A/N: The plot is set in the middle ages, supposedly. It is possible that I may have mixed up the way of living from other periods, since it's unimaginable that I perfectly portray the era as how it was then (because I was not in their position and only googled how life in the middle ages was like). I'd like to propose that you just think of this as my own version of that part of human history. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny.
Chapter 1: Ignited
He could not even start to count the stars. Looking up to his window, there was nothing that he could see. The thick clouds hovered high in the sky, blocking him from seeing the bright and twinkling lights. He could feel the wind though, breezing into his room, giving him the chills.
But even so, he did not pull up the blanket to cover his whole body. He rested his head on his palms as lay in his mattress and continued to stare at the starless sky.
He could not sleep yet again. This was becoming such a habit for him that he wanted to get rid of. Every night, he would force himself to get some rest. There were times that he would get lost in the land of dreams, but most of the time, he was just wide-awake and he would be like that until dawn.
Never ending thoughts came into his mind. It was as if the chain of thoughts were teasing him, taunting him of his deepest desires. He then wondered how his mind could possibly do that almost every knight, even when his body was extremely exhausted throughout the day.
He sighed. Succumbing to defeat that he would not get a wink of sleep tonight. Instead of letting that bother him, he let his mind wander to those thoughts that prevented him from entering into a deep slumber in the first place.
What do I want to be?
A lot of people have continuously asked themselves this very problematic and demanding question. They acknowledge that this is is something that is never easy to find an answer to, with the state of nakedness and fragility that a person is born into. In this world, where there is nothing concrete in store for them, only an influx of a great number of possibilities coupled with the human ability to be able to choose and to act how they ought to live their life.
It isn't something that is predetermined, that was a fact. Although it might be an easy ticket for people who have a hard time figuring it out, it would be such a waste if it were. For if it was true that everything was already established right from the moment that they breathed life into this world, then a person could no longer desire and strive for what they dream. It was that need for spontaneity that made life exciting and worth living.
Even so, given that life in the realm of spontaneity, it comes back to the very probing question and the start of an uncertain journey.
Luckily for him, he had it all figured when he was still a young lad. There was no need for all of that confusion and searching. He did not even get to the point of realizing the existence and the need to ask the question: What do I want to be? He already knew.
Call it the fateful meeting or at the very least, a meeting that happened by chance. But whatever it was called, that single encounter was all it took for him to comprehend how he would live his life from them on.
It was on that day that he met her.
Smiling from ear to ear, he recalled the series of events that lead to that one sunny afternoon that was forever etched on his mind.
He wasn't good in making friends when he was a kid. In fact, he was a very quiet and unsociable boy, preferring to just watch as the kids of the neighborhood play outside while he sat just by their window. His mother would always encouraged him to step outside of their house and ask if he could play with them, but he would always shake his head no, it wasn't an option for him.
It wasn't because the other kids were mean or anything. He never had the chance to talk to them anyway. He was too reluctant to even approach them. Adding to that the unfortunate incident that happened to him exactly two years ago, when he was only five years old, he had a rare disease.
That disease scared him so much when he saw it appearing on his body. On his right hand were blotches of red that itch so bad that he couldn't even think straight. All that he thought about was to scratch it again and again, but it didn't go away. He woke up the next day and the spots were all over his body.
His mother told him that he shouldn't panic, but he could not help but cry when it spread throughout his body when he woke up the next morning. How could he not? It got so bad that he wanted to scratch his whole body against a tree. Trying to console him, his mother told him that she also caught the same sickness when she was young, but in no time, the red marks were finally gone.
"Don't fret. It'll go away." He remembered her saying to him. He wondered though, if she was telling the truth or just trying to make him feel better.
Everything had been going smoothly after a few days, he got used to the red spots on his skin after a few days, and he was able to control his furious need to scratch it until the itching sensation was gone. Like what his mother told him, he stayed inside the house.
That was until there was a huge commotion outside. He was reading a book when he heard a lot of noise. He walked to their window and tried to hear what they were talking about. The royal family is here. He heard their neighbors exclaim.
His curiosity was on its peek. The royal family always seemed to be the topic of their neighbors, even his mother and father. They always described the royal family in a very positive manner. They were very regal and very virtuous. With the way that they talked about the family, he developed some sort of dream to be able to see them too.
