The night was still and quiet, which suited Cecile's mood nicely. She
hated to leave her post, but right now, she just needed to get away from
everyone and everything... and so she had turned to the darkness of the Yaza
plains. Still, the people of Budehuc wouldn't leave her mind-- especially
Thomas. "Why...?" she murmured out loud, uncharacteristically pensive. The
darkness gave no answer.
Cecile wandered the plains aimlessly, easily defeating the weak monsters that approached. She even addressed parts of her monologue to them, before they died. "I just don't understand it," she sighed, running through another axe-wielding bunny. "I was sure he felt the same way! I mean, I know he's really busy and all, but I thought he'd agree... Why does it hurt so much, anyway?"
As she finished, Cecile noticed something metallic shining on the ground. She came closer and found it to be a knife, simply lying out there as though placed. "What's this doing here?" she wondered. "It's for you," something said in her mind. "It can solve your problems and take away your misery."
"What the-- who's that?!" Cecile exclaimed, immediately adopting her battle stance and looking around warily.
"Don't worry. I am you. I'm a part of you, a part of your thoughts. I am what you want most and what you fear most."
"...I don't know. My thoughts've never had a man's voice before."
"Who are you to question your desires?"
"All right. So what did you say about solving my problems?"
"The knife, Cecile. With that knife, you can make the pain go away."
She thought hard about this for a second before shouting indignantly, "You want me to kill master Thomas?!" She had even taken her battle stance again, as if to beat her subconsious for such an idea.
"No, no, no. The knife is for you. Take it and remember the pain Thomas caused you when he rejected you, and the knife on your wrist will seem like nothing in comparison, see?"
Cecile picked up the knife, but frowned. "But I could die from that!"
"That's the point." For a subconscious, it was starting to sound pretty exasperated. Finally becoming suspicious, she glared at the knife in her hand. "What kind of advice is that?! If I die, who's going to protect Budehuc and master Thomas, huh? If you're my own thoughts, I don't think I want you in here anymore, so shut up!"
With that, she hurled the knife as far away from herself as she could. "Wait! Don't! Please, nooooooooooooooooo...!" the voice in her head cried, fading into the distance as the knife disappeared. Cecile shook her head and started the walk back to the castle. If nothing more, the odd incident had distracted her-- she was feeling more like herself now, and Budehuc needed its guard.
*_*_*_*_*____*___*_*_*_*_*_*_*__*_*_*_*_*_*_**_*_*_*_*__*_*_*_**_*_*_*_*__*_* The
next day found Cecile seated in Dr. Tuta's office, waiting patiently with a
thermometer in her mouth. "I'm not feeling sick or anything," she'd explained,
"but I kinda heard something weird last night, and I need to make sure I'm at my
best for guarding the castle!" Mio busily tidied the room's small beds, and Tuta
was starting to rummage through his (rather disorganized) books and supplies
when the door opened and Thomas entered the room. Cecile smiled at him brightly
as ever, careful nonetheless not to disturb the thermometer.
"Ah, Cecile, Sebastian said I'd find you here," he said. "I wanted to talk to you about something..." He paused uncomfortably.
She nodded for him to go ahead.
"I've been thinking about..."
She nodded again.
"About what you said yesterday..."
She nodded.
"Um, you remember..."
She nodded.
"When you asked, ah, if we could maybe go have dinner at Mamie's sometime... did you mean... um, that is, that we should, uh, that we should go as...?" The bright shade of red he turned finished the sentence for him eloquently. Cecile looked a bit embarrassed herself, but nodded again.
Thomas glanced uneasily at the doctors in the room, who were attending to their jobs more studiously than ever, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, much as he did before a tough fight. "Is Thursday okay?"
