It was so quiet and hazy. Peaceful, yet uncomfortable. But he could feel nothing but grogginess. Slowly, he squirmed a bit and felt a soft surface. His eyes slowly opening up, he groaned his waking noise. The feeling of a warm light fell upon his body. It was sunny... signaling a brand new day.
"Huh? My room...?"
Tai slowly looked around and realized that he was indeed in his bedroom; the one that was guaranteed to him by the innkeeper. He looked out of the window and saw the tree of Halure beautifully dropping its petals onto its inhabitants as if they were blessings. Turning his face to look on the inside, he saw his palish pink and green room with all of his stuff in it.
"! The fight!" he said urgently.
Immediately trying to sit up was pointless. It caused his body to throb in pain. Flinching with a wince, he rebehaved and decided to take it slow. It was then looking at his body, all his injured body parts were patched up and wrapped in white medical tape. He still wore his glove, but the rest of his clothing was off and gone, leaving him to wear his plain white t-shirt (that still had blood stains on it and covered his glove like the hoodie did) and black athletic shorts. The accessories and the headphones rested in a little pile on a chair near the bed. But despite him being in an area that he was familiar with, he was confused on how he got there.
"Wasn't I just fighting that Orochi-whatever monster with the others? By the way, where did they go? Did they leave me behind?" he thought to himself.
It was then he suddenly noticed a certain blue dog curled up near the door of his room, sleeping. A bit shocked yet baffled on why Repede was sleeping in his room, he eliminated the stupid thought of 'he's my dog' and continued to wake up by rubbing his head and yawning. The yawn was loud enough to cause Repede's ears to twitch in response. Soon, the dog had awoken, yawning and stretching. But it soon looked at the teenager and realized he had awaken.
Soon, Repede was right at the bedside, sitting down and staring at him. Tai raised an eyebrow and pondered the very curiosity the dog had for him. Why was this dog so interested in him and more of, how did he get into his room? He tilted his head, only for Repede to do the exact thing. It was very awkward, having this experience. But Tai managed to speak.
"Um... morning, Repede," he said.
The dog responded and slowly walked a bit to the bed. Standing on his hind legs, Repede leaned his head very close to Tai's right leg, which was very tender and wrapped up the most. The teen scooted a bit away uncomfortably from him and got a bit squirmy.
"Wh-What is it?" he asked.
He then understood what Repede's motive was; his nose was pointing to the injured leg, and thus was asking if he was okay. Once he realized this, he nodded.
"I'm a little sore, Repede, but I'm gonna be fine, okay?" he informed him.
Suddenly, Repede looked really energetic and quickly hurried to the door. Opening it by standing on his hinds legs and using his mouth to open the door, he soon barked a few times to the outside. Sooner before Tai could even figure out what he was doing, Estelle happened to come upstairs and into his room with the rest of his clothing with him.
"Oh, Tai!" she said happily putting his clothes down, then running to him and hugging him, "It's so wonderful to see that you're okay!"
Taken back with extreme 'freaked out' feelings, if you will, Tai shivered in shock and unease as he nervously smiled, "U-Um, great to see you too, Estelle... can you stop hugging me now?"
"Oh, right, sorry!" Estelle said, letting go while Repede gave her a incredulous look.
But as she stood back, she actually took the time to look at Tai's face. Because he hid himself under his hoodie and headphones, the facial details of Tai wasn't really known to her, but now they were clear. His orange hair was longer than she expected. The front actually was very spiky, and it stuck out a bit and leaned towards the right. He had tiny sideburns/bangs near his ears that went against his face and the back of his hair just spiked out. His hairstyle was much bigger without his hoodie scrunching it. And his eyes were a deep, yet bold blue color. He looked rather handsome for a teenager his age.
After studying him for a bit and not to make him feel awkward, she then spoke, "I was so worried about you, Tai. You were really hurt in that battle yesterday."
"Yesterday? You mean I passed out last afternoon, through the night, and into another day?" he asked, blinking in shock.
"Yes. We immediately brought you here into your room and along with myself, some doctors from Halure treated your wounds. You're going to be okay; just sore for a bit," the princess responded with a nod.
