Ryo, having just arrived moments before, had just come from the meeting with all the Captains, Royal King, Sirus, and Alphonzo, who were now in front of the Black Wolves' humble abode.
He blinked twice with a blank, oblivious expression, "I have to admit, I played this scenario in my head many times before coming here today, and all those scenarios you said the same thing. But hearing it out loud like this still surprises me. I guess I'm more surprised that I wasn't surprised."
"That makes no sense… anyway, you want breakfast? Code made a banquet this morning." I replied, turning my back and walking away from Ryo while leaving the double doors, still wide open, letting him in.
"I did just eat… but if it was Code's cooking, how could I refuse!" Ryo said with a cheer on his face, his inner fat-ass talking for him at the sound and smell of food that trailed in the air all the way from the kitchen.
He entered the Den, and we made our way to the dining hall, where I prepared his meal. Some time had passed since this morning, so the only ones left in the Den after our routines were Havoc and Brand, who were playing video games in the loft, I, and Yuna. Code was out doing errands, Nash had a date, and Ophelia and Star went shopping for clothes. Alice and Belle had also left this morning about an hour before Ryo's arrival. They had taken Alice's Pink Room to meet up with Golden Boy Lance at the Desert Kingdom to recap the meeting he and Ryo came from.
Before all of this, Alice was unofficially Belle's transporter from the Desert to the Valley. It took a few trips for them to go that far, so a trip from the Valley to the Desert, then from the Desert to the Valley, and back to the Desert was already a whole day's event for Alice. Of course, Belle paid her handsomely for her efforts. It was like her "side job" for her sister.
But today she was just going to drop her off halfway and let the Sun Ring take her sister back, which meant she could be back any time now.
Had I known Ryo was going to pop by, I would have just told her to stay and have him recap to her directly instead. She had just left, but I was already missing her… I'd see her tonight again anyway, as we took turns sleeping at each other's homes. And tonight, I'll be at her place this time. But that was to wait until I was done here and with all my chores.
As Ryo focused solely on eating, he gobbled down the meal I prepped for him. He loosed a big sigh of relief as he put his bowl down in the bar area we were hanging out. As if he hadn't eaten all day, even though he said he had already, "Thank you for the meal!"
"I'm surprised you're not completely obese with the amount you eat."
"It's the fire inside me. It's always burning, which helps my digestive system!"
"Right," I said, rolling my eyes as I collected his plate. Just as quickly as Ryo finished his meal, his mood changed entirely.
He faced my direction and gave me a look of determination before finally speaking, "You're going to join the Valley Tournament." Not a question apparently.
I sighed disinterestedly as I threw his plate in the sink and started washing it, "By the Keeper, man… I already gave you my answer. Let off."
"This is a matter of must, my friend."
"And why's that? I already have an Acting Captain's position, plus the real Captain is Asura… You know this. I couldn't care less about 'must'." I disregarded, back facing him as I scrubbed a plate.
Ryo's burning eyes softened, "I understand what you're saying. But it's been a year, Greed…"
I snapped at him after he said that. I didn't realize until after that I might have reacted too brashly, "What are you trying to say? That he's not coming back? I visit him every quarter. He's still alive. What do you know?"
I calmed down; he didn't need any lecturing… "Sorry… I didn't mean to blow up. Sensitive topic." I faced him slightly so our eyes met, and he could see the sincerity in my apology.
"No need for that, my friend. That's not what I meant. Forgive me. I simply meant that joining this Tournament would open the door for you to be an official Captain of the Guild in his stead. I'm sure Asura would want the same thing. Why else would he appoint you as the Acting Captain if not to take his place one day?" Ryo said more gently this time.
"Because he's gonna come back. I am just a stand-in, and that's all there is to it…" short silence filled the space between us before I continued the thought, "Plus, I have no interest in being an official Captain. You should ask Code to partake. He's more Captain material than I am."
