Author Note - Just so you know with this chapter, there is a choice that the readers can make at the end of this. I am hoping that you can tell me in reviews/private messages on how you think the choice should go, as I have two possible outcomes planned for it.
You will see at the end
Chapter 34 – The Traveller's Journey Pt. 2
Oscar
The song has come to a close, and everyone applauds for the beautiful woman as she bows before her audience. Oscar smiles and he claps as well, stood tall with Krekras Blackridge not far away, along with the captain of a ship. He has his arms crossed, whilst Krekras applauds Starla. Rylen gets up and he applauds her as well, taking the mask that he wore off his head and he bows to the crowd as well. "Thank you! Thank you for coming tonight! Enjoy your evening!" He cheers to them, leaning back enthusiastically as he speaks into the microphone.
Some time passes as Oscar waits and he listens in on the conversation that Krekras is having with the captain. The crowd are clearing out from the tavern, returning to their homes in the dead of night. The performers are packing their equipment away and Starla has already left to go home for the night. Oscar eavesdrops on the conversation between Blackridge and the Captain. "So do you know exactly where to find Vex?" Krekras inquires with his arms crossed.
"Our sources are undeniable. A survivor from the most recent wreck by his hands told us he was headed east from the bays of the Trebuxian Bay. The only spot of land close to that point are the Volcanic Chain Isles." The Captain continues, his mace set on the table as he speaks to the Vanguard. Krekras scratches the stubble across his chin as he thinks about it. He exhales through his nostrils.
"I dunno, its dangerous going out there, Cap." Krekras tells him, but then the Captain cracks and he smashes his fist against the wooden table to get his attention.
"That bastard murdered my wife and children on that ship. Sunk the vessel to the depths and I never got say goodbye. I will get my vengeance, Blackridge, I don't care about the risks. Now are you gonna come with me?" The Captain snaps, and Krekras looks at him, and then he holds his hands up at the Captain to calm him.
"Calm yourself, Wymerus. I never said I was out, I was just letting you know that going there is a dangerous prospect. Not many people return from those isles due to the congregation of Grimm that live there. And hell, some say that it's cursed." Krekras explains to the Captain, telling the tales of this mysterious land.
"I know, I've also heard that only a Silver Eyed Warrior can open the gateway of storms." Wymerus says back to him.
"Well, it's a good thing that a very close friend of mine is in fact a Silver Eyed Warrior. I can find him and recruit him, if you like." Krekras says with a simple shrug of his shoulders. Captain Wymerus waits a couple moments and then he answers.
"Alright, see if he will help. It must mean, though, that Vex must have a Silver Eyed Warrior of his own." Wymerus states.
"We can handle that when we get to it. I've fought worse than Silver Eyed Warriors." He explains.
"Just try not to become something worse than them." Wymerus asks.
"No promises." Krekras chuckles, taking a swig of his tankard of mead. He sets the tankard down on the wooden table and he exhales. "So – when do we head out on the seas?" Krekras asks him.
"A week's time, we're gonna need all the provisions and fighters we can. I trust you and those Vanguard friends of yours can handle it, but we still need fodder." Wymerus explains, a cold ideal he has on his mind. Shows how desperate he has become for something so simple as revenge. Vengeance...is it possible? Could Wymerus be the Knight of Vengeance? The Defeated Knight? The only Knight to have found peace in the afterlife?
Krekras nods his head. "The Dauntless, understood. We'll be there in the coming week." He says as he stands up, holding his sword after picking it up and off the table. He connects the scabbard to his magnetic strip that runs down his back, and he leaves the tavern. Wymerus stays inside, drinking out of his tankard. Oscar keeps his hazel eyes on his, he has blue eyes, and he does not seem to notice the Traveller.
"Oscar Pine?" A man asks, making him jump, he turns with wide eyes, and he meets the yellow eyes of the man behind him. He still wears his Monster Outfit bar the helmet of the creature. He laughs from his reaction, hand on his head, taking a step backwards. "So sorry, son, didn't mean to scare you, at least not that time." He says with a wink. Oscar exhales with relief, because his voice is exactly the same, just less demonic now than it is in the present day. His skin not torn apart and rotten, not transforming into a gigantic bat that can strike fear into the hearts of all that see it.
