A/N: I had a major epic fail- I go back to read the last chapter and the first thing I notice is a typo. *Facepalm* So forgive me about that, I'll go and change it. Sooner or later... *Ahem*
I've decided that I still like this story well enough to continue with it for a little while more, but I really do mean a little more... As this is the last official chapter of Dueling at Dawn! Yes, I went there! Anyway, I do plan on having an Epilogue chapter after this one, but as for the whole plot and real story... This is it. So then, I really hope you enjoy this chapter.
youdon'tknow: Yes, well, when you're Soren I don't suppose chivalry has anything to do with it (I doubt he would care). It must be frustrating to be unable to review things without an account... Hence why I allow reviews from anyone! XD
Also, for your question about ' was she going to hate Soren for who his parents were' and all, I see it as Mia possibly hating Soren because of who his parents are, not who he is. Let me put it like this. Shinon (a notable racist) hates laguz because they are laguz. But, he does not hate them for them being them (take Janaff for example). That's what I'm trying to say there. If Mia hates Soren because he's Branded, then she hates him because his parents are beorc and laguz. This also means she doesn't need to know who his parents are (Soren doesn't even know XD).
The whole white-robed thing starts up in this chapter, so, yes, it did take me a while XD And, of course, be prepared for a heart-to-heart with Rhys.
Mia had her face in a towel when he came over, so she wasn't able to hear him say her name. Still, once she finished she was able to see him scowling in front of her.
"Ah! Soren!" She exclaimed, her face pulling into a grin. Mia was a little confused though, wondering why he had suddenly come to see her and what he wanted to say. "I.. Uh, I won't tell anyone alright? I know my word probably doesn't mean anything to you, but I swear." Soren raised an eyebrow and Mia stopped, though she had more she wanted to say.
Soren looked comfortable in his white robes, though it was hot out and they were heavier than his black ones. Mia bit her tongue, wondering if she could tell him her insight that she got by being around him more.
"I read the note." Ah. Mia felt like a hole opened underneath her and like she fell all the way down the planet. It wasn't like she was embarrassed about anything she wrote, nor did she regret having written it. She meant everything she put in it, but with the recent developments, would he take her seriously? "I... I appreciate the thoughts. But... I'm not sure I can call you a friend. I... Heh..." Soren's face adopted an unsettling smirk, though Mia had seen it before.
"I'm not sure what a friend is. So how can I call you one? I suppose... Its not that I don't think you're a good fighter, and you're reliable... Its more that I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. You and Ike should, do, know why..." Mia saw his face wiped blank again, so his emotions were hidden.
Mia wasn't sure what to say. Here was someone saying he wasn't sure if they could be friends because he wasn't sure he knew what a friend was. And then there was the matter of his birth... What must it have been like, being born into a world that hated you for your parents? Did he even know his parents? For some reason Mia doubted it.
"Soren... I..." Mia was cut off by a truly terrifying glare from the archsage. She had never seen his eyes so bright, or was it just the sunlight reflecting off them?
"No. Don't try to relate to me Mia... You can't. Whatever you say can't change what happened. I should go, I have inventory to take." He turned away and Mia hesitated. It was clear he wanted to be left alone, but she could feel Ike's eyes on her as he watched. No, it wasn't just because of Ike. No, Mia wanted to comfort Soren, even if it couldn't change anything. So right before he left her reach the trueblade lept forward and grabbed at his sleeve.
Soren blinked and looked back at her, as if confused. Had he expected her to just let him go? No, that wasn't what a friend would do. That wasn't what Mia would do. And Soren being Branded didn't make a difference to Mia, Soren was still Soren.
"I know I can't do anything to change the past. And I know you probably don't want me to comfort you... But I want to help! I can't even start to imagine what it must have been like, nothing can come close... But I can't just stand by and let you suffer by yourself. I have to step in and help you realize that not everyone is going to hate you. Soren... You're brilliant, really, and you might be the strongest person in our group. I can't think of anyone else who could have survived and become so amazing like you are today." Soren was now totally and completely confused. Since when had anyone really gone out of their way to make sure he was alright? Ike was the only person who did that, Ike was the only person who cared...
No, that conflicted with his new insight... So what was true? Mia's words? Or the long and large amount of suffering he had taken that spoke without words?
