Sorry it took a little bit longer, because it turned out to be a lot longer that I expect...
Wishes, Dreams, and Memories
Chapter 30 – Hidden Truth
"There, that should do it," Lest had already finished tying up Frey's wound and stood up.
Frey got back to her feet as well, but her eyes trailed off from her bandaged wound to the tear on Lest's clothes, "Are you sure about this? You can just leave it open until we get out of here."
"Don't worry, I have spare clothes back at the castle," Lest started walking in front of her, looking around to find the way out of the castle, "Besides, I don't think revealing that strange wound to the others is a good idea. Not to mention that you'll get infections from that wound."
"I guess you're right…" Frey slowly followed Lest's steps as she went to look at her wound once more, 'The infection isn't the problem at all. Explaining everything about this wound is the main problem here,' Frey looked up at Lest, who continued walking ahead of her, 'No, there will be a time to tell him everything at least. Even if he no longer remembers that day, he still deserves to know the truth…'
Frey let out a quiet sigh as she recalled the events of a certain day, a few years earlier.
"I'm home!" Lest cheerfully entered a small house and ran towards the dining room with a piece of scroll in his hand.
"Calm down, Lest!" Frey let out a laugh as Lest ran over to the table, "It's not like I'm going anywhere, you know."
"Here…" Lest was still panting, but slid the scroll across the table and towards Frey, "I… just got accepted… to Norad's royal field research team!"
"H-Huh!?" Frey hurriedly put her bread back on the plate and opened up the scroll, "This is…"
"Yes!" Lest raised his fists in the air happily, "I'll be joining your team and begin my first job with you!"
"O-Oh… Oh!" Frey tried concealing her dissatisfaction and forced a smile, "Well, that's great! I'm so proud of you, Lest!"
"Thanks!" Lest took the scroll back and rose from his seat, "Okay, I'll go and get my stuff packed so I'll be good to go tomorrow!"
"W-Wait!" Frey tried calling out to Lest, but her brother had already ran out of the room. She let out a sigh as she leaned back on her seat, 'This isn't supposed to happen… Lest isn't ready for this dangerous mission, especially after the news that a few Sechs soldiers had already infiltrated Norad…'
"You must be very proud of your brother, correct? After all, he is very good in both the kitchen and the battlefield!"
"Look at him tilling those fields like he was born to do it! Maybe you should try and learn from him about taking care of the fields, so I can leave the fields for you two to take care of."
Frey suddenly remembered a few praises aimed towards Lest, 'Well, the late old lady told me that he was good at the fields… Naturally, because we're Earthmates…'
"Um… Frey… I think the turnips you planted a few days ago just rotted… Are you sure you still want to do this?"
'Yes, I'm doing things for your sake,' Frey replied to Lest's voice in her mind as a frown formed on her lips, 'I should have been able to do it, because I'm supposed to be an Earthmate as well…'
"That wooly doesn't like to be petted, though. But I think you can tell what he was thinking too, right?"
Frey stayed silent as more and more memories come pouring into her mind, "I… can't…" Frey looked down at her unfinished breakfast as she slowly rose from her seat, "It can't be, right? If Lest has the power of an Earthmate, how come that I, his biological twin sister, doesn't have that same power?"
"Frey?" the sudden call had surprised Frey, who turned to see Lest looking at her in confusion, "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Frey quickly sat back down, "Do you need something from me?"
"No, I'm just letting you know that I'm going out to the market to buy some supplies," Lest replied with a smile, "Do you want to come?"
Frey shook her head, "Sorry, I have something to take care of today."
"Okay," Lest nodded in understanding, "I'll see you later then."
Frey listened as Lest left the house before she went out of the dining room and into her room. Grabbing her own supplies as well as equipment, Frey headed out of the house and towards the Norad castle just a few houses away. Her decision might have been reckless, but she was determined to go with it just to protect her brother.
Frey pushed the big doors open and entered the research room, which was completely empty. She looked around the room and spotted a small bag with some blue light coming from the bag's tiny holes. She took the bag in her hands and opened it, revealing a few glowing blue spheres inside it. She took out the smallest one and looked at it closely, brightening the room with faint blue light.
"They're… the rune spheres Mom created before Ethelberd found out…" Frey began turning the glowing sphere around as she inspected every part of the sphere, "I feel a strange energy coming from it…"
The sound of clanging sword was suddenly heard from the other side of the door, surprising the green-haired young woman. She slowly pushed the door open, but only wide enough for her to look at the situation outside. Soldiers with two different uniforms were battling each other, much to her surprise. The scene of a soldier almost being stabbed prompted her to quickly close the door and blocked it with her body.
"T-The Sechs…" Frey whispered as her heart started beating fast from the sudden tension before she turned her attention to the rune sphere she was holding, "I… I'll just borrow this for a while to protect myself," she stuffed the sphere into her pocket before grabbing the rest of the spheres in the bag and put them into a shelf.
Frey peeked from the room once more to check the situation before she quietly made her way out of the room. She went through the hall by hiding from vase to vase, making sure that none of the Sechs soldiers saw her movements. When she was near the gate, Frey was surprised by the sudden yelling coming from behind her. In shock, she turned and met eye to eye with one of the soldiers, much to her dismay.
