CHAPTER FIVE : TOMORROW AT DAWN

25th January, 2173

6.2 million lightyears from earth

ID : Inner ring planet, Monique region; Lancelot Prime

Damien Hollowstone

" You know, he would always say he wanted to reach the end of the stars, and to travel the whole galaxy"

" leave me alone Gianna, let me suffer in peace"

" oh come on Damien, cheer up a bit, it's been 5 days"

" Are you at all concerned that it was your brother that died?"

" why should I move in sorrow when he died like a true warrior ?"

" Remind me again how we are friends?"

" we are not friends"

" well…the ceremony starts in a few, see you inside"

" bye Gianna, never come back", I said as she walked away.

Today was the day of Sebastian's funeral back on Lancelot, in his hometown of New Paris.

The girl I was talking to was Sebastian's twin sister, Gianna. She was the academy's brightest student, and was second ranked in our class after Tobias. She was also a model student if you ignore the fact that she was a very big idiot.

But her extreme talent and efficiency was not a shock to most people that had a clear knowledge of her heritage.

Gianna and Sebastian were the children of Edward Leohnmolt and Elizabeth Aldridge, Lazarus's sister..

The Leohnmolt family was the closest family to the royal family, them being nobles despite their blood as Half-blooded Galatians. They were especially known for their members that were close guards of the king and the royal family.

The twins were born about a day apart, but it was clear from birth that the family was tugging at the coattails of a male heir to the household, but they were proven very wrong.

The twins at their early ages had very similar power and skill, and you would say that they were mostly at par with each other, but this was all before they turned 6 years old, and the rift in power began to grow.

Gianna was transformed from a good student, to an exceptional prospect. She had the best skills in weaponry, she had immaculate knowledge on Lancelot history, as well as good grades in the fields of sciences and mathematics.

While Sebastian was not a bad student, he was still top ten in our class, but the success of his sister greatly overshadowed his, and people mocked him by calling him names like, 'the useless heir', 'stud', ' mistake', etc.( he was known for taking a lot of bullshit and not really giving a damn.)

Though this criticism was not restricted to school, as even his family members became fond of constantly belittling him.

He was soon replaced as the heir of the family, by his sister, which broke him very much. He often wondered what he had done wrong, and what was wrong with him, when he was clearly the victim.

I stood up after this brief little session of memory lane travels. I looked around me, taking in the surroundings for the first time.

The Leohnmolt's house was surprisingly simple for a noble family. They had for years lived here, generation after generation. The smell of raspberries and nostalgia always plagued the air.

And in Sebastien's words; " it was the perfect definition of heaven and hell"

I looked at the pair of white gate doors at the top of the staircase I was seated on, I smiled as a tear rolled down my face. To think that Sebastien walked in and out of this gate for his whole life, and now this was his final departure from home.

The inside of the house was a complete mess, here's why. First of all, they were little children running all around the place and spilling everything in sight or breaking everything in sight, they were out here multitasking on some evil shit.

Secondly, most of the actual adults in the place were seated in a corner watching Gianna perform a magic trick, which I'm pretty sure was her flipping a card over and over again and shouting fake magic words.

And lastly and I'm sad to say this is the worst thing, the people from the army division we were part of were not here. We had agreed we would all come and pay some respect to Sebastien, but clearly my words fell on deaf ears.

However the brief commotion was soon cut off by the arrival of the priest who was dressed in the usual attire that was required of them; a white suit, a rabbi's robe draped over their shoulders, and a large rosary across their chest.

The arrival of the priest seemed to simmer down everyone's behavior, and we all got seated in the large hall within the Leohnmolt household. The silence enveloped the place as we all began to realize what we had really lost.

The priest looked around the room and stood on a podium up front before letting out a large cough to alert everyone in the room that he was about to begin speaking.

" we are gathered here, on the 25th of January, for the departure of a dear friend, dear son, dear cousin and even a dear leader to most people here, Sebastian Benjamin Leohnmolt", he raised his glasses as he continued to read, " Sebastian was a fine young man, and he lived a life of service to his planet, and devoted his attention to being of utmost help to everyone. I pray, and hopefully we all pray, that his soul may reach the heavens without fail, and that his soul may rest in peace. In the name of the lord, so shall it be."

A round of applause was sent throughout the room as people found themselves drawn to tears at the priest's words. The priest then walked from the podium and took a seat on one of the chairs.

This was followed by another round of applause, as Sebastian's father walked up to the podium.

