Extinguished Flame

Chapter 12

Albert's eyes were locked onto the battle that carried out before him. Everyone fought vallantly, including Lavitz and Serafino. There was something about Lavitz that charmed Albert. The way he fought was filled with passion and determination. A slight shade of pink rushed across Albet's face. He couldn't take his eyes off of the battle that took place before him. The enemy and Dart's team were exchanging blow for blow, until...

"Yes!" Albert shouted as he saw Lavitz deliver the final blow. He wanted to get up and rush over to his friends but he was far too exhausted to get up. "Be quiet, you." said a masculine voice. It was the man in black and he rested a single hand upon Albert's shoulders. With his free hand, he began inserting it into the kings back. The young man lets out a pained scream as the man in the hood began searching around in Albert's body.

Lavitz's attention was immediately drawn to the source of the scream. Without giving it a second thought, the knight rushed over to his king in need. The knight leapt into the air and transformed into a dragoon. "Get away from him, you bastard!" Lavitz yelled. The man in the hood began to hasten his search. Albert struggled to hold on to consciousness, but it was getting more and more difficult. His vision was going blurry, his body was going numb, the only thing that he could feel was the hooded man delving his hand deeper and deeper into his body...violating his insides every second that he was in there.

Lavitz bolted forward launching his spear at the target. The hooded man was able to get his hands on the object that he was searching for inside of Albert's body, but he wasn't able to remove it. The only thing that he could do was tamper with it a little bit and create a small crack before releasing it back into the king's body. After that was done, he needed to think fast. The hooded man quickly pulled out a unique sword that caught the attention of Rose and Serafino. The red headed knight's eyes opened wide and he began to take off. "NO LAVITZ...STOOOP! He has the Dragon Buster!" Before Rose could say anything her attention moved over to Serafino. "How could he know?! Who is this person..." Rose thought. Lavitz didn't take heed to Serafino's warning. . .as a matter of fact, Lavitz was unable to hear the calls of his comrade and in consequence, the sword that was held by the hooded man became lodged in Lavitz's armor cladded chest. A fatal blow that surely meant death. Everything was in slow motion to Albert as he adjusted himself to get a better look at Lavitz. He watched Lavitz fall to the ground and everything within Albert's mind began to shatter.

The hooded man tossed off his disguise and Dart immediately recognized him...from the tournament that he participated in. "Lloyd!" Dart yelled at the top of his lungs. The silver haired man didn't stick around much longer. Before the group that stood before him decided to kill him, Lloyd jumped out of the opening that was conviently behind him. Albert scraped himself off of the ground and staggered towards Lavitz. Dart followed suit and rushed to Lavitz's side, scraping him up off of the floor. "Hey...Lavitz...Hey." he muttered trying to wake Lavitz up. Lavitz opened his eyes to see his friend, the one he loved looking down at him with a saddened look upon his face.

"Don't cry Dart..." Lavitz said weakly. "I would hate my last view of you to be a sad one. Smile for me. I really love it when you smile." Dart's face turned into a small smile as tears began to stream down his face. "Don't say that..." Dart responded. "You're going to live. You're going to be with us...and we're going to continue our journey together."

"No, Dart...My journey ends here."

"But...Lav-"

"Shhhhhhhh...Just hear me out. You...meant a lot to me. I was very grateful to have met you. You have been so good to me. I couldn't be any more thankful. ahaha. I guess...this hell-hole of a place does have it's perks."

"Stop...Please...stop talking like that. This isn't the end."

"Dart...this is true. Even though, physically...I will be gone. I will be with you in spirit and in memory forever. Tell me one more thing...Is...His Majesty Albert okay?"

"Yes. He is."

