"I don't believe we survived…well, whatever happened," Flare utters.
Weiss just ignores her rant.
"Well, you don't get to experience this, every day," Weiss uttered, standing next to Flare inside the huge crowd.
"Have you ever seen your own funeral, Your Highness?" he joked about it, but Flare remained serious.
"…Just what did that friend of yours have inside his bag?" Flare asked, now wearing a cloth which is covering her head.
There are a lot of people standing around them. Both of them now are in the middle of a crowd, surrounding a podium in front of the palace. A man is standing on the podium, wearing a purple robe, decorated with gold. He is the Whitefall Archbishop. People call him Archbishop Lincoln, the archbishop of Divine Faith, a religion which most people living inside the city adopted. His white hair and wrinkled face kept waving and twitching around as he is giving a speech on the podium.
"…We give our prayers today, for our beloved Princess Flare Edwen, daughter of King Edwen. My friends, let us pray upon the deceased and let her passing be clear. May God give rest upon her soul," the archbishop prayed along with the crowd.
Then, they began chanting the Divine Faith hymn. The hymn that also serves as Whitefall's national anthem.
"O Whitefall, we stand on guard for thee."
Beloved Whitefall, your sunny mountains, palm trees, and green pastures
Show everywhere your brightness;
Your soil offers everyone the richest fruits.
For Whitefall, ever Whitefall, let our voices ring with pride
For Whitefall, ever Whitefall, her name hail far and wide,
A land of freedom, hope and glory, to endure what might befall
May God bless Whitefall
Forever more!"
The two of them followed the others. There are paladins surrounding the podium, guarding the archbishop to ensure that everyone is praying along with them. Weiss raised his hand in a praying posture, when he noticed a woman next to him is not. He decided to warn the woman if she didn't, but he stopped once he noticed that the woman looked puzzled.
"What's the matter, madam?" he asked politely.
This got Flare's attention.
"…What are you doing?" she asked Weiss.
Weiss is puzzled to hear this, since he is aware the Divine Faith is a religion that everyone practices inside Whitefall. Flare immediately interrupted them and gently raised the woman's hands.
"We are praying to God, madam," Flare replied softly.
She slowly pulled her hand back, but the woman in front of them is still confused. As she continued using the praying gesture, she proceeded to ask more questions.
"God…God…What is God?" the woman asked both of them.
Immediately, they were stunned. Before they could answer, a man appeared behind her and immediately grabbed her from behind.
"Dear, don't run along like that. You'll worry me," the man replied.
"Oh, forgive me dear, I was intrigued by this gesture. Sorry for worrying you," the woman apologized.
"Sorry for my wife's behavior, pardon us," the man said to both Flare and Weiss before pulling his wife away.
Flare and Weiss remained there, puzzled.
"That's…odd…" Weiss murmured.
"Yes, everybody in this city knows how to pray," Flare uttered.
"In the memory of Cantor and the World.
Beautiful fatherland of those that dared to fight."
They remained there for a few minutes before dismissing along with the others, heading for the bazaar.
In the east district, Boyd is sitting outside a bar on a bench, alone. He is enjoying a cup of coffee as the district became busy again. Behind him are tons of shops and merchants, selling goods from their hometown. The lively town for some reason bring peace to him as opened the jaw part of his helmet to drink, but leaving his helmet intact. Of course, the people walking and passed next to him find it odd. It was until a woman wearing a simple dress sat next to him, holding another cup of coffee. Both of them remained still for a few seconds, sipping their coffee.
"Hmm…mmm…"
The woman patiently sat there.
"Hmm…mmm…"
"Ehem," the woman pretended to clear her throat.
"Mmm…mmm…"
"EHEM!" the woman cleared her throat again.
"Mm-mm, oh-hoh!" Boyd finally realized that the woman was there.
"Pardon me I was absorbed in thought. Where did you come from?" Boyd asked the woman.
"I'm from Rich Lake," the woman answered.
It seems she is quite worried.
"Your Highness is safe, Lady Cellica. I have done my part of the deed, now, it's time to do yours," Boyd reported to her.
"Whose body did you use as a corpse?" Cellica asked, a bit frightened.
"Don't worry about it. I hired an animator to animate a dead body similar to the princess, but I didn't expect that the monarchy would announce is so soon. So, here I am, I'm out on a limb here," Boyd assured the young maiden.
