Chapter 5 - Episode 1 - The Start of Life (5)

[ Solaria's town square ]

The moonlight shines through the almost empty streets, casting ethereal shadows on the cobblestones below. Drunks stumble their way homeward, their heavy bodies collapsing onto the sidewalks with a thud. The pubs gradually eject their patrons as closing time looms, their doors creaking shut.

Despite the quietude enveloping the surroundings, the whispered caress of the cold wind adds an eerie ambiance to the night. In this solemn and mysterious night, Caesar trails behind a young lady, curious about her destination. He lurks in the shadows, watching in disbelief at the graceful movements of the young woman, so unlike the spoiled brat he once knew. 

For years, Giselle, whom he had seen as nothing more than a nuisance, had been considered fragile and helpless. Yet here she is now, scaling walls with the agility of a seasoned rogue, guided only by the moonlight's fleeting beams.

The scene bewilders Caesar, who had seen this young lady as the spoiled brat who knows nothing but to harass people. All the years he had lived in the Goldenshield household, Giselle had been deemed as a damsel who should lift her own finger—a girl who is one step away from being bedridden until her last breath. But right now, the girl he grew up with is somehow not the girl he knows.

In that moment, as he solely witnesses the peculiar changes in the girl he remembered, he recalls the news he had heard from all the knights when he returned from the war zone prior to her request.

The whispers of Giselle's newfound strength and her aspirations to dominate the training grounds perplex him. How could she, who was once on the brink of death at the tender age of eighteen, suddenly possess such prowess, challenging even the knight commander? Although he finds it strange that the knights are concerned about her taking over the whole training grounds and overshadowing the knight's commander—everything does not make sense to him. There is just no way that a girl who was said to die at the young age of eighteen could just miraculously become stronger to the point that she would demand sparring lessons from all the knights her family owned.

She doesn't even have any experience with swords, let alone fighting-so how can she resemble a an equipped and competent knight when just two months ago she was coughing blood.

Caesar swiftly run after her, evading the recklessness of being busted he made sure no one can see him-not even the incompetent knights who is assign to watch over the inn and carefully guard the detained. 

-Tsk! I don't know what is happening to Giselle and why she is suddenly changing but she made a point if the rumors of her wanting to take over the knights domain. These knights are too incompetent if they can't even manage to spot a girl in a white cloak, climbing up the inn's balcony to balcony.-

Her soundless steps fail to alert anyone as she leaped from terrace to terrace. The patient and quiet wind moves along with her, sweeping the hem of her cloak and nearly revealing her figure to anyone who might catch a glimpse. However, Giselle paid no heed to this, and she slipped into the inn through an open window, finding an empty room awaiting her. From there, she commenced her search, remaining stealthy to avoid detection by anyone passing through the hallway. The din of the noisy bar below reverberated to the second floor where she now stood. The footsteps of guests returning to their rooms mingled with the ever-present danger of being discovered by patrolling knights. Her gaze followed one of the knights as he ascended the stairs to the third floor. After a minute, another knight descended. It became evident that they were taking turns on guard duty, indicating that Fedrick's room must be located on that floor.

" Hmm. There are at least two knights at the inn's entrance and few are in the bar and are roaming the hallways. But only one knight to guard the room? I seriously need to have a talk with Commander Keif." 

After a few minutes of waiting to get the appropriate timing, Giselle slowly went upstairs. She grabbed the hood of her cloak and hide herself deeper in it. Her steps are more cautious and are full of tension. The atmosphere suddenly becoming tight as she tries to erase any hint of her existence in the very same floor where a knight can easily spot her.

Giselle lurks in the darkest corner of the hall, her eyes never leaving the lone knight standing few meters away from where she is. The light coming from the candles against the wall made it easier for her to examine the situation.

" Huh? What are they even thinking?" Giselle furrows as she got a good glimpse of the knight's face.

" He looks young and new, why is he guarding a person to be imprisoned in the dungeon." Even at the seriousness of her own circumstances in the dark shadow of the hallway she could not help but judge the inefficiency of the knights in this barony. 

Giselle sighs, which is a huge mistake considering the knight's ears perks up.

" Who is there?" He asks, the authority in his voice could not be miss.

