Difference between revisions of "Dantega:Volume 3 Chapter 1"

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(Created page with " Chapter 20: Rain on the Battlefield (PART 1) "It looks like my father died." says a girl with long black hair that parts at her shoulders. She is reading a notice that...")
 
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Chapter 20: Rain on the Battlefield
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Chapter 20: Northbound Reunion
   
   
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The group of Ubica, Napoleon, Tsubiri, Daey, Trojia, Strauphius, and Niomyo have been walking north for a couple days. After staying at a couple towns along the way, the group has exhausted their supply of money and are now resting by a rather small lake.
   
  +
It is a beautiful sunny day, and the scenery around this lake seems like a perfect occasion for a picnic. Green grass accompanied by numerous colors of poppy flowers stretch as far as the eye can see and few trees spot the grassland and the areas around the lake.
   
  +
Ubica walks to the flowers and intentionally falls on his back, he sighs and shuts his eyes to let the warmth of the sun beat on his face.
−
"It looks like my father died." says a girl with long black hair that parts at her shoulders. She is reading a notice that a man had just handed her with her bright blue eyes. She puts the letter in her desk and gestures the man to leave the room, the man obliges and leaves her to her lonesome.
  
   
  +
Tsubiri walks up to him and says, "You're not wearing the jacket I bought you you jerk."
−
She sighs and leans back, she rubs her temples and says to herself, "At least you didn't go out completely disgraced."
  
   
  +
He looks up at her and can see right under her skirt, he flinches and turns away quickly before saying, "Because it's not cold out, and I'd prefer not to look like an idiot wearing that thing unless I absolutely have to."
−
The girl rests her head on her hand and looks to a framed picture, in it is herself and her father, the man in the picture is Ditreig.
  
   
  +
Tsubiri frowns, "Haven't you ever heard that gifts should be cherished!? You seem to like that stupid beanie that Trojia got you!"
−
Ditreig Von Ronheim to be exact, the man who was once the Commanding General of the Eiyalazonian military, but due to the failure during the Battle of La'Juune, he was disgraced and demoted all the way to private.
  
   
  +
Ubica is wearing the beanie, though there is no need for the jacket, it is still somewhat cold to him so he feels the need to keep his ears warm.
−
This girl is in a mid sized room that is very clean but the desk in which she sits is very messy with papers and books scattered on it; hundreds of books rest on shelves that line the circular walls, the entirety of this room is made from fine wood that glosses perfectly in the light. She sits there in silence and leans back in her chair when she hears the door knock.
  
   
  +
"I don't like this thing either! It's just that my ears are cold!"
−
"Come in."
  
   
  +
Tsubiri reveals an evil grin and her glare grows sharp.
−
The door opens and in comes a radiant man who looks to be in his early twenties, he has dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. "I heard the news..." he says with a sympathetic look on his face.
  
   
  +
"Your ears are cold huh?"
−
The girl laughs, "I don't need anything along the lines of pity Prince Dice."
  
   
  +
She pounces on him, takes off his beanie and chucks it away.
−
The man named Dice is the older brother of Daey and Niera, he is the only son of the King of Eiyalazo and the heir to the throne. But one wouldn't know this judging by the way this girl fails to address him as so.
  
   
  +
"Uaaaahh! What are you doing!?" Ubica desperately shouts as he's being manhandled by this nineteen year old girl.
−
"So skidaddle." she hisses while waving the back of her hand at him.
  
   
  +
"Muhuhahahahaha! Allow me to warm up your stupid ears!!!"
−
Dice shuts the door behind him and stays in the room. "No."
  
   
  +
She grabs both of his ears and begins to yank on them extremely hard. The loud screams of Ubica mixed with the evil witch like laugh of Tsubiri causes a scene and everyone gathers to witness the carnage.
−
The girl frowns and looks away in annoyance. "Cut it with the honor act, I can see what you're trying to do and it's not going to work."
  
   
  +
"This is all fun and dandy, but the problem is we're broke." said Napoleon as he huffs air out of his nose in annoyance.
−
"i just want to be of help to you..."
  
   
  +
He and Niomyo are leaning against a tree.
−
"That's something you couldn't do because I don't need help with anything, and even if I did, I doubt you'd be of any use."
  
   
  +
"So what are we going to do?" asks Niomyo as she takes off her shoes.
−
Dice looks troubled and points his eyes away, it is obvious that he has been effected by her harsh words but it would seem that he is trying his hardest to hold it in.
  
   
  +
"When we get to the next town, we all have to look for jobs."
−
The girl glares at him and faintly smiles, "On second thought, perhaps you can help me."
  
   
  +
"We don't have time for something like that!"
−
His face lightens up in excitement. "Really? What is it?"
  
   
  +
He looks at her and then back to Ubica and Tsubiri. Because of their wrestling, different colored flower pedals are flying all over and makes him giggle as he says, "We also don't have a choice. Let's just hope that there will be some high paying jobs that won't take too long."
−
She lifts a pen in her hand and twirls it in her fingers as she says, "I want you to make an exception on the no fighting women clause for the military."
  
   
  +
Niomyo walks into the shallow end of the crystal clear water. "...Yeah, I guess your right."
−
"Huh? Why do you want me to do that?"
  
   
  +
"How does the water feel?"
−
She stops twirling the pen and frowns, "I thought you said you wanted to help me?"
  
   
  +
She kicks her legs, splashing the water she turns and smiles, "It's great!"
−
"Well yeah but I won't be able to do something like that without a good reason." Dice replies with a face full of wonder.
  
   
  +
He chuckles at her kid like reaction and proceeds to take off all of his clothes.
−
The girl stands and walks to him, she looks him in the eye and simply says, "I want you to convince the King to allow me to fight in battle."
  
   
  +
Niomyo is instantly flustered at the sight of Napoleon in his briefs, though he is quite tall and thin, his body is perfectly toned.
−
"You meant you!? I can't just put you into danger like that!"
  
   
−
She lifts her hand and slides it across his face softly. "I want you to say my name."
 +
Napoleon jogs into the water and floats on his back, he smiles and shuts his eyes.
   
  +
Niomyo is zoning out on his abs like a pre-teen school girl seeing her favorite idol shirtless in a magazine.
−
"Huh?"
  
