Truth

## Truth (Eshan Leza x Rimildia Phinora)

### Part 1: Bottled Up Feelings

I could see her from the window coming back from a mission in **Sofna**. She left her horse to one of the twins and Elyon did the same. Both of them began walking towards the manor. I didn’t expect her to be back this late, hell even **Gaih** fell asleep. I honestly thought it would’ve gone faster. She didn’t eat dinner, but I knew we saved her more than enough. It hurt me that she didn’t eat a lot, it probably affected her negatively, whether she knew about it or not.

The main door opened and she stepped inside. I stood up from the big window pane and made my way downstairs. I didn’t want to seem desperate. Her mission attire had some blood stains and the smell instantly started to spread around the room. She saw me walking down the stairs to meet her, but she looked away and gave her coat to Elyon who brought it to be washed. She walked past me and ignored my presence. I was thinking of ignoring her too in return but decided not to. I have been waiting for her all this time. The least I want is her to talk to me, it shouldn’t be so hard in my opinion.

I followed Rimildia into the kitchen as she grabbed her plate and brought it with her back out, still ignoring me. This was truly frustrating. *“Hey.”* I said from behind but she continued walking. “*I put **Gaih** to bed.”* This time I said it louder than before. *“Thanks.”* she mumbled back and walked towards her room. I knew that if she got to her room it would be a suicide mission trying to get her out of there.

I ran up to her and she kept walking. She was walking faster, *“Are you hating me or avoiding me?”* I questioned angrily. *“I’ve been waiting for you! The least I want is for you to talk to me! Recognize that I exist! Is that too much to ask?”* she stopped. Thank Goddess, finally. She looked down on her plate. I watched her and tried to see if I found something out of place. I did, she was shivering.

*“You got sick, right?”* I said sweetly. No need to be mad about this subject, I knew it was touchy. I knew about her biggest nightmare of being weak or being forced to rest. She nodded her head and kept looking down on her plate, still in her hands. I took it from her slowly and placed it on a small side table in the corridor and then hugged her softly. I heard her breathing change. I think she’s crying.

*“I don’t want to be sick, Eshan.”* I placed my head upon hers and used it as a headrest. I knew she found that comforting. *“Elyon and I will protect **Gaih** while you’re like this.”* she shook her head.

*“Then I’m a burden.”* she argued. Honestly speaking, she wasn't wrong, but I had nothing against it. I sighed quietly. *“And how often am I a burden to you?”* I asked. She looked up on me with big eyes, they were red but it was cute.

*“You’re not a-”*

*“Honestly now. I’m basically in your debt.”* She looked away with guilt in her eyes.

*“Yeah.”* she answered.

*“Hey! You’re not supposed to say that.”* I started tickling her. She laughed and it was truly a beautiful laugh. She would probably pierce me with her rapier if I said it out loud though.

*“Come now. The Mighty Protector of Sofna. Time for bed, right?”* I picked her up and opened the door to her bedroom. I had one of my hands beneath her and one on her back. I could feel her smiling on my shoulder.

I placed her on the bed and gave her the sleeping gown resting on the bed. Rimildia had already closed her eyes and it was almost like she had already fallen asleep. *“Hey, come on. Change.”* The only female servant in the household was **Narya**, the maid. Unfortunately I think she had already fallen asleep. I had no choice but to keep her awake until she'd successfully changed clothing. I picked her up again and placed her behind the stall in her room. When Elyon was keeping track of her she usually changed her clothing behind it. She resisted me when I tried putting her down on the stool. *“No..”* she kept mumbling. *“Well, what do you want me to do, then? You can’t sleep like that! Elyon is going to kill me and then he’s gonna kill you.”* She didn’t react. *“Then I have time to escape while he…. “* she was interrupted by a yawn. *“-... hides the body.”* I felt a little insulted deep down, but she was also kind of funny when being this tired. She really said what she thought instead of staying quiet. I wonder how tired Elyon were of watching over her when she was like this. Perhaps he enjoyed it a little too.

*“The bed.. now.”* she ordered and pointed at the bed. I was honestly surprised by how she acted when she was really tired. Maybe one of the citizens had offered her a little bit of alcohol as a reward. I did what she asked. *“Come now, you can’t sleep like that.”* I tried again. She mumbled something before speaking again. *“Help me.”* she lifted her hands up. *“The shirt.”* she said. I got a little flustered. This is normal. I’m just being nice. Yes, I’m nice. I’m a friend. I pulled her shirt off and she gave me a smile as she laid down. I took off her socks. *“Now you take off the pants. I did the rest.”* she whined a little but then agreed. I was surprised at how she actually went along with it. I did my best not looking at her body as I placed the blanket over her. I started walking out of her bedroom and towards the guest room, which almost were mine at this point thinking of how often I visited her. *“No, wait.”* she whined again. I returned to her with a sigh. I was honestly becoming really tired at this point.

*“Here.”* she grabbed onto my hand. I felt her warmth. *“Here?”* I asked. She used her second hand to pat on the other side of the bed. *“Stay here.”* I felt a smile starting to form on my lips. *“Okay.”* I answered sweetly. I took off my jacket and socks so that I could lay down more comfortably. I would lie if I said I didn’t enjoy this.

