Chapter 122: 122
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Before Altair could get more information out of Sief as she had been stunned by what he told her, Allie came back around the corner. She had finished eating the cookies that were stuffing her mouth as she happily asked Altair, while being completely oblivious to the mood, "Aria can you join us for dinner? Please!"
Altair's mind slowly started crawling to a start when she heard Allie's sweet voice and the words drifted into her brain. She nodded while she stared at the wall next to her in a daze.
'Eight years… How is this even possible?' The proof was around her right at the moment. The town, Dyersburge, would have been nearly impossible to develop this quickly in only two years. It was still hard to believe it had done so in eight years time even but it was far more plausible than just two years.
Dozens of other questions flooded into her mind in that moment. 'What's the state of the Coalition? How has the war gone? How many Demi-Human's have been lost? Are there still enough to continue to resist? Who has taken the role of leading the army? Are the Council of Four still alive?'
A woman came around the corner behind Allie. She had a head of thick brown hair that hung to her waist and she was dressed very modestly in a dress that was made to take the strain of daily life. She gasped at the sight of Altair, who was staring at the wall. The woman then spoke softly as she asked in a disbelieving tone, "It… It's really her?"
Sief quickly covered for Altair, who was still struggling to restart her mind, as he said, "Lily, this is Aria. Apparently, she knows what Altair has been doing and how she's been all this time."
"A-Allie," the woman said as she struggled to keep emotion from her voice, "Go and set the table. We'll be in shortly."
Allie nodded energetically and ran back around the house.
Lily then quickly closed the gap between her and Altair and brought her into a big hug that pulled Altair out of her mind instantly.
The moment Altair was brought into a tight and warm embrace baffled her. She looked at the woman who was hugging her and found her to be vaguely familiar with the girl that she had seem courting her brother from afar. The woman was openly crying as she said, "Thank goodness you're still alive. Thank goodness."
Altair struggled to get free in the next moment. "Let go of me, woman. Just because you courted Sief doesn't mean you can just touch me whenever you want!" Feeling that the woman didn't loosen her grip at all after she demanded to be freed, Altair immediately burned some Mana to break free forcefully and retreated a few steps after she landed on the ground, glaring daggers at Lily.
Lily looked hurt at the way Altair was treating her and Sief gave Altair a disapproving look.
Altair didn't care at all. Though she didn't remember the woman before her in the village it didn't change the fact that she was an unknown Human to her. She automatically regarded her as potentially dangerous, despite her actions.
Lily quickly asked in a hurt tone, "Don't you remember me? We grew up together."
Altair frowned harder as her brows furrowed. She then sighed after a few moments of silence and turned her head away before saying, "I've lost some of my memories. I don't remember you at all."
The more Altair thought about how this woman had suddenly appeared to be courted by her brother the more suspicious Altair got. Back then, Altair wasn't famous in the Kingdom so it couldn't be related to her rise to power. Thus, this woman had to have either moved to that remote village or grown up there. The chances of the former were incredibly slim, so much so that Altair would have predicted a dragon attack on the village instead. Thus, it came to the fact that Altair had probably lost that memory too.
Sief and Lily both looked completely shocked by her declaration. However, their shock was interrupted by a sweet voice from the house that said, "Mama I've finished setting the table! Can we eat now?"
Altair twitched at the words and looked at Sief and Lily with suspicion. 'Allie doesn't look anything like either of you,' she thought to herself. 'Why is Aselia's child with you?'
As if predicting the Altair's thoughts, Sief said, "If you want to know, you'll have to stay with us." He then quickly added, "Just for tonight, of course."
Altair begrudgingly said, "Fine. But I won't eat anything." She couldn't bring herself to fully trust Sief and Lily. It didn't matter how believable their actions and words were today. What had happened to her in the past prevented herself from trusting them so quickly. It would probably have taken a year for her to do so. She also had no intention of staying for that long.
But, she did have a mountain of questions for them and she didn't mind spending some more time with Allie before she left.
Thus, Altair followed Sief and Lily around their home and into their house.
