*The Chronicles of F.R.E.E. Atania's Knight - Raquel Festow* Part 2

Chapter 2 - Memories revisited

*Tommy Hunter POV*

My worst nightmare had come true.
One minute, I had been holding Raquel close to me with my mum holding my free hand. The three of us had been watching Rhianna announce, to everyone's surprise, that she was quitting FREE. Then the next, I felt them both slip from my grip in a blinding flash of light, my feet then landing, somewhere deep in a dense forest I definitely recognised.
I stared around at my familiar surroundings, struggling to come to terms that I was back in Astrovia and that I had to decide which direction I should take.
"RAQUEL!" I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth, staring around the thick rows of fir trees.
My heart started pounding against my ribs and I felt sick to my stomach in panic. My mum and girlfriend were somewhere in this forest, alone, surrounded by the monstrous beasts that lived here. While Raquel could use her Aura Reading abilities to stay safe, my mum wouldn't be able to hear any predatory threats coming her way, and likely not see them until it was too late. I had to find them!
My frozen blood flooded through my body, making me feel ice cold. I quickly scanned around me, again, for any threats before I made a break for it.
Running as fast as I could, I kept my eyes focused on the path ahead of me. The last thing I wanted, was to trip and injure myself badly making me easy prey, but I kept my ears open for any signs on danger or others that may be close by.
My breath hitched when a tall fence came into my line of sight. I knew it all too well! I was in Ozryn! Had it sent us all back to our original villages from the time before? That must mean Hodgson, Perkins, Green, Edwards, Dean and Watson were somewhere close by!
"HODGSON? GREEN? WATSON?!" I bellowed, reaching the fence and looking around, desperately, behind me.
"HUNTER!" I heard Edwards voice scream from close by. He sounded like he was in trouble
"EDWARDS? WHERE YOU AT, MATE?" I roared, taking off again in the direction his voice had been coming from.
"HUNTER! HELP!" Edwards cried out again, making me force my legs to run even faster.
I thrashed my way through the trees and come out to the place where Hodgson, Perkins and I had first met Watson.
"EDWARDS!" I screamed.
A hovering, ghostly woman had a tight grip around his throat and was holding him up, his legs kicking around as he desperately tried gasping for air.
He was facing a hissing and spitting Vexwraith.
"OI!" I yelled, picking up a branch and hurling it at her.
The branch went straight through the deadly, human creature, clunking against the cliffside on the other side of her, but it did manage to catch her attention. She dropped Edwards to the floor and turned to me, moaning in a croaky, haunting way and reaching her hand out for me.
I ducked and rolled away from her, before scrambling over to Edwards, who was sprawled on the floor, spluttering and gulping down air into his lungs.
I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up to his feet, but he was too busy getting his breath back. Being held up in the air by his throat, seemed to have completely drained him of all his energy.
The Vexwraith made a swipe at me, that I managed to duck just in time. I yanked Edwards away from it, further towards the line of trees, hopelessly seeking some kind of protection.
"Come on! Get up!" I pleaded jumping to my feet and pulling at his arm again.
I glanced over my shoulder at the slowly advancing Vexwraith, gurgling and blindly searching for us with her hand outstretched.
She shrieked, angrily, as I rolled us out of harms way again. I yanked Edwards arm over my shoulders and started trying to run back towards the safety of Ozryn's surrounding fence.
Before we got far though, a heavy blow hit the both of us in the back, launching us into a tree, face first. I cried out as I felt my nose break, and slumped to the floor, almost blinded by the pain with my ears ringing.
"TOMMY!" I heard someone screech.
Then another voice. "TEXINOUS VAAQIS AUPA GRAAX!"
The padding sound of footsteps reached us, but I struggled to focus on who had come to our aid.
"It's alright, fazeeb." I heard someone say from somewhere close to me.
That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

"Hunter? Hunter, can you hear us?" Came a soothing, female voice.
I felt a hand swipe my forehead before cupping my cheek, ever so gently.
"R-Raquel?" I croaked, my eyes fluttering open.
It wasn't Raquel who had spoken to me, it was her mum, Grace. She smiled at me when I fully opened my eyes.
"Raquel isn't here, za. But she is alive, I can see her latch!" She cooed to me.
