Offer

The night sky came to the town.

After a long hard day, the workers started wrapping things up with the defenses. The knights stayed behind to keep watch outside the wall, while everyone else returned to their homes to rest.

“Roz.”

Bianca approached him just as he was about to leave.

“What is it?”

Her eyes looked tired, yet they gave off a sense of austere that refused to slow down.

“There’s something I’d like to talk about with you in private.”

Something to talk about?

Roz nodded. “All right.”

He wondered what Bianca was up to this time.

“Follow me.” She turned back and started walking.

Roz caught up with her to match her pace. They walked the cobblestone streets together, basking in the warm orange lamp lights and the peaceful ambiance of the town. The people around them were at ease, relaxed and off their guard. It was a nice change of scenery. Without the barbarians, this place was nothing more but an ordinary town with simple people living their lives in harmony.

“What did you want to talk about?” Roz asked.

Bianca’s gaze softened and she gave him a warm smile.

“I just wanted to thank you for everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been protecting the town for a long time, right?”

Roz shifted his gaze away. “It’s no big deal.”

“It’s plenty of a deal to me.” Bianca gave his shoulder a playful swat.

They walked to the northern part of the town, towards the direction of the estate. Roz was thinking that this wasn’t the only thing she had in mind, it seemed like she was leading him on to a long stroll.

“I do have to wonder, why did you choose to protect this town?” she asked. I’m sure there’s plenty of opportunities out there for a man of your caliber, so why stay here of all places?”

Roz wasn’t sure what to answer. Obviously, he couldn’t tell her the real reason why he was here, so he had to think of something else.

“I cannot stand injustice,” he said.

It wasn’t a lie. That was something he believed in. A part of the truth, but not the whole truth.

“The people here deserve to live peaceful lives,” Roz continued. “I can’t sleep knowing that the barbarians are out there who thrive from their suffering.”

Bianca chuckled. “I didn’t think you’d sound so heroic. Perhaps if you had the talent and skill, you would have been fit to be a Hero like me.”

Roz grimaced inside the mask.

“You flatter me too much, Miss Bianca. I’m nothing compared to the Heroes of Alexandria.”

Alain Isebran would have stood alongside those people. But that was no longer who he was. Roz was a fragmented soul, a shadow of who he used to be. In some twisted way, he was grateful that he wasn’t the same as he was before, because now, no one would ever recognize the sinner he truly was.

“It’s about time I got straight to the point, Roz,” Bianca said.

Roz waited in anticipation. They reached the grassy fields near the estate, then she turned her head towards him.

“I want you to be my right-hand man.”

A gentle breeze blew past them. Roz was baffled by her sudden proposal.

“Why me?”

“I’ve already acknowledged your contributions to this town. It’s only natural that I offered you a proposition. You deserve to be paid for your services.”

No, I don’t.

Roz bowed. “I appreciate it, but there is no need for that. I’m already doing fine the way things are now.”

“Please….”

“Please?” Roz gazed upward.

Bianca looked at him with weary eyes and a pained smile.

“I know it sounds selfish, but upon returning here, I realized that I’m still far away from the person my brother was. I’m weak. I can’t do this alone.”

“Bianca….”

She gripped her fists.

“I know I have Lupa, but I also need someone like you by my side. If it weren’t for you two, I wouldn’t have been able to save my father. So please, consider it. I’ll pay you more if that’s what you want.”

Roz shook his head. “Money is not what I need.”

I can’t be the one by your side, Bianca. Not now, not ever.

“Then tell me what you want. I’ll do my best to fulfill your conditions.”

I want to help you, I want to support you, but I’m the last person you should trust. So please, find someone else. You deserve someone better.

“You don’t have to do all of that. I’ll consider it.”

Roz did not wish to accept her offer, but he didn’t have the will to say no to those emerald eyes.

Bianca breathed a sigh. “You can take your time.”

