A/N: I guess I should thank the one person who voted. Looks like Since You've Been Gone is next. I figured no one would bother, so I don't even know why I put it up in the first place ahaha. Well, whatever. Not much to say about this chapter. Last chapter's next.
Til' next time
~shine
Disclaimer: I don't own Elsword. Sometimes I wish I did, but most of the time I don't. You should be happy about that.
~ The Truth of the Matter ~
Months passed in relative silence for the couple. Elsword and Aisha spent a majority of their time together studying and going on dates. Rena was happy to see that he'd found someone who made him happy. He seemed in a much better mood as well, his old self coming back more and more as time passed. He would even tease Rena and Raven when the two were together, and the mock flirting with Chung that made the boy's face burn was a welcome addition. Elsword avoided teasing Eve if he could, but he would still dare to hug the empress from behind, even as she switched her CODE to something else.
One thing that Elsword would sometimes do that surprised even Elesis but annoyed Aisha greatly, was he would openly flirt with Eve sometimes just to see how Aisha would react, which never turned out well for him. If she currently had the Nemesis code installed, she would humor him, oftentimes turning his own tactic against him and sometimes even getting close enough to kiss him, before artfully dodging whatever utensil was thrown her way, leaving the boy to be punished instead. If she had the Empress code installed, she would repel him quite harshly, and would oftentimes have Ophelia chase him down with Aisha. As far as Battle Seraph went...well, she would do nothing. She merely watched him in silence, and when he made to touch her, she released powerful electric charges upon him, walking away without a backwards glance.
But the funny thing was, in any instance, if Elesis were the one to flirt, Eve would do so back, showing genuine interest in the girl. Even Chung, if the boy worked up the courage, would flirt with Eve as well. The young Paladin was too shy to do so openly, however.
Melna and her new friends were never seen too far apart, and once she had an attack, Asclepius was the first by her side. Aisha smiled at the display, glad that she was being taken care of. She made a mental note to thank Eve, but she also knew how dangerous it was to stay in the woman's presence for too long. Eve, being a Nasod, could easily tell that Aisha was not who she said she was. Whatever reason she had for going along with it, however, was a mystery even to Oberon and Ophelia. The silent guardians of the Empress watched the violet haired girl, wondering just what she would do.
You would think they were the first ones to notice when something was up, and ordinarily you'd be right. However, it was Rena who first realized something was off. And all it took...were two wing shaped hairpins being returned to her.
She'd been sitting in her room reading when there was a knock on the door. Thinking nothing of it, Rena answered the door curiously. No one had ever come to see her during her reading time, except for maybe Raven, but he never stayed too long. Instead, one of the newer maids (she was hired at Speka's request) had come to return something she thought Rena had misplaced. Her hairpins. Rena didn't think anything of it at the time, thanking the girl and accepting them with a smile, but when she moved to place them on her dresser where they normally sat when she didn't want to wear them, she found another pair in that very spot. Confused, Rena sought the girl out and asked her where she'd found the hairpins. "...In Miss Speka's room. I thought she'd borrowed them from you, so I brought them back. Is something wrong?" The girl asked.
"No, don't worry. Do you know where Speka is now?" Rena asked. The maid simply shook her head, staring confusedly at the busty archer. Rena smiled gently and thanked the girl. Something was off...and she would get to the bottom of it.
She preferred to do it privately, though. She didn't want to make a big deal out of nothing. Maybe it was just a coincidence or something? She shaking her head as she walked away, Rena didn't notice when Elesis tried getting her attention and wound up walking right past the red head, who frowned slightly. It wasn't like her to ignore others like that, and Elesis made sure to tease her a bit about spending time with Raven. That was usually what caught the woman's attention and made her blush. Ah well, if she wasn't in the mood to chat, she'd go elsewhere.
X X X
"...it needs a catchy name." Elsword replied, his latest attempt to recreate the spell from the text Aisha found for him being a great success. He'd been bouncy ever since, cartwheeling and leaping around like a child. Several times he'd jumped on the girl and kissed her passionately before giggling like a maniac and dancing away before she could scold him. Although Aisha liked seeing him happy, he was also damaging old texts in the process, and that was one of her biggest pet peeves.
Yet, she didn't have the heart to stay mad at him for very long.
