Chapter 128 Sing for me part 2 – Arianna

  “Granddaughter! Sing for me, too!”

  Her grandfather’s voice greeted her the moment she appeared in what she had decided to call the Dragon’s Sea. He was in his humanoid form, standing at the bottom of the ocean, the water still crystal clear around him.

  Arianna had somehow come back here. She had just been meditating in her office, and the next thing she knew, her grandfather was in front of her. Her water filter had activated automatically.

  She could only wonder. First the unconscious water barrier while sleeping, now the automatic water filter. Mana was becoming second nature to her. Her time with the slave collar had only confirmed that. She had felt like a limb had been amputated when she could no longer feel her mana.

  “Granddaughter.”

  She looked at him. He opened his arms, silently asking for a hug. This strange man should have felt foreign to her, yet he had felt familiar from the very first time they met. She truly hoped he was telling her the truth.

  So she went to him and hugged him.

  “Granddaughter. I hope I’m not interrupting you.”

  Arianna shook her head, and they let go again. Her grandfather studied her, as if he could see directly into her heart. Then he smiled.

  “That’s good.”

  She didn’t really know what was good, but the way he said it made her feel reassured, like everything would be alright. Tears sprang to her eyes.

  “Now, now. Don’t cry.”

  What was wrong with her? She wasn’t sad.

  “I know,” he continued gently. “It’s too much right now. But if it makes you feel better, I know you’ll be alright.”

  She looked up at him questioningly. He smiled.

  “Life is never about how strong you are. It’s about how strong your connections with your community are. And yours are great. Your guild will take care of you.”

  Arianna sighed. If by taking care he meant that everyone constantly asked how she was, made her sing for them, and walked on eggshells around her, then yes, they were taking excellent care of her. On one hand, it was sweet; on the other, they were nosy and annoying.

  Just this afternoon and evening alone, she had been asked to sing for quite a few people. And she was certain there must have been some kind of guild-wide announcement about her and about making her sing. It had started with Joseph and Janice, but after lunch, it had become much worse.

  Lunch with Cassis was a quiet affair, but a welcome one. It wasn’t the silence of not knowing what to say, but a comfortable quietness, one where they didn’t need to speak at all.

  Afterwards, Arianna went to Irene’s house. The alchemist wanted to talk with her about mana theory and test a few things.

  “Thanks for coming over,” Irene said in her usual polite way. And just like always, she wanted to focus on work first. Arianna was definitely fine with that.

  “Here, look at this substance, but don’t touch.”

  She held up a flask filled with a pink liquid.

  “It’s corrosive toward clothes. Glass and skin are fine, though, probably.”

  Irene said this after Arianna was already holding the flask, making her nearly drop it. Thankfully, she didn’t. Instead, she studied the liquid with her mana sight.

  “Yes… there seems to be some corrosive mana mixed in with water and… is that mud and blood?”

  It looked strange. But Irene happily exclaimed, “Yes! I used some of the poison and blood from those tentacle monsters you encountered in that dungeon.”

  She had what!?

  “Those monsters!? How did you get that?”

  Irene looked at her in surprise, probably at her tone. But… those monsters? Seriously?

  “Oh, Cassis gave me some of the dead tentacles. It was a bit gross at first, but those monsters are fascinating. I haven’t been able to replicate the aphrodisiac yet, but the corrosive effect was easy enough.”

  Arianna stared at her in horror. Why would they need a corrosive that worked on clothes? And why the aphrodisiac!?

  Irene didn’t notice her stare and continued, “I’m working on making the corrosive strong enough to actually affect flesh. That’s why I mixed it with mud infused with my own mana to strengthen the effect. And well, the tentacle was dead, after all, there was only a hint of the corrosive left.”

  Irene practically glowed with pride.

  “But I managed to replicate it. Now I just need to make it stronger!”

  Arianna shuddered. Irene was usually so nice and quiet, but lately, whenever they talked about alchemy and mana, the mad scientist within her came out. Then again, a corrosive poison they could throw at monsters would probably help in battle… hopefully.

  She smiled reassuringly before speaking, praying her inner thoughts didn’t show. Irene was finally coming out of her shell and working toward becoming a real alchemist. She should encourage her.

  “That’s… great. I’m so proud of you.”

  But why couldn’t she use a different poison? Did it have to be those monsters? Arianna remembered the dungeon frogs, or even the mesmerising blooms. She knew they had brought those back, too. What she hadn’t known was that Cassis had also brought back some tentacle remains.

