That We May Not Be Forgotten

[Seraphima]

Closed to Yamihara Asuka.

The ship docked, finally, but where she was, Sara couldn't say. She heard the scraping of the boat against the dock, and then the thumping of wood against wood as the ramp was lowered to the pier. The town smelled of salt and people...and of so many other unfamiliar things.

She coughed a few times, deep coughs that shook her slender frame to its core.

"Maurz..." the airy voice was but a whisper. "Come on, Maurz...we have to get off the boat. Where are we, Maurz?"

The big dog wagged his tail gently, leading the blind woman down the plank and onto the streets of the port town. Her cane made gentle rapping sounds as she prodded her way forward.

At once, she was in a world completely different from any she could ever remember. The smells were different, and the wood under her feet made a toc, toc sound as her cane struck it, instead of a dap, dap sound like everywhere else.

After a very short walk, the cane struck something harder than wood, and the sound that came from it was pak, pak, instead of ra-tat-tat.

There was also the usual rustle and bustle of a city, merchants hawking their goods and mothers scolding children. The only problem was...she couldn't understand a word they were saying. Maurz led her through the crowd as always, but she couldn't tell which way they were going, where they were, and whether the yelling merchants were hawking jewelry or human skulls.

Well, there's a pleasant thought.

Suddenly, there was a patter patter patter sound quickly approaching, and a sudden jerk on Maurizio's lead. That was all too familiar...if jarring...for the blind woman.

"Inu!" It was a child's voice, very excited, and Maurz sat to be petted. Sara smiled. No matter the culture, it seemed, dogs attracted children like magnets.

Now I know one word...inu must be the local way of saying "doggy!"

The child's mother grabbed it's hand. "Gomen...no...sai..."

Apparently the blindfold was something uncommonly seen. Most cultures tended to hide their infirm.

"No problem," Sara answered. "Really, Maurz..." she pointed to the dog. "Inu...likes children."

But already they were walking away. Sara sighed. She didn't have any idea how to even start getting her bearings. I thought it was hard in Scara Brae...but at least there, I spoke the language.

She and Maurz kept walking, but after a few minutes Sara started coughing again. It was a bad fit, forcing the willowy young woman to double over. "Maurz...let's rest for a little while. All right?"

The dog whimpered slightly. It was bad for her to be out like this...but they didn't have much choice. They didn't have much of anything, and she took better care of him than she did of herself. He tugged on his lead gently, leading her to the first bench he saw and guiding her to sit.

Sara sighed as she settled down. She was sick...she was always sick, it seemed...and she knew no one and had nothing.

We'll probably die here...alone and forgotten.

[Yamihara]

It's such a fine day, isn't it?

Salty breeze stung at her nose, but the sensation was nothing but a welcoming taste of being there. How many years had she been away from such a place? One? Two? Or has she even been away from such a place for so long? She did not know. She could not remember. Or rather, she would not have known it at all.

"Sa! Hountou ii tenki da ne~?"

Asuka stretched her arms up at the pristine blue sky, groaning in ecstasy as laziness was squeezed out from her body and into the wind. Her shiny copper locks, braided into thick coils that streamed out behind her, whipped lively from side to side as she straightened her composture and returned her sights to the endless foamy waves.

"Zo... You're feeling awfully spirited today, Asuka." Her companion grinned absent-mindedly, brushing away a lock of brown hair that had strayed into his vision. He leaned lazily against the wooden railing of the piers and glanced about the area as if he was a watchful owl, ever vigilant but never really caring otherwise. "Something's amiss with you, your highness. Care to tell?"

"Oh, it's nothing really." The girl flashed him a sly grin, hopping off from the railing and started walking along the solid wooden planks adorning the ocean front streets of Yanbo Harbor. "I'm just enjoying my time away from the Estate while I can."

Yeah... that's it... That's the only thing I should worry about...

Inwardly, the new Duchess sighed at the situation that was happening inside and around her quaint little country. The people were upset from news outside of Akashima, many wondering what horrible fate led to the fall of the once-prosperous Republic just outside their borders. News of dissention within the regular army and infiltration of the notorious Coalition had also reached her ears, something she had only hoped to be but mere rumors. Also, the rest of Western Akashima was still mourning over the late Duke Hiroi Yamihara, Asuka's own father who was said to have been assassinated by the very forces which threatened peace within Corone.

What has the world become, all of a sudden... Is there no virtue left in this age...?

She wanted to get away from it all, the pang of distrust and disgusting battle of politics. Whatever happened to just live in peace with others, despite differences in race and status? Why were people so intent on reaping power which were not theirs, in hopes of becoming immortal?

What can one call "immortality" to begin with?

"Oya, Asuka." A voice came from behind her, loud and very familiar.

"Hrm?"

"Asuka- Abunai!"

Asuka felt herself flying off her feet, the firm sensation of bouncy wooden planks leaving the soles of her feet and wind rushing past her head. The scarlet cotton vest tugged at her light frame as she sailed through the air, backwards and away.

-Crash!

"...Hey, Asuka. You alright?"

The lass only managed a groan as she laid motionless on the hard wooden walkway, staring up at the pristine blue sky littered with fluffy white clouds.

"What... happened...?

"You nearly ran into a wagon full of squid, your highness..." The man groaned under his breath, picking the frail lass up with only his left hand. Asuka felt the ground leave her again, only to find the comfortable solid woodwork firmly resting under her studded leather boots.

