Impossible Decisions
Ch. 4: Realize the Truth
None of Hikaru's usual bounce and cheer were present, as the three knights stared at the ransacked village in absolute horror. The once peaceful, small town had been torn down to a shadow of it's former self. Dust clogged their senses, but even without it, they would still have trouble breathing at the sight of the victims and their homes.
"I-I don't believe it… Why?" muttered Umi. They had arrived a few hours earlier, and had almost fainted from the sight, thought and smell of the grotesque remains of the villagers.
Hikaru shook her head, still refusing to believe the truth. That little boy she had seen… His raped, beaten, and dead body scarred her mind and innocence, and she knew she would never forget that particular corpse. Why had all this happen, though?
"F-Ferio-san, I don't understand it either. This was a peaceful town, and there are no enemies of Cephiro. We no longer have the pillar system… Shouldn't Cephiro be at peace now? A few monsters here and there, like you said, but something like this…!" murmured Fuu, still shaking from the sight.
Clef shook his head gravely. "It was completely destroyed by monsters. But what made all those monsters organize themselves and attack this village?"
No one could answer the Guru, and so they continued to walk listlessly along the dirty streets. A few innocent leaves graced the cement, where some bloody stains were sitting, rather stubbornly. Most of the victims had been cleared off the streets, but their crimson stains remained. Hikaru could almost hear the ghostly sounds of the people, as they had their life ripped from their grasp. How terrible it must have been, to suffer through such a nightmare, and watch others going through an equally torturous event.
'It's your fault, ya know. You have the strongest will in Cephiro, you should have been able to protect this country! Oh, wait, I forgot, you care more about your precious BOYFRIEND than you do about the well-being of these innocent people! And not even just your boyfriend, you've been fantasizing about your boyfriend's BEST FRIEND, than you have about anything else!' this tiny voice in Hikaru's head grew louder and harsher with each stinging word, and the tiny girl could feel the tears prickling at her eyes.
"Hikaru, are you all right?" asked Umi, gently touching the redhead on her shoulder.
Hikaru didn't reply, she just continued to stare aimlessly at the destroyed buildings, thinking about how beautiful this town must have been. And she had never even been here! She always stayed in the castle, nice and safe among Cephiro, Autozam, Chizeta, and Fahren's most powerful warriors, while innocent people suffered! What kind of a Pillar would she have been? And did she even deserve to be labeled Cephiro's princess…? No, not really. She should be cast away for her carelessness, but the people would never. Hikaru was their heroine, the one who had granted Emeraude's first and last selfish wish, the one who had saved Cephiro when it was crumbling, and the one who had endlessly defended the country that wasn't even hers.
The Guru glanced at Hikaru, and grew fearful of what their Knight was thinking. Even if she wasn't the Pillar, her wish persuaded the country greatly. "We…We should return." Clef turned to the soldier at his side. "Find Caldina and Lafarga, and tell them we're going to the castle to decide what to do next. They can return if they wish… But I think that Lafarga will want to stay a little longer."
***
Caldina watched her lover carefully, afraid that he might faint or something. But it seemed like he hadn't even gotten over the shock of the destruction, as he continued to amble forward, looking for his family and friends. Or, actually, what was left of them.
"Hun…? Are ya sure ya all right…?" asked Caldina, in a timid voice that was unlike herself.
Lafarga nodded his head ever so slightly, and he continued to search for his families bodies. Suddenly, he stopped walking and stared numbly in front of him. Lying there were two identical bodies, both completely lifeless. The great man dropped to his knees, and he trembled. "Agatha…Ahn…"
Caldina knew at once that those bodies were at one time his younger twin sisters. She stared in mute horror, taking in the burns on the younger Ahn's body, and noting the marks on Agatha's neck.
The Dal shook his head in disbelief, and tears suddenly cascaded down his face and racked his body. "No… I don't believe it…" Lafarga had known that there was an incredibly slim chance that his sisters and family would have lived, but seeing this… It completely blew his mind, and he didn't seem to quite grasp the fact that they were…DEAD. It was unreal, the idea that his sweet, brunette sisters had been murdered so brutally.
The charmer gingerly leaned down and placed her thin arms around Lafarga's broad shoulders, and whispered soothingly, "It'll be all right…They're in heaven, now…" But Caldina could hardly hold back her own tears, as she imagined the pain these two girls must have suffered through.
Lafarga shook his head, still refusing to believe the truth. His innocent, beloved sisters just COULDN'T be dead. He knew Agatha had been two months pregnant at the time, and he wept harder, now. The new tears were for his sister's future… They're children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who would never be born. He thought about how Agatha's violet eyes had shined with happiness, as she told him about how she was expecting a child. The way that she and Ahn had leapt into his arms and given him a ferocious hug as they entered the door.
Caldina couldn't hold it anymore, she tightened her slim arms around her lover's shoulders, and cried. She just couldn't help it, the sorrow of the victim's and their remaining families touched her so deeply. So she and her lover cried, they cried for the families, the friends, the children, and the destroyed future of every victim.
***
Hikaru laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Just a day ago, just a day, she had been so happy and carefree, planning Clef's birthday and seeing Eagle awake again. Her biggest worry then was that the cake would burn or that Clef wouldn't like the party. Now… Now it was just…different. It didn't really seem to matter anymore. Nothing seemed to matter anymore.
