Be Blinded by the Truth
By General Quistis
Chapter Two: Princess
She was just seated under a tree located in a nearby forest beside the big castle where she lives. Quietly listening to the birds chirping and smiling softly, she realized that she was not alone with the animals roaming around and coming near her. She slowly turned her gaze towards the person approaching her.
A crusader.
She smiled rather shyly at him and looked away. She knew who he was because he served as the captain of the Crusaders in her kingdom, but her father, the King, had appointed him to become her personal bodyguard. She could remember insisting to her father that she does not need a bodyguard because she can take care of herself and she believed that no harm would befall her even if she was a Princess. But the King was very insistent.
Shyly, he smiled and sat down beside her. "G…good afternoon, your majesty," was his greeting. It was the first time he got so near the Princess that he was really feeling very nervous.
She slowly turned to him with an embarrassed look on her face, "Good afternoon, my good guardian. I believe this is the first time we have met personally… will you make known to me your name?" she asked with all the formality that she had been used to, because she was really nervous around him too. She had never had any men come near her before… at least not strangers.
Slightly, he smiled as he replied with dignity, "Skurai."
The City of Payon was still in ruins, but the place where the Irines used to reside seemed to still be intact. A little reconstruction and remodeling might do the trick of restoring the whole place, but there was no time for that… at least at that moment when Sara Irine arrived with a wounded cursed prosecutor that she had dragged along with her in a mindless effort to help him.
As she accidentally dropped him onto the floor because of too much exhaustion due to his weight, she plopped down on the floor beside him in a sitting position, panting hard and staring at him unbelievably.
He was still unconscious. She was not even sure if he was still breathing or not. Carefully, she went over to him and felt for a pulse on his neck. It was very weak.
Frowning, she got up and searched for a mattress and some sheets of cloth. Realizing that where she had placed him was an old bedroom (probably the masters' quarters too because of its size), she headed over for the cabinets and began to search. She found an old mattress and some pillows, which had been unbelievably safe from the destruction that she had caused before. With that, she began to set up a bed in one corner of the room.
She heard him moan a little and she stopped, surprised. Turning around, she saw that he had opened his eyes and was looking at her rather blankly, but with a frown on his face.
She shuddered as she swallowed hard before she told him, "Don't say a word." And proceeded back to her work.
His eyes narrowed at her and he smiled rather evilly. "Hmf." He responded, snorting. He watched her as she continued to set up the bed. Afterwards, she got up and turned to face him again. "Can you stand up?" she asked stiffly.
He just stared blankly at her.
Hesitantly, she began to grab him by the shoulders and dragged him over to the mattress on the floor, placing him rather roughly onto it. She saw that she had left a trail of his blood again from the spot where she first placed him up to the mattress.
He slowly turned his gaze to her again.
With that, she knelt down beside him with a solemn look on her face. "This isn't the first time we meet." She told him.
He just smiled evilly at her.
She cringed at seeing him looking like that: bloody, messy, dirty… and the black eyeliner and the black lipstick melting and smudging due to sweat and blood.
"Tell me your name," she told him.
He just kept quiet, still smiling evilly at her. His eyes revealed too much evil and insanity in them, and she could not help but turn away. "My name is Sara." And she got up, leaving him for a while.
Skurai just remained there, feeling so weak. His smile faded away as he slowly closed his eyes, feeling excruciating pain surge through his whole body all of a sudden… but his head felt so light. "Uhh…" he moaned softly, clenching his fists before his trembling right hand traveled slowly onto his bleeding stomach. He lightly touched his wound and winced slightly upon feeling intense pain.
And he chuckled lightly… as if he enjoyed it.
While Sara was waiting for the basin to be filled with water, she just stared into empty space while playing with the washcloth and seated on the kitchen counter. A lot of bad memories were filling her head, but she just felt like ignoring all of them. She was also thinking whether she should move Skurai out of Payon, otherwise, some travelers or maybe even Chaos himself can locate where he is… while he is supposed to be of some use to her and to her fellow Valkyries.
While in the midst of deep thought, she was interrupted when she heard a voice speak in her head, "He's here already?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Freya?" she thought before looking around the place, but seeing no traces of the said being made her realize that she was being contacted through mental telepathy. She just nodded slightly. "Yes." But she looked rather regretful as she bowed down her head, eyeing the slow flowing water from the old rusty faucet.
"He's injured, I could tell?" Freya asked her.
