The flight of stairs is long and high. The thick mists prevent anyone from seeing anything far away, making the ascendency more difficult. The cool, thin air further triples the difficulty, but Flare is dashing to reach the top for some reason. Her ragged and erratic breathing does not stop her, nor are the bruises around her entire body. There are cuts that go along with the bruises, but one thing is for sure. There is no one following her back. No one is joining her journey, and she does not seem to care, despite the brief sad expression on her face as she runs upwards. She ran and ran, and ran, and ran, before finally seeing the summit, where a man was waiting for him. The man seems to be wearing a set of armor.
Pointed greaves protect the lower legs, and the upper legs are fully covered with armor. The breastplate is made from one large piece of metal with an ornamental carving at the center. The breastplate is attached to faulds covering both sides, exposing the front and back. The shoulders are rounded and quite large. The upper arms are protected by pointed, half-covering rerebraces, which sit perfectly under the square shoulder plates. The lower arms are covered by vambraces, which have a masterfully crafted dragon's head attached on both outer sides. However, the most appealing thing about the person's armor is that he is wearing a torn, burnt, white fur cape and that he is wearing something pointy on his head.
As Flare approaches the figure, she notices that the constitution does not even bother to turn around and look at her in the eyes. However, as she got closer, it seemed like the figure had noticed her presence. As the figure slowly turns around, Flare notices traces of hair around the man's lip, indicating he just shaved. Then, as the figure turns around and faces Flare, the princess stops in her tracks. The sword in her hand drops onto the floor and crashes downwards on the flight of stairs that she came from. She blinks and rubs her eyes more than twice to make sure of the figure standing in front of her. His purple eyes were the same as hers. He has blonde hair, also the same as hers. The difference between the two is that, whereas Flare has nothing on her head, the person in armor standing before her has a crown—the Crown of the Kingdom of Whitefall.
"D-D-Dad-…" she cries out and smiles, jumping towards him.
Suddenly, the ground underneath her crumbles downwards, taking her along. The stairs behind her came crashing down, leaving only a tall pillar where the person in armor stood. Flare cries in terror as she takes a quick way down before suddenly she feels something holding her hand. The whiplash jerked her body, but she survived the fall and now hangs to the walls. She looked back up and saw another man in armor, holding her with his broken arm caused by the whiplash, with a piece of his bone protruding from his skin. She knows the man, but his armor is different now for some reason. It is rusted and reeks the stench of dried blood, but the soft, gentle grab made her feel…safe.
…..
Flare jerks forward and gasps in shock. It took a while before she realized it was just a dream, and Flare was in her room. She turned around and saw a man in armor sleeping soundly beside her. What is more puzzling is that she saw peculiar wild plants at the table beside him. They had been finely grounded into a paste. One was already distilled into liquid and had traces inside a wooden cup. Then, Flare noticed her left arm was warm and realized that her left arm was dipped into warm water.
"…You're up…" Boyd mumbles inside his helm.
Flare chooses to remain silent at first. Suddenly, Boyd panicked and hid the distilled liquid and the wooden cup. This made Flare feel awkward and out of place, but then she noticed one thing as she spun her left arm around.
"My arm…it's…healed?" she mutters in confusion.
"You lost your arm, failed to bring down your enemy, and have reduced to such a state…" Flare suddenly hears anger and fury in Boyd's voice.
Flare just looked down, still silent.
SLAP!
"You still call yourself the next monarch?!" Boyd shouts.
"Have some honor!"
She instantly feels a hard, stinging pain on her left cheek. She looks at Boyd, angry and puzzled. Her right hand is already tightly clenched. She wanted to yell at him, but the words stuck in her throat for some reason. She saw Boyd shaking, and it felt wrong to say anything. Boyd gently grabbed her arm and put it in front of him, resting his helm on it.
"You fool…you damn fool!" he murmurs sorrowfully.
The two of them just remained like that for a few minutes.
…..
"I'd aligned your bones together and healed it, but I let the bruises and cuts be," Boyd states, pouring Flare a cup of tea.