With that in mind, he forgot about his mother's strict reminder not to go out of the house. His disease was infectious, which was why he should just stay inside or else he would infect other people as well, she told him. But all that slipped out of his head, only thinking about going out to see what everyone was fussing about.
Stepping outside, he could see that a swarm of people in the streets. Even with the hot sun blaring its rays and the humid air that enveloped the town, it didn't matter to the people. All that mattered was a chance to be able to have a glimpse of the royal family.
He wanted to see them too. What did they look like? Did they really wear gold and heavy crowns on the top of their heads? Did they ride glorious horses on their way here? Would they talk to them or what?
Unfortunately, it didn't go well for him. Their neighbor's son saw him and gasped at the sight of the red blotches that spread on his body. He screamed, loud enough for quite a number of people to turn to his direction and to panic. It seemed that a lot of people are not familiar with that kind of disease and started to be terrified, not just because the sickness might infect them and cause them their life. It wasn't that serious. He thought. Although he could not explain himself as the people shuffled and scurried away. For them it wasn't just about that, what was worse that the royal family might also catch this illness as well.
Almost hurriedly, they tried to shoo him away from the scene. From afar, he could see what the people referred to as the 'royal carriage' slowly approaching this part of the street. The people became frantic more than ever, unable to decide between pushing him away and refusing to lay their hands on him. They had to get rid of him. That was what he could make out with the discord going on.
More and more people were surrounding him, as if to hide him if the carriage went their way. Their voices getting louder and he was getting confused, as he was unable to understand what they were saying. As for him, he was getting more and more petrified. For a five-year old boy, it seemed like a swarm of bad wolfs he had read in his storybooks surrounded him, waiting for the right time to assault and devour him right there.
Hot tears were already rushing down his cheeks. He had been a bad little boy. If only he had listened to his mother, this wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have all of this dangerous glares and shouts directed at him. He was lost. What was he to do? At that moment, he knew that people didn't want him there. They wanted him to go away.
His mother arrived in the nick of time. Swooping him into her arms and rushing him back to the house. Once she put him down, she also dropped the basket that contained vegetables that he presumed what she bought from the market and went outside only to ask for apologies for the neighbors that he had frightened.
The carriage passed by. He could tell with all the shouts of the people outside. He couldn't bear to bring himself to the window and look at the royal family, for he feared that the angry faces would meet him if he attempted to.
The door opened to reveal his mother coming inside as if she had a very long day at work with the way that she sighed in relief. She turned to look at him with that very soft expression she had whenever she put him to bed. That was how he knew, that she was not infuriated with him. If it were his dad that caught the scene, he knew that he would be scolding him greatly.
She kneeled down to his level, gently tucking the loose strands of hair in his ear asking him if he was all right and if they had hurt him. He shook his head no and avoided his mother's gaze. They hadn't even laid a finger on him, but for some reason, there was a heavy feeling on his chest. At that time, it came to light to him, that pain didn't necessarily equate to just a physical contact.
His mother understood him perfectly and pretty soon was hugging him tightly, soothing him all the while. Everything's okay, you're safe now. She said.
After that incident, a rumor that it was a very dangerous illness might have spread throughout the neighbors that they avoided him immensely. There were even hearsays that what was on his skin was a result of supernatural happening. Black magic. They insisted. Ridiculous as it sounded, a number of people believed it to be true. Even after the red blotches on his skin had already gone away, their impression that he was a dangerous boy did not.
Just because of that illness, he became an outcast. Disgusted and frightened stares were always fixated at him whenever he went out of the house. It upset him so much that he just wanted to scream that nothing was wrong with him. He has not done anything harmful to them that he did purposely. Black magic, they say? It appeared more that their neighbors were under that horrid spell, rather than him.
He rarely left the house after that. These people around them, they were really cruel.
He convinced himself that he really didn't need friends. His mother and his father were more than enough.
Then that afternoon took place.
He was seven when he went with mother to the market. She had offered to buy him something, a toy or a book perhaps. He didn't really mind not having one, because it meant that he had to tag along, but she insisted that he come with her so he could step out of the house once in a while, saying that he was always sheltered in their home. He wanted to retort that she couldn't blame him, for there were real-life witches outside their house, but she didn't take no for an answer. Brushing his woolen brown clothing gently, they set out to the town plaza.
