Chapter 13: Chapter 12.1: A dream, soap making, and Mia’s family. (Part I)

Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 12: A dream, soap making, and Mia's family. (Part I)

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"Oww!" I yelped in pain as my right hand was hit by a blunt object...

Because of that hit, my weapon was knocked off from my hand and sent flying away.

"Again. Pick up your sword." A distorted voice spoke to me.

"Yes…" I did what I was told while ignoring the pain of my bruised body.

I sluggishly moved towards my wooden training sword which had landed upright in the hot sand.

With each step, my mind was immediately filled with pain...

I couldn't do anything besides clenching my teeth and ignoring the pain as I went to pick up my sword for the hundredth time today...

"You haven't improved at all… We can't keep up like this…" The distorted voice spoke with disappointment.

"…" I looked at the owner of the distorted voice in complete silence.

The owner of the distorted voice was a man, but most of his facial features were completely blurry… The only thing which was not blurry was the hair of the unknown man.

The color of his hair was completely pitch black.

"Sigh… We are done for the day... Go back to your mother." The man spoke with clear disappointment in his voice.

He immediately walked towards me and took the wooden sword out of my hands.

"We'll try again tomorrow." He spoke as he walked away from me with my wooden sword in his hands.

I could only stare at the back of the man while he was walking away…

"It's finally over…" I was relieved.

As soon as I was sure that the man had left, I allowed my tired and bruised body to fall into the embrace of the sand below me.

"Sigh…" I sighed heavily.

I closed my eyes and only focused on the sounds of the waves, gently crashing against the shore and washing everything away.

It is such a pleasant sound to listen to... It really helps me relax.

I could be on this beach for hours and I wouldn't get tired of hearing that beautiful sound.

"Rough day?" A woman spoke to me. Her voice was distorted just like the voice of the black-haired man from before.

"Yes... Just like yesterday and like the day before that. Tomorrow will probably be more of the same and the day after that too." I replied without opening my eyes.

My focus was still on the sounds of the gentle waves…

Despite having my eyes closed, I was able to notice that the woman had decided to lie down on the sand right beside me.

The woman immediately grabbed my hand and started holding it tightly. I offered no resistance because I knew it would be pointless to do so.

"It would be nice to simply stay like this all day long, right?" The woman asked happily.

"Yeah… I would like to do that…" I replied while thinking about spending all day on this beach.

"Hmm… The weather is great today. Do you want to go for a swim later?" The woman asked with a somewhat excited tone.

"Yeah, I would like to." I nodded feebly.

My body was still hurting a lot thanks to my training…

Sigh… How many times will I have to go through this pointless training?

I'm talentless… What's the point of continuing with such a pointless thing?

"C♦♦x… I know that you don't like doing things like this and I know that your father can be very strict with you, but he's training you because we are worried about your future… I know it is selfish to ask this, but please endure..." The woman ended up squeezing my hand while she was struggling to talk…

"..." I didn't reply.

"I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry for putting you in such a difficult position…" The woman spoke with genuine sadness.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to face the woman.

Unlike the man from before, her facial features were clear to me.

Long pitch-black hair which was currently loose, tanned skin, facial features that resemble those of a doll, and a mesmerizing pair of silver-colored eyes... 

She was wearing a simple white sundress.

The woman appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"Mom, it's okay. I'll keep doing my best." I smiled in order to not worry her.

"C♦♦x… It's okay to be mad at us… You don't have to pretend that you're happy about being my heir…" My mother looked at me with extreme sadness. She was really about to break into tears.

Her voice was no longer distorted… Despite the deep sadness she was feeling, I was able to hear her melodic voice which almost always was able to calm me down.

Seeing her sad expression made my heart ache… 

I quickly turned around and hugged her as tightly as I could... 

I wanted to see her smiling like she always does...

"..." I didn't utter a single word while hugging her.

"C♦♦x…" She immediately hugged me back.

"Mom, stop making that sad expression. I'm okay. As long as I have you and *******, I'll be able to endure becoming the next [***** ****]." I told my mother my real feelings without hesitation.

As long as they are with me, I'll endure this until I can finally be worthy of becoming her successor…

"..." My mother looked at me with a blank expression. 