The inside of their house was downright depressing compared to where Altair had lived for the past two years. The wooden table looked old and had some obvious food stains on it. The copper pot that was used to cook food in the corner of the house was charred black. The only seats were poorly made stools around the table. The steps to the upper floor had some holes in them and cracks. The windows of the house were devoid of the familiar glass that Altair had seen and only had two wooden covers that could be closed or opened.
It was actually nostalgic to Altair as it reminded her of her birth home.
Sief and Lily sat opposite Allie, leaving the chair next to Allie open. Altair ended up taking that spot herself, which delighted Allie greatly.
The meal that Lily had prepared was a stew with rye bread. Altair had already stated that she wouldn't eat any but that didn't stop Lily from putting some before her in a ceramic bowl with a wooden spoon.
Altair didn't bother looking at it as she spoke with Allie instead.
The meal passed with Allie doing most of the talking. Altair asked her many questions about how Allie had lived up to now and about her friends and her favorite games. She also asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, which drew a very age-appropriate response from Allie as her smile seemed to light up the entire room while the sun was casting the shadows of the buildings into the room.
Altair deflected most questions that Allie had for her about herself under the guise that it had been five years so things could have changed. This didn't disappoint Allie at all as Altair wound up giving her another cookie when the meal was over and the questions she asked kept Allie's mind off of things.
After the meal, Allie energetically asked, "Aria lets go out and play! There's still some sun left!"
Altair gave her a weak smile as she said, "Sorry, I need to discuss some things with Sief. You go and have fun without me. I'll make sure there are some cookies for you when you get back."
Allie's smile beamed even brighter at the mention of the bribe and she couldn't nod fast enough before she raced out of the house.
It left Altair, Sief, and Lily alone in the building. Altair pushed the bowl of stew across the table that, true to her word, she hadn't touched at all until now.
This caused Lily to look a little defeated but she took the bowl and poured it back into the pot before she moved to wash the dishes at the side.
Altair then turned her attention to Sief and she asked, "Why is Aselia's daughter with you? Where is my sister?" She had a vague idea of what could have happened and, as she asked that question, her heart began to ache in anticipation for the news. It wasn't rare at all for children to be taken care of by their aunts or uncles when something happened. Since Allie was claiming that Lily was her mom, it obviously meant something bad had happened to Aselia.
A sorrowful look came to Siefs face when he was asked that. He was silent for several moments before he whispered, "Aselia died in childbirth."
Altair felt a sharp stab in her heart as she looked down at the table. "I see," was all she said about it. Then she turned her gaze back onto Sief and asked, "What about the father?"
Lily sneered as she replied for Sief, "That bastard got Aselia pregnant then ran. I warned her not to get involved with nobles but she claimed to be in love and look what happened to her."
Altair frowned and then sighed heavily. "I see."
A silence descended onto the room again and, before Altair could ask her next question, Sief mustered his courage to ask, "Where have you been all these years?"
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Before Altair could get more information out of Sief as she had been stunned by what he told her, Allie came back around the corner. She had finished eating the cookies that were stuffing her mouth as she happily asked Altair, while being completely oblivious to the mood, "Aria can you join us for dinner? Please!"
Altair's mind slowly started crawling to a start when she heard Allie's sweet voice and the words drifted into her brain. She nodded while she stared at the wall next to her in a daze.
'Eight years… How is this even possible?' The proof was around her right at the moment. The town, Dyersburge, would have been nearly impossible to develop this quickly in only two years. It was still hard to believe it had done so in eight years time even but it was far more plausible than just two years.
Dozens of other questions flooded into her mind in that moment. 'What's the state of the Coalition? How has the war gone? How many Demi-Human's have been lost? Are there still enough to continue to resist? Who has taken the role of leading the army? Are the Council of Four still alive?'
A woman came around the corner behind Allie. She had a head of thick brown hair that hung to her waist and she was dressed very modestly in a dress that was made to take the strain of daily life. She gasped at the sight of Altair, who was staring at the wall. The woman then spoke softly as she asked in a disbelieving tone, "It… It's really her?"
Sief quickly covered for Altair, who was still struggling to restart her mind, as he said, "Lily, this is Aria. Apparently, she knows what Altair has been doing and how she's been all this time."
