Learning to Let Go

by TNWanderer

S1ED Arabian AU. Rin and Haru live in a half-desert continent where water is the most precious commodity. Rin is a healer and Haru is a merchant from different kingdoms. Both are wandering the desert and other kingdoms with their friends, hiding their true identities. But destiny brings them together and their lives change forever. For the better or for the worse, you'll see...

14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Making Haruka eat properly turned into a chore after the things Rin had told him by the riverside. Though not privy of the every detail, Makoto could understand where Rin was coming from with his horrible offer.

Anyone in Rin's situation would believe that a person in Haruka's disposition might want sexual favors in exchange of being spared from whatever misfortune that could befall upon a slave in this desert. But Makoto was sure that Haruka had never given Rin a reason for him to reach to such a conclusion. So, in all honesty, he didn't understand the reason behind Rin's accusatory and crude words.

Two days had passed since the incident and Haruka was beside himself with grief, eating and drinking less and less during each meal. Makoto had to practically threaten him by writing about this to the King in order to make him eat and preserve his health.

As far as he could tell, Rin was faring no better than Haruka with dark rings under his eyes, his gaze haunted and filled with guilt and interestingly enough, fear. Rin seemed exhausted both physically and mentally even though Makoto had sent him to the river to cure himself, too.

He wished he hadn't been the catalyst for their spectacular fall out by arranging them the riverside rendezvous. Yet, this outcome had been inescapably inevitable even without his intervention. At least, he seemed to have helped Haruka to ultimately find the courage to sort out this mess. Haruka was resolute and calmer than ever with the air of someone who had given in and accepted his fate. With his surrender, there came that apathetic, cold expression back onto Haruka's face, masking how wrung out of life he actually was. Yet Makoto knew that the worst was yet to come.

They had found a well off buyer for the silk and the man was currently drinking coffee with Makoto and Haruka in the back garden of the inn. There, the silk bales were loaded on the merchant's animals after they were inspected painstakingly one by one.

Rin was among the men who were carrying the cloth batches back and forth as some other servants were rolling and unrolling them to show the silk to the merchant.

Being this close to Haruka after all the things happened between them was like a punishment, but he had to endure. Not once Haruka had acknowledged his presence, let alone spared a glance at his way, thus Rin guessed that he finally got what he had been aiming for; the brunet's hatred. But this was more like indifference; colder and crueler than hatred, telling him that he wasn't even worthy of being hated. It was a hard lump to swallow, so he diverted his attention to the conversation to distract himself.

The older man was apparently a well seasoned one, who had been doing business around the south and the harbors in the east for as long as he could remember.

"The river used to provide these people well." He was saying. "I really can't believe that not until a decade ago there was enough water for everyone in the city. The grapes growing here used to yield such sweet wine. But everyone went out of business when the flow rate of the river lessened year by year."

"How do they provide themselves now?" Makoto asked what Rin already knew.

"By panning for gold in the riverbed." The old man shrugged. "You'd think that everyone in the city has to be rich by now, right?" He chuckled humorlessly. "Whatever scrapes they can find barely fetches them their daily bread."

"But they aren't poor, either, are they?" Makoto argued, having seen the locals in the market places. None of them had looked particularly poor.

The merchant laughed at him this time with a derisive ring to his voice. "No, Beyim, many of them aren't. But poverty doesn't affect you only here." He dangled a gold pouch before them and then put a hand on his heart. "When it strikes here, you are just a dead man walking." He sighed, his grey features turning grim. "Soon this river will completely go dry and after some time there won't be enough gold left worthy of the effort."

Then this city will fall to ruin… Rin thought, remembering Matsu-san's village. When he had been in Tumay, he had felt its severed connection with Harin. In the south east from here, there had to be some mountains where this river had to be taking its source, carrying the gold of those lands, used to deposit some of them to Harin, and bring the rest here. This river was older than even Harin and probably had a lower flow rate even before that damnable dam's implementation on Arda.

All those gardens that he had seen when he had entered the city were abandoned wine yards, the main source of income of the locals. But they had lost them all, getting pauperized in their own land for a speck of gold.

That arank was aware of his approaching fate and he had this melancholic feel about him which deterred Rin from using the spirit's power to cure himself and ultimately shorten the life of the small guardian. Maybe the despondency of the arank at that time was one of the things that spurred Rin on to treat Haruka that cruelly. He didn't want to think, so the tuned out the small talk the three men were having.

Rin was aware that they were about to leave Tumay to some city that was close to the ocean. Nobody was talking anything when he was around, but Meera had better chances at learning things, so she was telling him every bit of information that she'd come across.

Their destination was called Simnra and according to what Meera had heard, it was a very big and flourished city because of its port.

The prospect of seeing the ocean was lifting up his spirits a bit, but it also brought his mind Haruka's words about how he'd prefer being a simple fisherman and spend his life by the sea. The memory of their talk was both saddening and dear to Rin, for that was the first thing that Haruka had ever disclosed about himself to him. Finding a kindred spirit in him, who loved water maybe even more than him, was heartwarming and distracting him from the harsh reality that surrounded the two of them. He could still taste that giddy feeling he'd gotten from talking to him, sharing a meal with him, finding blankets draped over him that carried Haruka's scent, catching his soft blue eyes on him… He hadn't realized nor remembered the exact moment that he had fallen in love with the brunet, but he had known he was doomed when Zinan had insinuated the possibility of a casual relationship between him and Haruka.

Rin wished that his feelings had been tangible, physical beings so that he could throw them onto the ground and stomp on them until there'd be nothing but some glittery dust and his bitter tears were left. Now, he was the one being stepped on, all of his heart and soul in pieces. But he had expected this dark abyss that threatened to swallow him whole after he had mercilessly torn down Haruka's love and spat on it as if it worth nothing.

The pain of his lie, of his unjust accusation tormented him enough to keep him awake at night. So, he sincerely hoped to set off to their next destination as soon as possible. Cooped up this inn, being so near to the source of all his problems was slowly driving him insane. At least, when they were on the road, there was something to look forward to. Even eating and sleeping was a distraction after a tiring day of incessant walking in the company of the ever present desert.

He got his wish the next day when he was asked to help the preparations done before setting out.

Makoto's men carried heaps of dried fruits and meat, various grains and skins filled with butter. They were going to be consumed during their travel, so the men paid utmost importance to their loading.

Rin was filling large skins with water, Meera helping him in the task. To Meera's knowledge, they weren't going to carry anything other than their own necessities, so, they planned to be faster. Normally, the road to Simnra would have taken around twenty days with a loaded caravan, but the men were expecting to reach the port town within ten to twelve days.

