Anyway, I'm not sure if updates will resume right away. I'm scheduled to be in New York from the 15th - 22nd of June, so I will have at least one more update before then, probably a character spotlight, but I'm exhausted from working a long convention and from my regular job...so I'm taking a little me time. I will still be writing when I can, but the next few chapters will be hard because they are building up to, or are, the climax. So...please be patient. We're nearing the end of the halfway mark for this story. Yes, there is more. I hope you stick with me towards the end, those of you who do enjoy this work.
Now, Chapter 19: Doubt.
Chapter
19: Doubt
Mina stood by the window of her and Celine's attic
bedroom as the morning sun peaked over the Keval mountain range. Cradled within her palms was a tiny flame,
which lit up her bloodshot eyes in the window's reflection. Turning her head down, Mina watched the fire
flicker, careful to keep Leyline energy flowing from her stomach into her hands
to prevent it from going out.
"Did you get any sleep?" Celine murmured,
sitting up in bed with her blonde hair sticking up at odd angles.
Without turning to her friend, Mina shook her head. She closed her hands around the flame and
trudged over to her own bed. After
plopping down on the edge of the bed's wooden frame, she looked down at her
hands and flexed her fingers experimentally.
"It's been two days, Mina..." Celine sighed, "If
you don't get some sleep soon, you're gonna burn out."
Mina nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on her fingers.
With a groan, Celine pushed back her covers before
ambling over to the large mirror in the middle of the attic. She tried to pull the knots out of her hair,
but the tan skinned girl grimaced with each tug.
When she heard Celine's grunts of pain, Mina slowly rose
from her bed, grabbed the comb on her night stand, and gingerly took hold of
Celine's hands. After lowering them to
her side, Mina began to untangle her friend's curls.
"Thanks," Celine mumbled, as Mina smoothed out
her hair. "Have you warmed up your
forehead yet? The old man'll be up in a
few to check on your 'fever' and-"
"I want to get back to work, Celi..." Mina
whispered, her voice almost cracking in her throat.
"Mina, you don't have to," Celine shook her
head and stepped aside so Mina could comb her own hair. "It's okay. I can cover for-"
"I don't want to think about what happened, Celi,"
Mina said, straightening her emerald locks before mechanically pulling off her
night gown and stuffing her leather dress over her head. As she laced up the front, she added, "At
times like this, I'd rather have something to keep me busy."
Celine looked into Mina's bloodshot eyes for a moment
before nodding. "Alright...fair
enough. The old man'll fuss over you all
the way though."
"I know," Mina said, managing a weak smile,
"Right now, though, I don't mind."
Celine pulled on her own leather dress and helped Mina
with her shoes, while below them, the sounds of patrons filing into the tavern
wafted up through the floorboards. A
little ways down, they heard heavy footfalls, followed by a sharp knock on
their trap door.
"I'm comin in," Kano called out as softly as possible. The trapdoor lifted up and the middle aged
innkeeper stuck his face into the attic.
"Hi, uncle," Mina waved a limp hand at Kano and tried to smile.
"Mina?" he mumbled, looking from her to Celine.
"She doesn't feel that hot today," Celine
nodded to her friend. "I think,
maybe-"
"We'll see about that..." Kano cut her off. After climbing into the attic, he laid his
tough, callused hand against Mina's forehead.
"Hmmm...still a little warm, but better. Though, it doesn't seem like you slept
much," he added, peering into her eyes.
"I think you better take the day-"
"Please!" Mina's voice cracked and she felt the
corners of her eyes mist up. "I...I
want to work, uncle! I'm fine, so...so
please..."
The middle aged man looked into Mina's pleading eyes for
a few seconds before turning away. "C'mon...don't
twist my arm like that," Kano
sighed, taking Mina's hand in his. "Well...maybe
it's for the best. You're free to come
down today."
"Thank you, uncle!" Mina squealed, wrapping her
arms around Kano's
waist and making the man flush red.
"Hey..." Kano
mumbled, separating Mina from him, "Ya know...if ya ever need to
talk..."
"I know, uncle," Mina said, latching onto his
hairy arm and rubbing her cheek against it.
Kano
waited for her to say more, but Mina remained silent. With a great sigh, the innkeeper rose from
the bed and stretched his arms and legs before twisting his neck around and
filling the attic with the cracks of his joints popping. "Have it your way," he said,
shaking his head. "When you're
ready, I'll be here. In the meantime,
take it easy down there, alright?"
"Don't worry, uncle," Mina nodded. "I will."
"That goes for you too," Kano let out a grunt and nodded at
Celine. "You've both been outta
sorts lately. Whatever you're goin
through, ya don't need to deal with it on your own. Remember that," he said before heading
downstairs and closing the attic after him.
Once he had gone, Celine moved to the spot on Mina's bed
that Kano had
vacated. "Mina..." she said, putting
her arm around her friend and pulling her close, "I know we can't tell him
everything, but maybe we could...I dunno, say you've been having dreams about
your parents, or-"
"Heh..." Mina let out a joyless chuckle and
wiped her eyes. "That wouldn't be
too far off the mark."
Celine looked down at her friend and held her tightly for
a moment, rubbing her cheek against Mina's scalp. "For what it's worth, I don't think you
did anything wrong back there," she murmured, "What happened wasn't
your fault."
For a few seconds, Mina didn't reply. However, Celine could see a few stray tears trickle
down her eyes. Rather than sobbing or
sniffling, though, Mina wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress and got up
from the bed. "Come on. It's almost time."
"Yeah...okay," Celine sighed, following Mina
down through the trapdoor.
