Catherine
26th Day of Summer, 997th Year of Grace
There was fire all around me.
It engulfed the roof, the walls and swallowed all the air--leaving only smoke in my lungs.
I heard mother screaming my name and I ran toward her voice but the house stretched into an endless sea of flames.
Every step towards closer only pulled me farther from my mother.
I heard father grunting behind me and I turned around to find him fighting off bandits with his pitchfork at the front door.
I saw steel flash once, twice, then his head rolled off his shoulders and crashed into the ground with a sickening thud.
I heard the bandits laugh and when I finally saw their faces--there was nothing but black holes for their eyes and grinning smiles spilling fire.
I tried to pull my brother to me and run but his hand slipped.
They tore him away from me. I screamed until my voice cracked but their laughter drowned it out.
I saw my brother's little arms reach out to me but he was lost in the blaze.
I ran through burning fields--wheat turned to ash around me and birds fell from the sky only to be devoured by the raging flames underneath.
I kept calling for my brother, I kept screaming for help but only the sound of the bandits' laughter and the crackling of fire reached my ears.
Suddenly the flames closed up on me and turned into a cage with bars of glowing red iron.
I clutched the bars tightly--crying for my parents, my brother, for anyone while my my palms blistered.
But only the bandits answered with their laughter like a hammer striking on iron, each hit breaking something within me.
When the flames touched my skin, I awoke with a gasp.
Adam
26th Day of Summer, 997th Year of Grace
I was seated in a chair beside her bed with my arms crossed.
When she arose with a gasp with her hands clutching the blanket draped over her, I was reminded of Alex.
Catherine was a girl aged sixteen whom I had rescued from the bandits working with Garrick Stone in the city of Norton.
When I first met her, she was hardly anything but a skeleton. But now, her body had regained some mass and her blonde hair had regained its luster.
For a girl so young, Catherine seemed very compose which was the complete opposite of what my twin would do when she awoke from her regular nightmares.
I believed the nightmares were caused by the trauma engraved deep within her conscious after we lost our parents.
Perhaps, it was same for the young girl before me.
"Bad dream?" I asked, my voice too blunt.
She nodded. "Why are you still here? Why don't you go back home?"
I averted my gaze from hers. "Well... I was told to look after you."
A lie.
I was just afraid of facing Alex again after the argument we had the previous day. So after I left our room, I came straight to the base under The Pilgrim. I didn't even go back home for the night.
"Did you have a fight at home?" she asked.
"W-What?"
"I mean you went home so excited yesterday but came back here sulking a few hours later." She got off the bed. "What other reason could there be?"
"I-I... Nothing h-happened!" I blurted.
"You can tell me." She brushed her clothes with her hands.
"Well... Do you have any relatives that lived outside of your village?" I asked instead.
"Why are you--"
"Just tell me!" I insisted and she sighed.
"I have an aunt in the capital," she said. "I heard she was a priest or something. My parents never told me more than that."
"So... Do you want to try going to her place?"
She didn't answer, her eyes glued to the floor. After a few moments, she just nodded.
"You should really go apologize to whomever you had the fight with," she said, walking toward the door. "You never know when it'll be the last time you see them."
I sat in the room alone for some time.
Elijah
26th Day of Summer, 997th Year of Grace
I sat on the stone bench cross-legged with my chin rested upon one palm while I watched her sweep the stone path that wound through the courtyard.
The morning sun harassed her fair skin but the gentle wind gave her respite when it kissed her every few moments.
Her only hair was tied into a bun while the glasses on her face still dulled her beauty.
I wanted her despite that.
But today, she wasn't the only thing on my mind.
Father had already left at dawn with his men, riding into war like a loyal hound jumped into fire to save its master.
Except in my father's situation, the master didn't care if the hound was lost. After all, there were several such creatures to use and dispose of when necessary.
The wound of past memories that my father had unravelled stung a bit for some reason but I decided to pay it no mind and continue to pester my precious.
"When will you tell me your name, sweetheart?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Hopefully never," she answered without sparing me a glance.
"Then tell me where you live," I said with a pout. "I'll visit you sometime. With gifts, of course."
"There's no need for that."
"For Lord's sake, at least tell me who else is in your family!"
"Fine." She stopped sweeping and turned to me. "But you must also a question of mine."
"Of course, an equal trade. I'm up for it."
"Then I'll tell you." She shifted the broom from one hand to another. "I lost my parents in a fire last season. It's just me and my brother in my family."
"I know." A grin crept onto my face. "I stumbled upon your brother the previous day in the streets."
Her eyes widened and she rushed to me. "Is he alright? Where did he go? Did he say something to you?"
"Calm down, precious." I placed a finger against her lips to shush her. "When I met your brother, he was dainty enough. We talked a bit then he left saying he had no time to spare."
"Where did you meet him?" She clutched my hands in hers.
"We met in the Mercantile Quarters."
"I see..." Her words trailed off into silence and she began loosening the grip on my hand.
So I grabbed her hand instead. "Now, your turn. Ask me whatever you wish."
"I... Why are you still following me around?" she asked. "There's nothing I can offer you."
"I told you, precious." I traced a circled on the back of her hand gently with a finger. "I'm in love with you."
A frown carved its way onto her face and her eyes were filled with a subtle anger that she tried her best to hide.
"I already told you that I'm not some toy you can play with whenever and however you want then throw me away when you're bored."
She tried to free her hand from my hand but I only tightened the grip around her wrist. My other hand reached for her chin and lifted it up.
I brought my face close enough to hers that I could feel her breath stutter between us.
She stopped fighting when our eyes met.
"You're not just some toy to me, Alex," I muttered under my breath. "Ever since the day I met you, you've become the air that I breathe. You've become the pulse in my veins. You've become the ache in my bones. I believe you're the Chaos that brings disorder to my Law. Yet I also believe you're the Law that restrains my Chaos.
"You're the reward I want the most. Perhaps, you're the punishment I deserve. You're the reason for my suffering but my precious, you are also the one I want to be my salvation. You... aren't a choice anymore. You've become a necessity."
I held her for a moment longer until my words faded into silence. Then, I let her go.
I let her wrist slip from my hand like sand and backed a step away, giving her room to breathe.
She just stared at me--her expression unreadable.
"I want you." The grin vanished. "But I would never force myself upon you. I want you to choose me of your own accord. I follow you around so that you don't forget me. But... if that bothers you so much, I'll stop it."
I retreated into the castle despite the hungering void deep within my heart.