Chapter -99: A Frozen Heart
In the aftermath of the great battle in Oreore there were very few words being tossed around by the normally chatty folk.
Both warriors were dragged out of the arena and taken to heal. Begrudging as it was for every miner who had been wronged by the "Arctic Knight", they had to ultimately accept Ezekiel's decision to do this and subsequently, let them go home a free warrior.
The Knight stood at the entrance to the ravine with a patched up Ezekiel seeing them out and a flood of Oreore miners standing behind him.
The armor was in a roughed up shape despite their best efforts to put it back together, but nothing was more wounded than their pride.
As they looked each other square in the eyes the Knight found respect in this man as a warrior but would not mull over any more of their... pain-driven delusions.
"Are ya sure ya'll make it back just fine?" Ezekiel said with his arms locked against his chest, a genuine display of concern no doubt but a mercy the Knight abhorred.
"I can stand, therefore I can walk." They said, their voice echoing within their helm.
Ezekiel stood there in silence for a few moments and then bobbed his head, "Alright. Take care then."
"Haaa..." The Knight was plagued with this ridiculous sensation of their heart pounding warmly against their chest, and turned that warmth against this man with their glare, "I have honored your laws and accept my defeat with grace for today. But I will come back stronger someday, and take the reins over Oreore."
Ezekiel lurched forward slightly and said, "Cecilia-"
"Don't," The Knight barked back with seething disgust, "I don't know why I sputtered that name, but that is not who I am."
The Knight glared at Ezekiel's withdrawing form and then bluntly turned and walked away in silence.
The long march back home would be a lonely one but nothing that they weren't used to. It was a time to reflect on the battle, and iron out any weaknesses for the next encounter.
"Ezekiel Gaia was stronger than his misguided values would have suggested. I must find out how to defeat him next time and secure that overwhelming power for my cause."
The moment they started reviewing the battle, their mind immediately jumped to that troubling word that first ailed their heart: "Beautiful".
The word alone brought revulsion and disgust to churn within their stomach, but the tone the man took was...puzzling.
The Knight's inner shell had been laid bare, the man having witnessed them and their unnatural body. Yet he was without depravity. No lust glazed his eyes over like his barbarian appearance would suggest him capable of.
They had shaken off a force capable of toppling mountains yet against the sincerity of the man's glare, their heart lain pierced...
The Knight stood in place and squeezed their fists, muttering coldly under their breath, "...Ridiculous. To think I would allow myself to fall victim to such...obvious deception."
Upon further review of the battle, the Knight recognized there was only one thing that needed to be dealt with, "I must steel my mind against their words. Then, I will be free of error."
For now though there was nothing else to do but return home.
Some time later they arrived at Cryofloe with the sun beginning to set in the east. Celebrations flooded the general vicinity of the entrance.
It seemed as though a battle had happened while they were absent. The casualties were kept to a minimum. Perhaps the one-eyed demon simply got bored, the Knight surmised. But it's not as though life held value in these frozen lands...
Still, this necessitated a report to Colrez, as their absence could not be ignored.
The Knight marched upon the frozen fortress and gave the usual greetings to the guards before making their way up to Colrez's room.
They were passed by a pair of muses, who appeared to be the last one's out. Colrez had drained them dry for today and they were quite content to have been used.
"..." The Knight sturdied their demeanor and entered the room, eyeing the man laying contently in his bed with his hands behind his head for support.
"Lord Colrez." The Knight said calmly.
"Mmm?" Colrez perked upright with a smile, "Ah, it's you! I didn't see you on the battlefield today."
"My apologies," The Knight crossed a hand before their chest and bowed, "I was taking care of other affairs in Oreore."
"Snagging more aquamarines for our weapons, I presume?" Colrez said while barely paying them any heed.
"No," The Knight said, hesitant to elaborate on the details, "I had...attempted to bolster our ranks by subjugating Oreore through their laws."
"Mmm?" Colrez glanced at them from the side and raised their brows.
"Unfortunately, the son of Johnathan Gaia proved stronger than I had anticipated. Next time, however, I will not lose."
Colrez brushed their hand out and gave a surprisingly nonchalant answer of, "Bah, it's not that important! Just focus on fighting here."
"Lord Colrez, if we brought Oreore under our control, we'd be able to crush Canofloe with ease."
"And?" Colrez chuckled, "WHY would I want to do that?"
