Waking up, I feel a bit of a headache from yesterday. Well, it'll pass, I'm sure of it.
Getting up from the bed, I decide to immediately go outside. It's 10:47 AM, which is quite late and I have Sol to look forward to. Father should be dead asleep.
However things take an ugly turn when I see Mr. Oswald looking around awfully concerned... And I don't see Sol near him.
Please, don't tell me...
"Sir, are you alright?"
He looks at me with a pained expression on his face.
"... No. Sol is missing."
I knew it. I knew it, yet my heart sank at hearing those words.
"I believe she woke up before me, but... Dear god..."
"I'll aid you in your search."
In spite of myself, I stepped in. No. I can't let this happen ever again. I won't let my happiness be taken away yet again.
"Then let's split up, I'll search here, you'll go there." Oswald points towards the general direction and I nod.
I can feel my footsteps quickening and headache worsening as I look at every nook and cranny in search of Sol. Where did she go...
"Are you sure you will lead me to his house?"
Huh?
"Yeah sure, lass, just follow our lead, ehe."
Is that Sol?... But why is she with the older guys?... Oh no... This can't be good.
Scouting a little behind this group, they bring her to the secluded spot in the village, almost near the forest.
"Hm? That doesn't seem to be the place where anyone would live..."
"Oh trust us, we decided to discuss our matter away from prying ears. Surely your dad will get mad for intruding on someone."
Sol gives it a little bit of thought before nodding. Dear god, why are you agreeing to any of this?! Shit, gotta figure out the optimal route to get her out of there...
"... Okay..."
"Now, lass, please, lift your dress for us. If you do this, we'll tell you where you can find your friend's house."
"... R-Really?..." She looks scared and distrustful at that "proposal"
"Yeah, just trust us. It's just a simple action, nothing more. And we'll give you candy if you do this. Come on, just lift it."
Oh god, they're really doing this?! Oh fuck... Come on, think! I've got to! I've got to...
Save her
"YOU FUCKING SCUM!!!"
I dash through some of those sick bastards and grab Sol, pushing through the group of amoral imbeciles.
"Huh?! Who the hell is this?!"
"You won't even lay a finger on her, assholes! Burn in hell, all of you!"
"F-Fortune?!..."
"Shut up!"
Those guys are giving me a chase, but even with Sol in my hands, I managed to be faster than any of them. I can feel myself getting tired and my headache worsening, but that doesn't matter. These bastards tried to harm Sol. And I won't let that happen.
"OSWALD!!!" I yell out to him and he turns around, shocked.
"Fortune?! Where did you find her?!"
"That doesn't matter, these guys are after her!"
"WHAT?!"
He immediately takes a step forward and confronts the group.
"What. Were. You. Doing?"
"Uhh... Nothing, sir! He just pushed one of our guys, that's it!"
"LIARS!! You lured Sol beyond the village to do horrible things to her!! Sol, prove them!! Tell them that they tried to harm you!!"
"B-But I don't understand..."
"Alright, let's all calm down..." Oswald tries to de-escalate the situation, but these morons won't have it.
"We were just trying to help her! She wanted to visit a friend with blond hair!"
"I AM THAT FRIEND, DIPSHIT!! And you clearly didn't intend on helping her!! You tried to bribe her so she would do you disgusting bidding!!"
My anger soon dissipated when I heard Sol crying. Damn it. I still look at those bastards with absolute contempt, while holding Sol close to me. Oswald then looks back and forth and finally steps in
"... Can you leave? I would rather not have you interact with my daughter ever again."
"Y-Yes sir."
These bastards finally retreat and he turns to me, who's holding his daughter close.
"Thank you, Fortune. I simply can't thank you enough for saving my daughter."
"... I-It's what friends do..."
I look at Sol, still crying. I understand what she's feeling right now... It's way too familiar to me.
"I-I-I-I-I'm-m.... S-S-S-Sor-rrr-yyyyyyyyy-yyyy... Ahhhhhhhhh!!!.... Uwaaaaaaahhhh!!!!! F-F-For-r-rgiiiii-iii-ive me... PLEAAAAAAAASE!!!!!!----- UWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
"Oh dear... Let's-- go to the inn, shall we?"
Holding Sol close, we arrive at Oswald's room and he brings water to Sol "Here, drink it."
She's shaking like crazy and struggles to hold the cup steady through her tears, but eventually she manages to bring the cup to her lips. She chokes on the water a little bit and I help her to get it out.
It seems she's ashamed to even look at us, staring down at her knees. Oswald is pretty concerned and is afraid to even speak up to her.
~
"Look, even if it's hard for me to say this, I will say it outright."
~
Guess I have to step in. Hopefully I won't make things go from bad to worse.
"Sol. Why were you with those guys?"
"I-I was loo-looking... F-For y-your house... A-And they came t-to meee... T-They said that they c-could he-help..."
"Have you heard of "Stranger-Danger"?"
"... Y-Yeah..."
"Then this rule applies even here! The fact that you're in a village doesn't mean you can trust people that easily! No matter how small the settlement is, even the smallest village in the world can have bad people in it!"
"... O-Okay..."
"Second of all, don't go out by yourself for the love of god! Again, even if it's just a village, obviously you shouldn't go out ANYWHERE by yourself!"
"B-But h-how are you?..."
"Because I lived in this village for way longer than you have. And I didn't venture alone. And you only recently arrived. So never, NEVER go out by yourself. Your dad was worried sick."
She starts to cry again, begging for forgiveness. I want to calm her down, but Oswald says he wants to have 1-on-1 with me, saying that it's best for Sol to let it all out.
"Hm? Is there anything you want to talk about, Sir?"
"Fortune... I'm impressed by how... Awfully mature you sound. How old are you?"
"I'm just 12, Sir... And I don't like that tone..."
"No-no-no! Please don't misunderstand me! It's just, you're almost the same age as my daughter, who is 11. How did you... End up like that?"
"Well... My sister used to berate me a whole lot for my various misdeeds, and she would also read me stories of happy families that cherish each other - as we lived in poverty. She... She basically raised me, but well... She's no longer with us."
"Hmm... I see, then that makes a lot of sense. You had seen the worst of the world. And children who saw the worst of the world are forced to grow up. They become mature for their age, but, shackled by their trauma, they end up becoming childish adults. I'm sorry for your loss, Fortune - hopefully you'll find a way to live with it peacefully."
"... Thank you, sir."
"... I apologise, but I think Sol won't be in a mood to play with you for today. She's clearly too shaken up by the events that followed, hopefully you understand."
"... Alright. Well, I did apply for a job, so I guess I have that to burn time. Also, why didn't you, you know, berate her, sir?"
"Oh you already did all of the berating yourself, I think it's enough."
"... Okay. If Sol asks, tell her that I forgive her.
I have been in those sorts of situations, so I think it's best to tell her that.
That gave me reassurance that my sister wasn't mad at me at the end of the day.
And I feel like that's the thing Sol is worried about the most."