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Part 5 – Promises
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Lars looked at the ceiling through hazy, unfocused eyes.
As he lied there staring, the cloud around his brain began to disperse, and his eyes grew wide in alarm. He promptly shot upward, practically digging his fingers into his scalp.
'I love Rhen.'
Deep breath.
'… I still know that…'
He visibly relaxed... before tensing up again with a groan.
His head freaking hurt.
'Stupid... alcohol...'
After inwardly cursing everything in existence, he removed the covers and maneuvered until his feet hit the floor. His robes were heavily wrinkled from being slept on, and his cape had somehow wrapped itself around his body, pinning his left arm to his side.
After a brief struggle, he was able to move freely.
His stomach churned painfully, and he grunted, bringing a shaky hand up to cover his mouth. To his irritation, the palm was sweaty.
'I am never drinking again.'
After the fervent vow, a click captured his attention.
Galahad gazed at him from the now-open doorway with raised eyebrows.
"… You look horrible."
"… Thanks," Lars drawled insincerely. Galahad was a little surprised at the lack of a comeback.
"Breakfast is ready. We'll be heading out within the hour," Galahad explained, quickly leaving the irritated man soon after. Lars took notice of the smoky scent of venison hanging in the air for the first time.
It only made his stomach churn again.
He would definitely be skipping breakfast.
Water sounded like a wonderful idea, however.(1)
Be carefully stood, ripping off his cape when the stupid thing weighed him down. Sure, it didn't weigh much, but in his sickened state, every sense was stronger than the last.
The garment fell to join the covers on his bed before he made his way to the bathroom. He frowned at his own reflection, silently agreeing with Galahad's recent observation before turning on the faucet and splashing his face with cold water.
"I wish I could believe you," Rhen muttered, a small, bitter smile claiming her lips.
Lars propped himself up with his hands, momentarily letting the water run while staring at his reflection. A drop of water gradually formed at the tip of his bangs, jiggling from the pressure before finally dropping into the sink below.
This whole situation sucked, for lack of a better word.(2)
It was upsetting to know she couldn't trust him. It was confusing to be told that he wasn't… well, himself.
And it hurt to see those damn tears.
He was conflicted.
His stubborn side was screaming at him to just smash the stupid so-called cure, because there really couldn't be such a thing; these feelings were not… could not be false!
But everyone was against him.
And she was so damned sure that he was beginning to doubt himself.
Him; the stubborn, egotistical noble who prided himself in having things under control.
Lars nearly laughed.
Could he just give in? Could he really risk losing everything without a fight?
… Would doing so stop her tears?
He turned off the faucet, running his fingers through his hair until it looked somewhat presentable, and made his way across the room once again.
He regretted opening the guestroom door, for now that smoky aroma was much more potent, and his stomach made sure to tell him it disapproved.
"Mornin'," John greeted before taking the last bite on his plate and popping it in his mouth. Lars raised a brow, noting the bandages wrapped around his head.
"What happened to you?" Lars asked, making Dameon flush. Elini, who was standing over the stove cooking, sent the sheepish man a glare.
"Dun look so great y'rself," John shot back, clearly irritated by the question. Te'ijal smirked from her seat next to him.
"Dameon slammed the door in his face last night," Te'ijal answered, immediately building a mocking smirk on Lars's lips.
"I didn't see him!" Dameon defended, tense because of Lars's taunting look.
"Here, Lars."
Dameon was immediately cast from his thoughts when Rhen's voice met his ears. He turned just as said girl set a plate of food and a tall glass of water down on the table.
She didn't look up once before busying herself again with helping Elini cook.
Though he was disheartened about being ignored, he hadn't really expected much else, and sat down anyway. The plate of food was instantly pushed away, but the glass of water was grabbed hastily.
The tip of the glass was touching his lips, and right before he tipped the glass, he caught Rhen staring at him from the corner of her eye.
He froze.
Rhen looked away quickly, acting like she had never been looking, but Lars wouldn't be so easily fooled.
He observed her carefully.
The girl was jumpy, shaky, even.
