Devotion

Chapter Five: Bastian

A/N: So, even though we're in our finals "week" (how can they call it a week when it's three?) at my school, I decided I would work on something. To be honest, I totally forgot about this story and it hasn't been updated since...December, I think? Anyway...

--

Death, a more graceful, more comforting being than life. Misery, present throughout the land. Not a soul is able to go through life without it.

And now, it was the count's time to be miserable. He had always been so kind, so devoted...he hadn't done a thing wrong. What was it about him that made him overlooked, unloved? Why couldn't Lucia see past his fancy words and overly eccentric garb?

Perhaps, see past that she can. The likely possibility is that wishes she not to acknowledge it.

Yes, that was quite likely. But still, the fact that she had given her heart to Renning, a man that was old enough to be her father, troubled him greatly. What did she see in the duke that she couldn't find in Bastian? Sure, the older man was significantly stronger and looked quite a bit more manly, but what is wrong with personality? Renning is a mere knight: emotionless, stern...he can't care for her like the blonde man does! Bastian was poetic, proper.

Then again, Renning was part of the royal--no, Lucia wouldn't care about that. She had always said that "love at first sight" was a silly matter. Actions, character, that was what mattered to her. The count, on the other hand, hadn't believed in love at first sight until he had seen her those years ago, after she had come back from school...

--

They all stood outside the Castle Delbray, trying to be the first to spot the horse that would bring their "princess" home to them. It had been five years since he had seen her last. Her family and even the king and queen had gone to visit her at the academy, but he had never gone himself, always being too busy for one reason or another. Besides, why would he go out of his way to see a girl that had barely been his childhood friend?

He looked around him, noting that everyone was there. Count Delbray rested his hands on his wife's shoulders; Geoffrey stood off to the side, expressionless. King Ramon and Queen Alissandra watched their daughter as she paced around impatiently. Every now and then the anxious princess would tap her foot upon the ground or sigh and drop her head into her hand. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that she was eager to see her best friend.

He, on the other hand, wasn't nearly so excited. It was just another day to him; full of duties and things he didn't want to do but knew he had to. There was nothing out of the ordinary here. All daughters of nobles went to school at Crimea's fine arts academy--"Tellius's School for the Gifted," as it was formally known. They would return home to their families once graduated, and most of the girls would go on to marry some noble they barely--if at all--knew.

He let out a sigh and stretched his arms when Elincia spotted something in the distance. The teenager jumped up and down, needing to be restrained to keep from running to meet the oncoming travelers. As Geoffrey held her by her wrists, Duke Renning stopped his horse before them and dismounted. Taking Lucia's hand, he helped the girl down from the stallion just in time for the princess to throw her arms around her older milk sister. Everyone else stood there in amusement as the two jumped up and down and shared in the childish moments of youth.

At some point the swordswoman realized that everyone present was staring at her, also noticing that not only were her parents nearby but other nobles as well, and she broke her embrace with Elincia and bowed before the king and queen. King Ramon smiled as he motioned for her to rise and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Welcome home, darling," he laughed while ruffling her hair, then after realizing what he had done, added, "Oh, you'll have to forgive me for treating you like such a child. You are a young lady now."

She smiled politely, "It isn't a problem, Your Highness."

Next it was her parents' turn to weep and say how they were glad to have her back and the like. She replied with how she missed them as well before she turned to face her brother, a sly smile on her face.

"Well, Geoffrey, didn't you miss me?" she questioned, the devious grim still spread across her features.

"Yes, Sister," came his, as usual, expressionless reply.

She rolled her eyes before turning her attention to the blonde sage standing off to the side, curtsying to him a slight bit.

"Nice to see you, Count Bastian."

"Splendid to see you as well, Milady."

The blueness of her eyes shocked the count...everything about her, both in personality and in looks, amazed him. Before, she had been rambunctious, always looking for attention; but now, she was more refined and elegant. She was also quite beautiful--something he'd never thought he would call her. She had always been cute growing up, he had always found her precious, the adorable little sister he had never had, but now things were...different.

