Ancient War - TBATE

Truth

Arthur Leywin Pov

Walking up to the residential floors, I probed Sylvie's mind to see if she was awake. Seeing that my bond was in deep slumber, I took a detour.

Reaching the room at the end of the hall, I knocked on the thick wooden door.

"Coming." Tessia's voice called out.

The door slid open without a single squeal, and on the other side was Tess. She dressed in sleepwear, but her hair dripped with water.

"You're la--Arthur?" Tess gasped "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry." I smiled. "Were you expecting someone?"

"Y-Yeah, Caira was supposed to come over. Arthur, what's wrong?" She asked. She noticed my blank gaze.

"Nothing. You look different from when you were at the event."

Tess wrapped a towel around her head as she scowled at me. "Wow! Thanks for pointing that out!"

Realizing my mistake, I quickly shook my head. "No, I meant in a good way. You look more like the Tess I spent three years with back then."

"You need to work on your flattery skills." She sighed. "Wait, no, don't work on them."

I let out a chuckle. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

After putting on a thin robe over her sleepwear, she followed me down the hall toward the balcony where my sister set up her target planks.

Neither of us talked on the way there as we stood side by side. Unlike at the event, we didn't hook our arm, but it somehow felt more intimate.

We reached the grassy terrace surrounded by trees but continued walking until we were at the very edge. Sitting against the thick trunk of a nearby tree, I stared out at the night sky. The clouds below us moved slowly. The moon overhead dimly lit the clouds.

"The stars are beautiful." I admired. I come from a world where brightly lit cities masked the stars. Being able to see such a serene spectacle was a blessing I had come to appreciate.

"it's quiet nights like these that I sometimes wonder if there is a war going on down below us," Tess said softly. "I sometimes come out here and imagine that the clouds beneath us are the ocean, and I'm floating aimlessly in a boat. Childish, right?"

"I think you have the right to be a little childish at times," I said "you're the head of an entire unit now. You are responsible for the lives that you lead, and that'll never be an easy burden to carry, no matter how much experience you have."

"You say that as if you've been one," she replied, bringing her knees close to her chest. "You're technically a general, but the lances don't lead the soldiers."

"You're right, and in that regard, I have it much easier. The main duty of a Lance is to overpower an opposing enemy of their caliber." I turned to my childhood friend. "Which brings me to why I wanted to see you."

"Does it have to do with what you talked about with grandpa and Gideon?"

"Was it that obvious?"

"You're not the type to do something as sentimental as this without reason. You either have to go away for a long time, do something dangerous again, or both," Tess pointed out.

I let out a chuckle "am I that much of an open book?"

"You're more like an open chapter." Tess Smiled. "There are parts that are so obvious, yet there are times when I feel like I don't know you at all."