"Yes...that's my name." Oscar answers, shaking that shock off his shoulders. Rylen pats his shoulder and he sits down beside him, looking at him as he crosses his legs. He leans back against the seat and looks up at the ceiling at some maids that walk around. He winks at one of them and she giggles, walking off.
"Got yourself a fair maiden?" He asks Oscar, making his eyes widen nervously, and he looks at Rylen. The man that would later become the Knight of Fear. The main question that rattles around his mind is simply – how do the Knights not remember him? Have their memories become this skewed? Or maybe so much time has passed between their meetings that they have simply dumped those memories in the dirt.
Unless there is something more sinister behind what happened to them all.
"Excuse me?" Oscar asks him, confused of how else he could possibly respond to such a bizarre question. He is sixteen years old, he is not old enough to have a fair maiden. He might have a crush on Ruby, but that does not mean he does. But the longer he draws the answer out, the more suspicious he might make Rylen. Rylen repeats the question, looking at him with the similar coloured eyes, apart from the glowing nature of them now.
"A fair maiden, a warm body for your bed at night?" He asks him again with a smirk on his face. The smirk seems to give it away, and Oscar furrows his brow.
"Wait a minute – you're just yanking me around, aren't you?" Oscar questions. Rylen gasps, leaning back from him.
"Shocking suggestion!" He replies with a smile on his face. "I would never dream of mockery." He says as he looks up at one of the woman. She is short with a slim body, large blue eyes and purple hair. A very striking looking girl, and Oscar looks away from her, and Rylen spots whom they are looking at.
Rylen leans over to his ear. "They would like what you're packaging, however." He whispers, and Oscar gasps, looking at Rylen with scared eyes. Oscar has not even noticed, that all the pretty young girls are all checking him out. From blonde hair, to red to brunette. A lot of very attractive girls that all have their eyes set on the young boy. He looks down at the floor, shy and nervous at what is happening. Rylen chuckles and he pats his back with his hand as he sits there. "I'd be proud of that, buddy. That many gals clamouring over you? I wouldn't shove them off? Have as many as you please." He says with a chuckle as he sits there. Oscar is realising that he has not been around places like this before, and not only that, he is in a very different time zone. One where this is more acceptable, or at least more apparent in bars and taverns. He has never ventured far from home, and has never ventured far from his Aunt so he has never had attention from girls before. Oscar is honestly struggling to come to grips with it in fact, sitting there with a sweat growing on his brow. Knee shaking and sweaty palms, heart pounding at a thousand beats a minute.
He can hear their giggles as they look and converse about him, it all seems to pile up on him, and then he feels Rylen pat his shoulder. It snaps him out of this state that he is in, and he looks at Rylen. "Let me guess – never seen a girl naked before?" He asks him with a chuckle and Oscar sighs.
"I've barely spoken to many in my life, other than my Aunt." Oscar admits and Rylen seems to understand, nodding his head up and down.
"Ah, first experiences with girls your age, then?" He guesses.
"I guess you could say that." He sighs, scratching the back of his neck. Rylen contorts his lips as he contemplates.
"Well, in my experience, I would simply say that you should just be yourself. Don't pretend to be someone you're not, that way you can wean out the chicks that actually are attracted to your looks – and are attracted to you." He says, putting his finger where Oscar's heart is, looking at him. Oscar looks at Rylen and his eyebrows lift up. "You get me?" He asks him.
"Ye-Yeah." He stammers.
"Of course, if you aren't ready, wait then. The last thing you wanna do is disappoint a gal with those looks in bed – believe me." He says as he stands up, whispering in his ear, snapping his finger at him as he walks away. "I'll see you around, Oscar." He says, walking away from him. Oscar remains sat there, and the girls are still admiring him from above. He ignores them and keeps his eyes on the task at hand. He needs to get to the Volcanic Chain Isles before it's too late, needs to find a map and take it. Oscar stands up and he starts to walk out of the tavern, with a thousand things on his mind.
