Somewhere in a city not far from a forest near the national border, a boy sat
with his chin in his hands and a bored look on his face in the dining room of
a little inn. Sulking, he muttered, "Ugh, I wanted to go to the castle city. I
wanted to see the Festival of Aetea."
"Is it the three hundred and forty-second Festival of Aetea this year?
Yes, that's too bad," a woman sitting at the same table as the innkeeper's
son responded with a smile. She'd been a guest of the tavern for two days
now. The black-haired woman sipped at her water as she listened to him.
The boy went on. "They took me last year and everything, too. Have
you ever been, miss?"
"I have. I've even lived in the castle city."
"Aww, I'm so jealous… I wanna live there when I'm older," said the
boy.
His mother in the kitchen overheard him and shouted back, "Don't be
ridiculous!"
Automatically, the boy flinched.
The woman broke into peals of laughter. Once she was done, she
grinned. "Instead of the festival, how about I tell you a very old, very
fascinating story?"
"What kind of old story?"
"It's an ancient legend passed down in Farsas about a king and a witch."
The boy stared at the woman's red lips, which were stretched in a
beautiful smile. Though he gaped at her for a moment, he took the bait right
away. "Do witches really exist? I thought they were a myth."
"They did, a long time ago, though no one knows where they are now."
"What? No way that's true. How does the story go?"
The woman's expression turned bewitching. And with a melodious tone,
she recited the tale.
"Once upon a time, in the land to the west of Farsas, there stood an
azure tower just beyond the border. The spire was filled with traps and
monsters, and a witch lived on the top floor. Those who made it past all her
trials and climbed to the top would be granted a wish. However, none had
succeeded at the challenge in dozens of years."
"Wow. Is the tower still there?"
"Not anymore. It was old and dangerous. Anyway, a prince of Farsas
became interested in the tower and climbed it alone, though it was very
foolish of him. But he was powerful and made it to the top floor, where he
met the witch…"
Such fairy tales were commonplace, yet the boy's eyes sparkled as he
pressed the woman to continue.
She closed her eyes and smiled as she launched into the next part.
"First, he asked to duel the witch to test his strength."
"Wow! Who won?"
"The witch beat him handily, of course. She flattened him into a
pancake."
"Yikes…"
That was an unexpected twist. The boy had been expecting a traditional
tale of valor, and he hung his head in disappointment.
The woman giggled and waved a hand comfortingly as she went on.
"The prince was strong nonetheless, so for his wish, he requested that the
witch train him. Reluctantly, the witch accepted. Before long, he became as
strong as the witch. By the time the prince was king…the witch had fallen
in love with him."
"What?! Are you joking?!"
"I'm very serious. Then the witch moved out of the tower and married
him. The Farsas royal family carries their blood to this day."
"I—I don't believe that. I mean, she's a witch! Wasn't she all wrinkly?"
the boy objected, which made the woman burst out laughing.
"You should ask your history teacher," she advised. "This story is fairly
well-known."
"It is? Okay, then I'll ask tomorrow."
The woman nodded and took a sip from her glass. Her unique eyes, the
color of darkness, caught the light of the candles and sparkled.
Then a voice boomed from the doorway to the dining room, "Tinasha!
What are you doing playing around? It's time to go."
"Oh, right. Sorry," answered the woman, tying her long black hair back
in a ponytail as she stood and headed to join her companion at the door.
While she looked to be around twenty, her male companion appeared
sixteen or seventeen. He was a handsome young man with deep brown hair
and eyes the color of bright twilight. Tall and dressed in traveler's garb, he
carried a longsword at his waist, and a little red dragon was perched on his
shoulder.
His features were fine indeed, though they lacked the slightest hint of
adolescence. For someone so young, he spoke with an oddly grown-up tone
of voice and possessed a dignity beyond his years. Despite resembling a
teenager, he already seemed a mature young man. His behavior and attitude
betrayed that he was quite a capable fighter and that he was of high lineage.
The people of the inn had believed at first that he and the beautiful
black-haired woman were brother and sister, but they didn't look alike at
all, and there was a strange magnetism between them.
The young man set down an amount of money that covered their lodging
fees and then some. "Thanks for the hospitality."
The inn proprietress came out from the kitchen and bowed to her
departing guests.
Her son did the same. "See you, miss. Thanks for the story." He waved
as he watched the woman follow her companion and depart.
The proprietress narrowed her eyes, puzzling. "That sword… Never
mind, it couldn't be. I saw the king carrying it just last year."
"What? I wanna see the king, too!" her son whined.
"Next year, dear. Next year," she placated before returning to the
kitchen.
Dusk had arrived, and the sun was sinking into the horizon. As the clear
blue sky transformed into night, a pale azure moon rose in the sky. Gazing
up at it, the boy huffed out a sulky sigh.
The pair left the inn and made their way outside the town. Lights began to
shine from the windows of village homes, and the woman admired the
view. The man grinned at her. "That was quite the tale you told back there."
