TBATE - What if Tessia was the legacy ? - The legacy of it all

You're free, for now...

{Tessia Eralith}

-That's why I followed you in Dire Tombs." I explained in a low tone as I kept my head down. "I just wanted to make sure you would all make it out from the fight against the Elderwood guardian. I- I had no idea Elijah, Nico would be there."

-Then you don't know why he hates me that much?" Asked Art with a hint of worry in his tone.

-I assumed that he was manipulated to hate you by Agrona in some convoluted plan to take you down." I answered while wondering if he was asking because he has no idea why Nico wants him dead, or because there's a hidden reason why, which he knows, but hasn't told me about, which would be extremely weird since I know almost everything about Art.

-What about the reason he was trying to kidnap you, or how he knew that you came from the future?" Pressed Arthur with as he furrowed his eyebrow and squinted slightly while staring at the ground as if he was in the middle of a deep reflection.

-I don't know the reason for either of those." I answered, slightly ashamed of how little I knew about Nico and Agrona's schemes. "The only thing Nico ever said is that he wouldn't hurt me and kept calling me Cecilia for some reason, but I have no idea why he was seeking me out specifically." I explained as Nico's plan looked less and less sensical the more I thought about it. "As for him knowing the future, it might have something to do with him being right next to me while Agrona performed the ritual that somehow sent me back in time. Maybe he also remembers what happened, maybe Agrona also knows, or maybe only one of them did but told the other." I explained, listing every possible scenario that could explain the current situation.

Letting a heavy silence settle in, I only now measured how ignorant and stupid I had been up until now. I had never even considered that someone else could have also come from the future, I had never managed to find a single hint about what Nico's intent might have been, I never tried to understand why Nico wanted Arthur dead so much beyond the fact that Art was a lance and I never anticipated that any event could divert that much from my original world this quickly.

To put it bluntly, I was a complete and utter failure on every level, be it planning, investigation or anticipation.

Hearing Arthur let out a short sigh I turned toward him to see him open his mouth to speak: "So, beyond telling me that a megalomaniac dictator from a race of god-like creature, along with his army of overpowered half-deities whose hubris is only rivaled by their bloodthirst, and an entire continent want me and all my loved ones dead, is there anything else I should know?" He asked in a playful tone and a slight smirk that underlined the absurdity of the situation rather well.

-I love you." I answered without a second of hesitation, almost as a reflex.

Freezing in place for half a second, I only realized the huge strategic blunder I had just made by confessing right here and now. I had planned for my confession to be much more romantic and passionate than that, for it to truly express my feelings and win over Art.

-So you're saying that you aren't just a stalker, but also a groomer going after a poor, little and isolated boy ?"

-What? No!" I asked with utter dumbfoundedness, not having anticipated this kind of answer in the slightest. "That's obviously not what I was trying to do!"

-Yeah, I'm sure that'll hold up in court." He answered in an overly sarcastic tone.

-No I wasn't try- I mean, I was, but it would only be out of your own volition." I answered as I stumbled over my words while using hand gestures to try and desperately communicate my thought process.

-And you confess to wanting to manipulate me into accepting." He added while shaking his head from left to right. "You really aren't making a good case for yourself."