Thank goodness… I FINALLY get to finish writing about scenes on the Tartarus. I just wanted to get the Tartarus over with, since the time in that part of the story is rushed and tight: giving me no room for original conversations between the party members. But now the party's going to be on the field, that would give me an easier and more time for character bondings. So, you could say that this chapter could be a filler chapter.
But now… the party's not only free, but cute, sweet little Ion's back in the party. And also, Guy's gonna join the party! :D Haha… I've been waiting for a while now to write him.
And sorry if my fighting scenes suck. I'm not good at writing fighting scenes, but I'm still really trying anyway.
IMPORTANT: On another note... I'm going to make my chapters more longer from here on out. :D It means a slightly later update... but I can cover more stuff that way and not feel rushed.
Anyway! Let's. Go!
Enter the Amazing Guy!
This was it.
The automatic doors in the middle of all of us slowly started to slide open: allowing rays of light to filter into the dark hallway we were in-
-and we all acted.
"Fire! Now!" Luke commanded Mieu quickly. Thrusting the baby cheagle right up in the Oracle Soldier's helmeted face, the man was treated to a face-full of flames point blank: making him stumble backwards and trip down the long, metal stairways and all the way to the floor right by Legretta's feet.
I hurried down the stairways right behind Luke as Legretta whipped her guns out from behind her and aimed them at us. However, she looked at something above us and was forced to take a giant leap backwards when a spear dropped down from the sky and embedded itself where she once stood.
Half a second has not even passed when Jade landed right next to his spear, pulled it out from the ground with amazing ease before lunging towards the female God-General to engage her in combat.
Being the first to reach the ground, Luke ran past the downed Oracle Soldier and towards another one who was charging towards us with his blade drawn. The other two remaining Oracle Knights stayed where they were: keeping the now struggling Ion at bay and as far from our grasps as possible.
I stopped where I was on the stairways for just a moment, looking down at the now stirring Oracle Soldier on the ground as I distinctly heard Luke to tell Mieu to fire up ahead.
Don't think! Just act!
And with that, along with the fact that I'm close enough, I jumped the rest of the way down… and right on top of the Oracle Soldier (who let out one of the loudest, pained "Oomph!" I have ever heard) as my metal cushion.
Ow, okay. Bad idea. That hurt a little. But he still broke my fall, nonetheless.
Reaching over to the guy's waist, I pulled his sword out from its sheath before throwing it away as far as I could before pressing both of my daggers against his neck.
"You lost," I said, unable to contain my triumphant smile. If this is all it took, then we could have a chance after all. "Don't bother getting up, okay? Don't make any kind of movement until we tell you to." My smile then dropped. "Don't make me use these."
I put emphasis on that by pressing both my daggers deeper into the chink of his armor where his neck should be. I carefully moved so that one foot was pressed against his stomach while the other rested against the grassy ground: taking care of keeping my daggers close to the man's neck as I did so.
"You…" The Oracle Knight hissed, and I could see him gritting his teeth through the visor of his helmet.
I sighed. "If… if you don't want me to kill you, then please do as we say. Con…. Considering the amount of people you have to… kill today on the Tartarus… I'm being merciful. Be glad that my other ally over there-" I tilted my head slightly towards Jade's direction. "-whom is the infamous Jade the Necromancer isn't the one to have you at his mercy. I can promise you that he won't be as kind as me."
I could see the man's eyes widened in fear at the mention of Jade's alternate title, but kept quiet. Good. Looks like he got it.
I turned my head to my left to see how the others are doing. Luke has his Oracle Knight lying by his feet, and the teenaged male was still holding onto Mieu (who looked quite dizzy and hurt for some reason) and has him facing the guy in case he got up again. Judging from how most of that guy's armor was charred and smoking, it's safe to assume that Luke had gone all pyromaniac on the guy with the cheagle's help.
Jade had just delivered a Sonic Thrust at Legretta's torso, who jumped up and above Jade's head to avoid it. As if he had predicted that, Jade quickly spun around just as Legretta landed on her feet behind him and got up. Before she could even raise her guns, she jerked back when she suddenly found the tip of Jade's spear against her neck. Despite this, her face remained nonchalant and devoid of any emotion.
"Jade Curtis…" She murmured in a stacattoed voice, her cold green eyes narrowed slightly. "You're a force to be reckoned with, even with your fonic artes sealed."
With his free hand, Jade pushed his glasses back up his nose. "That's quite a compliment. I'm honored. Now, throw down your weapons."
There was a brief pause as Legretta considered her options. Then, thinking she has no other option of getting out of it without getting killed, or believing that she doesn't have a chance with Jade as she is now: Legretta dropped both of her guns to the ground.
Now, seeing that our side has an advantage, Jade called out to Tear, without even taking his eyes (or spear) away from Legretta.
"Tear! Your fonic hymn!"
Emotion was finally shown on Legretta's face as her eyes widened in surprise. "Tear…?"
She snapped her head over her shoulder to see the melodist of our party standing at the very top of the metal staircase: her staff out as she prepared to sing.
"Tear Grants!" Legretta exclaimed when she saw her former student.
Tear faltered when she heard Legretta's voice, and it was her turn to look surprised as she looked back at her former mentor. "Major Legretta!"
My eyes widened when I saw a large shadow appear behind her. "TEAR! BEHIND YOU!"
There was a shot of purple electricity, and Tear yelled as she fell forward and dropped down the metal stairways all the way to the ground. Oh dear… that must hurt.
A large liger growled as it walked out. Unlike the white ones I saw back at Cheagle Woods, this one is yellow in color with dark-brown stripes all over its body with longer ears along with a white mane around its neck and below its chin.
Seated on its back with her legs wrapped loosely around its neck and patting it on the head was a small young girl. She had long pink hair that reached down her middle back with eyes of the same color, but a bit darker in shade. Her eyebrows were shorter than what is considered to be normal: almost like dots in their places over her eyes.
She wore the black Maestro uniform from the Order of Lorelei along with a black frilly mini-skirt. She has long, black boots that went past her knees and gloves of the same color that went way past her elbows. They are all held up with a dark-red belt. Finally, on top of her head, was a black cap with the symbol that reminded me of Ion's staff on it.
I had also noticed that she's carrying a strange, scary-looking doll with her. The doll looked as if its entire body was made out of pillow cases. Its entire torso was white in color. Its left arm and right red was pink. Its right arm (which was clearly torn) and left leg was a dark-blue in color. Finally, its large head was a tan color. In all the parts of the doll's body, there were black markings that were drawn to look like dotted-eyes, though the face and torso areas were the only ones to have a 'mouth' drawn below the 'eyes'.
That girl was the God-General Arietta the Wild.
At the sight of the new arrival, everyone from our side had unfortunately let their guards down and paid for it. Just as Luke's opponent and Legretta retaliated, I suddenly felt a cold, metal hand clamped itself around my arm and shoved me to the ground hard as the Oracle Knight flipped me over. I soon found myself on my back with a heavy weight on top of me. I realized with alarm that the Oracle Soldier I had been previously holding at bay was reaching a hand towards me.
"You little brat, I'm going to kill you! Give me those!" he demanded, grasping both of my wrists to get my daggers.
"No!" I protested, struggling and kicking wildly in an attempt to push him off: careful not to accidentally drop my daggers on myself. As his grip on my wrists tightened and he was starting to push them down, I panicked. In a last, desperate attempt to free myself, I tensed up one of my legs before bringing it up between the guy's legs as hard as I could.
I'm not sure if he was really in pain or was just startled, or even tried to move me into another position... but his grip on my wrists loosened enough to make me be able to yank them out of his grasp before flailing them around wildly again in a pathetic attempt to ward him off of me.
"No! Get the hell OFF me!" I shrieked, suddenly lashing out when he leaned closer to me again to grab my weapons again with my eyes shut.
I would realize much later that that would be his worst mistake ever.
At the present time however, I was only startled when I actually heard the sound of bones being penetrated and a gurgled grunt of extreme pain from the guy above me. Opening my eyes once more, I was horrified to find that... to find that...
The dagger I had just lashed out with... it struck him right in a chink below his helmet... embedded right in the middle of his throat. I stared in numb horror when I noticed that blood was already dripping down the blade. The Oracle Knight's eyes were wide through the visor of his helmet, and that only scared me more.
"OhmyohmyGod! I-I-I'msosorry! I'msorryI'msorryIdidn'tmeanitpleaseforgiveme!" I pleaded frantically as I yanked the dagger out as forcefully as I could in my blind mind of panic. I couldn't think: my mind's a jumbled mess now, full of fast-paced thoughts that went and flew by as fast as a plane.
And because of that, I realized a bit too late that forcibly yanking a sharp blade out of a man's throat too quickly only made it worse. I had probably ripped more flesh and cut more bones than intended. I was trembling violently when the Oracle Knight on top of me fell down, and my eyes widened when his head landed right next to mine's: the feeling of the warm blood from his throat starting to soak my left shoulder.
Oh... GODS!
"Frey! Oh Lorelei, Frey!" I heard one of the Oracle Knights cried out in alarm, but I didn't bother to look. I was still shaking at the fact that a dead body was on top of me!
"Brother! Say something!" Another male voice cried out. "You... you bitch! What have you done!"
"Don't you dare move from your positions, men! Keep your formation!" I heard Legretta command sharply. She does not need to mention it for everyone to be aware of the clear, promised threat hanging at the end of her sentence if her orders were ignored.
I could only scream as I shoved the man's body up and away from me before scrambling backwards as fast as I could. As I did so, I heard a gunshot before I suddenly felt a booming pain at my upper back: enough to make me yell and fall over to my side.
As soon as I found myself on the ground, a large shadow loomed over me. I slowly looked up to see Arietta's liger friend staring down at me, growling with its sharp fangs bared. No...!
"Master, we're surrounded…!" I heard Mieu cry in despair. Goddammit, Mieu! I could tell we're fucking surrounded, no need to make it worse with your damn voice!
"Commander Legretta! My brother-!"
"Stay down for now, Weimar!" Legretta ordered harshly, and I heard her clicking her gun as she got it ready to shoot again if needed.
