The White Darkness

By Helbaworshipper

The Roland Kingdom Arc: The Chosen Bonds

Frei was never one to truly understand the need for conflict. Thanks to his already rocky and probably bloodier than he remembered childhood, he didn't even try to make fights if it was pointless. So when he was in a rather conflicted Lotis boundary with Alice looking rather exhausted, he chose not to question how much more was being put against the armies of Lotis. At the moment, the area looked as if it were her room at Seno Castle. Simple enough place, but luxurious enough to prove it wasn't a servant's room.

Alice herself was sitting quietly with her knees held close to her body. He could tell the tired gaze from anywhere. Slowly, he followed the chain that somehow was still present and slowly covered her eyes with his hand. The shuddering as she let go of her knees and turned around to snuggle in surprised him only a little.

She studied as hard as she could and often tried to hide away that feeling of just never feeling like she ever belonged. He had tried to do so when she was around him, but… It didn't go that well. It seemed that she had associated his warmth with at least a bit of a need. The chain was obvious enough.

"Do you want me to tell them Eric is gone?" He asked, his arm carefully going around her. A head shake from side to side. "Have you slept?" A head up and down. It seemed rather quiet as he felt her start to move away, messy hair and all.

"Am I…" her voice was strained. Most likely the balancing of Maram and Lotis was getting harder each time the battles were happening. Nothing too large for now. "Am I going to survive?"

"Are you asking as Lotsuan or Alice?" He slowly put his hand back down on the bed.

"I've killed people. Who would..." Her voice softened a little. "Who would give me the time of day?"

"If anyone could accuse you of war crimes, I'd like to see how they prove it." He smiled a little as he put a hand out towards her. "You're not like Eric. You will never be like him. Darva is something that can't be associated with something as simple as bloodshed."

"But I'll be fighting too." She spoke softly, surprised as the hand simply touched her cheek.

"If you weren't, I'd be annoyed. I'm going to fight for you to choose me, Alice." He had a blush on his cheeks as she stared. "The law has nothing on the power system being haywire. Worst comes to worst, we can be criminals on the run forever."

"You're silly..." she spoke softly as he finally saw her seem to relax. She seemed to come closer again, this time with her arms around his back. "How do you know… such things?" Her eyes were closing and he could sense she was finally thinking as she wanted to. Slowly he lie down next to her and didn't answer.

"So, you're telling me that I slept through your inspirational speech?" Frei was currently in a strategy meeting with the various heads. His father had commented, particularly annoyed that Frei had slept when he was meant to at least look at the plans before it. "I hate to say it, but I have no intention of going into battle outside of Roland just because it'll make your lives easier."

"Where did my loyal son go?" Ah, his father was being annoyed as usual.

"I'm here in some form, but I've got more important things than to be in every little battle of the Weilhausen army."

"It's been quite a session." Chris commented where he sat. "Considering the amount of forces we have compared to theirs, it would be shot in dark we could follow just one lead and get to another fast enough." He had gotten a bit of an upper hand from the previous meetings thanks to getting to know how stubborn the Weilhausen King kept his cards.

"Either way, the plan requires at least a few of us to attempt to get into Roland Kingdom. Or perhaps distract the only two we know." Frei calmly grasped the piece meant to be his. "I'm not requesting, I'm demanding to be one of the people to go into that place."

"Going alone would be crazy enough! There's no guarantee the forces would come with you-"

"I insist on doing it alone or with one other."

"You mean to have… Kyo join you?" There was an awkward silence. It wasn't as if they weren't aware that Alice's connected with them. Still, the fact that only two of them would… "Even if he goes in with you, what if he..."

"He's got his own reasons to figure out what he wants." He started to stand up. "We can try and stop the forces and the few Maram Masters of importance all we want. We still have to deal with the main source. The reason people fought so hard in more than one kingdom." He pointed to the Alice piece. He then pointed to the Eric piece. He hadn't told them of Eric's death… but it was certainly a factor to consider.

"We'll have to figure out how to remove the barrier around Roland then." His father was quieter than usual. "I will not have you die on my watch, son." He could feel the heaviness of the words. It wasn't as if he wasn't aware, but for what reason? Was it simply as his heir?

Frei looked at the mark carefully using his Lotis Mirror. He knew that his father would insist on waiting until they got closer to get into the kingdom. Still, he couldn't fight the feeling that there were more tricks to play from others. He kept Alice's gaze in his mind. Despite all the pain and horrible choices she had been pushed into considering… a part of him didn't want to remotely leave her.

Would that mean they would die together? That would be a dumb decision and it would be her decision, wouldn't it? Still, a part of him… He truly did love both of them. It was less of a choice and what would be best for both of them. Did Lotsuan truly want to keep going like this?

"I heard your plan." A visitor he'd expected.

"It isn't my plan. It's my demand." He commented, turning slowly to look at Kyo Wakamiya. "And I refuse to yield it to even you, current fiance of Mayura Seno."

"I have more reason to-"

"I have just as much," he moved a step forward. "It doesn't matter if some big huge quest is in your way. My only goal is Alice and Lotsuan. Their happiness is all I desire."

"Then you would just let them not choose me if I wanted it?" He moved closer, his eyes flaring in some sort of determination. He could tell something had spurred him on. It would have been cuter if he wasn't so new to the thought that Alice might actually die or perhaps have changed over time.

"And what reason should she choose you?" A heavy silence.

"You're so sure she'll choose you?"

"No," A blink and a continued silence. "I don't care about anyone but her, though. What about you… Kyo?"