Nothing is more aggravating than a fool’s errand you can’t leave unfinished.

“I did it so my sister and I could be free…”

…

…

…

“What?” I asked after a moment of silence.

“...”

“I came here to save both of you,” I reaffirmed, mostly to myself. I said I would save these kids, and now the action of saving them is in the wrong? I just couldn’t stand it.

“I’m telling you, that’s impossible. Not if you are going to bring us back to our mother. I would rather die here, at least then my sister won’t starve.”

“...” I let out my usual sigh, “So troublesome.”

“Troublesome?” Eli asked, his voice sharp.

“Yeah,” I snapped, “Troublesome. I told your mother I would save you. It may not be the way she expected it, but I won’t back down after I decided on something. Not after…” I cut myself off.

“Not after...?” He asked me to continue.

I ignored Eli and placed myself against the wall, leaning over to peek down the stairs the two men went down before. The sudden echo of footsteps made my heart beat erratically. The sound grew louder the longer I waited. Someone was coming up the stairs.

I spun on my heel and prepared to dash out the doorway. It may have been a coward’s action, but I was no hero. If it came down to a fight, I wouldn’t be able to win. If I was able to fight, I wouldn’t have bothered sneaking in here in the first place.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you...” Eli mumbled.

“What?” I whispered.

“If you rush out that doorway right now, you will be spotted. I can’t tell who it is, but I doubt you would like them. Don’t doubt a ghoul’s ears, they’ll be here even faster than those coming up the stairs.”

“...” If I wasn’t in the middle of looking for a place to hide, I would have tried to crack a few jokes. You may end up looking like a fool because of it, but at least you can calm down. I solemnly berated myself, ‘Not like I can even joke around anymore...’

I clenched my fist, my back against the wall. I couldn’t see down the stairs that lead deeper into this jail-like dungeon, and the hallway was also hidden from view. I didn’t know which way I should be running. “Any ideas?”

“You promise?”

“Promise what?” I snapped under my breath.

“You promise you will save us? Not only from the Marquess but from my mother as well.”

I nodded. It wasn’t like I had much choice in the matter. I already came this far, if I stopped now she would yell at me. I shuddered at the thought. There aren’t many things scarier than her when she is angry.

“Good.” he whispered. His voice came out far weaker than usual, which scared me. It was already weak before. His skin paled further as he forced himself to smile at me.

The ground started to shake. It was a silent rumble, as if the earth itself was preparing for something. The area in front of me quickly rose, forming a wall between me and the rest of the room. It suddenly became eerily dark, not an inch of light shone through the dirt wall. Even if I raised my hand to my face, I would not have been able to see it.

I placed my hand on the wall before me.It felt like hardened dirt, nothing like the stone normal walls of the manor. The wall sealed any escape path I might have had. “Did you do this?” I asked.

“Will you shut up? They are getting close.”

I obediently kept my mouth shut.

“You came to visit me?” Eli asked. His voice was childish, nothing like when he spoke to me. It carried a hint of purity. The same purity that most people associated with the foolishness of children.

A voice answered him, I recognized the speaker, but it didn’t sound like either of the two men that had already left this room, “Oh, drop that childish act. Your sister is still down in the lower dungeon. I came to make sure they weren’t treating you too badly, since I told them to keep her down there for today.”

I swallowed as silently as I could.

“Give me and my sis a little more to eat, and we’ll be perfect.”

“...” The man went silent.

The false wall in front did nothing to impede the sound. I could hear what happened beyond it clearly. Even the sound of labored breathing whistled freely through the structure before me.

“Even if you are the marquess, you won’t get what you want.”

“Oh!?”

“You can’t acquire it, no matter what you do.” Eli said rather bluntly, his voice jagged like cracked glass.

“Why do you say that? Are you going to make your sister starve?”

“Do you know why it’s called ‘Ghoul’s Lament’?”

“Because you monsters lament the day we acquire that power?”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA” Eli broke into a fit of laughter. His chains shook violently against the walls. The dirt wall in front of me shook as the mana holding it slightly gave away. The strength of the mana must have lessened as Eli lost some of his concentration. “You really think we would care if someone is stupid enough to curse themselves? If they are idiotic enough to strive for that power, they deserved to die.”

“Oh?”

“You know as well as I that the body can’t handle the change. The fact that you are trying to acquire it is laughable. It would be simpler to hang yourself.”

