"Question: How can you save someone, when you can't save yourself?"
…
That day blood and countless bodies polluted the land of Valentia. It was the first time something like that has happened. A young Alexander aimlessly walked across the scorching earth. He was lost in his thoughts, digging endless thought the rubble, finding dead bodies everywhere. He would desperately try to wake them up, hope at least 1 of them would responds to his call. He repeated this process every 15 steps he took, hoping to find any survivors. Alexander was hurt, his dark hair, his clothes and skin were stained with blood and ash, but somehow he still managed to walk.
"I can't… not yet… I can't die here… not yet." Alexander expressed as he choked over the smoke. "There has… to be someone alive… in this hell hole."
Finally, he stumbles over something and fell to the ground. He got up and kneeled, the fall didn't hurt him but when he got up tears filled his eyes. He couldn't help himself and at that moment, Alexander began crying. He had lost all hope of surviving. Suddenly he heard a faint cough not too far off from where he was. He was amazed to find a Katherine, who was barely hanging on to her life. Katherine was trapped under a large rock. With the last of his strength and magic power, he lifted the rock and the girl crawled out from under the rock.
She was badly hurt badly, she lost her balance and fell down to the ground. Alexander rushed to help her, but stumbled close to her. The two laid beside each other with zero strength left in them.
"Don't worry. I going to save you." He said.
"How can you save someone, when you can't save yourself?" a man's voice echoed in the air.
Suddenly a shadow, in the shape of a man appeared in front of them. The shadow was twice the size of a man and had a huge halo on his back, not to mention the red eyes. It was not human, but his presence scared the two young mages. They had never dealt with anything like this before. Alexander and Katherine froze up, the shadow terrified them.
"Look at this sight. People killing people like there is no tomorrow." The shadow man spat on the ground. "What is the point of war?"
The shadow got close to Alexander's face. He had never felt so terrified and helpless.
"It's a last… it's a last resort to a conflict." Alexander mumbled without thinking.
"It's… to find… peace." Katherine mumbled a response, terrified by the shadow.
"Not quite, but let me ask you another question. Do you want to win this war? Or do you want to end this war?" The shadow asked before fading away.
"But remember this something started, is half finished…"
…
Alexander woke up in cold sweat later that night. He heart was beating extremely fast. He took a few minutes for him to calm down. It's been hours since they encountered Hunter and the Valentian Mages, not to mention the Queen.
"Damn it… not again." He mumbled. "That same nightmare again? Isn't it bad enough that I lived it, now I have to dream about it constantly? That shadow man thing, what is he?"
Suddenly a knock came from the door. It was Katherine who was on the other side of the door. She asked to enter and headed straight to Alexander's bed.
"That nightmare again, huh? The shadow man?" she asked with concern.
"More or less." He replied and nodded his head.
She decided enter the bed and sleep next to Alexander. She wrapped her arms around him to comfort him.
"It's alright now, I'm here for you, always." She whispered, hoping it would calm him down.
It took over 10 minutes for Alexander to finally calm. She remained quiet and you could feel her tone beginning to change and she became very serious out of the blue.
"Was it a mistake, Alexander? Was every decision we made for far a mistake?" She asked him.
Alexander didn't answer her. He was staring at the ceiling as if the answer was written there. Katherine placed her head on Alexander's chest.
"Was it a mistake saving an enemy mage like me?" She asked, slightly squeezing Alexander. By her actions she dreaded the answer.
"Are you asking me if it was a mistake?" he asked her. "We were twelve years old when we were forced to fight in that battle."
It has been twelve years since that day tragic day. Both Alexander and Katherine remembered that day as if it was yesterday. The two kept have nightmares about that day over the years, and couldn't shake the feeling of something bad was about to happen.
"We were the only people to survive that battle, and you saw first-hand what Mages are capable off." Alexander stated as he turned to face Katherine. "I'm not gonna lie to you, but every decision we made so far were horrible… but saving you was never a mistake… After Luna, you're probably the best thing to ever happen to me."
Katherine turned red as she blushed over Alexander's statement, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel happy. She was born from a noble family, and was blessed with magic at a young age, you could say she was a prodigy. What made her different is that her magic capacity felt unlimited. Magic capacity refers the amount of magic power a Mage has. This made her family very proud and at the same time sheltered her. She was constantly forced to train every day to achieve the ultimate mage craft. If it wasn't for Alexander, she would have never broken free from her sheltered cage.
Silence filled the room as Alexander and Katherine struggled to fall asleep. Their plan to escape was falling apart, they couldn't deal with this war anymore. The war between the Kingdom of Samar and Narvarh felt like it was never ending. The two Kingdoms called a truce a few years back, but ever since the Prince of Narvarh and the Princess of Samar were assassinated, things sort of took a back turn.
Katherine tapped Alexander's chest with her index finger, calling his name to get his attention. He was lost in thought, and it took 3 to 4 taps before he could respond.
"So what's the plan now?" She asked
"I don't know, but--," he paused for a moment. "It's not over yet, Hunter will be back."
"You actually think he will come back?"
"Most definitely. His always been like that… besides he came personally to see us, which is a bad sign."
"You still haven't answered my first question!" She asked as she sat up, as she start getting frustrated.
Alexander looked at her with a little smile, and slowly sat up as well. He embraced her as if he was saying 'don't worry about a thing, I'm here for you'. He finally got her to calm down, and they laid back down on the bed.
"For the time being Hunter is our biggest problem. He said King Samar wants his legacy?" Alexander asked her as he started to break down everything. "Question is what? It must be something important, right?"
"It could be something powerful like a magic item or tool?"
The two ponded for a few minutes but eventually came up short. It was too early to conclude any yet, because they needed more information about this situation. This whole situation with Hunter, Chris and the Queen felt more like a puzzle that needed solving. Eventually Katherine fall asleep, but Alexander continued trying to at least get some idea.
"Screw this! This is a tomorrow problem. I'm going to sleep maybe I will dream up a solution." He said scratching his head furiously.
…
Morning came in an instance, the two sun filled the room with a radiant glow. It was early, but you could hear the people on the streets chatting as they started their day. Alexander and Katherine were still sleeping, and they weren't aware of the three cars arriving at their home that morning.
Alexander's bedroom door swings open, slamming the wall. BANG! The sound woke up Alexander and Katherine from their sleep. The Queen Heather entered the room, making sure her presents known.
"WHO THE HELL?" Alexander shouted out first.
"You couldn't help yourself couldn't you?" She asked with sarcasm.
"Master it's not what you think… he had a nightmare and I was… I was…" Katherine tried to explain the situation to the Queen, but failed miserably.
Alexander was not fazed by the Queen's presence. He was more concerned by Katherine's behavior. He had never seen her act so nervously before. It made him wonder how strong was the Queen? By the looks of it she was giving off the same intensity as Hunter. He couldn't help but took another look at the Queen, as she spoke to Katherine. he felt something off about her, but couldn't help but feel nostalgic when he saw her that day.
…
"Question: How can you save someone, when you can't save yourself?"
"Answer: I don't know. I never tried, but if I must give my life up… then so be it."