PROMISE

Raine Blossom's pov

"I thank you for your sacrifice"

said Langris sitting in front of me, he had served tea with a pleasant smelling aroma indicating it should be quite tasty but I hadn't touched it. Instead i had spent the majority of my morning briefing the smiling blonde in front of me about the city's situation, it had been a full week since I came upon him amidst the corpses of the several thousands that had come to raid the city, he hadn't said a word to me until he had washed off the blood and guts clinging to him and changed into fresh apparel, the moment he did that he resumed his happy almost harmless expression with the smile of an angel and the air of a Saint, any one who saw him now would think this was his true nature that he was as harmless as a fly but to me the contrast between what I saw then and what I see now made him even more terrifying, I had a million and one questions and and just as many things to confirm but, something about his grateful smile and his prim and proper appearance felt odd, it immediately clicked when u stared at him a little bit closer

'Don Eron, were you and he close'

for the first time since I've met him his smile wavered

"what gave you that Idea"

I took a deep breath, Langris didn't appear threatening right now but i could tell I had stepped on a touchy subject and it wouldn't be surprising if he snapped

'you know it's weird, I've always known you were pretty good with make up, you're always wearing some to hide the scars around your neck, but not once in my life did I think you would use it hide signs of you crying'

his hand rose to touch the corners of his eyes before he said

"I never thought you'd be knowledgeable in aspects involving makeup"

'that's rude, I am a woman afterall'

"ha, yeah that is true but I've never seen you use it, even at official functions"

'my adoptive mother was the one who taught me how'

"but you don't use it"

'I find it bothersome'

"true true, but an adoptive mother huh"

'yep'

"you've never told me about that in fact, you never speak about your past"

'that's because I know that you already know about everything to do with my past'

to that his smile broadened and my curiosity turned to impatience, so much so that I smacked the table in front of us saying

'that's enough of my story Don Langris'

"hmm, and here I was thinking we had found a decent topic outside of work"

'Langris, there is probably nothing inside of Trident you don't know, whether it be my past or that of the other Dons, this is the first time you've has us do something so crazy, but we didn't question it, you saw the look Samuel gave you when he got back, even now he's still angry'

"hey, I apologised didn't i"

'THATS NOT ENOUGH'

despite the fact that I was the one who shouted I was the one who was surprised, Langirs continued to stare at me with an empty smile, I took a breath to calm myself before I continued

'you need to start sharing, about both your plans and your past'

"and why should I?"

his tone contained a threatening force to it this time but this time I smilled back

'because you need us but we don't really need you'

"oh is that so, it's true you've gotten a little stronger and Sam a little braver but do you really think that's enough?"

'you missed one'

this time, he stooped smiling

'it won't be long until he returns and although I can't claim to know him, I know he carries the pride of a Don, you used, him and he won't like that, not one bit'

his smile came back as he said

"you think I'd loose"

'you think I won't make sure of it, not even you can beat us both'

it was only for a second that I saw it, not on his face but in his eyes, rage, anxiety, despair the all consuming purpose of something to prove, for the first time in years I felt as if I was finally looking at the real Langris, a man with a goal which was either noble twisted or both. And just as quickly, he disappeared.

Langris took a breath, a deep one before finally exhaling

"I will tell you what I can in time, but I can't really do that now"

'why?"

I asked, he smilled again, a genuine one as if he was actually amused

"because I'm not sure whether I'll live past today"

as he spoke those words a terrible presence filled the air, one equal to the man in front of me but not his, a presence that was in fact quite familiar

"you were right, he does seem angry"

I shrugged off my fear before saying

'I'll go talk to him'

"I didn't know you cared so much for me"

'I don't, I simply need to you alive, 1 for my goals and 2 for my own curiosity'

"couldn't he help you with 1"

'maybe, but, I've already gotten this far with you, it'd be a pain to switch now'

"you've got a lot more goal oriented"

'I had to, every day the ludicrousness of said goal gets more and more obvious, but I won't stop'

"even when it gets harder and harder"

'even at its hardest, after all a promise is a promise'

he threw his head back and laughed

"you see Raine, this is why you were my favorite, and you still might be, unless...."

'unless what'

"unless he impresses me"

he then adopted a somber expression while saying

"Raine what are you going to do if he sees my side more than yours"

'.....I'll cross that bridge when I get to it'

he looked disappointed

"that is why you'll lose"

I rolled my eyes as I walked out the door faking an unbothred expression but deep inside I knew, he had seen through me but I hadn't seen through him

Kalen's pov

I ordered my men(and woman) to wait behind, I also had to ask Damien to wait as he seemed sure I was going to do something incredibly foolish, only after a hefty promise did he let me go free.

