#top ten times romeo gave me psychic damage

[dragonbma]

“Why do I hear boss music?”

Figured this blog needed more Admin!Vos content because I think he’s neat-

[thesalemsaga]

𝟯 — 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻

—   𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙖.

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 : 5.9k words

𝙨 : getting the final three people to join her is proven to be much more difficult than realized, and along with that, seren is forced to deal with some realities before she comes to her final decision.

“ alright everyone, settle down, settle down! don’t keep me waiting! ”.

it was a monday morning, and dueling was the first lesson on the enormous timetable. it was why her nerves were much more jumpy than usual. it was also probably because her final candidate was present in the room with her.

the dueling classrooms were much bigger than most, huge as a lecture hall with a ten metre mat in the center where the demonstrations took place, where the teacher would often invite someone down for a short lesson. regardless of your class or semblance, it was not optional to skip dueling class.

it was perhaps the best subject seren had, as alchemy and engineering often tired her brain out to an extent where she would be unable to talk. she much rather preferred facing off a classmate in a clash of swords than anything else.

but her quest today was much more simpler than just a fight. in reality, seren’s attention was nailed to someone in particular, someone she desperately needed on her team to make this entire plan work. without a healer, they were as good as dead, regardless of their status and skills as trained fighters.

romeo and kailen had made their attempts at convincing alexander sallow to join them, both came back with disappoint written on their faces. and to add fuel to the fire, the last two members would only join if alexander managed to make it into the team.

it was all left to seren in the end.

the teacher who led the dueling lessons was no other than master lockhart, a close friend of the principal and a personal favorite of the girl, mostly because he often skipped her when it came to demonstrations. she could handle a fight like the next person but being observed critically perturbed her. the fear mainly manifested at the worry of messing up and being laughed at, which happened five or six times in the past three years and people tend not to leave her alone because of it.

today, of all days, however, they were speaking of something to do very closely to her semblance, as shown on the board behind lockhart.

speed vs power.

“ today, we’ll be doing something a bit different ”, lockhart announced. he, a man in his late forties, fortified as he carried himself with strength and purpose, truly could not be disliked even by the most complicated students. he was a fun teacher, one to leave you alone if you were uncomfortable and to accept if you were enthusiastic. he was a rather handsome man, with his blonde hair slicked back and a mediterranean smile dancing over thin lips. his eyes were truly remarkable, though. grey, a color of a wise man.

seren didn’t see any unfamiliar faces that day. she had actually walked to class with kailen and romeo after having breakfast with them, purposefully avoiding her father yet again but without ill intent, she just needed to stay focused. 

among those faces, she also spotted the final three candidates, evangelos and perseus sat beside each other and alexander sat at the front, seeming rather uninterested.

seren didn’t get to peek for too long in fear that he had some sort of psychic semblance, but she got the impression that he was silent, distant and far from someone who could easily be convinced to join such a mission. but even though he looked stubborn, she needed the results. she needed to impress him, to get something across, and if it didn’t work, then she would have to approach him. and she wasn’t planning on being gentle.

lives were at stake, and if he didn’t want to join, then it was his loss. but it was worth trying.

“ speed and power, two opposing forces, as some would put it ”, lockhart began, motioning to the board. “ you can either have one or the other and when faced with someone with the opposite skill, you might find yourself struggling. because at the end of the day, they cannot top each other. ”

seren had heard of two soldiers in the past. one blessed with immense strength and the other with speed, and they made a rather impressive due what with the number of criminals they managed to take down. they left the military to become solo hunters, and ended up reducing crime rates when the people of the empire started to lose some of their previous morals.

the professor turned and glanced over his students, “ when these two meet in a fight, it is unlikely that one is going to top the other. they can both do some wicked damage against each other, especially if they’re at equal quality. so if you have two trained fighters representing one of these, and you force them to fight, they will not come out with at least some injuries. ”

someone behind seren suddenly blurted out a question, she recognized it to be a girl from her alchemy class. “ why are we learning about them, sir? most people tend to side with one skill anyway ”.

