A/N: I'm adding more backstory to my ship's childhood memories lol.
Calintz put on his usual mercenary outfit and smoothed out the wrinkled fabric, his side tails and accessories. Just as he was about to check his reflection in the mirror to tie his hair properly, it suddenly struck him how much his normal appearance resembled Hugo a lot... when the guy was pretending to be 'him'. Pretending to be 'Agreian'.
Well, the more he stared at his own reflection the more he didn't think they looked alike, aside from the colour and length of their hair. But right now Hugo's face was the one most people 'believed' to be Agreian Jei Owen, not his and that bothered him a lot.
.
He shouldn't have given Hugo his bracelet a long time ago. If he hadn't, Hugo wouldn't have ended up being identified as Mistress Ladrinne's son. No, his mother's son. No matter how much Hugo had looked like him; if it was not because of that bracelet... Hugo wouldn't have been able to take on his real name...
Then Mistress Ladrinne, his mother... wouldn't have gotten hurt so much by that person.
Calintz sighed.
He really needed to get used to referring to Mistress Ladrinne as his mother, now. Funny how he used to imagine Mistress Ladrinne to be his mother, yet now when he knew that she was truly his real mother he couldn't find the courage in himself to call her his mother.
He recalled the last few times when he was able to talk to her, how he used to feel so bashful when Mistress Ladrinne asked him about Reith. He used to think that must be what it felt like if he could tell his real mother about a girl he liked. He never thought that someone like Mistress Ladrinne could ever be his mother.
But she was...
.
She almost let out a loud cry when she walked in to find Calintz in the middle of changing his clothes. She even thought Calintz would've noticed her coming in from the unladylike squawk she made. But then Calintz barely even noticed her and continued to stare at a nearby large mirror... seemingly in deep thought.
Not once has she ever seen Calintz let his hair down in the past. Not once has she ever seen him looking so dazed like this. With his hair down, she could see just how much Calintz resembled his mother in every way. Much more than that other person anyway.
She reached out to touch his arm, and Calintz jumped in response. Reith cocked her head to the side as she shrugged at him.
"Did I startled you?" she asked as Calintz shook his head.
"No, I just... been thinking deeply about something."
Reith pursed her lips as she wracked her brain trying to think up things she could say. But then she noticed the hair tie Calintz still had in his hand and smiled.
"Should I help you tie your hair?" she asked again as Calintz's face immediately turned red. The man slowly nodded his head shyly before turning around to sit on the nearby bed.
.
He couldn't even attempt to look in the mirror to see what kind of image he might see of how the two of them would look at the moment. Because that'll be too embarrassing for him. Yet he hadn't refused when Reith made the offer. How awkward could he be acting right now?
Reith picked up a small comb and started combing and gathering his hair into a bunch. It was just a simple act of combing and tying his hair, but when Reith was doing it... the act felt a lot more intimate for him. It certainly didn't feel as awkward as this when they were still little.
Calintz turned his focus to look at his wrist as suddenly he was reminded of how he used to have his bracelet (similar to the one his mother wore) fastened on his wrist for as long as he could remember. Aside from the time he showed Hugo the bracelet for the first time and when he gave it away, he barely ever took it off or let the bracelet be far away from him for any reason. It made him wonder now as to how he could've so easily given it away to Hugo back then.
He got the old bracelet back with him though... but it'd be too small for him to wear it now. Should he go to the jeweller in Remie to have it altered? Then maybe if he wore his old bracelet back, could his mother recognise him again?
"...your hair has gotten so long compared to when you were younger." Reith finally spoke after a while, "If you had tied it the way you used to from back then, could I have recognized you much earlier?"
"Huh?" Calintz immediately exclaimed, startled. He shrugged at it, cheeks warming as he pondered over her words.
"I suppose... maybe you could have."
He finally gathered his nerves to look up towards the mirror. It was hard not to feel self-conscious in these kinds of situations, but at least no one else was in here besides the two of them.
Somehow he couldn't help recalling an old childhood memory... when they used to do the same thing...
。。。
"Captain—!"
Azel immediately stood up to attention as Eonis smiled, cocking her head at him. Chris started giving him a weird grin.
"Hey Cap! You finally remembered about us?" asked the man before having their head smacked by Haren from the back.
.
"I'm sorry about the failed ambush—" Calintz started before Haren waved their hand at him.
"Don't start—!"