  Irene beamed. “So I wanted to brainstorm with you about how to make the corrosive effect stronger. What do you think about adding more earth mana? Or should we use non-elemental mana? That’s quite alright, I’m finally getting the hang of using it. But how did you come up with that? If you hadn’t shown me, I don’t think I could have done it.”

  Irene was now fully in scientist mode; so many questions, so little time for answers.

  Arianna gently ignored the questions about her own mana usage and focused on the important ones.

  “I think we need to use non-elemental mana to strengthen the corrosive effect. But… we should put some safety measures in place first.”

  Irene nodded and took the flask back, placing it in a holding mechanism that suspended it over a metal bowl. Arianna wasn’t sure that would be enough.

  Then she had an idea. She created holy water in the bowl. That should at least neutralize any poison enough to keep it from burning through the container.

  Irene clapped. “Good idea.” Then she frowned. “You might have to leave some of that with me so I can experiment more.”

  Arianna nodded while suppressing a shudder. Somehow, the way Irene had said experiment sent a chill down her spine. She wasn’t really becoming a mad scientist… was she?

  Then the two of them studied the mana of the corrosive. Together, they formed a theory: if non-elemental mana was introduced with the intention of strengthening the corrosive mana, the reaction might intensify.

  So Irene prepared herself. She carefully released a small stream of non-elemental mana from her hand. Arianna marvelled at how much she had improved since Arianna last taught her. Everything flowed more smoothly and looked far more effortless now. She must have practised a great deal.

  Then something began happening inside the flask.

  The pink colour faded toward yellow, and the liquid began to churn. Slowly, the glass began to melt, and the substance fell into Arianna’s holy water. Steam rose, stinging her eyes slightly with its faint corrosive effect. But thankfully, the holy water neutralised the poison enough that it remained contained in the metal bowl.

  “It worked!” Irene squealed. “Thanks, Arianna! I couldn’t have done it without you!”

  She grabbed Arianna’s hands and actually jumped up and down in excitement.

  Arianna doubted she had helped much at all. Irene had done nearly everything herself. Arianna had merely discussed possibilities and suggested approaches, hardly real assistance.

  But Irene wasn’t finished.

  “This is great! My Alchemist profession went up a level! Arianna, let’s celebrate! Sing something for me!”

  Helpless against that kind of enthusiasm, Arianna decided to play along.

  “What should I sing?”

  Irene smiled broadly. “I don’t know. Something for celebrating.”

  Arianna sighed, then launched into the song. “Now I'm walking on sunshine, whoa

  I′m walking on sunshine, whoa I'm walking on sunshine, whoa and don′t it feel good? …”

  Arianna had barely finished the song when Irene, though still bubbly, had at least calmed down a little. She ushered Arianna out while muttering something about trying the aphrodisiac next.

  Arianna somehow didn’t want to be involved with that.

  She blushed, remembering what she had done under its influence. Though… maybe they should have enjoyed it. Cassis was annoyingly disciplined in that regard. They hadn’t gone any further than that, and now she feared they never would.

  Before she could think more about it, Liam called her over.

  “Hey, Ari!” Then he looked at her more closely. “Did you just come from Irene’s? Oh!” He grimaced. “Did she actually succeed and get the poisons from those monsters to work again?”

  He looked horrified, then blushed too.

  At least Liam got her.

  She grinned. “Only the corrosive effect. But it looks like she’s going to work on the other one too. So… I’m outta here.”

  Liam nodded, and they fell into step together, somehow ending up at Liam’s and Camden’s house.

  “Here you go,” Liam said as he put down a glass of water in front of her.

  They had settled onto the sofa in their living room. Arianna asked, “Didn’t you need Irene? You could have just gone in. It wasn’t that scary.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Yet. But she didn’t say it.

  Liam shook his head. “I just wanted to ask her if she wanted to come over for dinner. But when she’s in the middle of one of her experiments, she won’t remember. I’ll just make more dinner and bring it to her later.”

  Arianna smiled. Liam was so sweet in the way he took care of others.

  Then she noticed the sketching pad on the floor next to the table. She knew she was being nosy, but she’d been curious about Liam’s skills since he’d mentioned liking to draw. So, while watching him to see if it was okay, she leaned down and picked it up.

  Liam sighed but didn’t stop her.

  When she opened it, she couldn’t believe her eyes. A beautiful landscape was sketched in pencil on the first page.

  “Where is this?”

  Liam answered, “One of the dungeons we went to alone, after you left for the E-rank one. It was beautiful there, but also surreal. I’ll need to add colour to it.”

  Arianna nodded. Such skill.

  Then she turned to the second page.

  “Ah!”

  Both she and Liam exclaimed.

