Xena Mythriel Al'vyon
Residential District - Al'vyon estate
“I wasn’t the person… we both thought I was.”
Errol closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was pondering the statement. When he opened it again, he looked like he had just braced himself for the worst. Regardless, Xena felt a little relieved. She expected confusion, suspicion, maybe even distrust. But he was taking this better than she had dared to hope.
“And?” he asked.
Xena took a deep breath as she walked along her bookshelves running her finger on the spine of each book she passed through, biting her lip rather nervously. She wished Maric was here, to hold her hand and give her comfort, but she knew Errol would not appreciate his presence. No--- this was something she had to do alone. The past few days she has been relying too much on Maric’s presence, and while she did not want to admit it, she probably has been a little too dependent on him being around.
“Have you ever heard of the harbingers?”
Errol’s eyes widened in recognition, which surprised her a little. Not everyone as young as him has heard of the group that has haunted the last generation. When he nodded in response, she could not help but give him questioning look, to which he replied. “My previous Master--- Rodrick Valden--- had a fascination with Lucifer and his minions, I have a feeling he is looking to strike a deal with the devil himself. For what reason, I am not made aware of, but he had been desperate enough to consider searching for the lost harbingers. I thought it was futile. They are
dead.”
She flinched. Errol remained unfazed, his gray eyes looking strangely intense, staring at her, as if in a challenge, but underneath his determined expression was a fragile confidence, almost as if he was pleading. Pleading for her to… what? She could not understand. A small suspicion blossomed from within her, one that was too striking to ignore. She met his eyes with the same intensity, as she asked. “What do you know… about these harbingers?”
He straightened up, but she could see unease underlying his expression. “The harbingers were a group once under Satan, supposedly led by seven criminals each bearing a sin of the world. Although witnesses in their time reported eight for some reason, Valden could not understand why such inconsistencies exist. The harbingers seem to have disappeared altogether about three hundred years ago, but there was one of them in particular that he was looking for, the sin of pride, a woman who has been rumored to be able to cure any illness, a healer on a different level than most, albeit young and human and breakable, she was dangerous, very much so---“
One moment, he was standing there, and the next he was pushed against the wall with her hands bunching around his shirt, her hands shaking. Her amber eyes stared into his with anger seething in its depths, as her voice hissed, accusingly. “You
knew.”
One second… Two…
He didn’t deny it.
She closed her eyes, trying to compose herself. “Since when did you know?”
“Since the beginning.” He replied. “I was startled to see a healer matching the physical traits of the harbinger Valden was obsessed about, one who has practically revived me from certain death, but I refused to believe it until recently, when I realized that Taran Caelis Titan, a master of lightning, the vampire Valden speculated to be the sin of wrath, seemed to harbor an uncanny emotional bond with you. I wanted to talk to you but, you seemed to have become distressed since he took you away.” Suddenly, his eyes turned red. “So it seems… you have gotten rid of whatever it was that was keeping you from regaining your memories.”
She instinctively took a step back, knowing the extent of his abilities, but the moment she did, he was suddenly behind her, pointing a knife at her throat, in the same fashion he had done to kill many others. Xena stared at the knife, feeling her heart sink deeper in dread. “Errol… what is the meaning of this?”
“Precaution.” He replied as he tightened his hold against her. “I wonder… are you the healer of the Sanctuary, or the Sin of Pride?”
She closed her eyes as she replied. “... I don't know.”
“What do you plan on doing now? He asked. “Should you decide to continue on your evil deeds, Pride, then for the sake the gentle woman whom I served, I will not hesitate to kill you.”
“I…” she hesitated as she stared outside the window. “I am not working under the devil anymore. Rather, I want to kill him. It doesn't matter how. I'll do anything, use anyone. I have a feeling that... somehow... I can do something to summon the goddess back into this world."
This seemed to catch him off guard. "Aditi?"
She nodded. "For that purpose... I joined the Circle of Sanctity. They have tried to summon her and failed. I feel like I'm missing something, I feel like this isn't the right way, but its the only way I have at the moment. I am not delusional enough to think that the goddess will heed to my wishes. but the least I could do is pull her into a front seat to see what has happened into this fucked up world. She needs to see what has become of Terrestria. Lucifer is rising. It will only get worse. And.." she hesitated once more. Should she tell him? The truth about the Circle? The horrendous deeds she had decided to stomach for the sake of this one goal? The knife was cold against her throat, and for the first time she was not sure whether or not Errol will
do it. She could fight, but for now, it was better to be safe than sorry. Maric is just on the other room... she is horrified to consider what could happen if he sees what is happening here.