                                                                                    ⚔

The room Bianca had provided for Roz was a luxury compared to his abode in the watchtower. 

The inside carried the scent of fragrant lavenders, dimly lit by the flaming lanterns on the walls. The wooden flooring and the burgundy carpets were void of dust, worthy of Roz’s praise. They were nowhere to be seen the first time he was here, but there were actually maids who were in charge of taking care of the place. He doubted the barbarians were the ones who kept this place clean, so he assumed it was their doing. His bed was spacious enough that he could spread his arms and legs around. The mattress was soft and feathery, it felt like he was sleeping on a cloud. A far cry from the hammock he used to sleep on. And as usual, he opened the book that he had rented from Amity. The one titled, ‘I Fell in Love With A Blade.’

Meanwhile, his elven friend hung around by the open window, playing a tune on her flute.

“Don’t you have your own room?” Roz asked.

Sonia shrugged. “I just like it here.”

“You do know that some people prefer privacy?”

She glanced at him with a whimsy smirk. “Quit acting coy, I know you still need my music to sleep at night.”

“You got me there.”

Roz looked away from his book.

“I never asked how you managed to survive the attack on the watchtower,” he said.

He had been so busy with setting up the town’s defenses that it ended up escaping his mind.

Sonia looked away with a wry smile.

“W-Well, let’s just say I spent too much time searching for fruits. I wanted to get some for you.”

Roz felt disappointed with such a lackluster answer. After all that time he spent mulling about her disappearance, this was all she had to show for it.

“You see, elves like me tend to lose track of time.” She laughed and scratched her head. “If we get carried away, an hour for you would feel like a minute for us, and an hour for us would feel like half a day for you. At least, that’s what you humans have told me. Yet somehow….”

Sonia glanced at Roz.

“When we’re with people we care about, time seems to slow down.” She chuckled. “I wish to cherish such moments before they fly away like a swift breeze.”

She really does care about me….

Roz wanted to say that he didn’t deserve to be cared for, but that wasn’t going to do any good.

“I appreciate that you think of me that way,” he said.

“So let me stay as long as I want!”

“Fine.”

“Yipee!”

Sonia smiled and looked at the window.

Little droplets of water began to pour down from outside. The gentle shower blended well with the melody of Sonia’s flute, creating a peaceful and relaxing ambience. It sounded like a slow dance in the rain, water and sound moving along and taking their time with the steps. At that moment, it felt as if everything was going to be just fine. It was a time to relax, unwind, and prepare one’s mind for the future.

“Ahhh!”

Sonia’s hair was blown back by a sudden wind, and her face ended up getting drenched by a fierce rain. Roz got up from his bed and ran over Sonia.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine. Just close the window.”

“Right.”

Roz held onto the window sash and was about to close it, but something managed to catch his eye. If he closed the window right away, he never would have noticed it. However, he did.

Was that….a bird?

That was what it looked like. A black bird underneath a tree, staring at them from afar.

A crow….

Roz froze for a second.

“Don’t tell me….”

“What’s wrong?” Sonia asked.

He clenched his teeth and ran straight for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“We’re in danger!”

Roz left the room and made a mad dash through the halls on the second floor. There was no time to think. No time to hesitate. His feet moved before he could even comprehend what was going on.

This can’t be. The crow couldn’t just be a coincidence, but how?

He climbed up the stairs and looked at both sides.

Which way was it again?

Roz clicked his tongue.

Screw it, I’m going this way!

He ran over to the eastern side. As far as he was concerned, Bianca had decided to transfer her and her father’s room towards that direction. Hopefully, his memory was right. Roz reached what he believed to be her room and burst it open without thinking.

“Bianca!”

Thunder and lightning struck outside.

Roz was just about to report his findings to her, but he was far too late. Later than he expected. He had opened the door to see Taiga on the other side, with Morri holding a knife against Bianca’s throat and her other hand covering her mouth.

Taiga grinned.

“Surprise!”