Giselle wanted to punch herself for the mistake, she closes her eyes momentarily as she watch the nameless knight approach her vicinity. There is no escape for her, although her judgements about this young knight remains the same, an incompetent one, but this one is close to catching her.

"I'm sorry." She whispers through the air.

The knight heard her clear, in no time to spare he swings her sword out and points the shar edge to the darkness. The tip dangerously close to her neck, she gulps down hard.

" I'm sorry." She sighs, and she sounds really apologetic, as if that apology comes with a price.

Without hesitation, Giselle rises to her feet and delivers a swift kick to the knight's groin. His strangled breath travels silently through the hallway as he struggles with the intense pain, rendering him voiceless in his agony. Unfortunately for him, his fate does not end with a mere bruised crotch. Giselle feels compelled to add another kick to his abdomen before seizing him by the throat with her small hands.

While there is no intent of murder in her actions, Giselle aims for the knight to remain unconscious for an extended period.

" I'm sorry." She could not help but pity the man as she drags his unconscious body to the corner of the corridor. " I have no ill feelings towards you-I don't even know you but I am in a dire situation of desperateness. " 

After leaving him knocked out, her plan proceeds. In the dark room, in which a single oil lamp only illuminating it she locks the door. She needs something from him, something that will save her fate. Walking closer to the bed, she saw the figure wrapped in the warmth of his blanket. She observes the sleeping man, noticing his discomfort and disheveled appearance in slumber. His blonde hair is tousled, his skin pallid and gaunt, as if he has been starved for days, the outlines of his bones almost visible beneath the surface. Despite these signs of distress, Giselle shows no concern for his well-being.

" So you are Fedrick?"

Looking around, the room resembles that of a crazy scholar. Papers are strewn haphazardly across surfaces, books are scattered in every nook and cranny, and there is not a single space hospitable enough for a guest.

" Hey." She harshly shakes him. Her hands gripping his shoulder blades as she forces him to wake up. 

" Hey! I need to talk to yo-"

Fedrick moves, grunting in his sleep.

" Th....gem...I...f...nd...it-"

-Huh?-

" I....prove....ac...demy...t...they...exist...th...gems...exis..."

- Is he dreaming? Sleep talking? -

" Where can you find it?" Giselle did not waste anytime.

" I swear...I'll fin...it"

Giselle grimaces at the sight.

" This man has become seriously crazy, that even in his sleeps all he care is this?"

Giselle harshly taps his cheeks, urging him to wake up. She absolutely has no time to spare considering that knight outside can wake up anytime. She just need to know how she can get the fire gem and everything is fine, she just needs information.

" I'll prove it to all of you, and I will destroy-"

" Ugh! I have no time for this!" 

In frustration, she smacks him hard with the spare pillow she managed to snatch from his side. She did not even wait for his reaction and just left him in his bed. Turning her attention to the scattered papers on the floor, she started to search through it without even knowing what she is looking for.

- I need him for this plan to work, for this life to work. But if he won't even comply or not wake up, the I have no choice but to just rob him off his studies and researches!-

" If only that crazy bastard is awake, this thing would have been so much easier." 

From papers to papers, she feels queasy having to look at Fedrick notes that only the brightest and craziest scholar can understand. The letters and spells, and so does the bountiful amount of equations he has written made her eyes spin. Unaware as she crawls on the floor in hope to find something worthy of, the sleeping figure that is supposedly lying on the bed rises up/

The little and staggering steps found its way to her place in the dark illuminated room. Fedrick, who is not yet fully awake venture to his consciousness and concludes that a thief had manage to enter his quarters. Although he knows he is under surveillance, he find it laughable how Goldenshield's knight is lacking in this job.

[ I am already an offensive criminal here, another person won't hurt my record. ]

That is his thoughts, the crazy student who has nothing in his mind but the whereabout of this ancient empire and it powers drove him crazy to the point that anyone and anything he sees as hindrance to his research is ought to be kill. And that what he sees in the cloaked figure, crouching on the floor and touching his files.

"No one shall touch my documents!" 

The anger and insanity in his voice as he attack the figure is evidently implored. Although he wanted to see the scared face of the intruder, he was appalled to see the eyes of woman glaring at him with the intent of murder.

" "Shouldn't you be snug in your bed, and far too gone in that ancient kingdom you are searching for."

