The fleeting minutes wither like dry leaves. One hour before the reckoning.
Dressed in a simple brown shirt and baggy trousers, Daichi Viracocha reclines against the base of a great statue hewn in the majestic likeness of Queen Dahlia. The man is in a stupor, stretching his neck up at the bright summer sun every few seconds or so, trying his best to drown out the clamor of children at play in the park nearby. The sounds of youth sickens him, reminds him of...
"Daichi." calmly notions a female voice from nearby. His blurry vision focuses and sees that the voice comes from none other than his fellow prestige. Reiko Kurastein. The Heir of Shadows stands across the stone path from him holding what seems to be a loosely bound notepad in her hands. She gives a weary smile.
"Reiko. You're... here." Daichi says cautiously, having not seen his ally since their night in Orogelid.
The green haired girl crosses the path as a group of kids run past her in a fit of laughter. Upon getting closer, she soon stops and touches below her eye. "You're... you're crying." she observes with a gasp. Illuminated by high noon, a slight stream of drying tears run down the length of the man's face alike his scars, a stark contrast to be sure. To her Daichi seems just as surprised. A flock of crows caw and fly forth from the statue he leans against.
"You know we are scheduled to meet with the Queen in less than thirty minutes. All of us." The two prestiges find themselves sitting at a shaded park table by a local café. Not far down the road they can hear the rackety commotion of the zeppelin station, its ringing bells a harbinger of the loud steaming that would be heard every several minutes from the landing ships. Shouting from the restless engineers included. At the table Reiko takes a bite of a chocolate croissant and finishes her cup of creamed coffee. Daichi's cup remains filled, his sandwich barely worked at.
"We failed." Daichi lets out with a sigh. Reiko, who for the brunch had been keeping a cheerful mood goes silent. Her long dark green nails clack repeatedly against the metal table.
"We were assigned with retaking Orogelid." she tells him. "In that task Aestagia was the prevailing victor, no matter what had happened before we came. I mean, the loss of life is always a failure on our part to protect our kingdom, you're right though. We can't always be there to prevent it. Anyways, are you going to eat that sandwich or what."
Daichi solemnly glances at a red haired kid running with his friends to greet the incoming zeppelin. He nudges his full plate towards Reiko in return of a question. "Back in Orogelid, do you remember what... I... asked of you?" he speaks in a daze as if he was not even there. But he was. He lead the prestiges to defeat the insurgent forces.
Reiko remembers and shyly looks around as if she were looking for listening ears. "You told me to kill Alizarin. For you. But... but I couldn't. None of us wanted each other dead." She fidgets with the goggles on her head. "In that moment that is. I was foolish. I asked him to come back, to stop the fighting. But he asked me of Cassie instead."
"Cassie." Daichi murmurs with his hand to his chin.
"Reiko continues, "I know you couldn't bring yourself to kill him either. Right? It's all something I can't explain. In that place, that is. Orogelid. An odd presence was there... you were questioning the sanctity of our kingdom, I was questioning my intentions, my feelings-"
"Reiko." Daichi shouts in the quietest way possible. "I should have ended that traitor right there. Slit his goddamn throat, ended this all. Why was I... why was I so damn weak!!!" His fists are clenched tight.
There is a long pause between the two as the station bells begin to ring out again. Their lift to the upper city has begun to land.
"We were not ourselves back in Orogelid. We were distracted. I felt what you felt as well, but here, in Aermont, I know our Queen will protect us. We are safe." Daichi gets up from his chair and pushes it in when he sees his face reflect in its shining steel. Tears still stream from his face. "I'm crying, what???" He looks at the girl across from him who touches her face too.
YOU ARE READING
Crimson Assassin
Adventure"How much do we really know about the world we live in?" This question has troubled elite sentry Alizarin Crymson for seven years, ever since his sister left his side during the deadliest revolution in his kingdom's history. But when Alizarin finds...
