Chapter XII
Altair
"Of course it hurt," Emila said, her fingers unconsciously brushing over her heart. "It wasn't as bad as it looked, really. I just wasn't expecting to be awoken in such a way."
Selphie absently poked at the fire with a stick. "You look tired. Are you getting enough sleep?"
"I am, I am," Emila said, waving her hand. "Really, you don't have to worry about me. Your concern is touching; everyone's is. But I'm fine. Really."
Selphie frowned. She didn't quite looked convinced. Behind her, the sun was beginning to disappear behind the horizon, casting an orange glow over the camp. It was the third day of their journey, which so far had been quiet and uneventful. Serenite was still well more than a week's travel away, and while they were certainly not taking their time to get there, the group was not filled with any desperation to travel quickly. The group of nearly sixty was slow to travel.
"I get the impression that you're the kind of person who doesn't want to burden others with your troubles, Emila," Selphie said to her. "And I want you to know that if that's the case, you don't have anything to fear. I'm always here if you need someone to talk to."
Emila smiled faintly. "Thank you. You're so kind. I never imagined a princess would be so..." She trailed off, realising that perhaps she might have just said something offencive.
Selphie raised an eyebrow, her smile gone. "Oh? What were you going to say?"
"Um... humble?" Emila said, suddenly looking worried.
"I'm teasing you," Selphie said with a mischievous laugh. "I understand what you mean. Royalty isn't know for such things; I've met plenty of lords who outright hated commoners. The attitude always made me sick. People are people, regardless of what status they were born to."
"Y-yeah," Emila said.
"I've never thought of myself as being above anyone else." Selphie then frowned again, casting her eyes into the fire. "If only everyone in my family had the same attitude..."
"What do you mean?"
"It's nothing," Selphie said. "I suppose you'll see for yourself when we finally arrive at T'Saw."
"I actually lived in T'Saw for a while," Emila said. "Two years."
"Really?" Selphie said, a bit surprised. "I didn't know that. How did you end up involved in all this, then?"
"It's... kind of a long story."
"You only lived in T'Saw for the past two years, you said? Where are you from originally?"
Emila hesitated a moment, then said, "A town called Sulin in Saeticia." After a second, she smiled mirthlessly and added, "It's actually not very far from where we are now. A slight detour on our path to Serenite, and we could stop there... and see what's left of it."
Selphie's eyes widened. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear to that. I take it you left because of the attack?"
Emila nodded.
"I remember hearing about that when it happened," Selphie said. "It was the first strike of the resurrected Acaria. A war very nearly broke out right then and there over it, but somehow things quieted down for a while. The city still stands, from what I've heard, but a lot of lives were lost in that attack."
"I know..." Emila muttered, her eyes lost in the pain of the past.
Hesitantly, Selphie asked, "Your family?"
"They didn't make it."
"I'm very sorry to hear that."
Silence settled over them, and the only sounds were the flickering of the fire between them, and the idle chatter of the others around the camp.
Finally, to change the subject, Selphie said, "Your hair is very dark for a Saetician."
"Yeah," Emila said, taking a black lock from her shoulder and twirling it between her fingers. "I got it from my mother. She wasn't born in Saeticia."
"I see. Your hair is gorgeous. Your mother must have been very beautiful."
"Really?" Emila said, her cheeks turning red. "I've always been a bit conscious of it, actually."
"That's silly. I wish my own hair could be so smooth all the time."
Emila smiled. "My mother used to fuss over it all the time. When I was very young, I would go out and play in the woods with my little sister, and I would come back absolutely filthy, and Mother would sit me in a chair and brush my hair until all the twigs and brambles were out. She would go on and on about how irresponsible I was. I used to hate it; but later she would sing to us before bed and it was like there was no sweeter sound in the world. She was such a kind person..." Her eyes glistened faintly, but she rubbed them and no tears were shed.
"She sounds like she really cared for you. And your sister, as well."
"She did."
After a long while, Selphie said, "I never knew my own mother."
Before Emila could say anything, they heard the sound of footsteps drawing near. The two girls turned to see a third approaching them.
"It's chilly," Wiosna said. "Mind if I join you?"
Emila moved over to the edge of the log she was sitting on. "Not at all."
For the briefest of moments, Wiosna hesitated, as though she really wasn't that cold if it meant she had to sit beside Emila. But she said nothing, and took her seat at Emila's side.
"We haven't spoken much, but I'm glad you're with us," Selphie said. "We feared you were gone in the aftermath of the attack."
"Yeah, you wanted me to be part of your team," the small blond girl said. "I would have liked to go with you and the others to Acaria. Unfortunately, Acaria ended up coming to us instead."
"Indeed," Selphie said. "It may still happen. It's hard to say... things are complex right now. We won't know what's going to happen until we get to T'Saw."
"And before that, we have to stop at Serenite." Wiosna sighed. "Serenite is still far away. And T'Saw is even farther. I'm not used to travelling. The only place I ever travelled to was the temple."
"From your home, right?" Emila asked. "Where are you from?"
Wiosna looked away, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. "Um..."