As they trudged down the stairs, Mina looked back at
Celine, who looked pensive and distracted.
Clearing her throat, she asked, "Does Daryl know what's
happened?"
"Hmmm?" Celine looked up. "Daryl?
Oh...oh, yeah! I told her
yesterday. She..." Celine turned
her eyes skyward, "I dunno...she said it was to be expected from
Telnumbrans, but...her face told a different story."
"So...has she decided whether to keep going, or-?
"When I told her, she said she wanted to talk to
Nerise about everything," Celine shook her head, as they reached the first
floor. "We can ask her how that
went today, if she's here."
Before they could continue their discussion, a single
tray was thrust out of the kitchen door.
"Since you wanna work, take this to the gentleman in white. He'll be sitting in the back," Kano let out a gruff
snort before shoving it into Mina's hands.
"You wait here," he nodded to Celine, "I'm still getting
your orders ready."
Looking over her shoulder, Mina cast Celine a forlorn
glance before facing forward and heading into the noisy tavern. The air was full of chatter about the
spring. How the harvest was going,
newlyweds and babies, and the upcoming festival at the end of the planting
season. A tiny smile made its way onto
Mina's lips as the sounds of Gesthal banished everything else from her mind.
Blinking her bleary eyes, Mina looked down at the tray of
aurox meat, grits, cockatrice egg, and a fresh roll. Her stomach let out a whine, but she ignored
it and directed her gaze around the tavern in search of a man in white. Near the back wall, Mina saw a figure in
white clothes leaning against it with his boots up on the table. Instinctively, she narrowed her eyes and
clicked her tongue in annoyance before stomping over to the man.
"Please keep your feet off the...!" her voice failed
her when she saw the bottoms of the man's sandy boots. Looking up, she noticed that the man in white
was wearing a dingy white cloak, flecked with bits of sand, and his face was
swathed in white cloth that covered it completely. A beige sword with serrated edges was thrust
through his belt.
"I apologize," the man said, taking his boots
off the table and placing a hand on Mina's head. "However, your uncle asked me to. He said it would make it easier for you to
find me."
Mina felt her heart stop and her body began to
tremble. Moisture pooled at the corners
of her eyes, and she could hear the utensils on the tray rattling as she
struggled to accept what was in front of her.
"Let me take that," Nivtenc said, gently taking
the tray from Mina and laying it down on the table. "You look like you've been through a lot
since I left. Maybe you should take the
day-"
"If you finish that sentence, I'm going to kick
you!" Mina shouted, causing a few heads to turn her way. She paid them no mind. Her eyes were fixed on the man in front of
her. Tears finally made their way down
her cheeks as she thrust herself against Nivtenc's chest and hugged him, tightly. "Goddess...I...I can't believe you're
back!" she squealed.
The man flinched at her touch and Mina could practically
feel the eyes of the other patrons upon them, casting suspicious stares at the
Aridian and the fourteen year old girl.
However, Nivtenc did not push her away.
He rubbed her back and let her hold him, as Mina sobbed into his white
cloak. Eventually, Mina managed to stem
the flow of tears and pulled away just enough to look up at Nivtenc's
face. While his expression was obscured
by the white cloth around his head, she could see his crimson eyes swimming
with concern.
"What's happened, Mina?" Nivtenc murmured,
putting both hands on her shoulders and looking her directly in the eyes.
"I...I'm sorry," Mina sniffled, wiping at her
eyes as a weak smile crossed her lips.
"It's just...it's good to see you," she said, bowing her head
and blushing deeply. She could feel
Nivtenc's eyes on her, but she couldn't bring herself to look up. Her body was still trembling and her
heartbeat had skyrocketed, thumping so hard she was finding it hard to breathe.
"Take a seat," Nivtenc muttered, pulling one of
the table's seats out, "Tell me what's on your mind."
"I-it's nothing," Mina quickly interjected and
shook her head. "Things have just
been...weird since you left. Wrec's been
so depressed thanks to money problems and everyone else's been busy, so-"
"Hmmm...I see," Nivtenc stroked his chin and
nodded. "Well if you would rather
not talk, perhaps you will listen. How
about a story? We never got a chance to
before."
"I..." Mina glanced back at the kitchen. Her uncle and Celine were nowhere to be
seen. "I...I'd like that," she
said, taking the seat Nivtenc offered.
"Now, what would be a good story for a time like
this..." Nivtenc mused, tapping his knuckles against the table's wood
finish. "Ah, I know. Let me tell you about a friend of mine I encountered
a good few years ago. His name was
Caldin."
"Caldin?" Mina repeated the name.
"Yes. He was
a wandering doctor with a rather snippy assistant who passed through my village
almost a decade ago. Quite a stroke of
good luck, actually," Nivtenc said, taking a few bites of egg before
tearing his roll in half and handing one piece to Mina, who began to gnaw on it
as she listened, "One of our glass blowers had fallen ill and we weren't
sure if he was going to survive. The
clergymen in the area tried to heal him with magic, but since it wasn't a
physical wound, it was of little use.
Our doctors tried to treat him too, with folk remedies and medicine we'd
gotten from trading, yet nothing seemed to work. However, Caldin walked into the man's home,
amidst his daughters and his aging father and said he could save him. The man was before the black gates of the
Void, but Caldin insisted. So, we let
him try."
"And...did he do it?" Mina whispered, popping
the last of the roll into her mouth.
"He did," Nivtenc nodded. "The villagers gathered around to watch
as Caldin cut the man open with a tiny knife while his assistant used holy
magic to stem the wound's bleeding. His
liver was a dark yellow, with black splotches on it and when I saw it, I felt
for sure he was going to die...but Caldin cut a tiny hole in the liver and
drained a greenish medicine into it.
