บท 15: Isabella Targal
Elizabeth blinked her eyes in disbelief. She was sitting at the dinner table in her house. The same cozy house when she spent her life, the rickety wooden chairs, the dusty curtains, and the scratched table… Everything was exactly the same as she remembered. Edward was playing games with Aisa. They were too poor to afford toys, so they played with their imagination. Right now, Edward was playing the role of a ferocious dragon, and Aisa was doing her best to run away. Both were laughing childishly. Victoria was busy cooking in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables that she had bought this morning. Roan returned with a fresh chicken that he slaughtered and began dicing it up. The lifting aroma of a chicken stew wafted into the air. Before long, everyone was assembled at the table to eat. Elizabeth smiled. Her life was finally back.
"What's wrong, Elizabeth? You're crying," Victoria asked.
"Did Edward do something again?" Roan added.
"Huh? Why is it always my fault? I was playing with Aisa. Isn't that right?" Aisa gently nodded.
"That's not it, mother. It wasn't…"
Before she finished those words, the scene transformed. Gone was the homely atmosphere. What replaced it was the empty desolation of life. Victoria and Roan were lying on the ground in a pool of dried blood with their cold lifeless eyes looking back at her. Elizabeth cowered in fear. No! Please! I don't want to see it again! She cried with all her might, but the scene transformed once more. Now, she was in her bedroom with the same three bloody corpses sprawled out. Their crying pleading and agonized expressions were forever immortalized on their faces. Elizabeth screamed out in horror.
She bolted upright in her bed, drenched in sweat and tears. Her heart felt like it was about to explode. The girl looked around and found relief in the small dark tent serving as her temporary living quarters. It was already a week since they departed from Nightwin with General Gordon's army. According to Christina's estimates, it would take another week before they entered the capital. Since it was nighttime in the camp, no one heard her outburst. She focused on calming her mind and heart, but they stubbornly refused her. It took around thirty minutes before she was calm.
Her body was sticky and sweaty and overall, she felt gross. Staying in bed would only make her more uncomfortable, so she clambered out. The girl grabbed her robe and stepped out her tent into the vast military camp. Thousands of tents were setup in every direction housing all the soldiers, blacksmiths, officers, physicians, chefs, and any other profession necessary. The moon of Eeyrie hung high in the cloudless sky, illuminating the darkly lit grounds. The air was cold and frigid, causing her to shiver a bit. The forest trees were starting to yellow with the coming season. Overall, it painted a beautiful picturesque scenery of autumn.
Elizabeth walked over to a nearby campfire and was surprised to find someone there. Benedict had his back turned and was stoking the fire. He was simply silently watching the flames burn in their radiant orange. Elizabeth hesitated. When it came to Benedict, her feelings were a mess. To hate him or not? It was difficult to answer. He was the source of all her suffering. Whenever she saw him, she thought of how terribly her family suffered, and her emotions flared like a volcano. She knew she was being unfair. It was not his fault. He did not want it to happen. But the fact remained… Without him, her family would still be alive.
As she contemplated going back to her tent, Benedict noticed her. The two stared at one another, not knowing what to say or do. He was the first to avert his gaze in an awkward fashion. Seeing this, Elizabeth realized he was shy and chuckled. She decided to sit down next to him. Though he was the first person she met from the outside world, she really knew nothing about him. It was a strange how the world worked, she thought. The two awkwardly sat there, in silence, watching as the fire blazed on.
"I'm sorry about what happened," Benedict meekly whispered.
"Did you ever lose someone?"
"Huh?" Confused, he answered, "Yes… I have."
"Tell me, would you?"
"I don't really…"
"Please."
Benedict took a deep breath and looked up at the dark starry sky with dull eyes. He was silent for several minutes before quietly saying, "Her name was Isabella. Isabella Targal."
"I remember you calling me Isabella before. Do I look like her?"
He gave a wry smile. "You might as well be her twin. You two are so similar that even I cannot help but think you're Isabella's reincarnation."
"Reincarnation? Then…"
"That's right. She died three years ago during the Teria Sea Campaign." With pain, he continued, "Isabella and I had joined the same squadron, one of the countless others that were ordered to repel the Xingyuu Empire's fleets. For months, we worked together, side by side, fighting off soldiers, protecting one another… It sounds cliché but I fell in love with her. She was friendly, strong, and confident. No matter who it was, she would try to be friends with them. I loved that part about her. But my parents would never approve of this relationship. They had married not out of love, but to expand the family's prestige and strength. I was from a Grand Nobility Household, and Isabella wasn't even from a High Nobility Household. It was simply not meant to be…
"On our last mission, we were ambushed by the Xingyuu Empire. I took Isabella and we fled. We ran and ran until my lungs felt like they were about to explode, but even then, it was not enough. They chased us on horseback. Even now, I can still hear their stampeding hooves. We wanted to hide but there was nothing nearby. It was like a nightmare. Isabella couldn't run anymore. I wanted to pick her up and run, but she refused. She knew how impossible it was. I confessed my feelings to her, and we kissed. She loved me too but was too scared to say anything to me, a Grand Noble. How ironic was that, huh? I was prepared to stand my ground there and die together with her, but she begged me to run away. I saw her face, her resolve, and her strength and… I fled. I fled like a coward. I kept running without looking back until I reached the next town. I hated myself for what I did. If only I was a bit stronger, I could have protected her."
"Stronger, huh?" Elizabeth repeated. "I understand you. If I was stronger, I could have protected my family too…" The two sat in more silence before she broke it, "Thank you, Benedict. That made me feel a bit better."
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