Wobble wobble wobble. I’m not a hundred percent certain these words describe any emotions but that exactly how I felt the moment I stepped out of the carriage.
Hannah immediately wrapped her arms around my shoulders, lifted me up and literally carried me towards the mansion.
“Is that your Lucinda-Withdrawal syndrome?” I asked with all my might as it was pretty hard to breathe.
“What’s wrong with hugging the person you like?” She said, but sadly in a voice that sounded as if he was admonishing a child.
“Ehh … I’m sorry?” I said while trying to figure out what I did wrong. Everything went according to the plan she agreed upon, so I didn’t really knew what she was so upset about.
“For what?” She whispered into my ear.
“For leaving you alone for a week?” I asked and finally felt ground beneath my feet again as she let go of me.
“No.” Hannah said unhappily.
“Hmm … Tom, why are you smiling like some dumb mutt?” I asked once I turned around and spotted him behind us.
“For no reason whatsoever … on a second thought, I don’t think I want to be here. You two … can talk this out.” He said and turned around to run through the entrance door. I didn’t reply to this lewd idiot at all, and rather focussed my attention back on Hannah.
“Have I said anything wrong?” I asked whole scratching my cheek helplessly. As far as I remembered I didn’t bully her, but that may have been just be my perception.
“No … it’s about what you didn’t say.” It was hard – if not impossible – to answer to this statement. I talked a lot with her. I didn’t say anything unnecessary, but we had two hundred years to catch up to.
“Ehh … is this because of the joke I didn’t finish? I can do it now if –“
“No it’s not about a joke?! Stop trying to make fun of everything! This is about me and you.” I could see that she was really mad at me. “I was so happy when you came back because I was bored out of my mind. I have lived so long already that there is nothing interesting left to enjoy. I’m not like Tom or you. I don’t find that much enjoyment in the death of others … Lucinda, you promised me a path into the future I would like. And I was happy … so happy. You were always the one I had my hopes on, but now … you have left me hanging for the last week. You had given me nothing to do whatsoever and I felt … I felt left out.”
“… I’m sorry.”
“Am I useless? I’m not good at scheming like Tom is, Pauline is better at gathering information and I … where is my place?”
“Your place is right here by my side. Hannah, do you know why I haven’t given you anything? It’s not because you are useless, trust me. It is because I trust you more than anyone else. I trust you to have an eye on the others because you, unlike anyone else have no intention to betray me.“
“You don’t trust Tom?” No, I didn’t really trust him. I knew he wanted to see the world burn but if someone were to make him a better offer than I had, he might side with them, if not for the unbreakable bond between us.
“I am his creator, made it nearly impossible for him to lash out at me and I have every bit of control in our relationship. Without my agreement he cannot even lift a finger … and as much as I hate to admit it, my relationship with him is exactly the one I have with Aska. Someday he will betray me, that’s for sure. And I can’t even blame him for doing so.” I concluded and strolled past Hannah towards the stairs.
“I still don’t know what my place is supposed to be.” She said walking to my side.
“You are the one and only bulwark against those that try to harm me. You said it yourself two hundred years ago. I am weak during the day. Sure, I got a little bit stronger, but I still won’t be able to fight against a real threat. And even in the night, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head. But it is not only that. Do you seriously think I would be able to spent a normal month with Tom, or even the whore? I would rather swim than that. And don’t you think the month we spent together was fun?” I asked and stopped in the middle of the hallway. My elfish friend stopped a few seconds after I did so and turned around to face me.
“Lucinda … it was. But was it a engaging in any way? Most certainly not. I found nothing that interests me during that time … I’m like you. Without any normal hobbies. I have nothing except my friendship with you. I’m lost Lucinda. So please help me.” She looked really depressed as she said the last part. So much so that I just wanted to hug comfort her which I wasn’t an expert in.
And so, there was only one path forwards I could take. With my right hand, I reached towards my thigh, unsheathed the dagger and stepped forwards to slash at her belly.
She was fast though. Faster than even I was. Grabbing the sword in her hips, she yanked it upwards, causing her leather belt to snap. But by doing so, she easily blocked my dagger as it now harmlessly dug into the scabbard.
“Do you think Tom could have blocked this?” I asked and pressed closer to her to punch into her guts. Like the wind, she felt strangely untouchable though. Before my strike connected, she was already dancing away from me light-footed.
“What do you want to say?” She asked and stopped a few metres was from me. I wasn’t willing to let go though and directly followed her.