Then, he started to massage the liver with his hands. Later, he told me it was to help the medicine
circulate, but...it looked like a miracle to my eyes," the Aridian
chuckled and shook his head. "Then
he took a needle and some thread and stitched the wound together like it was a
piece of cloth. His assistant used holy
magic to make sure it closed properly, but it was unlike anything I'd ever seen
before. The next day, the man was up and
blowing glass as if nothing had happened."
A knot in Mina's stomach unwound and she put her hands to
her chest. "Your friend sounds
amazing," She smiled.
"He was.
Caldin saved that man's life and only asked for food and a place to stay
for the night as payment," Nivtenc went on. "Then, come the morning...he was gone. To this day, I've never seen a doctor do what
he did."
"But...if he was gone in the morning, how did you
become friends so quickly?" Mina muttered.
"Haha, well..." Nivtenc shook his head and
reclined against the wall, "He may have only asked for room and board, but
the whole village treated him to drinks that night. I bought the last round for him. Everyone else was asleep or in a stupor, so
the two of us got to talking for a bit as we nursed our drinks. Odd fellow, really. Seemed to be out saving lives because he
didn't know what else to do with his life.
Didn't really have any place to go home to, so he just wandered where
the wind took him."
"That's..." Mina stammered, keeping her eyes
downcast, "That's not an easy way to live."
"No. Even
with all my wandering, I cannot imagine forsaking my home," Nivtenc shook
his head. "Yet he smiled as he told
me about his journey and we talked well into morning. He told me of how his assistant, Garren, was
a soldier who'd attacked him at first, despite being wounded. Caldin saved him and Garren was so moved that
he agreed to help the doctor in his travels.
Quite often, he'd speak about the beautiful sights he'd seen walking the
length and breadth of Serano. Not having
a home or a family didn't seem to bother him...he was content in his quest to
save others. Hehe, as the morning sun
peaked over the sand dunes, I could not help but feel jealous of the man."
"Hmmm..." Closing her eyes, Mina put her hand
to her heart. It ached as she envisioned
Nivtenc and the doctor drinking together, only for the doctor to disappear in
the morning. "Did you...ever meet
him again?" she stammered, opening her eyes and looking up at the Aridian.
"Haha, from time to time, our paths will cross,"
Nivtenc chuckled, folding his arms behind his head as he spoke, "We talk
about our travels and the people we've met before going our separate ways. To this day, I always keep a few extra pieces
of gold in my purse, just in case he or Garren ever need a drink or two."
When he had finished, Mina stared at Nivtenc for a moment
before letting out a long sigh and smiling.
"Thank you," she said, "I...I think I needed that."
"I will not pry into what is really troubling you,
Mina," Nivtenc nodded at her, "But I will listen, if you need
it."
"Let's not talk about that," Mina shook her
head, "Anyway, what have you been up to?
It's been a month...where have you been?"
"I traveled to the Umbran Bazaar to sell some of my
people's wares and pick up a few supplies.
I'm on my way back to Aridia at the moment, but there is no real hurry. I may stay for a few days, if that's
alright," Nivtenc winked at her.
"Hehe...I'd like that," Mina smirked.
"Hmmm?" Nivtenc sat forward and tilted his
head. "Odd...it would seem that you
are not the only one to suffer in my absence." He pointed behind Mina, at the stairs next to
the kitchen.
Mina turned and saw Wrec, still garbed in the light blue
of his border guard uniform, stumble downstairs and over to a vacant
table. His eyes were bloodshot and he
had a few patches of black fur growing up his neck. The therian pulled out a pouch and emptied a
stack of copper and silver coins onto the table, which he began to count. Once he had finished counting them, he
started all over again, muttering to himself as he did so.
"Goddess...he looks like he hasn't slept in
days..." Mina whispered. Pushing
her chair aside, she got up and started towards Wrec, but Nivtenc caught her by
the arm before she could reach him.
"You barely have enough cheer for yourself,"
Nivtenc murmured, shaking his head, " Perhaps you should leave this one to
me." Brushing past her, Nivtenc
clapped his hand on Wrec's shoulder. The
therian sprouted long, sharp nails from the end of his hand and reached up to
slash at Nivtenc, but the Aridian caught his wrist before he could. "Been a while, eh, Wrec?"
For a second, Mina saw Wrec's eyes twist with feral rage,
but then they softened and he smiled. The
claws and fur on his body began to recede.
"Nivtenc? By Shanadia, when
did you get back?!"
"Late last night," the Aridian put his arm
around Wrec and sat down next to him.
"Since I've been gone, why not catch me up on things? I'll even treat you today."
Wrec managed a weak smile and scooped his coins back into
his pouch. "Hehe, so long as you're
paying, that sounds good to me," he said, rubbing his beard as Celine
stopped by with two trays.
"Celi?" Mina came up behind her and whispered.
"Did you enjoy your little talk?" her friend
smirked at her and took her hand.
"Uncle..." Mina gritted her teeth
together. "I should kick him!"
"But you won't," Celine smiled and put her arm
around Mina.
"But...I won't..." Mina sighed and rolled her
eyes.
Once they got to the kitchen, Kano had already laid out almost a dozen
trays for them. "That's for the
border guards. They finished their shift
yesterday, so they might be a bit excitable.
You two look after each other."
Crossing her arms, Mina glared at him for a moment, but the middle aged
innkeeper was too busy tending to his cooking to notice.
"Just forget it," Celine mumbled, nudging
Mina's shoulder, "This is one battle you won't win."
