After taking a walk under the bloody sky and the sunset, burning gracefully as it gives colors on to the entire village, the green verdant land, and the mountains, growing taller as they go far from the horizon. The two young lady finally reached a house. They both stand in front of it for a moment, with their eyes wandering around the edges of its exterior wall made of fine wood and cement, dyed by the color of the sunset.
"We're here." One of the girls spoke as she stood in front of the door, facing Christa as she continues to speak. "This is my home."
Aina opens the door as she stepped aside, giving way to the entrance inside her home. "Come in, Christa."
Christa then gladly takes the girl's invitation to go inside, who seems to be in such joy just by Christa taking a step inside.
"Excuse me..." Christa spoke in a soft and gentle tone as she took a slow and careful step one by one on the floor made by rows of long wood, shining rather nicely by the lights coming from the lanterns placed around the place.
The house wasn't as big as the others, when you go inside, the living room will be waiting for you right when you go in. The house is almost the same as Itsuo's and Selene's, if not for the two quiet and closed shut rooms, and being only the two of them currently inside Aina's house. Nonetheless, it is a cozy and comfortable place with a welcoming and pleasant atmosphere.
"Please relax on the table there while I check the ingredients for our dinner tonight." Aina pointed at one of the chairs around the table as she invites Christa to sit on it and relax.
"Yes..." Christa takes the girl's words and went on the table to get a rest. As she approached the chair, she pulled it underneath the round table, she sits on it in a formal manner, her slender thighs were tied lock to each other. She takes out her wooden sword covered by the white cloth behind her and her bag with her stuff and money inside, placing just beside the chair below her.
And she exhaled a long one sigh as if to release all the fatigue she accumulated today, and then she finally relaxed herself.
In the meantime, Aina was looking at the cabinets in the kitchen, just a few couple steps in front of the table where Christa is sitting. She checked every cabinets containing ingredients from cooking, until she finds one where meat is stored.
"Let's see... So we still got meat from the boars and other ingredients. But I need to buy more lettuces." Aina began contemplating on what to make for their dinner. Shortly after, she comes up with one. "Christa, boar meat wraps is fine, right? Or do you want something else?"
"Ah, meat wraps are fine." Christa spoke, replying to Aina with boar meat wraps.
"Alright, then, I'm gonna have to buy the same lettuce heads we ate together earlier. For now, I'll prepare the other things I need for the dish."
With that settled, Aina takes a portion of boar meat and puts it on top of the chopping board and began taking fine and meaty slices of the boar.
The girl sitting on the table quietly watches Aina preparing the dinner they'll eat tonight. At the same time she's doing it, Christa was trying to feel if someone else were inside the house. But there's no one else but her and Aina inside a cozy and quiet home, with only the empty rooms, living room, bathroom, and the kitchen to accompany them.
At that time, it hit Christa, where are Aina's family? Where they all outside this fine afternoon and is going to participate in the hunt? Her curiousity got into her, and so she asked Aina whose busy doing the ingredients in the kitchen.
"Hey, this place is quite big for a single person, where's your family?" She asked in a rather casual manner.
Aina stopped what she was doing and responded with a smile. "You're here, Christa."
"I'm talking about your real family." speaking in a dead tone.
"Ah... My real family..." Aina continues to chop the meat, as if she never heard Christa asking her about her parents. She kept silent as time slowly pass by, but her eyes tells Christa that something must have happened to her family.
Even after seeing those heavy and lidded eyes, Christa's curiosity did not waver, but the atmosphere Aina gives off tells her that it's not the right time to ask her about it, and so she decided to remain silent.
That is, until... "Oh, I forgot." Aina broke the short silence.
"What is?" Christa curiously tilts her head as she asks the girl. Which Aina then answered and said, "I forgot I was supposed to tell you how I met you and Angelika and how we became sisters."
"Ah, that..." the girl sitting in front of the table continues and speaks wholeheartedly as she tells Aina that, "It's fine, you don't have to tell me about it. Especially if it's relating to something that is hard for you to talk about."
"Christa..."
