The Bittersweet Ones

I walked up to the statue and read the lettering written across.

"If you wish to proceed through the valley of the dead, decorate the statue in scarlet blood to reveal the path."

I stared at the statue in skepticism, remembering that I had heard before of hidden treasures in this cave, I guess scarlet blood is referring to one of them. Venturing off, I started looking for the scarlet stone. Everything was so quiet, it was uncomforting, and not to mention how dark it was, not even my lantern could properly light the way.

While holding my lantern, I drew out my sword, and at that moment I heard a noise. I looked around while slowly walking about, the noise started to sound like moaning and it was getting closer. Abruptly turning around towards the noise, the lantern revealed a corpse crawling on the floor. Distorted, it stood up then quickly lunged in my direction. I quickly attached the lantern to my belt, then- with my sword- slashed the corpse in half as it was coming for me. I hadn’t noticed until now that my breathing had become heavy. Trying to take a deep breathe to calm myself, I continued walking until I ended up at an enclosing with a coffin at the end of the room.

I walked toward it, then slowly removed the lid from the coffin. Just as I suspected, the scarlet stone was in the coffin. It was a bright red, despite it being so dark. Quickly, I picking it up and headed toward the statue, when I arrived, I placed the scarlet stone in the statue. At that moment, I heard a giant stone moving, I glanced to see one of the doors- the largest one- slowing open.

I made my way passed the door and into a hallway that led me to a large circular room… full of ghosts. I stood there in disbelief, watching them float about as if they were looking for something. They kept calling out to someone: Master?

"Hey." I called out to them.

When they all turned towards to me, I realized I should have considered whether they were evil ghosts or not. Then I thought: How am I going to fight them?

Snapping out of my train of thought, I saw that the ghosts had flown toward me, I placed my hand of my sword, regardless.

"Hey!" One of them said in revelation "Isn’t that the lad that saved the kingdom of Tetria from that evil sorcerer?"

My face fell in disbelief.

"No, no, no, this one’s different." The other one answered. There were a total of five ghosts.

Another ghost flew toward the first one that spoke, "Yeah, look, this one has gray hair, so he’s obviously older than the hero."

Another one appeared in front of me, "And this one has red eyes, so he mst be some kind of demon!"

I stepped back, an enraged look crossed my face as they all started laughing.

Suddenly another ghost appeared, it was a female ghost, and she was very beautiful and fairer looking.

"Stop laughing, all of you." She scolded with a very soft, tender voice. She glided towards me, "I’m very sorry on their behalf, they’re poor of manners," She smiled gently, "May I ask what it is that brings you here?"

"Hey!" One of them yelled in anger as he rushed toward me. "Don’t you disrespect Lady Fa like that! You hear me, punk?! She ain’t no ghost, she’s a spirit and don’t you forget it!"

Lady Fa placed her hand on the angry ghost’s shoulder to calm him down. "It’s okay, maybe he can help us." She faced me, "You see, a dear friend of ours is lost and we can’t seem to find him anywhere."

"Your master?" I asked, remembering that they had been calling that out.

She smiled, "My father and deceased graveyard keeper."

I lightly gasped, for someone so young like her to have perished. I wonder what the cause was.

"So that’s why there are ghosts wandering the graveyard." I paused in thought.

Lady Fa frowned, "I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to frighten the villagers. Even as ghosts, old people don’t seem to change." She giggles in spite of herself.

I couldn’t help but smile, "I guess I can help you find him."

"Naoki." I answered as I drew out my sword and headed towards the hallway.

They all followed.

After a while of searching, we all came to the conclusion that their master was nowhere in this crypt. We looked everywhere, I now know this pace by heart. We ended up stopping at the end of the crypt to rest, I looked around until I was alarmed by the ghostly scream of Lady Fa. I quickly faced her and the other ghosts and saw her pointing at something. I followed her finger, leading me to a giant creature that appeared from the depths of the darkness.

It was crawling but its body was arched forward. I quickly drew out my sword, only prompting it to lunge at me, I swiftly dodged its attack then ran after it and sliced its leg. The creature tried to take another swipe at me, but I jumped out of the way before it could hit me.

