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> Sometimes making promises isn’t enough. They are only words that you spoke to that person, but bringing those words to reality by one’s action, then you are keeping them.
- Endellion Amaryllis
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"Have you lost your mind?" Valerio asked monotonously, but I didn't even look at him. Instead, as the walls of sharp black rocks that I had summoned earlier began to return beneath the bloody ground, I continued to heal my older brother's wounds, who was severely injured and unconscious. "Endellion, you may hate me for what I did to him, and I may have lost control— letting my anger get the best of me, especially after hearing the response he tried to give me earlier, but please try to understand that killing him off was truly not my intention there," he continued.
Liar… I thought to myself as I wiped the blood from my older brother's bleeding head. "And what about the ambush? And killing messengers who were simply carrying out their king's orders? Were those also the result of anger and losing control?" I asked, slowly raising my head to finally look at him. "Would you try to kill me if I kept disobeying your orders just because I'm doing what I think is right?... Would you give me a painful death like you did to them if he's not around?"
"... I'm not afraid of him or what he would do to me, but let's not test the waters here. Who knows what will happen to you in the next few minutes if you keep that little act of yours up..." said the Tyrant Head General, his face solemn.
Regardless of how I might want to reply back, I choose to believe the words he just said, not the one before that, as I remain silent for the time being. We both turned our heads as soon as we heard the horses galloping and saw the men in red in the distance. I wouldn't be surprised if they're the same camp guards who obeyed his previous orders to keep an eye on me—or "lock her up when necessary," as he put it. Just so I wouldn't interfere with his "reunion" with my older brother... and because I overheard their plans last night as well, which is understandable.
"Hmm. It appears that the twins chose to flee as well once you were far enough down fast for my men to reach you... Strange for the two of them to be helping you, and it makes me wonder where their true loyalty lies..." He said, turning to face me as I squinted my eyes at him before looking at his arriving men.
"Head General— Sir! We gathered everyone and went as soon as we could—"
He abruptly raised his hand. "There's no need for further explanations; I'd already expected something like that to happen. For the time being..." he slowly looked at me, or more specifically at my unconscious brother in my arms, before raising his hand, pointing at him, and giving his orders. "Carry that unconscious man over to the carriage right now. We’re taking him with us back to the kingdom."
They all yelled "Yes, sir!" before quickly circling and separating us.
"N-No!... A-Alessio!" Despite how strongly I shouted at them— refusing to let my older brother go and how firmly I was holding him, it wasn’t enough. They were able to separate him from me and two of the men were able to hold me down. I struggled as hard as I could until Valerio came over and knelt down at my level.
His cold, serious eyes met mine and he slowly reached out to touch me, but he withdrew it, stood up, and began to walk away with his men as they carried my older brother to one of their carriages. I was able to stand up and run after them right immediately, but his next comment completely halted me in my tracks, deepening my feelings of great regret, and forcing me to face the painful truth and reality that I had never known before or that I had been trying to escape.
"Honestly, I was expecting that you would have stopped hesitating at that moment when his life was already on the line or when they were already taking him away from you, but I suppose you're just as weak as you were when we first got you. After all these years, it's disappointing how you've become like this, El…"
In the end, I reluctantly choose to remain silent. In spite of how desperately I wanted to argue with him right now and shout in his face that he was mistaken, I was unable to speak. I was helpless to do anything but watch them take him away while biting my bottom lip and standing there with only questions in my head.
Why... Why didn't I act and prevent them from taking him away from me? Was I still afraid of him? ... Even if my brother's life is on the line, why would I be too hesitant or too weak to perform further action against him?... Why do I act this way? I thought as the melancholy sky began to cry and I looked down at my useless, bloodied palms, one of which held the weakly glowing Stone of Time. After a brief moment of staring at it, a memory, one of his memories, flashed through my mind.
And the first thing I saw was… my younger self's body? I or she was on the ground, lifeless and immobile. And I soon realized that I was seeing it all through the eyes of my older brother, Alessio, who was shaking my lifeless corpse before seeing our father's friend take him away from the horrific scene. I could feel him scream at the top of his lungs, his struggle to break free, and his helplessness and grief at the fact that there was nothing he could do to prevent my death from happening right in front of his eyes, and his unwillingness to leave me behind.
Everything at the scene turned white, and my ears started to ring, before I could do much of anything or respond. Then I found myself back where I belonged. A harsher, sad aura eventually took the place of the warm ambiance as the fires in this now fully burned-down village were extinguished. Given that I already knew what my older brother went through in that particular past of ours through the Time and Soul stones that I and my brother share, this simply made me feel worse and made me realize something. Another unpleasant truth that I haven't deemed.
