PinoyWrimos

Iantha sighed, sitting down on the stony ground. She looked up at the sky above her. From up here, she could see so many stars. The moon was almost full now, and from the light of the moon, she could see the view that surrounded them. Just off the nearby cliff, she could see Sarenin and the forest that surrounded it, places that reminded her of where she had fought before. She had won both her fights against Amalea and Daedalus, but she didn’t know if she could win anymore. Kathel…she had ended up fighting Kathel after all. There was something about the Tuathal warrior that had frightened her ever since his victory over Kalysta. She shivered slightly, hugging herself to keep warm. She wasn’t sure whether it was the cold mountain air that made her shiver, or the thought of fighting Kathel the next day.

“Here,” said a voice from behind her, and she felt a cloak being dropped onto her shoulders. She looked up, seeing Matthias standing there.

“Thanks, Matt,” she said, smiling at her cousin.

“Can I sit here?” asked Matthias, gesturing at the place beside her. She nodded, and Matthias sat down. They sat there for a moment, both of them reliving childhood days and less complicated times before Matthias spoke again.

“So how are things going between…well, you and Li?” he asked.

“All right,” replied Iantha, blushing slightly at the memory, “Li’s really nice, Matt. You don’t have to worry.”

“I know,” said Matthias, “You’re in good hands. It’s not like you to be out here all alone, though. What’s the matter?”

“I’m just thinking…about the match tomorrow,” said Iantha.

“If you’re scared of facing Kathel, I don’t blame you,” said Matthias, “I would be afraid too if he was my opponent. There’s something about him that unnerves me. He has the same arrogance as Kaleb, but there’s something else. To put it simply, if I had to choose between a fight with him and ten rematches with Kaleb, I’d pick Kaleb.”

“You’re not really helping,” said Iantha, hugging her knees.

“Sorry,” said Matthias, placing a hand on her shoulder, “You have to believe in yourself though, Iantha. You’ve made it this far. You’ve made it farther than anyone ever thought you would. Iantha, you’ve made it to the semi-finals. That’s fantastic. You’ve made it farther than twelve other people in the tournament.”

“I don’t think I can win anymore,” said Iantha, looking down, “I wanted to win the tournament for you, Matt, but I don’t…”

“It’s all right,” said Matthias, “It’s all right if you don’t win tomorrow. So long as you tried your best, that’s enough for me and for Astraia. The Tychon clan wrote me by the way. Father wanted me to tell you that both he and Auntie are very proud of your achievements. Even without inheriting the Crimson Wings, you’ve made it this far, Iantha. Astraia is already proud of you.”

“I don’t want to let everyone down,” muttered Iantha.

“But you won’t be,” said Matthias, “We’re proud of you already for reaching this far. Even if you lost, we’d still be proud of you, Iantha. The spirits of the Tychon Clan and of Astraia are with you now. Whatever happens, our spirits will always be with you. So tomorrow, fight and give it your best. Win or lose, we will still be with you.”

Iantha sighed, looking at the ground. After a while, she looked up at Matthias, a smile on her face as she turned to him.

“Thank you,” said Iantha, “I feel better now, Matt.”

“Glad I could help,” said Matthias, patting her shoulder before getting to his feet. “Do you want to come inside or will you be out here for a while.”

“I’ll stay out here a little while longer,” said Iantha, “The stars are beautiful tonight.”

“Suit yourself,” said Matthias, “Just return the cloak to my room when you come back inside.”

“I will,” said Iantha, “See you later.”

Matthias nodded, turning around and heading into the building. Iantha sighed, turning her eyes skyward once again. Tomorrow would come with whatever happened, and she would be ready for it. She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of the wind on her face. Tomorrow would come…whatever happened, tomorrow would come.

Seiji sighed, eating the food in front of him. The food was already cold, but Mikara would not let him leave the infirmary until he was sure that all of his wounds had been attended to. A particular wound that had opened up on his head was beginning to itch under his bandage, and he resisted the urge to raise his hand up and scratch it. He continued to eat, wishing he could have left the infirmary earlier so that he could have dined with the others. It just seemed so boring eating alone, especially since there was no Li or Iantha to tease.