Her teary expression was gone, which made me feel relieved.

"I love you, mom." I kept hugging her tightly.

My fate is neither my mother's nor my father's fault…

The situation I'm currently in is nothing but my own fault. It is all my fault for being a useless bookworm… It is my fault for being born talentless.

I'm talentless… In both magic and swordsmanship, I don't have a single piece of talent for those things in my body.

Maybe, Mom and Dad would be better off if they had someone else as their son… Someone who could fulfill the expectation of everyone and make my parents proud… Someone who is not Me.

"Never think of something like that again!" My mother looked at me with tears in her eyes once again.

I looked at her dumbfounded before realizing that she had read my mind...

But, that's when the realization hit me...

(Ah… I made her cry…) I instantly felt regret as I saw her teary eyes...

"You're my precious and only son... I don't care if you have a talent for something as dull as holding a sword or not being able to cast a miserable fireball! You have a lot more talents that are way better than those!" My mother hugged me very tightly. "Crux, I can’t believe that I have let it come to this… I'm such an idiot… But enough is enough... I'm putting an end to this situation today!" My mother looked at the sky and spoke with both determination and regret.

As soon as I heard those words, tears simply started flowing on their own...

"Mom… You don't regret having me as a son…?" I asked while trying to hide my tears from her...

"That thought has and will never cross my mind. You're the most important thing in my life." She hugged me very tightly… It was like she was trying to do everything in her power to keep me close to her. "I won't let them keep dictating our lives any longer…" My Mom muttered while hugging me.

I couldn't do anything else but continue sobbing in the arms of my mother… She comforted me while reassuring me that I wouldn't go through such a thing again.

"Crux, I want you to know that even if you're not the strongest or you can't use magic, you're the most intelligent person I have ever met. You will make an exceptional [Demon King]. No one will ever question you about receiving the [Necklace of ♦♦v♦♦]." My mother whispered with confidence.

As soon as she said those words, a strange feeling of drowsiness assaulted me.

"Sigh… It seems like our time is up... I hoped that I could have stayed for longer, but it is simply impossible for me to do so right now… You must wake up, Crux." My mother looked at me straight into my eyes and smiled bitterly.

Wake up…? What does she mean? I'm awake right now...

"You're not. This was just a dream. A memory of the day I had to send you away from your home. You will be awake soon." My Mom suddenly got closer to me and then kissed my forehead. "I'm feeling a bit impatient about our real meeting, but I will try to be patient for you, Crux." She suddenly caressed my cheek. "Oh right, you go by the name of Julius now… Well, It doesn't really matter, I'll be waiting for you regardless of your name." She smiled at me. Her voice and personality seemed somewhat different…

It felt like I was in front of a person different from my mother…

"We'll see each other soon. I'm sure of that." She spoke with confidence.

But I didn't have the time to worry about her sudden change, since everything went dark at that moment… I couldn't resist my drowsiness and ended up falling asleep...

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"Whoa!" I raised my body in panic…

My eyes were wide open, my body was covered in a cold sweat and both my heart and head were aching…

"W-W-What was that…?" I asked myself while breathing roughly.

I didn't waste any time and started examining everything around me including my own body… Everything was normal.

It was the middle of the night... I was on one of the beds in the twins' room. Liliana, Luna, and Mia were all asleep on the other bed.

"So it was really a dream… But it felt so real..." I whispered to myself while I thought about the strange dream I just had.

As soon as I started thinking deeply about the dream, I remembered several important details…

I finally learned the real name of the original owner of this body…

"Crux…" I clenched my fist while feeling incredible sadness.

In that dream, I was him… I experienced everything he experienced. His pain, his happiness, his insecurities, his sorrow, and his feelings of inferiority...

Just what in the world happened to him before I took over his body...? 

Did he cease to exist because I took over his body? Is his soul trapped within this body and he can't get out and his way to tell me that he's still here was that dream? 

Is he dead…?

Dozens of questions immediately appeared in my mind...

I used my hands to cover both of my eyes thanks to the sudden headache that attacked me afterward…

"His parents… Are they still looking for him?" I asked myself a question that made my heart sink…

The face of Crux's mother came to my mind...