I stared at her for a second before suddenly sitting bolt upright as I remembered being in the forests with Edwards.
"Where's Edwards? Is he ok?!" I cried, ignoring the throbbing agony across my cheekbones.
"He's fine. He's sitting with Clara and Harry in the main hall." Natalia came into view just behind Grace.
"Where are the others?" I asked, in despair. "M-my mum? Was she sent here?"
Natalia shook her head, sadly. "We don't know, Tommy. I can't get hold of Rebecca nor Ruth. But we have heard from-"
She abruptly stopped when a loud chorus of voices reached our ears.
"I'll be right back!" Natalia said, spinning on her heel and rushing out of the room.
I looked around where I was and noticed I was in the infirmary, inside the Great Hall of Ozryn. Grace was watching me, carefully. She looked around the room too when I focused my attention back on her.
"So this is Astrovia." She chirped, getting up and walking towards a cupboard. "Biqirez told me that's where you met Watson and her friends? Is that true?"
I tried to swallow, but my nose was too blocked with all the blood. I choked slightly and nodded. "Yeah. I met Watson where you found Edwards and I. Was that you who changed the Vexwraiths Aura?" I asked, swinging my legs down, over the edge of the bed and shifting forwards until my feet rested on the floor.
Grace nodded. "Iez. I couldn't let that woman feed on your Auras. It almost made your fazeeb, Edwards, a Void."
All the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when she said that. "Vexwraiths... change Auras too?" I mumbled in surprise.
"No." Grace picked up a bottle of green potion along with a spoon. "It doesn't change Auras, it feeds on them. I've never seen such a awful, vile creature."
She approached me and tipped the thick, disgusting, gooey fluid into the spoon.
"Open." She instructed and I obediently opened my mouth.
She shoved the spoon into my mouth and I clamped it shut around it. She pulled it out and I put my hand over my mouth as I forced myself to swallow.
I tingling, warm sensation spread across my nose and middle of my back. I sighed.
"Th- I mean. Rac iai." I mumbled, shyly.
Her face broke into a wide grin, and she bowed her head.
"Plaxzen." She replied, looking back at me before averting her gaze to something behind me.
I twisted my head round to see Edwards with Ryder. Ryder let out a happy sob before running towards me.
"Ryder!" I cried, leaping down and catching her halfway across the room.
"Thank you so much for saving him!" She wailed into my shoulder, hugging me tightly.
"Me? I didn't do anything! It was all Grace, Raquel's Naraz." I explained, hugging her back.
"Actually, if you hadn't been there, Edwards would have succumbed to the Vexwraith." Grace told me, modestly. "I only got there just as you two were about to be finished off."
"How did you find us?" I asked Ryder, pulling away from her and shaking Edwards hand.
"Clive found me. I was wandering around, completely lost. Then Clive found me and led us here." She explained then her face suddenly changed to horror and she gripped the front of Edwards shirt. "We also need to find the kids! Oh my god!"
"You don't think the kids have been sent here too?!" Edwards looked at his fiancée in terror before looking at me.
"I fucking hope not!" I breathed. "I'm worried it's picked up my mum too!"
"Oh no!" Ryder wailed, burying her face into Edwards chest. "I can't lose them, Phillip!"
"We'll find them, babe! We will find them!" Edwards tried to comfort her, but his face told me his anguish over their lost children.
"We will get to them, Ryder! I'll make sure of it!" I told her, putting my hand on the small of her back. "We will search for them and my mum, along with the others as soon as we can!"
Grace put a hand on my shoulder. "Ryder, was it?" Grace said, gently. "I can see the latches to your children. They are alive, just far away from here." She said, sympathetically.
"They're alive?!" Ryder squealed, hopefully. "Oh, Edwards! They're alive!"
"Thank god!" Edwards muttered, pulling her back to him in relief. "Now we just need to find out where they are."
"They're in Narthwich!" Natalia came running into the Infirmary with a massive smile on her face. "Rebecca just called me! They're with her in Narthwich!"
Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief, but Edwards cringed.
"Rebecca is with the kids? All five of them?" He asked, sheepishly.
Natalia giggled. "Not just yours, she has Robin and Daniel's three children too. I am so jealous! I want to be with all the children!" She folded her arms and pouted.
Harry and Clara appeared behind her in the doorway along with Clive.