"Soren... You are the most brilliant person I've ever met... I just thought you of all people deserved to know." Mia let his arm go, and watched as it dropped to his side. Soren was looking at the ground, deep in thought. When he brought his head up again he was giving her a faint smile.
"T-Thank you Mia... But you should know..." He hesitated, as if thinking of the best course of action. But then he shrugged, as if pushing logical thought away for once in his life. "You are a truly brilliant person too." Mia grinned back and put her hands on her hips, practically giddy about the way things had turned out. Soren... He was alright with everything. Sure, it would take some time to get him to come out of his hole, but she could do it. Soren was a good person, everyone would be able to see it! Soren's face twitched and he managed to give Mia a full grin, though it looked a little pained (had he ever really smiled?) and forced. He nodded to Mia and turned towards the fort, and Mia watched as he left, still giddy.
As the archsage left, a Ragnell-wielding hero felt like Soren was, just maybe, close to not having to rely on him. Maybe miracles do happen.
"Only three heal staffs? For our two healers? Titania better get some..." Soren sighed in the dusty room that was the storage for things that were not weapons (there were several energy drops and speedwings Soren noted) and generally forgotten. Soren still checked it every few days, though not with as much vigor as the weapon storage. You never knew when Shinon was using up his bows faster then Soren thought was possible.
It was not his favorite duty. No, it wasn't even mildly entertaining. But he didn't think anyone else was trustworthy enough, and Ike was already busy enough. Maybe I can get Mia to do it... No, that was not a good idea. Soren flinched at the idea of letting the girl loose in a room full of weapons or supplies. No, it was best Soren took a hour or two out of his day to take inventory himself. If just for the sake of the supplies and his mental sanity.
"Hm... A secret book from out last battle... Yes, I should give that to someone so they can use it." Soren made a note down on his sheet of paper as he continued to walk around, though his mind wasn't really into what he was doing. Mia kept floating to the surface, and the fact that he felt that he could trust her (after only a few days? Madness!) particularly came to mind.
Something about that trueblade was comforting. Blue hair, like Ike? Or was it something else? Soren sighed again, shaking his head. Whatever it was distracted him from his work, dammit. Soren grit his teeth and scribbled down a few more things on his list. Was that it? Soren's eyes looked over the list carefully and easily, used to reading his cursive-and-fancy print. Yes, that was it. Soren couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief as he let his arms drop down to his sides, though his mind rolled through the rest of his duties. Inventory for the weapons next, the man told himself.
"S-Soren?" At least Soren did not yelp, though he had the urge to. Spinning around faster then usual, the archsage found himself face-to-face with a white-robed priest. Damn. Not what Soren wanted to do quiet yet, that was later.
"Rhys? You..." Soren's first thought was to slap the man, or at least elwind him (it wasn't like he'd be hurt too badly, and Mist could always use some practice) but something stopped him. Was it the flash of fear in Rhys' eyes? He was helpless- against Soren he was outmatched and the priest knew it. Soren could easily badly hurt, or even kill, Rhys without even trying that hard. And goddess, Soren had half a mind to do so.
"... Whatever you do, I deserve it. Nothing I say can excuse me from the fact that I said something that I now understand was private... I'm sorry Soren, I truly am... So..." Rhys spread his arms out for a second before letting them drop again. The other man's head was dropped so he was looking at the ground, and Soren couldn't help but wonder if Rhys was true to his words. He didn't seem to know that Soren was Branded, or the priest was much more tolerant then his counter-parts. Maybe he could get off with a rant? Soren sighed and put his papers under his shoulder so he could cross his arms and glare at the man.
"... Do you realize what you did?" Rhys glanced up and flinched- for a grown man he wasn't very brave, but somehow Soren could understand that. "What you did was inexcusable and I have half a mind to find revenge..." Rhys paled and Soren sighed again. "But I know that wouldn't be fair... I understand there was no malice behind your actions... But be careful what you tell people Rhys." The archsage moved past the priest and walked out of the room, but paused, hearing Rhys' voice.
"Thank you goddess... Thank you Soren... For your forgiveness..." Soren's back was to him, but he could imagine the man crossing himself, and clutched the wooden door frame tightly. "... I hope he understands I truly am sorry..." Soren closed his eyes and moved away from the room, from Rhys, and shook his head once he deemed himself a far enough distance from the supplies.
