In my dream, I saw a girl crying... I tried coming close to her, but she kept getting further and further away.

The more she got away, the worse I felt.

Finally, I yelled, “Don’t you want me anymore?”

And then I awoke.

Trying to remember further into the dream, it felt like cobwebs had taken over my mind.

Frustrated, I punched the pillow and tried to go back to sleep.

Suddenly,

Knock, knock, knock.

“Faust, are you ready yet?”

Bal.

Sia.

Rushing out of bed, I dunked my head into the basin of water and shaking my head like a wet dog, dived into a set of clean... okay slightly dirty clothes before smugly opening the door and posturing as though I had been waiting all the time.

Only to see her and have a thought run through my head.

Bal.

Is this Sia?

For she was dressed in a long skirt and wearing a tight men's tunic that gave her a dashing look.

Slack-jawed, I stared at her, forgetting to speak - forgetting to breathe.

Smirking, she looked away before looking back at me and freezing.

Her expression slowly turned sad and as I saw that, I felt my heart twinge in pain.

Knowing what she was thinking, I grabbed her hand as she turned and said,

“5 minutes, give me 5 minutes. I’m sorry, it was my fault that I overslept.”

Then I dashed inside, stripped, and jumped inside the tub that Ares - who had quickly picked up on what was going on - had prepared.

Coming out and brushing my hair back, I looked at the clothes on the bed, hesitating and then firmly asking, “Can you get me the good stuff?”

Ares looked wide-eyed at me and said, “which good stuff?”

Perplexed, I said, “The clothes, of course, the good clothes!”

“Which good clothes do you want, Honourable Faustus?” Ares patiently asked.

“The ones you wear, of course,” I said, flummoxed.

“I meant do you want a tunic or the latest shirts? A trouser or the latest pants? A poulaine or the latest boots?”

“What are all those?!” I asked, stupefied.

“Those are all the latest fashions based on the journal of Sir Gilligan, the fashion maestro. The countess was quite enamored by them and purchased a few sets for you, honorable Faustus.”

“They look good? Then give me those then!” I said eagerly.

Jumping about as Ares attempted to show me how to wear the clothes, I finally wriggled into them, for they were quite tight.

“Why are they so-oof tight?” I asked, as it was strange for it to be so.

“They were made 6 months ago and you’ve changed a lot in that time honorable Faustus!”

“Quit that, and what do you mean I’ve changed?”

“Quit what?” He asked as he brought a mirror close to Faustus.

“The honorable thing, just call me Faust!” I said, impatiently grabbing the mirror from him, only to gasp.

The person looking back at me was still pale, but a lot more bronze than before. The skin was also tough and leathery but looked quite good on his face - making it look more masculine than before. His eyes, though - gone, were the pools of darkness and instead, they were bright and lively.

“This is me?” I whispered as I touched my face.

“yes.. Faustus,” Ares replied after hesitating for a bit.

“Wait... Say that again!”

“Yes, Faustus, that is you,” Ares spoke a lot more confidently than before.

“YES!” I yelled and hugged Ares, who nearly departed as a ghost right then and there.

“It’s been years... years since I’ve heard you call me that!”

“But why today?”

Grunting with the effort of extricating himself from my hug, Ares pointed to the door and said, “I think you should ask her first.”

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Scratching my head, I took one last look at the mirror before striding over and opening the door.

Frozen in that position, I stared outside, dumbstruck yet again.

When I saw her before, she had her hair down as she usually does, claiming that it’s better for her to learn how to fight with her hair down while she can.

Right now, I understood that it’s because if she had pinned her hair up as she had done now, nobody could have mustered any animosity towards her.

She was like a pure innocent flower that's blooming in the fields of grass.

“Beautiful…” I breathed

Turning, she smiled brilliantly, just like the stars twinkling.

Walking towards me, one small step at a time, she grabbed my hand and began leading me away from the room.

In a daze, I followed her.

She took me through a route I’ve never been through before, ending in a small narrow gate that opened up into an unmarked street.

Smiling, she turned around and held a finger to her lips before slowly tiptoeing to an obscure little stone house.

Peeking through the window, she glanced around and then motioned me to the side where there was a smaller gate.

Letting go of my hand, she smoothly broke into a run and vaulted the gate before looking at me provocatively.

Grinning, I sauntered over and jumped the gate in one fluid motion.

Landing on the other side, I felt the loss of her hand in mine and, without thinking twice, reached out and held her hand.

I felt her quiver, but the radiant smile spreading across her face let me know she was alright with it.

We walked softly to the back of the house, where a small garden was.

Then I heard humming, and I saw an old lady, wrinkles on her face that were set with lines of sorrow, serenely humming while looking at the door that led into the house.

