Chapter 20
That night at the temple, the meeting concluded with a plan. Fiorentin & Felicia are going to sneak in the guild area to find Palamedes tomorrow.
Inside the girls' room....
Fiorentin looked around her, Felicia & Olivia were already sleeping in their beds. She couldn't sleep because of the nightmare again. She decided to walk outside, trying to get some fresh air so she can relax her mind. When she went out from her room, suddenly she saw a man, standing in the darkness just like in her nightmare.
She quickly pulled her claymore, but "Do you really want to kill me that much?" stopped her. "Elraven? For the love of god!! What are you doing there? You surprised me!!" The former princess protested."Surprised you?! You were the one who surprised me with your claymore!" A smooth respond.
"...Well, right. Sorry about that" Sweet apology from the short girl. "OK,OK. Never mind, then" Sweet reply from the man. "What are you doing there, by the way? You couldn't sleep, El?" Fiorentin asked without looking on the gunslinger's face. Elraven gave a little smile. "Right. I couldn't sleep. So, I tried to walk a bit" He responded.
"Well, same here" A short reply for Elraven, who sweat his head quite much, "Hm? What a coincidence, huh?". But the former princess didn't seem too eager to continue chatting, "Yeah, maybe. Good night", she said as she goes to her room.
"Wait! Hey..can I talk to you..for a minute? Outside?" Elraven reluctantly asked the grumpy lord knight. Alexandria gave Elraven (who was trying his best to avoid the terror) the deadliest stare on earth before finally answering," Fine". And the two walked outside. "So, what do you want to talk about?" The little princess boldly asked the poor Elraven.
"Well, my actions two days ago towards you, I..apologize. I should have been more careful not to say anything makes you bother even more" Elraven said with deep regret. Fiorentin glared him with anther terror eyes before finally saying, "Wow, can't see it coming from you. Apology accepted, Elraven. I apologize too, for being cynical".
Elraven smiled and shouted, "Really? Thanks god! Oh, thank you Alexandria. You don't know how..". "But!" Fiorentin cut the gunslinger's words. "Do it one more time and I'll have the entire Sagramore chasing your head. The entire Midgard if we win this war" Fiorentin continued with a smirk seeing the jaw dropped Elraven, "OK...OK!". "Well, it's all forgiven then" The lord knight calmly stated.
But, Elraven giggled hearing the former princess. This brings out the curiosity of the lord knight, "What's so funny, Angel of Darkness?". "No, it was just..seeing you like that, acting like you are a queen, I feel like I'm a big brother, hehe." The gunslinger said while readjusting his purple glasses.
"A big brother like you? I would pity the sister" A cruel reply. "Hey, don't say that! That's cruel!" Elraven disagreed. "Serves you right." another cruel reply. "You really are...cruel" The saddened gunslinger sweat his head. "I'll take that as a compliment." The former princess replied with a grin.
"Oh, crap. She's a total dictator!! I bet whoever becomes her boyfriend would die of terror!!" Elraven madly though to himself. "What are you thinking, Elraven? If you have something to say, spill it out! You're a man, right?" Fiorentin teased the mad gunslinger. "No, I have nothing to say. Guess I'll go back to bed right now. Bye, Alexandria!" Elraven goes away from the former princess.
"El, wait!" Elraven stopped and turn his back. "What? Any other you would like to tell me, o mighty princess?" The gunslinger cynically asked. "Don't be so cynical. I'm serious this time!" A harsh reply for the sleepy gunslinger. "OK, OK. Sorry, What do you want to say?" Elraven looked towards the calm girl.
"I want to talk about...you killing the whole soldiers last night." Elraven already figured out what was he going to listen. "Are you going to express your opinion about showing mercy for the opponents?" Elraven gave a wild guess. "Hm, I see. You pretty much heard the story from George, huh?" The former princess replied with another stare.
"Yes. And I'm not gonna change my method of doing things like this. I'm not going to show mercy. So, there's no point of talking about this" Elraven came up with the first argument. "Even if you're fighting your own countrymen, El?" The two keep locked each other's eyes. "No exception. I believe whoever ready to kill must ready to lose his or her own life as well. This is war, not a drama novel. How can you fight in a war when you pity your enemies?" Elraven responded with a harsh reality.
"Do you realize your statement made you seem like you only care about yourself, El?" The gunslinger quite surprised that the young girl could say such things. But he still answered, "Well, it's not like your belief will do you any good". The former princess disagreed, "Why is that?". "Because there's no point on fighting if you hesitate. You only end up hurting yourself even more" A short but lethal respond from Elraven.
The two fell for silence as the cold night wind struck the temple, but their current heat is cold enough without the wind. "I'm...hesitating? You're joking right? Mercy is different from hesitate" Fiorentin gave a cynical smile as she voiced her mind. "In your case, no. George told me you prayed all night long after winning a war because you though what you did was a sin. So, was that how you carry this war for one long year? Hesitating and regretting? Don't you know your virus is starting to influence George and Felicia? And maybe Olivia will be the next. And then maybe the entire Sagramore will be the next!" A reply from Elraven which the lord knight didn't want to hear.