"I don't want your thanks Rhys... It means nothing..." But even as he said the words, Soren found himself realizing they meant nothing, and the thanks meant more then he would admit to himself.
Mia, right after cleaning up from her duel with Ike (dang, that man never lost his edge), decided to try to find Soren to ask him if he wanted to spar with her. Maybe it was a little much for the boy (he was older then her, she assumed, though he looked younger) to spar with her right after the recent events, but Mia couldn't think of another she would want to spar with right then.
Boyd was never the real challenge she wanted, seeing as her sword already had an advantage and she usually didn't feel a need to hold back when fighting him. Shinon would just turn her down, and Gatrie would end up hitting on her. Titania was out at the village, and Oscar was caring for his horse. And Rhys... Poor Rhys, the white-robed man was scared to spar with her ever since the white-robed fiasco. Mia was starting to think over the words, and she realized something after talking with Oscar once...
Maybe, just maybe, her rival didn't have to use a sword. After all, Kieran (Oscar's self-proclaimed rival) used axes while Oscar used lances. And maybe she didn't have to defeat her rival, maybe... Well, the rest of her theory was still a little fuzzy, but maybe she just needed to tell someone about it.
'Someone' being a white-robed archsage named Soren who just happened to be Branded.
"Soren? Are you in there?" Mia knocked again on his door, but she didn't hear anything. After waiting for a minute or two, she decided that he was not just ignoring her, he really was out of his room. Was he already training? No, it wouldn't be like him to train so early in the day while the rest of the mercenaries were out and about (the cool morning mist had yet to be burnt away from a hot sun, making it the perfect temperature to train) and it wouldn't be like him to relax outside either. With that in mind, Mia assumed he was indoors.
Taking inventory? She thought. She headed to the weapons storage first, remembering that he was usually holding a stack of papers and snapping at people when they came to take a weapon out. She couldn't help but grin to herself as she headed towards the large room used to store weapons, remembering her first encounter with the sharp-witted mage.
It hadn't been a great start, certainly. He had chewed her out for missing a sniper who nearly decimated Rolf. Like she hadn't felt bad for that herself. But the weirdest part was that he didn't seem like he cared for Rolf, but more like he didn't want to deal with Oscar and Boyd's wrath. So a very confused Mia had found herself being chewed out for nearly unleashing the wrath of two members of the mercenaries, not for nearly killing Rolf.
Mia sighed again as she reached the outside of the right room. She didn't hear anything or anyone inside, but that wasn't much of a surprise. Soren insisted the weapons be kept neat, and it was one of the few things all of them agreed with. It made it easier to grab your weapons and know just which weapon you were grabbing.
Entering the room, the trueblade noticed her assumption was right and that Soren was checking the weapons. The swords, to be precise. Soren didn't seem to notice her, but as she grew closed he moved on and commented,
"We're running out of good swords, maybe someone will need to grab some on his next trip to the town." Mia raised an eyebrow as he scribbled something onto a paper.
"His next trip? Are you talking about Ike then?" Soren glanced at her and met her gaze with a blank expression. At least it wasn't a glare, Mia couldn't help but think.
"He has Ragnell, I'm quite confident that he will be fine." He looked at the lances and poked a few aside, glancing around before writing another line down. "If you want to know, I'm finished with the swords. Assuming you won't steal it, you can take one." Soren went on to the axes, Mia following him into the selves of weapons.
"I was wondering if we could spar. Nothing serious- I'll use an iron sword and you can use elwind." Neither of them said it, but it was understood that nobody wanted anyone to get hurt, least of all Soren. Mia was always getting slashed at, but Soren wasn't. Soren grimaced and didn't meet Mia's eyes as he wrote something down.
"... Mia. We need to talk. My room, after lunch? Ah, um, w-would that work?" For some reason, Mia couldn't help but grow her smile when Soren stuttered over his words. It was a sign that even he wasn't perfect, even he was human. It was a hidden trait that Mia thought he could do better to show.
"Sure thing Soren! But... Does that mean you don't want to spar?" Soren blinked and seemed confused by the question, or maybe he was just puzzled over his answer.
