Scroll 0.2 - Twelve Years Ago..., Part 2

We never had to worry about the knights coming the day after a visit.

Usually, it would take seven days before we saw them again. There were the rare occasions they would pop by for a surprise visit halfway into a week but—most of the time—us kids would use the "safe day" to play in the fields.

Mom always made sure to keep an eye on us, however. That day it was laundry. She had gone back into with a clean basket; going to get a new pile of dirty clothes.

"If you could use any kind of magic, what would you use, Juuta?" Rubin hit the leather ball up in the air, sending it my way. Try as I might, it always hit my forehead.

"H-Healing magic..."

"Might be suitable for you." I could hear him snicker as brushed the dirt off of my hand-me-down pants. I threw the ball back up in the air—

"What about you, Ursetta?"

—Bumping it her way. Unlike me, she successfully hit it over to Rudin.

"I've never really thought about it. Maybe Storm Magic?"

Rudin laughed even louder at that.

"Storm Magic?! Ursetta, you couldn't hurt a fly, let alone use Storm Magic!"

"Well, what about you, RUDE-in?!"

I heard a loud hmmmm as I fell back down in the dirt, once again unable to escape Rudin's pass. I sneezed as my nose brushed against the wheat we were playing in.

"I dunno. Perhaps Water Magic? It would be cool to use Dark Magic but—"

"SHHHHHHH!!!" Ursetta's silencing always chilled Rudin and I to the bone. I could feel the fur on my shoulders stand up as she took her finger away from her mouth, speaking in a hushed tone. "You know that Mother and Father will get angry if they hear you say that!"

Rudin let out a deep groan.

"I don't get what the big deal is, it's not like I can..."

Rudin's frightened eyes gazed over to the dirt road. At first, I couldn't see what had frozen him in place. The bouncing of the ball echoed throughout the fields as I dropped it, finally seeing what Rudin had spotted.

An electric military vehicle was coming to the house.

I ducked into the wheat, Rudin and Ursetta running to the house as the vehicle approached. My vision was blocked. I could only rely on sound. I perked my ears up, hoping they didn't peak above the grain. There was only the roar of the engine at first... then quiet.

I jumped as the door creaked open, the familiar sound of Father's shoes stepping onto the mud outside the front of the house. Another pair was next... then another and another. I couldn't count how many people had come to see us.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be back so soon! You even called in the cavalry this time!" His laugh shouted out to no one. Father had tried to be jovial, but it was as if I could hear his smile fall. The lingering silence as he waited was excruciating.

"This is the Ekkehard residence, correct? We have suspicions that you are harboring a beast in your household. By orders from the King, I'm to inspect your household." Everything went cold.

How had it happened...? Was it my foolish curiosity the day before? Had we just not been careful enough with our routine?! I tried to hold back my tears and whimpers, but it only got harder and harder to do so! Then something warm cloaked over me. I was about to scream, but whoever it was had covered my mouth.

"Quiet, Juuta. We must walk slowly if we're not to be heard or seen." I looked up at my mother.

She was terrified. While her voice was tough and she had planned this ahead of time, the fear that what we wish what wouldn't have happened was overwhelming. I nodded and slowly we inched around to the back of the house. My mind raced as the military followed Father into the house. The windows were open, probably my siblings' doing, allowing me to hear what was going on inside.

"Why are there five chairs at your table? I thought you and your wife just had two children."

"Ah, my sister is coming to stay with us for a few days. I forgot to mention it the last time you came over." It was a flimsy lie; one that was immediately sought through.

"I'm gonna need you to look through our records for Mr. Ekkehard's family history." A pause.

I imagined the scenario. Father sweating as the general looked over at him. Picturing him in my mind, there was no emotion in his eyes... They were cold, only sensing doubt in my father.

"Can you lead us upstairs?"

"Ah, yes! It's just up this way." Father's voice wavered.

There was no way that we could hide my bed. My siblings weren't strong enough to move it and, even if they were, it would scrape against the word floor if they tried to hide it. They could at least hide my stuffed animals and the toys I had, but how believable was it to say my aunt would be sleeping in the same room as my siblings?

