One day, he finally had enough. Sitting at the small round table inside the room they had rented for the night, he sipped the hot tea that she had brewed and cleared his throat. "Talim, I have something I want to talk to you about."
Hearing him suddenly address her by her name made Talim nervous and she squirmed slightly on the plush red chair she was sitting on. He usually called her ma petite or little one. It was only when he was serious or angry did he call her by her first name. But they had pretty much just woken up for the night. She couldn't have possibly done anything to made him angry.
Raphael quirked an eyebrow at the look she was making on her face. "No Talim, you're not in trouble."
Hearing that, she sighed in relief. "Whew, that's good to hear." She then looked down at the tea cup she had in her hand and puffed, "I thought that maybe I messed up your tea or something."
He chuckled and took another sip, letting the hot and flavorful liquid slid down his throat to warm his stomach. She had added slivers of ginger to it too... such a good girl. Setting the tea cup down, he briefly glanced around the room, trying to find the words to speak.
They were in a nice room, thought they could easily afford something much better. The light beige walls was lightly touched by the warm light of the candles in the room and the priestess had neatly tidied up the emerald green bed and fluffed the pillows. Most likely out of habit. Red curtains were pulled down over the windows so the only light came from the warm candles.
His eyes moved back over to meet her curious brown orbs and he said, "You had no obligations to come with me, hide in the shadows, help and suffer being with me. Why did you do all of this for me? We weren't even friends when we met. All this..." he made a vague gesture and continued, "You've done your very best to help me and I just want to say that I don't deserve it, Talim."
Talim seem surprised that he suddenly brought up such a topic and she looked down at the steaming cup in her hands. With a timid smile, she said, "I just... I don't want to see... you suffer. I know you're in pain, Raphael." Quietly, she said, "I spent quite some time at a watermill village to take care of a young boy who was malfested. I witnessed the pain and fear he experienced and I don't want to see anyone go through that."
Raphael leaned back in his chair. He narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "I don't need your pity, Talim."
She shook her head. "It's not pity; I'm merely presenting an opportunity to you."
"What opportunity?"
"The opportunity to become human again," she replied. When he made to say something, she interrupted him. "I am offering you a hand but in the end, whether you take it or not is up to you."
"Do you think it's that easy?" he snapped. "I already told you, that monk's holy stone that purified some of my victims burned my hand. You even said you're not sure you can heal me. I'm too far gone. Not only that, if I become human again, what will become of my castle and the power I've worked so hard for?"
She seemed almost amused by what he said. "Raphael, we both know that for Amy, you would give your life to protect her and make her happy. A castle and power is worth nothing in exchange for her happiness."
He immediately kept his mouth close. She knew him too well, and was perfectly right that for his daughter, he would give anything.
She said heavily, "My grandmother once said, to achieve change, you must want it and you must work for it. Raphael I can not help you if you don't want my help. I can give you my hand but it's ultimately your choice if you want to take it. I practice my wind arts everyday and I work hard to stay by your side and aid you because I want to become a better priestess and a better friend to you. But you have to do your own part to help yourself."
Almost frustrated, he said, "Again I ask, why help me? So that you can become a better wind priestess? So that you can feel good about yourself? What is it?"
Talim cast her eyes over to the closed windows and murmured, "Because I don't want you to die..."
"What?" he asked questioningly.
"There are things in this world that I wish to protect, simply because I think they're beautiful and worth protecting." She put a hand over her heart and said gently, "I'm not helping you because I pity you or because I want you to repay me." Her eyes slowly lifted up to meet his and she said, "When I first met you, I wanted to help because it was simply the right thing to do. Now, after all this time, I'm doing so because I care about you." She sniffed and said, "I... I value the time we spent together. I'm happy that you're honest with me and that you scold me when I make mistakes. Sometimes you can be really scary when you yell at me but in the end, I become stronger."
She tried to compose herself before continuing. "The world has hurt you and mold you into the man you are, Raphael. From the moment I looked into your eyes, I could see the hurt and bitterness you hold in your heart. But I know that you're strong and I believe that you can change."
He kept silent, thinking about what she said. Finally, he spoke up. "But only if I want to change, correct?" When she nodded, he said tiredly, "I honestly... just don't know. I wish things were simple, Talim. But things have never been simple, ever since I could walk and talk. I simply can't forgive or trust this world."
Putting down the cup, Talim reached over with an opened hand. "That's why I'm here to help."
"What if I don't take it?" he asked quietly. To his amusement, a goofy grin spread across her face.
"Then I guess I won't be able to lower my hand for a long time."
Raphael chuckled and said, "You can't be with me forever, dear."
Talim smiled sadly, "That's why I want you be able to walk under the sun when I'm no longer with you."
Hearing her say that, he asked, "What happens if I'm human again? Will you leave me?"
"There are others out there who needs me," Talim replied softly. "No one, should have to experience the pain and loneliness you've experienced." To herself, she thought about the look of disgust he sometimes wore after he drank blood. He was handsome, rich, tall and noble but he had to sink to the level of beast and feed in such a lowly manner to survive. She also knew that he felt useless, being forced to stay away from the sun. There were so many things she managed to glimpse and see when he thought she wasn't looking and it hurt her to see him suffer.
"Raphael," she started. "I have nothing but respect, admiration and concern for you. I want my help to you to be something that's long term. I'm not doing it out of a sense of pity or charity, I'm helping you because I see something very beautiful before me and it's something I want to save."
Raphael shook his head. She... was the one that's beautiful. While she wished for him to change, he wished that she would always stay the same.
Darkwings13: I think imma update every Saturday. (o￣∇￣)/
( ﾟ∀ﾟ) Thanks for reading! Have a fabulous hair day!