Mina's shoulder's slumped and she nodded, wiping at her
bleary eyes before picking up six of the trays and balancing them on her
arms. Together, she and Celine made
their way to the border guards, who had already been served mugs of mead and
were drinking heartily. A few had even
stripped to the waist, showing off scars and fresh bandages on their arms and
chests. Among them was the neeg named
Fak. While Celine and Mina were handing
out trays, he got to his feet and cleared his throat.
"Hmm?" Celine turned to face him, "Is
there something you want?"
"Errr..." Fak stammered, holding something
behind his back. "Just ta...say
sorry."
Mina stopped just short of handing Morak his tray and
glanced behind her. The neeg's eyes were
downcast and he was running his free hand through his mangy blonde hair, while
Celine looked at him with a hint of a smile on her lips.
" 'Ere," Fak said, the green skin around his
cheeks darkening as he spoke. He pulled
out a flower with petals that looked almost crystalline. "I found this on patrol an thought I
might be able ta sell it, but..."
"Is that a qualtzin flower?" Celine mused,
bending over and making faces into the crystal's reflective petals.
"Oi!" Fak grabbed Celine's arm and pulled her
forward. Mina's body tensed and she
nearly dropped Morak's food, but the grizzled guard captain caught the tray and
took her by the hand. He nodded at Fak
and Mina watched as the neeg grabbed the hand of a brown haired border guard
behind Celine in a vice-like grip.
"We's 'avin a moment 'ere!" he snorted.
"Ehehe...sorry?" the middle aged man flashed an
insincere grin at Fak and Celine. The
tan skinned girl frowned and held a tray out over the man's head. A dull thud broke their silence as she
dropped the tray down on the center of the border guard's bald spot.
"Anyway..." Fak scowled at the man before
turning back to Celine. "I...I
wanted ta...gah, would ya just take it!" he grunted, shoving the
crystalline flower into Celine's open hand.
The tan skinned girl turned the flower around in her hand
before sticking it behind her ear. "Well
I'll be damned. You're not such a bad
guy after all," Celine chuckled, even while Fak averted his eyes from
her. "Hey...thank you," She
added, taking Fak's hand and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, right next
to a patch of green warts.
"S'just...ya're right'sall," Fak mumbled,
hesitating for a moment before pulling his hand free of hers, "I ain't 'ad
it easy, but neither've you...an I shouldn be buggin ya...so...there." Turning away from her, he headed back to his
seat, where a troupe of his companions began to laugh, shaking his shoulders
and making kissy faces at him while the neeg glowered at them.
"Morak...what just..." Mina stammered, looking
Morak directly in his scarred eye.
"Heh," Morak grunted, pulling out a pipe and
holding it out to a border guard next to him.
The man snapped his fingers and a tiny flame sprouted from his index
finger, which Morak used to light his pipe.
After taking a deep pull of the pipe, Morak blew out a long stream of
smoke and smirked, "Takes a strong man to admit when he's been
wrong...though, I guess Celine tryin to make peace helps."
Mina felt her heart skip a beat. "She-"
"Ya just gonna stand there?" Celine
interjected, grabbing Mina's hand and pulling her away from the border guards. As the stumbled along behind Celine, Mina
noticed that her friend's face seemed very flushed.
"Ah, shove it.
It ain't like that," she heard Fak bellow as they passed his table,
"S'just trying ta make things right.
That girl's 'ad it way worse'n anya us," he growled through a
mouthful of eggs.
"Celi, did something happen while I was 'sick'?"
Mina muttered, skidding to a halt just short of the kitchen.
With a sigh, Celine flashed Mina a pained smile. "After all that's happened, I
just...wanted to demonstrate some of the goodwill Canak showed me. They...they're not all bad, right?"
A tear began to form in the corner of Mina's eye, but she
blinked it away and wrapped her arms around Celine's left arm. "Right!" she nodded, "They may
be idiots, but they're good at heart."
"Mina, I meant-" Celine started to say, but
Mina pulled her friend forward, into the kitchen, where Kano was setting three trays to the side,
separate from the dozen near the door.
"Once you finish this last batch, take some time an
eat. Whatever you're dealin with, you'll
need your strength," he said, without looking at the girls.
"Uhh..." Mina felt her face flush red, but she
merely nodded and said, "Right.
Thank you, uncle," before taking six of the trays and heading out
of the kitchen, leaving the last half dozen to Celine.
She dropped off three trays to a group of farmers and one
more to Devan, the Aurox rancher, before heading over to the clergy's
table. Daryl was sitting with Angelo and
one of his men, while the other seats seemed conspicuously absent. "Mina!" Angelo called over to her. "Hello!"
"Hey, Angelo," Mina forced a smile and dropped
her last two trays in front of him and his subordinate. "Sorry, I didn't bring enough," she
bowed her head to Daryl. The purple
haired girl didn't seem to hear her. She
was too busy looking Mina over.
"Are you alright?" Angelo murmured, pushing his
tray away for a moment. "I'd heard
you were ill. Why, if you lingered in
bed any longer, I was convinced I'd need to send word for a doctor from
Steadfall."
"Hehe, thanks, but I've never met a bug I couldn't
beat," Mina laughed and pounded her chest with her fist. "Though, you do seem short a few
men."
"I sent them off to buy materials for a Metronian
covenant. I believe our Daryl is ready
to take her training to the next level," Angelo smiled and nodded at
Daryl. "I admit, I was concerned
about her tardiness at first, however clearly she has been working in private
to improve her abilities."
"I apologize if I worried you," Daryl said,
bowing her head, "I know you've invested a lot in me."