   
  +
Napoleon sees her staring at him and with a confused look on his face asks, "What?"
−
"What I said is exactly what I want you to do... Say my full name Prince Dice."
  
   
  +
She jumps in surprise and scrambles to find the right words to say. "Eh uh nothing... It's just that this kind of thing... It doesn't seem like you."
−
He stares into her sky blue eyes and says, "Rain... Rain Von Ronheim."
  
   
  +
Napoleon back paddles in circles as he says, "These kind of carefree moments..."
−
She again faintly smiles and gently shoves him away. "Very good, now think about that name and ask yourself why I would want to fight."
  
   
  +
He once again glances to Ubica and the rest. Now Trojia, consumed with jealousy is trying get a relentless Tsubiri off of him, Daey is picking flowers while laughing and Strauphius has eyes full of envy with his shoulders slumped in an overly dramatic way.
−
He lets loose the tension in his shoulders and drops his head. "Revenge..."
  
   
  +
Napoleon slashes his hands in the water and loudly laughs, an occurrence never before heard nor seen by the group.
−
"That's right, I want to find the one who killed my father. I refuse to allow that name to be rubbed into the mud any more than it already has."
  
   
  +
Tsubiri halts her vicious attack and they all stop to stare; they wonder what is so funny that he would actually show a non General like emotion.
−
Dice has a bad feeling about all of this but he knows how important these kind of things are to the Eiyalazonian people. This country's residents are filled to the brim with over exhuming pride, so much so that it's sinful.
  
   
  +
Napoleon never really had a childhood, he was the son of a military man and his mother died shortly after his birth, so he was raised by a strict father who demanded discipline.
−
He turns his back and opens the door, on his way out he says, "I'll see what I can do." He then shuts the door behind him, leaving Rain alone.
  
   
  +
His father fell ill from an old wound and on his deathbed, asked a then fourteen year old Napoleon to fulfill his wish of joining the La'Juutian army. Naturally Napoleon agreed and after a full year of living on the streets, he joined the army when he reached the required age.
−
She looks out of the window and looks at the view of massive trees, unlike the forest in which her father died in, this place is more of a tree lined utopia. Almost every house is made of white stone and marble, they do this because even though there is an abundance of wood, in case of a fire they can hide safely in their extravagant homes that are close to completely fire retardant while the firemen try to stop the blaze. The streets are made out of smooth and hardened wood making this huge city looks like it blends in with the forest ground even with the anomalous looking homes and buildings.
  
   
  +
These events made his childhood rough and rotten, he doesn't remember the last time he actually had fun, but seeing the others kid like rowdiness makes it feel like they are all sharing a moment of enjoyment similar to the way the common youth would.
−
Rain takes a deep breath and once again turns away, but this time it is back to her desk, on there sits a large piece of paper that looks a lot like a map. Looking closely, one can see that this is a battle plan, the green and red marks signify the Eiyalazonians, the yellow marks the La'Juutians, and the blue marks the Trojans. The blue is clashing with the red on the east side and the yellow is clashing with the red on the west. This is without a doubt a battle plan, she points her finger on the big circle of red and green that is based in the center of Eiyalazo and slides it up north west, she taps it on a spot of the map that is apart of Troy.
  
   
  +
After a few long moments Napoleon finally stops laughing, he looks at Niomyo who is stunned just like the others and says with a smile, "I guess they're starting to rub off on me."
−
"This is where I'll fight, if I'm correct in my assessment, our troops will head to the Trojan city of Tronoble and fight the main core of Trojan soldiers that are stationed there. Judging by this map, the La'Juutians will head there as well."
  
   
  +
"Woah I think the sky is falling!!!" shouts Ubica who is completely shocked.
−
Rain doesn't know which opposing army assassinated Ditreig, but she is almost positive that it was the Trojans, and she happens to know exactly what branch of the Trojan military that was located the closest to her father's location.
  
   
  +
"Really!?"
−
'The 105th Specialist Division' she thinks to herself, with her finger she plots out where they will be and finds that their force will be a road block to Tronoble. "Hmph... I will annihilate this division and head to what will be the biggest battle of the war. And with my leadership, there will be a grand victory for Eiyalazo."
  
   
  +
Like an utter idiot Tsubiri took him seriously and looks up to the sky.
−
Rain is only seventeen, but she is the leading Battlefield Strategist in the country. Though there hasn't been a war before this one to show off her skills, much like Prince Noah of La'Juune, she showed incredible genius in her simulations and that alone allowed her to be part of the elite group of non military strategists. But when one of her plans was used in the offensive against Troy and it succeeded greatly, she was promoted and throughout the four battles she has been involved in she holds a perfect record, and thus her rise up to this rank was quick and painless.
  
   
  +
"Hahahahahah! You're such an air head!"
−
She laughs and walks out of the door, she is in what Eiyalazo boasts to be the largest castle in the world, and that is very true. This castle is made of marble and stone just like the the other houses and buildings but this is on an other worldly scale; it is at least a eighty stories high at its high point and stretches more than a half mile from its east wing to its west. On the top of the castle, just above the penthouse is a hundred yards of garden and trees that stand above all else, and this is where Rain is heading.
  
   
  +
Tsubiri, knowing that she had just made a fool of herself can only frown in embarrassment while Ubica mercilessly laughs in her face.
−
After walking for quite some time, she reaches the stairway that leads to double doors, once opened, she finds her self in a Garden of Eden type environment. In the center of this sits a massive tree, and many different kinds of fruit trees tatter the area, and other than the small cobblestone pathway that winds through them, the ground is all grass and other crops of vegetables and fruit. Not to be outdone, flowers of every color line the pathway giving this place the feel of a fairy tale that belongs in a painting.
  
   
  +
She readies to slap him and swings her hand down, but Ubica grabs it and shows a wide grin, revealing his large canines.
−
Just ahead sits a bench more towards the edge of the roof, allowing it to own the most spectacular view in all of the country. Rain sits on the bench, sighs, and lays on her back; from where the sun is positioned and the trees that hang overhead makes a partial shadow that casts over her face and body. She ganders at the sunlight through the trees and listens to the birds sing, their melodies make her a little tired so as soon as she rests her eyes she falls asleep.
  
   
  +
"Hey hey, why don't we join Napoleon?"
−
"Rain.."
  