Crux… I'm not sure what happened to you, but I promise that I will find your parents… I can't let them pointlessly look for their son for the rest of their lives...

I know I didn't choose to take over his body, but I can't help but feel like a horrible person…

"But to think that he would be the future [Demon King]... Is he a descendant of the original demon king, Bass?" I asked myself another question to which I would definitely not get an answer.

I then remembered the end of the dream. More specifically the part where the personality of Crux's mother changed.

"Crux was sent away from his home… Why? Why was he sent away? Why was he alone in the Forest of Falgren?" I asked myself another question without an answer…

I couldn't come up with a feasible explanation…

Sigh… One question gets answered but then ten more questions appear almost immediately to replace that one...

Reincarnation is hard...

"She clearly said: 'I'm feeling a bit impatient about our real meeting, but I will try to be patient for you, Crux', right? Then when and where should I go to meet her?" Another question without an answer came out of my mouth…

I scratched the back of my head with frustration… While doing that I ended up touching the necklace that was stuck around my neck…

"Ah… Right… To think that this necklace would actually belong to Crux... Did he lose it when he was sent away from his home?" I immediately ended up focusing on an entirely different realization.

There's more than half a day of travel between the forest where I was found and Norvek, the town I am currently in… Why did the necklace appear in Norvek?

But there's also one thing that doesn't make any sense…

"The necklace appeared almost half a year ago in Norvek and it was found by the twins... They said that it fell from the sky..." I muttered. "And I was found two weeks ago… Why is there a difference in timing and place for the necklace and me?" As soon as I asked that question, I felt myself getting overwhelmed by the uncertainty.

With every question I asked myself, the truth about Crux's circumstances became even more complicated…

"..." I kept touching the necklace while looking at the moonlight that was illuminating the floor in front of the balcony.

(I can't keep up with this… I need to clear my head for a bit…) I thought while I tried to forget about the millions of questions I still had.

I quickly got up from bed and walked towards the balcony. I opened the door and sat on the floor of the balcony.

As soon as I saw the two moons and the countless constellations in the night sky, I started feeling at ease.

I emptied my mind of all worries as I decided to stargaze for a while.

"I wonder if Mom and Dad are still awake… I want to tell them about my dream." I started talking to myself. "Although I don't know how they'll react when I tell them about Crux being the next Demon King…" I felt a bit worried about that part.

As soon as I felt that worry and uncertainty were taking over my mind, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Just focus on the stars, Julius. We can think about this properly later…" I tried to make myself relax.

I simply stared at the night sky and enjoyed being bathed in the moonlight until I started feeling sleepy again.

At that point, I simply decided to call it a day and continue analyzing my dream tomorrow.

My head was way clearer and I was far more relaxed, so I was able to fall asleep almost immediately.

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-----Mia's POV-----

We had returned to Ms. Tiria's house after shopping for hours. 

Julius bought a lot of materials and tools for an experiment of his… An experiment that he is doing right in front of us! We are currently on Ms. Tiria's patio!

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"Now, we mix the oils with the distilled water and lye we just heated up. Ah, since this 'lye' is actually called 'potash' we also need to add some salt." Julius was teaching us something really interesting!

"It's all gooey..." I said while looking with interest at the product he was mixing in a large pot.

"When is it supposed to smell nice?" Liliana asked while playing with the kerchief that was covering her nose and mouth.

"Liliana, Julius said that we can't take the kerchiefs off…" Luna scolded her twin. 

Everyone had a similar kerchief to protect our noses and mouths.

"So what's the difference between Lye and potash? I know that both are used to make soap, but I don't know the specifics about each of the ingredients." Mrs.Lilia asked Julius with a lot of interest. Her eyes were sparkling!

"Well, both are typically called 'lye', but they are two different chemicals. Lye can be both Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide. The latter is also known as 'Potash'. Sodium Hydroxide is used to make solid soap bars while Potassium Hydroxide is commonly used for liquid soap." Julius explained with a lot of excitement.

Sodium…? Potassium…? Are those words for something related to magic?

