Into the Darkness (OCXOBI)

Part 3

*Mukaze's POV*
(what she plays at the top)

This poor girl has been so suffering for this long and it's all my fault.

When her crimson eyes pierced into mine I knew that something tragic must have happened to her mother, Asui.

I should've went back to check on them more, maybe if I did she would still be here or maybe this child wouldn't be so afraid of the world. In that moment, I felt guilt wash over me.

"I'm very sorry to hear that." I said pulling my hand away from her shoulder.

"It's okay, it was a long time ago... But I still miss her a lot." Arisa spoke in a quiet voice. "Ya know, I think that I will go with you tomorrow Shirayuki, I feel so much better about it knowing that you guys will be there with me."

"Yay! I can't wait, it will be so much fun!" My red-haired daughter cheered with excitement. It makes me proud that she is always so kind to others. "I also wanted to ask you something since we met though... That song you were playing on the flute, could you play it again?"

"I wonder... was it the one that Asui played when I would come to see her." I thought.

"Sure! I'm glad you liked it. I've never played it for anyone before." Arisa said pulling out a bamboo flute from her bag that was hidden under her cloak.

She put her mouth to the instument and began to play. The soft sound lignered in the air and everyone went silent.

There was no mistaking it now, she was Asui's daughter alright. I haven't heard that song in so many years.

It was a nostalgic feeling to hear that sound again.

*Arisa's POV*

When the song finished, everyone around the table clapped and praised my skill, which made me really happy.

I saw Obi start to doze off half way through my song, as if he were a child being lulled to sleep by his mother.

It was gradifying to watch him feel so comforted by the sound that came from this flute. I'm sure my mother would have felt the same way. After a few minutes he stood.

"I'm heading off to sleep now, what a nice way to end a night. Thanks for the show." Obi gave a half lidded smile and stood up to walk to where he would be staying for the night. "I'll see you in the morning, Ruby." Waving goodbye to everyone else he headed off. Just hearing him call me that made my heart race.

"I think I'll be turning in too. Arisa, you can have my father show you where your room is when you're ready to go to bed. Good night!" Shirayuki said walking away.

"Good night." I said giving a small smile. Everyone else at the table other than Mukaze began to stand and leave as well.

I looked over to Mukaze and he looked kind of spaced out staring into the wine in his cup.

"Hey, Mukaze. Are you alright? You look a little sad." I asked.

"Yes, I'm alright. Just thinking about someone I used to know. You actually remind me a lot of her." he said looking up at me. "It has been quite sometime since I last saw her, about sixteen years."

"What was her name?" I rested my chin against my hand and looked at him.

"Asui." he said in such a low voice I almost didn't hear him.

My breath hitched and I instantly stiffened. My mother. I almost couldn't believe it.

How did he know her? Did he know she was a witch... did he know I was one too?

At that moment, it felt like a million questions were running through my head all at once.

"That was my mother's name... Did you know her?" Avoiding eye contact with the man next to me, I waited a few seconds for him to give me an answer.

"When I was a young man, I was attacked in these very woods by a mountain lion. I was sure that I was going to die, but then Asui found me and saved my life using her powers. After that, I would go visit her from time to time. You were only about five or six at the time." he looked up to the sky and sighed. "After I became the leader of the Lions, I was so busy with things here that I started going to visit you two less and less until one day I just stopped coming around."

That's why his voice sounded familiar to me...

Memories started flashing around in my head of a man who would something come to see my mother.

I actually remembered him now that I think of it, thought he looked a lot older than the last time I saw him.

He knew about us because I remember showing him how I could make dead flowers bloom back to life, and he would clap his hands together in praise.

I also recall him telling me that he had a daughter around my age too. I always wondered why he never brought her to meet us.

"You're the man who would bring me candy when you would come to visit and this book too, weren't you?" I dug through the bag in my lap to pull out an old tattered book about a beautiful woman who had long blonde hair that lived in a tower until she met a prince and they fell in love.

Rapunzel.

I ran my fingers across the cover of the book with a smile remembering how I would have my mother read it to me every night when I was a child.

"I'm surprised you remember me, and I really didn't think you would still have that old book either." He chuckled. "Shirayuki was always pretty fond of that story too."

"Even in this story, the witch was evil. So, why weren't you afraid of us like everyone else?" I asked letting my smile fall.

"I was never afraid of either of you. She saved my life having no idea who I was, just some stranger that she found in the woods who she decided to help. So, you shouldn't be so afraid of living the life you want because not every person you come across will fear or resent you for who you are. The world is so much bigger than you think but your secret is safe with me so you don't need to worry..."

He paused for a moment.

"Ya know, I remember her playing that very song too. I knew right then that you were her daughter, thought I had my suspisions when I first saw those bright red eyes of yours. They are exactly like your mothers." His expression turned serious. "I'm so sorry kid, I should have never stopped coming around. Maybe if I would have came back you wouldn't have been so lonely."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, that's just the way life works sometimes. You had other things that needed your attention, and look around. I think you did an amazing job looking after your people. Everyone here looks so happy." I said to him giving a reassuring smile, tucking my book back into my bag.

I could tell that my words lifted some weight from his back because he looked more relaxed but his serious expression stayed chiseled on his face. I looked down to my hands that were folded in my lap.

"What happened to her." He asked me meeting my gaze once again. Having to tell him was hard to do, still it made me happy to know that someone other than me cared for her.

"She was killed for being a witch when I was thirteen. Some of the men from town came to our house and drug her away. The only reason I'm still alive is because she protected me and I couldn't do anything to save her..." I spoke the last part lowly, speaking more to myself than to him.

"You were only a child, so don't carry that weight around with you. I'm sure she wouldn't want you to live that way." He said patting my head in a way that a father would do to comfort his child. I've never felt that before because I never knew my own father. "It's getting late and you have a very exciting day ahead of you tomorrow, so get some sleep."

As we walked in silence to the place I would be sleeping for the night I couldn't help but to think he was right, she wouldn't want to to live this way.

She would want me to be happy, to see the world and have real friends. Maybe people weren't as unforgiving as I thought them to be all this time.