"Well, we know where the children are and one of the Doppelgängers. We just need to find the others." Clive smirked, a hand to his chin in thought.
"Oh I've already spoken to Ruby. She's in Mournstead with Rhianna, Jane, Sharon, Oren, Jarod, Fabian and Darren and Ruth's sisters, Danielle and Maria." Natalia squeaked, happily. "Jane is busy remaking Rhianna and Ruby's swords so they have the Aura protection on them. She asked me how it was done, and I said I remembered Rebecca telling me she had cut her hand on the blade."
Clive nodded. "Yeah. That's right. The doppelgänger who is the owner of the sword needs to mix their blood with the molten metal before it's forged for it to have the same abilities as before. They shouldn't make more than one though."
"No, they know that." Natalia nodded, smiling slightly. "I've made sure that Rebecca doesn't make more than one too. Although, the likelihood she'll get the time to make hers is slim at the moment." She giggled again and turned to face the rest of us. "We still don't know where the others are though. My guess is either Swindmore or Rusper."
I thought for a moment. "Have you tried calling Watson?"
Natalia's face fell. "Yes. I can't get hold of Clemency, Darren or Ruth."
"Regina never liked using a phone, so she won't have one." Clive rolled his eyes.
Natalia shook her head, sadly. "No one can get hold of Asuna, either. Rebecca has agreed to let me deal with her as she's too angry. I've also told Rebecca that we will get everyone back into shape then leave for Narthwich. But we will just relax this evening before we start the training."
I nodded and gingerly felt my nose. It felt all fixed.
Ryder was looking around the infirmary. "Is this really Ozryn?"
I nodded, with a sour look on my face. "Yes. It is. Also known as hell!"
I looked at Edwards who nodded in agreement.
"Can you show me around?" Ryder asked, eagerly. "I'd love to see where you boys originally came from! And where Watson, Dean and Green came from too!" A big grin on her face.
"Um, sure. It's not as exciting as you think it is." I told her, stepping round her to leave the infirmary.
"Can you show me round too? I'd like to hear the stories!" Grace asked eagerly.
"Oh, me too!" Clara squealed, bouncing on her toes.
"I already know the story of what happened, but I'd like to see where Ruthie lived when she first came here. It'll be like a trip down her memories," Harry chuckled.
"Alright. Well, first, let's start in the main hall." I led the troop to the main hall.
Natalia and Clive said they would get dinner sorted for us while I gave them a tour of the Castle. I kept walking with them, before stopping at the double door to the dormitories.
"So... Erm, this is the Great Hall where we ate all our meals together. I used to sit over there with Hodg and Perkins." I pointed to the back corner. "The girls always sat here, with Watson sitting with her back to the dormitories."
"Where did you sit, baby?" Ryder asked, looking around.
"I sat here with Styles, Moon and Grimes." He strode over to a bench opposite where I used to sit. "We used to put our tokens together for a night out at Deans every Sunday but we never got to taste the food until we got to Narthwich." He gave Ryder a wink and made her giggle.
"Through here were the dormitories." I continued, opening the double doors and stepping through. "This was the room where everything changed. Where Watson killed Stainton after he took Green."
I briefly pointed at Staintons door but didn't dare go near it. Harry stopped beside it and tried the door, but it was locked.
"So where was your room, mate?" Harry asked, looking down the corridor.
"Here." I replied, walking down a few doors and opening the door. My breath caught as I stared in amazement and nostalgia at my old room.
It was exactly how I had left it all those years ago. I remembered how uncomfortable the bed was, hearing Perkins snoring, laying in bed for hours waiting to fall asleep and thinking about my mum. I slowly walked over to the dresser and yanked open the bottom drawer.
"You left your clothes here?" Harry said, confused, as he came into the room to get a better look.
"These are the clothes I was taken away in..." I told him, pulling out my old school blazer. "I was in school when I was taken, about to sit my GCSEs."
"So that makes you the same age as Ruthie and me, then." Harry guessed, opening the chest at the bottom of my bed.
"No. I was selected to do my exams early, when I was fourteen, because I was special and talented." I told him, smugly, smirking at him.
Harry's eyes widened. "Holy shit. Fourteen and you did your GCSEs?!" He exclaimed before letting out a low whistle and looking towards the corridor. "So Ruthie met Darren here, too? Right?"
