I don't like this man
That was always the first thought Ars would think of when he thought of Arthur.
Of course this made sense. Some random guy comes out of nowhere and is taking his beloved Aisha-nee away from him. Aisha-nee was always there for him, ever since his birth.
Aisha-nee was always a special existence towards Ars. To him, she was a perfect being who can do no wrong and knew exactly what to do in any situation.
She once took a whole crisis under control and dealt with the situation all by herself.
About two years ago when we went on vacation to Millishion to visit Grandma Claire. I messed up big. I wanted to go exploring around the city and decided to let my younger siblings tag along. Long story short, I was foolish and we almost got kidnapped. We would have been kidnapped and it all would have been my fault. But Aisha-nee came to my rescue. What was even more amazing was that she allowed us to explore and when things headed south she rescued us and had the situation under control. She even did it all without having Papa and any of the mamas find out ... Amazing.
Afterward, I had a talk with her about why she covered for my mistake. Again,long story short she said that I can make any amounts of mistakes I can since she will also be there for me to clean up my messes.
When she said that to me, my chest fluttered for some reason. I think it was about then when I realized I loved her. Sure you can just call it a child's crush but it was love either way.
I was content to keep my feelings hidden away at least until I become an adult, but two things happened, well I guess three now with Arthur showing up.
The first was when Big sis Lucy broke down in front of me, saying that Papa doesn't have any expectations for any of us. She also told me she won't be the heir, since she planning on being with Clive. Basically it's when I found out I would be the heir to the Greyrats, meaning I would eventually have to marry some noble girl ... At first I didn't mind but then the second thing happened.
It was when I was bathing with Papa when he brought up marriage and how he wished I would get along with one of Ariel's children, I never met her and she was even younger than me ... I guess that the realization that it's happening scared me. I was planning to confess my love to Aisha-nee at a more right time but now this Arthur person came and is taking her away from me.
Ok I guess that was not fair to him, my papa is giving Aisha-nee a dangerous task while he is busy elsewhere and asked this man for extra protection for her.
But still, it's not fair. Aisha-nee said she will always be there for me and now she can't. What am I suppose to do?
Apparently this man is a good friend of my papa. They use to go adventuring together with him along with Red-Mama and Ruijerd-san.
But if he suppose to be such good friends with Papa why are we meeting him now of all times. He even said that Aisha-nee and him go why back. What did he mean by that?
He's suspicious. I remember when I first answered the door for him, he gave that freaked out look and just stared at me. Why was he all fidgeting with us specifically.
He must be hiding somthing!
I don't think he can properly protect Aisha-nee. I can protect her much better.
I have to get to the bottom of this
* * * * *
"Come now ...not a moment to waste"
"Ehhhhhhh"
I watched as Arthur was drag away by Red-Mama with Papa following suit to go and take a bath.
Grandma Lilia took grandma Zenith to bed. Aisha-nee went to the kitchen to clean up while Blue-Mama and White-Mama were cleaning up the table.
Hmmm ... Now is the time! The time for a Greyrat Children emergency meeting about Arthur.
We went to the were we first introduced ourselves to Arthur, the living room.
In the private corner of the Greyrat house, was where the children had our impromptu meeting. I was the speaker in this conversation.
"Okay everyone," I whispered, glancing around to make sure no adults are nearby. "What do you all think about Arthur?"
Lucy started "He's nice. I think he is a good person, but he is a bit odd. I think he is trying to deflect something"
Lara, her eyes distant as if seeing something behind the room, speaks softly "He's important. For what's coming"
Seig bounces excitedly, "I think he so cool! Did you see that magic gauntlet?"
Lilly pipes up "His magic tool was interesting. I want to study it more"
Chris,the youngest, finally speaks "He's funny and he shows me tricks. Papa seems to like him"
Lucy turns to me, "What about you Ars? Why did you bring him up all of a sudden?"
I just pouted as I crossed my arms and looked away, "I don't trust him. Why does he have to go with Aisha-nee?"
"Hmmm .... There was definitely something strange going on with his behavior. Did you notice how he reacted to Grandma Zenith?" Lucy noted.
"That was a misunderstanding. Grandma Zenith realized one thing while Uncle Arthur thinks she noticed the other' Lara explained.
We all fell silent for a moment, each having different views on Arthur. Then Lara speaks again, "We have to help him. He doesn't know yet, but he will"
"We have to investigate!" I took notice of his sword that he left in the living room.
"Geez and all that lecture from Red-Mama about misplacing it" Lucy commented.
I walked up to the sword and picked it up. It feels about the same as Red-Mama sword, no for some reason it feels heavier, more dense. I muster my strength to unsheathed it a bit.
