[18] A Cry For Parents

There was a sound of crying. She didn't know where it came from, but she could hear it. Claire tried to think clearly, she tried to clear her thoughts, but it still latched onto that noise. It wasn't pleasant. It was unpleasant, and it refused to let go.

Why wouldn't it go away?

The crying didn't stop even as she wished it to disappear. It wasn't something she could control. Her eyes opened ever so slightly. It was dark and blurry, but she could still faintly see.

She saw the images of her parents, only their faces, but she could recognize them. It wasn't something she could forget, especially the chiseled beard of the man. They were staring down at her, and she felt as if they were titans. Through her eyes, they looked like giants. She had become a baby. A baby crying for parents.

She tried to reach out her hands.

There was a smile on their faces and they each also stretched out their hands. Before long, she could see small tiny arms grasped by the warmth of two larger ones.

"Let's take this one." There was the rough voice of her father.

Her mother nodded, she could see her bright and endless smile. "I like her eyes."

"Mhmm, it's just like yours, crimson." The man nodded, his gray eyes staring at the child before him, he also smiled.

Claire smiled, that memory had returned now of all times? It had been fifteen years and she still couldn't forget it.

She looked around.

She was no longer within that dream, but the crying still persisted. The room was neither small nor large, she sat, sleeping upon a chair with Alicia by her side doing the same. In front of her, there was a bed and two people slept on that.

To the right was a young man, and to the left was a girl clutching onto his arms. She was the source of the crying, her mouth open as she wept with tears.

There was a rustle, the young man slowly and carefully sat up from his sleep, murmuring with groggy eyes. As soon as he saw the girl crying as she clutched to his body, he grimaced, but soon produced a light smile.

Frieth gently patted the blonde hair of that girl, whispering, "It's alright, it's alright, I'm here with you."

The crying began to die down.

"It's alright, if it shows up, I'll save you again and again. No matter how many times I have to."

The crying stopped.

"I'll be your Hero."

Aura fell back to sleep.

There was a smile on that face.

***

"Oh, thank god, a Hero." The man breathed a sigh of relief, as if letting go of all his troubles and putting it into another's hands. He soon returned the white card in his hand back to the owner.

The man was quite robust for someone who had supposedly, practically, become an office worker.

He sat behind the rectangular desk. He looked to be in his thirties with a head of black hair with hints of gray and equally black eyes—his features matched well with the suit he wore. There wasn't a smile on the man's face, but it wasn't stiff either. There was a hint of tiredness, his body was a bit hunched and he sometimes looked as if he could fall asleep at the next moment.

Alicia whispered over to Claire, "He doesn't smell good, his blood wouldn't taste good either."

"What's with you and wanting blood so badly? Do you even need it to live?"

"I don't know...but I want it."

Since they had entered into this office, the man had barely gave the three girls a glance. Though he may have wondered what the Hero of Heart was doing going around with fairly young girls in tow, he had heard that all heroes had been eccentric since the beginning of time and that this era was no different. Were they his apprentices? Were they related? Far relatives? The hero himself seemed to have no qualms with taking them towards a particularly dangerous subject, he thought the girls must have some strength backing them up.

He decided he didn't care much in the end and stopped his thoughts.

This was an odd man. He didn't care, yet thought so much on the topic. One might wonder if this was due to his nature or had been birthed by his business of running a mining company—it was something where little details mattered, a single crack in the wrong spot and a cave in could occur.

"You really just have to find the source of the current outbreak, but if you can stop it too, that would be more than welcomed and I promise your work wouldn't go unrewarded."

He had introduced himself as John Bolten, current owner of Black Lagoon.

He handed a key over, "Here's the key to the mines, just walk all the way up and wave it around and they will let you in, if they don't, remind them that you're a hero, show them your card, and it should be good."

His hands were rough and coarse, it was as if he had once led a life of labor.

Fieth accepted the black key, "I'll be sure to get the problem solved."

"Mhmm," Bolten nodded, watching the group leaving his office.

"You girls come back safely too and I'll throw in some of my mother's skewers as part of the reward! They're pretty famous in this city you know!" As the door closed, he added, a pleasant smile on his face.

Hearing those words, Alicia decided to work hard and Claire couldn't help but roll her eyes at her companion's sudden burst of enthusiasm. Though...she would never say that she too had decided to give some goblins and imps a good whacking.

Aura smiled, walking behind Fieth with the large brown bag carried at her back. The Hero of Heart thought that she too looked forward to the skewers.