"A-Allie," the woman said as she struggled to keep emotion from her voice, "Go and set the table. We'll be in shortly."
Allie nodded energetically and ran back around the house.
Lily then quickly closed the gap between her and Altair and brought her into a big hug that pulled Altair out of her mind instantly.
The moment Altair was brought into a tight and warm embrace baffled her. She looked at the woman who was hugging her and found her to be vaguely familiar with the girl that she had seem courting her brother from afar. The woman was openly crying as she said, "Thank goodness you're still alive. Thank goodness."
Altair struggled to get free in the next moment. "Let go of me, woman. Just because you courted Sief doesn't mean you can just touch me whenever you want!" Feeling that the woman didn't loosen her grip at all after she demanded to be freed, Altair immediately burned some Mana to break free forcefully and retreated a few steps after she landed on the ground, glaring daggers at Lily.
Lily looked hurt at the way Altair was treating her and Sief gave Altair a disapproving look.
Altair didn't care at all. Though she didn't remember the woman before her in the village it didn't change the fact that she was an unknown Human to her. She automatically regarded her as potentially dangerous, despite her actions.
Lily quickly asked in a hurt tone, "Don't you remember me? We grew up together."
Altair frowned harder as her brows furrowed. She then sighed after a few moments of silence and turned her head away before saying, "I've lost some of my memories. I don't remember you at all."
The more Altair thought about how this woman had suddenly appeared to be courted by her brother the more suspicious Altair got. Back then, Altair wasn't famous in the Kingdom so it couldn't be related to her rise to power. Thus, this woman had to have either moved to that remote village or grown up there. The chances of the former were incredibly slim, so much so that Altair would have predicted a dragon attack on the village instead. Thus, it came to the fact that Altair had probably lost that memory too.
Sief and Lily both looked completely shocked by her declaration. However, their shock was interrupted by a sweet voice from the house that said, "Mama I've finished setting the table! Can we eat now?"
Altair twitched at the words and looked at Sief and Lily with suspicion. 'Allie doesn't look anything like either of you,' she thought to herself. 'Why is Aselia's child with you?'
As if predicting the Altair's thoughts, Sief said, "If you want to know, you'll have to stay with us." He then quickly added, "Just for tonight, of course."
Altair begrudgingly said, "Fine. But I won't eat anything." She couldn't bring herself to fully trust Sief and Lily. It didn't matter how believable their actions and words were today. What had happened to her in the past prevented herself from trusting them so quickly. It would probably have taken a year for her to do so. She also had no intention of staying for that long.
But, she did have a mountain of questions for them and she didn't mind spending some more time with Allie before she left.
Thus, Altair followed Sief and Lily around their home and into their house.
The inside of their house was downright depressing compared to where Altair had lived for the past two years. The wooden table looked old and had some obvious food stains on it. The copper pot that was used to cook food in the corner of the house was charred black. The only seats were poorly made stools around the table. The steps to the upper floor had some holes in them and cracks. The windows of the house were devoid of the familiar glass that Altair had seen and only had two wooden covers that could be closed or opened.
It was actually nostalgic to Altair as it reminded her of her birth home.
Sief and Lily sat opposite Allie, leaving the chair next to Allie open. Altair ended up taking that spot herself, which delighted Allie greatly.
The meal that Lily had prepared was a stew with rye bread. Altair had already stated that she wouldn't eat any but that didn't stop Lily from putting some before her in a ceramic bowl with a wooden spoon.
Altair didn't bother looking at it as she spoke with Allie instead.
The meal passed with Allie doing most of the talking. Altair asked her many questions about how Allie had lived up to now and about her friends and her favorite games. She also asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, which drew a very age-appropriate response from Allie as her smile seemed to light up the entire room while the sun was casting the shadows of the buildings into the room.
Altair deflected most questions that Allie had for her about herself under the guise that it had been five years so things could have changed. This didn't disappoint Allie at all as Altair wound up giving her another cookie when the meal was over and the questions she asked kept Allie's mind off of things.
After the meal, Allie energetically asked, "Aria lets go out and play! There's still some sun left!"