"Soldiers! We have another witness here!" the soldier called out to his comrades before Frey ran through the gate.
A Sechs soldier suddenly came into her way as she was leaving, but Frey was ready to counter the sharp sword with her spear. She skillfully dodged the sword to the side and swung her spear to hit the soldier's arm followed by a series of quick stabs. The armored soldier stepped back to avoid the quick stabs, only to crash into his fellow soldier and both of them fell.
Frey took the chance to run away from the castle, but not without a group of soldiers following behind her. She didn't really pay any attention to where she was going anymore as she kept looking back to see that the soldiers were still following her around. She didn't think of where she was now, but the forest in front of her could help her hide while she recovered her sore legs from all that running.
A few minutes passed after Frey went into the forest and the soldiers had seemed to lose her tracks. Panting, Frey walked through the same scenery of trees and bushes before she came out into a big clearing. She fell to her knees from exhaustion and tried to give herself some rest from the intense escape from the soldiers.
Frey sat under one of the trees for a short rest, but noticed a big tower when she looked at her front, "Huh?" Frey rose back to her feet and looked around in confusion, "This… this doesn't look like the forest near the capital anymore…"
Frey approached the tower, only to notice that the rune sphere had started glowing a little brighter. She took the sphere out and looked at it once more, but her mind suddenly went blank as she stared at the object. She could feel the same strange power she felt back then as she held the sphere in her hands. The energy was pouring into her body and washed away any fatigue she had.
"I don't feel tired anymore," Frey noticed that she was feeling a lot more refreshed than she was moments ago, "Is this… the rune sphere's power?"
"Yes, that is correct," a voice suddenly was heard from behind the rustling bushes, surprising Frey as she looked around cautiously, "You've just felt a small portion of the runes' power."
"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Frey pointed her spear at the direction where the voice came from and a soldier walked out from between the trees, "That armor… I can see that you're not just an ordinary Sechs soldier."
"You're correct, young lady," the soldier stopped in front of Frey, just a few inches away from the tip of her spear, "But I have no obligation to reveal my full identity to an enemy I'm about to slay."
"Listen well," Frey glared at the soldier, "You're not talking to an ordinary young lady as well," she moved her spear a bit, pointing at the soldier's neck, "I am the head of the field research team in Norad Kingdom, as well as the second-in-command of the king's royal guards."
"I see," the soldier smirked before pulling out his sword, "Then I can finally fight against someone of my equal."
"Captain Kane!" another soldier came running into the area, followed by a couple others behind him, "The hostage Earthmate had escaped and managed to take down a few of our men! Team one is currently tracking him down while team two is looking for the rune spheres within the castle before Norad's reinforcement arrives."
"Huh," Kane turned to the soldier with a glare, "I will have those men relieved from duty. There isn't a place in Sechs Empire for people who can't take care of a single runt."
"B-But…"
"Just go," Kane turned back to face Frey, "I'll deal with the rest of you after I clean up here."
"Y-Yes sir!" the soldiers went back into the woods, leaving the two fighters on their own.
"Is that how you treat the people under you?" Frey asked sternly, "They are still your people, you know."
"Know that it isn't your place to lecture me when you had just abandoned your own team," Kane replied as his powerful swing knocked Frey's spear off her hands, "Give me that rune sphere and I'll consider sparing your life."
"Not when I can still fight and win!" Frey quickly took her spear, but the weapon was easily caught in Kane's bare hands, "W-What?!"
"This is quite shameful to Norad," Kane forcefully took the spear off her hands and threw it away. Just as Frey was about to run and take it back, the Sechs soldier blocked her way with his sword, "Norad's royal guard is a complete joke. I can feel that your skills and abilities are far below mine or any other soldiers in my team."
"I'm an Earthmate. I can do things most people can't," Frey looked at him with a deadly glare, but Kane remained unfazed.
"Not from what I'm informed off," Kane took a few steps closer and kicked her in the face, sending her falling backwards, "A moderately experienced fighter when against monsters, but a complete novice when against humans. Your Earthmate abilities are little to none. Frey is your name."
"You… what do you want with me…?" Frey slowly went to her knees, wiping the slight trace of dirt from her face.
"Didn't I tell you?" Kane pointed his sword at Frey's face, "I only want the rune sphere you have on you."
"You… will never have it…" Frey slowly got back to her feet, "Not… while I'm alive!"
Frey charged in with her bare hands, but her punches and kicks could be easily dodged. Kane caught her fist as she was about to punch him in the chest and threw her to the side. Frey landed and rolled back to her feet, charging in once more with her fists. Kane dodged her punch to the side before kicking her hard on the stomach, sending her flying a few meters away.
"Give it up or you'll waste your life," Frey slowly turned her head around with her body still lying on her stomach, "You know yourself that you can't win."
Frey looked at the sharp metal pointed at her, completely aware that even with her training, she couldn't beat him. She could always outsmart strong monsters and win, but the same strategy couldn't be used against another human being. That along with her lack of experience in actual sparring matches against another person had become her disadvantage.
