Erk, Serra, Priscilla - The Triangle of Love
By Davis(Davis3 on FFN)
Chapter 6: My Master Lord Pent and Lady Louise

Note: I have returned with another chapter for you to read. Sorry for the delay, but schoolwork can really back you up sometimes. Ah yes, Pent and Louise will be in this chapter giving Erk some advice on his love life. Also, I mentioned that Serra would do something in this chapter....and I know what it is. Don't worry, she won't be going out of character, but rather into character.

You know how Serra can take things either too seriously, or the wrong way? Think about it as this chapter progresses.

Erk, Serra, Priscilla – The Triangle of Love

Lord Pent and Lady Louise arrived the next morning as I knew they would. They were rather tight-lipped about where they had been, but I of course knew better. Lord Pent always did enjoy leaving for personal reason with Lady Louise by his side. Lord Pent once told me, that although he and his wife left Etruria for these "special journeys" the entire kingdom never felt at a loss as this sort of thing was not new in the sense.

Even the others of this company never questioned as to why the two of them left the way that they did. And, should such a question ever came up, the only answer Lord Pent would give would be the same one he usually gives: " My wife and I had to leave on our own reasons in order to ensure your safety and success." At least, that is what he kept on telling me. I was one of Lord Pent's students and he has taught me much in the ways of anima magic....despite the fact that I often overexert myself, leaving him to get me out of the fix I put myself in to begin with. Lady Louise often giggled at my misfortunes, but she was merely playing around.

Yet, I needed to ask him something that I never asked him before and to be quite honest....I didn't know how I was going to ask him. All my life, I have been seen as being uptight and serious....with charm. Asking Lord Pent about love would sound weird, coming from me. If it were someone other than me, say....Sain for example, it wouldn't feel as weird....although it would be quite an episode. I had to wait until Lord Pent and Lady Louise had settled in before I ask him my troubles.

Settling in....for Lord Pent, that did not take very long, for he and Lady Louise travel rather lightly, only carrying the basic needs with them, and nothing more. For Lady Louise, she wielded her bow with such grace, that the enemies are in awe whenever they see her. As for Lord Pent, he never goes anywhere without his book of magic....and stave. I approached the two of them, but as I did so, my knees began to tremble. Nervousness! It was pure nervousness and I was full of it. Not the best way to start now is it? I had to show confidence when asking Lord Pent a question, as I did not wish to appear as a nervous wreck, or worse than that....a quivering jelly.

" Erk....so good to see you again." Lord Pent spoke with such finesse, that it often left me speechless. "What's wrong with you? You look as though something were on your mind, and yet you are too nervous to speak." He was right. As soon as he said his first words, my body went all numb and stiff. I felt embarrassed. I tried to say something, but all I could say were parts of words and mumblings.

" Erk....take a deep breath, relax and count to 10, then start to speak." I followed his advice and I felt more relaxed, yet I still had a bit of nervousness.

" Thank you Lord Pent." I said. Now that I think about it, I could if I wanted to, refer to him as master, but that would sound informal and make him feel like he were superior. Lord Pent had his preferences when it came to addressing him, and master wasn't one he liked to be called, yet I still call him this. He doesn't mind, but he insists on me just calling him Lord Pent.

" Tell me, what is on your mind." He said in his soothing voice. It took me a moment to answer, but it felt like an eternity. I explained to him that I was having love trouble, which made him react. " Love? Coming from you, made me react in a rather peculiar way, but I shall listen to your troubles." I went on to explain everything. First, I told him of Serra and Priscilla and their affections towards me followed by my search to find out more about them.

" You followed my example by learning about these two." That made Lord Pent happy and it gave me some confidence. I then explained about the incident at the nearby village and what Hector ended up doing. This made Lord Pent and Lady Louise rather surprised. It was a good thing they missed that event as my description was all they needed to picture it. Finally, I mentioned about what Priscilla said to me the other night along with the advice given to me by Nino. After having a moment in order to take it all in, Lord Pent began to speak again.

" Is that the entire story?" he asked.

" It is Lord Pent." I answered.

" Come, sit with us and we will see what we can do to help you. It was a good idea to ask Louise and I of such matters, for as you know, we had our own troubles when it came to love, but we solved it."

" Yet, my troubles are different from what you experienced." I said to him.

" Very true. You are caught in what is known as a love triangle where two ladies both have the same interests in a man. In this case, Serra and Priscilla are both in love with you and judging by what you said about that incident in the village, they will do whatever it takes to make you their own. This in turn went out of hand and now Priscilla has seen the error she has committed upon you Erk." Lord Pent made more sense than everyone else I talked to combined....although what they said helped me as well.

" And Serra?" I asked.

" That remains to be seen, but you will have to ask her about that. Hector made the right choice in keeping them apart as they see one another as rivals. Priscilla, the unselfish kind girl and Serra, the feisty loud girl. Opposites to you in every way." Lady Louise who had been silent this entire time decided to speak out.

" I agree with you my Lord Pent, yet Erk, do you know why you love them?"

" Nino asked me that same question." I answered.

