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Due to an incident that happened two months ago, when princess Ylgr went out of the castle on her own and had a morning stroll in the closest town’s center, the Order of Heroes had to start a ‘school’, where all the kids who were part of the Order had to assist, Monday to Friday, since 8:00 to 14:00 hours. It didn’t matter if they were kids, young dragons, or child versions of other heroes.
As she had experience being a schoolteacher, Kiran assigned Cecilia as the group’s professor, whose class included more than twenty under-12 kids, and Nino, who had never been in the school.
- “… And that’s the reason we can’t predict earthquakes.” – the teacher explained and, immediately the school bell rang, announcing that school time was over. – “We’re done for today, kids! But, before you leave, I need to tell you a special announcement.” – Cecilia grinned. – “Tomorrow we will go on an excursion to the forest.” – she heard happy noises. – “But it won’t be only games and fun. In the forest, everybody will find a vegetal or animal specimen, investigate it in the library, and write a report about it. You will deliver your report next week.” – she heard worried noises. – “Don’t worry, your report will be just three pages long. I will see you tomorrow!”
The little heroes left the room they used as their classroom, and outside of it, there was a middle-aged hero, who was waiting for two students.
- “Hi, daddy!” – little Mist hugged the brown-haired man.
- “Hello, father!” – young Ike mimed his sister.
- “Kids! Did you have a good school day?” – Greil asked them while holding them by their hands and started to walk on.
- “Yes, daddy!”– the girl replied cheerfully. – “Today, Miss Cecilia read us a poem from her world, and explained why earthquakes can’t be predicted.”
- “Wonderful, honey.” – Greil turned to see his son. – “How about you, kid? Did you have a good day at school?”
- “Yes, I guess.” – the boy expressed. – “Tomorrow we will go on an excursion in the forest. We are going to see what animals and plants live there, and we must choose one of them to do a report next week.”
- “Great!”– the mercenary exclaimed. – “Will all your classmates go?”
- “Yes, unless someone is missing tomorrow.” – the young blue-haired boy said.
- “Ike, can I ask you a special favor for tomorrow?”
- “Yes!” – he replied to his father immediately. – “Tell me what you want, and I will do it.”
- “Tomorrow, when you go on the excursion, stay close to your sister, and make sure Mist doesn’t get lost, please.” – Greil asked him with a serene voice.
- “But I know how to take care of myself, daddy.” – Mist defended herself.
- “I know, baby, but a forest is a treacherous place, and even the smartest kids can get lost easily.” – her father explained. – “I’m sure your brother would never allow you to get lost, and I’m just asking him to avoid dangerous situations.”
- “You can count on me, father!” – the kid saw him with a determined gaze. – “Tomorrow, everything will be fine. I promise you.”
- “I know it will be fine, son.” – Greil released the boy’s hand and ruffled his hair, a gesture that made him giggle.
The next day, Professor Cecilia and her class set out on the excursion to the forest closest to the castle, about forty-five minutes away by walk.
When they reached the entrance to the forest, Cecilia indicated they should meet at the starting point at three o’clock, to return to the castle before it got too dark. After the teacher gave a few more instructions, the group split up.
- “Wow! A lily of the valley!” – L’Arachel almost shouted when she saw that tiny flower. – “I’m going to write about them!”
- “I found a ladybug!” – Caeda said. – “Surely, there will be a lot of information about ladybugs in the library.”
The children looked for more forest plants and animals that they could use to write their reports.
- “I want to write about butterflies.” – Mist told her brother, as they walked on slowly. – “But I haven’t seen any of them.”
- “Be patient.” – he replied to her. – “I’m sure you will see one soon.”
- “Did you already choose a subject, brother?” – the little girl asked him. – “You haven’t told me what you’d like to write about.”
- “I saw a raven a few moments ago. I will investigate about ravens.” – Ike affirmed.
- “Well, they live in the forest, I guess.” – she smiled. – “I’m sure all the butterflies are just arriving in the forest.” – she sat on a cut log.
- “I hope so.” – he sat by her side.