"Haha, I only want to see you reach your
potential," Angelo chuckled, "But, since we've put your training on
hold, why not spend some time with Mina and Celine...you've been worried,
yes?"
"Th-thank you," Daryl mumbled. She got up from her seat and straightened her
dark blue and purple dress before taking Mina's hand and pulling her away from
the priests. Once they were out of
earshot, Daryl pulled Mina close and whispered in her ear, "Are you
alright?! I haven't been able to see
you, so-"
"I'll live," Mina sighed, taking a seat at an
empty table near the kitchen, "Celi said you were going to talk to Nerise?
Daryl bit her lip and nodded. "Everyone in Acacia seems to know about
what happened. Nerise told me, but
Deminos, Gadius, Dakon and Echidna...everyone knew..."
"I..." Mina balled her hands into fists before
releasing them and holding her head in her hands. "I don't want to believe it,
but...Vincent told me...that's what it meant to travel with Aeon."
"Hmph...you shouldn't take that teythen so close to
his word," Daryl snorted, "Anyway, I won't be going back. I told Nerise and...we agreed it might be for
the best."
"Aren't you sad?" Mina mumbled, wiping at her
red eyes.
"Of course I'm sad..." Daryl grunted,
"Neri and a few of the others were my friends. But," she added, pulling Mina close to
her, "I can't ignore what happened to you and the vagabond..."
Closing her eyes for a moment, Mina whispered,
"Thank you," and snuggled against Daryl's side. "A-anyway...let's not talk about
that," she shook her head and wiped her face on the sleeve of her dress. "You're going to be making a contract
with a Metronian soon, right? That's a
big step towards becoming a priest!"
"Hmmmm..." Daryl hummed, narrowing her eyes at
Angelo and turning away when he looked in her direction. "I can tell that my time with Nerise and
Deminos has helped me improve, but...Angelo seems pushy about all this. I'm not sure what to think, really."
"Think later," Celine grunted, dropping trays
down in front of the two girls before taking a seat next to Mina and laying her
own tray on the table, "Eat now."
"As eloquent as always, vagabond," Daryl
sneered, dipping her fork into a pile of grits and shoveling them into her
mouth
"Say what you want, princess," Celine mumbled,
through a mouthful of aurox meat, "A silver tongue can't buy common sense,
after all."
The two girls glowered at each other from either side of
Mina. Looking from one Daryl to Celine,
Mina put her hand to her mouth tried to smother a giggle. Immediately, her friends' expressions
softened and they started to laugh as well.
When they were done, Mina leaned back in her chair and put a hand over
her face. "I don't know where I'd
be without you two."
"Living quietly without a care in the world would be
my guess," Daryl smirked and took a bite of her eggs.
"And really, who wants that?" Celine added,
giving Mina a quick hug before tearing into her roll.
Mina felt her heart lighten and took a bite of the fluffy
cockatrice eggs and fried aurox meat.
The juices trickled down her throat and she felt, for a moment, at
peace. However, her inner calm evaporated
when the shouting from outside reached her ears.
"-stop followin me!" the door of the tavern was
thrust open and Yuka burst in, dressed in a light brown traveler's cloak,
leather work pants, and a dirty, sleeveless white tunic. A rucksack was slung over her shoulder and
she had her saw blade strapped to her arm.
The instant she was inside, the border guards and priests turned to face
her, sizing up a potential threat. Mina
dropped her fork on the table, while Daryl and Celine just gaped at what unfolded.
"I said, wait, dammit!" Deminos called,
barreling through the door and nearly running into Yuka's back. "Look, we can talk about this. I understand how you feel, Yuka, but this
isn't the way!" he said, grabbing her shoulder with his bandaged right hand.
"Just go home, Dem," Yuka snorted, shrugging
off his hand and trudging through the tavern with all eyes glued to her, her
braided ponytail bouncing up and down with each step. As she passed Morak and the clergy, Mina
noticed the guard captain's hand resting on his sword and Angelo's fingers
sparkling with pure white light.
"Hey!" Deminos ran over to her and tried to
take her hand, but Yuka twisted his arm around and pinned it behind the svelte
young man's back, forcing him to the floor.
"I said leave me alone!"
"I won't!" Deminos snarled, his right arm
slowly pushed himself up, despite Yuka's weight resting against his back. "I'm taking you back!" he growled, rising
to his knees.
Putting her fingers to her lips, Mina blew out a shrill
whistle that momentarily drew all attention to her. "Both of you, stop!" she shouted,
her voice cracking a little as she yelled.
Storming over to Yuka and Deminos, she pulled the neeg woman off the
conjurer and got between them. "I..."
she hesitated for a second before swallowing hard and crossing her arms,
"I don't know what you're fighting about, but it's got no place here. If you want a meal and a place to stay, you
pay my uncle. If you want a fight, go
out in the woods or something."
When she had finished, she noticed Morak releasing his sword, while
Angelo turned away from them, but only slightly.
"I'm here fer a room," Yuka grunted, pulling
out a small bag that jingled when she shook it, "An some food. Can ya do that fer me?"
"Wait!" Deminos reached for Yuka, but Celine
and Daryl got between him and Yuka.
"Just calm down and stop making a scene!" Daryl
hissed in his ear, loud enough for Mina to hear.
"The last thing we want is the border guard or the
clergy getting involved," Celine added, "So pipe down or I'll knock
you on your ass!" Deminos cast a
dirty look at the two girls, but closed his mouth and fell silent.
