Chapter 68: Maximilien and Mariel III

"Hello, Sasha." Max said. "Mariel just left for Tristain."

"I am well aware of my sister's whereabouts." She replied rather coldly.

"Oh, then why are you here? I know you're not particularly fond of me." Max asked.

"What has she told you?" Sasha asked.

"About what? We haven't talked much today." Max replied. "Why do you ask?"

"She has grown quite fond of you, hasn't she?" Sasha said, observing his body closely.

"I don't think so." Max replied. "We're friends, I suppose. We help each other pass time."

"The last time either of us were so fond for a man...for a human..." Sasha said under her breath.

"What are you talking about?" Max asked.

Sasha closed her eyes, thinking for several moments. After about a minute, she began to reach for the axe that hanged on her back.

"I apologize, but I'm afraid I must end your life." She said calmly, holding her axe in her hand.

"Wait, what?! Why?!" Max exclaimed, backing away from her.

"I cannot let my sister have her emotions manipulated by another human." Sasha said, walking towards him.

"I'm not like Brimir!" He said.

"Oh? So she told you about him?" Sasha asked. "That alone tells me she holds you too dear. Tell me, what did she say about me, her little sister?"

"She never told me much." Max replied, pulling his bow from his back.

"Did she not tell you what Brimir tried and failed to turn her into?" Sasha asked, still walking closer.

"She told me he wanted to use her as a vessel for some being's power." Max said, putting a bow on his bow string.

"Yes. Although he failed to accomplish this with her, he found success in me." She said. "I was turned into a weapon for his use, calling me the left hand of god."

"The left hand of god..?" Max said, thinking the name sounded familiar. "You're...Gandalfr?"

"I was." Sasha replied. "Until I killed Brimir, although since your life is about to end, I see no reason to tell you much more."

"Listen, there is nothing between your sister and I." Max said. "Even if I love her, she sees me as a friend. Nothing more. It's been that way since we met."

"Your declaration of love for my sister will not stop your inevitable fate." She replied.

"If you really insist on killing me, then I will protect myself." He said.

"Very well, although this would be much easier if you let me kill you." She replied.

Max kept his eyes on her as she slowly walked towards him, not knowing what to expect. Choosing to attack first, he infused one of his arrows with fire magic and shot it at Sasha. As the arrow was about to touch her, she vanished.

Normally, he would not have been able to know where she went, but the arrow he fired changed direction several times, tracking her movements. After a few seconds, she appeared in the same place and grabbed the arrow out of the air.

"She gave you that bow. How troublesome." She said, snapping the arrow in two.

He prepared to fire another arrow, but before he could, he was suddenly knocked back into a tree, causing him to cough up blood. When he fell to the ground, he was breathing very heavily. By the time he managed to get to his feet, Sasha was already before him.

She grabbed him by his neck and held him against a tree, starting to choke him. Her grip was incredibly powerful, restricting his windpipe and preventing him from breathing. Knowing that if he lost consciousness, he would certainly die, he used earth magic to toss dust into her eyes.

She instinctively let go of him when she felt the irritation in her eyes. He used this opportunity to create a large explosion. Not to damage his enemy, but to create smoke and give him an opportunity to run away.

His tactic bought him enough to time run some distance away. With nowhere nearby to hide, he laid on the ground and covered himself in earth and leaves. By the time Sasha had cleaned out her eyes, he was perfectly camouflaged on the ground.

He heard her start walking around, although the sound of the leaves moving beneath her feet was extremely faint. After several hours, he heard her stop walking only a few dozen yards away from where he was.

"Why make this so difficult on yourself?" She said. "This life has nothing for you. No one loves you. No one will care if you disappear. You will be mistreated for the rest of your life. So let me end your suffering."

She waited for a few seconds for any kind of change in the environment.

"Do you remain alive because you hope to win my sister's heart?" She asked.

When he heard those words, his heart rate began to increase. He started to breathe slightly faster as he realized that Sasha was probably right. Whenever people stronger than him had hurt him in the past, he never fought back. Yet for some reason, now, although he was fighting the strongest person to walk the earth, he chose to fight back.

