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“All of this… it’s just incredible! I can’t believe I’m in Mishelam…”
Fie couldn’t hold back a snort, watching Laura be all starry-eyed. Watching Laura’s pure adoration of Mishy never got old.
It was nice to be able to cut loose for once though. They were always running off from one destination to another. Though, it wasn’t too different back when she was with Zephyr. They had contracts to fulfill, they needed to keep moving to find work to get coin and fill their bellies with food.
But even then, what they had to do… hovered in the horizon. Fie looked up to the sky, a small frown on her face. It was pitch black with the stars glowing in the sky. Tomorrow was a ways off, but Fie’s anxiety made her stomach turn.
With Crow’s time ticking away and Rean’s life hanging on a thread with him being the ‘Sacrifice’... It just made Fie simply dread tomorrow’s dawn.
But… time waited for no one.
“Is… something the matter, Fie?”
Fie shook her head. “...I’m fine, Laura. Just… thinking. About… tomorrow.”
She tried to speak listlessly, so not to make Laura worry. It was on everyone’s minds. It wasn’t just her.
But Laura’s eyes softened in sympathy and she patted Fie’s arm. Fie just gave her a slight smile in thanks. Then Fie’s ears suddenly perked up as she picked up the familiar sweet music that only Elliot’s violin could produce.
“Seems like Elliot’s putting on a show,” Fie said, pointing to the small crowd gathering around.
“So he is,” Laura said with a chuckle, as they walked closer.
In the faint light, it was impressive how Elliot knew just where to run his bow along. And even then, his eyes were closed like when he let the music carry him away. It always made Fie smile, seeing him like this. It was so obvious that he was passionate about music.
Of course, since the only people running around Mishelam were their allies, Fie recognized all of their faces, if only vaguely. The ones who stood out to her, though, were Joshua and Estelle Bright.
“You’re just amazing!” Estelle gushed, hands clasped. “I wish I could play music like that! Last time I tried, it wasn’t… the greatest.”
“Yeah, last time you tried was… memorable,” Joshua commented, earning a flat stare from his girlfriend.
Fie snorted quietly to herself. That little exchange reminded her of when Rean annoyed Alisa about something back when they were attending Thors together and Alisa would shoot him her infamous unimpressed glare. Though Joshua seemed more immune to Estelle’s glare than Rean had been to Alisa’s.
Elliot chuckled, giving his usual modest smile. “It’s nothing, really. It’s just from a lot of practice.”
Estelle stuck her tongue out at Joshua for a second before opening a pouch at her waist. She tried to hand some mira to Elliot, but Elliot just shook his head.
“I appreciate the sentiment but it’s okay. I just wanted to bring joy to people. That’s why I play music.”
“Modest as always, Elliot,” Laura said with a laugh.
“You should charge, though!”
Jingo and her mother, Ashleigh, walked up to them. But the redheaded little girl’s eyes were affixed on Elliot, a thoroughly unimpressed expression on her face.
“It’s a waste! Waste of energy if ya don’t!” Jingo insisted, waving her hands.
“Jingo, don’t heckle ‘im,” Ashleigh scolded. “It’s up to Elliot if he wants to give a free show.”
“And Elliot’s never been interested in fame or money,” Fie said, wanting to defend her friend.
Elliot looked away, embarrassed. “Sheesh, Fie, you’re trying to frame me out as some kind of saint.”
“Compared to Machias, you definitely are,” Fie quipped, cracking a small little smirk.
“Fie!” Laura and Elliot exclaimed together.
“Come on, don’t pick on Machias like that. He’s not even here to defend himself,” Elliot said with a laugh, amusement dancing in his turquoise eyes.
“I still think you should charge,” Jingo said with a small pout. “I mean, you’d make a killing even with a small crowd if you charged five thousand mira a pop!”
“Enough, Jingo,” Ashleigh scolded. She sighed, shaking her head. “You’re just like your dad, you know. Always going in for the kill like that.”
“H-Huh? Mama?” Jingo looked shocked.
Huh… Fie guessed that Ashleigh didn’t speak much of Jingo’s dad.
“Then again, he went for the kill in a different way,” Ashleigh mused. “You’d know, wouldn’t you, Sylphid?”
Fie couldn’t help but feel confused. “Did I know Jingo’s dad, then?”
Though… her use of ‘Sylphid’ seemed pointed. But why…?
Ashleigh just cocked her head. “I’d say. Didn’t you consider Rutger your father? He certainly spoke of you like that, to me.”
It took Fie a full thirty seconds to comprehend what she said.
“Wait, so you… and Rutger?” Elliot gaped at Ashleigh.
“I’ll spare ya the details. I don’t think you wanna hear it.” Ashleigh shrugged. “But yeah, me and Rutger had a thing years ago.”
“So… my papa really is dead,” Jingo said in a small voice.
Fie stared. This girl, she was her sister.
She had loved Rutger. The only parental figure she could remember. He had sought to protect her, wanting a better life for her. And Jingo… was another connection to Rutger.
But she only could think of Rutger, dying a second time. Losing him once again.
It was too much. She couldn’t handle this.
Fie turned and ran. She registered her friends calling after her but she just kept running. She found a bench, overlooking the sea and she all but collapsed into it.
She had come to terms to Rutger’s death. She really had. But even so…
“Fie!”
She turned to see Laura and Elliot running towards her, skidding to a stop. Laura was hardly winded by it, but Elliot’s breaths came out a little ragged.
“Listen, Fie,” Laura said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “I know… it came out as a shock.”
“That’s an understatement,” Fie mumbled, keeping her eyes affixed on the ocean.
“Fie…” Elliot’s voice grew soft. “I know that this is confusing. You don’t have to connect with Jingo in that way, if it hurts.”
