The Darkness of Innocence

Yori leaned back into the shadow of the building feeling even more confused about their situation than before. Rather than finding answers as he hoped, new questions rose. Troubling questions that burned in his mind for want of solving.

Eudokia’s words whispered to Yori in his mind. ‘The King holds a very important position for us besides governing. The King maintains Atlantis and allows for the continued survival of his people.’

‘Yes, I do. This is my home and only I understand it. You forced your way to come with us. I didn’t ask you. So I’m not obligated to give you anything!’

‘Only she understands,’ thought Yori over her words. His thoughts tried to mull it over. A few possibilities came to him, but the lack of solid information left him debating his options. It made him want to listen around for more, but he doubted his luck would hold out.

One truth became apparent from Eudokia and the townspeople, a history laid deep within Atlantis with its layers of tradition. Something guided all of the actions. ‘She understands better than the rest… She knows the meaning of what I heard!’

‘When are they going to announce the new King? We’re running out of time!’

‘It’s been centuries since a new King went this long unannounced.’

‘We’re going to be the first to suffer!’

‘It’ll be like after King Theseus died! So many people died and so much land was lost!’

‘Our homes will be destroyed!’

Yori slammed his hand to his face struggling with questions that tormented him. ‘What is it? What isn’t she telling us yet? Is it something she fears? Is she afraid like these villagers are of being destroyed? Is it because of those wanting control or is it because there is no King?’

Fumiko felt only more confused by the words of the villagers. She thought with the answers from Eudokia she started to understand Atlantis better. More mysteries and uncertainties filled her heart. However, Fumiko focused herself realizing that they drifted too long. “We’re out of time, Yori. We should be heading back now.” Nothing reached his deep thought, appearing almost soulless. She grabbed a hold of his shoulder shaking back to reality. “Yori, it’s time to leave!”

“…r-right!” Yori turned his face back up to follow Fumiko, keeping out of sight. ‘I’ll find the answers. I’ll figure out what she hasn’t told us yet!’

Chapter 103 – The Darkness of Innocence

The inn stood only a building away from them, but it seemed to become even further away. Out in front on the main street Eudokia and his sister hauled in everything they purchased. A significant haul for them considering how loaded down both appeared. It cut them off from the entrance of the inn. Yori and Fumiko stared at each other, calculating their situation and risks of anything they attempted.

Yori looked back down the inn, seeing their only option to prevent being caught. He grabbed Fumiko’s hand, guiding her along not thinking about a response. Behind the inn he came to stop under a raised window. “Hey! Someone by the window?”

Fumiko tilted her head up realizing that they stood next to their room in the small inn. They had no glass for any of the windows or shutters, just simple wooden frames. In such warm weather it hardly seemed important. “Hayashi? Furukawa? Are you there?”

Moments passed for them in tension with no words. The height of the window made it impossible for them to know if anyone stood around it. However, to their surprise, Haruo leaned out of the window looking down at the two of them. He realized what they needed and offered a hand out to them. Fumiko went first at Yori’s insistence and then him afterward.

Inside the room, Yuki and Saki joined them at the wall, a little taken back by their entrance. Saki checked on Fumiko to see that she wasn’t hurt. “What happened? Did you learn anything?”

Fumiko and Yori glanced over at each other in silence pondering their response. Neither had the chance for an answer as Eudokia opened the door. She searched around the room with her eyes to check on everyone. The gathering by the window and uneasy almost guilty looking expressions on Yuki and Saki made her suspicious.

Eudokia placed a couple of the packs casually on the table near the door and the rest on the bed as she approached the wall. She fixed Yuki with a thick stare not wanting any excuses. “Is there something wrong?”

Yuki shifted an uncertain glance at Yori before working up a pleasant expression. “Nothing at all! They’re just really tired from all of the walking today.” He hoped that she believed him and didn’t press further. The pierce gaze of her eyes unnerved him, breaking down his mask.

A calculating moment from Eudokia lengthened the tensions between them. Not a single word made the air thick around everyone. The others in the room watched, keeping to themselves with uninterested faces. “Then you better help with the unpacking,” she declared pointing to Yori’s sister flailing about with the weight of half of their load.

Saki and Yuki wasted no time rushing over to help relieve her, bravely struggling to keep together. The moment they effortlessly pulled the packs from her arms she collapsed to the ground as though they had been the only thing holding her together. “I thought my arms were going to fall off!” Yori’s sister cradled her arms against her stomach working on getting feeling back in them.