It didn't seem to be a bad idea at first, since he felt perfectly fine walking around the market and seeing new things. To him, this was really an interesting sight since it was his first time going to the market. It was a lively place. People were shouting and flailing their hands so as to make the customers interested in what they were selling. A lot of stuff that he had not seen or heard before were being sold in the market. Fruits, vegetables, meat, they passed that lane and he couldn't help but feel hungry at that sight.
The chess set that he had only read in books, he finally saw it for the first time. It was exactly how he had pictured it. There were all sorts of dolls for girls made from wood, clay, wax or cloth. For the boys, there were kites, balls, boats and wooden weapons as well. There were also stick horses that he saw some kids have been playing with the other day.
As he walked with his mother hand in hand, the vendors would often bring the toys closer to his face, and then turn to his mother, in the hopes that she would buy it for him. But whenever his mother asked him whether he would like to have one, he would shake his head no. In truth, with so many choices, he could not even decide!
His mother let go of his hand for a moment. She was deciding on buying the some kitchenware but could not decide if it was worth her coins. The vendor, in an effort to make some sales, told her that she could touch and examine the kitchenware.
She was so focused in scanning the tool that was on her hand, and it took a while that he was starting to get restless. He wanted to walk around the market some more.
He looked around, trying to amuse himself and distract him from his impatience. A crowd was gathering at the other end of the street. He didn't know what it was but it seemed pretty exciting. A boy that was near him dragged his own mother to where the commotion was. A group of kids his age were also hurriedly running to that direction as well.
He also wanted to go there. But when he tried to call his mother's attention, she was still too busy in scrutinizing the kitchenware and he could not comprehend why it took her so long when almost everything in the table looked almost the same.
It made it so impossible to ask his mother now. Figuring that he would just take a look by himself, he walked towards where the uproar was. Taking another step with his old leather shoes, he turned back and was relieved that his mom was still on that certain booth. He looked at both ends of the street for there might be carriage and horses that could run him over. When the coast was clear, he made a run for it.
Hurriedly, he managed to peek even with the number of people that was already blocking his view. This took him so much effort since he wasn't really tall in the first place.
Finally, he saw what everyone was fussing about, from what he read in the books that his father gave him, it was one of those ways of entertaining people in the town plaza. A puppet show!
There was a big wooden box, a size of an adult person that was painted with very bright and intricate colors as if to entice the people to watch. It had a rectangular hole right in the middle, the curtains were pulled to the side of the hole, and he knew that the show was going on.
Swaying gracefully while restricted to that small hole, the marionettes, also crafted by wood, continued to tell a story. It was a tale about a princess, knight and a dragon, fire breathing at that! Even in the books that his father asks him to read, some of them have a part where the four-legged beast makes it difficult for the protagonist to save the day. This was more amusing for him though, since with this puppet show, he didn't have a hard time imagining all the scenes of the story in his head since it was all laid out for him.
The tale continued. It seemed that the dragon caught the princess by wrecking into her palace. Although it wasn't for long, since the gallant knight, in his white horse galloped to the abandoned tower where the giant lizard refuged.
He wasn't able finish the tale as there was an accusing finger pointed at him, which distracted everyone that was trying to enjoy the show. It was the son of one of their neighbors.
"It's Athrun! Our dangerous neighbor!" His eyes were wide open, as if he saw a very different creature amongst them. "He's been cursed by black magic before!" He exclaimed while trying to show to the other people around them his utter disgust at his sudden appearance.
The confusion was evident in the faces of those who surrounded him. Unsure whether they should believe the words of a young boy, or to be concerned about what the kid claimed.
He could not even defend himself, even though he knew that these people were very much mistaken. It wasn't true. The part of him having the sickness was, but the rest, those are all merciless lies!
He was not dangerous at all; he didn't bring harm to the families near their homes. He had not been unlucky enough to be cursed by black magic! Besides, even though he was still a kid, he knew that an occurrence such, as 'Black Magic' did not exist. It was just how grown-ups tried to give explanation to things they did not know the answer to. It was an easy escape. After all, they refused to admit that they did not know the answer to a child's question.
"It's true!" The neighbor's son continued to convince them to stick to their former inclination. "His skin was full of red dots!"
