Onwards to the Past!

Two weeks later Violet, Alex and Cera sat on top of the cart. Rudy pulled them through the streets of Heast. They had resupplied and were on their way to the northern gate. Additionally, a small box, with a rather precious content was deep down in Violet rucksack, buried under her clothes.

“You sure about leaving? Weren’t things going well with Yuka?”, asked Violet with well-hidden schadenfreude.

“Yeah, they were…”, said Alex sighing slightly.

“Was she not your type?”

“No… she definitely is… my type… but…”

“But?”

“Well let’s just say, it would not work in the current time… and situation.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well right now, I’m occupied with adventure… and we have that bracelet situation going on… and… Yuka… well she has her shop, so she can’t just up and leave. Maybe, in a few years, when I settle down, things could look different. But right now, she is not the one for me… I think.”

“Ah… well, nice of you to stick with me…”

Alex looked at her.

“Well, somebody has to save your ass… occasionally…”, he said with a smug face.

Violet looked at him sideways and raised an eyebrow.

“Soo, my ass is the only thing on your mind, huh?”, she said with a smile.

“Not only… but I do have admit it’s a very lovely and rememberable ass.”, he said winked.

“Oh? What else is on your mind, besides my lovely ass?”

“Well, yo-“

“Oh, please! Would you two stop with the flirting so early in the morning? I have a bitchin’ headache from all the booze yesterday and I really can’t deal with all that lovey-dovey bullshit right now!”, interjected Cera groaning from behind.

“What? We are not… flirting!”, protested Violet immediately.

“Sure, you weren’t, my little bird… and I’m definitely not hungover… Oh fuck, I have to puke…”

Cera hung her head over the side of the cart and left her breakfast behind on the street. She finished with a loud burp.

“What? Never seen an elf barf up some half-eaten sausage and eggs?”, asked Cera annoyed after seeing Alex surprised face.

“No… I can’t say I have… I always thought your… race… doesn’t do… that…”, he said.

“What? You think we are some pure and noble race that are above normal bodily functions? Well though shit, we are not… We puke, we piss and we shit… sometimes all at once… those are the not fun days…”

Cera buried her face back into the luggage and cursed quietly every time the cart hopped a bit.

“You said… when you settle down… but you didn’t mention going back… home… did you… give up on that?”, asked Violet cautiously as they drove out of the gate.

“Hm… well I think about it less and less… I guess I’m getting used to… here… It’s fun after all.”, answered Alex with an unreadable smile.

“It’s been fun for me too…”, admitted Violet with a friendly smile.

“Especially now that Caleb is gone!”, she added with a smug face.

“You really hate him, huh?”

“Hm… that’s maybe a bit harsh… He… can… be a good guy sometimes after all… He just really gets under my skin sometimes, because he… thinks… he knows all about me… but he does not…”

“Ah… yeah, true he can be a bit much sometimes… but, as you said he can be a good guy too… I just can’t understand him…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… he is the complete opposite of me…”

“Yeah, true… he is tall, handsome, good with the ladies and funny.”

Alex looked shocked and Violet began to laugh.

“I mean, I can’t really argue with that…”, admitted Alex defeated.

“Aww, don’t get all depressed! That was just a joke! You are funny too… at least sometimes.”, said Violet with a wink.

“Jokes aside… what do you mean with complete opposites?”, she added.

“I mean… What I’m trying to find but I can’t seem to grasp… he has it right there next to him. He just has to reach out his hand and grab it… No, he just has to stop running. I just don’t get it… what I long for… he desperately tries to avoid… I just don’t get it… I… can understand that there could be reasons to stop looking for it… for him… and you… but I have to admit… I just don’t get it… Maybe it’s because of this idolized image of what love is, that I have, since I only know it from stories and my one-sided experience… I never really experience what it means to love and be loved and what it truly entails to be together with someone… I understand that in the stories and what you can see from the outside may only be the good, clean and nice part of it, and there surely are bad, messy and not so nice parts… but I just don’t get it. I understand that it’s different for everybody and there is no … right way… in this, and that things may change and you lose it, throw it away, or it just fades…or some people may have a completely different view on this… but I just don’t get it… I just don’t see it possible for me to ever stop loving someone once that feeling is there… even more so if it weren't one-sided… Or at least I like to believe me not to be a man that could fall in love and attempt to engage in a romantic relationship without the intent to try his very best to make it last forever… I could be wrong or maybe this all changes If I ever be in a relationship and experience what it really means to live my life together with someone… and that is something, I’m truly scared to death of… but yeah… Right now I just don’t get people like Caleb, Cera… and you… People who stop looking for true love or even run from it…”

Violet had listened in silence and watched his pained face staring into the distance. She quickly swept a small tear out of the corner of her eye, before he could notice. Violet then gently touched Alex on the cheek and stroked slowly over his beard.

“I truly… from the bottom of my heart… wish for you to never have that changed… And if there ever is someone that changes it for you, I’ll burn that fucking bitch down to a crisp!”, she said very seriously.

Alex smiled faintly.

“Thanks…”, he whispered.

They drove a while in silence, except for the occasional groaning and cursing from Cera.

“Are you really okay with it?”, asked Alex suddenly.

“What?”, said Violet surprised.

“With our destination? Or rather what lies in between…”

“Oh, you mean the Huelsn Empire? My home country? The place where I married my childhood lover, who then killed my whole family and held me hostage to… do things to me… who I finally escaped after nearly dying multiple times? Yeah sure, I’m totally okay with it.”

“That… I…”

“Relax! That was a joke! I’m okay… really… I knew I had to face that sooner or later… and besides, it’s not like he is looking for me… everybody thinks I’m dead anyway… and just in case…”

Violet pulled up the hood of her cloak.

“I have this!”, she continued.

Violet’s hair was completely covered under it, and only a small part of her face was visible, making it hard to recognize her.

“If anything happens… I’m… here for you…”, said Alex quiet but determined.

Violet faced towards him and tilted her head a bit. A strand of her red hair escaped and peaked out under the hood.

“That’s very nice of you. Thank you. I know that I can count on you when it matters.”, she said with a smile.

“You know… there is something you could do.”, said Violet after thinking for a while.

“What?”, asked Alex.

“You remember when I told you that the Huelsn Empire is a patriarchy and women are not treated… very well…”

“Yeah…”

“Well… unmarried women are treated even worse…”

“Huh…”

“Soo, maybe… for the duration of our trip through the empire… if someone asks… I could pretend to be… your wife.”

“What? Uhm? You sure? I mean… I… well…. Okay… If you want to…”

“Then let’s do that… my dear Husband.”

Violet chuckled at Alex’s flustered face.

“Wait… does that mean… I have to pretend to be… his wife…”, said Cera suddenly from behind.

“Who do you mean?”, said Violet and turned around.

She jumped up and screamed. Alex barley caught her before she could fall off the coach box.

“Hello there.”, said Caleb grinning widely.

“Oh, shit… I have to… puke again…”, moaned Cera and hung her head over the side of the cart again.

“Hm… I had worse reactions…”, said Caleb with a shrug.

“What the… You just vanished after one day in the city and now you’re here? How long have you been here?”, asked Violet in shock.

“Well let’s just say I’m honored that... what did you say, again?... I’m tall, handsome, good with the ladies and funny… I really like the funny part.”, said Caleb with a smug face.

“Fuck… I need to barf too…”