"... I-I'm afraid not Mia. I... I have a lot to do. Inventory... Checking the rooms..." Soren trailed off and Mia nodded, heading back to the swords and pulling out a silver sword, a rare weapon she had gotten for her last birthday. She had yet to use it in a real battle, but she usually trained with it when she had free time. She hesitated on her way out, and Soren's voice threaded through the stacks of items to surprise the woman.
"Perhaps another time. Sparring with you... It is a truly enjoyable experience." Mia felt her face redden, but she looked back at Soren's back and nodded, though he could not see her.
"Alright Soren! I'll see you at lunch, alright? Don't even think about missing a meal!" Soren looked up from his paper and, shocking Mia deep into her core, had a decent-sized smile on his face. A real smile, gleaming in his eyes and reflecting in his change of posture- much more relaxed then the everyday-Soren.
"I won't... I promise." Mia laughed and nodded again, walking out of the room. Soren sighed once she was down the hall, lowering his arms back down to his sides.
The room... It seemed a little colder, a little less of a shelter from the world, and more like an empty cave with a dismal feel about it.
Knock, knock. Two knocks, simple and soft. After a moment of pause, a voice floated out of the room softly, with a hint of uncertainty.
"Yes? Who is it?" Soren took a breath in and hesitated. "... Hello? Rolf? Do you need to talk to me about something?" The door opened, revealing the occupant of the room, his shocked face mixed with confusion.
"Rhys... I wanted to ask you something." Soren said, not thinking about it, from fear of stopping himself. "Its personal... But I doubt Ike could help me and... And, well, you were the only person I could think to ask." Seeing the confusion only deepen, Soren sighed and relented. "Its about Mia." Rhys raised an eyebrow, but nodded, opening his door fully. He invited the magic-user into his room, the window open, illuminating everything with a warm, golden light.
Soren followed the priest, standing though the red-head sat down in a desk chair. The sun might have been high in the sky, but, now that he was inside, Soren felt like it was all too bright. He narrowed his eyes to try to fight the glare, but he saw Rhys' startled expression and opened them a little.
"Ah... Um... What is it that you wanted to ask?" Soren opened his mouth, but closed it almost immediately after. He looked at the wooden floor, off to the side, unable to form his thoughts into words. The awkward silence filled the room but was broken by the sound of clinking tea-ware. Rhys poured himself a cup and dropped in a single sugar cube.
"Do you want a cup?" Rhys looked up, stirring in the sugar as he looked at his fellow spell-caster. Soren hesitated (could he trust him? Why would he just offer him a cup of tea?) before nodding slowly. Rhys poured the cup, then looked back at Soren. "Sugar?"
"No thanks... I wanted to know about... Um..." Now that Soren was thinking about it, he really did want to stop himself. Surely it wouldn't be so hard, just talking to Mia. Even though he was a Branded and he wasn't even sure what he wanted to say. Soren took the cup from Rhys, realizing his hand shook as the tea wobbled dangerously in his hand. Rhys could have raised an eyebrow, questioning Soren, but he didn't. Thankfully, the priest simply sipped at his tea and only glanced at Soren, instead looking outside at the forest side of the mercenaries' home.
"R-R-Rhys..." Dammit, since when had he not been able to speak? Soren could keep his calm during anything! So why was he shaking now, like he was on his way to the gallows? "W-Wh-What do you do when... W-W-When you..." Soren would have sworn Rhys was smirking as he drank his tea.
"Whenyouwantospend... Timewithsomeonebutdon'tknow... Uh, howthey'llreactifyouaskityouare... Morethenjustfriends." Rhys looked at Soren, his blue eyes meeting red. Although there were gaps between the parts of the sentence, it was all too fast for him to catch. He sighed and put his cup down on his saucer, most of the liquid gone.
"Ah... Could you say that a little slower please? I only caught a little of it." Soren was blushing furiously, but, for his credit, didn't stop in his reply.
"What do you do when... You want to spend time with someone but... Um, you don't know how they'll react if... Well, maybe, in theory, in no way relating to real life let alone any of the mercenaries (because that would be just preposterous), you wanted to know what they'd say if you... If you asked if you were more then just friends." Soren was shaking so much, he didn't dare try to drink out of his cup. He would be more likely to spill it all over himself. Instead, he set it down on Rhys' desk and pulled some stray hair strands off of his face.