"Getting advice on girls from Fear...didn't expect that." He mumbles to himself as he walks. He starts to mumble his thoughts aloud as he walks. "I need to get on that ship...but how am I supposed to get aboard a boat in the coming week? I can't just ask to get on..." He mumbles to himself. As he walks out, he jumps again when he hears a familiar voice beside him.
"The answer to that question is – you stowaway." The Soothsayer says unexpectedly. Oscar gasps, nearly jumping out of his skin from how suddenly he appeared. He has his arms crossed and foot pressed against the wooden wall of the building, looking at him in the darkness. "Beautiful display of words by the stunning Mrs Schnee, wasn't it?" He chuckles, looking at him with a smile. Oscar stands there, staring at the Clairvoyant with confused eyes. He did not see him stood there earlier, or the time before. Vir Nominis Umbra looks at Oscar, smiling away where he stands.
"How do you appear so suddenly?" Oscar asks with a nervous tone of voice.
"I have my ways." He answers, unhelpfully. Oscar rolls his eyes.
"Guess I should have expected that kind of a response." He huffs and puffs.
"Indeed you should have, now what did you think of her performance?" Vir Nominis Umbra inquires for a second time.
"It was beautiful." Oscar answers with a sigh in his voice.
"Yes it was, brought the tavern to tears, and sparked love in the eyes of others it seems." Vir Nominis Umbra states with a smirk on his face.
"I swear to god, if I hear one more thing about those girls having a thing for me I am gonna go mad." Oscar threatens, pointing at Vir Nominis Umbra, having no reaction whatsoever to his threat. He simply smiles at him.
"Come on Oscar, every man desires the warmth of a woman." He says with a smile. "Or a man – or animal – whatever their tastes are in, Humans and Faunus all crave love and attention. Pleasure, sex, drink, food, combat. Whatever it is that they enjoy, most of the time it includes a partner along for the ride." Vir Nominis Umbra explains, listing all these things, but Oscar catches onto something that he said.
"You talk of people as Humans and Faunus, like you are neither. So what are you?" He asks.
"You may call me a mere travelling merchant, I grant people the things that they want." He explains with a smile on his face. He never seems to frown, and maybe that is something that Oscar might wish to keep that way.
"Why'd you bring all that up?" Oscar asks curiously. Vir Nominis Umbra smiles as he approaches the boy, hands held together now.
"I know your heart is set on someone – wouldn't you wish to give her the night of her life?" Vir Nominis Umbra asks with a smile, a question that creeps Oscar out and he looks away.
"Stop." He requests.
"Think about it, you want her...always have...you are in the perfect position to practice your craft!" He laughs as he stands there, and then something ignites in Oscar and he shouts at the Soothsayer.
"I said stop!" He shouts, causing some civilians to look at the commotion. Vir Nominis Umbra looks at them and he smiles, easing them with the simple lifting of his hand so then they leave.
"It's okay, just pulling your leg." He assures with a smile. Oscar sighs, calming himself down and he looks away from the Soothsayer, getting that weird feeling that someone's eyes are set upon you. He turns and he sees a girl stood there, same age as he is, extremely pretty, looking right at him. But she too seems quite timid as well, wearing a red dress that is loosely tied up. He looks away and looks at Vir Nominis Umbra.
"I told you – No." He says coldly, remembering what he said about granting people their wishes.
"I did not summon her, she came seeking you." He says, still has not broken his expression.
"Why have you come here?" Oscar questions.
"I can sense when someone requires Guidance, I am here to – how should I put it – to aid you along the path." Vir Nominis Umbra explains, finding the words in the sky as he enunciates. Oscar narrows his hazel coloured eyes, not buying what he says, but he was mumbling on how to get aboard the Dauntless. "You required assistance, I am here to provide it."
"So how do you propose I stow myself away on that ship? They'll be guards all over the place." Oscar explains, waving his hands around the area, imagining in his head a street packed with Arkhoni Guards, whatever it is that they look like. Oscar watches the Soothsayer's eyes as they dance over to the girl stood not far from him, and then at Oscar again.
"I believe your date might be the answer to your question." Vir Nominis Umbra hints with a wink. Oscar groans, not getting that he is being literal about this.
"I said I am not interested." Oscar groans.
