“You’re my miracle.”
Sonia sat quietly on the beach, hugging her knees, deep in thought. Calculations after calculations passed through her mind. Still, she did not know how they were going to defeat Dymaz’s Meijin and the ten puppets. No matter how hard she tried, her mind was blank. What a strategist she was; a complete failure. She let out a frustrated sigh and placed her chin on her knees.
“Why is Sonia feeling so down on this beautiful day on the beach?”
She looked up and saw that it was Kyoden who sat beside her, cross-legged with his eyes closed, as though enjoying the sea breeze. She did not answer him, feeling dull to the bones. She gazed dispiritedly into the horizon.
“Aww, come on, Sonia, try enjoying a day of your life at least,” beckoned Kyoden encouragingly.
“I don’t feel like… ‘tongue-fighting’ with you now, Kaneshiro,” she muttered.
Kyoden laid his eyes on the blond-haired girl. “Do you really think that every time I speak to you, I’m only interested in arguing with you?” he asked.
“I thought it’s the whole point of our communication anyway,” she mumbled flatly.
The Haikenese laughed at her statement. “Sonia Fierell, I didn’t know you are actually capable in joking,” he said. “Maybe you should do that more often. It’ll definitely help you smile more every day.”
Sonia sighed. “What’s the point of smiling when you don’t feel like smiling anyway, Kaneshiro? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Oh, but that is the whole point, Sonia, the point that it doesn’t make sense. If you really see it the other way round, ‘it doesn’t make sense’, this phrase refers to miracles too. Miracles don’t make sense, now, do they? So, when you smile, miracles will come your way,” he reasoned optimistically.
The girl fixed her emerald-green eyes on him and her lips broke into a sweet smile. “Thanks, Kaneshiro.”
Kyoden looked away awkwardly and cleared his throat when she smiled at him. “Umm… yeah, sure, no problem…”
Maybe you should know that when you smile, you look your finest, too.
The Prince, the four Yamists, four Messengers and Kishak came together in Visanté’s home to hold a pre-battle meeting. It was slightly overcrowded but it didn’t matter to them. Time was ticking and they could not guarantee Lord Dymaz would not strike first once he found out about the people’s reinforcement.
“Your Highness, I apologise for my rudeness in the past,” said Kishak ruefully. The moment he saw Letaikno and the Prince’s magnificence, all his grudges against him evaporated. It reminded him of the days when he, too, had given the effort to fight against the Valkyr Empire and to save the helpless despite his age.
“As you have said, it is all in the past, Mr. Kishak,” Raviex said. “It would be better if you could call me ‘Cedric’ though. I’d like my identity kept a secret for now.”
Kishak shook his head furiously. “Oh, that I cannot do, Your Highness! That is high treason against the Royal Family. No, I definitely cannot do that,” he refused.
“Please, it’ll be alright, no one will charge you for high treason for it. As a matter of fact, you would be doing me a favour, Mr. Kishak,” he insisted. He found it quite alarming when everyone in the city started to treat him differently. It wasn’t what he wanted. Most importantly, he did not want the
“Then, at least allow me to refer you as ‘Lord Cedric’,” negotiated Kishak. He could not have it any other way.
“Very well,” Raviex resigned. It was better than having him calling him ‘Your Highness’ whenever they were conversing.
“Okay, let’s start organising ourselves. If we are ever going to defeat Lord Dymaz and the Meijin, we need good planning and strong strategies,” began Sonia. She glanced at Kyoden and saw him smile at her supportively and giving her a thumb-up. She returned a small smile too before she continued.
I see improvement in their relationships, Lorenne thought amusingly. She then looked at the girl with auburn hair and found her spacing out, staring at the wooden floor while Sonia was explaining the strategy she had come out with.
But I certainly don’t see any improvement from the other pair.
When the meeting was over, Christine snapped back to her senses. She had heard nothing at all and felt rather lost. She couldn’t understand why she was so distracted throughout the day. She stood up and was about to leave for the girls’ room when Sonia called out to her.
“Christine, where are you going?”
“Huh?”
“You’re supposed to help me out with organising the men,” said Sonia who frowned. “Are you alright? It’s okay if you’re not feeling well, you know.”
Raviex observed her as Sonia spoke the words. Feeling his eyes on her, she pushed everything away from her mind and put her head in the game.
“I’m sorry, it slipped my mind,” she apologised quickly. “I’m fine, don’t worry. Let’s get going.”
His vision trailed her until she was out of the house. Kishak, Ismael and Visanté exited after them. He exhaled deeply. Why was she ignoring him ever since their time at the beach at dawn?
Shenjoon nudged him lightly and whispered to him, “Do you have some issues with her? She doesn’t seem to like you a lot.”
Kyoden butted in, having overheard what he whispered. “No, you silly, it’s the opposite.”
“Oh, really?” The Flamese narrowed his eyes, befuddled. “How can that be? From the time I met you all, she has never spoken to Cedric. I don’t think she even looked at him too.”
“Shenjoon,” interrupted Yexi. “Come with me, we have things to unpack.” She got up and walked towards Visanté’s room. Visanté had offered to sleep with Kyoden and Raviex while the married couple occupied his room. Shenjoon went to her side obediently without any noise, his wine urn in his left arm.