She nodded so enthusiastically that the thermometer (whose reading had climbed sharply anyway) went flying and smashed on the floor. Mio nudged and smiled knowingly at Tuta, who managed to blush less than Thomas, although that was not a fair competition for anyone at the moment. To his credit, Thomas managed to choke out a cursory goodbye before leaving woozily. Cecile, meanwhile, decided she was feeling better than she ever had, and returned to a fulfilling day of guarding the castle.
*_*_*_*_*__*_**_*__*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*__*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*__*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_ The
boy stared wordlessly at the battered knife lying haphazardly in a patch rocks.
Normally, he didn't object to being degraded and bossed around-- it was all part
of the very important duty he'd been entrusted with, after all. However, he drew
the line at being dragged around a rather large plain for what was, at its root,
the accidental result of a frivolity. He was downright pissed off enough to
speak sternly, in fact, as he shot a dark glare over his shoulder.
"Star Dragon Sword, I told you to use protection!"
Cecile wandered the plains aimlessly, easily defeating the weak monsters that approached. She even addressed parts of her monologue to them, before they died. "I just don't understand it," she sighed, running through another axe-wielding bunny. "I was sure he felt the same way! I mean, I know he's really busy and all, but I thought he'd agree... Why does it hurt so much, anyway?"
As she finished, Cecile noticed something metallic shining on the ground. She came closer and found it to be a knife, simply lying out there as though placed. "What's this doing here?" she wondered. "It's for you," something said in her mind. "It can solve your problems and take away your misery."
"What the-- who's that?!" Cecile exclaimed, immediately adopting her battle stance and looking around warily.
"Don't worry. I am you. I'm a part of you, a part of your thoughts. I am what you want most and what you fear most."
"...I don't know. My thoughts've never had a man's voice before."
"Who are you to question your desires?"
"All right. So what did you say about solving my problems?"
"The knife, Cecile. With that knife, you can make the pain go away."
She thought hard about this for a second before shouting indignantly, "You want me to kill master Thomas?!" She had even taken her battle stance again, as if to beat her subconsious for such an idea.
"No, no, no. The knife is for you. Take it and remember the pain Thomas caused you when he rejected you, and the knife on your wrist will seem like nothing in comparison, see?"
Cecile picked up the knife, but frowned. "But I could die from that!"
"That's the point." For a subconscious, it was starting to sound pretty exasperated. Finally becoming suspicious, she glared at the knife in her hand. "What kind of advice is that?! If I die, who's going to protect Budehuc and master Thomas, huh? If you're my own thoughts, I don't think I want you in here anymore, so shut up!"
With that, she hurled the knife as far away from herself as she could. "Wait! Don't! Please, nooooooooooooooooo...!" the voice in her head cried, fading into the distance as the knife disappeared. Cecile shook her head and started the walk back to the castle. If nothing more, the odd incident had distracted her-- she was feeling more like herself now, and Budehuc needed its guard.
"Ah, Cecile, Sebastian said I'd find you here," he said. "I wanted to talk to you about something..." He paused uncomfortably.
She nodded for him to go ahead.
"I've been thinking about..."
She nodded again.
"About what you said yesterday..."
She nodded.
"Um, you remember..."
She nodded.
"When you asked, ah, if we could maybe go have dinner at Mamie's sometime... did you mean... um, that is, that we should, uh, that we should go as...?" The bright shade of red he turned finished the sentence for him eloquently. Cecile looked a bit embarrassed herself, but nodded again.
Thomas glanced uneasily at the doctors in the room, who were attending to their jobs more studiously than ever, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, much as he did before a tough fight. "Is Thursday okay?"
She nodded so enthusiastically that the thermometer (whose reading had climbed sharply anyway) went flying and smashed on the floor. Mio nudged and smiled knowingly at Tuta, who managed to blush less than Thomas, although that was not a fair competition for anyone at the moment. To his credit, Thomas managed to choke out a cursory goodbye before leaving woozily. Cecile, meanwhile, decided she was feeling better than she ever had, and returned to a fulfilling day of guarding the castle.
"Star Dragon Sword, I told you to use protection!"