Elliot sat a table, flipping through page after page of yet another book in the castle library, and yet again the nothing on The Great Raising. Throwing his head back from seeing that yet another dead end, Elliot's mind went back to the vision the old lady showed him, the screaming, the six figures, and the single one leading them on to the world's ruin. But there was no information anywhere he could look or even what would really cause such an event.
"Uhhhhh, e-excuse me sir." A small, timid voice pulled Elliot from his slump and he turned to see a young elf girl in a more normal looking maid outfit standing by the table, the tower of books he spent the day looking through sprawled across it, "Sorry to interrupt your reading, but i am here to tell you it is dinner time and that Baren Keive has requested you're group to join as guests."
"Oh, thank you." Elliot said letting a yawn out and stood from the table, looking at the tower of book surrounding him, "Let me put these up and then I'll join them kay?"
"I'm sorry sir, but Baren Keive wants all you at once, he was clear on that." She said looking down to her feet, hoping he would understand what defying him meant. Elliot read her expression and smile, patting her head.
"Alright, sorry for the mess." Elliot said walking out of the library, heading down the hall following her leading him. But Elliot couldn't drop what he had saw with the old lady and feeling the pressure of him being the one to stop it, even if he didn't know what that meant. The two soon came to a pair of large doors with guards standing on either side, their weapons in hand and seemingly ready to fight any who tried to get in without a request to be there. Seeing him, they took hold of the handles and pulled the doors open for Elliot to step forward. He noticed the young girl stopping and she looked up at him.
"I was asked to bring you here, nothing more." She said sounding sad, making Elliot feel something stepping forward were he saw a large banquet of food spread a crossed the table and he saw the others were already there with Bolten already ripping some mutton from a leg enjoying himself when he saw him.
"Ay, there's the booky one now." Bolten pointed to him with his mutton gripping hand, "Find anything good in them books?"
"Yes, but your hedonist brain wouldn't be able to understand any of it." Clove spat out, taking small bites of her food, careful not to make a mess with her face still pushed into her book. Bolten paid her comment no mind and he stared at Elliot waiting for an answer.
"Not really, just trying to learn more about the kingdom." Elliot said sitting and was instantly joined by Levi dropping onto his lap.
"What could those books have on something like me?" She asked her arms around his neck and he smiled slowly, enjoying her upbeat nature with what he had saw from the vision.
"Nothing, but I need to be a good squire to help you on the mission." Elliot said hugging Levi, making her giggle from his affection.
"That is good to hear." Keive said, having been watching their actions with a gleeful grin, yet nothing felt right when he did anything and the young women from his throne room standing beside him gave Elliot a sickening feeling seeing them feed the Baren while the others still paid it no mind with it, "Did my library offer you to knowledge that you seek?"
"Y-yeah, it was very helpful." Elliot said having Levi sit next to him and taking some for himself while his eyes looked at the others, Bradly and Bolten enjoying their meal laughing about some old adventure that they went out, Vlex slowly ate his meal while looking at them with a smile as they explained what they went through in the fight. Heldric was flirting with one of the maids as he smirked, Clove's face buried in her book, and Levi looking at him.
"What's on your mind?" She asked sliding her finger over his arm and pulling Elliot from his thoughts.
"Oh, just on what we have to do and where they could be." Elliot smiled, hiding his real thoughts since he still wasn't sure if he believed it was even true and not something the old lady slipped something in his tea to mess with him.
"That's tomorrows thinking." Levi said smiling, putting a strawberry into her mouth and licking her lips looking him in the eye, "We should relax and ready our minds for the task at hand."
"Rise words from someone who can't keep her legs closed." Clove's back handed comment gained a glare from Levi.
"Strong words from someone who never found a man who wants your phompy ass." This comment made Clove move her book from her face and glare back at her.
"I'm saving myself for the right man, not the first man to give me a smile and have no self-control." Her eyes turned to Elliot, "Your job is to be a squire, why are you even eating with us and not just wait with the servants?" Her words hurt more then he thought they would and he had a feeling to leave.