"Hmm…hmm…"
"It would be obvious since they have to cover up the break-in yesterday. Flare has been declared dead, killed by a burglar, and here I am talking to the one who 'killed' her," Cellica uttered.
"Rest assured, m'lady. Your friend will be safe. The fact of the matter is, 'Are you sure that the missive states that we should save only her?'" Boyd asked.
"I'm sure about it. Her father wrote it in front of me a day before he died. I took the letter and kept it to myself," Cellica answered.
"…Until you gave it to her brother, and somehow it's now with me. Is that the correct synopsis for it?" Boyd cuts the story short.
Cellica just nodded.
"To be honest, I don't where is her brother now. He writes letters monthly, and Flare always wrote back. I know he is called the 'Thunder-chaser' knight for nothing. I mean, he slayed a dragon on his own," Cellica just opened a story in front of a stranger.
Boyd just did his part as a good listener, but Cellica doesn't know it yet – probably never will, but Boyd's indifferent expression underneath his helmet is hiding something from her.
"I'm her friend, and I know this place isn't best for her, despite being her hometown," Cellica simplified her feelings.
"Hmm…"
"Mmm…"
"So, am I to save her from the current monarch? If too, where should I bring her? Is there any place where one can find solitude and asylum for a 'dead' princess?" Boyd asked.
Immediately, Cellica pulled out a piece of envelope and handed it over to Boyd. There is a seal of royalty sealing the envelope, a seal which Boyd recognizes.
"I'm surprised the elves are interested in keeping her alive. I thought you told me that her mother is a simple countrywoman who rescued her father once, isn't that correct?" Boyd inquired.
Cellica remained silent, hesitant to tell a stranger everything she knows about her friend. Boyd didn't expect an answer, but slowly, he turned his head and faced the afraid lass in front of him.
"I promise you, with all my might, m'lady, that your friend will be safe by our side until we escort her to Erythyl, where the Snow Elves, the current royalty ruling the elven land, lives," Boyd again reassured Cellica with a soft-spoken voice, despite how apathetic his expression is underneath the helmet.
"So please, is there anything important that I have to know?" he asked again.
"All I can say is that her mother is connected to one of the current nobles. I asked help from him using my friends there."
"It took a lot of work. So, please…"
"I will make sure that your friend is safe, m'lady. Rest assured," Boyd reassures Cellica.
Boyd puts the letters inside his strap bag and leaves. However, before he did, Cellica revealed some information to him.
"Rumor is that a thief from the next town was captured two days ago and is now transported here to Whitefall. He'll be charged with assassination of the princess," Cellica said to him as she stood up and turned away.
"By the way, do you always where your armor around?" she asked, and Boyd just laughed it off as he walked away.
"Ahahaha Ahahahaha…." he laughs it off.
Boyd walked on his own, with his bag strapped around his shoulder, until he reaches the east gate, where he rendezvouses with both Flare and Weiss. Weiss had already packed enough supplies for a travel, while Flare on the other hand is still puzzled about something. Indeed, two days ago, they'd given her not enough time for her to pack her clothes, and for that duration there were having a bit of trouble on searching for an armor that suits her since the city was put on high alert. They were squatting inside an abandoned cottage which Weiss broke into. Everything might as well be new to her, and now, she is leaving her hometown along with two strangers that she barely knew about. She is holding onto her own faith that the old accord of the Pathfinder Knights will treat her well.
"Weiss, why don't you walk on ahead for a while? We'll catch up with you," Boyd suggested to Weiss.
The boy wearing the leather coat nodded and walked away, leaving them behind him.
"Is something the matter, Your Highness?" Boyd asked Flare.
"I'm not a child, you know that right, Mr. Boyd?" Flare replied rudely.
"Indeed you aren't, Your Highness, but I'm afraid you have to leave your hometown, and I still remember the fears and doubts when I first left mine. We can stay for a few minutes and stroll around, if that's what you wish," Boyd suggested, giving a solution to her current problem.
The Princess, a bit relieved, laughed a bit and thanked the man for his suggestion, but even she knew that she'll risk her chance of escape, even if with a stranger.
"…Where'd we go?" she asked.