Lavitz had a look of content upon his face. Albert tried to summon up the words in order to speak with Lavitz, but nothing came out. He was a total blank. . .and this pained the king more than the wounds on his back. The dying knight took one deep breath and said, "Dart...Live...go forth...and achieve your goals...and I lo-" and at that moment...Lavitz passed. His body lay limp in Dart's arms. Albert's head lowered. He tried to restrain his tears but he wasn't successful. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry." Albert began to repeat in a seemingly endless mantra. The armor began to dissipate from Lavitz's body and form into the shiny round orb which was the dragoon spirit. The emerald like orb floated down before before the King. Albert turned his attention to the glowing object and grasped it. "Lavitz's dragoon spirit...I am thankful...Thank you so much Lavitz." he muttered. Serafino had streams of tears running down his face as he gave a salute to his fallen friend. Shana covered her face and sobbed quietly and Rose was unmoved. As for Haschel, he bowed and moved away from the scene. Dart lifted Lavitz off of the ground and said to his friends, "Stay here. I...need to give him a proper sending."

Albert, who was still weak, stood up and tried to go after the two but he collasped to his knees. Serafino rushed to his king's side. "You need to stay here, Sire...You're injured and exhausted. You need to rest and let me dress your wounds." Albert didn't want to stay there. He wanted to move. He wanted to see the one he loved off. He shouldn't be made to stay here because of a few wounds. "Don't worry about me..." Albert said. "I just have a few flesh wounds...I'm totally fine." Serafino snorted and retorted with. "Your back is riddled with wounds...You have gashes, bruises, dried blood, swelling, and dirt all over your back! Your chest has injuries as well. You have to let me treat you!"

"Serafino...You don't understand."

The knight looked into Albert's eyes and gave a gentle look.

"I understand wholeheartedly, Your Majesty. After everything you and Lavitz have been through, you feel as though the least you could do is see him off as Dart gives him the proper burial. Though, it seems wrong to leave him here in a place like this, but we have no choice. We cannot get him back to Bale."

"Yeah..."

"Stop holding back your tears...King Albert, it's okay for you to cry...Just do it. You have a shoulder to cry on..."

"No...Just...No. I won't get anywhere by crying..."

"Then let me treat your wounds."

Serafino moved behind Albert and revealed a small vial of healing solution. He popped the top off and began to pour it all over the king's wounds. Albert's face twisted in pain as Serafino cleansed the wounds. "This should be sufficient until we can find you a proper clinic. Periodically, remind me to dress your wounds. Geez, they did a number on you Sire." Serafino said as he then began to bandage his king. Then something caught his eye. The young knight analyzed Albert's long hair and noticed that it was beginning to turn black. "Wait...the king's hair was never black...what happened...Wait...What did Lloyd do to him when he had his hand in the King's back." Serafino was highly concerned for his king's well being. This was far from being considered normal. "How do you feel, my King." Serafino questioned. Albert didn't respond, instead he just sat there, thinking about Lavitz. Serafino finished dressing Albert's wounds and stood up. "Are you able to stand?" Serafino questioned. "We need to go and meet Dart. We must get out of here as soon as possible." Albert slowly stood up, using Serafino as support. Once everyone was ready, they made their way out of Hellena Prison and met up with Dart. They needed to get as far away from Hellena as humanly possible and so the only destination that could be reached under these conditions was Seles.

Within hours, the group arrived in Seles. Dart immediately searched for a hiding place and found one, hidden under a heap of rubble. Dart and the crew, with the exception of Serafino and Albert, began clearing the rubble. Albert sat next to his knight and simply stared at the ground. He was still trying to gather what had happened earlier and battling the feelings that were so desperate to consume him.

Once uncovered, Dart opened up the doorway to a cellar. "We can hide down here..." he states. Everyone begins to move into the cellar and take their place on either chairs, boxes, or on the stairs. The group remained quiet until Dart decided to ask a question. "Your Majesty Albert...what was it that Lloyd attempted to take from you?" Albert shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't hesitant in telling his comrades about it. "The Moon Gem...though he wasn't able to take it...It does make me more of a target for the Sandoran Army." Dart was still confused. "I don't understand..What exactly IS the Moon Gem."