"It would be nice for him to partake with you, he doesn't exactly have a good look in the public's eyes since the Blue Phoenixes were proven guilty after he 'appeared' to help facilitate their crimes and was simply pardoned after the whole ordeal… but if he attends, he may then again gain the trust of the people," Ryo trailed off in thought then went back to the matter at hand, "I digress. That will be up to you who enters. Up to three members may participate from each Guild. We're going to hold it like the last Tournament from five years ago."
"Five years ago, huh? We were all rookies back then, just drafted into our Guilds. Crazy how things could change so quickly in five years." I reminisced.
"The last victor was a Black Wolf Knight. The Black Wolves very own—"
"Still gonna be a no for me, man. Sorry." I interjected. He wouldn't like us talking about that anyway—at least not the events that followed afterward… "I've made up my mind. If you need the Black Wolves to participate, I'll issue three of them to enter, and they will be your attendants for the Tournament. As for myself, you can count me out."
Ryo sighed, closing his eyes briefly, "It would be great if the hero of the Kingdom participated as well…"
I stopped washing the plates when he said this. It took me a few seconds to respond, "I know for a fact that you're not referring to me, Ryo."
"Who else would I be referring to?"
"Belle, because it was she who saved the Kingdom."
"It was you who saved the Kingdom. And she knows it too. You know how hard it was to pretend in the meeting today? You already know how I feel about lying. I had to tailor my words in a way that it still felt like the truth for me."
"Oh, the struggles of the dignified…" I teased, "All you had to say was that I was not there. What's so hard about that?"
"But that's the thing… You absolutely were. There would be no Valley Kingdom right now if it weren't for you. Surely you know that?"
"There also wouldn't be any problems in the Valley if it weren't for me either."
Ryo looked at me, confused, "What does that mean?"
I finally faced him after I had finished rinsing the last plate, locking my eyes to his from the other side of the bar. "Problems like what happened with Syemore and the Blue Phoenix Knights wouldn't have happened if Asura were still here. It only happened because he was gone and saw me as a weak leader. All the rumors of the Black Wolves' nefarious acts outside the Kingdom… no one would believe it if it were Asura at the reins… but me? Ha!" I said, mocking myself. "No question."
Ryo's yellow eyes squinted softly, just listening with lips sealed as I went on, "The hooligan 2nd Vice Captain of the Black Wolf Knights, with a sin for a name, Greed… those rumors might as well have been true… Nothing like this happened when Asura was Captain." I said with a low tone at the end. I wasn't defeated or felt sorry for myself. It was the truth and nothing more. I had a clear understanding of my role, and participating in this Tournament while considering myself a 'hero' was not an appropriate designation for me. If anything, the statement felt more like I was trying to convince myself than Ryo. It seemed he knew that too, I could tell by his silence. I knew him just as well has he knew me—sly fucking fox…
"The results of what happened that day were simply me taking accountability for my weakness. It was the least I could do for putting my friends and the Kingdom in danger. The fact that you found my memory within it all just goes to show they had me at the center of all their bullshit. I was even so unaware of it. Plus…" I paused and loosed a heavy sigh. My eyes even shifted to the high ceiling, "What about all those people who were killed during the incident? Isn't murder a crime? Actually, I was giving it some thought and I was actually going to turn myself in after tomorrow. I wanted at least one more night with Belle."
Ryo didn't say a word. I was actually surprised. But it didn't take long for him to respond after a second of silence, "If that's the case I will turn myself in along with you."
"What?"
"After what happened in that underground club, we should have apprehended the rest of the fake Black Wolves rather than call it a night. I mean come on, what did we expect? The whole place went crumbling down and we decided to check out for the day?"
"That's not—"
"The same? Come on now, Greed. If you really want to be technical on blame then that counts just as much. It was even the beginning of the enemy's schemes. Justice where justice is due, right?"
"You didn't murder anyone."
"You certain about that?"
I didn't know what he meant, so I remained silent to let him explain.