The voice was morbidly silent.

Eli took a deep breath. His voice directed itself towards me, almost as if he was facing me as he spoke. “Let me tell you a story, the real reason it’s called a ghoul’s lament.

“There was once a man who fell in love with a girl. The man couldn’t understand why the entire village avoided her. The girl kept to herself. She never harmed anyone, never stole anything and was impossibly beautiful. Yet, she was outcast from the rest of the village, as if she was cursed.

“You see this man, he was an odd fellow, a traveller of sorts. He never stuck around one place too long, traveling from place to place. He didn’t know what the rest of the village knew; he didn’t know the girl was a ghoul.

“He confessed to her for 3 days and 3 nights. Each day, the girl would silently shake her head and rush off. Each night under the glow of the moon, he could see her blushing and fighting against something within her. On the third night, the girl gave in. Even if she was a ghoul, her heart could feel love all the same.

“The village found out within the week.”

The voice was silent. Eli chuckled, taking in a deep breath. He started to cough violently as if he was choking. The chains rattled against the walls, shaking violently as they tried to keep their captive bound. The cold steel must have been digging into his flesh the entire time.

“And?” The voice asked.

“I’ll say the rest later.”

“...”

“Hey,” the chains rattled as he shrugged, “Gotta keep something back so you don’t kill me off, right?”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Yeah,” Eli agreed, “Not as long as you can use me to keep my sister in line. Even if you are a cruel marquess like the rumors say, you aren’t stupid.”

The Marquess laughed, “You are far more cruel than I am, your personality is nothing like the one you show your sister.”

“The personality I show her is none of your business. I’m happiest when she is happy. She is happiest when I am happy. What is a white lie if it soon becomes the truth?”

“You know I’m not talking about that.”

“Are you talking about me acting like a kid?”

A silence appeared. I could only take that as the Marquess nodding his head.

“I have my reasons…”

“I see.” another second of silence.

The voice called out again, this time with more force and authority. “Ranthus, Theodore, I need to discuss something in my office, follow me. I don’t want that fellow to overhear us.”

Two sets of footsteps walked towards the Marquess’ voice.

“But sir,” one of them asked, “why should we take the trouble? Wouldn’t it be fine if we talked here?”

“...Do you doubt my decisions?”

“No… sir…”

The Marquess chuckled, “If you must know, it’s something we can’t have that brat knowing about.”

More silence.

…

The sound of footsteps, three sets of them, leading away from the room and down the hallway. They grew faint rather quickly, the acoustics of the area making it hard for noise to enter or escape the room. The door quietly shut behind them.

…

…

How long is the silence is going to last?

…

…

“Hey kid,” I whispered, “what’s the hold up?”

…

…

“Kid?” I asked again.

“Oh… sorry…” came a faint whisper.

The wall in front of me slowly sank into the ground. The light coming from above blinded me, and I temporarily shielded my eyes with my arm.

When I finally managed to open my eyes, I shuddered. Eli was far from a healthy child when I first saw him. I may have called him pale before, but this was just insane. His skin was so pasty that I could clearly see all the veins running across his face. It was almost to the point that Saran Wrap would have been more opaque and thicker than his skin.

“W-what…?” I started to ask.

“A ghoul uses mana to repair its body and yet we don’t naturally produce it. The reason we eat another’s flesh is to temporarily gain the ability to regain that energy. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a little starved. That spell was pushing it, even for me.”

The wall of earth the boy summoned might end up being the final straw that ends up killing him. Not only am I struggling to save these kids, I might end up being the ones killing them too…

“So Ar- Alair, can you do me a favor?” Eli smiled, his lips tearing as he did so. “If you have to choose between saving my life, and saving my sister’s, pick hers.”

I stood there silently.

“Alair?”

I finally nodded, “Anything else?”

“...Get me something to eat.”

[p=center]•••[/p]

The darkness returned. I was once again surrounded by the red glow of moonlight. I stood in a puddle of claret wine. It sunk into my clothes and bit down on me, trying to drag me away into insanity. Tendrils of the red liquid gripped my arms, slithering around me like a living being. The liquid was warm and pulsed almost as if it was alive.

Can you face me yet?, The voice asked.

