>>>>>>>>>>>>> Chapter 06 <<<<<<<<<<<<<
+ I Will Protect You +
I came out much later that afternoon, to find Ivy twirling her hair, with her back rested against the wall. I went up to her and asked about their practice session.
"Oh great, just as always!" she beamed.
Ivy was a member - a very talented member - of the Drama club at our school. As her friend it was my sworn duty to be proud of her. She was a pro in many ways; you could even say that my friend had a firsthand experience in actual theatre. And the disparity between the two of us made us an unlikely pair. You could say that she was the light and I was merely shadow... I wondered if Yuu would like her company better than mine. I shuddered at the thought and praised the heavens that Ivy Ross wasn’t into books, or anything that resembled any academic extension.
I shuffled my sling bag, feeling the weight of the Black Journal I kept hidden in there. After finally realizing that I wouldn’t be able to finish the rest of the entries, practically kneeling on the floor just so Yuuzel can lend it to me over night, since it won’t be missed throughout Sunday, I finally packed home at no less than five this afternoon. Record breaker.
"Are you guys gonna practice still?" I said, kicking the breaks up from my bike.
"Nah. I'm gonna go home early this time."
Ivy already had seated her butt comfortably at the back when she asked.
"Can you give me a ride home?"
I grimaced at her.
"Do I have a choice?"
We thanked the guard for opening the gates for us and speeded off a curve onto the main road. The pre-evening sky loomed over head. I felt a spiked excitement as I neared our house. I wasn't sleepy for one and I wasn't as hungry as I should be, whenever I spent extra time at school. We drove by the long curve and ultimately found ourselves at the intersection.
Ivy got off and headed for their home. I waved goodbye and watched her as she crossed the street.
"See you on Monday. Oh, and better hand in those papers I had you encode for the Sports Fest! Don't be late ok?" she said.
I smiled to myself. Maybe I won't. If I can get through the next entries tonight and the whole day tomorrow, I'd have time to sleep and wake up on Monday morning.
That was a miscalculation on my part.
I should've known better than to assume that I would be able to resist the temptation of reading on and on. This was usually the case. I have read all throughout Saturday evening and had not slept a wink till about 6 am upto Sunday.
I woke up at 10 am and continued reading again from there. It’s like an addiction. Once you start something, you never go back until you’ve read the end. It was also troublesome at times.
Joseff and the Black Journal's writer were friends from long ago. The writer spoke of him in ambivalence as much as he did of the woman named Errzabeth. She was an exiled princess from Moldavia.
He spoke of constant debates about war then and of Amber and how she was growing more and more like Emeraldie. He spent his days with her, teaching her, protecting her from some unknown danger, pretending he didn't know her. He had been through a lot. I can tell by the way he writes of Amber and of Emeraldie's fleeting memory. I still don't understand things with Errzabeth. But it seems like Joseff and the writer, were more than friends, they were brothers and that they had once met in battle…
….
July 14th, yr. 1789
The tower of Bastille has been but burnt down by the people of the Revolution. The power of the monarchs would take on a radical decline, as is the power of the nobles would. It has been years since I last saw civil war...years since Joseff and I clashed swords back home, in Moldavia. Years since I had seen her face, guilt stricken, as if she had any direct hand in whatever bitterness war left behind...Amber's onyx eyes welled in tears as they did, years ago.
That memory has never escaped my conscious…not since a thousand years has past….
Our principalities, by some wicked game of political turmoil had turned onto each other. At that time, war was inevitable. My men and I were scarce. His majesty, himself went to battle and I had to leave Emeraldie’s side to defend our land. This was the just thing to do. I was only fulfilling my duties as a knight of the realm…If only I had listened to her then. Perhaps things would have been different. Perhaps Emeraldie wouldn’t have died that cursed death.
"Must you fight? Is he not your friend?"
Emeraldie held my hand. The sounds of war grew more each moment.
"I must, dear heart, I must. For Moldavia, for its women and children, for our lands and our freedom"
"Freedom? You know there is never real freedom in war. War takes away innocent lives...Can you not work through a compromise with him?"
"Joseff was first to breach our peace! I cannot stand here and let them march into our very gates!”
I placed both my hands on her shoulders and tried to calm her.
“Listen to me, Emeraldie...I will protect you. I will protect this castle with my life. I will die a thousand deaths before anyone harms a single fiber on you.”
"No! No! Promise me you will be back! Promise! Stay with me…come back and stay with me where we will be both safe…” she wept.
Emeraldie had been weeping during those dark days. Joseff and I had been friends. We took Emeraldie to the town village back in the years where the crowns were still worn by capable leaders. His majesty had lost much into the trusties and negotiations with Transylvania and Mallachae. These were all for naught.
It was too late when we had found ourselves in the depths of an irreparable rift between the three kingdoms. And war had been the only resolution to the ill wills and feelings that this had seeded upon us.
The sound of the battle horn resounded from the gates and the men began to move out, each picking up a sword, a shield ad their family’s tearful farewell.
“You must understand, dear daughter that your knight has duty to our realm before ha has any duty to you…”
His majesty came from the back of a pillar. His sword-hand was badly wounded from the last war. We weren’t able to hold our forts and now the enemies are well upon our gates.
But that was only as far as I would ever let them get nearer to Emeraldie.
“I promise, keeper of my heart…Now I must go…” I carefully removed her hands from my arm and went to where the men were.
Some of them were merely men. They were much youth in this band of war-torn army. But that is a necessary sacrifice for war. We needed all the arms we could get hold of to be able to ward the enemies out of our gates and push them back into the dark forests.
“We wait your command, young general.”
Golnraw, the bravest of our men, who had led the battles against our enemies at our northern boundaries, now stood at my side. He had the stern face of a man who had lived and watched a thousand deaths in war. That was also another casualty. For the ones who had survived the cruelties of war would be forever haunted by it. I had learned that on my own as well. I nodded towards him and gave the signal to move out.
We marched out of the castle that day. The sky had dipped into a grim shade of red - the color of blood, as the day had progressed much later. A group of vultures were already flying overhead, as if anticipating the great feast we are about to offer them.
The bridge was drawn up for us. One by one, we marched to be pitted in the bloody game of war…
BINABASA MO ANG
Blood Ink (The Archives Book I): Editing
Vampiros"Two deaths that happened in the distant past were revealed to me. Now there was a recent murder within the school that I had to witness for myself. And when I fled to a new found friend (though I wanted to be more than that) for comfort, he tells m...
