It would be inaccurate to say he hated her.
She had helped him, trained him in his earliest steps. Under her firm but merciful guidance, he learned to pick up and wield his sword. Later on he would learn that her brusque, harsh attitude masked hands that picked up fallen blankets and covered his sleeping body and eyes that looked on with concealed affection and glowing pride. Under her (extremely subtle) recommendation did Captain Lowe take him into his tutelage…and, barely one moon passed after that before she vanished.
No explanation, no trace, no body. He had been too stunned to even feel grief.
Their parents had never been the same after that. His Lord Father, who had rested all his hopes on her to inherit his lands and name, was shattered. He buried his sorrow in work, barely coming to a home that wasn't home anymore. His Lady Mother never lived again. She breathed, but her bare existence was not a life. It was a twisted sense of relief he had felt when she had finally closed her eyes, for he knew that her wretched life of misery was to be no more.
He did not cry for his sister, because she would not have liked that.
He instead focused all his energies and the crumbling grief into perfecting hiss blade, dragging his tired ass from bed at every crack of dawn. His desperate sense of loss and frustration, he quelled with training, duelling, and exterminating the demon vermin that threatened his home. All the sword techniques he learned from her (that he could remember), he mastered with endurance and exertion, enhancing each skill with his own style and strength.
When Penensio, a rather taciturn fellow of the Red Cross Guard offered to train Elsa's younger brother in the arts of rune crafting and magic to infuse with his swordsmanship, he had declined. His sister had been dedicated to knighthood, with determination and absolute certainty. Magic was intangible till it escaped its caster, unstable, and dangerous, everything she would not have stood for. At least with a sword, he could put it down. He would not impose the risk of having magic.
He mastered himself. It took an exasperatingly long time, but his petty squabbles with Aisha settled into chivalrous helpfulness and amicable camaraderie. His changed behaviour earned him approval from Rena, a familiar kinship with Raven, who had also become proficient at his blade through discipline and honour, who often taught him new skills and engaged in friendly duels.
Even Eve acknowledged him. ("You have come a long way from the imbecilic blockhead you had been when we first crossed paths. I am glad that I am your 'friend'.")
He was no longer a knight by name alone. He was a Lord Knight, an exceptional title given by the Velder Garrison Centurion herself! Vanessa was not easily impressed, and rarely acknowledged such respect to outsiders. It was an honour he accepted with joyful pride. A Knight had to sacrifice the right to personal satisfaction to unselfishly serve the welfare of his people, but through his exalted and selfless deeds, he believed he found his place in this chaotic world. His elders respected him, his peers envied him, ladies swooned in his presence (that was something he did not fully know how to handle, however), and his comrades trusted him with their lives.
Looking back to when he was a hot-headed boy with nothing to lose, it would not be arrogant of him to think that he had come a long way, respecting his sister's memory. He could finally lay her soul to rest in his mind.
Then she came back, as if she had never been gone.
She said she had gone off to destroy powerful demons that had threatened to destroy the dimensions of this world. She said she most went through a dimensional wormhole, almost disappearing forever. She said she left met, and trained with, many people, seeing lots of the world and what she needed to protect. She said she learned to become a stronger warrior, infusing the powers of Rosso with her blade to strike her enemies in her scorching fire. She said she was now what people dubbed her as a 'Blazing Heart'. She said she was ready to face him now. She said she was sorry.
If he wasn't a knight, he might have slapped her.
Sorry?
Was that the best she could do?
He felt betrayed. His memory had betrayed him. He had chosen the path of lawful knighthood, like his sister had in the beginning. He believed he was honouring his sister and what their family stood for. All this time she had been adventuring on her own, forgetting everyone and everything else. She had both destructive firepower and swordsmanship, becoming twice as dangerous. And she didn't care; it showed. Her jacked was singed, her cloak in ashy tatters, chunks of her hair burned off, yet she continued to seek trouble, all in the name of exploration.
She had a new name now: 'Elesis'; which was fine. Just fine. This 'Elesis' was not the Elsa he had idolized from boyhood. Because it hadn't been enough that she turn her back on all she had stood for. Even her name hadn't been worth holding onto, it seemed.
