Note: [] denotes thoughts
Note: Just for clarification in relation to one of my reviews, this story actually occurs IN PLACE OF Soul Calibur 2, so no, Soul Calibur 2 will not happen after this, Siegfried will not necessarily be taken by the sword again. Soul Calibur 3 is what will occur after this story, which I guess I'll have to rewrite as well to fit my revised storyline, but we'll see what happens with that when it comes out. Anyway, on with the story..
Siegfried, Sophitia, and the children traveled back towards Sophitia's home in the late spring weather, trudging through 2 days of rain and forced to take shelter for another day during a particularly violent thunderstorm. In the two weeks during the journey, the children took well to having the warriors with them, occasionally glancing at but never asking about Siegfried's deformed sword arm and hideous weapon. Sophitia took several hours each night to refresh her familiarization with the arts of combat, practicing forms with Siegfried as he utilized a stick as his weapon, held in his left hand. Siegfried tried his best to be gentle with the children, making sure they were fed during the day and protected during the night, while Sophitia taught the lot of them various wilderness survival techniques that she had learned during her journeys years ago.
One night, 4 days after setting out from the old farm cottage, the travelers sat beneath a shelter of branches and leaves that Sophitia and Siegfried had crafted earlier in the day as the rain pounded outside. Thunder boomed in the distance, causing Elina to huddle up against her sister, both of them wet, shivering and trying to warm up under one of Sophitia's blankets. Siegfried glanced at the two children sidelong from his cross-legged position on the shelter's leafy floor, feeling slightly envious of the warm blanket covering the girls, but refusing to show any weakness in front of this troupe of ladies. Folding his arms across his chest, Siegfried sat with back straight, defiantly daring the dampness and falling rain to cause him any discomfort [I'm not used to feeling the weather... it's been so long since I've felt uncomfortable in such a natural way.. but I'll be damned if I show it to Sophitia and those kids.. they'll think I'm some kind of city-born street-corner shoemaker or.. or.. something]. Thinking about it, Siegfried wondered if Sophitia would mind if he really WAS a shoemaker.. what job might her fiancé hold..?
Sophitia smiled softly as she looked over towards Siegfried, who sat awkwardly straight, seeming to be deep in thought, [I wonder what he's thinking about.. but he must be cold, under that metal armor. Too proud to admit, no doubt. I'll just have to take care of it myself, then.] and Sophitia rummaged through her saddlebags, which she had removed from Atheas and taken inside the shelter an hour or so ago. Pulling a large wool blanket from its folded position inside one of the leather satchels, Sophitia gracefully rose to her feet and walked over to Siegfried, draping the blanket about his shoulders.
[What does this fool woman think she's doing? Does she think I'm weak?!] Siegfried thought to himself as he felt the comfortable blanket fall about his shoulders, covering most of his cold body armor as well as his exposed left arm and shoulder. [I guess I'll.. let it go, this time..] as Siegfried felt his body temperature immediately reach a more suitable level soon after the blanket fell about him. Grunting a simple, rude-sounding "Thanks" to Sophitia, Siegfried then fell silent, once again pondering about his friend's home and past.
"Are you married?" Alcina's sudden question caught both warriors off-guard, Siegfried coughing several times as Sophitia fumbled and dropped the metal canteen she had just pulled from one of her bags, which fell to the ground and hit a small rock with a clang.
"Oh no, it's dented now.." Sophitia said ruefully, bending over to retrieve the canteen from the ground, turning her blushing face away from the other three residents of the small shelter.
Siegfried did not respond to the question immediately, [Married? She thinks we're married? Why the hell would she think that? Her parents must not have taught her very much before they left.. naïve little girl.] but no matter how he tried to force himself to dislike the child, he couldn't help feeling affection towards Alcina for her innocent, unexpected question.
"Nah." Siegfried answered, at the same time as Sophitia began, "Well, we're.." and then paused briefly as Siegfried spoke, then continuing with her original statement, "... just traveling together for now." Upon hearing their denials, Alcina fell silent, mulling over this new information.