  On that page, he had drawn Camden in great detail. He was only wearing his pants, which he was in the process of taking off, and Arianna had to admit that Camden looked very attractive without his clothes on.

  Before she could study it further, Liam pressed his hand over the sketch. “That’s probably not a good idea.” He was blushing furiously.

  Arianna snickered. “So you can draw it but not show it?”

  He got even redder. “Don’t tease. That’s just for me.” He glared at her.

  Arianna obediently let go of the sketching pad with a smile. Liam heaved a sigh of relief and took it back, only to be interrupted by Camden’s voice.

  “What’s just for you?”

  Without them noticing, Camden had come in from behind the sofa. He reached for the sketching pad. Liam froze, looking like a deer in headlights.

  Arianna briefly considered helping him, but… it seemed more fun to let this play out.

  So, Camden got his hands on the sketching pad.

  He showed no reaction while he studied the drawing, then turned the page. And the next. And the next. Just how often had Liam sketched him?

  “Interesting,” was all Camden said.

  But he said it with a smirk and a slight wink at Liam, who looked like steam would start coming out of his ears if he were a cartoon character.

  Then Camden looked at Arianna as he sat down in the chair opposite the sofa, putting the sketching pad safely out of her reach. He raised his eyebrows.

  “Now, didn’t you see something you weren’t supposed to?”

  Arianna grinned. “I saw nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Camden nodded. “You’re right. You saw nothing, because there was nothing to see.”

  Liam finally pulled himself together. “Seriously! Arianna, Cam! Don’t team up against me!”

  He was completely embarrassed, but he was also smiling, clearly finding his own predicament funny.

  Camden raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then he smiled suggestively. “Let’s continue our discussion on that topic later.”

  Liam rolled his eyes while blushing, but still said, “Sure.”

  Arianna smiled, happy that her friend was happy.

  Then Camden focused on her. “So… how are you?”

  Liam shook his head and mouthed sorry toward her.

  Arianna grinned. “You’re really direct.”

  Camden just looked at her. “Should I dance around it? We’ll waste time better spent on other things that way.”

  Arianna laughed. She couldn’t even be mad that he was poking his nose into her business.

  “I’ll be fine. Some things are still not good, but I’ll get back on my feet.”

  She definitely would. And she’d show Dr. Makimovich that she really would be fine. Even though her singing hobby was nice, it wasn’t exactly as he had led her to believe. There was no relief. Her emotions were still muted, everything felt distant. She had sung quite often now, but it hadn’t really changed anything.

  What had changed things was how her friends worried about her in their own ways.

  Camden nodded. “I knew from our first meeting that you’re the type not to stay a victim. You’re a survivor in a small package with a sweet smile. That’s why most people underestimate you.”

  Arianna studied him carefully. Just how much about her did he know?

  Camden’s smile dimmed. “My mom was a victim. And she stayed one all her life. No fight left in her, even with my help.”

  He was serious.

  “She never had that fire in her like you do. Or it had already disappeared when I was old enough to look for it.”

  He looked so sad.

  Arianna glanced at Liam. Was his mother…?

  Liam gave her a sad smile and nodded.

  Arianna turned back to Camden. “But that doesn’t make your mom weak. I just still had hope.”

  She paused, then decided to tell them the truth.

  “I knew Cassis would save me, no matter what.”

  Liam nodded immediately. “Of course, my brother would save you. You’re his world. I’ve never seen him like he is with you.”

  Arianna smiled.

  Camden said quietly, “You’re right. My mom didn’t have any hope left. Maybe that’s why she loved this song. It’s called Remembering a Better Yesterday.”

  He took a guitar out of his inventory.

  Arianna blinked in surprise. “I didn’t know you could play.”

  Camden grinned. “Yeah, I used to play for her. But I can’t really sing. Would you do it for me?”

  Without waiting for her answer, he started playing the melody. It was nice, slow and melancholic. When Camden finished, Arianna was able to keep the tune in her head.

  “So,” he asked, “can you sing to it?”

  Arianna sighed. “Why is everyone doing this? Was there a guild-wide announcement to make me sing?”

  She had meant it as a joke, but Liam’s guilty expression and Camden’s blank face told her everything.

  “There really was!?” No wonder people kept asking her to sing. “Who?”

  Was it Cassis? But he wasn’t exactly a people person, so who else?

  “Danielle…”

  “Don’t be mad at Mom,” Liam pleaded quickly. “She’s just worried. And when Cas told us about your new hobby and your… well, reluctance, Mom decided you needed some extra motivation.”

  That sounded exactly like her.

  Arianna sighed. It came from a good place, but damn was it annoying. Still, she couldn’t help the warmth spreading through her chest. It had been a long time since someone had cared for her like that.

