~ Chapter 7: Revelation and Devastation ~
The day after his meeting with Aella, and, once again, Knight was relaxing in his wooded hideout glad to be done with his responsibilities early for the day. As he relaxed under the cloudy sky and closed his eyes, his thoughts drifted back to his encounter with the girl the day before. Just who exactly was that girl? And why had such a good-looking girl approached him? Knight never really considered himself handsome or someone to look at. And he especially didn't think of himself as one who'd attract girls just by his looks. He considered himself as average. And usually average people are not approached by attractive people. It was… weird, in a way, but also it made him feel good to be noticed. She had even flirted with him!
Knight blew out a breath of air trying to breath out the memory of her. He had a girlfriend, though, at times, she treated him like a child. But Maranda was still his girlfriend. And he had to be true to her. After all, if he couldn't live out the vows of marriage now, then how would he live out those vows later once he did take them?
Knight's smile soon turned when he thought of his relationship with her lately. Lately, she just seemed to be more distant than she used to be. And at times she was more critical than when they had first met. Not being of an outspoken nature and not wanting to hurt her feelings, Knight simply accepted her verbal abuse without a word even at the expense of his own feelings being hurt. But despite the length of their relationship, Knight had begun to have his doubts about them being together for at least the past month or so. However, he could never express these doubts to her sure that she'd go off on him and leave him all alone. And he would not be able to handle another one of her lectures again.
Once again, as like yesterday, Knight heard a twig snap followed by some rustling leaves. He sat up abruptly and froze feeling his muscles tense from the anxiety of being discovered. He listened carefully trying to pinpoint the sound. Apparently, whoever it was wanted him to know they were coming; they were making little to no effort to mask their approach. Then a familiar, sweet aroma wafted past his nose. It was an alluring, even intoxicating scent of some kind of fruit. He'd smelled this relaxing aroma before. Emerging from behind a tree off behind and to his right sauntered the elegantly slim figure of Aella.
"Ohh! It's you again!" Knight said with a smile. Man, she looks good. He inhaled deeply. And she smells good too! Ugh! Why is that scent so… tempting? he thought as his eyes scanned her up and down. This time she wore a flowing purplish kimono with a pattern of a rising sun near the hem of the garment. The rays from the rising sun were colored pink and purple and spread out from the bottom of the garment to the top. Though this outfit was not as… provocative as the one she wore yesterday, she still managed to make this more modest outfit… appealing.
"Hey," Aella chimed. "Is there room for one more here in your, uh, secluded hideout?"
The way she spoke sent chills down Knight's spine. Her flirtatious tone caused him to smile and shake his head as if not believing that she just asked that question in that tone. Maranda hadn't talked to him like that in a long time. It felt good to have a woman make him feel like a man again and flirt with him rather than putting him down. And it felt good to flirt back without fear of reprimand.
"Yeah, I think there's just enough room for one more," he replied teasingly.
"Great!" Aella said excited as she sat down and leaned back against a nearby tree.
Knight watched her movements, studied every subtle shift of her body, and gazed interestedly at this young beauty who had come back to see him, of all people! He noted how that the kimono clung so close to her body that he could see her slender figure and her feminine curves. As she sat down, he watched her smooth legs slip out of the part of her kimono before she tucked her legs beside her. Knight was so lost in admiring her beauty that he didn't realize that she was now looking at him.
"Hm…" Knight cleared his throat awkwardly feeling his face flush with color. "So, uhm… what brings you out here, to my hideout… again?"
"Ohh… well you know… I just in the area and I'd figured I'd find you here. So I thought I'd stop by to see how you were doing," she said calmly.
"Riiight… okay," Knight said with a smile not believing her. "Sooo, really? Why are you here?"
"I just wanted to talk. Is that so wrong?" she answered innocently.
