Ch. 6: I'll Never Let You Go (MOON)
I wondered how long I'd been chasing after Fluff.
He finally stopped walking in a narrow alley and I grabbed him.
OO: "Fluff, what are you doing? Let's go back to the castle ok? I'm sure Avi is worried about you."
At that time...
??: "Well now, what's a cute little lady like you doing out here all alone in the middle of the night?"
I turned towards the voice, and saw that I have been surrounded by three men wearing armor.
Armored Man 1: "This is perfect, why don't you come keep us company?"
Armored Man 2: "You know, we came to Alstoria to become knights, but the training they give us here is super strict, just like the rumors said."
Their faces were flushed.
Drunk...? What should I do?
Armored Man 3: "Hey, come on now."
OO: "Stop it, please!"
One of the men grabbed my arm and I used all my strength to shake him off.
Overbalanced, he fell over.
Armored Man 2: "Why you little..."
The man unsheathed his sword.
OO: "...!"
Armored Man 2: "Know your place woman!"
He raised his sword over his head...
and I held onto Fluff, wanting only to protect him.
A flash of red hair glistened in the moonlight.
Avi: "Don't touch her!"
Avi lept in front of me and deflected the oncoming sword with his own blade.
The harsh clang of metal on metal echoed in the darkness of the night.
Armored Man: "...Prince Avi?!"
Avi: "You guys...you came from another country in the hopes of becoming knights right? Yet you drink your fill of alcohol and raise your hand to a woman... Leave this country at once! And never set foot in Alstoria again!"
Avi thrust the point of his sword at the men.
Armored Man 2: "...damn."
Armored Man 3: "Enough! Not like we wanted to anyway!!"
The armored men left the alley, their steps unsteady.
OO: "Avi..."
Avi: "OO...are you alright?"
OO: "Yeah, thanks."
Avi: "..."
Suddenly, Avi grabbed my shoulder.
OO: "Avi...?"
His grip was tight, and I felt it through to my heart.
Avi: "...you just went off on your own."
OO: "I'm sorry. I saw Fluff leaving and got worried."
Avi: "It was my fault again..."
OO: "Avi? You didn't do anything wrong."
He slowly let go of my shoulder.
I could see Avi's face in the moonlight. It held a hint of kindness, and that was so beautiful it nearly took my breath away.
Avi: "There's something I need to tell you."
He spoke with determination, and we went back to the castle.
Our return journey was uneventful, and when we arrived...
Avi: "I'm sorry...for this afternoon."
OO: "I should be the one apologizing. I kept pushing when I shouldn't have...I'm sorry."
Avi: "It's fine..."
OO: "I had wanted to apologize before, so I'm glad I was finally able to say it."
Avi: "Me too."
OO: "Thanks for saving me back there. I don't know what would have happened if..."
Avi: "I'm just glad I got there in time."
The silence stretched on.
Avi: "...when I was little, I was very weak."
Avi spoke quietly as he began his story.
Avi: "I would get high fevers, and when it got really bad, my mother would go pick the flowers I liked for me. My mother was reckless, but kind. She always had to be doing something, and she'd go out in the middle of the night without an escort..."
Avi momentarily seemed at a loss for words.
Avi: "In a glade of flowers...a little ways from the castle...she was attacked by an animal and died. I was told later...that she had gone out to pick flowers for me."
That's so...
Avi: "The dog in the painting is Fluff's mother. My mother would often take her along. On that day, she was there in the glade too. That's why I have a hard time looking at Fluff. I think of how he lost his mother too, because of me..."
OO: "Avi..."
He held his hands together as they shook.
I gently grasped his hands.
Avi: "I don't want to lose the things that are important to me anymore. I want to be strong, which is why I continue to wield my sword. But this sorrow...I still can't forget it."
In my mind, I connected everything to that sorrow.
The withered plants and the dried flowers frozen in time.
What he had told me in the courtyard about the blue-purple flowers.
How he was unable to touch Fluff, who had been left behind after his mother's passing.
And how he had seen the portrait and stubbornly rejected it...
Avi: "...I don't want to experience that every again."
Avi put his strong hand on my cheek.
Avi: "I hurt you... I'm so pathetic."
My chest ached, and I was painfully aware that there was nothing I could do. Teares blurred my vision...
However...
Avi: "Why are you smiling while crying?"
Avi looked at me perplexed as he wiped away my tears with his thumb.
OO: "Sorry. I'm just a little happy."
Avi: "Happy? What are you..."
OO: "You showed me your heart. After all this, I've only been able to think about you."
Avi: "OO..."
OO: "From the very beginning, you always looked so pained. I wondered what I could do to make you smile..."
Avi's face got a little red, and he stared at me intently as if he was thinking of something.
Avi: "...then..."
It felt like Avi's gaze would pierce straight through me.
As if spurred on, Avi suddenly pressed me against a wall.
OO: "A-Avi?!"
He looked straight at me, holding my gaze, and I couldn't look away.
Avi: "Then...no matter what happens, I'll protect you. So, stay with me. ...you said you wanted to make me smile right?"
OO: "U-um..."
Avi: "You're bright red."
With him being so close and me being so flustered, Avi smiled mischievously.
OO: "I mean, Avi...!"
Avi: "...I'm serious."
The pounding in my chest intensified.
Avi: "Answer the question."
Not wanting to give an arbitrary response, I...
OO: "...I want to see you smile. I want to be near you and support you. And I want to know more about you..."
I told him how I really felt.
Avi: "OO..."
Then...
He lifted up my chin and pressed his lips to mine.
It was so sudden I felt as if my chest would burst and I couldn't breathe.
Avi: "I'll never let you go."
As he held me tightly, I wrapped my arms around him.
It was as if we were confirming each other's existence, and trying to convey how we never wanted to be apart.
Outside the window, the morning rays of the sun were like fire.
END