--

Yes, she had always found "love at first sight" to be foolish. To be honest, he had as well until that day. Whatever it was about that woman that attracted the count to her had made him believe so strongly in this "petty" notion. She gave him life--a reason to live.

But his feelings meant nothing now. She hadn't chosen him; Renning was the one she fell head over heels for. He didn't mean a thing to her, perhaps he never would. However, if she wished to be with Renning, then he would have to be happy for--no, who was he kidding? How could he be happy about this? On the other hand, he couldn't let her see his misery--he couldn't cause her distress over something like this.

Leaves only one option for me this does.

Sighing, the man got up and walked towards the door. He had been prepared for this for awhile but thought that possibly it would never actually come down to it. But, seeing as it had, this was something that he would have to do...

--

"And this dress?" the queen of Crimea laughed as she twirled around in a wedding dress she had tried on.

It was a simple-looking thing compared to what would be expected from someone of her rank, but it was nonetheless stunning. The strapless white gown reached to the floor, flowing onto the stone tiles. The upper half was decorated with intricate beadwork, giving the dress its stylish look and feel.

Though she had always wanted to wear her mother's gown when she married, she now knew that it wasn't possible, as King Ashnard had burned the dress when he had captured Crimea. But, she did have to admit that she liked the less elegant style of this dress more than the one her mother's had...

Her uncle sighed, "Yes, Elincia, it looks nice."

"But do you think Geoffrey will like it?"

At this question, the woman's best friend tried her hardest to suppress a giggle, but ended up bursting out into a fit of laughter. This act caused the emerald-haired ruler to frown in obvious confusion. She quickly regained her composure, realizing that she had just been mocking her monarch.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" Her suitor said, stroking her hair lovingly.

"Yes," she responded meekly before turning to the other woman. "Milady, I'm sorry, I never meant to--"

"No, it isn't a problem, though I do wonder what you found to be so humorous..."

"Oh, of course. I just found it an odd question to ask, seeing as how my brother would love anything you wore..."

"Oh," was her only reply.

The three of them waited in a rather awkward silence until a messenger walked in, bowing before the queen.

"Your Majesty, Sir Tauroneo is here to see Duke Renning."

She nodded, "Thank you. Please send him in." After the man had left, she turned to her uncle. "We can finish the whole wedding planning business after your visit."

He nodded as she moved towards the door, glancing outside to make sure that Geoffrey wasn't in sight, and then disappeared. Lucia, too, stood up from her place next to the duke, causing him to give her a confused glance.

"You're not staying then?"

"No, I figured you two should have some time to discuss matters, catch up...whatever it is that he's here for," she said, pecking him lightly on the cheek before continuing, "I figured I'd go check up on Count Bastian anyway."

"I see," he chuckled. "Good luck with that."

She rolled her eyes before turning and walking down the hallway towards the count of Fayre's chambers. With any luck, he would be there studying or something, saving her quite a bit of time in looking for him.

--

The sage mindlessly tossed a stone into the lazily-moving river in front of him. As he sat on the bank of the body of water, staring blankly into space, he all-the-while wondered how he would be able to tell any of them--if he could tell them.

Looking down at his shoes, he couldn't believe how ridiculous they looked. The footwear of a jester, that was all it was. In fact, there was hardly a thing about him that wasn't completely absurd. With his pointed shoes; long, curly hair; and odd manner of speech, he was ridiculed and mocked by the rest of the court.

Some said that such things didn't matter, but he couldn't lie and say that their criticism didn't get to him. Though he never showed it, the words spat out at him by the other nobles did sting him. He would never be able to take their harsh comments and be fine with them, but he could at least put on a brave face for everyone else.

"Well, Count, what are you doing all the way out here?"

The soft voice from behind startled him, causing him to nearly jump up from his spot in the dirt. He was able to play it off, however, and remain facing a distant tree. He had hoped that no one would find him here, that no one would bother to look for him after he came up missing, but things never go quite as planned.