   
  +
"Huh?"
−
Her name being called rings through her head and wakes her from her sleep, she opens up her eyes and the first thing she notices is that the sun is shining lower and the scenery has more of an orange tint due to its falling. The shadow that once cast over her body is now gone and her own shadow is facing the opposite way.
  
   
  +
He grabs her waist and lifts her from her mounted position, he then stands up and throws her onto his shoulder.
−
'How long was I asleep for?' she asks herself as she rubs her eyes, it is close to sundown and the light is beginning to reach the horizon.
  
   
  +
"Whaaaa! What are you doing!?"
−
"Did you enjoy your sleep Rain?"
  
   
  +
"As revenge for the death of my ears, you're going for a dip!"
−
Rain turns to the voice and sees a man wearing a crown dressed in royal garments, he has black hair and light brown eyes, he has a finely groomed beard making him look like he belongs in the utmost of class.
  
   
  +
Tsubiri starts pounding on his back and shouts, "Don't you dare! Don't--kyaaaaahhh!"
−
Next to him is a woman, she is rather tall and has very light off red hair and light off red eyes that can be considered pink. The woman smiles and says, "We couldn't find you in your office, but we always know that we can find you here."
  
   
  +
Ubica takes off running with Tsubiri in tow, he takes a giant leap and before she knows it, she is under water in the middle of the lake.
−
Rain makes eye contact with the two and bows. "I must apologize for having you two look for me."
  
   
  +
Tsubiri pops her head out of the water and what she sees is Ubica laughing at her in a mocking tone.
−
The man stands astute with his hands held behind his back and properly responds, "That's beside the point, Prince Dice asked us a for a favor on your behalf."
  
   
  +
They are both soaked with all of their clothes on, she is actually quite bitter about this but these feelings of anger quickly disperse when she thinks to herself, (Chance!)
−
Rain stands up and stiffens, "Yes sir."
  
   
  +
Since the split of the group a few days ago, Ubica has been paying most of his attention to Daey due to the death of Rudo. All be it this is a good reason for her being ignored, she feels that even when he wasn't with Daey, he ended up being around Trojia. So at that time, she promised herself that if they ever were to be alone together, she'll go to any lengths to seduce him.
−
The man rubs his beard and says, "The rules of military have been in place since this country's founding, and I do not want to do anything that desecrates the honor of our founding fathers."
  
   
  +
Tsubiri throws her arms over his shoulders and clings to him, she wraps her legs around his back so he can't get her off. Their faces are only a few inches away from each other and this makes Ubica extremely nervous. He tries to move his head back but she pulls the back of his neck closer to her, thus making it impossible for him to get away.
−
When he says this Rain has to struggle to not frown, she holds it in as he continues, "But, this is a world war, and if we lose we run the risk of not even having a country after this. So after careful consideration with my wife, I decided to allow you to join the military as a Brigadier General, but I will not allow you to fight. Your skills as a strategist far surpass your worth as an expendable soldier, I hold a strong belief that you leading a mass of soldiers from the front lines will be much needed for the future of out country."
  
   
  +
"W-What are you doing!?"
−
Rain once again bows and says to them both, "King and Queen Di'Vore... I give you my humble thanks."
  
   
  +
She runs her fingers through his hair and says, "I can't swim."
−
The man turns and walks away into the garden, before he disappears in the greenery he says his final words, "I'll have you sent to the 1st Royal Army division. What you do with them, will entirely be up to you... I pray you don't end up like your father."
  
   
  +
"Are you kidding?"
−
"Yes sir."
  
   
  +
"Nope."
−
"Don't take offense in Gile's words about your father... I'm sure he's just worried about you. You are very close to our children so he considers you to be very important." said the Queen.
  
   
  +
"Pfft... Hahahah what are you three years old??"
−
Rain sits back down on the bench and says, "I didn't take offense Queen Di'Vore."
  
   
  +
She yanks his hair back causing him to abruptly stop his laughter.
−
The Queen smiles and waves her hand, "Now now, no need to be so formal with me Rain, you can call me Dianna."
  
   
  +
"THAT'S WHY I TOLD YOU NOT TO THROW ME IN THE DAMN WATER!!"
−
Rain stays silent, she looks uncomfortable with calling the leading woman of the country by her first name. Dianna sighs and puts her hand on Rain's shoulder, "I hope one day you can consider me more as a friend than that of a higher authority..."
  
   
  +
"Ngggyyaaaahhh that hurts!!!"
−
Rain bows and seemingly ignores her words when she replies, "I shall try my best to do so Queen Dianna."
  
   
−
Dianna chuckles and begins to walk away. "You know, my son cares for you greatly... So please be safe out there."
  
   
−
Now alone, the weight of the King and Queen's presence is lifted off her shoulders, she takes a deep breath and looks out over the city that stretches to the horizon that is enveloping the sun. Rain frowns and feels a gripping pressure in her chest. "If only you two knew how much I despise you both."
  
   
  +
----------------------------------
−
Rain has held a great hatred for King Gile and Queen Dianna ever since the Battle of La'Juune, she feels this way because of the public humiliation of her father Ditreig when he was dishonored and demoted all the way to the lowest rank in the military. Because they came from royalty beforehand they still had courtship status so Ditreig shrugged it off and took this in stride. But it really effected a young Rain, she was made fun of and shunned upon by all of her fellow royals and even when she tried to cope, it became impossible to ignore when her mother committed suicide because of the constant embarrassment.
  
   
−
Since Ditreig was out doing grunt work in the army, Rain was left alone in what she felt as a hostile environment of the castle at the young age of twelve. In her mind and logic, all of this grief was caused by the King and Queen when they chose to disgrace her father, it was bad enough that the army had failed miserably when victory was in their hands, there was no need to punish their own men by rubbing salt into their wounds.
  
   
−
This has grown into such a hate for her leaders that she contemplated assassination, but due to her friendship with Princess Daey she renounced her intent to do so. So now the only thing she cares or thinks about is finding who killed her father and exacting her revenge, she sill has a lingering thought in the back of her mind of what she would do about this hate if Daey were to actually be dead, and she comes to the conclusion that she would uphold her decision not to do so.
  