"..." The Knight's body stirred with unease and they felt their hand clamping down against their hip. With a long, drawn out look at Colrez they muttered, "Excuse me?"
Colrez hummed merrily as he picked up a glass and filled it with win, giving it a few swirls before sipping some of it down.
The Knight advanced towards him and wondered, "The goal of our people is to secure an overwhelming victory over Canofloe, just as our Titan demands of us."
"Oh ho ho you must forgive me," Colrez chuckled, coyly wiggling his glass out beside his head as he faced the Knight with a smile all too sincere for what he was about to say, "I don't recall ever saying that."
"...What." The Knight said.
"Think about it my dear Knight, if the war ends, I won't be able to enjoy myself anymore! Had I wanted to I could've lopped off ol' Valflame's head years ago!"
"But what of our people?" The Knight remarked.
"The men fight valiantly for a worthy cause and the women get to have the pleasure of servicing those who live to tell the tale!" Colrez shrugged and cheerfully proclaimed, "Sounds like a grand life to me!"
There was no depth to his words or care spared for anyone but himself. Yet as the man spoke with this utter contempt for life, the Knight could only cling to the respect they had towards them...
"That is...a good joke, Lord Colrez." The Knight strained through their gritted teeth.
"Are you hard of hearin' or something, my dear Knight?" Colrez gestured his glass their way, "No wonder with such a tight helm to your name! Come on, take it off for once and I'll let you have your pick at one of the lesser women I've swooned."
"Father!" The Knight clamped their hands down tight and stepped forward with defiant authority in their voice, only to then be stricken with silence.
Colrez's eyes widened and their glass tipped, while the Knight pulled back in retreat with a gasp, and a hollow feeling in their chest.
Colrez dug a fingertip into his ear and then stared forward blinking with surprise, "I-I'm sorry...?"
"I...I, was only addressing you as...the father of our men."
A proud smile crossed Colrez's lips as he threw the sheets right off his bed and stood up in his drawers, "I can't believe my ears...YOU are one of MY sons?"
The Knight stood frozen in place as the man drew closer with his arms outstretched, "Well why the shyness then, boy? Yes, you stand in the presence of greatness, but I would never shame a son of mine for knowing his place!"
He clamped his hands around the Knight's helm and began to pull it off, "Let's get this thing off! I want to see how much you took after your dear old man!"
The Knight instinctively grabbed their helmet and shoved it back down, insisting with a shakiness to their voice, "T-That is alright, Lord Colrez."
"Oh heavens, don't be so reserved!" Colrez tugged the helmet right off before they could react, "This is-"
All the pride was drained from his eyes and he let the helmet clang upon the ground, backing away as he looked upon the Knight's feminine face with his lips curling into a scowl.
"Y-You're...not a man..."
The Knight stared deep at Colrez as they lost strength in their leg and collapsed towards the corner of the bed, using their arm as support.
"...I am still your child, Lord Colrez."
"No...no no shut up!" Colrez lashed his other arm out towards the Knight, "What sort of mad jester prank is this?! T-The Knight...a girl?! Unfathomable...!"
The Knight clenched their fists and stepped forward with a firm tone of voice struggling to maintain it's cool under pressure, "It doesn't matter what I am on the inside. I've been loyal to you this entire time, and to our Tribe, our people!"
The Knight grit their teeth and their eyes wobbled slightly, "Does none of that mean anything to you?"
Colrez hung against the corner of the bed for a long while with a blank expression plastered over their face. They then stirred with inhumane laughter, slapping the bed as they rose to full height and placed their hand against their forehead.
"I get it now..." He said with a haunting nonchalance as they turned their head and began slowly marching towards the Knight, "This has all been one big ruse..."
The Knight found themselves in retreat as Colrez tucked his arms behind his back and wiggled his mustache, "You thought you could usurp my glory in history, but I am far more clever than some lying, deceitful muse."
"Lying...?" The Knight planted a hand against their chest and declared, "I built this strength of mine through hardship and battle!"
"Oh PLEASE..." Colrez rolled his eyes and then pulled back his head with a narrowing glare downward, "Women can't be strong, the mere thought makes me want to wretch..."
And in that moment, the Knight's mind shattered. And all they were left with was the thick, uncomfortable hostility in the air...
They grabbed hold of their twin blades and drew them while pulling away from Colrez.
