--- Roric

Just by looking at her determined expression, Roric realized that something had changed in Elise. Her green stare was full of weight and fixed on him, and didn't show even a glimpse of fear despite the mess around the plaza.

She has grown so much since that time in Fradot. It's true, she's already seen hell back then, so I guess she's taking things more seriously now. That's the face of someone who's become used to violence. I can't say if it's a good or a bad thing.

The boy approached her, stopping a few steps from where she stood.

"Hey," he tried to greet her in a neutral tone.

She didn't reply.

Damn. I think she's still mad at me.

Roric began searching his pockets for the letter written by the King. "I... I know I've been away for a while, but I was following your father's orders. I'd never gone away without explaining myself-"

"What's there to explain, Roric?" she asked, coldly. "Where do you want to start?"

"Uh..." The young warrior wasn't prepared to have that discussion right after arriving. "If it's about that day in Norburg, I simply did what I thought was the best to protect you guys. Sorry if it took you by surprise."

"Surprise? Surprise?" she yelled at him, "Do you really think I'd be angry because you pulled a trick out of your sleeve and saved us? Try thinking harder. What else could I possibly be angry about?"

The boy tried to calm her down. "Don't be like this. I know I should have explained you what I was, but it was too dangerous. I needed to find the right moment or I could have been executed on the spot."

"And you couldn't do that before we traveled to the other side of the world together? I trusted you, and I believed you felt the same towards me!"

"But I did!"

Elise was furious. "Then spit it out. You didn't find the right moment, but you found the guts to come all the way here and... Never mind. Just tell me why."

Roric looked down, in silence. He struggled to find the proper words, and seeing her angry face wasn't exactly helping him with it.

She is obviously right to be upset, but I had my reasons. I've had more than enough time to think about them while I was staying at Barden's place. Yet, will they be enough?

"I... I thought you wouldn't like what I was," he answered.

The girl raised an eyebrow, unsatisfied. She wanted and deserved more than that silly excuse and the young warrior was fully aware. Just the fact that he had been allowed to enter the city was a sign of the good will of his friend, because it meant that at least she wanted to listen, but he needed to be more direct.

He cleared his throat. "Before we met, I was wandering around aimlessly. You gave me a place to call home, and I started seeing you as someone very important to me... Someone I didn't want to be separated from."

In hindsight, it was a pretty stupid move. I could have showed her that Elementals weren't necessarily monsters and even got her to help me keep my secret. Well, now it's too late for those regrets.

"Things happened too fast. Everything changed between us," the boy went on. "One day you were the daughter of my employer, the next you were the princess of a country! If you had learned about me, the real me, would you have accepted it? And even if you had, what about your father? Do you think he would have let me near you? All I wanted was to be at your side, like we promised, and that was the only way I was able to see at that moment."

"Roric..." Her face softened a bit, but her eyes remained strict and dubious. "Are you being serious?"

"I am. I realize I behaved like an idiot. In the end, all I got was being locked into a cell, with you hating me. I never stopped thinking about it during those days. Even after I was freed, I found myself lost and with no place to go."

Roric took a step forward, and Elise averted her gaze.

"I made a huge mistake, and I failed you," he said. "Will you forgive me?"

It's the best I could come up with. There are still so many things I want to tell her... But this isn't the right place nor the right time.

The girl turned to the other side. "You know, I had already figured that you were afraid of something. What else could make you not trust me? What I don't understand is why you kept Rickhart's existence hidden. He was a threat my father needed to be informed of."

"I wanted to forget about him, after what he had done," replied Roric. "That night in Norburg felt like waking up, only to find myself in a nightmare. Listen, there's nothing I can do about the past. If you don't want me to stick around, I'll accept it. I have returned to settle the score with him. I trained hard to do so, and I hope it will at least make things better for you. It's the least I can do."

He panted, as if he had run an incredibly long road just to say it, but it was the absolute truth. The princess glanced at him, this time with less hostility.

"So," she asked, "You came back for me too, right?"

Roric's face reddened. "I... I guess."

What was that right now? Did she just... Tease me?

"There's no time to talk now," Elise concluded their conversation. "I have many things to do. Find a place where you can help and start making yourself useful. See you later."

With that, she hurried to another side of the plaza, leaving him with a puzzled expression. The boy had been allowed to stay, to fight at least, but he still had to earn her thanks.

***

Even if it wasn't dark anymore, the fog didn't show any sign to fade. It was conjured by Rickhart's magic after all, and it wasn't like the powers of a necromancer became any weaker in the light of the day.

Roric lent a hand to some soldiers who were reinforcing the main gate, which was to be sealed after the troops stationing outside had retreated behind it. A couple of men looked at the boy strangely as he worked, perhaps because of his young age, or so he thought. With time, he came to realize that they were more impressed by the fact that he could keep up with them in terms of strength, carrying planks that would have required him at least two or three more years on his shoulders.

It seems all the training I did with Barden served its purpose. Come to think about it, he told me he aimed at making me stronger and not only skilled with a blade.

The boy handed the last piece of wood to a guard, who nodded and put it into position. Even if most of the officers he had spoken with were convinced of the opposite, he knew that the entire process would have only slowed the necromancer's intention of getting in. The Barbarians didn't build siege weapons, it was true, but when they were following someone as dangerous as Rickhart there was little doubt that they had at least some sort of plan to break the defense.

Roric and the rest of the city only had to wait.

When commander Lowan faced him, it ended badly despite all the precautions he had taken. Rickhart is incredibly skilled at catching his opponents by surprise, when he needs to, and forcing them into a false sense of self-security. I'm the only one here with that experience, and there's no time to explain it to everyone. I'll need to keep my eyes sharp and see if our enemy is trying to do the same thing he did back then, and...

He gulped. The idea of facing him one-on-one, given the fact that it would have been possible, was enough to give him shivers. The necromancer was a scary foe, someone that couldn't be taken lightly, and Roric had to be very confident in his own skill in order to cross swords with him.

I'm sure there is a way to defeat him. I'm better at fighting now, and he can't possibly know that I was trained by his old master. This time, I'll have a card or two to play.

Not to mention that the young warrior was aware of one of the few weaknesses the necromancer had. During the battle in the forests of the Republic and in the meeting hall in Norburg, when he had used his powers on Rickhart his concentration had been disrupted, and as a result his magic had stopped working for a while. If Roric could get close again, enough to blast him with lightning, maybe he could have crippled seriously or even incapacitated him.

If his opponent was going to let him, that was.

It doesn't matter. I didn't come all this way just to hide behind my uncertainty. I'm doing all of this for Elise and for myself, now I fully understand it. Rickhart or not, I'm going to get my friend and my old life back.

In the following hour or so, the wounded were moved away from near the gate. Some were lucky enough to be brought to the keep or other places where they could receive a proper treatment, but many others were just destined to be housed somewhere else. At least a part of them was going to die because of that, but there wasn't much else to do with an impending battle. The city hadn't readied itself for it.

The young warrior decided to help a little more those who were improving the defenses, but then a voice echoed and everyone turned towards it. One of the guardsmen, from the top of the wall, was yelling something. His face was white as a clean blanket.

"They are coming! The enemies! Brace yourselves!"

Down in the plaza, near one of the newly-built barricades and among the other soldiers, Roric clenched his fists.

Good. Bring it on, you bastard. I'm going to show you something new.