CHAPTER 10: When the Sky Burned Blue - Part 2

  “Tonight Jeth, Haran, and the usual crowd are throwing a party for me at the usual place. Come. It's to celebrate my acceptance into the applied class.”

  “My mother’s sick; she can't leave her bed and I must do her chores. Tonight I'm also singing. But I'll try.”

  “Then I'll go to the Monster Hunter Guild's store. They have potent medicines.”

  “Don't. You don't have the money to buy them.”

  “Don't worry. Won't they extend credit to a future captain? Your mother will be well in no time.”

  Violet patted his upper arm. “Hey, are you after my mother or me?” She bowed her head a little and smiled.

  “Both,” Eiran replied as he ran off. Violet's hand slap landed on his back.

  As night approached, Eiran walked along the east coast. From a cave in the cliff, a campfire's glow created a flickering pool of light. Not all his cohort could attend, but Jeth and Haran were there. They all raised their dark green rum bottles as he arrived.

  Many brought their partners. The campfire's scent mingled with the sweet, slightly caramel aroma of grilled fish, shellfish, and crabs. Someone had even stolen two barrels of rum from the storage.

  Violet had not arrived yet. He took his place among the crowd and started drinking rum. Someone brought out an accordion to accompany various shanties. They sang until the sky darkened.

  Then it was time for the time-honored tradition of telling scary stories while intoxicated. One by one, they stood in front of the fire. Eiran already knew most of the stories. However, the contest's aim was to be able to tell a story while drunk, regardless of its content.

  Rarely was a unanimous winner chosen because the judges were equally drunk. But if their stories were deemed too absurd, the judges would shout “skylark!” and force the loser to down a barrel of rum.

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  Haran stood in front of the campfire, his figure swaying like the shadows on the wall.

  “This story is REAL!” Haran said. “You all know Jeth and I grew up in the Cairdelis Federation. This happened in our orphanage.

  “There were siblings. The older sister with hair as red as fire and eyes like smoldering iron. She was not yet ten. On one moonless night, she planned to escape with her younger brother by burning the wooden window bars.”

  Haran took a swig of rum. “But they failed. They got trapped and burned ALIVE. Before dying, the sister sang to her sobbing brother. She kept singing until the end.”

  Haran's eyes surveyed the whole cave. “Since then, their spirits appear on every moonless night. First, you'll hear her song. If you follow it to their old room, you'll find them there, embraced in charred forms. And they will TAKE YOU.”

  Eiran had never heard this story. And from his comrades' expressions, Haran might be the first winner in a decade.

  “The fire's real but not the story,” Jeth interjected. “The orphanage head made it up so we wouldn't ask too many questions when our friends disappeared, sold off. Remember the man who came every week with a checkered bag of money?”

  “Jeth! You scurvy dog! You always ruin my moment of glory! What's your problem? I experienced it myself, you know! When I went to the bathroom–”

  “Wait. So that's why you're still afraid to go to the bathroom alone?”

  Eiran turned towards the voice. Violet stood at the cave entrance.

  “...Huh, it was terrifying, you know....”

  Laughter erupted in the cave.

  “Skylaaark!” Jeth shouted. They held Haran as Jeth forced rum down his throat.

  Eiran burst out in laughter but did not join in. Violet sat beside him, saying, “Sorry, I have to go back. Congratulations on your success, Eir.”

  “Let me walk you,” he said.

  He and Violet left Haran floundering alone. They walked along the shoreline. The moon hung low over the sea, large and bright.

  “This is medicine for your mother.” Eiran handed her a small box.

  “Thank you.”

  They walked some distance without looking at each other.

  “What will you do after this?”

  “The same. I'll keep climbing until I get my own ship. Then I'll search for my parents. It's not easy and not a short journey, but the path is now open.”

  “Then I'll pray to Azarion that you're stationed in the southern front. The water’s warmer there if you fall in.”

  “Ha ha ha, I appreciate that,” Eiran said. “Come with me. I'll introduce you to my parents.”

  Violet smiled, revealing that little upturned curve at her lip's corner. “I look forward to it. Don't take too long.”

  Violet hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. “Congratulations once more, my Captain.”

  Today, his life was whole and fulfilled. Only now, since he could remember, had he felt this way. He had become a Mana Decima, had loyal friends, and the woman he loved was by his side.

  It was then that his consciousness drifted from his body. He floated, watching himself still walking with Violet along the beach. Their footprints snaked behind. His other self smiled while caressing Violet's hair, and she smiled back.

  Then darkness.