"That reminds me," A spectator voiced out his thoughts, loud enough for everyone to hear. "… didn't the elderly tell us that those red blotches meant that something bad happened to the child affected?"
"That's right! So does it mean that this kid really is…" Another one sounded as if he was encouraging others to think that way.
"Cursed!"
"He's dangerous!"
"He must be!"
"They're right!"
"Stay away from him!"
A cacophony of voices that mistaken was all that he could hear. He then felt the agonizing stares of the people around him. The people around him started to distance themselves, fearing that they might be plagued with the same bad luck. There it was again, that feeling that people didn't want him around.
He couldn't remember who it was, but someone pushed him to the ground. There was a lot of clamor happening around him, and he had no idea what to do.
Tears were now threatening to fall from his eyes. It was a wrong decision to go on his own, without his mother. Or what if he wore a hat to disguise his face and to hide his hair, since the midnight blue shade was not hard to miss.
"You should just leave this town, you bedeviled soul!"
At that exact moment, she came into the picture.
"Stop right there!" A high-pitched tone from a little girl resonated throughout the crowd. Everyone stopped in scrutinizing the young lad and turned to the direction of where the voice came from. He also shifted his attention to the person who he deemed as his lifesaver.
His mouth instinctively opened wide when he saw her. It was a girl that appeared to be the same age as him. She was dressed in attire that he had never seen before. The fabric of the dress that she was wearing was a bright and a light shade of green as opposed to the dark-colored clothing that all of the people in the marketplace wore, that he figured that she was not from this place. Her blonde hair elegantly dropped just above her shoulder, complimenting her angelic face and hazel eyes. Who was this girl?
In contrast to him that looked like a wimp by helplessly lying on the floor, she carried herself in a very dignified manner. Her head was proudly held high, and he could feel her radiating her beaming presence in this crowd.
As she walked towards him, surprisingly, the people that surrounded him were making way for her by stepping backwards, he knew that it was not because they were frightened of him and the so-called curse, but because of this girl. She had a dominating aura around her, some of them were already kneeling down and he wondered why they did.
"Are you alright?" She held out her hand for him to take. He shook his head, telling her with his gestures that he was fine, that she didn't need to worry. But with her hand still lingering near his face, he knew that she wasn't convinced. Honestly, he didn't want to put his trust on her, but seeing that it was the only option for him right now, he obliged himself to do so. His hand finally made contact with hers and she pulled her up and stepped forward as if she was hiding him behind her.
Still holding his hand in hers, she opened her mouth again to talk, not to him, but to those that were picking on him a while ago. "You all are so mean! Why are you all being such bullies to this poor boy?" They remained quiet still when she scolded them. It was really a mystery to him that this girl could just say whatever she wanted to say and got away with it. Not even one person in this crowd told her to shut her mouth or to even treat her similar to how they treated him just a few moments ago.
When no one had the guts to stand up and explain why they did, she started to talk on the defensive side again. "Those red blotches that you were talking about, isn't because a witch cursed him! That isn't even true! The doctor that treated my dad before told me that it was called 'chickenpox' and that it was normal for a kid to have one!"
"We're very sorry!" One of the spectators apologized; his eyes looking away in humiliation, bowing his head lower all the more. Most of the people that glared at him a while ago all appeared ashamed with that they have done.
"Let's get out of here." She stated, pulling him with her. He did not even have the time to protest, partly because she was already dragging him out of the area of the crowd that tormented him just a few minutes back, but mostly, he felt like she would not take 'no' for an answer.
He was really grateful that this girl came in the nick of time. If she didn't, then something worse must have happened to him other than the shove that he got. What motivated her to even do that for him, he did not know.
He stayed silent as they continued to walk hand in hand. With the silence, his thoughts raced wildly. This mysterious, yet radiant girl coming to save him from the horrifying crowd, he wanted to get to know her more. He wanted to ask her a lot of things, to ask her why she did that, to ask where she came from, and maybe to ask if they can play after this, but even so, he could not even utter a word out. How contradictory it felt.
She kept dragging him to someplace that he did not even recognize. If this happened some other time, he might have been scared that a stranger was bringing him somewhere else. There was also something inside of him threatening to burst, and this wasn't like the time his mother rescued him from the angry crowd two years ago. This was different.
Happy. Yes that was what it was.