A few minutes later, a murmuring was heard from a group of boys, who seemed to be looking specifically for their blue-haired classmate.
- “Ike!” – Marth greeted him.
- “Hi, Marth.” – he greeted him back. – “Have you already chosen a subject?”
- “I saw a bluebird, and I thought that would be a good subject for my report.” – he answered. – “All of us have already chosen a subject.”
- “What did you choose, guys?” – Ike asked his classmates.
- “An owl.” – Merric indicated.
- “A fox.” – Innes pointed out.
- “A rabbit.” – Lyon added.
- “A bear.” – Boyd concluded.
- “Did you see a bear?!” – everybody asked him.
- “No, but I know bears live in this forest because my big brother told me about them.” – the green-haired kid explained.
- “How about you, Ike?” – Marth questioned him.
- “A raven, and…”
- “So, you’re done!” – the blue-haired prince exclaimed. – “Come to play with us! Boyd brought a ball, and we can make two teams of three.”
- “That sounds great, but I have to…”
- “Come on, Ike!” – Innes asked him. – “We never have time to play like this. As now we go to the school, we spend our remaining time training or helping with the missions, but it’s not the same as playing.”
- “I promised my father that I would not separate from Mist.” – Ike explained to them. – “We can’t move from here until we see a butterfly, because she wants to do her report about them.”
- “Don’t worry about me, brother.” – Mist turned to see him. – “I can stay here and wait to see a butterfly.”
- “Are you sure?” – he looked at her, a little suspicious.
- “Of course!” – the young girl exclaimed. – “I’ll sit on this log and wait to see if the butterflies come here. You can go to play with your friends.”
- “Where are we going to play?” – Ike turned his gaze to Marth.
- “It’s not that far.” – the young prince pointed out a meadow. – “Mist could see us, and you can watch over her.”
- “… OK.” – the blue-haired boy stood up from the log. – “I will play for a moment, and then I will return here to be with Mist.” – he saw his little sister. – “Don’t move from this place, please.”
- “I will be fine, Ike.” – she smiled at him. – “Have fun with your friends.”
With his little sister's approval, Ike and the other boys headed out to the meadow and began to play with Boyd's ball. A few seconds were enough for the six boys to disconnect from the world outside their game.
Still sitting on the log, Mist was still looking up at the sky, looking for the butterfly that would be the inspiration for her school report. When she finally saw it, it flew so fast that the little girl could not identify its colors, and it was at that moment she decided to follow the insect, trying not to stray too far from the log in which she was sitting.
Mist chased the butterfly for more time than she estimated when, finally, it stopped its flight and posed over a violet flower.
- “You’re so pretty, little butterfly!” – Mist thought, as she contemplated the little insect, as it fluttered its wings. – “You’re yellow, and your wings have brown freckles.” – she grinned. – “With this, I will search for more information about you, and I will write a great report for Miss Cecilia.” – the winged creature flew away. – “Goodbye!”
Mist followed the butterfly’s flight with her sight, and when she couldn’t see it anymore, she realized she was on a creek bank... way far from where she had started her walk, and without knowing how she ended there.
- “Oh no! I strayed too far! I don’t know how to return to Ike!” – Mist’s eyes started to get wet. – “Daddy was right! A forest is a treacherous place! What am I going to do now?” – the tears that were forming in her eyes began to fall.
Terrified, the little girl began to scream and cry loudly, partly because the idea of not being able to return to the starting point scared her, and partly because she had told her father that she could take care of herself, but she could not prove her word.
- “Daddy! Ike! Help!” – Mist shouted and cried, in despair.
- “Are you OK?” – a calm and gentle voice asked her.
The brown-haired girl was surprised that someone paid attention to her call, and she turned to see the owner of that voice.
- “Oh! You’re Azura from the school, aren’t you?”
- “Yes, that’s me.” – the light blue-haired girl replied serenely. – “What’s the matter? Are you lost?”
- “Yes.” – the young girl admitted. – “I was chasing a butterfly, but I didn’t realize where I was going, and I ended up here.” – she rubbed her eyes. – “Are you lost, too, Azura?”