“ ah! but that’s exactly the problem. these two are just minor examples of an issue certain people have when finding their style of fighting ”, lockhart was quick to respond. “ they think they have to choose something to fit their look as a fighter. only fire magic, only ice magic. only big guns, only small guns. only power, only speed. folks, you’re missing the point! ”.

seren felt herself leaning against her desk a tiny bit more. lockhart’s lessons are the ones that tend to light up a flame in any ambitious and resilient fighter such as herself, she could see it through the eyes of her other classmates that the message was growing more interesting as the man spoke.

he carried himself to the center of the fighting mat, yet his speech never ended. “ the gift of being a hero is not just playing by the rules you see in old rpg games where you have the ice mage and the fire mage. no! reality is so much more fun, you can be anything you want and you don’t have to separate skills into two boxes ”, he looked among them and gave his usual smile. a comforting one, that of a man who had aged well and knew things that not many would imagine knowing.

“ you can easily have both. which is what i’m about to show you. i’m going to show you exactly what happens when you end up using these attacks together ”, he paused and looked among the students, and although seren quickly sunk back into her seat, it didn’t stop him from settling his eyes over her. “ miss armsend, if you’d please step up. ”

the girl sucked a breath in. the immediate shift of all the wandering gazes in the classroom landing on her triggered a dread in her stomach, yet seren could not simply reject the teacher’s demand if she wanted to keep being the perfect dueling student that she’s always been. her father wouldn’t be happy, and that was something she was not going to risk.

gulping, the girl settled with a smile and rose from her desk. teachers had access to the weapons that were kept in separate lockers, and since iron thorn had managed to find itself within lockhart’s grasp, something within seren told her he was going to pick her all along. he was a kind man, but not so when it came to dueling.

as she descended down the steps and paced onto the dueling mat, lockhart went around searching for someone else. “ as miss armsend has a speed semblance, i will need someone who majors more on the strength aspect of combat. maybe another swordsman, or a brawler . . . ”, whilst he contemplated, the girl familiarized herself with the grip of her sword, trembling in her uniform.

“ mr chrysanthos? ”.

oh you’re joking, right?

murmurs flooded out between the students, most of the attention turned to the boy sitting beside an amused perseus. seren glanced over her shoulder and settled her own eyes on evangelos, whose face gave nothing away. and that just made her tremble with a lot more fear.

evangelos was a brawler, and a fucking good one. tall, packed to the brim with muscle, and from what she was told, was always angry. it was why he could reduce people to ashes with his gauntlets, releasing out an ounce of anger through every punch and kick, trained seriously in martial arts and from what she could tell, he could crush her with his bare hands.

and the fact that the male stood and began to walk down to the training mat just made seren grow increasingly apprehensive. she was accustomed to facing her old man with his cane, and even at the age of fifty, years of experience in the military and a keen eye in combat, arthur armsend intimidated her less than evangelos.

one might say, she didn’t have to worry because she would not be fighting evangelos when he joins the team. the punches will not be directed towards her, yet seren was shocked to the core of fucking up here and spoiling her chances of impressing the male and losing a candidate. and with him, probably perseus as well.

she couldn’t lose this.

“ five minutes. i want to see a normal duel. knocking the person out is not the intention here, but pushing them to the ground is. regardless of power or speed, you’re useless if you’re on the floor ”, lockhart handed evangelos the gauntlets, which he equipped quickly. “ the rest of you can observe, and try to imagine what these two forces would be like when put together in a formal duel. ”

evangelos stood far from her, jaw clenched, disinterested as always. he seemed to have a similar strategy to her, of coating his emotions behind a poker face. however, it still felt like he didn’t have any worries to hide. he didn’t see seren as a threat.

and for obvious reasons, she felt the insult like a punch in the gut.

“ ready, set, and . . . begin! ”.

an explosion erupted long before seren could prepare herself and that came from evangelos lunging forward. he was quick! but what worried her more at that moment was how those gauntlets flared up with a red color.

with no armor or shield, seren relied on her speed. no essences were allowed to be used, so she shifted quickly. her semblance acts, well, quickly. you won’t really see her move, you’ll just find her in a different place at the blink of an eye. upon shifting, she found herself behind the male, but he cut through and turned right back to her. every bone in her body rattled with fear.

when the gauntlets collided with iron thorn, a sound thundered and shook the classroom, rendering both fighters stunned for a moment. thankfully, neither weapons showed signs of breaking, iron thorn was perfectly sharp and far from beaten. and nobody showed any signs of falling just yet.

given the position and the proximity, seren’s eyes widened when she swung the rapier hard enough to create that same auditory ripple that sent evangelos pinging back into the other side of the training mat, landing on his two feet, but not without some of those dark locks coming out of place.

thirty seconds in and seren felt like giving up. especially after seeing the seething rage erupting from the boy’s gaze, it could kill.