When I release the sword a bit I noticed how it was jet black. "You see, look!" I showed it to my other siblings "Why would his sword be black, he is obviously hiding something"
"So cool!" Seig walked up to the sword as he looked at the jet black blade. "It looks so much cooler than any of the blades Red-Mama has"
"No it must be cursed or something" I knew it, I can't leave Aisha-nee to him if he walks around with a cursed object.
Lilly walks up to the blade and noticed something strange as she takes out more of it. "Hmmm it looks like Uncle Arthur has runes engraved on his blade"
"What does that mean?" I looked at the strange engraving on the face of the blade.
"It means he gave his blade a special property. I can figure it out if I see all the runes" Lily reaches out to unsheathed the whole blade, but Lucy stops her.
"Wow Uncle Arthur is amazing!" Seig said.
"Shinning ... So pretty" Chris was playing with a stone like pendant that was tied to the end of the handle.
"What's this?" I placed this sliver like pendant on my hand. Where have I seen this before?
"I don't know maybe it's some kind of pendant" Lucy guessed "Like how Papa has that necklace from White-mama"
"Maybe its another charm like the runes on his sword" Seig added, trying to guess as well.
Lilly shot that down, "no it has no magical properties imbued in it"
"It must be special to him if he keeps it tied to his sword .... Hmm why does it look familiar?" Lara added.
"Oh I know where I seen that pendant!" Chris pipes up as she answers, apparently thrilled she realized first. "It's the same one tied to Papa's staff" Chris excitedly holds the pendant.
"We have to check it out!" I said as I closed the blade. I know Arthur left his bag in Papa's study ... I can use the excuse to put his sword away with his bag so we can go into Papa's study. And if we are caught we can say we were planning to put his stuff in the guest room.
* * * * *
The six Greyrat children sneak into their papa's study, their eyes wide with excitement and curiosity. Ars lead the way, as he saw where I left my bag after his training session with Red-Mama.
"Good it still here, come on get in hurry"
Lucy whispers back, "Ars, are you sure we should be doing this? It's not right to go through someone else's belongings"
"Yet here you are, sneaking around with us"
"I have to make sure you don't do anything too reckless, I am the oldest"
Lara, however, seemed determined, "We must. It's important"
Seig and Lilly nod eagerly, while Christina goes to her Papa's staff as she points to a similar sliver stone pendant tied to the 'Aqua Heartia'. "See it's the same"
Ars brought over Arthur's sword as he compared the two pendants. "She is right, they are the same ... Ok maybe he is good friends with Papa but that doesn't explain his odd behavior"
Ars looked near the guest chair as Arthur bag was to the side of it. "Look, it's where I remember it, let's take a look"
Ars opened my bag as he and Lara went into its contents and laid them out.
These are the assortment of items:
- a well-worn out journal that seems to stuffed with letters, the cover is full of strange symbols
- a odd rectangular wooden box that seems to be full of pieces inside
- a odd whistle
- a folded map with unfamiliar locations marked
- some dried herbs and bandages
- a few changes of clothes
Ars picks up the odd whistle. "Hey isn't this the same whistle Aisha-nee uses for Leo" Ars was about to blow on it as Lucy slap it out of my hand.
"Idiot!, want the whole house or better yet Leo to come charging in here"
"Right, but why would Arthur have this?"
"Hey what's in this box? It has a weird pattern on the sides" Sieg shook the box full of 'pieces' inside as he unhooks the side and all the pieces scattered on the floor. "What are these? Are these figurines like Papa and Zanoba makes, they are not human like"
The pieces are half dark wood and half white wood. Lucy seems to recognize the pieces, "I think it a game that Papa invented, I think he call it chess"
"Yes I know that game, Papa has a copy of it " I looked around and see a chess table he made to entertain guest in his study. I would play it with Aisha-nee from time to time. It was very confusing but Aisha-nee seemed to enjoy it.
"So why does Uncle have a copy of it, Papa never mass produced it in Zanoba store" Lilly said
"Maybe Papa gave Uncle Arthur the prototype to keep around" Lara theorized.
Lucy picks up the map, "Look at all the places he has been ... Amazing"
Ars crossed his arms at the stuff. "This is just junk, there is nothing juicy"
Seig picks up the old journal filled with letters, he flips through pages as he sees who the letters are from. "Look, these letters are all from Papa! There are so many of them . . ."
"What are on the letters?"
"Hmmm" Seig went through a couple as he skim over the message. "They are mostly about us"
"So you are saying, Arthur has been spying on us?"
"Umm, Ars I don't think it counts as spying if Papa has been giving them to him" Lucy snapped back annoyed.
As the five eldest children examine the objects on the floor, Christina helped herself to Arthur bag as half her small body made its way inside.
It actually looked pretty adorable but I remembered our situation and needed to stop her. Seig also seems to be thinking the same too.