Her question perplexes Fedrick, his eyes widening as he struggles to comprehend her casual demeanor. Giselle's intent is crystal clear, despite her nonchalant tone. With a swift movement, she retrieves her little dagger tucked in her thigh band, concealed within her night gown. Tension crackles in the air as they prepare for confrontation. However, Fedrick freezes in his tracks, his expression morphing into one of fear. Giselle observes the terror in his eyes, noticing something dripping from his chest.

Blood?

Giselle reaches out to him but it is already too late. He slowly drops to his knees, his blue eyes locking to hers with many questions flooding into his irises. As if asking her, who she is, why she is here. There is a lot to be seen in Fedrick's eyes, yet death is the most clear out of it.

Giselle knows that look, she had seen that for so many times. The eyes of death.

She watch as Fedrick body fell to the ground, his blue eyes losing its colors, and under the yellow light of the oil lamps it looks lifeless. The scene in front of her triggers the memories she carries for many lifetimes. The death in which she is so much familiar of, in front of her it visited her again. The blonde hair of Fedrick, its golden hue is gone. The once blue eyes is now looking like frozen lake, the blood-the blood is the only color she sees in that death. 

And that color is all it takes for her to remembering everything she is trying to painfully forget.

Giselle backs away from the now dead Fedrick in front of her. The blood running down the wooden floor, streaking unto her place. Her eyes slowly search for the other intruder, not understanding the sudden turn of event.

" What were you doing?"

The room is dark, but the one oil lamp gave the place an illuminating effect that makes her see at least the silhouette of someone standing right at the foot of the deceased man in the room. The unknown person slowly approaches her, Giselle grip on her dagger tightens preparing to use it save herself. As the man comes closer, she pulled her weapon out and jumps him without any warning.

As the light illuminated his face upon drawing nearer, his hands gripped her shoulders tightly, and his eyes bore into hers with a cold glare. Sweat glistened on his raven hair, indicating how far he had been lurking in the shadows. Though anger etched his features, a glimmer of concern flickered in his grey eyes.

" Caesar?"

Her voice almost reaching its peak. Caesar immediately put his hands to cover her mouth, fully aware that one more noise and they will be busted.

Giselle struggle from his hold and forcefully freed herself, although she can see that he is angry at the situation she could not careless because her anger is greater and bigger.

" Why the fuck are you here?"

" I should ask you the same question, Giselle,"

The glares in both of their eyes could commence a war, yet the way she look so pitiful in her now bloody dress made his eyes soften.

" I saw you sneaking out of the castle, so I followed you. Don't know its to dangerous for you to roam around in the middle of the night looking like this!" 

Caesar attempted to help her stand up, noticing the intensity in her eyes despite her current vulnerable position.

" It's none of your business! And besides I told you I needed to talk to him and now-you-" Giselle took a deep breathe, glancing at the corpse beside them. She stood up and furiously brushed her hair. " He's dead."

Caesar momentarily averted his gaze to the dead man, not even having a single sense of remorse from what he did. 

" He was going to attack you." He shrugs as if that was alright.

-What is it for him anyways? He hates me, he could have just let me die.-

" Irrational, unreasonable." She whispers pacing through the room as she tries to think of a way out of it. 

" Does the guards know you are here?" 

" No."

"What?"

-Why in hell is here for? Did he just really followed me here? -

Caesar observes her, she is acting so unlike from what he knows of her.

" I sneaked in."

Giselle closes her eyes and breathe loudly, her shoulder rising up and down and so does her chest.

" Sneaked in. So... You're telling me, the moment I entered the room you were already here?"

" Yes."

Giselle snapped her head towards him, observing Caesar as he kicked the documents amidst the dripping blood on the floor. Realizing the significance of the papers, she swiftly crouched down, rescuing each one and placing them carefully on the bed.

Caesar continues to observes her. The way she speaks, the way she reacted-is it normal for her to act like this upon seeing a dead body, isn't it normal for her to be scared? Yet in his eyes she displays no emotion of any of that, in fact she looks more pissed and stress. Caesar's anger disappearing as he is now immensely drawn to examining her. Studying her through her body language and speech seems too surprising, when he finally learns what is really there that has changed.

" Alright considering you sneaked in, that just means visiting this man is prohibited. Which means if they found out that he's dead, we are in trouble." 