Since we hadn't seen each other in fifteen years, all I knew was that he still assumed I was dead and was probably blaming himself for it, when in reality, it was my choice to shield him from the strike that caused my demise. It was neither expected nor intended by any of us. However, because we were both selfless siblings, one of us had to take the fall. Nonetheless, even after unlocking my past memories, I never gave it much thought— or even the slightest realization— that he had been carrying that guilt and grief for all these years. It was truly selfish of me to believe that reuniting with him with a smile or relief, as if nothing had happened would lessen the burdens he holds. And not arriving in time to protect him from the Head General, or even taking him away from me, how could I even…
"I'm sorry, Alessio... I'm so sorry..." were the only words that came out of my mouth as I was only able to keep my composure for a fraction of a second before losing it. I immediately grabbed both of my arms and screamed to the ground. "All this time, I had no idea you were in so much pain... I was living in bliss, with no care in the world even if I had to keep you waiting— and believing in the darkness that I had already left for so long... It was indeed foolish and very selfish of me… I…"
My sentiments were interrupted when I noticed someone appear beside me, quickly sheltering me from the rain with something large and warm. Looking up, I noticed a large cyan wing, and when I turned to face the person, I noticed it was…
Kareem? I wondered out loud, surprised and confused. "... W-What are you—"
"Don't worry about me... Are you okay, El? Did he hurt you?" he asked calmly but concernedly. In response, I silently shook my head before he sighed in relief and gently wiped away my tears with his left hand. "I'm truly relieved you're safe…"
"I am... but my brother isn't," I said, returning my gaze to the ground. "They took him away from me, Kareem... And there was nothing I could do to stop them."
"So, that was your brother, huh... I noticed," Adira said as I noticed her walking past Kareem, arms crossed and gaze fixed on the distance. "But even if we could catch up to them by leaving right away, I doubt the three of us could handle fighting off that many men, let alone that Head General..." She then turned to face me. "We’re fortunate enough to help you escape from the camp earlier unscatched, and we were able to leave soon after, but when that Head General is involved, even if we work together, none of us would be able to stand a chance… Just like him."
"I know." I said. "And I'm aware that I can't rely on you two in every situation."
"And, as I've said before, you can rely on us as much as you need to; it's not an issue at all; but, of course, that's not the same as us wanting to help you of our own volition, El..." she paused as her gaze shifted away from me. "But if you mean that you're worried and don't want us to get hurt, please, don't blame yourself for whatever has happened to us... We all should know by this point that there are certain things that are truly inevitable. That’s how every life works," she continued.
"Adira, please..." Kareem said quickly before returning my gaze and assisting me in slowly and carefully rising from the ground. "... Perhaps it's best if we take refuge somewhere safe for the time being, then we can figure out what to do next."
"... And I believe I would be able to help you three with that… I have a plan."
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After I had treated Garett's wounds and learned about his plan, the twin Avians, Kareem and Adira, left after assuring me that they would keep an eye on my older brother in case those men or the Tyrant Head General himself did him any harm. Soon after, we began the first phase of the plan. Garett and I returned to the kingdom of Ivory Moon without drawing any attention to ourselves. Upon entering the hallways, it was dark and cold, with only the light from the candelabras on the side tables, it couldn’t provide enough heat to warm up our still slightly wet bodies and clothes from the heavy rain outside. I was still shivering a bit from the cold, but that wasn’t the only thing that concerned me during that harsh moment.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Crimeney… I still can’t believe that it was him. And he almost managed to kill Alessio, then took him away but didn’t take me?" Garett complained under his breath before looking at me. "Hey, are you alright? I could warm you up with my—"
I immediately shook my head. "Don’t worry, I’ll be fine… I’m fine. Thank you."
"I heard a part of what you said earlier... about how you blame yourself for not caring enough about Al's feelings, for not being there for him as soon as you could... And to be honest with you, El, he was like that before as well... a lot of times even! But—" he suddenly paused as we both came to a halt. "—That doesn't mean he dwells on his mistakes; instead, he keeps moving forward and tries his hardest not to repeat them— even to make amends for that person... And he sure was able to make up for it for me. Heh..." His smile faded to a thin line as he looked down at the floor for a little while, before returning his gaze to mine and clearing his throat.
"I know it's strange for me to say things like this, but what I was trying to say is..." He smiled and gently placed his hand on my shoulder. "Even if mistakes were made or things happened that you wish you could have prevented, it's all in the past; what you— what we do now counts… We will get through all of this hardship together and we will get him back to us safely… So don't give up hope, alright, El?"
