Song recommendation: Doing the right thing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU5F-DvGLkA)
Ace had initially been giddy at the thought of summoning Clover. However, the adrenaline of the night before abated and old doubts surfaced again. What would he say? How would he say it? What if the answer was yes? What if it was no?
All these questions had rendered the previous night insufferable and rife with tossing and turning. Ace's magic lessons, equal to his motivation, proved underwhelming. He struggled to reproduce the magic he had been taught.
The wizard snapped at him unreasonably, aggravated by his every mistake. He left in the afternoon feeling drained and withdrew into his own thoughts. He was relieved to see Leila in their usual spot. He had a need for her instruction. In fact, he hoped she would embolden him to make his decision.
She was sitting primly on one of the park benches. She had evidently finished eating and was surveying the gardens with, what Ace thought, was a nostalgic eye. Ace at once recalled what he had learned the day prior. This garden may well have been her childhood respite too. He called to her but she didn't answer at first. On saying her name again, her eyes came up to meet him and she smiled.
"Ace" she gestured to him to sit, "I was just thinking about you."
However, with these words, her eyes fell back to the gardens. It looked particularly beautiful and vivid in the autumn hues. The air was sweet and warm. There was no one else there today. A strange sight, given the popularity of the gardens.
"Actually I was thinking about you as well," Ace replied.
Leila's eyes peeled up once more, "Oh?"
"I heard you're a princess,"
Leila gave a little giggle: Not sweet, almost bitter. "Not anymore," was her entire answer. Still, Ace waited, but in spite of her normal propensity to speak, she refused to say anything more on it. Eventually, after a drawn-out silence, she changed the subject.
"When last we spoke, you said you were looking for a way to find that person. Were you able to locate them?"
"It's not definite but I might have," Ace answered, taking a seat.
Her eyes which had at length been settled on a dead flower bed across from them widened. She turned with renewed energy towards him and excessive enthusiasm.
"OH! How wonderful! When will you meet them?" she enquired passionately.
"Tonight, at least, I think I might," Ace paused, "But I don't know what I should say. I mean, what if I say the wrong thing?"
Leila took his hands in her. Ace flinched in surprise but didn't pull his hands away. Leila's expression was solemn but earnest.
"Ace," she entreated, "The words don't matter. Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'the hand holds the knife but it is the heart that kills'?"
Ace shook his head, still a little uneasy by her tight little grip.
"Oh! I forget sometimes you're not from the Empire," she laughed, " It means it is not the physical body which speaks to another, it is the soul. Just as we kill not with the hand but with hearts, we likewise love not with words but with our souls," she paused for a moment to see if the words had taken the desired effect.
Ace maintained a blank expression carefully avoiding her gaze. However, this only motivated her more:
"Is there something else?" she quizzed, with a desperate eagerness.
Ace hesitated to answer but conceded to the intensity of her stare, "I know how I feel. But if that person doesn't feel the same, is it fair for me to burden them with my feelings?"
"How will you know how they feel until you tell them? You said they helped you before, didn't you?"
"Yes?"
"Think on it. Why would this person make such an effort if they did not feel the same?"
"What if their motive in helping me was not love, but pity?"
"Then do as I first instructed," Leila gained momentum, "Make them love you. Do whatever it takes. I feel certain you will succeed!"
Ace left the encounter feeling less sure than before. Her sudden enthusiasm only had the opposite effect. He went over the time he had spent with his master in his head. What if it was just pity? That would be the worst outcome. That was the answer he couldn't bear to hear.
After all, like the sword saint, hadn't Clover lied too? However, by nightfall, Ace was so racked with questions he had determined he would go through with it. He wanted answers at least. Whatever they may be. And if something else came out of it, all the better. Through all the training and the restrictive atmosphere of the tower, one thought had pushed him on: He would see Lord Clover again. Now he would see it through.
Ace mounted his horse and set off beyond the palace walls. He felt a weight lifting as he did. He raced on beyond the borders of the capital. He would surely be punished upon return but he didn't care anymore.
