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No matter how much you may want to forget the scenes that would give you fear, sometimes it’s better to remember them, as they may have been a warning of what’s about to come…
- Alessio Amaryllis
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At times like these, I’ve already lost count of how many times I've ended up falling asleep, whether by my own choice or by force, and started dreaming of nightmares and dreams that I would forget in the morning as soon as I woke up. But this was one of those very rare occasions when everything felt as real as ever, and I knew I'd remember everything when I woke up, no matter how much I didn't want to. Very much similar to what is happening to me right now. It wasn’t that long before I felt the lifelike feelings of weakness and pain throughout my whole body. Then there was also a feeling of coldness despite the warmth coming from my surroundings. When I slowly opened my eyes, everything was a blur, but soon, the first thing I saw was a wall of fire all around the burning corpses, with pools of blood scattered everywhere on the soft ground alongside their strong stench, the smoke, and fallen debris coming from the homes…
What… What is this place? What happened here? I thought, as I was immobile.
Seeing these horrific scenes just reminded me of the tragedy that happened before. My breath has become heavy as I slowly look beyond, seeing a familiar person standing there but not facing me. He had blonde hair, and in his flowing cape was the emblem of the kingdom of Helio Vermillion. In his grasp was his very bloodied sword. He was silent for quite some time, and there were no words that came out of my mouth. But when slowly and finally turned in my direction, I wasn’t able to catch a glimpse of his face as he suddenly attacked me like a rushing wind. And soon after…
There was only dead silence as I felt no pain, no other feeling. Nothing… until…
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I finally woke up with both of my eyes open wide and sitting up in my bed all of a sudden. I was breathing heavily, my face was pale with cold sweat and almost wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but all I could do at that short moment was stare at nothingness as questions kept on filling my mind. What was that nightmare? Why did it all feel so real? Was that supposed to be a warning for the incoming future? Who was that person who was about to kill me?... And why— Just why does he seem so familiar to me?!
"You almost DIED!" were the loud words that I heard were shouted by someone nearby and were somehow able to get me back to my senses immediately. But it seemed that the argument didn’t stop there. As soon after, that same voice, I believe that is Queen Guinevere, continued shouting. "Despite the recent ambush that happened a few days ago, you continued neglecting your duty as King and even had the boldness to leave your kingdom to an imposter just for the sake of a journey! You could have just stayed and let Alessio do your job for you on getting the information. But it seems that even he is not fit for that job being a protector, just like how you’re not fit to be a ruler."
W-What’s going on? She couldn’t be arguing with… I halted my thoughts as I got off from my bed and immediately left the room. I then carefully began walking down the cold hallways but immediately stopped once I heard Taro begin to speak this time.
"You can’t say that about Alessio." Taro said. "And whether or not he’s not fit to be my Head General… that’s none of your business. He saved my life that day and even protected me countless times… I wouldn’t be standing here now if it weren't for him."
I then heard a short sound of her footsteps before she responded to him with, "Even until now, you still haven't understood it?... He wasn’t even supposed to be here in the first place. He wasn’t supposed to leave his old life and his family behind. He wasn’t supposed to be fighting in this long and bloody war if it weren’t for you, Taro!"
That was enough! I could no longer just stand by here anymore! I thought. "HEY!"
I walked out of my hiding and stood in front of Taro while facing his displeased mother. "I don’t care who you are to him, but you don’t get to talk to Taro like that!"
She crosses her arms as she glances at me. "Oh? I never once thought that you would be that disrespectful to suddenly intervene in our argument, General Amaryllis."
"Oh— my sincerest apologies, Your Highness. But I cannot just sit back and let you ridicule my King, and my friend like that." I said as I crossed my arms as well. "And even to go as far as using me and my past for your presumptuous accusations against him."
Her gaze looked away from me as she noticed the butlers and maids that began gathering around the hallway we’re in and were whispering to each other. When she looked back at me, it looked like either she wanted this little talk of ours to be taken somewhere private instead or she just wanted to end this for the three of us and be back on our merry way. But of course, we both know who started this loud argument in the first place, and I’m not letting it end just yet. Not when I still have some words for her.