Blinking slowly, I looked over to where that guy- no... where Frey was. He was still lying face-down on where I had pushed him to. Red blood has now started to pool around the area on the grass where his neck should be. Shuddering, I closed my eyes and turned my head down. I don't want to look... I don't want to see what I have just done...! Did I... did I really-
"He's dead. It's impossible for him to survive a blade to the throat and for that same blade to be removed too violently than needed. Look at him, he's completely motionless. There's nothing we can do for him now," Legretta said coldly, making my insides freeze. I didn't even notice that Legretta sounded as if she couldn't care less about a minor fatality.
That said it... She just confirmed it...
I... I just... I just KILLED someone!
Oh Gods... I think I'm going to be sick...!
"Arietta! What's happened to the Tartarus?" Legretta had then demanded, tearing me out of my thoughts. When I slowly looked over, I saw that Arietta was now standing by Legretta's side. Legretta had both Jade and the still grounded Tear at gunpoint, while Luke was on the ground with a sword to his throat by the Oracle Knight above him. I'm not sure whether that one is the one called Weimar or not, but since the other two that are guarding Ion were both looking over my way... I guess it's one of those two. Oh, and Mieu was clutched in Luke's left hand still. I had almost missed him.
Arietta brought her doll up to her chin: pressing the lower half of her face into it.
"It's still inoperable…" Arietta answered her fellow female subordinate meekly, hugging her doll closer to her chest. "I was only able to get this far because my friend tore open the wall."
"Good work," the blonde female nodded, keeping her eyes secured on Jade and Tear. "Restrain them and-"
THUMP!
My eyes widened in shock and surprise when an orange blur barreled right onto Legretta from the sky. Arietta screamed in fright as the orange blur quickly zipped over to where Ion was being held captive. Just as the two Oracle Knights released Ion (who then wisely chose to duck down) and brought out their swords, the next thing I saw was a blond man cutting both of them down with startling ease in just a few swipes. Because of the sudden interval, I guess they did not have enough time to properly defend themselves. At the corner of my eyes, I saw Jade move away.
As both of the Oracle Knights fell to the ground with simultaneous grunts, the blond man quickly turned around and brought his sword up just in time to deflect some bullets from Legretta: who had fired from her place on the ground and catching her breath still from being used as a land cushion.
As Legretta ceased her fire to stand back up on her two feet once again, the blond man stood up straighter with a grin.
"Enter the amazing Guy!"
Oh, Gods, Guy... can you just make me fall in love with you even more than I already am?
"Guy!" Luke exclaimed, sounding truly happy for the first time in hours as he quickly rolled away from the Oracle Knight near him (whom is distracted with Guy's appearance).
Noticing his captive was getting away, the lone Oracle Knight was about to move after him as Legretta prepared to fire at Guy once more. However, they both paused and the monster over me let out a short growl of outrage as it turned its attention towards the sound of a startled scream that resounded throughout the surrounding area.
"Arietta!" Legretta called out when she noticed the pink-haired girl was now being held hostage by Jade a good distance away. Jade was holding the tip of his spear against Arietta's throat, while his free hand was holding one of her arms up by the wrist. Arietta's eyes were squeezed shut, and her free hand was pressing her doll against her body as closely as she could as if her life depended on it.
"Now, drop your weapons once more and go back inside the Tartarus," Jade instructed sternly, narrowing his eyes at Legretta since she was the one currently leading the group.
"I-I'm sorry... Legretta...!" Arietta whimpered pitifully, sounding quite ashamed at herself.
Legretta merely sighed, dropping both of her guns down once again with a shrug. "It can't be helped..."
The blonde female then motioned to all the remaining Oracle Knights to enter the Tartarus, especially the ones who were just getting up from Guy's sudden attack. Guy himself had a hand on Ion's shoulder, watching them all enter the battleship cautiously. As they all entered, I notice that one of them turned to look in my direction and I cringed despite myself. Needless to say, I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when all three soldiers and Legretta herself entered the hatch we had previously came out of.
"You're next," Jade said to Arietta, looking down at her. "Take your monster inside."
Arietta's pink eyes turned to gaze at Ion sorrowfully. "Fon Master… I… I…"
"Please do as he says, Arietta," the Fon Master said gently.
Arietta stared at him for a while longer, before looking down and nodding obediently. After Jade had released her, she motioned to her liger friend near me to move back inside the Tartarus. It merely grunted in response before trudging up the metal staircase and up towards the hatch with Arietta right behind it. As they did so, Jade walked over to a spot right next to the staircase.
So when Arietta and her liger had entered the hatch, I saw Jade pressing what could probably be a button before the automatic doors to the hatch closed shut.
"All of the hatches should stay closed for a while," he informed us as he walked back. I allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief before standing up. As I did, I winced when I felt a pain on my back so I quickly reached a hand to it with a grimace.
"That... was disastrous," I hissed. Tear quickly made her way over to my side, pressing a gentle gloved hand on the injured part of my back.
"But everything had turned to our favor in the end, so I believed we were successful in our escape," she pointed out to me. I then felt a cool, pleasant sensation on my back, and I found my body relaxing as the pain from Legretta's fon bullet faded away.
"Thanks..." I murmured when she took a step back after finishing her work. She nodded in response with a smile and we both turned to Luke when we heard him start to speak in a jovial voice. I realized that this is the first time that Luke had sounded like that. Like, he was really happy. Not just pleased when things went his way or acting sarcastically pleased, but really, genuinely happy.
"Whew. Thank goodness... Good timing, Guy!" he praised, reaching a fist up and bumping the blond man on the shoulder good-naturally as if they were close brothers.
Guy smiled at the notion, clapping a hand down on Luke's shoulder, a look of relief in his royal-green eyes now that he had finally found his charge after days of him being missing from his home.
Now that I had a closer look at him, he's tall. He's almost as tall as Jade, since he's standing at about 6 foot tall, and Jade's, like, only an inch taller than him. Ah, it meant that I had to look up whenever I want to talk to him face-to-face... but oh well. It can't be helped. Guy had short but spiky blond hair with most of it parting to his left, and his royal-green eyes were warm and friendly.
Guy was wearing a white V-lined sleeved buttoned shirt. Over that, he wore a unique open orange, tailed vest that reveals the shirt underneath it, and dark murky-green pants. Resting diagonally around his waist was a light-green belt, where the long sheath of his sword is resting on the (Guy's) left side. He also wore brown boots that reached up to his knees over his pants and brown gloves. Around his neck was a green collar with a flat golden medallion resting at the bottom center. A large supply bag was hanging off his back, its strap slung around Guy's shoulder in a way so that it won't fall off.
"I looked all over for you. Never thought you'd turn up in a place like this!" Guy remarked, amusement in his voice. He gave Luke a good once-over look with his eyes and let out a breath. "You're a mess... but I'm glad you're safe, overall."
"Why did you assist us?" Tear asked, looking wary of the additional member of our party. Guy turned to face her, now looking serious.
"Like I said, I was looking for Luke. When I saw him in trouble with those guys, I decided to help get him out of trouble so I can bring him back home safe and sound. I don't really know the full details of what's going on over here, but that doesn't matter much to me, honestly."
"How did you get onboard the Tartarus? Why were you up there in the first place?" It was Jade's turn to ask questions. He pushed his glasses back up his nose.
"It was suspected that Luke's disappearance was a plot by the Malkuth Empire," Guy said, frowning. "I was around the area when I saw the Tartarus from a distance. I decided to sneak on board to see if there were any news or rumors about a young red-haired duke from Baticul, just to make sure." He looked back up to the Tartarus. "And it's a good thing I did too."
Luke looked both annoyed and angered at the fact that his best friend was under suspicion. "Hey, he's on our side, okay? I know him. Let him off the questions, will you?"
Jade nodded, looking satisfied at what he had just heard. Even Tear seemed to relax a bit as Ion smiled.
"I thank you for your aid, sir," Ion said to Guy sincerely. The blond man merely smiled and waved it off.
"By the way Ion, where's Anise?" Jade asked.
"The enemy had surrounded both Anise and I when we had been trying to escape," Ion informed. "I secretly handed her the emperor's letter for safe-keeping. But when I got subdued and Anise came to my aid, she was knocked out of a porthole by a soldier." He looked worried. "But I heard soldiers say that they couldn't find the body, so I'm hoping she's all right..."
"She will be," I said, letting out an exhausted sigh. "She probably went on ahead so that she wouldn't be captured, especially since the letter's with her. The Oracle Knights would need to take that from her. Jade... what was that about 'knowing where to meet' before she left with Ion? Is that related in any way?"
Jade nodded to that. "Yes, indeed. Saint Binah is our rendezvous point should we get separated from Anise. So let's head there now."
"Saint Binah?" Luke questioned.
"It's a city to the southeast of here," Ion answered him, pointing towards the direction of where the city should be.
"Okay. We just need to make it there, right?" Luke asked, sounding calmer now than he had been earlier on the Tartarus. It's probably because of Guy's presence that Luke felt more comfortable now. I swear... that man's like a miracle worker or something.
"What about your troops? They're still inside this ship, right?" Guy asked Jade quickly, still looking up at the Tartarus.
But Jade shook his head grimly. "I can't imagine there being any survivors. If they left any witnesses, it would lead to war between he Order of Lorelei and Malkuth."
Luke's eyes widened at that. "...How many people were onboard?" he asked hesitantly in a quiet voice, looking as if he'll dread the answer either way.
Jade pressed two fingers to his temple as he closed his eyes. "This was a top-secret mission, so only half the usual number: around 140."
I grimaced at that, looking down and clenching my daggers tighter as I shoved them into my pockets. One hundred and forty people? One hundred and forty men, one hundred forty possible sons, daughters, siblings, husbands and wives...
I closed my eyes so that I would not have to look at Frey's corpse. It was clearly shouted earlier... Frey was a brother and someone's son. And I... I robbed a family of him...
Placing a hand over my face, I heard Guy mumble solemnly: "Over a hundred people were killed..."
"Let's get going," Tear advised us gently, smoothly turning us away from the horrible conversation. "If we get caught here, the war that follows will claim the lives of many more."
"...Should we run and get a head start, then?" I suggest, pulling my away from my face. "We could cover more ground away from the Tartarus before they could start it up again."
"Fon Master, are you okay with that proposal?" Tear asked the green-haired boy. Ion blinked, and looked up at us with an assuring smile.
"Yes!"
"Then... go!" Guy stated, taking off towards the southeast direction with Luke hot on his heels. I quickly ran after them as well. Jade and Tear are probably doing the same behind me, while also making sure that Ion's not left behind.
