After a long stretch of walking,
Rosalia finally makes it to civilization though it is a bit small. It is a
small village town that appears to have been recently affected by the war as
people repair their broken buildings and homes. Destroyed crops are being
plucked out of the ground as new ones are planted. Pieces of dying dolls are
passed onto their families so they can continue to carry their family’s legacy
while the enemy dolls are put together then wrapped honorably. Before, the Flos
used to send carts of Crystallis doll shells to the enemy as a sign of respect
for their enemy, but the Crystallis destroyed most of the carts because the
Crystallis view the hollow shells of their comrades as useless and valueless. During
these recent times, the Flos just bury the shells of their enemies in their own
special grave site away from the graves of the Flos.
One of the normal civilians says, “I
don’t get it. Why do we need to respect the bodies of their dead when they don’t
do the same for their own? I’ve heard horror stories of what they do to the
bodies of our soldiers. We should burn them all in a fire because that’s where
their souls end up anyway!”
“Don’t be so disrespectful. I’ve
heard dozens of reports that say some of the Crystallis travel over to honor
their dead,” a relative responds.
“It’s just their pride that makes
them do this,” a villager says, “Besides, we shouldn’t be like the savages.”
“You’re right. We should take the
Crystallis that come over and hold them for ransom!”
“Stop saying and thinking such things!
You’re no different than them if you truly think this way.”
Rosalia approaches the hateful
person and says, “He’s right you know. We should find ways to love our enemies
and be respectful to their dead. Being as evil as the worst of them is only
going to make things worse.”
“Hmph.”
The hateful person walks away while
their relative walks with them.
“We don’t see many understanding people
like you around here. What brings you to our recovering little town?”
“I’m just passing through. My own
little town was recently attacked by the Crystallis and my baby boy here was
affected by a terrible spell. I have to get him to the springs to have him
cured.”
“That’s a dangerous journey, but I won’t
stop you from taking it. Some of our city guards would accompany you along the
way, but whoever we have left are guarding us as we repair our homes and I don’t
think we can spare even one.”
“I understand. I pray that your
town stays safe.”
“You’re a strong mother. What is your
name?”
“Rosalia.”
“Rosalia…I’ve heard that name somewhere
before. You don’t happen to famous, do you?”
“If I was, I wouldn’t look like
this.”
“That makes sense. Rosalia must be
just a memorable name then. Is there a reason why you still defend the
Crystallis even though they just destroyed your home?”
“Because they’re dolls like us.
Even though they come from the crystal, we were still made in the same place by
the same creator. We may think differently, but we’re still related, and our
lives are both equally beyond value.”
“I see. Well, I’m sorry for taking up
so much of your time. You can take some of our healing fragments to give your
boy a little more time.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Don’t mention it.”
After healing Rhodes a little,
Rosalia says goodbye then leaves the town. She travels down the roads as they
should be safer than the forest though not by much. There’s still a chance the
Crystallis might come down the roads or the forest might come to life and reach
out to crush her.
Rosalia says to Rhodes, “I’m glad
the townsfolk didn’t recognize me. There would’ve been trouble if they did.
Anyway, let me tell you more about your father since he won’t be able to tell
you himself. He was a brave and proud man. He risked everything he had
including his life to be with me since he was from a royal family. The way he
loved people and nature was breathtaking. He loved being in love with
everything and everyone so much that he wrote songs and poems about almost everything.
It’s where I get my songs from.”
Ahead of Rosalia is an incoming
band of Crystallis. They have a huge black bull under their control, which is a
huge black beast with black horns, a white face, and red and black eyes in this
world. It struggles against the control of its captors along with the other
creatures that have been captured.
“Poor things,” she says to herself
as she hides on the side of the road in a tree, “The raiding party is headed
towards the town. They won’t be able to fight against the bull and the other
creatures along with the Crystallis. I want to do something, but what am I
going to do?”
