"…Ouch…"
Flare tried to raise push her body forward, but her wounds are not healed yet and the pain is quite unbearable. Her fingers are shaking and her eyes are half-opened, but she is alive, and that's what mattered most. Her wounds are cleaned up and bandaged, and there is a box of desserts on her right side. Without a doubt, she is inside a cottage. There's someone standing outside the door as if he is guarding it. When the guard noticed that she is awake, immediately he left and called another person.
"No…I won't go back…" Flare's instinct reacted before her brain and immediately grabbed a thick book.
Slowly, she stepped onto solid ground and walked out of the room. It seems like she was mistaken. She is inside a considerably large house instead of a cottage. She could see someone sitting in front of the fireplace on the floor below. Quickly, she made a quick dash to the stairs, but when she did, immediately she bumped into someone. Overcome with hostility, she used the thick book to try and hit the person in front of her with the book. She didn't see who it was, all that she cares that it might be envoys from the city of Whitefall.
She managed to hit the person in the head, but the person isn't fazed by it at all. He quickly grabs Flare by her shoulders, to which she quickly bites it. The man screamed in pain until suddenly, Flare stopped. The man quickly pulls his hand away and shakes it around to ease the pain. Flare stops, because she remembers that voice. A voice that has joined her in her happy, sad, tearful, and depressing times. A voice that always gives her advice about formality. A voice that always treats her with sweets as she grew up alone. Slowly, she raised her head to make sure.
In front of her is a brown-hair, middle-aged man. Indeed, he is wearing a Whitefall Officer's uniform. However, Flare didn't back down. There is a small scar on his left cheek. The man then opened his brown-colored eyes and looked at Flare.
"You bit the hell out of me, kid," the man groans.
Immediately, without saying anything, Flare just hugged the man in front of her. The man was slightly surprised by this since he just got bit a few seconds ago, but he just smiled. The front side of his uniform slowly became soaked with tears, coming from Flare herself. She is sobbing, burying her face in the man's arms as he wrapped them around her. She cried and wailed as if she just met someone she truly wants to hang on to after days of traumatizing experiences.
"…Uncle Talbot…" she wailed, burying her face deeper.
The man softly smiles and gently rubs Flare's head.
"Don't worry, Flare. I'm here," Talbot comforts the girl as she is breaking down into tears.
…..
"It's been two days since you passed out. The carriage I was riding found you in the forest screaming for help as Husks were attacking you," Talbot spoke as he munches down a custard pie.
"…Uh…Uncle Talbot, aren't those for me?" Flare murmured, but the man continued to much down more.
Flare is also eating the pie as the two of them reunite.
"When I came home, I was told that you were dead, kidnapped from the palace. It's…good, to see you safe, Princess Flare," Talbot felt relieved.
Flare kept on munching down more of the custard pie, and by the looks of it, she is enjoying it. There is a bit of cream stuck on her cheeks as she sloppily eats more of them, while Talbot just laughed.
"If anyone sees this, they would lose their interest in you, no doubt about that," he laughed.
"That's not funny!" Flare puffed her cheeks.
"…No, it's hilarious!" Talbot laughed a lot louder.
Although Flare was a bit annoyed, she also laughed. Both of them just shared stories and laughed together as they munched down the custard pie together.
"Whitefall's Magic Association managed to trace back who kidnapped you, which is why I was glad to see you alive. I was sure that you were killed," Talbot informed Flare as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.
Once he opened it up, Flare's eyes popped open. It's a wanted poster, used to capture convicts and criminals that Whitefall has deemed dangerous. The huge 'wanted' print on the top page along with a '40000 coins' bounty written at the bottom page. There's a sketch in the middle, which is a face that Flare recognizes.
"…That's…him…" Flare gasped.
"Indeed. Weiss, a sellsword, an assassin for hire, wanted across the kingdom for murder, arson, conspiracy, and theft."
"That's…Weiss…"
"Yes. I am just glad that you are safe, Your Highness," Talbot uttered.
Flare kept on eating before something just appeared in her head. She turned her head to face Talbot.
"…What about the other one?" she asked, intrigued.
"Other one?" Talbot asked.
"Yeah, there's another man with him. His name is Boyd, about 40 years of age?" she added, but Talbot is still going in circles.
"Always wear a suit of armor," she continues.
"…Ah, yes, that one. Apparently, we have no official arrest warrant regarding him, Your Highness," Talbot responds, which felt strange to Flare.
"Is something the matter?" Talbot inquired.
"…Nothing…"
"Any regards regarding the capital?" she asked, which brought distraught on Talbot's face.