"And I never told you to plough her, but I am not about to make things easy for you. If you wish to get about that Ship to help your true love, then you must speak with her." Vir Nominis Umbra explains. Oscar sighs, grabbing the bridge of his nose, looking down and shaking his head.
"Why is everything so complicated?" Oscar questions.
"Welcome to the real world, Oscar Pine." Vir Nominis Umbra says, smiling and walking away from him. When Oscar looks back up, he is rattled when he sees that the Soothsayer has completely vanished without a trace. He turns to a tree and sees a Hummingbird watching him from where it sits. It has glowing green eyes as it stands there, keeping a good eye on him. He sighs, and then looks at the girl where she stands and he walks towards her. His heart is pounding from nervousness. Her dress is tied up but reveals her collarbone quite clearly. She has fair Caucasian skin, long red hair, but before he can see her eyes, a trio of men stand in front of her with angry eyes. She gasps and steps back.
"Oi!" One of the brutish thugs shouts at her. Oscar stops and his eyes widen when he sees what is going on. "I want my bloody money back!" He grunts. She looks at him and starts to step back from him.
"You got what you paid for." She says to him.
"Hell no, I did." He snarls, grabbing her by her hair, lifting her off the floor and she starts to scream in pain, grabbing the muscular man's arm.
"Get off me!" She squeaks.
"I think we should teach her a lesson." One of the men grunts.
"I gave you the weapons you asked for! What more do you want?" She questions. Oscar was thinking of something very different with all the talk around town right now. The guy hurting her glares at her, scars across his back as he stares into her eyes.
"They broke immediately!" The thug grunts with anger. He then reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a large steel gutting knife and she starts to scream in terror. Oscar stands there and he scowls with anger. He clenches his hand into a fist.
"Hey!" Oscar shouts. The three men stop and they turn round and glare at him where he stands, dwarfing the boy and they laugh at him when they see him. The ringleader still holds the girl by her long red hair with a chuckle in his voice. Now Oscar can see her eyes, she has...silver eyes. His eyes widen but he ignores that fact for now, and keeps his eyes on the three criminals in front of him that are laughing at his age and size.
"Look at this brat! Looks like we need to teach him a lesson as well." He snarls as he walks towards him.
"Put her down!" Oscar warns. The ringleader scoffs, looking at her and then at the boy.
"Put her down?" He asks. "Alright." He agrees, he throws her and she falls into a pile of mud, the mud covers her face and her hair. She lands hard and she cries out as she is covered, her dress ruined. She looks up at Oscar where he stands, shocked at what the bully did, but that has settled it with him. He tightens his fist, he has always hated bullies, but especially hated those that go out of their way to hurt girls. That is why he despises Tyrian Callows so much. "Did as you asked." He says.
"You're gonna regret that." Oscar assures.
"Am I?" He laughs. "What are you gonna do?" He asks.
"This." Oscar snarls, he snaps his fingers, taking a page from Time's book, and he sprints towards the thug as time freezes, the landscape seeming to fracture from every step he takes in the stutter. He gets closer and closer, and then he jumps high in the air, using a crate to get level with the head of the tall man. He swings round and slams his fist right into the back of his head. The action of doing so resumes time with a bang. The thug falls hard into the ground, his head buried in the wet mud after a recent rainfall. The black tar like mud covers his shaven head. The two other men stagger back with shock and disbelief. One of them takes out a baseball bat and the other holds a Knife. Oscar throws a time bubble at the man with the Knife to stop him in his tracks. He is frozen in the bubble, his yells being stretched out in the bubble. The fragments surround and hold him in position, and he is unknowingly stuck in the bubble right now. The other guy roars, swinging the baseball bat at his head. Oscar raises his arm and just as the bat hits his arm, instead of breaking the bone, a blast of fragmented glass like shards of aura, form around his forearm, stopping the bat from touching him. He holds it there and then he grabs the bat and rips it from the confused man's fingers. He holds it with both hands and clatters it across the man's jaw, salvia bursts from his mouth and he falls into the mud as well. Oscar swiftly turns to the last man, and with both hands, he over-arm throws the baseball bat into the bubble. It is stuck in time before him, about to hit him in the sternum. The bubble bursts and the momentum has been increased from being stopped in a single moment, and the impact sends him flying through a stack of vegetables. Cabbages and leaks are thrown into the floor and he tumbles down the stairs, severely winded from the impact, crying with pain.
