"Krieg… I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I can walk by myself."
Kaeli muttered as she kept her body from wobbling back and forth by gently holding on his right shoulder.
"This is still undeniably faster though, don't you think?"
"Yes, but…"
A few minutes ago, the former mage found herself in a bit of a pickle when her legs had given out at the foot of the mountain.
"Ack." Kaeli fell on her knees as she tried to climb up the steep dirt path. "My legs…"
Despite trying her best to stand up by herself, she just couldn't muster any strength as both of her legs were trembling from pain. Krieg stopped beside her and asked.
"Was this the first time you ever worked on a field?"
"Y-yes." She said so, embarrassed. "My mother used to have us help her in the fields of her garden but it was nothing compared to tilling the soil for hours on end."
"Well… I can't exactly leave you here but I can't wait forever either since I still have training to do."
"I'm sorry…"
"Here." He extended his right hand. "Give me your hand."
"Huh? But I…"
"Just take it."
She placed her hand on top of his—hers could just barely fill half of his palm. With his help she was able to stand up, but it didn't end there. Krieg lowered his body and wrapped his arm around the back of her thighs before lifting her up. That obviously surprised her as her upper body almost tilted backwards.
"Ah!"
"Careful now. I can't grab you if you fall."
"Krieg! Put me down!"
"Are you able to walk on your own?"
"No, but my clothes are dirty-"
"Then let's keep going. I don't want to be late for my training."
"Ah… I'm-"
"It's fine."
He kept climbing with her body gently rocking back and forth. The refreshing breeze of the ocean tickled her face and brushed her hair alongside the wind. It felt nostalgic as she started to remember the days she, her sister and her mother spent together in this faraway land.
'Those were good days…'
She closed her eyes and enjoyed that moment. Even if only for a little while, ever since she came back to this land she had little to just take a deep breath and now was the perfect time to do so without feeling guilty.
It was true that she hurt her mother, her sister, even the people back then looked at her with disgust and fear for what she had done. Yet, there was not a single drop of regret in her actions. All of it was so Phoebe could survive.
'Yes… all the pain and suffering… it was all worth it…'
She started to remember her fragmented past. An encounter with a woman with dazzling strength and charisma that would forever change her. She was sitting on a hill overlooking the ocean before a woman of rugged appearance sat beside her and said.
"Kaeli. Do you want a way to keep your sister alive while fulfilling your master's request?"
The young high elf looked at her with surprise imprinted in her eyes as she asked. Although she couldn't remember her face clearly, she could tell she had blonde hair and a tall physique. All the while carrying a silver longsword at her hip.
"How… how do you know me?"
"I know all there is to know about these lands and its people." She glanced at the ocean and laid down on the grass. "And, there is one way you can save your sister while not breaking the vow you made with Robert."
"Really?"
"Yes. But it will still be painful."
"...will I be able to keep Phoebe safe?"
"Yes."
"Then… what must I do?"
"You… have to kill your mother instead."
At that moment Kaeli opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She had a slight headache and her mind felt fuzzy.
"You okay?"
Glancing at her left, she could see Krieg waving his hand in front of her. After blinking more, her vision finally focused and she gave him a slow nod.
"Y-yeah. Sorry."
He gave her a short nod.
"You should rest if you're that out of it."
"I will."
"Alright. See you around. I need to go back to training."
He headed inside the double doors.
"Mmm." She was absent minded as Krieg left her standing in front of the entrance to the house. After all, Krieg didn't know she lived on the other side of the cave. "Ah."
She hesitantly held the door open as she stepped inside. She wanted to be discreet and just pass by the house to the other side instead of having to walk all around the mountain but Setsuna was by the door to greet both of them with her arms crossed.
"You." The shrine maiden pointed at Krieg with a disgusted expression on her face. "Go take a bath."
Despite towering over her, Krieg flinched backwards a bit as she stepped in closer to his chest to sniff him.
"But-"
"You stink and you're soaked with mud all over your right arm."
"Yes, ma'am…"
He left the stack of wood on the floor and started to make his way to the bathroom. While they were facing another direction, Kaeli carefully stepped in and was making her way through the middle of the room before she heard the voice of a haughty shrine maiden directed at her.
"Kaeli."
Her less than amicable tone made the mage stop in her tracks and straighten her posture.
"Y-yes?"
"Why are you also soaked in mud?"
"I erm…"
"Go take a bath as well!!"
"I'll bathe in the shack outside-"
As she was about to continue her way through the house, she felt her body freeze up. Upon looking behind her, she noticed Setsuna pointing her open hand at her, she was being held in place by dark magic.
"No! You're dirtying the floor with mud!" She continued to hold her in place as she approached. "I cleaned this today… today! You're taking a bath right now!"
"Wait, Setsuna! Krieg is in there isn't he?!" Her pleas fell in deaf ears as she was forcefully dragged into the bathroom. With her lack of mana, she couldn't do anything in order to prevent the shrine maiden from doing as she pleased. "Wait! I'm a woman you know! A single, not married high elf!"
"I don't care! You dirtied the floor that took hours to clean!"
