* * *
"It's such a pretty pond, isn't it?"
"Huh? Oh... yes."
There was a silence that pierced the woods as Nemo sat next to Nia on a simple stone in the back of her cottage. Her grandfather was out, and thus the two children idling about by themselves. Nia talked about the surrounding forest. She talked about how she just recently moved there from the continent to the south, how she wasn’t used to the colder climate, and how her grandfather seemed to be a simple merchant for a living. While Nemo listened to her every word, he couldn’t pull his gaze away from the pond.
He could see the bottom, it was so clear. Most ponds in the forest might’ve had some wildlife or local people of sorts to dirty them, but it remained pristine and untainted. With the enormous roof of trees over them, a small slit in the canopy just large enough to deliver a single ray of sunshine danced elegantly across it. The light made the pond bloom with color, giving perfect reflections of the pink and blue flowers surrounding it while the shadows of the foliage created an enchanting orchestration to sing on top of the surface as the wind blew.
"Nemo, you sure zone out a lot, don't you?"
"Well... I wouldn't say tha--"
"I still find it kind of weird that you don't really like those wings, though."
"It's not that I don't, but people in general seem to--"
"Can you fly with them?"
"Probably not. I don't believe they're big enough..."
"You talk kind of funny, though. You're not really from around here, are you?"
"Ah..."
She was right. Although he was born there, Nemo grew up in an entirely different environment than the forest he was in. Despite being only seven years old he was extremely eloquent and formal; a self-aware boy who chose his words carefully as he spoke.
“So where do you come from?” she asked. This question made Nemo’s mind twist like a snake as he quickly thought of a way to evade the question. She couldn’t know where he was from.
“Um... well...” he stuttered.
“I assume you've lived in the sky, right?”
“Ah.” Nemo was taken aback. So she knew.
“I see a lot of Caelestians. My parents were merchants, so they moved around a lot.”
“...Were?” There was a hint of morbid curiosity on Nemo’s lips.
“They died recently.” There was a hint of resolve in her voice; if she was melancholic, she certainly didn’t show it. “I really didn’t know them too well. I was always in my house with my maid to keep me company. They were always out for business. Then one day we got a letter saying that they were executed.” Nemo was beginning to become a bit restless.
“I’m... sorry to hear that.” was all that could escape from his mouth. Nia began to smile, though.
“On the other hand, I got to start living with Grandpa. So I got to move and get out. Now I’m here meeting you, so I guess it worked out, right?”
Nemo’s mind stumbled a bit. Nia talked on for hours about how she used to be the daughter of rich aristocrats. Her parents supplied and managed the trading of ore across the kingdom when she lived in isolation in the mountainous country to the south. She lived within a large manor that managed to stand within the techerous and stormy clifftops. Eventually the business was caught selling and trading materials with a Caelestian refugee camp tucked away in the mountains, and her parents were condemned for treason against the kingdom and executed. Nemo was disgusted as he heard the story; the hatred between the two warring races was still as strong as ever.
"Huh? Nemo, do you hear something?" she asked him.
"Hmm?"
* * *
"We can't just let that half-breed come wandering into our village!"
"One of those despicable Caelestians must've let the boy off his leash."
"A boy who looked that innocent, I just couldn't shake off something sinister about him."
"I was so scared..."
The village was up in arms. Talk about the hybrid echoed throughout the streets and fear spread throughout the small town like a contagion. For a small isolated village in the woods to have such an encounter was unheard of.
"His mere presence could've cursed this entire village to damnation!"
"I hear they can harvest the souls of Genomians and use them to conduct sinister spells."
"The air itself just feels tainted after having that mongrel wander in here!"
The outcries couldn't be silenced. As a crowd gathered in the town square, the mayor stood up above them all.
"We cannot allow this sinister beast to defile our village!" His aged voice grinded out, eroded from decades of smoking. "We must find it, and eliminate it." The mob roared in agreement as they gathered whatever they could use as a weapon. Those too afraid retreated into their houses to hide.
