18 A Lovely Evening

Drake Donovan, Knight of Nern - What’s success without someone to share it with?

Though not quite as eye catching as mythological monster, our outing impacted more than just that evening. Part of my preparations involved visiting Drake for tips during my date. He proved helpful and hurtful in more ways than one.

He gave me a cologne and gel for my hair, and he advised slicking it all back since my hairline suited the style. These tips proved more than fruitful. With his mind ever curious, Deluge drank the cologne and swallowed the gel.

He produced a different version on his own, and after testing the scent using the opinions of the other maids, we discovered the most fulfilling fragrance. It mixed the scents of cedar, leather, and coffee. Deluge and I discussed a few of the other uses that scents may help with during this time.

The scent crafted a charming aura when compared with most men due almost entirely to smell. I had never realized just how enticing an aroma could be, yet the effect was tangible. The maids stood closer and enjoyed my company far more than before. The trademark scent persisted long after I left, and with a few modifications, Deluge enhanced the tangible effect even further.

The gel he used differed from the other gel entirely. No thick, gunky sheen left after he finished his application. Only a firm hold of my hair in place, presenting a seamless hairstyle. It wasn’t like my hair was styled. It was as if it grew that way. In the end, the hairstyle was a suave satire of myself.

Like your first time wearing a dress or suit, it required several hours before I adjusted myself. Still, it suited Saint Jericho far more than the rough, rugged appearance of before. Carefully crafting a hero’s image required a dedication I never imagined. Whenever anyone recognized me, they frowned in disappointment in how I kept myself. I believe this stemmed from their unrealistic expectations.

A gray, raven haired, seven foot man, clad in black hydra skin, with streaks of red on his arms and torso, well… It honestly seemed sinister. Even volatile in the right lighting. Having at least my hair clean and crisp would wane this disappointment by a bit. Hopefully.

These thoughts shifted as nervousness took over. I waited for Joan at our meeting spot on a bridge in town. I leaned on a wall overlooking the edge of a canal as the midday sun gleamed on the river’s reflective surface. The heat of the ground created plumes of arid air that blurred any vision through them. The occasional cloud offered welcome relief, but it didn’t stop the heat entirely. The wind still blew warm and wet air.

Low houses laid even with the height of the bridge, giving me a good view of the city. The cobblestone pressed against my feet, firm and sturdy, while the breeze bathed the area in the scent of warmed wood. With carriages and people passing me every second, the place served its purpose as a landmark well.

Relaxing there, I expected the same Joan as always. As I saw her silhouette, she smashed those expectations to pieces. She wore the same clothes and walked the same steps, but something shifted in her smile. She no longer glowed like light. She shined like the sun.

Perhaps the cheeky grin and brassy swagger gave her that compelling charm. Perhaps the sway of her hips or her clear, lavender eyes. Regardless, she almost blinded me as she approached, her steps bouncing, her hair smooth, her smile infectious. Joan’s enthusiasm infected me, so I shouted,

“You seem cheerful.”

“Only when I’m with you.”

Starting with a tackle, she hugged me as we embraced one another. After a moment, she said, “I’m just glad we get to enjoy a day with each other. You’re always so busy. It’s nice to relax once in awhile.”

An impish grin grew on my lips as I said, “I don’t know. You have a penchant for trouble.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want my darling Jericho empty handed would I? Fortunately for you, I’m always a handful, so you never have to worry about it.”

“Alright then miss handful, what about a friendly competition to start the evening?”

“Hmmm, I could use a boost in confidence. What did you choose to lose at?”

With a light laugh before saying, “How about archery?”

She leaned onto my chest as I wrapped my arm around her waist while she said, “You lead the way oh mighty saint.”

I rolled my eyes before we walked through Nern with many glances peering our way. I must admit, we struck an odd scene all on our own. With Joan’s hood lowered, her white hair gained the attention of everyone along with the gray giant she walked with. Though not the epitome of standard beauty, Joan’s energy and charisma accented her sharp features. My own dark, dangerous appearance conflicted with her sheer vitality. It created a pleasing contrast, at least in my eyes.

So we walked through the wide streets for a minute before Joan said, “You smell different. What is it?”

“Something especially for this date. Do you like it?”

“I love it. It’s sexy.”