Technically what he had learned was a spell that had taken over 50 years to master in the past. That was an accomplishment to be proud of to be sure. Aisha herself had created most of her spells, but her higher intellect had given her an advantage. Elsword, while not stupid, was not entirely a genius either. Sure there had been some breakthroughs, and even some unexplained abilities he'd displayed as well, such as being able to spontaneously control the flames of a phoenix, and dispersing a wall of flames across the ground from the point of impact. Normally you'd have to have wards in place so you didn't get burned, unless you had a high affinity for fire magic in general, but even then there'd still be small welts and some slight discomfort.
Yet...Elsword was completely fine. No singed hairs, no screaming his head off and trying to put out the flames as they caught on his clothes. He'd been perfectly fine, and even his clothes were undamaged. When Aisha first spoke to him about these abilities, he'd completely dodged the question and gave her a half-assed reply instead. "Elsword, sit down a minute. I need to ask you something."
"Is it about the name of the spell?"
"...No, but it is about your magic. And I want a straight answer." Aisha answered, snapping the book in her hand shut while another lay open in her lap. Elsword sat in front of the girl then, curious about what she wanted to know. "It just doesn't seem natural. I mean, i'm not accusing you of anything bad, but you're able to use high level fire magic naturally. And your Luna Blade is actually kind of advanced too. That's tough even for me!"
Elsword shrugged. "I can't really explain it." He replied, to which Aisha frowned. "I'm serious, I really don't know! Since I was a kid I was always aware of this strange power I had, but it felt dangerous and I didn't want to rely on something I couldn't really control. The most I'd ever been able to do with proper training were Flame and Triple Geyser, but that's about it."
"But how does that explain being able to out of nowhere summon a phoenix? That within itself takes a LOT of mana, concentration and you'd have to have a REALLY strong bond with one. Last I checked, there weren't many left, and they're pretty rare to see. As in you'd almost never see one in three hundred lifetimes." Aisha all but ranted, scratching her head as she stared at Elsword, who simply shrugged yet again. Aisha gave in, however. "Leave it to my boyfriend to do things he can't understand."
"Like you're one to talk. Just the other day you threw up dark sludge on Rena's new dress!" Elsword snickered.
Aisha frowned, raising the book in her lap to swat the boy with. "I already apologized to her a million times for that! Besides, what about that time you nearly blew your hand off, huh?" She countered.
"Yeah, that was kinda funny..." Elsword nodded, scratching his chin. "But not as funny as that time you teleported out of your clothes and straight into the middle of camp." Elsword shrugged. Aisha's blush soared. "You're lucky I was the only one that saw too. and was able to push you into my tent before anyone noticed."
"...we made a vow never to speak of that."
"True. I'll make it up to you." Elsword said apologetically. Aisha huffed and turned away from the boy. "Hey now...don't be like that." Elsword whined softly, wrapping his arms around the girl's waist. Aisha didn't say a word to him. "If you give me the silent treatment, then I guess i'll just have to go to that new bakery down the street from our usual place all by myself. I hear they make really delicious cinnamon bread with raisins."
Aisha's stomach growled, as if trying to convince the girl to go with him. She ignored it, still blushing.
"There's also this really pretty spot down by the lake where we could watch the stars in peace. The moon looks really pretty reflected on the water's surface. We could grab a blanket or two and sleep there for the night? I did promise you a romantic evening some day..." Elsword replied. The thought was tempting, and the image was indeed a romantic one, but she didn't know if she was ready to forgive so soon. "I'll even sing that song you liked when we went down to the plaza last month, read you poetry and even massage your feet for you~"
"Damn it, fine! But you better keep your promise." Aisha pouted. She wasn't mad at all, though. Elsword knew that just by the fact that she gave in so easily. He'd honestly had her at cinnamon bread, she was just keeping up the facade because she didn't want him to know he'd won her over.
Rena had been stuck in her thoughts all day. So much so that she had completely forgotten she was supposed to meet Raven for a date that afternoon, and then have tea with Eve, who had once again changed codes. She seemed quite fond of the Empress code, seeing as it was the only time she was able to keep an eye on Oberon, who refused to shut down as he was ordered to. And even if he did obey, it was never for very long. Eve simply passed it off as him being far too protective of her.
