Over the next few days the old man really did keep testing him day and night and his training with Shin was finally starting to improve. On day four the Old Man and Shin came to him and asked why he didn't tell them about his promise to Leo. Confused he obviously asked them what they were going on about.

Apparently, Leo found out where and who he was staying with and went behind his back and told them. He obviously corrected that he hadn't promised the boy that he'd go, only that he would if he could and if he wasn't busy training. His two teachers looked at each other and then back at him.

They insisted he take a day off and go, said it'd be a good opportunity to meet a current Magic Knight. He was definitely not happy about this, but Shin told him to think about it as more personal training to test his progress. Sighing he gave in and went to change.

He stopped by their usual spot, just in case the boy was waiting there for him. When it was clear he wasn't there he continued towards The Old Church. By the time he got there the Carriage was pulling away and there were three knights standing there. Leo happily ran to the female knight and they embraced for a minute.

"I have a friend coming over today to meet you, Sis. He's a really nice person," he heard Leo say and he sighed. Not wanting to ruin their reunion he waited until they headed inside and took a deep breath. He gets the sister, but what was with the other two accompanying her? Body guards or maybe a boyfriend and a partner?

After a few more minutes he made his way to the door and knocked hesitantly. He heard Leo yell that he'd get the door and a moment later it opened. Leo smiled up at him and he sighed.

"I'm here, yah little sneaky rat," he muttered. Leo laughed unfazed and led him inside to the sitting room. When he saw the sisters face he paused. It was her, the Knight from the other day. The sister laughed and waved politely.

"Well this us a surprise. I didn't expect to see you again, Coward," she teased and he rolled his eyes, "I thought you were childish for your age, guess it doesn't surprise me you hang out with my brother."

"Well, actually your brother kind of clung to meet after we met a few weeks ago. He's a persistent kid," he replied. Everyone looked between the two of them confused. It was the Church Lady who asked how they knew each other.

"We ran into each other at the market in town," was all she said. He got the feeling she didn't want them to know she's been in town for a week.

Changing the subject, Leo interjected saying, "He's not a coward at all, he's been training to be a Knight like you someday." The boy stuck his tongue out playful at her.

"Seriously, You? You really want to become a Knight? How do you suppose you'll do that if you can't even stand the sight of a gun? You do know to be a Knight you still have to pass regular guard training, which means you'll have to use a gun in at least one training exercise," she said seriously and he sighed.

"I told you, didn't I? I've been working really hard on that. I know it won't be easy, but I have to do it. Nothing worth it is ever easy. Give me a year and I'll prove you wrong," He said getting defensive.

She just made his mind up for him. He's been debating on it for days now and he admitted to himself already that The Old Man was right. Becoming a Knight would, in fact, be the easiest way to find who murdered his village and why. He decided he won't be called a coward again.

After that the others shifted the conversation onto other things and he learned a lot about Leo and his family. His sister has been trying to track down their Brother and Uncle for a while now, but hasn't had any luck. The two other Knights with her were indeed her partners, in a work sense. The fact they were here with her told him that she wasn't here for just for a social visit, but he didn't voice that theory. What she said instead for her brother's sake was that they just wanted to meet the brother she always talks about and wanted to see her home town.

Moving past that, eventually Leo let it slip that he actually lost his parents and sister in a fire as well. Confused his sister, Anna, obviously asked him about it since he told her they were killed by guns. Had he known who she was and that Leo knew her he would have told them both the same story, but it was too late now. He grew uncomfortable, but admitted they were shot down and the fire was set to try and cover it up.

"I haven't heard of anything like that happening anywhere near here in a long time. Not since 7 years ago when that terrible incident happened in.. Lough, I believe that village was called," The older church lady said.

"Yeah, now that you mention it I do remember that when I was younger. I think it's probably one of the reasons I chose to become a Knight. In order to keep tragedies like that from ever happening again," Anna said. Her partners agreed that everyone knows the story of Lough Village.

He wanted to change the subject and avoid having to talk, because his throat was tight and he knew if they asked he'd tell them every horrible detail and didn't want to ruin the mood. He was glad though, that his village was remembered even after all this time.

"Lets change the subject, this conversation is really depressing. How is your work as a Magic Knight going? Do you still like it and are you still having fun with it?" The old woman asked. The conversation went to her adventures and he slowly calmed down, though he didn't talk too much after that.

To hear people talk about "The tragedy" of his village, so easily, hurt. Even if it meant no one has forgotten about it. It's not that he's ashamed of being a Lough survivor, he just doesn't trust that news will go over well. The people who attacked Lough could come after him. Not to mention all the people will ask questions like, "why you?" or "Why didn't you save anyone else?" It's not like they'll accept the truth that he was just a boy and that he had no idea he had these powers until it was too late. He also didn't want to see the pity on everyone's faces.

The rest of the day they spent playing around with all the kids and just having fun. He eventually relaxed too. After dinner almost all the kids passed out from playing too hard and it ended up being him and the other four adults.

"So, what really brought you back home, Anna? I know you've been in town for at least a week now. I assume that means you are here on business," The old woman boldly said. Curious he obviously listened for her answer as well.

"Strangely enough we got reports that a man has been traveling to all the towns in the area asking about Lough. He claims that a young homeless boy appeared on the streets after the event 7 years ago. He's apparently trying to track that boy who may be a survivor down, though it's unclear to us why.

Our superiors obviously took an interest in this. If the man is right and there is a survivor, then maybe that boy can tell us what exactly happened. Of course there is also a chance this man could be one of the attackers from that night, so we have to take that into consideration," Anna said.