"What's all the racket?!" Kano bellowed, stepping out of the kitchen
holding a cleaver in one hand. At the
sight of him, every one of the tavern's patrons visibly flinched and all
conversation ceased. The border guards
leaned forward, expecting a good show.
"We've got someone who's late to breakfast,"
Mina mumbled, pushing Yuka towards Kano. "She also says she wants a room."
Though Yuka's eyes bulged at the sight of the burly
innkeeper, she cleared her throat and held up her bag. "How much?" she asked.
Kano
took a moment to look Yuka over before turning his eyes towards Deminos. The conjurer was silently fuming behind Daryl
and Celine, grinding his teeth together and keeping his eyes fixed on Yuka. "Oh, I see," he snickered,
"Trouble in paradise, eh?"
"What?!" Yuka and Deminos exclaimed in unison,
both blushing deeply. They glanced over
at each other and shook their heads. "N-No!"
Yuka snapped, "S'nothin like that!
He's just...just a-"
"Well, whatever," Kano snickered and opened his hand. "Got a room on the second floor for
ya. Comes with clean sheets an two meals
a day. Standard fair is three silver
pieces a night."
Yuka reached into her pouch and dropped a small pile of
silver pieces into Kano's
hands. "I...I dunno how long I'll
need ta stay. Maybe a few days, maybe a
week'r two...either way, that oughtta cover it, right?"
"This's more than enough," Kano nodded, pocketing the money. "Don't worry. I'll have change ready when ya leave. Yer pretty lucky," he smirked at her and
glanced back at the kitchen. "Breakfast
is over, but I happened to make a little extra food this morning. Enough for a meal or two. Just gimme a minute and I'll bring it right
out. Won't even charge ya for it,
either."
A sigh of relief escaped Yuka's lips and she put her hand
to her chest. Pocketing the bag of
coins, she looked over her shoulder, where Deminos was waiting. Though his shoulders had relaxed and he was
no longer grinding his teeth, his brow was creased with worry. The brown haired teen ran his left hand over
his bandaged arm and glanced from it to Yuka.
"Oi...can ya get one fer him, too?" she jutted
her thumb at Deminos.
"Sure, I gotcha," Kano nodded on his way back to the kitchen,
"Just don't start any trouble.
Otherwise..." he flashed her a grin and leaned the cleaver against
his shoulder before disappearing into the kitchen. His words hung in the air and Yuka swallowed
hard.
"C'mon," Mina mumbled, taking Yuka's hand. All the energy Mina'd had a moment earlier had
drained out of her and she meekly led the neeg over to where she, Celine, and
Daryl were sitting. Yuka dropped her
rucksack on an empty seat next to her and unfastened the saw blade attached to
her arm before resting her head in her hands and running her hands over her
braided pony tail.
Celine and Daryl guided Deminos over to the table and sat
him across from Yuka. Laying his elbows
down on the table, Deminos clasped his hands together and propped himself up on
them, resting his upper lip against his knuckles.
Without a word, Kano
dropped trays of food in front of both Yuka and Deminos before taking up a
position behind Mina and the others. He
jutted his head in the direction of the kitchen and the girls started to get
up, but Yuka cleared her throat and turned to face the orange haired man.
"Ummm...could ya please let 'em stay?" she
stammered. "I...don have a lottta friends
in Gesthal, but I've talked with 'em for a bit, so-"
"Hmmmm..." Kano turned from Deminos to the three girls.
"It's important, uncle..." Mina mumbled,
tugging on his arm.
"Just leave this to us, old man. We'll be fine," Celine tried to smile,
while Daryl averted her eyes from the innkeeper's piercing stare.
"Tcch, I get it, I get it," Kano grunted, raising both of his hands in
defeat. "I'll let you lot sort it
out. Shanadia knows, I can't do it for
ya."
After Kano
retreated to the kitchen, Mina looked over at Yuka, who picked at her food and
kept her eyes downcast. Across from her,
Deminos pushed his tray aside and began obsessively stroking his bandaged hand. With a sigh, Mina rested her arms against the
table and rubbed her forehead.
"Okay...let's start from the beginning. Yuka, what's going on?" Deminos's eyes darted to Mina for an instant,
and he let out a short grunt.
"I..." Yuka hesitated for a moment, dragging
her fork through her grits before looking up at the girls. "I can't stay in Acacia," she said
at last.
"Yes, you can!" Deminos snorted. He ground his bandaged fingers against the
table and a few black nails pierced through the cloth, stripping some of the
wood from the table. "No one's making you leave! Yuka, we don't want you to leave!"
"Fine," Yuka snorted, slamming her fork down on
the table, "I've chosen not ta stay
in Acacia. There...happy?!"
"Yuka...!" Deminos propped himself
up on the table, but when he saw all four girls glaring at him, he sat back
down, folded his hands together and hid behind them. "Please...don't do this," Deminos's
voice dropped to a desperate whisper, unwilling to take his eyes off of the
neeg sitting across from him.
"Ummm...is this because of what happened three days
ago?" Daryl mumbled.
"What else would it be?!" Yuka barked at Daryl,
only softening her expression when she saw the purple haired girl recoil. "I...I'm sorry, it's just...this ain't
been easy."
"Have...have you told Aeon?" Mina asked, her
eyes twitching as she spoke.
"Aye. He's
gonna let me go," Yuka replied.
"What he said
was you'd always have a home in Acacia," Deminos grumbled, "Right
after he gave you some money to support yours-ow!" the brown haired
conjurer cast a loathsome glance at Celine, but the tan skinned girl kept her
face blank.
"Just shut up and let her finish," she hissed
out of the corner of her mouth.