"Badly." It was all she could say to describe how he was injured before turning away from the water and just stared at the washcloth on her hands and then noticed that she still had his blood on her arms and legs. She frowned slightly before slouching and leaning back on the wall behind her, but careful not to hit her head on the cupboards.
Sensing her unusual silence, Frey just finally instructed, "You know what to do with him, Sara. I'm counting on you. Make sure that he's alright, and you'll be greatly rewarded. I have already asked some other faithful servants of mine to help rebuild your kingdom to hide the Cursed Prosecutor."
She smiled slightly and flipped her hair, "My kingdom? Hmf…" she looked up. "Don't worry, my Mistress, I will become the greatest actress ever." She said with a dry laugh.
She heard Freya chuckle, "And when the right time comes, you will bring the Cursed Prosecutor to me… and he shall be with our legion. With his strength and strong will, we could use him perfectly to execute our plans. He can be a good distraction to those who dare destroy our plans. Be careful not to reveal to anybody else about our plans, otherwise, I'll make sure everything that is left to you will be gone." She said with a warning tone which made Sara's eyes slightly widen. She stiffened slightly; a lot of images flashing into her mind again. She grunted and clutched her forehead. Freya sensed that there was something wrong with Sara, and she asked, "What is the matter?"
Sara just kept her gaze on her other hand resting on her bloodstained lap as she shook her head, "N…nothing. Just… tired, I guess. He was heavy and I had to carry him from Geffen to this place." She said softly, but she sounded tense.
Freya was quiet for a while before finally saying, "I'm counting on you, Sara," and slowly, Sara felt her Mistress's presence fade away until all she could feel was the cool late afternoon breeze of Payon seeping through closed windows with small holes on them. She slowly put down her hand on her lap, listening to the sound of water that was still continuously flowing into the already full basin.
But she continued to sit still on where she was, unmoving… until she realized that it had gotten dark already and that she had wasted too much water. "Hmf… who cares?" and slowly got off from the counter and wearily gripped the faucet knob to turn it off.
She got the basin and started going back to the masters' quarters where she had left Skurai earlier. "Damn. I've been gone for a long time… what if he died because of loss of blood?" she was thinking quietly as she tried her best to make her way through the dark hallways; and from where she was currently navigating through the dark, she could hear faint laughter. His laughter.
She decided to follow the sound and it eventually led her safely and quickly back to the quarters and back to his side. "What, may I ask, is so funny?" she asked rather sternly.
Skurai stopped laughing, the moonlight from outside the window hitting his face. She shuddered slightly upon realizing that he looked creepy and scary at the same time under the moonlight. Or maybe it was the effect of the gothic make-up? In disgust, she reached for the washcloth that she had placed into the water and wringed it carefully upon it. "Why don't we start by removing all that gunk off your face?" she asked stiffly before she began to wipe his face with the washcloth. He started laughing again.
"What is funny?" she demanded in annoyance. If Freya did not command her to take care of him, she would have just killed him. "Nah… if I kill him, that will help Chaos and hid gang pursue their goal without Skurai being such a big hindrance… and helping Chaos is a big no-no for me. HAH!" she thought silently with overpowering pride, but she was interrupted when he reached for her hand and grabbed her wrist, making her stop. She gasped slightly because of surprise and stared into his creepy eyes. She swallowed hard. "Let me go," she ordered harshly.
He just smiled slyly at her. "Your name is Sara." He pointed out.
She cringed, "Gods, this guy is insane!" she was thinking quietly before saying out loud, "Yes, I know my name, thank you very much…" she trailed off when he let go of her wrist, but he was still smiling at her. "My name is Skurai." He told her.
Her frown deepened before deciding to just continue with her work. "I'm pretty much aware of that. Now stop moving and lie down still. I'm cleaning you up." She told him.
And then he was quiet… but the silence was already getting into her nerves, especially since he seems to be like a creepy creature. Forcing herself to ask something while continuing to clean him up, she stammered, "Uhm…" and stopped before she decided to put the washcloth aside first and then stare at his clothes. "Eyuch… don't tell me I have to take them off?!" she was screaming deep inside, but her facial expression remained emotionless. Slowly and carefully, she began to take off his upper garments. The smell of sweat and blood combined was enough to make her cringe in disgust, but she just swallowed back her nausea, not wanting to throw up in front of him. "Ugh…" she reacted softly. He smiled, knowing that she was disgusted by him. It just made him feel giddy upon the thought that the Valkyrie could easily be affected by such bad odors.
