A/N: I am truly sorry for the hiatus. I was a blunt 17 year old who thought she could juggle highschool life with fanfics and fanarts. Now, I am clear in this story. And I hope you like the renewal. And I understand if some of you are angry at me.
Was it really a timely demise for her friends who clutched onto their prospects of life? Octavia wondered.
For the betterment of the future, the King, the Emperor, and their subordinates were willing to sacrifice everything. For the single thought of saving their people, though very few, they imposed an alliance their forefathers would have cursed them from the pits of hell. They have sacrificed so much. Yet, why was Octavia halting her golden blade?
"We'll meet each other somehow. I promise," her mother purred before curving her lips into a reassuring smile. "In exactly a decade, we will,"
Octavia looked back at her fallen comrades. Arthur and Arawn have fallen into a grievous death, ceremoniously in a pool of crimson blood. Hands that have miraculously interlaced with her spouse were Rhiannon's who had just taken her last breath. Octavia fluttered her eyes shut before glancing at the rest and gulped, as if to swallow bitter reality.
"Mother…" Octavia whimpered, eyes widening. "I am foolish," The sentence came with cracks in her feeble voice. Graceful hands met Octavia's cheeks. Gold eyes met blue ones, colour clouded by tears. "What have I gotten myself into?"
"Do it, my child," a whisper hushed Octavia's stammers. Her mother's eyes turned to that of sincere determination. "As the Imperial Strategist,"
The thing that annoys Octavia the most about her linage was the fact that they had strict mannerism in doing everything. Stand straight. Always remember to appear elegant. Don't take too much wine. Don't speak first. Let the others start.
Even though she craved to go home once in a while, share certain moments with her old few friends, she was rather grateful that she was finally able to live her life without any sort of barrier- just the way she wanted it to be. Free.
Cruel, it was- being able to rejoice while here you were, abandoning your own nation. However, Octavia couldn't care less about what the circumstances were. Now that Arthur was king, she was to, she evilly thought, use him as an escape route if any betrayal issue rose from her empire. Not to mention how relaxing it was to live in a land full of elves and humans whose minds weren't always infested with wealth and power.
In Albion, mornings were greeted with folk songs on harps. Almost every night was an opportunity for the people to spark their talents in public- be it music, dance or craftsmanship. She didn't have anything to worry about. No politics to ponder on. No war. No crazy country annexing. Nothing!
As Octavia nestled her head on top of a book, she opened her eyes to find herself squinting at the vast sky, half covered by the rustling tree leaves. The clouds were too little in doing their duty to shade the blistering sun. Stretching her limbs, she peeped downwards to witness the beauty of the Aletic Lake sparkling with sunshine.
Once having defeated the evil spirit, they came back to Albion finding it hit with a very hot and bright summer.
Poor Octavia was always stressed with a dilemma on summer- sleeveless tops to keep her cool or long sleeved tops to protect her skin. Palest among her group members, she was the most sensitive to sunlight. Sunbeams etched her skin! Summer was the time for her to stay indoors! Also, in Albion, it was irritating for her in the sense that it was really impossible to not spot her from a mile's distance.
Everybody in Albion was so close and rough and loud and bright coloured, she found it difficult still to adjust to this community. Super light coloured hair. Really blue eyes. Pale skin. Poised moves. Quiet. Bookworm. From the Empire.
'I don't care anymore,' she thought as she found her giggling friend, Morgan, slowly approaching her. In her clutching hands, Octavia could see a brush dripping vivid red paint.
"Ah," A sinister mumble escaped the blonde's mouth. She rolled over to her side as she buried her face into her book. The whiff of the book's old parchment paper could have knocked any normal person off to dream about its stories of Elfish Tradition. Octavia crinkled her nose in disgust. What a stench. "I'm afraid I have the-" She peeped at the book. "-Perlup… sikis…"
Morgan neared her as she muffled a grunt. Her towering figure shaded the sun in Octavia's delight. Huffing, she thumped her foot on Octavia's bum. "Can you go hunting with that?"
