Arablest/ Prototype

“There is no safe place here to discuss privately without magic.” Kal said before we even got anywhere. “Unless you were willing to trust General Ira, I guess I we can go to the safest place I know here.”
“How do you know so much about this city, anyways?” I asked. “It’s like you know everything about it.”
“I… I worked here before, a while ago. I’ll tell you about it later, if I have time.”
That reminded me: Joseph was going to tell me a story about Durand, but she hadn’t done so, yet, if she was going to. Perhaps she forgot, or expected me to come back. I wondered if Kal would tell me before I left.
“Who is this General Ira?” Iris asked.
“She’s a General of Thrycia.” I replied. “I’m sure she could be trusted, but I don’t know if you would.”
“… Very well.”

Kal led the way, so we just followed him through the streets. For once I got to get a better look at Iris; before, she was always sparring with someone or I was too busy with the situation at hand. She was quite shorter than I was; was she really only 17? She looked more like a child than a teenager to me. Perhaps that was why at the arena place her opponent thought her to be a child… unless she lied and really was that young?

But if she were younger than she said, why would she lie about her age? Back at Thrycia she had said she was 17, I believe. Even her face was slightly childish, if it weren’t for the fact that it was so serious all the time.

“Why are you staring at me?” Iris asked.
“I was? I’m sorry, I’ll try not to do that.” I replied. And I thought I was being discreet.

We soon reached where General Ira was, which was at some sort of inn. I didn’t catch the name, being so absorbed in my thoughts. By then it was already dark outside. It had been quite a long day, from apologizing to watching Gwen practice to watching arena battles. And now, Iris has something to say.

We went to a small room with a single bed, a table and a chair. General Ira was studying some sheets of paper as well as occasionally furiously scribbling things down. When the door closed, however, she spoke without looking up.

“Welcome, Jeremy, Kal…” Then she looked up. “And that girl I saw earlier at Gravius. Iris, or something like that. What brings you three here?”
“Um… we were interrupting something?” I asked.
“Oh, no, I can continue my research later. Go ahead, what is it that you wanted?”
“Well, I have something I wanted to tell Jeremy.” Iris said, “But I prefer privacy because I don’t want others to know.”
“So you came to me so that I could set up magical barriers to prevent others from eavesdropping? Very well. You two can go into the corner over there and talk; I’ll set up a barrier so that not even I can hear. Throw me this pebble when you are done; otherwise I won’t know when you’re done because I won’t be able to hear or see you.” She said, handing over a small rock.
“Have fun, you two.” Kal said with a smirk.
“Hey, it’s not like that!” Iris said. I said nothing.
“Well, it is a boy and a girl who want privacy. What else could it be?”
“Kal! That’s enough!” reprimanded General Ira. “Are you sure this is ok, Iris? You’ll be alone with him.”
“If anything happens, he should remember that I am the better swordswoman. He should be the one afraid if he tried anything.”
“Hey! I would never try anything!” I declared.
“Very well. I’ll begin now.”

She muttered under her breath, and then suddenly there was silence. There was an invisible barrier, somewhere, and neither could hear the other.

“General Ira! Kal!” I spoke loudly, waving my hands wildly. Neither reacted.
“What was that for?” Iris asked.
“To make sure that can’t hear or see us. But, let me ask you something first. Why do you want so much privacy, so much that even Kal won’t know? Why do you trust me so much? We barely even know each other, at most.”

If she did anything I didn’t like, all I had to do was throw the pebble at General Ira, right? It should have been fine.

“Because… Everyone at Gravius did. I don’t know how to explain it… but… I feel I can trust you, too. Even if your combat ability is really bad…you…”

As if I didn’t know I sucked at fighting. I couldn’t even react very quickly to anything.

And then she burst into tears. I didn’t know what to do, at all.

“It was terrible, Jeremy! Everybody I had known is dead, and I couldn’t do anything…!”
“What? What happened?”
“W-When I was younger… I-I watched… everyone… m-my family, friends, neighbors; all slaughtered… w-when it was over I… I was the only one left.” She said, among her tears and sniffles.

I didn’t know what to say, so I place my hand on her shoulder. Even then, I was hesitant. I had no experience; what was I supposed to do? What a terrible thing to have happened to her!

“When was this? Do you know who did it? And, most importantly, why are you telling me this?” I asked gently.
Iris attempted to compose herself, so I decided to embrace her. Hugs are good at giving comfort, right? I’ve never fully understood the meaning of the gesture. Was it just because if felt good? What was the reason behind it? The history?
But I gave one to her anyways.

“It… It was seven years ago.”

Wait, she was only ten when she saw them die!