Colrez laughed and then bluntly declared, "So...it's treason then."
The Knight bit down on their teeth and eyed the door. Without a second thought they leaped through the air out the palace and went flying over the stairs.
Colrez gave chase to the top of the stairs and called his general's armor to his body, drawing his lance and thrusting it high into the air.
"MEN! A great deception has been uncovered! The Arctic Knight...is a traitorous, lying muse!"
As the Knight landed upon the snow they found themselves being eyed by the people she once called soldiers in arms, now arming themselves with scornful, hesitating and surprised glares against their true face.
"Off with her head!" Colrez proclaimed.
The soldiers drew their weapons from their sheaths and charged the Knight with a rallying cry.
The Knight grit their teeth and charged through the soldiers in front of them with the bulk of their armor making success possible.
They then continued to run and run with the soldiers in hot pursuit, some of them diverting their path towards the stables to get on their mounts.
The Knight was still weakened from the battle with Ezekiel. Confrontation now would spell their end...They had no choice but to keep running out into the Wastelands and hope to lose them among the Rot Walkers.
But with Colrez leading their pursuer's ranks, this would not end until the Knight's legend ended in a disgraceful death...
"CHARGE!" The man could be heard screaming.
The Knight knew they had only one place to go now, and continued to run towards the East...
Meanwhile, over in Oreore, Ezekiel had been back home for a little while now. With everyone settling back down to work it appeared like things would go back to normal.
Of course it wouldn't. And it couldn't have been any clearer than with how detached his mum has been since they got home.
She has been grinding away at boulders for the past hour trying to make new plates, only to keep smashing them against the ground even when they came out flawless.
Ezekiel sits on his couch with the family dog whimpering at his side. The best Ezekiel could do was pet his head and help him get through it.
"Mum..." Ezekiel whispered as he saw her wearing her angry brows.
"Ghhh...!" Ezekiel stood right up and waved his hand out to her, "Mum, can't ya say somethin' already? Ya've been plum silent for an hour!"
"Shhhh!" His mum hissed like a sandpaper tongued snake, "I'm thinkin'..."
"How long do ya gotta think for?!" Ezekiel shouted before the sound of a plate being smashed to dust on the ground rattled him into retreat.
His mum stood tall and squeezed her hand around the stone chipper until the handle snapped like wood. She then violently turned her head towards her boy and told him, "I don't know...How long didja think before you spat up that lovey-dovey load'a baloney?!"
"Mum, I-" Ezekiel was cut off when he had to dodge out of the way of the metal implement being thrown at his head.
"Goddamn it, boy! Ya embarrassed yerself in front of yer people, in front of ME!" She slapped down on her chest and smashed apart the ground beneath her foot, rattling dust off the ceiling, "Think of how ashamed our ancestors must feel..."
"Over a love confession?!" Ezekiel barked back in utter confusion.
His mum proceeded to rattle him on the head with her fist while shouting, "Turn. On. That. Brain. BOY! Who cares how much yer loins are burnin' for that frosty lass. She be our enemy, remember?!"
"Y-Yeah, but..."
"But nuthin'!" She declared and pulled away feeling nothing but shame, "What is this all about boy...Yer too damned old for a rebellious phase..."
She then squeezed her fist up before her face and with a hefty grunt swung it down to her side and her eyes watered, "I'd get it...if it were someone from ANY OTHER TRIBE. But why her? WHY. HER?!"
Ezekiel hung his shaking head and turned aside, brushing his hand up limply in the air, "I...I can't explain it."
"What?!"
"Gah! Whaddya expect me to say?!" Ezekiel flapped his hands against his chest and growled, "The moment I laid eyes on her I just felt my heart tellin' me 'She is the one'..."
He then tiredly gestured his hand at his mum and asked, "Didn't ya feel the same way with pop...?"
She squeezed her arms against her chest and scowled with her eyes shut, "Don't. Don't you DARE...What yer father and I had was special. And not a day goes by where I'm pained by his memory...!"
"Yer too damn lax, boy...It's bad enough ya spit on his memory by not stepping up as leader, now ya think yer free to wed and bed any woman outside our walls!"
"It ain't nuthin' like that!" Ezekiel quickly clicked his teeth together, throwing his hands up in the air before returning his gaze upon his mother, "What...what is wrong with me wantin' to fall in love with someone outside our walls?!"
