"What happened there?" Zen pointed at Arisa's arm.
Arisa examined her arm and saw multiple bruises spread across her lightly pale skin.
"Oh," she said. "This is the result of today's training; I failed at defending and fell a lot."
Zen shook his head. "Even during your birthday, your grandfather won't give you a break."
Arisa shifted her gaze in time to see Zen having another bite of her birthday cake. She wished that he would have joined her family to celebrate her seventeenth birthday. But with her grandfather still not trusting him, she had to be happy with this secret encounter.
"Well," she said, glancing to her front, "I'm sure there's a good reason that he keeps training me. Maybe he wants to make sure I can defeat you and Kazuya someday."
Zen chuckled. "Right. If he trained you how to make your goofy face even goofier, then maybe your chances to defeat me would increase a little."
Arisa glared at him before she returned her gaze to her front. The lights of the buildings of Aurora City looked so weak under the bright light of the two moons. Even the lamps of the neighborhood that could be seen under the small hill seemed insignificant with tonight's moonlight.
Something damp and soft met Arisa's bruised arm. When she examined it, she saw that Zen had placed multiple kinds of grass on her wounds.
Arisa giggled. "What's this for?"
"To heal your wounds," said Zen, picking more random grass and applying them on her arm.
"These are not the herbs to treat bruises." Arisa laughed.
Arisa had been spending years watching her grandmother prepare medicinal herbs, so she partly knew which herbs were used to treat wounds and diseases. Throughout the years, she had grown an interest in medicinal herbs that she wanted to be a herbalist someday.
"Oh really?" teased Zen. "So those grasses you used to treat my wounds back then, actually didn't do anything?"
Arisa gazed at him, her forehead wrinkling.
"From your reaction, I'm guessing that you forgot," said Zen, sighing.
Arisa kept looking at him, trying to remember that moment.
"You have a short memory, Goofy Face," teased Zen. "Weeks after we became friends, you noticed a bruise on my hand and you suggested to play pretend. I became a patient and you a herbalist. I remember you taking me to various gardens to pick random plants. You were so sure that you would heal me because you had seen your grandmother treating her patients."
As Zen chuckled at that memory, Arisa remembered that childhood moment.
She giggled. "Well, my knowledge of medicinal herbs has grown since then. I was a clueless child back then. On the brighter side, I had succeeded to make you play something instead of just sitting there drawing."
"You did." Zen smiled.
Arisa's heart skipped upon seeing that rare smile. She quickly shifted her gaze to the front, telling herself to calm down. For a short minute, silence fell in the atmosphere.
"You know," said Zen, breaking the silence, "sometimes I wonder what I would have become if I hadn't met you in that forest. How coincidental our encounter was that night."
"You would probably end up being an anti-social broody man," Arisa teased. "But there's a reason for everything. I think we were fated to meet. Celestians and Eterians had been hating each other for years, so I guess fate wanted to make a difference."
Arisa gazed at her hand, remembering the legend of the thread of fate. No matter where the individuals came from, they would always end up meeting each other thanks to the thread that connected them. Although that legend spoke of how lovers were connected with this thread, Arisa thought that the thread wasn't only limited to lovers, but friends as well. Everyone was connected to each other somehow.
"Fate," repeated Zen, his voice emotionless. "Fate is such a twisted phenomenon that sometimes makes me wish we never met."
Arisa gazed back at him, her heart tightening at his words.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice quiet.
Zen stared at her for several seconds. He then caressed her long dark hair.
"No matter what our feelings are," he said, "our friendship will never be accepted by our people. I'm scared that something bad will happen to one of us."
Arisa touched his pale hand and noticed that he was trembling a little. She wondered if something had happened to him before he showed up to spend the last few hours with her.
"Nothing bad will happen to us," she reassured him with a smile spreading across her face. "As I told you before, we could be the first step to bring peace between our people."
Arisa hoped he remembered those words from when they were children.
Zen looked sideways. "I don't know. My people are strict and full of pride. If they find out that we have been friendly with each other, things wouldn't end well for us. I don't know what I would do if I'm forced to...if I'm forced to..."
Arisa gazed at him, waiting for him to finish his words. Zen rubbed his forehead before he looked back at her. As their eyes met, Arisa's heart skipped again.
Before she could turn around to calm herself, strong arms wrapped around her. Despite her heart racing, Arisa could feel that Zen was trembling.
Arisa touched his arm. "Zen, are you okay?"