However, as these thoughts filled his head, he found himself suddenly tumbling through the air in a considerable amount of pain. Hearing his heavier breathing and quickly beating heart, Sasha had managed to pinpoint his location, kicking him out of his hidden location.

When he landed, he could feel that several of his bones had shattered. His organs were in a considerable amount of pain as well, rendering him immobile. As he looked up at the now dark sky, Sasha stood over him, staring at him with the same bored expression she always wore.

Knowing he was about to die, tears began to flow down his eyes, although even he was not sure why. As she lifted her axe into the air, he thought about how unhappy his life had been, but then thought of Mariel and how she made him happy.

As these thoughts passed through his head, Sasha brought her axe down. Just before it would make contact with his head, he closed his eyes, not knowing what to expect. However, after a few seconds, he realized he was still alive.

When his eyes opened, he saw the axe straining to move forward to split his head in two, but it was being restrained. When he looked up, he saw Mariel standing behind Sasha, pulling the axe away from her sister.

"Unhand my axe, sister." Sasha said calmly.

"What do you think you are doing, Sasha?" Mariel said in a calm, but very threatening voice.

Mariel calling her by her name seemed to strike fear into Sasha's heart, as she clearly started to sweat and began to shake.

"I am preventing you from being wronged again." She said, her voice slightly shaky.

"By killing this man?" Mariel asked again.

"Yes, sister." Sasha responded, not daring to turn around and face her sister.

"Go home before I lose my temper." Mariel said with an intense aura being generated around her.

Sasha did not respond to her sister's order. She simply obeyed her wish and disappeared, seeming relieved that for now, she had escaped her sister's wrath. When she was gone, Mariel dropped to her knees and helped Max lift his head.

"Hey..." He said weakly, wearing a smile.

"Don't talk!" She exclaimed, starting to shed tears.

"I'm...going to die..." He said, coughing up more blood.

"No you're not!" She replied. "I can heal you!"

"These wounds can't be healed." He replied in an almost inaudible voice. "But...for once, I'm not okay with dying just yet."

"I said stop talking!" She said, putting her hands on his chest and closing her eyes.

With her powers, she could see the various wounds he had gotten from her sister. Much to her dismay, Max had been correct. His wounds could not be healed quickly enough to save him. Most of the wounds he sustained were life threatening, but Mariel could not heal all of them at once, meaning he would die in his current state.

"I don't want to die yet...because of you." He continued, staring up at the moons in the sky. "You made me feel happy. Like I was loved."

Knowing that he there was no way for him to be healed, she simply sat by his side and listened to him speak with tears flowing down her face.

"Even if you saw me as a way to pass time, being with you made me feel purposeful." He said, struggling to draw breath. "I know that as a human, I could never make you feel the same way, but I still had hope."

As she finally started realizing what he was trying to say, she began to cry. She held him closer to herself, taking some sort of comfort from being together with him.

"You don't have to keep talking. I understand." She said, stroking his hair.

"I love you..." He said in a voice too quiet to hear.

As soon as he spoke those words, his eyes shut and his breathing became more and more shallow. Hearing him confess his love for her gave Mariel a strong determination to not just give up on his life. She picked him up and carried him on her back. Running as fast as she could, she made her way to the portal that led to the kingdom of Elves.

In only a few hours, she made her way back to her mountain and into her lab, where she set him on an operation table. She stared at him for a few minutes, thinking about what she was about to do to him. Whether he would hate her for it. Whether it was worth doing.

Soon, she cast all doubt from her mind and took several items from a nearby cabinet. A pink, gel like substance, a box of several needles, and a bottle of alcohol.

She cleaned off his body with the alcohol, then applied the pink gel onto his skin. Once it was absorbed into his body, she carefully placed thousands of tiny needles into his body. Once they were all in placed, she placed her hands over his body and began to feed her magic into the needles.

For the next six days, she sat in the same place, focused on the young man laying unconscious in front of her. She ignored any attempts by her sister to make contact with her until finally, on the night of the sixth day, she completed the procedure.

