(Vardünheim, Northeastern Germany)

Tazuki sat up for the fourth time after being awakened by last night’s storm. It raged all over the night; showing no signs of stopping—the howling wind rattling the wooden frames of the window. 

She looked out of the window, her black hair fanning out behind her as she poked her head out. Her curiosity was met with the enchanting landscape of the countryside lying in front of her. 

Beneath the cloudy, grey sky were the endless verdant pastures. Colorful specks of pink, blue and yellow peeked from the grass. Tazuki looked down a bit further towards their side of the castle wall to see grapevines running rampant along the barrier. 

It was a glorious sight to see for someone who hadn’t been contacted by her mother or aunt for six months. Maybe it helped her get her mind off those thoughts. 

In the bare and empty room in a wing opposite to Sybenzia’s, the young prince woke up with a start. His attendant stood ready.

“Nightmares again, Your Highness?” he asked, his expression remaining unamused, as if he had seen this a thousand times before. Asidius nodded and swung out of bed to go train. 

Something twisted horribly inside him every time he remembered that he could not forget the memories of war no matter how much magic he used.   

Normally, nobody from the Royal Knights Order would be there since their training time was approximately four hours after him. This time he was taken aback to find Isholde already there, training as if he’d never been injured. 

As he caught sight of Asidius, he simply waved and resumed but Asidius put his hand out. 

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been like this, right?” he questioned Isholde, searching his face for a hint of what troubled him. 

“It sure has…Wanna spar while we chat?” Isholde replied, smiling as he’d done with Tazuki, his smile again not seeming to reach his eyes.

 The weather began to get hotter as the sun rose; Asidius met Isholde’s approach. With a smug look on his face, Isholde tried to raise his practice sword at Asidius but his movements were slower than usual.

“Haven’t been practicing lately,” Isholde grumbled as his sword met with Asidius’s, metal clanged loudly. 

“Probably because you were too busy flirting to practice, don’t worry, this is just a warm-up.” Asidius triumphantly declared. 

He then lunged, almost causing Isholde to stumble but he met the strike, barely managing to parry. A flash of surprise took over Asidius’ face, narrowing his eyes as if he was scanning his next movement, but he assumed Isholde was testing him. 

“Isholde, you’re not yourself today,” he admitted with a sharp inhale through his nose. 

“I’m quite alright.” Isholde snapped back, bowing slightly and smiling. On the inside, he was cursing the tremor in his hands, hoping Asidius wouldn’t notice the delay in his reflexes. 

They continued but the rhythm felt slower than usual—laughing, teasing and clashing—but only Isholde felt the slight stutters in his form. Every strike took more effort than usual but he still managed to move with the same knightly grace as always. 

Finally, Asidius stepped back, chest heaving in and out while sweat clung to his fringe and shirt. “You’re still a bit out of touch,” he warned, unaware that this was the best Isholde could do at the moment. 

“Cut me some slack, man, I’m still a patient.” Isholde retorted. “Maybe I’ll land a lucky hit next time we spar.” he joked, concealing the way his sword trembled one last time before sheathing it. There wasn’t any injury in his hand but one in his head. And it was far worse than a simple injury.

~Author's Note:

welcome back everyone after such a looooong time!! im reallly sorry for being for such a long time what with finals and keeping up with my art skills. i hope this chapter is enjoyable₊˚⊹♡