14 Innoncence Lost

I got up groggily. I started to rub my jaw. It hurt like hell. To think that I could be taken down so easily…

My widening gaze was suddenly averted when I caught a glimpse of what was before me.

In front of me was a bloody scene. Crimson lined the counter of the room, trailing down to the ground where it pooled around the head of one of the bandits. Standing over him…was Azraea. Her hands were covered in blood. The air around her felt cold and strangely unapproachable for her.

She stood silent.

"Azraea?" I asked. She turned around, completely spooked. Without hesitation she ran out of the building in a hurry.

"Azraea!" I called out to her and followed. I couldn't run nearly as fast as she could. But at least I wouldn't lose sight of her like I did with Rissa.

I kept on running, my feet thumping on the ground over and over as I tried my best to catch up to her. But she didn't stop.

"Stop chasing me!" she yelled. "I don't want to-"

CRASH

Azraea lost her footing and swiftly hit the ground. A sandstorm of dust flew up as she made impact with the dirt. A heavy one at that.

I rushed and caught up to her. She was covered in dirt all over her face and arms and her dress was soiled by the ground. Without thinking I put my hand out to help her up.

But she smacked it away.

"I told you to stop…" she said. Then she stood up on her own, brushing the dirt from her dress.

"But why?" I asked her. "Why did you just run like that?"

"Because I failed." Azraea said. "Because I failed, a man needlessly died today. By my own hand no less…"

Her stare was dark. I could feel her regrets and pain echoing from her look as it began to rain. It came down in bullets, soaking the both of us in no time at all. But I didn't care about the rain right now…

"It wasn't your fault…" I said. "He simply wouldn't go down right-"

"He didn't fight back." Azraea interrupted. "It was me…"

"No." I responded. "It couldn't have been you. You aren't like that."

"It seems I am." Azraea said. "I didn't feel a thing when I did it. I didn't even realise I was doing it until it had happened. It was second nature."

The rain kept coming down. Her soaked ashen hair gleamed in the half-hidden sun. Her golden eye seemed duller and less regal than it was when I first met her. I had lost my nerve to speak when she said that.

Azraea unhooked the gold pouch that she kept on her belt and threw it over near my feet. It landed in the mud.

"Keep it." Azraea said. "I won't need it anymore."

I hesitated to ask.

"Why?"

"I'm going back." Azraea answered. "I know now why I couldn't be let out of that room."

That sunk in deeper than the hit I took earlier. I almost couldn't believe it. But nonetheless, Azraea slung her shortsword off of her waist and threw that toward me too. It stuck in the mud, caking the scabbard. She was serious.

Yet I couldn't speak up as she turned her back on me and started walking. Was she really leaving?

"Az…raea…" I made out her name softly as she vanished from my sight. I had lost my chance to speak up.

She had vanished over the horizon as I simply stood by and watched. I was too shocked to speak.

She was gone.

*****

I walked down the muddy street. My boots kept sticking into the ground as I walked away. Away from this life of freedom. Away from the risk of me hurting him.

"So that's it?" she said. "You're just running away?"

She began to laugh.

"I didn't know that my sister was such a coward." she mocked. "Running away from your problems? Covering it up with some noble notion of protecting someone?"

Stop it.

"You're just a coward by any other name." she continued. "You keep pushing people away. You keep trying to escape what will happen. You're just a big coward."

Stop.

"You'd be better off letting me have this wastage of a body." she told me. "Then you can cry and hide from your problems all you want."

"I SAID STOP!" I shouted as I smacked my cheeks hard.

Her voice went quiet. My voice kept echoing through the alleys of the town. It was quiet at last…

I kept on walking. All the way to my destination. That prison of a manor house that my father calls his home.

Was this the right choice? I didn't mean to sound so cold when I left. I wonder if Keita feels hurt over it.

Maybe she's right. Maybe I am running from my problems.

But we'll see.

*****

I was sitting at home. In my room. It was quiet. Lonesomely so. I could hear the ticking of the clock go on and on and on as I sat on my bed. The clock had ticked for…hours? Days? Who knows…

In my hands, the sword that Azraea had simply thrown at my feet.

I could feel the rough leather as I ran my hand over the scabbard. Imprinted on the leather was the initials A.A. Along with a crest. A snake wrapped around a sword. It was the first time that I'd seen her weapon close up. It was always hidden under her dress out of sight.

There was a rasp of steel as I pulled the blade out of its scabbard. It was a shorter blade than what I had. Made of silver and had the same insignia as the scabbard on the blade.

"She's really gone…" I whispered to myself as I ran my hand along the silver blade. It was cold. Like the way she left. It was unlike her.

Why did she leave? She couldn't have left just because of her conscience. Could she have? No. That wouldn't have been enough. She's too strong minded to be that fragile.

I know. Maybe she was trying to keep me safe from her. It must be it. She was protecting her friend. I am her friend.

Aren't I?

I continued to simply lie in bed, holding the sword close to me. This couldn't have been her intention to leave. I have to find her. But where was her father's home?

Or did she really want this?

No. There's no way.

But if I'm wrong…I'll need to bide my time before I make a move.

CREAK

I heard footsteps coming up the hall. Light, soft footsteps. Cat-like.

Rissa.

The door opened a bit, I could see her orange feline eyes poking through as she looked at me.

"Are ya alright?" she asked me. I shifted the sword back into its scabbard and rested it next to mine.

"I…" I couldn't get the words out. I wanted to tell her what happened. But I still felt like I couldn't believe what I would say.

"Keita?" Rissa looked confusedly at me. "Something wrong?"

"N-No…" I replied quietly. I looked at her with a smile. "Nothing's wrong…"

"Don't lie ta me." Rissa snapped. "Ah know that smile. It's a liar's smile."

I went quiet. She found me out instantly.

"Now tell me what's wrong." Rissa pried.

"..." I sighed. "She's gone…" I whispered.

"What?" Rissa asked.

"I said Azraea's gone." I spoke up, shaking a little.

"What…" Rissa stood back in small shock. "But why?"

"I don't know…" I replied. "I think..I think she felt guilty. She felt like she couldn't stay near us, that there was a risk of her hurting us….I couldn't speak up in time to tell her otherwise…"

"That's strange…" Rissa sat down next to me, flattening out her tail on the bed.

"That's what I thought. But it's happening…" I laid back on the bed, closing my eyes…

WHACK

I found myself jerked up by a strike to my gut.

"So you're just gonna sit there an' feel bad?" Rissa snapped. "Ya wanted to tell her something, but now that ya can't you're just gonna sit there?!"

"No…" I responded. "But I have no idea where her home is…and if she's the daughter of a baron, I won't have much chance of getting in without trouble…it's so useless…."

"Nothing'll change if ya don't act!" She snapped back. "That's what ya told me right? Follow ya own advice."

"But…"

"No buts!" Rissa interrupted. "Now either ya do it, or ya don't."

She fell silent for a moment.

"Lemme teach ya a way to get inside without trouble." Rissa added. "Ya know magic right?"

"Yes, I know a few spells…" I replied cautiously. What was she planning?

All I saw was Rissa grin. That was when I knew what she was going to tell me.

*****