  “So, can you sing it?” Camden asked, completely unconcerned with their conversation and already back to his earlier request.

  Arianna sighed again. She pulled out her phone to look up the lyrics, then nodded. The song wasn’t that complicated.

  “But you’ll have to sing with me the first time,” she said. “So I can get the rhythm right.”

  He grimaced, but nodded.

  They sang together, and Arianna quickly realized that Camden was almost completely tone-deaf. He could play the guitar just fine, but singing… definitely wasn’t his strength.

  Still, after that first try, she had the melody down. Camden played the guitar again, and she sang.

  It was a hauntingly beautiful song, full of regret and longing. Somehow, it fit what he had told her about his mother.

  After the song ended, Arianna said goodbye to both men. She still had a mother to visit, and judging by Camden’s grin and the way he had grabbed the sketch pad when she was leaving, those two definitely had other matters on their minds.

  And so Arianna found herself next door at Danielle’s house.

  Danielle had immediately ushered her inside when she noticed her standing at the front door. Now Danielle, Marcus, and Arianna were sitting at the dining table, eating cake. Because Danielle had, for some reason, cake readily available whenever guests came over.

  Should Arianna have that too? She somehow felt like she was failing at being a functional adult now.

  She decided not to think about that and just get to the point. Camden was right, why beat around the bush with something like this?

  “Danielle… I really do appreciate you and Cassis worrying about me, but telling the whole guild is too much.”

  Danielle grimaced, while Marcus was practising being invisible.

  “Well, I know,” Danielle said gently. “But I’m just so worried, my dear. Meeting a creep like that is scary enough, but experiencing a trauma like that… we need to support you while you heal.”

  She took Arianna’s hand while talking, as if trying to keep her warm.

  And it worked. Arianna felt her annoyance melt away. There was still embarrassment, because now everyone knew her business, but… she had missed being cared for like this.

  Sharp as always, Danielle noticed she wasn’t angry.

  “Good girl,” she said warmly. “Now, just stay for dinner. Marcus, call Cassis over, too.”

  Marcus reacted immediately, like he was escaping. “Sure. I’ll go over there now.”

  Danielle snickered, which made Arianna laugh as well.

  “So now that we’re good and all…” Danielle continued, standing up, “help me prepare dinner. And while we do that, you can sing for me.”

  That brought out a full laugh from Arianna.

  “You’re shameless!”

  Danielle laughed. “Of course I am. I’m the mother of this family. A little manipulation is the best way to get everyone to do what’s good for them.”

  Now wasn’t that the truth…

  Arianna got up and helped Danielle cook. Meanwhile, she sang one song after another, simply deciding to feel good and be happy for once.

  After dinner, Arianna and Cassis were about to say goodbye when Violet stopped them.

  Dinner had included pretty much all the younger kids from the neighbourhood, as well as Matteo and the two foxes. It turned out Felicia was having a sleepover with them.

  Violet said, “Arianna, I heard you singing while cooking. It’s nice. Danielle said it’s bedtime now, but we don’t really want to sleep. But if you sing us a lullaby, maybe we’ll go to bed earlier.”

  She looked at her with pleading eyes.

  Arianna briefly glanced at Danielle. She’d even use children to achieve her goal? Danielle nodded and grinned. Cassis only shrugged his shoulders, while Marcus stayed suspiciously quiet.

  Felicia quietly took Arianna’s hand, already pulling her upstairs, while the other children looked at her seriously.

  Arianna sighed, but oh well. She’d do it.

  So she followed them upstairs toward Liam’s old room, where Felicia now lived. Inside, she was delighted to see that the children had built a fort out of blankets, bedsheets, and pillows. How great was that?

  Once everyone had found their place, together with the two foxes, Arianna got ready to sing.

  What should she sing this time?

  She didn’t really know any lullabies. Only one.

  Her mother’s song.

  But the lyrics were in some obscure language. She had never found out which language it was. She only knew the song was about sleeping safely and knowing someone was watching over you. Her dad hadn’t known more either.

  Would it be alright?

  “Okay, guys,” she said softly. “I only know one song, but it isn’t in Standard. Is that okay?”

  A chorus of “yeahs” and nods answered her.

  Alright, then she’d sing that song.

  When she finished, she realised some of the younger ones had already fallen asleep. Violet sleepily whispered, “That was so nice. Thanks, Arianna. Good night.”

  Arianna rose from her crouched position and whispered “Good night” back to them.

  When she stepped outside, she almost collided with Matteo, who was fiddling with his phone.

