Book 3. The Long Journey. Chapter 15. Datura Flower.

“Uwah, so loud,” Laien said resignedly and threw the pillow he had been covering his head and ears with to the side. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at Yin, who was still refusing to wake up. He sighed a little and smiled, then changed his clothes with the aid of the interspatial ring. As usual, he picked the normal and comfortable set of white pants along with a long-sleeved shirt; he didn’t really like to wear anything extravagant or especially eye-catching.

“Coming, coming,” he called out lazily and approached Yin’s bed. He laughed a little, a bit surprised that Yin could be so weak in the mornings. “Well, we did go to sleep late,” he thought and laughed, recalling the night with a slight flush on his face. “Yin, get up. We are going to be late,” he said and shook Yin’s shoulder while kneeling on the side of the bed.

“Nnn,” Yin turned around on his back, releasing the pillow he had been tugging his head with. He wasn’t quite awake yet though; lying in the bed in the warm under the blanket was simply too comfortable to be waking up so soon.

Laien smiled to himself, looking at Yin’s sleeping face. His green hair was more tousled than usual, but what caught Laien’s attention the most were Yin’s long eyelashes. They weren’t that apparent when one simply glanced at Yin since they were light in color, even more so than his hair, but they were quite mesmerizing if one paid attention to notice them. But of course, what mattered perhaps the most was just how good looking and cute Yin was. Just by looking at him it was making Laien want to kiss him again, what he promptly did without giving it much unnecessary thought.

“Good morning,” Yin said with a smile as he opened his eyes, the warm feeling still lingering on his lips. He raised his hands and stretched lazily, then sat down and swapped his clothes for the day ones in the usual, convenient manner. “Did we oversleep?” he inquired, though he didn’t appear to be nervous about being late at all.

“Just a little,” Laien replied carefreely, exchanging a happy glance with Yin. “Ruan is waiting for us outside, so I guess we can go and eat this breakfast with the General. I just hope it won’t be too stiff talking with him,” he elaborated, then walked up to the door, turned the key and opened them.

“Finally,” Ruan said with a sigh, greeting the two boys with a somewhat helpless expression on his face. He didn’t yet know what those two did during the night, but to be honest, he didn’t even want to know, and thus he didn’t care to ask them. “Let’s go, the General is apparently waiting with his family. I know you like to… eh, just try to behave yourselves, okay?” he reprimanded without much faith in the effectiveness of this warning of his.

He had chatted with the boys some during the past two days of travel, so he came to know their characters much better than in the beginning of their journey. He now knew that being strict with Laien was pretty much pointless, at least as long as the words were coming from him. The silver lining was that Yin seemed to be more level-headed than Laien and appeared to have a good influence on him, or so he hoped to be true. Overall those two were good kids… just a little too fond of being mischievous.

“Yeah, yeah,” Laien responded with a care and joined his hands at the back of his head. “Let’s get going already, I’m hungry,” he added, his stomach reminding him that he and Yin hadn’t eaten anything sensible the last evening or during the night.

Yin smiled and laughed a little, his stomach agreeing with Laien’s. Ruan, on the other hand, suppressed a sigh and gestured the boys to follow him, what they did.

After walking for a bit, the three of them passed by two martial masters guarding the entrance to the section of the castle where General Agnes and his family lived. Ruan received brief instructions as to where they should look for the dining hall and proceeded to lead the way while Laien and Yin talked with each other a few steps behind him.

Soon, they entered a huge dining hall decorated in a typical military fashion; with a large table in the middle of the hall, a fireplace at one of the walls and hardly anything else but a painting or two along with some sets of old weapons here and there.

As for the table itself, it was quite large; it could easily fit over forty people. At the moment four were sitting at its one side. Just at the corner a young black-haired boy, perhaps seven years old was sitting. The youth appeared to be excited to see the guests arriving, what his broad smile and impatient look in his eyes as he looked at them indicated. Right next to the boy sat a man who greeted them with a smile, but even with that couldn’t get rid of the grim expression on his face. The next seat was occupied by a woman who had a dreamy look in her eyes; very literally, as she seemed not to have even noticed their presence.

