Behold, Hope

Chapter 10: The Ball

When I finally woke up, I was met with the mischievous looks of Alysa and Rovan. I tilted my head, confused. "Wow, I didn't expect you to catch a husband so quickly!" Alysa exclaimed.

My face quickly turned some shade of red as I recalled what happened last evening. Crap, that is so embarrassing. I fell asleep in his arms before we even got home. Have I actually fallen for this guy? He's my perfect type, long white hair, reliable and polite. He even asked permission before carrying me earlier. I'm screwed. I've definitely fallen in love, right? At least he has already made it clear he likes me, but I don't know how to act now. Plus, I... I still hate myself and the situation I am in.

"Hey, don't go planning your wedding yet! We still have to prepare for the Ball tonight" Rovan added, which only made my face grow an even darker shade of red. I pouted and crossed my arms, "Do you really think he actually likes me?".

"Puh-lease Lia, he carried you home, in his arms, personally! He even apologized to us for making you cry and said if we ever needed anything, he would always help to the best of his ability. That means he's already preparing to have us as extended family!" Alysa gushed as I stood up and ran to the bathroom, trying to hide my deeply flushed face.

Messy hair. A glassy eye. The other hidden behind my bangs. Yet, I was surprisingly well rested. I didn't have any nightmares last night. It was like Esaro's presence was enough to keep me safe from anything. I smiled back at myself in the mirror and prayed. It has been a while since I prayed. Maybe because I hated you. I hated you for sending me through all this, however it was my own desire to help Lycia that led me here. Just like how humanity calls you evil and ignorant. We willingly abuse our free will and commit wrong acts. The evil in this world is our own. We created it. We are responsible for the horrible things that happen. The train conductor and his selfish desire for adrenaline. My death as a result. None of it was God's fault, it was human nature. However, all that choose to follow you, with their own free will, are pardoned from what awaits them after death and instead receive the Kingdom of Heaven. Because of my obedience to your call, I have inherited that Kingdom, however it was not my time. Instead, I freely chose this new path; there are people by my side, Esaro is by my side, You are by my side, I can do this. I still believe you're good. So, God. I ask that you continue to bless the path that I am walking on. I pray that the future for this Kingdom, its allies, its leaders and its people are all bright. In your name, I pray this, Amen. After changing out of the clothes I fell asleep in, I came back out of the bathroom and yawned as I grabbed an apple off the table. Rovan continued to stare at me expectantly as I tried to ignore him. Finally, I gave in.

"He said that he would stay by my side and protect me," I said quietly. Rovan and Alysa stood up, excitedly and cheered. They both insisted that meant he totally had fallen for me. I felt uneasy, but I still felt much more confident that he did in fact mean it. I still don't know. While I have fallen for Esaro, I cannot hide from the reality of my situation and trauma.

Mina and I went out to lunch together, meeting up with Braith and his family. Braith's son was obsessed with Mina, not surprising since she's quite cute. Mina, and Yena then began to grill me about Esaro since they heard a rumor about him carrying a woman with the same physical characteristics as me. I was put in a tough spot and explained what had been going on between us, stuttering occasionally. Mina and Yena immediately knew I had fallen for him and were determined that we would be the cutest couple. I of course was too embarrassed to stop them. Braith seemed quite excited as well, insisting that it was only natural the strongest knight would fall for me. I was relieved that Braith was able to accept that someone else had sworn to protect me, likely because of how much he respected Esaro. I'm glad.

Mina and I headed back to her boutique to pick up her dress and other accessories she wanted to have me try on too. I put all the stuff in my inventory and after seeing my magic, she insisted we bring even more items since she thought we would be carrying everything on our own. I eventually complied with her demands because of her adorable face and we headed back to the cottage with much more items than we planned. Upon arrival, Rovan was sitting on the couch reading while Alysa called us to the back room. She had pulled out a bunch of cosmetics and accessories for us to use. I sighed, knowing this was going to be a long evening.