"Seriously, you should pay attention to where you walk." Letting out a sigh, Asuka's self-appointed bodyguard threw his sights about the area and let out a dismissive grunt.

"Hey, you know what? You go find some place to sit down over there while I get something for us to eat. I'll be back in a little while."

Asuka nodded silently as the errand boy walked away towards the market, the lass wondering why he seemed a bit put off all of a sudden.

Well, I guess he's just hungry, then.

Giggling to herself at how gluttonous Tokita could be at times, Asuka pulled casually at her ruffled red jacket and headed towards a row of benches at the edge of the waterfront park. The salty ocean breeze wisped by her nose, causing the lass to burst out in a fit of sneezes before she managed to compose herself once again. Muttering to herself about how she longed for the soothing smell of pine and birch back home, the lass spotted a person that looked both out of place and whole-heartedly curious.

"Konnich- Um, ahem! I mean- Hi~"

Asuka beamed at the platinum-hair lady, rounding the back of the bench to face her and her seeing eye dog.

"Oya~! Anata no inu wa hountou ni kawaii desu ne~!!!" Asuka could not help but squeal, squatting down on her knees and playfully patted the midnight-colored doggy. "Inukun no namae wa nan desu ka~?"

In her absent-mindedness, Asuka failed to notice the lady's waning health and ragged coughs. An observation that could have saved a life.

[Seraphima]

Through the ricka-tat ricka-tat ricka-tat of wagons and the general din of the crowd, Sara caught a rather peculiar pair of voices -- something like a young father scolding...a grown daughter? That didn't make any sense. Maybe it was a pair of lovers, then...but the tone was definitely like a father to a daughter.

Sara sighed, patting her dog's head gently, when suddenly a voice came from behind and slightly beside her, bright and cheery, like a happy canary.

Sara returned the greeting with a smile -- it was nice to have some human company, even if the reason was --

And suddenly, the other girl exploded in a rush of foreign words that Sara could barely follow. But the blind girl could feel Maurz's tail beat against her leg, and the gentle shakes that came through the lead as the other girl ruffled her dog's fur.

It seems dogs attract children of all ages...

The tone of voice stayed bright, perking up to a sharper tone in delight and then perking up at the end to form a question. There was that word "inu" again, as well as one word that sounded vaguely familiar, "namae."

Sara smiled once more.

"His name is Maurizio...but that's a mouthful, so he responds to Maurz...most of the time, that is."

[Yamihara]

Almost immediately after she blurted out in her tongue, Asuka felt her face turning red in embarrassment.

"G-gomen-!" She sputtered, trying to find the right words to speak. "I mean- I'm sorry, ma'am! I forgot you are a foreigner to my country!"

Asuka bowed over and over again, her thick coil of auburn locks bouncing rhythmically against her spine. It was not an unusual way of asking for forgiveness to her, as it was the usual customary way to apologize. Of course, she also did not realize what condition the other lady was in either, until a few moments later when Asuka finally took enough time to look at her.

Ehh~? She's... blindfolded?

It took her another second to realize Sara was not merely blind-folded, but blind. The lass could not think of anything else to do but let out a nervous giggle, embarrassed at her own awkward display and general absent-mindedness.

"Ano... I'm sorry for my rudeness just now, ma'am." The lass apologized once again, taking a seat next to the fair-skin lady and her canine guide. Pulling at the collars of her bright red jacket, Asuka let out a relaxed sigh and decided to keep up the conversation. If her guess was correct, Tokita would still be browsing the stalls for some rice cake to go with the best-tasting octopus balls Yanbo Harbor has to offer. It would be a while before the errand boy returned, so there was nothing else for Asuka to do but kill some time. Keeping the blind lady and her dog company would at least be better than sitting around doing nothing.

"Ne, I'm sorry for my rudeness earlier. My name is Asuka." The maiden smiled and nodded, hoping that the lady would not be offended by her thoughtless outburst. Choosing her words carefully, Asuka tried to initiate a conversation using her best Tradespeak tongue. "Anyways, how are you enjoying my country so far? I know it could be a little hard to navigate around the place, but I'm pretty sure our people will be more than willing to help."

Hopefully, the lady would understand a lot more if she did not blurt out in Akashiman again, the lass thought as she playfully scratched Maurz behind his ears.

[Seraphima]

There was a moment of silence, and Sara could not discern what the other woman was doing. Maurz was bobbing his head up and down slightly...so the woman was...bobbing? That was different...

The silence was broken by a giggle. Whatever the woman had been doing, she seemed to realize now that Sara could not see.

Sara smiled again as the woman apologized. "It's not a problem, really. I am, as you say, a foreigner here. I'm Seraphima...but again, it's something of a mouthful, so I go by Sara. And your country..."

Sara let out a little laugh, letting her attention drift from the conversation momentarily to the din of the streets.

"I got on the boat a couple of days ago, not knowing the destination...but I haven't the faintest idea where I am. I just got off the boat...it's maybe a thousand steps back to the left, down the pier. And I don't understand the language."

She looked back to Asuka and smiled. "But I'm glad that Maurz attracted someone who speaks Tradespeak, at the very least."

She started coughing again, gentler than they had been -- she felt like the center of her chest was pounding against a brick wall over and over, rather than that her lungs were peeling themselves in ragged strips from her ribs.

Maybe I'm starting to get better...I hope...