When Melna noticed that Rena's thoughts were occupied, she climbed into the woman's lap and hugged her, startling the archer and causing her to blush wildly. She was used to being hugged a lot by the younger girl, but never out of the blue like this. Rena smiled, however and hugged the little girl back. "What brings you here, little one?" Rena asked, curious as to what the girl needed.
"Love. Mom's been busy lately and hasn't played with me in a long time." Melna said. It wasn't a total lie, Aisha was busy lately, and it had been a while since she was able to hang out with the girl and just lie in bed or something. Not that she could expect to have those things now. Aisha was finally happy, so Melna simply chose not to get in the way of that. She saw Rena frown at her words and open her mouth to speak, but Melna beat her to it. "It's fine though. She's finally happy. Besides, I could always play with you and everyone else."
"That's right, you can. But right now I'd rather just think, if you don't mind." Rena said, feeling a little guilty for letting the girl down. Melna didn't seem fazed by it though and simply shrugged, turning around in the woman's lap and leaning back against her chest.
As Rena sat there holding the young girl, she began to think back, trying to find some sort of evidence to go with the feeling in her gut that told her that something was up with that Speka girl. She seemed entirely too familiar with Elsword, despite them dating for a while. It was almost as though they were much closer than they let on. She knew things about him that the boy only told his closest friends, and she seemed rather wary of Elesis, and vice versa.
And then there was the fact that the wing-shaped hair clips she had always worn were found in Speka's room. She had stopped wearing them when Aisha left, because she was the one who had bought them for Rena, and when Elsword had decided to make a tribute to the girl, she'd offered them up. She never expected to see them again, but there they were. What was going on? Who was Speka?
Rena sighed heavily, shaking the thoughts from her head. Well, whatever the case, she'd find out soon enough. She had a sneaking suspicion something would happen soon and reveal the truth about her. She just had to be patient.
"Rena?"
"Hm?" The woman asked, looking down at the little girl now. Melna seemed really serious for some reason as she looked up at Rena.
"Please help my mom. No matter what happens, she will still need you and the others." Rena blinked at that, and Melna smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm just worried about her, that's all." Rena held the girl tightly as Melna fell silent. Pretty soon Athena came to collect the girl, and Rena went to go find Aisha.
Aisha shivered violently as she held Elsword and sneezed into the handkerchief he managed to press to her face in time. She was grateful to him as they lay together on a blanket and in the shade of a tree overlooking a small lake. They had decided to take their date outside of the city's walls, where it was much likelier that they wouldn't be disturbed by anyone else. the journey wasn't far, only an hour's walk to the west and past the gate.
for what it was worth, it was a nice date. Just the two of them, holding hands and talking about anything. Elsword had asked Aisha to tell him about her home she built with Melna and she happily told him. She made it clear a few times that she'd like him to join her in the event she went back. Elsword caught the hints, but said nothing as of yet.
Truthfully, he'd like to join her. His sleeping pattern, thought the nightmares had been drastically reduced, still affected his sleep. His anxiety died down a bit since revealing that he knew who she was, and Elesis being there as well helped him calm down. However...he couldn't just up and leave his friends like that. And from what she was saying, it was highly unlikely that she would come back to the city for more than a day.
On the one hand, he'd be with the first and only girl he had ever truly loved and respected. A girl who had put up with his childishness and his rudeness, his pride and his insecurities. On the other hand though, he'd be leaving his other friends for the sake of being with the one girl he couldn't be without, and her daughter who seemed to know more than she let on.
Aisha glanced at Elsword and wondered what he was thinking about. In the months she had been in Velder, she'd never once asked him what was on his mind. It wasn't as if she wasn't curious, but deep down, she thought she already knew. Sure, he loved her and everything, but now that Elesis was here and she seemed to enjoy spending time with him, Elesis was probably telling him to watch his back around her. And she supposed he should. It wasn't as though she wouldn't leave Velder without him if the time came, because she would. He didn't have to come with her. she just preferred it because she was tired of being alone. Sure she had Melna and Angkor with her, but there was an emptiness inside her she had long since realized that only Elsword could fill. And she was glad that in the time she had come to finally be with him, that void was now gone.
She simply wanted to keep this wonderful feeling of being so in love that she was completely out of character.
Never in her life had she ever thought that she would ever call the redhead "honey" or "baby" and the like. She always believed she would call him an uncultured jerk for the rest of her days, as she lived with her fairy tale prince in their home she considered her castle. Or, in the event she couldn't find someone worth being with, she would be content living alone.
