Shopping with Cerea
Cerea walks behind me on the pavement. She is turning her gaze in all directions, her hand on the hilt of the sword.
When I turn to walk into a store, she continues walking ahead, unaware that I have stopped.
"Cerea."
"Huh?" She looks where she thinks I am and is horrified to find me absent.
"Over here, Cerea."
She looks behind in my direction and trots to me. "I'm sorry, Aruji-dono, I…"
"Don't worry, Cerea." I pat her hand on the hilt of her sword. "You don't have to be so high-strung."
"Hai." She looks down, crestfallen.
"Come on." I hold her hand, loving the smile that lights her face up. "Let's go in."
Cerea gets stuck in a walk-through and ends up breaking it. She knocks down a shelf while backtracking and I have to pay for all the stuff. My elbow ends up grazing against her butt and she reacts with a kick, launching me into another shelf.
"I'm so sorry, Aruji-dono." She weeps walking beside me.
She has my handkerchief to wipe her tears with in her right hand, my right hand in her left. The handkerchief is more than inadequate to stem her tears.
"Don't worry about it, Cerea." I squeeze her hand.
"But… but…" she sniffles. "I made a mess back there. You didn't have enough money to buy all the stuff you needed. Now you'll have to come back."
"Well, I wouldn't have been able to carry all that stuff anyway." I chuckle. "Not while holding your hand."
"See?" She launches into fresh tears. "I'm just a burden to you."
"No, my dear." I lead her to a bench in a park. "Here, sit down."
She sits down, trying to wipe her eyes with the heel of her hand, sobs making her shake, wrenching my heart.
"Now." I place the bag of groceries on the bench beside and cup her face between my palms. "You are not a burden. If I have to make twenty rounds to the store while holding your hands, I would do that rather than make one round without you."
"You mean that?" She looks into my eyes, her tears stopping.
"Every last word, my love." I wipe the tears lingering on her cheeks. "You don't have to judge yourself with your usefulness to me as a standard. I love you. Your usefulness stops being a factor."
"Ah." She smiles, the light emanating from her dimming the sun. "I see."
"That's my Cerea." I pat her head. "Now, would you like some ice cream?"
"I would love it."
"Now, wait here. I'll be back in a jiffy."
I have to cross a clump of trees to exit onto another part of the park, where the Ice cream van is. When I am walking back to Cerea through the clump, I see something that makes me pause.
There is a dog, teeth bared, glaring at me, pawing its way toward me. I wouldn't be much scared, if it wasn't a Pitbull.
As I take a step to the side, it takes another step towards me. I remember Looney Tunes and the face-off of the bullfighter with the black bull.
"Fuck this!" I drop the cones and rush up a tree.
Pain shoots in my foot, making me groan, as I hurtle up the tree.
The dog stands at the foot of the tree, growling and barking at me, its front paws on the trunk.
I look around from my vantage point. No one is around and calling for help may not help much. I don't think I can raise my voice, my voice occupied with hissing, my ankle throbbing.
Just when I consider the mad option of jumping down and making a break for it, my hero arrives.
"Thou fiend!" Cerea gallops into the clump of trees, sword drawn.
The dog turns its vicious gaze toward her, letting its embrace of the tree and focusing on her.
Cerea is daunted for a moment, but seeing me on the top of a tree, pain on my face, the fear in her eyes retreats in the face of a feral bloodlust.
Even the dog is scared of the change in her mood.
"Thou will regret this!" Instead of using her sword, she sheathes it as she rushes forward and lifts her front legs in the air.
Her hoof lands on the head of the Pitbull. The impact makes the bird fly away in terror.
The dog runs away mewling, its legs threatening to buckle under it.
Seeing the coast is clear, I climb down. My left foot touches the ground and a groan escapes me.
"Aruji-dono!" Cerea is by my side in a flash, supporting me from my shoulders.
"Good work, Cerea." I smile. "I'm sorry I dropped the ice cream."
"Aruji-dono!" Tears fill her eyes as she falls to her knees in front of me, holding my hand in both of hers. "I'm just so useless! I ruined our shopping trip, I cannot make the food, I cannot clean our abode, and now, if I hadn't heard the barking and your scream, I would have failed to protect you too!"
"Scream?" I ponder to myself as she cries with bitter tears.
"What kind of knight fails to protect her own Master?" She sniffles and tries to wipe her tears with the back of her hand.
"Aw." I kneel before her and purse my lips to avoid any expression of the pain I'm feeling. "My poor baby is sad." I hug her and kiss her forehead. "So you think you're useless to me, Cerea?"
"Hai!"
"That you are nothing more than a burden to me, taking advantage of my kindness?"
"Hai," she says, her voice lower this time than before because she starts weeping with fresh tears which wet my shirt.
"Baka." I touch her cheek as I stare in her eyes. "You're not useless."
"Don't be so nice." Her punch, gentle as a kiss, lands on my shoulder. "I love you for that, but don't be nice just to make me feel better."
"Okay!" I get up and sit on her back.
"Aruji-dono?" She looks back at me, her sadness forgotten.
"Actually, I sprained my ankle in the encounter with the dog just now." I smirk, touching her neck. "Will you take me back home, Cerea?"
She is dazzled for a moment.
"We can shop some more on the way back home too."
"Hai!" She stands up, happy with the same intensity as she was sad a moment ago. "As thou command!"
"Good girl." I push myself a little forward and put my hands on her waist. "Let's go a little slow."
"Art thou in pain?"
"No." I grin. "I just want to spend more time with my knight."
"So how was shopping?" Miia asks after Cerea enters the house, me on her back.
"Quite well, I'll say." I tap Cerea's shoulder. "Take me to the living room, sweetie."
"Hai!" Cerea says with a blush.
"What's wrong, Dear Sir?" Mero approaches me in the living room as Miia helps me get off Cerea.
On her voice, Rachnee and Smith also emerge from the house.
I recount to them the incident with the dog and how Cerea defeated it.
"Oh!" Mero looks up in her tantrum. "If Cerea had been late and you were killed, what would we have done? Cerea would have committed Seppuku in shame. Miia would have gone back home. Rachnee may have gone on a murder spree. And I would have gone back to my country, living in shame as I raised my daughters!"
She would have gone on, but I pick up and place her in my lap.
"Hai, Hai!" I pat her head before resting my forehead against it. "Glad to see you're so concerned, but I'll be fine after a good night's sleep."
"But you cannot make dinner," says Miia sitting beside me. "I'll do it for you."
"How about no?" Rachnee mutters.
"We can just order from a restaurant," I say. "It's been a while since we've had pizza."
"I'm down for pizza," says Smith.
"Then order them, Smith," I say. "Ask everyone what flavor they want. Also order Coke and brownies."
"Yay!" Miia hugs me. "It's party time!"