Heat of the Moment

Xiv had never seen a marvel like the Atlas Sid. He had to keep reminding himself that every time he looked out the window of his luxury suite. His room overlooked a military training center to his left and a street market at his right. The two places were quite a few minutes walk away by his estimates, but considering their scale and the view he got from the height, the two places might as well be next door neighbors.

He sighed and sought reprieve from the onslaught of brilliant things that made him envious on top of everything else he was feeling. Only, he wasn’t provided any comfort.

The room was too big. The air was cool and relaxing, mixed with a fragrance that reminded him of orange and mangoes. The kitchen could be an aspiring chef’s dream come true. His table could fit an entire family.

The bathroom! By Brymeia’s name, the bathroom! It was an excess! As if someone figured it was funny to put a hot spring inside and call it improvisation. Not to mention the impressive collection of toiletries and bathrobes.

It became an effort to find a fault. To find some sort of lack in this overabundance. Xiv was helplessly losing at the challenge.

His bed didn’t even give him a chance. The sheer size of it could fit three of him. And the cushion’s thickness was at least twice his head. Maybe three times. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually three and a half.

There was one more thing, most of all. It wasn’t the grandeur, or the excess, or the scale. Nothing of that sort. It was the fact that this moving mountain could withstand the Nightmare Lands.

Admiral Garm admitted to him in one of their talks. It wasn’t without any of its challenges; surviving the Nightmare Lands. Rather, it was the grand carrier’s ability to provide protection without succumbing to its influence that made it different from any infrastructure ever created in the Forimeyn Continent. To remain in the air while others fell like mundane folded constructs. That was what earned its title and prestige.

All of these made Xiv realize and admit defeat. If this marvel was present during the Battle of the Vanguard…

“We wouldn’t stand a chance,” he mused. “Not that we stood a chance in the first place.”

“The timing was too specific,” said another voice. Princess Kristel Irista sat in one of the chairs in his freely rented grand table. “It’s not everyday that Atlas Sid ventures into the Nightmare Lands. All the more reason for us to believe there’s a rat in our midst.”

“Any guesses?” Xiv asked, trying not to get too surprised that the Princess of Irista Nation was sitting next to him, unannounced.

True, they had been acquainted for more than a few days. They’ve been very cooperative with each other. She’d given him better treatment than he ever deserved for an enemy of her country. But to be in the same room talking shop and conspiracy theories together wasn’t something he thought would be possible given the difference in their stature.

Kristel crossed her legs and leaned on one hand. “The most obvious suspect is Tryvinal Bree. He has the biggest motivation out of everyone. If I failed, he’ll have more leverage to convince people to be under his banner. If I died, he’s pretty much guaranteed to be the next Monarch. Frein thinks it’s too obvious.”

Xiv still couldn’t believe the Princess shared all the details about the competition regarding the next Monarch. It felt like something that should be kept hushed, but Kristel insisted that, given the status of the competition, almost everyone knows about it now.

“I see…” the former Lord Knight didn’t have anything to add to the discussion. For all he knew, she could be right. Frein, as intuitive as he was, didn’t have anything for his argument other than gut feeling.

Still, this left him in an awkward spot to keep the discussion flowing. He ended up, as usual, resorting to the idea in the forefront of his mind.

“So, I hope you don’t mind if I ask, but what are you doing in my room?”

Kristel smiled. “Frill’s right. You’re too honest.”

As if on cue, the Aria in Red entered the room, hanging up her M.O.B.I.L.E.

She walked as though she was in slow motion. The bounce in her every step made the frills around her sleeveless shirt flow like the fins of an elegant fish. She had long since removed her jacket. The amount of skin she was showing for what little clothing she had pulled Xiv’s jaw agape. Something got caught in his throat and it took a lot of effort to swallow.

He was ogling too much.

Xiv saw Kristel wave at him. His attention moved for a bit, but his eyes did not. In the end, he couldn’t pry himself away from staring at Frill who…was smiling at him.

“People usually pay a lot to get a look at me, you know,” she said, striking a humble pose. She placed one hand on her waist, leaned forwards to tease a bit of her chest, and winked.

