Chapter 10

I awoke from the dream, questions still running through my head. I didn't understand why any of this was happening. And why now, why wait all these generations to tell one of us about this, why me. Perhaps was it maybe this world, was there something about it that was different from the others that this soul had lived in.

"I see that you are awake now" Marie said as she came in. "Have you calmed down yet."

"Marie I… I want to go to the capital city, where the… where the king lives."

"Why would you want to go there of all places?"

"I… I have my reasons"

"This is rather sudden. What brought this up, are you sure that you're okay?" She said, touching my forehead to check if I had a fever.

"Yes, I'm fine now, but you could say that I had a vision. But I would like to go there for research reasons."

"Research? For what?"

"Marie does matter, will you just go with me, please?" I said, grabbing her hands.

Her face flushed, and her gaze faltered and drifted away from me. "Are you sure that you want me to go with you and not someone else?"

"Of course, you are my best friend, why would I ask you if I wanted someone else to go with me."

"Alright then, let's go" She said with a tentative smile.

"Lily baby I'm sorry~"

"Please let me come back, I swear that I didn't mean any of that~"

"Lily honey come on you know you love me; you can't hate me forever~"

"Lily please, be mature, pick up the god damn phone~"

"Fine you got me, I did mean what I said, but I'm sorry, please honey come back to me~"

I turned the answering machine off as I continued to pack, his pitiful pleas stabbing me like a knife every time. It hurt, but I had to endure until I could leave Marie tonight. I need space and to clear my head, and maybe get some clarity, and I know in my heart that I can find the answers I'm seeking at the capital.

After I finished shoving clothes into my suitcase, I sat down with a pad of paper and a pen at my desk. I needed to write a letter for my father, explaining to him that Tom and Millie were going to be staying here while I'm gone, and why. I wasn't going to tell him where I was going though because knowing him, he'd try to send soldiers after me to drag me home.

"What are you doing?" Millie said, coming in and sticking her head under my arm to try to look at what I was writing.

"It's nothing sweetie. Did you want something?" I said, picking her up and putting her in my lap.

"Daddy said you had to go to the place where my used to work, so I thought I'd come make you feel better."

"I'm fine now, but thank you. But I went to the hospital, that's different from where your mom worked."

"Oh, that's good. I thought you went cause you were sad, did you go cause you got an ouchy on your head?" She said pointing at the bandage on my head.

"Ya, you're so observant, maybe you should be a detective" I said laughing.

"Really you think I can be a detector" She said, her eyes getting big and sparkly.

"Millie my little princess, come on let's leave Lily be, she's busy right now" Tom said from the doorway.

"Aww but I want to stay and play with Lily" She whined.

"I want to stay and play with you too, but I have something that I've got to do, why don't you go downstairs and get a snack okay." I leaned close to her ear and whispered "There's some cookies in the kitchen."

Gasping with excitement she jumped out of my lap and ran out the door towards the stairs. Tom came in and sat on the bed, my back facing him.

"You're to good to us, you know that" He said.

"I'm just doing what any good person would do, my mother would have done the same thing if she was here."

"And would she tell me where she was going, or would she just leave without a word like you're planning too."

"Sorry, I wasn't planning on leaving, it just came up."

"Could you tell me where you're going at least, please"

"The capital, but you can't tell my father when he comes back. You two can stay as long as you like while the whole incident gets worked out, but this is something that I feel like I have to do."

"I won't stop you, but is there any chance that you'll reconsider going alone."

"Who says that I'm going alone, Marie said that she'll go with me"

"You're taking Marie, not Joseph or me?"

"Why would I take Joseph with me, we barely know each other. And it would be better if you stayed here, like you implied it's not safe in the capital, and until the problem is solved with that guy from the military you won't be safe at their main base of operations. And you still have problems with the mafia to right, so it just wouldn't be safe for you and Millie."

"Ya I guess you're right, I'm just worried about you going. I don't know how well Marie will be able to protect you while you're there."

"I can take care of myself, why does no one get that. I'm only taking Marie with me for company, not protection."

"I… sorry, I've just never seen you fight before, and I know that your health condition makes you a little fragile. You've taken such good care of me and my daughter, I just want to make sure that no more harm will befall you while we are friends."

The sound tiny running footsteps thumped up the stairs, and Millie ran in, a box held above her head and a cookie stuffed into her mouth.

"Sis!" She said, her voice muffled from the cookie crumbling in her mouth.

"Millie, how many times do I have to tell you not to talk with food in your mouth, and you shouldn't be running either." Tom scolded.

She swallowed the cookie, and then turned back to me. "Sis a package came for you!" She said, handing me the box she had brought me.