She opened the door to the bathroom and tossed her inside. Kaeli stumbled a few times until she hit something soft that caught her back.
"Oof." Krieg held her by the arms. She looked over her shoulder and smiled wryly. "Thank you."
"It's nothing."
Once the shrine maiden slammed the wooden door shut, both of them could hear the voice of a tired and angry Setsuna from the main room.
"And it was squeaky clean too! Argh! Wait… is this…! This is dung! Noooooooooooo!"
They exchanged nervous looks to each other before Krieg decided to speak up.
"I don't think it would be wise to go out now."
"Heh… yeah…"
She regained her footing and took a few steps forward before turning around. However as she did so, her smile slowly faded away as her mouth remained half open in a state of slight shock. Krieg noticed her stare and raised an eyebrow before uttering.
"What?"
"No… your body…"
He was wearing a towel around his waist but his upper body was completely visible. While she had her own thoughts just how strong he was, she wasn't expecting him to have such a muscular build.
The thickness of his biceps almost matched her thighs' and each muscle stood out from his lean and packed form. Her gaze was drawn to his chest covered in scars born from different weapons and even his abs were no different. That certainly was no physique of a normal human, if anything she could feel there was something inherently different from him.
"Oh these? Most of them are from the Great War."
"You participated in that bloody war?"
He nodded before grabbing the copper shower head and pulling a nearby wooden stool to sit down. Seeing him move in so little clothing made Kaeli avert her gaze while he continued to speak.
"Yes. I used to be Eleonora's second in command." He turned the knob and started to wash his hair. "I was wounded many times during the war but thankfully none were life threatening."
"Hard to believe it—considering how many scars you have."
He chuckled.
"I've heard that many times."
Despite his countless wounds. There was one that stood out from the rest as Kaeli briefly glanced at his back. A diagonal slash that started from the very top of his right shoulder and ended at the left bottom side of his lower back.
"You…" Her voice was mellowed with bittersweetness. "Have you ever been betrayed?"
"Yes." He answered without any hint of hesitation. "As war neared its end, the troops garrisoned at the capital turned their blades at me."
"Huh? Why?"
"They thought I was a demi-human that had infiltrated their ranks." He pointed at his silver gray hair. "Human hair usually doesn't have this color." He flicked his hair back and glanced at her with his crimson eyes. "Nor these eyes."
"Those are… dragon's eyes."
"Yes, but anything that isn't human doesn't matter to them." He finished washing himself before heading to the corner of the room that had a hole carved in the stone filled with hot water. "Thankfully Leona's family didn't care whether I was human or not."
He entered the makeshift tub and stretched both his arms while letting out a silent relaxed sigh. In the meantime, Kaeli was still by the cleaning area as she continued to ponder. Her hand clenched over her chest and her lips curled in bitterness.
"Have you…" Her voice was filled with regret. "Have you ever resented them?"
"Resent? Well…" There was a long pause as if he was measuring his words before he continued. "I would be lying if I said I didn't."
She could feel her chest tighten as her hold on her own clothes became even rougher.
'I see… it would be no different for Phoebe then…'
"But-" He continued with a slight tone of happiness in his voice. "-even if I do resent them. I can't deny it was thanks to their betrayal that I've met Leona and for that reason alone, I'm grateful to them."
For a very brief moment, her heart that felt that was about to be crushed by guilt now was at peace. It was true that she wasn't able to change the past even if she wanted, but if someone like Krieg that had been scarred both physically and emotionally could still make amends with himself despite betrayal—Kaeli could only hope that it was also possible for her sister to forgive her.
"I… see…' She lowered her head and her hand softened the grip around her own clothes. 'I just need to take one step at a time…'
She nodded to herself and raised her now hopeful voice.
"Thank you Kri-"
"Kaeli! Are you done bathing?!" The high elf's voice was interrupted by a very angry shrine maiden from outside the bathroom. "I need you to help me clean this place! I can't stand this smell anymore!"
That startled her and her whole body tensed up as she replied nervously.
"I huh… no! Not yet!"
"Hurry up then!"
"Y-yes! I will!"
With an angry Setsuna waiting just outside, Kaeli quickly made short work of her dirty clothes as she tossed them inside a basket near the door before grabbing a towel and wrapping herself with it. She hurriedly grabbed a bar of homemade soap and washed the mud off her body.
Her heart was beating fast as she was about to rinse herself when she heard footsteps approaching from somewhere on her right and as she looked to that direction, she noticed Krieg glancing at her with wide open eyes. At that moment it felt like her heart had stopped beating.
While she was mostly covered her long black hair contrasted beautifully with her fair skin and gentle deep blue eyes. Her sharp ears were poking through the silky black strands on the side of her face as she instinctively turned around to avoid his gaze.
"I'm sorry." He uttered as he also averted his eyes and held his hand against his mouth. "I didn't know you were…"
"No, it's fine…"
"I'll get out now." He said so as his face was gradually getting more flustered. "Enjoy your bath."
He walked around the showers and as his footsteps became more distant, Kaeli uttered under her breath in an almost inaudible voice.
"Thank you…"