"Presumptuous accusations? All I ever said earlier was the truth, and nothing but the truth. As harsh as it may sound for him and to take it all in," she said. "From the first day you stepped foot in this place, I could already tell from your expression at that time that you never wanted to come here if it weren’t for him, because of what he did."
"And you are right about that. I came here because of him. But despite how I had high suspicions that he was the one responsible for the tragedy that happened in that village, I still gave him a second chance to prove to me that what he did that day wasn’t his intention... He promised me that he would tell me what happened with sincere honesty once he remembered it all, and he did. He told me that he and his people would be able to help me, and they were able to do so…" I said, looking at Taro, then at the butlers and maids that were around, before finally looking back at her once more. "And lastly, he proved to me that he always gave everything he had and more. He showed that he cares more about his kingdom and his people than anyone, and more than you!"
And with that, her eyes widened and she took a step back as the murmurs of the servants around us became louder than earlier. She then gritted her teeth in anger and raised her hand as if she was about to slap me. But immediately, her arm was quickly grabbed by a pale hand, making everyone, even me, look at the person and see sir Klein.
"And what do you think you’re doing, Your Highness?" Klein asked, wearing a serious expression on his face. "I believe that it is very clear to all of us here that you are not drunk and you are doing this on your own volition and uncontrolled emotions... Must I remind you that you stepped down from your throne a long time ago. King Taro is now the ruler, and Head General Amaryllis is his to discipline and punish. Not yours."
She became silent, staring at Klein for a short moment before she scoffed as he finally let her go and began walking away. He then gave a short glance at the servants around us before they all soon left to do their duties and looked back at me and Taro.
"I am truly sorry if you two still had to deal with such problems this morning, especially after you both just returned last night with the help of Lady Lucerne, and despite explaining to the Queen about what happened as calmly as we could," he said, shaking his head. "In any case, how are you two feeling right now? Are you… alright?"
I nodded before looking at Taro and immediately caught him as he suddenly fell.
"M-My apologies if you both have to see me like this. Ha... Truly, such a weakling King I am." he said as I could feel his grip on my shoulders tightened. "Well, that’s unfortunate… It seems that I need to recuperate like Lady Lucerne for a couple of days. For the meantime, while I will take a rest, sir Klein will explain to you what happened."
"W-What do you mean? Taro? Taro!" I shouted in a panic as soon as I felt his grip on me loosen and noticed his eyes closed as he fell unconscious.
Gritting my teeth and not wasting another second, I immediately carried him in my arms and rushed towards the underground Hailstone Room with Klein. I was not bothered by the people who were watching and saw us pass by, and wasn’t fazed by the cold that greeted us as soon as we arrived and entered the room. All that time, my mind was only filled with worry about him. Even when I was able to finally place him down gently on top of the magical glazed block of ice, and his breathing immediately became normal once again, I couldn’t help but question myself, "Just what happened that day?"
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Huh, that’s strange..." Klein said, waking me back to reality and looking at him. "I'm not suspicious of you, but I thought only a few of us knew about this location… Or perhaps Lady Lucerne has trusted you enough to tell you about this place before?"
I thought I saw him like this in another timeline... That's what I would have said, but I just nodded, looked away and left it at that. "Yeah, she told me about this place before, just in case something like this happened to him…" I lied. I couldn’t tell him about the powers of my stone, despite how he’s one of those people that I could trust.
Klein was silent for a while before I soon heard his footsteps. "In anger, when Garett and I got caught by Queen Guinevere in our little act, she immediately ordered Lady Lucerne to find your location and return you both to the kingdom. I accompanied her. She then created a portal leading to the place, and the first thing we found was you unconscious on the ground, and the King was fighting against the silver-haired man," he said, as I felt a thick coat being put on my back before walking away once again.
