"D-don't..." His eyes snapped wide open once more. The dagger was soaked in blood, it was mere inches away from piercing his heart. The pain was by far the most painful he had endured, yet it paled in comparison to the turmoil within.

He looked up to see sapphire eyes, but it was not the same cold winter, but a gentle first snow. Seth blinked once more when he felt droplets wetting his face. Tears fell off from the scarred maiden. "Do-don't h-hurt him..." she whispered as her arms trembled.

"Lucy," Seth whispered, reaching for the girl in pure desperation. Her eyes gleamed in recognition. "I-"

"No!" And as suddenly as it came, those soft eyes turned into a roaring blizzard once more, glaring down with malice. "Let go of me, Lucy! This is our only chance!" Emma roared before her face softened once more. It was grief this time.

"W-wait! P-please just wait a-"

"I am done waiting! This bastard has to die!" Her eyes twisted into a glare once more before it softens into pale horror.

"You can't! Y-you can't d-do this to him! I-"

"He will betray us!" Emma glared down as Seth could not help but flinch. The words were indeed far harsher than steel. "The moment it comes, he will sell us to that bastard! He had already done it once, he surely will-"

"You can't! P-please you c-can't do this!" Lucy pleaded as terror marked her eyes before it hardened back to steel.

"Why not?" Emma looked down, eyes pulsing in anticipation before it softened once more.

"I...I... I love him." Lucy whimpered as it both elated and pained the two.

"You what?" As merciless as the howling winds of winter, Emma's eyes morphed into a horrible scowl. Her muscles tensed as if two forces were struggling to control it. "Him? After all he had done, him??" The dagger bit slightly at his flesh as if it was her finger.

"He killed us!" Emma roared, eyes watering in anger before it twisted back to distraught.

"I know! Kalva be damn, I-I know it already! So p-please, stop saying it!" Lucy cried as silence reigned in. Only her sobs could be heard. "...p-please stop s-saying it..." the dagger was pulled free from Seth's chest. It was as if Emma relented control for a moment.

"Lucy..." Seth whispered as he carefully reaches out his right hand. He never reaches her as she quickly dismounted and avoided his touch. It pained Seth to see her reduced to such a state as she stumbled and fell awkwardly away from him.

"W-wait!" Seth shouted, trying to chase after her, but the blood lost made him slow. Power was already mending his injured body, but it was nowhere as fast as he wanted to. "I-"

"Do-don't!" Lucy shouted, one hand crawling awkwardly away from Seth as the other held out outstretch against him. "D-don't go n-near me." Her whispers trembled against the wind as Seth felt another arrow pierced his lungs.

"L-Lucy I-"

"S-she might h-hurt you." Her anguished eyes pleaded before it suddenly changed back to hatred.

"You are still defending him?!" Emma snarled as it brought Seth dead in his tracks. "After all he had done, you are still defending him?! Why!" Accusing eyes bore down on Seth. The urge to just hide was beginning to grow more and more tempting.

"It was because of him! Him! We died because of his-"

"No!" Her eyes, watering in frustration at the injustice of it all, twisted back into mourning. "Y-you are wrong! I-it wasn't h-him... it wasn't Seth-"

"Why are you still denying it?? Look at him!" Her head snapped, glaring to where Seth stood. For a moment, her hateful eyes burned his soul. The next, it watered in pain and denial.

"N-no!" Lucy cried out as she turned away. "L-let me go! Let me-"

"Look at him!" Emma roared back. Her right hand holding their chin tightly as she forced their head back. "That is him! Him! The one who shot an arrow into our heart!" Emma sneered.

"L-let go of me!" Lucy willed the left hand to remove the grip, but Emma held more control over their body than she previously had as it remained firm.

"Why won't you understand?! Why-"

"S-stop!" The two fell silent as their focus turned back to the injured young man. Gashes marred his skin; his clothes had been ruined to such a degree that they looked more akin to a vagrant's clothes.

"You," Emma growled, pointing the dagger right back. Her fingers holding the blade to such a degree that it began to tremble.

The two watched the disheveled young man raising his hands up, completely unarmed and vulnerable. He proclaimed his next words with a shaky breath. "I-I don't want to fight. Not you or Lucy!" The concern and fear in his voice caught Emma by surprise before it twisted back into mockery.

"Concerned for the flower head now, are we?" Dripping with sarcasm and derision, Emma's scornful eyes did not leave Seth. "What sweet little lies are you going to whisper into her ears again, hmm?" Distrust evident in her eyes.