I shook my head, and struggled to pull myself from the claret wine. The copper stench of the liquid clouded my senses. Everything around me was covered in the dull red I had grown to love so much. I forced myself to keep from screaming.

The only color that would have calmed me, the silver glow of the moon, had long since eroded to the crimson red of a life lost.

I struggled to remain upright.

The scarlet water pulled me further down.

You hadn’t even bothered to save those kids.

“I’m going to save them! I haven’t given that up yet!”

So you admit you will give them up in the future?

“No!” I finally screamed.

The tentacles of claret wine came down on me like lashes, ripping my clothes and tearing the skin off my back.

You are a coward. You deserve to die a dog’s death. You gave up your chance to save those kids when you left Eli in that room.

“If… If I saved him now, I wouldn’t be able to save his sister.”

Oh really? Then what stopped you from saving them both? The people guarding her had already left. You could have saved them both…. why didn’t you?

More lashes came down. I fought to remain on my feet. “The door down to the bottom level was locked.”

Are you sure?

I went silent. I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t pull that memory back into my grasp. The claret wine grew thicker and heavier.

“I… I…”

Should hurry up and die. I never loved you, I could never love a murderer like you. After all, you killed me. You stabbed me with that knife. It was all because you were late. You knew I would be angry. Why else would you be holding that knife? Why else would you be laughing as I bled to death?

I clutched my ears. The claret wine had risen to my waist. I didn’t want to hear the voice. I didn’t want to hear her voice right now. Each sentence uttered, each word spoken, only served to make it harder to remain above the sea of claret wine.

Aren… You killed me.

I drowned.

I couldn’t breath.

I could only see red.

I could no longer face her

I could no longer…

[p=center]•••[/p]

A knock came from the antique door. I had never been so glad to have someone wake me from my slumber. I brushed the sweat from my brow and slowly pulled myself out of the bed.

Before I could step forward and answer, the door swung open, “Gooooood moooorning!” Ross called out. His gardening attire was already covered in dirt. He had a lopsided grin on his face as he strode into the room as if he owned the place.

“What are you doin-”

“Tsk… Tsk… Tsk…” Ross cut me off, “What do you mean? I bet you haven’t even bothered to look through the clothes I gave you. Not even after you snuck around the manor last night. I swear, couldn’t you have at least used the secret passages. The poor guards almost had a heart attack from all those vanishing footsteps…”

“...”

“Even if you go silent now, It’s not going to change the fact that I know you snuck out. Although I am curious, what are you even here to do? Wait. Don’t answer that, I don’t want you to kill me because of some idle curiosity of mine.”

I sat up. Ross jumped backwards, and put his his hands up in a makeshift guard posture, “You’ll never catch me alive!” He stepped into the closet, shutting the door behind him with a thud.

Is he alright in the head?

“It’s better if you don’t ask.”

“Ask what!?” Ross hollered. He continued to rustle around in the closet.The sound of something expensive breaking made me wince.

What the heck was he doing in there? The closet was pretty spacious. For him to create that much noise, he’d have to be in a deathmatch with one of those luxury suits. And judging by all the ruckus he was making, he was probably losing.

“Uh…” I quickly avoided the subject, “What are you doing in there?”

“Found it!” Ross yelled, slamming open the closet door and stepping once again into the main bedroom. In his hands was a almost completely white uniform. Several blue flowers outlined the sleeves. The uniform was similar to a tux you would expect to see on a rich nobleman. I had seen many such uniforms in the manor yesterday, but this was the first time I had seen one with so many flowers on it.

“What is that?” I asked, knowing full well the answer.

“Your new uniform?”

[i[Why is he replying with a question?[/i]

I shrugged my shoulders. Ross raised an eyebrow as if suddenly struck with a puzzle he couldn’t solve. I bit my tongue and forced a smile.

“What? You don’t like it?”

“Why does it have flowers?”

“Flowers are cute.”

“...”

“...”

“Now put it on.” He said nonchalantly, handing the clothing over to me. His words carried too much authority for a gardener; I hadn’t realized that my arms were outstretched until he set the clothes down on them.

“Now I’ll wait outside while you get changed.”

I wasn’t entirely against getting free stuff. I’ve had to deal with people giving me things beyond my reach my entire life. You either learned to accept it with a smile or hate everyone that has tried to help you. Pride is an obstruction. I may have felt bad taking the items when I didn’t plan to stay, but I could always return them afterwards.