"Are those terms related to alchemy?" Luna asked while observing Julius with a lot of interest.

"You could say that… Well, they are actually related to something called: 'Chemistry'." Julius nodded.

"Chemistry… Your world does have a lot of interesting things. To think that you would achieve so many things without having any magic." Mrs.Lilia fell deep into thought.

"I can say the same about this world. I often find myself speechless to see the things that can be done with magic." Julius scratched the back of his head.

Hehehe! Spending time with my Beloved Prince is great! I'm so happy!

We have been together all morning and it has been really fun!

My Mom was right! You really know it when you've found your knight in shining armor!

Every time I look at Julius, I feel butterflies in my stomach, my heart starts throbbing with excitement and I feel tingles on my tail and ears!

She told me that my Beloved Prince would be very special. She said that it would take a lot of time and effort to find him, but that it'll be worth it in the end. She said that the person who was destined to be my prince would be my best friend forever and ever!

She also said that my prince would be a kind and compassionate person who looks after others, someone who likes to study a lot of things and also explains to me complicated things, a person who likes to play and have fun with me, someone who respects his elders, someone who knows how to cook, someone that would make me smile all the time and who would let my parents live with us when they are old!

When she told me about that, I wanted to meet my prince as soon as possible, so I started my search for him...

At first, I thought that my search would be easy since my parents told me that they met when they were babies.

I thought that my prince would be close to me as well, so I thought that I had to try to see if I felt the butterflies in my stomach with any of my friends, but it didn't work…

I went to my mom and told her about it and she laughed at me saying that it didn't work like that and that I just needed to be patient… She said that my prince would show up when I least expected him.

Well, I didn't listen to her and kept trying to find him…

I kept looking and looking for my Beloved Prince, thinking that if he was going to show up unexpectedly, he should be close to me.

I played around and talked with a lot of the kids in my hometown, some of whom became amazing friends of mine!

But I never really felt the butterflies in my stomach like right now with Julius…

Because of my search for my prince, most of my friends started calling me: "The Romance Addicted Rabbit."

The nickname doesn't bother me that much, because I do read a lot of romance novels and fairy tales with my mom in the afternoons, so it is pretty accurate.

Well, it doesn't really matter now because I found him! I knew it was him as soon as I saw Julius!

To think that my Beloved Prince would be the adoptive brother of my best friends, a boy who is three years younger than me... 

But that doesn't really matter to me either! I'll be together with my new best friend forever and ever!

"Okay, now that everything has been mixed, we now need to heat it up for at least two hours." He spoke with excitement as he moved the pot towards a hearth we had set up a few minutes ago.

My ears perked up and twitched with happiness just by seeing how cute he is when he's excited!

"So, after two hours will it be done? Can we use it afterward?" Liliana asked with a lot of interest. She seemed to be looking forward to using the soap.

"No, not yet. After heating it up for a while, we then need to pour it into molds and let it rest for at least a full day." Julius nodded to himself. "If we are successful, the liquid goo we currently have should become a solid bar of soap. If we fail, it will still be a liquid goo, no matter how long we let it rest. We'll know we did well if it has the right consistency" Julius explained as he hung the pot on the hearth.

He immediately lit up the wood underneath the hearth using fire magic.

"You seem to know a lot about soap making. Did your parents make soap for a living?" Mrs. Lilia asked Julius while observing the pot with the liquid soap.

"Not really. My Dad just picked it up as a way to pass time and I helped him a few times." Julius sounded a bit nostalgic. "It is not like we were professionals either, we only managed to make one successful batch after many unsuccessful attempts before coming to this world. I'm still grateful that I learned though." Julius seemed a bit embarrassed.

A little bit before we went out shopping, Mrs. Lilia asked me when we were alone if I wanted to know something very interesting about Julius. I obviously said yes.

She first asked me if I could keep what she was about to tell me as an absolute secret.

I couldn't help but wonder why she was going to tell me if it was an absolute secret though…

Despite that question in my mind, I swore upon my rabbit ears that I would keep the secret and would not tell anyone!

I wanted and still want to know more about the person I will marry!

