Imperial War Academy |Year 2|[FT/Fan-T][OPEN][IC]

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Rache
"Be careful lifting him!" I bark. "We can't risk making his injuries worse. Liselotte, help me lift his legs, we need to carry him so his guts don't fall out. And hopefully it will help with the bleeding but we need to get moving in case they don't make it in time. Maria, run and alert the garrison. Inform them of the incident and inform them we have people badly injured."

"Sire." Maria brings her hand to her heart and starts running, weapon at the ready in case she encounters anymore. I know she is the fastest runner out of our delegation so it should be fine.

"Rain, help Flavia up and support her to the medbay."

"Cousin." Rain loops her arm under Flavia and supports Flavia on her good leg and the pair start walking.

"The rest of you assist the wounded."

"Master one of them are still alive. I had missed his head through the smoke." Anastasia yells over.

"Keep a weapon pointed at him until the garrison arrives to take him in. That's an order."

"Master."

[Thaitum]

Larion was glad to know his fellow cadet was alright amd continued firing at his enemies. He was about to take cover and ask him his name but saw no one there anymore. He must have gone ahead into the frontlines. I'm sure he'll be fine. If he could survive his previous incident then he'll be able to survive this I suppose. Larion noticed the smoke screen the others had made to decimate the enemy forces. He then decided to make a move of his own, he would charge the enemy head on like some students had done. He took our his power sword and sprinted into the enemy ranks. He saw how the bullets headed straight towards him and he dodged as best he could and felt the projectiles whizz by, sometimes they even came close to his face. Larion was doing great until he found one bullet he couldn't dodge and decided to instead maneuver his left shoulder into position so that the bullet hit the large shield like armor pad on the Tau armor (in Tau war tactics it was practically meant to be used as a shield while firing at the enemy). The bullet made a direct hit and the projectile nearly shattered his bones, but Thaitumites were naturally resistant to pain and had rather tough bones, plus the shield pad did good work in protecting its user. Larion continued his charge until making contact with his first foe and thrusting his sword into him. Meanwhile another enemy was about to hit Larion with the butt of a gun, but Larion quickly unsheathed his sword from within his previous enemy, nearly spun around, and sliced the other foe through his stomach. With his nearly shattered arm Larion pulled out his pulse pistol and fired about three slugs into yet another opponent. Larion then began falling back behind cover. While returning to his pillar he was fired upon and one bullet scraped through his leg and one came close to hitting his side. Now behind cover he took a deep breath and picked up his rifle and began firing again.

After the battle Larion looked around to see thr damage done by both sides. The students had performed quite well in repelling the attack. He looked around again to see that the Tracian Prince had been severely injured. Damn, he was hurt worse than I thought. He walked over to the students carrying the Prince, blood occasionally gushing from his nearly shattered shoulder and both pulse pistol and power sword in either hand. He looked at the boy for while wondering if he'll make it.
Can't have any more casualties on my hands right now. He thought for a slight second before speaking. "I'll accompany you while carrying the Prince to provide extra protection in case we find more enemies along the way."

[Tracian Empire]

Unfortunately for the entire group, Maria would soon return, after her way to the garrison, as many other groups of attackers seemed to be everywhere. Power was now down, replaced by reddish alert rights as the entire academy seemed to have switched to an emergency power mode, and as such, there was no way to contact the personnel of the academy. No easy way, at the very least.

In the meantime, Slaine quickly put his rifle back in its holster, and tried to help Elaine to gently lift Michael, while Lise and Rachel were lifting him from his legs. It was the best way to deal with it, at least for now. The red eyed boy didn't seem to be aware of what was happening around him anymore. He looked at this sister for a few moments, confused. "Are you.. are you... are you.. some sort of..of.. an angel?" Michael started to laugh. A broken, delusional, laugh. "If that's.. true.. then.. you're wrong..there is no way.. an angel would come for me.. if I would be dying... I'm surely going.. on the other side.. in hell." The blonde Prince seemed to find his own words very amusing, as he continued to laugh, not caring about much else, as life was slowly dripping out of his body.

The other attacker, the only one that was still alive, heard what Rache had ordered to Anastasia. And he certainly didn't want to stick around. A small twitch of his arm. And later, when the others would check on him, they would notice that he was dead, poison having entered his veins. No weak link had to be left behind.

A couple moments later, the large doors to the training hall opened, and a man, breathing heavily, entered, wearing the uniform of the academy's personnel, the instructor from earlier. The instructor from earlier, the limping Thracian man, with his messy brown hair, and sickly yellow eyes. Unlike before though, he was wounded in his left shoulder, and he had a pistol in his right hand. "Damn it, these bastards came out of nowhere.", the instructor said, his Thracian accent being maybe just a little more pregnant than before. He looked at his students, noticing that some of them seemed to be wounded. "Well, we won't get too far without a fight. We could try to reach the military quarters. But I'm afraid that the bastard over there won't make it. So take a decision quick. Military quarters, or medical quarters?"

[Castle Crashers]

Unfortunately for the entire group, Maria would soon return, after her way to the garrison, as many other groups of attackers seemed to be everywhere. Power was now down, replaced by reddish alert rights as the entire academy seemed to have switched to an emergency power mode, and as such, there was no way to contact the personnel of the academy. No easy way, at the very least.

In the meantime, Slaine quickly put his rifle back in its holster, and tried to help Elaine to gently lift Michael, while Lise and Rachel were lifting him from his legs. It was the best way to deal with it, at least for now. The red eyed boy didn't seem to be aware of what was happening around him anymore. He looked at this sister for a few moments, confused. "Are you.. are you... are you.. some sort of..of.. an angel?" Michael started to laugh. A broken, delusional, laugh. "If that's.. true.. then.. you're wrong..there is no way.. an angel would come for me.. if I would be dying... I'm surely going.. on the other side.. in hell." The blonde Prince seemed to find his own words very amusing, as he continued to laugh, not caring about much else, as life was slowly dripping out of his body.

The other attacker, the only one that was still alive, heard what Rache had ordered to Anastasia. And he certainly didn't want to stick around. A small twitch of his arm. And later, when the others would check on him, they would notice that he was dead, poison having entered his veins. No weak link had to be left behind.

A couple moments later, the large doors to the training hall opened, and a man, breathing heavily, entered, wearing the uniform of the academy's personnel, the instructor from earlier. The instructor from earlier, the limping Thracian man, with his messy brown hair, and sickly yellow eyes. Unlike before though, he was wounded in his left shoulder, and he had a pistol in his right hand. "Damn it, these bastards came out of nowhere.", the instructor said, his Thracian accent being maybe just a little more pregnant than before. He looked at his students, noticing that some of them seemed to be wounded. "Well, we won't get too far without a fight. We could try to reach the military quarters. But I'm afraid that the bastard over there won't make it. So take a decision quick. Military quarters, or medical quarters?"

At first, as Elaine and the others were struggling to carry Michael somewhere safer to get medical attention, she was caught off-guard by his sudden statement, asking her if she was an angel, and then laughing in an almost...saddening way. "No...I'm afraid that I'm far from it." She responded softly, and while normally she would love to spit a snarky, arrogant comment back at him, she couldn't muster that side of herself when he was in a state like this. It seemed...far too cruel. "And I...don't think you would go to hell, anyway." While she...didn't really believe what she was saying, she knew he needed some form of moral support to carry him along. And guessing by the silence of the others, she was the only one who could, or would, offer it. And just as that, though, the instructor that had seemed oddly Thracian reappeared, and it was...far too obvious from his accent to prove his lineage. He was just like them; a Thracian. And when he spoke...she couldn't quite help but feel a bit offended. Choose? Choose between weapons and a student's life? Are you kidding? Do you really need to choose!? "The answer to that isn't obvious?" She asked, obviously a little upset by the question. "We have to go to the medical quarters first! He needs medical attention as soon as possible or he'll die!"

[Tracian Empire]

Unfortunately for the entire group, Maria would soon return, after her way to the garrison, as many other groups of attackers seemed to be everywhere. Power was now down, replaced by reddish alert rights as the entire academy seemed to have switched to an emergency power mode, and as such, there was no way to contact the personnel of the academy. No easy way, at the very least.

In the meantime, Slaine quickly put his rifle back in its holster, and tried to help Elaine to gently lift Michael, while Lise and Rachel were lifting him from his legs. It was the best way to deal with it, at least for now. The red eyed boy didn't seem to be aware of what was happening around him anymore. He looked at this sister for a few moments, confused. "Are you.. are you... are you.. some sort of..of.. an angel?" Michael started to laugh. A broken, delusional, laugh. "If that's.. true.. then.. you're wrong..there is no way.. an angel would come for me.. if I would be dying... I'm surely going.. on the other side.. in hell." The blonde Prince seemed to find his own words very amusing, as he continued to laugh, not caring about much else, as life was slowly dripping out of his body.

The other attacker, the only one that was still alive, heard what Rache had ordered to Anastasia. And he certainly didn't want to stick around. A small twitch of his arm. And later, when the others would check on him, they would notice that he was dead, poison having entered his veins. No weak link had to be left behind.

A couple moments later, the large doors to the training hall opened, and a man, breathing heavily, entered, wearing the uniform of the academy's personnel, the instructor from earlier. The instructor from earlier, the limping Thracian man, with his messy brown hair, and sickly yellow eyes. Unlike before though, he was wounded in his left shoulder, and he had a pistol in his right hand. "Damn it, these bastards came out of nowhere.", the instructor said, his Thracian accent being maybe just a little more pregnant than before. He looked at his students, noticing that some of them seemed to be wounded. "Well, we won't get too far without a fight. We could try to reach the military quarters. But I'm afraid that the bastard over there won't make it. So take a decision quick. Military quarters, or medical quarters?"

At first, as Elaine and the others were struggling to carry Michael somewhere safer to get medical attention, she was caught off-guard by his sudden statement, asking her if she was an angel, and then laughing in an almost...saddening way. "No...I'm afraid that I'm far from it." She responded softly, and while normally she would love to spit a snarky, arrogant comment back at him, she couldn't muster that side of herself when he was in a state like this. It seemed...far too cruel. "And I...don't think you would go to hell, anyway." While she...didn't really believe what she was saying, she knew he needed some form of moral support to carry him along. And guessing by the silence of the others, she was the only one who could, or would, offer it. And just as that, though, the instructor that had seemed oddly Thracian reappeared, and it was...far too obvious from his accent to prove his lineage. He was just like them; a Thracian. And when he spoke...she couldn't quite help but feel a bit offended. Choose? Choose between weapons and a student's life? Are you kidding? Do you really need to choose!? "The answer to that isn't obvious?" She asked, obviously a little upset by the question. "We have to go to the medical quarters first! He needs medical attention as soon as possible or he'll die!"

"No, the answer isn't obvious.", the Thracian instructor replied coldly. "Our first priority is the safety of the group as a whole, and as such, any wounded people are only a liability. We have no idea who the enemies are, what they want, or how many they are. For all we know, the entire academy could have fallen already. We have, by all means, to make contact with the military personnel of the academy. We have no idea how many enemies we can meet on the way to the medical area, or if the medical area is even working. Overall, going there just to save him could get us all killed." The instructor made a short pause, clearly disgusted by the simple thought of having to die for the wounded prince. "And plus, what do you think that bastard would have done? If any of you would have been in his place? He would have abandoned you to die. Just think about it."

The red eyed boy on the other hand, was clearly unable to respond to the accusation in any way. It seems that he was already in his own world, looking at the ceiling. "You sure look like one though.. you remind me of someone I know though.. maybe..", Michael said, laughing again. "It's obvious that I'll end there..I have so much blood on my hands.. and I'm not even feeling sorry about it.. I liked it.. I liked it all.." It was clear that the blood loss was catching up on him. "I don't care.. if it's going to earn father's praise.. I can't be weak.. I can't be the weak one.. I'm going to prove father.. that I'm the best.. that it doesn't matter.. if mother.. wasn't a true noble.. my blood.. isn't impure.. my mother.. and my sister.. weren't weak.. our blood.. isn't weak.." Then, the blonde Thracian prince started to laugh again, seemingly finding everything very amusing.

"But well, if you want to die just to save the life of a murderous bastard, your choice.", the instructor said. "Let's go."

---

"Well, I told you.", the instructor said, seemingly happy around it. The group of students and him were hidden behind a wall, close to the medical area. If any of them were to look over the corner, they could notice a platoon of attackers, with probably about 40 of them, blocking the way. They hadn't noticed the presence of the students yet, as they were hidden. Michael was quiet now, on the floor next to them, even paler than before, with blood slowly but surely. He hadn't bled to death yet, so that was a good sign, but it was obvious that he had a massive internal bleeding. And maybe even worse, his stomach had been hit, though it was no way to say for sure. But having stomach acid pour out inside you.. let's just say that it hurt, a lot. And Michael had screamed enough on the way here, until he had finally seemed to pass out.

Slaine on the other hand, looked at Elaine, with his cold, empty eyes. "Princess, please tell us what to do. If you so wish, I can attract the attention of those soldiers, and have them try to catch me. That should open the way."

[Castle Crashers]

At first, as Elaine and the others were struggling to carry Michael somewhere safer to get medical attention, she was caught off-guard by his sudden statement, asking her if she was an angel, and then laughing in an almost...saddening way. "No...I'm afraid that I'm far from it." She responded softly, and while normally she would love to spit a snarky, arrogant comment back at him, she couldn't muster that side of herself when he was in a state like this. It seemed...far too cruel. "And I...don't think you would go to hell, anyway." While she...didn't really believe what she was saying, she knew he needed some form of moral support to carry him along. And guessing by the silence of the others, she was the only one who could, or would, offer it. And just as that, though, the instructor that had seemed oddly Thracian reappeared, and it was...far too obvious from his accent to prove his lineage. He was just like them; a Thracian. And when he spoke...she couldn't quite help but feel a bit offended. Choose? Choose between weapons and a student's life? Are you kidding? Do you really need to choose!? "The answer to that isn't obvious?" She asked, obviously a little upset by the question. "We have to go to the medical quarters first! He needs medical attention as soon as possible or he'll die!"

"No, the answer isn't obvious.", the Thracian instructor replied coldly. "Our first priority is the safety of the group as a whole, and as such, any wounded people are only a liability. We have no idea who the enemies are, what they want, or how many they are. For all we know, the entire academy could have fallen already. We have, by all means, to make contact with the military personnel of the academy. We have no idea how many enemies we can meet on the way to the medical area, or if the medical area is even working. Overall, going there just to save him could get us all killed." The instructor made a short pause, clearly disgusted by the simple thought of having to die for the wounded prince. "And plus, what do you think that bastard would have done? If any of you would have been in his place? He would have abandoned you to die. Just think about it."

The red eyed boy on the other hand, was clearly unable to respond to the accusation in any way. It seems that he was already in his own world, looking at the ceiling. "You sure look like one though.. you remind me of someone I know though.. maybe..", Michael said, laughing again. "It's obvious that I'll end there..I have so much blood on my hands.. and I'm not even feeling sorry about it.. I liked it.. I liked it all.." It was clear that the blood loss was catching up on him. "I don't care.. if it's going to earn father's praise.. I can't be weak.. I can't be the weak one.. I'm going to prove father.. that I'm the best.. that it doesn't matter.. if mother.. wasn't a true noble.. my blood.. isn't impure.. my mother.. and my sister.. weren't weak.. our blood.. isn't weak.." Then, the blonde Thracian prince started to laugh again, seemingly finding everything very amusing.