Rin slipped a few gold coins to a friendly looking servant girl from the inn during a moment of lull in their packing up. He told the girl to keep an eye on anyone who might be asking after him, describing her Sopusuke, Seijurou and Ai. At first, the girl seemed hesitant to help a slave, but he hoped he had persuaded her when he mentioned how handsomely she'd be rewarded by them if she would really chance upon any of the said men.

During the night of their thirteenth day in Tumay, they left the city behind to go straight to the east.

The sky had never seemed more infinite to Rin than that night after spending days confined into that stone building for nearly two weeks. The pearl-like stars illuminated their way as the animals walked in a steady speed, creating the illusion of getting lost in an eternal silence made up of sand and star light.

There was a gentle breeze, not enough to pick up the sand into their eyes. As it blew against his face, Rin shivered even in his khalat, finding the sensation pleasant nevertheless. For the first time in a while, Rin remembered how small and insignificant his existence was compared to the vastness of the sky that he walked under. The idea soothed his heart a bit, strangely turning into a source of consolation for him. So, he spent the night gazing at the dark sky, following the movements of the little specks of light swimming in it, because that was the only way for him to keep his eyes from searching for a glimpse of that lone star that travelled ahead of him, in the guise of a silently suffering man. He was unattainable for him and Rin knew that it was for the best.

They didn't stop for a whole day and a half, not until the wind picked up considerably during the afternoon of their second day and slowly turned into a sand storm in the evening.

They had to cover the heads of the animals and themselves with their blankets and take refuge in the tiny space under them and wait for the wind to settle down. It took quite some time, during which Rin fell asleep and got a good rest without any bad dreams.

He got awakened by Meera, who carefully opened the blanket and shook it off of the collected sand. Night had fallen again and everyone was setting up their tents or tending to the animals to spend the night here.

"They are calling for you." Meera folded up Rin's blanket, helping him get up from the small hole that he was buried in by the sand.

"Who?" Rin asked, dreading the answer.

Meera pursed her lips, tilting her head a bit. "Apparently at the start of the sand storm Makoto-sama got bitten by something and didn't think it was serious enough to risk trying to find you during the storm. But I guess he was wrong, because his leg is badly swollen and discolored." She summarized the situation.

Rin untied his medicine bag from his camel and took a deep breath before following his friend to where the green eyed Bey was.

"Haruka-sama is together with him." Meera warned Rin, but he was already expecting it.

His heart running a mile in a minute, Rin entered the spacious tent that was clearly intended for three or four people. It was big and comfortable. There was a nice sleeping mattress already laid out on the carpeted ground and Makoto was sitting on it, waiting for him.

At first glance, Makoto seemed to be alright, his easygoing expression in place, his eyes kind and his small smile gentle. But the leg that was stretched out on the mattress told another story. It was swollen with a red and purple hue decorating it, the green-blue veins visible under the drawn skin.

Rin quickly approached, saluting Makoto, not aware of the forlorn eyes that were following him until Haruka silently passed by Makoto's bed and went out.

Rin's shoulders tensed, his eyes going a bit wide even as he knelt beside the injured leg, going through his bag to subdue the trembling in his hands.

"Are you afraid of him, Rin?"

He came to himself with the soft question of his patient, his eyes snapping at Makoto's face. He had a neutral, even an understanding expression on and Rin found himself shaking his head negative at him.

"No, Beyim…"

"Then why are your hands trembling?" Makoto pressed on, making Rin avert his eyes and continue his search for the salve that relieved the pain of venomous bites or stings. He couldn't answer, couldn't admit to his guilt, so he simply gave up on the medicine and put his hand on the ankle of the injured leg.

"This is a snake bite." He concentrated on the wound, nibbling on his lower lip, feeling how the venom of the snake was still travelling up the swollen limb into the body, having destroyed some of the nerves along the lower leg, inducing necrosis around the bite marks. "You can only remain this calm, because your nerves are severed, you know." He continued, trying to change the subject. "You won't feel anything from this side of your leg if I treat you conventionally. Would you like me to use my power?" He asked.

Makoto smiled at Rin's pitiful attempt at ignoring the enormous problem that stood right in front of them. "I was hoping you would use your power, but if you feel you are forced into doing it, I'd prefer any of those miraculous balms of yours."

Unable to believe what he had heard, Rin looked back up at Makoto again and saw the sincerity of his words in his eyes. "You'd rather stay crippled than asking a slave to do his job?"

"Yes." Makoto raised an eyebrow at him as if he found Rin's incredulousness weird. "Do whatever you wish, Rin. You are the healer."

Rin's lips thinned in distaste at the perfectly played out innocence of the other man. He was offended by Makoto's behavior even though he knew that Makoto was actually as kind as he seemed to be. "I don't know what your friend told you about me but, giving me options now doesn't change a thing about these chains dangling from my wrists. So, please don't make a mockery of asking for my consent in using my power and risking my own wellbeing. I heal people indiscriminately. I would have done this for your friend, too. I did it many times and it never meant anything, neither now, nor in the past."

"That's a sad thing to say." Makoto's brows furrowed at his words, the green of his eyes darkening with sadness. "Haruka had cherished the memory of your first encounter for as long as I can remember. You treating it this trivially would hurt him if he knew."

"That's unfortunate, but also the truth." Rin lied. "Brace yourself, Beyim, because this will hurt a lot." He warned before he began using his power to mend the nerves and the necrosis.

Makoto's whole body stiffened and he had to bite on the edge of his sleeve to stop himself from crying out. But even through the pain of the healing and the foreign sensation of Rin's power surging in him, Makoto pressed on, still having words to say. "Let him properly apologize to you, because he is eating himself up over this even though he says nothing."

Rin kept his face schooled and refused to meet Makoto's earnest eyes. He didn't want the other male to sense his true feelings. He didn't trust himself with words, so he shook his head.

Makoto observed Rin carefully, catching on the regret, the guilt and the hurt that he couldn't hide completely. "Rin," He began, the cooling and mending power of the healer relaxing him a bit. "Haruka is not a bad person. Whatever he did, he had done it because he thought the feeling was mutual." He didn't know if what he was about to say was considered as overstepping his limits, but he went on. "I am not trying to diminish the effects of his actions on you, not I mean to be an apologist, but his feelings are real and I am certain that he meant no harm, not then, not ever…"

I already know that… Rin thought. I know, but I can't give up now, not even at the cost of breaking the heart of the person I love.

"What is done is done." He bit tersely. "I don't need his apology anymore than you sticking up for your friend, Bey." He finished the healing. "I am sure he'll forget this unpleasant experience in time." He cleaned the remaining bite wound and massaged a salve onto the area. "I can't heal it completely to spare some of my energy, but I neutralized the venom, healed the nerves and reversed the necrosis. Your leg will be better than ever in the morning." He got up, bowing slightly. "If it is all, I am leaving."

