Reacquainted
Graham Cray/Elenor Silverberg. "Humans are the fools of this world. And being a human, you are no exception. And neither am I..."
000
The dust crumbled and the ground roared around Graham Cray. A man known for the atrocities that he had done against the soon to be Island Nations, was more or less not frightened, and he had a good reason for it.
Graham dusted himself as he got up from the debris of an imminent exploding fortress after the crushing loss of the Great Tree against their leader, Lazlo.
Truthfully, he thought, if he was to die today, then so be it. Death was something that danced around his head and taunted him like sweet abyss ever since the damn Rune of Punishment destroyed his life.
Ironically, it was the same rune that would goad him to continue living and end up destroying half the continent of Illuya. The Rune of Punishment's attraction was menacing and it called to him as if the rune secretly wanted people to pursue it, yet he couldn't tell that to Elenor.
He could never appear weak to her; he would rather have her dead and no matter how low he sunk from his position, he wouldn't want to hurt her that bad to know that he had failed her.
It was the desire, the taste of the rune, that succumbed even the best of people, especially when that rune taunted him and flaunted how it could refresh and relive the times of his son again and again. In the end, he made up his mind and his only response to her was:
"Humans are the fools of this world. And being a human, you are no exception. And neither am I..."
He hoped she would understand. He hoped that she would know that there are things better left unexplained than explored, but she was the persistent one; a trait he greatly admired.
"Good grief... is that the best conclusion you could draw?" she said with that decisiveness. He could never really tell what was on her mind. Even when the hairs of his head had turned gray, she managed to have this compellingness about her. "Looks like I'm going to have to train you all over again from scratch..."
From scratch, he thought. And when the walls are crumbling down, danger at it's finest, and Lady Elenore wanted to train him? She may have been a tactician, but what a silly thing to say.
"Hmmph..." He huffed all to familar, like the old apprentice not knowing a damn thing she had said. Quickly, he averted his gaze when a smirk developed on his face.
"Humans," she continued, walking closer as her heels clicked against the hardened rocky floor, echoing closer and closer. "Are creatures with dignity, compassion, and forgiveness..."
Elenor continued to approach him, but something about him told him not to move. She continued to close the gap with space as close to his body that he could feel his breath tickle her hair but he remined his faraway glance. How he remembered her body...how it felt like before...
"Forgiveness..." he responded emotionlessly, trying to throw off his thoughts. "How could you justify all that I have done to the people of this place?"
He felt a stroke upon his cheek. A feeling he had felt a long, long time ago. The same touch they shared, that bond they had developed rekindling...
She began to speak afterwards, "The actions you, the Scarlet Empire, have been all but forgiven. But... have you forgiven yourself?" Elenor knew she had hit a vein when he fidgeted but continued to remain in place, and so she silented waited patiently; knowing deep down within his hardened facade was the same apprentice she once knew and loved.
Graham snarled and grabbed her wrist from his cheek but could not dare to push her away. She was not afraid nor conflicted to be near the same man who betrayed her, sabatoged her, and tried numerous times to kill her; and nevertheless the destruction of the fortress.
It sinked into his mind as he chuckled, remembering the true reason why he had admired her so much before. Now, he began, was it her sheer stubborness to go head-on with the face of danger, the calm demeanor that rivaled his unparalleled, stoic facade, or her finesse of tactical prowess that drew him in?
...Or was it something more than that?
He relinquished his grip and decided to face her. To his surprise, in a moment he had lost to those eyes as he had tried hard to simulate the woman in front of him as nothing more but the muderer who took the life of his son and not the Rune of Punishment, but he had failed and his pretense lowered.
"You are as beautiful as ever, Lady Elenor." he slipped with a straight face yet somewhat relieved at his mess-up. An urge told him otherwise but he continued with hushed momentum. "I..." he said with a great pause, a fleeting fire, "I've always loved you too much for my own good."
There was silence even as destruction reined across, around, and within the fortress, but Elenor remained right next to him and wrapped her arms around his body. He could no longer contain his emotions and used not the possessed man but his true intentions as he returned the hug.
Ending the warm embrace, he took another good look at his once beloved master before passionately kissing the lips of the woman that his flesh missed dearly in almost two decades, too long. He could no longer resist it; she was his true Rune of Punishment.
Secretly, he smiled from within, a part of him saying it wasn't too bad to be a human no matter how much he would never admit, or maybe he would relearn how to, because Lady Elenor wasn't only an extraordinary tactician but a woman with fiery determination... but, he would never tell her that of course...
As the walls collasped and the rocks flew, death no longer mattered as long as both were reunited as former apprentice, teacher, and lovers.
000
Author's note: To be honest, I personally believe they escaped together. I have this feeling that Elenor did think this through for she is a genius tactician and wouldn't just mindlessly die at Fort El-Eal. And for some reason, it kind of reminds me of Suikoden 1 where Barbarossa and Windy leap from the palace and into their deaths. Further ado, their bodies weren't found. What do you guys think?