"I'm sorry," Emila said, immediately realising what was wrong. "I didn't mean to bring up anything painful-"
"Just Samgo," Wiosna quickly said to them. "Nothing noteworthy."
"Ah," Selphie said. "I've never been there."
"It's not part of the Alliance," said Wiosna. "So it's not a nice place."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the three girls, and they found themselves staring into the fire. Emila glanced very briefly at Wiosna, who did not return the look. From the very quick, dismissive way Wiosna had answered her question, Emila felt like she had committed some sort of slight. Her previously cheerful and excited demeanour was gone, replaced with a sort of quietly restrained rage. Wiosna had spoken to Emila very little so far, and Emila couldn't help but feel that the girl had some sort of grudge against her.
"Wiosna," Selphie said suddenly. "The reason you were picked to be in my group was because of your knowledge of Bacorian history and the world. You have a passion for literature, do you not?"
"I do," she said.
"There's a large library in the Serenite palace," Selphie said with a smile. "Twice as large as the one in Allma Temple, from what I've heard. If you wanted, once we get there, I could ask nicely and get you permission to access it."
Wiosna's face lit up in excitement.
Brand and Tranom had a number of stories that they would share with Luca, and whoever else was listening as they walked. Tranom had found Brand a few years ago in Sendora and saw potential in the boy, so he had taken him back to Allma Temple for the proper training. On the way there, they had run into a number of misadventures, some of which were amusing, and others were difficult to believe.
Tranom, while tired-looking and rare to smile, was a very approachable and friendly man. He fit naturally into the role of a mentor, which was something the Allman survivors very much needed. There was much doubt among them as to the future of the temple. While Tranom himself doubted that the temple would ever be restored, he would always reassure them the best he c
ould. He told them that once they saw Selphie safely to Serenite, they were free to go if they wished. Some of the students wanted to return home, and others wanted to stay with Tranom. There were other temples that they could go to, and many wanted Tranom to take them there and continue their training under his guidance. Tranom was not certain yet what he would do.
One thing certain, though, was that Brand's training under Tranom was complete. While the temple was gone, Brand had still considered Tranom to be his master. At dusk on the first day of travel, Tranom formally declared Brand was graduated, and they were henceforth equals. To confirm this, they began addressing each other by their proper names.
Now that Tranom had resumed leadership over the survivors, that left Wiosna free from the duty. Luca's suspicions of her having an interest in him seemed to be accurate; he often found her at his side as they walked. They talked about any number of things, including things Luca normally didn't feel comfortable discussing, like his father.
He learnt that Wiosna had grown up in a town in Samgo, and a few years ago her parents had died. With no other way to feed herself, she had joined the local guild of hunters. Some time after that, a master of Allma Temple had passed through and noticed her talent, and had invited her to the temple to train. She had accepted, partly for access to the large library of the temple.
While they walked, Wiosna asked about Dreevius, and how he had captured them.
"He was a shapeseeker," Luca told her. "I'm not entirely sure what that means, but he was able to alter his appearance. He impersonated Tranom, and that's how we were caught."
"Ah," Wiosna said, nodding. "A forgivable mistake. The remaining living shapeseekers in the world could likely be counted on one hand. His illusion powers were most likely the reason he was working for Zinoro in the first place. It certainly wasn't his combat expertise."
"What happened to them?" Luca asked.
"People didn't trust them," Wiosna explained. "The shapeseekers had a tendency to work as spies and assassins, due to their powers. People hated them for that, and killed them off whenever they were caught. Over time, they were unable to reproduce faster than they were being killed, and they started to vanish."
"Some say there's a secret organisation of them down in the south, in Samgo or Mainyu," Brand added in. "But I would just write that one off as a rumour. The shapeseekers avoided the southern lands especially, taking refuge in the north."
"Why is that?" Luca asked him.
Brand frowned. "Well, a lot of people didn't consider them to even be human. And as they have the ability to regrow lost limbs and body parts. Well, I don't know how true they were, but there were stories of towns capturing shapeseekers and using them as a never-ending supply of meat."
Luca felt like he was going to be sick. At his side, Wiosna had only a regretful frown on her face, indicating that she too had heard the stories.
"In any case, the shapeseekers first vanished from the southern lands. So I doubt they're hiding down there now; if they're in hiding at all. Most likely there's too few left in the world for that."
As they continued on their way, Ash mostly kept to himself, as he always did. There was initially some tension between him and the other survivors, but any potential arguments quickly died when Luca appeared. The students had the same level of respect for Luca as they did for Tranom, Brand, Wiosna, and Selphie; though it was different in his case. The first three they admired due to their accomplishments in the temple, and Selphie because she was royalty. The reverence they had for Luca was the result of the stories they passed around. The group of survivors was small - the head count totalling fifty-three, not including Brand, Ash, or Wiosna - so word spread quickly among them.
Back when he had first arrived at the temple, he was the mysterious son of Lodin who appeared to take the role Ash had failed to fill. His surviving of Dreevius' fatal blow had only reignited the discussion and reverence, and confirmed the suspicions that he was a great figure.