Everyone’s packs laid about the room with some of the supplies overflowing from the tops. Yuki looked over at Ayumi, a little concerned that she bought too much. “You sure you didn’t go overboard? Do we have the money for all of this?”

“Of course,” she replied sharply, “All of this is necessary to limit the number of stops we make.”

“And this?” he asked, pulling out a tunic from a pack on the bed. Underneath there were several more of varying muted colors. “Shopping for clothes?”

“Your clothes stand out here! It’ll be easier to fit in without my powers if you wear Atlantean clothes.”

“I guess so…they’re kind of bland though…I won’t pop off the page…”

“They don’t need to stand out! Do you want to be caught?!”

“…no…” Yuki pulled himself away from Ayumi not wanting to be in her line of fire any longer. He caught the sight of food and remembered his own hunger. “Hey food! Who’s hungry?” The mention of food gave everyone energy, throwing the room into chaos.

They argued and fought over which to eat and to save, even Eudokia managed little against them. Once food finally settled in them they calmed down and scattered. Hunger had been the only thing to keep most of them awake. So they started falling asleep around the room without much thought to location.

Haruo laid out against the wall and turned away from the group. Seiji took his place at the door seated up with his arms crossed and head hanging a little low. Chiharu disappeared, unable to be found by anyone, though no one tried to find her. Saki sprawled out in the middle of the floor with little thought in mind to any surroundings. The siblings reclined in the corner next to each other. While, Fumiko rested at the foot of the bed, still managing to make it seem small stretched out fully. Left to the packs, Yuki leaned against the wall partly supported by the table.

Eudokia turned about the room, still not completely clear what had happened. “They were so full of energy a moment ago… Hmm…” She eyed the bed taking it into consideration before turning away. Her back pressed against the backing of the bed presenting her with a view of the door. ‘I guess we’ll resolve the rest of the matters in the morning before we leave…’

On the outskirts of the village of Skoupa, a small band of soldiers gathered with the Captain of the South Gate in front. The search drove them into the late hours of the night. The rest of the land slept while they worked tirelessly to keep them safe. A dark unknown fog cast over them in the face of the strange intruders. Each man stood on edge and resolute behind their Captain. Their honor rested upon their success.

Two shadowy figures approached from the village, their black uniforms working well in the night. They came up to the Captain halting together in routine unison. “Captain Simonides, initial perimeter search completed!”

“Report, Kalliope and Philon!”

Kalliope, a twenty-five year old woman, nodded strictly to her Captain. “No signs of strange activity around the village surrounding land.” She had a long service with the border patrol distinguished by several captures. “If the foreigners are here they aren’t hiding outside of the village.”

Simonides gave pause to plan his next move. Skoupa laid behind the two soldiers sleeping with a great unknown. A village made searching difficult with the number of places to hide. The further lack of signs from them around the land had him questioning his previous decision. ‘In the end, this will rule out a place if nothing else. We must be thorough.’ The Captain focused back on his men dividing up tasks in his mind. “We search the village! Leave nothing unturned!”

The new orders brought all of them to attention with the expectation of commands. “Kalliope and Philon take the south entrance and work towards the village square. Telamon you’re with me on the north entrance. Eusebios takes the rest of the men and sets up a perimeter around the village. No one escapes, understand?”

“Of course, Captain!” snapped Eusebios and saluted him. The white uniform of the group, his powers came into importance once the enemies were captured. He directed the attention of the men motioning them into positions in the field to set up.

Reaching the north entrance for Simonides meant circling around the village to the opposite side. His men waited on a delay under his plan. He calculated the time it took to make the entrance and scheduled the search to begin when Telamon and he made their position. The north entrance of Skoupa sat in front of them in anticipation.

A few moments remained as predicted by him. ‘It’s been a while since I’ve had to personally do a search like this…’ His position meant that he often stayed behind at the South Gate while he issued commands to his men. This situation drew him out into the field.

He gave the signal to Telamon to head into the village. Simonides followed behind him carefully watching everything in his field of vision. No intruders would escape him. Ahead the sounds of splintering wood and shouts told him that the south entrance team began their move. The first house, a small hovel, stood darkened before the two of them. He examined the exterior slowly checking for any unusual signs.

Once the Captain felt satisfied he motioned to Telamon to make for the door. The twenty-three year old man from the northern region tightened up as he prepared. His black uniform went well with his dark brown hair cut cleanly around his neck. A toned and honed arm reached out to knock on the door. They were still citizens of Atlantis, so breaking down the door came as a second option. Telamon gave the door another firm knock that nearly turned into a pound.