"Cause that woman ain't a person," His mum muttered, "She's a tool of war for that mustached bastard. And if ya think ya'll have a happy fairytale livin' with her...Then keep dreamin', but ya ain't gonna drag our name down into the mud."
Ezekiel stared at his mum with mild disgust and the words just slipped right out unprovoked, "Who cares about some damn name...?"
His mum froze in place with shrinking pupils and her mouth agape, unable to do anything as her son walked right out the front door and didn't look back...
He went through a melancholic stroll through the ravine. To where? Who can say. His mind was elsewhere, as was his heart.
He grabbed the side of his head and shook it around as he sighed, "She just don't get it..."
He couldn't get Cecilia's appearance out of his head. Everything from the way she looked to the way she fought captivated him, but what he truly felt laid deeper in the caverns of his heart.
The moment he said he wished to marry her, the lady of war briefly shed her ferocious facade and her appearance bled warmth in all facets of her demeanor.
"She's no tool of war," Ezekiel determined, "A heart beats in that body, the heart of a person."
But not even a couple hours later, that same warmth turned on him in rage, and he remembered the pain such blatant disgust left on him.
He stopped and sighed deeply, wondering only to himself, "Must the gap be so large? Can't none of us just sit? And talk to one another as people instead of soldiers?"
He thought of his friend, out there in space, and wondered, "I bet ya'd have something' to say to me right about now, brother."
He hung his head and with a light, forced chuckle rolled his shoulders and cricked his neck. He then stood up tall and murmured, "I can't just stand 'ere 'n mope. It's like pop always told me, a man's true strength comes from their heart."
He then planted his fist before his chest and said with determination, "And if me heart's tellin' me this love feels right, then I'll just have to cross that gap myself."
The horns started blaring from the west side of the ravine, causing most of the miners to go on edge at the announcement.
"The Arctic Knight's returning!"
"Cecilia...?" Ezekiel was baffled by the sudden timing of things and worried as to what it implied.
He made no hesitation to sprint on over to the entrance of the ravine and pass by the guards on post. There he found Cecilia just a few feet away with her swords drawn and lacking her helm, which revealed her panting face drenched in sweat.
When she saw him her eyes briefly narrowed and she turned around on the spot, skidding across the ground until her shoulder rammed into his gut and she took a stance.
He stumbled back a couple steps and rubbed his stomach with a groan, "W-Welcome...back."
"There's no time for small chat, let me into the ravine. Colrez and his men might be here any second." She said in a collected haste.
"What in the...?!" Ezekiel's eyes widened and looked up over the horizon to see Colrez and a band of at least twenty mounted Cryofloe soldiers tearing through the wastelands.
Cecilia narrowed her gaze and muttered, "Mmm, so I only managed to lose a third of them to the Rot Walkers."
"Hold on!" Ezekiel shouted, "What in the bloody heck's goin' on 'ere?!"
"He's still coming..." Cecilia seemed to be speaking to herself and herself alone, and her tone started leaning towards melancholic, "H-He really won't stop until I'm dead."
No time for questions. Ezekiel turned right around and started snapping his fingers at the two guards on stand-by, "Don't just stand there! We need to get her inside the ravine, now!"
"What is the meanin' of this, boy?!" The voice of his mum shouted dangerously close by.
She wedged herself between the guards and they retreated within the ravine. She shook her head viciously and then brandished her hand out.
Ezekiel grit his teeth and whispered tightly, "Mum this REALLY isn't the time."
"You were gonna sneak her in under my nose, weren't cha?!"
Ezekiel threw his arms down and yelled, "Are ya for real now, mum?! We've got Cryofloe soldiers marchin' right towards us!"
"What?!" Her anger turned to unbridled rage and mere moments later, Colrez's forces had arrived practically licking on their doorstep.
The man in charge brought his mount to yield at the front and cockily approached Cecilia with a smile and wiggle of his mustache, "You gave us quite the run, you devil woman. But it seems I've cornered you like the rat you are!"
Cecilia slashed her swords out and started pressing back against Ezekiel's body to shove him towards the ravine.
"N-Now hol' on a second!" Ezekiel turned around and looked Colrez dead in the eyes, "Yer invadin' our territory! Yer gonna risk pissin' off the Titans over one girl?!"
