Chapter 15

The chimera advanced. Viola took out a syringe while Roselle got out her rapier. Cerise took out her wand, ready to fight. She won’t be stuck here helpless and not contributing anything! She finally found her courage after encountering the Kraken and found it was possible to do something with her own agency and power, and she would defeat this chimera as well.

“Don’t worry, Roselle,” Cerise said while she stood in front of Roselle and Viola, much to the other’s surprise. “I’ll be the one to protect you. I think that…after fighting the Kraken, I’ve found out something about myself. That I can do something, that I’m capable. So now, Roselle it is your turn to watch my back!”

“What’re you going to do, Cerise?” Roselle asked while Cerise tried to walk towards the chimera and tame it. “Cerise, no! It’s…twisted beyond help! There’s no way that you can resolve this peacefully! These chimeras are our enemies!”

“There’s got to be some way to help tame it instead of mindlessly attacking it,” Cerise said. “Just watch, Roselle. Remember when you got into a fight with a dragon that was merely protecting her egg? If I can figure out what this thing wants, then maybe it will go away and not attack us.”

“Please, Cerise now is not the time for your humanitarian nature!” Roselle said. “Faust sent it after us, I think.”

“Please, listen to me, Roselle,” Cerise said with pleading eyes and Roselle looked reluctant. “If I can just get a connection with it like I did with the dragon…”

“Don’t do it, Cerise!” Roselle cried, though Cerise ignored her warnings and attempted to sense the chimera’s energies and what it’s mood was.

Unfortunately, there was nothing but twisted and morbid thoughts inside the Chimera’s mind; nothing but bloodshed and the lust for the hunt, it’s prey was in front of it, it wanted to dig its teeth in its prey and rip out the jugular…

Cerise gasped, and before she knew it, the lupine Chimera was on Roselle before she knew it.

Roselle screamed. The lupine creature bit into her leg with steel vice jaws. If it weren’t for Viola’s intervention, which was to swipe at the creature’s head with her sword, Roselle might’ve lost a leg. Cerise stood there, numbed, suddenly feeling a deep despair wash over her. This was her fault, she knew, and Roselle paid the price.

Out of the battle and Viola tending to Roselle’s leg, Cerise decided that she would use her magic to blast at the creature for hurting Roselle. However, when she tried to concentrate her magic, she could only think of bloodlust and the hunt, of sinking her jaws into her prey’s leg and—

Dark energies started to swirl around her. Cerise let out a cry, becoming corrupted from the magic that was now a foci inside her wand. She released powerful, destructive magic that defeated the chimera, but left her senseless with blind rage and bloodlust. She started to blast at the lupine creature’s body with several blasts of destructive magic until none of it was left; and when Cerise came to her senses, she saw that Roselle’s eyes were widened.

Roselle was afraid of her.

Cerise swallowed. It was her fault, and she didn’t know how to explain herself. Something overcame her, and she couldn’t help herself, and she wanted to make sure that the creature that hurt her beloved Roselle was dead…

‘Well,” Cerise said, trying to soothe over the fear that Roselle displayed towards her. “It’s defeated, isn’t it?”

“Cerise,” Roselle said faintly. “Are you sure that you’re well?”

“Oh yeah!” Cerise said, putting on a smile towards Roselle. “Just fine. Perfect. I mean, I should be asking you that question. How’s your leg, Roselle?”

“It’s injured,” Viola said simply. “The Chimera managed to break her leg with its jaws.”

Cerise swallowed again. How foolish she must’ve appeared. She made a grave error, she knew it, they all knew it, and now Roselle was hurt because of her. Didn’t Cerise say that she would be the one to protect Roselle? Was it a lie that she had the power to do anything at all? She was the same powerless girl that she had been back then; it’s just that this time she had some terrible destructive magic which she had no idea how to control it.

“I should b fine,” Roselle said while Viola made a splint. “Don’t…need help.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Viola said sternly. “Prince Caspian made me watch over you, Princess Roselle. You need to let your leg recover, and you can’t go hopping on about wherever you damn well, please. This injury; there’s a possibility that you might not be able to perform the fancy footwork that you do for your rapier.”

When Roselle heard this, the light seemed to die out of her eyes. No magic, no footwork, unable to spar with her rapier; that was a major blow. Cerise bowed her head in embarassment. This was all her fault. She neded up hurting Roselle more and more, didn’t she? She wounded her pride at first, and now Cerise took away something that was dearly important to her; her image as the Grand Duelist. If she couldn’t do the fancy footwork required to keep up with her dancing rapier moves, how would she be able to maintain it now? More importantly, Roselle loved swordfighting more than anything else; the thrill of a competition, the savory aspect of winning. But now…Cerise took it all from her by a single mistake…

I’m so sorry, Roselle, Cerise wanted to say, though the words died on her lips when she saw Roselle’s blank expression. Sorry was useless in this situation; nothing could mend the broken trust that was formed between them now.

