When Angels Fall

Chapter 6 - A Father's Dilemma

Tristan

Castle of Vausterland

"Is that what I've just taught you!" Tristan shouted out at the clumsy boys as they struggled with their swords.

He had been trying to hold his patience for the past few hours as he kept giving the same instructions over and over again. But this was the slowest and stupidest group he had ever trained. The young boys had just been sold to the castle a few days ago, to be raised as slave soldiers. And Tristan had been patient enough with them, considering the fact that they were unsettled by this new life of slavery and hard training, not to mention their young age and inexperience. But his patience had limits.

"Fuck!" He snapped as the boys only seemed to grow clumsier. "If I call my three year old here she would do much better than the lot of you!"

"Why, I'm quite surprised that you still remember you have a three year old!"

Tristan turned at the snide remark coming from the dark lean wingless woman who stood training another group of boys not far from him, her massive mane of tight black curls bouncing with every move. 

"Cylia!" Tristan narrowed his eyes at her. "How many times do I have to tell you not to bring up that matter again?"

"Oh I didn't bring it up. You did." Cylia smirked, not even looking his way as she calmly held a boy's arm, helping him hold the sword in the right position. "And since you did, perhaps I must remind you that she will not keep on loving you forever if you keep on avoiding her. She might eventually forget she even had a father in the first place!"

"Cylia, enough!" Tristan warned but Cylia didn't seem affected as she walked behind another boy and pulled his shoulders backwards, straightening his back.

"Yes perfect," Cylia praised another boy no older than eleven as he swung his sword and disarmed his opponent. 

"Do you know that she keeps crying and screaming every night until she falls asleep?" Cylia said as she turned around to face Tristan, her brown eyes narrowing and her voice laden with suppressed anger. "And do you know that every time, she keeps calling for you, and not her mother? She keeps crying 'Papa'! But of course you wouldn't know that. Because you never come home."

That was it. Tristan couldn't stand it any longer. He tossed his wooden sword to the ground and turned to look up at Cylia with a dark glare.

"I'm out of here." He snapped. "You can continue training the boys on your own. I will go check on the prisoner."

"Well I hope you remember to check on your daughter as much as you check on your precious prisoner!" Cylia called out behind Tristan as he turned to leave, and he did all he could not to turn back and snap her neck.

The long walk from the training field all the way up to Mikal's cell in the Sky Tower gave him enough time to calm down a bit. Tristan really didn't need Cylia to keep reminding him of Merina all the time. It's not like he had actually forgotten about her. Just how could he forget about his own daughter! But no one could understand. The deep wound Olivea's death had left inside him had still not healed. Not that he thought it would ever heal. And the last thing he wanted was to keep being reminded of her death every time he looked into Merina's grey eyes, every time she cried and called for her mother, asking why she could not come back...

Tristan gave out a long sigh as he reached the top of the stairs that led to the prison cells. He held up a lantern to show him the way through the dark narrow passage ahead, but just as he started walking, he heard the sound of soft sobs coming from the other end. He raised the lantern higher and he could see Heike approaching him. Apparently she had just come out of Mikal's cell.