For centuries Willem spent his life with his regrets, the horrors of war, the ravenous claws of old age, the loss of a wife,
…the hatred of a daughter
The ire of someone you wanted to be the guiding light to.
in the military, he was praised as a hero, regarded as a prime example of a symbol of strength and a pillar of hope. They always said that the battle was already decided the moment the hero Willem Balthasar stepped onto the battlefield.
That couldn't be farther from the truth.
He was a hero to his country and to his men, he was praised for his bravery on the field and awarded medals to show his heroism.
But amid all the titles of 'hero this and hero that' he didn't hold that title for the only person that mattered. The only reason he became a soldier in the first place was for the sake of her future for the sake of her children's future
But now that its all over and their future is secured and he returned to her a hero of the people.
But not to her.
To her, he was just a deserter. a phantom figure of a parent she'd wish as a child was there to support her and walk her through the path called life.
To her, he was the villain.
And her opinion was the only one that ever mattered to him,
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Willem ran through the forest a free spirit through the woods. his steps were agile, dancing through the woods he decided to call home over the past two weeks by his measurement. His movements were flawless. every step was planned, every jump was timed, and every moment felt free.
Willem being the stubborn old man in spirit was and wouldn't admit that he was just excited about getting younger and stronger and was exhilarated to get back on his own two feet without the need to lean on something
He simply told himself that it was good to test his bodies limits and if he enjoyed what he was doing that was just a bonus
"haa!" he exhaled after a good run around the forest like a madman parkouring trees avoiding monsters and even fighting some
"I should go for a bath," he said to himself undoing the braidings he had in his hair letting the snow-white locks flow in the wind gracefully
"Nothing helps clear the mind like a good cold bath,"
What escaped his notice when he was first brought here was his article of clothing or rather the lack of clothing
He only had a pair of green pants and a harness for his machete.
Though suspicious it didn't really bother him much. He never cared for stuff like propriety and self-image not like he was ugly or anything
In fact, he likes to think he looked quite charming, in a non-self homo way
He walked confidently in the forest his back relaxed and a bow was slung across his chest five makeshift arrows made of animal claws hung beside his machete from within a semi wooden semi bear skin makeshift container
The forest had not been kind to Willem for the first few weeks.
He had been attacked by a group of ugly creatures right as he woke up from the first day and just when he'd tried to build himself a small shelter it started to rain heavily tearing the makeshift shelter made of sticks and leaves before getting attacked by a weird red bear who's glare alone would have scarred even his grandpa who was literally fearless
He shivered at the memory.
The only reason he survived was that in the midst of yelling "discovery channel lied to me!!!" while making noise he'd accidentally threw a pouch he had that was laced with the venom from the snake
Turns out the venom was actually really deadly but for some unknown reason, it accelerated his healing with a boost on physical strength
and the bear?
let's just say he looked better without a face.
drinking it was almost like alcohol in a way. Intoxicating and addicting
And never let it be known that Willem Balthasar didn't tolerate drinking.
He'd seen the fall of great men and the worsening of already bad men due to the influence of such things. He wouldn't be caught dead drinking even an ounce just to celebrate a trivial event.
Suffice it to say Willem used the poison sparingly
"Yeah, that hits the spot!" he exclaimed as he soaked in the cold water letting all heat from the run he had, make its way out from the water
Over the past week or so Willem had taken to exploring the forest in all directions running into monsters and weird animals alike but also stumbled upon the little wonder that is a small waterfall on the side of a fairly sized mound
Usually Sitting still like this would be bad for Willem seeing as he usually starts to brood about his old life and the tragedies in it
Which happened every time Willem had nothing to do.
Which was a pretty large part of what he's been doing with his time.
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willem POV: let the brooding begin _________________________________________________________________________________________
Would Amanda even care that I died?
would even bat an eye at my burned house?
would she cry over my dead remains?
I wouldn't blame her if she hadn't, after all, where was I when her mother died? In fact, where was I when she graduated, where was I when she got married.
She wouldn't care about some senile old man she barely knew.
And I'm glad.
Because she doesn't have to experience the death of a loved one twice
I started to look downcast as I sat there in the middle of the waterfall hoping the wetness on my face was just water.