neither moved for a second, contemplating their chances and their moves and when they did move, it was in unison.

when evangelos threw his fist forward, she was expecting him to lunge, but he didn’t. from the other side of the training mat, seren witnessed a spark and cursed briefly under her breath upon realizing he had a ranged weapon, of which the shots resembled a shotgun, two that barely missed the girl, one cutting through a few locks of her pink hair.

when the third shot rang, seren was ready to receive it. the bullet came and almost within a sudden slowness in time, she lifted the sword in her hand and cut through it, and recoiled away just in time for the explosion to go off. had she stayed, it would have most likely shattered iron thorn in half.

the smoke cloud created engulfed the girl long enough to look down and peer at her sword, gleaming and steaming from having cut a shotgun bullet in half. in all honesty, she was not expecting the bullets to pack such a punch, and she could only imagine the damage it could do when facing it up close.

coughing through the smoke, seren prepared to be jumped, or prepared for someone to expect her to jump. yet she remained perfectly still, thinking deeply. her goal was not to demonstrate how speed could bide well with power, her only goal was to bring the boy to his knees and she could only do that with the skill she had. which was fine by her. 

“ come on, armsend, i don’t have all day to play hide and seek! ”.

no response.

the next movement came in a series of blinks. the grey in which she had surrounded herself with was not disturbed when she breached through and spawned beside the male, before shifting again, and again, drawing a circle around him, almost as a taunt.

a taunt that most certainly worked, especially when the male groaned, turned to where she was going to shift again, and threw a fist. seren felt like she was going to feel the punch for the rest of her life, yet it never came as she expected.

because she shifted once more, this time, behind the male, fast enough to kick the soles of her school shoes against his back and sending him plummeting forward. 

evangelos was not done, though.

to others, it happened at normal speed. but seren saw everything. she saw the way he turned before he could fall for certain, the way the gauntlet suddenly glowed with a heavy red, and the way the heat traveled in her direction. and if she blocked with iron thorn, she would have no weapon. so her forearms did the work.

the impact shattered against her forearms, first through the impact of the solid iron of the gauntlets, followed by a burning sensation that incited a bellow of anger from a usually silent seren.

as evangelos eventually met the ground with a grunt, seren felt her back scrapping the floor until she came to a stop. and when she did, the burning settled and with the lack of her blazer, the injuries became more obvious. students loomed over their desks and gasped.

her forearms were glowing with a bizarre redness, throbbing with agony that words simply couldn’t explain. the girl smacked a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming, yet once lockhart ran over to loom over her and check on her, he made the mistake of pressing his cold hands against the burning skin, and seren could not help the scream this time around.

“ relax, relax! it’s okay, come on, stand up. ”

despite the encouragement, the girl couldn’t go through with it. it hurt, it hurt like a bitch, it felt like someone had dropped lava over her arms and she was beginning to feel it in her bones, the tears had miraculously stopped before they could breach through the surface. 

she had managed to complete the task but not before getting two giant burn marks of her forearms when trying to defend herself. great.

seren did not find the courage to look up once she was pulled to her feet. she already heard the gasps, the tuts, some laughs, and it was humiliating, to say the least. the redness in her ears could not match that on her arms. 

evangelos had gotten himself up to his feet, face blank as always. the girl wanted to apologize for something so foolish, it was her fault for throwing herself into such an attack that she could have blocked with her weapon, but it was either her arms or iron thorn, and she was not sacrificing her rapier.

“ regardless of the injury, you saw it, folks ”, lockhart continued with the lesson regardless, keeping the two students on the dueling mat as he turned to everyone else. “ you saw the vibration that came from two powerful weapons coming into close contact, you saw how she was able to cut through an explosive and give herself cover, you saw how he slowed her down with those bullets. now, think of attacks like those put together. think of improving your speed to strengthen your power and vice versa. ”

seren didn’t look up when he motioned to her.

lockhart pressed on, “ many people have managed to incorporate both those skills into their weapons and fighting style. you will end up in teams one day and if there’s no one with those skills, you will be able to do wonders. there’s no use separating these repelling forces from each other, especially when you want to be a stronger fighter. ”

as they were allowed to chat amongst themselves, lockhart approached seren, clearly struggling to keep the tears in. he looked upon her red forearms and sighed, “ do you want to go to the nurse’s office? ”.

she quickly shook her head.