Rosalia thinks of a couple of plans
before deciding on one course of action. She throws two fire darts, conjured by
a spell, at the chains that bind the bull to free it. Once it’s free, it puts
the Crystallis into a panic. While the bull rampages about, Rosalia frees the rest
of the creatures. Once she does, the black bull stares her down with its face
in hers. Neither her nor Rhodes are intimated, and this silent show of courage
gains Rosalia the respect of the bull and creatures.
A larger party of Crystallis that’s
half the size of a legion then show up in the distance. This party was dragged
ahead by the creatures, who were craving violence. Now that they’re free, they
rage against their captors along with Rosalia. They destroy everything around
them with the aid of the forest. Fauna and vegetation come to life as some of
the creatures are shattered in battle. Despite the strength of the Crystallis,
the numbers and overall strength of nature and Rosalia overwhelm them.
Once the dust settles, the forest
closes in on Rosalia, but the black bull and leftover creatures silently pick
up for her. The vegetation and fauna return to the forest and the creatures do
the same. The black bull nuzzles Rosalia’s face and pets the top of Rhodes’
head, which makes him giggle. It then goes back into the forest while looking
back at the two. It accidentally bumps into a large tree and gets slapped by it,
which makes Rosalia laugh. The black bull then pays attention to where it’s going
after one last look back with a smile.
Rhodes giggles again.
Rosalia continues on her way as she
says, “See? Not all of nature is bad. Now, where was I? Oh yeah. Your father
loved singing and making songs. Here’s one that I remember that he sang every
other day.
I can’t be away from you any longer
But part of me still resists
I wish I was stronger
When we are together,
It feels like Heaven
When I leave you,
Part of me is left behind
You give my empty life meaning
I finally have a person who loves
me back
You have woken me up from my foolishness
I know what I must do
Because I can’t be without you any
longer
You are who keeps me going
You are who makes me stronger
I’ll endure all the hardships
Fight all the battles
And suffer the worst pain
Because I can’t be without you any
longer
I am reinvigorated because of you
I am reborn into a new man ready to
take on the world
Whatever you request, you will have
Whatever you command, I will obey
You say that you’re not worth it
That you’re not worth anything
But you’re worth more than you
think
You’re my light that brightens up
the darkness
You give my empty life meaning
I finally have a person who loves
me back
You have woken me up from my
foolishness
I know what I must do
Because I can’t be without you any
longer
You are who keeps me going
You are who makes me stronger
I’ll endure all the hardships
Fight all the battles
And suffer the worst pain
Because I can’t be without you any
longer
I will do all you want and more
My love for you knows no boundaries
or obstacles
So,
Will you please be with me forever?”
Rosalia feels something watching
her. She turns around to see the black bull watching her. It appears to have
been attracted by her singing, but now it goes back into the forest as if it is embarrassed to be caught listening to her singing. Rosalia smiles at the
creature’s cute nature despite its looks.
“Your father might as well have
been a love bird for all the love he showed to others. He was more charitable
and loving than his relatives to the point where people were wondering if he
was an angel. I thought a person like him was beyond my reach, but when I
showed how charitable I was when I gave away everything I had on me for a poor
person he accidentally missed, he fell for me. Literally and figuratively
speaking since he fell off his horse to kiss my hand. It was sad and funny at
the same time, haha. I still can’t help but laugh when I remember it happening.
Still, your father did his best to
impress me even though he did make a fool of himself a few times…okay, a lot of
times. I felt like I didn’t deserve it especially since I couldn’t return anything
on the same scale as him, but when I expressed my feelings about this, he said,
‘Don’t you worry. If you give me your love, then I will have something that is
worth more than the entire universe’. I don’t know where he came up with his words,
but he made me fall for him so many times because of them. Being without him is
going to be difficult…”
Rhodes makes a whimpering sound.
“But don’t worry, we’ll make it
through this. Your father is always with us in spirit now. Trust me.”
Rhodes giggles and Rosalia smiles
as she wipes away her tears and continues traveling down the road.
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