At that moment, I heard various yells from afar, I looked to see all the ghost, except for Lady Fa, holding out ghostly swords and charging for the creature. They all started attacking it, with each swipe of their swords the creature was somehow affected by it, a sort of phantom version of itself would come out of it, then snap back in. It gave me an idea. I yelled at the ghosts to keep thrusting at the creature as I climbed on top of a boulder. While the creature was distracted, I lifted my sword and lunged onto the monster, stabbing it from above. It started screeching in pain, throwing me off its back and causing me to crash against the wall. Lady Fa quickly made her way for me.

I faced the creature as it roared and screeched until it finally stopped, erupting into a million tiny black fragments that eventually faded away. Once everything cleared where the monster had been, a white glow appeared. Lady Fa and I faced each other, she took a closer and her face suddenly beamed in excitement.

"Father!" She quickly flew towards the, now ghostly figure of a hunched old man, and hugged him.

The old ghost placed his hand on his forehead and groaned, "Augh… what happened? My head aches."

Lady Fa started laughing and hugged her father once more, "It doesn’t matter, you’re safe now."

I wasn’t very fond of tender moments, so picked up my sword and sheathed it, then took my leave.

As I reached to opening of the crypt, I could see the light of day I so desperately wanted to get to. However, I was stopped by the ghosts, along with Lady Fa and her father.

"Young man," The old man called out in his ancient voice. "You weren’t really going to leave without allowing me to properly thank you, were you?"

"It was no big deal."

I gazed at the old ghost apologetically. "Is that why you’re all still here, because of your grief?"

They all nodded.

I faced downward, unsure what to say at this point, not that there was anything left to say except: "I’m sorry."

Both the old man and Lady Fa smiled warmly.

"You don’t have to apologize." She consoled.

"That’s right, demon-eyes! We’ll be just fine." One of the ghosts assured with a big grin on his face.

"So don’t you go cry now, you hear me?" Another ghost laughed.

"Yeah, or you might get more gray hairs." Giggled another ghost.

Despite it all, I ended up laughing with them, only not as hard. However, I couldn’t help but feel a sadness inside myself as we said goodbye. I took one last look before I left the crypt, one by one, the ghosts faded away behind me until it was just Lady Fa and her father, then just her father, then… emptiness.

The blinding light from the sun hurt my eyes as I emerged from the darkness of the crypt. I couldn’t see clearly, but quickly I felt someone hug me. When my eyesight returned to me, I saw that it was Lita who had embraced me. I also realized that many people were clapping and cheering for me.

"Naoki! You’re okay! I’m so glad!" She was beaming more than usual.

I lightly pushed her off of me, "I told you I was going to be fine, didn’t I?"

"Yes!" Again there was a beam.

I tried to hide the blushing sensation bursting on my face from her. Then, abruptly, I heard Jin call out to me. I saw her quickly walking with Momotaru close behind her.

"What happened in there? Did you figure out why there were ghosts appearing?" She asked impatiently.

"Everything’s fine," I answered while crossing my arms and looking uninterested. "They were just looking for a friend of theirs, it was nothing serious."

Images of Lady Fa and her father flashed into my mind.

"But you’re covered I scrapes and bruises!" Jin interrupted my thought.

I just now realized that I was, and so did Lita. She quickly looked up at me and I gave her a reassuring look.

"Everything’s okay now, Jin. They won’t bother the villagers anymore." I assured her once again.

She smiled in confidence. "Okay then, thanks for everything, Naoki. I really appreciate it."

"You did good." Momotaru commended in irritation.

Soon after being congratulated by everyone else, Lita and I were left alone in the graveyard. We stood there in awkward silence until my stomach had interrupted with a symphony of growls and snarls, thus causing Lita to giggle.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" She offered, continuing to giggle.

Unable to hide my embarrassment, I accepted her offer, then followed her to her house.

When we finished dinner, Lita began doing washing the dishes. I sat on the couch and started watching as she wiped one plate then placed it in the cupboard. Once I grew bored, I leaned back against the couch.

"Thanks for dinner, Lita."

She sat on the couch in front of me and smiled brightly. "You’re welcome, I’m glad you liked it. I’m not much of a cook, though."

I faced the ceiling and closed my eyes whilst placing my hands behind my head, "So Lita, you live here by yourself?" I felt compelled to ask, even though it’s such a small house.

"Well…"

I heard her hesitate so I looked at her, she had such a sad expression. It concerned me.