His body, on the outside at least, seemed to have healed. He was unconscious, but was still alive. She picked him up and carried him to a bedroom within the mountain, leaving him in a soft bed to recover his energy.

She sat next to him while he slept, holding his hand tightly. As she watched him rest, Sasha walked into the room. Neither of them said anything for several minutes, despite Mariel being aware of her little sister's presence.

"I...was trying to protect you." Sasha said

"From what?" Mariel said, not looking at her sister.

"The pain of being betrayed again." Sasha replied.

"This man. I love him, sister." Mariel said. "I love him, and yet I treated him like he was not special to me because I was afraid of betrayal."

"Forgive me, sister." Sasha said. "If he dies, I will punish myself accordingly."

"You will do no such thing." Mariel said. "He will not die. I...changed him."

"That procedure is forbidden, sister." Sasha said."If I must leave the kingdom for my transgressions, I will gladly leave with him." Mariel replied, finally turning around to look at Sasha.

Sasha was silent for a few moments, staring at Max in bed. After some more time, she turned to take her leave.

"I will tell the council nothing of this." She said. "Consider it an attempt to attain your forgiveness."

Mariel didn't respond to her statement. She turned back to Max and began to wait again for him to awaken. For the next several days, she remained by his side while he slept. Two weeks later, she left the room to get food.

When she came back, carrying a large tray of meat, she noticed that Max's eyes had opened. He was staring at the ceiling and didn't seem to notice that she walked into the room. She immediately dropped her plate of food and ran to his side, holding his hand.

"Am I dead?" He asked, seemingly in a daze.

"Max!" Mariel exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

"That hurts, Mariel." He said calmly, although he was wearing a weak smile.

"Sorry." She said, loosening her grip.

"My body is so stiff." Max said, not being able to get up. "

"You need to rest for some time." Mariel replied. "Do you...remember what happened?"

"I remember Sasha attacking me. You saved me, Mariel." He said. "After that, I don't remember much. I know we spoke, but..."

His memories began to return to him as he spoke. He first remembered talking about how he didn't want to die yet. How strange it was for him to want life considering how he always would have preferred death. Inevitably, he remembered the three words he spoke to her before falling unconscious.

His face turned bright red and he immediately turned away from her, not being able to withstand the embarrassment. He buried his face into his pillow and tried his best to compose himself again.

"I'm sorry for what I said." He said, his voice muffled by his pillow.

"There is no need for apology." She replied. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing."

"Why would you have to apologize?" He asked, finally being able to look at her. "You saved my life."

"I know how you feel in your heart about me. I've known for a very long time." She began. "The truth is...I feel the same way about you, but out of fear, I treated you as I would anyone else."

He stared at her for few moments before laying his head back on his pillow. He thought about what he told her as he was dying. Knowing that she felt the same way about him alleviated his embarrassment, but also made him feel anxious.

"We can't be together, anyway." He said sadly. "Your sister-"

"Will not interfere in your relationship." Sasha interrupted, making her presence known to them.

Max's reflexes made him start trying to move away when he saw her, with fear shooting through every fiber of his body. As she walked closer, he remembered how easily he was defeated by her. Her status as Gandalfr was prevalent in his mind.

"I will not harm you." She said, sitting on a nearby chair. "I will support your relationship with my sister."

"What changed your mind?" Max asked, still very uncomfortable.

"I spoke with her." Sasha said. "She's in love with you. She trusts you. I was wrong to try and kill you against her will. If she cares for you so much, I will respect her wishes."

"Oh. Thank you." He replied, relaxing in his bed a little more.

"However." She continued. "If you break her heart, I will kill you regardless of what she desires."

"How charming..." He said, his pale skin turning ghost white. "But I'll never break her heart, so I have nothing to worry about."

He looked back at Mariel, who was also blushing because of all the discussion about love. Although it was very hard for him to move, he managed to hold Mariel's hands, putting her at ease.

"Before I allow you to enjoy your romantic moment, I believe Mariel must explain how she saved your life." Sasha said, interrupting them.

"Oh, right." Mariel said. "To put it simply, you are no longer entirely human. I gave your body the power to heal itself by replacing some of it with magic or material from my own race."

