Maria Cries

“Lucia!”

“Nooooo!”

We both screamed as Lucia disappeared over the cliff. I froze in place as the sound of the roaring water filled the air. Why is this happening!? While I was shocked, Celes immediately went into action, and leapt into the river below to save her. The river, swollen from the earlier rain, washed them away in a second. How terrifying...

They went over a cliff. And you didn’t need to look down to know how fast the river was raging, because you could hear it. And just like that, they were over the cliff and gone. The river raged on in indifference. We had no way of knowing if they were alright or not.

“Noooooooo! Lucia! Celes!”

But I wasn’t brave enough to jump in after them. As much as I wanted to save them, I couldn’t bring myself to move. No matter how much I bluffed, I was still a coward... All I could do was scream.

“Sacred Maiden!”

“Maria!”

The ones who heard my screams and came were Ed and Fer, the people I least wanted to see right now.

“No! Stay away! Lucia! Luciaaaaaaa!”

“Maria, wait, it’s a misunderstanding! Listen to me!” Ed pulled me close as I melted down. I slapped and hit him as hard as I could, trying to get away. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you! Calm down!”

He pleaded, holding my arms down, but I couldn’t believe him. I had believed him before, and that’s exactly why I couldn’t do it now.

“Sacred Maiden, what happened to Lucia and Celestino!?” Fer called out to me.

At his words, I finally snapped out of it. It felt like I had just woken up.

“Lucia! Save Lucia!” I pleaded. “Celes, he— Go save Lucia!”

“Calm down! Where are they!?”

Calm down? There’s no way I can calm down. They fell. They fell down there, and it’s dark, and it’s cold!

“I, I, I didn’t mean to... What should I do— Hey, what should I do!? What if...what if Lucia dies! She fell in the river! The ground gave way...” I didn’t do a very good job of explaining in my state, but Fer understood enough. His face changed in an instant. Ed must have understood too, because he loosened his grip on me to try to calm me down.

As I pulled away, he wrapped his cloak around me. When I looked up in surprise, he just said I’d get a chill, in his usual gentle voice. Why is he acting normal? Why would he need to bother with me now? But that wasn’t important right now. What was important was making sure that Lucia and Celes were alright. At the very least, Ed and Fer coming might save them.

I watched hopefully as Fer held out his lamp and looked down the cliff, but I broke down again when his face fell.

◆ ◆ ◆

After that, everyone came running after hearing my screams. Eri-kun swept around the area with his magic, while Reynard rubbed my back until I calmed down a bit. I used my light magic to brighten up the area, but we couldn’t find any trace of them. What should I do? What am I going to do!

Back in my tent, I curled up under my blanket, shaking. In stories, this would be the moment where the heroine fainted in shock, but reality wasn’t that kind. Being conscious meant not being able to escape that fear. I just kept thinking, What if they never come back?

I’d be a murderer...

The second that thought crossed my mind, I froze up. I hadn’t killed anyone — anything — since I came to this world. I might’ve used magic to attack that pervert in Amarith, but I wasn’t trying to kill him. But now, the first person I’d ever hurt was my best friend!

I shook and cried all night, but that didn’t change the situation one bit. Once morning came, Gaius and Reynard climbed down the cliff to search, but... They couldn’t find a trace of them.