"Y-you said you cared for her." Seth said, burying the pain from within.

The cruel amusement in her eyes died, a harsh rebuke escaped her lips. "I did not say such a thing. Don't put your words into my-"

"You do! You did not say it, but you do!" Seth quickly denied her retort. Her eyes pulsed dangerously sharp. "You are mad because I hurt her, that I made h-her... her cry..." Seth had to swallow the lead in his throat. Grieve later, there are things he needed to be do. "...what else do you call it?" Her eyes furrowed as she tried to make a response.

"... I do not care what happens to her." Though her voice was softer. "The flower head can cry for all I care." But her eyes were hesitant. "It does not matter to me at all." And her voice is much more careful.

"You cared for her." Seth insisted, her eyes hardening once more.

"Weren't you listening a-"

"If you didn't, you wouldn't have been so angry." Her jaws tightened, but not a sound escaped. "S-so please, d-don't force her into this. Y-you are hurting her... just like I did." Her eyes widened into shock as if she did not consider the possibility.

"I did not hurt her! I am trying to make her see! She wouldn't understand otherwise!" Emma spat out defensively, but Seth shook his head.

"I-is it though?" Seth's inquiry forces Emma to pause, turning her attention from within back to Lucy. As if she had seen the damage for the first time, Emma was stunned. The young lady was squirming painfully against her control, all the while trying to control the tears from escaping. She never could. The flower head was simply too weak, too innocent... too naïve.

Silence was her answer as confusion tore her through. Emma opened her mouth to retort, but she quickly bites it back. Opening and closing it again, but no words left her mouth. In the confusion, Lucy gained control, no matter how momentarily. Her eyes softened with grief and betrayal once more as she looked back at Seth.

"Lucy..." Seth whispered softly as she flinches. The pain, the fear, the utter look of betrayal in her eyes made the crushing guilt ever more painful. "...it wasn't me." Yet still, even through all that, Seth refuses to accept what he hadn't done. He will never hurt her. The thought of even doing such a thing was unbearable.

For her to believe in this lie, it broke his heart. "I'm sorry for making you cry, for whatever my other self did, but it wasn't me." She flinched as she met his eyes. "You have to believe me, please. I would never do such a thing. Never." His eyes glisten with tears. The young man's shoulder trembled as he tried to control his breathing, tried to hold back the tears from falling.

"...I don't know if I can trust you." It burned. In just one sentence, Seth felt his chest caving in from the sorrow of her words. "I-I... I just don't know." Seth fell to his knees. The urge to scream clawed through his lungs, but he could not do it.

He opened his mouth, trying to give voice to his agony, but it wouldn't come out. He tried to breathe, tried to replace the trapped air in his lungs, but he couldn't do it. The air was stuck, his lungs wouldn't work.

Panicked, Seth began tearing through the scarf around his neck. It didn't work. He smashed his chest repeatedly, trying desperately to unclog the suffocation. It didn't work. Seth clawed at his throat, tears marring his face as he tried to breathe even a semblance of air.

Even that failed. He still couldn't breathe. Still couldn't understand why it was happening to him- no, he did know why. He just couldn't believe it. Couldn't accept it. His shattered heart strangled his lungs, suffocating him to death.

Yet even that pain felt like a relief from the nightmare he was forced to face. For it was a nightmare he could not wake up.

֍

Lucy eyed the young man with a heavy heart. 'Why did it have to be you? Why-' Her thoughts came to a grinding halt when Seth suddenly took off his scarf. Then he began to rapidly punch his chest before clawing his throat. It was not long before he fell to the ground.

"Seth?" There was no reply as the young man continued to struggle. When Seth did not rise back up, Lucy felt the foreboding sense of omen in her throat. Her heart began to race as death came to visit.

"Seth!" Lucy cried out in panic, rushing to the fallen young man. Seth twisted and writhed in silence, clawing his throat as if he someone was strangling him. "No no no!" the young maiden cried out as she tried to stop him, but he was in so much pain, so much agony.

Lucy reflexively tried to pour power into his body but found her own reserves instead to be empty. "No. Why now!" The young lady despaired as her body quivered. Despite life and all of its horror it had thrown at her, Lucy could only watch Seth die. Her mind refuses to think rationally.