Makoto eyed Rin thoughtfully and chewed on his lower lip as if he couldn't decide if he should ask what was on his mind, because the answer mattered too much to ignore. Just before Rin was out of the tent, he called for him, still undecided, but also unwilling to pass the chance.

Rin turned around, facing Makoto, realizing that Makoto's hesitation was pregnant to something significant.

Makoto sighed under the greatness of the burden of the question, and then asked. "Tell me Rin, did you not love Haruka even a little?"

Rin's eyes went round and his mouth opened a bit at the bold but also tragic question. He balled his hands into white knuckled fists and poured all his anger towards his fate into his expression. When he talked, he couldn't recognize his own voice. "Love?" He spat the word, an agonizing ache sinking in his stomach. "For a while, it was fancy, maybe…But love?" He snorted, amazed and disgusted at his ability to act so natural. Then he turned around and got out. Yet, he saw someone on the edge of his vision, standing beside the tent. His eyes landed on that solitary figure involuntarily, the cloying sickness in his stomach spreading to every part of his body in a wave of suffocating warmth.

Haruka had heard him.

His blue eyes were dark and bleary with unshed tears, the ghastly paleness of his face a stark contrast to his midnight black hair. The broken expression he was wearing called out to Rin so badly that Rin could barely squash the need to run and embrace him even if Haruka's body heat would turn him into ashes. It required an inhuman effort to hold Haruka's gaze levelly whilst his eyes slowly lost whatever semblance of light was left in them. Haruka swallowed thickly and then his tense features slowly relaxed into the apathy of a man who had just accepted his death warrant read before him.

At that very moment, Rin realized that he had ruined Haruka's most beloved childhood memory. Not only his heart, but whatever spot Rin had been occupying in that metaphorical glass palace was smashed into its smithereens right before Rin's very eyes.

By the mercy of which higher power he was able to walk away from Haruka, Rin had no idea, but he knew that the dimmed ocean blue of Haruka's eyes were going to haunt him forever.

Xxxxx

Neither the tranquility of the nights, nor the promise of reuniting with the ocean were able to console Rin and Haruka's suffering. They both visibly lost weight, unable to get enough sleep even though the caravan had ample opportunities to rest around the wells and in caravanserais. Their gloom was contagious and the men seemed all drained of their enthusiasm and liveliness as if an oppressive air bubble was following them around, hanging above them. There was the constant glare of the sun up above, but it also felt strangely humid and thick as they approached the city. The cause of the unusual phenomenon was the mood that Haruka and Rin was in, yet neither of them could care less about the strangeness of the situation.

Simnra was bigger than any of the cities that they had visited as it had the advantage of having a harbor that served as a safe spot from the storms for the ships to dock. Yet again, Rin could only feel the presence of underground water which was always under the risk of getting tainted with the salty water of the ocean. It was only a matter of chance and understandably there were more inns, shops and other facilities than there were houses. The locals had to be using their shops also as their homes and enduring the humidity and aridity for the sake of money.

Unsurprisingly, there were brothels and taverns, too, and at the first night of their arrival Makoto and Haruka let the men spend their time however they wanted. Half of them scattered into the city while the other half remained behind to arrange their lodgings and guard their masters.

Haruka spent his whole night at the shore, in the lukewarm waters of the ocean, but he was unable to attain the peace of mind and soul he'd used to find in the eastern coast.

Rin, on the hand, chose to stay in the inn and watch the dark waters shimmering in the distance from the second storey of the building. He couldn't find it in himself to go and face the great spirit of the ocean in his current state of mind and heart.

The next day though, he had to get out of the inn and follow Makoto and Haruka to the garrison.

Makoto was now well, but no longer smiling. He personally explained the reason of their trip to Rin. The legal procedures concerning the attack had been finalized whilst they had been on the road, and the city of Simnra had been ordered to hand out the compensations. In Rin's case, since he was a slave, the authorities demanded for his presence along with some other men who had been directly involved with the incident.

They set out with a small group and after a few formalities, Rin was handed Ai's blood money. There were fifty-two gold pieces in the pouch.

It was darkly humorous and ironic, whereas all Rin could feel was immense dejection at the way the fates made fun of him. Because, together with the coins that Harin had given him, it summed up to the exact amount of money that Makoto had spent to buy the two of them. A cord twisting in his heart, Rin no longer saw any use for the gold and coins and decided to give them to Meera, so that the girl could buy herself whatever she wished for.

Following their small group back to the inn, Rin watched the people of the city without actually registering most of what he saw. They were passing by rows of little shops dealing with gold and pearls, beautiful silks and tapestry from the opposite shore, tobacco and liquor. The shop owners were bargaining with merchants, animals and humans were bought and sold in a matter of a handshake, as if they were fruits or grains.

Rin simply gazed on. Yet, as they were passing by a peculiar shop, he came eye to eye with an old woman who was sitting before the said shop of oddities, telling the fortune of a customer by reading his palm. The old woman's head snapped up as if someone had called her name and in an instant, her strangely colored eyes found Rin's. Her whole body reacted to his presence as she stood up and watched him walk by.

Completely befuddled, Rin couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight of her, his worries flying away for a moment, a single though flitting through his mind. What is a suvkis doing on land with legs and all?

He wanted to stop, wanted to go and talk to her, but he was in company and his group went on their way. Yet the old woman left her shop and customer behind without a second thought and began following him discreetly, never breaking eye contact with him. Her eyes were filled with excitement, questions and worry as she tagged along them till they reached the inn they were staying at. She stopped there, in front of the stone building and Rin had to go in to avoid any unwanted attention.

After returning, Rin was left to his own devices as the other men scattered around the yard, Makoto found himself a shade to smoke and drink tea with Haruka simply following suit, practically dragging himself to his friend's side.

Meera approached Rin, alerted by the edgy expression he had on his face. They sat side by side, away from most eyes, Rin's eyes on the entrance.

"What happened?" She asked in a small voice, her sight getting drawn to the inn gate as an old woman entered on the arm of a young guard. They apparently knew each other because they were talking and smiling genially.

"Who is she?" Meera asked again, realizing that she was the reason of Rin's strange demeanor.

"That is a suvkis." Rin whispered coming eye to eye with the said woman again.

Meera snorted a bit, already privy of the knowledge of Rin's spirit servants and the existence of the suvkis. "I have never imagined the mermaids to be this old, let alone walking on two legs." She joked, but when she saw how serious Rin was, she stopped smiling.

"That, Meera, I have never seen, either." Rin continued following the old woman with his eyes as she talked with people from the staff and exchanged pleasantries. Then she walked around the yard, possibly offering her services as a fortune teller to the customers of the inn.