He was happy that even though she didn't even know him personally, she had stood out for him like she did. She even went as far as saying that the people were 'mean', which in his opinion, was very true. They were incredibly so, to the point that the only good people for him were his father and mother, with the way that other people treated him harshly.
But this girl, on the other hand, she was really kind. This unusual warmth that she showed to him, made him feel so much elated. Maybe she was the first person to treat him so kindly even when it wasn't even her obligation.
Why did she even do that? What did it matter to her anyway?
Even so, he felt very happy.
It was strange, the sensation that he was feeling. He wanted to cry and thank her senselessly, but refused to look even weaker than he appeared to be a while ago, seeing that he was the boy and she was the girl in this situation. He had to appear tougher, like the knights that he had read in his books.
When she let go of his hand, his mind stopped from wandering. He was surprised to find out that they had made their way out of the buzzing flea market. She sat down on one of the logs that was near them and motioned him to do the same. He said nothing, and took the seat next to her. He was able to feel the fabric of her dress; it bested even the nicest garment that his mother bought him. This girl that swayed her legs as she sat down this same log, maybe she was a daughter of one of the rich families around?
"But really, they're unbelievable! How could they even say and do such things to you?" Her hand was messing her hair out of annoyance. "And they really believe in witchcraft? What a joke! Even I know that witches don't exist! Sometimes grown-ups make children believe all these crazy things. Don't they?"
He nodded. He could not believe that she felt the same way that he did, although the difference lied in how she was more outspoken and braver than he could ever be, since all he could do was to remain quiet and let the people say all those bad things to him.
"Well, I guess you shouldn't really mind them." She advised him. "They don't really understand."
He sighed in defeat; he had been doing that for a long time now. It had been two years and their view hasn't changed even a tad bit.
When he was not talking, she was the one to started to engage in a conversation with him. "Do they…" Her voice trailed off, almost hesitating to whether she should continue or not, but she did anyway. Her hands were fiddling with the hems of her dress. "…always treat you that way?"
"Yes." He finally said a word to her. "Ever since I got had those red blotches on my skin two years ago. I was always avoided by everyone and when they saw me, they start to run away and feel afraid, which was why I stayed at home most of the time."
"But you had siblings to play with? Didn't you?" She chimed in, carrying her optimistic outlook on everything.
But he shook his head no.
"I see…" She shook her head, feeling sad with that knowledge that he wasn't treated well for a very long time, just because of something that wasn't really his fault. If she was in his position, she knew she'd feel lonely as well knowing that people don't want to be around her.
"Mother and father played with me though, when they had free time." He told her as if he was trying to console himself. The solitary expression never left his face though and she wanted to do something about that. She wanted him to lighten up a bit.
He gave her a queer look. They weren't even friends, and yet, she was planning to tell her something that should only be shared with people close to her. "You're going to tell me?"
She shook her head enthusiastically while flashing him a smile. "Of course!" With that, he felt his cheeks getting warmer. What was that all about? Was it because of the cute expression she just showed to him? Looking back at those days, he didn't know why he harbored that kind of sensation within him.
"But promise me, you're not going to make fun of me too, okay?" She held out her pinky finger to him, pouting when she did, while he just sat there, having no knowledge of what that even meant.
Sensing that he was unable to comprehend what she was trying to do, she grabbed his hand, folding his fingers to his palm, leaving his smallest finger untouched.
He felt his face getting hot again. Was this due to the contact with this girl? His mother always held his hand all the time, but never did he experience this bizarre feeling.
Wrapping her pinky finger in his, she finally said. "This is called a pinky promise. When you do this with another person, it means that you must never ever break the promise you made! Ever! Never ever! Okay? Or else, bad luck will come to strike you for life!" Her beautiful eyes were full of fire, burning with tenacity.
He nodded, finally understanding what she meant. Also frightened by the thought of having bad luck for the rest of his life, he gulped nervously. "Okay then. I pinky promise."
With that, she seemed satisfied and put her hands back on her lap. "So a few months ago, I had those red and itchy marks all over my skin, which the doctor told us that I had caught chickenpox…"
Chickenpox. So that was what it was. It wasn't black magic or anything like the neighbors have been telling him. She then explained how she even got the disease. So it was the same as his, he thought. For a few weeks, she was also not allowed to get near anyone because she might infect him or her, but after that everything was back to normal. She could play again, which was very different from what happened to him. He listened intently to every word that she told him, including how she got better, noting every detail so he knew what to do if, in any case, he gets chickenpox again.
