by TurtleMe
A Promise
Hugging Tess one more time, my bond headed up the Wall as we waved her off. The guards let her through the gate to the upper levels, and she walked out of sight.
‘Try to have some fun while you’re with her, Arthur,’ Sylvie thought in my mind. ‘Don’t think about all these other things for a bit.’
“It’s surprisingly easy to get used to Sylvie in that form,” Tess said, turning to me.
“Well, if it weren’t for those huge horns on the sides of her head, she’d just look like an unassuming little girl.”
“Those horns are pretty adorable though. But anyway”—Tess pointed in the direction of the merchant area and gave me a warm smile—“shall we be off?”
“After you… Princess,” I said, bowing and gesturing for her to take the lead.
It was an odd feeling, walking through the market, talking and laughing with Tess as if we weren’t about to go into battle against thousands of monstrous, corrupted beasts that wanted nothing more than to kill everyone stationed here.
The atmosphere was entirely changed from my last visit to the Wall. That underlying tension I had seen had boiled over as outright fear. Many of the stalls we passed were closed down, some emptied, their owners likely having taken their wares and evacuated, others simply buttoned up as the merchants sought shelter before the approaching horde. Some few brave—or foolish—vendors sat next to their stalls, quietly offering their services to the few folk moving in the streets around us.
I watched Tess from the corner of my eye as she turned left and right, the wide smile never leaving her face as she kept up a continuous stream of conversation. It was a rare feeling, the comfort I felt while standing next to this girl that I had spent so many years of this life with; thoughts of my responsibilities as a Lance and general weren’t a priority.
That was when it struck me: This role that I had accepted for the sake of Dicathen had been slowly turning me back into the man I was in my old world. There were some differences, of course. I had people I truly cared for in this world, but, in a sense, that made it worse. I felt like I had to be better—to make no mistakes—if I wanted to keep them alive.
“Has being apart from me for so long finally made you realize how pretty your childhood best friend really is?” Tess teased, drawing me out of my thoughts.
“Actually, yes,” I replied earnestly.
Not expecting that sort of reply, Tess blushed all the way to the tips of her ears.
“I—I see. Well it’s good that you know now,” she said, clearing her throat. “Hey, there’s this place just over there that I’ve always wanted to try, and it looks like they’re still open. Come on!” Tess pulled me by my arm, leading me toward an isolated cart where a handful of adventurers had gathered. The smoky scent of herbs and spices mingling alongside the savory aroma of grilled meat bombarded my senses, causing my stomach to grumble and my mouth to water.
“If it tastes as good as it smells, maybe I should make your grandfather hire him as a chef inside the castle,” I answered, only half-joking.
“Tempting, but I’d feel bad for all the people who look forward to eating here,” she replied.
As we stepped up to the cart, a short, stout man appeared behind it. He pushed two bowls filled with a steaming stew of meat and vegetables across the counter with a smile.
“It’s not much, but stew’s on the house tonight,” he grunted. “No one should have to fight on an empty stomach.”
“Thank you,” I said, reaching down for the piping hot stew as Tess did the same. “But we’d like to offer you something. Are you sure we can’t pay you for the meal?”
The stand owner nodded seriously.
Holding the bowl up to my nose and breathing in the mouthwatering smell, I couldn’t help but wonder how many meals I might miss after this one once the fighting started. “Regardless, thank you for the treat,” I said, nodding my head to the cook.
The portly old man clicked his heels and saluted, which pulled up his shirt to reveal a bulging stomach. “No, thank you, General.”
After returning our respects, Tess and I wandered away, enjoying the soup as we meandered, no destination in mind.
“Looks like bringing you along does have its perks,” Tess said as she used a wooden pick to skewer a piece charred meat dripping with sauce. After taking a bite, her eyes closed and a look of serenity settled across her face. “Mmm, so good!”
