“Get out of my way Fine!, would you rather stop me than stopping your sister commit more sins than she already has?”. Nicolas yelled trying to convince Fine.
“I don’t care, as long as I can bring you to master”, he replied with his sword.
“Master?, Old man?, are you referring to that bearded scum?”, Nicolas said countering Fine’s blade.
“Yes, and we’ll fulfill his every wish!”, Fine said dodging Nicolas.
“What the hell do you even want with me!”, Nicolas said scooping some of the rocks by the river side they are on, then throwing it to Fine.
Fine did not give him any answers than that but instead they just exchanged blows back and forth as they tasted their own sweat. He tried slashing the legs but Nicolas evaded it with a simple step backwards.
“Didn’t you learn to not go for the leg?”, Nicolas said attacking from above. It was a sure win as his sword hurdled down but another blade shouldered the impact.
“Daniel?”, Nicolas retreated.
“Stop right there Daniel, I’ll take it from here”, another young man about his age presented himself prepared with his own pitch black sword while Fine and Daniel helped the others at war.
“And who could you be?”, Nicolas said raising his guard upon feeling an unearthly presence that he never felt since he encountered that bearded man from years ago.
“Marcus Terradin at your service”, he said charging in without a notice.
Nicolas was both startled and confused. He almost thought that he’s looking at his own reflection. From the way Marcus stood, walked, hair, and demeanor it reminded him of his self. They are a spitting image if not for the sharper look in the boy’s eyes and pointed eyebrows.
“Just who are you?”, he repeated his question.
“Me?, I’m the one who’ll take you down”, Marcus replied with a sword thrust which Nicolas barely shouldered.
“As if I would go down without a fight”, he said returning the blow.
The people around was also busy with their own businesses, some grouped themselves into vanguard and marksmen at the back, while those who got separated are barely managing on their own. Blood dripping everywhere, bodies floating on the river, it was a war and those who lose their will to fight will surely die, skewered by a sword or bleeding to death.
But although it might seem chaotic, suddenly everyone had stopped on their tracks. They stared like statues on a museum keeping watch to those who pass, but it was a different sight for them.
They can feel each and every blow Marcus and Nicolas exchanged. It felt like a shockwave shaking their souls as if heaven and hell collides into each other.
One open chance and Nicolas managed to punch Marcus with the dirty trick he learned from Elizalina, pinning him to the ground with only an option to block with his sword. Nicolas madly hammered his blade repeatedly like a bull on a rampage.
Little by little Marcus’s sword began to creak and crack and the terrified look on his face shows that he had lose the will to fight. Finally he’s soul wavered, broke and dissolved into the air. This gave the chance for Nicolas to slash the new comer right in the neck.
But by the time his sword was about to chop the young man’s head, he’s sword did not go through as if it were repelled like two similar sides of a magnet trying to touch each other. He kept the forced on, his sword’s bright blue light flashed into the surroundings that it replaced the sun as it finally went down.
Before he knew it, he was flying into the air, landing 5 meters into the rocky riverside, rendering him immobile and Marcus, unconscious.
“That you can’t do, Prince of Aquilos”, said the man with a familiar voice as he carried Marcus on his back, “I see, you still have your grudge on me”, he laughed as he watched Nicolas weakly stood.
“As if I would ever forgive what you did”, Nicolas uttered feeling a severe headache as he used his blade for balance. “And what’s the deal with that boy?, you tried doing charity work for an orphanage?”.
“Ah… no, this boy is special, maybe not as special as you but close enough. We have a connection after all”, he replied although his beard did not fully show his lips.
“Special or not, now that you’re here, I’ll kill you!”, Nicolas said preparing to charge in, when he heard Eliza screaming.
“They’re trying to kill me!”, she said as she reached the bearded man’s side.
Anton is at her back along with a few dozens of knights. Not fully geared but their number is already enough to make the enemy fall back.
“You humans really do like postponing my entertainment and ruining my plans”, the bearded man said. “I’m sure you know, but the next time we’ll meet, your soul is mine”, he gazed at Nicolas before they finally disappeared into the dark forest.
Nicolas tried following them but he’s lack of energy together with Anton preventing him stopped him on his tracks.
“Don’t follow them, you won’t be able to defeat them as you are now”, he said.
“What are you saying, he’s right there!, I can finally kill him!”, he angrily yelled at Anton as he tried to break free.
Anton just tightened his grip before saying, “What if you died instead?, would the Queen want that?”.