"No, I… I guess not," Knight admitted. "Umm… by the way, what was your name again? I kinda forgot…"
Aella smiled cutely at him and at his ignorance. Or maybe it was his innocence as to why she smiled at him. "Aella. And you're Knight, right?"
He smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah! Wow, you sure have a good memory!" And you look good too! That last thought passed through his mind so fast that it caught him off guard. Stop it, Knight, he scolded himself, she's just a friend. Or more like an acquaintance. I mean, I barely know her, who she is!
"So do you come out here often?" Aella asked, breaking Knight's thoughts.
He furrowed his brow slightly wondering why she needed to know. But he figured it wouldn't hurt to tell her, right? "Yeah, when I can. See, I usually come out here to relax and, like, escape from the world, or something like that. Kinda like my little sanctuary."
"Ohh… I see…" Aella nodded her head in understanding. "Well it is very secluded…"
Knight couldn't help but look over at her out of the corner of his eyes. Her tone suggested action, at least on her part. He readied himself in case she did try to do anything; but, she didn't. Instead, she leaned her head up to look at the tree canopy. But she still kept her gaze on him out of the corner of her eyes.
"So what exactly do you escape from?" Aella asked.
"You know, just stuff," Knight remarked nonchalantly. Frankly, it's none of your business.
Aella nodded her head and hmmmed. "I see. So like the duel you had at the dojo? Or is it the way you were unfairly treated by being punished along with the other kid? Stuff like that, right?"
Knight inhaled sharply feeling his heart rate quicken. "Wha… How do you know about that?"
"Word gets around… besides, I kinda peeked in on the duel. I must say, you were very impressive against him, even though you did have an advantage over him."
"What?" Knight asked as he raised an eyebrow at her. What's that supposed to mean?
"Ohh… nothing…" Aella said mischievously. She looked over at him and winked. "But I must ask you, what was that that you threw at me yesterday?"
Knight began to feel a bit nervous and uncomfortable. Something in the back of his mind whispered, She knows something about you. She knows about you. Your secret. Run, you fool! Run! He cleared his throat trying to think of some kind of excuse or explanation, but nothing was coming to mind. He didn't want to reveal his secret; however, there was something in the way she looked at him that made him want to tell her. If her beauty was a reflection of her trustworthiness, then she would be the most trustworthy person around. But his instincts told him not to say anything.
She smiled at him obviously sensing his inner struggle. "It's okay. You can tell me. What were those?"
Knight sighed and gave in. She obviously was no dumb beauty. "Those were my Lightning Daggers. Or that's what I call them at least."
"So then you must be an Adept from the Jupiter clan?"
"I—what?" Knight did a double take. He'd read that the Jupiter clan was an ancient clan of warriors that used lightning and wind as their elements of offense. The Jupiter clan was rumored to be few in numbers, if not already extinct. And if any lived, they were rumored to be on the far continent of Atteka (where the Jupiter lighthouse resided) and on the island continent to the north Hesperia. He was neither from Atteka nor Hesperia; so he couldn't be a Jupiter clan Adept. "I don't know," he said quite unsure of himself. "I don't think so."
"Surely you must! You wield lightning! Only those of the Jupiter clan can do that!" Aella paused seeing the confusion as well as the urge to run away portrayed on Knight's face. "Oh… I'm.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Here! Let me show you something!"
Aella stood up and adjusted her clothes. She briefly glanced over at the blond and smiled at him as she lifted her left hand up and closed her eyes. Her breathing became slower… well, maybe not slower as much as it became more focused. Then her hand extended all the way and a bolt of blue lightning streaked from her fingers and crashed into the trees on the other side sending splinters of wood flying in all directions. Aella looked back at Knight who was openly gaping at what he'd just seen.
"You're…!" Knight began.
"That's right," Aella affirmed. "I'm a Jupiter Adept, just like you. So, now that I know your secret and you know my secret, do you trust me now?"