I don't know how long we've all been running, nor did I try to keep count of the minutes that passed by. But by the time we all had started to slow down to a quick-paced walk, the sun had already set on the horizon: now looking like a boiling crimson semi-circle in the distance. The skies above are a gentle hue of blue and lavender, and the areas closer to the still setting sun are a radiant orange in color. It's a lovely view indeed.
Plains, plains and plains are as far as my eye could see stretched out into wide, empty landscapes to my right, while there were a decent number of trees and foliage to my left. We're all now walking on the pathway that would surely lead us to Saint Binah. A long while back, we had reached a fork in the road, and with Tear's and Jade's guidance, we all took the west path. After that, it was just more running before we all eventually slowed down to the walking pace we're using now.
I was breathing heavily as I walked, getting some much needed air back into my system after running for who-knows-how-long. But I'm now beat... I doubt I could run again even if I wanted to. From what I could tell, Luke up ahead was out of breath as well, and Ion is even worse off than the both of us combined.
When Tear had earlier suggested the idea of a break however, Ion merely waved the idea off as politely as he could, claiming that he was fine and that he could still keep going. It was both an admiring and worrying feat of Ion. Admirable because the poor kid's really pushing himself not to slow us down despite his obvious exhaustion, and worrying because he looked even paler than earlier, if that was even possible. Beads of sweat had already started sliding down his face from his forehead and he was breathing heavily, yet he pushed on despite Tear's insistence until she reluctantly dropped it.
At the moment, Ion was walking behind Tear and Jade, who were at the very lead and discussing something among themselves. Luke and Guy were right behind them, speaking quite casually like they haven't seen each other for months. Well, from the looks of it, it seems that Luke was recounting everything that had happened and Guy would just laugh at the more funnier parts, which just made Luke annoyed. Though while Luke would throw a giant tantrum or deliver a long string of insults to us... with Guy, the closest thing to him being intolerable was some slight whining and complaining and that was it. He's treating Guy as well as Ion.
Mieu was scurrying right by his master's side, occasionally inserting his own input and just making the red-head annoyed. Cue the occasional "Shut up, Thing!" or kicks from Luke to the poor cheagle. Of course, that would then lead to Guy trying to calm the boy down.
So that left me at the very back of the group, keeping my thoughts to myself as I trudged along with one of my hands resting on my arm. Not that I cared much for company at the moment. I just wanted to be left alone for now.
...I didn't have time to think about that earlier when we ran. I was only concentrating on not falling behind too far and pushing my legs as hard as I could, so that I can keep on running even when they felt like they're on fire. But the thought was there. It was there at the back of my mind just waiting and whispering faintly to me, just lying in wait to be brought up to my mind's surface to be dwelled upon when I have nothing else to think of. I tried to push it back... way back to the very recesses of my mind, to be forgotten, to not fret about it...
...But... an air ball cannot stay submerged underwater for too long. You can push it down, but it'll always surface back up on its own. It's the same with me now.
And even though I try not to think about it... it felt as if a tight noose was tied around my heart the entire time, even as we were all leaving the Tartarus, and I felt a lump in my throat.
I looked down, watching my feet as I continued walking. I bit my lip.
I... I really did kill someone. I killed a man. I killed a friend. I killed... a brother. I just robbed a family of a beloved son. Frey... wasn't a 'bad guy'. He wasn't 'evil'. He was just doing his job as an Oracle Soldier. Looking at it from a third person perspective... he just can't help it if he truly believed that following the Score is the sure path to prosperity. Hell, most of Auldrant's population depends on the Score heavily. To them, it's probably like... probably like following the words of God or something to that effect. If you defy God's words, bad things will surely happen. And in this case... Yulia Jue probably has the role of that, I guess. Her alongside with Lorelei.
...I wonder what Frey's parents would think when they heard the news, if they're still around. No doubt... they would be devastated and heartbroken. His brother... Weimar, was it...? He already hated me. I could hear it along with anger in his voice when he screamed at me earlier.
This is... this just felt so surreal... like a nightmare. But I'm awake... I'm awake in a living nightmare now.
I'm... I'm a murderer. I've become a killer...!
I held my hands in front of me, examining them as I walked. To my disgust, there were some beads of blood on them, so I quickly wiped them together as hard as I could. No, no! I don't want any blood on my hands! I don't want them to be stained with dirt, with dust... so why should I enjoy the fact that they're stained with blood now?
What's so admirable about killing a human-being? What? That it makes me look kick-ass, now? Oh, I would hate the person who complimented me for being kick-ass and 'cool' just because I STOLE someone else's life! Bragging rights? Whoever gained reputation for killing hundred of people and to brag about it is inhumane to me. Getting their fame by killing? By taking someone else's father, husband, brother, son and cousin? Disgusting. I never liked the idea.
...That thought had just reminded me of Beatrix from Final Fantasy IX. She was admired for killing one hundred knights all on her own, she bragged about it... I hated her for that. Even though she's a fictional game character, I loathed the idea. She's also known as "the knight who silences even crying infants". She even attacked innocent civilians during the game, a genocide of a harmless race, just because she was ordered to and nothing else. She has no thoughts of her own when it comes to other peoples' lives... only thought about gaining her queen's favor and not being out-shined. What's so admirable about that? Yet fans over the internet fawned and cooed over her because she's 'cool' and 'kick-ass', not to mention 'hot'. Ugh... it disgusted me to no end. What's so admirable about killing other humans, other family members? If game characters like Luke and the others exist now... no... have been shown that they're all real, what's to say about other game characters? I'm not looking forward to meeting her if that was the case... even though I doubt she'll be in this world. Amazing how people's opinions on certain fictional characters might change after meeting them up close and personally.
I can't... I can't just shrug it off, oh goodness no. It's a big deal to me! I can't... I'm not a fighter. I'm just a high-school student who's trying to push past my boring monotonous life... how can I...?
I'm not a cold-blooded knight like Beatrix, not a soldier like Tear and Jade. I can't be nonchalant about it.
I felt tears sting my eyes as I stopped rubbing my hands together. They're now a light red in color and stung a bit... had I been rubbing them that hard? I didn't even notice.
Though blood is not on my hands now, I could... I could still... smell them. I smelt the coppery scent of blood, and I could also smell the scent of metal from when I'm holding onto my daggers.
I could... I could feel it. I felt the vibration in my hand when I plunged my dagger into Frey's neck and breaking bones in the process, I felt his blood drip down onto them... it's... it's the same as the wyvern I killed earlier, but yet... but yet... so different. I heard his pained, dying gurgle... I saw his wide eye through the visor in his helmet... I still remember the heavy feeling of when he slumped on top of me-
No no no no! I don't want to remember!
I felt goosebumps on my hands at the memory, so I rubbed them again: sniffing my tears back. No... I can't cry... not in front of Luke, Tear, Jade and the others. I don't want them to see me like this... I don't want them to see me as someone weak on the inside. But... but it just felt so bad...
Even if I was all the blood from my hands... they will be forever stained with the blood of someone else.
When I get back home... if I get back home... I'll be returning as a killer. As a murderer.
I sniffed, doing my best to blink my tears back: feeling like they're about ready to overflow.
I'll be embracing my mother with blood-stained hands. I'll be patting my baby cousins' heads with blood-stained hands. I'll be wearing my first wedding ring on a stained finger. I'll be holding my first child with the arms of a murderer.
Disgusting, brutal woman. How can you taint innocent people like your family with such filthy hands? A voice at the back of my head, sounding quite similar to myself, mocked in a whisper that only I could hear. You can't take it back. Never again will things be the same. Who are you, to take someone's life as if you're more superior to them? Who gave you the right to make that judgment? Crybaby. Weakling. Coward. Slug.
I closed my eyes, and started to pray in my heart. I'm not sure if my prayers could be heard or not, but I don't really care at the moment. It felt like something I really must do. Whether it will be heard or not... well...
...No... I mustn't cry. I mustn't, I musn't, I musn't.
Oh... oh God... if you could hear me, if you are also here... Oh God, please forgive me for committing such an irreversible, atrocious sin.
I can't take it... there's no way I can continue the rest of the journey like this. I'll just slow everyone down. Maybe I should just stay at Saint Binah and think of something on my own. I should leave the party... I can't kill any more people like this...! I don't want to! I never asked for all this, dammit! I should-!
"Samantha?"
My shoulders jolt with surprise at the sudden, unexpected voice.
"Ah...!"
I quickly turned my head away from Ion, who had slowed his pace down until he's walking right by my side without even my noticing. No, no, no! I can't let him see me like this! I shouldn't be weak, I shouldn't cry in front of him!
I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes with one hand: making it look like I'm just wiping off some sweat.
"Ye-" I coughed into my free hand, sniffing once quietly before forcing myself to cough again to steady my voice so that it wouldn't sound as shaky as it was. "'Scuse me. Yes?"
Moving down both of my arms so that I could cross them protectively over my chest, I finally turned my head to look at Ion, who was... giving me quite a sympathetic and worried look. Dammit... don't look at me like that, Ion... you're just making me feel worse.
"Are you alright?" he asked, probably just out of politeness first.
"Y-Yeah..." A lie. A total, utter lie. But it's a nice white lie, nonetheless.
It was clear that Ion didn't buy my answer for a second, and his leaf-green eyes softened even more. "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" My eyes widened. What? Where did that come from?
"It's because of my presence that you have gotten arrested. If that hadn't happened, then you wouldn't be forced to do things that you don't want to do," Ion replied remorsefully. He had a sad frown across his lips. "You wouldn't have been dragged into all of this conflict, so I-"
"Stop it. I don't want you to say sorry."
"I'm sorry," Ion apologized again. He really reminds me of Colette Brunel, honestly. "But... you know, Samantha, that... that person you killed? You shouldn't feel bad for it." He gave me a hesitant smile. "Excuse me... I may not be the one to talk, but... you did all the things you did to help me and the others, so I think it's brave of you. You did more to help than I did."
I scoffed disdainfully at that. "Stupid nonsense."
"It's true," Ion insisted. He then gestured to my clothes, which were covered in blood. Haven forgotten about that, I suddenly felt embarrassed and self-conscious of myself.