“I thought you were in the infirmary,” said a voice from the door. Seiji looked up, seeing that it was Masami. By the looks of things, she was already dressed for bed. He grinned.

“I got out early,” said Seiji, “I would have left earlier, but Mikara kept fussing with this cut on my head.”

“Did you tell her that you’re head’s so hard you probably didn’t even feel it?” asked Masami with a smile, sitting down beside him at the table.

“I tried, but she wouldn’t listen,” said Seiji, “She seemed hell-bent on bandaging it as soon as possible, and Mikara’s scary when she’s angry.”

“You have no idea,” said Masami, laughing.

“So what brings you here?” asked Seiji, “Missed me?”

“In your dreams,” said Masami, “I came out for a walk and I heard someone in the dining hall, so I decided to see who it was. Obviously, I wasn’t even expecting that it would be you.”

“So you say,” said Seiji.

“Congratulations on the win, by the way,” said Masami, “You’re in the finals. Just one more match and you win the tournament.”

“Yeah,” said Seiji, “The tournament and everything that comes with it.”

“Harumi would become a city, the Knights would build an outpost there, and it would become capital of the region formed around it,” said Masami, “You would become nobility and lead the region, governing Harumi itself as well as Braiden, Astraia, Guozhi, Felisha, Cyprien, Nakine, and Tuathal. You would also get to name the region and would automatically become a member of the King’s Court-the body that governs Sylvaea, meaning you would play a hand in decisions involving the entire country.”

“And that’s if I win my next match,” said Seiji with a sigh, “When we entered this tournament, we all knew what winning meant. But now that I’m so close to it, I realize that it’s a lot more real than we thought it was before. I don’t know…it just seems too much. Even if I do win my next match, I don’t think I’ll be able to take all that responsibility.”

“Hey, you’ll do fine,” said Masami, smiling, “I mean, you’re fair, and you play by the rules most of the time, and when you don’t it’s because the rules stink. You’ll be able to lead no problem if you win the next match.”

“If I did win,” said Seiji, “Would you still be there?”

“Be there?” asked Masami, “Of course, silly. Harumi’s my home and if you did win, it would be where the Knights would build their new headquarters. I’d be teaching there, remember?”

“I mean with me,” said Seiji, “Would you still be there with me?”

“Oh,” said Masami, “Well, of course I would. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Is that all we are?” asked Seiji, looking up at her seriously. Masami flushed a bright pink, looking away at his gaze. Seiji reached up a hand, gently turning her face so that she was facing him.

“Don’t look away from me, Masami,” said Seiji.

“I…” began Masami, “Of course I would remain at your side, Seiji…for as long as you would have me.”

“You didn’t answer my second question,” said Seiji, almost whispering now. Masami felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Since when had he been so close to her. She could practically feel his breath fanning out across her lips now.

“We’re…well, I guess you could say we’re not just friends anymore,” said Masami.

“Then what are we?” asked Seiji, “I love you, Masami, but I don’t know how you feel. You’ve never given me a straight answer.”

“I…” began Masami.

She sighed. Could she afford to do this? Up until now she had refrained from giving Seiji an answer, not sure how things would turn out if she told him the truth. She was sure about her feelings, but she was not entirely sure she was prepared for the consequences of revealing them. Right here with Seiji though, she felt like she was ready.

“I love you too, Seiji,” said Masami, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips to his. After a while, she pulled away, leaning on Seiji’s shoulder. Seiji winced slightly, and she adjusted her head.

“Sorry,” said Masami, “I didn’t know you were injured.”

“It’s all right,” said Seiji, his arm wrapping around her shoulders.

“Have you thought about it yet?” asked Masami.

“About what?” asked Seiji.

“What you would name our region, if you won,” replied Masami, “It needs a good name, since it would be eight villages and not just one anymore.”

Seiji was silent for a while, staring off into the distance before speaking. Finally, he sighed.

“Nozomi,” he replied.

“Hope?” asked Masami, “Yeah, that sounds pretty good.”

“Glad you like it,” said Seiji.

They remained like that for a while, enjoying each other’s company, before both of them bade each other good night and returned to their respective rooms to sleep. Tomorrow, the semi-finals would end, and tomorrow Seiji would know who his opponent for the final round would be.