A few of the Allmans had still believed the story Allma had told at the steps of the centre sanctum; that Ash had betrayed the temple to the Acarians. When he had first come to them for help in saving Selphie, they had accused him of selling out the princess, and trying to lure them into a trap. Thankfully, Tranom had told Wiosna about Allma's treachery, and she had convinced them to save Selphie. A few of these doubters still persisted, in spite of Ash's actions proving them wrong.
But Ash seemed to be used to people hating and not trusting him, so it didn't seem to bother him. He just kept walking, ignoring them as they spoke behind his back.
Convincing the Allmans that Allma himself had sold them out was difficult, and none of them seemed to want to believe it. Selphie told them about what had happened, and how he had tried to kill her. Jared, in a rare moment of speaking up, told them of how Allma had killed the other escorts. Still, they had their doubts. But Tranom, Brand, and Luca all stepped in to confirm this, and they had no choice but to accept it.
Selphie also told stories as they travelled. She told them about T'Saw, and what they should expect when they got there, about her father, Zaow, and her brother, Trist. And she also told them what little she could remember about Serenite from when she last been there, at the age of eight.
"I remember it was a very beautiful city," she told Luca and the others. "So beautiful, it put T'Saw to shame. King Marcus was a kind man, and I remember his sons being very friendly."
Selphie was rather impressive, now that Luca thought about it. With her braided hair, her leather travel armour, and the little bit of dirt caked on her face, she looked nothing like what he had always imagined a princess would. She treated everyone equally, rather than being haughty and condescending. She was a skilled fighter and had no problem drawing her blades to protect herself, rather than relying on others to protect her.
There was only one person who he did not spend much time speaking to.
Emila was very quiet and distant. Whenever he looked to her, she wore a melancholy expression. Several times, he asked her what was troubling her, but she would always dismiss his concern and tell him she was fine, though she clearly was not. At first he suspected that she was upset by him spending time with Wiosna, but whenever he brought that up, she would encourage him to talk to the other girl. He didn't understand why, but Emila seemed to be going out of her way to avoid him. He asked the others if they knew what was wrong, but they all told him that Emila was avoiding them as well.
That is, all except Brand.
He often saw them talking, usually quietly, and when they thought he wasn't looking. Emila would often go to Brand, and they would spend long periods of time talking to each other. When the group made camp, Emila and Brand were usually close.
Luca couldn't help but feel jealous. He knew why he felt jealous, and he hated that he did, but he couldn't just make the feeling go away. He couldn't ask them to stop talking; that would be petty and cruel and unreasonable of him to do. So he just bit his tongue and kept his silence.
But of course, Wiosna was always there for him to talk to.
It was a full two weeks after they had set out that they finally arrived.
Serenite, the capital of Saeticia, was a city of ivory white walls and towers nestled between two mountains. It stood a proud, untouched beacon of the Saetician nation's pride; known across Bacoria for its magick college and a massive library that was said to contain a copy of every published book.
The strange party was stopped at the gates, but as word of the attack on Allma Temple had spread quickly, the guards allowed them in. Selphie, the proof of command, walked at the front, with Jared and Tranom at her sides. The rest of the group followed behind her. The Allman survivors were staying at the inn.
As they passed through the streets of Serenite, Luca saw that Selphie's words about the city's beauty were not an exaggeration. The streets were paved cobblestone, the buildings tall and white and shining. The trees were the most impressive of it all, th
ough, as they had golden leaves.
"How are the leaves gold?" Luca asked Wiosna as they walked.
"Magick, I would guess," she replied uncertainly.
"You would be right," Brand told them. "The magi of Serenite are known for being able to do a number of things not commonly seen anywhere else in the world. One of these is growing trees with golden leaves. It's a source of pride for the people of Saeticia."
"It's quite a sight," Wiosna said.
"Just wait until night falls," Brand said. "You see those strange lines running along the walls? Those are what they call 'neon'. When night falls, those lines light up in many different colours, providing illumination to the entire city. Against the contrast of the dark night, it is a very incredible sight."
"I believe I read about that once..." Wiosna muttered.
The people of the city watched with wide eyes as they passed, merchants and peddlers and those who had come to buy from them. While the clothes Selphie were wearing were no cleaner or finer than what the commoners had on, she carried herself in a dignified fashion that Luca had not yet seen of her. She was undoubtedly royalty.
As they drew near the palace, they ascended the steps up to the palace gate, passing a stone balcony that overlooked the entire city. A man stood there on that balcony, polishing a blade.
"What's that about?" Luca quietly asked Brand.
"Executions, it would seem," he replied. "Notice the grate beneath him, to catch the blood?"
Luca looked, and saw that there was indeed a sewer grate at the man's feet, which was stained a dirty brown, in contrast to the white marble around it.
It would seem not every bit of the city was so white and pure.
The guards at the gate moved and opened the doors for them, allowing them into the hall. The palace was a fine place with long tables at either side and a large fire in the centre. At the far end of the hall, upon the throne, sat the king; an ageing man in fine clothes, who had a sheathed blade at his side. The queen was in her seat beside his, and two young men stood nearby.
