Chapter 32: The Village (5)

The sun which had been a bright yellow, looking over everything going on in the day, was slowly changing into a deep orange.

The shift signaled the end of the day was near, and many of the villagers who'd been moving about throughout the day started to leave, heading back to their homes. The only two without a destination in mind were John and Sherryl. They weren't completely aimless, however, as they were currently shouting the name of someone in particular.

"Annerose! Where are you?"

As John screamed out, the only thing he heard back was the whistle of the wind.

After Marion had walked away, leaving him and Annerose in a state of chaotic emotions, she flew, zipping away, seemingly toward the village; however now that he was in it he had no clue where she'd gone.

Sherryl was beside John, her head turning quickly as she tried her best to find the steel spirit. They had been searching for a good while, they couldn't say how long they had, but it was long enough to effectively tire them out.

Sherryl released a frustrated sigh. "I don't think I'll be much help. Couldn't you just sense her at this point? You are contracted together after all."

"That's the first thing I thought of doing but it doesn't work. It feels like she's purposefully blocked the connection. That she's choosing to hide away…"

John couldn't help but curse to himself. He felt completely useless. Unable to properly admonish Marion, and not looking reliable enough for Annerose to talk to. It was a losing battle on two fronts.

The two stood in silence, as both had given up on calling for Annerose, given the two factors such as difficulty physically seeing and sensing.

"Hey, Sherryl?" John was the first to break the silence, as he slowly lowered, sitting on the ground. He leaned his back up against the village well, where they'd stopped searching by. Sherryl also sat down. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me about Marion."

"What about him?"

"Just anything."

"...Well, he's the acting director of the defense corp here. He's a stubborn guy who is very set on rules and stability yet he's genuinely kind too. I mean, you should see him with his little sisters." A light chuckle fell from Sherryl's lips as she imagined the scene. How they would fall all over him and despite his embarrassment, wouldn't shoo them away. She stopped chuckling the moment her mind naturally recounted their previous encounter, however.

"Anyway, he isn't a bad guy. Don't hate him, okay?"

John was silent, as her plea reached his ears.

It wasn't that he hated Marion necessarily, he didn't think he was allowed to, given who he was related to, Mary. He didn't mind being blamed or even yelled at due to his failure back then, but to yell at Annerose, who had to be experiencing the most pain of all, was too cruel.

From what John knew, she was contracted to their family for generations, so if anyone's words could have cut her, it would have been Marions, since he was from that same bloodline.

"I…don't hate him. I just can't let what he said to Annerose slide. It wasn't right."

"I can understand where you're coming from but since I don't know his full perspective I can't pick a side. I mean who am I to say that either of you is right or wrong? The main person this concerns isn't here after all."

She was right. Annerose, the center of everything currently being discussed, was gone. It frustrated John.

If she was here, then he could at least understand a bit better. All he could go on was Marion, as well as his own perspective on the steel spirit. He never thought about how she saw herself.

Given her reaction, he started to suspect it wasn't too high, especially when looking back on her history with past masters. He needed to find her.

With a grunt, John stood; his mind was made up. "I'm going to find Ashur. I'll ask him for advice."

"Okay. It's been an eventful day so I'm thinking I'll head home. I wish you luck with tracking her down and just find me if you need anything."

"Alright. Thanks for everything today, it was nice speaking with you, Sherryl."

"Same here." She said with a wide-tooth grin.

With the two parting ways, John set his sights on a hill. On that hill was a house.

Unlike the ones surrounding him, which were built with mud and straw, the one on the hill was made of brick. Just because mud and straw were the materials used to make the rest of the homes didn't mean they appeared run down or even dirty, they were very cleanly looking, it was just that there was a clear difference between it and the house on the hill.

As he scaled the hill, a thought went through his head. He remembered Marion had mentioned going to see Ashur. He was curious, did the two talk, and if so did everything go smoothly? That question would no doubt be answered soon, as he was making his way toward where he knew Ashur to be.

"So, you must be John?"

The unfamiliar voice that called out to him belonged to a brown-haired man. His sharp brown eyes were fixed on John, who had just reached the top of the hill. The man was wearing a black vest, and a brown belt with a sheath attached on his hip. He was clearly a guard of some kind. His having a scar over his nose made him stand out if the garb itself wouldn't.

"Yes, I'm John. I entered the village with Ashur. I had wrapped up some business and came here looking for him."

"Outsiders can't enter the chief's home. If you're looking for Ashur you'll have to wait until he's done spea-"

"It's all right." The one who interrupted the guard's harsh denial of entry to John was another unfamiliar voice. A man stepped forward, coming from inside the house. He had jet-black hair with a hint of gray that was tied back into a ponytail as well as deep-amber eyes. John couldn't help but find the man to look familiar.