Knight slowly started to smile and then broke out into a small laugh. He looked up into her eyes and couldn't help but smile bigger. "Yeah! Sure!" The air still crackled with excitement as the smell of ozone slowly diffused into the air being replaced by that sweet, intoxicating aroma emanating from Aella.
With her back turned to him, Aella turned her head and said, "Great! Then when I tell you this then you'll believe me."
"Huh? What was that?" Knight asked. "Tell me what?"
"Let me ask you something first. You have a girlfriend, right?" Aella turned and sat on the ground nearly across from Knight. "Have you ever taken her out here? It's secluded enough that you guys could do whatever and nobody would know."
"I… what?" Knight said his head recoiling back. He laughed nervously and replied, "I, um… no! No! We've never… I mean," Knight cleared his throat. "Our relationship is not about doing stuff like what I think you're suggesting."
"Well then, how do you guys stay together if you're not, you know…?" Aella started to ask as she began to make some kind of gesture of her hands folding together or something.
"I… I'm not sure that we should be having this kind of conversation," Knight interrupted with a nervous, quivering voice. "Besides, there's more to a relationship than just the physical stuff."
"Really? More than physical stuff? Like… like what?" Aella asked with her head cocked slightly to one side. For the first time in a long time, she did not fully understanding what someone was talking about. She had been taught by her master that in order for a relationship between a man and woman to carry on, that they needed to be intimate with each other. That was evident enough between her and him. And even when she went on longer undercover missions, she would have to be intimate with her targets until the mission was complete. And neither her master nor some of her targets had been exactly gentle with her. That was perhaps one of the reasons why she despised men so much.
"Well like, companionship. Or friendship. Or, like… um… just hanging out and talking with each other. It's not all based on the physical part of the relationship. There are feelings to take into account and getting to know the other person better. I mean, after all, you date… you're in a relationship to find out who you're gonna marry. That… that's just how I feel about it anyway."
All these things he was speaking about – taking feelings into account and getting to know the other person – were foreign to Aella. No one really took her feelings into account nor took the time to really get to know her. It was hard to grasp what exactly he was talking about because she had nothing to really relate to what he was talking about. She was just used as a weapon and as a play thing to satisfy her master's pleasure-driven whims. The more she tried to comprehend what he had said the more Aella felt her head hurt.
Aella shoved all her thoughts back out of the way and focused on the real reason she came. After all, she wouldn't understand what he was talking in a million years anyways. "I see…" she said feigning understanding. "If you don't mind my asking, how are things going lately?"
"Well you know, they could always be better, I guess," Knight said shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm kinda surprised though," Aella said with raised eyebrow as she looked at him. "You seem like a faithful kind of guy. It's too bad…"
A long awkward moment of silence passed between the pair. Knight looked over at her expecting her to say more but she didn't. "Surprised about what?" Knight finally asked, a bit confused.
"I'm surprised that you're acting so calm given the circumstances," Aella said matching his gaze.
"What circumstances? Look, what are you saying?" Knight asked feeling jittery.
"You see, your girlfriend doesn't share the same faithfulness to you as you do to her," Aella said not revealing exactly what she knew.
"Huh?" Knight was still confused. "Are you saying that she's being unfaithful to me?"
"I'm saying…" Aella heaved a sigh. "…I'm saying that you should check out the warehouse that's in that direction…" Aella pointed in the direction of the warehouse.
"Why?" Knight asked still confused. "Now?"
"Yeah. Go now. There's something there that you need to see…"
Knight still wasn't sure what she was talking about, but his curiosity compelled him to follow her instructions. Again, he felt that little voice in his head whisper, You're not gonna like what you'll see. Knight swallowed hard and slowly made his way to the warehouse anxious as to what he would find there.
WK WK WK WK
Knight was waiting in the usual meeting place for dinner. The color in his face looked as though it had all been drained out. He looked pale and sick. His eyes were red and slightly puffy. He stood motionless with arms crossed and stared off in the direction of the warehouse where they would be coming from. His lip curled upward and his eyes narrowed when he saw Maranda and Ichon coming down the road talking, chatting, and laughing together. They were late; but, this time, Knight knew why.