   
  +
Daey and Trojia are watching the chaotic scene of Ubica once again getting beat up by Tsubiri.
−
Back when she was younger, the only person that came to her aid and comfort was none other than Daey Di'Vore. Daey supported her when her father was dishonored and joined her in mourning when her mother passed, and she did this despite all of their other contemporaries shunning her. With Daey's support, the bullying stopped and she was able to resume her normal life and proceed in her career as a Strategist. For this she is forever indebted and she will never forget it.
  
   
  +
Merrily picking flowers, Daey says, "They sure get along well."
−
The sun sets and Rain watches the first star shine in the sky followed by the first street light to shine on the ground. "Though I must give you my regards for allowing me join the military, I must forfeit your order for me not to fight." she stands and walks down the pathway. "I only have one goal, and in order for me fulfill it, I must do it with my own two hands."
  
   
  +
She spots a multicolored purple daisy and like an excited child, grabs it and marvels at it as though it was a diamond.
−
Just a few feet in front of her stands Dice, he looks troubled and it looks like he's been there for a while, at first Rain thinks that he might of heard her talk to herself but she realizes that the point from where they're standing is close to a hundred yards away from the bench she once resting on.
  
   
  +
Trojia plops herself onto the ground, kicking up flower pedals in the process, she folds her arms in a pout and sharply replies, "They get along too well if you ask me."
−
"Have you been waiting for me?" she asks.
  
   
  +
"Geez, you're such a baby. You need to relax when it comes to him." Daey said while wrapping the stems of a few dozen flowers with a piece of string she pulled from her dress.
−
Dice leans against a tree and replies, "Yeah... So my parent's talked to you right?"
  
   
  +
Trojia pouts and says under her breath, "I can't help it..."
−
"That's right."
  
   
  +
To tease her a little, Daey flashes her self made bouquet in Trojia's face and says, "Hey take a look, it's pretty right? I wonder what Ubica will say when I give it to him?"
−
"I know my parents gave you their approval, but I must ask you to reconsider."
  
   
  +
Trojia turns slowly and looks at her with eyes that scream bloody murder.
−
With a voice full a discontent she bluntly replies, "No."
  
   
  +
Daey backs up and nervously says, "Okay okay I was joking, you seriously need relax!"
−
Dice frowns and raises his tone, "What if you were captured!? You could die out there! You cou-----"
  
   
  +
She wonders how angry Trojia would be if she found out what occurred between her and Ubica back at the stone house. Ubica's voice rings in her head and she tenderly smiles as she looks at the colorful bouquet. This tender smile suddenly turns into a 'I'm already ahead of you and you don't even know it yet!' smile.
−
Rain interrupts his speech by holding her hand out and pointing her index finger up. "Why would you care?"
  
   
  +
And with a subtle competitive tone she says, "You don't need to get so worked up all the time. It's not like you guys are lovers or anything, you haven't even kissed yet."
−
Dice's shoulders jolt and he takes a step back, "Because I..."
  
   
  +
As soon as the word kiss leaves her lips, Trojia's face turns beet red and her shoulders rise.
−
"Because you what?" Rain asks with a straight face.
  
   
  +
Just by seeing her reaction, Daey drops her bouquet and along with it her jaw.
−
Dice again jumps back and shouts, "I care for you Rain! I don't want anything to happen to you."
  
   
  +
"Have you!?"
−
"That doesn't answer my question, I already knew that. What I want to know is why you even bother with such a useless feeling, I treat you like shit you know... Are you some kind of masochist?"
  
   
−
Her words are poisonous like venom, this really does prove her point on how she treats the Prince, but Dice doesn't care, with a serious face he takes a step closer to her and says, "I don't need a reason to love someone."
  
   
−
"Pfft... Hahahahaha you've got to be kidding me."
  
   
  +
-----------------------------------
−
Once again, a brutal reply to the conveying of his feelings, he stands his ground and stares into her eyes. Rain folds her arms and asks, "Well, if you're not kidding, I must ask you what kind of love that is?"
  
  +
  +
  +
  +
"I get it I get it! I'm sorry! So stop pulling my hair!" Ubica shouts.
  +
  +
She sighs and decides relinquishes her attack. Tsubiri releases her death grip and tries to tidy up the scruffy look of his hair after almost being torn off as though she felt a little guilty about it.
  +
  +
"Good as new."
  +
  +
He takes a huge sigh before saying, "Well then, since you can't swim we should get out of the water."
  +
  +
Tsubiri gestures as if she is about to say something but then stops, she can't find it in her heart to say that she just doesn't want to let go of him yet.
  +
  +
He gently moves her hand away from his shoulder and in a dream like motion he steps on to the surface of the water and stands like he would be if he was on land.
  +
  +
He is holding Tsubiri's hand to keep her afloat and she is looking up at him from the water as the sun shines behind him, making his wet white long sleeved v-neck shirt transparent, and making his silver hair glitter like a diamond.
  +
  +
He lifts her up out of the water and holds her close, she embraces him tightly as if she is afraid to fall in the water and sink.
  +
  +
"It's okay... Put your feet down." he said with a soft smile that oozes the sense of security.
  +
  +
Tsubiri looks at this beautiful smile, she hesitates at first, but she puts her feet on the water surface. And much to her surprise she finds that she can stand perfectly.
   
 
"Huh?"
  
"Huh?"
   
  +
"Don't let go of my hands or you'll sink."
−
"You should know what I mean Prince Dice, I do believe you have your love placed in the wrong person for the wrong reasons."
  
