Chapter Seven: Truth
-Shit- "I thought I told you not to follow me." She stated coolly.
"You did. I didn't listen." His voice was flat, unforgiving. Dammit, she really was going to have to kill him, and NOW, before he told anyone. "What the in the name of the gods' hell was that?"
She unsheathed her sword. It hung as a heavy weight in her right hand. "You know perfectly well, so don't mince words asking meaningless questions."
He met her cool gaze with his own. "The Black Monster, the hell-demon."
"Correct, as usual." Her voice was flat and mocking.
"So now what?"
"You also know the answer to that."
"You kill me, right?" He crossed his arms over his chest and took a step forward, not menacingly. The amber eyes didn't change. They held some emotion, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what it was. "To preserve your secret. To keep me from talking."
"Very smart. I wish you didn't follow me, Darius, I really do. You would have lived longer." Rose's voice was sincere. "If you weren't so nosy, perhaps I could have spared you. But I did tell you that I was a Dragoon and you know about the Dragon, and for that alone you must be killed."
"Kata and Kristoff too? The villagers?"
"You may not believe me, but I hold life in high esteem." She looked at him with sad, sad smoky eyes that reminded him of watered-down fire. "The villagers will be spared. They think I am a madwoman and it is better for them to keep it that way. But your sister and brother know the truth about my Dragoon origins. They may not believe me, but I can't take the risk of them someday figuring it out."
"So you kill them."
"As you said, to preserve my secret, yes. And to preserve the life on this world." She spoke wearily, as if delivering a speech that she had memorized and recited a hundred times before, no one ever listening.
Darius continued to stare at her out of those disarming amber eyes, his arms crossed, standing a yard away from her. He didn't move.
Rose frowned. "Aren't you going to do something?"
"What can I do?"
"Fall to your knees and beg for me to spare your life. Call me a crazy lunatic. Try to fight me. Kill yourself. Pick one of the above, it's what all the others do."
"I'll not give up my dignity and beg. I know you're not a lunatic. I know you can defeat me in battle; you've proven that before. I don't have anything to kill myself with, and I won't take that cowardly way out." He countered all of her suggestions.
"Clever." She commented, the sword resting across her chest on her left shoulder, one of her comfortable stances. "You don't have anything to say before you die? No last words or requests? All the others had something they wanted me to do, some very obscene. Nothing you want? No messages to your brother or sister?"
"None. No messages, no last words, and certainly I wouldn't dishonor you or myself by asking that you do… something obscene." Darius made a gesture with his hands. "Because I know that you won't kill me."
Again she was taken by surprise. A step back made her come in contact with a large tree that had escaped the Black Monster's wrath. The sword dropped to her side again. "What did you say?"
"I know you won't kill me. Or Kata. Or Kristoff." Darius repeated.
Rose's upper lip curled. "And how do you know that?"
"Because you said so yourself: you hold life in high esteem."
"It doesn't mean I hold my obligations any lower!" She hated him, hated him, for getting through each and every one of her defenses and into her mind.
"I understand that. But you won't kill my siblings because it would do you no good. Kata and Kristoff really do think that you're crazy; they tell me constantly that I'm foolish for harboring you in our home. They don't believe you're a Dragoon. And you won't kill me because it's not the right thing to do. I won't tell."
"Gods, Darius, make this easier for me. I've been through this before!" She yelled. "You think any of the others haven't said that! Each and every one of them promised they wouldn't tell!" He could see tears of frustration forming in her eyes, and her voice was thick. "But I let one of them go, one of the first. He told the whole village and they nearly killed me."
"Do I seem like that kind of person?"
"No. But then again, neither did he." The tears slid down her face and her eyes were even sadder than before as she looked at him. "I'm sorry, Darius."
"I'm sorry too. Now that you bring it up, I think I do have a last request. A couple, actually. Will you grant them to me?"
She lowered her sword. "I may be a killer, but I'm not without sympathy or compassion. Name your requests, and if it is in my power, I will grant them to you."
Darius walked over and sat on one of the large boulders that seemed to be covered in shadow. He jumped up quickly and sat down on the grass instead, patting the ground next to him in a gesture for her to sit. Sighing, she sheathed her sword and sat.
"My first request is that you tell me everything. I know there's something you're hiding. The real reason for the Black Monster."
Rose sighed again. "I might as well tell you the whole truth.
"After the Dragon Campaign, ten thousand years ago, I was alone, aside from Michael. I didn't want to be around the Humans. I needed time to properly mourn and grieve over the deaths of my friends and fiancé. After a while, I stumbled into Ulara, the Spring Breath Town, and the Winglies there accepted me. They were led by Charle Frahma. Though she was the sister to Melbu Frahma, commander of the Winglies and who started the entire damn war, she did not like fighting or war. She and her followers had created this town so that they could stay away from the Dragon Campaign.