Altair gave her a weak smile as she said, "Sorry, I need to discuss some things with Sief. You go and have fun without me. I'll make sure there are some cookies for you when you get back."
Allie's smile beamed even brighter at the mention of the bribe and she couldn't nod fast enough before she raced out of the house.
It left Altair, Sief, and Lily alone in the building. Altair pushed the bowl of stew across the table that, true to her word, she hadn't touched at all until now.
This caused Lily to look a little defeated but she took the bowl and poured it back into the pot before she moved to wash the dishes at the side.
Altair then turned her attention to Sief and she asked, "Why is Aselia's daughter with you? Where is my sister?" She had a vague idea of what could have happened and, as she asked that question, her heart began to ache in anticipation for the news. It wasn't rare at all for children to be taken care of by their aunts or uncles when something happened. Since Allie was claiming that Lily was her mom, it obviously meant something bad had happened to Aselia.
A sorrowful look came to Siefs face when he was asked that. He was silent for several moments before he whispered, "Aselia died in childbirth."
Altair felt a sharp stab in her heart as she looked down at the table. "I see," was all she said about it. Then she turned her gaze back onto Sief and asked, "What about the father?"
Lily sneered as she replied for Sief, "That bastard got Aselia pregnant then ran. I warned her not to get involved with nobles but she claimed to be in love and look what happened to her."
Altair frowned and then sighed heavily. "I see."
A silence descended onto the room again and, before Altair could ask her next question, Sief mustered his courage to ask, "Where have you been all these years?"
Before Altair could get more information out of Sief as she had been stunned by what he told her, Allie came back around the corner. She had finished eating the cookies that were stuffing her mouth as she happily asked Altair, while being completely oblivious to the mood, "Aria can you join us for dinner? Please!"Altair's mind slowly started crawling to a start when she heard Allie's sweet voice and the words drifted into her brain. She nodded while she stared at the wall next to her in a daze.'Eight years How is this even possible?' The proof was around her right at the moment. The town, Dyersburge, would have been nearly impossible to develop this quickly in only two years. It was still hard to believe it had done so in eight years time even but it was far more plausible than just two years.Dozens of other questions flooded into her mind in that moment. 'What's the state of the Coalition? How has the war gone? How many Demi-Human's have been lost? Are there still enough to continue to resist? Who has taken the role of leading the army? Are the Council of Four still alive?'A woman came around the corner behind Allie. She had a head of thick brown hair that hung to her waist and she was dressed very modestly in a dress that was made to take the strain of daily life. She gasped at the sight of Altair, who was staring at the wall. The woman then spoke softly as she asked in a disbelieving tone, "It It's really her?"Sief quickly covered for Altair, who was still struggling to restart her mind, as he said, "Lily, this is Aria. Apparently, she knows what Altair has been doing and how she's been all this time.""A-Allie," the woman said as she struggled to keep emotion from her voice, "Go and set the table. We'll be in shortly."Allie nodded energetically and ran back around the house.Lily then quickly closed the gap between her and Altair and brought her into a big hug that pulled Altair out of her mind instantly.The moment Altair was brought into a tight and warm embrace baffled her. She looked at the woman who was hugging her and found her to be vaguely familiar with the girl that she had seem courting her brother from afar. The woman was openly crying as she said, "Thank goodness you're still alive. Thank goodness."Altair struggled to get free in the next moment. "Let go of me, woman. Just because you courted Sief doesn't mean you can just touch me whenever you want!" Feeling that the woman didn't loosen her grip at all after she demanded to be freed, Altair immediately burned some Mana to break free forcefully and retreated a few steps after she landed on the ground, glaring daggers at Lily.Lily looked hurt at the way Altair was treating her and Sief gave Altair a disapproving look.Altair didn't care at all. Though she didn't remember the woman before her in the village it didn't change the fact that she was an unknown Human to her. She automatically regarded her as potentially dangerous, despite her actions.Lily quickly asked in a hurt tone, "Don't you remember me? We grew up together."Altair frowned harder as her brows furrowed. She then sighed after a few moments of silence and turned her head away before saying, "I've lost some of my memories. I don't remember you at all."The more Altair thought about how this woman had suddenly appeared to be courted by her brother the more suspicious Altair got. Back then, Altair wasn't famous in the Kingdom so it couldn't be related to her rise to power. Thus, this woman had to have either moved to that remote village or grown up there. The chances of the former were incredibly slim, so much so that Altair would have predicted a dragon attack on the village instead. Thus, it came to the fact that Altair had probably lost that memory too.Sief and Lily both looked completely shocked by her declaration. However, their shock was interrupted by a sweet voice from the house that said, "Mama I've finished setting the table! Can we eat now?"Altair twitched at the words and looked at Sief and Lily with suspicion. 