CHAPTER XI: Uncertainty

Fie sighed.

"'Let's talk later' she said. 'It'll be fine' she said. 'Just one more pint' my ass."

She should have expected as much though. It was standard procedure to her by now to deposit her passed-out alcoholic seniors in their beds. She has two of them.

It probably wasn't such a good idea to leave her future empress(sorta) in such a vulnerable state. She reasoned otherwise, however. Scherazard was still an A-rank bracer; the woman could take care of herself. And if anyone ever tried to make a move on her, she would gladly introduce to them the business end of her whip.

Achoo!

Snorting and wiping her face clean, Fie glanced around. Thankfully, she sat alone on the pier; the workers and fishermen had all retreated for the night, sparing them from the indignity of her cutesy sneeze.

No coat… right, Fie reminded herself. Twas not her best idea to walk around a chilly winter night without her coat. Still, she wanted to be alone for the moment, which was the reason she was out behind the Aprikoze Inn and not under a blanket in Arseid Manor; felt it too early to visit considering her current temperament. Maybe she'd cool off for a bit before saying hi.

Fie dipped her toes ever so slightly in the water. It rippled tiny waves on the still lakeside breaking her reflected image on the surface. Her callous green eyes glared back at her, the dark bags underneath it failing to mask the exhaustion on her face. The mist that blanketed Legram prickled on her skin, its icy sting a welcome addition to her increasingly sour mood. The initial excitement of her coming to the town had faded, and, as if the very air in her lungs turned to lumps of ice, a weight burdened on her heart.

Despite her exquisite meal, all she could taste right now was empty bitterness.

Why am I like this…?

She should've been able to ace her way to A-rank, much like everything else she set her mind on. Her friends and colleagues could attest to that. Even Sara could do it at a much younger age; she got promoted to A as soon as she joined the guild. Call it arrogance or whatever, Fie was confident in her skills.

Yet she failed. Only because she wasn't paying attention.

She kicked at her reflection, the resulting splash shattering the silence of the night.

Damn it.

"If you keep kicking like that, you're gonna scare off all the fish… if your scowling doesn't do it first."

"...?!"

A few arges away from her stood a burly man. A large knapsack draped over his broad shoulders as a thick hood shrouded his head. The darkness made it difficult for her to distinguish his facial features, but the man's silhouette cut an imposingly tall and brutish figure. His deep voice commanded a presence befitting his stature.

With a fishing rod in hand, the giant sat down some ways opposite her and cast out his line.

"Hi," he said.

"... Hi." I didn't even sense him coming…

"Don't mind me. Just fishing is' all." The boorish man turned his gaze steady towards the lake when Fie peered under his hood.

"Am I supposed to know you too?" she asked.

The man roared in laughter, "I don't think so. We haven't met yet."

Fie waited for him to introduce himself… to no avail. Despite the rudeness, she couldn't find the energy to question the mystery person. The fog obscured her vision too, so she gave up on trying to recognize his face. It wasn't worth the trouble of being suspicious of some random fisherman. Plus, she wasn't in much of a talking mood either. She had made to leave quietly when the large man spoke.

"If you want my advice though, young ones like you shouldn't worry too much about the future. Simply bask in what the present has to offer!" He emphasized his point by hauling in his first catch of salmon and tossing it into his prepared basket.

"I didn't want your advice," Fie snapped back. Much less cliche ones, she didn't add. It hardly related to her problem anyway. Her present sucked, so his words were nill.

"Haha… I apologize. You see, I have a daughter your age. You just reminded me of her."

"Uh-huh..."

"Well, if you don't want advice from your elders… why not stay and humor this old man for a few minutes? You bracers do that, right?" he asked.

"... If you have a request, please drop it by the Bracer Guild branch front desk. If the receptionist there is asleep, please don't hesitate to wake him up," Fie recited her spiel.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I only wanted to talk. It's still some time before the fish become active anyway. Just to pass the time, if you're willing."

Not in a talkative mood, she deadpanned in her mind. Nor was she in the mood to go see the Viscountess either. She sat back down, her feet getting wet once more from the high rising waters. "... What did you want to talk about?"

The man chuckled. Another fresh salmon joined his captured loot. "I told you about my daughter, right?"