Our steps synced as I said, “Perfect. Now I no longer smell like Deluge’s last meal all the time.”

“You always smelled like a forest before, or maybe dirt? I don’t know. It wasn’t as good as this, but it wasn’t bad either.”

With my eyes focused in the distance, I said, “That was something I always liked about you. You always smell like lavender and rosemary. Anytime the scent strikes me, an image of you pops into my mind. I figured I should return the favor.”

She nuzzled closer as she said, “I appreciate the gesture. I never told you, but sometimes you smelled like really, really strong moonshine. It was crazy. It made me think you were an alcoholic the first few times we met.”

I frowned as I said, “When we first met, you smelled like salt and sweat, though I didn’t mind it. It had this genuine sort of feel. That’s the impression you gave, like you weren’t there for anyone.”

Joan glanced up towards me as she said, “You were nothing like that. I got the impression you were some skinny bastard who thought he was something special. It turned out you were, in more ways than one, but I didn’t like you at all.”

I grinned as I said, “It was hard to miss. Neither did Petra.”

“She never liked anybody, but everyone seemed to like her for some reason. I guess it boils down to that sincerity thing you were talking about earlier. You knew she wasn’t lying or trying to get something from you.”

I met her eyes as I said, “The second time we met you seemed quite the opposite…You were fragile and sad. I remember the song you played on the piano even now. It sounded like a child begging for her parent’s smile.”

“That really isn’t that far from the truth.”

I raised an eyebrow as I said, “Really now? How so?”

“Well…I mean…Petra wasn’t the err, nicest guardian ever. She was super strict, and she never complimented me. Not one time during the years we spent training together.”

I glanced down the street as I said, “That’s strange. Even Deluge has complimented me, though not very often.”

She glanced down as she said, “It sucked, because after you beat me it just made her approval seem that much farther away. I would have hated you, if you weren’t so likeable.”

After glancing at her for a minute, she stared up at me. As our eyes met, I placed a hand on my chin as I said, “I understand Joan. I have that effect on people.” I shook my head back and forth with closed eyes as I said, “It’s a curse really.”

She punched my side before giggling as she wore a teasing grin. She said, “Yeah, sure thing, oh mighty and powerful saint Jericho.”

I frowned as I said, “I didn’t think they’d label me a saint after that much, though the irony brings a grin to my face each time I think of it.”

She poked my side as she said, “You feel so weird now. Most people are all mushy. You always feel hard and muscled.”

I move my fingers on her side with a wave-like motion as I say, “And you feel soft and seductive.”

She brushed her hair out to her side, gesturing with a dramatic flair as she said, “Don’t worry. I understand your feelings. I have that effect on people. I’m cursed and all that.”

We laughed as we reached a walled off area with several ringed targets, each loop etched with different numbers. Unlike most targets, the outer ring held the most points instead of the center. It made sense. If you miss the outer ring, you miss the board, giving no points. If you miss the center, you had a lot of leeway by comparison.

We’d walked towards the outskirts of the town, and this man ran a business of setting targets for guard training. He rented the bows and arrows while keeping the area maintained. With this unique idea, he made a pretty penny. After talking with him for a few minutes, he gave us the rental for free. Being a saint had its benefits after all.

After getting a bow along with a thirty or so arrows, I flip a gold baston to decide who goes first. Joan won, so she took her bow and drawed it as she said, “Are you ready for utter destruction, oh Darkened One.”

I shrugged as I said, “I’ve never used a bow, so yeah.”

She lowered the bow before saying, “Come on. Beating someone who’s so resigned already, it has no meaning.”

“Oh, of course. I meant that losing this competition would ruin my entire life. Oh how I would despise facing loss. Please, anything but that.”

She rolled her eyes before she said, “You’re acting sucks, but I suppose that’ll do.”

She drew back her bow once more before letting the arrow fly loose. Like a trained marksman, it landed dead center before she turned and grinned. She said, “Yeah, I know. Hold your praises.”

I let my shoulders droop before I said with an exasperated frown, “You’re rather talented for a beginner.”

“Well, you know how it is.”

“Not really. Please enlighten me.”

“Petra and I trained with bows often. She said it helped with aiming tricky gemchains.”