"Yes," he replied. "Sorry. I saw something disturbing yesterday when I visited Eteria. It has been bothering me, but I'll get over it soon."
Arisa tried to look at him. "What did you see?"
Despite knowing that it was better not to talk about that subject, Arisa wanted to know as she wanted to help him somehow.
"I think it's better for you not to know," he said, tightening his arms around her. "I hope our fates aren't twisted. But whatever happens to us, I already made my choice. I'll choose what's important to me."
Clanking sounds pierced the atmosphere as the two Guardians fought in the colorful forest. With her heart spreading pain, Arisa deflected Leo's blade and blocked his fists. She hesitated to strike the open spots Leo displayed. As Arisa lost yet another chance to bring him down, Leo kicked her stomach and attempted to pierce her chest.
Another clanking sound cut the air. Arisa's arms trembled as she held the sword that protected her from his attack. Despite feeling a little pain in the area he had kicked her, she was able to defend herself from his deadly attack.
Leo deflected Arisa's blade and attempted to strike her with a fist. Arisa moved sideways, barely dodging his attack. Before she could regain her pose, Leo quickly kicked the right side of her waist. Arisa fought not to fall and prepared her blade to protect her from another deadly attack.
Why? Arisa fought against her emotions as she protected herself from Leo's attack. Why did everything have to end this way?
As her heart spread sorrow, Arisa lost herself in a cycle of defense. It had been minutes since the Red Guardian surprised her with an attack and forced her to battle him. Throughout that time, Leo focused on piercing Arisa's crimson armor.
As they battled, Arisa noticed that he didn't rely on his element, instead, he vigorously used physical attacks to bring her down. His attacks were so intense that the foliage around them swayed a little in response. Throughout their battle, they moved away from the tall walls of fire and found themselves deeper in the orange and pink forest.
Leo attempted another kick; Arisa moved sideways. As Leo tried to regain his posture, Arisa finally gained the courage to counterattack. She summoned her crimson flames and guided them forward.
Aries' sign glowed on Leo's back. Arisa took a deep breath and attempted to strike her opponent as he turned around with his armor vanishing with glowing dust.
"Zen," whispered Arisa, her voice cracking.
She stopped her attack midway, the crimson blade hardly touching Zen's black shirt. Her gaze met his dark eyes, which were partly covered by his raven hair. Looking closer at him, she couldn't find any trace of emotion in his face.
"Now's your chance," said Zen, his voice emotionless. "Kill me now or you'll regret it."
Arisa gazed at him, her hand trembling as she tried to sink her blade deep in his chest. Several seconds passed as Arisa tried to find her strength. Zen stood there, waiting for her final attack.
As more time passed, Arisa curled her lip and lowered her weapon.
"I-I can't," she said, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat. "This is wrong. Friends shouldn't kill each other."
"Regulus," Zen called.
A short second later, Arisa felt as if something heavy had smashed her belly. She fell onto her knees, curling her arms on the impacted area, coughing.
"We've never been friends," said Zen, his tone firm. "When are you going to put this in that stubborn head of yours?"
Still coughing, Arisa looked up at the young man standing a step away from her. From the way Zen was holding his sword, Arisa concluded that he had used the pommel of his blade and strength to strike her belly.
"This isn't you, Zen," said Arisa, slowly recovering. "I know that deep inside, you don't mean those words."
"There you go being all stubborn." Zen chuckled. "Why won't you accept that we're enemies, Celestian? Those years we spent together don't mean anything. I'm an Eterian; you should have known that I would betray you one day. After all, that's our nature."
Arisa fought to hold back her tears. She couldn't believe that he had buried their friendship to the point of calling her in the same way his people referred her people.
She glanced at the grassy ground. "Why are you doing this to me, Zen?"
"It's En," said Zen, his tone firm. "And I'm doing this for my people. I'm their future King and I want to show them that a Dragon King has no mercy on our long-time enemies."
Arisa stared at him in shock, not believing what she was hearing. Like her people, for years she had grown with a dislike towards the Eterians. But when she met Zen, she had seen a different point of view and thought that not all Eterians were bad. Despite growing a tiny sympathy for his people, she never grew a sympathy for their King. To see the one she considered her best friend say those words broke her heart.
"Stand up," ordered Zen. "The battle isn't over."
Arisa looked at him for several seconds, meeting his expressionless eyes. It pained her not to be able to read his expression. What were his true feelings behind that expressionless face? Could it be that deep inside he was crying because their fate ended this way? Or he actually meant his words and was following his father's footsteps?