I never wanted to be a hero.
All I wanted was to be her Hero.
Although she hates me for my action I would gladly do it again if it meant she would be safe. Even if she'd disown me as her father
...
...
...
There was a scream.
I looked up suddenly alarmed. Was that a girl's voice?!
Instantly I was out of the water, bow in hand and machete by my side leaping from treetop to treetop in a desperate sprint to find the child in need
I came upon a glade of grass where the trees seemed to stop growing. A clearing where grass carpeted the floor extending to the distance in the horizon
"help me Sebas!" a child cried out from the left of an underbrush
"I-i-i-cant!!!" a male voice said stuttering in fear
Once I got there my blood ran cold
One small child and a fully grown man faced by a dozen car-sized wolves inching ever so closely to the girl who looked younger than 7 wearing a regal skirt like the one's kings and queen's wear paired with a red and blue fabric that looked expensive
Why does everything have to be so damn large in this world?!
She was trapped.
Her skirt had caught on a thorn bush and couldn't move because of it
What the hell was the other guy doing?!
The cold unforgiving rage I felt at the moment would have caused hell to freeze over and make it start snowing there
The dark-haired man. for all his armor, for all the loyalty he looked to have as a knight of some kind, for all the symbols engraved on his fancy sword… he was hiding behind a tree.
In my fit of rage, I had unknowingly shot five of the wolves down with my bow with almost unreal accuracy and was already hacking into the seventh wolf by the time I regained my senses
oh… it looks like I killed their alpha
The other wolves began to whine and cower
I hissed at them. A venomous sound that sounded inhuman even to my ears. almost like the screech, the snake thing did before attacking me
…I didn't even know I could make that sound
The wolves whimpered off as they high tailed out of the clearing and into the forest their tails between their legs
I turned to the two people behind me mentally praising myself on not getting a single drop of blood on me
"dark elf!!!" the dark-haired man screamed a finger pointed at me, fear imminent in his eyes as he trembled further behind the tree.
Well, that was rude.
If I didn't feel like ripping him a new, I would've probably been offended
In response, I pointed my finger at him and hissed
"coward!!!"
I seized his throat with my hands grabbing his collar and glaring into his soul
"Why do you cower?" my voice lowered an octave threateningly
"Why do you cower and let a child face the dangers of the world when you are the one with armor, the one with the sword?!" I asked feeling my voice ruble like thunder and crack like a whip as I finished
"Stop it, mister! He didn't do anything wrong" I heard the child behind me plead
I didn't let go
"answer. My. question." I emphasized each word
"I was scared!" he shouted as I let him fall onto his knee's into a blubbering wreck "I wanted to save her but I couldn't!!! I was too scared! forgive me, princess!!!" he cried as he threw himself to the girl's feet begging for forgiveness
"it's ok Sebas I was scared too" she tried to comfort the man hugging him before turning to me
"Thank you, hero-"I cut her off then and there
"I am not a hero," I snapped a bit too annoyed at the moment,
Remember Willem! your talking to a child here, don't be rude.
"I am merely a person who knows what it's like to lose a family member," I said. my voice taking a softer note
Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion
"I'm sure you're father would have been devastated hear that you were killed," I said simply
Man, this has got to be the first time I talked to a child ever since-
…Amanda
"and you saved me!" she countered stubbornly "that means your a hero!!!" she looked at me angrily scrunching her tiny features to imitate a glare
That was adorable- no Willem! you're trying to make a point here don't give in to the cuteness!
Preserve, preserve, come on your a grown man, you can handle this.
"Please let me call you a hero"
not the puppy dog eyes!!!
"fine… whatever, call me what you want"
gosh, darn it, Willem!
Her eyes lit up and as she attempted to tackle me in a hug
I dodged.
she hit a tree.
"no, just no," I said flatly
I prefer my personal space to stay personal thankyou very much.
"How dare you not accept a hug from her highness!!!" the useless guy shouts at me an accusatory finger pointed at me in rage
"sais the person who couldn't even lift his sword to help her"
And with that line, he was back to sobbing at the girl's feet begging for forgiveness
how did taking a simple bath end with me saving some form of nobility and her cowardly bodyguard?