Mrs. Lilia then smiled at me before revealing something incredible to me. She told me that Julius was a native of a world very different from our own world...

"I see… At least you got something to make money with when you grow up." Mrs. Lilia looked proud of her adoptive son.

"Girls will also love you because of it~. Hehehe!" Liliana teased Julius before giggling.

"Yeah, I can see that happening…" Luna was looking at me for some reason.

As soon as I heard those words, my ears twitched. I ended up walking towards Julius and holding his hand. He didn't resist and accepted my hand.

He simply scratched the back of his head with embarrassment while looking at me.

I don't really care if he is from another world or the neighboring village, that's not important. What's really important is that we finally met and we will never leave each other's side!

"Well, since we are done mixing the ingredients, I believe we can already take off the protective gear. We won't be needing it anymore for now." He took off the kerchief down towards his neck, revealing his precious smile.

"Finally!" Liliana immediately removed the kerchief from her neck. "It was getting unbearable thanks to the heat!" She complained.

"It was not so bad." Luna also took off her kerchief while looking at her sister. "Although I'm a bit disappointed that we have to wait another day to try the soap." Luna looked at Julius and smiled awkwardly.

"Progress is slow, but it pays off in the end." Mrs. Lilia took her kerchief off and smiled at her children. "Now that we have some time to kill, why don't we go and make Julius try on all of his new clothes to show us how he looks?" Mrs. Lilia winked at Liliana, Luna, and me.

I definitely want to see that!

"What are we waiting for then!?" Both twins spoke in unison.

At first, Julius simply smiled bitterly. Just as he was about to speak, a familiar voice spoke to us.

"I would love to see that!" A familiar female voice spoke with excitement.

That voice belonged to my mother. A tall rabbitfolk woman with blazing red hair and green eyes. She was wearing an outfit similar to mine, which consists of a black cropped top, black shorts with a hole for her tail, and a pair of sandals. She was also wearing on her right arm a lot of bracelets that I have given to her over the years.

She was holding the hands of my father and little brother. She probably dragged them here and forced them to come to visit.

My father is a tall and skinny rabbitfolk man. He's almost as tall as Mr. Fred. He has hazelnut-colored short hair and blue eyes. His ears are usually hanging downwards because of the hat he's always wearing. He's currently wearing a blue tunic, brown pants, and no shoes, because of that, you could see the long claws in his feet. His favorite hat is green colored and has a red feather attached to the side.

"It is so good to see you all again without last night's ruckus… I hope Mia has been behaving well." My father smiled awkwardly at Mrs. Lilia.

Jeez! What's that supposed to mean!? I always behave well!

"She's obviously causing trouble again... Look, she's already in love again..." Klein, my little brother pointed at Julius and me.

That little…-

The annoying and short rabbitfolk kid who is holding the hand of my mother and pointing at us is my little brother, Klein. He's short like a dwarf and just like me, he has red hair and blue eyes. His hair is short like our dad's though. He's wearing a black tunic, shorts and sandals like our mother and I. 

He's really annoying most of the time… He often makes fun of me for looking for my Beloved Prince or other embarrassing mistakes of mine like making fun of me when I tripped and fell on my face the other day...

He was the one who gave me the nickname "The Romance Addicted Rabbit"...

He really is an annoying little brother…

As soon as my father and mother noticed that I was holding Julius' hand, they immediately approached us while dragging Klein with them.

"Sorry about this, erm… Julius, was it? I'm really sorry, my daughter is going through a phase and can be a bit clingy…" My father apologized.

I couldn't help but look at him with annoyance…

This is not a phase!

"Good afternoon, it is nice to see you again. You don't need to worry, I don't really mind it, since I'm used to it, to be honest." Julius greeted my parents and smiled at them.

Hehehe! He doesn't mind me being clingy! 

Julius' words immediately made me forget about my annoyance. I was really happy again.

"You can always tell me if Mia becomes too much for you to handle. It is okay! I have taken care of this kind of situation before!" My mother ended up patting Julius' shoulder with a compassionate look on her face.

Jeez… Even Mom is treating me like this is a phase… Even though she was the one who told me about the knight in shining armor thing… 

"It is not really necessary..." Julius smiled awkwardly.

