It was around 10 PM when I suddenly felt uneasy. My surroundings are so quiet that it gives me the creeps. Though I'm too afraid to even walk out of the room to check, I gathered my courage and forced my legs to bring me towards the door.
As I was about to reach out to the doorknob, the door suddenly flung open. Revealing Elicia standing in front of the door. Seeing her staring at me, I instinctively knew something was wrong. But first, I need to make sure before acting hastily.
"Elicia, how many times do I have to tell you to knock it off? I've had enough of this. Just stop."
Normally she would have replied by now and insisted, but this time, she just stared at me, almost glaring. The one thing that I found strange is that there is no life in her eyes. Her usually bright looking eyes look dead, like an empty vessel. I'm convinced, something is indeed wrong.
I walked towards her to check what's wrong, when all of a sudden, Elicia pushed me and I landed on my back. Before I could even react, she jumped on top of me. I tried to push her away but she quickly neutralized my arms.
"What the…..where did this monstrous strength come from?!"
I grit my teeth as I try to yank my arms from her grip, but it proved to be useless. After pinning me to the floor, she reached out between her legs and ripped something off.
Within the dimly lit room with only the moon providing light, I stared at her hand holding her ripped underwear. A red flag. Not only that it brought unnecessary worry, the fear of becoming like her came to mind. I can no longer afford to stay still.
Yanking my hand from her grip already proved to be impossible, if that's the case then there is one thing I can try: break her balance.
And to do that, I focused my strength on my lower body. Elicia has a relatively small body compared to me, and so the weight of our bodies are different. Trying to exploit that chance, I tried yanking my arms to the side and poured every ounce of strength to my lower body to push her to the side and I succeeded.
"What now?" I asked myself. I have not thought it through after achieving this.
For some reason, Elicia's grip loosened and I quickly backed away from her and stood beside the door.
"Brian." I heard her call out to me.
"Elicia?" I called back, still holding the door in case she charged toward me.
I thought it was the same Elicia who tried to take advantage of me, but I was wrong. As the moon illuminated the room, I saw tears streaming from her eyes like a river sparkling under the sun.
"Elicia…..is that you?"
Seeing as how she called out to me with tears in her eyes, she must be the Elicia I know.
"Stop….don't come near me." She warned.
I know it's dangerous, but seeing her suffering, I can't just sit back.
"Brian! Stop! Leave now….leave this estate– no, leave this city. You're not safe here." She said, extending her hand towards me as a gesture to stop.
"I want to help you…is there anything I can do to help?" I asked but she remained silent and panting heavily. "Hey! Answer me, Elicia-"
She didn't respond but shook her head instead. The look on her face, it seems like she decided to give up. She isn't the Elicia I know. Elicia is bright and hopeful, which is the reason why I fell in love with her.
Even with her warning, I walk towards her. And with every step I take, her eyes widen as if she is terrified of what she could do to me, but still, it did not stop me.
I was a fool. I rejected her advance last time despite knowing how I felt about her. My chest tightens as I embrace the fear that's surrounding me.
"Please….don't come near me…Brian.. please."
She continued to plead, but I disregarded it and embraced her.
"Although I know it wasn't you talking to me the other night, you are right. My body feels warm that I want to embrace someone not only for naughty things, but also for the happy and sad times. I have always loved you, Elicia."
After saying those words, tears stream down our cheeks. At that moment, I felt brave. Finally being able to convey my feelings to her. But that moment is short lived as she tries to grab me once again. And to my surprise, I was pulled away from her.
I turned back and saw mister Jakob standing behind me.
"What are you trying to do?" He asked and turned to Elicia struggling to keep herself under control.
"Please, Brian. Put an end to this. I don't know how long I can keep it under control."
I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Her words shook the entirety of my body. Me? Kill her? How can I– the one I love?
As if to honor her wishes, mister Jakob handed me a sword drenched in blood. The sight of it alone threw me on the floor, trying not to throw up, I stared at the sword he was holding.
"Is there no other way to bring her back?" I asked, and mister Jakob shook his head.
"If that were the case, you wouldn't have seen blood covering the sword. I apologize but there is no other way."
Hearing that from his mouth made my chest tightened even more. And so, I turned to Elicia hoping to get her disapproval. It was her death we are talking about, after all. But to my shock, she gave me a calm bright smile.
"He is right, Brian. Please put a stop to this before I lose myself completely." She said with a smile.
How can she smile like that? I don't get it. It's her death we are talking about, does she not want to live?
I want to try and persuade her, but knowing that it's her. She will not hesitate to give her life if it means saving more people, including me. She is that selfless.
"Are you sure about this?"
She just nodded her head slightly with the same bright smile on her face.
With her permission, even though I did not want to end the life of the one I love, I have no other choice. I grabbed mister Jakob's sword. I held a lot of swords during my entire stay here in the estate during sparring between nobles. I can vividly remember how light the swords are, but why is this particular one so heavy? Is it because I am about to take a life?
I don't know the reason. I no longer have any space to think about anything. My mind is a mess. I leaned before Elicia, pointing the sword to where her heart is, the place where she will feel little pain but I cannot bring myself to thrust the sword through her heart.
"Please. Brian."
I look at her face for the last time. She is still as beautiful as the day I fell in love with her. Sensing my hesitation, Elicia caressed my left cheek with her hand. I want to feel her touch, and so I push my head against her hand. Then all of a sudden, I heard a nerve-wracking sound.
I nervously turned my gaze towards the hand holding the sword and realized that caressing my cheeks was a distraction. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I saw her body weakening and slowly starting to die.
"I know you will not be able to do it. I'm sorry, Brian. I think this is the last time we will be seeing each other. I'm glad I died knowing that you love me. Me too, I love you….."
Her hand slid down my cheeks as the life in her eyes finally disappeared. I was shocked that I didn't even know how to react. I embraced her lifeless body and wept. Calling out her name over and over again hoping that she would call me by my name back. But it was useless, she was now gone.