"Are you going to get married?" Alcina offered a new, revised question, glancing back and forth between the pair of bewildered adventurers.
"Yeah." Siegfried blurted out suddenly, [What the hell am I talking about?] "No," He quickly revised [What the hell is wrong with me!?]. Alcina looked at him, confused.
"Um, wh-what Siegfried means, Alcina, is that..." Sophitia began, [What DID he mean....?] "Is that.. right now, we are just traveling together, but no one knows what the future may hold. Isn't that right?" [That must have been what he meant.]
After rolling Sophitia's statement through her mind for a moment, Alcina nodded. "That's right."
[What the future may hold...] Siegfried mulled over this statement, his thoughts turning dark as old memories flitted through the outer vestiges of his mind. [The future... this future holds nothing for me, but it still has hope for the three of them. Sophitia and her fiancé have a life ahead of them, so do the girls... but only if I don't kill them first]. He began to laugh mirthlessly, silently, his armor rising and falling slightly in synch with his chuckle.
Mistaking his laughter for light-hearted humor, Sophitia smiled in embarrassment, placing her dented canteen back among her things while averting her blushing face [What could he be thinking, laughing like that?]. And she seated herself against the solid tree that formed the back of their makeshift shelter, shifting into a comfortable position with one knee folded beneath her.
A comfortable silence ensued as the travelers sank into their own thoughts, falling asleep one by one under the roof of leaves and pitter patter of the softly falling raindrops.
...
One, however, remained awake throughout the night. Siegfried watched as Sophitia drifted off to sleep shortly following the girls, her head falling slightly to the side to rest upon her shoulder, hair spilling down over the front of her pale blue blouse. But sleep would not take him, he would not let it, for he had other plans this night.
He had kept it to himself, fearing to mention to the others, but the battle with the assassin days ago had taken more from him than he cared to share. His mind was distraught, his feelings floating, disjointed, through his weary mind. [How could I have allowed myself to travel with them!? How could I have placed them in such peril!?] Siegfried scolded himself angrily, cursing his own weak will-power for allowing him such comfort at the risk of others.
Checking to be sure the three girls were asleep, Siegfried quietly shifted off the cloak that Sophitia had so generously offered him earlier in the evening, folding it and placing it reverently on the ground nearby.
"Sophitia, thank you for all of your help... you have been nothing less than magnificent." Siegfried said in the slightest of whispers, hauling his massive sword slowly up behind his back in an attempt to remain silent and undetected. Waiting for several long moments, Siegfried finally felt satisfied that his companions were in deep sleep. A few well-placed footsteps placed him out of the range of the small leaf shelter and into the rain that fell quietly in the partly moonlit night.
Searching the clouded night sky unsuccessfully for any visible star formations, Siegfried cursed his poor sense of direction, resolving to simply escape the campsite for the time being and figure out which direction led to Delphi tomorrow under the morning sun. Starting out under the dark canopy of leaves above him, Siegfried permitted himself a small sigh, a last parting gift to his lonely soul which had finally received a few days of respite among years of sorrow.
As his thoughts began to wander to darker, less pleasant memories, a profound sadness fell over the fallen knight, an overwhelming feeling of despair and hopelessness that began to forge itself into iron resolve. [I will take this sword far away from everyone, I will never let it harm a living soul ever again, I will throw myself down the deepest chasm, and bury this awful monstrosity FOREVER!].
"Siegfried."
Siegfried halted suddenly as a feminine voice rang behind his armored back.
"How dare you." Sophitia said coldly as Siegfried turned to face the woman. Seeing her hair, wet from the rain, hanging around her shoulders and about her finely chiseled face, Siegfried found himself paused in his tracks, unable to think or to act. He simply stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the dripping woman, who glared defiantly back at him. [Too much time spent as her ally... I had forgotten what it was to face her as an enemy, and it is not pleasant...] Siegfried thought to himself, failing to move a muscle.
