Dawn- An Age Of Darkness

What the hell are these morons doing? I wondered as I stared at the guys from the top of the pond.

They were playing in the water. While the old man drifted with the tide, Brenda and Alisa were getting water everywhere. They really knew how to create chaos out of everything. Jowy on the other hand was the black sheep. He couldn't relax in the middle of it nor could he join the two girls. Poor guy.

Hope you guys don't catch a cold.

But what pissed me off most was Biteria's betrayal. She was with the two girls but not me. I glared with wrath but couldn't bring myself to hate the lovely little bunny. Wasn't she supposed to be my pet?

Can bunnies swim?

I was under the impression that rabbits were afraid of water but maybe that was because the sea had those monstrous fish. Biteria was swimming rather well, so I guess I didn't know all as much about bunnies as I might have thought.

The food was done and I was hungry, yet they thought playing was the best thing to do in this situation. But then again, I wasn't really eager to eat fish either.

It took them half an hour and some verbal straightening from me to come ashore. They all had this annoying grin.

"Are you okay?" Brenda said.

"Do I look okay?"

She left without a word. She had an annoying smirk painted on her face. I had to admit, she did look kind of sexy with all the water dripping off her seamless body. No wonder she had to pretend to be a guy. Who knew what the pirates would have done to her. But that would have only been true if they were real pirates or something. Those guys felt more like knights than actual pirates.

The last to get up was the old man and the first thing he did, was sneeze. He sneezed for a total of three times and then looked miserable. I kind of wanted to say, I told you so, but pitied him so much, that I didn't.

They got dressed and our long awaited lunch finally started. I was offered a bowl and a spoon along with the soup.

I bet this'll taste no better than the stuff I ate all these months.

I ate so much fish in the last three months that just seeing fish was enough to trigger memories and my innate desire to not go near the fish.

But my stomach grumbled at the aroma. The smell wasn't bad but the texture seemed kind of gooey and I didn't like it. But it all changed when I took a sip of the soup.

Hey, this isn't bad…

"Who made this?" To my surprise, it did taste pretty good.

"I did," Alisa raised her hand like a little kid and puffed her chest... "With some help from Jowy!"

Then again she was a little brat to begin with. I remember seeing Jowy cook and Alisa play around. But considering she was just a child, what she said wasn't a total lie.

"Well done." I didn't want to say it but I had to. The rest of them looked at me with wonder and a smirk. Had I really said something that wondrous?

It tasted good, so the meal ended pretty fast without any remarks from anybody. The food was good and that was it.

After finishing the meal we packed up and left. The catfish was pretty big, so half of it was smoked and kept as future food. I still didn't want to eat fish but maybe this wasn't so bad.

"I think there was a village not far from here. I forgot its name though." the old man held his head in his hands and pondered.

"Really? I suppose we'll have a wonderful time." I said something stupid. It wasn't like me at all but honestly, I wanted to escape all the damn troubles and rest on a proper bed.

"Let's hope it's not annihilated."

Yeah me too. I want to really lie down on a proper bed for once.

Jowy gathered up the things and sorted our cooking ware. "It is very close to the sacred forest after all."

"Sacred forest?" Suddenly my memory jogged.

Jowy glanced at me. "You've heard of it?"

"I think I have. That was the forest I-" Wait just a minute…. It can't be… but this scene seems familiar too. It can't be…

"What's wrong, Daarc? You look pale…" Alisa came close to me and pulled my sleeve. It made me come back to earth. I must have been flying too damn high.

"N-nothing. Let's just hope it's not the village I think it is." I really hoped it wasn't the same village.

They stared at me for a few seconds and we moved on.

It was getting darker. It wasn't evening yet but I could tell that it wasn't all that far. Our clothes were hanging from the side of the cart. They'd probably dry by morning.

As for the village, we would arrive later this evening. So we – or rather I had time to ask questions. "Just for reference, how far is Moire from here?"

"Hmm not that far. I'd say it's about a five-day journey from where we are but if and only if we travel through an ominous mountain. And I tell ya, it's not worth it." The old man chuckled. "As for the detour, it'd take about two weeks at the least. Why feeling Moire sick?" He grinned sarcastically.

What the hell is a Moire sick?

"No, not really." It was as though all the blood drained from my face. It wasn't impossible but I never thought this would happen either.

So it must be that village…

I gulped and prepared myself beforehand.

As the sun came crashing down, the environment around us filled with a familiar scent: a scent I hated with all my being. All my fears came true one by one, just like that.

As predicted, we arrived at the village just after evening.

Damn it!

It was Dune's village. The same village I'd forsaken. It was also the village that had fallen to ruin because of me. I felt immense guilt as I approached the village: I didn't want to get in. Who knew what would happen this time….

"Let's go." Jowy led the way.

I really didn't want to go, but I couldn't just ask them to stay outside the village within the undead territory either.

When we reached the gate we were greeted by Samel. He didn't question us more than necessary. Once finished we were permitted to enter the village.

"It's good to see you again Daarc. And thanks." As we entered Samel whispered and went back up the wall.

My heart tightened and it was hard to breathe.

Thanks?

How would I face her?

I had a lot of questions but no apparent answers.

"Are you okay boy? You've been awfully quiet since the afternoon," the old man said.

"I-I'm fine."

"Well you don't look fine," Brenda said.

"Leave me alone. Let's just go find a place to stay," I said. I wasn't fine and I couldn't hide it.

The village was lit up as usual. There were seven guards on top of the wall. Their condition must have improved since last time.

I wonder how the village is holding up.

There were a lot fewer people out, so I guess it wasn't that great.

We went on ahead and searched for a place to stay. Some villagers recognized me. They only had well wishes for me. They even arranged my stay in an abandoned house: as no one lived there, it was rent-free for the night too. Guilt welled up and kept on strangling me more and more. It hurt.

It was an old house in a corner of the village, close to the wall. I couldn't bear to talk to any of the villagers, so greetings was all I was capable of.

It was as though my body went colder and colder by the minute and every cell of my body screamed in agony. I didn't want to be here.. I didn't want to bring another calamity to this place.