"Hmph, last I checked we're outside your caves you neanderthal!" Colrez said smugly, "Which means we have the right to deal with her as we please. Unless of course, you would accept this ugly sow among your kind!"
Lianne immediately shouted out, "Like hell we are!"
"MUM!" Ezekiel shouted in frustrated disbelief.
Lianne then pulled out her gauntlets and strapped them to her wrist. With every binding tightened, she grit her teeth and said, "In fact, I wouldn't mind takin' a crack at the louse's head meself!"
Colrez wagged his hand out and chuckled, "Oh don't be absurd, barbarian queen. This is a man's duty after all."
Lianne punched her gauntlets together and cracked her knuckles, "Oh? Ya wanna have yer head clobbered off too, brittle man?"
Cecilia trembled with a groan of discomfort and crossed her swords towards Colrez. She then glanced over her shoulder at Ezekiel and remarked, "Well, this is all your fault. How do you plan to fix this mess?"
"How do I...?!" Ezekiel's expression erupted into a warped mix of confusion and maddening frustration and he pulled his head back, slapping his face with all his strength to let out a growl.
"For the love of...this is ridiculous!"
"Ya better be on my side when these fists go flyin', boy," Lianne cracked her neck around, "Cause if ya stand with that she-devil, I ain't ever lettin' ya back in!"
"M-Mum..." Ezekiel murmured
Cecilia continued to press up against his back, armed to the teeth and ready to fight, while he was without a weapon.
And it wouldn't have mattered anyways because everything from her stance to the way she trembled showed she was exhausted physically and mentally and was only putting up this brave front because she didn't know any other way to fight.
But in her most desperate hour she chose to come here so to hell with the odds, Ezekiel had to do SOMETHING to prevent this stupid conflict from escalating.
"...What the hell am I supposed to do?! I can't fight off these people alone, least of all me own mum!"
He laid a hand on his chest and ended up patting on an object tucked away in the pocket of his vest. He patted it down a couple more times and then quickly scrambled to pull it out while shouting, "T-That's it...!"
Cecilia glanced over her shoulder and upon seeing the whistle in his hand lambasted the absurdity of his intentions, "Why are you wasting time on that?!"
Ezekiel ignored her and blew into the whistle with all his breath. A very shrill and tweety like noise came out of the whistle, forcing all parties to plug their ears and groan in pain.
Cecilia got the worst of it and muttered, "Great, now I have a worse headache."
Ezekiel tucked the whistle back into his pocket and she asked him, "Just what was that for anyways?"
"Back-up," Ezekiel said with a frown of shaking confidence, "I hope..."
The rest of the forces gathered here recovered seconds later, with Ezekiel's mum glaring at him and announcing, "Booooooy, what have ya done?!"
"Ugh...!" Colrez rattled his head around and muttered, "Great. As though you barbarians didn't make enough noise as is!"
He then raised his lance up high and proclaimed, "Men! To hell with what the Titans say! I want these barbarians buried under their own home by sundown!"
Ezekiel widened his eyes and grit his teeth as he looked up towards the sky, "C'mon, c'mon...! Please have heard it, please...!"
Lianne hunched forward and held her claws out, "Fine! Ya may not stop at one of us, but I'll take ya all on!"
"CHARGE!" Shouted Colrez, his men stampeding towards the ravine without any care over who they'd trample along the way.
Cecilia squirmed, bracing her swords with all her strength and positioning them towards the encroaching army, "...I-I refuse to die like this!"
Ezekiel swung his arms down and his rage ripped free from his shaking throat, "D-DAMN IT...!"
There was a moment of silence and acceptance on his part...Before hope arrived on the storm winds.
A towering whirlwind surrounded Ezekiel and Cecilia and put them safely in the middle, while Colrez's forces were sent flying past him.
"What in the name of frozen peaks is this nonsense?!" He said, thrusting his head out as the winds began to take the shape of a titanic, winged bird with two heads and eyes made of flame.
"Hear us, men and women of Cryofloe and Oreore! You have no right to fight upon these lands! If you do not stay your hands, then we shall act in judgment of your arrogance!"
Colrez swung his lance out and shouted, "O-Out of the way you blighted bird! This meddlesome girl is my property to deal with!"
"WE. HAVE. SPOKEN! Or shall you dare raise your lance...in defiance of a Titan?"
"A-A...Titan?" He stuttered.
"What in the..." Lianne muttered in turn.