"In complete theory of course. I am... Inexperienced in what you believe is 'love' and wish to learn more about it and the emotional responses to such feelings... Purely out of academic thought, of course." Rhys did not, for a moment, even blink an eye out of place. Thank you, Soren thought as he pleaded for the priest to not make a fuss. Or, even worse, tell anyone about the conversation.
"Of course... Well, are you friends with the person in question?" Soren hesitated. Was he friends with the person he was thinking about? Damn, this was going nowhere anytime fast, and lunch had to be soon. Soren decided to just admit it.
"Rhys, I'll be... I'll be honest with you. I keep on thinking about Mia and how she's such a great fighter, and how she's like Ike but different and more graceful, and all of these confusing thoughts! Me, confused! I... I'm not sure what to tell her after lunch, so I thought... You owe me, and Ike certainly cannot help me in this matter..." Rhys nodded, he had come to the same conclusion rather fast.
"Just admit your feelings. If you try to hide anything from her, she might not think you're sincere... And considering that you spend most of your time trying to stay away from us, you'll need to be as convincing as possible. My advice is to be honest and tell her right from the beginning." Their conversation was interrupted by a noise from downstairs.
"LUNCH!" Followed by a loud clang that could only be made from pots and pans. Lunchtime, and nearly time for Soren to speak to Mia. Damn. Rhys stood and lead Soren out of his room. Soren started to walk away first, but was stopped by a confident hand on his shoulder.
"I... I wish you as much luck as you will take, Soren." Soren swallowed a million things he wanted to say (he didn't need luck, didn't believe in luck, didn't trust luck) but only nodded and ran downstairs.
He had decided to listen to Ike, that morning. Maybe it was time he stop running from his problems. Maybe it was time he face them head-on.
Mia chased a meatball around her plate with her fork, her mind a million and one miles away. The sounds of the others washed over her like a beach wave, rolling over and away all within seconds. Boyd arguing with Rolf, again, about strength against speed. Titania chatting with Oscar and Rhys. Shinon glaring at everyone while Gatrie's words flew past him without even noticing.
And then Ike trying to make small talk with Soren, who, if possible, was even more quiet then usual. Was it because of what he said earlier? Just what did he want to talk about anyway? Mia couldn't understand why someone so anti-social (though he was opening up more) would want to go out of his way to talk to her. To her, the most energetic mercenary of all!
Mia swore lightly when her meatball fell off her plate. She quickly stabbed it and took a bite out of it viciously. She chewed it while her eyes flew over the mercenaries, her green eyes resting on Soren. He was eating his food dutifully, though it looked like Ike had forced him, because of the look on his face. Glum, disappointed, mopy. Any of those adjectives could have described the man. What was up with him? Deciding that eating alone wasn't much fun, she took her plate and walked over to Soren's table, trademark grin plastered onto her face.
"Oh! Hello Mia. Is everything alright?" Ike asked, scowling (though that was to be expected). Soren's eyes flickered up to her's, a jolt of surprise showing, then fear. Fear? Of Mia? The trueblade thought he had gotten over his irrational fear of her revealing his secret. What else could he be scared of? Still, he wasn't scared enough to avoid talking, and he said a soft,
"Hello." Before going back to eat. Mia shook her head and hesitated before placing her plate down on the table. Soren winced as the metal plate his the wooden table, but it was more of a jump then anything. Now Mia was worried. Did his reactions have something to do with him wanting to speak with her after the meal?
"Do you mind if I sit with you guys?" Mia asked. Ike shook his head and ate a bite of his pasta- Mia took that for an invitation to sit. Soren shrugged glumly and without energy, starring at his food without speaking. When Mia sat down, Soren's eyes flickered up to her again and he stood, leaving his plate (no doubt, if he didn't, some hungry person would finish it for him).
"Sorry... I have to finish a few things... Have a good meal, Ike... Mia." He walked stiffly away. Ike sighed and looked apolitically at his fellow sword-wielder.
"Huh... Well, he seemed like he was getting better." Mia shrugged and pretending that it didn't really bother her.
"He said he'd meet me in his room after lunch. Did he speak to you about..." Seeing Ike's puzzled expression, Mia trailed off. Obviously the answer was a resounding 'no'. Mia took a bite of her food as Ike replied.