"You could have fled as soon as the others were distracted outside the Tartarus, and even earlier... you could have just told us to drop you off while we're still on the Tartarus. But you still chose to come with us. I'm sure you're doing your best to fight alongside us. You're really not a bad person."
Indeed... he does remind me of Colette Brunel right now.
I felt myself smiling ever-so-slightly despite myself. "Thanks, but..." I felt my smile drop again, and I felt my heart constrict even more. "I... I can't just..."
No... I can't tell him. I can't tell him my intermost thoughts as much as I wanted to.
Ion just gave me a reassuring smile. "The Oracle Knights, while I am ashamed to say so, have murdered many Malkuth soldiers today, which are completely unnecessary, I believe. The only part they have in my affairs is to safely escort me to Kimlasca. My goal is to make sure King Ingobert receives Emperor Peony's letter."
He then frowned, looking ahead. "Had I chosen to travel completely on my own after escaping from Daath, been more cautious in my movements, then surely everyone onboard the Tartarus today would have been spared. The Malkuth soldiers died because of my presence on the Tartarus. I am responsible for everything that has happened up until this point."
"No, that's not right," I protested weakly, sighing and looking ahead. I watched Luke telling Guy something with a huge smile. The blond man had then laughed at whatever it is that was just told.
"It's not like you asked for the Malkuth soldiers be killed, Ion," I murmured. "Don't pin everything on yourself."
It's not right. Someone as young as Ion putting all responsibilities and guilt upon his own shoulders. It must have been hurtful... the Oracle Knights are part of the Order of Lorelei, and Ion is supposed to be the highest ranking individual there. Yes, the Oracle Knights that attacked today were part of the Maestro Faction, but Ion was still, technically, their superior. It's such a shame that they followed Mohs instead.
"It's true, though," Ion said lightly, but with his eyes narrowed slightly. Not a glare, but a more half-lidded thoughtful yet tired look. I then realized something.
"Sorry. For killing one of your-" I stopped mid-sentence when Ion suddenly held a hand up.
"Please don't apologize. I could understand your reasons. It was merely self-defense in your case," the Fon Master said, dropping his hand. "I don't blame you at all. The fault is not yours."
"...He had a brother... and probably a family waiting, too," I mumbled pitifully. I heard Ion inhale from his place beside me.
"The duty of a soldier is a dangerous one," Ion reminded me gently. "Just like the Malkuth soldiers he had undoubtedly killed during the attack, Frey died performing his duties. Frey died fighting for what he believed was right. It was an honorable death, at the very least, especially if it's you."
"Huh?" I asked. This... oh, Ion... you... this is too much...
Ion turned to look at me, smiling. "You care for the person you had killed, even after it was all over. You did not kill in cold blood. I think Frey would not be too angry if he knew that the one who killed him was worried for his family. He was being thought of in a considerate way after his death instead of just being brushed off so casually as if he wasn't another human being like us. I believe he would be glad."
"Why..." I interrupted him. Dammit... my vision is getting blurry now. "Stop making me sound as if I'm such a nice person. I'm not..."
I felt a tear slide down. Dammit, too late... it started. I can't stop now. I placed a hand over my nose and mouth as I sniffed: feeling more tears drip down.
"I'm not...! I'm not a... s-special person," I hiccuped. "I'm just... I'm just a coward who killed out of... f-f-fear...!"
"Ah, Samantha...!" Ion's eyes widened, and he quickly placed a hand on my arm in a comforting gesture. "It's... your first time taking a human life, isn't it? It's okay, your reactions to it are completely natural. Don't be too hard on yourself about it, please!"
I closed my eyes, feeling my shoulders shaking now. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing freely now. Gods, I'm so pathetic...
"Luke-!"
"No, Ion! Stop! I'm fi-"
"What?"
Goddammit!
Sniffing, I quickly wiped away my tears with both of my hands as Luke strolled over to us. From behind him, I could see Guy giving us a curious look before turning back to Mieu, who he picked up. Luke had his eyebrows raised as he reached our side.
"Samantha is..." Ion started to say, but I quickly waved a hand.
"Nothing, nothing. I'm fine, really," I forced on a smile.
"She's actually feeling bad for what she just did back on the Tartarus," Ion told him anyway, and I inwardly cursed when I saw him furrowing his brows.
"I'll leave you two to talk for now. If you would excuse me," Ion said with a knowing smile, walking on ahead so that he could talk to Guy and Mieu now. I glared at the Fon Master's back, but then sighed.
Luke moved so that he's now walking by my side. Not even a second has passed before he gave me a light shove in the shoulder, looking expectant. "Well?" he prodded.
"I..." I stammered, unable to look up at him all of a sudden. "I... I don't know what you mean..."
I heard Luke let out a frustrated sigh. "Do you think I'm that stupid?"
I winced despite myself, placing a hand on my arm again. "I... I'm sorry, Luke..."
There was now a brief silence between us, both of us not knowing what to say next. It was Luke who broke it with a question.
"It felt terrible, didn't it?"
"...Very much," I admitted, still keeping my gaze down. Oh, what the hell. We're on the same page anyway. "I... I felt sick. Guilty. It... It hurts, Luke. I didn't even mean to kill him."
"I know."
"But... I panicked. I was scared, I thought he was seriously going to kill me with my own daggers, so I... I wasn't even thinking."
"Yeah, I know."
I covered my face in my hands. "I... oh Gods, Luke, I'm so sorry. You had it worse than me, and here I am, whimpering and crying. Dammit, I'm so stupid... I shouldn't be... shouldn't be crying..."
I sniffed, and the both of us were silent once more. At that moment, there was nothing but the sound of the wind, the sound of the birds chirping, and the murmur of conversation up ahead from the others.
"...I would have hated you if you haven't."
I looked up at that, wiping away my tears and taking in a deep breath. I looked over to Luke, who had his hands in his pockets. He was staring up at the sky as he walked.
"...Huh?"
"You've never killed before, right?" When I shook my head, he nodded. "If you hadn't cried, I would have been pissed actually."
I blinked at that, befuddled. "Luke?"
He rolled his eyes skywards, and he kicked the ground lightly as he walked. "You heard me. If crying makes you feel better, then go ahead, don't let us stop you. It would also let me know that you're not as cold as those two-" he inclined his head towards the direction of Tear and Jade up ahead, "-are. You didn't want to in the first place, so I think it's fair that you can cry as much as you damn want if it makes you feel better. Don't hide it and make it look like I'm too blind too see it. I'm not an idiot, geez."
I shook my head. "No, Luke... it's not that simple." I smiled wanly. "You didn't even cry when you killed for the first time."
Luke seemed to hesitate at that, clearly uncomfortable. He glanced at me, looking suspicious. "...Would you think I'm unmanly if I, by the off chance," he put extreme emphasis on those four words. "By the off chance that I told you I wanted to?"
I shook my head. "No, not at all. We're just human, Luke."
He seemed to relax slightly at that, though he still looked skeptical. "Yeah, well..." he fidgeted, then shrugged. "...I... wanted to. But... I'm more... angry, than anything. Plus, I didn't want Jade to see."
"And... did you?" I asked quietly.
He shook his head. "Heck no. I wanted to, but I didn't. Don't tell Jade or Tear that though."
"I won't," I promised quickly. "I have no reason to, anyway."
Luke turned to look at me, now looking annoyed for some reason. I blinked, confused.
"Wh-What?"
"Stop looking so sad already," he ordered sternly, jabbing me in the shoulder with two fingers. "That look on your face is putting me in a bad mood."
I snorted at that, finding some humor in his words. "Luke...? First you tell me that crying is alright, and now you're telling me not to look sad?"
"I never said to cry in front of me," he defended himself. "It's... weird." He suddenly paused. "Actually... you're weird in general. But seeing you sad is even weirder in a bad way."
I smiled at that. Ah... that's just his way of saying that he feels uncomfortable when girls cry on him, huh? Then again, I'm sure no one back at his manor does that to him.
"And have you forgotten what you told me back on the Tartarus?" he continued, his brows furrowing. "What was that? 'Don't think of it as taking someone else's life, but protecting yourself'? Yeah, that sounded right."
He blew his bangs out of his face, but it only fell back to its previous place. "Snap yourself out of it, will you? If you went and get yourself killed, I'll-" he suddenly stopped himself, then grunted: frustrated. "What I meant is... I don't want you to get hurt and get killed either, alright? If killing someone else means looking after yourself, then just do it!"
My eyes widened at that, and I gaped at him. Though Luke stubbornly kept his gaze ahead.
"Luke..." I murmured. He grunted once more.
"You're the one who said it, so you could do it, I think. ...Whatever," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Just stop pitying yourself already. If I could fight back, then you should too."
His eyebrows suddenly flew up when I startled chuckling. I placed a hand over my mouth to hide my grin before laughing quietly to myself some more. Oh my God, that is just so... so...!
"What? What?" Luke asked defensively, but I waved a hand at him, still chuckling.
"No, no, no. You're right. You're absolutely right," I giggled. "Gods, how could I forget...? Yeah, heh... sorry, Luke. You just reminded me of something important, is all. Haha." I shook my head. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"
"...Is that sarcasm?"
"No, I mean it," I shook my head again, smiling. "You're a good kid, Luke."
His face flushed at that, and he only stared straight ahead.
So simple, yet so... spot-on and true: just like a child. He's worried, but it's subtle. ...It appears that Luke has some traits of the short-haired version of himself inside of him from the very beginning. If I was reminded of that fact, I would remember it from this moment the most.
But Luke is right. Ion is right. Jade is right. Tear is right. Everything that they had said earlier about killing is right. I'm not the only one who's upset and guilty. I'm not the only one who has it bad, I'm not the only one who has troubles. Jade, Tear, Ion... they're all doing their best ever since the Tartarus had been invaded in their own ways.
And how do I repay them in the end? By just crying and whimpering like a child behind them: too worried about myself. While I was stuck in my own pity-party, the others are already thinking ahead. Of how to reach the next city, how to reach Kimlasca, what to do if a certain incident arises and so on.
...I need to pull myself back together. I need to suck it all up and be a real woman already. Luke needs it as well, and he's the most 'innocent' so to speak out of all of us.
I need to look after Ion. I need to look after Luke. They're both the youngest of the group right about now. Even though Tear, Jade and Guy are all here... I'm with them as well. I shouldn't be a burden. And damn it all to hell if I'm going to walk out of the party with my head bowed low and my tail tucked in between my legs. I won't let that be their last image of me, oh hell no!
