Lost Then Found

To Face One's Fears

Giggles could be heard from the forest, muffled a bit, but still pleasant. The melodic sound could be traced to a dirt road, and more precisely a small woman walking on that road.

She moved in a tempered manner, as expected of someone who is trying to keep themselves in control. The circumstance was quite funny, and if she wasn't careful Subaru might hear her from where he was. After all, she didn't make enough distance between the two of them for her to fully partake in her amusement.

Her husband was many things, and the variety of descriptors used to illustrate him could hardly be mentioned in a single sentence. But, only Anastasia knew just how cute Subaru could be.

Yes, the nervous expression he tends to make when one sees through his act was simply adorable. That is only topped by his frantic attempts to defend his claim, in what could be described as a desperate venture to get his speaking partner to drop their suspicions. Simply lovable.

But, what mattered most is that these scenes are only hers to enjoy. Others simply lacked the ability or right to partake in them. They either would be tricked by Subaru's acting, or be too unimportant to him for that acting to even be necessary.

She is proud of him, she is proud of how far he had come, she truly is. When they first reunited, or for her at the time, their first meeting, Subaru was unhinged, erratic, and if she is, to be honest, dangerous. Both for others and himself. She is not completely sure why she decided to travel with him. Was it loneliness, was it the fact that he was the only person to remember her? She didn't know.

That is not to say that she regrets doing so, for that couldn't be farther from the truth. That decision led to everything that she has today. It led her to this peace, to this freedom, to this paradise. The road to it was filled with thorns and beasts desiring to prevent them from reaching it, but in the end, they did. They were together and they prevailed, just like they will again, she is quite sure of that.

Nevertheless, this newly acquired circumstance presents itself with yet an unforeseen problem. Anastasia did notice Subaru's slight change in behavior these two months. Since their names returned he seemed more vigilant, alert, almost scared. It merely reminded Anastasia of the paranoia he exhibited in Pristella long time ago. The more time passes the more such " familiar" scenes will appear until he is closer to the person he was when he escaped from prison, than to the person he was two months ago.

Anastasia was somewhat disgusted with her thoughts, her husband was scared, and here she is being all gloom and doom taking it out of proportion and making it seem like Subaru was going insane.

He is trying to surprise her with a gift of sorts, granted the surprise isn't particularly effective since she knows something is coming, but it is the thought that counts. That doesn't matter now, what matters is that her husband's attempt at sweetness somehow started a domino effect that resulted in her questioning his sanity.

She understood why this happened though. She herself hasn't been left unscathed by the world remembering them once again. She could see many outcomes, and many ways to acquire them. That was only natural for a great merchant, but that also contradicted their current arrangement quite a bit. She is used to being proactive, making plans and schemes to attain her goals, and this current circumstance inhibited that.

" Why so grumpy Ana?" A woman's voice interrupted her thoughts, " And where is the boy?"

While the voice did sound like it belong to a human, that wasn't the actual truth. Its owner was an arctic fox, or more accurately a spirit that resembled an arctic fox.

" Echidna! Didn't see you there!" And indeed she didn't, she was so consumed by her thoughts that she failed to notice that she is in front of her home. " Subaru said that he had to discuss taxes with Gerlach, so he went to the village." She gave a knowing smirk and added, " Although, that is quite clearly a lie. And considering his behavior he is trying to surprise me."