"My name is Lucas Leohnmolt, the head of the house of Leohnmolt, and the father of the great soul we have lost, Sebastian Leohnmolt.", he coughed as he said his son's name and then looked up and resumed his speech. " Sebastian was my first son, and one of my first children along with his sister Gianna. Sebastian was through and through, a true warrior deserving of the Leohnmolt name, he trained hard both in spirit and in flesh to become a high-caliber warrior for our great empire. However Sebastian was not always just a warrior, he loved to take care of our sheep on the farm, he loved to help his mom with the cooking, he loved playing with his little siblings, he loved painting and pottery. I wish I had taken enough time to appreciate Sebastian for who he was, but I was a terrible father to him. I pray that as his soul rests, he may forgive me."

This was not followed by applause, but by an echoing silence, as people around the room began to sob out loud.

I had never really thought Sebastian's father had emotions, seeing as he would constantly insult Sebastian. I was as well shedding a tear or two, but I resolved that it was better to keep my composure.

As Sebastian's mother went to the podium, a group of people walked into the room quietly, but still gaining attention from everyone in the room; it was the guys from our army division and Tobias as well.

Tobias came and took a seat next to me and silently watched the scene of the room before having a look at me. I could make out the tall figure of sergeant Suwilanji seating besides Tobias.

" Sorry I'm late, I was caught up with the preparations for the new space carrier on base, as well as helping Sergeant Suwilanji with the gear preparation's ."

"It's okay buddy, I'm just glad you're here"

" Who the hell is that?", he said as he pointed to Sebastian's mother

" That is Mrs. Leohnmolt, Sebastian's mom"

" Sebastian would talk about her a lot remember?"

" Yeah, I remember. She was his everything and he was hers, we called him mommy's boy, a lot."

"He is going to be missed a lot"

"Yeah, he is", I said in conclusion, as Sebastian's mother began to speak.

A loud silence engulfed the room, showing that everyone in the room had a great deal of respect for this woman.

"Sebastian was always my baby, despite him being eighteen. He loved to spend time with his mommy, he loved to help me cook and we had a cute little competition. He was not always good at getting along with other kids when he was young, so he would come home and tug onto my skirt and say ' mommy lets go catch some butterflies', and we would go catch some butterflies…", she stopped for a brief moment as she begun to fight the urge to wail. "Sebastian loved the ocean, and he wanted to be a sailor, then he wanted to be a soldier in the army, he wanted to be strong like his daddy, he never gave up and he did become a soldier, not just any soldier, he was one of the most outstanding in his class. He was truly amazing. And I would give anything to see my baby again.", she concluded as she burst into tears.

The room was left with no time to even have a constructive reaction, as Gianna walked to the podium swiftly.

Despite everyone's sobs, and everyone touched by the loss of Sebastian, Gianna looked more emotionless than anyone, she stared at the crowd with a gaze of steel.

"My brother was a strong young man. He was always adamant, and he was not afraid of failure or of disappointment. He died as a true Leohnmolt, he died in battle, he will forever live in our memories, thank you" ,she said as she left the podium.

Everyone in the room was seemingly shocked by this sudden cold speech by Gianna, she was always known as emotionless, but this time she had shown her true nature as an ice cold woman.

Finally the last speaker was due to speak, which happened to be me, his best friend.

I walked to the front nervously as everyone in the room had their gaze focused on me. I was extremely disoriented by this crowd's reaction to Gianna's speech that I worried mine would barely spark a tear.

I cleared my throat before i begun to speak, and suddenly the words just flowed out of my mouth;

" Demain, dès l'aube

Demain, dès l'aube, à l'heure où blanchit la campagne,

Je partirai. Vois-tu, je sais que tu m'attends.

J'irai par la forêt, j'irai par la montagne.

Je ne puis demeurer loin de toi plus longtemps.

Je marcherai les yeux fixés sur mes pensées,

Sans rien voir au dehors, sans entendre aucun bruit,

Seul, inconnu, le dos courbé, les mains croisées,

Triste, et le jour pour moi sera comme la nuit.

Je ne regarderai ni l'or du soir qui tombe,

Ni les voiles au loin descendant vers Harfleur,

Et, quand j'arriverai, je mettrai sur ta tombe

Un bouquet de houx vert et de bruyère en fleur.

…or in English

Tomorrow at Dawn

Tomorrow, at dawn, when the countryside brightens,

I will depart. You see, I know that you wait for me.

I will go through the woods, I will go past the mountains.

I cannot remain far from you any longer.

I will walk, eyes set upon my thoughts,

Seeing nothing around me and hearing no sound,

Alone, unknown, back bent, hands crossed,

Sorrowful, and for me, day will be as night.

I will not watch the evening gold fall,

Nor the distant sails going down to Harfleur,

And, when I arrive, I will put on your grave

A bouquet of green holly and heather in bloom."

