Chapter 28: The Village (1)

Now that their heart-to-heart had reached a satisfying conclusion the two started making their way through the forest.

The forest appeared pretty normal at first however the more he looked he could spot some strange things.

He felt as if he would occasionally meet a pair of tiny eyes, however the second he'd blink they would vanish. He spotted a pair in some nearby bushes and then further away by a tree trunk only to reach it further up the path to see nothing.

It was strange, and unfortunately with Annerose gone, he couldn't ask any questions along that line. Sure he could've asked Ashur but he was sure those sorts of questions would've been answered soon anyway.

He couldn't explain why but he also felt as if the more they progressed through the forest, the hotter things felt.

It wasn't just the temperature, he felt the bits of the forest with bright sunlight peeking through it to be especially heated.

Ashur had a smile on his face, his gaze drifting from tree to glade of grass.

John recognized the look in his eye. It was the same kind he had when thinking about some of the few good memories of his, such as the entire town's surprise birthday celebration he had when turning 10, or when he'd first started training with Zubec.

Eventually, after Ashur finished scanning the surroundings his eyes naturally flowed straight forward. That's when he saw it, the signs of the end of the forest, the last two trees that served as markers.

He felt his chest start to beat faster, a rictus of excitement and fear swirling in his chest. He didn't know what to expect, especially since he hadn't been here in a little over 4 years.

Regardless, he knew if he was going through with the mission to take down Boreas he needed this.

He had a duty and this experience would be the extra push to fully settle his mind and heart. He took the final step, passing the last two trees.

He was home.

*

In a wide spacious room, having walls of wood and doors made of stone, there was a woman with deep brown skin.

She was standing in the middle of the room, her hands covering her eyes. Her gray hair was tied into a bun, a smirk on her lips as she spoke.

"3…2…1… Ready or not here I come."

She then removed her hands, revealing her dark green eyes that were slightly squinted as she scanned the room.

The normal places such as under the bed and behind some human-sized vases were checked with gusto but her target was noticeably not there.

Following a brief scan of the closet which also proved fruitless she turned her sights elsewhere or rather, outside the room

After opening the door to the room she took a couple of steps forward before suddenly stopping.

She found herself standing in a long hallway. One that had several paintings on the walls, a singular desk was in the space, no chair being under it, however.

If she were to continue walking forward, she could either turn left and walk down the staircase or go right, which would take her to the office room.

There was no reason to do such a thing however as a pair of tiny feet were poking out from underneath the singular desk.

The woman tried her best to hold back a snort at the sight. A whimsical look was on her face as she took a slow step forward.

"Hmm. I wonder where the young master could be…" She paused.

A shriek sounded out the moment she angled her head under the table.

A young boy, with dark brown skin, having red eyes wide filled with a mixture of excitement and surprise met her gaze.

The boy quickly scurried, trying to slip under her legs to escape, however, she scooped him up, tossing him slightly in the air before catching him.

His attempt to escape had been as poorly executed as his choice of a hiding spot. He had a slightly frustrated cheek puff adorning his face as he whined.

"Aw, Clesary how did you find me!?"

"I have my ways, Young Master. I have my ways."

"You always say that but I tried really hard to hide this time. I wanted to win it!"

Despite the boys' complaints, his face was all smiles. He clearly enjoyed the game even if he could never "win it" exactly.

"I'm sure you'll do better next time. Now, I believe it should be time for lunch soon. Do you need my help getting ready?"

With an adamant shake of his head as a response, she slowly lowered him to the ground. The second her hold on him released, he bolted, dashing toward the room she had just exited, entering it.

Clesary raised her hand, combing through her gray hair with a thoughtful look on her face.

That boy is like a carbon copy of his Father… I used to play similar games with him when he was young. Of course, the same could be said for the other young master…

She stood in silence, waiting patiently for the child to finish getting dressed.

Surprisingly, within about a minute of waiting, the door opened once more, the young boy who'd previously been wearing nothing but a plain white t-shirt and shorts, was still wearing a white t-shirt but now a pair of brown pants were his choice of lower-wear.

Once again, Clesary found herself biting back a laugh at the child.

She knew she should've dressed him, however, his father requested he be given more autonomy so she submitted.

With his small hand in hers, they walked through the hall, turning to head down the flight of stairs to the left.

Two men stood at the bottom. They both donned black vests, having a brown belt with a sheathe attached, holding a small blade in it. Their pants were beige colored.

"I presume the Young Master picked this outfit." The man on the right said with a smile.

"Yep. Do you like it?" The boy asked, his eyes glimmering with anticipation for the response.

The man, wanting to pick the safe answer, responded.

"I like the shirt. Now, let's hurry along, the chief is waiting."

Previously when speaking, the man had a glint of amusement in his voice, however, when answering there was a noticeable quiver in his voice.