"Five years ago, after I had just been recruited to the Crimson Dragons, we went on a mission on the border of the Forest Kingdom and the Tundra Kingdom—one of the Mountain Kingdom's subs. There was a boy about our age carrying a younger boy—probably his brother—and he was clearly injured with a seared off leg. I wanted to help, but at the time, things were still a bit shaky between the Mountain and Valley. It was to the point we couldn't even trust motives, no matter how clear-as-day they weren't traps. Both Kingdoms had trust issues, and to prevent the chance of a war, we ignored the two boys and left them to their devices… to this day, I think about that and wonder if the choice to do nothing was the right answer."
I was silent still, and Ryo kept on.
"Given the situation of those two boys—the one with his leg seared off had probably died soon after our departure," he loosed a shuddering breath like the mere recall had triggered him still. I could tell he was still not over it. "What I'm trying to say is—we all have blood on our hands. Whether directly or indirectly. And by your logic. If you turn yourself in, so should I—so should every knight of the Valley."
He took a short break to let me digest everything he had shared.
"Now, don't mistake me for lessening the significance of those lives lost, but death… It comes with the job. We are paid and appointed as knights to protect as many as we can. And that's all we can do. Even with Time magic, we cannot undo all our wrongs."
I understood. Didn't mean I had to like it.
"You have no idea how much I envy the way you are able to speak to people," I said as a change in mood slowly overtook me, at last—temporary as it was. "Still gonna turn myself in."
He laughed like I was joking. "You have gotten funnier since you got with Belle."
"I wasn't joking." Mocking determination shrouded me, "You really think I care what happens to the Valley when all I care about is my own? I'm turning myself in because others had to suffer the consequences for my actions. If it didn't have me or my crew in the picture, I wouldn't have done shit. You know it and they all know it," I said, pointing toward the Valley far beyond past these walls. "And I wouldn't have people's blood on my hands. Don't mistake me for some good Samaritan. I'm selfish, not selfless."
Ryo, however, could see through my front. His eyes changed back to determination, "Now… I don't believe that at all. First of all, if you really didn't care about the Kingdom, you wouldn't have gone after Alice when she was in danger that night. I know for a fact if you truly didn't care, you'd have left it to the W.M.A. or the other Guilds, but you responded first to a citizen in danger."
"No, that was planned… Code said they would be taking an innocent girl to lure us to their hideout. It was a trap we were supposed to fall for and follow through with."
"Even so, you still got pissed when you lost her in the alleyway. If it truly was just 'part of the plan', you would have remained calm. But the fact that you didn't, proved that you cared deeply for her safety even without knowing her."
I said nothing. The sly fox was truly well-versed in the art of human interaction.
"That alone is proof you care for this Kingdom and its people. Sometimes the smallest actions reveal the bigger truths… and it's a good thing you responded to the call. She is Belle's sister after all—blood or not." He raised his brows at me, seeing that I understood. He went on, "Secondly… Don't you dare insult my friend…"
I gave him an incredulous look, squinting my eyes and shaking my head slightly for but a moment.
"My friend may be 'selfish', but not in the way you label him. He cares for others, he does not want anyone to die or suffer because of him. He wants to take all the blame and let others ridicule him for it even though he did everything in his power to protect them. Call him what you will, but do not call him such a shallow word. He is anything but that."
"Your friend would have let the Royal King, Sirus, and the other Captains die if he did it on his own. Belle was the one who saved them. He had no idea they were even kept by Syemore's side…"
"I don't deny that you didn't do this on your own, but Belle would have never gotten the opportunity to save them if it weren't for you giving her the chance. I can do this all day, my friend."
Stupid Ryo… Always must be the winner in any dispute. And the number one advocate for his friends, too. Things would be so much easier if he just looked at me the way the rest of the Valley does… but here he was. I felt undeserving of a friend like him.
"Fine. I give up… But I'm still turning myself in and I'm for sure not attending that stupid tournament. Thanks for reminding me how good a friend you are. Anyway, I got things to do today. Stay as long as you like, this is as much your home as the Crimson Dragon's Castle."
Ryo stared at my back as I walked off from the bar and dining area and threw my hands in my pockets.
"At least wait a few more days before you do that."
"And why's that?"
