Aphmau Fanfiction

Chapter 7: Sacred Places Pt.2

Lady Irene hovered over to the enormous tree, and sat down on one of its long roots. She gestured for me to sit with her, so I complied. After finally getting settled, I didn't have a clue what to do. She looked at me, and told there was no need to be nervous.

"I know I shouldn't be nervous, but you're considered a goddess in our world. How can one person not be nervous around someone like that? And you told me I have powers, but what exactly do you mean by that?"

Her expression darkened a bit.

"You do not know? I thought you, like all descendants, would know."

She quickly hovered near my face, scanning it. What she could see, I didn't know. Her face distorted into that of anger.

"ENKI! THAT FUMBLING BUFFOON!"

I flinched, startled at the tone. I started to back away, quite frightened about the temper and every move she was making. After five minutes of ranting, she finally calmed down. Turning to me, she let out a sigh.

"My time with you is up for now. My dear, I must let you return to your friends now. This will not be our last meeting, but if anything, please try to find out all you can about the Divine Warrior named Enki. He is your clue as to why you cannot remember your purpose or your past life."

With that, she turned to look at the tree. I was about to ask her a question when the sound of a large and loud clock stopped all movement from happening, and all sound from traveling.

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(Third person POV)

Life was glum. It had been many weeks since Aphmau had disappeared, and everyone was starting to lose hope. Aaron had mostly stayed away from Phoenix Drop, trying his hardest to find Aphmau. He wanted to find her to make sure she was safe, but to also stop Phoenix Drop from dying. Laurance, on the other hand, spent most of his time drunk. Garroth had had enough experience with being drunk that he knew it wasn't a good state to be in. So, he mostly sat around, glumly, trying to think of where she could be. He was scarred from what happened prior to her disappearance. One moment, she was just weak from something, and the next she fell on the ground, unconscious. Nobody knew what was wrong except for Aaron and Laurance, but they weren't awake to tell them what had happened. None of that would matter, as when Garroth had gone to check on Aphmau for the umpteenth time that day, she was not there. Searching everywhere she could have gone in that amount of time, he saw no sign of her. Everyone was soon alerted as to what was happening, and a giant search party was formed. But, it was all in vain. No trace was found, and everyone went into a state of depression, Katelyn, Kawaii~Chan, and many of the other woman were too sad to do much around the village. Today, word had been sent to Cadenza and many other lords that it was assumed that the previous lord of Phoenix Drop had died, and a funeral was to be held that afternoon. With the afternoon fast approaching, everyone started preparing. When the neighing of horses was heard, it turned out to be Cadenza, and everyone from her town. Katelyn went to greet her, and when Cadenza had gotten down from the horse, she had tears in her eyes.

"Katelyn. Is it true? Is Aphmau dead?"

Katelyn sighed, on the verge of tears.

"We.. don't know. It's been a month since her disappearance, and we can only assume the worst." She said, glumly.

Cadenza nodded, breaking down in tears. Soon the rest of lords arrived, many people along with them. The rumors about a lord called Aphmau had spread far and wide, and she was known to many. Most people had heard of the good deeds she had done, as well as the great feat she had of assisting in the capturing of Zane. The funeral was in the midst of beginning, when some lone stragglers still made their way into the church. A woman clad in armor, with a green scarf around her face, was the last person to make it. She walked up to the altar, standing before everyone. She waited until everyone had their eyes focused on her, then began to remove her scarf. Gasps arose when everyone realized it was Aphmau. Garroth, Laurance and Katelyn were the first to run up and tackle her in a hug. Most were crying tears of joy, and the lords stood there, shocked. She was alive! Every lord was informed that there was to be a meeting later, and that they must all attend. Cadenza, Kawaii~Chan, Dante, and many others were hugging Aphmau and telling her if she did something like that again, she would be in so much trouble. Soon, the commotion had died down, and everyone was their cheery self again. It was amazing how the return of one person can brighten everyone's lives. One man stepped forward, and asked to speak to Aphmau in private. Everyone knew him as "The Stranger", but Aphmau knew him as Aaron. She parted with her friends, telling them she'll be back soon. Walking into a room, Aaron closed the door, and turned to face her. He took his hood off and told her to sit.

"Aphmau, where the hell have you been?"
"I... I was in another dimension, I think."

"ANOTHER DIMENSION?! DID YOU HAVE NO REGARD FOR ME OR ANY OF YOUR FRIENDS?!" Aphmau flinched at Aaron's yelling, and began to tear up. Aaron noticed, and calmed down a little bit.

"I-I didn't know what was going on. I didn't mean to go there on purpose. I didn't even know that every minute spent in there was a week in our world. I just- I was so confused." She began to full on cry now, thinking of the anguish and sadness she must have caused. Covering her face with her hands, she began to weep heavily. Aaron's face softened, and he mentally kicked himself for yelling at her. He sat down next to her, and took her in a warm embrace.

"Shh.. I'm sorry I yelled, I just didn't understand. You don't need to cry, you're here, and that's all that matters right now." She began to stifle her weeping, but some sobs still escaped her lips. She clung onto Aaron's shirt, enjoying the warmth of his embrace. Loud banging on the door jolted the two apart, Aphmau cleaning her face and Aaron putting his hood back on. She didn't realize it, but her face was as red as a tomato. Aaron's face was the same, but she couldn't see.

"Yes? You may come in." Aphmau called, and a drunken Laurance stumbled in.

"Aphhh.... MAU! Come ON! We're *hic* we're having a... a. a party! TO CELEBRate your return." He gave a goofy smile, not even noticing Aaron. Aphmau couldn't help it, and she burst out laughing.

"Ok, I'll be out in a minute." She gave Laurance a smile, and he gave her another goofy one. Closing the door, she heard him stumble back into the crowd, obviously not caring what he did. Aphmau turned back to Aaron and said," Aaron, thanks for that, I really needed it. And I'll explain everything at the meeting, ok?" She gave him one last smile before heading out of the room. He looked down and said," Sure. Anytime, my love."