She talked a lot, he noticed. But he actually did not mind. In fact, he was glad that she had so much to say. He was the type that was good at listening and bad at talking to begin with anyway.
"Were you able to watch the puppet show a while ago?" She asked out of nowhere. He marveled at how fast she was able to switch the topic of their conversation so easily.
He nodded. "I wasn't able to finish it though." His voice had the hint of sadness yet again. If it weren't for his neighbor that recognized him, he might have been able to enjoy and finish the show.
She became serious with that response of his, before talking again. "It's okay if you weren't able to watch all of it! But what was it about?" She inquired. Underneath the thin strands of hair that made their way to her face, he could see her eyes glinting of curiosity.
He looked idly at the fair market that was far from them and spoke in a low and reserved voice, since he did not want the pitch of his voice higher than hers. "The princess was abducted by a humongous dragon! It flew away even before she was rescued." He couldn't control his enthusiasm even though he wanted to. It was his first time to see that kind of show anyway.
"Princess?" He gave him a queer look, but didn't say anything further. To him, this was the cue to continue talking.
He nodded his head rapidly. "Then the kingdom was in a state of panic and fright, that was when a brave knight volunteered to save her. 'I will bring back the princess' he said, then rode off in a big horse to the forbidden tower where the dragon lived."
She had on an intrigued look on her face then. "Did the knight defeat the dragon and save the princess?"
He was about to open his mouth to respond to her, but a large and deep voice cut in.
"Princess!"
The girl beside him stopped talking, her eyes widened all the while. Was she… He looked at her, almost as if he was asking her to tell her, what that meant.
"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Standing before them, was a man that was even taller than his father. His grey hair was long and past his shoulder. He had on quilted coat and linen underpants. He was so large that he blocked the view of the town that he was looking at.
"Oh no! I've been caught!" She stuck her tongue out and appeared to have an expression that was same with what he had on whenever his mom caught him eating the cookies that she told him not to. It seemed like she was in a big trouble.
"What have you been up to?" The large man folded his arms and let out a huff of annoyance. "You told me that you'd stick close to me when we get here. I just buy some fruits and you've run off on your own."
"I'm sorry Kisaka." She scratched her hand and laughed nervously as if she was trying to lessen his anger. "I saw a puppet show and went to it, then me and my friend walked over here to have a seat."
Friend? Did she really mean that? That he was her friend? He could feel weird things in his stomach now, like something was fluttering inside. And this was not because his stomach was aching or anything.
The gigantic man just sighed in defeat. "You're really unruly, Princess, as always." To this, she just flashed him a smile.
"Well then, let's go back to the castle." He turned and was walked away.
His jaw dropped in surprise. This girl beside him was actually the Princess? Maybe that was why all the people around him a while ago couldn't even start a fight with her or even shout at her. That was why they were all backing away from her when she walked. How she walked ever so proudly with her head held high. Her beautiful clothing… How this man called her the 'princess' and told her that they would go back to the castle… Everything was summing up now.
This girl was a royal blood.
"Do we really have to?" She whined and pouted.
"Yes." Kisaka told her firmly and turned towards them again. "You have to get dressed for the party. You were given permission by your father to come to the market, but on the condition that you return for the preparations." He reminded her.
"So we have to go, right now? Can't we leave after a few minutes?" She asked him, hoping that he would allow that she sit a bit longer with him.
"Unfortunately we cannot." He shook his head. "We are a bit delayed in fact, because you ran off and it took me a while to find you."
She huffed and wanted to complain more, but realizing that it was futile, she finally stood up from the log. "I get it. I'll return to the castle."
But she turned back to where he was seated and very much confused. "I'm sorry, we have to go back now." She said to him, looking very disappointed that she couldn't stay longer. She turned to her left, then to her right, searching for words to say so as to make their farewell a good one.
"Ah I know!" Her expression then lit up. Her hands grabbed a hold of the necklace that adorned her neck and shoulder. With one quick swoop, she took it off; shaking her head when the thin thread of rope went passed her blonde hair.
