"Yeah? And what, may I ask, is the difference between the love of my life and my soulmate?"
"One was a choice; the other is not."
While everyone was still asleep one morning, Ban woke up after a particularly nasty dream; a horrible memory. Without a word, he grabbed onto what little he had and left. He was going on a journey. A long, long journey to the south. No real reason; he just needed to be on his own for a while. Give himself time to forget.
Ban walked on foot for months, all the way down from Britannia across the Middle Kingdom into Malaga. When he reached the Far Sea, he threw down his bag and contemplated going back to Britannia. He'd been away for long enough. But then he remembered an oracle called the all-seer in a hidden temple in Thessaloniki. 'Why not?' Tossing his bag back over his shoulder, he headed to the rocky tropical seaside cliffs. 'Maybe he can tell me something interesting.'
It took the bandit a few days to reach the temple; those gigantic rocks were harder to climb than they looked. Once there, he went inside to find the sage already waiting for him. "Well, the sin of Greed; the bandit Ban." "That's me," Ban threw down his bag and went to sit cross-legged in front of the all-seer. "You've travelled a long way, my son." "Yeah," he scratched his cheek nonchalantly. "Didn't really have anything better to do so I thought hey, why not." "And why did you come all this way?" "No reason; just thought you might have something interesting to tell me."
The all-seer's eyes lowered onto the man. "You are suffering." This surprised but didn't shock Ban; he was all-knowing so obviously he'd know. Still, it was weird to hear that said out loud. "You miss her- Elaine." Ban's eyes grew then narrowed softly, gazing down a tad. "Yeah… I do, all the time." "She was a good first love." Something about this statement rubbed Ban the wrong way and it made his feelings known. "No, not "first love"; one and only love. Elaine was the love of my life." The all-seer's face didn't physically react; his stare merely stayed locked onto Ban.
"You are correct, my son; Elaine is the love of your life. But you have yet to meet your soulmate." "Huh?" Ban blinked confused. To his surprise, the all-seer smiled- a gentle, loving, knowing smile- for the first time. "You came to hear if I had something interesting to say. Shall I tell you something interesting about you, Ban the bandit?" "Uh sure?" He didn't sound so confident now. The wise old oracle waited for a second, taking his time before continuing.
"Skin white as milk, and chestnut hair; she smells of flowers. Far from here, in the Middle Kingdom, lives a girl; a woman. Soft and gentle, she uses magic with a warm hand. There, in the teahouse surrounded by books and roses, is your soulmate." Ban didn't know what to think right then; just gawking up at the all-seer with large eyes. 'Another woman? Another person to love? No way! Elaine was my one and only; I could never love anyone else. Not even if I tried.' But the all-seer looked so adamant, sincere, and honest that he felt compelled for the briefest of seconds to believe him. 'Still, it doesn't seem possible…. I don't want it to be possible.'
Feeling quite defiant now, Ban crossed his arms and gave a side-smirk. "I don't think so." "Why would I lie to you?" "I didn't say you were lying; I just think you're wrong. Look, I love Elaine; I'm still madly in love with her. It'd be wrong to love somebody else…. It wouldn't be fair to Elaine or them." "You do love Elaine, but she's not your soulmate." "So what? Who says I need to find my soulmate? I already told you; Elaine's the love of my life." "That makes no difference." "Yeah? And what, may I ask, is the difference between the love of my life and my soulmate?" "One was a choice; the other is not."
This caught Ban off guard. He never thought of loving Elaine as a choice; it just sort of happened, naturally. 'To even think that she wasn't my soulmate…. That was unthinkable,' Ban's head gave a hard shake. 'Still…..' "What's her name?" But before the sage could answer, Ban yelped a little and grabbed at the sides of his head. "No, wait! Don't tell me; I don't want to know! I refuse to believe that Elaine isn't my soulmate. And even if she isn't, I don't want to find out who it is. I love Elaine and that's enough for me." "Whether you wish it or not, you and your soulmate are destined to meet; your paths are entwined." "Well, how do I un-twine them?" "You can't. Love has chosen you two for each other."
Ban growled upset. 'This old geezer; and they call him all-seeing?' But, just like before, the bandit chose to express his frustration with attitude. Smirking, he planted his hand on his hip coolly. "Hate to break it to you, old man, but you and the universe are wrong. I'll do everything I can to stay loyal to Elaine's memory. I'll avoid teahouses like the plague; I don't even like tea." "One often meets his destiny while on a journey to avoid it." "We'll see," Ban's smirk grew. "We'll see."