Wednesday, 5 November 2008
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Prisc's Story Request
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Okay Prisc, here you go. And to student, I already have, click here.
Aiko gives the signal. Everybody starts forward. So do you. Thus I follow closely behind you, shooting the occasional dark glare at the chauvinistic prince of Frelia. He gets the hit and stays far, far away, shooting me a glare of his own.
Aiko sees this and smirks, then gives the order to split up and take out the ‘resurrected fiends’, as you would describe them. Of course, I am in your group, but the prince Innes is not.
Thanks, Aiko.
“Come, Rennac! Let us do our best in vanquishing those fiends!”
Never before have I been so glad to hear you call me to arms. I pretend to sigh and grumble, but I draw my blade with a secret smile. You see it despite my efforts to hide it and exclaim delightedly that you are glad to see that I am coming around to your style of thinking. That is not the reason behind my smile, princess. Remembering Aiko’s words, I try to tell you why, but a stupid, senseless Gargoyle tries to launch a sneak attack and is promptly blasted to ashes with your Light magic.
That is when I remember the blade in my hand and my surroundings. We are on a battlefield.
The moment of truth goes ‘POOF!’ in my face.
Trying to ignore my hurting heart, I raise my blade, ready to defend you to the death.
We fight, side by side, in perfect co-operation. You handle any sneak attacks and I take out the monsters that get past your Light magic. Imagining that the monsters have the face of Prince Innes helps me kill them more brutally. Need I wonder why?
We are quick and efficient. Soon, almost all of the monsters that dared to challenge us are no more. To add emphasis to my previous sentence, I stab a Mogall deep in its eye. It lets out an unearthly, bloodcurdling scream before crumbling into dust. Smiling bitterly, I turn to face you. You are finishing off a Bael with a well-placed Lightning and finesse.
Suddenly, I hear clicking sounds. The clicking of bones.
I turn again, stance stiffening. A Bonewalker approaches you and, for a moment, I relax. A walking skeleton ought to be no problem, right?
Then, for a heart-stopping split second, my eyesight becomes painfully accurate.
Dripping from the tip of its sword is a murky purple liquid.
Poison.
“No.” I hear my voice whisper. Suddenly, I find myself running towards you, blade twirling so fast in my hand it becomes a blur. You notice not the blade of the Bonewalker, so close to slicing into your porcelain skin...
No.
I won’t let that happen.
I leap forward to close the distance.
My blade comes down.
There is a loud crunch-like sound as the Elder magic binding the skeleton disappears, causing the Bonewalker to fall in on itself. For a moment, pride is all I feel.
It soon gives way to dizziness.
There is a distinct dampness on the sleeve of my sword arm.
Feeling light-headed, I bring my arm up. The cloth around it is soaked through and dripping purple. There is a gash present on my arm. It doesn’t take me long to put the pieces of the jigsaw together. That fluxing Bonewalker must have landed an underhand blow on me while I killed it.
The effects of adrenaline are wearing off. I can feel the toxin coursing through my bloodstream. A wave of nausea hits me, but I hold it back and look around us.
No more monsters.
No more danger.
Best of all, no Prince Innes, either.
Good.
I allow myself to collapse onto the ground. Black eats away at my vision, but I remain conscious long enough to hear you let out a shocked cry – for me? – and to feel something warm fall upon my forehead.
Nothingness. My consciousness has been swimming in nothingness for a long time. At least an hour, maybe two.
Perhaps I am dead.
Died without confessing.
That’s a cheery thought.
Then a sudden flash of light cuts through my world of darkness and I am alerted to pain in a million and one places. Ow. Not good. What kind of lousy mercenary escort am I?
Wincing, I open my eyes. I am... in the healing tent? I’m... not dead? I blink slowly, trying to clear my blurred vision. Why...? Why am I alive, not...?
My vision clears and I find myself staring into the concerned faces of Aiko and you. “Rennac! Good, you’re awake! For a moment there, we thought the poison had reached your heart!” cries a relieved Aiko. You simply smile, for once at a loss for words. “I’ll go tell the others!” the tactician shouts and then she dashes out of the tent, leaving the two of us together. Alone.
