Knight 'n Gale

Chapter 21

Alexander rested his head on Cedar's shoulders as he was deep in thought.

As silence ensued, Gale felt a little bit awkward so she faked a cough and broke the silence, "Does His Highness--"

"Alex." The Prince interrupted her, as he lifted his head to face her. "Call me that when there's no one's around... like you used to..."

Gale involuntarily gulped as her face flushed red.

Alexander's face was only about an inch away from her own and his aquamarine eyes seems to pierce through her soul, giving her a vague feeling of being bare in front of him.

"...That... my lord, surely you are jesting?" avoiding his stare, she looked sideways. "I had never been too rude as to call out your highness' given name..."

Hearing this, the corners of Alexander's lips slightly hooked up. "Oh... you know?"

"Of course I would know, huh?" she paused as she realized something. "Ah. Your Highness is testing me..."

Alexander chuckled softly and patted Cedar's head. "So? Would you tell me what happened now? You were telling that Cedar had died?"

"Erm... not exactly died but... how should I say this..." Gale contemplated. "I and Cedar are of the same soul. You see, the gods told me that there are other dimensions apart from here. And in those dimensions, there were people who had the same soul's fragment."

She then stood up and went to get the water container that was on the table and poured some into the wooden cup.

"Like the water in this container, a person has a single soul. And it's fragments were placed in different 'cups' or vessel in each dimension. Like Cedar and me, we were a single soul but was in a different dimension. The same goes for everyone, and those dimensions never get entangled and the vessels doesn't meet one another. However, something unimaginable happened to me, involving the gods, my vessel was shattered, while Cedar's 'cup' was drained when he was poisoned." Gale drank the water in just three big gulps, spilling a bit of water on her mouth but she just wiped it off with the back of her hand before continuing. "As Cedar's container was drained, it gained a few cracks. However, since I wasn't supposed to die, in order to preserve my soul, they decided to make do with the cracked vessel and I was transferred to this body, thus giving a second life to Cedar... while also maintaining my memories. That's why, I can say that I am certainly Cedar... only with an additional memories..."

"Hmm... A second life... I see..." Alexander crossed his arms on his chest as he slightly frowned. "...but you seem to be on the feminine side... are you perhaps...?

Alexander didn't mention the words but Gale understood what he's implying.

She shyly nodded her head as to confirm his conjecture.

"Amazing..."

Hearing those words, spoken with a hint of mischief, Gale couldn't help but to look up at the prince who was walking slowly towards her.

"Gulp... for some reason, I have a bad feeling about this..."  Gale instinctively stepped backwards as she felt a deja vu.

"What? Running away?" Alexander raised one of his eyebrows as he grinned, showing his perfectly lined teeth. "That was rude... I was only planning to help you."

"H-Help? For what?" still cautious, she asked, still trying to move away from the prince.

However, with a single step, Alexander catched up to her.

Gale was surprised by his sudden movement and felt a warm hand on her waist, forcefully pulling her.

As Cedar's body was about a head and a half smaller than Alexander, her face was almost buried on the prince's chest, if not for her hands resting on them in an attempt to push him away.