"A… a package, from who?"

"I don't know, the guy was gone the second I turned to look at the door, he knocked and ran away."

"I wonder what it could be?" I said, going to open the box, but then a hand stopped me.

"Wait are you sure that's safe to open, it's an unlabeled box, what if it's something dangerous."

"I think it's fine, it's doesn't seem dangerous. From what I can tell there's something small inside the box, it isn't very heavy either."

I peeled back the tape, pulling the flaps open, revealing a small box inside with an envelope neatly placed on top. I pushed the envelope to the side, grabbing the box beneath first. Slowly I open the box, pulling the lid open and revealing an amulet sitting neatly upon a cushion.

"Not another one of those things!" Tom groaned, yanking it out of the box and away from me. "I say we destroy it now before it can cause more damage!"

"No wait, it's a protection amulet, see the deep black color. Not all amulets are bad, the different colors are how you tell them apart. But sometimes you can color them which disguises their true purpose."

"Then how do you know this one isn't bad?"

"Because the natural colors are hard to replicate, and black is the hardest one, this is a genuine amulet. The only reason I wasn't able to tell before that the amulet was dangerous was because it was specifically designed to mess with my head… and he overwhelmed me… forcing it on me before I had the chance to react." I said fiddling with my hair, ashamed that he managed to overtake me.

"Hey who is this from, you should read the note." Tom said.

I grabbed the envelope, slicing it open and pulling out the card. It was a simple piece of card stock, with a hand written note scrawled across it.

"Dear Miss Lily, I know that you're mad at my master, but he feels bad for whatever he may have done to offend you. Even if you won't forgive him, please take this token of his apology to protect you as you make your way through life. I hope that the two of you can make up. Sincerely, Jeffery. P.S. He misses you." I said, reading the note aloud.

"So it's from Joseph then" Tom said, turning the jewel around in his hand.

"When I told him to go away, I meant leave me alone, why is he sending me stuff. Maybe he'll get the message if I just send it back." I said.

"Well technically it sounds like his assistant sent it."

"It's still from Joseph though, and I just need space right now. Everything is just so confusing, and I just feel so used right now. I know that he probably likes me and that's the only reason he's hanging around me, and I just don't feel like being courted right now."

"Courted? Now that's an old turn of phrase. But I get it, it was a bad break up with your ex, and learning that it was toxic it relationship on top of that isn't helping either. I haven't wanted to date anyone after I lost my wife, and it's been several years. It's hard getting over someone you loved."

"But don't love him, he tricked me into thinking that I was. He was controlling, and would talk crap about me behind my back, and then lie about it to my face. Convincing me that he didn't mean any of it, or that I was just imagining things. It's like he held a blindfold over my eyes, and when it was finally pulled away, I was so deep in that it was like a knife piercing my soul."

"Well even if you don't want to see him, you should at least keep the amulet. You said it's a protection amulet, so it will help keep you safe while you're in the capital right."

"Ya I guess so, I don't know. I guess that I can keep it for now, but I should really get going now."

"Alright" He said, standing up. "Please be safe, I know that we've only known each other for a short time, but I think of you like a daughter so please just be careful." He said, giving me a hug.

"Don't go big sis" Millie said, wrapping her tiny arms around my legs.

I knelt down to her level, ruffling her hair. "I won't be gone for too long, I promise."

"You really promise" She said, giving me big sad eyes.

"Of course, I promise, why wouldn't I come back silly."

"Because mommy said that she'd be home soon, and then she never came back." She said, hugging me tightly.

That tugged at my heart strings, pulling at them in a way that made me want to stay. But I have to go to the capital, it's something that I need to do. Without a word I quickly ushered both of them out of my room, shutting the door behind me and quickly closing my suitcase. I needed to leave now before anything else compelled me to stay.

The sound of my suitcase clacking across the mossy cobblestone streets trailed behind me, and it was accompanied by the sound of second suitcase and the clicking of Marie's heels against the stones. It was late so the streets of the village were empty, shops and cafes closing up for the night as the setting sun glinted across their windows, bathing the streets in golden light.

"Ugh my feet are killing me" Marie whined, flopping onto a nearby bench, pulling her shoes off and rubbing her red feet.

"No one told you to wear heels, it's your own fault so don't complain" I said, sitting down next to her.

"But I was feeling feminine today, so I wanted to wear heels. How was I supposed to know that we were going to do all of this walking." She whined.

"What did you expect, you knew where we were going. Did you really think that we were going to find a taxi in a little village like this?"

"I guess not, but why did you want to come here anyways? It's in like the middle of nowhere and there's literally nothing here."