"Hey no," The three turned to see Keive looking at them with a smile, "None of that, I invited all of you to this dinner and so everyone sitting here is equal as a guest of mine." Clove sighed and put her nose back in her book with Elliot giving the Baren a small smile as a thank you, yet her words where clearly wearing heavy on him. Elliot simply sat there, slowly taking a few bites without even really looking up, his mind on what the old lady said and how it contrasts his own thought over what he really should be doing as a member of the team. he was Bradly's Squire, that was his job and that's what he should be thinking about.
After dinner, Bolten and Bradly decided to enjoy more liquor at the barracks with the guards. Vlex and Clove both retreated to their rooms without much of a word to the others, and Heldric went with a maid to her room for some fun, and Elliot walked slowly to his room. He knew he was being followed and he didn't care, leaving the door to his room open and dropping on the bed. His mind over everything that had happened that day and what he was going to do on their quest tomorrow. A body slowly laid on him, a head resting on his chest with arms draping over him and pulling him into an embrace.
"You okay?" Levis' question came in a calm, soothing tone with Elliot just holding her close with his mind still locked on what he should be doing.
"I will be." He answered with them just laying there, letting himself get calm from her tender embrace. Clove's comments may have hurt him, yet she said stuff about Levi too, "What about you?"
"Oh, I'm use to those comments from Clove." Levi said smiling looking at him, seemingly wanting him to calm him down, yet Elliot saw something through that smile and he looked down to her, "Really, I'm fine."
"She still doesn't need to say those things to a party member." Elliot pulled her tighter and Levi simply laid her head down on his chest, her mind racing over the words he said and she simply held him close with her eyes closed.
"T-tonight, can we just lay here?" Elliot looked down to her seeing she was near tears, struggling to keep them from breaking through the damn. Elliot simply smiled and Levi's tears flowed like a down pour, burying her face into his chest and he held her close. No words said, he simply held her to calm her and hoped this helped her through this moment. His mind returning to the vision he saw that morning, still not sure what he needed to do to keep the Great Raising from this world or even what would really cause it. But at the moment, he wanted to do his job to aid the team with whatever their needed and so he simply held her for the night.
'Elliot.....' That voice, he knew it and his eyes shot open, being greeted by the void surrounding him, 'You're doing great.'
"What am I doing, and who are you?" Elliot tried to shout, yet his words didn't carry and so he was stuck in nothingness with a unbodied voice.
'You on your way to stop the Great Raising, aren't you?' The voice question forced a cold sweat from Elliot, who were they and what did they know that he didn't know. Arms slithered around his body, pressing something soft against his back with the hands moving up to hold his chest as a pair of lips, soft s velvet kissed his ear with the same calming tone, 'I don't want it either, so please work and stop it.'
"But how do it do that?" Elliot asked feeling the hands moving down his bare body with a giggle escaping her with his knew thoughts on what she could be laughing about.
'You'll get you answers in time, trust me.' She said before her whole body pulled from her and Elliot found he was once again alone in the void, floating without any sense of what she could mean or even where she came from in this void.
"Elliot?" A new, familiar voice cut through the void, and he turned towards it, remembering last time it was another person that pulled him from the void before and when he heard his voice yet again he moved towards the voice the best he could when his eyes shot open. "Are you okay?" The question came from the red eyed Levi staring down at him, a worried look on her face as he sat up, seeing he was covered in a deep layer of sweat from his dream, or was it a dream? He wasn't sure if it was or like the vision with Levi sitting on her knee looking at him.
"Y-yeah." Elliot said catching his breath, yet he knew it was a lie with everything on his mind and seemingly hanging on whatever he needs to do to stop the world from being turned to ruins. His mind struggling with what the voice said, combined with the old lady's words and no info on the Great Raising seemingly resting on his shoulder. Two arms rested on his shoulders, moving down his body and resting on his stomach. Elliot knew who it was, Levi's supple breasts pressing against his back and her head on his shoulders. This embrace was similar to the one from the void, yet he could feel her warmth and concern, calming him slowly and he put his hand on hers. "Thanks." Elliot said, closing his eyes and letting Levi's warming embrace calm his stormy mind.
"Any time." Her words where calming too, lost were the normal over flirty tone and replaced a calming, caring one that Elliot really needed at the moment. He wasn't sure how long they were like this, but at some point, they laid back down on the bed and he held her hand to keep her close to him with sleep returning to him, and the voice or void did not greet him when he finally nodded off to rest in the arms of Levi.