What is Meant to be
Part 2: Everlasting Pain
( Disclaimer: Remember…I do no own anything from Legend of Dragoon.)
Bale was a lively town, with various faces and a mixture of personalities. At the town's entrance, a face showed up that hasn't been seen for a long amount of time. "Aaaaah…It feels so good to be home again." said the person. The person had shiny armor, green long sleeves, short blonde hair and he had a gentle smile on his face. Two people followed behind him, one being a man in red armor and the other being a young lady with brown hair. "So Lavitz…What are you going to do, now that you've arrived." asks the man in red armor. Lavitz turns around and faces the red clad man. "I have to report to King Albert on the situation at hand. Now that I mention it, maybe you can find something out about the Black Monster, Dart." Dart's face lights up and the knight then gave a warm smile. The group began to move in the direction of Indels Castle.
"Your majesty, calm down…Please!" Minister Noish pleads. Albert was sitting in his throne shaking as if he was in an earthquake. "You shouldn't stress yourself out this much! Think about your composure! Mannerisms….The way a king should be!!" Noish then emphasizes. Albert takes a deep breath and then gives a heavy sigh. "Good afternoon, sire!" Rang a voice from below. Albert springs up and quickly moves towards the railing of the platform and glances down to see his knight bowing before him. "It's great to see you, Lavitz! How have you been?" Albert asks. Lavitz stands up and gives a smile. "I am doing great! It's good to be back in Bale."
"Tell me…How did you escape Hellena?"
"It's all thanks to my friends here, Dart and Shana."
Albert directs his attention to the two people bowing behind Lavitz. "Please, stand." commands the king. The three rose to their feet and waited for the next word to be said by someone. Dart was the first one to speak. "Is there anything that you can tell me about the black monster?" This question leads to confusion between Albert and Noish. Albert folds his arms and thought, but his train of thought was broken by Noish's voice that stated how they didn't have information on the Black Monster, but he was willing to give them information on the Dragon Campaign.
Noish began to tell the story of the Dragon Campaign. Albert's mind began to wander as he stood there. He had heard the story of the Dragon Campaign since he was six years old and by this time, he was tired of hearing it. The king begins to stare at Dart wondering what he was to Lavitz. Was he a mere friend of Lavitz or could it be more? Please let it be a friend…Thought Albert. He begins to look back and forth at Lavitz and Dart, but then shakes his head. No…It's just a simple friendship, nothing more. "Excuse me, your Majesty Albert?" called Lavitz. Albert snapped out of his thoughts to see what his knight needed. "Is there anything else that you would like to address?" It took Albert a few seconds to get his mind set to the task at hand. "Oh! Yes. Lavitz, later on I need to see you. I have something to discuss with you in private." He responds. Lavitz and his party take one final bow and exits the throne room.
"Your majesty, what do you have to discuss with him?" Noish asks. "My feelings…" Albert states seriously. Noish tilts his head and begins to question the king's decision.
"Wait! Aren't you going a little too fast?"
"Noish…I've had these feelings for so long…yet, each time I get that surge of emotion running through me…I deny it. I've realized that I can't hide these feelings much longer."
"I know, but…are you sure that you want to lay it on him after he has been through so much?"
"I'm going to give him time to think before he comes to me…I'm not going to rush into it so fast."
"Ok, your majesty."
Albert exits the throne room. The knight that stood to his right follows the king downstairs. "Your majesty, Albert!" the knight called. Albert halted and turned around. The knight caught up to him and began to ask. "Where do you think you are going?" Albert takes a few minutes to stare at the knight. Without answer, Albert turns around and continues walking towards the castle exit. The knight continues to follow, even when the two exit the castle and go down the steps. He spots Lavitz walking past him, heading towards the bar with Dart. Albert stops where he's at to reassure himself that Dart and Lavitz are only friends and nothing more. He continues down the street. "Sire!" the knight calls in a whiney tone of voice. "Where are we going?" He starts the run ask Albert picks up the pace.