As Selphie entered, the king rose from the throne and stepped down to meet her. A warm smile crossed his bearded face.
"I was told you were on your way through our kingdom, and I wondered if you would stop by," he said to her. "My, I haven't seen you in... how many years has it been?"
"Twelve, Your Majesty," Selphie said, with a low curtsy.
"Please, take a seat," King Marcus said, gesturing to the tables. "You and your entourage are welcome here." The king sat down, with the queen, and his two sons.
Luca found a place to sit on the right side, with Selphie and the other members of their group. He found himself between Ash and Brand, with Emila on the far end of the table, as far from him as she could be.
"We've received word of what happened at Allma Temple," Marcus said to Selphie. "I cannot say how relieved I am that you're alright."
"I have my companions to thank for that," the princess said. "Without them, I would never have made it. The Acarians were not the real danger, Your Majesty. There was treachery within the temple."
Marcus raised an eyebrow as he took a drink. "Treachery? You get right to the point as always, Princess. What sort of treachery was this?"
"We do not know why, but Allma the third made some sort of deal with the Acarians," Selphie told him. "The temple was caught off guard in a way it should not have been. Allma seemed to be expecting something that the Acarians did not deliver, and when they tried to betrayed him, he retreated into his sanctum and tried to kill me. He killed the guards my father sent to protect me; Jared here was the only survivor. If it were not for the intervention of these two," she beckoned to Luca and Brand, "I might not have survived."
"I see," Marcus said, ruminating. "So you do not know why Allma attacked you?"
"We do not know for certain, but we suspect that Allma planned to have me killed and place the blame on the Acarians," Selphie said. "We believe he hoped to start a war between Sono and Acaria, that he might profit from by sending his students to assist in."
"Allma Temple would indeed benefit from a war," said one of Marcus' sons. "They certainly did in the last."
"Aye, I remember it well," Marcus said. "You were just a boy then, Halt, were you not?"
"I was but eleven," his son replied. "Gera was only seven."
"I do remember you talking about it, though," the younger son, Gera, spoke up. "You had a lot of meetings regarding whether or not to help Sono. You said that it was not an Alliance concern unless Zaow requested your help."
"I did," Marcus said. "But Sono needed no help. Manorith certainly had the numbers, but his men were poorly trained and even more poorly armed. And Manorith was a stranger to the battlefield. He led many of his men to their deaths. He did not even order a proper retreat, he just told his men to save themselves and run. The war was already in Zaow's hand before the Allmans even showed up; once they were there, the Acarians had no chance."
"But Zinoro is not as foolish as his father was," Selphie told them. "He is a very clever strategist. He knew exactly what to do to bring Allma Temple down."
"News spread fast," said Marcus. "We have heard that Dori fought them mounted on his dragon, and even that was not enough to stop them. Is this true?"
"It is," Tranom said regretfully. "Dori and Austille are both dead. As is Allma, and almost everyone who was there. I am likely the last surviving master, and the small group of students I brought with me are all I could save. It was a massacre."
"In that case, Zinoro has made his first move," Halt said. "And it was against the kingdom of Torachi."
"The temple was on neutral ground," Selphie pointed out. "It was not officially part of the Torachi kingdom."
"That doesn't matter," Gera told her. "They still would have had to cross Torachi soil to get from Acaria to the temple."
"Either way, Edmund will not simply ignore this," Marcus said. "He has been itching for battle ever since he inherited the throne from his father. I have already received letters from him. He wants to gather at the Elder Hall."
Those last two words caught Luca's attention. The Elder Hall. That sacred place where the Alliance kings met in times of war. If the king of Torachi wanted to meet with the other two kings there, then there was no doubting he wanted war.
"Will you be gathering?" Selphie asked.
"I have not yet received word from your father," Marcus replied. "As you know, if we both were to demand it, he would have no choice but to come."
Selphie seemed surprised. "But you have not yet?"
"Zinoro has been a rising threat for some time now," Marcus said to her, taking another drink from his cup. "The destruction of Allma Temple is too great an act to ignore. Who knows what else he is capable of? Allma Temple had some of the best trained fighters in all of Torachi, if not all of Bacoria, and yet it fell in a single day. The Alliance cannot ignore someone capable of this, especially with the knowledge that he has already expressed hatred towards Sono.
"And yet, I trust in your father's judgement. I consider myself a wise man, but I know that Zaow is wiser than I. It is not fear that stays his hand. So I am waiting. I hope I will not have to force your father's hand, but if Zinoro becomes too much of a threat to ignore, and Zaow continues insisting that we do ignore it, I may have to."
There was a strange mix of relief and disappointment in Selphie's eyes. Her mission - to prevent a war with Acaria - was successful, at least for the moment. However, that did not guarantee that it would stay that way.
As much as Zaow sought to avoid war with Acaria, if both Torachi and Saeticia declared war, Sono would have no choice but to aid them. Declining that would make Sono an enemy as well. The Alliance of Kingdoms was as much a burden as it was protection.
"I take it that is what you have come here to do?" Marcus asked her. "To ask me not to go to war with Acaria?"