I pursed my lips as I said, “Well, go ahead and let’s see if you can keep it up then.”

After splitting the arrow three times then making a ring on the outer edge with the remaining six arrows, she smirked at me while handing over the arrows. I said, “Alright then. Prepare for the comeback.”

She rolled her eyes before I tested the string of the arrow.A problem immediately arose. You see, I had controlled my strength by using two different modes, one soft, one savage. All or none. I didn’t use my strength in other doses. Deluge’s modifications occurred so often that keeping a precise and specific handling of that force had been impossible.

So I figured I’d only need two ways of using it. One for fighting and one for everything else. The string moved without my feeling the tension in it either, so I couldn’t measure how far the arrow would lob. The task at hand seemed impossible.

After a minute, Joan nudged my side as she said, “Is the big old scary Darkened One struggling with a little ol bow?”

A slight, reddish tint colored my skin as I said, “Maybe.”

She grabbed my shoulders and pulled me down as she said, “Alright, let me show you the ropes.”

I lunged onto one knee before she nestled between my arms and said, “So first off, you’re gonna have to adjust yourself to this tiny little bow. You have long arms and you’re tall, so you’ll only be pulling back slightly rather than the full pulls I was doing earlier.”

As she spoke, the contact between our bodies distracted me more than I’d enjoy admitting. Joan’s athletic, lean figure enticed me, and despite her excellent explanation, I couldn’t listen wholeheartedly.

She finished her words with, “And make sure you follow through with your shot. Otherwise it’ll veer off randomly.”

I nodded before she gave me some room and said, “Then let her rip.”

I pulled back for less than a second before the string snapped in my fingers. Slinging in the air, the twine string shot towards Joan’s face before my body reacted on its own. My hand bolted outwards and caught the cord just shy of Joan’s eye. Frozen in place, Joan and I stood still before a wind interrupted the sincere silence.

Joan busted into a bout of laughter before saying, “This isn’t even fair. You can barely control yourself.”

I sighed as I looked up at the sky and said, “It’s almost sad.”

The gritty, honest misery of my words moved her, so she said, “Are you alright Jack?”

I glanced at her as I said, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

She propped onto one hip as she said, “You’re obviously not. Just tell me what’s on your mind.”

I blinked before biting my lip and saying, “I mean, I don’t really know myself. It’s just a sort of melancholy.”

She sat down and crossed her legs before she said, “Well, now’s as good a time as any to figure out what’s wrong. I don’t want you brooding for the rest of our date after all.”

A small smile appeared on my lips before the fading expression disappeared. After a moment, I fell from my lunge into cross legged position of my own. A dull, dimmed thud echoed from my sitting, accentuating the danger of just being around her. We sat there as she sat waiting with a patient resolve.

After a minute of waiting, I said, “I just…it feels like you’d have lived so much more if you’d never met me.”

A suppressed but visible annoyance popped onto her face as she said, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I frowned as I said, “How to explain…Imagine this.”

I opened my hands wide as I said, “You’d have never met me, and were still at Mareovosa. Petra would teach you every day as you prepared for your future as a royal guard. You’d be an object of envy for many a man, and Sophia would be researching with Alistair. You’d both be able to see your families. You’d both be happy.”

I lowered my arms as I stared at a patch of exposed ground, “Yet instead you met Jack Donovan. The Darkened One and saint Jericho wrapped all in one. Petra died because of me. You’ll never see your family again. Sophia lost Alistair, her only real family. Both of you camp without a roof over your heads, exposed to the elements and discomforts that come with nature.”

My voice and eyes hollowed as I continued, “You’re lover is a cannibal. A murderer who brings carnage wherever he goes. I’m a monster living under human skin. I try to live like a human, but I just fall back into the abyss. I’ve stared into it, and it stares straight into me.”

Joan snapped, “You are no monster.” She placed a hand on her chest as she said, “Do you know how many times you saved my life? Eh?”

I glanced at her as I said, my voice monotone and meager, “Like how I just saved you from losing one of your eyes?”

“Exactly.”

“My lack of control almost caused that, and if I had reached but a few more inches towards your face, your brain would be scattered across the dirt.”

Joan bit her lip before she said, “That’s just not fair. Petra almost killed me countless times. It’s a part of life.”