The guard, who had a look of scorn on his face previously found that expression replaced with a brightened one. "Ah, Chief." He then lowered his head, moving out of his way.

'So, this is the chief? That makes sense why I thought he looked familiar. He's Ashur's uncle!' John thought.

"It's nice to meet you, Chief. I'm John, Ashur's partner." He reached his hand, his head lowered slightly as a sign of respect.

"Ah, don't call me that! As a friend of one of my family members, feel free to call me by name. It's Charon! Don't forget it!" The man gave John a hearty handshake in return. Surprisingly, there was a good amount of force behind it, which made John wobble slightly.

He then raised his head, an awkward smile on his face at the man's request.

It wasn't that he was against calling him by his name, it was that the guard who was standing behind the Chief was shooting daggers at him with his eyes.

If it was jealousy at the opportunity to be informal or simply John being a magnet of disdain for any and all guards were unclear.

"I won't forget it. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I was looking for Ashur."

"Right. He left a little bit ago. I sent him to the house where the second-born child of the chief stays."

"Ah okay. Where would that be?"

Charon pointed to his left, down the hill. John tracked where his finger led and to his surprise he saw a house, not like the ones made of mud and straw but of brick.

"Thank you." John said with a slight bow.

"No need to be so formal!" Charon said, giving a hard slap to John's back. He chuckled lightly seeing John's eyes widen from the impact.

"Of course. Well, I'll be going now."

As he scaled down the hill, the opposing energies of Charon, which were bright and calm, to the guard's angry one was an odd sensation. Regardless, John left and eventually made it to the house. It wasn't that far of a journey and now that he turned to look back at where he came from, he realized the chief's home was very close.

He couldn't have known but the reason for their distance being so short was so the second borne could always look over, seeing the height difference as a representation of the levels of their importance.

As he raised his hand to knock, the door was opened. Ashur was behind it, and his face was noticeably downcast.

"Is everything all right?" John asked.

"Pretty much. I'm just tired, it's been a very long day."

"That we can both agree on." John released a sigh, giving an agreeing notion as he stepped inside the home.

The interior design was very simple, with not much being left to the imagination. There was a wide area that John could only assume was the living room. There were a couple of beanbags in the middle of it, along with a small table. To the right of the living room was an open kitchen while to the left was a hallway. It wasn't a long one, as when John walked over to look down it he quickly saw there were just two rooms, being on opposite sides.

"This isn't a bad place to stay for lodgings."

"Agreed. It's more than I deserve really…"

Ashur's voice trailed off along with him as he started walking down the hallway. He continued speaking. "So, this room on the right is the bathroom, the other is a single bedroom but don't worry, there are two separate beds."

"That's good. I don't think we're close enough to cuddle yet."

Ashur chuckled lightly at the serious and almost solemn expression on John's face as he made his comment.

"Sounds like we're on the same page. Well, if you don't mind I'm turning in for the night."

"No, I think I'm right with you, for sure. It's been a day for me too."

The two of them leaped, perfectly in sync, landing in their respective beds. The sun soon fell completely. John, during those passing minutes, was laying back down, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

"Hey, John?"

"Yes?"

"Where did Annerose go?"

"That's surprising you could tell… She talked to Mary's brother, Marion. After, she ran away."

"I'm guessing he didn't say the kindest things huh?"

"Nope. Not at all. I want to be angrier with him, and while I'm not pleased I can't bring myself to do so. It was our mistake that caused everything to play out how it did after all."

"You got that right. I had talked to him and some things were sorted out a bit. I think that's what's needed between you two. A good talking."

After Ashur's suggestion, silence consumed the room. It lasted for a couple of seconds before John broke it."Well, given his attitude and open malice directed toward me I'm unsure a talk would do much."

"Hmm. From my understanding of him, he wouldn't lash out in blind rage, at least physically. So I think you'd have nothing to lose from having a conversation with him. At least try, you know?"

"Sure, I could do that. I just… want to make things right. You get it, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do."

John smiled. He was truly glad for Ashur. He wasn't sure if he would be as level-headed as he was now if he wasn't around. The man was a truly trusted comrade and maybe even a brother. John never had one of those, as he was an only child but he always imagined it would be something like this.

Where he could bring his thoughts and worries to them, and get an honest response back. It helped to have someone who would listen to him, and ultimately, want the best for him.

With relief washing over him he slowly started drifting into sleep. However, that's where his relief would end, as in his dreams, without warning or even predictability on a day-to-day basis, nightmares would come.