"It is a tool that used to belong to the Winglies. It was an item that had vast amounts of dark, yet powerful magic sealed within it. That one divine moon object alone is said to be able to bring vast amounts of destruction to those who happen to be able to harness its power. It is the strongest of the divine moon objects...and thus it had to be sealed within the body of each crown heir to the throne." Serafino answered. Albert and Rose looked at Serafino in amazement. "How do you know that?! Only those within the Serdian family are supposed to be knowledgable of that!" Albert said. Rose drew her blade and pointed it at Serafino. "Really...who are you?" The red headed man shook his head and responded with, "I am just a knight who is very informed!"

"That's preposterous...No one of your caliber should be able to know anything on that subject matter. Especially when it pertains to the Dragon Buster."

Serafino frowned.

"Just accept that I am very informed. No need to interrogate me. It won't get you anywhere."

"You're not normal...You're very far from normal. You can read people like books just by gazing into their eyes, you know things that no normal knight or person should know."

The red headed knight began tracing his foot around on the floor. Making designs in the dust and dirt on the floor. Serafino sighs and then says. "And what makes you dictate whether or not I am normal?" Rose snorted and then crossed her arms.

"I am not giving up on this. I am determined to figure out what is up with you."

"Look. I believe that it isn't time for you know anything about me. . .Hell, I can easily say that I don't know much about myself. Maybe one day i'll tell you, how come I know so much, but right now...just accept the fact that I am knowledgable and leave it at that. I owe you no explanations. I owe you absolutely nothing."

Albert breathed deeply and leaned to one side. His back surged with a massive pain. He treid to hide the fact that he was in so much pain from the group, but it was close to impossible to do. He began to talk. " We need to stop the war, by attacking the main base..." everyone turned their attention to the king. " Kazas...We need to go to Kazas. By going there and defeating Emperor Doel, my uncle, we can bring peace to these lands. If we don't then i'll constantly be a target for Imperial Sandora, mainly because I still have the moon gem. The last thing that we want is to be a target for the enemy." He breathed a little before continuing. "Right now, let's...rest here. . ."

Dart looked directly at Albert as he said, "We should leave as soon as possible. The sooner the better. . .before they catch on." Albert shook his head and shifted his body uncomfortably. "I...can't...I mean. No we cannot. We can't leave right now." he shifted a little and jolted in pain. Serafino rushed to his king's side and began to examine him. "Are you okay, My Lord?" Albert, with a troubled look upon his face looked up at Serafino and nodded. "You're a liar..."Serafino said with a straight face. "You need your bandages changed. Come...I'll help you."

The king refused. "I'm fine. I just...need rest. Better yet, how about I go out and get some air."

"I'll accompany you." Serafino states.

"No. I want to be alone. .."

"But!"

"It's an order. Stay here."

"Yes, Sire."

Albert stood up and made his way towards the surface. Serafino maintains his position and allows the king to make his way up the stairs, hunched over in pain. Once Albert was out of sight, Serafino sat down and folded his arms. Shana took a good look at Serafino and couldn't help but to question. "You look unusually young to be a knight...for how long have you been serving His Majesty Albert?" The emerald eyed knight smiled. "I am twenty-two. I have been working with His Majesty since I was eighteen. So I have been with the King for quite awhile, but no where near as long as the other knights, who have far more years with him than me."

The young brunette's interests have been piqued and so she moved closer to the knight. "I have also noticed that you don't use the normal polearm that knights normally use. You use a scythe instead of a spear..."

"Let's just say that my weapon has more than one function. Spear...scythe. My weapon can be both, but His Majesty prefers that I utilize the spear. For the sake of being uniform. My scythe and my skills are what earned me the name, "The Reaper"...Not something I expected to earn. Not really a name that I want to be known by either."

"It's not as bad you think it is."

"Who are you kidding...An entity that moves through battlefields laying out his enemies in his wake. The harbinger of death..."The Reaper"." Serafino gives a gentle smile and stands up. "My abilities are why Sandora knows of me so well...which makes me a prime target next to...well...I'm just a prime target now." He begins to move towards the stairs. "I need some air as well. I'm suddenly not feeling myself at the moment."