She needed a diversion, so she spoke up the first question that came into her mind, "You have an odd name. How come it's Skurai? It reminds me of the word squirrel."
And he chuckled at the question, surprising her, but his soft laughter reflected pain within it, so he stopped. "Kinda like the Coco from Mt. Mjolnir, huh?" he asked softly.
She just raised an eyebrow at him. "Well… it's a breed of squirrel. But I prefer the Smokie." She told him. Finally, there was something to discuss with him… to divert their attentions from the smell, the pain and the situation.
"Smokies are like Raccoons, right?" he asked.
"Just like a squirrel is to Coco. Right." She muttered glumly before she got up. "I forgot the disinfectant and the first aid kit. Excuse me," she told him before leaving the room.
It took her a few moments before she got back, and when she did, he was just staring into empty space. Seeing him like that made her feel worried because she thought he had died already… and if he dies, she would fail in her mission to bring him to Freya when the right time comes. She slowly knelt down beside him, and that's when he turned his head to the side to look at her again. His sudden movement surprised her and made her heart jump. "Geez! You startled me!" she told him with an irritated but defensive tone.
He gazed up into her eyes, "What about you? Why are you named Sara?" he asked softly as she opened the first aid kit. She just shrugged. "I don't know. It was my mother who gave me that way." She replied mindlessly as she got the bottle of disinfectant.
He was silent for a few seconds before telling her, "Did you know that your name means Princess?"
She did not want to go home yet. She wanted to stay up there in the mountains of Mt.Mjolnir because she loved the feel of the cool mountain breeze while playing with the basically harmless creatures there. The sun was already beginning to set, but she was still seated under a big tree and petting a sleeping Smokie on her lap while singing a soft song that seemed to summon some more of the cool and gentle breezes to blow her way.
Her bodyguard just sat still, but kept a meter of distance away from her. He had been awfully silent and it somewhat bothered her because she wanted to know more things about him. She wanted to be his friend, not just someone whom he is going to protect. Smiling softly at the sleeping Smokie on her lap, she said, "It's such a shame that some Knights and other Job Classes who are training themselves in this mountain are killing innocent creatures such as this darling Smokie."
Skurai slowly turned his attention to the raccoon-like animal that was sleeping on her lap. He somewhat felt guilty that during his Swordsman days, he used to kill some of those animals for training. He just nodded his head at what she told him.
With that, she proceeded, "They just go about their business quietly around this place. This is their home!" she pointed out.
Skurai's attention got diverted when a Coco approached him and jumped onto his lap, offering him an acorn. He smiled softly before shaking his head in refusal to take the acorn, but he reached his hand to the squirrel-like creature's head and patted it gently. "Did you ever consider taking a Smokie home as your pet, your majesty?" he asked.
She sighed sadly and shook her head. "My father would not allow it." She replied quite miserably. "That's why I like coming up here to play with them instead." She told him.
He looked up at the orangey-skies and felt the cool breeze hit his face. He smiled, feeling so relaxed, "Judging from how you play with them, I guess you don't need a taming item anymore to have them come near you." He told her.
She giggled. "Yeah." She replied, pleased that he was already speaking to her, but her smile faded when she noticed that he got up and dusted himself after letting go of the Coco. "Anything wrong, Skurai?" she asked with a worried look on her face.
He picked up his sword and offered his other hand to her. "But it's time to go home now." He told her.
She blinked at him, then looked down to his hand.
He smiled kindly at her, "Don't worry, your majesty. We'll come here tomorrow afternoon again so that we could play with Cocos and Smokies." He said reassuringly.
She looked up into his eyes again and smiled as she nodded her head.
"Now let's go, Princess." He told her gently.
With that, gently shook the Smokie to wake it up. The Smokie immediately woke up and yawned. She giggled when she saw it yawn. It made Skurai smile too. She gently lifted the Smokie off her lap and placed it on the grassy ground. "Oopsy-daisy!" she uttered softly to the Smokie as she settled it on the ground. With that, the Smokie ran off.
"Let's go, Princess." Skurai said, coming nearer.
She turned to him and got his hand, letting him help her up in standing up. "Oh please, dear Crusader, stop calling me Princess. I would like to be your friend…I'd love for the two of us to treat each other like that. So, why don't you start by calling me by my first name?" she asked gently with a sweet smile on her face.
He just stared unbelievably at her.
Her smile widened as she curtsied in front of him, "My name is Titania."
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' TBC