Recreation

It didn't take long for things to begin coming together. Father Salade made his last act as the leader of the Church of the Holy Maiden to be leading Sister Alouette's funeral. He had been with her from the very start of her gamble and decided to finish it as well; after all, it was after witnessing her battle that he returned home and began training to become a Demon Hunter. Homard had recovered well enough to attend as well; though Éclair made doubly sure he took it slowly. Croix's wounds hadn't been that severe so he was back on his feet and fully healthy with only a single day's rest at the Infirmary.

"In the name of the Maiden of Light," Father Salade recited, "Oh Goddess Poitreene, please help the soul of your servant, Alouette, as she seeks rest from her life. Take her into your holy power and reward the hard work and dedication to your cause. And watch over those of us who are left behind to mourn her passing." Everyone bowed their heads to make a silent prayer for their fallen comrade.

'I understand why you had to do this Sister Alouette. You would have died no matter what choice you made. But why did it have to end up like this? Why couldn't you have had just enough power to send Prier into Croix's heart and come out of it alive? If we hadn't been forced to climb that tower, would you still be with us? There's so many questions and I don't know how to answer them,' Culotte wondered.

Prier thought, 'Alouette, you taught me so many things. And in the end, you helped me to do the one thing I couldn't do on my own. I may be a strong fighter and accomplished Demon Hunter, but I am seriously lacking in my ability to perform powerful Miracles. Thank you again for helping me to save Croix; I don't know how I could have gotten through if we were forced to kill him. I may have won, but I don't know if I could have taken it afterwards. But thanks to you, I don't have to find out what might have been.'

Croix took one look at Prier; noticing that even she was praying. 'I guess she wants to thank you for all you've done for us. What Prier told me was true; I won't feel any better about myself if I die. But if I can make up for the sins I have committed, then I won't spend an eternity feeling grief. You inspired her to be the best that she could; to use her utmost power to protect me from myself. I thought that I would never love again when Angelique passed away. However, I know now that I can be happy with Prier. I won't burden her with my sins though; I will take up that mantle alone so she doesn't have to suffer too.'

S...S

"So Prier," Croix said when the funeral service was over, "I heard that Father Salade and Sister Romaine have organized this big festival tomorrow to commemorate the victory. Well, I was wondering if you would like to go with me to the events. You know, spend some time together, kind of like a date."

"Sounds like fun! Croix, you've got yourself a date. This will be good for us; take our minds off of the troubles in our lives. You deserve to have some fun for a change; especially since you've insisted on finding a way to redeem yourself. That sounds like it will be an extremely daunting task," Prier replied.

Croix told her, "And one I will be completing on my own. I've been thinking a lot since the final battle. If I stay here, there won't be that many opportunities to help people. Lets face it, Noir was the reason for all of the trouble in the first place and he's gone now. But I don't want you to suffer for my sake. Prier…I'll be leaving the day after the festival. Don't worry; I'll come back to you when it's over."

Prier looked at him; sensed the concern in his face. He didn't want her to feel pain because of the things he'd done. "You and Homard always say that there are things men just have to do. Well, I've learned to understand that when you say something like that, you have your reasons. I'll just have to trust you on this one Croix; you won't desert me, you'll be back when you finish. I'll stay here to take care of Culotte; he's still upset over losing Alouette and if I leave I don't know what my brother will go through."

"It'll all be ok Prier," Croix answered, "We're strong enough to hold on until my soul can find peace. When I leave, I'll write you. Pity that you won't be able to reply; I don't know where I'll be at any time. But if there's an emergency, then use the information from my last letter to find a way to see me."

"Promise. Now let's just relax for now. Tomorrow is going to be a fun day!" exclaimed Prier.

S...S

Fireworks were exploding in the sky above a field near town. Everyone in the city was preparing to celebrate the victory of La Pucelle. Publicly, they were all told that the recent Demon infestation had been dealt with; nobody mentioned anything about the Dark Prince. But that didn't mean that they were any less grateful for their saviors. And nobody was more excited about this day than Prier and Croix.

They had gone through the stands to play every single game that had been set up. Currently, Croix had taken on the task of conquering one that involved shooting targets with live ammo. He hit about twenty of them in rapid succession, and won a large stuffed bear. Then, the Demon Hunter gave it to Prier; whom immediately named it Bear Socks after one of the strongest monsters she had Purified.

They were just buying cotton candy at one of the stands when an excited Éclair ran up to the duo; Homard walking behind due to the strict orders not to aggravate his wounds and because he was carrying a few prizes that he'd won for her. The young princess exclaimed, "Guess what you guys! It's big news."

Prier took a bite out of her cotton candy; making sure to lick away whatever might have gotten stuck to her lips. She saw Croix was doing the same, only he was taking abnormally large bites; Prier had seen him and Homard both doing that in the past and was sure that had to be another guy thing that she would never understand. "So what's up Éclair? You seem quite cheerful; festival wound you up?"

"I spoke to my mother," Éclair told her, "I said how much I cared for Homard and he cared for me. And you know what? She actually gave us her blessing. I'm not quite ready for marriage yet, my training and Homard having to clean up some issues back home would stress us out, but we've agreed to do so when I turn 18. Look, I've even got a ring!" She showed her left hand to Prier. There, on the ring finger was a golden ring with jagged diagonal edges as if a bold of lightning had twisted around Éclair's finger.