Outside, Albert was sitting against the wall. His mind was riddled with memories of him and Lavitz. The king missed the knight that used to protect him. He could feel his eyes begin to well with tears, but he simply shook his head and took a deep breath. Albert refused to cry. The wind began to gently blow, causing his brown hair to flow with the breeze. He took a deep breath and attempted to regain composure, but it was very difficult for him. "I...I already miss him. Seeing him lay there, in HIS arms...dying was hard for me to take in." he told himself. "I wanted to talk to him for the very last time. I wanted him to know that I still and will always care for him. Now I feel terrible for not even being able to say one single word, why he laid there, slowly dying. What in the hell is wrong with me?!"

"Nothing's wrong with you, Your Majesty..." Serafino states, approaching Albert. "Things like this happen and I am pretty sure that he already knows your feelings. I am certain."

"But..."

"There are no buts about it." Serafino sat down next to his king and looked up at the sky." You've known Lavitz since you were young. He's been your mentor, your protector, and your friend. The two of you have shared a lot of memories and experiences together. There's no doubt about it. There is SO much between you two, that you have a good enough reason to feel how you are feeling right now. Don't ever think otherwise. My King, you are human. There's nothing wrong with you at all...you just care a lot about those who you are close to. More importantly, Lavitz and because that one piece to your puzzle is gone, you currently have a hole, but don't worry...it'll resolve in due time." The knight looked over at Albert to find streams of tears running down his face. Albert was crying, finally he stopped worrying about regaining composure and allowed the emotions to just flow out of his body.

" I just...I just want to tell him..."

"One day, when all of this is over...Let's visit him. Is that fine by you?"

Albert didn't voice anything instead he nodded. Serafino rested a single hand on Albert's shoulder. "Alright...we'll do that then. I'm pretty sure that he'll be very pleased to see us." The red headed knight allowed Albert to cry until he was done. The breeze continued to blow as all of the children that were outside playing, went back to their homes. "The sun is setting, Your Majesty. What do you wish to do?" Serafino questioned. Albert continued to sit there, slumped over in depression. "How about I change those bandages of yours. I doubt that you want to contract an infection." Albert didn't say anything, instead he turned away from Serafino and derobed, exposing his bandaged back. Serafino smiles and begins to tend to his king's needs.

"Are those two alright?" Shana questioned as she repositioned herself in the chair that she sat in. "They've been outside for an extremely long time." Haschel stretched and crossed his legs. "They're fine. The King's with his knight so you know that the two of them are in good hands. I am pretty sure the two of them can take care of themselves...well, i'm pretty sure about...What is his name? The red head..."

"Serafino." Everyone said in unison. Haschel scratched his head and then gave a hearty chuckle. "That man does seem like a bundle of secrets, though. His refusal to tell us anything about himself just piques my interests more." Rose gives a small chuckle as she listened.

"Hello, everyone!" Serafino chimed as he entered the cellar. King Albert was right behind him as they moved down the stairs. "We're back!" The entire group craned their necks back to look up at the two walking down. "Be careful..." Dart warned, "You're pretty far up...it would be terrible if one of you fell." Serafino made a small hand gesture and continued to descend the steps until both he and Albert were back with the crew. Albert retook his postion in his seat and said, "Tomorrow, he head to Kazas...I must meet with my uncle and bring this war to an end." He leaned to the side and took a deep breath. "Are you sure that you'll be able to make it there, Albert?" Haschel said, poking fun at the injured king. Albert gives a smirk and soon then laughed. "I may be wounded, but I am not down and out for the count." Then something suddenly came to mind. Albert turned to Serafino and notified him, "Serafino." The red head snapped to attention and quickly responded with, "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Don't do that."

"What?" Serafino was confused.

"Once we leave here, you are not allowed to say the following: "Your Majesty", "My Lord", "Sire", "Your Highness", nor may you address me as "King"."

"But! I cannot drop formalities...It would be...too...wrong."

"Why must you talk as if you're being violated by simply calling me Albert."

"It's just how I was trained...Sir."

"Don't call me that either."