"Naw, he's right," Yuka sighed, pulling the
braids out of her pony tail and dragging her fingers through her dirty brown
hair. "I talked ta Aeon yesterday. He said he understood an...wished me well."
"Is that why you wouldn't see me yesterday?"
Daryl mumbled, furrowing her brow and crossing her arms.
"I wanted ta leave without tellin anyone, but this
idjit caught me on the way out," Yuka jutted her thumb at Deminos. "Wouldn leave me alone, either."
"Of course I won't!
Acacia is your home! You've got
friends there! Think about what Nerise
or Vincent or..." gritting his teeth, Deminos added, "Or what I'll do
without-"
"Stop that!" Mina shook her head and blinked at
Deminos.
Next to her and Daryl, Yuka let out a sigh and her
shoulder's slumped. Propping her right
elbow up on the table, she rubbed her forehead with her right hand
"You're being selfish, Deminos!" Mina went on,
narrowing her eyes at the conjurer. "You're
acting as if this isn't hard for her...as if it's all her fault!"
"That's funny, coming from you!" Deminos
snorted, "The last time I saw you, you turned and ran rather tha-ow!"
whipping his head around, he glared at Celine, who butted heads with him, her
own eyes narrowed into a scowl.
"Stop doing that or I'll sick my Goetians on you..." he hissed
under his breath, keeping his voice calm and level.
"Just try it," Celine grunted, grabbing Deminos
by the scruff of his vest.
"Would you two stop it?!" Daryl snapped, slamming
her hands on the table. Both Celine and
Deminos scowled at her, but Daryl turned to Mina. The girl was trembling and her eyes were
wide. Tears sprang to the corners of her
eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.
"I...sorry," Celine said, releasing Deminos and
sitting back down.
"Yeah...me too," Deminos mumbled. Looking from Mina to Yuka, he added,
"I...I didn't mean...you know..."
"Idjits..." Yuka sighed and shook her
head. "Look...I ain't goin back to
Acacia, Dem. I didn believe he'd do it,
an now...I dunno if I can ever forgive him.
It's best if I just leave."
"Yuka-" Deminos started to speak, his voice
caught in his throat and he lowered his eyes.
"He still trusts you, Yuka," Deminos said after a minute had
passed. "I think he even respects
you for trying to stop him. You don't
have to go..."
"It ain't just becausa him!" Yuka spat, "Even
if I could live with what he's done...I ain't sure I can live with what I
did!" The neeg panted and drew in quick, ragged breaths as Mina and the others
gaped at her.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Mina said in a very
small voice. "What did you
do?"
"What, ya don't remember?" Yuka grunted,
crossing her arms. "Ya were
there. Ya saw me do it."
"Refresh our memory," Celine mumbled, closing
her eyes and clasping her hands together.
"Heh," Yuka snickered, covering her eyes with a
hand. "Lemme put it this way...Aeon
took me in when I was dirty, starving, an hopeless. He gave me a home an a family. When uncle Merkel wouldn give my creations a
second look, Aeon always made time ta see what I'd made. An when I got hurt, he'd treat me an chide me
ta be more careful...an..." she hesitated and bit her lip so hard that it
began to bleed. When she noticed, the
blood, Yuka quickly wiped it away with the hem of her cloak. "An even after all that, I still tried
ta kill him."
Mina's eyes widened for a moment, while a dark shadow
crossed Celine's face. Daryl frantically
glanced from Deminos to Yuka, both of whom were keeping their eyes facing down. Yuka covered her eyes with her right hand as
a few tears leaked down her cheeks.
Silence washed over the five of them like a wave of ocean water in the
midst of winter. All around them, the
sounds of the tavern filtered in, the laughing, the joking, the eating, but no
one at their table made a sound.
After a few minutes had passed, Mina cleared her
throat. "You did the right
thing..." she stammered, "At least, I think so."
"You were trying to save people," Celine said,
turning to Yuka, who'd wiped her tears away, "Don't hate yourself for
that."
"Heh," Yuka shrugged, "Either way, I can't
go back."
"Then don't," Daryl said, clasping her hands
together and staring straight ahead.
"We...we're here for you. If
you want to stay, you-"
Daryl abruptly stopped when Yuka put her arm around the
purple haired girl and gave her a big hug.
"You lot..." she flashed a sad smile at Mina and Celine. "Dem..." she added, turning towards
the conjurer. "I'm sorry,
but-"
"I didn't think you'd really leave," Deminos
murmured, running his fingers along his bandaged arm before balling it into a
fist and clenching so hard that a few droplets of black blood spilled onto the
table. "Even when you came to me in
tears, I thought..." he swallowed hard and flipped his hand around,
revealing that the bandages covering it were dyed a dull black, "I thought
it'd all work out. But..."
"Dem-"
"I get it, Yuka," Deminos cut her off, holding
his right wrist to keep his hand from trembling, "I really do. I...I've just been scared. Scared you'd abando-" he stopped
mid-sentence and looked up to see Yuka's eyes widening. "A-anyway..." Deminos turned to
face Mina, but looked at Daryl and Celine as well. "What about you three? You jumping ship too?"
Mina's heart thrummed in her chest and she opened her
mouth to speak. No words came out and
she looked to Daryl for support.
"We...we've already decided," Daryl stammered,
gripping Mina's hand. She trembled as
Daryl spoke and closed her eyes, trying to stop the rapid beating of her
heart. "I've already talked with
Nerise about it."
"And we've spoken with Vincent, too," Celine
added. Looking over at her, Mina saw her
friend glance at the border guards.
"They weren't saints, but they didn't deserve that," she
mumbled. "I don't think we can go
back either."
