JUST LOVE

Chapter Ten

Melfice and company sat around a table in the Skyway's lounge. A few hours have passed by
since they left Garlan and it would be another five hours or so before they would reach St. Heim
so the group were having a snack. Roan took a bite from his chocolate muffin. "These Skyways
are great. People these days can pretty much go anywhere because of them."

Millenia scoffed. "Yeah, but they take forever. A flying ship like the Granasaber would be so
much better."

"Engineers in Liligue are already designing airships for public transportation. They already made
cargo ships," Tio said.

Melfice was silent the whole time, he was lost. Millenia, Roan, and Tio were talking about things
that were made or happened while he was "sleeping." He did not know what a Skyway was until
he rode one from St. Heim to Garlan. He missed out on so many things while he was gone.
Another reason why Melfice wanted to go to St. Heim was to explore the new things in the
world.

Melfice's thoughts were then interrupted when he heard Millenia laugh from one of Roan's
comments. He turned to the red head and looked at her closely. To him, Millenia was beautiful.
Her long, red hair looked soft and was fragrant. He also liked the way her ruby red eyes flash
whenever she was angry. Millenia also had a fabulous figure. Melfice was surprised when Ryudo
told him Millenia is one of the "big guns" of the group because she did not look like it due to her
beautiful, fragile looking appearance. He was glad that Millenia decided to go with him because
he could definitely use someone like her but he hoped at the same time that Millenia's temper
would not get the best out of her should she get pissed off in battle.

Melfice then looked at Roan. From what Ryudo told him and what he has seen, Roan is the
optimist of the group. He is also intelligent, good with politics, and has great people skills.
Although Roan's fighting skills were average, Melfice considered the young king an asset to his
team.

Melfice turned to Tio as he heard the Automata speak. Tio is an android, part human and part
machine, something that is new to him. Melfice talked to Tio only a couple of times but she
seemed like a good person to him. Tio is kind, gentle, honest, and reliable. According to Ryudo,
Tio is efficient in battle, she is a stronger fighter than Elena and Roan. Being an android, Tio also
works well with machines and knows a lot about the history of Granas and Valmar. Melfice
smiled mentally. The trip to St. Heim would be just a breeze with his sword skills, magic, and the
people he is with.

Millenia tapped Melfice's shoulder. "Hello?! Is anyone there?!!!" she said in an annoyed tone.

Melfice was jerked back to reality. "What is it?"

Millenia had a scowl on her face. One of the things Millenia despised was being ignored. She has
been trying to talk to Melfice but he did not respond until she tapped his shoulder. The EX
Demon Man looked like he was on a trance. "I've been asking you if you're okay, you barely
touched your food. Are you sick or something?"

Melfice smiled embarrassingly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I was just thinking about
something."

"Thinking about what?" Tio asked.

"The mission ahead. I've got a feeling it'd be a breeze," Melfice answered.

"Let us hope so," Roan nodded.

"Aren't we a little confident?" Millenia snorted silently.

Melfice heard Millenia's comment. "You don't believe me? Don't worry, nothing in this trip can
go wrong."

Millenia was about to say something to antagonize Melfice further but was cut off with a "ding"
from the speakers on the wall. "Attention all passengers..." the flight attendant began. "Our last
stop will be Mirumu, not St. Heim due to attacks. A few hours ago, we received a report saying
that St. Heim was attacked by the Cathedral Knights and has fallen under their control. To
protect our passengers, our last stop will be Mirumu. We apologize for any inconveniences.
Have a good day."

Millenia arched an eyebrow and looked at Melfice. "You were saying?"

Melfice ignored Millenia's comment and remained silent.

"What are we suppose to do now?" Tio asked.

"Right now, I don't know but I'll come up with something," Melfice replied. The EX Demon Man
stood up from his chair and excused himself.

***

Melfice stood alone in the deck while he watched the clouds and the landscape below pass by.
Unlike the others, he was not worried that they might have problems with the Cathedral Knights
taking control of St. Heim. He was confident he would work out something. However, he was
worried about the citizens of St. Heim and Ryudo. He wondered how his younger brother is
doing now.

Millenia stood by a door way and watched Melfice. She just stood there, admiring the way his
cape and his long, blue hair flow freely in the breeze. She left Roan and Tio to stand in the deck
alone to think. She is not mad at Ryudo anymore but him picking Elena over her and the thought
of being lonely still hurt. Millenia laughed silently in disgust on the account of what she has
become.

