The Sanctuary

"Is he dead?" A voice asked. 

Rell felt a weight on his chest that made it hard to breath. He opened his eyes and found himself face to face with a little blue haired girl. He sat up suddenly, causing the little girl to tumble backwards. 

"He's alive!" Another green haired little girl cheered. 

"I revived him with my Nin!" The blue haired girl said proudly, hands on her hips, recovering from her fall. 

"Where am I?" Rell shook his head. It ached terribly. 

Rell noticed that he was in a little bedroom. The room was very small and could barely fit him and the three little children staring at him. It had minimum furniture, basically just the bed he was on and a chair that functioned both as a chair and a makeshift nightstand. He noticed his jacket was neatly folded atop it. 

"You're in the Sanctuary." The blue haired girl said. 

"What's the sanctuary?" Rell asked. 

"It's the Sanctuary silly." The green haired girl said. "Who doesn't know what it is?"

"I think he might be stupid." The third girl, one with white hair, commented. 

"Well, you're not wrong." he sighed, pulling his blanket off and letting his feet to the wooden floor. His boots were located next to the chair. 

Rell got up, stretching his body and checking for any injuries. Other than his headache and a sore back from lying down on an old mattress, he didn't notice anything strange. 

"Is it true you're a human?" The blue haired girl asked, tugging at his arm. 

"Yeah. As human as a human could be." He said, crouching down to meet her at eye level. "You're a Sister, i'm assuming?"

"That's right. We all are." The Blue haired girl said. "I'm Tia. That's Vi." She pointed to the green haired girl. "And the shy one at the doorframe is Hope." 

Vi waved at him confidently, while Hope was more reserved. Rell waved back to both of them. 

"Hey! Are you bothering our guest?" A voice called out from down the hall. 

"Escape!" Tia ordered.

The three girls rushed out of the doorway, away from the sounds of stomping footsteps. Elena appeared in the doorway a moment later. She was wearing a flannel shirt with a pair of dark trousers, boots on her feet. 

"Oh, you're awake Rell." She smiled. 

"Ali...No. Elena right?" Rell pointed out. 

"That's right. You remembered." She waved her finger. "Thought you suffered brain damage. You were asleep for two days. Figured you didn't get enough after sleeping for a hundred years." 

"We're in the Sanctuary right?" He asked. 

"That's right. To be more specific, this is my house. I threw you in to my guest room." She answered. "When you're up for it, I'd figured I'd show you around." She said.

Rell got up, putting on his boots and jacket. His sword was noticeably missing. He left the room out into the living area. It really wasn't much bigger than the room he was sleeping in, consisting of an old couch with an old television set in front of it. A doorframe opened up to a small kitchen area where Elena worked, cleaning dishes from a makeshift faucet fashioned together with a pipe and a valve. 

"Just give me a quick second." Elena said, finishing up the last of her dishes. "Sorry we ate it all already. Figured we can grab some food after meeting the Commander." 

That's one thing that's different from Alicia. That girl couldn't clean or wash dishes if it saved her life. Rell thought. 

"Allright." Elena finished, rolling her sleeves back down. "You ready?" She asked. 

Rell nodded. He followed her out the door. He noticed it was also makeshift, made with a piece of wood and some wire mesh. Rell stepped out into the Sanctuary. 

Elena's home was more of a makeshift hut, similar to the dozens of others around him. The Sanctuary bustled with life. He quickly noticed that everyone he saw was a woman, or rather, a Sister. Many were busy doing daily chores around their households, be it hanging clothes, or cleaning their yards of stray leaves. A few other Sisters, dressed in outfits similiar to the ones Mira, Luna, Rin, and Elena wore patrolled past, rifles slung over their backs. 

The girls from earlier were some distance away, playing some sort of game. They turned towards Rell and greeted him with excited waves. 

"Come on. The Commander is this way." Elena tug at his arm, pointing in a different direction. 

Rell looked up and noticed it. A massive tree grew on a hill a short distance away. It's leaves were all white with a rainbow sheen that flickered in the sunlight. The leaves fluttered down with the wind, creating a swirl of colors as they fell. 

"Don't stare too long. It's not wise to keep her waiting." A Sister said.

 She was sitting on a stump right by Elena's house. She wore a an outfit similar to Rin's, but without the exposed midriff part. Her dark black hair was cut short, a pair of purple eyes peeking out from underneath that glared at Rell coldly. Around her neck she wore a white scarf that partially concealed her mouth, with a long tail end that fluttered in the breeze. At her side she bolstered two silver pistols, her weapon of choice. 

"Try anything and you'll get a bullet in your back." She threatened, fingers lingering to one of her guns. 

"Sorry about Rena. She's a bit of a tsundere. I think that's the term Mira likes to use." Elena said. 

"I'm not sure what that means but I'm inclined to feel offended." Rena responded. 

"Can we just get moving? I have alot of questions for this Commander of yours." Rell said. 

Rena clicked her tongue. 

"Sorry. You're right." Elena said. "Follow me." 

Rell walked after the blonde girl, Rena following close behind, fingers lingering on her weapons. The trio of little girls ran after them, coming up next to Rell and bombarding him with questions. 

"Is it true humans used to live the big cities?" Tia asked. 

"What about airplanes, did they really fly through the sky?" Vi asked. 

"Is it true humans come from other human's tummies?" Hope asked. 

Most of the Sisters stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Rell felt uneasy as they watched him, like he was some kind of spectacle. 

"Keep moving. This is official business." Rena scolded them. Only a few listened, and even those that did only pretended to go back to what they were doing, opting to watch Rell in the corner's of their eyes. 

"Hoh." A familiar voice called out. "Look who's finally awake." Rin yelled a short distance away. 

She rushed towards them, greeting Elena before approaching Rell. 

"That was some reaction you had to that Overlord. That's not gonna happen again right?" She interrogated. 

"I've never seen a Shadow like that before." Rell said. "It's aura was...something else. What was that?" 

"Overlords are the biggest, baddest Shadows!" Tia said. 

"They control the other ones and make them eat us!" Vi added. 

"They all follow the King of Thorns. He's the creator of the Shadows." Hope added. 

"Stop giving away answers!" Rin scolded, chasing after the children. "We need the leverage to make him do what we want!" She grabbed Tia, squeezing her and causing her to squeal. 

"Still on the same wavelength as the little ones I see, Rin." Rena said. 

"Still the Second best shot in our generation I see, Rena." Rin shot back, arms still cradled around a distressed Tia. 

They glared at each other, exchaging curses in their heads but keeping their mouths shut. 

"So the Shadows do have a leader." Rell noted. 

"Yeah. Atleast that's what we're taught." Elena answered. 

"You too Elena?" Rin gasped, a look of betrayal on her face, causing her to squeeze an already out of breath Tia even harder. 

"I think you're going to kill that child." Elena pointed. 

"Remember...me..." Tia gasped.

"Tia!" Vi cried in distress, reaching for her friend. 

The group walked for a couple more minutes, before finally reaching the building located at the foot of the large tree. 

"Huh." Rell shook his head in disbelief. 

The old building was one he'd recognized the instant he laid eyes on it. It was the old headquarters of the Holy Knights.