The Heart of a Guardian (Elsword)

Chapter 31: True Loyalty

"And that's how I found you," Chung sighed, leaning back on his sore arms as he stared up at the two drones circling overhead. Data from a pocket dimension cascaded in like little green droplets of rain as they mended Eve's injuries. It was times like these where the young prince wished he had the Nasod's ability to fix himself. In his current state, he was well at his limit. He had to take a breather if he wanted to stand a chance in the highly likely scenario that Add would be waiting for them just beyond the active gate.

The entire time he was taking a break, the Nasod sat in front of him, quietly listening as he brought her up to speed with everything that had happened since the fall of Hamel Castle. He had expected her to speak during his storytelling; perhaps add commentary about his plan to take Ran by himself or how he found Sasha. Yet as he described Ara's betrayal, Aisha's death, and his experience through the Trial of Will, she said nothing and opted to remain silent.

He wondered if she even cared about what he was saying. Her lack of input made it feel as if he was talking to a wall. Yet every time he took his eyes off the hypnotic dance between Moby and Remy above them, he saw that Eve was indeed still giving him her undivided attention. Chung continued.

"If I hadn't remembered what Sasha had told me about the trial, I would've surely perished. She said that I had to remain true to myself. That I had to rid myself of any doubt or regret in my mind if I were to succeed..."

Still no response. A quick flick down to see what the Nasod was doing revealed that she was still staring at him intently. She was listening... it just felt strange that she hadn't said anything the entire time.

"That's... why I said those things about you when I found you. Because I knew that the person you were now was all that mattered. It helped you overcome those other copies, didn't it...?"

The Nasod's brow turned upward, her lips forming in an almost unnoticeable pout. Was she upset? Was it something he had said?

"Eve...? What's the matter?"

The Nasod leaned forward, eyes never leaving his body as she timidly extended a hand towards him. Her fingers drew close and as they touched his chest, the prince's body tensed from the ghostly soft contact. Her fingertips brushed over his singed flesh and traced one of his most recent scars.

"I did this to you," she whispered, her fingers moved to another, and another, "And this... and-"

Her hand stopped at an older scar trained at his heart. She pulled back, bringing her hand to her chest as the stigma of her past actions caused her body to visibly shake.

Chung frowned and scooted himself closer to her. Stopping only when he sat hip to hip with Eve, he put an arm around her and pulled her close for a tight embrace that caught the Nasod by surprise. A strange sense of deja vu washed over him. He remembered embracing her this tightly the day after Mud's death. He remembered pouring his emotions into a heartfelt apology for the way he had treated the Nasod. He remembered musing how this form of contact would surely lead to Eve shoving Chung away and driving a spear through his chest. She would never purposely do such a thing. Where others would have surely been pushed away, it was fine as long as it was him.

Slender arms wrapped around him.

"I'm sorry," the silver-haired queen whispered. Her voice was flat; emotionless, but the way she hiccuped as she held the prince revealed anything but.

"You didn't do this to me. Add did," he reassured her. Her body was rigid and the closeness of his against hers only caused her to tense even more. It was only temporary, however, and it wasn't long before the tension slowly began to melt away. He felt her own arms tighten around him, her fingers trembling against his back. She was fighting a losing battle against her own guilt.