I need to be strong for the party. I need to stay alive so that I could find my way home and help the party at the same time. It's an honorable thing, and... it's definitely the right thing to do.
Killing people... that will be... hard still, I will admit. But I'll try not to kill unless necessary. But even then... I won't falter. I won't hesitate anymore. Never again. I don't want to die. I don't want anyone from this team to die, to get hurt when I could have prevented it. More people will die if we lose and give it all up now from the impending war, and all the lives lost on the Tartarus will be worth for nothing. This indeed isn't a game any more.
I won't disrespect the dead like that, no.
I get it.
I understand now.
I'm not a fighter, but that's fine. I'll train, and I'll help the party. I am their ally now, so I have to give them no reasons to worry about me. I shouldn't hold them back for myself. That's selfish, cowardly and wrong.
I smiled. "Yeah... thanks Luke. For reminding me. I get it now. Don't worry... I'll definitely have your back."
"What the hell are you saying?" Luke challenged. "I'm the one who's going to look after your back. I'm the better fighter."
"Hehe. So we're partners, then," I smiled. "We'll help each other up when the other needs it, alright."
"I can look after myself." He rolled his eyes. " But whatever, I'm going to talk with Guy some more. Don't worry about it too much."
I nodded to assure him. "I won't." I won't indeed.
Thinking about it now, I've always hated my old, sheltered self back on Earth. Back home, I've always been seen as weak-hearted, dependant, too shy, too meek, too sensitive... I hated that part of me. At home and at school, there had always been strict rules holding me back, so that I could be a proper lady.
But I'm on my own in this world now, and I can be whoever I wanted to be with no restrictions. I will be braver, I will be stronger, I will be more skilled, I will be more confident... the things that I've always wanted to have.
This could be my adventure as well. I will break it. I will break the shell of my old self and be the person who I wanted to be. Be a person more admirable, both to others and myself. I will break the shell and say goodbye to my old self... and who knows? I might be going back home a better woman with my head held high: no regrets.
It's wishful thinking. Maybe. Like I said... who knows? But I'll try. I'll try to do my hardest from here on out. No more tears for myself from here on out.
That... will be my own personal goal now. If it's not for others, then it's for myself. Thank you, everyone, for reminding me of that, even though indirectly.
So with that in mind, I continued walking to catch up with the others: feeling a lot more lighter on the inside.
I seriously wanted to shower and change into a new set of clothes now. My clothes are stained in blood, so I probably looked like some kind of crazy chainsaw murder chick or something.
And while I remember thinking that same thought earlier today, my desire to shower and change grew even stronger now.
Why, you may ask?
Because Guy Cecil is here.
Yes, yes, I know he was with us since our escape from the Tartarus, but I didn't really notice him completely, you see? First, I was too busy running as far and as fast as I could, and then after that, I was too deep in thought and generally feeling sorry for myself.
But now that I'm free, and I have nothing else to think of... it just... hit me. Guy Cecil is here! He's there right in front of me! And he's, like everyone is, is real.
And... I won't deny it... I really, really like Guy. I mean... how could I not? He's, like, every girl's dream man.
So with that said... it took me everything I had to NOT go totally fangirl all over him and quite possibly creep him out. Not only that... but I have two opposing voices in my head that kept arguing the entire time. My fangirl side against my rational side. It kinda went like this:
'OHMYGOSH! Guuuy~! I love him~!'
'Stay calm. Just met the man: don't want to scare him off and make him think we're insane.'
'I wanna try hugging him! It would be so cute and funny!'
'No. No. His phobia is because of a traumatic experience! Don't make light of it!'
'Maybe poking him repeatedly is enough... I want to see him react because of me~!'
'Hell no. Stop it. Resist the urge! We're just going to be mean!'
'Guuuuy~~!'
'No! Stop it!'
...I kindly told those two voices in my head to shut up by slapping my head against a passing tree, which earned me a strange look from Ion. I quickly said that it was just a headache. Dear Lord...
"Uh... hah..."
I looked over and instantly felt alarmed when I saw Ion on his hands and knees: breathing heavily with sweat dripping down his face even faster than before.
"Ion, are you alright?" I asked worriedly. Tear instantly rushed over and knelt down by his side: placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, you okay?" Luke asked the same question again after several seconds of silence, which involved Ion gulping deep lungful of air through his mouth.
Jade made his way over, frowning as he observed the young Fon Master. "Ion... you used Daathic Fonic artes aboard the Tartarus, didn't you?" It was more a statement than a question.
"That thing you did back at the cheagles' place?" Luke inquired.
"I'm sorry," Ion said immediately after taking in another deep breath, closing his eyes. "My body just isn't built to use Daathic Fonic artes..."
I instantly noted that Ion, while he did not deny Jade's question, he did not correct it either. I believe I'm the only one here besides Ion himself who knew that Ion had been used to open a Sephiroth Door close to the Tartarus at that time.
"A fair bit of time has passed, so I thought I'd recover, but..." Ion trailed off, sighing heavily as he brought one shaky hand up to his forehead.
Seeing this, Jade nodded to himself: having made a decision. "Let's rest for a while. At this rate, we risk shortening Ion's life."
"Why not call it a day and set up camp, then?" I asked, looking up at the sky. "It's getting dark. Should we continue in the morning?"
The sun had already set past the horizon, so the sky's now a light, soft indigo color. It wouldn't be long before the stars become completely visible. The clouds rolled by lazily, a dark-blue in color.
"I think we're far enough away from the Tartarus," Guy added, looking back the way we came. "We've run quite the distance."
"Yes... I suppose so," Jade remarked, a hand on his chin thoughtfully.
"Right. So... firewood?" I suggested. At Tear's nod, I nodded back. "I'll go search for some then. Luke, do you want to help?"
"No way!" Luke declined loudly, collapsing on his rear for emphasis. "Why should I work? I'm too beat, anyway!"
"Fine, fine. I'll do it on my own, then," I shrugged, nearly rolling my eyes. "The rest of you look after Ion and get dinner ready." I blinked when I realized something. "Oh, wait... do we even have enough stuff for that?"
"I only have a little..." Tear admitted.
"No worries," Guy assured us, waving a hand with a relaxed smile. "I brought some ingredients and cooking supplies."
"Oh, good..." Luke sighed in relief.
By the time I got back to the others, my arms laden with a few stones and some suitable wood to get a fire going, the others seemed to have filled Guy in on everything.
"You've sure gotten yourself in a mess here, Luke..." Guy was saying when I had returned. Everyone was seated together. I also noticed a small pot, a knife, a ladle, some small bowls and some food ingredients on a large piece of paper were left out and placed together: ready to be used. I then noticed something else... three short metal pipes...? Two of them were curved like a turning fork at the end, while the other one appears longer than the other two and more straight. I then realized that they're probably supports for the pot so that it can be held over the fire. Guy is certainly well-prepared. Good thing, too.
Tear was the first to notice me. "Oh, good. You got back safe. Pile those together over there, would you?"
"Sure," I said, bending down next to the cooking utensils and dropping my collected pile of firewood down.
"By the way, who are you?" Ion asked politely, sounding sheepish. I started to place stones all around the pile of wood in the meantime while listening to their conversation with one ear.
"Oh!" I heard Guy exclaim. I turned to see him slapping a palm to his forehead lightly before standing up from his place on the ground. "Right. I haven't properly introduced myself, have I?"
He pointed a thumb to his chest, smiling at all of us. "I'm Guy. I'm a servant in Duke Fabre's manor."
Ion stood up at that, walking over to Guy and holding his hand out with a smile. They shook hands. "I'm Ion, the Fon Master of the Church of Lorelei."
Ion then stepped back, and Jade took his position. He held out his right hand and Guy shook it as well. "Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Malkuth Empire."
"I figured that you were from the army with your uniform," Guy remarked as Jade released his hold and walked away.
"My name is Tear," Tear introduced herself, walking towards Guy with her hand held out. "It's nice to mee-"
"Aaaah!"
She suddenly stopped mid sentence when Guy let out a startled yell and jumped away: his hands held up in a defensive manner and his eyes wide with terror. He was clearly trembling all over.
My eyebrows flew up at that. Ion looked startled, while Jade merely observed the scene casually in a calm manner. I could see Tear since she has her back to me, but she probably has a dumbfolded look on her face. Luke remained on his back on the ground, staring up at the sky with his hands behind his head as a pillow. He's either not paying attention to everyone else right now, or he's seen it all before. Both seemed likely, since Luke had not even batted an eyelash when Guy just yelled.
"...What?" Tear asked after several seconds of awkward silence. I could just imagine her (visible) eyebrow raised.
"Guy doesn't like women," Luke explained casually, still staring up at the dark sky.
At this, Jade raised an eyebrow as he looked over to Guy once more. "I'd say it looks more like a phobia."
Guy visibly swallowed, and when he spoke, his voice sounded just a bit higher. "S-Sorry... It's nothing personal... I-It's just..." he trailed off uncomfortably.
"If it helps, you don't have to think of me as a woman," Tear advised kindly, stepping towards him again. But Guy stumbled backwards (looking as if he had nearly tripped himself in the process) with his arms flailing. Goodness... seeing it on a video-screen is funny, but here now? It's kind of painful to watch.
"Tear, leave him," I called out, sighing lightly. "It's easier said than done. You're just going to make the poor guy, err, no pun intended, sorry... you're going to make him die with terror."
Tear stopped any further advances at that, and she turned her back to Guy while placing the palm of her gloved hand against her forehead: her eyes closed.
"Fine. We'll be sure to keep our distance. Will that help?" She asked Guy, sounding just a tad bit irked. Her tone and facial expression were screaming 'Is this man for real?'.
When he saw that neither Tear or I are going to jump him any time soon and the fact that he's already quite a safe distance away from us, Guy relaxed.
"Sorry..." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Mieu, be a dear and set these on fire, will you?" I asked the cheagle, pointing the ladle towards the wood pile I finished placing together.
"No problem at all~!" Mieu chirped, bounding over close to my side. Leaning back and taking in a deep breath, Mieu threw his head forward and released a small stream of fire at the center of the wood pile. And just like that, we now had a bright fire going: lighting up the campsite. Placing the ladle down, I started to stand up.