Rin sat there with Meera, patiently waiting for her to do her cover job and come closer. Finally, after reading the palms of two women, she left them to their amazement at her ability and came closer to Rin and Meera.

It was bizarre to see an old person prostrate themselves before someone younger, but the suvkis practically fell on her knees before Rin, her mismatched blue and green eyes dilating in utter delight, shocking Meera with the unearthly hue they had.

"My King, you can never guess how much of an honor and pleasure to finally see you here…" She bowed at him discreetly, taking his chained hand in hers as if she was going to tell his fortune for him to keep up with the appearances.

Her voice was the sweetest thing that Meera had ever heard. The relaxing and lulling quality of it lowering Meera's defenses as her eyes fell half mast. She was completely captivated by the mermaid's disarming charm.

Rin examined the wrinkled, but still elegant face of the suvkis, returning the salutation with his own. "I would have never believed the existence of a walking suvkis, had I not seen you with my own eyes. What is your name?" He asked fondly when he saw the reddish ghost of the scales running up the side of her neck towards her ears, invisible to other people's eyes, but not to him.

"Simnra, my King." The woman sweetly smiled at him as if she was smiling upon a long lost lover, melting Meera's heart more as she silently witnessed their exchange. "Is her presence required?" The suvkis asked.

Surprised by her question, Rin nodded. "She is my friend, no need to glamour her, Simnra. She knows about me." And the moment he said this, Meera blinked several times as if waking up from a trance, her eyes going round upon realizing what had actually happened to her.

"So, you are named after the town?" She asked, sharing in Rin's surprise.

"No, milady, this town has been called many names and now it is named after me." The old woman gazed at Rin with the affection and gratefulness of someone who had found the dearest and the most important person for her in the whole wide world.

Watching the surprise turning to shock on their faces, Simnra continued, gently tracing Rin's open palm. Her fond and soft feelings for Rin were visible even for Meera.

"I have been waiting to meet you for hundreds of years, King. Since the day you bestowed these legs to me and ordered me to come here and wait for you, it has been so long that I have given up on counting."

Rin's mouth slackened upon her claims, his eyes darting around to check if anyone was watching or eavesdropping on them. Finding no one suspicious, he helped Simnra get comfortable in the corner that they had huddled together. "Tell me you are serious, tell me how that can be possible…" He demanded, his eyes imploring hers. He realized that he was on the precipice of a revelation that had been preordained for him to find here by the hands of things greater than his understanding.

"When waiting became too much, I have hidden myself in the ocean and slept." She continued, "Every time I woke up, I got older, but you didn't come. I can't believe that I have finally found you, King… Finally…" Something suspiciously like a sob escaped her lips, but she went on. "It seems the only thing that hasn't changed about you is your core, always the purest, the most brilliant light resides in here." She touched his chest with a far off look in her eyes. "But I see you were born a male this time." Her eyes skidded to where Haruka was reclining, the pupils of her eyes turning to slits for a moment, betraying her true nature. She silently scrutinized the other male, worry reclaiming her features. "Why is he that way?" She asked, the slits disappeared when she looked back at Rin again. "Why do you wear these?" She rattled Rin's shackles, forgetting her joy upon her own question.

"These chains are a long story, but what about him, what does he have to do with this?"

It was Simnra's turn to get bewildered by Rin's dismissive attitude. "He is your star, that's why…" Her brows furrowed at him, unable to understand his aversion at her words.

Rin tensed, his heart picking up speed. "My star? What are you talking about Simnra?"

Simnra turned back to where Haruka was sitting, discreetly observed him, considering. "I thought you were together this time… I thought that you were happy…" Her joy completely vanishing, she looked back at Rin and tugged at his chains, her voice a harsh whisper. "Why are you wearing these, King?" She begged for an answer.

At a loss of what to do with the fragments of information that Simnra had shared, Rin decided to begin explaining her why he was where he was.

"Simnra, I have been enslaved and then sold to the friend of that person, to the one smoking beside him. We have been travelling from city to city to sell the goods that their caravan carries. We have come here by chance, I have never seen any suvkis as old as you are or anyone with legs for that matter… What star are you talking about? Collect your thoughts, forget your bewilderment and tell me from the beginning, please."

Seeing that his words greatly upset her, he tried to comfort her by sending a bit of his power to her core, finding it to be older than anything he had ever touched.

"My King… When will your fortune smile upon you?" Simnra lamented. "More than three hundred years ago it was…" She whispered for only Rin and Meera's ears. "This core you have was born in a female form as one of the daughters of a noble man up in the north. When her powers manifested and what she actually was found out, her people became wary of her, but also they wanted to reap the benefits of what this core represented for their future."

"This core carries a part bestowed by the Great Essence of the Elemental Water that makes up a great sum of our very existence. In unknown intervals, two humans are born into this world carrying these heavenly parts within themselves. But they have to find their counterpart, be with that person in a happy union and thus fulfill their destiny, and in return, they get prosperity, abundance and longevity for themselves and for their people. But if they can't fulfill it, they die in misery, laying their lands in ruin due to their unbalanced powers."

"My mistress was the one chosen before you. When her people learnt of this legend, they began searching for her counterpart and found that person in a valiant warrior, commanding the armies of another country that her people had gone to war right before they were introduced to each other. They got married to seal the peace treaty between the two countries."

"She went to him willingly, falling for him quickly. He came to love her in time, too, but he refused to honor their marriage, because his family had been killed by her clan's people and he had sworn vengeance upon them. His love for her prevented him from doing anything to hurt her family, but his honor had refused to take the daughter of the people who had ruined his family as his wife."

"A happy union between the carriers of these elemental cores was prophesized as the harbinger of halcyon days, so plentiful that it was unheard of… But he sealed his heart away and sealed their fates together with his choice. He died early, his life line cut short prematurely, his heart broken… Yet, she endured, unable to die until old age claimed her. Her love was so vast, but apparently not strong enough to fight the fates in his stead."

"In her old age, when she realized that she was dying, she reached to an acceptance, albeit a reluctant one. But it gave her a balance enough to spur me into sacrificing my tail for her. I turned into her oracle as her power matured a bit and I was bestowed with the gift of foreseeing the future. I saw a new future in the north for this core that you are carrying, I saw you. So, she gave me these legs and an unnatural life span, so that I could go to the place that I had foreseen the two of us would meet and wait for your arrival."