“ seren. ”

“ i-i’m fine, sir, really. it’ll pass. i’ll just ask someone to put some ice on it. ”

suck it up, nobody’s going to feel bad for making you cry on the battlefield, her father’s voice rang in her head louder than usual. she was a sensitive soul, she couldn’t mask her feelings as easily as others, most definitely when she was injured. her arms were burning and aching and she would rather someone chopped them off than have to face with it for any longer. yet seren stood, biting her lip, choking back the tears.

lockhart didn’t push. “ alright, return to your seat. thank you for your cooperation, miss armsend ”. with a nod, the girl kept her head down and shuffled back to her seat, walking past evan in an apologetic silence. when she sat down, only one person turned to her to ask if she was okay. she didn’t know how she managed to keep the tears in, but she did. smiling and nodding.

she was fine.

and besides, it seemed like her mission had made some progress.

from her seat, she could see alexander sitting down at the lower row, peering back at her with quizzing eyes. choosing not to stare him down, seren offered the boy a sweet smile and turned back to her books, even if she had no reason to. she was in desperate need of a healer right now, and this would repeat at some point in the future. she would need a healer then as well. 

she needed alexander to be her healer. and injury or no injury, she was going to get him to join.

time skip . . .

“ i swear to fucking god, i’m going to kill evangelos! ”.

seren laughed shyly.

it was lunch time now, and her afternoon class got cancelled once her father heard of her injury. he said that he didn’t want her near anymore fire and so was willing to bring her out of alchemy class. it was embarrassing, she didn’t want it to be a big deal. it was her fault, anyway.

chatter had mostly died out yet some would occasionally look over at where they sat, most would roll their eyes. especially now. kailen sat beside her and was wrapping up bandages around her swollen forearms, listening as romeo rambled on and on through his meal, unhappy with the state of things.

any other party would claim she did it for attention, which she got, especially since she was being patched up by a pretty boy. yet her issue remained on evangelos.

she saw the frown on his face, a building frustration that made her quiver in fear. she would hate it if she got him into trouble, and it was why she came up to lockhart after the lesson and begged him to keep evangelos out of trouble and let her take the blame. because it was her fault.

she did it because of an inner quarrel of possibly breaking her weapon or breaking her arms and she chose the latter. if iron thorn got broken, she might as well just die on the spot.

“ he was going to fall anyway, so he saw it best to give her something else to deal with. a final move ”, kailen spoke for the first time since they arrived at the cafeteria. seren watched him go about his work quietly. “ it was just badly timed. it’s no one’s fault. ”

seren frowned, “ it was my fault. ”

a groan came from romeo.

“ seren, love, hear me out. nobody knew you were doing it to protect your weapon. looking at that sword, i can see it costs a fuck ton of money and time. i would rather throw myself in front of evangelos than have someone nearly break my beauty in half ”, he was speaking about his riffle, of course. “ and who asked him to throw that much of a punch? he was going to kill you! ”.

thinking about it now, seren couldn’t help but laugh.

she ran a hand through her hair and suddenly stopped when a few locks ended short. she recalled the bullet that had cut through her hair and her stomach was filled with dread again.

“ it was a duel, and that’s his fighting style. it just looks intimidating because that’s just how he fights ”, seren was quick to come to evangelos’s defense. he carried himself strongly through the fight, it was admirable albeit terrifying. “ it’s funny, something tells me iron thorn could have survived that. ”

kailen tied the ends of the bandage on her left arm and peeked up at her. “ then why didn’t you use iron thorn? ”.

“ because i wanted alexander’s attention. ”

that would have sounded very creepy if they didn’t know the context.

romeo’s jaw fell for a moment, almost to the point where the water in his mouth spilled. he choked and coughed suddenly. “ h-hold on ”, he gulped. “ you’re telling me you nearly shattered your arms because you wanted that idiot to consider joining? ”.

“ sympathy goes a long way. ”

“ seren, you sociopath. ”

the girl gave him an apologetic smile. call it stupid, something a sociopath or maniac would do, but seren could handle the pain if it meant she would have the results she wanted. sacrificing her comfort at the price of making the world safer was something she was willing to repeat a dozen times. she knew the injury would heal, especially if there was someone capable on the team to do just that, and it was why she was not worried.

she would be worried, however, if they didn’t have a healer. and the one she wanted was alexander, a boy she hadn’t formally met just yet but she knew she would eventually, especially after today.

the consistency of leaving the walls had been obvious within the top ten, and she doubted only one person would break that streak. they were young dreamers, surely he would show some interest. and from what kailen told her, he did hesitate before declining. alexander just needed a small push in the right direction, and she was willing to offer that.