"Chris what are you doing in there"
"Yea Chris ... We have to be careful so we don't get caught"
Chris slowly got out of the bag after what appears she got what caught her eye. As she turned to face me and Seig ... Her face was not her own as her face now took the form of a ominous fox spirit.
"Yaaaaaaaa"
"Ahhhhhhh"
Both me and Seig held each other in instant fear as we stumbled back and fell on our butts.
Ok maybe me and Seig overreacted because upon closer expection it was obvious that Chris found and was wearing was an old, worn-out fox-like mask.
"Ars, Seig ... Calm down, it's only a mask ... You two are gonna blow our cover" Lucy hissed "... And Chris take that off, you don't know where it's been"
"Awww, but it looks cool" Chris was reluctant to take it off. She runs behind the couch so that Lucy doesn't take it off her.
Lara, however, reaches out to touch the mask on Chris's face. Her eyes widen as she whispers "This mask ... It's seen things. Important things"
Lilly, fascinated by the mask intricate design, leans in for a closet look. "It's pretty ... And scary at the same time. I wonder what's it made of?"
"Hmmm I wonder if its the same type of mask Miss Nanahoshi used to wear" Lucy thinks for a bit.
Seig, recovering from his initial fright, gets up and now looks at the mask with a bit of fear and admiration. "Do you think Uncle Arthur wears this on his adventures? Maybe it's magical? ... Ahh! maybe it's part of his secret identity as a hero of justice"
I was still wary, why would this person have a mask this scary if he wasn't suspicious, "I don't like it. Why would he have something like that?"
"Hmmm" Lucy bends forward to examine it closer, "this mask looks to old and worn out to be used adventuring ... Maybe it's sentimen- Lara!"
Lara began to turn the back upside down to take out all its contents. It appears she gave up in trying to be discreet.
"Lara, why are you emptying the bag all the way, wasn't the point of taking out a little at a time was so that no one would notice.
Lara just kept at it emptying the whole bag "Cross that line already, this way is fast anyway"
Lara actions caused more stuff to come out of the bag such as:
- the signature headband of the adventure party 'Dead End'
- a bag of what appeared to be full of sliver dragon scales
- a long old hair pin with a flower ornament on the top
- what appears to be a unfinished ... Scarf? No it looks too long to be a scarf even as it's unfinished.
- a very large old sliver feather from a large beast.
- the last thing that Lara manages to pull out seems to be something that was wrapped in an old pink cloth.
The first thing that I noticed was the 'Dead End' headband ... I know this head band as I see it all the time "Hey, that's that just like the one Aisha-nee always wears! She said that it was special"
Dam, I guess Arthur is telling the truth that he goes way back with Aisha-nee, how close were they? No no calm down ... Aisha-nee said she got that headband from Papa as a parting gift.
Lilly's eyes widen as she examines the bag of sliver scales and shards, her young mind already trying to figure out there nature.
"These aren't dragon scales" she murmurs, running her fingers over the said scales and then the unfinished 'scarf'. "They are too small, too delicate . But what could they be?"
I skeptical crossed my arms, "I don't know maybe he just got it from some monster or something"
Lucy leans in with her brow furrowed. "But Ars, why would Uncle Arthur be making a scarf out of them?"
"Oi Oi, Maybe he is making a magical item? Like some kind of armor for protection on his adventures" Seig chimed in with excitement.
Chris walks up to the group as she plays with the large feather, her voice muffled by the fox mask, and suggest, "What if it's a gift for someone?"
A gift? Whose it for then? ... Could it be a gift for Papa or ...
It's me ... Arthur, come on ... We go way back ...
It couldn't be ... No no
Lara,herself, remains quiet, her gazed fixed on the scales as she grabs a handful of them and drops them back down. Her expression is unreadable, but there's a sense that she understands more than she's letting on.
"What's this?" Lucy says as she picks up the item that was wrapped in a old fabric. "This looks like it's been through a lot"
"Let me see that" I said as snatch the wrapped item as I slowly unwrapped the item to reveal ... A old knife?
I dropped the cloth as Lucy began to examine it. The cloth itself was light pink and seem to be part of female robe but most of the fabric is gone to the test of time and the elements. "Hey this looks like its been through a lot. I wonder who it belongs to?"
An old dirty knife and a old cloth that obviously belonged to a grown woman
"I knew it! ... He must have killed a innocent girl and kept these as trophies!" I dropped the knife in shock.
I knew it, I can't leave this guy alone with Aisha-nee. He obviously has evil plans for her.
"Calm down Ars, Uncle Arthur is an adventurer so of course he would have a survival knife" Lucy explained.
"Oh really, care to explain why he has this hidden in his victim clothes in the bottom of his bag"
As I was letting my imagination run wild. Seig came up and picked up the old knife as he gave a look over.
