I Will Atone

❝  I thought that in fairytales, everything is happy. I suppose the flowers in Alice in Wonderland wasn’t. I wonder if Alice is a bad person …  ❞ Estola settles her contemplative gaze ‘pon the flower, as though it might have succour will to speak its own mind. Perhaps it’s because it couldn’t speak that it’s be vulnerable to torment … to choices that it least would choose for ITSELF.  Her stare lifts from the dainty plant, and towards Richard.  ❝  You dress very much like a prince in those books.  ❞

     If only it were true that fairy tales were as happy as many censored them out to be. The original renditions often entailed much bloodier fates to the endings. The unfortunate distinction between children and adults often entailed how willing one was to accept death as an option.

     A chuckle passes by Richards lips, his gaze soft upon the child before him. He allows for a gesture, then; one might expect of a royal asking a young lady for a dance. His hand is extended before him, his head brought down in to a slight bow.

@moonlightxcircle

❝  In the book, Alice painted the roses red ..  ❞ Estola glances at the red marker perched within her lithe hands, then back to the flower nestling within another.  

 ❝  But this one is pretty too and it’d be a bad to force it to change …  ❞

     “Now, now...” Richard said in a soothing tone to the ‘child’ before him. None would expect such a small form by comparison to his own to be several times his age; yet her form in it’s immaturity prompts a gentleness from him. Protect that which is fragile; that which seems so impressionable and easily wounded by the cruelties of the world. There’s no fairness in war or hardship. No child need face those horrors.

     However, not all was quite free of strife as all would hope. Even in the day and age in which the three countries had finally found an unlikely peace and kinship amongst each other, monsters would still crop up from hidden nests and venture into human lands. There, they would relentlessly attack and as such, would have to be taken down with force.

      This was one of those cases in Windor; only Richard was met with a different sight than might be anticipated. He certainly had no doubt in the strength of women by a long shot; for they were invaluable companions in and outside of the battlefield and upheld such an incredible grace. But, to see a lone woman standing before the body of a massive fallen monster was something he wouldn’t even consider most men capable of. 

      As such, his drawn Rapier is re-sheathed; this battle was no longer his to fight. His hand does, however, linger upon the hilt of it habitually. 

     “It seems I’m a bit late to the fight.” He called out deliberately to catch the woman’s attention. “A lance user... Might I be able to get your name, miss? I’d have to say; I owe you for preventing further damages from occurring.”

“But that does not make any sense. It goes against the laws of nature. Those acts are only for reproduction, and I am educated enough to know such is not possible between two men, for only the woman can get pregnant.”

“Why yes. It’s only possible for a woman to bear a child, this much is undeniably true. Yet also undeniably, there are those whom only seek the companionship of another - and who are we to judge it unfit behavior?”

Such pure companionship betwixt two individuals. Never should such be scorned.

“…? What are you talking about?”

“Oh Oscar... It might strike you as peculiar, but that odd individual speaks nothing but the truth.” Granted, poorly worded. But-! 

“Ah.. you must be right. Surely we haven’t met..” How silly of him to assume this very obviously not-Richard-man would be anyone he knew?

“If you are offering assistence… Well, one can never go wrong with Apple gels. Do you happen to have any on you currently?”

     “I do NOT! However, Apple Gels are a local specialty! You can even make your own from the apple trees nearby! Now then... I bid thee... GOOD DAY!” 

“My apologies sir ..Mask of Barona. You seem oddly familiar.. Have we met before, perhaps?”

     “Why! I’ve never so much as seen you as before! We’ve surely never met!” Cue - A dramatic flip of his cape! For he is... THE MASK OF BARONA! And certainly not the man known as Richard! How absurd a thought as that was. 

“Who is this…Masked..Baronan..? A curious name…”

     “Ahem... It is... THE MASK OF BARONA!”

Oscar fights back a sigh as he hears the news he already feared. Without any memory of how he ended up in this place, there was, obviously, no way to get him back home until they knew just what had happened. He can only trust that the other highly ranked Exorcists could handle things until he returned…

“I understand… I wish for both our sakes that I could be of more use to the situation. I do not wish to burden a king in such a way…” he would reject the offer to be paid for in any other circumstance, but there was no way of knowing if the currency here was the same, so he simply accepts it– somewhat.

“Though it wouldn’t bode well with me to simply take a room free of charge. If there is anything I can do while I remain here, I will do so in exchange for my stay.”

