Months, many, many months have passed since the fall of the Kingdom of Yuuei. The surrounding Kingdoms that are allied with the Kingdom of Yuuei had arrived too late. By the time they entered the gate, Yuuei was no more, razed to the ground and left nothing behind.
Less than half of the citizens survived the sudden invasion, scattered around the world to survive. A few now lived in the other kingdoms, integrated into their societies. Fewer had wandered the world alone. The rest decide to stick together with the King (he's no longer King, but his loyal people refuse to stop calling him King Nedzu) and form the currently named "Village of UA". It's small, population less than two hundreds, hidden in the Forest of Leaves.
It's peaceful, but the scars are still open and raw. The people are still greatly affected by it.
Everyone is still greatly affected by the Prince's… unexpected sacrifice, a sacrifice that had saved the remaining population of Yuuei. The King has yet to recover from it. The very few Knights that were close to him are quiet. She has not been the same ever since.
But the one that is the most affected is none other than the little lady, Eri.
Oh, Eri…
She is still very hurt at the Prince's untimely demise. Every night, the little lady would cry out for him. Every night, she comforts the little girl, trying her best to soothe her pain while trying to deal with her own. Every night, she tries to be the strong one, despite the tears running down her face as well.
"He always loved you so very much," she would say to the little lady, sitting in her bed and holding her small frame close. "It is without questions, without doubts."
"Why did he leave?" Little Eri would ask between sobs, burying her face into her chest.
Answering that question is always hard for her.
"He loved you so much that being away is the best thing there is."
She can't do anything about his departure. She can't do anything about his decision.
This is what he would want, as wrong as it may be.
'The moon is out, tonight,' she thinks to herself, glassy eyes staring out through the window at the night sky. The cloudless night reveals the moon shining brightly down. There are a lot more stars here in the Village of UA, she finds out, when compared to the nights in the Kingdom of Yuuei.
Yesterday, it was raining, so the already dark sky was darkened by black clouds. The day before, the sky was clear but the moon was nowhere to be seen.
She's been staring up at the dark sky every night, mind wanders among the stars. She had never done so before, never really put her mind up high.
She hears her bedroom door creak open behind her, gaining her attention.
"Mama?"
Her heart stops at the word.
She slowly turns around towards the door.
Eri is there, sniffling, with one hand holding onto her blanket.
"Hey, love," she says with a soft voice, heart trembling but warm. "Come here," she urges. The little lady finally enters the room, straight to her. She crouches down and Eri immediately falls into her open arms. Then, Eri begins to sob. She croons, hand runs down the little lady's hair, whispering comforting words into her ears.
Eri's lone word still rings in her ears. Her heart still thumps by it.
'Looks like I won the bet, Shou.'
.
It's getting hard to breathe. It's getting hard to move a finger. It's getting hard to do anything really.
It is to be expected.
She has lived a very long and very fulfilling life. She has seen the Village of UA grow. She has witnessed the throne (yes, throne because UA has grown large enough for there to be a throne) passed down twice. She has seen her fellow Knights form families and grow old. She has witnessed the buildings going from mere wooden cottages to luxurious marbles.
But most importantly, she has been by Eri's side from the very beginning.
Somehow, she manages to release a sigh of content, thinking about the little lady, who is no longer little, who she lovingly calls her daughter.
Eri has grown into a great woman. She offers her smiles to everyone now, longer shy and timid. She laughs so freely, no longer tries to hide herself. She shares her happiness to anyone she can.
And that led her to find a loving husband.
She still remembers the day when Eri brought home a boy, hand in hand, and asked her if he could stay for dinner.
When her daughter gave her that precious look, how could she say no?
When the boy grew into a man, so did her girl who grew into a woman, a great woman. She could already see it a mile away. She already knew that young boy Kouta would come to her, asking for her daughter's hand.
It reminds her of her days when she was their age, with her own boy to fall with.
Eri has many children, beautiful just like their mother, amazing just like their mother. She has witnessed them grow up. She was there since their first step, since their first word. They bear no resemblance to her, but she is proud to call them her grandchildren.
Grandchildren.
She has lived so long, so much longer than she would initially believe. She is a Knight, whose life is put on the line, very likely to meet her end so much sooner.
Yet, here she is, lying in her bed. Her face is wrinkled from age. Her hair, once bright white, is now dull gray in color. Her once fit body is now saggy with age. Her mind, once sharp as a knife, is now slow and hazy.
Her time has come.
"Mama?"
A familiar voice breezes through her ears, once sensitive as a bat, now are deaf in one and dull in the other. She feels her daughter's hand slips into her and squeezes oh so very gently so as to not harm her already fragile bones.