Nothing filled her head but the utter lack of hope and dismay as she watched him struggle, dying by the second. Her sanity began to break when a thought finally dawned on her. Utterly lost and helpless, she turned to the only one whom she knew who could help her.

"E-Emma! Emma! W-what do I do??" Lucy cried out; her mind was thrown into complete disarray. The soldier remained silent. "Emma please!" Lucy cried out louder, her body shivering from the cold darkness of the night.

...He is a danger to us all. Emma replied after a second longer. Lucy's eyes widened as despair loomed over her. He would be a threat in the future if we-

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"No!" Lucy cried out, hugging Seth in desperation to ward off the cold. "No, I don't want to! Seth! Seth!" She was selfish. After everything she had to done to Emma, ignoring her warnings and her own desperate plea, Lucy still asks for her aid. But she had no one else to turn to. No one but her.

"Emma please!" Lucy cried out once more in pure anguish. It baffled Emma to no end. 'Why am I even helping you?' The unfairness of it all. 'Why do I have to keep cleaning after your mess?'

Why should I? Lucy flinched at the coldness of her tone. After all I had done for you, for us. You left me here to rot. You played pretend while I was trapped inside. Her words and the dying Seth in her arms made replying impossible. She was desperate for a lifeline and that line was growing farther and farther.

I even warned you, didn't I? Even if you beg, I won't help you.

"E-Emma-"

No.

"E-Emma please! I-

I said no-

"Please! I'm begging you!" Emma flinched as Lucy continued to plead. "I'm b-begging you Emma, please save h-him! I-I c-can't lose him! I can't! Please!" Lucy wailed as she tried to embrace Seth in the hopes of stopping his pain. It didn't work.

"P-please! I'll do anything! I'll do anything you ask of me! J-just save him! Please!" Lucy cried, the young man in her arms was growing weaker. His struggles were going slower and slower. It was only a matter of time before it happened.

"I-I... I love him." Emma stood quietly as Lucy continued to sob. "E-even... e-even if he did killed us once... e-even if it h-hurt's admitting it.... I-I still love him." Lucy cried as she cradles Seth in her arms, desperately trying to hold off the cold.

"I love him, Emma. I still love him with all of my heart." Lucy whimpered as she clings on to his body. "S-so please... help me. I don't want to lose him. P-please, n-not my S-Seth.... please... he is all that I have."

'...What about me?' The bitterness swells from within. 'After all we've been through, you won't even remember it?... I'm being replaced... by him?? He doesn't even know even a fraction of what we've been through! H-he! He...' Emma forcibly buried her heart down; sentiment was useless here. The flower head wouldn't understand.

'Let him die.' Emma snarled. 'Maybe for once in your life you'll learn-'

'B-but' Yet a part of her, that ever so forgiving part of her, whispered.

'No buts! She deserves this. I tried to warn her, but she wouldn't listen.'

'But she will learn with time. She-'

''No, she wouldn't. Even after all I've been through, after all I have done to protect her, she abandoned me. Maybe it is time for her to understand what it's like without me. What it is like to fail from your own failure! She can only blame herself! Why-

'But she's crying.'

'why...'

'She has no one to turn to.'

'why...'

'She has no one to turn to but us.'

'why...'

'...who else can she ask for help but us?...'

'...she has that murderer. She said it herself! She will abandon us again like she did before if I save him. What is it with him that she sees, anyway? He is nothing more than a murderer.'

'But she loves him... and he loves her as-'

'Lies. He is no better than Kier.'

'...Is he though?'

'...'

'You saw it, right? I...I don't think you could fake that...'

'...'

'She makes mistakes. I won't deny that, but... are we really going to hurt her like this? Is this truly the only way?'

'why... Kalva be damn.' Emma finally made up her mind.

...Switch with me. The younger girl did not hesitate for even a second as she quickly gave up control. Her weeping eyes disappeared before they hardened back to focus. Emma had so much to say. So much to deny from this young man. To denounce everything he proclaimed for Lucy as lies... just like he did, but it can wait. Time was running out.

D-do something! Lucy panickily insisted, much to Emma's annoyance.

"I am doing something. Now be quiet!" Emma chided the young girl. Falling back on her training, Emma searched Seth's clothes for anything that could help him. Herbs, medicines, potions, anything would do. What she found instead was something even better.

It was Lacrum.

Y-yes! U-Urum's light thank you! Lucy wept in joy as Emma stared at the vial. It was just what she needed to get out. One vial would be enough to start over from here. She could run off with it and sell it to start over. A gold coin would be enough to last her a month if she uses it sparingly... but...