"But well, if you want to die just to save the life of a murderous bastard, your choice.", the instructor said. "Let's go."

---

"Well, I told you.", the instructor said, seemingly happy around it. The group of students and him were hidden behind a wall, close to the medical area. If any of them were to look over the corner, they could notice a platoon of attackers, with probably about 40 of them, blocking the way. They hadn't noticed the presence of the students yet, as they were hidden. Michael was quiet now, on the floor next to them, even paler than before, with blood slowly but surely. He hadn't bled to death yet, so that was a good sign, but it was obvious that he had a massive internal bleeding. And maybe even worse, his stomach had been hit, though it was no way to say for sure. But having stomach acid pour out inside you.. let's just say that it hurt, a lot. And Michael had screamed enough on the way here, until he had finally seemed to pass out.

Slaine on the other hand, looked at Elaine, with his cold, empty eyes. "Princess, please tell us what to do. If you so wish, I can attract the attention of those soldiers, and have them try to catch me. That should open the way."

Even if Elaine didn't quite favor the attention or presence of her brother, she couldn't help but feel sympathetic of him. He was in so much pain...and while she had wished for that only a short while ago, now she could only wish for the opposite for him. She couldn't even imagine what he must be going through at the moment, until, finally, he seemed to be put at ease as his consciousness slipped into a dormant state. She had been distracted by him, but was quickly drawn back when Slaine spoke to her. The emptiness in his eyes and the monotone of his words stung a little, but she did her best to ignore it. She could only imagine how he would've acted in this situation if he'd only somehow evaded that punishments of the Penal Battalion. She could almost see the gleam of determination in his blue eyes, or the furrowing of his brow when he was concentrating, or perhaps even the tone of his voice when something urgent was happening. Why couldn't she have somehow saved him from this emotionless fate..?

No, don't slip into a depressive state just yet. She told herself. Focus on the issue at hand, save your brother, and then, maybe...just maybe... her thought trailed off, and she refocused herself. She'd...never been told to give orders before. She could see now the stress that was placed on officers to make these life threatening situations, and while she didn't want anything to happen to Slaine...they...had to do something to get their attention. "...no, you can't go alone." She replied, casting a glance out at the soldiers before she looked back to him. "...besides, that would just reveal our position. You would be killed in an instant."

She thought for another moment. "Perhaps...perhaps we could throw a few grenades out, followed by a smoke grenade if we have any left, and take out the remaining soldiers under the cover of the smoke while we move Michael into the medical bay..." She frowned. "But I...I can't say that'd work...I've never actually been put in a situation like this before, even with simulations."

[Tracian Empire]

Some time later

It was pretty quiet all around, as a small spaceship was travelling through the depths of space to take the group of students from the Imperial War Academy to one of the calmest and best known civilian planets of the Tophat Empire. A lot had happened, ever since those terrorists had attacked the Academy. The students had taken a good decision, by going to the medical area, they managed to save Michael's life, and in the process, they managed to keep a big group of enemies busy, just enough for the Academy's security personnel to get into action. Despite everyone's best actions, they didn't manage to find who exactly had attacked the academy..but their contribution to the battle had surely been appreciated. After the recovery of those wounded, the Academy had decided to reward the students with a small holiday, a trip to a civilian planet, that was apparently also some kind of a resort, a destination for tourists... a welcomed change from the usual military activities that they had in the academy. All they had to do for now, was to wait, for the spaceship to reach that planet. But that was kinda difficult.. since the atmosphere was pretty tense... for various reasons.

The spaceship's interior, at least the part for the passengers, looked very similarly to how a well decorated airplane's interior would have looked in real life, certainly no economy class. And they were the only ones in there, leaving them with more than enough seats to take, and the seats were spaciously arranged, with two blocks of seats, divided by an aisle. Each group had two seats per row, one next to the wall, and one next to the aisle. It was a spaceship, so no windows were included, but the passengers could use their screens to see what was happening outside, a minor detail. But the way in which the seats were grouped meant that the students had to sit in pairs of two, or alone, which clearly created some problems...but well.

A certain red eyed Thracian Prince sighed, sitting in the first row on the left block of seats, on the seat next to the aisle. He looked pretty well.. for a boy that had been shot and that had nearly died from bloodloss just a few days ago.. but Tau medicine made wonders. Still, he was relatively pale, and weakened, but he was well enough to come in this trip. The good effect of his shooting was the silence, however. Ever since he had been short, nearly died, and then, after he was saved by the other students, but especially, by Elaine's insistence to take him to the medical area.. Michael had been uncharacteristically quiet. Thinking about various things, probably. But that also meant that his usual attempts to insult and annoy people were also missing, and the Prince had been trying to keep his distance from the others, but especially from his sister, from what it looked like.

Nevertheless, the seat next to him, the one next to the wall, was occupied by Lise, having to stay next to him due to being his bodyguard and everything.. a bodyguard that had kinda failed to protect him during the battle. Of course, it wasn't like anyone was blaming her or anything, not even Michael.. but this failure, together with the other things that had happened so far.. it sure did give her a lot of things to quietly think about. But not much could be compared to the pain of her older brother not even recognizing her.. so if anyone would have looked at her right now, she would have seemed on the verge of crying, like so many times before. Not that Michael had noticed that, though.

As for Slaine.. well, he was sitting separately, behind them, next to the wall, and alone, as the seat next to him was empty. He was just.. sitting there, not looking at anything in particular, his eyes cold and empty. Was he thinking about something? Who knew? Thinking had been forbidden to them.. but of course, entirely stopping a human being from thinking was next to impossible. As such.. his appearance was covering his empty self.. but was it as empty as it seemed to be?..

But anyway, the rest of the students were all around, talking, enjoying their trip.. or just standing in silence. But for the first time in quite a while... they were going to enjoy some time of their own.. a holiday.

Or something close to it, at least.
Maybe.

[Castle Crashers]

She...wasn't sure what to expect from this trip.

Ever since the attack on the academy, everyone had been on high alert and tense. She guessed they'd provided this vacation to them as a way to relax and go back to their normal selves, but she doubted that this would really help much. What would be down there? A beach? A ski resort? A normal, sunny, grassy place with flowers and blooming plants? It had been so vague...but it wasn't like they had a choice whether to go or not, anyway. She hoped that, atleast, maybe now...so much wouldn't be expected of her. Now, she only felt like things had worsened. Michael was ignoring her, Slaine hadn't changed, and Lise always looked like she was going to cry. She couldn't blame her, though; if she had the emotional capacity to do that more than she already had in her time here, she would. But now...she only felt...tired. Exhausted, even. It felt like she couldn't get enough sleep, and like she could never feel all the happiness she wanted to. There wasn't much of it there anyway, though.

From where she was, Elaine sat on the seat closest to the aisle, adjacent to where Slaine sat alone. Next to her seemed to be Dietrich, but she didn't care to give him any attention. She knew it was likely pointless, but now seemed like a good time to try and make a little more progress on Slaine's mental state. She could still feel the weight of his necklace in her pocket, but she wasn't ready to give it to him just yet. If she could just wait a little more, see the progress he was making, maybe then...maybe...but she would just have to see. She wasn't entirely sure how much longer they had on the spaceship, but she felt that there was enough time to atleast start a conversation with the blonde-haired boy.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and moved to the seat beside Slaine, though she didn't bother to rebuckle herself into that one. Instead, she gave the boy beside her a light smile, and decided to maybe add a bit of a topic. It would be a good way to see what his train of thought was, atleast. "So, what're you thinking about?" She asked in an almost-playful tone. Atleast, as much as she could manage. "Anything interesting?"

[Tracian Empire]

She...wasn't sure what to expect from this trip.

Ever since the attack on the academy, everyone had been on high alert and tense. She guessed they'd provided this vacation to them as a way to relax and go back to their normal selves, but she doubted that this would really help much. What would be down there? A beach? A ski resort? A normal, sunny, grassy place with flowers and blooming plants? It had been so vague...but it wasn't like they had a choice whether to go or not, anyway. She hoped that, atleast, maybe now...so much wouldn't be expected of her. Now, she only felt like things had worsened. Michael was ignoring her, Slaine hadn't changed, and Lise always looked like she was going to cry. She couldn't blame her, though; if she had the emotional capacity to do that more than she already had in her time here, she would. But now...she only felt...tired. Exhausted, even. It felt like she couldn't get enough sleep, and like she could never feel all the happiness she wanted to. There wasn't much of it there anyway, though.

From where she was, Elaine sat on the seat closest to the aisle, adjacent to where Slaine sat alone. Next to her seemed to be Dietrich, but she didn't care to give him any attention. She knew it was likely pointless, but now seemed like a good time to try and make a little more progress on Slaine's mental state. She could still feel the weight of his necklace in her pocket, but she wasn't ready to give it to him just yet. If she could just wait a little more, see the progress he was making, maybe then...maybe...but she would just have to see. She wasn't entirely sure how much longer they had on the spaceship, but she felt that there was enough time to atleast start a conversation with the blonde-haired boy.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and moved to the seat beside Slaine, though she didn't bother to rebuckle herself into that one. Instead, she gave the boy beside her a light smile, and decided to maybe add a bit of a topic. It would be a good way to see what his train of thought was, atleast. "So, what're you thinking about?" She asked in an almost-playful tone. Atleast, as much as she could manage. "Anything interesting?"

Deep into his own thoughts, Slaine did not notice when Elaine moved to the seat next to him, only realizing that when the girl started to speak. As he looked at her, the princess could have easily noticed that he looked.. just as always. None of them was wearing the Academy uniforms anymore, since they were on holiday, but he had no civilian clothes. .so he was wearing one of this usual, blue-red uniforms. He was a little pale, after all, he had been shot.. quite a number of times over the past weeks, and his hair was a little messily arranged, just as always..but what stood out the most from his appearance was clearly, the black-red, metallic collar around his neck. It wasn't very large, so it would have been easy to miss by anyone not knowing at what they were looking, and it simply looked.. fragile, but there was no way to take that off, holiday or not. And dark blue eyes.. they seemed to be just as always.. but when the boy looked back at Elaine.. it was as if they weren't completely empty. And as he said something.. he even managed to reply with a small smile on his face.. a smile that looked so real, especially when compared to the usual artificiality of his cold and empty expression.

"Ah.. hello.. prin-.., Elaine.", the blue eyed boy answered, correcting himself right in the middle, remembering how Elaine had asked him to no longer call her by her title, looking.. nearly embarrassed about his mistake. But then, he remained quiet for a few more moments.. not knowing what to say. What was he thinking about.. a good question. Thinking.. was pretty weird to him. Of course, not thinking in itself. He wasn't stupid. But.. thinking freely. That was usually prohibited. And the cruel training, or reeducation as it was called, through which penal soldiers had to go.. it twisted their mind, and the way they think. Up to a point where.. if a superior said something, it was true.You couldn't think about it, you couldn't question it. You couldn't think freely about anything. Because if they suspected that you were questioning their orders, or the doctrine of the Empire.. it was going to hurt. Really bad. That's why you couldn't let people realize that you were thinking about something, even when you were...but with Elaine.. he simply did not think that she was like them. That she was going to hurt him. Even if it was insane.. he felt as if.. he could drop his guard a little, when he was around her. And for him.. that meant a lot.

"I don't know.. about a lot of things.", the blonde boy eventually replied, his voice sounding perhaps a little.. less cold than usual."About what happened.. about why I can't.. remember things. It's like.. there is a wall between me and those things. And. I know.. I nearly know what's behind it. What I can't remember.. but then I..I always forget. They're so close.. so close that I could reach them.. but also so far away that I never can." Then the blue eyed boy remained quiet again. "But maybe.. maybe I shouldn't think about it. I.. I'm not allowed to."

[Castle Crashers]

She...wasn't sure what to expect from this trip.

Ever since the attack on the academy, everyone had been on high alert and tense. She guessed they'd provided this vacation to them as a way to relax and go back to their normal selves, but she doubted that this would really help much. What would be down there? A beach? A ski resort? A normal, sunny, grassy place with flowers and blooming plants? It had been so vague...but it wasn't like they had a choice whether to go or not, anyway. She hoped that, atleast, maybe now...so much wouldn't be expected of her. Now, she only felt like things had worsened. Michael was ignoring her, Slaine hadn't changed, and Lise always looked like she was going to cry. She couldn't blame her, though; if she had the emotional capacity to do that more than she already had in her time here, she would. But now...she only felt...tired. Exhausted, even. It felt like she couldn't get enough sleep, and like she could never feel all the happiness she wanted to. There wasn't much of it there anyway, though.

From where she was, Elaine sat on the seat closest to the aisle, adjacent to where Slaine sat alone. Next to her seemed to be Dietrich, but she didn't care to give him any attention. She knew it was likely pointless, but now seemed like a good time to try and make a little more progress on Slaine's mental state. She could still feel the weight of his necklace in her pocket, but she wasn't ready to give it to him just yet. If she could just wait a little more, see the progress he was making, maybe then...maybe...but she would just have to see. She wasn't entirely sure how much longer they had on the spaceship, but she felt that there was enough time to atleast start a conversation with the blonde-haired boy.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and moved to the seat beside Slaine, though she didn't bother to rebuckle herself into that one. Instead, she gave the boy beside her a light smile, and decided to maybe add a bit of a topic. It would be a good way to see what his train of thought was, atleast. "So, what're you thinking about?" She asked in an almost-playful tone. Atleast, as much as she could manage. "Anything interesting?"

Deep into his own thoughts, Slaine did not notice when Elaine moved to the seat next to him, only realizing that when the girl started to speak. As he looked at her, the princess could have easily noticed that he looked.. just as always. None of them was wearing the Academy uniforms anymore, since they were on holiday, but he had no civilian clothes. .so he was wearing one of this usual, blue-red uniforms. He was a little pale, after all, he had been shot.. quite a number of times over the past weeks, and his hair was a little messily arranged, just as always..but what stood out the most from his appearance was clearly, the black-red, metallic collar around his neck. It wasn't very large, so it would have been easy to miss by anyone not knowing at what they were looking, and it simply looked.. fragile, but there was no way to take that off, holiday or not. And dark blue eyes.. they seemed to be just as always.. but when the boy looked back at Elaine.. it was as if they weren't completely empty. And as he said something.. he even managed to reply with a small smile on his face.. a smile that looked so real, especially when compared to the usual artificiality of his cold and empty expression.

"Ah.. hello.. prin-.., Elaine.", the blue eyed boy answered, correcting himself right in the middle, remembering how Elaine had asked him to no longer call her by her title, looking.. nearly embarrassed about his mistake. But then, he remained quiet for a few more moments.. not knowing what to say. What was he thinking about.. a good question. Thinking.. was pretty weird to him. Of course, not thinking in itself. He wasn't stupid. But.. thinking freely. That was usually prohibited. And the cruel training, or reeducation as it was called, through which penal soldiers had to go.. it twisted their mind, and the way they think. Up to a point where.. if a superior said something, it was true.You couldn't think about it, you couldn't question it. You couldn't think freely about anything. Because if they suspected that you were questioning their orders, or the doctrine of the Empire.. it was going to hurt. Really bad. That's why you couldn't let people realize that you were thinking about something, even when you were...but with Elaine.. he simply did not think that she was like them. That she was going to hurt him. Even if it was insane.. he felt as if.. he could drop his guard a little, when he was around her. And for him.. that meant a lot.