Xiv was going to die today. He’d rather die than look at anyone or anywhere else. She was focused on Frill. Not just the visible parts of her breast, or her slender and smooth legs, or her detailed collarbone. Her neck, her face, her lips…the way strands of her scarlet hair fall off her shoulders…

His intense stare finally got to Frill. She blushed. She actually blushed!

“For my concerts, I mean,” she said defensively, turning redder after realizing the obscure implications of what she said earlier. “I don’t go around showing people—will you stop staring at me!”

Xiv jolted back. He forced his eyes to close. He wanted to keep looking. To admire such a wonderful treasure and drown in the delusion that it can be his to keep, admire, and cherish forever.

I think you should go for it. Aim straight and true, my friend. Frill’s there, just waiting. If you don’t do anything, someone else will. You have no idea how famous she is.

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Frein’s words had kept repeating in his head. It was thanks to them that he had become more assertive with what he wanted. But if the future of his life demanded he closed his eyes forever, not even death could keep him away from fulfilling that wish.

“Hey,” Frill’s voice rang true to his ears. Like a soothing bell to ease all his worries. “You’re overreacting. We just wanted to talk.”

As Xiv permitted himself to see again, he convinced himself to act normally. He wanted to be in Frill’s good graces—her best and greatest graces, beyond what she would give to the Princess—not to be creeped out by his actions…and his thoughts.

Thank Brymeia she doesn’t have Heart’s Will.

While he struggled with being normal, Frill spoke to the Princess. “Stables just confirmed. They boarded Stiry’s litter. We’ll have them delivered straight to the High Palace.”

“What about Fittey?”

“Frein said she still wants to join us for Liona first, then she’ll stay at the High Palace as well unless we need her. I’m not bonded with her but I can ask Stiry if we need to.”

She turned and met him eye to eye. “Are you back with us now?”

Those purple eyes were doing their best not to look away out of embarrassment. Her tensed shoulders looked as though they were winding up her arms in case they needed to lash out at him. Xiv desperately reeled back his obsession.

“I’m here, sorry.” He turned his focus to Kristel. No offense to the Princess, but looking at her helped calm down his burning passion.

“Why do I suddenly feel like I should be irritated?” the Princess asked, crossing her arms.

“Please,” he replied in a desperate act to change the subject. “I’m here, what do you need?”

The two ladies looked at each other and nodded.

“Fine,” Kristel began. “We want to know how you’re recovering. Are you still suddenly feeling sleepy?”

Xiv assessed himself. The flow of his Smelted meiyal seemed more fluid than it used to. He was used to having them intact, ready to Reinforce at a moment’s notice. But now, they moved and reacted at his touch. They weren’t entirely his. Asserting his will would make them obey, but that extra step made it jarring sometimes.

In terms of actual recovery though…

“I’m feeling much better,” he began. “I don’t suddenly fall asleep anymore, but I do get sleepy from time to time. My appetite’s a little too much than usual, if I’m being honest, but I guess that’s the body demanding more nutrients. I also feel sudden bursts of energy at awkward times. Usually at night.”

The two of them nodded like they expected them. Or they weren’t listening.

“You’re not experiencing anything weird?” Kristel followed up. “No voices or suggestions or anything?”

Ah, so here’s the crux of the visit.

Xiv had been hearing voices, especially during his sleep. They were fleeting. A passing dream, or a soft warning, or a simple urge. Sometimes it spoke to wake him up, or to lull him back to sleep.

But most apparent of all, it told him whenever Frill was feeling emotional, when she was at the verge of tears of despair like that one night when she kept the stove open. Or during extreme senses of longing like when she talked to her mother. Cases of helpless worry like when Princess Kristel went to the other side of the Rindea Mountain Range. Or during extreme relief like when Kristel woke up from exhaustion yesterday.

Basically, the voice knew when Frill needed someone. Someone to talk to or someone to be there to distract her from her thoughts, it didn’t matter which.

Xiv never once questioned this voice. Truth be told, judgement be passed, he didn’t care, he took every advantage of it. Did that make him a bad person? Maybe. But regardless of the voice or not, if Frill needed someone and the Princess couldn’t be there for her, he would drop everything—everything—in a heartbeat and go to her.