And finally at the fourth seat sat a girl, maybe fourteen, fifteen years of age. When Laien and Yin saw her, both of them went ‘ah’ in their hearts. As for the girl, her eyes went wide and she stood up abruptly. “It’s you! What are you doing here?!” she cried out angrily, her face turning bright red as she unwillingly recalled the scene she had been made to look at yesterday.

“We came to eat the breakfast, what else?” Laien couldn’t help himself and responded sarcastically, wondering what was the deal with this teenage girl anyway. She was the daughter of the General, no? Then why was she so painfully oblivious and out of touch with reality? So far everyone in the Iron Fort turned out to be rather down-to-earth, so just her being delusional was an unpleasant surprise.

“Sit down,” General Agnes said sourly before his daughter could open her mouth to continue bickering with their guests. He noticed she wasn’t sitting down, so he gave her a stern, scolding look, after what she did quickly sit back down and pursed her lips tightly. “I apologize for this unsightly display, I hope my daughter didn’t cause you any trouble,” he said in a tone which almost suggested he was apologizing, but before Laien or Yin could respond his wife suddenly cried out so loudly she was nearly yelling.

“Honey, you can’t be serious! Look at our little girl, she is so distressed! My sweet child, tell me what have those bad people done to you?! How dare they cause pain to my precious child!” Having yelled so in a very hysterical manner, the expression on her face showing how agitated she was, the woman hugged her daughter tightly and gave Laien, Yin and Ruan a furious look. “My precious, tell your mother what have those people done to you? You don’t need to fear them, your mother will make sure they are punished heavily!” she assured while stroking the head of her fifteen-year-old daughter.

Laien and Yin exchanged a quick glance, both of them wondering what in the world was going on here. The confusion was especially strong in Laien as had interacted with many more people than Yin had; even the feared personas like the Great Masters of the Twin Phoenix School turned out to be somewhat reasonable, but the way this mother and a daughter were acting was nothing short of baffling. As for Ruan, he could understand no more than the two boys who were sitting at his side about the current situation.

“T-they were very rude!” the teenage girl, Cecile forced the words out of her throat. “They behaved shamelessly before me! They are boys but they k-k-kissed in front of me!” she said and hid her face in her hands, so embarrassed that she could die. Her mother gasped in shock, but as for everyone else…

“Eeeh?!” the seven-year-old turned his gaze to Laien and Yin, a bright smile of excitement present on his face. “So both of you like boys? That’s so cool! Hey, did you know that when he was younger even father-“

“Ekhm,” Agnes coughed loudly, interrupting his son partway through his sentence and giving him a reprimanding, but nevertheless gentle look.

“Clementine,” Agnes spoke up with a sigh. “We are having the breakfast now, I promise to take care of punishing them later, so calm down,” he said without looking at his wife at all, though his words appeared to have reasoned with her as she no longer looked as overcome with emotions as a moment before. Having said so, he nodded ever so slightly towards his three guests; by the looks of it he wasn’t planning to abide by his words at all and had only spoken them to appease his wife.

“As for you, Cecile, we will need to have a serious talk later,” he said with a hint of coldness in his voice, what resulted in his daughter swallowing her saliva nervously and shutting her mouth instantly. “What happened to my once happy family…” he wondered silently, only now after the last few years truly recognizing how badly the things had become.

Only now did Ruan let his breath out; he had worried the two had offended the General’s daughter, but thankfully all they did was fool around, while the girl and her mother ended up overreacting to the teasing. If someone were to ask him, this kind of behavior wasn’t normal, but he wouldn’t comment on the matter concerning Agnes’s family out of his own accord.

Laien and Yin smirked a little. They didn’t even need to look at each other or rely on their spiritual bond to know they were both thinking about the same thing; this bearded, sturdy military man, a general no less, used to be as mischievous as them when he was young? It was pretty hard to imagine given what kind of appearance he had now.

