Chapter 120: Lay your arms

Golden wheat’s stretches across acres of field. The wind seemed to make waves out of the fields. They sway where the blind blows. In the field, there are two people sitting in a circular clearing. The wheat around them seemed to have been reaped out by some unknown force.

The two sat idly in the cleared fields. They look at the fields of gold and idled staring at the scenery before them without giving much thought. The two knew of this place and the idyllic look of the area is engraved in their heads. The two loved this place.

“Here we are. That overlord sure did transport us far.”

“Mhm, he is powerful. Probably could portal around the continent, killing important figures, But he didn’t.”

The man with auburn-hair muttered with his eyes half-shut. He looked at the wheat field and thought how beautiful it was. The air was fresh and was gentle as it caresses his messy hair. Arden felt like he was asleep for a good while. The portal that they were thrown out seemed to have made them sleep for days. He could deduce so because of the color of the sky and the cold winding wind that he could smell and feel.

“I wonder what will happen now?” said Lafiel, who embraces her knees, staring at the blue sky with fog on her eyes. “The south won against the north, which much is obvious. And with those legions of soldiers in front of the gray-skin lands then it should be no surprise that the elves and the others have been subjugated.”

“Hmm, the war is over. And if what we hear is right. Then I am slaughterer and an instigator of the war. Lafiel, I thought of myself innocent. It was not my fault. It was them. I thought of that. But knowing that they won, I could not help but think that through me bombing the monastery, the ashes of the crusades started. And through that, they found the moral and the zealousness to win.”

Arden made a bitter smile. His face crumpled like a sheet of paper.

“I did all of those and even if I close my eyes and lie to myself that I had no part of it. My actions that day have caused a thousand lives to be lost. An impulsive action of mine led to hundreds of deaths. Whether human or not, the blood in my hands will never cease to despair me.”

The wind carried his voice. Lafiel pushed her hair back. She sees the rather depressing face that Arden had. She has seen this expression a lot in the three years that they spent. The three years made her appreciate him. She thought of him as a lost soul that needed help.

She wasn’t some sire or soothsayer. She is a half-blood magician that could at least help him be more human. She liked him enough. Their meeting on that unknown land covered in snow made her unable to stop remembering about Arden.

“Indeed,” she said. “You did a lot. I did a lot too. Not as much as you, but I could tell that it would weight on your mind. Look at you, so sad, your brows furrowed as if you carry the weight of their death. Arden, you were merely a domino that led to even greater dominos falling. You got played by the hands of fate. And honestly, I thank fate for that.”

Arden looked at her with confusing eyes. His face wrinkled.

“If you didn’t blow them then you wouldn’t have found me. I wouldn’t have asked you to help me. Don’t look at me like that weirdly, I know that it is kinda dark and apathetic to say this, but I am honestly thankful that you did what you did.”

Lafiel smiled brightly. Arden could not get mad at her. She was like the sun and her beautiful face coupled with that shining smile of hers was enough to push any sort of aggressive feelings that would spurn him mad.

“Well, I know that you aren’t bad.” continued Lafiel. “You are just really dumb at judging. Your eager desires to help were quite single-minded. It took me two years to make you understand. You know of good and evil but judging them wasn’t your forte. Do you remember? You like really baking bread and cooking.”

Arden glances at Lafiel. He then recalls his time baking in that idyllic village. He was happy when he was baking. All the recipes he knew were from his foster father. Aside from practicing how to handle the sword or learning how to effectively break the bone of someone within fifteen seconds tops. His foster father enjoyed cooking and especially baking. His father was fond of it and that it reminded him of his foreign world.

“I really do,” Arden said. “It calms me. If it wasn’t for that then I would have hunted down those brigands and gutted them”

“You would have.”

Lafiel smiled wearily. She remembered the time when brigands were roaming on that village they stayed. She remembered how bloodthirsty he was and how he wanted to kill them all. It was through her insistence that Arden avoided slaughtering them impulsively. But in the end, they did took care of the brigands.

“You always hold me back Lafiel.” said Arden, “But even so, I cannot rely on your forever. I love our time together. I really do. I am not that dumb enough to not notice but...”

“I know.”

It was obvious. Lafiel knew she could not hide it. Arden guessed right. Indeed she thought of him that way. And their time spent together was precious to her. She could only blush furiously as Arden stares at her. The wind blew for them. It was cool and it made Arden loosen up.

“So that’s it then. Arden, I am giving you a choice. I know that there is a lot in your mind. I know that you are bothered and felt like you need to redeem yourself. But—“

Lafiel paused.

“—you always try to forget about them. Leave them be. I will forget about my tribe. And you will forget about anything. So I ask of you. Would like you to go back to that village with me? I” she blushes, “Would love to spend my life with you.”

Arden opened his mouth. Then words came about.