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Crystals Of Tame

Chapter 6

A friend’s resolve

11 years ago.

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“Was that a tamer from the Rock Shield guild? I wonder what they are doing all the way here in Woodfield Village. There aren’t any rare monsters around here, “ a villager from Woodfield village said, as he passed by a young woman with black hair and a brown eyepatch that covered the right side of her face. She was wearing the green, white, and brown colors of the Rock Shield guild, yet, despite her being part of the South, he couldn’t help but be wary of her.

[https://i.imgur.com/9ySNmrh.jpg]

The events from the red night were fresh on his mind. It had been two days since that fateful day.

“I better stay away,” he said, as he hurried off. Not wanting to be anywhere near tamers right now. He had heard rumors that were going around the kingdom of Traineria from other villagers who had gone up north to Stonetopolis City.

How the red beast of that night was a monster partner that had gone on a rampage due to their tamer's insatiable lust for power, and even though he did not believe the rumors, after all, had a monster partner ever caused a rampage of that scale before? He still felt it was better to just be far away from tamers right now, just to be safe.

Emily could feel the stares of the villagers as she passed them by on her way to the wooden house she had visited two days ago, but this time she had come alone.

“I have to be strong,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye.

She looked up at the sky, the clear blue sky was such a stark contrast to that night that she had hoped it had all been a nightmare. A nightmare that she soon would wake from at any second, but of course, that wasn’t it. That event had been real. All of it. The red night, the crimson beast, and losing her best friend who she considered a sister. All of it had been real, and now she had to be strong for Anita’s family, and, more importantly, her son who had lost a mother that night.

More whispers and stares of the villagers came her way as she passed them by, she tried not to linger on them, not blaming them, perhaps the rumors were right, perhaps a tamer had been responsible for that night.

She took a deep breath, needing all her strength in this moment as she came to a stop facing that small wooded house with a patch of grass on its roof. A common architectural design of the houses of Woodfield Village.

She knocked at the door, preparing herself for what was to come.

Nana watched as Lex lay sleeping peacefully in his crib, unbeknownst to the two of them what was about to happen.

[https://i.imgur.com/SegmPJW.jpg]

“Anita!” Nana said, hearing the door knock, she rushed toward it. A sigh of relief washed over her.

[https://i.imgur.com/tnUElGQ.jpg]

"She's safe, thank the ancient one," she told herself as she rushed toward the door. Not hearing anything these past days had made her worry, but now, she didn't have to wonder anymore, her daughter was safe.

She flung open the door in excitement.

“Anita I’m glad you are--”

‘Emily!”

[https://i.imgur.com/qwdjcxk.jpg]

Nana opened the door to find only Emily standing before her, and a feeling clawed her throat.

“Where’s Anita?”

“I.... “

Emily could feel her words failing, she tried to find the courage within her to be able to say those words, but she couldn't. She just couldn’t.

“Is everything alright?” Nana asked, looking at Emily’s hand, she was carrying a brown jacket with green borders, a Rock Shield guild jacket.

“I’m so sorry!" Emily said, a tear running down her face.

[https://i.imgur.com/i1zYeiZ.jpg]

“Sorry for what? Emily was going on? Where’s Anita?” Nana said, feeling like her world was about to crash down on her.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”

Was all Emily could muster as tears kept falling down her face.

“ANITA NO !”

And in that moment, the two women felt numb to the reality of their worst nightmare.

***

Emily walked inside Anita’s home and pictured Anita walking this hallway, instead of her. Walking toward her son, if only that night hadn’t robbed her of that.

“He looks so peaceful,” Emily said, as he looked at Lex sleeping in his crib without a care in the world, the only way a baby could. He had Anita’s golden hair and no doubt her piercing blue eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Lex, I failed you,” she said, not being able to hold off every bit of emotions she was trying to fight off, her tears coming toward her like a tsunami swallowing everything inside of her, running down her face and toward Lex’s face, waking him up and infecting him with the overwhelming sadness she was feeling in this moment.

