Why Now?

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Ezra looked at the imperial mage as they both crossed each other in the hallway. She smiled and winked at him as she placed the hood over her head. Confused, he continued to run towards the french doors.

Ezra gave Xavier a stern and hateful gaze as he got closer.

He barged into the imperial bedroom, ignoring Xavier by the doorway.

He ran up to the sleeping princess and got on his knees, holding her tiny, fragile hand while he patted the top of her head gently with the other hand.

"My poor, sweet Princess. Please forgive me for not being there to protect you. I failed as an uncle. I promise, from now on - I will protect you with my life." He whispered as he rubbed her hand against his cheek.

He gently placed her hand back beside her and averted his glare back at Xavier.

"You must have lost your mind, Xavier! Leaving the child alone with a rookie knight and that damn lowly, useless maid! With all of the qualified knights and trained guards you have in this empire, you chose a knight in training and maid to watch a child who was playing in a lake?! What were you thinking, Xavier?! She is a child! A living child! Not some toy you can dispose of when you get bored! Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" Ezra yelled.

Xavier rubbed his forehead as he sat down in his lounge chair. He sighed and popped his neck. He crossed his legs and continued to look at Ezra with a careless reaction.

"You are right, Ezra. I take full responsibility for what happened today. I should have had a fully-trained knight to watch her. No. Better yet, I should have had her escorted back to the palace before I left. She is in this horrible condition because of me. Is that what you wanted to hear, Ezra? If so, you are wasting your time. Certain things are inevitable in this life. Something like this could have happened to anyone at any time." Xavier responded with a nonchalant tone, opening one of his books by his end table.

Tension in the room quickly grew heavy and violent.

Ezra's blood boiled to his core. Anger shot through him like a spear.

"What I wanted to hear, you say? You speak with that loose mouth of yours as if none of this is your fault, and yet you act so carelessly when someone confronts you?! The lake was not deep enough to drown in where the princess stood! She was not far into the lake for this to have happened!" Ezra confronted him as he slapped the book out of his hand.

Xavier looked up at Ezra with black-colored eyes. Ezra could see his reflection off of his midnight eyes. He remained seated, averting his eyes at the crackling wood in the fireplace.

"Sit, Ezra. We have a few things to discuss." Xavier responded after a long pause.

"Me? Sit?! At a time like this? What is going on with you?! Right now is not the time to be sitting down, Xavier!" Ezra yelled in rage.

"We need to continue the plans for war. Bain will be going to war with us; he is a valuable asset. This leaves her without a proper knight to watch over her. While we are off to war, It is obvious our empire will still need heavy protection from the palace guards. Aside from what we discussed, arrange a worthy imperial soldier you think is best to watch over the child at all times, as well as four guards during the night shift and two guards during the day shift. Do you understand?" Xavier explained as he looked up at Ezra with a dead expression.

Ezra studied the floor as he crossed his arms. In disbelief, Xavier had no change of plans in terms of war. It is as if what happened to the princess never happened. As if he did not care what would happen to that child lying on his bed due to negligence.

"I need you to respond to me, Ezra. Right now is not the time to bite your tongue." Xavier killed the silence as he stood up.

"... Are the dates of our departure still the same? Should we not postpone the date?" Ezra responded.

"Is there a reason for a change? The quicker we react, the faster the strike. No one wins a war by showing up late. Now is the right time. We leave the day after tomorrow. Make sure to have the knights are fully armed and ready for the departure. The meeting for tonight is still active. Make sure not to be late. Now, leave. I need to rest my eyes for a bit." Xavier said with an agitated tone.

Ezra shook his head and sighed. He glanced at Xavier one last time before exiting the room.

"Some people never change. What a shame." He replied as he walked out the door.

Xavier shook his head as he slicked his hair back. He turned to face the window from the heavy rain.

DING!

A heavy bell rang in Xavier's head.

DING!

His eyes grew large as this sudden sound was far too familiar.

"No… Why?" He mumbled as he looked around in panic.

Thunder grew louder; the sky got darker by the second.

Xavier bit his bottom lip and threw a teacup against the wall with full force. He grabbed his neatly-kept hair with both hands and began to pull it, causing a messy hair look. He began to tremble as his breathing got heavier. A rush of pain shot into his head. The room started to spin, colors were deteriorating.

He closed his eyes shut as the familiar bell remained loud, deep in mind.

"Keep it… together… keep it… together… ugh!" He whispered to himself as he fell to his knees while grabbing his head with both hands.

"Again… again with this cursed headache! UGH!" He grunted as he managed to get himself up and wobbled his way to the sleeping princess.

He fell to his knees once again, facing the pale child that laid still on his bed.

Warm tears began to stream down his face from the intense pain as he held her hand.

"Why now? Why…" He mumbled the words to himself as he fell unconscious. He rested his head on the side of the bed while holding the princess's hand.