Chapter 30: The Village (3)

Much to Ashur's aversion, countless villagers approached him. Much like before, they asked basic questions, making sure to end every sentence with "Young master" however.

After navigating the sea which served as discomfort only to him, he arrived at the center of the village, where an old oak tree stood.

A smile filled with countless memories of his childhood emerged onto his face. He recounted how he used to climb it innumerable times as a child, along with his brother. It was also where he would play hide and seek with Mary, as well as Ultri.

He stood there for a couple of seconds of silence before releasing a pent-up sigh. Looking any longer at the tree would do more harm than good, he thought.

It would make him remember other things as well, such as promises he made.

One such promise was Ultri having a duel with him, to determine who the strongest truly was. Their plan was to have it in 10 years, that was about 9 years ago now, and had Ultri lived they would have soon met to make good on that promise. Also, his promise to Mary, that he would never abandon her, as she didn't to him, saying there was no way she'd let him leave the village alone.

Shed joked, saying that if he went on his own he would die long before avenging his father. So, he promised to never leave her all alone either.

However, for both promises, he fell short of making good on them.

Trying to push the feeling of despair, which was all too easy for him to experience given all he'd suffered in just under three months, he turned away from the tree.

Now, setting his sights on a big house on the hill, that was his next stop. That house, and who would no doubt be inside was his only reason for coming back to this place.

One that was so beautiful, and full of many good memories, but brought nothing but pain to his heart now that those who truly made it home were long gone from this world.

"Clesary?"

Surprisingly, after opening the door to the house, a voice called out to the woman. The voice sounded familiar she'd thought, but unfortunately, due to the sun beaming down to such a degree, she could only see their outline.

She raised her other hand, to block out the sun, and through squinted eyes she stared forward. By this point, she'd stepped outside of the house, letting the door close behind her, and after taking a step and then one more, a gasp fell from her lips. She froze, her bottom lip quivering.

"Ashur?"

The man didn't even have to respond to her, as she merely said his name to confirm if it sounded right out loud. She rushed forward, embracing him tightly. Tears fell down her face as she started to sing words of pure elation.

Ashur, despite his nervousness as he had scaled the hill, found those feelings shoved aside if only for a moment, being replaced with a sense of nostalgia.

Clesary, the woman who had watched over him and his brother, as well as his father when he was younger, was standing before him. He raised his hand, lightly placing it on her head.

"It seems I grew taller than you while I was away." He said with a wide-tooth grin.

"It would seem so, young master. It's so very good to see you, it's been such a long time."

Clesary slowly backed away, reaching up to wipe tears from her eye. As Ashur gazed at the woman longer he found a slight wave of surprise washing over him, she appeared the exact same.

From the color of her hair, which had a deep gray to a couple of wrinkles on her face, if he didn't know any better he'd have said she was eternally the same. That went for her appearance and he had no doubt the same was held for the woman's values and beliefs.

"Now, you must tell me when you arrived!"

Her soft voice hardened, becoming stern as her look of pure joy slowly withered away, being replaced with one of attentiveness.

"I just arrived. I wasn't sure if I was going to run into you but I'm glad I did."

"I'm glad I ran into you as well. I did see the newspapers about that incident a couple of months back, the black jack massacre… I'm sorry about what happened to Mary." Clesary paused, lowering her head toward the ground as she voiced her condolences.

"It's alright. There's nothing you could say or do to change what happened so there's no need to apologize."

Though his words were understanding, Ashur's fist was clenched. If the tension displayed through that action was due to grief, anger, or frustration at himself was irrelevant. He knew since he was in the village he'd have no choice but to confront Marion as well. The man Marion was a very stern and stubborn person. There was no doubt in Ashur's mind that he would have to bear the brunt of his rage for the failure of losing his sister.

"Regardless I'm sorry. It feels like just yesterday when you and Mary were kids, running around the village without a care in the world. You two, as well as Ultri, were like peas in a pod."

As she spoke she lifted her head, revealing watery eyes. Her gaze while fixed ahead of her appeared to be looking at something distant. It was as if she was picturing the events she spoke of before her.