Lars felt an incredible urge to slam the glass down on the ground and watch it shatter in a million shards.
Instead, he stayed in place, staring at the girl.
Sure enough, she glanced over at him again.
He could see her jump as his eyes caught hers and in that moment, she knew that he knew.
Locking his eyes on her own, he tipped the glass and soothed his parched throat.
Rhen's eyes widened. She could tell he knew what was in that glass… and yet there he was, gulping it down without a word.
And he wouldn't drop his gaze. Defiance, stubbornness, confusion… defeat.
Rhen stood in a horrid fascination as he downed the liquid, throwing his head back to get every last drop.
The glass was softly placed back on the table.
"…I hope you're happy now."
It wasn't spoken mockingly. It was the most sincere thing Lars could think to say.
And it made tears settle in Rhen's eyes.
Lars's eyes widened, and he stood, panicked, set on reaching her before she cried again.
However, the minute he stood, a wave of dizziness crashed over him, and he grasped at the table to try to regain his balance. The world was tilting and his grip was loosening and he could hear sounds… sounds, but for the life of him, he couldn't make them out… and everything was spinning and…
"I love you, Rhen. I don't… even if these feelings go away tomorrow… I'll fall in love with you all over again if I have to!"
He desperately clutched onto his words as everything faded to black.(3)
--
"This is the second unconscious person we've had to deal with within twelve hours," Te'ijal spoke disbelievingly.
"She didn't warn me about anything like this happening!" Rhen exclaimed, distressed as she observed the sleeping Lars lying on the couch.
"Maybe the cure doesn't mix well with alcohol," Elini answered, sitting on the arm of the couch with her arms crossed.
"Well, now that we have to wait for him to wake up, we might as well use the advantage to catch some more sleep ourselves," Galahad reasoned with a yawn, still drained from the night before. The others agreed with nods, scattering from the room.
"Are you coming, Rhen?" Dameon asked, pausing before leaving the room.
Rhen sent him a small smile before shaking her head, sitting on the floor with her back to the couch.
"I'll… stay with him," Rhen replied. Dameon's eyebrows furrowed, and he opened his mouth to say something…
"R… ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!"
Elini had successfully grabbed Dameon's ear, dragging him to the guestroom and securely shutting the door behind her.(4)
Rhen hesitantly turned her head toward the sleeping man.
His chest moved up and down rhythmically, his breathing twice as loud against the silence of the room. Rhen turned, placing her elbows on the cushions and her chin on her hands.
She couldn't think of a time she could openly look at him like this... couldn't think of a time when such a thing even crossed her mind. But she was suddenly enthralled in how peaceful the reckless boy looked while asleep. His bangs rested on his forehead, slightly brushed to the left, while his eyelashes gently kissed the inherited, light russet skin and his lips...
Rhen blushed, but didn't look away.
His lips slightly parted and...
A quick, but loud, snore rushed out.
Rhen blinked, almost disbelievingly, before burring her face in crossed arms. Her shoulders shook helplessly as she laughed, trying to stay quiet as best as she possibly could.
'Way to ruin a moment, Lars,' Rhen thought jubilantly, and she once again lifted her head when the laughter could be contained.
She sobered quickly, the smile transforming into a puzzled frown.
"You really drank it. Just like that," Rhen muttered halfheartedly, squinting her eyes as if she would get answers from the slumbering figure.
What would happen when he woke up?
'He'll be Lars again. Like you wanted.'
Ugh, her own mind was taunting her.
"… you like him like this. Well, tell him that when he's 'back to normal'."
Rhen felt her cheeks warm as she lowered her chin to rest on her folded arms. God, it was hard to swallow even thinking about it, much less doing it!
But could she really just go back to the way things were before? Was shoving these feelings aside going to be that easy?
… She could do it.
Rhen glared at him without noticing, determination taking over her features.