He hands it to her, and Flare awkwardly accepts. Her movements are stiff, which indicates that, for some reason, despite being mostly healed, she is uncomfortable with Boyd.
"…I didn't know you were a healer," Flare tries to break the ice, slurping the cup of tea.
"…"
"…This tea is delicious!" Flare thought in her head.
"I was a Healer back in my days as a soldier," Boyd answers.
"…Huh?"
"Shut up."
"I didn't say anything," Flare teases.
"…And I said shut up," Boyd chuckles.
"So, how do healers work, anyway?" Flare opens one topic after another.
"Healers normally use their magic powers not specifically to heal a wound but to regenerate cells and tissues inside the living organism. Say, your arm broke. Healers would use their powers to promote tissue growth by regenerating dead cells. A process that would require months can be finished in a few hours. Of course, tissue may be inflamed, so I used warm water to apply heat to relieve the muscle strain," Boyd simplifies how the process of healing works.
"…Impressive, why aren't you a medicine man?" Flare asks.
"Who said I wasn't?" Boyd responds.
This puzzled Flare as she stared at him with a mixed face.
"…"
"The 2nd Hunter Squad, led by Brian Everett, the only medicine man in the division," Boyd adds.
He noticed the subtle step Flare was taking before she wanted to ask more personal questions.
"I am sure you have plenty of questions, and I will try to answer them all truthfully," he adds gently, looking at Flare.
"…"
In the last few days, Flare hoped she could bash Boyd's head with a brick for what she had seen. However, after several days of his disappearance, she decides to hold the rage back, which surprises Boyd.
"What did you do during that time?" Flare asks her first question.
"…"
"Mmm…mmm…"
* * * * *
1 year earlier, at the dawn of the Demon War…
"Success here is a matter of perspective. Battles cannot measure it won, or land claimed, gentlemen."
"I am here to offer you freedom, to wage the war that must be done to win this war."
"What we will do is dirty and tough, but it will speed an end to this war and safeguard our kingdom," an elf wearing elven-made armor announces to the soldiers inside the tent.
"Major Walker," the elf calls out Walker.
The bearded man steps forward and observes the 22 handpicked soldiers from the entire Cantor.
"You were handpicked because you were the best at what you do. Inter-unit, nobility, and racial rivalry have no place here. Farmer, noble, baron, soldier, I don't give a damn about it. This is who we are now. This is Hunter Squad, 2nd Division," Major Walker reveals the squad name.
"The demons, our enemies, operate without regard to honor or rules, so neither will we. Our mission is simple. We capture, interrogate, and execute high-value targets. With the combined efforts between us and the elves, we will find and exploit their weakness. Are we clear?" he adds.
"Sound like some kind of spy-ish," a man whispers to Boyd.
"Do we have a problem with it?" the elf asks.
"…Not if the King doesn't," Boyd answers.
The elf smiles, nodding a few times.
"They are fine with it. I'm the only authority you will need. I point, you execute," the elf responds confidently.
"Everett and Wolfe are team leaders. They will post the assignments. Any questions?" Major Walker asks.
Wolfe quickly raises his hand partway.
"Sir…does this mean the bard's not coming?" Wolfe asks, and the whole tent just chuckles.
"Moses kept on asking about it," the Orc joked, pointing at his second face.
See, Wolfe is an Orc, perhaps the only Orc mad enough to register and fight under the banner of humans. Despite his physical prowess and orc demeanor, what separates Wolfe from other orcs is his light brown skin, similar to a human. He lacks a pair of oversized tusks, his bald head, and a medium-long, rugged beard extending from his chin until it touches his mustache. One look and people might think him for a sage. Moreover, Wolfe has a Craniofacial Duplication complication, where he has two faces instead of one. He told the others how he got his second, smaller face attached to the left side of his cheek when Demons first emerged underground, carrying unknown magic to decimate the entire Orc kingdom. Although people joke about it, Wolfe is a friendly Orc to be around, probably because he does not care for that second face and even jokes about it. He even named his second face Moses, which can crack almost anyone into laughter.