"I live with my father, actually, but he’s never home. I guess the job of being a guard at Tetria castle is a fulltime thing." She laughed halfheartedly.

I gazed her longing face, I felt like saying something to comfort her, but she continued to speak.

"Yet… somehow I’m never lonely, so I can’t complain." A warm smile grew on her face, which reassured me. "What about you, Naoki?" She abruptly asked.

"Me?" I responded, now noticing that I haven’t spoken much about myself in the time that we’ve been together.

"You’re Aoki’s twin brother, right? Don’t you two live with your parents? Where are they?"

My face fell heavily, I didn’t know how to respond to her series of questions.

My parents? My parents… "My parents are dead. They died years ago."

Shock befell upon her face.

"My parents were part of the resistance group that the stealth warriors started during the war…" I continued, "During a raid, they were killed… they were killed for fighting for what’s right." Anger started to grow inside me.

Lita looked at me with sad eyes, "Do you miss them?"

I didn’t say anything at first. I never spent much time with my parents when they were alive, being the black sheep and all. I don’t ever think about them much.

"Of course I miss them." Was all I could manage to say.

To be honest, I didn’t remember much about my parents. I’m sure I don’t have the memories that Aoki has, it felt almost as if… I never had parents.

I hadn’t realized that I had fallen asleep on Lita’s couch until I awoke in the middle of the night. I looked around until I found Lita fast asleep too, so I quietly tiptoed towards the door and slowly opened it.

"You’re leaving?"

I quickly turned around to see Lita standing behind me at a modest.

"Yeah." I responded, unsure if I should.

She started twiddling her fingers while looking down, "Y-you don’t have to, I mean, I wouldn’t mind, if you stayed."

A thought crossed my mind and I felt anxiety rush itself through my body. I couldn’t stay, I can’t stay.

"Yeah, well, I do mind." I tried to sound as harsh as possible, the last thing I wanted was to send off the wrong signal.

I left as quickly as I responded to Lita, I ended up at the tree in the center of the grasslands. Leaning against it, I pressed my hands over my eyes and slowly plopped myself on the ground. I wanted to stay, I really did. Would it have been wrong to stay? Then again, when have I ever cared about what is wrong or right? Damn it.

My hands balled into fists as I grew frustrated.

Why does she make me feel this way? It’s so frustrating. I wanted to stay, but it felt wrong to. It felt wrong to stay.

I kept cursing inside my mind until I fell asleep, something I had regret doing on account of my backache the next morning. I made my way toward Tiria Loch to see if I could get some peace of mind. If there’s one thing I didn’t hate in this world, it’s sheer bliss of the loch. I watched the mermaids splash around in the water, the butterflies aimlessly flap around patches of flowers. That’s when I noticed they were the same flowers that Lita’s always picking. They were lilies. I lightly smiled. In a way, the lilies were quite like her. It was as if they represented her; her personality, the way she looked, her gently nature. Gazing at them, the thought of her giving Aoki a basket of flowers crossed my mind. Then I felt angry, somewhere deep inside of me, I wished that she would have given them to me instead. I quickly shook off that notion.

At that moment, I saw Aoki walking along the lakefront. I noticed that he was with someone, it was Nami. My mind started to wonder, are they together or something? Not that I cared. Trying not to think about it, I started wondering about Lita.

I must have hurt her last night. She probably hated me after what I did to her. No. Lita couldn’t hate anybody, knowing her. Yet… maybe she doesn’t want to see me anymore.

I have to stop thinking about this.

"Hey! Hey, Naoki!" The call of an annoying little fairy named Yue, helped me do just that.

Yue had appeared right I front of me, she was entirely an eccentric fairy, and every time we conversed I always ended up with a head ache.

"What is it, Yue?" I asked, trying to sound annoyed.

She leaned in on my face, "What are you up to? Huh, Naoki? What are you doing here?"

I flicked her away and she cried in pain.

"Hey! Ouch! That hurt!" She clamored.

I crossed my arms. "Yue, what do you want?" I didn’t have to try to sound annoyed.

She smiled again. "I came to see Aoki and Nami, but I saw you sitting here all lonely.

I looked away, "I wasn’t lonely."

"If you say so." She giggled whilst swaying from side to side.

I groaned, but it was interrupted by her sudden revelation.