  +
  +
"Okay."
  +
  +
Ubica tosses her right arm over his shoulder and grabs her waist with his left hand, his right and her left hand are interwoven and now they are in a position for the waltz.
  +
  +
He pulls her close to him and with a funny accent asks, "Shall we dance?"
  +
  +
He begins to hum a tune, and with his lead they begin dancing.
  +
  +
"Ooh you're pretty good."
  +
  +
Tsubiri is speechless with awe; though she can't seem to find words, her feet are moving perfectly in motion with his. This surprises her because she hasn't danced since she was a kid, and now she's doing twirls like she belongs in a ballroom. She wears a large smile full of happiness when she thinks that this unbelievable moment in time is happening because of a little white lie, she actually can swim, and very well for that matter.
  +
  +
But since she said that she couldn't in order to cling to him, she is now participating in a romantic dance that should only belong in a fairy tale.
  +
  +
  +
The song Ubica was humming ends, and with it the trance that Tsubiri was under through this whole process. It suddenly hits her that what had just occurred defies the laws of gravity. It is impossible for a human to stand on water. But she recalls a story in a religious book where a man stood on to save his friends from a boat caught in a storm. This prompts her to believe that Ubica isn't a regular boy, she's certain he's something far beyond that.
  +
  +
"Ubica... What are you?"
  +
  +
"...."
  +
  +
Ubica just stares at her with a strained smile.
  +
  +
"Those two demons back at the stone house, it seemed like you knew them pretty well. Also...The way you saved me when I was falling in the abyss, and now we are standing on water."
  +
  +
She rests her hands on his chest, much to Ubica's surprise she is not freaked out by any of this; on the contrary, she is showing him a face that exudes acceptance.
  +
  +
"I guess I can't keep my past a secret forever."
  +
  +
It looks as if he is about to say something, the tension feels like it can be cut with a dull knife and she can't contain her excitement, she can't wait to find out who he really is.
  +
  +
"But I can't... Not yet."
  +
  +
As if wanting a certain present for Christmas only to unwrap it and find that it is the complete opposite of want you wanted, Tsubiri is gravely disappointed.
  +
  +
She is about to say her buts when Ubica holds his index finger up in front of her face to halt her speech.
  +
  +
He looks disappointed as well when he says, "I'm sorry... Just know that it is a past that fills my heart with grief by just thinking about it, I don't have the strength to explain it with words just yet."
  +
  +
Tsubiri grabs his hand and moves it away from her face. "What are you so afraid of?"
  +
  +
He smiles and shifts his eyes over her shoulder toward Trojia and Daey. "I don't even know, to be perfectly honest with you."
  +
  +
Tsubiri starts laughing and it catches Ubica off guard, she pushes off him and falls in the water. He scrambles to get her out of the water thinking she can't swim but to his surprise she is already swam more than ten feet away and is now floating effortlessly on her back.
  +
  +
"Hey! You can swim!?"
  +
  +
"Of course I can swim."
  +
  +
Ubica frowns and is walking after her while she back paddles away. "Then why did you---"
   
  +
He is sharply interrupted by Tsubiri's laugh. "You're so damn dense Ubica, just think about why I'd fib about it for a moment."
−
Dice looks confused and asks, "I don't get where you're going with this."
  
   
  +
Ubica holds his chin as he ponders, and in his usual oblivious state he comes to the conclusion that she was just teasing him again.
−
"I am trying to say that I'm not your sisters... And I don't need to be doted on by you like they were."
  
  +
While Ubica was wondering this, he lost track of where he was and walking is now directly over Tsubiri.
   
  +
She grabs his pant leg to keep him from stepping on her and shouts, "Watch where you're going!"
−
She continues to throw arrows into his heart by saying such harsh words, unfortunately for him this is exactly what she feels. Back when they were younger, Dice always took care of Daey and Niera to the highest intensity. So much so that Rain thought he really had a sister complex, once they disappeared the devastation he felt could be seen a mile away, and ever since then he has been acting the same way towards Rain as he did his two younger sisters. Rain finds this kind of thing pathetic, she thinks it would be similar to her situation if she would run to older men and beg them to become her father, or the same with her mother. This kind of love is something she wants no part of, and even though she knows this is Dice's way of coping, she won't budge in her decision to ignore his feelings until he realizes that she is not his sisters.
  
   
  +
"Ahh sorry about that, I was zoning out."
−
"That's not how it is!" Dice shouts as he puts his hand on his chest.
  
   
  +
She huffs air out of her nose and smiles, she can't believe that she has met someone like him and gets to experience such happiness.
−
Rain chuckles, "It is, you just don't know it yet. Once we find Daey and Niera you'll forget all about this mess of a feeling you hold towards me."
  
   
  +
Throughout her whole life, Tsubiri has never had anyone that she felt she could call a friend, and only until a couple of weeks ago she would say that she'd rather have it that way if someone were to ask her why.
−
Dice frowns and squeezes his royal over coat, this catches Rain's attention when she notices something on his hand. "What is that on your hand?"
  
   
  +
That would be an obvious lie however; the truth is, she has always been alone, her parents abandoned her as a 4 year old toddler at the La'Juutian castle gates.
−
"O-On my hand?"
  
   
  +
In La'Juune, this kind of thing happened often and was shunned upon as a death sentence for the child, the reason being that the castle guards were ordered by the King to send them to be raised in a ruthless labor camp, or to take them to a designated location and kill them on the spot if the camps were overcrowded.
−
"Yeah, on your right hand, what is it?"
  
   
  +
These labor camps forced men, women, and children of all ages to work unreasonable hours for slave wages. There is a branch of government called the Exes, they are in charge of monitoring peoples wealth, debt, and other financial matters. If they find someone they deem fit of being below the poverty line, they will send out Collectors to get them. If one were to be caught by these Collectors, they would be sent away to do whatever amount of time the Exes executives feel that is needed in the camps.
−
Dice quickly removes his hand from his chest and throws it in his pocket.
  
   
  +
Even when Napoleon's father died and it left him homeless, he had to spend a year running away from them until he was old enough to join the military. Joining the armed forces is the only way to avoid persecution. The problem is that La'Juune very rarely allows women to join its ranks, thus making it very hard for women to escape such a fate, and the children are already doomed no matter what gender if younger than fifteen.
−
"I-It's nothing!"
  
   
  +
This tactic to send the poor and homeless to do hard manual labor was thought as an ingenious plan to keep the country wealthy and save people from an impoverished life; and for the most part it worked. 'The City of Grandeur' can be called this only because there literally isn't a poor household in those walls.
−
Rain runs her fingers through her hair and begins to walk past him. "It's just a tattoo right? That's not such a big deal to where you need to react like that."
  
   
  +
When Tsubiri was abandoned, one of the guards at the gate thought that she resembled his daughter and felt pity, so instead of handing her over to Exes, he brought her into the castle grounds and gave her to the head of maintenance who was his close friend. From then on she was raised to follow orders and would do odd jobs in and around the castle. Though she was always working, it wasn't a fraction as bad as the camps, at least at the castle she had a stable diet and a roof over her head at all times.
−
Dice watches her walk out of sight and nervously smiles, "That's right! It's just a tattoo!"
  