"Oh, wait, no. Here, let me get that," Guy said as I heard him made his way over. "You sit back down and relax. I'll cook, if you don't mind."
Across from me, Guy leaned over and grabbed the metal supports and started to set them over the fire. "So, that little fellow over there is Mieu, right?"
"That's right!" Mieu beamed, raising a paw up. "But Master also gave me the name 'Thing'!"
I noticed Guy wince at that. "That's... nevermind." He sighed. He looked up. It took me a moment to notice that he's looking at me.
"And you? Sorry, I didn't get your name," Guy said, smiling. I looked away, feeling my face heat up. Damn it... why must he be even more handsome in reality?
"Sam... Samantha," I replied, looking down. I then noticed my... unappealing state of dress. "And...! Sorry that you have to... meet me like... this. I'm a mess..."
To my surprise, Guy only laughed at that. "Come on, you're apologizing for something like that? I'm sure you couldn't help it."
"Er... yeah," was the only thing I could come up with.
"Guy," Jade said as he made his way over to the fire. "I must ask. If you serve House Fabre, you must be from Kimlasca. You came looking for Luke under whose orders?"
"From Duke Fabre, Luke's father," Guy responded, turning to face the necromancer. "We knew he'd disappeared into Malkuth territory. Like I said earlier, everyone suspected it was a plot made by the Malkuthians. I went by land from Chesedonia, while Dorian General Grants crossed the sea and started searching from Kaitzur."
I heard Tear made a startled sound at that, and suddenly, Luke was right by Guy's side: grinning and looking quite excited.
"Master Van's looking for me, too?" Luke exclaimed happily.
"...My brother's here?" I heard Tear ask slowly. Guy's eyes widened at that, and he looked over to her.
"Your brother? You mean..." he suddenly stopped, frowning as he raised a hand up for silence. "Hey... does everyone hear that?" he asked quietly, his brows furrowing.
"What is it?" Tear whispered before we all kept quiet and listened together.
And then we all heard it. The sound of armor coming towards our direction.
"What...?" Luke asked quietly, his eyes widening as he stood up: reaching a hand behind his back to where his sword was.
I inhaled sharply, standing up and withdrawing my daggers. I know what this means...
"It sounds like... the Oracle Soldiers have caught up to us, I believe," I stated grimly, turning to face the direction where the noises are coming. "Get ready, everyone."
"This fast?" Luke exclaimed in disbelief as Jade summoned his lance to appear.
"Indeed... It looks like we've run out of time to chat," he remarked in a feigned sorrowful voice just as three Oracle Knights appeared in our campsite.
"There they are!" one of them shouted. Without another warning, Jade and Guy launched themselves at them with their respective weapons.
"Th-Those are people..." Luke murmured. I heard him swallow loudly.
"Luke, stay back! You know you won't be able to kill them!" Tear shouted before charging towards the fight herself: her staff out in front of her.
"I'm not going to just sit by and let everyone risk their lives alone! I promised myself that after our talk! I'm going!" I yelled before charging as well: my eyes narrowed as I picked who to fight.
"Then... then I'm fighting too! I'm not going to be left out!" I heard Luke shout from behind me. Well, good for him then.
To be truthful, I myself am still scared on the inside of killing another human again. But... I made a promise earlier to myself, and I have to keep it. For my own sake while in this world: where danger lurks at every corner, where my life can be either spared or forfeited in every battle from here on out. So... if I want to guarantee the safety of my own well-being... I need to start fighting now.
Because it all just couldn't be helped. Because there's no other way. So cruel, yet so true.
Push thoughts of my enemies away, because that will only make me hesitate, and I can't do that again. I don't want to die just because I hesitated, just because of guilt. I'll... never see my home or my family again if I die...
So with that in mind, I won't... I can't be scared any more.
I'll fight.
"You! You there, girl!" came a shout as one of the Oracle Knights tore himself away from the battle: leaving his two comrades to deal with Tear, Guy and Jade. I frowned, raising my daggers up. I could see Luke stopping at my side from the corner of my eye.
"What?" I demanded, glad that my voice remained steady. The Oracle Knight in front of us aimed his sword at me.
"It was you! You killed my brother! You killed Frey!" the Oracle Knight, whom I now recognized as the one named Weimar, roared angrily: his metallic voice filled with hate. "I won't forgive you for what you've done! For the sake of my brother, I will avenge him with your death!"
My eyes narrowed at that. He wouldn't understand. He will never understand my predicament. And of course he would care more for his deceased beloved brother than he would a random girl who killed him. Trying to explain myself to him would be futile. It won't satisfy him, I believe.
Because if you look at it from Weimar's eyes... I'm the 'bad guy' as of this moment. ...So be it, I guess. Let him think what he will if it satisfies him.
"I'm sure he and you have killed more people during your ambush on the Tartarus," I snapped. "It's a battle with us on different sides. I'm sorry your brother has to die by my hands, but it can't be helped. But know at least this..."
Without giving him another warning, I took off at a sprint towards him: my daggers out and at the ready.
"I'm not planning on getting killed either!" I screamed, watching him raise his sword up.
"We won't let you all get away!"
I dodged his sword by running out of the way of its range and going behind Weimar's back. Before I could plunge a dagger into his armored back or something, he quickly spun around and swiped at me: forcing me to jump back.
I noticed Luke running towards us with his sword raised in his left hand. Hearing his battle roar, Weimar turned around and raised his sword just in time to deflect Luke's own blade. At the back of my mind, I thought that it was unfair that we're going two-on-one on him, but I shoved it to the back of my mind.
No. I won't think of it. It won't help me at all. But I better just finish this quickly, then.
As Weimar pushed Luke back with his sword, I ran towards him and plunged one of my daggers into his back hard enough to penetrate his armor. Weimar let out a short yell of pain, and I have to duck down to avoid getting elbowed in the face. Reaching up to grab onto his wrist as tightly as I could, I pulled myself up before driving a knee up to his side (ignoring the pain as I did so) before following it up by striking him in the face with the hilt of my other dagger.
I then felt extreme pain in my stomach when Weimar delivered a knee of his own and knocking the wind out of me. Letting out a cough, I let go of his wrist before kneeling over in pain. Dammit, that hurts!
As I tried to get air back into my lungs, I noticed the soldier raising his sword to bring it down upon me before suddenly stumbling over to the side as Luke drove his shoulder into the man to push him away from me.
Gulping in air and taking in a deep breath, I slowly stood up to see Luke slashing diagonally down on Weimar's torso before quickly reversing the strike back upwards to finish it with a powerful vertical uppercut movement. I recognized that move to be Luke's Fang Blade attack.
Hm? Where's my other dagger?
My internal question was quickly answered when I noticed that Weimar, after stumbling several steps backwards, had his free hand behind his back, while blocking and fighting Luke back with just one arm- ah... is my dagger stuck in his back? That's... good for us.
It was good for us indeed, especially since Luke was able to get some attacks in before Weimar was finally able to yank my dagger free from his back and hurling it away. Having gotten rid of the distraction, Weimar was now able to fight back more effortlessly against Luke.
Running over to where my dagger had landed on the ground where Weimar had thrown it, I stood up and looked over to see how the others are fairing... just in time to see deliver a quick accurate thrust onto a fallen Oracle Knight and ending his life.
I grimaced, looking over to see Guy still fighting against his own opponent. Just then, a spiral of dark violet with lavender bubbles surrounded the Oracle Knight, making him stumble and fall to his knees from Tear's Nightmare attack. Taking advantage of this, Guy thrust his sword hard into the man's armored chest until it appeared out the other side of his body: coated in red blood. Two down... one left now...
I noticed Jade looking over to where Luke and Weimar were, before holding his spear in front of him. Runes appeared beneath his feet as he prepared a fonic arte. Meanwhile, Tear started to quickly run towards where Luke was.
"O mighty explosion... Energy Blast!"
An large energy sphere was formed over Weimar. Just as Luke jumped back to avoid a swipe, the energy sphere exploded. The force was strong enough to throw Weimar forward and onto the ground on his stomach. I then noticed a bloody hole in his back from where I had stabbed him with my dagger.
As Weimar slowly got up on one knee, I heard Jade call out, "Luke! Finish him!"
Stepping in front of Weimar, Luke slowly raised his sword high above his head: biting his lip as his eyes strained with hesitation. Gritting his teeth, Luke brought down his sword-
-only to have Weimar knock it away with his own blade: completely out of Luke's reach.
My eyes widened as Weimar stood up and raised his sword up high as Luke stepped back, stumbled and fell onto his rear: his eyes wide in terror as he stared up the man towering over him. Holding my daggers up, I started to charge towards the two as Guy screamed at Luke to snap it out of it.
The next few seconds all seemed like a blur. It all happened so fast.
Weimar had brought his sword down. It would have lopped Luke's head off had it hit its intended target.
Except only that Tear, from seemingly out of nowhere, threw herself right in front of Luke and the blade struck her right in the back instead. For the first time since I met her earlier this morning, I heard Tear let out a pained scream.
"Damn you!"
Suddenly angry now, and focusing all my attention of him, I practically threw my entire weight onto him as I barrelled Weimar to his back on the ground with me on top of him. Just like what had happened with me and his brother earlier, except the roles where reversed now.
Not wasting any time, my mind working quickly, I sat up with my back arched and held my daggers high above my head.
I spared only a glance to Weimar's face in his helmet through his visor. He looked back up at me with anger just as I said my final words to him.
"I'm sorry."
I plunged both of my daggers down.
And just like that... it's over.
"Tear... is she alright?" Mieu asked sorrowfully from his place behind the bushes and where the camp was. I let out a breath, looking down at the younger girl laying unconscious on her stomach on the ground in front of me: her uniform taken down to her waist courtesy of me.
"She'll be fine, I believe. She's strong," I said, taking care to keep my voice steady as I gently applied another Apple Gel upon the red gash on her back.
Tear had fallen unconscious after Weimar's slash to her back. His blade cut through the fabric of her dress and the flesh beneath it: making it bleed. Luke had been stammering incoherently to her unconscious form, so Guy quickly went to comfort him.
It's hard to apply medical aid to Tear's back with her uniform on, so I told Jade to carry her behind the bushes so that I can treat her out of everyone's sight. Luke couldn't do it for obvious reasons, Guy can't touch her because of his phobia, and Ion and I did not have enough muscle for it. Jade did not make a teasing remark, so I was glad for that.