“Anyway, go ahead and sit,” Agnes said a bit resignedly. He would usually prefer to go through the introductions first, but with the kind of atmosphere in the hall, he could ill afford to do it.

“Thanks. We’re starving,” Laien said carefreely and approached the table with everyone. He noticed how Ruan unhesitatingly chose to sit in the third chair from the corner, then laughed in his heart. Were they obeying the etiquette here too? If so, he wouldn’t really want to seat himself ‘above’ Yin, but before he could spend much time thinking about his little dilemma Yin tucked his side with his elbow and said quietly, his lips curving into a slight smile.

“You are the more important one here, so sit down there already.”

Laien chuckled quietly, then took the chair closest to the corner, right next to General’s son. Also, now that he thought about it, Agnes’s family wasn’t really seated in any formal order; this breakfast was more casual than formal, so all those formalities were probably irrelevant. With that realization in mind, he began feeling kind of stupid for being so disturbed by something so silly.

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As inconsequential as Laien thought his little mishap to be, Agnes noticed how he hesitated and even managed to hear what Yin whispered to him. Although Agnes still knew little of those two boys apart from the recent news which came from Neil City and from what was known about Laien before, he could see the two of them valued their friendship; and that was one of the traits he valued the most in people. For those who lived their lives not knowing whether they were going to see the next sunrise, the sense of camaraderie was incredibly important.

“I’m Tan, and how are you guys called?” the seven-year-old asked soon after Laien and Yin sat down, unwittingly cutting Ruan out of his field of attention. He assumed the man to be Laien and Yin’s guard and wasn’t really interested in him; and well, he wasn’t really wrong in this assumption.

“I’m Laien, he’s Yin and that’s Ruan,” Laien took the liberty to reply for the three of them since Tan happened to be looking at him while asking the question.

“Say,” Tan brought up with a playful smile. “Big sis said that the two of you kissed. Were you just making fun of her, or do you actually like each other? You know, ‘like’ like!” he inquired quite shamelessly, but not at all to Laien’s or Yin’s displeasure.

“Great Ishtar, Tan, what are you asking our guests about?” General Agnes groaned, but at the very least was happy that Tan didn’t mention his past anymore. “Forget this question of my son’s. He’s a great boy, but he sometimes speaks too much,” he apologized, perhaps thinking the two would be as uncomfortable to talk about such a subject as he would be. Laien and Yin however simply exchanged a glance and smiled at each other. Many things could be said about this breakfast, but certainly, no one could claim it was dull and boring.

“Well, I do like him very much,” Laien said in a tone that was a bit more timid compared to his usual way of speaking and glanced at Yin. He was enjoying his time around Yin greatly and not only got along with Yin very well, he even respected him; something that couldn’t be said about many of his peers. He hadn’t really asked himself if he ‘liked’ liked Yin, as Tan phrased it, but it was quite likely he did.

“So do I,” Yin responded, then added cheekily. “I also like myself very much,” he said with a laugh, then gave Laien an amused look. It was pretty fun to throw Laien off sometimes, considering how used to taking the lead in all situations he was. Truth to be told, just by seeing the slightly flushed and a bit grumpy expression on Laien’s face he felt like giving him a kiss, but out of concern for Cecile and Clementine’s reaction, he held himself back.

“But do you like him too?” Tan pressed the question, pretty much asking what Laien himself would have liked to inquire about.

“Of course I do,” Yin said with a laugh and exchanged a look with Laien. Wasn’t it already obvious enough from the way he acted? Or was saying it aloud so important for some reason? Well, judging from the way Laien smiled at him, it really was quite important to him.

“Ekhm…” Agnes coughed quietly. As much as he didn’t mind the subject and his son appeared to be having fun with it, he could see how his daughter’s face was shifting between bright red and pale white and worried whether his wife wouldn’t have another one of her hysterical attacks because of it. At the moment she seemed to be enjoying her favorite tea though, so at least until she finished sipping the cup she would probably stay quiet and calm.