   
  +
She grew up as a servant until she was 8 years old, when on the fateful day of the Battle of La'Juune, she happened to stumble upon a panicked Xavier who got separated from his family during the attack. Not knowing that this crying kid was the Prince, she grabbed his hand and took him through a barrage of flaming arrows and led him to the innards of the castle.
−
Once Rain leaves, Dice looks very troubled, he pulls out his right hand and looks at the tattoo. It's getting close to being completely dark and he can hardly see what's there, he moves it closer to his face and sees a black pentagram imprinted into his skin. He laughs for a second and then frowns
  
   
  +
At that point in time the castle was already infiltrated by a few Trojan and Eiyalazonian soldiers who were killing anybody they could get their hands on, so the two of them spent most of their time desperately trying to get away from them and hiding.
−
" Damn that snake... He better not be lying."
  
   
  +
By sheer luck they stumbled upon a secret passageway that allowed them to escape from the soldiers, after following the dark tunnels they eventually caught up with a fleeing royal family. As compensation for saving Xavier's life she was given royal status, and not too long after she was getting trained in a prestigious martial arts school. Upon her graduation she was offered the job as the royal body guard of the Prince.
   
  +
Though this sounds like she has had a blessed life, she hated her upbringing because she never had anyone who truly cared for her except that guard who saved her from an even more miserable existence. But much to her dismay, she found out that the guard had been killed while protecting the castle during the battle, and as a result she had no one.
   
  +
No family and no friends.
   
  +
So she shut herself in and avoided conversations with others unless she was given some kind of order.
   
  +
That is until she met a certain boy who showed her unconditional kindness when he defied the Prince and lent her his back, this boy who's smile warms her to the core and can somehow make all of her past negativity towards people vanish with the sound of his voice. The boy that she is looking up at is the one person that brought out her true personality and integrated it into her daily life as if she was never hiding it in the first place.
   
  +
"I can't speak for the others..." she says with a soft smile, "But for me, I would gladly stay by your side no matter what you are Ubica."
   
  +
Tsubiri smiles and gently back paddles to shore leaving a shocked and somewhat flustered Ubica in her wake.
   
  +
He puts his hand on his chest and can actually feel something beating. His whole body expression turns happy and excited, that is until the heartbeat quickly stops, and this results in a pained and guilty expression.
   
  +
He bites his lip and shows a strained smile, "Those words are too kind to be directed at me... If you knew what I've actually done, you would come to despise me..."
   
   
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| Back to [[Dantega:Volume 3 Novel Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
 
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| Return to [[Dantega|Main Page]]
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| Forward to [[Dantega:Volume 3 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
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| Forward to [[Dantega:Volume 3 Chapter 2|(Part 2)]]
 
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Revision as of 01:53, 14 June 2013

Chapter 20: Northbound Reunion


(PART 1)


The group of Ubica, Napoleon, Tsubiri, Daey, Trojia, Strauphius, and Niomyo have been walking north for a couple days. After staying at a couple towns along the way, the group has exhausted their supply of money and are now resting by a rather small lake.

It is a beautiful sunny day, and the scenery around this lake seems like a perfect occasion for a picnic. Green grass accompanied by numerous colors of poppy flowers stretch as far as the eye can see and few trees spot the grassland and the areas around the lake.

Ubica walks to the flowers and intentionally falls on his back, he sighs and shuts his eyes to let the warmth of the sun beat on his face.

Tsubiri walks up to him and says, "You're not wearing the jacket I bought you you jerk."

He looks up at her and can see right under her skirt, he flinches and turns away quickly before saying, "Because it's not cold out, and I'd prefer not to look like an idiot wearing that thing unless I absolutely have to."

Tsubiri frowns, "Haven't you ever heard that gifts should be cherished!? You seem to like that stupid beanie that Trojia got you!"

Ubica is wearing the beanie, though there is no need for the jacket, it is still somewhat cold to him so he feels the need to keep his ears warm.

"I don't like this thing either! It's just that my ears are cold!"

Tsubiri reveals an evil grin and her glare grows sharp.

"Your ears are cold huh?"

She pounces on him, takes off his beanie and chucks it away.

"Uaaaahh! What are you doing!?" Ubica desperately shouts as he's being manhandled by this nineteen year old girl.

"Muhuhahahahaha! Allow me to warm up your stupid ears!!!"

She grabs both of his ears and begins to yank on them extremely hard. The loud screams of Ubica mixed with the evil witch like laugh of Tsubiri causes a scene and everyone gathers to witness the carnage.

"This is all fun and dandy, but the problem is we're broke." said Napoleon as he huffs air out of his nose in annoyance.

He and Niomyo are leaning against a tree.

"So what are we going to do?" asks Niomyo as she takes off her shoes.

"When we get to the next town, we all have to look for jobs."

"We don't have time for something like that!"

He looks at her and then back to Ubica and Tsubiri. Because of their wrestling, different colored flower pedals are flying all over and makes him giggle as he says, "We also don't have a choice. Let's just hope that there will be some high paying jobs that won't take too long."

Niomyo walks into the shallow end of the crystal clear water. "...Yeah, I guess your right."

"How does the water feel?"

She kicks her legs, splashing the water she turns and smiles, "It's great!"

He chuckles at her kid like reaction and proceeds to take off all of his clothes.

Niomyo is instantly flustered at the sight of Napoleon in his briefs, though he is quite tall and thin, his body is perfectly toned.

Napoleon jogs into the water and floats on his back, he smiles and shuts his eyes.

Niomyo is zoning out on his abs like a pre-teen school girl seeing her favorite idol shirtless in a magazine.

Napoleon sees her staring at him and with a confused look on his face asks, "What?"

She jumps in surprise and scrambles to find the right words to say. "Eh uh nothing... It's just that this kind of thing... It doesn't seem like you."

Napoleon back paddles in circles as he says, "These kind of carefree moments..."

He once again glances to Ubica and the rest. Now Trojia, consumed with jealousy is trying get a relentless Tsubiri off of him, Daey is picking flowers while laughing and Strauphius has eyes full of envy with his shoulders slumped in an overly dramatic way.

Napoleon slashes his hands in the water and loudly laughs, an occurrence never before heard nor seen by the group.

Tsubiri halts her vicious attack and they all stop to stare; they wonder what is so funny that he would actually show a non General like emotion.