What? Are you going to send them in by mail order?

“Shh…”

“You done yet?” Ross yelled.

Crap. “Not yet,” I answered, hurriedly putting on the clothes. I hadn’t even had time to check out their stats, before the door was once again shoved open.

“Prepare for the tsunami.” The gardener said while laughing..

“...Tsunami?”

Rumbling shook the room and a torrent of kids piled through the door. “Big bro Alair,” most of them yelled. They all had smiles on their faces as they tackled into me. A child on its own was weak, but when they came in a pack of thirty, I was easily shoved down to the ground.

They clambered on me like a jungle gym while I struggled to stand. “Awair.” the girl I remembered as Auri, climbed up on my back, clutching my neck in a forced piggy back ride, “Sank you, for hewping me make the cake westerday.”

Damn, she’s adorable.

“C-can’t breath…” I choked out.

Ross patted me on the shoulder as I slowly turned blue, “Don’t worry. I can’t let you die until you’ve cooked us one more meal. He clapped his hands and the kids slowly got off me. Auri still clutched my back, but without the added weight of the rest of the crew, she was no longer choking me to death.

I didn’t see a reason to chase her off, so I stood up with her on my back.

Smiling wryly, Ross said, “So, Master Chef Alair, won’t you cook us a meal?”

““““““““““Pwease!””””””””””

I grimaced, “Fine.”

The cheers alone shook the foundation of the room. Seriously though, what the heck had these kids been fed so far to inspire this kind of reaction? Sure I could cook, but I’m not at the level of a master chef.

I glared at Ross.

He shrugged his shoulders, before walking out the room. The kids didn’t follow him like they did the day before. They followed once I had left the room, It seems their normal guardian was lower ranked than the guy who provided the food…

[p=center]•••[/p]

The kitchen was currently working to its full capacity. I currently had six stoves lit at once. Three groups of kids washing the remaining dishes, and two groups to sort them into the lower cupboards. (they were not tall enough to reach the upper cabinets.)

I thought back on the time I first learned to cook. I wasn’t taught in Royal Road. Nor was I taught by someone I would consider my guardian. It was forced into me by her, she had proclaimed, “Even if you can get a girl with that silver tongue of yours, you won’t be able to keep her if you can’t even cook.”

I don’t know why I agreed to learn from her.

I clenched my teeth, a severe migraine riding up behind my eyes. Flashes of pain nearly brought me to my knees.

...Why can’t I...?

“They keep on coming” Ross yelled. I snapped to attention, the pain vanishing in an instant. I focused myself on the task at hand, once again avoiding looking at the memories that lay beneath that puddle of claret wine..

“What the hell are these kids? Piranhas?” I screamed.

“Worse… dragons!”

I gulped.

“Grandpa Ross…” Lauren called out, looking up at the gardener with big puppy dog eyes, “I’m hungry…” Lauren, the dragon of manipulation has struck again!

“We need more food!” Ross yelled.

“AT LEAST WAIT UNTIL THEY START TO EAT” I yelled.

“B-b-but…” Ross pouted, “what if it isn’t enough?”

“I can make more.”

“B-b-but what if they starve before then…”

How fragile did this guy think kids are?

I continued to flip each of the patties on the six separate pans. Each pan had four patties each. With the thirty kids, I wouldn’t have enough by the time I finished., “I can’t handle this. Back up! I need some back up!”

“Awair…” A cute and quiet voice gripped my sleeve, “Can I hewp? Pwease. I want to hewp!” Auri stood at the tip of her toes as she pulled on my pant leg.

I looked down at Auri and grinned, “Maybe you could...”

Another tug, this time from the other pant leg. “I want to help to help too… Pwease?” Lauren looked up at me with two big puppy dog eyes, the same attack she had used on Ross earlier. It wouldn’t work on m- Damn it. I sighed.

“I have a mission for both of you...” I spoke gently.

They nodded as they continued to listen to my evil plot…

[p=center]•••[/p]

Auri and Lauren were not similar in any way. They both may have been females, but Lauren was energetic and quick to act, while Auri was shy and cautious. Or at least, that’s what I had grown to understand of them. It hadn’t been long since I met them after all.