"It's not good. King Ragnar has ordered the soldiers to arrest any suspicious person inside Whitefall's walls under the pretense of 'kidnapping'. Tensions between the humans and Sylphs are rising…"
He stopped halfway and looked at Flare.
"I'm sorry…" he apologized for some reason.
"Why?"
"…All personnel are ordered to not reveal any information regarding the Husks, it's a quarantine. Failure to do so will end…well, badly," Talbot murmured, feeling guilty about it.
"…But why? Why hide it from the outside world?" Flare asks.
"Perhaps, he is trying to contain the situation and prevent chaos inside the wall? It's a logical conclusion," Talbot replied.
"…But is it really righteous to seal others outside, continuing on living but the rest of them crumble into dust?" Flare responds, a bit angry.
Talbot didn't say anything. He is just looking down.
"I'm sorry…" he apologized again, but this time, he bowed down.
Flare was flustered when she saw that and immediately told Talbot to just talk to her normally.
"…Where are we?" she asked.
"You're at one my houses, a few kilometers away from Crayton Settlement."
She kept on looking around and remembered the huge living room she stumbled upon when she tried to escape before.
"…You must be tired, how about you get some more rest. We'll go back to…" Talbot exclaimed, but Flare interrupted him halfway.
"I don't want to go back," she replied.
The room turned silent for a while.
"…Pardon?"
"I don't want to meet with those two again…but I don't want to go back home either," she said.
"…Well, where would you go?" he asked.
Flare turned silent.
"Where would you go?" he asked again.
"You don't look like you have any money or…don't tell me you're not innocent anymore?!" Talbot joked and received a pillow to the face.
However, what he said was true. Before, almost everything is provided to her by Boyd and Weiss, but if she walked all by herself, she would definitely be at a crossroads. Suddenly, she just jumped out of her bed and faced Talbot, who was stunned to see her doing that.
"Uncle Talbot!" she called.
"…Yes?" he weirdly replied.
"Please, spar with me!" Flare bowed her head.
A princess, bowing down to a judicator. This time, Talbot is the one who panicked and told her to raise her head. However, her head is still down, and her hands are gripping tighter than ever. As much as she would like to run away from both Weiss and Boyd and what she had seen, there is no way of denying that she is weak, in mind, body, and spirit. Weiss knew that and he just slammed it into her. Compared to Weiss, she knows that even if they were both of the same gender, she would lose to Weiss. The fight with The Executioner proved it. The Husks are another testament to her weakness.
She couldn't bring herself to kill a mindless human under the pretense that it would disturb her moral code. Now, she only wants one thing. She wanted to be stronger, to prove to Weiss that she will be stronger, stronger than he could ever be. She already learned the basics of her arcane abilities, now, she wanted to focus on the basics of swordplay. She felt two hands touching her shoulders and pulling her up. Talbot is looking at her as if he wanted to inspect something. She knows that Uncle Talbot is not that good with swordsmanship, but his magic ability will compensate for that.
"…"
Flare's eyes are looking at Talbot's, filled with resolve.
"…"
However, Talbot sure is taking his sweet time.
"…Hmm…."
"…"
"You're Princess Flare Edwen, aren't you?" he asked and received a pillow to his face.
* * * * *
"Are you really sure that you want to get her back?" Boyd asked, holding something in his hand.
"…Well, like it or not, that's the job that we are hired to do. Didn't you teach me that?" Weiss replied.
Boyd just chuckled.
The two of them are far away from Crayton Settlement, with smiling faces just like when they came there, not a dent in their conviction or personality. However, it's clear that Weiss is tired, judging by his eyes which looked like they bulged outwards from his face. Boyd is still walking forward, leading Weiss…while drinking coffee. Weiss laughed before looking down at the ground, lamenting something that he did.
Boyd noticed it, but he chose to do nothing. His two great-swords are still in their scabbards which are attached to his back, but there are stains of dried blood on his hands and some more dots of it on the plating of his arms. After some time, Boyd just sighed and turned his head to face Weiss.
"What's on your mind?" he asked.
Weiss is silent.
"Hmm…mmm…"
"…Mmm…Mmm…"
"Oh! You must've missed teasing her, don't you? Like that one time when we were in the Elven kingdom with that other girl!" Boyd teased.
His accuracy surprised Weiss. His bulging eyes almost popped out as he fretted.
"…Don't worry we'll get back to your damsel in distress soon, okay, potato?" Boyd teased again and dashed forward when Weiss began chasing him.
"It's not like that, and don't ever call me potato again!" Weiss yelled.
However, despite being irritated, amidst the running session, Weiss smiled.