He stared up at the stars enraptured by their light. Under their twinkling eye, he reached the forest beyond the walls of the city. A shooting star caught his eye. He followed its path until it disappeared beyond the horizon. His heart was racing as he ventured to arrange the ritual as the text had dictated.
Ace quietly prepared an altar from some surrounding stones and the ingredients he had stolen from the tower's laboratories. He kept within the disguise of shadow, deep within the thick of the forest and away from prying eyes. Only his lantern provided light to enamour the curious alter in fiery red.
Without hesitation, Ace took out the blade from his side. A mixture of adrenaline and anticipation propelled him forward. He cut his palm and smeared the blood on the rock face. All was deathly quiet. The shadows danced with the flicker of light as a cool breeze fluttered through the forest. A hand thrust out from the dark.
Ace caught sight of a flash of porcelain white skin before it waved whimsically at him. Malevolent, glowing red eyes flickered mischievously. Ace's heart was pounding as he found the familiar placid smile.
"Master," Ace whispered breathlessly as if the words might cause the visage to disappear once more. Clover strode into the clearing through a passage of tree.
Ace took a moment, without breathing, just staring across at the figure in front of him. He released the breath he had been holding and he sucked in another, garnering a light superfluous chuckle. The hand retreated into silver gossamer hair. It was illuminated as the figure stepped back into the open starlight.
"Well, Ace," Clover replied, "what a surprise," though there was no surprise in their expression.
"You came?" Ace asked. He didn't mean it as an accusation but as soon as he said it, he feared it might be construed that way. He bit his lip, reprimanding himself.
"As you can see," came the answer with an air of indifference. However, with a quick glance, Clover added,
"I'm very picky about answering summons, you know?"
"Well, the reason...I mean I was hoping you would...that is," Ace spluttered. Why couldn't the words come out with the same ease he had with the others?
There was so much more Ace wanted to say but words escaped him. He stood up, not sure what to do with himself.
"Now who taught you this, I wonder? Your magic must have returned," Clover motioned to the stone altar upon the ground walking towards it with a probing smile.
Ace nodded slowly, he didn't know whether he should mention the wizard given his master's dislike of him. Luckily, Clover didn't tarry on the topic long, they were more interested in another subject.
"I've heard some temples to the north have been raided, "
Ace scrutinized Clover's expression. He couldn't tell whether it was meant as a question, a claim to the deed or something more. He remained quiet for a moment. His heart sank as he began to wonder if it was the real reason for the master's coming. Nevertheless, in spite of his silence, Clover apprehended his hesitation.
"I wasn't me if that's what you're thinking,"
"I didn't...I mean that's not what I was thinking," Ace clenched his jaw trying to stifle the flush of red rising to his face.
Clover observed the reaction with a smile, "Do you know what those temples are?"
Ace shook his head. This wasn't how he intended for the conversation to go.
"It's where the humans house their gods. Or more accurately, where they lay them to rest. That is, the forgotten gods of the Empire," Clover smirked, "Condemned to a slow death, studied like common elements. They reap what they have sown. They gave nothing. They become nothing,"
"You don't believe in the gods?" Ace paused. He had meant to change the subject but was momentarily distracted by his curiosity to hear the demon Lord's answer. In the demon world, everyone all believed the same thing.
"Don't you believe in the demon god?" He interrogated.
"On the contrary, my belief has never been stronger. Unfortunately, the Demon god, like all the other gods, falls short of my standards. Still, I am not so brazen as to incur their wrath by burning down their temples," Clover answered.
Their back was still to Ace inspecting the forest. It was pitch black apart from Ace's torch and still. Not even a bird could be heard rustling. When clover had finished speaking, Ace nodded along attentively. He had yet to find an opening to venture what he had come to say.
"But what about you? Now you have seen the human world, don't you feel like praising its creators?" Clover interrupted the stream of his thoughts.
"To be honest, I didn't before," Ace confessed, "but now I'm not so sure,"
"A loss of faith is more common than the reverse. Why did you change your mind? "
"Because..." Ace hesitated, "because of you."