Worthy of my Trust

Who knows what hour of the night it might be right now? The time has passed since we have fought that three men by the tree outside of the city and we were now in the field I previously wanted to lay down looking at the stars...

The smell of a flame that has just died out still lingered in the air, winning over the smell of the food we just had as dinner. It was probably the best time to just lay down and look at the sky, but I knew for sure that if I did that, I would fall asleep...

Fall asleep itself is not a problem... The problem is what the guy insisted on accompanying us would do while I am asleep. Can I trust him? Can I sleep knowing a stranger is nearby and can do anything to me while I sleep?

He himself realized I didn't really feel safe around him. He attempted to smile at me as though he was trying to show that he was worth my trust... But that's very far away from being enough to convince me of that. After his failed attempt, then, he looked to the side, scratching the back of his neck.

"So... I don't think you told me your name yet..."

"Name is Dagger... Dagger Everblade", I said to him. Perhaps if he heard my name, he would go away. I don't want to be rude, but that would certainly please me.

"Oh! The Dagger Everblade?! The knightess who escaped the Coventry's palace and city?! The first and only knightess of this world so far?!". It was a bit strange for him to be that excited and happy to have discovered that I am Dagger, the so-called criminal and rapist by many people... I wonder why...

"Yeah, I am that knightess... Not that many people actually give credit to me for having done that, they usually remember that I supposedly raped the princess...", I said, in an attempt to make him say why he was so excited about that.

"But you didn't do that, right? I mean, to convince a whole army of men that you're strong enough to join them, you must be a strong person, both mentally and physically, loyal to very noble values... So I knew it those rumors should all actually be all lies the moment I heard them. They probably were just jealous of you or thought that you were going to ruin the image of the Coventry kingdom, so they decided to get rid of you with a filthy poorly told rumor".

I was very shocked, to be honest. He was the first person I met who very strongly believed that I didn't do anything wrong... But he seems to have found just part of the truth, while the rest is just his imagination. The truth probably would scare him away...

"Well, it's true that most of what was told about me were lies... I didn't die there, I am the proof of this claim... I didn't rape the princess... But it's true that I did something to her... I wanted to give her a kiss and she allowed me to do so...", I said to him. He was going to get grossed out and run away or something like that, wasn't he?

On the contrary of what I was expecting, however, he looked at me with an interest in my story, sparkles in his eyes. He certainly wasn't like the other people I ever came across with, that was a relief... But I was still hoping that he would go away anyway.

"And... How was that? How did they discover you?", he started to ask after a few seconds of silence. With no other choice, I told him my story, from the part of the kiss incident all the way to now, and not in a single moment he seemed uninterested or grossed out by it... He was truly excited and serious about this whole thing, it was very... Not weird, that's not the word I am searching for. It was... Unusual...

"Well, what about you? What's your story?", I decided to ask, after I finished.

"Umm... How could I say this...".

He started explaining his story, from the very beginning until now... He was from a rather poor and bad family, his father was abusive and decided to leave him when he was seven, to be taken care of by his mother, who barely gave him the proper attention because of the deep sadness she felt after her husband abandoned her... He was raised by his grandparents instead, who always filled his mind with stories and legends about the four elements entities, the history of humanity, and many other tales...

In a way to repay them for taking of him, he decided he would after the four relics of the four elements, but he never believed in those "just legends". When he was 17, he came across the criminal organization we met earlier, and he joined them... Only to later disobey orders and be hunted by the organization. Luckily, the mercy of someone above allowed him to escape to this small town until today...

"... And the rest you pretty much know already. I mean, you witnessed with your own eyes and even intervened"

"And here was I, thinking that I was the only one that had some very serious family problems...", I said, sighing a little while I remembered the whole thing that happened back at the house of my parents.

"You too?"

"Yeah... But I can't really blame them. They were told lies that I raped the princess... And besides, they are affected by the curse of the gem, just like many other people. Aren't you grossed out with my story as well?"

"Umm... Not really. I mean, I actually never gave much thought to love... I guess it's a feeling you just feel, right? So it doesn't matter the gender", he said.

Given it was a curse that made people be grossed out with same-sex love and that he managed to resist it that well, I guess he was tougher than he looked.

"I... I am glad. It's hard to find people like you because of the curse, but I will fix this... I will shatter the crystal even if it's the last thing I do...", I said, confident, looking up at the night sky.

"Hehe... And I guess it's also hard to find people like you, who would go so far in the name of a love of some time ago... Going after those legends, nonetheless", he said and then laid down on the grass of the open field, scaring some of the fireflies that escaped and are now flying over him. Slowly, he closed his eyes. "Well, it's late... Good night... And thank you again... For taking me with you and saving me earlier...", he said and fell asleep. I giggled a little and smiled at him for a few seconds... And then laid down as well.

"Good night...", I replied and started to enter the world of dreams. He was worth my trust. Perhaps that was an elaborate lie to trick me, perhaps this was a bad idea... But I think that he is speaking the truth... And while I believe in that, he will be worth my trust.