Millenia growled to herself mentally and scolded herself for becoming soft. Millenia pushed all of
her pain away and then smirked. "From now on, I'll be just like my old self. Forget love, I'll just
concentrate on what I'm suppose to do," she told herself and walked over to Melfice. "Hey,"
Millenia greeted as she stood beside him and then watched the scenery below them with him.

"Hi," Melfice replied, his eyes still trained on the passing landscape below.

"What are you doing?" Millenia asked.

"Thinking..." Melfice answered and paused for a moment.

Millenia looked impatient. "Thinking?! About what?!"

Melfice chuckled a bit. "Lot's of things."

The red head arched an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Our mission and the others."

"Worried that something would go wrong again?" Millenia said teasingly.

"No, not at all. I'm just wondering about how Ryudo and the others are doing and the citizens of
St. Heim. I just hope they're not held captive by the Cathedral Knights."

"Why do you think they took over the city anyway?" Millenia asked.

"They'd probably use the city and the people as shields if anyone tried to stop them from whatever
they're trying to accomplish. They probably have other reasons too."

"What?! Are you saying it's our fault they took over the city?!"

"That's right. I didn't know they'd go that far... I have to come up with something to save those
people. If anything happens to them... it'll be all my fault and my soul will never rest in peace. I
must destroy Evil no matter what for what it did to me."

Millenia felt left out all of a sudden and looked irritated. "I?! What do you mean by "I"?! Hello,
we're a WE here. WE are a team and WE will come up with something when WE get to Mirumu,
not just you, but all of us. Don't hog all the fun to yourself."

"Fun? You think fighting Cathedral Knights is fun?"

"Yeah, they're stupid and you get to roast them with fire magic, it's lots of fun."

"What if they try to harm innocent people like I said?"

"Hmph, who cares? As long as we defeat the enemy, nothing matters."

"What about you and your friends?"

"We can handle ourselves."

Melfice was stunned from Millenia's carefree attitude and her enthusiasm to fight. Why could he
not just relax and "have fun" for the mean time? Was he so caught up with revenge that he forgot
what relaxing even meant? He could relax but his thirst for vengeance and the faces of the people
he killed would not let him have none of that. His revenge for Evil and to make sure it never
possesses him again is far more important than anything else right now.

Melfice looked at Millenia, she still stood right beside him while she watched the now blue sea
below them. His emerald green eyes burned into her ruby red eyes. By looking at her eyes, he
sensed pain, loneliness, and turmoil. He wanted to ask her what was wrong but he decided
against it as he already has too many things that weigh his heart down so he just stood there as
well in silence.

***

The group arrived safely in the town of Mirumu. As usual, the town was quiet and there were
very few people around. Most of the people in the town were in their homes for it was cold or
maybe they feared that the Cathedral Knights would come to Mirumu too.

Melfice and company walked down a street to look for a place to spend the night. The
townspeople in the streets stopped whatever they were doing and immediately left as soon as they
set their eyes on Melfice. Melfice sensed fear from the people around him and he knew why.

A strong, cold breeze blew against the group that sent chills through their bodies. Millenia
hugged herself and her body began to shiver. "How far is it to the inn?!" she asked in an irritated
tone.

Melfice stopped walking for a second and took off his cape. He walked over to Millenia and
offered his cape to her. "Here, put this on," he said as he handed the cape to Millenia.

"Th... thanks," Millenia replied awkwardly as she took the cape and wrapped it around herself.

Melfice nodded. "No problem."

"What about you? Would you not get cold too?" Roan asked Melfice.

"I'm okay, I'm still nice and warm in my armour," Melfice answered. "How about you two?"

"I am nice and warm in my royal suit as well," Roan said.

"My thermal system is fully functional so do not worry about me," Tio replied.

"Good, let's get going," Melfice said and started walking again with the others right behind him.

After around fifteen minutes of searching, the group finally found a decent, nice inn. The group
crossed the street and ran towards the inn. Millenia, Roan, Tio, and Melfice let out a relaxed sigh
as the warmth of the inn embraced their cold bodies when they entered.

Millenia, still wrapped around in Melfice's cape, walked towards the clerk. "Hey, got any
vacancy? We need two rooms, one for me and for my friend and another one for those two
guys."

The clerk completely ignored Millenia as his attention was focused on Melfice. He has heard and
seen him on TV and the newspapers a couple of times. He remembered him being labelled as a
"Demon Man, bringer of ruination." But, Melfice was suppose to be dead. Was the person
standing at the lobby an impostor or Melfice back from the grave? The clerk was not taking any
chances though, he would give whatever Melfice would want from him and maybe the Demon
Man would not lay a finger on him. Despite the warmth of the inn, the clerk's body went cold and
shivered as Melfice approached him with Roan and Tio trailing behind him.

