[Blanca P.O.V]
“The town streets… it’s been a while”
Taking a leisurely stroll around the border towns in the capital, I rummaged through my pocket and brought out the list mistress handed to me.
“Her handwriting is as unintelligible as always… heaven forbid the amount of times I’ve reminded her to at-least put in the effort towards such matters”
As my irritation reached it’s peak, I decided to walk down to the food stalls in order to calm my nerves for a moment.
“It's not as if she never learned to write in the first place even! One may even claim she mastered the art, she just refuses to put in the work, labeling it a waste of energy”
I heaved a heavy sigh, If I could count the amount of times her stubborn antics caused fair amounts of trouble, I’d ran out of fingers to count before long.
Passing by the bridge towering over the rivers leading to the central lake, I went over to the port to buy an assortment of seafood.
“Excuse me, may I have 6 heather lobsters, 4 phlox koi and 5 saponaria tuna please?”
“Sure thing, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen a new face,not from around these parts I take it lass?”
“Yes, I travel frequently so I’m only here for the temporary stay, though I did decide to settle in for a while, so I’ll probably hit the market more often”
“Oh? Then you should probably hit up some of the shops, majority of them are looking for a part timer, especially with the lunala festival coming soon”
“Lunala… huh? It’s that time of the year already I suppose”
My eyes drifted to the port, several large boats carrying frozen goods for the festival were anchored, some even turned into temporary stalls.
The environment was lively, most people wore colorful clothing while others donned exaggerated clothing with captivating ornaments, giving an uplifting mood to the occasion.
“Have you heard of it lass?”
“Hmm, yes… although it’s mostly just inconsistent information, seeing as how widespread the legend is”
“Haha, truth be told yer right about that lass, with so many years passing by it’s no wonder the depictions are so unreliable”
“I believe that’s just how tales are, no one knows what really happened except the for those who witnessed it firsthand”
“Yer got that right, history is meant to be a thing of the past anyways, though if yer curious lass, there is the sanctuary which might satisfy ye”
“Of course, thank you for the kind tip, but before I leave… just out of curiosity, have you heard of the name Diana Lynn?”
“Oh? Ye mean the witch who guards kells? Heard nothin but rumors tho, any reason in particular?”
“I see, it’s nothing… it’s just peculiar how that name bested the test of time until now”
“Well… no one knows really, she’s even older than teh hero luna, makes sense why only her name exists now”
Taking the fisherman’s advice, I traversed from shop to shop to complete mistress’s list, taking in several ingredients ranging from local specialties to bizarre exported goods.
“Hmm, I should’ve brought a bigger basket”
Prompting to go home, I made my way through the final sectors of the marketplace and headed for exit, until my nose caught hold of a gentle, sweet scent.
Thinking nothing of it, I followed the crowd and squeezed through the busy streets while doing a final inventory check for good measure, until my eyes laid upon a certain store.
“Helena’s Flowershop…”
Without much thought, I entered and was greeted by the owner, who cheerfully led me through the assortment of flowers.
Dragged around by her joyful demeanor, my eyes wandered to where several flowers with vibrant colors covered the walls and ceilings, with one in particular catching my gaze as I read it’s name.
“I believe this flower would suffice, a bouquet Dahlias please”
“Miss… I don’t think that would be a good flower to gift to a friend...”
“Fufu~ fret not, I am well aware what this flower symbolizes”
“Oh…I apologize then, my condolences”
Once I left the store and bid the kind owner goodbye, the breeze drizzled my face as I noticed that the sun was finally beginning to set.
Looking at my pocket watch to confirm, it was indeed already 4:23 in the afternoon, which meant I had to move quickly if I wanted to reach the sanctuary while it was still open.
.
.
.
“I see… a hero huh? No wonder…”
Unknowingly, my hands clenched unto a fist as I traversed the inside, a luxurious dome where tattered weapons and clothing were preserved alongside gold plated plaques with written history.
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And in the center of it all, a stone monument of a girl wielding a sword to fell a huge beast stood, the moment captured depicted the fierce battle.
“Here lies Luna Ambercroft, the hero of Betelgeuse…”
Clutching the flowers in my hands, I contemplated whether to place it or not, but ultimately decided against in the end, because this was not where ‘she’ belongs.
So I decided to leave, away from the sanctuary where the ‘hero’ lies, and instead went unto the cabin near the mountains to visit a dear friend.
“In the end, I guess I found myself here again… “
I laid the flowers on the grave and sat down to face her, vivid memories flashed as I read the name that was engraved.
“Aylin Cynthius”
I wiped the dust off of the portrait, the image inside showed a girl with a stoic face, despite her expression, the ends of her lips curved into a slight smile as her brilliant blue hair swayed with the autumn leaves.
“Luna… was your old name right? And ambercroft was the title you earned after slaying that demon”
I pulled a bottle of wine from my basket and poured it’s contents unto her grave.
“How are you child? I hope you’ve refrained from causing trouble in the afterlife”
I sighed, remembering the time where a brash young girl aimed a knife to slit my throat while yelling at me with bloodshot eyes in an aggressive fit of rage.
“I’ll kill you!”
“Leave, you should not be in this forest”
“Not until I drive my knife to your throat!”
“Why are you so stubborn?”
“Don’t think you can fool me! You may look human now, but I know you’re that dammed white tiger!”
A chuckle escaped my lips, remembering the old days where you were so impulsive, refusing to listen to anything I had to say.