### Part 2: Don’t Leave Me Alone

When I woke up I could feel something hugging me and my head felt heavy. I opened my eyes and was met by Rimildias sleeping face in front of mine. Her leg had been placed upon me and her arm rested over my chest. She looked like an angel when she was sleeping. I caught myself just looking at her for a while before I noticed how she started to stretch her body. I quickly closed my eyes and faked being asleep. I wasn't brave enough to meet her gaze. She let out a slight moan and I could hear her catching her breath. She must’ve realized how she had been cuddling me for the night. Rimildia rolled over to the other side and I was just going to open my eyes before I felt her tossing and turning again. I heard her say my name and she poked my arm. I faked waking up and looked at her. *“Are you alright?”* I asked her. Rimildia seemed like she didn't know how to answer. I noticed how her lips no longer were pink, but had turned purple. I pointed it out and she laid her index finger on her lips to check. She then started hiding her lips. It made no sense, I had already seen them.

*“Do I have to stay here?”* She asked me quietly. I made a gentle mess with her hair and nodded.

*“You need to drink something warm so that you can heal faster, alright?”* I started to make my way off the bed but she grabbed my wrist. *“Wait!”* she said. I could tell it wasn’t her own choice but something she had done by instinct. *“Can you stay here with me?*” she continued. I expected her to try and win me over with the ‘puppy eyes’-look but to my surprise I could sense real fear in her eyes.

*“Hey, don’t worry. I’ll just go and make you some-”*

*“Please!”* she seemed so desperate that it made me feel guilty leaving her alone. I laid down on the bed again and breathed normally again. She took my hand in hers and looked at me. *“Thank you.”* she said softly. A shiver went down my spine when I felt her cold touch. *“You’re cold, get under the covers again.”* my morning voice was still with me whether I liked it or not. I had to clear my throat before speaking. Rimildia moved under the blankets and held them up for me to join her. I felt like it would be a mood-breaker if I didn’t. She looked away from me again and I knew what it meant. I turned her head and could see her eyes growing more irritated again. Poor girl would start crying again.

*“Come here.”* I said and gave her a tight hug. She had no choice but to let me, I was stronger than her in raw strength. Her tears rolled down my shoulder but it didn’t matter. *“You’re not weak.”* I comforted her while shushing her cries.

*“Your body just needs to strengthen up a bit.”* Her crying was not as aggressive now but I felt her hands grabbing the back of my shirt. I let her do that.

*“You’re really cold so I’m gonna stay here for now. When Elyon shows up we ask him to make you some tea, okay?”* I started to pat her head. I felt her nodding her head and I laid down with her on top of my chest. *“Just don’t leave me alone.”* she cried softly.

### Part 3: Black Swan

The moonlight shined through the big glass in the manors ballroom. Everything was quiet, the only noise being my own breath every other ten seconds. I recognized the footsteps breaking the silence as they walked over the wooden floor. My body turned around and I noticed her wearing her sleeping gown. The black fabric reflected the light perfectly and her messy bun made her nothing but prettier. The smile on my lips wasn't forced, but I couldn’t stop. I guess pretty things made me happy.

*“What are you doing up?”* I asked Rimildia and placed my hand on her shoulder. It was late. The only thing she’d done today was drinking tea made by Elyon. She should rest because of her illness, but it would be a lie saying I didn't appreciate the company.

*“I can’t sleep knowing you’re awake, so I looked around for you. It took some time to find you though.”* she said as her fingers started fiddling. It was cute.

*“So what are you doing here of all places?”* Her voice was so raspy by now. Rest was really the thing she needed, but even I didn’t want to admit it. I wanted to spend time with her.

*“Something about the piano and the moonlight.”* I answered as I glanced over at the lonely piano.

*“But also because I know you used to love this place.”* The words escaped my mouth without my consent. I switched my vision onto her for a reaction, but she didn’t seem to mind. I knew the past was something she didn’t want to remember. Why did I say that?

*“It’s no use denying it. I did love this place. It reminds me of my family, mostly Alre. He always mingled with the girls by the piano.”* Rimildia continued. It was a relief that she wasn’t hurt by my words. I remembered the piano and how her family would host parties. My family would always be seen as outsiders, as we were the only common family invited. All other guests usually consisted of noble blood. We weren’t treated badly, but it were clear many of them looked down on us for attending.

I walked over to the piano and Rimildia followed my lead. She would spend her time dancing around the room while Alre teached me how to play the piano. I wanted to go back and do that again, but both of us knew it wasn’t possible. I began playing his favorite song and she recognized it immediately. I wondered how long it had been since she heard it last. I made space for her beside me on the stool and she sat down. I noticed how her eyelids struggled to stay open.

*“Are you tired?”* I asked her, already knowing the answer.

*“No.”* she said before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

*“I just like the piano.”* Rimildia continued. I flashed her a smile and continued playing the slow euphoric melody. In the end, I had always wanted something like this.

As I continued playing for a minute or two her head began to slowly fall more and more. I didn’t stop playing, but I continued using my left to play the chords. With my right I placed her gently against my shoulder instead so her neck wouldn’t hurt. After I knew she'd already fallen asleep the name of the song occured to me. Black Swan. I remembered it as the alias she’d taken in the very beginning of her family's death. She was no such thing, because she was no mere black swan anymore. She was the one and only Rimildia Phinora who I’ve always loved since the first time we met.