After practically ordering the men not to look, I started to try and pull Tear's uniform down so that I can get to work, with all the stuff I may need on the ground next to me. It was tricky at first, but I eventually found a way to pull Tear's dress down to her waist. Now that her wound (and her white bra, but I'm not too interested in that) is out in the open, I first took the task of wiping the blood and cleaning her back with a wet cloth.
When I was doing that, Jade had taken Luke to go help him with dumping the dead bodies of the three Oracle Knights elsewhere, saying that the scent of blood and death will attract the more carnivorous monsters to our camp if they were left alone. Yeah, good idea, I believe.
Guy was over the cooking pot and preparing dinner for everyone. Ion was sitting nearby with his arms around his knees as he stared into the bright fire, and Mieu was resting against his side, occasionally calling out to me and asking over and over if Tear's going to be fine.
Night had completely set over now, and we only have our campfire to light up the area around us. Luna (Auldrant's moon), as Ion had casually called 'her' ("Luna's out now. She's as lovely as ever," he had commented), hung high up in the dark, black sky. The sky was also blanketed with several tiny stars... what a sight.
Finished applying the gel, I picked up a roll of tape bandages, given to me by Guy (actually, he just gave me permission to take it from his bag since he can't hand it to me) and tore a long one out. As the only other female in the group, I feel that it's my responsibility to take care of Tear for this moment. Plus, I'm sure Tear values her decency as a woman, so all the more reason why I should be the one to do it instead of one of the guys.
"There..." I whispered to Tear's form as I lightly taped her wound closed. "All done."
As if my voice woke her up, Tear stirred a bit. "Mm..."
"Tear...?" I asked quietly, leaning over to take a look at her face. Her visible eye that was not hidden behind her bangs slowly fluttered open to reveal to me a blue pupil.
"S-Samantha..." she asked tiredly, placing her hands against the ground and attempting to push herself up. I quickly placed a hand on her upper back and gently pushed her back down on the thin blanket underneath her.
"Hey, hey, hey... take it easy," I told her, frowning. "You got cut up by that Oracle Soldier in Luke's place, remember? Don't push yourself."
"Ah... I remember now," she remarked, closing her eyes with a quiet sigh.
"Jesus Christ, you scared the hell out of Luke. Don't do something dangerous like that again, okay? I almost got a heart-attack," I said, feeling the corners of my lip twitch. "Well, at least you're okay now. I just treated your wound, so be a little more careful in moving around for a while, alright?"
Tear shook her head. "You shouldn't have done that. I could heal it myself when I woke back up."
I frowned, tapping her on the shoulder a few times. "Hey, I just did you a good deed. Are you going to let it go unappreciated when I helped out of the goodness of my heart?"
"No, I suppose not," Tear smiled, chuckling slightly. "...By the way... I noticed you say them often."
"What?"
"You tend to say things like... 'Jesus Christ' and 'Oh my God' often. Though... more of the latter," Tear noted, and I felt my heart skip a beat as my eyes widened. Oh shit. I completely forgot about those!
"...I just got that from a friend who says it often, so it kind of got stuck on me, I guess," I lied, shrugging and forcing myself to calm down. "As for the 'Oh my God' part... ah... I always see Lorelei as a God more, so... it kinda fits to me, I believe."
"...You don't believe in Yulia Jue?" Tear asked, sounding like a mix between curious and disbelief. I shook my head, starting to pack everything back up into my satchel.
"No, it's not like that. I know Yulia exists. But..." I stopped for a quick second, looking for what could pass of as a plausible explanation. "...but I... don't... I never followed her Score, so... yeah... I look up to Lorelei more, you could say."
There. That sounded good... at least to me.
"You don't follow the Score?" Two voices asked me simultaneously. One was Tear, and the other was Ion, who was actually listening in on us.
I smiled slightly. It really must sound like something unbelievable to those who are part of the Order of Lorelei.
"I don't like the idea of being completely dependable or something, or having my actions controlled," I informed them. Well, that was the truth at the least. I frowned again, thinking about my next truthful words. "I want... I want to live my own life the way I want it. Not because of what someone... or something else tells me to do."
"Oh, is that so?" Ion asked, smiling. "Well, if that's your choice, then I have no right to force you to do otherwise."
"To each their own, I suppose," Tear murmured thoughtfully. "...Also, excuse me for asking, but are you alright?"
"Huh?" I asked, zipping up my satchel after putting everything back in it. "What do you mean?"
"Will you be alright with us? Killing other people must be a strain on you," she clarified. "You and Luke are normal civilians, so it might have been painful that you would cry for others' lost lives."
I grimaced at that. "You saw that...?"
"We all did," she confirmed, turning so that she could look up at me with her clear gaze. "If everything proves to be too difficult for you, you could hide behind us when we fight, only stepping in when you need to. We will not force you to fight."
"No," I stated sternly, narrowing my eyes at her. "I get it now. I've thought about it for a while, and I remembered some things important ever since I killed that man back at the Tartarus, and... before killing his brother just now."
I exhaled once through my nose. "Tear, don't... please don't treat me like that. I understand now. I get what I have to do to survive, and to keep on surviving if I want to continue travelling with you guys. Yes... I will admit that my heart aches when I kill those two men... but I know now what I should do when it comes to fighting human in general."
I poked the ground with my pointer finger a few times. "I'm sorry, for crying and making you guys worry. But I assure you it's only because of the guilt that came with having my first human kill, and the painful thoughts that came with it. Like you said..." I forced on a smile. "...I'm... just a civilian. I'm not born or trained a fighter. So you can't honestly look down at me for shedding some tears, will you?"
"No one in this group is looking down at anyone, I assure you that," Tear stated assertively.
"Yeah, maybe..." I murmured, shrugging. "But Tear... I know now. I know what I'm getting myself into now that I've experienced it firsthand. I've already prepared myself both mentally and emotionally for what's to come. You don't have to worry for my sake anymore. I'll fight. I'll fight right next you you guys." I put on a smirk. "And if you don't want me to... then that's too bad. I'll fight anyway, whether you like it or not. I'm not going to be just a heavy luggage for you to carry around."
Tear chuckled at that, smiling as she closed her eyes. "I see. That's good to hear. Then if you truly believe that, then I will not hold you back behind me. I'm relieved, honestly." She opened her eyes again. "Now are you finished, Samantha? I wish to get dressed."
"Yeah," I confirmed, picking up a napkin and wiping my hands with it. As I stood up, I Jade and Luke had just returned, talking quietly to each other about something.
"Master! Tear's awake now!" Mieu cried out happily from where he was. Luke's eyes widened at that.
"Really?" He turned to make his way over to where we were.
"Ahdatdatdatdat! Waaiit~!" I yelled, pointing a finger at him and holding my free arm out to block any possible view of Tear in her bra to the red-head. "You stay right there, young man!"
Luke reeled back slightly at that, but looked angry. "What, why?" he demanded loudly.
"Luke. I'm changing. Please wait a moment," Tear called out to him in a calmer voice as she slipped her dress back up her neck. I smirked when I saw Luke's face turning a bright shade of red at that.
"O-Oh..."
"Anyway, dinner's up, everybody!" Guy informed all of us jovially, tapping the ladle against the pot lightly. I stepped out of the bushes with my satchel over one shoulder: still wiping my hands with the napkin.
"What is it?" Ion asked curiously, making his way over to the pot and leaning over it slightly to take a peek inside it. Guy handed him a bowl with a spoon inside of it.
"Potato stew, hope you all don't mind," Guy said, pouring some of it into Ion's bowl with his ladle before pouring some into his own bowl as well. They both then stepped away to take a seat as Luke and Jade took their turns.
"Not at all," Tear said as she stepped out of the bushes, now fully dressed again. "We appreciate anything you could make for us."
With that, all of us including Mieu were surrounding the fireplace: eating and conversing with one another. Eventually, after a few minutes of casual conversation among us all, the conversation turned to the subject of night watch.
"So, after this, it's time for a rest," I said, stirring the spoon in my bowl: watching the ingredients in it move. "We need to take turns watching the camp, do we? I call first watch."
The reason I wanted the first watch is that so when I'm done with my shift, I wouldn't have to worry about being awoken in the middle of the night. I could sleep until morning with any disturbances.
"Very well. In that case, I take the second watch," Jade said, looking into the fireplace. The flickering of the flames were reflected against his glasses as he thought. "Tear, you're injured, so it's best that you have all the rest you can."
"I'll be fine, Colonel," she insisted, but Jade shook his head.
"No. We need you to be able to operate at one hundred percent by morning, especially since you're our main healer. Get all the sleep you can."
"He has a point, you know," Guy piped up, raising his spoon at her. "Leave the rest to us, alright? I'm sure you worked hard enough for today."
Tear still didn't like the idea, but stepped down with a sigh nonetheless. Guy continued speaking. "So, after Jade, it will be me, then Luke."
"I have to work, too?" Luke complained, glaring at his bowl. "I'm too tired. I just want a break already."
"Then it's best if the young master tucks himself into bed early then, correct?" Jade spoke in a teasing voice.
"Don't talk to me like that!" Luke ordered indignantly.
"But I am only looking out for your best interest," Jade shrugged, smiling. "It will only mean bad news for us if we returned you to His Majesty of Kimlasca half-dead from being so ill-treated."
"Argh!" the young noble violently ruffled his hair with one hand. "If you keep acting like that, I might as well pop a blood vessel since you're pissing me off so much! I won't stay healthy with you around, anyway!"
"Now, now, Luke..." Jade calmed the boy with a sickeningly sweet voice. "Is it really my fault that you have such a nasty temper?"
"Lay off him, Jade," Guy advised, sighing.
"Um, what about me?" Ion asked, raising a hand.
"Oh. No, Fon Master," Tear said, shaking her head. "We couldn't ask you to help with night watch. You can relax."
"But-"
"Just go ahead and rest, Ion," I interjected, giving him a smile. "Just leave it to us, okay? Besides, you're not really in top shape, so it's best if you rest as much as you can."
"What about me?" the cheagle of our group asked as he munched on a batch of cabbage.
"You too, Mieu. You can just sleep."
"I don't think Thing could even last his own against a monster if we get attacked during the night anyway," Luke huffed.