"When I saw you together with your star, I was so elated, felt so accompolished, thinking that I have succeeded in doing my job here, that I was finally free of my duty to return the Great Essence of Water. But… Your star is not even sparing a glance at this way. He feels so distant, so broken…"

"Simnra…" Rin's skin was glistening with perspiration, it had a sickly hue. His hands were numb, pinpricks were covering his limbs as they trembled relentlessly. "What do you mean by calling him my star?" His mouth went dry upon the myriad of possibilities that she could utter, yet nothing his mind had come up with could rival the explanation she gave.

"He is the Sun…" She gazed back at Haruka humbly with reverence and respect. "Just as you are the personification of the whole waters of this existence that we are living in, he is the sun that illuminates it and the fire that burns within this earth. You two are the shadows of the gods that the people of these lands worship. You are destined to reborn and meet… These cores within the two of you, they yearn for each other and are desperate to reunite and make a whole again. My Queen was not the first, you won't be last…"

Her words were met with bone deep silence from Rin, the play of utter disbelief and fear on his face was the proof of his complete ignorance of maybe the most crucial piece of information about himself and why he had to go through a childhood full of indelible scars and desolation.

"Rin, you didn't know this?" Meera thickly whispered, witnessing how Rin was slowly crumbling under the enormity of this knowledge. "Not even the bit about your nature?"

Rin pressed the heels of his palms upon his eyes so harshly that he gnashed his teeth through the self induced pain of it, sighing deeply and rapidly as if he couldn't breathe. He shook his head upon Meera's question, still unable to believe what he had heard about the two of them.

"So, this was my purpose for having these legs, waiting for you all those long years, just to shatter your world with my forgotten knowledge…" Simnra took his shaking cold hands in hers, willing away the tremors coursing through Rin. None of them spoke for a while, letting Rin battle with his emotions and get a hold of his panicky thoughts.

"Why haven't I heard or read about this anywhere?" Rin's lips quivered with the need to cry, but he desisted, knowing that it was not the time to let himself get swept away by this revelation. "No one told me this, no book I have read contained a story like that…"

"After the disasters that had fallen upon them because of their unhappy union, people might have erased everything that reminded them of their existence in an attempt to avoid the repeat of that misfortune." Simnra's shoulders slumped, saddened greatly for being the person to witness history repeat itself. "You love each other so much…" She murmured, her eyes on Haruka.

Her comment made Rin flinch and she turned her attention back to him. "Yet, the two of you are on the path of destruction, just like them…"

"Can't we avoid that?" Meera asked, in hope for a solution. "If they walk away from each other, if they pretend to never have met?"

Simnra's thin lips stretched in a rueful smile, her pupils turning to slits again. "Then tell me, how are they going to rip this love off of their chests and throw it away when their very existence pulses with the need to be together?" She asked. "You can't see it with your mortal eyes, with mine, I see their cores. Brighter and fiercer than anyone's, hurting and yearning to find their fulfillment and thus, their balance…"

Then she shook Rin's hands to catch all of his attention, to make him stop pitying himself and learn his lesson from a past long gone. "He has started to change here." She pointed at her own chest. "He is maturing with the pain, King. He is learning to let go. And you should try to find the part of your heart that is willing to forgive. Otherwise, this cycle will go to waste, too. Can't you see he is loving you so much, this time enough for two people with the strength to battle your fate even in your stead… He'll atone, both for his past and current selves. Just let him, please let him…" She begged, two drops of tears falling on their connected hands.

"There are things that you don't know Simnra." Rin bit on his lip to keep himself together. "My grief is as real as the blood I taste in my mouth." He gritted his teeth against the metallic tang that spread on his tongue.

"No, King… That thing you taste is your pride, nothing more, nothing less. And pride is such a venomous thing that ruined the life of the woman that I loved more than my own self. The power she lent me was strong enough to let me go through the torment of enduring half an eternity for her sake, only to see her reborn into the exact same hell that she had suffered through many times in many different bodies." She kissed one of his hands, the moss green and ocean blue eyes of hers filled with sorrow and adoration and love, reminiscent of how Haruka had been looking at him when he had realized that Rin was his little savior, his most cherished childhood memory.

He couldn't find anything to say, didn't have the energy to explain how his heart and mind warred with each other as his circumstances tied his hands, maybe tighter than the chains of his enslavement. He felt Meera patting his shoulder in sincere solidarity. A crooked smile appeared on his lips, his disillusionment sharp as glass shards. "So, I can't escape from this, huh? Mine was a futile struggle right from the start."

"Loving him, his love for you… You can't change them, but you can resist the force of it. It is ultimately your decision to embrace it or throw it away in favor of your pride. But please know that you'll suffer for it." Simnra leaned a bit back, scrutinizing Rin's defeated demeanor, then she turned to Meera, abruptly reaching for her hand.

Caught off guard, Meera didn't even think of withdrawing her hand and let the suvkis read her palm. Simnra's attention was fully on what she was seeing.

"Among the suvkis, one is bestowed with the ability to see in the future once her king or queen finds a semblance of balance within themselves. I used to be that one for my Queen, but I am a remnant of the past." She was talking to Rin even as she had Meera's palm in her sight. "You'll find yours, too, if you choose to walk the path of love and devotion." She shook her head enigmatically at something she had seen, her sadness intensifying. Then she looked up directly into Meera's eyes and ordered her seriously. "Make your choices wisely… You are a devoted one, you'll make a difference, but in what way, it'll be a hard decision for you. It will charge a lot, but the cost won't be your happiness. Something far greater than that at the first glance, but will be only as much as a handful of shiny stones…"

Meera could only listen to her with wide eyes, unable to fully comprehend the riddle like words of the suvkis. When Simnra leaned back again, she put a bony but warm hand on her head and gently caressed her dark hair. "You didn't put up with that man's insanity for nothing. You'll be free, too…" She prophesized, earning a small gasp from Meera's lips. Then she slowly got up, a heartfelt smile gracing her face.

Rin and Meera followed suit, feeling the instinctual need of seeing her off.

"I won't come again. I'll go to the ocean." Simnra announced.

"But I have a lot to ask you." Rin protested, lending her his arm as she slowly left for the inn gates.

"You'll have your answers some other time if you won't stray out of your destined path. The moment you find your equilibrium, you'll realize that you already had those answers here. Your mind and heart will be one with your spirit servants and the suvkis." She explained and right before the gates, she stopped, this time eyeing Rin with the proud eyes of a mother gazing upon her child. "I have a request, King. Will you accompany me to the ocean next dawn?" Then she laughed a bit. "I have charmed the gate keepers a bit, so no one will be any wiser of your little excursion."

Rin sighed, the horrible sensation that had gripped his heart intensified upon her request. "I'll be there, Simnra." He nodded and gave a final squeeze to her hand before she left with small steps, somehow her body looking smaller than how it had been when she'd first come in.