She couldn't read Boyd's expression since he is wearing a helmet…and for some reason he is still wearing the same armor from two days ago. In fact, Flare even recalled that she never even saw Boyd without his armor. Boyd took a letter out of his strap bag and handed it to her.
"Your father wrote the missive to send it to your brother, fearing your safety after he is dead. He handed it over to Prince Mitchel, your half-brother. Yes, I know about it. I don't mean to pry on your life," Boyd politely told her.
"Then, how'd it ended up on your hands?" she asked.
"Truth be told. It was a coincidence. I picked up that letter while I was travelling along with Weiss there in the Elven lands, beneath a tree, to be precise," Boyd replied.
"So, you decided to rescue me first instead of going to my brother?" Flare asked, a bit angry.
"I checked the date, and when I noticed it was already late, I rushed here first along with young Weiss. It was by my decision. Don't blame him, blame me," Boyd said.
"That letter you are holding holds a letter of asylum in the city of Erythyl, home of the current monarch in the Elven land. Your friend, Cellica, used her friends and your heritage to apply for your asylum. Again, I'm very sorry to pry on your life," Boyd apologized.
Flare was stunned for a while, and for a minute there, she wanted to run back inside to thank her friend and bring her along. That thought left as she knew that it would only endanger her if she was discovered.
"…Which means, it is now your duty to fulfill that role, and live another day to see your friend someday when things have calmed down," Boyd told her.
Flare understands that Boyd is trying to cheer her up, but even the pressure of leaving a friend behind is much for her to bear. In all her heart, she wishes to have her friend next to her right now instead of a materialistic, evil-looking boy.
"Now then, shall we go, Your Highness," Boyd asked, offering to carry Flare's bag.
Flare looked at his hand. Some parts of the cloth covering his fingers are torn apart, exposing his fingers. There are several stitches on it, indicating that Boyd has repaired the armor a lot of times.
"…It's alright, I can carry it," Flare thanked Boyd for the offer and carried her satchel.
Again, she does not know how to judge Boyd's expression, whether or not he is smiling or angry because of that helmet, but Boyd just ignored it and walked beside her.
…..
"What was that yesterday? The man chasing us, and that red-eyed creature?" Flare asks.
Boyd and Weiss looked at each other.
"We don't know for sure, but all we do know that he is called The Executioner. He guards the tunnels, and also, as his name employs, executes people as an Executioner," Weiss answers.
"That's it?" Flare asks, not satisfied with the answer.
Weiss just nods, indicating that he knows nothing else.
"What about my 'rescue'? You still haven't explained anything to me," Flare questioned.
"…We…We don't know, actually. We were hoping you would know, but you didn't. So, we put two and two together, so…maybe you're supposed to travel inside the tunnel," Weiss answers.
"So, you don't know?"
"We do not know. We're just following that letter, which tells us to save the names inside it. Yours, Mitchel, and Alex. Once we've send you to Erythyl, we'll continue to Mitchel, then Alex," Boyd added.
Although Flare is not satisfied with the answer, because of the ambiguity, she understands and didn't question any further.
"So, is this your first time walking outside the walls of the castle by yourself?" Boyd asked.
"Nope. When I was first brought here, I always wander around the districts alone and sometimes outside the walls. My elder brother and my stepmother were always mad for troubling them and the guards, kept on reminding me how a princess should act. Dad and Mitchel on the other hand just laughed, praising me for being adventurous," Flare opened up to Boyd.
They are both walking away from the city of Whitefall. The faint breeze made their journey easier, and it surely made Flare forgot about how they kept running around inside the city walls for two days straight without enough sleep. Weiss is nowhere to be seen.
"Mr. Boyd, how old are you?" Flare posed a question.
"Ahahahaha…ahahahaha…" Boyd laughed.
"Can't you guess by my voice and my body?" he asked.
Immediately, Flare checked on him. She looked around, inspecting every corner in order to determine the man's age. The key factor of determining someone's age is their face and how they act, but she can only use one of those since Boyd's body is covered with armor. After a while, she took her guess.
"I think you're probably in your late 20's based on your built. It's highly unusual to see someone so polite, so I put that maybe you're in your 40's. So, I'd say that you're in your 30's, maybe," Flare guessed.