I nodded and picked the clothes up as I went. "Yeah, but she didn't have any interest in him back then. She mostly found him annoying." I told him.
Harry laughed, leaving my room to go back to the corridor.
"Lemme guess. She was kneeing in the jewels and taking the piss out of him all the time." He chortled.
I laughed. "Bang on. Hodg used to try flirting and Watson just used to mock him about it."
Harry threw his head back before shaking it. "That's Ruthie all over, mate. She loves taking the piss out of people." He looked up the corridor. "Where did she stay? I thought she said there was only three girls in Shields of the Shield."
I grimaced.
"Don't say those words please." Edwards grunted. "They bring back bad memories."
"The girls lived in the tower, down here." I led the way towards the spiral staircase.
We reached the top and I reached for the door, but it was locked. I frowned and turned to Edwards.
"It wasn't locked when we came here the morning after they had left." I wondered aloud.
Edwards shrugged. "Fuck knows. Maybe Atkinson did it."
I furrowed my brow before bashing my shoulder against the door. It broke open immediately.
I glanced back at Edwards, a strange feeling of foreboding spreading through me.
"Something doesn't feel right..." I whispered, looking through the now open doorway into the eerily dark and empty hallway.
"Yeah, you're right..." Edwards whispered, leaning forward to look.
"Dunno what you're on about." Harry said, gruffly, pushing his way past us to go inside. "It's just because it's empty now."
"Harry," I said slowly. "The only ones who locked this door were the girls. They haven't come back to this room since they left, so who would have locked it?"
I grabbed Harry's arm. "I won't be going in there until we have weapons! I won't feel safe, otherwise!"
"I know where some might be! I'll be back in a jiffy." Edwards winked and ran down the stairs.
Harry gave me a funny look. "What you think it could be?" He asked me, curiously.
I shook my head. "I dunno, but I have a bad feeling about it."
Grace nodded. "Goodwin is telling you something's not right, that's why. She knows they didn't lock the door when they left and they were the only ones to have keys as far as they knew."
I narrowed my eyes and looked back up the dark hallway again.
I could slightly see that Watson's old bedroom door was ajar, but Goodwin's and Green's were closed, as was the living room door. I knew for sure we had shut all the doors before we had left.
Edwards returned, huffing and puffing from being out of breath.
"Here you go. One for each of us. Clive has already raided the Outhouse where they were held." He said, handing me a sword with a red hilt and a cursive A on it.
I couldn't help but glare at it.
I looked back into the apartment but Natalia called up the stairs for us to come down.
"Dinners ready!" She called up the stairs.
Harry groaned. "We'll come back later, yeah?"
I narrowed my eyes as I felt that foreboding feeling again. Automatically, without realising I was doing it, I grabbed the doorknob and closed the door again.
"We'll see." I replied, doubtfully, turning to face them. "Let's go and eat then walk through the town after, yeah?"
"Huh?" Harry moaned and started to head down the stairs. "Fine. I'll wait but I'm going in there before we leave."
He stomped down the stairs, pouting and Clara quickly followed him along with Edwards and Ryder.
I looked back at the door and felt Grace take my hand.
"Goodwin really doesn't want anyone to go in there. She's saying that someone went in there after they left..."
"As far as I knew, only we had been in there." I replied. "But I know Hodgson came up there sometimes on his own after bedtime. I used to hear his door opening and closing in the middle of the night."
Grace seemed to think for a moment. "No. It wasn't Hodgson. She doesn't know their name."
I frowned at her and thought back. Who else had the girls been close to? Had one of the others got to know them, but Goodwin hadn't? "Was it someone she'd spoken to before?"
I didn't realise I spoke my last thought aloud and shook my head.
"Sorry. My minds trying to wo-"
"It was someone Watson knew. She had seen him speak to her a few times and Watson had had conversations with him." Grace said.
I stared at her. "Right. Well, Watson was the more social type." I chuckled, awkwardly. "Let's go eat something. I'm sure it's nothing." I smiled at her and offered her my arm so we could go downstairs together. She beamed at me and took it without hesitation. We started walking down the stairs.
"No wonder my saltazeeb likes you. You are perfect for Raquel. We know you will take good care of her."