"I don't know.. about a lot of things.", the blonde boy eventually replied, his voice sounding perhaps a little.. less cold than usual."About what happened.. about why I can't.. remember things. It's like.. there is a wall between me and those things. And. I know.. I nearly know what's behind it. What I can't remember.. but then I..I always forget. They're so close.. so close that I could reach them.. but also so far away that I never can." Then the blue eyed boy remained quiet again. "But maybe.. maybe I shouldn't think about it. I.. I'm not allowed to."

As he turned his attention to her, she watched him very closely. She analyzed everything she could about his tone, his expression, the look in his eyes, everything. She wanted to make sure she didn't miss anything. She was delighted to see that he wasn't completely emotionless, not like he had been. There was something there, in his eyes; she wasn't entirely sure what, but it made her hopeful. He even managed a smile...one that truly looked genuine, and after all this time, she'd almost thought he wasn't capable of such a thing anymore. It made her feel better, better than she had been only a few moments ago. He even managed to correct himself and only use her name instead of princess, which was definitely a good sign.

When he was quiet and hesitated to answer for a moment, she grew a little worried. Then, finally, he did choose to answer, the opposite of what she'd originally been afraid of. She didn't know why, but for a moment she almost expected him to ignore her. To hear atleast a little bit of a tone in his voice was already making great progress, in comparison to the stone-cold, monotone expressions he'd used before. She just hoped that the progress wouldn't plateau here. She listened closely as he spoke, not missing a beat when he spoke of not being allowed to think. "No, that's not true!" She blurted out, almost interrupting him when he spoke before she calmed down a little. She knew he wouldn't be able to realize immediately that he was safe when he was around her. He always had been. Hell, if it hadn't been for her...he probably wouldn't be in this mess to begin with. "Atleast here...with us, outside of Thracian territory, you can think as you want...always, there are no consequences for free thought here. You can think as you like, no one here will punish you for it." She reassured him, regaining her soft smile.

"...and I know it's hard to remember, after all you've been through...I understand, it'll take some time. But...perhaps if we keep trying, if we keep persisting in trying to get through that wall, to get you through that wall, I believe you can." She said, wishing that somehow she could tell him all the things she remembered, and that somehow, he'd remember too. "...you just can't give up...you just have to keep trying...the only reason it's like this is because of what they've done to you. Maybe it will help if you know that while I'm here, while we're away from there, they can't hurt you. There are no consequences for remembering here...there's nothing wrong with being human here." She smiled again. "And...if you ever want a story or two to maybe help you remember something, I'm happy to provide. And...I'm sure Lise could help, too."

[Tracian Empire]

Deep into his own thoughts, Slaine did not notice when Elaine moved to the seat next to him, only realizing that when the girl started to speak. As he looked at her, the princess could have easily noticed that he looked.. just as always. None of them was wearing the Academy uniforms anymore, since they were on holiday, but he had no civilian clothes. .so he was wearing one of this usual, blue-red uniforms. He was a little pale, after all, he had been shot.. quite a number of times over the past weeks, and his hair was a little messily arranged, just as always..but what stood out the most from his appearance was clearly, the black-red, metallic collar around his neck. It wasn't very large, so it would have been easy to miss by anyone not knowing at what they were looking, and it simply looked.. fragile, but there was no way to take that off, holiday or not. And dark blue eyes.. they seemed to be just as always.. but when the boy looked back at Elaine.. it was as if they weren't completely empty. And as he said something.. he even managed to reply with a small smile on his face.. a smile that looked so real, especially when compared to the usual artificiality of his cold and empty expression.

"Ah.. hello.. prin-.., Elaine.", the blue eyed boy answered, correcting himself right in the middle, remembering how Elaine had asked him to no longer call her by her title, looking.. nearly embarrassed about his mistake. But then, he remained quiet for a few more moments.. not knowing what to say. What was he thinking about.. a good question. Thinking.. was pretty weird to him. Of course, not thinking in itself. He wasn't stupid. But.. thinking freely. That was usually prohibited. And the cruel training, or reeducation as it was called, through which penal soldiers had to go.. it twisted their mind, and the way they think. Up to a point where.. if a superior said something, it was true.You couldn't think about it, you couldn't question it. You couldn't think freely about anything. Because if they suspected that you were questioning their orders, or the doctrine of the Empire.. it was going to hurt. Really bad. That's why you couldn't let people realize that you were thinking about something, even when you were...but with Elaine.. he simply did not think that she was like them. That she was going to hurt him. Even if it was insane.. he felt as if.. he could drop his guard a little, when he was around her. And for him.. that meant a lot.

"I don't know.. about a lot of things.", the blonde boy eventually replied, his voice sounding perhaps a little.. less cold than usual."About what happened.. about why I can't.. remember things. It's like.. there is a wall between me and those things. And. I know.. I nearly know what's behind it. What I can't remember.. but then I..I always forget. They're so close.. so close that I could reach them.. but also so far away that I never can." Then the blue eyed boy remained quiet again. "But maybe.. maybe I shouldn't think about it. I.. I'm not allowed to."

As he turned his attention to her, she watched him very closely. She analyzed everything she could about his tone, his expression, the look in his eyes, everything. She wanted to make sure she didn't miss anything. She was delighted to see that he wasn't completely emotionless, not like he had been. There was something there, in his eyes; she wasn't entirely sure what, but it made her hopeful. He even managed a smile...one that truly looked genuine, and after all this time, she'd almost thought he wasn't capable of such a thing anymore. It made her feel better, better than she had been only a few moments ago. He even managed to correct himself and only use her name instead of princess, which was definitely a good sign.

When he was quiet and hesitated to answer for a moment, she grew a little worried. Then, finally, he did choose to answer, the opposite of what she'd originally been afraid of. She didn't know why, but for a moment she almost expected him to ignore her. To hear atleast a little bit of a tone in his voice was already making great progress, in comparison to the stone-cold, monotone expressions he'd used before. She just hoped that the progress wouldn't plateau here. She listened closely as he spoke, not missing a beat when he spoke of not being allowed to think. "No, that's not true!" She blurted out, almost interrupting him when he spoke before she calmed down a little. She knew he wouldn't be able to realize immediately that he was safe when he was around her. He always had been. Hell, if it hadn't been for her...he probably wouldn't be in this mess to begin with. "Atleast here...with us, outside of Thracian territory, you can think as you want...always, there are no consequences for free thought here. You can think as you like, no one here will punish you for it." She reassured him, regaining her soft smile.

"...and I know it's hard to remember, after all you've been through...I understand, it'll take some time. But...perhaps if we keep trying, if we keep persisting in trying to get through that wall, to get you through that wall, I believe you can." She said, wishing that somehow she could tell him all the things she remembered, and that somehow, he'd remember too. "...you just can't give up...you just have to keep trying...the only reason it's like this is because of what they've done to you. Maybe it will help if you know that while I'm here, while we're away from there, they can't hurt you. There are no consequences for remembering here...there's nothing wrong with being human here." She smiled again. "And...if you ever want a story or two to maybe help you remember something, I'm happy to provide. And...I'm sure Lise could help, too."

As Elaine stopped talking, Slaine remained quiet yet again.. because to him.. what she was saying was nearly beyond comprehension. It wasn't.. it wasn't as if he did not trust her. Of course.. after all he had been through, not fully trusting anyone had simply become a part of his being. Blindly following his superiors had never meant that he was trusting them. Out of all the people he had met here.. Elaine not only had never hurt him.. but she also did things that just.. confused him so much. Why.. why did she care so much about whether he was hurt or not? For him, it wasn't a question of whether he was going to be hurt or not. It had become a question of when he was going to be hurt. Sooner or later. He had just.. become used to it. It was something.. nearly normal. And compared to all the pain that he had to endure, back in the military.. the few times when he had been hurt here, in the academy.. they were nothing. So.. why did she care so much? For a while.. he had used to think that she was just trying to catch him while he was making a mistake. That she was there to test his determination and obedience. However, due to what had happened.. he just couldn't believe that anymore. But then... he was still lacking an answer. Why.. why was she so concerned about him? He just couldn't.. understand that concept. That concept of caring for another person.. even if it was pretty obvious that he also cared for Elaine, and not because of the orders that he had.

Which.. brought him to his second dilemma.. what was he even feeling? Why did he even risk his life for her so many times? He had his orders to protect the members of the Imperial Family... but Elaine wasn't necessarily a part of those orders. And certainly not up to the point of him risking his life for hers. So.. why did he do that? Why.. why was the thought of.. her getting hurt.. or even worse.. so unbearable for him? He just couldn't figure out why..back in the military, he had learned that there was no use in trying to help other people. Or trying to befriend them. After all.. with so many of the others constantly dying.. it was pretty difficult to value someone else's life. But Elaine.. why was she different? Why couldn't he stop thinking that somehow.. he had met her before? But how.. since it was impossible? He was just.. a lowly soldier. There was no way for him to have ever met her before.. even if he couldn't remember big parts of his life. But still.... this was all.. so confusing.

Eventually.. Slaine smiled again. But this time.. it was definitively a sad smile."Are you.. are you sure? That... I won't be punished?", the blonde boy asked.. in a nearly.. pleading way, as if.. he just couldn't believe it, his eyes... it was as if he was afraid... afraid, but it was like there was just a tiny bit of hope there. "It's just that..it seems so difficult.. to believe. Pain is.. normal.. being punished is.. normal. We're not.. we're not human beings, after all..", he continued, involuntarily touching his collar. And so it was. He wasn't sure why.. and he had no idea how to say it.. but... he was really grateful.. to her.. for all of this."I don't know.. I'll.. I'll try.. " Then, the boy stood there silent for a couple more moments.. looking at the seat in front of him.. where Lise was.. before he looked back at Elaine. "What.. story?"

[Castle Crashers]

As he turned his attention to her, she watched him very closely. She analyzed everything she could about his tone, his expression, the look in his eyes, everything. She wanted to make sure she didn't miss anything. She was delighted to see that he wasn't completely emotionless, not like he had been. There was something there, in his eyes; she wasn't entirely sure what, but it made her hopeful. He even managed a smile...one that truly looked genuine, and after all this time, she'd almost thought he wasn't capable of such a thing anymore. It made her feel better, better than she had been only a few moments ago. He even managed to correct himself and only use her name instead of princess, which was definitely a good sign.

When he was quiet and hesitated to answer for a moment, she grew a little worried. Then, finally, he did choose to answer, the opposite of what she'd originally been afraid of. She didn't know why, but for a moment she almost expected him to ignore her. To hear atleast a little bit of a tone in his voice was already making great progress, in comparison to the stone-cold, monotone expressions he'd used before. She just hoped that the progress wouldn't plateau here. She listened closely as he spoke, not missing a beat when he spoke of not being allowed to think. "No, that's not true!" She blurted out, almost interrupting him when he spoke before she calmed down a little. She knew he wouldn't be able to realize immediately that he was safe when he was around her. He always had been. Hell, if it hadn't been for her...he probably wouldn't be in this mess to begin with. "Atleast here...with us, outside of Thracian territory, you can think as you want...always, there are no consequences for free thought here. You can think as you like, no one here will punish you for it." She reassured him, regaining her soft smile.

"...and I know it's hard to remember, after all you've been through...I understand, it'll take some time. But...perhaps if we keep trying, if we keep persisting in trying to get through that wall, to get you through that wall, I believe you can." She said, wishing that somehow she could tell him all the things she remembered, and that somehow, he'd remember too. "...you just can't give up...you just have to keep trying...the only reason it's like this is because of what they've done to you. Maybe it will help if you know that while I'm here, while we're away from there, they can't hurt you. There are no consequences for remembering here...there's nothing wrong with being human here." She smiled again. "And...if you ever want a story or two to maybe help you remember something, I'm happy to provide. And...I'm sure Lise could help, too."

As Elaine stopped talking, Slaine remained quiet yet again.. because to him.. what she was saying was nearly beyond comprehension. It wasn't.. it wasn't as if he did not trust her. Of course.. after all he had been through, not fully trusting anyone had simply become a part of his being. Blindly following his superiors had never meant that he was trusting them. Out of all the people he had met here.. Elaine not only had never hurt him.. but she also did things that just.. confused him so much. Why.. why did she care so much about whether he was hurt or not? For him, it wasn't a question of whether he was going to be hurt or not. It had become a question of when he was going to be hurt. Sooner or later. He had just.. become used to it. It was something.. nearly normal. And compared to all the pain that he had to endure, back in the military.. the few times when he had been hurt here, in the academy.. they were nothing. So.. why did she care so much? For a while.. he had used to think that she was just trying to catch him while he was making a mistake. That she was there to test his determination and obedience. However, due to what had happened.. he just couldn't believe that anymore. But then... he was still lacking an answer. Why.. why was she so concerned about him? He just couldn't.. understand that concept. That concept of caring for another person.. even if it was pretty obvious that he also cared for Elaine, and not because of the orders that he had.

Which.. brought him to his second dilemma.. what was he even feeling? Why did he even risk his life for her so many times? He had his orders to protect the members of the Imperial Family... but Elaine wasn't necessarily a part of those orders. And certainly not up to the point of him risking his life for hers. So.. why did he do that? Why.. why was the thought of.. her getting hurt.. or even worse.. so unbearable for him? He just couldn't figure out why..back in the military, he had learned that there was no use in trying to help other people. Or trying to befriend them. After all.. with so many of the others constantly dying.. it was pretty difficult to value someone else's life. But Elaine.. why was she different? Why couldn't he stop thinking that somehow.. he had met her before? But how.. since it was impossible? He was just.. a lowly soldier. There was no way for him to have ever met her before.. even if he couldn't remember big parts of his life. But still.... this was all.. so confusing.

Eventually.. Slaine smiled again. But this time.. it was definitively a sad smile."Are you.. are you sure? That... I won't be punished?", the blonde boy asked.. in a nearly.. pleading way, as if.. he just couldn't believe it, his eyes... it was as if he was afraid... afraid, but it was like there was just a tiny bit of hope there. "It's just that..it seems so difficult.. to believe. Pain is.. normal.. being punished is.. normal. We're not.. we're not human beings, after all..", he continued, involuntarily touching his collar. And so it was. He wasn't sure why.. and he had no idea how to say it.. but... he was really grateful.. to her.. for all of this."I don't know.. I'll.. I'll try.. " Then, the boy stood there silent for a couple more moments.. looking at the seat in front of him.. where Lise was.. before he looked back at Elaine. "What.. story?"

When the look on his face changed, shifting immediately from something like happiness to sadness,the hope she'd had...cracked a little bit. Maybe...maybe she hadn't made much progress. Hearing the way he was speaking about himself, how he wasn't a human being, that he thought punishment was normal...it broke her heart a little more. Why had they damaged him so..? She wondered how different he would be if they hadn't destroyed his memory, his...humanity. Would he still be the same person she used to know?

Finally, when he asked her about the story, she was shaken from her thoughts and smiled softly once more, forcing a happy look onto her face. When she finally thought of a good one, her smile became a bit more genuine and she returned her eyes to him. "Okay, I have a good one," She said, taking a breath before she began. "It was...around when we first met. Not too long after that, I mean. Maybe...a few days. We were young, and I remember the first time we first saw each other. Your father had come for one of the trials within the Imperial Court, and I guess you'd snuck along...I could tell that you didn't quite know where you were, and I also could tell that you weren't supposed to be there, either. We met eyes, and, well," Her smile broadened a bit as she reminisced, "I can't say much after that because then you ran off to find your father, but I guess you followed him along quite a while after that. Soon enough, he began bringing you with him, but I suppose you always found a way to sneak off."