'That's right! What good would come from being with him, anyway? I'm going to become queen of Thais, he'll be going back to Shadwood Academy; separated by thousands of miles! I'm probably just all giddy because of the sudden attention he's been giving me(5)… but even that's because of the potion! This has all been some big dr-'
Rhen tensed when she felt the cushions stir. As those eyelashes she'd been inspecting earlier fluttered open, her stomach twisted into knots of anticipation, despite her self-reassurance. She sat stalk-still and wide-eyed as Lars stared at the ceiling, yet to notice her, and appeared to be somewhat lost.
"… Is this Vel- ..!!"
Lars jumped when he finally noticed her. Rhen, herself, was startled by the sudden movement and followed his example, jumping backwards and disconnecting herself from the couch. Her shoulder blade hit the coffee table, but the slight pain was only given a fleeting thought as she breathlessly watched the emotions filter across Lars's face.
Surprise, curiosity, confusion… then that frustrating wall that blocked what he was feeling with irritation.
Rhen hadn't seen it used against her since before the love potion incident.
For a brief second, she felt like trying to knock the damned thing down again.
"What the heck happened?" Lars asked sharply, glancing around the room, "Weren't we in Thais?"
Rhen had the chance to look confused for a mere second before reality hit her smack in between the eyes.
'He doesn't remember a thing.'
Not only had the silly notion of love disappeared, but every memory post-love-potion had gone along with it.
'And why wouldn't it have? It's not like he would have done any of those things if he wasn't in love with you.'
The determination she had built up just moments before slipped away, leaving her upset and, more than anything, angry with herself.
After all, he was back to normal. She wasn't supposed to feel so disconcerted about it!
"… Rhen?"
Rhen snapped to attention, taking the moment to stand.
"We had to come to Veldt. You were knocked out," Rhen replied, hastily walking around the coffee table. Lars looked alarmed.
"Did something attack us?!" Lars exclaimed in wonder, sitting up. To his surprise, he got no reply. Rhen continued to walk away from him, and made to go out the front door, "Hey!"
Lars stood and followed quickly, grimacing at the feel of his weak body.
What the heck happened?! His head hurt like hell!
"Don't just walk away from me, you brat!" Lars warned, reaching out to catch her shoulder. He nearly choked on his own spit when something caught the back of his robe, making the fabric dig into the front of his neck and bringing him to an abrupt halt.
He watched Rhen walk out the door before flinging around in anger, to see Elini let go of his robes and cross her arms. The rest of the group was standing behind her, eyeing him suspiciously.
"And what did you do that for?! I was trying to talk to her!" Lars exclaimed.
"It didn't look like she wanted to talk with you," Dameon sneered. Lars rolled his eyes.
"Well then you tell me what the hell happened. I refuse to believe I got knocked out by some mangy monster!"
"Monster? What mon-"
Te'ijal jabbed Galahad in the ribs, effectively cutting off his speech. Elini took some time to reply, almost as if she were trying to figure out how she wanted to go about the situation.
"... You weren't knocked out. You were under a spell," Elini finally said, deciding to leak the truth. John looked nervous.
"Uh... should we really-"
"Spell?!" Lars gritted, "That's even worse! ... Wait, you're telling me Rhen lied?"
Lars looked baffled by the realization, and had the decency to look a bit worried.
Sure, she'd argued with him, insulted him, played petty tricks on him, but... lie? Rhen?
Now he really wanted to know what happened. What would make Rhen lie to him? What would make her completely ignore him and walk out like that...?
"What happened?" Lars asked, this time composed and serious. Elini was grateful for the maturity they rarely saw in the young man.
"I spilt a love potion on you," Elini spoke blandly, as if a thing like that happened every day.
Of all things to hear, Lars was definitely not expecting that one.
Dameon snorted before adding, "Yeah, and you were the most pathetic, love-sick fool I've ever seen."
"You're just sore about her wanting to stay with Lars earlier," Elini replied with a taunting smile, making Dameon flush.
"Wait. You're talking about the love potion we got from the alchemist? The one you were planning to use on John?" Lars inquired, reaching up to scratch his suddenly-irritated neck.
"What?!" John yelled, wide green eyes settling on Elini, who was currently glaring at Lars for divulging the information.
"... And you spilt it on me. And I... love sick?! Rhen?!"