When the pair got close, Maranda was the first to notice Knight's change in composure. "Hey. What's wrong? And what's with the sword?"
Knight scoffed. She had the nerve to ask what's wrong! "Really? You don't know?"
"Ohh… Sorry we're late again. I had to work a little over my usual time," Maranda said while also talking with her hands. She always seemed to flail her arms every time she spoke.
Ichon again smirked; but, this time Knight didn't pass it off. He understood why. And the more he thought about it the sicker and more angered he became. He clenched his hands as his eyes shot from Ichon back to Maranda. How could she do this to him? And with this dope?
"I bet…" Knight retorted darkly.
"Are you…"
"Where were you?" Knight interrupted her question.
"What!"
"Just now! Where were you?" Knight asked firmly. "And what's the real reason you're late?"
Suddenly, Maranda figured out what he was asking. Her mouth dropped open slightly and she lost the color out of her face. Her once cheerful mood had completely changed to a mood of dread.
"I… I can explain!" Maranda said quickly.
"I don't believe it," Knight said slowly in shock backing away from them. His breathing came more labored as he felt his emotions slowly take control of his body. "I… I trusted you. I… I… I gave you my heart. And this is how you repay me?" Knight felt himself start to shake. "I didn't want to believe it. I thought she was lying. But now, I see… It all makes sense now. The reasons why you've always been late. Why you guys have been walking together. Why he began to show up so much earlier for dinner than the usual time. It all makes sense! But still…" Knight put his hand over his face, his eyes still wide with shock. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and as he spoke he slowly looked up at the pair. "I don't believe it! I… I loved you… But, you… you…!" he couldn't even get his words out. He closed his eyes feeling his body quiver. He was so angry that his body actually shook as if he were freezing in the snow! He clenched his hands again as they dropped to his sides. His left hand brushed against his sword and he remembered why he had brought it with him in the first place. He placed his right hand on the handle small sparks leaping across his hand. He looked over at Maranda with eyes of focus, with eyes… colored violet.
"Wha—wha… wait!" Maranda exclaimed. "I'm… really sorry. I… regret it, I really do!"
Knight shook his head. "Ohh no…! Not yet you do," Knight spoke in a deep, dark unnatural tone. His hand shifted on his sword as he slowly unsheathed it and brought it in front of him. "But you will!" He brought his left hand up to meet his right hand on the handle. He then angled the blade and lowered into a fighting stance. He clenched his teeth and gripped the handle so fiercely that his knuckles turned white. He inhaled sharply feeling his emotions reach their peak. He then went into action. He stepped with his left foot and brought his sword behind. With all of his might and with an angered, hurt cry, Knight swung his blade horizontally at neck level, intent on not letting anything stop him.
"Knight! KNIGHT! AHHHH!"
At the sound of his name, Knight froze instantly. His blade was mere inches away from decapitation, but he stopped. He recognized the small voice that had called out his name and screamed. His mouth dropped open as his head slowly looked towards the voice. It couldn't be her. Standing off to his right a few paces away was a young girl with wide eyes and a scared and confused look on her face.
Jessica…! Knight thought aghast. It was her! His eyes went wide when he saw her. His gaze met hers. He felt his heart shatter. Jessica was on the verge of tears. She looked at him questioningly as if to say, "What's going on? And what are you doing?" He couldn't go through with this. She was already traumatized enough. And if he would have gone through with this, then she would have been scarred for the rest of her life; and he'd have to live with the fact that it was his fault.
Knight, still breathing heavily, felt himself slowly relaxing out of his killing position. With both hands still on his sword and his eyes fixated on Jessica, Knight eased his sword back behind his body in a low position and then released his left hand. Knight looked down at the ground in front of him and closed his eyes. He slowed his breathing trying to calm himself, but it wasn't working. He had to get out of here. Knight glanced over at Maranda and shot her a message with his blue eyes that said, "You're lucky Jessica was here to stop me. Consider us finished."
