Rushing out of the tent, I ran straight for the Envoy to see if anybody knew where she was.

'No no no no, this can't be happening! Where did she go? What could she possibly be doing at this time? It's the middle of the night so... wait... was I wrong about the tribe across the river? Do they not care about their lives? I swear... I can't lose another person to those bastards.'

When I made it to the Envoy, I used Mana Awareness to figure out which carriage Mr. Auger was in. Without knocking, I busted into his carriage and walked over to where he was sleeping.

"What do you want, kid?" He said with his eyes still closed.

'What? How does he know it's me?'

"Out with it, you're not in my good faith right now because of what you did this morning." He said while rolling over to face me.

"*Gulp* well... you see, it would seem that Ulta isn't in her hut, and was I wondering-" I said while looking into his glowing white eye.

"Why should I care about some random little girl you like? It's not like her living or dying, determines how my life will turn out." He said while rolling back over the opposite way.

"Grr, where do you get off saying something like that? Someone who is like a little sister to me is missing, and all you have to say is... that you could care less about her dying." I said while clenching my teeth and balling my hand into a fist.

I wanted to hit him so hard at that moment, that it was unbearable, but I knew it wouldn't have ended well. I would have wound up making Mr. Auger mad, and also losing sight of my real purpose... finding Ulta. With that in mind, I bit my tongue and started walking out of the carriage. When I was halfway through the door, Mr. Auger, turned around and sighed.

"*Sigh* She's fine... so don't worry." He said with a reassuring voice.

"Thank you, Mr. Auger." I said without looking back.

Running out of the carriage, I started sprinting toward the forest to the East but suddenly heard a noise to my left.

*Splash*

'Was that water? It can't be... The nearest water source is over 500 feet away. Could I be hearing things? No, I'm sure of it... that was water, but how? If the Envoy is stationed at the entrance of the village to the South... then that must mean... I'm hearing faint sounds of splashing... from the river to the North!!'

Although I couldn't believe it, I rushed in the direction of the splashing, hoping it was Ulta. I ran past the Chief's hut on my way to the river, making sure to use Mana Awareness to see if Ulta snuck back into bed. When I sensed that she still wasn't there, I began running toward the river again.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

When I arrived near the river, I pushed past the tall weeds, and when I made it to the bank my eyes shot open. Although I was hoping it was Ulta, my mind kept telling me it was an animal... so I didn't think of what would happen if it was actually Ulta in the water. I even had Mana Awareness activated... but I guess I can't pick up what's underwater yet.

"Ahhhh, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. Please forgive me Ulta, I was just trying to make sure you were ok. I swear on my life I'm not that type of guy, please you have to believe me." I said while slamming my face into the ground so I couldn't see anything.

In front of me, in the water, was Ulta who was currently bathing. I thought I had made a grave mistake, but it seems Ulta was relieved.

"Hehe, you screamed like when I was the one on the bank, and you were the one in the water. That brings up good memories, Hakkar." She said while smiling at me with my face buried in the ground.

'Great job, MORON, you just wrote yourself a one-way ticket to the creep house. How far you have fallen... going from an outstanding young man with no marks... to a guy who creeps on little girls *sob*'

As I was having a mental breakdown over my own humanity, Ulta started speaking again. I never thought she would bring up the one subject... I never wanted to talk about though.

"Hakkar, I love you... and it's not because of what my father said. I genuinely love being around you, even when you aren't directly looking at me, just you being around, makes me happy. So when I saw you with that other lady... I couldn't stop myself from getting angry. I guess... I just want to know... how you feel about me." She said while getting out of the river and drying herself off.

"I'm sorry-" I said before she cut me off.

"Hehe, I knew you would say that... be honest though, did that lady steal your heart?" She said while crouching down next to me.

Knowing she had put her clothes on, I looked her dead in the eyes. With the moon shining brightly behind her, I couldn't help but recoil from what I saw. She had tears flooding out of her eyes, but even so... she still wore a wide smile in front of me.

'I truly am sorry Ulta, but I could never give false hope to a child. I've tried to tell you before... but you never listened to me.'

"I didn't fall in love with her Ulta, in fact, I pushed her away because of how my being around her affected you. Don't take that as my stance though, you're more of a little sister to me... I love you as family. I'm sorry, Ulta." I said while hugging her in my arms.

As soon as I hugged her, she began crying without holding back. This lasted for about a minute, before she stood up, and declared her love right in front of my face again.

"*Sniffle* you may have said no this time, but I swear I'll make you fall in love with me. I don't care how long you make me wait... I will never stop loving you. Mock my words, Hakkar, in the distant future... you will acknowledge me as your wife." She said while pointing at me with the moon to her back.

"That's just like you Ulta, but don't think this will make my feelings waver... because I hate admitting defeat." I said while shaking my head and looking up at her.

The moment when I looked up... I swear I could see my mother behind her. I don't know if it was because of the moonlight reflecting off the water, or how tired I was, but behind Ulta... was my Mother hugging her.

I instantly rubbed my eyes, and when I opened them... she was gone.

'A hallucination? No, I swear I saw my Mother... I guess it's just another question to ask Mr. Auger later.'

When I snapped myself out of my thoughts, I saw Ulta sleeping on the floor. I knew she was faking it, but I still picked her up and carried her back to the hut.

When I lowered her onto some animal pelts, she whispered in my ear.

"I'm happy you were worried about me, Hakkar." She said while pulling a blanket over her face.

"Tch, yeah yeah, I'm just glad you're ok." I said while laying down on some pelts.

After that, I went to bed and rested the fatigue away from a day full of mayhem.

*Growl*

'Damn, I forgot to eat dinner again.'