I laughed. "Glad I've given a good impression. Your dau- biqirez has certainly taken to my naraz. And mum with Raquel."
Grace gave me a wide smile. "Your Naraz is lovely. She's very kind, and her Aura is the brightest I've ever seen!"
"My mums the innocent type that's why." I told her proudly. "She raised me on her own, which is quite a feat seeing as she's deaf."
We reached the bottom of the stairs and began walking towards the double doors of the Great Hall.
"Was she always deaf?" Grace asked, slipping her arm out of mine now we weren't on the stairs.
I shook my head. "No. It happened while she was heavily pregnant with me. She never told me how it happened though."
"Hmmm. Perhaps she just wants to protect you. I mean, Raquel doesn't know what really happened to her Uncarez." She said, absentmindedly.
"Uncarez?" I asked, confused.
"Uncle."
"What happened to him?"
Grace gave me a sad, hurt look. "He's part of the Order."
I gaped at her. "Wow..."
I didn't know what else to say. It was a good thing that Raquel didn't know about that, that would break her apart. Rebecca certainly wouldn't be happy about it.
"H-How do you know he joined the Order?"
"Because he returned to Atania when I was pregnant with Raquel, telling us that the Gathering of Breenio was a farce." She scowled, slightly as she thought back. "He told us all that there was a lot more meaningful things to celebrate and that Rebecca Donton was a fake. He was adamant that the victim was actually Tiana LaCroix. Thing was, everyone had seen and been told that he now had a purple Aura."
"Shit. You think he was brainwashed?"
We reached the doors and I rested my hand on the handle, but didn't open it.
Grace shrugged and gave me a small smile. "Who knows? The only way we can find out is if we have him a green Aura, but he hasn't been seen since."
"What's his name?"
Grace shook her head and opened the door instead of answering me. "It doesn't matter anymore." She mumbled, and walked into the hall.
Harry and Clara were sitting with Edwards and Ryder, talking quietly with each other. Natalia and Clive were in the kitchen and it was strange smelling proper food coming from there, rather than nothing except steam.
I sat beside Edwards, who nudged me, giving me a small grin. I smirked back at him and watched Grace sit opposite me.
She did look a lot like Raquel. There was so many similarities between her and Raquel, it was sometimes uncanny. It was nice to have someone I felt I could really talk to when my girlfriend wasn't here, but I still pined after Raquel. I was missing her laugh, her ways of viewing everything, her hugs, her smile, her kisses.
I sighed as Natalia brought out several platters on a large tray, with Clive following shortly behind with a few more platters and everyone's plates.
"Thank goodness the farming plots practically look after themselves. There was plenty for us all." Natalia quipped, smiling sweetly at everyone.
"Sorry, it's only vegetables though. Natalia said all the livestock was removed after everyone left." Clive added, wincing slightly.
"Well, it's about time I started a diet." Harry joked, smirking cockily around at everyone.
I burst out laughing. "That's exactly what Watson and Hodg would say!" I chortled.
Harry laughed too. "About me or about themselves?"
"Ugh, Watson would probably say it to both of you, to be fair."
Harry roared with laughter. "So tell me, mate. What's it like dating a doppelgänger? Do they all have the same interests?"
I snorted. "If you think that Watson and Rhianna are the same person, you have that completely wrong!" I said, shaking my head at him. "Right, Natalia?"
"Oh yes! Rhianna is all on her own compared to the others. There are some similarities between them all though. Rebecca and Ruth have the same appetite, sense of humour and temper. They're also similar in fighting technique. But Rhianna and Ruth share the same taste in music, and interests. Ruby is difficult to compare as she keeps to herself, but Raquel is the best of them all. Am I right, Tommy?" She winked at me and I chuckled.
"You can say that again. I do feel like Rebecca and Regina are pretty much the same though."
Clive found that hilarious. "No. Regina is completely different from Rebecca. She's no where near as strict and she's very motherly." He cast a sideways glance at Natalia. "Rebecca is more... predictable."
Natalia rolled her eyes and sat down beside me. "Rebecca is set in her ways, that's true. But she has a heart of pure gold!"
Clive snorted. "Most of the time..." he added in for her, snidely.
"All of the time!" Natalia snapped, glaring at him.