Briefly glancing at Jessica, he turned his back on them, all of them: Maranda, Ichon, and Jessica. He felt his shoulders slump and his body curl underneath the weight of his burden. As he slowly shuffled away, he sheathed his sword knowing that his life here in Xian was over. He stopped for a moment and briefly looked at Jessica once again for perhaps the last time. She was crying now not understanding what was going on. Seeing her crying brought up tears to his own eyes. He couldn't bear it anymore. He averted his eyes and ran off as the tears flowed freely from his eyes.
WK WK WK WK
With the sun long since set, a tolerable darkness had engulfed the sleeping town of Xian. The gentle chirping of the numerous crickets and other bugs filled the night air. Small nocturnal critters scurried about scrounging for food and such. A gentle breeze blew through town further adding to the chill that was already felt in the air. But nobody felt the chill in the air because they were all underneath the warm confines of their covers, save for one person.
The windows of the house Knight was in were covered by so as to avoid shedding light out from the few candles that had been lit inside. Knight walked back and forth, picked up various items, examined them, and then either put them in a box or on his bed. After a few hours of doing this, most all of the things he'd acquired were either in boxes or lying on the bed, though there were considerably fewer things on the bed than in the boxes. Knight dropped one last item into one of the two boxes he'd laid out for his stuff. He sighed and plopped down on the corner of his bed. His gaze shifted from the boxes to the secret holes in the floor where he planned to store his stuff.
"What's the point?" he asked himself. "I'm never gonna come back here to get any of this stuff anyways." Knight looked over at the items he'd spread out on the bed. He had a few medicinal items as well as a few provisions to sustain his body for at least a few days. The map he'd acquired was rolled out and kept open by his katana blade. He'd already decided to head north to the village called Kolima. He figured that he had enough food to make the few days journey without worry of starvation. And with the training he'd received from Feh and with his sword, he felt himself adequately ready for any threats he might encounter from the wildlife.
Knight stretched out his arms and back feeling the stiffness fade from his body. He stretched out his legs and ankles hearing the familiar pop that his joints made. He stood up and turned to finishing packing the stuff on the bed. As Knight grabbed a ration of food and stuffed it into his bag, he felt his neck hairs stand up on end.
"I don't have time for you. Sorry," Knight replied looking behind him, but it wasn't who he thought it was. "Feizhi?"
"I… I heard about what happened," Feizhi said sheepishly gently shutting the door. "So you're leaving?" she asked seeing him placing things into a travel bag.
"Yea…" Knight nodded somberly and continued to pack his things. "I… never really belonged here in the first place."
"Sure you belong!" Feizhi protested. "You're…"
"I'm an outsider!" Knight raised his voice. He sighed. "Sorry… I'm… a lot happened today."
"Yeah… from what I heard, you drew your sword… in broad daylight… and against Maranda!"
Knight stopped packing and smirked. Word sure gets around fast! "Yeah… but I had good reason to. Feizhi," he started as he looked down at his bed. "She… she cheated on me! With Ichon! And I saw it with my own eyes!"
Feizhi gasped. Obviously, she hadn't heard or been told that part.
"When I confronted her and Ichon, she tried to lie to me about where she was. I… lost control of my emotions. I drew my sword. I was gonna make her pay. And I didn't care about the consequences. But what makes it worse is not that I was gonna kill her, it's that Jessica… she was there when I drew my sword and almost killed Maranda…"
"I had no idea!" Feizhi whispered. Her eyes danced wildly across the floor trying to take in what he was saying. Then she looked up at Knight who looked back at her over his left shoulder a tear streaking down his cheek.
"I loved her… I honestly thought that I had found a purpose and a new life here. But I see now that that was all an illusion. Just Fate's way of teasing me with something that I can never have."
