The Guardians' Legacy

— Are you guys okay? — Colth said, relieved to see Aldren and Garta entering the room where he was taking refuge with the family living in the house. Then he lowered his head in disgrace. — That's good.

Aldren quickly walked over to Celina without paying attention. The girl was sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the damp walls of the room.

— Celina, are you okay? — He knelt in front of the girl.

He brought his hands to the girl's and touched them gently as he waited for her still dejected response:

— Yes. I-I’m sorry. — Celina’s tone was full of contrition, she looked at Aldren with dull eyes. — I didn’t mean to be a burden to you. I shouldn’t have…

— Calm down. Calm down, you're no burden to me. I'm glad you're okay. — Aldren's words, spoken gently, made the girl exchange glances with him. She nodded and he breathed a sigh of relief with a small smile on his face. — I'm glad you're okay.

— Yeah... I wanted to apologize too. — Colth spoke up in disappointment amidst the short-lived silence.

— It’s okay. You don’t have to worry about it, Colth. — Aldren tried to console his colleague with a few words. Obviously, it wasn’t just “okay,” but he wouldn’t be the one to blame anyone for that situation.

— The important thing is that everyone is okay. — Garta summed up the situation as he observed Iara's family safe and sound. He turned to the others: — So, now we have work to do. Aldren, you go to the restaurant and report everything to Bertha, she'll know what to do. Me, Celina and Colth, we'll stay to clean up the mess and keep the residents safe, for now.

— But what about Ce... — Aldren stopped when he saw Garta's determined eyes. He hesitated, realizing that this was the best option. — Are you sure about this? — he asked, even without noticing any hesitation from the woman.

— We don't have much of a choice. That shooting may have alerted some of the empire's men, but I can't take my eyes off Celina either.

The four of them went upstairs and back to the kitchen while keeping the Figo family safe in the basement. Garta wanted to make sure no more police officers came to investigate before exposing those who had no chance of protecting themselves.

— I'll be back as soon as I talk to Bertha then — Aldren agreed.

—Wait—Celina spoke up. —Can I talk to you for a minute, Aldren.

— Of course... — he was surprised, but didn't deny it.

— Come on, Colth. We have to be quick. — Garta said with his seriousness.

Colth was still crestfallen, but he didn't think of refusing the orders.

They both left the room, leaving Celina and Aldren behind. In fact, that was Garta's real intention. After all, after the conversation he had had with his pupil, he would not mind taking his eyes off her for a few minutes, even if it violated the express orders given by the Manager.

— What is it, Celina? — Aldren continued.

They were both silent for a few seconds. Something seemed to be bothering Celina, but she was hesitant to express her feelings. She encouraged herself:

“I just wanted to apologize. Really apologize,” she said, her voice shaky and awkward.

— There's no reason for you to apologize, I already told you — Aldren replied, noticing the girl's head hanging low in a melancholic tone. — Listen, I'm glad you've changed so much since... Since that.

— What are you talking about? I'm still the same. — Celina replied in confusion, her face changed to confusion.

— No. You don’t continue — he observed the small bloodstains on the light sleeve of the girl’s dress. — Your behavior a moment ago shows that.

— Sorry. I made a mistake.

— No. Nothing like that. I'm happy with what you did, Celina. Really.

— Happy? With my mistake?

— No. Not because of your mistake. I'm glad you became... Hmm... — Aldren couldn't find the words to describe that kind of thing. He thought hard and even scratched his head in an attempt to find something, but failed. He said the word that came to mind: — Because you became human.

— That doesn't make any sense. I've always been human. — Celina closed her eyes, showing her increasing strangeness.

— Oh, really? — Aldren doubted and, at the same time, revisited in his memories the moment when he met Celina. It didn’t take long for him, upon awakening from those memories, to be even more certain of his convictions. — What do you think makes you human, Celina? What makes you different from all the other animals in those books of yours?

— As if I didn't know something so simple — she complained, frowning like a child being challenged.

— Go ahead. Answer now.

Even when asking such incoherent and banal questions, Aldren remained friendly while displaying a serious smile that few could replicate.

— The main characteristic, but not the only one, is our ability to think and understand more than the rest of the animals and...

— Wrong. — the boy interrupted without rehearsal. He showed a spark of irritation, but it only lasted a fraction of a second, returning to his previous tone of characteristic kindness. — That's it.

With his index finger, Aldren pointed to his own chest.

— No, I'm sure you're wrong. Most animals have a heart or something that replaces it.

