To Be Alone.
Well, this chapter is going to be longer I promise! It is always easier to write in Priscilla's POV for some reason… ah well anyway, this chapter is going to take place in you guessed it, the stupid ship and of course wonderful Badon. We all saw how Raven is such a butt hole last chapter and we shall see it again this chapter! Don't ask who will end up with whom because firstly I won't tell you and secondly I don't know myself. Of course everybody knows whom Erk wants but…gasp! Does Priscilla want him? Anyway on with the fic!
Chapter 7: New ResolvePriscilla's POV
After the incident on the Dread Isle and Dragon's Gate the lords have gone quiet. No one has heard from Lord Eliwood or Lord Hector; Lady Lyndis is sometimes seen but she doesn't really speak to anyone but Florina. It is how it has been for the whole boat ride. Even now we are still on Captain Fargus' boat and the Lords are no where in sight. All those in service to Lord Eliwood have seemingly disappeared as well as House Ostia's employs. I miss the company of Sir Lowen who is quite an amusing man to be around and now I only have My Lord brother and Lucius to keep me company. Rebecca has gone missing as well; I have seen her in the presence of that pirate Dart for some time now.
I haven't seen Erk in days since the Dread Isle. Raven has scared him off I think. I am grateful for that because I have lost my nerve to speak with Erk. However I don't agree with the way he did the scaring off. I think that if Erk had been the nervous type like Florina he may just have had a heart attack. My Lord brother is an intimidating man to others but I usually have no problems speaking with him. Except now… he is standing right next to me but I cannot say a word and he will not say anything to me unless I start the conversation. Lucius is standing next to Raven and he tries to make Raven say something.
"Lady Priscilla are you alright? You seem to be ill at ease today."
Raven looks at me quickly and then at Lucius. Obviously I was supposed to make myself look sick in the second of warning that Lucius gave me but I didn't so Raven just mutters something about Lucius involving himself in matters that he has no business involving himself in. We are in the mess hall of the ship and everyone is around me but I feel like I am about to cry. Why does my Lord brother not want me? Have I done something wrong? I excuse myself and walk out of the dining hall as if nothing is wrong.
I hear my boots clunking on the wooden floor and make a conscious effort to walk without making too much noise. I feel that if I do that… someone will either hear me or yell at me to be quiet or the dead will rise up and pull me into nothingness. I don't know why I feel that way, but I do. So I am walking down the corridor to my cabin on tiptoes knowing that Lord Eliwood is just across from me and down the hall.
"Hello Priscilla! Trying to become a thief are we?"
I jump a foot in the air and turn around. It is Matthew again smiling away like he had last time I met him.
"Hello Matthew. What brings you here?" I ask politely.
"Well firstly I wanted to see if I could sneak up on you and now I am headed to young masters' quarters to see if he won't allow me to nick some things next battle. He hardly let me at all last time, I mean really, what else can thieves be used for?" He replies with mock exasperation.
"That's not very nice sneaking up on me like that but yes, I suppose you should be allowed to…do your job." I say hesitating slightly at job. Would he be offended if I had said something else?
"Ah well look at the time, I must be going, pressing engagements elsewhere I'm afraid. Good luck with your new career path!" He says and jogs off.
Young master? Who was young master? Oh, he must mean Lord Hector I realize. Sometimes I am such a dolt.
I continue to my room where I sit down on my bed and read one of my books on light magic. As I flip through the slightly yellowed pages I think of how different and strange my life has become since I have joined Lord Eliwood on his journey. I have more friends than I ever have and none of them likes me just because I am of noble birth. That makes me smile despite the fact that My Lord brother has seemingly forgotten about me.
Here I have my friends to care for me even if my Lord brother will not, it doesn't matter, my friends are here. If I ever need protecting…then…Erk is always there for me… I realize that I have been less than fair to my escort, no, he is not just my escort. Erk is my friend, my best friend. I have to go find him and tell him how much I appreciate what he has done for me. I notice the boat seems to have stopped moving and I assume we must have reached our destination. The only thing left to do is find Erk and I know he will probably be in his quarters reading.
In my state of happiness and a little bit of panic I run right into Sir Oswin. The tall heavyset man is so massive compared to me that when I hit him I fall backwards and land right on my backside. The knight helps me up and apologizes for bumping into me even though it was my fault.
"Sir Oswin, how does Lords Hector and Eliwood fare today, are they in need of a healer?" I ask quietly then kick myself for asking questions I should not.
He smiles "Well, Hector is still in a wonderfully angry mood and Lord Eliwood… he is noticeably upset. But none require a healer however we shall call for you if we do Lady Priscilla."
"Of course Sir Oswin, forgive my nosiness."
"Mm. Not at all. There's no harm in wondering," he replies.
I excuse myself and walk in the direction of Erk's quarters. When I get there I knock on the door. Canas answers and when I inquire after the whereabouts of his roommate he says he doesn't really know where he is. Why is it when I finally get up the courage to speak with Erk something stops me? However I cannot very well blame Canas so I thank him for his time and go to search for Erk myself.
I am on the dock of Badon when I spot a person with purple hair walk through a crowd of people. Thinking it is Erk I pursue the person only to find it is not Erk but a merchant. I continue to look but eventually just give up and return to the ship. I am sitting on the bunk in my cabin when Raymond walks in.
"Where were you Priscilla?" he asks giving me that cold stare of his.