"But you will have that someday! I've… I've seen it…" Feizhi trailed off as if revealing the ending of a book to someone who wasn't finished reading it yet.
"Well I don't," Knight replied coldly.
"Is leaving town really your answer? Are you really just gonna run away from your problems?"
"Run away?" Knight repeated turning to the girl. "You think I'm running away from my problems? Look, if I stay here, then I'm sure that next time I won't hold back! I'm only leaving for Jessica's sake. She…" Knight felt himself tremble as he remembered the innocent way that Jessica had looked at him earlier. "She had wanted to marry me… me who almost killed someone right in front of her!" He turned his back on Feizhi and paused for a moment. "I'm leaving. And that's that."
From the tone of his voice, Feizhi knew that there was no convincing him otherwise. He had made up his mind. He probably already thought about it. And this was his decision, for Jessica's sake. She had seen how he and Jessica interacted. She had seen the excitement the little girl had when she talked about marrying him someday. She knew of the special bond that he and Jessica shared. Even now, she saw how deeply he cared for the little girl. It moved her soul. And it touched her heart. Feizhi took a few steps forward and reached for Knight's left hand shoving something in it.
Knight was caught off guard for a moment but then felt something in his hand. He pulled his hand back and opened up his hand to reveal a good luck charm. He was about to comment about it when he felt Feizhi lean up and gently kiss his cheek.
"I know that no matter what I'll say, you'll still leave. And I don't blame you. But still, don't ever let this stop you from achieving greatness. Don't ever stop being who you are. And don't ever let anyone change you into something that you're not. You have a good heart and it hurts me to see you like this. If there's anything – ever – that you need, I'll be here for you."
Knight felt his body stiffen and his eyes widen. He felt such overpowering emotions that it paralyzed him. He couldn't move a muscle, not even a finger. Her words cut deep; no, her words sank deep. Even throughout this entire ordeal, there was a tiny ray of hope sparkling in the darkness of his world in the form of this young girl. She still believed in him despite his own lack of confidence he had in himself. His world, his heart, had just shattered into pieces so numerous that it would take years to put back together; and even if somehow all the pieces were put back together, it would never be the same. Still, despite the hopelessness of the situation, Feizhi was here… trying. She believed in him. She made him begin to hope that someday, he too would have that kind of belief in himself. The kind of belief that he could be something more, that he could be great.
Knight breathed in deeply and exhaled both the air trapped in his lungs and the paralysis that had gripped his body. Her words helped him, a lot. However, he still needed time. Time to think and time to recover. And during that time, he needed something to be done. Knight looked at the girl with eyes near the brink of tears and… smiled. It was the first time he'd genuinely smiled in a long time.
"Thanks," Knight choked out. He wiped away the tears from his eyes with his arm. After another calming breath, he spoke quietly, "While I'm gone, please look after Jessica for me."
Feizhi smiled and replied, "Of course." She extended her arms in gesture for a hug. Knight didn't hesitate. He wrapped his arms around Feizhi as she did around him. The moment they embraced, Feizhi suddenly felt the incredible burden that he bore, not just from today or from his relationship with Maranda, but from other things that had happened in his past. It was almost suffocating! It was a wonder to her how he could even move! It was hard to explain, but it was more than just a feeling or something she could sense. She literally felt heavy as if she was carrying a tremendous amount of weight on her back. She almost felt like she would crumple beneath the weight.
What is this? she thought in wonder. Has he been carrying this weight all this time? She felt his grip on her squeeze tighter but never to the point of hurting her. To bear such a burden all by yourself… Knight, Feizhi squeezed back feeling tears rush from her eyes, I pray that someday, you'll no longer have to bear such a heavy burden alone. No one as good as you should have to go through what you went through.
"Goodbye," Knight whispered into her ears. He released the hug and after a few more moments, he was gone with that tiny ray of hope lighting his pathway from behind.