Love Can Save {An Aphmau Fanfiction}

Richard

The sun was fierce in the sky above, summertime going into full swing in the village of Phoenix Drop. Children were running through the streets, heading in groups toward the river and the beach to escape the heat. A bead of sweat dripped down the back of my neck, making me shudder with the feeling. It made me want to shuck off all this armor, but unfortunately, I was on duty for the next seven hours. Yay.

Despite the heat, I was looking forward to my shift today. Thalia had told me the other day that Evelyn was becoming a guard in Phoenix Drop, and she asked if I could show her around today before Evelyn had her own shift. Of course I said I would. Over the past two months since Evelyn had shown up outside the gates, I had taken to visiting her every so often. She really was an interesting person, even more so since the only way she could communicate was through signs and writing. I enjoyed the stories she told, and the deeds she'd done as a guard of Sterica amazed me. I could only hope to be as talented a guard as she.

I saw her standing in front of the guard station, a soft smile lighting up her tan features, causing her eyes to crinkle. She had cut her hair around her ears a month back, and already it was starting to brush against her shoulders. Even in this brutal heat, she wore a red scarf around her neck, the ends tucked into her chestplate to keep them from flapping in the wind. I knew that she hated the looks she got from people when they noticed the scar on her neck, so she often found it easier to cover it. I felt sorry for her, having to cover up just to avoid stares, but I knew that Laurance felt similar, except he couldn't cover and hide what made everyone stare.

Evelyn waved when she saw me, and I returned the gesture, feeling lighter already. She looked so happy standing there, having a purpose once more. From what I had heard from both her and Thalia, Evelyn had wanted to be a guard her entire life. And she had been, for several years in Sterica, even after the incident with the Shadow Knights. Thalia said that she was the best guard she had ever met, And I still wasn't completely sure why she had shown up outside of Phoenix Drop in near-rags, but I didn't want to push her. If she wanted to tell me, she would when she wanted to.

"Hi Evelyn!" She smiled back at me, giving a small wave as she adjusted her scarf slightly. "You've been on a tour of the village already, right?" She nodded, hands starting to fly before giving me a sheepish smile.

Sorry, she signed, making sure to keep her motions simple and slow enough for me to understand. Thalia took me around. Her signs weren't complicated: one that I knew meant Thalia, one for walking, and a gesture at the village around us. I had come to realize that the hardest part about talking to Evelyn with her signing was putting her signs together in a cohesive sentence that fit the situation. After having talked to her a couple times each week since she had come to Phoenix Drop, I think I had gotten pretty good at putting the signs together. Of course, I still didn't know a lot of the signs and it took me a lot longer than it took for Thalia or Kacey to understand her, but I was getting better at it.

I smiled back at her, glancing around at the buildings around us. "Alright, well I'll show you everything you'll need to know as a guard, and then if there's anything else you want to see, just let me know, okay?" She nodded, her smile growing in size. I knew some people were shooting looks at us, but most likely because they didn't know who this new girl was.

Ever since the Rosalind incident last year, Lady Aphmau and Lord Levin had made sure to personally know all of the guards in both Phoenix Drop and the Capital Island. Therefore, the people in these villages knew pretty much all of the guards in both places. So they were probably curious about the new guard walking by my side, but, as they knew me pretty well, I was sure they trusted Evelyn.

For the next seven hours, I was on duty on the western wall, showing Evelyn everything she needed to know as a guard in Phoenix Drop. She caught on very quickly, and it was easy to tell that she had been the head guard in her last village. By the end of my shift, she had shown me a few new things as well. Well, it was easy to know more than me about being a guard; I had only been a guard for a few years, and she had been a guard for at least twice as long as that. Most people in Phoenix Drop had been guards for a lot longer than me.

"Your first shift as a guard of Phoenix Drop is done!" I announced, giving her a huge grin. She smiled back at me, a small, rasping sound that I had come to learn was her laugh. My smile grew at the sound, leading my new friend down from the wall. She had taken the scarf off within an hour of being up there, the sun finally getting to her. As we climbed down the ladder and back towards Thalia's house, she started to wrap the fabric back around her neck.

"Leave it off," I blurted, unable to keep the words in. She glanced over, halfway through putting the scarf on. My face grew red, and I glanced away from her face. "Don't cover your scar up. It shows how strong you are." The words were true, but I wasn't sure why I had felt the need to say them. But as she tugged on my sleeve, offering a smile, I was glad they had come out.

Thank you, she signed, the red scarf now tucked around her scabbard. You are very kind. I was sure my face flushed even more, any other words catching in my throat. Her smile seemed to grow brighter as she hugged my arm, and I was sure that mine own smile grew as well.