Bjorn woke up early the next morning wondering what the new day would bring for him and the rest of the village which he had been staying with while he waited for the guardian to complete the job which he had been hired for. The guardian had told the people of the town to wait several days before going out, but knowing that the guardian had already sabotaged the boats, Bjorn couldn't help but wonder why the guardian had given them such a long waiting time. Thankfully he didn't have to ponder this very long because as soon as he reached the chief's house he couldn't help but notice the rather large crowd which was gathered around a piece of paper which had been tacked to the door. As he walked closer the leader noticed him and beckoned him to come closer and read the paper, which was covered in a very clean and precise handwriting which almost held a bit of a militaristic feel to it, similar to an official document.
"It would seem that the guardian has delt with the situation but, for the safety of the village it would be in our best intrest to stay in the village while the surroundings start to settle down a bit, and of course that includes you if you want it to."
Bjorn had been led into the leaders house away from the small crowd so that they could speak more freely. Bjorn knew that the leader was doing what he could to make his sacrifice more bearable. After all Bjorn had saved a child from being tied to the guardian for the sake of the village, and for that all of the people were undoubtedly grateful to him even if he had never really been all that much a part of the village in the first place. But now that none of the other leaders were in the village and it had been left helpless he had done everything he could to insure the safety of the person who he cared most about in the world which had in turn benefited the village as a whole. All of the people had known that the child was a little on the weak side it was still a child and it would be their shame for it to be sacrificed even if the other people in the village didn't see it that way that was the leaders whole hearted perspective.
"I think that it will most likely be in all of our best interests if I just went on my way at the moment, after all that will be the most effective way to ease the minds of the rest of the people don't you think village chief?"
The leader clenched his fists and smiled alittle sadly toward the person in front of him who had always been considered less than the rest of them due to his heritage which in the end had nothing to do with his overall nature but that was just how things had turned after the wars completion. The leader couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in his heart now that this person would be leaving them after all this time, but he had known that he would react in this way as soon as he learned the information which was why he had prepared in advance. He tapped loudly on the table and a small figure darted out of the room behind them jumping into Bjorns arms for a hug.
Lily had listened to the rather short conversation in the room like the leader had instructed her and couldn't help but start to cry at the realization that the person who had been the nicest person to her would now be gone. After she had lunged out of the room and given Bjorn a hug she felt a pat on her back as he tried to calm her down from her emotional state which took quite a lot of work. When she was able to gain composure she looked up and saw that Bjorns usual normal expression, his eyes were slightly red, but that same smile that she was so used to was still there trying to bring her a degree of comfort, which made her feel like her heart was being ripped out.
" Don't worry about it, you aren't the same as before so you will be fine, the guardian made sure to cure you remember? And besides it's only five years, when I get back you will be all grown up and won't need to have someone like me around anymore. Don't worry about it too much just focus on growing up big and strong while I'm away, okay?"
His voice cracked slightly but he kept his composure on the surface to reassure the child, which had absolutely no effect toward his goal. Instead the child only looked further distressed, and all that Bjorn could do was pat the child's head in slight frustration while the leader just sat there staring at him and the child with a sad expression, while holding a small bag which Bjorn assumed he had picked up while he was occupied with the small child.
After waiting patiently the leader cleared his throat and pushed the bag toward Bjorn.
"Calm down Lily you will be able to see him again in the future, but for now you need to become stronger so that you can repay the debt you now owe, wouldn't you say?"
Instantly the child stiffened up as she listened to the leaders words, she then seemed to remember something and reluctantly released Bjorn from the hug and walking over to stand like a soilder behind the leader.
"As for you, it's not much, but the two of us would like to express our gratitude for your sacrifice. I know that you want to be on your way quickly but this bag has some things that you might need in the future so please accept it without a fuss."
The leader raised his hand as he said the last part, stopping Bjorn who was already opening his mouth to protest.
"Goodbye Bjorn, I hope that we can meet again."
And with that Bjorn nodded his head and left with the small bag slung over one of his shoulders. Nothing more needed to be done, he needed to leave before his resolve could be shaken.
***
Some time later Bjorn pulled his boat ashore of the island where the guardian resided and began walking toward the shrine to meet with the guardian and officially start his five years of service which were due as per the contract. The walk was long and the sun had gone down long ago by the time he finally reached what was supposed to be the ruins of the town which had been massacred, he inhaled deeply as he came into the clearing and saw the full moon which had bathed the entire town in a blue light. But unlike the ruins which he was expecting he found that the entire village was in perfect condition as if it had never been destroyed in the first place. After the scene sank in he noticed that the town seemed to have the echo of the past in it. As he walked through the streets he could almost hear the sounds of the hustle and bustle which had long since been absent in this place. It gave him a sence of loss that he had never quite felt before. When he reached the base of the stairs to the shrine he noticed the cat creature and guardian sitting at the top among the numerous fallen petals watching over the scene in silence. The sight took Bjorns breath away, it was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen before and he wished that he could somehow capture that image forever. The whole atmosphere seemed to be confused, but now in Bjorn's eyes all the things that he had seen were twisting together to form a beautiful and extremely sad picture of a moment frozen in time illuminated by the shining moon.