“You’re probably the only person I know who’d regard a Lance as a perk, Tess,” I said, taking a bite as well. The stew was so delicious it made the extravagant dishes served in the castle seem bland by comparison. Despite my mental barriers, the flood of flavors on my senses was strong enough that even Sylvie felt my satisfaction.
‘You better save some for me,’ she sent, a tingle of curiosity laced in her thought.
Sorry, I don’t think I can promise you that, I replied, taking another bite.
Despite the foreboding of the coming battle, I felt more at peace in that moment than I had since… since I fell down into the depths of Widow’s Crypt and found Alea Triscan, the Lance who I replaced after she died in my arms, I thought, suddenly melancholy.
I was grateful to Tess, who kept me engrossed with stories of our time together in Elenoir and Xyrus Academy. We shared small, kind words with the few folk we saw in the market streets and stopped at every open stall we passed. She laughed at the smallest things, and I found myself constantly looking forward to her reactions.
In a way, her bright and sometimes childish attitude seemed so admirable. She was responsible for an entire unit. She spent days, sometimes weeks, out in the Beast Glades, fighting against the dangerous corrupted beasts there. But still she was able to find joy in even the simple things around her, and her positivity radiated from her, spreading to all those around her.
Tess’s hand slowly approaching the bowl of stew that I was holding brought me back to reality. “If you’re not going to eat that…”
I snapped the dish out of her reach just as the skewer in her hand attempted to spear one of the few remaining chunks of meat I had been saving. “You wish.”
“As expected of a Lance,” Tess said, pouting.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, because it’s imperative for a Lance to learn how to defend his or her food from treacherous allies.”
I held out a piece of meat on my own skewer. “Fine, here.”
Her eyes visibly brightened as she got on her tippy toes to bite the meat off of my skewer. “Sho good!” she moaned around the mouth full of food.
We walked on in silence for a while, each lost in our own thoughts. I could hear the hammering and grinding from the forge in the silence. No doubt the smiths were still toiling in the heat to make as many blades, axes, and spears as possible before the horde’s arrival. Elsewhere, I knew builders and miners labored to prepare my plan. The final preparations were likely being made within the medical tents: supplies being inventoried and organized, space being reallocated. If my mother were here, surely she would be there, wearing a stoic expression as she prepared for… but no, my parents would be a long way away, safe at Blackbend City. At least I didn’t need to worry about them right now, too.
When I noticed a confectionery where several colorful dough-like desserts were displayed, I pointed it out. “Do you want something from there? I haven’t seen anyone else selling sweets.”
“I’m okay, but Caria loves these,” she said, eyeing the bright desserts. “I’ll go by myself; just wait here, okay?”
“Yes ma’am.”
The old woman minding the stall looked at Tess hopefully, gesturing to her wares and saying something I didn’t catch. As Tess stood and gazed at the different flavors, I made my way over to a small booth nearby.
“Please sir, let me know if you see anything you like,” the young attendant exclaimed. He leaned forward and, in a lower tone, added, “My mum won’t let me close up shop until we make back what we spent on the spot, see?”
“I’m just looking around,” I answered, not taking my eyes off the display of trinkets and accessories laid out on top of the white cloth. “Actually, can I purchase this?” I asked, indicating a simple charm that had caught my eye.
“Of course! That’ll be one silver—ouch!” the kid yelped, looking back. “What gives, Mum?”
“What do you think you’re doing?” An older woman had appeared next to the boy, breathing heavily—I was suspicious that she had run back to the booth when she saw me browsing—and looking at me apologetically. “I’m so sorry, General. My boy here is a bit ignorant of the world.”
“But didn’t you say I had to earn another three silvers before we pack up?” the boy said, indignant. “If he’s some General, surely he can pay!”
That earned him another smack from his mother before she handed me the item I wanted to purchase. “Please take this as an apology for my son’s rude behavior. Again, I’m so sorry.”
“No problem at all, and please, I’d like to pay for it,” I insisted.
She waved her hand in dismissal. “Oh no! How could I possibly take money from a Lance!”