“Why the hell do you even care!, and why do are you even here, did my father sent you!”, Nicolas like his father looked like a kettle reaching its peak.
“About that, we actually came with a bad news”, Anton let him go. “So I think you might want to sit down first”. They sat down and then he filled Nicolas with the news.
“Aquilos is no more. We were attacked by those men led by the princess of Versia. We fought with all we can but the tragedy from almost 10 years ago is repeated but worse. We lost half of the population, most from the knights and the volunteers but sadly some children, woman and elderly lost their life too. And since Elizalina is here, I think you already know that the King and Queen was also one of the casualties”.
Nicolas silently sat by the bonfire as he processed every word he heard. “Deaths… my fault… they’re dead and it’s my fault…”, he thought as the knights and Donnor’s men surveyed the cave where the temple stood.
“I don’t actually know you, but nonetheless, thank you for your help. Even though we lost some of our comrades, most will still get the chance to see another day break”, Donnor said his gratitude.
“No worries, we did not do much anyways and don’t worry we have every reason to help you”, Anton said accepting the soup Donnor handed him.
“Why should we trust them”, Nicolas blurted. “They tried to kill me just this morning”.
“That was a misunderstanding”, Donnor explained clearing his throat.
“Misunderstanding?, A rain of arrows was just a misunderstanding?”, Nicolas angrily said when another knight came towards them carrying someone.
“What happened?”, Donnor worriedly asked while helping the knight lay the person down.
“What the hell, are you doing here!”, Nicolas burst in anger again as he recognized the knight. “Didn’t I told you that I’d kill you the next time I we meet?”.
“Ni… Nicolas?”, Lander exclaimed in surprise despite being out of breath as the prince grabbed him by the collar.
“Stop that Nicolas”, Anton ordered. “He’s a great asset as a knight and the reason we managed to get here”.
“Asset my ass, have you forgotten what he did? He’s the reason why Alisa died!”, Nicolas exclaimed.
“That Alisa is still here!”, Anton also raised his voice. “Have you at least checked who he desperately carried here?, he might have did a horrible thing in the past but he did all his best to atone for that”, Anton tried convincing him as he took the last slurp in his soup.
Nicolas turned around and saw Alice lying down, beaten up, and unconscious.
“Are you telling me that that girl is Alisa? Are you screwing with me?”, he pushed Lander to the ground and punch him repeatedly.
Lander could not do anything but defend his face with his arms. He still thinks that he deserves this hate for he can’t forgive himself more than anyone else. Anton had just about enough when he decided to stop the quarrel but Alice grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Can’t you see, he’s still that coward boy!, The only reason he’s here is that his guilt can’t give him peace!”, Nicolas exclaimed.
“Well yes, I’m not blind after all”, Alice uttered weakly as she sat but it was enough to bring Nicolas back to his senses.
With his fist stuck in mid air he slowly turned around and saw Alice crying with a weak smile. It reminded him the time when Alisa desperately smiled as she tried stopping herself from crying over her scrapped knee.
Finally, the silhouette of the two came from a blur into a fixed image.
After all the years of bottled up grief, his tears finally streamed down. He knew that they are telling the truth but still a part of him felt ashamed, guilty, and refuses to accept it. He stood up and ran off to the distance where he cried himself off.
Finally his emotions he loss that night came back for the first time in years. He felt his chest lighter as all that it carried started to lift off. The hole that he’s heart beard for a long time finally manage to reconnect it’s torn up cartilage making him complete little by little.
Alice came looking for him with the help of Donnor where they found him under a tree, a top of a close by hill below the starry night sky.
“I can manage here now uncle”, she said letting go of Donnor as he too went back to the cave.
“Nick?”, she said as she sat down beside him. Nicolas distance himself feeling uneasy.
“Are you really Alisa?”, “Are you really Nicolas?”, they said in chorus.
“Yes”, “Yes”, they again said in a jinx.
“Aren’t you angry or afraid with me?”, Nicolas asked as a gentle breeze made the grass dance.
“Why would I?”, Alisa asked back.
“You’ve seen what I did to that man, and I almost killed you too, why wouldn’t you get angry with me?”, Nicolas explained finally looking at her face to face properly for the first time.
“What for, you’re my best friend aren’t you?, and Isn’t all of this because of me? If I got back at Aquilos, you wouldn’t have wandered this far. I just wished I could have seen mother for the last time”, her tears began to surface.