I think she did this on purpose.
We sit together in awkward silence. Finally, I muster the courage to clear my throat and ask, “Er, Princess L’Arachel, did you get injured when I was unconscious?” You shake your head quietly.
Nice going, Rennac. What kind of fool am I?!
“Well...! Seeing as you’re feeling better, Rennac, I suppose I shall take my leave now! Farewell, Rennac.” You stand up and turn to leave. The words escape my mouth before I have time to think. “P-princess L’Arachel! W-wait!”
You turn and, for a moment, I see a gleam of curiosity and hope in your eyes. “Yes?”
“Er, I’ve been m-meaning to talk to you about... A-about... um...”
AGH! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
You frown. “Rennac, I’m surprised that you can still think about your wages at a time like this.”
My brain is shouting for me to shut up and go along with the wages excuse. My defensive mechanism is about to do so.
For once, I shut out the intellectual and dominant side of me and listen to my heart. “No, Princess. This... isn’t about my wages.”
The frown disappears, only to be replaced by a shocked expression, then one of worry. “This isn’t about your wages?! Rennac, you must be delirious! Perhaps I didn’t fully purge the poison from your body!”
I watch with a slight smile as you snatch up your Restore staff. You raise it, then falter as you ask why I am staring and smiling at you. Of course, clever old me answers without thinking. “Nothing. Just thinking that I’m lucky to be blessed with an angel.”
“That’s it. You must be delirious.”
“N-no, wait! Princess L’Arachel, I’m not delirious!”
I pause for a short breath. I am about to continue with my words when I catch sight of your eyes. Reflected in them are emotions I have never seen directed at me from you before. One is concern, another is hurt. The last one is so unexpected it makes me bite back a gasp. It... It can’t be... Perhaps it is my own emotions I see reflected in your eyes... I-it’s not possible, but...
Reflected in your eyes is love.
I take in another sharp breath, then exhale. I now know what to say to you. “And I can prove it, too. Go ahead and try to use your Restore staff on me, Princess.”
You raise your staff with a triumphant smile and chant the spell needed to invoke the magic of the staff. The chant is, of course, worded correctly, but the ruby red healing gem is unresponsive. You frown.
“That’s strange... I am sure I would never get the chant wrong...”
I smirk. “There’s your proof, Princess. The Restore staff can’t be used on a perfectly healthy person.”
A flicker of hope sparks to life in your eyes. I slide out of bed. Here goes nothing and everything. The... moment of truth... Ugh... Why does it feel like a million butterflies are breeding in my stomach?
I walk nearer to you, trying to remain calm. “P-princess L’Arachel, I h-have to tell you something.”
So much for calm.
You cock your head curiously. Off topic; I find your facial expression cute. On topic; I’m being reduced to nothing but a stuttering brunette. I take in a deep breath to calm my nerves. “I-it’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time. I... Um, I... I, err...”
OF ALL TIMES TO BE TONGUE-TIED, WHY NOW!?
I close my eyes, breathe in slowly and steel myself. My eyes open. “I love you, Princess L’Arachel and frankly, even if you don’t return my feelings, I’ll always consider you as the only girl who has successfully stolen my heart.”
Ack. That sounds cheesier out loud than it did in my head. I’m almost afraid to see your reaction.
Imagine my surprise when I feel a pair of warm arms fling themselves around my neck. The Restore staff lays forgotten on the ground. A smile tugs at the end of my lips. We share the same feelings, after all. Almost unconsciously, I lean forward, closing the distance between us...
When Aiko finally returns to the tent, she freezes, turns and runs whooping out of the tent, shouting something that sounds suspiciously like, “Yes! I knew it! Joshua, you owe me 2000 gold coins!”
But even that doesn’t damper my spirits. After all, I hold the princess of my heart in my arms. I have made a successful confession. The best part?
I am kissing the princess I hold in my embrace and you are kissing me back.
Here you go. And remember to vote for me on 7th November!
nic published at 19:30