He could be waging his entire land and house on a bet, he could be fighting for his life, damn; he could be saving the entire world. He would drop them all if Frill needed someone to be by her side.

“Hey,” Frill’s voice shot him awake. “Stop being weird.”

“Yes.” The sudden jump forced the answer out of his mouth before he could consider anything else. “Yes, I hear voices.” He decided to leave all the other parts out of the answer.

Frill shot out of her chair, slamming two demanding arms on the table. “Is it a girl’s voice? What did she say? Anything about me? Or the Princess?”

“Frill, calm down,” Kristel said.

The Aria in Red slumped back on her chair and sighed. With a practiced motion, she produced a tea set out of her Spatiera. Xiv was particularly impressed by the fact that serving tea actually calmed her down. As usual, she was quick with work. She even remembered his preferred mix: one and a half teaspoons of sugar, and a quarter cup of milk.

“The voices are very simple,” Xiv began after taking a sip. He was painfully aware of the bias squirming around his brain, but no other tea could taste any better. No, only other teas made by Frill could taste better.

“But yes, they were voices of a girl,” he continued. “I hear simple phrases like, ‘wake up’ or ‘go to sleep’ or ‘hungry, food’.”

The two ladies sighed at this revelation. They looked at each other once again, but this time, only Kristel nodded. Frill sighed. He would rather not see her sigh like that. Stressed and tense. He would rather have her sigh in relief or satisfaction.

Frill snapped to get his attention.

“Are you listening?”

He nodded.

“When you were attacked, back at the outpost, your meiyal core was shattered.”

“I’ve heard about this, yes,” Xiv confirmed. “Lady Katherine saved my life.”

“But we didn’t tell you how,” Frill said. She leaned back and sighed again. That made him concerned. “We had to replace your meiyal core.”

The realization hit him like the arrow that pierced his core, too sudden for him to respond. Now it made sense why his Smelted meiyal were too stubborn. Why he was hearing voices. The realization cascaded into more revelations that fell nicely on top of each other. But his own conclusion was too morbid for his own liking. He needed to hear it from someone else.

“Whose core?” he asked, already knowing the answer. Frill tensed, and it hurt him to see her like that. So he answered for her. “Liona.”

Kristel nodded. “Yes.”

Frill followed at that. “Yes. My sister’s core.”

Now it all made sense. Why the voice always involved the Aria. Even at her deathly echoes, Liona was caring for her sister first and foremost.

Xiv didn’t care after that. He was moved beyond words, beyond his obsessions. No, they combined into an emotion too large and full for him to keep inside. He got up his chair, took a clear space beside Frill, and knelt down, offering himself.

“I’m not worthy of this sacrifice, Frill,” he began, eyes looking intensely at hers. “You only need to ask, and I’ll return it to you without question. But until then, I will treasure it as my own and will try to live up to your expectations. Every decision I make will be for your protection and benefit. You will be my priority above all.”

Xiv took a deep breath. Frill and Kristel were too stunned to react. They were both red as tomatoes. Even he was feeling the fire underneath his neck. But he needed to make one final declaration.

“Frill Veli. My life is in your hands. Do what you will with it.” He bowed.

And the doors swung open.

Frein kicked them with a triumphant gusto, and Katherine Drew sparks out of meiyal. They blared a ridiculous fanfare while cheering his name.

Xiv was beyond himself to even care. He rode with it. It was now or never. If this was a prank, he would turn it into a serious occasion.

The two intruders caught wind of his dedication, his desperation. And they, in his utter disbelief, delivered the question softly over to Frill. Frein even subtly shoved the Princess away. How he managed that was beyond his understanding, but he no longer cared.

Frill was so close. How she got so close was even more underneath his current capability or desire to understand.

He wanted an answer.

Wait, did I even ask something?

Frill was extremely red, almost as red as her hair. Hands over her chest. Her breathing was staggered, her pupils dilated. She was slightly shaking in a rhythmic pattern. Was that her heartbeat?

But she was enduring all of the embarrassment, waiting for him to ask. Waiting in torturous anticipation for that one question.

Xiv swallowed hard to make sure he spoke clear and true.

“Frill, will you go out with me?”

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