The truth that was being concealed to them, however, was that this was just a mere effigy crafted by a middle-aged man with graying black hair, a scythe, and a poncho draped over a sturdious body.
The man floated in the middle of these winds above Cecilia and Ezekiel, using metal walls to imitate the Titan's echoing voice.
The two warriors looked up, having their own feelings of relief and confusion present on their faces.
The man looked down upon Ezekiel with a somewhat withdrawn expression and remarked, "You are...Johnathan's son, are you not?"
Ezekiel nodded, "Didn't think we'd be rescued by an old man. Sarajin must trust ya quite a bit."
"I'd hope so," The man nodded back, cracking a meager smile, "I am his father."
The inside of the whirlwind was rocked by an icy spell from the front, causing the man to let out a grunt of surprise.
Ezekiel braced himself on the ground and shouted, "He's still attacking?!"
Cecilia glared out and remarked, "Fath-...Lord Colrez's senses are more keen than his demeanor would suggest."
Ezekiel grumbled to himself and then closed his fists, thrusting his head back up towards Sarajin's father and letting out a shout of, "Hey! Sarajin's pop!"
After the man looked down at him Ezekiel said, "Can ya take us up to yer home?"
"What?" Said Cecilia.
The man took matters into consideration and answered with a simple, unreluctant nod, "Very well."
"W-Wait...!" Cecilia tried to take one step out of the whirlwind but her leg gave in and brought her onto her knee.
The ground cracked around the two of them to create a platform capable of carrying them away. As the effigy of the sky Titan rose off the ground, bombarded by the ice blasts from Colrez's army, Sarajin's father issued his last words.
"This shall be the only warning for your transgressions, Colrez Frost. These two shall be under our protection. Attempt to pursue, or trouble the people of stone again, and it shall not just be us...who judge your arrogance."
The "Titan" went rocketing towards the sky and Lianne ran to where her son once stood, shouting towards the heavens, "W-Wait, why ya takin' my boy?! Hey! HEY!"
It wasn't long before the ground and the people on it would be too small to be seen or heard. And with a heavy heart way too weary to keep going, Ezekiel plopped onto his rear and chose to wait the trip out.
Cecilia was right beside him, her swords laid at her feet. She turned her gaze upon him and that indescribable rage from before welled up inside her eyes.
"..."
"..."
Ezekiel looked down at the ground and sighed.
Eventually, Sarajin's father unraveled the wind covering the two as they were approaching the float village of Arc Hurricanos.
It would be both their first time seeing it this close but Ezekiel had the stories Sarajin's spoke of to go by, and yes, it was exactly as he said it was like.
A comfortable village in the sky where violence had never tainted it, and the people were free to live as they wanted to.
This was the foundation that built the dreamer he was proud to call a brother and friend. And looking at it almost made him want to cry. He really was too tired...
Once Sarajin's father brought the rock to the edge of the village, Ezekiel got off and the man landed next to him, where a four-winged bird with silky feathers landed on his shoulder.
The man fed his bird a treat and smiled, whispering in his ear, "Thank you, Moses."
"Ah, so that's the family bird I heard so much about," Ezekiel said, crossing his arms and gesturing slightly at the man, "I owe ya a lot, sir."
"..." The man shook his head and turned away, "No. I am the one who owes you more."
"Huh?" Ezekiel raised his brows and then nodded, "Ok?"
The man then turned aside and waved his hand out, "I-I'm sorry. I haven't told you my name yet."
"Darnia, is it, yeah?" Ezekiel remarked before extending his hand, "My name's Ezekiel. Pleasure to finally meet yer acquaintance."
The two shook hands after some reluctance on Darnia's part, with the man staring into his eyes to remark, "You know. You look..."
Ezekiel's cautious change in expression caused Darnia to stop and withdraw his hand, muttering in a feeble tone, "No, I'll...spare you from those words."
The two then looked back at the platform to find Cecilia had slowly crawled her way off, refusing to look either soul idly standing by and instead focusing on the quiet village laid in front of her.
Here the stars were to be painted on the clearest of skies upon nightfall. And the people walked around with an...envious ease of mind.
Her stare became weak and she winced with a forlorn smile.
Darnia faced Ezekiel and asked, "Who is this lady?"
"She's from Cryofloe. Heard of the Arctic Knight?"
"Sarajin did mention them a few times before he left," Darnia remarked, "...Should I give you space?"