“A man, completely red; he came to the village shouting about wanting a challenge. Something went horribly wrong, though, and he ended up slaughtering everyone. Everyone tried to stop him; my parents, both accomplished swordsmasters, fought him alongside our neighbors… Everyone knew how to fight and yet he slaughtered us all. I did not cry then… I watched from inside my house. My parents told me not to leave the house no matter what…”

And she proceeded to tell me her story.

The man in red I suspected to be Shin, who matched the description Tomer had. Iris suspected him too, so she took up the sword and was training her sword so that one day she may avenge her entire village. She had some years of practice before Shin attacked, but it was obvious that it was not enough. She was still training when we found her, was still training as she went with us, was still training when she left, still training when we found her again. She was at the arena so that she could face better opponents and train.

Her whole life she devoted to training since that day. Such devotion to the sword so that she may avenge her village… What a story. Shin, the Crimson Demon. No wonder why people call him the Crimson Demon. The name fits quite well. To think someone like that could actually exist…

She had never told anyone this before, either. She must have felt a longing to tell someone, yet she felt that Shin should not know lest he seek her out and kill her before she was ready. But holding something like that in for so long she must have finally felt relieved to have told someone. Or at least, that’s what I concluded.

The question was, why tell me?

I repeated the question to her.

“Because I really wanted to share this story with someone, my feelings, everything… it was too much for me to hold it all in for so long… And then you come along, the boy who so many could trust. I wasn’t sure if I should trust you too, but I knew that I could always threaten you with my skills…”
“Well, nice knowing that.” I said sarcastically. “But although I don’t have the physical ability to win in many fights, I do have a brain.”
“True.”
“Well, I’m sure you can do it.” I replied.
“Do what?”
“Train enough so that you will be good enough to fight and avenge your village.”
“Thank you.”

There was a short, complete silence before I interrupted again.

“So… um, why do you trust me enough to tell this to me again?” I asked.
“Because… I…somehow, you have this ability to make others around you feel at ease. I could tell; everyone around you seemed more relaxed, more secure to tell you anything. You seem like someone people can trust.”
“You can how people are feeling by looking at them?” I asked in surprise. “How do you do that?”
“It’s a skill that we learn in out village. To fight and win means reading your opponent and being able to tell what he or she does next.”
“So… Do you feel more relaxed, now, then?” If everyone around me apparently ‘seemed more relaxed’, would it have the same effect on Iris?
“I… Yes. But not just relaxed. I feel… comforted. Happy that you support me, that I have someone I can confide and share my feelings with.”
“It would be better if you talked with others about it too, though, wouldn’t it?”
“But… I don’t feel as I can trust them yet!”

I sighed. What made me so different? Oh, right, I’m not from Lehrail.
I’ve been told I’ve been too trusting, though. That may or may not be a good thing here.

“Can… can I ask a favor of you?” she asked.
“What is it?”
“Don’t die. Please?”
“What? Where did that come from?”
“If you die, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll be alone all over again… and I’ll have to find someone else to confide in.”
“Well, I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, ok? I’m more worried about you, so you don’t die on me, ok?” I replied jokingly.
I don’t think she got it.
“Well, are you ready?” I asked.
“For what?”
“To end this conversation and return to the world. Kal’s been pacing back and forth there for quite some while now.” I said, looking out.
“Right. Promise me you won’t tell anyone what I said here.”
“I promise.” I replied, throwing the pebble. It moved across the floor without a sound, but apparently Kal heard it, who immediately got General Ira’s attention.

Suddenly sound whooshed over us as the noises of everyday life suddenly was heard again. I realized how quiet it really was while we had been talking.

Kal spoke first before I could react, still stunned by the sound suddenly coming back.

“What took you two so long?”
“She… well…”
“I had something to say to him privately. That was all. Thank you very much, General Ira. I must leave now, however, but I thank you again for your kindness.”

With that we watched her leave.

“What happened? What did she say?” Kal asked, the second the door closed.
“Kal, you should know that Iris wanted privacy for a reason. Don’t ask.” General Ira said. “Jeremy, you have a room next door, if you want to go to sleep now; it’s pretty late, after all.”
“Thank you.” I replied, going to the door.
“It’s the first room on your left!” She called, and threw me the key, which I caught.

In my room I locked the door. It was already dark, late at night, so I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. My mind was in turmoil, a blender of thoughts spinning at high speeds as the words of Iris whirled through my mind as I stared at the ceiling. I didn’t even notice that for once I got to sleep in a bed instead of the ground.

Eventually, I fell into a troubled sleep, not sure what to do for the rest of my stay in Lehrail here.

I just hoped that Iris would survive.