Crimson

Believe me,I'm Scarlet.

JUNO

We had set off when everyone was finally ready .

Since Fabia had been the only horse and we had all refused to be the one to ride him while the others walked , he had carried our bags while we walked .

Ali led the way with Star by one side and Fabia by the other side .

I was behind him holding Fluff , Vita came after me , Whale by his side too .

Nero and Keanu took up the rare , smiling and chatting quietly .

I looked over at Vita's face , he had one eye on the wolf while the other eye sent occasional glares around .

The wolf thing had just been a joke after Nero had asked me if Whale was the wolf that Vita had cut .

It seemed Vita was not too happy with the joke that we had played on him .

Around us , the forest hummed with life .

The trees were huge and hid the sun completely , little animals ran around avoiding us .

Butterflies and other curious insects swarm around us , especially around Ali's hair .

He kept batting at them probably confused as to why they were interested in his hair .

I had gotten Ali his shampoo , it was made from honey and a nice smelling nectar .

" Are your feet okay ?"

I turned slightly , Vita had caught up with me .

I nodded ," They are basically numb now , I can't feel a thing from my feet ".

I moved Fluff to my other arm , he had slept off sometime ago and his weight was beginning to tire me .

Vita stretched his arm forward and I put the cub in his arm , relieved of the weight , I stretched my hands , yawning a little .

" You ran even after I told you I would look for Ali with you . Why ?"

I turned again to study him , he didn't look angry that I had run .

I pointed around ," I haven't come this far into the forest in a while but I still remember the path as well as I remember the path to the shelter ".

He was looking at me , trying to make sense of what I was saying , so , I enunciated .

" If Ali was injured , I needed all the time I could get to reach him fast and if I had walked with everyone , I would not have been able to maintain the speed I needed to do that ".

Vita nodded , he was stroking Fluff as though they had been long friends .

Should I ask ?

Of course , how else would I satisfy this stifling curiosity .

" So , you are returning to Caeso ?"

He turned to look at me , I faced forward but he kept watching and studying me .

" Depends ..."

I humored him then and turned to look at him .

" On what ?"

He maintained eye contact with me but did not say anything .

I realized he did not intend to answer that .

" Do you really not know where you are headed to ? "

I nodded my head , I had seen somewhere I might have wanted to be headed to but I really did not know exactly what I had seen .

Had I really seen Mama or had it been the stress of the day accompanied with the fact that I had felt in that moment that I would never understand what happened to Mama even in my death ?

" I'm searching for someone ".

He did not turn to look at me now , I was grateful for that .

I would have to bring Ali up to on what had happened in my courtyard .

" What happened on your courtyard ?"

I stopped walking abruptly , he stopped too .

I turned completely to face him , " What do you mean ? "

His eyes were focused on my face .

" Something I can't explain happened ."

I had seemed unsure that something had even happened but here he was , so sure .

How was he so sure that something happened ?

What had I done ?

Keanu and Nero had also stopped behind us , Ali too had stopped and was looking at us .

I turned to Keanu .

" Did you also see this thing that Vita claimed happened on my courtyard ?"

Keanu was looking straight at me .

" I don't know what exactly Vita saw but I did experience a strange thing ".

I took a step back , Fabia caught my eye , the largest bag that he had carried belonged to Keanu .

" Is that why you wanted to follow me ? To document any other similar occurrences ?"

He just blinked and nodded without hesitation .

" What occurrences ?"

Ali had walked down to meet us , his white lashes fluttered about .

I turned back to Keanu who was currently exchanging glances with Nero .

" You decided to come along because of Juno ?"

Nero asked him , his hand was on his head .

It seemed that Nero had not known the real reason Keanu had decided to tag along .

Vita grabbed my hand and pulled me to him , I pulled my hand out of his grasp .

" Nothing happened on my courtyard ", I insisted .

I turned to Ali ," I need to tell you something ".

He tilted his head to the side , studying me .

" Bring the cub along in case we need to run ahead and leave them behind ".

He turned to walk back , maintaining the pace that Star was still keeping .

I smiled slightly and turned back to Vita , I held out my hands .

He hesitated , trying to get me to look him in the eye but I kept avoiding him .

I took out the cub , a little forcefully .

Fluff awoke and yawned , stretching . His claws flashed across my face .

I moved my face a second before he touched me .

He yawned and settled back , going to sleep .

I patted him as I walked towards Ali , his eyes were scanning the forest .

" Are your feet fine ?" , he asked .

I nodded then realized he was not looking at me .

" They are numb ".

He nodded too , not considering that I was not looking at him .

I waited for him to ask .

Ask what I knew he was curious about , he did not ask even after we had been walking for a while .

" I have been seeing my Mama in my dreams ".

No reaction .

" You are not surprised ", I stated .

He turned slightly to look at me .

" You talk a lot in your sleep ".

What ?

He just kept walking .

" What happened in your courtyard ?"

I smirked , I had won .

I was more than eager to fill him in .

" I passed out and had this strange dream with Mama and a voice , it was a really realistic dream ....."

I trailed off , suddenly reminded of the content of the dream , the book I had read from .

" What does that have to do with the brigadier ? "

I pulled myself together , I had to be rational .

" During the dream , I thought I could feel someone else's presence , an external presence but since it was an all together strange experience , I pushed the feeling aside ".

" But.....but, Vita claims to have seen me too . He claims to have had the same dream as me when he definitely was not asleep ".

Ali kept walking , I could tell from his face that he was thinking hard .

" Your mother , you are positive that she only did simple spells ?"

I kept mute , he turned to look at me .

" The voice in my dream claimed that my memories of Mama were tweaked by my view of Mama ".

He nodded .

" Why are you nodding ?"

The cub had woken up .

" I suspected as much , that your mother only showed you what you wanted to see ".

I did not understand what all this meant .

" What do you mean ?"

Ali stopped walking and turned to me , he pulled me closer .

" Juno , you are obviously not Vermillion , you are not Scarlet either ".

I blinked , I really did not like where this was headed .

" I know you have doubts too but we can't confirm any of that without knowledge on your mother ".

" I can't be Crimson , only the Royals are Crimsons ".

Ali gave me a look , I held him tighter , it did not make sense , I was definitely scarlet .

" What if both my parents were strong pure Scarlets ? That would explain my blood hue ".

I must have been holding him too tightly , he picked at my fingers till I released my grip .

" I always knew this time would come ".

I looked up at the sky or what was visible of it , the trees had completely covered it.

" What did you know ?"

He pulled my face down , his hands over my face .

" Juno , your mother obviously hid a lot from you , including who you are . I have been asking merchants about her using the description you gave me ".

" You did not see her body ,there's a chance that she survived and has also been looking for you ".

I took a step back from him , staring at him .

" What are you saying Ali ? I'm scarlet and ....and my Mama is d...de..gone ".

I was yelling now but Ali did not budge .

" Those answers you are too afraid to look for , I'll be here when you are ready to look for them ".

Vita and the others had stepped closer , I was unable to reply Ali.

He had been searching for information about me and Mama without telling me .

He kept walking and I waited a bit to give space between both of us .

I was Scarlet .

I was Scarlet .

I had to be Scarlet .

If I was not Scarlet , then , my life had just become a hundred times more complicated .