"That's strange... He didn't tell me anything about that..." Mia could tell she was troubling him, but she waited as he continued. "I did tell him he should talk to you. I suppose he might be listening to me... Huh. I suppose its nice to know he's opening up. Still seems strange..." Mia raised an eyebrow as she took another bite. Strange, talking with someone about Soren made her so interested... Seeing her expression, Ike answered the unasked question- 'why'?
"I've been trying to get him to open up for years. Its just a little strange, he's more open then ever in just, what, three days?" It seemed like more then three days, Mia reflected. Ike took a bite of his food during the silence. Mia tried too, but realized she was out of food. Sighing, Mia decided now was as good as any other time. Standing up, Mia smiled (her face had become more thoughtful while they were talking) and picked up her plate.
"Thanks Ike! Its great talking to you, duel you later!" Dropping off her silverware and plate at the kitchen, Mia forced herself to walk normally out of the room. But, once the doors were closed behind her, she broke into a run. Soren might be acting a little strange, but that didn't change anything for Mia. And there was that ever present question in her mind, just what did Soren want?
Soren couldn't believe himself. He must have seemed like such a coward, running away instead of staying and talking with her, with Mia. He suppressed the urge to slam his head, fists, or any other body part, onto his desk. He couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. For him to freak out, now of all times, would ruin everything.
Still, it seemed like all his courage, all of his preparation, was going to go to waste. He was a coward, scared out of his mind to admit that he was growing close to someone (of the opposite gender no less!) and, to scare him even more, admit that he wanted to grow closer to someone! He trembled slightly, the possibilities of failure seeming to loom over him and engulf him.
She would hate him forever after this, for someone as low as him to so much as think they could be more then just friends. Because that's what Soren wanted, right? More then friends... Soren closed his eyes, the start of a headache forming. Damn. Just another thing to go wrong that afternoon... What next? Soren half expected bandits to attack the fort, although the thought was illogical. Three seconds and two soft-yet-confident knocks on his door later, and Soren was calming himself down after a slight shock. Lunch was over already? Damn.
"Soren? Are you there? You... You still want to talk to me, right?" Mia's voice helped sooth him down. Strange, yes, but at this point Soren was willing to accept anything to help him.
"Y-Yes Mia... C-C-Come in..." Soren sat up and smoothed down his robes and hair. Mia opened the door softly and glanced around, looking for a place to sit. Soren mentally chided himself for forgetting to give her the seat, but it was too late to stand without making a scene.
"Y-Y-You can sit on my b-b-bed." Damn, damn, damn! He was stuttering! Him, that nervous! Still, if Mia noticed (which was obvious, because Soren was slightly trembling and felt a blush on his face) she didn't say or do anything to suggest she was uncomfortable. Although, she did look nervous herself. Soren gave himself a little peace of mind knowing he wasn't the only one who wasn't quite sure what they were doing.
"What did you want to ask me Soren?" Mia's hands were curled into fists so tight they were pale. She wasn't trembling, but she did seem a little red in the face.
"W-We're friends... Right?" Soren was regaining some of his composure, though not all of it was back. He did manage to stop trembling, and he was working on loosing the red on his face. Mia nodded quickly, her face going from nervous to cheerful.
"Yep! Why?" Her face morphed into being confused. Surely Soren didn't want to talk to her in his room, just to be sure they were friends? Soren took a few deeps breaths. 'Just admit your feelings. If you try to hide anything from her, she might not think you're sincere... And considering that you spend most of your time trying to stay away from us, you'll need to be as convincing as possible.' Rhys' words echoed in Soren's head. Time to take some advice from someone I can't trust, Soren thought grimly.
"I-I wanted to ask... I-I-I-If we can be more then... More then..." Soren swallowed the ever-growing lump in his throat. Luckily, it looked like Mia knew what he was going to say anyway. Her face lit up, as if the sun had come out behind a cloud.
"Soren! Are you... Are you serious?" She looked surprised, and happy. No sign of hate, or pain, or anything else Soren had worried about was on her face. Soren was stunned. "I thought... I thought that you'd just push me away like everyone else, but I started to realize that I didn't want that to happen. You're more fun then the rest of the mercenaries think! You're... You're nicer too, and... And I... I would love to be more then friends..." A blush was creeping over her face, and Soren didn't even want to start thinking about what his face looked like. Of course, Soren did have the feeling that his mouth was slightly open. He never even dared to think of their meeting going this well... Mia was the nicest person he had met, without any reasons to even pity him!
