Aries woke to the rays of the sun hitting his eyes. He pushed himself to the edge of his bed, rubbing his eyes.

  He pushed away his drowsiness an immersed himself into his act, drawing upon his early memories. He could emulate two emotions currently, Joy and Sadness, knowing that sadness wasn't currently appropriate, he delved into Joy.

  His lips curled into a smile and his cheeks became rosy. His eyes lit up with an innocent spark that had yet to see the flaws of the world.

  He jumped off his bed and opened his room door. He then walked into the bathroom and placed a step before the basin and stood on it. Taking up his toothbrush, he pulled open a cylindrical container that contained a white paste and put some of it on the toothbrush and closing the container. He wet his brush and began brushing.

  A few moments later, he rinsed his mouth and washed off his toothbrush, putting it up, pushing back the step, and exiting the bathroom.

  he walked through the short hall, ending up in the living room.

  "Morning Aries..."

  Keel looked at the young boy that had just walked in, a warm smile on his face.

  "and happy birthday."

  "Thank You!"

  Aries ran and jumped onto his fathers lap, hugging him.

  Wearing an apron, Amanda walked in from the other side of the room and leaned on the doorframe, smiling as she looked at the two.

  "Happy birthday Aries, come for breakfast I just finished."

  "Okay!"

  "Alright."

  With Aries in his arms, Keel walked into the dining room with Amanda. He sat Aries down before sitting down himself. Taking a bite of his food, Keel chewed and swallowed before asking:

  "Will the Lorels be coming?"

  "Yes, I invited them, the Gales will be coming as well."

  Amanda replied as she elegantly ate her food, a stark contrast to Keel and Aries who took after him.

  Keel then brought up another topic which Aries promptly tuned out as he had no interest in it and quietly ate his food.

  *

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  11:00 PM

  Aries exited

  with his family, each holding an Ice-cream and Keel holding a large box. The three began walking along the sidewalk, walking in a specific direction.

  After walking for a few minutes, they reached an open field with a table that was set up for a picnic. They packed out their snacks and drinks and sat down. Soon after, they saw a group of three approaching them.

  "Roan!"

  Keel jumped to his feet and hugged the red haired man.

  "It's been so long!"

  Roan hugged back with a big smile. Keel looked over Roan's shoulder at the other two beside him.

  "Hey there Sasha"

  Then he turned to the young boy beside her and pat his head.

  "How you doing, Noel."

  "I'm doing great! Where's Aries?"

  Keel pointed to the picnic table where Aries and his mother was sitting. Seeing this, Noel quickly ran over to him, leaving his parents.

  Aries looked to the small red haired boy running towards him.

  "Noel!"

  He ran towards him with a joyous expression. He exchanged a few words with him and they both ran around the field, chasing each other.

  ***

  In her fathers hands, Alice approached a field where two families were. Seeing the tall dark haired man, he put her down and pointed to the two children.

  "Go play with them, I'll go talk with your uncles. Make sure not to push yourself, you're still recovering".

  "Yes dad!"

  She then skipped toward the two playing boys. Noticing her, they stopped and approached her.

  She looked at the red haired boy. His fiery eyes complimented his rugged and wild look. He was Noel. She then turned to the other boy, he had short golden hair, he was shorter than her. Then, she looked into his eyes.

  They were… They were… They…

  As their eyes locked, the world around them drained of colour, everyone around them freezing as well. A golden thread emerged from their hearts and moved forward, reaching for each other. The threads intertwined with each other before reaching their bases and entering the others hearts.

  "Wh—"

  Alice grabbed the golden thread and pulled at it. A shock coursed through her being, the threads dissolving a few seconds later. She looked at Aries whose joyous expression shifted into a strange one.

  "Do you know what just happened?"

  ***

  Aries looked at the disappearing thread then at the girl that it connected to before him. He studied her for a moment, she looked like a normal girl but an orange, fire-like glow caught his attention.

  He walked toward her quickly, causing her to step back, and grabbed her right arm and pulled at it to get a better look. He saw the red, sun pattern that emanated the fiery glow and turned his attention to the girl.

  "Who are you?"

  His golden eyes seemed to pierce through her, staring into her very soul.

  Frightened, Alice tried to pull away, something about this boy filled her with dread and him confronting her about her identity only came to make it worse. She winced in pain as he tightened his grip.

  "Ah! That hurts! Let go!"

  She tried to push him away but his body refused to be moved, he was unnaturally strong for a child his age. Tears started to wet her eyes in reaction to the pain and fear.

  Aries held up her hand and pointed to the mark on it.

  "Were did you get this?"

  Still trying to pull away, she answered fearfully.

  "I-I… T-this… m-morning… B-burn…"

  Aries narrowed his eyes. "What?"

  Seeing this, Alice panicked and quickly tried to think of something.

  "O-oh! I h-have something I can show you."

  Aries tilted his head and let go of her. She quickly scrambled to focus on the tattoo and summoned the auburn book—the Codex— and quickly flipped to the page with the letter and handed it to Aries. He took the book and read through the letter.

  After reading the letter, Aries looked at Alice and thought for a moment.

  "I'll help you, if you agree to a condition."

  "What?"

  Alice looked at the boy in confusion. What did he mean by he'll help me? What condition?