"Errol, let me go." she murmured. To her surprise, he folded the pocketknife back, but instead of letting her go, he stepped closer and hugged her tight from behind. She could feel his hand shaking, he was apparently less composed than he gave himself credit for. Worried, she tried to glance at his face, but she couldn't see him in the current angle...
"I thought I could protect you." he murmured, and it almost made her smile. She patted his arm, gently. "You did protect me. All this time, you have been doing just that. But you cannot possibly protect me from myself, E. I am happy that I remembered. I finally realized what it is that is important to me. It may be a strange thing to say... but my fellow harbingers, we were a small family. I shall do my best to protect Maric and the others to the best of my ability. I do not want to lose anyone any longer. Not them... not you."
He was silent for a long moment. "Maric Vakarian. Is he...?"
"Yes, he was the sin of Lust. A longtime friend, one I have loved since a long time ago." she felt a smile pass on her lips.
"... I see." Errol murmured.
Silence. The two of them stayed like that for a long while. Finally, Errol muttered. "This must be... how it feels to be heartbroken, huh." Her eyes widened, unsure how to take in that statement, but before she could reply, he asked her another question. "Is there anything else you have failed to tell me?"
Her eyes widened. Should she tell him? Won't he get disgusted? Won't it get Maric in trouble, as well? Errol has never been anything but supportive. But the people in the Circle are strong, she does not want to get him into any more danger... "The Circle of Sanctity... is not as harmless as they may seem." she said carefully. "I want to somehow guide them to the right path... but I am not sure if I can do it. Still, I want you to... avoid them at all costs."
"Oh? Who's stopping me from messing with them?"
"Are you going to disobey direct orders from your Master?" she snapped.
"Yes." he replied, unhesitatingly. "It would not be the first time. I am not exactly... a very obedient servant." he said with an almost amused tone in his voice. Suddenly, he stepped back, and knelt down the way he usually did with her, like a knight to his princess. "Regardless, I have been overbearing today. Forgive me for overstepping my bounds. I should know my place as your servant... right?"
"From the beginning... I never wanted you to serve me." Xena murmured.
Errol looked up at her and made a sad smile. "Being a servant is a beneficial position to be in. It allowed me to be close to you, but not too close. Allowed me to be protective without being odd, without making you feel uneasy. From the beginning, I never once dreamed that someone like you will ever be mine. Your gaze was unwavering, peering away from me and into the distance, to your goals and hopes and dreams, and I would never want it any other way."
"So it's true." she murmured, as she recalled his words.
This must be... how it feels to be heartbroken, huh. "You... love me."
His eyes met hers.
"Yes."
***
Errol
Residential District - Al'vyon estate
It hurt. His heart... hurts.
After that small confession, he stood up, not quite meeting Xena's eyes. His feelings were unnecessary. He had never felt romantically or physically attracted to anyone--- simply because he had his heart already given to someone else. He had tried over and over to hide this fact, but it did not matter anymore. He stared at Xena, he could tell all the things that had changed since she remembered. While before she would have had a guilty, sad expression if she could not return his feelings, now she looked... blank. He appreciated that. He wanted things to stay the way they are, and when she smiled softly at him, he felt relieved.
"Thank you." she replied. Two simple words, but that took some of the weight off his shoulders.
He nodded. A comfortable silence settled upon them. The information has been passed, the truth cleared out, and it made him feel better. Suddenly, he remembered. "The siblings from the Sanctuary are seeking to be in your care. To heal the older one's blindness."
"I'll look at her shortly." she replied easily. He nodded once again, this time with a smile. Nothing has changed.
"I have promised some food for that girl, Mina." he said with a small smile as he started for the door. "She had been hungry in the desert for far too long, I should be heading back to the Sanctuary after cooking. Would you or your lover boy want something else to eat?" he asked with a small teasing grin.
She seemed to blush in embarrassment. "How did you know he's around?"
"I didn't. I simply thought you two were inseparable, so he has to be somewhere around the house, am I right?"
"Y-Yeah..." she murmured, studying him.
He nodded. "Thinking about it now that he's Lust... just don't be too loud at night." he grinned.
"Hey!" she called out, but he just opened the door and walked out while chuckling. It was an odd feeling. He had not laughed like that in a while. And while his heart was still hurting, he felt... a little lighter today. Maybe, just maybe, their conversation wasn't so bad after all. At least it wasn't a complete disaster. Things could have been worse.