"Your 1st Ace is coming back, and so is the Arcane King for that matter. When she returns, he wants to speak with you both. If after you speak with him you still want to turn yourself in, none of us will stop you."
I stopped walking. Why did the Arcane King want to speak with me for?
"Using the Arcane King as your trump card to get me to join? What? Did you tell him I beat Syemore?"
"No. It was his request. I am simply relaying his words."
I believed him. Ryo was honest to a fault. He couldn't lie to save his life. He would only dance around it to say he didn't. But there was no beating around the bush here.
"One month," he said. "The Tournament is in one month."
I closed my eyes and raised a hand at him, waving lazily as a mere response before continuing on and saying nothing more as I turned the corner and I was gone.
He sighed. Then from the ethers a voice echoed in, "Stubborn, isn't he?"
Ryo sat up and looked around, startled by the voice that was there. He had only realized it was there the moment it spoke. It wasn't a threatening presence, but he was surprised he didn't notice.
When he finally found who it came from, Alice had walked through the other end of the dining room from a door through her Pink Room.
"Ah, Alice… It's good to see you."
She raised her chin and huffed proudly, "Likewise. I'm still so amazed at how many friends he has, and yet he willingly chooses to be a complete prick with them."
Ryo smirked. A soft smile pleasantly formed on his face.
She sighed and sat at the far end of the long dining table behind him. Pushing her pixie skirt inward with both hands under her thighs before sitting, she went on, "And yet… there's something about him that makes people want to follow him anyway. That's mainly why I wanted to join the Black Wolves… I wanted to see for myself if the 'hero' who saved me was who I thought he really was."
"Well, have you come to a conclusion on that?" Ryo responded.
"I don't know… Twice now I've witnessed his glory moments, but in moments like this, I just get so confused by the way he responds. He still won't take the credit for saving me. He even dragged you and Belle into not saying anything about him beating Syemore and saving the Kingdom. He claims he dislikes involving others, but his roleplay suggests otherwise."
"Do you hate the way he is?" Ryo asked curiously, almost sounding like a therapist. Alice was surprised by the question; the thought had never crossed her mind.
"N-no… of course not… I just… I'm curious as to the decisions he makes, is all. My sister loves him, so I want to know what about him she loves so much. She won't share the details with me, but…" she noticed herself acting nervously and fixed it with a short and prominent clear of her throat, "I'd like to think I know why I want to follow him, but I want to be absolutely sure."
Ryo grew a big, pleasant smile and laughed cheerfully, "My, what happened to that determined speech you made to the Black Wolves the other day?… How did it go? 'Just you watch! I'm gonna prove myself to you! All of you!"
Alice squealed and shouted back to him, "EEEEEK! HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!? YOU WEREN'T THERE YET! … HEY, ANSWER ME!"
Ryo just kept laughing as the sun's rays entered the room, spotting the gothic dining table and the countertops with lighter, warmer hues.
Alice calmed down a bit and asked Ryo a counter question, "Well, what about you? Why are you friends with him?"
Ryo stopped laughing and made an oblivious face, pondering and looking up at the ceiling as he thought of a good response to her sudden question, "Hmm… you know, I don't know, we just are!" Another obnoxious chuckle at the end.
His annoying laugh made Alice's forehead tighten. But then Ryo stopped laughing once more and said casually, "When someone is genuine, it makes them easier to like. It also means they will genuinely have your back… always."
She blinked. She didn't know it at the time, but that phrase alone was the basis for her search for an answer.
***
**Some moments later. The Desert Kingdom**
High up in a meeting area of the center castle in this mechanical city surrounded by sand, the room was large and cozy, with two main colors: gray and beige. The beige, mainly coming from the generous layout of furniture and pillows all over the room, and the outside, where you could see the vast plains of the desert, matched. On the outside, the city seemed untouched by the hot sands that engulfed it, as if protected to preserve the life that dwelled within it.