“She’s alive”, Nicolas said making Alisa hopeful. “After we thought you died, she left the castle, leaving this behind”, he showed the hairclip he had cherished for all those years.
“That’s… great”, she said wiping her tears as her hair covered her.
Nicolas caressed her face setting her hair aside using the hairclip.
“But there is one thing I could not sew together with the other threads. How are you alive, how did you got here?”.
Alisa looked at him and explained, “Remember my father?, they said he died on the war after we were born, but that night, he saved me like a flash of lighting. I’m too weak to move but I know how fast he was when he saved me”.
“Alvor?”, Nicolas held his head trying to fight off a head ache.
“Yes, turns out, our ancestors are from Drasyl and because of this abilities he also had, going back to us would be dangerous”, she added. “About that, Lander, that bastard out of all people has it as well and guess what his soul reflects as”.
“What?”
“A shield”
“Shield?, but shield wielders are…”, Nicolas said in disbelief.
“I know, unbelievable right?, Far from the selfish person that pushed me there for his own safety but thanks to him I’m right here with you”, Alisa look at the stars, holding her hairclip as a gentle breeze passed by.
“Have you forgiven him?”, Nicolas asked.
“As if”, Alisa laughed. “I was beaten up badly by Eliza. All I could do was to wait for death as she thrust her blade towards me. It was hopeless that I even imagined my corpse being eaten by animals and what’s left as fertilizer for the trees but then he came. He saved me but that does not mean I can finally forgive him”.
“I do owe him one then”, Nicolas whispered. “So many interesting things happened since I left Aquilos. I hope mother would be prepared to listen to all my stories, and I also hope that father could also forgive me”.
“But Nicolas…”, Alisa worriedly stared at him.
“Could you believe how I almost died of hunger?, Mother would be totally angry with me when I get back”, he laughed but tears streamed down his cheek.
“But Nicolas they are…”, Alisa even more worried held him by the shoulder.
“And just today, I jumped off a water fall. Mother would be really furious …”, he laughed.
“Nicolas!”, Alisa shook him. “Snap out of it!”, she said looking at him straight in the eyes.
Nicolas saw his reflection in Alisa’s eyes and his smiled slowly turned into sorrow.
“It’s my entire fault isn’t it”, he uttered. “It was all my fault… it was my fault!”.
“No it’s not”, Alisa said shaking him again.
“It was all my fault!, I shouldn’t have left!”, Nicolas said full of regrets. “I could have defended them if I hadn’t left!”, he grasped his hair too hard, feeling the headache getting worse.
“Nicolas! Listen!”
“You don’t understand! If only I did not leave they would still be alive! It was my fault! That incident! Everything! Logan’s deaths! All of those I killed! It was my fault!”.
“You’re hurting yourself!”, Alisa exclaimed before caging Nicolas in an embrace. “It’s not your fault!”, she kept repeating as Nicolas kept blaming himself.
“My fault!, if I only knew that that would be our last conversation then I should have stayed!”, he kept saying.
“Look at me Nicolas, look at me”, Alisa forced him to keep his face up.
“It was not your fault!”, she locked her eyes with him. “I know you’ve had a hard time all this time on your own, and half of it was my fault too but It was not your fault, it never once were!”.
“You don’t understand!”, Nicolas exclaimed.
“Shut up!, I not blind, I see your pain!”, Alisa yelled back.
“There is no use regretting the choices you have made in the past whether it’s right or wrong. What matters now is that you learn from them and you keep moving forward!”, she said again caging the boy in an embrace.
It calmed Nicolas for a bit and his tantrum lessened into a sob.
They both lied down on the grass alone in the starry night. The moon watched them through its rays as it went pass the tree’s canopy. There peacefully, they reconciled for all the things that happened, all the things they missed, regrets, thoughts, and feelings.
Despite the conflicts they had fought for, it was indeed peaceful.
The morning came like flipping a page of a book. Alisa opened her eyes to see Nicolas still fast asleep. She fixed her hair and she felt the hair clip that Nicolas returned to her. Somehow it made her happy.
“It’s already morning sleepy head”, she said but there was no response.
“Hey… stop messing around!”, she pushed him but he just stayed still no matter what the ruckus.
“Nicolas?”, she worriedly asked as she felt the boy’s forehead checking if he has a fever. To her surprise there was none and by the time she decided to pick him up, he was frail like a dead meat, shaped like a human.