“I’m here,” called out Sia gently.

“Child? You didn’t come through the front door again?”

“No... I couldn’t.”

She gripped my hand more tightly at those words and, not knowing why, I felt a piercing pain inside my chest.

Squeezing back in reassurance, I stepped forward and bowed. “Madam, it is an honor to meet you. My name is Faustus.”

“Faustus, that’s a name I hear often,” the old lady teased with a laugh before turning her eyes towards me.

I froze. Because her eyes were two pools of milky whiteness.

She was blind.

Sia sensed my shock and lightly shook her head in sadness, but then the smile came back on her face as I stood up straight and bowed again to the lady.

“I am sorry. I was taken aback, and that was very rude of me. If I may ask, which battle were you injured in, madam?”

This time, it was the old lady’s turn to be taken aback.

How did I know that the injury was because of a battle? It was because the imposing aura she exuded was no less than what Teacher let out.

“The battle of Agin,” she said softly.

This time, I was truly shocked.

The battle of Agin was a legendary battle that had taken place nearly 120 years ago.

“Could you be the legendary warmaiden of the hundred skies?” I blurted out.

“I did not expect that a child would still know of me,” she laughed, with a kind smile on her face.

“That’s because you’re too famous Madam! That battle, not a single House Drayke soldier died, and the enemy surrendered before they got within 100 feet of our forces.”

“A woman who was born blind but took up archery, the same woman shot a hundred arrows at the wolves of Ashroth and took a hundred lives. They said that for every foot the enemy came towards the Draykes, they would walk through a sky of arrows. Thus the legend of the warmaiden of the hundred skies!”

“But what happened to you, Madam!” I asked with dismay.

“My nerves and meridians are all scattered, child. I am lucky to be alive, but I am confined to this house for all time. It’s not a bad fate, to be honest. After all, I am lucky to have little Sia in my dotage.”

Glancing at Sia, who had tightened her grip further on my hand, I lightly touched her palm with my finger, jolting her out of the haze she was in.

She looked gratefully at me before turning to the old lady and saying,

“Avia, let me get the food ready then.” She said as she turned towards the table that I hadn’t noticed behind the old lady.

“Go ahead, child. Young man, I was told that you were quite feeble, but your voice sounds very strong. Why the difference?”

Wincing at the feeble part, I seated myself on a nearby chair after asking permission and began,

“It’s all Sia’s fault, Avia! You don’t mind if I call you Avia too, right Madam?”

Crash.

A plate fell to the ground from Sia’s hands.

Pointedly ignoring her, I looked expectantly at the old lady who was Sia’s grandmother, her Avia.

Laughing softly, the old lady said, “Avia to that young child’s child? Why not!”

Chuckling, I thanked her promptly before asking her, “which young child? Do you mean my father or my mother?”

“Your mother, of course! The lass was a fiery one, all right. Did you know she would sneak into my carriage for almost every single one of the battles that I fought in? The little scamp!”

That sounded like my mother alright. If there was a fight, she’d probably be the one to have started it. If she wasn’t, then she’d definitely be the one to end it.

Sidling closer to Avia, I asked conspiratorially, “Avia, is today June 17th?”

“You know?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “I guessed it was.”

With a bitter expression, I continued, “I wish she had told me though!”

“Told you what?” Sia asked as she popped up at my shoulder.

“Nothing!” I exclaimed.

Looking suspiciously at me and her Avia, she found nothing out of the ordinary, so she said, “Food is ready, let’s eat!”

So we did. We ate, and we spoke for hours, and then it was nighttime and it was time to head back.

We walked in harmonious silence back the same way that we came.

Neither of us mentioned how we were holding each other's hand.

Wistfully, Sia glanced back towards the path to the stone house when we arrived near my room.

She was about to say farewell when I continued walking past my room, dragging her along as we set off for the west tower.

She stilled as she understood and then the softest smile I have seen on her graced her beautiful face.

I walked her back to her tower and looked at her.

“Goodnight Sia. It was nice to meet your Avia, and I really enjoyed the food and everything today. Training tomorrow at the same time?”

Disappointed, Sia was about to say something when she nodded and turned around to head inside her door when suddenly I called out, “Happy Birthday Sia!”

Mutely, she turned around only to see me holding a beautiful sea-green hair clip out towards her, “May I put this on for you, my lady?” I asked with a smile.

Without a word, she turned around and tilted her head forward.

My breath catching in my throat, my heart thumping out of my chest, I walked forward a step and gently fastened the clip to her silky hair.

She reached around to touch it and then vanished in a swirl of her skirts inside the room before a voice floated out, “Thank you... Faust.”

Blinking, I turned around and walked back to my room with a light step and a wide smile.