Running the black nails of his right hand through his short
brown hair, Deminos let out a joyless snicker and bowed his head. "Heh...I figured," he shook his
head and sighed. "Guess I can't
blame you...it's what anyone with sense would do."
"No. People
with sense would tell the clergy," Daryl murmured, cupping her hands around
her face. "But we can't do
that," she dragged her hands down her face and nodded at Deminos. "Even after all that's happened, you're still
our friends, after all."
"Friends, huh..." Deminos murmured. He reached into the pocket of the orange vest
he was wearing and pulled something out.
"Even after all this?" he added, looking down at what was
cradled in his hand.
"Y-yes," Mina said, her voice cracking as she
spoke. "I...we still care about
you." She watched Deminos for a few
seconds, however when he turned his eyes in her direction, Mina blushed and
looked away. "And...and I'm sorry
for running before...I just..."
"It's fine," Deminos managed a smile and looked
back down at what he was holding.
"I under-wah!" the teenage conjurer flinched and jumped out of
his seat, nearly tripping and falling backwards into a troupe of border guards. The half drunken soldiers pushed him away and
Celine managed to catch him before he crashed into their table.
"What the-?!" Celine exclaimed, as a bulge
appeared in Deminos's vest and crawled through it before popping out at the
top.
A tiny creature, covered in black fuzz and bearing a set
of beady red eyes, clambered out of Deminos's tunic and squatted on his
shoulder before squeaking at him.
Scratching the creature on the head, Deminos nodded. "I'm being summoned. I...have to go."
"Dem..." Yuka got up and walked over to
Deminos.
"Guess this is goodbye, huh?" Deminos put what
he was holding back into his vest pocket and flashed Yuka a sad, awkward
smile. "Sorry for being so selfish
all the time."
"Tch...idjit," Yuka snorted and crossed her
arms.
"Heh...I'll miss you too, Yuka," Deminos
said. He raised a hand and reached out
to touch Yuka, but stopped at the last moment.
Lowering his hand, he turned to leave.
"Oi!" Yuka shouted, grabbing Deminos around the
waist in a bear hug and lifting him up off the ground, "Ya weren't as bad
as ya think," she murmured, "An I'll miss ya."
"Hey, put me down!" Deminos cried, thrashing
about while a few of the tavern's patrons laughed at him.
"In a minute," Yuka mumbled, squeezing the
conjurer tightly. She rested her head
against Deminos's and her unbraided, brown hair spilled over Deminos's
shoulders. "Don do anythin stupid,
ya hear?" she added, before letting him down.
Deminos flushed a brilliant shade of red and stood,
frozen in place for a moment. A hoot
from behind them made the young man spin around and glare at the patrons of the
tavern, who were watching the five of them intently. Straightening his clothes and hair, Deminos
took a deep breath and put his bandaged hand over his heart. He smiled at Yuka and nodded before turning
towards the three girls.
"Hey..." Celine got to her feet and held out a
hand. "The princess said it
best...a lot's happened...but you're still our friend. Look after yourself." Deminos took her hand and the two embraced
briefly.
"Ummm..." Daryl got up and bowed to
Deminos. "Thanks for all your help...I
learned a lot from you." Both she
and Deminos flushed pink and Daryl gave Deminos a quick hug before backing
away.
"Heh," Deminos murmured, scratching the back of
his head before hiding his bandaged arm under his cloak. "You three were a
lot of trouble...but it was fun while it lasted," he smirked at them.
Silently, Mina rose from her chair and ambled over to
Deminos. Her tired, bloodshot eyes
twitched as she stared at him and a few tears leaked out of her eyes. Wrapping her arms around his chest, Mina
closed her eyes and squeezed him tightly.
The conjurer ruffled her hair and wrapped his arms around
her as well. A few tears ran down Mina's
cheeks, but she didn't let out a single sob.
Instead, she smiled at Deminos and whispered, "Don't do anything
crazy, okay? We won't be around next
time to help you out."
"Ha!" Deminos stifled a laugh and wiped at his
own eyes. "That oughtta be my
line! You three'd have been toast
without me! But I...I'm glad I got to
meet you three," he looked up and nodded at Daryl and Celine. "Even with this damn arm, you still
stuck with me."
"Hehe," Mina blinked tears out of her eyes and
smiled. "Of course we did...you're
our friend."
"Thanks," Deminos whispered, rubbing Mina's
back before releasing her. "Stay
safe. If you ever need anything...you
know where to find me." He cast one last glance towards Mina, Celine,
Daryl, and Yuka, before gathering his cloak around himself and disappearing
through the door of the tavern.
Mina stood rooted to the spot where she had hugged
Deminos, her eyes glued to the door.
"You alright?" Mina
felt Celine's hand on her shoulder and patted it, her hand trembling as she
did.
"I...I could use a nap," Yuka stammered. Turning around, Mina saw her pull her hair
back into a tail and cover her face with a hand as she gathered her things
together and headed upstairs, leaving her breakfast half eaten.
Wordlessly, Mina turned around and followed after
her. "Mina? Hey!" Behind her, Mina heard Daryl calling over to
her, but her friend stopped when Mina reached the top of the stairs.
She waited for a moment, however, nothing but the
mutterings and gossip of the patrons beginning to file out of the tavern
greeted her. Resuming her climb, Mina
made her way up to the attic and headed inside.
After flopping onto her bed, Mina buried her face in her pillow and let
out a muffled scream, as tears began to flow unbidden down her face. She continued to scream until her voice gave
out. When she could no longer scream,
Mina laid on her bed, as if in a stupor, until an uneasy slumber overtook her.