“Let’s go,” Roselle said distantly.”I don’t wish to be carried like a newborn babe, but this leg…it hurts so.”

“I’ll carry you,” Viola said simply, before hoisting Roselle on her back. Viola then trekked off ahead without looking back. Cerise trailed behind, mourning Roselle and how she wounded her even more grievously then the chimera did. This was something that would not heal, even after her leg recovered from its injury.

I hate myself, Cerise thought to herself. I truly mean it. If it weren’t for me, then Roselle would've been happily living her life without me. I am the bane to her happiness

—x—

They stopped at nightfall in a forest. Viola tended to a camp while Roselle sat on a log waiting patiently for Viola to hunt their game. She was gone for a while, supposedly giving Cerise some time to mend her injuries to Roselle. Cerise almost let out a sigh. Viola was making things more difficult for her, wasn’t she? If Prince Caspian heard that Roselle was injured and it was her fault, then Cerise knew that the Prince would hate her again.

I am truly despicable, Cerise thought. What should I do? What should I say? How do I comfort her in this direst situation? I feel so powerless, even more, powerless than when my sister fell into a magical coma. IS it possible that…all of these events are my fault? That the universe is conspiring to make everything go wrong for me?

“Roselle…” Cerise said while putting a hand upon the Princess’s shoulder. No response. “I’m really sorry….I didn’t give you a properly apology before for hurting you at the beginning of this journey, and I probably can’t think of a proper apology now. But know that, from the deepest depths of my heart, that I didn’t mean for this to happen and if I had the power to change it I could. It’s my fault, really…so if you hate me, Roselle, then I don’t blame you.”

“Ha,” Roselle said, not turning to look. “I might’ve once said that I hated you and I would’ve been glad for any reason to hate you. But it seems as though our destinies are intertwined together, Miss Cerise de Vernase. You’re stuck with me, whether or not you like it.”

“Roselle…” Cerise said before she took Roselle’s hand and held it with her own. Roselle gripped it slightly and then slackened her grip. She was looked up at the stars in the sky. Cerise found them beautiful, enchanting; almost haunting in a way. Cerise once remembered that her sister told her that when people die, their soul ascends to the heavens as a star. Did Roselle believe that too? Cerise often wondered whether there was a greater purpose to the universe or not, or whether it was made out of chaos and random patterns that coincided with something that emerged into existence and people were meant to make meaning of it.

“Cerise…” Roselle said before she turned to look at the redhead. Cerise blushed slightly, before she unconsciously leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. The stars looked on; the world held it’s breath. “If we find this Faust…what will we do?”

Cerise shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“He has to pay for his crimes…” Roselle said aloud. “We can’t just let him go around doing what he pleases. I just hope that this will be enough to save Father…”

“And I hope my sister will be spared as well,” Cerise said before she wondered aloud. “Do you think that Faust, the Philosopher’s STone, and my sister andyouru father have a connection somehow?”

“I’m not sure,” Roselle said before Viola returned with a brace of rabbits.

“Dinner is going to be ready soon,” Viola said as she started to skin the rabbits with a knife. “I’ll make sure to patch up your leg, Roselle. It will take time to heal, but I think we must stop our pursuit of Faust to work on recovering your leg. But don’t worry. We will find him.”

—x—

Faust sensed her with a scrying bird in Altania. Yes, she was the one that he originally tracked down but snagged her sister instead. He made a deal with that stupid sister that he wouldn’t touch Cerise as long as she sacrificed herself in Cerise’s place. A foolish, sentimental gesture. It didn’t deter his plans, and he merely coaxed Anna into giving up her soul for him. The King also readily sacrificed his own soul for his beloved daughter Roselle; a spoiled, childish prat that no doubt wanted to challenge him in a duel. But oh, things were orchestrated perfectly; he needed to think of the opportune moment to finally meet them while he made preparations for activating the Philosopher’s Stone again.

It was all going according to plan. The two girls had no idea what was in store for them. Faust would continue to let the scenario play out further; he always loved the idea of tragic lovers best. Who would’ve thought that he heard whispers upon the wind that the Grand Duelist and the girl that he sought would be married together? Killing two birds with one stone, apparently. He would have Cerise, and then as for Roselle, that pesky King’s daughter, he can hold the girl as leverage against the Queen. He liked the idea of that.

While receiving a message from one his crows, Faust then lets one of them fly aloft, to scry over the unfortunate souls that wandered in a wasteland.