"Why did she call you there?" Meera asked as they watched the suvkis mingle back to the city.

"She is planning to commit suicide, since her duty is finally fulfilled as of now." Rin murmured and when he saw Meera's distress upon his words, he explained. "She'll reunite with the Great Essence of all waters of this earth. It is not something bad for her stretched out existence that she willed herself to endure for my sake bravely. The least I can do is to see her off into her rest."

"She is in love with you…" Meera observed when they found themselves another secluded spot to sit and talk. She fondly thought of her own love for Rin and found her affections for him a bit similar to Simnra's, but different from Haruka's.

"Not me, no… She was seeing that noble lady in here." He put a hand on his chest. "I still can't believe the things she said. I have never known that people considered the ones like me the shadows of the gods that they worshipped… This is ridiculous."

Rin's need to disprove the claims of the suvkis were so clear that for Rin's sake Meera wished that what they had heard was all some made up stories of a demented mind.

"I am going to look into this when I am free again. She might have spoken metaphorically. Her mind can be muddled after spending so many years alone, waiting for someone to come… Anyone can go crazy, anyone can mix up the reality with the delusions of three hundred years, right?" Rin's words sounded like mere excuses the more he talked, his wan face was a proof that he wasn't even able to persuade himself into believing his own words.

The suvkis had told them the truth even though her story sounded inconceivable. It was hard to wrap his mind around the notion that they were the chosen vessels to carry fragments from their chieftain gods, born to fulfill a celestial duty for these lands by the machinations of things grater than the human understanding…

"So, he is the Sun, huh?..." Rin let out a huffy breath, his mind connecting all those small pieces of instances about Haruka to prove Simnra's claim.

Meera listened to his recollections, witnessing his far off melancholy she was frustrated with her inability to offer any solution or consolation to him other than keeping him company.

"Harin and Nefer had warned me for this. Because he is the Sun and he is unbalanced, all he can do with his power is to destroy and burn… He burns me…" His hysteric smile returned, his eyes going watery. "His touch wants to own me, it tries to consume me, that's… Heavens, I can't believe this, because even as my mind rebels at the idea, deep down inside I want to belong to him, give him whatever he wishes to take, let him do whatever he wishes to do…" He chuckled brokenly, full of self deprecation. "How much more twisted this could get?"

Meera didn't consider Rin's feelings as twisted. In fact, she had never seen a bond this strong, forcing all these emotions and thoughts from the two of them. As Simnra had said, Rin could try to resist this force, but Meera highly doubted that he could win against it.

"Rin…" She tried to divert his attention elsewhere. "What did she mean by Haruka-sama atoning? I get the bit about his past rejection of you in your previous lives, but what about your present? Had he done something to you that you can't forgive?"

Rin shook his head, now totally mystified by her reminder of what had also bothered him about Simnra's words. "I am the one who did the unforgivable thing. I don't know what she was talking about. Suvkis and Arank like talking in riddles. They know things that I sometimes become aware of much later than when they'd mention them." He shrugged.

"Something that she advised you to find the heart to forgive…" Meera muttered to herself thoughtfully, watching Haruka gaze up at the sky with empty sorrowful eyes. To her, he seemed to be regretful of something, the remorse in those eyes even great enough to shadow his sorrow. She wanted to mention this, but thought better of it to avoid adding more to Rin's troubles.

They sat there until the evening fell, no one bothering them since there wasn't much to do.

Makoto and Haruka were always busy, meeting new people, doing the required paperwork from the authorities. So, no one actually paid him any mind when he slithered out of the inn the following dawn to witness the passing away of the suvkis Simnra. She had hugged him and kissed his hands, beseeching with him to face his fate bravely and head on, not escape from it. He had no courage to promise her anything, let alone approach the shoals and touch the waters of the ocean. All he could do was watch her walk into the gently swaying warm waters and disappear in them as if she never existed.

He couldn't move from his spot for a long time. The sun slowly rose over the blue horizon and instantly seared everything under its magnificent glare. Ships of different sizes arrived and left the port some distance away, the docking area getting crowded as the morning settled over the city.

With the cries of the seagulls as his only companions, Rin spent the whole morning on the sandy beach, not minding the sun, not minding the time, just contemplating the meaning of his own existence. Unable to neither settle his heart, nor find a peace of mind, he returned the inn in the afternoon.

He thought that no one minded his absence, but he was wrong, because all Haruka could think about was Rin even though his eyes did not even take a glance at him.

Haruka was aware that from this point on he was going to be alone. The sweet but empty hope to share his future with Rin was squashed thoroughly and within a few days he was planning to annihilate even the idea of it. His pitiful fear of rejection had already been realized in one of the cruelest ways he could imagine, so there was no reason to try and salvage his honor and pride when they held no meaning compared to the curses that Rin had been rightfully spewing at him without knowing who he actually was. Yet, out of all this mess, the thing that wounded him the most was the way how he eventually proved his people right by turning into every bit of that cruel shadow of a god, ruling the sun and all things that burned under it. No wonder their sun god had never been a beloved deity. People worshipped Him to avoid invoking His ire, His possessive nature that consumed both Himself and the others.

Just like their God, when he should have been giving, all Haruka could think of was taking. The primal need to own, to have, to claim Rin was so intense that he had been on the brink of insanity. He knew it, he had been about to go crazy and he had to stop it, because he had been destroying himself into an unloved, unwanted, feared person even as all he had ever wanted was the reverse of it.

He was not loved. To admit it tasted like death on his tongue, but probably he had never been loved truly neither by his people, nor by his family, or by Rin… He had only been feared just like the Sun God. How pitiful was that? How devastating it was to agree with the people's sentiment that he deserved all the torment that he had been going through since his childhood when he considered the thing that he had become.

More destruction awaited him if he would stay on this path and he refused to turn into the perfect puppet that represented what everyone worshipped in fear and hated in secret. If he was not meant to attain the positive aspects of his power, then letting that power to consume him was the best option. He was going to stop and thus, try to find himself again even if it would kill him in the end. Giving up on his love for Rin was impossible for him as it became the bane of his pain and thus, his existence, the sole thing reminding him that he was alive. In a way, he was even in love with the ache that nestled in the middle of his chest as he nursed it with his very blood in every beat of his heart. Nothing was strong enough to rip it out of him, even the promise of death. So, letting himself be devoured by the force of that love was only natural and he planned to do just that.

A few days later, he could finally secure the arrangement that he had been looking for in a ship going to the north. So, it was now time for him to own up to what he had done and learn to live with the consequences or die because of them.

On the morning of their eight day in Simnra, he found Rin helping with the packing of the tobacco that they planned to take inlands. Rin flinched a bit when he saw him, but Haruka no longer registered the sting of Rin's reaction.