"Okay." The boy said happily. His lips were curled into a smile, a sign he was completely unaware of the slight energy shift in the room.

The man who hadn't spoken, had a nervous look on his face as he gazed at the child however, when the boy turned to look at him it quickly morphed into that displaying a wide grin.

He then turned, and opened the door to the house, letting the child skip through it joyfully.

With a respectful nod being traded between the two men and Clesary, they exited the room as well, leaving her staring at the now-closed wooden door.

She released a sigh, a slightly perturbed look in her eye.

I wonder... why was that child given such an ability? They call them blessings, but in his case, it seems to be more of a curse… One that can't help but keep distance between those around him. Such a shame.

Shoving away her sorrows at the young master's situation, her mind became focused on her next task. She had to go further into the village to procure an item for the chief after all. With her hand on the nob of the door, she turned, prepared to make her trek.

***

Ashur walked along the dusty path toward his old village, his heart pounded in his chest. It had been years since he had last set foot in this place, and he didn't know what to expect.

The memories flooded back to him, the sights, the sounds, the smells of his childhood. He wondered if anything had changed or better yet, what the villagers reaction to seeing him would be. He pushed aside his doubts and walked on.

John was walking alongside him in silence, eyes wide as he scanned the surroundings. He hadn't seen a place like it in a long time. The houses were made of mud and straw, a singular dirt road seemed to be the preferred location to travel through in the village, given the countless imprints of feet on it. Ashur smirked, recognizing everything to be the same as before.

There were children running and playing, women chatting and laughing, and men going about their business. It all felt familiar, yet strange at the same time.

Ashur walked down the main street, and as he did, people began to notice him. The sequence of events seemed like a blur to him, as several villagers walked up to him. Some held gazes of shock and joy, while others had more surprised and wary ones at his sudden reappearance.

They asked simple questions, such as where he'd been and how he was doing. He answered them with similar responses, the answer to where he'd been being vague, such as "lots of places", the response to the how he was doing question being, "I've been doing good." Both John and himself of course knew the latter to be a lie.

Going into the specifics of his hardships, especially with those who, while familiar, not the closest would be pointless.

Occasionally, a statement about how much he'd grown since they last saw him would be thrown around.

John during each and every interaction watched on silently, with a somewhat clueless look on his face.

With each conversation between Ashur and a villager, he'd expected to be brought up as well, or at least be spoken to since he was next to the main man but such a time never came. Each and every person was completely focused on Ashur when speaking, and while a curious gaze may have been shot his way once or twice, a direct word was never spoken.

Soon, and much to the delight of John, who was forced to stand idle for several conversations, the many people who almost lined up to speak to the man had filtered away, leaving just the two of them.

A sigh fell from Ashur's lips.

Now that the excitement was over he could reflect.

A significant part of him expected to not be met with so much kindness and hospitality.

The possibility of him being met with scrutinizing and suspicious gazes was there, since he had left the village all those years ago without a word, however, that possibility hadn't become a reality. So far, he'd only encountered loving words and curiosity.

"Well, that was interesting." John said in a reserved tone.

"How so?" Ashur asked with an eyebrow raised.

"To see you be given such a reception after being gone for all these years."

"Yeah. I was honestly surprised myself."

Ashur paused and right as he prepared to speak again, to shift the conversation to what they needed to do next, a voice cut from behind.

"Excuse me?"

Ashur as well as John turned around to face the voice aimed in their direction. In front of them was a girl. She had curly hair that reached down to her shoulders.

On the top left side of her hair was a patch of white, completely foreign to the emerald shade that filled the rest of it.

Her irises compared to the majority of her hair, excluding the white patch, were light green, and the black around them gave her gaze a look that made it obvious who she was addressing, Ashur. She had high cheekbones as well as full lips, her brown skin was smooth and beautiful.

"What is it?" Ashur asked, a curious head tilt adjourning his question. He wasn't surprised that someone else had spoken to him, it was the girl herself.

The one constant with the previous people who approached him was they were vaguely familiar.

He recognized one of the people who spoke to him, a woman with deep brown hair to be the village baker. This person in front of him on the other hand was a complete stranger in his mind.

"My name is Sherryl and I recognized you, you're Ashur! I just wanted to say that you're amazing! I've followed as well as known about you for a while. You're the second person in our clan's entire history to have the blessing of the sun. I admire you no, adore you rather!" As she spoke her voice was full of passion, her eyes staying glued on Ashur completely.

He found himself stumped by her words.

The look of pure infatuation in her eyes while not completely unnerving, definitely didn't help him feel comfortable. He released a forced chuckle. "Well, thanks for the praise. It's nice to meet you, Sherryl."

In all honesty, he hated the way she spoke about him. It was what he'd been used to his entire life.