Flare probably took that guess because she rarely meets a man who's naturally polite, and deep in her mind, she hopes that Boyd might be around her age.
"Hmm…mmm…"
"Hah hah haha ha," Boyd laughed.
"You're wrong, I'm actually nearing my 60's," Boyd told her, which really shocked Flare.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" she shrieked.
"…But, if you're hoping for someone that's your age, Weiss is. My guess is that you're in your mid-20s, and judging by how you talk, I'd put in the range of 23 to 25. So, my best answer is…" Boyd began guessing, but for some reason kept on humming after that.
"Hmm…mmm…hmm…mmm…mmm…"
"Mr. Boyd, did you know that an age of a woman is kept only to herself?" Flare puffed her cheeks, making Boyd laugh again.
They continued on, until slowly Boyd took pace and turned his head to Flare.
"You're 25!" he said, and began sprinting with his armor.
Flare was angered by that and give chase. In all honesty, she wasn't mad. In fact, she was happy. She was happy to have someone to talk to like this despite having to leave her home. There are still few things that are quite a blur to her, but that blur is being cleared by how Boyd's personality. In contrast to Boyd, Weiss was not polite. She still remembered that he only gave her a loaf of bread and some butter for them to share together to eat during breakfast. He rarely talks to her, and only took the opportunity to wake her up from sleep, giving breakfast and in some cases, make jokes about a situation. She still remembers that Weiss joked about a cat chasing a limped dog. She found that joke heartless and disturbing, but at some times, his jokes are funny. There was that one time when Weiss wrapped himself with a fur carpet and pretended to be a bear during their second day together, but mostly his humors are dark humors, which Flare find disturbing.
"I hope that you two get along with each other, they say that opposites attract. Maybe, just maybe that you two are…" Boyd uttered, and again Flare chased him.
"…"
"How can an old man run so fast in that armor?" she wondered.
After a few hours of walking, they regrouped with Weiss, who was plucking apples from a man's farm. Although Boyd was mad at him, Boyd forgive Weiss if Weiss told the owner of the apple farm that he took some of his apples. It was an awkward situation for Weiss, but he did it anyway and the apple farm owner forgives him.
"See, he doesn't care about it…" Weiss tried to make a comeback but all he got was a knuckle to his head.
"You're still a hundred years too young to win an argument against me," Boyd reminded Weiss.
Flare just laughed.
Just before nightfall, Boyd and Weiss made camp while Flare sits next to the bonfire Boyd made to cook some soup. They've set up three bedrolls, one for them and one for Flare. The night lives on like usual, except that Flare couldn't manage to sleep, probably maybe this is the first time she is sleeping on a bedroll and the night sky, with nothing surrounding her except mother nature. Weiss is already fast asleep while Boyd on a ridge above them, guarding them while they are asleep.
"Cellica…Mitchel…Uncle Talbot…how are you guys doing right now?" she thought to herself, watching the starry knight accompanied by the sound of the night breeze and crickets.
"I hope you are alright…"
"Mitchel…Uncle…when are you both coming home…"
___________________________________________
--Image--
https://ibb.co/GMzNcrk - A merry escape
___________________________________________
.....
The sounds of nature somehow woke Flare up from her sleep. She looked up at the night sky, and the moonlight is still shining above her. It must be early in the morning, past midnight. She looked around, Boyd is now resting in front of the bonfire with one leg stretched forward while other is squatting. She turned her head around and noticed that Weiss was not there. She stood up and looked around. His leather jacket isn't there either, until she noticed someone else on the ridge above them. Flare slowly walked and approached the figure, only to realize that it was Weiss. She breathed out a sigh of relief, as it was not another stranger and immediately stood next to him.
"So, why are you here?" Weiss asked her when she is standing next to him.
Honestly, Flare was quite amazed that Weiss noticed her since she made sure that her footsteps are unheard.
"Couldn't sleep. How about you? Planning to steal food again?" she asked.
"Oh, so you've learned how to speak sarcastically now," Weiss teased Flare.
Flare got flustered a bit.
"That's good. It seems you've opened up to us a bit."
"I'm…I'm not opening up to you! I j-just consider you guys as acquaintances that is all. Besides, you're not calling me Your Highness anymore. I'm your captain, you know," Flare retorted.
