Defying Equilibrium: Book II

Interlude VI

A few hundred years ago

"Where are you going?"

A frown on a young man's face, which caused that familiar crease to his forehead. Disapproval. A slightly suspicious tone to the question.

"Out."

That was all the second man could reply. Not a lie. No, he wouldn't lie to his friend. But it was a truth he couldn't quite reveal, not yet. The truth was dangerous, and he could not burden his friend with the weight of it.

The frown deepened. Almost distrust. Not quite. "You've beenleaving a lot in times of late. Others may get suspicious of your whereabouts."

A gentle smile. "But not you?"

A disgruntled breath and no response. The first of the men sat on the ground and polished his already gleaming shield with deep concentration, back and forth with a rag. Back and forth. Back and forth.

The other man sheathed his sword and strapped it to his belt. He did not intend to use it, but it was always better to be cautious. Better to be safe than sorry. Little did he know how sorry he would one day become, but for now he was careful. Careful enough.

The first man eyes the sword. "A dangerous business, is it?"

"Somewhat."

A deep sigh, weary. Fatigued. They were not at home, they were not friends spending pleasant time in each other's company. No, this was a battlefield, they were soldiers and their friendship was one formed in the heat of conflict and forged in the metal of their weapons. A trust that ran deeper than blood. Brothers in their battle-bred souls.

"Do you trust me?"

"With my life."

"But not with your secrets." It was not phrased as a question. It was only a fact, said with a tinge of bitterness to the words.

An expression contorted the second man's face, a strange blend of guilt and shame, but hesitation too. And more than a little determination. He desired to tell his friend everything, but he knew he couldn't. It was too big of a risk. Maybe he should have trusted him more. Maybe he trusted him too much. Only time can tell.

A pause at the doorway. He was leaving, but something made him pauseand look back. To this day, he in unsure of what it was that made him always so reluctant to leave things like this. Maybe it was that he felt wrong for not sharing this when they had shared so much already. Maybe not. Something made him pause, and look back at his friend, and the slow back and forth of his familiar motions. Polishing the shield that had saved both of their lives more than once. Back and forth.The first man paused too, and looked up.

"Raphael?" A gentler note to his voice. Resigned. "Please be careful."

The man at the doorway gave a small nod.

"I'll try, Cain. I will."

Some stories are true, but some are false as well. It is strange how the one can be both.

"I have been waiting for you."

She had been waiting under a tree in the moonlight, as she always did for him. She smiled a slow, secret smile that was only for him. She did not smile much, her world was too full of sadness for her to smile much. But for him, she did. Always for him. His heart ached every time he saw that smile, the one for him and him alone. The happiness they shared.

His fingers brushed her cheek. "I am sorry for being late. I hope you have not been lonely without me."

Now a grin, a real one. A childish, impish grin full of energy and light and love, and so full of her. So much so that his heart seemed to pause at the sight of it, his lungs momentarily forgetting how to breathe. She was so beautiful, and standing here with his hand on her face and his fingers drifting into her hair, she was so real.