"We need to go somewhere, Rin." He motioned for him to follow him, not expecting an answer.

His reluctance clear, Rin seemed uncomfortable upon his words, but he didn't refuse him.

Leaving the inn gates behind, they quickly mingled with the people around, Rin following him a step behind to the east, where the port and the sandy beach lied.

Puzzled at their direction, Rin asked, "Where are we going?" They walked up the long and wide street towards the ocean, the number of people around them dwindling by the minute.

"To the ocean…" Haruka explained, his eyes never leaving the sight of his aimed destination. "This town is named after a beautiful woman, a mermaid or so they say… Every night, she'd enter the ocean from this beach and swim until the dawn. I want to see her sanctuary with you even though she probably was just a human girl." He could imagine Rin's displeased face in his mind's eye, surely finding his reason childish and as another chore that he had to go through to not irritate him. He wished that Rin would have never felt that way, but it was all on him and Haruka accepted the blame of it.

"Rin, are the mermaids real?" He asked, looking up at the clear sky, the sun beating down on them with all its might as a reflection of his current desolate mood. Following the flight of a seagull unseeingly, he waited for an answer just to hear Rin's voice say something normal, something mundane before his eventual outburst at the end of this fateful encounter that Haruka was dragging them to.

"What would you like me to say?" Rin replied in a clipped tone.

Haruka felt his eyes tear up, consoling himself by thinking that it was because of the bright sun. He shrugged. "Say that they are real…" His voice sounded pleading even to his own ears. "Say that when you call out to them, they come to the shore and take your hand and show you the deepest corners of this ocean, share their secrets with you, that you are free among them…" He bit on his lip and lowered his head, two drops of tears fell from his eyes without even touching his cheeks.

He walked along the cobble stone road, several of his Arinna following him from both sides, gazing up at him with sorrowful eyes, their tiny voices asking him to not cry, to stay strong, to hang on. But Haruka couldn't hear anything other than the sound of the two feet that was coming right after him, soon to be gone out of his life forever.

When he talked, Rin's voice was detached; the sole emotion that Haruka could pick up in it was his subdued anger. "So be it, then. They are real." Rin huffed as if fed up with their situation.

Haruka smiled wryly, swallowing down a sob at Rin's dismissive answer, choosing to take it seriously. "Then I am glad." He looked back at the shore, the scene quivering under the abnormally hot noon sun. "I have always wanted to meet one since I was a child. But all I could find in this vast desert was the bones of a great sea creature that no longer existed in this world." He continued his uncharacteristic blabbering to keep himself moving. Yet, Rin didn't say more, the absence of his voice was louder than any words that he could utter.

When their feet finally hit the sands of the beach, Rin broke their uncomfortable silence. "What are we going to do here exactly?" He questioned in a guarded and irritated manner, his eyes darting around the empty shore with suspicion.

Haruka did not stop until he reached the edge of the land right before where the gentle waves lapped at. He made sure to stay away from the foaming salty water, taking a deep breath to ease some of the tension from his jaw and shoulders. But to no avail, he felt them cramping, his muscles taut and hurting. When he saw Rin stop beside him, he took another deep breath and felt his chest cave in upon his exhale. He fully turned to the healer. "Rin, are you a spy?" He wanted to satisfy a moment's curiosity.

Rin's mouth opened and closed in annoyance before he snarled. "What the hell? No! I am not!"

Haruka just watched him, already sure of Rin. "I am glad." He repeated his earlier sentiment, mystifying Rin more. "I have always known that you were the better one out of the two of us."

Rin's body relaxed a bit, but he was still looking at him as if Haruka was insane. "What are you getting at?" He took a step towards him, his hands open in want of an explanation.

"Though, even if you were a spy, it wouldn't matter to me. I know of your fears. But from today on, you'll never worry about that." He assured, his heartbeat shallow, his chest constricting in pain. "Rin, I know you are Bey from Kissaara."

His stance turning defensive in an instant, Rin narrowed his eyes down at him with distrust and caution in his eyes. "What are you…?" He muttered with furrowed brows.

Haruka let his eyes drink in Rin's sight one last time, memorizing the exact hue of the red of his irises, those long eyelashes, the arc of his nose, the silky lenght of his brilliant hair, his hands…that he loved so much but hurt in equal ardor, his so called affections blooming on those wrists in bruises and wounds. He swallowed and held out his hand, catching the chain of Rin's shackles, surprising him.

"No need to fear me." He shook his head at Rin's understandable impulse to lean away and step back. "At least, not anymore." He unlocked the chain swiftly and did away with the other one before throwing it away onto the sands.

"What are you doing? Rin looked back at him in complete shock as if he was a mad man.

"You won't need them again." Haruka tossed the key at the ocean and then procured a money pouch out of his vest. "I saw you give Aiichirou's blood money to Meera. So, you'll need this." He handed the velvet pouch to Rin who took it without actually realizing what he was doing. The bewildered expression on Rin's face intensified when Haruka gave him an envelope, sealed with that stylized sun insignia, thick and beautiful.

"I have managed to secure you a spot in a ship going to the north. It is leaving this port tomorrow morning. I paid for the voyage and issued you an identification document under my protection which will keep you out of trouble with slave drivers of any kind. The captain expects to arrive Kissaara within two weeks' time, so I… I…" He forced himself to talk, to witness Rin's bewilderment, disbelief and brokenness all reflected on his expressive face. "I'll send Meera to you with your effects in the morning." He swallowed thickly, but the horrible taste in his mouth didn't go away. "Together you can start yourselves a new life or continue from where you have left off…"

Rin blinked at him slack jawed, his body language screaming of his anxiety. "Haru, are you crazy? How did you…? What about the Bey? What have you done?" He asked rapidly, apparently worried that Haruka was doing this behind his friend's back due to the suspicions about him being a spy.

That last show of concern for him, that 'Haru' uttered in the haze of genuine worry undid Haruka. He would have laughed and cried at the beauty of it all had the situation been different, but now, the sole thing that he could do was to shake his head in bone deep self loathing.

"No, I am not someone that noble, Rin… Makoto knows this, but he has nothing to do with it."

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Frustrated by the incomplete information, Rin's cheeks colored. "How can he not have a say…in it…?" His voice slowly died down, realization dawning upon his face and draining the earlier color off of it completely. He staggered, the pain of Haruka's betrayal spread all over his features, his lips trembling, his eyes two mirrors of his torment. "Please don't say that…" He shook his head. "Please, deny it… Please… just don't…" He closed his hands over his ears, tears falling one after another as he choked on his plea, his eyes never leaving Haruka's lifeless blues.