“Well, it’s a present, you see, and I’d feel better about giving it to the person if I’d paid for it,” I admitted.
“Is it that pretty lady over there with the silver—ouch! Mom!” The boy rubbed the spot on his shoulder where he’d gotten hit.
Chuckling, I tossed the kid a coin and thanked the two of them before walking back toward Tess.
“Wait! This is a gold coin!” the mother hollered.
Looking back over my shoulder, I held up the charm. “I just paid what I thought this was worth. It’s very well-made, ma’am.”
The lady stared at me for a second, stunned, then she bowed stiffly. “Th-thank you.”
I walked back to the confectionery just in time to witness Tess devour some sort of stretchy dough in a single bite. She looked at me guiltily, holding a piece out for me as well. “Do oo wunt shom too?”
“What happened to just buying it for Caria?” I teased.
As sunset neared and the bitter chill set in, the few people still in the streets began to head indoors. Tess and I made a quick stop by the inn, where Tess dropped off the desserts she had bought for Caria. The rest of Tess’s group was asleep, though, so I didn’t get to greet them.
“When do you leave for your next mission?” I asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“Later tonight,” she replied, eyes downcast.
“There’s a place I want to show you before you go then. Is that alright?” I asked with a hopeful smile.
Tess let out a breath as she took in the view. We had climbed to the spot on the cliff were I had come after fighting with my parents. The sun hovered over the horizon, casting a warm light over the Beast Glades.
“The view here is even better than from the castle,” she sighed.
“I agree.” I leaned forward, looking at the top of the wall and the many people moving around it. Though the streets may have emptied out, the Wall itself was still abuzz with activity. “I found it by chance, only been here once before.”
We sat side by side, our shoulders just barely touching. Tess shifted her gaze away from the scenery below us and looked at me. “I wanted to say this earlier, but it’s been a while, Art.”
I’m not sure if it was the way the red sun gleamed off her silky gray hair or how she tilted her head slightly so that the nape of her neck was exposed, but my heart felt like it was about to break out of my ribcage.
Unable to maintain eye contact, I turned away. “Where will you be heading off to for your next mission?”
“My unit, along with a few other elves from the Trailblazer Division, is being sent back to Elenoir tonight,” she answered.
“Because of the attacks by the Alacryans?”
“Yeah. There have been several recent sightings of Alacryan stragglers by our scouts stationed throughout the forest. It doesn’t sound too serious, but they’ve been requesting backup for a while now and Captain Jesmiya finally relented,” she explained, resting her chin on her knees.
“The captain had a difficult choice to make, especially with the beast horde approaching,” I said. “Although I’m sort of glad you won’t be here for this battle.”
Tess swatted my leg playfully. “While I may not be a match for a Lance, I recently broke through to the mid-silver stage.”
I hadn’t thought to check her mana levels, so this news caught me by surprise. “Congratulations. Truly.”
Tess’s shimmering turquoise eyes studied me for a moment, then she heaved a dramatic sigh. “I wonder when the mighty General Arthur, who is in fact younger than me, will actually begin to treat me as someone who can take care of herself.”
“I know you can take care of yourself,” I assured her. “I’m sorry if my words came off the wrong way. Spending time with you today made me realize how much older you’ve gotten.”
Tess inched away from me and turned to look directly at me. “Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?”
I scratched my chin, the wheels of my mind spinning uselessly as I struggled to put my feelings into words. “What I meant was, you give off a different aura now. I’m not talking about mana, although your core has improved, but more like—”
“I’ve gotten more mature?” Tess finished.
I let out a soft groan. “Yeah, that…”
Shaking her head at me, Tess turned back to watch the sun set, scooting back toward me just a little as she did so.
Memories of my last conversation with Tess came to my mind. It hadn’t been that long ago, but she seemed so different now—more mature, like she said.
That’s when I realized: The feeling of elation and joy I felt when I saw Tess wasn’t from Sylvie’s emotions flooding into mine, because I still felt it even now.
