"That old bastard is going to send you away, isn't he?!"
The voice of the girl who entered Blink's room was quite angry. She hovered over the bed with glaring eyes and balled up fists. She had a wild look to her—dishevelled hair, reddish retina and a dangerous aura.
Yet, even in such a state of madness, she looked no less beautiful to Blink who was lying on the bed under her glare. A pair of horns might grow out of her forehead, but Blink would only see an angel.
"Yes," he said, his sadness unmistakeable.
"But why? Didn't you just beat the crap out of his favorite students?" Berge was inconsolably furious. "If this is the way he treats his best student, then I better quit! This is unacceptable!"
Blink was alarmed by Berge's threat of quitting. There's no future outside the academy for Berge except to be forced to marry a man she loathed. A man so lustful he would have simply dragged her into his bed were she not a disciple of Master Tszarek, the only martial arts master in all of Ragha or its nearby countries.
This man had desired Berge for so long. Due to her stature as a martial artist, he could only offer a large sum of money to her family in order to marry her. Forcing himself upon her would only serve to visit the wrath of the academy upon his clan.
Berge's family almost acceded to his proposal, too. However, Berge told her family that, in the future, when she shall be an elite martial artist, her value would be tens of times more than the worth of the man's offer. Berge's family were so enraged that they called the man a cheapskate and told him to never show his face to them ever again.
It was a brilliant idea. But, this also means that Berge must stay on and train to become an elite martial arts practitioner. Failure means her family would lose face and the consequences would be dire.
"He did not exactly send me away," Blink decided to lie.
"Not exactly? You mean he did not send you away but you can't stay here anymore? How's that any different?"
They have talked about this possibility long ago. And Berge was just as fearful of it as he was.
"No, I'm just going away for a while. But I can come back."
"Really? That's great!"
Berge could now relax. A beautiful smile lit up her face and warmed Blink's heart.
"But how?" she asked. She was clear that a practitioner who could no longer make progress could no longer remain in the academy. So many from their class had to bid a tearful goodbye, each departure as unnerving as if it were their own dreams that were shattered.
"He's sending me on a secret mission," Blink decided to use that line knowing Master Tszarek would confirm it the next day.
"You mean you can return before the year is over?" Berge eagerly asked.
Blink shook his head.
"Next year?"
Blink shook his head anew.
"After two years?"
Blink sighed deeply.
"Not less than five years," he said drily.
Berge was wide-eyed.
"Five years! No! I'd be an old maid by then!"
"No, you're not. You'd only be 20 then. That's still quite young."
"Not in my family. All girls are married off before they're 18."
Blink sighed deeply once more.
"Don't worry, I'll come back no matter what it takes."
"What if you are captured and imprisoned for 10 years? I'd be too old to be a bride by then."
"I'll come back the soonest I can. Will you please stop fretting and making up some tragic scenario?"
Berge still refused to be consoled. She imagined some girl falling head over heels for Blink and bewitching him. She recalled a story about a famous adventurer who was trapped for 10 years in an island by a beautiful witch who erased all his memories pertaining to his wife.
"You have to promise me you'll come back for me," she said in a tone so demanding it could very well be a commander's order in the battlefield.
Blink finally sat up. He pulled her next to him. She instinctively laid her head under his chin and hugged him around his waist. He, in turn, wrapped one arm around her shoulders while his free hand rubbed her back.
"I'll definitely come back for you," Blink promised.
"You better not take too long. I don't intend to be an old maid."
Blink smiled.
"Did you just threaten me?" he asked pretending to be hurt.
"I'm sure you know who the prettiest belle in the entire Ragha Martial Arts Academy is," she retorted.
"I dare not forget. Or am I not the luckiest guy in the most revered Martial Arts Academy of Ragha?"
"That's right, I plucked you out from the adoring throng."
Blink knew that Berge was simply indulging in self-mockery. Still, Blink was very much aware that all the guys had been smitten by Berge's looks.
"You mean you're just going to pluck some random guy out of that adoring throng once you're tired of waiting?"
"You better believe it."
"But can you stomach getting married to one of them? They're all toads here, and not a single prince. I, at least, can be called a frog."
"Hmmph! I don't care. In five years, if you're not back, I'm taking one toad and bear him a passel of toads."
"You wicked girl! You're going to sink into a toady existence just to spite me?"
