Happy Holidays readers!
Helbram's throat was dry and there was a dull pounding in his head. He lifted it off the table and massaged his temples, trying to stop the pain. Helbram opened his eyes and looked around, he was still in the tavern. Ban was passed out on the floor, and the usual trio of drunks were scattered around the room. Helbram groaned in annoyance.
I hate liquor. Why did I agree to play that game with Ban? Ugh, why's it so bright? What time is it? I remember that I drank with Ban, then those idiots came in, then...
A blush covered Helbram's face as he recalled the rest of the night. He grabbed his head. Panic consumed him.
I said it! I said it out loud to Harlequin! Then I-I-I KISSED HIM! His giant-cutie saw! I'm awful, terrible! How could I!?
"Oh, you're awake, good."
Helbram's panic stopped as he looked over to the person addressing him. He yelled in surprise,
"Ah, Diane, the giant-cutie!"
She placed a glass of water down in front of him, taking the empty seat across the table.
Helbram looked at her fearfully as he sipped the water.
Diane spoke,
"How do you feel? I know Ban got you drunk on purpose."
Helbram choked, pulling the glass away and coughing.
"*cough* I know that. *cough* Did he tell *cough* you that?"
Diane asked, concern in her voice,
"Are you ok?"
Helbram finally caught his breath again, replying in a panicked tone,
"I'm fine, haha. Oh, um you're a giant so why are you human-sized?"
He was trying to distract her from the conversation she clearly wanted to have.
Diane smiled.
"Merlin gave me some magic enhancing pills to make me human-sized so that I can move around the town without breaking anything."
"Amazing! How did she make them?"
Diane gazed at Helbram, and he panicked internally. Diane continued sassily,
"Helbram, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to-"
"Oh, an apology I bet!"
Helbram cut her off as he leaned towards her, his wings fluttering with panic.
Diane cocked an eyebrow in confusion.
Apology for what?
"Yeah, that's it. Well, I'm sorry for attacking and trying to kill you. I was following Hendrickson's orders. I never would have tried to kill you if I wasn't under Hendrickson's dark influence."
Diane cocked her head.
"You tried to kill me? But the person who attacked me when Elizabeth was captured was an old man, not you. All I know is that at some point during the battle, you came in and fought King. Then you got hurt and, well, here we are now."
Helbram looked away, frowning.
She didn't realize I was that old man... I don't ever want to take on that form again, but she doesn't believe me… maybe saying something in that sick monster's voice will convince her.
Helbram cleared his throat, turning his attention back to Diane.
"You're one stubborn giant."
His voice was gruff and deep, it didn't match his appearance at all.
Diane recognized the voice instantly, shock overtook her.
"What!? But that's that weird old guy's voice!? It doesn't suit you at all! You're a cute fairy... Oh, can you transform like King?"
Cute?
"Well I can transform my appearance like Harlequin, but I will never ever dawn that human form again. I never want to be reminded of that face."
Helbram gazed somberly at the table. Diane wanted to ask why, but she figured it was a personal matter and didn't want to push him for an answer. She smiled warmly at him.
"I accept your apology, and as much as I appreciate it, I wanted to talk to you about King, or should I say Harlequin. That's his real name right? You called him that after he beat you, and you called him that last night too."
Helbram's heart sank as he answered nervously,
"Yeah, King's name is Harlequin. Should I not call him that? Is that what you want to talk about? 'Cause I can-"
"No, no, I could never ask you to do that. It's just that... I know that name. At first, King told me it was from a dream I had, but after hearing you call him Harlequin, I finally remembered. I had met King 700-years ago when I was a little girl."
700-years ago? That's when...
A burning sensation started to build in Helbram's stomach as he listened to Diane.
"You see, I saved King from a river. His back had been cut into and I thought he was going to die, but I nursed him back to health. Unfortunately, he had amnesia and only knew his name, so he couldn't tell me where he was from or who had hurt him. He stayed with me for 500-years until a village of humans we knew were attacked. He said he'd come back, but for some reason, after that, I couldn't remember him anymore, until today."
Helbram scowled at her unintentionally as his hatred burned his insides.
Harlequin was with her that whole time? While I was trapped in my own living hell, he was there with her!? Living in ignorance! That's unforgivable! Amnesia or not!
"You're telling me Harlequin was playing babysitter while I suffered for those 500-years?"
Helbram said bitterly as he clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms.
