Hello~ This is the second chapter of the story! I mainly focused the first chapter in getting the readers all comfortable reading this fanfic so I pretty much wrote trivial things and mainly chats the group all enjoy having. This chapter is centered on Gaius and his identity. There will be more about Karla in future chapters so expect a lot of sadness and family complexity later on. In any case, I hope you enjoy reading and let me know your thoughts anytime!

Chapter 2

Erston… Erston Outway… That was his name when he was born, but his name will be Gaius when he dies. He will die alone; his grave will have the pseudonym with no family ties when Erston Outway had a little sister named Karla. He changed his name in order to protect his only sibling, but he knew he was fooling himself. In his perspective, this decision may have been for the best since his enemies will leave Karla alone, but perhaps he was too hasty in making that decision. In Karla's perspective, she probably viewed herself as a hindrance in the king's life, a vulnerable target to jeopardize his regime. And she had every right to think so. Gaius knew what he told Ludger about how respect ran deeper than blood, but he never incorporated respect with his little sister. Was he like Julius? He is looking down on his little sister? If Ludger was heavily distressed about his brother's ignorance, would Karla feel the same?

Gaius sighed as he checked the wyvern he borrowed from a local wyvern stable. He still had time. After lunch and interview with his friends, he had taken a long walk while the others returned to their business. October 6th… He thought he had gone over thinking about that specific day, but Alvin had said one word he hasn't heard in ages.

I visited her for her brother's funeral…

Funeral.

A funeral. A ritual for a specific deceased in order to pay one's respects and condolences to those who are related with the specific deceased. Gaius attended his mother, grandparents, fellow soldiers, and his father's funerals, but he all attended them when he was still Erston. When he became king, he never thought about the dead. He cynically thought the dead as gone, no longer a part of the world. Still, even if the dead are gone, he still remembered faces, voice, and the aura each people had. When he entered a fractured dimension for himself, he knew the Chimeriad he saw with his eyes were different from the Chimeriad he knew himself. Nevertheless, he felt sad… Seeing past comrades acting just as how he had remembered… As if reminding him that they weren't fully gone yet.

And talking with Ludger about siblings, trust, and respect reminded himself of Erston, the boy he once was. He sighed deeply once again. The wyvern snorted and twisted its head as if befuddled. Gaius knew that wyverns had profound listening capabilities, even to the extent of listening how nearby human's brains thundered if they were lost in thought or shook when in fear. At times, he just wished he had a speaking wyvern for a pet who could tell him what he felt. Growing up disposing his humanity and accepting nobilty procrastinated the chance to understand himself until he found bits of himself through chatting with others. He was still lost, he didn't know where to go. And worst of all, he shouldn't be thinking like this.

He shook his head vigorously and the wyvern purred in response as if gently soothing the king. No. He should never think like that. He was a king. He is a leader. He must lead. He must know where he should lead and know how to reach their destination. He doesn't need a pet who told him what he felt. He is Gaius, the king of Rieze Maxia.

"Your Highness?"

Gaius twisted around so suddenly and he felt something gooey and cold on his hand. When his eyes transmitted the vision to his brain he found out it was only Elle holding an empty ice-cream cone.

"Uh…" Elle muttered.

Gaius looked at the ground and found a scoop of ice cream slowly melting away. Elle seemed pretty shaken by his sudden reflex. "Elle," He began slowly. "Would you like another ice cream cone? I apologize for scaring you."

Elle seemed to have calmed down a bit after Gaius reclaimed his posture. "It's okay. I had a lot of sweets anyways. What's wrong your highness?"

"Elle," Gaius began. Was he sure he wanted to say his true feelings? "Elle, would you mind accompanying me to an ice cream shop?"

"But… it's okay… I…" Elle declined.

"No," Gaius smiled softly. "I suddenly crave an ice cream cone myself. Could you please lead the way?"

Elle brightened up, "Okay! Follow me!"

Gaius' soft smile slowly melted as he heard the two words he so often used in battles. Follow me. Follow. ME. His eyes narrowed slightly remembering the arduous battles he fought against his own countrymen with his soldiers for the sake of a promising future where nobilities mattered no more. And follow him they did. His loyal men followed him, respecting, trusting, and believing him till the very end. Now, he did the same with Elle. He trusted the young girl's incentive to help out; to fulfill her sole promise with her mysterious father. He respected Elle's bravery to step in alongside Ludger in fractured dimensions. He finally believed in Elle's ability to cheer up Ludger whenever he felt troubled by the overwhelming liability of destroying a fractured dimension along with its people. He followed Elle's tiny footsteps, leading him to his destination. He felt secure from this little child, for he knew, wherever Elle takes him, he knew he was going to have the best ice cream in his life. He wondered him his soldiers felt the same. He wondered if Karla ever felt that way to him until he changed his identity.

"Here we are!" Elle proudly stated. "What flavor are you going to choose, your highness?"