"What?! So you're going to force me to call you by your name."

"Yes."

"But it's so disrespectful..."

Haschel laughs and adds his two cents into the little conversation. "It seems as if you have quite the loyal and respectful knight! He's a keeper!" he then chuckles and watches the scene unfold even more. " Oh Haschel..."Albert said before returning his attention to Serafino. "Call me by my name."

The red- head shook his head, causing his fire red hair to sway from side to side.

"Do it..."

"I can't...it hurts too much...It seriously pains me."

"Don't sit here and lie to me."

"I just can't."

"So you can sit here and lie to me, but you can't say a six lettered name."

"No."

"Repeat after me, then... Al-"

"Al-"

"ber-"

"ber-

"-t"

"No."

The king slumped over and just covered his face with his hand. That would have to be one thing that Albert was unable to do. Getting his knight to say his name without any honorifics, was going to be extremely hard, but he wasn't going to worry too much about it, at least for now. "Fine. Fine. You can have your way, if you must call me King...then make it soft to the point where people can't hear it." Serafino nodded and then looks at Albert's hair and notices that the black at the ends of his hair, grew a little bit more. His eyes widened and he couldn't help but to ask about it. Serafino tapped Albert on his shoulder, summoning Albert's attention. "Yes, what is it?" Serafino played with his fingers a little bit before speaking up. "Ever since we came back from Helena, your hair has been changing color...It's been turning black." Albert blinked a little bit before reaching around and grabbing his long ponytail. He looked at the end of his hair and a confused expression soon spreads across his face. He then brushes it off as nothing serious. "It's probably dirty. I'll wash my hair whenever I am able to get to a suitable place to wash it, but thank you for notifying me." Serafino was skeptical as to the black coloring simply being dirty hair. He held his chin and began to think. "I wonder why His Majesty's hair is turning raven black...This didn't start until after Lloyd tampered with...Wait...could it be?!" The young knight soon had a serious expression come across his face. He didn't like what he was thinking and if his theory was indeed true then a lot of people could be in grave danger. "I have to do something...but I don't know how, at least not yet. I need time to think."

Albert layed down and took a deep breath. "I guess it's time that we get our rest. We will have a long journey tomorrow." Dart said as he moved over to the candles and blows them out. "Goodnight all." Everyone got into a comfortable position and soon the cellar became quiet. Albert constantly took in deep breaths, taking in the stale, old air of the cellar that they resided in. Today had been a day that was long as well as hard on Albert. He had lost a great friend today and it was weighing heavy on his mind. He simply couldn't just fall asleep for the life of him. Lavitz was on his mind and he felt the strong urge to travel back to Hellena to put his mind at ease. Regardless of the fact that he wasn't in the best of shape, he decided to make a trip. He was confident that he could make his way to Hellena and back without letting anyone notice that he was gone. Albert was going to make an attempt. So the king slowly, yet carefully got up and snuck past everyone. It was surprising how fast the group fell asleep. He crept up the stairs and out of the cellar.

The cool breeze flowed through Albert's long hair. He took a deep breath and stretched out his arms as if to soak up the rays from the Moon that Never Sets. "It feels great to be out in the night. . .Now to get down to business. I have to make it there before midnight. Difficult, yet possible." Albert walked hastily towards the entrance of the town and stopped at its edge. He looked behind him at the entrance to the cellar and gave a small smile. "I'm sorry Serafino, but...I have to go on my own this time. Next time...We can travel together." He then exits the town and makes his way towards the forest. As soon as Albert leaves, Serafino exits the cellar to take a gander at the entrance to the city. "Did he honestly think..." Serafino begins. "That he could leave this area without my knowing. I'm not a knight that resides within the castle for nothing. You should know me better than that, My King." Serafino walks out of the town and begins to follow the path of the King.