- “No.” – she stated directly. – “I came to this place, the creek bank, because there are some flowers named purple loosestrife flowers growing up here, and I want to do my homework about them.” – she pointed out the violet flower where the butterfly posed a few minutes ago. – “That’s a purple loosestrife flower.”
- “It’s so pretty!” – Mist gazed at the violet flower. – “You chose a fantastic subject for your report.”
- “Thank you.” – Azura turned to look at the brown-haired girl and noticed that she still wasn’t completely calm. – “You still feel uneasy, and you can’t return to your brother if you feel like that.” – she smiled at her. – “Would you like to hear a song?”
- “Yes, please.” – the small girl cheerfully said.
- “I will sing you the song my mother sings to me when I have nightmares.” – the golden-eyed girl sat under a tree, and the turquoise-eyed girl sit by her side.
After the boys finished their game, Ike turned to see the log where, supposedly, Mist would be waiting for him. When he didn’t watch her sister in the place she should be, the blue-eyed kid felt his stomach drop.
- “Mist?!” – Ike was quickly disturbed. – “Mist!” – he started running towards the forest.
Fueled by fear and guilt, Ike ran and screamed his sister’s name frantically wherever he went, without having an action plan or a definite direction to follow.
- “I’m an idiot! I should have not neglected Mist to go play with Marth and the others!” – the blue-eyed boy kept saying in his head, with lots of remorse, while he kept moving through the forest. – “Mist, please, please show up now, and I promise you…” – his thoughts and feet stopped when he heard a faint voice, singing something incomprehensible from his position. – “Who is singing? It sounds pretty relaxing. Maybe the person who is singing might have seen Mist. I will follow that voice!” – he tried to pay attention to locate the melody’s origin and started to move following the sound’s intensity.
The blue-eyed boy continued his way, guided by the growing intensity and clarity of the beautiful song. After walking down for a while, the young boy arrived at the creek bank, where he found out his little sister, way calmer, contemplating a light blue-haired girl, who was singing for her with her eyes closed.
- “Mist!” – Ike shouted to get her attention, with reluctant tears in his cerulean eyes as he ran toward her.
- “Brother!” – the little girl turned her head and smiled at him.
The boy quickly walked over to his little sister, who stood up to greet him. When he reached her, Ike hugged Mist and fell to his knees, letting his tears flow freely.
- “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” – he apologized profusely to his sister. – “I shouldn’t have gone to play. Forgive me, Mist. I promise you it won’t happen again.”
- “Don’t apologize, brother.” – she hugged him back. – “I was wrong to chase the butterfly and leave without telling you. I’m sorry.”
- “No, this was all my fault.” – the boy insisted. – “If I hadn’t gone to play with the guys, we would have gone together to look for the butterfly, and you wouldn’t have gotten lost.” – he released her and rubbed his eyes. – “The only thing that matters is that you’re safe and sound, and I was able to find you.”
- “That was thanks to Azura, brother.” – Mist pointed out the light blue-haired girl, who was already standing up and was watching them, silently, with a neutral expression. – “She found me, stayed with me, and sang me a song to make me feel calm.”
Ike turned to see Azura, whom he recognized as one of his classmates, but with whom he had never spoken. He knew she was quiet and a little distant but, at that moment, he was sure she was a good person.
- “Did you do all those things for Mist?” – he asked her to confirm his little sister’s words.
- “Yes. I saw she was…” – she couldn’t finish what she was saying because the blue-eyed boy hugged her.
- “Thank you so much for taking care of my sister!” – he thanked her with a sincere voice. – “For real, thank you.”
Azura, who was starting to get along with people, was surprised by that reaction. She wasn’t used to people who didn’t know her being affectionate with her… but it wasn’t an unpleasant experience.
- “Ummm… you don’t need to thank me, Ike.” – Azura replied to him, sort of surprised, with a shy smile on her face.
- “This is so weird!” – Mist pointed out. – “I had never seen my brother hugging a girl who wasn’t me.”