"Right…" Ashur's voice trailed off. The news of Ultri's death wouldn't have reached anyone, let alone the village, as information about the incident was being kept under tight wraps at least with the press.

Realizing she may have brought up more bad memories due to Mary's passing, Clesary raised her hand to her mouth, releasing a light cough.

"Well, anyhow you must come inside. I'm sure the chief would love to see you."

"Sounds good."

Ashur tried his best to muster up a smile, even if it was a hollow one. He wanted to run so badly, to leave and not come back but there was something he needed to do.

Following the woman, he entered the house. His heartbeat was rapid, and he was unsure if it would ever slow but he had no choice except step forward.

The house was the same one he'd grown up in. Surprisingly he couldn't recognize much of the decorations.

Several paintings were missing as well as the paint, which had previously been a deep brown was now a crimson red. He stopped walking for a moment, his eyes straying on the staircase.

If his memory served him right, heading up there, and going toward the right would take him to his old room.

"Are you coming, young master?"

He responded with a silent nod, before stepping forward again. After a short walk, they reached another door. Clesary opened it, walking through it.

"Sorry to interrupt your meal chief. There's a guest here to speak with you."

Past the door was an area of pure green. There was a wide pasture, having some flowers sprinkled throughout. There was a fence, several feet away which kept the area confined.

However, what would catch the eye first was a table, one that was completely in contrast to the natural world around it. Sitting at that table was a man and a young boy. They shared many features such as amber eyes and brown skin. It was clear they were father and son.

Shock. That was a fair word to describe the look on the chief's face. He was sitting at a table, the surrounding area was a meadow, with lots of greenery and flowers sprinkled about. In the chief's hand was a fork, having a slab of meat on it. His mouth was open, showing he was about to take a bite, but his hand was frozen in place. The man's deep-set amber eyes were locked on not Clesary, but the one who stood beside her.

"Ashur? But your eye…" As he voiced the name, his expression changed to one of confusion as he lowered his fork, placing it back on his plate. He stood, his gaze squinted at Ashur, who simply nodded silently in return to his words, to confirm it was really him.

Then, the man opened his mouth, however a squeaky voice erupted instead. "Who are you? Don't interrupt dinner with father, you big meanie!"

All heads in attendance swiveled over to the source of the squeaky voice. It belonged to the other person seated at the table, the young boy. He shared the chief's amber eyes and rounded eyebrows. His cheeks were puffy, as he fixed a glare at the intruder.

The first person to answer his question was the man the boy had called out, Ashur.

"Don't worry Cassian. I don't mean to intrude, I just needed to speak with your father briefly."

"Huh? How do you know my name?"

With Ashur calling his name, his frustration was quickly shoved aside by confusion. The boy titled his head to the side, his forehead scrunching up as he pondered how a person he didn't recognize could know his own name.

The boy's father was the one to provide an answer however. "This is your cousin, Ashur. He left shortly after you were born."

"Oh wow, I didn't know I had any of those."

Cassian's eyes widened and they shone with excitement at the sudden revelation. He couldn't have known that his innocent response brought a sharp jab of pain onto Ashur. It was to be expected.

Leaving the village meant ex-communication in many aspects. Not being spoken of was one of the conditions. He'd nearly forgotten due to the reception he'd been given but that was only due to his blessing. The sun's covering. A blessing believed to derive from their clan's source of worship as well as life.

"Yeah. I'm your cousin. Also, it's good to see you chief."

"Well, what did you want to talk to me ab-"

Halfway through his sentence the chief paused. He then slowly reached toward the table, which was covered in food on several plates. He grabbed a napkin before taking a few steps toward Ashur, handing it to him.

"What's this for?"

"Your nose."

At the man's words, Ashur instinctually reached up with his hand, pressing his finger to it. He then lowered his hand, seeing a scarlet red on it.

Blood? He thought confusedly. On his face, blood was slowly trickling down his nose. As he pressed the napkin under it, the chief turned around towards Cassian. He got on one knee, a bright smile on his face. "Now, I and Ashur are going inside to talk for a moment. I'll be back soon, my son."

"Okay, but be quick or the food will get cold!"

After placing his hand on the boy's head, and ruffling his hair a bit he stood back up. Now, alongside Ashur, they walked inside the house. Clesary stayed outside, starting to speak with Cassian.