Clive put his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. I give... she must have changed a lot since Cristis then." He shrugged, still smirking and eyeing Natalia's reaction.
Natalia nodded. "She has. Her Aura is golden, her temper has calmed down a lot, and she has drastically improved in the bedroom."
Harry, Edwards and I choked on our food.
"W... What?!" Harry coughed.
"Don't make her repeat it!" I whined.
"It's true!" Natalia said, unaware of why we had reacted like that. "When we first had vollang, she hadn't had it for almost twenty years!"
Edwards and I desperately tried to cough our way through, but Harry roared with laughter.
"That explains why she's so grouchy!" He threw his head back and laughed harder.
Ryder giggled but Clara and Grace looked concerned.
"That's not healthy!" Said Grace. "I understand that she was stuck in Deathea for ten years alone, but she should have picked up her vollang Release as soon as she got to Atania."
Clara nodded. "They say you should never go longer than five months without Vollang after you first have it."
Natalia nodded. "It took her a long time to open up to me, I'll admit."
Edwards couldn't hold himself back anymore. He bashed his fist on the table and howled with laughter, sending me into a fresh fit, myself.
"Oh, please!" Harry squealed, wiping his eyes. "Continue this conversation when Ruthie is here."
Natalia frowned at him. "Why? Ruth already knows more about our relationship than anyone else. The only person that knows more, is Clemency. Although, Rebecca didn't meet clemency until after Ruth had been to Swindmore."
That brought a thought into my head and I stopped laughing. "That's a point." I looked at her seriously. "The leaders of the towns had been here since it was first started, correct?"
Natalia nodded. "Yes. Benjamin Needham, Sarah Finkley and Bernie Gradson. There was Gary Baker, but he was fired after some horrible rumours, and Andre Atkinson took his place. Then there was Grace Harris in charge of Swindmore before Clemency took it over twenty years ago."
"If the house in Narthwich was for the Doppelgängers, then How comes Needham didn't recognise Watson?" I asked, suspiciously.
"Oh, we would remove their memories of them. They kept their paperwork on their progress but any brief encounter they had with Ruby or Rhianna was removed." Natalia explained.
"What happened to them after we left?" Edwards said with his mouth full of carrots.
"They joined us at FREE. Ruth gets along very well with Sarah, but they haven't had much time to really get to know each other properly."
"What about this Grace Harris? Why did Moreno replace her?" I asked, finishing my last mouthful.
"She retired. Her memories were removed and she returned to Cristis. Rebecca and I still see her from time to time, but she's started to age now. It won't be long until she leaves us for good." Natalia bowed her head.
"How was Clemency as a leader?" Clive quipped, standing to reach over for more potatoes.
"Very impressive!" Natalia beamed. "She was the only leader in the entire of her time in Astrovia to never lose a resident! Even when the Mournstrike passed through, she kept them all safe."
Clive smirked. "It's good to hear that our bloodline has proven themselves worthy of the Moreno name. She'd make my father extremely proud."
Everyone had now finished their food. I picked up my plate and took it into the kitchen. A strange feeling crossed over me, as if I was being watched.
I looked around the dark kitchen, but couldn't see anything. I hummed, suspiciously and reached into my pocket for my lighter to turn on the lantern when I hand on my shoulder made me jump.
"Holy shit! Don't do that!" I snapped turning to see it had been Clara.
She flinched away from me, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry. I was just hoping you could show us the town before the suns light goes."
I took a deep breath to calm my palpitating heart and nodded. "Sure. You ready?"
She nodded vehemently.
We both left the kitchen and I called over to the others. "Who else wants to come and take a look around the town?"
Harry leapt to his feet. "I'm definitely there!" He cried, almost tripping up as he climbed over the bench.
"Me too!" Ryder squealed, lifting her legs and spinning herself round.
"You go, babe. I'm gonna stay here and get our bedroom ready. Too many sad memories." Edwards sighed, getting to his feet and picking up Harry's, Ryder's and his own plates.
"More like regrets of not trying Deans food, you mean." I jeered.
He smirked and flipped a finger at me. "I have had Deans food now, so my life is complete." He retorted, chuckling.
Grace got up and came over. "I would like to come too, if you'll let me."
"Of course." I grinned and led them all out into the streets of Ozryn.