"Luke! As Mieu's master, you need to treat him with more love and care!" Tear scolded him. "Can you give him that, or you really have no idea to do that either?"
"Ugh, I so can!" Luke shot back, placing his bowl down to one side and reaching a hand down to Mieu and grudgingly petting him on the head. Mieu closed his eyes in content before falling over onto his back. Rolling his eyes, Luke then switched to tickling Mieu in the belly, which made the cheagle to move his paws around in an adorable manner.
Tear set her lips into a thin line as she watched the scene with... envy?
"See?" Luke scoffed, looking over to her. "Are you happy now?"
"D-Don't overdo it either!" she suddenly snapped, blushing furiously as Luke accidentally fell over. Mieu and the rest of the guys looked shocked and surprised (though Jade only looked mildly amused) at the outburst. I just laughed: Tear and her love for cute things is just too much.
Being with this party is sure going to be a load full of fun.
Letting out a quiet sigh, I stepped out of the bushes and towards to the very front of the camp site. I had just cleaned my daggers and myself the best I could with some spare cloth, since I rarely got the time to do so until now. We all were just on the move doing this and that.
At the very least, I got all the blood out from my hands and skin, as well as some fresh blood on my clothes. However, other than that, the blood from Frey and the griffin had already dried on my top and on some parts of my pants, so I couldn't get them out. And I can't ask for someone's canteen.. I don't know how long it is until we reach Saint Binah, but it's best to save as much as our water as possible.
Hahh... Saint Binah... I just can't wait for a shower. Oh, and the chance to wash my clothes too.
Finding a good spot away from the camp site to start the first watch. My daggers are in the pockets of my camouflage pants, their weight comforting to me. Monsters should be easier to handle than humans... so I like to believe that I'll be fine while everyone else is asleep.
Guy was cleaning up all the kitchen utensils, and Mieu, Ion and Tear had already fallen asleep the last time I checked.
Luke was trying to sleep as well. Keyword on 'trying'. He was lying on his back with his eyes closed, but he kept shifting around to find a comfortable position to lull him to sleep. Despite this though, it appears that he wants us to believe that he really was sleeping, since he stayed completely still when either Guy or Jade tried to get his attention. In the end, we decided to leave him to his thoughts. The poor kid had a long day, and he already talked as much as he had wanted with everyone in the group. I also saw him writing in a book, which is probably his diary, for a long while before deciding to go to sleep.
I sighed at that, looking at the plains spread out in front of me. It was then I heard footsteps coming up behind me. It must be Jade, since Guy's still busy when I had just looked.
"Well, good evening, Samantha."
Hmhmm. So it is Jade.
"Evening, Jade," I responded back, turning to look at him over my shoulder as he walked over to my side. "What's up?"
"Oh, not much. Just wanted to engage in casual chit-chat before taking a break," he answered lightly, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I talked to Tear."
I turned my gaze back out to the plains. "...Yeah? What about that?"
"Have you really accepted the idea of killing another human being?" he asked seriously. I could feel his gaze on me. "Will you really feel no remorse for any more killings you may perform from this point on?"
I inhaled slowly before letting it out. "Like I told Tear... I don't want to be a burden, so I'll fight. If you're asking me the question if I can fight, if I will fight... then the answer's 'yes'." I placed a hand on the opposite arm. "As for the feeling no remorse for killing thing... Honestly? No. I know I'll still feel bad, still feel guilty inside for taking the life of another person's family member. But..." I bit my lip. "...But I won't let it affect my performance in battle. You can find relief in that, I'm sure."
"If that is really the case, then I will have absolutely no problems with that," Jade said. "However, I also do ask that you learn how to fight more efficiently if you wish to survive longer."
"I'm working on that, Jade," I replied, feeling a bit irked. I don't need to be reminded of my poor fighting skills. It's insulting, even if it's true. I suddenly got an idea. "If you're that worried, then maybe you can help train me?"
"Train you?" Jade repeated in amusement, bringing two fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Oh, I'm afraid I can't. Since you fight using daggers, it would mean a lot of movement from me if I were to teach you. My age is catching up to me, you see... I would run out of breath by trying to match up with your youthful speed and stamina."
I felt one of my eyebrows twitch at that. "Jade..." I drawled. "...you're just being lazy, aren't you?"
"Why, I can't believe you would think I'm lazy!" Jade chuckled. "Samantha, I assure you... my inability to move around too much for too long is not. At. All my voluntary choice. Also, I think I would tear at something inside of me. It is completely hazardous for my well-being, you know."
I pressed my fingers against my temples at that, closing my eyes. "Gee, thanks, Jade," I muttered sarcastically. "That sure was a lot of help..."
"Speaking of which..." I felt him rap his knuckles firmly against the top of my head. Curse his height!
"Ow... Jade-!"
"You're a naughty girl... stealing those daggers from my ship, before the Tartarus even got attacked."
I froze at that, and he continued. His tone was now half-serious. "Now, may I ask why you did that? Are you hiding something from us, Samantha?"
Oh, good lord... does he think I'm a thief now? ...Well, technically I am when I stole those daggers, but he now probably believed I'm a thief before I even met Ion!
"I already told you my story, didn't I?" I told him, making sure to sound annoyed as well. "I got mugged by a bandit. I have nothing on me except Luke's wooden sword which, I remind you, gives me little to no help. I just needed a weapon until I can get another one, just in case. I was going to return them to you later."
"Is that so?" Jade asked, leaning forward. I took several steps back away from him as he shrugged and straightened up again. "However, in the meantime, I would expect you to pay me back in some way for compensation."
"Jade-" I started to protest, but he quickly went on.
"Perhaps you can cover me from the enemies as I charge up my fonic artes?" He smirked at me coyly. "Or, perhaps even be my personal shield. I think it's an honorable thing to do: protecting your elders at the cost of your own body."
"You want me to take hits in your place?" I blanched, shaking my head quickly. "No! I'll end up dying if I do that all the time!"
"Oh, I'm not asking you to do it all the time. Just the time you took when using those daggers," Jade corrected me in a feigned innocent voice.
I grimaced. "...Maybe. We'll see," was all I said in the end. Mainly just to shut him up.
"I'm glad we could have this conversation," he chirped. "Now, I'll retire for now until it's my turn to take watch. Have a good night, Samantha."
"Night..." I mumbled as Jade walked back to the campsite. Honestly... that man...
Only a minute has passed before I heard footsteps coming up behind me again. I sighed, "What now, Jade?"
"Wrong person."
Feeling my face heat up, I turned around and then looked up slightly to see Guy's smiling face. I also noticed that he's standing a good distance away from me. Despite the fact that I was aware of his phobia, I couldn't help but feel a bit insulted still. Probably because I like him as the person he is.
"Oh, sorry, Guy!" I said quickly, ignoring the screams of my inner fangirl within me. "I... I thought..."
"Hey, don't worry about it," Guy said reassuringly, waving a hand. "Just wanted to see if you'll be fine on your own while we're all asleep. You sure you don't need one of the men awake in case?"
I smiled at that, shaking my head. Oh, he's such a nice man, really. "No, I'm fine. You go ahead and take some rest, Guy. You probably did a lot of walking today."
"It's really not that of a big deal," he said, looking off towards the plains in the distance. "It's worth it. To see Luke still alive, and especially with all of his memories still intact. He told you about that, didn't he?"
"Mm, yeah," I responded, nodding. I smiled slightly. "You're really worried about him, huh?"
"He may be spoiled and loud, but he's a good person deep down, really," Guy looked back at me. "Don't let anything negative he says to you personally... he's just always like that."
I'll take that as a 'yes' then.
"And I have to thank you for looking after him till now," he added.
I raised my eyebrows at that. "Tear was the one who looked after him. I only met him just this morning."
"But you helped too," Guy pointed out. He suddenly chuckled. "I don't know what he'll do if he's left alone. Considering this is Malkuth territory, he would have a lot of enemies just because..." he paused for just a moment, looking away with his eyes narrowed.
"...Just because of who his father is," he muttered slowly.
Knowing the topic of Luke's father is a touchy topic for him, I quickly searched for another conversation topic to talk about.
"Um... what about his mother?" I asked a bit nervously. "What is she like?"
Bingo. Guy's eyes lightened up again.
"Ah, his mother, Lady Suzanne. That woman's one of the most kind-hearted and selfless person you could know," he chuckled, turning to face me again. "She knows all of the servants and guards in the Fabre household by name, and she's pretty friendly with just about everyone." He sighed. "She's pretty frail, though. But she's always thinking of other people. I wouldn't work for another woman as a servant."
I smiled at that. "She sounds really sweet. I would really like to see her."
"Maybe..." He tilted his head slightly in thought. "You're going to come with us all the way to Baticul?"
"Yeah," I confirmed, nodding once. "I'm staying with you guys. I can't leave you now, especially since I'm already knee-length deep in. I feel like it's the right thing to do."
"Glad to hear it, then," he smiled. "Because I wouldn't mind getting to know you better, Sam."
Hnnngh... damn Guy and his natural charms! ...Hey, wait a minute...
"Did you just call me 'Sam'?" I asked, my eyebrows raised. Guy's eyes widened at that, and he brought his hands up.
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean it! It just slipped out because it's easier to say! Sorry if I offended you-"
"Guy," I cut in, holding a hand up with a smile. "I don't mind, really. I'm just surprised, is all. Everyone else here just called me Samantha, so I got used to it."
Besides... Guy's real name is Gailardia anyway, so in a way, we're even.
He relaxed at that, bringing his hands back down. "Really?"
"Really really."
"Well, if you say you don't mind..." Guy shrugged amicably. "Well, I'm going to get some rest now. Keep up the good work, alright? Goodnight then."
"Sure. Night Guy."
End of the chapteeeer~! 8D
Personally, this is my favorite out of all the chapters so far.
Pleeeease make my work and effort feel like it's worth it by leaving a review when you've read this far! Come on. If you have time to put this story on your Favs and on alert, as well as READ the ENTIRE thing (which I'm sure takes more time than writing a review) then how could you be unable to leave even a short review? D: Don't be lazy now! I did my part of the work, so you all should do yours as well! XDDDD
Don't be shy in reviewing, even if you feel like you're late! Reviews make me happy and warm and fuzzy inside, no matter when it is submitted! :DD
Now!
NEXT CHAPTER: Welcome to Saint Binah!
Ciao, ciao~!