"I'm not sure I quite understand, but I'm happy to be alive." Max replied.

"If you are satisfied with your body, I will leave you two alone for now." Sasha said, standing up to leave the room. "Remember my warning, Maximilien."

Her very emotionless way of speaking made him slightly terrified, but he ignored it since at the moment, he and Mariel were alone.

"I should let you recover for now." Mariel said, about to leave the room as well.

"Umm, okay..." Max replied, looking slightly disappointed.

Noticing his disappointment, she walked back to him and gave him a soft kiss, much to his surprise. When she pulled away, he remained completely motionless. Even as he watched her walk out of the room with a smile on her face, his own face was blank from shock.

When his shock finally subsided, a wide smile formed on his face. It stayed with him for hours until eventually, he fell asleep. For the next few days, he would slowly regain more and more control over his body.

Even when he was finally able to walk, Mariel insisted that he remain in her kingdom, despite it being illegal for a human to reside there. During the several weeks he spent there, Mariel and, rather oddly, Sasha, had showed him several parts of the kingdom, particularly the cities that rested on lakes.

He thought it was very beautiful, but his experience was rather ruined by how everyone around him treated him. Everyone found him incredibly repulsive and treated him with contempt, much like they had at his old village.

"Why do they hate me so much?" He asked when he was alone in the woods with Mariel.

"Because of Brimir." She said as she braided his now very long hair.

"Do they all know what he did to you?" He asked.

"No." She said. "Have you ever wondered why there are no Dwarves or Fairies or Anioły in the human world? Why there is no documentation of their very existence?"

"I guess it is pretty strange. Why is that?" He asked.

"Brimir committed genocide against the other races." She said, putting flowers into his braid. "We were all nearly driven to extinction."

"How could he do that?!" Max asked in shock.

"That was the purpose of creating Gandalfr." She replied. "He first used her to united the humans, then used fear to inspire them to wage war against us. He acted too quickly for us to fight back."

"Then how was he defeated?" Max asked.

"Once Sasha realized what he was doing, she killed him in his own palace." Mariel replied. "With the humans in disarray, she led the remnants of our peoples against the remaining human armies and defeated them. Once the wars were over, she retired to this place in agony, now knowing the bitter taste of betrayal. She locked herself in her room for months. By the time she came out, her hair had turn from the beautiful pitch black it used to be to the snow white it is now. She had changed too. She became cold. Over calculated. Cynical. Hateful."

"No wonder she wanted me dead..." Max said sadly. "I don't blame her."

"The only times she ever got happier is when she was with her kids." Mariel continued, putting more flowers into his hair. "She found solace in their company."

"She has kids?" He asked.

"You humans are very familiar with them." She replied. "The founders of the three Brimiric states. Bartholomew of Albion, Vittorio of Gallia, and Oliviére of Tristain. Together, they conquered most of Halkeginia and formed the three allied countries."

"Where are they now?" He asked.

"In the human world." She replied. "They chose to leave Halkeginia and study other lands."

As she continued to braid his hair, he thought about how everywhere he went, he was hated. At first, it made him feel very sad, but then he decided that instead of brooding over how no one liked him, maybe he could try to change that.

"I'm going to go back to my village." He said suddenly.

"Why would you want to return there?" She asked.

"Getting revenge on them won't solve anything." He said. "If I can show them that even if I'm descended from Elves, it doesn't mean we have to be enemies, then maybe I can help mend the relationship between humans and the other races. I have to start somewhere, after all."

"That's an ambitious dream." Mariel replied.

"Most dreams are. I won't know if it's feasible until I try it though." He said.

"If that is your dream, then I will help you fulfill it." She said as she finished his hair.

"You will?" He asked with surprise.

"Yes. It will be a long journey, but I believe it can be achieved with time." She replied.

"Thank you, Mariel." He said, giving her a kiss. "Let's go back to my village. That could be a great place to start."

"Right." She replied.

They made their way back to the portal that led to the Gallian forest. With a feeling of determination and hope, they stepped through it, ready to start their mission of bringing peace, forgiveness, and understanding between the races of Halkeginia.