"We continued to bump into each other without really saying anything...I wasn't really scared of you as much as I was...curious. I was never sure why you'd come there, not until you told me, atleast. But it only took a little while for us to begin talking, and it was never much more than a hello, what's your name, goodbye sort of thing...and it took a good rainy day for you to actually approach me." She explained, before she looked off a little, as if she was experiencing it all over again. "...it was around when my father first began to lock me away in my room, and I guess while you'd been wandering around, you'd heard me crying. The door was locked, but...I guess by a stroke of luck, you found my balcony. It was pouring, but you only had to throw a rock or two at the balcony door to get my attention. I headed out into the rain, and I saw you down there. I was surprised and confused, but you just beckoned for me to follow you. You said that you had something to show me, something you thought I'd like, something you thought could cheer me up. I followed when we judged the coast was clear, and we ran, ran through the gardens, far, far away from that palace..." She looked down slightly. "...It wasn't cold in the rain. In fact, it was quite warm. We'd found a small hill that overlooked a lot of the city that surrounded the palace, and we continued to run around in the rain, laughing and...honestly, you helped me to forget that horrible place, even for just a moment. And...after a while of that, we sat under a small tree that had begun to grow on top of the hill, and while it wasn't fully grown yet, it provided enough cover for us. We sat there for what felt like hours, just listening to the rain, and after a while...I told you I didn't want to go back. I told you how they'd locked me away and confined me to that one room, and all you did was...smile."

She looked a bit...sad. "...you told me that you would come see me everyday from then on, and you said that you wouldn't leave until I had laughed and forgot about how horrible that place was. You...were probably the only thing that made me get through all of that." She was silent, then, almost as if she was trying not to cry. But, she knew, no tears would come. It only left her feeling sad and a bit lonely. "...you were my only friend, atleast. The only person that talked to me...but I don't guess you remember any of it."

[Tracian Empire]

As Elaine stopped talking, Slaine remained quiet yet again.. because to him.. what she was saying was nearly beyond comprehension. It wasn't.. it wasn't as if he did not trust her. Of course.. after all he had been through, not fully trusting anyone had simply become a part of his being. Blindly following his superiors had never meant that he was trusting them. Out of all the people he had met here.. Elaine not only had never hurt him.. but she also did things that just.. confused him so much. Why.. why did she care so much about whether he was hurt or not? For him, it wasn't a question of whether he was going to be hurt or not. It had become a question of when he was going to be hurt. Sooner or later. He had just.. become used to it. It was something.. nearly normal. And compared to all the pain that he had to endure, back in the military.. the few times when he had been hurt here, in the academy.. they were nothing. So.. why did she care so much? For a while.. he had used to think that she was just trying to catch him while he was making a mistake. That she was there to test his determination and obedience. However, due to what had happened.. he just couldn't believe that anymore. But then... he was still lacking an answer. Why.. why was she so concerned about him? He just couldn't.. understand that concept. That concept of caring for another person.. even if it was pretty obvious that he also cared for Elaine, and not because of the orders that he had.

Which.. brought him to his second dilemma.. what was he even feeling? Why did he even risk his life for her so many times? He had his orders to protect the members of the Imperial Family... but Elaine wasn't necessarily a part of those orders. And certainly not up to the point of him risking his life for hers. So.. why did he do that? Why.. why was the thought of.. her getting hurt.. or even worse.. so unbearable for him? He just couldn't figure out why..back in the military, he had learned that there was no use in trying to help other people. Or trying to befriend them. After all.. with so many of the others constantly dying.. it was pretty difficult to value someone else's life. But Elaine.. why was she different? Why couldn't he stop thinking that somehow.. he had met her before? But how.. since it was impossible? He was just.. a lowly soldier. There was no way for him to have ever met her before.. even if he couldn't remember big parts of his life. But still.... this was all.. so confusing.

Eventually.. Slaine smiled again. But this time.. it was definitively a sad smile."Are you.. are you sure? That... I won't be punished?", the blonde boy asked.. in a nearly.. pleading way, as if.. he just couldn't believe it, his eyes... it was as if he was afraid... afraid, but it was like there was just a tiny bit of hope there. "It's just that..it seems so difficult.. to believe. Pain is.. normal.. being punished is.. normal. We're not.. we're not human beings, after all..", he continued, involuntarily touching his collar. And so it was. He wasn't sure why.. and he had no idea how to say it.. but... he was really grateful.. to her.. for all of this."I don't know.. I'll.. I'll try.. " Then, the boy stood there silent for a couple more moments.. looking at the seat in front of him.. where Lise was.. before he looked back at Elaine. "What.. story?"

When the look on his face changed, shifting immediately from something like happiness to sadness,the hope she'd had...cracked a little bit. Maybe...maybe she hadn't made much progress. Hearing the way he was speaking about himself, how he wasn't a human being, that he thought punishment was normal...it broke her heart a little more. Why had they damaged him so..? She wondered how different he would be if they hadn't destroyed his memory, his...humanity. Would he still be the same person she used to know?

Finally, when he asked her about the story, she was shaken from her thoughts and smiled softly once more, forcing a happy look onto her face. When she finally thought of a good one, her smile became a bit more genuine and she returned her eyes to him. "Okay, I have a good one," She said, taking a breath before she began. "It was...around when we first met. Not too long after that, I mean. Maybe...a few days. We were young, and I remember the first time we first saw each other. Your father had come for one of the trials within the Imperial Court, and I guess you'd snuck along...I could tell that you didn't quite know where you were, and I also could tell that you weren't supposed to be there, either. We met eyes, and, well," Her smile broadened a bit as she reminisced, "I can't say much after that because then you ran off to find your father, but I guess you followed him along quite a while after that. Soon enough, he began bringing you with him, but I suppose you always found a way to sneak off."

"We continued to bump into each other without really saying anything...I wasn't really scared of you as much as I was...curious. I was never sure why you'd come there, not until you told me, atleast. But it only took a little while for us to begin talking, and it was never much more than a hello, what's your name, goodbye sort of thing...and it took a good rainy day for you to actually approach me." She explained, before she looked off a little, as if she was experiencing it all over again. "...it was around when my father first began to lock me away in my room, and I guess while you'd been wandering around, you'd heard me crying. The door was locked, but...I guess by a stroke of luck, you found my balcony. It was pouring, but you only had to throw a rock or two at the balcony door to get my attention. I headed out into the rain, and I saw you down there. I was surprised and confused, but you just beckoned for me to follow you. You said that you had something to show me, something you thought I'd like, something you thought could cheer me up. I followed when we judged the coast was clear, and we ran, ran through the gardens, far, far away from that palace..." She looked down slightly. "...It wasn't cold in the rain. In fact, it was quite warm. We'd found a small hill that overlooked a lot of the city that surrounded the palace, and we continued to run around in the rain, laughing and...honestly, you helped me to forget that horrible place, even for just a moment. And...after a while of that, we sat under a small tree that had begun to grow on top of the hill, and while it wasn't fully grown yet, it provided enough cover for us. We sat there for what felt like hours, just listening to the rain, and after a while...I told you I didn't want to go back. I told you how they'd locked me away and confined me to that one room, and all you did was...smile."

She looked a bit...sad. "...you told me that you would come see me everyday from then on, and you said that you wouldn't leave until I had laughed and forgot about how horrible that place was. You...were probably the only thing that made me get through all of that." She was silent, then, almost as if she was trying not to cry. But, she knew, no tears would come. It only left her feeling sad and a bit lonely. "...you were my only friend, atleast. The only person that talked to me...but I don't guess you remember any of it."

Slaine remained quiet as Elaine told him that story.. simply looking at her with his blue eyes. At the beginning, even if she didn't look truly happy... the boy was glad to see her smile again. And as she told him.. about what had happened in the past.. he tried to remember. He tried.. really, really hard. But.. he just couldn't. It was so difficult.. just to imagine what she was saying. Did he even.. have a father? A family? Was Lise.. actually his sister? Sometimes.. he thought that the answer was yes.. but that would have meant that he had forgotten his family. And the simple thought of that was.. horrible. Absolutely horrible. And had he ever been.. at the Imperial Court? In the Imperial propaganda.. that place was.. nearly a heaven. How could a lowly soldier like him have ever been there? And all of that... did he really meet Elaine there..? Did he really.. forget her afterwards? Did he.. really help that purple eyed girl? Did he really.. help another person? Did he really.. do something else.. something other than killing and bringing pain? Did he really tell her.. that he would see her everyday..that he would help her.. and that he wouldn't leave.. until she laughed? Until she would forget about the horrible place her father was keeping her in? He just... couldn't remember. He just couldn't remember any of it. He could barely.. imagine it. It was like.. the last, nearly lost fragment of an old dream. A younger Slaine, in red clothes, and a purple eyed girl, walking together on the hallways of a palace..but it was just his imagination. Even so.. even so.. if she said it.. if she said that.. he believed her. If she said that.. then it.. must have been true.

The earliest memory that he had.. it was so confusing. But at the same time.. it was the only thing connecting him to the past that he could no longer remember. It was him.. wearing the red clothing of the Thracian nobility...right during the night.. when they had hurt him for the first time. He couldn't.. remember all of it. Just.. bits and pieces. But he knew.. that he had done nothing that night. He did not cry.. he did not scream. As if he had come to accept.. his fate. That meant.. that meant that all that he had done.. all that he had went through.. it all had a purpose. It hadn't been in vain. He couldn't remember it..he couldn't remember that reason.. but there must have been a reason. A reason for why.. the past Slaine had accepted his fate. A reason for why he was doing this. And that.. that enough.. was making everything alright. That reason.. whatever it had been..it must have been important to him. And because of that.. because of that, even if he could no longer remember it... it had kept him from going insane. He was just a shell of what he had once been. But because of that.. even if he didn't fully realize it.. there was still hope.

As Elaine remained quiet.. Slaine was still looking at her.. as if..he was on the verge of crying. But he couldn't.. he just couldn't. "I'm sorry... I can't.. I can't remember. I can't remember if any of that happened.. or if I ever said anything like that to you..", the boy told her in a shaky voice. "But.. even if I don't remember it.. I believe you.. I believe everything you said. It's just that...I don't know.. if there is anything that I can do about that. I don't know.. if I will.. ever remember that. again. I'm not.. the same boy.. that helped you.. and that told you that. Not.. anymore. And.. I don't know.. I don't know if I will ever remember him. I don't know.. if he will ever return." But.. Slaine had no idea that Elaine simply had to tears to cry anymore. And seeing her sad... seeing her like that.. it was hurting him so much. "But.. I can... I can talk to you. I can.. I can be your friend. Only if you.. if you want that.. of course.."

[Castle Crashers]

When the look on his face changed, shifting immediately from something like happiness to sadness,the hope she'd had...cracked a little bit. Maybe...maybe she hadn't made much progress. Hearing the way he was speaking about himself, how he wasn't a human being, that he thought punishment was normal...it broke her heart a little more. Why had they damaged him so..? She wondered how different he would be if they hadn't destroyed his memory, his...humanity. Would he still be the same person she used to know?

Finally, when he asked her about the story, she was shaken from her thoughts and smiled softly once more, forcing a happy look onto her face. When she finally thought of a good one, her smile became a bit more genuine and she returned her eyes to him. "Okay, I have a good one," She said, taking a breath before she began. "It was...around when we first met. Not too long after that, I mean. Maybe...a few days. We were young, and I remember the first time we first saw each other. Your father had come for one of the trials within the Imperial Court, and I guess you'd snuck along...I could tell that you didn't quite know where you were, and I also could tell that you weren't supposed to be there, either. We met eyes, and, well," Her smile broadened a bit as she reminisced, "I can't say much after that because then you ran off to find your father, but I guess you followed him along quite a while after that. Soon enough, he began bringing you with him, but I suppose you always found a way to sneak off."

"We continued to bump into each other without really saying anything...I wasn't really scared of you as much as I was...curious. I was never sure why you'd come there, not until you told me, atleast. But it only took a little while for us to begin talking, and it was never much more than a hello, what's your name, goodbye sort of thing...and it took a good rainy day for you to actually approach me." She explained, before she looked off a little, as if she was experiencing it all over again. "...it was around when my father first began to lock me away in my room, and I guess while you'd been wandering around, you'd heard me crying. The door was locked, but...I guess by a stroke of luck, you found my balcony. It was pouring, but you only had to throw a rock or two at the balcony door to get my attention. I headed out into the rain, and I saw you down there. I was surprised and confused, but you just beckoned for me to follow you. You said that you had something to show me, something you thought I'd like, something you thought could cheer me up. I followed when we judged the coast was clear, and we ran, ran through the gardens, far, far away from that palace..." She looked down slightly. "...It wasn't cold in the rain. In fact, it was quite warm. We'd found a small hill that overlooked a lot of the city that surrounded the palace, and we continued to run around in the rain, laughing and...honestly, you helped me to forget that horrible place, even for just a moment. And...after a while of that, we sat under a small tree that had begun to grow on top of the hill, and while it wasn't fully grown yet, it provided enough cover for us. We sat there for what felt like hours, just listening to the rain, and after a while...I told you I didn't want to go back. I told you how they'd locked me away and confined me to that one room, and all you did was...smile."

She looked a bit...sad. "...you told me that you would come see me everyday from then on, and you said that you wouldn't leave until I had laughed and forgot about how horrible that place was. You...were probably the only thing that made me get through all of that." She was silent, then, almost as if she was trying not to cry. But, she knew, no tears would come. It only left her feeling sad and a bit lonely. "...you were my only friend, atleast. The only person that talked to me...but I don't guess you remember any of it."

Slaine remained quiet as Elaine told him that story.. simply looking at her with his blue eyes. At the beginning, even if she didn't look truly happy... the boy was glad to see her smile again. And as she told him.. about what had happened in the past.. he tried to remember. He tried.. really, really hard. But.. he just couldn't. It was so difficult.. just to imagine what she was saying. Did he even.. have a father? A family? Was Lise.. actually his sister? Sometimes.. he thought that the answer was yes.. but that would have meant that he had forgotten his family. And the simple thought of that was.. horrible. Absolutely horrible. And had he ever been.. at the Imperial Court? In the Imperial propaganda.. that place was.. nearly a heaven. How could a lowly soldier like him have ever been there? And all of that... did he really meet Elaine there..? Did he really.. forget her afterwards? Did he.. really help that purple eyed girl? Did he really.. help another person? Did he really.. do something else.. something other than killing and bringing pain? Did he really tell her.. that he would see her everyday..that he would help her.. and that he wouldn't leave.. until she laughed? Until she would forget about the horrible place her father was keeping her in? He just... couldn't remember. He just couldn't remember any of it. He could barely.. imagine it. It was like.. the last, nearly lost fragment of an old dream. A younger Slaine, in red clothes, and a purple eyed girl, walking together on the hallways of a palace..but it was just his imagination. Even so.. even so.. if she said it.. if she said that.. he believed her. If she said that.. then it.. must have been true.

The earliest memory that he had.. it was so confusing. But at the same time.. it was the only thing connecting him to the past that he could no longer remember. It was him.. wearing the red clothing of the Thracian nobility...right during the night.. when they had hurt him for the first time. He couldn't.. remember all of it. Just.. bits and pieces. But he knew.. that he had done nothing that night. He did not cry.. he did not scream. As if he had come to accept.. his fate. That meant.. that meant that all that he had done.. all that he had went through.. it all had a purpose. It hadn't been in vain. He couldn't remember it..he couldn't remember that reason.. but there must have been a reason. A reason for why.. the past Slaine had accepted his fate. A reason for why he was doing this. And that.. that enough.. was making everything alright. That reason.. whatever it had been..it must have been important to him. And because of that.. because of that, even if he could no longer remember it... it had kept him from going insane. He was just a shell of what he had once been. But because of that.. even if he didn't fully realize it.. there was still hope.