Raviex caught Kyoden staring at him and groaned. “Don’t look at me that way, Kyoden.”
“Advice from your close friend, man, Raviex: Whatever happened, just patch things up with her A.S.A.P before they get any worse,” he said truthfully.
“How am I supposed to do that when I don’t know what went wrong?” he grumbled. Why was everyone determining him as the one who was guilty? What was his offence?
“Be honest with yourself, Raviex,” said Lorenne, more sternly than she meant it to be. “It doesn’t help if you keep running from the problem.”
The Prince hung his head. He knew Lorenne was right. Nonetheless, Kyoden patted on his back empathetically, comprehending the waves of dilemma which flooded him currently for he knew about Kairalina from him when they had their guy chats during a couple of nights ago.
Lorenne’s eyebrows burrowed together. “There is another?”
“Hey, Lorenne, it’s not really nice to read people’s mind,” complained Kyoden.
“It’s not my fault… I just know things when Jerusyn presents the knowledge or information to me,” the petite girl defended herself.
“Gosh, Raviex, even your love affairs become the topic at the gods’ table.” He whistled. “This must be big!”
The blue-eyed one did not, however, appreciate the joke. He brought himself to his feet and left the two, heading out, decided to get some fresh air to clear his jumbled thoughts.
“Don’t be off too far! It’ll be dinner time soon!” Kyoden called out after him. A loud rumble came from his stomach out of the blue. “Oh dear me, I am already hungry!” Lorenne buried her face into her hand hopelessly at his undying hunger.
Raviex took both Kyoden and Lorenne’s advices seriously and had set off in search for Christine in order to have a heart-to-heart talk with her. He wasn’t sure what he would say but… he just had to mend things. They found each other after so many years of separation, so, he believed—and hoped, there was something definitely unique binding the two of them.
He came to a stop when he saw the one he had come for. Christine was assisting Sonia in filtering the men into categories. They were generally judged based on their strength and agility. Sonia was, nonetheless, quite pleased to find a few Lundea amongst them. She was assigning duties to the groups of men when everyone suddenly bowed.
The Prince became distressed once more at their insistence on showing their respect. “Please, do resume with your work, I was only…” Raviex’s voice was caught in the middle of his throat when he saw Christine leaving. He hurriedly chased after her before she planned to ‘Angel’s Flight’ away from him. The men and Sonia sighed.
“Ryn, would you please listen to me first?” he asked, taking her by the wrist.
Christine turned back and looked directly into his eyes. He saw strong determination in them, yet… beneath it, was wounds after wounds of sadness, loneliness, disappointments. He knew the life she had been through because he was… part of it.
“I…” he stammered, realising he had not prepared any speech beforehand. “I want to know what’s happening to us. Why the sudden gap? I thought we were… perfectly fine with each other.”
She yanked her wrist out of his hand roughly. “Well, you thought wrong,” she snapped back coldly. “And don’t speak to me as if you know me thoroughly… because you don’t!”
“Ryn, if I’ve done something wrong, please tell me. I’m sorry for whatever it is. I just can’t stand this!” he pleaded.
The girl covered her ears with both her hands, shutting out his pleas. “Raviex, all I ask of you now… is to keep your distance from me. You and I know that we’ve been too close recently,” murmured Christine, unable to bring herself to look at him anymore, her defence against him shattered completely.
Raviex was shocked at her request. It wasn’t what he wanted. He reached out a hand to hold her shoulder when she turned away from him but paused at it as she added to her previous words.
“You asked me what’s wrong. I guess you’re right. Maybe I am the only one having the problem here. If you would look inside yourself to realise how you truly feel… and how I feel… and if there is really nothing there, then we must keep our distance. I don’t want false hopes from you, Raviex Katelion.”
He closed his eyes achingly as he retrieved his hand, letting her walk away from him. A swell formed in his throat, so tremendous it pained him. He felt a release of Sacred Energy and knew she was gone with Angel’s Flight. How did things go from bad to worse? His primary purpose to talk to her had backfired.
You’re not the only one, Ryn. I feel for you the same way too but how, gods of the Light, how am I to tell you there is someone else waiting for me? You may be right, after all. I don’t have the right to be with you. Keeping my distance from you is the least I could do for you, to protect you from getting yourself hurt… by me.
Five days passed. With much sorcery help from Lorenne, blades were forged, catapults were built, and barricades were ready. After intensive trainings from Christine and Shenjoon, most men knew basic but useful martial arts skills. Kyoden worked with the archers while Raviex taught sword-fighting. Sonia and Yexi helped awakened the abilities of the newly discovered Lundea. Visanté and Ismael were in charged of the community’s security while the preparation went on.
Kyoden shook his head helplessly as he saw Raviex and Christine entered their respective rooms quietly. It was most depressing to him since he travelled with them the longest. He was very fond of them but their sudden change of behaviour proved it hard to approach them.
“See, I told you they don’t like each other,” muttered Shenjoon to Kyoden.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he sighed.