- “…” – Ike realized his sister was right and released the golden-eyed girl. – “Forgive me!” – his cheeks reddened a little. – “That was too much.”
- “Don’t mind it.” – the young girl assured him. – “You were worried about her, and you were relieved to see that she was safe, right?”
- “Yeah, I think that was the reason.” – he said. – “Thank you for being so kind to her.”
- “I couldn’t leave Mist as I found her because she was scared and alone.” – her eyes looked sad. – “I know what it feels to be alone, without anyone being able or willing to help you, and I would not like her or anyone else to suffer from loneliness.”
Ike noticed her voice denoted a deep sadness when she mentioned loneliness, so he decided to do something to remedy that feeling.
- “If you don’t want more people to suffer from loneliness, you might want to start with yourself.” – Ike extended his hand to Azura. – “If we’re friends, you won’t be alone at the school, and we could meet after school.” – he smiled at her. – “Do you want to be my friend?”
- “I want to be friends with Azura!” – Mist extended her hand, too. – “I think you and my brother are about the same age, so you would be like my big sister.” – she giggled.
- “…” – Azura was shocked by the siblings’ words. – “Do you mean it?” – Due to past experiences, she had become distrustful when it came to people who wanted to be nice to her.
- “Sure! You can trust in me, Azura.” – the boy was still smiling. – “You were kind to my sister, and I could never harm someone gentle with Mist.” – he offered her his hand again.
The golden-eyed girl looked into the boy’s blue eyes and tried to find confirmation of his words. His gaze was sincere, and, at that moment, she knew she could trust him.
- “Alright.” – Azura smiled and took the siblings’ hands. – “And now, as we’re friends, let’s back to the starting point. It seems it’s time to return, and I don’t want Miss Cecilia to scold us for being late.”
- “Do you know how to get back?” – the siblings asked in unison.
- “Yes.” – she answered them as if it were nothing. – “I memorized the road, and I left a pinecone trace. We only need to follow it, and we’ll be back at the starting point.”
- “And why are you telling it until now?” – Ike asked her, not understanding the reason to hide that information.
- “Because, first, Mist was scared, and she needed to be calm to return.” – the girl explained. – “And second, it was good that we didn’t leave right away because you were also wandering in the woods, and if you hadn’t heard me sing, you wouldn’t have found your sister and me. Maybe you would have been even more lost if I had taken Mist back to the starting point as soon as I found her, don’t you think?”
- “…” – he analyzed what his classmate said. – “I think you’re right.”
- “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.” – Mist indicated. – “The important thing here is that Azura knows how to return to the starting point.”
- “True.” – he turned to see the light blue-haired girl. – “Guide us, please.”
- “Don’t let go of me, please.” – she squeezed the hands she was holding, and the trio started to walk on.
To the children of Greil’s surprise, the distance between the creek bank and the starting point was not that long, but the road was full of curves and splits, so they seemed further apart than they were. Azura was holding Ike’s hand with her right hand and Mist’s with her left, so she was in the middle of them.
- “Is this one of the pinecones you used as a trace?” – Mist took one with her free hand.
- “Yeah.” – Azura confirmed. – “I placed them near trees that were not secondary conifers, to know that I had left them there.”
- “That was a smart move.” – Ike admitted. – “I wouldn’t have thought in using pinecones as a trace.”
- “As I knew the purple loosestrife flowers were further from the forest, I made preparations and left a trace to help myself to find the way to return.” – she explained.
- “Purple loosestrife flowers?”
- “They’re pretty flowers, brother.” – Mist replied. – “Azura said they grow up near the creek, but they’re not useful to make flower crowns.” – she added. – “I noticed it when I saw their stems.”
- “Lucky us!” – her brother said in a lower voice.
- “What did you say?” – the turquoise-eyed girl gave him another chance.
- “Unlucky us!” – he ratified his answer.
Azura couldn’t help but giggle as she watched the siblings interact.
They kept going a little further until they reached the starting point, where Marth was talking to his teacher.
