II

---

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

---

Arc II Chapter 6

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---

 

12^th Anima Lunar 753 AAC

 

Aurora cuddled her doll, playing the meek girl with near perfection. Her cover was impeccable.

 

Her timid eyes scanned the crowd of strangers. Six people in total. Four armed, two unarmed. Four men, two women. They were unlikely to present a major threat. That was quite obvious. A single glance told her as much. Their relaxed posture, their behaviour, their voices, their expressions betrayed them. They wore their hearts up their sleeves. 

 

Two people stood in front of her, close by, a man and a woman. Short brown hair in the bloom of late youth, the man carried a sword hanging around his waist, sheathed in a scabbard. The man confronted her with a weak smile, yet his olive eyes betrayed his lack of sincerity. Maroon strands covered the woman's face, but it was her rosewood eyes, her shimmering irises in particular, that caught her attention. Her eyes exuded a familiar aura. The woman was clearly a practitioner of magic. Clad in an ostentatious robe, her hands held a staff, a wooden staff by a crowed by a ruby crystal and a variety of ornate symbols unknown to her. The jewel harboured the subtle touch of mana and lingering aether. Their presence was weak, but traces of them were noticeable to her trained eye. The staff was not just a simple wooden stick. It served as a catalyst, supposedly to facilitate magic.

 

Two men, inconspicuous in appearance, guarded the rear, watching the surrounding area. One man was armed with a spear, the other with a sword. They didn't mind her much, nor did she them. A man and a woman drove the cart. They proved to be enigmatic figures, difficult to discern, illusive in nature like spectres, hidden from the sight of the world by their long white coats with their faces obscured by their hoods except for a handful of forlorn strands of snow white hair. She was unable to gauge the duo at all. The two mysterious travellers resisted her prying gaze, which was annoying, but unavoidable. The two were only two out of six. The rest of the group displayed no hostile behaviour. Quite the contrary, surprise was written all over their faces. Surprise, accompanied by glimmers of what could be called sympathy and genuine pity.

 

Aurora smirked in secret. How fortunate she was. Apparently, luck was with her. Sympathy was exactly what she needed. The man named Lambert seemed promising in particular. Not only was he the apparent leader of these ‘adventurers’, but he also exhibited feelings of empathy. Genuine concern clouded his eyes. This was her chance.

 

Aurora hugged her doll in fear. “Are you mean people?”

 

“I am used to being called many things, but mean? That's new.” Lambert scratched his head. He laughed, trying to defend himself against such baseless accusations. He wasn't mean. He was just greedy. “Rest assured, we are nice people. You can trust us.” 

Unconvinced, Aurora crossed her arms, adopting a defensive posture. “That's what all meanies say.”

 

“What?” Lambert blinked in disbelief. The girl was ... strange, wasn't she?

 

“Meanies lie, and I don't believe you.” Aurora pouted.  

 

“...” Lambert was dumbfounded. This was ridiculous. This was absurd. The girl made them look as if they were the bad guys.

 

“As said, you can trust us. We don't mean you harm.” Lambert tried his best to placate her, yet he failed.

 

“And why should I believe you?” Aurora puffed her cheeks.  

 

Lambert sighed in exasperation. Girls these days. Why did they have so complicated? “Iris, we are nice people, aren't we? We are the friendliest adventurers you can find in the entirety of Freyburg and its vicinity, guaranteed.” In his moment of desperation, he turned to Iris, their domestic mage, elementalist, and humble pyromancer, for her help, giving her an earnest look. The meaning was clear. You are a woman. Convince her!

 

Iris did her best to assist him by deploying a benign smile. “Lambert is right, little one, we are nice adventurers. You can trust us, promised.”

Lambert nodded in agreement. “Just as I said, are you now convinced, girl?”

 

“Not really, but you appear to be decent people.” Aurora and her doll remained sceptical. “I guess, I can trust you for the time being, but my doll and I will keep an eye on you. We will observe you. You are still suspicious.”

