New World - A New Beginning

Walking through the endless maze of Eloria was an experience unlike any other. Letting my body carry me wherever it wanted, swerving past random turns, plazas, and shops.

All five of my senses tingling from the constant stream of sounds, feelings, and smells that wafted from every corner. My left ear rang louder than normal, my eyes quickly glancing over to check the disturbance.

A little girl seemed to be crying at an intersection, tears running down her cheeks as she wailed in desperation. Was she lost?

Helping others was something that was challenging for me, especially if there was no reward or benefit involved. I sighed and continued forward, but my eyes seemed to always return to the girl in her little pink dress, her dark brown hair running down her back.

My legs stopped moving, my body refusing to continue forward as long as I could hear the cries for help ringing in my mind.

I reluctantly changed trajectory, heading towards the girl. Small kids didn't have complex emotions, so I just had to play correctly and I'd be able to help her quickly and get back to my upcoming meeting with Alan.

I removed the hood covering my head, rustling my hair with my hand.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked unconvincingly. The girl looked up at the source of the voice, confused.

Her eyes were incredible, a stunning green that sparkled like an emerald, dignifying her overall appearance.

"I don't know where Mama is," she answered, sobbing once again at her own sentence.

There was no way I'd be able to pinpoint the location of her parents without a thorough investigation of what they looked like, and that didn't seem like the right choice right now.

My mind drifted towards Alan. He was a refugee manager, right? His job wasn't to help little lost girls like this one, but something told me it was the correct course of action.

"I'll help you," I comforted, "can you tell me your name?"

"Alice," she responded, a small ray of hope illuminating her face from her newfound savior.

"Come with me, Alice. I'll help you find your Mom," I said calmly, extending my hand. She hesitantly grabbed it but didn't seem to mind once our hands were linked, sensing the lack of hostility.

I had memorized the roads and addresses of Eloria by now, turning back with little Alice towards the more luxurious venue, where Alan was supposedly located.

Alice had immediately relaxed once we had begun moving, dragging me to random stalls and ogling at the sweet delicacies they offered. I had ended up buying her a little bit too much, but it seemed like she had forgotten about her current situation. One thing I noticed was how hard she would clench my hand when a crowd surrounded us, not wanting to be separated again.

"So Alice, how did you get lost?" I asked as we started entering our desired neighborhood.

"It's my birthday! So Mama and I went shopping!" she exclaimed, overly enthusiastic. I smiled at her incredible energy, always brimming with excitement, at least when she wasn't lost.

She was the polar opposite of Jay Cadmium. A young girl who was joyful and energetic, and a boy who was quiet and reserved, two opposites of a spectrum.

I looked ahead at the building standing in front of us. A luxurious white villa dominated my view, its red-tiled roof creating a marvelous contrast. The architectural design was definitely impressive, and I did not doubt that this was the correct place.

I knocked on the massive double door, awaiting a response.

Hurried steps echoed from behind the door as the entrance swung open, a panting Alan standing on the other side, frameless reading spectacles still resting on his nose. He grinned at me, his eyes bursting with joy.

"Darck! I thought it was you," he muttered, gasping for air.

This guy definitely wasn't athletic...

"Hey there, Alan. I needed your help regarding this little girl-" I started before Alan interrupted me, his eyes suddenly noticing the small girl clutching my hand.

"A-Alice? What are you doing here?" he asked, clearly surprised.

"Uncle Alan!" she squealed, overjoyed to see a familiar face. Her hand slowly let go of mine as she ran inside the building.

"I found her lost in the street. I just thought to bring her to you," I explained calmly, Alan nodding at my brief explanation.

"Thank you, Darck. She's the daughter of some very good friends of mine, they'll be overjoyed to hear that their daughter has been found. Please, come inside!" he gestured, welcoming me into the mansion.

I nodded, physically expressing my thanks, before entering. I marveled at the interior, a crystal chandelier hanging on top of the entrance. A marble staircase could be seen leading upwards and split to either side right ahead, a red carpet laid out along the path.

What a place, I thought before following Alan up the stairs. I glanced to my right, noticing Alice hanging around with another girl of a similar age.

"Your daughter?" I asked. Alan looked back and followed my eyes to the two girls, he smiled.

"Yea. Rose, she's good friends with Alice. They've been like sisters for a while now, ever since Alice's older brother died," he explained, looking down sadly.

"I'm sorry," I expressed, not knowing what else to say.

"It's okay. It happened a few years ago, but her parents still haven't moved on. It's hard, losing your firstborn."

I didn't answer, not wishing to continue talking about this subject.

"Anyway, you want to become an adventurer, right?" he asked, realizing what I was trying to do and leading me towards his office on the second floor.

"Yea. What do I have to do to become official?" I asked, being clueless in the matter.

"You'll first need to get an identification card, and then go through a practical test to acquire a rank," explained Alan as he closed the door behind us before sitting across from me, a polished wooden desk in between us.

I took note of the two steps, which was an extremely quick task considering how self-explanatory they were.

"When can I do this?" I asked, wanting to accomplish this as soon as I possibly could.

"Best I can do is probably one week. I'll have to pull some strings for people to even believe me."

"That's fine by me, so, what do you want in return?" I questioned, knowing this wouldn't be free.

Alan chuckled at the question, realizing the person in front of him was no idiot.

"Let's say for now you owe me, how does that sound?" he suggested, still in disbelief.

I nodded, and the deal was made. In one week's time, I would become an official adventurer. Maybe there were some benefits to meeting Alice.

A sudden scream of relief could be heard downstairs as the door clicked opened.

"Oh, Jane must've arrived," said Alan as he stood up, "excuse me for a second."

"!!"

Jane? Mom?

I calmed myself. The possibility of it being my mother was extremely low, even so, something about the mention of her name crushed me inside, wanting to see my family weighing me down.

JANE'S POV:

I ran up the entire way towards Alan's house as soon as I had heard that Alice had been found. Entering the doorway and seeing my precious daughter again, my heart suddenly sighed in relief. My husband and I had already been ruptured within for life, there was no way we would survive that again.

The thought of losing my second child, my only daughter... Just imagining it could easily drive me to kill myself. I shook the thoughts out of my head as I threw myself at my daughter, kissing her all over in desperation.

"Thank god you're safe!" I muttered, clutching my daughter with all my strength.

"Mama!" shouted Alice as she dug her head into me. I saw Alan coming down the stairs out of the corner of my eyes, a soft smile on his face.

"A stranger found her and brought her here," he said. Alice looked up at me when she heard the comment.

"He was so nice!" she exclaimed, hugging me even harder in excitement, "he bought me so many cool things and never let go of my hand!"

I laughed at the innocence of my daughter, entranced by how adorable she was.

"Is he still here?" I asked Alan. The Fei merely nodded, gesturing me towards the office.

I walked up the stairs slowly after letting Alice go play with Rose, wondering how I could possibly thank this stranger enough.

I knocked delicately on the white wood door, awaiting an answer to no avail. I creaked the door open, entering the room. A peaceful breeze rustled through my hair as a small boy stood there, looking out the window. He had a black cloak that covered his back, a sword in its sheath being visible at the top.

"H-hello," I stuttered, shocked at how young this guy was, "I wanted to come to thank you for saving my daughter, but I'm not really sure my words can express -"

Wait. That hair, that aura, that body...

No. I was dreaming! Just thank him, Jane, I tried telling myself.

But I couldn't. My voice cut as the image spread into my mind. The image of the thing I loved the most in the world, my treasure, my own child entrancing me, tightening a knot in my throat.

The boy turned around slowly, a small tear visible in the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Mom. It's been a while."