Now, with the door closed, leaving only Ashur and the Chief in the space they could talk. Ashur was the first to, as he had many things to discuss, the foremost being-

"That was odd. Do you know why my nose started bleeding? That's never happened to me before without it being from a blow in battle."

A sigh fell from the man's lips.

"Yes. It's because of my son's blessing. To summarize it briefly, if you tell a lie in his presence you get a kind of penalty. It can vary, from a bloody nose, to getting a sudden illness that no medicine can treat, or in one case, the next step you take shatters your entire leg bone."

"Wait, so that means…"

"Yes. He's a mutant. You know what my blessing is, and since his mother didn't have one it couldn't have derived from her. He was gifted a power that isn't hereditary or an offshoot of mine."

At this point, Ashur's nose wasn't leaking anymore so he lowered the bloodied napkin. His face was contemplative, his lips pursed together tightly.

"Do you resent me Ashur?"

"Huh?" The sudden question snapped him out of his thoughts.

At this moment, the chief's face was extremely serious. The lighthearted and joyful attitude he'd held at the dinner table, when speaking to his son was long gone.

There was a sort of intensity behind his gaze. Not the aggressive kind, implicating a threat, it was one holding many memories and thoughts behind it.

If Ashur answered yes, he wouldn't have blamed him. After all, it was his own carelessness in the first place that allowed Boreas to kill his brother, the previous chief. If he'd been more attentive, then Ashur would have still been the heir to the clan, and his father would have been safe and sound.

"No. I don't resent you, chief. It simply…bothers me. Not that you're in the position you are but the fact that I was unable to do a thing. I didn't make it in time to save my father, to stop Boreas and lately… It feels like everything I hold dear is constantly slipping through my fingers… That's all."

Ashur didn't register the reasoning for being asked such a question. The chief had thought back to their initial meeting and concluded that the lie he'd told was from Ashur saying it was good to see him.

He assumed there was resentment or possibly a sense of jealousy. He didn't expect such a thing from Ashur, seeing as how he was always the honest type, but since they hadn't seen each other in roughly six years he wasn't sure if the man had changed or not.

"Is that the truth?" The chief wouldn't be able to confirm if the man's response would be the whole truth, as his son, which could serve as a sort of lie detector, was outside but he asked nonetheless.

"Yes."

"Hmm. Well, before we talk more about what you came for, I want you to do something for me."

"What?"

"Call me by my name okay? We are blood after all."

"Oh. Okay….. Charon."

Charon made the request with a hearty smile and while Ashur obliged, he hesitated. It wasn't that he'd never called his uncle by that name, it was merely that addressing him as that when he was the chief was typically disrespectful. Apparently his uncle didn't care however.

Now, with a content look on Charon's face, the two exchanged a word or two, the consensus being that they should talk at length in his office room.

"So, my brother killed Ultri and Severost."

"How?"

There was a combination of shock and confusion in the older man's voice. The notion of not one, but two, of the stronger members of their clan being killed was not pleasant news. To make matters worse, he had been in contact with Severost through letters less than a week ago.

"That we're unsure of. It seemed a battle took place, one where they both ended up dead. Technically my brother hasn't been proved to be the killer, but he was the last to be with them and given his track record with those belonging to our clan, it seems guaranteed he was at least involved."

Charon had been sitting back in his office chair, but as Ashur spoke he leaned in. His hands were under his chin, and his face was hardened, listening to the details with much attentiveness.

"That's…truly regrettable." Those were the few words he was able to muster in response as he clenched his teeth. A mixture of rage and sorrow was plastered onto his face.

The pair of Ultri and Severost. While they left the village, they were doing so under assignments from the chief. That meant they weren't ex-communicated from the clan. That, and being a member of the chief's family were the only two ways one could leave the village and not be renounced from returning.

Ashur balled his fist up. Saying the words out loud only assured him that his current course of action was correct. He was slightly conflicted when Claire had brought the ultimatum to him, but now he was sure of his decision.

"I agree it's regrettable but that's not the main reason for me coming here as news about that incident will be wide-spread soon through the papers. I came to ask for Astrea's blade."