Oscar hear pathetic groans at his feet and he looks down, seeing the Ringleader with an almighty bruise on the side of his head. He rolls his eyes and kicks the guy in the head, knocking him out cold from the impact. "Assholes." Oscar says, walking away from them and towards the girl that was being bullied by them. He puts his arms around her to help her up to her feet. "Are you okay?" Oscar asks her. She nods her head, wiping the dirt off her face as she looks around.
"Yes, I'm sorry for getting you involved." She apologises, wiping the dirt off her face. The pretty girl is struggling to get the mud off and she looks at her dress. She sighs with annoyance. "Well that's a shame, I liked this dress." She sighs, wiping some of the black mud off. Oscar looks around the area.
"Where'd you live? Let me help you get home." Oscar says. She looks at him and smiles, nodding.
Some time passes and the door to her home opens and he helps her inside, closing it behind them. She walks away from him and she looks at herself in the mirror. "For gods' sake." She groans, picking up a flannel and cleaning herself up, wiping bits of mud off her face. "This is gonna take forever." She sighs. Oscar has always been a kind soul, much like Ruby, he has always been one to offer help to those in need. He walks over to her and sits her down.
"I'll do it, don't worry." He assures, taking the sponge and wiping the mud off her face. She smiles as he holds her head still.
"My knight in shining armour." She laughs.
"Just a friend in the neighbourhood." He says to her. She then remembers how he managed to take out those thugs so fast. She looks up at him with her large silver eyes, filled with ardent curiosity to ask him.
"How did you do that?" She asks him.
"Hm?" He responds, looking up to her face.
"You stopped those men, how did you do it so fast?" She inquires, tilting her head. Her voice is very soft and regal, like she belongs in a much higher place than a small house such as this. Oscar looks around, impressive weapons are displayed everywhere, from swords to maces and even to suits of armour on mannequins. If this is her work, then it is unbelievably impressive. But she still asked him a question, and he owes her an answer before she starts to get a little antsy towards him.
"It's my semblance...I can control time." He answers with a smile. She looks at him, raising an eyebrow curiously at the answer.
"A what?" She asks.
"A semblance." He recites.
"I don't know what that is...do you mean a Shai-Ty'uum?" She asks him, stating a phrase of which he has never heard before. His eyes widen, another cultural difference that he does not recognise. She tilts her heart shaped head at him curiously.
"A Shai-Ty'uum?" He asks.
"Yes, the manifestation of an ability that warriors have." She answers. It is the same thing as a Semblance, but their language has a different name than what it has now. It has been simplified down greatly since the old days of the Arkhoni.
"Oh, yeah the same sort of thing. In the Trebuxian Farmlands we have a simpler name." He admits with a smile on his face to calm her. She notices his smile, and he has probably accidentally caused this pretty girl to become smitten towards him.
"I've never met a boy from Trebux." She admits, touching his hand with hers. He feels her hand, and his eyes widen when he feels the smoothness of her palms. Her skin is so well looked after, cleaned and tended to. She runs her fingers across his arm, feeling the muscle definition that has been formed from his work on the farm. She then looks him in the eyes with those mysteriously powerful silver ones. "Are you a Vanguard?" She asks him curiously, tilting her head into the hand that holds the sponge that he wipes the mud from her cheek. He tries to ignore the shyness that is building up in him, this is the closest he has actually been to a girl in this way in his entire life. He does not know exactly what he is feeling right now.
"No...I'm not a Vanguard." He answers with a stammer in his voice. She smiles after hearing his stutter. She wraps her hand around his and she still looks at him.
"I owe you, Mr..." She asks, still not knowing his name.
"Oscar...Oscar Pine." He answers, she seems to even like his name itself. She tilts her head when looking at him.
"Well...Oscar Pine...you saved my life today...I can repay you in any way you can imagine. But I must get changed first." She says, standing up and walking away from him, towards the dresser in the corner, he watches her as she seductively looks back at him and in he can see her shadow as she removes the dress. He still feels the urge to look away for her own privacy.