He was not able to say anything when the necklace made it's way to his neck. "Take this." She said with a bright smile. "It's a stone amulet of Haumea. It'll protect you from danger!"
"Thank you…" He finally managed to say. His hand made its way to the amulet and took a look at it. It was a purple stone, shining ever so beautifully.
"I'm Cagalli." She took his hand without him expecting it and shook it enthusiastically. "You?"
"Athrun…" He managed to give her a sheepish smile and let her shake his hand as he pleased.
The man cleared his throat out of impatience. To which she realized that she was taking too long and ran to him. "Okay then, goodbye Athrun! I hope we can meet again! Then we can play." She bid him her parting words and rushed over to the large man.
They started to walk away and his eyes still was glued on him. He didn't know what to do and stayed put. Observing her from afar, walking farther away, he could not help but feel a bit down. Although she parted with those words, he was not certain if he would see her ever again. Would she come to the market again? But what if she came and he wasn't there? And of course, he knew that going to the castle to visit her was something that he could not do. The chances of being able to see her were very low, better yet, nearly impossible. He was saddened by the thought.
She then turned back to where he was. "Hope we can see each other again sometime soon! And remember, not all princesses need saving!" She giggled and ran to where the man called Kisaka was headed to, followed by a number of men dressed the same way.
He was about to raise his hand to wave back when another voice startled him.
"Athrun!"
It was his mother, looking very worried as she ran to where he was. Only then it occurred to him that he actually sneaked away from his mother to watch the puppet show for a bit but ended up seated in the log. She put down her basket, which contained all the goods he figured she bought. "I was looking for you everywhere!" She enclosed him into a hug and he could feel her heart beating wildly. It was no lie that she must have walked and ran to search for him. She was panting too. "Where have you been?"
Instead of answering her, which was the normal thing to have been done, he pointed his fingers to where the little girl was. "Is that the princess?" Of course he had to make sure.
She breathed deeply before answering him, he figured that she was also trying to see whether it was true or not. "You're right honey! That is the princess!" Her voice was full of amazement after a few seconds. "To think that she came here to the market today, what a very down-to-earth and cute little girl!"
He wanted to nod in agreement, but refrained from doing so. There was some other thing that made him curious, Kisaka and those other brawny men. "Who are those people with her?"
She let go of the hug and was caressing his head lovingly. "Oh those are knights of the princess honey. They protect the princess from harm."
"Protect her from harm…" He repeated his mother's words. "Those knights protect the Princess…"
"Yes." She nodded and gave him a smile and retrieved the basket from the ground. "Let's go home honey?"
He nodded and held her warm hand. On the way home, he kept thinking about it, about his encounter with the princess. His free hand made its way to where the Haumea amulet was, his fingertips carefully feeling the cool stone. Her words were starting to flood back like she was in front of him, saying it to him again.
"Stop right there!"
"You all are so mean! Why are you all being such bullies to this poor boy?"
"It's a stone amulet of Haumea. It'll protect you from danger."
She was a girl with a pure heart, he was certain of that. No matter how much he thought about it, she really went out of her way even when she had no obligation to do that for him. A peasant like him did not deserve that treatment, especially from the royal princess. But he had to point out that it seemed like she was the ray of hope in the sea of those mean people.
Officially too, she was his first friend. The first one who ever approached him and thought of him that way.
Even to the extent of giving him her amulet.
He wanted to do something for her, to return the favor. This was not because he felt like he was indebted to her with all that she had done for her. It was really nothing of the sort. As his friend, he also wanted to do something nice for her.
"Not all princess need saving!"
Then it hit him.
Those knights! His mother just told him that they protect the princess. He didn't see why he couldn't do that for her. After all, if he became a knight, then he'll be able to be with her all the time. A while ago, he had a hard time thinking about how he could see her again, and this was perfect.
"Mother…" He called her attention first. They were on their way home, crossing the streets and walking on the dusty ground. With the few people that were near them, he became cautious of saying what was on his mind.
"Yes honey?" His mother's ever so gentle voice, responded.
"Can I be a knight?" He asked bluntly.
He could feel her pause for a moment, taking in what he just said to her. "Hmm, a knight, honey? You mean like those men that were around the princess?" She waved to a friend that she saw and turned to him again.
He nodded. "Yes. I want to be like those men." It was with conviction.