"Actually Ars, I don't think this is a knife. This looks like it was originally a sword, I think it broke off to the about the size of a knife"
"Oh yea and how do you know that"
"Ummm"
Wait I guess Seig would know what he is talking about about. He has being hanging out with Alec and Orsted for some secret training.
"Nevermind .... So why would he have it wrapped in someone else clothes then"
Lucy took a look at the broken sword, "it's so old ... I wonder what happened to break it like this?"
Lilly gave me a believable answer, "well it looks like he was using this fabric as a makeshift sheath for the sword"
Chris, still with the fox mask, reaches out to touch the cloth, "it feels ... Important. Like it's something special to Uncle Arthur"
Hmmm ... I guess that makes sense. Aisha-nee told me stories of how Papa keeps clothing of Blue-mama as a treasure... Though when I asked more about it she would just say it was an article of clothing and she wouldn't go into detail.
We all sat around the items from Arthur's bag. We were left with more questions than answers.
"So what's does this all mean?"
"How should I know?"
"Well judging from all the female related stuff, maybe he had someone important in his life"
"But where can she be now?"
"You don't think he ...."
"No Uncle Arthur is a good guy"
"I don't trust him"
"Ara Ara ... It looks like we have some snooping children"
"We are not snooping, we are investigating"
"We want to now more about Uncle Arthur"
"Yea, I'm invested"
"Hehe ... You guys knows snooping is wrong though"
"But I must know, if he is the one"
"I just came because it seemed like fun"
"I wanted to see if he had anymore interesting magical tools"
".....?!"
We all frooze as Aisha-nee's voice cut through our rapid fire brainstorming. We all turned to face her when we realized she snuck into our meeting. She was kneeling among us in our circle, she had a expression that was a mix of amusement and curiosity.
"A-Aisha-nee!" I stammered, my face flushing red at being caught.
Lucy on the other hand, tried to gather all the items, her hands shaking slightly. "We ... We were just ..."
Seig and Lilly exchange worried glances, unsure of how to explain our snooping.
Chris just remained silent, her expression hidden by the fox mask.
Lara, however, meets Aisha's gaze steadily. "We needed to know" she said simply.
Aisha quickly scans over the scattered items. And then at the kids. She picks up one of the items as she examines it, the item in question was the hairpin with a flower at the top.
"Hmmmm"
"We needed to know what type of guy Arthur is, you are going with him to some dangerous place" Ars said as he looked down embarrassed.
"Awww Ars is worried about little old me ... im so happy" Aisha stop her slight observation as she brough her face to her cheeks.
Lucy then asked "Do you know anything about this stuff?"
"Do you really want to know?" Aisha was now playing with the large feather.
"Mmm Mmm!"x6
The children all nod eagerly. They all look at Aisha expectantly with puppy dog eyes, hoping she might shed some light on the mysterious items and the secrets they seem to hold.
So Aisha-nee does know about Arthur. They do go why back.
"Well ... I don't know" Aisha sticks her tongue out as she winks. Her answer making all the kids to fall to the ground in shock.
The children all groan in disappointment as they pick themselves up off the floor.
Ars pouts, "B-but Aisha-nee, you must know something! You're going on a mission with him!"
Lucy answers differently than me "Aisha-nee, we're just worried about Uncle Arthur. You saw how he was acting strange at dinner with Grandma Zenith"
Seig nods vigorously. "Yeah! We want to know more about Uncle Arthur. Like this broken sword - it must have an amazing story behind it!"
Lilly holds up the bag of scales. "And these - what could he be making with them?"
Chris, still masked, just simply tilts her head questioningly at Aisha.
Clap ... clap ... clap "Ok that will be enough snooping out of you children for today ... time for bed all of you ... come on, come on ... I'll clean up this mess for you"
"Awwww" one by one the children left the room as Aisha waved good night to Ars as she closed the door. Each child seemed disappointed that they never got any of their questions answered.
The children walked through the halls.
"Aww I wanted to keep on wearing that mask" Chris pouted as Lucy guided her to bed.
Lucy responded, "I wonder what stories that mask could tell if it could speak"
"Maybe it's a magical mask that lets Uncle Arthur talk to spirits!" Sieg pipes up.
Ars rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid. It just an old mask."
"But why would Uncle Arthur keep such an old, worn-out mask? It must be important to him." Lilly asked curiously.
Lara then speaks, "It's a reminder" she says softly, her eyes distant. "Of something he doesn't want to forget."
As the children left, leaving Aisha in the room alone. "Now then, it looks like the children beat me to the punch but ..."
She began her own investigation as she uses the excuse of putting away the items to examine each one and place them gently back in the bag. It seemed just like Ars, Aisha didn't trust Arthur for some reason.