“I need you. Now more than anytime before. I need you to stay sane, I need you to be my sword in the light and darkness, and I need you to live. Hannah, I am not sure if I want to tell you this, but our destiny is already intertwined. Our paths into the future has become one the moment you didn’t stay with your family hundreds of years ago. If I fail, you will die. And if you die, my fate will be worse than anything this world has ever seen before.” Her breathing became quite rough as she defended herself against the barrage of my attacks. Luckily I did have the advantage in these tiny hallways thanks to her larger sword, because otherwise I couldn’t push her back that easily.
“I don’t think I have that big of a role to play…” She said with the back against the wall, only to duck underneath a thrust of mine, grab my arm with her free hand and pull me further in while switching positions.
“Hannah … you are my closest friend … you are my only friend. So let me set this straight for you. You are capable, you are worthy and your place is by my side. Forever. I don’t know where we will be in a year, but I do know that we are nothing without each other. I would become paranoid of everyone, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my daylight, and I wouldn’t have anyone to tell how I feel. And you? You would have no drive whatsoever, would fall back into the boring life of a mercenary until you die. Without each other, we are broken … okay, maybe I have a few screws loose and you are obsessed about being liked by me, but at least we have something. Without each other, we are incapable of life.” Finally, I was able to escape from her attacks, simply by grabbing the sword still inside the scabbard and yanking it away, also freeing the sharp blade in the process. Sadly, I had to defend against a sharp sword afterwards which made it a lot more difficult for me.
“Where … where is all of this coming from?” She said, clearly exhausted from all the fighting where every millisecond counted. She slashed at me horizontally, forcing me to escape sideways into a room which enabled her to use the full length of her sword against me. At that point, I was completely in the defensive as my reach wasn’t as far as hers and she didn’t make any blunders. I could only defend by placing furniture in between me and her until I managed to escape the wrecked room once more.
“Isn’t it true? I spied on you from time to time a few years ago … and you weren’t happy. But now, you are smiling. You are bored of fighting monsters, but you have fun crossing your blades with me. I am fucking bored of small talk with some random guy or even others like Tom. But with you, I don’t mind it. And just to be clear, I liked playing chess with Mary as well, I didn’t mind talking to Sofie for whatever reason but I feel that you will be around me forever.” I knew she feared that I would throw her away at one point. She came from the slums and knew how it is to be at the bottom of society. She certainly didn’t want to end up there once more, or even worse, share the fate of the pope of death. Finally, she breathed in heavily and closed her eyes. I obviously didn’t attack during that time and let her sort out her emotions. As she opened her eyes again, I couldn’t see the muddy colours of her emotions anymore, which had been replaced by a calm happiness.
“… is that a declaration of love?” And finally, I had my old Hannah back. I also couldn’t see that slight depression in her posture anymore which made me smile involuntarily.
“Being my lover entails murder, torture, kinky intercourse and torture while we do kinky intercourse. I don’t think you want either of that, no?” I asked jokingly. Maybe I shouldn’t have considering she was still very, very inexperienced concerning these matters.
“… do you do stuff like that with Tom as well?” She asked and out of nowhere, attacked me with a thrust. I jumped backwards and evaded it easily, but it that apparently wasn’t all she had in mind. “Lightning bolt.” Out of nowhere, a fist sized bolt of pure electricity shot out from the tip of her sword, curved upwards and threatened to hit my face … if not for the impenetrable barrier around me. Right in front of my eyes, the electricity turned into normal mana and evaporated into the surroundings.
But she already knew that much and prepared in advance. I could only see a slight distortion in the air in front of me and twist my head, albeit too slowly. Without the usual pleasure I felt, I noticed how a bit of blood ran down my cheek while I stood there perplexed.
“You did it!” I exclaimed, let my dagger fall onto the ground and hugged her tightly.
“I figured it out!” She said while picking me up under my arms and turning around rather swiftly. My feet hit the wall a little bit, but that wasn’t of concern.
“Didn’t you know since the night we fought?” I asked confused with a spinning vision as she had slightly gone too far with turning around a bit too fast.
“Yeah, but it was hard to pull off. Not being able to use my daggers, nor anything the system supports is a serious handicap.” My bane, out of all things, was ancient magic. I could control any magic done through a weapon which had a soul in it and I could stop the system from working around me. That was my impenetrable barrier. Coincidentally, the trash tier weapons had a use against me as I wasn’t able to interfere with magical circles as they were based on magic from way before the system existed. The same applied to the wind magic Hannah used against me. It was simply not done through the system and as such, I was completely defenceless against it. At least if Hannah wasn’t around to protect me.
But luckily, I wasn’t too worried about that prospect. She would always stay by my side, in that I believed.