“And yet… a hero huh?”
I watched you crawl with broken limbs and a tired body, day in and day out as you forced your way into the border in an attempt to kill me.
It wasn’t until later that I realized you were that child whose parents I killed during a mission, hence why I started monitoring you from that day onwards.
I saw you improve as the days passed, while I continued to spend time with you, I kept you company until the murkiness in your eyes clouded by rage gradually vanished.
You even stopped yelling one day, and your attempts to kill me became a greeting between the two of us at one point, you even began to initiate conversations, so I waited for you everyday at the edge of the forest as we became closer.
After meeting you, I began to take interest in cooking, because of the exotic dishes you brought in since that day, I decided to cook for you.
Then the time came, when you decided to ask me about the truth 12 years after our initial meeting.
“Can you tell me the truth?”
”Hmm?”
“Why did you kill my parents?”
“It was my mission”
“What was your mission?”
“Knowing wont make a difference, it won’t change the fact that I killed them”
“I just want to know”
“Understood, but I have a condition…”
I remember how I plunged a sword enchanted with runes unto a stone and tasked you to pull it out in exchange for knowing the truth.
I gave you an impossible request under the pretense of you giving up, but you tried everyday, you kept coming back no matter how many years passed.
The day came when you approached with me an overly confident look, I honestly believed it would end like usual, but you never ceased to surprise me.
Instead of pulling the blade etched in the stone, you broke it apart with your bare hands, leaving only the jewel intact as while you faced me with a grin on your face, having replicated the very blade you broke by forming it unto your hands with magic.
“I see, it was demon possession, huh?”
“Yes…”
“So that jewel was one of the few things that can hurt them, and that sword was the only blade that can endure it?”
“Yes, but it chooses its wielder by it’s own accord”
“I see, so I wasn’t chosen huh”
”…”
”That’s fine, I’ll slay the beast that possessed my parents and put an end to all this, then it wont matter even if I wasn’t chosen”
.
.
.
“I miss you, aylin… I gave you that name because of how much you hated your old one, and now I’m the only one who remembers it”
I recalled how they portrayed you at the sanctuary, how they wrote of your heroic tales pretending to know of your life and dramatizing it to suit their own image of you.
“Only I know of the girl Aylin Cynthius… and not the hero Luna”
I’m tired, it felt sickening because no one but me would know of the girl you truly are, the title ‘hero’ was never a fit for you, because neither justice nor sacrifice defined you.
I’m the only one who knows of the girl that drowned in vengeance, the girl who cried with bloodshot eyes as she tirelessly swung her blade at my neck everyday for 12 years while holding unto her grudge.
And now, the only one who would remember your pain is me, the only one who would ever understand how your whole world crumbled apart, and how you beautifully stood up in spite of it all.
How unfair…
“The future generations always romanticize heroes”
“They fit you into a mold to suit their desired image, disregarding the true person lying underneath”
You were supposed to be happy, holding your fate with your own hands and dying content after living a fulfilling life once you got your revenge.
Aylin, you were supposed to grow old, old enough to understand and regret holding unto your grudge once you realize that you’ve wasted your life.
I wonder… had I never told you of the truth, would our peaceful daily life continue? Would you always visit me while still holding complicated feelings towards your parent’s murderer? Would you end things there and live a content life despite it all?
Just, where did I go wrong…
“You weren’t supposed to die being misunderstood as a hero, then used a symbol to foster false hope upon the masses”
I detest it, I hate how I was supposed to show you that there was life after vengeance, no matter how many regrets weigh you down afterwards.
“You were supposed to be free…”
But somehow… despite that, I’m glad you were content, even if the aftermath wasn’t a proper one, I’m proud of you for living up to words and surpassing the fate of the so called ‘chosen ones’.
“I wish you happiness, both in here and in the next life”
.
.
.
As I arrived back at kells, I could discern distant yelling and could tell right away that an argument most likely ensued, hence I picked up the pace and hurriedly knocked on the door.
“Mistress-”
“You stubborn fool, are you trying to kill her?!”
Familiar voices echoed, and I entered the hut with an angered Ada and a genuinely confused mistress greeting my sight.
“Took you long enough”
“My apologies mistress, forgive my rudeness… but what exactly happened here?”
“Good heavens! Blanca, you’ve arrived at the most opportune time, please get through this thick-headed master of yours”
“I still don’t see the problem ada”
“Please tell me your jesting, because if not I deem it fit to re-educate you on a course of common sense”
“Elder sister, please calm down… tell me what happened”
“This foolish mistress of yours threw the child into bell-flower serpent territory with nothing but a knife! And yet she denies the problem in that!?”
“Stop pestering me ada, that child asked me to teach her how to survive, I am only complying, there is also the fact that I have a revival spell at bay, she can simply die as many times as she needs until she gets it done”
“And that’s exactly the problem! You wish for her to experience dying repeatedly?!”
“I don’t see your point, my predecessor taught me using the exact same method”
Silence filled the room, my elder sister ada rubbed her temples in dismay while seemingly acknowledging the fact that how witches are ‘made’ is what’s normal to mistress.
“Fine, I can accept that I didn’t take your circumstances into consideration, but let me tell you this… that child’s spirit will break if this goes on”
“How can you be certain? Humans posses the same capabilities as me, that girl at least has the bare minimum to survive in this forest”
“Because she’s not like you, she’s not Dianna Lyn.”