“It’s not that… it hurts exactly. It just—I didn’t think I’d get that kind of bombshell. And with everything’s that will happen tomorrow, I…”
She hated being so confused.
“Let things die down a bit then,” Laura said gently. “Things aren’t going to settle right away either. It might help you sort your thoughts about not knowing how to approach Jingo about this.”
“And you have some experience with that already, don’t you?” Elliot said lightly.
Laura’s face flushed and Fie managed to crack a smile.
“I guess I do, huh?”
“Fie!” Laura cried out.
Fie just shrugged. “You can’t fault Elliot for saying the truth, Laura.”
The next few months were a blur. Fie returned to her work as a bracer, wanting to do her part to help bring stability to Erebonia. She managed to attain a few ranks before she found the courage to venture back to Leeves.
Fie smiled as she stepped off the train station, taking in the small city. It really reminded her of Trista.
“Fie!”
Fie turned to see Rean waving at her.
“Hey.”
“I’m glad to see you, Fie,” Rean said as they walked further into the small town. “Though I am surprised that you decided to pop a visit with how busy you are.”
“Well… I figured I could swing it,” Fie said with a shrug. She looked away before saying, “There was something I needed to do though.”
“Really?” Rean looked surprised at this. “Well, I’d be happy to help if you’d like.”
“Always the reliable gofer,” Fie drawled out.
“Guilty as charged,” Rean laughed.
“I appreciate it, Rean, but… it’s something I have to do on my own,” Fie said.
Rean frowned. “Are you sure—”
“I am,” Fie said. She felt a bit guilty at Rean’s expression, though, so she tried to soften it. “But we should catch up afterwards.”
Rean still looked a bit unsure but he gave a nod. “Yeah, that sounds great. How long are you planning on staying?”
“A day or two… Things are calming down a little but… work always finds a way to pile up.” Fie shrugged. “Later, Rean.”
With Leeves being the size of Trista, it wasn’t hard to find Neinvalli Exchange. The bell chimed as Fie opened the door.
“What can I getcha—” Jingo stopped short, letting out an awkward cough. “O-Oh… hi.”
“Hey.” Fie tried to go for nonchalant, but she wasn’t sure if she succeeded.
She fidgeted for a moment, making her puppy look up at her in concern. Fie sighed. This was… weird.
But she wanted to try. She wasn’t going to run away from this.
“I know I came out of the blue like this. But… I wanted to talk to you. About… you know.”
Jingo looked away, a faint pout on her face. “How come you ran away?”
Fie sighed. “It just came out as a… shock. My feelings for Rutger are a bit complicated. He never mentioned having a… relationship. Not like your mom implied.”
Fie had faint memories of Rutger being teased about having women, but he would chastise the men to shush around Fie. Gradually, the jokes had died down. And Rutger had certainly never mentioned Ashleigh’s name, leaving Fie in the dark. And Jingo was… thirteen? Making her four when Jingo was conceived—that was ironically when Rutger had found her.
“Can you… tell me about him?” Jingo’s eyes glimmered with hope. “I’ve always wanted to know more about Pa—about him but Mama never wanted to talk about ‘im.”
“You can call him Papa.” Fie couldn’t help but give a bittersweet smile, recalling the look on Rutger’s face when she had called him Dad.
Jingo’s expression lit up, showing just how young she was.
“Can you tell me more about Papa… please?” she asked.
“Sure, but maybe we can get something to eat. I’m starving,” Fie admitted.
Jingo nodded. “Okay. I’ll have Cerberus hold the fort for me!”
It took Fie a moment to realize just who she was referencing. “You let your… dog sell for you?”
“What?” Jingo put her hands on her hips, a no-nonsense expression on her face. “He’s very well-trained, I’ll have you know. Y’know, the SSS have their own dog too! Dogs are a lot smarter than what you’re giving them credit for!”
Fie held up her hands. “Okay, okay, sorry I asked.”
“You better be,” Jingo sassed, before tossing her head. “But come on, let’s head to Barney’s Tavern. It’s got some pretty good food. ‘Course, Mama’s cooking’s better but she can’t exactly cook for me now. And cooking’s harder than it looks…”
Fie snorted. “I hear you on that.”
It’s gotten to the point where her friends would joke about letting Fie cook so they could have some lethal weapons to lob at enemies. Of course none of them were stellar at all of the recipes Rean got his hands on, but… she and Millium were the worst. Fie could own up to that.
It was a short walk to the tavern and they were quickly seated. One of the waitresses took their orders, and Jingo looked curiously at Fie.
“Don’tcha wish you could try the drinks?”
Fie shook her head. “Nah. It dulls the senses.”
Plus she had been around Sara enough to be permanently turned off from it…
“But… you wanted to hear about Rutger?”
Jingo nodded. “Yeah! Howdja meet him?”
“On a battlefield.”
“You fought him?!”
Fie snorted. “It took all of us to beat Rutger, so not exactly. But… I had nobody. For as long as I remember, I was alone. Until I met Rutger and Zephyr. They took me in. I was a part of them until…”
“He died?” Jingo said carefully. “Were you… ever mad at him? I mean, he was your dad.”
Fie tilted her head at that. Sometimes… her memories of that time were becoming a haze. But… she knew that was because it had been replaced, replaced by so many other good memories.
Fie shrugged. “I guess I was for a time. I didn’t know it at the time, but he told Zephyr to not take me with them if he died. But in the end, I did find another family.”
“Class VII,” Jingo stated.
“Yeah.” Fie smiled. “And maybe… someone else too.”
Jingo’s face flushed pink, looking flustered. “T-That’s great for you.”
Fie chuckled. “I plan on visiting Rean from time to time, you know. But I’d like to see you too, if you want to.”
Jingo’s smile was almost shy as she regarded Fie.
“I’d like that.”