"I had to go find someone…"
"Whom did you have to find?" he asks. Just looking at him I know I can't lie to his face he would know.
"I…Erk…my e-escort Lord brother," I stammer and feel my cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.
"Your escort? When did that happen?"
"When I left the protection of Grandmother…"I answer softly.
"That mage you were with in the last battle? Is that whom you are speaking of Priscilla?"
I don't trust myself to speak properly so I just nod. This seems to make him angry for some reason.
"Why is it that you need to see that mage so badly Priscilla? What are your feelings towards him, have you forgotten something?" he asks an angry gleam in his eye.
"W-what do you mean Lord brother? Erk is my friend I- I have no feelings for him other than that…I haven't forgotten what you told me…"
He doesn't seem to believe me and questions me more. "If you are just friends as you say then why are you so keen to find him right now?"
I feel tears sliding down my cheeks. Why is he being like this? Why has my Lord brother changed so much? I can't take it anymore I have to get away from Raymond. Why can't he be like he was before?
I push past him and run. He calls after me but I ignore him and keep running all the way to the deck. I don't care that everyone can see me crying I don't care that I look foolish and I certainly don't care that Raymond is not here. I wish my friends were here but they aren't; they are all off taking care of Lord Eliwood and Lord Hector. I feel so alone and realize that to be alone means I have no one at all. That's not true though, I have someone I have everybody but they just need to take care of others right now, it is not all about me. I stop crying abruptly as I hear footsteps behind me. I don't turn around fearing that it might be Raymond but it isn't. It is Mark.
"Well hello there Priscilla, what seems to be the problem?" he asks.
"I…that man, Raven he… can you make sure he…doesn't come near me in the next battle?" I ask quietly.
"Yes of course, I have a bone to pick with him over the incident last battle. He acted against orders again."
"Oh dear…I…Mark, have you seen Erk?" I ask nervously.
"As a matter of fact no, not for awhile now…it isn't like him to just go somewhere without telling anyone, especially you," Mark answers thoughtfully.
"What do you mean especially me?"
"Well, usually if he tells anyone anything it's you or Canas. But he hasn't told Canas anything either I just asked him not too long ago," Mark says with a frown.
"Forgive me but I must go look for him."
"O-of course. He's probably out looking for you. This is not an uncommon occurrence but good luck," Mark says with a smile.
I nod and walk off to find Erk, my best friend. I look around dock and am soon overwhelmed by the abundance of sounds and sights. It is almost impossible to find someone in this chaotic place and the impending darkness is not helping my search any either. Erk would not give up searching for me so I cannot give up looking for him.
"Lady Priscilla what are you doing? Would you like me to escort you to the inn?"
I look. It is Erk, he has returned. I am so happy that I almost embrace him. I don't really know if I should, it might embarrass him and make the rest of the group believe we are together which can never be true. Before I have time to analyze the situation more I just do it. Erk seems surprised but doesn't pull away as I thought he would. We both stand there for awhile and I feel strange after we stop embracing. He doesn't look at me after that and resumes his normal stoic appearance.
"I suppose that would be a yes?" he asks and I can tell he is struggling to keep a straight face.
"Y-yes, I suppose it is…"
We walk together to the inn we are supposed to be staying at and Erk brings me as far as my room, no farther. I feel a twinge of regret as I close the door and hear his footsteps grow more and more faint as he walks down the hall then down the stairs. What would it be like having Erk by my side always, even more than he is today? Really I am wondering what it would be like being married to Erk. I am shocked with those thoughts. My Lord brother, he would be furious, he must never find out about me hugging Erk. It is a battle that is already lost; no one will keep it a secret, except those who actually saw it may. That is a ridiculous thing to think. No one will keep it a secret. Those who saw it happen will tell others and they will tell others. Soon it will be all over the camp. I can't allow this to happen! If my Lord brother found out he might… I am not only scared for my safety but Erk's as well. I don't know how My Lord brother will react to such news.
That night I am unable to sleep which in the end is a good thing. The Black Fang attacked in the middle of the night! What fiends. Erk was placed next to me this battle as well and he helped light the way with his fire magic. It was so dark I couldn't see a thing but I heard Erk beside me chanting spells under his breath.
"Are you well Lady Priscilla?"
"Of course Erk. I am not as frail as you think," I answer with a smile. He cannot see it though because of the heavy blanket of darkness.
Lord Eliwood is in this battle I have heard I have yet to see him but perhaps I will he and Lord Hector have been missed these past few days. In the distance I can see Florina and her sister…Fiora fighting bravely on their pegasi. Even the dancer Ninian is in the battle at Lord Eliwood's side. Everybody is fighting hard despite the fact that they can barely see. I am glad I decided to join Lord Eliwood on his journey even though my life has changed along with my Lord brother. I believe that other than that everything else has turned out better than I could have hoped.
Phew. Well I think that's it. We will have to see if this is the end of the fic. It all depends on you, the reviewer! So if you want to use your imagination then you can imagine what happens after this or I could write more. The thing is, despite the slight lean towards ErkxPris I don't think ending it now is such a good idea… I just don't know… everything is not all neatly tied in a bow yet and that is the way I like things to end. So I'll probably end up writing more if I can and that's it. I don't know! Anyway,
Matthew: Read and Review! It is your new job!
Me: Yes, please. You won't get the ending you want if you don't review!