Just The Two Of Us

            It had been two months since the wedding, and four months since the Naria Psychic War, which would become a piece of history known to scholars around the world. Sure, Naria had made history, but at what cost?

She woke up one morning and went to the washbasin. She washed her face with the water and dried it off with a towel. Unlike Dilandau, Naria had taken good care of her face scar, all though there were some days where make up just couldn't do the job. So instead of covering it up, she learned to wear it proudly, like a badge. People seemed to respect her more now in her position, even more so with the scar. Never would people have taken her this seriously if she had not suffered this misfortune. Now, people actually envied her, something she had wished for all her life.

So why did everything feel so…incomplete?

She began to court Sergeant Fernsaarin, and began to know him as Kerakera. He tried to get her to let him call her by her native name, but she refused.

I'm not ready to give up the personification of power I have. Narunaru and Belubelu were weak individuals who ran from their enemies. Naria Silha is a powerful, agile, crafty,and most of all, a DEADLY creature.

"Naria?" someone called.

Naria could hear purring.

"What is it, Kerakera?"

"Don't treat me like I'm your charge. You know I hate that."

"But you are my charge!"

"Nevermind that. Are you alright?"
"Why do you care?"

Kerakera huffed in exasperation and shook his head.

"What's the matter now?" Naria said.

"I was just concerned about your feelings. I know you're all 'Girl Power' and all that stuff, maybe even a ball-busting career woman—"

"Is that what you view me as?!"

"I view you the same way you view yourself, although I have a bit of an adoration for you. The point is, I know you don't care about feelings and all that crap, but I was just concerned about your emotions."

Naria crossed her arms over her chest, clasping her hands over her shoulders, and looked down at the floor as if she was withdrawn from the world.

"Naria…"

"It's been a long time. The last man I loved hurt me more than any face scar or whip-scar I could receive. He married my sister. I don't hate him, nor do I hate my sister. But the person I do hate is…myself."

"You?"

"Yes. I let him get away. I let my sister marry him. If only I had kissed him more passionately, or if I had slept with him—"

"I spoke with Folken," Kerakera said.

"Oh."

"He said that there was one person who made a mistake, and that was he. He said he let you get away. He also said you were a brave, passionate, and sophisticated woman. A woman that no man should pass up. And I couldn't agree with him more."

"Really?"

"Yes. I'd be lying if I said he forbid me to court you. You are a great woman, Naria. And I want to be apart of that greatness. I want to know the woman who survived all these things."

"But my scar…"

"I don't care about your scar. Your scar is not the you on the inside, it's the you on the outside. The you on the inside is a passionate woman who knows what she wants. I don't know if I'm what you want right now…"

"You are. I've been waiting for a man to tell me that he cares, instead of gaping at me like I'm some monster from the fictional books in the libraries. I mean, men look at me as if I've got eight tits. But you are different."

"That's because I'm just like you, Naria," Kerakera said.

"Almost. If you lost some of that muscle and got a sex change, you'd be all set."

"Ain't gonna happen."

"No, I guess not. In the meantime you can do what you do best."

"What's that?"

"Help me. You know, emotional support. But not in front of the troops. Got that?"

"Alright, Naria. But I just want you to know, I want to enter you. Not physically, but emotionally. I want to know what you feel and what you think. I want to wake up every morning, and see your silver hair, the curve of your lips, and the intelligent brightness of your amethyst eyes."

Naria exhaled in a short, almost silent burst, as if she were flattered by it. And Kerakera could tell by Naria's almost incessant blushing.

Finally it was Naria's turn to say something.

"How could this be possible? A man, much more handsome than any before, cares about my emotions? And not my looks? It's almost…impossible."

"Remember, you were augmented with enhanced fortune. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"True. But the rest was love. And, as King Van said, love is stronger than fate."

"He's a wise king for someone so young. Maybe someday we'll rule Zaibach together."

"Yeah, maybe."