He spoke those things while I was a little teary-eyed, but I also started to smile and nodded to him silently. Steps were then heard, breaking the silence, followed by the voice of a familiar person saying, "You're right, that sounds really weird coming from you, sir Garett," before we quickly turned around and were surprised— Garett was too surprised, in fact, so that he almost jumped and screamed— to see it was King Taro himself holding a couple of clothes in his arm.
"Oh dear goddess— don’t sneak on us like that!" Garett protested quietly.
"Well, I could tell you two the same thing for coming here stealthily in the middle of the night..." Taro said before looking at me. "However, I believe that it’s best if we shall continue this talk in my chambers instead. Afterall, I too did just sneak out of my room when I wasn’t allowed to leave… So, shall we all get going?"
We were given some spare clothing to change into after our wet ones when we got to the king's chamber, which wasn't how Garett and I expected the whole plan would have gone, and after we were through, we were invited to sit down on the blue couch in front of the lit-up fireplace to keep ourselves warm. The king's generosity was something I had already expected, but I found it odd that he appeared to have predicted our arrival since he had spare clothing waiting for us.
As I sat on the blue couch next to Garett, my eyes shifted to the room, observing how it appeared to have returned to its original form after he appeared to have previously lost control of his stone's powers. As he began to pour tea into each of our cups, I turned to face him and noticed that both of his wrists were bandaged. Additionally, I noticed that his eyes were tired from previous weeping. He didn't seem to be able to take it lightly when Alessio left abruptly earlier. However, I couldn't help but ask, "May I have a look at your wrists, Your Highness?" as I slowly extended my hands to him after he placed down the teapot on the table.
He seemed hesitant at first as he looked at my hands, but soon handed them to me. I then started to gently treat his minor yet significant wounds after taking off the bandages. But after a little moment of doing so, a short memory suddenly came to mind. It was a quick but painful memory of how he wound with injuries from earlier room-escape attempts and how he grieved while also feeling guilt and bitterness at Alessio's departure without informing him. It hurts. It hurts so much…
When we eventually came back to reality, we were both shocked and started breathing heavily from what had just happened. By the time I stopped mending, his wrist wounds were completely healed, but our looks were still frightened.
"I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t think that something like that would happen." I said.
He looked at his wrists and responded with, "It's fine... I didn't expect it either, but thank you for healing my wounds. I... I got them from trying to get out of here earlier, but they— my own men who followed my mother's orders— stopped me every time… I thought I could stop him from leaving, but there was nothing I could do to even get out of here." His gaze then turned back to me as he asked, "And since the two of you returned here without him, may I ask where he is now?"
Garett and I looked at each other before I looked back at Taro and told him my answer, "He's still alive, but barely... Even though I was able to heal all of his external wounds after stopping his battle against the Tyrant Head General, he still became unconscious right after. Unfortunately, we weren't able to stop them from taking him away and they're now returning to the kingdom of Helio Vermillion with him," I paused, my gaze shifting away from him. "The Queen knows nothing about their plans, or the fact that they'll be returning home with the Bloody Traitor of their own kingdom… And if she finds out, they will all be punished accordingly, but I'm worried about what she'll do with Alessio right after... I-I could try to convince her as much as I could, but we all still came here, thinking that maybe you could—"
"Help you?" Taro interrupted me before his expressionless eyes shifted to the floor. "I would be happy to help, or do anything at this point just to get Alessio back here safely, but I'm not entirely sure how I of all people would be of any help in this situation… You know it yourself that my attempts, those letters of trying to persuade the Queen for a negotiation for the war to finally end, were all burned to ashes by that Tyrant Head General. Just like what I told earlier, I wasn’t capable of even leaving this place, and from the tone of your voice just now, you don't sound that confident that your plan of persuading the Queen would work. So please… tell me, how can you assure me that everything we’ll be doing won’t be in vain… El?"
I gripped my nightgown firmly and went very silent. Fear intensified as I wasn't sure how to answer his question, but as soon as I closed my eyes, I felt the warm aura and powers emanating from the Time and Soul stones that were hidden inside in each pocket of my nightgown. A Soul Synchronicity occurred. Each of the little recollections that were immediately communicated with me in my mind were actual sentiments that Alessio, the owner of the Stone of Time, had for Taro. At first it was harsh, cold, and bitter, but with time they all became warm and sweet.
Not only did I understand how Alessio perceived him, but I also realized that, along with me, he was one of the main factors in his positive change, as well as why he learnt to keep trying and never give up, in line with what Garett had earlier told me. Soon opening my eyes, I finally gave him my proper answer to his question.
