Millenium Slinky: Of course I update fast, you didn't notice that until now? :P
As for writing more stories...I'm going to take a break when this is done. However, you can be sure I'll write more in the future.
khmerboi919: Your questions are about to be answered...
Phoenix Dagger: Thanks for the review!
Death Scythe X-9: You have to keep in mind he was already full of anger after fighting with Heath. Priscilla calling him Raymond just set him off.
I hope you'll all like this chapter...I've spent a lot of time on it.
Chapter Nine
Truth
"Heath?"
The army was now on their way to where Durandal, the sword of sacred fire, lay. Heath hadn't talked to Priscilla at all since the battle at the Shrine of Seals. Some of his bruises from that battle were still present.
Heath regretfully stayed out of the tent every night until he was sure Priscilla was asleep. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. And Raven was glaring at him every time Heath saw him, although somehow, Heath noticed, his injuries from their previous fight had already healed.
Heath had been keeping out of his tent again, when someone had called his name. It wasn't Priscilla or Raven. He turned around and saw Lucius.
"Heath?" Lucius repeated. "That...is your name, correct?"
"Yes," Heath replied. "And you are...Lucius?"
"I am."
"What is it?"
"Raven told me to tell you something."
Heath scowled. "Well you can tell him that I don't care what—"
Lucius interrupted him. "He wanted me to tell you that he is going to stop bothering you."
Whatever Heath had been expecting, it wasn't that.
Heath's eyes widened. "You're kidding," he said in a voice that was half shocked, half relieved.
Lucius gave him a small smile. "It is true," he said.
"I can't believe it. Did...did you have anything to do with this?"
"I suppose I did. After your..." he searched for the right word, "altercation, he came to me. We are in the same tent, you see. I healed his injuries and asked him what happened."
"And you managed to convince him to stay away from me?"
"You are half right," he said with a slight sigh. "He wanted me to tell you one other thing. He may have decided to leave you alone, but he still does not trust you in the least."
"I see." Well, that explained his continued glares, Heath thought.
"However," Lucius continued, "he says that if you hurt her, then he will take action."
"That's all right," Heath said. As he thought about Raven, he asked, "Lucius, may I ask you something?"
"Certainly," the bishop replied.
"Do you know why Raven...why he is so protective of Priscilla?"
Lucius sighed. "I suppose you have a right to know," he said. "You see, Raven and Priscilla are brother and sister."
"I know that," Heath said.
"You do?" Lucius asked with surprise.
"Yes," Heath replied. "I...overheard him and Priscilla talking."
"I see. Well...I do not know if you are aware of this, but Raven and Priscilla...they are the children of the late marquess of Cornwell, in Lycia."
Heath had heard about that noble house before. "Wasn't he the one who was...found guilty of stealing the country's funds?"
"You are correct," Lucius replied. "I was a vassal in service to their house at the time. Raven and Priscilla were only children."
"What happened?"
"The marquess of Cornwell was an extremely kind man. Too kind. He gave money to all those who needed it. However...his house rapidly fell into debt. And when the loaners came for their payments...he had no choice."
"I see," Heath said. "But this doesn't tell me why Raven—"
"I am getting to that. When house Ostia, Lycia's ruling territory, decided to disband house Cornwell for their crimes, the marquess...he sent Priscilla away for adoption by the Etrurian count Caerleon, a good friend of his. He then...took his own life..." Lucius sighed.
"What happened to Raven?"
"He found out what had happened, and planned revenge on house Ostia. He discarded his name and took the name Raven, and trained to become a swordfighter. House Ostia sent us to serve in house Caelin, where Lady Lyndis is from.
"When this army came to save the Caelin castle from an attack, Priscilla found Raven. They were both overjoyed at finding each other. And yet...the only reason he came with this army...was to get revenge on house Ostia."
"How do you mean?" Heath asked.
"You are aware that Lord Hector is the younger brother of the marquess of Ostia, correct?"
Heath's eyes widened in realization. "Does he still plan to—"
"I am not sure. He has told me that he no longer wishes to do so, but I cannot be certain."
"But...why is he so protective of Priscilla?"
Lucius sighed. "Heath...he was only a child when Priscilla was sent away. The pain must have been...almost too great to bear. And after the marquess took his own life...Priscilla is the only relative he has left. He...does not want her to leave again."
Heath suddenly remembered the first thing Raven had said to him.
What the hell do you think you've been doing, taking Priscilla away from me?
So that was what he had meant...
"But...how did you convince him to leave me alone?" he asked.