Inside, the ceilings were high and supported only by thick beams and concrete-like pillars. The room was completely open, with only a colonnade of large white pillars, and was covered between them with long, sheer white curtains that glittered as the gentle breeze fluttered them. The room let in a generous amount of sunlight, and despite being so high with the desert winds blowing, magic had made this certain high area of a tower a peaceful place, ignoring the ever-changing conditions outside and beyond them.
The floors and beams were made of a material almost like glossed concrete, and the room opened to a spacious balcony overlooking the Sub Kingdom—the Desert. Captain Belle of the Golden Rose Knights and 1st Vice Captain Lance entered the large double doors of the room. After Belle had just arrived from her Sun Ring, they were having a discussion about the meeting he had just come from, recapping her on what was concluded and… to his opinion, what wasn't.
As Belle glided over the glossy concrete floors on her bare feet, she gracefully made her way to a sitting area just before the balcony. The area dipped into the ground, forming a square-like crevice where one could sit and be welcomed by sand-colored pillows. She relaxed in a chaise at a corner of the sunken couch, taking a large pillow and hugging it tightly with the lower part of her face resting just on top of it. Her thoughts entirely elsewhere, thinking of none other than her lover with a sin for a name.
Lance followed behind a few feet, but remained standing in a formal manner, arms behind his back, right on the gloss concrete pathway. Clad in golden armor, he stood there straight as a pole. He had been briefing her the whole way up until they made it here, whether she was listening or not.
"That concludes today's meeting, Captain…" he finished formally, armor-clad hands behind his back.
"Okay," Belle replied, her voice muffled from behind the pillow her face was buried into.
Dissatisfied with her response, Lance glanced over to his right, opposite on the pathway where he stood. His eyes grazed over the large king-sized bed there, also sand-colored, with decorative pillows and messy sheets. On the corner foot of the bed was a jacket that, uncharacteristic of the colors in the room, was dark gray with black fur on the trims of the hood… The logo on the back barely showed. It was only partial, but Lance knew that logo very well… He clicked his tongue quietly at the sight of it, then looked back over to Belle, who looked head over heels about something. Her face blushed an even rosier tone than it normally was—he could have sworn her pupils morphed into heart shapes as she spaced out at a random part of the room.
"So, do you agree to the Tournament in a month's time? If I get your answer now, I can still relay it to Sirus by end of day—"
"Do what you want… You should have just made the decision while you were there. I don't care."
Starting to get a bit irritated now, Lance frowned and thought first before responding—regardless of how well thought out, "You are the Captain. I am not. It makes sense that you have the final say on what the Golden Rose Knights do."
"Who cares… It's just a simple yes-or-no agreement. Plus, if the majority rules, then they're just going to hold it regardless. Didn't you say that most of the Captains agreed to it anyway? So why does my opinion matter?"
"It matters because it decides if we participate or not."
"Again, Lance, you were there. If you want to partake, then you should have just agreed on the spot."
"That's not the point, Captain."
"Then what is the point? Keeper, you keep hounding me with questions with no meaning behind them. What is it you want, Lance?" Belle snapped, her voice stern as she finally lifted her head from her pillow and faced him from where he stood above the sunken couch.
Lance breathed in and out deeply, looking at random parts of the room, looking for an answer as her blue-eyed stare shot like daggers right into him. Again, he glanced at the off-colored jacket on her bed…
"I want you to act like the Captain I chose to follow," he said. The words that came out were completely different than the words he actually wanted to say…
She scoffed and looked him up and down, "What, are you a lost puppy or something? You can't make your own decisions?"
Her words hit him unexpectedly. Ironic that he be called a lost puppy after calling him a dog. A mutt. A stray. He hesitated to respond.
"Did I strike a chord?" she jabbed once more, letting it go after she saw the way it was eating at him. She put her head back gently onto the large pillow and simply rested there, saying nothing more, letting him brew.
"I lost my temper when they chose to do nothing after the Blue Phoenix incident… How can we stand by and let the Mountain do what they did? Laylee even, letting them go as they pretended to act like they didn't just try to take over the Valley… We're like doormats." Belle still remained quiet. "It really should have been you there in that meeting. Not me."
