The Open Book
The Open Book
By: KellyCRocker59
Chapter Fourteen: The Desires of Man
This chapter is a bit choppy, so I'm sorry for that, but I hope you still enjoy it.
The next day was extremely awkward for Forde. He had thought that he had made a friend on the small group's journey, but instead it all ended with her in tears. He thought of Kyle as he gathered all of his things from the night, and his heart skipped a beat as he imagined the other knight's face.
The battles that day were a blur; the group fought through hordes of monsters, Forde's arm sore to the point of numbness when they finally decided to take a break. They had reached a point in which the group was getting ready to head into a passageway that Moulder guessed would lead to a fiery portion of the ruins.
So they set up camp that night, and Forde found that he slept well, regardless of the events of the night before.
The morning after he slept with Syrene, Kyle awoke to find himself tangled in the sheets with the woman. She slept curled away from him, breathing lightly. He looked at her, but didn't find a smile come to his face. All he saw when he looked at her was Forde. The blonde's face filled Kyle's head when he slept, and the knight found that that didn't change when he was awake.
Guilt plagued his emotions; why had he done this? Why had he allowed himself to falter in such a huge way? How could he betray Forde as he did?
He was pulled from his thoughts when Syrene rolled over and slowly opened her eyes, smiling up at him. When he didn't return the expression, the pegasus knight furrowed her brow.
"What is it? Did you not…enjoy last night?"
"Syrene, I…" Kyle looked away, not able to keep his eyes on her.
He felt her hand on his, which rested in his lap.
"Kyle, whatever it is, I can make it better."
"No you can't." Kyle said, gripping his hands into fists.
Syrene crawled over and into his lap, trying to get him to look at her.
"Kyle, don't push me away." She said.
"You say it like we're a couple." Kyle replied.
"Aren't we?" She asked.
"We had sex once!" He snapped.
"Well, it's not like either of us are involved with anyone else." She said.
"Speak for yourself." Kyle said gruffly.
"You mean you're with another woman?" Syrene gasped.
"Not another woman…he's with your sister, on that mission I told you about."
"You mean you have a…boyfriend?" Syrene asked, in shock.
Kyle nodded. There was a long silence, and then Syrene stood.
"I'm…gonna go." She said, grabbing her clothes and pulling them on.
Kyle just sat there, not knowing what to do.
It was a dull day once more for the army. Ephraim busily tried to find their next location, and that consumed the entire day. Kyle ate lunch, but that was it. His mind was so filled with thoughts of both Forde and Syrene. The entire day was physically a blur; all he did was stay in his tent, staring at the walls and thinking. He thought of how much he loved Forde, and yet he couldn't decide what he felt for Syrene.
Then, he heard a knock on his tent, and he realized it was night.
"Come in." He said.
He heard the flap open, and then turned to see Syrene standing there. She didn't say anything; simply walked forward, sliding out of the night gown she wore and crawling into Kyle's lap.
"He never has to know." She whispered, and pressed their lips together.
No matter how much his mind told him to pull away, no matter how much his heart ached for Forde, Kyle didn't refuse. It was in that moment that he realized what he felt for Syrene; lust.
The next morning, the group continued into the farthest depths of the ruins. Forde caught Vanessa's eyes on multiple occasions, but he tried to ignore it. He didn't have the faintest idea of how to handle the situation.
So he took out his confusion, and longing for Kyle, in combat. They cut their way through the volcanic area that they entered, and found themselves at the final doorway of the ruins.
"Everyone, this is the final room. After this, we shall return home; to the army."
Everyone either smiled or cheered, Forde being the earlier. He thought of Kyle's caressing touch, and found his heart beating rapidly. He turned to Vanessa, and found her on her pegasus, solemn.
"Cheer up, Vanessa; we're going to get to see all of our friends soon!"
The pegasus knight looked at him in disbelief, and then, suddenly, with a single smile, everything that had been hanging between them was gone. That night of rejection and everything that had been tied to it was as though it had never existed.
"You're right, Forde. Thank you." She said.
And they entered through the door.
The next morning, Kyle found himself in the same position as he had the day before. He looked at Syrene, and once again, he found himself unable to smile, no matter how badly he wanted to. He ended up just sitting there, until finally Syrene rolled over and looked up at him.
"Did that make it any better?" She asked.
Kyle didn't respond, his eyes focused only on the tent wall in front of him. He felt her soft touch, and he closed his eyes. Maybe, he could imagine it was Forde. And so he allowed her to pull him down to the bedroll once more. He allowed her to touch him in ways that only Forde should. And he allowed her to allow him to betray Forde once more.
Inside of the room were ten Draco Zombies. They were abominable creatures whose huge bodies loomed over the group. Moulder was the first to strike, ordering them to take on only one at a time, since the beasts were scattered throughout the room. Forde rushed forward, using his silver sword to pierce the monster's chest. Vanessa flew high and then rushed down, stabbing the zombie in the eye with her lance.
Ewan cast magic from a distance, and, seeing that the four could handle the beast, Moulder ordered the others to focus on a different dragon. The battle was long and drawn out, but with each enemy, they were growing closer to home. Forde allowed this to fuel him toward victory, and finally they were to the last two enemies.
The beasts stood beside one another, so it was to be a much harder fight then the others. Moulder blasted them with light magic, the two dragons roaring. Vanessa soared high into the air as Ewan struck them with anima magic. Forde rode forward, readying his weapon.
With a swing of his sword combined with another blast from Moulder, one of the creatures came toppling down. Vanessa soared out of the way, but her eyes were not on the other enemy. Forde looked up just in time to see the pegasus and its knight engulfed in dark fire.
"Vanessa!" He cried.
Moulder struck the zombie with one final blast of light magic as Ewan cast his own spell, and beast came down, but Forde's eyes were locked on the ash that came falling from the sky. Her ashes. They were done, and Forde was the first to leave, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.
The group returned to the army camp later that day, a bit after noon. Forde looked around for his tent, and found it; it had a slightly darker tint to its color then the others. All he thought about on his way to camp was seeing Kyle, and now he finally would get to once again. He dismounted his steed and tied the horse to a tree, rushing over to the tent. He yanked the flap open, excitement almost overwhelming him.
But that wasn't what he saw. Forde's smile disappeared as his eyes tried to focus on the scene before him. Kyle lying there with a pegasus knight, both of them naked. Kyle opened his eyes and sat up, looking at the blonde in disbelief.
"F-Forde?" He asked.
Standing there, at the entrance of the tent, Forde felt his whole world come crashing down. Kyle stood hurriedly, grabbing his pants and pulling them on. Forde felt the tears coming, looking over to see the woman opening her eyes.
"Forde, I'm so sorry." Kyle said, walking forward.
That was when the feeling returned to the blonde's legs. And so he turned and ran. He heard Kyle calling his name, but he continued to run, feeling the tears pouring from his cheeks. He ran out of the camp, not knowing where he was going. He was in a field, the high grass hitting his hips.
And then, he stopped.
"A human…how interesting."
The knight looked into the cold eyes, but then they weren't cold. They became warm. Inviting. They drew him in, and he followed. He felt his body becoming numb, but that was okay. More then okay; it was good. It felt great, actually. His worries were gone, along with all of his other thoughts as his entire body went still.
"Forde!" Kyle roared, seeing the knight's still body in front of him and running toward it, a gorgon slithering further into the grass.
The green-haired male grabbed the blonde's stiff body and held him close, feeling tears dribbling down his cheeks.
"No, Forde! Don't leave me like this! I'm so sorry!" He cried, gripping the other male tightly. Everything else was a blur.