Gaius looked at the numerous flavors listed on the front menu. Were there always this many flavors? He didn't remember anything fancy like Element's Dream or Rappig Cherry. All he knew was the dark, brown, sweet flavor he always shared with Karla. Gaius would win a bet he made with his friends who can climb the tree the fastest and he would always win, earning himself enough money to purchase Karla and his favorite sweet; chocolate ice cream.

Gaius felt slightly embarrassed to ask. "Excuse me," he inquired. "Do you have chocolate ice cream?"

"Huh?" the owner was clearly confused. "Ya mean just the plain one?"

"I haven't had ice cream for two decades…" Gaius muttered. "I'm not sure if that's what I want."

"Hey mister," Elle piped in. "Can you give a sample for him to try it just a little bit?"

"I suppos' I could," the owner muttered. "It ain't selling well anyways. I just use it as an ingredient. Hol'n a sec."

Gaius nervously took a small spoonful of brown melting frost. He let it enter his thin lips, allowing the cold to instantaneously melt from the warmth of his tongue and mouth. His teeth stung a little from the sudden cold and he wiped his teeth with his tongue to warm it again. The sweetness engulfed him and he smiled nostalgically.

"Your… Your highness?" Elle asked. She never saw him smile like that before. Even though Gaius often laughed and chuckled from Elle's actions and words which was no easy feat, she never managed to make him smile like a little boy, like how Ludger would smile.

Gaius opened his eyes and Elle saw for a moment that his eyes sparkled. He seemed younger… Just for that single moment. He pulled out his wallet and ordered, "One cone please, and is it possible to purchase a bucket of that?"

"Eh, go right ahead," the owner muttered. "First time I saw an adult to smile that childishly from ice cream. This one's from the house." He got up to scoop a cone for Gaius. "Hey missy, aren't you getting one? In fact, didn't you get one already?"

Elle giggled from the kindness from the owner, "I uh… I accidently dropped it. Eh heh heh."

"Bah, I'm in a good mood thanks to this young man here." The owner gave her a crooked but gentle smile. "I'll get ya one too. Whaddya want missy?"

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"Elle!" Ludger shouted when he saw Gaius and Elle walking leisurely to the wyvern stable. "Where were you? I was getting worried!"

"Gaius wanted to buy something, so I ac-a-accom…" Elle looked at Gaius for help. "What was the word?"

"I apologize for taking Elle without you knowing Ludger…" Gaius spoke. "I asked her to accompany me on a… personal errand."

Ludger was obviously distressed. "I… I saw the ice cream I bought for her on the floor… I thought something was up. Thank goodness you're alright."

"I'm sorry…" Elle muttered and she hugged Ludger's leg to show her remorse.

"What are you doing here Gaius?" Ludger asked, feeling calmer. "I thought you had something to do?"

Giaus was slightly embarrassed holding a small bucket of chocolate ice cream. "I still had some time before going back to Elympious. I was thinking about heading back to Kanbalar."

Ludger seemed surprised. "I'm headed there myself. Elle wanted to ride the wyverns so I figured I'd take her along."

"What's your plan in Kanbalar?" Gaius asked.

"I got a call from Nova while we were visiting Driselle. Nova said she was visiting Rieze Maxia with her sister, they are currently in Kanbalar," Ludger smiled sheepishly. "She invited me, and since I had the week off, I figured I'd spend some time with her."

"Even though he was dumped by her," Elle stage whispered.

"So I've heard," Gaius muttered.

Ludger scowled at the little girl, "Wyverns don't like kids who tell other's secretes Elle. They'll pretend to like you and they'll drop you once we are airborne."

"I know his majesty will catch me when I fall, so I don't care~" she singed.

Gaius chuckled at the young arrogance from Elle and prepared his wyvern for flight. The wyvern looked at him at the eyes and Gaius saw his own reflection from the beast's large eyes. He saw a powerful, stoic man, prepared to gamble with the largest stakes for his people. Is this who he is? Is this who Gaius is?

The wyvern snorted and turned away as if Gaius was no longer interesting. Instead he sniffed at the bucket of ice-cream he held.

"What's in that?" Ludger asked.

"It's-" Elle began.

"Elle," Gaius hastily interrupted. "It's true I would catch you fall. I'm sure Ludger would as well… But the fact that wyverns hate children who inconsiderately tell other's secretes isn't a jest. I would be careful my mouth in front of a wyvern if I were you."

"R-Really?" Elle looked worried. Actually VERY worried. After all, she did announce thousands of embarrassing stories about Ludger which she heard from Julius. She had a good reason to be worried. She nervously patted Ludger's wyvern on the snout and whispered, "I'm sorry I told secretes to others… Please don't hate me…"

Ludger leaned as spoke to Gaius at the ear, "Is that really true?"

Gaius smiled at his own lie, "You and I both know exactly how to deal with children."

"Indeed we do," Ludger chuckled as he helped Elle mount on his wyvern and he climbed onto it himself. "Ready, your royal highness!" he smiled.

"Let's ride!" Gaius ordered and the two wyverns soared to the sky and headed to Kanbalar.