As Elaine remained quiet.. Slaine was still looking at her.. as if..he was on the verge of crying. But he couldn't.. he just couldn't. "I'm sorry... I can't.. I can't remember. I can't remember if any of that happened.. or if I ever said anything like that to you..", the boy told her in a shaky voice. "But.. even if I don't remember it.. I believe you.. I believe everything you said. It's just that...I don't know.. if there is anything that I can do about that. I don't know.. if I will.. ever remember that. again. I'm not.. the same boy.. that helped you.. and that told you that. Not.. anymore. And.. I don't know.. I don't know if I will ever remember him. I don't know.. if he will ever return." But.. Slaine had no idea that Elaine simply had to tears to cry anymore. And seeing her sad... seeing her like that.. it was hurting him so much. "But.. I can... I can talk to you. I can.. I can be your friend. Only if you.. if you want that.. of course.."

She smiled sadly. She...should've known better. She should've known that something as silly as a memory wouldn't work. It wasn't like she was a miracle worker, like some...stupid little story would just remind him of everything. As...much as she'd hoped it would. When he said, that he didn't remember, that he couldn't, she felt her heart deflate. That the boy she knew...he didn't know if he would ever return. She felt like her heart was breaking again when he said that he could still talk to her, that he could be her friend...he didn't know that he already was her friend, did he..? Not even...after all of this..? Everything they'd been through, he didn't know? Did he...not remember all the things she'd confessed to him, all the things she'd cried about, nothing..?

She felt a lump rise in her throat, but no tears came to her eyes. She just looked...heartbroken. But she hid it quickly with a smile, looking away as she tried to hide her true emotions. She'd never imagined how completely pointless this would all be when she first saw him...she thought that, somehow, he would be the same...and when she knew he wasn't, when she discovered he was like this, she knew she had to do everything she could to help him. But...she was running out of options. What..more could she do past this..? Would he...always be this shell of the person he used to be..?

She noticed his voice grew shaky, as if he were going to cry, and she hugged him then, holding him close enough to where she could hear his heartbeat, and close enough that he couldn't see the look on her face. She felt so hopeless, like this was such a lost cause...perhaps...perhaps she was giving up. Perhaps... "...please, don't cry..." She said softly, wishing more than anything that, somehow, she could give him her own memories. So that maybe he could understand why she cared so much... "You're my best friend, forever and always...please don't cry because of me...it's...it's okay if you can't remember...it...it's..." She paused, as if she were going to say something else, before she finished with, "it's okay." She couldn't let him know how hurt she really was, because she knew it would only really hurt him in the end.

[Tracian Empire]

Slaine remained quiet as Elaine told him that story.. simply looking at her with his blue eyes. At the beginning, even if she didn't look truly happy... the boy was glad to see her smile again. And as she told him.. about what had happened in the past.. he tried to remember. He tried.. really, really hard. But.. he just couldn't. It was so difficult.. just to imagine what she was saying. Did he even.. have a father? A family? Was Lise.. actually his sister? Sometimes.. he thought that the answer was yes.. but that would have meant that he had forgotten his family. And the simple thought of that was.. horrible. Absolutely horrible. And had he ever been.. at the Imperial Court? In the Imperial propaganda.. that place was.. nearly a heaven. How could a lowly soldier like him have ever been there? And all of that... did he really meet Elaine there..? Did he really.. forget her afterwards? Did he.. really help that purple eyed girl? Did he really.. help another person? Did he really.. do something else.. something other than killing and bringing pain? Did he really tell her.. that he would see her everyday..that he would help her.. and that he wouldn't leave.. until she laughed? Until she would forget about the horrible place her father was keeping her in? He just... couldn't remember. He just couldn't remember any of it. He could barely.. imagine it. It was like.. the last, nearly lost fragment of an old dream. A younger Slaine, in red clothes, and a purple eyed girl, walking together on the hallways of a palace..but it was just his imagination. Even so.. even so.. if she said it.. if she said that.. he believed her. If she said that.. then it.. must have been true.

The earliest memory that he had.. it was so confusing. But at the same time.. it was the only thing connecting him to the past that he could no longer remember. It was him.. wearing the red clothing of the Thracian nobility...right during the night.. when they had hurt him for the first time. He couldn't.. remember all of it. Just.. bits and pieces. But he knew.. that he had done nothing that night. He did not cry.. he did not scream. As if he had come to accept.. his fate. That meant.. that meant that all that he had done.. all that he had went through.. it all had a purpose. It hadn't been in vain. He couldn't remember it..he couldn't remember that reason.. but there must have been a reason. A reason for why.. the past Slaine had accepted his fate. A reason for why he was doing this. And that.. that enough.. was making everything alright. That reason.. whatever it had been..it must have been important to him. And because of that.. because of that, even if he could no longer remember it... it had kept him from going insane. He was just a shell of what he had once been. But because of that.. even if he didn't fully realize it.. there was still hope.

As Elaine remained quiet.. Slaine was still looking at her.. as if..he was on the verge of crying. But he couldn't.. he just couldn't. "I'm sorry... I can't.. I can't remember. I can't remember if any of that happened.. or if I ever said anything like that to you..", the boy told her in a shaky voice. "But.. even if I don't remember it.. I believe you.. I believe everything you said. It's just that...I don't know.. if there is anything that I can do about that. I don't know.. if I will.. ever remember that. again. I'm not.. the same boy.. that helped you.. and that told you that. Not.. anymore. And.. I don't know.. I don't know if I will ever remember him. I don't know.. if he will ever return." But.. Slaine had no idea that Elaine simply had to tears to cry anymore. And seeing her sad... seeing her like that.. it was hurting him so much. "But.. I can... I can talk to you. I can.. I can be your friend. Only if you.. if you want that.. of course.."

She smiled sadly. She...should've known better. She should've known that something as silly as a memory wouldn't work. It wasn't like she was a miracle worker, like some...stupid little story would just remind him of everything. As...much as she'd hoped it would. When he said, that he didn't remember, that he couldn't, she felt her heart deflate. That the boy she knew...he didn't know if he would ever return. She felt like her heart was breaking again when he said that he could still talk to her, that he could be her friend...he didn't know that he already was her friend, did he..? Not even...after all of this..? Everything they'd been through, he didn't know? Did he...not remember all the things she'd confessed to him, all the things she'd cried about, nothing..?

She felt a lump rise in her throat, but no tears came to her eyes. She just looked...heartbroken. But she hid it quickly with a smile, looking away as she tried to hide her true emotions. She'd never imagined how completely pointless this would all be when she first saw him...she thought that, somehow, he would be the same...and when she knew he wasn't, when she discovered he was like this, she knew she had to do everything she could to help him. But...she was running out of options. What..more could she do past this..? Would he...always be this shell of the person he used to be..?

She noticed his voice grew shaky, as if he were going to cry, and she hugged him then, holding him close enough to where she could hear his heartbeat, and close enough that he couldn't see the look on her face. She felt so hopeless, like this was such a lost cause...perhaps...perhaps she was giving up. Perhaps... "...please, don't cry..." She said softly, wishing more than anything that, somehow, she could give him her own memories. So that maybe he could understand why she cared so much... "You're my best friend, forever and always...please don't cry because of me...it's...it's okay if you can't remember...it...it's..." She paused, as if she were going to say something else, before she finished with, "it's okay." She couldn't let him know how hurt she really was, because she knew it would only really hurt him in the end.

Slaine remained quiet as Elaine hugged him tightly.. only noticing then that tears were flowing down his cheeks...but why? Why was he.. so sad? He had the noticed how heartbroken she had looked before she had looked at him.. and he felt terrible for that. He felt.. as if he was the cause for her sadness.. but.. there was nothing he could do about that.. it wasn't.. it wasn't his fault. That he couldn't remember..he wanted to remember.. he wanted to remember so much...if it was true.. if they were friends.. if all of that had happened.. he wanted to remember it. He no longer wanted to.. feel so empty. So hollow. It was horrible.. to be unable to remember your past. To be unable.. to know who you really are. To be just a shell, a shadow of what he had once been. It hurt..it hurt to think that he had once been her friend. That he had once helped her.. that he had once promised her to be there for her.. while not remembering any of it. And that.. that made her sad. He couldn't understand why.. but he didn't want her to be so desolate. He wanted her to be happy... he wanted her to smile. That's why he had asked her.. if he could be her friend. He no longer remembered if they had once been friends.. and there was nothing he could do about that..so if remembering was impossible, he wanted to at least.. to at least be her friend now. To.. help her now. But be here for her.. now. But this.. also made him realize that.. she missed the Slaine from the past. She missed her friend.. she missed the Slaine that had been her friend. And he wasn't that Slaine..and there was nothing they could do about that. The old him was gone.. and when he thought about that.. he felt so barren.. so.. worthless.

But then... as she continued to hug him..as she told him not to cry...and she told him that everything was okay.. it.. it calmed him down. It was strange.. since for him.. it was a rather new feeling. Having spent most of.. his life, the part of it that he could remember, either in fear, in pain, or just.. not feeling anything....he felt surprisingly calm.. even if.. he was still sad. If she said that everything was going to be okay.. then he believed her. And the pain of being so empty, and so hollow.. seemed to be eased. He had been alone for so long.. not trusting anyone.. not thinking about anything else except from following orders but for the first time, in all those years that he could remember.. he felt as if he could actually trust someone. As if he could trust her. For the first time.. he felt as if he could drop his guard around her.. because he just knew.. that she wasn't there to hurt him. But for him... such displays of affection were.. weird.. unnatural. But what he had to do.. it felt strangely familiar. Hesitating, the blonde boy tried..and then he finally hugged the purple eyed girl back, a little awkwardly at the beginning.. but then it.. seemed to be the right thing to do. He was still crying quietly.. but that was just a normal reaction, as he was finally letting some of all of that go.. after so many years. But even if the girl was hiding her face.. and if before, she had hidden her sadness behind a smile.. he had noticed it. He was always noticing these small things.. it was just a habit, a soldier's habit.

"I know that.. it's okay. I'm just.. sorry that I can't remember.. even if.. I really want to.", the blue eyed boy eventually said in a calmer voice. "And.. I believe you.. if you say that I am your best friend. But even so.. I can't remember it. I can't remember any of it.. and even if I will try to.. I can't promise that I will remember my old life... I can't promise that I'll ever be.. who I used to be." Slaine then remained quiet.. for a little. "But.. what I can do now.. is to be your friend now. I don't want you.. to be sad. I can.. be here for you now. "

[Castle Crashers]

She smiled sadly. She...should've known better. She should've known that something as silly as a memory wouldn't work. It wasn't like she was a miracle worker, like some...stupid little story would just remind him of everything. As...much as she'd hoped it would. When he said, that he didn't remember, that he couldn't, she felt her heart deflate. That the boy she knew...he didn't know if he would ever return. She felt like her heart was breaking again when he said that he could still talk to her, that he could be her friend...he didn't know that he already was her friend, did he..? Not even...after all of this..? Everything they'd been through, he didn't know? Did he...not remember all the things she'd confessed to him, all the things she'd cried about, nothing..?

She felt a lump rise in her throat, but no tears came to her eyes. She just looked...heartbroken. But she hid it quickly with a smile, looking away as she tried to hide her true emotions. She'd never imagined how completely pointless this would all be when she first saw him...she thought that, somehow, he would be the same...and when she knew he wasn't, when she discovered he was like this, she knew she had to do everything she could to help him. But...she was running out of options. What..more could she do past this..? Would he...always be this shell of the person he used to be..?

She noticed his voice grew shaky, as if he were going to cry, and she hugged him then, holding him close enough to where she could hear his heartbeat, and close enough that he couldn't see the look on her face. She felt so hopeless, like this was such a lost cause...perhaps...perhaps she was giving up. Perhaps... "...please, don't cry..." She said softly, wishing more than anything that, somehow, she could give him her own memories. So that maybe he could understand why she cared so much... "You're my best friend, forever and always...please don't cry because of me...it's...it's okay if you can't remember...it...it's..." She paused, as if she were going to say something else, before she finished with, "it's okay." She couldn't let him know how hurt she really was, because she knew it would only really hurt him in the end.

Slaine remained quiet as Elaine hugged him tightly.. only noticing then that tears were flowing down his cheeks...but why? Why was he.. so sad? He had the noticed how heartbroken she had looked before she had looked at him.. and he felt terrible for that. He felt.. as if he was the cause for her sadness.. but.. there was nothing he could do about that.. it wasn't.. it wasn't his fault. That he couldn't remember..he wanted to remember.. he wanted to remember so much...if it was true.. if they were friends.. if all of that had happened.. he wanted to remember it. He no longer wanted to.. feel so empty. So hollow. It was horrible.. to be unable to remember your past. To be unable.. to know who you really are. To be just a shell, a shadow of what he had once been. It hurt..it hurt to think that he had once been her friend. That he had once helped her.. that he had once promised her to be there for her.. while not remembering any of it. And that.. that made her sad. He couldn't understand why.. but he didn't want her to be so desolate. He wanted her to be happy... he wanted her to smile. That's why he had asked her.. if he could be her friend. He no longer remembered if they had once been friends.. and there was nothing he could do about that..so if remembering was impossible, he wanted to at least.. to at least be her friend now. To.. help her now. But be here for her.. now. But this.. also made him realize that.. she missed the Slaine from the past. She missed her friend.. she missed the Slaine that had been her friend. And he wasn't that Slaine..and there was nothing they could do about that. The old him was gone.. and when he thought about that.. he felt so barren.. so.. worthless.

But then... as she continued to hug him..as she told him not to cry...and she told him that everything was okay.. it.. it calmed him down. It was strange.. since for him.. it was a rather new feeling. Having spent most of.. his life, the part of it that he could remember, either in fear, in pain, or just.. not feeling anything....he felt surprisingly calm.. even if.. he was still sad. If she said that everything was going to be okay.. then he believed her. And the pain of being so empty, and so hollow.. seemed to be eased. He had been alone for so long.. not trusting anyone.. not thinking about anything else except from following orders but for the first time, in all those years that he could remember.. he felt as if he could actually trust someone. As if he could trust her. For the first time.. he felt as if he could drop his guard around her.. because he just knew.. that she wasn't there to hurt him. But for him... such displays of affection were.. weird.. unnatural. But what he had to do.. it felt strangely familiar. Hesitating, the blonde boy tried..and then he finally hugged the purple eyed girl back, a little awkwardly at the beginning.. but then it.. seemed to be the right thing to do. He was still crying quietly.. but that was just a normal reaction, as he was finally letting some of all of that go.. after so many years. But even if the girl was hiding her face.. and if before, she had hidden her sadness behind a smile.. he had noticed it. He was always noticing these small things.. it was just a habit, a soldier's habit.

