Erk, Serra, Priscilla - The Triangle of Love
By Davis(Davis3 on FFN)
Chapter 12: A Fallen Angel

Note: In this chapter, Serra is going to be faced with several forms of punishments from Hector and each one is worse than the one that preceded it, but luckily, none of them are that severe....well to Serra they are. For those of you who enjoy Erk x Priscilla, this chapter will focus on it as Erk is starting to have second thoughts after seeing Serra's stunt. Is he about to give up on her?

Potter29vo: Erk will most likely not express any kind of anger as his heart makes him feel sorry for her. Now Hector, he's already shown anger and there is more to come.

Erk, Serra, Priscilla - The Triangle of Love

By the time Hector had stopped his temper tantrum of sorts, he turned to face Serra who looked scared as though she had angered a deity. I saw his expression, utter anger; his face was bright red as though he was about to spew forth like an enraged volcano.

" Your punishment will be several things, starting with you cleaning up this mess and you alone. No one is permitted to help you, but they can still talk to you as they watch. The tools you'll need are in the back. Now....get to work...." He stormed out of her tent followed by Lyn and Eliwood who had their heads down. I knew that they enjoyed Serra's act, but they kept it to themselves as they did not wish to invoke Hectors' anger further than it already has.

Serra also had her head down as she walked to the back of her tent to pick up the tools that Hector spoke of. Each of us was to have a bucket and a large mop in our tents so that we always cleaned up after ourselves. I knew from experience that Serra had never done this sort of labor in her life, but now she had to do it. At first she struggled, but she quickly got the hang of it and began to clean up the mess. Priscilla had since walked into the tent to get a better perspective of the situation, but I decided to wait outside for the two of them needed to speak alone.

" Serra...."

" Priscilla...."

" I had hoped that you would not have done this deed. I did try to warn you, but I guess that my words were not enough to avoid this fate." Priscilla said as she lowered her head for she did not want to see Serra like this.

" Lord Hectors' decision to send Erk away really got to me and made me snap. I just had to get even with my sworn Lord. It was only meant to be a small joke, and he takes it too seriously and gives me several punishments." Serra said as she continued to mop up the mess. I was watching from outside and felt sad every time she slipped and fell into the cake batter; then seeing her get back up and resuming her punishment.

" I will admit to you that he did go overboard, but then you have to admit yourself that doing such an act and to a lord would end up like this." Priscilla said.

" If I had done it to someone else, then all would be forgiven. It wasn't just sending Erk away that made me do it Priscilla. Lord Hector has treated me unfairly many times in the past and I guess it got all bottled up inside and unleashed itself here in my tent." Serra said as she slipped and fell once again. " I'd rather not perform this menial task, but I have no other choice in the matter. I feel as though Lord Hector wants to make me suffer."

" I am sure that is not the case." Priscilla said.

" You haven't been around Lord Hector as much as I have. He is very temperamental and hates following orders, unless they were his own. Now that he is the Marquess of Ostia, I guess the pressure is starting to get to him and he takes out his aggression on those around him, like me for instance. Of course, that is only my opinion." I listened to each word that Serra just said and it made me think about her in a different way. I never knew about this side of Serra before and yet she never even thought once about sharing this with me. " You see him in a different way don't you Priscilla?"

" He does show signs of anger from time to time." Came her answer.

" See what I mean?" asked Serra.

" Coupled with what you said, I do believe it to be true. However....doing this stunt gives him the reason why he takes his aggression out on you, for you made him react in a way that most people perform when being the victim of a cruel joke." Priscilla said.

" It wasn't that cruel." Serra said.

" To him it was." Priscilla said making Serra stop and think for a moment.

" I never really thought about it that way before. Now I feel really bad about what I have done and I guess Lord Hector punishing me was the right thing for him to do. I am just glad that Erk wasn't here to witness this."

" Actually...." Priscilla began.

" He's come back?" Serra asked.

" Yes, just a short time ago and I brought him here when we both heard Lord Eliwood and Lord Hectors' booming voices. He is outside your tent, but he got a glimpse of this mess and I saw his expression....it was most disappointing." Priscilla answered as she turned to take her leave. " I am sure you two need to talk, so I shall ask him to come in. Serra, I hope that you pull through these turn of events."

I saw Priscilla leave the tent and stood before me, her head tilted to one side, her eyes closed as her expression was one of sadness and grief. " Erk, it is best that you go in and speak with Serra of these matters. It was your absence that sparked the fire that lead to this event unfolding the way it did." I realized that she was right and so I entered the tent to witness Serra cleaning up the mess. Much of it was done, but there was still a small bit to do.

" Erk....Priscilla told me that you had returned just recently." Serra said.