Blink could feel her laughing. She raised her head slightly to get a glimpse of his facial expression. Blink wiped away the smile on his face and put on a poor attempt at a miserable countenance. She laughed at his ineffectual acting then buried herself deeper into his embrace.
At that moment, Boomer was walking along the corridor and happened to notice the open door of Blink's room. He was about to get in and ask Blink what the headmaster called him to his office for when he was stunned by the sight of Blink and a girl in a very tight embrace. He looked over the girl's figure and was certain that she was none other than the number one beauty in the whole Ragha Martial Arts Academy, maybe in all of Ragha even.
Boomer backed off as quietly as a mouse but not before giving Blink the two thumbs up. He returned the way he came from and gestured for Snap, who just came out of his room, to be quiet and go back inside his room. No matter what, boys would always ensure each other a good opportunity for a little romance.
Besides, it's well past their bedtime, and they shouldn't be out roaming the corridors.
Inside Blink's room, Berge suddenly shoved Blink off her, alarm written all over her face.
"You lecher!" she admonished in a whispered scream. "How dare you take advantage of me?!"
Blink had a stupefied expression on his face.
"I took advantage of you? You were the one who assaulted me lasciviously. I was only giving in to your abominable designs on me."
"Such language! How shameful! I'm not yet your girlfriend, yet you're already laying your hands all over me! Ugh!"
"Are you serious? What do you mean you're not yet my girlfriend? Isn't that already understood between us? All of Ragha Academy consider us a couple long ago."
"That's just perception. There's nothing official yet between us."
"You mean we have to announce it first? But they already think we are a pair. Come on, please, I won't get to hug you again for a very long time."
Blink tried to move closer to her, arms poised for an embrace. To his surprise she suddenly stood up. He ended up hugging an empty space.
"You behave, or I won't even wait five years to pick up a toad."
"Okay, what do I need to do?" Blink could only give in.
"You need to ask me first."
"Is that all? Geez! Okay, can you please let me hug you tonight?"
"Wrong question!"
"What?!"
"You have to beg me to make it official between us."
"What?!"
"You heard me."
"What do you mean make it official between us?"
"I mean ask me to be your girlfriend, you idiot!"
"What?!"
"That's the third time. Say 'what' once more and I'm seriously going to pick up a toad and elope with him tonight."
"What's there to make official? You know how I feel about you, and I know how you feel about me. The whole world knows how we feel about each other. You're just being silly."
"Who's being silly? You have to say it right here, right now. I want it clear between us that you asked me in clear, explicit terms that you want me to be your girl."
"Wha..?! You mean my actions are not clear enough? Do words speak louder than action to you?"
"Don't get smart with me! I know your lot. When I'm already old, fat and ugly, you're going to tell everybody that you actually had no feelings for me and that I was the one who chased you around until you had no choice but to marry me."
Blink was dumbstruck, but only momentarily. He chuckled while shaking his head in disbelief.
"You have such an imagination," he mildly accused her.
"Really? Do you know that my father does it all the time? So do my two uncles. Even my eldest brother had done it, and his wife could still pass for a beauty."
Berge glared at him as if daring him to rebut her.
Blink scratched his head, confused at the turn of events.
"Hey, come on, you've wasted so much time already," Berge implored him. "I really want to get back to hugging you already."
Blink was about to say something, but Berge unceremoniously cut him off.
"Could you please get this over and done with now?" she demanded impatiently. "You're making a big fuss over a small matter!"
Blink smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. He was sure his nose was about to bleed. Sighing and rolling his eyes at the same time, he finally decided to comply.
"Can you be my girlfriend?" he said, his eyes trying for that smoldering look.
"On your knees!"
"And say my name!"
"And say 'please'!"
Blink sighed while rolling his eyes once more. He knelt down on one foot.
"Berge, my dearest, can you please be my girlfriend?" he said.
The girl stayed quiet for a while, as if to suck in the words Blink just said. She did not dare say anything. She simply nodded her head, eyes misty and yet like a dam about to burst.
He stood up and reached for her hands and pulled her into his embrace. Her body shook up. Her mouth let out a muffled wailing. The dam burst after all.
Later, she slept peacefully as they embraced each other on the bed.
Blink traced his fingers over her beautiful face. He promised to himself that he must come back for her.
"There has to be a way," he told himself.