Lars looked undeniably dumbfounded, and even more disbelieving.
"See! I told you everything was that stupid love potion's fault!" Dameon exclaimed, accusing brown eyes staring Elini down, "You made Rhen fret over nothing!"
"You 'er gonna use that on me?!" John exclaimed once more, feeling the need to take a step back from the crazy Veldtian woman.
"Do you want me to summon my Red Demon?" Elini threatened, alarming Dameon, before turning to John, "Yes, I was going to use it on you. I am sure I have already stated you are an ideal husband. And you are a good man."
John looked slightly surprised, and maybe even a little pleased, at the final line.
Lars watched the scene blankly.
He was still getting passed the loving Rhen part.
"Don't stand there like an idiot," Elini suddenly said. Lars snapped to attention, eye twitching at the insult.
"I dare you to say that again," Lars challenged, scratching at his neck, "Ugh, why is my neck so itchy?!"
"Don't know. You were with Rhen all night. Ask her," Elini replied, practically pushing Lars toward the door. Lars growled, moving a few steps forward quickly to get out of her clutches.
"I can walk by myself!" Lars exclaimed, before slamming the door behind him.
The heat was already smoldering, even though it had not yet hit high noon.
It merely added to the sorcerer's irritation.
He turned when he heard the door open behind him, and watched as Dameon got one foot out before a bright red body wrapped itself around him. Dameon's eyes widened to the maximum, and he screamed before he was pulled back into the house.(6)
'... I don't want to know,' Lars thought, though extremely pleased at having seen such a thing.
But that wasn't the matter at hand here.
His eyes flew over the land, looking for any trace of the familiar light purple hair. He found her rather quickly, sitting on the edge of a sandy cliff, but didn't make his presence known.
'Damn, was it that horrible for her?' Lars asked himself, trying to joke around to get rid of the awkwardness that had set in.
"Yeah, and you were the most pathetic, love-sick fool I've ever seen."
That line was certainly bothering him.
Really, what had he done during that time? ... How long had it been?!
"... Oi," Lars finally spoke, watching as the girl stiffened, "... my neck itches."
He received the academy award for that opening line, really.
She laughed a little, reaching up to wipe at her face.
...
Was she crying?
The thought made him panic, and he didn't even take time to analyze the feeling before taking a seat next to her.
"There's cream that'll help it at the house," Rhen muttered, keeping her head low. Lars nodded, though she wasn't looking.
"So..." Lars began, watching her carefully for any signs of tears, "Where'd I get this?"
He purposely said it to get her to look up while he rubbed at his neck.
And as she did, he could tell her eyes were moist.
"You're allergic. To those flowers," Rhen responded, gesturing toward a ripped string of flowers lying on the ground a couple feet away from the sitting pair, before dropping her head low again. Lars frowned.
"I'm not allergic to anything!"
"That's what you said before, too."
Lars felt odd, not knowing what she was talking about.
"... Why'd you lie to me?!"
He had said it a little harsher than intended, and mentally kicked himself. He wasn't used to being in a situation where he felt so out of place... so he was resorting to something that put him back in control.
Blame.
There was silence before Rhen slowly turned to look at him in dismay.
"What did they tell you?" Rhen asked almost fearfully. She hadn't even thought about him knowing about everything! That would just make things ten times more awkward!
Lars studied the reaction with curiosity.
Why did she not want him to know so badly? How much of a fool did he make of himself?!
"That I was under a love potion," Lars said, confirming Rhen's fears.
With a groan, Rhen buried her face in her knees.
A wind picked up, and Lars quickly used his hand as a shield to cover his eyes from the dancing sand.
"You still haven't answered me," Lars continued. Rhen lifted her head just enough to send a glare his way.
"Yeah, and what was I supposed to say? 'Oh, yeah, Lars, you were in love with me for two days.'? That would have went well," Rhen spoke sarcastically. Lars bristled at the tone.
"Better than lying to me," Lars remarked, though he himself knew suddenly saying that wouldn't have been the best thing to do, especially right after waking up in a place he was sure they weren't supposed to be, "… So… care to fill in my memory?"