"So there was the blacksmiths." I pointed at the forge to the right as I kept walking. "It only really got used to its full potential towards the time we were about to leave here for good."
I looked left and pointed to the end shop. "That's where the tailor was. Never went in there myself."
Clara skipped over to look inside the dusty windows. "There's still cloth inside there. We could make new clothes!" She squealed excitedly.
I pointed back to the right. "That was the shoe clerk. The boy who ran that was a total arsehole!" I snarled.
"Whoa, this is really fucking creepy." Harry pondered, looking around. "It's like a proper ghost town."
I nodded and stopped outside a building that still had tables and chairs outside on the porch.
"This was Deans." I said, staring at the sorry looking empty tavern. "There's so many good memories here. Watson, Goodwin and Green came here every night for the last couple of months they were here. Watson even took to helping Dean out every Sunday and being her waitress."
Harry went up the steps and stroked the table outside, before peering in the glass in the front door.
"Sure looks cozy in there!" He called back. "I wouldn't have minded trying her food out. Heard she's exceptionally good."
I grinned and nodded. "She's the absolute best! When she announced that her and Hewitt were going to start a cafe business with Hewitt's dad, we were over the fucking moons!"
"Moons?" Harry laughed, looking back at me. "There's only one moon, mate."
I cocked an eyebrow. "You wait until later tonight. You'll see what I mean then." I told him, walking forward to the steps and stepping onto the porch. "God I missed the times we had together here." I said, reaching for the door handle.
I turned it, expecting it to be locked, but it clicked open.
"Oh fuck! Yes! We can go in!" I cried, cheerfully.
I swung the door open and went inside. The smell of the place filled me with nostalgia. I walked straight over to where we all used to stand, and leant against the pillar.
"I never came here as often as the girls. When I first came to Ozryn I was a weedy, tiny kid. After a few months of contact training though, I started to beef up a little." I put my hand where Goodwin had always stood and my eyes pricked with tears.
Grace came inside and ran over to me, engulfing me in a tight hug. "Don't cry, Hunter. Goodwin wouldn't want you to be sad." She whispered to me, softly. "She's trying to comfort you right now."
"I know. Just brings back memories of us standing here, chatting and laughing. Hodgson and I always regretted not making our moves on Watson and Goodwin when we were here. By the time we were ready to let our feelings be known, they were gone. Perkins was going to ask Green to move in with him that day." I hung my head for a moment before Harry called me over.
"Mate, come and look at this!" He was standing just inside of the door and looking on the floor.
I frowned and walked over. My heart skipped a beat when I saw it.
Footprints. But footprints made from old, dried blood.
"Watson." I whispered, crouching and placing a hand on the footprints. I noticed a small handbag in the corner of the room, tucked away underneath the benches, and quickly strode over to pick it up.
Opening it, there was an old phone, some keys and a purse. This had obviously belonged to a girl.
I pulled out the purse and opened it. It had a couple of very old fivers inside it and a few loyalty cards. I looked in the compartments and there was a couple of photobooth pictures. Pulling them out, I let out a cry that was a cross between surprise and a short laugh.
It was Deans handbag! The pictures were of her and her mum.
"I'm fucking glad we came back here! I'm taking this back to Dean. She'd love to have these photos back." I said, happily, looking over my shoulder at Harry, Clara and Grace.
Clara skipped over to see what I had found. "She looks so different!" Clara cried out. "Why does the picture make her look like that?"
I laughed. "This was Dean when she first arrived here. She was a lot larger back then."
"There's hope for me yet!" Harry quipped, chuckling. "If she can end up hot, then there's a chance I can be good looking!"
I snorted and stood up straight. "Don't let Rhianna hear you calling another girl 'hot'!" I warned. "She won't take kindly to that."
Harry nodded. "Thanks for the tip, buddy. Anyway, it's starting to get dark. We better head back in."
He was right. The sun had set faster than I realised and the moons had started to rise.
"You'll see what I mean when I said moons now." I told him, leading the way out of the tavern.
Looking up, there was the three moons. A crescent for the first, largest moon, a new moon for the third smallest, but the second was the brightest and was full.
Harry gaped up at it in amazement.
"There's three?! Why is there three?" He gasped.
I smirked. "Welcome to Astrovia. Strangely beautiful, as well as bizarrely addictive and dangerous."