COF 3: The Fallen Dynasty

17 | Escape (II)

Xanthy ducked her head and didn't bother wiping her tears. What use would it do? "Do not look at me," she croaked and sniffled. "Shut the door."

Nyxis did the latter. Silence enveloped them as the door clicked shut. Xanthy sneaked a glance at Nyxis to find his eyes trained on her. "I told you to not look at me," she frowned. "I cry like a baby, according to you."

Nyxis sat beside her and threw his arms around her shoulders. She gave a muffled protest and tried pushing him away but he held tighter. "It is better to talk about your problems rather than bottling it all up," Nyxis whispered in her ear. "Someone told me that."

Xanthy's shoulders slumped. Nyxis was one of the people that had no respect for personal space. It's annoying and endearing at the same time. "At some point, however, she is wrong," Nyxis continued. "Because most of the time, someone hurt just needs silence and a friend to be there."

Xanthy didn't reply. All of this wasn't right but she rested her head on Nyxis's shoulder. "You do not have to be brave every time, Xanthy," Nyxis's voice was thick. Cracking, even. This was hard for him, too. "It is fine to cry, to laugh. It is okay to feel and be you. You do not have to prove yourself to anyone."

"It is expected of me," Xanthy murmured. "I am the Virtakios, after all. People kept telling me to fight for the world. Some people tell me to not let everything go to my head and that I would doom the island. Now you are telling me to just crumble down," Xanthy drew away from her friend. "Nyxis, I don't—I do not know who to believe anymore."

Nyxis's hand went to her face, wiping her tears with his thumb. She didn't pull away. She couldn't when the boy she thought to be just concerned with himself was now looking at her like she's the most important thing in the world.

"Believe yourself," Nyxis said. "That is the best thing you can do for you. What do you feel like doing now?"

"Curling up and dying," Xanthy chewed on her lip.

"I did not save you just for you to do that, Xanthy," Nyxis mocked a disappointed pout.

A laugh escaped from Xanthy's lips, no matter how shaky. Her hand went up to her mouth, muffling it. Where did that come from?

"See?" Nyxis spread his arms. "Everything is lighter when you are laughing."

Xanthy wiped her tears and blinked to clear her eyes. "You think so?" she clicked her tongue. Her eyelids were already heavy and puffy. "I know I should not be laughing at a time like this."

Nyxis's smile faded. He inclined his head at her. "A time like what?"

"What is the news from outside?" Xanthy glanced at the wall where she expected a window to be. Except there was just a plain blockade between her and the outside world.

"Oh, you would not like it," Nyxis's face darkened.

Xanthy narrowed her eyes. "Try me."

"Helinfirth is destroyed almost the same time as Lanteglos," Nyxis leaned back against the board at the foot of the bed. "The cause? My source told me that the Sovereign has made herself known."

Xanthy's chest tightened. "Helinfirth...destroyed?" she shook her head. "Why would the Sovereign do that? Elred is her loyal servant."

"That is the thing," Nyxis played with his fingers. Xanthy knitted her eyebrows. That's a new habit. "My source told me that the Sovereign was angry because the Heiress captured the Virtakios."

"So the Sovereign trampled Helinfirth because...of me?" Xanthy pursed her lips. Darkness crowded her vision once more.

"Seems like it," Nyxis shrugged. "Hey, what are you doing?"