51: The Crimson Blades

Huh? Where am I? Why am I back at my parent's mansions? I slowly get up from my old bed and can feel that I'm short again and that my skin is back to how it used to look when I was a human.

"This can't be right! Did I really go back to my old world?" I ask out loud as I walk out of my old bedroom and go downstairs.

As I approach the kitchen carefully, I can actually hear the voice of my parents.

"Mom? Dad?" I ask as I walk into the kitchen.

"It's quite splendid that we moved on from that troublesome boy! He was a street rat until the very end!" My mom concludes her voice full of relief.

"You're right! It was foolish of us to expect anything more of from him! He was useless and his life wasn't worth anything to us!" My dad agrees as he smiles.

"From what the cops said from the reports he fell to his death! Haha, I wonder what was the last face he made when he realized it was the end?" My mom cackles as every word hits my heart like a dagger.

"You guys really feel that way? Hey! Can you even hear me? I'm trying to talk to you?" I yell as it's clear they don't even notice I'm here.

"He made his choice and now we have to make ours! Isn't that right Benjamin?" My dad points out as he picks up a baby that looks like a younger version of me.

"WAAAA!" The baby cries as my mom cradles him with so much love.

"It's okay, you'll always be better than him! Caden is dead to us!" My mom emphasizes as she tries to comfort the baby.

"NOOOOO! How could you do this to me!" I yell as I walk over to them trying to get their attention.

"Crow… " A voice says.

"Huh?" I ask.

"CROW!" Mari shouts as she shakes me.

"Oh… It was just a really bad dream." I sigh as I try to process what I just saw.

"Are you okay? You look like crap." Mari points out as she shits on my bedside.

"I'm fine. Just haven't had a dream like that in a while!" I lie as I really don't want Mari to worry about me.

"Don't you dare lie to me you're crying right now!" Mari calls out as she wipes my tears off of my face.

"Damn, I can't even hide it this time… " I reply.

"You shouldn't feel like you have to hide anything from me! It doesn't matter if you're at your lowest or weakest, I'll always be there for you! Without you and the rest of our little family, there's honestly no reason for me to be here… " Mari discloses her voice full of vulnerability.

"Mari… Please don't say things like that!" I reply as I grab her shoulders and hug her.

"O-Okay… I'll try not to as long as you don't hide things from me." Mari requests her voice full of warmth.

"I promise I won't!" I reassure her as all of sudden the door to my room flings open.

"Mari what's taking so–" Layla shouts as she walks in on our intimate moment.

"I swear none of you know the first thing about knocking first!" I shout as I can't help but feel embarrassed.

"Oh please, you two can play house when we aren't on a job! My brother is requesting that all of us come downstairs to meet the guild!" Layla informs us as she casually walks out of the door.

Mari and I make it downstairs and the guild is finally alive. All around us, there are people bantering, drinking, playing card games, and some are even knocked out on the tables.

"I told you guys they'd be back! I probably should introduce you to some of the most important people here!" Lando suggests as we all follow him.

We go down a long corridor and enter a very spacious room that has a strong perfume scent all around it.

"Sheesh, I thought Mari used too much perfume!" I remark as I cover my nose.

"Marda! Are you in here? I'm showing the Chosen Children and my sister around!" Landon calls out casually.

Out of the cloud perfume, a tall beautiful Mardian woman approaches us as shoots more perfume on her.

"Mmmm, now these three certainly smell way better than most Frodians! If this is what all half-bloods smell like count me in!" Marda compliments as she starts sniffing me, Sachi, and Mari.

"Okay… This is really weird." Sachi observes.

"Marda cut it out, you're going to scare them away!" Landon orders his voice full of annoyance.

"Sorry, sorry! I really can't help myself sometimes! Welcome to the Crimson Blades Chosen Children and oh yeah you definitely are Landon's sister the resemblance is quite strong!" Marda notes as she exudes a very eccentric vibe.

"Don't let her weirdness fool you, Marda here is actually my superior and is a captain of our guild! Having her on the front lines always means the rest of us get to take a break here and there!" Landon claims as I can sense that she has immense strength within her.

"Aww, don't go bigging me up like that! We all know Jax and General Daris would make me look like a mere novice in comparison." Marda replies her voice full of humbleness.