"I don't see why not." She said.
Obviously, he took that permission seriously.
A smile crept up to his face again. It was one of his favorite childhood memories. That moment on, his outlook in life became more positive. Ever since that incident in the market, the people were treating him normally again, and he even started to make friends. No one ever brought up the issue of the chickenpox. So the princess' words made them realize just how harsh they were.
Now that he thought about it, if he did not even meet her that day, would he even be happy right now? Would he have friends that he could talk and laugh with? Would he even have confidence in himself?
That meeting with her was the start of the pursuit his dream. That fateful encounter in the market was all he needed to know what he wanted to become.
Her knight.
He knew that it was a hard journey to get there, there were a lot of things that he needed to sacrifice, time and effort that he needed to exert and determination to keep him going. There was a lot of rigorous training that he had to undergo. Fun and enjoyable moments that he had to forego to concentrate on becoming the perfect knight.
It was really going to be difficult, he knew, but everything that is worth it, never comes easy.
To become the Princess' knight, to always be by her side was the thing that he wanted the most.
In the dark, he lay in his mattress as he pondered upon it. This was probably the reason behind the sleepless nights. Becoming the Princess' knight… He could not get it out of his head. The urge to fulfill the dream was getting stronger and stronger each day. It made burned him that he could not be her knight even when he'd gladly volunteer himself any day. Things just didn't work that way. There were certain procedures that he had to abide with to warrant that kind of title.
When the royal family passed the streets, all he wanted to do was to go to her and start a conversation. Surely, she had a lot of things that she would tell him, and he would listen to all of it. He also desired to walk to her, along the path that she would take. He wanted to make sure that no danger would come near her. But of course, being the commoner that he was, he could not those things without creating a scene. He didn't want that, especially if it meant causing the Princess an inconvenience.
He could only look at her from afar, just like every other person with him there to have even just a glance of the royal family. Her blonde hair barely reaching past her shoulders was as bright as the sun. Her hazel eyes full of life and warmth that even the coldest bone of a person could never win against it. The way she moved elegantly in her carriage and the movement of her hand as she waved to the people outside made all the men swoon and wish that they were of some royal descent just so they could be at par with her. All the women and girls wanted to be like her; they idolized her so much that they refer to her as the "Goddess".
The queer thing was that he always thought about her. Ever since the day that he had met her. It just wasn't because of the inclination to feel indebted to what she had done for him. He knew somehow that it encompassed all that.
Her breathtaking and enthusiastic smile always etched on his mind. Her kind disposition never failed to give him a warm and happy feeling. The memory of that certain day in his childhood made him want to relive it again and again. It was crazy. For him, seeing her was the highlight of his days. When he did, he could not help but notice how she was getting more and more beautiful. There was also this hot feeling rising to his face and he could feel the beating of his heart becoming more and more rapid.
He tried to shrug it off, but failed. He could not ignore that feeling, not when his mind was always on the princess.
Everyday he would train. He would train in their backyard with a long stick, flinging it back and forth like a sword while imagining enemies trying to attack him. He would have sparring with his friends that dreamt of being knights as well. He would volunteer to carry buckets of water for their neighbors everyday, just so he could become stronger. He also took a run everyday to make his stamina stronger.
His father let him use their horse sometimes to let him practice. His mother on the other hand, would always cook something up for him to refill his empty stomach so that he could concentrate better. It was a good thing that his parents were both supportive of his desire to become a knight.
Of course he didn't stop reading books. He knew that the only way to be good enough to become the Princess' knight was when he had both brawns and brains. He always borrowed books from the town library, trying to finish as much as he can during his free time. From logic to science to literature, he read all that he could, even when he did not have a liking to the subject matter.
Knowing that it would help him become more knowledgeable and to add to his credibility, he enrolled in a school. It was hard on their family, to make ends meet and shoulder the expenses, but since he was such a diligent student, they pay less than what the nobles pay.
Now that he thought of it, he did have classes today. He hoped that he would not doze off though.
"Wait for me, Princess Cagalli." He muttered to himself, as sat down his warm mattress, seeing that it was almost time to prepare for school and to do his morning exercise. Inwardly, he wished that his words would reach her. "I'll become a knight so I can protect you."
Little did he know that fate was pulling the strings.
A/N: Done! How was it? Review please!