Christa gave Aina a warm smile before she turns her eyes towards the open window. Afterwards, she began playing her hair, fiddling on it as she watches the sun taking it's time, hiding itself behind the misty blue mountains.
Aina stops what she was doing as she gaze on the girl who is seemingly staring into space while playing and curling it's hair around her finger. As the room came back from being a quiet place for the two girls, Aina with a short, low sigh, she let's go of the sharp knife she uses to cut the boar meat to fine pieces as she gets out of the kitchen. She then went on the round table and took a seat on a chair in front of Christa.
"Oh..." Christa lost her words after seeing the girl who is usually seemed to be a bright and cheerful person, suddenly sporting a serious look on her face. Christa then released her tangled hair around her finger as Aina began to speak.
"It all happened 8 years ago..." As Aina speaks, Christa tries to stop her from talking as she thought she was just being forced after she stops talking and looks a bit disappointed while looking outside the window. "H-hey, I said you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"Listen closely and quietly, Christa." Aina grins as she gestured on Christa to stop talking and just listen quietly as she tells the story about what happened 8 years ago. She then continues to tell her the story. "It all happened 8 years ago, when a plague spread throughout the village of Eisvel..."
The village of Eisvel weren't as big as it was back then, there were only a few number of families living together inside a small village, including Aina and her family. Back then, a war is raging on between countries, including Reilaea itself. The war lasted for 10 years that ended 17 years ago, while Christa met Angelika at the age of 5, 10 years ago.
"Eh? There was a war 17 years ago?"
"Yes. It was a war between countries living under the same earth land. With our village under the territory of Reilaea, one of the dominant countries during the war." Aina continues to talk about her story as she responded to Christa's question.
"Even though the village is the closest one in the battlefield, Eisvel survived a decade of endless war without losing anyone living in it, thanks to the late King and the Queen. The war ended and peace came between Reilaea and other countries it was all doing pretty good with everyone. But when we thought peace would last for years to come, something worse came to our village..."
Peace did came towards Reilaea and the land under its territory. However, it did not last long enough as a plague came out of nowhere and directly infects the village of Eisvel. Infecting and slowly killing anyone in its path.
"Some could not hold themselves against the plague that is killing them slowly inside their bodies, including my family."
"Your family...?"
"Yeah, I still didn't know back then even though I should be in the right age to quite understand them... that my family was lying dead on the floor..."
The news of the plague quickly spread towards towns, villages, and eventually reaching the capital, where the King ordered a number of Adventurers to investigate and find the cause of the deadly plague. But the Adventurers who were sent to the village were also got caught up and couldn't tell anyone what was the reason for the plague at all.
One of those days, when the villagers felt like hope already abandoned them from the dead, the plague hits more villagers in Eisvel, including Aina and her family.
"Father... Mother..."
"Big sis..."
Even Aina's little sister got caught up by it. Unfortunately, her sibling was the first one to go.
"Little sister..."
Followed by their Mother and Father, all three of them was lying on the floor with their lifeless bodies, while Aina was still alive. She was confused as she stared at the corpse of her family.
"Father... Mother... Little sister...? Why aren't you moving?" She spoke as she started coughing out blood. It was then when she went out of their home, she went and walked aimlessly towards a path that leads to a certain forest.
Surprisingly, she managed to walk quite far from the village despite having an illness that killed her entire family. However, just like everybody else in the village, her body slowly gives in from the illness, her feet felt numb as she fell on the ground. Her skin turned pale, she continues to cough out blood, until it was the last thing she was able to do. Her eyes gently closes like a certain that is closing after a performance of an opera.
But before she could fall to sleep that will certainly last for eternity, something lifted her delicate and frail head. It was gentle, and as warm as a Mother and Father's soft caress. It's warmth gave life to her eyes as she opens her liddled eyes. When she did, a blurry image of a person was staring back at her.
It's touch, it's caressing, and the way it slowly puts her head on top of it's soft, tender pillow-like lap... For Aina, it all felt the same.
"Mother...?"
The last word she spoke before her eyes finally fell asleep.