Mother kept on leading me through the grain, my snout twitching as the wheat assaulted it. I couldn't sneeze; I wouldn't sneeze. This was life-or-death for all of us. I thought of Rudin and Ursetta, probably up in our room in fear. Rudin must have been gripping his mattress, digging through the fabric, while Ursetta was probably biting her nails. Mother stared straight ahead as I couldn't help but peer up at the bedroom windows.

"Just checking for beasts." The general had probably said that to my siblings. "Kind of unusual to have your sister sleep in the same room as your children, Mr. Ekkehard."

"There unfortunately wasn't enough room to set it up in our room." Father's voice shook as he continued his story. "She hasn't seen the kids in a while either so..."

"Hmmph." His face must've had a snide grimace on it. He didn't plan on believing my father before he even set foot on our farm soil. "Any updates on the family records, Sergeant?" I could hear the young man yelp as he was addressed. To calm myself, I imagined he was about to drop his tablet.

"I-I do see records of a Vreneli Ekkehard in our system, sir. It looks like she left the kingdom recently, too..." I could practically smell the sweat running down the man's temple as he relayed the information.

Father let out a sigh of relief, as quietly as he could. Aunty Vren leaving the kingdom felt like a stroke of luck to me as a kid. Looking back, perhaps she had contacted Father before leaving and he hoped he could rely on that to get out of that bind.

I heard something jingle from upstairs and let out my own breath I had been holding. Mom looked down at me. I remember the look I gave her. I think they're leaving.

"Well, it looks like we may have been a bit overzealous, Mr. Ekkehard," It was almost like I could feel it before it happened. It was that tone of his. You don't think I'm THAT dumb, do you? "Still, you must cover all of our bases."

It was as if something had hammered nails into my eardrums. The whining of the dog whistle was unbearable as it screeched—penetrating my ears. Nothing else would enter them, not even the sound of my own scream. It was only about ten seconds, but it was ten decades of Hell with how overwhelming it was.

Mother picked me up and started to run. Run far. Far into the fields as I wailed in agony. The further we got, the more I could hear. The shrill cry of the dog whistle still overpowered everything, but I was at least able to make out my mother's words.

"Juuta, stop! Don't worry!" Her breath was ragged, and her tears glistened in the sunlight as they streamed off her face. "Everything's going to be fi—"

We didn't even hear the Mana Blaster's piercing whine as the bolt of Magic zipped through the air... slicing through my mother's shoulder, revealing muscle and bone. The world became a haze. The sky became white as the trees and my home faded into nothing. Mother fell to her knees as she examined her wound, letting her warm blood run down her fingers.

"Oh... So that's it..." She looked at me. She had sounded sad, distraught... but upon her face was a smile. Why was she smiling? This shouldn't have been the end for her!

"Mother—"

"Juuta..." She put her hands on my cheeks. The heat of her blood broke the dams holding back my tears and phlegm. My brown fur was forever stained red. "Live... okay?" I stood frozen in place as my mother's body fell in front of me. Every emotion came up at once, straight from my stomach and out my mouth. A scream of bile as anger and pain overwhelmed me roared into the air.

"MOTHERRRRRRRR!!!" Magic blasts headed my way as I wiped the snot and tears from my face. "Mother..." I fell to my knees, the blasts somehow still missing while I stayed in the field. There was only one thing that snapped me out of it.

"JUUTA! RUN!" Father was being dragged off by the military, his hands bound by iron cuffs. I couldn't see Rudin and Ursetta.

"Fath—"

"RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN AND DON'T LOOK BACK!" The anger I felt was being quelled down by guilt and sorrow now. Why was this happening? "...I LOVE YOU, SON!"

Those words finally pushed me. I ran. Far away, as fast as I could. This is what I was taught to do in this case. Despite it being what was best for me and what the five of us had planned... I wish I hadn't. I wish I had fought. For Father, for Mother, and for my siblings. But someday...

I would take back what we lost that afternoon.