Fiorentin couldn't believe the gunslinger's statement. She wanted to give him a reply. But something held her tongue so she couldn't speak. It's as if, she was stroke by an arrow of truth. "That's...a lie" Was the only thing she managed to spill out. "Look at me in the eyes and say that again, Alexandria" Elraven asked the yellow haired girl politely.
Fiorentin looked the black haired man right in the eyes. His eyes were soft and gentle, but somewhat intriguing. It's as if he could see through her mind. He knew what's happening inside her mind. She hated to admit it, but he was right. Maybe she really was hesitating. Fiorentin wanted to get his eyes off hers, but somehow she wouldn't dare to ask. It's odd, she used to be brave against anyone.
"Don't look at me like that. I don't need your pity" Fiorentin tried to deny the truth. "I'm not pitying you. Why would I pity you? You don't need a pity. You need something something else. You need to straighten your belief" A soft reply from the gunslinger. The former princess couldn't find the exact words to respond.
"Am I right? Don't you know? Felicia, Olivia, and George cared about you? You didn't realize it, huh? You never talked about your burdens to them, you never talked about you problems to them, you never talked about your hesitations to them. They were always there for you, you know? Don't you realize? While you're busy grieving for the people you killed, or should I say the people who chose to be your enemy, you also gave the people you protect a new hope, a new happiness, a new life?" Elraven continued.
"What..enemy? Valdomir made them as their soldiers. It's not their own choices" The lord knight tried to defend herself. "No. They could rebel if they wanted, but they didn't do it. They chose to be your enemies and that's final." Another harsh reality from Elraven. "That didn't change the fact that they are still Midgard people, my people!!" Fiorentin shouted as the heat tension raised.
Elraven couldn't contain himself anymore and loudly responded,"Right! And that didn't change the fact that you're hesitating!". "I'm not!" Fiorentin took her Claymore and slashed it right to Elraven's neck. Blood sprayed from the wound as the result of the sudden attack. Elraven seemed surprised but stay calmed. He didn't scream or make noises, but rather put his attention back to the shocked lord knight. Fiorentin herself didn't seem to understand what she has just done. Her body was trembling as she slowly dropped her Claymore to the ground.
She felt guilty when she saw Elraven was bleeding like hell,"I'm...I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't know what...I didn't realize....". "Your actions only proved that...I'm right after all" She stopped apologizing when she heard another statement from the gunslinger. She fell in deep silent hearing the gunslinger.
"I believe that Alexandria is a great warrior, she could easily win a little war. I've heard about you defeating Turtle General in quite easy way. I defeated Drake with so much effort, but you defeated a greater opponent with such ease. You are powerful, very powerful. All you need to do, is put your power to protect your people. It's normal to feel guilty after killing someone. But it's not normal to keep that guilty for a long time. What's important is not the people you kill, but the people you protect. The people you care about, and the people who cared for you. You need to make up your reason, strengthen your heart and mind. Chose your own path, the true path. Lead them to their happiness, their new lives, their new hopes. If you can't shoulder that guilt by yourself, look around you, there's a lot of people care for you. Just open your eyes a bit more, Alexandria." Elraven continued with a smile.
Fiorentin widened her eyes after she heard such words. But, she didn't dare to look at the gunslinger. She was afraid to admit him, "I...I don't need..your pity. I don't need your...advice. I don't...". Her mouth suddenly stop talking as she felt a gentle pat on her head. Elraven was patting her head. Not to mention he was smiling while doing it.
Fiorentin wanted to tell him to stop, but some parts inside her wants another. The gunslinger's hand was so warm, not to mention it was soft. "It's odd, come to think of it he's a gunslinger. But his hand is soft" The lord knight peacefully though to herself as she closed her eyes. Suddenly her mind remembered something, she has felt this warm pat before.
When she wandered her mind, she remembered who give her such gentle pat. It was her father, King Tristan. And before she realized it, tears flowed her cheeks. She didn't understand why, but she felt a deep peacefulness on her heart. Her worries were erased at the moment. Elraven smiled seeing the former princess. "She cries, that means she really held some guilty feelings in her heart. But, I think it will be alright from now on. She will take the right path" Elraven said to himself as he stop patting the lord knight's head.
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The next morning...
Alexandria awakened in her bed. Felicia and Olivia was still sleeping besides her. "Wait! Why am I here? What was that? A dream?" She first thought to herself. But once she saw her Claymore which lied on the floor, stained with blood on its edge, she realized it wasn't a dream.
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Well, I tried to put some emotions in this chapter. Hope it didn't bore you. I also made this chapter because a friend of mine asked me whether I will make Elraven-Fiorentin as a couple, to which I replied that would be a spoiler. I would rather have their relationship like a brother-sister relationship for now. Who knows what might happen in the future?
OK, hope u enjoy this chapter. The battle will come up (maybe) at the next chapter. Please read( and review^^). I would take any advice as consideration, OK?!
Big thanks to Willy, who warned me about this chapter!! Thank you, bro!!!