'Maybe this is it…' Frey had given up, until she remembered the powerful object she had been carrying, 'Wait… I think… I can use it…'
"Now," Kane kicked Frey once more, turning her around so that she was lying on her back, "Where's the rune sphere?"
Frey closed her eyes and let out a confident smile as she put a hand on her pocket, "No longer within your grasp."
"What?!" Kane watched in disbelief as Frey rose to her feet with her wounds slowly healing.
'I can win this!' Frey opened her eyes confidently, 'I only need more power… A lot more power!'
The ground slightly shook as Frey raised her hand, pointing her palm at the soldier, "The power of the runes… b-but… the informant couldn't be wrong…"
"I am an Earthmate! The Earthmate who can beat you easily!" Frey spoke up as she approached the terrified soldier with the flowing energy clearly visible around her, "I… will… beat… YOU!"
The rune energy flowing within Frey's body gave her enough strength to create small craters as she walk, but her steps came to a complete stop as she fell to her knees. Frey clutched her chest in pain as the glowing energy around her switched colors from blue to black. Kane watched in horror as the energy around Frey kept on changing colors, before Frey's whole body suddenly turned transparent.
"What's… going… on…" Frey whispered in pain as she noticed that she was fading, before everything around her went dark.
"Uh…" Frey stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes, seeing herself to be awake in an unknown place. She sat up on the bed, looking around in the empty room, "Where is this…?"
The door in the room creaked open, "Ah, I see that you're awake now," Frey turned to the young woman at the door, "Just a moment, I will return with His Majesty."
Frey stared at the door in confusion as the woman left, "His Majesty…?"
The door opened once more to reveal the young woman from before, "I am sorry to keep you waiting," the young woman bowed slightly before she stepped aside to reveal a man with light yellow hair, "I shall be on my way."
The door closed behind the man as he approached her on the bed, "How are you feeling, young lady?"
"I'm… fine, I guess…" Frey's head was still a bit dizzy as she looked at the man, trying to recall the identity of the person in front of him, "And you are…?"
The man chuckled, "I suppose getting forcefully sent to the forest might have some side effects to your memory. My name is Antor, the current king of Norad."
"King…?" Frey paused for a moment, before she realized who she had been conversing with, "O-Oh! My apologies, Your Majesty!"
"No, it is fine," Antor responded with a smile before it was replaced by a serious look, "It seems like you have had a rough time when the Sechs soldiers suddenly attacked the castle. It was quite fortunate when a distant family of mine is also an Earthmate who was willing to help resurrecting you."
"Resurrecting?" Frey got off the bed as she looked at the king in shock, "Have I…"
Antor gave her a hesitant nod, "You happened to fuse yourself with a rune sphere, but your body rejected the foreign energy flowing in your body. With a body overflowed with rune energy, the cycle of runes forced you to be pulled into the Forest of Beginnings."
"I… see…" Frey frowned as she slowly recalled the events with the attack up until her encounter with Kane, "Is this… my second chance at life?"
Antor shook his head, "Unfortunately, it is not. As long as you are not out of the rune energy from that rune sphere shard, you can still live your life exactly as you were able to."
Frey reached for her pocket where she had put the rune sphere before and found a piece of the sphere there instead, "Is this rune sphere?"
"Yes, but only the remainder of it," Antor replied, getting Frey's attention, "The sphere exploded when you entered the forest and that particular shard was the only one we managed to recover."
"I see…" Frey put the shard back into her pocket before a familiar person came into her mind, "Lest… Lest! Is he okay?! He is my brother!"
Antor went silent for a moment as he slightly turned his face away from her, "He… along with the rest of the rune spheres… went missing a day after you went to the forest…"
"No way…" a single tear escaped from her eyes, "That can't be true, right…?"
"That was the unfortunate truth," Antor's voice turned into a whisper as he put his hands on Frey's shoulders, "The only eye witness had already been killed, so I cannot tell you whether or not he is still alive."
"No, he must be alive," Frey wiped the tears from her eyes, "He has to live, or I'll never forgive myself for leaving him behind. I already promised…"
"There is one thing I would like to clear," Antor spoke up in a serious tone, "The Sechs is still looking for the rune spheres, so they would most likely look for him as well. If you want to find your brother, I may be able to give you a helping hand."
"Please do," it was Frey's turn to put her hands on the king's shoulders, "I'll do anything to make it up to my brother! To make up for all the things I did wrong in the past!"
Antor could tell that those words weren't lies and nodded, "Very well. I will put you in charge of information gathering. That position will be quite dangerous, but with the powers you obtained after fusing with a rune sphere, I am certain that you can do it."
"Yes," Frey released Antor from her grasp, "Your Majesty, please let me know what I need to do."
"I will assign you to the reformed research team, or now known as the intelligence division. Your task will require you to travel between Norad and Sechs quite often, so I have to know whether or not you accept this condition," Antor saw Frey getting down to her knee in respect, "Is that your final answer?"
"Yes," Frey nodded while staying down on her knee.
"Good," Antor turned to face the door, "I will keep the information about you and your brother between the two of us. This should prevent any unnecessary problem in the kingdom during your mission."
"Yes. Thank you, Your Majesty."