AN: Hello again! Please comment for suggestions, and recommendations are still open for the boy mentioned a few chapters ago in that dream!
"Look at them!" I hear a high pitched giggle as I groggily open my eyes. I realize that Lon'qu and I had dozed off afterwards. I was leaning on a boulder behind me, as well as on Lon'qu's shoulder. Yawning, I glance up to see Sumia, Maribelle, and Lissa standing in front of us. I glanced at my right wrist, and the glove was back on, which meant that the trio couldn't have noticed the mark.
"You two are so cute together!"
"W-what?" I feel my face warm as I glance at Lon'qu. "What are you implying?"
Lissa giggled again. "We went to look for you two because you two weren't at dinner. And we found you two here!"
"Do you like him?" came the question I was dreading. Maribelle winked at me, and my face felt as if it was on fire.
"No! I don't! Not like what you think!" I panic. "Just as childhood friends!"
Lissa sighed. "Oohhh... I can sense love in the air! Just look at your face!"
"Lissa, I don't think we should be torturing her. What if we pointed out your love for Ri-" Sumia gave me a sympathetic look.
"No, no! Don't mention it!" Lissa half-screamed. "Shut up!"
Sumia shook her head. "That's what I mean."
"What's going on?" I feel Lon'qu stir beside me.
I glance at him as he surveys the situation. His face turns beet red, and quickly stands up. "Well... uh... excuse me..."
He quickly walks away without another word, and I sigh, looking at Lissa and Maribelle.
"I'll be going, too." I say, disappointed. "Thank you for coming to tell us we missed dinner."
Without hearing any of the three say anything, I run up to meet Lon'qu.
"Don't you think rumors are going to go around?" Lon'qu rubs his face with his hands.
"It's fine. And they don't understand. They wouldn't understand that we are just spending time together like our old childhood days."
We arrived at the mess tent. Grabbing a bowl of whatever was left (not much because of Stahl), we sat next to the dying fire that kept the meat stew still warm.
"Let's spar after."
"Sure." Lon'qu agrees.
I sipped some of the stew in my bowl before raising my gaze to meet Lon'qu's.
"What do you think will happen if those rumors do spread?" I ask curiously. His face turned red again, and I thought about teasing him for it.
"Well, I hope it doesn't." He mumbles.
We both fall silent, listening to the crackling sounds the burning wood made as well as the crickets, which chirped constantly from secret hiding places.
"You know, it's fun to see your face turn red."
"Ke'ri!" Lon'qu says, surprised.
"I bet when the rumors spread, they'll be teasing us all about it, saying things like, 'Ke'ri and Lon'qu sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g'! I think Vaike would definitely do that, and maybe even Nowi."
Lon'qu could only cover his reddened face. "Ke'ri, please...!"
"People are gonna play matchmaker on us." I predict. "Especially Lissa! Alright... I'll stop now."
"Ugh." he responded. "I hate you."
"And I love you, too!" I laugh. Lon'qu's head shoots up as his face grows even redder.
"What?"
"It was a joke, y'know."
"Oh."
Maybe I shouldn't have said that...
Pushing the awkwardness aside, I smiled at him. "So, you done yet? I just finished dinner. It's getting late, so we need to spar soon before it's too dark out."
He nods, gulping down the rest of his stew and putting all of the dishes into the pile of unwashed dishes. "Let's go."
It was yet another tough match, but the fight only lasted a few minutes this time. Sword fights didn't usually last long in reality.
I lost after Lon'qu outsmarted me with even my newest ideas I had thought up of just before the match.
"You okay there?" he asked after I had surrendered, sprawled on the ground.
I took his outstretched hand. "Yup. Thank you. It was a good match."
I could barely see him in the dark, but still smiled nonetheless.
"What do you want to do now?" he asked.
I shrug before I realize that he probably can't see me well in the dark. I reply, "I dunno."
The moment right after I go to suggest something else, a light flickers in the tent. A soft, green glow shines for only a few seconds before it fades away.
A firefly.
"Wow." I step closer to the source of the light, almost tripping over a training dummy in the way. The glow appears closer to me as it flashes again, and then it suddenly vanishes all too quickly.
"I got it for you." Lon'qu chuckles triumphantly.
"You know, this wasn't a race." I pout, but then somehow, he finds my hands and puts the firefly on my palm. As the firefly glows, its light bathes my hand with a soft green light.
I extend my hand as the tiny bug crawls to the end of my index finger. Spreading its wings, it takes off again. Again, we watch the bug occasionally glow as it soars to the top of the large tent.
"Let's catch fireflies." I say, inspired by the firefly. Somehow picking my way out of the tent without tripping over any stray training dummy or sword, I make it outside. the moon, despite being only a thin crescent in the sky, gives off a surprisingly large amount of light. Each blade of grass appears to be silver under the moon's light. Lon'qu stands to my right, looking out for fireflies. One flies a short distance away, and like a race, we both head towards it.
"My firefly." I smirk as I cup my hands around the fly as carefully as I could. After watching it blink a few times, I release it, but Lon'qu catches it almost as soon as it leaves my hands.
"Well, it's mine now."
"You cheater!" I wanted to howl, but lowered it to a sharp whisper to avoid disturbing others from their sleep.
Catching fireflies quickly became a wrestling fight. I tackled Lon'qu and he fell, lying on the soft grass. Rolling around, the swordsman and I continued to fight until I lost. Lon'qu only had to pin me down with one arm, his hand resting on my shoulder. Exhausted, I gave up; I would have never been able to win anyway.
"You always win." I grumbled.
Something light tickled my nose, and I nearly sneezed. Looking cross-eyed to see what had landed on my nose, he chuckled. I realize a firefly had landed on my nose, and before Lon'qu can claim for his own, I put my hand over my nose. This makes Lon'qu, who was reaching over, to put a hand on my hand. It was just dark enough outside, so he wouldn't see me blush.
"I think I won the firefly catching game, though." I smirk, and he groans.
"Fine. You won that." He releases me and I sit up, brushing off the soil and grass that stuck to my outfit.
As I release the second firefly I caught, I hold back Lon'qu's arms so he can't reach out and catch it.
"That's not happening again." I giggle, watching as the firefly buzzed away into the darkness. I find myself leaning against Lon'qu's shoulder as I feel the weariness creep in.
"I'm not your pillow." Lon'qu crosses his arms after he flicks my nose.
"H-hey!" I yelp. "You're so mean. Can't you be a little nicer to your tired friend?"
"Heh."
"So... Do you think we could visit our parents back in Chron'sin?" I suddenly remembered the times we caught bugs back at home.
"We can visit your parents... My parents died." Lon'qu's voice suddenly dropped, and I regretted asking that.
"Lon'qu... I'm sorry..."
He sighed. "It's alright. You didn't know anyway. I guess I should've told you before."
"You would still go back to visit my parents? Or would you not want to?"
"I wouldn't mind anyway." Lon'qu responded. "Your parents would be overjoyed to see you; it would be a miracle to them."
"When I... died... what happened?"
"Well... here's what happened..." he replied hesitantly.
"I'm sorry." Lon'qu whispered as Ke'ri's parents arrived at the scene. They could not avert their gaze to the motionless body at the edge of the scene. Recognizing the body at once, they froze, disbelief clear in their gazes.
At first, they gaped in shock. Ke'ri's mother's eyes started to brim with tears. A single tear rolled down her cheek before she burst out sobbing. "My daughter!"
The mother ran over and collapsed at the twelve-year-old's inert body, eyes widening at the arrow still in her chest. Holding her daughter's shoulders, her sobs filled the air, and Lon'qu wished he had never seen such a scene.
Ke'ri's father rushed over eventually, snapping out of shock. He, unlike his wife, cried silently, tears shedding and landing on the girl's dress.
Lon'qu only watched, and went to back away before Ke'ri's mother suddenly stood up and stormed to him.
"You cursed monster!" she screamed, and the thirteen-year old winced as her hand smacked his face hard. A stinging pain rose in his cheek. "You let our daughter die! You dastard!"
The father came and threw heartbreaking words at him, and with the mother, they both assaulted him with insults and cries of anger and grief.
Eventually, the mother had shoved the boy and picked up her daughter before leaving with the father. With another piercing glare, the two turned away and left the boy on the ground. He turned and walked away, tears rolling down his own face.
She saved him, but not without the cost of her own life. His parents wouldn't understand. Being close to Ke'ri's parents, they would never believe him. It was a secret forever concealed, a truth that would never be exposed.
And he never wanted the blame, but he knew he was at fault. He wished they would think twice before attacking him with vicious words and merciless shoves.
"But... I deserved it." he whispered. "I deserved it."
I'm sorry, Ke'ri, he covered his face in his hands, releasing a small sob, barely audible in the silence. It was all my fault. You shouldn't have died. I should've.
"... Lon'qu..." I breathe out. Lon'qu had fallen silent, and though I couldn't see his face, I knew that he had started to cry.
"I should have died. Not you."
"No. You're important to me. I'd rather die for you." I say, persistent.
"You're not making it any better!" he snapped, before lowering his voice. "I'm s-sorry... I shouldn't have snapped at you..."
I felt a lump in my throat as I glanced at my swordsman friend. "Here."
I wrap my arms around him in an embrace, and he returns the action.
"I'm here now. That's what matters." I try to comfort him. "I'll talk to my parents. They didn't understand that I wanted you to live."
My words were met with silence. Patiently waiting for him to calm down, I rub his back soothingly.
"...P-promise m-me that you w-won't leave me again." His voice came out as a hoarse whisper, one I could barely hear.
"I promise, Lon'qu. I promise..."
"G-good." he responded.
After he visibly seems to calm down, I stop hugging Lon'qu and I stand up. "It's late... I think we should get some sleep."
He nods without a word.
"Good night." I smile softly. He nods, and I turn and head to my tent. I don't hear footsteps behind me as I head to sleep.
I'm sorry, Lon'qu.
AN: I hope this chapter wasn't so bad! I've never actually had to deal with a death in the family before, and I hope those moments in the chapter weren't very insensitive. Please comment; suggestions are strongly welcomed for a name for the boy mentioned a few chapters ago of Chron'sin descent, and for what ways to enhance the story!