"Jackass…" Boyd smirks.
"What? Moses and I are more than head-twins. We are two halves of the same Orc. That's why my previous superiors told me I was special. Right off the bat, they said it-."
"Twice the intellectual prowess. Twice the ferocity and twice the intimidating yet handsome visage," he joked, which cracked everyone.
If Boyd didn't know him better, he would say that Wolfe is just fooling around. However, facing an entirely new enemy with no actual leverage, it is understandable for anyone to be nervous. Luckily, that is where Wolfe comes in. The two-face Orc is successfully easing everyone's nerves with his Moses jokes.
"Everett. Wolfe. I need you gentlemen for a five-minute briefing," Walker calls the two of them.
While the two eat a few biscuits as a light snack, Boyd makes some small talk.
"How are the twins, Wolfe?" he asks.
"Crazy cute, Everett," the man smiles.
"…Still, two years since we met, you never change your armor, huh?" Wolfe jests.
"The last time we shared drinks in a tavern, the women slept with you. It is for the best. Everyone has been ignoring you and hitting on me. Let's not change that," Boyd responds, and the two of them laugh.
"Though I doubt Moses would be your wingman this time," Boyd joked, and the two of them laughed.
"Believe it or not, my wife supports me, even if I have a second face."
"When I heard you settled down and got twins, and then you have two faces, I was perplexed as to which one I should be laughing about," Boyd jokes again.
Wolfe snorts, holding back his laughter.
"Why Everett, though?" Wolfe asks.
"Everett means strong as a wild boar. Figured it would strike as a soldier name," Boyd replies.
"How about that kid you're training, 'Weiss,' isn't it?"
"Sent him for some training. Can't give him much time to rest," Boyd answers.
"Who's the asshole now?" Wolfe jokes.
The two laughed before Major Walker and the elf came in to brief them. They laid a map for them to see.
"This water terrain behind the hamlet prevents any land support from the Demons. We are going to split into two. Everett, your team will be ambushed from the river, and Wolfe's team will attack from the front. Once both teams are in position, we will hit the hamlet," Walker briefs them about the plan.
"No support?" Wolfe asks while glancing at Boyd, unsure of the plan.
Boyd shakes his head once.
"This is a covert mission, soldier. Support will negate that."
"What are we going to do?" Boyd asks.
The two men turn silent for a few seconds when Boyd asks that question.
"We will apprehend all of them and find their weakness. Once they are, carry their corpses to this rendezvous point, where our specialists cut them open," the elf answers.
"What does that mean?" Wolfe asks seriously.
However, the elf does not answer.
"What do we know about the hamlet?" Boyd changes the awkward situation.
"A civilian gave the information. He said that some bandits allied with the Demons had taken over the hamlet and kidnapped women and children to be handed over to the Demons," Major Walker replies.
"Do we know his name?" Boyd asks.
"No. You two will have control as he finds no way to contact him. Discretion is advised," the major adds.
"Dust-off at 2200. Now, get out of here," the significant orders, slightly irritated by the questions.
…..
The room is littered with bodies, blood, and weapons. The new colors decorated the once-brown space. The smell of blood overpowered the scent of wood that had previously dominated the room before the attack. The sounds of fighting and screams of dying have subsided, and now the soldiers are dragging all the dead human and demon bodies one by one to the rendezvous point. It is a scene so grim that no survivor would forget. Boyd enters the room and discovers a man sitting at the center with his back facing him. The man wears different clothes than his and Wolfe's unit just slaughtered.
"Are you the informant?" Boyd asks.
He replied with silence.
"Get a hold of yourself! Are you hurt? Everything is fine now!" Boyd circles and kneels in front of the informant to reassure him.
"We've taken care of the mongrels! Can you stand?" Boyd assures the informant, putting his hand on his shoulder.
Suddenly, Boyd just froze. His hands are shaking, and he is shocked at what he sees.
"…A-A-Aurelio, is that you?" Boyd asks.
The informant did not reply and stayed silent.
