Disclaimers: All the characters in this fic is copyright of Karashi, if there are any similarities between my characters and actual characters, it is purely coincidental. NPC characters and the Game Ragnarok Online belong to the Creators of Ragnarok.

Author's Notes:
Me: Gah, I hope I don't ruin the whole fic with this ending _ I'm open for suggestions and comments, so feel free to email me or place it in the review. Great big huggles go to Yasutsuna for all those SMS ^^ to aphrodite24goddess for all those wonderful reviews :D and to everyone who read my fic. Couldn't have gotten this far without you ^^


Epilogue

            As in every tale, there is always something added or missing. As in every speaker, there is always a bias for or against a perspective. Perhaps the duality that the empath speaks of is evident within each of the gathered story that The Scribe has collected. Perhaps… save for one such tale. It was to have been written through a witness' eyes, from a spectator's neutral perception, and with a victim's denied memory.
            Inside the Mjolnir insane asylum, a toffee haired acolyte was speaking with her superior.
            "Are you certain that there's nothing we can do?" she asked.
            "I'm afraid so Bernice, no potion, no healing spell can force Miss Evional out of her reverie." The priestess sighed.
            "I thought she was doing so much better, she's been getting the dates of some events correctly. She was actually beginning to come to terms with herself."
            "Yes, it's a shame, Mister Carsen's last visit proved quite… catastrophic for Miss Evional."
            "It's time to go check on Miss Evional again, maybe she'll surprise us all with a full recovery today?" Bernice smiled hopefully as she went up to the merchant's room.
            "Good afternoon Miss Evional." The acolyte greeted, "How are you feeling?"
            Addy said nothing, she merely stared at Bernice emptily.
            "You don't feel like talking? That's alright, I'm sure you'll find something you'll want to share with me soon. Right now we-" she was cut off as the merchant handed her a rolled up parchment.
            "Oh my, did Mister Carsen forget this? No wonder you look so upset."
            The merchant turned away from the healer and remained silent.
            "Well then, I'll just give this to Mister Carsen once he returns for another visit."
            Bernice performed a routinary check on Addy's condition, everything seemed fine, except for the fact that she refused to answer any question or make idle chatter. Once finished, the acolyte had a small frown on her face. It was unusual to see Addy quiet, this further emphasized by her lack of emotion.
            "You wouldn't mind if I read this, would you?" Bernice asked, sitting herself on the bed. "Silence means yes." She teased, hoping to elicit some response. Her words, sadly, fell on deaf ears. The acolyte shrugged and unrolled the parchment.


