It was a more recent memory this time. Lara still had red hair but her appearance was almost the same as the one she had now. Jane as well was taller and they walked together. The two perfectly comfortable with the other. There was no one else around them as they made their way through a park. It was relaxing even for me seeing it through another's eyes. Then as if from nowhere the sky began to darken. Thick clouds rolled across the sunny sky stifling the warmth as a sudden wind kicked all around us.
"What's going on?" Lara asked me. While her voice was concerned there was an excitement as well.
I however frowned, "I don't like this."
"Should we head back home?"
"Yeah," I took her by the hand and began to quicken the pace. The wind picked up and a vibrant energy filled the world around us. "Lara hold on to me! No matter what don't let go."
"O-okay," she nodded and tightened her grip.
A smash of light fell form the skies. The runes of a magic circuit span around us. I became more desperate as if knowing something bad would happen, trying to shield Lara from the expanding light. It was no use. As the energy reached its pinnacle the earth shook and in a flash the world returned to normal. There was one difference however. Lara was gone and the space I held was now empty.
"Lara!" I screamed and turned to look for her. She was nowhere in sight as if she never had been. "Lara!" I screamed again becoming agitated and ran to the surface of the nearby lake. She wasn't there, she wasn't anywhere. A crushing sensation filled my chest.
*
I woke up covered in sweat. The midday sun shone through the windows and the noise of the streets seeped into the room. The sound calmed me as I breathed heavily. That last memory had been as vivid as when I took the memory drug. While I couldn't tell what Jane had been thinking, I felt his emotions running wild as if they were my own. That was the moment when Lara was summoned to this world I was sure. She was ripped right out of his arms. It was no wonder why Lara asked about him when she first arrived.
I got up and washed myself using the nearby basin. The cold water brought me back to life. At least now I was no longer tired. My thoughts continued to go back to those memories. Was it a message or something more than that? I shook it off and marched myself downstairs.
"Hey Earnest," I called out to the swordsman as soon as I reached the kitchen. He was leisurely sipping at a drink.
"Good day Rain," he smiled. "Are you busy tonight? I heard this city has a very nice pleasure district. Ardent and I were planning to have a look. Care to join us?"
"No thanks," I replied bluntly. I felt like if I did that I'd get the ire of Taylor. "Are you busy now though? I need some exercise."
"Exercise you say?" his smile became fierce. "I'm sure I can keep you company." He drained his glass and stood up, sword already in hand. "Shall we?"
"With pleasure."
For a good hour I trained with Earnest. It had been awhile and as usual his harsh methods had me bruised and battered. My thoughts directed entirely at him and the stress of the pass few days vanished. Eventually I couldn't continue and he cheerfully left as I tended to my wounds. My next agenda was shopping as I tried to keep my thoughts away from Jane.
I wondered through the market and bought some unique ingredients I had never used before. The idea of cooking with them made me excited. While the others may not like it as much, it was fun experimenting with new things. Finding ways to combine them and create something entirely different was one of the joys of cooking. A female merchant with long feathers for hair waved me over cheerily.
"Young man would you like a taste of these berries? They're sour but have a sweetness to them you just can't beat."
They were strawberries. I hadn't seen them for ages. Lara loved strawberries, we used to fight for them when we were younger. The sudden thought caused my hand to freeze as it reached for the berry.
"Umm young man?" the merchant looked at me perplexed.
I pulled my hand back. This wasn't right. I shouldn't have known what these were nor that Lara liked them. Still I strained out a false smile, "I'll take a carton please."
The lady handed it over happily and I left quickly to be alone. On the edge of the market I sat with my legs hanging from the platform above the lake. A single half eaten strawberry in my hand. I as Rain had never eaten one of these as far back as I could remember but the taste was nostalgic. It felt like I used to eat these a lot and even as my heart shook from the unexpected anxiousness a small comfort from the fruit spread through my chest. I needed to get to the bottom of this.
"Heya Rain!" Just as I stood up the voice rang out loudly followed by a push.
"Whoa!" I tittered at the edge of the platform barely able to stop myself from falling in. "Marley careful!" I yelled at the younger girl.
"Ah sorry, didn't know there was a ledge there." She didn't look sorry. "Well if you hurt yourself I could just heal you anyway."
"You really shouldn't use that as an excuse," I sighed and seeing the running figure behind her averted my gaze unconsciously.
"Marley don't just run off like that- Oh Rain," Lara smiled and turned to Marley, "so that's why you ran."
"I thought I'd give him a surprise," Marley grinned. "You shopping?"
"Yeah," I held up the bags in my hands and offered the two of them a strawberry.
Marely ate hers curiously, "Oh these are really good."
"Are these strawberries?" Lara's eyes lit up and snatched two of them. "Wow I haven't had these in ages." She paused in thought as she chewed, "Though they do taste a little differently."
"Hey don't eat all of them," I pulled the carton away from her. "They were meant for everyone. What are you two doing here anyway?"
"Just looking around. There's a lot of different things here. I was thinking of changing up my attire," Marley span around. Right now she was wearing a simple black dress and coat. Since we had stopped her wearing her priest's outfit she had been having fun trying out different outfits.
"Don't spend too much okay," I said.
"We have plenty of money from selling that pirate ship," she smiled widely. "By the way Rain, you look kind of down. I do owe you one for saving my life so I can spare some time if you cook me dinner."
"How kind of you," I replied sarcastically. "Though honestly I don't think you'll be much help. Not even Ardent knows what's going on."
She laughed, "Probably not. But if you're really stuck maybe you should ask the Goddess."
"You can talk to her?"
"Not me personally but I know some of the elder sisters and priests who've taken her guidance. I heard there was a temple east of here. If you ask Ronalt maybe we can pay it a visit. I'm kind of curious as well."
It would be interesting to see the differences between the faiths and it was worth a shot. "I'll talk to him. Thanks for the advice."
"And now we're even," she grinned.
"Is your life really worth so little?" I folded my arms, "I feel like you at least owe me something else."
"Don't worry, I'll stop charging you for the healing."
"Wait, you were charging me?"
"Yep, you worked up quite the bill," she grinned and tugged on Lara's arm. The white haired hero had been suspiciously quiet for a while and I soon realised why. My focus had been on Marley and without me realising more than half the carton of strawberries were already gone.
"H-hey!" I moved them away. "If you eat that many at once you'll get sick."
"I have a really strong constitution," Lara replied easily. "You know you should just leave those with me and get some more for later."
"Fine whatever." She took the carton before I could even offer it to her.
"Well we're off." Marley continued to pull Lara as she was still absorbed in the strawberry's sweet and sour taste. "There's apparently a cage match of sorts going on later and I might just offer my services once we're done shopping." Her smile turned once more with a creepy edge and soon after the two disappeared back down the street leaving me with a potential new goal. I wasn't all too religious but if the Goddess could help, it was worth a try. After all, if any being in the world would know, she would.