Character : Felicia Fiore, Last Siege
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Underneath the beautiful moonlight, my cold breath smoked.
Within such a cold temperature, I wore my pajamas underneath the jacket. With just these thick clothes, I stood at the very top floor of the fort we've been staying at for days, and I stared at the moon.
I've always loved this. Watching the moon.
It keeps my mind away from all sorts of negative thoughts. It freshens my mind. Whenever I feel like I couldn't sleep, I'd just look at the moon.
And now more than ever… My mind is far too clouded with worries.
"Felicia?" From behind, the door to the rooftops was opened, and a familiar guy came out.
"Nathan. I thought you'd be asleep by now." I asked him as he approached me, and his hands were holding a cup of tea.
"Nah, I just don't feel like sleeping. Or rather… I can't. Tomorrow's a big day, you know?" Nathan conveyed, and I can't help but agree.
One month has passed since the war started. And so far, we're winning by a huge margin. Two days ago, we took down the most powerful knight of the dark republic. The lightning origin white knight, 'One'.
He was fast and powerful, but he was also by himself. All of his soldiers were defeated, and facing him were seven powerful fighters from our side. The five students of the academy, the vice headmaster of the academy, and me. And together, the poor strongest knight of the dark republic stood no chance.
Now that he is defeated, only the capital is left. We've occupied all of the dark republic territory, and soon, we'll be moving into the capital to take on President Zero.
And that day… is tomorrow.
"I'm just concerned about something." I said aloud, and Nathan turned his gaze to me. "If you do see him again… what will you do?"
I asked because I considered his past. From what the vice headmaster of the academy told me, President Zero was the man who massacred our entire village, as well as my teacher. The two of us came here for vengeance, and soon, we'll finally have it.
I already know how I feel. But, I'm also curious about how Nathan feels.
"Well… to tell you the truth…" Nathan mumbled while thinking, and he piqued my curiosity. "I don't really know how I feel."
"… You don't?"
"Surprisingly, yeah. It just felt like I will end up facing him anyway. The tragedy was seven years ago. I was really young, too, so I didn't really remember it." He gave his reasoning, and I can understand if he doesn't remember.
But… I do.
I remember arriving at the burned down village that I've been calling my home for years, only to see everyone has died.
Nathan doesn't know, but I am also a resident of the village. I am his father's student, so naturally I was staying at the village. I left the village to send a message from my teacher to the kingdom, and I came back to find that everyone had died.
I remembered it. I was old enough to understand. I remember crying very hard because everyone that I've known for so long has disappeared.
And yet, I acted as if I didn't know them. Because Nathan, who was my teacher's son, was also in shock. He was younger than me, and I forced myself to swallow the pain and helped him.
And as he gets better… so did I. But, because he continuously relied on me mentally, the weight that I feel inside me was much heavier than his.
But, even so, I don't mind. As long as he doesn't feel the pain, I can never hate him.
Out of reflex, I lifted my hand and patted Nathan in the head. His height has grown quite a lot, and soon he will be taller than me. Seeing that I'm patting him like this made him remember that I used to play with his head, and he seemed to be enjoying this a lot.
"What's this for?" He asked while letting me mess with his hair, and I just smiled at him.
"I…"
I want to say it.
I wanted to tell you. For so long, I wanted you to know.
But… I can't. Not yet. Not when our enemy is right in front of us.
After that… perhaps…
I can tell you.
"Nothing. Never mind." I just said quickly while retracting my hand, and Nathan turned his confused stare at me.
"You're not thinking that I'm a child again, are you?" He asked with a bit of annoyance, and I just shook my shoulder.
"Hmm, I wonder…"
After that, we talked nonsense for the next few minutes or so. I felt tired after a while, and we just went back inside before heading to bed.
The next morning, the day finally comes.
"Today is the day." Princess Frisena announced to the army in front of her.
Everyone is now stationed on the large snowy field, just outside the tall walls that belonged to the capital of the dark republic. And seeing so many of our soldiers in our spot, I know for certain that this siege will be successful.
We've fully dismantled all of the dark republic's elite knights. The only power that they have left are their citizens, but we've made sure that no such cruelty will repeat.
We offered the citizens freedom and fortune if they could make it out of the capital city. And as a result, thousands of the citizens left the city, which means the city is now free for us to take.
Only… we will have to deal with the president.
"Let's take their president down." Frisena said to the army, and everyone cheered.
Beforelong, we started marching. The castle gates are very far in front of us, and it will take a while before we can reach it. Because standing between us and the gates are a thousand men army, ready to spend their lives to protect their president.
The dark republic… has not given up just yet.