"Despite how the King was winning the battle, of course, Lady Lucerne and I both had to stop them. And before we returned through the portal Lady Lucerne had created, the silver-haired man gave him a letter from someone you might be familiar with, he claimed. His Highness took it, and as he rested on his bed earlier, he read the letter…" Klein paused as I heard the sound of crumpling paper. "He… He wasn’t happy about it."
As I turned around to look at him, he was already giving me the letter on hand before his gaze looked away from me. "Well, he told me that I could tell you about what happened when you were unconscious and not to tell you about what this letter contains… But he didn’t say anything about not giving this to you to read it yourself."
I stared at the letter on his hand before taking it and began reading it myself:
"If you were able to receive this message, then it seems that my comrade hasn’t warned you enough… So let me make this simple and quick for you, Your Highness…
After three days and two nights have passed, once the bright moon is full, one of the biggest villages in your kingdom and its people will be in ruins by my own blade. But if you claim that you care so much for your people and don’t want more of their blood to be spilled, or end up like how we did to your messengers last time, then send your Head General Amaryllis in the village alone. If you fail to comply after your time runs out, I would not hesitate to continue doing so until every village is wiped out in less than a month... Now, you wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?
This is not a warning, this is just simply the truth. Tick Tock, Your Highness…
Make your final choice."
After finally finishing reading it, I couldn’t help but stare at it for a couple of more seconds in disbelief before putting it down and looking at Taro. Remembering the dream earlier, and after what just happened in the house of the woodcarver, I don’t think that it would be best to tell him of my reckless choice and what I’m about to do.
I just hope that you will forgive me for this, Taro… I thought, clenching the letter tightly in my hand before taking a deep breath and looking back at Klein. "Sir Klein, I need you to gather everyone in the camp. We will have a very important meeting today."
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"... You’re gonna WHAT?!" were the first words that Garett immediately shouted in both surprise and anger as soon as I finished my explanation to him and the rest of my men. Not letting me speak any further, he then quickly grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up from the ground, which caused the other men with us to panic. "Al, I know how reckless of a man you are, but never in a million years have I ever thought that you would be this crazy to be— You even said it yourself earlier that it’s an obvious trap, that you might die out there!... So why on Somiar would you go there on your own?!"
"Sir Garett, please calm down." Klein said, which made Garett glance at him.
"Calm down? Calm down?! How am I supposed to calm down when this man is willing to throw himself into the depths of danger like that?!" He yelled at him before looking back at me once more. "After what we talked about before you left, did those—"
"Of course I remember everything you told me at that time you were in the cell, but I wouldn’t just stand by here and do nothing!" I immediately interrupted him. "It’s very clear that they want me, Garett. They're after me, and they're willing to kill more people than they already have if you, the King, or anyone else stops me. And I know this is not going to stop the long and bloody war entirely, but if it means that those ruffians cease killing more civilians for a long time— for enough time for you all, then so be it!"
The entire tent was filled with silence after that. Our eyes met ablaze as I could feel his grip on my collar tightening, but his hand began shaking and his head lowered. Soon, slowly and carefully, he let me stand back down on the floor and proposed a different plan which made me a bit surprised, but was something I’ve already expected.
"Damn, you’re such a pain in the bum until now… Fine! Fine… If you’re truly not going to let any of us stop you from going, then let me go with you instead." Garett said, taking back his hand from my collar and looking at me. "I highly doubt that the sender of that letter will be going alone anyways. Heck— High chances are they would have brought an entire army there just to kill you or capture you alive. And Haco— He would probably be there for that gruesome strike you did to him last time. So, please, Alessio!"
I stared at him for a few seconds before looking at the rest of the men around us. They continued to be silent and had mixed expressions on their faces. I then took a deep breath before giving them my last command, "During those three days and two nights, I will be needing you all to evacuate the citizens of the nearest and biggest village that’s located near the Emerald Forest to this kingdom. After doing so, keep the defenses up on this place, and don’t tell the King anything about this. Then on the third night, when the full moon is up, Sir Garett and I will be left alone there to fight them…"
Before anyone, or even Garett, was about to say anything, I immediately raised my hand to halt them from doing so. "Lastly, if unfortunate events occur— if I won’t be able to return with Sir Garett back to the kingdom, then he’ll be taking my place as the Head General unless Queen Guinevere or the King says otherwise. Is that understood?"