Diane watched him, surprised to see the anger and hatred on his face. She had a chilling feeling crawl up her spine as she answered him, concern and fear in her voice,
"He wasn't playing babysitter, he was staying with me 'cause he couldn't remember where he was from or why he was hurt in the first place. What do you mean you suffered?"
Helbram's anger finally started to overtake him as he yelled,
"He left the Fairy King's Forest to come save me and our friends from humans who lied to us and captured us! They were ripping their wings off, one after the other! He came when everyone except myself was dead! Then the bastard who killed everyone killed Harlequin, so I killed him. And then, for those 500-years, I went around killing humans, and trying to silence the screaming, tearing, snapping sounds that echoed constantly in my head! And you're telling me that for that whole time he was with you!"
Diane was afraid. Helbram was livid as he gazed hatefully at her. The giant didn't know what to say, she didn't know anything about Helbram before talking to him today. He seemed to go from being worried about her feelings to hating her in a split second. Diane pulled herself together and forced her voice forward,
"I didn't know that. I'm so sorry."
"Your apology means nothing to me!"
He hissed hatefully at her.
"I know why King loves me so dearly!"
Diane bluttered out.
Shock overtook Helbram and his hatred fell for a second, but it quickly returned. He glared at her with a mix of hate, confusion, and shock painted onto his face.
Diane breathed out heavily.
He's angry, but he's interested in knowing why King loves me. That means his love for King is stronger than his hatred for me at the moment.
She spoke cautiously.
"I had King make a promise with me. I had him promise to love me always. It was selfish to have him promise me that, but as a little girl who was all alone, well, I didn't want to be alone anymore. I thought that was the only way to keep him around. He's already keeping his promise to me. And I know he loves me, but I don't love him that way."
"Wha?"
Shock completely overtook Helbram, his anger melted away as he gazed at Diane asking,
"What do you mean? You love him but you don't love him? He stayed with you for 500-years, shouldn't you know if you love him or not?"
Diane sighed
He's not angry anymore, thank goodness. I thought he was going to kill me for real this time.
She smiled, explaining,
"I love and care about him as a friend and nothing more. I do love spending time with him, but I really don't see us as anything more than really good friends. I don't love him the way you love him. I'm sorry you suffered for 500-years waiting in vain for King. And I'm sorry you thought I loved him the way you do, but what you did last night to show him how you felt was pretty amazing. Even if it was because you were drunk."
Diane watched Helbram's face turn red, as he averted his gaze. She got up and walked around to him, embracing him.
Helbram flinched in surprise.
Diane continued,
"Look, even if King doesn't love you the same way, I don't love him that way either… But I'm pretty sure that he does love you, and that it's not unrequited. I mean, you said it yourself, he left the forest to save you and your friends. Knowing King though, he probably had you on his mind first and everyone else second."
Helbram looked up at her, asking,
"How do you know it isn't unrequited?"
"Girls intuition."
Diane said letting go of him and heading for the kitchen.
Helbram was left to his thoughts.
She wasn't mad or upset… She just kept talking, even after I lost my temper with her. She even supported what I did last night. What an odd girl?... Damn it, I owe her another apology. It wasn't her fault Harlequin lost his memories after that bastard attacked him. Honestly, I should thank her for nursing him back to health.
King woke up staring at the ceiling. He questioned aloud,
"How did I get upstairs? I remember coming back to the tavern with Diane after the firework show and then..."
He sat up quickly as his face turned beet red.
"We came back and Helbram... he kissed me. My first kiss and it was to Helbram!"
King held his face, replaying the event over and over in his mind. He grabbed Chastiefol, in its pillow form, and buried his face in it trying to calm down.
He said he loved me… Then he kissed me! I mean I… It was…
King pulled his still red face out of Chastiefol.
"I didn't hate that kiss, and I'm not even mad about it, but… What about Diane, she saw that!"
He had a somber look on his face.
I really liked it, I kind of wish Helbram didn't pull away… I think.. I'm in love with Helbram! When he pulled me in and kissed me, my heart raced like a horse. And my entire body felt warm. I didn't want him to stop, and when he did, it just kept replaying in my head... But what about Diane? What about the promise I made to her? I mean, I promised to love her forever. Whenever I'm with Diane, I do blush, but my heart never races and I'm not consumed by an overwhelming warmth. I want to protect her and see her happy but… I-I think Ban was right. I have a crush on Diane... I love her, but I… I want to be with Helbram more than anything. I left the forest for him and I even killed him to save him from the pain he had. I left Diane all those years ago because the village that we knew was attacked. When I learned it was Helbram who had attacked them, well, I was so happy to see him again but… I quickly became distressed after he told me why he killed those people. I felt so heartbroken. I wanted to be with him even after all that he did. Even though he was so consumed by his pain and... I couldn't save him, I couldn't do anything for him except kill him back then… After all these years, he's alive again and with me. He's not trapped by his pain anymore, and I still want to be with Helbram. I feel exactly like I did when I left the forest the first time to go save him.