But now, as she seriously took the time to think about it...she couldn't imagine living without him.
Well... she could, but she preferred not to. It was hard enough when she convinced herself that he didn't love her at all/ But now that she knew, leaving was the hardest thing she could ever do. She would likely come back within a week, just to have more kisses from him. to feel his toned body against hers once again. To be held in his arms and feel him kissing her. It was strange that she would ever feel that way about someone. She never ever thought that she'd be so out of character when she dated someone. It was hard to be herself without Elsword making some kind of joke and making her blush.
Aisha sighed as she leaned against Elsword. "I love you..." She muttered.
"I love you too." Elsword answered quietly. He had been a little surprised by the sudden words, but he was glad that she had said them all the same. He sighed and lay back. He wasn't really sure what to do, in the event Aisha wanted to go back. Would she come back from time to time? Would they still be together? He didn't know.
If Aisha noticed his tone, she didn't show it. She had an idea what he was thinking, and frankly, she'd prefer to cross that bridge when it came. Bringing it up now when things were actually going pretty well between them would only make things turn to shit real quick, and that's not something she wanted. No one wanted that. At least, she thought so, anyway. It was hard to tell what Elsword was thinking half the time. But what was the fun in knowing him completely?
Whatever. She was tired, and she was enjoying herself, so it was better to keep it that way and not bring the mood down unnecessarily.
"...so what you're saying is...Speka might actually be Aisha?" Raven asked, crossing his arms as he stared at the blonde archer. Rena nodded slowly, clutching the hairpins in her hands as she sat down at the table between Eve and Chung. Elesis nodded faintly, understanding now what was going on. "How do you know for sure?"
"I-I don't. But I recognize these. Aisha bought them for me a long time ago, and they're the same ones I gave up when Elsword had us make the tribute to Aisha." Rena explained. "The fact that they're back now can only mean one thing."
There was silence for a long while. When someone finally managed to speak up, it was Chung who said, "Do you think Elsword knows?" The silence became heavier then. "Well...someone has to tell him. I think he'd be really happy to know."
"You know how much he hates being lied to." Raven warned.
"So would you have us lie as well? If we know, we should say something. Better he let out his frustration than keep him in the dark." Chung replied. Raven nodded slowly. "He's been really happy lately, and I'd hate to take that from him, but we need to know as much as he does."
"And if Elesis' evidence is any indication, she's gone to great lengths to hide herself from us. Maybe she feels guilty? Or maybe she just stayed loner than she meant to?" Rena spoke next. "Even so, I want to know why. If we can get her to tell us, then maybe we can convince her to stay. Aisha's our friend, so she'd understand, right? How much we miss her?"
"Right. But she's on a date with Elsword at the moment, and they won't be back until later tomorrow." Eve responded. Rena nodded. "then I suppose we'll have to prepare for their arrival."
And what a preparation it had been. By the time Elsword and Aisha returned home the next day, everyone was already awake and at the breakfast table before them. There seemed to be a lot of tension in the air, Elsword noticed, and there were two tables separated from the others, obviously meant for them. Setting the basket down by the door and taking the two seats, Elsword and Aisha glanced once at the other and then at their friends.
"Have fun?" Elesis asked, smiling at her brother. Elsword nodded slowly. "That's good. I have to ask you though, what would you think of someone who was more than they seemed?"
Elsword blinked. "Well, that would depend on the person, really. Why?" Elsword asked, confused.
"Well...what if Speka was someone else? Someone you knew?" Eve asked. From the corner of his eye, he saw the girl in question flinch slightly, and he knew the others saw it as well. He could imagine how scared she much be, and how anxious. "Let's just say hypothetically, that she was in fact, Aisha. How would you feel?"
Elsword shrugged. "Well, we won't know that for sure unless she tells us. And even if that were the case, I've made peace with what happened." Elsword replied. Again she flinched, and he honestly wished she'd stop that. If there was anything that gave her away more than anything she could possibly have said, her flinching would be that thing.
"So you wouldn't care?" Chung asked, though he looked skeptical.
"I'd be disappointed, sure, but not mad." Elsword answered.
"Well, what do you have to say?" Raven asked the girl who glanced over at Elsword. He winked at her and smiled. Her hint that it was ok to tell the truth.