“I heard the two of you made my Iron Fort quite lively last night,” Agnes brought up, changing the subject despite his son’s grumpy expression. He then chuckled a little when he saw the surprised expressions on the boys’ faces. Did they think he wouldn’t maintain a proper control of his own home just because he was leaving it often? He was always being constantly informed about anything of notice that happened not only in the Iron Fort but also in the whole south and most of the world.

“Did we?” Laien asked cheekily, feeling that he could afford to behave in a bit more daring way while talking with Agnes.

“Oh, you certainly did,” Agnes laughed, not minding the little fang to any youngster’s behavior. “If what I heard isn’t over exaggerated, and believe me it’s pretty hard not to think my men had gotten way too drunk on ale, then I will gladly welcome you back when you are adults,” he said with a calm smile, then elaborated to make himself a bit more clear.

“There are many things that make an army strong; order and discipline, training, the strength of heart of the men, good equipment, wise leaders and great generals. However, there are a few things which can tip the scale in any war despite all logic and reason,” he began explaining and was pleased to see the look of understanding in the boys’ eyes. They sure were quick-witted.

“One of such things are the living symbols of the Kingdom, its heroes if you’d like to call them so. The Blood of Ishtar; your masters used to be called so during the last Great War,” he said while looking Laien in the eye. Both Rudford and Shire had been indispensable to the war effort back then and although Shire had gone crazy with grief after the war ended, the tales of their accomplishments were very much alive amongst the soldiers and their families. One man can have only so much influence on a battlefield even if he is a supreme expert, but the fire he can lit in the hearts of those who follow him can often change the tide of battle and sometimes even the whole war.

“I admit the two of you have great potential,” Agnes followed more quickly than he intended to, having noticed that unless he did so Laien would have interrupted him. Really, this kid was way too impatient. “However, I will tell you one thing. Don’t you think that just your potential will grant you all the power in our armies. If when you come back I deem you to be unsuitable, I will make sure none of my subordinates go to support your Prince’s case,” he warned, then smirked at the surprised reactions the boys gave him. No matter what they were still kids, eh? Those officers of his might have not been aware of what occurred in Neil City during the last two days, but he and his close aides knew very well of everything.

“Hmm, I guess it will be all good then,” Yin commented lightheartedly after thinking the matter through for a second. He chuckled when everyone but the two women looked at him in confusion and explained. “Laien is a good person, so if he will still want to help Sinra in four years then I’m sure everything’s going to be all right between you and him,”

Agnes raised his eyebrows, bewildered by both Yin’s words and his behavior. From the way he was speaking, it seemed like he didn’t truly consider himself involved in the matters of the Sarkcente Kingdom but would very apparently get involved if his friend intended to do so. Paired up with this somewhat childish faith in Laien’s goodness, Yin was coming out as a straightforward and trustworthy person; at least as far as the first impressions went.

“The road to the underworld is paved with good intentions…” Agnes said with a slight smile, but then shook his head and laughed a little. “Let us say you’ve convinced me, at least for now,” he began saying, but before he could finish a loud growling resounded from within Laien’s stomach and completely destroyed the serious mood. Agnes couldn’t help but smirk as he suggested. “Let us eat, we can finish our talk later.”

“Good idea,” Laien said and without wasting any more time, began stuffing food onto his plate. The table didn’t hold as much as he was used to, but there was still more than enough to pick from. Meanwhile, he exchanged a few glances with Yin, using their spiritual bond to communicate their feelings to each other. It was quite a strange feeling; although there were no words involved, they could tell what the other meant with a reliable accuracy as long as both of them focused.

“Really,” Agnes brought up with a smile while making a sandwich for himself. “The way you to behave makes one think you are childhood friends. Are you sure you only met recently?” he asked jokingly, but with a certain hint of seriousness resounding somewhere in the tone of his voice. As used to considering every possibility as he was, he would consider things like those two knowing each other when they were still kids and being agents of a foreign country. He didn’t believe too much in this little theory of his… but he did consider it in the back of his head.