"I stayed with them for a while, and they helped me to heal. They were kind to me. But then Charle told me of a prophecy. 'Every 108 years, when the Moon That Never Sets glows red, a Moon Child will descend upon the earth to fill to the land with holy bliss.' However, this prophecy was—is—faulty. It all depends on your point of view of the holy bliss." She took a deep breath and paused.
"Please, go on." Darius spoke quietly. He didn't seem to be mocking her. Some of the guys she had met before merely pretended to be interested so that she would stay with them, but Darius seemed genuinely interested. So she continued.
"Soa made the prophecy. But Soa also wanted to recreate the living races. The Moon Child that would descend on Endiness would not be an angel of glory, but a symbol of death. Soa wanted to kill everything and make a new world. That was the promised bliss. Charle Frahma explained this to me, and she asked me to do her a tremendous favor. That was, every 108 years, when the Moon Child would appear, I had to kill it. To save the world, by sacrificing the life of an infant child. At first, I refused. After all, it was only a child, a just-born, innocent and completely defenseless. But…
"But Charle Frahma surprised me. She said it was okay, I didn't have to if I didn't want to. So I left her house and sat at the borders of the town with Michael, thinking. And I remembered what had happened in the past years, remembered why I had fought and why I had survived. It was because of Zieg, and all the others. They had fought bravely and they had sacrificed themselves to save the world. Was it so terrible for me to do the same? I had to protect the world that they died for. I couldn't let their deaths be in vain.
"So I went back to Charle Frahma, and I told her that I would do the favor for her. She smiled and said that she knew. Then she took me outside Ulara and gathered Spirit. With that, she formed my choker, which granted me eternal youth. It would keep me alive and detached from age and time. I spent a week by myself, gathering Spirit powerful enough to form another living essence. But…instead of letting it bathe in the white light, I bathed it in the black light. I thought of dark hateful thoughts until the Spirit was corrupted into the Black Monster. I accepted the Black Monster as a part of me. It would stay buried in my mind until the end of the 108-year period, where I would let it take control of my mind and destroy.
"Every 108 years this happened. It's been this way for nearly ten thousand years. Michael was always there as my support. Now he's gone, and I'm alone." Rose took a deep breath. "So now you know the truth. The Moon Child is not your savior, here to rescue the world, but here to destroy it."
"I understand." Darius replied thoughtfully. "But if nobody else knows about this, why don't you tell them? If you told them, they would see you as their savior, and not the Moon Child."
Rose shook her head. "No. Humans are ignorant. They prefer to believe in optimism. They wouldn't believe me. Besides, how am I supposed to tell them that the newborn in their village is going to be their death if they don't kill it? How will the mother feel? No, it's better this way."
"But you were a Dragoon. You saved them, ten thousand years ago."
"The Dragon Campaign is a long-forgotten legend to these people. I was very surprised when your sister remembered it. Many Humans see it only as a myth, a fairy tale. The Dragoons are long gone, or never existed, they say. It's just a fictional story told to amuse children and the gullible." She laughed bitterly, the tears drying on her face into sticky streams. "That's the truth, Darius. I've fulfilled your first request. What is the second?"
"You're really going to kill me?" He asked quietly. She could sense his next question: After everything I've done for you?
"I appreciate you trying to help me, Darius, honestly. No one has ever actually tried like you did, or at least, not in your sweet funny way. They tried…a different method." She made a face. "And I do like the flowers. But…how can I make you understand? This isn't just what I want. It's what the world needs. Please don't make this hard on me. It's tough enough as it is. Please." She looked at him and the tears started again. "What is your second request?"
He turned his head toward her and leaned forward, kissing her gently. His kiss was like raindrops falling on pond water, and tasted vaguely of jasmine tea. She tensed, startled, but he pulled away before she could react.
She glared at him. "Only because it was your last request and because you helped me will I not kill you right now for that."
"But you will kill me, won't you?"
She frowned. –That's right. I have to.- She sighed, drawing her sword out again. "Only because I have to."
She stood, raised her sword to his neck. He shut his eyes gently and lifted his head. She closed her own eyes, leaning slight pressure against the blade. She could smell the iron tinge of blood coming from the thin line she had opened up on his neck.
He spoke quietly. "If it will make you feel better, go ahead."
Her eyes flew open.
His golden-brown silk hair gleamed in the sunlight. His eyes gleamed with the same light, teasing but gentle. "Go on." He whispered. "If it will make you feel better, you can."
Her cheeks flushed, lending a bit of red to her pale complexion, and she cast her eyes downward. He was so tall; she came up to only his shoulder, tall though she was, and the shadow he cast thankfully concealed the color in her face. "I'm not so selfish, Zieg. If you don't feel the same way, what makes you think I'd force you? Not just to make me feel better, but you, as well, Fire Dragoon."