A man’s voice came out of an adjacent room crawling through the window. The pounding came to an end hearing it received acknowledgement. Moments later the door opened revealing a half awake man in his thirties wearing a light tunic. “What’s wrong?” the man asked not seeing who stood in his entry.

“Stand aside, sir! I must search your house by order of the Captain of the South Gate!”

The title tossed out sobered up the man quickly. “What’s the meaning of this?!” He refused to get out of the way of the soldier without a good reason.

Telamon pressed his stance closing the distance and using stature to fill an imposing effect. “Intruders from the outer world have been seen in this direction. We have to confirm that you’re not hiding them knowingly or not!” He raised his hand up for the man’s shoulder to cast him aside.

“Intruders?! Around here?” Panic struck the villager as he thought about the possibilities of a stranger in his village. While the soldier already let himself into the house the man gave way, dropping to the side leaning against the wall. Sounds of valuables breaking and shattering didn’t matter to him. A soldier ripping apart everything in his house no longer meant anything.

Outside Simonides coldly watched the home and neighboring homes for any stirring. A hidden enemy worried over their safety tended to flee when it came into jeopardy. He saw it play out often with the few that managed to survive past the barrier long enough. The only wish he had desired was a larger team to make the search more efficient. Unfortunately, he had cast a wide net with his men for maximum coverage. Preventing the further invasion of the enemy deeper into their territory came at a higher priority.

Telamon came out of the house to report back to the Captain. “Nothing to be found, Captain!”

“Very well, move on!” He watched the soldier rush over to the opposite side of the street to the next home. The polite knocking didn’t receive a greeting and Telamon forced his way in with a well placed kick. A couple of screams from the back came before yelling for the intrusion into their home. Disregarding any complaints Telamon continued with practiced precision. ‘They all act differently. This is for their own good though.’

Towards the center of the village the inn rested untouched. However, the commotion from outside awoke the lighter sleepers, Eudokia and Chiharu (Seiji remained sound asleep). The two girls looked around the room before Chiharu silently sprinted to the window. The window faced away from all of the noise, but her features narrowed. She disappeared out the window before Eudokia had a chance to stop her.

Eudokia picked up the screams and shouts of the villagers building in chorus. ‘Damn, Simonides is faster than I thought. We’ll have to escape now while we still have the advantage.’ She turned back and rushed over to Yuki, stirring him awake. His sleepy eyes barely acknowledged her. “Start waking everyone up! We’ve got to leave now!”

“Huh?”

“There’s soldiers in the village searching for us!”

Yuki leaped up to his feet completely awake. “What?! They found us!”

“Not yet, but we’ve got to leave now!”

“Alright…I’ll help you wake everyone up!”

Getting most of them awake didn’t take much effort, apart from Seiji. The greater problem came to dealing with the mess they had. They had to scramble around to put all of the food back into their bags. Eudokia insisted on them putting the new clothes on as well. It meant less to carry and easier to blend in with the rest of the villagers.

Chiharu returned back into the room after her long disappearance. “I count four in the village and another five around the village blocking routes for escape. It should be pretty easy to escape.”

“Only nine for the search party...” remarked Eudokia. “That’s a lot fewer than I thought. They must be spreading their forces thin.” She became pensive for a few moments. Her plans factored for a larger force knowing how they preferred to operate. The new developments pleased her. “This’ll make things a lot easier for our escape then. Finding a hole to escape through will be easy. The Meso Prosecho is outside the city?”

“Yes, I saw the white uniform to the north.”

Eudokia scanned the room checking on the condition of everyone. A strange feeling came over her that concerned her. They seemed ready. The unsettling sensation grew stronger as well as the feeling she forgot something. She tried to focus on the immediate problem of getting out of the inn and village. “Yuki, it’s time to go!” Eudokia looked around for Yuki, no longer seeing him among his friends. “Yuki?” She turned to the window, finding him staring out with a lost expression in his eyes. “Yuki?”

“I can hear them…” He glanced back in the room, his eyes carrying guilt. “They’re destroying the village looking for me.”

“Yuki, no!” She saw where his words guided him. Eudokia rushed over to him, grabbing him by the arm. “No! You can’t!”

“They didn’t do anything wrong, Ayumi! It’s my fault! I can’t let them suffer for something that isn’t their fault!”