Whatever were the feelings he was hiding, Arisa wished she could see them to accept the truth. She glanced at the grassy ground.
"Aries," said Zen, "stand up and fight!"
Arisa didn't reply, still looking at the ground.
"Stand up!" said Zen, his tone irritated.
"No!" exclaimed Arisa, her armored fingers sinking in the soil. "I won't fight you. You have been one of my dearest friends. Engaging in a battle of death against you, even if we're no longer friends, is wrong."
Zen chuckled, shaking his head. "You're so stubborn. I'm an Eterian. The son of the man who conquered your country and killed your parents and brother."
Arisa's heart tightened upon hearing those words, she tried to calm herself and not cry. She already hated King Reiji for bringing pain to her people. After finding out that the Celestian Royal Family was actually her biological family, her hatred towards him grew even more. Despite that, she couldn't hate his son because of his sins. Those eight years they spent together, showed that Zen was different from his father.
"I have betrayed you and almost killed you," continued Zen, pointing his blade at her. "And I'm here to fix what I failed in those lands. I'm giving you a chance to protect yourself and you won't fight me because you believe in a fake relationship we had back then? You're pathetic, Arisa."
As his words pierced her heart, Arisa held back her tears. This wasn't the boy who enjoyed mocking her and cheer her up when she felt down. Yet she couldn't help but believe that the boy she always knew was hiding behind those cold words and emotionless face.
She took a deep breath. Last time, his harsh words caught her by surprise and broke her down emotionally. Back then, she couldn't fight. But this time, she wanted to be strong and see if the Zen she once knew was really gone.
As a light breeze blew past them, swaying the colorful foliages, Arisa relaxed her body. A second later, her armor slowly melted with crimson flames, revealing her identity. Zen took a step back as he looked at her.
"Here I am," said Arisa. "If our friendship meant nothing to you and it was fake, then you won't have any problems in killing me without my armor on. You're free to take my head and show to your people who you really are."
Silence fell in the pink and orange forest as both friends stared back at each other. Arisa's heart kept racing and she trembled, hoping that Zen would drop his sword and tell her that everything was a misunderstanding.
"You think I'll hold back because of your sorry face?" Zen chuckled. "Pathetic. If you somehow became a queen one day, your kingdom would be in vulnerable hands thanks to that annoying kindness and trust you have."
Her eyes widened. Even though she never thought of being a Queen until recently, she never thought that a kingdom could fall thanks to its leader's kindness. Orange flames mixed with blue streams caught her gaze. She curled her fingers, noticing that Zen had summoned his red armor.
"Fortunately, I won't allow Celestia to suffer in your hands." Zen readied his sword. "Celestia and Eteria will be in good hands under my lead."
As Zen raised his weapon, Arisa's body froze. It was as if something was pulling her down. Sorrow spread in her veins and a tear fell down her cheek. Witnessing the one she considered her best friend and fell in love with taking her life with no sign of sadness in his expression, brought even more pain in her chest.
Before he could start his final attack, Arisa saw a glowing arrow strike Zen's armored wrist. His weapon fell on the grassy ground as the arrow shifted into flames and vanished.
"Arisa." Thelma rushed towards her as Zen examined his wrist.
As Thelma reached her, bending over a little to help her stand up, Arisa looked by her side and saw the yellow armored Thelma.
"Thelma," said Arisa weakly.
"This will require a favor from Virgo," said Zen, still examining his wrist. "You got me there, Sagittarius."
As Thelma attempted to help Arisa stand up, she gazed at him.
"I'm so sad to see that Prince Charming isn't actually charming," she said. "I expected a lot from you, Leo. How disappointing."
Zen tilted his head. "Have we met before?"
Before Thelma could say anything, a clanking sound pierced the atmosphere. When Arisa gazed at her front, she saw that Zen had protected himself from Kazuya's attack. She noticed that Zen was holding his weapon with his left hand.
"Look who finally decided to show up to save your ass, Arisa," said Zen, chuckling. "The knight in shining armor himself."
Kazuya didn't say anything and focused on attacking his opponent with his double-bladed staff. As Zen deflected his attacks and attempted to counter, both Guardians slowly moved away from the area.
As another tear fell down Arisa's cheek, Thelma forced Arisa to slowly stand up.
"Come on, Arisa, let's go," said Thelma. "Libra will take care of him."
"Actually, Libra won't take care of anyone," said Zen, kicking his opponent.
Before he could strike his opponent with his blade, Kazuya vanished. He reappeared several steps away in front of Zen.