'Sorry' didn't save the world. 'Sorry' didn't bring Mother and Father from their restless graves, his Lady Mother's last word being her daughter's name as she breathed out 'Elsa' in dying gasps. 'Sorry' did not excuse her from causing their parents so much tears and distress, causing them to pass away out of broken hearts. She was as reckless and uncaring as the element she wielded.
He would rather have continued believing she was dead, lost to the world.
Personally, he would have preferred that they never cross paths again, forever strangers. If they were together, she would challenge his leadership simply because of the blood they shared, carelessly slipping on her mistakes with no thoughts. But he was a knight. Knights served the greater good—and she suppressed hordes of monsters with great efficiency.
He accepted this 'Blazing Heart' as a member of his team. He answered her questions and remarks with curt civility. Banter between them was rare and strictly between combat and course of direction. He faced her with chivalry befitting of his position. He was responsible; proper…everything Elsa inspired him to be. And this 'Elesis' just threw it all back in his face. Seeing her laugh with his team-mates, acting as if she had every right to be there…it was hard not to feel anger.
He resented her and the chaotic change she represented. He felt betrayed, played with, which didn't make sense because technically he wasn't.
Looking up, he saw Aisha in front of him, gazing worriedly at him. He had been overly formal when not locked in heavy silence ever since his sister had been found and offered to join them. He threw a reassuring smile.
Yes, it would be inaccurate to say that he hated the one who claimed to be his family; resentment, possibly, but not hate. Still, it burned in his mouth every time to call that woman 'Sister'. Then why did he keep saying it? Out of habit? Or did he actually believe her still to be that kind, older sister who had promised to always watch out for him?
"Hey, Elsword!" She tramped over to him till he craned his head to look her in the eye. "Soft spot for Aisha, eh?" She grinned. "Let me give you some tips on how to get the girl's heart, though I think you got it in the hole already from the looks of it—"
"Please," He interrupted. Now that he wasn't caught at an awkward moment, he could speak with a calmer tone, with more control. "I can manage my affairs on my own, thank you."
She slipped into a pout. "Aw, but Elsword, don't you want sisterly advice on how to woo a girl?"
His gaze hardened inconspicuously. Removing her arm that was around his shoulder, he replied, "No, thank you; I do not need 'sisterly advice' now, or in the future." He got out the word 'sisterly' with a slight bitterness. "I do not wish to discuss this with you, so please do not bring up this topic again."
She shrugged and said, "All right, but don't come crying to me when she breaks your heart~"
He breathed, a sharp gust. You're the last person I would come to…Elesis.
"Elsword?" As Elesis pranced away, a gentler hand touched his shoulder gently; a touch he welcomed more than that of the Blazing Heart's. He didn't have to turn to see who it was; her presence was always heralded by a soft gust of spring wind, suiting her title. "Let's set camp here. We've had a long day today."
He debated whether to agree or differ. They had made good travel time, held back only by small groups of demon raiders and such, plus the sun was already going down. If the dark rose before they reached the next rest stop they would become easy prey to the night hunters. He turned to look at her, her green eyes bright with concern and a gentle kindness that seemed almost motherly. She was like…Elesis…in some aspects, light-hearted and merry as the winds. But Rena knew when to be the playful gale and when to be the soothing breeze to support her friends. And the wind never disappeared.
Many worries and complex feelings weighted his mind, but he mustered a smile for his favourite elf. "Sure, Rena. Could you tell Raven to set up the tents?"
"On it." She grinned, then flew away in a wisp.
Most of the party were relieved at the thought of respite as they willingly lowered their burdens, clearing apart the nearby shrubbery for the night. Raven was driving down the tent nails and erecting the poles with accustomed precision and hustle, Rena was singing as she stomped a patch of ground, placing rocks around to create a fire-pit. Eve was not too far away from the elf, slicing off branches for firewood whilst keeping her guard high for danger; namely, the one who sought to dismantle her and take her core.
"We're short two tents." Chung informed his companion, looking a tad sympathetic.
Elsword sighed as he took out the camp rations, tossing him a skin of water, which the Chaser accepted. "What happened to the second one?" Because clearly it wasn't enough that their first tent had to be torn apart by the Glitter raid a few days ago. But they hadn't suffered much ambushes after that, so how...?
"Er." Chung grimaced. "It...caught fire."
"Caught fire." Elsword repeated, realizing what he was going to hear, but asking anyway. "Care to explain?"
