Garden

It was a normal day at the shelter just like any other, the play area teeming with frolicking children and the caretakers working away. Almeric had just finished with his tasks for the day, and he decided to wander around the shelter for a bit to keep a look out for irregularities. As he passed by the corridor on the second floor, his keen eye spots a feminine figure crouching, tending to the crops in the small plot of fertile soil in the shelter, or "The Garden" as the inhabitants of the shelter would like to call it.

"That's Ilyia, isn't it? What is she doing in the garden..?"

Curious about why Ilyia was at the garden instead of Evesteria Systoli, Almeric turned around and headed towards the flight of stairs that led him downstairs. He had to use a reasonable amount of force with his one good hand to push the rusty door leading to the courtyard open. It opened with a loud creaking sound, alerting Ilyia immediately to his presence. She hops up clumsily from her crouching position, almost tripping as she galloped towards Almeric.

Almeric jumped forward immediately, grabbing the girl who was about to lose her balance.

"H-hey, why are you running like that? Take better care of yourself!" Almeric chided Ilyia for her actions.

"I wasn't intending to do that.. It's just that I was a little light-headed, that's all.. I lost my balance from getting up and galloped to not fall over.." Seeing how pale she looked and how faintly she spoke, he immediately brought her over to the nearby bench to rest.

"Why are you even here in the first place and not in the nurse's office? Where is Systoli?"

"She's a little under the weather so I had her rest.. I stood in for her a little because I'm interested in gardening."

"Come on, why didn't you tell me? I would've been around to take care of you!" Almeric leaps out of his seat.

"Hmm? Take care of me? Are you flustered because of me?" Ilyia gives Almeric a smug look.

"Don't mess with me, that's not funny!"

"Hehe, I'm sorry for making such a bad joke. I'll be more careful with myself, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. G-good that you'll do that." Almeric returns to his seat hastily, his face beet red over the realization of what he just said. Ilyia looks over her shoulder at him, smiling slightly.

The two of them sat silently together, watching the crops.

"I hate to say it, but that Evesteria's really been doing good work for us.. Look at these. We'll have good harvest soon." Almeric looks at Ilyia and smiled at her shyly.

"She's a super hard worker, you know? She's always up and moving, just like you. Because she cares a lot about everyone."

"I-I'm only this busy out of neccesity." Almeric averts his gaze from Ilyia's in embarassment.

"Haha, sure, sure." Ilyia laughs at Almeric's reaction, finding it cute.

"I-I'm not lying!"

"I never said you were! Hehe. Hanging out together like this reminds me of the pre-war days." A hint of nostalgia hinged on Ilyia's voice, her head now hanging and looking at the cloudy sky. She drags her feet through the ground, her face now wearing a solemn expression. She shakes her head and turns to Almeric and forced a smile.

"Well, everything's not that bad now too, if you look at it in a positive light. Look; we're all here alive together, and the kids are growing up well.. If our world still has a future, I'm sure that they'll become great pioneers of the new world. They never complain about our situation, and are always well behaved.. They're a big reason why I can persist." Ilyia's forced smile has now became a natural kind smile.

Almeric pats her on the shoulder and returns her warm smile.

"Ilyia, I can never fail to be amazed by you.. It's amazing how you can be positive in our situation.. I don't mean that in a bad way.. Well.. You're just amazing." He falls silent, at a loss for words, with only admiration for Ilyia running through his thoughts.

"I wasn't always like this, you know? I was a petulant brat before the war. Can you believe that?" Ilyia tilts her head at Almeric.

"Of course not!"

"Before the war I lived in a royal family. My parents were loving and took good care of my younger brother and I; We lived out our daily lives filed with happiness and laughter. I was always crying or screaming about something, and I bought a great deal of trouble upon my parents. But they never complained. Even if I asked for something ridiculous, they would give it to me. My brother would often get in my way and I would always shout at him and hit him.."

Almeric looks at Ilyia with a genuinely shocked expression as she recounts her past.

"He would always try to set me on the right path despite being the younger child. Me getting my mood ruined over something minor like not liking the flavor of our afternoon tea? He would tell me to not trouble the maids instead of letting me get them to make a new cup. Things like this happened all the time.. I saw him as annoying, but now I can see where he was coming from... When the war first broke out, our parents decided to send us away to live with our relatives in another country; My brother decided to stay. I was so shaken by the sound of gunshots and explosions that I took up the offer to leave immediately, leaving my family behind."

"W-were they living in the capital?" Almeric hesitated to ask.

"Yes. I received news later that all of them died sometime later. I regretted leaving.. Me staying there could've made a difference.. I could've helped them someway, somehow..?"

"It's not your fault.. You couldn't have done anything.."

"No, I could have! Who knows if there were something I could've done to prevent the tragedy from happening-- Ah, sorry for raising my voice.." Ilyia's downcast eyes looked at her fiddling fingers on her lap.

"No, it's fine.. Let it all out."

"Maybe its just my guilt.. My guilt of leaving my family behind. Anyhow, I decided to contribute to something.. In this case, to ease people's suffering. I was just a useless rich girl sheltered somewhere safe. I asked so much of my parents and I never gave back.. My brother would always tell me the right things but I would brush him off. And so, that was a huge life turning experience for me, which has led me up to this point. I became a nurse and saved many lives, and also in the process, this illness.. But I'll take all of this as a learning experience. Everything I've been through so far was to make me a better person, and I'll make sure to always cherish every moment of life."

Almeric just stares at her blankly, causing Ilyia to break out in laughter.

"I talked a lot, huh? Hehe.. So that's my story. I hope you understand me better now!"

He silently places his head on her head, rubbing her head lightly. It continued on in awkward silence, Ilyia's face now growing red.

"W-what's this about?"

"Thanks for sharing your story with me. I understand you better now.. But you don't have to always put on a smile. You can let me know when the going gets tough.. I'll try to always help you, like you saved me from my bottomless pit of darkness. I'll be there for you, I promise.." Almeric retracted his hand from her head quickly, looking away from her, his face now beet red as well.

"T-thank you! I would've never imagined you saying such things when we first met."

"Well, that's because you rubbed off on me.."

"Hehe, let's continue to support each other and make our shelter as good as possible!"

Almeric resists the urge to pet Ilyia's head again, her smile now invoking newfound emotions in him.

"C-crap, why do I feel this instinct to hold this girl so closely..?" Almeric thought to himself. He shook his head and looks at Ilyia with a gentle smile.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, much better!"

"Alright, let's start with tending to the garden then! You were going to do it earlier, right?"

"Yes! Wait here.. I'll go get the tools!"

And so Almeric and Ilyia tended to the crops together, both of their hearts filled with thoughts of happiness and each other.