*The Chronicles of F.R.E.E. Atania's Knight - Raquel Festow* Part 1

Chapter 15 - In Loving Memory

*Ruth Watson POV*

"Watson, slow down!" Hunter huffed, as he jogged to keep up with me as I stormed to the nearest petrol station along the quiet high street.
"How fucking dare she! 'Breathe'! And I'm going to fucking kill that Clara!" I snarled.
"Why did you need me to come with you to the shop anyway?" He asked, falling into step.
"I don't have any ID and you look older than me now." I snapped.
"I'm not buying a fifteen year old, with a glowing red sword, a pack of cigarettes." He joked.
I spun on my heel and grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him towards me so we were face to face. "You do not test me when I have a glowing red sword, understand?!"
"Y-Yes..." Hunter stammered in shock.
I threw him away from me and resumed my path to the petrol station.
"Jesus, I forgot how scary you got when you're angry." He said, rubbing his chest.
"Don't forget it this time!" I spat back.
We reached the petrol station and I took down my bag, opening it up and pulling out the brown bag with the money in it. I handed Hunter a fifty pound note.
"Get a lot." I said flatly.
Hunter went in and I waited outside at the corner of the shop. I watched a car drive in and park at the pump. A girl that looked familiar got out and started to fill her car up. I squinted. She had brown hair like mine, down to her waist, but she wore round glasses and looked quite nerd like. I silently watched her as she finished filling her car up and heading towards the shop, looking in her bag for her purse. She pulled it out and looked in the purse before sighing and heading in my direction.
I hadn't realised I was standing right on the corner next to the cash point and she stopped when she saw me.
"Er, have you finished?" She asked nervously, pointing at the machine.
"Oh, erm, yeah, I'm not using it. I'm waiting for someone in the shop." I said, stepping away from the corner slightly, further into the shadows.
She gave me a shy smile and stepped up to it, inserting her card and starting to press buttons.
I could see her face clearer now, and it hit me who she was. Booker. The girl from Narthwich who owned the book shop! She looked so well, and I couldn't help but notice she had an engagement and a wedding ring on her left hand. I smiled happily to see my old friend from Astrovia, and made a mental note to mention it to Green when we got back.
Booker pulled the money out and flashed me a kind smile before moving out of view. I looked down at the floor, remembering the day I hid in her shop to do some spying. I chuckled at the memory.
"I'm sorry, don't I know you?" Came Bookers voice. My head snapped up and stared at her.
She had come back round the corner and was facing me, her hand on the shoulder strap of her bag, and her face looking very suspicious.
I shook my head. "Nah, you must be mistaking me for someone else."
"No, wait. It is you! I would remember that sword anywhere!" She squealed.
'Oh fuck sake!' I thought.
"Watson! It is you!" Booker ran to me and engulfed me in a hug. "How comes they let you keep your sword?"
"How comes you remember me, first?" I asked back, extremely worried and deciding not to tell Rebecca I had been recognised again.
"Oh, yeah... That..." She gave me a sly smirk. "I didn't drink the wine they gave us when they were sending us home. I thought it was odd when they asked everyone in the village to come out and line up. Then this woman that looked a hell of a lot like Sugo, but old, was approaching everyone and asking if they wanted to join FREE, whatever that is, or go home. Those who wanted to join were taken away and those who wanted to stay were given a 'celebratory' drink." She cocked her eyebrow and gave me a smug look. "I'm not that stupid. When no one was looking I tipped my drink into the snow under my foot and pretended to do the toast along with everyone else."
"You sneaky bitch," I laughed.
"I take it you did the same?" She folded her arms and smirked at me.
"Uh, no. Actually, I joined them." I admitted.
She laughed. "I knew you wouldn't say no to more adventure."
I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah. You could say that."
She looked me up and down. "You haven't changed at all."
"That's what Realm Jumping does to you."
'Oh fucking hell, now I sound like Rebecca,' I thought.
"Do you see the others you saw in Narthwich?" She asked me longingly.
I nodded. "That's why I'm here now. I'm visiting them."
"Really? Can I come along? I'd love to see them all." She squealed.
I shook my head. "It's not a good idea. The leader of FREE is with me, she would go bat shit crazy if she saw you had kept your memories."
"But I haven't told anyone. Although..." She looked away, giving me a sheepish, shy smile.
"What?" I said slowly.
"I wrote a book about you all..."
I gaped at her. "Fuck off!" I said before I could stop myself.
"I have. But I keep it at home and read it to my kids as a bedtime story."
"What you trying to do to them? Scare them to death?!" I joked.
She chuckled. "They love it. They love hearing about the coffinhounds, duskwings and razorsnares. They especially like the main character of the stories."
Before I could ask who it was, Hunter came round the corner with my cigarettes.
"Here you- Erm... Hi?" He froze when he saw Booker, and obviously recognised her too.
"Hello, Hunter. It's good to see you!" Booker grinned at him and he gaped at her.
"She remembers?!"
"Don't tell Rebecca!" I warned him after nodding at him.
"Have you joined them too?" She asked him.
"Well, not until today actually." Hunter replied, looking very awkward.
"How is everyone else? Green? Ashdown and Sawyer? Hodgson? Goodwin?"
Hunter and I flinched when she said Goodwin's name. Of course she wouldn't know.
She noticed us flinch and her face fell.
"What happened?"
"She... She..." Hunter couldn't answer her.