"Two rooms please," Melfice said.

"Uh..." The clerk tried to speak but his tongue just would not move.

"Hello?! Anyone there?!!!" Millenia snapped and waved her hand on the clerk's face.

The clerk's body tensed and came back to reality. "H... hi there! How may I... he... help you?"
He tried to put up a fake smile but failed miserably.

"We'd like two rooms please," Melfice repeated.

Quickly, the clerk reached for the drawer underneath the till on the counter and took out two
keys. He handed them over to Melfice with a nervous smile. "Here," he squeaked.

"How much do I owe you?" Melfice asked as he gave one key to Millenia.

"It... it's, uh, it's free since you're the 50th customer this week. Congratulations and enjoy!" the
clerk answered.

Millenia frowned at the clerk. "He's weird... stupid freak," she thought and turned around to
leave with the others.

Roan and Melfice went to their room and so did Millenia and Tio. Roan sat down on the edge of
his bed as soon as he entered their room. Melfice walked to the other end of the room. There
was a glass, sliding door that led to the balcony. He just stood there, put one hand on the glass
door, and stared at the dark night.

Roan let Melfice have a few moments of silence and then spoke. "So, what is our next move?
How do we get to St. Heim?"

Melfice turned around to face the Young King. "I don't know yet but I'll come up with
something."

"Is there anything I could do to help? Please, let me know if you need help on something."

"Yeah sure, I'll let you know."

Roan got off the bed. "I am going to get some food outside. Is there anything do you want me to
get you?"

"Just get me whatever you get. Thanks."

Roan walked towards the door. "I will be back." Roan left the room and then closed the door
from the hallway.

Melfice turned around and opened the glass, sliding door. He entered the balcony and was
surprised that it was not as cold as when they just got to Mirumu. Sighing in relief, he stood by
the railing and let the gentle breeze caress his face. Like what he said, he was trying to come up
with some plan on how to get to St. Heim. Getting to St. Heim is easy but not getting killed in
the process was more challenging. Melfice thought long and hard but could not come up with a
plan. There were too many things in his head; vengeance, the mission ahead, and the people that
recognized him as the "Demon Man." The people he met on the way avoided him at all costs and
were afraid of him like the clerk downstairs. They still feared him for the crimes he committed in
the past. It hurt to be shunned and rejected. Growling in frustration, he slammed both of his fists
on the railing.

"Something wrong?" a voice from behind asked.

Melfice turned around and saw Millenia with his cape on her hands. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to return your cape and since Roan left with Tio, I also came here to talk to you. Do you
expect me to sit in my room alone and wait for those two to come back?" she asked teasingly.

Melfice laughed a bit. "No, of course not."

Millenia handed Melfice's cape over to him. "Here. Thanks."

Melfice put his cape back on. "No problem."

Millenia stood right beside Melfice. "So, what was all that growling about?"

"Nothing."

She gave him a mocking look. "Come on, tell me. If you don't, I'll tell Roan not to give you any
food and you have to starve for the rest of the night."

Melfice cleared his throat but kept his eyes away from her. "There's just too many things in my
head that I can't focus on the job at hand."

"You know what, you're just like Elena. You try and work so hard that you forget to have fun.
Relax a bit Melfice, give that brain of yours a rest. Don't be hard on yourself."

Melfice arched an eyebrow. "Really? You know, you could use some relaxing too. You look
really stressed out."

Millenia looked a bit embarrassed. "I've been trying to but my head just won't let go," she said in
a low voice but Melfice heard.

Melfice looked into her ruby red eyes and saw pain, loneliness, and turmoil again. "Thinking
about Ryudo again?"

Millenia nodded. "Yes."

"I know how you feel when I lost Reena."

"Does it still hurt?"

"It does, real bad."

"Will it get better?"

"It has to, for the both of us."

For a few minutes, Millenia and Melfice remained silent while enjoying the view and the midnight
breeze, letting some of the stress and tension drain out of their bodies and minds. After a few
more minutes, Millenia broke the silence by gasping softly as something wet fell on her nose. She
looked up in the sky and saw snow falling from the sky.

Snow flakes landed on her hair, her cheeks, her nose, and her lips. The snow sent chills through
her body but somehow it felt good. Millenia chuckled a bit and held out both of her palms to
collect snow. "It's beautiful isn't it?"

Melfice looked at Millenia and then the snow falling from the sky. "Yeah, beautiful."

For the moment, the two forgot all about their pain, stress, and turmoil and silently enjoyed each
other's company while watching the heavens shower the Earth with white, soft, beautiful snow.