I tried to take delicate and slow steps in order to put up a false calm but rage still spilled off of me, so much so that everyone within my vicinity thought it best to avoid me, a group of Langris's soldiers came forward to intersecpt me but before they could make any reckless actions their commander stopped them, he said a few words I didn't bother to listen to and they all kneeled instantly, it seems they were expecting me, some of them attempted to accompany me as some sort of honour guard but a glare was all it took to discourage that idea, I came face to face with the large gate of Langris's residence and that of his guild, as my mind wavered between knocking and kicking it down the most pleasant voice I'd ever heard from a woman resounded I my ears

"it's open"

and there she was leaning at the side of the gate, one of the most beautiful women in world and a title she bore for good reason but that wasn't what shocked me

'I didn't notice you'

even though I was distracted the fact that she got so close to me so easily was not only shocking but should have been completely impossible for the woman I saw a few weeks ago

'you've gotten stronger'

there was no suprise in my voice, just an honest assessment, and she could tell, slight pride showed on her face, a pride that did not match her words

"I'll be dammed, you looked so well bred yet you don't know how to greet a lady"

a small smile tempted to show on my lips but I suppressed it choosing instead to give a small bow before saying

'apologies and good morning Don Raine'

"miss"

'pardon'

she stepped closer to me before extending a finger and lightly tapping my head,

"call me miss"

she couldn't have said that for no reason so I chose to ask

'and if you'd be so kind as to explain why?'

she took a breath as if releasing pent up anxiety

"because I'd like us to be closer"

'please, explain'

"in the future its likely that I'll need your help and the only way for me to make such requests is if, we are close"

I had a guess as to what she meant but I asked nonetheless

'and for what exactly'

"for my dream and my goals, and I need allies, strong and reliable ones"

'and I am a candidate'

she moved her hand to me shoulder, her voice sounding desperate as she spoke

"I notice the shamlessness of my actions but.... I need to do this"

'I understand'

"what?"

my reply shocked the both of us. Although, I wasn't going to let her notice mine so I began to rationalise, and the more I did, the more it sounded like the truth

'I have an idea on what your goal is and coincidentally it can work with mine, have you ever heard of the pirate Isles?'

my question seemed to shock her, I infused mana in my eyes more than I ever had In order to analyse something, her momentary confusion allowed me to see past her illusion and I was partially shocked as well, an even more beautiful woman lay underneath just as I had guessed but unlike before I could see her full appearance and most importantly, her skin colour and just like that her shock and the main reason for her carrying around that artifact became clear

'slavery is still common there, a lot of my people live there in chains, some in other more remote parts of the world, the only thing more unrealistic than my goal of freeing them is yours, but accomplishing yours might just do mine as well'

her questions resolved miss Raine composed herself before saying

"yes, you're right"

'good, but allies sounds too formal considering what we're doing'

I said, to which she smiled and said

"friends"

I said extending my hand for a shake

'friends'

she echoed as we shook

"oh, and about Langris"

I took another breath as I said

'keeping him alive would probably be best for long term goals'

her head dropped as if she didn't seem convinced, it was at that point I remembered that although only by a year this girl was younger than me, she suddenly raised her head with a radiant smile saying

"promise"

'promise?'

"a promise"

her tone grew more serious as she spoke

"I never forget a promise and I never break one either, if you can promise me I'll be more inclined to believe you"

'why, I mean, why that reason out of all the reasons'

"because its the feeling I get from you, I sense that you're not the kind of person to break a promise either"

I stood contemplating for a minute before speaking

'I promise not to take any form of revenge against Langris so long as he can provide a valid reason as to why he played with both my name and my life'

she nodded her head while saying

"good enough, I guess a meeting should be called at both our convenience so that we can figure out how to proceed on our plans"

'we should'

"well then, I've daddled here for long enough, good day mister Kalen"

'you too miss Raine'

I said a slight smile playing across my lips, and with that she was off with a calm and purposeful gait one befitting a Don.

As soon as she was out of sight the smile on my face disappeared and for reasons I couldn't understand I found myself speaking

'I'm sorry miss Raine but you're wrong, I've made promises before and although they were made a long time ago I've already broken them'

'I'll make you proud'

I told my father

'I'll always be by your side'

I told my mother

and

'I'll always protect you'

I told Lorian

even now I couldn't tell if yours would truly bind me or be another one of my failures but if so, I'm sorry in advance, I turned back towards the gate its mere exesistence annoying me as I said

'now let's go see that fucking bastard'