"Have you seen Yun and Yuna?" She quickly asked in the most hyperactive tone.

I made a face, "No, why would I? Aren’t they in Airia?"

She thought for a second then gave an ‘oh’ and started laughing nervously, "That’s right, I had forgotten! They sent a letter saying they would come visit, but, I haven’t seen them." Her tone saddened.

Still irritated, I tried to console her, "Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll show up soon enough." I rolled my eyes.

I made my preparations t Jin’s house, who wasn’t too keen on the idea of me traveling so far away. Then again, stealth warriors aren’t too keen on travel I general. She gave me a pouch of supplies and gold pieces, a bow, and a horse.

"It’s just a short trip to Airia, Jin. I’ll be back in two days." I sighed

She hesitated, trying to come up with some excuse to stall me. "Well, wha about Lita?" She quickly asked.

I faced her in a surprise, "What about Lita?"

A brightly lit light bulb appeared over Jin’s head, "Why don’t you take her with you?"

My face fell a little, "No, absolutely not, it’s too dangerous, Jin."

She pouted, "Oh come on, Naoki. I’m sure you can handle her just fine. Besides, she’s never been out of Tetria, it’d be a fun experience for her. For the both of you."

Finally managing to convince me, I groaned, "Fine."

She smiled brightly then pushed me out the door for Lita’s house.

I didn’t make any promises with Jin, I still wasn’t sure if Lita even wanted to talk to me. I didn’t know what she would say.

When I arrived at her house, I was greeted by a letter nailed to the door stating that she was in Tiria Loch picking flowers. After reading the note, I quickly started for the loch, realizing the day was fading away. I saw Lita sitting in the middle of a patch of flowers when I got to the loch. I stood there, unsure of whether I should go to her or not. I didn’t have much of a choice on the matter, regardless. I gathered up my courage and forced my legs to move in her direction. When she noticed I was in her presence, she smiled happily, as if last night never even happened, and I was glad.

"Naoki!" She quickly stood up, losing her balance in the process and toppling onto me.

"Be careful." I scolded while trying to hide my blushing face and helping her regain her balance.

She giggled. "Sorry, s-so what brings you here?"

I tried to retrace my thoughts, "I’m going to Airia today, you know, the kingdom of the west."

Her face fell, "Oh? What for?"

"Just to visit." I nonchalantly said.

"Uh, okay then. Have fun, I guess." She tried to sound excited for me.

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, "Would you like to come with me?"

She looked up in surprise and hidden enthusiasm, "Are you serious? Really? Do I really get to go?"

"Yeah."

Before I could even finishing saying that one word, she hugged me at an instant along with a cheer of sheer delight.

"Okay, okay, calm down, will you?" I slightly smiled.

We walked back to Umachan Village, I had instructed Lita to go pack whatever she needed. Jin was waiting for me outside with the horse she let me borrow, she was a black horse named Ebony, I kind of liked it.

"So what did she say?" Jin asked anxiously.

"She said yes, she’s packing her things right now." I said as I walked up to the horse.

Jin started to gently stroke the horse, "I did some more packing of my own, everything you need is in these pouches." She indicated the pouches attached to Ebony’s saddle.

I thanked her then took the horse and began to walk off, suddenly, Jin stopped me by quickly grabbing my arm.

"Take care of her." She gave me a stern look.

"Don’t worry," I faced the direction where Lita was, walking towards us, "I won’t let anything happen to her, I swear it."

Jin smiled.

I noticed that Lita didn’t have any bags or pouches. I was happy about the light load, but at the same time, confused.

"You’re not bringing anything?" I asked, skeptical.

She held out something that was hidden in her hand. It was a small wooden flute. "This is all I’m bringing." She faced me and smiled warmly.

"Are you sure?" Asked Jin, "Don’t you want to bring any extra clothes or supplies, anything like that?"

"There’s an inn in Airia that has all that stuff, JIn. Don’t worry." I obstructed whilst helping Lita onto the horse. "It won’t take that long to get there anyway." I continued as I got on the horse.

"By the time you get there?" Jin asked.

"It’ll be nightfall." I answered as if finishing her sentence.

I faced Lita to check if she was ready to go, she smiled at me. I took it as an indication to depart, lightly kicking the horse, we galloped away in direction of Airia. We rode off into the setting sun, until our shadows faded away.