Suikoden VI

Chapter One: Part Four

Part Four

He saw her. She seemed to be surrounded by a glowing light, but he knew it was her. He reached out a tiny hand and grabbed hold of her white robes.

"Daunte."

He tried to look up, but was unable to. But she bent down and picked him up in a tight hug. He buried her face into her neck. He could smell the perfume she always wore. It comforted him.

"Daunte, I know things look bleak now," she told him, running her slender fingers through his hair. "But they will get better. I promise."

"T..." the words were hard to form in his mouth. He gathered up the courage to say them. "I heard them. They said you were an h-heretic and a...traitor."

"I don't listen to gossip." She took a seat on the couch, still holding onto him. "And you shouldn't either. What I express in my preaching is free thought, Daunte. And the truth of our Scriptures. Not what has been currently mandated in our Doctrines."

"B-But why would they say such things about you?"

"Because that's what people have been told about me. And quite frankly, we Nagareans have become too complacent. People would rather just duck their heads and go with the flow instead of standing up for what is right. But I'm not going to do that, Daunte. I can't just stand back while the High Clerics just skim the Scriptures and make up laws as they see fit. Not while the people suffer."

"What will you do?"

"I will fight, Daunte." Her hand cupped his cheek and turned his face up towards her. But her face was still enveloped in light and he couldn't see her. "I will fight so that Arin and you don't have to grow up in an oppressive environment. I would do anything for you two."

—

"Kindness Drops."

Daunte's brow twitched, and he suddenly became soaked. He also aware of the burning, agonizing pain in his right ankle, and he almost shouted in pain. But just as abruptly, the pain was gone and he dried. He coughed briefly, and slowly opened his eyes.

"Are you all right?"

Daunte sat up, blinking against the dim light around him. There was a weight on his chest, but he felt it slide down him as he sat up. Roen and Felicity were sitting side by side on the floor nearby, their expressions grim. "A-Are you guys okay?" Daunte choked on the words.

Felicity nodded. "I-It looks like we fell into the secret area."

"Arin!" Daunte suddenly shouted. He looked around himself until he focused on the weight that had settled in his lap. Arin lay sprawled against his lap, still unconscious. The boy was wet and muddy, and Daunte's heart thudded painfully. This physical condition wasn't going to help Arin's already delicate condition.

But the boy was breathing. It was weak, but it was a clear sound.

"We fell quite far and suffered serious injuries."

Daunte looked up. Surya was standing over him, holding a makeshift burning torch. "I broke my leg and collar bone. Your right ankle shattered upon impact, Daunte, and unfortunately Felicity suffered a fractured skull." Daunte looked at the girl in question with alarm, but Felicity looked perfectly fine. "Arin wasn't injured because you shielded him with your own body. But when I woke up after the fall, we all had broken bones. Luckily, my Kindness Drops healed all our wounds."

Daunte looked up, expecting to see a hole in the ceiling from the sinkhole. Instead he saw a dark ceiling. "What—"

"We h-heard them mobilizing from the top of the hole," Roen said. He slowly stood up. "Surya healed me first because my only injury was a broken elbow. But we had to drag you guys as far as we could away from the sinkhole."