Ezekiel tapped his fingers along his arm for a few seconds and then nodded, "Yeah."
Darnia turned but kept looking across from his shoulder, "When you're done, meet me at the tower in the center of the village. You're both welcome to stay at our place as long as you're here."
"Oh I wouldn't want to trouble ya and the mi-"
"Please," Darnia reached out and touched his shoulder, "Let me do this for you...As a favor to an old friend of mine."
Ezekiel nodded, and Darnia withdrew on a long, slow walk to the tower in the center of the village.
By the time Ezekiel turned back around Cecilia was already peering dangerously close to the edge.
"Hey..." He tried to get closer but she was off in her own world, mumbling aloud her next course of action...
"We're a few miles off the ground. The amount of ice I would need to protect myself from the fall would be..."
"Planning an escape?" Ezekiel shocked her with his baffled and mildly humored remark.
She looked over his shoulder and pressed her eyelids down with bitter intent. She then turned and shelved her swords on the back of her armor.
"It wouldn't be difficult for me," She said, confidently crossing her arms, "Once it's cold enough, I'll be able to generate even more ice than usual."
"Well, I ain't gonna argue against yer strength." Ezekiel patted himself on his bandaged stomach a couple of times and smiled.
Cecilia looked at his wounds and then glared up at his face with contempt, "Why have you done this?"
"...Look, I'll admit, I was feelin' under pressure in the moment, but-"
"But WHY did you drag me up here with you?" She replied more forthright than before, "This whole day has been miserable enough and you've been at the core of it all."
Ezekiel raised his brows and then brushed his hand around before his chest, "Well ex-CUSE me. I was just tryin' to save yer life! Isn't that why ya came runnin' back to our place to begin with?"
Cecilia squirmed, squeezing her eyes part way and then turning aside with an unamused smile, "I don't know why I was drawn back to you."
"Cecilia-"
"I told you...!" She glared back his way, "Stop. Calling me that."
"...Well what am I supposed to call ya then?" Ezekiel asked sincerely.
Cecilia glared and then turned back towards the edge, "Names are spoken out of respect, Son of Johnathan, and there has been nothing respectable about anything you've done for me."
Ezekiel closed his eyes and pinched the bridge between them, "Good grief. We ain't gonna get anywhere if ya aren't willin' to open up to me a little."
"The only thing I want to do is focus on figuring out how to return to the surface." She stated bluntly before turning her head away.
"Ok..." Ezekiel brushed his hand up and figured he'd keep his cool for now, "Lemme play along. Suppose ya do manage to get back to the surface. Then what?"
"I can survive just fine on my own." She said in confidence.
"Again, ain't gonna argue ya there," Ezekiel said, feeling a little pity towards her, "But...sounds to me like ya don't have a home to return to anymore."
"...So?" She whispered, asserting with a brave but ultimately weak defense, "A home is merely a place to rest. So long as I don't alert the Rot Walkers, I can make do with any part of the wastelands."
"Heh," Ezekiel grinned, "Reminds me of how a friend of mine used to live."
He then shook his head and remarked, "But sorry. I couldn't accept it then and I ain't gonna accept it now."
"I don't recall asking for your opinion." She replied.
"It ain't livin' if ya cut yerself off from people. Ain't ya worried about bein' lonely?"
Cecilia pulled her head back and said with a sigh, "It would be no different than any other day."
Ezekiel gasped and curled his fingers back against his chest, "I can't think of nothin' sadder than dyin' all alone..."
She suddenly turned right around and marched towards Ezekiel with furious eyes, shoving him in the chest to push him back, "You think I don't know that?!"
Her shaky knee forced her to yield on the spot and Ezekiel found himself silent in the face of her surprising rage.
She cooled off in a matter of seconds and wrapped her arms around her waist, staring down at the ground, "...I spent all these years enduring the harsh winter wilds, becoming stronger, tougher, smarter...All for the sake of molding myself in defiance of my destiny."
"And for what...?!" She gripped her arms tight, "Nothing changed...! Any feat of strength or triumph I achieved was seen as little more than disgraceful the moment they looked at my face!"
"Because to them, a woman is merely a shell to shield and nurture their future soldiers with no place on the battlefield. And once they've served their purpose, they may as well be trash."
Her narrow eyes held so much tiredness it was a wonder she didn't relent to the tears welling in her eyes, "Fath-Lord..."
