made, with my own two hands," she says and looks down. And Aurora's eyes widen. "Forced? How?!"
"Well, due to the contract, whoever is my master can, in theory, force me to do anything. And during the month of recuperation, I lack the power to fight back. I... I still get flashbacks to how my hand pierced Sara's chest and the words she spoke," Millie utters.
"That is horrible," she says.
"What was worse came after," Millie says.
"Seriously? What can be worse than that?"
"Well, there were rumors going around that I killed in cold blood, unprovoked. And forming friendships after that became even more impossible. I tried forming connections of my own kind, I..." Millie utters and looks to Aurora.
"Didn't you tell them what happened?" she asks. "I did, many times, but they have already made up their minds, and I was severely punished for it," Millie slips out.
"So after being forced to kill your only friend, you were punished and ridiculed for it!?"
"That just put my story into a boot," Aurora says with surprise.
"It does not, not at all. Don't you dare say your situation is any less or bigger than anyone's. The feelings you are going through are yours, and no one can ever deny them. Your heart is hurting because of something awful going on in your life, so don't negate your own feelings. They are a cause from your story, your life, your heart, mind, and soul. It means the heavens to me that you shared them, so please, do not dare negate them, not now or ever," Aurora's tears begin to fall as she grabs Millie and hugs her tightly.
"Just keep playing, Aurora, and share your feelings with the world. Show the world the color of your soul. I would be honored to listen to what means the most to your heart," Millie says softly.
Aurora hugs her tighter. "I will, Millie. Thank you. I will talk to Recca, and I will keep forming friendships, and play my songs no matter what my family does. I will play my music until it reaches the heavens. Because then, even your friend can hear it." And Millie's being drops as her eyes widen in surprise, a lump forming in her chest.
They sit quietly like that for a good while before Aurora lets go and places Millie in her lap. Millie takes a deep breath, composing herself. "If I am to reach that far, I better be practicing," she says and dries her tears and pulls out her grimoire and brings out her flute. "Sound magic," she utters and takes her lips to the flute. She starts to play the most soothing sound.
(her music really is beautiful) she thinks to herself and looks at the flute. At the end of it, it starts to glow in a smooth milky pink color as her magic flows out of it.
Millie watches as small droplets of pink-tinted mana flow out, taken by the careful breeze. The small pink lights glow and dance among the gentle pink lights. It's as if the plants are stretching towards the music while enjoying the sound.
Millie lies down and listens to her playing her music as memories of her past come forth. A teardrop forms and falls. (Meir, I miss you so much it hurts)
(Sara, I am sorry, the only friend I ever made... I wasn't strong enough to stop it. And even Casimir, I...) I did have two other connections, but never as strong as those three. Even though our time together was short, I will treasure the memories we made. She pushes her nose into her tail as Aurora keeps playing her song far into the night...
Note:
This is the best chapter that I made so far and I cried writing it, so I know it must have tugged at some heartstrings.
What do you guys think of the story so far?