She remembered how he mentioned that the Luminis knights needs to detain him, so this must be the reason why the security is so tight. And now, Caesar just murdered this man!

Caesar wonder if there are more changes besides this.

" No. Not we. There was never we or us. It's you."

As the stress comes by lighting in her nerves, she started to pace back and forth once again, Her steps carries the heaviness of the situation and the seriousness of its consequences.

" Pardon?" Caesar inquired, having lost with his examination of her.

" You!-" She lower her voice. " You killed him. You, an aspiring knight who could reach heights is now someone who did not follow orders and a murderer."

Caesar eyes furrowed in annoyance, despite feeling the urge to know this mystery of her sudden change he remembers he had always hated her, they hate each other. " If you did not sneaked out, I wouldn't have followed-"

" I did not ordered you to follow me! Considering how useless you were as my knight who can't even give me the opportunity to speak with this man, I wouldn't try to order you for this scheme!"

" You ran out like a madwoman! In the middle of the night trying to meet up-my goodness I don't know who. For all I know, you are to meet a lover that will ruin this whole family reputation. You speak as if all of this is my fault when you are here too. "

" Why do you even care?! If you did not fail to do what I ordered you to I wouldn't be here. I came here as a thief for fuck sake! Not as a murderer!"

" Lower you voice."

" You dream of serving in the front line with my brother and you are this incapable-"

" You better lower your voice or else."

Giselle surprises Caesar when she snaps and grabs him by the collar.

" Do not boss me around, you useless piece of shit," she spat, her tone dripping with disdain and authority. "I am your master, Caesar, so you'd better listen well. If you want me to lower my voice, then fucking do what I say. Get this corpse out of here and clean the blood off the floor. Do not leave any evidence that there has been a murder. You want to work in the imperial palace, right? So do what I say. Having me witness you murder a man unprovoked will let that dream slip away. Don't you get it? I am the only one who can help you out of this, so do what I say."

Their icy glare attempted to intimidate each other, her hands tightly holding him. In there, at the direct connection between them he sees the sole difference of she exhibits. 

" The Luminis knights probably required this man to be alive and you just murdered him! Now if you want to survive, know you place and listen well to your master!"

Giselle and him , since they were young had always been bickering as if they were born to hate each other. She bosses him around and he does not find anything about her worthy to be serve for. To him she is just this ungrateful child who uses the fact that she is ill to get away from whatever she wants and does. She hurts him physically and he can't do anything about it, but she was never the one to have the guts or confidence to look at him eye to eye with so much wrath in her eyes.

She could never act so brave despite how abusive she was.

"Do not toy with me, you useless knight," she declared with icy resolve. "Resolve the problem you've caused and ensure not a whisper of this reaches anyone's ears. Let us make it appear as though he simply vanished, bury him in a remote location, and take possession of all his belongings."

-If you messes up my plan by having yourself taken away from my side, you will surely end up as the hero you once were in my past, and that is something I don't want.-

Caesar had a moment of hesitation, unable to weigh down his own way of decisions. His thoughts rambled on with the possibility of Giselle using this incident to strip him off his title and ruining his future. Although he would hate it so much to submit to her, he has no choice but acknowledge that she is his master.

" I understand, my lady." He nods.

Giselle let go of him and immediately collects Fedrick's papers, hastily putting it in one of his briefcases. While Caesar who never so ever look so defeated, collects the corpse with a heaviness in his face as if he just lost. He speaks nothing as he wraps the body in the duvet, spending more time cleaning the blood on the floor that had almost dried. Giselle continue to search through the cabinets, gathering all that she can take. From the corner of her eyes, she sees Caesar carrying the body as he makes his way to the window. After taking all the documents she concluded its relevancy, she grabbed the briefcase and prepared to leave the night of this dark room behind.

" What was it that you said to me the other day, Caesar? About me refraining to give you any more orders, because I am not the one you follow?"

Caesar spare her a look, examining the dangerous smile she has on her lips. With the look of how malicious it is, Caesar knew he found himself trapped.

" If only you did well on that order I gave you, then I would have bid you goodbye as you go back to that fucking war. But Caesar, you just gave me the leash to your neck." Giselle step in closer to Caesar, tapping him in his shoulder with a knowing look of mischievousness. She gave him a one final look before leaving through the window.

"Let's start a new life as accomplices, knight."