Somehow, she manages to open her eyes.
She is very thankful she managed to keep her sight for so long.
Her beloved Eri… she looks so sad.
The wound is still there, present. Eri would still come to her room, sleeping in bed with her, seeking comfort. But it is no longer open and bleeding. Now, it is just a dull throb, just like her own wound.
She knows she doesn't have much time now.
She too knows that her time has come.
"I want you to meet a very special person," Eri says in a soft voice. A new person enters her vision, carrying a bundle in their arms. It takes her quite a while to realize that she is one of her granddaughters. She sees her granddaughter bending down to the point she's kneeling on the floor to reveal what's in the bundle in her arms.
She is greeted by a tiny face within the bundle.
"It's your great-grandson," Eri whispers, also kneeling beside her granddaughter. She feels breathless.
A great-grandson.
She is so lucky to live long enough to meet her great-grandson.
He is so beautiful.
Her granddaughter then slowly stands up and moves away, leaving her and Eri alone. Her beautiful daughter squeezes her hand once more.
She realizes Eri is crying now.
"Please… Don't go…" her beautiful daughter pleads.
Her vision begins to go blurry. She feels her body steadily grow cold. She's slowly losing her feeling of touch.
But she keeps her eyes open and locked with her daughter's.
She manages to give her little girl one last smile.
"He would be… so proud of you…"
The last thing she hears is her little girl's sob.
The last thing she feels is her little girl's hand.
The last thing she sees is her little girl that she loves so much.
Then, her eyes slowly draw shut.
Then, her eyes quickly snap open.
And the first thing she sees is the black figure in the distance.
There is no question.
There is no hesitation.
She feels her legs begin to move.
She feels her breaths quicken through her lungs.
She feels her tears begin to streak down her face.
She feels her body rejuvenated.
She feels the emotions she had long buried begin to resurface.
She jumps into his open awaiting arms once she is close enough.
"I've been waiting for you."
.
She feels herself panting so hard.
She feels the burn in her legs.
She feels the tightness in her chest.
She bobs and weaves through the people in the street, trying not to run into them. She takes a look at the sky, noting the color, noting the position of the sun. It was already dipping when she checked earlier, slowly approaching the horizon. Now, when she finally realizes that the sun has disappeared behind the horizon, she doubles her pace.
She has never run so fast before.
She is late. She is extremely late.
She had promised yesterday to meet him around noon. She told him with full confidence that she will not be late and that he will be punished if he is late.
She enters the forest and rushes straight to their secret spot. She stumbles in her sprint a number of times when her feet catch onto some roots. It had never happened before; she always sees where she is going but she can't waste any more time now.
She broke her promise. Her chores had taken up too long. She can't sneak out from the orphanage. It's only when it's too late when she can finally go, and she doesn't hesitate to quickly run out.
She… doesn't know if he's still there. She doesn't know if he is still waiting for her. He probably headed home hours ago. He probably feels disappointed in her. He probably felt hurt when she broke her promise.
She heads there nonetheless. She just wants to make sure. She just wants to scrape whatever is left of her promise.
She doesn't want to hurt him.
When she arrives, she expects their secret place, the clearing field covered in soft grass, to be empty.
But he's there, sitting alone on the tree stump with his boney arms around his legs.
She feels relief, relieved that he is still here.
Then, the feeling is instantly replaced.
She's feeling extremely guilty.
"Why are you still here?!" she shouts as she runs up to him. She sees him jolt, startled, before his head snaps up and turns towards her. She notices his eyes are wide and… relieved when they land on her.
It only doubles her guilt and tears begin to prick her eyes.
"Why are you still here, Sho-Sho?!" she demands, still shouting even when she is close enough, standing right in front of him. "You could've just gone home! You could've just left this place earlier!"
She is aware that her arms are flailing around, trying to express her conflicted emotions. She's relieved that he is still here, but guilty at the same time because he is still here. She doesn't know what to exactly feel.
"Y-You could've just left me behind and I will be okay about it." She no longer shouts. "You're going to get into trouble for being out for so long." She feels her tears finally streak down her face. "Why, Sho-Sho? Why are you doing this? Why get into trouble just for me?"
She sniffles, looking down at the ground. She couldn't look him in the eyes, couldn't see her broken promise. This is all her fault. She's too stupid to make that promise. And now, he's in trouble.
She might not see him ever again after this.
Then, she feels his hands on her cheeks.
She feels his fingers wiping away her tears.
She feels him lifting her head up to look him in the eyes.
And she feels herself blushes when he gives her a smile so heartwarming and so beautiful.
"I will always wait for you."
Thank you for reading!
I hope your broken hearts are healed by this chapter!
See you next time!
-RJ