"Your Highness," I started. "Have you ever noticed or considered the reason for Alessio's positive change over the years he has served you and your kingdom?"
His eyes were suddenly bright with interest, "Hmm?... What do you mean?"
"Well, weren't you the one who promised him you'd help him? And from what I've seen through his eyes, it seemed like you did a great job on it..." I smiled, glancing down at the Stone of Time and Soul that I soon grabbed from my pockets.
"Regardless of how he was on the verge of giving up everything, even though he was constantly a cynical and stubborn type of person, you were able to lift him back up again. You never gave up on him, and were able to change him for the better even. And I believe he was able to do the same for you as well, did you not notice?..." I turned to face him once again. "Fate may always be harsh at times, but that doesn't mean we should just stand around and do nothing while it mocks us, right?... So what's stopping us from trying now when we all made it this far right?"
His eyes widened briefly with hope before shifting away from me. "That may all be true... but Queen Minerva is a different case than how Alessio was." He soon stood up and began walking back and forth. "Even though we were good friends when we were young, I… I still don't believe that my words would be able to get—"
"Oh, please! If you can make sense of that stubborn man's head better than I can, there's not much difference going through the Queen's frozen heart!" Garett piped up sharply. "Well, she might be a little more difficult, but if you say you were her friend before, there's still a chance to make things right! Passing up such a huge opportunity would be a mistake you'd regret later on, and who knows, maybe this is the answer we've been looking for to finally end this war. Just think about it."
Finally stopping, Taro closed his eyes, placed a hand on his chin. After a brief moment of thought and silence, he turned back to face us and responded, "Alright, I suppose we could try to give this one a chance… But if I may ask, since I don't think that I will be able to leave this place due to that little escapade I did, do you have a plan where I would be able to help you without leaving the kingdom at all?"
"Well, I do. And it's actually quite simple," I said as I walked closer to him. "You just need to rewrite the letter of negotiation, but this time I'll give it to Queen Minerva myself, along with a lot of convincing. Though I was thinking if you could make a personal letter of your own— and it's not a requirement, but it could help melt her frozen heart too. It was… something I've learned about her accidentally..."
"Oh, I see..." He paused, a slightly flushed red face on his face, before clearing his throat and returning my gaze. "...R-Regardless, I'll try to write those two letters first thing in the early morning before you two return to the kingdom of Helio Vermillion; I could also ask Lady Lucerne to make a portal somewhere near there tomorrow to speed things up, but for now, I believe it's best if we all rest for the night; The events today have been… physically and mentally exhausting for us all."
"Ha. You can say that again." Garett remarked before soon standing up and stretching his arms upwards. "And I suppose it’s all clear that the plan is for all of us to meet up here again tomorrow morning, right Your Highness?... Or just Taro?"
"Taro is fine. And try not to get caught tomorrow, alright?" he said, smiling.
As he waved his hand, Garett remarked, "Sure, and try not to push yourself too hard either, Taro." He continued, "Good night you two." and soon left the room.
Taro's smile slowly faded as the room became silent with only the crackling of the fireplace could be heard, then he cast a worried look in my direction.
I fixed my gaze on them for a moment before catching sight of the Stone of Void, which had started to shine in a black and purple shade on top of his white ribbon. But as I made a slow attempt to approach him, he suddenly grabbed my arm, which caused me to flinch slightly out of panic. He then closed his eyes and shook his head before turning to face me once again and finally letting my arm go.
"Don't worry about me… I'll be fine," he said, pausing to turn his head away from me and clench his fist against his arm. "I will be fine… And no matter how long it takes, weeks or months, I will try my best to wait for the response, or better yet, if you would be able to return here with him, and Queen Minerva as well... But of course, I will try my best not to bottle up my emotions again like before, so the same tragedy won't repeat once more. That is something I can assure you, Lady El."
His Stone of Void was acting up once again right now, and it was just as quick as before. Even though it is no longer glowing, I could still feel its powers growing. However, from the sound of his voice and the expression in his eyes, it was clear that he meant what he just said... I gave him a nod. I said, "I will remember that," and then raised my hand, pulled him closer to me by controlling his soul which made him surprised briefly, then warped my arms around him. Embracing him tightly.
Despite the fact that his body was slightly cold, he remained silent and did not react during that brief moment. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me, resting his face on my shoulder, and his hands holding tightly on the back of my nightgown. We were both unaware of how the three stones with us began to light up, but as tears began to fall from his eyes, his body gently warmed up in front of mine, I wasn’t able to hold it any longer and began crying as well. However, I still calmly told him, "He will be fine. He will return safely, and I will do everything in my power to make that happen… That's a promise…. That's my promise to you."
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