E-Emma?

...It would kill him. And that would break her all over again. Emma begrudgingly surrenders the thought as she pops the cork off and drank the blue liquid.

W-what are you doing?! S-Seth needs-

"Am I going to help him or not?" Emma frowned, promptly silencing Lucy. Though the older girl could feel Lucy's displeasure radiating from behind. She ignored it, focusing instead on the task at hand. Her eyes bled into gold. With focus, Emma directed the flow of power into her fingertips.

Emma could not help but frown in distaste at her lack of control. The time she was locked inside had rusted her skills. She wasted so much for such a simple trick. Luckily, it was enough. "...He might die from this."

Wait what! E-Emma-

Emma plunged her fingers into his chest.

֍

Seth gasped loudly. The young man greedily breathed in the succulent air as if it was his last. For a moment, there was confusion. And then realization. Before the pain could return, however, Seth looked up in surprise and confusion to see Lucy- no, Emma glaring down on him.

"There, he's awake. Now stop yelling." Seth blinked even more into confusion before Emma's eyes suddenly softened and embraced him. Warmth exploded in his chest as he quickly returned the gesture, albeit slowly and confused.

The young man barely had a second to understand what happened when he heard her sobbing cries. "D-don't scare me like that," Lucy gasped as her hug tightened. D-don't do that to me a-again, ok?" She pulled back from the embrace as she glared at Seth. Yet that glare was far gentler, far more forgiving.

"I-I... I understand." Her glare weakened immediately as she went for another hug. One he did not resist as he savored the warmth he thought he had lost.

"...I... I s-still don't know." And within an instant, Seth felt the coldness gripping his heart once more, but he forced himself to listen anyway. "I... I still d-don't understand why... why it has to be you..." Words can be crueler than steel. "...b-but... I don't want to lose you..." And yet it can be gentler than the wind. "I-I d-don't want to l-lose y-you too... I don't want to be alone again."

She expected Seth to be able to handle it all, to do what he always seemed to do for her, to comfort her in her darkest of times. Lucy just didn't know how close to breaking he truly was. That even he can fall into despair. It terrified her out of her mind how close she was to losing him, far more terrifying than the truth of his future self.

Seth felt the air stuck into his throat once again, but it was far more bearable. Far more merciful than before. The two savored each other's embrace when Lucy suddenly pushed him. "All right, that is enough." And once more, her tone returns to steel.

It caught Seth off guard, but he manages to compose himself before replying. "Lady Emma." Seth nodded slightly. A scowl was her only reply as she retrieved the dagger Lucy discarded.

"Wait, I don't wish to fight you." Seth hurriedly braces himself once more, but Emma did not react violently as she did before.

"I would, but she would stop me before I could kill you," Emma gruffly replied as she scavenged the field for useful items. "The flower head and the empty reserve were the only thing keeping you alive." She turned to Seth with a frown as he returned the gesture in kind.

"D-do forgive her, Seth. S-she is the one who saved you, after all, w-when you couldn't breathe." Lucy's voice escaped for a moment as silence reigned between the two.

"Oh... thank you?" He replied with much hesitance. Emma simply opened her hand as if she was waiting for her reward. When Seth looked back in confusion, her frown simply worsened.

"Not even a vial?" Seth blinked in confusion, trying to jog his memory. "Ungrateful bastard." Alas, her sharp tongue heralded his failure as Emma simply went back to scavenging.

"H-hey when is Lucy-"

"It's my turn. She had a month and more to herself. I can at least have an hour." Seth begrudgingly falls silent as he watched her work.

The darkness of the night barely hindered the champion as her eyes glowed in amber light. The young man followed suit, trying to look for what she was searching for. Alas, there was only so much he could gleam. "What are you looking for?" Seth finally asked with hesitation.

"Coins, metals, daggers, anything that I can find and sell." And surprisingly, Emma replied without her sharp tongue.

"Why would you need those? The orphanage is well stocked for the winter. I made sure of that." Seth replied. Emma pauses from picking up a silver coin as she turns to frown once more.

"I am not desperate enough to steal from the children and the nuns," Emma scoffed as she continued scavenging for more valuables. "I'll make it out... somehow..." Her words caught Seth perplexed, trying to make sense of her vagueness.