I sighed before I said, “It’s a life I’ve taken from you…”

She rolled her eyes before she said, “Look, you know what I was doing before I met you? I trained from dawn till dusk so that I could become a good little girl. The Huxley family saw my talent, and that talent became something I wish I never had. I never got to do anything besides eat sleep and train. Me and Sophia met because she was tasked with organizing the gems before Petra and I used them.”

She snapped her words like a fiery whip, “I was so, so tired of everything. I spent the few pieces of free time I had playing on the piano. I had nothing else, and guess what? No one listened. I was all alone. Until I met you.”

She stood and walked over before pressing her lips against mine. The soft sensation eased my melancholy before she said as she pressed her forehead against me, “You got me away from all that. Now I’m traveling the world with all my friends. I’m doing something exciting and new and fun. It’s the exact opposite of the boring stuff I did before.

She cupped my hands with her cheeks as she said, “I don’t care if you’re half alien, you’re the coolest, wittiest guy I know. Petra had gone insane after we left you. I was gonna die, but you came in on a white horse and carried me to safety.”

A short laugh escaped me before I said, “I remember it differently. I remember rage.”

She let’s go of me before saying, “Whatever. My memories kinda hazy too, but you saved me. You can’t deny that.”

Despite my misgivings, I couldn’t help but smile. Joan’s delight engulfed my gloom. I found myself leaning towards her before I realized, so I kissed her before standing up and saying, “You're right. I’ve no time for self-loathing. There’s a captivating enchantress sitting beside me, and she’s not one for waiting.”

She grabbed my hand before I lifted her into the air by both of my hands on her hips. Ready and waiting, she struck the pose of a bird gliding in the air before I pulled her against me, both of us giggling at each other.

After setting her down, we walked back towards the owner. A pleasant chatter formed between us as we walked. With the harsh gloom of before ending, the following elation thundered in our ears and saturated our spirits. Even as we handed over two gold pieces for the bow, no discomfort nor dissatisfaction rumbled in my mind. Joan wouldn’t allow it.

With the archery fiasco over with, we traveled towards the southern district of the town. The nobles settled here along with the upper class merchants. It created a dense collection of luxury shop and stores. Drake recommended it, saying, ‘It’s Perfect for a date for a young lady.’

After a few minutes of admiring the scenery, we reached a white shop on the edge of a hill. The well-kept cobblestone bordered the outskirts of the three story building. It was once a city loving noble’s house. Now it sold delicious sweets.

Pointed spires stood atop multiple sharp rooftops covered in shale. As we walked up the stone steps, we gripped onto the ornate, metallic rails. Two low lit gems hung on the entrance, bathing us in a warm, welcoming glow. of orange and yellow. lit the entry, setting the entrance into a soothing scene. At the front stood a man clad in white with his auburn hair and his austere, intense posture set himself as the guard and greeter.

As we walked up, he said after a curt bow, “Hello there sir and madam. Would you care to give your names?”

I nodded, my arm intertwined with Joan’s as I said, “I’m Jericho and this is Joan. I reserved a seat on the back balcony several days ago.”

At the man’s side, a stack of rough, fibrous paper sat with every inch of space covered in scribblings of ink. The man deciphered through these rough runes before he said, “Ah, so saint Jericho will be here with this lovely lady this evening then?”

I nodded before Joan nudged my side and said, “Wow, you here that. I’m a lovely lady now.”

I rolled my eyes before I returned the man’s smile as I said, “Precisely.”

The man’s posture altered as my and Joan’s appearances contradicted our attitudes. He expected Joan to keep me from tearing everything apart. Instead, I held her enthusiasm at bay.

The butler’s most minute of twitches in his lip gave away his displeasure. Like a true veteran, he proceeded with a practice and precision as he said, “Right this way then.”

After escorting us through the restaurant covered in pillars, and props, we reached the back side of the restaurant. Four sets of stone chairs and stone tables. We sat there as a golem at the back of the restaurant smashed bundles of wheat with its flat fists. A kitchen chef grabbed the powder, tossing it in a bucket before pouring a little oil, pepper, salt, and yeast into the mixture.