Wobble wobble wobble. I’m not a hundred percent certain these words describe any emotions but that exactly how I felt the moment I stepped out of the carriage.
Hannah immediately wrapped her arms around my shoulders, lifted me up and literally carried me towards the mansion.
“Is that your Lucinda-Withdrawal syndrome?” I asked with all my might as it was pretty hard to breathe.
“What’s wrong with hugging the person you like?” She said, but sadly in a voice that sounded as if he was admonishing a child.
“Ehh … I’m sorry?” I said while trying to figure out what I did wrong. Everything went according to the plan she agreed upon, so I didn’t really knew what she was so upset about.
“For what?” She whispered into my ear.
“For leaving you alone for a week?” I asked and finally felt ground beneath my feet again as she let go of me.
“No.” Hannah said unhappily.
“Hmm … Tom, why are you smiling like some dumb mutt?” I asked once I turned around and spotted him behind us.
“For no reason whatsoever … on a second thought, I don’t think I want to be here. You two … can talk this out.” He said and turned around to run through the entrance door. I didn’t reply to this lewd idiot at all, and rather focussed my attention back on Hannah.
“Have I said anything wrong?” I asked whole scratching my cheek helplessly. As far as I remembered I didn’t bully her, but that may have been just be my perception.
“No … it’s about what you didn’t say.” It was hard – if not impossible – to answer to this statement. I talked a lot with her. I didn’t say anything unnecessary, but we had two hundred years to catch up to.
“Ehh … is this because of the joke I didn’t finish? I can do it now if –“
“No it’s not about a joke?! Stop trying to make fun of everything! This is about me and you.” I could see that she was really mad at me. “I was so happy when you came back because I was bored out of my mind. I have lived so long already that there is nothing interesting left to enjoy. I’m not like Tom or you. I don’t find that much enjoyment in the death of others … Lucinda, you promised me a path into the future I would like. And I was happy … so happy. You were always the one I had my hopes on, but now … you have left me hanging for the last week. You had given me nothing to do whatsoever and I felt … I felt left out.”
“… I’m sorry.”
“Am I useless? I’m not good at scheming like Tom is, Pauline is better at gathering information and I … where is my place?”
“Your place is right here by my side. Hannah, do you know why I haven’t given you anything? It’s not because you are useless, trust me. It is because I trust you more than anyone else. I trust you to have an eye on the others because you, unlike anyone else have no intention to betray me.“
“You don’t trust Tom?” No, I didn’t really trust him. I knew he wanted to see the world burn but if someone were to make him a better offer than I had, he might side with them, if not for the unbreakable bond between us.
“I am his creator, made it nearly impossible for him to lash out at me and I have every bit of control in our relationship. Without my agreement he cannot even lift a finger … and as much as I hate to admit it, my relationship with him is exactly the one I have with Aska. Someday he will betray me, that’s for sure. And I can’t even blame him for doing so.” I concluded and strolled past Hannah towards the stairs.
“I still don’t know what my place is supposed to be.” She said walking to my side.
“You are the one and only bulwark against those that try to harm me. You said it yourself two hundred years ago. I am weak during the day. Sure, I got a little bit stronger, but I still won’t be able to fight against a real threat. And even in the night, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head. But it is not only that. Do you seriously think I would be able to spent a normal month with Tom, or even the whore? I would rather swim than that. And don’t you think the month we spent together was fun?” I asked and stopped in the middle of the hallway. My elfish friend stopped a few seconds after I did so and turned around to face me.
“Lucinda … it was. But was it a engaging in any way? Most certainly not. I found nothing that interests me during that time … I’m like you. Without any normal hobbies. I have nothing except my friendship with you. I’m lost Lucinda. So please help me.” She looked really depressed as she said the last part. So much so that I just wanted to hug comfort her which I wasn’t an expert in.
And so, there was only one path forwards I could take. With my right hand, I reached towards my thigh, unsheathed the dagger and stepped forwards to slash at her belly.
She was fast though. Faster than even I was. Grabbing the sword in her hips, she yanked it upwards, causing her leather belt to snap. But by doing so, she easily blocked my dagger as it now harmlessly dug into the scabbard.
“Do you think Tom could have blocked this?” I asked and pressed closer to her to punch into her guts. Like the wind, she felt strangely untouchable though. Before my strike connected, she was already dancing away from me light-footed.
“What do you want to say?” She asked and stopped a few metres was from me. I wasn’t willing to let go though and directly followed her.