A soft knock sounded on her door, and Hikaru sat up, partially. "Come in, the door's unlocked."
The grand, double doors pushed open, and Eagle stepped in. "Hikaru…?"
Hikaru gave him a smile, but he noticed that it didn't reach her eyes. He should have kept her from going, but he knew she wouldn't have listened. He walked over to her bed, and gently pushed her shoulders back, so that she was lying in her bed instead of sitting up. He took off his boots, and climbed into the bed. Hikaru didn't even seem to realize what was happening, as she stared at him in a dreamy, dazed way.
"Eagle…" She was cut off, as he suddenly leaned down and placed his soft lips on hers. Hikaru wriggled under his warm body, as if to protest, but quickly gave in. His tongue lashed into her mouth, and a small moan escaped from the young girl. Eagle's left hand supported Hikaru's head, while his other lifted up her skirt and explored her creamy thighs. Hikaru broke the kiss for a second, and she lifted her shirt over her head, exposing her slim frame and chest. Eagle's hand stopped caressing Hikaru's thighs long enough to pull off her short skirt.
"We shouldn't be doing this… What about Lantis…?" But even as Hikaru said these words, she was tugging at Eagle's pants.
Eagle paid no more heed to these words than Hikaru, as he quickly lifted off his shirt to expose a near perfect chest. He pulled off his pants as well, and let Hikaru shyly touch his bare top. He leaned down to kiss her, and quickly worked the clasp on her bra as she did so. The lacy brassiere slipped off her body, revealing a chest of a size that Eagle hadn't expected for someone like Hikaru. Her body was much better developed than her clothes let on, and he gently caressed them, feeling her nipples harden under his thumb. Hikaru moaned and grinned as she tugged off the last of Eagle's clothes, and threw them on the pile clothes that had formed on the thick carpet. He was already hard, and Eagle ripped off Hikaru's panties, tossing them on top of her other clothes.
"Hikaru… I want you."
The redhead merely nodded, as she ran a hand through Eagle's soft blond hair. She was so mesmerized by his large golden eyes, and could do nothing but obey his every word. Eagle shifted his body, and Hikaru quickly landed on top of him. She lowered herself so that her mouth was directly over Eagle's manhood.
And then Eagle woke up.
***
Eagle felt incredibly guilty, as he stepped into his shower. As he washed his hair, he remembered how Hikaru's hands had run through his blond tresses in his blissful dream. "No, no, no! It was wrong… Hikaru belongs to Lantis, and Lantis alone. I have no right to interfere." But he could still dream, couldn't he…? "NO! Even the thought of it is just wrong…"
'But you liked it, didn't you…" nagged the small, honest voice in his mind. 'You liked touching her, you liked tearing off her clothes, you liked it when she kissed you and touched you. You liked it! In fact, you LOVED it! You lust for such a moment to truly happen! You want that sweet, trusting innocent girl! How could you…? Betraying such a wonderful girl's trust, even if it was only in your dream!'
"No! It's not true! It was just some strange dream!" Besides, he had other problems. That village that had been destroyed, he had to concentrate on that. Hikaru was disturbed from the event, and since Lantis was gone, it was his job to comfort her. Not the way he had in his dream, but as a friend. He could never be her lover, only her good friend. "A friend." He hated that word now, 'friend'. Being her friend, it was worse than being her enemy. As a friend, he was close…but just not close enough! It was never close enough…
***
Eagle could barely bring himself to look at the sorrowful face of Hikaru. He wanted to hold her and take away every fear that she had… But he couldn't. And it was driving him crazy!
Hikaru quietly ate her breakfast, not looking up at anyone. She glanced up once or twice to pass a spice or something, but that was it. Lafarga and Caldina hadn't even shown up, but no one commented on it. They all knew about Lafarga's connection with the small town, and they felt helpless to comfort him. Caldina would be the best for the job.
Umi glanced around the table, feeling the discomfort among the people. She glanced at Ascot and Clef, as she had been noticing lately that the two men were rather testy with each other. They didn't even seem to realize the other existed this morning, though, as they silently chewed their food. She felt as if she weren't here, herself, as all she could think about was the old man with a butcher knife in his stomach. It had horrified her, as she just KNEW that the man had taken his own life.
Fuu carefully ate her breakfast, thinking about the tragic scenes she had viewed. It was disgusting, as she remembered the little girl's head…rolling, rolling, and rolling down the street. It was just sickening, and Fuu felt queasy at the thought. The blond curls of the little girl's head were stained in her own blood, and Fuu had noticed the decapitated bodies of a husband and a wife not too far from the girl's body. The Knight of Wind assumed that those were the bodies of the dead child's parents, and she had felt a sickening wave of grief flood her body. What if that happened to her and her family…? If she ever saw Kuu's head rolling like that… She shuddered and felt like throwing up at the very idea.
A soldier suddenly burst into the dining room. "Prince! Guru! Knights! Another city has been destroyed by monsters!"
To Be Continued…
OMG. Does everyone realize that this story has gone from an innocent PG story, to a sick, perverted R one…? Oh, heaven forbid that I cross the NC-17 border. O_O Eek…Am I even old enough to write that stuff…?
Random MKR fact about Sarah: Sarah finds it next to impossible to write out Caldina's valley girl accent.
Disclaimer: I don't own Magic Knight Rayearth. It's © by Mixx Entertainment, CLAMP, Kodansha Ltd. And some other peoples. I think.