"Let us make haste into the woods and put an end to it!" A wrinkled hand pointed to the north where the boy headed, and the crowd surged out of the village. The only person who remained in the town square was a lone man with a walking stick. His eyes bandaged shut, he was escorted into an inn by one of the housekeepers.
"Those people are best not to earn the ire of that child." was all that could be heard under his breath as he walked inside.
* * *
"No..." Nemo heard the chanting.
"HALF-BREED! HALF-BREED!" rang throughout the forest, slowly edging its way towards. The children peered out the window. Down the road the crowd could be seen marching closer and closer, and with every chant becoming louder and louder.
"HALF-BREED! HALF-BREED!" Nia's eyes narrowed.
"Nemo, you head out back through the pond. I'll tell them you weren't here."
"B-b-but..." his voice stammered.
"Just do it, they're going to hurt you."
"Nia, they'll know. They'll know I was here and they'll know you let me go." But she didn't care. She rushed him out the back. Nemo was conflicted as he stumbled to his feet and tripped into the pond. He wanted to run. He was terrified. But he did not know what was taking place at the front of the house. What she was saying to stall them. But a confirmation of his worse fears pierced his ears as much as it pierced his heart.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" A sharp, agonizing scream rang through the woods. The boy's spirit sank as he attempted to rush back into the house, sloshing through the pond to regain his footing. But the mob flooded from around the house to where he was. All eyes were locked on Nemo as he remained motionless.
"There's the half-breed!" rang the mayor's voice, riddled with malice as he stepped into the shallow pond. He grabbed Nemo and lift him by the collar as his slender legs swung erratically.
"You monster." he coldly muttered as the mob came in closer. "THIS HALF-BREED HAS NOT ONLY DEFILED OUR LAND, BUT POLLUTED THE SOUL OF THAT LITTLE GIRL!" Nemo's eyes began welling up with tears.
"You will die here, and the curse will be lifted from this land. That tragic girl's corrupted soul tried to save you of all things." Nemo's right hand gripped the mayor's arm as tears continued running down his face.
"......What?" Nemo's meek voice began to crack as the mayor banished a small knife.
"May Rhah have mercy on you, you vile beast. May that girl's soul rest with the shedding of your blood."
"NO!"
Nemo fell into the pond as the mayor shouted and flailed in agony while being engulfed in an intense fire. The mayor's body dived into the water and attempted to put it out but to no avail. The mob immediately started screaming as the little boy stood with a dead gaze staring at the pond, now darkened by the ash of the burning, screaming man slowly letting the life escape from him. A single cold, lifeless word pierced the crowd's terrified banter like a knife.
"......Die."
Before the mob could disperse, another massive wave of fire blasted through the air. The heat was so intense that the entire group was almost incinerated instantly. In a flash, a dozen or so shriveled, charred masses fell to the ground. The boy held up his hand, and immediately all the fire in the area gathered back into his palm as he clasped it shut. As soon as those fires died out, Nemo's composure broke and he began to weep. He ran to the front of the house as fast as he could, seeing a small trail of blood leading up to a tree that Nia was slumped against.
"N-N-Nia...?" Nemo's hands were shaking as he pull her hands away from a large piercing in the middle of her chest.
"......Nemo?" a weak voice choked up. "Why... why didn't you run you idiot...?"
"...This...this wasn't supposed to happen..." Nemo was sobbing uncontrollably as he firmly grasped her hand. He could feel the heat leaving her palm.
"Am... Am I going to die?" Her shining eyes dimmed as her grip on Nemo's hand loosened. Nemo stopped crying as he embraced her. A single gust of wind could be heard rustling the trees.
"......No, no you aren't." He took off his muted azure robes, now darkened by soot and damp blood, and wrapped Nia's slender frame in it. Without a word he picked up her weightless body and started walking down the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment