samaqi: After SoW's Chapter 36, Raddie and Acma stayed at the Inooit tribe and found ways to defeat Simurgh - a deal by Hilde in exchange for Acma's life.
"You're back!"
She rose from the bed and greeted him with a bright smile.
"How was the mission?"
"Great! We obtained the relic without any casualties."
"Great!"
"How are you?"
"Good. I've trained more healers while you were away."
She started to put one foot on the ground, preparing to stand up.
"Hey, go back to sleep."
"I'll fetch you some water."
"Oh, please! Acma Peasant. Let me be. Go back to bed, eyes on the wall. And don't peek!"
He playfully crossed his arms, signaling that he wanted to change and eliciting a chuckle from her.
She looked tired. It was no surprise to him as she'd always been a busy bee. Now that he was home, he was determined to ease her restlessness.
"Please," he pleaded once more, beginning to unbutton his uniform. "Lay down. Tell me about your day."
She turned away and settled back in bed. Her voice filled the room as she recounted the day's events, detailing what she and Casi had gathered. She made friends with many tribal women with magical abilities. Their days were filled with tasks from dawn till dusk: fetching fresh water from pipe trees before the foxes could deplete it, climbing hills for healing herbs, and teaching reading to trafficked women and children. She had even mastered the local language in just a couple of weeks. Her ambition was to build a school while they were here. If they failed at freeing the villagers from their "God", at least knowledge would follow their effort to slowly free their mind in the next generations.
She shared her dreams with him, slowly and dearly, until her own words lulled her to sleep.
Ensuring her eyes were closed, he gently opened a drawer where she kept her essentials. He found her tranquilizer bottle more than half empty.
His heart ached.
When he was seven years old watching Laguna's The Sorceress Knight for the first time, he dreamed of wearing shiny armor and wielding a long sword. And, of course, there was a princess. A beautiful, kind, vulnerable princess held onto his strong arms concealed beneath the armor. They grew up together, playing in a garden filled with flowers and butterflies. And yet one day, the beautiful princess was captured by monsters while the knight was away. The townspeople cheered and wished him luck as he closed his helmet and embarked on a journey to rescue her.
The journey was never long in his imagination.
He jumped straight to envision the moment where his princess was imprisoned in a tower guarded by a massive fire-breathing dragon. He defeated the dragon after a heroic battle, and ran up the stairs to rescue the princess. They shared a kiss. At the end, they returned home to live happily ever after.
His seventeenth birthday had passed a few days ago. It appeared she had forgotten about it.
His gaze fixed on the blue tranquilizer pills, unsure of what to feel. Sitting on his makeshift bed on the floor, he gazed at her neck, now covered by strands of red hair that no longer shined as they once did back in Garden.
He's not a knight, for a knight had to protect his princess, not letting her to get raped in exchange for his life.
He's not a knight, and she's no princess, for a princess in fairy tales was always moved around by external forces, never acting on her own wills. His girl, though, was a true fighter, but even her strength couldn't shield her from harm. Her dignity and body had both suffered. Because her real knight was gone and she was stuck with a fake knight wearing flashy armor hiding a little boy beneath.
He could never forgive himself for making her suffer. But he'd entertain that thought later. His main task right now was how to keep her alive.
The pills… He wondered when she first sought the aid of molecules with chemical structures all too familiar to her. She knew one day they would take away her sanity and life, yet she chose to take the risk.
And what could he do about it?
He's no knight in shiny armor. Just a little boy afraid of his precious princess one day taken away but too scared to act, unsure of what he could even do.
He closed his eyes, hoping to find a dragon in his dream.