"You went into the forest, Didn't you."
Ardun looked down at Maya with a disappointed gaze, his bright crimson eyes shining in the dim light of the setting sun.
"H-huh!? Nah.. No way! We ain't allowed to go there."
Her eyes struggle to meet his, knowing she was caught, she sighed, looking up at him with a pitiful look on her face
"I ain't gonna go back! I was just curious, I don't see what you're so afraid of, Dad.."
"Regardless of my mindset, You disobeyed one of the very little rules you have, Maya. I don't ask much of you, staying within this village is important to the safety of us all."
"But why! Every single time I ask, you blow it off! I just wanna know why we can't!"
Maya's look of genuine curiosity digs into Ardun, he knew he couldn't keep the truth forever, It was a matter of how to approach.
"Maya... Come, sit down. Ren, you as well."
Ardun turned, opening the door behind him. He walked over to a chair, taking a seat.
The two children followed, sitting down in front of him, looking up with excitement and worry.
"Okay, you two are old enough now, I shouldn't hide this from you both."
"Maya, you have powers, something you shouldn't. When you were born, a curse was placed onto you, I can never forgive myself for- -The situation that caused it..."
Maya looks at the ground, fear in her eyes as she was made aware of her curse.
"W-Whaddya mean cursed..? Is something gonna happen to me, Dad.?"
"No, of course not... I will protect you. Both of you."
Ren finally speaks up, a shining look of curiosity in his eyes.
"Dad, about the forest?"
"Yes, yes.. I was getting there. Maya, because of your curse, along side the nature of our clan, being under the Dragon of Evil's Jurisdiction, We are bound to this space within the forest. As you two know, we are hidden off from the rest of humanity, for our own safety. They fear what they do not know, if you leave the forest, they might pick up upon your Mana, if that happens... Our location will be revealed, and we have no way of telling what may happen then."
Maya and Ren look to each other, not sure what to make out of what they were just told. After a few second of silence, Maya speaks up.
"So, we can just, never leave..? That sounds like a miserable way to live.."
"I understand those feelings Maya, I would rather live in hiding, than not live at all.."
Ardun looks to the side, unable to look his children in the eyes. He suddenly stands up, looking down at the two with a smile.
"I hope you two understand.. Now, I have to go pick some things up, be careful you two, I will return soon."
He hugs Maya and Ren before walking out of the house, softly closing the door.
"Sis, why do you wanna leave so bad? I think it's pretty great here, we got pretty much everythin' we'd need!"
"You don't get it Ren, I hate feelin' cooped up, I wanna go out, see the rest of the world, I wanna know everything there is!"
"Well, I support it then! I'll help you as much as I can!"
"Pshh! Nah! I gotta do this on my own. If I can't do somethin' so simple all on my own, how can I expect to do anything!... But, if I ever need it, I'll come to you, Ren."
"Okay Sis, I believe in you!"
After a small bit of time, the stairs creak as somebody walks down, from the corner, a tall woman appears, her bright red hair flowing as she walked, a calming look on her face.
"Momma!"
Ren ran over to her, hugging her tightly.
"How was training today, my dear?"
Fern's voice was soft, hearing her voice was enough to make the two feel safe, regardless of the situation.
"It was great! I beat Maya again, then she ran off!"
"Hey!- I went out to do something else! I didn't run away!"
"Now now.. There's no need to fight, you two. Maya, are you alright?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine, I only lost 'cuz Dad said I can't use my magic.."
"You shouldn't become too reliant on that, Dear, may the time come where you cannot use Magic, having other options may save you."
Maya sighs, looking up to the roof, thinking back to her conversation with Grant.
"Old Man Grant said the same thing.."
"Grant, How is he doing these days? I haven't seen him in some time."
"He's doin' good, I talked to him a little, He kept tryin' to gimme all that old logic talk."
Fern smiles, laughing softly to herself.
"That sounds about right, Grant, He'll always be the same, no matter the age."
"I couldn't make sense of any of it, but I'll probably remember it in some time of need plenty later!"
"What are we going to do with you, Maya."
Fern smiles calmly, cupping Maya's face in her hands.
"You're just like your Father, when we were kids, he never listened to anything."
She laughs softly, a comforting feeling washed over Maya, she had completely forgotten about her worries.
"Mom, do you think we'll ever be able to leave this village..?"
"Someday, Maya... I hope."
Ren looks up to Fern, speaking with a soft tone.
"Momma, do you think I'll get powers too? Sis was cursed, but Dad says I might have them too someday!"
"I don't doubt it, Ren.. You are a strong kid, If anybody will get them, It will be you, for sure."
"Mine will totally be better though!"
Maya laughs as she teases Ren.
"Nah! Mine will be so much cooler than yours!"
"No way! You can't compare to this!"
She flaunts proudly as she snaps, a blue flame engulfing her hand however, it quickly fades away due to Maya's lack of control.
"Now now, both of you, I'm sure you two will have something amazing, Work together, not against. That is what your father is teaching you, yes?"
"Yeah, but Maya skips her lessons! she wouldn't know about that!"
"Oh relax! I still know all I need to!"
Fern softly puts her hands on Maya and Ren's heads, roughing up their hair.
"Come now, you two. It's getting late, shouldn't you two head off to sleep?"
"But Mom! I'm not tired! I doubt Ren is either!"
"Y-yeah... Can we stay up? Just a bit longer, Momma!"
"You two know your rest is important. Off to bed please."
"Alright Alright.."
Maya and Ren both slowly tread upstairs, laying down in their beds. As Ren slowly drifts off to sleep, Maya slowly gets out of bed, grabbing the crystal she found in the forest. Quickly, she retreats back to her bed, hiding under the covers.
"Dad didn't mention this, I feel like I should talk to him about it."
The crystal's soft glow hums in the darkness of Maya's room. She softly squeezed the crystal in her hand. It starts to shine brighter and brighter, causing Maya to panic, she forces the crystal under her pillow, making sure the light didn't catch any attention. After what felt like hours, she lifts the pillow to check, to her surprise, nothing was there. All traces of the crystal were gone.
"What.? Where did it-!"She frantically looks around, trying to find wherever it went. With no luck, she lays back down, looking to the roof.
"What am I s 'posed to tell Ren now... I hyped him up about this thing.."
Maya closes her eyes, a lingering disappointment within her. Right before drifting off to sleep, a blip sound causes her eyes to shoot open. In front of her, a holographic screen appeared in the air.
"Huh..? 'M I dreaming..?"
Maya winces her eyes, reading what the screen said.
{System}
[User:Maya Solace]
"System..?"
She reaches out, pressing her finger against the System's Screen, as she makes contact, a status window appears, displaying details about herself, including a new Level, Stat Window, Inventory, and several other things.
"The hell is this..? It's incredible!"
-Chapter Two: END-