XXIII — Prelude

The refugee town. The clouds revealing a brand new day

From where the clouds positioned themselves it was when midday had come; the sun had sprawled the clouds, slightly melting caps of snow that used to pile the streets of the town.

Some areas of the town some people were dismayed at, having been marked not good enough for the sun to melt snow around it, slightly earning the jealousy of those whose roads have been partially or completely melted through the rays of sunlight.

Other areas were praised by the men working nearby for having enough time to walk across the marbled floors, becoming a lot easier to travel instead of worrying about sliding or slipping across snowy patches, themselves now being marked as slippery pathways that still weren’t melted, confusing some residents.

Whatever the case, the temperature all around had gotten a little warmer and blizzards didn’t seem to get to them soon, which was the prime time Ellen had blotted out to make a trip to sell more lanterns, this time instead of just one wagon, going for multiple wagons of lanterns.

She was checking if the inventory she’d registered had been correct, allowing the carriage driver to check for issues with his gear. Accounting was something she had just become great at, even though she had a lot of help from the other teenage girls around her.

She was just hopeless at mathematics, shuddering herself whenever she thought about it. She was holding her ledger to check if the wagons of lanterns were ready, hoping to sell more since other areas have been darkened by the winter sky. From her periphery, she heard a young girl talking with a slightly older yet still young man, who was grumbling from wheeling a wagon with a lot of lanterns inside, definitely too heavy for even Ellen to bear.

“Ugh, why’d I hafta carry all o’ this?! Why the heavy ones?”

“Because you’re the strongest and most buff, Big Bro Roger!”

Roger flushed, clearly flustered with what the young girl had said. “I… uhm. Well yeah true… but still…!”

He tried to argue his way, looking left and right towards the men who just silently saluted him. He sighed out of exhaustion and slight weariness. “Woe is myself for being so strong, aye?” Roger remarked out of sarcasm.

A young man, an archer, had been helping the carriage driver check for repairs. He had heard Roger grumble, yet decided not to act on it since it seemed he could carry all of them from the wagon to the carriage.

It’s not like the carriage couldn’t handle it either, it was built for endurance after all. He chuckled, seeing him roughly carrying tons of lanterns onto the carriage, and then walking in, silently cursing his strength; which the other three found amusing.

“What about you, Big Bro Sam?” The young girl had approached him, asking about something. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Sam nodded while smiling. “I’m feeling a lot better now, Kat. I can’t afford breaking down after all.”

Kat smiled. “That’s good enough for me!”

She stumbled on her way to the carriage, sitting next to Roger. She was sitting really close, Roger looked away so that she couldn’t notice his blushing. She did though. So did Sam, and so did Ellen.

“Okay, that's about it for this inventory. Shall we go then? We have much to sell.”

Sam agreed. Both entered the carriage about the same time, Ellen going in first before Sam, and then the carriage driver, who immediately set off as soon as he had entered the carriage

They were on their way to Melusina, Roger having not seen it in a long while, Kat having not seen the harbor in a shorter time frame than Roger, and Sam having not seen it since a few weeks ago, on the trip where he first kissed Ellen. He touched his lip, remembering the sweet sensation that felt a lot melancholic to him, and now with not just Ellen, but Roger and Kat, and even the townspeople, it felt even more melancholic to him.

He didn’t allow himself to grow weary because of the melancholy.

As they passed through the darkness, revealing the mini lanterns that buzzed around them like little lights, as Sam had remembered, Kat stared at awe. Her joy became a delight to Roger, who had resorted to sketching the little electric bugs that floated around the carriage, and Sam, who watched Kat, and remembered the first time Diana had taught him how to shoot.

He had seen her form, her agility, and her prowess; and came to learn about her philosophy and beyond just shooting, acquiring her skills because of going through life. Ellen had fallen asleep once more, again her head resting on his shoulder, thinking how peaceful she must be now that she had reconciled with him and things would be better.

He thought of a doodling Roger and an amazed Kat, both of whom appeared and stared at him in different ways: Kat smiling while pointing at the little lightning bugs, and Roger being beet red and bashful as he averted his gaze from Sam. He thought that maybe around this time, he could just let his worries go and melt in the comfort of these three.

Except as the lightning bugs disappeared into view, faint stenches of fire razed as the carriage driver stopped. Sam immediately acted on instinct, and Ellen, who had been asleep, woke to the smell of ash and grime.

What the four of them had seen next as they stepped out would be a horrifying nightmare.