In the forrest, Albert treaded down the path cautiously. The smell of dirt and wood filled his nose and the young main smiled because of natures pleasant scent. "It's been awhile since I have been outside of the castle and amidst nature. It's great to be out here. Though, I know it's not safe for me to be out here by myself. I know that I will be fine. I'm pretty confident that I will be fine." He tells himself, but to little that he knew, his loyal knight was tailing him this entire time. The king trekked through the forrest until he reached the exit. He stood at the edge of the forrest and looked in the direction that he now had to walk. A sudden surge of pain ran through his back. Albert cringed, but he decided to attempt to ignore it for now. There wasn't much that he could do about it anyways. The young man continued his journey towards Hellena. Serafino continued to follow, but now he had a sad expression across his face. It was saddening for him to watch his king walk this long of a way, on his own, to see the one he truly cared about...the one man that he loved. It was safe to say that the saying "Love knows no bounds" was indeed true. Though the red head couldn't help but to question whether or not he was wrong for silently stalking Albert. After a few seconds of thought, he shrugged and continued to follow his king.

At Hellena, Albert looked around for grounds that were disturbed or had some sort of marking. This was pretty hard to find, seeing how dark it was, but something in the distance did catch his eye. The rays from the Moon that Never Sets caused something in the distance to glimmer. Albert scurried over and to his discovery found rocks, neatly organized into a mound, with a grave marker at the head of them. Beside that marker was a spear. There was no mistake in that being Lavitz's spear. Albert smiled and fell to his knees beside the grave. "It...must have been hard...for him to lay his..." The king's face twisted into a sour expression as if he couldn't continue his sentence due to one specific word that described Dart and Lavitz. "It must have been difficult. I should've been there. I shouldn't have missed it."

Albert could feel his heart grow heavy and feel a certain spot in his stomach become heavy and weighted. "I'm...so sorry." he muttered. "I wish I didn't idly stand by and watch you die before my eyes. I wanted to tell you so much and yet I said so little. I feel ashamed, that I allowed such. Tis a shame that my body betrayed me at such a moment. I'll be honest, I never thought that you would be the one to leave me. I was hoping that we all would've left there in one piece. First, my father was taken away from me and...now you. I don't think I could take any more losses. I wish that you knew how much you meant to me. " Again, tears began to fall from Albert's face. While some cascaded slowly down his face, there were a few to drop onto the rocks that covered his deceased friend. "Look at me. . .I'm a mess. Lavitz, I hope you are in a better place. You were a great knight, with great ambitions and a great heart...Everything was taken from you too soon. I wish that you could've had more time to live your life, but because of Lloyd...You..." Albert couldn't take it any more he stood up and attempted to walk hastily away from the scene, but he bumped into Serafino, who had been standing behind him and observing this entire time. Serafino, as soon as Albert bumped into him, wrapped his arms around his king. "Now, what did I tell you...My King?" Serafino said with a gentle smile. Albert nodded his head and just stood there. "Please don't run off again. I can understand how you feel, but you practically placed yourself in danger by travelling out here. What if there were Sandorans waiting to get their hands on you? Remember, the war isn't over yet and there are those who still want your head on a pike. Don't sadden Lavitz by getting yourself killed. Do you understand?" Albert nods. "Now, what would you like to do? Do you want to go back, or would you like to spend more time with Lavitz?"

Albert moved away from Serafino and looked back at the grave. "But don't we have to..." he began. "Don't worry about that, Your Majesty. This is far more important now. Go over there and sit next to him. We'll return to Dart nand the others when you're done...it doesn't matter how long you decide to sit here and talk to him. All that matters is that you share what's on your mind to him. Go on, talk to him." Albert gives Serafino a smile and returns to his previous position and sits down and begins to carry on a conversation with his late partner.

"He really needs this right now...Times become extremely difficult after someone loses the person that they love or deeply care about. I don't want His Majesty Albert to struggle on this journey just because he wasn't able to say what he needed to say to Lavitz before he left for the afterlife. I want to see him happy, not just because I am a knight and I must uphold a code, but because I care for my King.

Lavitz...I want you to know, that you won't be missed. No matter how far away you are, you will always be in the hearts of your friends, especially His Majesty Albert's. One day, we will be reunited...I wish you well, Lavitz."