"I see... what happened while I was out?" he asked, rubbing his head again.
"Well... we all treated every injured person the best we could, and we had to ask more guards from Zaphias to help us clean up the battlefield of all the fallen soldiers," Estelle said gravely sad, "But luckily no body from any nearby towns got hurt. It's still sad; all those knights who gave their life to fight that thing."
"Yeah... it's tragic," Tai said, and looking down with a depressed face, thought, "It must be a hell of a punch to Flynn's pride; the majority of his brigade wiped out by that monster, and it finally is destroyed when only the FIVE of us come... I hope he's taking if well."
"But cheer up!" Estelle said, happily getting his attention and making him smile, "They're going to honor every soldier and give as much support to the families. And we're okay!"
"Yeah, that is good," Tai said, as he then became a bit curious, "So, um... what were you doing with my clothes?"
"Oh, that," Estelle giggled, "You see, when that monster kicked you and you hit the ground, not only did the blood of your wounds stain your clothes, but you also ripped and tore them in a few places. But fear not; thanks to my sowing and washing skills, your clothes are all good as new!"
"Really? Thanks, Estelle," Tai said, smiling as he slowly moved a bit to the bed's edge, "I appreciate it. Those are my favorite clothing; it'd be a shame if they had to go if those tears and stains were in it."
"And also it allows me see your face for the first time, too," Estelle laughed a bit, causing the teen to chuckle himself.
"Well, don't get used to it," he warned her with a smile, "I barely have my hood off my head, even when I sleep. So, take a good look now. Probably won't see this hair for a long time."
The princess came over to the bed and started to reach for his shirt, "But you need to at least let me wash that shirt. It still has the blood from yesterday."
"! W-Wait, don't!" Tai kind of snapped in surprise as Estelle was taken back in the same manner and he hugged himself, but held onto the left sleeve near his glove in particular.
"What is it? Is there something wrong?" she asked innocently.
Tai looked as if he was struggling to find a good reason in order for her not to take his shirt off. He noticed Repede seemed to be looking at his right hand, which was holding the left shirt sleeve down. The boy soon smiled a bit cheeky.
"I'm... kinda... well, sensitive about showing my body to others... and it's not polite to strip in front of the princess of Zaphias," he chuckled a bit.
Blushing immediately, Estelle put a hand over her mouth and replied, "O-Oh, my... you're right! I'm terribly sorry! I'll let you get changed and do your laundry in privacy. Come on, Repede; let's give Tai some space."
With a soft bark, the dog followed her towards the door. But before they left, they turned around to a question being asked.
"Hey, Estelle, before you go, I wanna ask something," Tai said, slowly making his way to the edge of the bed finally, "Where'd Raven and those guys go? Did they leave us here in Halure and go about taking care of those blastia thieves or something?"
"Oh, not at all," Estelle said, "They actually told me and Repede to stay here and make sure you're okay. They said they'll be back, as they were heading for the Quoi Woods."
Tilting his head, he made a scrunched-up face as he questioned, "Why on earth did they go back there?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"It's because of something Tai said that I wanna check this place out again," Yuri said, as he and the other two men walked side by side along the main path in the woods.
"All right, then. What exactly is it?" Flynn asked.
"Well, I first am gonna ask a question; you said before the fight we had with that monster, you sent one of your knights to us, correct? What was the message he needed to give and what route did he go to come tell us?" Yuri asked, looking at his friend.
"I told the knight to go send a message to Raven and tell him to not come back. It was way too dangerous and I couldn't risk Estelle or Tai getting hurt. I sent the messenger through these woods, because at the time, Deidon Hold was where the monster was and we were trying to get it away from getting through."
"Huh? Hold on a sec," Raven said, looking puzzled, "But the knight that cam' to us back at the capital said you had asked us to com' help you 'clean out the rest of the monsters'."
"Exactly," Yuri said, sounding like he put the pieces of the mystery together, "But when we went to Deidon Hold to pass, the knights there said that it was too dangerous, even refusing Raven entrance."
Raven tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, asking, "So, what exactly are ya getting at, Yuri?"