"—it's not only on you," Rianna also spoke out. "We overestimated our abilities and got wiped out completely."
Calintz let out a very long sigh. Well, as if he could deny that. And it seemed that everyone made up their minds to also take responsibility for the decision that led to their failed raid at the great temple.
So Raul was right. They should've waited a bit longer before deciding to take on Hugo by themselves...
"So has anyone heard from Raul?"
Calintz took a glance at each one of them... only to be greeted with blank looks. He was out for a few days from what he gathered, but he assumed that it was ample time for Raul to make his appearance again. Taking down some Alliance soldiers shouldn't be too difficult for the old warrior, even if the guy was more than 50 years old.
Yet... if that guy hadn't returned...
。。。
"—do you think that the General... got him?"
Azel said aloud the very thing that the rest of them were wary to suggest. Because then they had to wonder, what was left for the rest of them to do? If even one of the Eight Heroes couldn't contend with Hugo, what were the chances that any of them could do anything at all to the man who now had the power of the Darkness of Destruction in their hands? What can they even do against such destructive power?
"—you think that the guy was killed?"
"—what else do you think could've happened? If Raul's still alive, he should be back here by now!"
"Then if he died... then it's our fault. We disregarded his warnings, yet despite his injuries, Raul went after us to save us..."
"We can't change that, now. But since he sacrificed his life for our sake—to make sure there's still someone who could fight that monster—we owe it to Raul to kill that guy. That monster, Agreian... or Neikan."
.
Reith walked out of the Elder's tent to find Calintz standing outside, all by himself and deep in thought. She let out a weak smile before walking up next to him.
"Don't blame yourself too much, I don't think that Raul would want you to feel burdened by the things that happened to him."
Calintz bit his lips before turning towards Reith. "How could I not blame myself, when I'm the reason Raul didn't wait to heal his injuries and ran after us to save everyone from our foolish demise? If I'd just listened to him—!"
"—could you be sure that something like this wouldn't have happened anyway in any other circumstances? Regardless, should you continue to blame yourself and not do anything about it?" Reith shrugged at him. "Did Raul choose wrong to decide to save a wuss like you?"
"Hey—!" exclaimed Calintz as he tried to chase after Reith, who made a quick dash to avoid being caught by the young captain. Both of them started to giggle aloud as Calintz managed to catch Reith in his arms.
Calintz let out a soft sigh before releasing Reith from his grasp.
"That reminds me, Reith... back then, what did you mean that you wanted my help to destroy the Tree of Life?" he started to say as Reith turned serious as well. "I thought the reason why you wanted to recover the shards of the Light of Salvation was to restore the tree. Wasn't the tree very important to the Yason?"
Reith took in a very long breath before straightening herself up to face Calintz.
"About that... Calintz, please hear me out—"
.
Immediately after they had their private talk, Calintz gathered everyone together to make his announcement.
"I'm going to go find my master—" he started to say as everyone looked at him in surprise. "As everyone should be aware of it, my master... Zekart Somun was also one of the Eight Heroes. He was the Hero of the Wind..."
Justina blinked at him before speaking out to make herself heard. "Was it because Raul told you to look for him?' she asked as Calintz nodded his head.
"Raul said that my master might be able to help. That's why I'm going to go find him."
Azel gave him a worried look. "Do you even know where to start looking for your master, captain?"
Calintz nodded. "I do. The last time I saw him, he told me that he was going on a journey to a land of pure whiteness to further train himself. I'll just use that as a clue to find him."
"Are you planning to go look for your master all by yourself then?" asked the boy again as Calintz weakly smiled at him.
"Yes... I promise to come back stronger than before.
。。。
As he entered the smaller tent where his mother now resides in... Calintz let out a soft sigh. Without making any loud sound, he grabbed a small stool to take a seat beside his mother.
His mother was staring blankly towards the small clearing overlooking the small courtyard nearby. There were several young children—humans and Yason—playing together happily, completely oblivious of the conflict between the two races outside the settlement. Sometimes he wondered what goes into his mother's mind as she continued to remain trapped inside her mind...
.
"Have you seen my boy?"
"...eh?"
He looked up to find his mother staring at him, something she hadn't been doing for a while—noticing his presence, that is—as Calintz took his mother's hands in his.
"Is something wrong... Mo—Mistress Ladrinne?" he asked cautiously.