"Well, that was part of our mission. Our main mission was to take care of a creature that's been hunting live stock. Though we did get orders to look into the Lough thing too," One of her partners, Mark, said. He made a mental note to look into that rumor himself and decided to change the subject again.

"By the way, Anna, I've been wondering something. Leo mentioned that you use plant magic, can you also use the elements combined in it, like water or earth?" He asked.

"Good question. Surprisingly I can't. Its weird but no matter how much I try to separate the elements it just doesn't work. Maybe it's because using more than one type of magic is rare," she said.

"You mean it's rare to use magic separately, as well as to combine them together? I wonder why it works that way," he mumbled.

"I mean there are a lot of different kinds of magic that fall under the main elements, such as lightning falls under the fire category, but to try to create lightning from fire is impossible. Same goes for plant magic. It's considered an earth magic, but as you said water is also a component that makes up a plant. However, if you just mix water and earth all you get is mud, right? So it's hard to combine or breakdown any type of magic," she said.

That did make a little sense to him actually. So that's why combining his elements doesn't ever really work. As he considered everything she said he was silent and let them continue talking.

Eventually realizing what time it was he said he'd better head back home and Anna actually offered to walk with him. He figured she probably had a reason for it, but he shrugged and let her follow if she wanted to. She was quiet as they walked and he didn't mind it, though he could feel the other two trailing behind as well. He glanced at them out of the corner of his eye.

"Just ignore them," she mumbled and he could hear in her voice she was annoyed they were there too. What did she want from him that made her actually follow him anyways? "Listen, I - I know my brother can be really clingy at times and he tends to trust way too easily. So tell me, do you really even like my brother or is he just being stubborn and bugging you?" She asked after another few minutes.

"Well, to be honest, he was a damn pain in the butt and he bugged the hell out of me. However, I've grown to like the kid. He can be stubborn, true, but I'll give him credit for not giving up. He's very fond of you and looks up to you, you know. He brags about you being a Magic Knight and about your powers a lot," he said glancing at her out of the corner of his other eye. She smiled and sighed.

"I'm aware of that. Are you serious about being a Knight? I mean you hate guns and I'm sure you've seen enough violence in your life," she mumbled and he sighed.

"I want to find the people who killed everyone I loved. I can't do that as I am now. The only way for me to get out in the world and start looking is to become a Knight," he said, "Believe me I'm not out for revenge. At one point I suppose I did, but after 7 years I've learned to let it go. All I want now is to ask them why and if it was worth it." She stopped walking and he turned to face her asking what was wrong. Her face looked like she had a terrifying realization.

"I had my suspicions all night, but after hearing what you just said I'm sure of it now," she mumbled. He obviously asked her what she was talking about. He didn't think he said anything weird or out of the normal.

"Lough," was all she said in response and his breath caught. Shit, he realized what he said as soon as she spoke. Guns, Fire, 7 years ago, it all pointed to Lough. They stood there staring at each other for a long moment. He had to calm down, she has no proof, maybe he can turn it around.

"What about it?" he asked trying to keep calm and started walking again. He had to brush her questions off somehow. It might be different if it were just her, but the other two were definitely listening in too. Did they also suspect this, is that why they all came along?

"It's best you not play dumb, okay. Your reactions every time it was mentioned tonight and the fact you lost your family in an attack 7 years ago tells me everything. You're the boy that Man's been looking for. Your actually a survivor of that night aren't you. The rumors really were true," she said and he sighed.

"Don't be ridiculous, I mean how could a kid survive an attack like that, when adults couldn't even escape? It's just a coincidence that my family was killed the same year," he said and she stopped him from walking. She's obviously not going to let it go and isn't going to believe his lies.

"What happened to your village, why won't you speak out and tell people what happened?" She asked and added,"I know I'm right. Every time someone mentioned Lough tonight you tensed up and got a tortured look on you face. You went completely quiet and the attack on your family is exactly like what happened in Lough. So just tell me the truth already," She said. His body tensed and he felt tears brimming his eyes.

"It - It was a massacre okay. It happened out of nowhere and there were so many that there was no time to get out. They - They were Knights and Guardsmen and they drug people from their homes and killed everyone," he said yanking his arm away and balling his fists to keep from shaking, "And me the only survivor, because I just happened to have magic that protected me from the flames. You should have let it go, you have no idea, not one clue what really happened in Lough that night."

She just stood there staring at him in surprise and the other two who had joined them now looked just as surprised. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. As she tried to process everything he told her, he paced to try and calm himself down.

"You're right I had no idea. If it's true Knights and Guards were behind all of that, then I understand why you've kept quiet about your identity. If the corrupted men were to find out, they could come after you and it would be your word against their own. That makes me re-ask the question, Are you sure you want to be a Knight? It'll be like walking into the lion's den," Mark asked. He nodded firmly and they looked at each other.

"Alright. You said you'd be ready in a year right? Then I'll wish you luck and we all three will vow not to say a word about you to anyone. I look forward to possibly working with you, Jax," Anna said and the other two nodded in agreement.

He trusted Anna, but he wasn't so sure about Mark and Ian. Regardless they all know so there isn't much he can do about it even if they do talk. Once they parted ways he finally headed home to rest. The day had been a really long one and he was exhausted. However, when he got home an attack from Henry came as soon as the door opened. He caught the old man's foot.

"I'm really not in the mood right now, Old Fart. Good night, I'm tired," He said and headed straight for bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow his eyes closed instantly and he drifted off.