Later on, Albert is in his bedroom running a brush through his long light brown hair. He places the brush down and begins to stare into the mirror with a serious look on his face. He was interrupted by two knocks coming from the door. "Who is it?" Albert asks, continuing to stare at his reflection. "It's Lavitz…" said a voice. Albert looks over at the door and moves over to open it. At the entrance stood Lavitz with a stern face. "Come in." Albert welcomes. "What brings you in at this time?" Lavitz moves into the room and closes the door behind him. "You said earlier today that you wanted to discuss something with me." Lavitz responds. Albert folds his arms and gives Lavitz a small smile.
"You didn't have to come here this late at night…You had until tomorrow and the next day to come to me."
"I was aware of that, your majesty, but knowing that you had to talk to me about something made me quite restless."
"Oh…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."
"That's okay, sire. So what did you want to discuss?"
Albert becomes uneasy. He moves over to his bed and sits on top of its soft mattress. "Yes…That's right. I have to tell you something." Albert mutters. Lavitz looks into his kings eyes with an expression of concern. "Is something wrong?" He asks. Albert shakes his head no and then begins his confession. "I know that this is so sudden, but…I need you to listen and not respond to anything until I am finished…understand?" He begins. Lavitz nods and replies with, "If that is what you truly desire, you majesty." Albert smiles and then takes a deep breath. "I have been keeping this to myself for too long. Lavitz, recently, I have acknowledged my feelings of need, urges, and other various feelings of what may be love. You're probably wondering, who I have these feelings for. Well, it's you…and only you. I like you more than just a friend…more than just a loyal subject. I have strong feelings for you as a significant other and nothing else. I want to be with you no matter where you go. I want to be able to hold you, kiss you…even something more. I've had this feeling since I was six! Even though, I didn't fully understand it…I could tell that it was something that could connect us like never before. Lavitz...Is there any chance of us being together for the sole purpose of love?" Albert became a little emotional as he said this. His face was hot and was the color of a cherry. Lavitz on the other hand was surprised. He didn't know what to say or do, but he knew that he had to do something eventually. Albert's patience only goes so far.
Albert waited anxiously for Lavitz's response. He stood up and moved towards Lavitz and wrapped his arms around him. The knight quickly pulled himself away and turned away. Lavitz had a hurt expression on his face. He was well aware that he had to break it to his Lord what was running through his mind. Lavitz bowed and he stayed in this position as he said "I'm terribly sorry! I cannot love you in any way…I am but a mere knight and it wouldn't be right." Albert refused to accept what Lavitz gave him as a response. He got down on his knees and looked Lavitz square in the face. Albert knew that what he was told was false. He's lying! I cannot believe that he would do this to me! He's hiding something and I will find out! Albert thought. "Don't lie to me…Now tell me why…you're rejecting me in such a way. Especially after how I confessed to you." He then demands. Lavitz looks up and he saw how pissed Albert was right now. The king couldn't take rejection very well and this was how he reacted when something similar to this occurs.
"I'm sorry, sire! I was concerned for how you would take this…The truth is-!"
Lavitz begins to bow more. He was now sitting Japanese style with his chest touching the floor.
"Don't drag it out…Tell me!"
"At first…I was interested in you at one point…but when Dart came into the picture-…"
"Get out."
"Huh?"
"I said, get out…Get out of my sight!"
Lavitz quickly rises to his feet and scurries out of the room like a mouse. Albert leans against a wall and begins to cover his face. As he removes his hands, tears began to cascade down his cheeks. He moved over to his bed and threw himself onto its soft and cottony sheets, burying his face into the pillow. He wasn't sobbing, nor was he doing anything excessive with his emotions, even though he wanted to cry to release this pain his body wouldn't let him. So he was left to lay there and let his tears soak into his pillow.
