Arthur Leywin POV
We ran toward the guild as fast as we could. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours
Soon we reached the guild hall. As we ran inside many eyes were on us, some of them looking at us curiously while others gave us a judgemental look for ruining their peace
" What happened?" The owner of this voice was none other than the leader of this guild branch, Kaspian Bladeheart
He came closer to us and when he noticed Jasmine and the state she was in his face turned to the one of horror
His skin became so pale that you could have mistaken him for a ghost, his eyes were wide with his pupils almost filling the entirety of his irises
" Jasmine!" He came practically and torned her out of my arms
" Call the medics" he shouted but nobody reacted out of sheer confusion from his uncharacteristic actions
" Now!!!" He once again shouted and everyone started moving, looking for medics/diviners
Not even five minutes later Jasmine was already being taken care of while the three of us were waiting in front of her room
Nobody was saying a word, nobody didn't know what to say
The atmosphere quickly became gloomy, after all, somebody I saw as a sister, Alea took responsibility for, and for some reason, Kaspian cared so much about was dying
It was obvious that Alea felt bad about the death of our comrades, it was written all over her face
I wanted to comfort her, I really did, but I was too shaken to say anything
The best I could do was exactly what I did, I took her hand and held It firmly
I could say that it made her feel at least a slight bit better, and to be honest, it made me feel better too
' Papa I am in Jasmine's room, I will start healing her as soon as possible ' Sylvie said through our bond, her voice and tone were calm and soothing which helped me feel better
' Thanks, Sylv'
We waited in front of the room for what felt like hours, but the clock on the wall clearly showed us that it hasn't even been forty-five minutes since they began the procedure
One of the doctors came out, his expression being a mixture of frustration, pity, and sadness
" How is she?" Kaspian asked, even without looking at him I could tell that he very worried only from his voice
The doctor looked at all of us individually, before looking down and sighing so silently that the only reason I could hear it was because of my asuran body
' Papa, I began healing her ' Sylvie informed me through our bond
' Thanks Sylv' I answered her sincerely
While I was having this conversation with Sylvie, doctor gathered his courage and looked at us in the eyes
" We were able to save the patient's life, but..." he hesitated once again
" But what?" This time it was Alea who asked, getting clearly nervous and irritated from all the tension and anxiety the doctor is putting us through
" Her injuries are too severe to be completely healed by us, meaning, she will never be able to fight again"
After telling us this doctor just left the scene, giving us some space for ourselves
The mood instantly became unbearably gloom. Everyone was looking down with their eyes wide, everyone was trying to gather their thoughts
Everyone except me. I knew that my beloved daughter, Sylvie, was in there healing Jasmine and she is on a completely different level compared to Dicathens diviners
She could influence aether and use the Vivium branch even better than I. I knew that she can heal her, I believed in her
We spent some time just sitting, nobody daring to go inside the room to face Jasmine, who was still sleeping but...
After some time Kaspian decided to break the awkward silence that surrounded us
" You two should get some rest, I will call you if anything happens" he said and we decided to listen to him so we left the building and headed to the inn where we decided to spend the night
__________
We arrived at the inn and reserved a room where we would be staying
During our trip here we didn't talk much, we were still in shock at the sudden death of our teammates that we spent days together with
What if we didn't hold back trying to hide our strength?
What if rested some more?
What if we used a different formation?
These are just some of the questions that were going through our heads. I know that it isn't fair to blame ourselves, that we shouldn't in fact, after all, we can't save everyone, that's something both of us found out in a hard way before we regressed
For me, those were the losses of dad, Adam, Sylvie, Tess... and the list just keeps going
For Alea, these were her family and subordinates. Her family died either through accident or illness while her subordinates died under her leadership, which resulted in her blaming herself for being weak
But in the end, we decided to move on, from what happened in the past and what happened today, we had to
Soon we will have to carry a lot of burden on our shoulders and if we keep letting things like this get in our way, we will become failures as Lances, we will be useless hope of this continent
We settled down in our room. The atmosphere was becoming merrier and a bit awkward, after all, we are a couple that is staying in the same room overnight, and that usually leads to one thing...
' Nonono, we can't, I have to talk with her about something first'
' Don't chicken out now princess, this is your chance to prove to her that you are not TINY' Regis gave me one of his signature comments, which intended to give me courage. Probably
' you just had to mention the tiny thing...' I complained silently
' Yo-you can't master! You are not even married yet!' Dawn gave me her opinion on this
' You are surprisingly innocent Dawn' I stated matter of factly
'Hmph!'