"I—he failed to realize that Priscilla is her own woman, and that she should make her own decisions. He does not want her to leave, but...I convinced him that this is what she wanted, and this is what would make her happiest." He gave Heath another small smile. "The spirit of Saint Elimine has smiled upon you, Heath. She truly loves you."
Heath smiled at the bishop. "Do you really think so?"
"I know it, Heath. Have you not seen the way she looks at you? How she cares for you above all others? It is practically a certainty. And," he gave a slight chuckle, "I believe you have feelings for her as well."
Heath continued to smile, but his mind was racing. Raven wasn't bothering him anymore. That was great. And yet...
He still couldn't talk to Priscilla...
"Thank you, Lucius," Heath said.
"May the graces of Saint Elimine continue to shine upon you, Heath," Lucius said with a smile, before bowing and walking away.
"Wait," Heath called after him.
"Hmm?" Lucius turned around.
"One more thing...why didn't Raven tell me this himself?"
Lucius smiled ruefully. "He is...not very good at apologies."
"I see," Heath said, laughing a little. "Then could you tell him...that now that I know why he felt this way...that I'm...I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused him."
Lucius's smile grew wider. "Priscilla truly made a wise choice," he commented. "I will tell him."
Heath went back to his tent, figuring that his conversation with Lucius must have been long enough for Priscilla to fall asleep. He went inside.
The first thing he noticed was that Priscilla was not asleep.
She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the ground in thought. Her lower lip quivered, and she looked ready to burst into tears any second.
Heath hesitated. His first thought was to leave before she saw him. And yet...he couldn't stand seeing Priscilla like this.
"Priscilla?" he asked.
She looked up at him, and her eyes narrowed in anger.
Heath didn't know what to make of that. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Heath," Priscilla said, "why...why have you been avoiding me lately?"
Heath felt the color drain out of his face. So she had noticed...
"A-avoiding?" he stammered, "I...haven't been avoiding you..."
"Yes you have!" she said. "Why haven't you come to me for healing, like you said you would?"
"B-because," he said, but he couldn't find a reasonable explanation. He trailed off.
Angry tears began streaking down Priscilla's face. "Heath...you promised me...you promised me that you would come to me, no matter how slight the injury..."
"I-I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't—"
"Heath...have you b-broken y-your promise?"
"No!" he shouted. "I...I just..."
"Then why, Heath, why? Why have you stayed away from me? You promised!"
"Priscilla..."
"W-What if something had happened?! What if you were hurt?! What would you have done without me there?!"
"Priscilla, please..."
"What if," her voice had dropped to an angry whisper, "What if you had died? Do you have any idea how I would feel? Don't...don't you care about my feelings? Heath..."
She broke down completely. Heath tried to comfort her, tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she angrily pushed it away. "Get away from me!" she yelled.
"Priscilla, let me ex—"
She stood up, furious. "You don't care! You don't care how I feel at all! You only care about yourself! You just want to be a hero, just like your former captain, don't you?! To die in battle gloriously, right? That's why you saved me from that lightning spell, so you could die a hero, right?!"
Heath couldn't believe what she was saying. "That's not true! Priscilla, I do care how you feel!"
"Then why?" she said, whispering again. "Why do you avoid me? Do you hate me? Did I do something wrong?"
Heath didn't know how to tell her.
"You hate me, don't you?!" she continued. "You never liked me, you just made a false pr—"
"Priscilla, I love you!"
For a moment, there was absolute silence.
He had said it. Oh no, this was not good. He certainly hadn't been expecting to tell her like this...
Priscilla's tears stopped abruptly. "W-...what?" she whispered.
He hesitated before repeating, "I love you, Priscilla..."
He shouldn't have said it. Now he was going to break her heart...
"You...you do?" she asked.
He nodded slowly.
Priscilla slowly smiled as she thought she understood. "Oh...Heath, i-if you felt that way about me...you didn't have to—"
"I didn't stay away from you because of that," he said, and Priscilla's smile quickly faded. "It's just...I found out...that you are the daughter of a noble, and..." He trailed off.
"And what?"
"Priscilla, you didn't know...I'm sorry."
"What? I didn't know what?"
"I'm..." He sighed. He knew he had to tell her. "I'm a fugitive from Bern. Normally—"
"I know," she interjected.
Heath didn't think he had heard correctly. "What?"
"I know, Heath..." Her voice was now barely above a whisper.
"But...but how?"
"Raven told me...he told me to try to get me away from you..."
Heath scowled internally, but he hid his anger, as it really didn't seem to matter anymore.
"Then...you don't care?" he said.
"Why...why should I?" she replied.
"I...I thought if you knew I was a fugitive, you wouldn't want me around anymore..."
"Heath...how could you believe such a thing? I could never do that..."