"So, what are you doing?" she repeated her question.
"We'll be attacking a group of Whitefall soldiers tomorrow, I'm just thinking about the best strategy," Weiss blurted it out of the blue.
"What?"
"…"
An awkward silence grabs the situation.
"…"
"Whaaat?!"
"What do you mean we are attacking a group of soldiers? Isn't that…d-dangerous?" Flare stuttered.
"Wha…" Weiss was shocked to hear that Flare didn't know about it and sighed.
"That old man probably forgot about it. Well, that's more like him anyway," Weiss said to himself, looking at the sitting Boyd.
Flare was puzzled and tried to call out to Boyd, but Weiss signaled her to stop.
"Don't bother about it. He's sleeping there," Weiss told her.
Flare watched Boyd from the ridge.
"Who sleeps sitting like that?" she asked herself.
"You'll get used to it. Uncle Boyd sleeps a lot if he stays immobile, but will always be taking short naps before waking up and sleeping back again," Weiss exclaimed.
"…But, what is this about attacking a group of soldiers?"
"A prisoner will be transported from the nearby settlement, Stalewood. We plan to rescue him tomorrow as they will be using this pass," Weiss told her.
"Prisoner? That person must've done something wrong, right? Why are we doing this?" Flare asked again and again.
"Shut up, will you! Man, this is why I don't like rich kids that live inside big houses!" Weiss mocked Flare.
Immediately, that insult burned through Flare's brain, and she immediately grabbed Weiss by his collar.
"How dare you say that to me? I am your…" she yelled.
"Princess? Captain? With all due respect, 'Your Highness', your identity is already dead and buried inside an expensive coffin back there in Whitefall. It's a good thing we walked fast, otherwise it'll be a day's walk from there to this ridge."
"Pardon, 'Your Highness'. You are in no position to order me around. When I first heard about the Pathfinder Knights', I thought that the 'princess', the captain of the order of knights will be a brave, wise, gentle but firm knight. I didn't expect to rescue to goody two shoes girl who doesn't know how to wear an armor, who whines about simple food, who is naïve, believing that this world we step is just black and white," Weiss sarcastically replied to Flare and pulled himself away, releasing himself from her grasp.
"You jerk…" Flare groans, before suddenly Weiss kneeled in front of her.
"Captain, as your only knight, may I offer you a bit of advice?" Weiss's tone turned from sarcastic to normal, like the first time he did that.
Flare was puzzled to do anything.
"Your orders, Captain…" Weiss pushed her.
"What is it, knight?" Flare asked.
"Whatever you see, whatever you hear, whatever you feel, in our journeys yet to come…"
At that moment, Weiss raised his head and looked at Flare. Both of them meet eye to eye.
"Never lose your sense of self. Change your convictions, change how you see everything, change you talk to others, but never lose hope. Hold tight to your sense of self, however fade it may be," Weiss advises Flare, and for a moment there, Flare thought he was just being poetic.
"Oh, Princess. You do not know how life is beyond the Whitefall wall."
Flare's spine tingled a bit.
"Hey, hey, you're just…being a poet, right?" Flare asked, but Weiss face indicates that he is really serious.
Both of them remained silent and just watched the moonlight.
"Oh yeah...!"
"Captain Flare, do you happen to know about the concept of magic?" Weiss changed the topic and sparks Flare's interest.
"Magic. I think I've read about it in my studies, but I cannot use it inside the palace, so I never learned how to use it," Flare answered, which shocked Weiss.
"Living with rich relatives must be really boring, but at least the money's good," Weiss complained.
The statement reminded Flare that Weiss is helping her for money, which irritates her the most.
"I take it that you haven't swung a sword, either," he added.
It irritated Flare more because it's true.
"Well, looks like my schedule before the ambush is set, then," Weiss said to himself, puzzling Flare.
Immediately, he puffs up his chest and pointed his thumb on it.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll teach you how to determine and draw out your skill…"
For a brief moment, Flare was glad, and amazed, but something was amiss. Is it the night? Is it the nature? Or maybe is the sudden change in Weiss's attitude?
No, it's not that.
The thing that made it amiss was.
"…O-o-o-okay…" Flare stuttered, looking at a demonic-looking face with a sadistic smile in front of her.
It was Weiss's sadistic smile.