His mother frowned slightly, before picking up something from the bedside and placing it in his palm. Calintz glanced down to see that the object he was given was his childhood bracelet.
"I couldn't see my child anywhere—he left his bracelet with me again. I worry that something bad might've happened to him! My dear Mano..."
His eyes widened at the mention of his childhood name. Did that mean that he was given that name when he was little? He didn't have much memory from his childhood, he didn't even have any memory of his parents; their faces or voice... he didn't even have any hint of recollection of who he was. All he had was a name he assumed to be his, a bracelet that his mother left him... and the vague face of a caretaker who was supposed to have raised him before he ended up in Fuget all by himself. He used to wonder back then if he was ever missed. Or did anyone ever try to look for him... back when he was stranded in that village of lost children, wondering when could he be found and whisked away...
"I think... 'he' should be alright," he said slowly, as Calintz tried to stop his voice from shaking. "'Mano' can't have strayed too far from the village—"
"—can you give this bracelet to my boy? I can only be at ease if I know that my child would have this bracelet with him at all times..."
"Unn..." Was all he could answer as Calintz tried to keep his emotions bottled. For a while now, his mother had kept holding on to his bracelet, feeling at a loss and in confusion after being dealt with the harsh blow of having been tricked into believing that Hugo was him. It made him wonder if his mother's condition was ever going to get better.
"Mum—I mean, Mistress Ladrinne—" he bit his lips. "I'm going away for a while... because I needed to find my master. I need to become stronger... so that I can stop Hugo from doing what he planned to do.
"You won't be seeing me for a while... but please don't worry. I'll come back after I'm done..."
As usual, his mother barely let out any signs that she was aware of her surroundings, except for the little bubble that she made around herself... believing that he was still a child around the age of ten. But Calintz didn't let it dampen his spirit. At least his mother was not hurting because of Hugo's lies anymore... and that should be enough for him.
Calintz gave her a soft peck on the cheek and was about to leave, when suddenly... Mistress Ladrinne's grip on his arm tightened. Calintz stared at her in confusion before noticing that his mother seemed to be trying to tell him something...
"... don't... get hurt... my dear..."
Immediately Calintz's eyes went wide as he was reminded of the many times Mistress Ladrinne—his mother—often expressed her worries over his well-being whenever he was about to go on some uncertain mission. He used to feel troubled to have someone like her worrying about him, but this time, he couldn't help feeling an overwhelming joy—Calintz immediately rushed up to hug his mother tightly...
"I won't let myself get hurt, mum... I promise!"
。。。
"The place you are looking for should be Bayer then," Eonis started to say as Chris spread open the map of Efferia on the table for everyone to see. "I remembered Bayer being referred to as a land of pure whiteness."
Azel scrunched up his face trying to read up the names on the map as he wrapped his arms around him. "But since you said that your master was looking for a very quiet place, doubt that he'd be in Bayrux, then."
Chris just shrugged the comment off. "Nah... it's obvious where we should look. It should be somewhere where there's a lot of snow—" announced the man before pointing towards the Ice Fields of Nordon.
"It should be a pretty straightforward trip, so it shouldn't be hard for just one person to man the helm..." he continued before glancing towards Calintz. "But sure you don't want me to go along with ya, at least to help with the piloting?"
"I should be able to handle it by myself. Besides... I rather you stay and take care of each other—" Calintz started to say, before addressing the remaining members of his party. "Try to stay low for now, and stay safe..."
"Don't worry about us... or Mistress Ladrinne," Justina answered right away. "Mistress Ladrinne was like my mother anyway... so I'll make sure to keep her safe—"
"—and I'll help too!" exclaimed Reith, as Calintz gave her an appreciative look. He stole a glance towards Serina who stood a bit of a distance from the others as he said nothing of it. Reith's words from earlier flashed into his mind immediately...
.
"It's a big gamble... but I believe that this was the only way. For every Yason and Blast Worm affected by this... as well as Serina.
"I hoped by doing this we could save everyone, including Serina."
"What did you mean—?"
It was then that Reith told her about her suspicions about the Tree of Life and the connection it had with the Yason's vindi. She explained the reason why she wanted the tree to be gone and how doing it might save her people.
To be honest he found it hard to believe. That the mysterious illness called Rheuma had any connection to the Tree of Life. But having seen the effects of Rheuma first-hand, Calintz could understand why Reith would be worried. He never imagined that Serina could contract Rheuma though, the girl seemed to be in fine health outwardly.