He slid the bucket across a table before another chef down the line caught it. With a swift, hurried sleight of hand, the worker broke apart the mush into shaped balls onto a pan. Right as the worker before him had finished setting up his station with ingredients, he slid the bucket back. He put the pan in the stove, tossed a piece of wood below it, then turned back to his table, catching the bucket as he did so.

Like clockwork, they moved like this as I found myself staring. Joan, no less impressed, stared along with me. The sheer conscious control the golem smashed with caught my attention.

Joan snapped, “Hello. Are you listening?”

I shook my head before saying, “Ah, sorry. I lost myself in my thoughts. What were you saying?”

“I was asking you if you liked pie. I didn’t think you’d get so philosophical about it.”

I lifted a pewter fork towards her as I said,“There’s just so much more lying under the crust then just delicious fruit or meat.”

She rolled her eyes before she said, “Oh, really? Mind explaining?”

I squint towards the horizon, my eyes laughing as I said, “I would, but that doesn’t sound very fulfilling…”

She cringed backward at the pun. Brandishing the utensil like a sword, Joan held a fork as she said, “A pun of such crippling badness, it deserves an execution.”

I flipped my fork in my hand before falling into a swordman’s stance as I said, “You’ll never live to see the day of my death, Joan the butcher.”

After a minute or two of crossing our short, four pronged blades, we set our silverware down, each of us feigning fatigue. My voice jittered like rattling teeth as I said, “You…you’ve bested me.”

She lifted her fork overhead as she said, “And this is how you die, darkened one.”

She pressed the fork against my chest before feign my death.. Having watched the whole thing, the butler strode up with his shoes sliding on the steps and stone. Joan and I chuckled at each other before he set out two glasses of wine in front of us. After having our fill of giggling, the man said, his tone sharp as a razor,

“I mean no disrespect to either of you, but an important guest may sit beside you both here soon. If you could quiet down some I would appreciate it tremendously.”

Joan rolled her eyes before pointing the fork at him and saying, “You wanna be next?”

I reached out my hand on mock desperation, “This foolish death of mine, it’s pitiful and painful, even in memory. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. Run while you still can.”

Joan squinted her eyes with mocking menace before poking the air with the fork as she said, “Be ready for your doom. Death by sword fork.”

As the butler purpled in frustration, Joan and I giggled at his ridiculous severity. His uptight attitude only made mocking him more fun. Instead of accepting our jovial jests, he stomped his feet as he strode off, acting like a spoiled child. It annoyed me, but I tolerated it for the sake of our evening. A different butler came and apologized for his rudeness, and he brought an extra dish as a favor. I devoured the delicacy as Joan spoke about her past with Petra.

Unlike most in mourning, Joan spoke of Petra with a surprising ease. She’d handled her torture at the hands of the palisade in much the same way. Her capacity for overcoming any misfortune astonished me. Perhaps she expressed her grief differently than others. She stood tall while carrying that back breaking hardship across her shoulders. I hoped to do the same.

Yet those thoughts occurred long after that evening. Instead of contemplating Joan’s endurance, she and I danced after our dinner, moving with our own relentless intensity. I’d prepared the evening by gaining an invitation towards an after party. Few nobles in the city wouldn’t enjoy boasting about a guest like Jericho, so finding a suitor proved simple.

We’d paced into the house of the noble named Bodwell Casby. His mansion embraced the fashion of sweeping banners and tall, open rooms. The gold and white coloration covered his floors, and simple yet elegant murals hid the stone of the wall behind their beauty.

Whenever the orchestra started, Joan and I engulfed the room. Our figures intertwined with energy unyielding. Like acting acrobats, we moved with each other while weaving our every step in a flood of movement. Both electric and enlivened, we shifted silhouettes as angles of light danced across us.

The others gave us enough room for our task, and many even asked if we were dancers brought in for entertainment. I couldn’t blame them. With Joan’s vitality and my vigor, we shifted until sheens of sweat dripped from us. Both she and I delighted in exercise. We savoured the distraction. It let us leave our lives for a moment. No future. No past. Simply the present.

After traveling and undertaking for many months, we found something easy to focus on. We found something fun.

As with all lovely and likeable times, the party ended faster than I would have liked. After what felt like minutes, Bodwell walked up with his jolly gray mane bouncing as he said, “It was spectacular you two, but the moon’s overhead. We need to be off to bed.”