"It is."
"Your father has told me of your mission, and how he plans to keep the peace," Marcu
s continued. "Are you still planning to go through with this, even after what happened at the temple?"
Selphie hesitated, and then nodded slowly.
"I see," Marcus said. "You are far more forgiving than I am."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the hall. There was something more to those words. Marcus seemed to be disappointed in something, and Selphie seemed very regretful. Luca looked over at her, and saw Jared meet her gaze and give her a reassuring nod.
"I have heard another rumour regarding the attack on the temple," the younger son, Gera, said suddenly. "As we all have, I am sure. It is said that during the attack, one of the temple's students received a mortal wound from the Acarian general, but did not die." He looked over to Ash and Luca.
Marcus looked up from his meal and said to Selphie, "Ah, now that my son mentions it, I also heard such a rumour. At the time, I dismissed it as silly."
"It is no rumour, Your Majesty," Selphie said. "It's the truth."
"Was it really the son of Lodin?" Gera asked.
"It was," the princess replied. "He is here with us now."
All the eyes in the room slowly drifted over to Luca and Ash.
Luca, having not touched a single bite of the plate before him, slowly stood.
"It is true," he said to them. "My name is Luca, son of Lodin. During the battle, I was stabbed in the heart by Zinoro's acolyte."
"Impossible," Halt said. "How could you have survived that?"
"I cannot say," Luca said. "But it is not the first time I should have died."
"The blade must have missed your heart," Halt said. "Or perhaps those who saw you were fooled by some sort of optic illusion. You could not have survived that."
"I was there," Brand said. "I saw him right after it happened. There was a hole in his chest, one you could see out the other side of."
"Well, I will not believe it until I see it," Halt said, sitting back down.
"It would seem everyone in your family is special," Marcus said, with a hint of amusement. "Your father has quite the reputation. I've often wondered what happened to him. After the war, he seemingly just disappeared. I hear he is dead now."
"He is," Luca said.
"A shame, I suppose," Marcus said, looking deep into his drink. "He was quite an idol in Allma, as well as here in Saeticia, where he was born."
Marcus set down the drink and looked right at Luca. "When I was young, I was a paladin. Do you know who the paladins are, son of Lodin?"
"I have heard of them," Luca replied.
Marcus frowned, for some reason, then continued. "The paladins are a holy order, who dedicate themselves to the Way of Uro and fight to keep the evils of the world at bay. They are an elite group, who accept only the most skilled of light-form swordsmen. Did you know that in his youth, your father was one of them?"
Luca blinked, as did Ash. "No, I did not," he said.
"Right, I doubted you would, as it was not something Lodin was proud of," Marcus continued, his frown nearly a scowl now. "Your late grandfather was a lifelong member of our order. He raised your father to be a paladin since he was a child. When your father was a young man, he betrayed the order and deserted them during a battle. He stole one of our two great treasures, a potion of Absolute Truth. From that day forth, Lodin was branded an enemy of the order, and a servant of evil. That potion he carried was too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands. I don't suppose he gave it to you?"
"He did not," Luca said.
"I figured as much." Marcus chuckled mirthlessly. "Doubtless he drank it himself and foresaw something that drove him mad."
"My father was no madman," Luca said through his teeth.
"Then did he abandon his wife and youngest son and hike off into the wilderness with his firstborn?" Marcus asked, disdain clear on his features. "Did he ever tell you, boy?"
Luca said nothing. He noticed that Selphie was staring at him, with a look in her eyes telling him to drop the matter. Too much was at stake to argue this, he realised. He could not fight with the king of Saeticia. Looking away from Marcus, he sat back down.
The king snorted. "Like father, like son. When Lodin betrayed the paladins he consorted with dark beings. I have heard he travelled with a vampire lord. I'll bet the reason his son cheated death is because of some demonic contract he made."
Lies, all of it.
The king was quite worked up, but nobody in the room dared to say anything.
"Lodin was scum," Marcus continued, unable to let it go. "He stabbed Manorith in the back, but was too afraid of what would happen because of that. Instead he lied and let Zaow take credit for it, and then he ran away. But the past caught up with him, didn't it? Well, good riddance, I say. I'll bet he died like the coward he was."
Rage filled Luca. He started to rise from his seat, a thousand curses on his tongue, but he was unable to. A firm grip found his sleeve and pulled him back down. Ash let go of him, and then stood up in his place.
"A lot of the things you say are true, Your Majesty," Ash said to the king. "Our father was certainly a thief and a coward. But in the eyes of many I have known, he was a hero for killing Manorith. I have spent my whole life being judged by the things my father has done, both honourably and otherwise. And my brother has, as well. But we are not Lodin, nor are we responsible for what he has done. My brother fought with honour when the temple was attacked, and he saved lives in doing so. I would ask that you judge him by his own actions, not by those of his father. It is largely thanks to him that Princess Selphie is here today."
Marcus stared at Ash for a moment, blinked a few times, and then he started to laugh. "I like you. You're certainly made of better stuff than your brother."