They still seemed hesitant for a second, despite how this was the second time I told them the plan, before they all nodded and said loudly and in sync, "Yes General!"
After looking at all of them one last time, I began to walk away, finally leaving the camp and immediately followed by Garett. I could hear him yelling and calling to me, but I chose to ignore them, not facing him, and kept walking. Only then I felt his hand suddenly grabbing my shoulder tightly, stopping me in my tracks and looking at him, quickly greeting me with a hard punch on my cheek that almost fell against the nearest wall, but it was enough to soon wake me up back to reality and notice him.
I know that I deserved it, but I must say, that hurts a lot. I thought as I held my jaw before looking at him again as he asked, "Are you awake now or do you need another?"
I shook my head. "No, I believe that was enough to wake me up… Thank you."
Garett then let out an exhausted sigh with his eyes closed before slowly sitting down on the floor while leaning against the wall. "You do know that watching you die is not the reason why I wanted to come along with you. And I know that protecting you would mean that I would put myself in danger, and you would be protecting me as well. Who knows, maybe we'll both die or get caught by them! But you already said it like you alrea—" He suddenly paused as he stared at me sitting down on the ground across from him and soon realized it. "You… You foresaw what happened there already, didn’t you?"
I nodded my head twice before lowering my head. "There were… hints about it already given to me by my stone before that little incident with Taro happened. And adding up the lifelike nightmare this morning and the letter given to him by the Mysterious Woodcarver, I’m no longer afraid of heading there… supposedly alone. I expected it. But still, I’m more afraid that I might end up losing you and the others, and meeting whoever it is that I’ll be meeting on that battlefield. Because right now, even I myself cannot tell if things will change or still stay and end the same way in the future."
"Well, I suppose that’s to be expected with how many possibilities there are out there… That’s understandable," he said, scratching the back of his head. "But is there truly no timeline— or at least one timeline— in which we would not die or be captured by the enemy? Where will we be able to return back here in this kingdom together?"
"I truly wish and hope that I could tell you with such confidence and sincerity if there was at least one that I foresaw before, but unfortunately for us there was none. It seems that this is one of those situations where we can’t escape our unfortunate fate…"
Fate… How I truly despise your cruel sense of humor even more as Time passes by.
"And what about the King?... What do you think will happen if he finds out about us— or you even— if you end up being captured, or worse, killed? Don’t you think that he might end up causing another tragedy like what he did in that village before or worse? And Lady Lucerne… You know how important you are to them both, don’t you?"
"But am I truly that important in their lives?" I asked, slowly looking at him. "Or is that another one of your attempts to try to convince me to change my mind again."
Garett suddenly went silent. We stared eye to eye before he scoffed and looked away in defeat. I then took a deep sigh before slowly standing up from the floor.
"Either way, I believe that it’s still better to prepare ourselves for the next three days for the evacuation and for the battle. And even if it’s such a small or non-existent chance that it’ll be our victory in the end, it’s not bad to still have some little hope for it, right?" I said, reaching out my hand to him. "Isn’t that what you were trying to do?"
He stared at my hand for a short moment before looking at me with a slightly confident smile as he finally took it and let me help him lift him up from the floor.
"Truly, sometimes I cannot understand what goes on in your mind, Al. But yeah, you’re right. That's what I was going for, and I totally wasn’t trying to convince you to change your mind at all earlier." he said, following an awkward chuckle, and soon began dragging me away with him. "A-Anyways, I believe that Sienna has the right stuff for that slightly swollen cheek I caused you with that punch earlier. I'm sorry about that..."
"It’s fine." I said. "I believe that there’s more worse things to come for me soon…"
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