— Ugh. — the boy took a deep breath and shook his head negatively a few times before continuing. — It's not the heart. It's what you carry in it. You know, a while ago, you calculated every step, every move you made. It was like you were playing chess, against who knows who, all the time. But not anymore. Now I feel like you're a different person. At first, I even thought it was just my impression, but what you did today... What you did for Colth, risking yourself and saving him, just because you cared, proved that my impression was right, and that makes me very happy, believe me.

Aldren's smile and eyes showed his purest sincerity. Celina was captivated for a second, but then she looked away and answered, hiding any fragment of feeling she was feeling:

— It wouldn't be good to have an injured person in the group. I just made sure Colth wouldn't become a problem for us.

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl turned and began walking towards the window above the kitchen sink. Aldren stood still for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh with the nuance of a smile:

— Ah... — satisfied — Well, see you later, Celina.

— Until... — she replied, looking outside between the curtains, still thoughtful.

Aldren left the kitchen, and then the house, heading towards the square to find Bertha, as ordered by Garta.

Meanwhile, the other pair removed the bodies of the police officers from places that could be visible to anyone passing through the narrow street of that house marked by bullet holes. Garta and Colth hid the corpses in one of the many alleys in the area. The place was deserted; no resident in the area seemed to dare leave their homes.

The police officer who was only unconscious was properly tied up and placed in one of the closets so as not to attract attention.

— That's what we can do, for now. — Garta said, locking the closet with the feeling of having accomplished his goal in the middle of the blood-stained room with Colth accompanying him.

She waited for an answer from the boy, but none came. When she laid eyes on him, she saw him looking downcast and thoughtful.

—There, don't think about it—she said. Not as an order, but as advice.

“Are we doing the right thing?” Colth asked as he stared at the blood stain on the living room floor.

Garta hesitated, looked away and took a deep breath to let go of the harsh tone he insisted on carrying.

— You said your sister is in Toesane, right?

— Nya? Yes... — he replied without understanding the reason for the question, he continued to stare at the red impregnated in the carpet.

— And she has a daughter, right?

— That's it, Agnes. How did you...

— Aldren told me.

— That chatterbox...

— Have you ever imagined that Agnes could be in Iara's situation? — Garta maintained her seriousness, but the way she spoke was completely different from what she had been using with Colth. Her kindness was strange to him.

— ...

— You saved that girl. That family down in the basement might not exist anymore if you hadn't helped us.

— I didn't do anything. In fact, I just got in the way.

— Then be stronger and stop getting in the way. — She was direct. — But never let the weakest suffer for something you can prevent. After all, you don't want the people you care about to suffer, do you Colth?

The boy lowered his head again, processing the words, making it clear that his feelings were conflicting.

—And one more thing, I'm sorry for making you have to deal with all this. — she continued in an even gentler tone.

The boy raised his head again, suspicious of the words. He met the woman's sensitive eyes for a moment before she hid her face behind her dark hair and turned away.

The guardian, uncomfortable with her own attitude, shook off the kindness and began walking towards the window. With heavy steps, she continued with the aim of checking the outer perimeter.

— Girl, I'm the one who should be apologizing — Colth replied, getting her attention.

— Forget it. You shouldn't be regretting saving an innocent family.

 — You're right... — Colth finally accepted the situation, or simply tried to forget about it, as he said. — Now we just have to wait?

The boy leaned his back against one of the walls of the room, praying that nothing exciting would happen from then on.

— Wait and protect — Garta replied, noticing the other's fear. — Don't worry, everything will be fine. Besides, I can use the displacement, if necessary.

— Listen, this ability of yours. How did you discover it?

— To tell you the truth, I don't remember. I think it must be the kind of thing that you don't learn, you incorporate it and forget how you learned it. Like learning to walk or talk. But well, the first memory I have of this skill is when I separated from my brother.

— Hikki? — Colth asked and received confirmation through a nod from Garta. Then he continued: — I understand. Why isn't your brother with you? Isn't that place, Finn's world, dangerous?

— Well, it's been a long time since he came to Tera. — Garta said in a tone that was not very thoughtful as she looked back at what was happening outside the house through the window, but nothing seemed to be moving outside. — And yes, he's safe, you could say he's an important person in that world.

— With that castle and even maids, he really did seem important. — Colth felt envy massaging his throat. — I wouldn't go back to that world either.

“It’s not that simple. Some... things happened,” she said, feeling moved. “Hikki and I were persecuted for several months. We were considered a curse that haunted our village, everything bad that happened there was immediately attributed to us. At first it was just a rumor, but things started to get worse, to the point where it all became a big rumor and all of Taemar found out.”

- Our...