"In a mountain full of monsters, you're still a monster too Marda." Landon compliments.

"This perfume smells so good! Do you have any I could borrow?" Mari asks as she embraces the strong smells.

"Here, take some of these! I don't use these ones in particular anyway!" Marda insists as she hands Mari two bottles of perfume.

"I feel like I'm going to suffocate… " Layla gasps as she covers her nose and mouth from the extreme smells.

"You'll never catch a date or a husband wearing that much perfume!" Landon criticizes as he points his finger at her.

"Don't get mad at me just because you're too boring to catch a date yourself!" Marda replies as Layla laughs at Landon.

"Ugh, whatever! I just brought them here so they knew who you were, I'm outta here!" Landon shouts his voice full of embarrassment as he leaves the room.

"Anyway, if any of you kids ever need anything during your stay here just let me know! I'm usually busy on the frontlines but if you see me don't hesitate to ask!" Marda reassures as she goes back into the cloud of perfume.

We all run out of the room finally getting away from the clouds of perfume.

"She was interesting!" Mari remarks as she is clearly happy with her new perfume.

"Ugh, I might have to hit a bath after that!" Layla comments as she sniffs her clothing.

"That woman must take everything to the most extreme… " Sachi notes.

"I thought I was gonna suffocate in there, thankfully my Frodian blood got rid of my asthma… " I sigh as we all catch our breaths.

"As you can see, she's quite a lot to handle but she is reliable. She was the one who really taught me all of the ropes when I first got here! But enough about her, next you guys need to meet Jax!" Landon discloses.

We go further down the corridor and enter a room with a giant pot and a group of Bracadiers making weapons, drinking, and talking amongst each other.

"AYE!" Landon shouts at the Bracadiers.

"AYE!" They all reply as it seems to be some type of greeting for Crimson Blade members.

"Any of you guys seen Jax around?" Landon asks as he looks around the room.

"He's in the back working out!" A Bracadier woman answers.

"In this cold? He really is maniac sometimes, put on your coats guys!" Landon commands as all of us head outside to the back of the Guild.

We reach a training yard with a bunch of targets and dummies. An enormous Bracadier man who would even make Jack look small is swinging a very large axe.

"Bracadier Art: Swing of Flames!" The Bracadier man commands as he shoots a giant ring of fire out of his axe which burns some of the snow below him.

"Putting in work as usual I see, Jax!" Landon shouts.

"You know it, Lando! Ah, are these the Chosen Children I've been hearing about?" Jax asks as he plants his axe into the snow.

"These three are, this Scavian girl is actually my sister!" Landon confirms as Jax takes a long look at all of us.

"Wow, these little pups really stopped the Goblin attacks and put an end to Silver Fang? Just goes to show you can't judge a Frodian by their appearances!" Jax notes as it's clear he's not very impressed by how we look.

"You just think any kid is weak! After all, it took me 2 years to finally gain your respect!" Landon jokes as they both laugh.

"You had no weight on you when I met you, could you really blame me?" Jax replies.

"Fair enough." Landon concurs.

"I deal with all of the close-ranged fighters in the guild! I guess you could say I'm usually the first one who fights the enemy on the front lines! While you're here try to learn as much as you can and don't think you're above any duties. Everyone has to do their part of the guild to continue to run this smoothly." Jax explains to all of us in a patronizing tone.

"This guy is like the opposite of Jack… " Layla whispers.

"That's all we wanted though! Excuse us." Landon says as we all head back inside the guild.

It's now lunchtime and we're sitting at the table eating and receiving a lecture from Landon.

"OKAY! Wow, I thought Kira was bad. We get it, Landon!" Layla snaps.

"It's just important that all of you know this stuff! Being in a guild isn't a walk in the park and I have to be sure to guys understand that before you head back home." Landon responds.

Suddenly, a Windian girl busts through the doors of the guild and runs straight to us.

"Huh? Dalia, what's the hurry?" Landon asks.

"Captain Landon, my father is requesting that you and the Chosen Children head to front lines right now! There's a bunch of Colossi attacking the gate and we need as much help as possible!" Dalia explains as she's breathing really hard.

"Understood! Alright, you guys heard the girl! Time to head to front lines!" Landon orders as we get up from our table.