“I need you. Now more than anytime before. I need you to stay sane, I need you to be my sword in the light and darkness, and I need you to live. Hannah, I am not sure if I want to tell you this, but our destiny is already intertwined. Our paths into the future has become one the moment you didn’t stay with your family hundreds of years ago. If I fail, you will die. And if you die, my fate will be worse than anything this world has ever seen before.” Her breathing became quite rough as she defended herself against the barrage of my attacks. Luckily I did have the advantage in these tiny hallways thanks to her larger sword, because otherwise I couldn’t push her back that easily.
“I don’t think I have that big of a role to play…” She said with the back against the wall, only to duck underneath a thrust of mine, grab my arm with her free hand and pull me further in while switching positions.
“Hannah … you are my closest friend … you are my only friend. So let me set this straight for you. You are capable, you are worthy and your place is by my side. Forever. I don’t know where we will be in a year, but I do know that we are nothing without each other. I would become paranoid of everyone, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my daylight, and I wouldn’t have anyone to tell how I feel. And you? You would have no drive whatsoever, would fall back into the boring life of a mercenary until you die. Without each other, we are broken … okay, maybe I have a few screws loose and you are obsessed about being liked by me, but at least we have something. Without each other, we are incapable of life.” Finally, I was able to escape from her attacks, simply by grabbing the sword still inside the scabbard and yanking it away, also freeing the sharp blade in the process. Sadly, I had to defend against a sharp sword afterwards which made it a lot more difficult for me.
“Where … where is all of this coming from?” She said, clearly exhausted from all the fighting where every millisecond counted. She slashed at me horizontally, forcing me to escape sideways into a room which enabled her to use the full length of her sword against me. At that point, I was completely in the defensive as my reach wasn’t as far as hers and she didn’t make any blunders. I could only defend by placing furniture in between me and her until I managed to escape the wrecked room once more.
“Isn’t it true? I spied on you from time to time a few years ago … and you weren’t happy. But now, you are smiling. You are bored of fighting monsters, but you have fun crossing your blades with me. I am fucking bored of small talk with some random guy or even others like Tom. But with you, I don’t mind it. And just to be clear, I liked playing chess with Mary as well, I didn’t mind talking to Sofie for whatever reason but I feel that you will be around me forever.” I knew she feared that I would throw her away at one point. She came from the slums and knew how it is to be at the bottom of society. She certainly didn’t want to end up there once more, or even worse, share the fate of the pope of death. Finally, she breathed in heavily and closed her eyes. I obviously didn’t attack during that time and let her sort out her emotions. As she opened her eyes again, I couldn’t see the muddy colours of her emotions anymore, which had been replaced by a calm happiness.
“… is that a declaration of love?” And finally, I had my old Hannah back. I also couldn’t see that slight depression in her posture anymore which made me smile involuntarily.
“Being my lover entails murder, torture, kinky intercourse and torture while we do kinky intercourse. I don’t think you want either of that, no?” I asked jokingly. Maybe I shouldn’t have considering she was still very, very inexperienced concerning these matters.
“… do you do stuff like that with Tom as well?” She asked and out of nowhere, attacked me with a thrust. I jumped backwards and evaded it easily, but it that apparently wasn’t all she had in mind. “Lightning bolt.” Out of nowhere, a fist sized bolt of pure electricity shot out from the tip of her sword, curved upwards and threatened to hit my face … if not for the impenetrable barrier around me. Right in front of my eyes, the electricity turned into normal mana and evaporated into the surroundings.
But she already knew that much and prepared in advance. I could only see a slight distortion in the air in front of me and twist my head, albeit too slowly. Without the usual pleasure I felt, I noticed how a bit of blood ran down my cheek while I stood there perplexed.
“You did it!” I exclaimed, let my dagger fall onto the ground and hugged her tightly.
“I figured it out!” She said while picking me up under my arms and turning around rather swiftly. My feet hit the wall a little bit, but that wasn’t of concern.
“Didn’t you know since the night we fought?” I asked confused with a spinning vision as she had slightly gone too far with turning around a bit too fast.
“Yeah, but it was hard to pull off. Not being able to use my daggers, nor anything the system supports is a serious handicap.” My bane, out of all things, was ancient magic. I could control any magic done through a weapon which had a soul in it and I could stop the system from working around me. That was my impenetrable barrier. Coincidentally, the trash tier weapons had a use against me as I wasn’t able to interfere with magical circles as they were based on magic from way before the system existed. The same applied to the wind magic Hannah used against me. It was simply not done through the system and as such, I was completely defenceless against it. At least if Hannah wasn’t around to protect me.
But luckily, I wasn’t too worried about that prospect. She would always stay by my side, in that I believed.