There was no apology, but Ash's words seemed to have calmed Marcus down. Ash sat back down, and Luca all but glared at him, in spite of his help. He would rather have had the king's ire than to have Ash further insult their father.
"It's getting late, and I've grown tired," Marcus said, finishing off his glass. "Princess, I would be honoured if you would stay here the night."
"As would I," Selphie said, with a kind smile.
"Very well, I'll have my servants prepare rooms for you and your entourage."
Marcus rose and left, his wife following behind him. Prince Halt also rose, said something to a servant, and left to a different part of the palace. Only Prince Gera remained, sitting at his seat and finishing his meal alone. Everyone else, the lords and other members of the court, were gone within minutes.
Luca turned to Ash. "Why did you say that? Why did you tell him what he wanted to hear?"
"Because it's the truth," Ash muttered, before getting up and leaving as well.
Luca wandered through the dimly-lit corridors of the palace, passing guards and servants who did not spare him even the briefest of looks. It was odd to him; he was used to drawing gazes due to his white hair, but these palace servants were so used to keeping their eyes to themselves that even that didn't divert their attention.
He wasn't sure where he was going, nor did he really care. He was mostly just walking off the anger from earlier. He was still furious about what Marcus had said, and even more so about Ash's response. He didn't want to stay in the palace, but Selphie had explained to them that she couldn't say no Marcus' offer without looking rude, especially after he had insulted one of the people in her group. A lot of the delicacy had to do with the fact that they were at Marcus' palace; were Marcus the one who was the guest in Sono, and he had said those things to one of Selphie's guests, things would have gone down very differently.
Luca hated pretencion, and he was at a royal palace, the kind of place where pretence was most easily found. He was too frank, and he had no respect for authority, so seeing people saying things they clearly did not mean to avoid angering the king was unbearable for him. He wanted nothing more than to go to Marcus and give him a piece of his own mind, as he very nearly had, but he now realised he could not without making Selphie look bad.
Doing so could compromise the mission, which was the whole reason they had stopped in Serenite in the first place.
A massive shadow passed over Luca, and he looked up to see a massive guard in his path, who stood a whole head higher than him. The guard had a trimmed black beard, just faintly visible within his helmet, and cold eyes.
There was a tense silence as they stared at one another.
"Excuse me, sir," the guard said very politely, before stepping around Luca and continuing on his way.
Luca blinked. "That was weird," he muttered.
He heard a shout of revelry from a nearby room, and he looked around and quickly spotted it. Within the guard barracks, a group of five or so off-duty guards were laughing over a pint. As Luca drew closer, he heard a familiar voice, so he decided to step inside and see what up.
Brand sat at a table surrounded by around half a dozen guards. They all had pints of ale in their hands, and they were laughing at some joke Brand had told. As Luca drew near, Brand noticed his presence, and the guards followed his gaze. The smiles dropped from their faces as they gradually realised who was there.
Luca stood there for a moment. The guards stared at him, their expressions telling him that he wasn't welcome. Without a word, he left and continued down the hall.
He heard footsteps following after him. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"Luca, wait up!" Brand called after him.
Luca turned around as Brand reached him. "I don't think your new friends like me very much."
"Yeah," Brand said apologetically. "It seems they agree with what the king was saying."
"I passed one of them a second ago," Luca said, looking down the hall where he had come from. "A really big guy."
"Ah, him," Brand said. "Devith, his name is. The other guards call him the bear. Things got really quiet in the barracks when he came in. They all waited until he was gone before they started talking again."
"I don't like this place, Brand," he said. "There's a lot of tension here. I feel like something is going to happen."
"I know, I feel it too," Brand replied, drawing closer. "Listen, I've learnt something interesting I think you should know. Remember how you said that Zinoro's sword is a Rixeor Fragment?"
"How could I forget?" Luca muttered, remembering how the blade of his short sword had ended up in his lung after being cut clean off by Zinoro's magick blade.
"In order to match him you would need a Rixeor Fragment of your own," Brand continued. "The sword that Marcus carries, Altair... it is one."
"Marcus' sword is a Rixeor Fragment?" Luca said slowly, disbelief in his voice.
"Remember how he said he was once a paladin?" Brand said. "He wasn't just a member, he was their leader. Altair was the holy treasure of their order, and he took it with him when he left."
Luca found that he'd made a fist. "That hypocrite!"
He calmed himself, and thought rationally. "That does me no good," Luca said. "Unless I were to kill Marcus, I could never wield his sword. A Rixeor Fragment is bound to its master and no one else. It will burn anyone else who tried to take it."
"Indeed. I just thought you should know."
"Besides, I would never consider stealing from him; that would just be proving him right."
A few minutes after parting with Brand, Luca found himself at the palace library. He wasn't sure why he had ended up there, but he wasn't surprised to find a certain blond-haired girl there, seated at a table with a thick tome open before her.
Wiosna looked up from her book as he approached, and she beamed. "Look who it is." She had a new pair of glasses on.
"Indeed," he muttered with only token enthusiasm, sliding into the seat next to her. "What are you reading?"