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to loosen the tears off, "You were not there when he looked at me. His eyes rattling with utter disgust at the very sight of my face...It was like he was looking at a monster."
"I...have never felt comfortable in my own skin," She turned aside, and piece by piece shed her armor off her body onto the ground. Her supple frame being little more than a display for her grievances in the moment, "But my actions couldn't stop me from filling out into this...grotesque, lustful shape."
She turned her head and gave Ezekiel a brief, scornful glare, "Do you like what you see? How could you? A body too supple to be a man's...Too muscular to be a woman's. And yet if I was still home, I'd be ravaged and then discarded."
"I COULDN'T accept who I was born to be, so I strove to change the way people viewed me," Cecilia reformed the armor beside her and looked at it, "All I had to do was become stronger than anyone, and achieve greatness with that strength. By the time people would discover who I was beneath the armor...I would already have established an indomitable foothold in the annals of history."
"And ya think that'd make a difference?" Ezekiel whispered.
"I would be remembered for my actions, not my appearance."
Ezekiel crossed his arms and thought deep and hard until he had absolute certainty in what he wanted to say.
"What a crock of shit."
Her armor crumbled onto the ground and she turned to eye him with contempt, "How dare you-!"
Ezekiel's eyes firmed up and he refused to yield to her glare this time, "Putting your name in history...ain't gonna accomplish anythin'."
Cecilia barked with an unhinged chuckle, "That's a laugh coming from the man privileged with a legendary bloodline!"
Ezekiel calmly raised his brows and murmured, "Do ya know the names of the ancestors before my father?"
"Of course." Cecilia remarked.
"Do ya know what they were like?" His questions were piercing enough to render her quiet, and he kept laying them on her, "What were they interested in? Who did they make friends with? Or maybe their favorite foods?"
"Cause I sure don't," Ezekiel brushed his hand up and said in a firm, serious tone, "When a legend dies, people only care about their accomplishments, not what built them into what they were. And eventually, they fade into memory...Just a name etched into stone."
"Don'tcha see, Cecilia? What yer fightin' for ain't all it's cracked up to be. You can become a legend, sure, but can ya say it'll be the 'real you' who'll be remembered?"
"There IS no 'real me'," She declared, "Cecilia Frost has never existed as anything but a name to be groomed for sexual favors!"
"I don't think that's true," Ezekiel pointed his finger out from his crossed arms, "When we fought back in the arena I felt yer determination and ferocity to defy the world in every move ya made. Ya've got a strong voice inside of ya wantin' to be heard and I think the message ya wish to share is one the world needs to hear."
"To me, Cecilia Frost stands fer somethin' important in this world, and it ain't makin' it into the history books."
"I think...that's the reason I fell for ya," Ezekiel closed his eyes and beat his fist against his heart, "Cause the two of us...We're kindred spirits."
There was a long and necessary silence between the two where Cecilia slowly came to stare at him with less intensity and more...confusion.
"...Look," Ezekiel opened his eyes and looked at her with sincerity, "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I ain't lookin' to be yer enemy. But if ya don't want to be around me, I'll try and keep my distance. Feels like there's plenty of room up 'ere for us to avoid each other anyways."
"But...do me one favor will ya? Try to take it easy for now. Yer safe up here. It'll be the perfect place to unwind and recover."
He then turned around and began to walk away. As Cecilia's body was left quivering and her gaze pointed at the ground, she found herself blurting out with much surprise from herself, "Ezekiel."
He turned sideways and paid attention to what she had to say, "What do you plan to do from here?"
He shrugged and told her with much uncertainty, "Who can say? Maybe it'll be good fer me to be away from home for a smidge. But if ya need me, I'll be with Sarajin's old man."
"...Fine. I'll just sleep outdoors. I'm more used to the cold anyways." She said while looking away.
"Ok then," Ezekiel said softly, "Oh, and Cecilia?"
She peered subtly over her shoulder.
"...Ya are beautiful. Both inside and out."
She smirked and nudged her head his way, then faced forward, the two parting ways for the night.
Their face was red with warmth, and they slowly raised their hand to rest upon their beating heart. They failed to notice they were smiling, and coiled their hand tightly into a fist.
"Beautiful..." They muttered, holding onto that word as they laid upon the ground and tried to rest themselves to sleep...
Next Time: My True Self