Later that night, Albert was too restless to go to sleep so he decided to take a walk. He quietly moved down the stairs without making a single noise. Everyone was asleep except for those who were patrol. Albert didn't care who was coming or going he continued walking until he left the castle. He continued down the steps and began heading into the town. As he walked Albert gazed up at the night sky, admiring the many twinkling stars and the Moon that Never Sets. This immediately brought back memories of when he used to sit on the roof of Lavitz's house and gaze up at the sky. Of course, Lavitz was next to him looking as well. The fond memories of Lavitz and him brought sadness upon Albert. He could hear the sentence "I was interested in you at one point…but when Dart came into the picture-"play over and over in his head like an ongoing mantra. Albert stopped and cleared his mind. He took a deep breath and made sure that nothing that could bring him down was present. Once finished he continued to walk down the well lit street. Albert walked for hours without realizing how much time had gone by. Eventually he ended up back at Indels Castle. He gazed upon the castle and then slowly proceeded up its steps. He stopped half way to gaze at the sun peaking above the various houses in the distance. "Wow, I've been walking for that long. I didn't think that I would walk until morning." He began to say to himself. "Minister Noish is going to be very mad at me." Albert began to chuckle. Further up the stairs someone was watching Albert. He stood quietly in the shadows monitoring the king and what he was doing. The mysterious figure eventually disappeared into the darkness without a trace.
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I never thought that I would've been kicked out of the spotlight. Maybe it's because I was too late… If only I had told him sooner! If only! Some commoner just booted me out of Lavitz's mind. He's the new apple of his eye…Seemingly they just met and now he has a thing for him?! How is this possible? I cannot comprehend how some knave from out of town take precedence over me! It's his fault that I lost the one I love to another. Wait! I cannot be so self-centered and negative…it's not right. Now that I think about it maybe it's for the best. Humph! The best?! I doubt it…The man in the red armor has that brunette to love, but why choose-
Forget it… It isn't any of my business now…..
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Once again, we start another day where Minister Noish is frantically wandering the castle in search of his missing lord. "Has anyone seen His Majesty?!" he yells. "I'm here…I'm here." Said a voice. Noish whirls around to find Albert standing behind him fully dressed in his royal attire. "You look tired, sire." Noish points out. Albert nods and slowly walks up stairs. By the looks of it, sleep deprivation had just kicked in and was beating him up pretty bad. Noish followed behind Albert pretty close just to see if he was going to safely make it to his throne. "Are you sure that you don't want to just go to bed?" Noish asks in concern. Albert plops down into the comfortable chair and looks over at Noish. "See? I made it to my throne…and I still look perfectly healthy." Albert says with a tired smile.
"No you don't! You're tired…You look as if you have been up all night long."
"Actually, I have."
"What?! Why?"
"I was taking a walk to clear my head…I ventured around Bale trying to get something out of my head."
"Did something go wrong?"
"All I am willing to tell you is that…Lavitz visited me last night."
"Did you talk to him about…that?"
"Noish…please. I don't really want to talk about it."
Noish could sense that the result of the conversation held by the king with Lavitz turned out bad. He moved closer to Albert and got on one knee. "Listen, if there's anything…and I mean anything that you would like to talk about…I am willing to listen." He says in a low tone of voice. Albert nods and then stands up to approach the railing. "Good morning, Your Majesty." Said Lavitz, bowing respectfully. Albert saw that Lavitz had Dart behind him. Albert's tired expression immediately turned into a glare that could send chills up and down any person's spine. "Good morning. Now what is it that you want?" Albert asks with a rude tone of voice. Dart and Lavitz rose to their feet and looked up at the obviously moody king. "I would like to notify you that I will be leaving the castle to train with Dart a few miles outside of Bale." Lavitz states. Remembering what happened last night made the young knight uneasy. "Fine…Go, but only under one condition." The king begins. "You have to take me with you. No ifs, ands, or buts." Lavitz was surprised. Why would Albert want to go outside of Bale just to train, when he knows that he needs to stay at the castle and rule the country? Albert folds his arms and begins to smile as if he had a plan in mind. I refuse to let this go so easily…I will see if he is worthy of being my competition and Lavitz's significant other.
End of Part 2