"A History of the Nations," she replied, taking a bookmark and setting it between the pages. She closed the book. "Are you still upset over dinner?"
"I am."
"I trust you haven't done anything rash."
"I'm not that foolish. Have some faith in me."
"We are of the same kind, you and I," Wiosna said, smiling. "I do have faith in you, but I understand that you would have trouble accepting what happened back there."
"I don't care about that."
"Then what is bothering you?"
What was bothering him, indeed? There was far too much on his mind. He had no idea where to begin.
Yet he knew what it was he wanted to tell her.
"It's Emila," he said.
Luca noticed a very slight change in Wiosna's expression. Surprise, or perhaps disappointment. He wasn't quite sure.
"What about her?" Wiosna asked gently.
"She hasn't been herself lately," he said. "She's been distant and melancholy. We've hardly spoken since we left the Acarian camp, ever since you and I..."
Wiosna frowned. "Do you think she has the wrong idea about us? Exactly what is your relationship with her?"
"It's... hard to explain."
"Were you two... together?"
He shook his head.
"Well, I don't really know what to tell you. It could be something between the two of you, or it could be something ailing her that's her own business. The only thing I can suggest is going to her and talking about it."
"I've tried that. She always brushes me off."
"Find a situation where she cannot. It's possible that she's nervous. Sometimes you have to be a little forceful."
Forceful? Luca doubted that under any circumstances would Emila tolerate him being 'forceful' with her...
Still, it wasn't a bad idea. If he went right to her and gave her no option to get out of talking with him, perhaps he could find out what it was that was causing the distance between them.
Luca nodded, and began to rise. "Thank you for the advice. I think I'll go talk to her now."
Wiosna said nothing as he left, watching him go with a strange look in her eyes. He left the library, and shut the door behind him, leaving the large room in silence.
"She causes him nothing but confusion," Wiosna said to herself. "She is too weak for him, and she only burdens him with her indecisiveness. I am not like her. If she were out of the way, I would not trouble him like she does. Things would be much simpler."
She returned her attention to the book.
Night came quickly as Luca made his way once more through the palace. Soon there was only the flickering magitech lanterns hung on the stone walls to provide illumination. Luca was making his way to Emila's bedroom. He had earlier asked a servant where she was staying, and he was now doing his best to find the right room.
Eventually, after asking a second servant to make sure, he was led right to her door. He took a deep breath, hoping she was not asleep, and knocked.
"Coming," was her muffled answer.
He took a step back as the door swung open. Emila stood there, wearing only her white nightgown, and looking rather surprised to see him.
"Luca..." she said. "What is it? Is there something wrong?"
"There is," he said. "Can I come in? We need to talk."
Emila hesitated, biting her lip and glancing in the room for a moment. "Okay..."
She moved aside to let him in, and closed the door once he'd passed the threshold. Inside, there was a candle lit on the nightstand, and a book set beside it.
"What do we need to talk about?" Emila asked him.
"I think you know," he told her, giving her a stern look. "Something's wrong. You've been avoiding me for the past two weeks. It's been bothering me."
Emila looked away from his gaze. "It's nothing to worry about. I just wanted to give you space, that's all..."
"Space? Emila, c'mon..."
She sighed, and walked past him, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. "Brand and I have been talking," she said. "He thinks I should tell you, and I'm wondering if he might be right."
"Tell me what?" Luca asked, following her over to the bed.
Emila beckoned to a chair
on the other side of the room. Luca went and grabbed it, and pulled it over to the bedside. He sat down.
"Luca, what do I mean to you?" she asked quietly.
He froze. What sort of thing was that to ask?
"I... I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say."
Emila frowned, and looked away slightly. "I guess... a better way to ask would be what your feelings are towards me."
"My feelings towards you...?"
He still didn't know what to say. What would...?
Ah, of course. His first suspicion had been right after all.
"Emila," he said, placing his hand over hers. She looked up and met his gaze. "There's nothing going on between Wiosna and I. She's a good friend, and she's easy to talk to, but I have no strong feelings towards her."
Emila frowned again. "You joined her in her tent that first night."
"I'll admit, I was a little confused about that, but nothing happened then, and nothing has happened since. She just wanted to talk to me then."
Strangely enough, Emila looked disappointed.
"What, you don't believe me?"
"No, I do," she sighed. "That's the problem."
Luca blinked. "I don't understand."
Emila looked to him, and slowly placed her hand over his heart. It beat, but it was the artificial beat, fuelled by her mana. His true heartbeat had yet to return, for his heart still had yet to heal from the two times Dreevius had stabbed it.
"We're no good for each other," Emila said to him. "The Soul Tether... it's altering the way we think and act. Whatever feelings we have for each other are false. It's fake emotion, just like your fake heartbeat. If we don't distance ourselves from one another, it will only get worse, until we're so obsessed with each other that it drives us both mad."
"That's... no, that can't be right."
Emila looked him right in the eyes, her expression hard and challenging. "Tell me you don't feel something."
He looked away, unable to answer that.
"I was actually hoping that there might be something between you and her," Emila continued. "If you had feelings for her, it might keep you from becoming too obsessed with me. And it would keep me from being around you too much. So I hoped that if I kept to myself and left the two of you alone..."