He found himself protesting despite himself, still unable to believe what she had said.
"But...but I..."
"Heath...status doesn't change anything. If you were out fighting and got hurt, whether or not you were a fugitive, I..." Her eyes began welling with tears. "...I wouldn't be able to live with myself..."
"Priscilla..."
"Heath...i-if you died...because I wasn't there..." She buried her face in her hands.
He went over to her and put his arms around her. "Priscilla...It's all right. I'm here. I won't avoid you anymore."
"Heath..." She wrapped her arms around him, eyes still shining with tears. "I'm...I'm sorry for yelling at you. I didn't know..."
"Don't worry about it.... All that matters now is that I'm here for you."
"Heath...promise me...that you'll stay by my side."
"I promise," he replied, and smiled. He pulled her closer. "I never want to leave you, Priscilla."
Priscilla smiled back at him, but then her face slowly took on a pained look, as if she had just realized something terrible. She looked away from him.
"Priscilla? What's the matter?" he asked.
Tears began falling from her eyes once again.
"I...I love you, Heath..." she whispered, still not looking at him.
"Priscilla," he whispered, giving her a comforting squeeze, "I love you too."
But it didn't seem to help.
Priscilla looked up at him, the pained look still on her face, tears glistening on her cheeks. Then, without warning, she pulled his face to hers and gave him a passionate kiss.
Heath was surprised by her sudden action at first, but he kissed her back.
He didn't know how to feel. This should have been the happiest moment of his life. But something wasn't right.
After what seemed like an eternity, Priscilla broke the kiss, and then began to sob uncontrollably, burying her face in Heath's shoulder.
"What's wrong, Priscilla?"
"I...I don't w-want to have to l-leave you," she sobbed. "I love y-you, Heath..."
"Priscilla...why are you crying? There's no reason for me to—"
And then it hit him.
"...leave...you..." he finished, tears threatening to form in his own eyes. "Oh...Priscilla..."
She looked up at him, her eyes and face red from crying.
"Heath...i-if only...if only time could stop..." she whispered.
"Yes," he whispered, "if...if only..."
She kissed him again, even as a single tear ran down her face...
***
*stares at screen in shock*
Oh...my...God. Did I just write that? There is no way I just wrote that.
And even still, I can't help thinking that something's wrong with it...please review and tell me that I'm wrong!
*sniffs* The next chapter is the last...
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT
As for writing more stories...I'm going to take a break when this is done. However, you can be sure I'll write more in the future.
khmerboi919: Your questions are about to be answered...
Phoenix Dagger: Thanks for the review!
Death Scythe X-9: You have to keep in mind he was already full of anger after fighting with Heath. Priscilla calling him Raymond just set him off.
I hope you'll all like this chapter...I've spent a lot of time on it.
Truth
The army was now on their way to where Durandal, the sword of sacred fire, lay. Heath hadn't talked to Priscilla at all since the battle at the Shrine of Seals. Some of his bruises from that battle were still present.
Heath regretfully stayed out of the tent every night until he was sure Priscilla was asleep. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. And Raven was glaring at him every time Heath saw him, although somehow, Heath noticed, his injuries from their previous fight had already healed.
Heath had been keeping out of his tent again, when someone had called his name. It wasn't Priscilla or Raven. He turned around and saw Lucius.
"Heath?" Lucius repeated. "That...is your name, correct?"
"Yes," Heath replied. "And you are...Lucius?"
"I am."
"What is it?"
"Raven told me to tell you something."
Heath scowled. "Well you can tell him that I don't care what—"
Lucius interrupted him. "He wanted me to tell you that he is going to stop bothering you."
Whatever Heath had been expecting, it wasn't that.
Heath's eyes widened. "You're kidding," he said in a voice that was half shocked, half relieved.
Lucius gave him a small smile. "It is true," he said.
"I can't believe it. Did...did you have anything to do with this?"
"I suppose I did. After your..." he searched for the right word, "altercation, he came to me. We are in the same tent, you see. I healed his injuries and asked him what happened."
"And you managed to convince him to stay away from me?"
"You are half right," he said with a slight sigh. "He wanted me to tell you one other thing. He may have decided to leave you alone, but he still does not trust you in the least."
"I see." Well, that explained his continued glares, Heath thought.
"However," Lucius continued, "he says that if you hurt her, then he will take action."
"That's all right," Heath said. As he thought about Raven, he asked, "Lucius, may I ask you something?"
"Certainly," the bishop replied.
"Do you know why Raven...why he is so protective of Priscilla?"
Lucius sighed. "I suppose you have a right to know," he said. "You see, Raven and Priscilla are brother and sister."