“I don’t think it’s very good to have conflicts with your own comrades,” commented Sonia, biting into a ripe banana. “It may affect the team’s chances for victory.” When she saw Kyoden and Lorenne staring at her, she hastily said, “Alright, I want them back on talking terms too!”
Yexi chuckled. She twirled a finger in the direction of the bamboo wind chime hanging from the ceiling just outside the main door. The wind had caused it to produce meaningless sound but with her aid, sweet music was created.
“They will be fine. After they acknowledge the bond which holds them together, they will naturally be fine,” she smiled.
Inside the guys’ room, using his Visual-C, Raviex issued a private communication link with his best friend, Erik Wilgate. When the link was completed and a holographic image of his head floated above the Visual-C, Raviex greeted him.
“It’s about time you check in with me. I was worried about you,” Erik’s voice cracked through the voice output.
“Sorry, I was kind of busy lately,” apologised Raviex.
“The Prince always is,” said the twenty-year-old teasingly.
“Erik, I’m at Kaza City now,” he cut in. “The day after tomorrow, at one in the morning, sharp, my friends and I will lead the Kazans to overturn the governor’s dictatorship and corruption. After we leave this city, come to this city personally and see to it that the people here receive all the help they need and make sure the city sees restoration from then on.”
“You could just reveal who you are to the governor and sack him, you know,” suggested Erik seriously.
“He’s not going to kneel before me and beg for mercy, Erik. He’s got a Meijin on his side, for Calith’s sake,” told Raviex.
“A Meijin? Whoa, Raviex, are you sure it’s okay fighting him? I heard it is even stronger than a full-grown Yamist,” said Erik nervously. “I know I wouldn’t want to face one.”
Raviex smiled weakly. “Honestly, I’m not sure myself but I must free my people from this nightmare.”
“Please come back in one piece, okay, Raviex?”
He nodded sullenly. “Oh, by the way, great job in hiding my tracks.”
The colonel gave him a grim smile. “You better clear my name when I get caught for toggling with the Kingdom’s satellites system and erasing all the data which note about your whereabouts.”
He gave him his assurance and was about to cut off their line when Erik decided to ask, “Are you feeling unwell? You don’t look too happy, Raviex.”
After a rather long period of stillness, he replied him with another question. “Between two girls, who would you choose, Erik?”
Erik sighed, running a hand through his midnight-blue hair. “The girl I truly love, I suppose.”
“And not out of sympathy?” Raviex asked again.
He looked at him with his dark cerulean eyes warily. “It’s about Christine and Kairalina, isn’t it?” The Prince locked jaws, his silence became his confirmation. “For Kairalina’s sake, I hope the girl you truly love is her.”
It was Erik who disconnected their line. Raviex hid his face in his hands, tired and defeated, even before the coming battle.
Erik gripped the arm of his chair tightly. Two titans struggled inside him; half of him was outraged by Raviex’s disloyalty to Kairalina while the other half of him was delighted at the good fortune. But he could only imagine how hurt Kairalina would be if she ever found out about it.
As he sat in his study room in his tasteful condominium, he could only wish that everything would turn out well. He knew he could not blame Raviex if his feelings for Kairalina had altered. Feelings, after all, were practically the most unpredictable thing one would face. He should know that better than anyone else.
II
The humongous-sized governor clumsily got onto his large bed, fully dressed in pyjamas made out of the finest of silk. His lady servant went to the switches to off the lights when an eerie black smoke appeared before Lord Dymaz’s bed. She let out a frightened yelp and fled from the chamber.
Lord Dymaz pulled the spreadsheet over his head and whimpered in fear. “Who… who… who are you?”
A tall man in black with bizarre earrings came into sight as the smoke thinned out. “It is I, Kontonaku, Lord Dymaz.”
A shiver ran down his spine when he heard the familiar hissing voice. “What has gotten into your head, Kontonaku? Can’t you walk through the door? It’s my sleeping hours now for crying out loud!” scolded the governor; covering up for his cowardly acts just now when he saw it was his subordinate.
“Don’t treat me like one of your lowly servants!” thundered the man, his coal black eyes gleamed with fire in its pupil, his tolerance with the governor was wearing off.
A strand of smoke found its way around his neck and encircled it. Lord Dymaz struggled as he felt it cutting through his fat and squashing his airway. He was dangled a few feet above in the air, his stubby legs kicking at nothing.
“C…Can’t breathe!” he choked. He was abruptly released and landed heavily on his bed. The bed groaned noisily in protest for the sudden massive weight on it.
“Now, if you would listen to my report, Lord Dymaz,” he sneered. “On the 23rd of Kin, the
“I don’t care who they look up to. Just kill them all!” he snapped, massaging his neck. He was furious at what Kontonaku did to him but he simply dared not provoke him again.
“I don’t need you to tell me that. I’m just warning you,” he grinned snidely at him. “I might be having too much fun that I won’t be able to protect you. So beware yourself!”
The same eerie black smoke appeared and hid him from his sight. Seconds later, Kontonaku had vanished. Lord Dymaz began to wonder if hiring the Meijin was a good idea in spite of everything he had done for him.
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