"And you want to be with Brand?" he asked her, feeling that bit of jealousy again.
Emila shook her head. "Brand has zero interest in me. It will never happen. But he's a friend, and he's easy to talk to. He's the only other person I've told these things to."
Funny, that was nearly the same as what Luca had told her about Wiosna.
"Even though if it hurts me, it's better in the long run," Emila said. "I hadn't realised this before, but the thing in the Acarian camp was sobering. We shouldn't spend so much time together. Wouldn't you agree?"
"How can you know this for sure?" he asked her instead. "You didn't know that I would survive when Dreevius stabbed me back at the temple. You said that this magick is taboo and little is known about it. So what makes you so sure that it's messing with our heads?"
"My father told me the dangers of using this magick," Emila said, bowing her head. "He taught it to me, and he told me to never use it unless to save a life. It's an old magick, but he was able to rediscover it. He knew little about it, and was wary of the side-effects, but as a healer he could not deny the life-saving possibilities it had."
"Did he ever use it himself, or was he just making guesses?"
Emila did not answer that.
"I just can't believe something like this," Luca insisted. "I know myself well enough. What I feel for you, the things I do for you, these are my decisions."
"But don't you see?!" Emila cried suddenly, sitting up and looking at him with pleading eyes. "You've already done awful things for me! You killed that Davik boy in the woods, just because he threatened me."
"I would have done the same were it a stranger he held hostage."
"But the way you did it...!"
Luca thought back to the encounter with Dreevius, how he had thrown the man into the mud and watched him die. Indeed, when he had thought of Emila, it angered him. Dreevius had come so close to killing her, and that was something he could not have spared him for. Had Dreevius not done those things to her, Luca likely would not have killed him in such a fashion.
"Regardless of whether this is true or not, I cannot just stand by and leave you be. You've looked so lonely and miserable these past two weeks. It pains me to see it."
Emila looked away sadly. "But what else can I do...?"
"Balance, Emila," He said, taking her hand in his own. "If being together is bad for us, then we just have to be careful not to let things get too far. But avoiding each other completely is no good, either. It just causes us pain. So we just have to be aware of what we're doing."
Emila thought about it for a moment, then a smile graced her lips. "Maybe - just maybe - we could-"
She was cut off by the sound of the bedroom door slamming open. Luca released her hand and rose from the chair, turning to face the source of the disruption. Standing in the doorway was the massive guard Luca had passed earlier, the one Brand had called Devith.
"What are you doing...?!" Emila cried out.
Devith blinked, staring at Luca. "You... you shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you!" Luca retorted. "Why are you here?"
The guard reached for his hip and drew his sword from its sheath. "I am the princess' escort. You're in the way, so you'll have to die."
"Emila, run," Luca whispered to her, drawing his own blade. "Go find Selphie and tell her about this."
"Be careful," Emila whispered back.
Devith closed the distance between them, bringing down his large sword with brutal force. Luca parried the blow, but was pushed back onto the bed, with Devith pressing down against him. Emila leaped from the bed on the other side and darted out the room.
"You can try to protect her," Devith said to Luca with a cruel smile. "You will fail."
"Why are you doing this?!" Luca demanded.
"My king demanded I bring him the princess."
Luca broke the parry and rolled to the side, as Devith's sword came down and slashed at the sheets where his head had been mere seconds before. Luca hit the floor and continued to roll, putting as much distance between himself and Devith as he could.
As Luca climbed back to his feet, Devith pulled his sword out of the bed and turned slowly to face him.
"You fool," Luca laughed.
"What makes you say that?" the guard asked, tilting his helmeted head slightly.
"Marcus asked you to bring him Selphie, but you went to the wrong room!" Luca said. "So he intended to betray us, after all. I should have told her not to trust that man."
Devith merely chuckled.
Luca now took the offencive. He charged at Devith, aiming to swing Siora at a vulnerable spot where his opponent was not armoured.
Devith's response was to hurl his sword, blade-first, at Luca like a spear.
He did not have time or strength enough to block it, so he was forced to dodge instead. He ducked in mid charge, Devith's sword flying past him and burying itself in the wall.
"Hmm," Devith said in his low voice. "The son of Lodin, isn't it? I expected more."
Luca made to charge the now-weaponless opponent, but before he could take a single step, a strange feeling filled the air.
"What the-"
Luca raised his hand, to cast his light needles at Devith, but the mana simply fizzled out in the open air before he could make the weave.
"Don't worry. I was told not to kill you."
Devith closed the distance between them with surprising speed. Luca tried to dodge the inevitable attack, but his body was suddenly weak and sluggish, and he was unable to get away in time. An armoured leg struck his chest in a merciless kick. He gave a choked cry, and spat a mouthful of blood out on the floor.
"No..."
Luca felt Devith's hand
tightening around his throat. The gauntlet he wore was cold and firm; there was no chance of his breaking free. The guard lifted him up off his feet with his incredible strength.
The last thing Luca saw were Devith's emotionless eyes.