"It's so sad to see you depending on your powers, Kazu." Zen shook his head. He then glanced at the two girls not far from him. "You're lucky that your friends showed up to help you, Arisa. But you should prepare yourself. Next time I'll be serious and kill you."
Thelma wrapped her arms around Arisa. "No, Arisa. Don't cry."
Arisa couldn't control her confused emotions. Her sorrow had gotten the better of her. The boy she once knew and loved was no longer there.
"There won't be the next time," said Kazuya, readying his weapon. "You're going down now!"
Zen chuckled. "Don't get in our way, Kazuya. This is something between me and Arisa."
Irritated, Kazuya charged forward. Orange-red flames surrounded the Red Guardian, covering his figure. When Kazuya struck him with his double-bladed staff, the weapon traveled through the flames which vanished, leaving nothing behind.
"Where did he go?" asked Thelma, her arms still trapped around Arisa.
Kazuya examined every corner of his surroundings. He didn't see anything besides the orange and pink vegetation filling the area.
"It seems that he's gone." Kazuya walked around, examining the forest. "The firewall is also gone; this confirms that the bastard ran away. How's Arisa?"
As Kazuya ran towards them, his armor dusted away as if it was joining the air in the atmosphere.
"She seems to be in an emotional breakdown," said Thelma, looking at her. "But physically, she seems to be okay, only having bruises here and there. I'm grateful I asked the others where you were and decided to join you. Evil Prince Charming would've taken her life if I wasn't here."
Kazuya caressed Arisa's dark hair. "I'm sorry, Arisa. I shouldn't have let you leave my side. If only Aquarius had let me go earlier, then you wouldn't have gone through this."
"Aquarius let you go?" asked Thelma.
Kazuya nodded. "Sort of. He told me that he was tired since he fought Arisa, so he let me go. That guy is weird."
As Arisa didn't show any reaction, hiding her face through Thelma's hug, Kazuya gazed around.
"I saw Ansha before spotting that traitor," he said. "We should take her and Arisa to the palace."
Thelma nodded. "Okay. Let's go, Arisa; I'll help you walk."
--♐♑♓--
En touched the small hole that was covered in darkening blood. The wound wasn't very deep but he still could feel the burning sensation caused by Sagittarius' glowing arrow. Mixed with that sensation was a stinging pain that spread all over his arm.
Despite his body signaling him this physical pain, that was nothing compared to his emotions. He had done it again. He had attempted to kill the woman he loved. Even though he didn't allow his emotions to betray his behavior during the battle against her, deep inside, he was hoping that someone would show up to stop him.
His hopes were answered, but seeing how broken Arisa was because of him, pained him. If only his cold words hadn't failed to convince her that he was bad and give her the strength to take him down, then both of them wouldn't suffer from their sad fates.
He sighed. He would have to hurt her, even more, to finally have a fair battle against her.
"You should get that wrist treated or you'll have an infection," said a distant female voice.
En gazed at his surroundings. Through the many trees and colorful vegetation, he saw a slim figure approaching him. As the figure slowly reached him, he recognized the young woman with long caramel-brown hair and brown eyes.
"Luana," said En, noticing that she wasn't wearing her silver armor.
Luana smiled happily. "Hey there, En."
En looked back at his wrists and sighed.
"You're right," he said. "I'll ask Virgo to treat it."
"Let's hope she won't be dramatic and treat you right away," said Luana. "That woman loves to get something in exchange to treat others."
En lowered his arm. "I think she won't mind treating me for free. She's been kind to me lately."
Despite Virgo saying that she was treating his wounds out of kindness, he couldn't help but think that she was acting this way because of his situation with Arisa. He was definitely giving the elf an entertaining show.
"I saw your battle against that girl," said Luana.
En couldn't help but notice Luana's disgusted tone at the words 'that girl'.
"It's a shame her annoying friends showed up," she said, frustrated. "You were so close to killing her."
Uneasiness spread in his veins upon hearing Luana's last words.
"Well," he said, clenching his fists. "If I had taken her life right away when she offered me the chance, then I would have succeeded. I think my feelings are still blocking me from what I'm supposed to do."
Luana folded her arms. "That's troublesome. If you can't break those feelings, then you should fool your heart."
"Fool my heart?" Zen frowned. "How?"
Luana smiled. She then walked towards him and when she got closer to him, she rested her arms around his neck. One blink and her lips touched his.
For a few seconds, shock traveled through En's veins before he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her.