He wasn't special, he believed that truly however anytime he'd voice that belief it would fall on deaf ears or be admonished. "You're the chief's son so that's nonsense!" Or "You're so humble. Don't be though, you have our clan's coveted blessing!" He had heard similar praises being lobbed at him his entire life.

Despite his frustration at that treatment, he still made sure to be kind. It wasn't her fault she viewed him so highly, and despite his negative emotions toward the treatment he was given, there was no need to make her the recipient of those said emotions.

"Wow, Ashur, I didn't know you were so popular." John said, barely able to get the words out through his cheeky smile.

"Yeah yeah." A light-hearted smirk lay on his face as he rolled his one good eye, getting a brief glance at the sky which was clear and sunny as ever.

The girl's outgoing and somewhat passionate demeanor slowly faded, being replaced with a more reserved one as she started fiddling with her fingers. She lowered her head.

"I was also wondering… If I could ask you something else?"

"Sure." He said with a smile.

"W-will you marry me?" Her voice was brimming with uncertainty as the words left her lips. Her eyes were shut tightly and her cheeks were flushed red.

"...…."

He was speechless, and a blank look flashed across his face.

Literally, anything else coming from her mouth would've shocked him less than those four words she uttered.

He didn't know how to respond to the question. This girl who he'd met a little under a minute ago was trying to get him to propose to her.

He found himself racking his brain quickly, trying to trace the series of events that could have led him to his current predicament.

John, who was standing a bit behind him had his jaw almost down to the floor in shock at what he was witnessing. He had been caught off guard as well, not as badly as Ashur, who was clearly the focus of the conversation but caught off guard just the same.

Noticing that his face had a somewhat delayed reaction to her words, she continued.

"I know I'm a little younger than you but still, age shouldn't matter, especially when I look so mature!" As she spoke, Sheryll raised her hands, going from her breasts and sliding them all the way to her hips. Her cheeks were flushed red as she tried to accentuate her curves, she was clearly out of her comfort zone while doing the action.

"Well…I mean…how old are you?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

What he just said unfortunately wasn't what he had meant to. His brain, in the suddenness of the event, panicked, unable to formulate a productive sentence.

He had meant to decline her offer, and not because she was ugly, she was the opposite in fact. He just knew that no matter what she said his answer would've remained the same.

"I'm 17… but like I said age shouldn't matter, right?"

Ashur tried his best to sound gentle as he responded. "Thanks for the offer, it seemed to have taken a lot for you to ask me but I had already sworn in my heart who I'd be wed to."

Sherryl, whose face was already flushed red only became more so to the point where John wondered if she was in good health or not.

"W-who!?" She asked, her voice raising an entire octave.

"She's gone now… Passed a couple of months back. I'm not ready to move on yet, nor do I think I ever will."

Sherryl's eyebrows had been slanted in a mixture of jealousy along with embarrassment but after hearing his explanation they softened.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that." Her voice held regret in it. Maybe not for her initial question, but her reaction to the answer he'd given.

Now unsure of what to do, her hands slowly grasped each other, and she started fiddling with her fingers, her eyes were glued to the ground.

Well…this was awkward. Ashur thought to himself.

Before the silence which was almost overwhelming could continue, John stepped forward, reaching out his hand.

"My name's John by the way. You said your name was Sherryl right?"

She perked up, quickly reaching to shake his hand. "Yes, it is. It's nice to meet you, John."

"Likewise. I'm a little curious about what your thoughts on the clan as a whole are. It's my first time visiting so I'd like to hear whatever you could tell me about this place."

Ashur, if not for his stoic nature, would've pumped his fist through the air in relief.

The awkward tension had been absolved in an instant thanks to John's maneuver. While his partner wasn't the best at eavesdropping, he was definitely good at finding compromises in certain situations like these.

"I have lots of thoughts honestly. Am I right to assume Ashur gave you a tour of the whole village?"

"Nope. We just got here after all. I've seen the entrance but that's about it."

"Understood, well if it's all right with you I'd like to show you around." With that last bit, about showing around she shot a glance toward Ashur. It was a curious one as if she either wanted his permission or even for him to tag along.

"Well I was going to head to the chief's house, as I need to speak with him but you can go with Sherryl if you want." After his response, John gave his own.

"Sure. I think it'd be nice to tour this place, it would also be nice to get to know you better."

Sherryl, while smiling still wasn't able to hide the slight disappointment at Ashur's words. She clearly wanted him to tag along, however, she turned her gaze fully to John as she spoke next. "Agreed. I'd love to hear stories about your travels, also a little bit about where you came from and all."

With their consensus being reached the two started to walk deeper into the village. Ashur however, turned the opposite way, his eyes being locked on a house. It was on a small hill.

He clenched his fist, prepared for what he would experience upon reaching the location.