Selena would never forgive anyone who would hurt Hektor.

One day, on their way to class after sparring in the early morning, the two came across a few male students in the hall. Selena could clearly hear what they were talking about due to her rabbit spirit's common skill, [Hearing Boost].

"It’s not fair. Just because Selena's his childhood friend doesn't mean he can monopolize her."

“What does she see in that guy anyways?”

Selena held her breath and dragged Hektor behind a corner.

"Selena?"

She placed a finger on her lips, signaling Hektor to stay silent. She honed in on their conversation. The more she listened, the more her anger stirred inside her.

"He's useless without proper spirit veins."

Wrong.

"What's the point of training someone who can only act as a meat shield?"

They're wrong.

"Maybe he's just doing this for kicks at this point? Hah, kicks."

"You never know. Hektor could actually be a masochist."

"Hah, what a disgusting peasant."

They don't know anything. How dare they speak of her childhood friend, her fiancé, like this!

"Yeah. I'd kill to have someone like Selena train me."

"Maybe we can jump Hektor early in the morning?"

Unforgivable.

"Wait, Selena—!"

She leaped across the hall and slammed her legs into the back of their heads. It only took a single blow to the head to knock them unconscious. She stood over their bodies and sighed.

"Sorry, Hektor. I just couldn't allow them to insult you like that. They even just plotted to attack you."

"It’s fine. If they couldn't even react to you, they couldn't hurt me.”

“What should we do?”

“They should be fine after a trip to the infirmary."

"You think we can get a late pass from the nurse using them?"

"Hah. Probably."

With Hektor's help, Selena brought the unconscious boys to the infirmary, excusing her attack as an “impromptu training session they desired so much.” The students could not complain since she gave them what they wanted. After many more incidents like this, fewer people dared to speak about Hektor, at least not when they believed Selena was around. This was how she protected their time together in the academy for four years.

Because she would never forgive anyone who would hurt Hektor.

That was why she could never forgive herself.

That day of pain and betrayal filled Hektor’s face with anguish. The expression on his face would haunt her as they fell into the ravine.

𓆉 𓆉 𓆉

Selena woke up in a bed, her arms circling tightly around a blanket.

"What happened? Where’s Hektor?"

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The room had another bed on the other side, larger than the one she lay in. Sunlight came through a window above, spilling over the floor covered in tunics and togas. The mess reminded Selena of the days back home when Hektor would come into her room almost every morning. He would clean her room and then try to wake her. His attempts would typically result in him dragging her out of bed. This routine didn’t change, even when they lived in the academy.

Now that she thought about it, the room looked quite similar to the bedroom she shared with her parents in Leios.

Suddenly, the door opened, interrupting her thoughts.

“Good afternoon, dear! And happy birthday!”

“M-mom! What are you doing here? Why do you—”

Selena cut herself off before asking why her mom looked much younger than when she last saw her. Did she actually end up back home somehow?

This must be a dream, right? She couldn’t have ended up here after falling into the ravine.

She pinched herself. Ow. No, this was real.

“What’s wrong, Selena?”

“Nothing. Just a nightmare. Is Hektor home?”

“Hektor? He came here earlier asking if you were awake but decided to just go into the forest without you. You were planning on celebrating both of your tenth birthdays together, right? You should go and find him.”

"Tenth birthday?"

Something clicked in her head.

"Selena, are you sure you're alright? You're turning pale."

"I got to go."

Before her mom could respond, Selena jumped out of bed and out the door. Selena’s surroundings blurred around her as she honed in on the direction of Leios Lake.

She remembered the day the guards brought the unconscious bodies of Hektor and Nikolae back to the city. Hektor ran into Peter’s gang during his jog earlier that morning. Peter, who was in a bad mood then, decided to have Jason toss him into the nearby lake. After Hektor managed to swim out, Peter and Jason forced the boy back in. Nikolae tried to stop them but ended up getting knocked out by Jason. Hektor would have drowned that day if not for the timely intervention of a few village guards on patrol.

In other words, Hektor’s in trouble.

Big trouble if she didn't make it in time.

“Hektor!”

A scream caused Selena to stop in a clearing. Across from her, a boy caked in mud and blood lay on the ground. Another boy knelt over them, trying to rouse them awake. She recognized the latter to be Nikolae. But why was he here? Wasn’t he supposed to be knocked out at the lake?

“Oh, spirits. What do I do? Hektor, please stay with me?”

Selena’s eyes widened, and she ran to Hektor’s side.

“What happened to him?”

“Huh?” Nikolae looked up from Hektor’s body. “You’re the daughter of one of Leios’s fishermen. Are you his friend? Please help me out here!”

Nikolae and Hektor had managed to flee Peter and Jason. Selena wanted to ask questions but prioritized getting Hektor back home first. Along the way, a group of bronze armored soldiers from the village guard stopped them on the way back. Selena had passed them on their way out, and they were concerned about what had happened. Upon seeing her carrying the unconscious Hektor with Nikolae, they immediately asked if Peter was involved. Nikolae told them about how Hektor saved him and fought Jason off. Although suspicious of Nikolae, the guards didn’t have time to waste. Some guards took off towards Leios Lake, while the rest decided to help carry Hektor back to the village. Selena and Nikolae followed them from behind.

“You’re telling me Hektor fought Jason and won?”

Selena remembered Jason. An inelegant wall of a man, one with many muscles and few intelligent words. Hektor may have had some training, but he didn’t have the physique or ability to deal with such a person at the time.

“Y-yeah. Somehow Hektor did it.”

“How’d he do that?”

“Um, I don’t know if I should be the one to talk about this.”

Evidently, something strange happened during the fight. Selena tried to press for answers, but Nikolae remained quiet about the details.

With the guards’ help, they managed to get Hektor back into the city before the sun could reach its apex. Selena spotted her mom waiting at the gate. She had a stern expression on her face but changed immediately to worry as they grew close.

“Is that Hektor? What happened to him?”

“Stay calm, Sophie,” said one of the guards. “Hektor will be fine. We’re sending him to receive treatment now.”

When they got to the clinic, the physician was out on a house call, so the nurses took Hektor in, cleaned him, and placed him on a cot. Nikolae left a note for the physician and then went with the guards to report directly to the local magistrate.

Now it was just Selena and Hektor. The nurses asked Selena to go home so he could get some rest, but she refused.

“I want to be there when he wakes up.”

After a bit of back and forth, the nurses decided it wouldn’t hurt for her to stay, just as long as Selena didn’t disturb anyone else.

Selena waited until they were left alone before she gently raised the fresh white tunic off of Hektor. Light speckles of purple appeared all over his body. How many times was he hit? She placed an ear on his chest. His breathing was rhythmically smooth, with no signs of difficulty.

A glimmer from Hektor’s left hand caught Selena’s attention. A silvery gray ring adorned his finger. The very same engagement rings they wore until the day they died. In shock, she checked her own left hand. Sure enough, she also wore her ring.

What exactly was the meaning of this?