I still didn’t know most of the kids names. The reason Lauren and Auri stood out was because both of them constantly pestered me. Lauren had been trying to make me give her a piggy back ride since she saw Auri on my back this morning. And Auri, having already been sent back down the ground, hadn’t let go of my pant leg until Ross forcefully parted her just before I started cooking. He was fearful that the grease from the pan might hurt her if she stood too close.

Auri had re-attached herself to my leg as Lauren raced amongst the kids, whispering as she passed. Ross was helping some of the kids wash some dishes, but was constantly sending some worried glances over to us. The only reason he hadn’t pulled Auri away again, was because I was keeping my body between her and the stove. When Lauren approached us, I could feel Auri release her hold on my leg.

Ross was a bit too good at figuring things out, so Auri was necessary as a distraction. While Auri talked to Ross, Lauren would sneak behind him and give the ‘orders’ to the kids closest to him.

“Gwanpa Woss” Auri tugged on his leg. He looked down at her surprised. “I burwned mysewf.” She held up her uninjured hand.

I expected a wry smile, as the normally perceptive man saw through her little prank. Instead, Ross’ eyes opened wide in panic. “Water… We need Water!!!!” He spun around in a panic looking for a source of water to cool the burn. He was in a real panic, he hadn’t even noticed his hands were still on the faucet.

When he realized, he gently lifted Auri up towards the sink, and pulled her hand under the water. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded, somewhat blankly.

“You sure?” he asked again.

“Uh huh.” She nodded.

Ross sent a sharp glare over to me, “How could you let this happen? I told you about what would happens if someone let these children come to harm, didn’t I? How could you allow this to happen?”

I continued to flip the patties. The one’s that were finished cooking were piled on a plate to my left.

Ross’ glare deepened, “I will ki-”

“Sowwy” Auri cut him off with a sudden apology.

“Wha…” The gardener went silent, “Why are you apologizing Auri? You aren’t at fault. It’s Alair’s fault he let you get burne-”

“Awair is not at fault!” Auri screamed, causing everyone in the room to go silent and turn to face her. The girl didn’t have a loud voice to begin with, so this might have been the first time most of the people in the room heard her clearly. And it was LOUD.

“But how else were yo-”

“It was a pwank!” She continued to yell, “Awair told me to talk to you!”

“Then why did yo-”

Auri still hadn’t given Ross a proper chance to speak, “Because!”

“Why?” Ross asked.

She turned away from him, fighting her way out of his arms. Ross did his best to gently set her on the ground. “Why?” he asked again.

Auri crossed her arms and looked away. I couldn’t help myself and ended up giving a light chuckle at her performance. I wondered how serious Ross had been before. He was far more angry than I could picture the agreeable old man. I only asked Auri to distract him, but I learned something about Ross I hadn’t known before.

He really cared for these children.

[p=center]•••[/p]

“Why don’t I have a spot…” Ross cried. His previous spot at the end of the table had been stolen by Lauren. She had her arms crossed in defiance.

Out of the many spots to sit at the table, not a single one of them was free from the kids’ defences. All of the kids worked together to block Ross from sitting amongst them. Ross was already in full-blown tears.

In comparison I was given the spot on the other end of the table. The kids treated me like one of their own.

“Because,” Lauren said rather bluntly, “you yelled at Alair.”

“B-but I t-thought he hurt Auri.”

“And?” Lauren asked.

“...I thought he was dangerous.”

One of the boys looked at Ross, “What’s dangerous is your cooking. If Aren hadn’t shown up… I might have starved to death.”

The entire room laughed.

The sound of laughter slowly brought back the headache that I had finally managed to chase away. I smiled, hiding the pain with my usual facade. Did I deserve to be in happy place like this right now? Those two kids were still in the dungeon, and I’m just enjoying myself eating with these kids?

“Awair.” Auri called out to me, “Your face is scary…”

I was still smiling. Was there something wrong with the way I smile?

“You look like you are hiding somethwin. My momma had that face when she-” Auri suddenly shut up. A couple tears slowly developed. She started to sniffle, her body was shaking as she held herself back from crying.

I looked over to Ross for some help, but he was still crying as the kids continued to berate him. His tears had long since fled, so I was guessing he was just enjoying playing with them.

I bit my lip gently, careful not to spill any of my own blood. I reached out my hand and gently rubbed the top of Auri’s head. “It’s alright,” I whispered, “It’s alright”

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. She reached forward and hugged me, rubbing her snotty face into the expensive clothes. I continued to pat her head.