"How dare you place my blanket upon the dirt ground!" Sophitia shouted, "Did you not stop to think how filthy it would become in such a place!?"
"The... the blanket? S-sorry," Siegfried stammered in surprise, [Is THAT what she came after me for, that fool woman!?].
Sophitia broke into a smile, looking brilliant in the moonlight and falling rain. "If you are truly sorry, come back to camp and make amends."
Siegried turned his head to the side, unable to meet Sophitia's gaze, "No, I cannot. Too long I have allowed myself to place you in danger, it is time for me to leave."
The peasant woman remained silent for several long seconds before opening her mouth to respond, "I thought we had an agreement. I would help you find the shrine, and in turn you would protect my family from the demons that pursue us both."
"There was no such agreement between us!!" Siegfried spoke up angrily, "I never made such a promise, do not twist my words, woman!"
"It is an unspoken pact made between comrades!!" Sophitia shouted, "You DID make the promise, you made it the moment you swung your sword in my defense! Will you abandon us to the demons that hunt my family at this very moment!? You would walk away with that THING slung across your back, leaving us to their knives and axes, leaving me to fend off those... those terrible monsters, ALONE!?" Sophitia felt her anger rising, anger at his naivete, and hurt that he would decide to leave her alone after what they had shared.
"If I was to lose control over Soul Edge, those demons would be the least of your worries, Sophitia." Siegfried said coolly, somehow able to maintain his calm despite Sophitia's stinging words.
"That's right, because YOU would be foremost in my mind!" Sophitia retorted.
"I am glad we are in agreement." Siegfried said, turning his body to walk away from the drenched figure of Sophitia standing before him.
"No, we are NOT. I am talking about YOU, Siegfried Schtauffen, not the Soul Edge."
Siegfried's steps came to a halt, and for many long moments, the only sound that could be heard near the two distraught warriors was the pleasant falling of rain, splashing against leaves and sticks and dripping to the ground in a play of delicate splendor.
"Come back to camp and pick up the blanket you left. It is becoming dirtier by the moment." Sophitia scolded, turning to walk back towards their crude shelter and the children who slept within. [Please, Siegfried, follow me... please...] Sophitia prayed for the tall warrior to hear her silent plea, not daring to look behind her for fear of seeing an armored back disappearing into the wilderness. [For my family, for Alcina and Elina, for the Soul Edge, for yourself, for ME, for 100 other reasons, this is the best decision... come].
...
Siegfried's steps carried him silently through the forest, his feet moving without consent of his mind, without thought or reason or even consciousness, they took him towards his destination, for they knew it, even if he did not.
Glancing up to see Sophitia's back, Siegfried increased his pace, coming to walk alongside the warrior woman, who, he now noticed, had large circles under her eyes, and seemed extremely tired. [Why am I going back? I am a danger, a MONSTER...] But despite how he tried to reason with himself, his feet carried him ever forward, ignoring his pleading mind.
Eventually the leaf shelter came into view, the children sleeping soundly underneath a warm blanket, unaware of the important exchange that had taken place with their newfound guardians. Trying to remain quiet as to not wake the girls, Siegfried and Sophitia moved through the shelter to their resting places, Siegfried picking up the blanket he had carefully folded and once again draping it over himself, turning away from Sophitia's pointed look in shame.
Sophitia shut her eyes gently, allowing her mind to wander, [All is well that can be well... now we just have to make it to my home in time. I wonder if Hephaestus will grant me another dream in which Siegfried calls me magnificent......] as she fell into a deep sleep.
End Chapter 7
I'm sooooooooooo sorry I took so long to get this chapter out and it's not even that long. I've just been so darned busy lately that I haven't had time to sit down and write this thing, and I don't want to just throw out something half-assed. Honestly I can't say I'm all that pleased with this chapter either but it was more of just something to get me back into it, coming up will be their return to Sophitia's home which should be a lot of fun. I hope I can get the next chapter out sooner than this one... but no I haven't just forgotten about this story, I do plan to finish it, just have to find time...
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