"Steal? Lucy, the things I've given are all your-" Emma sharply turned, glaring with twin burning suns. "Ah, right." Seth quickly backtracked before Emma would get even more hostile. "S-sorry, I just-"

"Shove it, I don't want to hear it." Came her quick reply. "You can lie to her all you want, but don't mistake me for that flower head." Seth blinked before a frown loomed over his lips.

"It is no lie. I-"

"You say that now, but what happens a month from now? A year? I wager it wouldn't even be that longer when a comely lass came knocking at your gates." Seth's jaw drops slightly before his face flushed.

"I would never! I-"

"All she needs to do is to smile and spread her legs for a night or two and you would have forgotten the flower head in a heartbeat." Her unforgiving tone continued.

"That is not true! I-"

"Though I suppose it wouldn't even be that hard." She turned with a derisive grin plastered on her lips. "After all, with a hideous look like this, it wouldn't be surprising for you to turn in a heartbeat. Who would even fall for someone like..." Emma trailed off when she met Seth's disappointing gaze.

Somehow, the look irked her far more when he was angry. "What a sad woman you are." Emma blinked before it morphed into anger. "Is that all it would take to discourage you? A harlot with a pretty face?" Her anger bleeds into hostility.

"Don't speak as if you know me." She glared, but Seth did not shy away from her gaze. "You act as if you wouldn't abandon her the first chance that you-"

"Why would I even try to entertain such a thought?" Seth cut off as Emma balled her fingers into a fist.

"Don't lie to me. You think I'll believe that you can love someone with this?" Emma tapped the twisting scar on her cheek. "This? You can love her even with this? Who do you think you are..." she trailed off when she noticed the firmness of his eyes. It did not waver for even a second.

"...Why would that matter if I love her?" Emma's eyes widened before she scowled hatefully.

"Another lie." Emma spat out before turning away.

"...If that is all it would take to shake your faith, then I'm truly sorry for you." Emma flinched before she redoubled her efforts. "I don't know why you wouldn't see it."

"Quiet." She hissed, but Seth remained undeterred. It was his turn to give his piece.

"Why you refuse to accept it."

"Silence!" Emma continued to search for valuables, but it was clear to the two that it was all a front to hide her trembling frame. Seth felt a tinge of guilt, but he was not going to let such slander go unpunished. He had his own reprisal to give.

"But I suppose you wouldn't understand." Emma went rigid. "Maybe that is why you can't accept it. You-"

"Seth!" The young man blinked back to focus when he saw Emma- no, Lucy's eyes watering. "T-take it back! She-"

"I-I don't understand?" Her soft, watering eyes turned to rigid steel as tears trailed down from her scarred face. Seth silently cursed himself for running his mouth unchecked as he prepared himself. Though nothing in the world could prepare him when Emma suddenly began to throw rocks at him. Just rocks. Without the aid of power.

"I-I don't understand?" She screamed as tears rolled off her face. Her once stern and cold front crumbled to dust as she began to cry out. "You weren't there. You don't know a damn thing!" Emma screamed as she threw another rock. Seth would have taken cover from the volley until he heard her anguished cries.

"I tried everything for him. I've done everything I could for him. Don't speak to me as if you know anything! You don't!" Gone were her golden suns as her eyes turned bloodshot red. Tears marring her cheeks as Seth stood dumbfounded.

"You and that damn flower head are the same. You two don't know what I have been through!" Emma weep, her throws growing weaker and weaker as it didn't even reached Seth anymore. Still, she continues to throw as if it would solve the injustice done to her.

"I-I didn't do anything wrong. I... I did everything for him." Emma finally lost her strength as she crumbled to the ground into a crying wreck. "Oh Kier, why did you betrayed me?" Emma wept as she leaned on to a nearby tree for support.

Seth flinched at the name he should not have heard, of a trauma he shouldn't have heard, but alas, here he was. Truly, he should have kept his mouth in check. He should have known when to stop. "I'm sorry." Emma glared, but she continued to cry as Seth could not meet her gaze.

"I-I didn't mean to bring those memories. I'm sorry." There was no excuse he could give. None. He should have stopped when he noticed her revulsion. Should have been satisfied when he proved her words meaningless before his love. He should have just stop.

Emma held her glare for a second longer before finally replying, even with a raspy voice. "Then it is a good thing this would be our last."

"What?" Seth asked, sensing dread clawing once more.

"When I am done what I needed to do here, we are leaving." Emma said with resolute in her voice despite her heartbroken eyes.