15 Regroup

Daric calms down from blind panic, leaving him shaking and crying. I embrace him. Guilt washes over me for making him relive his personal nightmare. I hold him tighter, not asking for forgiveness because I can't forgive myself.

I'm finding it harder to remain emotionally distant. Realizing it's easier when the closest thing to a stable relationship I've been in was with a drunk psychiatrist. And he's getting paid for it. The short time I've spent with these children touched something in me I thought I killed long ago. Feeling the pang in my heart from Daric's cries leaves me fearful that I'll lose track of reality.

By now his trembling subsides, but I continue to hold him whispering words of strength and encouragement. His tears wet the front of my dress. We remain this way until he stops crying. When he finishes, I wipe his tears.

Chocking on guilt, I have a hard time saying what I want to. "I am so sorry you had to go through that," I push out my tight throat.

"It's not your fault." He replies, his voice small.

I don't say anything. There is little point in arguing. "It's okay," I say pet his head gently.

"I'm not a child," although he says that, he doesn't stop me. He leans back into me, and we sit there on the forest floor a while longer. In a voice so small, I'm not entirely sure I didn't imagine it. I hear, "thank you." I smile and unable to resist when he's so adorable, I kiss the top of his head and continue soothing him.

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Daric feels Emma kiss the top of his head and almost cries again. Her gentle soothing reminds him of his mother; before everything went wrong. He's forgotten what she looks like but recalls in her lucid moments she was kind and gentle. At times, he can remember her humming him to sleep on the nights the drunks got too loud, held him close when the nights got cold, and smile although times were tough. Unfortunately, the few good memories are often drowned out by the horror of that night. Memories get blurry with time, but never will he forget the day his mother died for him. As his world crumbled around him, she still smiled as she said everything is as it should.

He may not recall what she looks like, but he will always remember the warmth she had when she held him. The same warmth Emma has.

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Monna shakes off the fog dulling her mind and realizes she's hovering over a hole with a dirt-covered book in my hands. The same book her father passed on to her before his death, an ancient book bound by using the flesh of an Arch Mage, the highest level a mage can reach. Nearly impossible to destroy and filled with verza; similar to asura, but it's the energy of the Voharian Realm. Also referred to as the Dark Realm. It holds histories worst spells that require drawing on verza.

/What...How did I? Wasn't I just with Ivo?/

Monna tries to figure out how she got here when His sinister voice sounds in her ear.

[Dearest little girl why did you stop? You have not finished your task.]

"You!" she whips around. Unable to see anyone she yells at air, "how did I get here!? What did you do!?"

There's a slight pause, [Oh dear, have you forgotten already? You agreed to let me help you.]

"I – I did?"

[Yesss...] he softly hisses. His hypnotic voice sounds so reasonable, Monna finds herself agreeing with him.

"Yesss..."

[We are going to keep your little friends safe, yes?]

"Yess...safe."

[Thats right, but first, the book.]

"Book..."

[You remember what to do with it?]

"Yes."

[Good, now be on your way.]

The sinister voice fades on a proud cackle. Monna, with a dull gaze, walks off holding the book. Leaving to perform the task given to her. A short time later Monna goes back to the forest, empty-handed, in search of the others. She hesitates, her empty eyes clear before she continues walking with a confused look on her face.

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Daric and I make our way back towards the underground bunker. Hoping to run into the others on the way back. Daric, still limping, has one arm around my shoulder and leans against me as I help him walk. We weren't too far from a tunnel opening. We needed to get over a couple of roots to get to it; we didn't dare go back up the river in case we ran into whatever monster chased off the men. Daric has yet to speak. I keep glancing at him concerned. We're moving from one tunnel opening to the next through the gap between tree roots. I open my mouth to talk to Daric but end up screaming when the rustling leaves take ten years off my life. We nearly crash to the ground in our fluster, when the two familiar faces appear my fear morphs into annoyance. They came out another tunnel I didn't notice is nestled at the junction of the roots.

"Don't do that!" I glare.

I clutch my free hand to my chest to calm my racing nerves. Ivo and Zain are fighting laughter, the bastards.

"We're sorry," Ivo says, clearly not.

Daric chuckles, I shoot him a glare. Hiding a sly grin, I casually, I toss out. "Don't forget this forest is full of beasts. Daric and I were getting chased, and something attacked the men following us. Who knows, maybe it will come back for us."

Their smiles wilted and they glance around nervously, like its going to pop up in the next second.

/Serves them right...sigh, how did I reach the point I'm happy to scare children successfully?/ I shake my head at myself. I'm about to tell them I'm joking when leaves rustle once more behind Ivo and Zain. Scaring us out of our minds and taking another ten years off my life.

Zain shrieks, "Oh, Goddess! We're gonna be eaten!"

Monna comes into view, and I almost wish it was a man-eating beast.

She shrugs, "looks like I scared you."

/Was that suppose to be an apology?/

"Did you just show up? Where were you?" I ask, knowing she would never leave Ivo behind unless something happened.

Gracing me with a glare that, I swear, will one day become a permanent fixture to her face. She says, "I lost track of them when we were running."

I stare at her. She lost track of them? She did? The same woman who doesn't take her eyes off Ivo more than two seconds. Lost track of him when he could have potentially been caught and killed by guards. Daric stiffens, he must have thought it was strange as well. Since there is no point in me calling her on it, because what she does is not my concern, I drop it.