I reached into the inside pocket of my mantle where I’d stashed the charm I had bought earlier.
I liked Tess.
I had always liked Tess.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I was born with memories of my previous life as an adult, I might’ve confessed my feelings to her long before.
But how would she feel about me if she knew my secret? Would she react the same way my parents had? Would she feel disgusted—like I had when I first realized I liked her?
Doubt weighed down on me, and suddenly the tiny little charm in my hand felt like a lead weight.
“Thank you for showing me this place. I always thought of the Beast Glades as such a dangerous and bloody place. I didn’t realize how beautiful it could look.”
“That’s exactly how I felt. I love the view up here, but honestly this place is tied to a bad memory, so I”—I gripped the charm more tightly—“I thought coming up here with you might make it better.”
“Has it?” she asked, shifting slightly. “Made it better, I mean?”
“It has,” I said seriously. Summoning my courage, I held out my hand, gesturing for her to do the same, then setting her gift gingerly into her palm. It was a simple silver charm: two leaves laid over one another to form the shape of a heart. “I got this for you.”
“It’s so pretty!” she cooed, holding the charm up to inspect it. “Is this, perhaps, a reward for the great tour I gave you today?”
“No…” My tongue felt very heavy and my mouth very dry. “It’s—it’s because I like you.”
“Wait, what?” Tess’s eyes widened, her expression more disbelief than surprise. “I’m sorry, I was so wrapped up in your present, I must have misheard. I swear I thought you said—”
“I like you, Tess,” I finished with more conviction, pushing down the doubt still growing inside me.
Tess stood up, eyeing me like I was a merchant who was trying to swindle her. “What do you mean by ‘like’? I swear, Arthur, if you say you like me as a friend, or as a sister or something, I’m going to—”
“I like you as a…” I paused and let out a sigh. “I love you.”
Tess’s lips trembled and her eyes shined like stars as she tried to contain her emotions.
“I love you as a girl,” I assured her, standing and reaching for her hand. “I hope that you feel the same way about me and, well, maybe we can, you know, start a relationship—together.”
“You’re lying,” she said breathlessly.
“I’m not.”
She sniffled. “Yes, you are.”
“Do you want me to be?” I asked with a slight smile, my hand hovering like a nervous bird above hers but unwilling to alight upon it.
“No, I—I don’t know,” she said, her head down. “It’s just—I imagined things going differently for us.”
“Differently, how?” I could feel how awkwardly the frozen smile sat upon my face, but I seemed to have momentarily lost movement throughout large parts of my body.
“I thought that I’d have to get stronger and prettier and older to wow you and sweep you off your feet,” she said, hitting me in the arm, and I had a sudden flashback to our time together as children in the city of Zestier. The tension shattered like glass, and suddenly we were six years old again, giggling and teasing each other because we didn’t know how else to express our feelings.
“Can I still look forward to you sweeping me off my feet?”
“Oh be quiet before I sweep you off your feet and down the mountainside!” she snapped, her eyes full of tears but her mouth twitching into an uncertain smile. She held up the leaf. “Put this on for me.”
I took the pendant back, but rather than undoing the chain clasp, I pressed the two ends of the leaves together. With a click, the silver leaves separated into two individual pieces.
Holding one of the leaves, I draped the silver chain around Tess’s neck. “Here. Half for you, half for me.”
After gazing at her own silver leaf for a moment, Tess untied a long leather cord that had been wrapped around her arm and took my silver leaf. She weaved the cord through the silver loop that made up the stem of the leaf pendant.
“Turn around,” she ordered, “and bend down just a bit, you’re too tall.”
I did as she asked and felt her move close behind me; my breath caught when I felt her reaching around me. She passed the leather cord from one hand to the other, pulling it carefully around my neck, and tied it so that the leaf dangled loosely against my chest. Then her arms were around my waist as she embraced me from behind.