"You heard that?! It isn't nice to eavesdrop, you know!"
"Lots of stuff happened after we got married, too. Don't cut the story off
so soon."
"All of that is recorded for posterity in the castle archives. Old fairy
tales don't need to be completely accurate," she responded with a giggle.
He gave her a fond look before he remembered something else. "Who
did you say flattened who into a pancake again?"
"Ow, ow, ow!"
"I'll flatten you right now!" he growled, pressing fists against her
temples.
"I went too far! I'm sorry!" she cried, begging for mercy. Once he
released her, she rubbed at her head, teary-eyed.
He stuck his tongue out at her. "Well, I suppose it's the truth. But I
wouldn't lose now."
"I look forward to finding out," she replied with a grin.
"I'm ready whenever you are," he returned, nodding in satisfaction. But
as he glanced down at himself, an annoyed look stole across his handsome
features. "It's just hard to use a body that's not fully grown yet. Yeah, it's
nice that we can be reborn when the world commands it or whatever, but
it's a hassle right now."
Their souls could not dissolve back into the world, even upon death.
Such was the gift bequeathed to them by the world, to use them after their
transformation into foreign entities. After they perished, it would only take
a few decades before they obtained new bodies. They would search for
babies that had lost their souls before birth, and they would take their forms
to be reborn.
Ahead of them was a war with no end in sight.
To erase all outside interference in the world, they tracked down
outsiders' artifacts and destroyed them. These two were the weapons of that
fight.
Such a long journey would likely take them beyond the mainland. They
would cross the sea, move into new time periods, and keep trying.
No one could say how long it would take to end. But that was the task
the world had assigned them. The pair were artifacts in the shape of people,
crafted from transformed souls.
Someday, their truly eternal destiny might become unbearable.
Each time one witnessed the death of the other, the grief and loss might
wear away at their psyche a little more.
But they were perfectly happy for the moment, because neither was
alone.
The woman explained matter-of-factly, "Our physical bodies appear to
be designed to stop growing naturally at the age when we are most fit for
battle. Essentially, we're young forever. Although if it bothers you, I can
use magic to age you up a little."
"It's fine. I'll only have to bear with it for a few more years."
At that, the woman happily latched on to his arm. "I like seeing you at
this age. It's fresh and new, which makes it fun."
"If you enjoy it, then I suppose it's worthwhile."
"I'd like to see you even littler, too. I'm sure you were adorable. Oh, but
don't die on me anymore. I was so lonely waiting for you…"
A shadow abruptly passed over her dark eyes. She tightened her hold on
his arm, seeming anxious.
To reassure her, the man smiled. "Understood. I'll be careful. In
exchange, you're not allowed to go out on solo missions. You always get
some mortal injury or another right away."
"What's a bit of an injury if I still win?"
"I don't know if I would consider 'riddled with holes all over your body
to be a bit of an injury," he responded dryly, sounding entirely unamused.
She gazed up at him raptly. In a voice as clear as a bell, she said, "No
matter if it takes decades or centuries for you to come back, I will find you.
I'll track you down even if you don't have your memories. We'll fall in love
all over again."
She spoke of pure and everlasting love.
An affection that would surpass eternity, as it had once already.
That feeling was enough to carry them through the ever-changing times.
It sounded like a wedding vow. The man broke into a broad grin. "I'm
very glad to hear that. Oh, but I should tell you that you're extremely bad at
winning a man's heart. You come on way too strong. If I don't remember
you and you're all over me, it's going to be a bit of a turnoff."
"Hey! Don't you think that's a little rude?! I could say the same thing
about you!"
"I watch and wait before making my move, adjusting my approach as I
go."
"I don't see the difference!" she whined.
Then her mouth pursed into a decided pout. "I think it's fine either way.
We have all the time in the world, after all. I can wait for you to come
around, even if it takes a hundred years."
"That's exactly the sort of creepy behavior I'm talking about." The man
sighed. Despite his admonishments, the two of them would never see eye to
eye on this. It was pointless to hope she would use a more roundabout
approach, but that was also proof of how deep her feelings for him ran.
Despite his grimace, he finally cut to the chase. "I heard a rumor that
something that could be an outsiders' artifact is in some lord's domain in
the north."
"I hope it's true. That would make our fifth one, if so."
"Let's take it easy as we investigate. Once we're done, we can go see the
ocean or something. It's been a while."
"As you wish," she replied, and the pair departed from town.
Night fell swiftly around them while the man commanded the dragon to
change its size. The pair boarded the dragon's back and soared into the air.
Down below, the lights of the city after dark were a sea of glittering
gems.
The woman smiled at the twinkling ocean, the flickers of human life.
The man wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Then this entirely uncommon pair vanished into the night on a dragon's
back.
The story of the king and the fifth witch faded into the annals of history
as an ancient fairy tale.
Eventually, no one remained who could recall their names.
All the stories in the world gave rise to others, stacked in libraries to be
read over and over.
But they would never be overwritten again.
So it went, a fragment of an unnamed memory