“ all done. ”

snapping out of her thoughts, seren was met with bandaged arms and a fruit juice carton being held towards her by kailen. chuckling, she accepted it and enjoyed the short amount of time they had left till lunch was over. the two boys had to continue on with their lessons, meaning she would be left alone. it was alright, though, she could head off the library.

and when the bell rang, that was where she went.

the valhalla library was immeasurable in size, stacked to the roof with books of all sorts, most were history books detailing accounts of the old earth before the period of ragnarok fell upon them. ranging from world wars to killer epidemics that nearly rid the earth of humans, there was a lot on history but that was not what seren was searching for.

seren was not searching for knowledge nor aid in her exams, nor the comfort of a fictional adventurous or romantic tale. rather, she was searching for someone who had claimed the library as his domain.

the shelves were the same mahogany as her father’s desk, polished every day by the valhalla companions who were capable of floating or climbing or flying. she spotted ted-ee 012 carrying a seat of hovering books behind him, waving at her when they spotted each other.

non-fiction section, desk beside the window without a curtain. those were kailen’s exact words from yesterday and the girl made an attempt at not forgetting them, bringing herself to the said location where she hoped to find the boy who had been hiding from her this whole time.

and what do you know, he was there when she approached.

alexander had been the only boy she had not approached or spoken with, mostly in fear of being turned away. and after the day she had today, she didn’t want to struggle more than she already had. she wanted to leave the library with a smile on her face, and possibly get some rest for tomorrow.

being a healer, alexander and many others were posed with books and ancient scrolls with many enchantments, buffs and spells to learn that would come into effect when they came into combat with their teammates. it required time, energy, and a behemoth amount of patience as they cannot just be learnt overnight.

seren hated to interrupt him, so she didn’t. rather, she turned and reached for a random book within the shelves, and retrieved a book on monsters. dragons, to be more specific.

alexander’s table was empty of people, but it was covered in scrolls and sheets of paper in languages that she could not recognize, possibly ancient or made up ones related mostly to the work regarding clerics. ( another fancy word for healers. ) when she pushed the chair back and sat down as quietly as she could, the sound of her setting her book down still seemed to disturb the boy.

when she looked up as well and met his gaze, she offered him another sweet smile almost identical to the one she had offered that morning, and the boy swiftly returned to his studies. seren looked back, not wishing to disturb him.

the girl had the intention of talking to the boy eventually, but she allowed the comfortable silence in and began to enjoy the book she had randomly selected. the first few pages talked about the origin of dragons, the cultural depictions of them, versus the real life ones that people have begun to encounter.

they spoke about the different colors, the different breeds, the different sorts of treasure that the scaled beasts guarded, and the rarity of a golden dragon. seren had the imagination of a mere child, it was no wonder she began to daydream about her adventure even if it wasn’t happening for certain.

the grassy plains, the abandoned and crumbling pillars, abandoned castles, dense forests with trees of all colors, not to mention the dozen creatures they could encounters. faes, nymphs, maybe the very dragons that were so rare to find. maybe a unicorn, maybe a pegasus, maybe an alicorn. 

seren read so many fantasy books growing up that she wasn’t certain any of those creatures did exist or if it was just a rumor spread around by bored military soldiers. but she remained hopeful.

fifteen minutes into reading, alexander suddenly cleared his throat.

“ does it hurt? ”.

seren took a moment to recall the burns. she closed her book for a moment, surprised to have finally gotten the male to talk. she lifted her two forearms with a curious tilt to the head, only to confirm that he was talking about them. when he nodded, she chuckled. “ no, not really. well, it did in the beginning. but now it’s kinda numb now that it’s swollen ”, shouldering the pain as she always does. in reality, she could still feel it aching perhaps ten times more than before.

alexander hummed, peering down at his papers. he seemed uncertain to talk, so she looked down, not wanting to take up any of his time. if he was forcing himself to talk to her, then she wouldn’t be happy with herself.

“ i’ve . . . uh, been working on this new healing spell. ”

seren immediately started shaking her head. “ please. i think i deserve this injury this time around. but hey, if we’re ever in a battlefield together, you can definitely help me then ”. was that too direct?

based on his confused reaction, it was. alexander looked puzzled, “ t-that’s weird, kailen and romeo both came up to me the other talking about the same thing. they want me to join a team or something. ”

“ yeah, they do. i am the one who asked them, after all. ”

the small oh from alexander caused a laugh out of the girl, the first proper laugh that day. his entire reaction was comical, from the widening of his eyes to the minor blush around his cheeks.