It meant that the burden of his mission just got heavier. He has to become even stronger to defeat Hugo once and for all!
The fate of so many lives depended on his success...
。。。
"Why didn't you go with him, Reith? Don't you want to go there with him?"
.
Reith immediately turned their head towards her, just as Rusty 29 took off to the sky.
"Why should I?" she immediately answered. "Even if did go with him, I'll just be in his way." Reith looked down at their hands as she sighed.
"Even if this time I was able to survive without losing my memories and chi like last time, casting the Magna Carta for the second time did take a huge toll on me." Reith glanced up towards her. "I wouldn't be able to help much now, but you can... Serina."
"Please... lend your powers to Calintz, in my place..."
.
"—aren't you being selfish right now, big sis? Not only do you have Calintz's heart, but do you expect me to sacrifice everything to keep you two together?"
Reith's face immediately turned to alarm as her sister hastily shook their head. "Serina, I didn't mean it like that! I'm just saying that—"
"Would you give up on Calintz if I do as you said? Haha... of course you won't...
"After all... I'll eventually lose my life anyway once the Rheuma takes me fully. Then I'll be out of your hair once and for all!" she continued to lash out even as Serina scowled at her sister.
"I hate you, I wished that you stayed dead!" Serina cried again before running back to her small tent, where she ended up crying her heart out. Because she felt so wretched.
To be fair, she was aware that her sister meant well. And that her words to her weren't exactly filled with malice. But somehow she couldn't help feeling so inferior to her sister.
How could her sister so easily offer up their support to Calintz, when they could barely muster enough strength to conjure a simple healing spell? How could her sister claim she could be as strong as her and become as good a helper to Calintz, while her body continued to be infected by her illness?
Serina bit her lips as she recalled her very harsh words to her sister. She went too far. There's no way she could take that back now. She was truly a rotten girl...
。。。
She couldn't chase after Serina when her younger sister ran off, the outburst earlier left her completely stunned. She misspoke... probably, even though she hadn't intended to hurt her sister's feelings.
Reith shook her head immediately. No, perhaps she was at fault. Back in Epentar, during their private talks... she did speak very rudely to her sister. Saying things like Calintz belonged to her alone, just because she finally recovered all of her memories and how desperate Calintz tried to get her back. And perhaps she did wrong to imply that Serina could take her place beside Calintz, should anything happen to her. She didn't mean to imply that Serina was just a mere shadow of her, who could become her replacement should anything happen to her. Serina wasn't just her replacement part, her 'copy'... just because they were twins and look and act alike.
She did notice that Serina seemed interested in Calintz, back when they used to be kids. But she never thought that the feeling had grown into love—or maybe a one-sided one—just because the two had spent a brief time together during her absence. Was it because the two of them were twins, that they couldn't help liking the same person... having the same preferences in the things they liked?
But what could she do about that?
The reason she asked Serina to lend a hand to Calintz was indeed because she was in no position to do it at the moment, considering her current disposition. But it was not the only reason. It was because they were twins, the two of them would have similar abilities... similar powers. Whatever knowledge or skills she had or knew, Serina should know it as well. All that's left, was for her to master those abilities and help everyone defeat Neikan.
She just wished that Serina would realize that doing that not only could save their world and the people living in it, but Serina might also be able to save herself...
.
"Umm..."
Reith turned around to find a young porter addressing her shyly. The young porter looked no older than a teenager, but if the boy could get himself to Emon unharmed... the boy should be able to fend for himself outside. The boy looked to be holding a small package with him, which seemed to be the reason for him to come to Emon.
"I-is Sir Calintz here?" the boy asked softly as Reith shook her head.
"No, he just left for an important matter. Do you have some business with him? I'll pass a message to him when he gets back."
"Yes, thank you," said the boy as the young porter passed her a small box. "The Jeweller told me to give him this. He apologised that it took a bit of time to fix the bracelet... but it should be fine now."
Reith glanced down at the box in her hand and opened it to find a golden bracelet embossed with a certain gem. Somehow looking at the bracelet felt familiar to her, but she thought the bracelet was a lot smaller—her eyes went wide as she realised what the bracelet was supposed to be.
She turned towards the boy before smiling at him gratefully.
"Thank you. I'll be sure to give this to him once he gets back—"