- “…And he ran into the forest alone.” – Marth explained to Miss Cecilia. – “We didn’t have the chance to offer him…” – he saw the three kids. – “Ike! You were able to come back! And you found Mist, too! I’m so happy for you!”
- “Hey, Marth.” – he greeted him. – “Azura found Mist, then I found them, and she guided us here.” – he explained to Marth and their teacher. – “I apologize for leaving like that.”
- “The guys and I could have offered to help you to find her, but you ran into the forest before we could say anything.” – Marth commented. – “You don’t have to do everything by yourself.”
- “I already learned that.” – he answered the young prince.
- “The important thing here is that you were able to return.” – Cecilia concluded. – “We’ll return to the castle in a few minutes, so get ready, please.”
Mist released Azura’s hand, and she approached her friends Ilyana and Est, who were near there, along with Est’s older sisters.
- “Ike…” – Azura turned her face to see him. – “You can release my hand if you want to.”
- “…” – he released her hand as if it was a hot iron. – “Excuse me! I didn’t notice I was…”
- “No, it’s OK.” – she smiled at him. – “I just said in case you wanted to go somewhere else or talk with another person.”
- “Thanks, but I’m good.” – he looked at the hand that released Azura. – “You’re a very unusual girl.”
- “Unusual?!” – the golden-eyed girl seemed a little offended.
- “I mean it as something good!” – Ike quickly clarified. – “I find most girls sorta annoying, but not you, although I don’t know why.” – he smiled at her with sincerity. – “I like you a lot, Azura.”
- “And I like you, Ike.” – she smiled back.
A couple of minutes later, Cecilia motioned for her students to group up and follow her back to the castle. Mist stayed with Est and her older sisters, who put her on Palla’s pegasus back, so she didn’t have to walk for forty-five minutes. Marth was walking with Caeda by his side, and Innes approached L’Arachel; that gave a blue-eyed boy an idea.
- “Do you want to walk with me?” – Ike asked Azura. – “I mean, Mist is with Palla and her sisters, so she won’t need me for a while.”
- “Sure!” – the girl seemed delighted to walk by his side.
As the group moved forward, Ike voiced his concern about his father’s reaction when he would find out that he couldn’t keep the promise he made the day before. Azura suggested that, if possible, he could omit what happened, but the boy commented that, sometimes, Mist could be sort of chatty, and if Greil accidentally found out what happened, the consequences could be much worse.
- “He’s going to kill me, Azura!” – the young boy was genuinely worried.
- “But everything went fine in the end.” – she tried to stay positive. – “You weren’t even that lost.”
- “Yeah, but he asked me to stay close to Mist, and to take care that she didn’t get lost.” – his gaze seemed sad. – “I failed my father.”
- “But you tried to fix your mistakes, and you did it.” – she indicated. – “If you tell him the complete story, maybe he won’t be so severe with you.”
- “I’m scared.” – he admitted.
- “I know you can do it!” – the girl exclaimed. – “Besides, it seems your father loves you so much, so no matter how stern he could be, if he knows you regret what you did and you did something to fix it, maybe he won’t punish you so harshly.”
The kids kept talking until they returned to their classroom. There, as he did it since school started, Greil was already waiting for his children.
- “Daddy!” – Mist ran to hug her father. – “I’m so happy to see you!”
- “Hello, sweetie!” – Greil greeted his daughter. – “Did you have fun on the excursion in the forest?”
- “Yes, but I got scared, too.” – the child admitted.
- “What did you get scared of, darling?”
- “I will explain it, father.” – Ike intervened before his sister could say something else.
- “Tell me, kid.” – the father turned to see him, with a somewhat worried face. – “What happened in the forest?”
- “…” – the child turned to see Azura, who was by his side, and she nodded. – “Truth is, Mist almost got lost in the forest today.” – he sighed resignedly. – “My classmates invited me to play with them, and I agreed.” – he gulped. – “When we finished, Mist wasn’t where I had left her.”
- “…” – Greil was listening to his son.