Napoleon never really had a childhood, he was the son of a military man and his mother died shortly after his birth, so he was raised by a strict father who demanded discipline.

His father fell ill from an old wound and on his deathbed, asked a then fourteen year old Napoleon to fulfill his wish of joining the La'Juutian army. Naturally Napoleon agreed and after a full year of living on the streets, he joined the army when he reached the required age.

These events made his childhood rough and rotten, he doesn't remember the last time he actually had fun, but seeing the others kid like rowdiness makes it feel like they are all sharing a moment of enjoyment similar to the way the common youth would.

After a few long moments Napoleon finally stops laughing, he looks at Niomyo who is stunned just like the others and says with a smile, "I guess they're starting to rub off on me."

"Woah I think the sky is falling!!!" shouts Ubica who is completely shocked.

"Really!?"

Like an utter idiot Tsubiri took him seriously and looks up to the sky.

"Hahahahahah! You're such an air head!"

Tsubiri, knowing that she had just made a fool of herself can only frown in embarrassment while Ubica mercilessly laughs in her face.

She readies to slap him and swings her hand down, but Ubica grabs it and shows a wide grin, revealing his large canines.

"Hey hey, why don't we join Napoleon?"

"Huh?"

He grabs her waist and lifts her from her mounted position, he then stands up and throws her onto his shoulder.

"Whaaaa! What are you doing!?"

"As revenge for the death of my ears, you're going for a dip!"

Tsubiri starts pounding on his back and shouts, "Don't you dare! Don't--kyaaaaahhh!"

Ubica takes off running with Tsubiri in tow, he takes a giant leap and before she knows it, she is under water in the middle of the lake.

Tsubiri pops her head out of the water and what she sees is Ubica laughing at her in a mocking tone.

They are both soaked with all of their clothes on, she is actually quite bitter about this but these feelings of anger quickly disperse when she thinks to herself, (Chance!)

Since the split of the group a few days ago, Ubica has been paying most of his attention to Daey due to the death of Rudo. All be it this is a good reason for her being ignored, she feels that even when he wasn't with Daey, he ended up being around Trojia. So at that time, she promised herself that if they ever were to be alone together, she'll go to any lengths to seduce him.

Tsubiri throws her arms over his shoulders and clings to him, she wraps her legs around his back so he can't get her off. Their faces are only a few inches away from each other and this makes Ubica extremely nervous. He tries to move his head back but she pulls the back of his neck closer to her, thus making it impossible for him to get away.

"W-What are you doing!?"

She runs her fingers through his hair and says, "I can't swim."

"Are you kidding?"

"Nope."

"Pfft... Hahahah what are you three years old??"

She yanks his hair back causing him to abruptly stop his laughter.

"THAT'S WHY I TOLD YOU NOT TO THROW ME IN THE DAMN WATER!!"

"Ngggyyaaaahhh that hurts!!!"



Daey and Trojia are watching the chaotic scene of Ubica once again getting beat up by Tsubiri.

Merrily picking flowers, Daey says, "They sure get along well."

She spots a multicolored purple daisy and like an excited child, grabs it and marvels at it as though it was a diamond.

Trojia plops herself onto the ground, kicking up flower pedals in the process, she folds her arms in a pout and sharply replies, "They get along too well if you ask me."

"Geez, you're such a baby. You need to relax when it comes to him." Daey said while wrapping the stems of a few dozen flowers with a piece of string she pulled from her dress.

Trojia pouts and says under her breath, "I can't help it..."

To tease her a little, Daey flashes her self made bouquet in Trojia's face and says, "Hey take a look, it's pretty right? I wonder what Ubica will say when I give it to him?"

Trojia turns slowly and looks at her with eyes that scream bloody murder.

Daey backs up and nervously says, "Okay okay I was joking, you seriously need relax!"

She wonders how angry Trojia would be if she found out what occurred between her and Ubica back at the stone house. Ubica's voice rings in her head and she tenderly smiles as she looks at the colorful bouquet. This tender smile suddenly turns into a 'I'm already ahead of you and you don't even know it yet!' smile.

And with a subtle competitive tone she says, "You don't need to get so worked up all the time. It's not like you guys are lovers or anything, you haven't even kissed yet."

As soon as the word kiss leaves her lips, Trojia's face turns beet red and her shoulders rise.

Just by seeing her reaction, Daey drops her bouquet and along with it her jaw.

"Have you!?"



"I get it I get it! I'm sorry! So stop pulling my hair!" Ubica shouts.

She sighs and decides relinquishes her attack. Tsubiri releases her death grip and tries to tidy up the scruffy look of his hair after almost being torn off as though she felt a little guilty about it.

"Good as new."

He takes a huge sigh before saying, "Well then, since you can't swim we should get out of the water."

Tsubiri gestures as if she is about to say something but then stops, she can't find it in her heart to say that she just doesn't want to let go of him yet.

He gently moves her hand away from his shoulder and in a dream like motion he steps on to the surface of the water and stands like he would be if he was on land.

He is holding Tsubiri's hand to keep her afloat and she is looking up at him from the water as the sun shines behind him, making his wet white long sleeved v-neck shirt transparent, and making his silver hair glitter like a diamond.

He lifts her up out of the water and holds her close, she embraces him tightly as if she is afraid to fall in the water and sink.

"It's okay... Put your feet down." he said with a soft smile that oozes the sense of security.

Tsubiri looks at this beautiful smile, she hesitates at first, but she puts her feet on the water surface. And much to her surprise she finds that she can stand perfectly.

"Huh?"

"Don't let go of my hands or you'll sink."

"Okay."

Ubica tosses her right arm over his shoulder and grabs her waist with his left hand, his right and her left hand are interwoven and now they are in a position for the waltz.

He pulls her close to him and with a funny accent asks, "Shall we dance?"

He begins to hum a tune, and with his lead they begin dancing.

"Ooh you're pretty good."

Tsubiri is speechless with awe; though she can't seem to find words, her feet are moving perfectly in motion with his. This surprises her because she hasn't danced since she was a kid, and now she's doing twirls like she belongs in a ballroom. She wears a large smile full of happiness when she thinks that this unbelievable moment in time is happening because of a little white lie, she actually can swim, and very well for that matter.

But since she said that she couldn't in order to cling to him, she is now participating in a romantic dance that should only belong in a fairy tale.