"I can hold my sister off if you want to run away. It wouldn't be the first time." My little brother said with a grin. "My name is Klein, nice to meet you." He didn't forget to introduce himself to Julius.

Klein's words immediately made me really annoyed… I'm going to hide all of his favorite books as soon as I get home...

"So you are Mia's little brother… My name is Julius, it is nice to meet you as well." Julius smiled at my parents and brother.

As soon as I saw that smile, I knew it was time for me to tell them...

"Mia?" Julius tilted his head and looked at me with confusion when I stopped holding his hand.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself to reveal the truth to my parents and my annoying little brother...

"Mom, Dad… Julius is my Beloved Prince!" As soon as I told them that, I hugged Julius. "He has already touched my ears, so the two of us are getting married!" I shouted while hugging Julius as tightly as I could.

No one said anything… My revelation was met with silence...

(They must be really shocked about the revelation!) I thought to myself.

For us rabbitfolk, letting someone of the opposite gender touch our ears is considered accepting a marriage proposal. Mom also told me that there are a lot of rabbitfolk people who accept proposals from the same gender.

Since I like boys, I don't have a problem letting Liliana, Luna, or any other of my female friends touch my ears. 

Because Julius asked to touch my ears and I allowed him to do it, the two of us got engaged!

He's also the first boy that has ever touched my ears! I will forever remember that special moment! My heart was taken last night!

Anyway, my brother and father were the first ones to react.

"I can't believe you at all Mia… Weren't you going after Gukzo last week? What happened to that? You also said he was the one." Klein responded with an annoying argument.

(What!? I never said he was the one!) I got annoyed at my brother again.

As soon as he said that, I stopped hugging Julius in order to face my brother and my parents.

"Mia, we have talked about this. You just need to wait and be patient. You'll find your partner when you are older. Preferably when you're sixty." My father said something outrageous while smiling awkwardly.

"I'm not lying! I'm serious about this!" I said to Klein with a serious expression. "Dad, you're out of your mind! I don't wanna do that!" I shook my head vigorously.

Despite that, my brother and father didn't seem convinced. However, my own mother looked at me with her eyes wide open. She seemed to believe me.

She stopped holding the hand of my father and walked closer towards Julius and me.

She was still looking at me with a very surprised expression.

"Mia, are you sure? Have you really found what you were looking for?" Her surprised look quickly turned into a serious one.

"I have never been so sure of something! Julius is my Beloved Prince!" I nodded vigorously.

"..." My mom looked at me with her eyes wide open once again. "I see…" She closed her eyes while keeping the serious look on her face.

"Umm… Natalie is Mia actually being serious…?" My father asked my mother the moment he noticed she was taking me seriously.

Even Klein suddenly looked at me with confusion.

My mother opened her eyes and crouched… She extended her arms as much as she could and then caught both Julius and me into a tight bear hug.

Neither of us offered any resistance.

"Welcome to the family! I never thought that this day would come so soon!" My mother spoke with glee. "Lilia, why didn't you come to tell me about this amazing news!" My mother turned her head around and looked at Julius' mother. She seemed a bit annoyed.

"I thought it would be better to let it be a surprise~." Mrs. Lilia showed us an innocent smile.

My mother had quickly accepted my engagement with my beloved. My father, however…

"Are you serious…? Hey, please tell me you're joking… I'm not ready to have a son-in-law yet! It is simply too soon!" My dad was panicking.

"I'm surprised… She was actually being serious about this…" Klein looked at me while scratching his cheek. "I will go to church tomorrow and pray for his soul first thing in the morning." He looked at Julius with pity.

I decided to ignore my father and brother's antics and simply focused on how happy I was to finally introduce my Beloved Prince to my mother.

In the end, my father ended up having a panic attack while my brother kept making annoying jokes at our expense. 

My mother and I then started having a long talk with Julius' mother about my wedding with her son. The three of us ended up talking for hours about that very important topic!

Hmm… Now that I think about it, I never really saw what kind of expression Julius and the twins had on their faces...

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Chapter 12: A dream, soap making, and Mia's family. (Part I)

END

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