When he looks forward, his heart nearly stops when seeing him stood there again. He has his hands clasped together and his wears still attached to his outfit of which he wears. He snaps his fingers together and then...time pauses in place. Oscar's eyes widen and he cannot help but look back at her. He can see her shadow on the curtain, unclothed and walking around. He then looks at Vir Nominis Umbra again, confused of how he got in here. Now he is certain, this Soothsayer is not what he seems. He is like a spirit.
Is it Time?
"She has just offered to lay with you, Oscar." He translates to the boy, which has now put him in an incredibly awkward position.
"Why are you putting me through all of this? Did you make that happen?" Oscar asks him, stuttering through every word of his sentence to the Clairvoyant. He smiles and walks towards him with a menacing chuckle behind his voice, approaching him. "How can you stop time? Are you Time? What the hell are you?" He questions.
"I am merely a travelling merchant and Soothsayer, nothing more." Vir Nominis Umbra describes, looking down at Oscar.
"That's a load of garbage, Umbra." Oscar snarls with anger. "I have been here for essentially a day now...and not for one moment do I buy a word you have said so far." Oscar explains with angry eyes. "You're a liar, you told me she was different."
"I am no liar, Oscar. I am no cheat, either. I simply said that she would aid you, her way of aiding you however may come at a cost. She has fallen for you, you are her knight in shining armour, the one she has been waiting for. She has been waiting for this day since she was born." He explains as he walks towards him, and towards the curtain of which she is changing herself behind.
Oscar starts to stammer as he tries to find a way to speak. "Umbra...I am not ready for this kind of thing...I'm only sixteen." He stammers.
"As is she." He says, naturally.
"Surely this isn't even legal!" He argues.
"Times were different here. Children began their careers when they were eight, but believe me, there are places in Vacuo in your time that are no different to Arkhonex. Arkhonex is a time of corruption that hid behind beauty. Prostitution, Fighting-Arenas, Gambling, you name it. It may all seem all perfect on the outside, but this place makes the conditions of your current world look a damn sight better in comparison." He chuckles, and Oscar looks down at the floor with shaking hands. He is not ready for any of this, he has been scared to talk in a flirty way to Ruby, let alone sleep with a girl.
"So what? She is a prostitute?" Oscar questions with anger in his eyes, feeling betrayed by the Soothsayer.
"I never said that." He says. Oscar starts to build up and up with fear of what is happening. His anxiety getting the better of him.
"I can't, Umbra! I just can't!" He argues. Vir Nominis Umbra walks around the room and then he stops by the suits of armour.
"Did you know that she made these suits?" He asks, touching one of them. Not a speck of dust upon them. Oscar looks at the armours and weapons that she has been selling. It makes sense now, about why those men started to shout at her. But they are in such good condition, why would those men threaten to hurt her for one being faulty?
"Why did those men attack her, then?" He asks.
"Because of me." He admits with a smile, and Oscar grits his teeth.
"You got her hurt?" He snarls. Vir Nominis Umbra laughs, sinisterly at that as well.
"You see, Oscar...I fractured one of those swords that she sold and told her that she would be having a customer soon. That customer being you, and on cue, the men attacked and you came to the rescue and decided to clean her up. To her, you are the hero she has been waiting her whole life for, as I said previously." He explains. He then reaches into his coat and pulls out a small book with a red spine to it with velvet wrapped around it. He opens it and flicks through the pages, humming a creepy song to himself. One that someone would understand.
There was a crooked man...and he walked a crooked mile...
"Ah! Here we are...I am so sick of this place...I heard that the Trebuxian Farmlands are so beautiful out there. None of these animalistic men looking to sleep with every woman that they can lay they paws on...if only I could meet a guy the same age as me...one that I could love. Not like that old prick I was married to...not out of choice. Some brave warrior, a hero who would free me from this place." He reads out to him, smiling away and closing the book shut with force, putting it down on the table. Oscar stands up and looks at the book, it was her diary. He then sees her name, and his eyes widen with disbelief.
Her name...
Cynthia Nikos.
"Nikos?" He questions out of horror, his eyes widening. He know that surname because of how many times that they have mentioned the name of Pyrrha Nikos. This is the same Cynthia Nikos that Kragen Nox spoke of to the rest of the team when they first met him. However he does not know this yet.