— Shortly after, the empire began an offensive towards Taemar. Of course, the ones blamed for that bad luck were the “brothers of the curse”. That’s why we started being persecuted and then... — Garta stopped her words as if she was avoiding something accidental. After a second of thinking with her eyes lost, she continued: — And then, Hikki couldn’t take it anymore, he ran away to the Last Fortress in Finn’s world and has never returned since.

— Was it around this time that you met the Manager?

— Almost that. Well, I took whatever was necessary for Hikki's survival. — Garta dove into her own memories. — In one of my searches for supplies, I found the Manager. Actually, he found me and... — she was interrupted by a strange sound.

Their attention was stolen by sounds of static lost in the air. They both looked at each other, wondering about the origin and reason for it.

Garta followed the noise cautiously, her ears picking up the sound from below. Beneath her feet, she anticipated what she would find and pushed aside the reddish carpet to reveal the aged woods of the living room floor.

— What are you doing? — Colth asked, finding the action strange.

— Quiet — she replied coldly, crouching down and then placing her ear on the surface of the floor. She whispered: — I found it.

Garta placed her fingers between the floorboards and, as Colth's curious eyes judged her, pulled hard on the wood to break the rusty nail that held the piece in place.

He smiled at the corner of his mouth as his suspicions were confirmed. A secret compartment beneath the floor held a recognizable electronic device.

— Oskar's radio...

— A radio? — Colth asked in continued curiosity. — Why is there a radio on the floor?

— Idiot, it's not a simple radio — she replied good-naturedly.

— Can anyone... hear it? Bzzz. — The muffled sound coming from the wooden box's speaker filled Garta's excited expression, because she recognized that female voice even amidst so much interference.

—I've never seen a radio that small before...—Colth continued to expose his complete ignorance about it.

Garta ignored him. With one hand, he held the small metal shell attached to the wooden box by an electric wire and, turning one of the two switches on the device, he replied:

— I'm listening.

Colth frowned in surprise at her completely absurd attitude.

— Girl? I'm glad you answered. You need to come to the restaurant, immediately.

— H-how does the radio host know your name? — Colth gasped. — Wait. That's the...

— What happened, Bertha? — asked Garta using the microphone in her hands.

— The Manager. The Manager is here.

— Damn... — she whispered, punishing herself. She thought for a second before answering hesitantly. — Okay. I'm going.

Garta didn't wait for an answer, she put the device back in the compartment on the floor and hid it, without saying anything, she started walking towards the kitchen.

— Wait. What's going on, Garta? — Colth asked, oblivious to the situation.

— Problem. I need to take Celina back. — Garta's distressed response, without stopping her determined steps, confused Colth.

— What? Why? And that talk about it not being completely safe and...

— That doesn’t matter anymore, Colth. — She opened the door that led to the basement and wasted no time. — Celina! Let’s go.

The call from the top of the stairs was enough to have the girl from the basement rushing in. Within seconds, Celina was up the stairs to meet Garta speeding by.

— Wait. What about the residents? — Colth asked confused. It was no wonder, Finn's guardian changed her behavior and her plans in a matter of seconds. — Didn't you say they...

— They'll be fine! — The woman looked at Colth, putting an end to his questions. He, in turn, was surprised and fell silent. Garta turned his back: — Let's go, Celina.

The girl followed the leader without asking questions, just one look at Colth's cornered face was enough to understand the situation. They both headed towards the exit of the house.

“Are you guys leaving?” The sweet, saddened child’s voice came from the basement door and hit Colth hard.

The boy didn't worry about falling behind and being late. He turned around with a smile on his face so as not to worry the little girl:

— Yes, we have to go. Take good care of your parents, Iara. — Colth smiled at the child who exuded immediate confidence.

— Iara, daughter. Don't run off like that. — Said the mother as she went up the stairs and left the basement. She found the child and Colth already in the kitchen. — Huh? Where's Garta?

— She just left — replied the boy without looking directly at the lady of the house.

— It's a shame. I wish I could have done something for her. Well, please thank her on my behalf. By the way, what's your name?

— Colth.

— Thank you, Colth. Next time you come, I’ll make you a wonderful thank-you dinner. — The woman smiled radiantly.

— Yay. Garta is coming again — celebrated the little girl among the adults.

— Of course you will, Iara. Stop being so dramatic. — The mother replied and drew a genuine smile from Colth in unnoticed nostalgia.

— Well... — the boy hesitated thoughtfully. — I have to go. It was a pleasure meeting you both.

— I say the same.

— See you later, Colth. — The little girl said goodbye to the boy, waving with the palm of her hand.

- Until...

Colth was struck by a heavy feeling as he left the house, but he forced himself not to look back and to ignore everything. He hurried through the narrow streets to catch up with Celina and Garta.