"…"
"As expected…but it is still weird," Weiss said to himself as he is chasing Boyd.
"How'd he run so fast in that armor?!"
Meanwhile, back at Talbot's house, Flare is already on the ground, with several injuries on her arms and face. In front of her are 4 golems, each of them representing an element except for air. There is a stack of wooden swords near the wall, next to Talbot who is standing there, watching Flare train. He threw his cigarette to the ground and walked until he is behind the golems. Once she saw this, Flare immediately used her wooden sword to push herself back up.
Despite Talbot advising her to end the brutal training session, Flare rejected it and pushed him to continue. Her hands are shaking, which was clear since the wooden sword is also shaking. Without a doubt, she is tired, but right now, it is as if she is pushing herself to be stronger. Talbot warned her not to overdo it, but she kept on telling him that she could do more.
"Ready?" Talbot asked, slightly concerned.
Since the training started, it was more like a beating compared to training. The four golems looked like it was too hard for Flare to be keeping up since she will just keep getting injured. However, despite how it seems, Talbot is actually serious about it. At first, he went easy on Flare, but it turns out to his surprise that Flare managed to destroy one of his golems with magic chants. He asked Flare when she learned magic, but Flare didn't reply. She just told him that she did it all by herself when she was locked inside the tower. Since she won the first round, ever since that, Talbot turned serious and used his golems more aggressively. Of course, Flare ended up getting injured but he felt that he might scar her pride if he doesn't do it.
"…Think, he preferably uses summoning, which most probably is his primary trait. From the looks of it, he also knows a bit of energy manipulation since he combines the golems with elemental magic," Flare thought in her mind as she nodded.
With Flare's consent, Talbot begins the next round of training. The first golem to commence the attack is the heavy earth golem. It jumped high into the sky before slamming its two oversized arms to the ground. Flare quickly sidestepped to the left, avoiding the attack. The water golem followed up, lunging forward with tremendous speed after releasing pressurized water from its legs. Again, Flare evaded it, but the water golem immediately shoots a jet of pressurized water from its arms.
Somehow, Flare managed to push herself away by knocking the wooden sword to the ground. When she is about to regain her steps, the fire golem tried to slash her with a sword engulfed in flames. Flare dodged the first attack and parried the next with her wooden sword. The storm golem who was standing behind the others created some kind of orb which hovered above their heads. The orbs shoot zaps of lightning as Flare dodges and block the other golems attacking her. As she continues dodging all of the attacks, Flare immediately saw an opening that leads straight to Talbot who is standing behind all four golems.
"…Focus your mind, imagine anything that might make you focus…" she remembered Boyd's advice.
In all honesty, she is exhausted, and there is a probable explanation for it. When she first used her powers when fighting The Executioner, her body was hurting everywhere. At that time, she complained to Boyd. Boyd then explained that it is maybe because her circuits are suddenly used, which is quite common despite being activated. Boyd managed to fix the pain but reminded her to not overdo it. However, he did add that she can if she wants, but she has to accept the consequences when the time comes. That advice continues to linger inside her head despite being separated.
"…Perhaps imagine something, like, two bears fighting for a piece of fish?" the rest of Boyd's advice came to her.
"No, no, that's way out of context," Flare shook her head.
Immediately, during that split second when all three golems are targeting her, she imagines something inside her mind. Water. She is imagining water flowing through a chain of small pipes, circulating around. In each corner, water flows despite the twist and turns. That is what she imagines her circuit is like. The image of her arcane powers that flow throughout her circuits is like water helps her focus, and at that instant, the circuits inside her arm began to glow faintly.
Obviously, since it was the first time he saw it, Talbot is surprised, and his legs are pinned to the ground. Without a chant, this time, mana is channeled into her body, and directly to her legs. Right after that, a concentrated gush of wind appeared and pushed her as she lunged toward Talbot, gradually increasing her speed. Talbot was not prepared for it and is immediately caught off-guard. Flare's lunge made her breakthrough all four golems, leaving a direct strike on Talbot. Once she is in range, immediately, she swings her wooden sword directly at Talbot's face, with determination on hers.
"…Edwen, you would be proud…" he whispered to himself as Flare is swinging her sword while mid-air.
"The only way to take out a summon is by taking out the summoner!" Flare said to herself.
The wooden sword is swung with full force and hits Talbot in the face. He was thrown two meters backward and crashed to the ground. However, despite getting a direct hit, the golems are still there, and they continue to attack Flare. She kept dodging left and right, evading the attacks as she dashes towards Talbot as he is standing up.