"Congratulations Éclair! I'm happy for you two," Prier stated. Croix was making a mental note of the engagement ring Homard had hastily went out to buy. Éclair's name meant flash; which showed in her heavily lightning oriented battle style. Well, Prier's name meant prayer and his meant cross. Could he find some sort of ring for her when the time came that symbolized them? Well, one never knows.

Éclair said, "Well, I've got to go find Culotte and tell him too. Hope you and Croix have a nice date." She gave her Big Sister a hug and skipped off; looking the happiest Prier had seen her in a long while. Homard followed as quickly as he could without going over the strict limitations placed on him.

Prier smiled. 'I hope those two are happy together. They've cared about one another so much for so long. I can't help but feel a little jealous though. Even with the things that could come up, they still can spend a lot of time together and separations would be short since Homard has the Escargot. But Croix and I don't have that luxury; once he leaves I have to simply wait and believe. However, I know it will be worse for him if I stop him. I know that he won't ignore his promise; he'll return to me someday.'

S...S

Finally, after playing more games than they'd planned on and eating more food than their stomachs could handle, Croix took Prier back to her room. He held her hand in his; wanting to feel that closeness for one last time before leaving on the journey. But this memory of the time spent with her and the date he'd taken her on would be his beacon in the darkness. No matter how tough the journey might become, or how strong the enemy, as long as he thought of this he would remember that he had a home and loved one to return to. That would help to ignite his confidence; assuring him victory no matter what.

"Thanks Croix," Prier said as they entered the room, "I had a great time today. And I'll remember this and keep my confidence up until you return. I…I believe in you; you're going to be just fine. And when you return, then we can have a great party." She smiled at him; happy for this one moment in time.

"You're right Prier. I'm not afraid of this quest. I mean, how long could it take? Four years? Five years at the most? You'll be an adult then. I'm in agreement with Éclair; you really shouldn't get married this young. I want you to enjoy your youth Prier; enjoy it as I never could," he whispered in her ear.

However, each could see through the other's front. Deep down, they worried what would happen if Croix was in an accident. Would they really ever see one another again? But since they were both afraid of worrying the other, neither could speak their mind. Instead, they felt their bodies reacting.

Moving on auto-pilot, Croix bend his face downwards towards Prier's; her response being to move along to him. His arms encircled her the second their lips met; their tender embrace comforting the innermost fears in each soul. However…let's just say that Prier and Croix let themselves get too carried away. Longing for peace in their troubled souls, they didn't stop to think about where they were going to.

S...S

After Croix had left the next day, Prier put on a happy front and raced Culotte through the fields near Paprica's coast. However, upon her return, she began feeling a little bit guilty. Though neither she nor Croix had brought up how they'd spent the previous night, neither had spoken aboutwhatto tellthe others either. To Prier, it was a private matter and to Croix there was no need to tell the entire world about it.

She asked herself, 'Should I or shouldn't I tell someone how I'm feeling? I mean, I'm only 16; and I haven't yet gotten married. We shouldn't have let the moment take us further than we wanted to go. But it felt so right when I was with Croix. A moment that I'm going to remember with pleasure throughout the time I must wait. Perhaps that's what our bodies were telling us all along. I should worry so much. Croix and I just have to shut up and nobody will ever know. Heck, Culotte will probably just start yelling at me for being so reckless. Then I'll slug him and we'll end up having to explain the reason for that tiff to everyone else. And I don't think I need everyone I ever met knowing that I ended up in bed with Croix.'

She sighed; life could be complicated sometimes. But now she had to simply pick her chin up and move on with her life. After all, there are more Demons to deal with in the world; Noir's death was not the end of them, but only of the extra large flow. People needed her to be strong and help protect the peace in Paprica. Heck, they all had begun calling her "Prier Dark Slayer" because of her battle abilities.

The story one heard was all based on their position. Those who had already found out the truth about Croix due to circumstance were told the full tale about how Prier had purified his heart of darkness. The others in the church were told that yes the Dark Prince had come back to life, having already been warned to watch out due to the fact that he might attack them at any time, but that Maiden of Light Alouette had used her last Miracle to empower Prier; since she had no strength to both attack and use the necessary power to land a finishing blow. Everyone else was informed that Prier had killed a huge Demon Lord whom had been masterminding the entire scenario; technically, that was true since she had landed the last attack on Noir and also had performed Purification rites over his dying body in the end.

Prier looked out the window and smiled. 'If the people all believe me to be their heroine, Maiden of Light or not, I have a duty to fight for them. I'm not going to abandon those who need my help; that was what I always wanted when I said I'd be the next Maiden of Light. Now, I must write my own legend. And then, when Croix finally comes home, I'll have built a safe place for us to raise a family together.'


Teefa's Last Words...

Considering all of the people who sent well wishes at Prier by the end, I'd say she probably got some popularity after the game was over. Heck, they had to say something about the uprising of Demons. And you'd know some people had probably heard "Dark Prince" mentioned once or twice.