  “Hey! Careful.” She put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. He was almost as tall as her and maybe even heavier, but since she had reached E-rank, her physical abilities were quite high. Even a small bump from her could easily make him lose his balance.

  Matteo looked at her in surprise, then nodded. “Thanks, Aunt Arianna.” He headed to Cassis’ old room, which was now his. “Good night,” he added, still focused on his phone.

  The other adults had waited downstairs. She quickly said her goodbyes and went home with Cassis.

  Once there, she told him, “Cas, thanks, really. But it’s exhausting right now. I need some alone time.”

  She really needed it.

  So she went up to her office to meditate.

  At least she had thought she’d get some alone time.

  But now her grandfather was demanding that she sing for him.

  Arianna sighed, probably for the hundredth time that day. “Alright. What do you want to hear?”

  Her grandfather looked delighted. “What about the song from just now?”

  Arianna blinked in surprise. “The lullaby?”

  He simply smiled.

  “Okay… I can do that.”

  She didn’t know why he wanted to hear it, but if he wished it, she would sing. And so she performed the lullaby again, her voice soft in the endless, crystal-clear water.

  When the song ended, she noticed tears in his eyes.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, baffled by his reaction.

  He nodded. “Yes. It’s just… nice to hear it again after such a long time.”

  Arianna looked at him questioningly.

  “To hear the lullaby my wife composed for our daughter.”

  “What?” Arianna froze. “So that song—”

  He nodded. “It’s quite old.”

  That was an understatement. He had told her there were millennia between their ages.

  Then he smirked. “Your pronunciation is quite off, but I can teach you that later.”

  “Well… but you can understand it?” she asked curiously. “What does it say?”

  Would she finally learn more about the song?

  But he shook his head. “I can’t tell you yet. It’s good that you know it, but you can’t know it yet.”

  That only made things more confusing.

  He gently patted her head. “All will make sense later. You should try to raise your fame level. Then I can tell you more.”

  He suddenly looked away, almost embarrassed.

  “But I won’t be able to visit you for some time now.”

  Arianna stared at him. “Why?”

  “It takes quite a lot of power to bring you into this space,” he explained. “And I’m not allowed to use too much or meddle excessively. I’m already pushing the limits. The system isn’t happy with me, so I’ll have to sleep for a while.”

  Then he pointed toward her necklace. “It will still work as a warning system. Don’t worry.”

  A strange sense of loss gripped her. She had just found him, and now he was leaving again.

  “But I don’t want you to leave.”

  He nodded gently. “I know. But it can’t be helped. Normally, I wouldn’t have revealed myself to you for quite some time yet, but circumstances demanded it. I couldn’t leave you suffering alone, granddaughter. But this is the price we must pay. Everything requires balance. Even deities are not exempt from that.”

  He patted her head once more.

  “See you soon. Take care.”

  And with those words, Arianna suddenly found herself back in her office, the transition so abrupt it left her breathless.

  “That was way too abrupt, grandfather,” she muttered.

  Now she couldn’t meditate, not with her emotions in such chaos. Longing, sadness, loneliness, exhaustion, anger, fear… name it, and she was probably feeling it.

  But she didn’t want to go downstairs to Cassis either. In this mood, she might start a fight, and she didn’t want that.

  So, what else could she do?

  Her gaze landed on the keyboard Cassis had brought for her.

  Her fingers trembled.

  Should she just…?

  Swallowing nervously, she sat down. She pressed one note, then another, whatever felt right in that moment. It was only a melody, no chords or accompaniment. Very simple. Yet somehow, it felt important.

  Once the melody settled, words began to form.

  It would be short. Nothing complicated.

  She started singing as soon as the lyrics came to mind.

  Yesterday, I felt so free and wild.

  Yesterday, I was a naive child.

  People called me hope, called me light;

  a saviour.

  Today, I know I’m simply grey.

  Today, I see the price I pay.

  So no matter what they say,

  I call myself a survivor.

  She repeated the lines again and again until the melody and lyrics flowed together naturally. Then she added simple chords to support the tune.

  Finally, she was satisfied with the short, simple song.

  Only then did she notice that the keyboard’s keys were wet.

  Where had the water come from?

  Only the keys in front of her were damp.

  It couldn’t be…

  She touched her cheeks. Wet. Her fingers moved upward to her eyes. Wet. And the tears were still falling.

  “No,” she whispered. “No, no, no.”

  She didn’t want to cry. Why was she crying? She had cried so much already. It didn’t make anything better. It was useless.

  But the tears wouldn’t stop.

  So, she continued playing quietly, the melody on the keyboard growing louder than her soft, helpless sobs.