Then, suddenly, she stopped when Talbot raised his hand, signaling a defeat. Immediately after that, once the golems vanish, Flare just stumbled backward onto the ground, lying flat and exhausted. She punched the air as a sign of success.
"You've grown stronger, Princess. Your father would be proud," Talbot praised her.
Flare just turned her head and faced Talbot.
"…I'm not sure that is not a nice thing to say to a girl, Uncle Talbot," Flare replied, catching her breath.
"So, you've already learned to jest. That also is progress worth praising, Your Highness," Talbot jested.
Talbot then stood up and offered his hand to Flare, who is still lying down on the ground.
"It's getting late, Princess Flare. You should clean yourself, while I get dinner ready. We'll figure out what to do tomorrow after that," Talbot suggested with a warm smile.
Flare just smiled back and took his hand.
Hours pass, and now the moonlight begins shining on the land as nature takes control. In the forest, there's only one house that is lit up in the darkness. Inside, the sounds of someone cooking can be heard. There are 4 people guarding the house against the outside, but without a doubt, their stomachs are rumbling. Talbot called them in first and let them take a break. Talbot treated them with some broth and told them that they can continue eating after he and Princess Flare had eaten dinner. He also told them not to worry since he will cook a lot too.
The guards just smiled and ate the broth with a smile, which brought hope to Flare. The sounds of people laughing and joking with each other are something that she hasn't seen for a while. After a few minutes when she finished dressing up, she went down and is greeted by Talbot.
"…Pipe down your gasket, dinner is there," Talbot laughed.
"I'm starving!" Flare sat on the chair and immediately gobbled up the food.
Talbot is just looking with his eyes popping open while smiling.
"Imagine the surprise if someone sees this…" he chuckled.
There's meat, chicken, and mixed potatoes on the table, everything that Flare could ask for. To her, Talbot's food that he cooked is number 2, just behind her biological mother. When she took a bite of the mashed potato, she moaned in pleasure when the mushy, sweet, mashed potatoes. It could be said that she is in heaven. She took the grilled chicken and ate it, and again…moans. Talbot just laughed as he sees this, but he is smiling with joy. However, Flare did notice something on his face. It may be women's intuition, but since she woke up, Talbot has some kind of…burden, or regret on his face. It's not something that he did in the past, rather…it probably occurred when she was sleeping. She didn't dare to ask about it since she doesn't want to pry into his private life.
"Flare, I'm going to the river to get some water. Don't finish all the food, okay?" he teased her.
"…You, meanie!" she retorted.
Once she heard the house's front door close, Flare reminds herself what happened to Talbot back when she was a teen. As far as she recalls, both his wife and daughter left him by himself. She remembered watching Talbot eating alone in the dining hall. Flare did try to cheer him up by buying him sweets, which always made him smile.
Talbot doesn't talk to anyone for a week until he just shows up one day with a smile. Some say that he'd receive a letter of reconciliation with his wife, which made him stand back up again. However, all of that is in the past now. Right now, her Uncle Talbot is sitting with her again, having dinner. She couldn't be happier.
"Eh…?"
Suddenly, her body just…froze. Flare tried to grip her fingers together, but she failed.
"…I can't…move…"
Her head fell to the table, and slowly, her vision faded. Everything is slowly turning black. Then, she heard the door open, and several footsteps began approaching her. The voices are slowly turning muffled, but she could still piece it together.
"…I don't get what the boss is telling us. Look at this brat, she's helpless here!"
"The boss said so, didn't you see that training? She managed to win against him!"
"Anyway, remember what he said."
She felt something grabbing both her legs and arms, but she still couldn't move, or call for help.
"My, my…look at that body…"
"I don't think the boss would mind if we took a bit of extra, doesn't he?"
For a moment, a flash of Flare's memories appeared in her mind. She couldn't recall it completely, unsure of why her own memory would be so cloudy. But she could figure out a few things. She could see the dirt, with water from the river rapids nearby splashing on her face. She could taste the soil-y earth in her mouth as her beaten body lay flat on the ground. In the corner of her eye, she could see a man, untangling his trousers as he stares at her, ravishingly. As if his eyes are looking at her body, akin to a predator looking at a meal. But then…nothing. She could not recall what happened next.
"(What was that)?" she asks herself before her inner thoughts were blown away by the sound of Talbot speaking very sternly to the two guards.
"You do anything, and you'll live long enough to be a cripple before I kill you…"
"!!!"
The last voice…she recognizes it. In that instant, everything inside her mind just went blank. She couldn't piece two to two together anymore. Instead, there is only confusion, anger…and sorrow.
"Why…U..n…?"
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--Image--
https://ibb.co/Hd4nkyV - Flare, moments before she passes out
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