Chapter 6

When Gwen woke up there were several people looking at her. It took her several seconds to process what was going on but when she did she shot up from her position. There were a couple of seconds of confusion before her thoughts were in order. She had left Paria-Drae and was now in Naudis in some stranger's house.

There were four people looking at her. The woman she saw earlier. Two men, who looked to be in their thirties as well, and a woman who looked to be in her twenties.

Gwen rubbed her face in embarrassment and offered them a small smile. "Sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep here."

She gathered up her things which got messy while she slept and made sure everything was as it should be. The four didn't say anything and just kept looking at her. Gwen felt even more shame than before and her face heated up. They were basically leaning over her while she was sleeping and now they were just standing there as if she was an artifact.

After a couple of seconds, one of the men spoke. He had long back hair that was tied in a bun and wore overalls. He had a newspaper tucked in his pocket and had an overall scruffy appearance. But he was handsome nonetheless.

"How do you know Lucas Rickeys?"

Gwen cleared her throat. "He lives down the road from me. I've known him for years."

The other man, who was blond and was cleanly shaven and much neater than the other guy looked over at him. "He's been in Paria-Drae this entire time." he scoffed as if it was hard to believe.

"I would have assumed that he was on another continent but he was right next to us this entire time." the first guy said.

Gwen was confused but didn't say anything. The woman she met earlier spoke up, "I put your identification back in your bag. Now tell us, how exactly do you know him?"

"Well... he's been living in a rather unkept house for years and there are a bunch of rumors about him. Speculating who he is and why he's there but no one's ever really had the courage to talk to him. He's a pretty sour person."

"We are more than aware that Lucas is very hard to approach. So how did you do it?" the guy with the long hair asked. He seemed to not like Mr. Rickeys very much by the snarky way he spoke.

"I was a pretty gutsy child. So when I heard that he was an old gang member I immediately assumed that he knew how to fight and out of curiosity I asked him to teach me. I took it as a challenge when he said no and after a while, he said yes."

The guy let out a sharp laugh. Although Gwen did not know the full story between these people she still did not like the way his tone was.

"Jonah behave," the woman said and hit his shoulder.

"How long has that been going on for?" the blond asked. "Him teaching you?"

It seemed like Gwen was a specimen they were studying. She felt so small on the couch with the four of them towering over her.

"T-Three years."

"And you're really twenty-two?" he asked.

Gwen nodded.

"That asshole thinks that he can run away and then live peacefully in Paria-Drae and then think he can send his little apprentice here for us to care for. What a joke. Hey kid, tell me where you live." Jonah stepped forward.

The woman stepped forward and basically dragged Jonah back.

"Sasha let me go!" he demanded.

"Don't take your anger out on her when you're angry at him." she pushed him behind the group.

"What has he been doing all these years." a new voice spoke. It was gentle and belonged to the woman in her twenties. She was shorter than the rest of them and was a little chubby. She had short choppy blond hair and striking blue eyes.

"I'm not sure what he does for a living or how he even makes money. He never tells me anything." Gwen said.

"I still wonder how you were able to actually get him to talk to you. He must like you a great deal if he was willing to expose himself like this by sending you here." the blond guy said.

"Just tell us where he lives," Jonah spoke up again.

There was silence as they all looked at her anxiously, waiting for an answer. Gwen scrunched her eyebrows a little bit. She was not in the position to not tell them when she basically slept on their couch. But could she really sell out Mr. Rickeys like that? He had helped her. And he never told her about anything that would happen when she got to this house.

"I will tell you... but what exactly is your deal with Mr. Rickeys? He helped me get something very valuable and I don't feel right selling him out like this."

They all looked taken back at her answer. Jonah smirked a bit.

"Tch. It seems his little apprentice is not too timid."

"Well, why would I tell you where he is without knowing what you're intentions are. It seems like you have the illest intent here. I'd rather not tell you."

"Oh please, It's not like I could hurt him even if I tried." Jonah rolled his eyes.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Gwen gave him an amused look.

"Listen here-"

"Alright. Enough of this little quarrel." the blond guy said. "It seems like his apprentice is willing to protect his whereabouts so how about we not resort to any sort of violence."

"Keith is right." the blond girl said. "It's better if we stay calm and resolve this peacefully."

"Alright Anna, you and the boys go to the kitchen and let me talk to her. I think she may be a bit overwhelmed by all of this."

"She may be overwhelmed?! She came to our house and all of a sudden is mentioning Lucas. I think we are the ones who are more overwhelmed."

Sasha nodded. "I know I know. Just give us some time and then we will all discuss it together."

Gwen gave Jonah a look as he left and he glared at her. Once she was alone with Sasha, she took off her bag and rested it on the floor. Sasha sat next to her and Gwen turned to face her.

"Sorry about them. It's just that we've been trying to find him for years and it's quite a surprise that he's been in Paria-Drae this entire time."

"Who exactly is he? Every time I asked he would give me a vague sentence like, 'Someone who knows a little of everything and some more.' or 'Just a wandering soul looking for a good smoke.' or some other nonsense like that."

Sasha laughed. "Yeah, he is not really the most open person. Lucas is our father. He's been missing for twenty-four years."

It took Gwen a solid minute to process her words. "F-father. He's your dad."

Sasha laughed at her expression. "Yes, he is."

"He. Had kids. Him."

"As hard as it is to believe yes. He had all of us without mother."

"But he doesn't like anyone." the more the thought settled in the more grossed out she was. "That's disturbing."

Sasha smiled sadly. "Yeah, he was our dad. And for a while too. But when we were kids he left us. Got in trouble with some people. Apparently, he's been running some business for a while and the police found him. One day he was here and the next he wasn't. We've been trying to find him ever since."

"Mr. Rickeys seems too miserable and grey all the time. I guess it makes sense why he's like that. After losing all of this who would not be." Gwen gestured to the house.

"Yeah well, it seems like he does not want to see us no matter how miserable he may be."

Gwen was silent for a moment. "I can see where you're coming from. It seems like you want to find him and know how he's doing after all this time. It must have been scary, not knowing whether r not he was ok or not. But it seems like he's been staying away because that's what he thinks is best. He's always giving me little pieces of advice and life lessons. He's a wise man and I'm sure he wants to see you but if he's staying away then he does not want to bring his problems back to you guys. Can't you see that he's protecting you from that world?"

Sasha sighed. "I know, but I can't help but wonder how he's doing and if he even thinks of us."

"It seems like your brother wants to punch him more than anything else."

"He's Jonah's hero. Always has been. So when he left he was the most upset by it. Tried to find him for weeks but got nowhere."

Gwen felt bad. "Well, I can tell you that he's fine. He's fine enough to teach me how to fight and fine enough to smoke like six cigars a day without being dead yet."

Sasha smiled and sniffled. "Will you tell us where he is? Please. It's been too long since we've seen him and I don't think we can go on any longer now that you're here."

"For Mr. Rickeys to send me here, he must have known this would happen. But it's whether or not he expected me to tell you is what I wonder."

Gwen thought back to their last conversation. All he said was that they would help her. Nothing more. He really was such a cryptic person.

"Just tell us already!" Jonah shouted for the other room.

Gwen laughed and then sighed. "Alright fine."

Sasha's eyes lit up. The others came out from the living room and all crowded around her.

"Do you have a pen? I can write it down."

"Of course."

Sasha up from the couch and disappeared in the kitchen for a couple of seconds before she came back with a notepad and a pen. She basically shoved it into Gwen's hands. They all looked like they were basically vibrating with anxiety. Their hands were clenched and their expressions tight. 

"If I tell you the address I need you to do something for me in return."