The song Ubica was humming ends, and with it the trance that Tsubiri was under through this whole process. It suddenly hits her that what had just occurred defies the laws of gravity. It is impossible for a human to stand on water. But she recalls a story in a religious book where a man stood on to save his friends from a boat caught in a storm. This prompts her to believe that Ubica isn't a regular boy, she's certain he's something far beyond that.

"Ubica... What are you?"

"...."

Ubica just stares at her with a strained smile.

"Those two demons back at the stone house, it seemed like you knew them pretty well. Also...The way you saved me when I was falling in the abyss, and now we are standing on water."

She rests her hands on his chest, much to Ubica's surprise she is not freaked out by any of this; on the contrary, she is showing him a face that exudes acceptance.

"I guess I can't keep my past a secret forever."

It looks as if he is about to say something, the tension feels like it can be cut with a dull knife and she can't contain her excitement, she can't wait to find out who he really is.

"But I can't... Not yet."

As if wanting a certain present for Christmas only to unwrap it and find that it is the complete opposite of want you wanted, Tsubiri is gravely disappointed.

She is about to say her buts when Ubica holds his index finger up in front of her face to halt her speech.

He looks disappointed as well when he says, "I'm sorry... Just know that it is a past that fills my heart with grief by just thinking about it, I don't have the strength to explain it with words just yet."

Tsubiri grabs his hand and moves it away from her face. "What are you so afraid of?"

He smiles and shifts his eyes over her shoulder toward Trojia and Daey. "I don't even know, to be perfectly honest with you."

Tsubiri starts laughing and it catches Ubica off guard, she pushes off him and falls in the water. He scrambles to get her out of the water thinking she can't swim but to his surprise she is already swam more than ten feet away and is now floating effortlessly on her back.

"Hey! You can swim!?"

"Of course I can swim."

Ubica frowns and is walking after her while she back paddles away. "Then why did you---"

He is sharply interrupted by Tsubiri's laugh. "You're so damn dense Ubica, just think about why I'd fib about it for a moment."

Ubica holds his chin as he ponders, and in his usual oblivious state he comes to the conclusion that she was just teasing him again. While Ubica was wondering this, he lost track of where he was and walking is now directly over Tsubiri.

She grabs his pant leg to keep him from stepping on her and shouts, "Watch where you're going!"

"Ahh sorry about that, I was zoning out."

She huffs air out of her nose and smiles, she can't believe that she has met someone like him and gets to experience such happiness.

Throughout her whole life, Tsubiri has never had anyone that she felt she could call a friend, and only until a couple of weeks ago she would say that she'd rather have it that way if someone were to ask her why.

That would be an obvious lie however; the truth is, she has always been alone, her parents abandoned her as a 4 year old toddler at the La'Juutian castle gates.

In La'Juune, this kind of thing happened often and was shunned upon as a death sentence for the child, the reason being that the castle guards were ordered by the King to send them to be raised in a ruthless labor camp, or to take them to a designated location and kill them on the spot if the camps were overcrowded.

These labor camps forced men, women, and children of all ages to work unreasonable hours for slave wages. There is a branch of government called the Exes, they are in charge of monitoring peoples wealth, debt, and other financial matters. If they find someone they deem fit of being below the poverty line, they will send out Collectors to get them. If one were to be caught by these Collectors, they would be sent away to do whatever amount of time the Exes executives feel that is needed in the camps.

Even when Napoleon's father died and it left him homeless, he had to spend a year running away from them until he was old enough to join the military. Joining the armed forces is the only way to avoid persecution. The problem is that La'Juune very rarely allows women to join its ranks, thus making it very hard for women to escape such a fate, and the children are already doomed no matter what gender if younger than fifteen.

This tactic to send the poor and homeless to do hard manual labor was thought as an ingenious plan to keep the country wealthy and save people from an impoverished life; and for the most part it worked. 'The City of Grandeur' can be called this only because there literally isn't a poor household in those walls.

When Tsubiri was abandoned, one of the guards at the gate thought that she resembled his daughter and felt pity, so instead of handing her over to Exes, he brought her into the castle grounds and gave her to the head of maintenance who was his close friend. From then on she was raised to follow orders and would do odd jobs in and around the castle. Though she was always working, it wasn't a fraction as bad as the camps, at least at the castle she had a stable diet and a roof over her head at all times.

She grew up as a servant until she was 8 years old, when on the fateful day of the Battle of La'Juune, she happened to stumble upon a panicked Xavier who got separated from his family during the attack. Not knowing that this crying kid was the Prince, she grabbed his hand and took him through a barrage of flaming arrows and led him to the innards of the castle.

At that point in time the castle was already infiltrated by a few Trojan and Eiyalazonian soldiers who were killing anybody they could get their hands on, so the two of them spent most of their time desperately trying to get away from them and hiding.

By sheer luck they stumbled upon a secret passageway that allowed them to escape from the soldiers, after following the dark tunnels they eventually caught up with a fleeing royal family. As compensation for saving Xavier's life she was given royal status, and not too long after she was getting trained in a prestigious martial arts school. Upon her graduation she was offered the job as the royal body guard of the Prince.

Though this sounds like she has had a blessed life, she hated her upbringing because she never had anyone who truly cared for her except that guard who saved her from an even more miserable existence. But much to her dismay, she found out that the guard had been killed while protecting the castle during the battle, and as a result she had no one.

No family and no friends.

So she shut herself in and avoided conversations with others unless she was given some kind of order.

That is until she met a certain boy who showed her unconditional kindness when he defied the Prince and lent her his back, this boy who's smile warms her to the core and can somehow make all of her past negativity towards people vanish with the sound of his voice. The boy that she is looking up at is the one person that brought out her true personality and integrated it into her daily life as if she was never hiding it in the first place.

"I can't speak for the others..." she says with a soft smile, "But for me, I would gladly stay by your side no matter what you are Ubica."

Tsubiri smiles and gently back paddles to shore leaving a shocked and somewhat flustered Ubica in her wake.

He puts his hand on his chest and can actually feel something beating. His whole body expression turns happy and excited, that is until the heartbeat quickly stops, and this results in a pained and guilty expression.

He bites his lip and shows a strained smile, "Those words are too kind to be directed at me... If you knew what I've actually done, you would come to despise me..."




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