He had laughed then, bent his head and kissed her. Her first kiss. She felt the fire within him rising until it filled her as well. She brought up the darkness and cast it into his mind so that he could understand her, a sharing of the elements.
When he broke away, he smiled. "And did it make you feel better, my darling?"
Darling. He had called her darling. She smiled back, eyes still downward.
Rose stared at Darius, at his compliant attitude, and his fair hair and closed amber eyes. In a way, he resembled Zieg. But it wasn't because of that.
She screamed, tossing away the sword and falling to her knees, grabbing her hair in her fists and pulling, trying physical pain. "You bastard! You made me feel!" She shrieked at him furiously. "I can't do it!"
She could feel his shock even in her own, and he knelt down beside her. Gently he put his arms around her and pulled her toward him. Lacking her usual dignity and arrogance, she collapsed against him, sobbing. He held her until the long string of expletives and the even longer stream of tears had stopped. But she didn't move.
"I didn't mean to make you upset." He said mildly.
She pulled away, laughing. "Only you, Darius. I think you may be the first one I've spared." She glared at him. "Don't let it get to your head. This is just a trial period. You may yet be of further use to me, and you did help me greatly. But I swear to the gods, if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will kill you, without hesitation. Understood?"
"Understood." He smiled at her, dazzlingly, and she could only smile back. "I won't tell. You have my promise."
She leaned against him again, startling the both of them, and laughed. "I think you're the first Human to know the truth."
"About you or the prophecy?"
"Either. Both." She pulled away again and smoothed down her hair. "Come on. I think it's time we got back. Remember, don't tell anyone. For both our sakes."
He winked at her. "It's our little secret."
She made a face at him. "Not quite so little, considering the fact that it involves the preordained fate of the world."
He put his arm around her as they walked and at first she tensed, but then thought, -what the heck.- and left it be. She was cold and he emanated warmth in all possible ways. Besides it was just friendly, right?
Master!
The call caught her by surprise and she was grateful for Darius's arm around her, to support her, catching her when she fell. She cried out, clutching her head. "Michael?"
The blinding blackness and the psychic darkness faded away and she opened her eyes, unaware that she had shut them. "I…"
"Is he safe?"
"More or less. But…something's wrong. Something doesn't seem right. He called for me, but it wasn't for help." She tossed her head. "I think…Darius, I think he's too far gone into the insanity of bloodlust for me to help him. I don't know what to do."
He smoothed her hair back. "First, make yourself presentable. My sister will worry about the both of us if you come in looking like that." He pulled out a long length of cloth from the pocket of his leather pants and held it out to her. She pulled her long hair into a dark ponytail and nodded her gratitude to him. "Secondly, don't worry. We'll figure something out. Third, are you okay? You look weak."
She was aware of the paleness of her skin, even paler than usual, and the fear in her eyes. "I'm fine. A bit faint, that's all. It's not unusual. After let it transform into my body, I am weak for the next few days. It's because the Black Monster takes up all the Spirit around it, including from my body. I don't know why I let it out in anger. I've never done that before. I'm not usually such a violent person, and I usually have much better self-control."
He grinned impishly at her, and she was automatically wary, but not in a battle sense. More in the sense of a person knowing that her friend is going to pull a prank. "Well then, if Lady Rose is tired, then I'm sure she'll need a ride so that she does not tire herself, yes?"
"Darius, what are you talking about?" Her annoyance was hidden under a sort of mock-playfulness.
He smiled again and swept her legs out from under her. She faltered, her arms careening wildly for something to grasp as her body tried to right itself. She collapsed into something firm that held against her back, and his other arm supported the back of her knees. Surprised and frightened at the sensation of falling and being picked up, she reflexively threw her arms around his neck. –just- she thought –as he planned, no doubt-
"Darius!" She yelled. "Put me down now!"
"Have I offended the Lady Rose?" He asked angelically, his eyes very wide.
She laughed. "You fool. Put me down, Darius."
His voice turned quiet. "Would you please call me Dar? My friends do."
She relaxed. –So I am his friend- "Dar."
He noticed that he did not demand that he put her down. He took it as a good sign until he looked down and realized she was asleep. Wow becoming that black monster must really have taken a drain on her. Of course, to be that powerful, its energy had to come from somewhere. It's because the Black Monster takes up all the Spirit around it, including from my body. No wonder she fell asleep so quickly. All the energy, or Spirit as she said, inside her was drained. He had seen what the Black Monster had done to the flowers and trees around it.
"Sleep then. It just makes you easier to carry." He told her serene form. The fierceness was gone from her face when she slept, leaving only a vulnerable young woman, normal as any other. And she was so light, as if she was made of flower petals. Combined with her long limbs and weightless looking body, Darius thought she was a breath of air, and if he blinked, she would disappear.
-You're a mysterious woman.-