"I know that," Heath said.
"You do?" Lucius asked with surprise.
"Yes," Heath replied. "I...overheard him and Priscilla talking."
"I see. Well...I do not know if you are aware of this, but Raven and Priscilla...they are the children of the late marquess of Cornwell, in Lycia."
Heath had heard about that noble house before. "Wasn't he the one who was...found guilty of stealing the country's funds?"
"You are correct," Lucius replied. "I was a vassal in service to their house at the time. Raven and Priscilla were only children."
"What happened?"
"The marquess of Cornwell was an extremely kind man. Too kind. He gave money to all those who needed it. However...his house rapidly fell into debt. And when the loaners came for their payments...he had no choice."
"I see," Heath said. "But this doesn't tell me why Raven—"
"I am getting to that. When house Ostia, Lycia's ruling territory, decided to disband house Cornwell for their crimes, the marquess...he sent Priscilla away for adoption by the Etrurian count Caerleon, a good friend of his. He then...took his own life..." Lucius sighed.
"What happened to Raven?"
"He found out what had happened, and planned revenge on house Ostia. He discarded his name and took the name Raven, and trained to become a swordfighter. House Ostia sent us to serve in house Caelin, where Lady Lyndis is from.
"When this army came to save the Caelin castle from an attack, Priscilla found Raven. They were both overjoyed at finding each other. And yet...the only reason he came with this army...was to get revenge on house Ostia."
"How do you mean?" Heath asked.
"You are aware that Lord Hector is the younger brother of the marquess of Ostia, correct?"
Heath's eyes widened in realization. "Does he still plan to—"
"I am not sure. He has told me that he no longer wishes to do so, but I cannot be certain."
"But...why is he so protective of Priscilla?"
Lucius sighed. "Heath...he was only a child when Priscilla was sent away. The pain must have been...almost too great to bear. And after the marquess took his own life...Priscilla is the only relative he has left. He...does not want her to leave again."
Heath suddenly remembered the first thing Raven had said to him.
What the hell do you think you've been doing, taking Priscilla away from me?
So that was what he had meant...
"But...how did you convince him to leave me alone?" he asked.
"I—he failed to realize that Priscilla is her own woman, and that she should make her own decisions. He does not want her to leave, but...I convinced him that this is what she wanted, and this is what would make her happiest." He gave Heath another small smile. "The spirit of Saint Elimine has smiled upon you, Heath. She truly loves you."
Heath smiled at the bishop. "Do you really think so?"
"I know it, Heath. Have you not seen the way she looks at you? How she cares for you above all others? It is practically a certainty. And," he gave a slight chuckle, "I believe you have feelings for her as well."
Heath continued to smile, but his mind was racing. Raven wasn't bothering him anymore. That was great. And yet...
He still couldn't talk to Priscilla...
"Thank you, Lucius," Heath said.
"May the graces of Saint Elimine continue to shine upon you, Heath," Lucius said with a smile, before bowing and walking away.
"Wait," Heath called after him.
"Hmm?" Lucius turned around.
"One more thing...why didn't Raven tell me this himself?"
Lucius smiled ruefully. "He is...not very good at apologies."
"I see," Heath said, laughing a little. "Then could you tell him...that now that I know why he felt this way...that I'm...I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused him."
Lucius's smile grew wider. "Priscilla truly made a wise choice," he commented. "I will tell him."
Heath went back to his tent, figuring that his conversation with Lucius must have been long enough for Priscilla to fall asleep. He went inside.
The first thing he noticed was that Priscilla was not asleep.
She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the ground in thought. Her lower lip quivered, and she looked ready to burst into tears any second.
Heath hesitated. His first thought was to leave before she saw him. And yet...he couldn't stand seeing Priscilla like this.
"Priscilla?" he asked.
She looked up at him, and her eyes narrowed in anger.
Heath didn't know what to make of that. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Heath," Priscilla said, "why...why have you been avoiding me lately?"
Heath felt the color drain out of his face. So she had noticed...
"A-avoiding?" he stammered, "I...haven't been avoiding you..."
"Yes you have!" she said. "Why haven't you come to me for healing, like you said you would?"
"B-because," he said, but he couldn't find a reasonable explanation. He trailed off.
Angry tears began streaking down Priscilla's face. "Heath...you promised me...you promised me that you would come to me, no matter how slight the injury..."
"I-I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't—"
"Heath...have you b-broken y-your promise?"
"No!" he shouted. "I...I just..."
"Then why, Heath, why? Why have you stayed away from me? You promised!"
"Priscilla..."
"W-What if something had happened?! What if you were hurt?! What would you have done without me there?!"