"Aurelio! Hey, it's me! It's E-…" Boyd shakes the man with a slight joy in his tone.
However, before he could finish, the informant growls and, without warning, lunges towards him.
* * * * *
Back in the present
"The man had turned into a Husk before I arrived," Boyd explains.
Flare is shocked to hear it but further questions Boyd about the details.
"…What happened to him?" she asks.
"I don't know!" Boyd suddenly raises his voice, shocking Flare.
"Sorry…"
Boyd regains his composure.
"I don't know what happened to him."
"I do know that before he turned, Aurelio and the other residents were forced to comply with the bandits subjected as slaves to both. Fearing the safety of his daughter, he sent his daughter away to fish at sea before the bandits' occupation," Boyd explains.
"How did you know that?"
"It was written inside his journal," Boyd answers.
This struck Flare as odd.
"You have his journal; then why don't you know why?" Flare asks.
"Why what?" Boyd retorts, looking away.
Noticing Boyd's uncomfortableness, she decides to change to another question.
"What happened to the bodies?" she asks.
"…"
Boyd does not answer that question. Instead, he looks away and remains silent.
"…We…"
"We carved their organs out to exploit their weakness," Boyd answers straightly.
Flare's eyes popped out, shocked by the answer.
"We got the information and relayed it to the kingdom. With that information, humans swiftly won the war before ending it with a peace treaty," Boyd attempts to justify his actions.
"…"
Flare could not even say anything. She remains there, silent.
"War brings out the best and the worst in men," Boyd quotes.
"What's 'best'?"
"…I don't know," Boyd replies, unsure.
However, there is something that has been bothering Flare for a while. She had been thinking about it for quite some time, but she could not get the thought out.
"Something has been bothering me, though…," she mutters.
"What?"
"You giving a kid 1000 gold coins, despite our current financial situation…"
"I am a generous person," Boyd jests.
"You did not even buy Cellica anything when you first met," Flare debunks.
"You are referring to Aurelio by his name instead of just…an informant when you told me you noticed that it was him…," she adds, finally realizing what she was trying to ask.
"…You know him, don't you?" Flare asks, with her eyes wide open with surprise, even though Boyd has not answered her question yet.
"…"
Flare remains silent, waiting for an answer. Unfortunately, Boyd also stays silent despite her unblinking facial expression.
"Who is Marcia to you?" Flare asks, changing the question despite it being similar.
"…"
The man sighs and remains silent for a while.
"You can come in now!" Boyd suddenly announces.
The door to Flare's room opened slowly, and Weiss came in.
"Did you win?"
"Of course, I won."
"Good…"
"…"
Boyd's futile attempt to change the topic ended poorly.
"Well?" Weiss asks, looking at Boyd with his arms crossed.
Boyd looked at Weiss, then turned to Flare, who was still looking at him. Realizing that there is no way out for him, Boyd sighs and rubs the front side of his helmet.
"…She's my friend's daughter," Boyd answers.
Flare and Weiss did not even blink, as if both of them already knew that or were at least too tired to be surprised.
"At this point, nothing shocks me anymore," Flare mumbles, rubbing her eyes.
"Same here…" Weiss mutters, although his eyes prove otherwise.
"Listen to me, both of you," Boyd calls them.
The two of them focused on Boyd.
"You can mark me all you want about a pain in the back, but…"
"Please…"
"Don't. Tell. Her," Boyd tells them while pointing his finger at them both.
The answer…puzzles the two of them. If anything, the two of them are glad that Boyd was allegedly in the right of things. If Marcia knew about it, there would be no doubt that the girl would not pursue him for further vengeance. Flare thought it was peculiar to hear Boyd say that.
"You intend on settling this problem alone?" Weiss asks.
"Of course, I do, just like you wanting to settle your problems alone," Boyd retorts, pricking Weiss's pressure point.
"After what she saw, there will be no doubt that will…break down, back what happened during that op," Boyd justifies.
"Break down how?"
"Try flayed to the raw nerve because that is what happened. Nasty those memories, nobody would want to remember all that. Believe me," Boyd answers Flare's petty questions, focusing directly on her.
