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Chapter 5
"Zidane..?"
Garnet realized that this was not the usual Zidane, and inquired carefully. While trapping her in his arms, Zidane asked her one more time.
"What did you talk about?"
Garnet was now afraid of the peculiar Zidane.
"N-Nothing really...."
It was true. They did not talk about anything significant.
"He, looks exactly like the friend I used to have in Madain Sari. So...."
Saying that, a realization hit her.
So------What was she going to do?
Talk about her past with a person who was a stranger?
Pressing their shadows together, what was she intending to do?
"I heard that the remaining villagers in Madain Sari are only you and Eiko. Isn't he another person?"
"H....."
Yes, a stranger. Not Alexend, not possible.
Nonetheless, because they looked too much alike, she hallucinated. She was hoping that he had survived.
No...I don't know yet....
Perhaps he DID manage to get through that storm. Perhaps something happened, and he ended up being Kushuhal's adopted son.
Garnet wanted to know. Whether or not Yuju and Kushuhal were related.
"Garnet. Don't get close to him. He is Kushuhal's son, he is aiming for your crown."
In reaction of the words, Garnet shook her head tacitly.
Zidane grimaced. But Garnet, whose face was against his chest, did not notice.
"I'm going to ask him."
"Garnet!"
"I'll see him for one more time."
She said with determination.
She wanted to know who he was.
Then, Garnet felt the arms around her stiffened.
"......! Whatever...!"
Feeling that that word was spit out through his grinding teeth, the warmth disappeared.
Pulling away from Garnet, Zidane turned his back on her, heading for the window.
"Zidane!"
Although she called, the figure already vanished from her sight.
"........"
...Was he angry...?
It was different, she merely wanted to know, she did not mean to make him angry.
".....Zidane....."
Garnet froze temporarily, staring at the window where Zidane had left.
Though, soon as if made up her mind, she pulled on her coat, and gently walked out of her room.
* * *
There were two guards outside of the room, restlessly guarding their favorite Queen.
Nevertheless, it seemed like Beatrix was in her room sleeping, she was not there.
Garnet tweaked the door open for only a small crack, and the guards yawned.
"Oh.....? Some-how.....I am....sl...sleepy..."
"Me too....but.....no! I...can't...fall..."
One of the guards-who was going to fall struggled to support himself but fell onto the ground. As for the other one, he already fell asleep while still standing, leaning against the wall.
Garnet shut the door quickly and rushed out.
The soft carpeted floor hid her footsteps perfectly. Soundlessly, she went downstairs.
After going downstairs, there should be a gate if she goes through the hallway. At the other side of the gate, she would be outside.
Gripping those two handles on the either side of the gate, Garnet applied some force onto the steady gate, and obediently, it opened.
The wind during late spring was chilly, Garnet pulled her coat closer to her body.
Separated from the dark hallway, she strolled on the beautiful garden.
Garnet was trying hard to be cautious and not to psych the guards.
Then, pacing several times more, she was basically on the outside edge of the garden. Although it was not as wide as the one she had in Alexandria, it was certainly in good hands.
There were roses everywhere, and the entire garden was designed like a simple maze. Overall, it was very intriguing.
A pavilion was standing right in the middle of the garden, so Garnet went there.
When you scrutinize it carefully, the roof and the pillars were carved exquisitely. Sitting on the wooden bench inside it, Garnet looked blankly into mid-air.
Somehow she had a feeling.
If she goes outside, she would see someone.
She did not know who.
Maybe it was just a sense that did not have any logic base.
"-----....Sitting here in the dark without any servants, did something happen...?"
Well, seemed like she was correct.
Faint footsteps were approaching her.
The figure that appeared under the moonlight, was Yuju.
Garnet's pupils fixed on him. He was in his tux also.
"May I sit beside you?"
Receiving her permission, Yuju settled by her side.
".....I assume you cannot sleep?"
"Yes."
Garnet replied, considering how to mention the topic.
Hypothetically, even if she asked directly like:"Are you Alexend?", it was unlikely for him to answer:"Yes, I am.". However, she could not find another way to........
"Let me tell you an interesting story."
"Yes?"
Not able to grasp Yuju's sudden words, Garnet transferred her descended eyes to him instinctly.
Yuju's irises were facing towards somewhere far far away.
"It was a story about a useless boy....who was incapable to protect a girl who was important to him."
Yuju sent a beam towards the confused Garnet, and began to speak the tale.
".....The boy was living happily in a village that had no war, a village full of peace."
To that little boy, there was a girl, who he saw as treasure. The girl was always sticking with him, together they played from day to night.
"...The little girl used to be cheerful, but because other guys picked on her a lot, she gradually became scared to go out alone. If the boy was with her, she would go outside... That girl was so lovely, and the boy cherished her as [a thing that he should protect]. The girl would be vulnerable without him. ....No matter what happens, he will be by her side.....the boy, although young, promised to himself."
Nonetheless, the day of destiny came without a warning.
"A strong storm attacked the village, almost half of the people were killed."
The boy, within the severe wind and the fiery flames, searched for the girl desperately. He went to her house and the place that belonged to them, searching for her with dying will. ....But the girl was nowhere to be found. And the boy, while seeking for her, became the victim of the collapsing woods.
".....And then, after he finally woke up by the adults' care, he heard that the girl escaped inside a boat with her mother."
The boy painfully realized how powerless he was.
Not able to save the girl in the storm, letting her go into the dangerous ocean.
He finally knew how tiny he was in this enormous planet.
In addition, though he thought that the girl could not be left alone, he was both stunned and angry when he knew that, it was actually HIM who needed a friend.
"The boy cursed himself. He wanted power. Then..a few months after the storm, the boy went on a quest for the girl."
He floated on the ocean. The food and drinks ran out a while later. The boy almost passed out for who knows how many times. Going through the days like that, he finally reached a harbor.
"The boy was picked up by two people, and became their adopted child. For the cost, a part of his body was taken away."
"A part of his body....?"
Garnet inquired absent mindedly.
Yuju smiled bitterly, and stood up. He bleakly stretched out his hand towards her. Then, he asked heartachingly.
"It hurt, didn't it..?"
Yuju's fingers touched Garnet's forehead softly.
It was where her horn was, before her parents chopped it off.
Garnet gazed at him tranquilly with eyes slightly widened.
".......The boy soon accepted the agony. He believed that this too, was a punishment for not able to protect the girl."
Yuju closed his eyelids when saying that.
Was she hallucinating that he looked like that he was crying..?
Revealing his irises to her once more, he said solitarily.
"It was a tale....of a fragile boy."
Garnet parted her lips without thinking, about to call [his] name.
But, it was blocked under his fingers.
My apologies for the long story, he murmured.
"Good night...----Have a good dream."
Grinning, Yuju drew back his hand.
He took off his jacket, put it on Garnet's shoulder, and walked away.
Instinctly Garnet darted up.
"Alexend...!"
Calling [his] name.
He paused for a second, smiled at her with sorrow through his shoulder, began to walk again.
Garnet stood there inside the bushes.
Pulling down her eyebrows, she watched him leave.
Her heart, was prickling..
Tranquilly, she felt that a blow of wind was invading into her heart----------------
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