" Yes, but it appears that I returned too late to stop you from doing this. Serra, can you see why you did this?" At first Serra shook her head for the answer did not come to her, but then the answer hit her and she began to understand. " Your attitude has often been the cause of you getting into trouble and I have a feeling that it played a role in this situation. But, I now know that you had another reason. I overheard what you said about Lord Hector and how he takes his anger out upon you."

" You heard me say that?" Serra asked, her expression one of surprise and shock.

" I did and when I heard the last few words, it made me think about you differently than before. I do not see you the same way as I have been these past few days. Your opinion of Hector coupled with your desire for vengeance has made you....different somehow. Serra, do not see this as me giving up my love for you, for that is the last thing I want to do. Instead, it would be best if we did not speak to one another until your punishment is complete."

I was expecting Serra's reaction to be one of crying and begging....but she did not do such a thing, which had me surprised. " Erk....I know that my impish behavior has gotten me into trouble in the past and that in turn has made you rather upset, but I shall agree to your terms, but I want you to promise me this. Promise that you will think about me. I hope that your heart will make you understand and make you forgive me for putting you through so much." All I could do after such words was smile and leave. Priscilla approached me the moment I stepped outside and I explained everything to her.

" She did ask me to help her, but I did not wish to do so. I tried to get her to think about other ways to handle the situation without restoring to revenge, but my words did not do enough....but are you sure that you want to go down this path?" She asked me as she felt uncomfortable with my decision. " She has her problems, but don't we all? You are uptight, and I am quiet....even Lord Hector has his problems." Priscilla did make a good point, but I countered it with something of my own.

" I know she has her problems, but she acted in a way that I have never seen before. I feel as though I don't really know her as much as I thought I did. You are not the same Priscilla as I know you would not do such an act."

" You don't know that for certain Erk. Everyone is capable of things you never thought possible. I suggest you follow Serra's advice and let your heart guide you. I do love you Erk, but I want you to give Serra a chance as well. I do not see this as the critical decision when it comes to choosing one of us in the end, but rather another stepping stone to cross in the waters of life itself. Give her a chance, for me?" Priscilla's words made more sense to me than I wanted them to. Serra did deserve a chance, yet my heart is torn between love and truth. It feels as though my body wishes to be separated in two. I agreed to Priscilla's will and the two of us returned to my tent for the night.

The next morning came rather quickly and I had to see what was next in Serra's punishment. Do not take what I just said the wrong way. I do wish to see her humiliated, but rather I wish to see her, for I feel sorry for her having to go through this. Hector approached her and handed her something, but I could not see due to the entire company being present. I did see her expression and she did not like it one bit.

" Serra, this next punishment is not meant to be severe, but I thought it would be appropriate one for you to handle. You are to go to the stables and well....I can't really say it very well but you are to go there and clean up the....mess that is there and once you are finished, you are to take it to the nearby village and have it incinerated. You must clean up the mess on your own, yet you can have others help you carry it to the village." Hector was right about it not being too severe, yet it was slightly worse than what she had to do the other night. Serra did not like the idea one bit, but she had no other choice in the matter.

At least she could have some assistance with this job, yet no one stepped up to help for they did not wish to help carry that sort of mess. I watched Serra walk off on her own to begin her task at the stables which are portable just to let you know, yet I wanted to be with her, but I could not. I could though help her indirectly, but would that make things better, or worse. Priscilla who had been nearby, approached me once again.

" You feel sorry for her don't you?" she asked.

" I want to help, but....I can't." I answered back.

" Sure you can help. You do not have to help Serra directly, but you can help in other ways. I was thinking about speaking to Lord Hector about loosening up on Serra's punishments as I think they are wrong. She does not deserve such tasks for a priestess. But, I do not want to speak to Lord Hector on my own as I feel that he may punish me for speaking out against him in such a way. Erk, do you feel the same way?" I nodded my approval and told her that I too wished to see Hector about Serra's punishment, in addition as to why he sent me away in the first place instead of someone more experienced in solo missions. " Thank you for wanting to come with Erk, I really appreciate it." Priscilla said as she hugged my arm very tightly as we walked off to speak with our commanding lord, whose mood will be difficult to get around.

End of Chapter 12.

Note: There you go all you Erk x Priscilla fans, you got to see them together, and I did not intent to have some Erk x Serra in this chapter, but I guess it is a good thing after all. Now, I know that Serra's second punishment might sound unfair, but it was either that, or have her do something even worse, but Serra is too cute for the severe stuff. Also, the interaction between Serra and Priscilla isn't new, but this time they are much more serious about it instead of the arguing and fighting in the past.

I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible if events around here are not altered, yet I will say this. In the next chapter, somehow, someway, Serra winds up encountering the Dark Warrior and you know what he is like.

Please R&R

--Davis--