章 232: She Relaxes in the Garden
Actually, Robin wasn't really mad. She just felt it was the best excuse to explain why her face was suddenly becoming red. She wasn't running away. It was a tactical retreat to recoup with reinforcements. Christian had used one sentence to tear down what took her two hours to set up.
Looking around, she suddenly found the entrance to the garden. Oddly enough, with everything that happened, she had never had a chance to take a proper look. After a brief glance around, she slipped out the door.
Under Bastian's instructions, and Fest's oversight, the back garden had become quite a lovely place to walk around. Robin recognized the sections were segregated by season, with rows of high hedges blocking sight of the other sections. This way, there wouldn't be a day that went by, where something wasn't in bloom. she even glimpsed the roof of a round glass greenhouse in the distance. She could only guess that the plants inside would probably bloom during the winter time.
Robin walked wherever her feet led her, smiling happily at the green plants, the flowers, the sunshine through the trees, the blue sky and puffy white clouds.... Everything about her seemed to bring out from inside her heart new motes of joy to gather up.
The small birds twittered away in the trees. Robin glanced up as the light breeze tickled the tufts of hair about her ears. Up ahead, under the partial shade of a tree, stood a pavilion made of some kind of pale pink stone.
Robin sat down on the stone bench, and looked out at the view which overlooked a portion of the garden. She breathed deeply, and let the breath out in a slow, contented sigh.
"So this is what peace feels like?" She murmured to herself. After seven long years, she had almost forgotten that there could be a moment where she didn't have to watch her back. There was no more dread, anxiety, or any feelings of caution prickling at the back of her neck. At this time, she could fully enjoy the moment.
"That's because you worked hard for it." Hikaru, the hero's blade, suddenly spoke up.
"Oh." Robin was surprised for a moment before realizing the sword on her waist could speak. "You've been so silent all this time, I was beginning to wonder if you were asleep." She teased.
"You seem to have questions that you can't ask others." Hikaru noted. "I may be a sword, but at the very least, I can be a good listener."
Robin looked out at the peaceful scenery and her expression saddened a bit. "Have I....all of this time, have I been missing moments like these?" She asked.
"Well...Rather than missing, I think you just weren't able to have them, what with that black fly buzzing about you. Even if it didn't bite, you would be distracted." Hikaru replied.
"Is that so..." Robin sighed. "Well... I'm glad I can enjoy them once again." She had become much calmer since her fight against the Trader. While she could still remain cautious, she could also put her guard down when there was no need of it.
It was like finding that something difficult became much smoother after pushing a missing piece back into place. Robin could now fully appreciate what she could only partially admire before. She relaxed.
"It's so nice outside, today.." Robin leaned against the side of the pavilion.
All of a sudden, the memory of Christian's earlier words popped unbidden into her mind.
'Would it be presumptuous of me to ask if I can become your number one fan?' The words seemed to echo into her head like a broken record player. Robin shook her head quickly, trying to snap out of her dizzying thoughts.
'Number one fan...'
'Number one fan...'
'Number one fan...'
But it was no use: her face had turned a bright red.
-----
Chelsea opened her doorway, and glanced around. Both ends of the hallway were clear. She stepped out of her room and moved towards the front door. So far, there was not a glimpse of Liam in sight.
"Huh. Perhaps they're wrong about Liam. Maybe it was just all of us having an overactive imagination....After all, there's no way that he'd be interested in something like me." She muttered to herself. When she opened up the front door, she jumped slightly with a small squeak.
Standing there in front of her was Liam. Chelsea nearly slammed the door as she quickly shut it in his face. Her own face was now blushing furiously as she recalled what Robin and Jasmine said. But then she heard a polite knock at the door. Chelsea realized he was still outdoors, and she had acted rudely. She opened the door shyly.
"Ah...sorry. You surprised me! I Didn't expect that you'd be right there when I opened the door!" Chelsea explained, flustered. Liam was confused, but he also found the flustered expression on Chelsea to be quite charming.
He secretly decided to try and surprise her a lot more from then on.
----
Christian had decided to spar with Keith at the training grounds for a few rounds. They had both changed into simpler clothes, and we're going back and forth on the packed dirt floor. Christian was skilled enough to surpass most swordsmen. However, Keith was not making it easy to hold his ground.
"Is it just me, or has your blade gotten sharper?" Christian asked, sweat gleaming on his face.
"Not really. If anything, it's recovered to what it was in the past." Keith noted casually.
"Admit it, you're taking it out on me because your adorable nephew still wants to leave." Christian prodded. "And you don't want him to."
.
Keith's expression darkened. "Highness, are you forgetting that the whole reason why we're doing this in the first place is because you couldn't put down your fascination with heroes?"
Christian averted his gaze, guiltily. Keith then promptly took the opportunity to disarm him. "I suggest you not look away from your opponent, whether in a spar or a fight. Tricks are most often pulled when people aren't looking."
Christian wiped his brow with a sleeve. "Phew! You think Robin's still angry at you?"
"It's a nice sunny day." Keith noted. "Robin shouldn't be angry for long. It's a wonderful day for a stroll after all."
------
Robin enjoyed the afternoon sunshine to the point where she had actually fallen asleep. Her arms were folded atop the pavilion's low wall, pillowing her head. If Christian had been there, he would have wanted a portrait of the scene painted on the largest wall in Ekkinshire. It was a good thing, then, that Christian wasn't the one to find her there.
Her breath was slow and even. A few flower petals from a nearby tree fluttered down to light upon her hair. It seemed as if time had stopped in that moment... That is, until Robin sensed a familiar presence close by, and awoke. Despite her relaxed state, habits were not so easily broken.
"Did Bastian get a reply?" She asked calmly, opening her eyes to look at Fest. He had been hesitating whether to wake her up or not. He heard from her crew that Robin was rather violent upon being awoken.
"Ahem! Er, yes. I was just about to ask if it were convenient for you to speak with him." Fest said, mildly surprised at Robin being able to sense him.
"Now's as good a time as ever." Robin sighed, reluctant to leave the peaceful scene. Even so, she rose from the cool stone bench and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Let's go."
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