The question made Rhen tense again, burying her face within the protection of her knees.
"No."
The answer was muffled, but even so, Lars could tell it was forced. He sighed in frustration.
"Look, whatever I did that obviously upset you, I'm… well, sorry, but… Damn it, I'm apologizing for something that I don't even know happened! What the heck did I do?!"
"… You don't need to apologize for anything."
"Then why are you so upset?!"
"It's got nothing to do with you!"
"Don't lie to me again!"
"You were the one who lied to me!" Rhen shouted, snapping her head up and pinning him with a ferocious stare, "You told me you loved me, regardless of the potion! I knew I couldn't believe it but I… wanted… to… UGH, JERK!"
Rhen shouted the last part into the air for all to hear before once again burying her now-beet-red face.
Lars opened his mouth to say something, but merely got a sputter out.
What was that supposed to mean…?!
He could feel his cheeks heating up as her words resounded in his mind. Did he even hear correctly?!
Rhen? Like him? Like… like-like?!(7)
Rhen?
Him?
It was a rough pill for him to swallow.
Heck, what happened to the googly eyes at Dameon?!
… Obviously something happened within these last few days.
And he didn't even remember any of it.
He tensed, somehow annoyed with that prospect. Did that mean Rhen… liked… another person? It was still him, wasn't it…? Or not?
The headache he didn't even remember losing came back full force.
… Rhen liked him?!
What could he say to that?
She was poor, annoying, had an attitude she loved to use against him… but she was also intelligent, strong, compassionate… pretty…
His face burned as he risked a glance at her. She was still in the same position, hunched over and face hidden from view.
She had most definitely grown on him over the span of this journey… but the thought of… love…?
"… I'm sorry," Lars spoke, taking note that he'd never apologized twice within a couple minutes in his entire lifetime, "I… don't love you."
They both sat still for a moment, the statement resting heavily against their shoulders.
Rhen clutched her legs harder before letting them go, using her now-free hands to help her stand. She gave a curt nod, staring out towards the distance while brushing the sand off her clothes.
"That's what I thought," Rhen spoke, resigned. She turned to leave, and was stopped by a hand grabbing hold of her skirt.
"But that doesn't mean… I mean… maybe," Lars rambled, gaze locked on the hand clutching her skirt because he just couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye, "Er… it's not like the idea disgusts me or anything… that didn't sound right… um…"
Rhen's eyes widened as she stared down at the fumbling… blushing!… man in front of her.
Was he… was he actually… saying there was a chance?!
"I love you, Rhen. I don't… even if these feelings go away tomorrow… I'll fall in love with you all over again if I have to!"
Rhen blinked as her eyes grew misty, and a wobbly laugh escaped her lips, cutting Lars's fumbling rant off instantly.
"Get up, you idiot," Rhen ordered. Lars looked slightly alarmed by the sudden change in attitude, but did as he was told and stood, awkwardly looking from her face, to the sand, and back again.
".. Don't call me an idiot, brat," Lars spoke halfheartedly. For the first time in their lives, Rhen smiled at the insult.
Because this, for sure, was Lars.
Lars didn't love her. But… maybe he liked her.
Just a bit.
And that was enough.
They could go from there.
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1 – Ok, I don't know from personal experience, but I've heard that when you wake up and have a hangover, you're dehydrated and crave water.
2 – For lack of a better weird... and because I'm lazy and don't want to analyze the situation again XD
3 – Hello, angsty (another made up word) drama?
4 – X3 Oh, Dameon, how I humiliate you.
5 – She's totally disregarding the fact Dameon gives her the same amount of attention and she isn't as affected here XD
6 - snorts
7 – I did not turn Lars into a prep. The sentence makes perfect sense. It's just funny. XD
To ChibiKitty 14 & BiTteRSwEet.WhiSpeRs, thank you so much for the reviews!! My updates actually take longer on this website.. X3 For quicker updates on any future stories of mine, I invite you to Amaranthia, if you don't know of it already. Tis the main website for Aveyond and all of Amanda's games. Great place and really nice people ;)