"I know that.. it's okay. I'm just.. sorry that I can't remember.. even if.. I really want to.", the blue eyed boy eventually said in a calmer voice. "And.. I believe you.. if you say that I am your best friend. But even so.. I can't remember it. I can't remember any of it.. and even if I will try to.. I can't promise that I will remember my old life... I can't promise that I'll ever be.. who I used to be." Slaine then remained quiet.. for a little. "But.. what I can do now.. is to be your friend now. I don't want you.. to be sad. I can.. be here for you now. "

Funny...somehow, she almost expected him to say as he had before, so long ago. It felt ironic. Too ironic. And now, wrapped in his arms as she was, felt...unusually cold and distant. It wasn't the same as it had been before, even just a few weeks before. When they were younger, and that moment when he'd sporadically remembered, even just for a moment...his hug used to be inviting and warm, loving and knowing...the kind of hug all long-term friends have. But now...now, it just felt awkward and uncomfortable. It...wasn't the same. She doubted it ever would be. Atleast...his heartbeat was still the same. He still had the same stature, and he still had the same appearance...mostly, atleast. Yet...he still felt like a stranger to her. It was heartbreaking.

When she took a moment to look up, she noticed the tears rolling down his cheeks. It was incredible, really; she didn't think she'd ever seen him cry in his entire time of being in her presence at the academy. She pulled her sleeve into her palm and used it to rub some of them from his cheeks before she hugged him again, putting her ear against his heart once more. Was this all that was left of him? This...body..? Was the boy she knew, the one that loved to explore and crack jokes, the one that would flash her his smile whenever he saw her, really, truly gone..? It felt...unbearable to think about. "...it's okay...if you can't remember..." She said softly. It would be over soon, anyway. The heartbreak...the tears...the sadness...the regret...all of it. She knew it would be over soon. She wouldn't stand to see him disappear from her mind more than he already had. "...and...thank you. It means a lot to me that you'd say that." She added, continuing to hug him. Soon she could be out of his hair, where he wouldn't cry and he wouldn't be hurt. Where Michael didn't have to ignore or avoid anyone anymore. Where Lise didn't have to continue to seethe with the need for revenge. Soon...

[Tracian Empire]

As Elaine used her sleeve to rub off some of his tears, Slaine remained quiet.. but he continued to cry even as she hugged him again, putting her hear on his chest.. listening to his heartbeat. She was sad.. heartbroken even. He knew it.. he knew it even if the simple definition of feelings, and what they were.. was so weird to him. And the fact that he could do nothing about it.. it hurt him. It made him feel.. worthless. For a long time.. he never cared about how empty he had been. Just blindly following orders.. barely even existing as a human being. But ever since he had met Elaine again.. and especially lately..the hollowness of his soul had started to pain him. Not having any actual memories to call your own.. except for those of pain and misery.. not knowing what emotions were..he hated it. He had always hated it.. but before now.. he had never been allowed to actually think about it. And even more.. it hurt him that there was nothing he could do to help her..he hated that. He had taken the place of the past Slaine.. of her friend. He felt like an intruder.. because without his memories, no matter of how hard he was going to try.. he couldn't become the same person he had once been. And the purple eyed girl knew that too..that's why she was so sad.. even if he had offered to be her friend now.. and he.. he understood her. She wanted the past Slaine back.. not the shell that he was. Who could blame her? And even if it wasn't his fault.. he hated himself. For having taken the place of his past self..but the boy let none of this show.. as he simply continued to hug the girl back, still quietly crying.. but keeping the pain and the hate inside of himself. And as they stood like that.. eventually the spaceship reached its destination.

One by one, the students left the spaceship, arriving on the platform that served as the spaceport. From the looks of it, they were on an Earth like planet.. and it was hot.. pretty hot. In the distance, beautiful beaches and an ocean of pristine water could be seen, while in the other direction, tall mountains dominated the horizon. The entire place was arranged like a touristic resort.. and as they left the spaceship, they could already see the other tourists, Tau people, humans, aliens, everywhere. The atmosphere was just so different.. from the rigid and cold atmosphere of the War Academy.. to the calm and cheerful atmosphere of this planet. People were here to have fun.. to enjoy life, not held back by anything else. That's why... it was a little weird, especially for Elaine and Slaine, the first students to leave the vessel. But just as they were looking around.. a person looked back at them.. a person they couldn't miss.. and a person they immediately recognized. Just like way back then, when they had first met in the Academy..the first thing that Elaine saw was a tuft of a messily arranged, but impossible to miss white hair. And as that person left the crowd, walking towards them, a pair of red eyes looked at her.. but not of the same dark red color that Michael and their father had..but the lighter red shade that looked much more like the purple color that Elaine had inherited from their mother. Unlike before though..the red eyes had no hint of surprise, or happiness. They were just.. empty. And as Alexander stopped, a few good steps in front of them, he said absolutely nothing, just staying there, in a black, Thracian uniform that accentuated the pallor of his skin, with a bored expression..as his empty eyes seemed to.. stare directly as his younger sister.

[Castle Crashers]

As Elaine used her sleeve to rub off some of his tears, Slaine remained quiet.. but he continued to cry even as she hugged him again, putting her hear on his chest.. listening to his heartbeat. She was sad.. heartbroken even. He knew it.. he knew it even if the simple definition of feelings, and what they were.. was so weird to him. And the fact that he could do nothing about it.. it hurt him. It made him feel.. worthless. For a long time.. he never cared about how empty he had been. Just blindly following orders.. barely even existing as a human being. But ever since he had met Elaine again.. and especially lately..the hollowness of his soul had started to pain him. Not having any actual memories to call your own.. except for those of pain and misery.. not knowing what emotions were..he hated it. He had always hated it.. but before now.. he had never been allowed to actually think about it. And even more.. it hurt him that there was nothing he could do to help her..he hated that. He had taken the place of the past Slaine.. of her friend. He felt like an intruder.. because without his memories, no matter of how hard he was going to try.. he couldn't become the same person he had once been. And the purple eyed girl knew that too..that's why she was so sad.. even if he had offered to be her friend now.. and he.. he understood her. She wanted the past Slaine back.. not the shell that he was. Who could blame her? And even if it wasn't his fault.. he hated himself. For having taken the place of his past self..but the boy let none of this show.. as he simply continued to hug the girl back, still quietly crying.. but keeping the pain and the hate inside of himself. And as they stood like that.. eventually the spaceship reached its destination.

One by one, the students left the spaceship, arriving on the platform that served as the spaceport. From the looks of it, they were on an Earth like planet.. and it was hot.. pretty hot. In the distance, beautiful beaches and an ocean of pristine water could be seen, while in the other direction, tall mountains dominated the horizon. The entire place was arranged like a touristic resort.. and as they left the spaceship, they could already see the other tourists, Tau people, humans, aliens, everywhere. The atmosphere was just so different.. from the rigid and cold atmosphere of the War Academy.. to the calm and cheerful atmosphere of this planet. People were here to have fun.. to enjoy life, not held back by anything else. That's why... it was a little weird, especially for Elaine and Slaine, the first students to leave the vessel. But just as they were looking around.. a person looked back at them.. a person they couldn't miss.. and a person they immediately recognized. Just like way back then, when they had first met in the Academy..the first thing that Elaine saw was a tuft of a messily arranged, but impossible to miss white hair. And as that person left the crowd, walking towards them, a pair of red eyes looked at her.. but not of the same dark red color that Michael and their father had..but the lighter red shade that looked much more like the purple color that Elaine had inherited from their mother. Unlike before though..the red eyes had no hint of surprise, or happiness. They were just.. empty. And as Alexander stopped, a few good steps in front of them, he said absolutely nothing, just staying there, in a black, Thracian uniform that accentuated the pallor of his skin, with a bored expression..as his empty eyes seemed to.. stare directly as his younger sister.

As the ship landed, Elaine detached from the hug and put her hand around his arm instead, leading him towards the exit as they were instructed. When the door opened, she was nearly blinded by the sunlight and blue skies, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was something she never thought she'd hear. It was so beautiful...she, for a moment, almost thought it was fake. But with the hot air swelling around her, the soft winds blowing against her face, how could it be? There was no way, right? Not to mention, it looked far too perfect to actually be so, and it...seemed that she was right. It only took her a moment to analyze the crowds to see why. Like something out of a dream, she saw him.

Her heart seized and she came to a halt right where she was. No...there was no way...and yet, as he turned to face the students, it was impossible to mistake him for anyone else, with those reddish-purple eyes and his white hair, not to mention the Thracian uniform. But...even when her heart leaped with hope, it was too easy to tell that he was different. She had been around Slaine enough to recognize it. That empty look...the stature...no... She thought, the surprise and fear clear on her face. Did they...really do that to him..? Her brother...her real brother...her only true brother...had they...?

Yes, it was clear. Too clear. She felt her heart drop once more, and while she wanted to run to him with her arms outstretched, she knew better. Even at this distance...she...could sense he wasn't the same, not since the last time she'd seen him. Her shoulders sagged a little, and her whole appearance totally conflicted her brother's. Where she wore a white sundress and had her hair partially pulled back with a white bow, he wore a black Thracian uniform that might've as well covered him head to toe. And as she and Slaine moved away from the spaceship, she began to pull him in a direction as far away from her brother as possible, even if it hurt. What did they do to you..? She wished she could ask, but with the way he looked at her, she could only guess it would be best to avoid him. "...where should we go first?.." She asked Slaine, trying to distract herself from the temptation to look back at Alexander, the brother she'd thought she'd lost forever. And she had, she could just tell from his appearance. "The beach? The mountains? One of the resorts?"

[Tracian Empire]

As Elaine used her sleeve to rub off some of his tears, Slaine remained quiet.. but he continued to cry even as she hugged him again, putting her hear on his chest.. listening to his heartbeat. She was sad.. heartbroken even. He knew it.. he knew it even if the simple definition of feelings, and what they were.. was so weird to him. And the fact that he could do nothing about it.. it hurt him. It made him feel.. worthless. For a long time.. he never cared about how empty he had been. Just blindly following orders.. barely even existing as a human being. But ever since he had met Elaine again.. and especially lately..the hollowness of his soul had started to pain him. Not having any actual memories to call your own.. except for those of pain and misery.. not knowing what emotions were..he hated it. He had always hated it.. but before now.. he had never been allowed to actually think about it. And even more.. it hurt him that there was nothing he could do to help her..he hated that. He had taken the place of the past Slaine.. of her friend. He felt like an intruder.. because without his memories, no matter of how hard he was going to try.. he couldn't become the same person he had once been. And the purple eyed girl knew that too..that's why she was so sad.. even if he had offered to be her friend now.. and he.. he understood her. She wanted the past Slaine back.. not the shell that he was. Who could blame her? And even if it wasn't his fault.. he hated himself. For having taken the place of his past self..but the boy let none of this show.. as he simply continued to hug the girl back, still quietly crying.. but keeping the pain and the hate inside of himself. And as they stood like that.. eventually the spaceship reached its destination.

One by one, the students left the spaceship, arriving on the platform that served as the spaceport. From the looks of it, they were on an Earth like planet.. and it was hot.. pretty hot. In the distance, beautiful beaches and an ocean of pristine water could be seen, while in the other direction, tall mountains dominated the horizon. The entire place was arranged like a touristic resort.. and as they left the spaceship, they could already see the other tourists, Tau people, humans, aliens, everywhere. The atmosphere was just so different.. from the rigid and cold atmosphere of the War Academy.. to the calm and cheerful atmosphere of this planet. People were here to have fun.. to enjoy life, not held back by anything else. That's why... it was a little weird, especially for Elaine and Slaine, the first students to leave the vessel. But just as they were looking around.. a person looked back at them.. a person they couldn't miss.. and a person they immediately recognized. Just like way back then, when they had first met in the Academy..the first thing that Elaine saw was a tuft of a messily arranged, but impossible to miss white hair. And as that person left the crowd, walking towards them, a pair of red eyes looked at her.. but not of the same dark red color that Michael and their father had..but the lighter red shade that looked much more like the purple color that Elaine had inherited from their mother. Unlike before though..the red eyes had no hint of surprise, or happiness. They were just.. empty. And as Alexander stopped, a few good steps in front of them, he said absolutely nothing, just staying there, in a black, Thracian uniform that accentuated the pallor of his skin, with a bored expression..as his empty eyes seemed to.. stare directly as his younger sister.

As the ship landed, Elaine detached from the hug and put her hand around his arm instead, leading him towards the exit as they were instructed. When the door opened, she was nearly blinded by the sunlight and blue skies, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was something she never thought she'd hear. It was so beautiful...she, for a moment, almost thought it was fake. But with the hot air swelling around her, the soft winds blowing against her face, how could it be? There was no way, right? Not to mention, it looked far too perfect to actually be so, and it...seemed that she was right. It only took her a moment to analyze the crowds to see why. Like something out of a dream, she saw him.

Her heart seized and she came to a halt right where she was. No...there was no way...and yet, as he turned to face the students, it was impossible to mistake him for anyone else, with those reddish-purple eyes and his white hair, not to mention the Thracian uniform. But...even when her heart leaped with hope, it was too easy to tell that he was different. She had been around Slaine enough to recognize it. That empty look...the stature...no... She thought, the surprise and fear clear on her face. Did they...really do that to him..? Her brother...her real brother...her only true brother...had they...?

Yes, it was clear. Too clear. She felt her heart drop once more, and while she wanted to run to him with her arms outstretched, she knew better. Even at this distance...she...could sense he wasn't the same, not since the last time she'd seen him. Her shoulders sagged a little, and her whole appearance totally conflicted her brother's. Where she wore a white sundress and had her hair partially pulled back with a white bow, he wore a black Thracian uniform that might've as well covered him head to toe. And as she and Slaine moved away from the spaceship, she began to pull him in a direction as far away from her brother as possible, even if it hurt. What did they do to you..? She wished she could ask, but with the way he looked at her, she could only guess it would be best to avoid him. "...where should we go first?.." She asked Slaine, trying to distract herself from the temptation to look back at Alexander, the brother she'd thought she'd lost forever. And she had, she could just tell from his appearance. "The beach? The mountains? One of the resorts?"

When they finally arrived on the planet, Elaine ended their hug, and much to his surprise, she put her hand around his arm, taking him outside of the spaceship, as they were the first to disembark. And once they arrived on the platform, outside..the blonde haired boy stopped, nearly blinded by all the light.. what.. what was this? He remained there in near shock, looking around.. he knew.. he knew that places like this existed..but it was the first time.. for him to see anything like this. And as he looked around.. everything looked just so... beautiful. Mind-blowing. If he would have ever imagined anything like the heavens.. this was most likely going to be the closest to them..and it was.. so different, from the places in which he had stayed.. during the years which he could still remember. Those years, filled with pain. But as he felt the soft winds...the boy was quickly taken over by a lot of contradictory emotions...

The purple eyed girl however, failed to notice it, as her attention was suddenly attracted by someone.. someone else.. that Slaine also soon recognized as Alexander. The blue eyed boy's reaction was however.. pretty cold. For him, the Prince had only been a commander.. even if of course, he had come to greatly respect him. And more than all..the boy couldn't easily forget all the times when Alexander had hurt him.. not that easily, at least. But what worried Slaine more however, was Elaine's reaction..she was surprised...afraid.. and heartbroken. And of course, as the white haired boy came closer to them, Slaine was also able to see the empty look in his eyes.. and even more than Elaine perhaps, he quickly understood all that had happened. But then, before the boy was even able to say anything, Elaine started to walk, taking them as far away from Alexander as possible, dragging him along. And even he wanted to say something.. to say many things.. Slaine remained quiet, simply following her. Elaine's question however, confused him.. not only because he had no idea what to answer.. but also because well.. being asked for his opinion was.. something incredibly rare. But of course.. the purple eyed girl was different. She didn't.. she didn't consider him to be only a mindless soldier, and nothing more. That probably.. explained it.. "..the beach?", was the only thing that Slaine managed to say.. but it was enough. And not before long, the two of them were headed for the beach.. while behind them, a smiling Michael approached the quiet Alexander.

