Return Home (Mermaid Swamp AU)

A Bad Feeling

A-n: Memories will be in italics and underlined.

Rin finally stopped crying and pulled away from Seitaro whipping up her face with her sleeves. Yuuta got on Rin's left helping the lady steady herself as they walked back to the house. Yuks sat in the living room Rin had slept in the night before and cup of tea waited for them. Yuuta got the door until Rin's legs gave out. This made Seitaro pull their now unconscious hostess to him and lay her out on the left couch.

Rin shivered and the boys took to lighting up the fireplace, and wrapping Rin up in a blanket. Yuka checked Rin's temperature which was pretty low, she was probably having a nightmare. When the three friends left the room to let Rin rest up, the sight they found shocked them to their cores.

They weren't in the hallway but rather in a child's bedroom. The sound of small feet hitting the floor made them turn and a small figure soon round the corner. Golden blonde hair that was down to the child's shoulders flowed behind her as she ran into the room. Her hands covered her face before she slammed the door shut making the sound much louder than it really was. The child was a girl and the golden strands were messy as the little one hid under her bed.

A knock sounded a few seconds later followed by someone speaking. "Lukaina! Come out here right now! You've much to answer for, young lady!"

That must have Lukaina's late mother, which meant they were seeing a memory from Lukaina's childhood.

"Lukaina! You open this door right now!"

Lukaina covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. The poor girl didn't seem to understand why her mother was so upset. Soon Lukaina's mother left and the girl crawled out from under her bed moving over to the left side of the room. She seated herself quietly at her vanity in the early afternoon, her cheek resting on her tiny arms, folded on the white wooden surface. Her small legs dangled and kicked beneath the plush, padded stool, her eyes dancing as she followed the movements of the tiny ballerina as it twirled with the music box's simple tune.

After a moment, the little girl hopped off her seat and scampered almost awkwardly to her window, rifling through the sheer curtains and letting the sun illuminate her room. With a small push, the glass swung open, the swamp breeze tousling her sunny hair.

It wasn't all too peculiar of a sight for anyone in the bustling town below. Even as a few birds had fluttered to her in an instant, chirping their greetings to the young miss, it was a usual occurrence.

She smiled brightly, her nose wrinkling and eyes squinting.

"Mommy said I'm going to be lady of this land someday!" she said with a giggle, reaching out to stroke the down feathers of her tweeting companions, "I found out yesterday! Mommy said that she'll tell about my daddy soon too. Which is really sad, 'cause I want know him sooner."

At this, her round, wide-eyed expression sobered somewhat. "I've only seen pictures of my daddy. I wish I could have met him, and then I wouldn't be so lonely!"

"Now, now, Lukaina. I know you feel lonely but your father is always with you. "

The little lady blinked, turning around as her birds fluttered away. Her blue eyes brightened as her mother came to sit on the sill with her. Crawling into her mother's lap, she settled into the warm embrace, her back to the woman's chest, and fiddled with the lace of her summer dress. 

"How can daddy been here when I can't see him?"

"He's always here," Lukaina's mother placed a hand on the spot where her little heart rested. "That is how he's always with you."

"Mommy?" Her mother hummed in response. "Am I still in trouble for messing up your papers?"

Her mother, demure and graceful as Lukaina wanted to be someday, took her tiny hands into her own. "No, you're not my little darling. I'm sorry for yelling at you. Yes I was mad because I still have to reorganize everything. But I am truly sorry for scaring you I thought you broke or cut yourself." As if for emphasis, her mother brought her two hands together, clasping them between her own and entwining their fingers together.

Lukaina looked up, staring with wide-eyes at her mother's upside-down face. "I'm sorry from making you work more mommy."

"It's ok, Lukaina. At least you're not harmed." Her mother smiled brightly, affectionately brushing Lukaina's yellow bangs from her pale face.

It was a good day, Lukaina decided, when her mother helped her dress and ready for the day herself rather than send for one of the maids. As she finally sat with her gown fastened properly and examined the intricate curls of her hair, her mother stepped behind her, smiling at her reflection in the vanity mirror. "Now, there is something I want to give you, little darling. When I was young, my father passed this on to me. And I kept it all throughout my life until now."

Lukaina watched her mother unfasten something from around her neck. It was a red pendant, round and smooth, with a simple, silver chain. Indeed, her mother wore it every day despite owning many other, more elaborate jewels and accessories. The little lady gasped, her wide eyes and openly shocked expression far from ladylike. "Mommy?"

With a smile, her mother reached down to fasten the simple jewel around her small neck, the necklace looking much larger and longer on Lukaina. "Keep it safe, little darling. This is our family heirloom. And now, it is yours to protect. You take good care of it now."

The little lady stared at her reflection in wonder, touching the tips of her fingers to the smoothness of the jewel, the redness glowing against the white backdrop of her sundress. She puffed out her chest with pride, a wide, goofy grin spreading across her face. "I'll keep it safe forever!"

Four years later, Lady Lukaina clutched her red jewel tightly, gathering strength from the pendant as her mother took her life by drowning in the swamp. Her broken heart couldn't take anymore separation from her soulmate and father to her only daughter. It was the Day of the Honored Dead when Lukaina found her mother's hair pin at the edge of the swamp. Dropping to her knees the young woman screamed out in pain from her loss.

All of the village children huddled around Lukaina hugging her and cried with her sharing her pain. The parents and teens soon joined the huddle showing their own way of sympathy for the new Lady of the Land. Her mind scrambled for something—anything—to keep her grounded. Anything else to think of, anything else to feel, other than her loss and despair. She felt as if she'd drown in it if someone didn't save her, and with the villagers around to truly understand, she had to rely on them.

The scene faded and the three friends were in the hallway outside of the living room. Without saying a word Seitaro walked to his room and choose to take a nap. Yuka and Yuuta followed in suit, after all what they had seen was a bit... unsettling to say the least.