- “Then I looked for her in the forest. And thanks to Azura, who was singing at that moment, I was able to find Mist, because she found her first.” – Ike pointed out to the golden-eyed girl. – “This girl is Azura.”
- “Good afternoon, Mister Greil.” – she greeted him.
- “Thanks to her, everything went fine.” – he saw his father with fear and guilt. – “Please forgive me, father. I promise you it won’t happen again, and I’m willing to take any punishment you think I deserve.” – he closed his eyes, waiting for the worst.
- “…” – Greil sighed. – “You didn’t keep your promise, kid. I won’t deny I’m a little annoyed.” – he noticed his son kept his eyes closed. – “Ike, look at me when we’re talking.”
- “Yes, father.” – he obeyed.
- “I know it wasn’t your intention to leave your sister alone for a long time, but you did it anyway.”
- “I’m sorry.”
- “And I know that…”
- “Mister Greil…” – Azura intervened. – “Please, don’t be so harsh with Ike.”
- “Azura, right?” – he asked to confirm her name. – “Look, this is between…”
- “I know I shouldn’t intervene or interrupt the adults, but I want to tell you about something that happened when Ike found Mist.” – she almost begged.
- “What did happen?”
- “Ike cried a lot when he found her, because he was afraid of not finding her, and was truly relieved when he saw Mist.” – she told him with absolute frankness.
- “Azura!” – the angry boy flushed, as he felt that detail should be kept as a secret.
- “Quiet, boy.” – Greil scolded his son. – “Azura, what else happened?”
- “After that, Ike apologized to her and hugged her.” – she narrated. – “He also promised her it wouldn’t happen again, and Mist recognized that she should not have left without warning either.”
- “Is that true, Mist?” – the brown-haired man asked his little daughter.
- “Yes, daddy.” – Mist admitted. – “That’s what I told my brother.”
- “…” – Greil analyzed what he heard. – “You must have been truly distressed if you shed tears.” – he saw his son with a softer gaze. – “I think you’ve suffered enough for today, kid.”
- “So…?” – the boy paid attention to his father’s corporal language.
- “You won’t be spared from a punishment, but after what Azura told me, it will be a lot lighter than I was thinking.” – Ike’s father smiled slightly. – “Although you didn’t keep your promise, you tried to amend your mistakes, and with your friend’s help, you were able to fix them.” – he ruffled his son’s hair. – “Even when you make a mistake, you always find a way to make me feel proud of you, boy.”
- “Thank you, father!” – Ike smiled at him.
- “And you, young lady, thank you for helping my children.” – Greil told the light blue-haired girl.
- “Ike and Mist are good kids, Mister Greil.” – she replied. – “They even offered to become my friends, and I agreed.”
- “Well, they’re lucky to be friends with you.” – he smiled at her. – “It’s time to leave, kids.”
- “Yes, daddy.” – Mist waved her hand to say goodbye to her new friend. – “See you tomorrow, Azura!”
- “See you tomorrow, Mist.” – the golden-eyed girl mimed her gesture.
- “Thank you so much for everything, Azura.” – Ike held her right hand with his hands. – “My father is right. I’m lucky that we’re friends now.” – he smiled at her and released her hand. – “I will see you tomorrow, friend.”
- “I will see you tomorrow, friend.” – she smiled back.
While Azura watched her new friends walk away with their father, a familiar voice called her.
- “My beautiful baby girl! I’m already here.” – Arete called to her daughter.
- “Hello, mother!” – the child hugged her.
- “Can you tell me about your day, please?” – the lady asked her, as they started to walk on.
- “I made two new friends today!” – Azura exclaimed. – “Their names are Ike and Mist. They go to the school with me, but today was the first time we talked.”
- “Marvelous, dear! Tell me, how did you become friends?”
- “Well, everything started when…”
Azura explained to her mother all the details of the excursion, and how Ike and Mist became her friends. Arete listened to her daughter’s words and couldn’t help but smile when she saw how happy her girl seemed.
Definitely, and despite all eventualities, that day had been a good day.
The End.