"Sadly, Goodwin didn't make it. But we made special arrangements for her to come home." I said.
Booker gasped and her eyes starting brimming with tears. She looked at Hunter and pulled him into a hug.
"I'm so sorry." She said.
Hunter gave her a quick hug back before pulling away. "She's here with me. It's ok."
Booker nodded, smiling through her tears. "Yes, she will always be here."
"Is that your car?" Hunter pointed at her car parked at the pump.
"Oh shit, yes. I better go and pay for that. Here."
She gave us both a card.
"It's got my email and phone number on it. Please contact me when it's safe. I'd love to see you all."
I looked at the card and my mouth fell open. Doctor? She had become a doctor.
"Sure thing, doc." I smirked at her.
She beamed back. "Just a shame there are no potions here. Could do with them you know."
I nodded. "It's lovely to see you, Booker. Take care of yourself and the kids."
She waved and turned to go into the shop when I called out to her.
"Who's the main character in your story?" I shouted.
"It's you!" She shouted back and went in the shop.
Hunter and I exchanged surprised glances and started heading back.
I slipped my bag off and handed it to Hunter. "Hold that for a sec."
"Why?" He said as he took the bag.
"I need to put Dragonwrath away before anyone else recognises me." I said, slipping Dragonwrath off my back.
I took the bag back and slid my weapon inside it before placing it back across my back.
"Where's my change, you fucker?" I asked Hunter, putting my hand on my hip.
"Oh right, here."
I took it and looked for a pocket. Even though the dress had a load of zips on them, not one was a pocket.
"Oh fuck. You're gonna have to hold on to it for a bit."
Hunter chuckled and took my change back. "Sure thing, Watson."
We reached the front of the Cafe and saw everyone inside talking and laughing. Clara and Natalia were dancing while Rebecca was sitting watching them, finally dressed in her tan brown skirt and white shirt, with her arms crossed and a mesmerized look on her face. Sawyer, Perkins, Darren and Edwards were sitting with Xavier, looking at a phone screen that Perkins was holding up. Raquel was sitting with Green, Ashdown, Ryder and Dean and Hewitt. They were deep in conversation and laughing at what Raquel was telling them.
I sighed.
"This is what I miss." I said to Hunter. "I miss us all sitting in that tiny sitting room and all chatting and laughing like this. Sadly, this doesn't happen on Secrunerth."
Hunter nodded. "I missed this too. Time used to drag between our meet ups. When we all got together though, it was like we were still in Narthwich."
"Come on, lets go in."
I walked up to the cafe entrance and tapped on the door.
Dean looked over and grinned, coming to let us in.
"What you all been up to?" I asked as I stepped in with Hunter close behind me. There was strange, classical music playing that Natalia and Clara were dancing to. It wasn't really the best music to dance along with, but they seemed to be doing pretty well.
"Well, us girls are talking about Atanian traditions and the lads are watching YouTube videos."
"YouTube?" I asked. "Hmmm, I wonder if I can still get into my account."
Hunter and I went over to the lads, who all looked up at us and grinned.
"Wotcher, Watson!" Perkins said.
"What are you watching on YouTube then?"
"Gaming fails. Want to watch?" Darren said, chuckling a little.
"I was wondering if someone could lend me their phone so I can see if my old account is still on there?"
Hunter handed me his. "Use mine."
I thanked him and accessed his YouTube app.
The layout was completely different from what I remembered but I saw the log in icon and entered my log in details. My profile flashed up immediately and I slowly sank into a chair looking at all my old videos from before Astrovia. There was a video I did of my little sister, Creep, dancing, another of me singing with my mum, then a lot of videos from my antics in the local park with my friends.
I started to watch the video of my little sister dancing when the row of video recommendations caught my eye. In particular, a video titled 'IN LOVING MEMORY OF RUTH WATSON'. I cried out when I saw it was my picture in the video thumbnail and covered my mouth.
Everyone stopped and looked over at me.
I was sobbing, hunched over, clutching the phone against my chest with one hand while the other still covered my mouth.
Darren rushed over and put his arms around me.
"Baby, what's the matter? Babe, what's wrong?!" He said, his voice full of worry.
"They think I'm dead!" I wailed. "They made a video in memory of me!"
I felt Darren tense up and the music was turned off. A hand landed on my shoulder but didn't know who it belonged to.
"It's alright, Ruth. I know how that feels." Rebecca said, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "There's a grave in Neonia where I'm supposedly buried."
I looked up at her and she gave me a wry smile.
"Although we may disappear to them, they don't forget us." She said, quietly.
I nodded and looked at the video.
"Did you want to watch it?" Sawyer asked.
I looked at him and nodded. I looked down to tap on it but he took the phone away.
"What are you doing?" I asked, sniffing.
"I'm putting it on the bigger screen so you can watch it properly. Besides we would like to see what you were like before Astrovia."
"It's not going to be a pretty sight..." I warned him but he ignored me and connected it to a big flat screen tv above a framed picture of Rebecca's drawing.
Everyone picked up their chairs and turned them to face the screen, Darren pulled me to two seats, directly in front of it. They made the place look like a little cinema in seconds. Hewitt pulled down the blinds and Dean switched off the lights.
The screen lit up with the main title in white writing on a black background and slow, mournful piano music started to play. The words changed in time with the tune.