'Allie doesn't look anything like either of you,' she thought to herself. 'Why is Aselia's child with you?'As if predicting the Altair's thoughts, Sief said, "If you want to know, you'll have to stay with us." He then quickly added, "Just for tonight, of course."Altair begrudgingly said, "Fine. But I won't eat anything." She couldn't bring herself to fully trust Sief and Lily. It didn't matter how believable their actions and words were today. What had happened to her in the past prevented herself from trusting them so quickly. It would probably have taken a year for her to do so. She also had no intention of staying for that long.But, she did have a mountain of questions for them and she didn't mind spending some more time with Allie before she left.Thus, Altair followed Sief and Lily around their home and into their house.The inside of their house was downright depressing compared to where Altair had lived for the past two years. The wooden table looked old and had some obvious food stains on it. The copper pot that was used to cook food in the corner of the house was charred black. The only seats were poorly made stools around the table. The steps to the upper floor had some holes in them and cracks. The windows of the house were devoid of the familiar glass that Altair had seen and only had two wooden covers that could be closed or opened.It was actually nostalgic to Altair as it reminded her of her birth home.Sief and Lily sat opposite Allie, leaving the chair next to Allie open. Altair ended up taking that spot herself, which delighted Allie greatly.The meal that Lily had prepared was a stew with rye bread. Altair had already stated that she wouldn't eat any but that didn't stop Lily from putting some before her in a ceramic bowl with a wooden spoon.Altair didn't bother looking at it as she spoke with Allie instead.The meal passed with Allie doing most of the talking. Altair asked her many questions about how Allie had lived up to now and about her friends and her favorite games. She also asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, which drew a very age-appropriate response from Allie as her smile seemed to light up the entire room while the sun was casting the shadows of the buildings into the room.Altair deflected most questions that Allie had for her about herself under the guise that it had been five years so things could have changed. This didn't disappoint Allie at all as Altair wound up giving her another cookie when the meal was over and the questions she asked kept Allie's mind off of things.After the meal, Allie energetically asked, "Aria lets go out and play! There's still some sun left!"Altair gave her a weak smile as she said, "Sorry, I need to discuss some things with Sief. You go and have fun without me. I'll make sure there are some cookies for you when you get back."Allie's smile beamed even brighter at the mention of the bribe and she couldn't nod fast enough before she raced out of the house.It left Altair, Sief, and Lily alone in the building. Altair pushed the bowl of stew across the table that, true to her word, she hadn't touched at all until now.This caused Lily to look a little defeated but she took the bowl and poured it back into the pot before she moved to wash the dishes at the side.Altair then turned her attention to Sief and she asked, "Why is Aselia's daughter with you? Where is my sister?" She had a vague idea of what could have happened and, as she asked that question, her heart began to ache in anticipation for the news. It wasn't rare at all for children to be taken care of by their aunts or uncles when something happened. Since Allie was claiming that Lily was her mom, it obviously meant something bad had happened to Aselia.A sorrowful look came to Siefs face when he was asked that. He was silent for several moments before he whispered, "Aselia died in childbirth."Altair felt a sharp stab in her heart as she looked down at the table. "I see," was all she said about it. Then she turned her gaze back onto Sief and asked, "What about the father?"Lily sneered as she replied for Sief, "That bastard got Aselia pregnant then ran. I warned her not to get involved with nobles but she claimed to be in love and look what happened to her."Altair frowned and then sighed heavily. "I see."A silence descended onto the room again and, before Altair could ask her next question, Sief mustered his courage to ask, "Where have you been all these years?"