“I wish I had a friend like that,” Tan said with a sigh. He was the General’s son so even though he very much tried to make friends, he could always feel everyone treating him with some distance and reserve. For example, when he wanted to fool around his ‘friends’ would suddenly remember all about the rules and advise him against doing anything stupid; they never treated him as him, but always saw the General’s son talking and playing with them.

Laien and Yin simply smiled at what they were hearing, both too absorbed in eating to engage in a conversation. Ruan appeared to be unchangingly anxious, while Cecile who had just finished drinking her tea was now sending cold and angry looks towards the two boys who had offended her so badly.

“Big sis, are you going to keep sulking at them?” Tan asked as he munched upon a piece of dried meat. “Why would you be so embarrassed about just a kiss anyway?” he asked straightforwardly, failing to understand what Cecile was so mad about. He had seen some of his older friends kiss, what was the big deal about it anyway?

Cecile frowned, then responded stubbornly. “Fine, I will forgive them, but only if they apologize,” she stated and folded her arms over her chest, looking at the two with a haughty expression on her face.

Agnes smiled ever so slightly, fully expecting what was about to happen. He was feeling a bit guilty about feeling this way though; Cecile was his own daughter, but she was quite apparently in a dire need of some serious tempering. Else, the one who ended up marrying her would be sentenced to a very pitiable life indeed. Cecile must have gotten a bit too used to being the most important person around, but before Rudford’s pupil, she really ought to have had thought twice before acting up.

“We have nothing to apologize about, unlike you,” Laien stopped eating for a second and said with a shrug of his shoulders. He had seen many spoiled young master and ladies, but Cecile was one of the most annoying and unreasonable even amongst such people. The only difference was that she didn’t have a squad of guards at hand that she could order to attack whoever she disliked.

Cecile’s lips began trembling in her silent fury, but unexpectedly it was her mother who stepped up. “Oh my, everyone, let’s try to get along,” she said in a velvety voice and put the fingers of her hands together. “How about you all try some of my tea? I grow the leaves for it myself, I guarantee it’s absolutely delicious,” she suggested with a bright smile and stood up from her chair, reached out for a few clean, elegant porcelain glasses.

“Will you have some too, dear?” she asked sweetly after she finished pouring two glasses and began refilling her own and her daughter’s.

“You know I don’t like those fragrant teas of yours,” Agnes said with a sigh. The only thing he could stomach apart from water was a good ale, nothing else.

“And you, Tanny? Have some!” Clementine urged and pushed a cup in front of her son.

“Blergh,” Tan winced and pushed the porcelain cup away. “I keep telling you those teas are terrible, I don’t want any!” he said stubbornly. His mother had forced him to drink some of this tea once, but he hated how it tasted and didn’t like how it made him feel later; he even vomited onto his favorite carpet and needed to have it thrown out! He would never drink this tea again.

“What a pity,” Clementine sighed and walked over to Laien and Yin, then put the cups on the table before them. Strangely enough, she seemed not to notice Ruan at all, as if he wasn’t there. She only smiled at the two boys and returned to her seat.

Although Laien and Yin were bewildered by Clementine’s strange behavior, if not personality shift, they didn’t say anything about it. All they did was wonder quietly if this woman wasn’t going crazy for some reason and if that wasn’t the source of the rumored problems within the General’s family.

“Smells nice,” Laien said with the small cup in his hand, trying to figure out what kind of tea it was, but to no avail.

Yin also raised the cup and sniffed it curiously, but the moment he did he froze motionless, blood draining from his face.

Sensing the drastic shift in Yin’s emotional state and the shock, pain, fear and a whole lot of other negative emotions which overflowed from Yin all at once Laien stopped his hand just as the cup pressed against his lips. He immediately glanced at Yin, truth to be said wondering how Yin didn’t look worse than he did considering the tempest of raging emotions he was experiencing at the moment. What was it that caused this kind of a reaction from the cool-headed friend of his?