“ though ”, she continued. “ i will not be upset if you say no. well, i will, because i wouldn’t have the most qualified healer on the team. i would have to look for someone else, and lord knows how long that will take. and maybe by then, it would have been too late.”

with a minor pause to wince at the injury when she moved her arms, seren pressed on. “ i know the time and effort that goes into learning all of these spells and the pain of being seriously underestimated afterwards must suck. healers are essential ”, she voiced.

alexander mumbled softly, “ it takes me two nights to learn five spells. ”

“ see? it’s a lot of hard work ”, seren smiled softly and leaned back against her chair. “ we could use a healer like you, alexander. you’re powerful as hell, you’re second on the ranks, do you know how powerful that is? ”. the boy suddenly appeared shy. “ a prodigy like you belongs in a team of other prodigies. ”

“ i’m far from a prodigy. ”

“ oh, please! you’re amazing, alexander. my father talks about you all the time. but believe me, all this hard work is going to be for nothing unless if we don’t get up and do something ”.

their conversation came to a stand still when the librarian, a small and petite woman with a seriously receding hairline came over and shushed them whilst putting some books away. seren smiled apologetically and turned back to alexander.

she sighed, “ i’d love to have you on the team, alex. what good is a fighter without a healer to watch his back? ”.

the boy was conflicted, and she could very much understand why.

leaving the city would mean abandoning all previous beliefs of how the world worked and preparing yourself for what might be a major shock in your life as you see the planet for what it truly is, not for what others say it is. you’d face challenges that will deal with the mind, the soul, something that goes beyond bodily injuries.

and yet, she was able to shrug all of those worries off when she put her goal in mind. she wanted this because it would mean she could have a life when she made her return. a life of her own, not something relied on the decisions made by her superiors. it would mean freedom, freedom of choice. seren was willing to go through hell for that.

but some people weren’t, some people were scared but there was no use casting them back to their origins and letting them be scared for the rest of their lives. overcoming challenges such as these was the only way a human being can get out of the life they lied. and she wanted to encourage the boy.

“ i’d . . . i’d just feel scared of being out there. ”

“ as would i. as would anyone, these walls are the only things we’ve ever known. have you ever just thought about what lies on the other side? ”. the boy didn’t answer that. “ it could be paradise or hell. whichever it is, it won’t last for long with a wicked witch on the loose. and it’s going to take six idiots wearing their school uniform and carrying flamboyant weapons, so be it. ”

that was the first time she had seen alexander smile, and she had to admit, it was a pretty sight. she had manage to carve an opening through the timidity and glimpsed upon a boy who was just like her, but was scared. she wouldn’t mind helping him, though. they weren’t going alone, after all.

“ you’re very good at talking, seren ”, he said.

the girl shrugged, “ that’s odd, i’d say it’s what i’m worst at. i’m not even that great at holding a weapon properly. i’m not that good, believe me. i’m just really stubborn and really stupid. and really want to change the world. ”

he was the missing piece to all of this. she had gone through nights without sleep spent planning entire missions and methods of escape, hours negotiating until her voice was gone, and now her arms were burnt and swollen and she wasn’t going to give up now when alexander was right in front of her. if he said yes, then she would allow herself a sigh of relief.

if he said yes, then the journey would only begin. it wasn’t the end at all, nor even the very beginning, it was all preparation for something bigger, grander, far more important than anything she’s ever have to face in her life. she wanted to leave, she wanted to venture out, she wanted to carry herself with her own purpose rather than one that someone else had handed her.

seren wasn’t going to rest until this mission was complete. it was her purpose, she’d found her purpose and to give up on it now would be the biggest misfortune she could inflict on herself.

“ fine. ”

shooting up from her seat, seren grasped the boy’s hands and held them tightly. her eyes were glossy with tears already, “ really? ”.

“ y-yes, really. it won’t be easy. but i won’t be alone. and if it’s for a good cause -- ”.

“ -- then it’s all that matters. ”

her smile had never been brighter, eyes turned into crescents and cheeks looking rosier by the second. if happiness was embodied into one person, it was framed in seren’s figure at that moment.

alexander gave a smile of his own, though it verged more on the appearance of a smirk. “ so ”, he began. “ when do we leave? ”.