In all honesty, they had figured something like this would happen sooner or later. Aisha wasn't exactly the most careful with her things, and the fact that Elsword was able to figure out Aisha's disguise so easily and so soon was one hint.
Aisha sighed and took off the hat she always wore and the glasses. Closing her eyes and muttering a word softly, she dispelled the illusion covering her eyes and clothes. When she opened them next, Chung's jaw dropped, Rena's eyes filled with tears, and Raven, normally stoic, gave a soft frown. "I'm back..."
Hours passed before anyone was able to say anything to Aisha, not that she expected any less. Elesis had dragged Elsword away and from what she was able to hear from Chung's occasional outbursts and Rena's shouting, they were pretty angry that he would keep something like that from them. Elsword seemed to be handling himself well, but they wouldn't really listen and she couldn't say she blamed them.
Melna sat in her lap while she listened to Elsword getting grilled by everyone else, and Raven stayed with her, quietly doing other things like reading or working on Rena's 3000 piece puzzle. "...You're not mad too?" Aisha asked finally, breaking the silence. Raven looked up at her momentarily before turning back to what he was doing.
"I'm sure you had your reasons."
"And...you don't want to know?"
"Are you willing to tell?"
"All you had to do was ask..." Aisha rolled her eyes.
"Then tell me. Why did you choose to hide?" Raven asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his hands over his stomach.
"Because I didn't plan on staying. I meant to stay for a day and see how everyone was doing, and then I was going right back. But then I ran into Elsword, and he didn't seem like his usual self and I wanted to know why." Aisha replied calmly. Raven nodded his understanding.
"why did you leave in the first place?" Raven asked.
"It seems really childish now, but I was really mad and hurt." Aisha responded, realizing that her answer was pretty vague. She hadn't noticed, however that the others had come back now, and was listening to what Aisha was telling Raven. "Back when I was still part of the group, Elsword was the only one who really stood up for me after a while. It was like the whole word was out to get me, and my friends were like cheap rusty armor. But Elsword, rusty or not, was the most persistent. He would fight people over me, and get pushed around for protecting me. But then...one day he just stopped and I didn't know how to deal with it. Eventually I just got so angry at everyone that I wondered why I even stayed, and if I even mattered to anyone, if I mattered to him."
"And so you left."
"Yeah, but not until I found out for sure. And at the time, it felt like it. Elsword never spoke to me about someone he liked, and all of a sudden, there he goes asking me for advice or whatever. That was more or less the final straw, and it was only a matter of time before I left for good. I had no more reason to stay."
"But what about us? We cared about you. We would have wanted you to stay." Raven answered.
Aisha chuckled softly. "You know, in the two years I spent living on my own, I wondered about that." Aisha said after a while. "You guys were my friends, and I loved you all. Eve was amazingly sweet, Rena was like a sister to me, I had a crush on you, Chung was adorkable, and then there was Elsword who I was in love with. Only one person made me feel like I mattered, and you're not them." Despite the look on Raven's face that clearly showed that her words stung, Aisha shrugged. "but it doesn't matter now. You know I'm here, and I'm pretty sure you're gonna find some way to make me stay."
"Do you want to?"
"I dunno. I would like to, if I had a reason. All I have are memories of one-sided friendships with you guys, I'm dating Elsword, and I have Melna. That doesn't seem like much to stay for." Aisha answered. Raven was silent for quite a long time, and so were the others. "...but I have missed you guys, so I guess I can stay for a little while. But...one condition."
"And that is?"
"Just show me that you love me." Aisha said. She leaned back in her chair and looked back at the others gathered around the door. "Also, Els, should I tell them?"
"Tell us what?" Elesis asked, looking at her younger brother. Elsword flushed and made to leave the room, but was stopped when the elder sibling grabbed him in a headlock. "Spill, little bro. What's she talking about?"
"...it's nothing." Elsword mumbled quietly. Chung noticed the glint in Aisha's eyes and chuckled softly while the siblings argued as Elesis chased her brother through the halls. He didn't say anything, and neither did she. However, she was aware that her words had an effect on everyone, most especially Rena, who she had once thought of as a sister.
"Too many bridges to cross." Aisha mumbled to herself as she sat up. "Might as well merge them all into one to save the trouble. Come on. We got some talkin' to do." She motioned the others inside the room, and slowly they filed inside.