     At the entrance into the capital, several guards were stationed just outside the pathway inside. At the sight of King Richard’s arrival, they offered a salute and drew their weapons aside. Richard nods to the guards and raises a hand up, gesturing for Oscar to follow him inside the bustling city.

     As usual for Barona, the city was well alive with people going about their daily works. It was only made possible on a day to day basis so long as the people were kept safe and well. 

     “You needn’t worry about the expenses. ...However. If you truly desire repaying me, then I could put you to work temporarily.” And truthfully such would be a better thing for Barona itself. Richard’s generosity was coming out of his own store of money, as the whole of Windor was hardly in a good economic state after prior times. Recovering, yes. But still not in the best of shape. Oscar’s help would prove immense even if he wasn’t around for long.

      “As you’ve claimed to be a high-ranking captain, I’d take it you have fair fighting skills. You can take your pick between fighting alongside my men, assisting at the port, or assisting in the repair of damaged buildings.”

     At this point, he turned to fully face Oscar once more, one hand lightly resting upon the hilt of his rapier merely out of habit.

                                         I owe you all.

                                                                                 You saved me...

His attention is drawn back to the curious man as he speaks, green gaze sliding easily to the side to lock with the other’s.

“Yes.. it would appear I’ve gone far off course… But I digress. The duty of an exorcist is to hunt and exterminate these beasts we call daemons. It is also upon us to protect the people from them, while using what we call Maliks to aid us in battle. Much like you seem to do with your soldiers..” he takes a quick glance back to see them working to clear the area, among other things, before facing forward again.

“I am among one of the highest ranking… Though that may mean little to you. I was in the middle of hunting down a certain individual who is extremely dangerous before I ended up here.. That is why I must return as soon as possible.”

     “A prestigious position indeed. You have my gratitude for your services, whether they be in a foreign land or not.” Much akin to a captain of the military forces, in some ways. That put him at a high social standing and made him an incredibly important figure in the world. Nonetheless, the newly acquired information doesn’t faze him and he goes on in the same manner of prior.

     The capital was easily within sight and would surely only be a ten minute walk from their present location. Give or take. Richard’s attention refocused forward towards their goal, a curious hum emanating from his throat hence. 

     “Daemons... They sound similar to the monsters that have been attacking our cities. Though... They don’t share that name.” He mused, primarily to himself. An odd resemblance, certainly.

     In any case, even if they were to hire a ship to take Oscar back to whatever homeland he’d arrived from, it would hardly do any good if they had no set destination in mind. It would do no good to send innocent men on a voyage they mightn’t even return from. 

Oscar takes the gesture and follows behind, careful not too tread too close for a number of reasons, though the biggest being the fact that this was royalty, oddly, and not the fact that this man could potentially be a threat. Perhaps the moment had already passed.. If this Richard were to try anything he would have done it by now, correct? So Oscar’s shoulders relax ever-so-slightly.

“Yes.. I ..suppose you would be. I have nothing to hide, so you are free to ask any questions you like. You are perhaps curious of my title of exorcist? I assume you do not have the term here..” An assumption indeed, made simply by the lack of responce when he had announced himself.

The land here was different than home, that was for sure. Even the smells were of things he had never smelled before. He doesn’t even realize the fact that he is looking around in curiousity rather than to assess his surroundings for danger.

     “You’re correct in your assumption, Oscar.” He let out a soft chuckle, glancing back over his shoulder to his temporary travel companion. It was almost as though the other had never seen such beautiful natural landscapes, by the way he glanced about with such a curious look in his eyes. 

     A sad thought it was that struck him then, as all of said landscape before them now had very narrowly been lost. By his own hand no less. He was grateful even now to have been stopped before it was too late. 

     “If you don’t mind my asking - What exactly does your title entail? Since I’ve heard nothing of it in the countries I’ve visited, it seems to me that you must be from a very distant location indeed.”

     “It certainly seems like a difficult thing to explain. This is my first time hearing of any such being as a ‘Seraph’.”

     But there they were, unusually clad humanoid figures whom watched him intently. It’d been quite a shock to him that his men had only seen Sorey himself, but behind the male trailed two of these beings known as ‘Seraphim’, unbeknownst to all but Richard himself. It seemed he was the only one capable of seeing them, for one reason or another.

     “By your description, most humans aren’t able to see the Seraphim. I wonder... Just what it is that would enable me to?” He mused over this quietly, his gaze scanning over the features present before him with a bit of curiosity. Though, that was hardly the main point of concern.