Ike was always going to have a certain place in his mind, a place no one else could even come close to reaching. But Mia... Well, it looked like Soren would need to make some room for another person then. But was calling it a place in his mind really the right thing? Maybe his heart, which was under lock and key and frozen in solid ice, was starting to become a little more open.
"M-Mia... Are you serious?" Soren had to check, had to make sure he wasn't just hearing things. "You... You don't mind? You really do want to be more then friends?" Mia nodded, standing up now. Her hands on hips, smile larger then ever before, Soren couldn't help but smile. The entire thing felt strange though, like some dream that was never meant to come true. Maybe because it really shouldn't be true, the idea of a happy Branded. No, not a happy Branded. A Branded with a chance of a real life.
"Soren, you have to stop thinking the world is out to get you. Because... Because..." Mia was trembling, or her hands were at least. "Because I care for you! You have no idea how much you've started to mean to me! I know everyone probably thinks you owe your life to me but... Well, you're so much smarter then me, you're strategies have gotten me (and the rest of the mercenaries) out of death's grip so many times! You've saved my life... More times then I can count!" Mia, who was much taller then Soren while the man was sitting, moved so she was kneeling and at eye-level with him. She put her hands on Soren's shoulders, the archsage unable to hide his slight discomfort.
Mia seemed to hesitate, but she continued to move, coming close enough so, two or so inches forward, their noses would be touching. Soren had, understandably, never been so close to someone without his consent. But, some part of him didn't really mind. No, no! What in the world was going on? Soren nearly pulled away, but something stopped him. The part that didn't mind? The warm feel of Mia's hands somewhat comforted him. It was just like what Ike did, seemingly years ago (but only a day, if that), to comfort him... To remind him that there was always going to be at least one person there, to protect him. Now... Well, now it looked like there was going to be two people there to protect him.
"M-Mia... I..." Soren stopped stuttering when Mia put two fingers on his lips.
"Don't... Don't talk... I-I understand." And then, suddenly, there weren't two fingers on his lips. There were the most perfect (Soren imagined) lips on his.
And then, Soren realized what it really meant to be happy. What it meant to be in perfect bliss. What being in love really meant.
"Ike?" The soft knocks were followed by the equally soft voice- Soren's voice. Ike felt a wave of relief roll over him. He hadn't seen the mage since he saw, from the training grounds, Soren being dragged and/or pulled into the forest by a grinning Mia. Ike could only assume Soren was 'forced' to spend the entire day relaxing instead of working.
"Soren! Come in, door's open." The hero had been a little worried when Soren hadn't shown up for dinner, but Mia hadn't either so Ike figured they were together. Or Soren was trying to make up for lost time and finish all of his jobs. Obviously it was the latter.
"Ike. Here are the inventories of all our items. It appears we are low on both swords and axes. We may need to stock up on lances as well. And we are low on fresh food, and some meat. I suggest that we send out Shinon and Rolf to go hunting. We have had three jobs offered, the details are listed in the back. Anything else you want?" Ike raised an eyebrow as Soren handed him the stack of papers. Just how much work could one person finish in only two hours? Of course... Ike wasn't sure what he'd do without Soren.
Ike shook his head and put the papers aside onto his bedside table (he was resting on recommendation from Rhys, who worried his cold might come back).
"No thanks Soren. You've already done more then you needed too." Soren nodded and turned around to head out of the room. He was about to leave when he turned back around. Able to see his face clearly now, from the candle light, Ike noticed a slight difference. Perhaps those who didn't know him well wouldn't be able to tell, but Ike could. A slight lack of seriousness, or maybe just more happiness. A look of content, a serious face betrayed by the light-hearten look in his eyes.
"Ike... About having two days to make up my mind..." Ike raised his eyebrow again.
"Yes Soren?" A pause, the sound of an intake of breath-
"I have made my mind up. I don't need another day... Goodnight Ike, I will... I will see you in the morning." With that, Ike's childhood friend seemed to grow up. He didn't need Ike anymore, not as much as before... And for some strange reason, the idea gave Ike peace of mind.
With that, Soren closed the door and left Ike's room.
Fin