"You are commendable, o hero of justice!", said Lubbock, all chipper having had his fill.I kept glaring at him wide-eyed as he cozied up to Claire. Somehow, the two hit it off so good, I was feeling left out. "Oh hardly!", chuckled Claire.Claire seemed to have forgotten me. I suppose he was more drunk last night than I imagined. I didn't insist upon it, when he said that he didn't recall meeting me. He did admit to having a hangover last night, so perhaps his memory of me had already faded. It seemed to me that we'd come out here for nothing. Now that we were in a pitch black desert, I didn't think Claire would be able to see Rouge's semblance in me. Even with the fire going, he was completely occupied with Lubbock so I felt safe on that note. Still, it was strange that he left in such a hurry after a hangover. Although, I hadn't pressed the matter, we still needed to make sure he wasn't lying. I think that was why we were still sitting with him even after we'd eaten. "Ah, you sa
"I don't like him", she pouted, clenching onto her little white dress."Why, Miss Rouge? Master is really kind.""Don't call him that!"They were just kids, then. And so they didn't need any reason to hate or like someone. All the more so in her case. She despised the tall young boy, that seemed far too perfect to everyone, even herself, though she wouldn't admit it. She flitted her long golden hair across her shoulder and ran off into the garden. Mer watched her strode off, there was no stopping her. "What am I going to do with her?", he muttered under his breath before going after her. He spent most of his days running after her but today was especially important. The guests she seemed to hate were very important to her grandfather. It was just the two of them, the father and son who was some years older than Mer and Rouge. Mer had found him nice to speak to, although he was the silent type. "What do you hate about him so much?"He finally found her by the fish pond. She would w
""They're missing!"Those words were hurled all around the estate as a sudden storm took over the peaceful dinner. After Rouge stormed off, having insulted the Blackwells and getting herself dismissed by her grandfather, she was nowhere to be found. Mer, who had gone after her, was missing too. "I saw them sitting by the pond, like usual. I didn't think much of it. And then they went somewhere. Not to the forest, I thought, because Mer was leading the way", a servant who'd last seen them told the master of the house. It was already too dark out, this was no time for them to be wandering around. Especially if Mer was with her, he'd have been mindful to bring her home on time. Her grandfather apologized profusely to the guests after the distasteful event, but old Blackwell could sense the anxiety in his voice. There wasn't a stone left unturned in the entire estate when the old master ordered a search party to go into the forest. He intended to call the local sorcerer's search party
"So, what next?", I whispered to Lubbock who pretended I had said nothing. After breakfast, we were just sitting silently as Claire sipped on his warm tea that both of us had refused. He said it was something that kept him awake all day so he carried it with him wherever he went. "How long do you think it would take us to get there, Mer?", Lubbock casually imposed us on him."Hmm, well it could vary depending on the route we end up on. I'd say about a day. But that is just my conjecture. We could be wandering here for a full week should things go south", Claire didn't realize how we were suddenly his travel partners. "Ah, that would be a problem!", Lubbock exclaimed as if it was our problem."Perhaps so", saying Claire got up, "In any case, we should get moving."I was dying inside as we dragged ourselves through the barren desert till noon. Lubbock's excitement that didn't dull even a bit throughout was only getting on my nerves. On the contrary, Claire felt uplifted seeing his en
"So what are you doing here, Master Sight?", inquired Lubbock."Ah, did you always call me that, Little Lubbock?", questioned Sight in answer."Ahaha, and did you?", chuckled Lubbock, with a bit of contempt.Sight infinitely went down on his snake on the stick. The thugs left immediately after leaving us with him. "Ah, pardon my interruption but by any chance, do you know this person?", asked Claire with a glimmer of hope in his eyes."Yeah! We're actually pretty close, Mer", answered Lubbock."Really?! Then we're saved!"I wanted to tell him not to be too hasty in his judgement, considering it was Sight we were dealing with. I tugged on Lubbock's arm without opening my mouth. "What are we planning to do?", asked I, telepathically. For quite a while, Lubbock and I had only been reading each other's thoughts. We hadn't spoken to each other all day. "What do you mean? This is our perfect opportunity!", he answered.I mistakenly thought we were nearing the conclusion of this ridiculou
A home for the Valkyries. Lubbock had said those words. And I knew then that Valhalla wasn't a barracks to prepare soldiers. It was a place to protect. But what I didn't know was what exactly it was that we were trying to protect, that Lady was doing her utmost to save. A treasure like that. I wondered what something like that would amount to. *************We were rudely awoken the next morning, by some noise downstairs. Without getting dressed, I poked my head out of the room I was sharing with Lubbock. Sight and Claire were in the next room over. Lubbock had already gone downstairs and there was quite a commotion now. Sight appeared out of his room, dressed and ready to move."Mornin' boy!", he acted as if he couldn't hear anything. "Sight, what's that noise downstairs?", I asked."What noise? Oh, probably some drunken men! Things you see in pubs like this, boy, you'll get used to it."Except t
"Fair headed like a sage, towering like a giant, and with the countenance of an archmage", said the tiny boss, whose name was Mavros, "Those are the signs of the prophet passed on by our ancestors."I looked between Claire and Sight who, on that account, looked the same. Although Claire wasn't as tall and Sight didn't exactly have the right face. "I, as the sole heir of the tribe was destined to marry the prophet as was instructed by our dear forefathers. Only a child born of both bloods could activate The Gospelion and save the world."If I didn't know better, I would have believed her story."However, ", she said authoritatively, "I seem to have given my heart to the wrong man. Oh, but it can't be helped."She snuggled close to Sight while calling him the wrong man. Sight chuckled, cluelessly."I see. But how is The Gospelion to be activated now?", unlike me, Claire seemed to be buying her story."Nothing to fret about! If both of us spill our blood onto the great Gospelion, our vo
It felt like years since I'd seen the face of that place. I hadn't realized when, despite all the complicated feeling I had yet to unravel, that place had begun to look like home. As pleasing as that warm feeling was, I pinched myself so as not to forget, so as not to get used to such a life. But I had already forgotten most of what I used to be.Valhalla stood right before our eyes, as peaceful as always. The same scent of wet Earth, the distant voice of the waterfall and the wind sweeping through the forest all around our hidden haven. The crooked path as clear as ever, seemed so welcoming. It had been a while since I'd walked on it.And the first thing that came to view was the mound on which Prophet lay sleeping all alone. My eyes always went to him before anything else, even though he was no longer under that stone. I knew in my heart that Prophet had already moved on. Yet, there she stood, as always, keeping him company.The door to the church was wide open, meaning morning had