"I am your enslaver, Rin." Haruka admitted and a ferocious sensation of burning claimed his whole body upon his admission. A small pitiful moan escaped his lips as he stood there motionless, carving in his eyes the way he tore Rin apart with his words.

"Right from the beginning, it was me. Makoto is my friend and aide. I am the one who paid that gold to buy you. I am the one who forced those shackles on you, who dragged you through this literal hell. It has always been me." He looked on, his body stiff like a statue. He wasn't even able to cry even as he watched Rin come apart before him, because he believed that he had no right to taste the bitter relief of even a single tear at this very moment where his foolish decisions had brought him to.

"Why did you do this to me? How could you…? How…?" Rin screamed at him and fell a few more steps away from him towards the ocean, his tears streaming down his face, his sobs heart wrenching. "Why? Gods damn you! Why did you torment me so? Why?!"

"The reason no longer holds any meaning, Rin." Haruka thought back to Rin's words to Makoto, back to the things he had told him on that riverside in Tumay. Neither his love, nor his insecurities and ineptness were enough reason to give Rin. So, there was no need to tell of them to Rin and burden him with the knowledge of his flimsy excuses. "What is done is done. So, I can only compensate it to you with my life." His hand went to the short kilij attached to his belt and then offered it to Rin whose eyes went round upon the insinuation.

With a furious snarl, Rin swatted at the weapon, knocking it off of Haruka's hand. He threw the money pouch and the envelope back at Haruka, his sobs returning and erasing that anger from his face. "I didn't save your life time after time again only to come here and take it with my own hands, you fool!" He screamed. "I wish I have never met you!" He hugged himself, one of his feet finally touching the swaying water. "I wish I have never known you! Why did it have to be you? Why?" His tears were now falling into the waters as he continued backing away into the ocean, not aware of how he was destroying whatever shreds of self esteem that was left in Haruka.

An instinctive worry gripped Haruka upon realizing that Rin was going to get swallowed up by the ocean, and that forced him move his legs with the primeval need to prevent Rin from disappearing from his sight. In his heart of hearts, he knew that he had no right to stop him, but his body didn't obey the command of his reason.

Rin backed away until he was knee deep, still crying, as Haruka attempted to follow him into the ocean only for him to be thrown bodily away back onto the sands right after his foot touched the water. A tremendous shock of power current coursed through him as if he was struck by lightning, his body convulsing on the ground. Yet, it didn't seem to be something destructive; otherwise he would have been dead with the force of it. It was like a very condensed form of Rin's power, flowing in him now, giving him an inhuman energy and vitality even as he looked back at where Rin was watching him with equally hopeless and defeated eyes.

The waters began stirring at their standstill and Haruka stood back up on his wobbly legs, instinct telling him to look up.

The sky slowly turned into an oppressive grey with their combined effect on the weather. The water seemed to evaporate as a strange wind picked up.

Arinna took his side, the girls standing beside him in perfect solemnity as small heads surfaced the waters behind Rin, mismatched unearthly eyes focusing on his person in defensive and passive anger.

Haruka felt his eyes turning golden, something in his chest pulsing like the core of the sun against his will with no way for him to suppress the taking over of his core this time.

Rin was gazing back at him with sapphire blue eyes, a color Haruka had never seen before. The tranquil royalty of that gaze arrested him breathless all the while a small sorts of storm brewed around them, not even touching a thread of their hair as if time had stopped for the two of them.

Haruka raised his head at the Great Spirit that manifested above the ocean, right behind Rin, in the form of a reddish purple serpent, brilliant, ferocious and horribly beautiful in its whole grandiose. It was looking at something behind him and only then Haruka realized that the manifestation of the Sun's Essence was standing behind him in the form of a winged horse made of white and yellow flames.

For some reason, Haruka did not feel neither surprise nor fear at the sight before him. On an instinctual level, he had already guessed what Rin was all along. He was the water to his eternal thirst and here at this very moment, he realized that quenching that thirst was no longer attainable for him.

"We meet again…" The embodiment of all waters spoke in that long forgotten language of Rin, the words sounding like the crashing of waves and Haruka realized that he could finally understand it.

To his astonishment, the manifestation of the sun spoke in that same language even as its words felt like the wisps of flames licking his skin, harmless and sweetly familiar. "So, as it seems…"

Haruka listened to their exchange without taking a breath or looking somewhere else other than the serenity of Rin's eyes.

"The times change, but for our reunion it never favors us."

The spirits yearned to come closer, he could feel it, but neither Haruka nor Rin moved as the wind went harsher and the waters rose in waves.

"Our fortune never seems to smile upon us…." The serpent spirit lamented in that lilting language, the mermaids joining in its grieving with their melodious voices.

The Arinna seemed to share in their sadness, their ephemeral forms trembling at the edge of Haruka's vision.

"Cruel is our fate as it hinges on the whims of these mere shadows…"

"But they deserve another chance as we also do so rightfully…"

"Then let us meet again in happier times."

The two spirits bowed at each other and their celestial images disintegrated into thin air as if they had never been there.

Haruka watched the unearthly blue bleed away from the sorrowful red of Rin's eyes before he turned away and left himself into the arms of the ocean.

With Rin's silent farewell, Haruka fell down onto his knees, unable follow Rin, knowing that he was no longer welcome to the waters after severing his connection with them with his own hands.

That bone rattling power discharge had been strong enough to throw him away like a ragdoll as if warning him to never come closer again. Though it still thrummed in his chest and made him feel as healthy as a newborn, he was emotionally drained and mentally numb.

He sat there, the weather settling down a little, though the sky was gray with unnaturally formed low clouds. The wind died down a bit and the waves calmed. The mermaids gave him vary looks before disappearing into the waters and some of the Arinna stayed with him to witness his misery.

"King, he won't come back." One of the golden girls whispered what he already knew.

"Even then, I can't leave him here." He hoarsely answered, his throat burning against the lump of raw emotions that clogged it.

"But people will come." The sun maiden sat beside him, her form trembling with the unnatural heat reflected back from the sands.

"Was this what you have been hiding from me, refusing to tell me?" He asked, recalling all that times the girls and the djinns had turned him down about what they'd known about the healer. "Because he was similar to me? Because we represented the two opposing forces in this world that can never find a common ground other than staying at odds with each other?…" He sighed, every breath hurting him anew.

When the maiden simply nodded at him, he snorted bitterly. "Thus, I fulfilled my destiny, huh?" He bit on his lip and touched his chest as if he could touch that strange power coursing through him. Its refreshing, renewing presence certainly did not belong to him as it clashed and warred with the fire searing him from inside out.

He wondered if that power's presence was the sole thing that prevented him from simply dying out like the flame of a small candle.

Xxxx

TBC…