King sighed heavily.
"What am I going to do?"
He spent what felt like an eternity staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out what to do about his feelings. When King finally got up, he made his way to the stairs. He sighed heavily. Defeat laced his voice,
"Let's get this day started since it's going to be one of those days."
King poked his head into the tavern and saw Helbram and Diane sitting at Ban's table. Ban and the trio of drunks were on the floor. King looked back over to the two people he held most dear to him. Clenching his fists, he made his way over to them.
King smiled nervously at them as he sat in the open stool between the two.
Helbram stared at the table, his cheeks were red. Diane kept shifting her focus between the two, feeling a building awkward tension between the fairies.
Diane spoke up,
"Good morning, King. How are you feeling? You passed out last night after Helbram kissed you."
The two of them gazed at Diane, embarrassment evident on both of their faces.
King stammered,
"I-I'm fine."
Diane smiled at Helbram.
"How are you Helbram?"
Helbram looked at Diane, lost in thought.
She's pushing us to talk about what happened last night. I know the reason why, but… well, she's so weird. She shouldn't be doing that. I was so mean to her a moment ago. Ugh, she's by far the strangest giant I've ever met… In fact, she's the only giant I've ever met, but still.
"Me, oh haha, I'm great. Thanks for asking."
"That's great. You're both in good health. So, don't you have something you want to talk about?"
Helbram held her gaze, a reassuring smile on her face. He understood her intentions. As he sighed heavily in defeat, he spoke,
"Fine, fine."
He turned his attention to King, a slight blush colored his face. His voice was shaky.
"Look Harlequin, I love you more than I should. I want… I want to be with you forever as your… b-b-boyfriend. And if you don't want to be with me then... I'll support you in any way I can, because your happiness means the world to me."
King stared at Helbram. He could see the loving look on his face. Then King looked over to Diane, and he could see that she was watching with interest.
Diane isn't upset? Well, why would she be? She's in love with the captain. She looks like she's supporting Helbram's confession… I have to tell her about our promise. She deserves to know why I care for her so deeply. I have to tell Helbram how I feel too.
King addressed Diane,
"Diane I have to tell you something. You see, a long time ago I made a promise with you an-"
Diane held her hand up silencing King. He looked at her, confused.
Diane spoke,
"King, I remember all about our promise and all the fun we had 500-years ago. But I want you to know it's okay. I love you, but I just want to be your best friend."
King was awestruck.
"You remember!? And you're not upset?"
"I do remember, but why would I be upset?"
She questioned.
King blushed lightly.
"Oh, well, I thought you might think I broke our promise is all. And I don't ever want that to happen 'cause I care deeply for you. It's just…"
King glanced over at Helbram, a smile forming upon his lips, then he looked back to Diane.
She smiled at King.
"You never broke your promise, and I know you never will. So don't feel like you have to hold back on my account, King. Besides, like I said, you're my best friend and that will never change."
King smiled brightly at her. He turned his attention back to Helbram.
Helbram was still blushing, staring intently at King, and waiting for his answer.
King smiled warmly at Helbram as he approached him. He grabbed the fairy's vest and pulled him close, kissing him.
Helbram was shocked. As their lips met again, his mind went blank.
Diane smiled in approval.
King pulled away asking,
"Does that answer your question, Helbram?"
Helbram gazed at King in a dreamy daze.
Ban yelled out from across the bar,
"Haha, I fucking knew it. King's got a boyfriend~! King's got a boyfriend~!"
King blushed, letting go of Helbram and turning towards the sound of Ban's voice. King yelled, embarrassment evident in his voice.
"Shut up, Ban!"
Helbram grabbed King's face, turning his attention back to him. A smile crossed his lips.
"Just ignore him, he means well... I think. Besides, I'll kill him later for you. He's immortal, so he'll be fine."
King just looked into Helbram's eyes and laughed.
"I guess I should ignore him, but you don't have to kill him for me. I can do that myself."
Helbram smiled back at King and pulled him in for another kiss.