A few months later...
"Seline," Lucian called out.
The dog stopped, looking back at her master. She was a skinny, dirty thing, just a few days away from death. Her eyes didn't have the sparkle they once had. They were losing hope just like him.
"We have to keep going." Lucian tried to sound encouraging. But, in fact, he didn't have the strength to take another step forward. His feet were bleeding inside his worn shoes, and his lips were cracked.
His companion didn't answer. Seline was too exhausted to bark.
The sandstorm came from nowhere, sweeping away the path he had taken to get this far. Lucian had lost his way and didn't know which way to reach the nearest town.
He'd been a fool to come to the southern land by avoiding the regular path. The fees to cross the border were exorbitant, and he wasn't sure the southern guards would let him through their borders without a good reason.
It was supposed to be a shortcut to help him cross Diamante Kingdom to Southern Alliance for cheap. He had not expected the weather to be so hostile.
His food ran out a month ago, and now his water was also gone. If he didn't find a place to restock his provisions, he wouldn't make it. He and Seline would both die out here, their remains becoming dust that the desert storms would carry away.
Lucian's stomach hurt from lack of nourishment. He was so hungry, and the only thing he could find to eat was sand.
Even though he was starving, he was not a beast that would kill Seline for food.
'Water. I need water. I need something to eat.'
Lucian fell on the sand. He didn't have the strength to stand up anymore. It didn't matter. No one would see him lying here.
He felt his companion licking his hand. She needed water, her tongue was dry.
"I'm sorry, girl. I'm so sorry."
He took her in because she reminded him of Celine, dark fur and beautiful blue eyes, and a determination to follow him around despite his refusals.
The sun scorched his body, and the sandstorm had scraped off the first layer of skin. The burning sensation made him feel like he was in a desert of fire. Perhaps this was hell, and this was his punishment for trying to leave the land of his forefathers.
His dream of becoming rich quickly by trading with the southern kingdoms was crushed. He was wrong to believe that he would be able to cross the border and do what so many had failed to do. He had no experience, only the desire to become rich and gain enough power to ask for her hand.
He couldn't move from Celine Rochefort. It only worsened the torment inside of him, knowing that he couldn't have her. He couldn't live in the same land as her, hear about her from other people, and see her walking down the street.
She would ask where he planned to go next, and he would make up something. Their path, however, always crossed again, and she would be as surprised to see him as he was to see her.
His feelings would then be rekindled. His longing would grow, and his heart would break a little bit more every time he had to leave her.
'Maybe she'll miss me when I'm gone. Maybe she'll even cry.'
He turned to his side and looked into the dog's eyes. She was lying on the sand, breathing slowly, her tongue out.
"I'm sorry. I should have never brought you with me." He put a hand over his head. "You were the only one who ever approved of our relationship. The only one who didn't tell me to stay away from her."
Lucian took a deep breath and moved his hand away. Seline had her eyes closed; her chest wasn't moving.
"Hey, Seline, are you sleeping?" Lucian crawled to her. He grabbed his dog by the collar and shook her. "Don't sleep, girl. We have to be awake. If we sleep, we'll never wake up."
Seline didn't react; she didn't even whimper in pain. Lucian placed a hand on the side of her belly. Her heart wasn't beating, and her body was cooling.
'Eat it.'
His stomach growled as Voice spoke, and the impulse became unbearable.
'It's just a dog. No one would miss it. No one would know,' Voice continued, and Lucian couldn't silence it. 'I'll show you the way out. I'll help you get back on track. Just eat the dog.'
"Shut up," Lucian mumbled. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" He grabbed his hair with both hands. 'You killed her! She's dead. You killed her! You know the path, you bastard! You were just waiting for Seline to die so I would be forced to eat her!'
'Why do you keep blaming me?' Voice asked, and Lucian could hear a smile in those words. 'How should I have known that there would be a sandstorm?'
'Then why am I still alive?!' Lucian shouted in his mind. 'I should be dead. I don't have food, I don't have water, and I should be dead by now! Save Seline! Bring her back! If you really have a solution, bring her back!'
'You shared all the food and water with her, and she still died,' Voice replied, refusing to listen to Lucian's orders, 'Is the hunger worth it? Is the thirst worth it? You are only human. But I can make you more than that, but first, you must eat.'