 

“...” Lambert blinked. Did the girl really say we? Her behaviour was ... unusual, to say the least. The girl cared a lot about her doll. Maybe too much. The girl was talking to her doll as if she was alive, as if she was her friend, which made him worried about her psychological state. Judging by her appearance and behaviour, the girl probably suffered from some sort of trauma. It would explain a lot. It would explain why they found her here in the middle of the forest. It would explain her state of disorientation and confusion ...

 

Lambert mustered his brightest smile. “Well, you are free to keep an eye on us, that's fine. Being cautious is a useful skill to have. Especially, among adventurers. You can never be sure enough in this day and age, but I am glad we found some common ground. So what's your name, girl? I am sure you have a beautiful one, don't you?”

 

...

...

...

 

“My name?” Aurora tilted her head, startled by his request.

 

“Yes, your name.”

...

...

...

 

Aurora was thinking, and thinking, and thinking, and thinking. Her headsie was thinking really, really hard. Promised.

 

“Well, ... I ... don't know.” Aurora lowered her gaze in shame.  

 

“What?” Lambert nearly fell over.  

 

“What?”

 

“What?”

 

“What?”

 

“What?”

 

“What?” A chorus agreed with him.

 

“Are you ... really telling me you don't know your name?” Lambert took time to process.  

 

“I ... don't ...” Aurora shook her head, her eyes downcast. “When I try to remember, my headsie feels dizzy ...”

 

“Amnesia?” Nelaeryn snorted. “Come on, that's the oldest trick in existence since my grandmother. Can't you get a bit more creative ...”  

 

“Ouch.” Arwing hit him.

 

Nelaeryn grumbled, “What was this for?”

 

Arwing narrowed her eyes. “You know exactly what this was for. What did I say about improving relationships? Stop being an arse.”

 

As usual, Lambert ignored them and their squabbles. Arwing and Nelaeryn, they were a strange duo. No idea how they found each other.  

 

Petty quarrels aside, Lambert returned his attention to their amnesiac girl. “I see, you don't remember your name.” This was problematic in so many ways. “Do you perhaps know how you landed here? Any ideas? Any memories?” He hoped for the best, yet his hopes were crushed brutally.

 

“Not really.” Aurora hugged her doll, not hiding her sadness. “Everything in my mind feels so fuzzy. I only remember waking up here and meeting you.”

 

“...” Lambert fell silent. This was troublesome.

 

“What are we going to do with her, Lambert?” Iris cut in. “We can't leave her just like this. The forest is dangerous! The girl needs our help.”

 

Lambert agreed, “True, she does. I guess we can take her in for the time being. Our supplies are plenty, and I doubt she will impact the mission. The question is whether you will allow her to stay, Arwing? What's your opinion?”

 

All eyes were directed at Arwing, even a pair of radiant, adorable puppy eyes.  

 

All the attention made Arwing feel uncomfortable. She was just a simple scholar. “I think ... that taking her in should be fine ... One human child more or less doesn't matter ...”

 

Lambert nodded, satisfied. “Good decision. Then it's decided, she will stay with us ... Wait ... Where did she go?” His eyes looked around, scanning the area. He lost sight of the girl. The girl had disappeared.  

 

Sneaking past Lambert and Iris, Aurora climbed up the cart to take her new seat. Much to everyone's surprise, she chose Arwing's lap.  

 

Flashing a radiant smile, Aurora dangled her feetsies in the air. “I and my doll are going to stay here with big Sister Arwing ⁓. I like her ⁓.”

 

...

...

...

 

“...” Lambert blinked, as petrified as everyone else.

 

Meanwhile, Arwing panicked, blushing. Her face was redder than red. A human girl was sitting on her lap. What was she supposed to do? Her academic studies had never prepared her for this eventuality. Help!

 

Aurora beamed in mischievous glee. Her infiltration had succeeded, and they were all none the wiser.

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---