The dark-haired man stopped and turned to the two, explaining, "I'm getting at the fact that because of these factors, I think Tai was onto something when he said this wasn't just a simple miscommunication. It all adds up to one thing."
Both men widened their eyes as Flynn asked in realization, "Wait... Yuri, you don't possibly mean...?"
"Yes, I do," Yuri said gravely, "Somewhere between you sending the messenger out to us and when that knight gave us a different message at Zaphias, I think someone may have taken your guy out and impersonated him."
"So, that means we're here in the woods to look for my missing messenger, just in case that is true," Flynn said.
"It's either your soldier... or the corpse of the soldier," Yuri said darkly, although that could possibly ended up being the truth.
As the three men started to walk down the path, the eyes began to search as if it were a cross-finding puzzle book. It was difficult, searching through all the trees to find where exactly the possible horror could be. However, it wasn't at least four minutes before the old man spotted something.
"Hey, I think I found him!" he called out, as the two younger males watched and soon followed him as he ran through the trees.
As the three approached, they saw the knight still alive but tired and banged up against a tree. He was in his clothes still, but the whole armor and Flynn Brigade uniform was gone. The man had auburn hair and a beard that covered his whole face. He laid there with a tent set up near there.
"! Soldier!" Flynn called in worry, concerned for one of his own.
The man opened his eyes and looked at Flynn, "S-sir... Did... did you win?"
"With many losses, sadly, but we defeated the beast," Flynn said, bending down to him, "Don't move, I'll heal you."
With a quick First Aid, the man was healed and stood back on his feet.
"Thank you, captain. I owe my life to you," he said, with Flynn nodding back.
"So, are you the messenger Flynn sent to Raven?" Yuri asked, getting straight to the point.
"Yes, I am," the man said, bowing in respect, "My orders were to tell Captain Raven to keep the princess and teenager away for their own safety."
"So, mind tellin' us how ya ended up beaten up in the woods?" Raven asked, folding his arms.
The man looked down in humiliation, "I was on my way towards the capital when some man came out of nowhere and attacked me. At first, I told him kindly to please move, but he wouldn't budge. He kept standing there smirking. It was when I threatened him he could be arrested, that I found myself being defeated. He dragged me here, stripped me of my armor and uniform, and left me without even saying a word."
"You and Tai were right, old man," Yuri said, looking at the two, "This wasn't a miscommunication; someone plotted for this to happen."
"If he dragged ya and left ya here, why is there a tent?" the old man pointed towards it set up.
"Well... you know how tents give off that scent that keeps monsters away?" the soldier said, "Well, the man just set it up next to me, put on my stuff, and then started heading to Zaphias."
"The hell? What kind of guy picks a fight with a knight, steals his armor, but leaves him in the safety of monster-repellent tents?" Yuri asked, weirded out by how this suspect acted.
"Must've thought the soldier would die by himself and thus let him feel safe in his final moments," Raven deduced as he rubbed his chin.
"I'm sorry, Commandant Flynn... I failed you, sir... I..." the man said, ashamed.
"You were ambushed by someone that I never would've expected coming, my good man," Flynn said, holding his shoulder, "You fought hard and deserve a good rest. Go back to the capital and get more treatment. You've made me proud."
The soldier nodded with a sudden smile and burst of confidence as the group began to part with him. But before they got far, Yuri turned to the soldier.
"Hey! One more thing," he said to him, as the man turned, "Did you happen to get a look at the guy who jumped you? What did he look like?"
"Oh, yes! Right! The man was a burly guy about my height, with black hair that had a ponytail and one thin bang on his face. He was wearing a black cloak when he came to me, so I don't know how much help his clothes will be," the man said.
"Okay, thanks!" Yuri said, as after the man soon was out of their sight, he turned to them and said, "Well, it seems we got a culprit."
"Indeed, but before we do anything else, we need to get back to Halure to see how the others are doing," Flynn said, with the other two agreeing as they ventured out of the woods.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Well, Tai is recovered now and the group manage to save the messenger went mission. But now they know it wasn't a simple miscommunication. What does this mean for the group? How will they come to do? Find out next!