"Uh..." Octavia curled herself into a ball as she heard her friend starting to crouch behind her. "Rhiannon said that it's best I rest," An awkward silence.
"You made that one up,"
An exasperated sigh fell out of the blonde's mouth as she rolled over again to lie flat on her front. "I just don't want to go hunting today…" Morgan curtly responded with a tut. Familiar sounds of clanking arrows caught Octavia's attention before she felt something sharp poking at her bum. "Stop it," she said, trying to toy the pointy arrow away without exposing her face. "You're acting childish, Moo-gan,"
"Look whose talking, boar dung," Morgan grumbled and finally lay down beside her. "I can see that this weather has drained all of the energy in you. And left you with just enough to stroll, eat and read," Heat rose to Octavia's cheeks. She promptly shifted her head to meet Morgan's eyes.
"That's not true,"
"Oh?" The greenhead rested her head on a fist, baring the red dots she had creatively painted on each knuckle. Now that Octavia was close enough to actually examine Morgan, she suddenly noticed the obscenity of her friend's clothing.
Now that the hottest season has been summoned to bake all of humanity, naturally everyone would be sweating even on their laziest days. Aside from the half tunic and underwear to prove of Morgan's provocative style of fashion, them being drenched in sweat has just further deduced how Morgan couldn't care less if she was walking around naked.
Octavia couldn't help but place her opened book on Morgan's chest. "I know you like to be masculine but that doesn't change the fact that you possess the body of a woman,"
Tanned cheeks became red. "If it bothers you so much, stop looking at them, you pervert!"
"Pervert?" Octavia made a face, shutting the book away. Coolly, she smiled. "On the contrary, it doesn't bother me at all," Their eyes met- one was cool and one was indescribably flustered. Morgan silently crossed her arms. The blonde blinked, wondering whether she had gone a tad too far on teasing her friend. She tried to contain a chuckle. "I bathe,"
"What?"
"I don't only eat, stroll and read. I bathe too,"
"You do?"
"How do you think I keep myself from smelling like a green haired friend of mine?" The blonde stifled a chuckle. When Morgan got the hint, she furrowed her brows with an irritated look. She sat up and slouched. "Oh. Apologies, Morgan," Straightening up, Octavia lightly patted her friend's shoulder. "I'll stop with the teasing now. I'm sorry. Forgive me… Morgan?"
The tomboy twirled the brush with her fingers, frowning at the dried up paint. She placed it on the grass. "Now that I think about it… You've never gone to a bath with us, am I right?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"You," Morgan flailed her hands, fumbling at her words to explain. "Perhaps it's due to the fact that we have never invited you. Me, Llyr, Rhiannon and Limwris- we always bathe together. At the common bath,"
"Ah," Octavia averted her eyes to the brush. "Well, yes. I am fully aware of that,"
Morgan bit her lip and closed the distance between them. She let her thoughts fall out of her mouth. "I- uh- We're sorry. I mean. We-"
"No, no, no," Calmly, the ex-noble shook her head and reached out for the brush. She dabbed the dry red bristles on her wrist. "I've always enjoyed my baths alone. So I wasn't the least bit slighted or anything," A smudged circle formed on her wrist and Morgan happily grinned.
Gazing with a blank expression, it crossed the blonde's mind how this sort of conversation had occurred several times before. Many fellow friends found themselves guilty for having Octavia experience such solitude growing up into a young adult when really, Octavia found loneliness an unpopular virtue in the pursuit of true relaxation- let alone calming the mind in hectic times.
She just never understood why being alone was always associated with being lonely.
"Let's go together one time. With all of us," exclaimed the rumbustious woman enthusiastically. Octavia shrugged. "For heaven's sake! It won't be half as awkward as you think it would be- if that is what is stopping you,"
"I'll think about it,"
"I won't allow you to! Make it a promise. This Thursday night," Morgan got to her feet and offered a hand. "Make it payback for all those teases," Slightly unnerved, Octavia clasped her hand as she helped herself up.
"Only because you will pester me with more hunting requests if I don't," They grinned and made their way to the forest gates.