"This was Sebastian's favorite piece of poetry, an earth poem from almost two millennia ago. Sebastian was someone who i would only describe as unique, he had an eye for the things people would find odd or weird because he hated the idea of being another person, he wanted to leave a mark on this galaxy, and though he never had enough time to leave his mark on the galaxy, he left a mark on my heart…

… he was a very skilled soldier, and even though he was among the most skilled, Sebastian was the biggest clown in class, he would make everyone laugh after we failed a mission, or just screwed up in general. And I know somewhere out there he is probably there laughing at me, his best friend crying like a little girl again. I imagine him saying to me, what he used to say to me when we were kids and I had just gotten beat up by a bully, he would say ' are you seriously going to take that?, stop being a little girl and show your warriors spirit', and today i say to all of you…let us show our warriors spirit."

As I stepped off the podium, a bell rang to signal the end of the funeral. People walked out of the hall slowly.

There was no coffin because Sebastian's body was deemed dangerous for transportation, and was left in the forest on Neapolitan.

I said goodbye to the people departing and walked outside and sat at the staircase

Shortly afterwards I went to the room that was put up for me in the Leohnmolt house when I came, because I lived half-way around the planet. I looked at the roof and slowly I began to fall asleep. It was crazy since i had not slept for the past five days, i couldn't after that.

I blinked slowly and suddenly I was asleep…

*********

I woke up to the sound of a knock on my door.

It was night now, and I could see the night sky outside through the window. I walked to the door to see who was there, and unfortunately it was Gianna.

"Gianna, what brought you here on such short notice?"

"I'm going for a late night walk, and i needed a strong man to escort me through the scary dark forest"

"In other words, your dad is too tired so you decided I should come along?"

"You are getting smarter, aren't you?, anyways find me by the front door, wear some pants"

That's when i realized i was in my boxers, and they had tiny cupcakes printed onto them, which made it more embarrassing than it should have been

A few minutes later I went to the front door and found Gianna there, this time I had pants on.

We began to walk through the forest in silence as Gianna had a pair of headphones on her ears as she was listening to music. I had a pack of chips and I munched away as we walked through the forest.

I had barely taken any time to notice what Gianna was wearing. She was wearing a large pink robe, with a pair of slides and a large green head sock on her hair.

She surprisingly looked beautiful tonight, and it's either she looked better in the moonlight, or the lack of sleep was really getting to my head.

Her blonde hair flowed softly out of the head sock. Her hair was a shade of blonde that was closer to brown, and it starkly contrasted Sebastian's hair, that was a white-ish blonde.

Though they had the same piercing lime colored eyes, Gianna's looked less welcoming but intimidating. She had that look that said that she could kill you if she wanted to.

We soon reached the dock of a lake that covered the majority of the property.

Gianna took off her headphones and looked at me as if she was expecting something.

" what ?", i asked

" let's go on a boat ride"

" in the middle of the night ?"

" Why not, were both trained soldiers ?"

"But it's dangerous, and they're weird things in lakes at night."

" Damian, trust me"

With those few words we got on a small row boat, and for some reason I was the one that had to row the boat while Gianna sat looking over the edge quietly.

After a few dozen meters I stopped rowing and was very tired. I looked at Gianna who was suddenly quiet.

"Gianna, are you okay ?"

"Damian…my brother died and you expect me to be magically okay ?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that you seemed to be so untouched by this for the whole time"

"If I show weakness, it makes me less of a warrior"

"No it doesn't, you can be in grief, you're human for crying out loud"

"I need to appear strong, but i cry in solitude, because it hurts…he was my other half, my twin, I felt I could do anything knowing he was right next to me, but now he is gone and I'm alone."

"You're not alone Gianna, i am here for you, and i will always be here"

"Damian…you're really sweet you know, i really like you"

"I like you a lot too, you're an amazing friend, and you're like a sister to me"

"...a sister?"

"Yeah, what else would we be? "I laughed a bit, "wouldn't it be crazy if we dated and actually had feelings like that for each other?"

"It would be fucking sickening", she replied in a quiet tone.

I gave her a soft hug and let her put her head on my lap. This was followed by a silence and then she raised her head abruptly.

"Damien…did you just fart?"

"The will of nature", I replied jokingly.

"I think it's time we got back home", she said as she laughed out loud.

We begun to row back to the dock and Gianna was singing some pop song out loud, and i was singing along ofcourse, but my mind was focused on some other objective, tomorrow i was supposed to got to the capital city of the empire to go for my mission, the mission we were training for…though i begun to wonder if i was truly ready for this.

Was I ready ?