"What about her?"

"The reason I came up to talk was that the way you were acting reminded me of her and her own tantrums. That was it." the man said with as much gentleness his guttural voice could afford. "If I may, do you feel lost too?"

Fie remained silent.

"My daughter did. It pains a man's heart when he sees his girl worried like that. Makes us think if we made a mistake somewhere down the line. Makes us want to start over. She never knew her mom, you know.

"She's an independent woman now though. She makes her own choices and sees them through to the end. I, as her father, can only watch and support her from the shadows. Make sure she stays that way."

He turned towards her frowning face. "I'm sure your old man would understand as well."

A piercing gaze came from her eyes.

He merely laughed. It was gratingly boisterous. "She's a feisty one like you too. Like a tiger. Though I suppose, it was only a matter of time until someone managed to tame her. A boy even. Fancy that."

A large Gluttonous Bass crashed into the man's basket.

"You take your eyes off him for one second and he scampers off, stringing my poor depressed daughter along with him. Makes me want to strangle his neck, honestly," the man joked with mild amusement.

It was subtle, but Fie could tell that his grip on his fishing rod tightened and shook. "She ran away? You're looking for her?"

"Aye, I wish. If she wanted to stay hidden, she would," he said. He looked up at the sky in defeat.

Fie knew it was a full moon out. Shimmering stars dotted the vast dark blue, unobstructed by the thin clouds hanging overhead. Lohengrin Castle was also in clear view from the pier despite the fog. The scenery was beautiful, she had to admit.

But her stare never left the hooded man.

He continued, "...I thought she was happy the way she was. She's been doing what she loved all her life, and she'd grin and laugh whenever I asked if she wanted more. Yet I knew; I knew there was darkness growing inside of her. Doubt, anger, despair… emotions that I could never understand, and thus, could never overwhelm.

"Like a star that's been snuffed of its light, she too became consumed by her darkness."

The man crossed his arms and stood up, his fishing rod anchored near his feet. "You're not obligated to answer at all, but let me ask you…

"Why are you so afraid? Why do you hesitate when the power to purge that same darkness is within your grasp? Instead, you cower in fear before it. Why do you insist on wandering around lost and aimless, instead of charging through the path you know you must follow? You have the strength to fight for it, so why?"

...

"I-" Fie hesitated. "...I don't know."

She lied.

The man's words were correct, she knew. But just because he was right didn't mean she had to follow his advice.

I don't need 'that'. I need to get stronger in my own way. Have to. When I'm A-rank, then maybe…

Speaking of…

"You seem to know a lot about me. It's kinda unfair, so I'm gonna ask the questions next. Do you mind?" she said.

"Not at all."

"Thank you. First off…"

Fie leveled an impassive glare at the man. "Ignoring all that about me, my darkness and whatever, I don't even want to know how you came up with that. No, what I want to know is why you lied."

Her expression turned cold, " You told me we haven't met yet… but you knew I was a bracer. Care to explain?"

A frosty tension crowded the empty pier. It hung in the misty air as the seconds slowly ticked by. Fie locked her sights on to the man as if to stone him where he stood.

He simpered.

Hand already on her ARCUS, Fie smiled dangerously.

"So who are you? What are you doing here?"

"...I'm-"

The whirl of a crank broke the fragile silence. Their terse confrontation ended when the tall man heaved up his rod and started to reel in his catch.

"...I came here to fish. Nothing more, nothing less."

She didn't believe it. "...Fine."

Fie strode past the man and back towards the Inn. "I'll get off your hair then. Good luck with fishing."

She had to get back to Schera, as soon as possible. Guess no sleeping tonight either…

The wooden back door of the Aprikoze Inn closed with a slam. The rugged man had waited for the girl to leave before he examined his caught fish.

It shone with a taintless, golden hue in his one good eye. A feral grin curved on his lips.

"See you around… Sylphid."

And End. Despite the length, I think it's appropriate I cut the scene here.

I'm sorry if the crypticness is a bit much. I promise it'll make more sense as the arc goes on. I just feel that I need some more set up. It would probably make more sense if you knew who he was or who he was talking about. But that's just me. Is it confusing?

Reviews, favs, follows are appreciated.

See ya.