“I mwiss her.” she cried through my shirt, “I mwiss her Awair. I mwiss mamma. Why didn’t mamma come back? Awair, why?” Her crying grew louder, so I ended bringing her into a tight hug.

What was I supposed to say here? What was I supposed to do?

[p=center]•••[/p]

“Most of these kids shouldn’t be here,” Ross explained. We were both sitting on one of the many benches planted throughout the garden. The kids were in the midst of what at first glance seemed to be playing, but on closer inspection you could make out swordplay and other things that could be construed as noble training.

Ross continued, “People want an excuse to come here and meet the Marquess. So they would leave their children in his care. This way, they could come and visit whenever they wanted with no one doubting them.”

“I remember you mentioning this before.” I recalled our earlier conversation. “What do you mean, ‘Shouldn’t be here’?”

I expected a laugh and one of his usual jokes… No, that wasn’t quite right, I was hoping for one. Instead he remained level, and spoke while looking me in the eyes, “Most of these kids don’t have parents anymore.”

“Wha…”

“To put it simply, in this wretched game of nobles, their parents risked everything and lost. These kids still harbor a faint hope that their parents will return and collect them. They still have the faint hope of returning home one day.”

“Are their parents dead?”

This time he did laugh, but it only made my heart sink more, “They aren’t dead. They just think that living a life here would be far better than living a life with them as a commoner would. They lost everything in this game: the entirety of their land, all their acquired titles, and the remnants of their compassion. Those parents no longer view the children as their own. To them, they are merely bags of flesh that can give them a second chance.

“They are content with the illusion that these kids will lead fulfilling lives in their place. They wish that these kids would be able to bring their family once more out of the poverty and obscurity they drove themselves towards.”

I watched as one of the kids managed to knock another’s wooden sword into the air. “Will some of these kids do that?”

“No, I won’t let them.”

“Why?”

Ross smiled, “If these kids live so close to the heart of nobles, they are bound become as twisted as their parents. I don’t want these kids to be hurt like the foolish adults that gave birth to them.

“I wished I could provide them with a world without these childish games their parents play, but I can only do so much. I will at least give them a world where they don’t have to corrupt themselves to survive.” He plucked a single white flower from the bush next to us, twiddling it between his two fingers.

“As a gardener, can you really do that?” I asked.

“As long as I send them off to school far away from this land, that shouldn’t be a problem. They are bright kids, they will be fine.” His gaze grew somewhat sad. “I wish I could see them off in a month’s time. The life of someone like me can never be so easy.”

[p=center]•••[/p]

No matter what anyone might say, spending time with these kids isn’t a complete waste. Kids are less tight-lipped than their adult counterparts and just as perceptive, if not more so.

All of the kids in the group were under twelve, with the youngest being just older than 6. They functioned as a single organism most of the time, splitting off into smaller groups as they moved around their playground.

Auri tried to remain close to me, even as the group moved farther away. She was playing with the white roses behind me. She was not one to play amongst the rest of the pack. Ross had even asked me, specifically, to look after her, since he disliked leaving her all alone.

I begrudgingly complied.

“Auri,” I asked, “Why don’t you hang out with the other kids?”

“...but Awair… they would be sad. Everywone is sad when they hang out with me.” She started to sniffle, “Everywone would end up sad… but if I don’t hang out with them… they can be happy.”

I was at a loss for words so I rubbed her head.

“Ehehehe” She laughed as I messed with her hair.

“You don’t seem to avoid me, though.” I whispered.

Auri was silent for a moment before saying, at a near inaudible volume, “But Awair, you are already so sad…”

Kids are terrifyingly perceptive.

An idiot like you could learn a few things. the voice snickered.

“Ouchie” Auri called out. I looked over to see what was wrong.

[p=center]Hemophobia +5[/p]

It was a small cut, barely enough to cause her to bleed. However, the mere sight of blood sent me reeling back from her. She clutched her hand and started to cry, light muffled cries as she tried to hide her pain. “It hurts,” she whispered under breath. “It hurts.”

I don’t think she knew I could hear her.

And because you are Alair the coward, you will run away right? That’s the only thing you can do in this situation. Run… Run away you spineless coward.

I clenched my jaw. What was I so afraid of, a small speck of red? What was so scary about that?

You and I both know why you are afraid of that.