"Priscilla, please..."
"What if," her voice had dropped to an angry whisper, "What if you had died? Do you have any idea how I would feel? Don't...don't you care about my feelings? Heath..."
She broke down completely. Heath tried to comfort her, tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she angrily pushed it away. "Get away from me!" she yelled.
"Priscilla, let me ex—"
She stood up, furious. "You don't care! You don't care how I feel at all! You only care about yourself! You just want to be a hero, just like your former captain, don't you?! To die in battle gloriously, right? That's why you saved me from that lightning spell, so you could die a hero, right?!"
Heath couldn't believe what she was saying. "That's not true! Priscilla, I do care how you feel!"
"Then why?" she said, whispering again. "Why do you avoid me? Do you hate me? Did I do something wrong?"
Heath didn't know how to tell her.
"You hate me, don't you?!" she continued. "You never liked me, you just made a false pr—"
"Priscilla, I love you!"
For a moment, there was absolute silence.
He had said it. Oh no, this was not good. He certainly hadn't been expecting to tell her like this...
Priscilla's tears stopped abruptly. "W-...what?" she whispered.
He hesitated before repeating, "I love you, Priscilla..."
He shouldn't have said it. Now he was going to break her heart...
"You...you do?" she asked.
He nodded slowly.
Priscilla slowly smiled as she thought she understood. "Oh...Heath, i-if you felt that way about me...you didn't have to—"
"I didn't stay away from you because of that," he said, and Priscilla's smile quickly faded. "It's just...I found out...that you are the daughter of a noble, and..." He trailed off.
"And what?"
"Priscilla, you didn't know...I'm sorry."
"What? I didn't know what?"
"I'm..." He sighed. He knew he had to tell her. "I'm a fugitive from Bern. Normally—"
"I know," she interjected.
Heath didn't think he had heard correctly. "What?"
"I know, Heath..." Her voice was now barely above a whisper.
"But...but how?"
"Raven told me...he told me to try to get me away from you..."
Heath scowled internally, but he hid his anger, as it really didn't seem to matter anymore.
"Then...you don't care?" he said.
"Why...why should I?" she replied.
"I...I thought if you knew I was a fugitive, you wouldn't want me around anymore..."
"Heath...how could you believe such a thing? I could never do that..."
He found himself protesting despite himself, still unable to believe what she had said.
"But...but I..."
"Heath...status doesn't change anything. If you were out fighting and got hurt, whether or not you were a fugitive, I..." Her eyes began welling with tears. "...I wouldn't be able to live with myself..."
"Priscilla..."
"Heath...i-if you died...because I wasn't there..." She buried her face in her hands.
He went over to her and put his arms around her. "Priscilla...It's all right. I'm here. I won't avoid you anymore."
"Heath..." She wrapped her arms around him, eyes still shining with tears. "I'm...I'm sorry for yelling at you. I didn't know..."
"Don't worry about it.... All that matters now is that I'm here for you."
"Heath...promise me...that you'll stay by my side."
"I promise," he replied, and smiled. He pulled her closer. "I never want to leave you, Priscilla."
Priscilla smiled back at him, but then her face slowly took on a pained look, as if she had just realized something terrible. She looked away from him.
"Priscilla? What's the matter?" he asked.
Tears began falling from her eyes once again.
"I...I love you, Heath..." she whispered, still not looking at him.
"Priscilla," he whispered, giving her a comforting squeeze, "I love you too."
But it didn't seem to help.
Priscilla looked up at him, the pained look still on her face, tears glistening on her cheeks. Then, without warning, she pulled his face to hers and gave him a passionate kiss.
Heath was surprised by her sudden action at first, but he kissed her back.
He didn't know how to feel. This should have been the happiest moment of his life. But something wasn't right.
After what seemed like an eternity, Priscilla broke the kiss, and then began to sob uncontrollably, burying her face in Heath's shoulder.
"What's wrong, Priscilla?"
"I...I don't w-want to have to l-leave you," she sobbed. "I love y-you, Heath..."
"Priscilla...why are you crying? There's no reason for me to—"
And then it hit him.
"...leave...you..." he finished, tears threatening to form in his own eyes. "Oh...Priscilla..."
She looked up at him, her eyes and face red from crying.
"Heath...i-if only...if only time could stop..." she whispered.
"Yes," he whispered, "if...if only..."
She kissed him again, even as a single tear ran down her face...
Oh...my...God. Did I just write that? There is no way I just wrote that.
And even still, I can't help thinking that something's wrong with it...please review and tell me that I'm wrong!
*sniffs* The next chapter is the last...
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT