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Nana looked at Emily and placed her hand on her shoulder.

“Emily…” she said, holding back her tears, she needed to be strong right now. For both her and Emily.

“I’m so sorry….”

Was all Emily could say, she felt she had failed her best friend if only she had been strong enough to save the most important person in her life. Seeing Lex was too painful, seeing what Anita could never see again was something she couldn’t take.

As Nana watched Anita’s friend break down, she too wanted nothing more than her sadness to take her, but she couldn’t. She needed to be strong in this moment.

“I promise I will be there for you, Lex, “ Emily said, wiping her tears away and brushing Lex’s hair with her hand.

“I know you will make a great tamer like her. ”

Nana’s hand began to tremble as she heard Emily’s words.

She held her hand, trying to stop it from shaking any further.

“Tamer!”

That word filled Nana’s mind with pain at this moment.

“ Emily…” Nana said, her mouth not wanting to utter the words that would bring even more pain to an already painful situation. What she was about to ask, was breaking her inside. But she knew she had to.

“I'm such a mess,” Emily said, wiping her tears away, and giving Nana a faint smile.

Nana looked at Emily, she was about the same age as Anita, and she could see that she had also lost more than just a friend that night. Noticing that big brown eye patch that covered half her face, the price she paid as a tamer that night. Taming had stolen something from her as well, and she wasn't going to let it steal her grandson, Anita's last memory.

“You loved my daughter a lot, didn't you,” Nana said,

“She was more than a friend to me, she was like a sister,” Emily said, wiping away her tears.

‘Thank you,” Nana said, Emily's words reassuring her of what she had to do. There was no going back now, she was doing this to protect Lex, and she hoped Emily would see it that way one day.

This was for the safety of her grandson, the only thing she had left of Anita, and she couldn’t bear to lose him, just like her, to taming.

"Emily..."

"I'm sorry," Nana thought, looking at the young woman standing before her with a face full of sadness.

"I am truly sorry ."

Emily looked at Nana, she couldn't imagine the pain she was going through, but she promised herself she was going to be there for her as well, just like Anita would have wanted.

Nana placed her hand on Emily's shoulder, it was now or never.

“Forget about us, forget about this village, and forget about Lex,” she said, trying to find the courage to do this to Emily, who loved her daughter as much as her.

“Pardon me?” Emily said, confused by her words, she stepped back, feeling like she could drop at the slightest push.

“What do you m-mean?”

Emily could feel her words quivering, she felt like someone was stabbing her right in the chest and twisting it to cause as much pain as they could inside of her.

“Don’t come back to the village, forget about us," Nana said, her words firm and unwavering. She had to do this.

“Forget about Lex, forget about us in the village. Don’t come back, ever.”

“I-I don’t understand,” Emily asked, her whole body shaking.

“What are you asking me?”

“I’m sorry Emily, I know that what I’m asking is not fair to you, but please Emily. I cannot have him become a tamer. I just can’t.”

“I--” Emily tried to say, yet all she felt was anger mixed with sadness. What Nana was asking her to do was too painful, she couldn’t, she had promised Anita.

“I promise Anita that I--”

“PLEASE EMILY!” Nana yelled, cutting her words.

"WAA! WAA!"

Lex's cries filled the room, frightened by what was going on.

“Please….” Nana said, grabbing Emily's hand,

Emily could see tears in her eyes.

“I-I...” she didn’t know what to say, what Nana was asking her was something so painful to her that she couldn’t fathom it. She didn't know if she had the strength to even do what Nana was pleading with her. She didn’t know if she had the will to do such a thing, to break a promise to her dearest friend, Anita.

“Lex will not be a tamer,” Nana said, seeing the hesitation on Emily's face.

Emily looked at Lex, she could see that he was scared, and whimpering, about to cry again at any moment.

Her mind was hazy, so many things were clouding it. Could she abandon Lex? Did she have it in her to break a promise to Anita? She stared at the scared face of Lex. His face reminded her of that night.

“I know this is hard for you, I know that I have no right to ask what I'm asking, but..”

Nana looked at Lex for a second, the fear on his face giving her the strength she needed in this moment.

“I can't lose him.”

Emily could see a softness in her face that reminded her of Anita, and she couldn’t deny that.

She closed her eye, picturing Anita’s face vividly in her mind, and along with it all the memories she had spent with Anita.

She had made up her mind.

“I promise I won't come back,” Emily said, even though her words were cutting through her. Was this for the best? Was this how she could keep her promise to Anita? She didn’t know, but if it meant protecting Lex, then she would do anything. For both Lex and Anita, like she had promised that fateful night.

“Thank you,” Nana said,

"Thank you."

Tears fell down Nana's face. Tears of sadness and relief for both her and Emily.

“Goodbye Lex,” Emily said, kissing him on the forehead, and feeling his warmth on her lips. A warmth that Anita should have been the one to feel not her.

[https://i.imgur.com/aA8Ml5M.jpg]

Nana watched as Emily left her house in her little village that had been home to her and her two daughters and now was home to Lex, her grandson. A peaceful little village away from the danger that had taken her daughter.

As Emily walked away from Nana's house, she passed by Lily, Anita's younger sister, and smiled. She looked a lot like Anita and she hoped that she was making the right decision to protect Anita's family as well.

“Mom, who was that?” Lily said as she came to a stop by the door of her house, in her hands was a small basket filled with berries and other ingredients that were used for her family's famous and delicious bread that was known in the village.

“Nobody dear, ”Nana said, smiling at Lily.

‘Nobody.”

“Now let’s go see if that sleeping prince has woken up.” ***

Emily walked away from Woodfield Village, getting one last glimpse of it. She hoped that what she had done was the right thing.

“I'm making the right decision, aren't I, Anita?” she said, looking at the peaceful village.

As she began to get farther away from the village, she came across an individual she would have never thought she would meet around Woodfield village.

"Tamer king?” she said, spotting the tamer king walking toward the village. He was wearing a dark green cape covering his body, almost as if he was disguising himself. But Emily recognized his long dark green hair that was tied into a ponytail to the side and his different-colored eyes. He was truly a recognizable figure.

[https://i.imgur.com/RzsGakR.png]

The tamer king looked at Emily, recognizing her.

‘Emily right?” he said,

“Y-yea,” Emily said, wiping away a tear.

“Are you alright?’ he asked.

“No here,” Emily said, as they both walked toward Woodfield forest, away from any privy eyes of the village.

***

“I see,” the tamer king said, as he listened to Emily’s story. He looked at the necklace he had brought, its blue gem shining against the sun.

“Perhaps she’s right."

Emily looked at the tamer king, his stoic expression never giving anything away. Perhaps it was why he was so good at taming battles, he's opponents could never read him.

A small brown bird monster called Birrow, made his way toward them, stopping next to the tamer king. Emily could see how monster partners seemed to be drawn to him, a feat very few tamers had.

There was something almost magical about it to her.

“That night showed us the dangers of taming,” he said, shuffling the small brown bird monster’s feathers.

“Some monsters are dangerous and filled with destructive power.”

Emily watched the bird monster tap its beak gently on his cheek and then fly toward the sky.

“Some monsters kill people,” she thought, the red night vividly in her mind.

“Here take care of this for me,” the tamer king said, giving Emily the necklace he had brought with him.

Emily looked at the necklace, it was Lex’s birthstone, Anita had gotten one just like it back at Stonetopolis city, and in their rush, Anita had abandoned it.

“Are you perhaps--’ Emily stopped herself, she had asked Anita before about the father of Lex, but she never gave her a direct answer.

“See you around Emily,” he said, waving goodbye at her as he left her. And in that moment, Emily caught an expression of sadness on the stoic face of the tamer king.

She looked at the gemstone and wondered if the tamer king's sadness was the same as her own.