Silence.
But, after a few seconds, "Why does it matter if it was me or not? The result would have been the same." She asked, gentler this time.
"You would have handled it better than I… Besides…" Lance said, "As the strongest in the Kingdom next to the Arcane King, you really should be the one there. Your presence alone brings hope to people—it can sway opinion. Maybe even by you being there, Sirus and the others would have pushed harder to bring justice to the Valley—come up with a better plan than to wait. You were there firsthand after all. You defeated Syemore."
Belle's brow twitched and was silent again. She recalled the day. Yes, she was there. Yes, she witnessed firsthand the horrors of a fully prepared Maven Knight, and her powerlessness against him… Then she thought of Greed, and regardless of how prepared Syemore was, even he was no match for her lover. Then, after that, she was unable to express that to anyone else because he had requested that she not. She began to question her position at this time and the burden that weighed on her.
"Tell me, Lance… What makes a mage—a knight—number one?" she asked out of the blue.
Hit with a curious question, Lance thought for a moment and then responded, "I'd say one's title and the influence they hold over the people, backed by their presence, equals their strength… that makes them number one."
"So, you mean to say, so long as one has title and clout, they can achieve this? They are number one?" she repeated his answer, making sure that was truly what he meant.
"Yes." Hesitancy in his tone.
"Is that really what you believe? Is that all it takes to become number one in this Kingdom? To have a badge, attend meetings and events, and build clout? Even the weakest of us can do that." Her words echoed in the room, silencing even Lance's thoughts, "If that's how we measure strength in this Kingdom, it is a shoddy way to measure it, and that… that is not strength at all, and I want no part of it."
Lance was taken aback. Though he still stood in place there with his arms behind him, he struggled to keep his poised composure, "Captain, I—"
"You know what truly makes a knight number one, Lance?" she asked, silencing him. He didn't even finish his sentence. The display of authority in this moment was clear as day. "Integrity. That is all. No more, no less."
Struggling now to keep eye contact, he faced the floor. Mixed feelings of shame for not answering with something he knew, and feelings of resentment for someone who was not there.
His hazel eyes shifted back and forth, contemplating what she just said. And then words left his mouth without thinking.
"So then… does that make anyone number one to you? Even a stray?"
Her eyes darted to him as he said that last part. It felt like the air shifted, and he felt her raging, golden aura. Her eyes seemed to glow as her face became shadowed. And when they did, he shuddered like a dog with its tail between its legs.
"What do you mean… by stray?"
He gulped and dared not answer. For his sake.
After a moment of no answer, she calmed down and said, "We're done here, Lance… Cancel all my upcoming meetings. Any events—you, Love, or Viper attend on my behalf. Just say I agree to the Tournament, and you three enter. I don't care for any of it. Whoever of you gets the furthest…" The pause was agonizing to him as he waited for her to finish. "Gets the Golden Rose Knights. All of it."
His eyes widened, struck at what she had just said. He was already losing face, but he had almost lost his balance completely at the words that came out of her mouth.
"Captain, what you're saying—"
"Also…" she interjected. Her deep blue eyes met his hazel ones as if compelling him with an order, "Tell no one to bother me tonight or any night moving forward when I'm here until I say so. Is that clear?"
Unsure where to even start with that, Lance glanced back over to the jacket at the edge of the bed one last time, sardonic at that logo… That fucking wolf logo.
When he faced Belle once more, he couldn't help but utter words under his breath he'd soon regret, "Are you seeing that Black Wolves Acting Captain?"
She heard him. Her head shot up as he faced away. "Lance," she said softly, but with a heavy, stern tone that forced him into utter submissiveness.
"Apologies. You are clear. I will take my leave," he said, then simply bowed his head and swiftly exited the large room. Walking through the double doors and leaving her alone for the rest of the day. A gloomy expression overtook him as he walked out.
The double doors shut, and the sound of the doors closing echoed in this vast expanse of the room, where she was left alone; still hugging that same large pillow. She buried her face and muttered,
"My Greed… I want you here now."