' Papa, I don't mind being a big sister you know? ' Seems like even Sylvie had something to say on this subject
' huuuuh... will you guys cut it out already...' I complained but all I got back is a smug feeling from my bond/ daughter and partners
' Sylvie, how is Jasmine?' I asked
' She is fine, I healed her successfully and now she is awake and talking with Kaspian ' My bond said
' I see... what are they talking about?'
' That.... you will have to ask her herself ' My bond said which earned confusion getting to her through our bond
After this, we cut off our conversation and I kept unpacking everything that I need for the night
I took out my toothbrush, shampoo, towels, and a spare set of clothes
Alea pulled out everything that I did plus some cosmetic creams and stuff
" Then I will head to shower first" Alea said and headed toward the bathroom
" And don't peek, okay" She turned her head toward me and winked
I blushed heavily at her comment. I lived for more than fifty years, and I spent most of these as a ruthless and heartless warrior, but now I am blushing like some horny teen just from her teasing
' Fuck these stupid hormones'
' All hail the great tiny horny princess Arthur!' Regis teased
Soon Alea came out of the bath and the sight of her was enough to make anyone's heart beat like crazy. Her skin was still steaming and her hair was tied up so her neck was visible. The only things she wore were short black shorts that was barely going past her gluteuses. On top, she wore a simple white shirt and from the two cherries that were pressed on her shirt I concluded that she didn't wear a bra
* Gulp*
" The-then I will take my bath next" I said while looking down trying to hide just how much was I blushing
' I should burn this image in my head, after all, who knows if she will wish to stay with me after our talk' I thought as I was taking my shower
I also wondered how should I start my story, how to bring it up, should I tell her EVERYTHING or should I leave out some details
After I was done with my shower and forming a plan for what to come I came to Alea, prepared for our talk
I was wearing just a pajama with some animals similar to the dinosaurs that mom prepared for me, so I didn't look exactly manly, which earned me a giggle from her
" Alea, I want to talk to you about something" I said with both a serious voice and face which made her stop giggling immediately. She looked at me with a serious and worried expression
I sat down beside her, looking down to my feet. I knew what to do but I still lacked a bit of courage for it. After a few moments, I locked my eyes with hers, ready to finally talk
" Alea I had a life before this one, before I was born as Arthur Leywin..." her expression showed confusion for which I can't blame her
" Arty... what do you mean?" She said and I began to explain everything to her
How I was an orphan. How I used to steal to help my orphanage. How somebody I saw as a mother was murdered right in front of me. How I distanced myself from my friends just so I can become a king. How I endured a hellish training. How I was used by my teacher. How I became a king. How I was a dictator who didn't care about anything. And how I died alone, never experiencing either happiness or love
After my story was over there was silence. Aleas face had so many emotions that I couldn't even point out every one of them. Sadness, pity, confusion, understanding, fear, and many others
" I understand if you are disgusted with me... if you don't want to see me ever again... if yo..." but before I could say anything I was pulled in a warm hug by my girlfriend
She held me tightly, her hand stroking my hair while the other one was laying on my back, stopping me from separating myself from her embrace
" You went through a lot" these soft words were doing wonders to me. Since her head was resting on my shoulder these words felt to me like a gentle pillow to the tired miner
" Wh-why aren't you disgusted with me...why are you not rejecting me...even my parents did... so why?" My voice came out shaky and weak
Her embrace tightened around me for a second before she ended it just so she could use her hands to hold my head gently. Her eyes locked with mine. Her eyes were a contrast to mine that had tears welled up in them, they were kind, loving, and gentle. Her face came closer to mine
" Because I love you, you idiot. It doesn't matter who you were, or if you had different lives, I will always love you no matter what" after these words were said our lips locked together
We lay down in bed. My head was resting on her chest. I was sobbing quietly, finally letting out all of my locked emotions and tears about my past life, while she was stroking my head
I fell asleep in this pose, holding tightly on to my better half, my anchor, my girlfriend... the love of my lives
_____
Jasmine Flamesworht POV
I felt a sharp pain after which I fainted
After fainting, everything was dark and quiet except for a few distant voices that could be heard in the distance
' I hope that Arthur is alright'
That was the only thing that I could think about
After my mother passed away there was nobody in my family who loved or even cared about me. My father always hated me for some reason while most of my siblings looked at me like I was trash, which only worsened after it was discovered that I can't use fire magic
The only ones who treated me nicely were my big sister Senyir and aunt Hester
But they were always away. My aunt was working in the palace so she could rarely come home while sister Senyir was an apprentice in a famous blacksmith shop in a faraway town so I saw her only once a year
There were also Twin Horns but it was inevitable that we would all go our separate ways. Alice and Reynolds already left and got married while Angela and Durden are about to get married and they might also leave the party
Helen is beautiful and talented so I am not doubting that she will soon find someone for herself
I don't have to worry about Adam though, with his personality there is no way that anyone will love him in that way... as sad as that is
" ine"
" mine"
" asmine"
" ... jasmine"
" Jasmin!"