Sighing, he gave his nearly unconcerned response, "Thinking I was, Milady."

He had no need to turn around. The speaker was clear to the man that had loved her for so long.

"I see...am I interrupting you then?"

"No, fine it is," despite his attempts to hide it, he knew she could sense the bitterness in his tone.

He didn't even turn around as she walked closer to him, regretting her decision to check up on him more and more. She had to have known that he wouldn't really want to see her right now...much less to talk with her. After all, she hadn't told him of her feelings for Renning prior to the other night, as she had planned. There wasn't a doubt that she had shocked him, giving him a rightful reason to resent her.

And yet, here she was, coming to cause him more misery, she was sure of it. No matter what she did, it seemed that she only caused him more and more heartbreak and tears. No matter how she tried, she only worsened his pain. His feelings were all she thought of, but she still managed to trample over them despite trying not to.

As she made her way down the rather steep bank of the river, her high-heeled shoes digging into the mud underneath, she couldn't help but smile at the fact that she hadn't fallen down like she had when she was younger.

But, of course, she had spoken too soon. Just like many times before, she lost her footing, falling forward. She covered her face with her hands, prepared to feel pain any moment. After she hadn't, she slowly removed her hands to find herself in Bastian's lap, his arms wrapped around her waist. This was how this event would always end when he was around--by some lucky chance, he would always catch her every time she fell, not caring about the risks he would take himself, but only for her well-being.

"I-I'm sorry, Milady. I hadn't meant to..." he stuttered.

She shook her head. "No, Milord, I should have paid more attention. ...Thank you for saving me."

She next sat through what would be her second awkward silence that day. They both just sat there, Lucia still in the count's arms, with neither willing to move. The Trueblade didn't know why her body refused to move, why her legs wouldn't respond and take the command to stand up. For some reason they just resisted what her brain demanded. In all honesty, while her mind was telling her how wrong this was, her heart was saying something different.

Looking at his current expression, she couldn't help but ask him one simple question. "Bastian, what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing, Milady. It's nothing, I swear."

"And if I don't believe that?"

"Believe it you don't, then nothing to you do I speak."

She sighed, "Bastian, please let me help you. Tell me the truth."

"The honest truth is that I feel...underappreciated. I know it sounds foolish, but wish I do that might I just once find some that...understands me."

--

The red-clad knight stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the scene by the riverbank. The sight that he was met with was unusual indeed--it wasn't often that his general's older sister would sit so close to the man that constantly showed affection toward her, and it was much more unheard of for her to allow his arms to rest around her.

He could barely make out their conversation from where he stood, but, as he was curious enough, he was able to listen closely and hear everything.

"That's it?" the woman looked at the blonde man in disbelief. "Milord, don't for one second think that none of us appreciate you. I appreciate you, more than you know. But someday you'll find someone that's nicer, prettier, and, overall, more pleasant to be around than I've ever been. Then you'll be truly happy...happier than you ever would with me."

"While a nice notion that is, I'm afraid it isn't true. Not a soul on Tellius can match you in any of the aforementioned categories," he paused. "Besides, never will I be as pleased as I am in your presence."

Kieran's jaw dropped at this next bit, with only a single thought running through his mind: How would Lord Renning feel about what was taking place. But he knew that he couldn't be the one to break the news to him, though the moment where Count Bastian's and Lady Lucia's lips met would forever play in his mind.

--

A/N: Finally, I have this done! Anyway, looks like Kieran's going to have an interesting chapter....which brings me to some things that my reviewers are going to decide. First off, I'm debating on two different pairings for Kieran: with Mia or with Marcia. I was originally going with Mia, but I got a request a while back for Marcia. The second is for Lucia's pairing. I'm undecided if I want to write Lucia/Renning or Lucia/Bastian. Of course I love her with Renning, but I've written that one so many times that I don't think anyone really likes reading it anymore. And since someone got me started on liking her with Bastian, even more than with Soren, I felt it would be a nice fit. So, tell me which of the pairings you'd like to see in the rest of the story in your reviews!