"I wasn't there to see it, but Ara told me Elesis and Add were playing some game, and she accidentally set a tent on fire, plus two bushes and a tree. It...didn't end well."
Noticing details—and withholding some—kept Chung alive in battle and observe his companions. Elsword was a worthy friend with a respectable sense of honour, polished with his training to be a Lord Knight. His friend had always idolized his sister, eventually believing that she had passed from this world. Now she was here, claiming a blood tie he thought long lost. Chung found it difficult to understand why this reunion held much animosity and tension when it should have been a time of rejoice. But it was clear that feelings ran deep.
Furthermore, it was not his place to judge. Elsword was their leader and friend, and his loyalties lied with him regardless.
He looked carefully. The Knight's expression was disturbingly dark for a fleeting instant before relaxing to its usual self-possessed demeanour. "Someone will have to sleep outside, then. Or take double shift on patrol duty. We'll figure something out once everything else is settled."
"Right." Chung handed the drink back to Elsword and walked towards main camp, offering to help Raven with the other tents. Elsword took a few moments to relapse in thought, finding little solace. There was simply too much on his mind. Resigned, he loosely followed the Chaser back where his other friends were waiting.
"Hey, Elsword, what's the hold up? Come on! And stop being such a stickler with the food, man. We're all hungry!"
"If we ate all the camp rations in one go what are we supposed to eat for tomorrow...?"
"Seems like you had plenty enough food to destroy the Altera Core. Didn't even leave any scraps for me to recover." He growled. That seemed like an eon ago, yet just like all the other times before, the embittered Add never failed to mention Elsword's supposed blunder in destroying the deranged Nasod King and most of the race. And just like all the other times before, the other members of the El-Team never failed to disregard his complaints.
Elsword shrugged, composed as always. "No one is forcing you to stay here, Add."
He snorted. "I'd like to see anyone try." He scanned the faces, looking for anyone that dared to differ and seemed pleased upon finding none. His Dynamos swirled around him as he arose, dusting off imaginary dust from his suit and marched out of the campsite(not before shooting a yearning glance at Eve's core). No one bothered; they knew he wasn't going anywhere too far, probably somewhere secluded to engage in that blasted research of his...or Eve. It was all the same.
"That man is a threat. Why do we allow him to live?" Eve mused aloud. Personally she found his attempts to filch her Queen's Core increasingly tedious, as she had to reset her security system after every attempt.
Rena raised an eyebrow. "You have the power to destroy him to little bits and scatter him across the dimensions, Eve. Why do you allow him to live?"
"I have not been given orders to do so." She looked pointedly at Elsword.
But Rena only laughed. "And since when does the Queen of Vengeance allow herself to wait for orders?"
Ignoring the jibe, Eve simmered into brooding silence.
After a great deal of adjustments, several arguments and amusing threats, everyone eventually settled down for the night. Eve refused to initiate full stasis mode while her predator lurked about, waiting to strike. Nobody knew where Add went, and none particularly cared to know. Ara and Rena generously offered to guard her while she charged. Even then, Eve made sure to rest at half-time, so that her senses would still be receptive to any danger. Of course, the recharging process took thrice as long when she did so, but elves hardly slept as much as humans and Ara would not be called the Mistress of Darkness if she slept through the whole night!
Additionally, Elesis agreed that spending a night under the stars wasn't so bad, either. They were on the fringes of the borders of Velder; a modest forest provided sufficient cover where the team could rest...and have a fair view of the crumbling kingdom.
Velder was being ambushed by demons, mostly in large raids. They had purged Commercial Area 1, one of Velder's vital trading routes, but their travel to Hamel was cut short by a letter from Vanessa urgently requesting aid: the Southern Gate had collapsed, the gate which had served as the only evacuation route for the people. Thankfully the team had been intercepted early on, so it was only a day's worth of travel on returning to Velder. Now, with the kingdom in their sights, they would be prepared for tomorrow. Elsword assumed that they would have to fend off the raiders while the gate was cleared up, help evacuate the inhabitants, and finally maintain the borders of the refuge camp. The camp would be easy to secure, with Vanessa leading the remaining troops, but the kingdom...
"Rest up while you can." Elsword assured the others. "Tomorrow's going to be a long day."