I woke up to someone calling pit my name
I looked toward the source of the voice and saw that it was non-other than Xyruses guild hall manager, Kadpian Bladeheart
He was always oddly kind to me, but I always brushed it off as his usual behavior
" Are you okay?" He asked me with worry and concern in his voice and on his face
I looked around the room and noticed that he is the only one here, Arthur and Alea were nowhere to be seen
Apparently noticing my confusion Kaspian explained to me that he told them to go and rest and that he would notify them if something happens
I felt something warm laying beside me and after looking I realized that it was non-other than Arthur's daughter Sylvie in her white fox form
Unexpectedly Kaspian came to me and hugged me. I didn't understand what was going on, but his hug felt familiar, nostalgic, and comforting
'It's just like how mom used to hug me'
" I am sorry that I was never there for you" he said in an apologetic voice
I just looked at him with a confused face
" Then, can I tell you a story?" Kaspian said with a smile that didn't quite reach his ears
I just nodded slightly since I still couldn't move much due to my injuries
Kaspian looked at me and took a deep breath and a slight sigh shortly after. He adjusted his glasses and began with the story
" Once there were two that fell in love. A man loved that woman more than anything in the world and the woman loved him so much that she felt like her heart would jump out of her chest whenever she saw him. But neither one of them ever confessed their feelings, because they were afraid of rejection"
Kaspian made a pause the wipe a single tear that was in his eye
" Sorry, something must have fallen in my eye... then let me continue" he said this and continued with his story
I just listened to him, wanting to know what is this all about
" The time passed by slowly and the girl was married off to another noble family. The man was broken so he focused most of his time to work while the rest of it he would spend drinking away his sadness and emotions. Years passed by and the girl, now already a woman had kids. Then one day they saw each other again. The feelings that they thought were long gone resurfaced again, and lust won against their reason and they spent a passionate night together"
He took a little pause to make sure that I am following, which I sure did, but I still didn't see the point of the story
" Nine months later the woman gave birth to another child, that man's child. She knew that she had to keep the identity of the child's father a secret so she never told him, and so more time passed and that woman got sick. Her husband was aware that the child wasn't his so he was mistreating her, so she had quite a miserable childhood. Fast forward a couple of years and the woman passed away from illness, leaving the man a single letter that stated that he is the father of the child. Man didn't know what to do, he never could gather the strength to go an meet his daughter until one day she didn't appear in his workplace and became a part of the organization where he worked. But the man still never confronted her"
After saying this Kaspian stopped and never said anything more
I noticed that the child in his story had some similarities to me but my father hated me for me being a disappointment
A couple of minutes later I decided to ask him about it
" So... what's the point of the story?"
He just smiled at me. It was a bright smile that, I thought he is incapable of
" The woman from the story was your mother, the man was me, and the child... it was you Jasmine"
After that, I couldn't hear anything anymore. Everything around me became silent
' Kaspian is my father? But... I... No, this doesn't make any sense'
My mind kept wondering through all possibilities and it settled on one
" You ate joking right?" I said with an expression that I thought I was incapable of, it was a mixture of fear, expectations, and anxiety. If somebody looked at me now they might have thought that I am a lunatic
" I am not Jasmine, I am your father"
' Now that I think about it, it all makes sense. My affinity for wind magic, my father's and families hatred, the look of pity that my mom usually gave me...' it was as if a puzzle that I could never finish was now all of the sudden a complete picture
Kaspian came closer to me trying to hug me
" Jas..."
I slapped his hand away, not wanting to be anywhere near him right now
" NO! Stay away! You can't just come into my life after all these years and act like a father " I yelled
" Do you know how much I had to endure?! All the humiliation, pain, and suffering only because you couldn't gather the courage to approach!" Tears started to fall out of my eyes
Before I knew it Kaspian... my father was holding me in a firm hug. I was desperately holding on to his shirt, even making scars on his back all the while crying myself out
I don't know for how long was I crying there in his embrace. All I knew was that it was hours
Just like that, I fell asleep in his arms, feeling complete for the first time in my life
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WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED, DON'T YOU AGREE? ANYWAY I MADE KASPIAN HER FATHER BECAUSE FOR ME THIS IS THE ONLY EXCUSE HER DAD COULD USE FOR HATING HIS OWN DAUGHTER
see you next time