            A female merchant stood before a seedy mansion hidden in the backstreets of Prontera. She looked up at the looming building warily with her gray eyes and tucked her persimmon hair behind her ears. Warping to the capital of Rune-Midgard was costly, but the request asked of her sounded urgent.
            She was in Geffen earlier that day, stocking up on blue, red and yellow gems. Being alone felt a bit awkward for her, but her lover had been called away to handle some confidential matters. As she loaded her cart with an armful of gems, an exhausted courier approached her.
            She was given a message claiming that her immediate presence in Prontera was required. A note containing the location of the meeting point was included but there was no indication of who it came from. At first she was hesitant in answering the request, but the courier's desperation managed to persuade her.
            Even if she didn't want to continue, it was too late to turn back now. The merchant took a deep breath, hoped for the best and went inside. From the outside, she had expected grime covered floors, cracked ceilings and peeling walls. It came as quite a surprise that the interior was quite the opposite. Expensive furniture decorated the foyer, oil paintings hung on every wall, and the marble floor could actually serve as a relfective surface.
            "May I help you?" a sultry baritone voice asked.
            The merchant was startled to find it was an olive skinned man wearing only black cotton pants and leather shoes that greeted her. Her cheeks flushed at the sight of his bare muscular chest but the memory of her lover made her look away.
            "I was summoned here via courier." She explained, averting her gaze from his body.
            "Ah, you must be Madame Addy. Come, come, he is expecting you." The man smiled seductively, ushering the embarrassed merchant out of the foyer.
            The long hallway they walked along was no less exquisite with the rug beneath their feet being made from eclipse fur. Four doors lined the walls of the hallway with bronze plaquards hanging above the wooden portals.
            "Brilight, Creamy Fear, ah, here we are." The man declared, "Please wait inside the Dark Frame room." The man gave a low bow and a knowing wink before departing.
            Addy entered the room, apparently it wasn't called "Dark Frame" for nothing. While she could barely see her hand in front of her face, she'd rather not wait in the doorway. Carefully, she felt along the walls, trying to find something to anchor herself to. Her fingers suddenly touched some sort of fabric, 'Is it a sheet?' she wondered.
            As she pulled at it, a few rays of light filtered in. "It's a curtain!" she realized, "Maybe there's something I can use to tie it up." Her palm brushed against a cord and when she yanked it, the curtains suddenly parted. Brightness flooded the darkened room through a full length window, and once her eyes adjusted to the light, her jaw fell open in shock.
            A voluptuous emerald haired dancer was running her slender fingers on a fully clothed man's chest. Her luscious ruby lips were locked on his neck and he was slowly discarding the gossamer scarf around her waist. The sight of the woman being stripped was not the cause of Addy's distress. It was because the man was a silver haired priest with bright green eyes.
            Silently, Addy observed as Warse caressed the body of the dancer. The woman's moans of pleasure sliced into her heart and the sight of the intimate contact tore into her mind. She watched in fascinated disgust, as the two began to kiss deeply, passionately, hungrily. In her intense concentration, she failed to hear the door open.
            "Enjoying the show?" Irlan whispered into the dumbstruck merchant's ear. "I've always wanted to tell you how often I see him here. But you looked so happy, I just couldn't bear to burst your bubble."
            "This can't be happening…"
            "Oh but it is." He hissed, pressing Addy's face closer to the glass, closer to the scene of Warse's carnal pleasure. "The gentle, holy priest you've fallen madly in love with is in fact a lust-driven fiend. You surprised him by denying your body, so he satisfies his frustration here, every single night."
            "You're lying!!!" the merchant shrieked. With the dancer's gasps of ecstacy pulsating in the air, Addy couldn't help but close her eyes and cover her ears.
            "He spent so much time trying to get on your good side just to weaken your resolve."
            "That's not true… Warse loves me…" She sobbed.
            "Does he? Warse is the kind of guy who enjoys playing with words, hiding behind the veil of deception until he gets what he wants." Irlan smirked, and then suddenly grabbed Addy by her forearms. "Forget the priest, forget the Schattenjägers, forget the whole world. I should be the only one who will matter to you, now."
            The merchant's brows knitted together in confusion. What did Irlan mean by that? She couldn't understand, she couldn't think, she couldn't even breathe. She had to know why her Warse was here, and there was no way she would accept the hunter's twisted explanation. There must be a good reason why the silver haired priest was here…
            There just had to be!
            Addy shoved Irlan away and started pounding her fists against the window.
            "Warse! You have to come out here and tell Irlan it's not true!! That you do love me! That… that… you have another reason why you're with that woman! Warse!"
            The hunter laughed, "He can't hear you through that. And besides, even if he could, he won't listen to you. Not until he's finished with her, that is."
            Twin rivers flowed down Addy's cheek as she continued to call out to the priest. The hunter only shook his head and leaned back against the wall. Desperate, the merchant pulled out a bag filled with a thousand zenny. It was Irlan's turn to yell, as the female merchant used her most powerful attack.
            "Mammonite!!"
            The coins dissolved into energy and wrapped themselves around her fists. She barraged the thick window until it shattered. Deadly shards flew straight for the silver haired man. Gray eyes grew wide as blood spurted in torrents. A rain of slivers impaled themselves onto the soft, supple flesh of the emerald haired dancer. The priest had noticed the incoming danger and used the prostitute as a shield.
            "Why?" Addy whimpered, her own fists were bleeding.
            "What are you doing here, Addy? How did you find me?" Warse demanded, pushing the dead woman off him.
            Addy said nothing, her heart hurt too much.
            "You didn't think I'd have forgotten about that time, priest?" Irlan sneered.
            "This wasn't part of the deal." Warse growled, narrowing his green eyes angrily.
            "What… deal? What are you talking about?" Addy demanded.
            "I think it's time I shed the light on our not-so-innocent pawn. Warse here is only after The Schattenjägers' secrets. The techniques, the wealth and the abilities of your guildmates were the only things he wanted." The hunter snickered.
            "You're going too far." Warse warned.
            "And that's not all." Irlan announced, "When he gets what he needs, he was going to tell me everything. All because he wanted to be a member of the Jaded Crimson."
            "I don't believe this… this is just… these are just… lies!! All lies!! Tell him Warse!! Tell him that he's lying! Tell him that you wouldn't do such a thing! Please, oh please. Tell me that you're not really who Irlan says you are!" Addy cried.
            "But he is!" Irlan sneered, "All he really wants is to be a member of our guild, that and to fuck you senseless. Isn't that right Wa-" the hunter was cut off by a fist connecting with his jaw.
            "That's more than enough." The priest growled menacingly.
            "Oh, so you want to resume that battle, priest?" Irlan spat, "I let you beat me to deepen Addy's trust with you. But this time, it's different!"
            "Not likely." Warse glared. "Wait for me." He told Addy, "I'll be quick."
            The merchant sank to her knees amidst the blood-streaked shards of glass. In their reflection, she could see the prostitute's lifeless gaze staring at her.
            We're the same, you and I… we're both going to die alone and unloved, at the hand of a man who doesn't care. The woman seemed to say.
            "No, no! I refuse to accept that!" Addy declared. The female merchant clung to her resolve adamantly. It was her last shred of hope in Warse, in their relationship, in the idea that she could love and be loved.
            It was because of the wanton denial that Addy reconstructed her life. It was the false truth that Addy completely embraced. It was because of the submission that Addy lost her mind. And it was in the madness that Addy found paradise.


            Bernice wordlessly rolled up the parchment into a tight tube.
            "Maybe we shouldn't let Mister Carsen have this." She whispered, "Unless of course, you really want me to give it to him."
            Addy stared blankly at the acolyte and answered "Fine."

Fin