---

The two met again on the beach, under the shining sun. The tropical beach looked nearly too..tropical, to be even real, filled with the best sand, with the crystal clear water in front of them. There were tourists everywhere, belonging from so many different races.. it was unlike anything they had ever seen. Slaine was.. unable to remember much anyway.. and not even the holiday resorts of the Thracian Imperial Family would have been able to match the atmosphere of this place. There was no rigorousness here..just a lighthearted happiness. But as they arrived there.. Slaine kinda stopped.. unsure on what to do... since this was all new to him. The blue eyed boy was wearing a simple swimsuit..but he seemed to be just so out of place there, and not only due to his confused attitude, or his nearly sickly pale skin. His most striking feature there was of course.. formed by the many scars that were everywhere on his body, especially on his back, chest, and arms. Older scars, newer scars. Smaller ones, and bigger ones that simply looked painful, nearly invisible ones, and ones that simply seemed to be cutting through his skin, all accentuated by the white skin around. Slaine didn't seem to be minding them too much... but many of the other tourists looked at him..in a way that was visible, but not too impolite. But more than all.. those scars were a history of pain and suffering.

"..What.. what can be done on a beach?", the blonde boy asked, calmly.

[Castle Crashers]

As the ship landed, Elaine detached from the hug and put her hand around his arm instead, leading him towards the exit as they were instructed. When the door opened, she was nearly blinded by the sunlight and blue skies, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was something she never thought she'd hear. It was so beautiful...she, for a moment, almost thought it was fake. But with the hot air swelling around her, the soft winds blowing against her face, how could it be? There was no way, right? Not to mention, it looked far too perfect to actually be so, and it...seemed that she was right. It only took her a moment to analyze the crowds to see why. Like something out of a dream, she saw him.

Her heart seized and she came to a halt right where she was. No...there was no way...and yet, as he turned to face the students, it was impossible to mistake him for anyone else, with those reddish-purple eyes and his white hair, not to mention the Thracian uniform. But...even when her heart leaped with hope, it was too easy to tell that he was different. She had been around Slaine enough to recognize it. That empty look...the stature...no... She thought, the surprise and fear clear on her face. Did they...really do that to him..? Her brother...her real brother...her only true brother...had they...?

Yes, it was clear. Too clear. She felt her heart drop once more, and while she wanted to run to him with her arms outstretched, she knew better. Even at this distance...she...could sense he wasn't the same, not since the last time she'd seen him. Her shoulders sagged a little, and her whole appearance totally conflicted her brother's. Where she wore a white sundress and had her hair partially pulled back with a white bow, he wore a black Thracian uniform that might've as well covered him head to toe. And as she and Slaine moved away from the spaceship, she began to pull him in a direction as far away from her brother as possible, even if it hurt. What did they do to you..? She wished she could ask, but with the way he looked at her, she could only guess it would be best to avoid him. "...where should we go first?.." She asked Slaine, trying to distract herself from the temptation to look back at Alexander, the brother she'd thought she'd lost forever. And she had, she could just tell from his appearance. "The beach? The mountains? One of the resorts?"

When they finally arrived on the planet, Elaine ended their hug, and much to his surprise, she put her hand around his arm, taking him outside of the spaceship, as they were the first to disembark. And once they arrived on the platform, outside..the blonde haired boy stopped, nearly blinded by all the light.. what.. what was this? He remained there in near shock, looking around.. he knew.. he knew that places like this existed..but it was the first time.. for him to see anything like this. And as he looked around.. everything looked just so... beautiful. Mind-blowing. If he would have ever imagined anything like the heavens.. this was most likely going to be the closest to them..and it was.. so different, from the places in which he had stayed.. during the years which he could still remember. Those years, filled with pain. But as he felt the soft winds...the boy was quickly taken over by a lot of contradictory emotions...

The purple eyed girl however, failed to notice it, as her attention was suddenly attracted by someone.. someone else.. that Slaine also soon recognized as Alexander. The blue eyed boy's reaction was however.. pretty cold. For him, the Prince had only been a commander.. even if of course, he had come to greatly respect him. And more than all..the boy couldn't easily forget all the times when Alexander had hurt him.. not that easily, at least. But what worried Slaine more however, was Elaine's reaction..she was surprised...afraid.. and heartbroken. And of course, as the white haired boy came closer to them, Slaine was also able to see the empty look in his eyes.. and even more than Elaine perhaps, he quickly understood all that had happened. But then, before the boy was even able to say anything, Elaine started to walk, taking them as far away from Alexander as possible, dragging him along. And even he wanted to say something.. to say many things.. Slaine remained quiet, simply following her. Elaine's question however, confused him.. not only because he had no idea what to answer.. but also because well.. being asked for his opinion was.. something incredibly rare. But of course.. the purple eyed girl was different. She didn't.. she didn't consider him to be only a mindless soldier, and nothing more. That probably.. explained it.. "..the beach?", was the only thing that Slaine managed to say.. but it was enough. And not before long, the two of them were headed for the beach.. while behind them, a smiling Michael approached the quiet Alexander.

---

The two met again on the beach, under the shining sun. The tropical beach looked nearly too..tropical, to be even real, filled with the best sand, with the crystal clear water in front of them. There were tourists everywhere, belonging from so many different races.. it was unlike anything they had ever seen. Slaine was.. unable to remember much anyway.. and not even the holiday resorts of the Thracian Imperial Family would have been able to match the atmosphere of this place. There was no rigorousness here..just a lighthearted happiness. But as they arrived there.. Slaine kinda stopped.. unsure on what to do... since this was all new to him. The blue eyed boy was wearing a simple swimsuit..but he seemed to be just so out of place there, and not only due to his confused attitude, or his nearly sickly pale skin. His most striking feature there was of course.. formed by the many scars that were everywhere on his body, especially on his back, chest, and arms. Older scars, newer scars. Smaller ones, and bigger ones that simply looked painful, nearly invisible ones, and ones that simply seemed to be cutting through his skin, all accentuated by the white skin around. Slaine didn't seem to be minding them too much... but many of the other tourists looked at him..in a way that was visible, but not too impolite. But more than all.. those scars were a history of pain and suffering.

"..What.. what can be done on a beach?", the blonde boy asked, calmly.

Elaine was more than relieved when she heard his answer. If he hadn't...well, she would've chosen the beach anyway. She was glad to atleast see he seemed to have an opinion. "Great, let's get going, then!" She said quickly, pulling him in the direction of the coast without even glancing back at Alexander. She...wanted to forget what he looked like. Why couldn't she have just been left with a happy memory of him instead of that..? It didn't matter now. She hoped she wouldn't have to see him ever again. With that, she quickly led Slaine to the beach, of course separating for a little while so they could both change into their respective swimwear. They met up once more in the white sand of the coast, the sound of the crystal blue ocean roaring wonderfully in her ears. It was more perfect than anything she'd imagined, really. While she didn't really enjoy showing off her body, she also knew that it was illogical to wear your normal clothes to the beach. So, she'd opted for a navy blue two-piece with white polkadots, but for the time being, she kept herself under cover with an off-white kimono that seemed light enough to fly away.

When she met back up with Slaine, the first thing she really noticed was really how pale he was. Where he was more of a sickly color, one that looked unnatural on him, Elaine was a porcelain color, and while she was also pale, on her it simply made her look like a fragile doll. She could have as well been one, without a scar or imperfection on her body...but Slaine...well, he didn't live up to that standard in the slightest. That was the second thing she noticed. His torso, his arms, and almost everywhere she could tell on his exposed skin, he had scars. Deep, rough, gut-wrenching scars, the kind you didn't even expect to see on the most war-hardened soldier. She couldn't help it, but the sight...it racked her with guilt. It was really her fault all of that had happened to him, after all...and it made her feel worse to know that she had no marks in comparison. No visible ones, atleast. All of her wounds were mental, where most of his were physical. She wished that somehow she could remove them for him, that somehow she could fix this with just one touch...or something like that. To know that he had been through so much pain hurt her heart. And it hurt even more to know that she had played a part in it.

She realized she was staring, though, and quickly averted her eyes to those around them that also seemed to be off-put by his scars. She gave a few of the most obvious glares, and she gave threatening glances to others. The last thing she knew that either of them needed was judgement. She didn't care that Slaine didn't seem to mind; she took it as she would feel if she were in his position, and she felt like it would be better if he didn't draw in so much attention. Then, he asked her a question; what can be done on a beach? Well...well...she...wasn't really sure. Even with the luxurious life she'd lived, the only time she could even remotely remember visiting anything even sparsely similar to this had been when she was very young, with Alexander and her mother. It had been long before she passed, that much she knew. Regardless, she put on a warm smile, seeming satisfied by his question. "Well, there's lots we can do! We can go swimming, we can sun tan, we can build sand castles, or even just take a walk, the options are endless!" She giggled softly. "Naps on the beach always sounded nice too, but I'm not really tired. What do you feel like doing?"

[Tracian Empire]

When they finally arrived on the planet, Elaine ended their hug, and much to his surprise, she put her hand around his arm, taking him outside of the spaceship, as they were the first to disembark. And once they arrived on the platform, outside..the blonde haired boy stopped, nearly blinded by all the light.. what.. what was this? He remained there in near shock, looking around.. he knew.. he knew that places like this existed..but it was the first time.. for him to see anything like this. And as he looked around.. everything looked just so... beautiful. Mind-blowing. If he would have ever imagined anything like the heavens.. this was most likely going to be the closest to them..and it was.. so different, from the places in which he had stayed.. during the years which he could still remember. Those years, filled with pain. But as he felt the soft winds...the boy was quickly taken over by a lot of contradictory emotions...

The purple eyed girl however, failed to notice it, as her attention was suddenly attracted by someone.. someone else.. that Slaine also soon recognized as Alexander. The blue eyed boy's reaction was however.. pretty cold. For him, the Prince had only been a commander.. even if of course, he had come to greatly respect him. And more than all..the boy couldn't easily forget all the times when Alexander had hurt him.. not that easily, at least. But what worried Slaine more however, was Elaine's reaction..she was surprised...afraid.. and heartbroken. And of course, as the white haired boy came closer to them, Slaine was also able to see the empty look in his eyes.. and even more than Elaine perhaps, he quickly understood all that had happened. But then, before the boy was even able to say anything, Elaine started to walk, taking them as far away from Alexander as possible, dragging him along. And even he wanted to say something.. to say many things.. Slaine remained quiet, simply following her. Elaine's question however, confused him.. not only because he had no idea what to answer.. but also because well.. being asked for his opinion was.. something incredibly rare. But of course.. the purple eyed girl was different. She didn't.. she didn't consider him to be only a mindless soldier, and nothing more. That probably.. explained it.. "..the beach?", was the only thing that Slaine managed to say.. but it was enough. And not before long, the two of them were headed for the beach.. while behind them, a smiling Michael approached the quiet Alexander.

---

The two met again on the beach, under the shining sun. The tropical beach looked nearly too..tropical, to be even real, filled with the best sand, with the crystal clear water in front of them. There were tourists everywhere, belonging from so many different races.. it was unlike anything they had ever seen. Slaine was.. unable to remember much anyway.. and not even the holiday resorts of the Thracian Imperial Family would have been able to match the atmosphere of this place. There was no rigorousness here..just a lighthearted happiness. But as they arrived there.. Slaine kinda stopped.. unsure on what to do... since this was all new to him. The blue eyed boy was wearing a simple swimsuit..but he seemed to be just so out of place there, and not only due to his confused attitude, or his nearly sickly pale skin. His most striking feature there was of course.. formed by the many scars that were everywhere on his body, especially on his back, chest, and arms. Older scars, newer scars. Smaller ones, and bigger ones that simply looked painful, nearly invisible ones, and ones that simply seemed to be cutting through his skin, all accentuated by the white skin around. Slaine didn't seem to be minding them too much... but many of the other tourists looked at him..in a way that was visible, but not too impolite. But more than all.. those scars were a history of pain and suffering.

"..What.. what can be done on a beach?", the blonde boy asked, calmly.

Elaine was more than relieved when she heard his answer. If he hadn't...well, she would've chosen the beach anyway. She was glad to atleast see he seemed to have an opinion. "Great, let's get going, then!" She said quickly, pulling him in the direction of the coast without even glancing back at Alexander. She...wanted to forget what he looked like. Why couldn't she have just been left with a happy memory of him instead of that..? It didn't matter now. She hoped she wouldn't have to see him ever again. With that, she quickly led Slaine to the beach, of course separating for a little while so they could both change into their respective swimwear. They met up once more in the white sand of the coast, the sound of the crystal blue ocean roaring wonderfully in her ears. It was more perfect than anything she'd imagined, really. While she didn't really enjoy showing off her body, she also knew that it was illogical to wear your normal clothes to the beach. So, she'd opted for a navy blue two-piece with white polkadots, but for the time being, she kept herself under cover with an off-white kimono that seemed light enough to fly away.

When she met back up with Slaine, the first thing she really noticed was really how pale he was. Where he was more of a sickly color, one that looked unnatural on him, Elaine was a porcelain color, and while she was also pale, on her it simply made her look like a fragile doll. She could have as well been one, without a scar or imperfection on her body...but Slaine...well, he didn't live up to that standard in the slightest. That was the second thing she noticed. His torso, his arms, and almost everywhere she could tell on his exposed skin, he had scars. Deep, rough, gut-wrenching scars, the kind you didn't even expect to see on the most war-hardened soldier. She couldn't help it, but the sight...it racked her with guilt. It was really her fault all of that had happened to him, after all...and it made her feel worse to know that she had no marks in comparison. No visible ones, atleast. All of her wounds were mental, where most of his were physical. She wished that somehow she could remove them for him, that somehow she could fix this with just one touch...or something like that. To know that he had been through so much pain hurt her heart. And it hurt even more to know that she had played a part in it.

She realized she was staring, though, and quickly averted her eyes to those around them that also seemed to be off-put by his scars. She gave a few of the most obvious glares, and she gave threatening glances to others. The last thing she knew that either of them needed was judgement. She didn't care that Slaine didn't seem to mind; she took it as she would feel if she were in his position, and she felt like it would be better if he didn't draw in so much attention. Then, he asked her a question; what can be done on a beach? Well...well...she...wasn't really sure. Even with the luxurious life she'd lived, the only time she could even remotely remember visiting anything even sparsely similar to this had been when she was very young, with Alexander and her mother. It had been long before she passed, that much she knew. Regardless, she put on a warm smile, seeming satisfied by his question. "Well, there's lots we can do! We can go swimming, we can sun tan, we can build sand castles, or even just take a walk, the options are endless!" She giggled softly. "Naps on the beach always sounded nice too, but I'm not really tired. What do you feel like doing?"

Quiet, the blue eyed boy did not even notice that Elaine had stared at him.. at his scars. For him.. they were normal. An usual part of life. An usual part of his life. So much time had passed.. or so much time seemed to have passed.. that he couldn't even remember how life was, without them. Without all the scars.. without all the pain. All the other penal soldiers had scars like that.. more or less. He had never thought about that.. but he was usually the one receiving the worst treatment from the instructors and the officers. But after some time.. he had just stopped caring about it. He had to.. he had to do it, or else, he would have went insane long, long ago.