As I glanced around, servants strode past us as they picked up and put away the silverware and tables of the party. Lit lamps choked as they snuffed them out one by one. Like a channel of rainwater pouring into a river, the bash had ended, draining away at the mercy of time.

Still, we’d enjoyed ourselves. Joan and I excused ourselves after a few quick and cordial goodbyes. With that, we paced back towards our encampment after drinking our fill of leftover wine.

Deluge processed the liquid almost instantly as it touched my lips. On the other hand, Joan had already gained a rosy tint in her cheeks, and her sultry tone inflamed my longing.

Her intoxication expanded as the night continued, as if the alcohol rested in her belly before diluting her blood. Giggling without meaning, we paced through the moonlit town with torches beckoning our path like beacons. Out of focus in the distance, the fuzzy lights turned the town into an ocean of orange.

I found myself supporting her while my actions became looser and lither. Infectious as a yawn, her stupor dripped into me. We walked that way for many minutes until Joan interrupted our wordless uproar,

“Yenno why I was at Mareovosa?”

I blinked before saying, “Not really.”

She mushed her face against my chest as she said, her voice muffled, “I wasn’t scouted or anything…I was actually running away.”

As I held her up by her waist with my right arm, Joan’s upper body fumbled around without any support, so I grabbed her left arm with my other hand and draped the limb around me. After she steadied, I said, “What were you running from?”

Due to her rambling before, I hadn’t paid as much attention as I should. My reply came out coarse leather, “Myself.”

She replied, “One of those princes wanted me…He liked how white I was…I told him to fuck himself…heh.”

At this point, the hazy veil fell from my face. She smooshed her face further against me as she said, “I want to tell you something right now…I don’t know why.”

I leaned my chin against the top of her head as she continued, “The reason I left…It was because we had some sort ahhhhh…meeting I guess? Like, for us to meet and stuff.”

I silently listened.

“Yenno…It wasn’t so bad. I didn’t mind him much…I mean, I guess it wasn’t so bad…I think…Well, anyway, it went all downhill after a while.”

The creeping, crawling edge of heartache in her voice, it tore at my chest like a serrated knife sawing through my ribs. The unfamiliar feeling of raw regret knotted in my throat and in my gut. She continued,

“I…I didn’t really wanna tell you and stuff…I knew it would hurt you to hear…I mean , it hurts me just to say, so of course…it would hurt you…but I just…I think it’ll help you with your…guilt.”

Tears welled in her eyes. She said, “They uhhh…I was raped.”

Like a lead hammer slamming into my sternum, a lungful of air left my chest. She continued, “It hurt…It was so bad…It was the worst.”

A part of me wanted to know the man’s name so I could tear off his genitals and feed them to him. I quelled that frantic fury before I stopped. Hugging her against me, I said, “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.”

Tears fell from her cheeks, but she controlled her outburst. It was like her sadness had filled her entire soul before spilling out her eyes. It escaped her, even though she repressed the tears with a deep, devastating will.

The steady steam evolved into an outpour as she said, “It…uh…My parents…I told them…they...they tried to force a marriage…They told me that they were trying to-“

Her voice broke before she lifted her face and blinked a pool of tears from her eyes. She continued, her voice raspy and rough, “To get something out of it…I just left…I told Petra bout it…about how I felt tainted and dirty and ugly…She understood…She helped me while I was here…I wanted her to teach me how to be strong…”

I frowned as I held her. Her pain was my pain, her sorrow my own. I found no words that would help her, so I held her close. It was all I could do. We sat there for a time. How long? I don’t really know. I pulled her out of the hug and said,

“I have someone you should meet.”

She wiped her mouth and said, “Who?”

“An old friend.”

We walked out of town, my arm around her waist. We reached an old shanty shack at the outskirts of town. The decrepit doorway held on by the rusted hinges while the stairs supported their decayed frame by some unknown force. Missing tiles and planks on the roof and walls complemented the decayed and worm ridden wood, but I enjoyed the sight.

Instead of a broken home, I saw a sort of cycle, a new beginning. Grass grew from within and around the home while insects ate the lifeless wood for nourishment. Rats scurried from the floor as we approached and Joan questioned,

“Um, where are they?”

"Right here."