"But there is something here, at least I think there is"

"You think, I know that you wanted to come to the capital for information, but why did we have to stop here first. I highly doubt that there's anything here that you're looking for. I know you did research, but I think you got your information wrong."

"No, this place is special, so there has to be something here"

"Special, what does that mean?"

"Well when I was doing some research on the train, I found this place on the way. And it says that about a century or two ago the current king of that time period decreed this land was protected and that development of any buildings was restricted to small town centered around a small plot of land. I found it strange and I wanted to check it out."

"That is kind of strange, I wonder what could be so precious that the king would declare it a protected area."

"Exactly, but since we took the train it took awhile to get here, and now it's getting dark so we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Oh come on, don't be chicken about the dark."

"It's not the dark that bothers me, it's the fact that it'll be dark and that I'm pretty sure that it's a grave yard."

"That's even better, grave yards are so much fun a night!"

"No they're not, they're creepy" I said, a shiver crawling down my spine.

"I promise there will be no creepy crawlies or zombies trying to eat you, and if by some miracle there are then I'll protect you."

"Oh ya, and what are you going to do, karate kick them with your heels" I teased.

"You know I could've just let you go by yourself, so don't be so mean."

"I was only teasing, and we both know that none of you would have let me go by myself."

"Ya you're right, please can we just go tonight, I don't want to be here longer than we have too."

"Alright fine, I suppose I do owe you for agreeing to come with me."

The next thing I knew I was standing in the dark in front of small plot of land surrounded by an old stone brick fence that had crumbled over time. A single street lamp stood outside the entrance, its light flickering across what was left of sign that hung from the entrance, the gate barely hanging on to what was left of its hinges.

"Well this place looks fun" Marie said.

"No, it does not, this place is giving me chills, look I've got goose bumps."

"Oh, come on, man up a bit. We'll just go in, take a look around, and then go back to the inn where we can cuddle if you get any nightmares." She said, walking up to the sign and brushing away some of the grime.

"We are not cuddling, and I'm not a child."

"Huh" She said, ignoring me. "It's like this place knows that it's old, it's called oldtown cemetery. You were right though; it is a grave yard."

"Can we please just get this over with" I said, cautiously pushing the gate open with my foot. It came crashing down instead, spooking us both.

"And the fun just wont stop" Marie said, grinning. Grabbing my hand and dragging me in.

The sparse light from street lamp silhouetted a few graves at the front, but the after that the light trailed off into darkness.

"Damn, you can���t see a thing past these first few, you'd think they'd have more lights in here." Marie grumbled.

"Well the probably don't because normal people don't come to grave yards at night. But just give me a second and I can fix this."

I mumbled a spell, and my pointer finger lit up like a flashlight, shining across the graves in front of us.

"Well I say we start with the big one over there" She said, pointing at one at the edge of the light.

We walked over to it, and I noticed that besides the slightly smaller one next to it, the larger grave stood mostly alone in the center of the grave yard. It seemed fancier than the others, even the one standing beside it seemed plain in comparison.

"Hey could you shine your light on this one" Marie said, kneeling in front of the smaller one.

"Ya, but wouldn't you rather look at the larger one, I mean it was your idea to come over here."

"Ya, but I didn't see the little one, and once I did, I was more interested in it. Like why is it the only one near the big one, and why is it smaller the other one." She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer.

The grave was small, but the letters were carefully carved by hand. And they were deep enough to have withstood the test of time.

"Here lies Okada Yatsuhiro, beloved husband until death did them part, last words; it may have been short but our time together was magical, let us be together now in death, I love you Yuki." Marie said, reading the words aloud as she ran her fingers over them. "Wow he really must have loved his wife, that must be her grave next to his. That also explains why it's bigger, he put more importance on her than himself."

"It seems that she died before him, if you look at the dates, she died several months before him. But for some reason the words are all covered in something and hard to read." I said, scrubbing at them with my hands. "It's not coming off."

"Can't you just use a spell of something?" Marie said, scooting next to me and trying to scrape it off herself.

"I can try, but I don't know why its sticking to the stone so much"

Placing my hands on the stone, I mumbled a spell, wiping the moss away with my hands, revealing a name carved lovingly into the stone. 'Here lies Yuki Takashi[KY1] Yatsuhiro' it said. Suddenly her name began to glow, the carved lines filling in with light blue light. The light from my hand extinguished, and the street lamp flickered out, the only light now coming from the glowing tomb stone.

"Um is it supposed to do that?" Marie said, pulling away, trying to take me with her.

But before she could pull me away, a small glowing hand shot from the ground, grabbing me by the shirt collar, and pulling me down into the earth below. The world going dark before I could even blink.