Although he is wearing a helmet, Flare could tell there is anger in his eyes.
"…I've already told you too much," Boyd tries to end the conversation.
"I'm afraid you cannot end it that partway, Uncle Boyd," Weiss nudges himself into the conversation.
"Why? Because the two of you persist on knowing the truth?"
"We deserve to know, old man," Weiss defends Flare, which surprised Flare.
Boyd looks at the two of them. Flare nods and clasps her hands together as if she is praying.
"…"
"Huh…"
After he sighs, Boyd again looks at both of them in the eye.
"…She was…not go out catching prawns that day," Boyd mutters.
Flare and Weiss remained silent.
"After I…killed Aurelio, she just came out dashing from out of the house before a soldier from my squad attacked the kid."
"Marcia's eyes were burnt, and meat spilled out of it. The place where her face used to be," Boyd reveals the grim details of the ambush.
"I…uh…dragged her body out to a…boat and crossed to the other side."
"She still had a pulse, so I…started healing her face and all the damaged organs."
"…And the soldier?"
"I killed him."
Flare choked when she heard that.
"…But, how come she does not remember this happening?"
"I mean, why doesn't she remember you saving and healing her back to life?" Flare asks.
"…I…uh…instructed one of my soldiers who can use telekinesis to make her forget about it."
"You whitewashed her memory?" Weiss inquires.
"Better to forget what you saw that day than remember one simple detail. I also whitewashed any memory she had about anything about her husked father."
"…Aren't you just trying to silence it so Marcia does not know her father husked out?"
"That's not it."
"Do you think that is the right decision?" Flare asks.
"I don't know how close you two were or the stuff he did, but do you believe that shouldering the sin and covering up what he did is best for her, best for you?" she asks again.
Boyd remains silent for a while, just gazing into the space.
"Some things can only be seen through the eyes of a tainted person. Murder, sex, bribery, it doesn't matter what are they tainted off."
"Her father died during a war and did his best to defend his daughter alone after his wife went missing. Imagine the impact alone when you figure out he had Husked."
"Now, the daughter is getting revenge for her father."
"…"
"As long as she considers me an enemy, she will stay clean."
"That's all there is to it. Are you happy?" Boyd finishes, looking at his two 'potatoes.'
Before the two of them could say anything, Boyd grabbed all the herbs he made and walked out, not leaving any chance for them to say anything. Weiss approaches the window next to Flare's bed. Flare, having weird thoughts, tries to kick him away. Weiss smacks the leg out and places his face on the window bars.
"…"
"That old man is an idiot," Weiss grunts.
Flare looks at him and understands. Despite Boyd's good intentions, that means that he is selfish. He took it to himself, decided Marcia's fate, and prevented her from moving on. Or so she thought…
"He made the little kid cry in the end," Weiss clicks his tongue.
Flare is puzzled by this and pushes herself up. Despite her current injury, she only felt minor pain in her left arm. When she presses her face to the bars, she notices a little girl sitting outside the cottage with her back on the wall. With a bandana covering both her eyes, the pink-haired girl just sat there, sobbing alone.
"Were you holding it back the whole time?" Weiss asks gently.
"Were you forcing yourself to be quiet the entire time?"
"You probably wanted to stop and thank him."
"You probably want to apologize."
"You probably want to smack him in the face for lying."
"…But you stayed silent for his sake?"
"You did not have a choice but to stay there, not saying a word, out of respect for his feelings?"
"Marcia…?" Flare thought.
"You don't need to cry."
"There is no need to thank or apologize, that silly old man," Weiss consoles Marcia through Flare's window.
"Just try to kill him the next time you see him. He will be happier that way," he adds.
"You don't have to worry. That old man won't die until you've gotten your revenge on him."
"So come on in…" Weiss stretches his arm through the bar, extending it to Marcia, who is still sobbing.
"Oi…"
Weiss looks at Flare.
"I hate to ruin your macho moment, but wouldn't it be easier if you just walk out and extend a helping hand there," Flare states, and ruins the moment.