You killed me.

You watched as I bled.

Just like that little girl over there.

Just because you weren’t paying attention. She is going to bleed, and bleed, and bleed.

I clutched my head. Auri’s sniffling remained muffled, as she tried to hide her pain. Why was she hiding it? Why was she so afraid to let me see her hurt? I clenched my hand, the knuckles turning white. I crouched down next to her, leaning in close. The mere action of stepping towards Auri drove the voice away, it drove her voice away.

I placed my hand over the cut on her hand and said with a forced smile, “It’ll be fine.”

Finally noticing me, she started to yell, “No, it won’t! Mamma left when I hurt my hand! She said she would come back quickly with some bandages! But no! Mamma... she… and now you…” Auri broke down crying, no longer muffling her tears.

“That won’t happen.”

“But… but…”

“That won’t happen.” I repeated. I picked her up in one fell swoop. I rested her on my arm, as she used her uninjured hand to cling to my neck. “See? I won’t be going anywhere without you. We are going to go together.”

You are going to get blood on you.

You are going to have her blood on your hands

All because you tried to help her.

It will be all your fault.

“Sowwy.” Auri said, “Because I got hwurt… I made you sad.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s the swaddest smile you have shown me yet.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it, so I laughed. “This smile? Sad? Auri, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

She looked at me startled and confused.

“I’ve made more progress with that in the last five minutes than I have in these last three months! I’m more happy than I have been in awhile!”

“Weally?” the little girl asked.

“Really,” I lied. I continued to stumble forward, fearful of fainting with the girl still in my arms.

[p=center]•••[/p]

“Thank you, Awair.” Auri sniffled after I finished bandaging the tiny cut.

I smiled, “No problem. Just don’t go letting Ross see that I let you get hurt, he might seriously hurt me this time.”

“Gwanpa Ross wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

I merely laughed in response.

“Are you sure you’re alwight? Not sad?”

I nodded, “Not sad, not sad at all.”

To lie to a little girl. You’ve fallen far.

“Then… will you be my fwiend?” Auri asked suddenly.

How was I supposed to respond to that? Sorry, I can’t be your friend because I plan to rescue some kids and leave here? Sorry, I can’t be your friend since I’m lying to you about everything?

“Of course I’ll be your friend.” we.. no I said?

Auri jumped up happily. “I now have two friends! That’s enough to make a gwoup.” She spun in circles while humming happily to herself, “Awair, Auwi, and Elle are a group.”

I froze.

The little girl before me continued to dance around in circles.

I forced the words to leave me mouth, “B-but, there wasn’t an Elle in the group with Ross was there?”

Auri shook her head, “No… Elle is…” she looked unsure whether to tell me or not, “Elle is my friend in the secret place.”

“Secret place?” I asked.

“Yup.” Auri nodded, “The wall opens up with a woooooooshhhhhh, and then the floor drops with a ktttttthhhhhhhhhh, and then some stairs appear to that dark place. Elle is in the dark place.”

“...really?” Had I really been this lucky? Ross had mentioned that there were secret passageways here, but was there really one leading directly where I needed to go?

Auri grabbed onto my pant leg, and started to pull me forward. “Since Awair is my fwiend, I’ll show you. The dark place smells funny, and Elle isn’t there sometimes, but I can still show you.” Auri showed me a wide grin, her two missing front teeth giving me a lasting impression. This was the first time I had seen this girl so happy.

“Smells funny?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Hmm…” the little girl pause for a moment, “smells like this.” she held up her injured hand towards me. It barely reached up to my chest, but with just that, I could still make out the faint smell of claret wine. The force of my delusions forcing me to smell something that should have long lost its scent.

Finally coming down to meet me are you?

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Spoiler : Hello everyone,

Its been awhile… -_-’

It’s not my fault, I swear. I was uh…. busy with uh…. school. That’s it… school. Well, Like always I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It lacked the usual jokish nature, It’s not my fault. I honestly tried…

This arc is approaching its climax. I’m quite happy that I’m able to say that. Alair is going to have to face his fears one way or another. I hope you noticed some of the unnaturalness of his reactions.

As always, thanks to my PR, Flamarow. Cur and Snow also helped me out this time. If you yourselves notice any mistakes, feel free to point them out. I’ll fix it ASAP

Tui signing off.

End Chapter 7

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