" And did you give her a response?" Lady Louise asked me. I told her that I had in fact given her a response, which as you will recall was how I saw both Serra and Priscilla. I told the same thing to Lady Louise and she understood every last word. " I can understand your feelings towards Priscilla and the way you described was wonderful, but Serra...." I knew what I said about Serra was going to make Lady Louise think real hard. In fact, everyone thought hard when it came to Serra's behavior. " Do you really feel this way about her Erk? She seems to be much more than what you say."

" I know Lady Louise....Serra is fun to be around and she does cheer me up, but she takes things way too seriously. If you tell her anything, she reacts for all the wrong reasons. For instance, if you said something bad about her, she will either think the insult was at someone else, or she will get upset and leave. I do care about Serra, but her overreacting kind of gets on your nerves after a while. Also, she talks way too much and at times....she can be very annoying, especially when trying to have some peace and quiet. Did I mention that she gets herself into trouble, what with that attitude she has." I almost fainted after saying all of that, but Lord Pent and Lady Louise knew what I was talking about. However, something I had no control over occurred. Serra just happened to be walking nearby and was listening in on our conversation and she heard what I said about her. The next thing I was about to say was one I wish she hadn't heard either.

" What you said is true." Lord Pent said.

" I just wish that Serra wouldn't keep getting herself into trouble and being so annoying with that mouth of hers!" Upon hearing that, Serra left without saying a word. As for me, I breathed slightly. " There....I had to get that out of my system. I know she means well, and she is trying her best to not make a big scene, but I think that she needs time." Lord Pent then had something to add to that.

" I suggest that you talk with her about the way she is acting and try to help her deal with it. While you're at it, why don't you have a proper talk with Priscilla. She feels bad after yesterday's incident and I feel as though she could use someone to talk too." Lord Pent as usual, was correct. I told him and Lady Louise that I will talk with Serra first and then comfort Priscilla. As I got up to leave, he gave me one last bit of advice. " When you speak with Priscilla....explain it to Serra so that she understands and does not react the wrong way." I thanked both him and Lady Louise and set out to find Serra.

It did not take me that long to find her. Serra was sitting under a tree with her head buried in her arms. I heard no words coming from her and from my view, I assumed that she was in some sort of meditation, but then I realized that clerics don't do that sort of thing....at least, that's what I think anyway. I walked towards her slowly in an attempt to get her to notice me, but she didn't lift her head. Maybe she was sleeping? Serra had been working hard as of late due to Hectors' orders and maybe she decided to take a rest.

There were no sounds of her sleeping. It must be something else, but what? I decided to call out to her as it was the only thing I had not done yet. " Serra...." She did not answer me. I called her again and got the same result. It felt odd as Serra usually would respond the first time, but I have called twice and no answer. I was about to call her a third time, but she slowly raised her head and looked at me.

Her look....it was not the same look she normally had whenever I was in her presence. The look I am referring too is the one that shows off her beauty. Yet this look....it was a look of rejection, with a bit of anger lying in wait behind it. At first, I did not know what to say, so I chose simply to call out her name again. Guess I will end up calling her for the third time.

" Serra...." This time she did react and slowly rose to her feet.

" Serra....I need to speak with you about certain matters that can only be dealt between the two of us." I said to her. She walked over to me and my thought was that she was going to wait a while before saying something to me. I was wrong. Instead of saying a word, Serra slapped me in the face so hard, I almost fell over. Why did she do that? " Serra, why did you just slap me in the face?" I asked her.

" You know why!" She snapped. I felt relived that she was speaking, but the tone of her voice was one of anger....not normal for her by any means.

" What did I do?"

" I heard what you said about me Erk and I never would have guessed that, that was the way you truly felt about me. After hearing what you said, my heart broke and now I know the truth at last. You do hate me, don't you? Don't try to deny it!" Once again she was overreacting, but this time she seems serious. She had overheard what I said about her to Lord Pent and Lady Louise and this has made her very upset. She thinks that I hate her, but she didn't hear the rest of the conversation. I tried to explain to her what happened, but she refused to speak to me. She then gave me another slap, one that was much harder than the first one.

" Don't come near me Erk and don't even touch me!" Was all she said before storming off in tears. As if I needed another problem added to the list that I already have. I shouldn't have said what I did, but it was too late to fix it. I had to get Serra back in a good mood and make her feel happy again, but what could I do that will make her happy?

End of Chapter 6.

Note: There you go. Now you all know what Serra has done and yes, you have to feel sorry for poor old Erk. Don't worry about the love triangle. It hasn't been broken yet....as long as Erk can make Serra happy again, and he will....but how do you think he should go about doing it? I want your suggestions as I do have a good idea of what he'll do.

Let's just hope that Priscilla doesn't end up doing the same thing.

Oh, and one more thing....I know some of you are going to be surprised with this turn of events but love isn't all happiness you know. There has to be some sadness and great obstacles to overcome and that is what I've done. So, all you Serra x Erk fans can relax.

Okay, I'm done rambling for now.

Please R&R

--Davis--