"Indeed, the very same family tree that leads to the beautiful Pyrrha Nikos." He explains with a grin.
"I can't!" He argues. "I won't betray Ruby." He tells him, loyal to her to the end. The Soothsayer sighs, grabbing the bridge of his brow and he begins to pace around the room and then he speaks of something. Something that reveals the truth to the boy.
"I shall tell you a tale." He begins, pacing back and forth in the room, hands still together as he walks with a smile. "Once, during the Arkhoni Ages, there was a beautiful Fair Maiden named Cynthia Nikos." He begins and Oscar stares at him as he walks around. "She had been waiting for her true love for years on end since she has been a child. A Knight in shining armour, one that could rescue her from her perilous foes." He continues on. "One night, with the moon looking over her, a young boy, the same age as her, would appear before her. Saving her from her foes, fast as light, and handsome as day." He continues, approaching Oscar, and the boy begins to feel intimidated by the Humble Merchant as he pins him against the wall without even laying a finger on him. Just by walking closer. Oscar stands against the wall, looking at the chilling man with his scared eyes. There is a faint glow of deep red behind his eyes but they fade quite fast. "He would look after her, tend her wounds, clean her up. She would become smitten to his hazel coloured eyes, wanting everything he could possibly give to her. And he did, loved her, held her, kissed her, felt the warmth of her body beside his for the entire night. And thus they spent a week together..." He explains.
"They then boarded a vessel, her promise to him that she would aid him in his task, heading to an unknown land to help someone else he knows." He explains. Oscar now understands what the Soothsayer is saying to him. He must give her the night she has been wanting, the week she has craved, and in return she will aid him.
Or is this is twisted way to corrupt Oscar?
The man is so mysterious that he cannot guess his motives. He is using an innocent girl with such beauty against him just to make the tale become true. "Then what will happen to her?" Oscar questions, since he has not finished on that part. Vir Nominis Umbra smiles as he looks at him.
"Her beloved will be lost at sea, and she will find herself at the Trebuxian Farmlands with no hand to hold, no warm body to sleep with...but the very thing that she learned." He stares straight at him. "She has gifts too...and there are others as well. She could go on to create a band of warriors, carrying silver eyes...known as the Silver Eyed Warriors." He explains. "That is the tale, Oscar Pine. Would you risk destroying all of that? The possibility of your beloved never existing? Sometimes we must make decisions that we do not agree with for the greater good." He explains with cold eyes.
Oscar...despite all of this...is still scared. It is not to do with that, it is to do with confidence. He is terrified of girls, he always has been scared of them. He has never known what it would be like to be with a girl in that way. "I – I get what you are saying – but – but – I can't..." He stammers. Vir Nominis Umbra, however, is a persistent one.
"Lucky for you...I am a merchant." He says, reaching into his bag. He pulls out a pair of potions. One blue, one red. He holds them before Oscar and he looks at him with them in his gloved palms. "Before you, you have a choice to make." He begins. "Both potions will resume this point in time. You can take the red potion, and by taking it you will never remember the time you share with her, but your body will give her the dreams she has had for years. You will awaken at the end of the week, your naked bodies together on a bed." He explains the red potion, and then he holds up the blue one. "Or you shall use the blue one, of which you will spike her wine with in the dinner she has planned for you and her. She will drink her wine, and will fall asleep before she would want to sleep with you. You will be able to meditate a week in advance and she will have the memories despite it never happening. You can rob her of her dreams, or you can risk betraying the girl you truly love by sleeping with her." He explains.
He holds the two potions before him. "The Choice Is Yours." Vir Nominis Umbra says.
Oscar looks at the two vials.
Red...
Or...
Blue...
Which should he pick?
Author Note - So? What do you think Oscar should do? Should he follow the tale that the Soothsayer told him for multiple events to happen in the future? Or should he trick her and use his abilities to just get on the ship? Does he risk betraying Ruby for this girl or should he trick her?
Also let me know on who you think Vir Nominis Umbra is? I'd love to know what you think!
Please review your choices and what you think of this story so far!
Enjoy the story!
- Onyx Phantom