Part 3: Promises

Several weeks had passed.

Wearing a purple dress, her chest tied up with a white corset, Alice traversed through a path covered in brown grass, the ground torn down with how dry it was. She keeps looking around the area, Nexus next to her, holding a map in his hands.

“Hm, let’s see,” he stepped closer, “This way-no, there might be beasts, and we can’t go this route either. Miss, What do you think we should go?”

“Whatever works, I guess.”

“Fair enough.”

The two hadn’t talked a lot since that night. Their conversations were short and blunt.

“Aha,” Nexus jumped, “I got an idea.”

“What is it?”

“If we go through this forest and follow the path alongside this river, we’ll reach the city in no time!”

“You sure?”

“Yes, take a look.”

The river on the map was illustrated to be wide and deep, but the one they find is barely a reflection of it. So shallow and thin, several fish would accidentally swim off the stream. As they walked, she’d kick the fish back to the river.

“Don’t you think the map aged a bit?”

“Maybe, but the villagers were kind enough to give it to us for free. I can’t take their kindness for granted!”

“You say that as if you haven’t spent several days and nights healing people with your,” she waved her hand, “magic. Plus, do you really think they wanted to piss off someone of your position?”

He giggled, “There’s truth to your words. But I prefer to think that they wanted to return the favor of us helping them.”

“Us?”

“Don’t forget, you helped them fight off a beast! With what little fighting resources they had, you were a hero in their eyes!

She scratched her head. It was awkward to hear, “Please, I didn’t do it alone.”

I wonder how those two are doing. Mister William and Zuri. They left the village the day after the attack. And I wanted to chat with them more. I just hope they aren’t separated again.

“Miss, look!”

Through the forest’s dying trees, she sees the sun setting.

“I’ll get the tents ready.”

Alongside the map, the villagers have also given them tens and other supplies. Alice set them up, while Nexus used a small pot to cook soup with. As they worked, she couldn’t help but glance back at the strange knight.

Hm, he isn’t using fire magic to light up the fire. Now that I think about it, he’s never shown to have elemental magic. But he can’t be someone without a core either. I still can’t get my mind over it. Healing magic.

“Dinner is done!”

He poured her a bowl of soup, small bits of vegetable floating above it.

“Have a nice meal!”

“Hm.”

His food was good. The soup was well seasoned, the vegetables added a nice flavor. Despite everything, he’s a good cook.

“Miss,” he looks at his bowl, not touching the food even once, “May I ask you something?”

“Go, ahead.”

“I want,” even though he was smiling, something was off about it, as he also clutched his dress in his hands.

This better be important.

“I want to help you.”

“Help me. With what exactly?”

“With,” she stood up, taking a step closer to her, “I want to help you find Sir Miroslav’s relative.”

“Oh,” she puts her bowl down, “Oh no.”

“Miss, I-”

“No, no, stop,” she walked away from him, “If this was about our talk back then, forget it. You already told me you couldn’t have-”

“That’s not it.”

She was stunned seeing him shout like that, several birds flying away in the distance. The two quietly gazed into each other’s eyes. He shook his eyes, letting go of his dress he gripped tightly just a second ago. He sat back down, sipping a bit of the soup.

“Can I tell you a story of sorts?”

Still stunned by that, she simply stared at him for a while.

“Go-go on,” she sits down again.

“Thank you, miss.”

“You see,” with a deep breath, he releases his hands, “I may not know everything, but you are proof that the empire’s soldiers are corrupt, in too many ways. The general, and many like him, only see their positions to exert power over the people they think are below them. They ruin knighthood with every breath they take. But.”

“But what?”

“I can’t help but love knighthood, on paper at least.”

Alice tilted her head in confusion.

“You see, as a child, I loved reading books and scripts of knights. Reading about how they saved the day, fought beasts, saved the helpless, and became legends in history, it made me fall in love. In love with chivalry, the idea of kindness and selflessness. Since I became a knight, that’s all I wanted to be. A truly kind person who is able to save everyone. And yet.”

He held his hands together. “I failed to save your friend.”

She didn’t respond with anything, no passive remarks, no outbursts of rage. She was too tired of this situation to feel anything from his words.

“I still remember what you told me that day, that you are indebted to me. Truth to be told, it’s the other way around. When I saw him die in your arms, I realized, what I have is not enough. And he paid the price for that. So I want to face his family head on. They deserve to know my sins more than anyone.”

He bowed down, holding her hand to her forehead. Unable to make anything of his face, she sees him grip the grass tightly. 

“So, is this to make yourself feel better, or do you actually want to do things right? It’s hard to tell.”

“In all honesty, I can’t say I know which it is in the end.”

At first, she hesitated to answer. She couldn’t tell if he truly wanted to atone, or wanted to release his feeling of guilt. Even so, she felt this earnest feeling in the way he held her hand. Gently, ready to let it go any minute. Taking a deep breath, she decided what to say.

She pulled him up. “You can come.”

His eyes widened hearing that. “Really?”

“But let’s be real with ourselves for a second. Neither of us knows what his family is like.”

His fingers fidgeted at that.

“They haven’t seen Mister Miroslav in years. Who knows how they’ll act when I tell them he’s dead? And they certainly don’t need an apology on top of all that. So don’t expect things to go well, for they won’t.”

“I know. I’ll be ready for when that time comes. But still-Thank you!”

She was speechless as he suddenly embraced her in a hug. His hands behind her back, his face pressed to her shoulder, he hugged her tighter and tighter. It was overwhelming.

“Too soon.”

“Whoa!”

Out of shock, she flew up into the sky, causing Nexus to fall onto the ground.

“Oh-oh, I am so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he giggled as he got up, “I’ve been through worse, heh.”

“Ah, alright then,” she coughed, “I’ll-guard tonight.”

“If you say so.”

He went inside his tent, Alice sitting in front of hers.

Some time passes, the campfires completely lit out. No beasts had appeared yet. She took the moment to look again at the pictures inside the necklace.

I wonder, how am I supposed to approach them? How can a stranger like me just approach them, and tell them someone they loved died? Will they hate me as well? I wouldn’t judge them for that. I didn’t save him either. I’ll just wait and see.

Unless I find Nexus’ teacher and she realizes who I am.

And I get imprisoned back in a worse place

All before I manage to bring back the necklace or ever see mom again or get back home and-argh!

Clapping her cheeks, she realized she needed a break. As she stepped outside, Nexus was resting in his own tent, the campfire still lit. She blew it away, watching the smoke of the burnt up sticks rise into the sky. Her eyes flinch, she tries to make the smoke disperse itself. Unable to look at it any longer, she flies up in the sky.

Covered in damp gray clouds, she strikes through them. She stops and floats in place, she watches the sky’s stars illuminate her. The moons were so far off, almost full. It’s been a while since she’s seen a full moon, brightly shining without any clouds in the way. She begins flying through the clouds, clearing the sky clean for them.

Her flames weakened, she descended back to the ground again. Her tired eyes noticed something in the distance. It seemed like an island, a castle on top of it, flying high above in the sky. She goes back to her tent to sleep.

—

And that’s the end of chapter 6! Not the longest, but I’m really happy with it! From now on, updates are going to be every other Monday! That way it’s going to make writing and editing easier for me, so I hope you understand my decision. Chapter will start next time! Thanks for reading and goodbye!