Chapter 34: Echoes Of A Bond
Quite a bit of time had passed since Testmaster Varrick had made his announcement, Aerith had fallen into a deep sleep, his mind sinking under a weight that felt heavier than his wounds. Despite his body still recovering, he had found it hard to stay conscious for long. The more he thought the heavier he felt, he could tell that it had something to do with his earlier possession. It was like an anvil was weighing him down the more he thought.
So when the sleep came, Aerith let it claim him. As much as he wanted to get up and explore his environment he knew the sleep would do him some good. Unfortunately his sleep did not last long as he woke up to find himself being choked, there was something heavy pressing down hard on his chest.
His first though was that he was being killed in his sleep and the only person that came to mind being the white prince. But unlike before Aerith was not so content to go down easily this time, his eyes sprang open with fury and a lot of drowsiness. But mostly drowsiness.
His body refused to work at first causing his fist to stay motionless by his side. When he saw who was before him his eyes softened and he breathed a sigh of relief, which was hard considering the amount of pressure still on his body.
Lying on him was a little girl, her skin was pale as frost, nearly blending with the thin white garment she wore. Her hair was just has he had remembered, a huge mess of purple. She looked thin but she felt heavy to a ridiculous extent, he watched her small hand scratch her nose as she let out a moan. Then a yawn followed. Her eyes were closed.
"Did she... fall asleep on me?" Aerith asked himself. Watching her sleep so soundly after everything they had gone through put him at ease, he even smiled a bit. "I promised to keep you safe but look at how we ended up, you saved me so many times it’s pitiable."
He managed to pour some attention into his hand which he raised weakly, it felt like pulling a heavy log of wood. He winced slightly, and smiled in relief when his fingers touched the long strands of purple hair on her head. He stroke her hair gently and pondered even deeper.
"How can something so beautiful be cursed to such a life?" He exhaled sharply, and almost felt her cave in on his chest. "I guess bloody hands never cook the best pies, this time I will be the one to protect you."
Just as he was reassuring himself of his vow he recalled what the tuna lady had told when they passed her trial. Her words rang echoed in his mind, "Why was she so interested in you, puffy cheeks?"
A short while after Emilia dug at her eyes and yawned softly, her body fidgeted slightly and slowly her eyes came to life to reveal huge purple glassy eyes staring right back at him. She locked eyes with him and they said nothing, only basking in the presence of the other party just like when they had done back in the lord’s mansion.
Aerith could feel her heart breathing against his, it was soft and rythmic and almost synchronising with his. "You’re awake." Right after he had spoken, he gave himself a mental kick in the gut for asking such a stupid question.
She fliched for a second and he thought she was going to cry but instead she puffed her cheeks in a funny way and mumbled. "My cheeks are sore, I thought we had a deal."
He spoke in his defense. "Sorry, I just missed you Em."
He watched her felt her body reverberate and her eyes look away from him, the air grew cold between them in an instant and it made him very uncomfortable. He wondered if she was angry with him for what he had done, so he apologised. "I’m sorry for what I did Em, if I could have stopped myself back there I would have." Since sincerity had never been one of his strongest traits he tried to sound as honest as he could.
She trembled again, this time she buried her face in his chest and stayed silent for a few seconds before finally raising her head to meet his. Her eyes were shaky in their sockets and full of pain.
"It’s not that, I know you could do nothing about it." She swallowed hard before continuing. "Just please don’t call me that ever again."
He could hear her voice breaking and could see her crack right before his very eyes. In many ways he could relate to why she reacted in such a way, she had just had her brother figure try to kill her. That was an image that could not be easily forgotten and even more so since the white plague had used the name he had given her.
Aerith could tell that Emilia was still traumatised by everything that had happened. He knew she was a strong girl both mentally and physically but there was a limit to how she could endure before she collapsed.
He wanted to hold her, yet a part of him wondered if he had the right. After what his hands had done, what comfort could they offer?
He let his hand rest on her head and spoke softly. "How about Emil then?" He tried to sound warm.
He watched as her expression changed from sour to pleasant in one moment. She smiled and pat him gently on the forehead, "I missed you too."
She proceeded to explain how she had gone to find him right after dismissing herself from her bed. She had found Nasha awake and fine too but without half her legs. Her next course of action was of course to find him.
She had explained how they seemed to be in a strange building so massive it had an infirmary and other rooms in it. Apparently it had only been a day since the first trial ended and many people were still recovering in the infirmary before the next one would arrive. Some others had spent the whole time training or exploring the huge building.
Are you going to take part in the classes." She asked with a bit of concern as she climbed off him and sat right next to him. He replied with a light nod, she responded with a smile, "I expected that at least."
He smiled and said. "We are going to beat the tower and escape, one step at a time."
Emilia frowned and gave him a stern look, "First let go of my cheek."
He chuckled nervously as he pulled his hand away. "Sorry, your cuteness if addicting puffy cheeks."
With their first class barely hours away, no one knew what they would face or how they would survive it. Or the horrors that awaited them there.