That is why, Slaine did not mind the way the others had stared at him.. or the way in which the purple eyed girl had stared at him. And even if he noticed her sadness and guilt.. for a moment..there was no way for him to possibly understand that. He couldn't even remember her..and even if he believed all that she had said about his past.. about their past.. Elaine had never told him about all of it. There was no way for him to think that the girl was feeling guilty.. about what had happened to him. That she thought that it was her fault. He was not even able to remember his own reason.. the reason for why he had done all of this.. the reason for why he had accepted all of this, back in the past. So he did not know.. if she had been that reason, or not.

But then, as Elaine smiled, everything suddenly seemed to be okay. How weird.. her smile.. her smile always managed to calm him down. And it wasn't like the forced calmness that he usually tried to impose over himself. They were, in such a weird place, and he had no idea what to do..but he felt at ease. And as the girl started to speak, the blonde boy replied with a small, but true smile. "I don't know.. it's weird...no one.. no one ever asked me..what I feel like doing.. before. Not from what.. I remember..", Slaine said, still a little confused. "But I don't know.. maybe swimming? Or building.. sand castles?"

[Castle Crashers]

Elaine was more than relieved when she heard his answer. If he hadn't...well, she would've chosen the beach anyway. She was glad to atleast see he seemed to have an opinion. "Great, let's get going, then!" She said quickly, pulling him in the direction of the coast without even glancing back at Alexander. She...wanted to forget what he looked like. Why couldn't she have just been left with a happy memory of him instead of that..? It didn't matter now. She hoped she wouldn't have to see him ever again. With that, she quickly led Slaine to the beach, of course separating for a little while so they could both change into their respective swimwear. They met up once more in the white sand of the coast, the sound of the crystal blue ocean roaring wonderfully in her ears. It was more perfect than anything she'd imagined, really. While she didn't really enjoy showing off her body, she also knew that it was illogical to wear your normal clothes to the beach. So, she'd opted for a navy blue two-piece with white polkadots, but for the time being, she kept herself under cover with an off-white kimono that seemed light enough to fly away.

When she met back up with Slaine, the first thing she really noticed was really how pale he was. Where he was more of a sickly color, one that looked unnatural on him, Elaine was a porcelain color, and while she was also pale, on her it simply made her look like a fragile doll. She could have as well been one, without a scar or imperfection on her body...but Slaine...well, he didn't live up to that standard in the slightest. That was the second thing she noticed. His torso, his arms, and almost everywhere she could tell on his exposed skin, he had scars. Deep, rough, gut-wrenching scars, the kind you didn't even expect to see on the most war-hardened soldier. She couldn't help it, but the sight...it racked her with guilt. It was really her fault all of that had happened to him, after all...and it made her feel worse to know that she had no marks in comparison. No visible ones, atleast. All of her wounds were mental, where most of his were physical. She wished that somehow she could remove them for him, that somehow she could fix this with just one touch...or something like that. To know that he had been through so much pain hurt her heart. And it hurt even more to know that she had played a part in it.

She realized she was staring, though, and quickly averted her eyes to those around them that also seemed to be off-put by his scars. She gave a few of the most obvious glares, and she gave threatening glances to others. The last thing she knew that either of them needed was judgement. She didn't care that Slaine didn't seem to mind; she took it as she would feel if she were in his position, and she felt like it would be better if he didn't draw in so much attention. Then, he asked her a question; what can be done on a beach? Well...well...she...wasn't really sure. Even with the luxurious life she'd lived, the only time she could even remotely remember visiting anything even sparsely similar to this had been when she was very young, with Alexander and her mother. It had been long before she passed, that much she knew. Regardless, she put on a warm smile, seeming satisfied by his question. "Well, there's lots we can do! We can go swimming, we can sun tan, we can build sand castles, or even just take a walk, the options are endless!" She giggled softly. "Naps on the beach always sounded nice too, but I'm not really tired. What do you feel like doing?"

Quiet, the blue eyed boy did not even notice that Elaine had stared at him.. at his scars. For him.. they were normal. An usual part of life. An usual part of his life. So much time had passed.. or so much time seemed to have passed.. that he couldn't even remember how life was, without them. Without all the scars.. without all the pain. All the other penal soldiers had scars like that.. more or less. He had never thought about that.. but he was usually the one receiving the worst treatment from the instructors and the officers. But after some time.. he had just stopped caring about it. He had to.. he had to do it, or else, he would have went insane long, long ago.

That is why, Slaine did not mind the way the others had stared at him.. or the way in which the purple eyed girl had stared at him. And even if he noticed her sadness and guilt.. for a moment..there was no way for him to possibly understand that. He couldn't even remember her..and even if he believed all that she had said about his past.. about their past.. Elaine had never told him about all of it. There was no way for him to think that the girl was feeling guilty.. about what had happened to him. That she thought that it was her fault. He was not even able to remember his own reason.. the reason for why he had done all of this.. the reason for why he had accepted all of this, back in the past. So he did not know.. if she had been that reason, or not.

But then, as Elaine smiled, everything suddenly seemed to be okay. How weird.. her smile.. her smile always managed to calm him down. And it wasn't like the forced calmness that he usually tried to impose over himself. They were, in such a weird place, and he had no idea what to do..but he felt at ease. And as the girl started to speak, the blonde boy replied with a small, but true smile. "I don't know.. it's weird...no one.. no one ever asked me..what I feel like doing.. before. Not from what.. I remember..", Slaine said, still a little confused. "But I don't know.. maybe swimming? Or building.. sand castles?"

As she noticed his small smile, hers broadened. She was happy to see once more that he was still able to have preferences. "Well, there's plenty of time to do both!" She answered in a cheerful tone, before, in a single decision, she chose it would be better to go swimming first. But...she...didn't really know how to swim. Well, she didn't have to go that deep, did she? Maybe knee deep, that would be okay, wouldn't it? It made her a little nervous, but she knew that if something happened, Slaine or anyone else in the vicinity for that matter would try and help her. The thought put her more at ease with the idea.

"How about we go swimming first?" She said before, with substantial hesitance, she removed her kimono. She honestly hated showing her body like this, but she knew that it wouldn't be smart to get her kimono wet, too. She would have to just deal with the insecurities. "Let's go!" She said, forcing a smile before she headed for the water, almost wishing to get neck-deep just to provide cover to herself once again. But, when she reached the water, as it curled up and splashed against her ankles...it was surprisingly warm. It wasn't anything like the novels she used to read from what felt like an eternity ago, where the water was rough and ice cold...but here...it really was paradise. The water was calm and clear, the waves were easy, and the water was warm. She wanted to just sink right into the water there, but...she also knew she didn't know how to swim if something happened. Instead, she just waded further in until the water lapped against her knees (which wasn't very deep with her height...), and she was once more surprised that she could feel the gentle push and pull of the current. Still, it brought a smile to her face, and she looked back at Slaine with a look of joy. "Come on in, this is awesome!" She called with a bit of laughter as she tried to kick her feet in the water, feeling the momentum be slowed down by the water.

[Tracian Empire]

Quiet, the blue eyed boy did not even notice that Elaine had stared at him.. at his scars. For him.. they were normal. An usual part of life. An usual part of his life. So much time had passed.. or so much time seemed to have passed.. that he couldn't even remember how life was, without them. Without all the scars.. without all the pain. All the other penal soldiers had scars like that.. more or less. He had never thought about that.. but he was usually the one receiving the worst treatment from the instructors and the officers. But after some time.. he had just stopped caring about it. He had to.. he had to do it, or else, he would have went insane long, long ago.

That is why, Slaine did not mind the way the others had stared at him.. or the way in which the purple eyed girl had stared at him. And even if he noticed her sadness and guilt.. for a moment..there was no way for him to possibly understand that. He couldn't even remember her..and even if he believed all that she had said about his past.. about their past.. Elaine had never told him about all of it. There was no way for him to think that the girl was feeling guilty.. about what had happened to him. That she thought that it was her fault. He was not even able to remember his own reason.. the reason for why he had done all of this.. the reason for why he had accepted all of this, back in the past. So he did not know.. if she had been that reason, or not.

But then, as Elaine smiled, everything suddenly seemed to be okay. How weird.. her smile.. her smile always managed to calm him down. And it wasn't like the forced calmness that he usually tried to impose over himself. They were, in such a weird place, and he had no idea what to do..but he felt at ease. And as the girl started to speak, the blonde boy replied with a small, but true smile. "I don't know.. it's weird...no one.. no one ever asked me..what I feel like doing.. before. Not from what.. I remember..", Slaine said, still a little confused. "But I don't know.. maybe swimming? Or building.. sand castles?"

As she noticed his small smile, hers broadened. She was happy to see once more that he was still able to have preferences. "Well, there's plenty of time to do both!" She answered in a cheerful tone, before, in a single decision, she chose it would be better to go swimming first. But...she...didn't really know how to swim. Well, she didn't have to go that deep, did she? Maybe knee deep, that would be okay, wouldn't it? It made her a little nervous, but she knew that if something happened, Slaine or anyone else in the vicinity for that matter would try and help her. The thought put her more at ease with the idea.

"How about we go swimming first?" She said before, with substantial hesitance, she removed her kimono. She honestly hated showing her body like this, but she knew that it wouldn't be smart to get her kimono wet, too. She would have to just deal with the insecurities. "Let's go!" She said, forcing a smile before she headed for the water, almost wishing to get neck-deep just to provide cover to herself once again. But, when she reached the water, as it curled up and splashed against her ankles...it was surprisingly warm. It wasn't anything like the novels she used to read from what felt like an eternity ago, where the water was rough and ice cold...but here...it really was paradise. The water was calm and clear, the waves were easy, and the water was warm. She wanted to just sink right into the water there, but...she also knew she didn't know how to swim if something happened. Instead, she just waded further in until the water lapped against her knees (which wasn't very deep with her height...), and she was once more surprised that she could feel the gentle push and pull of the current. Still, it brought a smile to her face, and she looked back at Slaine with a look of joy. "Come on in, this is awesome!" She called with a bit of laughter as she tried to kick her feet in the water, feeling the momentum be slowed down by the water.

Not before long, the blue eyed boy joined Elaine in the water, without hesitating at all. Since the water wasn't exactly deep for the girl, it most certainly wasn't deep for him either, but he did not mind it as.. he still wasn't sure about what to do. Sure.. swimming.. that was easy to say. He was able to swim, of course.. although he couldn't remember where he had learned it. He did have to swim before, in that part of his life that he could remember.. although of course, that hadn't been.. enjoyable at all. Like most of the painful memories that he had.. it was kinda fuzzy. It was next to a beach.. but he, and the other soldiers were in the water, desperately trying to reach the shore, in the middle of the storm, while people from the beach were firing at them.. it was cold.. it was chaotic.. there was blood everywhere.. and the screams..he just couldn't compare that to the happiness of this moment, the calm all around him, to the warmness of the water, to the laughter of Elaine..he had forgotten that.. life could be more than.. pain.. and hate..

"This is.. nice..", the blonde boy calmly responded.. a pretty vague response for anyone else, but for him, having that much of an opinion was.. pretty much. But it was clear that he was still a little confused, even if he enjoyed the water.."What should we do?"

[Thaitum]

The ship ride to this civilian planet was, for the most part, silent for Larion as he sat alone while reading a book. Every once in while he would gaze at seemingly nothing due to how deep he was in thought. He would be thinking about the piece if literature in front of him as well as recent events. Once arriving to their destination, Larion looked around the area he was now in. It was strange for him seeing as how most of his life was spent either in his studies or in the strict duties of being a knight, all voluntarily of course. Larion, like most other Thaitumites, seemed to enjoy the formality and strictness of things.

No longer wearing the academy uniform he instead wore his military tailcoat uniform. The pearly white as well as the gold detailing of his uniform, along with its gold epaulettes, shone brilliantly in the sunlight and his rapier complimented his uniform perfectly. Although Larion appreciated formality in all its forms, it did not mean he did not know how to have fun ir even enjoy himself. Quite the opposite actually. The only question on his mind at the moment was, how exactly to spend one's time here. In time he would figure that out, but for now he would gaze upon the beauty of the beach. "Perhaps I can paint the landscape?" He said to himself...

[Castle Crashers]

As she noticed his small smile, hers broadened. She was happy to see once more that he was still able to have preferences. "Well, there's plenty of time to do both!" She answered in a cheerful tone, before, in a single decision, she chose it would be better to go swimming first. But...she...didn't really know how to swim. Well, she didn't have to go that deep, did she? Maybe knee deep, that would be okay, wouldn't it? It made her a little nervous, but she knew that if something happened, Slaine or anyone else in the vicinity for that matter would try and help her. The thought put her more at ease with the idea.

"How about we go swimming first?" She said before, with substantial hesitance, she removed her kimono. She honestly hated showing her body like this, but she knew that it wouldn't be smart to get her kimono wet, too. She would have to just deal with the insecurities. "Let's go!" She said, forcing a smile before she headed for the water, almost wishing to get neck-deep just to provide cover to herself once again. But, when she reached the water, as it curled up and splashed against her ankles...it was surprisingly warm. It wasn't anything like the novels she used to read from what felt like an eternity ago, where the water was rough and ice cold...but here...it really was paradise. The water was calm and clear, the waves were easy, and the water was warm. She wanted to just sink right into the water there, but...she also knew she didn't know how to swim if something happened. Instead, she just waded further in until the water lapped against her knees (which wasn't very deep with her height...), and she was once more surprised that she could feel the gentle push and pull of the current. Still, it brought a smile to her face, and she looked back at Slaine with a look of joy. "Come on in, this is awesome!" She called with a bit of laughter as she tried to kick her feet in the water, feeling the momentum be slowed down by the water.

Not before long, the blue eyed boy joined Elaine in the water, without hesitating at all. Since the water wasn't exactly deep for the girl, it most certainly wasn't deep for him either, but he did not mind it as.. he still wasn't sure about what to do. Sure.. swimming.. that was easy to say. He was able to swim, of course.. although he couldn't remember where he had learned it. He did have to swim before, in that part of his life that he could remember.. although of course, that hadn't been.. enjoyable at all. Like most of the painful memories that he had.. it was kinda fuzzy. It was next to a beach.. but he, and the other soldiers were in the water, desperately trying to reach the shore, in the middle of the storm, while people from the beach were firing at them.. it was cold.. it was chaotic.. there was blood everywhere.. and the screams..he just couldn't compare that to the happiness of this moment, the calm all around him, to the warmness of the water, to the laughter of Elaine..he had forgotten that.. life could be more than.. pain.. and hate..

"This is.. nice..", the blonde boy calmly responded.. a pretty vague response for anyone else, but for him, having that much of an opinion was.. pretty much. But it was clear that he was still a little confused, even if he enjoyed the water.."What should we do?"

Elaine's eyes lit up as she heard him make a comment of his own as they waded through the waves. Where the water was at her knees, if not a bit above, the water probably only reached barely above half his calves for him. Still, now that he was in the water with her, she felt a little more comfortable with it and waded in to her upper thighs. She couldn't help but smile, not realizing how relaxing something like this could be. If she could've, she definitely would've taken more beach trips if they'd been like this...and when Slaine asked what they should do then, a thought struck her and a mischievous smile found its way to her face.

Within a moment, the dark-haired girl had swung her arms into the water and flicked them back up, sending a substantial amount of water towards his upper torso as she exclaimed "Water fight!" and desperately tried to get away from the splash zone as quick as she could. She nearly tripped from the pull-back of the waves twice, and with her back turned, she was more than open for him to initiate an offensive attack right back at her.